Friends forever

Even before i start, let me warn you it is going to be a soppy post. So you can exit right away ( i am sounding like the preface of series of unfortunate incidents)!

I am very close to some friends. Rather i get very close to some people, I am very emotional and get attached to people.. like a leech. I just cannot let go.

Every city - i have had my share of close friends.. the closest of whom i am in touch with still. The problem with me like i said is i get emotionally attached to people. I spend all my time with them... i share all .. good, bad or ugly.. trust people with life.. I wear rose tinted glasses.. and trusting people comes very easy to me!

This is not about how people have ditched me or something. Am i sounding like that? Dont mean to. I was just trying to say once i am close to anyone, i just give it all. And then if they are having bad days or ignore me, i get very upset. Its always been the case with me.

Like my school friends - we were very close.. the three of us. And then one went off to study abroad but i was ok even then because i was myself studying in a hostel. Even when i came back and started working.. i realised that things were not the same.. we had grown up.. and we had different circle of friends.. and i was ok with it.. talking to them about once in a month or something. And then suddenly the 2nd friend who was still in the city.. got married and went off to US. I was so upset.. i felt bereft (strong word i know). I mean i hardly spoke to her post coming back from college.. but i guess i was like.. she is there if i need something!

Another close friend with whom i spent hours and hours with... I am still in touch with her.. when we talk (which is once in a few weeks), we chat for an hour at least.. we pick up from wherever we left.. thats the beauty of friendship.

I get too attached. Even when i was leaving bombay, i was like how will i go on. I love my team.. what will i do without them... blore will not be good.. etc etc... the first month was very tough. But i guess things pass. I am still in touch with people who i was close to then.

Now here in blore, while i am close to some people, it is not like the relationship i shared with others. Maybe in time it will become like that.

Though most of the days i am quite cool with whatever i do - i blog (yah!!!)... i watch TV, i read , listen to music.. i do what i like doing.. in 100 days, maybe that one day.. i feel the need of company. Its so strange.. this world of friendship and the things that come attached with it!!!!!!

The anger, the joy, the frustrations.. everything. Arouses such emotions!!! Oh well.

I am not very sure if this post makes sense. But whatever.

Happiness unlimited

I got a haircuttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And its totally radical!!!! And i love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And i cannot get over it!!!!!!!! A deep breath.... hmmmm... let me start again.

I went and got this haircut yesterday. I was a bit worried because i have never got my hair cut in Blore.. so went to this salon.. hoping all would be fine.. was worried because hair is hair afterall... once cut.. you need to wait it out!!!

So anyway, i went to this place.. my confidence was boosted by my previous experience there .. i mean a non hair cut experience.. i went there and asked the credentials of the person who would cut my hair.. i was asking questions like.. who is asked for the most.. is there a senior stylist.. etc etc.. but i was told everyone cuts hair here.. i was surprised and gulped.. decided to get other stuff done so that i could think about it carefully. And then finally after much deliberation i decided to go ahead with it!!!

So when this woman asked me how i would like my hair to be cut.. i said short but leave enough so that i can tie a pony tail.. i think she stopped listening after i said short.. i usually leave it to the hair stylists to do whatever with my hair after i give the basic pony tail instruction.. you cant really go wrong with it, can you.... so i was playing with my cell.. and suddenly i look up in the mirror and realise that hair on one side is shorter in length than the other!!! She was not the kind of person who would inspire confidence.. it took her 15 mins or thereabouts to figure it out that it was indeed the case.. after much prodding from my end!!! I was worried that by the time she gets around to matching my hair length, she would have chopped off all my hair.... And then i left my cell and focused on what she was doing..

I have a fringe too!!! And no i cannot tie my hair.. i straightened it too.. and it looks amazing! When i say radical... i had quite long hair.. till shoulder blades.. now it does not even touch my shoulder!!!!!

At work today.. i had the most fun.. though embarrassing day of my life.. not only did people squeal, scream, exclaim in excitement, they were also calling other people and telling them to look at my hair!!!!

Gosh i had such a wonderful time!!!! I think everyone should get a haircut!!!!!!

But tomorrow will not be so nice.. i need to wash my hair.. so the straight part will go off... it will not look as sleek as it did today! My hair will be back to its wavy self!!! People at work suggesting i should get a permanent straightening done... it costs 5000 bucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So there it rests!!! But in the meantime, anyway let me go and preen a little more in front of the mirror!!! :)

Dont you just love the vodafone commercials

I totally love it. The creatives are apparently by O&M.

Its just tooooo cute... and brings a smile to my face!!! I love the photostat one... i also love the beauty one.. actually i like the beauty one much better... even my mom likes it... its cute beyond words.. the way they have built the characters.. faceless yet everyone can make out their personality.. assign a character to each of those things!!! That beauty ad is way too good!!! How that baby thing first sees the one with cotton on eyes and runs away screaming.. gets the elder bro to see it..runs away screaming again.. gets the eldest sis to see it.. and this time the tiny one just peeps into the room, doesnt even venture in.. and they all run away screaming!!!! Its so sweet!!!

I like the new shower one too!!! :) Adorable it is

Magical rain.. tea.. romance... sigh

I love the rains!!! Well, yeah i do.. most of the times!!! Or let me rephrase that... i love the first rain of the season.. the first few times that it rains...

Its so simply the most , THE MOST, awesome thing in the world!!! Its magic... it is ... the smell of rain.. the feel of rain... and i am so happy and excited.. and i feel nice and warm!!!!

It rained over the weekend (like i put in my last post) when we were out.. and i was out in the rain getting wet deliberately like we used to in school... and it rained today!! Correction, it is raining today...

I was off for a meeting to the back of beyond in the morning.. while coming back too there was not much respite from the heat.. and post lunch suddenly things changed.. and lo and behold.. the skies were dark.. it became windy.. stepped out twice to check if it were raining... and finally couldnt resist.. took my cup of tea and sat outside in the terrace... was so windy.. and pleasant.. was truly beautiful.. even though our office is in one of the most crowded , polluted places!!

And when we came in, we looked like we went out on a ride on a bike or something.. lol

And i left office at 6.15 so that i could come home and enjoy a cup of tea!!!!!
Tea, pakora and rain go hand in hand.. though i didnt go into so much trouble of making pakora.. but it still was pure bliss as i sipped my tea, watched friends (the serial) and smelt (or is it smelled) and felt the rain... oooohhhh... pure bliss!!! Another alternate situation which come under the same definition of pure bliss would be - tea + nice romantic hindi movie music+ a nice book (like Pg wodehouse)... tremendous!!! You know, you dont need to go to kerala/goa etc to enjoy rain.. you can do so in your own polluted city!!!! Such is rain!

Though Goa is beautiful in the rains.. so is kerala.. driving in rain is also lots of fun.. used to do that in delhi.. roll the windows down when raining and put on old hindi movie songs and sing along!!!!

Of course, with all this comes romance... how can you not think of it... playing Scrabble or just generally cozying up when it is raining outside!! Mmmmmm....

Ok i have gone mad. So i will stop now.

Children at work

Summer vacations are on.. and therefore everyday.. mostly.. you find some or the other child running around in office!!!!!

Which i find very strange.. getting kids to work for sometime is fine.. but entire day.... and poor kids.. they dont have anything to amuse themselves with!!!! Our office has no play area.. or books (meant for children)... there is a TV in the conference room but it is mostly occupied for some meeting or the other.. how do they work when their with kids are running around everywhere... though i do agree at times you do not have much of an option but to do so... but then again!!!!!

When i was a kid, i used to love going to my dad's office as he was BCL.. we used to have a lot of fun things things to do and read.. and do general timepass!!! At our office, there's nothing... so the poor kid roams around from bay to bay and cracks jokes to whoever is willing to listen... and entertains himself and doesnt get bored... hats off to the kid.. i would have been bored out of my mind!!!!

Opus : I like!!!!

Went to meet a friend at a place called Opus yesterday for brunch.... On the way, me and my husband were like.. god knows what kind of place.. etc etc..

We reached there.. and we saw a shed .. from the outside.. and we were like.... oooookkkk

And then we went in.. it was nice.. not many people.. floor seating + tables too.. and goan food..

The brunch was.. well.. ok types... but the music was awesome!!!! There was live music happening... and we listened to a lot of retro.. we were drinking and doing general timepass.. ate lunch at around 5.. and all this while we were planning to leave..

When it started raining heavily... was so amazing.. we could see the rain as the place is not fully covered.. listening to retro music.. watching rain.. was like totally amazing!! And we went and got drenched in the rain.. deliberately!!!! Oh that was smashing!!!

Post a coffee later at around 7.. we decided to drink more and hang around as it was karoke night.. leave at around 8 maybe!!!! But then karoke started.. and we were singing ourselves hoarse!!!! I mean we didnt sing sing.. we sang along with the singers... and the whole place was jampacked.. and we ended up staying till 11.30 till the place shut!!! For 9 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was so rocking... Me wanna go back!!!! :)

A quick post

Just a quick word.. a sign that i am surviving... :)

A forward that i had received.. totally loved it.. so posting it - to be read slowly...

> When Insults Had Class (no 4-letter words!!) These glorious insults are from an era when cleverness with words was still valued, before a great portion of the English language was taken over by American slang and curse words and got boiled down to 4-letter words, not to mention waving middle finger. > >

The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, 'If you were my husband I'd give you poison,' and he said, 'If you were my wife, I'd drink it.' > >

A member of Parliament to Disraeli: 'Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.' 'That depends, Sir,' said Disraeli, 'whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.' > > >

'He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.' - Winston Churchill > >

'A modest little person, with much to be modest about.' - Winston Churchill > >

'I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure. 'Clarence Darrow > >

'He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.' - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway). > >

'Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?' - Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner) > >

'Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it.' - Moses Hadas > > >

'I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.' - Mark Twain > >

'He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.' - Oscar Wilde > >

'I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... > if you have one.' - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill > >

'Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one.' - Winston Churchill, in response. > >

'I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here.' - > Stephen Bishop > >

'He is a self-made man and worships his creator.' - John Bright > >

'I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial.' - Irvin S. Cobb > >

'He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others.' - Samuel Johnson > >

'He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up.' - Paul Keating > >

'There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure.' Jack E. Leonard > > >

'They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge.' - Thomas Brackett Reed > >

'In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily.' - Charles, Count Talleyrand > > >
Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?' - Mark Twain > >

'His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.' - Mae West > >

'Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.' - Oscar Wilde > >

'He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts.. . for support rather than illumination. ' - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

Tomorrow is Vishu

Tomorrow is Vishu. Thats what we call our new year.

For years, in school, vishu denoted one thing... a) you get money (mostly) from all elders... that was the best part and thats what i loved... :)

Actually a couple of more things too... b) you get good traditional veg food and c) you see the "kanni" early in the morning... will explain this in a bit.

But i never thought i would feel for it like i do now.. ok, i mean in school.. festivals always used to be fun.. even when in college/ when i started working, i never thought that i would actually keep or uphold all traditions that mom used to for each festival!!!! I never thought i would be the kind of person who would... more because of my lack of interest in all these things.. i really was not very bothered.

But now very strangely I am. I dont know the reason for it. Maybe its a post marriage thing.. or an age thing.. i just dont know. I think when i did do things that were to be done (during festivals i.e.) the first year post marriage, my mom was also very very zapped!!! I like the fact that i am doing these small things.. however non elaborate they maybe.. but i still am!!!

So for Vishu, basically, we keep all the pictures of god on a table.. and then on a tray, put rice, bananas, yellow cucumber, yellow/orange flowers, mango, gold, .. basically all yellow stuff.. and also diya, agarbattis.. we also decorate the pictures with gold chains/ necklace... we keep this ready in the night (after cleaning the area)...

Then early in the morning ...supposed to be dawn.. but relaxed in many cases.. i get up at 5.30 or something you need to get up (the woman of the house).. and light the diya and incense.. then wake the other members of the family.. cover their eyes with your hand and then open their eyes so that they see the "kanni" the first thing.. this tradition i find quite cute!!! As kids, we would just be bumping into walls/ cupboards.. see the kanni and then just go back to sleep!!!

Of course after all this, you prepare mallu food after taking a bath!

So i am going to keep the kanni now! And food bit.. hmmm.. lets see tomorrow!!! And i will get "money" from my husband!!! lol.... young people earn a lot of money this way!!!! :)

ps: been very tied up with work and hence the sporadic posts... went to the gym after sooooooo many days today only!!!!

A short out of town trip is no picnic

Well, i went for work... obviously.. its the middle of the week!!!

We went to meet a client in Mysore. What i dont like about these trips is that most of the times you need to set out at an ungodly hour.. well it is the case usually.. the positive is if the company is good.. its great fun.. and you think, key operative word here being THINK, you can be away from work and chill .. at least during the travel time!!! Uh..hnnn... it doesnt work like that (i have the strangest inclination to wag my finger)!!! But yes you can or rather may get some respite from work...

So today in the morning i set out at 7am!!!! Imagine!!!!! Well anyway, the journey to Mysore was quite nice.. extremely pleasant in fact.. Lesson no 1 : dont keep the window open when your hair is newly/ freshly washed!!! But anyway, pleasant nevertheless.. and mysore masala dosha at some small restaurant at Nanjangud (near Mysore) was fabulous!!! Thats one positive.. you get to eat the good stuff!!!

Post meeting, it became hot... i mean really hot.. I mean enough for us to reach Bangalore in a sunburnt state.. and the one day you are out of office is the day the crisis descends at work...between all the concalls that me and my boss had.. together and separately.. we forgot the AC.. actually it did cross my mind but somehow i was under the impression that the cab did not have AC (as we didnt use it on the way down).. bore the heat till a fairly long time.. by which we were totally fried..and then finally realised and switched on the AC.. was like a miracle...:) Lesson no 2: check if cab has AC and for god's sake switch it on!!! Of course a slush at CCD put me in an ecstatic frame of mind immediately.. else i think i would have been delirious by the time we got in.. Someone please tell me.. isnt Bangalore supposed to be pleasant!!!!!!!!

And finally, i reached office at 6... worked on something and then got back home a while ago.. obscene it is!!!!

Didnt even read the books i took along!!

No picnic... definitely not!!!!