He liked my Instagram picture from 34 weeks ago... does this mean he likes me?

This time, I am asking for your advice on a very serious issue. What is acceptable social media etiquette these days? We face social media dilemmas everyday, or at least I do.  Is there a rule-book on what is acceptable or not?

Social media is getting increasingly complex. With Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat and so on actively vying for our attention, it is increasingly difficult to know what is socially acceptable or not. Let us take Instagram as an example. Apparently, it's okay for someone you just added to immediately like all your pictures, including that picture of a random stone you took 34 weeks ago, during your failed attempt at nature photography. However if that same person doesn't immediately get high on the steroid of your Instagram approval and like your old pictures within the acceptable time-frame of about an hour or two (or is it a day?), and then makes the unforgivable mistake of coming back to your page two weeks later to like your pictures, the person qualifies to be labelled a stalker or a potential love interest, depending on how attractive they are. This thing is so complex, even my tenses are getting all skewed. 

Your Opinion is Valid.

Be warned, inspiration can come from anywhere.

No matter what your natural inclination is after the 3rd paragraph, please keep reading, I promise there is a point, as always.

When an idea drops into my mind, I immediately write it down. I once heard a saying that the faintest pen is sharper than the brightest brain, or something around those lines. The saying encapsulates the idea that writing down even the skeleton of your thoughts, once they come to mind, is a good way to retain the authenticity and freshness of that thought.

This post is borne out of one such thoughts. Birthed after I put myself through the sweet torture of re-watching the movie "Marley and Me" at 3.00 AM on a random day. In order for this post to make more sense, I need to give a little bit of background. You see, I love dogs. I really do. I think they are not only man's best friends, but are intelligent creatures whose loyalty and love truly overwhelm me. I always had dogs growing up, but I had a very special dog called Snoop (I am sure I will do a whole post on Snoop someday). Anyway, this movie, featuring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson was the worst movie I could have re-watched on my own, because the dog in the movie, (Marley -in case you haven't already guessed) was a whitish-yellowish Labrador, while my Snoop was a whitish-yellowish Alsatian, so both had similar physical features. Beyond the physical, both dogs also exhibited terrible puppy destructive syndrome, and reveled in the joys of chewing shoes, messing up the compound, tastefully chewing through new clothes in the laundry basket with the hope of creating a vintage rag look, running into the mud immediately after receiving a bath, amongst other unprintable but highly memorable evils. Marley becomes an integral part of the family in the movie, just like how Snoop became an integral part of mine, for almost 12 years. At the end of the movie, Marley dies, just like my Snoop died in the year 2012.

This is Marley's definition of GLORY! Snoop was not this bad, I promise.

The 20's guide to Endings and Beginngs.

Today we have a very special 20's diaries session with two amazing women I met on my academic sojourn in Cambridge. Tomi is a multiple award winning lawyer who runs a fantastic lifestyle blog, and Hannah is an incredibly talented art curator, who also runs a blog to exhibit her art.

I am inspired by these two lovely ladies, particularly as I am confident that they are on their way to huge achievements. As the "famzer" that I am ( ha ha, I actually mean "networker"-see the 20's guide to famzing here), after our final examinations, I invited them over for  dinner and we decided to shoot a video, telling you what we feel about endings and beginnings. 

This is a screen shot from a silly video Tomi and I shot on our way to dinner. The content is too ridiculous for viewing!

Customary post-dinner photo, with the Clare College crest in the background. #charliesangels

I just want to tell you about my restaurant in...SPACE.

One of the hazards of the twenties is sharing your next bright idea with someone. I refer to it as a hazard because even though sharing new ideas is an unavoidable rite of passage, it sometimes comes with weird reactions, particularly from people you consider to be in your inner circle. So you have a fabulous new idea of opening a restaurant in space, or creating a device that allows you to read people’s minds through their smile, or creating a whole new genre of music just like Fela did; but when you shared this idea with a significant person in your life, they just went “Err, this can’t work.” It seems completely ridiculous to you that someone you trust and hold in high esteem cannot see the appeal of a “spaceturant” and in as much as you might feel upset about that, I think the most likely feeling you would have is discouragement.