38

Thirty-eight thoughts that are occupying my mind on the day I turn thirty-eight.

1. It has been great reducing the time I spend on my phone, though I need to build more infrastructure in my life to support that. I have to admit it makes me question why I bought an expensive phone just last year (I know why, and it is likely a good decision irrespective, but here we are).

2. It is after a really long time that I am spending my birthday in a place where I don’t have many loved ones.

3. Today, Amber and I will watch our sixth film in the cinema since we moved to Brussels. Not bad.

4. I’m enjoying using DazzCam to capture little every day moments.

5. In the last couple of months, my breakfast habit has gone for a toss and I need to bring it back.

6. Both my bedrooms, the one in Brussels and in Noida, don’t support bedtime reading using a physical book. That’s a proper pain. I’m going to try some hacks in the coming weeks to see if I can’t fix it at least in one of the spots.

7. My book was reviewed in the latest issue of BLAG magazine — feels unreal.

8. Mice (not just rats, mice) scare me. I’ve been feeling on edge because I heard leaves rustle loudly in a relatively wilded part of my favourite parc today, and maybe saw something move.

9. I adore the ice cream sundae concoction I came up during Covid lockdown. Mint and macerate fruit are a pair made in heaven, and the addition of finger limes to that yesterday was downright divine.

10. I need to go buy myself a graphic novel. I’m feeling the itch but I have none in my bookshelf here.

11. I’m so grateful that my time at Apple taught me about testing typefaces.

12. The trip back to India this time will be a complicated one: I need to figure out how much time I can devote to public events versus spending time with family. I’m leaning heavily towards the latter, but fear that I might regret not taking up opportunities arising out of the book’s publication. Especially because I moved to Brussels soon after.

13. I’ve not been using Indyx, and I want to get back to it. I think it is because I am struggling to get dressed in a way that feels like myself. Here, people’s fashion choices feel very regimented. I anyway stick out as a result of my skin colour, and don’t always want to exacerbate that with my personal style. I don’t mind being conspicuous back home. Honestly, I relish it. I hate that dressing has become fraught; it is usually a source of joy for me.

14. A simple shoe cabinet and coat hooks have made our living space so much calmer.

15. I miss swimming, and our champa-lined pool in Noida.

16. It feels strange not to have a break from work this summer. And this summer of all years, when life has been so hectic in its run-up.

17. Our downstairs neighbour smokes out of their bedroom window every evening, forcing us to shut ours. It is such an nuisance.

18. Speaking of nuisances: it is annoying that one of the tram spots near our house is not functional over the summer.

19. I still haven’t visited the Magritte Museum in Brussels.

20. I want to believe that the tide will turn in India, but I am not able to get myself to.

21. One of the best things I do for myself is to cook.

22. It is a bummer that we haven’t hiked as much as we would have liked this spring and summer.

23. I have missed adding one of my birdwatching lifers from this year to my list, and now I can’t remember what it was.

24. Thank god I got eight hours of sleep last night. The last week has been hell with insomnia and migraines.

25. The Prixel Press has brought so much delight to my life.

26. My parents bought a new car today and it feels weird not to be there when it happened.

27. My Dad made his latest project, a real labour of love, open source today.

28. I need to make time to zhuzh up my work website. I’ve left updates halfway, and it doesn’t look good. Maybe in late September?

29. I want to make more collages.

30. I’m afraid of playing Fishbowl because I fear it will bring some very difficult feelings for me, but not playing the game feels like I’m letting Rhea and Prateek down.

31. I need to make a system to keep track of the books I want to buy.

32. Enough procrastinating, I should buy a clock for the bedroom.

33. It feels liberating not to be terribly young anymore.

34. This weekend, I want to start making a Libib collection for my vintage Pelicans. It has been great to find new additions in Brussels.

35. I’m so happy a new season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is out.

36. Gosh, is there anything better than making and buying little gifts for friends and family?

37. We’re two away from having visited twenty-five Brussels parks. Can we get to that number in the next few weeks?

38. Did I mess up the numbering on this list?