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Summer Update 04

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Assalamualaikum!

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Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis, MN

Today has been pretty intense. It was tiring but I did have some fun. Here’s a quick ‘rundown’: I went to work (9:30 am till 3:30 pm; there was an event at Carlson so I had to haul an unusually large amount of trash), went to uptown, ate stromboli at the Soho Cafe, tried drinks at Sencha tea bar, impulsively visited Lake Calhoun and also Calhoun Square, took the bus to East Bank campus and rode electric scooters back home. Phew, what a crazy day. Literally. More than 26,000 steps today (thank you huawei health for keeping track of my daily steps lol).

The highlight of today was going to a magnet store (yes, you read that right, magnets) at Calhoun Square. I loved the store. Before discovering/going to this store, I was actually sitting and waiting for my friends that were in Sephora. I randomly just googled ‘calhoun square’ and found this store that was apparently, just behind where I was sitting. I impulsively went in. The magnets were made from a local artist (x) so most of the art revolved around Minnesota. I carefully went through the different kinds of magnets that were there. Some of them were featuring Prince, different places in Minneapolis and also somehow, Rick and Morty haha. I was really hoping to find an electric fetus magnet, since it’s a pretty well-known record store in Minnesota, and I FINALLY DID. And it was such a beautiful piece. I LOVED it.

The shopkeeper was very nice and friendly. He saw me buying the electric fetus magnet and asked me whether I’ve been there. I said yes and that I’ve seen a ‘local artist’ perform there and (sneakily) mentioned hippo campus hehe. He said he knows that band too and he has seen them a few years ago when they were still small (while gesturing using his hands, I don’t know why I specifically remember that haha). He also said that he has listened to them through ‘the current’ (a local radio) and I was like, yeah I know that radio station. After the quick chat and before I left, he said to come back again.

It was nice knowing the person who’s behind all that art and the fact that I helped a little in supporting him by buying his art. It’s hard to describe it but it just feels somewhat humbling to me. I genuinely cannot help but smile every time I think about it 🙂

Sidenote, we only have a little over a week of summer break left. I’m also moving to a place closer to campus and all this packing and moving out is making me anxious. May Allah ease. That’s all I have for now. See you!

Wassalam ❤

p/s i watched ‘blinded by the light’ and i love it with all my heart. it made me sob at the end 😦 i watched it on a tuesday at a local theater and there was less than ten people in there haha. i genuinely enjoyed it and i’m soooo planning to watch it again soon.

on the other hand, i just discovered a new band, cassia (!!!). my favorites are so far are ‘100 times over’, movers & shapers and small spaces ✌

Random Posts

Summer Update 03

nadhilah_s1 Comment

Assalamualaikum!

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a beautiful sunset with, after googling, mammatus clouds after a stormy evening 🙂

Just needed to vent a little… (is this too personal? i don’t know. sorry if it is)

I’ve constantly felt like my focus in chemE has been decreasing this summer. I contemplate on how I just wanna get it over with for my undergraduate studies and work whatever I want and however I want after graduation. But at the same time, I don’t want to just work hard in my studies and not use it for my career because it had taken me a lot of physical and emotional strength. *sighs*
But then today, at work, Kim (coworker), as she always does, introduces me to people and mentions (quite proudly) that I study engineering. The look on some people faces opens my mindset sometimes. Some people will be amazed that I study such thing and gives me encouragement to pursue it. It makes me feel embarrassed because they look up to me when in reality, I feel like I don’t work hard enough for my degree because I don’t have the passion for it in the first place (and that my grades are just enough). However, it’s these kinds of situations that act like an occasional reminder and booster for me to still try my best. It’s gonna be hard but insyaallah, I hope Allah gives me the strength to pull through.
Wow, I didn’t expect this (the intensity of what I’m feeling right now). I’ve been having this weird unsettling feeling for this past few weeks and I guess it’s because I’m not doing much for myself academically. I tend to think that I’m doing nothing that’s useful when I kind of actually am. (also because some people I know are doing internship and stuff and I’m just here working part-time as a student custodian. I’m not complaining, I genuinely enjoy this job. It’s just my brain overthinking)
Okay, I guess that’s enough. Wish me luck for my senior year, because I’m starting to get scared of starting the next semester in a little over a month.

Wassalam ❤

p/s on a positive note, hippo campus has released their demos, Demos I and Demos II, and I’m currently feeling this particular song:

Movie Review · Random Posts

Summer Update 02

nadhilah_sLeave a comment

Assalamualaikum!

@ hidden falls regional park

Well, there goes June. I’ve been wanting to write on moments here and there (because there has definitely been a lot going on) but *shrugs* (it’s no longer a surprise ha). So here’s a list of the things that has happened so far…

TV Shows

New seasons of 3%, a Brazilian Portugese Netflix show, Dark, a German Netflix show, and Final Space came out this month. Definitely a roller coaster of emotions because I rewatched them from the start. Unpopular opinion: the third season for 3% was not as thrilling as the second but the last few episodes did get me excited. For Dark, well… I rewatched the first season and I still was as confused as the first time I watched it and I managed to handle the second season better after watching ‘explanation videos‘ on youtube. Dark is about time travel and the concept of time travel just doesn’t wrap around my head because it’s a complicated and complex matter. Still, I’m amazed by how the writers’ plan this whole mess of a story out. Finally, for Final Space, I love H.U.E and literally all the characters! They all have their quirks and it’s entertaining to see how they interact with each other.


Shawn Mendes

I went to a Shawn Mendes concert! This was the biggest venue that I’ve gone to so far. I had a balcony seat but the view was still good. The opener was Alessia Cara, which hyped up the audience. To be frank, I was slowing down on listening to Shawn Mendes’ music ever since I discovered Hippo Campus but I never got the chance to see him live for the past few years every time he was touring (and didn’t expect so this time too) so in the last minute, (I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again) I did 2016-me a favor and finally went to his concert. No regrets because I enjoyed every moment! We were give lights in the form of a bracelet/watch (?) that light up during the show and it did a huge effect during the concert. I’ve recorded SO MUCH and you can find them >>here<< but here are some photos that I’ve managed to take:


Toy Story 4

Went to watch it last Friday. Two words: the feels. I guess I’m biased because I’ve been growing up with Toy Story, though not from the very start, but there’s always this part in their movies where it just. makes. me. sad. and this includes this movie. I don’t think this is a ‘spoiler’ but the theme of separation definitely hits me. The moment you separate from someone or something you’ve been with throughout the years? Guaranteed there’ll be tears. For me, at least. This also happened to me while I was watching ‘How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World’ 😢

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And lastly,
Cavetown Citrus Summer Tour!

The last day of June and also the last day of Cavetown’s summer tour. It was held in The Garage in Burnsville. I had such a blast. Surprisingly, he also did a small show a couple hours before in Minneapolis at Electric Fetus, where there was also a signing event if you bought his vinyl. I had the opportunity to see him (yep both the signing and the show in Burnsville) and I loved the wholesome atmosphere. Chloe Moriondo opened the show along with Austin aka spookyghostboy. Both of them have collaborated with Cavetown before so that’s cool. I didn’t manage to listen much to spookyghostboy’s set because I was lining up for merch but I did get to hear Noise in My Head live. Chloe’s set was so nice. I was surprised by how lovely her voice was live. Also, there was always something she had to say that made the crowd laugh (i.e out of context: kimchi, slow macarena, and something about drawing kirby with a knife on her setlist). Cavetown’s set was no different. It’s so weird, in a good way, seeing him live after all this time listening to his music. I enjoyed it very much! 😊 Shout out to the tall guy in the st. patrick shirt for allowing me to go a little bit to the front and for being entertained by whatever Chloe and Robbie had to say. As always, here are some photos, and recorded videos are >> here <<

 

 

i look so shortttt
‘home’ vinyl
merch table
austin
chloe
robbie and austin
robbie
the g a r a g e
merch!

Oh, and the last song for the show (and the tour sobs) that he played was “Boys Will Be Bugs” and it was so much fun! After that, we took a group photo, which I was positive that I couldn’t get in because it was brief (and I’m fairly short). I’m also excited for the release of ‘feb 14’ and ‘things that make it warm’ (i’ve recorded a raw live version if anyone’s interested) soon!

Wow, what a month! I’m so grateful for all the things that I’ve experienced considering how stressful the past semesters have been. Well that’s all for now. Thank you for the time! I had so much fun writing and reminiscing! 😀

Wassalam ❤

Musical Review

Summer Update 01

nadhilah_sLeave a comment

Assalamualaikum!

It’s summer! That means I’ve made it through spring semester and Junior year, alhamdulillah. The reason I’m writing this is not to talk about that, hopefully I’d write about it some time because I feel like it’s an experience worth talking about. Anyways, I’d like to thank my roommate for giving me the ‘push’ for me to write on my blog considering how long I’ve left my blog deserted. I’ve thought of writing but just didn’t do it.

Soooo, why am I writing now? I went to watch a musical yesterday! And as always, I get this feeling on wanting to commemorate it one way or another, i.e. through this blog. The musical that I went to was called “Dear Evan Hansen”. I’ve thought of numerous ways on explaining what the show is about but I’ve failed to do it briefly. In my words, very vaguely,

It’s about a boy who has social anxiety and writes letters to himself as a way of coping. One day, his letter accidentally got read by someone and it led to a sequence of events that may or may not made his life better.

For a clearer but longer storyline, I recommend reading it here.

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Some thoughts I had about the musical (there may or may not have spoilers so yeah):

  • Evan Hansen in this musical, as I mentioned, is someone who has social anxiety. He tends to get nervous meeting people, speaks relatively quick (I had to really listen during the show and sitting literally at the last row, was quite challenging) and gets sweaty hands when nervous. Oh and he constantly apologizes even though he didn’t do anything wrong. Without exposing myself too much, I can kind of relate to him in a few things. Guess which, haha.
  • There’s this song, “For Forever” and if you listen to this song as it is, without context, it sounds like a beautiful song about friendship. But sadly it’s not. (spoiler) It’s just about a made-up friendship.
  • One thing I felt that wasn’t enough from the show was about Connor. In the story, Connor, someone who Evan barely knew, took his life away and even though the show revolves around him, they did not point out specifically why he did so. I wanted to know why because I want to understand, but I guess that’s the way it is. Some things are not meant to be known and it maybe is best that way?
  • I love the small details and gestures performed by the actors that entertained us, the audience. This sounds bland but I enjoy seeing all of us laugh. I also love how supportive the audience was, clapping enthusiastically after every song. There were also sad moments during the show, in which I almost cried, and I saw some parents in the audience cry :,)

After the musical, despite the long line, I went to the merch table and bought the soundtrack of this musical and a lapel pin. I wish I took a picture of the merch table though. I was very tempted to buy other things at the merch table.

I’m now in the mood of playing the soundtrack on repeat 🙂 Here’s one of the songs from the musical,

That’s all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Wassalam ❤

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hippo campus marathon!🎉

nadhilah_sLeave a comment

Assalamualaikum!

On this very last day of my thanksgiving break, I’d like to share one of the highlights of this ‘weekend’. I’ve shared this already with my friends and family, and if you happen to be one of them who are reading this right now, because most likely you are, you’re going to hear the same thing again, no surprises 😀

It all started late October/early November, when I saw a tweet about a private performance that was happening at Electric Fetus in a few weeks time. I wasn’t aware of that event until I saw that tweet. It was only limited to 300 people and to enter the event you’d have to preorder the Bambi vinyl. There were only around 30 left.

I hesitated at first. I don’t even have a vinyl player so would it be worth buying a vinyl just to see them live? I even asked my mum whether or not to go for it. Eventually, I did! Reason/s? It wasn’t that expensive (it was ~$20) compared to their VIP tickets (~$90). Even though I wouldn’t get additional merch like the ones in VIP, I’d still get to see them face-to-face and get a photo and signatures of them. I got the pass for the event a week later, it was numbered and I was the 299th! Close call!

The day of the even finally came. I had a very tiring week, literally slept at 5 am that Wednesday morning and then had classes, a group meeting and had to buy some groceries before getting home at around 5 pm.

It was time to head off to the event! There was a looooong line before entering the venue. We got inside around 7 pm and around 10 minutes later, hippo campus came out! It was the first time for me seeing them up front and this close, I got so excited! I had a good view of the stage too. People let me be at the front because of my short stature 🤓. They played around five or six songs (if you’d like to see it’s labeled ** below), then we had to line up for the signing.

I simply lined up but at the very moment before my turn for the signing, my insides freaked out! I got so nervous. How do I react to them? What should I say? lol. I approached them and they signed my vinyl and it all happened soooo fast. I only remember Zach asking “How are you?”, Jake saying “Thanks for coming”, we took a picture and I left. Yikes! They’re actually so nice… I guess I was too anxious (*wink wink* bambi pun intended). Anyways, it was a good experience! I reached home and still wasn’t over it. Here are some photos…

front row!
❤
😀
beaut.

Moving on to Saturday, hippo campus’ final show of 2018 at Palace Theater, St. Paul. I don’t know if I’m going to say this for every single show I’m going to but this show was the BEST one yet! The best part was listening to the crowd singing along. If I was a singer, seeing people singing to the lyrics of your song is definitely something to be proud of and I’m sure they are too. Oh, and at some point during the show, Nathan grabbed the mic seemingly to say something but he actually didn’t know what to say hahaha (it’s around minute 36:28 in the live stream). I thought that was funny. Again, here are some photos, videos (**in this link) and a live stream (thankfully!) of the show for me to rewatch 🌚.

i could only take a photo of jake because the other’s were constantly moving haha
after the show…
taking a photo of the sign board is a must 😉

*sighs* I may be exaggerating because I still haven’t moved on but this was honestly one of the best moments in my life, especially this semester. Classes and coursework are not being gentle with me so having this experience during this short break meant a lot to me and I’m glad to have been given this experience 🙂 Although I’m sure it’s going to be hectic, I hope I will have the strength to go through the final weeks of this semester.

Thanks for reading this far and hope you have a good day!

Wassalam ❤

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Getting Things Out of My Head

nadhilah_sLeave a comment

Assalamualaikum!

OMG I have missed doing this soooo much! First of all, hello, how are you doing? Thank you for still wanting to read my deserted blog haha. Lots have been happening ever since my last post (I feel like I’ve said this statement before.. anyways, *checks the date of the last post*), which is in May. 5 months… Yep, definitely a lot. I would have recapped how my summer was but it feels so long ago that I only remember a thing or two. Also, with the semester that has only been a month since it started, I have felt and went through a lot emotionally.

Just to remind you, and myself, I am taking a Chemical Engineering major in University of Minnesota Twin Cities. I’m in my Junior year now. Things are getting serious. And of course, since I like observing people, I’ve noticed students/classmates in my major that are taking it very seriously too. We had a career fair around two weeks into the semester, to those interested in looking for opportunities, like internships and jobs, and exploring companies that are looking for students in certain fields. I forced myself to go and although it gave me A LOT (and I’m not exaggerating) of pressure because it involved talking and showing yourself off to people, I learned a few things that I needed to improve on communication-wise and career-wise.

Another thing, I’ve just finished a few of my exams, with another one coming up in three days. What have I experienced so far? That I need to constantly motivate myself. There was a time, a couple of weeks ago, it got to a point where I was too tired to motivate myself and I ended up just bawling my eyes out because I was too tired. Emotionally tired. I don’t know why I’m writing this here but I just feel like letting it out. Nevertheless, I’m truly grateful to have some friends that are willing to support me, alhamdulillah.

Since that day (or ‘those days’ to be exact), I started realizing some things:

  1. That I shouldn’t be worrying about how good people are and how bad I am
  2. That people have their own pace and so do I
  3. That I should learn to take a break once in a while
  4. That there are some things that I should not worry about because I can’t do anything about, acknowledge them and accept things the way they are
  5. That instead of worrying too much, focus on what you’re actually doing
  6. That I should find things to be grateful of because *wink wink* “With every hardship comes ease”.

I just noticed that most of my problems come from worrying. Oh well.

I think this is all I have to talk about write now. Sometimes, it’s these things that I’m going through that make me occasionally burst to write. I hope it’s not too long.

Anyways, I hope you’re all having a good day. If you managed to learn/realize a thing or two from this post, that’s amazing 🙂

Wassalam ❤

p/s hippo campus released a new album two weeks ago. it’s veryyy different from what they’ve been doing but i got used to it haha. will see them live in november!! 😀

Birthday Posts · Random Posts

twenty-one

nadhilah_sLeave a comment

Assalamualaikum!

As the sun sets in the west, ending yet another day, I’d like to say THANK YOU to everyone that has wished me so far. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart and may Allah repay each and everyone of you. Today’s the last day of the semester so I had to attend the last of classes for this semester, which is both exciting and not at the same time because it means that finals… are… approaching!! I cannot believe that I made it this far considering how I went through this roller coaster of approximately four months.

*pauses for more than 2 hours thinking of what to say*

Okay that’s it. I have writer’s block. I cannot think of anything interesting to talk about because today was suspiciously ordinary. I went to class as usual, studied for a few hours, went to Target to buy some groceries, went home and played a little bit of Just Dance. That’s literally it.

Partially disappointed with myself but I guess this is something that would happen eventually and apparently it’s for this post :/ I really wanted to make this post special in a way but sighhhh. What a mess. I wonder how people that are ‘real’ bloggers do this kind of stuff. Kudos to them huh?

I might as well leave it as is. I’m sorry for a terrible post but let’s hope the next posts (my ordinary ones and my ‘birthday’ ones in the future) would be better. Thank you all for reading this far and accepting it :’)

To make up for it, here’s some photos/quotes that I have saved into my phone for some reason..

Wassalam ❤

p/s there’s a new jason mraz song and it’s so wholesome!