DUDE, WHERE'S MY FRIDGE?

... And a gazillion rupee prize to anyone who can locate my fridge under all that!

ON MEDITATION

So woke up one morning and decided to start off with meditation. Experienced bliss. Hooked on for life. Hah! Now that would be a fib, and how!



This is actually how it started off.

Got introduced to this very warm and wonderful couple, aquaintances of the folks'. They are both deeply spiritual and religious, of course with both being mutually exclusive. (Which is what I like.) A few evenings at their place, some discussions on who we are, what are we doing here, what is our purpose in life...you get the drift. Basic questions, maybe, but every time you visit them, you have a different view, a different answer. Then of course, there's karma. Without going into a crash course on spirituality (I'll leave that for another post), discovered with them that it's plain and simple wonderful to sit quiet and meditate.

This is how I go about it:
Dimmed lights
Air conditioner on
Diffuser with some pleasant aromatherapy oil (my current favourite's cinnamon)
Favourite CD (instrumental/ chants)
So all you have to do is have the above organised. Yes, it's comfortable. Yes, it's convenient, and at my convenience. Even a 15-minute meditation, with just myself for company is good. Sure there are times (most times, to be honest) when it's difficult to not think about anything, or clear my mind of every little thought, but that's okay. It's okay to have the random thought flit by, but it's more important to focus on your breathing, and soothe your mind with the music/ chants. (See, that's why you pick something restful.)

One day, I may take this a notch higher, where I may not need the music to calm me, I may not need the diffuser to waft a soothing aroma and I may not need the AC on to feel good. Until then, however, my brand of meditation works!

Try it, do!

SRI LANKA IN PICTURES

Here you go:



And here's another:

HOLIDAY!

Or rather, celebrations.

So the significant other and I celebrated six years together last month. Not bad, given that see-saws and relationships are virtually synonimous, don't you think! Six years of marriage, six years of 'in sickness and in health' (which we did go through on the anniversary itself, seeing that we were both nursing the most goddawful colds!), six years of just being together. Okay, for those married/ in committed relationships for longer, I can imagine that six years is baby food, but do humour me here. :)

Holiday? Always good!
A surprise anniversary gift? Even better!

So the husband planned an (extended) weekend to Sri Lanka!

Here's a picture of beautiful Sri Lanka:

BREAKING NEWS!

Circa 1980s: Enter newsreader. Bright red lipstick and rouge: check. Chiffon saree impeccably pinned to shoulder: check. Hair perfectly coiffed: check. Tight smile on face: check.
News read out deadpan. Nothing is too sensational, awe-inspiring, nail-biting or demands any sort of reaction, really. Minister so-and-so loses election. A facial muscle twitch should do it. Floods in x part of the world. A facial muscle twitch should do it. International honour bestowed on classical singer. A facial muscle twitch should do it.

2011: Enter newscaster. Flawless (if overdone) makeup: check. Business suit (with the brand flashing on ticker): check. Poker-straight hair: check. Expression on face: Can't say, really.
After all, it's all about the breaking news. OMG celeb so-and-so chipped a nail while at the spa today. Breaking news! The darling of all party circuits caught in an MMS scandal. Breaking news! Cricket season begins. Breaking news! A tree fell and blocked traffic for 2.5 hours. Breaking news! Mrs A from Apt. 4B in my apartment building chopped veggies for lunch today. Breaking news!

Really, now! Is there ANY sanctity left to the news at all?!

DREAMS

So is it considered an omen - good or bad - to dream about snakes? About those whom you loved but are no longer with you? About those who are alive, but you dream are dead? About magic (the Potter variety; not black)? About flying? About falling down? About so many myriad things, and in such a manner that on waking you're not able to separate dream from reality for a grand old moment there?
Maybe that's why people have dreamcatchers. Hmmm.

MR MOUCH

In the garden!

FOOD FOR THE GODS

Or at least, for me. Yummmmmmmmmm!

HIATUS

Apologies!
Loads to say, not so much time. :( Will be back soon.

THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER

With love from the significant other. Couldn't've asked for more.

QUACK!

Step 1: Go to Chandigarh.
Step 2: Drive down to Sukhna Lake. Evenings preferable.
Step 3: Park car, get down and walk to the lakeside. And walk some more.
Step 4: Spot ducks/ geese, like this: "Ah, look! There's a duck/ goose!"
Step 5: Wait for friendly neighbourhood (rather, lakeside) kid to stop by with paper cones full of peanuts. (Doesn't take too long.)
Step 6: Ask price of peanuts. Go bug-eyed at the sheer robbery, but buy anyway. (Look longingly at the ducks/ geese, and kiss your chances of haggling on price good-bye.)
Step 7: Shell out kid's asking price. Grab paper cone.
Step 8: Get attacked by (seemingly perpetually) hungry ducks/ geese.
Step 9: Unravel paper cone in haste. Toss peanuts to said quackers.(Else risk getting attacked to the accompaniment of obnoxiously loud quacking.)
Step 10: Pose for photograph(s).

ON A WING AND A PRAYER

The new year brings with it aspirations, hope, prayers for a good beginning. Would be nice not to see so much gore on the telly, gruesome news in the papers, and overall, less violence in the world. (None at all would be too much to ask for, right, so let's keep it real.)

Gods and politicians, are you listening?

TEENY TINY BUGS

... Courtesy the incessant Mumbai rains! :(

To say nothing of:
the damp
the fungus
the doggy-out-in-the-wet smell on things
the resultant cleaning up around the house!

And here I am, someone who normally loves the rains!

Oh, for a spot of sunshine...

UNTITLED

Those endless nights, full of darkness.
It's only your love that shows me the light.

Those times I think that despair will kill me.
It's only your love that keeps me alive.

Your voice fills me, permeates the silence.
It's only you I want to hear.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRIEND!

Spoke to a friend today. Initially, it was a birthday wish, but am hoping it made the said friend's day as much as it did mine. Put a smile on my face, really. What did we speak about? Nothing earth-shattering, nothing that is of importance globally. More importantly, it was topics of conversation that made the both of us happy, and glad that we did touch base. It's not often that we speak - yet! (it's a newly forged friendship, you see) - but catching up is always fun. The SMSes that fly back and forth are snippets of conversation in themselves. Hmm, contentment.

Why do I write this post? No, it's not to make the friend get a feel of 'oh, look - I write about you just to flatter you'; neither does it have to do with wanting anyone else to feel that way. What I'm pleasantly surprised is about the fact that you find friends in the most unlikely places, under the most unlikely circumstances. About meeting said friend: a business meeting with a fair number of others, but somehow seem to hit it off with just this one person. A quick promise to keep in touch (did I mention that we live in different cities?), and which we stuck to, saw us swap contact information, led us to explore a tentative new friendship. Safe to say that on the friend front, this is a good place to be!

P.S.: Here's wishing you a wonderful year ahead, friend! You know who you are!

SPRING CLEANING

Dunno about spring, really, but got a spot of cleaning done today... Take that, evil dust mites!

Behind the refrigerator, the newspaper hamper, under the cupboards and the bed, the kitchen cabinets cleaned on the inside, the drapes, carpets and furniture vacuumed... I'm quite the proud houseowner at the moment. (Deserve a diamond tiara, too, methinks. Or at the very least, a ring.)

Clean, yes, but if I'm to look at the time - the best part of Sunday's vanished in the hum of the vacuum cleaner, the swish of the dustcloth. Still on the agenda: a trip to the supermarket to buy a week's worth of veggies and fruits.

Whoever said the working (and married) girl's life was easy? Stories to share, anyone?

TO THE RICE COOKER...

... What would I do without you?

Turn back the clock to a few years ago, when the kitchen was entirely alien territory to yours truly. (The hubby not-so-quietly opines that some things don't change, but that's for another post.) Had the BFF over to lunch one afternoon, and the trusting Mum left me to my own devices whilst she popped over to the market on her jaunt for veggies. One request she made was "put the rice on, three whistles should do it, before you can turn it off". Days of the pressure cooker, these. Uh-huh, so I look at the clock, turn on the gas stove and wait for the rice to happily cook itself. Some time later, and with no response in terms of the three promised whistles, am wondering what to do. Just then, the BFF walks in, and is informed of my query. Horrified, she learns that I've not put in any water in the cooker itself - turns out it's a situation (quite literally) waiting to explode! Seems you need to have water not only in the rice vessel itself, but also in the cooker... whew!

Today, my love affair with my rice cooker begins. No pressure cookers for me, but swear by this multi-purpose (it even steams veggies!) rice cooker instead.

Basic rice:

1 portion rice

2 portions water

Salt, butter/ ghee to taste (if you want to)

All you have to do is plug in the rice cooker and wait for the fragrant aroma to waft past... and that's it! Enjoy the rice!

THE TWILIGHT SAGA

So it's my latest obsession... move over, Harry Potter!

POP THE CHAMPAGNE!

It's that time of the year again, ladies and gentlemen, when we pop the bubbly to celebrate another year of togetherness... a.k.a. marriage in some circles.
Decided to take stock of the last year, suggested we make it a fun 'you and me together' exercise. Disdainful looks from the significant other put those plans to rest...
... Still planning, wondering how to spend the day... A pleasant surprise holiday by way of elections in the city is only adding to the happiness!

Watch this space!

HMPH!

And that is the husband's idea of decorating my birthday cake this year. *rolling eyes in head* Really, now!