here, kitty!

was hoping the test would tell me something i didn't know!

You Are: 20% Dog, 80% Cat

You are are almost exactly like a cat. You're intelligent, independent, and set on getting your way. And there's no way you're going to fetch a paper for anyone!

Are You More Cat or Dog?

ho ho ho!!!

the other day we were dining out, and i saw a man who fit my image of santa claus to the T. except that he wasn't dressed in red & white or fur *this is texas, after all!* but were he to don santa's outfit, he'd be THE man! replace his harley with a sleigh, however! and then, it suddenly occurred to me. it's that time of the year again!

the time to take stock. have i been good? or not-so-good? will my good override my not-so-good? *i don't like to say BAD* the time to get rewarded. by none other than santa claus himself! the jolly ol' man dressed in red & white, riding over treetops in a sleigh, with rudolph galloping *does he think he's a horse??*.
i still wonder HOW santa manages to fit into the chimneys? they look awfully narrow for someone his girth! maybe, he sends one of his elves down with the gifts? hmm... possible. no wonder nobody ever spots them! i've always wanted to catch santa red-handed. WHILE he's leaving the gift behind. but i've never been able to. maybe this year!

everybody says that santa doesn't exist. i don't care. i LOVE him. i have, since i was a kid. maybe that's why the commercialisation of santa really bothers me. did you know that now it's possible to get santa to MAIL you? no, not e-mail - letter. all you need is a credit card! if you have two kids & want two letters, you'll also get a discount! he would mention your pet's name, personal details et al! he would also mail you your most-wanted x'mas present with this letter. phew! i'd have thought santa was getting lazier! or maybe rudolph is! whatever happened to "wake-up-in-the-morng, find-ur-gift?" wasn't that more fun?

and i guess that's how it'll always remain for me. being good *at least as x'mas nears!*, charting up a list of what i want for x'mas. and hoping that i live up to santa's perception of "good". otherwise, i just go out & buy my most wanted present for myself, anyways! i could always attribute it to depression, caused by santa ignoring me! ho, ho, ho!

nostalgia. shela-style!

there're some moments which redefine your life. which change you. forever.
when i think of MICA, i can never forget:

- the first shock on knowing that i would live in a place called "champa"
- the initial disgust of sharing a bathroom with strangers
- marketing strategies being discussed in bengali. *was presumed, that i, being the only non-bong member in the group would learn bengali to understand what's happening around me!*
- partying till the wee hours of the morning in a wannabe disc at ahmedabad. getting back at 6 in the morng and jumping over the gate to get in. because we were scared of thakurjii reprimanding us!
- those long, really long walks. at all hours. in shela-land! seems a completely different world now.
- those heart-to-heart chats in the fields near mica. *owe u one for those, minal! always will*
- having stones thrown at my door because someone i knew made d mistake of calling me on the landline!
- sticking post-its on ur neighbour's door to ask her to ping u on MSN/IP when she's back from a shower! also messaging her on MSN to do the same.
- the absolute embarrassment of bumping into your other neighbour's boyfriend while coming out of the bathroom in a towel at 4.30 a.m.!!
- having b'day party decor done in my room for my closest frens b'day. worrying that it won't be done before she walks in!
- cooking chicken past mid-night *i didn't cook, i was there for moral support. and the experience*
- mornings, afternoons... DAYS spent at the chhota. doing nothing. discussing everything. reaching NO conclusion. loving it.
- sitting on the ledge @ chandni.. listening to music. looking at the rain...
- wondering what life had in store for me. and my friends.
- evenings spent playing hangaroo :)
- simultaneous contrasting notes of 'piya basanti', 'do lafzon ki', 'metallica', 'bon jovi', KK, elton john...
- the clear sky. those amazing steps of champa. the bridge over the so-called canal!
- lighting a bonfire on the terrace and staying up all night to catch an early morning flight home. discussing life and everything else under the clear sky...

there's SO much that can't be put into words. the time and space, the confusion, the happiness, the innocence, the confidence, the life that made up those two years. it is unparalleled. and will remain so. always.

to all of you who made those years memorable, *can't take names, it'll fill up the blog!* i don't have words to say what you mean to me. keep the faith! i'm still the same mad gurl!

the theory of marriage

a lot of people often ask me, how did i decide to have an arranged marriage.
well, two things:
a. i did not "decide" to have one. it kind of, just happened.
b. i'm an ardent believer in arranged marriages!

actually, i wasn't always a believer. i was "brain-washed" by a friend. HE was an ardent believer in the concept. and maybe to find company, he got me hooked onto it too.

he introduced me to an interesting theory. the triangle theory! he said it's simple to decide whether you should marry someone you meet or not. no, let me clarify, this is NOT for those people who have negative auras about them! *sometimes, one glance at a person is enough to tell you that there isn't going to be another!* this is for people who you can't decide about. people you've met multiple times. and are confused whether the person is "right" for you. *mind you - RIGHT. not PERFECT. that's an over-hyped myth!*

the three angles of this triangle are formed by three core values:
i. friendship. crucial that you can be friends with the person you're going out with. there's something weird about friendship. seemingly different individuals realise that deep down they share identical values, beliefs... that they can hold conversations about any and everything. anytime. all the time.
ii. commitment. this phobia usually doesn't happen in arranged marriages. but gauging by the person's dedication to other factors in his life, *if he's passed angle i, u'll know these* you can easily know whether or not you wish to commit the rest of your life to him.
iii. passion. not all friends make good life partners. *but all life partners HAVE to be good friends* make sure u're attracted to your date. that's what could get your relationship started, at times. the other two angles would help sustenance. more or less.

this triangle can't sustain without ANY of the angles. mandatory to have all three of them. sounds simple. but is VERY difficult to meet someone who'd score a 10 on all three counts. if you find him. hang on. for dear life, hang on! it could lead to something magical! it still won't be perfect. but yeah, it'll be as near to it as it can!

p.s.: people touch your lives in the most unexpected ways. sometimes, they don't ever realise that they've made such a huge difference to your thoughts, ur life... this is to YOU. have a gr8 life!

how i love this kid!

love calvin for saying with SUCH ease, what i've been thinking about for a while now!

silly me!

usually, people grow up. and they stop being silly. that hasn't happened with me, i guess. i still believe:
- that making a smiley face on my morning coffee ensures i have a nice day.
- peterpan is out there somewhere, carrying li'l children away to his neverland.
- alice in wonderland is the most profound philosophical book. ever. *the little prince comes close, though.*
- santa claus exists! and he does grant u your wish if u're good through the year.
- every time u say 'fairies don't exist', a fairy dies. so, HUSH!
- i was a cat in my previous birth. and this is the last of my nine lives.
- there are mermaids, resting in their world, who dream of women existing in a distant world.
- everybody is inherently good. it's just the definition of good & perspectives of right & wrong that make us differ.
- carrying a rosary with me will help me ward off vampires & other evil spirits. *i carry mine everywhere with me. u never know when u bump into one!*
- a silver bullet is the only thing that can kill a werewolf. *i don't have one, though!*
- there IS a happily ever after for everyone. we just have to find it. and recognise it. and do what's required to reach out to it.

and i guess i'll believe all of this, and much more, all my life. i've always been silly!

soul searching

i have never really known the purpose of my life. neither have i thought too much about it. i only know that i have one lifetime. and i want to live it. my way. for myself. and for the people i truly love.

saw a movie yesterday, the prairie home companion. a song from it stayed on with me way after the movie ended. the chorus is like this:
"the day is short,
the nights are long;
why do u work so hard, to get, what u don't even want?!"

i know countless people - friends, acquaintances, who're SO unhappy with their jobs. i was, too at one point of time. that feeling of being "stuck" is not new to me! i've been there, gone through that.

but now i kind of realise that there's no point chasing dreams that aren't yours. you'll never believe in them. and that's why u'll never be able to achieve them. and you can't be "stuck!" u aren't a tree! go on - march to your own drum-beat. follow your heart. it'll lead you to where's right for u. had heard it lots of times. had tried it a couple of times too. and i've given it one final shot this time! and, believe me, as is said, this path is never easy. hasn't been for me.
i've left behind everything that once formed my world * trust me, i LOVED it* and drifted away to enter this new world. *but i still have my friends with me. and they always will be with me. they keep me grounded.*

am i happy? i don't know. i don't even know how one can be happy all the time! content, would be more like it. it's like an entirely new phase. even a year back, if someone had told me that i'd be enjoying this life, *staying-at-home, cooking, non-working, non-negotiating, non-aggressive lifestyle* i'd have made them rinse their mouth. with toilet disinfectant!
but life changes. and so do we. and here i am! still soul searching. still trying to figure out whether this is my final destiny. waiting to take life on as it comes! but at least now, i'm anchored. i'm at peace. and that's a long way to come. guess, there's an equally long way to go ahead, too. but i'm prepared for it.

bring it on, life! am ready for u!

hello, sunshine!

i always thought i was a huge loser! i was the only girl i knew, who had never been given flowers by anybody. not a friend, not a best friend, not a boyfriend. not even a colleague or a client. the guy i agreed to marry didn't even buy me flowers when he proposed to me! and i still said yes! i mean, what kind of a loser was i?

but all that changed. yesterday.

it was a normal day. my first surprise came when hubby decided to go & get the laundry done. by himself. WOW! i thought, is the house really so dirty that he's agreed to get out on his own? or is there some hot chick at d laundromat? but i dismissed the latter thought. u would too, if u knew my husband! i mean, the guy would probably be staring at the raven outside the laundromat & thinking of his research articles while a hot blonde would be walking past! confession - i don't know ANY other man like this. that's one reason y i married him...;) but, i'm digressing!
so we were at the point where he went to the laundromat. he ALSO agreed to do the grocery by himself. wow 2! *this is something he NEEDS his wife to be there for*

so i was home, surfing, watching t.v... getting the dinner ready as well, waiting for him to get back & the doorbell rang.

i opened the door to see my very own husband standing with a wide grin on his face & the prettiest bunch of yellow lilies!! :)
now, it may not be a big thing for u to get flowers from ur own hubby. but consider getting flowers from a husband who doesn't understand the concept of giving flowers?! i mean, c'mon, remember, nobody had EVER given me flowers?

i don't know why he got me the flowers. could it be because we scored our so-far highest on boggle today? could it be coz i kept dinner ready? *no, bozo! how could he know that?* could it be because...

heck! doesn't matter! all that matters is he got them for me. that those beautiful sunshine flowers are smiling at me today... and making me feel bright & happy! happier because they're here with NO reason. other than to make me smile!

boggle the world!

FYI - boggle is the interactive online game where u make as many 3 or more letter words from a 16 letter grid in 3 mins! larger the word, higher your score.

in the recent past - the few days that i wasn't blogging - there were rumours of me being addicted! to boggle.

of course, these were just rumours! but well, this is MY blog, so obviously, this is MY perspective! now, c'mon! only because i freak out when the laptop/internet does not function doesn't mean i'm addicted! that's a basic expectation from a developed country! i wouldn't freak out if i were back home!! i don't expect the net to work there! but here, on broadband, if i can't play boggle! WELL!!!

and why is it that i'm supposed to be addicted?

only because i feel depressed, helpless & anxious when the boggle site won't upload, doesn't mean i'm addicted.
only because i've started timing everything in units of 3 mins doesn't mean i'm addicted.
only because i know all the bit-words that can be made from my & hubby's name *umm.. .well.. also from the names of most of my friends!* doesn't mean i'm addicted!
only because i take 3 min breaks from work, play a game & then carry on, doesn't mean i'm addicted!
only because i clap my hands & smile to myself when i see my name on the top 3 *also shoot an e-mail to hubby so he can do the same* does NOT mean i'm addicted.
only because i think boggle's the best thing that happened to me since being married does NOT mean I'M addicted!
only because i forget to drink up the coffee that i've heated up for the 3rd time DOES NOT mean i'm addicted!!!

and no, i AM NOT in denial mode!!!
no, i'm not addicted. i'm just in boggle phase!

and yeah, i AM at num 1 rite now :))

disclaimer: nobody at parker brothers paid me for this. i wish they did, tho...! the game belongs to them. i'm just a fan. a big one!

a purrfect day...

8.00 a.m - wake up
9.00 a.m. - get out of bed & get some b'fast. umm.. ideal b'fast wud be a nice cheese omelette, toast & a warm *purrfectly warm - not hot, not cold* mug of good coffee
10.00 a.m. - check mail. have mails from closest friends, hubby, ma. no spam.
after 2 hours of orkutting, mailing, sending cards to pals, et al
12.00 noon - login to boggle :))
play some awesome games! score 100 & reach position 1
AND manage all of this in just abt 2 hours *each game's 3 mins, u do the math!*
14.00 - have lunch. ideal lunch would be butter chicken/paneer, tortillas & cold water. that's it. *i don't ask for much, do i?!*
14.45 - *yes, i eat slow!!* play hangaroo! :))
15.30 - go for a nice, loooonnngggg, hot shower! NOTHING is more relaxing than one of these! try it some day!
17.00 - watch the simpsons!
17.30 - good hot coffee
18.00 - watch everybody loves raymond/that 70's show *depending on what day it is!*
18.30 - hubby's home!!!! :))
19.00 - hubby cooks dinner. *which is yummy, no matter what! helps to marry a guy who can cook!*
20.00 - sit down for dinner. on the patio. table's set. all u have to do is eat!
21.30 - watch t.v. & play boggle with hubby!
23.00 - cuddle up & fall asleep.
the purrfect ending to a purrfect day!