Reinhard Gouw's Journal

Hi!
4th semester is officially over! haha. It means I'm halfway of this university life. God, I'm old. Time flies too fast.

That doesn't mean my business is over. Maybe I'm literally not having any real summer holiday this year. Incoming project, incoming dance werks. I still have to arrange time like routines. But other than that, it is seen as an incredibly long break from college! May end-August mid. How amazing is that?

So to spend the holiday straightaway, me and my family went to Singapore. It's been one and a half year since the last time I go to that lion mermaid origin. First we went to Jakarta for a wedding, then the next day straightaway to the lion city throwdown.

It's 5 days of shopping. I planned to hold down on spending and have at least 1/4 saving of what I had. So my target was only jeans for daily use, and also wallet. Yes, I got the jeans, 2 pieces. Then one shirt. OK. A pair of shoes for daily use also. OK. Then this and that.
And the last day kinda ruined it. I found this awesome shorts with leather print and also gold zippers on the side. Mahn. It was more of my style than what I've seen the past 4 days! So without further ado, I ended up spending all of my possession.

What I realized in these days, is that Singaporean peoples' style isn't too catchy for my eyes like it was couple of years ago. A lot of them wear basics, 7/8 cut chinos, or shorties that almost looks like hotpants. And again, basics are the essential part of their wear. Been rounding Bangkok back and forth in the last 2 years, I find the styles there more interesting. Streetstyles are different here and there. Many wear striking apparels that are dare-worth. People are quite unique in combining here and there. So for sense of style, I personally like Bangkok more than here. Well for me, in Singapore it's about elegance but Bangkok is about wilderness. And I'm not really the elegant wearer. haha. But hair? Don't ask. Here is perfect.

Other than that, cleanliness perfect. Tidiness and assertiveness perfect. English? Damn. As usual I had a hard time in listening. I even feel that I understand Bangkok's English accent more than here. In Bangkok, they will mostly say only 3 words in incomplete sentence with messy grammar. But it's understandable since they expertise their body language to make people understand. Here? Great grammars, but confusing-for-me pronunciation.

So, to sum up, I now prefer traveling to Bangkok more than SG. I enjoy it more since they have great streetfoods also with a fair amount of price, also I can do great business while shopping, people with wild street styles, and also the feeling that your English is better than them. haha.

That's just me blabbing about Singapore and Bangkok and here is some good snaps.





Yes, it's Devina Aurel. haha. Epic moment. I was looking all stupid and freakish with all that nervousness. :)
Anyway thank God it happened!


Such a good start for a long long holiday.
What's next?

HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT ONE TOO!

I'm back to my normal zone! haha. Now it is time for me to tell you how my holiday has been.
So holiday started on 5th of December, after the Ground Breaker Entrepreneurship1 Award in my campus. It is a closing ceremony so it closed the period of the 1st semester quite well. And when I reached the parking lot, I was so happy that it's holiday I wanted to dance to Ciputra Waterpark's theme song!  "MENERJANG RIANGNYA DAN CANDA TAWA KELUARGA~ SUKARIA DI CIPUTRA WATERPARK! SUKACITA.........." haha I'm free!

Then on the 6th, I went to Singapore. It was a sudden trip; it should've been my parents who went there, then my mom bought me the ticket to catch up with them who were already there. It was the 2nd sudden trip after the Manado trip 2 weeks before.

It shouldn't have been a shopping trip, I promised myself I won't hunt anything or at least buy anything more than S$10; There's still a long holiday and also Bali and Bangkok trip waiting. I wouldn't want to waste my parents' money. But in the end of the trip I felt terribly guilty that I spent a real lot there! Gah.. H&M, Cotton On.. I couldn't hold myself to it. It's a bad idea to be so uncontrollable. It reminds and motivates me more: I HAVE TO MAKE MY OWN MONEY. I don't want to depend on my parents so much. I'm in college already.

I had a clumsy experience. On the 2nd last day before going home, I realized that my passport was gone! It's not in my bag anymore. I panicked, I was going home the day after! I browsed everything about losing passports in Singapore in case it's gone. Then I called my uncle who I visited the day before, if I left my passport there, and it's not there. I recalled that the day before, we were together in a taxi with my little cousin, I let her play with my bag and laughed to the photo of my passport. BINGO. I asked my uncle if he still had the number of the driver. I called and he has my passport! Heavenly relieved. Then we meet up again, I thanked him thousand times. We took a ride with him again. His name was Max, and he said that he was panicked as well and drove around the places where he dropped Indonesian tourists, informing that he found a passport; he was worried as well if I couldn't get home. It was such a great manner of him. Long story short, when we got off the taxi we only added a little additional tip as a token of our gratitude. Me and my dad felt regret that we should've added additional amounts 'cause passport is a serious thing. Suddenly, my dad thought that he left his phone in Max's taxi. So I called Max again, asked if we left anything again (It would be embarrassing if told him my dad dropped his phone in his taxi, how clumsy of my family. LOL), and also to pick us up the next day to the airport. After the call, I checked my pockets and oddly, the phone is there! I believed that I checked earlier and it's not there. Maybe we should really bless Max more! haha And the next day, the fare for the taxi was exactly the same amount with how much me and my dad thought of giving him. Magical.

Along the road, he also inspired me. He storytelled about his life; he used to study law and worked in engineering. Quite a success, but the salary has its maximum point and he didn't like it; he chose to be a taxi driver instead; 'cause he also loves driving. He even traveled Malaysia and Thailand alone by car. When I asked him if he ever thought of anything else, he said: "People choose the way they want to live. For me, it's this way."
Inspired.
Thank you, Max!