What personal item is on your desk and what’s the origin story?

Sunny Side Updates with The Brain is a Noodle || Week 42

Hello readers and writers!

Welcome to week 42 with The Brain is a Noodle, a bite-sized publication of creativity.

This week’s shortform piece is inspired by an old piece I wrote in much colder weather:

The inspiration behind this piece was that I was sitting right at my desk with one of the 1987312783 mugs I have in my thrifted collection. Though I’m part of a culture that uses mugs for everything (I genuinely never owned drinking glasses until I lived with other college roommates! We use mugs for every drink in my culture), I still associate mugs with heartwarming drinks!

It reminds me of just how much the items on our desk can say about us. It could have been a gift from someone else (e.g., a coworker, partner, best friend) commemorating a big milestone. Or that one time you tried crocheting but all that remained was a tiny fuzzball. Or a little doodle from your child that means the world to you.

There can be such variety in how we tailor what’s on our desk!

Which makes me curious — what’s on your desk? (Or counter, dresser, etc. if you live without one!)

Until next week,

Lucy 🍳 EIC of The Brain is a Noodle* Podcast || Twitter || Instagram || Redbubble || Newsletter *This is factually incorrect. Please absolutely do not go out and eat brains.

✍ Active Challenges

July Interview Challenge How to join || #July2021TBINInterview Responses

Weekly Shortform Challenge How to join || Prompt Archive || Responses

This week’s shortform prompt

What is a personal item that's on your desk? 

What is its origin story? Does it symbolize something important? Was it a gift? Is there a funny story behind it? 

Tell me all about what makes your desk (or other surfaces in your home or work) truly yours! 

Daily Poetry Challenge Prompt Archive || Responses || Subscribe for weekly reminders!

#OngoingAdventure Fiction Series Submit your chapter here || Start reading here

🍜 Piping Hot New(dle) Pieces of the Week

Challenge: *highlight* the ones you bookmarked/ read and make sure everyone gets highlighted at least once! ❤

🧠🍜 [1] My Friend is More Than Enough but She Does Not Believe by Minakshi Kumari ‘My friend says that she is not happy because people don’t like her look. I said if this is then how we are friends? She told me that I am saying it because I do not want to see her sad, but everyone prefers a good-looking personality.’

🧠🍜 [2] My Mom Thinks That Working from Home is Not too Serious by CARMEN F MICSA ‘I have worked from home ever since I got my real estate license in 2000, but to my mom that wasn’t too serious.’

🧠🍜 [3] Growth by Imad ‘Tracing back our steps mapping out our errors what we did and why because to overcome we must remember’

🧠🍜 [4] My Work-Related Pet, Peeve by Michael Burg, MD (AKA Medium Michael Burg) ‘I once had a doggy named Steve.’

🧠🍜 [5] Book Massacre by Dave Logan ‘The books sit on the shelf keeping to itself.’

🧠🍜 [6] Doof Laugh by Luke DeLalio ‘Doof laugh Like a horse in pleasure Like the time the sun was low behind me and I played with my shadow, distorting and remaking myself until the family of strangers (also behind me) couldn’t contain their laughter anymore’

🧠🍜 [7] Pet Peeves At Work — In Shortform? by Barbara Dalton ‘To stick to the brevity rules, my biggest peeve is spoon-feeding.’

🧠🍜 [8] Different by Indubala Kachhawa ‘She was dumbfound to bump into her reflection Before she could shout aloud A wry smile was given she partook, still in doubt asked, “Who are you? Do I know you” she heard the specter say “Yes, I am you”’

🧠🍜 [9] Use Your Inside Voice by Jennifer Dunne ‘My husband and I now both work from home. Currently, our offices are right next door, in bedrooms #2 and #3 of our house.’

🧠🍜 [10] The Art of Tattooing by Las siete y más ‘We all may know that the idea of tattoos came from hundreds of years ago. In many cultures, there were certain traditions where you would have to cover your body with certain symbols that were meant to give you strength (for a war), good luck (in a marriage), or to represent your growth. ‘

🧠🍜 [11] My pet peeve by Dazzling Shene ‘You ignore me as if I don’t matter I don’t exist’

🧠🍜 [12] Moist of All by Indubala Kachhawa ‘Moist is a tear drop Moist is a dew drop Most Moist is the soul Bearing the two’

🧠🍜 [13] Iced Matcha Tea Latte: A Haiku by B.R. Shenoy ‘My favorite drink from Starbucks is the Iced Matcha Tea Latte. This beverage is made with three simple ingredients: milk, ice, and sweetened matcha powder.’

🧠🍜 [14] Poem: The Color Yellow by Sruthi Korlakunta ‘There is nothing blue about it only golden.’

🧠🍜 [15] Air-con, Parched Throat, Water by Earl Grey Sea ‘Yesterday, I woke up mid-night to find my throat super parched that it almost hurt when I swallowed my saliva. I didn’t know if that was the reason I woke up, but I had to pee very badly. ‘

🧠🍜 [16] Old McDonald’s Harm by KSHernandez ‘Black farmers tillers of earth since creation to tiktok denied a minuscule sum, to fill your bellies’

🧠🍜 [17] My space by Dazzling Shene ‘My space, my home, my safe place my lit room, a brimming, piping hot cup of tea my mind, a bicycle, in constant motion colors swimming in spindles of recreation’

🧠🍜 [18] Breaking Bonds by Warren Brown ‘Break those bonds, Break those bonds today, From the past which holds you back.’

🧠🍜 [19] Will I Die? by Earl Grey Sea ‘As I hear stories Of people getting cancer I think of my own mortality’

🧠🍜 [20] Durian by Jennifer Leth ‘A delightful, delicious haiku that you should read! ‘

🧠🍜 [21] What Good is That, Without This? by TC Hails ‘What is momentum without the impetus? Stuck in a mystery waiting for clues A throw minus a catcher or field Electronic craving, no phone’

🧠🍜 [22] So You Want To Know More About Me — #3 July by Giulia ‘Do not buy into a culture where you can’t “just write”. Do not buy into a culture where you can’t write and do other things too. In other words, don’t let ANYTHING prevent you from being a writer.’

🧠🍜 [23] Green-eyed monstrous greed by Dazzling Shene ‘O thy greens, that gamy smell on thee thy currency, big, fat notes like a cigarette burns kissing ashes’

🧠🍜 [24] A Reflection Exercise on Writing, Work and Self-Care by Niru ‘[1] If you could go back to the beginning of your writing career, however far back that is, what is one tip you would give yourself? Start writing. Start Publishing. Start sharing.’

🧠🍜 [25] Swimming Lessons by Brenda Covarrubias ‘A beautiful haiku that you should click through and read in entirety! x’

🧠🍜 [26] Recognize Your Mortality to Enjoy Life to the Fullest by Ruchi Thalwal ‘The other day I read a quote from Osho when you have a headache, you agonize, ‘Oh my head, it badly hurts.’ Have you ever wondered, Where did the head go once pain disappears?’

🧠🍜 [27] The Magic of a Baby by Michael Hollifield ‘Yesterday I held a baby for the first time in years the rest of the world stood still nothing else around me was as important as this baby in my arms.’

🧠🍜 [28] Black Widow by Michael Hollifield ‘Orphaned as a child Comics different than movies Soviet Union’

🧠🍜 [29] Feeling Good and Feeling Happy are Second Cousins — Not Twins by Emily Wilcox ‘There is a difference between feeling good and feeling happy. You won’t always feel happy, but you can always feel good. Because that comes from doing good. Seeking good. Being the good.’

🧠🍜 [30] The hesitant productivity by Sharing Randomly ‘Productivity What is it? When does it appear? Why can’t we always have it?’

🧠🍜 [31] I Don’t Want to be a Money Grubber by Mark Tulin ‘Sure, I want to be comfortable but not at the expense of others I’d rather stay in my humble beginnings, without a yacht in the harbor’

🧠🍜 [32] What I learned about Death During my Run Today by CARMEN F MICSA ‘I usually run with friends, but today I ran solo, so I chose to listen to Dhru’s podcast episode entitled Is There Life After Death?’

🧠🍜 [33] Do You Want to Put Your Friendship to the Ultimate Test? by Divina Grey ‘Secondly, I am looking for a bit of relief from the guilt I still feel for venting about specific topics. So, what better opportunity to do so other than write up a response to Lucy Dan’s heart-tugging, thought-provoking prompts on friendship?’

🔊 Voices to Amplify

We don’t have to leave it to the algorithm to suggest our favourite pieces! Here are some of my archived faves!

Thank you to Johnny Silvercloud, Caroline de Braganza, Pretheesh Presannan, Aaron Kemp, Michelle Bonfils for these pieces! ❤

🧠🍜 Thank you to the Noodle Team!

challenge: pick 3 writers you haven’t met yet and get acquainted with their pieces!

New writers: Obinna Uruakpa | Sean Peck | Susan Alison | Kevin Alexander | Sharing Randomly | Brenda Covarrubias | Jimmy Misner Jr.

Stevie Wright | Disha Choksi | Roselyn Violet | Dazzling Shene | Jennifer Leth | John Gobins | Karen Falcon | America Zed | CARMEN F MICSA | Karen Schwartz | MIGHTY MISCELLANY | Ajah Hales | Gisel La Fleur | Roselyn Violet | Marcus Chan | Jennifer Dunne | Cameron Sidhe | Earl Grey Sea | Rakshita Upadhyay | O.M. Fernandes | Beth Nintzel | Barbara Dalton | George Cloake | Nhi Diep | Tarun Gupta | HerPrivateLife | Sohrab Khandelwal | Nerissa Talique | Gracia Kleijnen | Betsy Denson | KSHernandez | Luke DeLalio | Rachella Angel Page | Teressa P. | VV Valentine | Bhavya Mehta | Suntonu Bhadra | Noah Levy | Suzy Hazelwood | Ashlea Morgan | LS | Jessie Waddell | Dave Logan | Candy Marie | Himanshi B | Zihan | Elle How | K.S. | Sherry McGuinn | Diana Dee | Rambling Rose | Doran Lamb | Avi Kotzer | A.M. Radulescu | Laurie Perez | Paul Mansfield | B.R. Shenoy | Nada Chehade| Coco Joan | Bingz Huang | Shreya Badonia | Kimberly Carter | Las siete y más | Warren Brown | Trista Signe Ainswort | Kyomi O’Connor | Kay Bee | MaggieLaFae | Alex Godley | Haider Jamal | Josie Elbiry | Anthony Jackson | Hannah M. Moore | Michael Hollifield | Yana Bostongirl | TC Hails | Orla Kenny | Samedra Carter | Tatum Hamernik | Thalia Dunn | Nia Simone McLeod | Josie Elbiry | Keegan Roembke | Noorain Hassan, BMS | Humaira Iqbal | Zachary Burg | Bob Pepe | Will Hull | Jason | Courtenay S. Gray | Sahil Patel | Meenal Gupta | Amy Lee Kite | Evan Wildstein | Hilda Carroll | Chloe Hill | Paola Perez | Matt Ray | Wolfie Bain | Dena Ogden | Tasneem Kagalwalla | Yan Huang | Tree Langdon | Stuart Englander | Jennifer McDougall | Aaron Kemp | Rachel Ramkaran (she/her) | LS | Lori Welch Brown | Nicole Jiang | Crystalclearcandace | Em Unravelling | Jupiter Grant | Elle Beau ❇︎ | Suman Sandhu | Adam Deitsch | Mia Z. Edwards | David Majister | JF | Zach Neuman | Chris Mooney-Singh | Toya Qualls-Barnette | Karen Lappa Haas | Alan Henley | Michelle Bonfils | Zach Klebaner | Anna | Deepshikha Bhagat | Carlos Garbiras | Katrina Bos | Lisa Bolin | Sohaib Roomi | The Dozen | Malik Bellamy | Olivia Th | Shaista Malik | Emily Wilcox | Brajendra | Eva Rotolo | Bhavna Narula | Shannon Hugman | Ryan DeJonghe | Ryan DeJonghe | Dennett | Swagat Choudhury | Vivian | Mark Tulin | Arslan Mirza | Amber Carlson | Urfa | Whatsinanaim | Amy Pierovich, Ed.D. | Carolyn Riker | Tally | Shivangi Patel | Giulia | ScienceDuuude | Rachael Ann Sand | Divina Grey | Sarah Paris | DISHA GARG | Jen Kleinknecht | janny’s heart | Penofgold | Blank Voice | Kele Mogotsi | Jessie London | Indubala Kachhawa | Radhika Ghose | Mil H. | Zeno Faber | Maziar Ghaderi | Julia Appa | Campbell Christensen | Allison Gaines | Lori Lamothe | Tima Loku | Kim McKinney | Baye Amina | Tom Fenske | Johannes Mudi | Kasun Ranasinghe | Just a Slytherin hissing | Dr. Fatima Imam | Ntathu Allen | Somsubhra Banerjee | Veronica Georgieva | Life is Amazing with Books and Writers | Dandy Lioness 🌻 | Mindsmatter | Michael Ranjitsingh | Anjali Samaraweera | Krupesh Raikar | Rusty Alderson | Dr. Preeti Singh | Punch Drunk Cola | Melissa Speed | Ntathu Allen | Denise G | Carolyn Hastings | Tej | Vijini Mallawaarachchi | Amy Marley | Jac Gautreau | Erivaldo Ricardo | Roz Warren | Melissa Bee | Pretheesh Presannan | Daniel A. Teo | Anuradha Wickramarachchi | Niru | Priyanka Mane | Em Hoccane | Synthia S. | Alexandra Forsyth | R. Rangan PhD | Jacobo the First | Connie Song | Fathiyah Zb | Not quite Steve Fisher | Amna Asif | Aimée Gramblin | A Fresh Pot of Coffee | Rebecca Stevens A. | Imad | James G Brennan | Mary Keating | Jay Avery | h.a wadi | Pablo Pereyra | Isaac | jenine bsharah baines | Rochelle Silva | Jade-Ceres Violet D. Munoz | Ruchi Thalwal | Clare Almand | Dana Sanford | Naomi Leilani Acosta | Dr. Jackie Greenwood | Fathiyah Zb |

Ps, if any of these links are outdated, please leave a note to let me know!

🚿 parting shower thought

Tweet: I guess I have to start weaning myself off the exorbitant amounts of garlic I put in my food for flavour so that I can ease back into society for in person work.

(Read the replies, it’s like 123871623918273 people being like, no, exude your garlic energy but STRONGER and let them suffer ❤)

((I won’t, but I appreciate the validation and support 🤣🤣))