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Avventura Italiana

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It's been about four days since I returned from Milan, Italy. While being back home and at work has already swamped me, I can't help thinking of this Italian adventure I got to embark on. 17 days across cities that breathe history, art, architecture, culture, religion and so much more! 17 days of fun (and exhaustion) accompanied by two women who kept me on my toes, literally and otherwise. In a nutshell, my itinerary read like this eventually: Rome-Vatican City-Naples-Florence-Pisa-Milan-Nice-Monaco-Cannes-Milan-Verona-Milan. It seems whirlwind but I think we managed a good pace and never really had to worry about missing something - even if we did.  Of course, the full credit goes to Fi, who planned the entire itinerary right down to the places we should eat at. And because she had already been living in Italy for a year and knew the language and her way around Italians, it was a massive help. Lo and I just followed instructions. I whined about the walking. Got mad a few time...
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For Tony

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8 JUNE 2018 4.57 PM: It's Friday, and I am looking at my to-do list and hoping the day gets done soon. That I get to go home and enjoy the start of another weekend. One of the WhatsApp groups buzzed. "Anthony Bourdain is dead. Shite." I was the first to reply. "NO". "WHAT?" And then I started to Google with a strange mix of anxiety and sadness.  Say it wasn't true. Bourdain was gone. 61 years young. It was surreal.  I pinged D but knew he would be asleep as he was working the night shift. Gawd, D will be devastated to wake up to this news. My mind was racing. Bourdain would feature in our conversations often over the years and I didn't know anyone who was a bigger fan of the chef-turned-storyteller. Still can’t believe it. People were shocked but I was in another zone. My hands had turned cold and my brain was blank. What the hell had just happened? That it was by suicide was equally perplexing. And v...
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Going mobile

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Not sure how I never thought of this earlier, but hey... Blogger has an app and I'm writing this from there. Perhaps this is the push I need to write often. Testing this now, and also adding a photo from my phone to check how this will pan out. Have a nice day, wherever you are. ~j~
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From me to me...

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It's less than two hours to a brand new year. 2018! Gosh, isn't that something? Why did I decide to sit in front of a laptop and type this? I don't know. And no, I didn't even have some major breakthrough to talk about either.  Has it been a great year? Ummm... in bits and pieces. Like most of my recent years. What defines a "great year" anyway? 365 days of being happy? Can anyone ever claim to be happy or fulfilled every day of the year? Okay, I'm rambling now. Before I sign out, here are some highlights of 2017: - I grew up. Yes, I lived alone for the most part and I learned what 'adulting' really was. I have lived alone for a while now, but this year was really the test. During 2015-16, there was a lot going on. I travelled to a few countries on work and also for holidays in 2015 and the next year, the family was down as my niece was born here and that was the major focus for everyone at home. And then September 2016, the family vani...
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A fine line

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There's a fine line between joking with someone and targetted harassment. Never forget that.  ~j~
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Things to do when a wave of sadness hits you...

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Take a chill pill and maybe some of these too! (Image Source: Unknown; Don't sue me!) In no particular order: # Listen to some upbeat music and sing your favourite lyrics out loud. # Or just DANCE - even if you have two left feet like mine. Here's my current jam: # Think of parents, family, friends, just about anyone who loves you - pretty much unconditionally. # Read old, funny IM conversations you've had with your favourite people. Like the ones I have with Lo and DC... So much entertainment!  (Thank God for search functionality within chat apps) # Check out the Instagram 'Explore' tab and discover interesting people and their feeds. Some of the super accounts I follow: mumbaipaused , marsder , petesouza . Go, check them out NOW. # Dream of Japan.  (Insert your own dream destination.) Somewhere along the Hanshin Expressway, Kobe - Japan | December 2015 # Count your blessings. Be grateful. EVERY DAY. # Pray. Without an agenda...
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BEST Interview Ever (and Happy Easter)!

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"Your true life exists in between the period of time where you stop being an ass and something kills you. That's your life, and I just started my life." JOHN MAYER *** Honest, candid, thoughtful and positive! These are the words that first struck me after listening to this superb interview of John Mayer by Talia Schlanger. And I've listened to it twice already. Ms Schlanger did an outstanding job of conducting this with class. The questions and prompts were smart and effective. And the best part is she handled some of the obvious done-to-death talking points with such sensitivity that even JM surprised us and himself at the end to round off the perfect interview.  Set aside 35 minutes and press 'play' below to listen:   I have so many favourite bits in it! Listing a few here: On being asked whether he's nervous about his parents hearing 'In The Blood', he goes "Nah!" followed with "A good song explains its...
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