425. I think something is off in Ocean Vuong’s book ‘On Earth We are Gorgeous Briefly‘. I know the world and its sisters have loved it, but I tend to feel that the sparing use of full sentences put me off reading it. No sweat. I will pick it up again in this month and see if it works for me.
424. I ate 5 plates of pani puri two weeks ago. And two plates last week.
423. I follow a US-based skincare group on FB. This was when I was having a skincare obsession phase, which I don’t have anymore but the group is fantastic! I have learnt that skincare products, no matter how fancy, must be used from the country you come from. I think such a group should exist for Indian women but it should cover all round (Indian) female health and beauty. I might consider making one.
Edit: The group now exists on Facebook and is called ‘Sisters for the Soul‘. It’s such a beautiful place to be, already! Click the link if you’d like to join.
422. I have come to appreciate roofs. Something over your head. They are a source of comfort to me these days. They also make me grateful.
421. I’m a grown woman who makes her own money, takes her own vacations, but when I still go into a store and buy Cadbury’s Nutties, I feel like it’s a little too expensive for me.
420. Of all the things, I could miss about London, it is the food that I miss every single day. I kid you not. I miss it. I miss the jam, the teas, the butter croissants, the quiet perfection to every single dish that was put before me. I still don’t understand why I didn’t carry tubs of clotted cream back home. It’s a mystery to me.
419. What is a good song to listen to, y’all? What is a good song? What happened to the songwriters and musicians? Why do Bollywood and International music have so much drivel these days? Please send good playlists for good karma.
418. I am a huge champion of personal blogs (as you may already know). Recently, I visited the blog of someone I have been reading for over 6 years. The blogger has been recently bereaved. It made me so sad to read about it. The grief became so real. It’s heartbreaking.
On another tangent, Bakbakee wrote this poem after reading my previous post. I am linking to it for you guys to check out her work and her artwork, which is amazing!
This is why I love personal blogs. Because we make something out of our everyday lives and put it out there. Because someone comes along on the journey that is our life. Because someone sees what we have created and is touched. Even if for a moment.
417. Current favourite word: Fabulous!
416. I’m starting to get better at doing administrative tasks that I absolutely hate doing. There’s a form to fill out, I’ve done it. A bill to pay, done. Online training to be taken, done. A government office to go to, no problem I’ve got it. I have tricked my brain into believing I will be happier if I do this sooner rather than later and that’s how I get it done.
415. I am six days into September and I have already finished reading two books: Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson and Birds, Beasts, and Relatives by Gerald Durell. I intend to read a lot of books this month. Because enough is enough.
414. In March, I received a lot of Amazon Pay balance as a birthday gift. I still use it and every single time I think of the person who gave it to me. As I buy a lot of books, I’ve used the balance for all my Kindle books so far. I’ve also used it to get everyday necessities like adaptors, kajal removers and what not.
It’s the best gift you can get someone. So, so useful.
413. I have so much beautiful stationery that I use on an everyday basis, it fills me with incandescent joy. I own a pastel pink Moleskin, green and cerulean blue gel pens, and cactus and cherry shaped sticky notes.
412. Get out of your own head.
411. I think after a point of time, we have to make sure we’re unlearning all our biases regularly. Learning comes easy, unlearning is harder.
410.
“Patricia embraces me on the station platform. ‘The past is what you leave behind in life, Ruby,’ she says with the smile of a reincarnated lama. ‘Nonsense, Patricia,’ I tell her as I climb on board my train. ‘The past’s what you take with you.”
―
409. In the song Duniya from Luka Chuppi, I think the line “Tu mere haq ki zameen rakh le” is much deeper than it appears. I know this is going to sound bizarre but I think the person is saying he is willing to give up his grave for her. Because my Abrahamic-religious ass has been conditioned to believe that there’s nothing in this world we really own except our own death and our deathbed. That line always gets me, and yes, I am being very serious.
408. I have given in. I don’t generally watch shows that have 3 seasons or more, but I am watching Brooklyn 99. I will say what has been said 634588 times before: Brooklyn 99 is so funny!
407. My PMS symptoms have gotten completely out of hand. They’re almost akin to post-partum depression. It’s a little unnerving. For the next month, I will have to track my period closely and find some natural remedies to tackle PMS. It’s a little unfair how women’s bodies have to deal with so much and yet there is so little awareness, societal care, and government funding and policies to support a female existence. It’s almost as if this world isn’t made for us.
406. Whatever you give away, you keep forever. It is true.
405. How women are always damned in religious stories:
‘In Greek,’ Theodore said, munching his sandwich methodically, ‘the name for collared dove is dekaoctur – “eighteener,” you know. The story goes that when Christ was … um … carrying the cross to Calvary, a Roman soldier, seeing that He was exhausted, took pity on Him. By the side of the road there was an old woman selling … um … you know … milk, and so the Roman soldier went to her and asked her how much a cupful would cost. She replied that it would cost eighteen coins. But the soldier had only seventeen. He … er … you know … pleaded with the woman to let him have a cupful of milk for Christ for seventeen coins, but the woman avariciously held out for eighteen. So, when Christ was crucified, the old woman was turned into a turtle dove and condemned to go about for the rest of her days repeating dekaocto, dekaocto – “eighteen, eighteen.” If ever she agrees to say deka-epta, seventeen, she will regain her human form. If, out of obstinacy, she says deka-ennaea, nineteen, the world will come to an end.’ — Gerald Durell, Birds, Beasts, and Relatives
404. <Sentiment Not Found>
403. This whole year has not been conducive to any kind of active learning or taking of a class. I understand that it wasn’t possible for me to commit to something with my dad’s illness and then work travel. (Yes, I learnt a lot from these life situations, too) But I miss attending a class. When it stops raining like the Great Flood is here, ya girl is going to join a class and learn something.
402. I think I am old enough to start cutting out salt from my food so I don’t catch on my family’s hereditary diseases sooner than I should.
401. ‘Pasto calo,’ he answered. ‘Go to the good.’
Go to the good, you all. Go to the good. ❤
amarllyis 
Sorry, just saw this shout-out now 🙂 But thank you so much!
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