The Happy Gardener

That's right. I wasn't able to decide what to name the blog and since both of them were related anyways, I chose to name it Getafix or Druid. Sigh. It's 1:52 am. I should not be up. I should be in sweet sweet slumber laced with some fantastic dreams. But I am up. And so I shall blog. It was a productive day. WFH day. The lesser said about the actual amount of office work done, the better. On the other hand, I finally did my laundry and cleaned my fridge. There is always a silver lining. I should just figure out how to work that into my weekly report now. So it's PR's Annual Christmas Dinner tomorrow night and I was suddenly seized with an urge to contribute to the menu. I will put this down to C's evil influence. (Interesting : C's first appearance on the blog. Association with the word Evil. Hmmm) Anywho. So there was the urge. And we all know how I get after that. So I finished up my chores in the evening and was planning on heading out to the stores to pr...

Have I used this title before? Will google blogger alert me if I did? This is becoming a common question. Maybe this is a sign that I blog too much. Oh well. I have been thinking about ambition lately. About what it means and what it means to me, in particular. I always believed that I wasn't very ambitious. I am only now finding out that that isn't really true. Sure, I might not be driven to assume powerful positions or rake in loads of money. Or become world famous. No, what I am after is broader, less measurable and yet far more tangible to me. Freedom and control. Freedom to work around my life and its' schedules and control over how I spend my time. A life that allows me to learn and grow, hopefully at work too. Learn and grow for the sake of learning and growth. A life where the everyday realities, practicalities and cynicism are well balanced by dreams and hopes realized. Where joy is a frequent visitor and laughter can be taken for granted every once in a while. Whe...

Don't really have my thoughts in order for the post but will go ahead anyways. - If you watch enough weekend TV, you'll realize that most of the world is available for $19.95. Plus shipping and handling, of course. - Running 3 miles on the treadmill after a looong break of laziness and over indulgence , coming home plenty tired and undoing those 30 mins by going after dinner like you were coming after a month of fasting : sad, and kinda disgusting. Realizing that Monday Night Football, that you don't get to watch usually, 'cause you are one of 15 people in Boston who gets only basic cable, is now accessible on one of those basic 12 channels 'cause the home team is playing the Jets (which makes for an awesome 9:2, 9:2 match up): priceless - *Note : This could quickly turn bad if the Patriots proceed to own the opposition and turn the game into a long boring stretch of Patriot awesomeness, as they are wont to do. - We don't really seem to change much from how we ...

So, in a rare occurrence, I actually had decided what I wanted to write about this evening. The subject was going to be The Home Bell. But events have transpired since that caused me to change my mind. I shall, instead talk about The Tubing Effect. Ah, the agony. And the poignancy. Anyways, let's get started. So, growing up in India, we didn't have a 24 hour hot water supply as I am now used to. When I was very little, we had at home an Immersion Heater. What is an Immersion Heater, you ask? It is the most horrific device humanity has ever devised. It's basically this metal coil thing that you plug in to the power outlet and immerse in water that is in a bucket, preferably metal. Yes, you heard that right. Imagine the most dangerous device you could have at home. And then multiply it by 10. That is the Immersion Heater. Anyways, we had this at home. And I think my Mom and Dad, to ensure my safety, brainwashed me about this thing and put the fear of God, or Devil, whichever ...

I was a big black cloud today. I was boring, whiny, bad tempered and pessimistic. I tend to get like that some times. Ok, many times. Isn't it amazing though - how self involved we (fine, I) can get sometimes. Only looking at issues, at problems, at things-to-do and not at all the things that are just there in life or just happen to work quietly and without-a-hitch-edly so our life can go wonderfully on? And even when something extra-ordinary or extra nice happens, how quickly do we get used to that and take it for granted? We need windows. We need pauses. We need showers. We need windows to see outside. To watch the rain. To watch real life - not the one that is playing in our head - the crazy one that is trying to catch, plan and analyze the next moment and moments while we blatantly ignore the current one. To watch trees and clouds and the skies. To watch people hurrying down the street. And to wonder. About all those lives and thoughts. And what we truly want and are. 'Tis...

Yes, it is true. I have decided to be lazier than I usually am. To that end, I am posting some old stuff that I wrote. But first, the prologue (you know my stories are never short). Many many years ago, when I was a lowly grad student at a small desk in a sad windowless office ( as opposed to a lowly developer at a smaller desk in a smaller/sadder windowless cube), I received an email from a friend with this poem in it. Despair What have you seen today and what are you thinking? Did you learn anything new? Or is it the same old you? Failing, falling, always wrong Will you ever learn to be strong ? Grab the reins of your sick, low life and see if you can hold? Or let your fate drag you to death Afraid to be bold? Staring at defeat, right in the face, Can you rise above, and scream in glory? Well that would be a new story if you won, but can you? You won’t try to fly if the ground is giving way. I know you would sleep and let the pain stay. So rest, close your eyes and dream Of everythin...

144th post. 12 squared. That was the first thought in my head when I logged in and saw the number on the post. I'll make Dad proud yet. Recipe for a wonderful night's sleep. Get by for a week with your sleep tank running low, get through 4 days of a long week, drag your sorry, tired, old, currently-extremely-unfit self through 4 miles of running (on the pretext of checking out the neighborhood Fall colors), drive above-mentioned sorrier, tireder, older, currently-extremely-unfit self home over the span of 50 mins, take a longer shower than usual, and eat a hearty dinner. Now let's see who wins the snooze battle! Multiple topics exist. But I shall pick a random post : something I had written a month or more ago. We dream. We dream of fantastic settings and adventurous acts. Of places far away in space or circumstance. We dream of situations outside our comfort zone. And once in a while, we are lucky to be able to live the dream. Lucky to get the opportunity and to be brave ...

I should have written/be writing about an absolutely amazing, fantastic vacation that I came back from a couple of weeks ago but I shall put it off for later. Some of you who are reading are thinking: "No, you shouldn't be writing at all". Well boohoo - it's my blog and so I will. :-) Autumn is upon us. Fall is here. I like Fall. I equate it to the Sunday mornings of our lives. All the excitement and eagerness surrounding the end of a long winter(week) is done in Spring(Friday) and the happy, carefree fun Summer(Saturday) is over too and we come to Fall(Sunday). And this is how one beats an analogy to death and back. Anyways, Fall and Sunday mornings. Both happy, content times. Time to get over the madness and excitement but not time yet to start fretting about the coming winter. The only thing that bugs me about it is that sometimes we have all this rain(like now) and all that gorgeous color is just washed away onto the pavements. On to the next topic. What does it t...

I apparently wrote this post up a while ago and didn't publish it for some reason. So I turned a year older a few days ago. Now, that doesn't sound right. How does one turn a whole year older over one day? It happens over the span of the whole year. I guess I could say that I celebrated being around for another year. Finished another orbit around the sun - now, that sounds cool! This was a big one too. And as can be imagined, over the last couple of weeks I've been thinking of the past year(s) and all the people involved. Every time I do, I am filled with gratefulness and amazement. It is a crazy, complicated and often ruthless world out there. And to raise someone, especially someone kinda slow on the uptake and remarkably unremarkable like me to be happy, decently well adjusted, comfortable and confident in life is a tremendous achievement. So here, I want to raise a ... ummm 3/4th empty bottle of OJ to the A-Team - my family, friends, teachers, colleagues, neighbors, acq...

I've thought about writing multiple times over the last 3 weeks and things always got in the way. These 21 days can be easily summarized, though - I have been a happy camper. What have I been up to? - I signed up for a half marathon in Grand Rapids, Michigan and tried to get my running pursuits into a semblance of a training schedule. In this process, I accidentally ran ~9.5 miles one weekend (planned to run 7) and laboriously ran 8 miles the next weekend. Both times, I ran pretty late in the morning and could be pronounced "medium rare" by the end of the run. Oh well - hopefully, I have learnt the lesson and will get my derriere out of zhe bed at an early enough hour. - I managed to not go to bed before 1 am on all days of the weekends. Good, fun times with friends. As a side note, I now believe that you can tell a person's true age based on their opinion of sleep. Mine is a deep, abiding respect and a love, in the full sense of the word. No, seriously - think about...

A couple of days ago, I forgot my wallet at work. I discovered this, thankfully, after a very long, traffic-ridden, but otherwise uneventful 35 mile drive back home. And then I discovered how absolutely stuck I was. I couldn't do groceries. I couldn't go out to eat. Hypothetically, if I needed to, I couldn't get gas (for my car, people). I couldn't do any of these 'cause I didn't have any serious money at home. I couldn't withdraw any money 'cause I didn't have any plastic at home either. Also, hypothetically, if I were to go out with friends and someone offered to order some Sangria for me, I wouldn't be able to drink that either, 'cause my ID was also in my wallet. No can do. Anyways, it all ended well with me gaining possession of the said wallet pretty efficiently the next day but this did bring up a discussion with a friend today as to how would I be able to withdraw any money from anywhere if I didn't have my cards or my license on ...

Ok - so day 2. Another nice day. I actually managed to work, cook a quick meal, win the bestest neighbor award by catching and disposing of a small bug for a highly frightened neighbor ( true fact - this poor 20 something girl was so scared of this tiny bug :-)), have a nice tea-and-chat with a friend, and run 4 miles. What is the fear ? Days of regret for inaction or not being myself What is the hope ? To lead a worthy life - affect at least one life positively and give them something to remember. What is the risk ? Falling, giving up, giving in and losing wonder and hope. What is the prize ? Laughter and warmth - of affection, of love. What is the belief? Goodness - in the world all around us. What is the comfort? People, words, music, the natural world What is the fantasy ? Mr.Tall, Dark, Handsome (TDH) who knows his Lord of The Rings, Airplane and football, has a fondness for cooking and a love of vegetarian recipes will move into the studio across from my apartment and realize th...

I am sitting on my couch (tangent : Much to my distress and dismay, I recently found out that the piece of furniture I've owned for more than 4 years now is a loveseat and not a couch(!) How I could have owned a loveseat for 4+ years is beyond me. It probably has something to do with His sense of irony. Anyhoo, I choose to ignore this fact and still call it my couch. Come on. Seriously, how can I ever frame a serious sentence with "I am sitting on my loveseat ..." ?? : end of tangent) after a late dinner - perfectly happy with life, people and the world at large. The late dinner was preceded by a late run. I had a super long drive back home this evening but since then, things improved significantly. AJ unexpectedly joined me on my run - I don't usually run with a buddy 'cause I am much better off with my ipod or my own thoughts but this turned out to be quite fun. We managed to run ~ 6 miles and had a very pleasant conversation as we most often do. And now the b...

It was a lovely day. And a lovely lovely evening. The weather was perfect. The walk back from my spanish class wasn't enough. So I wore my flip-flops and went to visit mr.Moon. It was so heart-fillingly pleasant to sit there in the moon light in this little outdoor picnic area-of-sorts down the street - with benches and chairs and tables - surrounded by the occasional chatter of the other lucky folks who were sitting around, with an excuse of eating ice-cream. And I seemed to have managed to create the perfect station on Pandora for such an evening. Loveliness abounds.

It's the secret in your eyes like beginnings of new smiles more beautiful than all the lies that we lace with our goodbyes. You see miracles in every day like coming home, and summer rain and this strange journey that connects tomorrow to yesterday. It's the secret in my eyes like silhouettes in sunshine more wonderful than the thoughts that hide between those unsaid lines Like the poet and his words, and the way this life unfolds I see love in all-around not just the places that we look for It's the secret in our eyes the one that I can't define but they'll find its echoes inside all the stories we know we've to write. finis On a different note, I wonder what Christopher Nolan dreams about.

And I am back. Was off for various reasons but no matter. It had been a while since I ran too, so I decided to lace up those shoes and go out on the usual circuit around 7:30 pm. But the circuit beat me. In fact, it trounced me. It was Germany and I was Argentina. Or Australia. I had to stop 6 times in 6 miles and finally, after 6 miles, I got KOed. Just like I do when I play Wii boxing with the machine. I had to alternately jog-walk the last 0.5 miles before I got home. How I was able to do this without too much trouble a couple of months ago is unfathomable. As I was stumbling about my route, I wondered again : "why do I run?" and I finally figured it out. Many people say that running calms them down, that it gives them clarity as the mind quiets down. I don't think my mind quiets down. What actually happens, is that it is in focus. All the thoughts are very loud and clear and I am able to look at them with a certain detachment. I can ponder on them - how I feel about t...

I needed that rain. After spending the day working from home on this warm, muggy day and after the kinda distracted and discontented week I've had, I was very happy when the breeze from the open windows brought news of upcoming rain. And it came at the right time - when I finished a big chunk of work and was ready to take a break for the evening. I stepped into the balcony and hobnobbed with the drops and it was as much fun as it used to be when the monsoons finally came to my city in India. And the 20 minute downpour followed by the sun breaking through the clouds inspired me. I undertook one more of my therapeutic home cleaning and re-organizing efforts. It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate that you can easily do without. (Remind me to talk about Jerome K Jerome's amazing thoughts on the same subject - in a a philosophic vein). I was pretty happy once I was done - got rid of a bunch of things and made the apartment more airy. I think there was some parallel between...

I'm chasing after you in the gathering dusk, you're racing far ahead, fading into the sunset. Can't catch up to you, can't hold on to you, always looking back, wondering when I first lost you. And this sand in the hour glass, it's rushing fast. This river of continuum, it gushes past. The clock unwinds, the moon tugs the tides, while I'm caught in between what was and will be. So I'm letting go, I'm tired of the chase I'll find some peace in this moment's embrace. Just take my hand in yours, let's run to the daybreak and burst into this life, finally awake. Finis

Most everything in this wondrous world can be explained by evolution. But there are times when one just cannot deny the presence of some higher power, some One above it all. In fact, I think I have irrefutable proof for the existence of such a power. So last Friday I traveled from Portland, OR to Boston in the longest possible route. This also included a red eye flight. During this flight, I exchanged my aisle seat for a middle seat so that a Dad could sit next to his wife and 5-6 year old daughter. I didn't sleep a wink in the flight and had been tired when I boarded the flight. Through that long sleepless night, I kept thinking about that nice warm shower in my own bath (I had been away from home for 2 weeks at that point and I was really looking forward to being back in my own place) and that thought kept me strong. When the flight landed, I got out, got my baggage, hurried to the taxi stand and got a cab home as quickly as I could. As soon as the elevator reached my floor, I ch...

Have more than a couple of incomplete posts but haven't really found the time and inclination to sit down and finish them up. Tonight too, I could have done this post an hour ago but instead, I spent that time being fascinated with the various options and settings that blogger gave me to redesign my blog. As usual, it was hard for me to pick one template that I liked but I realized that really, I could have a template a day, if I chose to. Having attained this wisdom, I promptly settled on one and here I am. It was a good weekend. An ultra pleasant visit to Seattle to see dear old J & co. And a lovely drive back to OR along the scenic 101. It's crazy because, after a while, your mind adjusts to the amount of beauty around there and tries to push it into the background. Around 6 hours of driving, all on simple roads, along the coast, evergreens all along the way, through little towns in between, with occasional photo stops, through a few mountains and one really cool bridge,...

There's stories of course. But the pictures are cooler. And easier to post :-) A few pics at home from last week And a few from last night, on the Historic Columbia River Scenic Highway...

It's amazing how connected we are to the world around us. At a very personal and atomic level. To the sun, the moon, the stars, the flowers and the wind. Walking back home from dinner after Spanish class, I had a chance to experience the lovely night.And it made it me so happy. Like I never wanted it to end. It's a night that would make you appreciate just how nice right-now is. It makes you thankful that nights follow days to give punctuation to our lives. It makes you want to give up any bitter thoughts about the past and the anxieties about tomorrow. It makes you just want to breathe and be. Alright - this breeze from my windows is making me poetic. Or maybe it is the thought of my work-from-home day tomorrow. Yes, I am as lucky as the devil :-) Good night and God bless, people.

I really should be working right now. But it's been a beautiful weekend and there's still a few hours of a graceful Sunday left and I am in my balcony and things are just so in place. So I shall, instead, post this piece that I started a few evenings ago, after returning from a nice jog around the river. I am happily committed. To Boston. And by Boston, I don't snootily mean only that tiny city on the "right" side of the river. I mean Boston and the surrounding areas - everything that I associate with when I use the name "Boston" in the context of my life. It's an arranged marriage, of course. It wasn't like I fell in love at first sight. Or that I liked it more and more every time I saw it and counted days for our next meeting until I couldn't stay apart any more and had to move here. No, nothing so romantic. In fact, it was a marriage of convenience. I had a job here. It offered security and contentment - a completely materialistic decisio...

Lovely day. Started out alright and kept getting better. The sun showed up and smiled at me all day and I smiled right back at him. Had a breezy ride back home, ran ~ 6.5 miles around the beautiful Charles, and thanks to obliging SP, added a black Raspberry ice cream rush to the endorphin rush and am now finally dog tired. Ah, the sweet pain and tiredness of an over-active summer day! And now for a dose of Zen ... and bed.

Love Accordingly. "Love Accordingly". I saw this phrase painted on a sidewalk of a bridge while I was walking to the river in the rain last evening. Funny phrase. And rather deep too, I guess. As soon as I saw it, I had this image of all of us - girls, boys, kids, brothers, friends, moms, dads, teachers, colleagues - all, coming with a set of instructions. Information, rather. Who they really are, what they like, what they really want and what they really mean. And at the end of this information would be the phrase : Love Accordingly. Wouldn't life be much simpler ? But I guess that's what keeps life interesting - figuring out exactly who all these people that we "know" really are. And so to bed.

The table lamp on the nightstand needs a new bulb The rent check needs posting emails need composing my legs need stretching priorities need shuffling life needs pause I have like 4 posts (3 poems and a random piece I think) that are all in progress at the same time. I am not sure if I'll ever finish them. Meanwhile, I am off to find the songs that they use for the Kindle ads - they are fun!

Back from a happy trip to MI. Got to see the Big O address a bunch of graduating students - the man is a good speaker. Another of those things that I never thought would be a part of my life - watching one of the "President of the Free World"'s address in person. Life is truly an incredible, wondrous thing. Came back to a very good day in Boston. It was one of those days where you don't want to go to sleep and just stay up to drink up the day before it's gone. Also, reminded me that this is part of my 500 days of summer. What is 500 days of summer? Other than a well-made, interesting, indie movie, it is the name of my new phase. What does it entail/involve? We(the royal we) are not sure yet. But it involves openness, adventure and a general state of well-being. And also punting work during the fin de semana and making the most of every day in general, I guess. And before I close on this rather blah post, a simple yet powerful statement by Zainab Salbi, founder of ...

It is 2:10 am (son las dos y diez de la noche - STOP! I've been doing espanol homework while doing the test-debug-run cycle on my looong running code for the last couple of hours and now I can't seem to get out of the translate-everything-into-spanish mode! Ah, my love for the parentheses!) Coming back to the point.(el punto! Pare!! STOP ALREADY!) Yes, the point. It's 2 am and now that I am done with my homework and it seems like my stuff is going to run for a while, I should be in bed. Why, then, am I posting this post under the watchful eye of Boltie ? Because I had a perfect weekend. Yes, the weather was less than perfect. But since I didn't plan many outdoor activities, I did achieve my perfect weekend. And because I have no idea how many times things are going to align so perfectly in my life, I thought I should make a note of it. Components of a perfect weekend : 1. Lazy Friday night with awesome Falafel and the fantabulawesome new Star Trek on Blu-ray. The movie ...

I am lucky. I have nice windows in my house and on a good day, like today, I get to watch the clouds as they move over the city. (I even saw a couple of stars - how long has it been since I saw any of those!) My feet are able to carry me on a 6 mile loop around the river without too much complaint. (Running, I have never been sure of but walking, even when mixed in with running, is definitely something that I love and am comfortable with). And I'm constantly looking for more hours in my day. Touch wood. And talking of luck, I've hit the jackpot. The mother load. So I started spanish classes yesterday and now a whole new world of random words has opened itself to me. And the cool thing is, even every day words, such as the current post's title, sound cooler and more random in espanol! Life has reached awesomeness. And to think that just a few days ago, I had figured that the motto of my life was : "Life, I dare you! I dare you to throw some shitty stuff my way. I guaran...

Portland, Oregon zoo visit : A post that never got done : Bonus : Water bubbles and city views

A fine , sunny spring day Let’s trade some stories and hours, my friend it’s a fine, sunny, spring day. No talk of angry or bitter things, lets save them for another day Let’s skip and skim on the surface of us, just fragments of our lives. You talk of books, I’ll talk of art, I’ll make you wink and you make me smile. No talk of love , but like and such no warm embraces or promises Let’s be new friends, happy to belong Winding through words and silences. If I rest my head next to yours, will you promise to let it slide? I’ll take your hand and you hold mine Let’s put all our worries aside. No don’t tell me your secrets today It’s a fine, sunny, spring day We’ll watch as time passes idly by We won’t let it get in our way. Let’s trade some stories and hours, my friend It’s a fine, sunny, spring day.

It's been another happy day in OR. Was off to Portland to have dinner with some old friends. And on the way to dinner we stopped by this ginormous bookstore called Powell's. This place actually occupies an entire city block. An entire city block! and has diff levels/floors! Amazing, I tell you. I wandered away happily for 20 mins and didn't even get through half the store I think. It was so lovely to see the rows and rows of books out there. Of course, I just couldn't resist it - especially 'cause they also had used books that you could buy for real cheap. So I bought a book that has all that I want - something that I love to work on and filled with lovely pictures. Joy is in a book. I think the future for the female species is pretty bleak. I was driving last evening and was listening to some radio show where they were talking about how men and women respond to break-ups and how they deal with them. Based on the 20mins worth of conversation between the hosts and so...

I arrived in Oregon on Sunday night, past 11 pm. Having installed myself in the sweet, new and unbelievably clean city that is Hillsboro, and having spent all day Monday going about the business that I was here for, I decided to spend the evening visiting an old friend. The Pacific Ocean. It was around 6:30 by the time I was able to leave for Tillamook. It was dark already and there were clouds on the horizon but there are always clouds on the horizon here. I had done this route before, a couple of years ago during the day and I know that the drive is very pretty. But my free time on this trip is short, so I decided to do the drive in the evening anyways. It was a beautiful drive. The road is windy - I saw very few cars during the entire drive. There are tall, tall trees all around - trees that have probably been there forever. And it gets dark. It was around 7:30 and it was dark as the Devil's waistcoat out there. And then, I saw the stars. So many of them. I was amazed that I cou...

Ok. I admit it. This city is growing on me. Last night I ran my 6 mile loop - down to the river, around the river and back home. It was pretty late and dark but there were still folks running along the route. And the lights of the city and their reflections on the water made a pretty sight as I crossed the bridge on my way back. Of course, they probably looked much more beautiful due the fact that I was walking, not running at that point. Again, someday, I will figure out which part of running it is that I truly enjoy :-) Today, there was a man sitting a couple of chairs from me at my cafe - vigorously sketching the people who walked in and out of the cafe. It was great to sit there, drinking my cider, writing idly and watching him sketch. But I have got to watch myself. Pretty soon, I will be the snooty urban chick types that drinks herbal tea, wears shawls and multiple layers of strange & colorful clothing and just does not smile. If that happens, you have the permission to whack...

Today I rediscovered one of my first loves. The joy of writing. Of actually writing with pen and paper. Felt great to just sit down and write - the pen moving at a steady pace as blue lines of letters filled up the blank pages and thoughts flowed out of my mind and onto the paper. Here is the result. Everything has lead me to you. All the moments in my life - happy, sad, purposeful and random. All the choices that I made and the ones that were thrust upon me. All the people I met and the ones that I missed. All my friends and all my acquaintances. Everything that mattered and everything that didn't. Like the time I forgot my keys and went back up the elevator to my place and met T for the first time. All the conversations that I overheard and the calls that got dropped. The movies and stories. The songs that I love and even the bad ones that I couldn't help but hum 'cause they got stuck in my head. All the books that I read and all the places that I lived. All the jobs that...

Chronicles of a new home.

It has come to a point where I am not sure if I have used the title already.. I should probably have a list of titles somewhere.. Will blogger complain if I try to create another post with the same name? Coming to the actual topic of the post or the non-topic. I ran 6.2 miles today. Ok - so I walked a few short stretches in between but still. It was fun. I had spent most of the day at home and realized around 5 pm that surprise, suprise! - I really wasn't that productive as I'd planned on being. So I pulled up my socks, pulled down my cap, pulled on my gloves and stepped out to run. I haven't run in a while but I've been looking fwd to running here - in the city - since my move. Anywho - around an hour = 15 songs = a kabillion steps in tune with my wildly swinging plaits = one really red nose later, I was back at my apartment. It was cold but not too cold and the run kept me reasonably warm so it was a pretty good one for the most part. Except for the last leg where I w...

It all started when I was 15. With her. Jane Austen. I remember seeing her books lined up in a glass cabinet at the school library - Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion. I remember assuming that they were some boring non-fiction on exactly those subjects - sense, sensibility, pride, prejudice, persuasion and moving on without thinking twice. I should have stayed that way. I should have stuck to my Macleans and Wodehouses. No. I had to find an abridged version of the blighted novel - Pride & Prejudice in the form of a non-detailed text that was part of my brother's coursework. And I had to be overcome by this desperate urge to read the full version. And I had to read it. And fall in love with him. Mr Darcy. The most perfect of men. That alluring and evil combination of pride, brooding,stiff manners, knowledge, strong opinions, condescension towards everyone but friends, chiseled, handsome features and vast amount of wealth coupled with utter desperation an...

I am weary. Weary of all the information. All the news. All the opinions. All the arguments. All the training. All the meetings. All the discussions. All the words. Too much of all this floating around. Sometimes I just want to turn off the show and immerse myself in my life - just me and things that immediately concern me. But no, I am not weary any longer. I have been sitting at my window for the past 10-15 mins looking out at the scene. It is a nice view. The city and streets are quieter in the night and somehow more homely. I have nothing profound or funny to convey.In fact, I am happy to not convey anything and just muse on this scene with some old 50s/60s music in the background. Then "why blog?" you say? Precisely.

The fridge magnets are all packed. The walls are bare, save for the nails that held the paintings. The shoe-stand stands forlorn. My life waits patiently, all packed up and waiting for the morrow. Good music is essential for packing. Ilayaraja has been such a comfort - the mostly 80s, early 90s music adding to the whole nostalgia of the moment. And so to bed.

Ok. I confess. I stole the title from a poem. A beautiful poem. And because I like the poem so much, I am not going to stop with the title. I am actually going to copy-paste it here so all of you (yes, all you seven of my readers - ok, I've inflated the number but you know who you are) can enjoy it as well. The Patience of Ordinary Things by Pat Schneider It is a kind of love, is it not? How the cup holds the tea, How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare, How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes Or toes. How soles of feet know Where they're supposed to be. I've been thinking about the patience Of ordinary things, how clothes Wait respectfully in closets And soap dries quietly in the dish, And towels drink the wet From the skin of the back. And the lovely repetition of stairs. And what is more generous than a window? "The Patience of Ordinary Things" by Pat Schneider from Another River: New and Selected Poems. © Amherst Writers and Artists Press, 2005 Wonderfu...

Top n things that made me happy this weekend (I'll decide on n once I am done with the list) Not necessarily in this order * Opening my bottle of green apple soda at Panera and finding "Your life will be filled with sunshine" on the inside of the cap :-) * Spotting a Volvo dealership as I was driving this morning. Don't ask - for some reason, I've always had a fancy for this company. I won't be able to identify a single model of their cars but still. * Taking a walk to a little playground near a school close to home with friends and spending a good half an hour on the swings with S. * My man Manning winning his first playoff since the Superbowl.(Poor Flacco - I do feel bad for that kid) * The patterned socks I bought this evening. So I've always been one of those who buys a bunch of similar looking, boring socks and goes through them until it is impossible to match any 2 of them. This time around when it was time to buy new socks, I decided I actually want...

'nuff with the poetry! What is up with all that gravity, seriously? Anyhoo, I had decided that I would post a what-do-you-call-it, a look back at the year of 2009 before it ended. As expected, all that happened was the decision. Irregardless (which will remain one of my favorite words in this decade too), I've decided to do that now. Except I am sleepy. And tired. And happy that my code worked. And am wearing my favorite pajamas (the one with clouds on it) that says "on cloud nine". In short, I am giddy. So this is going to be one zippy post. Let us see. (Rubbing hands) 2009, eh? January: I came back after a good holiday at A's as usual and settled into my new home. Spent quite some time unpacking and setting up the new place. The high point of this month, apparently was the 2-door stackable organizer that I assembled all by my self!( comeuppance) I tell you - the excitement never ends here. February : A wonderful trip to sunny California (where it rained most of...