Now that I am back to a normal, 8 to 5 (more like 7) life, I have fallen back into the same mundane routines and I can't help but feel that my daily activities starts to bore me off. Not trying to be ungrateful, but I should not drawn further to this kind of feeling that lingers, or else I am gonna lose my self again. Therefore I started to do things differently to spice up my day. Looking back, the first thing that could potentially ruin my mood is having a shitty coffee in the morning. On my previous workplace, before I go straight to my desk, I would stop by the bakery located at GF (which rarely got customers in line) to buy a cup of hot coffee; it comes with a free bakery and is totally cheap but honestly though, the taste is quite bland and the amount of caffeine isn't kicking enough. Famima at the basement level, however, always packed with crowds and it always took me more than 30 minutes to get my order. So a good cup of coffee in the morning would fix my mood the entire day 😁

The second thing that I do to make my day better is to have mini adventure on my way to work. On days when I don't have any deadline, or doing fasting for example, I would commute to workplace by TJ or Jaklingko, in every way possible. The idea of commuting by public transportation never fail to excites me. By far I figured 6 different ways to commute to work using the combination of different corridor and bus stop, depending on where to grab my coffee first. Most of the time I would stop by  Fore at Djakarta Theater to grab coffee—another effort to not rely on deliveries, but lately the headway of Jaklingko had been longer due to Dishub officer monitoring onsite (got this information from the driver himself)—notice how Jaklingko used to skip the bus stop unless the passenger told the driver to stop, but lately they compliantly stop at every single one?

These days I visit Kopi Api Cikini at R.P. Soeroso frequently, where I have to walk around 7 minutes from Gondangdia station. Sipping dirty latte and watching trains pass by are peaceful ways to start the day (note: I unlock (useless) skill where I can take coffee on an empty stomach). Sometimes I make Japanese iced coffee at home to cut down on my daily coffee budget but more often than not I treat it as substitute for breakfast and I buy my second cup of coffee somewhere else. Well, at this rate I might run out of money at the end of the month 😷 Later I found a perfect excuse from @champagnecruz on Thread saying, "Everytime you hesitate to have your third coffee of the day, remember there are people out there doing cocaine. Enjoy that coffee" 😂😂

Not far from Kopi Api is Blue Doors Menteng, but I've only visited once. I tried really hard to like their coffee; I ordered the Kyoto Latte this time around. Unfortunately, they couldn't adjust the sweetness level, so it ended up being way too sweet for my liking 😷

Another way to make the most of my commute, is to distract myself by reading a bite-sized book, especially when I get a seat on the bus or while waiting at a bus stop, because it can take a while for the bus to arrive (I will write more about this later).

The third way to start my days is by having a quick breakfast at Soto Mie Mang Udin not far from Kopi Api Cikini.

To be honest, I had never been a fan of soto mie until recently. I used to hate it when the broth temp cooled down due to the cold risol on top, but theirs is different. The broth stays hot. It is clear but rich, and it warms my body in an instant. Not to mention, the place is somewhat nostalgic, it reminds me of places in Bandung—dining under the shade of a huge tree in the yard of a colonial-style house.

Post-work catch-ups with friends is something that I really need to recharge. That include geeking out at Kinokuniya or Gramedia, buying comics, chit chatting and ending the day with a few strolls at Food Hall to buy groceries.

The last thing that I and A do lately is having transum date (read: public transportation date) after office. By taking the MRT, we visit cafes and restos we've never been to. One night, we tried out Daring Deli and got into the wrong bus on our way back. On another night, we had delicious bakmi jawa at Bakmi Jawa Mas Yono (never miss to order their mendoan also), and had the best dirty latte I've ever tried at Brookland Panglima Polim. I'm super happy of what we're doing even though we both already felt tired from working the entire day. It's like mini escape to our mundane schedule.

Best, best, BEST 

*I wrote a lot on used papers at night since I'm a paper and pen person. I always make an excuse to type it out on Penzu and post it here. Maybe next time 😶

I'm gonna confess here: I bought it due to its pretty cover, despite the goodreads rating. But honestly though, it was a struggle to finish it.

This book tells a story about Adelaide Williams, who, fell in love with the wrong person (clearly, from the reader's point of view). But she just jump in, head first, to the rabbit hole where she doesn't even know where it leads—blindly bewitched by the Disney prince like face of Rory Hughes, even though the glaring red flags were there. She always put someone else after her. She's naive enough to believe that her devotion to that man would give her a happy ending in the end.

That her ways to make the relationship work would eventually move him.

That Rory Hughes would love her the same.

Yet it cost her her sanity, her precious time, her whole self in the process.

Although many will relate to Adelaide's problems, the level of the toxicity of their relationship is another level. Definitely not a romantic story I would say, and leaning more of a mentally heavy, showcasing intense vulnerability of a girl who crave for someone unworthy for her.

For what its worth, I think we all have been in Adelaide's shoes for once in a lifetime: falling in love with the idea of love, or, mistakenly assume the idea of how the universe conspires to cross your path to someone like Rory.