Category: Thoughts On Writing

Three Question A Day – No. 3

Leave a comment

It is supposed to rain here in San Francisco today and knowing this, I planned to stay home (side smirk). I love the rain, because it has a way of cleansing and by god, we need much of it right now. On my way to the grocery store for my allotted shopping time on Wednesday, I noticed a laundry line drawn in someone’s backyard and pinned to that very line were seven pillows – which got me wondering if she were doing spring cleaning or ridding her home of the ailment threatening our very existence. When I got home I wondered if I embark on such cleaning? And then thought, not a good plan to stir up dust during these vulnerable of times. So I opted for a glass of orange juice, and got back to my writing.

If you could invite five people, living or dead, to dinner at your house one night, who would you choose, and what would you cook them?

  • Mother Teresa, Michelangelo, Nostradamus, The Greek god-Poseidon, in case you thought otherwise, Prince Albert (Queen Victoria’s husband not any other current prince of sorts) and Queen Elizabeth – the oldest still living historical figure. The reason for my guest list – is to ponder over how we could reshape our planet after the COVID-19 pandamic. I would serve naturally grown sources of nutrition.

If you could have one question answered, what would it be? Who would answer it for you?

  • What is my expiration date? The actual date and not the statistical one of perhaps 80. I would dial into God if I could.

Do you regularly remember your dreams? Write about your most vividly remembered dream. 

  • Sadly my dreams are my worst nightmares. In particular, the one I started having around the turn of the century – about darkness shrouding the world, and me being responsible for getting my mother, my brother, and my dog to safety. There was also someone stranded on an island, I could see her kneeling at land’s end, looking into what I assumed – time and time again of seeing the same dream – that it was a body of water. The earth was dark, and there was only the mere reflection of a faint moonlight…I gathered. This dream has haunted me for decades and in FaceTiming this said woman now truly stranded on an island, I realized, we are now living that nightmare…which has me stupefied.  I am now summoning better dreams…
question source here and here

Three Questions A Day – No. 1

Leave a comment

In San Francisco, some of us have been sheltering-in-place for over a week or so. It all started around the 12th of March – when the figures of authority began to outline the plan. I was made aware of COVID-19 on January 26, a day before I needed to fly back home from London. I got a test from a family member telling me to be careful while passing through Heathrow and beyond. The funny thing is, I mentioned the concerns to the taxi driver taking me to the airport and he simply shrugged it off. Something lots of people seem to do or have done ever since, when it hit close to their home.

But here we all are, trying our best to adapt to this new lifestyle and not go stir-crazy. I read online how parents asking for help with their kids schooling, or voicing concern about senior graduation and prom, and even about vacations and weddings.  How quickly the virus has spread and wreaked havoc on everyone’s life is a clear indication of how vulnerable we all are.

So today I share with you the following questions and look forward to your response.

Who do you admire most in this world, and why?

  • I admire all the people who risk their own health and safety to ensure the safety and well being of others. Who go above and beyond to help ease anxiety and tensions, and maintain a normalcy within the chaos. I admire the old,  whose undeniable faith in God, and traditions are the reason they persevered.

What are five things you absolutely, positively, totally want to do before you die, and how can you do one of them THIS YEAR?

  • The five things are – see the Northern Lights in Iceland or Norway. Hike the Pennine Way, England and Scotland. Visit New Zealand. Rent A House for a year in Cornwall, England.  Save all the creatures on the verge of extinction.  The only thing I can possibly do this year is live vicariously through another novel I am currently working on.

What would you truly lose, deep down, if you lost what you are most scared of losing?

  • My loyal companion – my fifteen year old dog – who is showing me more signs every day that he is ready to go. But when we make eye contact, he relays just how much he is worried about me when he does…and I have to agree with him.

 

{featured image source, question source, things to do before you die}

Holiday Gifts For The Book Lover

Leave a comment

A few days ago, I walked into a Blackstone Bookstore in a small town in England – which shall remain nameless for now – since I am here doing research for another story – and I have to say, I was caught completely off guard by the amount of foot traffic the store receives. At first I thought it was because of the rain outside and/or the cafe upstairs, but when I stayed about an hour to observe and appreciate the volume of books categorized so perfectly throughout the store, I realized, people were actually there buying paperbacks or hardbacks.  It is definitely due to the holiday shopping, you might say, but after speaking to the clerks behind the check out counter, I was told  the store was busy most of the time and very busy over the weekends.  Oh what joy I felt.

Also, here’s a list of my next reads

and just in case you have a book-warm or a book-lover or an avid reader in your life – here’s a great link to some interesting gift ideas

The Most Beautiful Idea Yet…

Leave a comment

…is one I came across while reading the latest blog entry here. And it made me smile, the kind of happy expression I can hardly describe. But if you’ve been there, you’ll understand. I think I will frame this quote and keep it visible just in case of a setback or disillusionment of sorts.