[Project Tatooine] #4 Hot Air Balloon

My birthdays in Canberra have always been amazing with annual random surprise and lovely people  although the one in Disneyland Anaheim was still the best so far lol. Yet this year was particularly special because the housemates along with Vina and Nadeen were all agreed to celebrate my birthday... in the sky! YES. In the tiny congested box of a HOT AIR BALLOON. Hot air balloon ride was something that never really cross my mind, it reminds me of the travel all around the world story and sounds exciting but I never thought that I will actually experience it.

We arranged to go exactly on 22nd March but they had to cancel the flight because it was raining and the wind was quiet strong--hence, it is dangerous people. Since I don't want to cause a tragic history of my life, we shifted it to the next day. There were three flights that day each with different size of the box and we were all jammed into the biggest box (I really don't know what they call it :p) which is divided into 4 smaller sections and each fits 4 adults (or 5 Asian adults like what we did hahaha). Apparently, they had a marriage proposal took place in one of the other 2 boxes that they and everyone congratulated the soon-to-be bride and groom :)

The overall experience was memorable with fantastic view and amazing people :D

Why is this a special part of Project Tatooine?

hot air balloon ride for the first time ever.

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What: Hot Air Balloon Flight

Where: Canberra, Australia

Category: Travel

[Project Tattooine] #3 Siwon Six

Lama tak jumpa :p

Sebenarnya ada banyak yang mau ditulis tapi kok ga ditulis-tulis ya. Kemarin saya sebenarnya (lagi) libur 2 minggu tapi sangat-sangat menikmati liburan dan berbagai tugas sampai belum ada waktu untuk nulis lagi. Anyways, just to keep everything short since I still have to finish my messay-essay..

DRUM ROLLS..

Finally, one of my short story got published! :"D

Cerpen saya termasuk dalam omnibook SIWON SIX yang diterbitkan oleh PlotPoint. Saya sendiri belum sempat pegang bukunya tapi sudah ada di toko buku terdekat anda (apabila anda berada di Indonesia tentunya). Why the title is very pop-culturesque? With a special feature from a very familiar kpop dude? I know, I know. I had similar thoughts roaming in my head, yet for the better good or not, Siwon from Super Junior is the 'main character' of this book. The logic is we have this spreading and awesome theory that everyone has 6 twins in this world. What make you crave this book so much is each of the story in this omnibook tells a unique story about Siwon's twin :p

Cerpen saya bercerita tentang seseorang yang seumur hidupnya dihabiskan untuk meyakinkan masyarakat untuk menerima dirinya apa adanya. Namanya Ahmad, Sunda totok, namun merupakan kembaran hampir persis dari Siwon. Sisanya silakan baca sendiri apabila anda memutuskan untuk membeli bukunya!

Bukunya juga bisa dibeli secara online via BukuKita.com, StarBuku.com, dan Mizan (akan datang). Harga relatif lebih murah dibanding buku-buku sejenis lainnya, saya belum tahu alasannya tapi tetap nilai tambah, kan :)

Why is this a special part of Project Tatooine?

Because I never 'sold' any of my writing before and on top of that they actually published it!

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By the way, posts are definitely coming since I have tons to write about but hasn't find the right time to actually write and transfer the pictures :)

[Project Tatooine] #2 a cooking fiesta

Another cooking experiment in 2013, Cinnamon Roll. I was a big fan of Cinabbon, like at one time I was crazy over them, but to get those glazy, chewy, and sweet buns I have to get through the unbelievable jams and parking spot. Yes, the last Cinnabon counter I remember was in Kelapa Gading and not sure if they are still there.

Soo I was lurking on Indochine Kitchen, a peranakan food blog which I frequently visit and found a batch of these fluffy goodness. I know it was an old post and I've seen it before but I just had the right mood and supporting situation (aka a proper oven and kitchen compared to my old studio apartment) to actually try the recipe.

Okay I won't get through the recipe because I followed Jun's recipe to bits. It's just I halved the recipe and sprinkled some chopped apples and raisins on top of the sugared ground cinnamon. I think the crunchy additions give a better chewing sensation :p Oh, I also put the dough on a cupcake pan instead of squeezing them together.

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Some may know that I move into a new place every year, this is my fourth permanent accommodation in Australia and finally I live off-campus. I do love the perks of living on-campus; integrated internet connection, close proximity to city and eateries, social hub, and ultimately, the 5 minutes distance to most classes. Yet after 3 years I just wanted something new and different because the downfall of living on-campus is..you just live on-campus. Because everything I needed was very very close I didn't have the urge to explore greater parts of Canberra. Soh last weekend Di was staying over and we had a small cooking fiesta.

Sorry if you can't really see the details, the lighting was kinda bad

Di made a cold salad with shredded chicken, apples, canned fruits, and pasta. Obviously I'm not a big fan of salads and veggies but this one is sooo good because she used fruits. She got the recipe from her mom but if you wanna try basically just boil chicken breast and shred them (like what you do for soto ayam) and mix it with pasta, chopped apples (skins on), canned cocktail fruits, mayo, and Heinz salad dressing. Let it set in the fridge until cold and enjoy your summerish salad :)

I don't know the name for the second recipe, even my housemate who cooked it doesn't know what to call it. I think vegetarian fried sandwich would fit jk idk but anyway it taste so nice umm similar to perkedel. You just need to steam (or boil, but it'd taste better of you steam) a couple of potatoes and carrots. After they are soft enough, mash them with a fork. Sautee crushed garlic, pepper, and salt until golden brown-ish and mix it with the potato mixture. Prepare some crackers and make a sandwich by putting the potato mixture between two crackers. Lastly, coat the sandwich with flour and deep fry!

My breakfast this morning

My other housemate also made a yummy batch of brownies. Of course you can use your own favorite brownies recipe but a dash of ground cinnamon will make it even more magical :p I think I've posted enough pictures lol please try any of the recipe if you have time


andd happy tuesday!

[Project Tatooine] #1 a dot com

So after a long and unnecessary time spent just to decide the project's name :p finally I came up with something very original, not. Introducing my first personal project ever (after Hope For Peace campaign back in 2007), Project Tatooine.

Nothing grand about this tho, really. Just a digital manifestation of my commitment to try new things. Project Tatooine will cover every single new, exciting, and shareable thing in my life starting from January up until June 2013. Yep a semester it is! I believe food, writing, travel, and photography would have the largest shares since I have a hugee interest on them. But I also want to cover the other areas which lead us to the first ever entry of Project Tatooine:

YAY!

I now have my own domain, again :D Okay, okay. I admit this is not that new because 2 or 3 years ago I used to have it. But this is 2013 so let's press the restart button yaay! My blog finally has a decent house after years of being homeless in the sea of blogspots.

The second and third entries are already waiting but oh buut I'm too sleepy now :p so I'll see you when I see you!

The Tale of Troughs and Peaks

Canberra, 2011
(Usagi Superheadz/ASA 100, edited)

I'm glad I made a decision to stay here this summer. Quiet and hot; It's been a joyous reunion with myself. For the past 3 years I've been (in the most subtle way) questioning myself: am I doing what I want to do? Is this 'it'?

No, it's not because I'm doing it badly and recklessly. I put my best effort to do whatever they asked me to do and I have no problem with my results. But I also realized that deep down it's a cruel conflict between passion and pride. Just to make it worse: I didn't know what my passion is. Totally clueless. Until my supposedly final year, it became worse. Slowly but surely I'm parting with my own means. I started to realize how some people are passionately doing their 'thing' while I don't find what I do is amusing. I know it's no good to compare yourself with other people but when you hardly define what you do as 'happiness', then, something is wrong with it.

Then I asked myself: why?

It took me a year to answer such simple question. Yet the answer is actually as simple. I stopped doing things that I like. I stopped blogging, writing, taking pictures, editing, drawing and doing other artsy things. Uni has been extremely exhaustive and dry (for me). Like a dementor, it consumes my soul. Not being hyperbolic, this is what I feel most of the time. I'm not blaming uni, but I don't have the energy (and creativity) to do my hobbies anymore. Apparently, it makes me less happy.

Until the past year some people may know that I did a few art projects here and that was when I realized my passion. Colours. Oh, colours heal my soul. Also my dream to be an entrepreneur. At first I was asking myself again, was it a wrong decision to choose a non-art academic life?  But then again it's hard to weigh the 'right' and 'wrong'. Since it was entirely my decision to choose this field and my parents (or anyone else) had nothing to do with my final decision. So, if we play the blame game everyone would basically point at me.

Putting the bits together will explain why last year was quite hard. I think the conflict was starting to emerge to the surface as I was being aware of it. In the end some things got messed up and I came to the final decision. To my surprise I don't regret my decision 3 years ago and looking back I'd make the same decision. Although it's been a rocky road, for the past 20 years I've always been on the smooth side. So I learned a lot and more than thankful to have wonderful parents who support me.

Aaaand Just to put it there and get some people back on the right track: No, ANU is not trying to kick me out since I did nothing to make them do so.

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On the other and brighter sidee, I promised to post something 'new and interesting' and few days ago I came up with something. The last time I did this was around 7 or 8 years ago and I'm still working on it. It should be something light and refreshing soo stay tuned ;p

Twenty Thirteen!

Canberra, 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

How was 2012 for you? For me, frankly, it wasn't really good. I got to deal with lots of stuff and nothing was really spectacular like the the awesome fireworks I just saw last night. Academically, I failed my last year's resolution to graduate. Social-wise, I failed to maintain some silaturahmi ties with certain people and hardly put more effort to do so (which is not a good thing at all :/). Lastly, maybe not many people know this, but I got into a car accident and dislocated my finger back in April. So, nope, 2012 wasn't one of my favorite years. After all pains, struggles, tears, and laughs: I made a crucial decision last year. I won't go any deeper but this decision somewhat changed my life direction. It wasn't easy but I think I had to do it anyway.

But let's put those things aside and move to the brighter corner. I did some minor new stuffs like brazilian wax (no, once is enough for me), bikram yoga (and I'm loving it), went to Coldplay's concert, cooking experiments, wrote a couple of short stories, got accompanied by a special visitor from Jakarta for few days :p andd did a major renovation on this blog. Some people were asking me to keep on updating the blog and it's indeed a pleasure to know that they enjoy my updates :) so, I'll try to update it more frequently. Anyway, I just realised I didn't do much travel this year except Jakarta and Sydney. Oh dear, I really want to do more things this year.

Since it's a new year, I have to come up with new resolutions. To be honest, I don't have a special bucket list for this year but I think I'll come up with something anyway. Few years ago a friend said that I don't have the excitement for some 'new and challenging' things that should be appealing for my age back then (to name a few: cigarettes, clubbing and alcohol). Looking back, I think she's right. Even after I tried all of it, I still don't regard those kind of things as 'cool and exciting' (Being a Jakartan, I fully understand those are the essential 'social tools').

Well, I feel like naturally being on the 'right' path but also boring in the same time :p Sooo, the main mission for this year is to do things that I haven't done before. I mean, I did some weird stuff before but never really feel that I have to record it on this blog. Just to keep everything memorable, I'll write every single shareable thing that I do! :)


That's all for today, I wish you a lovely and wonderful new year!

My cooking log and Hotteok

Sejak tinggal dan punya dapur sendiri, memasak terpaksa jadi bagian dari rutinitas saya. Di Jakarta, boro-boro masak ke dapur saja jarang. Kalau saya masak pun pasti semua asisten di rumah ikut heboh. Bikin males. Wajar sih, mungkin takut dapurnya makin hancur setelah saya selesai. Waktu saya mau ke Canberra pun ada beberapa yang khawatir 'Kanya masak saja ngga pernah, gimana mau tinggal sendiri?'. Toh saya santai saja soal masak-memasak ini, saya awalnya juga bingung kenapa bisa memasak (as in survival skill) dan tidak menganggap ini hal yang luar biasa. Setelah saya ingat-ingat mungkin karena dulu ikut pramuka sampai SMP ditambah pelajaran tata boga. Jadinya ya, dapur sama sekali ngga asing buat saya.

Sekarang, karena dapur cuma 3 langkah dari tempat tidur saya tidak lagi memasak sebatas untuk bertahan hidup :p I just love the idea that stove and microwave are magical. Selama hampir 3 tahun terakhir saya banyak eksperimen. Awal tahun ini saya membuat daftar kecil makanan yang saya buat dan saya tempel di pintu kulkas. You can't really see read the list because of my bluuuuuurrry picture but most are Japanese/Korean food ;j yum.

Ignore the top left note. Yeah, I was crazy about CN Blue earlier this year :p

Long story short today was my third attempt to make Hotteok, Korean sweet pancake, one of their sweet street food. Not sure if you're familiar with this one because it's not as popular as the spicy rice cake. Resep dasarnya seperti donut kampung tapi diisi dengan gula merah, kacang, dan kayu manis lalu ditekan supaya berbentuk pipih. Ah, you know a picture speaks a thousand word, so I'll show you a few of them..

The Dough

This batch's a bit burnt :/

I've tried two recipes (with and without glutinous rice flour) and decided that I prefer the less chewy one. Rasanya jadi seperti donat tipis manis dan harum rempah :) I love that nothing's too fancy about this snack, maybe because I actually used a (gigantic) bar of coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. Soo although this is one of those 'korean thing', this snack actually brings back the nostalgic and familiar feeling of home. A perfect companion for your daily afternoon tea/coffee time.

Tertarik mencoba? Resepnya didapat dari 2 food blogger Korea favorit saya: Beyond Kimchee (dengan tepung ketan) dan  Maangchi.

UPDATE
I recommend to use coconut sugar rather than mere brown sugar, it gives a distinctive fragrant and flavour to your hotteok. I also did some minor experiments with the filling and used chocolate and sesame seeds (since, you know, sesame seeds and chocolate are magical) :)