By summer, I mean May, June, and July. These were pretty turbulent months in many ways – too many things happening that I found it difficult to process. This year has been like that in general – unexpected surprises, unpleasant shocks, I don’t know where I stand.
I can’t really talk a lot about what’s happening on here – work dynamics, family dynamics, and friend dynamics seem to be shifting, and I am a person who doesn’t like change. So, yeah, an uncomfortable year for me, and these past three months have been especially ambiguous. I can’t say whether it’s been a good time or bad.
Travel
What was definitely a good time was the chance to travel to Greece. It was unexpected, as we thought it wouldn’t happen because of visa, hubby’s health issues, etc., but it did, and it was a great time. I have already posted about Acropolis, Mykonos, Delos, and Nea Kameni – it’s probably the fastest I have ever blogged about a trip; a couple more posts are pending, though.
I also had a work trip to Noida, which was hectic, and combined that with a weekend getaway to Udaipur, which was fun, and provided an escape I didn’t know I needed.
Screen Time
This summer was the summer of Succession. Not a binge-watch particularly, this show doesn’t lend itself to that, but I worked myself slowly through the seasons. Somewhat eye-opening when it comes to corporate politics, and I think I learned some useful lessons on navigating office politics.
As a part of cost-cutting, I am not renewing streaming services when they expire. What I do is this bizarre thing (so my friends tell me) of keeping a queue of shows/movies I want to watch, and when it comes to a certain number, I renew and watch everything on that streaming channel. Sounds complicated? Yes, but it prevents me from throwing money at these channels and ending up watching one or two programs.
So currently, Hotstar and Prime are in the doghouse, so no Only Murders in the Building (season 3), or Made in Heaven (season 2) right now. Instead, I am turning my focus to history (something I have been obsessed with recently) and started watching this docudrama – Rise of Empires Ottoman on Netflix.
A bit over-dramatized and may not be completely historically accurate (I don’t know enough of Ottoman history to judge), but very entertaining and does give a high-level picture of what went down during that period.
Books
There was a lot of reading – so much that I haven’t actually kept track. Some I have blogged about already – the Sandman series (fantastic), some very forgettable thrillers (One Last Secret, The Golden Couple, The Woman in Cabin 10). There were more forgettable thrillers, honestly; this just wasn’t a good summer mystery year for me.
But the real winners are the books I have yet to blog about – Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi (a quick but hilarious read), The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (disturbing but good), and The Porpoise by Mark Haddon (which was uplifting, sad, overall cathartic).
Work and Family
Both have been a little up and down. I started a new role last year, and the extent of the change is just now hitting me. Family is fine, but we are aware everything’s going to change in the next few months as we get Snubnose ready for the next phase of her life – getting her into the college of her dreams, possibly leaving home; our focus is now almost 100% on her.
This means lots of college visits, lots of practice exam taking, and a lot of tuition – it’s a hard road for her. It’s also hard watching the impact on Piglet. He’s been used to her companionship at home, and they spent a lot of time together (despite the age difference, they are pretty good friends), and I know he feels a little left out.
Piglet and I have started board /card game nights just for the two of us. It’s fun, he’s at his most open when he’s playing something, and it keeps him off the screen (the video gaming has gone a bit up off late). All my efforts to get him to read more are failing, and I am ruefully starting to accept that he’s not a reader. But hey, he likes chess. That’s fun, and steering him in those areas seems to work better than reading. So, that’s how it’s been.
And well, that was my summer. How was your summer?
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