Postcards From J

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...

There's a fine line between joking with someone and targetted harassment. Never forget that.  ~j~

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...

"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...

Mondays can suck. Especially when you're coming back to work after a five-day break. Anyway, if you need a little pick-me-up, here are two videos from the Golden Globes held earlier today. One where Viola Davis pays tribute to Meryl Streep and the second is Streep's speech on receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her body of work over the years. I'm ignoring the hate that Streep is getting for the 'political' slant she took (some of the comments are just vile), but that final Carrie Fisher quote has just become a major inspiration for the year ahead. via GIPHY Take your broken heart, make it into art.  How beautiful! 💔 ~j~

Damn, the year has flown by! Now where have I heard those words before? Yeah, that's pretty much what we say EVERY December as the end of the year approaches. But it felt a bit different this year for me. I was busy in phases, and the last three months were incredibly slow - at least it felt like that. So do I hate 2016? Umm... not completely. For starters, it brought about the birth of my niece (and godchild) - a tiny miracle that left me weeping when I first laid eyes on her. She has turned our world upside down and changed us as humans. How can someone so little have so much power over the rest of us? Even though she's far away in another country now, just a glimpse of her on video calls or her photos brightens the dullest days. A blessing like no other! I lived all by myself in patches during the year. And it was fine for the most part. But after the niece and the rest of the family left, I had a tough time by myself. I went back to being an insomniac - and this time...