An Ideal Day For Me (Me-Time Version)

by Nadya Quamila - 07.28

First thing first, actually I need to do my homeworks now and do research for my skripsi, but then the thought of being not productive kills me. My definition of productive is something like do creative writing (article bout fashion, music, short story, novel, poems), make some brush lettering arts, make a set on Polyvore (I just found out the fact that I can’t make a set on Polyvore cause of SSENSE has acquired Polyvore, omg I wanna cri cri cri), write on my journal, searching on Pinterest, do my project, etc.

So, here I am, trying to write something I always think of; what would your ideal day be like? What is your ideal day? What does your perfect day look like?

I have this habit where I will ask myself those questions when I’m on my way to college or work. It often happens when I feel so tired or just simply want to stay at home but the reality isn’t like that, or when the weather is just really good. I have two favorite weathers; first, when the sky is overcast and the cloud is hanging in the beautiful grey sky. And the temperature is chill, it’s just like a sweater weather (I like rainy day but I think I prefer the cloudy day) and the second is a sunny and breezy day, where the sky is just sooooooo blue and beautiful. If I connect it with my mood, it would be like a calm me in a cloudy day and a cheerful me in sunny day (doesn’t it obvious?). Okay maybe it’s just like I would be a lot calmer and feel relax in cloudy day, I find peace and imagine living a happy life. And I likely get so many inspirations in that weather. While the sunny and breezy day, I could be sooooo cheerful and feel so motivated; I want to interact and connect with lots of people, I want to inspire others, I want to do this and that, it’s just I’d be more like an active person. Maybe the conclusion is:

Cloudy day = me being introvert

Sunny day = me being extrovert

Pic by me

Back to the ideal day, I will ask myself like “What would you want to do the most now? Where do you want to be now?” usually I will answer like “Oh, I want to go to the bookstore or library.” or “I really want to be in Bandung now.” or maybe something like “I wish I could do my project and make it into the real life.” And I will start to imagine what would my ideal day look like, and after that I will feel kinda... better? Yes, I do feel better just by the thought of my ideal day.

I will try to explain my ideal day, but this one is the me-time version. Here we go!

In this case, we assume that it’s a free day; no college, no work, just a quality time with myself.

1. Watch the Sunrise

I would start my day with watching the sunrise in rooftop. So maybe I’d start my day earlier than usual. Actually, I’m a morning person. Yes, I don’t even believe I just wrote that. Since I was a kid, I never woke up late, I always up at 6 or maybe 7 in the morning. BUT, now I’m in college and I treasure sleep so much, I could sleep until 10 a.m. It such a shame actually but my body needs rest, so yeah, there’s no in between.

Sunrise; that’s how I will start my day. I always in love with the sky, especially in the morning and in the evening. I’m so curious, how does it feel like to watch the sunrise from a higher place. And the most possible place for now is rooftop, but unfortunately, I can’t climb to my rooftop cause it’s just unclimbable (is it even a word). But beside rooftop, I always want to watch the sunrise from the mountain (maybe I should start to think of climbing) or Punthuk Setumbu in Yogyakarta, like the one in AADC2.

I find peace in myself, watching the sun starts to rise; it’s just like there’s always a new day for us, a new chapter, as the sun rising, so does the hope and all the good things.

2. Meditation

I find this important since last year, maybe on December. I will meditate maybe for 15 minutes, in a room where I could play a good instrumental and maybe some aromatherapy candles. I want to throw away all my anxiety, anger, sadness, self-hatred, all the negative things in my mind. Because I think inner peace is really important, and that’s one of my goal in 2018.

3. Breakfast

I rarely skip breakfast since kindergarten. Just now in college maybe in a week, I’ll skip one or two breakfast, not because I have no time, it’s just because I’m not in the mood to eat.

I can eat anything for breakfast; rice, noodle, bread, porridge, soup, you name it. But my ultimate breakfast is c e r e a l. You should know that my love for cereal is unconditionally. I love cereal so much. Like so so so so much. One of the way to win my heart is by giving me cereal (omg isn’t that too easy). My favorite cereal is Koko Krunch and Honey Stars, with Ultramilk Full Cream. And yes, I-pour-the-milk-first-then-the-cereal kind of people.

American breakfast is my favorite too actually; I love the sausages, omelette, potato wedges, pancake, etc.

But actually, I eat almost everything tho. Because I love to eat and I love to menimbun lemak.

Pic via Pinterest

4. Brush Lettering

Ah, this one is so interesting.

Brush lettering is something that I’ve always wanted to learn since the end of 2015. I started to see the art on Instagram, and watched the tutorial too, and I found it so beautiful, something cool.

And then I got the chance to bring it into the real life on 2016. I didn’t know where to start cause I didn’t know where to buy the equipment (and later I realized it’s so easy to find and buy, like, hello, Gramedia!) and then my sister went to Japan (yassss I envy her so muchhhh) and bought some brush pens for me.

Short of talk, I started to learn diligently in 2017, and I even joined the workshop (one of the happiest day in my life) and I even sell it (to Talita, if you’re reading this, I will never forget the fact that you are my first buyer and because of you I start this business) and make an account for my brush lettering art on Instagram, @thebrushstory. I will make another post about my journey in brush lettering soon.

Brush lettering will always remind me of the real definition of ‘step out of your comfort zone’, 'practie makes perfect' and ‘if you love the things you do and pour your heart into it, it will give you a good result’. Because I never thought that I will finally able to learn it until now, and it feels so magical everytime I hold the brush and I find peace in it. I also make brush lettering as one of my therapy if I feel like I lost myself or simply if the anxiety comes up again.

5. Prepare to go outside

And it’s finally time to go outside the house!

Maybe I’ll go outside at lunch time, and the weather will be a cloudy day; a lil bit windy, grey sky, the vibes.

But before I go, I will start with the outfit and what’s in my bag.

Outfit

You know, I’m in love with fashion, but me myself is a fashion disaster most of the time (kinda exaggerating). I could explore on Polyvore and Pinterest about fashion for maybe 3 and 4 hours, and I feel so happy. Really happy. Maybe I will make another post about fashion (hopefully soon).

So for a cloudy day, maybe my outfit would be like this....

Brittany Bathgate is a fashion blogger from Norfolk, UK. I found out her Instagram since February, and I love her style. So clean and simple yet still stylish and look so gorgeous and cool. She mixes classic and contemporary pieces of neutral shades with clean lines.. Simple, yes, but she’s totally rocking it (read an article bout her: http://www.bloesemdesign.com/2016/03/gazette-interview-brittany-bathgate.html)

I think the oufit is suitable for the weather, and I can’t explain the amount of love I have for canvas tote bag.

What’s in my Bag

Most of my friend would complain about my heavy bag; yesss, I packed lot of things there, and if I travel to another city, Mom would be like, “Dek, ini ngapain dibawa?” or “Dek, berat betul, sih, tasmu? Bawa apa aja? Itu buku nggak usah di bawa semua.”

Yes, my bag is so heavy, I pity my shoulder sometimes.

So here’s the list of what’s inside my bag (for strolling around the city):

Phone, of course.
Headset.
Notebook (I have so many notebooks, from the big one until the small one, from for my ideas-notebook to to do list-notebook) so I will bring two or three notebooks.
Pen and brush pen (but sometimes I bring my pencil case, who knows I need to erase something or maybe I need the ruler)
Novel or Naela Ali’s book (I really bring Naela Ali’s book everywhere I go; to campus, to my workplace, to mall, to another city, to restaurant)
Lipstick, powder (currenly using Mizzu and Emina, and I run out of Innisfree No Sebum Mineral)
Minyak Telon (Okay, I don’t know why but I love to carry this too, I love minyak telon cause it smells like a baby)
Masker (you know, masker yang buat ngelindungin dari debu, the one in various colour like pink, red, grey, etc. This one is kinda important somehow in order to hide my unnecessary facial expression if something unexpected happen or simply to hide my laugh (this one must be happening if I’m with my bestie, Nadya)
Candy, if it's available at home. (I always want to chew something ugh)
Powerbank and charger sometimes

Maybe there’s still another thing in my bag, but those are the stuffs I often carry.

6. Lunch

I would go to a restaurant or a cafe like this:

Pic via Pinterest

I’m writing this now and it’s 07:27 am, I’m in the mood for pasta for lunch. And also doughnut from Kahale, one of the best doughnut in Samarinda, you should try it!

Pic by me

So, with the atmospher like that, some good musics, the weather that I love the most, and the fact that I’m eating; h a p p i n e s s.

7. Productive Time

After I have my lunch, I have a weird and kind of annoying habit: jadi kalau aku udah makan siang gitu, tiba-tiba aja bawaannya pengen ngunyah yang manis-manis. Padahal baru aja selesai makan dan udah kenyang, but this mouth can’t stop chewing. So me and my bestie, Nadya (I mention your name twice loh ya here) will go straight to Indomaret and buy some sweet snacks (bahkan kadang beli snack yang asin juga, in case setelah makan yang manis-manis, pengen makan yang asin lagi, there’s no ending for that)

So maybe I would go to a cafe with a beautiful interior or maybe I could go to a place where I could rest for a while, maybe like city park. And of course I’d bring some snacks and drinks (Chatime, misalnya)

And what would I do beside eating? Of course being productive. I don’t know why, but I always want to be so productive, and I feel so guilty if I just sit all day, playing my phone with no purpose, or just scrolling on Instagram or Twitter (except I open Instagram to search about something to write, it’s a different story). But the truth is, I just sit all day and play with my phone. Lol. I should write often and do other thing that is productive.

I would do creative writing; make an article about fashion, music, or blogging (like what I’m doing now), or make a set on Polyvore, or just write down the ideas for my novel or short story, or maybe even write the to do list or my wishlist. I love writing so much. I’ve been writing since I was on 3rd grade in elementary school. Mau itu nulis di laptop/komputer atau nulis tangan; I love it. That’s why I never have a problem with tugas merangkum (which is di kuliah sekarang banyak syekali tugas merangkum), cause I’m fine with it. Writing is a media for me to speak what’s on my mind when I can’t say it loudly. It’s one of my passion.

It’s easier for me to write or get some inspirations when the location and the interior of the room is really good or suitable for me. Just like in the picture. But worry not, sometimes I get inspired when I’m on my way to go somewhere, when I’m in the crowd, or even when I’m in the bathroom. Inspirations can come anywhere, anytime, and sometimes at the unexpected time and place, and that one is the best inspration.

And one of the important thing is... music. Y E S.

Music is so important for me. I listen to music everyday. Like now, I’m writing this and I’m listening to good music (I’ll share the list of the song later). Music affects my mood. And I love it when I come to a place and they play some musics that I listen too or when they play a nice music that I don’t know. Actually I could listen to all music, like the Hits Banget or Top 50 playlist on Spotify, but my favorites are Adhitia Sofyan, Banda Neira, Yuna (from Malaysia), Birdy, Gabrielle Aplin, Oh Wonder, Kings of Convenience, Billie Eilish, Daniel Caesar, Ed Sheeran, Raisa, Tulur, Yura, and many more (I should make another post too about it). And I love to explore new song, new genre of music that I’ve never listened to before. I feel so happy when I find a new song and I will not stop listenting to it; I repeat it maybe for thousand times in a day.

When I listen to music, it feels like I get so many inspirations and the word is falling freely from my brain to my hand.

Right now, I really need a moment like this; a good place with a good music to write.

I need it.

8. Favorite thing: Being a Sunset Hunter

I’m a sunset hunter and sky observer.

This is my favorite time of a day, starts from 5 pm until 06.30 pm.

On the first day of 2018, I wrote on my notebook, the first wish list was ‘go to the beach, watch the sunset’. And Thank God, at the end of January, I watched the sunset on the beach. With my bestfriends, Nadya and Hanny.

Kuy liburan lagi!

I completed one of my wishlist in 2018; exceeds my expectation.

So I would watch the sunset in a beach, or maybe in a park or rooftop. I think those three places are perfect to watch the sunset.

And now let me explain the sky. The sky would be so clear and let’s say goodbye to the gloomy cloudy day. The sun is about to set, and the colour of the sky would be so beautiful; the pink-blue-orange-red colour mixed together.

I’m imagining it right now and I got goosebumps.

And what to do in that perfect moment? Of course I would enjoy it, and then take a deep breath, and start to write a poem, then reflect on myself, think about life, dreams, goals. And I of course I will take a lot of pictures. One of my hobby beside brush lettering and writing is taking a picture. I take a picture of the sky, the book I read, my brush lettering arts, and everything that I think aesthetic and I feel so good when I snap that.

And of course, while doing all those things, I will listen to music. Maybe Adelaide Sky by Adhitia Sofyan would be perfect, also Sampai Jadi Debu by Banda Neira, or Cologne by Haux, and The Good Side by Troye Sivan. Dan masih banyak lagu lainnya yang fit the mood.

So I start my ideal day with sunrise on the rooftop, and end it with sunset on the beach/park/rooftop.

9. End of an ideal day

After a long and beautiful and amazing and wonderful day, I would go to my room, lay on my bed (the comfiest place on earth) and sleep. Lol not yet!

I would write on my journal about what happened on my ideal day, and I would be so blessed and thankful to be able to experience a day like that. It’d be perfect if it’s raining a little.

Lay in my bed with blanket and socks on, snacks of course (I eat a lotttttttt!!!!), maybe I would watch some movies or dramas, or read a book, get inspired and write again, and finally sleep at 10 pm.

That’s it.

That’s my ideal day but the me-time version, the introvert version.

I’m really looking forward if I could experience a day like that. It’s not too impossible I think, well hopefully I can make my ideal day come true.

It’s okay to imagine an ideal day like that if you’re having a hard time, or when you feel so tired. For me, it boost up my mood. Even just a little.

And I think the most important thing is you need to enjoy your day. Even if it’s a bad day, and feels so suck, but what else you can do beside enjoying it? Whining and complaining only make it worse, so why don’t you just laugh at that bad day and smile more? I guess it will help.

And another thing that is important from a day (whether it’s an ideal day or just a day) is having no anxiety. I’m still struggling with anxiety and all those negative thoughts, and from what I read in my meditation app (kalau nggak salah namanya Headspace, I forget cause I already deleted the app):

"Meditation isn’t about getting rid of your thoughts. It’s about learning how to be at ease with them.”

I find peace and happiness and feel so passionate when I’m doing all the things that I love, and I forget my phone, I also forget the time (it’s just like time flies too fast) and I can forget my anxiety.

So, what would your ideal day like? What does your perfect day look like? You can tell tell me on my Instagram and Twitter (@nanadquamila) or simply comment below.

I hope this post can motivates you and brings positive energy to all of us, ciao!

Love,

Nanad

P. S: these are the songs I listened when I wrote this post, enjoy!

Tags : ideal day, opinion, perfect day

Sky Hunter