Newport, RI

Akshay and I recently went on a weekend getaway to Newport, Rhode Island and we absolutely fell in love with that city. Mansions, beaches, ocean fronts, cruises and not to miss the fantastic food, ample parking space … everything picture perfect and easy on the nerves but what really stood out was the *feel* the place had.

Every part of the city had it’s own story and people were dressed aptly to play their part. For instance, on that street where all the mansions are, you could see the ladies roaming around in pretty dresses arm in arm with their men dressed handsomely ( well, as handsomely dressed as a man can possibly get when he is on a vacation :-) . Also noticed a couple of them wearing those long flowy dresses and looking so regal in them. And just a couple of streets away from these mansions, the contrast was so striking - the rest of the city was dressed in beach wear!

The hostesses at the waterfront restaurants and shopkeepers at the Brick Marketplace , though busy trying to manage large throngs of crowd were always ready with a smile and a joke and you didn’t mind waiting 25-30 mins to get your table. The food rocked. The drinks could have had more alcohol in them for the price at which they came but given the ambiance, it wasn’t difficult to be forgiving.

Everybody looked fresh, relaxed and ‘chilled out’ in the real sense of the word and maybe that’s why I, for once, didn’t feel any depression seeping in as it always does whenever a vacation came to an end.

Our secret Narnias

See that suave man in the lounge, discussing business with another snazzy gentleman ? Or that rustic farmer you met at the harvest festival. Or the Smarty Pants traveler you met on one of your camping trips. And you think there can’t be anything childish about these people.

I'm not sure what your chances are at getting a peek into their bathrooms but if you do, you’ll know how judgmental you have been.

Ducklings, monkeys, Spiderman, Pluto, Shrek, The Simpson’s all come alive on their bathmats, shower curtains and towels ! And tucked somewhere between the Wall Street Journals and Nat Geo’s lie Manga comics and Calvin and Hobbes.

So are bathrooms a man’s Narnia ? The only place he can be the child he has outgrown in public?
Funny or sad, I fail to conclude.

Photons of happiness

Believe it or not , I was cooking the other day. Yes. And my landlord was so impressed to find me in the kitchen that he got me a new apron and a bunch of fresh roses from his garden ! Sweet. And the Biryani turned out fabulous.

A couple of days later when the roses started wilting, I took the petals and put them in the Sangria jug and some in a vase. Not only have those beautiful orange, red, pink and yellow petals brightened up that corner of my house, they work great as pot pouri.

And today when I went to Bed Bath and Beyond, I actually remembered to bring along the discount coupon. This is the first time in all these years when I didn’t walk into a store and slap my head for not carrying a coupon.
(What remains off the record is that I didn’t really need anything but since I was carrying the voucher I ended up making a purchase! )

Not really sure how it works but I somehow feel good about all this. Small nothings, yes that’s what they are but they instill in me a sense of achievement. For now at least :-)

Yes, that explains it all

Trivia

• One in 10 Europeans is allegedly conceived in an Ikea bed.
• A couple in US is also referred to as an 'item'. In Mumbai, India it refers to a hot girl
• "Restaurant" is the most mis-spelled word in search engines.
• Cyclist Lance Armstrong's heart is almost a third larger than the average man's.
• You're 10 times more likely to be bitten by a human than a rat.
• The Pyruvate Scale measures pungency in onions and garlic. It's named after the acid in onions which makes cooks cry when cutting them.
• The hotter it is, the more difficult it is for aeroplanes to take off. Air passengers in Nevada, where temperatures have reached 120F, have been told they can't fly.
• Giant squid eat each other - especially during sex.
• First-born children are less creative but more stable, while last-born are more promiscuous, says US research.
• Pulling your foot out of quicksand takes a force equivalent to that needed to lift a medium-sized car.
• The city of Rome has more wild cats per square mile than any other city in the world.
• The number of births in India each year is greater than the entire population of Australia.
• There is a city called Rome on every continent of the world.

My bad Vs his good

Nothing sends my mood spiraling down than a bad day at golf. I am no great hitter of the ball but yeah, on a good day I achieve what I set out to and not being able to do it just squishes my spirits


And , the other day, with each shot it got progressively worse. I changed my stance, my swing and tried emulating Aks but it didn't work.

I guess what really got to me was seeing him swing away to glory !

Wicked !

A sign at a winery I visited last week :

“I respect old age. Especially when it’s bottled.”

A scary evolution thought

“ It was the cruel joke of an irreverent God that the merest lizard could re-grow what it lost while supposedly advanced humans were doomed to wear their injuries forever. Perhaps someday, humans would evolve as far as lizards.”

‘GoochBin’

What is it about Midnight Motivations that make me dream BIG and never see them getting realized in the light of the day ?

And creativity? It’s at it’s peak ! For it really takes some high quality imagination to come up with a story about a ‘Cow and a Dog’.
And just to let you in on this, the dog’s name is ‘GoochBin’ (Yes capital G and capital B) because he is round yet quick like the cricketer from down under (hence Gooch) and he can eat *anything* served / thrown his way (that explains the Bin).

So how does the story go ?
Well just wait for the next bestseller hitting your bookstores shortly !


P.S. Have I ever mentioned that it is my dream to live off royalties of my published books. Some day …

I don't pray for lighter burdens, but for a stronger back

Life’s lessons aren’t always learnt the easy way. Had never mulled much over the seriousness of this until I spent 13 weeks in India earlier this year.

And it was there that I learnt that no matter how prepared you might be by the news of your father’s sickness, the sight of a bedridden gaunt old man looking at you helplessly with tears in his eyes, face contorted and an arm outstretched to hug you just freezes you in your tracks. And that picture stays on to haunt you.

I learnt that when you see such a sight, it takes a hell lot of courage to not break down. That it’s show-time and you are supposed to put up your bravest act.

I learnt that my father loves me way too much. When he had mumbled that *I* was the reason behind his stroke, he wasn’t accusing me. It was his way of telling me that I am always on his mind and he worried himself sick over me.

I learnt that there are people who can say the most hurtful and insensitive things to you even in such an hour of distress. And I learnt to cringe at the sight of them for I couldn’t talk back.

I learnt that even as you try to get used to living without your mother (you can never really get used to this, can you? ) these people will point out how unlucky I am to not have her around now. Though I fail to see how any less of a torture it would have been for her.

I learnt the importance of being there for your loved one in an hour of crisis

I learnt that when misfortune falls on you, you just get the strength and wisdom to deal with it. Alone. And I learnt that being strong isn’t necessarily a good thing for it’s often accompanied by loneliness.

I learnt that it’s easier being a daughter to your father than being his guardian.

I learnt that when people say that I have earned a place for myself in Heaven for tending to my parents in their sickness, it makes me throw up. I’d rather go to Hell and have both my parents healthy than see them sick or dead.

I learnt that in some ways I have let go of my father.

And much as I hate, I am learning what it’ll be like to be in this world without the people who brought you into it.