Within My Universe - Leslin's Blog Journey

This is a post I started writing a few weeks back, the morning after a dream I had the previous night. Procrastinator that I am, I am finally coming around to posting it today! Sorry about the delay, but please do read on. I wasn't in the best of moods when I went to bed that night, thanks to some personal issues and the overwhelming mood that has been this year, 2020, and it was a while before I finally managed to fall asleep. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am someone who tends to dream quite a bit. It is a different story that I hardly remember any of my dreams once I open my eyes, no matter how much I try to recall them again, but yes, there are exceptions to this. Today was one such day. It was one of the very few dreams that I can pretty much recall every detail of. If you wish to ask me why, well, your guess is as good as mine. How much about the human brain is known and understood, anyway? I am thankful it was just an interesting dream and not a nightmare (tha

Being stuck in the midst of this global pandemic for well over half a year now, I can't help but go back in time and reminisce on the happy moments of what feels like the good old days, when life was so much better, simpler actually, and we had the freedom to go out and about, do as we please (well, at least sometimes and some of us, anyway), and most importantly, go on trips and travel.  Sadly, this feels like a far-fetched luxury we humans can't afford to have at this point. Lost in these thoughts, I found myself browsing through my phone gallery earlier today, going through pictures of good times and fond memories of last year, and I happened to find pictures of my trip to Goa, in December 2019, a few weeks before Christmas. Goa has always been one of my favourite tourist destinations, but for some reason, it's always been the one destination that has always eluded me.  Every trip planned to Goa seemed to get cancelled at the very last minute. Every single time. Cliche

Corona Lockdown Diaries  Cactus Bloom 2020 My chronicles of the Cactus plant at our house, in bloom this year. It is about 12-15 years old, and it blooms into flowers every May, for about a month. The flower bulbs open around 10:30 pm onwards, and they close up by the next morning, around 8:30 am. It's one of the miracles of nature that I feel incredibly blessed to be able to witness, each year. I will try to post regular picture updates of the flowers that bloom this year, on this page. Night 1 2nd May 2020 3:00 a.m. One flower 🌸 🌵 The second time they bloomed was sadly when it rained very heavily for the whole night in my hometown, as a result of which the flowers were ruined and I couldn't get any pictures. More pictures and updates to follow.  Picture credit: I, me and myself. 😌

Quarantine Anecdote - 1 Sunday, 29th March 2020. I happen to be a self-confessed animal lover and I love animals of every kind, dogs and cats obviously included . However, I have heard numerous tales about cats being downright evil. Being in lockdown for nearly a week now, no thanks to the not at all dear Covid-19 pandemic, I saw this with my very own eyes today (I mean the part about cats being evil, of course!) We happen to have quite a few cats around our house in Mangalore, which me and my parents often feed, and I love playing with. My dearest jealous dog, though, who sadly happens to have a thing against the cute felines, has a field day chasing them daily. Earlier today evening, I was busy watering the garden, with my trusted doggy assistant by my side, when I saw her attention suddenly shift to the bushes nearby. Looking in that direction, I spotted a pretty little tomcat, almost hidden in the shrubbery near a young coconut tree, keenly eyeing Munni (that'