When a man loves a woman

Are we supposed to be done with feeling in love and all? No right? I think we have to be lovey dovey the entire month, eh? 

But it ever so happens that I loose it sometimes somewhere in the beginning of the year. I just allow myself to be thrown off the track. This time it happened on the day following Valentine's day. Something minor happened, but me being all Sherlock Holmes, took it way too seriously.  ( Roomie dear, you know each excruciating detail). So I let my drinking habit kick in (Yes people I confess I have a drinking problem. When sad, I don't revive myself with the normal happy stuff like mindless movies or silly sitcoms. I go to a big mug of ginger tea. And I keep on drinking :D ) I don't feel a lot better, I feel bloated, I feel as if there is acid building in my digestive system and I sit on the banks of the river called guilt thinking about the sugar (=calories) I took in with the mugs of tea. 

Its a slippery slope friends. I know anyone with a drinking problem will vouch for it (or for that matter anyone with a chocolate addiction) So Tuesday night I retired to bed way too early (inspite of the gallons of tea) . And when I woke in the morning, K had the whole house arranged, all the dishes washed and even cute post its for me. He took the day off and we spent all the time having a How I Met Your Mother marathon and eating lots of ice cream and the cakes. I did not budge as the local pizza joint had our dinner ready. It was entirely K's show with him doing all the stuff from choosing the pizza, fetching the stuff, getting it re-heated and also cleaning up.  

Today as I slowly limped back to normalcy (its back to 2 mugs per day, the mugs have to become decent civilised sized ones, the one I am using currently is more like a beer mug),life looks a bit better. I would want some more sunshine God. But till then Thank You Chubby God for one person who has held me through and just stood by, unquestioning, just the right amount of sugar and just the right amount of spice. Bebe you rock :D

Ps. 

1. I love the movie When a man loves a woman - makes me go Awww... and cringe with a feeling of love. Yes even an un-romantic person like me

2. While I was writing this post, I had this song going on, completely situational. Yea, tumse hi tumse har baat hai!

3. Promise completely up beat and non - senti post next time. 

Just go with it

Furobiker ji asked, whos getting lucky this Valentine's day, and yea I got lucky over the weekend.

I was getting sick of the zillion plus one advertisements for Valentine's day. Add to it lots of pink balloons adorning the streets and pink hearts where ever your eye turns. To add salt and pepper to injury, even the library had all romantic books lined up in the many display section. I was like enough already. I had K, clocking close to 14 hours at work.

But then bhagwan ke ghar main der hai andher nehi. So the man who would not step out of his office before 2200, called me at 1700 asking if we could go for a movie!!I was like neki aur pooch pooch. Hell yaaa!!! Movieeee!! We chose the comedy Just go with it, my kinda movie - a no brainer but funny. But before the movie started we had 2 hours to kill. So we just went with the flow, window shopped for games, for clothes, and then a light drizzle made us stop at Statbucks. The time with him, was typical, with K still cuddling his brand new HTC desire, while I cuddling the Cafe Mocha. (Is nt that what comfortable companionship is all about). I would give my right arm for more moments like that :) 

Saturday was a heavy lunch followed by - shopping!! I was able to grab some shirts in a sale, which came close to 50% cheaper. Then got some creams and lotions again at a Valentine's discount. That was followed by K being able to grab some Italian shoes. What ensued was some glorious time at the salon getting some tlc for the hair. We were ready to call it a day, but then K treated me to a lovely sub sandwich ( we have fallen in love with them!). I could not have asked for a better Valentine's weekend -  walking in the rain, silently holding hands, shopping for what the other person loves -  it could nt have been any better. Touchwood! And happy Valentine's day  to all!

Heroine worship

I love Friday evenings. Who does'nt. But I love them a lot. Friday evenings are the time, when K comes home early. And then after spending an hour or so with me, goes for his weekly daaru party with the 'boys'. I am left all by myself.

I do not spend the time doing some super useful productive work. I go for the latest uploads of the soap Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa. Its not that I am an ardent follower of the show, or like any contestant in particular. It is just for the  diva who graces one of the judges chair - yep, call me oldddddddd school but I simply worship Madhuri Dixit.

I know I am just among the countless Bollywood followers, who one time liked her movies.But she seems to have a strange hold over me. I remember way back in school, I used to vehemently support her when fans of Sreedevi used to chastise her for not being talented enough.  I would watch every Madhuri Dixit movie with such alacrity. Dil,Beta,Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Tezaab, Parinda,Khalnayak, Mrityudand-these are names which are coming on the fly, but each and every work of her, is nearly indelible in my mind.

More than just her acting, her dancing, her prettiness, it was her aura of being a good person and being a model celebrity than most captivated me! K scolds me for this, but I am not an objective person, I take another person in totality. It is much more important in my yardsticks to be a good person rather than to be a successful person. I hold the same thing for celebs too. I don't understand how could marriages of 10 years falter (marriages are for keeps, yes old school again!) , so in the same light Aamir Khan, Azharuddin, Tiger Woods and many more, fall from grace when they go for another woman. I knowwwwww, its irrational, they are not brand ambassadors for morality. But then, I feel, one should be 'morally' and 'ethically' unquestionable be it in public or private domain. For this reason I would worship the ground beneath the feet of Sachin Tendulkar (another person whose picture itself can bring a smile of admiration on my face).

I think I am deviating from the issue at hand. The thing is she still enthrals me like she always used to. I have a silly smile on my face when I hear her re-living her experiences. I am still  so charmed when she takes on the dance floor. I know people will sing praises and nothing but praises in the face of a person. But when the contestants and her peers tell she was this and that, and a nice person and bestow a whole lot of laurels on her, I choose to believe each and every word of it. I really see her living the life which is so model -  an atrociously talented person, who inspite of being in the tinseltown, was some how monk-ishly untouched by the vagaries of fame,  someone who married so sensibly rather than going with the trend of getting married to someone from her own trade, someone who knew where her priorities lay and settled to domesticity.When K struts by and mocks her, or makes some smart comment, I take offense. I am like in a shrine, where I am held in awe by the one and only Madhuri Dixit- someone who was really number one and insurmountable in my growing years. 

I can go on and on waxing eloquent about her every facet, she is a true diva in every sense of the term for me. 

PS.These thoughts are entirely mine, readers may choose to disagree. I just like her so much, that I could not help but write a post about her.

I also have the same question

So how was New Year?? Yea its already 3 days old, but then, it remains new for the whole month of January. Does nt it? Yes it does!! 

Well I will return the favour first by answering the question myself. We had some shopping to do cos there were folks we were calling over, so the evening started with crazy grocery buying. By the time we came out of the departmental store, my super-sharp-shopping-vision caught the four letter word every girl loves (Come on don't start thinking dirty now, bad people) It was SALE. Yessssssshhhhhhhhh, then which force on earth could stop me from dragging my bedraggled kaam ka maara thaka haara husband to the shop. But surprise surprise, I first spotted something for him! And it fitted him to the T, so we crossed the moat safely. Now MY turn. And I saw something along the similar lines(they are calling them 'boy friend' shirts. Huh. ) And surprise surprise number 2, K liked it and I bought it per K's choice! (Now people with a partner will nod their heads approvingly that this is a miracle. The lady never buys what the bloke suggests :P. Rather  its a mild elimination process, what the guy chooses must not be bought :D ) But I not only bought it, I bought it without trying it on! I was sure cos K liked it, it would fit me. (Such a story of true tyaag and balidaan is the material for the next Romeo Juliet stuff aint it? )

Then the eve was flooded with making calls :) Yes, New Year is a religion among my family and friends. So mom, sis first ( Dad celebrated New Year to the hilt with a peg ;) and was fast asleep by then ), then grandmama, aunties and the friends. Since, I am super senti about New Year, I got ready with making a sweet dish, while K watched some slasher with lots and lots and lots of blood. I wasnt game for such stomach churning and retired with a lovely collection by Graham Greene called May we borrow your husband (Again a must must must read ). When the clock struck 12, did my small prayer with the new shirt on, and waited for the sunrise of a new year. 

01/01/11 started top notch with some usual calls, and then a long tread to a city centre just for the heck of it and psst.. if possible do some shopping) End of day, I was one attire richer and had a good solid walk with K. It was a simple but lovely start. Sunday was the day when we had invited K's manager for dinner (I have brutalised all the folks from K's team with my cooking and their family was the only one pending). While Sunday mostly went in cooking and cleaning the house, and some real hard core racing on the Wii, what was truly endearing was the time in the evening. My simple recipes were savoured by our guests, there was a bit of the demo of the Wii and the best part was the lovely conversation that flew. It was not a fiasco like this and we had no idea how close to 4 hours flew just like that. I will always cherish the evenings as one of the most warm ones! 

Today a really peppy sun shines as people pull themselves out of holiday hangover and march to office. Good luck to all for a gorgeous new year with things that ones heart wills. I know Ashu moved to their OWN house (wow amazing feeling eh?) and Roomie dear moved in some anticipation of stability. Hope inspite of the initial dislocations, this year is a gift which brings satisfaction. 

Will leave with some disturbing images of chilli paneer, matar ke parathe and kheer. Not suitable for ravenous foodies. Viewer discretion advised.

(Main apne hi khane ka kitna build up de rahi hoon. Whatever happened to humility :D)

Its that time of the year again

When we do the round up. Top 10 songs, top 10 movies, top 10 wardrobe malfunctions and all other important things that moved and shook the world. Its just 3 more days to a brand new year, but there have been none of the 'traditional' emails doing the rounds. More so, there have been no posts on bloggerville either. Except for the Furobiker  of course, who can never ever fail :) So thank you for the cue, now Cherrie shall follow suit. I did whet my own writing cells with old posts by your truly :) over the last three years.

The year has been one with so many phases,that I could easily bookmark them mentally. It started on a bad note  on the job front. It was like Whack! on the head, and a pretty bad one. As I was recuperating from it, there came the stint of K overseas, cos of which I was left in murky waters for a long time (In short things went from bad to worse). It was a long drawn separation with things going crazy at work and home. Ever chiming 'for this too shall pass', and posting sad senti stuff like this I dragged on. Things were so bad, that I cried my eyes dry for 3 days straight that too at my parents place! Now I shed a tear only when I am leaving my parent's house, never ever when I am there. This year saw my mom seeing me cry, yea I wanted to stop all the time, but then when the faucet is open, its on autocontrol then on. ( Thats when I went from the frying pot to the fire)

Seeing no end in sight, I changed projects, kept moving back and forth between Chennai and Bbsr, hung around with strange people (no, I wasnt smoking pot, just random people, whom maybe on a good day, I would'nt go beyond casual banter. I was so down, I actually went to the extent of sharing cell phone numbers! Urgggh!!)

But then that was the very time, I found some amazing 'friends' in my colleagues. Friends is a protected term (look at the developer talking people!) for me, which I use VERY sparingly. But then, Rumi, Divya, Soukarya (with Ameya, Anita and Sworen in supporting cast) - you have no idea, how much you did unknowingly of course to keep me pepped up. The spontaneous rides in the car,the scooting for the tea, the impromptu plans, those were the stuffs I looked forward to. Not to forget the movie and the amazing time I had when you guys dropped by at my home. Roomie dear, Ashu, goes without saying how hard you worked, so much so, I mainly wrote a post to thank you!( I was still in the fire and some divine cook was waiting for me to turn a nice golden brown). Thats when I was like, its about time whoever is cooking me. Get done with it will you?

Things started churning real slowly and I ended up being a housewife .(See the cooked becomes the cook in this phase) It was an altogether different experience. The kitchen had never been a place where I escape from rather a place I escape to (Thank you BBC for saying the lines I always wished I said) , and it has become more of haven each passing day. I have been able to master the art of some typical Tamil delicacies apart from sambar and rasam  and slowly graduated to being able to make pongal, ada dosa, beans usili (Tamilians would know what I am talking about here) . I have dug my way deeper into K's heart, than he could have asked for. Not only that, my gajar ka halwa, achaari paneer, pudina rice and stuffed puris have become the talk of 'our' stomachs. Food was not the only thing I chewed upon (though the waist begs to differ and screams that thats precisely what I have been doing all the time),I have also devoured some of the choicest books. Till now its been eleven down:-

1. The Family Man 2. How to be good (Must read) 3. The art of racing in the rain (which had a doggy talking!Ulti cute book) 4. Coma (Just to savor some American writer) 5. Moths (Must read) 6. Julie and Julia 7. Juliet, Naked 8. A Mercy (Must must read) 9. Departure Lounge 10. Choker Baali 11. He's just not that into you............... and still counting. (Speed reading has never been my forte :( no wonder I sucked in my CAT exams  )

Yes yes, I heard it, enough with the crib-athon. K did get promoted (This was also long due), we moved into a new style of life just the 2 of us and our raves and rants (a totally different but seriously temporary set up). Apart from them, I cannot think of anything sparkling or happening on the 12 month long horizon, so much so that blogosphere was pretty damp with Satish, Shylu, Ashu, Piper, Shalom being gayaab. Ya even I was  lousy in being upto date and was without a single post in April and June, but folks, you are missed in my space. 

Enough of drama now, ab aanso ponch leti hoon.  Here's wishing everyone wandering, stomping, grazing by - a truly happening New Year. (Read it somewhere, may you live in exciting times!) Yes wish you all exciting times and times where your heart cherishes whatever you do. Spread the new year fever- sneeze around. Errr... I meant, put up some posts, send some emails, go crazy on FB, lets usher in the brand new year with a lot of hope. 

Hum do humare do

Yessssss gaonwalon,mithaiyan baaton. 

And you all guessed it right, what better timing than Christmas. Its the time The King of Angels came to earth, a time when there  is festivity all around. The three wise men brought gold, frankincense & myrrh for baby Jesus, which led to tradition of gifting during Christmas. And I could not have had a better timing to give my bebe something he had been really really looking forward to. 

We were initially two minds with whether we should go ahead with such a big decision. There would be additional expense, we would need to manage time better, we would need to be more judicious. There was also a bit of logistic issue to make room for additional stuff. When we saw others going ahead with their decisions, we used to look longingly at each other and think if we are ready yet? Should we go ahead right now or wait for some more time. But then, one fine day, when K's colleague told he was going for it, K was firm, that it was high time we stopped dilly dallying. Since K was convinced, I was also convinced. We decided, no matter what, we would still make time for each other and not let the new one  take over our lives as a couple. We would even take extra measures and to ensure that we spend quality time with each other.

And though its nearly a month early, I told K, he could keep it as his anniversary gift. He could NOT have wished for a better anniversary gift.

Today finally, with great joy in our hearts and a jump in our steps, we welcomed the new Nintendo Wii. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy.

PS. Ab hum do humare do, I got the lappie and he is getting beaten black and blue in an arena. *Evil Smile*. It is such a JOY to see him take the hit. Mwahahahaha

I missed my birthday

I am like the character of Lily Aldrin from How I Met Your Mother. I love my birthday. Love it.

And this year I  missed it - as in the usual hullabaloo that surrounds the day, as per me. First up, I missed the customary mid night calls, which I so love to wake up to! Cos of  the time difference, it was an unearthly hour in India, when the clock struck 0000 hours here, there was not a single call/missed call on my mobile. I did however call folks who matter the most at midnight (India time) woke them up and made them wish me :).

K did plan out a trip to London on my birthday weekend(something totally unintentional, as usual this year too - the fourth time- he forgot my birthday. As in not the real day, but the run up to it. The countdown to it. I never let any one who is important to me forget my birthday! ). So there we were strolling on the streets of London, and he did to his very best  to let all the choices be made by the newborn. I adored him for the effort he was making, but then he was a one man army. (Such a sweetu) Another thing that is sacrilegious to be missing but was -  was my new dress!! I have always (ALWAYS) had something new to wear on a birthday since I had a mind to remember. But this time, due to the God forsaken snows, I was not able to grab anything new for the day! Though I decked my self in the choicest of fancy clothes - none of them were new! (Boo hoo) So there was I, with something amiss. Just like Murphy predicts, if something can go wrong it surely will, I ended up breaking the camera. Yea me now Mrs Butterfingers (normally) was trying to maneuver the camera with gloves on (which made me Mrs. Extra Butter-y Fingers) and whooosh it fell down, breaking the battery cabinet. We can still take clicks with a cello-tape stuck on the battery compartment, but then the thing is broken right. The  angel in K who would normally have flown into a Blistering Barnacles tirade patted me, (I am sure some foul words must have played in his head) and took me to the nearest Starbucks so that I became ok. 

Let me not be too pessimistic too, there was nothing like having well cooked Indian food for 4 days in London. Here the rigors of cooking, cleaning, shopping, setting the house straight, etc etc, and doing all of them alone do tire me and bore me. (I miss how mil just like that takes over the house some days back in Chennai. ) So it was an absolute delight to have food served. I threw all guards off and gorged on the heavenly dishes. And there was this one whole day we dedicated to K savoring South Indian food. We went absolutely crazy over vadas, dosas, idlies and the like. Apart from that the folks who just did not and cannot disappoint me ( Sam and the Dino!) They called me across the distance, and a pleasant surprise was another friend of K's who has been stellar in supporting us in recent times. When I returned home, it was absolute D-E-L-I-G-H-T to see the emails from friends. And yes not to forget the scraps and the wall postings (The joys of social networking sites :D ) 

To think about it, last year the same time I was recuperating from typhoid, and it had been my birthday when I shunned the diet restrictions. I had kept my date and had taken all the calls and had an ultimately special birthday with 2 chocolate cakes! And this year had been so different - with something missing, but the very special person being there who was missing last year. 

Why am I being so senti about something which happened a week back? Huh! Silly me. This weekend has been the one stuffed with stimulating conversations with Ashu and Sam, a random movie which had K and I rotfl and of course the crowning glory good fooooooddddd! 

Will leave with the pic of the dosa we ordered at London and in spite of being tremendously gluttonous, were not able to finish :)