b i t t e r c h o c o l a t e l e m o n s l o v e

Let me also remind you.
Nobody will ever care more about you...
Than you.
Except your parents of course. The love stops there.
No friend, lover, nobody else - zilch.
Unless they were connected to you by an umbilical cord, too.

So just do what you gotta do.
Be what you gotta be.
People come and go. Be an animal. I'm the fluffy kind.
Disappointments sting, but being able and capable feels like sunshine on your skin.
Trust no one. Especially Ted!

12 Days: The Early Bird Chronicles

Do you know how much good it does your heart; when you’re standing on the shore of a beach and you can feel the dry but soft mica granules under your toes, warming your soles, you’re thinking things and watching the waves crash against each other and hearing the call of the ocean, and in an instant, your feet are graced with a jet of frothy, bubbly, delicious molecules of sea water? ♥ There’s no feeling quite like it! Except if you’re probably reading a book on the sand after a quick swim, letting the rays of the sun warm your bare skin and kiss your hair.

What are these feelings? Describe them, please. So… Like when if you close your eyes for too long, you miss that swish of an aquamarine fin on a glorious tail disappearing under the water – and you don’t know it now. You never do. Nobody ever does… There’s magic. Does stringing together random thoughts of beautiful people and places around us make it poetic? What is this? What are you saying? I thought you would think of a picture. Or a person! Think, now. Everything’s magic. Incoherence of speech is an ailment common among us ocean folk. Breaks us down, and builds us up again. Sandcastles, in reverse…

Scatter your thoughts about… And, begin again. Feel the vibe of the ocean as it calls out to you, as it asks for you to seek its treasures. Look for the little shells, the really tiny, textured surface ones…They’re a creamy colour! What do you think? How many hexadecimal codes of the colour blue is the sky made up of? Have you ever thought of that? Which is the constellation you look for, when you look up in to the inky sky after the sun has set, and the beach is eery, beautiful, calm, and seems like it’s whispering; can you smell that?

Did you do that, ever? Erm, you know… Fill a bottle with a paper scripted with a beautiful thought, and fling it into the ocean? Why haven’t you done that? Actually, I haven’t – either. I will, soon! Did you leave silly messages in the sand? Write someone’s name down? :-) Randomness is good, it makes you feel things… Listen to the call of the ocean. The waters are beckoning you, closer… One step, yes, that’s it. Two steps… Ooh, it’s chilly! Ah, but it feels so nice. There, you set it free… Farewell, dearest.

With a Little Friendly Intervention from Minila Louisa...

A few more: 

Own your success and never apologise for it. Never leave till you leave like Sheryl Sandberg says.
Don't let anyone and I mean anyone tell you what you should do or rather are expected to do with your life or whom you should marry. Take their advice but pick the stuff you want to stick with. There are things worth fighting for; and not getting married or taking up a job for the money because it doesn't feel right are two damn good things worth fighting for.
Marriage and job success are over rated. Money? I don't really know...
Screw the need to be a nice girl. Be a good human being first...and wear those back showing, cleavage bearing clothes and go places anyway.
Don't take sexist shit from no one; no aunties, no mommies and no grandpas or moral policeman or cocky colleagues either. Stand up for yourself, your womanhood and your right to not give a fuck about things, and make no apologies about that either.

- all views are her own, Minila Louisa for you.

Minila Louisa has been my best friend for the past 10 years. Actually, a little bit more than that. When Minila isn't working, she spends her free time whipping up delicacy after delicacy - red velvet desserts being one of her specialties or sipping on tea (she could have concocted) by an open window overseeing nature in all its grand splendour; she also likes to play the fool, and fall in love with randomness. Her favourite dish is the red sauce pasta at Moshe's, well it's certainly one of her favourites. Our equation? We have had our ups and downs, but I've been pulled out of my shell constantly by her. READER: Wow, this sounds like a dedication! Are you sure this is just an introduction to your writer friend? Well yeah, I suppose I got carried away. Sorry. Wait, for what. I take it back, I'm not. 

The Secret

Hiiii. Imma let you in on something! First of all, I don't really know where IMMA came from. Sorry. there's no secret, kids. No secret. I actually wish I recorded what Minila and I (have I written that, correctly?) talked about that night because it was good stuff. Challenging stuff. Things that we wish we told our friends or ourselves a long time ago. Anyway, fuck that, we're telling ourselves now, right? There's a start and it's good. Oh, it's good.

1. Do everything that you want.
2. You don't need to have an AMBITION. It's so over-rated. Be ambitious about things but there is no end goal. No pinnacle of success (not negatively, somewhat realistically). You could be happy, too. That's success right there, friends! :-)
3. There is no set age for anything. People made that stuff up.
4. Society is a horrible word. Yep, continue to hate it.
5. Keep your maiden name, ladies. You shouldn't have to change your name mama-papa-gave-you to D'Souza-Pereira or anything after you get married**, keeeep your name (whole) if you like... #JustSaying*
6. We're mostly similar to our parents but we're termed a selfish generation. I know I am, but am I? Am I, really? For just wanting things differently, wanting to live for myself first? :-) #ToneWasntImpliedTheToneIsActuallyPassiveHereNotAggressive
7. I'm out of points. If Minila comes over, or I go to her place - I shall ask her to continue writing here under her real name as Minila Louisa.
8. Wait, I remembered something! Don't say yes to anything: people, projects etc. if you are not happy or you feel the shivers. And if you do, and you are in, there is no set pattern of doing things. Well, d-uh!
9. Cut out the toxicity. I'm letting go of Facebook, it's my self-inflicting Avada Kedavra curse that bounces off the screen directly into my heart whenever I'm on it. I die, and go back again. Like Fawkes. That's kind of dumb, na?
10. I miss eating goooodies from boxes of Al-Baik chicken and fries. :-(

P.S. Life doesn't suck, sucking on a lemon sucks - my mouth gets all crinkly and my eyes get squint-ish. I've been getting up early everyday, at 6.30-45 am (for two days straight) and I am doing more with my life. I am working on plan to earn more $$$$ but let us see how that turns out. Wish I could print my own money!

*Wait, how could I have been so non-secular? Well, Muniz-Ahmed, or Ahmed-Fernandes or Patel-D'Souza, or Patel-Malhotra.
**You could avoid getting married altogether. It's not something you just do. Get married if you really want to. If you don't, it's cool too. Why the fuck do you want to throw a party for fools, anyway? You're celebrating having a partner or not. And being with a partner doesn't mean you ought to have it on paper. Basically, do whatever you want to do. It's your life. Sorry, am I making terribly stupid points here? Wow, everything is just so two-sided.

Hello...

So... I finally bought meself a drawing tablet. Wowza-worthy! Am I right?! I think I am glad that I am doing thing right this year: Two of which are, securing membership at The Body Shop, and buying this baby! All I hope for now is that it brings me a loooot more work. And projects! I will feel more blessed than ever, oh yeah.

+

DAAAAMN! :’-) He/she is forever mine; I was so exciiiited to order this! Even felt so good, because I had kept putting it off for the past two years… (Remember?) And of the fact that I ordered it in January, I know I keep saying this but I do LOVE fresh starts. Okay, so I didn’t go all the way… This is probably a good enough version for all the doodlers out there, and will help me most suitably during crazy projects when hardcore drawing is of essence – up until now, I have been dedicatedly using the PEN TOOL on Photoshop, yes, just that – so you can imagine what a task it has been.

Okay, a quick couple of things! This is not a review, because I’ve barely used it (or explored its crannies) to tell you everything you need to know… But I will venture some information for you! I asked a lot of people this past year about drawing tablets/was given good advice/still felt confused/went with my gut on this one, and it seems extremely similar to the one those girls at A Beautiful Mess seem to be using…

This tablet (CTL-671/K0-C) is from the One series by Wacom, cost me exactly Rs. 8,175 – bought it from Flipkart so it reached me within four days of ordering it online, possesses an active drawing area of about 8.5 X 5.3 inches… That’s good enough for me! Very light in weight, and relatively compact in size; I do want to pick up a sweet cover for it to protect its surface. Do you have any recommendations for me?

P.S. As you can tell, my drawing curves are not perfect, I will have to practise soooo much! And the pen feels very simple to use, the surface is sandpaper-ish for a better grip on scribbling, I suppose… Do you have any questions? I should actually be asking if yougaiz have advice/suggestions for me on its use! Would appreciate it. Lots of LOVE! And a very special mention to the STRUT120 girls… They know why!

Shairi Sundari - Lajawaab Lahiri

मुझे हिंदी में बात करना पसंद करती हूँ।
देखो ना कैसे आरा हैं यहाँ पे, बहुत खूब ना
और क्या हाल आहें आपका जी, में तोह अभी
कुछ मूवीज देखरे हो जैसे की २ स्टेट्स हाँ।

2015

We're in the year of now or never... We really are! It doesn't matter if you are 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 37, 31, 32, 34, 40 or 42 and are reading this. You are not old. Time is passing you by... As infinite as the universe, travelling faster, every second... There's no escaping the rest of your life. Don't be afraid. I am slightly but taking one step at a time. #BraveFaceON! 

1 - thejupiterskyeshop.tumblr.com - Will you follow me there? :-)
2 - jupiterskye.com - Follow me if you aren't already.

It's Poem Time! (Sorry, I guess I lied in that last post.)

If you're being a donkey
Don't be one, she says
Be better, for your heart
For your head, cut the greys
Grasp the red, don't cut yourself
Don't cut the thread
Feel better, feel good
Kiss them tomorrow like you said
you would. Don't be dumb.
Don't be naive. Don't be crazy.
Buy him a book, and buy you a daisy.