NYE 2011

NYE 2008 was the best party I ever had. Even though I'd passed out by around 12:30am, it was the beginning of my friendship with the people I spend most of my time with now, my friends that have made my life so much happier and better. 2008 was a fantastic year.

My only resolution for the year was to travel, and that's something that I'm still doing(and will hopefully continue to do)!

NYE2009 was terrible. I was in middle of a very damaging, and what now seems like a pointless, relationship. The party that was scheduled didn't take place as we'd expected. About 2 hours before midnight, there was a death in the host's family and we had to shift locations and were so busy finding another house and transporting the drinks and food there that we actually missed the clock striking midnight. Plus, the death of the relative (ailing grandmother in India) put a damper on everyone's spirits even though we didn't know her at all.

NYE2010 was a big party. We'd decided to host one at a hotel, hired the poolside area on the rooftop, decked the place up all nice, sent out invites, charged for entry.. complete club-scene! The party itself was a huge success, but I was in a terrible place in life. Above mentioned damaging relationship had ended, and badly at that. At the stroke of midnight I broke into tears and just stayed that way all through the first quarter of that year!

But 2010 was the year of healing for me. I'm over the relationship, done with it.

I'm still traveling, for which I'm thankful. I feel more mature, but I also feel more weighed down, by responsibilities (mainly bills. most of which are speeding fines. ok, not so mature :P)

I'm burnt-out at work though, and am passively looking for a change, and not liking any of the offers coming my way (obviously!). I'm constantly broke, and constantly worrying about being broke and how I'll be able to afford my next vacation.

So this year, my resolutions are a bit more sedate. (see, I knew there was a reason I felt mature!)

Resolution#1 Save money! Save enough money to have 6 months worth of salary in the bank account by my next birthday.

R#2 Move to another place. I hate the house I'm currently living in. Plus, I think the vibes are bad for me. I need to change.

How I'm going to achieve resolution #1 when I have to do resolution #2 is something I'm not thinking about right now! I know it's going to be challenging, but we'll see where it goes eh?!

#3 Work towards changing my career, start following my passion.

Again, how I'm going to achieve resolution #1 and #2 when I have to do resolution #3 is something I'm not thinking about right now! :P

#4 Fall in love.

I know #4 is not exactly something I can resolve to do, but I just want to put it out there to the Universe. What if something like what SRK says in that movie Om Shanti Om happens - Agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaaho to puri qayanaat usey tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai.

;)

I know it's taken from The Secret, but it sounds so much better in Hindi (urdu?)

And then, if it happens, I can say " Itni shidatt se main tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai, ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai"

:P

And then you can say wah wah wah! *grin*

Anyway... that's my resolutions list! And it looks like the toughest one I've given myself yet! (even without me having to actively do anything about #4!)

I'm looking forward to new year's eve, and I'm looking forward to the new year.

It's been a difficult year, this 2010, but it's been good too.

So I'm thankful for the good that happened, and I'm hoping for the best for the future.

So cheers!

To hope, love and potfuls of gold! ;o)

Qatar - Do you have what it takes?

So Qatar won the bid to host the World Cup in 2022.

Which is great news for me, as Qatar is one of the territories I'm handling at work and it looks like business will soar for another decade till they're ready to host the world cup.

But what I'm wondering is... will they be able to handle it?

The infrastructure development alone will be a huge task, and while the country is developing in leaps and bounds ( Qatar did quite well this year, I've achieved my sales target!), they are still a long way away from being world-class.

But the other point I'm wondering about is, whether they'll be able to handle the culture-shock they're going to be facing. The World Cup is going to be one Big party. And though the Middle East loves their football, we all know they're not the best party-people.

I was at the F1 races held in Abu Dhabi this year as a marshal, and the people who came to see the races were uber-rich people just looking to show-off and have a good time. My post (from where we monitor the race) overlooked the marina, where all the luxury yachts were docked to watch the races. The party would start in the morning, with music playing, men and women drinking, topless women sunning themselves etc.

I was also at Vettel's after-party for a bit, where they were basically spraying everyone with champagne (even the reporters and camera-men) and just going crazy!

The folk from dxb and Abu dhabi were able to handle this, and though the guys went nuts for the women, they did take it in their stride and obviously, enjoy themselves thoroughly. But the marshals who were flown in from Bahrain almost had their eyes popping out of their sockets with shock and wonder. *grin*

So, the big question for me is, will Qatar is able to handle their country being over-run by the rich and beautiful who want nothing but a good, long party? Will they be able to handle all the wet-t shirts parties and the drunken people walking around their streets?

I've been to Qatar, several times, and it felt like I was in a small arabic town. (Bahrain was worse)! And it was no place for single women, as I kept getting stares even if all I was doing was walking down the street!

For the F1, Abu Dhabi has a different island altogether, away from the city, called the Yas Island, where all the action happened. Not that the city was devoid of action, but it was nothing compared to what was happening at Yas Island itself. And Abu Dhabi is a lot more cosmopolitan than Qatar (though it doesn't hold a candle to Dxb! Dubai rocks even though Abu Dhabi is the capital! :P)

Will Qatar do something similar? Will they build an island and separate the party-place from the prop room? Or will they slowly get their country geared up to face the rest of the world?

What do you think?

Money money money, must be funny.. in a rich man's world

Round-trip ticket to Cape Town - 3k

Accommodation in CT - 1.5k

Activities (including abseiling, wine-tasting, white-water rafting etc ) - 2k

new Camera, shoes etc... $$$$!!!

They say that for everything else, there's MasterCard.

I'm maxed out... so what now?!

:P

I'm leaving for CT on Thursday morning, and in spite of the way expenses have climbed astronomically for this trip, I'm suuper excited about this vacation!

Of course, when I'm back on the 13th, I'll have to survive the rest of the month on just air and the memories I suppose!

But it'll be worth it!

*fingers crossed*

Back to basics!

I've started writing in my diary again.

I used to yeaaaars ago, till the age of 12 or 13 I think.

At the time the highlight of my week used to be stuff like " I took this new kinda candy to school today and shared it with my friends. They all liked it. I am happy (cos I was popular for that one day, not cos of my generous giving spirit)!"

:P

For some weird reason, I find it easier to articulate when I'm writing as opposed to typing. Not sure why that is. And this is true even though I'm more careful about what I write than what I blog. Cos you know... blogged stuff can be deleted, but what's written is more permanent! I don't want to take a look through my diary 5 years hence and see an entry about boy-trouble and crap and think "sheeesh! How silly was I!" And god forbid someone ELSE read my entries and think the same! *horrors*

So yeah.. I'm writing more and blogging less.. all the better I'd say... considering that this blog is in dire need of a major revamp.

On other news... my keychain... which I'd been carrying around since 2003, broke.

I was in a involved in a drunken tug-of-war with a friend who was trying to drive me home but I wouldn't let him cos I insisted on driving. He got the keys and I got the keychain.

That keychain was my link to Delhi. I got it from the place I was working at at the time.

It made me a little sad, but maybe it's a little fitting. It was time to change I guess.

Gonna sign off with this quote from Grey's Anatomy:

Change; we don’t like it, we fear it, but we can't stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind. And it hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn’t is lying. But here's the truth...the more things change, the more they stay the same. And sometimes, oh, sometimes change is good. Oh, sometimes, change is...everything.

Life - a blink and it's over.

I've been busy.

I've been going to Abu Dhabi every weekend for the F1 marshal training. Which leaves me exhausted as it's a 150km drive away, and once I get there, I have to stand in the sun for endless hours watching cars whizz by at lightning speed while trying to capture the numbers of the cars and do the usual marshaling thing.

Then there's Gitex . As I work in IT, this is one of our biggest events of the year.

On top of it all, my mum's been nagging me about the whole marriage thing.

I'm 29 years old, and you'd think that the nagging would stop and they'd just let me be. But no. They still try to set me up, still try to "reason with" me and make me " think straight".

Yesterday, mom said that I need to get married to have someone to go to when my parents are not around anymore.

I would put that as Reason#234 from my mom's list of "Reasons to Marry". (and no, love does not figure in the list).

I thought a lot about what she said. About what I'd do when my folks aren't there anymore. Who would be there? I was thinking about what she said about how I don't have anyone.

And earlier this evening, I got a text from S.

Our friend H's dad had passed away.

H, her mom and her sister had left for India just the previous night and today, in the afternoon, while her dad was taking a nap, he died in his sleep.

It was a peaceful death. Her younger brother was the only one in the house at the time, and he called the cops when he failed to wake his dad up. The medics said he'd been dead for 3 hours.

Life is so fleeting. And we waste so much of it doing insignificant tasks and stuff that doesn't really count for anything. But then again, who's to say what is significant and what is not, right?

I wonder now... what have I done that was of any significance? Will I be given the chance to find out? What is to become of me?

and the walls go up again

I thought you were a friend

I'd begun to believe it

I'd begun to feel comfortable

And then you said it like it is.

It made me cry, it hurt

But it set me straight alright.

The walls are up, the swords drawn

And I fight to lose...a friendship.

The week that was

Back in Dxb.

Bahrain was boring, mind-numbingly boring.

And tiring.

Got back home around 11:30pm on Thursday.

In the flight the guy sitting next to me was on a business trip as well. He started talking to me and I reciprocated. He was quite boring, working as a banker for some russian bank and all.

But I didn't have anything to read and had an hour to kill, so I thought, what's the harm in chatting!

In the end, he asked me for my number, and I didn't know how to refuse, though I didn't want to keep in touch with him.

What are you supposed to say to a guy you've been chatting with for an hour when he says (not asks) "hey, give me your number and I'll give you a call sometime."

How can you avoid that and not be rude?

I gave him my card, and will just have to make excuses to not meet I suppose. Hope he just doesn't call!

================

On Friday, I went to the Yas Marina Circuit. We were being trained as marshals for the F1 Grand Prix. It was quite boring, cos they repeated most of the stuff they'd said in the first session (this was the second). But I got to stand on the track, which was quite cool! Took pics and all. :D

Waiting for Ferrari World to open. That is gonna be one awwwesome theme park!

================

On the job front, I got offered one, but it's in Mumbai.

And I don't think I want to live there. If I have to move, I'd prefer to move to somewhere in Europe, I don't want to live in India.

God, are you messing with me?

Is this your idea of a joke?

Cos it's not funny!

Traveling for work.

I'm in Bahrain now.

Arrived last night.

The plane was delayed for over an hour after we boarded, so I had to sit in the plane all that time doing nothing(flying economy of course, company won't pay for business class).

The flight wasn't playing a movie cos it was just a 55min flight, if that. There was a creepy looking steward, middle-aged arab dude, who looked like he'd been pouring people drinks and pushing trolleys for way longer than he intended to. I'd have felt sorry for him if he hadn't looked so darn mean!

And I dreamt about him at night! I dreamed that I was in my hotel room sleeping, and was woken up with a breakfast tray on my bed by the flight attendent! In the dream, I was freaked out, cos I'd locked the room, and was panicking cos the guy got into the room (even if it was just to serve breakfast).

Obviously, I hatttte traveling for work, hate staying in cold hotel rooms and am pretty worried about my security at these places after what happened to me in Oman.

In Oman, I was woken up at 6:30am by someone who said I'd been offered a complimentary massage by the hotel by a "male masseuse" and that the massage would be in my room.

Right!

And this was in a world-class 5 star hotel with branches all over the world!

The hotel had that guy kicked out, the duty manager came and personally talked to me, telling me that the guy thought I was a flight attendant (don't know what that has to do with it) and thought he could get lucky.

They apologized to me profusely and offered me a whole lot of things to placate me, but the damage was done of course.

How did he get my room number? Had he followed me? What if I do get followed on the way to my room? How long will it be before anyone notices that I'm missing?

I'm tired of it all. I'm tired of hotel rooms and boring conferences and the whole drill.

I want out!

GODDDDDDD, are you listening??!

Tipsy moments

tere bajo’n ni lagda aye jeevay…hanju hun mere su’k de na-i ve…jad tak mainu tu na thee vain…tad’ tak naeeo balna main deeway............................

*siiiiiiigh*

Dear God,

Please give me a new job! PLLLEAAASE!

I'm feeling utterly and hopelessly depressed in my current one.

I'm earning peanuts, my self esteem is lower than I thought possible, and I hate the guy I'm reporting to.

I'm not cut out for this job, for this kind of work.

I feel completely and utterly useless, not to mention helpless!

So please, pleaaaase! Give me a new job!

Thank you.

S

No time to Stop!

So yes, the road trip.

Of the 7 emirates of the UAE, we ended up driving through 6!

It was crazy, tiring and a lot of fun!

There were 10 of us, including one 6 month old baby girl who was the cutest thing ever!

I was the fairy godmom who bestowed her with wishes of travel around the globe, so it was quite fetching that I was part of her first road trip! :D

And mannn! What a road trip it was!

The initial idea was to drive to Ras Al khaimah. This would take us through Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain. We lunched at the Al Waha restaurant at the Banyan Tree, where I met the most friendliest staff ever! I have not seen such genuine smiles on hotel staff ever before! Quite commendable! Wonder how they keep their staff so happy! Maybe it's pot! ;o)

We got back to dxb around 8pm and then suddenly someone had this crazy idea to drive to Abu Dhabi.

And the rest of the crazy gang agreed. Thought it'd be great fun to lunch at RAK and sup in Abu Dhabi. So off we went in the opposite direction. I got back home at 2:30 in the morning and was obviously, exhauuuusted!

I slept till noon and have been pottering around the house since, doing laundry, reading the paper, watering the plants and browsing blogs and whatnot. It feels good to just stay in and relax once in a while.

And after the emotionally, financially and physically exhausting Delhi and Kerala trips and this crazy road trip... I'm looking forward to a little peace and quiet.

Although, I have a baby shower to plan for Friday, and have another road trip to Fujairah ( the only emirate in the uae that we missed out on) that we intend to do a couple of weeks later.

Not to mention work!

I guess some people are just not cut out for peace and quiet!

need a break from my break!

I just got back from Kerala on Wednesday.

I had to attend two weddings, socialize with people I didn't know and didn't really want to know, felt alone and alienated and extremely uncomfortable.

I also caught the cold, as usual, cos of all the allergens floating around in the air on kerala (dunno what it is, but everytime I go there, I get violently ill with the flu and it lasts until I land at dxb airport!). So my nose is all raw and red around the edges and swollen. Sucks obviosuly.

There are way too many emotions I'm feeling and it's quite overwhelming in it's negativity - everything around me in India has left me feeling very unsettled and disappointed.

I'm not sure what to do to change things.

You know how sometimes life completely bogs you down and you have no idea what to do and which way to turn?

This is one of those times.

So I do what I do best.

Ignore it. Shove it under the carpet until I need to look at it again.

I know it's not the best way, but I don't know what else to do.

I leave for a road trip in a half hour or so.

Will try to dissipate all my worries into the arabian sea.

Adios!

The Delhi Damage

4 kurtas, 1 handbag, 2 awesome patiala-type pant kinda thingies (not sure what that's called), 3 pairs of shoes, god knows how many bangles, 1 dusted-pink and gold coloured sari....

I think my credit card's melted! :P

Just chill!

I leave for Delhi tonight.

It's just for the weekend and I'll be back on Sunday night.

I feel more relaxed and less unconcerned about my birthday than I usually feel.

I've already had my party and it feels like the birthday is done and over with.

Oh, and the party was so fun! It was a surprise party, we were all playing charades- 3 word sentence, first two words were happy birthday, with the third word (my name) they brought in cake and balloons and started singing the birthday song. :D

And then we inhaled the helium from the balloons and started singing in funny voices!

You should see the videos! lol!

So yeah... I'm more chilled out this year.

I'm looking forward to meeting my Delhi-friends, eating the awesome dilli-food and shoppppppping!

So birthday or not... I'm just gonna have fun!

:o)

Suddenly I'm feeling ridiculously blue.

*sigh*

Need a Pensieve

sunday. rest of the world sleeps. we work. supposed to anyway. :P

sitting at my desk with a cup of black coffee. trying to stay awake.

slept at 4am.

no. wasn't out partying. i was at home, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and willing for sleep to come. but how can it when i had woken up from an afternoon "nap" at 7:30pm?

this weekend was all about sleep. and sleeplessness.

(feeling the coffee take effect)

I'm feeling listless and restless. I don't want to work this job anymore.

I don't want to live here anymore. I think.

I don't know if I need a break or if I need to break away altogether... move!

I'm going to Delhi on the 19th for the weekend and will be back on Sunday night, the 22nd.

I just neeeded to get away, and my birthday weekend seemed like the perfect time to do it.

My friends were all going to different places as it is, so it's not like I was going to get the traditional "surprise" party or anything. I never do. It's always something or the other.

And if Delhi doesn't get me out of my funk, then I'm seriously considering moving.

I'm not sure where, maybe to Europe. Or Canada.

Of course... I need to have a job... but that'll happen. *fingers crossed*

The idea of starting afresh... new job, new people, new life... it's scary!

And the fear is exhilarating!

So maybe I should move. Or maybe I just need a vacation.

Let's see...

"Hometown"

FB asks me for my "Hometown" and I'm not sure what to say.

I've lived in dxb most of my life and I'm not a citizen here. My parents are from Kerala and yet,whenever I go there, I feel like I'm a tourist... only renting, never buying.

I studied in Tamil Nadu for 4 years and hated it. So that place is out too. I lived in Delhi for 2 and a half years where I was the "outsider" from dxb who was also a "madrasi".

I've been to Egypt and Turkey, Indonesia and Spain. and the UK.

Home is everywhere and nowhere.

I don't belong to a place. And no place belongs to me.

FB should really have a "lost" option in there for people like me!

Oh Marrrrshallllll! :D

November 14, 2010.

F1 Grand Prix.

Abu Dhabi Yas Marina Circuit.

Guess who's gonna be one of the marshals there!!!

:D

Change... for the better (hopefully).

When I see things changing around me, when it looks like sometimes I may have to leave... I feel nostalgic. And then I wonder, what exactly would I be leaving behind? Why do I even care?

So yes, I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and looking forward to Change.

What is the secret to a happy relationship?

Unfortunately, men seem to always want what they can't have.

They like to chase, but if they get you, they want to move on to the next big thing.

It's almost like they prefer the pursuit of happiness more than happiness itself.

This is why they have a tendency to stray more often than women. They have to aim higher than the woman they have already as they get used to home ground in a bit and need move on to the next challenge. They get bored of the same old moves. They need change.

Like a video game, Wife 1.0 needs to be conquered until she is conquered, then they wait for the release of wife 2.0.

They don't seem to understand that life is not a PS3 game.

So what is the secret to happiness in a relationship?

I'm going to bring in a HIMYM ref here where they talk about how in a couple, there's always a Reacher and a Settler. The Reacher thinks he/she has landed someone much better than what they deserve, and the settler feels that they have "settled" for whoever they chose.

I feel, for harmony in a relationship, the men should always be the Reacher and the women the Settler.

The men will not be happy unless they feel they are the "Reacher", because then they have something to strive for as they've landed someone "better than what they deserve". They will always try to make up for it by striving to keep the woman with them. So the game is, "keep the woman". The woman on the other hand, will be happy with the attention paid to her by her partner and as a woman needs nothing more than that from a man anyway, happiness will reign!

What say?

Disclaimer: I'm 28, and single. This is my theory, for now. Who knows what kind of changes life will bring! 10 years ago, I thought I'd fall in love and get married and that by 28 I'd have a kid and a dog and a house with a garden. God had other plans I suppose, and to tell the truth, I'm quite happy for it!

Lunch on a hot Saturday afternoon

Slices of freshly baked, warm whole grain bread, two leaves of cold, crisp & crunchy iceberg lettuce, a dollop of garlic and herb cheese spread, a slice of smoked turkey breast folded into halves as it's too big to fit into the bread, and to liven things up a bit, a dash of extra-hot peri-peri sauce... washed down the sandwich with a tall glass of cold coffee (fresh milk, ice, coffee and brown sugar - blend for 3 mins). For dessert, a mango, cold and juicy.

Bliss!

The small things in life are quite underrated don't you think?

Kambaqt Ishq

It's just one of those days when you feel like nothing is going right.

But then, nothing is wrong either.

I took the day off work, spent the entire day watching TV. I took a few calls, replied to a few mails, that was it. At 5 I had an appointment with an agent to check out a flat.

I'm looking to move out of mine. My friend agreed to come with me. He was stuck in traffic, so we got a little late. We finally got to the place, met with the agent. He walked us to the building, which looked like it was new, but I saw that it was actually a few years old. Met another tenant on the lift and everything.

It was on the 6th floor. Flat 614.

I looked around, wondering if this was going to be my new home.

We stood at the threshold of the house, waiting for the agent to turn the key and open the door.

Except, he couldn't.

The keys didn't work.

I don't know why. The keychain said 614. The keys were supposed to work. Except it didn't.

Agent dude apologized a lot. Asked if we could reschedule for Saturday. I said ok.

But I don't think I'll go.

I don't know... it felt like it was some sorta omen, like I wasn't supposed to live there.

I mean, these things happen to a reason don't they? Or am I putting too much into it?

I don't pretend to understand the workings of this world. Don't understand why things are the way they are. They talk about Karma. They tell you that it's all for the best, it's all meant to be.

When someone breaks your heart, it's supposed to be alright, cos that's just cos it wasn't the right one, cos "someone better" is coming my way.

I don't understand why we need to be hurt now for some promised land of happiness in the future.

My friend, the guy I went with to check out the house. He's a good guy. He married someone he was completely in love with a little over a year ago. Now, he's getting divorced.

He's hurt so bad that he's completely lost faith in all women.

I'd like to console him and tell him that it's not always like that, that he will meet someone again... but I can't bring myself to say that. Cos I don't know do I?

I mean, look at me. What do I know of love? I've been in love twice, and believe you me, it's worse the second time round!

You would think getting your heart ripped out once is hell!

After that, when you finally heal, after what feels like eons of wading through hurt and disbelief and distrust, and meet someone who makes you believe you can finally start trusting again, letting that iron-clad fist over your heart open a teeny little bit, it's happens again.

That's when you realize, that your heart, when it's breaks once, it's ok. But when it breaks twice, that's it. That's one time too many. You stop believing.

So that's where I am now.

There was a time when I thought you were the love of my life...

things change.

Sick of being Sick!

I've fallen ill. :o(

I had to cancel my trip to Qatar, which I was happy about!

I stayed home all of Saturday with a sore throat and a red nose twice it's normal size. I think I had fever too, cos it was around 40 degrees C outside and I was shivering and covering myself with a light blanket.

It's Sunday now... and I'm still home, throat better, nose all chapped from the excessive rubbing, and completely tired out from the smallest of exertions. Even making green tea is tiring!

And I'm so bored! The laptop hurts my eyes if I stay on it for too long. I can't read, cos again.. my eyes hurt. I've slept so long I feel like I should be renamed Rip Van Winkle!

I'm beginning to feel going to Qatar might have been better.

I need some positive energy to be sent my way. I need to get better, soon!

God, please make me healthy (and while you're at it, maybe you could throw in some wealth and wisdom too!) :P

Why God whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!!!

I was running late today and couldn't figure out what to wear so I threw on a pair of jeans and a black kurta and rushed out of the house. Our office does have a policy of formals on weekdays but it's not very strictly enforced and we have people (usually back-office and marketing people) wear jeans on weekdays as well.

I usually wear only formals to work except on casual Thursdays.

And even then, I usually wear heels. Today, I wore flats.

I walk into the reception and who do I see there? Toni!

Toni the German works for our vendor who gives us the most business. I am one of the people who manage the product that his company sells.

Toni is very very German! He's always two mins early for an appointment, he's very particular about everything he does and wants everything to be very correct! He's wearing a suit and when he stands to shake hands with me, he's towering over me in his 6ft2inches against my short frame (5ft3.25inches and yes! The point 25 does count!)

As we're talking, my boss walks over. And then, his boss comes in the door, bringing with him 3 other people who work with our vendor. They're all in suits and all over 6ft tall! Even the woman! They bend down to shake hands with me! (white people are tall!)

This is not going to help me with the tough and aggressive business-woman image I'm trying to portray! Hell! I look like the daughter someone brought in to work for bring-your-child-to-work day!

*sob*

Of all days, why'd I have to wear casuals to work todayyy?!

A little pregnant?

I'm serrriously worried about my body!

I've got a tummy that makes me look like I'm 4 months pregnant!

It's got me thinking that I might actually be pregnant... I'm half contemplating buying a home pregnancy test kit, even though I've not even been dating anyone since... it's been over a year now. Wow. Time flies even if you're not having fun!

I'm telling you... if I am pregnant... I'm suing God! I'm not gonna take it lying down like the good Madonna! No can do! We got lawyers in this day and age! :P

Although... I did have an insaaane amount of ice cream today after dinner.

And now I feel like I can barely breathe! I'm that stuffed! (probably explains my 4-months-gone belly).

On a more serious note... I can't sleep.

I don't know why though. I went to bed at 4 am today and woke up at 7:30am... forced myself to sleep again and finally got out of bed at 10. Haven't slept since and I still can't sleep!

I did yoga... I did the laundry... I had green tea and honey.

Still... nothing!

Gonna try counting sheep now.

Adios!

PS: God, u know I was only kidding na!

milke bhi... hum na mile.. :P

I'm back! again! God knows how long before I see the airport again!

*sigh*

And guess what! Atif Aslam was on the flight with me on the way to Bahrain! :D

I realized this only after we landed and we we were getting off the flight. He was carrying his guitar with him... which was what made me look at him, cos everyone else had laptops (what else would take someone to Bahrain on a weekday at 1pm other than work?!).

Turns out... he was on work too. He has a concert there tonight (that's what it says on the net).

And no, I didn't talk to him. Even though we were standing right next to each other waiting at passport control.

I'd rather be a stranger than some goofy girl gushing all over him.

It's not like he's Hugh Jackman or anything na!

This dude is pretty good-looking though! Better than what he looks like on-screen! He had his shades on... (typical star behavior eh?) and he seemed quite thinner than what he looks like on-screen.. but good-looking alright!

And I love this song he sang!

And oooh! This one too!

listening to it now....

*sigh*

Maybe I should have talked to him after all!

Dammit!

Not sure if i'm coming or going anymore!

10:15 am

I've booked for a taxi to come pick me up at 11:30 am. I have a flight to catch at 1pm.

I'm going to Bahrain.

I have not yet packed. Hell, I've not even woken up properly yet!

Definitiely shows my enthusiasm for these things eh?

Oh well, at least I'm back tomorr... franctically checks flight info ... yeah.. I'm back tomorrow!

"I don''t think so!"

I'm back from Oman.

It was quite a good trip, work-wise.

I was staying at the Ibis this time. I gotta say... this is the worst service I've received from a hotel ever!

I get to the airport and wait there for around 20 minutes. Usually, there's a guy with a placard waiting to pick me up. This time... nothing! I finally call the hotel and the guy at the reception says that a driver was sent and waited for 40 mins before leaving. Which was ridiculous, cos my flight was on time and I had been waiting for over 20 mins by then myself.

But forget that! Forget that they didn't send a pick-up. When I told the guy at the reception that I'd been waiting for the past 20 mins, he doesn't apologize, he doesn't say they'll send someone across.

He says " I don't think so!"

Excuse me?!!

What the hell does that mean? I'm lying about no one picking me up?! I prefer being stranded at the airport at 6:30 in the morning and then complaining about it?!

I took a taxi to the hotel with another guy who was also staying at the same place and hadn't had a pick-up sent (big surprise!). I went to check-in and the woman at at the reception says

"Sorry ma'am, we don't have a double room for you. We can give you a single room."

If looks could kill, she'd have been giving her sorry-assed excuses to St. Peter by now!

"What room was booked for me?"

"Ma'am, a double room."

" And you confirmed the booking?"

"Yes ma'am." *slight squirming*

"Then. get me. a. double. room."

Two minutes later....

"Ma'am. A double room just became available."

(who the fuck does she think she's messing with?!)

Here's the other stuff that they never put in their websites :

* They don't have a bell-boy. You are required to carry your own luggage (which I can't due to my neck problem). The guys at the reception carried my luggage as a favour for me!

* They don't have room service! You call and order the food from the restaurant, they make it ready, you either go down and eat at the restaurant (which I don't prefer to do as I'm usually alone) or else you go down, they give you a freaking TRAY, and you carry your food back!

I got my food delivered to the room cos the guy at the restaurant was a nice guy. They don't even deliver water as a policy across all Ibis hotels!

I gotta say though, the room itself was clean and good. A bit small, but I've stayed in smaller ones in Europe. They also have free wifi, which is a huge plus when compared to places like crowne plaza where you gotta pay for internet access and the rates are quite exorbitant.

I think they're mainly targeting business-people as it's not very family-friendly.

Not sure where they got the idea that people on business would want to carry their own luggage and not eat in their rooms!

The hotel is centrally located and quite close to all my clients, so I'm torn between switching hotels or staying there again and taking "favours" from the staff.

But the bad service and callous attitude overrules everything else!

Will I be joining their club membership program?

"I don't think so!"

Jumper (cos I'm jumping from topic to topic :P)

I don't know why, but everything is making me cry these days.

I'm extremely touchy about things, and I feel like I'm all alone.

It is of course, another thing altogether that I am all alone!

Today I went for lunch with some friends where one guy was introducing us to his fiancee.

It was all fine, fun even! But we had to get a table for 7. SEVEN cos I'm always the odd one out.

Usually I don't notice it so much, except this time, his fiancee kept asking the other couples stories of how they met each other.

Ugh!

Why is everyone else in love?

On other news, I'm off to Oman (again!) on Monday and will be back on Wednesday. The week after I'm apparently in Bahrain. I feel like I'm living the life of George Clooney's character in Up in the Air. All this traveling has earned me a silver card at skywards and a killer neck pain! :P

Is that the price of success?

How would I define success? Would I call myself successful?

Well, I guess I could say I'm independent.

I don't ask anyone for money. I have my own car. I pay rent for the little hovel I live in.

I travel to some lovely places (not the work bit, but otherwise).

On the flip side, I barely make ends meet. I'm exploited. I'm doing a job I don't want to. I despise my boss. I could stand to lose about 5kgs. I want to move to another house.

And the last man I dated was a severe disappointment.

Everything's a mess. I feel like if I were fired tomorrow, I'd actually be relieved. But even though I feel this way... I don't want to quit. That is of course, one of the bad things about being an expatriate. You can't stay here and wait tables while looking for another job or writing a book or whatever. There's immigration and all that crap.

Tomorrow I go for the Adobe party at the Ritz for free food and booze that I will not drink.

I'm not sure why I'm going really. I don't really like partying that all much.

I'm more of a sit-around-a-table-with-your-friends-and-drink-margaritas kinda person.

I wonder... if my friends wanted to set me up with someone... and they were to tell a guy about me... what would they say??

Hmmm....

It is what it is. But what is it?

I got back from Kerala yesterday.

My treatment went well, but it's going to be a while before I'm completely alright.

The vaidhyan told me that two of my chakras were blocked.

Now if you're the kind who doesn't believe in stuff like that, then read no further.

But he helped me a lot. And it makes sense to me.

The exercises the vaidhyan asked me to do are simple. The pain has reduced a lot and I've joined yoga classes here. My teacher is very good, understands my condition and gives me special attention during classes.

I will have to continue exercising. And I'm going to make some simple changes in my lifestyle that should make things better for my health. Stuff like the early to bed, early to rise mantra...at least on weekdays!

I've only been gone two weeks, but I feel like I've been gone a long time. I met with the gang last night, and it was fun. But then I found out that one couple might be moving to Hong Kong.

Which depressed me a lot.

I realized that nothing was happening in my life.

Back in India, everyone is super excited (except for my parents of course) about an upcoming wedding in September. The official engagement just happened in the UK and everyone's asking me to fly down to India for the wedding. My parents are upset about going for the wedding cos everyone is going to ask about me and my still-single status. Again!

While I was in Kerala, I met with a classmate of mine who's just given birth to her second child. A friend of mine in dxb announced she's pregnant last month.

I'm happy for all these people. Even for the couple who might be moving to Hong Kong (it's a good job opportunity apparently).

But the thing is... I feel like everyone's moving on but me. I'm still working a job I hate. I'm desperate for a new job but nothing good's coming my way! (I did get an offer with the competition, but the money wasn't good. And the other job was in Canada! Call me crazy, but I don't wanna move into sasquatch-country and be snowed in for most of the year!)

My love-life is dead. I've even gotten to the point that I just don't care anymore. In fact, when mum was lecturing me about it in India (oh yeah! She gave me the "marriage lecture" the night before I had to leave for dxb), I told her to go ahead with the whole arranged marriage thing.

I'm fed up. I'm done with having to fight for something I'm not even sure exists anymore.

So yeah, that's where I'm at.

I'm not sure if I'll figure it all out Later. I'm not sure if I'll come back here in 5 years and smile and the person that I used to be.

I don't know.

And I'm just fed-up with not knowing.

Ayurveda with a 100 year old

In Kerala now. Thiruvananthapuram (tvm), to be precise. It's mainly hot and humid, but also rainy and cool, sometimes. I got two whole weeks of mum pampering me with delicious home-cooked food and juicy pineapples and mangoes (taken from my granma's place) and endless hours of sitting in my basket-chair (you know, the hanging types) gently rocking back and forth and reading my books. My little library in dxb is full to overflowing already. But I feel like I might be tempted to take back some of the books I've left here.
I'm quite impressed with my entire family! None of them have so far even mentioned a word about marriage! Although, things were pretty awkward when I went back to my hometown to meet my granma. Classic pink-elephant scenario! But my parents have been the best! They didn't talk about it, they didn't act sad or disappointed with me... in fact... mum's quite nice to me! And she seems to genuinely feel that way... I can tell she's not doing it just cos I'm not well and my neck is all screwed up!

Oh yeah! About that...the reason I'm here in the first place...
I went to this healer in Ayoor, a hour's drive from tvm.
The guy is ollld, and apparently very good. He said he works mainly through yoga and the treatment would be through excercises and there won't be too many medicines. This sounded perfect to me, cos I hate taking those nasty tasting ayurvedic medicines that make me gain weight like crazy!

When I got to the place, he asked me if I was studying. When I told him I was working, he asked me my age (28) and the next question was obviously... why I wasn't married.
What was I supposed to tell this stranger, who looked like he was a 100 years old, the reason for my single status?Should I tell him that none of my relationships worked out? Was I supposed to expose my emotional scars to this man? And my parents were right there! *sigh*
Anyway... he was waiting for an answer... so I told him that it just never happened.
He laughed. He asked me to sit with my back facing him. He gently ran his fingers down my spine and pressed in two specific spots that were hurting me. He then proceeded to give me a lot of information about my condition... all in extremely shudh malayalam (it could've been sanskrit, for all I know!), and I couldn't understand most of it! All I understood was that there were 7 chakras and that some of mine were blocked, dunno why. He talked a lot, a bit too much, a lot of jargon really.

He showed me a couple of exercises that I needed to do for the next 2 weeks and gave me a few meds, which of course, means that I will pile on the kilos like I've been on a diet of McDs and ice cream for a month! *sigh*
I'm doing the exercises and taking the medicines regularly. So far, the pain is not any better or worse. Let's see. I wanna do the the whole thing completely before I give my verdict.
But I'm praying that it all works out ok, cos I've had enough of the pain!

*fingers crossed*

Close to happiness

So I'm sitting in my hotel room in Bahrain, with a wonderful view of the palace in front of me, tap-tapping on my keyboard and it suddenly dawns on me that I miss Dubai.

This comes as a bit of a shock, as I've always been a bit wary of having any emotional attachment with this country where I will forever be treated as a immigrant, no matter what. (unless I marry a local, which I don't see happening!)

I've tried to maintain a purely you-scratch-my-back-and-I-scratch-your's kinda relationship with this country ever since I returned from India after college.

I don't know if it's because I've been traveling so often to all the other GCC countries and they don't come anywhere close to dxb when compared or what else it is, but dxb's got me hooked!

Sure, dxb is more cosmopolitan than any other place... so it doesn't really have it's own culture... everything's fabricated... nothing's real... yeah yeah yeah! You can say all that and more.

But Dubai is Arabic in the best possible way! It is Arabic, with all the mosques and the souks and the dhows lining the creek. And yet, it is open enough to accept cultures from all over the world. You can sit in a restaurant and be surrounded by people from all over the world.

If you want to mingle and mix, you can do that, or if you wish to stick to your little corner of India or Italy or South Africa or wherever, you can do that too.

I can walk out in pants and a sleeveless shirt and won't be honked at by the vehicles at the signal or be yelled at in arabic by school boys trying to get my attention (this happened to me in Bahrain). I will not be the only one whose handshake is not accepted cos I'm a woman (this happened to me while I was having a meeting with the Royal Oman Police in Muscat).

I am all for respecting the culture of a country, and I will ensure that I am more careful about the way I dress when I next go to Bahrain. But I don't have to worry about this in dxb!

The cinemas are better in Dxb. The stores are all open till midnight here, some places... 24/7!

The shopping is better, the parks are better. They even have some days where the parks are open for women and children only! They have a separate line for women at most counters. At some banks, they actually have a men's & women's bank side by side!

Of course, all this was there before too, but the thing that got me hooked are my friends!

Now, I actually have friends here! Their joy is my joy, their sadness mine. They're like family to me. And while I've felt that I will forever be the outsider, I now, finally, feel like I belong.

I leave for Kerala on Friday. I'm going to miss my life in dxb, even if it's just for two weeks! And I'm so thankful that I have something to miss.

What i hate about mallu-land

I haven't reached Kerala yet and it's already started!

This friend of my parents' stopped by a while ago and of courseinquired about my single status.

And I quote, " my daughter has an 8 month old son! What are your plans? Are you so used to being by yourself and just enjoying life?" (?!)

His daughter is about 3 or 4 years younger than me.

This is what I haaaaaaaaaate about Kerala and keralites (obviously not all keralites are like that, but you get what I mean).

People who have nothing to do with you other than the fact that they might have shared the neighbourhood with you 10 years ago think it is their right to inquire about your most private and personal business. A friend of mine is constantly asked about why she has not yet had babies!

Howwww can you have the audacity to ask some stranger about their sex-life?!

Talk about poking your nose into someone else's business!

What's worst is... they don't think they're doing anything wrong! Oh noooo!

It is my right to know what's happening in your life! And if you don't conform to my idea of living life, then there's something very wrong with you, and I have the right to advice you as well as discuss this with everyone in a 50 mile radius, and yes! that includes the milkman and the newspaper boy!

Gah!

In Kerala, you will not find a single club that's frequented by females. In Cochin maybe you'll find a few completely lame clubs that close up around 8pm. I know this cos my friend from Bombay was recently in Cochin and told me he finished a round of all the clubs in Cochin in an hour cos they were all empty except for a few lame men (straight) dancing with other men!

This is not cos mallu girls and boys don't party! Oh noo! They just don't party in mallu-land. They'll go to Bangalore to party if they want to. Why? Cos it's against our culture!

I don't go clubbing either when I'm in Kerala, mainly cos there aren't clubs any where I live, nor do I have any friends to go clubbing with!

Plus, of course, going out after 6 pm by yourself is an automatic invitation for a man to molest you in god's-own-country.

I'm serious, the roads are empty after 7pm! And dark (they don't believe in street-lights I guess). And this is the way it will be, cos we are satisfied with that. If a girl gets raped cos she left the house by herself, that's her fault! Because men will be men!

And this is what men are, according to our people. It's a man's world right?

It is the most hypocritical place in the planet after Saudi Arabia and I hate it!

Can't believe I have to spend 2 weeks there!

Damn! I should've just gone to Delhi!

On top of everything else...

Insomnia.

To Dilli, not itni jaldi!

I can't go to Delhi! :'(

My neck problem has now become my neck and back problem and now I can barely walk without wincing, let alone travel!

So the Dilli and Lucknow trip is off for the moment.

Instead, I'm gonna go to Kerala, get some serious ayurvedic treatment, rest a lot, eat mom's cooking and hopefully get back on my feet soon.

Sucks though, I was soooo looking forward to Dilli and Lucknow! :o(

But I've decided to get serious about my health! I'm gonna get better.

And I'm gonna check out these places and more.

I've decided to make myself a list of places I want to go to this year as an incentive to get better soon.

These are the ones on my radar so far:

1. Dilli, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Amritsar

2. Socotra - I neeeeeeeed to check out this alien-island on earth! I've been fascinated by it ever since I heard of it, which, shamefully enough, was only about a month ago! Then again, Yemen isn't exactly the kind of place one would look to visit, so I can't be blamed for lack of research on the place!

3. Morocco and maybe Tunisia too!

*fingers crossed*

Older, but not wiser.

I was looking through some old posts of mine, way back from 2006, and I realize that though I sound a bit young, a bit more naive than I feel now... nothing much has changed.

I'm still as undecided about the future, as confused...as lost as I was then.

I thought things get better as you grow older, that I'd have things figured out by 28.

I still have the same old questions that remain unanswered.

I'm tired.

3 margaritas and a kamikaze later...

I woke up this morning in my room and realized I wasn't wearing any clothes.

I looked around me and everything seemed normal, other than the fact that my clothes from the party last night was on my study-table.

Sometimes, when I get drunk, I switch to auto-pilot mode and don't remember ANYthing from the previous night. And I have my friends telling me what happened the next day. I'll tell you about what I did in Spain one of these days.

Last night though, I didn't think I was that drunk... cos I remembered everything all the way until I got into the car to be dropped home. I even remember one of the girls being dropped off and she lives VERY close to my place. I think I have this vague recollection of running up the stairs of my building as well. But after that, everything's blank.

I got out of bed, put some clothes on and tried to figure it all out.

I hoped I hadn't thrown my lenses somewhere like I threw my clothes, and I went to check out the lens-case on my dresser. I opened the case and saw that drunk-me had carefully put solution and lens in place, but hadn't closed the case very well. Oh well! At least I hadn't flushed it down or anything!

I went to the living room and found my bag on the rug and my keys on the coffee table. So all was well! I filled a bottle of water, all set to drink away the slight hangover I had. I took in the morning paper, and settled down to read. I crossed my legs when suddenly I noticed that there was a brown... something... on my right foot. It was like I'd stepped on some very dark brown liquid.

I was trying to figure out if it was the cake or something from last night (it was a birthday party and there was chocolate truffle. yummmmmm-y!). I went to the loo to wash it off and that's when I realized that I had cut my toe! That brown stuff... was dried blood! and it looked like a pretty bad cut too, judging from the amount of blood there was.

After a while I went online... I saw that I had a few new mails on my gmail account. I found that I'd gotten a few comments from friends on my status message.

"What happened girl? You ok?" and " ??????????????!!" was pretty much how the messages went.

I was wondering which status update of mine they were referring to, cos I knew that I'd left it blank last night.

That's when I realized that drunk-me was also online at 2am last night!

My status said one thing, "broken".

*sigh*

Drunk-me was also depressed last night I guess. And she didn't have any inhibitions about putting up her feelings online for the damn world to see! Idiot!

Thankfully, I hadn't chatted with anyone (I checked chat-history). And so far I don't seem to have done anything else.

And I have to do something about this broken feeling!

If only I knew what.

Surviving the Jungle

I work in a pretty male-oriented field.

This has it's own advantages and disadvantages.

I was at a 2 day conference recently. All of our major clients and partners were at the event, and our company was there too, invited by one of our major vendors. We were all put up at a 5 star hotel.

In the morning, during coffee break, this one guy walks up to me and starts talking to me about what I initially thought was work. What countries am I handling? Do I travel to those places? Oh good, we should travel together.

*warning bells*

While traveling with clients is pretty usual in my line of work, something sounded off. I said we could plan our schedules later on and left it on a pretty non-committal note.

In the evening, there was a dinner party, and the men were all out on the prowl! They all gor drunk ( FYI, I didn't! I don't get drunk when I'm on the job). After a while, the decent guys left the party and the coyotes took reign. I tried to leave but there was this one guy from the vendor who stopped me as I was about to leave.

"Where are you going Sonia? Don't leave so early, the party is just about to begin!"

I didn't want to create a scene so thought I'd stick around for a few more minutes until I could get away.

A couple of girls from my marketing team were around so we stuck together, wondering when we could leave without anyone noticing. We were sitting at a table together, chatting, when the guy from the morning walks up to me, all drunk and sits next to me and starts chit-chatting.

I haven't seen you in ages... it's a shame we meet only during events... we should really do something about that... don't tell me I should start (doing my line of work) to see you more often... which floor at you on... the view from my room is amaazing...

I jump up and excuse myself to go to the restroom.

"I'll walk with you!"

I somehow slip away and leave him behind only to be besieged by another drunk dude who wants me to dance with him. I got rid of that guy when the guy who initially stopped me from leaving starts talking to me and his room also had an awesome view apparently! This guy was sober btw. He doesn't drink cos he's a pious muslim. Pfft! Married with 2 kids and trying to get me to check out the view from his room! Creep!

In college, if a guy said something nasty, I could react! I'd cut him to pieces with words and if that didn't work (sometimes that just spurred them on! weirdos!) I could report him and he'd be done with it (never had to do that, but threatening to do it usually worked!).

I can't do that anymore! I have to continue dealing with people who behave this way! Even when they make these horrible advances, I have to deal with it politely. This is not easy! Diplomacy does not come naturally to me! The leo in me wants punch them in their faces and kick them in their balls! But I swallow my anger and try to get away.

Why is it than people behave this way and get away with it? There's nothing I can do to stop it other than quit my job! And what difference would that make? I'd get another job and face the same thing with other men!

I want a break from the creeps! I don't have the energy to ward them off nicely anymore! I'll snap sometime soon and then what'll happen?

How does one handle stuff like this?!

Find something!

I need to update cos I don't want to have to stare at the previous post every time I'm on this page.

Ok... I'm going to talk about 5 good things that I have going on in my life now. Count my blessings so to speak.

#1 I have a great group of friends to hang out with in dxb. I enjoy spending time with them, we take vacations to exotic places together, we also enjoy spending time with each other doing nothing. Which is great! And I have a few awwwesome friends elsewhere, even though they're far away, they care for me, and that matters.

#2 I got a free laptop bag which has wheels so I don't have to carry my laptop-bag around and stress out my very screwed up shoulders anymore.

#3 My boss agreed (very nicely) to let me work from home for this week cos of my effed up neck and shoulder problem.

#3 I have to take these meds which make me feel like I'm drunk, and that's a pretty good feeling to have! Plus, no hangover! :P

#4 My college friend from the UK is shifting to Abu Dhabi (even if she's not in dxb, at least she'll be in the same country!)

#5 I'm going on vacation in April! To my favvvvvvourite city in India... Dillllllli! I'm going with a friend from work, and she's gonna take me to Lucknow too! So come April 15th and it's adios dxb and hola dillli! :o)

Finito!

Lonely Planet

Due to my chronic neck problem being worse than ever, I have to wear a collar and take meds that leave me in a daze all the time. After missing out on the crucial last one hour of my friend's delivery, I was half toying with the idea of not taking the meds in the day. I thought I'd just take them at night and be only half as dazed! But if I don't take them, my neck starts hurting again. So yes, daze-dom it is! *sigh*

I've arranged it with my boss to work from home this week.This basically means I don't see a human being at all throughout the day, and all my interactions are through the phone or email.

It's brought "living alone" to a whole new level altogether.

It sucks, of course!

I've never been more aware of how alone I really am. If something were to happen to me, it'd easily be several days before someone would take notice and probably many more till someone actually reached out to find out if things were ok.

It's a humbling thought. It makes me question my entire life. What have I done wrong?

Why am I not needed by anyone?

Ok, I can feel the meds starting to take effect again. If I don't update in another day or two... who cares anyway eh!

Fairies and wishes work their magic!

We threw a baby shower for my friend yesterday, 33 weeks into her pregnancy. The theme of the party was "fairy godmother". So we all represented different fairies (I was fairy of Travel! :D) and we all bestowed wishes with our fake fairy wands that we made out of bbq sticks and foil! We gave the yet-to-be-born baby gifts (of a unisex nature cos we didn't know the gender yet). It was all so much funnn!

And then... an hour after, as she was driving back home... her water broke, more than a month before it's supposed to happen! Because the girls were throwing the shower and the guys were not allowed, they'd had all gone to brunch (how girly is that?! :P) and the husband was totally tipsy when the mommy-to-be called and said "could you come home?" and he was like ... " I'll be there in half an hour". She said "err... could you come NOW?!" He sobered up immediately.

All of us trooped into the emergency ward of the hospital. Since the water broke and she was dilating fast, the baby had to come, and it was going to be premature. The hospital we were at didn't have enough space so we had to move to another hospital... we got there and the men waited outside while the women went in turn by turn (they wouldn't let us go in together for some odd reason) while the mom-to-be waited anxiously. The doctor had assured us there was nothing to worry about, and all of us friends were around... trying to keep up spirits and think up baby names and whatnot.

I am on medication cos of my stooopid effed up neck, so I had to get back home and once I had taken the medicine, I was out for several hours! I woke to missed calls and messages saying " it's a girl!" :o)

It's a girl! And she's here! The mom is fine, and so is the baby. I'm soooo excited I can't sleep (anymore!). I want to go to the hospital right away, but it's blooody 4 in the morning!

It feels like I'm living out a life in some funny sitcom or something!

Gosh!

A baby girl just jumped into our lives... I bet she's gonna be a spitfire! She'll get things done her way alright! She won't be the kind to wait for things! :o)

Welcome to the world little one! Its not that awesome a place, but we all love you, and love makes all the difference in the world!

Something to believe in!

You know that wedding I went to in Jan? The hindu-muslim one? The reason I flew to Bombay for the weekend?

I'm going to tell you about that now.

We went through a lot of stress before the wedding, with the relatives from the girl's side of the family creating a fuss about stuff and my poor darling N (the bride) being stressed beyond endurance! Things were crazed from the moment her relatives landed (flights had been delayed for houuuurs due to a bomb-threat, which was the least of our problems!), but things got really tense on the day itself.

There was a moment in between, right before she had to face the 400 people invited for the wedding, where her uncle stormed into the dressing room and yelled at her and she had a mini-meltdown. She started crying and her makeup was running, she was already late... it took some strong tough-love to keep her from completely breaking down!

I am so pissed off with him!

So okay, your sister's daugther is getting married to a hindu. If you had a problem with that you should never have come for the wedding in the first place, like the rest of the people who stayed away! If you came, you should have had the grace to accept what's happening and not ruin her special day for her!

Some people just burn me up!

But the ceremony itself... there was something so magical about it! I can't explain it, I've been to several weddings and nothing ever made me feel this way... but when two people... who are right for each other ... when they get married.... marriage actually means something then! There was something so sacred, so overwhelming... I was just reduced to tears! Both us bridesmaids sat in the corner just beaming (and crying) with happiness!

I want to tell N this:

N, I love you babe! You've had a rough life, and I'm not saying that things are gonna be easy now, cos that's just the way life is... but I'd like to believe you'll be happy now!

I'm just glad that you've found a guy who appreciates you for what you are. I'm glad that you've gotten a guy who's kind and courteous and sweet and funny and handsome, and gets you, one who realizes how lucky he is to be with you. One who doesn't care where you're from and what your religion is... one who's been through hell to get married to you, and feels that it's all worth it!

You two give the rest of us a reason to believe in love!

I know it all sounds like a silly chick-flick movie, but if you knew the story of her life, you'd not believe that one person could have gone through so much and have grown up to be the sorted person that she is!

I wish them both love, happiness and ... spice!

Well...cos ... you gotta have spice! :o)

nocturnal and hormonal!

It's that time of month for me and though I'm extremely tired, I can't seem to get to sleep.

So I spent my Thursday night, not going out, and also, not sleeping.

I watched movies all night long and it is now past 5 in the morning.

I never learn do I?

I mean.... I'm hormonal enough as it is... and then I watch stuff like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and end my movie marathon with The Notebook, of all movies!

I bawled like a baby throughout the movie (even when it wasn't sad)!

I knew I should've stuck to HIMYM!

Damn!

Dubai Mall, flooded due to rains!

Mannn! If a stray thunderstorm can have this effect on the biggest mall in the muddle east... I shudder to think what would happen if something really bad happens!

More Whine?

Ok, I'm off to Oman now (in about 2 hours and I haven't even started packing).

*yawn*

I'm back on Wednesday.

All this traveling for work is really getting to me.

Every time I travel, I fall behind on my mails and then I have to struggle to catch up and I have clients screaming for attention, huge projects that need to be worked on etc etc. By the time I can make sense of it all, I have to travel to another country!

There's not enough manpower to handle all of the work, but the company's too cheap to hire any more people. Everyone's frustrated, everyone's snappy, everyone's tired and overworked except for the idiot that we in the team report to.

He is a jackass who does nothing, knows nothing, and is a liability to the company. But his luck's great, cos the company hasn't figured this out yet even though it is obvious to everyone who has talked to him for 2 mins even! All the clients keep complaining to me about him!

For the millionth time.... I hate my job!

Universe, you listening? Will you get me a kick-ass new job already?

Anyway... if someone knows of anything interesting that can be done in Muscat, please lemme know. Cos the last few times I went there, it was boring as hell!

life ho toh aisi!

This is Goofy!
He doesn't like it if you touch him along his spine. He spends most of his time sleeping under the couch or eating.When he's a bit bored, he catches some sun and checks out the view of the ocean from the wall-length window in the living room (as shown in first pic).

He lives in Bombay, completely oblivious to SRK's publicity stunts and the crazy reaction by various political parties to it.

Bliss!

One exhausting trip that ended with a Bang! Literally!!

It's funny... I HATE my job, and yet, all around me... people keep talking about how they'd like to have it!

Talk about grass being greener on the other side!

I'm back from Cairo, which was a drag, though business-wise I think it was pretty good. I didn't get to see the pyramids this time round either though! :o(

Our flight was delayed while arriving by a half hour. The crazy pilot overshot dubai and went to ajman and further north... not sure why! And then when the plane finally landed at 2am, we taxied for ages and finally came to a stop in the middle of nowhere and we had to get onto buses to take us to the airport instead of that thing that connects the plane directly to the airport. Emirates never behaved like this before!

I'd purchased a gift from swarovski during departure on the 17th, but I wasn't very comfortable carrying it around with me during my 3 day trip. I must say, the Dxb Duty Free guys have some exemplary customer service options! They offered to keep my gift with them, and when I got back, I could collect it at Arrivals!

I was told to collect it from the Information counter, but I didn't know that the Duty Free information counter was inside the shop itself. So I walked out, past customs (cos this other guy had pointed me in that direction) and finally, almost reached the gate to go out and checked with the airport security guys and they told me it was back inside.

There was this one really cute one, he asked for my passport, took it, and said he'd lead me to the place. We were walking side by side, but when we had to pass the doorway, I let him go first and pushed my trolley behind him... and hit him with the trolley on his ankle!

To his credit, he didn't say a word (although he was slightly limping the rest of the time!). I was like "ohmygawwwwd! I'm soooooo sorrryyyyy! Damndamndamn!! Sorriiiiieeee!" while this other passenger who saw what happened grinned and gave me a thumbs-up sign.

So yes, my trip included assaulting airport security personnel! A cute one at that!

Wonder what would have happened if this happened to me in India! I'd probably be bribing my way out of jail by now!

Livin la vida loca!

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day, someone I've known since 5th grade, one of the few people from that lifetime I'm still in touch with.

We were talking about how it's all turned out so unlike the way we expected life to when we were kids. I was telling her about how other people my age seem to have life so sorted out!

They're doing the job they want, writing books or starting businesses, they're married, having kids or planning to... all around me... I see people with some sort of stability in their lives.

And then there's me. I've no idea what I'll be doing tomorrow even!

That's in my personal life of course. Professionally, my life's been planned out by my company in a business plan that took a week for me to prepare and get an approval of!

I wonder if I should make a similar plan for Life as well! Wonder if I can plan out my life for FY(financial year) 2010!

I can check through the history of last year, evaluate what went wrong and what went right, do a SWOT analysis and figure out what the critical success factors would need to be! Budget planning, market strategies... the works! I could plan out my life for a year!

This is something that I never considered of course, never having planned anything ever before!

Take today for instance! I'd gotten an appointment to get my hair done at 4pm. I ended up lazing around the house (cos it's the weekend! I deserve to laaaaze!), didn't feel like going, and then called to postpone.

I had a vague plan in my head to shop for a dress for the wedding I'm attending in Bombay next week. My friend texts me for something, I text back and next thing you know she's taken me to this store that sells Indian outfits and I'm the owner of a lovvvvvely kurta (to wear for the mehndi!). We then decide to go the MOE and we end up talking till 11:30, sipping on iced teas and eating awesome pasta. She wants to go grocery shopping, and we're walking towards carrefour and see a movie poster.

We decide suddenly that we need to watch a movie! Grocery shopping is forgotten! But we don't like the MOE cinemas, so we go to Dubai Mall to watch Nine. (we're spoilt that way, us dxbians!)

Then we're back on shk zayed road, which I love driving through, esp after midnight, when it's (mostly) clear and we can just cruise along! It was a lovely Friday, even though it wasn't exactly what I'd planned it to be.

My life may be unplanned... and it may not be what everyone else would want for themselves... hell, even I don't like it at times... but at this moment... it feels right.

And this moment counts!

And hell! Even the business plans never turn out the way we plan it!!

:P

Calling the Universe... Hellloooooooooo!?

Puhleeeeeease..... give me a new job! You know the one I'm thinking about! Get me it! Gimme!

Nowwwww!

Ok, so it's out there, I've said it out loud a million times, wished it a million times, and now I've put it out in cyberspace. Universe, it's about time! And I'm done waiting!

Okay?

Okay!

*waiting for the phone to ring*

New Beginning

It's useless to hold onto something that (I now realize) was never there.

Of course, it's easy to say "move on" and more difficult to do.

The logical part of me is all " WTF Sonia! Get going already!" and the illogical part of me (which seems to govern the tear glands) still holds on, to the ghost of what used to be.

It's silly really. And I know that.

So I thought I'd let the logical part of me take charge.

I start with a sunnier template, hence the green (I luhhhve green!)

I will also blog more (it's therapeutic!) and blog about sunnier topics more!

I will also keep myself busy, which is eaaaasy, considering how busy I am already!

1. I'm learning to speak Spanish.

2. I'm going to Cairo again, for work.

3. I'm going to Bombay for a few days (my best friend from college is getting married. Hindu-muslim marriage. It oughta be exciting, this!)

4. I need to start looking for a new job, in earnest!

So, ¡salud! To a fresh start!

My resolution for 2010

1. Don't look back!

2. Get an awesome job.

To hope, love and dreams of second chances! (from the movie Definitely Maybe)

Happy New Year!