February Ramblings- Shopping woes

Since I have taken it up to ramble this month and I am way, way behind on the number of posts for this prompt, I have to pull up my socks and get to the business now. After all, a promise is a promise is a promise, especially so when it is made only to one's own self!

This past week has been crazy. Just when the dust settled from my move here that one of room mates is planning to leave. The past few days have gone in a haze of shopping. Now shopping is one of those things that I can take only in small doses (others include intrusive questions from people who have no reason to intrude, unsolicited advice and sugar). But ironically, for a disinterested shopper, I too tend to buy more things than I can store :)

Some times, the problem is having too many options rather than too few. Show me ten types of tops that I can buy and I will keep pondering over and over again on the pros and cons of the different types till I decide according to the what I call the "Golden rule of shopping". Here it goes, for all you uninformed shoppers out there:When in doubt, do not buy!!

This is what happened to me this past week. Everywhere we went, I saw some things I thought I wanted, but after thinking, ditched the idea of buying altogether as per the golden rule. And like I said, after a while shopping gets on my nerves. The feet start aching, eyes get confused looking at all the price tags after all, how many aisles can one person see before they all start looking the same?

I remember, two days after I landed here, the roomie took me shopping for boots as boots are as essential as clothes during the winter here. After trying on what seemed like a gazillion boots, I ended up buying a pair just when my eyes started to glaze. I do wish I had the dedication that some people I know have, to find the perfect everything, not only for themselves, but for others as well. To think about it, in things that really matter to me, I am a perfectionist. Like books,gifts for others, bags etc. but when it comes to things that are utilitarian in nature, this problem rears its ugly head.

This affliction is a boon when I realize I do not resort to shopping as therapy by default, though the few times I have tried it, it actually worked. It is the bane of my existence when I really want to buy something and get lost in the whys, whens and other questions that the little voice in my mind likes to ask me or even worse when I get lost amidst all the trials and end up buying something to just hold me up till the next time.

Enough rambling about my shopping woes, do you have any?

Till next time,
Cheers

The first post of 2015- Missing most things

Well, 2014 passed off in a breeze. I can not believe that it already a month past in the new year. 2014 brought a huge change in my life, I moved from India to the US in mid- December. Perhaps the excitement of the move, coupled with the fact that I was going to travel alone can excuse the scarce number of posts since September...Perhaps not. :) The fact of the matter is that I began so many posts in my mind while completing my chores, while travelling, at work and so on, but as soon as I opened the laptop to write something, poof! all those  thoughts disappeared like fog on a sunny day! Hello, blogger's block :)


So now it has been nearly one and half month in the US, and since the initial chaos of relocation is wearing off, I have started missing most things from my life back in Bangalore.  I miss so many things from back home already- my family, friends, the weather, the street food, my team, the list just goes on.Back in Bangalore, me and the PC used to stay alone in an apartment near by to our offices, the in-laws stay at the other end of the city and my parents stay in my native town. So, some times it used be a couple of weeks between visits to the in-laws and in the case of my parents, it used to be months, But still, here I feel like I have not seen them since forever.I am already missing my parents' visits to Bangalore, when I used to be treated like a princess. :(
I miss my gang of friends from office, the numerous tea breaks, walks after lunch, frequent trips to the malls and so many more things. Here, the weather is currently too cold to allow many excursions outside and so its just home to office and back for me... I am staying with two wonderful roommates- R1 and R2. R1 is planning to return to India soon, so most of the weekends have been spent in shopping, window shopping and basically just having fun. I have realized that living with someone will make you very close to them, I did not know R1 or R2 before coming here, but within 5 odd weeks, we have become bosom buddies :):). Being a vegetarian, my options to eat at office are severely limited here, so we cook everyday, together, chat, tell each other secrets, giggle like teenagers, watch movies and shows on Netflix and call it a night.

 A major change in my life is that the PC is still in India. It is the first time that we have not been together to bring in the New Year since we got married. So New Year's was a a subdued affair for both of us. Here is to hoping me and my Prince Charming (PC) spend all the coming new years together :):)

So this is normally contrary me, blogging again after a hibernation of sorts, alone in a new country in a new year, rambling about everything and anything around me. I am a huge and mostly silent fan of Shail's Nest (http://shailsnest.com/) and thanks to her new tag, I have finally written (more like scribbled)  a complete post after realizing I have done zilch writing for this year! I do not know if this qualifies for Shail ji's tag, but sure hope it does :) First post in 2015, yay!!!

Random!

Well, more than half the year is over. And my resolution to keep this place alive is failing

badly. Today, as I type this while I am stuck in traffic I realized that I can blame busy

schedules, work stress for this oversight or be a man(a woman, in this case!!) and

accept that if I had set my priorities straight, I would have managed to make the time

like so many other busy bloggers whom I read about all the time.

I have found that given the option of reading versus writing, I tend to choose reading

every time, albeit by habit. Does this happen to you too? Knowing your problem is half

the solution, or so I have read (well-read, moi :)). So what about the other half you ask??

The other half comes from consciously deciding to write and make the time to write.

Lets see how it goes.. Fingers crossed!!!

Complaints

So after a long time, I am back to this space.Don't worry, this post is not about my complaints against any person, organisation or the universe in general. Not because I don't have any, but because, if I start, I may not stop :)

 Recently, I had been to a cooking class ( I will post recipes when I try them) and met two other ladies there. One of them was continuously complaining about her life... her husband, her kid, in-laws, relatives. After listening to her diatribe, not all vicious mind you, I started finding so many things wrong in my life. I could identify with so many of the issues being discussed, it scared me. Because I had hitherto thought that I am a very content, happy person.

Soon, I reached home and found something wrong with the way the newspapers were arranged, the dining table was set, the fan was rotating... okay, I exaggerated there. But you get the picture. I left home as a completely happy gal and came back in the guise of a- for lack of a better word, complaint box!! By the end of the day I was exhausted, with everything around me, with myself and with life. The contented life of earlier now looked like a joke, a travesty of happiness- where I was going from one day to the next overlooking all the shortcomings in my way. But then, who doesn't?

Are any of our lives perfect? I hope not, a perfect life would mean I would have nothing to strive for, to look forward to, to live for. How effective is complaining about all the imperfections that life has in store for us? I have read (being the well-read person that I am) that complaining is good for the soul.  But like all other remedies for the soul, moderation is the key. No one likes to be friends with a dissatisfied, frowning, frustrated being! But if any person is all rainbows and sunshine, I would not be able to handle that either. :)  So maybe the best way is to have a rant once in a while, just to show that we all are human and to add that dash of sanity. And not let someone else's rant trigger your own... I know, I know, not like I did { a person learns from his/her mistakes, right? (:}

Like the Serenity Prayer says: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.  

What about you? have you had experiences where someone's rant has woken you up made made you take notice of all life's imperfections? Come on, don't be shy, tell me I am not the only one :)

Till next time,
Cheers!

Tough or Easy?

Last week I had been to my cousin's wedding in Mumbai. On my way back yesterday, I was waiting for the flight to board at the airport. Mumbai being Mumbai, within twenty minutes, I was feeling thirsty. I looked around and headed to the crowded ( another characteristic of Mumbai) snack counter. Since there was a huge line, I thought, let me look and see if I like any of the soft drinks before joining the queue. While I was lost in my thoughts, a lady, well dressed and educated standing in the line looks at me and says haughtily, "excuse me, there is a line, you have to join". And this when I was nowhere near the line. I was stupefied for a minute. Then the lioness in me woke up, but it was too late. The "line lady" had turned back and the moment was lost.

I found this incident very difficult to forget. I had a lot of good memories of the time I spent with my extended family on this trip, but this one totally unimportant and meaningless incident overshadowed my mind for a very long time. A niece's smile, a nephew's lisping rendition of Johnny Johnny rhymes, shared laughter with cousins, pulling each other's leg and just being with family. On the plane, I realized that it is so tough to forget some things but there are so many good memories that are washed away.

This incident brought about one more thought to my mind, it is so easy to be rude, to curse, to hurt and so tough to be nice, to compliment, to heal. And being human, we all choose to do the easy things. When I was standing there in the airport cafe, it would have been easy for her to be nice, easier to ignore the girl lost in her own world next to her but she chose to presume the worst and be rude to her. Maybe, the lady's actions were a result of tension or stress in her life, but is that any excuse to take it on an unsuspecting person?How many times, have we done the same thing, been obnoxious while being cordial was equally possible, where with no or little provocation we have spoiled some stranger's mood?

I have promised myself today that even if I cannot forget the negativity around me, I will not allow it to overshadow the sunshine and happiness that all my beloved people spread in my life :):) So, the lady who yelled at me in a crowded airport, you actually taught me something! Thank you!