Bloghole Sun

Why do I even bother?

This was supposed to be a weekly exercise, which turned into a monthly exercise, which turned into a bimonthly exercise, which turned into a seasonal thing, and now it’s pretty much half-yearly. 

About once a month, I order in sushi and wash it down with a few glasses of white wine. That, and Community -- *chef's kiss* 

One could reason I’ve been a bit caught up with different things. Since my last post, I’ve been on a trip to Mumbai, quit my job, went on a holiday to the Nilgiris, started work at a new job, visited Hyderabad for my best friend’s wedding, traveled to Jaipur for work, and then just been on a crescendo of campaigns at work that peaked last week with my company’s annual startup+tech summit. 

One could, but one won’t.

Pretty sure I could’ve squeezed in a post or two at the very least, even if it was about most mundane things let alone the bigger events I just mentioned (I still haven’t bought my friend a wedding gift yet — sorry Priyanka, it’s going to be a wedding+housewarming+birthday+Christmas gift in December now).

But since I’m finally writing about something, I’d like it to be about things I’m grateful for — something I was surprised to find I've actually started to enjoy doing: my work. It’s been a big leap from journalism to marketing campaigns and events, social media, video scripts, social media, and so much more. Took me a while to get the hang of it, but I think I’m getting pretty good at it.

I’m also grateful to have a bunch of colleagues I have grown to respect, have fun with, and be proud to work alongside. Of course, there are a few I want to strangle at times, but doesn’t that happen at every job anyway? Also, “grown to respect and have fun with” is pretty accurate considering it took me three months to really start talking to them and four months to actually start hanging out with. Then again, when have I ever made small talk or started conversations with anyone?

To the six people who read my blog — I can’t promise you it won’t be another six months before my next post, and I can’t promise you it will be good because clearly this one just plain sucks, and I definitely can’t promise you it will even happen. But what I can promise you is: I’m trying.

Song suggestion of the week month season year:

Easter Feaster

It’s that time of the year, peeps. Again. 

Nostalgia for home and how things were growing up always comes around twice a year in the Isaac household (being extremely generous with the term ‘household’ when it’s just me) — Christmas and Easter. 

Easter purchase of the year

I usually make it home in time for Christmas every year but I haven’t been able to do that with the Easter season. Maybe it’s because it comes around too close to Christmas, or I’m just too lazy to plan another trip home but I’ve spent the last three Easters away from family. The first year I didn’t really have a choice (thanks COVID). The second year, was a bit of a choice — it was just before the second wave when things were just about to go to shit and I decided to cancel my trip home just to be on the safe side (thanks again, COVID). 

This year, however, it was completely my choice to stay in Bangalore. I could’ve gone to Mumbai to be with the sister and her family just before my nephew’s First Holy Communion (I’m literally flying there THE DAY AFTER EASTER). Or I could’ve gone to Hyderabad to spend Easter with my parents and then flown out to Mumbai with them. 

But nooo, Independent Christopher had to go and make an adult choice to spend Easter NOT surrounded by a loving family that only wants the best for him. 🙃

But anyway, what’s done is done and here we are — it’s Easter and all I can do is behave like an adult and do the adult thing and host a party for a small group of close friends right? RIGHT? 

Haha, just kidding — I’mma spend the day eating beef burgers and chugging beer like it’s… Easter. AFTER I’ve attended mass where I’m singing in the choir of course, like the good boy I am. 

I’ll end this blog here, mainly because there’s nothing much else to report for now but hopefully there’ll be more to write about in a month (fingers crossed). And yeah, I know I haven’t been writing as much as I said I would but hey, it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want with it.

Happy Easter, y’all. 🍻

Song suggestion of the week month season: 

Blogsta's Paradise

What it do homiessss.

I’ve been rewatching The Wire again and yeah it still is the greatest television series period ever period full-stop period actual period. You can tell when I’ve been watching The Wire because for a few hours after I usually talk in “gangsta”. My building cat Meow (I know) can testify to this because when you’re working the graveyard shift and you only step out of the house to throw the garbage in the middle of the night, the building cat is the only other living being you meet in person. 

I also downloaded Bumble and Hinge in January and I’m proud to report I’ve gone on a grand total of 0 (zero) dates in person so far. Yep, that’s right — I’m just as useless at socialising online as I am in person. 

But I think part of that problem is that I just don’t seem to have the patience to go through the whole process of getting to know the other and meet on dates and talk and blah blah blah. I just want to sit at home with someone and binge watch Euphoria and order in and cuddle and maybe go grocery shopping or make unnecessary decor purchases for our house and maybe get a dog together and also just walk around the neighbourhood and make travel plans that actually pan out (yeah, of course I wasted that week-long holiday last month lol, what did you expect from this lazy fuck?) and also have someone to talk to other than the building cat — I love Meow, but I need someone to also tell me to stfu in English sometimes.

Speaking of sad, pathetic things — it’s also nearly the third anniversary of my forced exit from the only place I’ve ever felt at home. I can never fully explain how terrifying it felt to have to give up everything and move out of a country, or about the night terrors I had for months after. There are some hardships you can look back on and think you learned something from it and almost be glad it happened — this was not one of those times. If there was ANYTHING I could do to go back and find some way to stay back, or find a different way out, I would do it in a heartbeat. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Bee tee dubs, I went to the Lulu store in Bangalore and nearly cried when I saw the KHUBZ AND CROISSANTS AND CAKES AND AND BARBICAN AND THE GIGANTIC BUTCHERY THAT I NEVER BUY MEAT FROM BUT IT JUST LOOKED SO NICE AND THE READY-TO-EAT HOT FOODS PLACE WITH MALABAR FOOD AND THE SALES DUDES IN WHITE SHIRTS AND NAVY BLUE PANTS AND THE LULU TIES. Okay, who am I kidding — of course I actually cried.

Also, I know I was supposed to be doing these blogs like once a week but… I guess once a month is better than nothing, right?

Song recommendation of the week month:

Blogaluru

How is that even though I’m back home in Bangalore and have so much more free time, I still can’t manage to find the time to sit down and string together a few hundred words together for the blog?

Oh well. At least I’m finally doing it now. 

Halfway into the first month of 2022 and we’re already in a (near) lockdown. As long as things don’t get too bad, I guess we should be grateful that we’re getting this done with at the start of the year this time around. I can finally make a definite plan for that solo road trip I’ve been wanting to do ever since I bought my car. Where should I go? Pondicherry? Waynad? Coorg? HYDERABAD AGAIN?!?!?!!!

I’ve also finally started working on filling my house here with actual furniture and making it feel like a home, instead of just waiting for things to “get back to normal” before feeling like I need to settle in here. I bought a couch! And my sister bought me a nice TV table that fits perfectly in the corner of my living room. I can finally entertain more than three people at a time. Next up — buying my own bed instead of renting one.

Gotta tell ya, I’ve got a good feeling about this year. Mainly because I have no resolutions and no expectations and no plans. I’m going to just relax, and take my time and do whatever I need to, to make myself live the best possible life I’ve wanted to and OMG I’M TURNING 33 IN SIX MONTHS???@!@$#@Q#$!~)(!

*deep breath in* 
*deep breath out*

!#$@#*R$#()*$#!($#!(@*#)!($!

Okay but seriously. 2022’s the year of not trying to worry about the end of the world. It’s hard to do that when your job literally requires you to read about everything that’s wrong with the world. But it’s important to have downtime that doesn’t involve trying to drown your worries in alcohol on the first day of your weekend and then waste the whole of the second day recovering from the hangover of said alcohol drowning. 

First on the agenda this year is figuring out how to spend an unexpected free stretch of about nine days at the end of January because I was supposed to travel to Mumbai for a few days but since that’s not happening I need to do something to keep my occupied or I’m going to lose it sitting at home and watching TV and not have anything to do except alternate between the whole drinking and recovering thing I do on weekends except this time it’ll be like a weekend every day non-stop for nine days at a stretch and that’s definitely not a healthy thing to do right yeah I think so too.

I also realise I should probably start working on structuring these blogs a bit better. I never know what I’m going to write until I sit down in front of the laptop and just vomit words onto a document. Maybe working on a 150 words at a time and then putting it all together when I cross 1,000? Thoughts? Hit me up. No really, hit me up. It's getting a bit lonely up in here.

Also, thanks to my colleague for gifting me this extremely interesting read that I’m yet to read. I promise I won’t procrastinate and fini — OH YAY THE NEW BOBA FETT EPISODE’S OUT! 

Song recommendation of the month I guess because god knows when I'll be blogging again: