Life Lessons

A Poem: The Journey, by Mary Oliver

January 27, 2012

The Journey by Mary Oliver One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice — though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. “Mend my life!” each voice cried. But you didn’t stop. You [...]

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Banjo and Lefty

January 21, 2012

My little sister, Bubs, is mischievous. But she also has a very big heart. When she was about 13, she started secretly leaving out milk for a stray cat who roamed the village. Mum wondered why this mewing cat, nicknamed Mrs. Tiddles, kept showing up at her front door, but, being a fairly clued-in parent, [...]

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“What Am I Supposed to Do?”

December 21, 2011

For the IndieInk Writing Challenge this week, Shastina challenged me with “What am I supposed to do?” and I challenged Sarah Sparks with “What is the farthest you’ve ever travelled from home? Please describe where, why, when. And I’d love to hear about something you ate, if you are so inclined.” To be perfectly honest, [...]

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A Recipe for Being Assertive

November 11, 2011

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Since hitting my 30s, I am becoming more comfortable with being assertive. So many people, women included, mistake assertiveness for aggression. It’s a shame. We women must stick up for ourselves! We must not be afraid to speak our mind [...]

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Cab Driver Wit and Wisdom

November 10, 2011

One thing I miss about living in London is the conversations I have with black cab drivers. I always ask them if they’ve ever had any famous people in their cab, and I’ve yet to hear “no” for an answer. It’s a good way to break the ice on a brief journey. London cabbies are [...]

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Book Review: Out of Africa, by Isak Dinesen

November 9, 2011

I have just finished reading Out of Africa and have already decided it as one of my most favourite pieces of literature. It is breathtakingly beautiful. Karen Blixen was 21 when she left Denmark and emigrated to Kenya with her Swedish husband. There, they bought a 4,000-acre coffee plantation which she ran from 1914 – [...]

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Lessons in Friendship

November 7, 2011

Years ago, I learnt a valuable lesson in friendship. The oven in my mother and step-father’s kitchen wasn’t working, and my mother, no doubt worn out by the energy of two teenagers (my brother and me) and a young child (my little sister), couldn’t face going to the supermarket to figure out a cold supper. [...]

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Freedom

November 4, 2011

I couldn’t help but notice that November is the month for encouraging bloggers to write more. BlogHer is running NaBloPoMo; and, elsewhere, there are bloggers who have decided to write about one thing a day that they are grateful for. And I thought, why not me too? I will try to post every day, even [...]

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What I Learned from Steve Jobs

October 5, 2011

Two things happened today that made me take stock. First, a friend of mine posted something on my Facebook Wall and I was grateful for the wisdom contained therein: And second, just a few hours later, Mr. Fizgig called out from the other room that Steve Jobs had died. I’ve long been an admirer of [...]

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Sanity Travel Tips

November 24, 2010

In the not too distant past, I found myself crossing the Atlantic for the 75th time. I’ve also crossed the U.S. continent and zig-zagged over Europe more times than you’ve had hot dinners…! I’ve been to every continent apart from Australasia and Antarctica, and have family dotted around the world. In a nutshell, I travel [...]

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