Not a Newsletter: Jul23 Edition

I am writing this from my childhood bedroom, better known as Purple Room, to anyone who has stayed over before.

If I stand on top of the 40yo bed (inherited from my parents) and tilt my head in a weird way, I can see a glimpse of the full moon from the tiny window in the room. And today, my friends, just so you know, is a full moon. So if you have been feeling the crazies, well, you are not alone, and it could just be because of the uh-hum moon.

Highlights

🏩 ━ Fafa and I did a staycation at Ovolo in South Yarra to reminisce about the “old times”. The initial plan was to have Yum Cha at David’s, followed by late-night drinks in the neighbourhood bars. Instead, we had an early dinner of Chong Qing Chicken in Dainty Sichuan and a digestif each at Lona Misa afterwards before tucking ourselves in bed by 7 PM. The next day we went for brunch with Liz and Tom at Rustica, bought some cheese from Prahran Market and headed back to the West, where we belonged.

🏡 ━ Speaking of which, we celebrated two years of moving to WeFo and living in Joyakiume with some friends with a feast of Soto Ayam (Indo Chicken Soup, as I referred it to the Aussies).

🏕️ ━ I went to Nagambie town in the Goulburn Valley for work. That’s another small Australian town ticked off.

🍷 ━ I associate winter in Melbourne with mulled wine, and I can honestly say I didn’t have enough of it this winter. So I was like all “YES!” when Liz suggested finishing our midweek catch-up session at The Moat for some mulled wine served in chi-chi Chinaware and taught me the concept of “double parking” drinks.

⌨️ ━ I went to my first-ever Writer Pub Crawl and was surrounded by many talented and passionate creatives who slowly got tipsier and even more fun. I had such a great time and met some inspiring writers and fellow bloggers. I can’t wait to join the next WPC.

🛬 ━ Mid-month, I flew to Jakarta with a short stopover in Singapore. Aside from Amma not understanding the concept of workspace and working hours boundaries, I am glad I chose to WFHFJ. I felt burned out for some weeks before the trip due to work, and it has been so nice not to be adulting for a while. I go to sleep and wake up knowing I’ll be having a good meal in a few hours’ time.

🧋 ━ Aside from WFHFJ, quality time with my parents and running Jakarta-bound errands, I have been spending most of my free time hanging out with my cousins, mostly eating, gossiping, and, on scarce occasions, culturing (we visited Museum MACAN) and exercising (we ran five rounds of GBK, the inner city sports stadium). The overall vibe of these last weeks reminded me of the Nine of Cups card I pulled for the month.

🐄 ━ I also went on a day trip to Bogor with Amma, which I’ll write more about soon.

Love and Found

🗾━ I was so inspired by the blogger who has been writing diaries for 30 years that I made a goal of writing for 30 days. And I did it! – with today being the last day. I wonder whether I can do it for a more extended period. Should I make 90 days goal next? She also has been to Japan more than 50 times – this would also be an awesome goal to adopt.

🦄 ━ I got an Amethyst ring from Qi Crystal on the day I dyed my hair purple to celebrate entering my Amethyst era, and I love it (the hair and the ring).

Read, Watched and Browsed

📚 ━ I read and adored Austin Kleon’s Keep Going. I waited to get the book until my trip to Jakarta. I have had this ritual of reading and re-reading Austin Kleon’s books and blog in my bedroom in Jakarta since his first book in 2012. Another book I read this month: The Running Book by John Connell. It was okay if you are into UK history and running.

📺 ━ One of my guilty pleasures in Indonesia is watching trash TV, from daily news of local celebrities to Indonesian horror movies that are generally poorly acted with a storyline that makes no sense. Among those oh-so-bad movies, I found a semi-good one: Sacred 2. The film is about YouTubers following a group of dancers searching for an extinct cultural dance with Cirebon as the background. If your Netflix offers this movie, it’s worth watching on a low-effort self-care day. I also watched and liked Birdbox Argentina Unlocked on Netflix.

🎥 ━ Amma and I have been doing Movie Wednesday in the Cinema. We watched Barbie (FUN!), Haunted Mansion (meh) and next Wednesday, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.

🔖 ━ I am really inspired by Cheeserland blogger who has been writing diaries for 30 years ✿ Walking tours in Melbourne ✿ Colorful DIY house tour ✿ I’ve been reading Creative Adventure Japan tagged posts for some travel inspo ✿ The Third Gender in Samoa, the Fa’afafine.

Tiny Joys

Indonesian head massage ❤ Spending time with parents ❤ Cousins and their kids ❤ Netflix Marathon with Amma ❤ playing bingos with the aunties ❤ Natta astro class ❤ Amethyst ring ❤ Love Letter from Izzie ♥ Baby Boomi ❤

Meanwhile, on Kulture Kween:

❀ Sharing Samoan Kava with The Village Chiefs ❀ Fascinating Findings at Fugalei Market in Apia Samoa ❀ All The Memorable Samoan Food I Ate in Samoa and More ❀ Minutes at Museum MACAN Jakarta

Things on My Mind

🎐 ━ I miss the sound of my furin, the one hanging on the branch of the Lilly Pilly tree in our backyard in Melbourne home.

Time Machine

Read more about last year’s happenings.

Thank You, Next!

🗻 ━ Many good things are happening in August, but the highlight is my trip to Japan with Amma next week. I will be there for a week before returning to Fafa, Melbourne and neighbourhood parks.

🧹 ━ The card of August is Eight of Cups from Midnight Tarot. Eight of Cups is about moving away from discontentment, leaving an era that’s no longer serving. I can think of a few things to leave in the past, but the clear call of action I got from the card is to declutter. Those boxes sitting in our cupboards since we moved to WeFo two years ago are due for sorting, shelving and eliminating—a fitting theme just in time for spring cleaning and to prepare for the Imbolc celebration.

Keep Kultured and write to you from another part of the world soon!  ━ KK.

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