When the star came down..

Let me tell you a very enlightening story about one of God's angels.
On this same day, exactly 24 winters ago, God decided to send one of his favourite messengers to Earth, for he knew that people here needed her more than He himself did. He told his precious- "My child, you shall warm up the hearts of those who have the luck of knowing you, you shall bring joy to those distressed, your face will chase away the darkness that abounds this little planet these days, and you shall do deeds great and kind. You, Oh Beatnik, shall be the Destiny's child."
With those words, my Father sent me down here, today, exactly 24 years ago. And though I haven't really accomplished any of those great tasks that He primarily sent me down here for, I still am the Destiny's child.

*All those dummies who STILL don't get it- wish me!! :P*

Bitten by the B-B bug!

Tomorrow is a big day.. not a BIG day big day, but yeah, a day of slightly more importance than today and day after. I have a few committments, so I will be busy for the next 2-3 days, I'm guessing. If it were not for my incomparable dedication(*ahem*) to blogging daily, I would have happily taken a break for a few days. I get these blocks so often- writer's block, blogger's block, poet's block, homo-sapien's block(yeah, on a lot of occassions I have felt the need of stopping to be a human, and become a buffalo and go rest all day in a dirty pond somewhere).. so today is the blogger's block day. And like I said above, I'm busy.
But have you noticed how much can I ramble even when I'm having the B-B? I wonder what would happen if it weren't so. Maybe I'd have blogged a lenghty one on the art of crossing roads or something. Hmm. Now, now, don't you dare steal my idea for your next post! :P

The sun rises in the.. West..sorry.. East!

Q) Where might one need a compass? Your options are:
a> In a desert,
b> In a jungle,
c> On sea,
d> In a city they've lived in for more than 6 years,
e> a,b,c
f> a,b,c,d.


If you have a decent IQ, I'm guessing you'd have picked e. I pick f. No, it hasn't got anything to do my IQ(which is pretty decent btw. In case you're not convinced, read all my entries from start to end. Or not.), but the simple fact is that I'm as lost in a jungle as I'm in this city where I've spent years together.

A few examples-
I still do not know all the roads by heart. Forget the places I've never visited, or visted relatively less number or times, I'm talking about the roads on which I've commuted for more than a ..umm.. 1000 times at aleast? Drop me at some junction which is just a few minutes walk from where I shopped/hung out with friends for years, and I wouldn't know if I should take an auto or walk down. I'm not exaggerating, this exact same thing happened to me yesterday.

How about my sense of direction in general? Poorer than this. I have to always go 'East-West-North-South' to determine South if you asked me. My brain cannot process the fact that South is always behind my back, no matter where I face. You tell me once where the sea is, and then turn me around and make me face some other direction and then ask me the same question. Chances are, I'll give a wrong answer.

I can never tell which side, right or left, will the station be when I get down the train I've taken all these years when I go home. Agreed, I go home after long gaps, but any dummy would know his right from his left in around 6 years I believe.

To most people this comes as naturally as knowing A is first alphabet and Z is the last, and there are quite a few people I know who seem to have inbuilt compasses in their heads- "Oh, I think we'll just take the first two lefts, then a right, and yet another left and then 200 m down the road, on the right hand side, is the house of our best friend where we've partied everyweekend for the past one year." Of course.

It's not something to joke about , though, it can be a big pain. I'm always clueless about where I'm heading if left on my own. I can never remember the paths, have to rely on the rick-drivers to take me to my destination.. I have do not know which side will be the platform, even when it's the same station I've always boarded my train from for years.

Oh what the hell, I'd rather pay the rickshaw-walla a couple of more tenners for taking me the longer way rather than trust my instinct and take that short-cut which I've take a million times before with friends.

Look before you leap, for what you sow is what you reap!

Do you believe in Karma? That you reap what you sow? That things go round and round in a circle, and you arrive at the same point where you started towards the end of your life? Well, the last one was for the dramatic effect, but I do believe in the first two. There are a plenty of incidents which I could attribute to the work of Karma. Like, how do you explain this terrible hairfall problem that so many women(including yours truly) face? Dandruff? Think again mate, a stronger force is at work. It's Karma. Consider this scenario- You see a woman with a long silky flowly mane(say, your roommate), and you get jealous. Naturally. What do you do? You go tell her that the shampoo she's using is rumoured to have been loaded with harmful chemicals, which could very well lead to frizzled hair. She's alarmed, changes the shampoo and bam! She gets dandruff. And then, her mane is not the same again.
Maybe you didn't intend to be the 'root' cause of this tragic loss of hers, but believe me, Karma is gonna get you for this one. And so, if you end up with a similar fate, don't blame dandruff, blame your past actions.(just so you know, it's not me I'm talking about! Duh.)

I think every single thing that happens to you can be explained by this Karma logic. Like stomach ache(you subjected some poor soul to your cooking), heartache(you'd broken someone's heart long back), failing in exam(you didn't help your neighbour cheat in 8th standard), your maid stealing your ration bit by bit(the way you used to steal money from your parents' wallets whenever you could.. smartly of course).. the list is endless.

So these days, I'm living my life very cautiously. I'm making sure I don't give my Karma a chance to, say, give me a pimple, just because I lent my roommate a cream that ruined her flawless skin. And in case you're wondering what made me think of posting this extremely enlightening post today, I'll give you a hint: I missed out on a large box of Ferrero Rochers today. Now keep figuring!

I love you? I hate you?

This post is dedicated to the (current) love of my life- my GPRS. It's been a while since I've been wanting to write something to tell the world how indebted I am to this cute little technology( cute?? Yeah, I'm a girl. I like and use this word a lot, especially when I don't know the apt adjective). But, but, but.. it's not all sunny in our relationship these days. It's more like, let's say, someone's relation with their wife, after 20 years of marriage- can't live with her, can't live without her. There have been n number of times when my GPRS activated phone(Cool phone +cool phone's cable+GPRS= complete package) has helped me show-off, saved my life, made me happy and made me proud. To elucidate:

Saved my life- How do I even list all the times when my handy net connection helped me meet crucial deadlines! Remember my bus post? Another example is all those times I had to fill some form online and didn't want to go to cyber cafes in order to avoid using credit card on public computers. Who saved my ass the time the last day for a particular exam was a few hours later? GPRS.

Made me proud- Our relationship started 4 years ago when I was still in college, and since we were in an economically challenged hostel, which was WI-FIless, I was one of the first few people to show the prudence of getting my GPRS connection activated. It was an instant hit. I remember girls from a 100 rooms flocking my place just so they could check their Orkut scraps or upload a pic, or do something equally trivial. They were generous in praising my decision that helped make their lives so colorful ;)

Made me happy- This is so obvious, you have net handy anywhere you go. That's bound to make you happy.

Helped me show-off - This is one of my favorites. One day I was in lecture and in the 2nd row at that, when I decided to check my mail. My neighbor(one of the toppers of the class) couldn't help asking-'what you doing?'
My reply- 'Nothing, just checking my mail, you know. GPRS'
Her look- priceless ;)
Reason for her look- she thought I was a hopeless engineer to-be. Actually, she was right, but the whole GPRS espisode made her change her attitude towards me.

Alright, this was all about the good part. But it ain't so rosy rosy these days. Apparently our relationship has hit rock bottom of late. There hasn't been a single day when I don't curse my fragile net connection at least 10 times. I don't like it when I'm screaming in frustration or cussing, but seriously, I haven't much choice. The cons-

Betrayal- The same GPRS that helped me meet deadlines of various online exams is proving to be a big hindrance these days. Been trying to fill that darned form for days now, but everytime I fill all those thousands of details and click 'next' - yep, you guessed right- the 'web page cannot be displayed'. What the *beep*! Twice today I tried to make that extremely essential online payment(190$ at that, no joke), and twice after filling all the card details and clicking 'submit', I got a 'page cannot be found'. I almost got a heart attack. Luckily, both the payments were not processed. Gonna find an alternative to my comp as well as the cyber cafe soon. Hmm.

Moodiness- I thought only females were moody. Or is this applicable to non-living things as well? Is GPRS a female non-living thing? Heck, just imagine the thing's temper nowadays, it refuses to be up in the first place! Yes sir, no GPRS connectivity for you today, and thus begins my endless calling to the service providers, reprimanding them for such an undependable service.

Speed- Really slow. Period. Probably the only thing slower in the world is a snail whose ass is on fire. Or me, when I (pretend to) jog. Er.. you get the point.

Acting pricey- Literally. I agree it's pretty cheap compared to the various broadband options around, but seriosuly, a 333 bucks per month for a few KBPs speed without any scope of any kind of downloads('cause of the speed, not because you can't d/l on GPRS), and absoultely no dependability is quite a wastage of money.

In case you're wondering why I STILL use GPRS, I don't have a permanent address for the time being and as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I keep changing flats more often than not.

So you see, I'm confused about our love-hate relationship at the moment. Maybe GPRS IS my old wife who I can't live with or without.

What is your mobile number? WWW. ?

Disclaimer: I love my parents and this post is NOT making fun of them. I'm just stating facts.

With the authority of being my parents' kid(yes, I'll always be their kid, 24 or 42), and let's say, due to the pent up frustration from my last visit home, I'm taking the liberty of sharing the following facts about my parents' technological know-how. Now, I'm a short tempered software engineer, and I desperately want my parents to gain some basic knowledge in computers and mobiles. No, I'm not asking them to remember the comp's configurations(probably 'cause I don't remember them myself :D ), nor am I asking them to download songs and softwares on their cellphones(not tuff for us, but wayyy tuff for them). I'm just simply asking them to get technology literate. I want them to understand what amazing creations the computers are and how the distances reduce immensely once you use your cellphones.
Just listing a few memories from the years gone by..

It was a 3-4 summers back when my mom and dad finally found the courage to get themselves a cell-phone. Being hardcore medicos, the part of their brains that is responsible for gadget-handling is as small as that of my brain responsible for cooking. Sample this-

Phobia:
-- Ma didn't venture near the comp when we first bought it, for quite sometime. She wouldn't even dust the comp, or its vicinity. When finally after years we convinced her to start learning the basics of operating a comp, this is what her learning record was-
First, I tought her how to switch on, shut down and turn off the UPS. I left. Bro got home a few months later, tought her the on,off thing again and left. Then I got home a few months later. Repeat. This continued for the next two years.
After nearly 3 years, she's not even confident of the on-off thing anymore. And she's back to the not-venturing-near-the-comp routine. Last I saw, the comp was covered in dust.

Amazement:
-- This time I went home, I took my laptop with me and dad finally showed some interest in exploring it out. He was amazed to see the screen get brighter when I connected the adapter.

Confusion:
-- Dad: Beta, please create an email id for either one of us. We will need to start using the mail facility.
Me(thoroughly amazed and proud): Sure, mom's account already exists.
*Tell him the id(xyz) and password*
Dad(after a full 3 minuted silence): So we just go and type 'www.xyz.com', right?
Me: Um.. no dad, see, it's an email account. You need to give both id and password.
Dad: What is a password?
This last question came when I'd already given him a 30 minute info on websites, emails, passwords et al this time when I'd gone home. I should have known better then.

Differentiation:
-- Mom finally learnt how to use her cellphone to make/receive calls and send SMSes. But before she became the pro she is(*cough!*), she would be majorly confused about anything that remotely sounded like an SMS. Sample this:

Ma: I sent you the email. You got it?
Me: Huh? What email?
Ma: You know, you told me to send you one from my mobile for practice?
Me(pulling her leg): Ah, that.. no I didn't receive it. What ID did you send it to?
Ma(confused): I sent it on your mobile number.
Me: Come on Ma, you don't send an email from your mobile to a phone number!
Ma: Okay, so what should I have typed? www. ?
Me: *speechless*

These are but a few examples of what I have to endure every 6 months when I go home and start their training anew. But you know, Ma's finally finding her way around the mobile thing. Now she makes calls, send SMSes and stuff. My proudest moment?- When she forwarded, I repeat, forwarded, an SMS JOKE to me. Maybe my hard work of years is gonna pay someday :)

Of friends and eggs

******
I'm missing my best friend a lot today. This is for you VJ, although you'll never read it I know.

That was six summers ago when we first met
We were poles apart and still
It took us only 4 days to become friends
And I knew you were special

You were loud and insanse
I would just keep quiet and listen
But your words filled my heart with joy
And I knew you were special

We went shopping together and we went for movies
We'd be up during exams wrapped in shawls on cold November nights
And you'd come to me and tell me I'd do well on the test
And I knew you were special

We would go everyday to that little tea shop
And make fun of all the guys around
You loved tea as much as I did
And I knew you were special

We always wore lenses when going out
Even when no one would look at us
You'd let me borrow you cool new clothes
And I knew you were special

For four years we were together
And we fought only once during this time
It was you who came to make up for it
And I knew you were special

Then you found your soulmate, your love
And you drifted away from me
But you'd still call me everynight we couldn't meet
And I knew you were special

You flew away to another land and left me far behind
You got a new life and never called
Except for my birthday that year, but when you did
I knew you were special

I missed you my friend all the months we didn't talk
You were the sister I never had
And after months when you called me one day to cry your heart out
I knew you were special

I want you to know my friend
I spend every day thinking of you
Everytime a relationship goes sour at my end
I know why you were so special

Because even if we don't talk for months
Or don't see each other in years
You'll always be my best friend, my dearest
I know you'll always be special, very special

*******
On a lighter note...

When I used to hear people say, 'I can't even boil eggs', I used to wonder what their IQs must be. Until today. My IQ is 129(according to Facebook), and I can't boil eggs. And no, before you jump to conclusions, I'm(finally) comfortable with the whole cooking thing. I can cook, not only to survive, but also to fill others' stomach(when in dire need of course), and at times, I surprise myself by cooking absolutely delectable items. But there was one thing I'd never tried in my life before today- boiling eggs. I mean, it may sound like the easiest thing to know, almost as natural as say, boiling water, but it isn't! How does one know when an egg is boiled? Seriously. Everytime I think I've boiled them enough, I end up having a half boiled egg in my cup, with its gooey stuff on my hands and the egg finally in the dustbin. I tried timing the boiling even, but somehow it's never enough for the new sets of eggs. I don't even what happens when you overboil the eggs, so I'm afraid of attempting that. I read somewhere that hard boiled eggs should not be eaten(do you die if you do?). Oh, what the hell. Them stupid eggs are on the stove once more, and I'll stop eating eggs from now on if these don't boil right today.
*******

Say Cheese!

You don't have to pose while saying this though, because I ain't clicking any pics. Just got back from a cheese exhibition. Now, I am not a cheese connoisseur, in fact, not a connoisseur of any food, or art form for that matter. But I love cheese. I love the cheese slices, cheese cubes and cheese dips and spreads et al, that is available in the market. To me, cheese is just another white thing(is it the real color?) that tastes like heaven. But other than that, I knew nothing about its various tastes, names, colors, till tonight.
I must say I sampled a lot more cheese than my stomach could digest. Let me run myself a memory test. The various cheeses present at the exhibition were-
Yak milk cheese, marble cheese, Colby, Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Edam Ball with Basil, Goat milk, Diet cheese, Parmesan, Rum and Raisin, Whiskey and Walnut, Cognac and Almond, Wine cheese, Cheese spreads, dips, cheese cakes, umm... that's about all I remember.

Confession: I remembered only one name- marble cheese- which I liked the best and bought some. Rest all names I've copied from the pamphlet :D
My memory ain't that good, but at least I am honest ;)

Of this and that

So, we did catch that early morning show of that new movie I was dying to watch. And contrary to what I'd imagined, the show was house full! I mean, fine, it's a new movie with a huge starcast and popular songs and all that jazz, but seriously, I didn't know there would be so many more cheapos like me in the city who wouldn't mind getting up at 8 on a Saturday morning just to save some 70 bucks. Jeez! Does no one else have a life too? What happened to the famous Friday night party scene that the place is so famous for! And to further my notion that this is a town of misers, the next show at 11 was house full too. Yep.
Considering I had slept at 4:30 am(as usual) last night, I should have had some tough time getting up early today. Did I? Not at all. In fact, I was the first one to wake and get ready. If at all I'd showed just extreme devotion to the studying cause a few years ago in college, I would have done myself a world of good. You know, better grades, better paying job, more work to crib about and ultimately a weekend full of work too, leading to non-movie Saturdays. Er, I take my words back. I'm glad I saved my dedication to the correct cause.
I never gave it a serious thought before, but how many such things are there in this world for which I'd gladly give my sleep? Let me just try and list a few-

1) Movies. And there's no need to explain this one.
2) Novels. My personal(new) record stands for a continuous, I repeat, continuous 12 hours one night- 10 pm to next morning 10- for Angels and Demons. What else is surprising? It was a PDF. So, I was up allllll night long, and a little more, reading a book on comp that turned my eyes into buttons the following day. I feel so proud of myself! :D
3) Parties. Duh. This shouldn't need a mention, but since I'm not a big and obvious party-goer, I thought I should list this one, lest a few months down the line I forget the life I'd lead during my sunnier days.
4) Sickeness. Yes, since I'm one of the few constantly unwell(in mind or body or both) people I know personally, this is one of the major reasons why I stay up till late, days on end.
5) Fear of rats. Yes, thankfully my current flat is on the 6th floor where the rats don't reach(yet), but otherwise I have this slight phobia of those slimy, ugly, terryibly disgusting creatures. I just keep wondering all night long, if the rats are anywhere in the vicnity of my room, when they'll come and chop my ear off. I fear only this- rats chopping my ears off. Brrr.
6) TV. And no, I never watch anything- I hardly watch any show, not even the news. But I like to constantly fidget with my remote control and browse through those 100 channeds all night long. Trust me, I can browse all night long.

I hate to leave the list incomplete, but that's all I can think of right now.

There ain't no money plant in my house, yo!

The cheapsters join the club! Have you ever been so stingy, that you made yourself cringe in disgust but at the same time made you want to pat yourself on the back for accomplishing something truly out of this world? Well, I haven't. Because I do not own a purse to pull it's strings together tighter everytime there's a danger of spending involved. On the contrary, my money lies loose everywhere so that it's easy to reach for- on the couch near the door so that I can easily pay the pizza guy when he graces my house with this presence(which is almost every other day), on the bed where I like to kill time stacking all my cards(debit/credit/membership cards) and play some newly invented 'money game' with them, in my almirah drawer which is technically there to provide safe-keeping of my money, but which is never locked. Then there are my jeans and jacket pockets which almost everytime I put my hands inside them, return me with a heavy monetory surprise. Okay, I lost track of what I way saying. Yeah, something about being cheap.

The whole point of the above non-understandable ranting is that I am not stingy. Far from it, but there are times, very rare though, that I feel like indulging myself in certain activities that'll make my resume look rather different and interesting. I mean who would like to hear about another shoppaholic girl, right? So, I'm just trying to compile a list of things I've done so far in my miserable little life that can be counted as my personal best acheivements in the field of penny-pinching. Here goes-

1) I cooked for an entire month once when the money was tight. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nope, no order-ins, no maggis, nothing.
2) I went without reading a single real book for around 2 months. All this while, only PDFs which my kind cousin mailed me.
3) Bought only ONE-yep a solitary, single, lone- top for my birthday.
4) Went for an entire month without making a single international call from my mobile. And only 10 SMSes.
5) Lied to a group of friends about not being in town when there was a plan to throw a surprise party for someone. I didn't want to pull in for the party.
6) Ran away to another town last year on my birthday so that I wouldn't have to give people a birthday treat at that obscenely expensive restaurant they wanted.
7) Got only 2 streaks of hair colored instead of the whole crown in a bid to save money. Had to walk almost 2 kms in order to find the only salon in town offering this facility of 'pay according to the number of streaks'.
8) I haven't changed my glasses in the last 2 years. Not even the frame, or the lenses.
9) Used to go for the early morning 9 am show for animated movies when in college to save money.
10) Going to do just that tomorrow after almost 2 years. There's a 8:45 am show of the movie that released today and I will be saving 50-70 bucks by waking up a few hours early tomorrow.

So, how do you compare?

Grumpy Grumperson strikes again.

I'm not sure taking up the NaBlo challenge has done a world of good to me, personally. If I ever read my November entries ever in future(which I'll try and avoid as much as possible), they are going to be either
a) A collection of grumpy posts, or
b) A mention of NaBloPoMo or NaNoWriMo in every other entry.

Why oh why did I choose this fate for myself! I'm talking only about me every day because I have to post every day and I cannot think of anything interesting to write about! Then, my eyes have started hurting as hell since the last two days for I have sooo much work online. Then this stupid blogging and novel writing task. I need a break! Why can't I simply break my commitment to both the Na's when no one's looking/reading?! No one is reading anyway, and no one will ever know. Except me. Sigh.
I hate internet. I really do.

...

I am sad today. Had an overdose of hearing about the sadness of so many of those who I truly care about. I want to pray hard for all of them, but over the past few months I've just turned faithless. But still, all you people, I just wish you guys well. Hope things get better soon. I love you more than you know.

So, what just happened?

Has it ever happened to you that you woke up one day and realized that you aren't you anymore? That things aren't the same with you and that you can hardly recognize yourself? Well, I'm a victim of this paranormal phenomenon, and trust me, it's very bewildering. The whole list of differences between the me a year before, and the me now-
1) I've gotten super obsessive about cleaning, a la Monica Geller. I mean, maybe a tad less than that, but obsessive nonetheless. Around 10 years back, my father had reprimanded me for my messed room saying, 'even dogs clean the area where they're about to sit'.. it did hurt then, but not so much as to change me completely some 10 years down the line. In fact, I didn't realize how obsessive I'd gotten of late till I found myself cleaning every single dish(that was already washed), both for daily use, and on display shelf. I must have washed some 70 dishes in one day, alongwith cleaning all the glass tables, windows etc, AND wiping all the woodwork with some special spray I had at my disposal. I dusted and I mopped and I broomed and I grumbled all this while about how unclean my parents were!
2) I developed an interest in cooking. Till late last year, all I wanted to enter the kitchen was for preparing my daily 3-4 cups of tea. But one day suddenly out of the blue, I just decided I wanted to prepare a wholesome dinner for my roommate and me, and was in the kitchen for hours together working like a professional chef. The surprise factor? I'd never prepared a meal before, but it turned out to be excellento.
3) I started sleeping less. And by less I mean, less than my compulsory 8-9 hours every day. Till last year, I would sleep everynight for an average of 9 hours on workdays and more on weekends. And now, I hardly sleep for 6-7 hours everyday, come what may.
4) And this is the one that stands out. Yesterday, the whole of yesterday, I went without tea. Yes, not one cup for more than 24 hours. And if you cannot understand the gravity of this situation, try going without air for more than 3 minutes. This is how my tea is important to me. And the reason why I'm stressing this point so much is because only today did I remember that I didn't have tea yesterday!

All the above changes in me call for serious contemplation on my part. The only possible explanations I can think of are-
a) I was abducted by some aliens who conducted experiments on me and who, before sending me back to earth and in a bid to erase my memory, also messed up the part of my brain thereby changing my basic personality, or
b) I fell down, hit my head, got partial amnesia or something, and now I'm living a new life.

I would have listed a third possibility of a split personality, but the fact that I still watch endless movies and read novels like insane and hate tomotoes and onions, rules out this option. So, the question remains unanswered- what just happened?!

Somewhere I belong?

This is the 3rd time I'm going to change my flat in less than a year. It's too much, even by my standards. I'm a self-confessed wanderer, and I just can't be rooted to a single house/city for an entire lifetime. I'm not even a homebird for that matter. But the way I'm running away from all the new people and places is scaring me. There must be something wrong with me, right? Well, there is, and I know what it is, and also that it can't be helped. It IS difficult to put up with some random 2-3 more women for long, especially when we're talking about TWO-THREE RANDOM WOMEN, but I can't keep running away for the rest of my life now, can I? It's just that, I don't feel like I belong somewhere even after spending a considerable period of time at one single place. Classic example is my parents' home(note: it's my parents' home, not mine). I fought with my dad to let go of me some 8 years back, because 16 years at one place.. that was more than I could ever think of! I like living in new cities, big cities. I have no phobia of unknown destinations, nor do I get attached to one single place. In fact, my record tells me that I've stayed at a single lodging only for one year max at a stretch in the past 8 years. With the exception of my college hostel, where I was for 4 continuos years, with the same roomies, in the same room. Now when I think about it, I can't believe this fact.
I have already made plans of moving out of my new would-be flat by next April or so. Where am I going after that, I know not, but I know that I'm footloose and no room can hold me for more than a few months anymore. Will I ever settle down and call a house, my home? Will I ever belong?

Catching the 'Na' fever this November!

My writing a novel dream may finally be materialising, thanks to the NaNoWriMo thing. I feel glad to have got to know of both NaBloPoMo and NaNo.. for blogging regularly and starting off with that novel I wanted to write for so long were two things I'd been postponing for God knows how long. I lack inspiration, I used to tell myself. And lo and behold! Inspiration came my way in a very inspiring way.. er.. :D
Alright, I still don't have a good plot for my novella(let's face it, that's what it's gonna be, not a novel novel), but what the heck.. NaNo has a got a nice forum for me, with quite a few inspired and inspiring(how many times am I gonna use this word tonight?) fellow amateur writers, and it gets me motivated(yes! found a synonym :P ) everytime I read how much they've written already. We're even planning for a meet for the in-town writers once this crazy writing spree gets over.
I wish there were another similar platform for movies you know, something like watch one movie daily for the next one month, or something like that. I would looove to participate in that! Almost as if preparing for some such event, I'm gearing myself up. Starting last Thursday, I've watched one movie per day, both in hall and at home. The rental store guy even allows me to rent the CD on credit.. somehow it happens to me all the time. All these video rental guys seem to trust in the relatively new customer that is me, I wonder why. Or wait, it just struck me- is it because they know I'm going to shell out enough moolah to help them retire in a year? Damn, I need to watch my wallet! I can already smell something. Guess it's the burning hole in my pocket. Hmm.

Yeah, you got engaged my friend, so what?

Just got back from my friend's engagement. Can't believe we've all grown up.. it was only yesterday that we'd met up for the first time in hostel, and suddenly it's 6 years laters now. When we were still in college, we used to imgaine a whole lot of things- getting a boyfriend, getting good grades, getting a high-paying job, going abroad.. so many things.. but there was one thing we could never imagine, visualize rather, and that was this- getting all grown up and getting engaged and getting married and all that. We were always young and silly at heart, and we always will be. Getting older doesn't necessarily mean getting wiser/maturer/soberer(er..). And it definitely doesn't mean getting distanced from your friends.
I asked my friend M, whose engagement it was-'how do you feel finally?' She said, 'nothing. The feeling's not sunk in, and I dunno how long it'll take to sink in.' The same's the case with all of us. It didn't feel like an engagement party of one of us, instead it could've been another free dinner treat, and we couldn't bother less. We were still cracking silly jokes, pulling each other's legs on the same topics we used to do so way back in college, and basically, just taking it easy.
Maybe things will get more serious when we all get married, or maybe not even then. I hope it's the latter. I KNOW it's going to be the latter. No matter how many people enter our lives, the friends that we made 6 years ago will always remain close and special. It's lovely to have some bonds like these.

Grumbling all the way

ife is so frickin' unfair right now. You know what all is wrong with my life? Here goes:
1) I have a major headache. Took med 2 hours back, no sign of things getting better anytime soon.
2) My roomie has suddenly gotten hard of hearing. She's watching TV at full volume, and my repeated pleas of turning it down a bit aren't working. And she's watching a show I'm hating.
3) I wasn't at all remotely hungry when I went out with friends, even when I watched them hogging. But now, 'soon as I got back home to an empty kitchen, I'm suddenly famished.
4) I have to be at a close buddy's engagement tomorrow and I have nothing to wear. And no, it ain't another typical girlie physocology(where we never have any clothes to wear anyway).. I honestly don't have any traditional attire befitting the occasion.
5) I have a 1000 bucks gift voucher for Lifestyle, and the collection there sucks right now. I have 750 bucks voucher for NUN, and the collection there sucks too.
6) I have to yet to start with my novel for NaNoWriMo, and the idea I initially had panned out really badly. So gotta think of a new plot AND finish 50,000 words in the next 3 weeks.
7) I haven't been able to get my hand on the CD of Step Up 1 even after 10 tries in about 4 different rentals.
8) The noise is making my ears bleed.
9) The hunger is making me very irritable.
10) The 'L' key of my keyboard is getting stuck.

ife is so unfair right now.

Before my tum goes burst..

Today I went with my team for a dinner.. for the first time in almost a whole year with them I felt at home.. I felt like I belonged to them. The food was good, and I was told that wine was good and the hukkah flavour was nice too. I don't have a large apetite, but tonight I hogged like a pig! All in all, good times. Waiting for the pics to come out tomorrow. Too tired and sleepy to write anymore.

*Yawn!*

I salute thy spirit, human!

So, yesterday was very hard on the poor NaBloPoMo participant that is me. You see, I was travelling the whole day, and that too by BUS. 24 hours of bus journey carrying my laptop and my purse which is more like a rucksack. All the 3 of us had to share just one seat! The mere aniticipation of such journeys(though they are rare) makes me break in cold sweat. And yesterday, I had to more than mere sit on the bus and wait for the journey to end- I had to blog.

I reminded myself, we humans can acheive more than we can ever imagine. There have always been firsts- the first time a human landed on moon, the first time a human unfurled a flag on Mt. Everest, so on and so forth. So take this day as an opportunity to do a 'first' yourself- blogging for the first time when on the bus while trying to adjust everyone(bag, laptop and myself) on one small chair AND trying to connect using the fragile GPRS connection. I am truly grateful for this technology called GPRS, and am especially grateful to my dad for buying me a kewl phone that supports this technology. But there are times when things get tough, despite these technological advancements. I mean, how can your GPRS enabled phone let you connect to the internet when there is no signal? Or when the cable connecting the phone to the comp comes loose every 5 mins because there is no place to keep the phone properly? Or simply 'cause there are higher powers around you that plain don't want you to acheive your target of one blog per day? All these and more were the odds I braved yesterday. And I emerged a winner. After 5 tries to post an entry, I finally managed to do so with a mere half an hour remaining before the date changed officially.
This was not my victory people.. this was OUR victory- the victory of the unrelenting human soul.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank an angel for the role he played in my success- my bus conductor. If it were not for his unparalleled chivalrous gesture, I would not have got 2 seats for the price of one. He must've sensed the misery that had befallen me and so, for the noble soul he was, didn't let anyone occupy the seat beside mine- "It's ladies' seat, sir"! (Fortunately for me, no more ladies were around to claim it). And so, the young woman, her laptop and her ridiculously oversized purse internetted happily for the rest of the night.
The end.

I won't be defeated, you hear me Blogger dot com?!

This is like the 5th time I'm trying to post an entry!! I can't believe odds could be so against me! I'll write in detail about my internet nightmare tomorrow when I get off this stupid bus.. But for your sake, oh NaBloPoMo.. this is my entry for the 4th of Nov. No one can stop me from posting it!!!!

The ABCs of me

Disclaimer: This idea has been borrowed shamelessly from another blog(though I had the courtsey of informing the blog owner that I'm doing so!)

A is for age: 23(gonna be 24 soon..sigh!)
B is for burger of choice: I'm not a sucker for burgers really, but I eat McD's Alloo Tikki more often that I eat anything else. Mostly due to lack of options.
C is for the car I drive: Don't have one! :( And I've no idea when I will be able to earn one for myself.. although I CAN afford a Nano right now :D
D is for your dog's name: Don't have this one either, and this remains the biggest reason of my heartache. I sooo badly want a dog!! I don't mind if I don't get married ever, but I HAVE to have a dog soon. Pretty soon. Name? Oh yeah, I decided his name back in my college time.. Woofer. That's a type of speakers if you don't know- Woofers, Squeakers, Qwakers.. Woofer just clicked! ;)
E is for essential item you use every day: Glasses is counted? If yes, then good. If no, then, cellphone without a doubt.
F is for favorite TV show at the moment: FRIENDS rules the idiot box, whether or not it''s aired no more. I like My Wife and Kids too. And Mile Jab Hum Tum.. Er.. :D
G is for favorite game: Spider Solitaire wins hands down. Not much of an outdoor sports person, but if I have to name a sport, badminton it is.
H is for home state: Rajasthan. Now you know why the state is so hot! ;)
I is for instruments you play: Casio, Harmonium.. and um.. I own a guitar :D
J is for favorite juice:Fresh mixed fruit juice with no sugar. More the variety of fruits used, the better.
K is for whose bum you'd like to kick: Just one asshole's for turning out to be this horrible jerk- nick starts with C and name with D. I hate you.
L is for last restaurant at which you ate: Kalyani Veg *most embarrassed grin*
M is for your favorite Muppet: None. At all.
N is for number of piercings: just the usual 2- one in each ear. Boring I know!
O is for overnight hospital stays: Nil.. yet! (Touch wood, quick!)
P is for people you were with today: Mom, dad, Grampa, and an uncle who we visited
Q is for what you do with your quiet time: Read/blog/sleep like crazy.
R is for biggest regret: Have lots actually, and all big ones. But I like the way it sounds when one says, 'I have no regrets. I learn from my mistakes' and stuff like that.. so er.. ditto for me! :D
S is for status: Blissfully single and not ready to mingle
T is for time you woke up today: Ask me when I slept! Was up all night till 11 AM. Slept from 11-3. My sleep cycle got reversed a few months back, so am essentially nocturnal nowadays.
U is for what you consider unique about yourself: my abililty to give people perfect advices/solutions to their problems, yet always ending up messing my own life.
V is for vegetable you love: Green peas.
W is for worst habit: Thinking too much and worrying over my future too much.
X is for x-rays you've had: Chest and back, as a part of general health check up
Y is for yummy food you ate today: Aloo Pakodis!
Z is for zodiac: Saggitarius.. one sign to rule them all ;)

Annnd.. we're done! :D

P.S. If anyone's reading this, you have my permission to borrow this idea for your next post, shamelessly. Heheh.

Trouble is relative!

So, I don't like my relatives. Now before you jump to conclusions and label me an anti-social being , lemme just make clear that I'm not completely anti-social. Only partly. Especially when it comes to my relatives, or petty colleagues or emotionally choking friends.. But let's stick to the relatives part.

Well, to begin with, these are my closest relatives. These are the ones who live in the same town as I do, and since I visit my home only once or twice a year, that exactly the number of times I get to meet these relatives too(at times, even less). But yeah, even then, meeting them is a dreaded time for me. You wanna know why? I'll list out the top 4 reasons(list- for the sake of readability):

1) They ask you only the following 4 questions. There have been only a couple of exceptions this time-

a) So, where are you now? (As if I change cities every 6 months)
b) In which company? (I tell them and get the look which says, " Um.. what's that?" I work for a world-renowned MNC for Chrissake!!)
c) How come you never visit us?(I tell them that I visited the town after a whole year. They are still sulking)
d) So what's the plan now? (Followed by the wink/smile that says it all. Fortunately, many of them still have the courtsey of directing this one to my parents rather than me)

2) Awkward silences. These fill 90% of the time I spend at these relatives' places, after they're done asking the above 5 questions. You know, once it so happened that I visited a distant cousin after years, allll by myself.. we still had nothing to talk about after the first 15 mins. So my cous left me to play with her kid(Which is fine to a certain extent), and then got me... wait for it.... a cup of hot boiling Horlicks! I agree I was very young then.. but puhleez!! Horlicks? To fill in the conversation gaps? I haven't visited her after that.. I think it's been almost 7-8 years now. Brr.. still makes me shivers..

3) The whole you-look-so-pale/ill/stressed/thin etc comment. For God's sake.. I've gained weight consistently over the past whole year! In fact, I must've gained some 5 kilos during the last 15 days itself.. and still saying how PALE I look.. outrageous! It doesn't make me feel good, you know, especially cuz I'm already frustrated that my jeans ain't fitting me anymore and I don't have enough long tops to hide my ever expanding bottom.. and still these people comment such nasty and wholly untrue things that make my mom come back home and worry over... It's just not done! Call me fat when I do look so.. I can handle the truth!

4) When they almost punish you for perhaps not visiting them more, or for having gotten so 'pale', by forcing you to down the innumerable sweets decorating their drawing room tables. Mind you, this happens only during festive seasons, like this time(Diwali).. and when it happens.. you've no idea how painful it can be for your poor tum. You can't refuse, for that's the primary reason you've visited them- to eat Diwali sweets, and you can't take it anymore..'cause your jeans don't fit you anymore. Sheer torture.

I'm wondering if I should change the title of this one to 'Relative is trouble'!