Zombified

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am well aware that it is now only 2 mins to midnight. However, let me just put this last post of today. (; hhas

Wow! September almost passes. So quick, eh? Well, it's been a trying month. Classes, homeworks, papers, committee works, etc etc etc.. O.O I've been wondering have I bitten more than I can chew... although everything still works all right, my body doesn't cooperate really well anymore lately. I got fever almost every night, and by the time a week almost comes to an end, I have been zombified already. hhas

I'm not saying I am not having fun. Nooo! I have a wonderful semester! :D I'm kinda like an ant: I feel alive when I am busy and have works to do. However, I have this 'bel far niente' persona in me as well. I love to have spare time just to sit by myself, reading a good book, sipping green tea, or even just rambling by myself and daydreaming. Time-wasting? Well, not really. Because I also believe in this quote 'Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted.' hhas Yeah, but nowadays, I find those kinda times are a luxury that I can rarely enjoy. *sigh

Maybe it's because I'm also having a PMS, I'm experiencing quite a severe mood swing. It takes all my energy to keep a smile running on my face. hhas especially when I am hungry (and I rarely am, in normal times), my mood even gets crankier. I'll snap snap snap! :p nah, don't worry, I don't really bite (or, as a matter of fact, I do! hhas)

Wow such a random post. :p Anyway...
A few days ago, a junior asked me, "Kak, what activities are you currently in?"
So I began elaborating, "Chief producer, head of Matter&Research, (...)"
And he replied, "Wow... how can you do all that? And you still got 4.0 GPA last semester too! Cool!"

Regardless of his admiration, it got me thinking. I then remembered a quote, saying:
"Your mind is powerful enough to do more than one thing at one time, but you can only do one thing well at one time."

Have I been forcing myself too hard? And for what reason? Have all I've been doing reached their maximum quality (which I doubt, for some of the things)? I've been able to make it this far. But how much longer can I take it? And at what cost? And, if I let go of some of the responsibilities I have chosen to take, then, also at what cost?

I need to take some time and figure this out. In the mean time, let's do our best, keep up the spirit, and stay strong all! :*

And last, just one silly picture to make you laugh (and if it doesn't, just remember it works for me though!) :p

My boyfriend, Y, poking me in the eye -.-" it really hurt, mind you hhas :p


May the force be with you! :*

Blankets Magnet! *snuggle snuggle*

Hello there, everyone! :D Welcome to my first post for 'Cravings & Obsessions' feature! Okay, I'll just make it short, because I really can't hold it in any longer: I am currently too obsessed with blankets!

As a matter of fact, I have always been a huge fan of blankets. I can never sleep without a blanket; I have to be, if not under it, at least near it.


Snuggly mood all over...

In my dorm, I already have three blankets. Two are made from yarn, while the other one is made of soft cotton wool. The first one made from yarn is in my fave color, fuchsia; the other yarn-made blanket of mine has pattern on it: houses, and grass, and etc.. And the last one that is made of cotton wool is beige-coloured.

However, despite the three blankets I already have, I just can't help it: I want to buy more and more blankets! :p I especially want a quilt blanket, because I've never had one till now. :3 would anyone buy one for meeee? :p hhas



See? How beautiful.. *sighing, drooling* Me want!

Essay Writing 101

Hiyaa there everyone! It's been quite some time since the last time I wrote, right? :p I'm so terribly sorry for my absence. This time, I would like to post something that is more academic; so...... this is my first post for Academic feature in Marsha-Go-Round, hurray! :D

To begin with, let's talk about something more basic. Can you guess what it is? Yep! It's 'essay writing'. (;


Essay writing is an activity that you will always stumble upon, whether you are in high school, or in college. It even will continue if you enter the academic work field, or journalistic, for an instance. However, not everyone is familiar with how best to write essays. What kind of essay will be most likely effective to deliver our points?

In this post, I would like to share something that I hope will be useful in term of essay writing.

First, an essay is always constructed of some parts. Each of these parts have their own names: Abstract, Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. I'm sure we are all familiar with those parts, but I will give you a distinctive point for each part, that hopefully will help make our essays better.

Abstract, of course, is a summary. In short essays, this should not be longer than 2-3 lines. While for the Introduction, keep it simple, and make sure to define your KEY POINTS. This is to limit your discussion, and is some kind of attempt to make your own 'safety net'. (;

In the Body, we will break up our points into different sections. It is imperative that we use logical and reasoned argument, and AVOID emotional words. And now, we've reached our Conclusion. Do NOT merely present a summary statement (read: copying and pasting some of your points in the Body to the Conclusion) or insert any new ideas. And in writing our conclusion, we need to be sure of the nature of our essay: is it Descriptive (only the general idea as conclusion), or is it Argumentative (emphasizing arguments and proposing solutions in the conclusion). And last, aim to make a LASTING IMPRESSION by using questions, etc..


Second,is the language considerations.
We need to make sure that the language we use is suitable to our readers, i.e. not to use too shallow vocabularies if our main readers are academics, or not to use too high vocabularies and terms if our main readers are only vaguely familiar with the topic. This will help keep our readers 'entertained', and they will be more comfortable reading our essay. (;

Last, I will share the linguistic guidelines I got from my lecturer. Here we go:
TEN LINGUISTIC GUIDELINES
1. Limit every sentence: single statement, fact, idea.
2. Average sentence length: 20 words; but also make sure your sentences are varied in length.
3. Use properly linked sentences.
4. Check your pronouns; make sure they are all consistent.
5. Conscious choice between passive and active sentences: reason behind using them.
6. If you are not fully satisfied with the sentence, rewrite it completely rather than try to alter some parts.
7. Re-read everything you write, remove ambiguities.
8. Learn to identify and avoid the use/overuse of jargon, redundancies, slang, and cliches.
9. Check the word order on your sentences.
10. Check all tenses, prepositions, subject/verb agreement, spelling, and punctuations.


See? It can be pretty easy, right? (;
And now, let's write thousands of essays! :p

All I Want For Now Is Xmas

Rainy season has started here in Bandung, Indonesia. Every single day now becomes colder and colder. Every single day it's raining almost everywhere. (And I lost my umbrella, shoot.) And this kinda atmosphere.... makes me feeling holiday aura all over. I want Christmas to come NOW! HAHA! and I am nowhere near holiday. I'll be having my mid test in about two weeks. lalalaaaa :p

Christmas, Christmas time is near

Time for toys and time for cheer

We've been good, but we can't last

Hurry Christmas, hurry fast

Want a plane that loops the loop

Me, I want a hula hoop

We can hardly stand the wait

Please Christmas, don't be late.

Labile *giggle giggle*

One of my current activities now is GINTRE (Gathering and Introducing International Relations). It is sort of an internal Model United Nations (MUN) for the new IR students here in my college. I happen to be the coordinator for Matter & Research division, which is in charge of creating the theme, researching for the topic, and assisting the mentees (our juniors that are divided into a number of state delegates) understanding the matter. 

Here's a funny convo between one of my mentee from 'delegate of Russia' and me.

Acha (A)     : explaining about Russia's view and stance on Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

Mentee (M) : Hooo, got it! So basically Russia is labile*, isn't she? (excited)

Acha (A)     : can't help giggling at her innocence

* 'labile' or 'LABIL (in Bahasa)' is a popular term amongst Indonesian youths nowadays. It means the condition of indecisiveness, or the rapid change of acts taken due to the immature level of emotions in young age.

hhas I love you all, my mentees. :*

Insecurities, Karaoke and The Nanny

Last Friday night, I watched this movie, 'You Again' on StarMovies for the first time.
Here's the storyline:
As a teenager Marni was the kind of girl no guy would go near and would be tormented by the mean girls, and no one was meaner to her than Joana the head cheerleader. Years later, she's a successful woman with a good job. When she goes home for her brother's wedding she discovers that her brother is marrying Joana. When they meet she wants Joana to apologize for the way she treated her but Joana feigns ignorance. When Marni tells her mother, Gail about her and Joana, Gail tells her to try and put it behind her. But when Gail learns that Joanna's aunt Mona is her old friend Ramona who was her friend in high school whom she had confrontation with years ago, Gail feels like Mona is trying to thumb her success in her nose. When Marni learns that Joana does remember her she sets to expose her to her brother. (Source: IMDB)

What I can relate to the most in this movie is the 'insecurities' exposed. No, I didn't get bullied in high school. But like Marni, like Gail, I do have some insecurities about myself, mostly physically. I might not be crazy about it. However, those insecurities still affect how I act in some ways. For example, I have this irrational fear of getting fat - no matter how skinny I am at the moment, like now, I weigh only 40kgs. I am also quite obsessed with my hair, making sure they're still in their place every 5 mins or so. Admit it or not, look DOES matter to me.
And, pathetic or not, I still even, mostly subconsciously, use 'look' as my barometer. I want to look my best because I need that to be comfortable around my friends, or beside my boyfriend. Admit it or not, I don't want to look under their rate, I want to be accepted to their standard, and for my boyfriend, I need to feel that I am decent enough (beautiful and smart) for him to be sure that I'm worth loving.
I remember one time when I got extra sensitive about this issue. Bitterly I admitted this weakness of mine to my boyfriend, and I remember he said, "I don't care whether you're fat or skinny. I don't care whether you look beautiful or not. You are to me. I don't care whether you're smart or not. I'm not looking for pretty girls, I'm not looking for smart girls. I love you."
I remember, with tears streaming down my face, that after he said that, I felt a huge weight was lifted from my chest. It reminded me that my look doesn't matter to those who love me the most. They will never judge me from it, such shallow factor. It reminded me to dress up and look good for myself, because I'm feeling like it; not because I need that desperately for others to accept me.
Of course, those insecurities don't just leave the house after night. I still feel that sometimes. But then I can remind myself. Thanks to you. (':

Now, on a lighter note,
I spent my Saturday night with my best friends here in Bandung. Actually, that Saturday night happened to be my sweet 16th monthsary with my boyfriend. However, we couldn't spend the night together because he had to go to Jakarta visit his mom, who had just been through a surgery. And sadly, I couldn't accompany him to Jakarta as well. )':
So, as promised to my best friends, I went karaoke with them in Paris van Java (PVJ). Thankfully, it was so FUN like madness. We sang our lungs out woohoo!
The awesome 'concert' made us like, STARVING afterwards. So we drove our way to Nanny's Pavillon Garden in Riau Street (where a large number of factory outlets and cafes in Bandung is).


Nanny's Pavillon is a themed restaurant. The one we visited last Saturday is themed 'garden'. Other themes you can find are Library (in Setiabudhi, Bandung), Barn (in Alam Sutera, Serpong), Bathroom (Pacific Place, Jakarta), and many others. The Nanny's specialties are pancakes/waffles, pasta, and baked rice. For more information, you can click here.
Here's some more glimpse of Nanny's Pavillon Garden in Riau, Bandung.


I really recommend this place. The foods are quite good and with reasonable price; for example, the menu I regularly order is spaghetti bolognese and cookies-and-cream milkshake. I especially love the ambience of this place. It suits me like, SO much. Very classical, quite vintage.


So, whenever you come to Bandung, you know you can contact me, and maybe I'll take you around! (;


A memorable song we sang in the karaoke,
Kamu sangat berarti, istimewa di hati
Selamanya rasa ini
Bila tua nanti kita t'lah hidup masing-masing
Ingatlah hari ini











You mean a lot to me, so special in my heart
This feeling is forever
When later we are old, and we're no longer together
Remember this very day
(A song dedicated to my Bandung besties)



PS. Happy sweet 16, Y. :*

Think Good Thoughts

I won't let the negativity turn me into my enemy,

Promise to myself that I won't let it get the best of me,

That's how I want to be

I'm not saying that it's easy,

Especially when I'm moody,

I might be cursing like a sailor till I remind myself I'm better,

Cause words can be like weapons,

Oh and you use them, you regret them,

Oh but I'm not gonna let them take away my heaven

And when I start feeling blue,

I remember to tell myself to,

Think good thoughts

being born a natural over-sensitive, I often let myself be defined by my emotion. watching sad movies (or even happy-ending movies, mind you!), listening to touching music, seeing happy old couple... yes, even simple stuffs like that.

be it sadness, joy, agony, anger, hurt; my emotion comes first. true that I don't always show them, especially the sad and painful, to just about everyone. the heroic reason behind this, of course, is to make sure that people don't have to worry about me. that I don't want to burden people's mind, or steal their precious time. the side reason, in the meanwhile, is that sometimes, owning up weaknesses make them more inevitable. with all these in mind, I am reserved to keep almost everything to myself (and few others with special privilege to some parts of my heart). 

I do not want to be weak by showing that I am in pain, or something is bugging me. but instead, by keeping all the negativity inside myself, it weakens me from deep within. and the loved ones closest to me, often get their 'parts' from this over-emotional me. my mother, mbok, my boyfriend, sometimes my soul sister. sometimes they just get a light silence from emotional-me-level-1. sometimes, when the emotional-me-level-2 shows up, they get cold answers. but on the rare occasion when emotional-me-level-XXX shows up (not to mention when the 'monthly-guest' shows up in the same time), they can get completely irrational behavior from me. be it harsh talk, angry outburst, unexpected tears. 

like what's been said in the song, 'words can be like weapons'. when I am surrounded with negativity, I can use words without thinking. not necessarily cursing words like 'sh*t' or 'f*ck'. just regular vocabulary, but with 'admirable' accuracy and acuity, accompanied with 'admirably' acute tone, that's able to hurt someone. yes, words I cannot take back. words and tones I can only regret right afterwards. for the shortest of moments it feels satisfying, to launch those knife-sharp words. it humors the anger inside me. it feeds the negativity inside me. at the cost of hurting my loved ones. I have made my mother cried when we had this huge fight back then, you see.

have you ever felt such things? have you ever experienced that yourself?

I think everyone has, at least once. or if you have not, you probably will. (or maybe that's just something I come up with to comfort myself). 

Well, the song above (Think Good Thoughts by Colbie Caillat) holds the answer. especially to me. every time I feel negativity creeps in, I always try to think good thoughts. when those evil words and tones crawl up to my head, ready to launch, I shut my lips tight and think happy thoughts. silence is better at times like this. it serves the time needed to resort my thoughts. 

It is not easy, I assure you. but what's life, without the journey to find the true self? The true self with unlimited potentials, unlimited good's, ready to unleash. I may fail here and there. I may fall down. I may lose the battle once or twice. but (hopefully I'll always remember this), I will not stop. I will not let negativity takes the better of me (especially at the cost of hurting my loved ones). 

I will think good thoughts.

I'm not saying that it's easy,

Especially when I'm moody,

I might be cursing like a sailor till I remind myself I'm better,

Cause words can be like weapons,

Oh and you use them, you regret them,

Oh but I'm not gonna let them take away my heaven

originally posted on Doodleyscratch on Sept 3, 2011

Marsha-Go-Round

Welcome to Marsha-Go-Round!

Marsha-Go-Round (MGR) is a blog made on September 15th, 2011 by a girl named Marsha - me!, out of love of writing and idealistic dreams to share ideas and happiness around the world. Reading this blog means being ready to read a share of my life, be flooded with pics - be it my photo diary or other people's slightly nicer pics containing things I love, and enjoy a little creativity and some more ideas.

I first made a blog in October 2008 (you can still find it here: doodleyscratch). It was originally made to put in my writings and get comments on them to improve my writing skill, rather than to share my life stories. However, lately the function of my blog seemed to alter: to contain almost everything I felt like writing.

Hence, this new blog is made.
Marsha-Go-Round is meant to be a (more organized) place where I can channel my thoughts, my feelings, my stories, my ideas: a merry-go-round ride that is fun, but can also be sickening at times; a merry-go-round ride that is full of colorful ideas; a merry-go-round ride which can take you on a melancholic round to the past, or an optimistic round to the future.

So...
I am Marsha, and my goal for now is:
to regularly post at least one entry per week.
Hope I can meet my own standard :p


Thanks for riding Marsha-Go-Round with me! :*