Phew!

How's everyone doing? (scratch...)
It has been a while since I wrote anything. (scratch!)
In Grandma's house... (scratch that too!)

 As you can clearly see I haven't been able to write much lately. I'll safely blame it all on my blackberry! For some reason blogger won't let me compose a new post from my blackberry which is a huge disadvantage as that is my only option for reading or writing blogs - during my commute. Sigh!

However today I've thought of a work around - to type it in as email to myself which I can later post from home. So here I am - finally! Now if I overdo it and the post gets too long, please bear with me.

I was a few minutes late leaving work and now the only spot I could get on the bus is in the very last row squeezed between four gigantic men, two on either side! The bus has just started moving and I greatly regret taking this seat already. :( With the cell phones banned inside the bus, as my only solace I have turned to you - typing away to glory!

Tell me what's news at your end? Did you all see the Super Moon? I missed it but thankfully Kavita had shared it on FB.

Speaking of FB, it is nice to have connected to so many of my blog friends in the recent months. I went wild and accepted a few unknown "friends" as well but had to quickly un-friend a few who were constant pests. Speaking of which, I was so troubled by a pest by work - a casual encounter - who lately has become somewhat of a nuisance that I am taking slightly longer route to avoid contact.

Israel is of great moral support putting aside everything just to talk to me, between "me leaving the elevator" to "me boarding the train"! I have come to truly enjoy these "I-am-not-too-busy-for-you" kind of conversations that I sometime purposely prolong it walking at a snail's pace. Now, that explains how I ended up on the very last spot on the bus!

So, what's happening at your end?

In case you missed it:
@A is back with such vigor that he has written 2 posts in 3 days!
Rachna has taken after Afghanistan :)
Irfan is back blogging - from his new home!
Anil is by the sea.
Bikram is having sleepless nights.
R. Ramesh suggests we take the bull by it's horn
Petty Witter would like to know if there is a fictional character we can identify with
Balan has become very poetic lately.
Gigi is off to a new adventure to lose some weight.
Jyothi is hanging in there...
KP & Eye in the Sky are non-stop rolling!

Phew! Now if you'll excuse me (I know you will gladly) I'll stop here in a rush. I need both my hands to cover my nose as one of the four suddenly decided to pollute the air!

Gasp!
(We might as well scratch off the whole thing and try again sometime later...; what say?)

Me so beautiful!

Not that you care for my opinion but I do really believe you are all very good looking. As a matter of fact every one of them out there is good looking, in their own way; are they not? You know exactly where I am arriving at.  That's right; I consider myself good looking too.

The at-average height, the scar on the forehead, the hiding grey hairs, the no-make-up face - none of these have ever bothered me. Never! I have always felt my best. What is the problem with that? Well, the problem is that I have failed to appreciate any makeups.

Not that I have never tried. But every single time I had felt uneasy staring back at a total stranger in the mirror who would have no resemblance to me. I had quietly settled for some pressed powder and lip gloss.

However it doesn't seem to fit in with the New York culture where almost every one of them is perfectly made up. The hair so perfect - smooth, curled or waved, eyes lined and shaded, face painted skin tone, lips carefully rounded, nails neatly filed, making the poor me looking all so plain all of a sudden. :(

An ad poster on the Subway reads: "New York city tolerant of your faith but judgemental of your shoes". It says it all!

So, here I am with an appointment at the local cosmetics store for this weekend where they are to match my skin tone and suggest the best suitable products for me. Hope I don't get too carried away. Will let you know how it goes.

I wish and hope I can still stay the same - beautiful! Please wish me luck!

On and on it rolls

At work they give us pizza on the last Friday of the month. It almost feels like it comes every other week. Why then the weeks drag for so long, I have no clue. Even as I write this it is hard to believe we are just over with Wednesday this week. I am ready for the weekend already!

In a matter of weeks school will be over. June 15th is the last day! As much as I am happy about it, I am also feeling a little heavy at heart as the current school year will become just a memory the kids will recall down the lane like, "When I was in fifth grade" or "During my 7th grade school trip" or something in those lines....  There will be no re-doing of their respective classes, forever! Wow! That is sad!

Every night as I put the kids to bed, I am thinking, "Another day of childhood has passed! Hopefully it brings back sweet memories years from now..." Because if we are not careful we (adults) could permanently damage what they (kids) retain from a day. All it takes is a harsh word or rude remark or an insensitive comment. This realization has helped me cool down a lot that even when I have to reprimand them for something it comes out normal without much modulation of the tone. This works both ways; my stress level stays low and they are listening!

However, one thing is testing my patience for quite sometime and I am sure to lose my cool one of these days. They are planting seeds. What's wrong with that? They are planting them in ugly trays and containers in the living room! All under Israel's influence!! They claim the sun shines bright only through that window and they need to make use of it. That's not true. It shines brighter and longer on the deck and even in the basement. They say it is cold out there. Excuses excuses excuses. Can't take it anymore!

There is another reason for my frustrations. For years I am asking for a flower garden and they keep focusing on vegetables. Who cares for their pumpkins and watermelons which will be hit by frost even before they yield? Or the carrots and potatoes for that matter, which the rabbits and ground hogs thrive feasting on. Cherries are the one thing I look forward to but birds overtake us every year!

So, this season I am taking over. Soon there will be flowers. It is May after all!

Life is good. On and on it rolls!