Book tour pictures – Part 1

I’ve had a great time over the past few weeks jet-setting and Amtrak-ing hither and thither to talk about the book.  Of course I wore my tiara as much as possible.  I think it’s part of my gender now.  

The fun continues: I have San Francisco events coming up on April 10 (call in to KQED radio’s “Forum” show and ask me a question!), April 11 (Writers With Drinks), and May 9 (K’Vetsh).  My summer plans include Chicago, New York, Boston, Las Vegas… so please stay tuned and do get in touch if you have contacts and/or want to help me plan fun activities in your town!

If you want to check out any of the recent interviews I’ve been doing, I am posting the links (audio/video/text) as soon as I receive them here

And here are a few moments from my adventures…

March 1: Pre-launch… 

My awesome friends got together at El Rio in SF to give me a fun sendoff. Here I am with Amber Field, the talented ladybug who made my video book trailer for Leaving India.

 

 

 

 

 

March 6-7: In New York, I got to be part of a panel and evening reading during a literary festival curated by the amazing women of the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective. I was inspired by everyone’s work and by the beauty and collective power of fierce brown women artists.  

(>> photo by Preston Merchant)

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 18: Official launch day!

I started the day at BBC Studios in NY, taping a short segment with the radio program “The World” (click here to listen).  
In the evening, many sweet cool people —including a friend from high school and my cousin from Florida/South Africa — joined me for a sparkly celebration at Leela Lounge

 

 

Tonight I’m going to the APIQWTC banquet in Oakland. We pronounce it “app uh cute see”…  Gotta go get cute now, so I’ll post more pictures from the actual readings and such soon.

‘Slumdog’: Don’t just watch, do something

_45501962_slumdogkids_afp226bLong after the Oscar parties fade into tomorrow’s hangover, the reality of the suffering portrayed in “Slumdog Millionaire” will persist.  If the film moved you and you want to know, “Why isn’t anyone DOING anything about this horrible situation?” … well, maybe someone is. And maybe that someone could be you.  Read on for scenes from the movie, the corresponding reality, and what’s being done about it.

 

movie: Jamal rescues a pre-teen Latika from a brothel where she is forced to dance for older men.

reality: Hundreds of thousands of girls are trafficked into prostitution in India, with Mumbai’s red-light district being one of the largest and most brutal in the world.  I give to the Global Fund for Women, an amazing U.S.-based foundation that funds grassroots groups for girls and women around the world, with a special focus on trafficking issues.  The groups they fund work to free girls from prostitution; give them options for physical, emotional, and economic recovery; and prevent girls from being sold or kidnapped into the trade in the first place.  Learn more about traffickingdonate now or shop your values.

 

movie:  Poor children hustle to make ends meet, work for unscrupulous characters, and don’t go to school.

reality:  Elimination of child labor is tough organizing work that has to be done child by child, neighborhood by neighborhood, community by community.  Moving children from hustling, begging, and informal labour  into schools also requires empowering their caretakers through programs such as micro-loans supporting small-scale entrepreneurialism by women.  Hand in Hand is an India-based non-profit that works to end child labor in rural Tamil Nadu and “aims at building self-reliance of disadvantaged groups by alleviating poverty through sustained income generating programmes.”  Read a BBC article about the work of Hand in Hand or  visit the organization’s website.

movie:  Poop scene, women washing clothes in public pool.
reality: Yep, sewage and water are not sexy issues but they are huge.  Informal settlements such as Dharavi, though they are often referred to as slums, are larger than most cities in the world — yet basic services are lacking. Lack of access to clean water and sewage leads to poor health outcomes for children and adults.  The Society for Human and Environmental Development (SHED) works on these important issues in Dharavi; the writing on the website is a bit random and hard to wade through, but here’s a much better article on their work.

movie:  People climb on  garbage heaps, picking through refuse and living there.
reality:  Yes, this is how some of the poorest Indians eke out a living.  ACORN International’s Dharavi Project is working to organize rag pickers and waste collectors (those children climbing the garbage piles in the movie) in Dharavi.  The international wing of ACORN is affiliated with the U.S. ACORN “community organizers” who were subject of a manufactured controversy during the Obama campaign. Both ACORNs do amazing, from-the-ground-up community organizing that aims to empower the disempowered to advocate for their own rights and make needed changes in their own community, rather than take a top-down “charity” approach.

movie:  Children of the Dharavi slum go through all kinds of shit, no adults help them.

reality: yeah, children of Dharavi go through all kinds of shit.  The adults and organizations around them are severely under-funded to meet the need. Maybe that’s where we in the privileged West can make a contribution, if we educate ourselves a little bit. So in addition to the organizations above, here are few more groups and resources:

SNEHA, the Society of Nutrition, Education & Health Action, was formed in 1999 “by a group of concerned doctors and social workers to address the special needs of women and children in urban slums.” Here’s an article about their Kishori Project in Dharavi: “In Asia’s largest slum, the Kishori project is introducing young girls to reproductive healthcare, pregnancy care, HIV/AIDS and more. As added inducement, low cost trainings in computers and tailoring are drawing them to the centre for a chance to earn and save money.”
 
“Slumdog Millionaire” actor and Bollywood star Anil Kapoor has donated his entire fee from the movie to a children’s charity called Plan India.  Article here, Plan India website here.

Dharavi.org is a multimedia wiki website designed to gather information, images, and ideas on Dharavi in Mumbai. Specifically, it offers a space to discuss the Dharavi Redevelopment Project and its alternatives.

 

*DO YOU KNOW of an organization, site, or resource that should be on this list?  Please post a comment on the blog, or email me and I’ll update the list.

**PLEASE NOTE that this list is not vetted thoroughly; you should always check out organizations to your own satisfaction before transferring funds, especially internationally.

New website, events, pre-orders, and soon … books!

I’m super excited about my spiffy new website (http://www.minalhajratwala.com) and lots of exciting events coming up in March and April!  Please come by and say hi if you’re in NY, DC, LA, or SF, and invite your friends too.

I am staying very busy, counting down to launch date…  Today I heard from my editor that the finished, hardcover, REAL books are in her hands.  How exciting!  I haven’t even seen one yet.  They ship out from the warehouse today, on their way to bookstores all over the country, getting ready for the launch date of March 18!  

People have been asking me how they can get a signed copy of the book, and I’m so grateful to the wonderful people at my neighborhood independent bookstore, the Booksmith, for setting up a nifty way for friends and readers anywhere to get a signed, personalized copy.  Basically you order online with a credit card (http://booksmith.com/autograph.html), send an email to orders@booksmith.com, or call them at 1-800-493-7323, tell them how many books you want and how you want them personalized.  Then I drop by the store and sign your copy just the way you want it.  They send it to you or the person you designate, with free gift wrapping upon request!  This is a wonderful way to support not only me, but also independent publishing. Order before March 3 for quickest results.

I also want to send out mega thanks to Justin Emerson for doing such an amazing job wrangling all of my non-techie ideas into a beautiful website. Hope you enjoy browsing around, and let me know what you think.  Feedback, etc., more than welcome.  

love,

Minal

Man-on-the-street reviews of Leaving India

My inbox was full o’ fun today.
I was alerted to the the first pre-pub customer review on Amazon.com.  (Amazon gives certain advance copies to certain readers, who agree to write reviews.)  Mr. von Moller called Leaving India  “a rousing tour through a century of world events and personalities as seen from the perspective of one family, highly recommended” and gave it four stars, meaning that he liked my book more than Harold Bloom, less than a vibrating wristwatch/alarm clock.
I also received a wonderful email from my friend Thomas Connor, a Chicago Sun-Times music editor, who has a media copy. I asked him if I could post it, because it’s far more entertaining than anything I’ve ever written here.  Here it is:

Subject: You need to have some book signings at the local shelters

Let me see if I can re-create the conversation I had with a shaggy man on the train to work this morning. He shuffled down the aisle toward me — weathered black ball cap with a no-fur button and an Obama button, immensely tangled salt-and-pepper hair just past his shoulders, nubby teeth like a prehistoric fish, a gigantic white peace-sign medallion around his neck. They always speak to me, despite the earbuds. That defense never works.

“Have you been to India?” he was asking, pointing to your book in my hands.

“No.”

“Are you gonna go?” His smile was genuine, harmless, unmedicated.

“I’d sure like to.”

He then informed me that the “most virtuous woman in the world” lived there, and a few sentences later I realized he was discussing Mother Teresa.

“Is Bombay the biggest city? Maybe Calcutta?”

“Probably Bombay,” I said, wholly ignorant of the facts. “Mumbai,” I said, correcting myself.

“So why are you reading about India?”

“Because my friend wrote this book.”

He was astonished. “You know someone who wrote a book?!”

I pointed to your photo. He leaned in, squinting through his high-fashion-for-1981 prescription frames. He attempted to pronounce your name.

“She’s be-yoooooo-tiful,” he said, semi-entranced. “She looks lovely in pink.” (Yes, he actually said, “lovely.”)

“My mother wrote a book.”

“She did?” Skepticism reared in my head. “What’s it called.”

” ‘Baby Doctor.’ It’s about pediatric medicine. She invented it.” (It’s actually on Amazon: ‘Baby Doctor: A Pediatrician’s Training’ by Perri Klass.)

He then pulled out of his bag a dog-eared copy of “Persuasion” by Jane Austen. (Yes, Jane Austen.) “I’m reading this. See, girls see me reading this on the train, they think, ‘Hey, what a sensitive guy!’ “

I instantly love this city muppet. He’s not concerned that women will look at him and think, “Eek! homeless freak!” Which even I did. He’s convinced his soul — or at least the appearance of it — will triumph, that a woman’s heart will be won over by what a man reads and thinks. Well, he’d won me over.

He then thought for a moment. “Even though she’s your friend and all, what’s your honest opinion of the book?” Meaning yours. “Can you be objective?”

“I can,” said I. “I picked it up because my friend wrote it, but I confess I’m really engrossed in it now. I’ve learned so much already. It’s beautifully written and secretly informative, like the best histories.” Truly.

“And do you hope to marry this woman one day?”

I laughed. “No, no.” I paused. Does one just come out to a strange homeless person? Probably not.

“You already have a significant other?” (Yes, he actually said “significant other.”)

“I do.”

“And she doesn’t mind that you’re reading this book by such a beautiful woman?”

“No, no.”

“Well, then you have a very strong relationship.” Now he tugged at the peace medallion, which was dull white and looked as if it were made out of some kind of elementary school-grade craft clay. Remind me to donate to the city’s shelter art programs.

“This is my divining rod,” he said, brandishing the medallion, which I now could see was shaped like a heart. “It’s a peace sign, but it’s shaped like a heart, so it’s all about peace, love and” — and he knocked it against his forehead — “understanding!”

He then touched the medallion to his temple. “I’m going to predict something for you.” He closed his eyes with this thing on his temple, like he was Carnac, and said, “I think you’re going to have a really wonderful February 14th. And when you do you’ll stop and think about that pinhead you met on the train. … OK, I’m going to go sit over there now. I’ll let you read.”

And he did. He shuffled to the middle of the car and sat across from a real Scandinavian beauty, I must say. The dance was delightful. She noticed him in her peripheral vision, crossed her legs, swept blond hair from her eyes, spine straightening on alert. I can hear her: “Eek!” He harumphed into his seat, tried his best to appear nonchalant, and … slipped out the Jane Austen. I saw her scan the cover as I was getting off at Fullerton …

Thanks, Thomas!

To-do lists … Part 2: Quest for Solutions

(Start with Part 1 here, if you want)

Part 2:  Quest for Solutions

In Which Our Heroine Searches the World (Wide Web) and Shares What She Finds.

Good news: There are tons of options out there, so it should be easy to find something that works for almost any need.

My criteria again: I want something that is

• free or very low cost
• groups to-do items in categories
• assigns due dates/deadlines
• has priority levels, preferably visual
• lets me estimate how much time each task will take
• has easy integration into daily life, email/calendar
• can be worked on online or offline
• is syncable to ipod Touch
• is easy to use
• and did I mention free or nearly free?

Yep, I am one tough cupcake.  So here’s what I tried.

Task List from Google Labs

Because I’m a dedicated gmail and google calendar user, I was excited to try this brand-new feature, just launched in December 2008.

Setup and learning curve: assuming you already have gmail, 5 to 15 minutes.

Pros: Integration integration integration!

• I *love* having my to-dos be right in my gmail window, which is the web page I look at dozens of times a day.  I can choose whether to have the list be subtle, down the left-hand column along with the Chat and Label areas, or more in-my-face, popped up on the bottom right like a live chat.
• It’s very easy to click on an email and turn it into a “task,” which then shows up in the Task List by the subject line of the email, and also has a link back to the email itself, even if I’ve already archived the email.
• Basic task creation is nice, simple, easy and intuitive to use.

Cons: Key features missing.

• I so wish this could be integrated with google calendar and not just gmail.  You can set a due date (though it’s kind of hidden, so at first I thought you couldn’t), but there is no way to link the due date to your google calendar, which just seems silly.
• More suitable for a few items than for dozens; it’s just too unwieldy to put everything into one big long list.  You can make subcategories, sort of, by indenting; and you can set priorities, sort of, by moving items up and down the list.  But not really.
• The interface is kind of tiny and I kept having the task and the due-date calendar overlap so that I couldn’t actually make it work. Plus you can’t see your other tasks while you’re creating a due date for a new task, which I need to do in order to see when I have time for the new task. Very fidgety.

Bottom line: I’m keeping it installed, and I am using it as a kind of extra flagging system for emails that need action, or things I remember while I’m in my email. If you love gmail and you’re not trying to do much project management via your to-do list, it might work for you. But for my overall needs, it’s not sufficient.

~~

So then I surfed around and quickly found Brian Benziger’s 25 To Do Lists To Stay Productive, which is a fabulous starting place.  I agree with most of his notes but his list is from 2006, so a couple of the lists that he lists (say wha? yeah, I said the lists that he lists) are no longer extant, while others have been developed and now do much more. Many of these, like the popular Ta-Da, were great in and of themselves but still too simple for my confused, I mean complex, needs. (You might like ’em though, so do check out Brian’s list.)  Brian led me to…

Rough Underbelly

Setup and learning curve: 10 to 15 minutes; requires registration.

Pros: Very fun!  Makes work into a game.

• You assign 1 to 10 “points” to each task.  You can use either their system (“billable” work or getting new business gets you 10 points, whereas maintaining a professional relationship gets you 1 point) or you can make up your own mental list about how you assign value to your tasks.  When you finish a task, you “get” the points.  Then you get to see a cute little line graph showing you how awesomely productive you were today.  Fun!
• Also has a nice little timer, so if you keep it onscreen as you work through your tasks, you can see how long you are taking on each task.

Cons:

• Can’t categorize tasks (other than by the number of points assigned). I need categories, cuz I can’t wrap my brain around assigning relative importance to items in diverse areas of my life. Is “buy cat food” worth more or fewer points than “write pitch letter to Terry Gross”?  I’d hate to see my cat and my publicist battle that one out.
• Again, no due dates.

Bottom line: Excellent for what it is, a productivity booster for your one-person small business or single project. Not for multifunctional me.

~~

Rough Underbelly is based on, and led me to, the Printable CEO, where someone even more obsessive than me has created a bunch of download-and-print productivity forms. They are designed for you to keep next to you as you work.  I can’t really review them because I haven’t used it yet, but it’s intriguing enough to mention.  I will try out the Emergent Task Planner at some point, I think, which is billed as  “realistic” daily planner.  Yes, that IS what I need.  It takes a little time to click around the site and understand what the different tools are and how to use them, but he has a neat approach that basically involves turning your day into 15-minute chunks of time and then accomplishing things bit by bit, which makes total fabulous sense.

~~

Back at Brian’s top-25 list, I tried a few more things and then landed at:

Remember The Milk

Setup and learning curve: 10 to 30 minutes; requires registration; more to explore after that, if you want.

Pros: Lotsa functions, integration … task-list heaven.  I’ve already set it as my home page.

• At the free level, this site lets me input basically everything I was looking for: tasks, categories, due dates, visual priority levels (1,2,3), and how much time each task will take. Hoorah!
• I love that I can create several different lists. I can also create “tags” to group items across categories. For example, I’ve tagged items “phone” so that when I have a window of time to make phone calls, I can pull up “make hair appointment” and “call marketing person” even though those relate to different lists (Personal and Book).
• The “Location” feature lets you map your tasks geographically.  For me, I’ve started using it to identify things I’ll want to do in New York vs things I’ll want to do in DC. Then I can view all my New York items together, whether they involve personal friends or book tour business or something else.
• I love having lots of options for how I want to look at my tasks — just today’s tasks, for example, no matter what list I put them on.
• Calendaring:  A quick installation, and now my to-do items show up my google calendar, where tasks due on a particular day appear as a collapsible list at the top of the day with a little checkmark icon (sort of like the weather, if you’ve added a weather calendar).  I can edit the list, add tasks, and check them off as completed without leaving google calendar.
• Offline access: This is great for when I’ll be on an airplane trying to get work done, but without internet.
• Reminders: Option to get pinged in advance of tasks being due, via email, mobile, or your instant-message system.
• Upgrade to the $29 Pro level promises syncing with my iPod Touch (or iPhone).  Haven’t shelled out for this feature yet but if it works as well as everything else here, I’ll be delighted.

Cons:

• I have some quibbles with the user interface. For example, a checkmark in the empty box next to a task intuitively, to me, should mean the task is completed. Instead it means the task is “selected,” and I have to click on something else to actually mark it completed. Hmm. There are several things like this that are just slightly annoying.
• Several of the functions seem to only be accessible via keyboard shortcuts, with no menus. This makes the learning curve steeper than it needs to be, since it requires memorizing “m” for multiple-item selection mode, etc. Not quite as intuitive as it could be.

Bottom line: THE WINNER! Even though I’m a vegan, and not so crazy about looking at the little exploited cow icon every time I sign on (kidding… sort of…), Remember the Milk is the site for me. It’s so very functional that I’m willing to invest extra time in learning how to use it and overlook the slight awkwardness of the interface.  And I keep finding new uses for it.

And that is so much more than you ever wanted to know about to-do lists, isn’t it?

Next time, the million-dollar question:  Is all this actually making me  more productive????

To-do lists … Part 1: The Listmaker in Distress

Warning: This story is not for all audiences. Specifically, you should only try to read this if you are an organization geek. Do you fondle office supplies and make endless to-do lists and color-code your files? OK, then you might be interested. Otherwise your eyes may glaze over and you may fall asleep, drool on your keyboard, drown your computer in saliva, and thereby invalidate your computer warranty which usually doesn’t cover water damage. I take no responsibility for these or other ill effects.

Part 1:  The Listmaker in Distress

In Which We Meet Our Heroine, Understand Her Trials, and Watch Her Muddle Through the Muck of Ill-Fated Non-Solutions

(Well… I liked writing the subhead, but I don’t think I can affect the Canterbury Tales momentum for much longer.  I hope you, dear reader, will accept my apologies for the abrupt shift in tone.)

In my constant quest to organize myself, and especially now in my busy busy pre-book-launch phase (8 weeks to go! omg!), I have been desperate for a way to keep track of all the things I need to do. So I went web surfing and guess what, many brilliant listmakers with actual technical skills have come up with ways to help ME!  How sweet of them.  I thought I would share my dilemma (this part) and some of the cool tools I found (tomorrow).

I am basically a listmaker at heart. I tend to make my to-do lists in various journals and on scraps of paper.  I then lose track of them, so I am often writing a new version of what is more or less the same list because I can’t find the earlier list(s).  This is not so bad, since I actually love making lists, but it is kind of a waste of time.  It would be better if I used my love of listmaking to make new lists, I think, like the list of impossible dreams made possible, or a list of the ways cat love is superior to human love, or a list of vegan ingredients to try putting into cookies.  Maybe I need a list of cool lists to make…   ok, so you see the problem.

I also like to group my to-do items into categories, like: Book tour tasks. Phone calls to make. House stuff.  Things to buy.
Even when I have it together enough to have such a list and start doing the items on it, often I get super stressed because the list of things that I need to do is way more than I can realistically do in a day or even week. I usually don’t realize this ahead of time, so I scale the peaks of valiant productivity and then crash in valleys of despair at how much is left to do.  

So what I need is a realistic sense not only of the tasks to be done and deadlines, but also of priorities and how much time each one is going to take. In my heart of hearts, I believe that things like writing an email or doing laundry take … zero minutes.  You just do em in between other things, right?  It is amazing to me that actually, when I track it, writing a work-related email — original content, not just a reply to something quick — takes an average of 15 minutes.  It just does. Likewise, most things that I need to do take a lot longer than I want to admit.

I’ve tried various paper systems. Lost the papers or the lists got too complicated to keep on paper; scratched-out items and long doodly lines going every which way made me feel less not more organized.  From time to time I realize it would be good to harness the power of computers

So I made a pretty Excel spreadsheet with colors and categories and columns. The main problem was that it wasn’t really integrated into my daily life, so I would forget to look at it for days on end.  Even if I put it on my computer desktop, or printed it out and posted it somewhere I could see it, I just didn’t find it satisfying or enjoyable; in fact, looking at 65 items at a time made me feel very overwhelmed, even if most of them were off in the future.  Also, it couldn’t be very easily synced to my ipod Touch, which is a feature I’ll want when I’m traveling.

Bottomline I want and need a centralized place to sort out all my ideas into lists, then prioritize and see them daily in a way that will actually help me get the things done. And of course it has to be easy to use — because making the list can’t be more time-consuming than actually doing the things on the list! — and free or very low cost, because even though I am empress of my own universe, my income is definitely that of a, um, writer.
TOMORROW:

FAQ for writers

I’m writing this because, ten weeks before the launch of my first book, I am realizing that I have several outstanding requests from other writers that I just don’t have the capacity to fill as generously as I’d like to, and that the demand is likely to accelerate.  I hope this is somewhat helpful, if not quite the panacea one might desire.
In my own experience, the #1 way to get good advice and support for your writing is to be part of a community of writers and creative peers. By this I don’t mean a Facebook community (though I do love me some FB), but a real writing group, class, community group, open mic, creative organization, coach, and/or some combination of these, that meets regularly and keeps you in touch with people who are able to assist each other. 
If you are a writer of South Asian descent, I highly recommend getting involved in DesiLit, joining or organizing your local chapter, and attending one of the national DesiLit conferences that brings together writers, readers, and publishing professionals.
Q. I finished / am finishing / am working on a book.  Can you put me in touch with an agent / editor / someone in publishing?  
A. First of all, congratulations on your work, that’s fabulous!
Unless I already know you AND your work intimately, I’m afraid I do not feel comfortable recommending you to my agent. My friend Mary Anne Mohanraj has a more detailed response to this question on her website, including excellent advice to which I can’t really add anything.
There are many good resources on agents and publishing out there; Poets & Writers magazine is a good one to subscribe to if you’d like to stay on top of the latest trends for publishing your literary writing. P&W regularly features interviews with agents, calls for submissions, features on new writers, and other practical resources.
Q. Can you read my work / my manuscript?

A. Like you, I’m a working writer who needs to carve out time for writing amid many other activities, including wage-earning ones. I love to coach other writers through various stages of the writing process, and I love to read and critique manuscripts. I am lucky to be able to do this work for a fee.  (Sometimes I’m also open to barter/trade for your skills in exchange for mine.)  Right now I am taking a break from that work until after my book tour, so if you’re interested in working with me, please do get in touch after May 2009. 
Meanwhile, I highly recommend the services of Kristy Lin Billuni. She is warm, incisive, sharp, talented, affordable, and super-fun to work with: everything you’d want in a manuscript midwife.
Please note that neither Kristy’s nor my services include connecting you to an agent/editor/etc. You should be suspicious of any manuscript consultant who charges money for such connections.
Q. Do you have any writing advice?

A. Well, it’s hard to give generic advice. Again, finding or forming your own writing community, and/or hiring someone to help you, are really the two best ways (imho) to get advice at the level you need it.  I did both in order to write my book, and I found it was well worth every minute and penny that I invested in these activities.
I’ve also found books on writing and creativity to be helpful. The books I turn to again and again are:
  • The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron – on finding and holding to your creative path.
  • Wild Mind and Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg – on writing as a practice, with easy, repeatable exercises for generating new work.
  • Unstuck, by Jane Anne Staw – on working through creative blocks.
And there are plenty of others out there.
I wish you the best, and know you’re already on the right track by reaching out to the universe for help, support, and creative validation.
Love,
Minal

More daily new things

Continuing my 2009 pattern of doing one new thing each day…

January 5: Made up my own recipe for acorn squash stuffed with with apple-pear melange 

Climate change has hit San Francisco and this is the chilliest winter any of us can remember. Our cars are frosting up, there’s snow on them thar hills, and our shabby-chic Victorians have drafty windows and un-insulated ceilings, so we are COLD!  This makes me long for earthy baked warm sweet things.  

Recipe-ish: Although I called this “melange” because it’s such a fun word (say it out loud … melangemelange… there, don’t you feel all European-slow-food-trendy?), this is super-easy and not fancy at all. It’s just cutting and then putting in the oven and then taking out of oven (don’t forget that last step while you’re Facebooking).  
First I cut my acorn squash in half across the middle; what I mean is, if it were a jack o’lantern, the mouth would be on one half and the eyes would be on another. I scooped/scraped out the seeds and stringy mess with a small knife, and threw that mess away in the compost bin. Then I rubbed the cut surface with olive oil and black pepper, and placed it cut-side-down on a baking sheet at 400 degrees, and set the timer for an hour.  
Meanwhile I sliced some apples and pears (past their prime) thinly, as well as a couple of Meyer lemons. Oranges would work just fine too. I arranged the pear and apple slices in a pan like you’d do for scalloped potatoes, added non-butter, and sprinkled with cinnamon. Then I laid the lemon slices in a pretty pattern across the top and sprinkled them with sugar.  I put that in the oven too for the rest of the cooking time of the squash. I think it was about half an hour.  
Then I took everything out of the oven, scooped some of my “melange” into one half of the squash, and ate it.  I could have served someone else the other half, but why would I, when instead I can have something yummy to eat tomorrow?
By the way, while I have the oven on, I also like to wrap a potato or sweet potato in foil and bake it, if I have one around.  Instant snack for later.  Non-carb-eaters, sorry … but please feel free to help yourself to the delightful organic lettuce that’s wilting in the middle drawer of the fridge!

One new thing a day?

I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions, but given the way my year is going already, maybe I should resolve to do one new thing every day.  So far here are my “firsts”:

January 1:  Danced in the DJ booth at a club.
I had a great time ringing in 2009 to the sounds of Basement Bhangra even though we were at this massive crazy party, with more dreadlocked white people than I knew existed on this planet. Picture Burning Man inside a convention center, and you’ve got the vibe.  (Note to ravers: do *not* go up into the DJ booth unless you know the DJ or a member of her/his entourage personally, otherwise it’s annoying, especially if the DJ booth is actually a camping tent set up on a rickety platform and you dance so hard that you make the whole thing quake. Um, no.)  I wore my tiara and hot pink go-go boots and felt like one of the cool kids.
January 2:  Hired an assistant.
I’m so grateful and relieved to be able to have help during what is going to be an intensely busy time. Jessica is a smart, competent, high school student artist who happens to live right around the corner from me.  It still feels weird to say “my assistant,” and she’ll only be here a few hours a week, but I have a feeling she will greatly increase my capacity to stay on top of things and get ready for the book launch which is a mere 10-11 weeks away.
January 3:  Participated in a sweatlodge ceremony.
A deeply contemplative way to start the year.  I did this at Spirit Rock, where I’ve been on several meditation retreats before, as part of a daylong event for women of color. I’m still not sure how I feel about participating in a Native tradition to which I have very little connection and am a total outsider.  Still, I appreciated the opportunity to be in the dark, moist heat of spiritual community and commune with earth, fire, water, air, Spirit, and ancestors.
January 4:  Bought an original painting from a friend.
My super-talented artist friend Anita De Lucio had me over sometime last year, and I couldn’t keep my eyes away from a luminescent turquoise fish on her wall. When I mustered up the courage to ask her if the painting was for sale, and she said yes, I was totally delighted!  I was thinking about scuba diving, about water as my element (I’m a Cancer), and about my name which means fish. After I picked up the painting today, Anita sent me an email that read, in part: “Fishy was yours the moment you set eyes on her!  Ever since you said you wanted the painting it stopped feeling like it was mine, and it was just waiting until the time came to go to its new home!  … Fishy helped me find hope when the war in Iraq started.  Painting her was very soothing,  my brush strokes are a little ‘messier’ than in my other paintings, simply cuz I just painted as it came to me.  She’s kind of a fantasy fish and a reminder to me that anything is possible.  I hope she will keep you company and encourage you in this time of transition.”

I don’t know if I’ll keep up *quite* this pace for the rest of the year, but I do like the idea and intention of being open to trying new things … maybe even one new thing, however small, each day.  

What are you doing new in 2009?

#43 and climbing

I think year-end and top 10, top 20, top 50 lists are kind of ridiculous.  But it was fun to open up an email on the first day of the year and see myself among the Top 50 Coolest Desis of 2008, along with Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi, several Bollywood and Hollywood luminaries, and (???) Snoop Dogg. Of course most of the fun of these lists is to debate them. You can comment on who should have been higher, lower, on, or off the list at the South Asian Journalists Association Forum blog. (Or right on this blog, of course.)
Happy New Year!  Hope 2009 takes you to the top of your own list!