Unfamiliar terrain, politics and lime n masala

1. I'm participating in a T shirt painting contest at work. Suddenly my mind is grappling with an unfamiliar challenge. What should be the theme, how should I design it? I find myself lapsing into thought every now and then.
2. At another game currently going on at the same event at work, the ten paticipating teams have to vote out one team each day, in addition to performing various tasks and earning points. There's much debate and calculations going on anywhere you go through the day, even though the vote-out only happens once in the evening. This drama will go on through the next week.
3. I have this crazy craving for something spicy to eat. I try to resist it, but finally give in and head to the cafetaria to buy a packet of potato chips, the lime and masala flavor. Finger-licking good.

No flooding, picnic weather and computer

1. The drain pipe below the kitchen sink has been leaking heavily for the last few days. All our efforts to get a plumber to fix it have been in vain. Today we come home from work to find a new pipe in it's place. The maid has found a plumber.
2. The weather has been amazing all day today. It's the typical Pune weather. Cool breeze, cloudy sky and a drizzle at times. I want to go for a picnic!
3. My computer is getting repaired.

Short personal quest, music, me

1. Today I discovered something very weird about myself. I was a bit on the low side from the past few days and I kept thinking that it is a result of work not progressing at the pace I would want it to. But, it turns out that it is because of the fact - I was a little low on my creativity or rather new idea quotient. I didn't have a better way to do things or couldn't find anything wrong in the way things were happening around me. Whoa! Will I have to nurture my creativity, not because I want it, but because I need it? I am a bit confused about this - should I be scared?, or people around me need to be scared?, or should I be happy that I have a strong feedback mechanism? or should I just conclude that I am too impatient... Oh wait a minute ...yeah ... I forgot I am impatient. And with that, I end my short personal quest... there is nothing wrong with me :)
2. When the left brain fails, the right one finds a way :)
3. Coldplay!

Sleep in, Still growing up and Life is good

1. I sleep in late. Really, really late. When I wake up, I'm feeling completely rested and relaxed.
2. My desire for shopping has finally been fulfilled. I got a couple of kurtas and my first ever make-up kit ( yes! At this age, when I should've been already sophisticated, I'm trying to learn how to use make-up! ) I'm quite excited, honestly...
3. I have that feeling of contentment today, when life seems beautiful and marvellous.

Twice lucky, Showers and Discipline

1. Two good hair days in a row! I can't believe my luck. That too when it has rained in the evening. Oh wait, that's the second BT.
2. It has rained in the evening. Everyone has been waiting for the monsoons, hoping for rain which has been playing truant for almost a fortnight now. It has stopped raining now, but the air has a lovely wet smell to it.
3. I had somehow managed to lose most of the editing I did for a chapter of S's book and was procastinating in the rework. After avoiding it for a whole week ( it was work now, not play!) I finally sit down and finish it today. It feels good now, because now I can pick up the next chapter and the fun can begin once again.

Curls, Punishment and Cool car

1. My hair is a mass of mad curls today. It's good to toss them around.
2. You ought to be tarred and feathered, Aditi tells me. The sentence conjures up an interesting picture in my mind.
3. Because the car sits in a covered parking lot right under my apartment these days, it doesn't heat up like an oven. It's nice and cool.

Adrenalin, feat and reward

1. It's a new high - driving a hundred and fifty kilometers at a stretch on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. We don't stop for a break and at times cruise along at 120 kmph. The car's steady.
2. Despite having slept for only 3 hours and having driven for 4, I'm not sleepy and am alert enough to work. I had thought I'd be dropping asleep every now and then.
3. Hot toasted chocolate sandwich. Its a piece of heaven.

Breakfast, Hard work pays and Email banter

1. Breakfast is still hot when I go to the cafetaria.
2. A colleague comes to me with questions and I sit with her for almost an hour, explaining various things. At the end, she asks me how long I have been working on this system. A little more than 6 months, I tell her. She's surprised - "That's it? Only 6 months? But you seem to know this stuff!" I'm gratified by this statement.
3. There's a fun email exchange going on with Aditi. Its a pity I can't state here what we're discussing!

Sick leave, Mission 'Clean it' and Mee Radhika

1. I am not really ill, but don't feel up to going to work either, so I stay at home. I haven't been able to sleep well at night, so I sleep in late. I have a lazy day.
2. Because I am at home, I can get some cleaning and scubbing done from the maid. She's probably not too happy to see me home on a weekday, meddling in her work.
3. A contestant on Zee Marathi's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa sings Aarti Ankalikar's Mee Radhika. Its a marvellous song, which I have had the fortune of hearing live from Aarti Ankalikar herself at the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival, and she does justice to it. Once again I am reminded that I need to find an mp3 version of the full song for the iPod.

Home delivered health, Third Girl, Twist in the tale

1. The wheatgrass juice was delivered in neat little pouches early in the morning. It was nice and fresh and I'm looking forward to it every morning now for a few days, before we change the order to some other healthy vegetable juice.
2. Staying up with droopy eyes just to finish the book and find out who the murderer is. I just wrapped up Agatha Christie's 'Third Girl'. It was one I hadn't read before and was satisfying in a way that only a good Poirot mystery can be.
3. S told me yesterday that he'd written himself into a hole and was stuck in the story much earlier than he had thought he would be. Today he tells me that he's written himself out of the hole and is super excited about the turn his book has taken. I must of course wait
   for a week or maybe more before I find out what really is going on and in the meanwhile, get along quicker with the editing.

Editor, Cuppa and Anything for Entertainment

1. I spend more than a couple of hours editing the first chapter of a book that a very dear friend is writing. It is time most satisfyingly spent. What could be better than being among the first few to read a fantastic story that is yet evolving, and to do something that comes naturally - find errors in someone else's language!
2. Coming home at a decent time from work and then going out for a cup of coffee with a friend. It has almost become a forgotten pleasure.
3. There's a reality show on TV called 'Entertainment ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega'. The only condition for participation is that you must entertain the audience. I hate to admit it, but the show is entertaining. People with an astounding variety of talent turn up and some are nothing less that awe inspiring.

Not Negligent, Perry Mason and Buddy

1. What was thought to be my mistake ( indeed, even I thought so, and was quite embarrassed by what I looked like negligent testing on my part) turns out not to be a mistake after all. It took me a couple of days to figure out that the test results were fine really. Whew!
2. I love reading Perry Mason mysteries by Earl Stanley Gardner. Papa's a big fan too, and we've both read umpteen number of titles from the series. I finished 'The Case of the Substitute Face' today. Mason, the high flying criminal lawyer, is once again in an action
   packed murder trial. Slightly 'filmy', but entirely entertaining.
3. Tanmoy has moved to Pune. It's good to have him back.

Unsweetened, the right reason for a traffic jam and alphonso sweet

1. I like the taste of cold unsweetened milk and the way it feels going down the throat. It's inherent sweetness is just right for me, and there's no need to enhance it with sugar.
2. Traffic in the opposite lane has come to a standstill and from afar, I can not figure out why. As I approach the standing column of traffic, I can see the reason. Right in front of the first vehicle, a little puppy is standing, very bewildered and lost. It finally finds the footpath and the traffic starts moving again.
3. For me, these are the first mangoes of the season. Alphonsoes, claims the fruit vendor. Me, I'm not so sure of the authenticity of the claim, but alphonso or not, they're sweet to me.

Neat and tidy, helping hands and uninterrupted sleep

1. The maid is back from her holiday. After so many days, the house looks clean. Everything is in it's place, there are fresh new bedsheets on the beds and even the water bottles are filled.
2. Just when I had started to feel a little overwhelmed by the mounting work pressure, there are more hands on the job. Suddenly it's not so bad.
3. The nights have gotten cooler. I don't know why, but I sure am glad, because I don't keep waking up in the middle of the night because of the heat.

That'll shut you up, vroom and the gang

1. A colleague is always teasing me and pulling my leg at the slightest opportunity (or even when there's none!). The best way to shut him up is to start teasing him about his wife. It's effective because he got married only last month.
2. A friend has been using my bike for the past couple of months. It's a pleasure to press the electric start button and have it spur into life immediately.
3. Friday is a holiday. There's only one more day of work between me and the long weekend. Anticipation runs high, because the gang is going to be here by tomorrow evening to kickstart the weekend. Gullu has promised that he has some masala news to tell, but won't say what it is unless everyone is present. Jui, Pallu & Tanmoy are coming, Shenoy's joining in and Patty, who I haven't seen in years, might come too. Let me sleep so that tomorrow comes early!