Of Friends and Places | 2015 Adventures

It's almost the end of 2015! I can't comprehend that. It's so freaking fast. But, 2015 has been really great to me. I didn't fall into great depression, there aren't as many anxiety episodes, I experience a lot of really nice changes, and most importantly, I didn't die. Thank goodness.

Since it is the last week of 2015, I am going to talk about all the exciting things that happen to me in the last year. I can't really recall much because I have a horrible long term memory, but I can remember that the year was quite awesome.

I Wanna Wish You A Merry Christmas

I told you I like Feliz Navidad. And I take my traditions very seriously. I have been singing it at least once every time I meet a close friend. They know it's coming and it's going to continue at least until January ends.

Anyways, It's almost Christmas! That's exciting. I've said before that I'm not the kind of person who would get super duper excited about the festive season. I mean, it's nice and everything. I'm just not so into it that I decorate my room or wear tacky Christmas jumper. Let's be real, it's gonna be at least 40 degrees out in Melbourne this time of year. I see absolutely no point in wearing any kind of jumper, tacky or not.

It's All About Food

If you have been reading my blog for a while, first of all, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Yes, all two of you, thank you very much. But as you probably know, this blog doesn't have a niche. Having one blog to talk specifically around one topic is not something I'm good at. Trust me, I've tried and failed so miserably. Definitely not going back to those dark days again. Although I love books and reading, talking about it all the time isn't really my cup of tea.

It's kind of hard for me to describe what my blog is all about. I mean, it is not right to call it a lifestyle blog since I don't really post "advice" or "how-to" content here. It's not lifestyle, it's just "life" where I talk about what's happening in there. It's about things I like and things I find fascinating or exciting that I really want others to know about. Not that my life is all that eventful or anything, just things that makes me particularly happy or something I feel strongly about.

A Place That Understands Me

Since I moved to the busier part of Melbourne, I have found the perfect place for me to just sit down with my laptop and not care about anything else. Plus, the chance of meeting someone I know is very small which is heaven for me. Public libraries. They're great.

I have never been a person to get out of my room very often, especially when I still live in Indonesia. I have all the things I need in my bedroom; my laptop, a bed, snacks, water, guitar, and most importantly, internet connection. I only need to leave when I go to school or when my family decided to eat out. I have quite a few friends then and we hung out sometimes, but being an introvert that I am, I immediately went back home after we're done. I feel kind of bad now, though because I don't get to spend as much time as I would like and relish it with them anymore. I mean, we live in different part of the southern hemisphere now. They still live in Indonesia, though not all of them in the same area, and here I am all the way down in Melbourne. I wish I appreciate them more when I was able to be with them at all times. Now that I can only see them once or twice, at most every year, I miss them a lot. Anyway, we're getting a little off track there. We're here to talk about public libraries. Nostalgia will have it's own post in the future, so look out for that!

I don't have any photos of my uni library, so here's a blurry sunset photo :)

Life Lately #1

Hey guys and girls! Can you believe I'm actually posting something less than three months from the last one? I can't either. But it's nice to be back. I don't know how long this is gonna last but let us enjoy it while it's here. Begin, we shall.

So, here's the deal. I liked the way I do my last post. The one where I just talk about things that are completely unrelated to each other. Don't get me wrong, I still like talking on and on about one specific thing but sometimes I find it difficult to find something that's worth making a whole post about. So, I really like the format of separating different topics into parts. It erases the pressure of having to write one coherent post about a single thing while keeping it interesting (at least for me). So I'm turning it kind of a "Life Lately" series where I talk about little things happening in my life. I decided to do it after seeing a post in a blog called Little Town which is run by a lovely being called Raisa. You can click here to see her latest Life Lately post. I think it's such a good idea especially if I haven't post in a long time (cough). Ahem, let's move on to the actual post.

Accidental Beach Visit

I didn't plan on going out the last Monday but with the persuasion of a friend, I did. The actual purpose of this little trip is to check out the place where a friend of hers would be having his birthday party. She didn't really know the place, I have never been there either so why not take a detour. It takes quite a while to get there by train, about an hour from our campus because Melbourne railway system is ridiculous. Anyway, we get there and we didn't know where we were going so we just kind of walked while hoping for the best.

The venue is a little bit hidden so we were not quite sure if we're at the right place or just got completely lost, but a sign directing to the place suddenly appeared when we turned a corner. We finally found it and  OMG THERE'S A BEACH AND ITS BEAUTIFUL! We didn't expect it to be close to the beach at all. I mean, my friend knows that the area was a coast but she didn't know that the party place would be that close to the beach. It was so worth the long journey.

I was really grateful we went there because instead of having a lazy day and just sleep all day, I went to a really pretty place. Also, it was quite cold that day so there weren't that many people there and it was quite calming to just stroll on the sand. I was so lucky that I decided to wear sandals that day because I will still be covered in sand now if I wore a pair of sneakers. The sand feels kind of prickly under my feet, though, not gonna lie. But the beach was pretty and the sky was clear so I could ignore the sand. IT'S SO PRETTY!

Everything's Out

Heya! Riz is back again, bringing you the news of the life that I live. This news will come to you in four parts.

Part 1: I finished my semester

So, a few weeks ago, I finished my exams and assignments load for this semester and hoo boy, am I beyond relieved. I've only got one exam for this semester and thank all the meats for that. Though it's not for the subject I'm confident of, I'm quite sure that I'm not gonna fail this one. Done all the extra credits possible, let's just hope for the best. Went through a lot of "experiments" for them extra credits. Worth it though.

The picture above is basically my whole semester. Just staring at the screen and constant snacking. How lovely. I've been quite lazy throughout this whole semester. But I think I did fewer all-nighters compared to last semester. It could mean good or bad, I don't really know. I did start a lot of assignments the day before it's due, though. I plead guilty. However, there were less stress this time around, I think. Maybe it's because there were a lot more group works for some of the units that I took, so there's less workload that I have to do myself. I'm not quite sure. I survived, though. That counts for something, right? Hopefully it won't be too horrible when I got my grades back.

There are quite a few changes this semester compared to the last one. If any of you reading this follow me on twitter, you would know the struggles, ups and downs of me trying to get an assignment done. Last semester me was terrified of high word count. She wouldn't know what else to type and would stare blankly at her laggy laptop screen trying to figure out a way to make that sentence longer than it already was. Now, 3000 words wouldn't be even remotely enough for me to vomit everything out. Funny how I've progressed with my studies. I hope this is a good thing.

Morning Person

First of all, I'm not it.

Second of all, no one in my family is it either. So I guess it runs in the family? I mean my dad wakes up early every single day and I could tell that he hates it. So much that he feels the desire to ruin his children's day, wake them up at sunrise, to not let himself be the only one who has to suffer. To not let himself be the only one feeling miserable in the morning. Love you, dad!

Thirdly, Hey guys! How's it going? Me ? Oh, I'm good.. Thank you very much. *smiley face*

Anyway, yeah, I am definitely not a morning person. I am a certified nocturnal. While I was in my home country, enjoying my winter break, I never sleep until everyone else is up. When the entire house is getting ready to sleep, I am at my most awake state. It's kind of annoying because I've only slept like three hours before my dad would wake me up. This kept on going throughout the month that I'm home. And mind you, waking me up is one of the hardest tasks that anyone in my family has ever done in their lives (I am obviously exaggerating but you know what I mean). After a week of trying to get me to get up at appropriate hours failed miserably, they just give up. Not even gonna try anymore. Sick and tired of my shit, apparently. However, they keep on commenting how I am such a bad example for my siblings. Which in all honesty, doesn't really affect me in anyway. They are capable of making their own choices. I'm not going to go around telling them what they should and should not do.

But then, comes the time when I get to arrange my schedule for the next semester. I was on my bed, still. Just woke up and immediately opened my laptop because what else would I be doing. Checked my school portal thing where I can organize my timetable. Not one, but TWO subjects. Morning class. Can't change it. No other class available for it. THE HORROR. I didn't have to deal with this last semester. WHY NOW? All kinds of curse words were yelled out. In my head. Because everyone else is asleep at the time, obviously. I am not the kind of person who would wake up at the wee hours of the morning. Why would you do this to me, Satan? I then proceed to convince myself that maybe, there will be new classes uploaded after a few days. The timetable's only been up for a couple of hours. There will be more class. There must be. There. Must. Be. Two weeks later, still no class. I can only cry at my horrible fate of not one, but TWO 8.30 classes. Bye aimless internet surfing time. I'll see you when the semester ends.

Last week, seven days before my classes commence, I volunteer (as tribute) to help with new students orientation where I was required to be at the headquarters at 8 in the morning. Can I do it? Very questionable at the time, considering the sleeping habit that I had just a week before that. I did it, though. The latest I've been is 8.15. It's not that bad, is it? Tolerable, I guess? I was surprised, too. I have very low expectation in waking up quite early to get ready. But I did it. Along with the zombie-like greetings I gave everyone every morning. I did it. It's fine.

However, comes Saturday. Finished my volunteering duties on Thursday. Can finally sleep in. Saturday, though. Oh my, Saturday. I woke up at 6.30. In the morning. Can you believe that? I mean, my earliest alarm is at 7, the remains of my volunteering activities. My alarm hasn't even woken up yet. I was so confused. I thought it was 6.30 in the evening at first but I was like nah, there's no way it's 6.30 pm already. So okay, after a short while of "What? What happened? Okay?" moment, I went to the bathroom to take care of my business then went back to my room. Then I apparently started to do my laundry in my half asleep state. I didn't realize I did it until I had my breakfast. When realization hit me, I started screaming in my head. WHAT AM I DOING? Did I just do my laundry? Unconsciously? What the hell? I was doing my laundry at 7. In the morning. On a Saturday. No college student does their laundry at 7 in the morning. 7 in the morning is the time for sleeping. Sleeping is love, sleeping is life.

So weird. So very weird. Is this my body clock now? Am I going to wake up before 8 everyday now? Am I a morning person now? What is this? This is not me. I am not a morning person. I never was. Huh. Weird.

But honestly, I'm not really mad about it. I am actually pretty grateful that I can finish doing stuff earlier in the day. It has that sort of productive feeling to it. You all know I am a pro procrastinator. It just feels bizarre that *I* am the person getting stuff done in the morning. It's not what's usual for me. But at least I get to be more productive than I was when I wake up after noon. So that's good, I guess.

Finally, one question: How many times did I say morning in this post?

I'll see you guys next time. Bye!

Riz

On Being Organized

Hey guys!

It's been almost a month since I post anything on this blog. I've been kind of busy travelling from home to my grandparents' place and back to Australia. I've been on the plane so much last month my butt hurts. Since I'm back in Australia now, I've taken care of some school matters and done some volunteer work for my campus this week which have been so much fun but also quite exhausting. I have been very productive this past couple of weeks. Everything is under control and I can relax a bit this weekend. Now that I have free time in my hands (finally!) I'm going to talk to you guys about what being organized mean to me. (What a segway)

Being organized is something that I find difficult at times and it doesn't get any easier the longer I do it. I started to have a real planner or agenda or whatever you call it, in 2013. It was sometime between the last years of my high school and moving to Australia. I thought that since I'm going to live on my own now with no one telling me what I'm supposed to do, I have to be responsible for everything. I have to take care of school things, chores, social life, and work by myself. So, of course, I need to arrange everything in one place where I can see it. Because apparently, keeping a reminder in my head wasn't enough. Planner it is, then.

About the Reading Thing...

Hello again, people!

So, Riz, you might be asking, what happened to your book obsession? Why aren't you talking about it as much anymore? Well, in short, it has changed. I mean, it's not that I'm not reading anymore or I've stopped buying books altogether. It's nothing like that. I even got loads of books for my birthday a few months ago. It's just I don't see myself being as excited about books as I was a couple years back. Maybe I'm just in a huge reading slump. I don't really know. It's saddening, really. I hate feeling like this.

It probably started during my foundation studies period when I have anxiety attacks and depression episodes almost daily. I can't really be excited about things anymore and just become this lump of emotionally non-functioning human. I'm not ready to talk about this yet so I'll just leave it at that. Point is that it was the moment when my motivation for reading (or anything, really) kind of go down the hill. I mean, I still liked watching videos about books on youtube but I kind of drift away from reading book reviews. I don't even open my goodreads account anymore. If you see the widget in the right side of this blog, you'll notice that I've only read four books this year. That's kind of sad.

I'm actually in the middle of reading Champion by Marie Lu and it's a great book. I really like how it's going. The thing is, I've been in the middle of that book for months. And I hate that it's been months that I'm standing in the same spot. As I said, the plot is going really nicely. So, obviously, it's nothing to do with the quality of the book. That only leaves me with one reason. Me. Something is wrong with me.

As you probably know from my last post, I'm home now. I reason that I've not been reading here because there are a lot of manga and I can access the internet 24/7 without needing to go to the library like I do in Australia. But even in places that I have books laid in front of my eyes, I never choose to read them. Instead, I read short stories on the internet. I am so angry at myself when I figure that out. I try everything to go back to reading again. If you remember, I tried doing the week-long read-a-thon and it was a complete fail. I felt really saddened by that. I mean, I read two (three?) whole books but I just didn't feel the kick of wanting to read more books after that. I just read for the sake of the marathon and not because I really did want to read.

It's kind of depressing how it has changed for the worse. I remember being so excited to read a book after I bought it but it's not at all like that now. When I buy a book, it feels nice to hold it in my hand but as soon as I get home, I just put it in my bookcase and never touch it again for the next few months or even years. I hate it. I don't want to not be happy about books. It is what I feel like has shaped me as a person (other than the internet) today. I don't want to walk away from it but at the same time, I don't want to feel obligated to read because I'm guilty about it.

I don't know how to feel about this, I'm sorry for the complains I have put you guys through with these posts these days. I just need to get things out my chest before it kills me. And with all the stress of my exams a few weeks ago I kind of get mood swings so unreasonably. I don't know. I'm sorry. Bye.

Riz

Legend by Marie Lu: A Review

Title: Legend
Author: Marie Lu
Publisher: Speak
Series: Legend #1
Release Date: November 29, 2011
Pages: 305 (Paperback)
Source: Purchased
Rating: 

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. 

Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. 

Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. 

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. 
Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Bout of Books 12.0 | Wrap Up

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

In conclusion, I'm horrible at this. Maybe it's because I picked the wrong time as I am a week away from my finals. Or maybe I'm just lazy. Either is correct. I ended up reading two and a half books which is not too bad considering the circumstances. Maybe I'll try read-a-thoning again next month. I'll be free most of the time, so should be fine. Anyway, on with the wrap up!

Book(s) read:

• Girl Online by Zoe Sugg
• Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to be a Grown-up by Grace Helbig
• Legend by Marie Lu

Total pages: 726

Thoughts: I am tired. I'm gonna take a nap.

Riz

Bout of Books 12.0 | Update #4

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Heyo!

Today, let us just get to the point. I have a LOT to say about the books. Shall we?

Book(s) read:

• Girl Online by Zoe Sugg
• Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to be a Grown-up by Grace Helbig

Total pages: 482

Thoughts: It's a good reading day! Aren't you guys proud of me?

First of all, I want to talk about Girl Online by Zoe Sugg. I finished it. I didn't really like it. The plot was really jumpy. One thing moved on to another in a snap without any solution or even reasoning. The love story also happened in a blink of an eye. I was like, WHAT? IT DOES NOT WORK LIKE THAT! I love you, Zoe. I really do. It is so unfortunate that I don't like your book as much.

Now on to Grace's Guide. I've listened to it a few times in 2014. I just got the book in the mail a few days ago. What kind of stupid person orders something at the end of the year without considering that he/she lives on the other side of the world and that it was holiday season? Apparently me. I picked this book up because I know I love it. And that I don't even in the slightest bit mind reading (or rather, listen to) it over and over again. I know for a fact that the "Grace Helbing-ness" of it would make up for my disappointment for the start of the read-a-thon.

Riz

PS: I would post the picture of Grace's Guide here but since I am a scum of a human being, I won't.

Bout of Books 12.0 | Update #3

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Hello everyone!

I've been really good at keeping up with my posts this past week. I'm gonna give myself a pat on the back *pat pat*. Anyways, it's the third update of the Bout of Books read-a-thon. Yay! I haven't really go around social media to update everything. I usually just post my blog posts about it on twitter, so they can click it if they want to. This read-a-thon is actually pretty fun. Maybe it's because I'm not pressuring myself to do well. It's great, though. I feel good about myself. On with the update!

Book(s) read: Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

Total pages: 176

Thoughts: The book is quite fun, still. It's just a typical YA contemporary, I guess? Anyway, the explanation on the panic attacks is really vague. I can't really feel the panicky-ness (is that a word?) to be very overwhelming considering that Zoe herself has them. She's got to know how it actually feels. When Penny (the main character) got an episode, it just seems to be over so fast. I am pretty sure it doesn't work like that. Well, though I don't really like those bits, I'm still going to continue reading.

Riz

PS: The 'total pages' part is the amount of pages I read since the beginning of the read-a-thon. I don't keep track of how many pages I read each day. I'm just saying in case you're confused.

Bout of Books 12.0 | Update #2

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Hello!

I actually did some reading yesterday. What? I know. It wasn't much, really, due to school just starting and all. But the actual marathon will probably start on Thursday since I don't have any class that day. I still get some assignments and homework and so on but I think it's not going to bother me that much. See you tomorrow, I guess.

This is a proof that I actually have the book and am reading it

Book(s) read: Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

Total pages: 73

Thoughts: The book is actually quite enjoyable. It feels more like a Middle Grade rather than a YA, to be honest. But I'm still pretty confident that I will end up liking this book.

Riz

Bout of Books 12.0 | Update #1

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Hey, everyone!

I am back today with an update for the Bout of Books 12.0 read-a-thon. What a day! Okay fine, I lied. I actually didn't read any book yesterday because school just started and the stress that comes with it is just overwhelming. So, I decided to get my school stuff organized first and then read. However! I realized that when I actually started reading, it was Tuesday already. I am still reading Girl Online by Zoe Sugg which I will include in the update tomorrow. I am going to take it easy on this read-a-thon because I have things that I have to take care of. I probably picked the wrong month to take the challenge, but I'm still going to try. Wish me luck everyone!

See ya!

Riz

Bout of Books 12.0 Read-A-Thon

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

This year I decided to join the Bout of Books read-a-thon. It is held every month of the year every year. Does that make sense? So, it is a read-a-thon where I try to read as much book as I can within a week. I will try to post every day to update on my reading because I am lacking so much last year. There are no promises but I am going to try my hardest to complete it.

I actually haven't thought about what books I'm going to read, but I think I will stick to comtemporaries and graphic novels since they are not so heavy on the feels. I am currently reading Girl Online by Zoe Sugg which I just got a few weeks ago and am very excited to read it. Maybe I will post my TBR tomorrow along with the first update. Please, bear with me.

I think that is all I have for now. See ya!

Riz

2014: A Reading Year in Review

Hey, people of the internet! It's been quite a long time since I last post. I will probably say that in the beginning of every post. You know how things are with me, expect the worst that could happen and you'll always end up quite satisfied in the end.

Anyway, IT'S FREAKING 2015! What the freaking freak?! How did I get here? Actually, don't answer that. Since it's a new year, I want to share some things with the internet regarding to the books that I read last year. If you are wondering, I did finish my 2014 reading challenge. Yay!

Now, I want to talk about how my reading experience was last year. I will mention some of my favorites, books that I don't really like, and some book covers that I love. 2014 was actually quite a good reading year. I read a lot of books by authors I've never read before and most of them are really good. Without further a due, let's get into it!