i've often said how much i have learned from this whole blogging experience. and that learning just doesn't stop. blog-ville continues to amaze, astonish, humble and, sometimes, turn me to mush!
there've been so many times that i've read through some blogs and wondered if i can ever reach that level. that is why when dottie said she had something for me.. i thought it was a tag. and i was SO touched to see her call my blog 'brilliante'. umm... i dunno why the spelling's so italiano.. but heyy, i LOVE the award!!! and having got it from dottie, it means that much more to me! so, here i go flaunting it! :)
here're the rules for this one:This award is for blogs whose content and design are brilliant as well as creative.The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogosphere.
Here are the rules to follow:
1. When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back
2. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.
3. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’
4. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).
5. And then we pass it on!"
And the seven brilliant weblogs I award are:
i. galadriel : i like her design *yeah yeah, i grudgingly approve* and i LOVE the content. read this if you don't believe me.
ii. solitaire: she continues to educate, question, entertain and stir up emotions that are commonly termed as "disturbing". and she manages all her blogs AND a career. awesome.
iii. dottie. she's single-handedly responsible for my baking skills (?) and of course, her parenting tips are something i'm gonna preserve for when i need them.
iv. mayg: love her blog - content AND design. her point of view is just so refreshing! and of course, she ROCKS at her work. i bow to this master.
v. dewdrop : LOVE her writing style. and her. umm.. ur blog design could do with some work, tho gurl! here's to brilliant miaows! ;)
vi. lena : LOVE the designs she picks for her blogs... and love the way she realizes the importance of friendship.
vii. keshi: candid, straight-from-the-heart... love the confidence and the variety of topics she blogs about. every morning, there's a post that makes me think... she MAKES time to blog. and actually reads all ur posts, understands and comments.
there ya go... spread the sunshine, gals!
and dottie... thanks! :)
edited to add: this post also marks the 2nd happy budday of this space. yeah, i've been at this for 2 years. WOW.
:: MILs here... and we're having a good time terrorizing her hapless son. not that i needed help. but it's always nice to get along with the MIL! so yes, u can leave sympathetic comments for V here. i may convey them to him. depending on the extent of sympathy, of course!
:: we're gonna be camping with frenz from next week till we can shift into our apartment... i'm packing this week, so blogging is gonna be irregular... so is online time. :: there're other things happening that can't be written abt publicly. good things. and if they do happen, i shall blog and let u guys know. but keep ur fingers crossed for me. i may not be able to leave comments on all ur blogs... but i will read u on reader. so, don't disown me yet. i pwomise, regular programming shall resume shortly.
this is typed directly into blogger.. so if it doesn't make much sense, well... it's my blog, r'ber? it doesn't generally make sense!
was chatting with a friend today. for a rather long time. and my faith in guardian angels was fortified. he has come along at the perfect time with the perfect answers to my seemingly ridiculous questions! we were talking about relationships. and he said 'i want a girl who's hot, who's intelligent, who's sensitive to my needs, who tries to get along with my family, respects her family and who has her own identity'. *this is not quoted. this is the gist of what he said*. and his reason for expecting his girl to be like this was the nicest i've heard from any guy recently. he said, and i quote, "i expect this. because i know i will be all this in return." he also gave me details of how he'd make a good husband!
to be honest, i know u're extremely marriageable A. and if i come across any girl who i think will be right for u - trust me, i will put you in touch with her! :)
he also asked me why girls fall for bad boys. to that, i'll pull out something i'd written long ago.. but didn't publish. men love repairing things.
ever since i was a child, i'd see dad pulling things apart and putting them back. be it in the garage or around the house. even male friends loved to be the saviour when some gadget wasn't working. this love for repairing however, i've only seen around machines.
unlike women.
we love repairing too. but we focus more on humans. to be more precise, boys. who need repairing. how often have you thought of why girls fall for bad boys? *not that the boy is bad, just that he's bad for her. but that's a different topic.*
it's the thrill of repairing that soul that gets to them. they believe that they can benefit this boy. make him loyal to them. make him give up drinking/smoking. make him stop flirting with every woman who looks at him. make him fall in love with them.
but that doesn't happen, does it? coz u can never change the inherent essence of one's being. u can temporarily mask it. but never change it. also, there must be some girl somewhere who's willing to accept the guy the way he is. with the way he doesn't fold his laundry, with his drinking, with his flirting. maybe even with his physical abuse.. and they will find each other.
then the poor girl finds solace in friends who'd always told her that he wasn't right for her. and eventually, finds another guy who she thinks needs to be fixed. and the saga continues till she realizes that she deserves better. IF she does, that is.
well, nothing that anyone can do about it. but i'd just hope that as girls get smarter, they'd realize their worth. and stop being treated like doormats. u're not god. but u're not crap, either. and it's not difficult to stand up for yourself. u just need to try.
it's like we "need" the good boys. but we "want" the bad ones. and it's rare that we can mark the distinction.
but fret not, you will find your destiny. otherwise, it shall find you.
...that the world is one large happy place where strangers help other strangers without any incentives?or that there is someone - other than MJ & urs truly - who MEOWS?! or that there's someone else who may have been a cat in her previous birth. or that there's someone who also believes she was exchanged at the hospital/found in a trash can.
or that there's someone who's as volatile as you when it comes to personal spaces...
or that there's one person with ALL the above traits?
and what are the chances that you manage to find that one person in this huge world at the precise moment when u need someone to be there for you? and then realize that you're not alone anymore. not alone in your madness, not alone in a cold, distant, hitherto friendless country. what are the chances, eh? since i'm not supposed to thank u anymore... here's to u, DDD! it's a pleasure knowing you. i look forward to seeing you soon.
"when u need to decide something important and ur head tells u one thing and ur heart tells u another; before u decide...be sure, you know,
whether you have a better head or heart."
- anon.
i'd read something like this a long long time back *hence, it may not be the exact quote*but what do you do if you have no clue whether your head is stronger or your heart? how then, do u decide?
this happened ages ago. in a dark, dingy place we called office. was my first job. in an advertising agency. there was this art guy in the office who had just come to b'bay from calcutta. extremely talented guy, but he really was not conversant in english. leave alone, hindi. it was an effort to explain things to him and answer his doubts. u could never figure out whether he was actually hitting on u or being genuinely misguided by the language. he also thought he was god's gift to women. i have no clue why. the dude also loved smoking. but didn't carry a lighter or smokes. he usually flicked a ciggie off his juniors. one fine day, while i was out in the stairway chatting with my boss - me with a coffee, she with a ciggie - dude walked out. stood in great style, leaning against the railing. then, he condescendingly glanced at us. decided, we should be blessed by His Highness and walked upto us. he looked at the boss lady, fished out a ciggie from his pocket, slipped it into his mouth, and said "heyy A, will you light my fire?"not only did he not get his fire lit by A, he got incessantly ragged for the rest of the 3 months that i was there!
the most common excuse for not blogging is that people are busy with "real life". no, i'm not gonna use that. real life is not exactly happening at the moment. despite having re-viewed the dark knight in houston. despite having met sneha for a brief 2 minutes. despite opportunities coming up and going away. despite apartments to be moved out of and into. despite having to sell my beloved couch on which i perch my fat ass! despite the impending cleaning of the existing apartment, so we get our deposit back. despite MIL reaching in 2 weeks. it's not exactly blog-material now, is it?
i haven't been blogging. because i have nothing to blog about.but yes, i DO want to blog. and no, i don't want to do tags. so tell me what i should write. and maybe, if i'm done packing a portion of my closet today - i'll get to it 2mrw. off i go... resting the fate of this space into the able hands of all 10 of u who regularly visit this space. i trust u.
got this in the mail a coupla days back. completely reflects how i feel right now. about everything.
been a while i did a tag, eh? so here goes. courtesy K3. she's made up this tag and she calls it YTT... but desi that i am. i relate more to kal aaj aur kal!~ The tag copy ~Two questions in each category answer them and then tag your friends from the blog-o-sphere. (Simple enough right) Leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been tagged and you are all set.YesterdayYour oldest memoryWhat were you doing 10 years ago?TodayYour first thought today morningIf you built a time capsule today what would it contain?TomorrowThis year ….What do you see yourself doing 14 years from now?~ End Tag details ~Y'DAYmy oldest memory: me playing with mom's snow white kitty. i still remember being SO in awe of that cat. she was HUGE *from a 2 year old's perspective* and absolutely snow white! and amazingly friendly. not once did she claw me! i was devastated when she died. what i was doing 10 years ago. aug, 1998... that was when the MICA bug bit me. it was around aug of '98 that i decided that that was where i'd do my post grad. i had no clue how i'd manage to get in. *i had a year and half to worry about that!* but i knew i would.
oh yes, i also stopped talking to a very good friend of mine around that time. due to silly misunderstandings... which took a couple of years to resolve. TODAYmy first thought this morning: i'm going to canada. i had a dream last night that i was playing with a lynx that i found in my backyard in canada. so that was the thought i woke up with. and then, i watched safari tracks on telly.. which was covering... yeah... wild cats! :D if i built a time capsule it would contain: people i really don't like. *i have a loooonnnngggg list* and i'd zap them back to the ice age. of course, i'd retain the controls with me. i, on the other hand, would reside happily in the present. and face the future as it comes! TOMORROWthis year: is coming to an end. and i'm happy. i can only hope the next is better. what i see myself doing 14 years from now: 14, really?? THAT far away!? i can't think of where i'll be next year this time! i see myself tagging K3 with tags like these! :D ok.. seriously... i see myself being happy with the lot life deals out to me. i tag: sahana, suruchi, and suma! and i run away... before they hiSSS at me...!
some people seem to believe that sharing information is unnecessary. esp if it's something the others can use. the lady at the apartment office, for instance. us: is the apartment furnished? or are we getting one of the unfurnished ones? her: well, i can't tell you that as of now.us: we need to shift in on sept 1. would the apartment be available then? her: umm... i really can't say yet. u'll have to check.
us: where could we check? *hoping this would be available online*
her: you'll have to call me after a couple of days.
sigh! after all, it's no fun if there's no mystery in changing apartments, right?----------------------------------
----------------------------------we'd called chilli's on saturday night. and i spoke to a rather enthu girl there. her: hi, this is chilli's!!!! me: heyy! we were wondering if it would be fine if we got there in another 20 minutes? her: sure! welcome to chilli's!!! *yeah, rite!* would you like the address? me: umm... no. thanks. but till what time are u guys open? her: we're open till mid-night on the weekends!!me: OKK. it's 45 past mid-night right now. are u sure we can still come by?her: OH! no. then, i guess, we're closed for today. really? then u GUESS?
i am surprised. this noon, i was chatting with this batch-mate of mine. we're not good friends or anything. but we know each other. and once a while, we chat up. and catch up on others he's in touch with or some that i'm in touch with.today, he told me he'd returned to india in march after abt 3 years in malaysia. and i jokingly asked him... "planning to tie the knot is it?" he said "no re. is that all you guys can think about?"i told him i was kidding. we had the usual conversation and we said bye to each other. just now, when i logged back in and was snooping on random acquaintances' orkut profiles, i realized that the guy i was talking to got married in april. a common friend who had attended the wedding has put up a pic of some batch-mates at the wedding. and i was like WTF??? WHY would someone like him have to lie to ME about his wedding?!last i knew, it was not a social stigma to get married! it's definitely not worth keeping a secret from me. *or from anybody!* then why did he hide the fact that he was married from me?! also, did he think i'd never find out...? i know there's no reason why i should be thinking abt this. but i'm just mindfucked... and thought would ask u guys.
any reason why you would lie about ur marital status to a general acquaintance?
i may give awesome suggestions on how situations make us stronger, better individuals. how fighting things out is the right thing to do etc. and i believe all of that. really, i do. but when it comes to me. i just run. i think i'm a coward. really. inadvertently, i have mostly taken the easier option out. it's not something i'm proud of. i'm just very non-confrontational. unless of course, u try and poke a stick at something that's dear to me. then, may ur lord save u. but yeah, running away is the bestest solution that comes to my silly, stressed mind. however, strangely *in the sense that I find it strange*, this attitude is only limited to my personal life. professionally, i'm super aggressive. sometimes, more than required. suruchi can vouch that i can draw blood for a celina jaitley exclusive wallpaper; but personally, it has to be REAL personal. otherwise, i'll run away! let me tell u a couple of instances... when running away was not and should not be the ideal solution. but it was. for me. the other day when suruchi and i were bitching about our respective husbands... i told her she should run away. only then will he realize her worth. also told her how i'd run away last year and how the poor hubby THEN realized he does miss me. see, it's very easy to get "used" to each other. being around all the time and stuff. so running away provides a good respite. minal and i have a pact. that WHEN we run away from home, *not if, when. we know that someday, we will* we can always seek refuge in the others' house. and the other will not ask ANY questions. about why, how long etc. neither will we attempt to contact the respective husband and inform him that their wife is with us. y'day... i saw this huge...and i mean, HUGE insect in my bathroom. my first instinct was not to squash it or scream. i RAN. OUT of the bathroom. and locked it. and sat and whimpered on the couch. THEN, i mailed vin. before i could call him, suruchi called me. and we had an entertaining conversation which i cannot share. but running away was my reflex.long back, my folks wanted me to get married. i didn't sit across the table and argue/discuss with them. i ran away to bbay. where i could work in peace and didn't have to constantly have marital pressures on my head! returned when i wanted to get married. problem solved. nobody bursts a nerve.the job scene. now, only i know how frustrating it has been. but when i think abt next year. the BEST solution in my mind is running away to another country. where we BOTH may be able to work peacefully. NOT that i could change streams and take up IT or i could go back to school. NAAAAHHH... running away. that's what i excel in! R asked me what i'd do if i didn't get along with my MIL who's gonna be visiting us in less than a month. i answered with complete seriousness. "i'll run away"right now, we don't know what to do over the weekend. and know that if we stay at home, one of us will kill the other. *i'm in one of those phases* so we're running away to houston. of course, we'll run away from there as well and be back here before u know i've been gone. see? that's how serious i am about it.
