A baby was born this morning. I won’t see him for several months at the earliest and am not much of a baby or child person anyway, but my family has grown by one. He’s born at a difficult moment for his country and for the world at large. Pakistan teeters on several verges at […]
Back to school
Last night I had my usual anxiety dream. They are nearly always the same general thing: I’m at university or my A’levels and have taken on courses, usually maths, that I can’t cope with and I simply haven’t been attending class. The deadline for dropping a class without penalty has passed and the final exams […]
Bad toe
We went to the high street for lunch again yesterday and on the way back stopped at the greengrocer/ fishmonger to collect some supplies as we are preparing dinner tonight. We came back with a truly massive side of salmon, far more than strictly required, but it should do nicely for lunch the following day. […]
Bad blogging
I made a failed attempt to change the theme of this blog yesterday. I use Suffusion at the moment, which is excellent and super customisable without needing too much faffing around with CSS etc. Unfortunately it’s no longer supported or updated and has been getting slower and slower load times. Looking for an equally simple […]
The enemy of the good
There is a common theme of disempowerment, at least on Metafilter, and I suspect in much US conversation around issues like Trump, the climate, etc. This struck me particularly a few days ago in a thread on planting native gardens to counter insect decline where the following comment was inevitably made: Although I’m all in […]
Cool winds
The heatwave has broken, or rather, moderated. The wind has changed and it is far cooler. I learned today of the horse latitudes and the roaring forties. Winds are very romantic. Far less romantic is fucking Brexit. Damn them.
Day two
The flu continues. I slept better than before but woke with a truly terrible headache which persisted for most of the day. Finally I gave up on working and emailed asking if I could send the work back later than proposed. With the worry of not having done the edit lifted, I dozed for a […]
Story of a friend
“Are you from India?” “No, from Pakistan.” “Muslim country.” “Yes.” “Are you Hindu?” “No, Muslim.” “Ahhh. You don’t wear, what is it called?” “Hijab? Scarf?” “Like dupatta….” “Dupatta?” “Burqa.” “No I don’t.” “It doesn’t make a problem for you?” “No. Many people in Pakistan don’t wear it.” “I saw Pakistan on TV and all the […]
Back in Thamel
I returned to Thamel after ODing on the paneer and mushrooms I had bought for meals (they were family sized purchases and I hate throwing away food). Thamel was, unlike everywhere else, packed, and it was odd to see so many goras after a week or so in the suburbs. There were mandalas outside the […]
I’m off
Off to the Gentleman Friend, that is, as my work travel hasn’t panned out yet and meanwhile he is back from his hike. While the uncertainty around work is annoying, it is good not to have to wait another full month before seeing him again. So I leave the homestay – the Tibetans left yesterday […]