So, I have this other space on the internet. It's called https://rajuwritererportfolio.wordpress.com 

I originally built it as a portfolio website in 2019 when I began to consider taking my writing more seriously. And then I let it stand still in space for 2.5 years thinking "I should try to publish now", and thought it best to leave new writing offline, to be eligible to submit to publications. But recently I've decided to say Fckit to that, because pursuing publication is an unnatural mode of operation for me. I'd rather just write.

All this to say: come visit me there! :) I would love to have you over. As of now, I'm experimenting with putting something up every Thursday. And please, please leave me links to your blogs and websites if you blog or write longform anywhere. I LOVE reading them. 

Quite suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, I am now the owner of a (very basic) manual coffee grinder with ceramic bits. It travelled from Coorg with my parents, and it is small, made of stainless steel, and cute. The shop was asked to adjust the setting for French Press; now begins the journey to figuring out if they got it right.

I had my first cup today, and it will take a while for me to identify which aspects of the resulting brew are because of grind size and because of new beans. What I had today was nice enough, though I suspect it might have been a bit under-extracted. Or maybe the beans are a lighter roast (I didn't buy it so I'm not sure; there's no packaging left). 

This is fun; I now have more of a 'coffee station' than I ever imagined having/wanting/needing.

Also- the post-PhD life continues to be delightful; I recommend it. 

I'm at my favourite cafe this afternoon to write for pleasure, and then, when evening comes, I will go buy PINEAPPLE(S) from the market nearby before returning home. Pineapple(s)-cored and cut- are worth long distance bus journeys, always.

I wish I'd slept longer last night though, I'm so tempted to put my head down for a nap at the coffee shop. I'm watching Orange is the New Black these days in gaps during work, and last thing at night, which means I'm often sleeping late. It's so good! Most of the hype around it when it came out made it sound like it would be basically lots of lesbian prison sex, gratuitous, exhibitionist, Game of Thrones-ish. That was misleading. Yes, there's lots of nudity and sex, but it doesn't feel completely gratuitous and that's not the point of the show, IMO. It's got great writing, the characters are so well fleshed out and the acting is out of this world. And the use of background music is so masterful- it reminds me of Silicon Valley in how it partners with the visuals and the dialogue.

I went without online subscriptions to streaming platforms for about a couple of months (and watched lots of wonderful YouTube content, embarking on a mission to try and understand atleast the poetry of theoretical physics and mathematics, even if not the actual equations). That break was good. But I'm happy to re-enter with a month long netflix subscription, because when I do it right, this stuff fuels my soul. I'm not a passive consumer of content, so good stuff feeds my own creativity and thinking.

I feel the Americano kicking in now, so off I go to edit two pieces to send to writing contests. I do that now. And sign up for (in-person!) writing workshops. Because the world is wide open post-dissertation B-)

Still alive!

Americanos are my new thing. They are delicious-this time around. I first had an Americano in 2016, and at that time I had not found it delicious. This time when, out of desperation (having had a couple of cappuccinos already, in need of another caffeinated beverage because deadlines but unable to bear the thought of anything milky and heavy-) I ordered one last month, I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed it. The barista at Barista (haha) pulled a perfect one- deeply aromatic, not the least bit bitter- and I've ended up ordering it at every consequent coffee shop visit since then. Two cafes did it really, really well, two did it not so well, but yum yum, in general.

I've really enjoyed slowly getting into the world of coffee. I'm still mostly an armchair coffee tourist-I enjoy learning about it most of all though I'm less invested in applying everything I've learnt. I'm not, for instance, interested in building a coffee station in my kitchen with my limited funds. I still drink most of my 'real' coffee in cafes, and that is unlikely to change until I buy an Aeropress (hopefully at a sale this year). However, learning more about coffee has helped expand the world of what I'm drinking. Discovering the range of flavours and aroma has been joyful! I'm no longer limited by my standard-and only!- order of a cappuccino. Additionally, I've started to get really interested in aspects of the coffee industry- the political economy of its production and supply chain, questions of power imbalances within that chain and the ways people are approaching questions of social justice and decolonisation within it, the way climate change is impacting this particular industry, amongst other questions. I would love to explore some of this/all of this further in the coming future.

In some news- I'm finally, finally!, done with the dissertation! Submitted it end of January and and now I await the viva, likely some time towards the end of this year. I have the opportunity to use the months in between to a) think anew of where I want to go professionally, long-term, and b) plunge into some creative personal projects that have been brewing and that I have been mentally playing around with for years (because if not now, when?) an c) start re-building some capital via the world of freelance work.

The post-dissertation world has been wonderful so far. I'm excited about what lies ahead. There will be challenges anew, ofcourse. Like, for instance, learning to balance freelance work with the non-paid stuff I am committed to, both in terms of personal projects and some academic-world related stuff. In the month and half I've had so far, I've either leaned too far into one or the other, and I want to learn to find a rhythm where I am able to devote time to both within a day/within a week, so that I'm meeting deadlines in both spheres. But I'm enjoying this challenge. And-I'm really enjoying being paid B-)

 

 Today Instagram decided that my account activity was suspicious, so it has disabled my access until I take a video selfie to prove I'm not a bot. FFS! What the effity eff was bot-like in my account? I did my best to fly under the radar.

Well, looks like no Instagram for me, because I'm not trusting Facebook with a video selfie. I'm frankly ouraged that the app feels entitled to even ask a user to take a video selfie to prove they are human. Find other ways of confirming non-botness.

This will be a bit of an adjustment, because for years now I've really enjoyed reading through my favourite accounts. It's been how I've started my workday. I've also enjoyed posting on it, and being a part of the acad community there. But perhaps this is a good thing! It's a chance to get off one social media platform, and to find a new channel for the photos and mini-writeups I put in there. A newsletter maybe? I've been contemplating it for a while.

The old mid-range Inspiron 15 something laptop groaned and wheezed its way to quiet retirement. Not too shabby, after 8+ years of service with two users (my brother and then me).  

The new laptop- an Inspiron 15 5510- has been christened the TARDIS. She's definitely my TARDIS.

Things I'm loving so far-

1. The battery. The battery. Oh, the wonderful battery! that lasts 7+ 11+ hours after being used to 2 hour-batteries (if that!) since 2008! I'm now able to legitimately fantasize about walking into any (any!) cafe that catches my eye without the usual 'Excuse me, do you have plug points?' Is it the 11th gen Intel chipsets? Is it Dell deciding to be nicer to its mid-range computers? Who knows? Who cares? :D This is by far my most favourite part of the new machine.

2. The weight. I can lift it with ease in one hand! After being used to having to use two, since 2008. (I have terrible arm strength/upper body strength, so this actually means something :P) All brands appear to be very invested in making slimmer and slimmer laptops these days, across all ranges. Again, I don't know why (lighter is good, ofcourse, but should slimness have this much emphasis?), but I question not.

3. The camera shutter. Inevitable on all post-pandemic, post-video meeting gaffes machines, and a most valuable design addition.

4. Being forced into some essential good habits-a) immediate cloud back-up of all files, from now until perpetuity, b) switching to Opera browser with its free VPN after an entire adulthood spent with Mozilla Firefox. When you have a stupid tendency towards loyalty to inanimate objects that don't give a damn, you need drastic changes/shifts to move to new systems. I've no idea if the Opera VPN is any good, but hey, Firefox has none (and apparently eats more memory anyway)!

5.  The SSD experience (in conjunction with the chipset?). Nothing has ever loaded as fast in my life, and that too on just a core i3.

6. The heat management. The two rows of almost edge-to-edge vents on the bottom and the slight incline the keyboard is always at (freeing up another row of vents) means this system never really heats up, even when I have a thousand tabs open on two separate browsers. This feels like quite the luxury!


Things I'm decidedly not loving-

1. THE KEYBOARD. With the slimmer bodies are coming stupidass keyboards. I'm always thinking back longingly of the keyboards on the earlier generation of laptops circa 2008-specifically, the Inspiron 1525. Whose decision was it to go the chiclet keyboard way? And whose decision was it after that to go for even 'flatter' keys with every consequent iteration/model of laptops? (I mean, I can type on it, but it is not a pleasureable experience!)

2. Single button touchpads. I'm loving the gestures and responsiveness of the tracking thingie, but I'd any day prefer a two button left and right click, separated from the trackpad.

3. Dell's missing quality control (received a brand new laptop with a severely and obviously faulty trackpad) and surprisingly bad aftersales (painful hours on the phone, 2 week delay from their end in sending replacement parts, inability to give me exact timelines, and no transparency in their escalation.) The bad aftersales now appears to be a universal feedback across countries, going by forum posts. All my machines have been Dell primarily for the after sales-my earlier experiences had been really good. I understand after-sales is terrible for most companies, but if Dell isn't going to be any different, then I'm going to go scouting other brands next time. Acer appears to be a good competitor, price and spec wise.  

Tooter nahi hai, toh idhar hi likh diya...

Kripya ganji-banyan ko dress na kehelayiye. Aur machhar dani (mosquito net) ko slip ke shape mein kaatke, 'dress' bolke, Rs. 1000 mein na bechiye.

Kripya na puchhiye ki mujhe kaise aur kis prakar adhunik poshak ke bare mein itna knowledge. 

 

Shukriya.