i've been up to more things

devious plans like hanging out with my friends

this week’s Thought (singular)

is there anything more lovely than an afternoon nap

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a very warm welcome to all new readers. i love new readers so much that whenever i get an email about a new reader, i manifest that they sleep on time. thank you for joining us. may you go to bed. goodnight.

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a very warm welcome to old readers as well. may good sense continue to prevail.

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hi

a million apologies and zero excuses for not showing up last week. some flowers/sky/clouds to compensate -

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over the last two months, i’ve been consuming a LOT of new music and media in general + not really slowed down a lot. this means a) i’ve come across some real gems, and i thought i’d make this thodi less wordy and more recommend-y, and b) it’s time for another ‘what i’ve been up to’ edition. (find the last one here if you’re so inclined.)

(of course, if you’d prefer more wordy, there’s plenty of those in the archives :D)

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• listening - this coke studio version of Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo by Farida Khanum, Puttu Paattu by Thakara, and Roma Fade by Andrew Bird

sunset from my corridor

• reading - i completed Mary Oliver’s Devotions, but is one ever really done with a poetry collection? and one by Mary Oliver at that? towards the end, i began to pick it up when i felt the need to slow down, like it was my own private meditation.

  

  i’m endlessly glad that i sat with this collection for a whole six months instead of rushing through, knowing i could reach for it when i was hungry for it

  also in the middle of Georgie Gospodinov’s The Physics of Sorrow, which, so far, seems like one of those books that makes your breath catch every few chapters after reading something heartbreaking and profound and in-between-the-lines.

  also these two lovely essays -

  1. 21 observations from people watching from

     skin contact

     21 observations from people watching

  2. I want to ignore beauty culture. But I’ll never get anywhere if I don’t look a certain way from The Guardian

     Now, for argument’s sake, let’s forget about the correlation between harsh skincare ingredients and contact dermatitis. Ditto the fact that fillers can migrate and inflate, that Botox can cause muscle atrophy. Never mind the possible link between hair relaxers and cancer, or the risk of complications – some deadly – that comes with cosmetic surgery. Ignore the likelihood that today’s That will be tomorrow’s “that?” as the minimum standard of beauty rises. (Think of it as aesthetic inflation.)

     Instead, let’s assume beauty work works. You did it! You’re beautiful! Is it worth it?

honestly, cat on a tree

• doing - i’ve been getting to know the city i’ve lived in my whole life in a completely different way, and travelling around areas i’ve never been to before. it’s made me feel more connected to the place and to the people. i’ve also been meeting new and old friends, and marvelling at how a friendship that’s good for you slowly unfurls with effort, care, and healthy venting sessions. i have truly understood the healing power of a confirmed friend hangout over the weekend, and how one must always make time for this sacred ritual.

tres leches from a visit to magnolia with aforementioned new/old friends

• misc. - i’m briefly living at home again after the most character-developing period of my life, and trying not to take the convenience and joy of sleeping in my own bed for granted. i’ve been missing the people i lived with for a year, and looking forward to going back to campus in less than a month. for anybody who’s keeping tabs—no, i’m not over my old house yet, but i’m beginning to appreciate the new one more. i think that’s how it goes. i’ve started singing again after a break, and it’s a delight to return to the parts of you that you had unknowingly and unceremoniously covered with tarpaulin.

been trying to get into #cinema but i think i’m really only made for the sort of movies that used to play on romedy now when i was in middle school

i’ve been thinking about how days might feel long but months themselves are speeding. always, i’m thinking about how to make this time something worth remembering, and something worth missing, and something worth holding close to myself so i can return to the memory of it when i need comfort and joy.

thank you for reading, and see you soon <3

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English Recitation Competition

1. ASMR, Corey Van Landingham

   Why not climb up the mountain
               of delight? To this world’s thin
   
   meridian, why not be
   not elsewhere, not cellaring the sulk
   and brood, pores cavernous
   
                           and visible, the rustling
   aspen portentous, the sorry
   
               unsaid. This world. Hello.
   

2. Words from the Front, Ron Padgett

   We don’t look as young
   as we used to
   except in the dim light
   especially in
   the soft warmth of candlelight
   when we say
   in all sincerity
   You’re so cute
   and
   You’re my cutie.
   Imagine
   two old people
   behaving like this.
   It’s enough
   to make you happy.
   

3. For love of joy, Laree Kiely (read the full poem here)

   For the love of joy, I make conscious choices
   I know darkness exists
   God knows I know
   Don’t ignore it or deny it
   When that darkness hijacks me
   The contrast is so shocking and startling that it takes me by surprise
   It’s so strong, I have trouble digging my way out of the abyss
   But I am wired for joy
   For reasons I don’t understand
   

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The Good Side of the Internet

… has been permanently shifted to The Good Side of the Internet. subscribe for many many links at the end of each month, and tell your friends about it :D

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this week’s Song

Small Things by Ben Howard

find all shared songs here.

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