MEN!!!

I seem to be surrounded with the choicest collection of the most stubborn, infuriating lot - and to think the ones I love the most are the most difficult of the lot.
Jesus does that say something about me?
*Appalled*

Random quotes about men that left me chortling with glee :-
Samantha: Men do this all the time. Women walk around thinking "we," and their version of "we" is "me"... and my dick!
(frm Sex and the City)

Men are like a fine wine. They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd like to have dinner with.
(Kathleen Misfud)

Weekend Update...

The axe fell this weekend.
Oh I fought it alright - with everything I had. Nearly bartered my soul to prevent the mighty fall. But it fell. Nothing I could do about it.
Wonder why I'm not feeling the pain yet?
Wonder when the pain of being severed will come...

On the other hand - it was a good weekend. Spent time with three of my most cherished friends. I have a great bunch of friends, you know. Eccentric in their own ways. Impossible to deal with at times. Stubborn, just like me. But they always come through for me - in their own ways. They are adorable. They are the best.

Because I Love Mornings - III

0530 hours, Mundhwa, Pune, India.

Four or five whistles go off one after the other. A few minutes later, I hear pipes being cranked up and then the pipes groan of satisfaction at being filled up after several hours of emptiness. I toss in my bed (if you can call a couple of mattresses on the floor a bed!) and snuggle deeper into my duvet. It's still dark outside and a little chilly too - it's too early to be up and about. I wake up an hour later, a smile on my face - I've just surfaced from a rather nice dream :-) I stretch out languidly remembering someone who said that stuff you dream about in the morning usually comes true...hehe, agar aise hua to uske mooh mein ghee-shakar! And then the baby lets out his alarm - OK time to get up. Rise and Shine. Wakey-wakey...unless ofcourse you'd rather spend another hour in bed trying to blot out the sounds of a little cherub excitedly spreading the news about a brand new day!

So I roll out of bed - only to discover my dog waiting patiently for that sign of wakefulness and be covered by a bundle of golden fur. Wrestling myself out from beneath him, I stumble over to the bathroom to brush my teeth. GAWD my mouth feels awful - note to myself, "do not get into a relationship in Pune, unless you want to reconcile yourself to a lifetime of no good-morning kisses before a mouth-wash. Triste, the effects of the air-pollution in this city." A rigorous brushing of teeth followed by mint mouthwash, and I'm ready to face the world.

I leave my room and immediately enter another world that is bustling with activity - my nephew is playing in his baby-seat, my mother and bhabhi are busy in the kitchen, making the morning tea and starting preparations for the lunch-boxes. My father is working on his laptop - and Shnapps has scamperd off to wake up my brother so he can go down for his morning-walk. I go make my own cup of Lemon-tea or Frucht-tee, depending on my mood and step out into the balcony to sip it in peace. The tea helps clear my throat - and keeps the pollution-caused phlegm at bay. The fog has started lifting and I can make out the hills in the distance...below me, there are several people out for their morning walk/jog, lots of children waiting for their school buses or shared-rickshaws - and on the tennis-court four gentlemen are warming up, while a couple of younger guys wait patiently for their turn on the court. A flock of tiny birds flies past and I wonder what birds they are...there are parrots, cuckoos, pigeons, sparrows and crows apart from a couple others that I don't recognise.

It's peaceful - slow and peaceful. I'm quite completely awake now, so I go back inside to see if anyone needs my help.

It's another new day :-)

Because I Love Mornings - II

From another morning, somewhere else - distinctly remember the lightness in my steps as my friend and I clambered up this hillock and perched ourselves there, watching the world slowly come awake all around us. :-)

Because I Love Mornings - I

0600 hours, 7 Bungalows, Bombay, India.

Honk. Chirp. Caw-Caw. I wade out of a restless slumber in a house that's not mine, yet so comfortingly familiar. Peeling open eyes that aren't ready to face the sunlight yet, I squint through the heavy curtains hanging at windows left open to let the night breeze enter the room and cool the room through the course of the night. I can't see much apart from hazy shapes in the distance - I fumble for my spectacles and put them on. My vision clears considerably and I can make out the figure of a watchman clambering atop the water-tank in the building across the street. It's early - I can afford to lounge around for some more time. I fling my spectacles onto the bed-side console, and lazily stretch under the duvet. Yawn. Idly reaching out for my cell phone to check if there are any messages, I let the sounds of the morning wash over my senses. There is something comforting about hearing the city start to wind up it's machinery and get its act together for the day. Buses screech to a halt somewhere nearby - if I look out I'd probably see a bunch of Convent School students clambering into the bus, their backs bent under the weight of their heavy school-bags. That's the first batch - they will be followed an hour later by students of Maneckji Cooper, Jamnabai Narsee and AVM among others...

Beep beep. 0645 hours. Time to put on the water-heater. I scramble out of bed, pulling my camisole down over my waist and go do the needful, before coming to stand at the window. Below me the street is already buzzing with activity. The muncipality sweepers are trying in vain to sweep the street clean - they succeed in gathering most of the leaves that have drifted down the previous day and some other stuff that isn't as harmless. There's a van parked outside the local supermarket - some men are carrying huge cartons into the supermarket via its back entrance. A cycle parked round the corner has stacks of newspapers tied to the back. The flower seller runs across the street - he's probably running late in delivering the pooja-flowers to his clients. The vegetable vendor is busy arranging fresh veggies on his cart and the paan-wallah at the nukkad is greeting his first customers of the day - they are there for bread, eggs, cutting-chai (yes he even serves that) or cigarettes to round up that early morning walk! ;-) Voluptuous ladies in pastel salwar-kurtas and white Reeboks or Nikes bustle past, sweating profusely after their walk in Nana-Nani park - no doubt they are discussing their latest diet, or perhaps it's the latest 'designer suit' or 'kundan set' they picked up for the upcoming festival and wedding season.

I smile and push my hair out of my eyes...

Oh yes, mornings are the best part of the day :-)

Incomplete

I was in Bombay this weekend.

Nothing went the way it was planned. Nothing.

Objectives of the trip were left incomplete - so there is a feeling of being unfulfilled. Of being denied certain pleasures in which I seek comfort, peace of mind and yes, even a certain amount of hedonistic delight .

I want to go back and ensure fulfillment of such pleasures.

Time Shall Tell...

It was the most challenging exam I took since I took up French at Alliance Francaise - admittedly, despite my bravado and nonchalant attitude towards exams, I wasn't so sure about how I'd fare. Ofcourse I'd clear - I always do. I'm incapable of failing (except perhaps in Trignometry - how I hated it in school!)...but would I score enough to be able to tell people with a smile in my face and a dance to my steps when they asked me how I fared?

Results were announced a couple of days back - ofcourse I've passed. With flying colours, as they would say! ;-) I freaking topped - holy shit but I rock! Ok I don't really, but I definitely aced this exam - and I hope this is some kind of a positive sign of things to come in the next few days and weeks...

They say patience bears sweet fruit - and don't I love quoting that to people! Well, I've been patient. Bloody patient. Sometimes I surprise myself with how patient I've been. But now I'm nearing the end of my tether. I need stuff to start falling into place, or else I'm just going to give up...

I don't want to give up. I'm not that type of a person - am usually quite tenacious about things I set my hopes on. I wonder whether I will give up despite all the noise I'm making and all my apparent convictions on the issue...I hope I'm not disappointed. More than that, I hope I don't disappoint myself.

Hmmm...time shall tell. Oh yes, it shall!

C'est La Vie...

A year older....but no more closer to my dreams than I was last year. C'est la vie, I guess?

It was just like any other day, except that alot of my friends called and many more sent messages. And yes, I couldn't log in that day, or the next, so later I saw that even more sent emails and egreetings...and yes, left wishes on my blog :-) Thanks everyone!

Number 1, as my brother calls him, came and took me out for dinner. Indyaki it was for that evening. No longer as rocking nor as happening as last year, but they still serve good food. That's what is important in the end. Of what use is a hep-n-happening resto (or person for that matter), if they don't serve good food? Papa got back from Germany the next morning - I wonder when I'll go back! It also rained that day - and Pune got flooded and the few remaining roads dissolved some more! ;-) And so, mon cher ami stayed back at the risk of missing an important meeting with a prospective client the next day, not to mention class! Yes, he rocks. Yes, I wish I'd fallen for him instead. It would have been a great mistake ofcourse, since it would never have worked out and I might even have lost one of my best friends in the bargain...so it's good I didn't. So why am I talking about this? Just so you know my buddy's the best ever! :-) We went to Arthur's Theme that evening. Ananda - bliss. The way to Moksha, as Aristera would say. Yes that's how divine the desserts were.

Today was just another long, boring and lonely day at home...and I just capped it by watching Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason - all by myself, cradling a rapidly cooling mug of coffee in my hands. I also want a happy ending! The waiting's killing...

Yes, c'est la vie...