De-stress Now. Ask Me How.

I'm looking like Jon Bon Jovi today. The pretty version. It's the hair I tell you.

From stressed to destressed... That's the wonder of bookstores and credit cards. A thousand rupees of pure joy + another 80 bucks for Blended Mint Mocha (+ tax + tip) and another 44 bucks on commuting via cab (What's the point of spending 1000+ bucks if you scrimp on commutes. Scrimp days should be separate from splurge days).

In case you didn't notice, today was a splurge day.

And it made me happy.

Book-buying is my best mood uplifter. It has always been. Beats the occasional Dairy Milks also. Whenever chocolate isn't working on my stress points, send me off to buy books. It could get a little expensive, but given that I limit myself to a 1000-odd rupees at a go, and stay away from bookstores for the rest of the month, bankruptcy is a little distance away, even in the face of a global financial crisis which threatens ICICI bank (shudders).

I bought 3 books today.

• A volume called 'The World's Greatest Short Stories' priced very reasonably considering the thickness.
• 'The Wednesday Letters'. Priced at 375/-, it was a little extravagant by my 3-digit-prices-starting-with-2 standards, but the epilogue is actually a letter (a Wednesday letter) placed in a sealed envelope on the inside of the back cover of the book. How could I ever resist.
• My favourite. A book of poems by Ogden Nash. 'Candy is Dandy'. That's the name. And it's given me my latest blog idea. Dunno how long this one will last, but for what it's worth, I'll add a Quote of the Day with every post and try to post daily like I once used to.

Today's Quote of the Day (is actually an entire poem of 2 lines):
I would live all my life in nonchalance and insouciance
Were it not for making a living, which is rather a nousiance.
-- Ogden Nash, 'Introspective Reflection'

And Happening of the Day:
I am now a fan of Mountain Dew. Having officially disliked white/colourless fizzy drinks on the whole till today (which happens to be Amitabh Bachchan's and my first cousin's birthday), I have finally tasted the champ of all white/colourless fizzy drinks. And my newest motto comes from there: Darr ke aage jeet hai. :D

And Moral of Today's Post
Books make this babe happy. Very very.

Finding answers

The most unlikely people end up telling you what you most need to hear. A good thing too. For when answers come from unexpected sources, you sit up and take notice. When it comes from Mommy-Baba-Uncle-Shunkle, it just doesn't register.

I'm not in a bloggy mood somehow. I was, say half an hour back, but the entire thought flow has gone and got lost. So tonight's blog ends with this thought:

It's not the end. It's never the end.


[The following was added 5 seconds later. After the first speedy comment made it's way here...]

But as you know now, it's never the end. So here's an interesting tidbit...

Khosla Electronics' special Puja offers that let you buy 17000-rupee LCD TVs for EMIs as low as Rs.600 per month are not extended to police-folk, lawyers, and (hold-your-breath) poor, cash-starved journos. Yes. And that info's straight from the boss's mouth.

Life in (not-really) Bullet Points

The other day, my auto-wala got caught by the cop for going the wrong way on a one-way street. I felt bad for the dude -- he did drop me closer to office, but then... I didn't ask him to go that way... he chose to on his own. I just sat tight for the ride.

This morning, my auto-wala dropped me still closer to office. I suspect he was hitting on me... but I can't be sure.

I saw a very ugly cat on the road today.

My office-buddy-cum-colleague is sick. Now is the right time to go tsk-tsk.

There's this bunch of movies that I want to catch:

• Rock On!!
• A Wednesaday
• Tahaan

I don't know when I'm going to get the time. Sigh. There's also an Arabic movie playing at Fame... but that's a lil outta the way.

This is another of those meaningless posts that ramble on.

Wish for the day: A trip to the zoo would be nice.

Wish for the month: Nokia N73... you are going to be mine.

Wish for the year: 120 days -- get over fast!

Fortune cookie 1

I may or may not be updating daily from now on... It's not as much fun any more when you know you have to. Only interesting tidbits will go up from now on.

• I did my first news story today (which required me to interview a beauty pageant contestant).
• My orkut fortune says: "Today you will see a fortune cookie that you have never seen before". I haven't seen any cookies today, not even biscuits, let alone biscuits that double up as fortune tellers.

Day 67

This should serve as inspiration for engineers who frequent this blog and harbour dreams of giving up corporate whore-ism.

Work has been long and hard. Almost an 11 hour day. But Ma has bought me four 10-buck packets of Kurkure -- which should last me four wonderful days. :)

And I'm happy.

I do wish that one of my two dogs would double up as a footrest, but well, you can't exactly have everything. Can you now?

Shreya is running away to get married today. Groom unknown. But at least she won't have to waste money on unnecessary relatives.

Onn wants a different post perhaps. Apologies again :P What can I say? I'm a chomu.

Day 63

Blogging daily is practically a habit now. I feel a little incomplete... adhoora sa... if I don't blog for a day. Plus, I jet off on an instant guilt trip as well.

Today has been a long, but surprisingly, not terribly tiring day. In fact, even though Wednesdays are my Saturdays during a six-day work week, I feel like I'm on a sprightly Tuesday. (That make sense?)

Did I mention that I've been singing in the auto and while walking down the road of late? I must be happy.

My best friend bought a guitar. A Grenada. Now we are best friend-best friend with guitar-guitar and don't know how to play-play.

Ma called me single-minded the other day. Which equals to focussed. This is the second time somebody has said that about me. To think that all these days I thought I was a scattered, flakey chick who wore torn Oshos and carried a jhola everwhere. If it wasn't raining, and I wasn't headed to office, I would still wear my Oshos everywhere.

The free makeover thing seems to have sprung up several look revamp-seekers. ILK (abbreviation for ilovekolkata, if you were wondering) is planning to have a makeover feature regularly. Keep an eye on this blog for future happenings.

I had puchkas today, after ages. I will sleep till 9 a.m tomorrow morning. It's my day off.

My horoscope yesterday said that my dating life is collecting crickets. It told me to join an online dating website. I haven't and I don't intend to. I like cricket and crickets.

Now, this may seem like unnecessary promos, but ILK has 2 good stories today (neither by me). One is Colour TV Day in Kolkata 'coz June 25, 1951 was the day the world’s first commercial television programme in colour was transmitted. The other story is Remembering the World Cup glory -- the take of city cricket buffs on the historic winning of the 1983 cricket World Cup, almost exactly a year before I was born.

Tomorrow Ma, Anjali, Madz and I are going for lunch to New Cathay. Expect a report on what I ate there.

Day 55

I have chips today... Kurkure to be precise. So I won't be looking for absent midnight snacks when midnight decides to stop by.

Today has been a surprisingly good day. I've been un-stressed and happy and just generally pleased with life. And surprised at the light-heartedness too. But it was nice to feel stress-free on a stressful day. Doesn't pan out like this too often.

Life's been more or less dull today. Sometimes there's comfort in dullness and drudgery. All in all, a good and boring day.

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 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.

Day 14

The good thing about having post titles like Day 1, Day 2... Day 14 is that you don't have to think up catchy titles everytime you post. Makes life simpler.

Today I don't feel like putting up a picture... though I did take some pretty ones of Sugar and Candy (both dogs, not sweets). Just have too many things to do today and am becoming quite an expert at avoiding them.

I need to finish that book I've been hanging on to for two weeks. Write. Make some calls I've been putting off. Watch a movie on TV. Etc. Have become too lazy. And too bored to blog properly today.

Day 10

From tomorrow I'm supposed to start taking a photo a day with the camera that has been rotting in the drawer of the rented cupboard in my room.

Today I reached home about 15 minutes earlier than I usually do, and had a one-hour dinner of stir-fried chicken with veggies at home, following it up with watermelon for dessert. I'm not sure why I am providing my dinner menu but I am, and am not about to delete the earlier lines. So now you know. In case someone asks you during some SRK-hosted quiz competition: What did Poojo eat for dinner on Wednesday the 23rd of April? - you will know the answer.

Nothing remarkable happened today. My life is progressing from 80% dull to 110% dull. Maybe I should date a real-life Axel Rose. I wouldn't mind dating Bon Jovi actually, if he would look my way.

Madz has been telling me to sleep for 8 hours because that will get me feeling fresh the next day. I have told her that I will try it out tonight. And she - being the teacher that she is - promised me an A+ and a star. I'm trying to wrangle a smiley face also. Something like this one :)

This is one of my most juvenile posts. Forgive me this once. I really have nothing to say that might be remotely interesting. Yet, my fingers keep tapping key after key on the keyboard. But I will stop now and avoid scaring away potential loyal blog readers.

Tagged: 30 Questions

1. LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER?
I actually don't remember too clearly. I think it was 'Mithya'. Liked it.

2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
Just finished 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'. Adored it. Will move on to Nevil Shute now.

3. FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
The Game of Life. I love the whole drama of buying homes, getting married, having twins (and getting presents... even if it's fake money) and retiring as a millionaire. Plus, you can actually throw your husband and children (those little pegs) out of the car and not get arrested.

4. FAVORITE MAGAZINE?
'Outlook' I think. But it's more like my cough medicine. I read it because I should, not because I want to.

5. FAVORITE SMELLS?
The smell of wet earth, paint, new books, old books, the fish market, and of shutki maach being fried!

6. FAVORITE SOUND?
The sound of azaan while dawn is breaking.

7. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Not knowing.

8.FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE?
"I wish I could bunk office today" -- if it's a working day.
If it's a non-working day, I go back to sleep.

9. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
I used to love Ralli's at New Market till it shifted to the building opposite. Now, any place is as good or bad as the other.

10. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME?
Hasmukh Bhai Patel. He will be a super-wealthy industrialist. Watch this space.

11. FINISH THIS STATEMENT."If i had a lot of money i would...
...not go to work ever again."

12.DO YOU DRIVE FAST?
I don't drive. I'm not sure I intend to.

13. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Err... I was using a stuffed tiger as a pillow for a few days. Now that I have another pillow, it just sits on my bed and stares at me.

14. STORMS-COOL OR SCARY?
Very very cool. My favourite birthdays are the ones on which it rains! Thunder, lightning, raindrops and popcorn. Sigh...

15. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
I think I started out with a train set.

16. FAVORITE DRINK?
Soda, lime, and ginger paste does the trick.

17. FINISH THIS STATEMENT,"IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD...
...compile a book of original PJs and gift copies to people who can't stand 'em."

18. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
I love broccoli. Truly, madly, deeply.

19. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
I have this inner desire to be a punk rocker. So I'd go for a mix of pink and green.

20. NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN.
Kolkata, Mumbai, and back to Kolkata.

21. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH.
If the keyphrase is "to watch", then soccer. Doesn't tax the brain and there are so many muscular legs to eyeball.

22. ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU.
She seems like a smart, fun cookie.

23. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?
The floor and some red ants.

24. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?
I wouldn't mind. But I would really appreciate it if I could have some talent for dancing the next time around.

25. MORNING PERSON, OR NIGHT OWL?
I'm a 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. person.

26. OVER EASY, OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Boiled please.

27. FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX?
My room.

28. FAVORITE PIE?
Not sure that I've ever eaten a pie.

29. FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Chocolate. Have recently developed a thing for Metro Dairy's chocolate ice cream.

30. OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU TAGGED THIS TO, WHO'S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
All the people who are likely to respond have already done this tag. I tag no one.

Sunday Gibberish

I've eaten too much mutton today. Excuse any typos -- my hands are turning into hooves.

Did not play Holi this year. :( The only patch of colour this weekend came from my supercute pet llama (ref.: previous post).

Absolutely love Hershey's chocolates!

Have done a lot of reading this weekend. Finally finished 'The Kite Runner' - loved it. Re-read 'The Little Prince'. Literally rushed through all 260-odd pages of 'The Calcutta Chromosome'. The last is one cool book!

My supersmart boyfriend allegedly climbed up trees and fell asleep on their branches. He claims that this is pure 'legend', and may not be entirely true. But how cool is that!!!

(Errm.. I seem to be overdoing the exclaimation marks in this post.)

Oh oh oh!!!! I bought a digi-cam from Chomu Kunda. It's nearly new and I got the 8500-worth cam for 5500! Am quite kicked and treating it like it's a butterfly or something.

Wishful Thinking

I wish
That I could wash my hands in cotton candy.

I wish
That the sun would rise in the moonlight.

I wish
That more people would write to Santa Claus.

I wish
That going to war meant having a pillow fight.

I wish
That people were uncomplicated and unrufflable.

I wish
That wishful thinking was more than just mental babble.

I wish
That I could really write poetry
And not end up with blogposts that
End up with labels like "jabberwocky".

Read

an entire book this afternoon. More on the book later. Have temporarily hijacked boyfriend's computer. Over and out.

P.S.: Saw a superhero today. More on that in a later post. :P

Just a Few Questions:

Is the poplar a popular tree?
Do the winners of wet t-shirt contests win t-shirts?
Do toads believe that they are better looking than frogs?
Why are squirrels always in a rush?
Why am I so unphotogenic?

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".

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.

Contradictory Pulls

I don't feel like sleeping. I am sleepy. I don't like the pressure of having to wake up in the morning. And I have lots of work lined up for tomorrow.

Have come to the conclusion that I used to be really stupid about 2 years ago. (I may still be. But the IQ has seen considerable improvement. Credit goes to Mumbai city, the hours spent commuting, and the pelting rain. Also all those MA-level books that broadened my narrow, ignorant mind.)

I feel like writing more. And I don't feel like writing more. I'm tired. And I want to go partying. I want to rest. And I want to read/watch TV/call a friend. And I don't want to do any of those things. I feel depressed. And I feel on top of the world. I hate being overloaded with work. And I can't do anything about it.

Nothing.

Except...

Grumble. Grumble. Grumble. Grumble. ZZzzzzz..

Trapped

"Help me! Help me!" she cried through the chink.

Nobody heard her.

They couldn't. The green walls that had entrapped her were too thick. The chink through which sound could have travelled was too small.

She peeped out of the chink. Sunlight. Hundreds of people were walking in and out of the subway. A mutt was ambling across the zebra crossing. And all this while she was entrapped within a green apple on a bus-stop bench! How her friends would laugh!

People do get stuck in elevators. One could get stuck trying to take something out from under the bed. One could even get one's head stuck between the bars of a gate. But to get stuck inside an apple? (And not even a red one!) How dumb was that!??