WMD

For about the first 15 days of it's existence, this post stayed blank.


Was it intentional? Hell no. It was the power of the WMD, against which the girl could not do much. True story.


The girl thinks that we all have people with "special" gifts in our lives. A belief reconfirmed when she met the WMD, who was a friend's friend's new roommate. Fast forward a year, and the old labels mean nothing. In any case, the only labels the girl needs are the ones that say "Keep Walking". 


Years ago, the girl thinks, somewhere in India (and continuing in Amreeka), Bollywood drama played out for real. Twins, separated at birth, meeting in a foreign land, etc. How else could you explain the connection between the girl and the WMD? Lusting over Alcide together, we discovered a common love for randomness. And spooning. Also, food, wine, her mom's filter kaapi and books. WMD also happens to like chai the way the girl makes it (win!). There is also the creepy hands project and the eerily similar world views. Live, Love, Laugh works for both. Umm, you don't get? We don't care.


But why WMD, you ask? Because this chick is THE electronic device nightmare. The grim reaper of the chip world. Laptops die, phones flutter and go off, labs put up notices declaring it illegal for her to touch the instruments. Blog posts disappear. 
Until they reappear, when the girl feels less lazy.


Go be crazy, soul sister. We are an endangered species.

The WMD. Always Inspiring Confidence.

Maudlin

Change is the only constant. These are the five much brandished, amazingly clichéd words, meant to comfort ourselves and others about all the funky changes that make our lives as interesting as they are. For me tonight, right now, there is no comfort in hearing these words. Tomorrow may be different, who knows? In the last two months, life as I knew it went spinning. For an almost control freak, this realization is even more scary. None of these changes are unexpected, but since when did anticipating something make it easier to swallow? (;-))

I graduated from a Masters program which embodies "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." Since this is not my ghost typing this out, I guess it worked. One of the ritual rings of fire we pass through at KGI is a year long project with a company. To say that my project turned me into a caffeine fueled fiend would not be very wrong. But it was the journey and the people I shared it with that made it amazing. We had our good days and the bad days (and nights), but we rallied. "Blow their socks off" was what we lived by and worked for. Done. Oh, and then we all graduated. No more waking up to urgent team emails, sharing the 'crazy eyes' look, eight hour marathon meetings, late late nights working , driving down to get animal-style In n' Out, or the team's collective eye rolling at Dee's innuendos. Damn, I miss all of that, and all of them.

Graduation time = Family time = Emotional roller-coaster. This reinforced my belief that family is an entity best loved from a distance. That way, its easier to say "I love you" and forgive and forget. Just when things were settling down, it was time to bid adieu. Fast forward to the next few days, and I was back at the airport to say bye to a dear friend who was shifting countries. I don't think I have yet fully absorbed the fact that she is no longer a 25 minute drive away. Her apartment and the long conversations we had together always gave me the peaceful sense of being at home that virtual communication just can't match up to. Fast forward to the next few days, and I was back at the airport to see myself off on a cross-country trip to meet old friends. Conclusion: I am good business for the US aviation industry.

These were also turbulent times for many of my closest friends, and I think we all came through without too many scars. In the true spirit of the drama that my life is, there were some highly charged, emotional revelations. A few relationships were broken, some new ones made and some old ones remain unfixed. Sadness, hope and regret, all in a flux. I gained new perspective on old wounds, and was gifted a pair of rainbow colored glasses to view the world with. True story.

Its wonderfully humbling to realize the emotional strength of people around you. Its also wonderfully depressing to realize that you are not as strong as you imagined yourself to be.

I think I need more vitamins. Plus some Jack and maybe a smoke.

TwentyTen!

Hello 2010!

I must admit, I love the symmetry of "2010", sounds so funky! Makes me anticipate 2020, which I hope would still make me think of cricket. If it doesn't, shoot me dead. After all, it is my favorite spectator sport!

If all that sounds even more weird than its normal for me, pardon me. Blame it on the residual effects of intoxicating metabolites and the shock of having to do readings and homework again! And yes, I saw the 'Phir mile sur....' video just before this. The visual torture has effectively fried my brains, though I didn't mind the music so much. It was time for a change, and really, how many of the younger kiddos have even heard (or heard about) the old version. I also believe 'Mile sur...' is a classic, and that they should have tried to compose something new!

Holiday hollers: I love the cold, but January hasn't been my favorite month for a few years. This year, I think I might have made my peace with it. I was off to San Diego in the first week of January. It's such a lovely city, and the Seaport Village made me physically long for Mumbai. The coastline feels the same, but the sea smells different back home, for whatever reason. Ohh Marine Drive and a garam chai, how I miss thee (yes, I am addicted). The simple pleasures of life are the ones you tend to miss the most..... :)

So, I got back, the rest of my household got back, and then due to some quirk of the weather Gods, we had a week full of rain. Dull, deary rain. Arrrgghhh. To brighten things up, we had a mast(!) birthday party, with the guys putting up quite a show (yay!). And then we were off to Palm Springs for a conference (blah blah). It was a pretty place, sunny, slightly cold, with snow on the mountain peaks and so many shops with such pretty and expensive and useless collectibles. Oh, and possibly, there may have been partying. Lots of. Fun times!

And now, school restarts with a vengeance, and, surprise surprise, I am looking forward to it. Last year, this date, I was on the tender mercies of Western Railways while traveling to Ajmer. Time flies by, and it takes you along. The ride was crazy, fun, a bit bumpy, with quite a few very pleasant surprises and I am so very delighted to be half-way across the world in 2010!

Live, Love, Laugh. It solves everything!