3 year work-versary!

Its the start of a new week and like every other month, April is also zooming by. I celebrated my 3 year work anniversary on April 5, 2024 and had a truckload of mixed feelings about it all. One of my closest friends also sent me some really yummy mango desserts to celebrate the day at work (no season like mango season <3). Later, we ordered a few rounds of momos and thoroughly enjoyed those was well.

So much has changed over the last 3 years and I’ve learnt so much in the time I’ve been working here. Only recently I was thinking about how extremely important it is to try and be content with your work because of how much of your life you end up spending at work. Its 5 days from 9-9 and it changes you through and through and undoubtedly, it affects everything (and everyone) around you. My work has always had its ups and downs, bad days and good days and a mix of boring and exciting content to work on. Through it all, there are always days where I hate it and have no motivation to work but there are also days when I can’t believe how lucky I am to be doing what I am doing.

One of the greatest things that work has given me is definitely some really good friendships. Naturally, the people I end up spending 90% of my day with mean a lot to me and I am only better for having known them.

happy work-versary to me!!

April 2024 Lookahead

Happy April 2024!! I am out here starting the month on a very positive note – I am working from home today and then going with my family to watch cricket in the stadium!

The first three months of 2024 have zoomed by and so much has been happening that at times it’s getting very difficult to cope up with things (whether work or friends or something as simple as watching something). For April 2024, I have high hopes and here are some of things I am really looking forward to:

  1. Reading: New books always make me happy and there’s never anything better than that to look forward to. For this month, I have one Agatha Christie to read and I’m probably going to read Happy Place by Emily Henry!
  2. Sports: This month has Champions League and IPL and I can never get enough of both of these. Very excited to scream and cheer for my favourite boys across the sporting universe.
  3. Socialising: Like always, I have a few pending social commitments to fulfil and I am really looking forward to catching up with some friends and debating about love and life over G&Ts.
  4. Book fair: I have decided to head to a book fair next weekend (the first weekend of this month) and I am so, so excited. The fair works like so: you purchase a box for a certain amount, then your browse and how many ever books you can fit into the box, you take home! No extra charges. I can’t wait to devour the books.

Do you have any note-worthy things coming up in April 2024?

Some romantic Hindi music I’ve been listening to

It’s been a while since I’ve popped up here because things have been so hectic; both professionally and personally. I always try to find time for the things I like to do during the day – reading, socialising a bit, watching some sappy stuff and constantly listening to any music I am obsessed with. My travel to and fro from work is close to 2 hours so I spend all of it reading + listening to soft music. Here are some really cutesy romantic Hindi songs I’ve recently been hooked to:

(a) O Maahi (from the movie Dunki);
(b) Malang Sajna by Sachet and Parampara Tandon;
(c) Liggi by Ritviz;
(d) Maahi Ve (from the movie Highway);
(e) Saiyyan by Kailash Kher.

Wonka (2023)

Wonka, starring Timothee Chalamet follows the story of Willy Wonka – a chocolate maker, lover and magician. I went into this movie very, very excited because I LOVE Timothee and he is a brilliant actor. I did not realise that this movie was a musical (the only musical I have ever enjoyed has been high school musical!), and yet I really loved this movie.

The movie follows Wonka, coming from a far off place to become a chocolatier amongst three already prominent chocolatiers. Through a bizarre turn of events, Wonka ends up being imprisoned at a shady guest house along with a few other people already imprisoned there since the last few years. Wonka’s goal throughout the movie continues to be making chocolate, selling chocolate and making people happy. Once he meets his fellow prisoners, his new goal is then to ensure that they are freed as well. So begins a very musical (but admittedly, a very fun tale) of Wonka and gang trying to secretly sell chocolate.

The movie is filled with brilliant actors and despite everyone breaking out into song at an interval of almost 10 minutes, Wonka is addictive to watch – you will leave the theatre wanting chocolate, wanting to hug Timothee and wanting to desperately re-read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

2023 Wrap Up Overview!

Books I read:
2023 was a good year for reading – I read close to 50 books (a mix of both physical and e-books): I enjoyed most and disliked some, but overall the books were my favourite companion. Some of my top reads this year were The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, Seven Days in June, We Need to Talk about Kevin and Before Your Memory Fades. I re-read tons of Agatha Christie also and nothing about her writing fails to surprise me.

Shows I watched:
I failed miserably at keeping up with new releases and with new seasons of previously watched shows. I did however manage to keep up with Thai BLs and they brought me immense happiness. I attempted to watch the new season of Heartstopper but really disliked it. I finished Manifest and found the end very underwhelming. All in all, the Thai BLs were the best part.

Travel I did:
I admit that I am really grateful to have the opportunity and the ability to travel. In 2023, I visited Bali, Indonesia and thoroughly indulged myself in the drinks, the beaches and the sceneries. I attended three weddings (at three different locations in India!!) and emotionally enjoyed them all. I did also visit the mountains in Northern India and the beaches of Goa.

People I met:
I’ve made some very wholesome friendships this year and though my personal nightmare is meeting new people, I am genuinely glad for the people I have gotten close to this year. It amazes me that no matter how old you get, you can always find meaningful relationships in the most bizarre ways.

Recent YA e-reads:

(A) Everything for You by Chloe Liese:
This book follows the story of Gavin and Oliver, two soccer stars, rivals and recently made co-captains. Oliver is a happy-go-lucky, one of multiple siblings and constantly looking to make people happy. Gavin is the complete opposite of Oliver and fails to understand why Oliver finds it necessary to bring coffee to every single person at their training premises every single day. On top of it all, Gavin and Oliver are neighbours and just when they try to put more distance between themselves, they end up carpooling to training every other day.
This book was soooooooo good! I loved the dual POV, I loved the banter and I absolutely loved how the little things mattered a lot more at every single stage of Oliver and Gavin’s relationship. The book also had really good supporting characters and the fact that soccer was woven so beautifully into the book made me even more happy reading this.
Rating: 4/5

(B) The Long Run by James Acker:
The story of Sebastian and Sandro; Sebastian is the captain of the track team and famously nicknamed, ‘Bash the Flash’, Sandro is captain of the field team and known for being the heart of every single party. One day Sebastian and Sandro attend a party together – a party that ends up being busted by the cops and from then Sebastian and Sandro become intertwined with each other in such a way that none of them ever expected. This book was also dual POV and the narrations are so addictive that you cannot stop reading. Sandro and Sebastian have a hundred problems and amazingly, none of the problems seem huge if they have each other.
Rating: 5/5

(C) Nate Plus One by Kevin Van Whye:
Another YA romance in dual POV!!! Nate and Jai are best friends and band mates, Nate has harboured a crush on Jai ever since he’s known him and despite being practically inseparable, Nate can never bring himself to admit his feelings towards Jai. Then Nate gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he is meant to go to South Africa for his cousin’s wedding and various circumstances lead to Jai accompanying him to South Africa. Amidst wedding festivities, discovering his roots and wondering whether Jai feels the same way, Nate and Jai try to navigate their feelings and ultimately whether their friendship can survive being something more. This book was a nice read too but quite predictable towards the end. Jai was a very relatable character and there were many things about Nate that irritated me at various points as well.
Rating: 3/5

Soft old music playlist;

These last 2-3 months, I have been listening to tons and tons of old (mostly Hindi, but also English) music on loop. I love re-visiting the songs I’ve always loved because it always makes me feel super soft and very often tends to take me back to where I was / what I was when I first heard these songs. Here is a playlist of the soft old music:

(a) Soniye by KK (from the movie Aksar);
(b) One Thing by One Direction;
(c) I want to hold your hand by The Beatles;
(d) Jasn-e-Bahara (from the movie Jodha Akbar);
(e) Maan ki Lagan by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan;
(f) Christmas Lights by Coldplay

Quote 1.18

I’ve always deemed myself to be this person who gives her heart and soul into helping people – whenever I care for someone, I will ensure that I help that person in every way possible for anything they need, no matter how small. The other day I came across a very, very soft quote describing this very feeling that I usually have when I’m going all out to help someone I care about:

“I love saying ‘of course’ instead of ‘you’re welcome’, like of course I’m helping you that’s what I do, you were foolish to even consider an alternate dimension in which I’m not helping you. you idiot. you absolute buffoon.”

Happy birthday AC!

A few days ago was Dame Agatha Christie’s 133rd birthday: AC is more popularly known as the ‘Queen of Crime’ considering the plethora of novels she has provided to this world. I first discovered Christie’s writing when I was in the 7th grade (back in 2008) – The Thirteen Problems featuring Christie’s Miss Marple was compulsory reading for my English literature class and little did I know that this would begin my dedication to Christie’s writing and provide me books I never otherwise might’ve gotten around to reading.

Its been my goal since then to one day own every single Christie book and comfort read them literally whenever I want to. My favourite book (till now) still continues to be The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, followed super closely by Cat Among the Pigeons. I’m always excited to recommend her novels to anyone who asks and very recently I’ve been trying to get one of my best friend’s to start reading AC as well.

I had read Christie’s autobiography around 6 years ago and was blown my everything she went through, everything she felt and everything that happened/didn’t happen for her to become what she ultimately went on to become. I vividly remember this part where Christie mentions to her sister that she’d like to write mystery novels and her sister categorically rejects it opinion that Christie would never be able to create a story that would keep the readers guessing like Holmes does.

I am always grateful for AC and her writing and there are multiple times during the day when I will sit and admire my collection and I am always looking to re-read her writing and still be blown always.