Bucket List

I actually had a list of stuff to do before RR tagged me for this not-so-taggish affair. And this is stuff to do before I turn 25. There is another list of things to do before I turn 100, but I can't seem to find it. I guess both the lists would fit into this "List of the things you want to do in life before you kick the bucket". So here goes nothing:

1. Eat a big bucket of KFC all by myself. (I actually start with a bucket :P)
2. Make a trip to Europe (even if it is to some airport and back).
3. Go to the loo on the plane.**
4. Learn to play a musical instrument.
5. Be in a movie.**
6. Watch 3 movies in a theatre in a day.
7. Walk those dog/horse-like things down from the Museum to the Oberoi Grand.
8. Have a date in a museum.**
9. Kiss a girl (:p).
10. Get my book published.
11. Win some literature prize (even some obscure one will do).
12. Have kulfi at the Gateway.
13. Eat every kind of street food available in Kolkata in one day.
14. Ride an elephant.**
15. Cook a seven-course meal (once).
16. Knit a muffler.
17. Live on my own for a few months.
18. Take the train on my own.**
19. Read 50 classics. (I don't know if this is possible)
20. Walk around in a wig for a day.
21. Lay in a hammock reading and/or listening to music for a whole day.
22. Stand on Marine Drive and get drenched by the waves.
23. Buy that 6000/- Calvin&Hobbes collection.
24. Finish that 500 piece jigsaw of mine and get it framed.
25. Paint/sketch a masterpiece.
26. Fly/take the train/bus to another city for a concert.
26. Date the oversmart 'boy'. **

Note: ** = Done already

I tag Madhurima, and going with the tradition, "anybody who has nothing better to do".

Vacation Post 3

I thought I was done for the day with posting, but I had to put this up.



This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
shit (2x); dead (1x)

[Heehee]

Vacation Post 2

I'm back home in Kolkata with all the dogs and the cats and the squall and the car honkings. It isn't quite as chilly as I had thought it might be; though Kolkatans in general can be seen wrapped up in thick, brown sweaters with mufflers covering their ears for fear that they might fall off in the cold. My feet have been shivering a little, but I refuse to wear socks.

Not too many people know that I'm back in Kol for Christmas. I think I will keep it that way for awhile.

There is just one worrisome new development. I don't know what to buy me for Christmas. I was contemplating getting a dress, but given that I practically live in my jeans and everything else goes into storage, I'm not sure that this is a good idea. I'm probably not even going partying this year (how seriously dull am I??) and am in no mood to get yet another good-looking outfit that will occupy precious cupboard space.

I've been talking a lot of late: Blabber jabber blabber jabber. It is rather out of character for me, but I am enjoying this talkative incarnation of myself. (I think I use a lot of "but"s in my sentences.)

One of my two black cats is basking in the sun. His eyes are drooping with sleep as he stretches out his long, elegant legs. I adore his panther-like attitude. And he's only a house cat.

It is good to be a house cat. You can pick out the sunniest spots in the winter. Hot food is given to you twice a day. You don't have to wash the dishes. Owners with cold feet are happy to have you around. And if you live with dogs, you have 24-hour access to entertainment as well.

I actually have nothing to say today. Am just typing for the sake of it. I wrote for about an hour on my flight to Kol the other day. I thought it was fairly blogworthy but I don't think I have the patience to type it all out.
In bullet points:
1. I was the second person on the plane.
2. I refused to have overpriced flight food that was not included in the fare.
3. The people beside me came with a whole red bag of yummy food (maybe this does deserve a post of its own).
4. The flight reached half an hour early (What luck!).
5. I was the first person off the plane :D
6. My luggage did not make me wait for too long. Though Ma did.
7. And I got paid for that freelance project. Yay!

Vacation Post 1

This is a clear example of being useless. I shall put myself to use again once the 26th of December comes calling. Till then, I am uselessness personified. Notice my boundless joy :D

Your Birthdate: June 7

You are an island. You don't need anyone else to make you happy. And though you see yourself as a loner, people are drawn to you. Deep and sensitive, you tend to impress others with your insights. You also tend to be psychic - so listen to that inner voice! Your strength: Your self sufficiency Your weakness: You despise authority Your power color: Maroon Your power symbol: Hammer Your power month: July

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

IQ Issues

Problem!

My boyfriend is smarter than me.

This has never happened before.

I have been feeling rather stupid ever since this realization dawned on me sometime last evening. My new-found sense of stupidity refused to let me sleep.

There is only one thing left to do now: I have to become smarter than he is!

Sports Day at the School Next Door

The building next to mine is a school, and they have been having their sports day practices for the last one week. It does add some nostalgia to my otherwise wallowing-in-the-present days, but it also makes my days a whole lot noisier. So I end up neglecting work and looking out of the window at these kids on the field doing their "forward march" and "eyes right" and at the smaller kids waving their pom poms to the tunes of Vengaboyz and Aqua (Yes, the music is a little dated).

There is also this horribly annoying teacher who is the compere for the junior sports and she has been rehearsing with the microphone for a long while now. I don't so much mind the noisy kids, but a noisy grown up who keeps saying: "Parents, look at the beautiful costumes your children are wearing as they rush to get makeovers in a race where there are no winners and losers and everybody gets a prize." I appreciate the sentiment, but by now I know her speech by heart.

The kinds of races that the junior school is having include:
Firemen rushing to put of a fire.
Makeover artists speeding to make a record-quick makeover.
Construction workers putting the bricks and cement together to build the fastest house.
Forest rangers trying to be fastest in stopping the tree from falling.

As for me, I always came last in the races at school. There was another girl that came second-last. It did not help matters that I was tall and long-legged and looked like I could take home the gold. So the first few times, people did have expectations. Then they got used to me coming last. All's well that ends well.

Thoughts for the Day

You think you know people inside out. And then they sing a song, dance a jig, or write a poem, and you think: There's so much I still don't know.
***

I was watching this movie called "Wishful Thinking" the other day, where the girl said:
You think that when you strip away the insecurities and weaknesses of people, you will find goodness. For all people are good at the bottom of it all.

But by the time the end of the movie arrived, she has changed her ideas:
I used to think that when you strip away all the insecurities and weaknesses from people, you will find goodness at the bottom of it all. But once you strip away one layer of insecurities or goodness, you will only find more layers and still more layers; for when talking about people, there can be no bottom.
***

Watched "The Lady and the Tramp" this morning. A must watch if you are a dog lover. Plus, the characters are realistic, well-etched, and lovable -- every last one of them. And it's deep as well.
***

Sweet Surrender -- Tagged

Got tagged by Moolah. And here are the rules:
1. Put your MP3 player/Media player on shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write the name of the song no matter what.


IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY?” YOU SAY?
If You're Gone [Matchbox 20]

Only if "Is this okay?" is being said during a break-up.
What a dire way to begin this tag!

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Comfortably Numb [Pink Floyd]

Actually that's fairly accurate at times.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Isle of Innisfree [Celtic Woman]

I had actually not heard this song before this tagging exercise. Loved it.

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night [Bon Jovi]

Officially my favourite song. And yes… I feel this way everyday!

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai [Gangster]

Kill me the day I say that this is my life's purpose!

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Don't Know Why I Didn’t Come. [Norah Jones]

"When I saw the break of day
I wished that I could fly away."

And yes. I make it a point to avoid appointments and meetings. Even the ones that I plan out.

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin Todenge. [Some A.R. Rahman remix with English lyrics]

Shit. This was spooky!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
I Will Do Anything for Love. [Meatloaf]

What a good kid I am! :D
I will do anything for love and good non-veg food like meatloaf.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Hey You.[Pink Floyd]

"Hey you, don't help them to bury the light
Don't give in without a fight."

WHAT IS 2+2?
Sk8er Boi. [Avril Lavigne]

Notice the 8 in the name of the song. Duh!

DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Truly Madly Deeply. [Savage Garden]

Shit! There go those lesbian tendencies again! :P

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
I'm Gonna Be Around. [MLTR]

"I'm gonna love you till the end.
I'm gonna be your very true friend."

Officially the sappiest song on my comp!

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Some Days a Diamond, Some Days a Stone. [John Denver]

"…Sometimes the hard times won't leave me alone.
Sometimes a cold wind blows a chill in my bone.
Some days a diamond, some days a stone.

Now the face that I see in my mirror
More and more is a stranger to me.
More and more I can see there's a danger
In becoming what I never thought I'd be."

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
The Ballad of Ira Hayes. [Johnny Cash]

In gist, Ira Hayes was a whiskey-drinking Red Indian who died in a ditch.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Strange Foreign Beauty. [MLTR]

Hardly! :P

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
A Million Ways to Fall. [Charlie Landsborough]

This is actually a love song. But it's pretty deep. Sounds like something Papa-Mommy would say and clearly shows how they expect me to mess up all the time.

"Now the spell is badly broken
There are no angels after all.
There's only people, only people,
And a million ways to fall."

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
I Have a Dream. [Westlife Version]

"If you see the wonder of a fairytale
You can take the future even if you fail."

Not too shabby :)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Wild Women. [Westlife]

"Can I act like an angel
If I live like a jerk?"

Heehee.
And there go the lesbian tendencies again!

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Zara Nazaron Se Keh Do, [Bombay Vikings]

Yes. Flirtatious me ;)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Wanted Dead or Alive. [Bon Jovi]

Now it's out in the open. Turn me in and go claim your 2-buck reward.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Wind Beneath My Wings. [Bette Midler]

Actually, this should have been the answer to the previous question. But I double-pressed the next button by mistake. And the earlier answer seemed a better fit to that qt, while "Wind Beneath My Wings" was perfect for this one.

I hope it's "wind" and not "smelly gas".

WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?
Sweet Surrender. [John Denver]

Fairly apt. Had been avoiding the tag and hoping it would go away somehow. Finally surrendered. And it wasn't all that bad :P

Goodbye Serfdom

Finally, I am free.
Free from the chains that tied me down.
Free from deadlines set by others
Who cared not.
Free from feeling exploited.
Free from insensitivity
(some of it at least).
Freedom at noon
(a little different from this nation of ours).
Free as a bird
And sitting at my desk,
Blogging.
I am unemployed today.
Am a serf no more.
Goodbye serfdom,
Finally.