When the going gets tough...

For the first time ever, I'm worried about not delivering a product on time at work. I can't get a handle on the people I'm working with and I don't know how to navigate the intense political maze that is my office.

In this moment, quite frankly, I hate it. So much so that if I had a choice, I wouldn't go to work tomorrow. As a friend of mine was saying the other day when his day was going down the drain.. "it's one of these days when you wonder why you're doing what you're doing and if it is adding any value to your life at all".

I'm just hoping I can get through this without getting fired. Or getting an ulcer.

The best house warming present ever.

Recently I visited Bunny's new place and was looking around by myself when she yelled that I should check out the soap dispenser in the bathroom. 

What I discovered was an automatic no-touch hand wash dispenser!! It looked like a cool space age gadget, all silver and black. It also had a sensor that would detect the hand (LOL) and push out some soap. Someone had actually presented this to the family as a house warming present! 

So cool. So hygienic. The best house warming present ever. Okay maybe not ever, but it will stay on top of the list until I find something so simple yet so awesome :D 

Food Coma!

Today I went for a food-walk organized by 1100 Walks. It was in Old Delhi for 4 hours starting at 4 pm. As I was leaving for Chandni Chowk at 3 pm, it seemed like a terrible idea thanks to the sun, humidity and heat. But as I sit exhausted on my bed, trying to get out of a food coma, I'm thinking that the walk was worth it despite the weather.

The greeaaatt things about the walk were

1. The food. Oh my, how I love Delhi street food! It's rich. Not too sweet or spicy, but with uhmazing flavour. It's full of desi ghee (no shady Dalda). In the 4 hours we ate kulchas, kulfi, paratha, lassi, kheer, chai... you get the picture :)

2. Old Delhi. It's a charming part of town. Full of history but still so alive in the present. I loved walking in Old Delhi and soaking in the sights and sounds

3. The route. We went pretty deep into old Delhi, basically walking around the Fatehpuri Masjid and all the way to Chawdi Bazaar. The lanes and markets were more mundane (think kites, metal parts, spices) and lesser tourist attractions.

4. Himanshu of 1100 Walks. He is charming and oh-so-cute! Doesn't give shady-guide-type speeches and genuinely enjoys the walk and the food with you.

5. The photo-opps. The light is good enough to click pictures in narrow alley-ways. Even a novice like me could take pretty pictures here!

Next time, must beware of:

1. The weather. I can only imagine how doing this in winter would be so so much better!

2. Footwear. Chappals were a bad idea. Next time I'm going with sneakers.

3. Water and my kidney. Too much water. Oh the last half hour was difficult!

Chugging along...

Days are whizzing by. Work is taking over and the City seems more familiar and by extension, more welcoming. I'm getting used to the crazy drivers on the road and friends are commenting on how I now dress like "one of the Delhi girls", whatever that be.

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I'm feeling old with my new glasses and the floor moves in a funny way when I walk. I guess one doesn't realize how fast time is passng until some shit like this goes down. Age has a way of sneaking up on people and it's suddenly a very uncomfortable feeling!

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EVERYONE must watch Barfi!. I promise that it will leave you feeling good and mushy for the rest of the day. The critics who argue that Barfi! doesn't capture the real emotions between lovers are completely missing the point. The film is about the emotions of the characters in those unique circumstances: the fear of being alone and everyone leaving you; friendship that allays this fear; possessiveness and longing. But above all it is the  innocent treatment of all these emotions that makes the film so lovely and must-watch. The film has also rekindled my Darjeeling-love. Must. Visit. 

Dedic

It was an unlikely friendship from the start. He, a shy, self-conscious junior at work - brilliant with numbers and a very keen focus on his personal style. Me, an extroverted, smiling, bumbling senior - good with people and not really caring about appearances.

When I first worked with him more than a year ago, I thought he was arrogant, self-conscious and worried too much about his tie, perfume and stupid haircut. On his part, I'm sure he thought of me as this over-bearing senior who talked too much and made too many excel mistakes to be counted as a real person!

But in the last few months, we became closer without quite realizing it. He was my light in the new city - exploring new places with me, distracting me with his own funny life problems and being around when almost everybody else was too busy in their own lives.

Now that I've said bye to him and he's leaving for London next week, I am suddenly thinking about all that I've just written about. And that I will miss him, more than I ever thought possible.

   

:)

Rainy morning. And Doogie Howser MD on TV.

Yay for Saturday!

The Saga of the Car - Part 1

Breaking news
August 22, 2012
7:55 pm

Car broken down on panchsheel flyover. Zen driven by some crazy woman who thinks she can survive in this city.

Her car was pushed to the side of the road by some looney men who waved and yelled goodbye in the creepiest way after helping her.

She's now waiting for help to arrive as she contemplates whether she should laugh or cry at her situation and the various ways she's going to carve out the flesh of the man who sold her this piece of junk.

Hah! Foolish foolish woman.