Perspective!

To get a perspective on this, I asked S what would be his impression of me as a third person or for that matter, what does he think? Do I appear arrogant?

To which his response is a well-thought out answer, he says Firstly, you are much taller than the average Indian male, which not many are comfortable with.Secondly, you are not the coy demure woman, but a confident woman who speaks her mind with absolutely no fear, even with me.Thirdly, I am not saying this as your husband, but even looking at you as a third person, you are not over-bearing or dominating. You are just so sure of yourself which is fantastic and I love that in you. So chill babe, you are cool and its a good trait and many people work towards getting where you are now.

He was like, to give you an example, your tailor ( we were discussing this while returning home from the tailor shop!) ...he welcomes you so warmly and goes J Madam..J Madam...and does so much to accomodate to your urgency or needs... I did'nt see his behave so nicely with the other women there. why do you think he does that?

Because, you treat him with respect and you are really nice to him. You laugh and joke with him like you would do with any normal person....So you are a lovely person! Your spirit and enthusiasm is really infectious and endearing...

Now, you know why I love S so much!!! :P ( It made my day to hear that from him, genuinely!!) :-)

The weekend that was...

Most part of Sunday was spent in an office get-to-gether with S's office colleagues. It was interesting to meet their families and adorable kids and babies. S and I were the youngest couple there... As I made conversation with one of the women, a mother of two, I realized that everyone yearns for something or the other in life. They always want something else, in contrast to what they have..she kept telling me how she could not pursue a career despite being well qualified as her inlaws/husband did'nt want her to work after she got married. She has two beautiful kids. I thought to myself ' So Its not just me then, who wants different things at various points that keeps changing constantly!' ;-)
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The preparations for the trip in December are in full swing and we are almost done except for the visas. Got some nice walking shoes for me as we will need to walk a lot and I thought it makes sense to invest in some good shoes instead of carrying numerous pairs there. We scoured numerous shops before we got something that I liked, coz I have big feet!!! I have been trying to find some nice shop to buy a stylish trench coat. There are awesome styles and colors abroad, which are not too expensive either...I looked it up on the net but there is no shipping to India. I will need to ask around and look...that is one major essential detail that needs to be taken care of...which I did...I asked my friend Tess to buy it for me, coz she is in the States now and we had a long discussion about colors, sizes, prices, styles et al! Persistent you say? That I am...very sweet of Tess to help too! Lets see how it works out.
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I try to stick to fruits on Mondays throughout the day. An attempt to cleanse the system and lose weight too. But by evening, I feel really pukish with no salt throughout the day, so i have fruits for lunch and some cornflakes and milk and something light for dinner like soup or sometimes if i am really hungry, i have dosa! :-) It really does cleanse the system, feel like all the toxins are flushed from my system. You can try it, it really helps.
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Things are in a state of flux right now in my life. I have to wait for a couple of months to understand or even know how its gonna be... keeping my fingers crossed and hope everything happens for the best. I have faith in GOD, he knows what is best for us.
P.S - This is my 150th Post! :-)

Intimidating?

I have been told many times by several people that ( especially by men) they find me very intimidating. Apparently, I am always very sure of myself and sound really confident and fearless. Yes, I am a confident person but I fail to understand why I am intimidating? I would be lying if I say it does'nt bother me. It does.

While my mom thinks its good that people are scared of me and that men always find smart women intimidating! :P...I genuinely don't want to come across as if I am unapproachable or intimidating, especially in the workplace. It happens that people form a perception and it tends to stay as I don't really get an opportunity to prove otherwise, unless the other person gets to know me personally, which can be rare. I must admit I am not one of those shy, demure kind of women nor someone who hesitates to speak her mind. Is that arrogant behavior? I don't think so! I do not mince words. PERIOD. At the same time, I am not rude, am polite but am not sugary sweet.

As a result of all this behavioral speculation, I have tried to tone down my personality, so to speak. I try to think before i speak and ensure that I don't sound 'arrogant' or 'intimidating'. In this painstaking ( for me, it is)process of modifying my personality, I forget what I really want to say and end up focussing on how I come across...which is not a great help either! All my thoughts are lost in the presentation!
What do I do? I can't say 'I am like this wonly! Take it or leave it! In the real world, it does'nt work that way. Any suggestions?

A dear friend of mine has adopted a baby girl recently. When she went in for the adoption, she found her child and messaged me 'I found my daughter' and I know she meant it immediately. When she came back and informed me in person, her face was radiant with happiness and lit up with joy. When I hugged her tightly, I saw her bright-eyed with tears. I said a silent prayer for my friend who has been through a lot...

Her excitement and happiness is so infectious that I can't help being happy for her. She will bring home the baby today and we plan to go visit her tomorrow and welcome the little bundle of joy with gifts, love and loads of affection.

I have a small request to the readers of this blog. I blog in my original name, I know....and essentially write for myself, to chronicle my life...in the process, if you would like to know or interact with me and my thoughts, i totally love and appreciate it. But please do not discuss the blog topics with me or my family. For the simple reason that what i write here comes from me, not S, not my family...and once again, its MY blog! Thank you very much. I appreciate it. If you have something to say, say it here...you have to take the effort to comment. You can choose to remain silent too...not only here, anywhere! PERIOD. If you are inquisitive, its your problem! Deal with it. and NO! I am not going to stop writing!

Tales of a different kind...

I love watching T.V. and I have no qualms saying that! Having said that, I don't really watch the saas-bahu serials with a vengeance, but follow 'travel and living' and am a big F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Desperate Housewives and offlate, SATC fan!


I have been watching a new serial 'Balika Vadhu' on Colors Channel. 'Balika Vadhu' literally means 'Child Bride' which is prevalent in the rural areas of India even today! It beautifully describes the travails of a child bride, from the child's perspective with some fun elements too. The protagonist is a lovely child with such expressive eyes and innocence that when she cries or longs for her mother or wants to live her life as a child instead of being burdened with 'adult' responsibities so early on in life, it tugs your heartstrings...for that matter, all the characters in the serial play their part very naturally which is probably why I look forward to seeing it. The obvious discrimination angers you...


Hats off to the creative team for coming up with such a meaningful serial which not only entertains but also sends a message across clearly.

* Conditions apply!

You look at some interesting sale or tempting offer and get all excited. Your excitement is all dampened the minute you see the little * somewhere in the corner, in a tiny font yet it can't be ignored. Lots of things in life too comes with conditions, don't they? Let me list down some I have noticed among people, mostly the unsaid part!

• I love you if you love me too*
• I love being in a relationship provided I have my space*
• I enjoy working provided every alternate day is a holiday* ;-) ( This could be my wish!)
• You can be very frank and say what you want to, as long as you say what i want to hear*
• I feel close to people as long as they say all the right things*
• I am open to feedback as long as you don't criticize me*
• I love my parents as long as they don't interfere in my life*
• You adore me only if I buy expensive gifts for you regularly*
• I am a good person only if I don't have an opinion of my own on anything whatsoever*

You can comment here only if you have the patience for it*

*Conditions apply! Go on, add some more if you have anything...

'A thousand splendid suns' - Khaled Hosseini

I was so desperate to read this book and since I just did'nt find the time to go buy it or for that matter, when I did go shopping I simply forgot, I read the e-book ( I can hear book lovers gasping coz I know lots of people like to read from a physical book). I know that there is a certain charm in reading books which goes missing when you read it virtually. Well, something is better than nothing.

I have heard so much about this book from different people that I had great expectations. The author's eloquence takes your breath away and makes you feel as if you are with the protagonist as she goes through hell in every stage of her life. There is a world of difference between feeling sorry for those brave women by reading through the pages of a splendid book to actually going through all those adversities, humiliation, pain, agony, injustice, fear and so many conflicting not-so-pleasant emotions!

It made me think how lucky and blessed i am...to be where I am right now!

Edited to add: I am planning to read 'The Kite Runner' next...I have to warn you that the book does not leave you with a very happy feeling, it makes you really sad. On a totally different note, i saw 'what happens in vegas' this weekend, usual story but very funny!! I thoroughly enjoyed the movie!