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.

Parenting #101

As parents, we are inevitably exposed to the many advices of parenting. From reading, being told or simply stumbling upon our own knacks in dealing with our children.

While I'm by no means a flawless parent, here are several things that I try to live by when it comes to parenting :

1. Positive Pushing

It seems like the standard of a good education for a kid today is attending school full time plus numerous other additional courses : Language, Art, Musics, Sports and so many more. Heck, there is even a class of Penmanship with kids as young as 2 years old. 

In a glance, this might seem over the top but in a way, I personally think that there is a silver lining in all these options and with the right push, I sure hope that my kids will benefit from the right activities. This is why I enrolled Ems into a ballet class when she was 2.5 years old despite the " 3 years old" minimum age requirement. 

Certain that she was ready, I also thought that she needed a new circle outside her school to hone her social skills as she can be quite timid for no reason sometimes. So far she has enjoyed the class and blends in really well too. It's really a win-win situation. 

For me, I think the key is not to overlook what really matters. I firmly believe that a kid should grow in a balance of emotional well being and academic achievements. For this reason, I really foresee myself pushing my children in plenty of extra activities providing that they are happy and actually gain benefit from them.

2. Ways of learning.

People often ask me where I went to study, probably because they associate my English skills with overseas education. The fact is I never went  out of my hometown for it. How I actually get fairly good with it is through unorthodox ways : reading, gaming, watching movies and lastly, teaching. I can safely say that it is only in my late 20s that I got a really thorough self- taught English lessons while actually teaching others. 

With that experience in mind, I sometimes stop and remind myself when Ems have inconsistent progress with her alphabets/ numbers or when Baby A isn't doing this or that yet. Kids will learn, maybe not in the way that we prefer or not in the speed that we like, but they will. I think as long as it is not alarmingly slow, I can live with it ( at least I'll try lol).

 

But yes, kids will learn. They will learn in time; they will learn by mistakes or by chance. Even if they don't, trust that there are SO many other aspects of life that they can still explore! Don't fret. 

3. Don't revolve. Involve.

When you just have a kid, your world revolves around him/ her; at least it was so for me. Then I stumble upon a perspective changing article which basically said that instead of making the kid our center of universe, why not include him/ her in gratifying towards other positive things in life.

 In my own term, I call it " Don't revolve. Involve".

The article exemplified religion, but not limited to other good virtues in life : gratitude,  mutual respects, manners etc. In my case, I would say there really isn't any specific value I focus on but more to the whole idea of not letting myself over-glorifying the existence of my children.

4. Healthy Relationships. 

I used to consider clinginess equals to the most desirable mother & daughter relationship. It was to me, like the ultimate approval of motherhood. Sounds crazy, I know. 

I complained too many times when little Ems wasn't as attached to me as I'd hope until a friend pointed out a drawback that really got me think. She told me to imagine if I was sick and can't care for her, while the kid refuses to be cared by other persons except you. Who'd have harder time then? You or the kid? ( Hint : it is always the kid that suffers most)

Yes, it must feel very special to be the only person your bubs can't live without but like all good things in life, there should be a moderation. A child should be able to interact in healthy ways with other people. We as parents, should minimize any extreme preference towards certain person in his life, including ourselves.

Well, this is the end of my Parenting #101. Here's hoping to the #102!

Portfolio : Print

List of Portfolio for Print:

Writing that falls under Print category :
- Brochures
- Flyers/ Banners
- Catalogs
- Company profiles
- Advertorial

Penna Papier's work for Print as displayed below, in no chronological order :

 Qton Indonesia 

Type : Brochure

Language : Bahasa

 

CNC Gallery

Type : Brochure

Language : English

Helious

Type : Brochure

Language : English

 

Jittlada

Type : Flyer

Language : Bahasa & English

Meryline

Type : Brochure

Language : English

PT. TMS

Type : Company Profile

Language : English

 

Unibis

Type : Product Catalog

Language : Bahasa & English

Portfolio : Style Guide

List of Portfolio for Style Guide :

In Medan's business scene, a style guide is pretty rare in existence. However, in my opinion style guide is actually very crucial in maintaining a business standard especially when it comes to graphic designs, logo application and company image. 

In a style guide, the writing work scope mostly deals with the logo's verbal explanation, the (hidden) meaning of it, the color representation and a lot more. 

As it is of client's property, I would be displaying only excerpt of writing with hope that it sheds some lights of the extent of Penna Papier's work :

CMC ( Medan)

apique creative studio ( Medan)

For more info and details, please kindly email : pennapapier@gmail.com

 

Portfolio : Website Content

List of Porfolio for Website Content :

This list is made in no chronological order. Links to the websites have also been provided for further information.

It is important to note that all content materials in below websites are 100% original writing of Penna Papier ( I pretty much condemn all kind of frauds but especially plagiarism).

CNC- Gallery  (Medan)

 Daverson  ( Singapore)

 HB Architeam( Medan)

Honorich Plasindo ( Jakarta) - Bilingual

The Laural Company ( Singapore)  

Maxciti  ( Medan)

 STC Indonesia ( Medan) - Bilingual

Trimanunggal Sejahtera  (Jakarta)

Unibis ( Medan)- Bilingual