Archive for the 'Life as it happens' Category

Sikkim’s worst earthquake

Published on September 20, 2011 in Life as it happens and Sikkim. 1 Comment Tags: , .

It was a rainy sunday morning on the 18th and since we’d woken up late, we’d nearly put off our plans for sightseeing to Namchi’s Samdruptse and Solophok which is about two and a half hours from my place. We reached Namchi, South Sikkim about midday and spent the rest of the day there. We headed back home to Singtam in the evening when an earthquake of 6.8 richter scale hit our small state of Sikkim at around 6 pm. Ironically, we didnt really feel the quake since we were in the vehicle but we did see many people on the way running out of their homes in panic and several people outdoors along the highway. I assumed that a fight had broken out and we didnt bother to stop by and ask what was happening.

A few kilometres ahead, several vehicles came to a stand still and we had to stop because of the traffic jam. It was then terrified people all around us started talking about a huge earthquake that rocked the entire place and also caused a landslide right in the middle of the road. I could make out from the people’s petrified faces that they were really scared out of their wits and one lady even said that the quake had washed away her small wooden house in a landslide. The drivers of the vehicles ahead of us gathered the men and they ended up removing a small portion of the rocks which allowed us enough leeway to cross the road. We then proceeded our journey while I started frantically dialing our families to ensure they were ok.

Unfortunately, the mobile networks were totally jammed and none of us could get through to anyone. Then out of nowhere, my colleague got through my phone and said that the earthquake was so devastating that couple of buildings in Singtam had buckled down and that some people had succumbed to their deaths and several were injured who were being taken to the nearest hospitals. He also informed that the quake had hit Gangtok equally hard and that the devastation was state-wide.

I sent a silent prayer to god to keep our families safe and tried calling them again and again but to no avail. That was perhaps the darkest moment of our lives, when we didnt know if our loved ones were safe or not. It was only after about half an hour later that our phones started working and we talked with our families in Gangtok and were reassured that they were safe.

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Make some noise

Published on August 6, 2011 in Lee and Life as it happens. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

Like I was saying here, I dont know when it was that we all started becoming so quiet. Even I never intended to abandon my blog, seeing as my last post was in Jan 2011. I know I was busy with The Baby but to be honest, I was all too busy downloading and watching Dexter, Prison Break and Modern Family. I must admit, this stuff is pretty addictive. Kinda like the methamphetamine shit thats being brewed in the Super Meth Lab in Breaking Bad. But thats for you to experience for yourself.

(Tips for movie-addict new moms: Invest in a super-awesome headphone, in my case I got the Sennheiser one with a 3 metre cable so that I could watch TV at night. 9pm to midnight and beyond. Remember, although if you overdo it for more than a few times and consequently walk around like a zombie for the rest of the office day, you only have yourself to blame and not me)

Post my Pondicherry vacation last December, I havent been anywhere. Shuttling between work and home pretty much consumes our lives, doesnt it? I’ve even started seriously noting my petrol consumption and that crap which I’ve never bothered with before. Something I remember my dad used to do so back in the days. I used to get pulled up quite a lot because I used to also include the last moving unit to the total tally and get the mileage in lakhs. Real funny now. Growing old sucks.

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Vacation – 2010

Published on January 22, 2011 in Good things, Lee, Life as it happens and Wanderlust. 14 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Auroville beach - December 2010

I love the beach. As I walked on the warm sands of Auroville beach, I realized that it took me 10 years to come back to the ocean. Imagine. How in the world did I ever let that happen? This does not bode well. Pencilling in “New year 2012 at Goa” immediately before I forget. Also waiting for Sidin Vadakut to reply once again to my email but I guess thats pushing it too far.

So back in August this year, I had been wondering where to spend my precious winter vacation. Precious because this was my first vacation post baby girl Lee as well as post M-Tech 1st semester, my brain had sufficiently stopped working and needed a kickstart in order to usher in the next semester. Oh yes, the M-tech thing. We go further back to May this year.

I was happily on my long extended maternity leave when a colleague suggested applying for further studies from July at SMIT, Majhitar. It all seemed impossible at that time, what with going back to studies after (gasp) 9 years and that too, with a baby and (gasp gasp) I still hadnt got a maid to help around the house. But like all good movies, everything started to fall back into place and before long, I gathered enough courage to leave my baby with the maid at home while I went about gallivanting around for stuff like work and studies.

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Among other things

Published on July 7, 2010 in Good things, Lee and Life as it happens. 19 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Another July, another humid summer. A new baby and an almost forgotten dog. 2010 has been a hectic year. And as a friend on Facebook reminded us, half the year is already over (insert as many exclamation marks as applicable here). I have been home since February and finally joined work this monday. The transition was painful . It still is since this is only my second day back to a dusty desk and a rickety chair, which was okay when I left, I know for sure.

It is so humid. It is so hot. On a plus side, I liked being back in the classroom after one whole semester. I even started teaching the very first day of college (roll eyes as applicable here again). As we all know the rules of teaching, no one takes the first class after a long vacation. At least thats how they did it back in my alma mater, Calicut. I thought it was AICTE approved a general rule or something.

The baby is now 5 months old today. She smiles and laughs and coos and aahs and cries at will and makes me want to quit my job and be a stay at home mom. Little Lee’s started to roll over these days although she lacks the necessary hand to leg coordination for crawling… so she just sprawls on her tummy and goes *waahh* for help. Once I even caught her dozing off to sleep on her own. Such independent streak already! The mommy in me, suddenly finding herself being redundant, couldnt help but wake her up and put her to sleep myself again.

Sigh. I could have gotten used to being on maternity leave for life.

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Oh lazy brain

Published on August 29, 2009 in Life as it happens. 9 Comments Tags: , .

Many people asked me as to why I havent written anything in my blog till now. And by many people, I mean at least 3. I replied, “I dont have anything to write about”.

In retrospect, is that really true? Have I nothing to say left anymore? That cant be right since I havent stopped chattering nineteen to the dozen, 24X7 and dont seem to run out of ideas vocally. So why should typing be a different story?

I have resolved to stop playing silly online games that sap up my online time as well as my train of thoughts which leave me no time to do precious little. Let the dust cloths be pulled off this poor blog and may no one suffer from sneezing allergies as we do so.

Brain, I command you to write – starting NOW.

In dog years, I’m dead

Published on June 20, 2009 in Life as it happens and You live, you learn. 20 Comments Tags: , , .

thirty

Today is the last day I will be able to say I am 29. There are very few instances in life when one wants time to stand still and I figure this is definitely one of them. Its surreal leaving the 20′s behind and turning old is cruel, nay excruciatingly painful. Who knew this day would one day arrive.

I was ranting about the very same thing to a friend of mine who had an interesting thing to say: 30′s are the best years of one’s life. According to him, the 20′s are when you’re discovering yourself; maybe experimenting with things, pleasant or otherwise. And a whole lot of drama naturally involved.

On the contrary, the 30′s are when you’ve accepted who you are and you finally learn to make peace with yourself. You know what you want and dont; and basically live life as per your choices and no one else’s.

This made a lot of sense to me. And if at all, what he says is true, I can stop fussing about a number that decides how old I should be because facebook says I’m mentally only 13.

Here’s to three decades well spent. I didnt want to turn 30 but looks like time had other plans!

To being thirty. And (hopefully) stopping the count at that and no, I dont mean anything drastic like dying within this year.

30 and none the wiser. And we shall live happily ever after.

Hello Bangalore!

Published on April 21, 2009 in Life as it happens, Musings and Wanderlust. 13 Comments Tags: , .

I am happy to be back in Bangalore but I have to say – this place has grown so hot! And now I finally know how bad it is to be stuck in one of its horrific traffic jams. Just yesterday, we were being driven around in town and the driver was so friendly that every time we asked him a question, he would turn right back at us to look at us as we speak!

We decided not to ask him any questions since we would ultimately end up being dead that way. After a while, I see the guy’s eyes dozing off in the rear view mirror while the car moves at full speed! What a temperature and what an incredible driver. I am alive as I write this post, to all concerned enough.

Visited some industries today since this is supposed to be an official tour. My colleague asked some impressive whats-the-spindle-rpm questions to the guy who was escorting us for a manufacturing plant tour.

So I decided that I would ask this question on the next tour, only to be reminded by my colleague to make sure that there was actually a spindle on the machine in the first place. Har har.

No, I am not a mechanical engineer. And yes, I know what a spindle looks like. What else do you think is that lady doing on my header with all that yarn???

My hotel room is the hottest place in Bangalore, I’d have to admit. I try leaving the windows open when I leave in the morning. In return, the housekeeping staff are so diligent that they close the windows once they’re done with the daily cleaning so that the room represents a 100 degree centigrade oven when I get back but other than that, the stay is okay.

We’re supposed to keep the receipts of the expensed incurred so that we can get it reimbursed when we get back to office. I wonder if I can sneak in a few INOX theatre tickets in my bunch when no one is looking.

I’m yet to meet my friends here – most of them dont even know that I’m in their city.

Hello once again, Bangalore! Its nice to be back.

Torture parlour

Published on April 6, 2009 in Life as it happens and No good. 8 Comments Tags: , .

I’ve begun dreading the mandatory visit to the local beauty parlour. And its not as if one can do anything about it since you have to be extra careful with scissor-happy females who hold the power to give you a really bad haircut. And make you look like a freak in the flick of a wrist.

Most of the times, I’m always unfortunate enough to get attended upon by an overtly talkative lady who tries to be your new best friend and give you tips on any subject ranging from blackheads to a happy married life. And they have to speak through a bubble gum to make it as worse as possible.

The fellow gossip-starved clients dont help much either. In fact, both of them team up to churn yard after yard of gossip that smothers everyone around and which although is interesting to listen to for a while but may get real bitchy after a point of time.

Another problem is my specs. They ask me to remove my glasses for the hair cut after which I cant make out what the hell’s going on back there. My hairstyle then automatically depends on the one who is cutting them and by the time she finishes her job and asks me to inspect (with my glasses back on), its usually too late to not like whatever she has just done. Another reason for me and blind people to be nice to the hairdresser.

Eyebrow threading is another task I do not care for much and always squirm with pain whenever the lady rips it off with a vengeance that makes me question her sanity. And as if that wasnt bad enough, I once had the lady press up to me so much that I swear, if she had been pregnant, I could have heard the baby’s heart beat.

The beauty parlour has transmorgified into a torture parlour for me where the moment I enter, I am pointed to a seat and a ton of magazines are automatically dumped on me that feature skinny models with glowing skin and really nice hair.

Oh yeah, as if the trip to the torture parlour itself wasnt bad enough.

I’m willing my hair not to grow back on. Or accept the option to look shabby for the rest of my life. Or gift my hairdresser something really expensive.

P.S. I know this post probably wont make much sense to the guys who all they know of the mysterious beauty parlours is the front door and the sign which says - Men not allowed inside. If you thought waiting outside forever for your girl to emerge was bad, let me tell you, being indoors isnt a lot of fun either. At least for me!

Obsession

Published on March 25, 2009 in Life as it happens. 26 Comments Tags: , .

obsession

I realized that I’m prone to obessions. It amuses me to think that I listen to the same song ten times at a stretch, I play the same game for weeks now so much so that I havent checked my mail, my precious blog and what the heck does real life mean, anyways?

Looking back, I screwed up quite a lot. Apologies to:

  • My best friends who had a baby boy recently. I still havent visited them yet.
  • My baby sister turned 7 this month. I missed her birthday.
  • Also missed two of my best friends’ birthdays. Arrgghh.
  • My dog’s eating grass. This means she’s probably sick. Nothing done about it yet.

I’ve got to start doing things in order of their importance.

And I’ve got to stop believing that descending is also an order.

Dont know, dont care

Published on December 2, 2008 in Favourite posts, Life as it happens and No good. 10 Comments Tags: , , , .

images2

I hate family gatherings. The last time I was in the midst of one, at least six people commented on the way I looked, talked or even breathed for all I knew. They had a gala time being boisterous and smart mouthing about most things which they’d never be able to say out loud in the real world, at least thats what I inferred.

Almost every person beckoned me over and asked – Did you recognize me? Heck, I dont even recognize the same person I met six months back and we’re talking about years and years of reunion here. The only option was to bare my teeth and nod furiously saying – Of course I do! How can I forget.

For instance, I was summoned by someone who’s my great aunt, when in truth I couldnt tell the nature of our relationship to save my life. I walked up to her and a couple of her friends sitting inside, assumed what I felt was a respectable position and then started getting grilled about my life since I was born to 30 years hence.

Then suddenly, this lady at her right snorts out of the blue – Hah, now she doesnt recognize me! Do you know who I am? DO YOU!?!

I assured her that I didnt.

(I didnt want to start knowing her anyway since she seemed to get real angry by this point)

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