Offer, free-bies and Beauty Shop

1. While I'm standing at the checkout counter at Big Bazar, waiting for the cashier to tell me how much my grocery and stuff has tallied up to, he suddenly disappears from the counter without a word. I'm begining to get annoyed at being made to wait without an explanation, when he reappears, holding a set of prettily painted juice jar and glasses. My bill has crossed the amount which allows me to get this set by paying just a 100 rupees extra. I can't resist the offer...
   
2. The bagful of free perfume samples that come along when I buy a perfume.
3. Watching feel-good movies on the telly. There's this category of movies where the underdog wins in the end, overcoming all odds and having fun in the bargain. I just love watching them. Today it was Beauty Shop.
   

Awake, Answer and I'm ok

1. I feel the way one can only when one has had a full night's sleep.
   
2. Will she? Won't she? She will.
3. It's Friday tomorrow. I had been wondering what I'm going to do all alone over the weekend, and had secretly stopped looking forward to it. Suddenly there's plenty to do, and I'm waiting for tomorrow to end.
   

The gap, backup plan and nerve soother

1. You expect the worse. And then it doesn't happen.
2. I've been trying for more than an hour to get Picasa to upload my Kashmir pics, but apparently its not to be. I mention this to Tanmoy, and he says he'll bring over his laptop tomorrow, and we can try on it.
3. I invite myself over to Dharana's 'coz I'm a little annoyed and could use some distraction. She makes me a really delicious cold coffee.

Vacation plans, Getting my wind back and Talk with us

1. We all sit over tea to discuss Kashmir plans - how we are travelling, what all we should carry. There's plenty to be thought of and as always before a vacation, there's that feeling of excitement and anticipation.
2. I go for a long walk with mom and dad and I'm so thrilled that I'm not tired later on. Its a sure sign of recovery and the feeling of energy is so welcome.
3. I'm on the phone for a long time. Finally dad says "Oh c'mon! You'll meet him tomorrow. Talk with us now."

Rare weather, coming home and corn on the cob

1. The weather in Nagpur is perfect right now - its cloudy, pleasant and breezy. Grandma and I sit on the swing on the terrace, gently rocking and chatting about nothing in particular. I'm happy to let her ramble on, telling me about the new neighbours and the birds that visit her bird bath and the flowers. Its a lovely morning.
2. After lunch, I plant myself on my mom n dad's bed, fighting for space with dad. It's good to laze around, doing nothing, being the kid and getting pampered. This is what I came home for - for what else is recuperation?
3. The best bhutta in the world can be had at the stalls outside VNIT's gates. The one's available in Pune seem rather poor fare, with their garnishing of salt and lemon juice. Here, there's butter and green chilly chutney (the kind that makes you go sssssssssssssss) to go along with it. Seriously, no one makes corn on the cob the way these guys do. We even got one home for grandma, and can you believe it, she ate it! She's 90!

Green morning, hot shower and roommate

1. In the morning, standing in the balcony and letting my eyes drink in the greenery. The part of the yard that we can see from both our balconies is currently densely coloured with many greens, and standing there, it seems like our private little garden. I often just sit there, staring out, doing nothing. The morning does not afford me that luxury, but the even the couple of minutes that it does are a good way to start the day.
2. On a rainy day, a hot shower after a sweaty aerobics session. I stand interminably under the running water, soaking in the warmth.
3. A roommate who will cook dinner when I'm feeling a little below weather.

No mess, take care and rain song

1. Taking the effort to put things where they belong and to smoothen out the covers and straighten the cushions. It's good to see the house look habitable again.
2. Massaging foot cream and then slipping on a pair of socks. It'll stay for the night.
3. Listening to the soft fall of rain while lying on my bed near the window.

Fixed, nervous too and the real first prize

1. The office is too cold. But one call to the maintenance room fixes it and I'm no longer shivering.
2. A confession of nervousness from someone.
3. I had sent pictures of the T shirt I painted for the contest to my parents a few days back, but not being very regular in checking their email, they only see it yesterday. Mom calls up to tell me its very good - "I never knew you had so much hidden talent! I hope you will keep painting something or the other now that you have discovered it." But the real surprise is Papa calling up a few hours later to tell me he like the Tee. "The eyes have come out well. The nose - not so much..." The T shirt got me a third prize, but these two appreciations today more than made up for the loss of the first prize. Take a look.

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.

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!

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!

That's it, A new lease on life and Sleepy

1. There's a lot of work to be done, and I'm working under bit of a pressure to get through the tasks list. I haven't really had time to look at the last item on the list, and have mentally allocated a couple of hours in the evening to it. I start working on it, and it's done in half an hour. Sweet surprise.
2. I had given up the rose plant as dead even after Gullu and I had worked a bit on adding new soil to the pot, trimming away the dried branches etc. Without much hope, I had continued to water it for nearly 10 days, when it started showing signs of life. Today there are a few tender leaves sprouting hesitantly.
3. After having slept badly for the last two nights, it seems almost a blessing that I'm yawning right now and my eyes are heavy with sleep.

6 p.m., history as a story and cool as a cucumber

1. I'm done with my work at 6 p.m. So I can go for Yoga and then come home at a decent time and pick up My Family and Other Animals.
2. There's a very good series on Shivaji on Star Pravah, the marathi channel. It is a faithful reproduction of the highly acclaimed 10 volume historical work 'Shri Shivachhatrapati' on Shivaji. They've captured the mood and the typical dialect of that era beautifully. For me its all the more charming, because I've read the books.
3. I'm off to take a cool shower and get into bed, all clean and cool. Just the thought makes me so happy.

Cool car, washed and juicy

1. Its only february, but the temperatures are already soaring. We're safe inside the air conditioned car.
2. Washing off the day in a cool shower.
3. Juicy grapes after dinner.

Happy day, random gems and negotiation

1. I feel light today. I put in 12 hours of work, but even in the 12th hour, I find myself humming a tune while sitting at my desk. I like days when it's easy to smile. People seem to irritate me not quite as much as they have done in the past week or so.
2. Manjiri writes me a random email. It ends with: Found this today - 'the tailors measured him just for the sake of excercise these days.' Wodehouse, who else?
3. A super tight deadline has been negotiated and I suddenly realise that I no longer need to work on Christmas... Lesson learnt - ask! negotiate! Especially when the present scenario can't get any worse. A painstakingly composed email sent last night did the trick.

No motion sickness, rasgullas and inbox

1. I come home from a completely uneventful bus journey. NO bus sickness at all this time! How cool is that?!
2. Kris has brought some really soft and succulent rasgullas to office today, because it was his birthday on Sunday. I make at least 3 trips to his desk at different times of the day to pop one in my mouth. Ok, technically, one can't just 'pop' it in, it would be too messy, but I usually squeeze the excess juice out of it so that it has just the right amount of sweetness and then bite into it.
3. For 4 days, I haven't checked my email, so I login a few minutes ago, with great expectations. I'm not let down. Apart from the usual promotional emails, there are a few personal ones from friends too.

Lower pressure, clean it up and Kaushiki

1. After days of complicated and time consuming work, the pressure eases off a bit and the work at hand is slightly low pressure than the past whole week, so I can relax a wee bit and allow the fatigue to take over for a while instead of fighting it continuously.
2. As the petrol pump attendant fills up the car's tank, another one cleans the windshield because it's dusty. He does this without being asked to.
3. I remember I have Kaushiki Chakrabarty's CD in my purse as I get into the car. So today, instead of the radio, I listen to her melliflous voice singing a beautiful raaga with great pleasure. Peace slowly seeps in...