GOODWILL BRIDGE + FOOTLONG SUBS

I love how songs can take you back to specific memories or moments of your life, so much that you feel like you're reliving that time. I'm currently listening to a bunch of songs that I'd have on repeat during my very first sememester of uni, particularly on Thursdays because I used to have a 4-6pm class and I was always hungry afterwards. I'd take a shuttle to the city campus after the class, order my footlong turkey sub on flatbread with baby spinach and walk across the Goodwill bridge to the train station. The weather would always be perfect; never too hot but still bright enough to watch the sun go down and the sky change to all sorts of oranges and purples and pinks. The best part about it is that no one else really feels what I'm feeling because that was my own experience, my own playlist and Thursday arvo. It was a nice little routine, a sweet pause from the craziness that is just the beginning of my life and for a moment I could stop thinking. 

HEY YOU

HEY YOU. YES, YOU. WHAT IF I TOLD YOU THAT SOMEONE REALLY. REALLY, TRULY LOVES YOU SO MUCH. THE REAL YOU. BROKEN, BAREFACED, TIRED, ANGRY, LOST, CONFUSED, BEAUTIFUL YOU. I'M NOT EVEN JOKING. YOU ARE SO RIDICULOUSLY ADORED BY SOMEONE WHO IS SPINNING THIS WORLD AND CREATING STARS AS YOU READ THIS. YOU ARE MADE OUT OF THE RAREST AND MOST DANGEROUS ELEMENTS THIS UNIVERSE HAS TO OFFER AND THAT'S PRETTY RAD. YOU HAVE BEEN SO METICULOUSLY CRAFTED BY HANDS THAT BLED SO YOU COULD LIVE AND EXPERIENCE THIS BEAUTIFUL THING THAT IS LIFE. THOSE HANDS ARE CARRYING YOU THROUGH YOUR DARKEST AND ARE LIFTED HIGH WHEN YOU'RE OVER THE MOON. AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU BUT I LOVE YOU TOO. I THINK YOU'RE PROBABLY A REALLY FANTASTIC HUMAN BEING WITH GOOD TASTE IN MUSIC AND A WONDERFUL FACE. IF I KNEW WHO YOU WERE WE COULD BE FRIENDS. BUT NONETHELESS, DON'T FORGET HOW MUCH YOU ARE LOVED, EVEN WHEN YOU DON'T FEEL IT. BECAUSE YOU ARE. SO MUCH. 

Lola Diaries For Your entertainment

One of the best, worst things to ever do to yourself is to keep diaries throughout your entire high school life. I have never felt so embarrassed for someone, ever, and that happens to be to myself (not sure if that made sense, carry on). Over my schooling years, I have made lists of what I learnt for each year of high school and I thought you might enjoy a small portion of what I have discovered from the years of puberty yuck, braces and packed lunches. Years 8-11 was all written in year 11, but they're a pretty accurate summary of what went down from '09-'12. I hope you are entertained at the expense of my dignity. Anything in italics is just some cynical, current commendation of what I have to say about my profound knowledge (not really).

THINGS I HAVE LEARNT THROUGHOUT HIGHSCHOOL 

by Lola Irwanto

YEAR 8: Year of the twelvie fag.

• You will eventually discover boyz and see them as something more than stinky, 2 legged sweat bombs) - so like, three legged stink bombs?
• Drama and fights with friends are inevitable and they're bound to occur.
• It doesn't hurt to speak up.
• Some people that you used to know will change a lot.
• There will always be someone prettier/sportier/smarter/funnier than you. Don't worry about it - when being 'sporty' was the primary trait that every hardcore 14 year old boy wanted in a girl

YEAR 9: 13 going on flirty (a.k.a - ankle tapping in the corridors and passing notes)

• There will always be that friend who will try to change who you are. Don't fall for it.
• There will also be the friend who will drag you into their problems. Again, don't fall for it.
• Never ever base a friendship/relationship through texting or Facebook. It will only go down hill. - yeee struthh
• Flirting is yuck.
• Leading people on is not nice. You may think that they will never like you but you'd be surprised - save dem x's for your gal pals 
• Try to act normal around guys who like you if they think you don't know - i didn't really have to do this that often tbh lol
• flirting is not a solution or answer - apparently i wrote this all in caps
• Never pull allnighters 

YEAR 10: ye getting there.

• Majorly involving God in your life really turns your life around.
• You never really mature - aint that the truth
• People will come and go
• If a guy you like offers you a drink (A SOFT DRINK), accept it. Don't just get up and get it yourself. HE WAS JUST TRYING TO BE NICE.
• Jealousy is not pretty. Its actually yuck.
• Make Jesus the centre of everything
• Never get carried away with getting attention from guys because it wrecks everything
• You should really make sure that you're doing something for the right reason before actually doing it.
• Don't let your friends try to set you up with someone you don't know - TY A.G
• Keep your diary in a safe place.

YEAR 11: Learning to be comfortably weird

• Don't get your hopes up too high - thats a bit depressing 
• Don't be afraid to take chances and laugh at your mistakes
• Some people will just sugar coast some things so stay clear.
• If you ever have a problem with someone, talk to them about it! Don't talk about it behind their back.
• Being just friends with guys is the best way to go.
• Who cares what people think about you?
• Take every opportunity you get
• Its not all about you
• Never underestimate the power of a steep hill
• Say what is true. Don't tell people what they want to hear, tell them what they need to hear. However, say it with love
• Learn to accept constructive criticism even though it may hurt.
• Never leave things to the last minute! - YEAH STILL HAVEN'T LEARNT FROM THIS HA HA

YEAR 12: Actually not too terrible

• Its ok to be a little or a lot cray.
• It is possible to eventually stop liking that person you had a crush on since year 7 - omg
• Sometimes people will confuse and irritate you when their actions contradict their words; don't worry because it's their life, not your problem.
• Do what you love best and you will succeed at it
• Learn to disregard the pettiness that is high school
• Polaroid cameras are an expensive investment.
• Most problems can be solved by skating
• You will eventually learn to drive a manual without stalling.
• You will figure out who your true friends are and they will be your friends for life
• Marriage is a beautiful thing
• Have fun in the subjects you hate and regret nothing - b/c y0L0
• Someday soon you will figure out what you love best.

20 THINGS LEARNT FROM FIRST YEAR

So my 2nd semester and first year of uni is coming to a close (one more assignment dammit) and 4 months of holidays awaits! I have learnt a tonne of things from this year, some things that I thought I'd never come to realise but yeah I did. SO here is a list of 20 things that I have discovered about myself/learnt from my first year if uni.

1. It's ok to change your subway order

2. Make sure you don't forget your student ID card - it's like a magic pass

3. Yes there are a lot of attractive people, no they will not notice you. Move along. 

4. Take advantage of the amenities and resources - that's what you're paying for anyway

5. Assignment crams are achievable, but not highly recommended

6. My time management sucks - do better next year

7. Lectures are boring

8. Coco Chanel was a slurry and Marie Antoinette was annoying

9. People are really funny and random and interesting and lovely

10. Public transport is rough as

11.  If you recognise someone in your class or have something/know someone in common, just ask or talk to them. They could be really lovely and you'll never know unless you meet them

12. I friggin dislike stairs

13. I have gotten really good at pretending to be occupied with my phone when people try to give me flyers as I walk into uni. It feels like they want my autograph when they're really just trying to suck me into a gym membership or free chips at burger urge

14. BURGER URGE SUCKS

15. Packed lunches are the best

16. The library is a sanctuary of serenity and comfy chairs

17. I never even used a single hard copy book as a reference for any of my assignments

18. You can buy extra internet for pretty cheap

19. Fashion is not as materialistic and superficial as it seems 

20. Goodbye forever, richlands guy who got on my train at around 8:03am train on Mondays. I will miss your defined jawline and fashion sense 

This Massive World

I catch a train almost every day of the week to uni and everytime I do, I always see different faces. However, there is this one instance where I have seen the same guy every Monday for a few weeks now. He hops on the train a few stops after me and he has a nice face and also goes to my uni as well. That's all. Yeah it's tragic, I know. 

I have often caught myself taking a step back to ponder on the vastness of life, but I have never actually taken into account of how crazy huge this universe really is. How ridiculous is it to realise that you might never see the most of the faces you have crossed paths with, ever again? The thousands that pass by you everyday is just an infinitesimal fraction of what the rest of the world has to offer, yet that itself is overwhelming to comprehend. As many as there are, each stranger has a soul, a story, a first love, a bad habit and a dream. Every individual you have ever sighted has been hurt, one way or another. If their scars could speak, they would probably tell you stories. Despite the enormity of souls you see everyday, there are still people that you may have noticed, double-looked or even communicated with. Have you ever wondered if people notice you, just as much as you may notice other strangers you come across? You could be someone's 'Tuesday guy' or 'busway girl' or 'uni dude', just as much as that stranger is that 'Monday Richlands guy' to you (or me hahahahahahha...haha..ha). You may see them again, you may not. I think that's one of the tiny perks of life - not knowing who you're going to meet next. It's kind of liberating in a way, as it gives you another reason to let yourself be free without caring what people think about you (unless they end up being your workmate or tutor or something unfortunate - which has not happened to me thank goodness). It's a wild time.

I LIKE: Vancouver Sleep Clinic

I really do believe that some of the world's most ridiculously talented human beings originate from Brisbane, and I don't usually compliment cities that often. Especially Brisbane. In a previous post, I established that I'm not a super-pro-music reviewer-type-person and I will remain true to that claim. However, I know that when I really, really like something, I will try my hardest to put the fanciest words I know together to give it the slightest bit of justice it deserves. 

I've had this pretty song called 'Vapour' on my phone by an artist who goes by the title of Vancouver Sleep Clinic, for quite a while now (I found him on Triple J - where I find all the good stuff) but I only got around to listening to his EP tonight after a Spotify haul, followed by purchasing the album on iTunes (that's when you know that you reeeeally like it). It is honestly one of the most beautiful things I ever did hear. Reminiscent, reflective,  and strikingly atmospheric (my new favourite word which I have used about 50000 times in my sound design assignment) - the kind of vibes that take you to a whole new place. I love how beautifully he ties acoustics together with the dreamiest synth pads, melodies and killer falsetto (look, I'm trying here). The builds are unpredictable but so perfectly arranged that you feel like you're soaring or driving on an open road at sunset. I've gotta be honest and say that I have been going through an evocative-themed, electronic music phase at the moment (eg. Porter Robinson, Japanese Wallpaper, VSC, M83) which may have been slightly influenced by all the sound design, electronic music stuff that I'm learning at uni. I don't think it's a bad thing though. If anything, it has only inspired me more. I totally wish I could produce music that beautiful haha. If you like your life and love this sort of goodness, you really should look up Vancouver Sleep Clinic, like, right now. I've run out words and smart-music-lingo from my extremely limited vocab so do yourself and everyone you love a favour, and look up VANCOUVER SLEEP CLINICCCCC. Oi, i'll even post the SoundCloud link below if you're too lazy to type the words in on Google. But honestly, no one should ever be that lazy.

>> VANCOUVER SLEEP CLINC SOUNDCLOUD <<

First-year Uni Rookie

This year has gone crazy fast. I am about half way through my first year of university already! After years of thinking that I wasn't going to start uni straight after school, I find myself sitting in the library watching 'Hey Arnold' and listening to Japanese Wallpaper whilst waiting to go to my next tutorial. It's funny to think that nothing really ever goes how you expect it to go, and that's alright. I had a really nice coffee catch up today with one of my friends who is about to finish her law degree at the end of this year! The days are so, so short. I have definitely learnt a lot of things this year (so far): academically, socially, mentally and spiritually. For starters, I never knew that I had the capacity to pull an all-nighter til 5:30am (on the day my assignment was due), take a 2 hour power nap and get back up at 7:30am to complete the assignment at 11am, go to uni, submit it at 3pm and crash for 5 hours afterwards! To justify myself, it was a very extensive assignment that I didn't leave til the last minute! Here are some more things i've learnt/discovered about myself over the course of this year at the moment (there are still a few months to go but I've completed most of this year anyway so why not).

1. Packed lunches are good for your health and bank account

Sometimes it's nice to be a little fancy and grab a burger or something from the local food alley at uni, but spending about $10 a day on food, everyday (and I have uni 4 days a week) begins to get painful, especially if you're studying more than you're working. I know it's common sense, but packing your own lunch is really so much better than forking out $$$ for a meal that will sustain you for about 3-5 hours. It may require you to get up a little earlier in the morning to chuck together some salad or a sandwich but you won't regret pocketing that extra $10 to invest into something more meaningful (like your future children or an in-ground trampoline). And bring your own water bottle! 

2. Check your emails!
There is quite literally nothing more inconvenient than rocking up to a class that has been cancelled, especially when it's the only class you have that day. Tutors usually email their students a few days in advance if there won't be a class on so its good to check at least once a day. I made the rookie mistake of coming to a class that wasn't on and spent three hours watching random videos in the library.

3. Uni is not the place to find your potential suitor
At uni, you will cross paths with some individuals who were blessed with quite pleasing aesthetics. This doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to marry them hahaahahahaha. People come from all over the place and have very different backgrounds, beliefs and standards of morality so it will be quite rare to meet someone that ticks all your boxes. There are also so so so so many people at uni, so the people you see around are probably only a fraction of your entire uni population (people have classes at night too, yuck). Besides, remember that you are at uni to study!! QUT cuties and Harvard hunks for another time in life (Harvard isn't even in Australia what the heck).

4. Group work is challenging
There are two things that most humans do not particularly enjoy - country music and group work. For my uni degree, a lot of my assessments are done in groups (and thankfully not exams, or else I would be working full-time at maccas right now) and it has brought out sides of me that I didn't even know existed. For most of my school life, I always thought I was that chilled, just-go-with-it kind of person when it comes to these things, but recently i've found that i'm actually a bit of a psycho. It's scary. Like, who even am I anymore. Every single one of my subjects are predominantly based on group work this semester and it's been really interesting so far! It's allowed me to meet more people, some people that I definitely would never of met if I wasn't doing these assignments with them and I actually don't mind it. However, things do begin to get difficult when group member X doesn't do their part and you're freaking out because it's due in less than a week and so on. Overall, it's a real character building experience.

5. Take full advantage of your uni's facilities
I don't mean stealing some toilet paper and taking it home so you don't have to buy your own, take advantage of the resources like books, exclusive-access sites, equipment and softwares. For my sound design subject, we get to use a music computer lab with music producing softwares and equipment like MIDI keyboards and microphones etc, that would be quite expensive if you had to buy them yourself! You're paying for your degree anyway so you might as well just use what they've provided to it's full capacity.

Hello Spring

Tonight marks the first night in three months that I've been able to wear shorts to bed........ITS SPRING!!! No more frosty mornings and heat lights (they're really quite a luxury), cold toilet seats and pitch black 6:00 AMs! I have almost forgotten what spring feels like so I'm glad that winter only goes for three months. Last winter, I listed some of my favourite things about that season so I guess there's nothing more appropriate than to present to you my Spring faves:

• Not having to wear trackies to bed
• Warmer air
• Flowers
• Temperature warm enough to stand outside at night, but not enough for 9278259 mosquitoes to suck the life out of you
• Longer days
• That spring sky
• Skating with no shoes
• Awakening from hibernation
• Exposure of knee caps - ripped jeans don't count
• Seasonal fruits yeeeeew

I love how seasons go for long enough to be able to appreciate the next one that's coming around the corner. May your Spring be sweeeeet. 

Sugar Bagels

I made these sugar bagel diabetes ring bad boyz the other day - each family member of mine (myself not included) ate about five each and my little neighbours snagged the rest. I'd say it was a pretty successful batch. Deep frying is the pits though.

Dying To Come Alive

Being a human isn't easy. Trying to go through the motions of life on your own is  quite impossible. I'm rather glad that i've finally realised that. Life really is meaningless when you think that you are all sweet to do things with your own strength. Why? Because when you fail (and trust me, you will), you have nothing to fall into. For a long time, I thought that trusting Jesus was easy. It's not. It means that you have to die to yourself and your own expectations and desires and one-dimensional thinking. It means that you have to fall into Someone intangible, invisible and far beyond your own understanding. Sometimes, putting all your faith in God doesn't make sense. Sometimes it's a sacrifice, an inconvenience and simply not what you're expecting. It can be painful! But you know what? It's the crucifixion of your flesh. Through the painfulness and brutality of dying to yourself, you are cleaning up to live as Christ. Being a Christian isn't a job, it's actually a complete renovation of your entire spiritual being, really. I can't find the right words to explain everything that God has been revealing to me about this but there is a verse in the Word that says "to live is Christ but to die is gain." When you die to yourself, you have gained a new life in Christ and it is far better than what your could imagine. I'm honestly not done with this journey, infact I've only just taken the first steps. There is still a long way to go and so much to learn but this first step has been ridiculous so far. 

Cafes and Yummy Food Places That I Would Like To Try

I follow a bunch of food accounts on instagram from all over Brisbane and the Gold Coast and they are always posting such amazing-seeming meals, drinks and snacks that I've been dying to try. I'm that kind of person who says that they would really like to try/watch/go to something but never ends up doing it because of laziness, not enough time or money (or even anyone to go with). These are the places that I have heard only good things from, or just look flipping amazing. Brisbane, Gold Coast and everywhere else in the world/Australia.

Paddock Bakery (Gold Coast)

I swear I am the last human being on the planet who hasn't actually been there yet. I've heard that the nutella donuts are to die for, and for some reason I do not doubt that. The food there is apparently also quite reasonably-priced and decently sized! Definitely have to go someday.

Flour & Chocolate (Brisbane)

So after trying a peanut butter cronut from the Eat street food markets at Hamilton Wharf, it's safe to say that cronuts are the best thing to ever happen to pastry foods. Seriously. Its like magic taking place in your mouth. I found this cafe on instagram when looking through a food account blog and I would really love to try their cronuts! I saw a photo of a salted caramel cronut and it was love at first sight. I even tried to convince mum to drive me there today because they only do cronuts (or gonuts) on Thursdays. That didn't happen, as we live a freaking 40 minute drive from the nearest, civilised place. Someday, someday.

Scatter Bean (Brisbane)

My train passes by this little coffee shop every time I head to the city for uni and I'm quite intrigued by it. It just looks really cute in the corner of a street hehe. Im not a coffee snob so if I ever end up checking it out, i'll probably have a milkshake or something but it looks cuteeeee.

Harajuku Gyoza (Brisbane)

This is not a coffee shop but I saw it in my instagram feed on this food blog account and it looks amazing! Its a japanese cuisine restaurant with really interesting dishes (especially desserts), so i'd like to check it out one day.

Ben's Burgers (Brisbane)
I LOVE BURGERS.

Meil Burger Container (Brisbane)
I LOVE BURGERS PT. 2

Please Say Please (Adelaide)

Ok we are going a little interstate now, but this is a cafe that i've been following on instagram for a while now and they always have really interesting-flavoured macarons that I have never even dreamed of! I have a friend who as been there and he says it's not brilliant, but thats about the coffee (and like I said, I'm not a coffee person so quite frankly, I don't care!). I just want to try their macarons, that is aaaall.

The Tuckshop (Glenhaven - Sydney)

Yes, another interstate cafe! Ran into this one on the gram and they're pretty new but the aesthetics of the place are off the charts (according to the images i've seen). They also do shoestring cut fries (my weakness) so i'm all down for hitting this place up one day.

The Grounds of Alexandria (Sydney)

Heard too many good things about this place so when I head down to Sydney, I'll give it a shot! Thats all I really have to say about this.

Overpriced Tomato Sauce At The Tuckshop

When I first started writing this blog, I told myself that this is just for the light stuff, like what I did today and who my favourite current artists are. However, there are times where I just feel like to vent to no-one in particular but still leave my thoughts out there, vulnerable and.....just there. I'M NOT A WRITER. I JUST VENT AND RANT SOMETIMES AND IT FEELS NICE. I like to tell myself that I'm basically just talking to Jesus, and writing this all down in a blog lets me do that, along with allowing other randoms to be involved. I'm not sure if I'm going to look back at the URL in a few years and feel completely ashamed of my 17-year-old ranting, but I do know that it will be funny to look back on and laugh at how weird I was/am.

The people I feel closest to could be numbered off with one hand and even then, I barely see them because I live so far away. When you have a little too much time on your own, it gives you heaps of time to think and grow lonely. Again, yes I have Jesus but personally as an extrovert, I feel myself going slightly insane from the lack of interaction with my pals. My new friends at uni don't know me inside-out yet and at a lot of the time, there really isn't anyone to talk about deeper things with. Maybe I'm feeling this way because my three best friends have been overseas for the past three weeks and I've been all by myself haha. This all sounds ridiculous and petty but I r e a l l y j u s t m i s s m y f r i e n d s. I miss seeing everyone everyday at school without having to make any effort. I miss the oval and Sarah's tuna lunch. I miss the overpriced tuckshop that kept upping the price of tomato sauce by like 20 cents every year. I miss being excited for a class I had with a boy that I liked (THERE I SAID IT). I miss uniforms and bucket hats and kings socks and and the school bell. Far out, I even miss assemblies when Mrs Bevan would address the issue of vermin in the school. You would probably tell me to move on, and yes, that's what I'm doing but i guess it makes sense to miss the things you've been used to for so long. School is not a dungeon, a hell hole or a prison. When people say "you don't know what you've got til it's gone", they're spot on.  

DIY: Car Ornament

I got a car a few months ago and I'm that kind of person who can't stand not having something to jazz things up a little. I went through a pipe cleaner phase and whipped up this little pineapple car deco-thing to hang from my rear-view mirror and it still hangs there to this day! My friend suggested to post this DIY onto my blog like two months ago and I'm only getting around to doing this now because I was lazy hahaha (sorry sarah!). Here is the instructions >>>>

YOU'LL NEED

• pipecleaners (any colour - I used silver)
• scissors
• string

WHAT TO DO

It is a really simple project that pretty much just requires about 10 minutes of your time and a vacuum cleaner afterwards to clean up the little pieces of pipe cleaner. What I did was start bending the pipe cleaner in the desired shapes and wrapped the ends around each other. I found that I didn't really need to cut the pipe cleaner until i finished - just kept adding to the end of the pipe cleaner until my shape was done! To finish it off, I tied some string onto the top of the pineapple and just tied it off on my car :) Its good to hang from the mirror because it's light and you can see through it. I've been told that it is illegal to hang things from your rear-view mirror because its distracting, but this is nearly noticeable and light so it should be sweet. I don't think the authorities are too strict on that anyway. "214 we got a wild P-plater on the loose with a bedazzled object hanging from her rear-view mirror". yeahhhhhh nah. 

I Miss You

I have been told that "in life, people will disappoint you". This has never been so true. Sometimes, people who you thought would stick through and come out the winner end up being the ones who give in. It sucks to see this happen to some of my closest friends. As a recently graduated student who is still trying to find her feet and calling in life, I don't have many tight friends who are on the same page as me to be completely honest. Its a proven fact that you will really only see about 1% of your high school friends once you're out of school and its a lonely time. The only people I ever know are the ones who are at the same church as me, or at my uni. I have a few uni friends but they are from all different places and it's hard to find things in common when you don't really believe in the same thing. 

This all doesn't mean that I have stopped loving my drifting friends, or am judging them for their wrongs. I just miss the way they used to be when they were with Jesus and now i find it more and more difficult to relate to them because we're just not on the same page. Nonetheless, every single one of my friends who have taken different paths in life are still incredible people who have so much potential to change the world. It just sucks that these things get in the way of it.

I know that God knows whats going on with everything and that He would want me to trust His will. Its just hard when I feel quite alone (especially with my three best friends in Japan at the moment) and disconnected. I feel like more people in my life are floating away than coming in. Out of everything, I know that Jesus is my ultimate friend (ha lame, but true) and that He has and never will let me down. I guess we will just have to see where this life is headed.

Grey Beanies And Vintage Sia

It's been a while since I've blogged, and to be honest, I haven't really been bothered (as you can tell). I am on a train at the moment, heading down to the coast for the weekly youth worship meet and catch up with some of the best of friends. I have a sore back because I went for a run yesterday (PTL) and I think I did something no good because it still hurts til now. 

I've had this mother Teresa quote on my wall for a few weeks now and every time I read it, it's like a refreshing reminder of my purpose here on earth. It constantly makes me realise that nothing that I do here is for the approval of man, but the exhalation of Jesus. Specifically, it's made me realise that people may take these trips I take to the Gold Coast for granted and don't realise how frustrating it is, which makes me frustrated but I feel reassured that He knows what im doing and that's all that really matters. People will never see or understand some things that only you know the feeling of, but wait, that doesn't even matter because we are not placed on this earth to receive sympathy and pity from others. 

DIY: Pixel Bling

I often go through really weird creative phases the involve making stuff - Pinterest is slightly responsible for this. My current making buzz is the whole digital, pixel, cartoony motif with squares and colours. Here's a little DIY for a fun little necklace i made with Perler beads! You can get them for $10 a container at IKEA and if comes with literally thousands of beads.

YOU'LL NEED

• Perler beads of different colours
• Perler bead pegboard
• iron
• baking paper

WHAT TO DO

So pretty much, you can find heaps of peeler bead templates online on sites like Pinterest or kandipatterns.com and there are thousands of cute characters, foods, crazy things you can make! Its super simple, almost simple enough to not require instructions! You just match the beads with the squares and continue til you've completed the pattern. The ironing part is probably the trickiest - You have to make sure that you heat it up enough for the beads to fuse together, but not too long that it melts way too much. Let it cool for a few seconds then you can take the paper off and there you have it! You can also attach jumper rings or key rings to make them into pendants or bling (like what i did hehehe).

Up and Down

 Every Friday and Sunday, I am always back on the coast for church and youth. It can be a pain sometimes with all the travelling, but spending that $20 on petrol is so worth it when I get to see my friends again and spend some quality time in paradise. I've become quite accustomed to this weekly ritual and I gradually learning to figure out what I need to bring, in order to make sure that I get the most out of the few hours I am down there. These are a few of the things I don't leave home without when I hit the road! Yes, random, but hey, I haven't really blogged in a while and I hope it gives you a little insight on what my days look like!

1. My Camera

Well it's actually my brother's camera, but I have found that he doesn't really use it as much, since he's schooling so I figured that taking advantage of it is probably one of my best ideas yet! I make sure that I capture a few beautiful moments either with my buddies or just on my own. Sometimes I even take a bit of Video footage and make a short movie of our adventures! 

Golden Hour on a Sunday Afternoon from Lola Irwanto on Vimeo.

2. My Skateboard

I reckon Gold Coast beaches have some of the best ever footpaths ever made by city-council-kind. Skating is probably the most exercise I get every week, so I always make sure that my board is in my car! It practically lives in my car anyway so that's not so much of a problem haha.

3. Cool Hat

I don't really know why I have this on the list, but I seem to always have a hat with my when I come down, and it does serve some purposes in a way, so eh, why not.

4. A coconut*

Well, I haven't actually brought a coconut down with me on my trips down, but it's something that I really want to do someday, as random as that sounds! It's my favourite fruit and I kinda have always thought how great it would be to drink and eat a coconut whilst chilling in the boot of my car on Burleigh hill hahahahahaha. I might do this next week

5. AN UMBRELLA

We have had pretty unpredictable weather recently, and yesterday I found myself stranded at a set of pedestrian lights in the middle of a short shower with no umbrella AND I happened to be wearing a grey t-shirt. Everyone knows that you never wear grey if you know you are going to sweat or get wet because it changes to a whole few shades darker once it comes into contact with a drop of liquid! It wasn't pleasant, but I had an umbrella in the car (which i didn't take with me whilst getting food because I didn't think it would rain yet). Silly willy me.

I LIKE: Porter Robinson

Oh wow. So the other night, it was just another typical drive home from the Gold Coast and as per usual, I had the radio tuned into Triple J. I really love Triple J because they mainly play Australian music and artists who aren't as well known, but are incredible. It was about 8:55pm (I always take note of the time when I hear something really good on the radio, but don't know who it's by, so I can look it up when I get home) and this person requesting a song is going on and on about this Porter Robinson dude, asking to play his song 'Sad Machine' because its so amazing and so I thought hmmm maybe this is something I should be taking note of. I kept listening and OHHHH MYYYY GOOODNESSSS my face just exploded. It was this really evocative and emotional, yet magnificent song that had me at the first hook. When I got home, I googled it, bought the song off iTunes and I've had it on repeat ever since.

Tonight, I was doing a bit of research on this insanely talented, Porter Robinson and it turns out that he's more into creating music that "felt beautiful and nostalgic", rather than that DJ scene AND IT'S WONDERFUL. SO SO WONDERFUL. I'M SORRY BUT I'M JUST REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE THERE ARE ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCERS OUT THERE WHO ACTUALLY MAKE REALLY REALLY BEAUTIFUL MUSIC AND EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THEM. Some people don't regard electronic music as 'real music', and I have been guilty of making judgments (but to be honest, Skrillex just freaks me out) but I guess if you're open to give it a try, any genre really, you will be surprised with what there is out there. 

Hi / Bye

SOOO Semester One of my first year at Uni is coming to a close (although I still have two-and-a-half more assignments to complete) and I must say, it has been an interesting experience so far. I know that there are quite a few more semesters to go in my study life, but from what I have endured, it's not half as bad as some people make it out to be. Sure, the work load is quite extensive and assignments do pile up, but if we are looking at the positive side of things in this scenario, I'd say that I have thoroughly enjoyed what I've been learning and I'm actually glad to be studying what I'm studying.

As for the social side, I've come across lots of different, cool people who I don't think I would've ever met in any other way, except through Uni. The people you meet here are from all over the place (myself included) and it's awesome to meet other fellow humans who are passionate about the same things as you.

Uni is way different to school because everything is done in semesters, and we enrol into different units every semester. I might not be in the same units as the people who I was with this semester, which kinda sucks because it feels like 13 weeks wasn't long enough to get to know people. Also, there are people that you wish you kinda got to know while you were in the same class but now the class has ended and your chance is gone (I don't know if i will ever be able to exchange greetings with that nice dude in my sound design tute again). Of course, this isn't the end. I know that there are hundreds more people to meet over the next three years and it will all be sweeeeeet.

Best Friends

The best kind of friends in the world are sometimes the ones you don't necessarily always get to talk to or see very often because you're just really busy with life and work and study, but that doesn't matter you're still best friends no matter what. I am so grateful to be able to say that I have a handful of those kind of friends - the ones that are like sisters to me, the ones who know what I am thinking when when I don't even know what I'm thinking or feeling myself and the ones who will be the 'aunties' to my kids. 

Living an hour away from the Gold Coast and getting slammed with Uni assignments can make it difficult to find time to spend with some of my favourite people. There are no longer Tuesday Night froyo hangs, spontaneous drives to wherever or random beach trips. It's a bit more difficult to do stuff when our schedules are packed, yet unpredictable. One of my best friends is currently in Japan, and it has felt like a lifetime since she left! I wish there was such thing as a teleporting machine, even if you have to dispense a $2 coin into it every time you wanted to go somewhere. Unfortunately, there isn't such a device and the closest thing to teleporting is the Gold Coast Express train. 

However despite these complications, I still think that our friendships are stronger than ever. I guess it makes us appreciate each other more when we don't see each other for a while and one day just hang out. It does take effort though, I'm not going to lie. There have been plenty of times where both parties have agreed to hang out or at least want to, but the busyness of life and all it's dilemmas just get in the way.

No matter what happens, no matter what we do or where we end up, my gal pals are those ONCE IN A LIFETIME kind of gal pals to keep for the rest of existence.

♡ 

Some of the best people in the world.

I Eat Chicken Wings Like A Girl

A five-and-a-half hour break between a tutorial and a lecture is a long, long time. This is every Wednesday for me. Over the past nine or so weeks of Uni, I've come to discover that as hard as you try to be productive with those crazy long breaks, you will only last for so long. Thankfully, I am fortunate enough to be able to study at a uni in Brisbane which is only a five-minute bus trip from the city. 

Oh boy, I sure do love the city. Yeah, some people say that it gets boring and there's really not much to do blah blah blah but I personally don't think it's going to get old for me anytime soon. There's actually quite a bit to do! Today on my uni break ventures, I first found myself chasing the view of Storey Bridge. It's kind of the Queensland/Brisbane version of the Harbour Bridge and I guess a metal structure is not all that exciting but at night, it's something magical. After capturing a few snaps, I thought South Bank would be a good destination to head to. 

My friend Albert (who goes to another uni) has always raved about this place in South Bank that does 25-cent buffalo chicken wings so i was dying to try them! However on my way, came across this really neat food market at the bridge end of Queen street Mall. It was incredible! There were food stalls from all different nationalities, flowers, fruits and veges and POPCORN. I had a really yummy german pretzel the size of my hand and a mint and lime ice tea. Oh, and let me just add that the food there was quite reasonably-priced as well! I ended up paying about $5 for my little snack meal. So good.

I finally ended up at South bank and I went to The Burrito Bar - the buffalo wings place. They are indeed 25 cents, but the catch is that you can order a minimum of ten and it goes up by tens, so the least you pay is $2.50. It was also dine in only which was a bit of a shame, since I was by myself and I was pretty keen on enjoying some wings whilst overlooking the Brisbane River, but instead I found myself on a bar stool, facing a really cute couple in a restaurant on the opposite side of the road. Nonetheless, the wings were satisfying and I managed to consume all ten of them without making a ridiculous mess of myself. 

That's pretty much my typical, procrastination Wednesday for ya, let's hope for more productive days to come haha.

It was a wonderful day.

Flipping delicious.

Pleasant fruit.

DIY: Pom Pom Garland

Oh hey procrastination, we meet again! Last night, I was up all night, thinking about cool crafts to decorate my new house and So I found myself making a Pom Pom garland the very next day! This craft was slightly inspired by Pinterst, but I predominately came up with it on my own because I was thinking of ways to make different kinds of garlands to hang around. They are good for decorating a space or wall, or even for wrapping around poles or trees. Go nuts!!

YOU'LL NEED

• wool - your choice of colour
• fork or just use your hand (depending on how big you want the pom pom to be)
• scissors 

WHAT TO DO

Basically, to make the pom poms, just take the end of the wool ball and wind it around your hand about 50 times. Tie it off by taking a short piece of wool and tying through the wrapped wool, not through the middle of the hole but kinda bunching it in the middle so it is firmly tied on the outer edge. Then cut the wool so the little pom pom bits start to stick out and tidy up by snipping the excess! Sorry I'm not very good at explaining, but I'm sure there are plenty of youtube tutorials out there that might be able to guide you better haha. after making quite a few of the pom poms, tie them along a long piece of wool. leaving a gapping approximately 7-10 centimetres between each pom pom. You should make around 30 pom poms to get a really nice long garland.

Pom poms make everything fun.

White Wash Warriors Don't Get a Sweet Ride

Have you ever thought that you've been trying so hard to understand something but just give up, because you think you're never going to get it? I have found that this is quite the case when I want to seek Jesus deeper. The other week, I was pondering on the idea of wanting to grow closer to God, but feeling like I can't seem to get anything out of reading His Word or even speaking to Him - like it's just too hard. Most of the time when I read my bible, I feel like I can't 'get a revelation' or something out of it and at times I feel like God isn't responding. Interestingly enough, He ironically revealed this pretty cool response to my questions and confusion. 

Sometimes, we think we are trying so so so hard to hear from God but we can't because deep inside, we are really not giving our everything. He showed me that it's gotta seriously take something out of our own flesh before we get to see what He wants to show us. What we think is sufficient enough is so small, compared to what God wants to show us. Those "yeah I'll read a chapter and after that, I think I'm all good" excuses are not painstakingly enough. It's a slap in the face but it's probably true. You simply cannot expect God to show you something if you are not prepared or equipped to understand what it is that He's got to reveal. 

I don't surf much, but I know that if I want to catch a solid wave, I've gotta paddle hard. If I was only willing to surf the white wash and wade in the ankle deep water, I wouldn't be getting anywhere and I would eventually give up because I can't seem to get barrelled. In order to get a decent ride, I have to understand that it takes a lot more than just splashing around on the shore. This means that I would have to get deeper in the water and put in a good dose of upper body strength (which I seem to lack anyway). It's much harder than surfing white wash but it's where you can start doing all the fancy stuff and it's much more fulfilling. Likewise, we too have to put in our efforts if we seriously want to get deeper in our relationships with Jesus. It will be hard and it will feel like it's taking a lot out of you but man, it is good. 

Living in Woop Woop

When you move from a teeny complex to a decently-sized block of land, you begin to realise how much of a difference it makes. I have recently moved house to an acreage estate, much of a shock compared to good ol' Somerset Gardens on Gemvale. The nearest shopping centre is about twenty minutes away (except to Woolies on Pub Lane which is a five-minute drive but not exactly 'late night' standard) and I no longer have the luxury of being able to duck down to the beach.

Living close to the middle of nowhere does have it's perks though. For starters, since there's none of the distractions of being able to go anywhere that does not require driving over 80/kph, I've had a lot of time to settle and slow down the pace of my life. I have realised that life on the Gold Coast was quite busy, even though I lived super close to everywhere. Where I live now has given me a chance to get more creative, think freely and just breathe. It's just still - no train, no motorway, no school right next door, no rowdy neighbours, just serenity.

Since I've had a lot of time on my hands (actually, more like procrastination from assignments), I have been able to do up my room a bit. Yes, that would have to be one of my most favourite things about moving; being able to start fresh and do up my own little creative space where all the magic happens. Here are some snaps I took tonight of my room.

✰✰✰✰

Frankie and Yen magazine cut-outs make
a pretty neat inspo wall.

Jars of sand and polaroids.

Sometimes you need a pineapple
 hanging from your ceiling.

DIY: Nifty Mondays

Sometimes you find the greatest little surprises when unpacking. I was feeling a little nifty tonight and I found some of this daisy chain lace-kinda stuff and created these - daisy chain bracelets! They're so easy to make and a cute little addition to your winter outfit. 

YOU'LL NEED

• a pair of snap fasteners
• enough daisy chain to wrap around your wrist
• needle and thread

WHAT TO DO

Take your snap fastener and start by sewing one half to the end of the daisy chain. When you sew the second one one, make sure that it is on the opposite side of the chain and overlapping one daisy when you wrap it around, kinda like when you velcro something together.

And thats basically it! As I said, incredibly easy! 

You can also double the length to wrap it around your wrist twice!

Hello Winter

Well holy moly me oh my, winter has struck once again. It's not exactly one of my favorite seasons but I do enjoy it's fashion, hot chocolate and the fact that you can skate in long pants without getting incredibly sweaty. Despite the struggle of getting out of bed on an early, frosty morning, there is something a little magical about this time of year. It sometimes makes me wish that it snowed here in Australia, just to add to the season. Some things that make winter bearable for me include:

• fuzzy socks
• hot chocolate (as stated above)
• layering
• skating with long pants and not getting sweaty (as stated above)
• bonfires
• rosy cheeks
• heaters
• warm blankets 
• lots of food 
• beanies
• putting clothes in the dryer and putting then on straight away
• that winter dusk sky

I hope this winter involves a lot of those and less of the chapped lips, colds, runny noses, not-enough-layers and cold toilets seats! Fun fact: when I was younger, I used to use the hair dryer to heat up the toilet seat hahaha. May this winter be wonderful x

Last year's winter sky at Bond Uni - perfect.

Code Blue Moment

Obedience and sacrifice. When you have a desire to love God and want to obey Him, He will make a way to give you those opportunities.

The other week, I was having some God-time at Burleigh, reading all these random scriptures and hoping that God would show me something. As a full-time uni student, I sometimes struggle to put some time aside to get into the Word and I find that it's not always on the top of my priority list. However, my assignments were done and the house was clean so this was a perfect opportunity to get into some goodness. For some reason, I had my mind set on what it means to obey God and how to love God because I was struggling to understand what it means to love Him when I felt like I can't hear what He wants me to do. Like, sure He has commandments but I didn't really feel like I've ever had a chance to put them into practice. I was flicking through and I landed on a little study note which woke me up:

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

James 1:22

Okay, so obviously, 'doing' is a part  of His will for us. What's a doer then? That was pretty much all that I got out of that revelation at the time so I decided to go for a skate and browse through some little stores to clear my head. As I was going along James Street, randomly came across this man. Now, I have never actually seen a 'street person' at Burleigh at lunch time during this whole time I've lived on the Gold Coast so this really got my attention. he had a sign in front of him, explaining why he need money and where he was going and at that moment, I knew that this was my 'doing' opportunity. I started walking towards Him and praying in my heart for the right words to say. It was a strange feeling but I didn't second guess. We exchanged greetings and began a conversation. There was a peace within me that I could not deny. I am personally a pretty awkward person when it comes to talking to complete strangers, but during this moment I almost felt like it wasn't even me who was talking. His name was Brett. He look worn and tired, yet young in an aged sort of way. He was looking for some cash to get to Sydney, because he got a job down there to make shirts. He had a younger brother. He was from Melbourne. his parents died in a car crash when he was young. He was a high school drop out in year 8. There was something so profoundly intriguing about conversing with a complete stranger. I asked if he had eaten lunch yet and he told me that he was working towards it. Doing opportunity number two. I said my 'see you laters' and as soon as he was out of my sight, I knew that I had to get him lunch. God was even showing me things along the way whilst getting fish and chips for this man. The lady in front of me was placing a pretty big order and the one thing running through my head was patience. Haha, cheers God. Once I got the order, I simply went back to Brett, gave him the meal, told him that Jesus loves him and wished him well. That was all. 

It doesn't take much to be Jesus to someone. It doesn't take much at all. You can be Jesus to someone in a plain white tee and purple lipstick, or a snapback and converse. If you want God to use you, simply ask and He will make sure that you will come across a moment to serve Him. You don't have to think twice about it, just do it.

I LIKE: Living on the GC

So long vertical hill starts, blue-and-brick units, 6 million speed bumps and 10 kph limits. As frustrating as my former complex regulations are, I am really going to miss living in one of the best cities in the world - where the only thing separating the ocean and the hinterland is a couple of kilometres, where the weather goes from good to perfect in a matter of days and where the company is more than what you could ever ask for. Over the past few years of living on the Gold Coast, I've met so many incredible people, learnt things that will be of great use for the rest of my life, from skating to Pythagoras and have discovered who I am and what I love. New seasons and changes are scary, but I know that this city is a place I can always call home. 

Yeah, so I'm only moving about an hour away from here and I will be back every week for church and youth, but i'm really going to miss living only fifteen minutes away from the beach and being able to see my best of friends every week for half-price froyo. 

I guess no matter where I go from here and no matter who I meet or what I do, there's a whole new journey ahead of me and I'm pretty excited to see what awaits for me!

Love Me Not...Yet.

At the moment, it seems to be the season of weddings, engagements, and relationships and as cheesy as it sounds - love. A lot of my friends either have a wedding around the corner, are engaged, newlyweds or are 'going steady' with their significant other. It's truly a beautiful time in life, but sometimes when you don't yet know what it feels like to be with somebody, it makes you wonder. You start to feel like every single human in your life has someone and suddenly you feel like you're spiralling into a black hole of eternal loneliness. Okay, that was a bit over-exaggerated and i don't really feel like that at all haha. Look, I'm only seventeen and i still have a lot to experience, learn and discover but this impulse to want to 'be loved' is really an inevitable part of life that comes with being human - don't you think? I've lost count of all the times that i have ranted to my best friends about 'having no one' and now I see that those petty thoughts are not that important. Yeah, it would be cool to just know sometimes, but I guess not knowing adds to this whole adventure known as love.

There's still quite a bit of 'not-knowing' for me but I'm learning to make the most of it. I know that I'll never get this time of single hood back so I might as well embrace it and besides, I guess it's not at all that lonely either. I have nothing to compare this time to anyway so in the meantime, this is a chance and a season to grow and live as much as you can. Don't just merely exist and hope that someday you'll be found by someone who will sweep you off your feet (or vice versa, if that's what you prefer). Make those #singlelyf jokes because you can. Keep that extra money inside your pocket for a new skateboard or something sick. Shove fries up your mouth like a walrus in the middle of Maccas because there's no one that you need to impress. Immerse yourself in the liberty of being temporarily alone! Just because there's no one right now, it doesn't mean that it will be that way for you, forever. I've come to realise that once you stop getting lost in those 'what if's' and 'if only' fantasies and start finding yourself in Someone so much more greater, you'll experience a love story that is so much better than anything you could ever comprehend.

I Like: HEART THE ART

Mini post on some super cool artists I have found on my Pinterest expeditions. Lots of random colours, textures, patterns and shimmer. yum yummmm. Enjoy.

Dan Flavin

Jennifer Mehigan

Michael Chase

I LIKE: Good Tunes

Music is always a good idea. I'm not much of a music reviewer (quite an amateur actually), but here are some killer bands and artists that I am currently loving:

Keaton Henson

If you’re into really chilled, english folk rock with a tinge of acoustic indie, Keaton Henson is definitely an artist you should be adding to your playlist. Profound lyrics, infused with themes of unrequited love and heartbreak will in fact leave you pressing repeat. Lying to You is a good place to start.

The Jungle Giants

My all time favourites. They are the kind of band where you will either love them, or you haven't heard of them before - there's no in-between. Their indie pop vibes are road-trip-worthy, singing-in-the-shower-worthy and soundtrack-of-my-life-worthy. What makes TJG so much more cooler is that the lead electric guitarist is a female! Cesira Aitken is her name and she flipping shreds. Try She's a Riot or Domesticated Man. Stuff it, just check them all out! 

James Vincent Mcmorrow

The UK has once again blessed us with it's talented specimens. He kinda sounds like Bon Iver, yet sticks to his own style. I dunno, hard to explain but so so good. His crazy vocal range and angelic falseto is remarkable and addictive to the ears. I have two friends who danced to one of his songs on their wedding night and it was flawless. Cavalier is the title.

Alexander Fairchild

I don't that anything I write could ever serve his music justice. All i can say is quality music, quality lyrics. Tonight is always in my head on replay.