P is for Pakistan

P is for potatoes, pakoray (deep fried sub-continental snacks) and pretzels (my new favorite snack in France.), sub-continental pickles with chillies, carrots, garlic, lemon and baby green mangoes, palak-paneer (spinach and cottage cheese curry), pink (the color), polka dots, pastel colors and Les Pains (french generic word for all kinds of delicious breads). P is for pinnacolada which is one of the few drinks I don't like. Somehow I am not fond of the coconut taste infused with pineapple juice.

While P is also for Paris, today P is for Pakistan, my homeland!

I always say that going out of a country for a trip is a totally different experience than immigrating permanently to another land. I never went out of Pakistan for the entire 24 years of my life and finally when I did, it wasn't a vacation or an adventure trip. It was a long term, almost permanent move.

O is Oprah and Orphan Black

O is for oranges, orangutans, oaks, oatmeal (dont like it!), orbit,obscure,observant,obsession(perfume..love it!), obtuse, object,octogenarian and oddballs.

Today O is for her royal majesty, Oprah and Orphan Black !

N is for Nine things I love

N is for my Nail colors collection (matte, glitter, crackles, professional manicure kits, nail art kits and even nail stickers). I may not regularly wear a nail color but I can't resist the temptation of purchasing a pretty nail color.

N is for Noodles.  The typical two minutes noodles with the spice mix in the packet. It was the first ever thing I cooked independently in the kitchen when I was 9 years old and felt like the master chef. But even today, its my savior on the days when I am not in the mood to chop and peel.

M is Mangoes and Monsoon

Day 16 of the A to Z challenge! Wow.. only 10 more to go. And the real tough ones are yet to come ( Im looking at you, U and Q).

Anyways, today it's M and M for me represents my mom, magic, music, movies, m n m's, mocha lattes, macaroni, macaroons ('meh on these ) , Macross (sci fi mecha anime, old school.. I loved it and still do!) madhouse (that is my work sometimes), Megatron (who for some reason I think is kickass),Maleficent (scared the bejeebus out of me for years till Ursala came along) and so on so forth.

For today though, I'm gonna talk about Mangoes, the first fruit we desis fall in love with and Monsoon, the season we all look forward to.

L is for Learning

Learning is my word for the day. Not the conventional kind of learning but that which is inevitable, unenforced and natural. Amidst the hustle bustle of the world, we maybe picking up new skills, diplomas and/or certifications but I wonder if we really learn anything for real. The learning that will make us feel like we are living a life and it's so worth it.

Last 2 weeks gave me a chance to sit back and re-evaluate my life. Life was a bit mad at me. It wanted to go wild, laugh freely and breath deeply but I was forcing it to exhaust itself in pursuit of  unattainable ideals involving other people. As I wondered how can I make life feel alive again, I soon found all my answers within me.