Five best compliments ever received

1. From a class of 7-year-olds to whom I gave a small, informal presentation about Hinduism and life in India. I wore a saree and took a couple more to show them along with my jewellery, some pictures of gods & goddesses and a few trinkets and photographs. The kids sent me individual thank-you letters, and one little girl wrote “My friends said you look like a beautiful princess and I think so too”.

2. “You write so well” – from various people over the years. A compliment I’m still learning to accept gracefully.

3. “You’ve got a beautiful smile” – heard a few times from strangers, colleagues and my husband. Most recently from the owner of a local Chinese take-away.

4. “You make me laugh/I love your sense of humour” – a compliment ALWAYS treasured no matter how many times I hear it, no matter who from.

5. “You’re an accomplished cook” – nice to hear even if not entirely accurate.

(Feel free to take this up as a tag, people)

Not exactly a book review, but a Bloody Good Read

I've just finished one of the most inventively written, gripping novels I've read in a long time - it's part dark fantasy, part horror, part tender love story, part mystery, 100 per cent blasphemy (from a Christian's point of view - not from mine)... and a compulsive read as far as I'm concerned. A lot of things are topsy-turvy - a good man who turns into the Devil yet is still a good Devil, leaving God to come off very much an unlikable second-best... if indeed God can be said to BE likable at all in the first place. Let me hasten to add that the aforementioned is MY opinion. The novel certainly isn't an in-your-face theological argument pitting Good against Evil or implying that God is Good against the Devil is Evil.

Anyway, I'm not going to bother with a formal review other than saying that I swallowed this book in one unbroken gulp, no pause for breath or loo breaks. If you want reviews, you can always google them... but here's the NYTimes Book Review link anyway. I just wanted to highlight a quote from the book which I love love love! Here goes:

"I do not claim that God is dead. I tell you He is alive and well but in no position to offer salvation, being damned Himself for His criminal indifference. He was lost the moment He demanded fealty and worship before He would offer His protection. The unmistakable bargain of a gangster. Whereas the devil is anything but indifferent. The devil is always there to help those who are ready to sin, which is another word for "live"."

How true is that?

Oh, and one other thing - Joe Hill is Stephen King's son. That I discovered by chance, thanks to Google. All I can say is that good writing MUST be in the genes...

A goofy encounter

While driving back from Tesco yesterday, I had to stop for a bunch of teenagers who had started to cross the road even though it wasn’t a pedestrian crossing. They looked normal enough, hoodied up and mostly jean-clad, said jeans worn so baggy and low as to give everybody a good glimpse of underwear. One of the last ones to cross was a young lad maybe 14 or 15 years old, skinny and tall, with untidy floppy blond hair. He started by crossing the road in a series of backward hops, then stopped halfway across in front of my car so that he was directly in my line of vision, and grinned at me, looking ridiculously pleased with himself.

I was tired and impatient to get home, yet this kid's smile was so sweet and genuine that I couldn’t help smiling back - but then I raised my eyebrows at him to ask if he was going to cross the road or perform any more tricks. Evidently my eyebrows speak very good mime, because he understood me perfectly well. He held up one finger to say “One moment”, put his hands back in his pockets, then twirled himself across the rest of the road to the other side, a bit like a human top. Then he lolloped off after his friends like an overgrown puppy, and I carried on home, quite unable to stop grinning at the mental image of Goofy the Kid.

Guilty or Innocent? (just a meme)

Rules Go Like This ——-
RULE 1- You can only say Guilty or Innocent.
RULE 2- You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you and asks!
RULE 3- Copy and paste this into your notes, delete my answers, type in your answers and tag to your friends to answer this.

Asked someone to marry you? Innocent
Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Guilty
Danced on a table in a bar? Innocent
Ever told a lie? Guilty
Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have? Guilty
Kissed a picture? Guilty
Slept in until 5 PM? Guilty
Fallen asleep at work/school? Guilty
Held a snake? Innocent
Been suspended from school? Innocent
Worked at a fast food restaurant? Innocent
Stolen from a store? Guilty
Been fired from a job? Innocent
Done something you regret? Guilty
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Guilty
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Guilty
Kissed in the rain? Guilty
Sat on a roof top? Guilty
Kissed someone you shouldn’t? Guilty
Sang in the shower? Guilty
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Innocent
Shaved your head? Innocent
Had a boxing membership? Innocent
Made a girlfriend cry? Innocent
Been in a band? Innocent
Shot a gun? Innocent
Donated Blood? Guilty
Eaten alligator meat? Innocent
Eaten cheesecake? Guilty
Still love someone you shouldn’t? Guilty
Have/had a tattoo? Innocent
Liked someone, but will never tell who? Guilty
Been too honest? Innocent
Ruined a surprise? Guilty
Ate in a restaurant and got so bloated that you couldn’t walk afterward? Guilty
Erased someone from your friends list? Guilty
Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? Guilty
Joined a pageant? Innocent
Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Guilty
Had communication with your ex? Guilty
Got totally drunk on the night before exam? Innocent
Got totally angry that you cried so hard? Not sure what this one means... is it "angry and therefore cried hard" or "angry because you cried hard"? But just to cover all bases, my answer is "Guilty" on both counts.

If...

If I were a month, I’d be - April for spring-fresh beginnings (UK season)

If I were a day of the week, I’d be - Saturday.

If I were a time of day, I’d be - 11 a.m.

If I were a season, I’d be - spring.

If I were a planet, I’d be Pluto - undisturbed and remote.

If I were a sea animal, I’d be - coral.

If I were a direction, I’d be - East.

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be - a bookshelf.

If I were a liquid, I’d be - water.

If I were a tree, I’d be - a cherry tree.

If I were a tool, I’d be - a blowtorch.

If I were an element, I’d be – a neutron (and do the “Neutron Dance” :D – think wayyyyy back
to the 1980s and the Pointer Sisters).

If I were a gemstone, I’d be – turquoise.

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be - a flute.

If I were a color, I’d be - orange.

If I were an emotion, I’d be - empathy.

If I were a fruit, I’d be – perfectly ripe palapazham (jackfruit).

If I were a sound, I’d be – the liquid notes of a flute.

If I were a car, I’d be - a Range Rover.

If I were food, I’d be – kalyana saapadu on a vazha-elai (wedding feast on a banana leaf).

If I were a taste, I’d be – hot & sweet.

If I were a scent, I’d be - vanilla.

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be - a pair of sturdy orange walking boots.

And if I were a bird, I’d be – a crow.

Tag from Umm. Thanks! :)