A Note From The Editor

October 2024

Long before we had modern-day hotels, there were the inns of medieval Europe. Inns served as the place where travelers who made their journeys on coaches spent their evenings—resting and recuperating for the next leg of their journeys. By the mid-18th century, inns began catering to wealthier clients, and in the earlier 19th century, hotels mushroomed throughout Western Europe and North America.

In our modern lives, a hotel is a place where we retreat after a hard day’s worth of meetings and conferences when away from home. It is also the place where we seek solace between our busy lives—hotels have become a place of relaxation and rest and somewhere we opt for when downtime is required. Many of us look forward to vacations when hotels are part of our travelling deal, picking out the best of the best.

There is something about hotels – though I love it, there is a bugging feeling that comes with this love.  Every time I check into a hotel room, I see it as a place where hundreds or even thousands of other stories have been played and replayed in that same room – lives, including mine, intertwined through a hotel room.   It is a strange feeling to know that if at any one time, a tiny sliver of one of our lives takes a different turn, that hotel room and its stories will change forever. 

It’s October and opal is the birthstone for October.  Innocence, fidelity, creativity, and hope are in the air.  Also, for those of you living in seasonal places, autumn has crept in. 

Keep warm and see you in November!

Love,

Anjalika G

September 2024

There is something profound about coming back home after travel, especially if it is a lengthy one.  The excitement and anticipation of sleeping in your bed, making your coffee, and cooking your own food; the activities of dread on some days become the ones you are very excited about doing.  That feeling alone is worth heaps. 

I don’t know about you, but I am a dread-hater.  Dread pulls me down more than anything else I know.  Dread results in procrastination, which we know is the postponement and downfall of all the plans and schedules.  Hence, without dread, coffee will be brewed, food will be cooked, and beds will be made. 

I woke up this morning feeling on top of the world and grateful to be in my own four walls – kids’ squabbles and cat’s meows as part of the deal.   The Norwegian proverb, “borte bra men hjemme best” came to mind.  Translated to “nothing like home” – simple yet holds so much truth. 

Travel has become so much a part of our lives that most times, we overlook the importance of staying home.  People travel for work, for leisure, for convenience and for practical reasons.  No matter what the reason is for travel, it takes away some precious moments that can only be experienced within your own space.   I’ve always likened my home to my sacred space – while it may be sacred in a spiritual sense, it is also in emotional, physical, and familial senses.  It is the only place where I can be myself and indulge in every aspect of me-ness.  The “me-ness” equates to everything I have got to offer, experienced and immersed in; never in restricted spaces of hotel rooms or flying metal tubes (aircraft). 

Travel is a privilege, and I want that to remain as such; a privilege that I adore, but not as much as staying put with the people and things I love.

August came and August went.  Now, September is in our grasp, which means we are in the tail-end of the third quarter of 2024. 

For all that is worth, bring it on, September!

Love,

Anjalika G

August 2024

I’m seated in a café, working on emails I needed to reply to ions ago, however, something caught my attention and I cannot focus on my emails anymore.  This is nothing new; it is very prevalent these days and I truly feel the need to include it in my Editor’s Note for August. 

Next to me is a young couple, not older than 35.  For the last 45 minutes they’ve been here, she never looked up from her phone.  She continued scrolling and gawking, leaving her partner hanging out on his own, looking bored and lost, not to mention a wee bit uncomfortable.  Of course, he’ll be – I would have just walked out. She’s seated next to me and a little peep I can see that she is on Instagram.  When the food and drinks came, she continued looking at her phone, while helping herself to her lunch.  I cannot help but wonder why they need to have this couple’s lunch when she could have just eaten on her own, while continuing to gawk on lives that are not her’s, while he, can be enjoying his tuna sandwich elsewhere, alone, without being uncomfortable?

This is the current state of our world; the current state of us.  Conversations and authentic connections are pretty much a thing of the past.  How did we end up here?  Why did we allow ourselves to be here? 

Over the summer I reconnected with a relative in Norway. We have not seen each other for more than a decade.  Maria Horvath is originally from Budapest, Hungary.  She is what I call a Woman of Substance.  She is also close to being 90. 

Having been a refugee from Hungary, Maria had to decide whether to be sent to Australia or Norway.  She chose Norway, considering the proximity to her motherland, compared to settling Down Under.  With three young daughters in tow, Maria and her husband, now deceased, made their way to Norway, where they settled and make this beautiful land, abundant with nature and blessed with (oil) wealth, their home.  Maria currently lives alone and independently in a lovely, done-up apartment in Norway’s city of Porsgrunn, with daughters, granddaughters and great-grandchildren all within her reach. 

Over coffee and (Norwegian) cherries we talked about her travels, her conversations with strangers, what she learned on her journey and heartfelt connections with history and art.  Her face lighted up, she became so animated and lively when we touched on these things, clearly topics that are close to her heart.  I cannot help but feel a little envious; of how the previous generations felt deeply about things around them, thanks to the absence of technology then. 

My generation is said to be the last one that knows the beauty of living without the presence of technology.  The generations after mine, are mostly clueless about being still and present, without (technological) distractions and it’s only going downhill, from here.

I left Maria’s home with three types of sweet peppers to snack on, the ones she believes keep her focused and alert.

How do we rectify this?  How do we tell our youths and children about beauty, sans technology, when everything revolves around it?
Something needs to give before we drift further and further.

We don’t only need to wish, we can try.

Till September – vi sees snart (see you soon )!

Love,

Anjalika G

July 2024

There is something with me, summer and Sophia Loren.

Whenever summer comes around, Sophia Loren comes to mind.  I truly cannot explain why, but in the nook of my mind, I guess the beautiful summer sun, assorted colours of sun dresses and the pursuit of gorgeous tan have something to do with this vision. Sophia Loren, afterall, is the owner of all three and one of the few names synonymous with Italian cinema and later on in Hollywood, with a career spanning more than 70 years.  Whatever the reason is, she is someone worth thinking about, summer or not.

How’s your summer been?

It’s ultra-hot here in Portugal.  The temperatures in both Lisbon and Porto have been high since we arrived.  That said, the heat has nothing on what we came here for – gorgeous food, fabulous people and cobbled, hilly streets, though hard on the soles, make our hearts sing. 

Anyways, walking has always been my activity of choice.  Wherever I am in the world, my walking shoes are my loyal companion.  Walking is free and gives the feeling of happiness and freedom like no other.  I’ll walk by the beach, through the cities or little towns – breathe in all the sights, saying “hello” every so often to those along my path.  Walking exudes an immense feeling of bliss.  That said, walking had been so underrated for many years until very recently.  Walking is seen as the lesser sister to running, perhaps because running is deemed more rigorous and requires more stamina.  Walking on the other hand is seen as something done by older individuals; those with wonky knees, perhaps – but hey, whatever rocks your boat.  The most important thing is moving the body, especially with all the summer binges.

Ooh, and yes, enjoy all the summer eats, drinks and heat!

Love,
Anjalika G

June 2024

Holidays mean different things to different people.  I know many who use holidays and getaways as a time to decompress; which also means, decompressing in every single way including what they wear and how they appear in public. On the contrary, I am the kind of person who prefers to look like herself even on get-aways.  Perhaps it’s “job hazard” (I’m also a Branding Consultant) – maybe it is something I have always been used to.  Of course, it excludes prepping in front of the mirror with the usual “plastering” I do on my non-holiday work days – but a little pat here, a little pucker-enhancing there and proper wardrobe is a need for me.

Today, as I sat down at breakfast in this majestic breakfast room of a stately hotel in a hillside resort in Malaysia, I could not help but notice guests walking in with their flip-flops t-shirts and shorts, the ones I’ll perhaps wear in the comforts of my own home.  There is a stand at the entrance indicating the dress code of (the irony of it all) no flip flops and shorts for breakfast, however, for some reasons, no implementation seems to be in place.  Rules and implementation are one thing but what about self-respect?  What about respecting the establishment we are in?  What about the possibility of making a spectacle of oneself?

Anyways, June is here.  It seems like I’ve just welcomed 2024 but on the other hand, the six months seem to have been longer – the things that I’ve watched, seen, and experienced the places I’ve been to, the people I have met, the connections I have established and the re-connections I have made. 

Time is so surreal sometimes.  At times, it feels so fluid and yet another moment it seem to be at a standstill.  One thing is for sure – time will never wait for anyone.  Live, love and laugh like you mean it.

See you in July!

Love,

Anjalika G

May 2024

May is a month of celebration for our family.  May is when my daddy and little brother turn a year older.  May is also the month when my adopted home gets a new number for her years of existence.  Norway celebrates her 210th birthday this year.  You see, I married a Viking some 15 years ago and have made Oslo, Norway, my home for seven years, out of those 15.  As much as the initial moments of relocation to the far north were rather challenging, I’ve made it a point, (this was after the initial culture shock, crying and ranting) to understand the people, their country and their ideologies; what makes them the people they are, what makes them tick.  Scandinavians are not the easiest people to understand and I direct that quirk on their far north location on the map, where not many ventured to before, making their norms even normal-er because of the lack of guests from other continents.  One thing is for sure when you have figured out a Scandinavian person, that friendship or connection will last for life.  Yes, and I am talking from a real life experience.

This year, there seems to be an influx of international moves among friends and acquaintances.  Moving to a new country is never easy, especially to those places where language learning is one of the main criteria of that location.  The thought of mastering a new language, though exhilarating, can dampen the excitement.  Questions of,  “Am I able to?” and “How fast can I master it?” will stay fixated on the mind.  In any case, language learning should not be damper – an extra language in your bag is always helpful and if anything else, can be a little personal booster – or in my case, breaking into languages people in the location where I am don’t quite understand if a little secrecy, curse word, or gossip is on the way.

Over the years as a trailing spouse (I do not quite like that term but can’t find a better equivalent), I’ve often observed how many stay-at-home spouses get into situations where self-pity and loneliness become a norm.  While moving to a new country or city is exciting, the looming unknowns do ruffle up some mental adrenal-situation.  Fret not.  This is perfectly normal and once, routines have been established and at least one (human) connection has been made,  peace of mind will be restored. 

If there is one thing in my life I am grateful for is the opportunity to live in foreign places; places I never once thought I’d ever set foot into.  All these moves let me grow as a person; mentally, emotionally and professionally.  All the good friends and connections I’ve made are something I do not take lightly.  They all have taught me tons in my journey for the last 17 years.  I cannot even imagine a different life than this. 

For those soon-to-be world citizens, all the best in your journey.  The one that you are walking now is something many others wish they had, but you have been “selected” to walk it.  Enjoy every bit of it; the good, the bad and the in-betweens.  They have been brought to you for reasons you’ll only understand in time.  For now, sit back, thank your shining star, and just revel in the earth’s beauty!

Love,

Anjalika G

April 2024

I can’t tell you how happy I am that it is April already.  April holds such a special place in my heart because April is the month I was born.  April makes me feel recharged, refreshed and rejuvenated.  April opens up every possibility of my being and wanting.  It is a month of reckoning.

How’s your year going so far?

It has been a year of mixed emotions for me.  While things are looking amazing on the personal front, the global situation hasn’t been the best.  The suffering continues in Palestine.  The oppression still lingers in Congo, Sudan, China and many other places.  Substance and societal abuse are spreading in many so-called developed nations.  As a Mamma of two teenage boys, I cannot help but be concerned about this world, the very one they will inherit.  

For the last seven months, time and time again, we have witnessed how resilient, brave and powerful the younger generation is.  Protests, demonstrations, getting beaten and roughed up – all in the name of humanity.  As resilient as they are, is it fair to leave them with the mess we created?  Before all this, I’d never thought in a million years, this would be their battle.  I’ve always thought overconsumption of socials and tech were their biggest vices; their battles to win in life. 

Boy, was I wrong. 

The socials turn out to be their biggest blessing – to spread the word, inform and educate.

Anyways, April – thank you for being back.  May your beautiful spring vibe shine far and wide.

Love,

Anjalika G

March 2024

March is quite a peculiar month. March sits at the beginning of the year, yet it denotes the progression of a year. March indicates the end of a quarter of the 12 months we have been bestowed with, yet March is also the start of a new season. Oh, the beautiful spring.

March gifts us with warmth and hope. Talking about warmth and hope, this year, Ramadhan will be welcomed in the month of March. Ramadhan is the month of fasting, cleansing and utmost spirituality for Muslims worldwide.

Contrary to belief, Ramadhan is not only about refraining one self from food and drinks. Ramadhan is also a month of internal cleansing; watch what you say and ingest through all the five senses.

Until very recently, Ramadhan has always been a debate. The “Ahhhh…I can do without food, but water – nah that’s a torture for me” narrative has changed over the years. Scientists and nutritionists everywhere have discovered that dry fasting hosts benefits that one would not be able to achieve with a wet one. Amongst the main benefits are cell regeneration, faster weight loss, getting rid of water retention and the prevention of osteoporosis. For those keen, there are plenty of materials available online, lining the hows and benefits of dry fasting.

Personally, March is a month of many firsts, which I’d love to divulge right away but will I keep them till things are firmed?

Here’s to a wonderful peculiar March!

Love,

Anjalika G

February 2024

February, the month of love is here.

Growing up and spending a major bit of my life in Singapore, February in the far east, in my mind has always been synonymous with Valentine’s Day. Retail centres start their advertisement as early as January to pump and prepare consumers for this day. As a young person, I was in awe at all the possibilities and non-ending array of gifts one can give or receive. Fast forward many years later, I think of Valentine’s Day as nothing but just businesses capitalising on the promise of love, to see and be seen. With the emergence of social media in the last decade or so, it is even more important for couples to ensure their Valentine’s Day goes seamlessly, to capture every minute of the commemoration on the camera, for the world to see. A large luxurious bouquet of roses, a tray of expensive, but most often, not too decadent to taste, chocolates and of course, it is not complete without that made for two romantic trips to Bali.

The consumer behaviourism behind Valentine’s Day makes me question it over and over, at the first sign of an advertisement made to commemorate this day. For love or profit – and for the consumer, for love or clout?

February comes from a Latin word, “Februa”, which means, “to cleanse”. It was named after a Roman festival of purification. It was a month-long festival which sought to purify and seek atonement. I’m not sure if one is related to the other, but I have friends who use February as a start-off to their new year. January is for prepping, and February is all out purified and raring to go. Interesting? I don’t know because I can never understand the rationale behind it no matter how many times it’s been explained to me. One thing is for sure, to each is his own. No rights or wrongs in conducting your lives. Whatever rocks your boat!

Happy February. Catch you in March.

Love,
Anjalika G

January 2024

January comes and January promises!

I’m one who gets really excited when the new year comes around. I’m one who cherishes every bit of the countdown clock, especially in the last 24 hours of the year. A new year marks a new beginning. No matter how the previous year has metamorphosized, the next one will always have room for improvement or change.  

We hosted the New Year’s party this year, with about 20 people; many of whom we have known for nearly a decade, that is also how long we have been based in the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. These people, like us, are non-natives of Malaysia, but making it home for whatever reason they have; for most, job postings.  

It is amazing to look around and how it can suddenly dawn upon you that these people are brought to you for reasons. We might never know the reason for some but if you look closely at every relationship, they do teach you a thing or two; make a difference in your life or shift your perspective even in the minutest of ways. The people, whose happiness or struggles I might never know of if Malaysia does not happen. This goes for every aspect of our lives, too. I’ve always believed every single person that I come into contact with, helps me become the person that I am.  

The word “sonder” comes to mind. I if you haven’t already, get to know this word; revel in it. It is such a bittersweet word. “Sonder is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk,” but without which, your life wouldn’t be what it is now.

Here’s to lots more sonderings in 2024.

Love,

Anjalika G

December 2023

December 2023

2023 had been such a peculiar year. Having lived as long I as have, and have been through many years of life, 2023 feels like a great, big toxic friend who continues to weigh you down no matter how nice you try being to her. 2023 seems like a mirage. The one that keeps on inching away the more you try to come close to her.

2023 has been nothing short of a revelation in many aspects of life. The kind of revelation that is most needed and applauded but one that causes distress to some; and the nightmare continues.

In short, I am ready to leave 2023. Who’s with me?

My heart warms in imagining the prospect of what is to come in 2024. Opportunities to be explored, places to go, people to meet, books to read mountains to ski and oceans to swim.

Then, there is also the hope and dream of a much better earth. Brutality to end and justice to all, regardless of race, colour of skin or creed.

Fab! Luxe turned 3 last November and I still cannot believe this passion project that birthed out of the pandemic continues to be a big part of my life. Looking forward to some changes coming up the first bit of 2024.

Here’s to an awesome 2024!

Love,
Anjalika G

November 2023

I woke up and reached for my phone. I clicked on Instagram and quickly checked if there were any updates from Wael, Motaz, Bisan, Plestia, Saleh and Ahmed. The journalists based out of Palestine, these names have become staples in my life – and many others’ lives, globally.

This has been my morning for the last 40 days. I have come to know them, feel them, and love them. I have smiled, laughed and cried with them. We have learned so much from them about their country and their people. I have been amazed at their level of faith and surrender in the face of atrocity. I get worried whenever I don’t see any updates from any one of them. Their lives are hanging by the thread, with the constant bombing, shelling and shootings.

For the last month, I’ve been waking up tensed and palpitated. There is one thing that disappoints. The kind of disappointment that rips you – how in the face of all these atrocities, some remain neutral. Neutrality is a good thing in some instances but not this one.

Neutrality equates to complicity.

When I started Fab! Luxe, I know it will not only be for everything happy and uplifting. Our lives have a myriad of ups and downs and everything in between. I remember discussing the tag with the Fab! team and “talking about matters that matter” becomes our mantra. So, talking about matters that matter we’ll do. Might ruffle a few feathers but we rather ruffle than not. Those rufflings make us human.

To wrap up a year like 2023 is not easy – in fact, wrapping it up is not possible with the savagery and brutality still happening.

We’ll just have to hope and pray – pray for the intervention and miracle, yes, right now, with the world’s superpowers all supporting each other for the mass cleansing of Palestinians, it does feel like only a miracle could stop it.

In the words of beauty queens everywhere, I just wish for world peace!

Till December.

Love,

Anjalika G

October 2023

This morning, the planet Venus and a beautiful crescent moon made their appearances.  Time was 6:10 in the morning and I was out sending my two boys off to their school bus.  I held their hands tighter.  How lucky are we to be here?  To be standing and holding each other.  I cannot even begin to imagine the plight of mothers in Palestine and Israel, who, at this very time are grieving over the loss of their children, of their husbands, of their lives’ uncertainties.  At this point, who has taken over whose land is not important anymore.  In fact, it has gone beyond “it’s my land, it’s my right”, isn’t it? It’s not about the land anymore.   Lives have been taken abruptly, and peoples’ lives have been turned upside down in the blink of an eye. Human beings have become monsters; crazy enough to do atrocious, unspeakable things to their kind.  Yes, their kind – HUMAN.  We are of the same species but our conditioning makes us different.  In some cases, like what we are seeing in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine and Russia, the conditioning turns them into individuals devoid of feelings and emotions. Children, women and men have been hurt in the most horrific ways.  Is the land even worth fighting for? 

Mind you, these snippets of information I’ve gotten are through conversations and commentaries from the people around me.  I never want to read them or worse, stumble upon pictures which is enough to rip any mother’s heart.

I’ve stopped reading and watching the news for about two years now.  A little strange according to some because of the nature of my work but you see, seeing people getting hurt is not my idea of an uplifting morning (or afternoon or evening) read and those types of news are mainly the ones that have been making their rounds.  It all started when I stumbled upon a book while waiting for my flight in Dubai airport.

At that point, I’ve already limited myself to only some types of news – “the nothing-bloody-or-gory-lady“, according to my husband.  The title of the book is enough to make me stop in my tracks – Stop Reading the News: A Manifesto for a Happier, Calmer and Wiser Life by Rolf Dobelli.  I picked it up, paid for it, read it in one sitting and I have never looked back since.

I was talking to a dear friend yesterday and her words still ring clear in my mind, “life is too short and people are busy making life as unpleasant as possible for others and themselves.  Why?”

Yes, I also do often wonder.

We are better than that – we are definitely better than that.

Hoping for a better November!

Anjalika G

September 2023

I love being a woman, especially in this current time where women can do what they want to do and be who they want to be. I am obsessed with women. I love being around beautiful, strong, intelligent and independent – yet, a woman who is still in possession of her femininity. I thrive around women who talk kindly to themselves and others, especially to other women. I love women’s friendships – one that builds each other up without any jealousy, hatred, agenda or spite. I love being around women who nurture other women, who make sure their tribe is moving forward, along with her – no one is left behind. I love women who know and accept that men and women can never be equals – we operate and navigate through life differently and we also don’t complete each other, we merely complement, in some ways. In others, we should just co-exist – peacefully.

However, the term women empowerment doesn’t resonate with me. A little peek into the meaning of the word gives me this – promoting women’s sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change for themselves and others. Of late, everyone is jumping into the bandwagon of women-empowerment, most times, without understanding the true essence of the word. Empowering women goes beyond spoken words, a podcast series, a yearly convention or that quarterly meeting. I’ve been in situations where nasty comments were made about another fellow (woman) participant in a women-empowerment convention. I’ve witnessed unkind actions by so-called women empowerment advocates. In short, I’ve lost faith in the term, women empowerment. In my heart of hearts, I know we women can do better. We are carers and nurturers; it’s in us – it is innate.

September comes and September goes…..

September is a peculiar month. September sits in a place where summer fun is pretty much over. There is a little jejuneness circling September but one that is laced with thoughts of yuletide season approaching and that is where the mood will pick up again because more celebration is on the horizon.

Till October, live more, love more…

Love,
Anjalika G

August 2023

I don’t know about you but I always have this poignant feeling when summer is over.  Could it be because I know the kids are growing fast and the end of summer means they are advancing into a higher grade or it is because the holiday that we have (usually) painstakingly planned and arranged is over and now it is back to reality, at least for the next couple of months until Christmas rolls around?  I don’t know.

June and July disappear in a blink of an eye.  Now we are officially into the second-last quarter of the year.  Where did 2023 go?  It’s one of those years where you feel you haven’t done much but the truth of the matter is, you’ve done what you set out to do; well, at least most of it but you just don’t know how and when you did it.  Have you had one of those years?  It is interesting but it just lacks that “I did it” feeling which also translates into “I can’t feel triumphant about it”.  Oh well, perhaps it is just one of my 1st world problems.

We had great conversations over the last few months with guests from all over the world – an LA-based cosmetic entrepreneur, an Italian hotelier with a mission, a Singapore-based UK luxury yacht entrepreneur, Malaysia’s undefeated number 1 tennis player and the list goes on.

When we first started Fab! Luxe magazine we know we would like to have no-holds-barred conversations with our guests – not just surface scratching.  We want to know what makes each of them tick and what has brought them to where they are – and we’ve done just that.  The thing about having this kind of important discussions is that along the way, we will most often than not, discover ourselves – the parts of us we never knew were there. 

August has also been a month of getting my routine back into place and getting excited about what’s in store in the next couple of months.

So, excited I will be.

….till September, you take care!

Love,

Anjalka G

July 2023

I peered out of the window of the SAS flight bound from Oslo to New York and wondered if I will be back in Norway any time before next summer. You see, for the last 9 years, we have been based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Summer months have almost always been booked for slightly more than a week or so in Norway – catching up with familiar faces, places and tastes.

Being in Norway, a place I made home (and 2 babies and a million memories) conjures that warm, fuzzy, familiar feeling – something that could only mean that the place has somehow helped you grow in some ways or shift your life in a way that “home” is the only fair word to describe it.

A Joan Didion quote that depicts it for me “A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most obsessively, wrenches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, loves it so radically that he remakes it in his own image.”

June 2023

The kids are off school, and we are all ready for a long summer break. 2023 has been moving so fast – can’t help but think perhaps she’s rushing somewhere. How has your first half of the year been?

Summer travels have been the topic of conversation for the last two months or so. Once Easter hits, the topic moved from Easter garden parties to sunny somewhere with tons of food, wine, sea, sun and sand. Then, there’s the pursuit of a perfect swimsuit that accentuates every curve of the body and sunscreen that promises to protect the skin in the hottest of the Mediterranean sun. I have my favourites of these two and can’t wait to flaunt one and slather the other.

If you are anywhere in Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand, you would have known that the sun has been pretty much at the center of our attention. The heat has been almost unbearable for the past three months. In many schools, activities had been kept to a minimum and in some, even drastic measures of cancelling camps and school trips had been taken. The heat emergency has now been lifted, though I have to say, the sun continues to soar.

In my heart of hearts sometimes I do wonder, why does a person like me, who lives southeast Asia, with the sun on my face nearly every day, still look forward to be frolicking in the summer sun? Well, all I can say is, it’s the same sun but they do feel different. It’s something hard to explain but being in the summer sun, with the gleeful, jocular ambience almost feels like attending a music festival.

Perhaps it’s just our human nature; of taking for granted things that have been presented to us. In a way, the grass is always greener on the other side syndrome.

Lots of things to tie up before we leave for the summer. While some of us have summer to go to, many others are still business as usual.

Have a good one, whether it’s summer or business as usual for you.

Will write to you in July from the other side of the world!

Much love,
Anjalika G

May 2023

“What’s YOUR feeling about ChatGPT, Anj?”

A question that caught me by surprise – one day, while I was out lunching with one of my coaching clients. Let’s call him George – George sees me because he feels too suffocated with all the AI technologies that are coming up, in throngs over the last year or so. He’s in tech but the fast-moving {tech} discoveries and innovations suffocate him. George is thinking of re-training, perhaps and doing something that makes his soul happy, instead of sticking around for the (rather lucrative) pay packet.

While I don’t usually discuss my personal feelings or opinions when I run my coaching sessions, this time, I feel it is a little different. It’s not a session – it’s lunch and I think I am allowed to be honest.

“Look George, I am a traditionalist. If it’s up to me, I’d want to hold on to (my) normalcy. Things are going way too fast. We are forced to move along too quickly with changes – and ChatGPT is something I haven’t come around to like or dislike – just neutral. But I do wonder how far people will go, to put credits to their name, where it’s not due” That was my real honest feelings – no coaches were present in that answer.

Things ARE going too fast. While few I know are now slowing down, taking things easy, smelling the flowers as they go, the pandemic has also brought about a culture of urgency to many. Catching up on lost time, perhaps.

So, for the rest of us traditionalists, how do we stay true to our principles and sentiments while not getting left out in this whole tech agglomeration situation?

Firstly, get to know yourself – why do you say NO to that innovation? Is it because you find it hard to learn something new? Explore deeper, perhaps it’s limiting beliefs that place you there.

Secondly, train your brain to see the positive twist to the story. Being a traditionalist doesn’t stop me from seeing the good in whatever tech that came out and will come out in the future. I may not want to embrace it fully but yes, that doesn’t stop me from appreciating the good.

Lastly, let’s just use our guiding forces and principles to focus on the good energy, shall we? We cannot stop it, so we might as well just give our blessings to innovations, for the sake of our children and beyond.

Not sure about you, but time has left me frazzled the last couple of months. Moving so fast. We are already in May. Wasn’t it just a wink ago, we were counting down and welcoming 2023? Summer is not too far off on the horizon, which means many have started to work on their summer body, though some I’ve spoken with, reiterated with a vengeance that the pursuit of summer bodies are a thing of the past, which I think is so refreshing. Summer or not, we need to take care of this one body we are given.

So, I’ll see you in June, in the meantime, since it is the season for the international Mothers’ Day, HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY to all moms, step-moms, furry moms, adopted moms, grandmammas and aunties out there. You are phenomenal!

Bye now.

Love,
Anjalika G

April 2023

April this year is a rather intensive month for me – Ramadhan, kids’ away from school for spring break and Eid – all rolled into one.
Amidst all this chaos, my birthday falls on April 15!

As much as I love the connections and physical and spiritual lifts one will get from all these events, I can’t help but wonder – one fine day in the last few days of March, if I’m able to spread myself thin to prep for all these. A few travels needed to be made – Thailand for spring break and Singapore for Eid. Then, of course, keeping my 11 and 12 years old spring-breakers entertained on the days in between our travels. Entertained being, away from their gadgets. On top of all these, work has also gotten a little intense lately. Besides running this fabulous magazine, Fab! Luxe, I am also a Self-Development Coach.

Coaching is not an easy feat. Coaching takes a lot of oneself – the energy you give is something that needs to be replenished, otherwise, lethargy will seep in – depriving the giver of all the goodness life brings. Replenishing my energy comes in the forms of prayer, meditation, reading and speaking with someone – in my case, a coach.

Yes, a coach most times, does need her coach – to talk to, rant and offload. I’ve often said, having a coach, a therapist or a psychologist is not only for the elite, especially in our lives these days. We are living in a different time where we take on many hats, we are exposed to many phenomena, and we are subjected to many happenings – which our parents and those before have not even experienced or come close to.

Coaching helps us see the path of possibility to what otherwise seems like a dead-end and that’s why I love what I do.

Ramadhan, spring break and Eid came and gone. All successful – all targets met.

Looking forward to a less intrusive May but not without yet another two days of public holidays in the first week.

A finding in Careeraddict.com indicates that Malaysia (where I am based, as of now) has the 5th global placing when it comes to the most public holidays, alongside Myanmar, Nepal, Iran and Sri Lanka in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. Question is, do public holidays impact productivity ? Me, and I am sure not the only one, feels yes, it does. Especially those impromptu ones that we have seen here the last few months – on top of the already many off days we get.

So, Malaysia love their public holidays. For the rest of us residing here, since we can’t beat them, we gotta just join them.

See you in May!

Love,

Anjalika G

March 2023

A gloriously sunny day where I am now – in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Yes, the very same place where Michelle Yeoh hailed from. Michelle Yeoh who won the Oscars for Best Actress on March 12, for her performance in the movie, Everything Everywhere All At Once – the first ever by a Malaysian actor. CONGRATULATIONS to Michelle Yeoh for this win. She has set the bar really high now; not only for Malaysians but actors and actresses in this region.

Seated at my desk trying to churn out an interview transcript got me thinking and yearning for the beach; though one has got nothing to do with the other – but you know how the mind works; or must have been the sun.

While we are getting ready to prep ourselves (read: our bodies) for the beach season; when you are based in Asia, meaning the most time of the year, I can’t help but think about those whose lives have been turned around the last couple of months. 

A friend walked out from her 15 years marriage.  Another friend, moved continent after quitting corporate – something that had been a part of her for the last 25 years.  What affected me the most is the news of an acquaintance who lost her battle with cancer.  Our last meet-up was filled with stories of her yesteryears which were of happiness and hope.  Then there’s also a dream of travelling the world when her kids are off the nest.  Now, her kids are off the nest, but her dream of travelling the world remains a dream.  One that wasn’t fulfilled because of her deteriorating health.  A few weeks later, my dear acquaintance passed away, surrounded by family and friends in her land of birth.  Her last words to me were “I look forward to seeing you again soon.  In the meantime, enjoy your boys, husband, family and friends.  We do not know when they’ll be taken away from us or us, taken away from them.”

The very words I will hold close to my heart.

We often thought we’ll have time, we’ll have the tomorrows.  Never once do we stop and think, what if there is no tomorrow?  After all, who’d want such a morbid thought, we tell ourselves?  Thinking and making peace with the world without us in it, isn’t morbid; it’s all part of nature.  After all these years, there is one thing I know for sure – to live my life fully, I have to let go of the fear that one day, the world will lose me.  It’s a natural progression – we were born, we grow older every day, month and year and when it is our time, we’ll leave this earth.  There are no two ways about it. 

What we can do is make every single day count.  Be authentic. Love like you mean it.  Explore passion and interests as if your life depends on them.   Don’t make work your priority.  Give the best of your energy to your family and friends.  Weed out those thoughts and people who don’t serve or deserve you.  Be aware of the fluidity of time without any negative connotations because time will flow, whether you like it or not. Know that we are all placed on earth for reason.  We fulfil those very reasons and when our work is done here, we leave.

Life is beautiful – enjoy every bit of it.  Nurture and bask in its beauty.

Till later.

Love,

Anjalika G

October 2022

It is pretty unfathomable how Fab! Luxe is now entering her 2nd year of existence.

We will be speaking to a couple of Multi-Hyphenates.  These are the cream of the crop of the Multi-Hyphenates. They run a couple of successful businesses each and do them well too. They know being a multi-hyphenate means being able to live the many dreams they’ve always dreamt of; they know being a multi-hyphenate means never worrying that others might label them as flaky knowing that life is so precious – those who don’t live to the fullest, doing whatever the heart desires are in fact, wasting that every morsel of life.

We’ll talk about Gap Year; not the post-uni type but one that happens way after.  The later Gap Year and what it means, implications it has and the opportunities that might arise.

We will also look at community services and also chat with a couple of amazing personalities from different parts of the globe.  Got to stay tuned for that!

Places around the world are slowly opening up. Looking at the pictures of friends enjoying coffee by the cobbled streets of Paris, swimming in the gorgeous emerald water of the Amalfi Coast or having an afternoon cocktail on the rooftop of a hotel in LA surely sets a little pang of jealousy. For those of us still within the confinements of our borders, the home, the morning runs or if you are anything like me, the three times weekly walk to the bakery to pick up oat milk iced-cappuccino and pastries are the few thrills of life for the last many months. Grocery runs become the solace away from overwhelming Zoom meetings. 

Life is a definite rollercoaster – one moment, we are clicking away on the internet, purchasing that air ticket and booking an amazing resort in Peru, to not being able to do that for the last 1.5 years. Fast-forward to the current time, some parts of the world are slowly opening up to give back normalcy to its people, while some others are still struggling to even meet the demands of hospital beds, oxygen tanks and vaccination. 

I usually concur with the statement, “What is life without its little adventures.” The same words were uttered a couple of days ago, regards to the global situation we are all facing. Well, what I can say is, being stuck within your borders for months – with no end in sight, having your movements monitored and not being able to see and feel the people that you love is not exactly my idea of life’s adventures. 

On a happier note, I do get better at churning out few other decadent dishes than the usual ones, not to mention the garden that has been rather thriving under my constant “work-from-home” supervision. 

All can’t be bad, can they?

Have a gorgeous month, you!

Love,

Anjalika G