Ahaa...After a Long time

A friend of mine visited my blog for the first time today and she called me,she had 2 things to say about it - its honest, and its not a fantasy world.
Honest? Was I glad to hear that or what! I mean, its like part of my blog's mission statement - to be honest (yes, I use corporate lingo to make myself seem important, but you get the point).

Not a fantasy world? Yes its not. And thankfully so.I read a few blogs, which are sweeter-than-sweetness, and have more than their share of flying animals and talking birds in LaLaLand. Dont get me wrong. I have nothing against sweetness. I wear pink nail polish and have pretty daisies on my office table. Infact, I love "sweet" and "cute" things. But here's the thing - I refuse to make up stories on my blog, in order to make every incident in my life seem sweet. I refuse to put a halo around my head when I blog, or when I comment on other blogs, or when I read comments on my blog.I also refuse to pick up my daily dose of gyaan from the 'moral-of-the-story' of every post I read - no, I'm not being a hypocrite. I do offer 'moral-of-the-story' on many of my posts, but if you dont agree with me, and if you want to voice your disagreement on my blog, you are more than welcome.
Trust me, I dont pretend to have a darker or deeper side than the next person. Nor do I pretend to have an extra pair of devil's horns. But yes, if you are going to go around the world distributing sunshine stories like they were invitations to LaLaLand, I might have to play the devil's advocate, and just point out the sunset to you.
I dont have a dark side. I just have two sides.(**Wink:-P **)

Disgusting

I'm in no mood to write poetry or prose today. Infact I'm pissed off enough by something to rant about it on my blog. A friend was working in one of the top IT firms. She is in this job from almost one and a half years.Suddenly, out of the blue, HR realises that her class 12 marks dont meet their criteria, and ask her to quit. I'm totally disgusted by people in HR or other administrative roles, who suffer from an inferiority complex about their jobs, and jump at any opportunity that makes them seem important. They should stop playing God and not spoil someone's career because of their late realisation . There is a time and place for all rules to be exercised.. and 1.5 years after the offer is NOT the time. Especially when evrybody knows how the market is doing. How can such a reputed firm be so unprofessional? I'm disgusted. Really.
I just pray that things work out for her. I do.

Anyhting N Everything To Anything N Everything

On friday, I started typing a post which halfway through, went into a direction of its own and I decided not to publish it. The post was about how moronic I find it when people compare anything and everything to just about anything and everything. Okay. Allow me to explain. I have read bloggers writing about how clothes are like friendships, and food is like makeup or relationships are like cities and all sorts of rubbish analogies which make no sense whatsoever. To illustrate my point, I started on an entirely mind-numbing example - how friends are like teas. The ones that are perfect for spending time with every morning is the english breakfast. The strong, silent ones who almost shock you, are the earl grey. The ones that leave a bad taste in your mouth but are still healthy for you, the herbal green tea. Half way through that example I realised I was making way too much sense in my example that I should be making to prove my point. And that is why, my dears, I deleted that draft. Because I was actually making a brilliant case of why we COULD compare anything and everything to anything and everything. But that is okay... not everyone can do it as brilliantly as I do. Uh huh.

*readies her armour*

Watched 'Devil wears Prada' on friday night, and absolutely loved it. Loved it. Loved it. Must watch. Was saying about that movie to a friend,he had the same opinion.Even the guys liked it. What can I say?

The Basilica de Notre Dame I want it.Will buy it one day and frame it...ufff... Anyone who will complain about the non-availability of jigsaws, please head to Puzzle World in Micro Centre. And do buy me the Monet if you feel extremely generous.

The puzzle, of course! *wink*

The hotel people were very sweet to fix in a DVD player in my room. So now one does not need to stay holed up inside the room to watch movies on the laptop. One shall make use of the comfy sofa covered with comforters and sit and enjoy all the downloaded seasons of Friends.
There is a song that stuck my head. Here's hoping that they stick to you too.

Kahan Kise Ke Liye Hai Mumkin

Sab Ke Liye Ek Sa Hona

Thoda Sa Dil Mera Bura Hai

Thoda Bhala Hai Seene Mein

Awaarapaan Banjarapaan

Ek Hala Hai Sine Mein

- Jism

bibliophile........

I finished reading Paul Carter's Dont tell mom I work on the rigs this wekend. A funny and easy read about life with an oil company. He writes about gun-ridden Nigeria and blossoms of Japan with the same ease. It almost has a travel book flavour... maybe that is why I liked it. I decided to pick up the next new book on my list... I went ahead and chose Maximum City , to read about Bombay. I've been tempted to read it since I saw it on GG's book list. Will start on that today. Also, yesterday I got my long overdue birthday gift(From GG sent all the way from India) - Fly Solo: The 50 best places on earth for a girl to travel alone.

How very appropriate and how adorable! I love her and the book to bits now. It is part of my rapidly increasing travel collection. It will now sit alongside 1000 Places to see before you die, Maximum City, And talking about travel, I am trying to book a short trip to Texas next month... fingers crossed!

Not everything needs to be said....

Like a voyeur, you watch my life through this window. Interested in the highs and lows. The spice. You watch my life. Like a movie. Never say a word. No, you arent a trespasser of my virtual home. 'Coz it was me, who threw open the door, for you to walk in. But still, its strange to see you here...

I have just found out that a lot of people that I know read my blog, and know that it is my blog. They have never commented or made their presence felt, though. Much surprise. But yes, I respect them for being discreet about it... either it was too boring for them to read it, or they realised that talking to me about it would make it a little awkward. Made me think... my life is very much an open-book these days, isnt it? Do I regret it? No actually. Some parts of my life I prefer to keep to myself, and shall stay off the blog. For the rest, it just makes life easier when you dont have to be mysterious about yourself. Less effort. Also, please note, anonymity is NOT the same as mystery.

I wonder what you see of me when you walk in. I wonder if you see a larger-than-life picture... coz it isnt so. Its a simple life, of a simple complicated person.
Sometimes I try to be humorous in narrating my life... sometimes I exaggerate my emotions... sometimes I say it as it is. But I wonder if it paints a larger-than-life picture of me. For all my emotions, I dont break down every now and then. For all my sadness, I'm not clinically depressed. For all my mood swings, I'm not loony. For all my happiness, I'm not a all-is-good-with-the-world optimist. These are but just facets to my life. And I dont say it with smugness or pride, but there is a lot to my life, which you dont know of, despite it being an open book. I guess, some things we keep off the pages....

And while you are still watching this movie, and silently waiting for an exciting twist in the tale :)....soon wil be declared....

Is It Jus Me???

I've been tagged again....
Being the lazy person i'm....I finally picked up this tag from a friend....

Current state of mind: Blank
Current song in my head: Kuch tho huva hai...KHNH
Current read: Financial Statement Analysis *yaaawwwn*
Current pet: Cinnamon Streusel Latte, Starbucks :)
Current peeve: Very chill breezy weather, US :(
Current source of happiness: Life is beautiful nowadays :)
Current source of sadness: Away from home n loved ones :(
Current excitement: Project finally goes underway :)
Current fear: Not accomplishing what i dreamt of:(
Current obsession: Acheving my short term goal =)
Current shock: I dont feel like shopping! :O
Current thought: An unending series of 'what-ifs'.....

Jus' Fun

Some time on friday evening, the brain was switched off. That resulted in a good 3 days of brainless sight-seeing and it went on for 2 weeks continously.... eating and shopping. Did I mention eating? I guess I did. From aloo parathas to roast gobi, I have been pigging out. To make sure I dont gain back the weight, said pigging activities were balanced with hours of walking. Walking to touristy places. Walking in touristy places. Walking back... you get the point.
The most interesting of all the places visited was Niagara. It seriously is huge and magnificent! The detail post about wonderful Niagara is on the way....

Let me now dig out about NY trip...

Here's the deal. NY failed to impress me. :O
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, now if you could just pick up your jaws from the floor, I'd tell you why...
I wasnt impressed because they really have no idea what public transport in the 21st century means! The subway hasnt been renovated or upgraded for centuries, and the explaniation we get.... 'the subway is used by so many people, you cant stop it to repair it'. Yes, this time I dropped my jaw on the floor.

I wasnt impressed because people will push you, shove you and step on you, and yet pretend that they have never ever heard of phrases like 'sorry' and 'excuse me'. The average asian (and yes, I am generalising for a third of the human population!) is waaaaay more polite thankyouverymuch.

I wasnt impressed because you queue up for an hour to visit any tourist attraction, and then go through a tedious security check which involves removing your coat, your shoes, your belt, your watch, your dignity. AND after that when you do get to the top of Empire State or Liberty, you then catch yourself saying... WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?

I wasnt impressed because most of Manhattan is dirty and dingy. And I dont like the idea of being picked up on the streets by big, big, big, black men (yes, I'll be racist. If you were there, you would be too!) who could probably lift you with 2 fingers and nobody would notice you are gone...

I wasnt impressed because I value my safety. Random people on the street try to talk to you. Black men on subway stations scare you...Get lost, idiots!

I wasnt impressed because I value my money. And tipping the waiter for bringing you the wrong dish,tipping the doorman for not opening the door for you and tipping the cabbie for shouting at you aint my idea of spending money!

I wont complain about the winter - it was something I had asked for. But still, could there be a worse topping?

The only thing that slightly redeemed New York was the crusie taken to Statue Of Liberty..
Ladies and Gentlemen, Asia kicks ass anytime.But never we boasted that we are perfect....
The apple might be big, but I wasnt tempted to bite.

PS:- I enjoyed the NY trip as the company was good ;0

Time & Talk

I felt like posting this after coming from Dayton Airforce Musem.Planes used in Wars,lots of life loss and what not...there are some pictures which made me feel bad.

Time, have passed through these gates.

As the dust on your feet

carried from places far away,

bringing stories in every particle,

covering everything

with layers of its existence.

Time, have passed through these gates.

As the wisdom of your age

gathered over the years,

and distributed,

unequallyto all your kin,

as a legacy of your existence.

Time, have passed through these gates.

As the happiness and sorrow

that you carry in your heart,

neatly indexed (alongside their sources)

to be remembered sometimes

only by a part of your existence.

Time...

have passed...

through these gates...

As You.

Goodness knows I saw it coming...

The cough. The mild fever. The deluge of work. The lack of understanding. The disappointed expectations. The loneliness. The stress. The fever. The work. The judgements. The disappointments. The confusion. The loneliness. The cough. The fatigue.

It finally got to me.

I cried for a long time. A catharsis of sorts, I guess.
I feel better now. Phew........

Koi aaj mujhe... yahan se le chalo...

New place ......was feeling very lonely in the crowd....Guess that happens to evryone at a point of time.Yesterday I was missing my family and friends....

Its weird sometimes,

when your eyes are moist

and you dont know why.

When you want to talk

to show you are strong,

yet, your words go dry.

When concern you show,

others, do not echo

and the stories are wry.

When you want to keep

a smile, or a poker-face

atleast, but instead you cry.

Koi is samay ko rok do

Koi is udasi ko tok do

Koi mere aansoo pochh do

Koi meri muskaan khoj do

Koi aaj mujhe... yahan se le chalo...