Nostalgia

Probably nostalgia doesn't quite fit what I'm feeling today..but I don't have the right word...

I'm going to miss using the huge, heavy, slightly crazy laptop. I am going to miss lugging it up and down the stairs..juggling between call centre exec and counsellor roles. I will miss the monkey wallpaper in my counselling room. And meeting new people everyday, with new stories. I will miss seeing my old clients' progress. I will miss cribbing about the insanely unreal expectations of the job, and the weird zeal to do it all anyway. I will miss being alone in a building full of people. I will miss the super sweet guards and cleaning aunties. And I'll miss the bhaiyas who get me coffee everyday. I'll miss watching the clock at 3 and sitting up to the clink of mugs. I'll miss typing out the randomest of emails. I will miss posing to be an 'expert'! I'll miss the long discussions...the far fetched plans..the excitement at the slightest hint of funding! I will miss being the one who knows it all. I will miss this place!

Lazy sunday rant

For the last nine months, my weekends have been a day long. Anyone with a 6 day work-week can well understand the plight of having one measly day off... By the time you set into your off-mode, half the day is gone! And with it, half your weekend!

We 6-day-weekers don't have the luxury to allow the weekend to 'set in'...so even though I'm dead tired by the end of a working Saturday, I'll make it a point to be in a 'different' mood. Perhaps it is the anticipation of sleeping in the day after. Or just the paranoia of not letting a precious Saturday night slip away! And then dawns Sunday...which is always shorter than allllllll the other days. A list of chores, pending visits, catchup calls...and at the same time a nagging thought at the back of my mind 'only x hours to before I'm back to my work week'

Well, that's how most of my Sundays are. But every once in a while, I'm blessed with a no-agenda-lazy-Sunday, and this is my absolute favourite! Today has been one such day. After a late breakfast, I spent most of my morning and a better part of the afternoon watching one of my favourite melodramas on TV. Followed by a great ordered-in lunch, watching the rain, browsing through pictures and updates of random Facebook friends, a nap and a slowwwww relaxed shower. Needless to say, that leaves me in quite a good place :D

So even though Monday looms ahead, and I have a zillion thoughts about the coming week zipping through my mind, I have a smile on my lips...Happy Sunday to you too!

If it makes you happy, do more of it...

If it makes you happy, do more of it. Whether it's talking to a friend or spending a Saturday night alone. Whether it's eating the same food third day in a row or trying something new each day. If it makes you happy, do more of it. Sing. Paint. Play. Sleep. Read. Dance. Run. Think. Love. Don't let anyone make you feel bad about doing what you love. And don't mock anyone who loves something that you don't. We inhabit the same planet, but each of us lives in a world of our own. Respect this. For yourself and for the people around you. You don't need clones. You need unique individuals to make you feel alive.

We need more tolerance. We need more happy people. We need people who can let others be. We need a society that judges less. Accepts more. It's not so difficult. All it takes, is accepting that we are all different. And celebrating these unique qualities. What are we doing by imposing all the bans? Do we want everyone to be alike? Will the world be a better place if everyone became a vegetarian? Or if we stopped eating beef? I doubt that.

what my 20s have taught me

20s seemed like a distant dream when I was in school. To be honest, I'd never been able to imagine myself beyond the age of 17..that's as OLD as I could get! However, here I am, standing on the brink of 30s… Did time really fly past like it seems now? Or were these the most "happening" years of my life so far? A bit of both actually. Time is funny like that. It seems to drag on one minute and still be gone in a flash...

Anyway, so I was thinking...what have my 20s taught me? Or rather, what have I learnt in my 20s? Here are few of the things that topped the list:

1. I love my own company more than anything else. Even though I am essentially a people-person and would go insane if I was alone all the time, I really really value the time I get to myself. I don't necessarily 'do' anything in this time...but it's important for me to have at least a few days now and then that are absolutely free of agendas and obligations.
2. Forever is a relative term. It could last a year, a few years or more. It has proved true for me in the case of friendships and feelings - both good and bad. When I lost Dennis, I was sure the hole in my heart would ache "forever". After 2-3 years, it's not so bad. Hopefully, it will get better :) 
3. Life isn't fair. Never has been, never will be. Good people will suffer, bad people will thrive. Circumstances will get difficult. Uncertainty will rule. There is an inexplicable amount of suffering out there. 
4. But despite #3, I believe that all people are capable of loving. Their motivations may not seem justified to everyone, but love does make the world go 'round.
5. The older you get, the more often you find yourself glancing at the rearview mirror :) I don't think as a kid or even a teen I was so pre-occupied with how things were in the past. But in the recent years, I see my growing-up years with rose tinted glasses. The nostalgia has already started creeping in. (If I live beyond my 40s I am going to be a super annoying parent/grand-parent!) 
6. Life doesn't quite work out as planned. The grand road map you had envisioned for yourself - dream job, falling in love, lots of travel, financial stability, marriage, kids - it doesn't always work out that way. Or rather, it almost never works out that way. Not to say that nothing works out, but if you are in your mid 20s or beyond, you know what I'm talking about :) 
7. No matter how grown up you feel today, a few years later you will either laugh or cringe at the memory :P