Zeinab Alayan's Blog, page 10
March 28, 2013
Facebook keeps asking what’s on my mind.
Well, Facebook, I’m not in my best of spirits I can tell you that. There have been ups and downs, occasional bursts of fun and escape from reality, and frequent headfirst collisions with the hard reality… no cushions. Sometimes I wish I could go back a few years, when I only had to worry about grades and weekend plans.
This yummy dessert is stuffed with Nutella. Absolutely to-die-for. (Photo Credit: http://krispykreme.co.uk)
You can say that this is a status update of sorts. Or maybe a sort of...
March 22, 2013
A Book’s Worst Nightmare
Having your book converted into a movie would be a dream come true, right? Just think of all the publicity, the wonder of seeing your characters brought to life on the screen, the people who would come rushing to buy your book to see how it compares with the movie… aaaaaaand that’s where the dream comes to a screeching halt and becomes a nightmare.
After the initial euphoria fades away, you start to think about all the worst-case scenarios: actors you dislike might get chosen to play your char...
March 19, 2013
I missed my own blogiversary!
Out of curiosity, I went back to the very first post on my blog – no don’t go looking; it’s nothing special! – and to my dismay I found that it was dated 12 March 2012. This means that Zen Scribbles is now 1 year and 1 week old. I can’t believe how quickly the time flies! Sadly I’m on a self-imposed chocolate ban, so no celebratory treats for me today. =[
(Photo Credit: http://whengeekswed.com)
If you had told me last year that I was going to keep up with this blog for a whole year, I would’ve...
March 15, 2013
A book not worth finishing.
It feels almost ironic that I should receive my first 1-star rating a day after I post about how I hope nobody will ever hate my books. Not only that, but that reader shelved Puppet Parade under “not-worth-finishing” on Goodreads. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it!), the reader did not leave me a text review so I have no idea what warranted putting my book under that shelf.
Thank goodness 0 ratings don’t exist. (photo credit: http://joyreactor.com)
How did I react?...
March 13, 2013
Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast.
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – the White Queen, Alice in Wonderland.
The White Queen knows what she’s talking about, that really is a good habit to practice. On days that are exceptionally bleak, it helps to have some positives to hold on to during the day. I don’t usually have breakfast, so let’s pretend the White Queen said lunch instead of breakfast, shall we?
1. The day will come when I don’t have to wake up at ungodly hours of the mornin...
March 8, 2013
Lost in Translation.
No, I’m not talking about the movie; I just thought it was high time I talked about my field of expertise. What brought this up now? An excellent translation of a German novel that made me wonder whether I would’ve enjoyed the story as much if I’d read it in its main language, and a translation of a Swedish novel that is supposedly hilarious but has so far failed to make me crack a smile.
Back in university, the one thing professors often drilled into us was that translators are mirrors. A goo...
March 6, 2013
From A to Z.
Between chocolate withdrawals, near-death escapes, power outages, work and technology’s attempts on my life – namely through locking me up in an elevator by myself for nearly thirty minutes – I have not had much time to blog, so it’s always fun when somebody tags you to answer a few things about yourself. Who doesn’t like to talk about themselves? 
I was nominated for the ABC Award by Derek at Station Deva – thank you, Derek! – and the requirements for this particular award looked like fun; a...
February 27, 2013
I am quitting chocolate.
Photo Credit: http://toomanyposts.wordpress.com
I can hear shrieks of “The world is coming to an end!” and “We’re doomed!”, and like you I understand the gravity of the situation and recognize its serious implications, but I assure you there’s no need to worry. This is not permanent, and I fully intend to resume my duties as a chocoholic and connoisseur of all things sweet in a couple of weeks’ time. I have done this before, albeit it being for 10 days, and everything turned out fine.
I have n...
February 23, 2013
A day of sweet, sweet indulgence.
I love food. I’m the type to experiment with all kinds of meals and sweets, and people usually ask me for recommendations when we go out to eat. However, I don’t really have an absolute favourite dish. I like many things… shrimps, lasagna, mushroom steak, cookies, brownies… but if you asked me to name my favourite kind of food, I couldn’t tell you. Yes, yes, I do love chocolate, but even then I couldn’t tell you my favourite brand/kind.
I did come close to asking for seconds yesterday though...
February 17, 2013
Author Existence Failure
Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about A Game of Thrones… good stuff too. I don’t know what kept me away until now, maybe it was the number of books out there, maybe it was their daunting size… or maaaybe it’s the fact that the last two books in the series will be published in 2015 and 2020 respectively.
Yes, I’m not deceiving you. Feel free to check the books up on Goodreads for their expected publication dates. I was actually planning to venture – albeit timidly – into the world of George Mart...
