Wednesday 7 October 2009

People I'm most likely to slap when I meet them

  • Arnab Goswami for being in love with the sound of his voice. That and his sub-standard, rhetoric journalism
  • Nandita Ghosh for trying to be the female version of Arnab Goswami and almost succeeding. What a waste of a pretty face!
  • Gagan for being the chauvinist he sometimes is
  • The makers of Huggies nappy pads. They suck. Yeah, the pads and those who make them
  • Cousin C for screwing up his life and his parents'. He is the inspiration behind our resolution to have more than just one child
  • A few nerds from work, but only on some days

Wow, only a short list after raking my brains for a while! I must be peace-loving.

Monday 5 October 2009

I get to meet the crème de la crème of the retard world at work every day

It is Friday evening. I have finished ‘editing’ a very dull, long piece of equity research with my hands tied, ie no changed unless absolutely necessary. I look at the clock and the hour hand is close to seven. I save the document, email a copy and shut down. I pick up my bag and am half way across the floor when someone calls after me.

Someone: Now-self (of course, they call me by my official name, but you’re not getting that here), got a minute?

Me: Yes, what is it?

Someone: Are you leaving for the day?

Me (looking at my bag, proudly hanging by my shoulder): Umm, yeah.

Someone: I had a one-pager for you to edit and was wondering if you would be able to do it today.*

Me (abusing in my head): Sure, but I have shut down my computer. Can I use yours?

Someone: Yeah, that’ll be alright.

Me: So, where’s the piece?

Someone: Actually, I haven’t written it yet, but was wondering if you’d hang out in the office until I’m done.

!!!???

* When this guys says a one-pager, he usually means a five-pager in Greek, written in English script. If you all must know, his three-pager finally arrived in my inbox at 12.23pm on Monday and this guy came over at 12.35 asking if I was done!

Friday 18 September 2009

Random thoughts

  • I wish I were not a strong-willed, self-reliant woman. Then, no one would have expected this much from me. In fact, some might have even offered to help.
  • I love you, but cannot understand why you're subjecting me to the stress of bringing up our [OUR, not just my] child alone
  • Baby, why are you pushing me against the wall?

Tuesday 15 September 2009

When was I myself last?

Many a moon ago, when I felt strange about who I had become, I created this blog – I used to be myself. Little did I know of what life had in store. If I had had even a remote inkling of what was to come, I would have either not created this blog or chosen another name for it. Life has now changed so much that I have forgotten what it was earlier – the life I regretted losing when I created this blog.

Meeting Hubby, falling in love and moving to a new city introduced many changes in my lifestyle. Marriage changed a lot too. It ended my, in words of a dear friend, ‘sophisticated wildcat’ days.

Motherhood, however, is an altogether new ballgame. It is a divine feeling, but being responsible for another person is overwhelming sometimes. Add to that my life as a wife, a single parent (we are neither separated nor divorced. It is a lot less complicated than that. He is away on work) and a career woman, and you have the full picture. Well, not exactly. In less than two weeks, I have to go back to work and I still do not have full-time help. There is someone who comes in morning and leaves after eight hours, much before I would usually return. I need someone to stay with me 24 * 7 or at least until 9pm.

Until last week, I was sure that getting help was the biggest problem, but how wrong was I. I had fully discounted that Li’l Bunny is a person (not a plant that has to be watered a couple of times a day) with definite likes and dislikes. He has to like the person with whom he would spend his entire day. Also, he has to get used to that person. As luck would have it, my first two tries (yes, I have tried two full-time maids already) have failed.

As I have mentioned earlier, the thought of leaving my coughplushcough job has crossed my mind, but that is not a healthy solution. Also, this past week we bought a very nice, huge, up-market apartment. It came at a cost…all our life’s savings and ridiculously high EMIs each month for 20 years. Obviously, we also want posh interiors! We can manage with Hubby’s salary, but only if we give up all nice things in life (and dinner every Wednesday). Therefore, I must go back and leave our Li’l Bunny with…?

As a young child, I firmly believed that nothing in life could be more dreadful than having to prepare for and take quarterly, half-yearly and annual examinations and the results thereof, and wondered why Ma and Papa sometimes spent hours discussing things in slow, worried whispers. I mean, they did not have any exams to take. Alright, no annual vacations, but no exams!

* I just proof-read this piece and realised how unconnected the last para was to the opening para…a striking proof of the dishevelled state of my mind. Wish I could just take an exam. I’m not even looking for any holidays. I have to go to office. Ah.

Friday 21 August 2009

Bébé, bambino or just baby

I've been away for the longest while.

I'm now a brand new mommy with a brand new baby, who likes to sleep in his rocking basket (Thanks, Menakshi and Mudit) and giggles when he sees the Mickey Mouse cut-out we picked up from a roadside shack in Delhi. He hates to be put in a pram or a baby carrier.

Saumil* was born on 19 May 2009, and Hubby and I are delighted to have him in our life. He has always slept through the night, doesn’t throw tantrums while being fed and enjoys conversations, even if he doesn’t understand a word of it.

Parenthood is the best thing that has happened to me (Hubby is a close second). It is rewarding in ways that cannot be explained. I plan to return to work in a few weeks' time, and my heart explodes at the thought of leaving my li'l bunny at home with the caretaker. The thought of taking a sabbatical has crossed my mind a couple of times, but I'm not up to it. I'd like Somi to be indpendent. In any case, I'll be a nutcase if I stay at home for more than a few months.

When I was young(er), I used to get bored of people who'd talk about their kids forever, stopping only to have water. Therefore, we're off this topic for now, unless you want it otherwise!

* We didn’t want to have an unusual name, but here we are. Just like our honeymoon. I didn’t want a destination where every second girl would flash chuda. We went to Manali (duh!) and every second girl did flash chuda!

Tuesday 3 March 2009

Thus spake the one who is still unborn

I had to get a few blood tests done last Saturday. It was around 7.30pm and we were sitting in a huge, but empty waiting hall, waiting for the reports. At one point, we heard the chuckle of an infant and Hubby jumped, "Did you hear that? The baby made a sound." I turned to look at him. He was sitting with his finger pointing to my 28-week pregnant belly and a look on his face that can only be described as a mix of amazement, surprise, happiness and similar emotions.

"Yeah, but not our baby" was all I could manage to say before breaking into fits of uncontrollable laughter. Hubby didn't react. 

A few seconds later, two toddlers sauntered into the hall, all happy and playful. 

I cannot even begin to tell how cute Hubby looked then. Meet the guy who, as per my mother, will most definitely be a Dad, not just a father.