The drudgeries of life

After a long time, a weekend in the true sense of the term! 

Lots of fun, ample amount of relaxation, loads of happiness etc. despite the office visit...

And lots to look forward to too :)

When a day ends with a meal wherein a huge chocolate pyramid makes up the starters, and a brownie topped with a double scoop of vanilla (plus loads of chocolate sauce) as the main course, there's so much to be happy about :p

That was that! 

Now back to the routine life. Nothing like a Monday to puncture cloud number 9 and to ensure a crash landing onto reality...

Will be missing 2 marriages of 2 good friends the coming weekend! Unless of course a miracle happens...

Other than that, the To Do list is overflowing! Need to start ticking items off it. Before that, need to finish watching the Millennium Trilogy... heard that the movies are as good as Stieg Larsson's books.

Good luck with the Monday blues! 

And good night...

Today, for the first time in almost 32 months, I felt that I entered office.

So what if it was in an entirely different attire? I had suited up for the occasion :)

Felt so much at home.

The upper management was polite to the core... cool, if I may!

Ok, the crowd seemed a lot better. 

The people as usual were neat, to say the least.

Adherence to process... sighs! Don't you simply love systematicness? 

The decor... yeah, where have I seen that before?! 

Even the paper towels in the rest room hadn't changed :p

Everything was similar... yet it wasn't.

I entered late, and I exited early, despite wanting to stay back! When have these three things coincided in the recent past?!

Saturday came... Saturday happened. 

What a day! Happy vappy!!!

Sloshed now :D

Fingers, toes, and everything else crossed :)

Know that feeling you get when you're sandwiched between two parallel mirrors, like in a dressing room?

You keep seeing yourself seeing yourself on and on.
It's a wee bit scary. Akin to being trapped in an infinite loop.
Stare a bit longer and you'll feel like you're witnessing your own descent into an abyss.
One mirror is more than sufficient, no?

The crux of the matter: Too much of self reflection is a bane.
Time to break the mold, I say!
Just focus on the present you.
Let other things take their own course...

Long long time after I read this amazing collection of 55 word stories by some exceptional bloggers, I stumbled across this link again!

Fascinating stuff! Some short stories are outrightly brilliant!

Given that the word limit is just 55, the stories end before they even begin, but the surprise ending in some would've done O. Henry proud :)

The link: http://55-words.blogspot.com/

A couple of my favorites:

Principles Of Lust


I looked at her with growing lust in my eyes.
Slowly, I undressed her, unwrapped her beautiful gold gown.
She looked wonderful, in all her glowing brown splendour
Teasingly, I drew her close to my lips....
and proceeded to take a large bit out of her.
I love chocolate.....

Happy reading!

And a happy weekend... I just can't wait for tomorrow! 

Adios!

Time flies. 

People change.

Feelings, emotions and loads of intangible things undergo mutation.

Perspectives undergo an upheaval.

Lifestyles get altered.

Seasons roll on.

Age creeps in.

Life goes on...

Ironical though that nothing has actually moved on!

Then one fine day, restoration happens.

Somewhere someone decides it's time to hit the reset button.

And it's deja vu all over again... well almost!

Relapse is the rule of nature, I guess :)

Keep it rolling...

Blank mind...

Pithy memories.

Silence...

Subtle music.

Darkness...

Distant lights.

Idle...

Fidgetiness.

Enervated...

Bustling.

Static...

Chords.

Recovery...

Relapse.

Impasse...

Closure.

Callous...

Sentimental.

Pessimistic...

Hopeful.

Captive...

Freedom.

Insomnia...

Sleep.

Since childhood, I've always fancied sitting by the window - be it at home where I'd climb atop the sofa, and look out the drawing room window at the lawn and what lay beyond the boundary wall; or during the several train journeys I've undertaken till date (and I used to hate traveling on those seldom occasions when a window seat was not mine!), where I'd want to do nothing but absorb the landscapes speeding by, tracking the wires that seemed to be keeping up with me, pole to pole, not to mention gaping at the railway tracks that made weird zigzag patterns all along the way... and at night time, the flickering lights would always remind me of stars that had been generous enough to grace the earth with their presence; then there are the various road trips, either via buses, cars, and what not (thank goodness I've hardly, if ever, experienced nausea on these trips) where I stare out at everything passing by and simply weave some dreamy story around them (with me as the protagonist, ofcourse!)... Of late, bagging the window seat in all the flights is top priority for me, and nothing matches the feeling of floating through the kingdom of clouds and looking down to see tiny specks dotting the world!

There are so many things about my upbringing that I love, but one of the favorites has got to be those annual trips with the parents and my kid sister. I used to look forward to these family outings more than anything... Ok, maybe Santa Claus took precedence during the holiday season for a sizable period during my childhood :p

Though till date I haven't been able to figure out properly what I want to do with/in my life, but those travels ensured that I'm confident about one thing: that I want to travel like crazy and see the whole world before calling it quits.
For starters, I've been living a part of that dream since 2002 by covering a major chunk of India! By the time 2011 gets over, I hope to cover 2 of the 4 remaining parts of our country that I've not had a chance to visit... Next step: Going international!
Wishful thinking? Oh well!

Talking about seeing, that was all I had been doing till a couple of years back. Then something fascinating happened: I started looking beyond what I saw! I fell in love with the camera. Blimey, a window seat person who courts a camera: that's a complete package! :p
My parents were more than resourceful in this aspect too... they loved clicking pics and have churned out numerous beautiful albums for various occasions! In retrospect, I kinda regret not having imbibed this love for the lens from my folks and thus, not having a passion for photography since the beginning... I could've captured so  much more! Glad that it's never too late...

Anyway got back from a whirlwind trip to a village (oops sorry! tehsil) for a very close friend's marriage... one year after one of my best friends' marriage! Despite the 6 hours late train that almost made me cancel the trip, and the slowcoach connecting train that was hellbent on making me miss the festivities, I reached the venue just in time for the baraat to take off! Phew!
Half of the times we do things at the last moment on purpose, and the other half when we start early, nature conspires against us to ensure a last second execution!
Saw Lalla after 5 years, and boy! He looked good... must've shed 15-20 kgs over the years in France!
The arrangements were the best I had seen till date, the food was yummy (though we started with the desserts, and pretty much didn't stop till we were full to the brim!), the crowd was nice, enjoyed the  company of cool small town people. Had an amazing time to say the least!

Many of my colleagues, friends, and relatives always question me on how the hell I keep finding time to travel! Subtle hypocrisy on their part... they never bother to notice when I'm slogging it off, but I can feel their envy when I'm up and about. Tut tut. So what if I publicize my outings more than my work life?! :p

It's ironical that I hate changes, yet I love the most classical manifestation of change: traveling! ;)
This is never going to change. Amen.

Anyway, I've become a pro at avoiding the drudgery of Mondays :p
Time to hit the sack! Back to work in 9 hours...
Good night!

P.S.: Read "The Last Lecture"... loved it despite it being about such a sad, sensitive issue! So much so, sent off one copy to the parents... watch out for it, folks :)

P.P.S.: 25th of January. Special day! :)

I'm a tad bit confused... is this seriously a new year, or have I walked back into the last year again?! 

Not a silly question, mind you, given my proficiency at ending up at square one time and again...

But no, seriously! Comparing January 2010 and January 2011, I'm reminded of the billboard outside a certain shop I came across in Leh, which read: "Same Same But Different".

The irony of it all! Sighs.

2010 had started off on a perfect high... 2011 has had a rocking start as well.

Le mois de Janvier, 2010, accompanied by the ravishing cold, beautiful weather, enchanting company, truckloads of optimism and positivity et al promised a fresh approach to everything... same holds true for the current month.

There was so much to look forward to at this point of time, last year... that too applies to the present. 

Had watched Chance Pe Dance in the 3rd week of 2010, and walked out of the multiplex with a scrambled brain... Experienced Dhobi Ghat this time, and still debating with myself whether to like the movie or to hate it (ok, loved the cinematography, not to forget the somewhat haunting and engrossing relation between Arun & Yasmin!)

I was cribbing about packing one such night, exactly 365 days ago... today I'm doing the same. (Call me a hypocrite, if you may, for loving traveling yet hating the P of its precursor!)

Attended a dear friend's marriage, the first of the year on a Sunday at almost the same time in MMX... going to do an encore for another dear friend's marriage tomorrow, only this time the counter goes up to MMXI!

The ensuing Monday last time was meant to be a dreaded day full of boring lectures (but not everything that is meant to be actually happens!)... the coming Monday is all set to be a long boring day at work (though I tweaked some strings and ensured that nothing of that sort plays spoilsport...)

So on and so forth...

Back to the irony bit.

Though the starting months of both the years in question have a striking resemblance, they're totally different... poles apart!

Situations are similar, but the circumstances are different. 

Identities have been retained, yet images have undergone drastic changes.

Personae are the same, but the people are strangers.

Reactions are ditto, but the chemistry is strangely new.

Feelings are intact, but reservations have flourished.

Age is almost the same, yet the youthfulness seems to have aged.

As the popular song November Rain goes: Cause nothin' lasts forever, and we both know hearts can change...

Extrapolate, please.

In retrospect, it seems like one whole year passed by in a jiffy, though there were several moments, good and bad, that seemed to last a lifetime. God's way of saying, "How selfish that you wish to freeze only the happy moments!"

All said and done, I don't know where 2011 is headed, but I certainly don't want it to end up like 2010.

Anyway, the show must go on! 

Enough of rambling. As much as I tried to postpone the darn thing, I must pack! :(

And have to get up at 5:30, on a Sunday of all days :'(

So till next week, adios!

Have an awesome weekend! 

Apologies! What showed up out here earlier was a repercussion of reinstating some old stuff... 

It all happened unwittingly :)

Back to HIMYM... later...