Monster.com time

I feel stuck in the wrong job.

But then again, I'm one of those people who will always feel stuck in the wrong job, 'cause the entire 'job' concept doesn't rest easy with me.

On the bright side, my writing skills have been seeing an upward curve. A little button mushroom soup wouldn't do any harm though.

I'm not looking for a new job. But I adore complaining about my current one. It's one of my favourite hobbies. :D

Wedding bells (Not for me)

I have a job. I have to convince one close friend to go to the wedding of another close friend in Pune who will be paying our way (Air tickets in these times of skyrocketing air fare! Whoohoo!). The villain here is a Boss who doesn't know (which kinda reduces the charges on him) and work pressure that refuses to go away.

Sometimes I forget I'm 24. I still feel 23 somehow. And when I'm thinking 'how-old-am-I?', the reflex is '23'. Then comes 'Nyaah. That doesn't sound right.' And a quizzical look at the dude/dudette in the auto (It's happened twice), and a question, 'How old are we?'

The answer, sadly, is '24'.

But if it's all in the mind, and it's all the same to you, I still feel '23'.

I do I do.

Colloseum Capers

A temple of gold melts in the heat of man-made flames of greed and a monument is built for generations to see. Ancient Romans make off with relics from an ancient Jewish temple, using the loot to build an entertainment complex that would later become a tourist hotspot.

One theory goes that the Collosseum was built with blood money. A temple of gold in Jerusalem was set aflame till it turned into an aureate river. The river cooled to form solid gold pieces which were carried by Roman soldiers into a Rome in ruins. A great fire a few years earlier had razed buildings that once occupied the area which is now the Collosseum.

It was time for an image revamp. Emperor Vespasian started building the amphitheatre. The work continued and was completed under his son Titus and witnessed all the blood and gore of gladiator fights, animal hunts and executions. And the wealth that had originally belonged to the Jews never returned to Jerusalem.


Now, the Collosseum is just another symbol of times gone by... and one more must-visit spot on my bucket list.

Machu Picchu Diary

Am a fan of the Incas today. They lasted a hundred years but built stone walls that lasted five hundred, and they didn't even use cement or mortar; they were simply extraordinary at jigsaws. They fit the pieces in exactly, and these refuse to budge even today.


Plus, they housed over a thousand llamas.

What more could one want?

No love lost anymore

My first job. Aaah... now that was love.

This is just a marriage of convenience.

My latest addiction

Wisdom.

Go figure.

Lost

Sometimes, on the way to your dreams, you get lost. Then all you have to do is find another dream.

Ally McBeal said that one. But the great thing about being lost is that you can find your way back again. There's always a wrong road and a right one. And even the wrong road could turn out to be the right one. You never know till it happens to you.

But this is not quite what I wanted to say when I started this post. I conveniently got lost in the words and now am trying to scrabble my way out of the woods. That's the thing. You needn't be lost forever. A good thing too.

There's this thing I'm trying to say, but it's just not happening. Maybe this is not the right day for saying what's on your mind. But it's started off well. Had enough sleep. Wrote a little this morning. Watched the last 40 minutes of a movie. And have some time left over to surf the net with an unsleepy-unworking mind and blog. And all this before heading to work. How have I managed all this? :D By waking up early. The body clock has been behaving itself over the last one week and working wonders for my state of mind and happiness.

I forget sometimes what I really want to do, and get entangled with routines and deadlines and rage at bosses doing no work. And then there's that "eureka!" moment, and I remember that all this is temporary -- the peasant-like existence, the office politics, the trapped feeling. This too shall pass just like the monsoon clouds outside threatening to burst the moment I get into the auto.

Life is hard and boring and supremely frustrating at times. But sometimes... I just can't help liking it.

I love

Mamata Banerjee.

Yes. I'm a big fan. Have always been and probably always will be. I may never vote for her, may never want her to be my country's Prime Minister. Hell! Not even my state's Chief Minister, but I can't help looking up to (figuratively, not literally -- she's much shorter than me) this diminutive rabble-rouser who's Dominatrix come down to Dharmatala.

Dharmatala.

That's where her rally was held, and each trip to the office loo (for me, not her) brought the strains of her argumentative voice into my not-so-sensitive ears. She's constantly fighting losing battles, but you think that gets her down? Oh no, it sure doesn't. Every time she gets lost on the way to winning a cause, she does the next best thing -- she simply finds another one. What get up and go. What optimism.

Optimism personified.

I'd wanted that to be the title of one of the books that I will write someday. That's also two words that fit me perfectly. And I think, they fit Mamata Di just as well as her drab white sarees. Honestly though, I wouldn't want to see her turned out in a flaming red. She's too fiery on her own, even in those kaalo paar shaada shaarees that she is always seen in. It would make a prize-winning painting though. I can see it now...

'Didi in red'. By M.F. Hussain. If he ever manages to get back into the country -- barefoot or otherwise.

Why do I love her so?

She can stop traffic. One whiff of the word bandh from her lips and revved up cars stall automatically, workaholics sleep an extra two hours, and Kolkata decides to take a day off. Sadly, this has been happening less and less of late. The word bandh seems to have lost its edge. Footballs now stay home on bandh days and cars gingerly venture out of their garages and no-parking parking spaces, but the woman still can stop traffic. And she's no great shakes in the looks department either.

I think I'd like to be a politician just like her someday. Did I mention I'm a fan?
***

PS: Moo is not happy with earlier blog. So do take a trip down to the comment section of this post and see what he is all grumbly and upset about.

Happy feet

2 animation movies in one day -- Kung Fu Panda and Happy Feet -- one in theatre and one in drawing room -- one with Coffee and popcorn and one with Grandma and cat.

Momos for lunch, popcorn for dessert, coffee for tea-time, tea pre-dinner, egg curry for dinner.

I like writing about what I eat. It keeps me going.

And I went marketing today. Thankoo to Coffee who decided to be Ramu for a day and carried the basket at Big Bazaar and many of the bags at Dhaangar Bazaar. I managed to pick up all the stuff on my list, including bird seed :D

And I took a long walk as well. The feet feel happy.

Tomorrow is probably meat-buying day.

In response to comments on last post, I am 'man' of the house. I don't see the point in getting technical about gender here. I'm not feminist [mostly] and it hardly matters in this context. Man, woman -- who cares?. 'Man' of the house has a better ring to it. Kinda like saying 'actor' instead of 'actress'. Mere technicalities. Just a word. No big shit/deal (take your pick).

I think I will make a good mom to a gay child. And I wouldn't want to tag my elder child Hasmukh Bhai Patel with gay-ism given that he has a rather (yes, I'll admit it) sissy name. Instead, I will have a second son who will be gay, and whom I will name Debanuj (much to the consternation of his namesake).

I think Debanuj is a nice name for a cute gay boy. And since Debanuj Patel lacks the punch, I'll let my baby keep my maiden name 'Chakrabarty'.

Do note, however, that my son Debanuj Chakrabarty will be different from the much-loved blogger Debanuj Chakraborti (and even more much-loved :D).

Unnumbered post

Due to lack of ideas and a relatively dull life, this blogger is henceforth on a one-week blogpost sabbatical. Be back next Monday, unless something exciting comes to pass in between.

Day 57

My day-off.

Went off well. Singaras for breakfast (Ma read blog while I was still sleeping and ordered the singaras). Then trip to bank. Then to Golden Dragon for soup-and-starters lunch. Then to Momo Plaza to meet Madz where she ate very very very hot pan fried momos and I gobbled the watery soup that comes with the momos. Gave Madz an Alpenliebe I got from the tech guy at office yesterday. She was very grateful for the same.

Then to Forum with Madz. Meet Coffee. Go for movie. Sex and the City. What fashion boss. Amazing shoes. And am in love with one hat in particular. Man next to Coffee fell asleep. Then person next to man next to Coffee kept getting calls on cell. Not on silent mode. Girls kept walking around with snacks in their hand for God-knows-what-reason. Coffee felt lost in a crowd of women. Every man's dream. Madz was super-excited at the prospect of watching the silver screen version of her favourite TV series. She's been looking forward to the movie, ever since she saw the finale of the final episode.

She loved the movie. I didn't hate it. Coffee gave it 1.5 stars immediately on account of the innumerable hot babes.

Then biriyani at six to replenish growling bellies. Wait for rain to cease, halt, desist under makeshift shelter for plastic chairs. Man runs over Coffee's foot with non-running scooter. Coffee gives me a bunch of movies to watch. Madz hopes and prays for no-rain, then gives up, catches cab, and drops me home. I have nice friends.

Day 53

So I'm back, from a hectic, stressful trip with a serious sleep disorder. Tonight, I'm off to sleep super early in the hope of making up on all the sleep I lost out on.

M'bai wasn't even half as rainy as the prophet-of-doom news channels had us thinking. The weather was nice. Humidity wasn't too high. And we didn't need the boats. I was in just the right frame of mind to go exploring, but sadly, there just wasn't enough time. But I did get much work done. Though much remains undone.

In bullet points, stuff I did since my last post:

• Slept on flight to B'bay (usually ami pat-pat kore takiye thaki).
• Got nostalgia attack on reaching B'bay.
• Hung out (yes, hung out, had tea) with former boss.
• Waited for 5 hours while Mom, sis and sis gave Visa interview. 5 hours. I aged much in those 300 minutes. Didn't even have a book to read. Spoke to a lady. Sat around with blank expression on face. Wondered why I had worn my lenses which banned me from grabbing a snooze. But on the bright side, they got the Visa. So yay.
• Changed e-ticket date from Friday to Saturday. Got scared about credit card fraud when the confirmation didn't come in and the call centre guy seemed the biggest stupid ever. But all's well that ends well. Ma's credit card is still untouched (touch wood). And I reached without a glitch this morning. Slept throughout the 3.5 hour flight to Kol.
• Walked all over Univ. Took a pic of a gecko.
• Met Moon at Fort. Had lunch at Mondy's (first time for both of us). Too much food. We ate till we were ready to puke. But the garlic bread rocked.
• Shopped at Colaba. Bought lotsa bangles. A skirt. A tee. Oshos. And all so cheap. I was loving it, McDonald's ishtyle.
• Hung around to meet me best friend Smita Padmanabhan. She has been privy to much juicy gossip about me courtesy chaddi buddy Chomu Kunda. I cleared it all out. Do not ask what the juicy gossip is. I will not tell.

This is just the tip of the iceberg though. More details as and when I remember. Now I'm off to get some sleep. I've been missing out on essential snores in recent times. I wouldn't mind some chocolate about now though.

Day 17

For some reason, everytime I walk through New Market on my own after work, a mad man decides to follow me. This has happened twice in two months. The last time I had shouted at the guy and later realized the foolhardiness of accosting a mad man. This time, I chose to walk into a shop to shake him off. I'm not sure this is the same mad man who followed me the last time. If it is, then I'm never again walking to New Market after work on my ownsome again.

I've spent the last one hour taking photographs of myself to put on the office blog. Am fed up of being so incredibly unphotogenic. I've found a few that pass muster, but I wish my nose didn't look quite as bloated and my hair wasn't quite so scarecrow-like today. At least I know that I can never become a print model. That's one less career option to worry about.

On the plus side, the Eden match ate away most of my irritations and I have been as happy as a snorting pig all day. I am terribly sleepy though, but I will play a round of Rainforest Adventure before turning in for the night. And oh! May Day happens to be holiday from office! Yay!

Day 16

I went to Eden. Again. :D

The ticket wasn't originally meant for me, but looks like I was supposed to have it. I'm happy. So what if the Knight Riders lost. I got to the see that wicket do double quintuple somersaults with that Ishant Sharma delivery.

What can I say Ishant? Even with your super-scary smile, I still am a fan.

P.S.: While at Eden, Madz and I saw a jhogra also. The cops were too busy eating to interfere at the time.

P.S.S.: I just had KFC :) Despite a lot of irritability clouding my mind since yesterday morning and continuing through today, (I actually snapped at a colleague who was trying to irritate me) I have finally had a good end to 2 bad days. Yay!

Day 8

I'm going to keep counting the days till I reach Day 21 (that's how long it takes to form a habit blah blah blah...).

I'm still too tired to talk about Eden. Just thinking about it makes me feel tired and swamped in perspiration. I think I should leave that story for a rainy day. What's-in-a-Name, if you're around, I promise I'll blog about Eden soon enough. Pinky swear.

Today has been one of those awfully dull days. Mamata called a bandh, but I had office. The travails of being part of the press. On the flip side, I got to travel in a press car twice today. So that's pretty cool.

I don't think anybody should be allowed to work on a bandh day. These are days that should be dedicated to gully cricket, street football, and hours in front of the TV. By working on bandh days we are just ensuring that life passes us by. I think it's in a hurry.

Oh.. btw.. If you have always been a Mentos or Chloromint or Polo buff, try MintoFresh. It's superstrong and totally cool (especially when you follow it up with cold-ish water). Consider this free advertising.

Day 1 of Resolution

And I am sticking to it.

My office site went up today. I will look though it tomorrow and then drop the link.

Have been so busy today that I've barely had the time to breathe. Apologies to people like Moolah who wished me Shubho Noboborsho and got a very rushed HNY instead.

Smoked today, on a whim, hated it (and it's not the first time), and resolved not to smoke again till I forget how much I hated it... which is bound to happen in a couple of months.

Ate 2 rotis and a whole plate of chicken hakka chow this afternoon. The boss bought lunch for the team. The hog is back!! Yay! And I don't feel fat anymore either. How cool is that?!!

I've been using too many exclamation marks lately. I now solemnly resolve to cut down on them before I become an exclamation-mark addict like Madhurima. (P.S.: Her blog does not have as many exclamations though, which is rather odd.)

That's about it for today. More on self-obsessed me tomorrow.

Bengali New Year Resolution

I hereby resolve (once again) to become a daily blogger. This should be easier to accomplish this time around as there is no distractive (is that a word?) male in my life, and office should soon be less understaffed giving me more time to waste on sundry trivialities.

Happy Poila Boishakh to the whole Blogeroo! :D

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

Still Cold

But I'm getting used to the numb hands and feet. And to my new super-basic Motorola cell phone. It's not as bad as I had been making it out to be.

My Fairy Tale Life

I'd like to live a fairy tale. Once upon a time I'd ride a unicorn to Neverland and hook up with Peter Pan. I'd trade in a donut for Captain Hook's hook-hand and get a pet cat for Tinkerbelle. Then, I'd drop in at Nottingham for a vacation, bonk the Sheriff on the head, rob the rich to feed poor me, and grab a dance with Friar Tuck. If I've enough poor box money saved up, I'd hitch a ride on Dumbo's back and whoosh over to the Jungles of India and sing "Look for the bear necessities" with Baloo and Bagheera right till happily ever after arrives.

But picture abhi baaki hai mere dost:

While I'm living my fairy tale I'd like to meet the following:
-Johnny Depp
-Shahrukh Khan
-Santa Claus
-G.B.Shaw
-The Cheshire Cat

While I'm living my fairy tale I'd like to visit the following:
-The Leaning Tower of Pisa
-Disneyland
-The Bermuda Triangle
-Greece
-Pluto, back when it was a planet

While I'm living my fairy tale I'd like to do the following:
-A pirate
-Play the guitar in a concert
-Turn into Madonna
-Fly on butterfly wings
-Fall off a hammock

Once all that is done, the happily ever after to my fairy tale will gleefully stroll in.