Chiffonesque

 I reached Bhubaneshwar with Papa tonight. Well, reached around 6 pm but it was all crisp and dark here. And cold. Nice and cold. My uncle and aunt said that it was 'pleasant' but it is cold. Now I wish I had gotten tracks instead of shorts to sleep in. And my leather jacket (faux leather jacket). And socks. Oh God! Socks would have been nice.  Anyway, there is a kettle in my room and some satchets of coffee. So, a hot cuppa to end the day. Tomorrow, meeting more of the family! Will whack someone's jacket or shawl. Let's see...which cousin annoys me more. 

 I have been feeling a little heavy headed and heavy hearted today. Have to pack. There's lots to do. I am just sitting in the middle of a ton of stuff looking at a gaping piece of luggage. I don't know what the resistance is. I'm fatigued.  Today V came over and we had tea. He said that the squirrel that had once visited my chilli plants would now be lost because they weren't there. I felt a little sad for the squirrel.  Today when I said goodbye to V, I don't know...I felt I've said bye to him before. (I obviously HAVE said bye to him before when he leaves after visiting.) But I don't know when we will meet again. More importantly, if we ever will. This whole scene felt like a strong deja Vu. It has happened before.  Sometimes I feel that a big part of human existence is to act all surprised at an assumed new day when it's just a regurgitated piece of time. THAT'S the real LOL - Life on Loop. 

 Last couple of days have been heated. I have been having very angry and judgmental thoughts and since this type of energy always results in some types of bruises for me, I have a stubbed toe, a scab on shoulder, a scratch on chin, and a banged knee. So I have decided to keep myself away from people for a while.  But today I went to Vashi because Papa had called his classmate and friend from college for lunch. We went to eat out and I was wondering if I would be able to get through the lunch amicably. It was such a charming time! I loved it! I was meeting my friend and his family after ages too. His daughter is such a sweetheart!  She was reading the 'First term' at Malory Towers. Malory Towers! My gosh! I haven't read that book in ages! But she and I bonded on that. It was a beautiful beautiful lunch. Brother came to drop me home in Bandra. I made him a snack which he was very happy (and surprised) about. And I sent off my chilli plants with him.  I am feeling a little sad

It was a nice enough day. Had someone from Urban Clap for some grooming stuff. These girls are really so sweet! I have used beauticians from UC in Bangalore, Bandra, and Mumbai. And it's always been great. Can't say the same for Carpenters and plumbers. But the masseuses and beauticians are very, very good. My thumb was hurting damn badly on account of the ripped off nail. Couldn't sleep at all last night. I tried to use my non-dominant hand to work. My God, does it take time! But this is something I plan to do systematically...use my left hand for doing things. Ambidexterity is quite a skill to aspire for. Went to the gym for a bit and then walked to Mount Mary's. Felt really good.  Had a bitter-sweet dream in the afternoon.  Yesterday had picked up poha papads from the Farmer's Store. It was so nice!  Saw an exceptionally good looking man on the way. Really good looking. He was a Sardar and the best brow-bone structure and bridge of a nose that I have seen on a li

 Watched O Kadhal Kanmani and Dulquer Salman is just all things wonderful! He is so, so charming! Nitya Menen is cute as a button and the fact that you don't see them 'acting' perhaps is indicative of how good they are as actors. But Dulquer is...I mean, you see that man and you think, *Okay. He's really good looking, so that's enough for me." And then he acts . And then he sings ! And then he dances also! And if all this was not enough, he backs movies like Kumbhalangi Nights, which is one of the most delicious little treats I have seen in a while! Gosh! He is really, really nice! Yes, it's a light, frothy movie. But I really had a smile on my face throughout the film.  You know how you wake up after having a full night's restful sleep with peaceful dreams and you wake up to buttery sunlight filtering through your window? And you say, "Good morning" and you really, really mean it? Watching Dulquer is like that.  He's just so nice!

 For all purposes, my stint at one of my workplaces ended today. I was looking forward to it ending but I did feel a little sad. My team was really nice and my work was really interesting. I just felt a little suffocated with my arrangement. But I learned so much and it was a beautiful, sweet stint. Time to pound the pavement. I had hoped that tonight I would celebrate - dress up, go somewhere nice, have a nice dessert or something. It didn't quite work out that way but I did what I love most. Write. My final assignment for this company was to write a long-term piece. It was the best way to say goodbye, I guess. I don't know what it is about facing a blank page and filling it with words. Even when there's nothing much going on or even when there's a lot going on, a blank page and a writing assignment are either the fuel of a furnace or the shade of a tree. Lots to do tomorrow. Lots to think through, plan for, and get done.

 Today a friend brought me a bunch of goodies from Goa. Very gorgeous shell necklaces, seashells, and dodol. I really, really love dodol. When I used to eat eggs, bibinca was a fave. But now I try to eat eggless stuff, I love dodol and guava jelly!  I have to work late tonight. But looks like I have a friend in the fridge. Oh yay! Yummy in my tummy! 

 IFFI is celebrating 100 years of Satyajit Ray and they are showcasing a bunch of his films. But in all these celebrations of Satyajit Ray, they usually don't show 'Devi'. This is my most favorite movies by Ray (one of my most favorites across all time). One reason could be that this was the first Ray film that I watched with Ma. I was a child then. And something about the beauty, magnetism, and charisma of Sharmila Tagore's character reminded me of Ma. For anyone who has seen the film or knows the plot, the story takes a rather disturbing turn. I used to be most upset about it but still want to watch that film over and over again. The beginning of the film, as the credits roll to the montage of a Durga face getting painted, and the end sequence when the crowd takes away their Devi...it is such suave narration. It's a wonderful movie. Personally, because of the way it makes me feel, I rank it higher than Charulata. Devi SHOULD be a necessary part of Satyajit Ray'

 I watched Jai Bhim and was really moved. Scenes are very violent and brutal and I haven't seen anything like this in a long time. I think it has affected me because I am really feeling low and my chest and back really hurt.  Suriya has that trusted strength and power that one finds very reassuring in movies like this. He is the lawyer who represents the tribal's wife in the landmark Habeus Corpus case. He lives by himself, does his own house work, and in the initial scenes, you see that he understands that anybody's fight for justice, especially the marginalized group, is a fight for dignity. He tells the judge in one scene that according to a Supreme Court order, a person should not be handcuffed during trial. I like the quiet build-up of his personal through these tiny details. Of course, the tropes of rousing music, slow-motions, dialogues with a punch, etc. are all there. But Suriya himself is quiet. His eyes are quiet. His body language is quiet. I won't go on abo

Today things began with a little discomfort. Sometimes my neighbors seem a tad possessive about the house help we share. Small matter. But it is insane the number of times I have received advice on how I shouldn't 'spoil' them by tipping them or giving them stuff. It bothers me at times, this mentality. That if you pay wages to someone, you own them.  I have really held my cool. Barely. But I do seem that I just might snap some day. I hope I don't though. Everybody's getting on in age. And getting short with older people is not in good form. There was a lesson in school that went, "The test of good manners is being able to put up with bad ones." So, testing times now. Anyway, I will now think of some soothing things: 1. Made a compote of custard apple today that I had with puris. 2. Got some calls regarding work. That's juicy. 3. I had ordered a moisturizer and lipstick from Belora. Came today. It's gorgeous, the deep plum lipstick. Belora is a cru

 Heard some news from Vashi that disturbed me a little. A lot. But I will not dwell on that. Now will list the happy things that have happened so far: Really great weather today.  Cook really outdid herself today. The food was so tasty! It was simple daal, rice, and an amaranth and potato mash but everything was brilliant! Lately she has been cooking really well! Maybe tomorrow I will give her a break and get her pizza. Sometimes we do that. I order a pizza for her and she sits gossiping over the phone in the kitchen. On those days the coffee she makes me is... phenomenal!  Got a couple of enquiries about my availability for projects. Always feels good to be wanted. Booked tickets. It was smooth. Now to figure out where to get the RT-PCR tests done. I was listening to a discussion on the repeal of the farm laws. It helped me work out better. Interesting. A friend from Bangalore called up. Bangalore. It feels so strange...this memory of me ever having lived in Bangalore. I am not in tou

  It has rained here and it's gorgeous. I changed my mind about not going out and decided to pay a quick visit. This city, when it rains, is like the lyrics of a Gulzar song. The puddles and wet, wilted leaves and flowers on slopes are like the introduction of Qara Roz in Rushdie's Enchantress of Florence. The fresh innocence of a newly bathed world is the part that reminds us (me, at least) that the loving part of our hearts still throbs.  Oh, it was so soporofic and still that I feel a little heady but a lot calmer.  It really is a beautiful life. 

 I don't know why. Actually I do know why but I don't want to share. Yet. Many years ago, in college, after a particularly moving lecture in the Women's Studies class, I had made a promise to never call another woman a bitch, whore, or slut, no matter what the provocation. As far as I remember, I have kept that promise. But today I feel like abusing one person. And I have memories of another person whose head I want to see bashed in. Clearly I need to do a lot of deep breathing. It has rained today. It is so beautiful. I haven't yet gone to Mount Mary's. Maybe today I will skip it. Will have a nice hot bath, make coffee and get a headstart on the work for tomorrow. The temper is rearing its head. Need to give it some rest.

 1. Having a French Vanilla-flavored coffee and listening to an interview of Rushdie where he talks about his novel, "Quittoche". 2. Using my cheery new bed linen. The sheets are multi-colored polka dots and cotton. The duvet is a reversible one with fuschia on one side and baby blue on the other. 3. The cute plump little baby boy at Mount Mary's. He was wearing a waist coat and full pants! These grown up clothes in baby sizes is just the best. 4. My chilli plants looked happy today. I could be imagining things but it seemed as if they were whistling in joy. 5. My cook who doesn't share my taste in desserts (she is weirdly very opposite to sweets) really liked the Haagendaaz vanilla ice-cream. Said it tasted a little like her mother-in-law's shrikhand. (I would have loved to meet her!)

 Didn't end on as happy a note as I thought it would. Have to work this weekend. Actually fair enough because two days of this week was spent nursing a headache. I really want to get done with these 7 days, complete my contract, and take myself out to a nice evening. Wear my blue off-shoulder dress, open-toed flats, paint my nails, take my diary, and go to a quiet place and plan.  I will need to work out my budget and see if I can take time off or if I need to start pounding the pavement soon after. This time round, I would like to have an agent. Then I can focus on only what I like to do and actually what I need to do.  I have a few ideas of what needs to get done. Let's see.  Today I got a little fed up with that Wellness medical store. As soon as they ring you up on your purchases, they will want you to give feedback. It feels like a bloody job to go get stuff. I wanted to get marshmallows. It's 450 bucks! For 12 of them, it seemed. Maybe will get them for my brother and

 Am looking to reduce the number of clothes and shoes I own. There are some really nice pieces, hardly worn or still in really good shape. My help and their daughters don't wear those kinds of clothes - a faux leather corset, a lavender velvet gown with a plunging neckline, a backless red and gold top, etc. If any of these sort of clothes interest you, please email me. Will share details. You will need to come to Bandra or Khar or someplace to collect them.   Thank you.

1. Chat with my father. 2. Chat with a cousin. 3. The full moon. 4. Two little girls in floral frocks and matching masks at Mount Mary's. I waved at both of them. One waved back quite vigorously. Like we were old friends. 5. Cool breeze after the rain. 6. Cook had made dessert with custard, sliced bananas, and Chocos (the cornflakes). Very very tasty. 7. I am free of the headache. 8. Had left wallet at home. But rummaged enough cash for the rick fare to and from Mount Mary's and a can of ginger ale. 9. My friends birthday today. Chatted with her.  10. Found a picture of a baby, new-born elephant. Oh, just so cute! 

Trigger warning: I have used graphic language to describe a dream. Please stop reading if the description or language makes you uneasy.   Had very bad dreams during a nap. Head feels heavy. Feeling nauseous. I see dark clouds around. Heavy dark clouds. Went to the gym in my building. Today, for the first time, I felt a little scared in the gym. The gym is usually empty. At times, two young boys work out. I go late in the evenings, after people have gone. I have to switch on the lights in the gym, open the windows or switch on the AC, plug in the treadmill if I want to use it, etc.   It's a really small gym. People accustomed to better equipped health centers would find this piddly. But I really like it. It is cozy and empty. It is sometimes so quiet that I take work calls in there. But today after the nap, when I visited the gym in the evening, I felt really scared.  My guess is that it has something to do with the neighboring building being broken down for redevelopment. From the

 These last two weeks are getting difficult and tedious. I have to wrap things up and every day, it is getting more excruciatingly irritating. Anyway, I ate a lot of good things yesterday. Cook had made banana fritters and the lentils with the Alibag masala. That was awesome! The masala was so fresh and tasty! It had chillies, coconut, garlic, peanuts, a little kokum, etc. Really spicy and tasty. Around 11-30, went to Mount Mary. It was so nice to see Bandstand filled with people taking a walk and all that. Felt like the good, old days.  Came home. Slept. Now up again and at work.

 I am feeling really ill today. My back and neck hurts really badly. These things always get a little aggravated at night.  I have one chocolate croissant in the fridge and white butter from Pakeezah, a milk centre. The white butter is so soft and creamy, like a tuft of smooth cloud.  V came today. Cracked some stupid jokes. He said that he would make coffee. But he didn't. I made tea. I suppose I should not complain, considering he keeps bringing me stuff. But he does make very good coffee. It would have been nice to have it. I feel like having creamy, frothy coffee now. My back hurts. My throat hurts. Anyway, let me think of something happy.  Oh yes. This morning, I had to tackle a small project. It was so absorbing and interesting. That was a really fun, beautiful segment. Got some cute, printed fabric from Fabcurate. Need to give it for stitching. Wonder what to make with it - a piece of kurta or high-waisted wide legged pants? 

 Had called M for maalish today. She came with fresh imli (tamarind) from her farm, some home ground wet masala (with chillies, cinnamon, garlic, dry coconut, peanuts, kokum, etc.) and special rice flour made from a mix of basmati and her farm-grown variety. Had to do an audio recording of a piece. Sent it to some people for feedback. Got some great inputs. Worked on it and wrapped it up. On the way from Mount Mary's, I saw my favorite car - a Beetle. It was navy blue and was parked under a tree. It was strewn with fallen leaves and white and pink flowers. Oh, I love that car so much! It looks like a chubby little baby. You feel like burping it after feeding it petrol. I think it has been discontinued. Wonder why? It is such a happy looking car! A bright yellow Beetle is something I would have loved to drive someday. Had custard and bananas made today. So I warmed up some croissant, ripped it into shreds in a bowl, poured the banana and custard on it and warmed it all up together.

 I am walking down the slope from Mount Mary's. It's dark. There are strings of lights in the trees and balconies around. But they start going off one by one. There is a shop selling trinkets - pretty little angel figurines. But these figurines start getting distorted and melting.  The air is smelling pungent, like there's gunpowder or something. As I walk, I see a crowd of men with swords in their hands. Their hands are raised. But they don't seem angry. They are just walking towards me and I am walking towards them. As I approach them, I see that they are made of brown water. They are liquidy and held barely together in some kind of plastic casing.  I move through them, get to the other side, catch a rick and come home. 

 1. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michelledean/dee-dee-wanted-her-daughter-to-be-sick-gypsy-wanted-her-mom#.npWqEl41V -   This is a rather creepy story of a mother and daughter duo, Deedee and Gypsy, who took advantage of the various facilities provided to the disabled. Gypsy was always in a wheelchair and intubated. Deedee, the mother, used to get medical reports, various diagnoses, surgeries done on her child, to get free housing, etc. Then one day, Deedee is slaughtered and a FB post reads, "The bitch is dead." We later find that Gypsy was not an invalid. Her mother kept her sick to get sympathy. She went to the extent of having doctors operate on her eyes, her ears, putting her on drip, etc. Gypsy in turn learned to manipulate people (her sympathizers) in different ways. Then one day, she snapped and with the help of a boyfriend she had made online, killed her mother. The boyfriend stabbed Deedee many times while Gypsy sat in the next room listening to everything.

I had a dream during the 15-minute nap before my Zoom meeting.  I remember the cocktail party in my uncle's home in Bhubaneshwar. I am wearing a pleated ochre number from Zara and high heels in chocolate suede. My hair is short and the highlight of that entire look is a clunky chain of white beads and a metallic clasp. In my dream, I remember touching the beads ever so often. Even as I am dancing, I feel the coolness of the white beads, like little splinters of gentle moonlight. My aunt comes up to me and asks to borrow the necklace sometime. I remove it and she takes it with a smile. The party is over and as I am leaving, my aunt hands it to me. She says that it's an expensive necklace. I tell her that it cost me a hundred bucks or something. But she says that the necklace will demand a whole lot.  I shrug, wear my necklace and leave. I am staying at another aunt's place who asks me, in the dream, to go out to get guguni, a spicy street-side fare. I go and I walk until the

 The opposite building was burning. Very large birds, almost as big as dragons, were flapping about, circling the sky. I was on my bed looking out. The bird-dragon's wings had scratched my window panes. They would have splintered and broken in a minute. Except I felt a burst of orange and heat from behind. There was fire outside my flat. There was no way out the door at least. So I went to walk off the ledge of my flat from the kitchen. But there was fire there as well. And I thought of going to the living room and trying to escape from there.  But the kitchen fire grew and grew, so large and beautiful that I was mesmerized. And in the middle of the fire, I saw a most beautiful little purple chrysanthemum bud. It sparkled and glistened. And I became smaller and smaller. The bud bloomed in front of me and grew so big that it's petals pressed against walls, getting charred but putting out fire. Behind me, I could hear the big birds sqwaking and their wings getting singed. Glass s

 Today there was no breeze at Bandstand. It was weird today. I didn't feel comfortable there after a while.  It felt as if everybody there was dead. Including me. And we we're just walking about out of habit. Not life. The animals were hollowed out. The trees were plastic. The flats were made of clay and were cracking. The only real, cruel entity was the sea which was still and laughing at the pantomime of the dead.  It felt very heavy and as if the whole scene was getting erased out from a flimsy paper of Time.  Strange.

 My uncle passed away. We hadn't met or spoken to for a long time. I didn't realise how much he had influenced or impacted my writing and academic journey.  He taught Sociology at Mumbai University. When I look back now, it was his interest in Weber and Durkheim and Marx that I carried forward to college when I, too, majored in the subject. When I stayed with him in Matunga, he would ask me to write a story or an essay or summarize an article in the newspaper. In return I would get candy or he would take me for a walk to Five Gardens. His birthday was a day after mom's. So we would often have a combined celebratory dinner. Just a few days before Diwali, I had gone to Dadar and everything about that place, reminded me of the UDCT days.  He always read my blog and told me to compile my pieces and publish my book.  Now that I think about it, apart from my grandfather, he was the only other person who thought I had mettle as a writer after critical review. (The others thought I

 Sometimes I get scared. I hear a loud voice in the stairwell. I see the shadow of a person walking behind me. I get a call in the middle of the night. I get a nasty email from a nasty person. I see a lizard. I have a bad dream. And I get scared. I feel like climbing under the covers, closing my eyes, and getting out only after the whole world is covered with pink flowers.  Those times I think of my mom really hard. When I was a child and I would get scared, my mom would wipe my face with a damp cloth, make me warm milk, mash rice and bananas in it, and feed me. I remember feeling soothed but not because the fear went away or anything. I think she always made it seem as if we had fear as part of our tribe. It was part of us. It was one of us.  Today I was thinking of mummy a lot. And I came across this picture. I think it sums up the relationship I had with the world when my mom was around.

 When I am a little stressed and lost, I go grocery shopping to Nature's Basket. I love that place. Just browsing through all those shelves of organic pastas and bottles of 'Bourbon Vanilla Essences' and clouds of buffalo cheeses at their fresh cheese counter...feels so good! Since I am trying not to buy any more clothes, etc. for myself this year, I thought I would buy groceries this weekend. This is what I made for Papa and me - a broth with wheat Soba noodles. Here's what I did.  Took a large pan of water and kept it to boil. Added some ground pepper and crushed ginger to it. (Doing this releases the nutrients in pepper and ginger that acts as anti-inflammatory for the gut to prevent bloating.) When the water came to a rolling boil, I added a bunch of vegetables - diced carrots, onions, peas, chopped baby corn, corn kernels, purple cabbage, cherry tomatoes, and a handful of micro-greens. Next I seasoned this broth with a heaped spoon of garlic powder, rock salt, oreg

 I had put up decals and yesterday, close to midnight, I felt a slow burn. It may have been the sore throat and fever. Still. As I looked at all those circles, they seemed to be all the stories that make up a person...intricate pasts, the myth, the mania, the personalities. It was seeming a little unruly so I painted around it. To contain it, maybe. To turn all of this into an atlas of the psyche.  And somewhere far away from it, the real free true part of ourselves is splashing around in the source from where it all begins. 

 Since the last few months, I have been having very strange dreams. They have felt so real. I have felt sensations of breeze, heat, gravity, the heft of a thick fabric, scent of a flower, etc. It has felt as if I inhabit another world completely for the duration of that dream. Usually these dreams are surrealistic. In one dream, a friend and I are sitting in the middle of a field. He splits open a ripe papaya and there are lots and lots of black seeds. I then enter the papaya and the seeds form a labrynthian ladder that I climb down and enter a city. My friend then snaps the papaya close and I am face to face with a large beast.  I wake up around then.  Today, around 8 am, I saw a sooty charcoal sketch of a man in a black suit hung against a white background. He wasn't a real man but he wasn't unreal also. In my dream, I felt as if he had hung himself and someone who had found the body sketched him. Then his face became larger and larger and more and more black. Then it entered

Right above the switchboard was the chance to paint a little tale of a girl, Mythila, who lived in a mythical house of her imagination.  One day she had a guest, Realiteasa. She had a tough time living with her. But Realiteasa was stronger and wiser and took over the house in no time. Fed up of all the bickering, Mythila decided to leave home. Except that she couldn't bear to be too far from home. So she imprinted herself in a bit of sky and stayed tethered to the house.  Without her, Realiteasa got bored and followed her into the sky. They have been around each other many times but their paths haven't crossed ever since.   

 Today is Diwali and also my brother's birthday. So I spent the morning with my brother at Decathlon where he shopped around for bicycles. There were not-so-subtle hints dropped that maybe I should have given cash towards the purchase of the cycle instead of the shirt I got him. I ignored these hints of course. On second thoughts, maybe I should take back the shirt for myself because I really like the print. We stopped at Starbucks for a bit where I learned something new. I like black coffee with Hazelnut flavour. And the barista told me that if I liked the sweetness of hazelnut, I must ask for three pumps. Today I had the cold brew. (It is insanely dry and hot in the afternoons.) It was so good!  Then the fun stuff began. Went over to P's home to wish her Happy Diwali and meet her sweet little doggy. Except the little doggy is a Great Dane and I am scared. I love dogs but until I am acclimatized to one, I remain nervous. But Queenie, the pet, is a tall, tall dog. When she stoo

 I got some flowers and diyas for the Vashi house. It completely escaped me that Papa has lost his sister and might not want to celebrate the festival. Sometimes I am amazed at my ability to not care about anyone else's feelings.  Anyway, we had coffee and we soothed ourselves down. I arranged the flowers around my mum's photo. I love doing that. She loved it if someone dressed her up or when she put kajal in her beautiful eyes or her bindi. She was so beautiful that she always looked lit from within with joy.  I have a tiny picture of her which I keep in a gap between Ma Kali's garland and the Shiva that she has stepped on (a statue on my altar)  I love how ensconced she looks. Like a baby in her mommy's lap, looking around with wonder and curiosity. So when I wipe her face with wet cloth or chandan on her photo, I imagine her smile...the way she would grin so happily on her hospital bed or at home when she was unwell. She would always ask me to wipe her face another t

 We had a really delicious, full, tiring day. Based on all that we did, here's a round-up of some recommendations: 1. The orange and lime cake at Suzette, near Pali Market.  2. Heading to Dadar and just taking in the sights, sounds, and other senses that one remembers of the bustle that used to be Bombay. 3. A great 1 hour foot reflexology in Metta, a small place operated by people who are visually impaired. This is located opposite Holy Family. The massages are really value for money. For 500 bucks, a 60 minute session on foot reflexology includes a head and back massage as well. I enjoyed the head massage quite a lot.  4. Buying flowers at Dadar. The variety, the freshness, the prices... 5. My gobindobhog rice arrived today. We had also gotten some dried chillies from Dadar that we fried and had with rice and moong dal.  All in all, it was a beautiful, wholesome day! 

  It is a teeny, tiny crescent moon in the early morning sky. So, so pretty. I woke up early today because my sleep cycle does its own tango. But I am so glad I did.  Kept looking at this sweet treat in the sky. It actually is amazing to look at something so dainty in something so vast and wonder who's holding it up? 

A friend is staying over and it is so nice to have her here. There was a part in the evening when I was working at my table and she was working separately. It was such a sweet, happy, peaceful experience. It's nice having another writer at work in the same space. So comforting. I do hope there are more days like this.