Books, Clothes, Meditation

Photo by Nick Hillier on Unsplash

• The only book that I read after The Hobbit (which was in March last year, by the way) was Something Borrowed. The movie was ok. The book, unfortunately, was not really. But I tortured myself and finished reading it. This reminds me the time I had to wait for my niece Baby Noble when she insisted on putting on a shirt by herself. I tried reading Room and probably stopped after about 30 pages. I'm sure it really is a great book. I was just worried about what it could do to my English. The book was written in the voice of a five-year-old, broken English and all. The next day after those 30 pages, grammar and I fought more than usual.

• With a heavy heart, I think I won't be making any clothes this year. Last year, besides the two skirts and that one half pants, I actually made one and a half baju raya, which was great and nightmar-ish. I went through all sorts of phases along the process -- from being ambitious to a long hibernation, to various levels of panic, to denial, to begging my mother for help, to almost giving up, to desperation, to a lot of swearing, and to suddenly turning religious. (As for the pants -- a pajama -- if I want to wear it, I'd have to sleep in a straight line.)

• But my brain still leaps with excitement every time I see clothes that I sort-of-like, thinking, "If I were to make these clothes myself, I'd change the sleeves / I sooo can make this piece better by placing the prints a little bit lower / I'll cut this part and that part out / The pleats are unnecessary / This looks good on a top instead." But editing is probably easier than creating, right? Huge respect for people who are constantly able to create.

• Meditation: this one skill that I've been trying to learn. The biggest and first lesson that I learned in the process, however, no meditation can beat the peace of mind you get from knowing that you've done the right thing in life, you are loved and have a great relationship with your family and friends, you are debt-free, you love what you do for a living, you have a sense of purpose in life, and you are in good health.

Ok, I can only quit so much in a week.