Flew home to Kochi for Onam and the moment I smelled the wet earth at the airport my shoulders dropped two inches. Ate a sadya, got scolded lovingly, slept like the deadlines never existed. Gurgaon pays the bills but Kerala refunds my soul.

Amma called with a 'good proposal' again, engineer, Dubai, very sweet apparently. I said I like my life and my salary account, and there was a silence you could store rice in. I'm not against marriage, I'm against being treated like a pending task on someone's list.

Started running along the golf course road at 6am, mostly to escape my own overthinking. Week one I wanted to die at 800 metres, today I did 4k without stopping. Nothing profound, just proof that consistency quietly beats motivation.

Tried the viral 3000-rupee serum everyone's reeling about. Verdict: it is a moisturiser with better marketing than my entire brand team. My grandmother's coconut oil did more and asked for nothing in return. Save your money, moisturise, sleep.

The hike math nobody explains to freshers

Got a 9% hike and HR said it as if handing me a Nobel. Meanwhile Gurgaon rent went up 15% and my building's maintenance discovered ambition. Ladies especially, please negotiate, they budget for you to say yes to the first number.