More than a bit of wood..

In a 5 year old's life not many things are as interesting as the latest game of 'skating' on a floor 'sprinkled' generously with talcum powder wearing our Uncles socks. So one normal un-eventful day, Nana and Pedanana inform us (my cousins M,M and I) that we are proud owners of a new desk each. Now you can imagine what such information could do to three children under the age of 10. We forced our mildly interested selves to hang around until the tables were brought in. Along with it, came a red coloured chair for each of us. Only once the table and chair was set up for each of us,the real excitement began. Lines had to be drawn and borders established so that we wouldn't venture into each other's 'territory'. The chairs were put together facing outwards with a sheet on top to make a tent. The drawers were filledd up with our precious possessions of colored paper, pebbles, shells and other such treasures.Each of us had our own fort and it was our new place to eat, read, play, and err.. sleep. Which was when the parental unit drew the line. Our names were carved not so neatly on the surface and one look at the table even now will take you through our handwriting progress over the years. The drawers were privy to more than just one secret of our growing up years, and graduated from holding pebbles and shells to music cassettes, books and a lot more. It was my place for storing precious stationary, especially the glitter glue my darling brother used to 'decorate' my table. Anything that I wouldn't want to throw away would go into the desk drawer. From time to time Amma would remind me to clean it up and would gently inquire if it all was being kept for my grandchildren. To which she would quite sternly inform me that no one in their right mind would want to keep any of that stuff.
Just before I left home, when we were deciding what to keep and what not to, it was time for my friend to go. Looking at it made me think back to the day it was brought home, and was a part of my life, my growing up years. The books dumped on it, the paintings painted on it, my name carved on every available space in different colors and fonts.It seemed like I was leaving a part of my childhood behind, and in a symbolic way, a time for new beginnings.

Mad Mornings

5 45 - S's alarm . Switch off . Every 15 minutes . S's alarm . 7.45 . Gasp . Run for a bath. 5 min shampoo . Blue cut offs . Printed super cute tee . big blue earrings . Pack bag . Laptop . Charger . Keys . Wallet . mp3 player . Thumb drive . ID . Lunch . Youghurt . Water Bottle . Dry Hair . Black Kajal . Pink Gloss . 7 min left . Gasp . Printed Flip Flops . Make S change from brown to cute green tie up tee . Scrunchie . Grab bag . Lock . Elevator . Downstairs . Phone . Run upstairs . Find phone . Run downstairs . Gasp . 8.09 . 1 min left . 8.10 . Bus stop . Sigh . Smartrip . Metro bus . Get down . Run . Work . French Vanilla Cappuccino . Croissant . Work . Sigh . Made it . Tired . 5 pm . Shopping . Movie . Grin.

Another week goes by

Here I am, on another sunday night, doing the assignment at the last minute. I guess thats just another part of student life. Last minute work, cram for a test,whatever it may be. The whole week was so hectic that the weekend pretty much compensated for it. I actually got bored. I really want to do something that occupies my time, so that I just dont have to THINK. My mind has been driving me up the wall the last one week after certain changes in my life. A conversation with Schmetterling and a couple of other girlfriends made me wonder if everyone is going through these changes too.Change IS inevitable. What I feel today might not be the same as what I feel 5 years later. What I felt when I was 18 isn't necessarily how I feel now. Somehow, coming to a different country and a new place has made me realize that I can be way more independent than I thought I could be earlier. Its Ok if I don't always have to ask for someone's opinion. Its alright if I do not make a best friend everywhere I go. I already have my wonderful bunch of girlfriends who I know will understand me through every phase of life I go through and I will understand them too. I wish they were there with me right now. I really need some girl time. A stay over, junk food and a long talk into the night.Yes Nana, how ever scandalized you might have been when you saw my gtalk status message, maybe its girlfriends who are your soulmates. And no, people.. dont get any ideas.

The way you are

Do you believe in Karma? That whatever that is meant to happen will ultimately happen how much ever you try and make it go your way? What if you were meant to think that way in the first place? That is written for you to feel that way. You think that by making those choices and behaving in a certain way you are trying to change your fate. But those thoughts and the sequence leading to those thoughts was the way you were meant to think. That doesn't mean you sit back and take life as it comes. But even by doing everything that you are, and by living the kind of life you have is going to take a certain path irrespective of your decisions. Yes. Another debatable topic because we don't have an inkling about the external forces in this world. Are there even any external forces? I don't know and neither do you. But what about that gut feeling? That little voice that pipes up when you are going to do make a decision.Even if it is as small as is it going to be a Tiramisu or the Raspberry cheesecake? Do you just ignore it and still have that slight feeling of 'what if' or would you go by what it tells you?
I don't claim to be one of those sad women types who have to take on all the troubles of the family and world in general, but when do you start thinking for yourself? When is it what YOU want and not what your family, friends and even society wants out of you? I don't mean to even imply that it is easy for men, but how do you deal with expectation? How do you deal with the wants of you to be a good daughter, cousin, aunt, mother, friend and even a good neighbor and a part of good 'society'? Do you just do what you know that they think is right? Or do you do what your gut feeling tells you? And you know that by saying 'you have to strike a balance' is easier said that done and both the points of view and opinions are completely opposite.

Or do you want and need some just-be time?

Q tag,

Like I said, all Brat has been doing lately is flying,tagging and getting tagged. So here goes..

Let's start with the "rules":

* Link the person(s) who tagged you - Brat
* Mention the rules on your blog - the rule is..no rules! (cliche! :D)
* Mention 6 unspectacular quirks of yours - nothing about me is unspectacular!
* Tag 6 bloggers by linking them - *insert evil laugh*
* Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers' blogs letting them know they've been tagged - *more evil laughter*

Ok, so here goes for my 'spectacular' quirks..


1. I can never eat plain potato chips. Not even the no-one-can-eat-just-one Lays types. There has to be a dip..Salsa and sour cream are my fav. Although chips with sambar and curd rice is what does it for me. Must be the South Indian genes.

2. I get irritated with people who don't type full words and sentences properly. The occasional 'u' or 'r' is alright. But the 'H r u m fyn' and 'I wnt 2 go to skul coz m nt flng wel' drives me up the wall.

3. I cant sleep without reading a book.If I haven't gone to the library and don't have anything to read, I take out a book by Roald Dahl, James Herriot or Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I can read them over and over and over again to tide me over until my next visit to the library.

5.I have to sleep with 3 pillows. One for under my head,one to hug and one to put over my forehead/eyes. Like a small one. Even if I don't have one to sleep on, there has to be on ON my head.

6.If I ever kill an ant or any small creature type thing, intentionally or not, I always feel bad and say a silent prayer.And then horrible thoughts of what if it was me and some big creature stamps me kind of thing goes on in my head for two minutes.

A little more about me is now in the open. Hmm.I wonder who is reading this stuff.

And now... I tag..

Schmetterling
BG
Vamsee
Nikhilesh
I think..
IMJ

so one big evil laff to sign out! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Calforniaaa Caaalifornia

The wait is over boys and girls. Now you lucky people finally get to know how my trip to CaliforniaAAaa was. First of all, can I be mean and bitch about the effing long flight? Cheap tickets, and with very good reason I must say. Because of the stupid time difference between the East and the West coast, I spent like a day in the plane. And all they had to serve was some BAKED chips and juice. Over and over again after every stop. I now know why they call it an airbus. It literally felt like I was in a bus with 3 stops on the way. Thank god at least I dint have to change planes.
Anyway, once I reached I was d.e.a.d tired and slept like a log. A d.e.a.d log. I dint realize a 3 hour time difference would result in a bit of 'jet lag'. Which meant at 11 pm, 2 AM my time I was sleepy for the first two days. And I woke up at 8 30 AM which is actually 11 30 AM my time. That worked out fine for me. This holiday comprised of all the essential ingredients to have a great time. We shopped,ate, slept,visited places, partied, and gambled! SF was good, we dint get to see the golden gate bridge since it was foggy as usual. We drove to Napa Valley. Wine tasted and now I have a few favorites too. I realized I like White better than red, Reisling being my favourite and I absolutely LOVE dessert wines. The drive to Reno was perhaps the best part of the trip(apart from all the amazing shopping) and the Casinos even better! I won 30$ at the slot machines. Cheap Thrills!! It was all i expected it to be. Bling! Bling! Bling! People at tables, some of them with those suits and shades, some of them casual. But what I dint expect was the number of old people around.I guess they were the ones with the money. the 4 of us were probably the youngest in the place.
Now I'm back at School and back to the grind.The moment I stepped foot in College Park was when it struck me how much I have to do. Get back to school, attend summer class, assignments,project, work, sigh. But I love it. I'm not complaining. My week was so hectic I was determined to stay home this weekend and not do anything. I got to sleep in late,ate when I felt like, lazed around,watched a movie. The only productive thing I did was my assignment so I don't feel THAT useless. A bright new day and a new week from tomorrow. Lets see what it has in store for me! :-)