No, I won't do a recap of 2009

It's New Year's Eve and so I force myself to write something. Anything. As long as I write.

It's a few minutes to 2010. What do you think we are doing? Partying in a hip lounge at a place near the office? Partying with friends/family at home with a lavish spread of eats and lots of fairy lights? Sitting with P romantically bringing in the New Year? Cruising through the roads of "ye Delhi hai meri jaan"? Come on, take your pick. No?

Well, as much as we would like to bring in the new year in the ways mentioned above, none of them are happening right now. The "whys" of it deserve another post. For now, we are sitting in the hostel room. One roommate has retired for the night (or is she pretending to sleep? Very dubious. But why will she pretend to sleep? We hope she won't spring out of her bed at dot 12AM and scare us with a shriekyyy Happy New Year! On second thoughts, we might like that!), the other roommate is out. Where is she? Let us guess. Before leaving, she said she is finally going to say goodbye to ex-boyfriend who is still hanging onto her. What a day to do so, wethinks! But considering the fact that its nearing midnight and she is still not back (she has been gone a few hours now), we have our suspicions that she is gaily bringing in the new year with the dejected lover in one nightclub or the other. So what happens to the current flame? Maybe he decided to join the party.

Enough of the roomies now. Now we will only talk about ourselves. So what are we doing on New Year's eve? We are sitting alone with our sweetest, loyalest (is that a word? Heck! who cares?) friends--the laptop and the television, and P on the line--who is going to a friend's place. And we are feeling LONELY :(

But we will not mope. Nopes. Because we want to be happily bringing in the new year--with a crowd or alone. And of course everything is not all sad either. For starters, we are off tomorrow. Yay! Yay! Yay! Which makes us think of this scenario: You hate your boss. From-the-bottom-of-your-heart. The rich, high-class, snobbish, arrogant, irritable, freaky, rude, yelling-at-you-for-the-smallest-things, making-you-feel-like-a-village-idiot, (We can go on and on and on, but dear reader, for your sake, just for your sake, we will stop) kinda boss. So when the above-mentioned kinda boss gives you an off WITHOUT your asking them, how are we supposed to feel?
Sorry boss. We can't stop hating her. But yes, we are a little assured that she maybe (just a tinny, wee bit chance) a human after all!

Ok, ok enough of ranting now. We have ranted enough for the night. Now, we want to know what you guys are doing or did on New Year's eve. And don't worry, we will try our LEVEL-BEST not to get too jealous. HONEST!

Oh and by the way....Have a Good Year Everyone :)

100 Truths

1. Last beverage: Lukewarm milk with Bournvita (Lukewarm because I can’t for-the-life-of-me consume hot liquids and milk because my poor fractured foot needs all the calcium it can get, so milk {sob! sob!})
2. Last phone call: Confusion. Last phone call I made or received? Made—I didn’t make any phone call the entire day! Received—P telling me he has left office (finally!) for the day
3. Last text message: Replied to P's message telling me he has stopped to eat on the way back from office
4. Last song you listened to: Main zindagi ka saath nibhaata chaala gaya..lalalala…
5. Last time you cried: Oh just about a month back when my seemingly organized life was thrown out of gear when the doctors told me I had fractured my foot and put me on complete bed rest


HAVE YOU EVER
6. Dated someone twice? Twice bole tow? Broken off and dated again? Nai boss
7. Been cheated on? Hmm..Yes
8. Kissed someone & regretted it? Meaning smooch (errrr..sorry for using the word)? If yes, ok big confession. I am not into kissing (GULP!). There I said it! Give me hugs, cuddles any day..By the way, I am completely fine with cheek kissing (can it be called that?)
9. Lost someone special? Loved and lost…Yes
10. Been depressed? Every week. But it’s not those serious bouts of depression. Just minor everyday worries and troubles (why can’t life be simpler kinda. You get the drift? Yes?)
11. Been drunk and thrown up? Drunk? No boss, thank you…Thrown up? Mentally, yes plenty of times
12. Kissed a stranger? Well, even if I wasn’t so averse to kissing, I would NEVER kiss a stranger
13. Lost glasses/contacts? Lost? Don’t remember. But broken glasses? Yes, innumerably. The consequence for which was that Mom made me and big sis wear those specs with chains around them as kids. Bah! Total attitude ki waat lag gai thi
14. Had sex on first date? Woohoooo! Wait…Utna scene nai hai
15. Broken someone’s heart? Hmm…Maybe yes
16. Had your own heart broken? Countless times..Which strikes me, maybe my heart also needs calcium (sigh!)
17. Been arrested? No
18. Turned someone down? As in a proposal right? Yes
19. Cried when someone died? Yes
20. Liked a friend that is a girl? No boss no..

IN THE PAST YEAR HAVE YOU
21. Made new friends? Yeah..you can say so
22. Fallen out of love? I keep falling in and out of love
23. Laughed until you cried? Yes
24. Met someone who changed you? Errrr… No! (Is that answer acceptable?)
25. Found out who your true friends were? Actually I always knew…This year only made it clearer
26. Found out someone was talking about you? Yeah. Gossip about me and P full on happening in office. Initially annoying, now extremely annoying (Grrrrrr…)

WHAT’S YOUR
27. Name: What’s in a name? (Ok, I am gagging)
28. Nicknames: Plenty (BIG GRIN)
29. Relationship status: Want to get married and have my own house (sigh!) soon
30. Zodiac sign: Pisces
31. Male or female or transgendered: Female baba! Thank you very much (Humph!)
32. Elementary: U.P.
33. School: U.P.
34. Colleges: U.P. and Orissa
35. Hair color: Brown
36. Long or short: On way to long (Please God please…make it grow faster)
37. Height: Tall (PROUD SMILE)

FIRSTS
38. First surgery: 2008: Wisdom tooth extraction in right jaw. 2009, The Sequel (in pre-production): Wisdom tooth extraction in left jaw (Why God why, do you give me wisdom only to take it away? Unfair…SULK!)
39. First piercing: Ears
40. First best friend: My childhood chuddie buddie S
41. First sport you loved: Gali cricket. Please note “gali”, not “gully” (which I anyways don’t know the meaning of), where gali means street cricket.
42. First pet: None
43. First vacation: Goa. With family (WOW! Those days..)
44. First concert: Ok. This was also my FIRST reporting assignment. Some very famous classical singer guy. Can’t remember the name (Useless me!)

RIGHT NOW
45. Eating: Nothing. Wisdom teeth hurting. Ouch!
46. Drinking: Nothing
47. I’m about to: Hopefully sleep
48. Listening to: The clock tick away in the silence of the night
49. Waiting for: Finishing this. 51 more to go!!

YOUR FUTURE
50. Want kids? YES, YES, YES
51. Want to get married? YES, YES, YES, YES
52. Careers in mind? Film director, writer, actor. Creative? Will do

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
53. Lips or eyes: Eyes baby eyes!
54. Hugs or kisses: Hugs, of course (reason stated above)
55. Shorter or taller: Taller
56. Older or younger: Older
57. Romantic or spontaneous: A bit of both. Possible? Yes?
58. Nice stomach or nice arms: Whoa! Both
59. Sensitive or loud: Neither too sensitive nor too loud
60. Hook-up or relationship: Relationship
61. Trouble maker or hesitant: In moderation, can it be both (Please?)

DO YOU BELIEVE IN
62. Yourself: I try to
63. Miracles: Yes, big-time
64. Love at first sight: Ummm….No
65. Heaven: Yes…The next adventure after death
66. Santa Claus: Yes and No
67. Kiss on the first date: Errrr…depends
68. Angels: Totally!

LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS
69. Pink
70. Blue
71. White
72. Errrr…Can I say dark blue (can’t think of any other color really)
73. Have you kissed anyone on your friends list? Which friends’ list? Orkut/Facebook?
74. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life? Almost all
75. How many kids do you want to have? One (Girl please!)
76. Do you have any pets? No
77. Do you want to change your name? No, never
78. What did you do for your last birthday? I took off from work (YAY!) and saw Delhi 6 in an almost empty hall
79. What time did you wake up today? 10 am (very grumpy)
80. What were you doing at midnight last night? Reading a blog
81. Name something you CANNOT wait for. To leave office everyday (sigh! I need to get a life)
82. Last time you saw your father? Well, only yesterday I looked at his pic. Technically, I saw him last time when I was a toddler, so don’t remember anything. But I know he is watching me everyday from up there. Love you Pa!
83. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life? Not life but me. My impatience and bad temper.
84. Most visited webpage: Google
85. Do you have a crush on someone? Naah
86. Ever been in love? Yes
87. Piercings? Err....Repeat question?
88. Tattoos? None. Wish for a delicate little rose though (Did you say where? I am not telling guys)
89. Righty or lefty: I am always right(y)!
90. On Internet since: Technically, 2003. But actually, 2006.
91. Video game: Don’t play any
92. When left alone: I think and think and think and get depressed

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY
93. Is there one person you want to be with right now? Yes. Pa
94. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? No boss…
95. Wanted to kill some one ever? Always. You can always find a hit-list in my cerebrum
96. Among your blog mates, who would you like to kiss? Eeeeks…None. Thank you very much (And seriously, will these “kissing” questions ever stop?)
97. Committed a blunder and regretted later? All the frigging time
98. Wanted to steal you friend’s boyfriend/girlfriend? Haha Never. They were way too sad anyways
99. Wanted to run away from your loved ones in anger, because they didn’t listen? All the frigging time
100. Posting this as 100 Truths? Ab itni mehnat ki hai, tow bhai why not? Sure…

Pati, Patni aur Woh

There are only a few reality shows on Indian television that I watch currently. One that had me hooked from Day 1 was Pati, Patni aur Woh. Now that the show has drawn to a close, here's my take on the five participating couples:



Juhi and Sachin: By far, Juhi was my favourite in the show. She did no work around the house, slept all day, cribbed and nagged her husband, who listened dutifully and never answered back. Whether it was the toddler or the senior citizen that came to their house, it was Sachin’s show all the way. Even when Juhi had to go out and work at a departmental store, she did a pathetic job. The best part of the show was when she bulldozed her husband into walking out of the show because they had been given twins and she wanted Sachin at her service all day—which the channel was not allowing. Poor Sachin! What a woman he has married. He was calm, patient, balanced and mature and kept a cool head against Juhi’s incessant nagging.

Thumbs Up: One thing that works in Sachin’s favour is that he genuinely loves his wife. He sure is the “ideal” husband.



Mouni and Gaurav: The fake and cold couple. Mouni and Gaurav from Day 1 seemed to be in the show only for money—and it showed. No initiative, no interest was shown by either of them to bond with any of the kids. They just wanted the show to finish and walk away with their pay packets. Mouni only showed a little interest in the toddler Shaurya—and the credit for that too goes to the baby. He was so charming that no one could resist falling in love with him. The rest of the kids just came and went, and Mouni kept doing her own stuff. As far as Gaurav is concerned, he only seems to have a gift of the gab, nothing else. There was hardly any interaction between the couple and the kids. Pathetic! Me thinks maybe, if Gaurav had participated with his ex-flame Narayani Shastri, they would have fared much better and made a fiery couple. Gaurav and Mouni won't last long.

Thumbs Up: All said and sone, they do make a very good-looking couple.



Shilpa and Apoorva: The ideal couple. Sure, they provided no masala, no spice to the show, but they sure came across as one level-headed, in sync and mature jodi. Their understanding and dedication shone through. They were the only jodi which never fought or abused each other. A complete made-for each-other pair. Where Apoorva seemed a tad underconfident, Shilpa went all out to encourage. Needless to say, the star in this jodi was Shipa, who handled husband, kids, home single-handedly and excelled. Apoorva also proved to be one hell of a partner. Not to forget, the two never raised their hands in defeat during the time they had to handle twin babies—unlike Juhi.

Thumbs Up: Way to go! Now this is what I call A Perfect Couple.



Gurmeet and Debina: The “Ram and Sita of Indian television” was how they were introduced in the show. Admittedly, I had never seen them before. Both make a street-smart couple. Where Gurmeet was shown haggling with every shopkeeper (he even bargained with a gajra-walla), Debina refused to buy the teenager any clothes (the poor girl lost all her luggage in transit). So, while the poor kid kept shedding tears, Debina insisted she dress up in Guru's oversized T-shirts. And when the same kid complained about their dirty house, they handed her the vacuum cleaner! Preposterous. Overall though, methinks they did an OK job with the kids.

Thumbs Up: Gurmeet proposed Debina on the show and they are all set to get married.



Rakhi and Elesh: The surprise package. Rakhi and Elesh from Day 1 surprised everyone with their dedication and love for the kids. The so-called “item girl” proved to be an awesome home-maker and mother. The way she took care of the cranky toddler, Jai, was phenomenal. She looked after the kids extremely well, managed her home splendidly and even went out to work! And giving her full support was Elesh, who never left her side even when she got cranky, and proved to be great partner. They pulled off the pyjama party for the kids with great élan. The only other couple who would have managed the feat were Shilpa and Apoorva. Juhi, for sure, would have again walked out of the show. Unfortutanely, Rakhi seems to expect a lot from a life partner and understandably so, Elesh couldn’t measure up. Methinks, Elesh would make a great partner and Rakhi would be foolish to let him go.

Thumbs Up: Here’s to Superwoman Rakhi and her accomplice Elesh.

My 54 New Year Resolutions*

1. To lose weight (and to find ways to do so without joining a gym)
2. To join a driving school
3. To buy a car
4. To not let my work/office/colleagues take over my entire life
5. To find a new job with BETTER work timings
6. To buy new, trendy clothes
7. To take utmost, utmost, utmost care of my twice-fractured foot. To eat calcium
8. To start writing and reading more—write, write, write
9. To control my explosive temper
10. To not let stress of any kind (work, relationships, family, mundane) control me for any period of time
11. To not compare myself or my assets, or the lack of them, with past/present contemporaries
12. To make new friends
13. To not do things against my wishes just to please others
14. To spend wisely
15. To save judiciously
16. To call friends/relatives at least once a month
17. To spend more time with mom
18. To construct a life outside office
19. To get out of this self-imposed exile and mingle with people
20. To be sincere, not serious
21. To laugh more
22. To remain happy
23. To not be too harsh on myself
24. To try contact lenses
25. To buy more beauty products/cosmetics
26. To take breaks at work and spend some time with myself—even if 5 minutes
27. To learn to be a smart worker
28. To not let colleagues/others make me feel inferior
29. To not expect too much from people
30. To be my old self—giving, generous, patient, calm
31. To not let small things irk me into flying off the handle
32. To grow my hair longer
33. To buy sexy lingerie and nightwear…Yo :)
34. To be a better daughter and human being
35. To include saris in my wardrobe
36. To buy mom more saris and gold
37. To go to church at least once a month
38. To not feel superior of others because I earn more or speak better English
39. To maintain a healthy lifestyle irrespective of my work timings (reiterate resolution no. 5)
40. To not get into arguments with autorickshaw wallas (till resolution no. 3 takes shape)
41. To not take work/office/colleagues so seriously as to allow them to rule my life
42. To take people gossiping about me in my stride
43. To travel to new places
44. To have fun
45. To do something worthwhile with my camera
46. To take control of my finances and paperwork
47. To slowly but steadily get back to sketching
48. To restart my guitar lessons
49. To increase the contents of my jewellery box
50. To consume less junk food
51. To give more, take less
52. To not let the pressures of big-city living get the worse of me
53. To bring out that child in me once again
54. To remember these resolutions

These are my resolutions for the coming year. What are yours?

* This list is not exhaustive. There may be more coming.