This has been a nice month, but I'm going to be dying with work until March, so everybody please pray times flies until then. Please?
Anyway, for the here and now, these were some of my favourites from last month.
- One of the many books I received for my birthday this year was Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, which is a beautiful story about a suicidal boy, and which these few words don't even begin to cover, but suffice to say that it was an absolutely wonderful book which should be mandatory reading for everybody, and which I wish my friends would read already so that I could talk about it with them. It's an amazing book. Outstanding. Awesome. And not as depressing as my brief description made it sound. Not quite like what the blurb makes it sound like either. Read it.
- The Thinking Out Loud video. Please, for your sake, watch it in HD. I have never, that I can remember, been so in love with a music video. It is absolutely brilliant, the dance, and also the atmosphere that they somehow create of actually being two lovers dancing by themselves, despite all the difficult steps. Ed is my boo, but Brittany Cherry is a dream. She makes those steps poetry, while you can kind of see Ed needs to focus on his steps a little more (possibly because he learned how to do this in a month just for this video WHILE ON TOUR and thus probably super-busy). I am really into this video (and song) okay?
- We redid our room (again)! It is, I think, the cleanest it has ever been in the history of us living here, though the mattress on the floor is gone. I'll miss you, mattress on the floor. You were beautiful while you lasted.
I think I'll bring that idea back later in my life, when my floor hopefully won't be so prone to dust. Its departure has made the room way more spacious though, so yay.
I put up my posters, finally and it looks a bit cluttered (don't ever let me buy more posters, please, I beg of you), but meh. I like it, more or less. The room's cleanliness has got me really happy though, along with the fact that it's the beginning of the term so I'm actually managing to get some sleep. *touchwood* That state is not going to last long. - I was home for half of October, and it was awesome. In retrospect. I kind of acted like a spoilt brat while I was there, which I'm not exactly proud of. I'm not even sure why I was such a snappy annoying creature, but I shall try to make it up now, when I am home again for a week! Five days. Whatever. Shut up.
I also got to meet my brother!!! :D It was very last moment, and only for a couple days, but I'd been wanting to meet him, and...yay! The world has been kind to me, so far. Touchwood, and thank you, world. ^_^ Home also meant that I got to eat a lot of double ka meetha, which is this amazing dessert my mom makes which I have loved since I first tasted it. And we had to go to this family celebration thing, which I'd been dreading but which had two nice outcomes: a) I got to meet a friend in the holidays after over a year now, I think, and that was brilliant, she really made a shitty day brighter; b) I got to dress up all pretty and swish in my swishy outfit! - I read Hamlet!!!!! A movie released here, starring one of my favourite actors (he is so beautiful and also acts well and also dances well and has the most amazing smile with his scrunchy face and his teeth and did I mention he was beautiful?), which was an adaptation of Hamlet. I decided, with great determination, that this would be my time to read Hamlet (I've been wanting to/planning to read another play by Shakespeare for years at this point), and that I wouldn't let myself watch the movie until I'd read the play. AND I DID IT. I set myself a goal and accomplished it and it was the most amazing feeling ever and I wish I procrastinated less so I could feel that more often. But anyway, the movie was brilliant, but I was also ecstatic to be drowning in Shakespeare again.
- My mum went to buy lipstick and for the first time in her life they accidentally gave her the wrong shade, which happens to be a shade of red, which I've been wanting only forever, so I happily took this unwanted burden off her hands, and now I have two lipsticks, and one of them is RED (okay it's "Rosy Sunday," whatever) and this makes me inordinately happy.
- I also got mehendi, what some of you will know as henna, put on my hands, which I absolutely love, so yay for that too. Though mehendi these days peels off instead of fading gracefully as it used to do, which is really upsetting because it looks good for like two days before becoming absolutely disgusting and which idiot thought that this was a good idea? I think putting in whatever chemicals they are which is causing this makes the colour come faster, but everyone knows that keeping the mehendi on waiting for the colour to come is the best part! Or maybe that's just me.
- Another birthday present I got was a star necklace (a pendant shaped like a star, on a necklace). It's pretty simple, but I adore it, because a) star, b) it's hardy which means I can wear it all the time, c) Marshmallow gave it to me so wearing it all the time makes me feel a little more connected to her and d) I have always been fascinated with the idea of a constant accessory, whether that be earrings or a ring or a necklace and now I finally have one! So yay! (I say yay a lot but there really isn't a synonym for yay, is there? I tried to reduce my usage of "amazing," I hope you've noticed the diversity in my words.)
- I got to hug my mom a lot. I'm missing home, and her, so much right now. It's weird how I wasn't homesick at all when I actually left home, it's just hitting me now, two years after the fact.
- I found THE MOST PERFECT HEELS IN THE WORLD. And couldn't buy them. They were beige, which meant I could wear them with anything and would thus not feel so guilty about spending so much; they were high and looked amazing, but were also insanely comfortable and I could walk in them. But they only had one pair in my size, and the finishing wasn't great on it, to the extent that even I could notice, so...boo. :( What I did get to buy, however, are loads of sweaters and cardigans, one of which has such a Christmassy feel to it, and all of which I love, and I'm just really excited about this because I love winter-wear. Winter which requires one extra layer of clothing is the perfect season for me. So I guess what I'm saying is: autumn. I love autumn, and I wish India had more of an autumn. Or that I lived in San Francisco. San Francisco sounds kind of awesome, and I loved the one day (two?) that I spent there when I was little.
- I finally watched A Winter Soldier and it's as good as they all said it was. On the other hand, the new Avengers trailer has me really worried because it looks so dark and I'm scared. :| That song in the background really doesn't help either, AND WHY IS STEVE'S SHIELD BROKEN? I don't know if I can watch this movie (of course I will) but I can't (but I must). I'm also really excited about Agent Carter! The story sounds awesome, and also..Chad Michael Murray is in it. :D
- On that happy note, Diwali! It was my first Diwali away from home, which was sad, but also my first Diwali on campus, and it was really well done! I lit my first ever sky-lantern! And my only, so far. But the general festiveness with everyone dressing up, and going to the temple, and eating out, and generally celebrating life was lovely. So much happiness all around.
- STROOPWAFELS. Doobie's mum got them and they're the most delicious things in the world and I must get my hands on more of them. They're basically these Dutch waffle-snacks, and so good omnomnomnomnom. Nom.
- I finally went out for breakfast. I've wanted to do this only forever, but I always ended up being too sleep-deprived to wake up in the morning, or too broke, or not in town, every time anyone made plans. I don't think I can ever forgive my friends for going to one of my favourite places multiple times without me (you know who you are). But I digress. The last Sunday of this month, I finally overcame my morning lethargy to get out into the world before noon, and had breakfast at this wonderful place. Who knew I could actually like baked beans? I should've known better than to order coffee though; I wrongly presumed that my new-found love of hazelnut lattes would allow me to enjoy non-flavoured coffee as well. I was so, so wrong. Four sachets of sugar and it was still too coffee for me. *shudders* But it was a great place, good food, and great company, which more than made up for the coffee.
Until next month,
~Sam 