I remember...

...the time when I used to be famous for filling up scrapbooks with the coolest things around. I miss that me, I miss being confident of the abilities I had, I miss saying 'DON'TSMOKE' with unsurpassed conviction, I miss being able to laugh easily, cry even more easily, I miss not being so quick to judge.

I miss that time when I didn't have so much crap in my head, so much luggage in my past and a life that was a clean, innocent slate. 

Since I can't really go back in time and make things simpler, I jumped at the chance to take the tag when Visha came up with it.   

Favourite colour : Black. No its not a rebel phase.
Favourite actor : Changes quicker than I can say 'action'. Right now, Charlie Hunnam and not necessarily for his acting skills. Yeah, I'm fickle like that :P
The websites you visit without fail : Blogger, Flipkart, 4shared, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo! Mail and Pinterest.
Your ‘pep-up’ food : Pizza with a cheese crust specifically from Dominos. Explains my size, no?

THIS is what I'm talking about.

Where would you prefer to live – mountain, beach, plains or valley : Definitely a beach, only place I can put up with heat and humidity because the water makes up for it all.

The latest dream you can recollect : My ex falling off a building and pulling me down along with him.

Items which are always in your wallet : Bank cards, change, a billion old bills, driving license, ATM receipts for the last century and a pouch of some religious souvenir that I keep because Mom told me to. Almost never any cash. 

Five years ago, at this time what were you doing : Finished my 12th boards, disappointed with my useless 88 per cent, trying to decide between Frankfinn and regular graduation. Completely clueless, head over heels in love, getting entangled in everything unnecessary and headstrong as always. 

Your quote of the day : This...

I dare you to say something about my handwriting... Go on.. :P

P.S: Both pictures are from my own Instagram. For once.
 

The One With The Makeover

So I finally found the inspiration to give ze pore ole blog a makeover, as best as I can. Updated the pages, found my long-lost awards page and showcased all my puranewale banners. The social media icons actually work this time and I am so proud that I did it myself AND got it right :P

But the creme de la creme is the banner; I realized, after my very first one, I never had a banner with chocolate in it, so I went overboard with this one. Two whole days of obsessive not-working-in-the-office and staying late (for the fast Wi-Fi) has payed off with the results you see. 

That's before and after, right there.

Anyhoo, the thing is, I never promote my blog in the real world, I don't share it on my personal Facebook. I never told my colleagues I had a blog even and when people ask me to give them the link, I brush it off and change the topic. Not that it is difficult to find if you know my real name, but still. I always thought it's because I write a lot of personal stuff on the blog, details, that I am more myself here than I can ever be in real life (because I find it difficult to open up in real life, as it turns out), but I realised yesterday that it's because I simply care too much.

The blog has become a very big part of me, it's highs and lows reflecting the highs and lows of my own life. I am immensely proud of everything that I have put in here (blonde, shrill, stupid posts included) and I am immensely proud of what the blog has given me. So when someone reads the blog for the first time, I get real nervous about what they will have to say. And I'd rather not show them, than hear something negative. Sensitive like that, I suppose. Not healthy, I know.

I'll stop with the Oscar speech now. Temme how you like the new stuff. And if anything doesn't work the way its supposed to. And if its taking too long to load.

And most importantly, thank YOU people, you know who you are. The ones who have stuck by through all the disappearing acts and still come back to check if there is a new post. Still say that you look forward to new posts. The fact that I still have comments despite not having been active around here in forever has been the biggest motivator to get going again.

Thanks a ton.

119 Seconds

My laundry for the week is done. Oh wait, I still have that bedsheet to deal with. Ah well, I'll give it to Sancy. Damn, they charge a lot. Oh, I have to stop at the ATM. Screw it, I'm too tired to stop anywhere, go straight home and into bed. Erm, dinner. What should I eat? Those sattu parathas from Food Junction are brilliant. But I don't want to go alone. Too many guys at this time. Ergh. Grow up. You're not in a small town anymore. And those guys are cute too. Ah well. Dammit, forgot to call Mom again. She's going to be upset. I have to book tickets too! How long is it to salary day? Damn that's too long. And the office trip is this weekend. Shit, I have nothing to wear. Shut up, Conscience, I DO NOT have anything to wear and that's true. Reminds me, where is that shrug I got last week. I hope she didn't flick it like she flicked the last one. I have to talk to her about moving out. Better still, I hope she moves out. God, why does she have a problem with how late I get home! Just because her boyfriend is too busy to entertain her. Ugh. Why do I get stuck with such people. And I cribbed about my college roommates. I miss them. Okay, now I feel guilty, I suck at keeping in touch and I still crib about missing them. I'll set reminders to call Indu this weekend. I should go down and visit her sometime. Been too long since I even talked to Aunty. Oooh, that be a sexy bike. I wish I had legs long enough to ride one of those. Damn. What and all God chooses not to give us. I should ressurect my Twitter. Well, fine, I'm hopeless at fitting things into 140 characters but still, I like the new app. And I need to check my inbox, too many messages unreplied. Why is that guy revving his stupid scooter? 19 seconds more to go and he's already in a hurry. The last straw will be if he honks at me. There he goes, asshole. I'm not budging until it's green, moron, go over me if you want to. Ah, here come the pedestrians, one day I'm going to take the time to stop and tell you how fucking awesome you are, not. I should get pizza and watch the rest of Magic Mike. No pizza, no money. Tickets. Tatum, I love you, how could you marry Dewan. The Duchess is having a baby! No shit. Please start. NOW. Ah, thank God.

P.S: In case you didn't guess, this is a depiction of what goes on in my head when I'm waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Yes, I'm entirely, hopelessly random like that.

 

Gipsy Danger

I always felt that us, human beings, are the puniest of all of God’s creations, mostly because we are the least armed, so to speak. You know how even a tiny ant can bite the living shit out of you? We don’t have horns or stingers or even wings to fly away from danger, if need be.

Well, yes, He did give us the sixth sense, but let’s face it, how helpful is it when there is a rabid dog (forget a lion or a snake or other such scary shit) growling its face off at you, ready to attack at the slightest movement and your senses are paralyzed with fear? How useful is the sixth sense then? What are we going to do, talk the dog into getting a logical perspective of the attack? No, right? Thought so.

Also, I have very less respect for our race as well. I have my reasons, the one on the top of the list being that we are incapable of coexisting peacefully, not with our own kind OR with other kinds. You know, there are jungles full of animals of a billion different species that exist without causing destruction to everything surrounding them and we can’t keep an office pantry clean without assigning five extra people to do the cleaning at regular one hour intervals and STILL manage to leave it looking like a pigsty at the end of the day. Which is why I say, we are pathetic.

But let’s not go there, crux of the matter being that I don’t think too awesomely of us humans.  

What changed my perception, a tiny bit, but nevertheless, is Pacific Rim.

If we, some day, become capable of building those Jaegers and get two people to share minds strongly enough to be able to operate those ginormous, drool-worthy, mindfucking robotdaddies (I find normal, meaningful adjectives incapable of doing justice to Jaegers) effectively, I think we really ought to get a pat on the back.

And let’s not forget the background scores by that godawesome composer.

If you don’t watch Pacific Rim in the best theatre in town as soon as possible, you really are missing out on one of the prime examples of cinematic brilliance.

Here's the IMDB link and the Rotten Tomatoes link for those who check obsessively.

Here's the YouTube link to the OST playlist.

Here's a link to PVRCinemas for you to book your ticket. 

Here's one more picture in case the other two didn't pique your interest at the very least. 

My faith in humanity and its future has been restored to a small extent. We still have hope.

P.S: Please to note, I have never recommended a movie on the blog ever before.

P.P.S: Go with friends, I’d never have to able to scream my lungs out to my heart’s content if it weren’t for the six other screaming enthusiasts I went with.

P.P.S.S: And the screaming is not about not being classy, the movie just makes you wanna go AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmymindisblown!

P.P.P.S.S: Yeah, I’m done.

Traffic 101

So, I have been on the roads since I got my LLR almost a decade back (gosh, I'm old!:O) and what I love about this country and the cities I have ridden in is their complete lack of respect for any kind of traffic rules. That's what makes the roads so organized and driving/riding such a pleasure not to mention a breeze for beginners to learn and complete lack of accidents and mishaps. And there are never ever ever EVER any traffic jams anywhere in the country at all, especially not in Mumbai and Bangalore. Hats off to us!!

 

So I'm proceeding to list out a few pointers for all those who drive/ride on any Indian road.

10_ Learn to use the horn. Honk liberally. So what if the signal is red and the person in front is as stuck as you are. SIT ON THE GODDAMN HORN. The louder, the longer, the better. And if someone gives you a dirty look for honking too much, honk straight into their face.

9_ At signals, when you need to turn left, make sure that you inch in from the extreme right, as far away from the turning as possible. And when the light turns green, cut off an entire road full of vehicles to get to the other side.

8_ Bully all vehicles smaller than yours. If you're in a Sumo, edge the Activa guy off the road even when you have space. If you're on an Activa, honk the living daylights out of the cyclist and give him a very disgusted look as you pass by. He has no right, riding that piece of junk in this motorized world.

7_ Women drivers/riders are the best in the world. Maa kasam. And the entire world is on our side; nobody checks our licenses, we can drive/ride exactly as we please, overtake left right and centre, road rules gaye bhaad main and all that we need to get out of trouble is a few tears, heartfelt apologies and eye flutters, we can get away with even killing the black buck.

6_ NEVER ever let the other guy pass. Who cares if you have space enough for an elephant to perform a ballet, its a matter of your pride that you don't let him pass. Sonofabitch can wait for his wife's delivery.

5_ Don't bother investing in a helmet; why waste 800 odd bucks (that too for cheap ones) for one bulky, ugly helmet just to mess up your perfect hair. Ensuring that your perm or gelling remains intact is more important than preventing your brains from being splattered.

4_ Take off all the rear view mirrors on your vehicle, they are pretty useless anyway and don't really add to the sleek look, especially if its a bike.

3_ Always, ALWAYS overtake other vehicles as per your convenience. You own the road, have that confidence in your heart as you overtake that stupid car from the left as the bus overtakes him from the right. Or, you could yourself one better and overtake on ghat roads or hair pin bends at high speed as well. Like they say, speed thrills.

2_ In a traffic jam, compete with 25 other people to be the first to get out of there. Doesn't really matter that if you hold on for another five minutes, the entire jam itself can be sorted out - you HAVE to be the first one to leave, no matter what.

1_ And my personal favorite - When an ambulance has its lights on and is wailing, do NOT, I repeat, do NOT let it pass under any circumstances. You getting to the movies on time is more important than the guy within who's losing brain and body function. But if the ambulance somehow does manage to sneak past you, ensure that you stay right behind it and let it clear the traffic for you, because there are some morons on the road who'll actually let the ambulance pass. HAHA, the fools.

And as much as possible, be high, one way or the other, when you drive. Enhances your driving skills.

P.S: I think now that, if I die prematurely, it might just not be of over indulgence but because my BP will spike causing a heart attack when I'm shaking my fist at someone who doesn't give a flying fuck about road rules which exist for a reason. 

 P.P.S: Please get the sarcasm, it all sounds very wrong if you don't get the sarcasm. 

 

Hospital Chronicles #2

I'm very generous with my affections and admiration and you don't have to do much to make me go gaga over you. I almost always find one quality in all people that I don't possess which is enough to make me go wow at them for the rest of my life. Yes, I'm supremely, stupidly naive like that.

But on the other hand, if you lose my respect, it's gone forever and nothing you do can earn it back.

And one of the foremost things you can do to lose my respect in its entireity is to say or do something that indicates that you think girls/women are inferior to boys/men. And if you are a man and you think I am inferior to you, I think it would be safer for you to just stay away. Anything to suggest even the slightest leaning towards gender bias and I'll be forced to think that you have a brain comprised of scat. Bas.

But you know what happened...

I was sitting outside the Gynec operation theatre waiting for news about Mom (it's exactly like it is in the movies). And there were babies busy being born as well, which is kind of a given. SO. This nurse comes out with this baby who's wailing his lungs out and the people sitting next to us jumped up with tears in their eyes, all smiles (exactly like in the movies too). I smiled, despite myself, at the baby who stopped wailing and looked like little angry bird. Then, I heard the grandparents and grandaunt call up the whole world and their uncle and specify that the baby was a boy.

Not that the baby was healthy and the mother was fine (considering the delivery was complicated enough to be a ceasarean). But that the baby was a boy. 

My grandma (who herself has been majorly biased earlier on in life) made a remark about their excitement about the boy, expecting me to go on a rant (as usual) but all I had to say was, "Arey, let them be, they're not educated enough to know the difference and the implications."

I thought it was because I was too busy thinking of other, more important things but later when I thought about it, I felt the same way. Maybe I have grown a tolerant bone in my body.

After being educated and being given exposure to how the world works in the 21st century, if people are still gender biased, they should be shot, military style (just my opinion, the way I feel). Otherwise, I realize, it's not their fault, ignorance is what drives them. 

P.S: I'm not a feminist or anti-men (just the opposite, for I believe women would be lost without men, more on that later), I just don't believe in the crap that parents will be taken care of by their sons in their old age and daughters are a liability because of dowry nonsense, the fact that they leave the mother's house and whatnot. You know that kind of thinking, that's what I'm against. 

P.P.S: A big thank you to all those who prayed for Mom, she's recuperated admirably and is back on her feet *touchwood*. And all is right with the world again :)

Hospital Chronicles #1

When people say love is a weakness, I never believed it. I wondered how the strongest positive emotion that anyone can feel can become something that will disable them. 

Turns out, it is. 

As as it happens, I'm pretty useless when it comes to my mother. She is that single, most important person for whom I should be willing and able to do anything but apparently only the former is true. I'm only willing, my existence is pointless when it comes to doing something for her when she really needs it. 

She's in the hospital for surgery now; Inshallah she will be out of here before the week ends. 

But when it came to being strong enough to be her rock, I'm ashamed to say I folded faster than a pack of cards. She can't depend on me when she is weak for I can't bear to see her like that. I. Just. Can't. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm capable - I can do anything else, everything else for her. If I don't know, I will learn. I can run the household, take care of the dogs and cats, look into insurance, check the administrative blabla, call the nurse and whatnot but when she needs someone, family, next to her to assure her that everything is okay, I am useless. If I end up being by her side, she'll be the one doing the assuring and I'll be shamelessly weeping my face off. 

So I'll plug my earphones in, update nonsense on Facebook, share songs like crazy on #nwplying, play Snoopy Coaster and whatsapp everyone in the world to pretend that everything is alright with my world. Lying to my own mind that everything is just fine and praying real, real hard. Because the alternative is not anything that I even want to think about.

Crux of the matter, I hope I don't love anyone as much. Not now, not ever. For this kind of love makes me weak when I want to be the rock that she can lean on anytime, any day. 

A milestone...

....one whole year at Flipkart, one year of being all 'grown up', one year of living by myself, away from everything and everyone I collectively call 'home'.

One year since I stepped into the blue/yellow office, cold as a coffin just the way I like it (:P), with semi-quaky knees, completely unsure of what was expected of me and blank as to what I wanted from them - literally straight out of cosseted life in college and as green as can possibly be.

Against my nature, somehow, I chose to be quiet rather than faff around like I do, I chose to observe rather than act for the first time in my life. Which is why I don't know how to react when people think that I'm a quiet person. I learnt, wrote, wrote some more and had fun, a lot of it and continue to do so.

A long list of people who have made it awesome despite rainy clouds, you know who you are - thank you. Right from a TL who I look up to (Manju :D), to pretty editors I adore/d (Rosie, Sherry) to friends who make even 20 articles sound like a breeze,
1) Jamie - I will never tire of bubbles jokes, ever :D Thank you for the corporate guidance, for mentoring me for free, for teaching me the importance of confidence - despite everything.
2) Raghul - punching you is the highlight of some days and just because I punch well doesn't mean I'm not a girl. Thank you for trance and entertainment and the plans. Co-conspiring editor-to-be and only other person with the annoying OCD of correcting people while they are in the middle of a sentence :P
3) Anin - miniature, you're just cute. Just. Cute. So many laughs I have because of you, love, so many :D
4) Madhu - suchafunnyouare, especially when you behave like a dumb dodo around a smartphone :P You should be on stage somewhere with all your guard mimicks and parallel bays and batmen and whatnot and I'll be in the front seat cackling my turkey cackle :D
5) Divya, Nuru, Nijay, Bobby Darling... and all the others... For laughing at my jokes, for holding me around the waist and saying hi when I pass by, for being my one true epic fail crush :D (I know you have no idea I exist and ain't I glad of that), for vanilla scented perfumes and so much more. 

The darty coffee, ginger tea, green tea (blegh) in the (in)famous pantry (where a lot more than just coffee happens/ed:D) with the ITPL view - my life in Flipkart is as close to perfect as I could possibly wish for. And of course, Myarathy and Nijjin, my Flipkart accounts are and will always be incomplete without the two of you... every story starts with you both.

And the office I stepped unsurely into, is where I remember laughing the hardest.

I've surprised myself with my own work ethics, the standards I set for myself in corporate jungle, the lines I never tried toeing despite having freedom like never before - I didn't think I was made that way. While it has still been thorns and roses throughout, the Corporate HAS given me a show of faith and Bengaluru HAS enfolded me into its super dirty arms, and somehow, that means a lot to me.

Some say I have changed but I know how naive and foolishly trusting I still am, so I fail to see the change. Others say that living alone has made me a little rough around the edges but the struggle of daily existence gets to all of us, one time or the other, no? More importantly, I'm still as hare-brained, as socially awkward and as bad a conversationalist as ever was.

Sew the rough patches and the happy days with the thread of frustration and laughter, line the corners with tears of both hysterical laughter and utter depression and weave in some colors of satisfaction and monotony, there is the security blanket that has been my life in Flipkart.

Maybe I've grown as a person, maybe I've learned a few lessons the hard way, maybe I did a few things right. Or maybe not. But it has been the perfect end to a year that I will never ever forget in my life for more reasons than I can count... Proud to be a Flipkartian.

And, as always, tomorrow is a new day, a fresh start, yet another page that I'm dying to scribble on.

P.S: Since I started blogging I promised myself that I wouldn't make it a point to write narcisstically, with a lot of 'I's that nobody gives a flying foo-didly-dee about. But allow me this, please?

P.P.S: For those on my FB, sorry for the repeat telecast :P

Silver Linings. I Think.

I can sit here and groan all day long about how my life is crappy and the clouds don't seem to want to lift and that I feel like I'm stuck in a rut and Mondays are khooni and the rest of the week seems to follow its footsteps and every conversation seems to end in an argument and there is worry and unrest and negativity flushing out all the goodness from my system all the time and not even bokehs can make me happy.

Or

I can force myself to smile at that unselfconscious laugh, try and take the right decisions that will give me direction and purpose and treat myself to an occasional masala puri and tweet about the zombiekeeler donuts I got for free and mod my phone to get fancy Nexus wallpapers and transition effects and revel in the free-ness of Cydia repos and take joy in the new found love for Star Trek and Chris Pine and Cumberbatch and Downey Jr.

....you get the point.
All you need is perspective. 

P.S: It gives me vicarious pleasure to blog when I'm supposed to be dishing out articles on stoooopid bats and armbands and ab exercisers aka work. 

Five Things No One Should Be Subjected To

5) Children screaming at the top of their voices at 7 am on a Sunday morning.

Trust me when I say I like kids, I really do. But just because the summer holidays are here and you are too lazy a parent to find something constructive to do (I'm not being judgemental here, I know what it is like to have bored, hyperactive kids at home), does NOT mean that you let them run amok and ruin lives with their we-have-nothing-to-do-so-we-will-scream screaming. NOT on a sacred SUNDAY MORNING.

4) Restaurants that don't believe in clean cutlery.

I'm never going back to that famous cafe called Coffee on Canvas in Koramangala regardless of how much VFM they give me. They gave me a used fork (eegghhh) to have my waffles with. No bigger put off, beyond disgusting.

3) People who can't stop talking about how much money they have/how awesome they are/how they are God's gift to the human race.

I don't want to know because a) I'm broke by the first week of the month b) that is YOUR opinion. And nobody else's.  c) even if you are (which you aren't) I wouldn't want to know about it. Thank you for keeping your obnoxiousness out of my face.

 2) Girls who string guys along.

You know, the ones who go out alone with a different guy every night of the week, say that they are just friends, enjoy all the attention when it comes their way and then make a big deal out of it when the guys ask them out and blame them for 'taking things in the wrong sense' and 'taking advantage of friendship'. Guys are NOT subtle, that's an established fact. So if you are not interested, do not go out on dates with them just because you have nothing better to do. 

1) People who cannot handle their drink.

You want to drink for 'fun'. Go ahead. You want to get sloshed, behave like a moron and make a complete idiot of yourself. That is your choice to make, as well. But do not, I repeat, DO NOT tell me that you can handle it, that you are the most solid drinker in the history of the world, that it is something you do all the time and THEN proceed to puke your face off, get into trouble and expect me to come to your rescue. Not when we have known each other for all of three seconds. 

Not applicable to besties. 

Bonus: People who use darkened car windows to look at and pick their nose before examining the contents.

I was sitting inside a car with the windows up. Traffic signal. Man on TVS 50. Stops right by my window and starts digging into the deep recesses of his nose. Finds whatever he is looking for, retreives it and proceeds to examine it. Thoroughly. In full public view. In broad daylight.

By the time the light turned green, I'd fainted. 

Monday blues?

Mondays are blue for that person who preferred to be spending the entire weekend lazing around doing nothing but watching Suits, marathon-reading Sophie Says, gorging on exquisite paneer tikka, having pseudo-deep conversations about life and worrying about the near-future on the terrace, having an epiphany when news about a schoolmate aka ex-bff having a baby reaches, Instagramming shmexy photos of aforementioned Sophie Says, doing something about all the laundry that seems to have found its way all over the room and feeling a sense of achievement only to know that someone else has a fully automatic IFB (no less) washing machine to do their laundry, making plans to shop for birthday presents and summer shorts and purple shades and then being too lazy to step outta the house, ditching an almost-midnight walk and gobbling up a kinda sad kulfi, happily ignoring the piled up workload that has accummulated over the last work week knowing full well that Monday will be painful, to say the least and then losing sleep over it. That person also wonders on Sunday night where the weekend went despite not having done anything of consequence.   

So, Mondays are blue for that person.
Not me, nossiree.

Relationshi(t)p

When fashion blogger Tanvii put up the cheeky post with her repartees to 'advice' on how to 'rock' a marriage, I realized that I could very well convert the snorts that pepper the flow when I'm reading any 'relationship advice' articles into a post for my long sufferingly patient blog.

What gives me authority enough to snort? Two failed relationships and more years of being a saphead in them than I'd like to remind myself of, I could be somewhat of a (low -level, atleast) expert, don't you think?

So when this came in my mail, I jumped at the chance *cheeky grin*

They say: If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away.
I say: His ego can. Very much so. The Male Ego is a very real thing with a moustache and a personality of its won. Yessir.

They say: If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.
I say: Complacence can. The comfort of being in safe (maybe boring) relationship can. Sheer laziness/fear of being alone can.

They say: Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior. Likewise, don't make excuses for your own bad behviour.
I say: It takes years for a person to mature enough in a relationship to not cuss when angry. Years. Till then, flying objects and bad language/behaviour is inevitable. In most cases.

They say: Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.
I say: Almost everyone almost always ignore their intuition. Which is why we have a world ablaze with dysfunctional, crazyass relationships.

They say: Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that's not meant to be. And don't try to change him either, it just doesn't work.
I say: Biggest load of bull. Changing for someone in a relationship is inevitable because no two people fit together perfectly enough to not make little compromises and adjustments.Though the smart ones will change because they want to and the dumb ones will fill their lives with the relationship and nothing else.

They say: Slower is better.
I say: They didn't mean the other slower, dirty minds :P
Agreed. Obsessing over where it is going will spoil the moment. But this doesn't apply relationships which are over five years old and still are where they started from.

They say: Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.
I say: Lets face it. None of us really wait for it and we inevitably have a heartbreak or two under our belts before we find that the one thing that truly makes us happy is shopping. Or chocolates. Or shoes. Or that LBD.

They say: If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve, then heck no, you can't 'be friends.'
I say: Regardless of why it ends, 'being friends' is a common myth, an urban legend... in 95% cases. The other 5% are just awesome.

They say: Don't stay because you think 'it will get better.' You'll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.
I say: LISTEN TO THIS. If you have doubts, reasonable ones, then it probably means that it is all going to the dogs sometime in the near future. But you won't listen. Why? Because we are built not to.

They say: Always have your own set of friends separate from his.
I say: GET A LIFE. Your own. No, seriously. Just because you are in a relationship doesn't mean you are attached at the hip. If you are, then its high time that you un-attach yourself.

They say: Do not make him into a quasi-god; he's a man, nothing more, nothing less.
I say: Pedestals are meant for fans. Trophies. A bowl of wax fruits(?). Not your boyfriend. Don't wax eloquent on his amazing-ness. Don't let him wax eloquent on his amazing-ness. If he wants to wax eloquent about YOUR beautifuls curls/eyes/nose/hair/ears/whatever, that's okay. But too much of that also has to be taken with a pinch of salt. Coz lets face it, we are not Megan Foxs or Scarlett Johannsons for him to swoon over all the time, every time.

I'm going to stop here, for this post is getting painfully long.

And regardless of how cynical the post is, finding one person that you can take goofy poser pictures with, seek advice on financial problems from, lean on when that headache threatens to overwhelm and depend on to drop the kids in school safely will always be worth all the crap. If you are lucky, that is.

P.S: Despite all the 'advice', you will get your heart broken. Therefore keep your pajamas close and a RockyRoad tub, Calvin & Hobbes and Enid Blyton closer.

P.P.S: No relationship is worth losing yourself completely in. No break up is bad enough to lose faith in love.

P.P.S.S: Commitment-phobia in a woman is a good thing. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Sometimes...

....when you get to the office in the morning, there will be someone sitting there waiting to take the mickey out of you and your work and if you are anything like me, justifying prat that I am, you will try and explain to that person why it is important to note that I did exactly what I asked to with the parameters that I was given without realising that that person is too much of a *dash* to even listen to logic.

Then as the day wears on, the little fact that your appraisal went very well and your TL said nice things about you, and seemed to mean it too, is overshadowed by even bigger news that makes you want to puch someone's face off because of the unfairness of it all. And you decide to take the letdown very personally when the logical part of you tells you that was purely a business decision, that they don't love you like you'd like to think they do. That you are just another business unit.

Then you go to sleep and wake up the next morning with resolve and you realise how much you have changed. Changed from the immature, abusive teenager who could not let a thing go without obsessing over it for weeks, months, years even, to someone who can flick it off the shoulder, move on with life and make long run plans to prove them wrong.

And I thought work didn't teach me anything in the past year. Hah.

There, I've joined the billion other people on the planet with workplace grouses.

True Love

When Snow Patrol said, 'those three words are said too much, they're not enough', they didn't know how many million people would identify with those lines on a deeply personal level.

Love is an overrated emotion, they say. But can any one of you tell me that you don't need it? That you don't think you need to feel that deep passion that reaches unto your very soul, takes a firm hold of your heart and makes you do things that you never imagined doing?

I came to Bangalore and I fell in love. With a depth that I never knew existed in this Universe.
And I wondered how I lived all my life without knowing that I could feel this way.

It didn't take much...
A look here, a glance there, a few well-said words and one meal later I was head over heels and hopelessly so. And I didn't even resist, I let the waves of pure adoration/lust/seduction wash through me even though I knew I might would regret it later.

All the symptoms were right there; years of being a Mills & Boons reader not only gave me false expectations from life/men but also directed me in diagonizing the symptoms of love right.

The butterflies.
The warmth.
The initial reticence.
The soul soothing embrace.
The taste, the touch.

And here I am, one year later, none the wiser and as happy as can be, still faithful, still head over heels, still floating with adoration of that one great love of my life.

Oh Pasta, My Pasta.
What would I be without you.

One mouthful of your creamy awesomeness leaves me writhing in the throes of a foodgasm that causes acute and apparent discomfort to all those around. Some people are choosy but I'm not; as long you are there and I am there and there is a fork, cheese and a hunk of crunchy garlic bread, I'm a happy, happy woman. 

Not a day goes by without me thinking of where to meet you next and the weekend is much awaited for a billion different reasons, most of which lead me to you. Though you have been responsible for heartache/burn(?) when I overindulge and a few more pounds that I'd care for, you have always been that one constant in my life even while the world has fallen apart and then proceeded to reattach itself.

Thank you for that.
Be mine forever.

I'm done with the dramatics, you can leave now 

#kthanxbai

:P

P.S: If you knew me and my obsession with food and have ever come to dinner with me even once, you won't find this post disturbing weird :P and you'd know that I always ALWAYS order the penne on the menu. Like I said, my one true lowe :D

To Roam The Lands Like A Spirit Free

Farzana and Twisha liked a photo of the Eiffel Tower on Facebook and that was enough to send me off on yet another tizzy of uncontrollable wanderlust.

Somewhere along the way I woke up to the fact that without even realizing it, I have been dreaming of going to Paris all my life, not because it is the city of love and I am sappy but because I'm a true Arian who loves the quaint, adventurous, classic beauty of the city in all the photos and pictures that I hungrily devour with my eyes.
Some say Paris is over rated. But I don't think that's the case at all. Or it might just be the images of luxurious opulence that is the Champs Elysees playing tricks on my mind. 

Actually, its not just Paris, it is the whole of Europe with its exotic, alluring charm, quaint accents and wonderous cuisine that draws me into its never-ending loop of storybook beauty, the kind that I grew up reading about and dreaming of.

I'm finding hard to resist the wanderlust as the days go by. I stalk travel blogs silently, envying the creators, wishing I was them. I fear that one day, it might just get too much for me to handle, that I will blow my ties to the world away to pack up and leave...

....in search of all the breathtaking, mind blowing, spectacular cities that I so so yearn to roam.

What I fear even more is that I might be buried one day, some day without having my breath taken and my mind blown, in which case, the photos will be everything and all that I'd have seen in a lifetime.

I leave you with a few images, take one look and tell me they don't make you sigh for lands unknown. If they don't, then you have yet to experience the deep, relentless pull of wanderlust that can make you sigh like no kind of lovesickness can.

Spain - Of fiery bulls, beautiful women and the above.

Rome - Grandeur. Period.

Ireland - Oh, the castles! *sigh*

Portugal - Complete with cobbled pavements and a fruit market in the distance

England - The picture has so less, yet says so much to me

Italy - Tell me, your breath caught. Do tell me.

Paris - My beloved darling, my muse on even the least creative days

Venice - How can this not be the best way to travel?