Airlift

I worried myself sick. I had to get to the airport and hadn't a clue as to how to do it in the cheapest possible way without too many hassles. I then decided upon taking a shared cab. Unfortunately, I had to drag all of my luggage for a full 10 minutes to get to my pick up point. At 1:45PM with the sun blistering down on me, my brains had all but evaporated and so had my patience.

I heaved a sigh of relief when I sat in the A/c comfort of the cab at 2. I assumed we would be taking the shortest possible route but the driver had a mind of his own. He went all the way to Kormangala for the last pick up and then all over MG Road and my other shopping destinations. By this time I was seriously wondering if I had flagged down the right cab, but then I espied a signboard indicating airport at another 33kms and settled down to enjoy the journey.

I plugged in my ipod and was enjoying myself immensely. Other than roaming all over Bangalore, everything else was perfect. Until it started raining.

It poured like there was no tomorrow. I got a little drenched in the little time I was out in it, running from the cab to the airport building. Yeah, but I did make it in time. Not a bad option for my next travel.

Vampire Bites

My latest craze are these vampire books where our hero is a suave, gadget toting, smoking hot, worldly wise vampire who puts Adonis and Bond to shame. These vampires are quite different from our Dracula series:
1. They have no issues with sunlight
2. They do cast reflections in mirrors and can be photographed
3. They are "vegetarian" - they drink animal blood only
4. They are handsomer than Adonis, Narcissus and Hugh Jackman all rolled into one
5. They can run like the wind, some can vanish at will
6. Some have special abilities like mind-reading

No wonder then that our average superheroes are no match!

Sleepy Sundays

Probably the thing I love most about Sundays is that I get to sleep as long as I want to without a care in the world. That it is also a holiday and a day away from work in no way dampens the charm of the day, but then, that bit is rather obvious.

My Sunday ritual is sacred to me. I wake up around 10 or 11, depending on how loudly my tummy growls. After a leisurely breakfast of tea, bread, biscuits (to the accompaniment of a juicy thriller novel that is glued to my eyes from the minute they open on Sunday), I stretch out on the bed and bury myself wholeheartedly and without interruptions into the aforementioned novel.

A few hours later, my tummy signals time for lunch and I go back to eating and yes, reading. Post lunch I read (surprise, surprise) and read till its time for dinner. By this time, I have finished my novel and am at the TV watching some six packs with relish.

Can you top this?

Soaked

My raincoats never lasted beyond a month. Its surprising how quickly I can manage to tear up holes in the most difficult of places. Some say its a knack. Me, I say its, well, me. My exasperated mom managed to get me through school without me getting drenched but when it was time for college, she gave up. My uncle got this bright idea to make me act like a responsible adult and bought me a shiny red umberella for my 16th birthday.

I was excited. Not only was it my favourite color, but it was dotted with beautiful yellow flowers and was the epitome of cheerfulness itself. I loved it.

However, it didn't quite solve the problem of preventing me from getting drenched. For one, I could never for the life of me remember to carry it until it was forced into my hands. Two, whenever I did manage to remember to carry it, it never rained. Three, I left it lying around half the time, making my friends about as exasperated as my mom. Oh, Well. Time to hire a nanny.

Bandage Bondage

There are two things I can't for the life of me master - one is directions, and one is getting down the stairs safely.

This weekend, I was going to put the garbage out when boom - I slipped down a flight of stairs without preamble. Did rather good for myself, only got a sprained ankle and a bruised hand. Cursing profusely as I slowly picked first myself and then the pieces of trash off me one by one, I hobbled to the dump to throw away the rubbish.

My slow climb back up the stairs was accompanied alternatively by unprintable expletives, painful grunts and the occassional shaking-of-the-fist-at-all-and-sundry. That I should have paid more attention to where I was planting my flat feet in the first place than getting agitated later had in no way dampened my murderous mutterings. Besides, I didn't let rational thoughts spoil my wonderful ill-humour. I cleaned up at home and proceeded to rub ointment and bandage my foot, vowing to be more careful the next time I ventured out.

A week later, as I was going out to get groceries, I promptly fell off the same staircase and added another couple of sprains to my collection.

Now, I am sitting at home cooling my heels with both legs swathed in bandages and both hands purple with bruises.

My Smiley Face

Always the restless and dissatisfied with things they way they are, I lose no time or trouble over turning things the way I want them to be.

You should really take a look at my office desk. The whiteboard is covered with cartoons of Judgead, Moose, Mr Weatherbee, Calvin and Hobbes and all other sorts of rubbish you expect to find in a kid's playroom than the cube of a Lead Project Manager.

But then again, by virtue of being me, these eccentricities are best forgotten. So, here's my latest addition to my world - I call him Pee-Ping Tom. He is Chinese. Well, second generation Chinese if you want to get picky about the big eyes. His job is to remind me all people are morons and to laugh at their stupidities instead of getting mad and all worked up in office.

Monday Morning Mauves

What could be better than spending a day outside office on a Monday morning? Spending the day outside office on 'official business'!

It so happened that one of my clients was visiting India. I lost no time in making detailed plans on how to get to spend some time with her.

So, on the fated Monday, I picked her up at Oberoi and took her to Ebony for a leisurely lunch. How time flew! Before I knew it, we had already spent 2.5 hours eating and gossiping in the glorious 13th floor terrace, surrounded by attentive waiters and cool breeze.

I then drove her around for a while so she could see India and get a feel of what we are like.

When I finally dropped her back to Oberoi and reached home, it was already 6 PM. A mighty satisfactory day I must say.

Purple Haze

Its infuriating when you long to go to a nice disco and they ban all forms of dancing. Worse still, there's no decent place that plays your kind of music. Never mind if your tastes are out of this world, we shan't let minor points like that ruin a perfectly good whining session. Little wonder that I just didn't feel like going to a disc for the last three years. Till now that is.

I met an old friend and we both decided to go out for dinner. He picked a place close to my house that I didn't even know existed - and it was this smashing pub Purple Haze! This was a branch fo the same chain that's in the city and I was thrilled to bits. They play hard rock here and ever since smoking has been banned in public places, these pubs and discs have become altogether more attractive to me.

So we hung out at this huge lounge bar and he sipped whiskey while I wolfed down huge slices of sandwich. And all the while we had Metallica, Hoobastank, Pink Floyd in the background. Bliss, what?

Mundane Mondays

Somehow, no matter what happens, I just can't bring myself to get to work on Monday mornings. Apart from the fact that I am just recovering from the activities of a most pleasurable weekend, the whole thought of getting back into the groove unnerves me. There are endless meetings, disgusting food, traffic jams and unfinished piles of laundry.

Monday blues? hah, blue at least is a color. Mondays are Mundane.