Creativity, Design & Style

Divide Blue

by Azis AbdulLeave a Comment on Divide Blue

 

.

.

There was one colour popped out in my mind when I was about to repaint my room. It is one of my comfort colours after black and white; dark grey. I always find it classy and soothing. But I changed my mind.

Dark blue came as an option and ended with a colour accident. I got the blue (well, I didn’t go to get the paint. I wish I could that day), the blue was okay, it was quite dark but bright enough for a room. I worried if it was too dark it wouldn’t bring a good mood in the morning when the sunshine falls on it.

I always found the white before was great cause it was easy on the eye, versatile, and clean. Okay, the day to apply the blue I had to face one issue: it was not enough for one wall. I just wanted only one wall and the rest would be repainted on white. Long story short, I got somebody to get one more tin with the wrong blue which was ridiculous (he didn’t even bring the code to the store, Lord). I sent him again and got the same blue. Walla ;), the same blue looked different when I was applying on the first blue. Another issue. Problem solved by quick thinking: I mixed the wrong + the right blue and ended looking like the blue on Ed Sheeran’s Divide Album cover.

I found it was such a step from my comfort colour. It doesn’t look bad, does it?

I have two things to do every Sunday morning for this room: cleaning is compulsory, rearranging those things every week refreshes the look.

.

Food Lodge, Recipes

Lazy Breakfast

by Azis AbdulLeave a Comment on Lazy Breakfast

When I was checking the date I took these photographs, I gasped a bit, ten days ago?

~

I actually woke up with a will to make a happier day. That morning was cold after rain but thank God, the sunshine came through my windows. Of course I dreamt to be on the bed for a whole day but again, no free lunch.

.

I do love preparing my breakfast like a normal human being. If I have to leave my apartment for work outside like 2 to 3 days you could imagine how bad I have to manage my meal. As long as I have a nine-to-six schedule that day, I’ll start building my mood with a cup of hot coffee, decent breakfast, favorite songs on my playlist called Morning Boosters.

.

Travel

Two Nights At

by Azis AbdulLeave a Comment on Two Nights At

Back to where I spent two nights in November last year.

~

Even this sounds mainstream but Ubud will always be one of my favorite getaway destinations.

Ubud always has my heart. Last year after I had a very hectic, if this is another word to replace a hard time, I flew to Bali for five days and decided to respect myself by ran from affordable hostel to a little fancy private room. It’s called AIR Ubud, an artistic Airbnb (it was a second time after my first try of Airbnb in Cape Town) located at Jalan Kanjeng. It’s near downtown Ubud, but getting there a bit tricky at the beginning. Thanks to the host whose quick response was helpful.

I stayed only for two nights which later I felt the regret. Not because it was too short, but my plan to do nothing was totally failed. I was on vacation but had to do some design concepts for one renowned brand for their annual biggest concert. I had no choice but did the work for the office. Although the room was so cosy and gave me good energy to finish the work, I finally squeezed myself for having a me-time.

My me-time was set on the last night till the next morning before I checked out. I finished my work early morning on the second day (ofc after I did sleep for three to four hours only) so I could have my nap. If you see the bed, you’ll understand why it was calling my name. Taking a proper nap when I’m having a vacation is one of the favorite things to do. Walking to Ubud downtown looking for lunch was the next thing I did, it wasn’t long of course cause it’s mandatory to relax in a beautiful place like AIR. Why bother leaving your room?

.

.

I later had to tell myself on my way back coming to a restaurant nearby. I had Balinese mixed rice with a view the day before, rather than I came back with nothing, just in case I starved at midnight, I packed vegan fried rice (vegan, me? not now :)). It’s not funny to look for food while the location is a bit remote. The day became dark and as far as I remember, walking through the rice field was relaxing. Near the alley I had to pass, I found a torchlight rayed a spot on the ground which later I knew it was a little frog. Marian, a friendly lady from Spain, was the one who answered my curiosity about what someone did with a frog. From there, we spoke and shared some stories until the next day we had breakfast at the Cat Cafe. She travelled to some cities in Indonesia then (she was in Borneo to see Orang Utan. I should consider putting Borneo for a future destination).

.

.

I came back to my room, having a packed dinner on the floor when I was on Skype with Andreas, and the rain was pouring outside.

.

.

.

“I did find myself feeling comfortable when I stepped my feet in front of my room for the first time, I said, “It’s perfect”.

Perhaps, I should have stayed one night longer”

.

.

Travel

Canggu

by Azis AbdulLeave a Comment on Canggu

.

I was in between two things for the rest of my stay in Surabaya. Staying in the house, shopping some last minute needs, coffee hopping with friends. Or quick escape for the sound of the ocean, sunset at the beach, a little fancy food, alone. I had dreamed of spending three days in Lombok since my new friend, Hayyi, stays in Lombok. But that time, it didn’t go well. In my fickle heart, I picked the second option to Canggu: booked a return ticket and a $5 new hostel two days before departure (counted as a little present for myself after I passed my German Prüfung).

I did mostly nothing: napping, 5pm to the beach, 7am sitting at Avocado Factory and Shady Shack on the next day, cookies ice cream at Kynd Community, affordable Javanese food in between, looking at all those strangers with dogs happily running around by the water at the beach, back to Pison for a hot cappuccino before flying back to Surabaya.

The most favorite part of my quick escape: witnessing the glory of the sunset while thinking about life.

. 

.

~

“I came as the first. It has a rice field right in front of the small space where I ended sitting with a bowl of greens, vegan chocolate mousse, and a cup of matcha made in heaven. It was a perfect way to start a morning in Canggu.”

.

.

.

~

“I sat alone on the balcony at Pison. An afternoon wind was quietly chilled. I opened a book and read a few pages, I looked at my wrist watch when I finished with my meal and left a little coffee in the cup.”

.

.

.

~

“Two nights at Socialista Hostel Canggu where it was easy to reach the nearest beach and felt the breeze of the ocean. Thinking about life, about most things I experienced lately. That was the main reason why I grabbed my bag and did a very short runaway”

.

.

.

~

“Updating sugar dose on one fine afternoon at Kynd”

.

.

.

~

“At Shady Shack, I had a blueberry smoothie bowl with pineapple smoothie on my last morning after reading some pages of a current book I was having. The sunshine was bright before turned into grey with a little drizzle from above”

.

.

.

~

“And I got what I imagined and expected for, two sunsets on my two evenings at the beach. When I was staring at the gift from the universe, I  felt there are so many things to be grateful for this worth living life.”

.

.

Friendship, Journeys

Einem Deutschkurs Und Neue Freunde

by Azis AbdulLeave a Comment on Einem Deutschkurs Und Neue Freunde

.

Soll ich im Deutsch schreiben? 

.

I’ve been neglecting this blog for almost two months (that’s pretty bad) but right now I’d like to share some new life updates!

If you scroll to the last two posts, you’ll find “This time around, my time would be a little longer”. That means I have three months in Indonesia to be exact. Having such an opportunity to stay longer to finish a few things I’d been dreaming of comes to two things. One, you’ll never have enough time if you can’t cleverly manage to accomplish your goals. I did try from the first day I arrived even though it wasn’t such a pleasant time. I was sick from the day I travelled until it got worse when landed. I had to tweak my plan for three nights stay at the hotel from “I just wanted to laze a whole day as a reward” to “holy crap all my systems are weak, a fluffy white blanket couldn’t even warm me up”. Two, to enjoy every second of the day is a wise thing.

I do realize every time it comes to end: it is always hard. Here’s the middle of April, that means I would soon be back to reality. Do I feel a bit maudlin? Yes, I do. Am I ready to be back to my daily routine? Well, I have to.

There are three major things that I put as goals for these three months. Thankfully, two have accomplished and one is still on. What is still on? It’s for my tiny house! Why was I so excited even though it was quite exhausting? Because I’d neglected it for more than two years ;|. I have finally started building the back part of the house where my little kitchen would be, my little ‘hopefully it would turn simply stylish’ bathroom as I thought, and the remaining space where I would have my dining room. Then what were the two?

The two were some mixed feeling of happiness and sadness. One, I finally made a spiritual trip to the holy Mecca last month which I would share the story on a separated post. Another one was I finally attended a German course while I’m here! It was a very basic A1 course which made me excitingly realize, learning a new language was stressfully fun. Stressful in a very good way, ofc.

The course itself was 4+ hours von Montag bis Freitag for almost two months. The class for me personally was perfect: there were just 9 students and that made our Super Intensive Class became very intensive. Apart from the main thing I liked when learning German (read: when I had to push my brain to follow the lessons, it’s a good thing when your brain is always being challenged, isn’t it?) I felt glücklich for all the eight new friends in the class and our teacher, Frau Yusi. All of us were pretty close and that was a great vibe if I may say.

.

.

On the first day I came, I was quite surprised by the fact that most of them already had their plans on what to reach in Germany. That was impressive, isn’t it? If you are wondering “how about me”, I honestly thought about having my Master Degree in Germany (fingers crossed) in the next two years (Ich hoffe nächste Jahr! *fingerscrossedagain). So I took a chance to learn the basic which I’m still struggling on the Grammatik and German Artikels as a first step to reach later on I called my next dream. Forty-plus days have gone so fast and it led to the time we’d planned as a lovely Mittagessenzeit two days ago :)

.

.

Rather than starting the maudlin vibe here, it’s much better to share more photographs during our time together for the sake of beautiful memory.

.

.

I’ll miss how hilarious Firman truly is, how impatiently Hayyi to Frau Endang ;), funny words from Klein, sharing laughter with Ivan, Ratri and Frau Yusi. Oh, I couldn’t resist attaching Tika & Adit’s last photograph again, I’m surely going to miss this cute young married couple ;)

.

.

.

~

When I woke up yesterday morning, I already missed my schedule when I was still in the course. The games in the class, stupid jokes, impromptu trips, täglich Hausaufgaben, fun times after class from culinary hunting till crazy vibe in the karaoke room (I was glad we made the time to do that, Van!), all were pretty unforgettable.

~

.

There are so much to learn and I’m really looking forward to planning to the next grade hopefully next year. Apart from the main reason to reach the next dream to study in Germany, to be able to speak German fluently would be wunderbar. The latest thing I need to push myself on is for die Prüfung next week. Wish me luck!

Hellos From Africa, Photography, Travel

Slow Time In Cape Town

by Azis AbdulLeave a Comment on Slow Time In Cape Town

.

I’m writing this post when travel bugs around me are flying higher. I think it’s such a good sign to hurry packing a bag pack and explore somewhere new.

This might be the last post I dedicated for a pretty city called Cape Town. Last year during this time, I was in my room thinking about a destination. Few choices, few new places in mind. I was pretty excited as always to start browsing where are the hits coffee shops in town, museums I needed to pay a visit, how about outfits to bring, and of course, thinking about how my indulgence in photography would be stronger.

Cape Town as I mentioned a few times on previous posts was beautiful. Having a week there was a cup of tea. Combination of nice weather (clear sky, tho sometimes was too-chill in the evening), delicious food, picturesque landscapes, freedom to visit and documented places as I wished without a schedule. I loved it when I woke up a bit late and took a good coffee nearby. I loved it when I didn’t need to rush because of drizzling and enjoyed the vibe after rain without an umbrella. I loved it when I went to a supermarket at noon and stood confusingly choosing what to eat. I loved it when I went to places and got photographs of Cape Town. All of these make me want to, let me repeat from above; make me want to pack my bag and explore somewhere new sooner than later.

.

Colors I saw after I had a very quality breakfast and coffee at Truth

.

.

To be honest I was quite disappointed with what I found “just this?” at Boo-Kap. Good news, it wasn’t far from where I stayed

.

.

A little fancy brunch at Hemelhvijs (the ceiling has dry colorful hydrangeas). That day was very windy so I ordered hot Sri Lankan tea.

.

.

It was a lovely and calming time at Honest Chocolate. Perhaps, it was the most favorite time I had when in Cape Town. I sat beside the window with cappuccino and banana cake when it was drizzling outside.

.

.

Two photographs I took at one shop and one restaurant at V&A Waterfront .

.

Strolling at Cape Town Civic Centre after visiting Ramadhan bazaar where I met one Indonesian lady selling Indonesian food.

.

.

Okay, last ones. These were taken near where I stayed. The last morning and the last sunset.

.

.

Food Lodge

Exceptionally Need To Be Back To The Right Track

by Azis AbdulLeave a Comment on Exceptionally Need To Be Back To The Right Track

.

Hello from Surabaya!

I have been back to Indonesia for hold on, it’s been two weeks? Ouch. Even though I realize I have used my time these past fourteen days wisely, if I may say (yes, have sort some of important things out already, still a bunch need to be done), I still feel time flies too fast every time I’m here.

This time around, my time would be a little longer. I have some plans and things to do and hopefully all could be done before I go back. I’m excited to be here early this year but somehow feeling a bit worry when come back to work and I have a longer time to spend over there without any vacations. But I think, it’s better for me to just live every single days and put those worries aside till the time to face it has come. Oh, I’m not totally off from work anyway. I’m still active working for office via online from wherever I am (If I may say, this is such a trial working remotely. Let’s see how it works).

Don’t be puzzled with that too-long foreword and the title which doesn’t have a connection. I ain’t gonna share my days in Indonesia this time but such a throwback to some breakfast scenes instead. There are two differences I have to admit between my breakfast in Lagos and in Surabaya. One: this might be counted as a good news: it is easier to find breakfast in Surabaya, I don’t need to cook by myself, it’s easy finding affordable yummy Indonesian food ofc, but bad news: I’ve been lulled by the easiness and somehow it makes me lazy, since most of Indonesian food (those yummy ones) aren’t that healthy (oily, fried, what else?) it drives me nonchalantly to forget about fruits, chia, flaxseed, and those fancy ones. The last one is bad. If in Lagos I work like crazy, nine to six plus over night most of the times, come back home very late, wake up early preparing breakfast, and always spending money for berries like “I don’t care how much” as a revenge from junk food eaten at venues, in Surabaya I really have to be back to the right track.

Perhaps, I have to open my eyes wider to balance my lifestyle: still enjoying those yummy Indonesian food (what else to do when you’re back to your own country and been waiting for a long time to enjoy your native food, hm?) and starting my day with healthy-fruity-breakfast. I exceptionally need to be back on the right track like yesterday.

Here are some breakfast scenes I documented months ago.

.

Scene #1

Colorful salad with strawberry, mango, avocado, carrot, lettuce, sweet corn and boiled chicken breast; dressing made from fresh lemon + chili sauce + brown sugar and very little white vinegar, sprinkled with chia and flaxseed. Eaten with plain yogurt + blueberry + raspberry and almonds plus black coffee {Perhaps it doesn’t sound right eating salad with coffee isn’t it? but truly drinking coffee every morning is particular for me}.

Scene #2

Slices of strawberries, mango, banana, frozen blackberry and raspberry, almonds, dried coconut on top of plain yogurt sprinkled with chia and flaxseed; sunny side-up with chili flakes and tortilla chips; cheese soft baguette. Eaten with Swiss roll (oh I bought it at bakery ofc) with some cheese crackers and coffee milk.

.

Scene #3

Blueberry and overnight strawberry soaked in palm sugar served on top of plain yogurt with dried coconut and chia seed; granola; three minutes boiled eggs with mustard green served with seasoned shredded chicken breast; grapefruits; fresh beetroot ~ ginger ~ apple  ~ carrot juice.

.

.

Funny enough by looking at those scenes above makes me miss my room there. From all scenes you could see one same thing; how I managed my very small working table for breakfast. Sometimes it’s still tidy with MacBook on the table when having breakfast and answering emails, surfing on Pinterest, and some blog-walking at the same time. Sometimes when I find bright morning light falls in, I pretend having a real breakfast on a real dining table by moving stuffs and spreading a cotton fabric on it like what you could see on scene 2. At the apartment there is a dining table when sometimes I sit and eat with housemates but mostly I prefer to enjoy my food in my room. It’s more comfortable, private and yes, nobody’s watching when I need to stand on my chair for some breakfast shots.

iPhone, Photography

Coffee Scenes Through An iPhone

by Azis AbdulLeave a Comment on Coffee Scenes Through An iPhone

.

I almost forgot two things when I finally got an iPhone X five months ago; one, that feeling when you first unboxing an iPhone, time when you slide the top box, then find inside how handsome an iPhone is. Two, how clear the camera compare with the older versions. Every time I get a new iPhone the first app I always figure out is the camera, the rest are secondary. There was a time when one of my colleagues got an iPhone 7+ (wasn’t it years ago?), I admired how clear the camera was! compared with my iPhone6. Then when he got an iPhone X and I was still with iPhone 6, I felt “Damn, how could!”.

Till the time when an iPhone X arrived on my hand and I got that ‘feeling’ back, a feeling of excitement capturing objects only with an iPhone. Here are some coffee scenes I captured with an iPhone X three months ago when I was on vacation and had some coffee times in Indonesia. All was edited with VSCO on an iPhone (yes, still no editing apps on this new MacBook Pro :|)

.

Design & Style

Upgrading

by Azis AbdulLeave a Comment on Upgrading

.

Later on December last year when I wanted to update this blog (read: editing session which took way too long) after work, I found my MacBook had a problem. The battery showed red even when it was still charging. Zero percent, damn. I just upgraded the storage which was typical Apple spare part (read: costly, the good news: somebody paid for me). The day after, I found that the trackpad didn’t work well. Okay, I had no plan to break my vow again after an iPhone X.

But I had one excuse: seven years plus with me wasn’t a bad thing. My first laptop was a MacBook Pro. My second one is a thinner MacBook Pro. Comes in my fav color, space grey.

.

.

I need to sort few things out for this MacBook to support my needs. Design softwares, USB connector, oh money is just flying around. I’m completely aware to be an Apple person, first rule: lifestyle isn’t cheap. But let’s put it this way, I’m upgrading my tool to upgrade my future. Having some plans to step to a higher stage on 2019. Bismillah.

P.S. These photographs were edited with an iPhone X through VSCO plus Phonto for layouts, taken with Sony A6300 + 35mm f/1.8 OSS premium.  Site shown on the first photograph is a beautiful web by Chris Ozer

.