I don't quite remember what I was doing the midnight of April 13 and 14 last year. Not material, really. It's just that a year is a decent frame of reference.
And so, here I am. Yours truly, Crossworder.
Between mid-April last year and now, I have -
Left Delhi and realised, much too late, that I'm irreversibly in love with it. Lived all alone in a brand new city, in a house meant for four. Cooked meals from scratch and done a very good job of it, all things considered :) Met one of my favorite people some half-a-dozen times in ten months - which is great, given that he lives in a different city. Explored Marine Drive and Worli Seaface at midnight, and driven around Calcutta at 1 a.m., like I always wanted to. Been taken out for chocolate truffle at 3 a.m. Caught more 7 a.m. flights than I can remember having done before. Consequently, woken up at the unearthly hour of 3.30 more frequently than I ever had to, before this. Packed and unpacked for trips ranging from 14 hours to 6 weeks in duration, in ten minutes flat (and I'll have you know it's no idle boast). Fallen in love and dealt with heartache and heartbreak - and lived to tell the tale. Stayed up entire nights working on projects that never ended and went nowhere (!). Also stayed up from dinner to breakfast, catching up with one of my best friends over a bottle of Coke and a Mars bar. Travelled for days - the sort I always wanted...highways, random little places, lots of greenery and lots of rain, no two consecutive nights or meals in the same place. Developed a rickety little philosophy of my own. Baked my first cake. Made plans, then re-made them. Done enough laundry to last three people ten lifetimes each. Gone from always-misses-calls to has-no-option-but-to-take-them. Bought enough formal Indian clothing to last me eight lifetimes - then proceeded to ruin successive kurtas with spirited rubbing and ironing. Learnt to negotiate successfully with salespeople at white goods' showrooms and telecom outlets. Poked myself in the eye seven hundred times, at the very least, in the process of learning how to wear lenses. Exulted in the victory of Anna Hazare. Practised deep breathing as a way to avoid losing my cool with regional and zonal heads who refused to see reason. Seen HR professionals - hell, been one - up close and personal. Figured out what I think I may probably want to do with my life. Allowed my vulnerabilities to show - and emerged a stronger individual for it. Turned 25. Gazed awestruck at the magic that we call 3G. Rediscovered my love of handmade silver jewellery. Not read a quarter as many books as I wanted to, sadly enough. Written SOPs that had no beginning, no end and no middle to speak of either. Been thrilled to bits at finding myself doing things I wanted to but never thought I'd get around to (remember the midnight drives?). Received some fourteen reality checks and still counting. Taken the TOEFL only because I could not get through to the helpline to cancel my registration - and thanked my stars later for having kept the lines busy. Landed in Delhi at 1 a.m. - believe me, it can't get more beautiful. Watched some really bad movies, and two decent ones. Elevated emailing to a fine art. Watched India win the World Cup. Developed an aversion to Maggi and omelettes. Come halfway to disliking pizza. Realised, thus, the truth in the axiom that anything in excess can get on your nerves. Nearly finished the Twilight series. Bought my first Rushdie and Marquez. Closed Thought Experiments and started The Southwest Wall, then closed The Southwest Wall and started a fresh blog...then closed the new blog and came back to the Wall because I'm not done with it yet.
Which brings us back to the beginning.
What's your past year been like? Go on, it's good to share. :)
And so, here I am. Yours truly, Crossworder.
Between mid-April last year and now, I have -
Left Delhi and realised, much too late, that I'm irreversibly in love with it. Lived all alone in a brand new city, in a house meant for four. Cooked meals from scratch and done a very good job of it, all things considered :) Met one of my favorite people some half-a-dozen times in ten months - which is great, given that he lives in a different city. Explored Marine Drive and Worli Seaface at midnight, and driven around Calcutta at 1 a.m., like I always wanted to. Been taken out for chocolate truffle at 3 a.m. Caught more 7 a.m. flights than I can remember having done before. Consequently, woken up at the unearthly hour of 3.30 more frequently than I ever had to, before this. Packed and unpacked for trips ranging from 14 hours to 6 weeks in duration, in ten minutes flat (and I'll have you know it's no idle boast). Fallen in love and dealt with heartache and heartbreak - and lived to tell the tale. Stayed up entire nights working on projects that never ended and went nowhere (!). Also stayed up from dinner to breakfast, catching up with one of my best friends over a bottle of Coke and a Mars bar. Travelled for days - the sort I always wanted...highways, random little places, lots of greenery and lots of rain, no two consecutive nights or meals in the same place. Developed a rickety little philosophy of my own. Baked my first cake. Made plans, then re-made them. Done enough laundry to last three people ten lifetimes each. Gone from always-misses-calls to has-no-option-but-to-take-them. Bought enough formal Indian clothing to last me eight lifetimes - then proceeded to ruin successive kurtas with spirited rubbing and ironing. Learnt to negotiate successfully with salespeople at white goods' showrooms and telecom outlets. Poked myself in the eye seven hundred times, at the very least, in the process of learning how to wear lenses. Exulted in the victory of Anna Hazare. Practised deep breathing as a way to avoid losing my cool with regional and zonal heads who refused to see reason. Seen HR professionals - hell, been one - up close and personal. Figured out what I think I may probably want to do with my life. Allowed my vulnerabilities to show - and emerged a stronger individual for it. Turned 25. Gazed awestruck at the magic that we call 3G. Rediscovered my love of handmade silver jewellery. Not read a quarter as many books as I wanted to, sadly enough. Written SOPs that had no beginning, no end and no middle to speak of either. Been thrilled to bits at finding myself doing things I wanted to but never thought I'd get around to (remember the midnight drives?). Received some fourteen reality checks and still counting. Taken the TOEFL only because I could not get through to the helpline to cancel my registration - and thanked my stars later for having kept the lines busy. Landed in Delhi at 1 a.m. - believe me, it can't get more beautiful. Watched some really bad movies, and two decent ones. Elevated emailing to a fine art. Watched India win the World Cup. Developed an aversion to Maggi and omelettes. Come halfway to disliking pizza. Realised, thus, the truth in the axiom that anything in excess can get on your nerves. Nearly finished the Twilight series. Bought my first Rushdie and Marquez. Closed Thought Experiments and started The Southwest Wall, then closed The Southwest Wall and started a fresh blog...then closed the new blog and came back to the Wall because I'm not done with it yet.
Which brings us back to the beginning.
What's your past year been like? Go on, it's good to share. :)
1 comment:
Is it silly that I am thrilled that you're still here and not at the new blog, so much so that I let out a huge sigh of relief! As for my year, I'll tell you when I get done with it in 21 days :)
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