My Favourite Book, "The Alchemist"

For a while, I would say I suffered from personal aliteracy. Everyday I had to focus on text for school. I was annoyed by this thing called "reading" and therefore reading for personal gain was forbidden in my book. But once school was officially over I allowed myself the opportunity to enjoy the exploitation of someone baring their soul to the world, standing naked with thin veils as cover over who they really are. There are few authors that I like to read from. I try not to get trapped into befriending an author in my head because of the fear that who I read may not be the actual person but the thought of the person. It's not good to idolize anyone to any point. But I like to believe that people read for other reasons. There are authors who I like to read from because they speak to my imagination (Stephen King), my creativity (Neil Gaiman), and my spirit (Zora Neale Hurston). But sometimes it is not the author but the book that stands out. "The Alchemist," written by Paulo Coehlo is that book for me. It is my favorite book because Coehlo speaks to my inner thoughts in every page. People have suggested other books, even one or two from the same author, but the readings don't have the same effect (for me). This is a big deal for me because I never really had a favorite anything other than the phrase "Pumpkin Pie," because I enjoy the way it sounds, and then there's my favorite time "12:34" because it's the only time when all four numbers are in order. I know, I'm quirky. If I could produce a book, that book, to speak to a person's inner thoughts, the way how "The Alchemist" speaks to my own, that would be phenomenal.

So What's it All About?

The book is not about sex.
The book is about life.
It's about human emotion -  yes, from a woman's point of view.
Not every woman, just one. No, not me.
Maybe some of it.
The book is about love.
It's about what connects one soul to another and human connection.
It's about friendship.
It's about the naivete of human beings and repeated mistakes that come in different forms.
It's about being careful what you ask for and understanding that everything comes with a price.
Sometimes, there is no answer for life.
Not all conflicts have a resolution, though they exist, not all are found or thought acceptable therefore remaining unresolved.
And even after you're physically gone from this world, you will always be alive because someone somewhere will always remember you.


Explicitly Yours,
Anandi

What you've been waiting for

Man. I feel like I just woke up from a dream. It's the moment most of you have been waiting on, including myself... I finished the book. The book, "Explicitly Yours..." that I have been writing since December 6, 2011, is complete. It's a short narrative/journal/erotic journal of a young woman sharing her deepest thoughts and experiences with the world. How much more vulnerable and transparent can you ask someone to be? I just feel so overwhelmed at the moment. It just feels like I'm still dreaming. Before I go, I'd like to thank all of my friends and readers for their support. It's a short read. Really crazy that it took so long to write and put together but I believe, and hopefully you will too, that it was worth the wait. Take care y'all. I'm going to bed.

Have a great night! Cause I sure plan to. lol. Thanks again.

Diamonds in the Sky

MakeITZen: Diamonds in the Sky: You came to me three times today and here you are yet again. What do you want? There is not a man that I'd rather be with but yet every ...

My Teacher, Ms. Television

Growing up, my mother always used to tell me, "Stop watching tv, dem people done make dey money ah-ready. Learn how to make yours," which ultimately meant exactly what she said. She never wanted me to turn off the television because she wanted me to practice learning with distractions on but she wanted me to focus on what I had to do. Anyway, when I started grad school, remembering the statement made me laugh because watching television was the only way to learn my profession. There's more to television that just mere entertainment. In grad school, I followed drama series for editing tips. Now that I'm writing "Explicitly Yours…" I love paying attention to the story line of the series that catch my attention. The meat of the story is not the same because I don't want "borrowed material," but every story has the same formula. I'd like to post more about it but I don't want to bore you. Lol. What I will say is this, when your kid wants to watch television, it may not always be a bad thing. Ok. I gotta go write this book and watch some tv so I could learn how to make my own money and some next kid growing up could be watching or reading my work lol  (uhhh… let's not slip this book into their library though. This one is for the adults lol)

Explicitly Yours,
Anandi

Have a great day guys, cause I sure plan on having one.

Art Design

Hello Lovely People!

So time is ticking on my own watch and I can't help but feeling that I am in the common mix of people who are afraid of their own success. I remember when I was younger, much much younger, and me about six years ago, I was ok with being good. I haven't read the book "Good to Great," by Jim Collins as yet, it's on my 'To-Read' list, but I realized that, as I've been bombarded with the statement lately, most people know that the enemy of 'Great' is 'Good.' It wasn't until I started grad school back in 2008 or maybe it was 2009 that I realized that being "Great" was friggin' awesome! I never had a 4.0 until then. And I thought that not having a 4.0 was ok because who the hell needed to be perfect. Haha! The answer was wrong because the question was wrong. The question should've been, "Who wants to be Great?" The answer then would've been, "ME!!!!" So I'm getting to the point. Be patient. lol. The point is lol I may possibly have to keep that question and answer in mind when I'm writing.

I met with my cover designer last week. Had nothing to do with the book whatsoever lol but in between our talk we came up with a few ideas of what it could look like. Also, I have to thank her because she gave me permission to share with you some of her ideas that she has given me so far. So thank you to Diana Leto, who also has her own blogspot, you can follow her at http://dletoillustrations.blogspot.com/


Explicitly Yours,
Anandi


I hope you're having fun, cause I sure am!

All Illustration Rights to Diana Leto

All Illustration Rights to Diana Leto

InSTALLation of my Book

For many reasons I feel as if I have stalled on writing this book. It's not that I don't think about writing everyday, I just never have the extra drive I need to continue. Ugh. I get so easily frustrated with it and with myself because so far the book isn't even 100 pages. I was writing more when I had a full-time job with a set schedule. Now when I am working on the book, I'm editing, and what happens, because I have "more time" I start to rewrite, revise, re-edit, but not W.R.I.T.E. When Reasonable Insanity Translates Everything! I don't know. Anyway. Must do some inner work to find out what is blocking me. Keep posted.

"Say Hello to My Little Friend..."

Hello Lovely People. Ok. So maybe I went a little too dramatic with the "Scarface" reference lol but I've decided to dedicate this blog to "Explicitly Yours..." and only "Explicitly Yours..." I will keep you updated with every progress of the book and maybe even post a new line or excerpt. For all other posts, such as updates on "how the fighting going?" see my new blog titled "Ah Marlon, Ah Man," at http://ahmarlonahman.blogspot.com/. For general blogs about my collective interests and occasional free writing and please see my "Make IT Zen" blog at http://makeitzen.blogspot.com/.


Have Fun (cause I sure am!)
and Make IT... Yours!


Explicitly Yours,
Anandi

At Peace with Pieces

So! Hellloooo Lovely People. I am feeling good and I hope you are too. I just had my first my jujitsu class today. I think people thought that that's what I was doing all this time but for the past year I was learning how to box. I'm no 'Laila Ali' so get that out of your head. Lol. I've started sparring and it's going good. Learning a lot. And to those who have expressed concern... my face is just fine. :P lol

On another note, "Explicitly Yours..." may need an editor. Well, in English, I may need a book editor for "Explicitly Yours..." because the more I try to edit, the more I change and write and change and write. Sigh. Maybe I will learn more patience these upcoming months and it will spillover into my entire life. I'm looking forward to it.


Have fun (cause I sure am!) and Make IT... Yours.


Explicitly Yours,
Anandi

"What's in the Name?" LoL

Haha I must say I have more people calling me by my aliases than people actually knowing my real name. To me, a name is personal. A name is something that opens up your history and may determine how you see your own life. It may even determine how you view others. I don't mind when people mispronounce my name. I don't mind when people misstate my name. I once dated a guy for about almost two years and went through the whole thing with his mother calling me 'Mandy.' I didn't care. I went through the last year of high school with my art teacher calling me by the entire meaning of my first name. Lol, I love that lady, Lauren. She constantly reminded me of the strength behind my name. The former says to me that this person is not close to me and it actually helps relax that clingy inner being residing inside me. But when a person calls me by my real name or even better, my house name... that's when I know, this person knows knows me.

Since the start of Facebook, I have titled myself 'Leillani' (pronounced Lay-Lah-Nee) which was weird for me at first because it was only my father who used to call me by that name, and I think an ex-boyfriend too when he found out, but I digress. It's my birth middle name but when FB came along I didn't actually want to be found so I used that name instead. That wasn't smart. All I did was open a can of worms, and every worm came with a different alias. Lol.

The most recent alias for me is 'Lee,' chosen by me. Why? No, it has nothing to do with Bruce and I am not claiming to be anything that I'm not. "Ain't nobody got time for that!" Lol. 'Lee' is my real last name.

Ok. Let me make that clear. My father's father's last name was 'Lee.' Yes, I have Chinese heritage and the pictures to prove, not that I actually care to prove anything. Details on where 'Gangaram' came from is not my business to tell. I haven't changed my name legally because in the end, my children (when born, no, not yet conceived) will not have my last name, but the name of their father (my husband, no I'm not married yet). I believe that children should carry their father's last name and so I carry mines. Where did 'Depp' come from? Well Dear FB fans, I am only In Love with the infamous Johnny Depp. And so I dubbed the title of Mrs. Depp.

It was almost 'Ealy.' He is gorgeous

and the more I watch him on his drama hits, the more he shows... Sorry; another tangent.  Character! I was going to say he shows his character. Anyway! The truth is, however, I believe children should take their father's surname, but I do not believe that wives should change their last names at all. Serious. MMA Dead Serious. I understand if I got married young and never established myself but I am a grown a$$ woman who have lived quite some time writing, editing, building friends, networks, and what-have-you; I will keep 'Gangaram,' and will continue to write it as my father writes his name.

So what do you call me? Well, I have my personal concierge call me 'Dr. G' on a daily basis. Don't judge me. lol. You can call me whatever name you choose. Just remember if it's disrespectful, keep it to yourself.

 LoL Have fun and Make It...Yours.



P.S. House names include titles that your family has nicknamed you from birth and also nicknames that friends have named you from since you could remember them.

Pic of "Anandi Leillani" taken by Averill Kiongozi. Pics of Johnny and Michael were captured from the internet. Pics of Me were taken by family. 

Happy New Year!

OMG ok so it only took about four hours to figure out how to get access to my account. But it's almost been a full year since we've last caught up and I do apologize. There has been so much going on and I can't wait to tell you about it! So come back to me my Loves! Nandi's Back!


~Explicitly Yours, Anandi.