Feelin' So Fly Like a G6

What kind of a song is that?
Goddamn catchy-ass song, I'll tell you that.
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I have been feelin' so fly like a G6 lately. An Aunty-less PG has both advantages and disadvantages. But mostly advantages. Akanksha darling's always having her own trippy little party, and sometimes I join her. The fridge is stocked with bottles that aunty would not approve of. The TV is ours, and RID of all the Hindi soaps. Basically, it's heaven, but without home-cooked food. (I should learn to cook, you say? Well, perhaps. But we're not allowed to use the gas for heavy duty stuff. Except for Maggi. That's my excuse.)
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Thankfully there is an umbrella man who takes care of my dietary concerns. Who is this umbrella man, you ask? Does he have a PhD? Is he a certified nutritionist?

The answer to all these questions is 'No, not in the slightest.' Except the first one, the answer to which is: he is the man who brings food and serves it under an umbrella on the roadside to the hungry masses.

It's not as bad as you think. In fact, it is quite awesome. I get a home cooked meal of 3 sabjis, roti, dal and chawal with papad and pickle and all for 35 bucks. And Umbrella man's wife is fond of me so I get an extra papad sometimes. What more could a girl ask for?

Others in my office who would generally turn up a nose at such a thing, have warmed to the umbrella man too. He is now very popular amongst us. All. thanks. to. me. Yes, I'll have that extra papad please.
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What else has been happening? Office party at Hawaiian Shack. That was good fun. We all danced the night away and I stayed over at Shuchi's. Oh, and Divz Sooch and I went to Al's after work. Divz and I wanted some colour in our hair, and there's this great hair salon in Bandra called, 'Curl Up and Dye'. Hahaha, isn't that cool? And Raymond, the guy there is a genius. I cracked enough Everybody Loves Raymond jokes to ensure I got the best of his talent, and I left with three colours in my hair (no, I do not look crazy.)
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This is also a goddamn catchy-ass song.


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So HeMan, Sooch and I were supposed to go see the circus (yes, you heard me right), this Tuesday evening, and I was really excited and all that, but someone did not quite follow up, and we couldn't. *disappointment*.

Anyway, we met for lunch at phoenix instead. (I love phoenix mills. It is my happy place.) We didnt have enough time to go to the tarot card readers, because of work. Divz, when you're back we'll do that, and get a reading for HeMan as well. :D silly things make me happy.
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Work been quite crazy. Neck deep. But now I'm going on leave!
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Yes, I must tell you. I leave for Dubai today, (yay!) and shall be back in Bangalore in Jan. Tammy is getting married (!!!!!!) I will be there then, and then there are other plans which I will tell you about later. (because y'all are all dying to know)

And that is the end of this horribly written post.
So byebye for now.
Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! :)
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He-Man has left the Building

It's all very sad. But what can you do. He's blazing off to the UK, to bigger, brighter dreams.

I will miss the after lunch walks for his lunch-break cigarette, and his benign "Heh?"s in response to nail polish discussions (and mostly anything else we said). But most importantly, I will miss his lunch, which I polished off everyday for two months without his permission (Take pity on this poor home-food starved MM). Sigh.
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He did send us this beautiful e-mail before leaving:

Dear friends,

I have finally conceded to the treat idea.

It would be my pleasure, nay, HONOUR to treat you all, Sweet Shuchi, Darling Divya and Marvellous Madhu, to a wonderful dinner at The Tasting Room/ Spaghetti Kitchen/ any other place that would blow a hole in my wallet.

Date: 13. 12. 2010

Venue: Your choice

Time: 7pm onwards

I take this opportunity to extend a hearty invitation to you all. Truly, I have realised your worth now, only as I am leaving. The buckets of tears I have cried upon this realisation are stored in my bathroom at home, to remind me of what I am leaving behind.

I also request you to each pick up one item from any of the stores in Palladium (preferably the more expensive ones like Zara etc), as a personal gift from me, simply for being the amazing people that you are.

Spending time with you has brought me much happiness.

Hugs and fond tears,
Himanshu

After a heart-string tugger of an e-mail like that, well, you gotta forgive him for leaving. He's gotten a bit cheesy in places, (Marvellous Madhu? Buckets of tears? seriously?), but the gist, on the whole, was very satisfactory.

(Disclaimer: The fact that we have access to He-Man's web-mail should not raise the slightest of suspicions regarding the authenticity of this e-mail. We are not like that.)
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So Spaghetti Kitchen it was, where we bid him a fond farewell, with, well, not tears, as would have been more appropriate, but with uncontrollable laughter about the White Fang incident, (really not appropriate) and about the humble beginnings of Himanshu Marketing Pvt Ltd.

He-Man really did blow a hole in his wallet, this post is mainly to thank him for that. All that sangria and other expensive stuff was worth it! Wasn't it, Himanshu, wasn't it? Doesn't this post make it all worthwhile?
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Yum Yus imitations, McD, the Umbrella man, lassi, chai. Watching Eat Pray Love and weird Switch movies. :D Manchester United Cafe, Comedy Club, Movenpick. Getting lost in the parking at Phoenix.

He Man, we well miss you and your lovely red car!
And I already know what your reaction to this post will be: "Kuch Bhi." :P :)
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Mango Nails

are the result of that shopping spree.

That, and these:


Three girls after a long day's work + an empty mall after closing time= lots of entertainment for the cctv cameras.

I can't figure out whether my nails are utterly hideous or refreshingly funky.
I'm living on the edge here.
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Adi came to visit us at work yesterday. He missed us so intensely, that he just had to come and see us, before he died from the pain of it all. Oh, and also he had to collect some documents from HR :P Confused about my nail polish, I decided to get Adi's perspective.
The verdict: "You joined Shiv Sena or what?"

After that delicate response, of COURSE, I will mention here that Adi is afraid of butterflies. I have linked this to his FB profile, in order to further embarrass him.
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I feel more like Nickelodeon than Shiv Sena. Which is good thing when you are having to write banking letters. My job has only recently started being this hideous. It is just a phase. (I keep telling myself)
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I will continue to be girly in this post by telling you about the perfume I bought yesterday.

Nina by Nina Ricci. The bottle looks like an apple. The bottle is half the buy. Really. I am fascinated with perfume bottles.

While buying perfume, one needs to be quite shameless, in order to strike a good deal, asking shop attendants "What can you give me with this?" (freebies, of course)
When they show you something- anything- whatever it is, wrinkle your nose, and say:"Is that all?"
Whereupon they will fall all over themselves to give you more bags and vials and free perfume and such. That's just how it's done. *shrugs shoulders nonchalantly*

Sooch, Divz and I were talking about how perfumes transport you back to the time you used to wear them. A whiff of something familiar, and you're suddenly in a different world altogether. A world that your life used to be.

Before Nina, there was

Weekend by Burberry (which ironically, was my starting-to-work perfume) and
Incanto Shine by Salvatore Ferragamo (which I used for quite a while and reminds me of a host of wonderful things.)

I only hope that Nina Ricci won't remind me of all the banking letters.

Mita just caught me at the printer and said "Wow, what is that heavenly smell?" Yay. Makes it all worthwhile.
Smelling good with Nickelodeon nails. I'm sorted.
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This song is stuck in my head after a long time. I've been playing it on loop and listening to it while I sleep. I've been having the most fantastic dreams because of it, and I find it very difficult to wake myself out of them.


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These are artists from the Sketchbook Project. Having a look their work really helped me get started.

With my topic, 'Help': The Monster Book
I LOVE this stuff! His illustrations are so detailed and disturbing. In a good way.

Make Mine a Double. I love the idea, it's simple and effective. Love it.

The view from up here. You have to check this out. I love the concept. And the execution!

You'd be home by now. Ah, whimsy! I love.

Science Project Gone Wrong. Bev's lovely work... First blog that I saw :)

There are lots more, that you can check out on the Art House Co op Site.

Such inspiration. I'd better get a move on with mine.
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A Happy Birthday Jay! Post

As is customary, and quite a tradition now on this blog, we must wish Jay a Happy Birthday Day here.

Happy Birthday Day, Jay!

I'd love to write more, but the day isn't looking too spectacular. There's a four o' clock deadline, followed by a meeting at the Head branch of TheBankILove in Bandra Kurla Complex (they're one of our loveliest clients).

So other than the fact that my boss gave me an idli for breakfast, and that Pushpa the maid called me "Heroine", my day pretty much sucks. Oh, not to forget the shopping spree that Divya Sooch and I are off to today evening. Yayyy. (Okay, so it's not that bad.)

But Jay, Im sure you're having a much better day. As you should. I could gush about our friendship for pages and pages but what's the point, no? I have gushed earlier.
The dossier, hearing ourselves speak, deer stories & cult torture, and the laughter.
You know I lowe you! XOXO. Gossip Girl.

I found these while hunting for birthday profile pic. :P

Guess who's back

Tell a friend.
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So let me start by regaling you with the tale of the 300 year-old cabbie. Because that's what this blog's all about, isn't it?

I had the gross misfortune of journeying in his cab this morning. He refused to take me at first. I should have just walked on, but lately I have taken to questioning any cabbie-refusals with a "Kyun? Phir kyun poocha?" (by which I mean, Why? Then why did you ask me where I wanted to go?) My Hindi is still horrific, if anyone would like to tell me how I can make this dialogue more effective (read correct), please do.

And then I shout at them in the middle of the road.

This usually works.
As you can imagine.
If it does not, I take his number down, and tattle to the Traffic Police on their website.

I've become such a ray of sunshine since you saw me last, haven't I?

So this man. Daft as a coot. Dafter, if possible.
The driver of the Knight bus in the third HP movie. Same glasses, hair, driving skills. Just the mumbai cabbie version. Our conversation:

"Mahalakshmi se right lena hai na?"
"Nahi bhaiyya, straight jana hai"
"Ha ha. Right jana hai. Pata hai"
"Nahi!! STRAIGHT STRAIGHT. SEEDA."
"Ha ha beta. Malum hai. Mahalakshmi se na, right leke, seeda worli jayenge."
:|

Oh, and his reaction times. Alarmingly slow. This pedestrian has happily jaunted across the road and is already walking on the other side towards Mc Donald's. FIFTEEN seconds later, our driver wakes up and brakes furiously, yelling a volley of curses at the long-gone gentleman and the wide-eyed child who's been observing the incident. The bus behind us brakes just in time. Nobody dies, life goes on.

When we parted ways he said:
"Mere paas dus rupai ka change nahin hai" (while waving a 10 rupee note in the air)

Scary thing is though, he knew all the traffic cops we passed. Good thing I didn't complain on the website.
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He was actually taking me to this place where I volunteer every Tuesday morning before work. It's a Slum School run by this NGO called Muktangan. Got there in one piece, thankfully. 9 to 9.45, I take the Library hour for a group of seven year-olds. It's not changing the world, but it's something.
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Recent events for documenting purposes:
XIC reunion, classmates and the Girls. Fun fun. More soon.
The AA night for which I was almost kicked out of my PG, which was most definitely worth it.
Coping, not panicking.
Divya Sooch Himanshu outings have become a regular, that I love.
Blore break-
The break up.
And I think that takes care of Oct- Nov. Now I just have Jan-Sept to document. :/
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Okay. what I really wanted to blog about, was this project I'm taking part in.

It's called "The Sketchbook Project" and it's run by the Art House co op.

Basically, they send you a sketchbook with a topic and a bar-code, you fill it up and send it back to them, and they exhibit it in galleries and museums in 5 different cities across the US.

It's like a concert tour, but with sketchbooks.

Every time your book is viewed, you receive an e-mail or a text message alerting you what city it was viewed in and the first name of the person browsing through it.

After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be barcoded and available for the public to view.

28787 artists from 94 countries around the world are participating. The tour starts February, 2011

My topic is Help!
I've tweaked it around, to be:

Help!
In everyday situations.

So I'll be putting the stuff that I do up, and linking to other sketchbook progresses that I'm loving.

Oh, by the way, I sketch nowadays. I love it. It's such a new creative outlet. I love having colour, and art, around me. That was the thing I loved best about Amsterdam. (The office sent me, but more about that later.)

And I can't tell you how much I am living through this project.
This is the stuff I want to do with my life.

It's 8.40 am

And I'm in at work.

Such a diligent child, you say, wiping away a tear. But no. It's only because my flight (Indigo -On Time, Every time) landed at 7.37am on the DOT and I had to come in straight to the office.
Morning flights are a bitch. I was dazed the entire journey. Ah sleep you are an elusive friend.
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So I'm just back from Bangalore, where I went to sign some papers over the weekend, but it turned out to be a longer trip because of the Monday BJP bandh and stuff. Four days. Not enough, not enough for anything.
But it was so nice, being picked up from the office by surprise and being dropped to the airport like that. Best thing ever. :)
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The neices and nephews have grown I must say. Otherwise home remains home, as it was, as it always will be. Bangalore has lovely weather right now and I did manage to do the whole koramangala, shopping, have lunch at Friends Cafe, feel angry at grumpy waiters and disappointed that the food is never as good as it was last time thing. But I didn't get to meet FnA, Jay (Get better soon deer!), Other MM and so many people. :(
Four days is two short. Six would have been perfect. (hahaha, I joke.)
But oh well. I will stop griping and be thankful that at least had that, and that it was a nice sudden out of the blue thing.
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I did get to say bye to Lagoose and Sne though, before they become their LA versions and turn into them forever, and that I'm really happy about. We talked and laughed and recorded Doggy No, and shopped for dresses(!!) [ Sidenote: Btw Oasis mall is really awesome. I bought some really funky shoes there] and went to Raghoos after forever. Raghoos is a really South Indian place even though they serve the best Italian food in Bangalore. We know this because of the neat Rangoli patterns outside, and the fact that the waiters with teeth gritted, very politely request you to move to a back table if you are a bunch of four people making a slight ruckus. I told the geese about my idea, and it was an awesome two days. And although we never really ever say bye, it was a lovely way to. I will miss you guys :( except I wont have to because you're right there. Right? :)
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And now I'm back in beautiful Mumbai. (she says, during the rainy season.)

About the whole work scene in a nutshell: My work timings are 9.30 to 6, I'm a copywriter, I love the workplace, the people here are awesome :D, the dabbawala is quite a character- something you look for in every job, we have amazing clients (P&G, Hindware, LG, Levis) and I have the best boss ever, so things are looking pretty good right now on that front.
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I sit here waiting for my lazy partner in crime, Zwikie, to make an appearance. She has the keys to my drawer, since I left on Friday in a rush. I forgot my battery charger here, so she locked it up and kept the keys to prevent any chance of robbery. Also in the drawer is Rebecca! My stuffed ladybug. Zwikie is jealous of Rebecca. Rebecca is the sunshine of the office.
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I'm also reading all the mail I've missed from yesterday. A lot of it is the chain mail the four of us who first joined this company have. Two have left and parted ways, but our Woes of First Joining Work mail continues. It is SO much fun.
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After that, I will read Shantaram. I'm loving it. It's been ages since I was properly lost in a book. I bought it at Crossword with the voucher we won at the Nasik training programme at Taj that my office took us to in May.
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I have a cold, but only in ONE nostril. Does this happen often? I think God is trying to be kind to me.
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And that is the end of this extremely boring post. I had funner things to say, I don't remember what they were. Possibly because I'm half asleep. But don't worry I'll say them soon. For now just take this post for the sake of a post. :)

It is SHAMEFUL

It's absolutely shameful. It is even shameless, in fact.

That my last post was in January, and is about a lizard. (Scroll down to see said post. No, wait. Don't.)

So I plan to make amends. By writing a synopsis post for every month I have not documented, so that my sloppiness goes undetected by future generations, and my six month hiatus will never be known of by anyone ever (unless they read this post)

AND, also by regularly posting in June.

Because I have all the time in the world, now that I am a copy writer with a full time job. (Yes, I've been hired! I'm a creative person! Isn't that awesome!)

For now I must ask you to excuse me, as I'm at work, and need to go and be creative for a living. More later. :)

What do you do when there's a lizard in your bathtub?

I've got:
Run,
Scream,
and
Run screaming.

Any other ideas?

I tried throwing it a rope. (Literally. The plug with a chain attached the top of the bath, so that it could climb it and escape.)
It refused to pay any attention.

I tried throwing it a towel. (So that it could hop on, and I'd carry the towel out of the tub to safety.)
It gave me a distasteful expression and scampered off to the other end of the bathtub.

I tried nudging it with a long pole. (Because I was tired and had run out of options.)
It struggled to climb out from all four sides but just kept sliding down each side again.

I just left it there, finally. But how'd it get there in the first place? (Ok, it fell in.)
But how do we get it out? How I ask you? I know I shouldn't be caring enough to make it my first post of 2010, but I need to know!

Plus it's tiring to talk about the bigger things. Which I will, later.
Much later.

In the city of Mumbai, for which I am leaving tonight. Bye bye Bangalore.

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAGOOSE! You mean the world to me! In fact you mean enough that I dedicate this, my lizard post to you.
It doesn't get deeper than this folks, friendship! Doesn't, nosireebob. Now I must take leave of you to blow my nose. Excuse me. So long and goodnight and then something about fish.