I’m 28 today :)

And I feel great 🙂 Not worried about the 30s looming ahead, I’ve no clue why. I’ve heard just too many of my friends worrying about being close to turning 30. Just finished chatting with a cousin, who said she’s terrified she’ll be 30 in two years 😀 Well, so will I; but I’m not bothered. No worries at all, about having turned a year older. In fact, I don’t even feel 28. I still feel 22. That’s when I first got out of the comfort of home and hometown, and stepped into a new city for good, and joined a college for my post graduation course. Ever since, it’s been a string of “new”s…be it cities, companies, job roles, people, situations. So, every new thing that comes along, makes me feel what I felt when I was 22. I’m stuck there, and I like it 😀

So, on to the birthday news…

I got wished close to 18 hours in advance by Hobbes. For some reason I just don’t understand, he seems to think I have a special kind of birthday that extends from start of 1st Nov to end of 2nd Nov. Interesting. Anyways, when I laughed at him for doing this every year (well, last year he was in the U.S., and he said it was because of all the timezone disorientation 🙄 ), he said he was in Goa, and time zones work differently there because of all the alcohol in the Goan air. And also, that he just wanted to be the first one to wish me, that’s all. Veenidathu kidannurundu, athra thanne. 😀

The Queen of Subtlety, when I texted her last night saying I’d be working from home today (for obvious reasons, birthday and work), threw a fit saying I was lying, that she knows I just want to avoid office on the second of November. Well, we all avoid office on our birthdays, she also did. So I was a little baffled by all the accusations. Anyways, after that she sneered at me with a “you wont be awake at 12, I presume”, to which I let out a deep, long sigh and quietly said “lol, yes I will. pls call (to wish)”. I was falling off my chair by 11 itself, but I thought I should stay up and wait for Her Majesty’s call.12 came and went. 12.01 came and went. 12.05 came and went. 12.10 came and went. 12.15 came and went. Well, you get the drift, right? So, me being me, called HER up. And guess what? She did not pick up 😀 So I called again. This time, after the 4th ring-ring, she answered. This conversation followed:

She: Hello…
Me: What behaviour IS this!?
She: Ehe ehe…I am so sorry, I slept off. Happy birthdayyyy.
Me: Yeah, I thought so! After making me stay up, you useless [in my mind I added ‘piece of shit’]
She: You won’t believe it…I stayed on till 11.45, telling myself it’s just 15 more mins…and next thing i know, there’s drool and my phone is ringing…ehe ehe
Me: Yeah, I figured!
She: But I still love you.
Me: I’m supposed to be telling YOU that!
She: Ooops.
Me: So much for being surprise queen, you bloody…I’ve never been THIS surprised before. I’ve got to be the first one to call someone to make them wish me! Pffft.
She: See, this is what happens when you don’t like surprises…this was all planned, this was my surprise for you.
Me: Realllly?
She: Damn, I should’ve said this earlier. AND. This does NOT go out to the public.
Me: I can’t wait to call the other two and tell them this.
She: Fiiiiineah! Be that way! [it is at this point that she sounded like herself; till then, there was a thick coating of embarrassment blanketing her voice, making her sound like a tiny little butterfly crushed under the weight of 3 quilts and 4 pillows!]

Soon after, I called my mom to remind her it’s my birthday. Guess i know her just too well, she’d completely forgotten. Again, “What behaviour is this!? I have just one birthday every year, and you forget that!?” And then comes an apology, a round of laughter and the “Happy birthday” 😀 Oh, this happens most times, and I make it a point to remind people to wish me 😀 Then i teased them all for forgetting Pumbaa’s birthday, and now mine too. Anyway, that shows that we’re both treated equally in the house 😀 Which is a good thing. Comparing me to him is always a flattery. Like how she once saw a picture of mine and said “Pretty. Almost as good-looking as Pumbaa. Almost.” 😀

Ok, that’s all for now. I just HAD to write down the spectacle that The Queen of Subtlety is, before I would forget that brilliant midnight conversation 😉 but I did not want to dedicate another entire post on her, or she’ll start thinking too highly of herself 😀

Thank you, everyone, for the wishes. The ones that were never expected, turned out to be extra sweet. And, thank God for the Internet and webcams 🙂

And while we are at it, Happy Birthday, Shah Rukh Khan 🙂

Now, I really have to get back to work

Time to say goodbye

and I said it all yesterday: my last day at work! 😀

I’ve never seen anyone being made to work so much in their notice period! Bah! I used to be real tired on all days…too tired to even blog! Why, even weekends were spent brainstorming (alone!!) and coming up with new ideas. But yes, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

It was a nice job, the work was super, the team was (mostly) great. But somehow, I reached that point of exasperation real soon. And I decided to quit. Two of my best buddies at work also decided the same thing. So, there was no feeling of ‘leaving good things back’ 😉 But within two days of giving in the resignation, some real cool people joined the team…and the last three weeks were SUPER FUN!

Sometimes, I regret having quit when things were turning to look good. But well, the not-so-good elements will always remain – high and strong – and that will eventually bring the fun down. For sure. So, maybe it wasn’t that bad at all…this decision. And it’s a small world. We’ll cross paths again.

We were a gang of four. Now one person’s left behind. Will always try for his best too 🙂

It was an unexpectedly good ‘last day’. Unexpected gift, a team lunch, a ‘token of appreciation’, lousy speech, photo sessions, formalities, signatures, handing over, farewell, party, hugs, goodbyes, laughs, work, yummy food, sad songs, last-minute proofing, chilling out, catching up, cribbing, LOLs, whining, winding up, coming home. And then, it was over.

One mutton curry, one fish pickle and two gifts pending. I haven’t forgotten, guys and girl 🙂 I’ll be back 😉

And now, I’m moving on. To IBM. To be an IBMer 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

(-: Here I am :-)

Hey people ! Guess who’s back!?
The terrorists? No way!
Santa? Naah.
No, no, not Christmas either!

C’mon! I’m referring to myself here! Gosh! Obviously, am the only one who’s glad! 😀

After a break that seemed almost eternal, I’m back in AlphabetWorld!  The machines (read as my brain) here were apparently getting used to doing nothing. So a lil’ tap at the right side and a harder tap later, it’s started creaking a bit. The print might not be too fine the first few days, but I hope I’ll be pardoned.

I did a rough count of the number of posts I’ve not read since I went on the break — and I’m still reeling under the impact! If I start reading them, one after the other, I might — just might — complete it before they light the candles on my 78th b’day 😀 . I think it’ll be safest for my eyes if I pretend to have read them all — or rather that I’d never been on a break! (Ok, guys…I’m kidding! I’m craving to read ’em all — but can’t at one go…I’ll take the tortoise’s path and read them at at a slow pace.)

My last post was on Nov 1…and when I popped into Vimal‘s blog to count his new posts, I noticed my name, my latest post’s name and the words “5 weeks ago” in his blogroll. Now you know what drove me in here so soon 😀 .
5 weeks! I was aghast…enraged at myself!

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I quickly signed in to undo the damage — and oh my god! WordPress has changed! For a moment, I thought I’d signed into some other site! And then The Greatest Guide-Writer Of All Times tells me it’s the new Crazyhorse look! And yea, it rocks!

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I saw that I’d been bestowed with the following awards:
Butterfly Award by both Verbivore and Vimal;
A Trophy by Vimal;
and
Este Blog investe e acredita na – Proximidade! by Vimal

Thanks a lot, you guys! (If I were dumb, I’d think it was for staying away from the blog world 😉 )

I pass these honours on to (following the rules of the Proximidade one!) 8 others:
Verbivore, Rekha, Apar, Manu, Reema, Sakhi, Xylene and Jayya.

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Apar apparently tagged me sometime back with a photo tag; am so grateful to her (for giving me something for my ‘next post’).

I was also tagged to do the quirky tag by Verbivore, but I noticed that at the end of doing his own, Nikhil had killed the tag! I hope it’s come back to life — because I quite like that tag! 😀

Verbivore also tagged me to do the Movie Quirks tag, but after writing the first part of this sentence, I noticed that she hasn’t. So ooops…sorry!

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I also got to know that Vimal‘s not single anymore 😀 (Vimal, I tried; but the cat scratched me and jumped out of the bag) 😀

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I noticed that the Avante Garde Awards haven’t been announced yet. I’m extremely thankful to everyone who nominated me — I’m honoured to have made into the list! May the best blogger win!

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Soon after posting this, I intent to visit every blog that’s on my roll and leave a “hi” — just so that everyone knows I’m back 😀 (To comment would mean reading the posts — which’ll let me tell others that I’m back only when I’m 78!!

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Last but of course, not the least, I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Nikhil as my Santa Claus for Year 2008! 😀 Anyone else who wishes to be the same are welcome to do so — I’d only be extra glad! 😉

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Folks, am dying for news as to what’s been happening in the blogville while I took that untimely break. So, tell me…what’s been happening!?

Onam…the king of festivals ;)

The oonjaal beside the athappookkalam 🙂

Ellaavarkkum ente hridayam niranja Onaashamsakal 🙂

Onam…the favourite festival of the Malayali 😀 Onakkodi, athapookkalam, oonjaal, pulikali, onathallu…and a grand sadya 😀

He's generally good humoured...wasn't served promptly at someplace, i guess! 😉

Onakkodi: It’s the most sought after part of every Onam — a new apparel! On a Thiruvonam day, every Keralite wears a new dress. The head of the family is supposed to gift onakkodis to all members of that family. Well, the head of mine gave none. So well, I bought it for myself 😛

Athappookkalam: For 10 days, every single house adorns a ‘flower-carpet’…to welcome Mahabali, the cute, pot-bellied cousin of Santa Claus (they look so similar; only, this guy has no white beard, doesn’t ride on reindeer-sledge nor says ‘ho’ ‘ho’ ‘ho’! 😀 ) Kids wake up early morning, go hunting for flowers and come back with a variety of them — this is the one time no one screams at one another for ‘stealing’ flowers! 😉 We didn’t make any — for lack of space (both in and outside our house) 😀

Oonjaal: Temporary swings are put up in the courtyard…and all the kids have a swinging time! There was no swing at my place…but well, I’ve been having one swing of a life lately, so no issues there!

Tiger tiger, burning bright!...a pulikali in progress 😀

Pulikali: This is the most fun of all…doesn’t the picture say it all? People (mostly kids) dress up as tigers/leopards and dance all the way…in the middle of the road 😉 (I feel I resemble a meerkat more — in both looks and behaviour — than a tiger…so, have never participated. Moreover, it’s just for guys 😀 )

Onathallu: This is a spoof on the whole concept of ‘sharing’…we just hit each other real hard and call it Onathallu, just for the heck of it. I’m more of a receiver than a giver 😉

And then…the sadya! Aaaah…the most satisfying part of the festival 😉

That's the top-view of my dining table. Am drooling at the sadya; granny wasted no time in just drooling, though! 😛

A full-course lunch, with banana chips, jaggery chips, pappads, a banana, 3 pickles, a ‘kichadi’, a ‘thoran’, an ‘olan’ an ‘aviyal’, a ‘koottucurry’, ‘parippu’, ‘sambar’, ‘pulissery’, ‘rasam’, ‘buttermilk’ and 3 varieties of payasam — all served in a plantain leaf! Now you know why Mahabali has a pot-belly 😉 I’v developed one too…now, dieting it away!

And oh yes! During Onam, a roughly 4-km stretch in Trivandrum is fully illuminated from 6.30 to 10…for 10 days. The crowd is amazing…and only increases by the year! I went for a walk with my brother “light kaanaan“…it was fun! I had a beautiful, fun-filled Onam. Here are a few pictures he clicked…

P.S.: It was Amma’s birthday on 12th! We walked into the kitchen at 12 a.m. to wish her and lo! She was chilling out — literally! She was almost inside the fridge…though I’ve no clue what she was thinking! A cool birthday? And when my brother and I sang “Happy birthday to you…” and “Santhosha janmadinam Ammakku…” in unison, she gave a start, wheeled around and stared at us. She then blinked thrice. Then her eyes lit up and with an “Oh…12th!”, she thanked us and graciously accepted our hugs, kisses and the gifts 🙂 Oh yes, shall convey each one of your wishes to her 😉