Hello from Auckland Qantas Lounge, dubbed the worst Qantas International lounge.
Still, it beats sitting down outside and paying for my food. Here, I get to eat free food (I had three bowls of butter chicken with hearty Mediterranean salad which surprisingly was a great combo) and drinks (I just had hot cocoa and now nursing a Frangelico with sliced lime, a new go-to drink I picked up during my New Zealand trip).
I am here with my colleagues, which I am ignoring, so I can quickly type this before we board our flight back to Melbourne.
Highlights
🌴 ━ Everything* about the Samoa trip, from befriending a nun who invited us to hang out together while in Apia to swimming with the turtles. I will write all about it on the blog soon.
*Well, almost everything… some meals we had in Samoa were not good at all.
👩🍳 ━ We invited our neighbours, who have been feeding us for almost two years now and returned the favour with Indonesian food. I made Rendang Jamur (Dry-roast Mushroom), Chicken Gulai (Indonesian Chicken Curry), Paneer Gulai (Cottage Cheese Curry), Indonesian salad, Balinese Sambal Matah, Indonesian-style Fried Chicken, Sambal Kangkung (Stir-fry Morning Glory).
🧘 ━ I completed the Yoga Philosophy course and got an intro-level understanding of the Yamas and Niyamas of Yoga. I also made friends, journaled and drank copious amounts of peppermint tea. With all the work tensions, the course had been a constant anchor during my workweeks.
🏢 ━ We moved to a new boutique style, nicely decorated office space with an unconstrained view of Melbourne City, including the waterfront. Everything in the office seems so cool! From FOB access individual lockers, charging table-cum-standing desks to dedicated “crying rooms”, as the office manager calls it.
🥡 ━ All the free food I was blessed with this month, from two scoops of Picolino ice cream to yummy sandwiches and Biryani.
Culture Chat
A Perth restaurant run by a well-known celebrity chef has banned all vegans from dining.
Read, Watched and Browsed
📚 ━ I struggled to finish Jente Posthuma’s What I’d Rather Not Think About, not because the topic or the writing isn’t good but because I can’t stand the main character. I had the same issue finishing The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li, our book club’s book of the month, to which I gave a 3/7 rating for the same reason.
📺 ━ Fafa and I are having a Queer Eye episode a week watch date. I resubscribed to Disney+ to watch Moana, which turned out to be hella boring, but it has had the latest season of Grey’s Anatomy (I loved it) and The Criminal Minds (the worst season ever!). I also watched The Abbott Elementary Season 2 (not as good as Season 1) and Black Mirror (a must-watch). On the plane to Auckland, I watched John Wick 4 (still as good as the previous three) and Scream 6 (oh so bad). And I rewatched another fave: The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
🎙️━ My favourite yoga teacher, Anzari, went as a guest in the OKIRU podcast ━ check out their convo around growing up as migrants in Australia and everything in between.
🔖 ━ Life of a Travel Blogger ✿ Bogans – How to Spot These Aussies when Travelling Overseas. Like Bali & Thailand, ✿ 10 Days in Seoul: A food guide ✿ Around the world in 15 delicious rice dishes ✿ Different Cultures Define Happiness Differently ✿ Shimotakaido ✿ banjiha ✿ Footscray Food Blog ✿ Gender Roles in Samoa – The Third Gender ✿
Foodie Guide-y
🍽️ ━ If I could only tell you about one dinner and one dinner only this month, it would be the best dinner I had in Onemata, Auckland. I started with some oysters, followed by generously buttered warm sourdough. The main was Scampi Risotto and Crayfish Bisque which I had with a glass of local red and closed with Frangelico with a slice of lime. It was an exquisite, expensive and expansive dining experience.
🧆 ━ I also had a few more memorable meals while in Auckland: Tandoori Fish with papaya and mango garnish in Cassia, a whole Modern Korean house menu in Tokki, Kumara Bread with coconut butter jam in The Good Luck Coconut, Truffle cocktails at QT Rooftop, Sumthin’ Dumplin’ dumplings, and endless free food from the FoodExpo.
Tiny Joys
Finding FitzRoyalMail street art ❤ Beku Pandan Rice Pudding ice cream ❤ Friends moving into their maybe-forever homes ❤ Fafa getting me Nasi Padang for my post-airport meal ❤ Sauna at hotels ❤ Viaduct walk in Auckland ❤ Peppermint tea ❤ Baby niece ❤ Getting a surprise box of colourful chocolate when I checked into my room in The Grand by Skycity ❤
Meanwhile, on Kulture Kween:
❀ Which Samoa? ❀ Chibog Serving Filipino Cuisine Version of Comfort Food ❀ Closing Time in Apia Fish Market Samoa ❀ Buzzing Morning in Savai’i Fish Market Samoa ❀ Will Experience For Blog ❀
Time Machine
Read more about last year’s happenings.
Things on My Mind:
🧘🏽♀️ ━ I am so inspired by Drew Barrymore’s meditation closet concept that I am turning a quarter of my study room into a meditation corner. I got a green chaise lounge from IKEA during the EOFY sale, which is arriving next week. Next, I’ll need a throw, soft pillows, super sticky Post-its, fairy bread candles and for Fafa to take my picture sitting cross-legged, looking (and feeling) all zen in my cute Rugrats PJs.
👩🏽🚀 ━ I always thought I got what it takes to be locked in a spaceship for a year-long trip and that I’d do it if they could guarantee that I’d be back home after a year instead of, say, being killed by aliens. Then, yesterday I read about the four strangers locked inside NASA simulators and thought that’d be something I’d seriously consider if Fafa and my parents let me ━ but for way higher pay instead of $10 per hour and only if I get to eat rice every day.
Thank You, Next!
🌙 ━ We are in the midst of Cancer season; we can either get in tune with our emotional side, practice Hygge, or both. I have always been a bit unsure about navigating water-sign Cancer; too moody, IMO. But I have always loved its’ ruling planet, the Moon, which I am going to focus on more in the next few weeks.
🏆 ━ I pulled Nine of Cups from Wren’s Mother Tarot deck. Cups ━ also a water sign, but at least this one inspires me to find ways to carpe diem my days and be grateful.
🖥️ ━ I’ll be WFHFJ (Working from Home from Jakarta) from mid-July, and I am looking forward to Looking fwd to not-adulting, unadulting, deadulting – whatever I’llbe home!!!!!
Have a toasty July, and keep kultured! ━ KK.
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