Belated Happy Birthday Parcel

My sister's happy birthday parcel is planning to get sent off today. Her birthday is on the 17th. It takes a week or so to reach. Procrastination is my middle name. Call me Poojo Procrastination C. starting today.

Sigh of relief

Been stressed and worried and really really stressed and worried of late. Thankfully, I was mostly worried about a-little-more-than-nothing, and am heaving many sighs of relief just about now. The moral of the story is: DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. I will probably start procrastinating once again when this sudden bout of worry disappears into the carbon monoxides of time... but for the time being, I will be a good kid, and do all my work on time. I have to stand in line at passport office really early tomorrow morning. Pray that I get my token asap.

Day 70

Three-fifths of immediate family off to Chicago right now. Here is a picture of one of the three that got away.


I be missing her much already, especially when I turn on Disney Channel and the ad for 'Magical Do Re Mi' appears.

Day 69

Changes all over the place. Good, not-so-good, lovely -- sometimes you wish the world would just go away.

Ma, sis, and sis are off to the US tomorrow. For good. I am whoa!-man of the house now and being made to shift upstairs to keep the cats company.

Lunch today at Tamarind was lovely. Very very nice.

Busy day tomorrow. Airport trip in the pipeline. 6+ big bags and a Tata Sumo are part of the picture.

A lil preoccupied.

Day 28

And I'm super-tired. Colleague had a tough day at work. As a result, I had a long day at work. Finally managed to file my first full-fledged story today, and I'm not too unhappy with the results. Though given that everything happens via MS Word and Gtalk, we really aren't 'filing' anything in the true sense of the term, though MS Word files are also files.

Like I said, I am tired. I'd like to grumble, but am too tired to type out a long grumbly blogpost. I guess I'll save it for a rainy day and retire for the night. Tahs.

Day 27

Monday night, and I'm back as promised. I dreamt that there were 21 comments on the last post. Alas, there were only 4... woe is me :P

Spent the day babysitting grandmom. Was very worried that I would not be able to light the gas and give her warm food -- I'm cool with the lighter but suffer from severe matchstickophobia -- but the matchsticks there were high-class stuff and every one of them (except one) lit in less than three strikes. So now my matchstickophobia is almost gone.

I scared a cat this morning. He was busy getting done with his morning ablutions and trying to cover it up when I crossed the road and interrupted his thoughts. He started at first and then gave me an irritated stare before carrying on with the job.

Ate chow and chilli chicken from office canteen and finally realized why the tiffin-buying gang keeps grumbling about the canteen food. I'd had chow and chilli chicken earlier too but it takes a few times to recognize the inedibility of it all. (It's odd in a rather gross way that the earlier paragraph led to this one...)

I'm very very tired today and so glad that I'm back home in my room with my pillow and mattress. I will sleep the sleep of two logs tonight.

I'm still stuck with that book though. Didn't read a single page all weekend. Though I did finish the India Today that I had in my bag.

I'm planning to get a haircut day after tomorrow. After thinking of drastic stuff, have decided to just go for a sane haircut for the time being. Will keep the drastic stuff for when I have a little more money.

In the meantime, I'm very very sleepy.

Day 18

Holiday... and I don't know what to do with myself. Was supposed to meet the teacher and the almost-fashion-designer, but that's not happening. My floaters are torn so I have to wear these shoes that give me major leg ache... and they aren't even high-heeled thingies. I need to buy new shoes. And kurtas too... the existing ones have shrunk like crazy. Will go shopping to New Market one of these days. Will hopefully not get caught by mad man.

Need to leave work early tomorrow and buy Ma's b'day gift. Her Happy B'day is on Saturday. I haven't thought of what to buy her yet.

People don't blog half as much as they used to any more. Okay, so everyone doesn't have crazy blog-everyday resolutions like me, but once a week would be nice. This is a request. [Smiles winningly]

I like when a new month begins, even if it is a potentially scorching May. I like being able to read the horoscope for the month on Yahoo. I'm a horoscope addict, especially for awhile after they match.

I slept for close to ten hours after ages today, and woke up only to my Boss calling for something. I was half-scared he'd tell me to go to office. So I called back only after downing a leisurely breakfast of Bong-style French toast. As it turns out, I was just being paranoid. It was just a regular status call.

Stir-fried chicken and veggies on the menu today again.

I have been noticing that my posts are becoming increasingly nonsensical. Maybe I should try and write something a little more meaningful from time to time.

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!

Life in Bullet Points: November Chapter

1. I quit. Told the Boss. He was rather bitchy about it. I didn't think the bitchiness was necessary.

2. Father finally knows about boyfriend. Announced it at the dining table. Initial reaction was not good. But 5 minutes later, he managed to get some perspective. I am 23 after all, and going on marriageable age. At least I should have an iota of a boyfriend. Did I mention I am an inch taller than the boy? I feel like Nicole Kidman!

3. Have been working almost non-stop since I came back from Delhi last Monday. Diwali whizzed by in a blur. And then frustration set in. And then I quit. All's well that ends well.

4. The fast-food-wala just brought home wraps (a version of rolls/frankies). The security downstairs called on the intercom to say he had arrived. He said: "Pizzawala aaya hai". Pizza becoming the generic term for all food that gets delivered to the house. Interesting na?

5. Was watching the news about the cyclone hitting Bengal. At the time, the sun was shining brightly and sweetly over all the Mumbaiyya world and the districts that surround it. Grey clouds and thunder in the east with sunshine and blue skies in the west. What a crazy country this is!

6. Watched Sawariya. Such a waste of time. Beautiful, but a waste. Goodlooking people. Good performances. Lovely songs. But halfway through I was feeling as blue as the background for having to waste three precious hours of my life on this. Leela Bhansali's son gone mad!

7. Watched Om Shanti Om. Total timepass. Very heehee-type. Must-watch for King Khan fans. Padukone chick shows off cleavage (wonderbra?) in the first half and long legs in the second half. Quite logical actually.

8. Killed two mosquitoes yesterday.

9. Saw an especially long cockroach last night. Wasn't wearing specs, so zoomed in on it. Wasn't one cockroach. Was two of them. Mating. Told both of them (wasn't sure which one was the woman) not to lay their eggs in my house. Hope they listen.

10. Saw a woman and her dog sit on a bench on the lawn below. Nice picture they made.

I could go on. But my arms are paining. And it is time to devour that curried chicken wrap.

Toodles.

Rambling Today

Met the elder brother of a grand-aunt today. And he speaks so well. We -- I will do away with the royal "we" just this once. I always have this idea that all my Bong relatives speak English in the Bengali way. With elongated vowels, and a "V" that sounds more like a "W", and a "hiss" that actually goes "hissh" (Not being condescending there. Just exercising my powers of observation). However, this gentleman spoke perfectly unaccented, highly educated English dating back to the days of the British Raj. Lovely!

And old people love to comment on the pitiful state of the young people of the world. He spoke about how we never have time to stand and stare at sheep or cows any more. (How I love that poem – Daffodils by Wordsworth). I nodded in agreement as I always do when I'm not interested in getting into a debate -- which is most times. I'm more of the spectator. Let others get into the fight. I'll be part of the circle that forms around them, watches the fun, does nothing about it, goes home and writes about it in their blog. :D
Apathy, your name is Pooja!

I did see a fight on the bus today. Old man got very excited about something and kept shouting in his once-deep-now-shrill voice. But this happened at the other end of the bus. Two standing men were blocking my view. Such a pity!

Watched That 70s Show after ages. Fez was having a feud with this gay landlord (The lord of the land, if you prefer). And now I want to feud with somebody. Not quarrel. Not fight. Not wrestle. Just feud. The elder brother of the grand-aunt was right. We are missing out on so much -- no time to stand, stare, or even feud. (Yes. I will put that word in italics every single time!).

A friend of mine was looking through her inbox and came across some mails I sent her almost exactly two years ago. I had just shifted to Mumbai, was having adjustment issues, and took every free moment to crib about the place. My only outlet was my diary and these superlong mails that my friends got in their mailbox at least twice a week. Except that, I was apparently entertaining enough for them to get their best friends and/or significant others to read :D Even now that's an ego boost.

Here's an excerpt from two years ago. Mail to a friend who I was scared would remain boyfriendless forever:
"Find yourself a nice bf soon. I’m not saying cute... coz cute guys have become obsolete. I have yet to see a really cute guy in Bbay. It’s so sad. All the guys I see are like a 6 on 10. Mostly less than that. Have seen two or three 7s on 10. But no more. It’s so sad!!!! Where did all the cute guys go????????"

That last question still holds, with a few (very few) exceptions of course.

Feeling Frust...

I'm feeling frustrated with life today -- not quite a daily occurence in the life of me. So I have been watching YouTubes of Disney movie songs that I grew up loving. I suppose today's melancholia is a little too extreme to be completely extinguished by even my favorite songs, but it is worth a try.

The main problem is that I don't feel ready to grow up. And I'm not even being given an option here.

I don't like it.

I want to run off to Neverland and never return.

I want to throw a tantrum (but I know I won't).

I want to do things just because. But I'm not sure I can. Or that I will.

I want to eat chips.

(I think that last one can be managed.)

Pajama Poojo

I have been making and breaking plans like crazy. 3 reasons:
1. My pajamas are way more comfortable than anything else in my suitcase. (Been back in Kol for over a month now and am still living out of my suitcase! That's coz the books I brought have taken up all the place in the cupboard given to me. Now that I'm not a permanent resident, I don't get all the old priviledges like a whole cupboard to myself. I get some shelves here and there.)
2. Going out costs money and I'm in one of my stingiest-ever phases. Is that good or bad for me? I don't know. But the stinginess is one of my prime reasons for not venturing out of the front door.
3. I think (but I'm not sure) that I'm in a I-don't-want-to-meet-people mode. So the thought of meeting people in person, as opposed to on my chat window, seems like too much work. I guess I'm just a lazy bum.

However, I realized that I have been acting overbearingly lazy (if one can act in such a way). So I finally refilled my phone, called up some friends that I have been ignoring for awhile (because of low cash), and made plans for the weekend. One definite; the other kinda iffy. Well, it is a start. Maybe I will wear something other then pajamas tomorrow!

Escaping Through the Window and More

I feel like running away somewhere... Just me and Thomas (my cat) maybe... Just sit somewhere and think about God-knows-what. Thomas does that all day anyway. Maybe I just need a little practice and a lower workload.

Haven't been sitting on my favorite window for two days because of the rains. The rains come down and my window leaks. Sit there for too long while it's raining and you're bound to get wet. It's not raining now so have plonked myself there. I can see so many people just sitting/standing downstairs looking around doing nothing.

There's this man standing next to the egg-store thinking of crossing the road: "Should I cross? Should I just dilly-dally here for a little longer?" I turn my head to look at the fellow sitting outside the dhobi's shop digging his nose. By the time I turn back, the dilly-dallier is gone.

There goes another old man, wheeling his cycle down the road with really heavy-looking bags weighing down his run-down mode of transport. What is the point, I wonder, of having a bicycle if you're not going to ride it? And even before I finish wondering, he's on his bicycle and off to work. I think he's carrying potatoes in those sacks of his.

Have to babysit my baby sister for a while now. It has been two minutes and she is already making a mess. She's opened the jigsaw puzzle box and is creating great chaos on my already messy bed. In twenty minutes I will be chasing her away, and she won't want to go. Threats, shouts, and pleas will follow. And finally I will drag her out of my room and shut my door! As usual!

My boss has been pleased with me for meeting the deadlines this month. Last month everything had been too disorganised. My guess is that he is quite relieved now. "Whew," he must be saying to himself, and flicking away an imaginary sweat drop from his air-conditioned brow. He works very hard; that man really does! Every two days I get a project from him at about 3:23 a.m. in the morning! There's a reason why he's the Boss after all!

Movies, Music, and the Mumbai Monsoons

Watched a handful of 5-minute movies on TV today. One was called "The Sunshine Girl". In the movie, a little girl is coloring the sun. But her crayon gets over (I think… was in an attention-fluctuating state of mind just then). So she tries to take the color from the sun. She stretches her hand out of the window, towards the sunny skies. As she draws her hand back in, however, the sun comes in too, seated on her palm. Instantly, the world is plunged into darkness. Her parents panic in the other room: "What is to be done?" A newsflash on TV: "Sun is missing". It isn't missing. It has rolled underneath the little girl's bed. She squeezes her hand in under the bed, reaches for the little sun, drags it out, walks over to the window, places the sun on her palm, and stretches her arm out of the window, into the darkness of the sunless skies. The sun is back in its place. The catastrophe is no more.

There was another one called the "Glass Eye". A man loses his glass eye, and it starts seeing the world in color. Of course, then his dog eats it up, and will probably poop it out the next day. Ughs for that thought, though the movie was rather sweet.

Yet another movie, "The Orchard" showed horror from the perspective of a tree. You might get scared if you are a bougainvillea or something. If you aren't, you'll just have to make do by appreciating the art direction maybe.
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As I was getting home today, I was listening to this really catchy song. It gave me this sudden almost overwhelming urge to get half out of the auto, flay my hands about, and sing at the top of my voice. I would happily have run around a few trees singing myself hoarse for the 30 remaining seconds of the song. Then the music stopped, an annoying RJ began jabbering, and my urge to make a scene vanished into the moisture-filled monsoon air over the flyover on the Eastern Express Highway.
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The rains in Bombay (Mumbai... It's Mumbai!... But Bombay sounds more prose-worthy somehow) are pretty dull. There is hardly ever any sound and light show (Read: "thunder and lightning"). It rains on and off. It is almost as though the people in charge of the monsoon showers tell each other: "There has to be a lot of rain. So let's just cut out the drama and give them some."

However, it is not the lack of drama that makes me hate Mumbai rain. It is the slush on the road. The rain water mixes with the sand and gravel of roads being constructed. Slippery mud gets formed. Toilet-deprived slum kids get rid of last night's dinner on the side of the road where the pavement should have been. And I have to walk through all that, in addition to braving puddle-water-splashing vehicles, to reluctantly get to the jailhouse we all call office.
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