The ironies that aren't funny!

My brother, who lives in a developing economy comes home from work at 10 pm, and sis-in-law who works from home finishes at 10.30, can walk into the living room and have food readily prepared on the dining table.

M &I, who work (and currently live) in a developed economy, come home from work at 9.30 pm and have nothing to eat.

Some ironies aren't that funny ha? Don't feel sorry for us though. We did have some "theplas" in the freezer that we were able to enjoy! ;)

In some other news - the weekend blended into this week so quickly, I did not even realize! This is going to be a long, busy week. But I am going to try my best to not bring home work this coming weekend! Touch wood. I just realized, that there are only 3900 weekends (out of which almost half are gone). I am determined to make the best of remaining 2000 I have left! 

Long overdue story

A few thousand years back, I had promised to come up with the story of "Meet the parents", and why it's such a bad idea for me to go through with it. Now, after several thousand years, here it is -

Yes. I met his parents (obviously, since we are getting married now!!See the more I say it, the more I accept it). And before I go into anymore details of how it went, we will travel through time a bit (No, not just because. There's a reason I promise.).

So let's rewind to some months back in time. In my defense I did not even have any business being there. I was only tagging along. There I am sitting in the living room of a friend's brother, who's just had a baby. Let's call him "Bhaiya". (duuu-uh). And his wife(newborn baby's mother) - "Bhabhi". (super duuu-uh). Anyway. I could not find out for sure, but she definitely looked not more than 26. Alright? so now use your imagination. There I am visiting them for the first time. And there we all are - my friend, couple of other friends, me, Bhabhi, baby; all laughing, cooing at the sweet kid. And suddenly, out of nowhere, God alone knows why in the world, Bhabhi goes - "Aap log kuch lenge, kuch chai yea cold drink?". I mean why? Why would she do that to me?

You want to know why it is so terrible? Ok, I'll tell you why. Because I replied this - "Nahi nahi Aunty, don't worry, kuch takleef mat kijiye!!!" Duuuuude, I called that girl barely an year older than me AUNTY!!!! Imagine my embarrassment! OMG. And reading many mommy blogs did not help, as I knew, right around this time - she would have been also dealing with post partum depression, relatively low self-esteem, and such like! Now I was feeling super embarrassed AND super-duper guilty. Eventually I did go and apologize and to her utter amusement, explained my stunted social skills and awkward behavioral syndrome as the reasons for the "unfortunate accident". Thank God I did not drop her baby after all this.

This was exhibit 1.

Now lets forward to two weeks ahead (we had traveled back, remember? we are still in the past of now, for all who think we are looking into the future). I am invited by this friend over dinner, since his parents were visiting and are leaving in a couple of days. I am meeting them for the first time. He(my friend) has of course invited like 15 more people, and there I am sitting in living room - full of people who I am seeing for the first time! Just for fun imagine you are a deer and it's night time. You are going along happily on your way without a care in life, and suddenly out of nowhere you are blinded! There's more light than even in daylight, and of course you freeze. Did you imagine the deer's face? Good. Now put that face on mine, when his dad asks me a loud question across the room - "Where do you live beta?".

Disclaimer: Not only am I very awkward in social situations, I go mute when people talk to me across the room because then everybody can hear what I say. Ok back to the question. Simple enough right? Wrong. (Background: He's visiting US for the first time has no clue about any area in Boston) And so I stuttered my way to utter embarrassment - "I live at 42 Symphony Rd, Apt 5". And the moment I said that I realized how dumb must I sound, so instead of clarifying I just shut up! Fortunately - M came to my rescue and saved me by saying that's near our school. (Maybe that's why you need someone by your side. See another good reason to get married).

And there are many many other similar stories, but all this time travel has made me time-travel-sick so I'll summarize by saying these were reason enough for me to freak out of my wits. Cos I was not just meeting his parents, I was meeting his uncles, aunts, their children, and then their children. You get the picture. Long story short - it went well. I might or might not have had a Cosmo before meeting them. Although I was quiet for the most part, I mostly did not talk crap when I was asked questions. Maybe God was finally cutting me some slack (at the right time too!) after all the crap He released into the universe through me. Or maybe, just maybe I am not socio-phobic (is that a word? I'm too lazy to google) anymore. Yea right?!

Later folks!

Did you miss me yet?

No?
Fine. I was gonna say I missed you, but now I don't think I will.

And anyway, I barely have time to write this post, let alone deal with emotions! I just came online to tell you all that, since I am now back to school, this blog as history has seen for 4 semesters now, is gonna go into a sort-of hibernation. More so, with all the job search going on.

But, the good news is (which is assuming that you actually thought of the previous news as the bad one!), since bloggers' itch isn't easy to control, I do mini-blog quite regularly on twitter. So yeah, follow me right there.

And yes, I did meet M's parents and it went well! But the detailed story will have to wait till I can find time enough to get my life, room and closet in order..not necessarily in that order!

Ciao people. See you (hopefully) pretty soon!
Take care...

8

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch:
- Sex & the City
- F.R.I.E.N.D.S
- The Big Bang Theory
- That 70's Show
- Full House
- Dekh Bhai Dekh
- KBC
- Any show that is showing latest movies' promos
ps: The reason why most/all of these shows are old is none of my homes since 2000 have had a TV/Cable(First hostel and then student apartment in US)

8 Favorite Places to Eat:
- Home
- Come-in, Pune
- Durga, Pune
- McDonalds
- Quiznos
- The Kebab Factory
- Moby Dick's House of Kabob
- M-cooked prawns & chicken

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
- Came to know about some job opportunities
- Tried to work at getting them
- Bought Oakley's glares for bro
- Ogled at ALDO shoes while at the mall
- Watched "Sach ka Samna" for the first time
- Laughed too hard at a joke that I cracked
- Laughed too hard at a joke that M cracked
- Laughed too much basically, and loved it

8 Things I Look Forward To:
- Watching what happens next in "Sach ka Samna"
- Getting a full time position of my interest
- Meeting my family soon
- Meeting M's family soon(more on this later!!)
- Living & sharing an apartment with M(the reason why marriage ceremony is not on my list is cos I find it a big taxing thing that can be avoided, but can't be!)
- Graduating
- Joining a mentoring program
- Reading a good Agatha Christie book


8 Things I Love About Winter:
(this one's gonna be the toughest, I am thinking of cheating)
- It's not blazing hot
- First day of Snow
- Gloves
- The way I can see my breath
- The warm feeling of entering an enclosed centrally heated place
- Making footprints in the snow
- Closed school due to snowstorm
- I hate too much cold.Third point is a lie.

8 Things on my Wish List:
- Fossil Watch - this, this & this (if anyone's taking notes)
- Pearl-drop earrings
- All seasons of SATC
- Aldo Shoes
- NY&C Clutch & Tote
- Abercrombie Vintage outerwear
- Figure to wear Herve Leger Dress, and then one dress too please!
- Good health & happiness for my entire family, friends & M.

8 Things I’m Passionate About:
- Reading
- Writing
- Traveling
- Watching movies(only in theaters)
- Did I mention Reading
- Community work
- Shopping
- Shoes, Clothes & Handbags

8 Words or Phrases I Use Often:
- Fuck
- Oh man!
- Fucking shit
- LOL
- Shit
- WTF
- Really?
- Frigging

8 Things I Have Learned From My Past:
- Being emotional gets you nowhere
- Speak up, that's the only way to go, even though sometimes crap comes out
- You and you alone are responsible for where your life is, maybe also a little luck
- Value your friends, cherish them, appreciate them
- Listen, think, process, talk. In that order
- Do what YOU want
- Don't let annoying people get to you. Be nice even to them
- Don't take life too seriously
Note: Just because I have realized these things over a period does not necessarily mean I actually follow them. I'm trying. Getting there.

8 Places I Would Love to Go or See or Visit:
- Europe
- Egypt
- Malaysia
- Africa
- Florida
- Australia
- Entire India - New Delhi, Rajasthan, North-East, Lakshadweep everything.
I guess that kinda covered the entire globe.. :)

8 Things I Currently Need or Want:
- To get over with my internship asap
- To pee
- Cute brown peep-toe flats
- Haircut
- Silky hair too, if possible :)
- Manicure & Pedicure
- A nice book to read
- Ideas for gifts for my parents..anyone?


And this folks was the one of the many tags I have got lined up in the pipeline! Avanti tagged me for this one. More to follow, where I am tagged again by her & Rani.. :)
I had so much fun doing this tag. I also realized - sometimes 8 is too big a number, and other times too small. Also that I am quite materialistic, more than I realize :D (All the best M, huh?). Anyhoo...like I mentioned, I am going to meet M's parents soon. And you'll know soon why it is such a BAD idea. But, like a wise friend said to me yesterday - "these things have to be done". Though he said it in context of cutting vegetables & cooking them. I am guessing, the context is a LOT different..eh..never mind. So anyway, more on that later.

First....first first first first...I've got to tag someone...mu hu ha ha ha ha ha...
Here goes -
Rani
Rambler
Pari
Saurabh
Mansi

And anyone else who wants to take this up!! Off I go to finish number 2 in the last "eight".

Later guys!

Rare piece

I am in love with the song AND the video.
Watch.Listen.Relish.

I tagged myself!

Since nobody was tagging me...like ever(!!) I decided to take initiative and do it myself. I found this here.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
"Hope my sun allergy does not increase.."

2. How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?
5$

3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
Soar

4. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
My roommate - J...and I had not even seen it till now...thanks to this I just saw it :P

5. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?
I haven't used ring tones since like forever now...but I used to love - "Saathiya" :)

6. What are you wearing right now?
Floral purple and orange chiffon sleeveless top and black trousers, with black thin sweater and black ballerina shoes.

7. Do you label yourself?
Yes. Many times. With many labels.

8. Name the brand of the shoes you currently own?
I own many(shoes, that is). Some are not branded, some are brands I don't recall(but bought them from DSW), and sports shoes are Reebok, bought them 2 years back.

9.Bright or Dark Room?
Bright. Always. Can't stand darkness. I sometimes like switching the lights on even in a car while traveling at night.

10. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
Found this randomly....while stumbling from blog to blog...but his posts are nice, and I am sure so is he :)

11. What does your watch look like?
A Guess Silver watch with black dial, M gifted me this on my Birthday.

12. What were you doing at midnight last night?
I am pretty sure dreaming things, which I can't remember now! :P

13. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
A msg from M intimating that he loves me...and asking me why I am so amazing :P

14. What’s a word that you say a lot?
"F**k"

15. Who told you he/she loved you last?(please exclude spouse , family, children)
M (if boyfriends are not excluded) :)

16. Last furry thing you touched?
My piglet soft toy.

17. Favorite age you have been so far?
There have been many - but I think 17-18, when I was in junior college, without liabilities, worries and having a ball with friends every frigging day!!

18. What was the last thing you said to someone?
"Sure." (to a colleague)

19.The last song you listened to?
Right Round - Flo Rida

20. Where did you live in 1987?
Rajgarh (M.P.) [I think..]

21. Are you jealous of anyone?
Umm....not really..... :)

22. Is anyone jealous of you?
Maybe...I really don't know...

23. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
Mobile phone, Wallet/cards, my forgetful self :P

24. What’s your favorite town/city?
Bangalore, New York City, Boston. In that order.

25. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
I think my friend "Shruti"(yea thats her name too) in engineering.

26. Can you change the oil in a car?
Hell. No.

27. Your first love/big crush: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
First big crush as in school. Last I heard from him, we were chatting non-sense shit online, and he was working in some company in Bombay.

28. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
My lower back, cos of Spondylolisthesis :(

29.What is your current desktop picture?
Office PC - Blue color.
Personal Laptop - Beautiful black wallpaper with funky art image and music written on it.

30. Have you been burnt by love?
Yep. With my ex. I've never told this to anyone but I used to cry for no reason at all, and be depressed most of the time, when I was with him.
Its the worst. Hope I never be there again. Hope nobody is.


And I tag -
M, Saurabh, Mansi, Guy Next Door, Sai and Pari.
Edited to add: Tagging Chintan & Shamika too. Hopefully this will make them blog! :P

There's something about....

So, I am sure, the area where I work...there's a serious derth of women. Otherwise how the hell do explain, another guy asking me out in the week following this. Right in the middle of the road no less. If anything, this was more dramatic, but this time I was less brutal (acc to me anyway). And trust me, I am not showing off. I waited, I waited and I waited for people to ask me out for so many years....and now.This. Maybe I am US-material, considering both the guys who asked me out this year(yea, there was one last year too:P) were Americans. :)

In any case, it does make you feel real good! I mean, some guy walking on the road calls out to you from behind, and then struggles to get his words together for at least five minutes before admitting he wants to take you out for coffee. I concluded some happy things about myself from this -
1. I look good from behind(too)!! :P
2. I appear intimidating.

Okay now I gotta rush to work...

Later!

Block

I have nothing to write..I mean there are so many things I could write about, but I just can't. So I'll do what I have done so much during engineering viva's - pull out words out of my ass and talk, or in this case, write.

A couple of notable incidents happened last week. One being, ikea shopping and how!! We went there to shop for M as he's moved into his own room now. And we shopped our asses off!! I am big fan of ikea. It's a furniture & household stuff shop. You can just go there, and find every-frigging-thing, that you'll need in your house. The products may not be that sturdy, but they sure have a great display of it, which makes you want to buy them. No. Really. And considering how BIG it is, they manage it pretty well, save for some glitches here & there. I let M build his bachelor's room, with all black, blue stuff, and no colors. After all he did buy that bookcase to keep all my books! It was also the time, he drove a car in US for the first time. I have always seen couples(can't believe I just called us a "couple" indirectly tho it may be, I guess I am growing up, although it did panic me a little to do that!!) fight sitting in those two seats, the driver's & and the navigator's. And as M sucks at directions, I had a more than active role in giving directions :), we also tried. At least, I did by yelling & panicking & fretting more than once, but he only retaliated by singing more !! It was a fun date, and we survived a day of just each other. One down, some 20-odd-thousand more to go! :P

Another one, being (in case you've lost track there were two.... not one, but TWO notable incidents in my life last week, oh yea, I live on the edge, watcha gonna do???). So I was saying, the second incident being, a guy asked me out on the subway, on my way to work. So this is what happened - I got in the train & buried my face into the book, no not to sleep, to read, just like everyday. After some time I looked up and I see this white guy, dressed in an expensive looking suit, looking at me. I looked for a second or two then smiled at him politely thinking, he's never seen an Indian before (that's really really improbable, but I had not been awake for more than two hours, what do you expect!!), and again went back to my book. After some time I looked up again, to see him looking at me again, and smiling at me and waving a hi at me. (Oh yea I read like that, I read for some time & then take a break to think about what I just read, otherwise I get absorbed enough to miss my stop!). So now, this is not new, I have seen many people do that, friendly that they are, I did not think anything odd about it. I only got a little excited thinking he might be working in some fancy bank, and started picturing forwarding my resume to him some time in the future:P. He caught up with me on the next platform of my transfer-stop, and started talking to me. Considering what I had been picturing in my head, I too spoke with him very politely. We exchanged names, and that's it. We got into the next train & I went back to my book, only to be interrupted in two minutes by a hand placing a card in my book. He says to me, "here's a lil bookmark for your book". I go in my head, "lol!". And then he continues, "Would you like to go for dinner with me?". I sense that everybody in the compartment is watching us, but before I can stop myself, I blurt out a loud, "No!". Yea yea I know next time I'll be a little less cruel. He seems shocked, surprised as if he expected me to jump at the opportunity.(Men!). I tried to return his card to him, but he insisted asking me to think about it and call him. I was laughing right in his face, not knowing what to do! Thankfully my stop came & I got off the train, after saying bye to him! I checked the card, and it turns out he owns/works at "Sleepy's". LOL! So much for forwarding my resume! Though now I can think about getting some discount there at the price of looking pretty and going for dinner with him! :P

Awaiting me now, is a long week of putting together, all the stuff we bought from ikea. Its like building lego. Considering that's not one of M's skills, and I like everything my way, I'll be happily hammering & screwing & trying to fit things, while he (hopefully) cooks delish prawns for us :)

Later!

The latest new here is...

Currently reading - Wuthering Heights...
Currently eating - A lot more times at home than before!
Currently sleeping - Little..no make that a lot less than I would like..
Currently drinking - Only water most of the times to avoid extra calories..
Currently feeling - Lost & forlorn...

Good things -
- Good grades
- Have a job in this economy
- Have people around me who love me a lot

Bad things -
- Miss someone a lot
- Miss my old job
- Still can't fit into size 2

What about you??

~Me & my cons~

- I feel jealous very very quickly and easily.
- I am very very possessive when it comes to some people and in a bad way.
- I am not good at maintaining personal relationships.
- I am anti-social, in a big big way.
- I don't remember dates, names OR faces.
- I have very very bad memory.
- I lack sensitivity intuition BIG time.
- I can't talk to people unless they talk to me.
- Which means I can't talk to most people.
- I can NEVER talk about my feelings without feeling awkward.
- I hate feeling awkward.
- Hence I almost NEVER talk about my feelings.
- I hate melodrama.
- And yet ironically my best friends are very dramatic! (not a cons just a fact to note).
- I talk too frankly and bluntly(edited from "sharply" as suggested by someone), which almost always hurts people who are close to me. I don't want to change that about me, but I really think I should.
- I am a very confused person when it comes to most things.
Added these as suggested by the same someone-
- I have double standards

Later!

PS: This is not an exhaustive list. More to come later.

With nothing to do...

This is what happens, a rediscovery -

1. I am very forgetful, and I am really really bad at remembering important dates including birthdays, anniversaries and such more.

2. I am really bad at remembering names too.

3. I find cute bartenders, well....really cute.

4. I love my family till the point of being unreasonable with others to make them happy.

5. I love shoes.

6. I am going to get a tattoo someday, but not just yet, cos I feel I'm not ready for it yet.

7. I also am going to get a degree in literature someday.

8. I like New York in general, but absolutely love it only with one person :)

9. I really love fruit martinis.

10. And I love writing about me... :P

What women want?

PS: Wrote this a long time back too. I think - 01/03/2008. Thoughts still the same on this one though as opposed to this.

For years men have been asking the question - What women want?
Do you know why men still have not found an answer to it? Because it's frigging wrong question to ask in the first place! The question is not what women want.....the real question is what is it that the woman wants?

I myself never gave this even so much of a fleeting thought before...Why did I think about it now? Because I started wondering what is it that I want? I started talking to my friends, what is it that they wanted? I realized its all different. Not only is it different, it is also dependent on who the guy is. Interestingly, expectations keep changing as the focus changes. [I don't think this is that true though, basic needs of a woman (with a huge emphasis on A or THE WOMAN, for all those guys who read this - never generalize with women) never change].

Have fun! ;)

Why is it not enough?

Written on - 03/29/2008
Disclaimer: Been sitting on my computer for too long. Tis high time it saw the day light. These were my thoughts in March. My thoughts changed drastically in June. Will soon udate why, how and what of that in another post.

I am sitting here in Au Bon Pain, a snack/lunch/dinner cafe, something of a bistro(w/o the wine!). A beautiful dusk, but cold and windy. And I have a project to work on (ugghhh...so what else is new?). But obviously, here I am writing this post looking all important and consumed in my work ;). I look around. Groups of people sitting everywhere. Only one couple. And even they don't look like stereotypical couples. Most are with friends. Probably 60-70% of them are single too. ( I can't tell, really, I don't think there's anyway to tell, but I am just estimating for my own benefit :)).

Then why is it that most of us (read - each and every one of us) is looking for that someone special. We have wonderful friends, busy lives, things to do. Why do we even need that kind of shit? My friend happens to think, that when we look around we see people, with each other, all sappy, lovey-dovey and I'm-there-for-you-baby; and it rubs off you as a little something called "longing". I happen to disagree. I have no idea why, but I can't stand couples getting cozy around me. It somehow seems like an act of showing off . I rather look up to couples, who can just look at each other, and they know what the other one is thinking, without actually having to ...ummm.....demonstrate!! Okay, jokes apart, isn't that what we call chemistry, the sheer attraction between two people, who only they can feel and understand, and others can only feel there's something, but can't put a finger on exactly what it is. Alright....coming back from our little digression there (Clap Clap!!Snap back to reality!), the point I was trying to put forth was, even if you don't see such things around you, there's a little part in everybody which is searching, looking, seeking!

Is it companionship? kinship? security? comfort? having someone to praise you on those bad-hair days? :D or just having someone?
What is it that induces us to feel the way we do? And what should one do when struck by it? Fight it? Embrace it? Act upon it? Or just ignore it?

The sad saga of the phone(s)!

To be really honest, this post is an outcome of my irritation, frustration, aggravation, vexation and some more 'tions', which were caused by mishaps surrounding the said phone, which incidentally and not surprisingly, was mine!!

So, it all started with, me deciding to take my phone with me while I was jogging(ahem!). And me deciding to wear tracks which didn't have pockets(what the f*** was I thinking!?). And then me deciding my hair was not tied quite right and was an obstruction while running(Well, I was running on a track lined with cute guys!!!). Since this task requires both my hands, I decided the best bet would be hold my phone in my mouth(!!!!!!). And then the Lord above decided, that's it sweetheart, you don't get to decide anymore. And He decided, to drop my phone in to the frigging river by the side of which this track is!!!! Which resulted into me going without a phone for a week...the first time.
Yes it happened again. And again.

The next time I had to go without a phone for a week was when I forgot my charger in another city, assuming my second charger from the visarjanofied phone is still at home, only coming home to discover that I cannot discover it!!! It has disappeared from the face of earth, and the police is still looking for it!

And then now, again I am abandoned by my phone, which, one fine evening decided to just power off and die. Forever. And then AT&T decided they couldn't decide whether I did fall into the 30-day bracket for phone replacement or not, resulting in me visiting them multiple times with no phone.

Why? Why me???