Mommy mania?

I'm surrounded by babies - it's a sea of them - let me count it! My BFF had a baby boy in Jan, The juggler's BFF has a baby girl last Nov, another friend of ours had baby girl in early Jan, next one is due in Sept and that's within like the immediate friend's circle - there are a multiplicity of babies that we know of - both my bosses had kids, other friends have produced little ones - and they all put up photies on facebook making you a part of their lives since you see the change in the baby everday - anyway the point is all these babies are making me broody! It started with my niece who is the apple of my family's eye - and I'm telling you - there has never been a kid as smart as her, but any way I digress!
I can spend hours looking at photies of other people's kids - which makes me somewhat creepy stalkerish but still....I'm really getting angsty to have kids of my own but the steps to achieve tht in India where you need to be legally bound etc etc seems to freak me out where I appear to have upped the drinking etc which will prevent me actually getting to that state! It's a vicious cycle I tell you- one that I have less than a year to break!

RIP - MJ

While I agree that Michael Jackson created some fabulous music and he rocked the 80's and some of the 90's - this massive outpouring of grief is way beyond my understanding. For the last 10 yrs or so, the man has been a recluse with accusations of paedophilia and paying women to have his children - he has declared bankruptcy and dangled children out of balconies. Obliterating all that, there is still no need for my facebook page to be completely filled with all these memories of MJ - which is actually a list of his songs and other random facts. None of us knew him personally - his music is what we remember and that still remains - we can still own those records - I think we should all go out and buy it so that his children actually inherit something not just a memory of a King that used to be!

Astrological help?

I've been having one of those months where nothing seems to go my way - it's not necessarily a major catastrophe but it's one of those season's where I overlook all the little things and land up not in trouble but with a leaden weight of guilt in my stomach - this in turn leads to wanting to drown my sorrows in alcohol which further leads to late nights and the cycle continues.

This has always been my biggest problem - I used to have a higher than average intelligence and I can retain information - I'm willing to work hard and I can work smart but I lack an attention to detail! so it will always be the small slips that catch me and these will always come at a time when I am facing a larger issue which is not necessarily my fault but compounded by this minor infraction, in totality gains a larger meaning.

I've discussed this with friends who also screw up and from their experience, we are not the only ones who screw up - others do it too! they are just more proficient at denying it or avoiding the issue altogether. It's just lucky few, who seem to do it consistently and feel it majorly. The best solution is over look it and pretend it never happened. Yes - good in theory, in practice crap - coz I'm one of those people who admit fault and always with an expressive face, cannot drum up cheer in the face of flaws.

For non work related issues, a classic example, cheap deal to fly to HKG - ticket for Rs.15K. Grabbed it, trying to work out dates and find out when the juggler is going to be in HKG. The first set of dates I chose had expired by the time I finally went to pay. When I decided on the next set and got leave approved, I went ahead and booked. 30 minutes later, it turns out the juggler will be in HKG the week after me....and 3 days later, during a discussion with my parents about how I think I won't have to change planes at the halt in SQ since it's only a 15 min difference, it turns out yes, it is a 15 min difference with an additional 24 hrs!! Yes, I have a whole day in SQ - which is not such a bad thing since, I've never seen and I have a cousin there so it all turned out ok but it's the attention to detail thing again!

I'm hoping that my moons were not in alignment this fortnight making the coming week, a pleasant experience otherwise as my twitters often read, this day/week/I need to curl up and die!

Reasons why I like being a girl:

• Chick lit - can you imagine the serious reading I would need to do otherwise?
• Girl bonding - I cannot imagine knocking back beer and competing in sports as an option
• Dresses/skirts - One has the option of not encasing one's legs in hot fabric
• Make up - the joys of girl bonding while dressing up
• I can cry during movies, Actually I can cry whenever I want and then get whatever I want
• Accessories - Bags, Belts, Shoes, shiny clips, Jewellery, the list goes on
• Having an excuse to be snappy once a month, twice a month, however often one wants

For a longer more comprehensive list, please visit the bride as well as the flip side of things!

To the Juggler on his 37th birthday

I know you hate celebrating the day since you did none of the work and your parents are the ones who should be congratulated. So we will start with that....

To Juggler's parents, thank you for the wise decision and the patience to have a child after you thought you would be done with child rearing - you did a fantastic job and 37 years later, it definitely seems worth it!

Birthday's, as I keep saying, are milestones of your life - another year completed, more goals achieved, more change accepted - it reminds me of where you are in your life and more importantly who you are.

This year,

• Just now, you did the boys holiday you've always wanted to do and the one you felt cheated out of
• You were asked to a representative of the music industry in India on your merit alone
• You went to Amsterdam twice
• Vienna + Prague struck off a list
• You have seen every responsibility you touch turn to gold
• You're team leading skills are appreciated - witness people willing to rejoin under your fold
• You watched your team at work grow [not physically], with pride
• Your sister praised you to the skies
• People still laugh at your jokes
• You discovered you have timing - no joke maybe but timing for sure ;-)
• You discovered remix versions of Auld Lang Syne
• You are financially secure with 0 debt
• You now own 2 pairs of Onitsuka Tigers
• as well as 2 original Yankee caps
  

There have been some setbacks:

• You were not chosen President of the U.S.A
• Your best friend passed away
• You only managed Hong Kong once in the last year
  

That's all I can think of - all in all, I think you had a good year and I don't know about you, but I'm certainly grateful for this day and you!

P.S. The juggler's response

Stress

definitions by Urbandictionary.com

1. To be overwhelmed with responsiblity
2. To contain an enormous amount of pressure
3. An unpleasant by-product of life in modern society

It also means ' a california slang term which defines a type of weed that is so shitty it causes "stress". ' Oh Well! U learn new things everyday!

Elegance - A guide

To quote from the Amazon review of the book I am going to discuss "Tessaro writes a lighthearted contemporary version of Pygmalion." The protagonist changes her life around by following the style guidelines in a 40 yr old manual ' the Guide to Elegance'. The book made for an interesting read since each chapter is based on a rule from this guide book.

Examples:

• Retire alligator skin after 5 pm - they are strictly sports and travel wear
• Always own suits
• Decollete increases as the night passes
• Comfort is unimportant in the larger scheme of things

Anyhoo, the list goes on and really in a lot of ways, what the style guide teaches you is a lesson in self worth - starting with self awareness. When you look good, automatically you are more confident since we live in a society that is governed by shallowness! By insisting a woman always look her best, she is insisting on being who she is. The book also states how every woman is not born beautiful and beauty fades but charm is something everyone can aspire to and it will last you a lifetime since it is an acquired skill.

I disagree in some cases tho - As you know I live in Mumbai which tho being a wonderful city prides itself on it's ability to showcase all kinds of people. Therefore it is not a crime to wander the streets in pyjamas or torn jeans or any statement making article of your choice or in some cases sheer laziness to change clothes. In Hong Kong on the other hand, all the girls are very well dressed in accordance with the latest fashion - here it's not just about style its about the style of the minute. Which is lovely however, I find that people who live in it also end up bowing to the pressure of being so perfect.

On the flip side, I really think I ought to do more on my daily elegance - I think I have it cracked for the gala occasion but as the book points out - why don't we look our best for the ones at home or the ones we love? Those people are subjected to holey trackpants and face masks at worse times. The flip side of this is that there are people who find natural wholesomeness much more appealing than any artifice.

I always want to be the sort of girl that has the perfectly manicured nails and prettily pedicured feet - always has fine eyeliner and pouting pink lips. In actuality, I have a halo around my head since my hair stands on end, my finger nails are always chipped and sometimes I cannot bear to look at my own feet. I'm not even going to get started on the hair situation since due to my many allergies, I may not visit the parlour for months at a time leading to me losing in a comparison with the juggler with regards to hirsuteness. I have never been able to stand lipstick and since lipgloss gets eaten within 30 seconds of application and I tend to rub my eyes leading to my kajal running and me sporting the not so latest Raccoon look, make up on a daily basis is not meant for the likes of me. I definitely dress for comfort not for fashion and tho I think I wear stylised outfits, salwar kameez 3 days out of 4 does not really make for high fashion statements. Since I have constipation issues, on the days I don't - jeans/pants are definitely not an option and only loose flowing tops save the day.

I do go through these phases where I do the make up everyday since a little bit goes a long way but I never keep to it. I am now deciding to carry around a little black liner and pinky brown lipstick so at least one swipe at work and one is presentable which always helps in dealing with boys which the lords knows, one has enough of at work. Also insisting on throwing out grubby clothes has helped as well since I'm forced to wear decent things to work! Here's hope the guide to elegance is not lost on me!

P.S. An Interesting article relevant to both the book and this post