Increase of Caffeine Intakes

October will end soon. I think I did well this month on balancing my sanity. Things are quite hectic at the moment as I need to catch up on my studies for the upcoming Line Training with Air Asia, while at the same time I need to improve my sleeping quality, recover myself from this flu I'm currently having, maintain a good life, express my need of making art, and basically live life happily. Bb has also started his training at Citilink, which adds some distance now that we're both busy with our schedules, but hey! thank God for Skype and LINE video calls.

I've been observing some flights these past few weeks and, boy, am I exhausted. I didn't even do much the entire flights: listening to some information from the ATIS frequency, do some fuel logging, filling in the FMGC information, jot down some notes I might need for my training, and eat to keep myself alive.

My caffeine intakes increase because I now drink coffee because I need to keep my eyes open, not because I buy it for the sake of having a hedonistic life style. I am down for any kind of coffee, as long as there's milk and sugar in it, but the ones I've been having are these canned goodness. I'm not that picky in terms of settling which flavor to choose, but I usually go for the Original. Very simple, creamy, bitter, and slightly sweet latte. The Mocha one is good too, but it's rather thick and the chocolaty sweetness is quite meh for my liking.

Cadbury's (not) 5star

Gosh, this chocolate disappointed me in just one bite. I was excited at first because I thought that maybe this particular product will taste the same like Cadbury's Crunchie. I mean, come on, they share the same color packaging. Who wouldn't expect that, right?

It goes by the name 5star, with no extra "s" after the "r", a product by Cadbury which consisted of caramel, crisps, and cream filled milk chocolate. It doesn't have any saying about it having a golden honeycomb in the center, but still I am disappointed. The chocolate itself tasted like cheap chocolate despite it being Cadbury's. The caramel showed a significant presence compared to the other elements in the chocolate. I could taste the rice crispy, but it still has this cheap vibe coming from it. On the one hand, the chocolate cream was a big let down as it was too sweet for my liking and it had this weird crumbly texture which I do not comprehend.

I will definitely not going to buy Cadbury 5star ever again. I would rather settle for Snickers. But, hey, if you enjoy it, then indulge yourself in it. You do you. 

White Almond

I survived the day well. I managed to keep on track with my studies, had lunch with my new friends from the engineering division, then I rewarded myself with a pack of Magnum. The choice was either the Classic Magnum or the White Almond Magnum. I'm not really into both, but I settled with the Almond White Chocolate Magnum.

I'm not a big fan of white chocolate because it makes me nauseous. The White Almond Magnum was not an exception, but the vanilla ice cream and the almond pieces managed to cool it down. Loving the combination of the chocolate covered vanilla ice cream, but it would be better if it was milk chocolate instead of white chocolate.

See, the thing is, I managed to survive until sunset. But, the darker the sky gets, the more uneasy my heart is. My boyfriend will sign his contract with an airline this Friday and the thought of us getting more distant than we already have is troubling me. My head is filled with dozens of "what if"s. My chest feels tight. Breathing is okay for the time being.. I guess. 

Dairy Queen's Dipped Cone

Not sure which I like better tho, McDonald's Chocolate Dipped Cone or Dairy Queen's Dipped Cone. They're basically the same thing: vanilla ice cream on a cone dipped in a pool of chocolate fudge, in which the chocolate fudge will eventually freeze due to the cold temperature of the ice cream that clashes with the hot melted chocolate goodness. 

Dairy Queen's chocolate fudge, in my opinion, tasted better than McDonald's, but the vanilla soft cream was a bit overwhelming though, it took me a while to finish what I could finish I ended up throwing away a third of it. Don't get me wrong, the chocolate fudge and vanilla ice cream combo is a great duo, but it would be better if they were in good ratio.

God Bless Subway, and My Legs

I am currently stuck in a traffic, on my way home from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, as I write this. I couldn't stop thinking about how I manage to deal with my simulator check while I was having a troubled heart. I managed to follow my logic which resulted in the passing of my series of line-oriented simulator. I could have done better though, I know it, but having an average passing mark is a fine baby step for the upcoming trials ahead. 

I finished my line-oriented simulator at 10 AM today. After pulling an almost all-nighter, because I was stressing out thinking about the exercises, I managed to do well on my one-engine takeoff. I didn't do well on my landing though, it's always been my problem since I was enrolled in STPI, but I passed anyway. 

The moment I got back to the hotel, I packed my stuff, took a nice long hot shower, checked out by the time the electricity of my room got cut off, and headed to the airport to check in. I got me a window seat at 19F, which was nice. After checking in and printing my boarding pass, I spend the remaining time that I had before the gate to my plane was open, so I spend it all at Subway. God bless Subway. 

Kuala Lumpur has Subways in its' airport, two substations of it at the departure building and at the arrival building. We don't have Subway here in Indonesia, which makes me love Kuala Lumpur just a little bit more than I love my home country. 

The moment I arrived at Kuala Lumpur a few days ago, I immediately went to the famous sandwich place to get me a custom foot-long. I always go for the Honey Oats bread because I like my food sweet. I don't like vegetables on my sandwich so I had none of that and stuck with the meat instead. I got the chicken slices and turkey slices, topped with some cheese, added some extra black pepper-mayo diced chicken meat, then finished it off with a thick line of thousand island sauce. Grilled, sliced, wrapped, and voila! I got me my lunch and dinner for the day. 

Since it was my last day at Kuala Lumpur today, I decided to wrap the show with Subway again. The line was pretty long as it was approximately lunch time, and I hadn't eat any food since last night, so I got pretty dizzy by just standing there among the crowd. I had to park my ass on my luggage to avoid getting collapsed. I really don't function well when I'm hungry. 

I got a complete meal that consisted of a 6-inch sandwich, a couple of cookies of my choice, and a glass of cold beverage. It costed 25.35RM and, boy, was it a good deal!

Like always, I go for the Honey Oats buns. I wasn't being picky today, so I just went for what caught my attention at first, which is the Steak and Cheese filling. And of course, I need to get some extra slices of meat, hence I added some turkey slices in it. Grilled to perfection, topped with a thin line of thousand island sauce and honey mustard sauce, and lunch was served. 

As for the cookies, I went for the White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies that seemed like the most appealing compared to the other basic cookies. As the staff handed me my food, they also gave me a plastic cup to be filled with the choice of cold beverages that they have in stock. I was amazed by the fact that they use a self-service system regarding the beverages, I mean, if I were evil enough I would just refill the hell out of that cup. 

Or, maybe, it is refillable and I'm just being kampungan? (Sengotot itu pake kata "kampungan" gara-gara nggak tau bahasa inggrisnya apa. Yang pasti bukan "villagers" oke, Git, Ngel?) 

I spend my afternoon munching on sandwich at Subway while catching up on my daily comedy of Webtoon. I was reading the Terlalu Tampan comic by the dynamic duo, Avisiena and Savenia. It cracked me up so much I was laughing by myself at the corner of the sandwich booth. Man, I miss having a quality time with myself. 

After I finished my lunch, I rushed to the immigration to get my passport stamped and I was unlucky as it had long lines at every booth that were available. I had to spend almost more than half an hour waiting in line. Finally, after I passed through it, I dashed to my gate as it was only five minutes left before it closes at that time and, to my surprise, the flight ended up getting retimed for an hour. I bet my legs will feel pretty sore tomorrow after all that running at the airport. 

Starbucks' Pink Yogurt Frappuccino

It's half passed nine in the evening at Kuala Lumpur and my shuttle, that will take me to AACE, will arrive approximately six hours from now. Instead of sleeping, and resting my mind after hours of studying for an upcoming simulator check, I decided to write a bit because I'm in desperate need of refreshments. 

I flew to Kuala Lumpur this morning. Got myself some Starbucks to sip as I wait for my gate to open, and I got me one of its' new line of beverage, the Pink Yogurt Frappuccino. I was actually going to get the Iced Raspberry Latte, but then I remember how I usually end up in a bad place after my regular dose of caffeine, so I settle with the non-caffeinated drink instead. 

Starbucks' Pink Yogurt Frappuccino is a yogurt based drink mixed with God-knows-what, with color that reminds me of Chanel Oberlin and texture that somewhat similar to 7-Eleven's Slushie. I definitely can acknowledge the yogurt in the beverage, but the flavor escapes me. I have no idea what flavor this is. All I know, it's sweet, it's pink, it's weird, yet I drank the hell out of this cold beverage. It was not bad for a Rp25.000,00 priced drink, but I don't think I will comeback for more. 

Btw, how do you like my pink cheetah nails? 

Baby Steps

My second day of October was fine to start with. I managed to study well during the day, finished my training, met up with my barrack mates, and have them sleeping over at my house. Nails were painted, cheeks were highlighted, the Cult of Chucky was on during the whole time we played makeup despite the fact that I just got my special-edition Critical Eleven DVD mailed, and brownies were eaten. I forgot the last time I had this ton of laugh and fun, and I enjoyed every second of it.

October may be the month where I want to work hard on living my life with more logic than emotions. For almost 23 years, I've been counting a lot on my guts, my emotions, my feelings, and my heart, and things got pretty messy. I do think some changes are needed. It may not show any significant changes but, like how my best friend always say, "Baby steps, Ket. Baby steps.".

Enjoy the little things. 

I made a video a few while ago. To my surprise, the video turned out good and very positive even though I was feeling super fucked up at that moment. It came out beautiful and I ended up watching it ever since every time I feel blue. Thought that I might share it with you readers.

#32

Pretending to be okay is never easy, yet I surprised myself for being able to function today.

My Dad just got back from Guangzhou a few days ago and he brought me a bunch of manicure kit - starting from nail polishes, stamp templates, nail tape, and a whole lot of things that I don't know the name of but know how to use it because I'm a devoted worshiper of Simply Nailogical. A good self-manicure has always give me an extra boost of happiness every now and then, so I spent my last day of September painting my nails and stamping it with my brand new Konad stamping templates. Now, my nails are hella fabulous, plus I get this sense of achievement and satisfaction every time my eyes made contact with either of my fingers.

I don't usually go with soft pastel color, but this sky blue nail polish from Konad is super adorable. I paired it with some white snowflake patterns and it went straight from "cute" to "UHH-KAY CUTIE!!". Yes, that is an Arielle Vandenberg and Matt Cutshall reference because I ship them hard. #ultimatecouplegoals

I always lost my appetite when I'm troubled, but I managed to dig into SNCTRY's Coconute Breeze smoothie bowl and cold-pressed Refresh juice that I got after church. I ordered an extra scoop of chia seed to go with my smoothie bowl and it added a little kick to every spoonful that went into my mouth. 

Despite the fact that the base is made from blended red dragon fruit and banana, which to me seemed like a waste to spend Rp61.000,00 on luxury item that I can actually made by myself for free at home, SNCTRY's smoothie bowl always have a special place in my heart. Loved every topping that the crew used to top my cold dessert with, especially the banana and chia seed. To bad the coconut flakes were rather flaky.  

I also had some coffee with my Dad that only costed us Ro7.000,00 in total. Even though I usually go to Starbucks for my shot of caffeine, it's always nice to have this kind of coffee every now and then. Cheap and simple, yet it has its' own charm and deliciousness in every sips. Mine was Good Day Cappuccino, along with its' drizzle of Coco Granule on top, and Dad had his share of Kopi Kapal Api. 

The thing about being happy is that happiness itself has always been in front of you this whole time. You just have to want to see it to be able to see it. Otherwise, you're just going to dwell with your own monster in a never ending loop of "what if"s and "if only"s. 

For a starter, you might want to practice Zombieland's rule #32 - Enjoy the little things. 

Deep-fried Oreo is Life

Adults make decision. 

I am an adult. 

Therefore, I have the rights to make whatever decision for my well being.

Hence, I made deep-fried Oreos for lunch. 

Yes. 

And a 43-seconds video of me making my deep-fried goodness.

Kedai Khas Palembang: Selera Kito

Located strategically at Kota Wisata, occupying one of the spots at Tenda Resto Fresh Market, Selera Kito has been the number one place me and my boyfriend visit every time we are in the mood for some good Roti Canai. This food tent, owned by a local named Yusuf, serves a variety of Indian-infused Palembang cuisine. Martabak Kari, Roti Canai, Nasi Kebuli, Teh Tarik, you name it! You can have them all here with a reasonable price, good portion, and guaranteed deliciousness. And, no, I'm not exaggerating. 

Our custom, my boyfriend and I, is to order the Roti Canai with different condiments. I usually go with the Roti Canai Susu, which is a plate of Roti Canai with a side of condensed milk, while my boyfriend goes with the Roti Canai + Kari Kentang that comes with a generous bowl of potato curry. We usually dip our share of Roti Canai in each other condiments. So, whenever I feel like I had an okay amount of sweetness from the condensed milk, I would go for the curry, and vice versa, and so on. 

The thing about the Roti Canai at Selera Kito is that it is freshly folded and fried on the spot. The cook would grab a handful of dough, stretch it and spin it around like pizza dough, and fried it until it has this crispy golden brown surface. I am amazed by how thin, yet fulfilling the Roti Canai is. It has a great gummy texture with a hint of glutinous sweetness in every bite, significantly stretchy but not rubbery, has a good level of crispiness, and not oily. It goes best with the condensed milk, in my opinion as I am sweet-toothed as you all may know, but it goes along great as well with the curry. 

I'm never a big fan of thick soup, or curry sauce, or anything that lacks the consistency of liquid, nor solid, but this is an exception. Turns out, I love the potato curry more than I expected. What I love about the curry is that it is not sickening although it may look unappetizing. It tasted savory, very rich, warm as it was served, and it had this bits of mashed potato in it that I could chew in between chewing the Roti Canai. I once found a chunk of lamb meat inside of the curry. But, since I don't like lamb very much, I didn't eat it. The curry is not the least bit spicy if you're curious. 

The other dish that has become my second favorite dish at Selera Kito is the Nasi Kebuli. I love the radiant and flavorful Nasi Kebuli, which comes with a bowl of chicken curry and a side of pickled carrots. Man, I love it so much, especially after a long day out with bae just when we are at the peak of our hunger and exhaustion. 

The dish may look small, but it's fulfilling if you were to eat it by yourself. You can choose which part of the chicken you want for your curry. I usually go with the breast because the breast contains the most meat, and I usually share my meal with my boyfriend. 

I love how the rice is warm when it is served and release this appetizing fragrant. The texture reminds me a lot of how the rice in Doha, Qatar, are like: slightly longish and firm. Each spoonful of the rice itself is already delicious, let alone it being eating with some pickled carrots, chicken meat, and a spoonful of curry. Perfect!

As for the drink, I always ordered myself a glass of warm Teh Tarik. Basically, Teh Tarik is just like milk tea, with extra sweetness on the side. Too bad I didn't have a picture of the warm drink, but I do recommend you guys to get this lovely beverage when you have the chance. 

Selera Kito

Fresh Market, Kota Wisata

Cibubur

Opening Hours:

Everyday, except Monday and Thursday: 04.30 PM - 11.00 PM

Contact:

+62 21 9856 6827

+62 857 1177 0670

Bits of KLIA2

My trip to Malaysia got me searching the web on how to forget bad memories. It may not be the worst memory I can recall, but it definitely is one of them. I found an article on WikiHow that made me feel somewhat supported by its' step-by-step ways on how to banish the unwanted bad memories and reducing the anxiety I'm having every time it knocks on my door. One of the ways says, "Focus on happier memories" so that's what I'm doing now.

It was last week when I went to Malaysia, departed on the 7th and got back to Indonesian on the 11th. I wasn't on a vacation, instead a full day of SEP Training and a set of ZFTT simulator that started in the middle of the night and lasted for four hours straight. To be honest, I enjoy the new experiences, but it was dreadful to say the least. I managed to survive and found bits and bobs that flicker a light inside this my black void of mine. So emo, I can't handle myself.

I stayed at Tune Hotel, accompanied by my Mom, and didn't travel far for food. We ate mostly at KLIA2, depending on the chains of fast food restaurants and groceries that provide food that we were familiar with. It varied from Burger King's crispy fried chicken, Paparich's Nasi Hainam with Ayam Goreng, Aunty Anne's Cheese Pretzel Dog, to imported grocery snacks such as Pop Tarts, Cheetos, Arizona, and Milo Cubes.

I bought a couple bag of Milo Cubes at Jaya Grocery for less than RM10. Each bag is filled with fifty cubes of compressed Milo powder, which confuse me on why this snack is highly demanded in Jakarta when it's just a regular Milo with different shape.



I was exited when I stumbled upon Arizona Green Tea on the beverage aisle. I am used of seeing this fancy canned drink on Tumblr posts and could only imagine how the drink taste like, until last week.

A can of Arizona Green Tea costed approximately RM5.50 and I finally bought one on my second day after contemplating on how expensive it was. It was an okay deal though because the can was large, 600-something mL in volume.

I was in doubt about the flavor of the green tea as it contains ginseng and honey. The honey was fine, but it was the ginseng that I wasn't sure of. I don't think I have tried ginseng before, hence I'm not familiar with the flavor at all. I had my expectation regarding the taste of the beverage, but as I open the can and took a sip of it, turns out it didn't taste like how I thought it would be. Not in a bad way, but somewhat good, a bit in the middle, and rather okay. It tasted odd at first, but then it became good after the next few gulps. I ended up finishing the whole thing on the next day.



On my last day, Mom took me on a train ride to Putrajaya to meet some friends of our family. We met up at the train station, where we got picked up and drove to this dining place near their house that serves Roti Canai. I was full at that moment, as I had my share of Aunty Anne's Cheese Pretzel Dog earlier, but I ended up digging most of Mom's plate of Roti Canai. It was thin and savory, filled with eggs and cheese, and accompanied with a not-so-generous portion of spicy chicken curry. I usually prefer my Roti Canai with sweet condensed milk, or sugar, but this one was exceptionally good.

A couple of the last few things I had on my last day was a Baskin Robbin's Junior Double Scoop ice cream, that consisted of Maui Brownies and Caramel Turtle Truffle, and a small bag full of Garrett's butter popcorn. I used to think that there is nothing an ice cream can't fix, but I stand corrected. Ice cream may not be able to fix everything, but it sure can give us a wee bit of happiness in our hearts during hard times. 

And that's the end of it. 

Good Morning, Reality

I had a good start for today. Even though I slept a bit late last night, I woke up today at six without any extra grunt and rant. Class starts at 9 and I was lucky enough that my chauffeur was able to drive me from Bekasi to M1. I put on a forgotten flannel that I had for years, it's dark blue in color and it has a rather comfy texture of fabric, and I look exceptionally well. Not girly, nor beautiful, but well.

I had me a bottle of Fresha Juicery's Hunny Bunny as we drove passed Tanjung Priok harbor. The combination of apple, carrot, and honey were super fresh and energizing, very suitable to consume to boost your mood. The carrot didn't overpower the whole flavor as the juice had a strong hint of apple in it. I assume the sweetness of the cold-pressed mana came from the honey.

For once, I finally enjoy my morning. Too bad I forgot that happiness doesn't last long. 

Dunkirk and Churros

Mom and I had our share of Dunkirk yesterday at Grand Metropolitan Mall's XXI. The show was at seven and we managed to get some tickets and time to spare to fill our tummy with some munchies from Shihlin. We had a bag of deep fried chicken fillet that costed Rp40.000,00. Didn't take any picture, but it was nice.

I'm a popcorn person, while Mom is more of a nacho person, but I decided to have some churros to go with my movie. I was going to order the belgian waffles with cinnamon dust and ice cream, but the staff said that the waffles will not be coming with its' scoop of ice cream if we were to have them inside the regular cinema. Pfft.

So, five minutes into the movie, I was down with my last half of churros (Mom had one and a half, which left me with the rest to finish). Well fried, warm, coated with a dash of cinnamon and sugar, dipped in a shallow pool of dark chocolate. The churros was nice to say the least, crispy on the outside and slightly doughy on the inside. Not sure if that was the correct texture of a churro, tho. Too bad they didn't give us more dark chocolate. 

I am sane for as long as I want myself to be. 

Es Kopi Susu Tetangga

Murah. Hits. Enak. Ini adalah tiga deskripsi akurat yang bisa gue bagi dengan kalian mengenai Kopi Tuku. Terletak di pinggiran Jalan Cipete, Kopi Tuku cabang Fatmawati ini ibarat warteg bagi para pecinta kopi. Kedainya mungil dan beneran nyempil diantara bangunan-bangunan di kanan kirinya, tempat duduk untuk kita ngaso-ngaso pun nggak ada kecuali bangku sederhana untuk kita tempati sembari menunggu pesanan kita. Menunya nggak begitu banyak, jadi kita nggak pusing-pusing amat untuk menentukan pilihan. Sistem pesan dan pembayarannya nggak begitu lama, mungkin didukung juga dari antrian yang pendek dan kesigapan cashier untuk melakukan transaksi jual beli.

Dari empat pilihan kopi, yang sepertinya menjadi signature drink dari Toko Kopi Tuku itu sendiri, pilihan gue jatuh kepada Es Kopi Susu Tetangga. Dengan harga Rp18.000,00, gue udah bisa mendapat kebahagiaan yang sama seperti gue memesan Hazelnut Latte di Starbucks yang harganya hampir tiga kali lipat dari harga si Es Kopi Susu Tetangga tersebut. Sekitar 5 menit kemudian, pesanan gue pun jadi. Bener-bener kayak warteg: cepat, murah, dan memuaskan. 

Es Kopi Susu Tetangga adalah sebuah mahakarya yang mengombinasikan campuran iced latte, creamer, dan gula aren. Kopinya pekat banget, bisa kerasa dalam satu sedotan pun. Rasa pahitnya nggak didominasi dengan rasa asam. Manis dari gula arennya sangat cukup untuk membuat rasa kopinya tetap kuat, namun tetap manis. Esnya nggak terlalu banyak, sehingga nggak membuat genangan air diatas permukaan kopi susu itu yang, biasanya, menghancurkan tekstur dan kepekatan minuman tersebut. Asli, gue suka!

Es Kopi Susu 

Jl. Cipete Raya No. 7

Fatmawati, Jakarta

Opening Hours:

Sunday - Friday: 7AM - 10PM