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 I am going mad! I am trying to think of this novel that had Asomething like 'Ardhi' in the title...male author...Indian...contemporary novel. May or may not have been a debut novel. Drawing a blank and I'm not able to remember. Tough.

Anyway, here are a few things that I am grateful for:

1. Papa is well.

2. The temporary cleaning lady came by today.

3. Managed to go to the parlor to spruce up before an important call.

4. Enjoyed a bowl of cold watermelon and extra salted chips. So so yummy!

5. Had daal with lauki.

6. Managed a workout. (Am eating more though. Need to cut back down on all that. But it's okay. It will happen in time.)

7. Did some reading and a little bit of studying. I thought that that is something I want to keep time for - knowledge, proper studying that involve making notes, etc. It's amazing how even a few minutes helped me today. From what I am observing around me, older instructional designers are sincerely losing it. What happens when you become 50? How can you move around in such a colossal state of delusion? As the saying goes: "Don't ask what the bells toll for...they toll for thee." I am also getting older and it is quite possible that the brain will fray and decay beyond control soon. As long as the faculties remain, let's make the best of it.

8. Beautiful crescent spotted in the sky.

9. I unearthed something about me today. The cook was late and I was gripped with a strange sense of panic. It was not just routine annoyance. It was something deeper - a more primal kind of anxiety. The way a child will feel if it is hungry and there is no food source (i.e.- mother) in sight. I was missing Mummy yesterday and today I had this feeling.I need to observe this kind of emotion more closely. The transference of urgency and anxiety in this case was not justified. But I am grateful that I could detach a little bit to observe this.

10. I love this Oudh perfume I got from the Kurla store so many months ago. Am wearing it now. It's smoky, sweet, heady, and just a little bit intoxicating. I love the scent of Oudh mixed with some notes of jasmine, etc. Pure woody oudh - if I could afford the proper distilled version - I would spray my stationery with it. Gosh! I love it!

What did I learn today? Hmm...1 thing - I came across something called the Trachtenberg system. This was a system of doing fast maths - shortcuts that helped someone to calculate complex math sums quickly. This was developed by a Russian engineer Jakow Trachtenberg when he was a prisoner in a concentration camp. This is what he did to keep his mind occupied. Some things are just wow!