Ministry of Zero

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JANUARY.
For the first time, I spent the change of year at office due to some work stuffs to be finished. Along with some other events happening on the day, I pretty much will remember 1 January 2018 for a long time.

Laugh a little bit more with them

I had a meetup with reverse-family of mine on 5 January.
A friend of mine gave birth to a daughter that night and I visited on the next day (congrats, Dewi & Alvin! Welcome to the world, baby Candy).

Visiting the new Mom & Dad!

I had a quick trip to Bandung twice on January;
13-14 January and then 27-28 January.

Taken at Dago Bakery

I managed to visit Bukit Bintang (including Patahan Lembang), Lereng Anteng, play board games, and enjoyed foods!
I closed the first month of 2018 with mixed up feelings of trying to let go of what I really care about and doing what is right. Thankfully, I chose the latter one. 

Note: Watch "Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds"! I cried thrice watching it three times during that one scene and, no, I rarely cry when watching movies!
 



FEBRUARY.
I was not in the right mind during this second year of 2018.
Personal-wise and work-wise; I couldn't keep things together (not that I do it amazingly though now).

After all-you-can-eat brunch

Anyway I visited Surabaya for the first time on 19 January after celebrating the Chinese New Year on 16th.
Then we had to clean up the apartment -- where I would live at for almost 8 months afterwards. I'll talk about Surabaya on later month.

Also learned that betrayal sucks in a hard way in the end of the month.
I'm not even sure if I could say it's a betrayal but let me stick with that word because that's what came into my mind whenever I remember it.

Note: I only watched 1 movie this month ("Downsizing") and, to be honest, it doesn't get in the list of my favorites.




MARCH.
Had a meetup with the B-Ship crews (same university but became good friends during my work at previous office) on 3rd,
given the 'truth' on 11th (pretty sure it's sugar-coated already),
celebrated my little brother's 20th birthday on 12th,
and then a culinary-random-escape-trip to Cirebon on 24th-25th (although we somehow ended up with a visit to Lembang on our way back to Jakarta, lol).

Hello from (incomplete) B-crews (and extended crews)

You'll see us in another trip soon, people

Oh, and, I think since 31 January, both Hani and I had this random Wednesday-dinner after office hour. It's such a fun dinnertime actually but, due to my project schedule, this activity doesn't have chances all year long though.

I closed the end of March by attending the mass of Holy Saturday with Hilda -- a day before Easter.


Note: Also only watched 1 movie this month but I think it's pretty good. See Jessica Chastain in "Molly's Game"!




APRIL.
I started staying in Surabaya for work project, meaning I only returned to Jakarta once in a month. Surabaya is pretty hot when we talk about the weather, pretty crowded but can't compare it to the J-town though.

We tried a lot of new places for food, getting "Bubur Goreng Mantan" in our list. I also try any place to work well due to no decent table to work in our apartment.

More toppings than the porridge itself

 
Oh, on 7th, it's my 4-year work anniversary! Time passed so quick, don't you think?
And an old friend of mine succeeded in persuading me to have an iPhone 6S so, yes, I still have it with me until now.

Note: Watched "Ready Player One" if you're a fan of fantasy-game genre or "A Quiet Place" for a horror genre! Watched both and I like them a lot!

Can Be Better lyrics, by HIGHLIGHT

MAY.
On 5 May, a friend of mine since high school named Carola got married. Thanks for having me in your special day! Also met up with college friends there as if it's a reunion, lol.

Wedding day = small reunion

Then on 12th, I visited Suroboyo Carnival Park for the second time (first one is on November 2015). This time Valentcia (who got assigned for work project in Surabaya as well!), Frendy, and Matthew. We had a lot of fun!

Happy girls at amusement park

On 24th, it's my 27th birthday! Shandy was in Surabaya at the very day and we went to Monumen Kapal Selam that evening. Thanks a lot for the companion!

In front of MonKasel

I watched the "Dreamgirls" musical performance by JPAC on 27th with Valentcia! Would love to watch another performance for sure.

Dreamgirls!

Then Monica and I made another trip (last year is Taiwan, of which I haven't finished the posts /cry) and it's Singapore this year! Sometimes I wonder how amazing we are for dragging ourselves everywhere when we're never good with directions but always up for foods, lol. The trip starts on the night of 28th.

Note: Ah, I seriously need to write the details of my trip to Singapore. Been 5 times there but haven't written anything proper!

Partner-in-crime for food and travel

JUNE.
The Singapore trip ended on 2 June,
celebrated Mom's 53rd birthday on 4 June,
received some love with the birthday presents,
visited RUCI ArtSpace on 9 June,
had a dinner with (incomplete) MPH on 12 June,
visited DUFAN on 14 June -- I think it's been 10 years since the last time I went there,
had a meetup with (incomplete) B-crews on 17 June,
dinner with officemates at ONNI House (pretty place!) on 20 June.

Once in a year, no?

Pretty place for messed up people like us

Note: Oh, due to the long holiday schedule, I stayed in Jakarta for 3 weeks instead in Surabaya, that's why I had quite appointments here and there.

Secretly wish to get rid of the brand so I can get a prettier shot of this ferris wheel

JULY.
It's been 6 years since I graduated from university since 21 July 2012, people!

Anyway, I managed to visit a new place this month (15-16 July): Batu, Malang!
Driving from Surabaya, three of us spent a night there to visit Museum Angkut, Batu Night Spectacular, and Batu Secret Zoo.
I seriously recommend these place to visit -- but will be great to avoid crowd though.

Cross the road, team!

Another serious thing happened around end of July (after a happy day of 21st where I went to Serpong for boardgame-time!) of which I got 'slapped' that second chance doesn't always mean better result. Well, lesson learned very well.

The Bunker, here we are!

Museum Angkut is such a great place to take bunch of pictures

AUGUST.
To the eight month of 2018 we go now.

A beloved friend ('granddaughter') of mine got married on 11th but I couldn't manage to attend the party. Congrats for your wedding, Sevian (Seesee!).

On 21st, I joined a meetup with Christopher, discussing about understanding opposite sex. I met new people and, as much as being an introvert, I'd love to join another meetup in the future!

Check LiveLifeIndo.com for more information

Nothing much happened during August but more work and work due to the preparation for Go Live on 31 August. Long nights, extra patience, and screwed up eating schedule. Yep, we went through all of those!

Oh and I bought a pocket camera for personal purpose. Hopefully it will be useful for me.

Note: The sequel of "Along with The Gods" is released; "The 49 Days". I prefer the first though.

A good book for read

SEPTEMBER.
Congrats on your wedding, Floren, on 1 September! Sorry for not being able to be there.

September is another long month for work after Go Live in Surabaya. Like, seriously, a long one. Not going to break it down here though.

I met Hilda's baby, Jason, for the first time on 16th! Such a cute and handsome baby he is!
Then I had a meeting in Bandung for a new project (I stayed there for a couple of days). Yep, you read it right, moving to another city for work! Not complaining though.

#DelbertFenniGetMarried

Then the special day finally came: the wedding day of two of my best friends, Delbert & Fenny. Thanks for having me as your bridesmaid! So happy for your two!

Note: Watched "Crazy Rich Asian" for romance, "Searching" for thriller, "The House with a Clock in Its Walls" for fantasy, "Johnny English Strikes Again" for comedy.

Happy for you, D&F!

OCTOBER.
Let me celebrate one of the best days in 2018 for me: 6 October.

I listen to K-Pop but I can't say I'm an avid fan of it. I love music in general but I do follow the K-Pop trends somehow. However I only have a couple of groups that I really like. BEAST is on top of the list; they changed their name to HIGHLIGHT after having their own company, Around Us.

I watched their performance on 2012 and they never visited Indonesia again after that year (wonder why) so when I read the news of them attending K-Pop Concert by KOCCA, I tried my best to attend it. Somehow hate the fact that the free tickets were given for lucky winners because not everyone who got lucky is actual fan. 

My standard camera does not any justice for them

Anyway I was lucky enough because a good person got two of them and sold it to me for IDR 55o,000 where I got to attend the concert. Did it worth it? Yes. Very much.
However the fanmeeting session is such a mess though.

Since that day, I became active (again) on Twitter to get myself updated with their news and I am totally happy to do it!

Move along to 13 October where I almost missed a flight for the first time. Goodness, that morning was such a mess, lol. It's the last flight I had (this year?) from Surabaya to Jakarta. Yes, I ended my schedule in Surabaya (for now) because I would likely spend every Monday and Friday on train from/to Bandung.

Note: Happy 9th Anniversary, HIGHLIGHT!

16 October will always be a special date

NOVEMBER.
What do I have for November?
Well, I should write a dedicated post for this one though.

Jogjakarta is such a nice city to visit!

A trip by train from Jakarta to Jogjakarta, a flight from Jogjakarta to Bali.
Yes, I had the longest trip I ever had, starting from the evening of 17th until 25th.
Thanks Valentcia for being such a great travel partner!

Quick recap of the trip:
[]  Candi Prambanan
[] I sprained my ankle on the evening when returning from Ratu Boko
[] Merapi Sunrise Jeep Tour (but no sunrise due to weather) 
[] Puncak Becici
[] Beringharjo Market 
[] Candi Borobudur 
[] Gua Maria Sendangsono
[] Taman Sari
[] Nusa Lembongan
[] GWK Cultural Village
[] Uluwatu Temple
[] Bali Zoo
[] Ubud

Vitamin-sea, they said? But we're not into beach much actually, lol

Oh, I bought a MiTV for home and we're having fun 'playing' with the features until now.

Note: Watched a lot of movies by myself in Bandung since the mall is pretty close from where I stay. Totally recommend "Bohemian Rhapsody". And finally: the sequel of Fantastic Beasts!

Sunset from Ratu Boko

DECEMBER.
And, here we are, the last month of 2018.

The month of good movies, that's all I can say.
"Mortal Engines", "Widows", "Aquaman", "Bumblebee", "Milly & Mamet", and "Mary Poppins Returns". All of them are recommended!

(Yes, I'm not going to mention "The Possession of Hannah Grace" in one sentence because... just no.)

Congrats to Brenda for the opening of Tekofio on December! I love the Choco Red Velvet! Good luck for your little but great coffee shop. I visited there on 8 Dec with Dewi and Monica.

Trio Gemini's first meetup in 2018 at Tekofio

I read a very good (but dark) webtoon titled "An Uncomfortable Truth" that I really miss writing good stories (have I ever written a good one though? pfft).
I got stuck on train for 7+ hour on my way back to Jakarta for an annual year-end lunch/meeting on 14th.

An incomplete one but here we are anyway!

 
Visited MOJA on 22 Dec with Christopher (I only met him twice this year, no?).
Had an all-you-can-eat dimsum lunch with Monica on 23 Dec at Pluit; it's pretty delicious though.
Had another all-you-can-eat session on 28 Dec with officemates at Puri; the last working day in 2018.

Oh, I watched The Overtunes live performance on 29 Dec. The closest distance I ever had with performers -- only 2 metres, I guess. Glad that I could hear them performing live!

Note: I stay in Jakarta from 21 December to 6 January 2019, people!
 

Yep, I was this close to The Overtunes - no zoom in

 What do I feel right now after finishing this recap?

I don't write too detailed events now that I re-read them, do I?
My ankle still hurts -- because I don't really rest well; I still cough a lot for weeks now.
I want to write more.
I'm planning for the itinerary for the trips I will have in 2019 (hint: January and May).
I play Mobile Legends a lot these days.
I eat more vegetables than before nowadays! Seriously!
I think that forgiveness doesn't mean you should forget everything.
I believe trust is really, really important.
I wonder what I should do in 2019.

Well, that's a lot of stuffs in mind.
 

Taken at National Orchid Garden in Singapore

 There are a lot of tragedies happened during this year -- my deepest condolences.
Praying for everyone who went through hardships in 2018,
expecting a better 2019 for everyone.

I hope 2018 give you good lessons and happy memories to remember.
Enjoy the last day of 2018 to the fullest.

See you all in 2019!

See you next year!