Days morph into weeks and weeks into months when one’s days are no longer regimented with teaching schedules—getting books, writing syllabi, getting a bit more travel and summer fun before fall—but then, when you live in California, the sun always shines and it hardly ever rains, so you are not sure of seasons changing since the hummingbirds always appear on all the brilliantly blooming flowers—although, of course, the wild flowers are no longer blooming as they did in Spring when I drove to Charmelee Wilderness Park on Encinal Canyon Road in Santa Monica Mountains and saw a different landscape filled with unusual flora and fauna on the hills. So, yes, as seasons change and time flies, I realize I have been having fun spending time with my daughter and granddaughter and visiting beaches, restaurants and cooking home foods (both Punjabi and Burmese) while eating all kinds of foods at different restaurants but have also been writing and revising poems and stories that I have been working on. I completed a long poem titled “Disparities: Working Towards Global Justice and Human Rights,” which got me excited but then, I think it is moving away from some of my recent writing about family, home, diaspora and so forth, so what does that mean? Whatever the case maybe, it got me motivated! I have also just finished reading an amazing novel by Shubhangi Swarup, Latitudes of Longings, and now long to write like Swarup—“A promising debut novel sweeps through a series that join human lives to the natural world . . . . Made up of four linked novellas. Their titles--Islands, Faultlines, Valley, and Snow Desert—suggest the book’s emphasis on how people connect (or don’t) to their planet . . . The book vividly recounts their other humorous, sometimes surreal, and intimately touching relationships” (Kirkus Reviews). To think like Swarup! To write like Swarup! So, yes, I have become obsessed with the novel and her writing style and find my writing pedestrian and boring, at least just about now. Still and all, I am being productive and have plowed away and have written quite a few pages about my great-grandmother and grandfather, so let’s see where it leads me. One thing I will share: A new character came to me and shifted the whole focus of the timeline and story arch. So, there! In the meantime, and yes, the all-important “in the meantime” phrase, I have been having fun with food and family. We went to this amazing Korean Barbeque place called Shilla—the second time since I have been in California. The last time when my son came to visit LA, we took him out and there was so much food on the grill that we almost couldn’t finish it, so this time, we ordered only a few courses and they were delicious! I love Kalbi marinade on the California ribs! I love Kimchi Soup! So, here are a few photos for you. Also, I had the best desert in a long time: Macaroon ice-cream sandwiches: photos included. Also, a few days ago, Gina, my daughter and I drove to Cerritos to shop for some Indian groceries but more to eat at Surati Farsan—golguppas, dahi puris, khandvi, jelebies, bhelpuris, and kaju katris. I was in heaven! I also bought kari patta, bitter melons, some dals, toor and channa, and tons of cardamon cookies! I’m adding a few photos for you. I stuffed the bitter melons with crushed garlic, ginger, green chili, tamarind pulp, and tons of red chili and spices and slow cooked them until brown; I also stuffed red onions and slow cooked them until translucent—and served the whole shebang with freshly made rotis! Too good, I swear! I’m also adding a link to one of my published videopoems--"Diasporic Search" for you. You may have seen it before, but just in case, here it is again. It took me months to learn how to use imovie to create this video, and thanks to Patricia Killelea, my mentor and professor, I completed a few videopoems under her guidance and have been making more on my own lately. It is fun, fulfilling and visually pleasing, I think, plus the words add so much to the overall message. Let me know what you think. Link to videopoem: https://indd.adobe.com/view/49d3899a-9721-4fcc-9014-afbca1ac00ab Link to the issue; go to page 70 and see "Diasporic Search" and click on the image: https://www.superpresent.org Do share a poem, a short story, or the title of a novel you are reading just now and tell me why you love it. Thanks for reading and do continue to read, write, eat fun foods, and reach out to touch someone you love today, for today is all we have for now.
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