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2017 So Far

I started 2017 very late because earlier this year I contracted Dengue Fever and had to stay in bed for almost two weeks. We were in Pesawaran at my in-laws’ place for the long holiday and I got ill just 2 days before our schedule to go back to Bandung. We had bought the bus tickets & there was no way we could reschedule it, so I had to bear the 24 hours bus ride home while also being super sick & having no appetite at all. It was a torture 🙁

But I’m all well now & I’ve started working again this week. The hoouse is no longer a mess & the cats are all happy because their litter boxes are cleaned regularly again (husband kept forgetting to clean it hahah)

Speaking of cats… My dad adopted a little kitten two months ago. We call her Ungil (literally means Smol). She is the kitten of either Ojon or Omin (Jessi’s stray brothers) & a female cat that lives in my parents’ neighbourhood. She was abandoned by her mother since she was very little, so she still lacks basic cat skills like using the litterbox & grooming. Because of that, she has been staying with us so that she can interact with Jessi & Chop-Chop. Jessi hates her, obviously, but Chop-Chop took her like his own kitten. They play chase all night & Ungil has learnt how to groom herself from Chop-Chop.

I don’t make a formal list of resolutions for 2017, but I will try to read more books this year. I didn’t read many books in 2016 & I honestly didn’t feel like myself because of that. I used to finish at least one book a month, so for this year I promise myself that I’m gonna finish at least 12 books.

Happy 2017!

Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

19 January 2017
Cut it loose.

During the lowest part of my quarter-life crisis, around November 2016, I had an epiphany that I needed to start burning bridges. Which bridges? you might ask. Well, the bridges between me & several people.

2016 taught me that I’m responsible with my own happiness. Nobody else has the duty to make me happy; it’s only me. So I made a list of things that made me unhappy & surprisingly, certain names appeared on my list.

Then I realised that it was finally time to burn bridges. And I guess that’s perfectly okay. It’s okay to severe the tie with the people who no longer contribute to your growth. If those people can think that they’re allowed to bring you down, well you’re allowed to free yourself from them. It may not be easy, but it’s necessary.

2017 will be the year of meaningful & positive relationships.

1 January 2017
Hello world… sort of.

Semalem aku nemu postingan di Instagram tentang challenge ngeblog di Instagram tiap hari selama 30 hari di bulan Januari nanti.

Ngeblog.

Di Instagram.

Like, why?

Tapi kemudian aku mikir-mikir lagi & ngebandingin antara akun Instagram-ku (@darlaoct) dengan blog yang udah aku urus sejak 2009 (holadarla.com), mana yang lebih rajin di-update? Unsurprisingly: Instagram.

Instagram itu praktis, tinggal snap, tulis caption, lalu upload. Semua bisa dilakukan dalam satu genggaman.

Bandingin sama blog (Blogger, lebih tepatnya) yang kudu dibuka di laptop. Mau masukin foto kudu impor dulu dari kamera/HP. Ribet. Aku dulu rajin ngeblog; dalam sehari bisa sampe 3x posting (jaman alay lol ?). Sekarang mah the thought of turning on the laptop aja udah bikin bergidik. Malesss…

Tapi aku masih gak nyaman nulis caption Instagram panjang-panjang, let alone baca punya orang.

Jadi dalam waktu yang sangat singkat, suami SIAGA (siap antar jaga) langsung nge-setup darlaoct.com, blogku yang baru, yang pake self-hosted WordPress (entahlah apa ini aku juga gak begitu paham haha). Pake WordPress ini rada enakan lah… Mobile app-nya sangat friendly, berasa pake app-nya Tumblr.

Jadi, “Hello world!” Aku bikin blog lagi. Dan dalam rangka grand launching ini (?), aku mau ikutan challenge 30 hari menulis itu. Tapi di blog ini, tentunya.

Selamat membaca! ?

31 December 2016
Thank You, 2016. And Good Bye!

We all agree that 2016 has been very hard for most of us, but I’m not gonna lie; 2016 has plenty wonderful things too.

It’s the year I met Chop-Chop. It’s the year I went through my quarter life crisis. It’s the year of good movies. It’s the year that my blog grows in terms of sponsorship.

It’s been a challenging year, but surely God knows what we are worth and how strong we are, and look at us now! We’re alive. We’re breathing. And that’s the most important thing to be grateful for.

I’ve made several plans for 2017, but mostly I’ll leave it up to fate. Wherever 2017 will take me, I’m ready to adjust my sail. If 2016 has taught me a thing, it’s to not force anything.

Have a nice holiday & a happy new year!

Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

25 December 2016
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Movie Review

Rogue One hasn’t even been in the cinema for one week and yet I have seen it twice. TWICE! That’s how obsessed I am. That’s how awesome it is. That’s how wonderful it is to be alive in this era; an era in which we get one Star Wars movie each year.

That’s why no matter how I try, I don’t think this post will be spoiler-free. I’M STILL TOO EXCITED!

As I said in the previous post, I knew next to nothing about Rogue One before watching it on its premier date. Turns out, it wasn’t a big deal at all. When I went to watch it for the second time, I brought along my little sister who hasn’t watched any Star Wars movie. She asked a few questions during the movie, but overall the story is very easy to follow.

Rogue One was based on that one line in the crawl at the opening of A New Hope. It tells a story about how the Rebellions get a hold on the Death Star plans. It also explains why Death Star has a ridiculous flaw in its design. One of the scientists who help to build the Death Star is Galen Erso. At the beginning of the movie, he was living in hiding with his family, but he was caught. His wife was killed and his young daughter escaped. He surrendered then agreed to work on the Death Star. He intentionally put that flaw as a revenge. When the Death Star is almost finished, he sends a message to Saw Gerrera and his daughter, Jyn Erso, telling them about the flaw. She then sets off on a mission to steal the plan from the Empire’s data bank (or sort of; I forget the name lol). They successfully get the plan and transmit it to the Rebellions before they… *SPOILER!!!!* are blown up by the Death Star, along with the whole planet. The movie ends with Darth Vader chases after the rebels who retrieve the plans then hand them to (young!) Princess Leia; just a few minutes before the opening scene of A New Hope. (I’m not gonna talk about how I squealed like a little girl when I saw young Princess Leia.)

Saying this movie is amazing is perhaps a great understatement. Because it’s beyond amazing. I’m mesmerised by how modern technology can make this movie possible, what with Tarkin and Leia, while also maintain silly low-tech things that we can see in the original trilogy, e.g. wired headphones. I also love how they kill everyone while also give each death a meaning. They all die for a better future. That last scene on the beach when Jyn and Cassian hug is so beautifully wrecking. We can see how deep their love for each other is; they just met, then they decided to trust & fight alongside each other.

Rogue One is 100% heartbreaking, yet you’ll love it. You will absolutely love it.

Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

19 December 2016