Mixed feelings...

I'm happy to go for the wedding but am sad I have to leave (temporarily, of course):

1. My beautiful Charlotte flat right opposite the brewery.

2. The stone buildings - like tall, grey forts - around me.

3. The walk to the bus stops, the little van with the flowers, a hot dog cart and CVS.
4. The park and its roses.
5. The duck pond in the park where one could sit for hours.
6. The library where one could get lost and never want to be rescued.

7. Watching DVDs like The Squid and the Whale and Sunshine Cleaning.

8. Going in to New York on some Fridays.

9. Spending a weekend in New Jersey. Eating hoagies at Princeton.

10. Going to the gym (will miss my elliptical now that I've sorta mastered it).

11. Going to the movies and finding it's just me and hubby and four other people in the entire theatre.

12. Walking around the tiny shops, bakeries, stores on Blue Back Square.

13. Eating cheesecake that tastes of buttery cheese cake crumbs.

14. Eating perfect sausages (kielbasa, chorizos, you name it).

I'm going away for a month. Will definitely enjoy myself. But will want to be back...soon!

Will miss you, sunshine!

..Going for a few weeks to Mumbai. My sister's getting married in August and it's the rainy season so I'm geared up for my first monsoon wedding.

When I watched the film 'Monsoon Wedding' the actual wedding - which happens at the end of it - made the most impact on me and all I could remember for a while was how much fun all the people had when it rained during the ceremonies. I wanted to attend such a 'monsoon wedding' myself although not as the bride, too worried about the expensive dress, makeup etc. but as one of the many dancing with abandon in the rain. Doesnt look likely though, will be indoors and follows as hectic a schedule as mine did almost four years ago.

However, the wedding is the only reason I'd sacrifice the summer here. I love wearing near nude colours and not worrying about mud spatters or stepping into slushy soft mud that loves to cling. I have ballerines that I hope to break in today - lovely metallic purple ones from Lower East Side. I think I chose them because I fell in love with the label and also the thought of wearing these dainty things on my LARGE feet. I love going into any store here and finding my size, even in the clearance stuff that I never bothered with in Mumbai. I can get why people, not just Indian celebs, love shopping here. I am raring to start work so I could splurge every weekend and get really pretty stuff. In all colours of the rainbow, why not!

I went to a jazz festival last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed both the music and the secondary festival activities: the fairs, the junk jewellery, the people and the food. Only in this setting could one dig into a Veggie Tempura with ranch dressing and a Jerk chicken (on a stick) served on a bed of lo mein. Loved the energy of the crowd, the casual atmosphere, sitting on the grass... I miss it so much. I'm hoping to catch the roses in bloom at a park near here. That's something I'd rather not miss, my last activity here in the summer. When August comes and I return, it will be fall. That's something I'll experience for the first time here.

At times, I imagine all the things I'll do in Mumbai and I know I might not do more than just go for the wedding and spend all the odd days before it in its preparation. At times, I remember the old and familiar routes: from Mulund West to the malls, from Powai to home, to Lokhandwala... my breath catches and my heart twists in a particular way. All the old haunts and lucky me gets to experience it for three whole beautiful monsoony weeks. All said and done, I do think it's the best time to be back for a holiday. And to have a wedding in the midst of it, what could be better?

Love the routine...

...currently, I dont mind the rut. I wake up early, prepare a dish for my hubby to take to work (which also functions as my own lunch), have my first cup of coffee while browsing FB, chat with family or a friend and then start work. My first break is for breakfast and a glass of orange juice which I'm addicted to especially after an egg - any style. I developed this habit during my stay at the Marriott next door and well, it isnt a bad habit anyway. Tropicana is as natural as it can get. I actually get withdrawal symptoms if we run out of OJ mid week. Weekends, I can indulge in a second cup of coffee or a freshly brewed milky tea.

I had to have an omelette today. My usual egg is a boiled one (routine) or fried - sunny side up (preference) with a dusting of pepper and salt eaten with buttered  bread. But today was different. I needed a touch of spice, the biting kind, of tiny green chillies. Cut into larger slices, indifferently de-seeded (can't take too much spice anymore sadly...it's the age not the location), meshed with finely chopped red onion and coarsely chopped coriander. Stirred into a beaten egg and for a motherly touch added just a hint of turmeric. As it was cooking in the pan, I toasted the leftover wheat bagels (mini ones) and buttered them lightly. Sandwiching - or rather stuffing - the omelette into the bagels, I gathered them on a plate, smeared several thick globules of leftover Heinz and lounged in front of the laptop to watch a rerun of Are You Being Served.

Nothing is more celebratory than finishing up such a breakfast with a glass of mellow, cool amber liquid squeezed from an orange and bottled for me.

The Spanish Tickle!!

Just read this yesterday - a new tickle club opens in Spain where people actually pay to get tickled. At first, I was amused that people want to pay for torture, but realized that this is like a massage but with tickles instead. It sounded nicer as I read it but would I try it?

Nope.

I'd rather have a long massage or facial. Or both. And especially would not like to pay someone to tickle me.

However, as all fads do, this one will pick up all over the world not just Spain. Soon, I'm sure to see FB invites for a day at the (tickle) spa. Or perhaps a gift certificate for one. I'd probably refund one for a foot massage even.

I felt so weird reading Hindustan Times online and now I know why I preferred the paper: I could sit, nay lounge on my bed or sofa and read it slowly, taking it in slowly like a great champagne. Rustling the pages, one could feel the day going by slower, one would relax while reading the editorial or the weekend pages or just the way HT covered a story, such a relief from the other papers.

I even day dreamed of working at HT but thought as always, I probably rose-tinted this thought and captured it in a bubble and once I get into the grind I may not have this beautiful vision any more to fall back on. Plus, I mightn't even get my foot in the door.

But I did love reading HT - may not be the online paper - but the stories... great as always.

The Hangover meets Manic Monday!

It's Monday and I have a huuuuge problem with it. I loved Saturday shopping in the mall, although we didnt go to Macy's I did a lot of shopping at Bath and Body Works and also put my large feet into a lot of shoes at Payless (didnt buy any thoh). And went to an even more awesome fireworks display at the Riverfront just a few minutes from home. It put us both in a celebratory mood and my hubby downloaded games on a new IPod as I cuddled my JD and coke (or a measly lil pepsi as a substitute), thai curry and glass noodles sprawled on the couch not even bothering to unmute a George Lopez comedy watched entirely with subtitles!

Got up at 12 on Sunday (afternoon, yes!) and did not move out of the house at all. Suddenly felt like doing a lot of housework so I cleaned, put on the dishwasher and cooked to my heart's content - even going so far as to scrub one side of the kitchen counters! I never ever feel like scrubbing those and I was not so surprised to find much dehydrated muck on it. Made hubby vacuum the place and felt really like a supermom, or rather wife. From 5 pm to 10 pm was a ,marathon Law and Order which we love to watch together so we didnt do much more than move to the kitchen for coffee and muffins - the tiny ones which finish so quickly!

We had a very pleasant weekend as you can imagine. And to get up and actually check emails and think about work on a sunny day meant for going out and shopping for gifts for back home...sighs! At such times, I wish I didnt work. Only today, I envy my friend who wakes up, fixes breakfast for herself and daughter, goes to the library, picks up after mentioned daughter, makes lunch, sleeps or watches a movie and cooks dinner when her husband returns from work. On no other day do i ever grudge her her happy times but I do wish that today, I followed much of the same schedule. Only since I dont yet have a kid, I can....

1. Wake up.
2. Walk to Au Bon Pain and get a warm croissant and a little espresso.
3. Eat and walk out to the nearest bus top.
4. Go to Macy's and try on all the clothes in L size.
5. Buy the ones on sale - get a real kick out of feeling I'm getting away with multiple bargains I didnt need to fight for.
6. Eat a steak and Vermont cheese half sub sandwich at D'Angelos.
7. Walk to the bus stop and catch a bus to scenic Farmington avenue.
8. Get off at Blue Black square and visit the sale at Crate and Barrel. Pick up a few spice jars or delicately molded glassware...maybe a few china appetizer plates.
9. Visit Barnes and Noble for one of those 6 dollar discounted books. Go through the entire Fiction series and wish I could go crazy like I do in the Crossword stores in Mumbai.
10. Pick up some goodies at Whole Foods.
11. Window shop all the way to the Cheesecake Factory to pick up dessert.
12. Loaded down with goodies check into McLadden's Irish Publick House for a quick snifter.
13. Grab two burrito bowls at Chipotle wrapped up for ma dinner!
14. Take the bus home while the sun's still setting at 8 pm.
15. Day dream the entire way until I reach downtown.
16. Get two DVDs at the Hartford Public Library.
17. Walk home.
18. Heat dinner. Cool cheesecakes.
19. Serve
20. Sleep

Not bad for a 20 step programme. Very fulfilling to just write about it. Now, I'll spend the whole of the day wishing I was doing it.

Angry Birds...I get it now!

I got the fever a bit late - once I got my paws on my BIL's Ipad. He's given it to us to take back to his family in India on our Aug trip. And...I'm really enjoying reading Sylvia Plath's Bell Jar and shooting nasty green thingies (or are they piggies) with Angry Birds.

I also get why Ipad is sooo desirable...but look at IPad 2 and I lose interest in buying one for myself. The new thing's launched just yet and is unaffordable but it's brilliant looks and features wise. i'm just gonna spend a few bucks getting some used or low-value chick lit to read on the long flight home - am tempted to spend the 16 hours shooting angry birds but well,...dont want the responsibility of ferrying it and myself in one piece on my first transatlantic and much more journey ALONE!!

I dont get any sleep in the sitting up position anyway but there are lovely movies in the Conti flights - my experience while coming to the US. I watched the Coco Chanel movie secondhand...and also a strangely superior Jessica Biel movie with hunky Colin Firth. It's probably the high pressure environment - I dont think it was Jessica's acting.

I am going to miss my sweet lil' town. I'm gonna miss the Stop and Shop and the D'Angelos and the traffic-free roads. Also the country-side visits once in a while with green meadows, hills, so many trees you couldnt see land for miles and the picturesque white cottagey houses set at intermittent places.

And my lil Charlotte York house all white and pale silk like beige...with un Charlotte furniture. High ceilings, wide windows with charming wide, white windowsills - if my butt was thinner i would sit on it.

My beautiful bathroom with the tub I havent properly used except to stand on under the shower. I must have a proper bubble bath before I leave - a going away party for one.

Wish the Ipad could accompany me but it's too precious. Perhaps a plastic covered hardback would go places where an Ipad cannot!!