The End.

No, not of this blog, though at the pace I'm blogging, I might as well.

The end of the year. 2009. The 'Noughties' are done with, I guess. Woo hoo and all.

It's been a good decade. We've gone...from the Backstreet Boys to Hannah Montana, and everything in between, and I don't know WHICH is worse.

The year...well, it was the end of an era. School. CBSE. All that. My hair went from ostentatious red-streaked (sadly, THAT'S the photo that's on my college ID card) to pink streaked to punk short. And now....it's a little shorter than that. Whee. I got a third piercing on my right ear (it STILL hurts. SO many months later.) I fell in love with Bombay and so much more. I went from being angry that I couldn't go to college because of rain, to waking up, hearing rain, rolling over and going back to sleep quite happily. I loathe heavy rain.

It's been...a good year.

Plans? Well...My parents are in town. Leaving tomorrow. So, we're watching 3 Idiots tonight. Whee. A sober New Year.

Resolutions? Absolutely none, as of now. Take life as it comes. Make the best of everything. Grab opportunities by the nuts. Crib less. Dance more.

So.....here's to Twenty Ten, I wish everyone a great new year! I Apologize for the highly boring post.

Twinkly lights all over

Aah, back to the buzz that is Bombay. I didn't get my big fat noisy Indian Diwali after all. I didn't even light a single firecracker. But my TV-addict cousin got his first bhaiduj from me, and I got a bit rich.

On my way home from my grandmom's, the sun had set and every window glittered with twinkly lights of every size and colour, beautiful paper lanterns swaying in the breeze. Even the slummier areas had something, a huge lantern over the highway, a haphazard sprinkling of bulbs. The chawls overlooking the highway were uniform, the same bright paper lantern in every balcony. Three chawls in a row, each lit in a different colour.

The last day of Diwali was rather quiet. Occasionally you'd hear a bang, and then a shiny green pustule would streak into the sky and explode in a shower of sparks.

Not so much after I got back to Matunga. My head throbbed as I unpacked and ate. Outside my window, down the lane, the noise was continuous. And hellishly irritating.

Furious, I fell asleep. Today morning as I walked down that same lane, so silent now, a thousand little bits of paper were the only evidence of last night's pyrotechnical play.

Parental Arrival

The parents have arrived.
The college rounds have been done, forms have been filled and submitted.
Now all there is to do is wait.

Perfection is what?

Perfection is Truthful Chocolate Cake at German Bakery and the stories it brought out.
Perfection is making plans, and then saying "screwit" to go back home and crash.
Perfection is a great nap cuddled close to those whom you love.
Perfection is a long night filled with conversation.
Perfection is sleep on the trip home.

Ani, Zaiu, you're the best friends a girl can have. Rads, you're the best sister a girl can have. Thanks for making my Pune.
I love you.

Bombay calling

And after a year and a half of anticipation and whatnot, I'm finally in Bombay.
It's humid. grrr. I can handle dry heat, I've lived in a country that gets to 45 degrees Celsius in summer. But dry. This is humid. Fans on full blast, sweat running down my back in a most irritating way.
Alphonso mangoes. Lots of them at my place. So it's not just sweat running down me.
I'm loving life. Mom seemed rather amazed that I actually dragged myself to Andheri to meet Rushi just an hour after I got home. Home is Sion, by the way.
"How didja GO??" she asks. "Umm, walk to Sion Circle and then rickshaw." I reply.
"Wow."
What's wow, I ask. No, just didn't expect you to go all the way to Andheri your first day there.
Weird.
But yes, I did do that, I met Rushi, I met Ani, I met Jai, and there was CCD and bad stories and so much laughter that our stomachs hurt. So much.
Home, however, I must get used to. I'm so used to Mom knowing me. Like, knowing not to pay ANY attention when I mutter to myself or grumble in frustration at everything from over-affectionate cats to defunct internet connections.
But Mom's not here, I've got my grandmom and my aunt who constantly ask what I want, and tell me to lower the volume or no, that mango's a little spoilt, take another. I've told them that it is essential that they: 1. Do not worry about me, just leave me to my own devices. 2. Pay no attention to my mutterings. Because I am indeed muttering a lot these days. Lol.
But yeah, it's good out here despite everything. And it can only get better. So cheers to me and all.

Tired.

Yes I'm tired.
My long lazy mornings have been replaced with work.
My mom works at the Centre for Special Education located in our school campus, I've mentioned this before. When my exams ended, I'd asked her to call on me if any of the classes were short-handed.
Two weeks into my vacation, just when I was settling into the lazy morning routine, she tells me I'm needed.
So I start at Maushi's class, cluelessly teaching 3rd grade math to kids who are bout 9 or 10. But Maushi's class always has more than enough help, so I switch to Tina's class.
Tina's class has about 7 kids, 6 of whom are autistic, 1 of whom has behavioural problems.
Mornings are taken up by language classes, where everyone goes to the front and answers questions about themselves...with a lot of prompting.
Then Tina has a different lesson every day, yesterday it was fruits, the day before that it was opposites. Heavy and light, big and small.
Then is break (by the time all this is over, it's 10.30) and all the teachers and volunteers settle down to chat as the kids eat.
After that starts work for me. Functional academics. Like, English, Math and all. Really simple stuff. But with these kids, you never know. Sometimes they work fast. Sometimes it takes an eternity, They stare blankly at you while you prompt and prompt and in your head you're begging them to tell you the answer because they KNOW it and you KNOW they know it......
But it's fun work. It's better than uselessly lying around at home.
A couple of days ago, I had to use these foam shapes to teach math to someone. They were rather tempting to play with....

Meanwhile, yesterday was mom's birthday. We normally try new restaurants on birthdays, this time we landed at a place called Kargeen, very well known, but none of us had ever been there, because we thought it was mostly arabic food and sheesha.

Yeah right.

Firstly, it's a beautifully done outdoor place, almost like a fantasy at night, with glass lanterns and strings of lights, a fountain and trees. The food is OUT of this world. I ordered a Philadelphia sandwich, Mushrooms and cream and onions in a baguette, and had a tough time finishing it, it was so so so good....

I must go back there sometime...

wowie.

Also meanwhile, I'm reading Doctors by Erich Segal. Read it, it's brilliant.

Mysty gets protective.

Call me hypocrite, but I will always be jolted in the heart if I hear the word 'Fuck' or any of its derivatives spill out of the mouths of those I consider as my baby sisters.