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.

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.

Morning best, balanced and non-hairy

1. Waking up in the morning, feeling rested and fresh. I wish this is how I could wake up every single day.
2. I wear neither rings nor any watch, so the new pearl ring and the watch make my hand look very crowded and I keep fiddling with them, not quite liking it. Then I shift the ring to my right hand and the watch remains on the left, and there's balance.
3. Thank God I'm a girl and have a non-controversial option to opt being non-hairy!

Welcome, touch and grilled to perfection

1. Tanmoy is here.
2. My iPod Touch is, simply put, damn sexy. I can't believe I now own something so classy.
3. The grilled fish at Malaka Spice is perfect and quite unlike any that I've ever had.

Kulfi, grape juice and night air

1. Our Kabbalat Shabbat (a Jewish ceremony to welcome Shabbat, which we follow because our company is based out of Israel, but which we have modified to suit the friday mood to eat good food and have some fun with colleagues) gets cancelled, so there are no yummy friday afternoon treats. Or so we think. Another team has plenty of kulfi left from their Kabbalat Shabbath, which they come to share. The taste of the pistachio flavoured kulfi lingers on my mouth for some time.
2. Fresh grape juice. The sweetness is just right and the usual astringent taste is somewhat suppressed, creating a most satisfactory (and of course, healthy) drink.
3. Finally there's enough of a nip in the air to wear a jacket while walking outside at night. The cool clean night air is the kind that makes one want to keep walking. The tip of my nose and my cheeks tingle a little.

Deepavali, welcome and lit up

Wish you all a very Happy Deepavali... May the festival of lights bring new joy and prosperity to your lives! It's a time to be happy and to find new hope and new things to be thankful for...

1. Its Diwali... no other festival brings such a feeling of gaiety in everyone. All the houses are decked up and the evening makes us forget that there's no moon in the sky tonight.
2. We sit with huge needles and a roll of twine making garlands of marigold for the doors. Before its evening, all the doors are decked up for Laxmi, the Goddess of Wealth to enter our home. Also welcoming her is the colourful rangoli near the door, over which Jui and I broke our backs. There's no way she can ignore such a welcome!
3. The task of placing wicks in the little earthen diyas, filling them with oil and placing them along the balcony wall after lighting them falls to me... they look marvellous, twinkling with their warm light against the night.

Shy, no mouse in the house and fine writing instruments

Internet woes continue. But that doesn't mean beautiful things have stopped happening!

1. I wake up and still sleepy eyed, open the balcony doors. The first thing I see is a brand new shy little rose bud, still very tiny and still very green.
2. The mouse that has been scaring me has been gotten rid of and I can go into the bathroom without my nerves being on the edge.
3. Jui wants to buy a pen for Papa, so both of us start searching the net for one that's worthy of being held in his hands. I like the way the sites use the term 'fine writing instrument' rather than the mundane 'pen', instantly upping the glamour quotient attached to it.

Sun salutations, chai tales and the nanny

1. Finally getting the hang of the Surya Namaskar. Its a yogasana combining 12 steps and exercises most major muscles. I still can't do it perfectly, but I atleast know what I need to do better and how. The last time I did it, I had no clue what came when!
2. No tea spewed out by any vending machine can ever match up to real chai - not even the tetley tea bag dipped thick milk whitener added tea... Tea powder should be boiled, preferrably with the milk and sugar added, and with some ginger (some people like to add cardamom too, but I don't like it that much). That's the perfect chai... the caterers at work have started serving chai in the afternoon at tea time, and though its a little too sweet for me, I still prefer it to the vending machine tea.
3. Watching 'The Nanny'. I especially like the way the outrageous nanny laughs.

Kangaroo man, not brown but still a favourite and gossip mongers

1. When I reach office, I see a message from Gauri, saying "Rashmiiiiiiiiii! I saw a kangarooooo!" He's in Australia.
2. Getting a parcel in the mail. Even though I've been expecting it, and I even know what's in it, I still love it. I think, more than getting the parcel, I enjoy the stir it causes among the people around... and there's a certain romance attached to getting something by mail in this age of email... "...Brown paper packages tied up with strings... these are a few of my favourite things!"
3. Gullu has been trying to reach me desparately. When I finally do call him back, he's going to bits over some gossip that he wants to share - a friend has a job offer and after much cajoling, has almost confessed to having a girl friend, and we spend a few happy, wicked minutes discussing this and making plans of harrassing him till he gives us the whole story.

Special occassion, healthy food and Sit

1. Natasha has stayed over, so the special occassion is celebrated by having chai and some biscuits in the morning. What's the big deal, you ask? Well, just come and see what a rush work mornings are! There's no time for anything more than a glass of water.
2. I resist having those rich, fatty, fried (and sumptuous) samosas for breakfast and eat fruits instead.
3. Kris clears his desk, points at it and says 'Sit.'... However many times a day I drop by to waste time, his as well as mine...

A ray of sunshine, chatterbox and 3-in-1

1. For a blissful 5 minutes in the morning, after getting ready to leave for work, I think I won't go. For those 5 minutes, I can't wipe the smile off my face. Then of course, I get up and go to office.
2. Ro is here and he is talking non stop. Even while I type this.
3. A sumptuous dinner, a cup of coffee and then a long drive on empty roads. The chicken fillet stuffed with mushroom and olives and cooked in a creamy cheesy white sauce is a delight... oh and the coffee - only coffee lovers will understand my bliss at having a cup of strong cappucino after liters of horrible vending machine coffee in office for days on end... and what pleasure to be able to actually put the car in the 5th gear for long intervals of time, when the daily commute to work rarely affords me to chance to even go into the 4th gear... oh... are these three BTs rolled into one? Oh well...

Love story, magic marbles and almost like being there

1. Soumitra comes over to spend the day with me. We have much to catch up on. Its lovely to see how highly he thinks of his fiancee. She's just too nice, he tells me, as he recounts her affectionate ways. And I think to myself, here's one lucky girl.
2. 'Magic Balls' - hard but tiny little balls, smaller than a sago grain, which when soaked in water, absorb it and grow big as marbles and look much the same - translucent, radiant and soft. But they're very different to the touch - slippery and slithery with all the water. Papa had bought some and they sit very prettily in a glass bowl on the dining table at home. I find a little boy selling packets of these on MG road and I can't resist buying one.
3. As I chat with Tanmoy, he keeps sending me pictures from his recent trip to Boston and tells me the story behind each picture and about all the people in the snaps. Its almost like he's just back from a trip and is showing me the pictures sitting by my side.

Blessed, for me and clean

1. I get to see one of God's stunning sunrises - I'm atop Lohgad, standing in the midst of drifting mists, getting chilled to the the bone by the cold wet breeze, but I can't move, the view in front of me is so magnificent. The sun barely comes out of the clouds, but makes its presence felt by the various spotlights it focusses on the valley below. There is an everchanging play of shadow and light and enchanting sunrise colours... I just stand there, feeling blessed.
2. While walking back, I'm the last person trudging along, and at one point of time, I plop down on a rock, because my legs just hurt too much. The others move on, and for a few minutes, I'm alone in my microcosm. Its a bright fresh morning, I'm the only person in the valley. The gentle breeze and the birdsongs are mine alone... (until someone pops right back in to check why I'm not moving, and I get up to resume my trudge)
3. Taking a long shower to wash off all the filth and then falling asleep almost immediately....

Borrowed glow, cherries and hunger

1. Pearls. I just love wearing two drops of pearls on my ears. I don't know if it's true, but I always feel that pearls lend some of their soft glow to the wearer's face.
2. Pulling Gauri's leg. Its all the more fun when he starts blushing and his cheeks go cherry red. The more he denies it, the redder they get...
3. Feeling ravenously hungry. Its a rare feeling during the summer, and in no time, my plate's clean!

Glow baby glow, squeaky clean and cheating

1. Finally splurging on all the Dead Sea mineral cosmetics... my whole family's going to have such glowing skin now, we'll light up any room we enter
2. The way plates come squeaky clean when you wash them with hot water and the way they feel all warm and important after they've been washed
3. Sitting in bed trying to remember the good things that happened in the day and only wanting to sink in deeper and close my eyes.... then choosing this as the 3rd BT and feeling that mischievous guilty pleasure of having cheated on a test that doesn't even matter!

Picture perfect, first snow and new me

1. The magnificent landscapes in Israel. The vivid colours, the greenery, the neat and tidy farms, the mountains, the stately roads... they're all very impressive. We travel about 550 kms today, and for the entire journey, the view is a treat to the eyes.
2. Seeing snow for the first time in my life. Okay, I had expected something more awe-inspiring... but we only got the last of the snow at Golan Heights. But nevertheless, there's something to it when you see snow for the first time in your life.
3. Tanmoy wants to know how it is possible that I can 'tolerate' people these days, and not get frustrated of having to spend time with strangers... it's strange, really! I used to be so reticent about mixing with people I haven't known for ever, that this 'new' me who can interact with strangers and have fun in the process is quite nice to be!

Fresh n fragrant, nostalgia and evening nap

1. My clothes that have been laundered here at the hotel have a delightful fragrance that fills the wardrobe... and when I use the fresh towels, or put on one of the blouses or T-shirts over my head, I like to take a deep breath.
2. Seema Tai, one of my cousins who used to be in Jerusalem very many years ago is thrilled by the pictures I send her, and writes me an email saying how she is reliving all her old days through my pictures.
3. I come back to the hotel early today, because I have a headache, and catch up on some badly needed sleep. I wake up feeling much better, and then have some hot lemon tea... the vapours waft through to my nose, and it feels so good on a chilly evening.

Guides, cool and ghar ka khana...

1. Natalie and Galit keep trying to help me find out places that I can visit on my own during the week.
2. The temperature that had soared in the past few days comes down a bit and in the late evening, the breeze is actually quite cold... pleasant days are back again :-)
3. I make khichdi in the little microwave in the hotel room. Somehow, it feels so good to eat Indian food after so many days! There's no doubt that the food here is very tasty, but I guess one craves for the food one has grown up on, and however simple it might be, there's a certain contentment in it...

End of the week, fruit and the uber cool surprise

1. Kabballah Sabbath today turns out to be one joyous occassion. For some reason, everyone is in a boistrous mood, and there's plenty of laughter and leg pulling. And as I come back to my desk, I find that my step is jaunty and I'm laughing easily. The friday mood has caught on with me, or perhaps the realization, that the week's over, and that I'm going to be on leave on Monday and Tuesday!
2. Talking to mum n dad on gtalk - the fruit of a lengthy and tedious phonecall in which I explain in excruciating detail every step that must be followed to download gtalk, install it and get it running on their PC. The fruit is, of course, very sweet!
3. Because Aparna can't keep a secret, she lets on that I have a super duper uber cool birthday gift waiting to reach me. And while I'm still recovering from an amazement-induced speech disorder, she mentions that her hubby might travel to Israel and she might tag along. I do so pray that their trip may materialize and that our visits to Israel coincide.

Sony sounds, smooth and gripes

1. Jui is super excited about the new Sony music system she's bought for herself. Her long standing dream of owning one, and being able to listen to quality sound at home has finally come true. Proud of you, sis!
2. Kris is surprisingly quick in taking a hint. He starts to say something and I say something indicating that now's not a great time to be saying it. He changes his statement, mid-sentence without batting an eyelid. Well... considering it was Kris, maybe I shouldn't say it's surprising.
3. Bitching to Aparna about all and sundry. Ahhh... there are few things more satisfying than bitching with a trusted friend.