Finally at peace

Small small things make a big picture I feel.
Ever since I came back from my vacation, I was so ill at ease... And there was no big trouble behind it. Only small matters, trivial things.

I did not have a decent pair of shoe for all my outfits. For a person like me who chooses which shoe to wear it was a problem of catastrophic proportions! I had just one "wear worthy" shoe! And cos of that I had to ration my clothes. I had to keep some of them at bay, cos they would not go with the only (yes only) shoe that I had. Boy it was so agonizing in the morning :( I felt all the more terrible because there was one particular darling black shoe that I had got with so much fervor, but it was being an unbearable pain. It used to give me terrible shoe bite in the heel. So there I was all dejected and gloomy, with one stupid shoe :(

But then on the weekend before the one that went by, I went shoe shopping. I had no hopes to get a good pair, but my lone shoe had borne the brunt of a week's incessant rains, and I couldn't be certain of its health. What if it breathes its last during an all important office day!! I could be beyond redemption. So I made an iron will and thought, no matter how the quality, I will get a pair for backup sakes at least. But at the shop, I picked not one but 2 shoes and both to my choice. Anddddddd surprise surprise, I also got transparent heel pads, which I could use with the bitter black shoe :) and voila!!! Since I already had 3 in my kitty, I decided to give a long discarded sports shoe a goooooood wash so that I can be choosy on friday mornings as well :D . Woo hoo! :)

Apart from that, it had been 2 months since I did any sort of exercise. I was feeling like the fattest person on earth. For one reason or the other I had not been able to renew the gym membership. During the Dusshera vacations I had eaten like a properrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr glutton. :( And I was somehow not able to summon the will to re join. I coaxed K to join me to motivate me. But no. For him the early morning slumber was way too important. I was waiting for some divine intervention, some push which would make me turn towards some form of exercising. K said, join after Diwali. Enjoy the onset of winter as long as you can and there is no better way of doing so but wrapping oneself up in bed. Hmmmmmmmm very pleasant thought and verrrrrrrry tempting, but then with tyres and radials shaping up, I again had to give so many items on the wardrobe a miss :(

I was waiting for 1st Nov all the while, but that day also I felt lazy in the morn :( When we were out for some shopping, K turned towards the gym and said, cmon, go pay the membership and start from tomorrow. You will like it. Oh how I love my hubby!! :) And from 2nd Nov, I was back on the treadmill. Feels great you know!

The long pending bed for mil was finally assembled together. The bed has the typical make of stuff from my uncle's factory, which makes me feel as if I am at my paternal house!! The room looks awesome with the stunning bed right in the center of it. With a new mattress right in place, I feel so satisfied giving my mom in law a lavish bed as a Diwali gift!

Diwali itself, though it was a much anticipated event for me, went a tad off key . Some minor mis understanding ruffled a few feathers in the morning. It was supposed to be a great event for me, cos the first Diwali after wedding is a much celebrated affair. The issue was resolved no sooner than it happened but then, the very fact that it was there, left a sour taste. Hmmm well who said life is a bed of roses.

Right now, the weather is taking a turn towards winter, and I think I am getting the groove back.

Sh*t happens

Sh*t happens. And sometimes it happens a lot.
The weekend that went by was a typical example of that.

We had a lot of things on the to-do list for the weekend. One major thing was a bed which we were getting for mom in law. Since one of my uncles has a furniture factory of his own, we had decided to get the cot from my place. It seemed an easy job, all we needed to do was to book a packers and movers, pick the stuff from the cargo dept at the train station and get it home. Fix a call with a local carpenter to assemble the bed again and voila! We had confirmed with a mover and packer nearby. K was on a compensatory off on Friday and had decided to finish off this task that very day. He placed a call to the movers and packers and asked them to come over some time later in the day so that they could pick the cargo. But they did not show up even till the evening. A very irate K said that they better show up the next day else he would be forced to cancel the reservation.

The next day also till 9:30 in spite of numerous calls, they responded only by 10:30ish. In the meanwhile we were frantically looking over the telephone directory to find a replacement. But no one was willing to do it on such close notice. Finally when K went all ballistic, the truck reached home at 11:30. That was not the end of the stumbling blocks. There was a political rally by an actor who was turning into politician and launching his new party. K called me around 12 noon and said, there's a proper standstill out here, don't think I can make it before 4 in the afternoon. I was really restless at this news and just hoped for the best. Mercifully, they were able to reach the station an hour later as the traffic budged. K came back with the bed around 1430. He had his own struggle saga to tell about the very corrupt officials at the cargo section. Thanks to Diwali coming up, they took a bribe of 250 bucks. Sometimes some pests are to be endured I suppose, there is not cure for this rot.

Once K was refreshed we had a sumptuous lunch of aloo parathe and onion raita. After that we started on our appointments to a coupla docs, for the general coughs and sneezes that come with changing weathers. Since the houses of a couple of relatives was on the way, we made a pit stop at each of them. Then there was some itsy bitsy grocery shopping and when we came in home, we realised that it was some 5 hours that we had spent just like that loitering on the streets :)

The next day, started on a low key. We had to get some stuff for K for the diwali. Cos of the dull and cloudy weather, we were generally lazy and did not get started till 1400. The first few shops were duds but then we ended up shopping a lot from one into which we had ventured just to check out the stuff! They happened to have such a good collection that my joy knew no bounds :) Pepped up by this, we ventured to go on a bit further to pick up some shoes for me from a showroom. We were close to destination X, but - the bike had a flat tyre all of a sudden. ARGH!! Luckily for us, K s grannys place was nearby. We reached there, managed to get a mechanic and within 30 minutes were raring to go! Another road block - it started to rain cats and dogs and mice and what not! After a good 75 minutes the rain showed some signs of abating.

We thought rather than wait for a dry spell, it was better to speed off and get home in the light drizzle. The drops were like snow flakes. But a few kms from our home, it turned into a downpour. I hate rains from the bottom of my heart. I simply loathe them. I detest each and every aspect of a rainy season - the dampness, the not so crisp feeling on the clothes, the inconvenience. Ok ok rain lovers, I understand your feelings - K is one! So we have daily arguments on the pros and cons of the rains. But yesterday once it was raining like there is no tomorrow, I just gave in. And I loved it when we splashed through the puddles and gave a wash to some cars :D , the vacant road with us being probably the only people in a two wheeler :D , the blinding rains which fogged Ks spectacles, but he would nt stop to clean them but somehow managed to do so while driving itself and the chill in the winds which gave one goose flesh :) When we came home, we were given a dressing down by the geriatric watchman and we felt like errant kids being reprimanded by a senior.

Back home - with steaming cups of ginger tea, some savorioes and Ice Age 2 on TV - I felt yea sh*t happens but the rains come in soon to wash it off :D

Keeping Busy

I like it when I am damn busy I think. In the days that have been I have been literally running around with out any time to spare.

Till the 18^th of November, I was preparing for an exam.

So mornings after the normal chores and 45 minutes walk, I used to sit down with books. While traveling to office, it would be a novel which would occupy me. Work would keep me on my toes for the next 10 hours. After which travel back home, scram and have dinner and then sit down with the exam prep again.

My free time used to be… hmm I can say… the minutes I used to spend talking to family or one or two friends. That would cumulatively be some 1 hour at the max.

With that pace of life, I wanted the D day to pass soon, so that I could sit back and relax.

I used to see my flat mates having a gala time, moving leisurely, having (what seemed to me) the luxury of watching tv, talking over the phone with out thinking how many minutes is the call eating up, and generally having a peaceful and calm existence.

I felt I was all the while literally running on a treadmill.

But after the exam got over, I had one complete day when I just chilleddddddd it out. I watched tv as if there was no tomorrow :-). Then for the next 2 days, coincidentally work pressure was a bit low. And I used to come back home, read a novel and drift of to sleep. I used to sleep so deep and so much with out any damn concern. I remember waking up all alert in the mornings with out any sign of left over sleep.

I continued like this for 4 days I think. And I loved it. But I got bored of it I guess.

The very next week, I resumed my swimming.

So the mornings I wake bolt up at 7, scurry to the pool, after an hour there, run home, have breakfast, read the paper, get ready and then dash to office. And now see the twist of fate: work is hectic again – demanding me to multi task over 3 completely different arenas. I come back home and then again I have this whole pile of un read novels asking for my immediate attention. And I have to force myself to hit the bed by 2330 hours so that I can get up again all fresh and bright for the humungous morning that beckons me.

Hmm…. Well… keeping busy tires me. But I cant take the relaxed pace either. Hmm… weird dilemma.