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  • Murders and More Murders: 4 TV Shows I’m Currently Obsessed With

    1. Motive

    Motive TV Series | Hola Darla
    I stumbled across this Canadian TV series while browsing through channels, trying to find CSI or Law and Order. Neither of them was showing, so I decided to give Motive a try. I instantly fell in love with how the story is delivered. In most of the episodes in general crime or detective series, we get to be detectives ourselves and guess who is the killer. Motive, on the other hand, tells us who is the killer and who is the victim right from the beginning of each episode. The story then tells us how the detectives put the clues together to find out who is the killer and what is their motive (hence the title) using a back-and-forth storyline. It’s a fresh twist for my thirst for crime/detective series. If you know me, you’d already know that I’m a sucker for murders, blood, and all other detective stuff (Agatha Christie basically ‘converted’ me when I was 12). I’ve always been a huge fan of CSI and Law and Order, but Motive has become #1 on my list.

    2. Sense8

    Sense8 | Hola Darla
    My husband introduced me to Sense8 when it was released, but I found that the pilot episode was not interesting. However, I then gave it another try a few weeks later and it turns out to be one of the best sci-fi TV series I’ve ever seen. The story is about 8 people (‘sensates’) who have some sort of connections with each other. They can feel, see, taste, and basically sense everything that the others sense. The pilot introduces all those 8 characters and that was the cause of my initial confusion-turned-to-boredom, but starting from episode 2 we get to see deeper stories about each character and my confusion faded away. Sense8 is funny, thrilling, and full of action. You will love this one 😉

    3. Dexter

    Dexter Season 1 | Hola Darla
    One of the perks of watching a TV shows that are no longer airing is you can binge watch all you want without having to wait for newer episodes to air. I watched the final season of Dexter when it was aired on Fox Crime (or AXN?) and I decided to buy the first season DVD. I’m almost done with it now; just 2 more episodes left.

    4. Jessica Jones

    Marvel's Jessica Jones | Hola Darla
    I must admit that I haven’t read any JJ comics. I had no idea who she was before watching this series. Well, I still have no idea what her role in the Marvel universe is, but I know that she is badass. Being a huge fan of Veronica Mars, I found Krysten Ritter playing a PI hilarious. My first thought after finding that Jessica Jones has similar neo-noir genre like Veronica Mars was “Look at that. Gina Goodman pretending to be Veronica!” The series itself is quite boring. I think it is too slow-paced. Kilgrave is a promising enemy and his power seems so scary at first, but as the series progresses, Kilgrave’s power looks less and less scary. It’s a good show, but not good enough to make me want to rewatch the whole season.

    Images from 1/2/3/4

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • Being a Wife

    Afief & Dara - Blog Miss DaraA few days ago, my husband had a high fever. His temperature was very high that even his palms were hot. I was super worried and I did a bad mistake: googling his symptoms. Google gave two illnesses that matched the symptoms: dengue fever and typhus. Those two illnesses can be very dangerous and the patient may have to be hospitalised. Both can end up in death too. I was shocked and panicked.

    I texted my mother in the middle of the night out of frustration. The next morning, she and Dad came to our place and drove us to the nearest clinic. Turned out, my husband only had a cold and common fever. I was thankful but also embarrassed for being panicked.

    During our marriage, my husband had fallen ill several times, but he’d never had a fever that high. I couldn’t sleep that night. I watched him sleep and my mind wandered and thought of the worst thing possible. He pushed himself too hard on his job. He sits in front of the computer at work all day, and when he comes home he will also sit in front of his laptop up until it’s time for bed. Coding is both his job and his hobby, so it’s kind of hard to pull him apart from his laptop. Should I drag him into a new hobby? Gardening, perhaps? (According to Red, it’s therapeutic. Haha!)

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • Life Lately

    Hello! This lazy blogger is finally back again! Where have I been, you might ask (or not)? Nowhere in particular. I just caught up with this whole commuting thing. Living an hour away from the city where we work makes the commute time take most of our time, I guess. There’s a lot of things I could have done instead of sitting behind my husband on our daily motorcycle ride to the city doing nothing. It’s been almost 10 months but I’ve just realised about this time consuming commute these past weeks. I love the house where we live in and the neighbourhood and the small town, but perhaps we need a place closer to the city. There’s still a lot to figure out.

    Well, anyway… It’s October again! It’s my and this blog’s birthday this month. I had planned to throw a blog birthday party by holding a giveaway, but life got in the way and I didn’t finish the planning. Next year, I promise 😉
    Tutoring | Hola Darla
    Miss Jess | Hola Darla
    Laskar Pelangi + Cappuccino | Hola Darla
    Mirror Selfie Using Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime | Hola Darla

    While I was away:

    • I started tutoring again! After months without explaining grammar and reading strategies, this brain can finally breathe again. I teach two boys and one girl on two separate tutoring schedules. I’ve missed being called “Miss Dara” by students 😉
    • I’ve been craving for novels and reading materials. And because money is really tight this month, I finally started reading Laskar Pelangi, a novel that I actually bought in 2008 but never read up until now. Crazy, huh? Haha!
    • I bought a new phone! It’s a Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime (a review coming up soon). It’s a mid-range phone and not too pricey, but it’s the reason why money is really tight this month.

    How are you?

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • Forgiveness

    Line Chat | Hola Darla
    Six years ago, I got into a huge fight with a girl on Facebook. I called her “slut”. She was an ex of my (then) boyfriend who wouldn’t stop texting him. I was so annoyed by her presence and I got super mad. After several weeks, we started insulting each other on Facebook. When I finally had had enough, I posted that stupid status calling her that horrible, horrible thing. I was 18 back then, on my first semester of uni. I was a stupid teenager and didn’t think forward. I regretted it in an instant, but the damage was already done.

    Two years later, I tried to apologise to her. I felt I had grown more mature and after carrying the burden of regret for two years, I finally had the courage to apologise. She responded in a cold manner. She said she accepted my apology but I knew for sure I had hurt her too deep. We didn’t keep in touch after that.

    Until a few days ago, on 18 September (always a surprising day), she added me on LINE. We finally talked after four years. I was surprised yet very happy. The burden of regret was lifted and I can walk a little lighter today. I’m so thankful for her forgiveness and if she were here, I would hug her tightly.

    Thank you, thank you, thank you.

    “A thousand friends are too few; one enemy is too many.”
    – Turkish proverb

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • The Age of Adaline

    The Age of Adaline movie poster | Hola Darla
    The Age of Adaline was released on 24 April, but I just watched it last week. I wasn’t very interested at first, as I’m not usually into sappy romance (I’m more of a rom-com lady), but my husband insisted (my husband insisted, can you believe it? Haha!). So I made some popcorn and then we watched it together.

    The Age of Adaline is told in a fairy tale-like narration, using a deep male voice as the narrator. It tells a story about Adaline (Blake Lively), who stops ageing after dying in a car crash and then resurrected by a lightning. She stays being 29 years old, even after eight decades have passed her by. She is forced to keep it as a secret after several government institutions want to take her in and turn her into an experiment object. The only person who knows about this secret is his daughter, Flemming (Ellen Burstyn), who at some point grows older than her own mother. Because of this secret, Adaline can’t be close to anyone. She has to move and change her identity every decade. For several decades, everything seems to be under control, until she meets Ellis (Michiel Huisman; Cal in Orphan Black!). She is hesitant to open up to Ellis at first, but they grow closer and closer, up to the point where Ellis takes Adaline to his parents’ anniversary party. Turns out, Ellis’ father (Harrison Ford) is a man with whom Adaline had a relationship a few decades ago. Back then, she left him when she saw that he was going to propose to her. From that moment on, Adaline has to decide what she really wants.
    Adaline and William | Hola Darla
    While the story itself is not really interesting for me, I really appreciate the casting department of this movie for choosing Anthony Ingruber to play the younger version of Harrison Ford’s character, William. You might have read this statement in other blogs and websites, but… Dude! He totally looks like a young Harrison Ford!
    Adaline and her dog | Hola Darla
    Back to actually talking about the movie: Turns out, it’s not a sappy movie (or so I think). Although it’s kind of tragic, Adaline’s attitude makes it hard for me to be sad for her and/or pity her. I don’t know if it’s the quality of Blake Lively’s acting or the story writing that makes me feel this way. At the end of the movie, I only sympathize Flemming and I’m sad for the old dog. It’s a shame because the premise and the trailer were actually good.

    I’d give The Age of Adaline 2.5 out of 5 stars.

    Oh and favourite quote:
    Favourite quote from The Age of Adaline | Hola Darla
    Have you seen The Age of Adaline? What do you think about it?

    Images via 1/2/3/4

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