Margins of the Week || March 2025

Sometimes, life is so overwhelming that you have to take time to record what happened afterwards and work through your thoughts and feelings about them.

I'm generally pretty good at staying calm, taking rest, and planning my days so that I can handle everything that comes my way + what I want to do. Life doesn't listen to your plans, though. Things happen on the way and you've just got to deal with them.

It's the busiest weeks—when you don't have time to think, let alone journal—that I always want to record to look back on in the future. These are the times that are most precious to look back on.

Welcome to Margins of the Week! Instead of a diary-style blog, this is an informal post written after the events with "annotations" emulating the concept of taking notes in the margins which are messy and interleave with the main content. Tangential thoughts may or may not overtake the narration of the actual events, but that's how our minds work.

Sunday, March 2

The day was like a calm between two storms. I woke already dressed (I chose not to sleep in pajamas as we had an early morning after a late night) and ready to take the day despite still being sleepy.

On the previous day, packers and movers came over to our place. All of our stuff got packed and loaded onto a huge truck. The truck driver told us that he'll be in the new place early next morning, which we did not expect. We were told that it would take two days and expected it on Monday.

Thankfully, we already had a flight booked for Sunday morning. The stuff that we wanted to take with us was already packed and ready. We woke up at 5 am, did a basic freshen up routine, and left for the airport in a cab.

I knew that this day was coming for a long time but it still felt a bit surreal when it actually arrived. Although our stuff got sent the previous day, this day made it real that we won't be living in that house anymore. I was thinking about moving out throughout the 40 minute drive to the airport.

We moved into that house 5+ years ago thinking that we'd be there only a year or so. It wasn't our "dream" house and we honestly didn't like aspects of it throughout our time there. We had to make it work, though, because the pandemic hit in a few months and we were stuck there. When the pandemic ended, my new office was near to the house and we had settled in enough to not want to move. We made things comfortable.

Leaving that house made me realise the aspects of it that I liked. I liked that it was close to a metro station and close to an area where I could run. I didn't have friends in the area but it wasn't too far away from where my friends stayed. I liked the cosy room I made there.

It's not just the house I was leaving, though. I was leaving my city. I officially don't live my city anymore. I will still call it my city and I still love it, but I'm not there with the things that make "my home". The next time I want to meet my friends, I'll have to plan way in advance and travel.

I listened to slow songs and admired the lightening sky while ruminating the past and the possible future. The drive felt too long and I was still a bit sleepy.

Arriving at the airport dispelled the cloud of thoughts. It's nice to have something to do and logistics to keep track of so that the mind doesn't spend too long thinking. I had breakfast at the airport lounge and boarded the flight.

The main thing on my mind after landing was the move in. We booked an AirBnB to stay at until our stuff arrived and I wanted to go there to drop our luggage and freshen up. Mom wanted to go to the new place immediately instead, to be ready for the move in. Thankfully, we called the driver first and found out that he will indeed be arriving the next day as we were told earlier.

I would have liked to move in over the weekend. I was disappointed to learn that we'd have to move in on Monday because it'll be hard to manage move in along with working. I had a few things lined up on Monday and didn't want to take off. Oh well.

As there wasn't anything to do immediately, we went to the AirBnB and rested. I wasn't sleepy so I brought out my laptop and blogged a bit. I had only one section left to write in my February Wrap-up. I knew that I wouldn't get time to blog again if I missed that window of down-time.

In the evening, mum and I came to the new place to make sure it's ready for move in. I also coordinated with my internet provider to shift my connection and they sent a guy around 6pm. He arrived and went up to do something and... never came back. Mom and I kept waiting for him to finish but he didn't. When we called and messaged him, he did not respond. We thought he's doing something seriously and I even went to the AirBnB to get our chargers as our phones were dying. He did noot respond or get back to us. We eventually left at 9pm. People are unreliable sometimes.

We had a simple dinner and slept as soon as we could.

Monday, March 3

We arrived at our new place at 9 am, right on time when the movers arrived with our stuff. I "supervised" downstairs while mom took care of telling the movers where to keep everything at home. I had to stand for a good two hours but it was fine. After bringing everything home, the movers unpacked and kept stuff where we wanted them to be. By then, I was hungry so I had breakfast in quick bites while also helping move stuff.

I've got to give credit, the movers unloaded everything without a fuss. The last time I moved houses, it was so chaotic and noisy. This time was much smoother. They coordinated with each other well and were careful with the fragile things. They didn't argue or slack, simply did the entire work in one go.

The only thing that wasn't nice was how the men asked for an exorbitant tip at the end. We had already paid a huge amount for the service as a whole so what they were asking was unreasonable. They actually sat down in our home and refused to leave, and even spoke emotionally that "this is a new house, if we go happy then it'll be good for you." Bruh, what? We eventually gave them what they asked for and had them leave. Considering that we tipped the movers in the previous city as well, it looks like the amount we paid as a whole is only for logistics and the truck

After they left, I worked for a bit. Another person from the internet provider came to set up my connection here. This dude actually did it, unlike the first guy. It was a smooth setup and we finally had wifi again. I got back to work after that.

I took a small break from work to clean my bookshelf. It might sound foolish to add extra work on top of the moving process, but I think that this is the perfect time to properly clean or unhaul things. Who knows when I'll remove everything from my shelf to clean it next. Just the task of removing and putting books back is big, I will easily procrastinate on it. So I can just clean the shelf while it's empty and it'll take only an extra 15 minutes.

The rest of the day was filled with small things like unpacking the immediate necessities, checking out of the AirBnB, setting up the beds, and hanging curtains. During dinner, we looked at washing machines and ordered one because we need it ASAP.

The first night at the new place felt like wearing a shoe that doesn't quite fit yet. All our stuff were with us but they weren't in proper places. We didn't find the right curtains and simply hung up the first ones we found. There were suitcases and boxes stacked in the living room. My bookshelf stood empty while all my books were in a heap on my table. I didn't unpack clothes from my suitcase yet.

This was my first move as a proper adult who can pay for it and who can say where things should go. This is my first time moving into a home with a say on how it should be. I want it to be a home that I like, instead of having one room that I like. I wanted to start setting things up the way I want but I had no energy.

I opened my digital planner and wrote down 2 things for the next day to start with.

Tuesday, March 4

I woke up with a lighter mind. I woke up at 7:30 am and played music on my speaker while I got ready. There was soft light coming into the rooms and I opened the balcony door for more of it. It felt good to concentrate on the simple activity of getting ready for the day without thinking about the 100 other things I have to do.

The move occupied a big part of my mind for a month. House-hunting, coordinating the move, and actually moving were huge tasks in my mind. There is so much to it. I couldn't give my 100% to my new job while the move was still pending. I often spoke to people for house-hunting during work hours and went house-hunting straight from the office.

Now that the biggest tasks were done, I felt lighter. I was looking forward to the part that I was excited about—making this place a home. The biggest tasks on my list were to set up my bookshelf and find my mushroom lamp. But first, I went to work.

Tuesday was fairly uneventful at work. I went in at 8 am, had breakfast, and started with my tasks. I played Table Tennis with my teammates a couple of times during the work day. I came home after having a snack at the office.

The first thing I did after coming home was set up my bookshelf. I spoke to my friends on Discord while I did it. I don't mind doing chores while listening to music or an audiobook but it's definitely more fun with friends on call. We don't always get the time to hang out together so it's precious when we do.

After dinner, I searched for my mushroom lamp. I looked through all the boxes and did! not! find! it! I looked through the boxes thrice. I even looked at a couple of the boxes labelled kitchen before my mom shooed me away saying that it can't be in those. I knew that it wouldn't have gotten lost, it would be there somewhere and it can be set up later but I wanted it out immediately. I hate white overhead lights and always use the lamp after sunset. The lamp + my speaker make a room so cosy.

I was so disappointed that my mom looked through the boxes in the kitchen later and found it My room finally felt like my room. The vibe is perfect.

There were a couple more tasks on my list but I was tired and went to bed. I usually make my task lists bigger than what I can do so that I have room to pick what to do based on my mood (other than the must-do ones of course). I like planning but I find that when the time comes around, I don't always want to do what I planned for. My energy levels might be different. Hence, the larger to-do list with room to change the plan.

Wednesday, March 5

I woke up at 7 am and went to the office by 8. It was a regular day at work, similar to the others. I was back home around 5:30 pm.

The washing machine got delivered this day! Unfortunately, the man who delivered and was going to install it said that the water tap was not right for the inlet. Hence, we didn't have a working washing machine yet. Mom made an appointment with a plumber for the next morning to change the tap.

Instead of unpacking immediately after work, I decided to spend some time journalling instead. I journalled for the first time in the new home, under the glow of my warm lamp and with CHPTRS playing in the background. It was such a vibe. I ended up writing over 4 pages.

There are 3 things that I love incorporating into my days—reading, blogging, and journalling. Although I don't mind it if I don't do them, I have a much better day if I do. All three activities give me a break from must-do things. The 3 weeks since I first came to this city to start the job and house-hunt, I had no time to write, read, or blog. I missed these 3 activities so much.

It felt really good to journal again. I often make plans while journalling because I work through whatever is on my mind through it and it's easier to see what I should do next. On this day, I simply wrote about the highlights of my day and what I was going to do next.

My mom wanted to go to the nearby temple so we did that after I journalled. We stayed there for a good 40 minutes, watching the last archana of the day. There were two food items as prasadam so we ate them and it was enough to be our dinner.

After coming back home, I cleaned my wardrobe. It's an old steel almirah that my dad got made which kinda looks like a set of lockers. I honestly don't love it but I can't deny that it gives a lot of space and compartmentalisation. I keep all of my clothes in it, including stuff that I wear rarely.

Cleaning took a good while because I was being thorough and listened to an audiobook in parallel. I started listening to Immortal by Sue Lyn Tan in January during commutes to the old office but did not find time to continue after my last day there. I was still stuck at 30% so I finally made some progress.

It was pretty late after that so I went to bed and left keeping clothes in the almirah for another day.

Thursday, March 6

This was a PACKED day. I knew it before itself because it was kinda intentional. There were so many things to do on this day and I wanted to do all of them.

Firstly, it was my last day of training and I had a small presentation to give. I wasn't worried about it because I knew that it's a simple informal one and I had content ready from 2 weeks ago, I just had to make slides. Then, I had no work to do for a bit so I went to the library with a cup of coffee and stared out for a long time. It was nice.

The packed part was in the afternoon. There was tote bag painting at 2 pm as part of International Women's Day celebration. I really wanted to take part. Unfortunately, the event did not start until 2:30 and then the host said that it'll take another 15-20 minutes. I wandered away and joined my teammates who were playing table tennis. I never made my way back because I had a meeting at 3:30. I actually saw people painting tote bags until 5:30 pm! Their bags turned out really cute. If only it wasn't delayed, I could have participated properly.

I also signed up to play pickleball at office that day so I played from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. I had played pickleball once before with my friends about a month back. I forgot how to play, though. I forgot how to hit the ball and the rules. These guys played with different rules too. It took me an hour to start playing a bit decently. It wasn't as fun as I expected but I'd definitely go again.

There were also themed snacks for International Women's Day celebrations but I didn't have time to enjoy them as I had a cab back home at 5:30 pm. I heard from my team the next day that they were really good and felt a bit disappointed that I missed out on it.

There are tonnes of things to do in my office and I want to do all of them. I want to play badminton, pickleball, table tennis, foosball, and pool. I want to take part in Zumba classes. I want to have all the food and try working in every part of the office. I want to take part in all the events. I even want to be a part of the team that manages the library.

But, as I quickly learnt, it's hard to do all of them and I should choose some of them so that I can at least do them properly. It's probably because I'm still new to the office that I want to do everything. I've never had all these options before. It's also probably because of the scarcity mindset (although I try to fight it).

There will be a ton of events in the future and it's fine if I miss some. There will be something every time there's a festival or a specific day. I'm sure that the entire week during Diwali will be packed with events. There will also be lots of good food in the future. There will be a chance to play games every day. So, I should take things slow and do things one by one instead of trying everything at once.

It's easier to say than do. I want to exercise everyday at least. I miss exercising everyday. Playing pickleball, even if it wasn't as rigorous as badminton, was nice. It felt good to move. Other than exercising, I want to take part in events. I want to try different types of food.

I hope that I find a balance soon and let go of the scarcity mindset that if I don't do something now, I can never do it.

I reached home around 6 pm and journalled. I wrote almost 6 pages. I wrote about whatever I did at the office and about the washing machine finally being setup and ready. I also wrote about what I was looking forward to the next day (pistachio danish).

I also got some unpacking done. I put a bunch of my clothes into my almirah while listening to the audiobook of Immortal. My mom did a ton of unpacking while I was at work. She said that she's sick of seeing the boxes and she wants them out, so she did a lot. Her momentum got me going to do some of it myself until my energy ran out.

After a long time, I read a paperback! I missed reading so much. I somehow couldn't fit in any type of reading in the last few weeks. It feels great to read again at home. I picked up An Eye for an Eye by Jeffrey Archer which I bought in my last visit to the Blossoms bookstore.

I like Jeffrey Archer's books. I read all of his full-length novels until high school and didn't keep up with his latest releases after that because I got into the romance genre. My favourites were Kane and Abel and The Clifton Chronicles series. I actually waited every year for the last few books to release and read them immediately. That was a great series. I want to reread it sometime.

Recently, I've been seeing a bunch of his books that I haven't read and decided to slowly read the rest of his books too. To start with, I picked An Eye for an Eye because it sounded like a fast-paced punchy book. I read around 50 pages before sleeping.

Friday, March 7

Since it was Friday and I didn't have any early meetings as my training ended, I went into the office a bit late and had a slow breakfast. The pistachio danish that they seem to make every Friday was as good as I remember it being from two weeks ago. I took a second one to have with a coffee later.

The day was uneventful until the evening. I planned to return home around 4:30 pm but my teammates said that they'll go for zumba and asked if I want to tag along because I said earlier that I wanted to try it. I was not wearing the right clothes for it and didn't have workout clothes with me like them but I said yes anyway. I rescheduled my cab for a later time.

Zumba was fun! It was my first time trying dance as a workout and I did not expect it to be that fast, but I liked it. We did an entire hour of it and I was a bit surprised that I kept up despite not exercising regularly for the past couple of months. While I had fun, I unfortunately developed nasty blisters on my feet.

I was not wearing the right shoes so I danced barefoot and all the jumping on the hard mat wasn't good. My feet are generally pretty sensitive too. I now have blood blisters on the thumb toe of both feet and have to duck walk for a few days. No more exercise until it heals.

It's fine, I've hard minor injuries before and I can manage this too. I was just disappointed about cancelling badminton, though. The badminton games organized by people at the office get filled within 10 seconds of the form being released and I was somehow fast enough to get a slot on Saturday. However, because of the blisters, I had to give away my slot. Oh well, another time then.

I want to do zumba again too, with the right clothes and shoes

After coming home, I journalled for the third day in a row. It is so nice to journal regularly again. I wrote 3 pages, mainly about wanting to start doing my hobbies regularly again. I wrote down whatever I wanted to do the next day so that I'm prepared to do a bunch of things.

Although I was walking weirdly so as to not put pressure on the blisters, I unpacked a bit and kept more clothes in the almirah while listening to the audiobook. I could have finished it but my feet were annoying me so I left the last chunk for the next day.

I read a bit of An Eye for an Eye before going to bed. It's fast-paced as I expected but it's not as interesting as I remember Jeffrey Archer's books being. Is it this book or is it my higher standards? We'll find out.

Saturday, March 8

Happy Women's Day!

I woke up at 10:10 am with a slightly sore body. The first thing I did was make a matcha latte. I like that I get good coffee from the office's café but I missed matcha. I finally have the powder with me after moving our stuff so I decided to start the day well with it.

My matcha latte came out pretty well, if I can say so myself! I had it in a clear glass for the first time and admired the colour. The glass was actually a whiskey glass from a set that my badminton host gifted me as a goodbye gift I resolved to make more matcha teas and lattes from now on.

I journalled a bit while having the matcha latte. Although I journalled only the previous evening, I wanted to start the weekend well with morning pages. It's our first weekend in the new home so I wanted to have a great chill + productive weekend. The morning vibe was so good.

After that, I started blogging and writing this post! I was debating between writing Margins of the Week or a Kdrama review and decided this one to try something new.

I got the idea for Margins of the Week in December while journalling because I wanted to try something new but not have to write every day in a diary-style post. I also wanted the freedom of not having to structure it as a day-by-day account. I did it that way this time because I actually had a lot of events to recount but I might not in the future so I'll probably do it as themes or just write freely without any structure. We'll see.

While I have my Substack now and a lot of people seem to switch from their blog to Substack, or do newer things only on Substack, I don't want to. I still feel like there's more freedom in my blog than on Substack. I can make this look how I want it to be while there isn't that much customization on Substack. The promotion and reader aspect is different—easier on Substack—but that doesn't matter to me as much.

The stats for this blog are dwindling every day but I'm still passionate about it. I love having a space of my own. I love posting humongous posts, not knowing who it'll reach. I want to try new types of posts and mix things up a bit. I'm slowly pivoting away from bookish content too. I will always read but I don't want to talk about it all the time.

Anyway, I hope you're liking this post! I haven't written much in the last few weeks and the last 2 posts that I worked on were shorter than my usual. I didn't have the time or energy to write a lot and wondered whether my words would run dry for this post too. It's clearly not the case, considering I'm now at 4k+ word count!

I wrote this post in bits all day on Saturday. I took breaks to keep my clothes in the right places fully and eat. I had a really good nap in the afternoon too.

This city is much hotter than what I'm used to so I am kinda useless in the afternoons unless I'm inside with the AC on. It's not a problem at work because the entire office is temperature controlled and I don't feel the heat. It's definitely felt at home, though.

After lunch, I planned to blog more and went to the bed with my laptop and turned on the AC. Instead of blogging, I laid down for 5 minutes which turned into an hour. It was such a good nap My arms and thighs were a bit sore too so the nap was much needed.

I got back to blogging in the evening with a cup of tea, under the warm light of my mushroom lamp. I had tea in my "Dream Big" mug that a colleague gave a goodbye gift at my old company. I wrote a lot and stopped about an hour later since it looked like my words for the day are done.

After dinner, I read more of An Eye for an Eye. I finished half the book and wondered what's the actual story about. Half of what I thought was the big heist turned out to be solved in 3 pages. There's more? There are so many moving parts doing what looks like entirely different things. How do they connect? I'm intrigued.

I lost track of time and don't know when I went to bed since I only had the book with me, not my watch or phone. It was a nice ending to the day.

be wordy with me!

What did you think of this post? Should I add more "annotations" or less? I feel like it's a bit less but I don't feel like editing the post to add more now. I'm trying to free-write more and edit less.

How was your week/month? What would you write on the margins on your life? Tell me in the comments!

Also, since I'm looking to try newer things, let me know if there's anything you'd like to see from me! Q&As? Reading over the years? More on journalling? Something else?