Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Wish me, younger, Brisingr and making way for the new

  1. It's Dharana's birthday today. She keeps insisting every now and then: "wish me happy birthday!". We do. We wish her a happy year.
  2. It's Stafford's birthday as well. I ask him how old he is and give a theatrical gasp when he tells me. "Yeah yeah... I may be older than you, but I look younger", he tells me. "That's just because of your juvenile behaviour," I tell him. A throaty laugh comes from the other end of the line. May you have many such laughs this coming year, Stafford! Wish you a happy birthday.
  3. Come evening and I can't wait to get done with my work and the gym so that I can rush home and get immersed into Brisingr again.
  4. Papa's camera has arrived and he's thrilled to bits with it. Mummy has called him up at the courts to tell him a gift has arrived for him from Delhi, and has refused to divulge any more information, so he has come home wondering what it might be and who might've sent it. He is already making plans of how and when to use it and of getting rid of his old point and shoot.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

She's back, beauty treatments and 9 wins

  1. The maid's back from her vacation. Yay! And she makes lovely thin and soft rotis from the dough I had kneaded yesterday, better than what I could've ever made. (Yes, my obsession with rotis continues!)
  2. I completely pamper myself today. First I get a delightful haircut, then a facial, then a manicure and a pedicure... oh! and the hair stylist straightens my hair while blow drying. I adore the new look with the sleek staight hair. My hair will go back to its unruly curls by tomorrow, of course, but I like the possibilities this new hair style suggests when I am bored of my usual look.
  3. Shenoy, Pallavi (his wife) and I go to attend the final round of Battle of the Bands - a local rock competition. Our friend Yayati's band "9" are one of the finalists and they are simply mindblowing. They play all original compositions, all in Hindi and are declared the unanimous winners. I'm seriously impressed!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Gym girl, dad will shoot and Gujju Thali

  1. Finally! I've done it! I've gone to gym 5 days in a row for the first time in my gymming career! I'm so proud of myself.
  2. I spend a good part of the day researching digicams. I have discount vouchers both from Indiaplaza and ebay, and now I really want to buy a camera for dad. I'm especially thrilled at the idea of ordering it online and having it delivered directly to him, because online shopping is still a very new concept for him.
  3. Again I join Sriharsha and Sachin for dinner and we go to a Gujrati thali place. The food is just like home! Simple and tasty! And the rotis! sighhhhh... I just gobble them up! Its sheer contentment...

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Waiting for the rain, all for me and company for dinner

  1. As I walk in Magarpatta late in the evening, there's a smell of rain on the wind. The wind comes in gentle gusts, but there's an urgency about it which makes you want to walk briskly, though not necessarily to get to a shelter.
  2. The gym is quite empty, so I don't have to wait for my turn.
  3. Its too late to cook and I'm wondering what to do for dinner when I find out that Sriharsha and Tejas are going out. I join them and find that Vishal and Sachin are joining too. What might've been a hasty, lonely dinner turns into a fun meal with good food (except the paneer... that was horrid!) and much laughter.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Birthday girl, special gift and soft!

  1. It's Dipti's birthday today. Last night a few of us from work landed up at her place at midnight to bring in the birthday with cake. She has loved the surprise so much that I overhear her telling anyone who calls her up to wish her about how exciting her birthday has been this year. Happy birthday girl!
  2. Dipti goes out to receive the birthday gift that has arrived from her fiance and comes back radiant, holding a gift set of CK perfumes. Her eyes sparkle so much, its impossible not be drawn into her enthusiasm at the gift.
  3. I manage to make soft, edible rotis today. They don't fluff up as they should when I hold them over the flame, but I suppose that's setting too high an expectation at so early a stage in my roti making career!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A common dream, epidemic and Mario Miranda

  1. George calls up after a long time. He's very busy these days attending B-school and we don't get to catch up as often as we'd like to. A rescheduled exam has worked in my favour and he has a few hours free. There's much to talk about. We keep planning on how sometime in the near future we'd all like to stay in the same city, the whole gang within reach.
  2. An email arrives from Sonal announcing her engagement. We all ignore it - it is after all such a common prank played on unsuspecting colleagues when they leave their PCs unattended. But this time, there's an unusual amount of buzz after this email, and it turns out it is true after all, and there are sweets to be had at her desk! It's a wedding epidemic, I tell you! A whopping 12 people I know are getting married in the next quarter. Wedding plans and fiances are the hot topic of discussion anywhere you go.
  3. While in Goa, I kept searching for souvenirs with Mario Miranda's cartoons, but didn't find any. Looking him up on the net though, I did find some delightful pieces of his work. His eye for detail and his love and understanding of Goa's unique culture is evident in the pictures. He takes care to remind us that Goa not just a beach state that attracts tourists by the cartload. Its a place with its own rich cultural diversity, very different from the rest of India in that it was ruled by the Portuguese till 1961. And yet, the native Konkani people have maintained their own identity, even while assimilating the influence of their conquerors, creating an exotic and heady cocktail.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Online, lets go back and seeing is believing

  1. The helpful internet guy turns up as promised and gets my connection going. Right now its working like a dream.
  2. People share their pictures from Goa and we have a lovely time reliving the fun moments.
  3. I love video chat.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Tomatoes, one of those people and pining

  1. Pallavi emails to tell me about how her experiments with cooking turned out. Let me just quote her: well it was a decent meal though I realized that my rajma and paneer both turned out to have excess tomatoes!!! So it was an extremely tomaty (if that’s a word) dinner!!!! I like that word. Tomaty... hmmm...
  2. In the same email, comes another statement. You're becoming like those people who go to Goa at least once a year, she tells me. Well, this is the second consecutive year... and I'm rather pleased about it! But next year, I'll go some place else.
  3. Dipti is engaged and her fiance has gone off to the US. He'll only come back for the wedding now, which is to be held either in February or March. She sits at her desk looking all forlorn (and extremely funny) and says "How will I wait four months to see him?"