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.

Morning road, Tailored, Overfed and winning it all

1. The main road looks so empty and inviting at 8 in the morning. The usual traffic is missing and the air feels very inviting and fresh. Its an unusal sight for me, for I'm usually never out so early, and the road is bustling till late in the night.
2. I bring out my tailored white cotton shirt after a long time today. I'd forgotten it fits so well. And looks so crisp.
3. Natasha's mom has whipped up an enormous and yummy dinner (as is her way!) again. I'm getting fattttttttt! I even carried my lunch to work today!
4. The Oscars are being aired in the morning when we are driving to work and every award is announced on the radio as its being won by Slumdog Millionaire. At work the updates keep coming in and the euphoria continues.

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!

Earned gift, uploaded and time to go!

1. The set of strolley bags I ordered to redeem the points earned on my credit card arrive almost a week earlier than I expected them. And they arrive in a huge parcel at work and cause plenty of excitement. The bags are nice and stylish, but also look quite sturdy and convenient. Now I can take one of them on my vacation... yay yay!
2. After much procrastination and many taunts and pestering from friends, I finally upload the pictures I had taken during the past couple of weeks or so. I end up surprised when I see them, for I had forgotten clicking many of them and some have come out beautifully I think.
3. As the day progresses, I am barely able to contain my excitement enough to sit still and concentrate on work that must be completed before I leave for the vacation tomorrow. And because there are six others at work who are accompanying me, the buzz is heady. Comparing checklists, checking weather forecasts for all the places we're going to visit, making phonecalls to check on details... there's so much going on, it's hard to forget for even a moment that its going to be one fun holiday for the next 5 days!

Lucky day, chef and title track

1. "Are you feeling lucky today?" Kris asks me... I'm confused... Why? I ask. "Because Vrunda and I got you something for your car". "Just like that? No occassion?!" It turns out to be a stuffed monkey that's smoking a cigarette with loads of attitude, in a reclining posture, with one arm behind his head... and if you press it's tummy, it lets out a shrill screech that's alarming, to say the least! Its superfluous to mention that I'm so thrilled by the unexpected gift that I'm giggling my head off for a long time...
2. I make rotis and baingan ka bharta for dinner. The rotis, though not quite perfect, are not altogether bad. I am so proud of myself. Why? Everyone can make rotis, with the sole exception of yours truly! So edible rotis are a notable achievement.
3. The title track of the Marathi serial Asambhav. The series is also quite riveting, but its very difficult to find time to watch it everyday and one loses track of the story otherwise...

Catalyst, first blessing and uncivilized

1. Its a normal work-day. The clock creeps to 5 p.m. like it does everyday. Everyone is going about his or her work like usual. And then someone says, "Hey! Its raining!" Its hard to explain the kind of galvanizing effect this one statement has on everyone. People keep going to out for walks (let's go watch the rain) or running to the window. There's a palpable change in the mood of the moment.


2. We go out to enjoy the changed weather. It's suddenly turned quite chilly and there are strong gusts of wind. There's been a shower before, and though it's not raining at the moment, the air is wet and smells divine. After struggling for a while, I finally give up and let my hair fly higgelldy piggeldy...


3. After dinner I bite into one of the large juicy alphonso mangoes I bought yesterday. Its a messy job, becuase I refuse to eat it in a civilized way cutting it with a knife... I just peel off the skin by tearing it off, and bite into the whole ripe fruit... believe me, there isn't a more satisfying way of eating a mango that this... and I'm going to do it everyday for 5 more days! yay!

Birthday baby, ripe fruits and planning

1. The important day is here and there's much excitement. By noon, Gauri has already started calling up those of his friends who have been heartless enough to forget to wish him. And in the evening, there's a small birthday celebration at Yana's Sizzlers.
2. Gullu has landed a great job. Way to go dude! You know you deserve it and I'm so so so very happy for you. Sometimes you just have to hang in there and wait for the time to be ripe.
3. Planning a surprise for someone and settling down to wait while it takes its course.

I'll be there for you, someone's listening and acknowledgement

1. Jui tells me she's always there if I ever need to talk. She's worried because I was impatient and easily angered for a few days, and lost my cool at her on more than one occassion. Each of these times, she managed to hold on to hers... and rather than taking it personally, has ventured to ask if something is bothering me. Little sis is suddenly all grown up. This one thing has made my day today.
2. There's a new caterer in the cafetaria. Feels good to know that someone's listening to our complaints.
3. Shenoy calls up because I accuse him of ignoring me post his wedding. We have a nice long chat.

Who's missing who, my car and little attentions

1. Ananya asks me as I pack my bag - "Are you going to Pune?" I reply that I am. "When are you coming back?" I ask her when I should. "Just now." Then after a pause, she adds, "my puppy will miss you." "And you?"... pat comes the reply "I won't!"
2. Getting behind the wheel, and driving my car after so many weeks! Sighhh...
3. Shenoy continuously fusses around his wife.

Daddy's girl, misconceptions and Klitus

1. Remembering that yesterday, I missed a really imp BT - mum says talk to your dad while I'm on the other call... Papa come on the call with 'heyyy daredevil! how are you?' He's refering to all the water sports pics from Eilat... and sounds very excited!
2. Conversation with a taxi driver on the way back to the hotel: "One tourist from the United States, he came here expecting to see us living in tents and riding camels... you have big cities!!" say he... I tell him its common perception in America that there are snake charmers in every street in India and everyone rides elephants. Tap tap tap goes his index finger on his temples...
3. I discover that my daemon is Klitus. But do those who know me agree? I have 12 days before my Daemon freezes its form... before that, you all must visit the link and let me know what you think... and perhaps you can find out who your Daemon is, too!

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.

Extra time, that's done and f(e)ast

1. Getting up just half an hour earlier makes such a difference to my day. I get the time to take a bath and get ready for office before the driving class. So I'm ready really early, and even though I take the time out to visit Kaka and drop a package at his place, I'm still earlier than I usually am in office...
2. Getting 90% ticks on my To Do list :-)
3. The cook has washed the sabudana (sago) for making khichdi tomorrow. I think nothing of it till mum mentions that its MahaShivratri tomorrow and asks me if I'm going to observe a fast (for the uninitiated, our fasts are not really fasts. Far from it! We're allowed certain foods, and we turn them into feasts!). That's when the sabudana khichdi suddenly clicks!

Leafy luxury, bear hug and decorations

1. The clean new white bedsheets that mom got for me. They look as if someone has taken a very pristine, milky white canvass and drawn lots of different coloured leaves on it. Sleeping on cool and white sheets feels so mmmmmmmm...
2. As I get to work and plop down in front of my computer, Dharana gets up from her seat, tells me she's soooooooo happy and while I'm still sitting in my chair, gives me a bear hug. I suddenly realize what a rare thing a hug has become!
3. Arminder and I keep our shopping date. We go simply gaga over all the gorgeous home decor stuff... The glass stuff is so delicate and pretty. After much deliberation and going back and forth over options, she helps me pick up a nice painting and a very elegant candle stand. Oh, and I find some really nice dry decoration stuff for mum, which I'm sure she'll love... and guess what! all of this is on sale! Could it get any better?? And we didn't even know the sale was starting today before we hit the store.

Small wonder, I the likes and sue them!

1. In one of the potted house plants at my work place, a small shoot has found its way above the soil, just beside the plant's main stem. I see it every time I go to the pantry for a cup of coffee. I somehow have missed checking on it since I came back from the weekend, and today when I see it again, I realize that the little thing has grown almost a couple of inches in four days.
2. I call up Shenoy to check when he's getting back. Turns out he's having lunch with his fiancee. When I say a hello to her, she comes on the phone, and for the first time, in what I hope will be a long and fulfilling friendship, we talk. She has a lovely voice and seems like a very easy person to like. Shenoy, I the likes. I the approves.
3. Poor Dharana is over-worked. No, this is not a good thing. But when I point out that making the baby of the team work so hard amounts to child labour, everyone agrees. We try to make a list of people who should be sued for perpetrating this crime.

And after many months of procrastination, I've finally posted on Rant Factory.

Double dose, delivery, gender inequality, magician on sarod, revival and sea-food

1. Coming to the end of a day, thinking how wonderful it has been and how lucky I've felt each moment to have been given the gift of this day. Its been such a perfect day, nothing could mar it now, and it calls for a double dose of 3BTs :-). I'm happy today!
2. A box of Ferrero Rochers that arrives at my door in the morning. Its quite unexpected, but very welcome and much appreciated.


3. I go the the Times' office to collect the free passes they are giving out for the concert in the evening. I'm handed one pass, and I ask for another, 'coz Dadu is coming with me too. Another pass is promptly handed to me. But I see that one pass admits two, so I hand back the second one, and move away. While I'm still close to the counter and am fumbling with one of the various bags in my hands, a guy, who's perhaps in his late thirties, walks in. He asks for two passes too, and is told that the passes are free, so one person can claim only one! Well... being a girl should have some advantages! hee hee... :-)


4. Sitting beneath the stars, with an almost full moon shining down bright and a cool gentle breeze, and listening to Ustad Amjad Ali Khan on the sarod. He's a maestro par excellence who gauges the mood and level of his audience perfectly and regales us with such a rich variety of music that we're left spell-bound...
5. An old friendship, that I had feared lost, is revived. Its a blessing I hadn't hoped for.
6. An absolutely scrumptilicious sea-food dinner at Mahesh Lunch Home. The Chilly-pepper prawns and the Manglorean fish curry with coconut milk gravy were both finger-licking yummy.

The best policy, doing 'it' amid fragrances and signs of old age

1. I panic in the morning when I realise that my handbag is no where to be seen. I call out to the watchman to ask him if I left it on my bike. He checks and says no. My heart almost stops, when I realize what all I have probably lost with it - credit cards, debit cards, driving license, cash.... whew! Before I've recovered sufficiently from the shock, the door bell rings, and its the watchman. He's come to tell me that the other watchman has found the bag, and I must come down and verify its contents in front of a senior resident of our apartment house. I nearly run my way to the parking lot. There sits my bag, all its contents intact. (I want to get some little thank-you gift for the watchmen for their honesty. Any suggestions anyone?)
2. When I walk into the washroom, I realize that its been cleaned recently and is spic and span. I actually take a deep breath and smell the room-freshner... This might seem like a yucky BT, but there's a huge pleasure and a definite feeling of well-being in using a squeaky clean, fragrant loo and in being able to take a deep breath in the washroom, and still remain smiling.
3. A colleague gives me a lift back home from work, because I've forgotten to catch the bus (I have not only managed to forget my keys inside the house and shut the door, so that I have had to leave my bike home and come by ric to work, I've also managed to forget this fact, and have hence forgotten to catch the bus)... So, as a result, I come home very comfortably, in a nice cosy car, with someone else driving, and realise that I feel none of the usual fatigue that I do by the time I'm home...

Being horrid, relaxation and same pinch

1. Finding a perfectly horrid piece of doggerel that we had written as children, about a girl who we teased mercilessly... I simply laughed my head off when I read it... it was marvellous!
2. Getting a facial done... the one hour is utter relaxation...
3. Chatting with Aditi... we always love the same kind of books and always react the same way to imaginary situations :-)

Home, my bed and whole week

1. Home. And Mom. And Dad. And Aaji.
2. The deep sleep I slip into, in my old bed at home, after lunch... I sleep so tight, that when I wake up, for a moment, I'm quite surprised to wake up at home.
3. Looking forward to a whole week of being home. Oh sighhh...

A different sun, familiar face and misery's company

1. The sun has changed. The harsh october sun is gone, and in its place, we find a soothing, mild and gently warming november sun that doesn't burn.
2. Lost in thought, I walk from the pantry with a cup of coffee towards my desk. As I pass a group of guys, someone taps me on my head. Perplexed and a little annoyed at being disturbed out of my reverie, I turn towards the perpetrator of the action, and find myself staring into a very familiar face, one that hasn't been seen around here for a few months now (4, I'm later told). Digant is standing there grinning his boyish grin, and everyone, of course, has gathered around to talk to him...
3. Finding out that someone else has internet woes (and that too with a different service provider than mine) and hearing him blast the internet guys on the phone. Wellll... misery loves company, doesn't it? But right now, my internet is workin, touch wood!

P.S. After a long time, there are a few pics up at Trigger Happy... Take a look!