Muggle thoughts

I read all seven books of Harry Potter the second time over in the span of 3.5 weeks [slow reader here] and I did thoroughly enjoy them too… and if it is at all possible, possibly even more than I did the first time over.

I am a Harry Potter fan, in case there was any sort of doubt about it at all. I think Rowling is an amazing storyteller. How about you, though? Harry Potter- yes or no? :)

This weekend was a fruitful one, reading-wise- I have the whole series of The Inheritance Cycle and Lord of the Rings in my Kindle- ready to be read right after Tolstoy’s War & Peace- which I have only just started on [I know it’s a fat book and even after reading it since last night I am still not past 1%… but no, I’m not mental- not for reading a fat book anyway. I usually like Classics].

Life, at Reeniestaland, has been good… of course it would have been better if I were not a mere ‘muggle’ and the world was a little more ‘magical’… but well- as it is now, it’s not too bad really.

It is Summer after all; tell me- with all the pretty flowers and amazing sunlight- how bad can it get... or will it be wiser and more prudent to not really challenge Mr Murphy?

[Image Credit]

My Coffee Mug (52P # 5)

Yup, this green and yellow and colourful one... 

... it came to me the same day as Sher did and it had a cute cartoon cat on it! 

I love cats, you know that of course... and this mug, I love this one too :)

Mind showing me how your coffee mug looks like? 

This post is a part of the 52 Photos Challenge. If you’d like to join in- go on and link up... !

Sulphur Crested Cockatoos (52P # 4)

My favourite Australian native bird- Sulphur Crested Cockatoos.

Pretty, aren’t they? I find them exotic, lovely, lively and (to my absolute delight) abundant...

My uni campus used to have thousands of them walking around in big groups and the sight never tired me :)

So what do you think? Beautiful, no? 

[Photo Credit: Crazy]

This post is a part of the 52 Photos Challenge. If you’d like to join in- go on and link up... !

Today, like Yesterday

The days lately are nothing but a blur.

It’s not like nothing is happening, it’s not like too much is either- but there are times when days go by without me noticing and even the nights pass too quickly- and before I know it, the alarm clock goes off urging me to start yet another day that is essentially exactly the same as the day before.

Maybe it is part of the perks of being sick- most days I’m just too tired to acknowledge my presence in this world, let alone to see or live it; but it does seem like either the days are scarily similar or it is me who is losing it.

I’m not in my deathbed, of course… and I now know that the issue is *not* with my thyroid or kidney… a few more tests and maybe the theory of elimination will tell me that the issue is where I suspected in all along- in my head :)

Oh bother… When will I get well? What is wrong with me? [Shut up! No one knows yet. Patience!] More importantly, can I sleep now? Do I have to work tomorrow? [Yes and Yes. Stop nagging and go to bed!] It does feel like I have been ill too long now, see how mean I am being to myself? I must be losing patience :)

Oh well… but I'm right of course. I better bid y'all good night. Tomorrow is another day, you see, even if it looks (and feels) just like today :)

Half-past the point of oblivion

This can very well be the worst writer’s block that I have had so far. It’s like I have some sort of a blockage in my brain or something- I just can’t write these days... words just won’t flow and I am slowly losing hope that they ever will... at least as freely as they used to.

Meanwhile, amidst some health issues [mine, for a change, and not the kitten’s... phew!], headaches, buckets full of water pouring from the sky, lunch time chats [3-cheers for my friend Stevie coming back from his holidays! My work lunch breaks are FUN again!], many unanswered emails [sorry, Dad!], the Queensland floods making the headlines, interesting reports about horoscope changes [so- what is your *new* zodiac sign now?], Melbourne turning into a shade of of summer, meeting up with friends , the other tiny little things that make and break things... 


... life has gone on. 

... and I have meanwhile learnt that once you get the hang of it- it can be scarily easy (and liberating) to have an empty brain sometimes- it can be rather comforting to not 'feel' quite as much. Think about it, will you, all the things that we could do if only we did not turn out to be our worst enemies much too often? 


[Title Credit: Glitter in the Air by Pink]

Sherkhan (52P # 3)

No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch- Leo Dworken.

I kid you not when I say that Sher and I completely understand each other. Often our morning communication goes like this-

‘Morning, Shera!’

‘Mreeew… *rubbing on my legs*… mreeeeeow’

‘I know! I AM picking you up….’ [picking him up]

‘Meeeeow’

‘I know, baby… but it’s office day- I’ll have to go to work- but I’ll be back- okay?”

‘Meowhh….’ [which basically means ‘no, not okay’, but he comes around after a few cuddles]

Now one question before I go for today: 

How many of you have aligned yourself to the opinion that 'Reenie's gone bonkers!'? 

This post is a part of the 52 Photos Challenge. If you’d like to join in- go on and link up in comments... !

Hey you Crazy

Happy Birthday Crazy!!

Me and the Furkid are sure shining happy chappies for that one lucky (for us) thing that happened THIRTY-ONE years ago... we are happy that you were born :)

For a Friend

For lack of anything better that I can think of today, I’d like to own some words… words of comfort, words that I can send out, words that’ll express, words that’ll reach out and soothe a friend in need- however little may be- but I’d like that more than anything else at this moment.

… the fact, though, remains and I am aware of it- that when the loss is so great- words are just that: words… they don’t heal, they don’t soothe… and sometimes do nothing else but bother.

So I’ll keep it simple:

I’m here… I don’t want to force myself on you, I don’t want to overwhelm you with meaningless nothings… but I’m here, even when my words are not- no matter however much I want them to, and I am reaching out- useless and mute perhaps- just in case you think I can help... somehow.

The Home (52P # 2)

"Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.” - Charles Dickens

Once I step in through that door- there is a world of familiarity waiting for me- sometimes in form the carefully selected air freshener [magnolia, mmm…], or that soft fluffy cat or that simple painting hanging on the wall [the rickshaw painting that I got from Dhaka].

This is that place on Earth where Dark Blue and rich Sea Green dominates; well... because this is my world... and I choose it's colours, and I chose Blue- the deep, dark ones- like the ones you get at the surface of the deepest part of an ocean :)...

I give her her colours, her fragrance, her life- in return she gives me the place that is like no other: my home, my first-ever home. It is a very special place for me; because after all.... it is not every place on Earth that you can fill in with bits and pieces of yourself and call home! 


This post is a part of the 52 Photos Challenge. If you’d like to join in- go on and link up... !

In 2011, I intend to...

... write more, because it helps me keep sane. I have taken up a once-a-week ‘52 Photos Challenge’ just to prompt myself to keep on writing something throughout the year... if only in form of bite-size insignificances.

You can expect much crap from me this year.... at this point, I do.

... focus on life and love, live intentionally and document it; I want to be able to look back after a decade or so and see how my life had been at this point of life. I wish I had started it earlier.

Sometimes looking back at yourself- while you were getting to be you- is therapeutic.

... open up. I tend to get very very ‘closed’; while I do not want to be an open book- I do not want to be an ‘always closed’ one either- in other words, not a socialite maybe but a little more social.

[As a kickstart, I am arranging a small BBQ party (to take place in about two weeks) for Crazy’s 31st. Oh my!]

... study for my CPA qualification... work hard, but take only as much as I can handle- not more.

[... have registered for just ONE segment next term... yes, just one segment- but a difficult one]

... take trips... if not overseas- then within Australia... or within Victoria even- but TAKE trips.

[... booked our next within-Victoria trip for March and eagerly looking forward to it]

... read more books and spring-clean the blog-list to include only those that I feel connected to.

... take up photography and knit more.

[... counting on 52 Photos and the Photoblog and Crazy for the first and YouTube lessons for the second]

... focus on family- with varying mixes of love, forgiveness, patience and endurance to suit each situation.

Well... that's all. Let's see how 2011 goes till the end, shall we?

What is it that you intend to do in 2011?

Just Me [52P #1]

Here is a photo of me (as of RIGHT NOW) as part of my this week's 52 Photos Challenge.

Now... a few words:

1. The older I get- the more I look like my mum. Sometimes I look at my own photos- and realize how scarily strong the resemblance is.

2. I have poor eyesight (-5.00) and I favour powered contact lenses ;)

3. I do not like my nose... but I think my eyes are sort of decent :)

4. Where do you think I am from... originally? The short answer is Bangladesh... but the answer I get most frequently to this question is 'Thailand'.

5. I have dark brown hair and the eyes of the same colour... I have never in my life coloured my hair or used coloured contact lenses- even though I always favoured a lighter brown- for both.


If you'd like to join in- go ahead, do it, grab the button and link up below!