Portfolio : 1st half of 2015 projects

January to June 2015

The first half of 2015 sees mostly writing maintenance for old clients as well as a few new ones. 

Work tends to be scarce as I am trying to keep a consistent pricing, but I suppose I would prefer Penna Papier to hold a certain standard pricing instead of charging extremely low just for the sake of getting a job. 

This year , I also try to take Penna Papier to branch out from the old system which is working with website designers to getting work from online opportunities. It has been quite a venture although many companies/ employers do not prefer to commission a freelancer. Location is also a huge problem as Penna Papier has always been limited to being an online service seeing that I am based in Medan. 

Regardless, I have high hopes that with good credibility and persistence, Penna Papier is just seeing the tip of online copywriting business.

Anyway, I'll get to it!

One of the first projects this year is writing a short script for STC Indonesia which serves a warm welcome greeting to its clients in the new year of 2015. 

The idea of it is to keep it short and enthusiastic, as displayed in below video.

I also had a pleasant opportunity to work with a website designer for the first time from Kuliner Medan in Sentra Grosir Medan website content writing

Sentra Grosir Medan - Medan - Bilingual

Another writing for an old client, invitation for an organized event as pictured below. ( Click to enlarge)

Adding a new client to the list is "Olagafood Industri".  For its international exhibition debut, client requested a short profile and product writings in brochure platform. 

Writing is kept to minimal and easy to grasp with attractive design ( courtesy of maxciti )

Note : Click to enlarge.

Will update soon for some undergoing work that is yet to be published!

More Birthdays Ensued

It seems like this space has becoming a place for birthdays recollection!

Since the last post, 2 more birthdays happened : mine and Avy's.

I'll skip mine and jot down straight to my favorite 1 year old in the whole wide world.

I have always wanted Avy to stay little, because it looks like she's it for us- as in she's the last child I am going to have, probably EVER.

But how she's grown!

I will never forget how she smiled SOCIALLY when she's around 5-6 weeks old. It WAS a big deal because of all the theories on how babies don't really show facial expression or interaction gesture unless it's above 7-8 weeks old ( It's just gas), but true to form she did smile to us haha.

I suppose all mothers boast on how great their babies are, but I try not to succumb to that thinking and put my realistic fronts on how basically average most babies are. However, I do think that Avy is a little smart girl in a making.

She's so quick to respond and to say she's a quick learner, would be an understatement! She's very equipped emotionally as well, showing off temper and flashing smiles here and there.

Physically, I guess she's on the average list - but verbally and mentally, she's shot off the roof haha. I should be embarrassed but she is a little advanced sweetheart , so I am not sorry afterall!

So I've said this and I'll say this again, please stay little Avy.

Welcome to the toddler club, love.  

Emma turns 3.

I know absolutely nothing about a 3 year old. 

True, I also didn't know a lot about a baby or a toddler aged 1-2 before, but somehow there's a notion that toddlers below 3 is a more familiar territory. They are basically little humans that need to be fed, cleaned after, taught and etc while they just go along.

But a 3 year old?  Their communication skills are better, as are their social skills. They can scheme, plot or form an opinion based on their logic. They have a sense of their identity. A 3 year old is basically a real human being now, lol.

As far as I can tell from Emma, she's more and more emotionally evolved as she exhibits her preferences, inquisitions and temperament. Physically, she's becoming more independent and needing less help now. She is also chattier than she was before and she can get a little mischievous too.

It's not like an overnight change though, but these past few weeks as she's approaching 3, Emma has indeed grown a lot. No longer a toddler. 

Personally, I don't feel saddened that she's not a little baby anymore. Probably because there is still her baby sister that I can play with and also because I have long accepted that it's inevitable, so why get all sentimental. 

The thing about kids growing up is that you lose sight of what matters. It has always been the case for me, especially when you deal with them daily and you begin to form a habit, unaware of its consequences.

Which is why, I am making a list of what I/ Emma should do now that she's 3:

For me :

- Offer her to dress herself. Maybe she has never been given the option to do it herself, it always seems that she's always waiting to be dressed.

- Reinforcing the importance of tidying up after an activity. You know, pick your pillow up, clean up after your toy, etc.

- Correct her mixed language when talking. I have to correct myself too!

- Establishes a healthy and loving relationship with her. She can be very testing sometimes, and I can be quite short-fused. The combination is not pretty.  

- Encourage her social skills. 

- Encourage kindness. 

 For Emma:

- Greet people when prompted. As opposed to being reluctant. 

- Compliance to schedule. 

- Just generally aware and cooperative to a simple sentence/request.

I hope it's not too ambitious a list as that is all I can think of. Fingers crossed!

Happy 3 year old Emma. We love you!

Random Notes

There is something almost condemnable in a person who talks too much about him/herself. But here's a random thought, what about a person who never talks about him/herself? Not that he/she is quiet, it's just that their personal matters are somehow never  become any topic of a conversation yet the other person has divulged of his/her stuff. 

In a healthy communication, I would say that people who tend to conceal/suppress their personal matter is just as bad, if not worse, than those who are self centered. It is not a matter of airing your dirty laundry, but rather a matter of sharing the mutual respect and having the same level of trust and comfort. 

That being said, relationship of any kind can only grow if there is a sense of reciprocation ( among many other things).

On another random note, I am becoming more and more aware of how certain medical terms that we so easily throw around in our daily life are actually considered a real offense to those who suffer from them. 

For example, we say "depressed" and I use the sentence " I'm gonna go have a suicide" a lot haha. While in reality, there are severely depressed people or real families battling suicide effects etc. I guess when there is no immediate effect, we just can't see how bad it is too actually say all those things. 

That being said though, I am so used to saying those terms that I am not very confident in turning things around lol. I will try to be more sensitive when it comes to a new peer though, cause you'll never know. 

Case in point is this book is shown in this book I am currently reading. It is about OCD and how life threatening it can be. 

I just think that people should really stop claiming that they have OCD because real OCD sufferers would rather people not know that they have such conditions rather than proudly saying that they do! 

It is really annoying and not cute when someone goes and says " OMG I have such a case of OCD, look at how I have to line up all my nail colors". Just no.

On a personal note, we have returned from our first family trip in 2015!

Traveling with a toddler and a baby really shouldn't be considered a leisure activity at all. The whatever small amount of energy I had before going was significantly depleted by the end of the trip. But for what it's worth, I do feel that it's a good distraction to my relatively dull and boring usual activity back home.

Well, that and seeing how the kids are having a great time actually can be well worth it after all!

2014

The year of Avy


This whole year has pretty much been about baby A, having her as a new addition means plenty of adjustments. Sleeping arrangements, an additional full time helper, financial changes and all kinds of differences that contribute to accommodating a new baby. 

It still baffles me to think about how she's grown from a wrinkly tiny human into a grumpy looking little boy and now, into a pretty looking little baby girl. Well, at least to us she's the prettiest baby - parent's prerogative.

She's 9 months old , super active and just MAJOR love :)

 

For 2015:
When you have a kid, you don't really wish for much. Just that they are well and happy!
 
Also, the year of Emma.

In retrospect, I think 2014 has been quite a drastic year for Emma. From taking a role of a big sister, sharing love and attention, getting a change of nanny and being slowly thrusted into a more academical studying at school, it is a wonder she's made the "terrible two" phase so easy for us.


The problem with all of it is probably that she's still very spoilt and is very "crybaby" about her needs and demands. Something that I definitely have to work on in the future!

Emma will be 3 years old in 2015. Is there such thing as "terrible three"?

For 2015:
Emma is looking ahead to a year of even heavier academic learning now that I've decided for her to skip nursery class and put her in Kindergarten. As I'm writing this I can already foresee the headache we BOTH are going to face. Aside from the well and happy wishes, I really hope she will cope well with school activities. Jia You Emma!

Writing. 

Set up this blog. Organized the portfolio. Took in a bit writing jobs here and there, but not as many as last year. 

For 2015:
Not much really. As much as I want a steady flow of writing jobs, I must admit that this kind of stuff is unavoidable in writing scenes, especially since I don't really put a lot of effort in putting myself out there. You got some or you don't and I guess it is fine with me as long as the outcome is satisfactory for the clients.

Lost Weight


I don't know why but second time around after the baby, losing weight seems to be so much easier!

Not saying that I'm already at my ideal weight, but this is the thinnest I've been for a while. It might seem unimportant but I'm very happy about it nonetheless haha.

One thing that I want to stress is, it is really one of time where I really do not care about what I eat and yet I don't feel as fat. It is very liberating and I'm loving it!



For 2015:
As always, 3 kgs off of current weight #mantra.

Lack of holidays

Not that we holidayed a lot in the past but there is a decrease in it now that we have a baby in her first year. Budget is definitely the main priority and many other issues such as the headache of it all- sort of making me a bit reluctant in taking holidays.

Which is why, we chose Bandung this year for a mid year break. It's like we have a house there now that we have an extended family there haha.

As for end of year holiday, with everywhere being crazily expensive, crowded and so not baby friendly, we settled for Prapat Tuk-tuk and probably a quick night in for the new year's eve!

 

For 2015:
Had 3 itineraries lined up for now but I'm really looking forward for an extra trip for just the two of us ( me & Hai). If anyone deserves a break, it is him for being the superdad that he is and the most loving husband to a super difficult person that I am.

Well, 2014 has been okay. Here's to an even better 2015, may it be our best year yet :)

Over Exhausted Musics

Today I'm gonna write something that's a bit different from topics in the past, but is definitely not something new to me or anyone for that matter : MUSICS!

My musics habit would be :

- I heard a track I love, I will track down his/her whole album for a listen.

- If I like it, I would listen to probably 3-4 times max. 

- But, if I LOVE it, I would listen to it to a point of exhaustion. Over exhaustion. 

So, here's a list of the albums I have definitely exhausted during 2014 :

1.

 

A part time model, songwriter, lyrical genius and a controversy; her follow up album is a treat after a 2- year wait from Born to Die (2012). Unlike her 1st work that boasted a range of musics genre from hip hop to pop ballad, Ultraviolence persists of a certain aura of somberness that fits her vocal tone perfectly. 

Lyric-wise, I still prefer the previous album but any lyric from Lana still beat the vapid monotonous ones nowadays. Not ashamed to say, I definitely re-listened to her 1st album along with this one back to back for too many times. 

2.

Released in October 2013, this is their 1st album and I didn't get to listen to it until a year after. I loved Falling from radio, but dismissed them upon seeing their hippie eerie MV, not that there's anything wrong with hippie! My "better late than never" has bloomed into a full blown Haimsbians situation with an achingly major girl crush on the main girl.

There isn't an exact word to categorize their musics, even the Haims themselves struggle to pinpoint their genre, but let me just say falling in love with Haim consists of multiple levels. 

1st you can't get enough of their album, so you go to their Vevo page and repeat play all their MVs until you quickly stumble into clips of their live performances and you're a Haimsbian for life.

3.

 

Ah the Brits! Aluna and George, the electric pop duo made it big around 2013 with their album Body Music but I actually first listened to their current remixed version (2014). Soon as I begin on a hunt for the original version, comes enormous appreciation for their true sounds and this says a lot because remixed versions are supposed to elevate the original ones aren't they.

What struck out most from this album to me is the silky voice of Aluna and the detailed instrumental arrangement. Their work reminds me a lot of Late Night Almuni and I cannot get enough of them. There isn't a bad track, maybe one or two average one, but overall this album deserves to be on repeat for at least another dozen spins. 

4.

The realest - Iggy A- has just totally resurrected my love for R&B at the same time corrected all the bad things Nicky Minaj has done to it in the past lol. The distinct way she raps is probably the best thing about her imo. That and basically everything about her. 

5.

Well, because who hasn't listened to this at least 20 times.

6.

I don't know who these guys are but there were always an endless hype about how this is the best album of 2014, so I was pretty skeptical but it deserves every bit of the rave. This album draws heavily on rock blues, not something I used to and I won't begin to try to explain the heavenliness of  their musics. 

Right off the first track, you are treated with beautiful instrumentation intro followed with solid finish. This goes for all the tracks in the whole album.

7.

 

There is something about a band that grows along with you and this sentiment goes to explain how special Maliq & D'essentials is to me. I should have outgrown them by now if they have always opted for the same generic musics, but they are consistent and ever evolving making every refinement in each album impossible to miss. 

8. 

 

Beyonce fans rejoice, Self-titled Platinum edition adds remixes and new songs including a personal Ring Off  that is an instant love, along with her adorable 7/11 selfie MV. Looks like I have to re-listen to the whole thing again!

 

Last

People celebrate firsts : first love, first year, first kiss, first everything. Very much so that perhaps we tend to overlook or take note of the importance of lasts. 

This time thing sometimes can be very disturbing, especially when you have two children growing and changing everyday in front of your very eyes!

I'm not even talking about death here , just some small details in life that sneakily fleet us by.

Think about it :

There will be last time of them struggling over simplest tasks and needing my help.

There will be the last time of me putting my kids down and never pick them up in my arms again.

There will be last story or lullaby that they'd ask from me. 

There will be last of the whys and me churning my brain explaining the whys.

There will be last of everything annoying/weird but also sweet/funny thing that only a kid does. 

You get the idea. 

Maybe I'm just being sentimental over the obvious, but if I could just know which of which is the last time of something, then I would definitely make a celebratory fuss out of it. 

I'd make that last one lasts just a bit longer, for keepsake -  just like everything first.