Latest Posts

Current Beauty Products Vol. IV

Published by Justine

I suddenly had the urge to write about recently acquired makeup before I complete the last blog challenge. I do think I need to take better photos instead of using my iPhone on low light, because these photos don’t do justice to the products at all. Somebody (not me!) inserted the battery into the DSLR the other way around and so it’s stuck and currently unusable. Now I have to look for ways on how to remove it.

I’m quite excited about today’s post because I didn’t buy most of these things, they were given to me! At this point, people who know me well are actually willing to feed my interests so I’m more than happy to oblige. Can’t complain!

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Day 30 – What’s something not many know?

Published by Justine

I’m sort of an open book. Pretty much 90% of the time, what you see is what you get with me. The other 10%, is all sorts of jumbled up facts that I probably don’t remember and/or don’t want to share. I’m trying to pick on the insides of that 10% right now and trying to figure out what to share in this blog.

Hm. Not many know that I wanted to be a drummer so much that I took up drum lessons at one time, sometime when I was about 14? I remember being obsessed with Coldplay’s In My Place that I begged my mom to enroll me in music school. She had one condition though, that I’d also take voice lessons together with drums. I reluctantly (though happily) obliged.

I didn’t get very far, sadly (with drums!). I realized I had very minimal talent with it and that I also did not have a drum set that I could practice with at home, so that pursuit didn’t progress further than an amateur recital that I happily participated in. I guess my parents knew my interests were and still are very short-lived that I’d probably get frustrated at the instrument and call it quits after a few months, which was what exactly happened.

I did, however, tried my best to learn Coldplay’s In My Place but I don’t know if I can still play it up to know. God knows how long I’ve touched a drum set, let alone attempt to play one. It’s still a dream to be able to play drums well, but I’ve accepted the fact that it really isn’t for me.

 

Day 29 – Tell me: Are you a lefty or a righty?

Published by Justine

I am a righty. Nothing special here. I thought I was ambidextrous because I thought I could write with my left as well, but a recent attempt to prove that resulted in a joke. It was all in my head.

Sure, I can write with my left.. But it’s not nearly as good as my actual penmanship, which has been praised a lot. Heeeee. So there you go, righty girl all the way.

Day 28 – Memories: Top 5 moments in your life

Published by Justine

I will try not to think about this too much because then it will be too hard to narrow down. I have been blessed with a fruitful life and choosing the top 5 moments will be a challenge. I’ll try to make this as concise as I can as well. In no particular order..

1) Disneyland Hong Kong in 2006 (Disneyland, period!). Went there just a few months after it opened because just as all 90s kids are I am a complete Disney geek. We stayed at one of the Disney hotels and I begged my mom to take the Disney train with me from the city (everyone else took a cab) and we walked ALL the way from the train station to the hotel (didn’t take the shuttle, nothing). Needless to say I started bawling my eyes out when I reached the place. I had this weird moment where I just broke down because of happiness. I can’t wait to visit Disney America, Europe and Japan, no matter how old I am!

2) Watching my two favorite groups in the whole wide universe live in concert, 2PM and Incubus. Not at the same time, but this counts as one moment. I watched Incubus in 2008 and 2PM twice in 2011. I also had crying moments where I just couldn’t believe it all. Funny. A rock band and a K-pop group could do that to me.

3) Traveling alone by airplane for the first time at 10 years old. I was set to spend summer in the Philippines in 1998 so my mom sent me off for one of those Unaccompanied Minors program with Singapore Airlines. It was so exciting for me because every take-off and landing they would move me to first class and during transit in Singapore I was sent to this special game room for kids that are on the program and there was a mini arcade, a library.. I didn’t know such a place could exist in an airport.

4) Graduating in Australia. Even though I didn’t study there, but flying to Perth to graduate in the mothership university was surreal enough for me. It made me experience the Australian university life for a bit and share the stage with like thousands of graduates I never met once in my life. Pretty awesome.

5) This is a bit of a sensitive issue, but will always count. When my mom was having her mastectomy in Singapore I couldn’t go because I had tests in uni (I think either midterms or finals I forgot–like I said I choose to blur out a lot of those moments) and I think my parents didn’t really want me to go so I stayed back in Jakarta. During that day my two best friends, Noemi and Chino, were with me the whole day. Noemi went to church with me even though it was a Tuesday (I still remember) and after that we had lunch with Chino and they were just.. THERE for me and spent the whole day being at my side. They didn’t try to cheer me up, or make me sad, it was a normal hang out that didn’t feel loaded or pressured in any way even though I was anxious as fuck as to how my mom’s surgery would go. They may not know this and probably don’t realize it but I will ALWAYS remember that day as realizing how much of true friends they really are to me. So if any of them are reading this, thank you guys, I love you and that day was a gift to me. Thank you for being there.

Day 27 – Something you miss

Published by Justine

If you ask me, generally, I don’t miss my Jakarta life as a whole because I feel like that chapter in my life has already closed. There is a part of that life, however, that I don’t think can be really brought back anymore because of time, age, and individual priorities. It actually just happened here in Cebu, on my birthday week, and that was something I still continue to be thankful for, because it shows what kind of foundation we have as friends, but anyway, I digress.

My best friend Noemi and I live for lazy, uninterrupted weekends where we would just be in one room, do our own thing, lay in bed and waste the day. That’s something we don’t have anymore and I terribly miss it, and the main factor will always be distance. That feeling when you’re not wasting time because you’re not doing anything productive.. that’s a luxury now. Time is gold, things need to be done and life needs to be lived. I miss the times when my Jakarta barkada would spend Saturdays strolling in the mall without any proper goal (and no money, thus no shopping!), hanging out at someone’s house.. one would be playing guitar, someone would be playing video games, the girls would be gossiping, or creating funny videos but we’d all be collectively in one room, united as ever.

They say when you can find someone (or a group of people) with whom you can COMFORTABLY do nothing together with, that someone is a keeper. Whether a best friend, a lover, or just a group of friends, that’s something I truly cherish.