Memories of a 5th grader

Before you start reading this post, please scroll down and read the disclaimer (it’s in italics, grey) in the post right below this one 😀 (I’m sure you’ll have to read it for quite sometime from now on!)

My “online time” is lesser than the state’s monthly ration allowances! The maximum I get to do these days is open Gmail, open Orkut, open WP and then log out before I can do anything useful! I was succumbing to unknown mighty forces that are against me being online — and had almost become used to it…until yesterday!

A chat box opened up in my Gmail and asked “Remember me?” After initial moments of 😯 , I was thrilled! It was an old, old, ooooooold classmate. We shared a class, a bench and our friendship in 5th Std! And then we’d lost touch. A few years ago, when I’d started my Orkut account, I’d searched for her, but wasn’t lucky. And now, here she was.

We had a few long gaps amidst one liners…14 years is a long long time — and if you think there’d be lots of stuff to catch up on when you meet such an old friend, let me tell you, there’s none! 😀 We had no clue what to talk about…other than one-liner replies to “Where are you these days?” and “What you up to?” and the like. And well, if you think there’d be nothing to talk about after the first round of such awkwardness, let me tell you, you’re wrong! Hehe…we launched into a trail of “Do you remember whens” 😉 . Oh God! It was the best catching-up I had had in a long time!

We discussed kho-kho games and falling-downs (I hated that game and would always end up bruised; so would she); we discussed about those irate teachers and our incessant chatting (apparently, once we both were asked to sit at two different seats, well away from each other because of our non-stop talking — and I started crying; being the true friend she was, she started off too! 😀 ); we discussed a few horrid male classmates with whom we’d always get into a quarrel — and I’d go marching to the staff room to complain, bring back a loud-voiced Sir and get them guys shouted at! 😉

We literally laughed out loud discussing a classmate who never used to touch a girl, for fear of him getting pregnant! Ever if his finger brushed against a girl’s by mistake, he’d bring out his towel and rub “it” all off vehemently! (He’s with Infosys now, though I don’t know why I’ve mentioned it here 😀 ). Then there was this Anti-Love Association we’d started — 4 of us friends — against “love” (I still don’t think I was a voluntary member of that 😉 )! Hehe…we used to snoop around, find all sorts of “couples” on campus — well, there was nothing much we fifth grades could do about it — bitch about them majorly! 😛 There was also another secret society we were members of — but of what, we now got no clue! I only remember tiny visiting cards and a symbol on our thumbs (used to make it by dabbing ink onto the bottom of a sketch-pen and pressing it on out thumbs!)

Apparently, once those horrid male classmates pushed her off the bench and she landed “thud” on the floor, right with her bruise facing the floor. Well, we had our revenges too…we used to stone those guys during our every single badminton sessions! — psssttt…and get stoned by them too! 😦

The funniest of all was the recollection of her and myself on stage once — hair all done up and tied with colourful ribbons that matched our dresses — singing away to glory!! 😀

Anyway, it was a rather playful walk down memory lane…becoming a 5th grader again, even if for a few minutes, was awesome — and I enjoyed it so very thoroughly! 🙂 Now, that once-upon-a-time little girl is a stunningly beautiful woman! I was shocked when I saw her picture — and gaped for quite a while! 🙂

I’m so glad we’re back in touch. 14 years of fun we’d missed. Welcome back, Indu! 🙂

i expected…

There are a lot of instances when people walk up to you and start off something with an “I expect…”. It’s invariably things we never want to listen to. I usually act dumb :D—like I did when I joined in a PR company long back (and hated it from Day 1). On my first day, my boss told me “The fact that you are a scorpio tells me that you like working by yourselves and despise taking orders. I expect you to be ready to handle our new client from next week.” Aah…what did she know!? What’s the connection between a scorpio and me? To hell with astrology and zodiac maniacs who make such (obviously meaningless) statements. And yes, I acted dumb and quit the place after 2 more weeks—right on the day prior to the client’s press conference 😀 (That hopefully taught my boss a lesson or two on how different scorpios are from me!)

Anyways, the reasons I write this post are two: one, I really don’t ever understand why people should expect anything at all from others; and two, I found a certain ‘expectation’ statement made by a friend extremely strange—and hilarious!

I’ve been introduced to a lot of expectations from others…which I almost always don’t meet :D…and especially so, if it is anything to do with sacrificing my sleep, using my brain (mainly the part of it that supports memory) or cooking. I have missed many a bus/train (and a few flights almost!) because I find gravity at its strongest while I’m in bed—especially on the eye-lids. I have misplaced just so many things in life that if they’re all bought back to me, I could probably start a curios shop! And for the cooking…should I even dwell on this topic? Well, maybe just one instance, where I once let a fish curry get burnt out of recognition and had to tell my mother something to the measure of: “a lizard fell into the bowl, and I had to scrap the whole thing.” And then give her a sad face.

Well, in spite of being irritated at the fact that people always expect something or the other from each other, I have actually started seeing sense in it—apparently, that’s the way of life. But till date, the only statement that has made me see absolutely no reason or sense in it is when this friends of mine saw me and said: “I expected you to have straight hair with curls at the end!” And I said, “!!!!!!!!!!”. Couldn’t help, but that was the best response I could offer…and I wasn’t even acting dumb! As far as I know, that was one of the most stupefying remarks anyone ever made in the history of conversation! Why, why, why would anyone expect another to have straight hair with curls at the end?? If “wish” was used instead of “expected”, well, I see some reason in that…maybe that’s how he likes it. (Though it still doesn’t explain the fact that it might not suit me 😀 !)

Well, after my momentary surprise, I just could not control my laughter…and I had to actually suppress bouts of it and act normal and polite—I’m generally a polite person unless someone tries real hard to make it not so. How I laughed that night! Gosh! “I expected you to be taller…” (ok, maybe he is real tall); “I expected you to be fair/tanned…” (ok, maybe he is so); “I expected you to be a guy!” (ok, maybe he is gay!) But “I expected you to have straight hair with curls at the bottom”!!???  How does it matter in any which way?

Look forward to knowing the strangest thing someone ever told you! This one is, by far, the best in my collection!