March Delight

It is spring again.
The earth is like a child that knows Poems by heart
                                 -Rainer Maria Rilke 

It has been a good month. To do a little round up, I thought I will share with you some wonderful (not jaw dropping) photos from instagram. 

Cherry Blossoms 

The cherry blossoms everywhere in the capital brings in a different aura. After battling with the gruesome cold and dark winter, the blossoms is a significance that an arduous task is accomplished. A sense of fulfillment and achievement in the air. Indeed, the mountain air is brightened. 

Solo road trip 

I took this first ever solo road trip. To somebody who loves solitude it isn't much of a deal. Having said that, it sometimes became a little monotonous and I had to sing along to the stereo and give a lift or two to the little girls on the way to home from school. 

Books 

Finally I completed the trilogy of IQ84, the first book of the year. It left me totally broken, disturbed, anxious and happy at the end. That’s what Murakami’s books does to you. 

What has been your delight this March? I'd love to hear in the little comments section below.

An update and a Book Review // Eleanor & Park

Things have never been busy like this before.Between moving houses, relocating to a new office (temporarily), traveling for work and the amount of reports and essays I have been shoving up my face at work is completely draining me out. Literally.

That’s why I have been MIA and this little blog has been ignored for some time now. Man, blogging is tedious sometimes! Huge commitment is required which I’m miserable at. Kudos to all blog buddies who never is on writer’s block. 

Well well,what made me come back to do a little update? My love for books. 

I just finished reading Eleanor & Park. I had to share it with you here because if I don’t, uh…nothing will happen. 

Duh. 

On a recent travel overseas I quickly picked this book on an impulsive shopping spree. Well, I’ve heard of Rainbow Rowell’s books before and had wanted to read Fangirl but this book’s cover caught my attention. I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover. That’s cliché, I tell you. Because I picked this book by its cover, I mean look at the cover, isn’t it CUTE? A red head girl and a boy, sharing a headpiece. So simple yet beautiful. 

I finished the book in two days straight. Why? Because it kept me hooked. I couldn’t go to bed without telling myself ‘Just one more chapter’ and run late for work with large prominent eye bags. I had to shut myself in the room and cut off human contact because I couldn’t put down the book. It has been long since I read a good book. Eleanor & Park, a 2013 young adult novel tells a beautiful, haunting love story of two sixteen year olds in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1986. 

Eleanor is the new girl, the girl with the crazy red hair and strange clothes. She comes from a very dysfunctional family. Every moment at home for her is terrifying as she lives in constant fear of offending her abusive alcoholic stepfather. She shares a cramped room with her four siblings where toothbrush is a luxury and she has to go to school in wet crumpled clothes. 

Park is a half-Korean kid who has a more stable family life but constantly has a conflict with his father. 

Eleanor and Park bond over comic books and music and falls in love on their school bus but deals with domestic abuse, child abuse, racism, bullying and body image. Then the kick-ass plot reveals and immediately I fell in love with the characters. It just blew me away. 

The writing is as soft and silky as creamy butter that melts right away as you put it in your mouth. Like this quote: 

"Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something." 

The fact that the story is told from both Eleanor and Park’s perspectives makes the character overwhelming. The way they speak to each other, about everything makes me renew my faith in love. It reminds you of your high school teenage love, that’s if you had one. 

Throughout the book, one word that constantly came out of me after each chapter was “CUTE.” Frankly, I giggled all the way towards the end of the book and craved for more. It’s a light read with just 325 pages. Rowell definitely left me craving for more. I wouldn’t be able to pick up another book for a while now. 

Simple Things

It’s the simplest things in life that brings great happiness. Simple things like: 

++ the summer here in the capital, all warm and fresh. Summer is all about discarding the thick and uncomfortable wear and relaxing just in a tee and shorts. It’s about wearing that neon pink flip flops and taking a stroll towards the evening with the warm and gentle breeze on your face. 

++ vegetable shopping in the weekend farmer’s market and bargaining for that slice of pumpkin. I like to go for that pumpkin which is not too sweet when cooked and becomes more like potatoes. It’s all about asking the farmer where the pumpkin is from. That way you can make little conversation with them and promise them that you’ll again visit them next weekend. Call me a miser. 

++ conditioning your hair with a pack of henna and a shower cap. It’s more natural with less chemicals and super good conditioner for the hair. Yes, I’m old school and I prefer henna over other hair color even though it’s tedious. 

++ standing by the window and watching the raindrops in the late afternoon. Ah….bliss! 

++ watching The Fault in Our Stars movie in bed and giggling all the time especially when you know the dialogues from the book and you say it loud and feel like a teenager. 

++ sipping tea from your favorite teacup and that old familiarity engulfs you because you’ve shared that afternoon tea with someone you loved once. 

Am I being a hopeless romantic? I think I’m not. 

So relax, let go of the feelings that gnaw you and enjoy the simple pleasures in life. Because it’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary. 

It has been a blissful Saturday where I did all of these. I hope your weekend is being great like mine. 

And yes let’s gear up for the world cup final between Germany and Argentina. I was rooting for The Netherlands all those time when my heart got crushed. So obviously I’m up for the Germans now. 

Have a lovely weekend.

Life Lately

Lately I have been: 

DRINKING: alot of Moconna instant coffee. I just love the invigorating aroma. 

LOVING: the clear blue skies and the warm air during the day. The arrival of spring just around the corner is comforting. 

READING : The Husband’s Secret and Lolita. This is the first time ever that I’m reading two books simultaneously. So I’m having mixed feelings. But I’m loving The Husband’s Secret a little more. 

LISTENING: to Breakfast show on Kuzoo FM on the radio every morning while driving to office. I love the songs being requested and played. It’s amusing listening to all these conversations on air. And listening silently, you become a part of it too. 

Secretly, I love listening to the male hosts than the female. Oh don’t judge me now.

There was this particular host for the breakfast show that was supposedly to be an intern. And it was his last week on the show. A lot of callers were calling to show their love and support for him, it was so emotional. The love and support he had from the community was immensely overwhelming. It was impressive. He’s being missed definitely. 

WATCHING: Diana, a 2013 film which depicts Princess Diana's final rite of passage: a secret love affair with Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, the human complications of which reveal the Princess's climactic days in a compelling new light. 

WEARING: self knitted beanie and a pink warm robe at home every day. I’ve been living in it literarily this winter. 

ANTICIPATING : travelling solo for the first time in 19 days time. I’ve been imagining gazillion things on my mind. What if I miss my next flight? Did I check the flight timing correctly? What if I miss the train afterwards? What if I get lost? What about the jet-lag? What will the local time be there when I reach? What if…all these thoughts are giving my little brain a headache at times. 

How’s your week rolling on? Got any tips on travelling solo, I would love to hear.