The world is gripped with a flu-like pandemic and as we fussed over whether to wear masks or not, took longer washing our hands, we lost a beloved aunt to brain aneurysm. It was quite sudden; in fact, a little over two weeks ago we were video-chatting with her...oh how vibrant and jolly she was!… Continue reading Pandemic
Category: Uncategorized
My Eyes
I write about my eyes today. They have started to fail. This isn't news, really--I've been noticing for the past two years. Possibly longer. Thought I could restore 20/20 with good ol' vitamin-rich diet and regular dose of Lutein. Nope. I'm nowhere near blindness. I can see things clearly but I'm no longer the eagle… Continue reading My Eyes
Commuter
My commute to work takes an hour and twenty minutes, one way. Downhill walk, a train ride, a bus ride, and finally, a short walk into the campus. Crazy, I know. But I don't hate it, which is even crazier. Surely, I have better things to do rather than stand in a crowded train, sit… Continue reading Commuter
Of Literary Spies and Real-Life Selves
For some reason, spy novels are finding their way in my have-read list. More recent titles, not John le Carré classics. Last week, for instance, I finished Lauren Wilkinson's American Spy which was just published last February. Pausing here to mention I don't write book reviews. Nothing against them, just that I like approaching my… Continue reading Of Literary Spies and Real-Life Selves
Morning Person
I'm a morning person. It's by habit, no, compulsion. Go back to sleep, the boyfriend urges when I stir on a weekend morn, but the wheels are already turning. He's drifted off by the time my feet find the slippers on the floor. It's not out of love too, but I'm really hoping it will… Continue reading Morning Person
The Bachelorette Pad, Revisited
It was 2011 and I was in my mid-twenties. I still lived with my mom and siblings being from a culture where it's quite common for adult children to live with their parents until they married. But we are not the most traditional and our then-landlord just gave us an eviction notice. Moving out felt… Continue reading The Bachelorette Pad, Revisited
Twenty-nineteen, warmed up
I woke up one day to find myself living in a surreal-sounding year called two-thousand-nineteen, working three jobs. Three jobs! There's definitely truth to that saying that if you wanted to make God laugh, tell him your plans. I have always considered myself a specialist; I am only ever good at writing so that's the… Continue reading Twenty-nineteen, warmed up
Shorts
Keeping to short forms these days. Flash fiction, poetry, something in between. I got busy during the summer moving to another apartment. This was followed by a two-week stay in New York City where I had planned to luxuriate in daily writing sessions. Writing I did, but it wasn't as productive as planned. Something about… Continue reading Shorts
New and Old
New: Novel-in-progress. I smile as I write this because there isn't a word of it written down. It's all in the head at the moment. I'm taking a breezier approach with this one, not planning the chapters in advance, letting characters take shape and decide the course of things. I know their faces, their jobs.… Continue reading New and Old
Lightness of a Beginning
What a year! Finished the novel--took me five years. It's out there, looking for a home away from its fussy creator. Whether it gets published or not, it's finished and I'm happy with what I accomplished. Writing it has definitely taught me a lot. Ideas for the next novel swim in my head. It's just… Continue reading Lightness of a Beginning
Leah Ranada 