So anyway, yesterday my car’s PPF got weird. If you guys don’t know, a PPF is like a protective film layer applied to a car’s paint job, kind of like adding a phone screen guard. The point is to protect the paint job underneath the film. the film itself is proclaimed as “self healing”. Yesterday some part of the PPF got blurry and become matte finish if that makes sense. I contacted my car’s salesperson and he arranged the car to be examined by the PPF company, so I dropped the car at the showroom.
My car’s salesperson is a very wonderful person, very truthful, very attentive, never pushed me into purchasing unnecessary things, outside of his work and cars, we talk about a lot of things.
Well, yesterday he told me that he’ll be resigning soon and this month will be his last month. Hearing that I felt a mixture of sadness because he’d been so reliable and a good friend, but at the same time I was proud that he was able to walk out from a workplace that didn’t treat him fairly.
I thought about my 5 years in residency and thought that I probably had too much tolerance to the pressure. Probably because of the goal that I made and also the way I don’t want to let my family members down. Even though at multiple points in those 5 years I really want to close my eyes and forget about the goals and dreams that I made and the sadness and disappointment that my family would express, and just drop out from residency. Heck, even quit as a doctor if I have to, since a dropped out resident couldn’t really go back to become a GP again (well you can, but my mindset was not suited to work as a GP anymore).
I remember when I applied to the job I am in now, the interviewer asked me what kind of colleague that I hate the most. I answered the ambitious one, the one so ambitious that they’ll do anything to make sure other people fail. I wonder to myself, isn’t that the people I met in residency? lol. We are not even in the same work place graduating from residency. We go home to different families. We don’t even exchange messages anymore. Then why in residency lots of people are cutthroat?
One of my juniors in residency (bless him) asked me how I felt entering residency that young, told him a mixture of being too naive, being people’s mat and got envied for being that young at the same time. He asked me if I were to turn back time would I start my residency that young? I told him no, I’ll work 3-4 years more in the ER, probably picking another specialty program after.
Another question that I got asked is what kind of boss that I hate. I answered the one who is already biased from the start. The people who look at our skin color, our eye shape, our beliefs, the way we present ourselves and already give minus points, even though in the end we have acquired some points, our final result is never better than the people they prefer. I don’t have to go into details about how some of my attending doctors acted.
If I think about it again, we didn’t get paid (we did for a while, but then it’s peanuts, say 50 dollars a month), we got screamed at, we were overworked into our bones, we don’t have a life outside residency, we don’t get our belief’s holiday. Did we have Stockholm syndrome or something? Or the attending doctors dangled our specialists degree in front of us like carrots or something?
Probably all of those.
I think I really appreciate the gen-z’s mindset that mental health in the work place is important, which for my generation is often overlooked and not really the main concern, perhaps now the superiors will consider mental health as something important.
Your girl here finally graduated from residency, now starting a new chapter in life. I never thought this day would come. Just a few months ago I felt like I am trapped in a tunnel with no way out. Crying and asking God would this ever ends?
Thankfully God listens. I passed my board exams and graduated from residency. Although probably with my sanity barely hanging on. With mental and physical health problems that will need some time to heal.
The first few weeks after graduation was hard. I woke up in the morning with the first thought of the day was “what do I need to do today?” thinking of endless papers, reports and things I needed to do. Anything to escape the wrath of the teachers that seemed to be out of nowhere at random, doing something and producing something to silence the people that say I am too slow, too lazy, too emotional.
My insomnia wasn’t getting better at first, with me sleeping late into the night and me waking up multiple times. Which I know now is the time for me to pray and calm myself down. Which I did, in a few weeks after my graduation, I slept peacefully at night.
Still have those migraines (that I never experienced before residency), now it happens about once a month, which is not the best, but I pray that it will get better.
I have carpal tunnel now, but I am grateful my new work place is very tech savvy and most of the paperwork are digital. Handwriting aggravated the pain, which is a bummer since I like writing by pen too, thank God for fountain pens and computer keyboards.
Scoliosis is something I never expected to have, but I do have it now. No wonder my back hurts so much I couldn’t stand up straight sometimes. I am thankful to have my ergonomic chair at home, sneakers and friends in physiotherapy.
I deactivated my instagram for almost a year now and I have no plans to get back now. My subconscious always see the happy posts and compare my life to them, even though I reminded myself over and over that I am thankful of the life that I have now, my mind always find a way to compare. Deactivating instagram has been a blessing for me. At first it was weird, not opening the app and seeing how people are doing, but then I breathe easier.
I think not a lot of people talk about the lasting mental and physical health problems from residency, but it exists. I am not ready to talk about the mental health aspect that much, but one day I might.
My God has been so kind to me, everything is right on time, even if at first I didn’t see it. I pray that after this it will be better, which I am sure it will, because of how God kept His promises to me.
Anyway, stay tuned for more updates. I hope after this I’ll be more consistent in updating this space. Thank you for every one who takes their time reading this random person rant on her own blog.
I know I didn’t do a yearly recap post and I feel that it’s justified. There were a lot of things that happened in 2022, some were good, some were overbearing and hard to handle. I know that the beginning of the year is not a magic beginning, but there is always something about the start of the new year that gives us hope.
So even though it’s February and I know it’s wayyy too late to make new year goals, I will still write it down anyway. Because I know that my soul needed this.
This year is the year to be selfish.
Not in a bad way, definitely not. But this is the year that I will put myself first in every situation, every scenario and every choice.
I don’t want to dwell anymore on the fact that I am losing a little bit of myself when I don’t set any boundaries, when I let other people needs first rather than mine.
This year will be the year of contentment, I will be content with how I look, of my life, of my financial status, of my education and grades, of my relationships (or the lack thereof). I will be happy no matter what state I am at.
I know these are attainable goals and I will work hard towards them.
Even when I started medical school, one of the very first thing my lecturer said was that being a doctor means you couldn’t be a quiet person. You have to communicate, talk to people.
Over the years I learned that while it’s true, it’s not 100% true.
There are specialties that are suited to people who are quiet and tend to stay away from the spotlight.
10 years ago telemedicine was a new thing, but now a lot of doctors practice in telemedicine.
In my experience of trying to mold myself into the idea of an ideal doctor, I learned to silence my feelings, and kept the my opinions to myself. I learned to place my work over everything else, including my own wellbeing.
And along the way, I felt like I am becoming someone different and I am losing myself.
I listen to other people more than I listen to myself.
I try to make time for other people but I neglect to make time for myself.
I learn to make other people happy but never learn how to make myself happy.
I keep a checklist of what I should achieve in my life but not what I want to achieve in my life.
I constantly feel guilty for relaxing and not doing anything productive.
I constantly feel anxious if I don’t open my phone. In case there are people who tried to reach me.
I felt guilty for taking a break or resting if I were sick.
This is why I decided that from now on, I’ll focus on myself and my own wellbeing.
I know that in my line of work I am replacable. There would always be someone better than me. Someone who has more energy and time devoted to their work.
But I am not wrong for taking care of myself, and I am never wrong for putting my own needs first.
As you can see I made a new hello template 😂 the zombie says hello!
There is always this one flower that I always love.
What’s not to love about this flower? Its beautiful blue color, the name of the flower, and the story of the flower.
Forget-me-not flower.
These few days I was feeling a bit down and remember this one quote that I couldn’t remember the whole words or who said it.
In a world of beautiful blooming flowers, who would ever notice a small bud of flower?
Anonymous
I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there. The feeling of not good enough. In our appearances, our possessions, our life.
Forget-me-not flowers
The Christian lore of forget-me-not flowers is a story with no definite origin and different versions. My most favorite version is the story when God walked in Eden and he saw a small bud of blue flowers and He asked for its name.
The flower was shy and it whispered,
“I forgot my name my Lord.”
The Lord replied,
“Your name shall be Forget-me-not. I’ll never forget your name now.”
While the Christian lore was a nice story. Some love story also mentioned this flower. About how this flower is a symbol of true love.
And I definitely think it’s a beautiful story. Of how this small flower has such a deep meaning even though people always associate love with other flowers like rose.
May this be a reminder that even a small flower never gets forgotten, and even a small flower is still beautiful. Forget-me-not.
So as I promised, a more elaborate post on how I made my header.
As written before, I made this blog in the beginning of 2018. In February I made my first post too actually, so this month is the birth month of thatsleepyzombie 🎉
Back then I knew I wanted to make a blog with the name zombie in it. My old blog was a name that my sister gave me. I loved writing in that blog, but somehow I didn’t think I really fitted the name anymore.
Why zombie you ask? You could read the story in the About me page. Besides calling myself a zombie, I also like watching zombie movies and TV series actually 😂 (if anyone has a good recommendation do tell me), I’ve always liked myths and folklores since I was little anyway.
First sketch
2017 is also a year full of roller coasters. I wanted to make a fresh start. So after numerous attempt of creating a name that I love, I came up with that sleepy zombie.
I wanted to made the blog very personal and if I could, I wish I could design everything from scratch (except the web design because I haven’t figured out the whole concept of web designing etc), I decided to at least… you know, make the header and the icons.
Even though I had did photoshop illustrating in highschool and some years in my university, I grew to resent it because of the organization I was in had different artstyle approach and I felt under-appreciated there. As a writer (they didn’t let me put my name in the article) and as a designer (no constructive feedback and unthinkable deadlines).
Which is funny because prior of being a doctor I thought to be an architect or working in design just like my sisters.
But I know in order to make my personalized blog comes true I decided to face my setback and make the zombie.
So I tried to sketch a few of the zombie design with the help of my sister. My sister said to trace it on paper and scanned it, and then tracing and coloring it in photoshop.
This is my first sketch! I made this on the 13th of September in 2017 (luckily I kept track of the emails)
So as you can see there were only minor changes made from the original design. My sister said to try and make the zombie more cartoon like because she said it’s quite scary 😂 especially the brains and the worms.
You can see that the stitches on the heart represent something, which you could interpret yourself.
This was after using drawing marker 🥰 I love the proportion and the way the zombie looked. Because it looks cute and scary at the same time if that makes any sense
Coloring in…
Picking colors was something that I struggled with back then. I knew I wanted a green zombie since… zombies are identical with green. But what shade of green? And also, won’t green clash with everything?
I experimented in photoshop with colors and finally came up with two version
First version. I’m sure you are familiar 😉second version, I wanted a more teal color for the zombie
Ultimately I decided to use the first one. I think I made the right choice 🥰
First header
Because my previous blog color theme was blue. I wanted a blue colored header too. So this is what I came up with
I like it actually. I like how simple it is and how the colors matched with the whole theme.
But I made the second version too because… why not 😂
Surprisingly I really liked the lighter background. So I decided to use this one instead.
And that is the story of how I made my zombie and my first header 🥰
3 years later, in 2021. When I started adding my illustrations here, I wanted a little change, so I decided to change the header.
In my mind I wanted sunflowers and a rainbow. But as you might learn from me, I am very chill about this, so when it didn’t work out the first time I just leave it at that and then next time eventually come back to it.
This one is the first sketch of the header (and at that time I wanted the first sketch to become the final result too 😂)
But it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to be. First one is because the apple note application couldn’t create custom size.
Secondly because in procreate I didn’t find an eyedropper tool (procreate newbie here), I gave up.
And of course, I had a specific image in my mind how the header would turn out. When it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to be, I just shrugged and left it at that.
But a few days ago, I finished my patients early and gets to hang out with my seniors and my iPad was on that day (sometimes I forgot to charge my iPad since the battery is very long lasting), so I decided to open procreate and found the empty canvas from 2021.
I tried to sketch a few sunflowers there and ending up liking the way it looked.
Then I just drew.
I really like this procreate video feature actually 😍 As you can see I like to make the sketch layout layer disappear and reappear.
Of course because of the eyedropper tool, I decided to draw the zombie from the note app and pasted it into the header in procreate.
After it’s done I went to photoshop and just took the old text 😂 because I still really like the old text and decided to use them anyway.
It’s a wrap!
That’s the whole story on the creative process on this blog. I think writing it down is a good choice since one day in the future I could look back. I hope you enjoy this post!
In Indonesia we call it Cap Go Meh which means the 15th night of the new year in Hokkien. I don’t really know the history but in Indonesia some cities celebrated with parades, parties, the works.
In my family we just ate lontong (rice cake) with 8 toppings (because the number 8 is lucky ✨) and go on with our day 😂 nothing too special.
But I could now cut my hair which is nice 😂 (apparently because it’s bad luck to cut hair within the Chinese New Year period)
What’s the point of this post you ask?
Well. I just bought a pair of clay earrings in the shape of a flower pot with Chinese dynasty porcelain pattern 😂 so I’ll show you what it looks like.
Tada ✨ look how cute it is 😂 no regrets buying it even though I think I only could wear it once a year for the Chinese new year period 🎋
Alright…
I’ll just put this one here 😂 Happy Lantern Festival! (Even though there are no big celebrations… you know, the pandemic).
Hi everyone! As I scrolled through Tiktok, I landed to the relatable side of Tiktok. Which were the part where people with nice skin telling their acne story. Or where people with acne talk about their journey.
What is it about our face that makes us want to achieve perfection? I guess because people identify other people with their faces, and if you are pretty or handsome it does help in life 🥲
So here I am wanting to make a post about my acne journey. I don’t know if you would enjoy reading it but I’d like to pen it down ✒️
Disclaimer: This is my story, what works for me may not work for you. Please see a professional healthcare provider for advice, not some zombie doctor who doesn’t dabble in dermatology and writes blogs in her free time because she is way too shy to appear in any social media.
But do share your acne story if you have one. Living in a very physically oriented country (not as bad as some other Asian countries though thankfully), makes me aware of how much our looks play part in our daily lives.
So for fellow acne fighters or acne survivors (?) out there, hang in there, I’ve been there too.
As someone who is always have some degree of interest in skincare and makeup (I wear makeup daily and took care of my skin). I dabbled into skincare and sun protection when I was 18 (a bit late but better late than never) and makeup when I was 21 (and it’s because I went on a “date” 😂).
I had relatively clear skin before I went to university. I went to the dermatologist here and there but overall okay ish skin.
How some people makes a big deal out of it.
All hell breaks loose when I was in my fourth year of university, maybe it’s the combination of stress of thesis and being a med student. I started getting breakouts in every part of my face. My chin, cheeks, nose and forehead.
It was so bad that when I went to the mall I saw sales associates started chasing me to offer some acne medications. Not only in Surabaya, but even in Singapore 😪 I would saw these women jogging and sprinting towards me whenever I walked passed the pharmacy or some kind of beauty product store.
Mask weren’t a thing anyway back then. So paired with my pale ass skin (yo girl here is a zombie. Of course she has pale skin), my acne and post acne scars was on display for everyone to see 😂
I avoided well lit beauty store like the plague since they highlighted my skin.
And when I started my HO, the nurses would comment things like “wow your skin is full of acne.” Something like that.
I remember one of my friends said, “why don’t you do something about your skin? It’s so bad.”
When I went out with mom some of her friends would say things like “your daughter’s skin so bad. Please change her pillowcase every night and don’t let her touch her face so much.”
Wait, let me try to find a photo of my skin
Here is my skin circa 2016, maybe 2016 was a bad year afterall 😂
That’s me with little bit of makeup and using the blurry front camera of iPhone 6s anyway. I think I had worse state than this but I couldn’t find a photo.
Also, see the eyebags 😂 that means I’ve been a zombie since a long time ago.
So what helped me?
1. The right dermatologist.
When I said right, I meant the one who takes care of you wholeheartedly and good for your mental health ✨ the one you believe in and comfortable with.
Shoutout to dr. AP 🥰
I started seeing dr. AP because my grandpa said he likes dr. AP (and my grandpa is your typical Chinese grandpa you know. It’s not easy to find a doctor who vibes well with him, especially younger doctors)
He started the session with saying that my acne is not as bad as it seemed (don’t let other people said to you otherwise he said) and he said confidently,
“I will help you heal. I will help you heal so you don’t even need to see the dermatologist anymore.”
dr. AP, 2015
Whoa. So confident. I like this guy already.
He proceed to take some pictures of my skin and then explaining what will he do. (He knows I am a med student at this point).
He said that I have sensitive skin so no facial, no injections, no stinging alcohol products for me. He will give the gentlest treatment.
Then, he prescribed some creams and he asked me what sunscreen and makeup did I use and how I like it. If I like it I could continue using it. Even if I have like a favorite facial wash or moisturizer I could continue and he’ll prescribe the treatment around them.
He said that my acne is only temporary and he said to see when I turn 24.
I remember using his prescribed medications and getting better and better. Seeing him every month was nice too, he is the type of doctor that likes to joke around and never criticize. 10/10 ✨
6 months later he said that I could stop seeing him and just continue with the medications, and only make an appointment when really needed.
😱😱😱
So I did continue with his medications for a while, and as time goes by I learn about my skin and what my skin likes (what kind of cleanser, what kind of moisturizer) and don’t like (the ingredients I am sensitive to) and learning as a doctor how to take care of them.
When I turned 24, dr AP was right. My skin did significantly get better. I only had occasional acne and by then I know my skin better too.
I owe dr AP credit for my skin now. Thankyou for believing in me (as a doctor, capable of researching and taking care of my own skin) and being so open minded towards other products.
2. Loving your skin.
I know it’s hard right now, especially in social media when you see these influencers with clear, poreless, blemish less, and glowing skin even you could see it from miles away.
Those people would made me insecure too back then. Won’t lie, they looked amazing, I just wished I could have those kind of skin.
It’s hard to love your skin when it’s full of acne, oily or way too dry. When it doesn’t glow or not in their best state. When you see the pores on your nose and cheeks and wishing them to be like those photos with filters on.
But you are born with the skin you have now. They did so much for you, if you know what the skin does everyday, you’ll know that they are working hard for you.
Very, very hard. It is the largest organ of the body.
It doesn’t have to be a post of how much you love your skin or anything that people perceived as self love nowadays. It could be silent and only yourself knows how much you love your own skin.
Loving your skin looks like…
Hydrating enough. From inside and outside. Drinking enough water for yourself everyday. Using moisturizer that works for your skin.
Protecting your skin the way you can. Sunscreens. Avoiding prolonged sun exposure. Avoiding smoking etc.
Seeing the characteristics of your skin and making adjustments for them.
Listen to your skin, treat it well, it will be worth it. I promise.
3. Give it time.
Be patient! Change doesn’t comes instantly. I needed a few years for my skin to be in their state now. I needed a few years to understand them. I need time to fully love them.
Don’t beat yourself up if acnes showed up. Don’t beat yourself up when you forgot your skincare. Don’t beat yourself up if somehow something doesn’t go as planned or if you didn’t achieve your goal within a time you set for yourself.
4. Remembering these things.
Having problematic skin is not your fault. Never let anyone makes you believe that it’s somehow your fault.
Everyone wants clear, blemish less skin. Nobody wants to be an acne fighter. It cost money, it cost time, it cost your mental health (listening to people and getting your ears hot and heart broken).
Be kind to yourself. People had been mean to you, the least you can do is to be the person who is kind to yourself.
Does this words sound familiar to you?
“Have you tried you know, washing your face?”
The girl that probably parties every weekend, slept with makeup on and probably wash her face less than you
“You should try x and x product, it helped our customers with their acnes, yours should too!”
Probably a sales associate trying to make ends meet
Yep. I’ve been there. Listen, the people you should take into consideration are:
Yourself ✨
your favorite dermatologists 🥰 (I listen to the dermatologists in social media too. Nothing wrong with that)
And the people that are kind to you. Who supports you and you can feel that they are not condescending towards your problems.
Repeat after me.
We. Do. Not. Need. Condescending. People. Commenting. About. A. Problem. They. Might. Not. Even. Have
After myself and the dermatologists, I actually listen to some kind sales associates that I’ve met over the years.
I have the sweetest sales associates. Even when I have acne they never judged or say anything harsh, I always ask them for any new products they recommended. They are such gems, very grateful to meet them.
I’m very sure acne fighters will always remember the people that were kind to them. Because those kind of people are rare, and they are truly genuine.
5. What works for me
This part here is not so that you follow my steps, but the things you can learn to understand about your skin.
1. Foods that set off my skin.
For me I noticed my skin reacted really badly with dairy products (especially milk. Yoghurt, ice cream and cheese too but to a lesser extend) and poultry. I started getting redness on my nose area and under eye, and then starting to itch and boom, next day a big pimple appeared like a wild pokemon 🐥
So I did reduced my dairy and poultry intake and has been somewhat “dairy free” (I still eat cheese, yoghurt and icecreams though) and poultry free for 5 years now.
Pay attention to what food and habits that made your skin act up. Even when most researches don’t link dairy and acne, I believe that there are things that doesn’t always make sense and there would be someone that doesn’t really fit into the general population (after all we are different individuals), I’ve met some people who said that when they avoid eggs their skin gets better. When they avoided sugar their skin gets better. Etc.
2. Ingredients I am sensitive towards to
I am allergic to some fruit extracts and some preservatives in skin care. How do I know this? I gather the things that worked and didn’t work for me, and crosschecking what are the ingredients that appeared multiple times in the things that didn’t work.
It may take a while to find out but it pays off well. I learn to read every ingredient lists trying good things and avoiding those that have things that triggers my skin.
3. Daily skincare that my skin appreciate
My skin loves moisturizers.
I think if my skin could speak they will sing and makes poetries about their love towards moisturizers 😂
My skin loves the clear ish moisturizers, ones that hydrate well but not too thick.
My skin loves moisturizing face wash. Which is weird since my skin is oily, but they love face washes thats meant for drier skin.
Every morning after I woke up I prepare breakfast and proceed to eat breakfast, then I took a shower and then brush my teeth, washing my hands (important!) then wash my face with moisturizing face wash and cold water (I find my skin doesn’t get red as much with cold water).
Why it is in that sequence? Simple, because my skin is sensitive to some ingredients in toothpaste and mouth wash. So I always wash my hands after brushing my teeth and wash my face afterwards.
Then I use hand sanitizer (again, clean hands helped), a alcohol free toner, serum (I like vitamin C serums for brightening, moisturizing and anti oxidant), emulsion (a lightweight moisturizer), then moisturizer. Sunscreen. Then makeup.
For night it’s almost the same as in the morning but I use heavier serum, emulsion and moisturizer. I exfoliate with AHA toner (my skin is a bit too sensitive for stronger retinoids) twice a week after washing my face and before my normal toner. sometimes I use facial masks, but not routinely.
My skin tolerate masks well. Some of my seniors put tissue between their skin and mask because they get acne using masks.
I always remember to wash my hands and using hand sanitizers when touching my face 😂, even though in the day I sometimes touch my face and forgot to do so. But washing hands is a good habit to have.
My skin now.
Very close up shot of my skin. Using the ever so honest iPhone camera 😂
No makeup, sunlight, just woken up. Taken with iPhone 13 front camera. No filter, I promise.
You could see the post acne scars and some redness which is just my skin being sensitive like it’s owner 😂 but in real life it’s good. I am very happy with how it looks now.
How my skin looks if it’s more far away 😂 as I am writing this blog. After this I am going to bed, haven’t done my nightly skincare. No makeup, artificial light, iPhone 13 front camera.
These are pictures of real skin from a graduate acne fighter. It has been through a lot. It had received lots of painful comment from other people.
I never did any laser or medical procedures between the first photo and today.
And I am grateful that it’s in the state it’s in now. I sometimes get acne when it’s TOTM especially around my chin. And my nose is like rudolph the rednose reindeer 🦌 especially when I eat a little bit too much icecream or cake 🍦🍰. I get redness on my chin too, to the point when people point out my lipstick smudged 💄 and I said it’s just my skin being sensitive ✨.
And that wraps up this lengthy post!
Thankyou for reading and sorry for the long post! I hope this somehow helped you.
Last message from me for this post is, sometimes what you thought as acne might not be acne, so better to see your dermatologist or medical provider if you are unsure.
I’ve been there fellow acne fighters. I know how frustrating and draining it is. How some people just are so mean about it. How you scrolled through countless social media post and wishing how much it was different.
You will get through this. You know you will.
I’ve met people who said things like “the people who criticize your appearance are those who cares about you.”
No. Just no.
You don’t deserve to be criticized for something you don’t want. You don’t deserve to feel shitty about something you couldn’t control.
Please don’t let other people said it’s your fault. Please don’t believe it’s your fault.
They don’t know what’s it like. If they do know, they wouldn’t say those things in the first place because they know how much it hurt them in the past.
I actually wanted to make a illustration today but apparently my lazy and tired self took over and I decided to just write my 2021 recap the way I used to write my yearly recap.
(you know, just writing this down)
So… what’s different in 2021?
In a way nothing too different than how 2020 turned out to be. The world is still in a pandemic, and things haven’t returned to the way they were. But we are learning and we are hopeful.
The notable things that happened this year were:
Catching up with old friends
In 2020, I didn’t get to catch up with friends that much, on account of Covid and because still a junior in residency (which basically means our lives belongs to our seniors. Not our own)
Happy to report that in 2021 I get to meet up with old friends again. And they reminded me of the good old days, and how some people that wanted to stay will always stay.
Wish I could meet them more often in 2022.
New hobbies and better planning
I picked up new hobbies in 2021 and they helped me with my free time and made me happier. Keeping me sane during the time as a resident.
May 2022 be the time where I could do my hobbies more and finding new productive ones too.
“Ripping your own band-aid”
One of my best friend said this to me recently. They are right, I did rip my own band-aid this year, which were necessary for my growth and my progress.
It did hurt. It really did.
But God’s timing is always the best timing. Believe in Him and I’ll be okay.
So… 2021 resolution
My 2021 resolution were
Be happier
Enjoy the small things in life
Do the little things that matters for my future
I am happy to say that I achieved all that. I’ll give myself a pat on the back for achieving all of those. 🍷
My 2022 resolution
I really like writing three main points to achieve for the next year. All of them are attainable and reasonable. And most importantly, good for my mental health well being. Because lets face it, the pandemic hits us hard. Being a resident doesn’t help either.
So with 3 more minutes in my time zone for the clock to strikes midnight, these are my 2022 resolution
1. Taking care of myself more
2. Be more attentive to other people around me
3. Be more grateful and thankful for what I have and what will happen in the future
Hi everyone! I just finished my national exam last week and received news that I passed it on Monday. Yay. So happy.
So this week has been good. A post exam week which tends to be less stressful (of course). And oh boy do I have a lot of things to share about, but currently still making the illustrations and making the time and effort to get myself to type the post on the computer 😂. Will soon get onto that.
For today I’ll write a mini review for the things that arrived in the mail this week. Hope you’ll enjoy!
Disclaimer: I have no affiliations with the sellers I mentioned here and everything is my honest opinion.
TWSBI Eco Pastel Blue in EF nib
Remember when I said I’ve fallen into a rabbit hole of fountain pen collecting hobbies? Yeah. This is one of them.
TWSBI Eco Pastel Blue in EF nib
My current favorite pen is this TWSBI Eco. This is the pastel blue one (which is supposed to be a limited edition but not sure since my seller had some stock). I got it for about 470k rupiah which is about 30 dollar ish. I got it here
This is my first piston filled pen and my very first TWSBI too. I didn’t really like demonstators but this pastel blue one is cute, it looks more cornflower blue and sometimes a bit periwinkle ish.
The seller was very helpful. Because having tried Japanese and German pens, I lean towards Japanese more because of its fine lines and preciseness. The seller gave me a comparison of nibs between TWSBI and Sailor pens, also gave me a brief description of how it feels (smooth, a little bit of feedback. Which I found to be true).
Using it for a while, I like the bigger ink capacity, the smoothness and the fine lines it makes. The nib is not as sharp(?) as japanese fine nibs, but I didn’t find it to be annoying. I like it too because it’s a bit dryer so ink dries faster (I write quite fast). I think the EF nib is the perfect everyday pen if you have smaller handwriting, writes a lot and writes fast.
Comparison with the Pilot Metropolitan F nib. Same ink. Same paper.
Definitely worth to try. A great everyday fountain pen. Very consistent too. Great for beginners.
Pilot Iroshizuku in Shin-Ryoku
I got a Pilot Kakuno as a birthday gift for a acquaintance and because I wanted to buy something for me from this seller (which I bought my own Kakuno and my Metropolitan), I got myself a new ink, even though my ink collection is mostly green inks 😂
I got them for 99k rupiah for 15mL which is around 7 dollars. I got it here
My failed attempt of swatching 😂 as you can see the ink is super smooth and shades nicely
It’s a really nice forest green color, no shimmer. Can be used for professional workplace because it’s quite dark. But the green is more vibrant using a broader nib.
It is very wet and smooth. This is my second Iroshizuku ink (first is the Tsuki-yo. A blue color) and as usual Pilot nails it.
Zebra Clickart Color Marker Dark Set
I really like colored pens and markers. I’ll use any brand. My go to is the Steadler fineliner and a local brand Joyko markers.
My criteria for markers are just it have to be dark enough for anyone to read because even though I use cream color paper, I think some colors are too light and bright to read.
By the power of Youtube recommendations (lol), I know about the Zebra clickart which is a colored marker but with the clicking mechanism.
When I browsed the online e-commerce site. I happened to found one seller that sells them. The seller sells three set, standard, bright and dark (which I got here).
I got it around 160k rupiah which is about 11 dollars. Kind of steep but it’s Zebra, and we get 12 pcs. I got them here
The swatches and the color code
I like it because all of them showed dark and nicely on paper. The colors are nice too, I like my blues and greens so this is perfect for me. My favorite is the number 29 turquoise blue. As for the use… they’re okay. They’re 0.6mm which is thicker than what I usually use, but it’s fine. Definitely worth checking out if you like darker color markers. I like that the case is compact too, perfect for carrying around (where to though 😂)
Definitely will be put into good use ✏
Okay that’s what I got in the mail this week! Very happy with them.
It’s already next last 2 months of 2021. This year really did pass in a blink of an eye. Second year of living in a pandemic world. What a really weird time to be alive.
And tomorrow is the 31st of October! We don’t really celebrate halloween in Indonesia. Also my Dad is very strictly Christian so yeah, we didn’t celebrate it in our household too. But I always wonder is it fun? It’s scorching hot here in Surabaya and the only time I experienced fall was when I went to Japan in December of 2017 (Actually it was winter but some areas were still fall), the yellow and orange leaves were so beautiful. I wish to go back. Or maybe somewhere to see the leaves turned fiery colors.
A local chef made pumpkin spice everything in her menu this week and my sisters and I got them to try. They were very good. I love pumpkin flavored things.
Thankyou for reading!
I made an illustration too for this post! Hope you’ll enjoy it 😂
Here you go, an illustration of my version of the zombie on the pumpkin 🎃 Have a great weekend everyone!
That Sleepy Zombie's Blog 