Goro’s encounter with Zucchini Pudding:
~ Sometimes, we need to be carried. We need to experience care other than our own. During such moments, I hope you find hands that carry your heart softly, with ease and comfort. I hope you they let your being rest. ~
.
.
~ notes from everyday ~
~ Do you feel nourished, restful and calm with the people you surround yourself with? Or do you feel depleted, tired and often find yourself as a human soundboard for their thoughts and feelings? ~🐏 . Does your close circle uplift you, push to towards growth, or does it thwart your progress by belittling your ideas and work through constant negative judgment? 🐏 . Do you feel loved, seen and cherished for your heart, your mind? Or do you find yourself hiding your quirks and true feelings because there is no room for honest heart talk? 🐏 . May you choose those who choose you because we are conscious partakers of the energy we allow in our lives. 🐏 . And this beautiful little life, this sweet, fleeting existence requires you to choose people who are good to you + for you. 🐏 . . Love always, Anvi
~ a little too late, she realized, not all things deserved her heart. ~ 🌼
.
.
.
Picture | @littlealienproducts
~ My favorite quote from ‘I Am Not A Robot’. I think Ji Ah and Min Kyu make one of the cutest, prettiest K-drama couples.🌼 ~
"When the world failed me, I could always lose myself in my work. I withdrew into this sanctuary, where all my other concerns faded beside the demanding compulsion of my Craft."
- Margaret Roberson, An Enchantment Of Ravens
“Y’all treat 30 like our lives will be over by then. 30 is extremely young. Some people just start new dreams in their 30s. Most are finally figuring out how to live fully in their 30s. Our 20s are not the peak. Not even close.” - Kaya Nova
Here's a fact: you can never get over the first drama you've watched.
Every drama-lover I know confesses this lovingly. So, as I waited for being lovestruck yet one more time, I was drama-struck by Cupid instead.
My very first drama happened to be 'Meteor Garden’ (2018) a Chinese remake of the popular K-drama 'Boys Over Flowers'. Like the blink of an eye, I didn’t realize when I was already forty minutes into the first episode.
That's how the drama bug got me.
The Story:
Meteor Garden revolves around the story of two Ming De university students, Daoming Si (Dylan Wang) and Dong Shancai (Shen Yue). While a typical rich brat meets a poor but badass girl, the story also pans out to accommodate a great cast of secondary characters.
Beginning with the 'F4', Ming De's most popular boy-group starring its leader Ah Si (fierce, smart heir to the Daoming Group of industries), Huaze Lei (musical genius), Ximen Yan (tea god) and Feng Meizuo (art lover with an unbeatable memory).
There’s Dong Shancai's adorable mother and father, her best friends, Chen Qing (banana expert) and Xiao You (bubble-tea partner).
Over a span of 49 episodes, we watch Shancai and Si's unexpected love bloom, we celebrate the spirit of 'family' -- both in blood and otherwise, we cherish friendship as true as the color of a clear sky and we come face to face with a bounty of life-lessons as we fall deeper and deeper for the characters that make the show.
My favorite learnings from the drama:
1. Dong Shancai's character is a far cry from your typical C-drama heroine. She's strong, confident, boisterous and unafraid of speaking her mind. I absolutely love the way she teaches you to own who you are. To own your whole person --- your strengths, your weaknesses and to keep going exactly when you want to give up.
2. Meteor Garden celebrates love in different forms. The love between a mother and daughter, that between between two lovers, two friends, two almost-lovers-but-now-lifetime-BFFs, the kind of love that hurts because it isn't yours to claim, the kind of love that teaches you how to love with a big heart and then, the kind of love that you must let go of so that you can meet a love you deserve.
3. The F4 sum up the following sentence: find your tribe and love them hard. Their lifelong kinship reminds you that 'family' goes way past DNA and some of the best people in your life today, could have once-upon-a-time been complete strangers. They support, encourage, guide and hold each other up.
4. As a typical C-drama lead, you'd expect Daoming Se to totally own his privilege without acknowledging its side-effects. But Si's transformation from exactly this sort of person to someone who is open to changing for the better is refreshing. What blows my mind is how Si shows courage to write his own story, not the one that's expected of him.
5. While we're used to 'voicing' our opinions, Shancai taught me it's better to let your actions and virtues do the talking. Because, a pure heart may not always be a loud one but it will be seen nonetheless, since it is true to itself.
6. And then you have my favorite learning of all time: LOVE IS WORTH IT ALL.
It is worth growing into, growing for and fighting with every ounce of your soul.
I've watched many love stories and read quite a few too, but I am unabashedly biased towards Si's pure, magical love for Shancai and vice versa.
.
.
.
Image Credits | Netflix
Image Art | Doodle Shape (Android App)
Went with the Nanus to eat Manchurian Dosa and Schezwan Cheese Frankie at Ghatkopar, on a whim. 👯♀️
The Manchurian was green oniony, hot, sour, and garlicky. The chutney was a refreshing contrast against the heat of the Manchurian. The dosa was beautifully soft and yum. 🤤
Unfortunately, it was too dark to take a photo of the Schezwan Cheese Frankie. But it ticked all the boxes --- flaky, crispy cover, potato filling that was heartily assembled with cheese and a generous addition of onions (my favorite part is their crunch), and the goodness of Indian Chinese's version of Schezwan sauce.🤤
~ From my experience with being indecisive for the smallest of things, I’ve come to know that it is the root cause of loop thinking. Often, this could be negative in nature.
But once I decide, once I choose to make a choice, the wave of thoughts subsides, leaving the mind calmer, more still. Choosing to decide, sooner than later, thus, can elevate a lot of worry, inner confusion, and irritation, self-caused by my mind.~✨