HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wish you a warm and wonderful 2012, y'all!

WAVES

Waves
lashing,
roaring,
white foam.


Coming in from the sea
to pay obeisance at your feet.


Cooling,
tickling,
playful.


They speak
a language of their own.

THE TREE IS UP ALREADY!

... That's because we're away over the Christmas break.

DEBATE

This one's got to do with ebooks v/s 'real' books.

What's an ebook, anyway? So the dictionary definition may differ (more than) slightly, but essentially it's a lovely book that's taken and put into electronic form, with no way to feel the pages, cool and crisp to the touch. No way to hold the book up to the old olfactory glands and take a deep breath, and inhale the - if I may - aroma. Have you noticed how each book carries a different smell, has a personality of its own? A new book, all crisp white pages has a sharp tang, while an older book, slightly mellow, a warm, musky aroma? At the risk of sounding like I have (more than just) borderline OCD, let's move on... *cough* objectively.

Why would I read an ebook? Umm, speaking for myself, at the risk of sounding geeky and so not with it, I may not. Ever. As of now, I don't. Nothing, and I mean nothing, comes even remotely close to holding a book, turning each page over carefully, popping a bookmark into place, and then... re-reading it once done. Rinse repeat. At home, should you ever visit, you'll realise that I'm running out of space for mundane things such as linen, clothes, random odds and ends... and all because the books threaten to take over the apartment. It's a mutiny of sorts, really.

For the sake of argument, I do realise that reading something online, say right here in blogland, does come somewhere close to an ebook. It's not like you print these pages and read, right? Hmm. But I choose to ignore that. *looks away and whistles*

Convenience and things apart, I like my half hour of bedtime reading; there's nothing that puts a crazy day into perspective better. Unless it's a dog. Hmm. But I digress (as usual). Conclusion = no ebooks for me, not for a loooooooong time.

The dog is another story.

COUNTDOWN

... to vacation time begins.
Fun places, here we come!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!

Here's to many, many, many, many more!

We love you!

BEING

I amWho I am

No excuses
No pretenses

What do you see?
Rather,
what do you want to see?

THE WEEKEND'S HERE!

Yippee!

Gonna catch up on reading a Tintin (or ten), of course. Now that I've just seen the movie - what else? The first one will be The Secret of the Unicorn - so I can go, hey! now this wasn't in the movie. Or, that bit from the movie isn't here. You get the drift.

Maybe another movie, starring my current Bollywood heartthrob. The hottie. The super drool-worthy cutie, a.k.a. Ranbir Kapoor. *melts into a puddle*

Family time. Very important, this.

Finalise vacation plans. Ooh, fun.

Turn out closets. Get ruthless with self and sort out clothes. (Note to self: DO NOT get sentimental.) Dust furniture. Put up freshly laundered, ironed curtains at windows. Sort out kitchen cabinets. Inspect Tupperware that houses suspicious growth food in the back of the freezer.

TINTIN!

Simply. Loved. The. Movie.

Fantastic animation, brought to life on an IMAX 3D screen. (Have you also felt like you're gonna fall while in the Dome? I always do. Sigh.)

Here's what I saw:

Every teeny, tiny detail - laugh lines around Tintin's/ Haddock's eyes. (Hmm. Girly, to notice.) Tintin's tuft of hair waving gently in the breeze. The Unicorn's scale model with some glorious detail. Waves in the sea. Bubbles. Bianca Castafiore's jewels. Snowy's velvety little nose and beady eyes.

And oh, the movie, too.

BUSINESS TRIP

After ages. Nice.
Good to meet up with people from other locations. It's interesting, the viewpoints you get. The same routine you follow gets a fresh perspective, with new ideas from your counterparts.

Hmm. New things to absorb and learn.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

FRESH FROM OUR GARDEN

Lime soda, anyone?

DIWALI IS HERE

Happy Diwali, y'all!

OFF ON VACATION!

Yes, it's Diwali. Yes, it is festive. Yes, I am finally done with preparations. Of course, as usual, I'm sure I could've done more. In any case, too late now - it's a little past midnight, and here I am, channel surfing (a fruitless exercise, but being the eternal optimist,...) and blogging. And quickly sending/ replying to work mails, because...

... I am off on vacation. Hurrah! Yay! Yippee!

Nothing fancy, just the annual visit to the in-laws, but it's not reason to complain at all. Of course, will put up loads of pics while there *snort* when I'm back. Will blog regularly too. Okay, occasionally.

So what did I do to prep, anyway? Here's the list:

• Cleaned house
• Washed curtains/ changed bedlinen (which we do otherwise too, but it's almost mandatory at Diwali)
• Put up the fairy lights and the kandeel, or paper lantern. (More on that later, remind me)
• Piously lit diyas and placed outside the door (Again, more later)
• Made chocolates. You think? Well, unfortunately this is the one thing that I didn't get down to doing. Sad. So bought these small pouches, bought chocolates, bought diyas and made up packages to give the neighbours. (You'll notice the malls love people like me - note the overuse of the word 'bought'.)
• Bought gifts and wrapped them (LOVE that!), ready to give away with loads of warm Diwali wishes

That's more or less it.

So while I'm away (and possibly too lazy to blog), have a wonderful and safe Diwali, y'all out there!

SHOPPING LISTS

Because it's soon going to be Diwali. (More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali)

Things to buy for:

• The family
• Friends
• House help
• Some acquaintances

(Given that there are just five days to go, yes, I am running late. Very late. All that I have done is the list, so far. *panic*)

P.S.: Will also be doing some crafts (senility second childhood just for fun) this weekend, so stay tuned for pictures!

*claps hands in glee* Oooh, what fun!

WHAT'S ON YOUR READING LIST?

Currently, this is what my bedside table holds:

Been meaning to read The Tao of Pooh, Te of Piglet for the longest time now; finally got myself a copy and have made (very small, as of now) inroads into it. Good reading.

Of course, books by Betty Neels and Mary Higgins Clark are my all-time favourites, so I'm invariably re-reading (sometimes, even re-re-reading) some of their books - which is the case right now, too.

Weekend agenda: Finish up with these, start off a new lot, and also find some time to paint. (Meeting The Mother-in-Law Later This Month is on the cards; will be gifting her a me-made painting.)

MID-WEEK HOLIDAYS

... are quite my favourite by far.

Makes you happy about having managed to sleepwalk through half the week, with just a couple more days to go.

Am already planning the weekend!

P.S.: Did nothing today, but for digging into my jar of Nutella (mmm-hmm), and then taking myself off for a guilt-walk, an outcome of having demolished a good part of said Nutella jar. Sigh. :/

SPIDEY!

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

Found him sunning himself on Mum's dining table this afternoon. Agreed, she cooks amazingly well, but that's no excuse for Mr Arachnid to stop by.

Ick. Ick.

GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE

WHY does a public holiday have to fall on a Sunday? :(
Yes, that's the problem with tomorrow - I need a weekend! Can someone order me one now, right away, please?

WHAT WOULD YOU BE?

Not necessarily in another life, but say you were to re-do/ un-do stuff in this one itself?

Rockstar? Actor? Scientist? Doctor? Engineer? Artist? Teacher? Spouse? Parent? Sportsperson? Entrepreneur? Salesperson? Financial guru? Writer? Horticulturist?

Hmm. So you picked one.

But...

... somewhere, aren't we all (or most) of these things, at various life stages?

Aren't you a rockstar to the person(s) you matter to the most?

Aren't you the doctor who kisses those boo-boos away?

Aren't you the artist who works on those masterpieces that your parents proudly display on their living room walls?

Aren't you the financial guru who skillfully runs a home on a budget?

Aren't you the horticulturist who livens up a dreary room with a window box full of blooms? Aren't you the scientist, the engineer who thinks quick on your feet to come up with solutions to the most complex of (daily) concerns?

Aren't you the writer who painstakingly pens letters (okay, e-mails!) to stay in touch with those whom you care about?

Aren't you the sportsperson who sprints about from task to task, successfully juggling several activities at a time?

Aren't you the entrepreneur who works on your own new ventures?

Go on, don another hat today! Or maybe, just doffing it to yourself would suffice!