A New Year.

I haven't blogged in like ages. Well, what can I say? It just hasn't been the most inspiring and happening days of my life. Another year comes to an end in two days and that makes me unusually reflective. What did I gain/lose this year? What is still the same? Here is a generic list.

• I still lack focus.
• I became a graduate
• I've become more mature in my outlook of things. (Sadly, I am the only person who agrees with me on that one!)
• I have stopped speaking to a friend whom I knew for the past 18 years. Such is the result of some bad choices.
• I still haven't figured out that one thing I have a passion for and want to do for the rest of my life. (I have a deep inherent fear that I never will!!)
  
• I realized guys are not the only ones who are scared of commitments and have issues with marriage. I was recently asked by my family if I was interested in marrying a certain dude they thought was purrrfect for me!! To say that it was one of the scariest moments of my life, is putting it mildly.
• I've become more impatient than before. (And here I thought people become calmer as they age!)
• I have actually finished two knitting projects (a purse and a headband) which is a big thing for me because earlier, I used to take years to finish even the simplest projects.
• My cooking has seriously improved. Now what I cook is at least edible.
• I have started reading newspapers, something which I used to absolutely hate doing earlier.
• I've figured out that gardening is not as loathsome as I'd portrayed it to be, It can actually be fun.
  
• One of my first ambitions was to be a painter (and not the artistic kind!) I finally did it. I painted a gate and couple of the walls in my house. It isn't as fulfilling as I thought it would have been. But it was fun while it lasted.
• I still have a short attention span, i.e. I may find something absolutely fascinating for like 5 days and then I forget all about it.
  
• I realized the whole 'Best Friends Forever' thing from college and school days doesn't really last. Most often than not it would just fizzle out and die if it weren't for Facebook, Twitter, etc
• I also realized that my friends from college/ school are the best people I ever hung out with. Given a choice, I'd definitely chose them over the ones I made later (no offense intended!). Its probably the innocence but as we grow older we tend to grow more cynical and that ruins the actual essence of it.
• I miss my school days more than my college days.
  
• Well, I can't think of much else.
  

Hoping that the new year brings lots of joy and cheer to me and to everyone I know. Keep smiling, folks! :) :)

Wilted wishes!!

When I was a kid, I remember desperately wanting to attend weddings. I never quite got the chance to, till I was in 8th grade. Surprising, isn't it? Well, I was one of those NRI kids who came to India every once in two years for two months. Much as I would've loved to attend any of my relatives weddings, I could not possibly insist that they wait till I get to India the next time. What I was left with, was loads of wedding photo albums and cassettes to pour over during my summer hols. And I'd be lying if I said that I did not feel a teeny-weeny bit sad that I could never wear one of those pretty pink/white lacy dresses my cousins wore with cute bouquets in their hands, happily smiling, standing beside the married couple while the photographer clicked away. *sigh*.

Anyway, now that I've grown up(or so I think!!), I still love weddings, but not of relatives. Its nothing to do with them. They are all adorable people and they mean the best for everyone. But the problem lies in me being a 22 year old Keralite girl who has just finished her studies. You see, that kind of a person is the exact prey for all these auntyji types in the wedding to explore their matchmaking skills with the girl in question and the auntyji's neighbor's mother-in-law's brother's daughter's son... You get the drift, right? Its annoying, to the say the least and it also puts unwanted ideas into ur folks minds. Dangerous, I tell you. Very dangerous.

You see, once they do happen to get such ideas in their head, (presuming it wasn't already there in the first place) they'd want to to go ahead, find the 'perfect' match for their daughter and get it finished off as soon as possible. Looking at it from their point of view, I guess its entirely right. But still!!!!!!

Our retorts which may go like "I'm not ready yet!" would mostly earn a reply like, "Your 22. Whaddaya mean ur not ready yet?!? Girls these days!! Your g'mom got married when she was 15 and had her first kid when she was 16. In our culture, girls have to get married before they reach a certain age or they are never going to find a good match and blah blah blah....". If you are a Keralite girl, I'm sure you know the rest.

To lower the percentage of such interactions, I'd say its best to stay away from our khaandan weddings. But, of course, that cannot be helped either. If you do manage to say something like,
"Do we HAVE to go for the wedding? Its a lot of people. I'm sure they won't notice we're not around", and voila, we're definitely in for another round of wisdom-sharing which might go something like this. "Not go for the wedding? Are you out of your mind? and blah blah blah..."

Here we go again!! :|