What a Time to be Alive

This year, I celebrated Eid in confusion. I bet many of you felt the same. In times when economic and political tension was at stake, I was forced to feel joy. Unable to breathe, I need to meet people with smiley faces. Despite all the warm feelings inside of me, I also feel rage and despair. I didn’t know how to react; I didn’t have the time to process all those feelings. So, I bundled it up. Keeping it aside for a while.

I don’t know about you, but I feel guilty to be able to have spare money to buy new books. To be able to cook meat and other proteins. I feel guilt because I was able to enjoy comfort while others lost their income due to the unstable economy.

The laws are bent, the policymakers are held hostage, and the government is silent. They said everything is alright. The sun is shining like it is supposed to be.

In other lands, the Palestinians lost their home, their organs, and their loved ones. What could I do in order to stop all the atrocity and the injustice? I keep asking the same question and pray for an answer. Until now, I’ve never found one.

What I can do is get up every day. Doing my best, juggling things, and writing some useless lines of words. Hoping that someday, it will light up someone else’s lines of words. Maybe yours.

May we always have hope and help each other.

Produk Ramadan Hariku Studio

Sebenarnya, aku belum pernah menuliskan tentang proses re-branding Kawung Living ke Hariku Studio di sini. Walaupun re-branding-nya sudah dari tahun 2021, tapi mungkin akan kuceritakan di lain waktu. Hari ini aku mau menulis tentang produk-produk yang aku buat untuk Ramadan.

Ramadan itu peak season-nya orang Indonesia dalam perbelanjaan dalam setahun, brand-brand hijab dan fashion bahkan menyiapkan koleksi lebaran itu setahun sebelum. Iya, SETAHUN. Karena memang event Ramadan itu dianggap sangat serius dan potensial.

Untuk yang tertarik baca-baca, ini ada beberapa insight via Think with Google, TikTok, dan Tokopedia.

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Small Booth of Cuteness

At this point, it is safe to assume that everyone is chronically online. Social media has become the social norm (well, thanks to the pandemic). Everyone probably has their favorite social platforms, but nowadays it is all about content creation or personal branding. Sometimes it is too staged, sometimes it is too raw. So, writing here, on this lonely blog, feels more peaceful.

During the last 5 years, I received pingbacks and comments that were interesting. Some were written by a stranger who asked me, Do I still want to be Endoh Kenji? One time, there was a teenager who told me that his parents also lived in the neighborhood where I grew up and asked me if I still had photographs of Dynasty Cinema (because his parents were a frequent audience of the cinema).

I don’t know why they are stranded here, but this little space full of writing is the record of my existence. I’ve been on my angst era, my hopeful idealist era, and my wibu and K-pop fans era. Though I don’t know what era I am in right now, I still want to write here.

Oh, if I’m asked to choose which is my favorite social platform, I will answer Pinterest. It’s a lonely and peaceful place where all the cool and aesthetic people are gathered. You’re not going to be judged, because nobody lives there. But I love their algorithms (I cannot believe I was writing it)!

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Catching Up with K-pop

Though my playlist is filled with children and punk songs, I’m still listening to K-Pop :)) Just to, you know, catch up.

K-Pop used to be so creative and its music videos were so eye-candy. But recently, I can’t find it anymore. I love how Min Hee Jin directed New Jeans. I like how they sound, how they look, their merchandise, everything. But yeah sometimes, you cannot mix the creative position with the leadership position.

So, this is me, randomly dropping songs I’ve watched recently.

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Beli Peralatan Meronce

Setahun ke belakang, aku lagi seneng-senengnya meronce. Niatnya memang supaya nggak stress pas abis lahiran anak kedua. Ketika banyak membaca buku udah nggak mempan untuk menangkal stress, biasanya aku memang cari hal lain untuk dicoba. Sesuatu yang bikin otak kanan atau otak kiri bergerak, sesuatu yang bisa menuangkan rasa, atau menyalurkan emosi. Pertamanya cuma nyobain beli Beads Kit kecil buat bikin kalung atau gelang, tapi sekarang lagi sering bikin strap HP. Dipake nggak hasilnya? Nggak juga, sih. Hehe.

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