i found a professor's blog a couple days ago, and even though he's only published two articles on it, it was still refreshing to read. it is the first time i have read someone else's blog in this way, and i realise just how much of their thought process can be discerned simply by the way they weave their words. the last time he posted was february 2016, but i wish he'd continued. i wish someone reading this wants me to continue. if i keep this hosted years after i give up on it, and you're reading this years after that, i hope these years have treated you well.

honouring the ‘ramble’ part of my url, i just wanted to talk about two of my favourite compliments i have heard. #1: “every time we meet him, it's like an experience.” certain phrasings and words just seem to stick in my mind like a wall of paintings, quotes and tumblr posts someone i know has. it's so beautiful to be someone who can treat you to an experience whenever you are in their presence, and i agree! each meeting i remember of ours in recent times, it is something i cherish in my mind.

#2: “he has such a refined taste.” this one's much more recent, and goes down as something i would wish to be referred to as. it's extremely interesting to me when people have developed palettes in terms of art, and i have been consciously trying to reach that level of distinction in terms of taste. it can be a very confusing world to jump into with the nuances, delicateness and interpretations while having an extremely objective viewpoint on the hard sciences, but it's starting to pay off dividends and i am grateful for it. art is beautiful. i was watching a kitaabi cabins video today, and i had the same thought. she has such a refined taste. and i realised: hey, i've read at least some of the things she has. we keep taking the next step.

be as intentional as you can with what you want to read. you're not going to read all of the books that you want to in this lifetime, so why not just be very, very intentional with the books that you pick up.
 -charu gautam, reviewing all the books i read in 2024