AB and I were waiting for a bus, when a cop car stopped by us, the cop studied my face and asked me my name and where I live. I answered politely and asked him what was wrong. He replied "I am looking for an Asian girl who is missing. You looked like her - 16yrs, long hair, she was wearing a blue shirt though. Let us know if you happen to see her..."  The rest faded away as an ear to ear smile sat on my face-
REALLY???
Do I look like a 16 year old??!! *blush blush* 

I have been trying to grow my hair since times immemorial... Did it look long?!

A cop wouldn't (shouldn't) lie...

You have set an example Officer.
Now isn't he exactly the kind of honest cop any country needs!
*wink wink*

You, your partner, and what I call 'the universe'.

Good dates, I've been on some- but great dates is a totally different story! My fortune cookie once said 'Happiness has got to do more with a set of attitudes rather than a set of circumstances' but I believe great dates are more a result of a set of circumstances - some in your hands, some in your partner's and sometimes, in the hands of a third entity, beyond your control.'The universe' I'd like to call it.

Most of the times it refuses to let you have it all, makes you miss the train, run behind buses, makes you get caught together by a pesky neighbour, send a rude waiter, throw an awful weather or land you in accidents too. It does act quite like the cops who run behind couples holding hands while a thief makes a buttery escape behind their backs...

But only at times, call it good karma or sheer luck or coincidence, you can be treated really well when you least expect by the universe. It's like you  are listening to your favourite song already, the universe just turns up the volume by a notch!
For example,
when you go for a movie and you don't have to stand in a queue...
when you are riding on a bike on the streets of Mumbai, getting wet in the rain, sing (yell) Bollywood's 'rain-songs', eat butta (roasted corn) and sip on a cutting-chai by the side of a lake, and all of a sudden spot a beautiful rainbow...
when you are in a fancy boat restaurant, sailing across the heart of Paris, sipping Kir Royale, slow dancing to a live band, watching the Eiffel tower and it suddenly starts glowing and glittering with fancy light...
a late night out, calm sea, not a soul in sight, you look up and get surprised to see a million stars twinkling at you...

In my case, the universe has mostly been passive or mean! I end up having a good time despite it, not because of it. But those rare occasions do come once in a blue moon when everything is just perfect!

So date or no date, how kind (or not) has 'the universe' been to you lately?

I had been to Isle of Wight to celebrate a love anniversary. The island welcomed us with a fantastic weather throughput our stay, beautiful beaches, multicoloured sand, picturesque villages, warm people and mouth watering English food. Most of all it taught us a lesson - a lesson on love.

Our hotel room had a balcony overlooking the beach with two chairs. We sat there for hours chatting, sometimes boozing, sometimes reminiscing the past years, sometimes passed comments at the 'bikini (not-so-)babes', even did some star counting!

We discovered this pleasure of 'balcony hang out' the first day we reached there and were too tired to go out. We saw a vehicle parked by the road next to the beach. An old man came out, opened its back, took out two wooden planks, which seemed quite heavy for him. We looked at wonder - what was he up to?

We saw an old lady in the front seat but she didn't get down... She didn't even lend him a helping hand. We got so curious as to what was going on that we could not look at anything else.

Soon he pulled out something that looked like a thick log or a stick and kept it at the side. He took out a bag which seemed like a nice 'picnic bag'. He then positioned the planks parallel to each other, one end on the car, one end touching the ground.
Then he pulled out a wheelchair for which the planks acted as a base.

It dawned upon us. The wheel chair was for the lady sitting in the front, must be his wife. He opened the front door, positioned the wheel chair close to it, extended the stick to her so that she can hold for support, and she quickly made a turn and jumped into the wheelchair. He then put those heavy planks and the stick back inside, picked up the 'goodies bag', locked the doors (he had to repeat all that to get her back in as well). In the meanwhile the old lady had already started to scoot happily in her automatic wheelchair. And a pair of tired legs and a pair of dusty wheels strolled together on the pavement built next to the beach as the sun started to drown in the clear blue sea.



What a zest for life, what romance! I have seen couples take care of each other's every basic need leaving no stone unturned, but this is a mile further. Going to the beach is not any need, it is pure fun. Especially going every evening is luxury I say! Yes, they were regulars there. It is not just 'cooking cleaning, putting food on the table, help kids with homework, give medicines on time' stuff, it is 'let's go out and have the most fun this age can offer' stuff. I was thoroughly impressed!

The old man had to go through a lot in arranging for his wife to get out of the vehicle and get back in again, but while clicking these pictures, all I thought of was 'It is indeed a blessing to love and be loved'...

We ordered for Chinese food today at work. My colleague S, a father of 2 - one teenager and one 8, searched his pocket for loose change. Not finding any,
S: Looks like my girls have been stealing coins for buying sweets...
We all smiled :)
S: I have strictly told them, it is OK to steal as long as you are not caught.

How crooked is that???!!!

October 1st - I got my first Blogger award from Wishes, my first tag from DiDo (Aanya tagged me later too :) ) and my very first fish tank from AB :)
I am super thrilled!


1. What is your current obsession ?
My new fish!

2. What are you wearing today?
Clothes!

3. What’s for dinner?
Chole

4. What’s the last thing you bought?
A giant wooden rose ring

5. What are you listening to right now?
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?
Two lovely ladies tagged me -
DiDo- My support system, my sweetheart and a girl who forces you to be as crazy as she is ;)
Aanya- I don't know much about her, but I love her writing, sense of humour and she seems to be a lot of fun!

7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
A beach house by a clean picturesque beach

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?
Sun glasses

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Paris

10. Which language do you want to learn?
Japanese

11. What’s your favourite quote?
If it doesn't kill you, it only makes you stronger

12. Who do you want to meet right now?
My two darling friends - Ri and Di(do) and spend a whole night chatting with Di and trying to wake up Ri

13. What is your favourite colour?
Red

14. What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own closet?
A black dress

15. What is your dream job?
Now that I have a job, I don't dream about them anymore

16. What’s your favourite magazine?
None

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
Shoes

18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
Like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, wearing anything that you can't carry with grace

19. Who according to you is the most over-rated style icon?
Abhishek Bacchan

20. What kind of haircut do you prefer?
Layers

21. What are you going to do after this?
Work :P

22. What are your favourite movies?
Top most at the moment is 'Grave of the fireflies' - an anime

23. What are three cosmetic/makeup/perfume products that you can't live without?
Eyeliner, moisturizer, lip gloss

24. What inspires you ?
My dad's and maternal grandma's life-story

25. Give us three styling tips that always work for you:
Walk tall, smile, be totally comfortable in what you wear

26. What do you do when you “have nothing to wear” (even though your closet’s packed)?
I usually re-arrange stuff when this happens. I actually didn't go to a party once because of this!

27. Coffee or tea?
Mornings - Coffee
Afternoons - Tea

28. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Lay my head on AB's lap or have a chat with my friend Al or read Sai Satcharitra (No I am not religious at all, this is the only thing I do)
Most importantly avoid looking at or talking to Ma. She just magically knows something is wrong and starts getting worried.

29. What is the meaning of your name?
Celestial Rays, Beauty, Divine

30. Favourite Holiday Destination?
Switzerland

31. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?
All Indian sweets, Warm brownies with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream

32. Favorite Season ?
Monsoon in Mumbai

33. If I come to your house now, what would u cook for me?
Anything you like and I know

34. What is the right way to avoid people who purposefully hurt you?
I wish I knew the answer

35. What are you afraid of the most?
Anything that crawls

36.Is it possible to be in love with two persons simultaneously?
NO

37.Life without Music/Dance is?
Hollow

My Q: Do you think with your head or heart?

Rules for those who are tagged:Respond and rework – answer these questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own, and add one more question to the list.

If you are like this tag and want to take it up, feel free to!

AB and I recently celebrated our 10th love anniversary and he gifted my a beautiful fish tank. Today we went together and bought 4 guppies :)

I tried to take some pictures, but they are swimming really fast as they seem to be still adjusting to the new environment. They seem a bit calmer now but after I feed them tomorrow morning, I hope to make friends with them, then maybe I can take some pictures...

They are very tiny - one is a pale yellow colour, with a bright yellow tail and orange spots, one is dark grey, one is deep blue with orange and blue patterns on his tail, one is dark grey with a bright orange tail. They are very lively fish who likes to play 'chase a fish' and 'hide and seek' a lot!

AB noticed that they are going round and round in clockwise direction only, hope that's normal!

Sigh, there are so many measures and precautions to take - and they are only fish! They have their own heater and thermometer inside to keep the water at 23-25 C. They are extremely sensitive, even if I move the tank slightly, they get all tensed and start swimming fast!

I am still thinking about names. Suggestions are welcome (they are all male by the way). I deliberately didn't buy any female because guppies do only 3 things - eat, poo and breed (they are also called 'the Millionfish')! And I am not ready to become a grandma just yet :)

I Googled for some pics to give you all an idea -

My tank looks like this




Guppies



And a Wiki link to get to know more about them - here

I am so thrilled, I can't stop smiling :D :D
AB and I are sooooo desperately waiting for Saturday!