2008 highlights

April - Mumbai

August - Salalah

Sept - Kerala

Sept/Oct - Turkey

Dec- Bali

Let's hope that in 2009 I use up all the pages of my passport! :o)

Wimps galore!

Wonder why men are such wimps?!
Or am I just meeting the wrong kinda men?

The last two men who I sorta happened to kinda date (it’s all very complicated) turned out to be the kind of people who say they are madly in love with me and then when their parents say “no beta! Don’t!” for the silliest of reasons (we don't want girls from the south, was one excuse!) without even getting to know me, the men falter in their steps and say “Oh! Did I say madly in love? Let me rephrase!”
I mean, strap on a pair for heaven's sake!
where are the men?!

Universe, you want me to come up there and kick some serious ass or you guys gonna get your act together?

Btw, the Bali trip was AWEsome!
Will post some pics when I get time.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

My friend had done all the bookings for Bali and he had refused to tell us where we were gonna stay.
He wanted to surprise us.
Today he sent us a sneak preview of where we’ll be staying...

I’m super-excited now, after seeing the pictures of all the rooms I’m going to get drunk in

;o)

Lacking Lustre

I'm leaving for Bali tomorrow.
I'll be back next Saturday.

I'm going with the same gang who I went to Turkey with and a few more fun people.

I don't feel any excitement though.
I'm worried about a lot of things (mainly work) and just running around trying to get stuff in order before leaving.

Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow, once we actually set off.
I'm just so unprepared.
And I don't feel like doing anything.

Lacking life.

No one else.

I should've realized there's no one to take care of me but myself.
I've made a mess of my life and I don't know how to fix it.

Too many pieces to be put back together and I just don't have the energy.
I'm tired.

What is wrong with the world?!!

As you can see, we’re not a rich country. Not monetarily anyway.
Other countries have bullet-proof vests and shields and helicopter and AK47s and whatnot.
Our police officers have nothing but their uniforms, rifles and their puny helmets to defend and protect themselves while they rush in headlong to their fight against terror.

These terrorist attacks are absolutely heart-breaking.
There’s nothing one can do, you feel helpless. And slightly guilty for living the life that you do.

Here I was, organizing a bachelorette party for my friend, my only woe being that I can’t find a stripper in Dubai.
And then my friend IMs the link to Times of India and my whole perspective changes.

I was there in May!

I took pictures of the same places that are now in ruins.

I was at Colaba. I walked by the Taj, took pictures. I went to Leo’s several times, by myself and with friends. I was staying at the Y. I was walking on Nariman Point. I was happy.

It’s easy to blame the police, the border guards, the security forces….
We place the blame on everyone we can, hoping it will lessen our pain and guilt.

What are these people thinking? What do they believe in that makes them rush into places and shoot randomly at people? What do they think they are achieving by doing this?

Why?!

Week Update

I’ve been busy with Gitex (it’s an IT exhibition of sorts that happens here), which basically involves attending a lot of stressful meetings with my clients whom I otherwise do not meet.

This week, today was the ONLY day I went to the office. (tomorrow is the weekend! Yay!)
On Sun and Mon I had to go for Gitex, on Tuesday I was at the Shangri-la, attending a conference where I met this French guy from the vendor’s side who was like, totally into me! But I have this rule of “not mixing business and pleasure” , so I let it be. *grin*

On Wednesday, I went to ski dubai (again for work! It was a vendor event and I had to go! *sigh* the things I gotta do for work! :P)
It was a lotta fun, although I’ve never skied before, on real or artificial slopes. I didn’t fall down while on the slopes, but I somehow managed to fall while I was just standing around talking to people! Don’t ask me how!
I also had some trouble learning how to stop. So there was this one time I was coming down the slope where I just screamed *somebody tell me how to stop this thiiiiiiiiing* and crashed into this huuuge plastic ball they had kept there (which probably means there are more people like me doesn’t it?) and bounced back and just fell down flat on the ground. Everybody had a good laugh. Including me. (but it hurrrrts today!)

But that wasn’t half as funny as the guy who somehow managed to turn himself around while coming down the slopes, so he was sliding downhill backwards, and to top it off he tried to stop himself with his hands, so he was bent down trying frantically to get a grip of the snow! Him coming butt-first was the funniest thing I’d seen for a looong time! Lol! Just thinking about it is cracking me up again!

Oh, and I had gone to the desert last weekend for some desert driving with friends, and I drove a hummer for the first time. Not that impressive really. But I guess it’s something to talk abt eh!

This weekend, I have a LOT of work to get done (part of the personal learning process they have at work). I have a presentation on Sunday, so I need to prepare for that.

Busy busy busy is my life these days!
And I'm thankful for it! As they say over here... masha allah!

Turkey, the beginning.

There's so much to say! And just not enough time to say it all! The pics should give you an idea. (I've got over 300 pics!)

All I can say is, it's the best trip I've ever had! I was totally depressed while boarding the plane back to real life (dxb).

I want to tell you more about Cappadocia. But I can't seem to get my head into the blogging mode!

Nowadays I just walk around with a silly grin on my face.

So later then!

I'm leaaaaving on a jet plane! (again!)

I've had two new visas on my passport this year.

The first was the Omani visa, for when I went to Salalah.
And now, I'm on my way to Turkey for a short break!

I'm so excited! Ever since I got my visa, I can't waiiiit to get on the plane and just take off!

In spite of my passion for travel, I really haven't travelled much.
And inshallah, this is just the beginning!

Definitely, Maybe- a personal review

*Spoiler Warning*
(Also, it'll make more sense if you read this after you've watched the movie)

I identified with April from her very first scene. When she says "Why does one have to be a Democrat or a Republican? I'm struggling with the copy machine! I am nothing. Why am I obligated to be something? Why do I have to have an opinion about everything anyway?"

I've felt that way for ages.

I didn't realize she was one of the central characters in the movie. Or that she would be "the one". This is cos I try to avoid knowing anything about a movie before I watch it. That way the story unravels in front of me. So I thought she was one of the side-characters.


There's this scene where he asks her what she wants to do with her life ("What do you wanna be when you grow up?") and she says ...

Oh! I don't know! I don't know how to know! You know?
You know what I really wanna do is I wanna go to all those places I know nothing about.


Travel makes sense to me. Seeing the world, understanding a little bit about People, who we are, what we were, what we've done with this earth in our time to, how do you say... personalize it a little bit. I like to know all that.

I didn't like the first girlfriend, the college sweetheart, at all. And I was kinda disappointed that she was the mother, cos really, that woman had no balls whatsoever. She was scared by her boyfriend's ambitions and wanted out before she got sucked into his "dreams". And instead of doing the dignified thing and telling him she wanted out, she slept with his roommate!
Pfft!

And the daugther, she was cool. She had the balls to confront her dad and force him to look at himself and make him realize that he was unhappy and needed to do something about it. So I thought the mother would be Rachel Weisz, whose chracter is a real go-getter when it came to such things (the first time she met Will, as he was leaving her house, she ran upto him and kissed him. Sorry, I was curious, was her excuse!

I didn't like Ryan Philips as the hero too much. They should've gotten someone more convincing. The only scene he was convincing in was the one in which he was drunk. Every other scene, he looked like creep-trying-to-act-nice types. Dunno why. Maybe he's just not a good actor.

But I liked the movie! It was good, everyone other than the lead guy acted very well. :P

And there was this line in the movie that is an inscription on a book -

With love and hope and dreams of second chances

-Alice


I like that the name they chose is Alice. Like Alice in Wonderland.
Cos really.... love? hope? second chances?
She's gotta be in Wonderland!


Ok, sorry! That was the cynical me speaking!
But really, I like the movie. So I can't be that bad a cynic as I make myself out to be!
Right? :o)

More than a fender-bender

I had an accident yesterday.
It was on the highway, and the first accident I've had where there's actual visible damage to both my car and the guy that hit me.I was pretty shook up when it happened, cos it was a hard knock. But I'm ok now, and I was wearing my seat-belt and all, so I was fine.

Can't afford to have another accident cos I'm going to India on the 6th.

This time round I'm going to Kerala, to stay with my parents and my sis.
Sis has gotten admission in the UK and I wanna spend some time with her before she leaves.
I'm so proud of her! But I'm gonna miss her a LOT!

Oh well... such is life I guess. Filled with hellos and goodbyes.
Just gotta make sure the in between part is worth it all.

*Sighhhhhhhhh*

Freshly brewed coffee, "cowboy" omelette, (with minced meat and spring onions and salsa and cheese folded into it) with sour cream on the side and potato wedges. And pancakes with butter melting into the warmth of the pancakes and maple syrup dripping off it...

Perfect recipe to get over a hangover!

Sense and Nonsense

So I'm at Festival City's canal walk with a friend. I ask her to take my picture. I sit at the edge and she takes my picture. We walk back indoors, walk all the way back to the Ikea section of the place, and I realize that I've left my cellphone back there at the canal walk, when my pic was being taken.

We walk back to the place and find 2 security officers standing there and there's this other random guy, who's sitting on a bench, enjoying the sun.

My phone is not there.

I cried out "Oh no! It's not here!" and the man on the bench asked me "Did you lose your cell phone?"
"Yes yes!"

He pointed at the security guards.

We went upto them, one male, one female.
"Excuse me, I've left my cell phone right there, do you have it with you? It's a Nokia phone. Bronze and black. "

The lady guard takes my phone out of her pocket.
I know it's mine, cos well, what are the chances of someone else leaving the SAME model of the phone at the SAME place at the SAME time?

But to prove it to her, I asked my friend to give me a call. She started dialling the number, and the lady guard stopped her and told "No, I'll give a call from MY phone.
We're like ... ok! Whatever!

I give her my number, and for whatever reason, she can't call me. The other guard and my friend, both try sperately, and the phone starts ringing.
But the woman, is not convinced.

"There's something wrong with this number. Why is it only 10 digits?"

I was so shocked! Hellllo! What freak country is she in?!
I wanted to shout IT IS ONLY TEN DIGITS HERE YOU MORON!
I didn't, but I did get very irritated.
Standing out in the heat brings out the worst in me anyway.

I said "Excuse me, I don't know what you're talking about, I don't know why it's not working when you call from your phone, maybe you're not dialing it right, or there's something wrong with the connection, but my friend here has called the number and so has the other guard and it's ringing, so I think we've established the fact that the number I have given, does indeed, belong to the phone in your hand. So I don't understand what you're waiting for."

By this time the other random guy on the bench had also come up and dialled my number, which was being repeated so many times that anyone would have remembered it by-heart by then.
Still, she refused to give me the phone on the grounds that it wasn't going through from her number and kept repeating that the number didn't seem right, cos it was only 10 digits.

The male guard apologized, and asked her to give the phone to me.
She finally gave the phone, and she said "Don't become angry. This is my job, to ensure that it is your phone."

PLEASE!

What the hell happened to common sense?

Yes, I'm 27.

I don't believe in having my own birthday party.
I love birthdays and organizing birthday parties for others, and I always wish someone would do that for me too!

Of course, there's nothing wrong with organizing your own party. I admire people who have the kind of friends circle to do be able to do that. Or the kind that don't care and invite everyone over! Me, I would feel conscious about inviting people over.
It's silly maybe, but that's how I am.

So every year, I do nothing.

Today, again, I did nothing. I went to work, some guy at work had saved the date on his calender, so he wished me and proceeded to tell everyone at work that it was my birthday.

I got a catty reply from one guy "Oh! It's your birthday today?! Well, see, usually you get flowers, so that's why I didn't realize."

Oh, and I also had this other guy telling me "Hope this is your last birthday as a spinster!"

What is with men being so bitchy?!

After work, I went home, had my dinner (I'd made pulao) and I was watching a movie when my friend called up.

She said "Open your door!"

She and her husband had come with a little cake!
For me!

She didn't have candles, so we had to make do with matches!
We lit a match, stuck it in the middle of the cake, they started singing, I cut the cake and she yells "What are you doin?! You gotta blow out the match first!"

"Oh right! I forgot!"
It'd been so long since I'd cut a birthday cake!

We ate the cake, and she ate my pulao, which she loved, and we talked and laughed for a while.

What she did ... it was the sweetest thing! :o)

Living in Paintings and Fake Hotels!

We had a 3 day weekend last week, and we drove 1250km away to a Salalah ( in Oman. That's a neighbouring country).

Overnight, the scene changed from nothing but desert on both sides...

... to this!


The weather was wonderful, the temperature at a pleasant 20- 22 deg C, and the place was so greeeeeeen!

We were going up this mountain at one point of time and we had camels climbing alongside us, ambling along, calmly grazing. And then, 10 minutes later, we came across cows!
Never have I ever heard of camels and cows sharing the same zip code!

And the place was just soo beautiful, I felt like I was in a painting, cos it's so hard to believe that a place this beautiful actually exists! That too in the middle of a desert!

The whole trip was planned at the spur of a moment, so we didn't have any hotel reservations, which was the only downside! The Hilton, which is supposed to be the only decent hotel around, was completely booked. We stayed at another place, which was very opulent in it's decor, what with arabic-style furniture and all, but felt like a fake hotel!

Ok, I know that sounds weird, but let me tell you why! First of all, we went to one of the restaurants at the hotel and when we ordered a dish, the waitress had no idea what it was! We had to give her the number on the menu! The food, obviously, was pretty awful.

Then, in our suite, I decided to relax in a bubble bath for a while after the long drive. I got into the tub, and pulled the shower curtain, and the whole thing came off in my hands! I'm not Incredible Hulk and I hadn't tugged that hard! So when I looked up, I saw that the rod was not fixed to the wall!!! It was just there, a rod about the same length as the wall, just propped up!
:P

Later, in the tub, my elbow hit the soap dish, and it just fell off the hook that it was resting on and plunked into the tub!

See what I mean? It's a building pretending to be a hotel!

But besides the hotel thing, everything else was wonderful! I had amazing company, fantastic views and the best weather one can wish for (esp. when one is used to roasting in 50 degrees heat all the time!)

It was a wonderful road trip, and driving there was half the fun! We had to drive through clouds that were so thick that visibility was zero, and the only way we could make out where to go was by the reflectors on the roads! And this on a 2 lane road on the side of a mountain with oncoming traffic on the other lane!

I can't think of a more perfect break! I would recommend this trip to anyone who lives in the UAE. Just make sure you book the Hilton in advance!

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

In case you still haven't seen the movie *Spoiler Warning*

It's been ages since I went to a movie and laughed so hard!
There is nothing special about the story, it's the normal boy meets girl and they don't know they're in love till the end thing.
But the dialogues were hilarious and the way the scenes unfolded were so normal and casual-like. It's like my friend said... even the most serious bits were not taken too seriously. Very real. Not like a movie.

Everyone I know either loved Imran Khan or Genelia D'souza.
They were good, yes. But my favourite character was Shaleen. She is so cool! So sorted!
I've never wanted to be so like any character before! And I like that she's single. There's no pressure on her to get a guy cos everyone else in the group is hitting on each other. No tension! Just calm, logical and so cool!
I've not been able to find any pics of just her character, but here's one with them all (she's the one on the extreme right).

I actually don't like Imran Khan's character so much. I don't like the idea of someone who is so into the girl he's seeing that he ignores his friends. That's not a very nice friend, if you ask me.

But the movie itself, if you don't try to psychoanalyze the characters, is hilarious!

Worker Ants

When I was little and the reported temperatures in Dubai got up to 48 degrees, people used to nod to each other and say "It's actually hotter than that. But according to the law, they have to declare a national holiday if the temperature goes above 50, so they'll never declare it!"

Either that rule was just a myth, or else they just don't give a damn anymore.

On Monday, the radio announced that the mercury levels soared to fifty two point two freakin degrees!
CELCIUS!

I'm dying here!
I can't stand outside for more than 5 minutes (at night) cos I feel like I'm going to just explode cos of the heat. And I don't even have to experience it all that much. I move from my air-conditioned home to my AC-ed car to my AC-ed office.
And yet, I wake up in the mornings feeling tired and listless and thirsty.

They reported in the news that the hospitals have had over 50 cases of people who were affected by the heatwave one way or the other.

In spite of this, people go about their business.
The labourers keep labouring, the people who need to catch buses keep waiting in the heat till the unreliable buses come round on their on sweet time...

Who has the energy to complain? What will happen? Will they actually declare a holiday?
Of course they won't. They cannot.
Nothing good can come of it.

And so ... life goes on.

Ah Bombay!

You would think I'd have hated the fact that my hair looked like when Monica went to Barbados.
That I would have hated that in spite of taking at least 3 showers a day, I'd still feel all sticky and icky the whole time.
That I'd have hated having to walk in the hot hot weather, which made me all crabby (I become a terrible person in the heat. My otherwise *ahem* sweet and wonderful personality takes a violent turn if I'm subjected to aimless walking when it's 40 degrees in the shade and the humidity is 75%.)

But I miss it all!

I miss being able to sit at home and order everything. ( You name it, Bombay delivers it!)
I miss walking on the beach at midnight.
I miss walking into a hotel and spotting Bollywood stars ( I didn't technically spot one, but Salman Khan and I were in the same hotel at the same time. I missed him cos I decided that my eyes didn't have enough kohl and was in the ladies room at the time! But if anybody asks, I say we crossed paths and smiled at each other! *grin*) (and to think I don't even like the guy!)

I miss waking up and having a wonderful breakfast kept ready for me by the maid, who btw, forces me to eat more and to have tea even though I don't drink tea! (WHY are maids so expensive in Dxb?!)

I miss eating yummy Maharatrian food (anyone know of any maharastrian restaurants in Dubai? Gee! I wonder if anyone from dxb even reads this blog!).
I miss the hazar different types of restaurants there. And the alcohol that is so freely available everywhere! :D

I miss Dominos' chicken barbeque pizza. ( I know it's weird, but I doooo miss it!)

I miss having my closest friends around me, always ready to hug me when I'm feeling low, always ready to talk, always there for me. There.
In Bombay.

:o(

And yet...

Everything makes me cry, and
Yet, nothing makes me cry anymore.

Everything makes me want to write and
Yet, everything stops me from writing.

Everything I see makes me want to believe
But everything I've seen, makes me think again.

Why you don’t need Enemies

So you’re feeling all bugged and depressed and you call on a “friend” to feel better.
And what does he do? He steers the conversation round to how you need to lose weight.

Just when I thought I couldn’t get any more upset than I already was!

There are all kinds of love...

...and to reject all others cos one kind left you bitter just isn't right.

Too many things... Not enough time... AAHHH!

Okay then!

I've been busy busy busy!

After my surgery I was in bed for a week cos of a nasty viral infection (doc reckons I must've picked it up from the hospital when I was there for surgery!!). I've been through 2 doses of anti biotics already and the doc seems to think I need a third. I'm pretty certain these crazy docs probably have targets and OTE's to contend with!

----------

Anyway... my sis left (did I mention she was here for a month) and I had to drop her off to the airport thrice! The first time round, Emirates told us they were overbooked and if she could kindly take the next day's flight (same time, same flight, next day) then they were willing to compensate by giving a free round trip ticket from India to Dubai for her trouble. So she took it. And we went back home.

The next day, we went to the airport again, only to find out that the ticket issued was for the afternoon flight! So went back again. The next day, she finally managed to leave! I was with her while she was checking in, and my nutty sis handed over ALL of the tickets she had on hand instead of just the relevant one. The woman at the counter took a look at all the tickets...

Counter Lady: You had a flight yesterday?
Sis: Yeah, we missed that one.
Counter Lady: And you had one the day before as well?!
Me: Yeah, we didn't go on that one either.
*smile*

Me: Yeah, we're not very smart.

Thankfully, the lady thought we were cute, and she let us through, even though we had excess baggage.
See! Having a corny sense of humour works!

--------------

Ok, I'm upset about this one.

I sold my car!

I'm relieved though, cos it was just costing me too much to maintain it and it needed too many repairs and all. So anyway... I sold it. Now I have no car... and a bitch of a rent-a-car bill!

*sigh*


----------

Oh, I'm going to be in Bombay from the 12th! :D
I hope to meet some super-duper bollywood heroes while I'm out there ! *fingers crossed*
Plus, of course, my friends.

I usually start sneezing the second I land in India and the damn cold lasts me till I step back into Dxb airport.
I'm hoping that the anti-histamines I have will help avoid this problem. I don't wanna walk around with red nose and have people call me Rudolph ( they always have the same damn joke!)

---------

Hope everyone else has a fantastic rest of the month! ( and I hope I do too!)

Ok, I have trust issues... WITH GOOD REASON!

I haaaaaate hospitals! Absolutely despise them!

What I hate so much is the helplessness of it all. And the way you have absolutely no control over anything. You just pray to God and leave yourself to the mercy of some stupid people who are only out to make money out of your illness.

I mean, the doc said the lump was just a small sebaceous cyst and I could go home in an hour. I got there at 10 am, for a "procedure" that was scheduled for 11am. They first put some white goop on the lump and made me wait for a few mins. I was in the emergency room on the ground floor and I was asked to follow a nurse to the second floor where they had a hallway indicating rooms as "regular", "VIP"and "VVIP"!! Can you believe they actually name them that?!
Sheesh!

They put me in a regular room of course.
The thing is, I never asked for a room and there was really no need for one. But cos I'm covered by insurance, they try to charge you for everything possible.

I was given a hospital robe to wear and they injected a test dose of anesthetic (which hurt like hell!) and I had to wait till 11: 45 till I was wheeled out (yes, wheeled out, they forced me on a wheelchair) back to the ground floor where the OT was.

Inside the OT there was another room where they again made me wait till about 12:30pm.
The doc was not in the picture the whole time of course. I had to deal with one unpleasant nurse after another and the wheelchair made me feel extremely angry, that and the damn hospital gown. Bloody hell! Hospitals should make you feel better, not worse! And I feel making someone wear a piece of cloth held together by bits of velcro and wheeling them when they are perfectly capable of walking is just a way of making them feel more helpless and vulnerble!

They started the surgery by giving me 4 injections of local anesthetic behind my ear, which hurt quite a bit, but was bearable. Then when I was all numbed out, the doc started with the whole thing of removing the lump. Halfway through the thing, I suddenly felt this sharp shooting pain from my ear all the way down to my elbow! I went Aahhhhhhh! and they all freaked out and jumped out of their skin and I screamed It's hurttttinnggggg! WHYYYY is it hurting? It's not supposed to hurtttt! The doc said "Err... I hit a nerve. Tell me if it hurts again, ok?" The rest of the surgery was spent in anticipation of the pain returning!

After the thing was over, the doc said "You gave us a scare!"
Excuse me?! I gave you a scare?! The idiot!

Anyway... the good doc now says that the lump does not seem to be a sebaceous cyst, he thinks it might be an infected lymph node! And that he'll know for sure after the biopsy.

So obviously, now I'm all freaked out again.
Although of course, the good doc says there's "nothing to worry about at all!"

Lumpy Ride

I have had this lump behind my ear for a while now and when I first went to the doctor about it, they told me it was an inflamed lymph node.
But then it has started hurting and the meds did not reduce the lump or the pain.
I went to a specialist and that doc said it’s a sebaceous cyst.
Sebaceous glands usually secrete some kinda oil which is required for the body, and mine has kinda OD-ed on something and is creating a lot more than necessary, which results in the lump behind my ear. So basically, I have a largish pimple, under my skin.

Doc says I have to have it surgically removed. It’s a small procedure which only involves local anesthesia, and he said that there’s nothing to worry about. I can actually go back home in an hour. So, that’s what I'm gonna do. I went to the doc this morning and now I'm waiting for my insurance company to approve the surgery. Then the hospital will give me a call and let me know when it can be done. My parents are here with me at the moment and my mum says she’s not gonna leave till after the surgery. So I won’t be alone while it happens, which is a relief, even though she’s gonna molly-coddle me like I'm dying or something!

The only thing I'm actually worried about is my trip to Bombay! *grin*
I'm supposed to go to Bombay on the 11th for work and then I planned on taking some time off to be with friends, and now I have my doubts about that happening.

So, please pray for me! Pray that the surgery goes well and that I'm fit and fine in time to go for my break! :D

Anyway, take care of your health everyone!

Kalyug is Now

We (in Dubai) have had more than our fair share of water and air (if you wanna blame it on the fog) to deal with in teh recent past and now we're up against fire.

*sigh*

I don't wanna be around when 'earth' strikes back as well.

The Little Things in Life.

I was arguing with a friend of mine....

He: You're wrong.
Me: No I'm not. You're wrong.
He: Oh yeah?! Well, you were the one who said ____ and then I said ___ and soooo... I'm right and you are WRONG!
Me: ...
Me: Fine! You're right! Happy?!
He(triumphant): Oh yeahhh! I'm real happy!
Me: Pfft! It sure doesn't take much to make you happy!
He:Yup! I'm the kinda guy whe becomes happy with the little things in life.
Me(evil grin): Oh yeah? So tell me, how little is your Thing? :P

*grin*

Moral of the story: Never argue with a woman, even when you're right, you'll lose. One way or the other.

Damn pain in the neck!

No chocolates or doughnuts or coffee with cream (wonder if I can have coffee! Ok, I won't even try to find out!) or cheese or cheesecake (gulp!) or labneh or ice cream or umm ali or paneer or cookies or mayonaisse or anything that tastes good!

*anguished scream*

My ayurvedic doctor ( who is a scary scary man) has ordered me off meat (which is ok) and dairy products( which is not ok!) "indefinitely" to cure me of my neck pain.

Bah!

The Next Dr. Phil ( and much better!)

I've figured out what I should be! I should be a relationshiop-counsellor!

No really, I'm serious!
I know exactly what is wrong (or right) in a relationship and I think I know how it can be fixed too (if it needs fixing).
Okay, I know what you're thinking. She's single, she's only 26! What the hell is she talking about?!

First of all, I've been in relationships! (I see you go "uh huh! Big freakin deal!" But hear me out ok!)
Secondly, I have the advantage of observing relationships from the outside, which makes me all objective and so much more better than the person actually in it.
And thirdly, I'm good at it! ( I really am, the reason I'm single is cos I'm so good, it's hard to come across someone as good as me!)

So I was thinking, I should start a counselling center or whatever. Give gyan to people. Make them happier. And make money off my gyan, and make me happier!
Ok, they may not like my advice too much, (You're too immature! Go hike the AT and come back to me in a year. That'll be 500 bucks, thank you!) but I'd be right! And they would be happy too, in the long run!

A lot of people who get into relationships don't really seem to realize what they're really getting into. They only think of the love and the fun part of it all. And when the going gets rough (as it inevitably will) they panic and go Whoa! I didn't sign up for that! Then they think, "okay! so this was a bad idea, I don't know what I was thinking!" and break up and brood until they "fall in love" again. Or not. Whatever. Which is why I think people started the whole marriage thing in the first place.
With a marriage, When the going gets rough, you're stuck with each other, and you try and get it resolved and make the best of things, which might actually improve the relationship. ( Of course, this was before divorce lawyers got into the picture, bloody sharks!)
Nowadays, people just don't seem to realize that the going does get tough. They don't seem to look beyond the romantic dinners and the walks on the beach. I guess we've all been watching too many movies and not realizing that movies end! People who are mature enough to plan their future to the point of retirement even before they hit 30 don't seem to have a clue what to do when their relationship with their partner turns sour. They complain "things are not the same anymore! Maybe I made a mistake", without really looking back at themselves and to try and see what can be done to fix it.
Does it need to be fixed or should you let it go? Did it feel special in the beginning? Do you have a lot of happy memories? Do you think there is a possibility of more happy memories than sad? (see what I mean, I'm goooood! :D)

And all this would just be in my first session! So what do ya say?!
Would I be great or would I be great!

Feb 14th

I went to work.
Got wished Happy Valentines by a bunch of people, and I wished them back.
Saw the smug expressions on the faces of the coupled people and the defensive single-but-I'm-happy-the-way-i-am expressions on the others.

It's sad when a lot of couples take this day as an oppurtunity to show how much love they have in their lives to others than to really express it to each other. It's more of a Ooh! Look at me, I'm not alone thing. There's so much pressure to be with someone.

It's ridiculous really. Cos it's only another day, and one really shouldn't be bothered about being alone on that day if they're not bothered about it any other day.
Obviously, that's easier said than done.

I was invited to a party. Valentines Day party. Filled with couples. There were just one other girl apart from myself who was single. And she brought along two of her girlfriends who were married but were on a vacation to Dubai. There were silly games to play and when asked how they felt today, they waxed eloquent about how much they missed their husbands and how everyone else was so much in love and how wonderful it is to see all that.
If they missed their husbands so much, then why did they decide to leave them on Valentines Day, catch a plane, and take off to another country and speak to a bunch of strangers about how much they love their husbands and miss them?

I mean, what is that?!

I didn't expect to enjoy the party really, but I did, and I won a camera (a canon powershot a530) cos they liked my answer when they asked me what I wanted in life.
I told them I wanted to travel. Not that great an answer I know.
I guess they were more convinced of my answer than any of the other bullshit than they heard that day.

So anyway, now I have two cameras! ( I have a canon ixus 950is of my own) :D

The Houseguest

The cat just walked into my house like he owned it!

Apparently, that is typical cat behaviour.

He's a stray. I used to feed him tidbits (sometimes sneak him some milk as well when my mum wasn't looking) and so he used to let me pat him.

Last night though, was a cold one (ok, not as cold as it gets in some parts of the world, but in dxb, 10 degrees C is cold!). We'd had a sandstorm in the morning and there was a chilly wind at night.

So when I found him outside my house I coaxed dad into letting him inside the house for "just a little while". My dad pretended to suffer his company (while secretly enjoying it. Sometimes I think he likes the cat more than me!) and the cat let us stroke and pet him for a while after which he starting exploring the house.

This is an intelligent animal, and he soon found his favourite room in the house... the kitchen!

I had to shoo him out several times ( I don't think I've ever been in the kitchen so many times in a day! Hell, normally I never step into the place!)

Btw, will someone (Sherry, you have cats! Hellllp!) tell me what these creatures like to eat?! I gave him fish and he refused to eat it! What kinda cat doesn't like fish?! I mean, aren't fish supposed to be a cat's favourite or something?Anyway, this guy sniffed at it suspiciously and then walked away (for me to clean up after of course! WTH! I bet he thinks I'm his maid!) He finally did eat some chicken which my dad was having for dinner. Then he went round the house and got into all sorts of nooks and crannies which I didn't even realize existed! I opened the door for him to see if he wanted to leave, but he just turned away from it and finally settled down to sleep under the sofa in the living room. I use the word 'sleep' lightly though, cos everytime I opened the door to the kitchen, he would jump up expectantly and come to see what I was upto. And this only happened when I opened the kitchen door!

When I turned off the TV and went to bed, he followed me into the room and settled himself under my bed somewhere and I let him be.

I was fast asleep when I was woken up at around 5 am. I had felt some movement around my feet! I got up and found the cat sleeping ON MY BED! I tried to shoo him away and he just ignored me and curled into a ball again.

But I was not happy! This little guy had probably never showered in his life! And he was on my bed! Na-ah! No way!

I got up, turned on the lights, and tried to get him off the bed.

"Get off the bed! Get offff!! NOWW!!!"

He looked at me with this look that clearly said I-think-you're-overreacting-but-whatever and finally disdained to get up. Only, he started walking around the bed, and went to my laptop (which happened to be on one end of the bed) and very calmly stood on it and strretched luxuriously and then proceeded to calmly wash himself.

I'd had enough! I took him by his neck and shooed him out of the room and that was that.

I was slightly sorry for my behaviour and wanted to make amends in the morning but he was gone by then. Dad let him out. And he's not been back since.

But apparently, that is the nature of cats. I'm sure he'll return though. And in the meantime, I have a loot of washing to do, what with all the bedsheets and comforters and pillow cases he was walking on!

So, I guess I kinda have a cat! Or rather, the cat has me! :D

I just need to give him a name now.

Any suggestions :o) ?

December Highlights

The end of the year was a busy one.

The weather was lovely and I went camping. Twice.

First to Musandam...

... and then to Hatta (Hatta pics were taken by a friend of mine with a fantastic eye for detail and an awesome camera).

New Year's eve was spent at a house party at S's place where I got so wasted that I (for the first time in my life) don't remember what I did most of the night.
I never believed that alcohol could do that to you.
When people talked about how they were so drunk that they didn't know what they were doing, I always assumed it was just an excuse to do whatever and blame it on alcohol.
But now I know that that's not true.

And it wasn't my fault, really. (It really wasn't!)
I had come late for the party ( after 11:30 pm) and everyone was already high and dancing and I was feeling kinda low for some weird reason. I wanted to catch up with the others and quick. So I had a very stiff drink of cranberry flavoured Absolut and Sprite. Which was enough, actually, cos I hadn't had any dinner.
And then K gave me another stiff drink and then they all decided to have tequila shots and then all I remember is a lot of dancing and laughing.
I also remember having a very serious conversation in which I think I was trying to convince someone about something... I wish I knew what that was about.

I remember feeling extremely thirsty and looking for water. I saw a Masafi (brand of mineral water sold here) bottle and gulped down the contents and then realized that my throat was on FIRE!
Some bloody idiot had put tequila in it!

I don't remember anything after that.
But people tell me that I danced a lot more and hugged a lot of people and told them I love them all! (bloody rockstar I am when i'm drunk na?)

V and R tried to put me to bed, and left me in one of the room's but noooo. I apparently didn't want to sleep. I broke S's framed picture of John Lennon (which explained the cuts on my hand I guess). They think I was trying to find my way out of the room and was looking for the light-switch when I hit the frame off it's hook.

I don't remember ANY of this of course.
All I remember is waking up with the worst hangover EVER, my eyes all bloodshot and my throat as dry as the sand in the desert in August.
J asked to me drink Redbull and go back to sleep. Which worked!
Redbull gives you wings indeed!

When I woke up later on I was still kinda woozy and felt vaguely empty. And confused.
And lonely.
I wanted to be drunk again and love everyone without having to think twice about it.

Life is better when you're drunk.
I wonder if this year I'll turn into an alcoholic.

Cheers?

what's cricket got to do with it?

When someone calls you a monkey, it is not a racial slur, it is an insult.
And if you don’t have the sense to understand that, then the only one insulted is the monkey.