The Happy Gardener

Now that the dust had settled and the haze cleared away, let's assess the damage. I've signed away my unaccountability along with my single status. In return, I now share a lovely home and two odd but devilishly cute cats with a fellow human being. I get a victim for a lifetime of kitchen experiments and someone who'll have to bear with me as I complain endlessly about some minute issue. Sounds like a good deal. I feel fairly confident about this partnership. It is based on a solid foundation of shared love for pjs and naps. Of complete disinterest in what the cool kids are doing. We are also compatible in our differences, mind you. Where I am incapable of handling makeup  (my attempts at smoky eyes is a funny story for later) or dressing fashionably, he lacks the ability to care for or notice such things. And where he is afflicted with a need to wake up early on weekends and charge through household chores with gusto, I am blessed with pretty thick skin and an ability...

The brown girl is back from all her travels. And the reason you didn't hear from her sooner is because C, the slave driver, got her to "help" with his basement work. OK, this post is beginning to sound racist and even my not-so-strong conscience won't let this go. No no, a bunch of things have kept me occupied, the foremost of which is inertia. I seem to have given up regular blogging a while ago and I just couldn't get myself to get my laptop out after dinner, etc to write about something uninspired and uninformative. Not that such things bothered me when I was on the blog train. Anyhoo, to start things off, here's something from recent history.                                                ***************** It's 2:16 AM and I am eating a lemon-orange mini muffin that I am only minimally interested in. My right knee feels weird and I'm wondering if I am suffer...

Well, hello there. I know, I haven't written in a while but neither have you so there. Anyways, what's new? Cobalt is here, that's what's new. Who/What is Cobalt? All 13.1 inches,2.9 lb and 1920x1080 pixels of spun metal gorgeousness.The generic name is ASUS Zenbook Prime. Did I need this beauty? Probably not direly. But is my life better and more beautiful for it? Yes. Oh, yes. Anyhoo, the one good thing about this is that I now own a device on which I can type with most of my fingers and which will not make my lap go numb and burn holes in my comforter. => I might actually get back into blogging. Is that necessarily a good thing? For me, and the world at large? One will never know. And while I am sharing thoughts, here is something I recently wrote                                                Colors of the Day Brown. Brown are my eyes that stare out the ...

The girl is giddy. Or rather, the girl was giddy and now, like a balloon on its third day, she is making her way down. Still up and happy, mind you but calming down by the minute. Why, you wonder? Let's see : a reasonably productive day at work, an eye-opening discussion with T leading to an epiphany (more on that later), a six mile walk+jog that took less time than expected (1 hr 12 mins - no I wasn't very fast, I just set low expectations :-) ) , the resultant endorphins,  the arrays of fresh fruit at the grocery store ( made me want to run up and down yelling "this is why summer is AWESOME!") , the wonderful sandwich that entered my life shortly there after, and finally the 700% daily serving of Vitamin A sloshing around my insides. Seriously, how potent is that Bolthouse Farms Carrot Juice? I now have images of doing shots of this juice  in my head now. The images are in my head, I mean - not the shots.  And a nice phone call to home to round it off. All in all, ...

What is a girl to do? She is to do taxes, bills, clean up, car inspections and all the assorted administrative chores of everyday life. And manage to convince everyone, including herself that she is a productive and contributive member of the work force. All this while analyzing the world, her words and her actions and shopping for a comfortable and not-bad-looking jeans. It is a hard life. It was a strange sorta day. Nothing particularly joyous - in fact, in many ways it was more of the same. Loads of work to do, a realization that the time is never going to be enough, uncertainty over how to tackle issues at work while still managing to do all one wants to do. But somehow through all this, there was a strange Zen. A feeling of being just about whelmed - not overwhelmed in any fashion. And once I made it home and got through a mini workout which accidentally included some cardio - I blame it on the fun Bollywood playlist that I setup to go along with my fun with weights - there came o...

And so a new year is here. Another revolution, another year. A brand new, freshly minted, set of days. I am not usually big on grand celebrations on the occasion of a new year but I see the point. The ado. Say what you want about the future but there is no arguing about the fact that it is not fully predictable. It is unknown. Sure, you might find at the end of the year 2011 that nothing much has changed in the last dozen months but you don't know that now. Things may be different or not. The un-absoluteness. Hence the excitement. Yes, yes - Hope & Celebrations. Good stuff. As is custom (and when I say custom, I mean I have done this once in the past), I have decided to do retrospective of the year now past. It was a good year. By all counts, it was. I am deeply grateful for all of it. So this should be fun. Let's see : Ianuarius, Februarius, Martius : A hectic bunch of months. Looking for an apartment in the city, the relief of finding one that I like, The Big Move ( I act...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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!

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.

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...

This word always reminds me of dentures. Debentures. Dentures. The scene: Me + pjs + sweatshirt + my couch + tv turned off The story so far : It's Monday night and I have a bunch of things to do online (work & personal) before I go to bed tonight. But (yes, I know that it is not correct to start sentences with but) I am tired after a long day at work and a good workout session in the evening. Plus (yes, I am also aware that it is incorrect to start a sentence with plus) I had a good dinner so I am sleepy. Dear SR has suggested that I do the obvious and procrastination but I decided to try to novel approach i.e. blog as you go. So will she get through the to-do list or won't she? Find out in the next update of this post. 9.16 PM : I lit some candles for no particular reason and upped the thermostat. I am now socked i.e. wearing socks. 9.16 PM : Y alerts me that the Giants are owning the Redskins. Monday night football! 9.21 PM : I was worried I wouldn't get through any o...

And I am back. Bay State Marathon : check I might have frozen the bajeezers off my crooked hobbity fingers but I made it to the finish line. The weather brought it on - cold temps, high winds, rain, freezing rain, etc but Goofy did it again. He pulled through and saved the day. Goofy is my guardian angel, FYI. And a big shout out to all my fantabulawesome friends for showing up and cheering for me and occasionally running with me in such horrid weather. You are fantabulawesome. All in all, it's been a good day today. Great weather, beautiful colors. I packed off at work pretty soon and got home, all inspired to paint. Begin Tangent : I realize that most of my interests/activities in my adult life revolve around some stuff that I felt cheated out of as a kid or had the most fun with as a kid. Running for example is my way of clinging on to play time. I was serious about play time as a kid. School was out at 3 and I'd barely manage to get home and change and have a snack and I...

I cannot finish my poems. My paintings don't get done. But this hardly seems complaint worthy when nature's working on a grand masterpiece alongside - Fall. A well worn, open book. The green and gold of the long stalks of corn. The glass like surface of a calm pool of water. The crimson, yellow and gold of the leaves of Fall. What makes all of these even better? Sunlight. Open, warm, life-giving sunshine. You can tell it's one of my favorite things. On to other things. Let's take a look at the good and bad decisions that I've taken regarding the marathon training this year : 1. Skipping multiple runs (sometimes for up to 10 days) to travel for pleasure : Bad (for marathon training) Good (for pleasure :-) ) 2. Letting my legs, and not the coach, decide how many mid-week runs I did and how long they were. Good (for MT) Good (for quality of life) 3. Waiting until I was able to run a good 25K road race after all the traveling before committing to running the full marath...

Ah! The crisp air, the slightest invigorating chill, the early dusks of Fall. The time when the lights at home seem warm and welcoming as you drive back from work at night. Well, in my case, the lights are all switched off until I actually get into the house and switch them on but you get what I mean. I am a happy camper. Have had a blissful set of days lately. From Mississippi to Reykjavik to back home in Boston. All those fantastic and wonderful sights and experiences. And just in time for that transformation from summer to Fall. Yes, things are good. The only fly in the ointment when I got back from my vacation was my worry about the upcoming Cape Ann 25k on Labor Day for which I felt woefully under prepared. But Goofy pulled it off yet again (Goofy is my guardian angel. Yes I have a name for him and yes there's some history to this but we'll get there later). Anyways, after just a 6 mile run the day after I got back and a 4 mile jog-walk two days after that, I was able to f...

I am completely blocked. It's been 5 days since my last run ( a 6 miler on Tue). I thought of a short story while waiting at the airport on Thu and even made some notes but I can't write. I've been having trouble going back to the oil painting I started. I can't seem to get a hang of my schedule and couldn't get through some simple chores that I had for this evening. The situation is pretty bad. I need to get out of this lazy hibernation mode that I've been in ( not much activity, loads of food) and get into my efficient mode. Of course, the gray skies and the constant rain don't help but there's only so much I can blame on the weather. On the good side, I finished an awwwwwssssome book over the weekend. Ender's Game. Thanks to V for recommending a great book. I found it absozucchingly absorbing. And this afternoon, after lunch I watched "Pineapple Express". It was hilarious! Ok, in preparation for a solid week, I've decided to retire e...