So I'm off tonight, for a well deserved (or so I would like to believe), vacation. Will be off for 20 odd days to spend some time in a land far far away from my beloved Bomcity. Looking forward, to meeting some friends, family, seeing a few cities I've always wanted to, and basically looking forward to doing a lot of things I have not done before.
Things I'm dreading- The long long longgg flight to get there. Passing through Brussels and not stopping by (I love the city for obvious reasons). The rain, turbulence, slimy immigration officers in India, the excess luggage issues on landing (friends need food..haha) and of course some digusting aunty or uncle who will be seated next to me on the flight
I'm running away for a little bit, away from people, away from work, away from everything known to experience a whole new life (Will miss the folks though). This will not be the typical run-in-the mill sort of a touristy holiday, it will be an adventure. A positive one I hope.
Anyway more about my experience...once I'm back. Wish me luck and a safe journey!
I will have a lotttt of time on my hand because there will be lot of times where I will be alone. I'm looking forward to using up this time to clear a lot of confusion in my mind, some thoughts, some strong pending decisions which I hope to take once I'm back.
Ok then, have a flight to catch soon. Canada awaits!
PS: I also look forward to the shopping
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
SRK- Naam toh suna hoga?
Only once in your life (that too if you're lucky enough) will you meet someone like SRK. Before I begin this post, let me clarify that SRK does not (which you will definitely realize as you read further) refer to Shahrukh (who I think is awesome) but is a nickname for somebody, meeting who was an encounter I will never forget in my life. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I have enjoyed my time spent with SRK.
It was roughly 60 days ago when I spoke to him on the phone for the first time. I had called, wanting to speak to someone else, but landed up in a long conversation with him that day. His persistence was evident even through that conversation. While talking to him that day, I realized that I was soon going to be a part of a long project far away from home with a few strangers and SRK in tow.
My next encounter with SRK was at the train station where I met him physically for the first time. This was after a series of long conversations of constant questions fired by him almost continuously. Haha well to be honest, he was nothing like he had claimed to be. No washboards abs, no Tom Cruise resemblance nothing, but trust me when I say I wasn't surprised when this 5 feet 7 inch "boy" came up to me, said hi and ran off to meet a few "celebrities" he claimed he knew who were at a nearby coffee shop.
Not quite sure if the celebrity knew who he was but SRK claimed to have had jamming sessions with older brother. Anyway, you know those days when things just don't go your way? the celebrity was seated next to SRK all through the train journey, right until we reached our destination :)
After spending a few days with SRK I realized that he was a piece. A sample. Someone so unique that you won't find one of the same kind even if you kept looking for years. At this point I would like to introduce 2 strangers on this same trip who later became close friends. Lets call them A and A1. The first memory I have of SRK was a dinner we went to at a local bar where he claimed that the Singaporean waitress was hitting on him who in reality was so confused because he spoke to her in French, something which she did not even understand. A1 and me tried hard to explain to SRK that the waitress may not be as interested as he thought she was, but we were shunned by comments like he could feel positive vibes and something about her mentally checking him out :) Obviously A1 and me did not miss further opportunities to egg him to ask her out which eventually did not happen. However there was a mental French connection! Apparently!
One afternoon when A1 and me just decided to chill hanging around at a book store, SRK and A went sightseeing and shopping, and I have never ever felt so bad for A in my life. A was following SRK's directions unfortunately and landed up reaching the mall in 60 minutes when they could've just gotten there in 20 thanks to all the French SRK spoke in a land where no-one understood what he was saying :) SRK bought bitter chocolates for his grand-mom who had diabetes thinking that bitter chocolates contain no sugar!! Hahahaha! In A's exact words "His grand-mother would have tapakofied had I not stopped him from buying the chocolates in the nick of time".
SRK was an all rounder- A musician, a poet, a linguist, a romantic who was in love with places you've never even heard of. He could eat 1/2 kilo of bitter chocolate at one go, randomly jam or at least pretend to with street musicians,and speak in languages as unheard of as the countries I mentioned earlier.
He has prayed with resteraunters, jammed with celebrities, recited in front of international audiences and the works. He is someone who lives by his instinct. At one point, he wanted to perform a cleansing ritual (Indian style) at an internationally acclaimed hotel, as the rooms there gave him neagtive vibes, so you can imagine the craziness I am talking about.
No words will ever be able to describe our days with SRK. I don't think anyone has ever tested my patience as much as he did and although I pretty much did what I could to keep shut, we ended up in a quarrel on one of the days, during this journey. SRK was a specimen- he would get lost and not know to get back, tie his jacket backwards because it reminded him of one of his 105 girlfriends, eat- 2 appetizers, 3-entrees and at least 2 deserts and tell me how much weight he has lost cause I haven't given him enough food to eat :), carry 2 t-shirts on a 7 day trip and the works.
Being the responsible fool I am, I did look out for him at times, which is why ultimately I reminded him of his grandmom who apparently looked out for him similarly :) Obviously I stopped once I heard this statement.
Meeting SRK in my life was an oppurtunity which not too many people have. A and A1 would agree. Words cannot really describe a few incidents and other times we shared, but trust me when I say, these days I will never forget!
It was roughly 60 days ago when I spoke to him on the phone for the first time. I had called, wanting to speak to someone else, but landed up in a long conversation with him that day. His persistence was evident even through that conversation. While talking to him that day, I realized that I was soon going to be a part of a long project far away from home with a few strangers and SRK in tow.
My next encounter with SRK was at the train station where I met him physically for the first time. This was after a series of long conversations of constant questions fired by him almost continuously. Haha well to be honest, he was nothing like he had claimed to be. No washboards abs, no Tom Cruise resemblance nothing, but trust me when I say I wasn't surprised when this 5 feet 7 inch "boy" came up to me, said hi and ran off to meet a few "celebrities" he claimed he knew who were at a nearby coffee shop.
Not quite sure if the celebrity knew who he was but SRK claimed to have had jamming sessions with older brother. Anyway, you know those days when things just don't go your way? the celebrity was seated next to SRK all through the train journey, right until we reached our destination :)
After spending a few days with SRK I realized that he was a piece. A sample. Someone so unique that you won't find one of the same kind even if you kept looking for years. At this point I would like to introduce 2 strangers on this same trip who later became close friends. Lets call them A and A1. The first memory I have of SRK was a dinner we went to at a local bar where he claimed that the Singaporean waitress was hitting on him who in reality was so confused because he spoke to her in French, something which she did not even understand. A1 and me tried hard to explain to SRK that the waitress may not be as interested as he thought she was, but we were shunned by comments like he could feel positive vibes and something about her mentally checking him out :) Obviously A1 and me did not miss further opportunities to egg him to ask her out which eventually did not happen. However there was a mental French connection! Apparently!
One afternoon when A1 and me just decided to chill hanging around at a book store, SRK and A went sightseeing and shopping, and I have never ever felt so bad for A in my life. A was following SRK's directions unfortunately and landed up reaching the mall in 60 minutes when they could've just gotten there in 20 thanks to all the French SRK spoke in a land where no-one understood what he was saying :) SRK bought bitter chocolates for his grand-mom who had diabetes thinking that bitter chocolates contain no sugar!! Hahahaha! In A's exact words "His grand-mother would have tapakofied had I not stopped him from buying the chocolates in the nick of time".
SRK was an all rounder- A musician, a poet, a linguist, a romantic who was in love with places you've never even heard of. He could eat 1/2 kilo of bitter chocolate at one go, randomly jam or at least pretend to with street musicians,and speak in languages as unheard of as the countries I mentioned earlier.
He has prayed with resteraunters, jammed with celebrities, recited in front of international audiences and the works. He is someone who lives by his instinct. At one point, he wanted to perform a cleansing ritual (Indian style) at an internationally acclaimed hotel, as the rooms there gave him neagtive vibes, so you can imagine the craziness I am talking about.
No words will ever be able to describe our days with SRK. I don't think anyone has ever tested my patience as much as he did and although I pretty much did what I could to keep shut, we ended up in a quarrel on one of the days, during this journey. SRK was a specimen- he would get lost and not know to get back, tie his jacket backwards because it reminded him of one of his 105 girlfriends, eat- 2 appetizers, 3-entrees and at least 2 deserts and tell me how much weight he has lost cause I haven't given him enough food to eat :), carry 2 t-shirts on a 7 day trip and the works.
Being the responsible fool I am, I did look out for him at times, which is why ultimately I reminded him of his grandmom who apparently looked out for him similarly :) Obviously I stopped once I heard this statement.
Meeting SRK in my life was an oppurtunity which not too many people have. A and A1 would agree. Words cannot really describe a few incidents and other times we shared, but trust me when I say, these days I will never forget!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
! Life's like that
Been away from the blog long enough. Not really. Just don't have much to say these days.Trying to survive in this muggy business called life.
Life has been pretty much the regular. Routine go to work come back, hang out with friends on the weekend, the usual. Travel has been at its minimum. Haven't been aroung too much after my last trip in April, umm well technically thats not too long ago, but you know what I mean right?
Planning to go on a longish vacation this month. Be away from everyone and everything around me (you can exclude the folks from this one). One really bad habit I have. I disconnect myself from things and people really close to me sometimes and although they (At least the people) tend to think I'm cold and snobbish, that is not the case. I care, I really really do. I'm just not very good with emoting and hardly ever really show what I feel. This attitude (pretend to care-a-damn but actually really care) had got me and still gets me into loads of trouble with people . I should really try and let people know how I feel. But by the time I try, they are already far far away.
Why people, I mean even my poor Blackberry must think what a lousy owner I have. Doesnt even care to glance a look at me on the weekends. Little does he know that he is like my soulmate and I'd die without him in my life! Sigh! I wish people understood me better, well how can they? It's not like I ever give people a chance to get that close anyway!
Diverging slightly from the topic, my close friend from school got married 2 weekends ago. M and I have been really thick since we were in Standard 5. Although we parted ways after school and continued our studies in different fields we always managed to keep in touch. M introduced me to A while we were in Std 11th which is when she met him and I thought he was a complete sweet heart. M and A finally tied the knot after a courtship of 7 odd years and I couldn't have been happier for them. I met S after a gap of 5-6 years at the wedding (S,M and me were best buds in school) and the gap just didn't seem to exist. Things seemed just the same as they were, only thing different being that we were attending M's wedding and not birthday party :)
S and I were remembering our days in school. Apparently I had a passion for traveling ever since I was 12, S recalls. Although at 12 I told her I wanted to be a travel journalist which I am not quite today, the passion still continues. S however thinks that my approach towards my profession has drastically changed from the last time she met me (Which was around 5-7 years ago). She finds me thinking less creatively and more logically and practically than before. Well to put it exactly in her words, I am not that jhola journalist wannabe anymore, but I am more of a cold blooded, profit oriented, corporate slave :). Well S you couldn't be more correct in your judgment.
So weddings apart last week I visited the new Indigo Deli at Phoenix and I absolutely loved it. Went to meet a friend (N) and happened to also catch up with her friend (M) and trust me I really wish I could go back in time and punch her.
M was this typical Delhi-ite! Now please don't get me wrong. I love Delhi as a city, and although I am a pure bred Bombay-ite, I am totally over those Delhi-Bombay debates. I think both cities have their own charm and basically suit yourself. If you like Delhi, live there if you don't move out! M went on and on and on about how dirty the city is, the pollution, the lack of bling (loser alert!) and I don't know what else because in order to save myself from socking her in the face I had to switch off from the conversation and dig deep into the pizza (Which btw is totally recommended). What surprised me the most however was that this same M who had been bitching the hell out of Bombay for at least an hour and a half was visiting Mumbai (Staying at the 4 seasons mind you) for the 5th time on a vacation. I mean for that much money she could have just gone to Bangkok instead!!! If you hate Bombay so much, don't come here! We are anyway short of space in this city and you will only be doing us a favour!
Coming back to "the job", yeah you read an awful lot of my job stories on the blog don't you? I have like 2 people I can proudly call friends at work. I have a lot of accquaintances and friends as well, but there are very few people I let into my real space. I am very private by nature and share my true feelings, opinions and the works with very few people. So over the 2 years I've spent in my current job I managed to make 2 such friends. S1 and S2. We spent most of our 2 years together as in India one does spend more time at the workplace rather than outside of it. We had our quarrels, arguments but shared some amazing moments together. The lunches, the working overtime, boss bitching, office gossip, random rubbish, meetings, travels, parties, nightouts, dinners and what not. Sadly for me S1 and S2 both resigned last night. I didn't really see this coming and was really upset and happy for them at the same time especially for S1 as she is really moving to a better oppurtunity. S2 hasn't quite figured out what he wants yet, but I guess he needs this break to sort it out within himself. Once I am back from this long vacation that I am planning to take (God knows when and where though) I will also have to take certain decisions on the work front. Rather important, maybe life changing decisions. I just hope they work out in my favour. I'm not very good with this whole decision making process.
Meanwhile I am so glad I met H and N in Brussels in April. I have really found such close friends in them and it surprises me how we got along so well in such a short period of time. H claims he has the best sense of humour and I think he does. Meanwhile N and I have so much in common that there is never a dull moment with her around. I'm also really glad I found a friend in H1, Again, even though we don't meet too often whenever we do, our random conversations range from Obama to Bollywood gossip and lots and lots of white wine :)
Yeah so this is basically an update (A long pending update) of what has been going on in my life currently.The FIFA World Cup 2010 begins this Friday and I am obviously supporting Torres and Spain! But going by my past records of always supporting the team that loses I'm kinda scared for them! Let's hope they prove me wrong.
I have also come to believe of late that theres no point holding a grudge or anything against a person, because as time passes everything fades away and you never know who you will need when. I've really calmed down or so I would like to believe (not reaching nirvana still going to hell) comparitively and have really stopped paying attention to petty issues. Where you start is ultimately where you end, I've had a fabulous start and I hope my life completes a fantastic Full Circle when it ends. After all as Creed puts it "Rearrange and distance makes the pain fade away. So important then, doesnt matter now, both feet on the ground, we've come Full Circle!
Life has been pretty much the regular. Routine go to work come back, hang out with friends on the weekend, the usual. Travel has been at its minimum. Haven't been aroung too much after my last trip in April, umm well technically thats not too long ago, but you know what I mean right?
Planning to go on a longish vacation this month. Be away from everyone and everything around me (you can exclude the folks from this one). One really bad habit I have. I disconnect myself from things and people really close to me sometimes and although they (At least the people) tend to think I'm cold and snobbish, that is not the case. I care, I really really do. I'm just not very good with emoting and hardly ever really show what I feel. This attitude (pretend to care-a-damn but actually really care) had got me and still gets me into loads of trouble with people . I should really try and let people know how I feel. But by the time I try, they are already far far away.
Why people, I mean even my poor Blackberry must think what a lousy owner I have. Doesnt even care to glance a look at me on the weekends. Little does he know that he is like my soulmate and I'd die without him in my life! Sigh! I wish people understood me better, well how can they? It's not like I ever give people a chance to get that close anyway!
Diverging slightly from the topic, my close friend from school got married 2 weekends ago. M and I have been really thick since we were in Standard 5. Although we parted ways after school and continued our studies in different fields we always managed to keep in touch. M introduced me to A while we were in Std 11th which is when she met him and I thought he was a complete sweet heart. M and A finally tied the knot after a courtship of 7 odd years and I couldn't have been happier for them. I met S after a gap of 5-6 years at the wedding (S,M and me were best buds in school) and the gap just didn't seem to exist. Things seemed just the same as they were, only thing different being that we were attending M's wedding and not birthday party :)
S and I were remembering our days in school. Apparently I had a passion for traveling ever since I was 12, S recalls. Although at 12 I told her I wanted to be a travel journalist which I am not quite today, the passion still continues. S however thinks that my approach towards my profession has drastically changed from the last time she met me (Which was around 5-7 years ago). She finds me thinking less creatively and more logically and practically than before. Well to put it exactly in her words, I am not that jhola journalist wannabe anymore, but I am more of a cold blooded, profit oriented, corporate slave :). Well S you couldn't be more correct in your judgment.
So weddings apart last week I visited the new Indigo Deli at Phoenix and I absolutely loved it. Went to meet a friend (N) and happened to also catch up with her friend (M) and trust me I really wish I could go back in time and punch her.
M was this typical Delhi-ite! Now please don't get me wrong. I love Delhi as a city, and although I am a pure bred Bombay-ite, I am totally over those Delhi-Bombay debates. I think both cities have their own charm and basically suit yourself. If you like Delhi, live there if you don't move out! M went on and on and on about how dirty the city is, the pollution, the lack of bling (loser alert!) and I don't know what else because in order to save myself from socking her in the face I had to switch off from the conversation and dig deep into the pizza (Which btw is totally recommended). What surprised me the most however was that this same M who had been bitching the hell out of Bombay for at least an hour and a half was visiting Mumbai (Staying at the 4 seasons mind you) for the 5th time on a vacation. I mean for that much money she could have just gone to Bangkok instead!!! If you hate Bombay so much, don't come here! We are anyway short of space in this city and you will only be doing us a favour!
Coming back to "the job", yeah you read an awful lot of my job stories on the blog don't you? I have like 2 people I can proudly call friends at work. I have a lot of accquaintances and friends as well, but there are very few people I let into my real space. I am very private by nature and share my true feelings, opinions and the works with very few people. So over the 2 years I've spent in my current job I managed to make 2 such friends. S1 and S2. We spent most of our 2 years together as in India one does spend more time at the workplace rather than outside of it. We had our quarrels, arguments but shared some amazing moments together. The lunches, the working overtime, boss bitching, office gossip, random rubbish, meetings, travels, parties, nightouts, dinners and what not. Sadly for me S1 and S2 both resigned last night. I didn't really see this coming and was really upset and happy for them at the same time especially for S1 as she is really moving to a better oppurtunity. S2 hasn't quite figured out what he wants yet, but I guess he needs this break to sort it out within himself. Once I am back from this long vacation that I am planning to take (God knows when and where though) I will also have to take certain decisions on the work front. Rather important, maybe life changing decisions. I just hope they work out in my favour. I'm not very good with this whole decision making process.
Meanwhile I am so glad I met H and N in Brussels in April. I have really found such close friends in them and it surprises me how we got along so well in such a short period of time. H claims he has the best sense of humour and I think he does. Meanwhile N and I have so much in common that there is never a dull moment with her around. I'm also really glad I found a friend in H1, Again, even though we don't meet too often whenever we do, our random conversations range from Obama to Bollywood gossip and lots and lots of white wine :)
Yeah so this is basically an update (A long pending update) of what has been going on in my life currently.The FIFA World Cup 2010 begins this Friday and I am obviously supporting Torres and Spain! But going by my past records of always supporting the team that loses I'm kinda scared for them! Let's hope they prove me wrong.
I have also come to believe of late that theres no point holding a grudge or anything against a person, because as time passes everything fades away and you never know who you will need when. I've really calmed down or so I would like to believe (not reaching nirvana still going to hell) comparitively and have really stopped paying attention to petty issues. Where you start is ultimately where you end, I've had a fabulous start and I hope my life completes a fantastic Full Circle when it ends. After all as Creed puts it "Rearrange and distance makes the pain fade away. So important then, doesnt matter now, both feet on the ground, we've come Full Circle!
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