So 17 blasts in Ahmedabad and 9 in Bangalore?

I am not even thinking at the moment... except that this SHOULD not be happening. Dont people have a soul anymore? I have spent the past 3 days watching spirit of unity videos they made in the old days... like Baje Sargam Mile Sur Mera Tumhara and the MIT remake!! I have been terribly nostalgic and all over the place and this is NOT a good thing to add to the mood. Arggh.

I hope everyone and their family and friends are ok.

---

A big thanks to the people who responded to my previous post. I am doing good. I am going to email you sometime. It really made me happy to see you all write in.

Love!!

I used to talk to the moon. She was called Dee (short for Diana, the moon goddess)....
And I used to sit on the swing on the terrace in my parents house at night and have conversations with her...  =)

This one was pretty accurate...  

Your personality type: 
Enthusiastic, idealistic and creative. Able to do almost anything that interests them. Great people skills. Need to live life in accordance with their inner values. Excited by new ideas, but bored with details. Open-minded and flexible, with a broad range of interests and abilities. 

Careers that could fit you includes: 
Actors, journalists, writers, musicians, painters, consultants, psychologists, psychiatrists, entrepreneurs, teachers, counselors, politicians, diplomats, television reporters, marketers, scientists, sales representatives, artists, clergy, public relations, social scientists, social workers. 

I've already been an actor, journalist, writer, consultant, teacher, tv reporter, artist, PR person and am a social worker now. 
Ive studied Psychology and can dance but cannot play any instrument well. 
I am not interested in politics so thats out of the question. I hate marketing and selling things I dont believe in....
Science was never my cup of tea and clergy? Yes, maybe more interest in Jainism....
So whats left? 
:-) 

My mom.
My husband.
Tarla Dalal.

Mom. She tried to teach me to cook ever since I can remember. Make tea, coffee, rotis, cut vegies, blah blah. And I always rebelled. Thinking I was not going to make a traditional marriage where the girl cooked.

And then I moved to Au. Mom had written a simple recipe cookbook for my brother when he had moved overseas for sometime. And I took the same book here. It greatly improved my Gujarati reading abilities cause most of the recipes are written in Gujarati.

Being a practising Jain, there is not much I can eat and so I started cooking the easy recipes first. Cabbage, peas, dal, rice. Then I started making rotis. Perfect round rotis... thankgod for the practice earlier! Koftas, Dhoklas from scratch, idlis from scratch and just other stuff I cant remember right now. Thank God for me Ma!

The husband. This gorgeous man has been cooking long before me, and I am SO SO SO lucky I married him. Touch wood. He makes me the worlds best pasta (many types), nachos, fajitas, burritos, enchiladas, spicy noodles and banana milkshake. I help, but he makes. And I learn, but I dont cook when he is in the kitchen. Cause he ROCKS! :P

Tarla Dalal.
Amongst all the recipe books I own (about 5), my fav ones are the Tarla Dalal cook books -- cooking in 10 mins, and Jain International Recipes. Pretty good variations of nice worldly stuff... My fav recipe is the mushroom-capsicum veggie and the kali dal.

And I know I am not a bad cook. Kudos to all three! :D

Tea (Made with Indian tea leaves)
Put half a cup of water to boil.
Add some ginger, 2tsp of sugar and 1tsp of tea leaves in it and let it boil.
Once the water is boiling, add 3/4 cup of milk to it.
Keep stirring till it boils.
Strain it and pour it in a cup.

*Serve with Indian Parle G biscuits.

We just got this email at work.... and I think its hilarious!
Work emails! Sigh!!

____________________________________________
From: XXX
Sent: Friday, 21 December 2007 12:53 PM
To: (VIC) Southbank
Subject: Hazard Alert - Ground Floor Courtyard

The tree in the courtyard outside of the staff room has dropped a branch after yesterday's storm and other branches may be unstable. A contractor has been called to address the situation but is unable to attend Southbank until Monday, December 24. In the interim, staff are advised that they should not sit under the tree.

XXX
HR Business Partner

OK so I still have some time to go before my birthday... but lifting the idea off a friend (who lifted it off someplace else) I have made a list 25 new things I did in my 25th year!

1. Malaysia.
This was my first overseas trip with my friends. Had gone for a friends wedding but then travelled a bit and shopped a little in Genting and KL. I also saved some money from my own earnings which was good...

2. Travelling more withing Au. Hobart.
We went there for Diwali this year with my parents and the husband. We knew it was gorgeous, but it really is gorgeous! Its one of the tiniest cities I have ever seen... pretty much walk-able anywhere and quite a pretty picture. An interesting experience was that we missed our flight there (not because we were late/which HAS happened before.... but because we landed up at the wrong airport!! Dont ask. I still laugh about it secretly!!)
(I am also going to Brisbane in a couple of weeks, so technically this is before my birthday, but not writing it until I actually go there!)

3. Camping.
I have always wanted to go camping, and I did. The only little hitch was that we forgot to carry a bed. We had to borrow a single matress which was in a very very bad condition, and cuddle up in that for 2 nights. And it was COLD!!! In the end, I would do it again.

4. Saw a lot of Australian wildlife.
Possums, Kangaroos, Snakes, Koalas, Fairy penguins, Emus, the mutton bird (which fascinated me the most) and a lot more. I love the wildlife here, but I miss the big cats and the elephants. :(

5. Lived alone with a man for the longest time in my life so far.
Ok so I know I am going to live with Mehul for a long long time, but this is the beginning of my marriage and this was the year that I spent with him from Jan 2006 to Jan 2007, only living apart for the few days I was in Malaysia and the few days we went to Sydney. Not bad, eh? And fight record: Minimal. Touch wood.

6. Longest relationship till date.
Its no joke. This has been my longest relationship till date and its still going great. I dont mean this in any other way than what you read. I am only acknowledging the fact that we have been together for 2 years now and he still brings a smile to my face... and will too, for many more years to come.

7. Shifting?
Because I have lived in Mumbai all my life, in one flat with pretty much the same things all around me, shifting was an interesting experience. Moving into another space, buying new furniture, letting go of the old... Teaches me detachment.

8. I taught Bollywood Dancing
Never thought I could / would do it. I have been a good dancer. Mainly because I LOVE dancing. But choreographing and teaching it to someone is an entirely different thing. But Ive choreographed a couple of routines, and taught them well. Had a couple of good reviews (which feels awesome)… The best though was teaching little australian children bolly dancing!

9. I got tipped!
And while I am at the teaching / performing talk, I might add I got tipped for the first time in my life. We were performing in a group and each of us got paid 40$ each for the performance / workshop at a birthday party. And the house…. It was the river facing ivy covered mansion with an 'east gate' entry instead of the 'north gate'….

10. The harry potter history
So I read the first 4 books as a birthday gift (thanks radhi!) when I was in class XII… and read the 7th part in my 25th year. I can tell my kids how it was like. Booking you copy, going in the morning to read it, mehul reading it next to me, and we just read the whole day. Did not really talk to each other. It was VERY interesting. And I hung up on my mom that day…

11. I worked in a call centre
Coming from India, the land of the call centres, I worked in one in Au. And I had a couple of people ask me if I was in india when they called me up… ofcourse this was in my pre-accent days! I cant say I have not enjoyed it. Working for the blood bank is fulfilling in many ways. I have spoken to some very lovely people, met some nice people, made friends and got to know the general geography of melbourne, and the ways of being, talking and dressing, like a Melbournanian. I am loving it.
Want to know something strange? I started my first permanent job on the 14th of Jan, the CNBC job on 14th of Feb and the call centre job on 14th of Mar!!

12. I finally learnt video editing!
Did a three day workshop in FCP editing and cut an interesting piece on some antarctica footage provided to us. I needed it.

13. I realized I get hay fever.
OMG. It’s the most annoying thing ever. Its what you get in spring with an excess of pollen around. Itchy and sore eyes, sneezing, coughing. And my eyes tend to swell up and I loose my energy. Not a very nice feeling.

14. Dealt with death on my own.
I am not sure how we deal with death. But we all do, somehow. I don’t know how I will deal with it when I face it next… but for the moment this was the hardest thing I had to do. I learnt to switch off. Move on. I have not thought about it. Not even sure if I have dealt with it. I mean, I know I will break down when I go to my uncles place. I still do. When I remember the 3am call saying he is no more. It is scary.

15. Lived the longest away from my parents.
So ive never lived away more than a couple of months… and it was a whole year before I saw dad again. And 11 mths before I saw mum. I miss them a lot. :(

16. Everyone visited 'MY' place
My parents, inlaws, sis in law… they all visited my house. Pretty big deal, eh?

17. I failed my driving test….. Thrice!
(….& all in one year too!!)
I have rarely failed in my life. Chemistry in std VIII, term 2, eco and french in jr college. And now I failed thrice in my driving test in Au. I am not ashamed. I know I drive well. I will get there someday!!

18. Been the fattest Ive ever been
Not something I am proud of. I have never been this fat. :(
And it’s the hormones this time. Not me.

19. On the pill
Speaking of hormones. The gynac said I had to take the pill. So I did. And I become hormonia from hedonia. Not an easy thing, I can tell you that.

20. Donated Plasma
Ive donated blood before but you can donate plasma and have your red blood cells returned to your body.

21. Sat in an ambulance for the first time
When we took the husband to the hospital when he was complaining of chest pains. They said it wasnt serious so I was not very worried. Would not liked to have sat in it otherwise.

22. Saw Danny Bhoy and Russell Peters
Very funny. I love stand up comedy. Like totally. Cant wait for the comedy festival next year.

23. Still hid from parents/in-laws to talk on the phone
...And this time it wasnt a boy!

24. Saw the movie trilogies which I have wanted to see for a while.
Indiana jones, Star wars (the old trilogy, and the new one!) crocodile dundee amongst others. Its actually our favourite timepass. We sit on the couch and watch tv. We bought a home theatre system. And I started Buffy from the start and am on season 4 now. Its awesome!!

25. LIVED!
I mean, you get up, go to work (11 hours sometimes), come home, cook, clean, sleep... its a hard life. And I appreciate mom a lot more now.

I feel lonely.
And there is no one to talk to.

Its a rainy day here. Absolutely gloomy. And like always I am happy and sad. 

Happiest when I hold onto the days gone by and my memories with you. Late night phone converastions, early morning messages, group chats, compliments, when you told me you liked me. I am not vain. I just feel loved and pure enough that I too have loved you back. I missed you. I still miss you. You might not know how lonely I can be. You might not know the importance of friendship which is realized only when one is away from everything one has loved, liked, wanted, known and lost. 
You might not think about me anymore. You might think I am gone far away.. thrown in my world of matrimony and things which you are far away from. You might not even know what you mean to me. 
But i can only say that I am almost alive today, and I smile sometimes when I think of the way you made me feel. 
Thank you. 

For most of you on my eljay.