It’s been a little quiet here on Her Little Journal for the past few weeks, and my only excuse is the cliché ‘life gets in the way’. I want to put more effort in writing this blog, for me more than anything else. This blog has always been a journal from the very beginning, a place where I keep all my memories and thoughts. Over the years, my blogging style has evolved, but the thing that remains the same is that it continues to be the space that I can be me, and I want the content to reflects that. I guess this is why I always decline offers of content placement or ads, as I never feel that it fits my blog. Ten years from now, I don’t want to rummage through the archives and find a piece of ad that sorely lacks personality (no offense to other bloggers. It’s just I never set this space to be anything but a place for my musings and reflections on life. I’m very protective of this blog that way).

Anyway, the past few weeks have been filled with interesting things that I surely want to remember.

Wisdom teeth removal

I wrote about it here, and now, 2 weeks after the surgery, I’m finding it harder than I expected. I had the stitches removed yesterday, and from what I’d read on every article I’d found, I expected to feel some tugging when the dentist removed the stitches, but no more than that. Certainly not pain and blood, which I experienced yesterday. When the dentist did the removing, I yelped as he pressed on his scissors on my gum, it was so painful. And when he told me to rinse afterward, I spit out blood. I’ve been feeling stinging pain like no other in one of my molars after I got the stitches removed, and I’m a bit concerned but the dentist told me it was just because the gum hadn’t closed off properly. Apparently, it takes 2-3 months for the gum to completely heal (what?). I’m now back to liquid diet after 2 days of heaven aka days of eating normal food.

Starting work for Pustakalana Library

I first got to know Chica from her blog, and I’ve been following her journey since then. When she came back to Indonesia and revived Pustakalana, I couldn’t be more excited. The library is located in Bandung, which makes it a bit difficult for me to visit. I went there last September and fell even more in love with Pustakalana, not just with the space, but with what they’re doing. I told Chica I wanted to help, but again, my being in Jakarta is a bit tricky. But last month Chica asked me if I wanted to help with their blog, and of course I did! So I’m now working as their website content manager.

Chica and I also went to American Chamber of Commerce networking evening a few weeks ago, presenting Pustakalana among the other incredible NGOs. I have so much hope and expectation for Pustakalana, and I’m proud to be a part of it.

Speaking on a talk show in my alma mater

When my senior in college approached me to ask if I’d be interested in talking about careers outside the oil and gas industry to the Petroleum Engineering students, I said yes straight away. Going to my old campus brought all the memories back, and even though I don’t end up working in an oil and gas industry, I don’t regret my time here.

I shared my story of starting a photography business and resigning from my job as a reservoir engineer, and the nitty-gritty behind that decision. We had 3 other friends who shared their experiences of having careers different from what they set out to, and I just couldn’t help admire them. They were such brilliant people, and it’s great to have this opportunity to widen the view of the students. Hopefully, this could open their eyes to the possibilities beyond the conventional career path. I wish we’d had something like this when I was in college.

There were a few other things that happened this week, but I’ll keep it for another post 😉