Left in awe...

It's been a funny sort of week.

A good friend of a good friend passed away very suddenly. Though I didn't know him personally, I felt as though I did. It was hard to watch Amu go through these foreign emotions and feel his pain, but not be able to say anything to comfort him. It was a gut-wrenching awful feeling and even that doesn't quite say it. No words of wisdom, hugs, I love yous...can change anything.

All you can do is stand in silent support and hope that it helps...somehow.

In the days that followed, I learnt that three close friends were pregnant and two others had just delivered. I rejoiced and was thrilled and at the same time, a part of my heart was confused. Life, death - what gives? I think somewhere in my mind, I even felt a little guilty for being as happy as I was.

It's easy to write about death...easier so to write about new life. But to see it up close and personal, stare it in the face and then consider writing about it...just filled me with so much sadness, my heart was heavy. Amu's friend's passing put a lot of things in perspective for a lot of us....what's really important, what truly matters and how some people and things are much too important to be pushed aside, even for a minute.

We all go through the pressures - work, family, commitments, studies, relationships - the whole she-bang. Then this reality check comes along, kicks you in the butt and you sit down suddenly, wide-eyed at your own world.

I learnt a few things...so I'm passing it on..maybe it'll make you look at the world the way I suddenly did.

Life is too short for silly squabbles. Family, friends, work - anyone. Life is just too damn short.

Friends are important. They are the family you choose for yourself...let them know you love them...whenever you can.

Work is work. It belongs in the office only - safe and sound. Period.

Live a healthy life. I don't like to think about whether or not I'm scared of death, but I'm worried and scared for those I may leave behind. Morbid perhaps, but true all the same.

Be happy from your heart. Love your loved ones because of all they are to you. We have but this one life to live...must we not do justice?

Pray. For everything. God Listens.

It's been a funny week. I wished there was an easier way to deal with death and then God showed me life...thrice in the same day.

I had no option but to bow my head in awe...and trust that He knew what He was doing.

Gump-ish about chocolate

Forrest Gump has to be one of my all time favorite flicks.

I loved Tom Hanks as the adorably loving, earnest, albeit slightly thick, Forrest. So many bits and pieces of the movie come to mind when you think of it, but my favorite was the dialogue about the chocolates.

'Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

I love hazelnut flavored chocs. And coconut ones and praline ones as well.

I've been having a lovely assortment of all my favorites, for the past few days.

*smiles*

I've got a remedy for days when I get the dark, white, coffee, fruit-flavored, liqueur chocs (never got around to liking them) or worst still, the bitter sweet ones. (ugh, awful flavors, those)

I spend time with a friend who likes them instead.

Pats is my dark chocolate buddy.

Dude, my fruitcake.

Mom - coffee. Hands Down.

Chili - the sinful choc ones. You know, when they're gorgeous when you eat them and then they guilt trip you later? Yeah : )

Jay - my one and only liqueur guy. Boozard, that you are.

Pa - the peanut ones which I can never finish on my own.

Luckily, I have a lot more friends than chocolate flavors I dislike.

Hope you have lots of people to share the assortment of life with too.

Till later!

Bring on the music

H'lo there!

I'm back, after what seems like forever. Audits are not fun. Enough said.

So much has happened...good, bad, in the middle stuff. Not to me, but to people I love dearly. Such is life though, isn't it? Things will get better, as they have a tendency have doing.

Till then, we hope that all that happens, is for the best. Hoping is one thing, but getting people to believe that, is a whole different ball game. Yes, I can feel you nodding as well!

Paro was pregnant. In the middle of my insane week, we celebrated her impending motherhood with the cutest baby shower and hey presto! Within 2 days, her little princess met the rest of the world. 'Raaga' translates from Hindi as 'a traditional melodic tune or arrangement that expresses religious feeling'. Isn't that the most precious name?!! It's sort of the equivalent of 'rhythm'.

I get to see the little jukebox tomorrow. *smiles*

Paro's on my mind now...and it gave me a happy feeling. I generally post when I'm in a pleasant mood, with maybe a few good thoughts to share.

As of now, it's just nice to have friends around you, who you've known forever.

With whom you just slip into a comfort zone..like your favorite pair of shoes...y'know?

Friends who come by for a coffee and a chat after work, even when they've been up till 3 in the morning. Also known as Pats!!

Welcome to our world Raaga. Life will be tons of fun times and not so fun times, but needless to say, like the rest of us, you too will find your own special music, which will play only for you, whenever you want it too.

And sometimes you find a few people who hear the same music you do.

Hold on to them. They are called friends.

Passing on the student ID

Today I happened upon an idea. It involves a tiger, a cat, a Capp, a wall and an empty box. I'll get back to you when I'm done with it, but till then, you go ahead and let that imagination of yours go wild. *grins*

As I had my coffee this morning, I read a Calvin & Hobbes comic strip. Calvin wants contact lenses and is discussing the possibility of getting them with his ever exhausted mum.

She wearily explains to him that he doesn't need them; he's got perfect eyesight. He sighs an exasperated sigh and proceeds to enlighten her on how outrageously cool it would be to have one blood red lens and the other one colored like the eye of a tiger and how he'd be the envy of the neighborhood kids and this and that....the next panel is a very annoyed Calvin telling Hobbes how being older just makes people forget what's cool. Such pearls of wisdom in the daily funnies!

It got me thinking. Does that really happen? Do you just stop being cool? Do your notions change so much as you age? Does being a parent make you the 'I said no' person?

I look around at my friends...we haven't changed much since college...we still laugh aloud and do silly things when we're together. Some of them are getting ready for parenthood...and I always find myself thinking what cool parents they'll make and how their kids are going to so LOVE them for being the coolest parents on the block. I've got really good friends 5 years older and younger than me and we get along like a house on fire. 6 degrees and all that, I suppose.

I like to think that if we're sane and have time for ourselves...and let life take its course normally, without us pushing the boundaries too far...We age happily, enjoying every minute and barely even realising it.

Yesterday some of us got together at Jay's for Pictionary, over red wine (amongst other things!) and kebabs - it was all laughs and chit chat. The previous day it was a heavenly food fest at Chili's - the food, the company, the fun - it made for an awesome Thursday night. It's great to just be able to catch up. Yes, we're older now...but when we're together; we're the same people we were all those years ago.

No, I don't think things change too much as you get older. Yes, responsibilities kinda creep up on you and you suddenly see a lot of serious stuff that seemed to be hiding in the bushes up until now. But then that's part and parcel of growing up in this crazy world of ours. And though it's scary sometimes, in it's own weird way - it's fun too.

You're as old as you feel, which is actually quite awesome.

Like I said, you get to age gracefully.

That's like having your cake, eating it too and whipping out your adult ID and enjoying it all with a chilled glass of wine.

Me 'n my sprinkles

Sometimes it's hard to pick just one thought that's floating around in my mind and write about it.

It's quite Harry Potter-ish isn't it? My very own pensieve of musings and memories. Yes, I hide my wand in my back pocket and I'm a Gryffindor, thank you very much!

When I was younger, I'd watch life happen around me and imagine myself floating on a cloud, just watching everything and everyone. It allowed me to time to observe and more importantly, choose how I wanted to react to stuff. I imagined that I could see how people felt and whether they were happy or not. Then I'd wish I had colorful Star Sprinkles in my bag ala Rainbow Brite, that would promptly make everyone happy and all would be right in the world.

If I was being honest, precious little has changed.

When life gives me the rare moments of quiet thought, I'm back on the cloud. I've come to learn with age that I always had some Sprinkles stashed away somewhere and though I couldn't make everyones worries go away, I could help a few. I learnt that I couldn't see how people felt, but I could try to be as nice as possible to them, never mind the circumstance. Chili calls that being a diplomat. She says tomato, I say tomato. *grin*

I've learnt that I can't always carefully plan my reactions. Sometimes they just take me by surprise. And that isn't such a bad thing after all.

There are so many people I want to watch from my cloud, so many people I want the best for. But since it's just this make-believe cloud (who knew, right?) I'll pray for you all instead.

And if there are any of you on clouds too - 'sup y'all!!

Say a prayer for me too.

Of power cuts and pizzas

Took a bit of a break for two weeks and headed home to my monsoon-ed out Goa.

Thanks to the incessant rain, power cuts were in abundance.

Felt great to be home...and well, just do nothing much, really.

Just sitting on the sofas - talking about ridiculously random things. The silly Santa-Banta jokes (if you're not Indian, google 'sardar jokes' - you'll get it!), high teas, rushed pizza in the car just to be on time for an incredibly lame movie, watching the tv premiere of 3 idiots and eating roasted grams and banana chips, running through Mapusa to hopefully avoid the rains! A barbeque peppered with old friends and new introductions, meeting 3 gorgeous dogs - Stack, Shiny and Shorty. Being able to just stand in the verandah and take in the rain, the squirrels, the smell of leaves being burnt somewhere in the distance, wondering if you'll see a few monkeys in the trees. That lovely evening at Navtara where we were all so ravenous and ate almost everything on the menu! Lovely hot baths whilst it poured buckets and buckets outside. The Samsung store. *smiles*

I miss home. I miss mum and dad.

And I miss the power cuts.

If you haven't been, you must visit Goa sometime.

It's the loveliest place in the world and I call it home.