28

Today I woke up to a world blanketed with white. Snow! Okay, yeah not such a big deal now, after all the weather hitting sub polar temperatures and the continuous snow that's been floating down upon us. However, this was serious snow. Like, the usual white-Christmas snow that's typical of winter.

So then I went outside. And I was happy, because it was actually not cold at all. That's what I love about this kind of snow, all the moisture in the air has to surrender its heat to get cold enough to turn into snow, so it's actually sort of warm.

Anyways, next thing I knew I was on my bum on my driveway. The snow had sneakily hid away the layer of ice that was coating the pavement. Yay, fun. Trust me, it is always best to land on your butt when you're falling. That's what bums are for. I once had the misfortune of landing on my arm. Not good. Not good at all. Broken arm.

So yeah. I'm kind of used to falling on my bum and just sitting there for a second or two, blinking or laughing at myself. This was first thing in the morning anyways, so I just shook my head bemusedly then got myself up and wacked my clothes a few times to get the snow off and went on my merry way.

It's actually warm today. 2 degrees C. Yes, that's warm! Oh, the wonders of relativity.

26

Nerdy:

Invisible Smoke:

Kiara: 

Layla:

Ajay Kontham:

Ether:

Jiyaa:

Rinka (Bulb):

IQ: 

25

Hi guys. It's Friday night (yipeee!) and anyways, I thought since I missed a day and whatnot that I shouldn't get in the habit of being blog-lazy.

So today, while walking out in the morning heading to work, I passed the usual park all covered down with snow, and yes it was a wonderfully resplendant winter morning, although bereft of that sunshine that might have made it just oh so perfect, however, what did add to my glee was spotting the flutter of wings and...dun dun dun...recognizing that shape of the head....it was a bluejay! Yayyy!

 I LOVE birds, and spotting the odd and rare sightings of such birds (I mean, compared to always seeing sparrows, crows, ravens, doves, geese and seagulls) is such a thrill. And not only that, there were two of them. Yayyy a bluejay couple! Okay so that made my day. Thank you very much, have a great weekend!

23

Ok so today's thought of the day before I forget. So, there's this girl/woman I see almost every evening on the bus going home from work. For awhile I sort of didn't like the 'vibe' I got from her - a sort of snobby type. Can't explain. Anyways, we usually sit in the same area on the bus, and yesterday she was two seats to my left, with noone between us, and she was yapping away on her phone so hyperly and excitedly, you could just FEEL the happiness oozing off her.

Tonight. I actually see her coming onto the train where I am seated when the train stops at her station, and I automatically get black vibes from her. Anxiety, worry, sorrow. This all while she's still some distance away from me, with a whole crowd between us. When we finally get on the final bus home, she's sitting right beside me. She's not talking on the phone. I'm reading, as I usually do, and my eyes flit 2 cms to the left, and right there is her iphone, and she's texting someone back.

Now, before you think I'm a total creep or stalker, let me tell you that I'm a fast reader, as in, I can take in a whole sentence at a glance, in a way. Again, hard to explain. But yeah I...ahem...absorbed some of what her conversation was and it just made me feel an amazing feeling. All of a sudden, I didn't not like her. In fact, I felt a deep sense of empathy and almost felt like hugging her and casting my eyes sideways, I saw the familiar gleam of unshed tears. A bit filmy, but yeah.

It's probably already wrong to have invaded her private space, and probably more to share what her private conversation was here. But thing is, you don't know her. And secondly, the amazement that came over me was that her private conversation was one almost anyone could relate to in some way - it was the same old script found in every other love story.

Other person (apparently the 'he'): "I don't know what is happening but I don't want us to fall for each other, the way we are already falling.... I'm feeling like a teenager again...But... I don't want to hurt and to get hurt :)"

She's writing as my eyes absorb: "I was thinking how to tell you this all day, but it seems as if I was meant to get hurt afterall."

TELL ME that's so not something we've already heard? It's so cliche, and totally the usual desi dialogue. But it's just so strange the way this emotion of heartbreak is so universal, and so familiar. It just removes all barriers to previous prejudice and creates imaginary bridges of empathy and understanding between strangers. I don't know her, but I found myself saying a quiet prayer for some sort of strength and patience to be and stay with her.

365?

One thing I`ve noticed some of my friends doing is a 365 day of the year kind of journal. Not really a journal, but they just list or post one thing to mark that day. I`ve gotten "blog-lazy" and have sort of retreated in my own shell, and haven't been writing really (no duh, Einstein). And just now I was thinking to myself, dude why don't you just write one thing and keep it simple?

Yes, I realize I'm not literally a dude, for anyone who's scratching their head about that. Anyways, so I think this is what I'm going to do. I've raised my bar on my blog so high with all the write-ups, stories, and I don't know what, that everytime I fail to write something AMAZING or think of something to write that would be AMAZING, I just don't. Hence, an empty and quiet blog.

No, no no. Not good. Quiet blog, and IQ? Nuh uh. *Heaves a really big sigh right about now* Yeah, so that was like you know, just a summoning my superpowers sort of sigh. K, so I'm here. And today's great news is that it's hit -22C, has kept snowing alll day long and only stopped when the sun went down, leaving that amazingly cloudless blue sky typical of a stark winter day behind, and I've worn sweatpants and hoodie to work and couldn't care less how casual that is, and the cold is making my lovely skin feel so dry and ehh, and yup, that's pretty much it for today.

A Sigh

It's been the coldest yet for this winter;  it hadn't stopped snowing all day. At 4.30 in the afternoon, I take a spin in my chair and glance out the window, and I am mesmerized.

It's stopped snowing. The sky is that beautifully deep hue of blue, that's only found in the twilight sky. The sun's not completely set, but the vivid blue spans the entire sky far and wide, without a single cloud to meet the eye. Words can do no justice to this vision. The purity of the blue beckons, catching the eye of the unaware, magnetically drawing a cursory glance out into a prolonged stare.

And right there, shining so emphatically proud and gracefully, the moon. Not quite half, not quite full. A transition that promises more to be revealed, asking without hesitation for that patience that must be maintained to attain that future.

That future of what? Of attainment, of satisfaction, of contentment, of fulfillment. A future where all the waiting now is sated and completed.

In one glance at this vision, I am filled with a feeling, nostalgic, bittersweet, of a realization that I have spent enough moments to smell the roses, in contemplating and dreaming, to simply revel in being.

Perhaps, simply, it is a waiting. A waiting that continues, a waiting that may perhaps have no end, for in being do we not exist in constant longing? A longing that exists beyond the mere wants and fulfillment of worldly desires, that exists simply as the quintessence of the emotion itself, a river of desire that streams continuously into which we splash or dip a hand into now and again.

And I shall wait for the moon to blossom, for the snows to melt, the cold to dissipate, for a fulfillment of sort.

A la Barfi

I realize that I am writing after a long hiatus, and I really cannot account for the time gone except to say that I've been busy with other things and the mind was simply not really in a mood to put words to paper, or even when I felt so inclined, I hadn't the time. In any case, I have returned.

So, after watching the latest Bollywood awards, I was all infused again with the Barfi fever, and so decided, while I was on a roll, to watch the Making of Barfi. Aside from the hilarious affectations of the adorable Ranbir, there were a few lines which caused my mental writing head to raise a few times. One in particular is why I'm writing right now, although, as always when I write without fully thinking through the thought, I don't know where this insight is going to lead.

Priyanka Chopra, aka Jhilmil, says during the Making of Barfi, that the movie is about two people who have nothing in life, and that's how it... blah blah (I forgot the words verbatim here that came before what I do remember) blah comes down to...

"To be happy in life, you don't need anything...just a good heart and a sense of humour."

 Now, you can tell right there why and how this totally appealed to me. Those two things are like my own personal foundation to everything I believe in.

itti si hansi..itti si khushi..itta sa tukda chand ka..khwab ke tinkon se..chal banayen aashiyaan..

QED

Q. What does an olive become when you remove its eye?
A. Blind.

Olive - i = olve = love

Therefore, love = blind.

QED.


(Disclaimer: Yeah, this is what happens when, while other people are just bored, I just think.)

1

Loneliness is never more cruel than when it is felt in close propinquity with someone who has ceased to communicate.

-Germaine Greer

To fall in love is easy, even to remain in it is not difficult; our human loneliness is cause enough. But it is a hard quest worth making to find a comrade through whose steady presence one becomes steadily the person one desires to be. 

- Anna Louise Strong

Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better. 

- Henry Rollins

Coke

Phew. It's not really cold out there, but phew. I've got a headache. It's really throbbing and making me feel light-headed. I haven't had a headache like this in a long while. Or rather, I can't remember having a headache in as many days either. Nevertheless, it's there.

I eyed the half chocolate left on my desk suspiciously. Perhaps it's laced with something. I was forced to take three chocolates, from the just-returned-from-Fiji-and-Australia  big boss. I broached the possibility with a few co-workers, only to their amusement. They think I is funny. Psh, headaches are not funny.

So I went to get coffee. Returned, and now wishing, longing, desiring, craving ice cold Coca-cola. Ah. Oh well, hopefully this caffeine does the job. Or else the gun shall.

Oh yes, happy Monday!

One

New Year Resolutions

Foreword: This is the long awaited continuation of the previous "Back To School'. All characters appearing in this work are nonfictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely incoincidental. Enjoy.

'Ahh. Just what I need after a long day.' Nerdyy poured himself a glass of red wine expertly, flipped the TV on and settled back on his couch. The day couldn't have ended sooner. He savoured the aroma of the wine and then took a lingering sip. His eyes slid heavenward in pleasure and then focused onto his TV screen.

'WHHHH!' He spat the wine straight out and stood up staring in shock.

....

'OK, next contestant please!'

The doors opened and a small slender girl entered, walking on high heels that matched her handbag.

'Helllo miss...'

'Whoa! Fit!' She eyed the man behind the desk. 'Who are you?'

'I'm Vishal.' The man raised an eyebrow coolly at her from behind his shades.

'Not you! Him!' She pointed at the man sitting beside her.

'Oye yaar. Today's my lucky day!' The man laughed uproarously. 'I'm the Anu Malik!'

'Whoaa Anu uncle!' she dropped her bag at her feet and broke into song 'Dhuannnnnn dhuannnnnnnn ho raha haiiiiiii samaaaaaaaa......'

She stopped.

Anu Malik looked at her 'Why did you stop singing? Carry on na'

Layla rolled her eyes, 'I didn't come ere to sing! What do you think this is? A singing competition?'

The Indian Idol judges exchanged glances.

'Uh. Yeah. This is Indian Idol, miss. What did you come here for?'

'Someone told me that I could meet famous people. I want to meet Edward.'

'And who is Edward?'

'Wait. Who are you? You look familiar man.' She eyed the man in the cap.

'I am Himesh Resham..'

'Ohh! Ooooooooooooooooooo KAJOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR OHHH KAJOOOOOOOOOOR!!!!!!' Layla laid into the song, holding her nose for effect.

The other judges burst out laughing as Himesh glared at Layla.

'It is huzoor, beti, huzooor!' He reprimanded with a miffed look.

'So when do I meet Edward?' Layla took out her compact mirror and checked her reflection.

'Miss. WHO is Edward?' Vishal asked her.

Anu added, 'You do realize you're on Live TV also na?'

'I'm on TV!!??????' Layla froze.


....................


'I want to go outside.'

'No.'

'I want to go shopping.'

'No.'

'I want to ride my bike.'

'No.'

'Man! Why won't you let me do anything?!'  IQ fumed.

'I told you, you got injured and hit your head.'

'So?' IQ glared from the couch bundled up with what seemed like five million blankets. 'Since when does that mean I can't do ANYTHING?'

'Who said you can't do anything? You can watch TV and eat!' He smiled happily and placed a big bowl of popcorn in front of her.

'EAT! You keep giving me food like..like..like I'm the food bank! And I am sick of your bloody TV!' She grabbed the remote control and threw it across the room. As it hit the wall, the television screen changed from Criminal Minds to another channel.

Smoke sighed and reached over the fetch the remote control. Just then he heard the familiar strains of a Bollywood song being sung out of key. They both swivelled to look at the TV.

Smoke froze and dashed to block the TV and tried frantically to change the channel.

'What are you doing?' IQ asked suspiciously. 'That's Indian Idol. I want to see that!'

'No! You can't.' Smoke gulped.

'Wait. Why won't you let me watch TV now?' IQ eyed her friend closely. She could tell there was something fishy about this.

'Well. It's a... sucky show.' Smoke mumbled.

'Yeah well we've been watching your favourite shows, so let me watch mine!' IQ said with narrowed eyes.

Smoke debated this in his mind. He knew if he didn't this would be another big fight. He sighed and handed her the remote control resignedly. 'Fine, I will just go get some drinks.' He edged out of the room sideways, and when he saw she wasn't looking, he pulled out the plug for the TV and ran for the kitchen.


.................


"What Exciting Happened in Your Last Year? What Are Your New Year Resolutions Based on What Happened?"

Kiara stared at her first assignment of the year in disgust. Either the teachers didn't bother thinking very hard, or they just didn't think.

'Kiara? Is there a problem?' The teacher's voice rose over the bent heads of her classmates.

'Um. No.' She smiled faintly and bent her head down hiding her expression. No problem at all, except this is the sort of assignment we got when we were in 2nd grade! Anyways no one would believe me even if I did write the truth about what happened.

She shrugged to herself, and started writing.


To be continued.

Pigs

Pigs are intelligent, aware creatures, with an intellect comparable to that of dogs. Factory farmed pigs spend their lives in intensive confinement, painfully restricted to a crate that is 18 to 24 inches wide.

Under these conditions pigs resort to biting each other, usually one another's tails. Farmers respond by cutting off the pigs' tails, while boars' noses are broken to keep them from fighting.

Sows are turned into living reproduction machines, artificially inseminated on "rape racks" when they are just six to eight months old. Pregnancy lasts about four months, yielding litter of approximately a dozen piglets. Against all natural instinct, the sow is forced to tend to her young in a pen on a bare cement floor, scarcely large enough to hold her body. The piglets only suckle for a few weeks and she is quickly impregnated again. She will breed four to seven more litters before being sold for slaughter.

Rescued farm pigs often have short life spans because their genetically-altered bodies cannot handle the strain of their massive weight on such frail legs. They were never meant to live "normal" lives and must endure bodies manipulated by science and greed. Some are unable to walk more than a hundred feet without having to stop and rest. The natural lifespan of a pig is 10-15 years. Sows generally live for 3-4 years.

Courtesy of Friends of Animals

Happy New Year

Wishing all my friends a wonderful new year ahead! ♥