Moonday

Not quite, but close. It was a day when a couple of my friends noticed the magnificence rising up over the Eastern horizon in the evening.

Yesterday was full moon. I noticed it when I walked out to meet Jay and his friends for dinner. The air was clear and the moon looked spectacular. Yet, it is today that I’m thinking about how it looked and why it matters how it looks.

Looking out into the night sky and being at awe, even in the most polluted cities around the world, must be one of the last consistent worldwide sources of grounding and inspiration at the same time.

To me, it usually sparks to joy of photography, which in my case is pretty amateur. Twice or thrice every year, I set up my astronomy binoculars and try to take an image of the magnified moon using my smart camera.

It has move up from there, hasn’t it? A proper telescope and a DSLR. I can dream at least.

In other forms of creativity, no drawing/sketching today. Maybe I’ll work on a song after I finish this.

Meanwhile, I am caught in the middle of three literary narratives. Peter Watt’s Blindsight is the most gripping one, followed by Hanya Yanigahara’s To Paradise and James S. A. Corey’s Tiamat’s Wrath. And I already have my eyes on a bunch of others, including Midnight’s Children and Victory City by Salman Rushdie.

Wholly day

Pun aside, today was different.

No office work meant looseness and lightness.

This despite yet another night of troubled sleep. I overslept because I underslept when it matters.

A mild headache. Lazy coffee. In fact, no making bed before. Playing with the feline before reaching out for the ground coffee jar. Then, despite the summery winter sun pelting down, sitting on the chair on the kitchen balcony and reading.

What? <em>Blindsight</em> by Peter Watts. That's the seventh or the thirteenth book I'm currently on.

But this one is different. It's captivating. Like Alastair Reynolds openings. Not familiar? Try <em>Chasm City</em> or <em>Absolution Gap</em>.

Then came the hard part. Looking for bank documents and realising that your relatively neat organisational strategy is not nearly as good as you think it is. Three hours. Seemingly lost things rediscovered. Old cards and memories.

Hunger is abated by Quaker's oatmeal. I pack and I set off to a couple of banks. Or so I think.

The first one only exists on Google Maps. Then off to another branch that you know has to continue to exist beyond Google servers.

A bit of a wait. More of Peter Watts. Extremely difficult to focus on hard sci-fi over harsh voices of disenchanted patrons.

I get a less-than-adequate resolution eventually. It's so because adequate is either difficult or impossible.

Quickly off to the second bank, which was almost empty. So much nicer and got done real quick. Like in two (literal) minutes. Faster than Maggi by a lot.

Then a new Keralaite restaurant. A mild disappointment because it was too homely.

Then back home. The help has brought new feathers. Another long play session. Some tea and cake before heading south.

Fleshing out my latest sci-fi short story idea on the train. Got at least two original hooks in the process. Have to say that I surprised and pleased myself.

The day is wholly. "Not bad," I say to myself, like everyone else says when they mean "Is good."