On Saturday, the family and I went up to Ranch near Big Banyan tree for mum’s birthday brunch. There was a huge spread of food and I ate quite a bit by my standards, but it was also quite pricey. On the way there and back, we stopped at a few nurseries to find mum a nicely pruned, relatively inexpensive bonsai. I also picked up a railing pot and a few tools for my balcony garden, which seems to be coming along nicely. Sunday was spent at The Only Place and Blossom Book House with my sister. Obviously, I couldn’t resist a few new books: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, Tales of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami.

I bought a few more things for the house—a sofa bed and a coffee table—knowing I’m absolutely straining my budget but going ahead with it anyway. My reasoning is that, now that my best friend’s wedding is coming up, I’ll probably be hosting more people in the next few months. And given I don’t have a conventional dining table, a coffee table is the next best thing. Now I’m obsessively tracking it on the website, hoping it comes before the first dinner this weekend. As you do.

Now that I’ve spent longer stretches of time in the new house, I’ve figured out additions to my routine that I wasn’t able to make earlier. By which I mean, the gym. I took it slow on my first day back but realised I could’ve done more than I did, going by how not-so-sore I was the next day. In the last couple of days, I also sat by the pool for 15 minutes, breathing deeply and spacing out to the sound of the waterfall. I realised I hadn’t sat still—without doing anything other than breathing—for a while now. I’m not someone who meditates at all, but I think this part of my routine might be the closest I get to it.

I have a few writing drafts and pitches in the inboxes of publications I’ve been wanting to write for. I also sent in a very unique submission for a very unique magazine that comes up with a fresh concept each year. I think it comes out in its final form in January next year, so this will be an exercise in patience.

Meanwhile, I’d like to get a headstart on case studies for my portfolio, but I don’t know where to start. There’s a lot I’ve done that either doesn’t translate well into case study format or contractually can’t be written about just yet. Thanks to that it’s kinda hard to put together a portfolio that I think accurately depicts what I’ve done in the past three years at Obvious.

I have eaten a lot of avocados this past week. A lot. At least 5 giant ones all by myself. My aunt shipped them over from her garden in Hebbal so, everyday, I sliced a fresh one and placed it on toasted sourdough topped with sundried tomato pesto from Sorrentina’s and salt. Yum.