There were reasons of

Why I stopped dreaming to be a swimmer
Why I stopped dreaming to be a football player
Why I stopped learning to play drums
Why I chose social science in high school
Why I failed to get elected by my first dream university
Why I got into the second option of the university I chose during the national selection
Why I stopped drawing
Why I chose communication and journalism as my specialization in my university
Why I started to learn more about photography and graphic design during my study
Why I chose to abandon my thesis for 1 year to work and do more internships
Why I chose to analyze a cover magazine as my thesis
Why I spent 5 years to finish my study
Why I graduated later than the rest of my friends
Why I didn’t work in certain office after graduating
Why I got rejected by several media companies
Why I didn’t pass the test to be a journalist
Why I chose to be happily single when the rest of my friends already met their partners
Why I chose to be graphic designer (and part-time photographer) instead of being a journalist
Why I sent my scholarship application even though I wasn’t so sure about my chance
Why I decided to be a freelance copywriter while I was juggling with many projects
Why I got heartbroken too often
Why I started to learn Spanish since February 2017.

Those failures, those options, those decisions, and those reasons, lead me to the greatest achievement of my life so far

Got the scholarship to study in Spain
Got the opportunities to travel around Europe
Got the opportunities to travel solo more often
Got the opportunities to understand and speak more Spanish (kind of) fluently
Got the opportunities to do some projects here while I am studying
Got the opportunities to meet with amazing new people
Got the opportunities to maintain my relationships well with my good friends in Indonesia
Got to do things I love that I wasn’t able to do them in my own country
Got the opportunities to explore the city where I live
Got the opportunities to watch the concerts of my favorite bands
Got the opportunities to visit many castles (since I love the “Game of Thrones” vibe or medieval theme)
Got to be the best version of myself (so far)

Even though I missed so many important moments of my good friends

When they graduated
When they got engaged
When they got married
When their children were born

Normally I was present, but since last year I couldn’t be there. It shattered my heart to see them only through social media or messenger app.

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of electronic dance music. I prefer musics like funk, jazz, rock, or disco from the 70s and 80s. Nowadays I only like few of the electronic groups, such as Clean Bandit (they combine the dance music with classic instrument like violin & cello!), LION BABE, and this one, Disclosure!

I was disappointed when I couldn't watch Clean Bandit live in Jakarta. They came to Jakarta last December 2015. Too bad at that time I couldn't afford the ticket (geez, the ticket for concert nowadays is getting more expensive!), but when I heard Disclosure would come to Jakarta for the second time, I had no doubt about it!

After working on some projects, finally I could buy myself a ticket to watch Disclosure. It also became a refreshment for me in the middle of working on my thesis. Well I heard about the announcement since last April. I thought it was the part of April Fool's joke since I knew it on April 1st. Even people on the internet also didn't believe it. I checked on Disclosure's official website, there's no schedule in Jakarta; mostly in US and other cities on May. Anyway, I saw there's pretty big gap between their gigs on last April to middle May. Hmm, I guessed they could be playing in my city among the dates.

Not so long after that, I read a comment on Disclosure's Instagram telling fans to check out their blog post. There it was, the official announcement of them coming to Jakarta! I was so excited. I wouldn't miss any chance to watch my favorite musicians.

They only played on DJ set, they didn't do the exact full performance. At first I was like, "Huh? Okay..." but I didn't mind! It's a rare occasion that they can play in Jakarta. I also know they'll play in Bali next August, but Jakarta is much closer. Of course I really want to see their real live performance like what I see on Youtube. Seeing Howard & Guy Lawrence playing on full set is amazing! It would be much greater if Sam Smith, Lorde, Gregory Porter, LION BABE, and Brendan Reilly perform with them, LOL.

The day was coming!

I watched Disclosure with my friend Petek, since she also liked them. We went from Bandung to Jakarta on May 4th, which was the date of the event. I thought it was okay if we went at 3 pm to Jakarta with estimated arrival time at 6 pm. Guess what? I was totally wrong. On 5 and 6 May there were two public holidays, which provided us 2 extra days for weekend; our weekend started from Wednesday night! Since we went to Jakarta after work hours, the traffic jam was insane! We arrived at 8 pm on Tanjung Priok Bus Station as the result. Then we took Gojek to go to Ecovention at Ancol, North Jakarta.

This event was held by DGTL_LVE. Besides Disclosure as the main guest star, there were also other famous DJs like Tchami from France, Dipha Barus and Bima G from Indonesia. Too bad I haven't heard their songs, except Tchami. I only listened to one of his song, so I couldn't review their performance since I didn't know much about them. Sorry!

The first performance was Bima G, followed by Dipha Barus then Tchami. I could say Tchami was awesome, even though I didn't really know his music. Many people cheered when he came and played for the next 1,5 hours.


HERE THEY ARE!

I was soooo excited seeing them in real life. I was lucky enough to stand really close to the DJ booth because I could see the performers better or at least I could breath properly here. When I saw what was going on behind me, wow it was so freaking crowded! All the audiences tried to be closer to the stage, and of course we only had small space to move there. They began their performance with their famous "When A Fire Starts to Burn", and the crowd instantly danced!

They played some songs that possibly not included in their albums but I recognized one, it was "Jump Hi" by LION BABE. I was so happy since LION BABE also a great electronic music group. After that, they played "Voices" and "F For You"! Yeah!! They remixed both of songs and they were so goooood.

After few songs, I noticed the very specific voice of Gregory Porter... They were starting to play "Holding On"!! It was SO GREAT! They played the original song, which was all I hoped that night because I could sing along! "Holding On" is one of my favorite songs in their latest album, Caracal.


Other songs were coming, they kept making the crowd dancing through the night. I remembered that Disclosure started to play at 1.30 am. It was so late but it didn't matter, though. Then they played more songs like "White Noise" and "Magnets". For the last song, the played "Latch"!!


Did they just end the night? Nope! After people chanted "We want more!", they didn't hesitate to play one more song. As the encore, "You & Me" was played by the Lawrence brothers. The special thing was, they played the remix version of You & Me by Flume. That version was totally dope. You can listen to the song here.

Overall I was so happy to watch Disclosure even though they only played on DJ set. The sound was amazing, the visualizations on every songs they played were super cool, and of course their performance were totally incredible. I hoped they could play Omen and January that night, but well they didn't. Maybe next time? I really wish I can watch them one more time, especially when they do live performance.

By the way, thank you to DGTL_LVE for bringing Disclosure to Jakarta!

Howdy!

April is almost done and I still haven't finished my thesis yet.

No, I am not complaining nor blaming myself.

Since couple months ago, I did an internship as a content writer for a local newspaper in Bandung. It really enriched my experiences as a writer since there're major differences between content writer and journalist. It has ended and now I am ready to work on my thesis again. Well actually I had an idea that I could finish my thesis during my internship, but apparently my target wasn't accomplished. Plus, since the beginning of April I left my dorm in Jatinangor and now I am staying temporarily with my grandpa in Cijerah, Bandung.

Another fun thing that happened since January: my project with Petek called Verlast has been going so well. We had some clients and we couldn't be happier because we really love what we're doing! We did an engagement & wedding projects (I did the photo shoot and Petek did the make up), also a portrait photo shoot with one of our friend.

By the way, I have an ambition that I can finish chapter 4 in one week. I have interviewed Tempo, a national weekly news magazine as my object of research, especially for the cover. Yeah, my thesis is about one of their covers and I analyze it using semiotics method. So, my data should be better and I could continue completing chapter 4 before I jump into the next chapter; which is the last part!

I wish I can really do this. My current plan is I can finish my thesis this May then register for the thesis defense. I totally want to graduate very soon so I can start my long vacation, LOL! *Okay I must confess that I'm already planning a trip to somewhere and I'm so excited about it!*


Wish me luck!!!

Di post sebelumnya, saya sudah menulis tentang cara-cara yang biasa saya lakukan untuk merawat rambut saya. Nah kali ini saya mau membagi apa saja produk yang dipakai, khususnya untuk rambut keriting yang sangat kering dan sudah diwarnai berkali-kali.

Rambut yang diwarnai otomatis jadi lebih rapuh, kering, dan mudah bercabang. Untuk mengurangi rambut bercabang, setiap habis mewarnai rambut atau tiga bulan sekali saya pergi ke salon untuk potong rambut. Alhamdulillah sampai saat ini saya sudah terhindar dari masalah rambut bercabang dan rapuh. Permasalahan utama saya saat ini adalah rambut kering, megar, dan kusut.


Berdasarkan pengalaman pribadi, ini dia produk-produk yang saya gunakan untuk merawat rambut keriting yang sudah diwarnai. Produk yang ditulis benar-benar sudah saya pakai dalam jangka waktu lebih dari 3 bulan sehingga efeknya sudah saya bisa rasakan secara langsung.

Shampoo and Conditioner
Mane 'n Tail Herbal Gro Shampoo
[Alternative: Herbal Essence Hello Hydration (Moisture and Shine)]
Nggak gampang untuk mencari shampoo dan conditioner yang pas buat rambut saya. Kebanyakan bikin ketombean dan makin parah keringnya. Tahun lalu saya sempet potong rambut kependekan dan denger-denger kalau Mane 'n Tail itu bisa membantu mempercepat pertumbuhan rambut. Jadinya saya pakai deh, sekalian nyoba. Harganya memang menguras dompet, tapi menurut saya worth it banget. Lumayan membantu pertumbuhan rambut, lalu kondisi rambut saya lebih baik dan nggak sekering biasanya. Untuk conditioner, saya pakai conditioner-nya Herbal Essence. Barulah saat shampoo Mane 'n Tail habis, saya pakai shampoo-nya Herbal Essence. Efeknya? Saya merasa rambut lebih lembab, nggak begitu kering, dan lebih mudah diatur.

Hair Vitamin
Lucido-L for Damaged Hair (Spray and Oil)
Saya pakai kedua versinya, yaitu spray dan oil. Versi oil saya pakai setiap habis keramas dan rambut dalam kondisi setengah basah. Lalu versi spray saya pakai setiap hari, baik saat mau pergi atau pun stay di kostan. Ini sangat membantu merawat rambut saya yang diwarnai supaya nggak bercabang, kusam, dan kering parah. Makanya saya berani bleach rambut karena sudah memproteksinya dengan hair vitamin sejak lama, jadi efek bleach-nya nggak begitu parah.

Other Hair Spray
Makarizo Hair Energy SCENTSATIONS
Yang namanya bau nggak bisa dihindari ya, apalagi kalau sering berpergian. Bau segala macem kayak asap knalpot, asap tukang sate, dan kerabatnya bisa terperangkap di rambut. Apalagi kalau rambut keriting, aduh bener deh segala macam bau langsung diserap dan hilangnya pun cukup lama. Makanya saya butuh hair spray yang bisa menghilangkan bau seketika. Kalau lupa keramas juga bisa diakalin pakai ini kok (yikes!), hahaha.

Hair Cream or Mousse
SYOSS Airy Curl Cream (Curl Control)
Produk ini penting untuk menjaga bentuk keriting dan mencegah rambut jadi megar. Saya pakai ini karena dari beberapa produk lainnya, ini yang nggak begitu lengket dan nggak berasa berat di rambut. Jadi setelah pakai vitamin oil, saya pakai cream ini biar bentuk keriting bisa terjaga seharian. Tapi saya punya cara sendiri untuk menggunakan cream ini agar nggak terlalu kaku dan bisa lebih hemat.
Aslinya cream ini cukup kental dan lumayan lengket di tangan. Untuk mengakalinya, saya masukkan cream ini ke dalam botol spray lalu ditambahkan air, dan kocok sampai rata. Hasilnya, cream ini nggak akan lengket di tangan, rambut bisa mirip-mirip  wet look dan nggak kaku kayak pakai hair spray, serta menghemat jumlah pemakaian. Saya udah pakai selama 6 bulan dan belum habis-habis lho, mengingat harga satu jar-nya nggak begitu murah (maklum anak kostan, hahaha).

Kira-kira itu yang bisa saya share terkait perawatan untuk rambut keriting yang sudah diwarnai. Harap diperhatikan bahwa cara merawat rambut bisa beragam bagi setiap orang. Produk digunakan juga sangat bergantung pada si pemakai alias cocok-cocokan. Intinya sih jangan nyerah dulu sebelum menemukan treatment dan produk yang pas.

Even though maintaining curly hair is so challenging, remember, you have something that others don't. So take care of it and you'll thank yourself! Adios muchacha!