I really dropped the ball on these weeknotes, mostly because—like Ankur wrote in his last weeknote—the deadline made it feel like I had 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 day to do something meaningful with my week. But things have been moving and, boy, have they been shaking. So I figured there’s no reason not to document some of that for the entire internet to see.

• My house is complete — or, rather, as complete as it needs to be right now. The kitchen has the requisite pots, pans and paraphernalia, the bedroom is warm and cosy, the books have a place to live. Theoretically, I’ve already moved in, but things with family have made it so that I’ve been spending a few days here and there at my parents’ house. I’ve always loved grocery shopping, but doing it from scratch to stock up the house has been most satisfying. It reminds me of when I had freshly moved to Sheffield and was completely overwhelmed by the items (and the prices) at my local Morrison’s. Here, it’s MK Ahmed and Reliance Smart, but I’m still a proverbial kid in the candy shop.

  
  

• I’ve read quite a few books recently that I haven’t written about on here: Babel (powerful), Sea of Tranquility(riveting), Small Bodies of Water (delightful), and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (on the top of my favourites list right now). As is evident from the variety of genres in this bullet point alone, I feel like I’ve been able to break out of my fantasy obsession — or at least tried different versions of it that isn’t, well, high fantasy. That’s a good thing.

  
  

• I’ve been researching a lot about Wikipedia, the OG place for rabbitholing. There are so many threads I want to pull on that I haven’t been able to organise my Obsidian notes into a coherent seedling for the garden. But overall, it seems to me like Wikipedia is one of the last few places on the internet that is free and built on global communication, collaboration, and community. I also love that it’s borderline invisible. Even if you Googled 'Wikipedia', it takes you to the Wiki page about Wikipedia. Call it Wikiception — this ginormous platform, with over 6 million articles in the English language alone, was intentionally designed to be ubiquitous. There, but not there.

  
  

• I wrote some. Not all of the essays have been published, but this one that recently came out about the Zone of Genius got many eyeballs. That said, in terms of both theme and writing style, I find myself being pulled back to the memoir. It’s not just that I find it easier to write and that the words flow easily. It’s also because I’m very drawn to the act of documentation, especially in a world where footprints, especially online, can be erased in half a day.

  
  I have to admit, it feels a bit… pompous when I write a memoir-style essay. Who am I, Michelle Obama? But then I try to remind myself that I wouldn’t dismiss a friend when she reveals an anecdote about her life. I’d make her a steaming mug of tea, listen carefully, and ask all the right questions. That’s because inherently, I believe that everyone has a story to tell and that story is important. But I really struggle to apply that same kindness to myself, so I really hope I get better at it with time.

  
  

• One of my closest friends, who I’ve known for 17 years now, is getting married this August. So is my cousin who is my age, and my other cousin who is a couple years older. I think I still haven’t come to terms with the fact that most people my age are getting married. Or maybe I’m just in denial. It feels weird. Like the pieces of their life puzzle are clicking satisfyingly into place, when some of my pieces in my life puzzle either don’t fit or have simply gotten lost. Yeah… weird.