THINK: The Perks of Adult Life

This post title might sound very serious but in fact, it is something that I soon realize to be normal and bound to happen once you enter a new stage of life. When I was first looking for my first job, I thought I have all the time in the world to snap photos, hang out with my friends, try out new cafes, or just randomly strolling around and dropping by coffe shop to have a cup or two. Now that I have worked, those days are pretty much gone. When you enter an adult life aka working life, things gets pretty much routine. I really enjoy my work though, but once I get home, the only thing that I would want to do is sleep. I am not even kidding.

But at the same time, I realize that this is the time wherein the very filters in which I see things and the principles that guide me, change. I am starting to make decisions about who I keep company with, solidify my priorities, and generally see myself in a bigger context than ever before.

With that being said, losing touch with some of my friends become unavoidable. Well, with some people, it is expected, but with others, it feels like a punch to the stomach. Separation is bound to happen and I slowly realize that everyone ends up with the ones that matter to them. Maybe we don't head to the destination or maybe we don't always, or even rarely ever, evolve along the same timeline. I always believe that in the of the day "...the best you can do is stand behind your own choices, stay focused on continuing to become the happiest, healthiest  most successful version of yourself possible, and try to retain a certain sense of social zen - people come in and out of your ife, and that's okay."

GO: Moomba Festival 2013

Those who follow me on Instagram know that I just had a very eventful weekend! Just a quick short update because I need to catch up with my sleep. With the working life just started, it just plain hard for me to balance between work and play. Age does not lie and gone those days where I was able to party until 4am and continue the havoc on the next day.

On Saturday, after filming for the upcoming church short-movie/campaign (photos coming soon! It was really entertaining!), I headed for the annual Moomba Festival. I think our decision to go at night was completely justified given that the weather has been ridiculously hot for the past few days. Well, enjoy the pictures!

GO: Lucerne x Belgium

I dare to say that Lucerne is one of the world's most beautiful city. With the city surrounded by lake, old shops, and paved pedestrians, the ambience is so calm and captivating. I did not take many photos because it was already late when we arrived and with shopping adrenaline pumping, I completely forgot to snap pictures. Nevertheless, the photos you see do not justice how beautiful the city is.

A little story to share here. Switzerland is famous as the world's best watch maker, and hence, here in Lucerne stands grandly is the biggest Rolex flagship store you could ever see. I bought a watch which is believed to be cheaper here only to find out later that Paris airport sells the exact same watch at a cheaper price. So do not get misguided.

The next one is Belgium! Not my favourite city because it was dirty and un-organized as compared other cities/countries I've been during the trip but nonetheless, the central city is still extremely beautiful with the old buildings projected with colourful lights. Enjoy the pictures! 

WEAR: Chilling at Botanical Garden

Coping with the heat has never been my forte and this year, Melbourne's weather is exceptionally hot even in March. With 31-35 degrees, we can barely feel the breeze of Autumn. The only good thing is we can do outdoor activities and enjoy the sunshine before the weather gets cold in later months. This time I took a stroll around Botanical Gardens (when the temperature lowered down to around 20 degrees!) and decided to give it a tour without me knowing that the garden has many exit gates. With the car parked at the other end, I had to walk in one round, and since exercising has not been my favourite activities, walking for 3 hours certainly made my leg sore.

WEAR: Brown Riding Hood

This is a photo reel taken when we visited Lake Titisee as a spur on our way to Germany from Switzerland. Lake Titisee is located in the heart of Black Forest (and hence the name, they sell a delicious mouth-watering Black Forest which I forgot to take photo of because I finished right before my eye!) and surrounding the lake are countless restaurants and little shops selling everything from beers, to meat and food specialties, to clocks. Titisee is famous as the maker of cuckoo clock so almost every shop sells cuckoo clock. The small village and the lake itself are amazing and captivating. It is literally a very pleasing place enclosed by wooded hills. When I went there, it was a tad overrun by visitors but still it does not diminish the relaxed and calm ambience.

WEAR: Trench and Winter Colours.

Living in a city like Melbourne where the weather is constantly cold (and with the completely opposite season from those of EU/US), my ideal year-end gateway would perhaps somewhere warm with rays of sunshines, which left me with nothing but Southeast Asia countries. But as we decided to embark our trip to the EU, I believe it's the time to explore further on winter wear. 

This is one of those outfit I put together on when we hit Amsterdam. It was freezing cold but I decided to put in more effort simply because everyone dressed gorgeously out there. So I decided to throw in my trench coat and hat I bought from H&M. The hat really comes in handy when I am having a bad hair day. And as usual, winter spells for dark and warm colours such as maroon, black, and cream. 

GO: Innsbruck, a Little Wonderland.

When I say I am having a "holiday hangover",  residual holiday stress is still hanging in there. Just looking at the photos I took during my trip to EU last December, deep inside I am yearning for another glorious adventure. This time is time for a photo-reel from Innsbruck, Austria.

A long drive to Innsbruck was definitely a very pleasure yet memorable one. With snow falling along our journey and highway surrounded by pine trees, I feel like I am in a little wonderland. Innsbruck is situated between high mountain range, which explains the chilly weather for most of the year, even during summer. The historic old town is surrounded with beautiful old buildings, with wooden toys hanging on top of the roof. Innsbruck's Altstadt (Old Town) is a very romantic place. Very artsy, I must say.

GO : Brighton Beach, We're at the Last Piece of Summer!

We're at the last piece of Summer here in Melbourne! It will be getting cold around mid March and with the city constantly having a rather chill and cold weather for the whole year (it sometimes does get cold in Summer too!), to be able to have a stroll along the beach and enjoy the sunshine is somewhat a simple pleasure. So before the cold hits and makes us lazy, me and the boyfriend decided to head to Brighton Beach for a walk and enjoy the sunset. Beautiful rays of sunshine, colourful bath houses, and good companion. This is what I called the perfect summer escape.

GO: Florence, Pisa, and B&W

Florence is the capital city of Tuscany, 173 miles north of Rome. Nothing particularly beautiful in this city except the infamous Pisa Tower. But I had one of the nicest gelato I've ever tasted!

GO: Switzerland, and 10,000 feet Later.

Switzerland is probably one of those country that oozes cool and cold at the same time. Apart from the Lucerne, which I completely falling in love with (next post coming up!), the highlight would be our weekend trip when we crammed into the skylift and rose 10,000 feet to the top of Mt. Titlis. All I could see was a few metres thick smorgasbord snow. It was amazing but the journey to the top was probably quite a horrific one. We were lucky because shortly after we reached the top of the mountain, all skylifts were shut down due to strong wind (which looked like a storm to me rather than wind). Soon after I found myself lying down with think snow slapping on my face.

GO: Paris, I'm in Love

If there was a city that would forever stuck in my heart, it'd be Paris. It is one place that I would never get bored of. The city, the people, the food, the shops. Every single corner of the city is beautiful and breathtaking. The city itself is a mixed between old buildings, museums, and flagship stores blend in together (name the brand, there you find the store!). Paris is all about that glitters and shimmers. Literally. But from the top of Eiffel tower, Paris glittered even more. The journey to the 2nd tier of Eiffel Tower was a tad gut-wrenching but as soon as we reached the top, the view is beyond magnificent  Limitless sky and a beast tame Paris.

GO: Venice, The City of Canals

Venice had always been on top of my must-go list and the feeling to able to check this place off my bucket list is so delightful. There is something enchanting about the Venice's narrow streets, shimmery canals, and infamous gondola. Even though some might say Venice itself is too tourist-infested, it is still a very magnificent city. Well, I believe the scenic would be way much beautiful and colourful during spring or summer, because when I went, it was way too cold to enjoy the view. But nonetheless, Venice still captured my heart.

THINK: Hello, It's Been A Long Time.

Hello, so it's been a while hasn't it? I was trying to come up with reasonable excuses for my ages-long hiatus but unfortunately, the only reason is that I've been busy catching up with life that blogging was probably topped my last to-do list. Well, I honestly had no idea what happened to Blogger that most of my photos on previous posts went missing. And being the avid OCD, I decided to delete all the previous entries. Yes, you hear me right. I spent the last few hours revamping the blog and decided to start a fresh. I want this space to be my expressive outlet to share those things I love, eat, wear, go, and think.

So, here is a little updates about my whereabouts and whatabouts so far. As soon as I graduated from my postgraduate study in December (thank you so much to those of you who congratulate me through various ways!), I found myself traveling across Europe and had very joyful adventures. Once the holiday was over, stepping into the adult life become unavoidable. It was right in front of me. Here comes the misery of job hunting and countless interviews. Lately, I've found myself wallowing in the melodrama of the postgraduate employment (and terrible homesick!). Hope I can see the light at the end of the tunnel soon. So ,wish me luck people! That's to sum up what has been happening during my unannounced blogging hiatus.

Well, I wish everyone had a splendid Valentine's day with the loved ones! I shall start the entry in the next post. In the meantime, stay safe!