Seréna - 🕵️‍♀️ About

Yo, Serén here 👋

This page is sort of self-indulgent, as a means to introduce myself via this tiny space on the internet. Nice to meet you 🍻

I am a big fan of manga and comics art. Reading is a passion, writing is an effective coping mechanism, and cycling helps to clear a cluttered mind. I believe a job is just one part of life, we are more than what we do for a living.

Nerd at heart, I wonder of how the world works, how human think, behave, and shape the world as we know it. I find it fascinating that in terms of ideas—excluding exact sciences—the opposite may also be true.

Here's to find out what I'm doing right now 🌻

A brief history ⌄

My journey in five paragraphs.

I was born in Ende, home of the magical color-changing Kelimutu Lake. Approximately 10 months later, I was brought and grew up in a cold, small, peaceful town—Salatiga. Mom said I learned how to crawl on the ship, backwards🐤

Mom bought our first computer circa 2007. That tube square machine was intriguing. Our technician kept coming back to repair it, reinstalled Windows, upgraded everything; apparently I installed heavy softwares above its capability and brought viruses along. It was also the time I awkwardly stumbled upon graphic design.

I went to earn my bachelor degree of forestry science. My university years were full of International Forestry Students' Association (IFSA) activities, most importantly in IFSA LC UGM. Here was also where I built friendships that I hope could last a lifetime—please stay folks, science said making friends in adulthood is harder.

I was 1/6 student teaching assistant in the Forest Mapping laboratory. I started gigs on graphic design and translation services, served happiness (read: delicious food) at Pothz, and helped people make the best web hosting experience with wonderful peers at Hostinger. Presently I'm a trainee auditor for sustainable forest management, GHG, and related sectors at MUTU.

While I found environmental sector to be critical, it is not my only interest. The people I met, conversations I've had, books I've read, and experiences through several industries led me to acknowledge that learning is exponential growth. I'll let them bloom.

Trivia because why not ⌄

You may pass a friendship quiz about me.

I'm an introvert

... despite some people's first impressions. I don't mind meeting new people or talking to strangers on the bus. Introversion doesn't always mean social shyness, I think there are still misconceptions about this. I'm still a human being who thrives better as a social species.

I enjoy solitude or having an 1-on-1 conversation. Sharing laughs with a group of my close friends would be the cherry on top. If I'm not careful, I could stay in my own room for weeks, only going out to buy food 😂

Pasta is great, but have you tried knowledge? Learning new ideas, concept, and perspectives through reading is my favorite part. I love the feeling I get when I delve deep into my interests; exploring, creating, asking questions, finding answers, connecting the dots.

Aside from writing, reading, and city-cycling, I also enjoy watching movies and listening to experts talking about their expertise (documentary, etc).

I adore slow-living 🐌

The first time I realized that I don't prefer living in a fast-paced surroundings was when I got stuck in traffic. For 15 minutes. On a motorcycle. In Yogyakarta.

"Itu bukan macet, Ren, itu namanya ngantre."

"That's not traffic, Ren, that's a queue line," said my friend Miko, wealthy of experience from the busy capital. Now that I had lived in #30 City with Worst Traffic Congestion—Jakarta, I couldn't agree more.

The temptation to leave the motorcycle just right there and walk home. The inexplainable urge to mute everything around me. We have on-call drivers, why can't we have a professional job where someone trades place with us during traffic? (Probably impossible because how do we get them there in the first place, but still, one can have a bit delusion).

I'll handle crowds and full-packed schedules only when it's necessary.

I'm a somewhat minimalist

Clutter is painful to watch. I'll squint my eyes with judgment if I see you don't clean your plates (I might not say anything, but my burning gaze would tell). Especially if people consciously choose the food themselves, not by any force.

Goodbye, Things is one of my favorite book. To quote Alice, one Goodread user: "It felt very cleansing, like taking a shower at the end of a long day." I try to be mindful and deliberate of the things I own.

Sharing some tips from the book:

If you lost it, would you buy it again? If you don't remember owning it, you probably don't need it.
Stop thinking that you would need it "someday". That someday might never come. If it does come irregularly, consider borrowing or renting.

I try to care deeply about little

Commit to a few people who are dear to me, doing things one by one, holding up priorities. I once tried to pursue them all, didn't end up pretty. Running away. Broken trusts. Broken promises. Broken relationships. False words. Superficial. Shallow results. Burning bridges. The guilt still haunts me sometimes. I don't want to spend my remaining years living insincere life.

More trivias:

I love to drink tea. It's an obsession.
I dislike spicy foods. This makes me a minority in a spice-loving (an understatement) country like Indonesia. I only feel the burns on my tongue; it extinguished any other taste of texture and seasonings, thus the act of eating becomes an unpleasant experience 😔
I want to learn lots of stuffs. Literature, languages, why we do what we do, and why the world works like it does.
I believe in mercy and non-violence, but this quote bothers me.
I deleted big 3 social media accounts in early 2021, it just became too much noise to manage. I still keep Pinterest (for the lols without being social) and LinkedIn (you know, to bait recruiters).
Movies I enjoy the most are often of ensemble cast, action, crime, comedy. Psychological thriller is okay too. No supernatural horror, its visual linger in my head and drives me paranoid.
My ultimate favorite is Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Hobbit trilogy is a nice addition. I watch them all once a year. The energy, dedication, skills, and enthusiasm the acting unit and production team put on were beyond, everyone gave their 300%. The behind-the-scene DVDs feels like another trilogy.
After years of vaguely describing my music preference, I've come to terms with: miserable lyrics, cheerful beats.
I'm a K-pop stan for Highlight (formerly B2ST), BtoB, and Super Junior. Casual listener for all 2nd generation.
Other musicians that I trust-listen blindly: Monkey Majik | Homemade Kazoku | Maiko Fujita | Kana Nishino | Unlimited tone | 安儿陈 (An Er Chen) | 西瓜JUN | CNBlue | 2BiC | B.A.P | MLTR | Epik High

Before you go...

I want to share about:

🏡 Minimalism

I think it's important people to periodically re-evaluate the things one possess and avoid impulsive consumerism. I still collect comics because I feel their values in my life; they make me happy.

📱Mindful usage of technology and social media

Social media is eventually designed to monopolize our attention, hindering ability to do actual meaningful work. Consider checking the privacy-centric and FOSS options. Be aware of what personal information you are willing to compromise. At least, know what you're dealing with. Myself for example, by using this webservice, already surrendered my internet privacy to Google 😶‍🌫️

🍽️ Responsible eating habit

The first step is to make sure to clean our plates (don't eat too much that what we can chew). Global food waste is a depressing irony it's almost hilarious. On one side we have hundreds of million starving people, and on the other side there are insane amount of leftovers dumped in the trash.

🏳️‍🌈 Stop violent oppression against LBGTQ+ community

It takes time, patience, and developing empathy to understand why people could have different political views, different lifestyle, different status, different preferences from one another. People fear the unknown in general. But it shouldn't take a genius to understand that violence, in any form, is a big NO. Love doesn't cause any harm. Blind hatred does.

🕊️ Support for war victims

Terrorism and war only leads to death and suffering of innocent people. There are 110+ ongoing armed conflicts in the world. We don't need another fear, hatred, and violence.

Right now grief is all around; lots of nation have to continue living with traumatic disorder. In the Gaza war alone, 40% of death tolls were children—these are the facts that are devastating to know. It's a major humanitarian crisis.

Still, there are people working tirelessly to assist peacebuilding. We should never give up on peace. I believe our support, no matter how small in whatever shape it might take, is not wasted.

Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe and healthy🍀

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