Melancholy

Melancholy is good. Even though they won't quite admit it, most people enjoy melancholia more that the happy stuff. It's almost like a drug.

You take some and it gives you a bitter-sweet pain. But it's 'pain' and not 'happy', so you feel bad and sorry for yourself. It's so tempting, even addictive, to stay in that mood. You mildly feel like a victim, so the pressure to shake it off and dive into work, or take care of people, etc etc weakens a little bit. You tell yourself that you can slack off and do nothing. Even when you do manage to break out of this cycle of self-pity and inertia, you secretly crave to get back to it whenever you can. 

Photographs on Paper: the Old Fashioned Way.

Do you remember the times when photographs were seen on paper and not on back-lit screens? Many of us were quite young when we had to wait a few days to actually 'see' the photos from our latest vacation, a school farewell party, or an annual fest at college. Photos almost exclusively existed on paper. They were lovingly arranged in an album and stored away safely. When our friends and family wanted to see them, we couldn't just magically send them off: we had to meet in person. As the photos were passed around, stories behind them were shared, along with smiles and laughs, compliments, comments, often over some tea and snacks, in person and not expressed with emojis. We actually met and shared what we felt and thought to each other directly about the 4X6" (mostly) rectangles. 

A Word on Being 'Passionate'.

*Warning*

Intended sarcasm (and some cynicism) ahead. Proceed at your discretion.

How often have you heard people gushing about how 'passionate' they are about something? I'm sure you hear it quite a lot. Sometimes to the point where you can't help but wonder about the reasons why everyone else seems to be so very passionate, except yourself. You might have even wondered whether you apparent deficiency of it makes you a cold-hearted machine that simply can't feel the passion that apparently comes so naturally to everyone else. 

So Long, and Thanks for all the Inspiration!

We all loved him, and we loved him straight from the heart. An outstanding scholar, devoted teacher, brave-heart, passionate leader, and yet uncommonly down-to-earth and kind. Not to mention immensely popular. He truly was the proverbial 'rockstar'.

I've been a 'fan', like millions of others.

'Serial' Obsession.

We have all seen our mothers, aunts, sisters, and friends crazy for their favourite TV series. Almost of the elder ladies we know watch Indian soaps: the ubiquitous saas-bahu dramas, the one-good-lady-pitted-against-the-world types, besides a few other varieties. 

Now I'd like you to take a moment to recall the times you've joked, even mocked them for their obsession with these shows. I'm sure there have been times when you've shaken your head in disbelief at how deeply they relate, empathize, love, or hate the characters. They revel in their joy and cry with them in their times of despair. They cheer for them in their difficult times and curse in disgust for the evil character who is making their favourite heroine's life miserable. I could go on describing the relationship they have with these characters, but you get my drift, I think.

A Homestay Review

This is a review of the Chilipili homestay. We had a wonderful time there and I recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy place smack in the middle of a coffee plantation and more or less isolated from everywhere else. If that's good enough for you, then you might as well stop here. If you are curious about the details and pictures, read on.