Productive (Pseudo)Holiday

Hi everyone. Good evening. Adel’s here.

Back again with my usual update.

After a while, this feels like a monthly vlog, only in written words so more of a monthly blog. Hahaha, I am an old school by soul and by heart. Anyways, it’s February. God damn, it’s been a month of 2020 already. Where did time go ? I wonder…

So first, I had taken my anaesthesia exam again. I ain’t gonna lie, endless flipping pages of e-books and glasses of black coffee did not really help with the preparation and anxiety I felt before going through the whole dreadful experience again. I swore that day was one of those days when I experienced extreme nausea and insomnia. Thank God my gastritis didn’t decide to show up and say hello or else . . . exam, stomachache and nerves, not really a good combination. Moreover, retaking an exam inside a small room together with dr. P and (many) other doctors were not helping at all. It’s like being whipped from all sides, up, down, left, right and centre. No where to hide, but most importantly no place to think. I literally had to calm my senses and tried to count all the dosage in the middle of “what to eat”, “do you like guava juice?”, “where’s my report?” conversations. On top of everything, I got the harder questions. Fantastico. First from my group with one of the harder question. Chances of passing is really slim. No matter how hard I tried to put a positive vibe to this matter, I am afraid I have failed. And this time, I really need God’s miracle to let me pass :’) #fingerscrossed

Second, the good thing about retaking the test early is having longer (pseudo)holiday. After a while, I finally get back to Batam. My hometown, in a way. Although Batam did not really offer good memories, but still, it holds the roots of my being. Plus, my parents and fully-equipped kitchen are here so friends or no friends, it is always exciting to go back here. My personal trainer is not so happy about this tho since I will be missing gym but he doesn’t mind because he got sick and kinda need 1-2 weeks off to rest. So, problem solved. Hehehehe.

It is super nostalgic. I got to sleep in my mom’s bed together with her. I got to do the things I love like baking (I baked my classic Chiffon Cake for my brother and he claimed to LOVE it which was always a happy thing to note :)), cooking, sorting stuffs, helping mom with work and learn new skill such as sewing. On top of that, I get to enjoy Lucifer series (it’s so GOOD. I am so sad it will end on Season 5. Can Netflix change their mind last minute like pretty please ? I am #teamLucifer now!).

Oooh, and since we’re talking about baking, let me share some notes I gained from baking this classic vanilla sugar cookies recipe. I am a huge fan of Laura Vitale since I discovered her channel when I was 16 or 17 (Now I am 23 going 24, just saying :”)). I baked this once and my brother loved it too. He ate almost all of them (leaving only 2 strips out from the whole cookie jar). You can get the full recipe on her website, laurainthekitchen.com. The first note, if you somehow decided to mix butter and margarine, make sure that the ratio ISN’T 1:1. I put 180 grams of margarine and 50 gram of butter while the original called for a cup of UNSALTED butter. At first I thought there wouldn’t be any problem since the amount didn't change and there's no big difference between margarine and butter. I WAS WRONG :’) Thankfully, I have my mom who is an expert in baking reminding me to add more flour since I made that alteration. By mixing the butter, by batter got soften way way more that it needed 2 1/4 cups of flour (originally, it called for 1 3/4 cups of flour). Second, if you’re baking with a traditional oven (meaning you put the oven on the stove), remember to not set it at the high temperature. It is wiser to go slow with lower temp to control the baking process. I (blindly) followed the recipe. I set the oven to 180 degree Celcius and my oh my… my cookies almost burnt. Again, thankfully mom came in to rescue and taught me to do “tempt control”. It was more tiring but definitely worth it. Hail Mom. Hehehe. But overall, it tasted wonderful and ready to be gifted ;)

Third, I am going back to Jakarta soon for a job opportunity. Since there will be quite some time left for me, I manage to get myself an internship at Atma Jaya Semanggi #woohoo. I’ll be working 20 hours a week, helping BKS for their upcoming projects. Fun fun fun, can’t wait 😊

Fourth, new year’s resolution of maintaining healthier diet is a bit shaky now, especially when I am staying at Batam. With all the seafood and mom’s pity, the temptation to eat more is almost unbearable. But through this I get to learn that I am starting to develop unhealthy relationship with food and that’s something I do not want to have. I started to feel that I am obsessed with calories and not focussing on the right things which are my body needs and having adequate self-control. So now, I am trying to cope with it and hopefully everything turns out great. #amen

Lastly, I am super happy that 12th February 2020 is near. My heart is eager to watch To All The Boys Ive Loved Before, PS: I Still Love You!!!! 😍 The teasers and trailer got me super hyped and excited. Can’t wait to see my babies, Lana Condor and Noah Centineo back on screen. Also, we might get either a trailer, teaser or poster of After We Collided on 14th February 2020. Hero (Freaking) Tiffin and Josephine Langford are finally back together on screen!! Another thing to be excited for. And don’t get me started on March. Both Sam Smith and 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) are releasing their albums. God have mercy on me. Start saving money for their albums as we speak now. Hahaha.

Ehm, I guess that’s all for now. I hope you have an amazing start of the year.

Till then :)