Three's a Charm: Three Current Obessions

Moving a few steps away from heavy topics, I want to ask: What are your current obsessions? Other than trying to keep my frizzy hair in sane shape, my current obsessions are as follows...

Jon Favreau

Yes, you've guessed it. "The Jungle Book" got me. I fell asleep watching "The Notebook" and I did not shed a tear over "PS. I love You". But I sobbed like a hungry baby during the scene of when Mowgli leaves the pack.

Kudos, Jon!

This "Curious George" inspired Woman

Obviously, my recent trip to Tanjung Puting has elevated my adoration over Dr. Birute Galdikas. And guess what is coming for me soon? My boyfriend has ordered the first copy of Reflections of Eden for me. Signed by the Dr. herself!

Stan Smith Sneakers

I am probably the last person who purchased them, I know! But it was so hard to find the right size for me. It took me almost a year! So at the moment, I am looking forward to wear them in as many events possible.

Here are some of styling tips I'd like to try: Stan Smith Styling Ideas.

Tell me yours, lovelies!

Tennis Club after this?

Three's a Charm; Three Easy Tips

We all know that health (physical and mental) is key to absolute happiness. But honestly it took me years to realize it!

Therefore, as someone who is determined to continue learning, I am sharing a few fun facts/tips that may be useful for others to read.

But first, need I remind you that this is nothing like a fashion blogger post. Because judging from my pose here... I cannot be one.

How to Look Chic

"Forget following the trend and stick with what is working for you." is the oldest trick in the book. And I love to obey. But throwing a little bit of trend here and there wont hurt. As long as  know how to carry yourself with it. If you do not have the body for a high-waist jeans and not sure if you can wear them, do not bother trying. BUT, if you want to wear them anyway, be confident about it. The way you stand will reflect in how comfortable you are and that should result in how chic you look. Or not. My friend Judith Kirana does not have that "Ideal size 10" but boy was she a stunner at all times!

At a photo shoot and being used for lighting test.

Three's a charm: Things I learned from my dogs

And am being dead serious.

Soon enough, my instagram account will be assumed as my dogs's account (Mahoni and Marilyn) as there are more pictures of them in there than mine. I personally think that they are the most interesting things that I have in my life so far and they simply are gorgeous in #selfies without having to pout. And, #nofilter needed.

And I understand fully why I am doing so. Take a closer look to why you are doing what you are doing, you may learn a thing or two. I am now realizing three main things I learned from my dogs.

(I actually am learning hundreds but let us stick with three for now)

1. They are smarter than most people I know. We know exactly what relationship with certain kind of people will bring. We know what dynamic is going to work and what is not. You know he is not the one. You know she's going to wear you down. But, trying our luck to be proven wrong, or right, we keep pushing it. You are fully aware that it's a toxic relationship, but you keep coming back for more. Because, you know, "Maybe this person will change." Or if you are lucky, maybe this is just a phase. If you are downright delusional, you will think "Maybe, my body will develop some magical immune for his or her behavior."  The worse: "I am here to change him." Who's been there? (*raise hand*confession). Mahoni (a mutt), is a smart paws. Her hunting drive tells her that snakes are dangerous. So, to date, she killed three for me. We found them falling from the trees on an empty land behind our garden. But, once Mahoni learned that chasing and biting big frogs will end up making her vomit, never once she tried to hunt them down again. "What's in it for me?" she thinks. Geckos on the other hand are fun to chase (extra benefit: strong legs, cardio) and will give no side effects. So.... 
2. Uncompromising level of discipline. Marilyn (Labrador) is obsessed with, ehm...well... everything. But most especially, food. However, no matter how hungry (she thinks) she is, after you put her filled with dog food bowl on the floor, she will sit nicely. Just sits there... until you asked her to "Shake-hand" or "High-Five" and you say "Okay!". Only then, she will finish her meal in seconds. I trained this myself. So, I was surprised to know that she behaves the same way when my sister feeds her. Or my mom, or my brother. Anyone. Raised by teachers (grandparents) discipline has always been my main course. But there were times when I was still in college, I would not come early to a class if I think "Ah, this credit is easy for me to pass.". I will only be there 15 minutes earlier if the class or the lecturer was a tough one. Even when I know my grandparents golden rule was "Always be ready in your class 15 minutes earlier before everyone else.". I took it personally, I compromised. Marilyn does not. Even if you put steak on top of her bowl to lure her already drooling saliva. 
3. Their unconditional love. If I need to explain to you about dog's unconditional love, you may want to come over to our house. 

Sleeping. Done teaching me a thing or two. 

Three's a Charm: On Panties, Make up, and PMS

A reader emailed me suggesting lighter and more feminine, personal topics for my posts. I thought about it for a while and let my draft hanging before discussing it with a dear friend. 

Loving the discussion, I then come up with the three topics below. 

Let's talk girly!

On Panties:

I love... ahem... lingerie shopping. When I am dating someone, the pleasure might kick up a notch but the main reason is simply because wearing cute, pretty, matching underwear makes me feel sexy, feminine and playful. Yes, funny for me saying this for I have renowned as a straight-face-b*tch. Thongs by far is my fave, as VPL is a no-no for ladies. And they make you look really good from... well, behind. Lacey is pretty too, especially if you wear matching bra, or bralette. And no, you do not have to have Alessandra Ambrosio's bod to rock that pink leopard g-string.

I have no personal memory with any of my collections but having heard of my friends' experience, most of them will throw away any lingerie that holds memory of one particular man the second they broke up. 

On a less sexier note, there's this one type of panties that most ladies would try to avoid (but maybe secretly swear by its comfort). That is... the cursed-you-better-not-be-seen-by-your-man-wearing-them period (a.k.a grandma) panties! Yes, the cotton made ,very supportive panties that gives such comfort to your bloated belly by hugging them just right during that time of the month.

I do not have any advice on what to do to historic underwear. But, here's a solution to avoid feeling horribly not sexy when you have to wear period panties: get cute prints!

What's your yay and nay on underwear? Any lingerie that's so memorable for you because of its conquest with someone? Do you talk about this with your partner?

On Make up:

Because I am nothing like any cover girl that looks adorable in their #Iwokeuplikethis instagram post, I wear make up everyday. The must items are just the basic moisturized and light BB cream by L'OCCITANE (note: always go one tone darker), dark brown eye liner, eye brow pencil, and lipstick; this pop pink peony for day time and two ton tomato red for evening wear. I only apply blush on and mascara when I feel the need to dress up, which explains why my Tarte cheek -Amazonian clay (only 26USD!) and mascara can last for about a year... bad or good?! I barely put eye-shadow as I always feel like my face is a painter's palette when I do. Any advice?

For daily routine, I just wash my face with soap. And by soap, I mean any kind of soap. And even though I keep trying to discipline myself to apply night cream before going to bed... I keep forgetting the ritual. This, is the reason why I have 3 jars of night cream in my dresser. But I drink tons of water everyday, and I do not smoke as I can see how much it will add years to your skin. So I think I am not that bad anyway.

Will I ever respond to the calling of botox when I get older? Well I hope not, but maybe I would try putting some neck cream every now and then from now on. 

On PMS.

Oh boy. How many times have you heard someone saying "Oh, it must be that time of the month." when you snap, or putting on a long face or when you're unleashing the inner monster in you. Period is just a sign of women' s body doing its function, and it involves hormones talking (sometimes raging). But girlfriends, let us stop making this as an excuse. "I am PMSing, so do not mess with me." or "I am in shark mode, so understand if I am rude."

There are certain diets and or exercise that we can practice to minimize the pain, and to make us feel less cranky, bloated and shark-like. I praise on painkillers when the cramp is unbearably bad. But let's face it, women from many generations before us did not make this as an excuse to not discover radium, or to not becoming a legendary writer (think Harper Lee who just announced her 2nd book at the age of 88). I also doubt that female astronauts whine about period cramps. And let us not mention Margaret Thatcher. 

The only time that we can make PMS as an excuse is when we want to order two desserts *wink.

It may be a wishful thinking to hope that one day no one will ever say that annoying line, but at least, for me... If I am being a b*tch to you, it's because I do not like you. Does not matter if I am shedding blood down there or not. 
Period.

Read this 7 years ago and will re read this year.

Three's a Charm; On woman's body, sexual orientation and career

Remember this Three's A Charm feature I used to diligently post?
Good to be back now, today, with three random stuffs I hope you can leisurely read.

On my very own body.

Truth be told. I used to feel bad about my not so toned belly, chubby cheeks, and my somewhat flat a$$. Yep, I typed them. Thanks to countless of bottoms up G&T (try count the calories!) and nasi padang and late-night peanut butter sandwiches (sometimes, just sometimes, with Nutella).

Now, I do not care that much. I am healthy, have a good appetite and can actually eat almost anything I want. I do not have Gisele Bündchen's legs but I kick 5km of asphalt every morning, and I can still sport my bikini. 
And let's be honest...no one... no one is really paying attention to you at the beach (you are not Kate Upton). So why the fuss?

So... It saddens me how women today can still be so obsessed about the type of body they have and forgetting to have fun, enjoy their families, explore friendships, read, have opinions on stuff that really matters (like how to whistle, your next president, whatever happened to Amelia Earhart ...). 
"Are you an apple bottom or a pear?" a friend asked me when I rave about that new GAP jeans I have been eyeing. "Oh, I like neither..." But wait, are we talking about fruits here?
"I am a banana kinda girl." I say. Not sure she's getting that I suddenly am thinking about breakfast.

Put my friend aside. Do we not know that other than being a bikini model (which I admire too at some point) we can also be an amazing Mama, a kick-ass leader, a marine biologist, (a marine!), Astronauts, a cartoonist, or at least, pretend that you are that kinda girl that reads Huffington Post every morning? 
Do you know that ranting "Ugh, I have had too much to eat today" as a caption to your photo of a dish is not going to make you any healthier? (And, it was a picture of a dish with a chunk of foies gras, the reason why I am re thinking of my friendship with you. Animal cruelty is not cool, really.)

I just read this article and am now more inspired than ever in loving my imperfections... 
Well said, girlfriend.

On sexual orientation.

I have more and more gay friends every year now. From both lanes. Some been in long-time relationships, some are still in the closet when it comes to parents. But they are my friends. They are there to laugh and cry with me. Most of my gay friends are a far more of a gentleman than any pick-up-liner I met at parties and or clubs (surprise, surprise?). They offer me seats, hold the door for me, pay me movie tickets instead of treating me cheap beers. My lesbian friends can be so honest you will be afraid asking them for their opinions. But they are there. No offense to my heterosexual buddies here.
They can be confused, they can feel rejected, but in the midst of it, they can always call me for a chat, joke, rants and what not... and suddenly, you do not  really remember anymore about them being straight or gay. It matters not.

And hear this. My gay best friend on “gay relationship” : “We shy away from awkwardness, we are hopeless when we fall in love, our heart breaks to pieces when love crash and burn, we gossip, we nag, we demand, we ask for labels or we resist them. We fight, make up and go on dates.” 
Sounds like every heterosexual relationships we know, yes?         

So, my dear friend... The answer is NO, it does  not change the way I see you. It does not make me love you less. For I am more leaned in to your orientation about yourself, your goals and your approach in everyday life than whatever is happening in your bedroom. 

On Career.

I am not a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. I am not a brain surgeon. I am not in search of cure for cancer. No one is going to die if I do not scroll down my emails every 30 minutes. I can enjoy meals without my smart phone on the table.

The only medical act I have successfully performed was fixing a broken wing of a little bird, with the help of my orthopedic surgeon uncle (guess we all know who did the work there).

Sure one can always justify countless of long hours night at work, or brag about them! If that makes you happy, I am cheering for you. But once you started questioning yourself about whether or not this is how you want to be remembered of you when you die... maybe, a change is needed. 
Time frame, the company, the industry, your position, your route to and from work, or your pen holder on the table. Any change, but a change.

One beautiful mind once said “Do not let your legacy die behind corporate desk.” And it got into me... deep. I have been raving (to myself) about this one dream of mine. And no one is going to do it for me. I have to make the move, the changes, going through the headaches (new kind of migraines) and sleepless nights to make this happen.

And it is taking its remarkably slow but obvious steps... :) 

Have you been there?

Refinery 29

Three's a Charm: Going down there

Thrilled to share a few things from my recent trip to the land down under. It was a pure work-trip though, but I was lucky enough to experience these....:

I got invited by a wonderful,sweet, and talented interior designer/writer, Lynn Malone and her partner Donna to their apartment in Sydney. Lynn initially set this giant Andy Warhol book to be opened on Marilyn Monroe's pages for my eyes to caught as I walked in! A few days earlier at a charity event, I did mention to her about  my adoration in Monroe... Just couldn't believe how she listened and actually care enough to make a sweet touch for her guest. I of course,did  not miss this opportunity to pose for a shot. Thank you sweet ladies!

My jaw dropped! Ol' Blue eyes Frank Sinatra performed here ages ago at this bar by Orwell street! I almost gave the door-handle a kiss:).
(Please excuse my so-called smartphone photo quality).

Last but not least, a little reunion with a sweet friend I have not seen in years. The last time we met was almost 4 years ago, on her wedding day to be exact. And Lia is now a super busy Momma with 2 cheeky boys!

Three's a Charm; Three Years in Bali

You and I both knows, time flies. Like in a speed of a bullet.

And without me realizing it, this week marks my 3rd year of living in Bali with its hundredth of gods. Surprise, surprise, #3 is one of my favorite number, next to #7. So without further ado,  here's me trying to wrap my three years in three highlights.

Note: This post may sound spiritual, so if you are one of those half-hearten man (which is fine by me), you can skip it.

Generally, I am a healthy person and been blessed with it. I do not smoke, I always have a good metabolism and my drinking nights are becoming less and less and even getting close to nothing... But, I got seriously sick at the end of last year. To talk about the details of what causing it is not my idea of a paragraph here, but what I want to share is that I did have a near-death experience. Yes. I lost too many blood and... one day early in the morning as I was laying in my bed for recovery, I was slipping away from my body as my feet started to get very very cold... the cold and shivers went up to my upper body and everything gets dark. So that was my first (and oh God please make it the last) ambulance experience, and my anxious drama of being one blood transfusion patient. If the ambulance arrived another minute too late, you would not be reading this:).
People say I appeared to be strong at that time, but little did anyone else know that it freaked me out to the smallest nerves in my body. Today, as cliche as it sounds, I am embracing life and health even-more. There's nothing I fear about death...to be honest. But to depart without knowing whether or not you have fulfilled your destiny? I do not think I am there yet, so maybe I am given another chance.

With a crystal clear memory, I remember, on my first year, My strong, dutch-influenced Grandma made a comment about my kost (boarding house), "Well, this room is fancy. I bet you would only need to add just a little amount of money to pay for a mortgage every month, and the house can be yours. What you are doing for convenience now is just making someone else rich. And that someone is obviously not you."

Today, as I officially am a house owner, I have to admit that it was my grandma who have made a push to my longtime dream. I now have to work twice as hard with the mortgage, but I know if God took me this far already, He shall never abandon me. Amen.

And last. Here's something I have been trying not to mention as often... I want to be a mother someday. For it not to happen in my 3 years in Bali obviously is part of the plan on how I have got this far, but still, the question remains. Last week, I was watching my dogs  as they were falling fast asleep on my bedroom floor. There was this aching feeling inside, realizing how much I love them! And it got into me... If I can have this crazy feeling about dogs, what am I going to feel about my own child, my flesh and blood? What it feels like to love someone more than your very self? To have a gut-wrenching and full-to-the rim feeling of wanting to make sure they are all alright? You know, even typing this down make my heart hurts:'). Bali surrounds me with its magical charm and enchanting charisma the past three years, it also has introduced me with friends who are wonderful parents. I sometimes get jealous of them, there goes another confession... But if I have to wait for even three more years before I can smell that baby's breath under my nose... as long as it will happen under Your will, God. I shall wait.

Pinterest

Three's a Charm; More Friends

Cindy and I. We met at a party on my first year in Bali. A year-and a-half later, I joined the company Cindy is working at and our friendship gone stronger, even-though we are now working in a different place.  She is a Cap too, with almost zero similarities with me in terms of love life. I adore her sweet soul and how she always believe in falling in love wholeheartedly, topsy turvy!

Chyntia. Almost like a sist. Been almost 10 years since we crossed path at JW Marriott Jakarta. One of the most strong-headed person I know in life. My first year in Bali was fun-filled with our sun-baking time, before she got married and move back to Jakarta. Her faith and spirit is contagious, chatty (which is why we fit because I am more of a quiet person. Trust me, I share more in writings than in real conversations!)

Aya. This was taken at the recent mock wedding video shooting last week. We do not really hang out but it was a job in Jakarta, back in 2005 that hitched us. We are now working in the same hotel again, laughing on our funny memories back then. She is now a mama of one toddler.

Three's a Charm; Best hang and convo

Here's another post for our Three's a Charm feature that seems to be often forgotten. This time, pictures of people (and pet) I always love to hang and to converse with. Of course there are other sweethearts but I will save them for another day.

My sister Benevolent

My baby lab Marilyn. She.gets.me :)

My bestie (esp. when it comes to culinary trip) Ria

Three's a charm: Birthday Cakes

So I got 3 cakes on my birthday this year! How lucky... I have a strong feeling that this is going to be a good good year :)

Not the real pic. But it was something like this. A surprise that I need to keep as a secret :)

From team, friends at the office who sang an off key but very sweet Happy Birthday

Dinner at Mama san with friends. A sweet surprise at the end of the meal.

Three's a Charm : Travel

This time, my top 3 pictures will be from the recent traveling routes. In random order.

Empty seats next to me!

Clear water lake :)

Spotting a street with the name of my Nephew!

Three's a Charm ; Friends

Time to post the top 3 favorite pictures again! This time, I am sharing a few pictures of my friends and I . All are taken within this particular week. 

Olvie and I

With Silvia in one of our Quiz Nite at this bar we visit every Thursday

Yosi, me and Ria at our Odalan Ceremony

Three's a Charm ; Food and lifestyle

Oh if only I can cut down on you, my dear Caffeine : )

Eat frequently of you ,

And make a more often use of you,

Three's a Charm ; Beach

Here are the top 3 pictures I like (from this afternoon at the beach :))

I secretly named him Bingo

The Blogger

Three kites flying over three coconut trees :)