Books - I Found 'The Professor' at Bargain Basement and gave it a Go

I had a dust/fur allergic reaction after we went back from Raub last weekend. It was quite bad, both my ears and throat were itchy, I was sneezing, mild headache and my nose were watery the whole day. Then I can't sleep at night, maybe due to the new coffee I drank that morning or maybe because it was the first day of my period (hormonal changes). Not exactly sure.I woke up again at 2 am, decided...

Books : On Knulp (1915) and his Idea of Freedom

I finished Knulp (1915) by Hermann Hesse yesterday. It was a quick read (probably can finish in one sitting, but I finished in 2). It is available on Scribd - no audiobook, just need to read on-screen (not my favorite method).It is a novella about an amiable vagabond named Knulp, separated into 3 sections: Early Spring, My Memory of Knulp, and The End. Knulp wanders from city to city, sometimes...

Books : Hermann Hesse On Duality

Note: Hesse wrote a lot of fiction on the concept of duality: in Siddhartha, it was 'Siddharta' and 'Govinda', in Steppenwolf it was the protagonist and the 'wolf', in Narcissus and Goldmund it was them both. I'm sure in Demian as well. In this post, I only focus on Narcissus & Goldmund because that's the one I'm reading this month. “All existence seemed to be based on duality, on contrast....

Little Story 248 : Cleaning Up My Desk & Starting Over

I'm just starting to clean up my desk again after 2 months of neglecting my own workspace. Early last week, I packed all of the office's equipment and set my computer back on my standing desk. I also got my extra drawing desk again. At this moment I only have 2 client projects and then I don't have any other work planned out. It is a bit worrying but not as anxious and stressed out as before....

Books - Reading Hermann Hesse during Flu Season

Yesterday was a little bit exhausting (because of the flu), so I spent some time in the afternoon laying down and read "Narcissus & Goldmund" by Hermann Hesse. Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet/writer, he wrote several fiction mainly about individual's search for the meaning of life, duality, self-knowledge and spirituality back in the 1900s. He later won a Nobel Prize in 1946.I first read...

Books - Book number 10, of love and pain

 Annie Ernaux is a French writer, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature last year. I already read 4 of her many books and my favorite is I Remain in Darkness: documentation since her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer, witnessing her gradual decline and experiencing loss. It was honest and heart-breaking, it reminds me about the shortness of life.Most of her books are autobiographical. Ernaux...

Little Story 247 : First 2023 Flu

Yissh, we are fighting our first flu of the year. First, it was Sofi, then Af started getting sick, and now it is my turn. Day 4 of sore throat, sleepless night, and day 2 of a really bad runny nose. I thought I'd be celebrating my freedom by doing something fun for myself, but I'm stuck with a tissue up on my nostril. I had to put a small container on my table next to me to throw all the used tissues...

Little Story 246 : A Reflection

 After the 3 months of probation, I decided to not continue working at the agency.I can give many reasons and they will sound like excuses. But honestly, I think I just couldn't keep up with the pace and the expectation. Not at my age, not after I tasted freedom. I've begun to feel anxious and jittery while working. I can feel my anxiety build up and I don't even have time to manage it (like...