THE CHASE OF THE GLEEFUL LIZARD

A hostel exposes you to all sorts of things, right from the freedom of having your own tiny space to the ordeal of protecting it from the millions of creatures that choose, of all rooms, only yours.

I've got a little more than a week left in my cosy corner, and I've often congratulated myself for having managed to keep it lizard-free, even if not frog free [No, I do not live in the deep depths of a rain forest:)] I've killed moths, acid bugs and small roaches, but a lizard I can't kill. It is just too big. They also give me the feeling of forever wanting to jump me, which is not so very nice because I'm quite jumpy and they're quite icky.

There's a tiny chink in my door, and as I came back from a very happy evening, I saw a Head poking out. There were sirens in my head which went "Eeeeeeeeee!!!!" I did not want to open the door for fear of it either a) Falling on my head, or b) Scuttling away inside my room, never to be found again. I called desperately for help, and to my rescue came my brave anti-lizard squad.

Armed with two brooms, and after building a protective wall (consisting of a laptop bag, a laundry basket, a sweater, and a slipper) safeguarding the more decorated part of the room, we decided to go to war. One was positioned outside in order to watch and inform on the retreat of the enemy, and two were poised for action inside: one scared, one brave.

Dragging the cupboard in true manner of a scared rookie, I let out a shriek even though I didn't see it.. erm, got a lil caught in the moment.. Then I saw a beady eye gleam from around the corner. It smelt fear, glinted and hopped out onto the wall very friskily. I looked desperately towards Jo, who brandished the broom fearlessly and decided to swat it like a fly. It hopped a little more, and as I let out another squeal, turned and looked down at me jubilantly. Brave Jo then whacked the area around it, and it realised it had met its match. It grew wary, decided that it did not want to lose face, scuttled to the laptop bag, turned its still-attached tail and ran out of the door. We heard the victory squeal from Dee as she whacked the vent and shooed it to a galaxy far, far away.

My room was a mess but we were happy. My chamber is now lizard-free, thanks to those who are braver than I:) The chink in the door lies plastered with paper, and as I lie battle-weary, I know I shall shudder when I dream of the Glint of the Gleeful lizard.

SHOPPING WHEN HUNGRY = 250 BUCKS WORTH OF JUNK FOOD:(

Sleeping late makes me awaken late, apart from generally being the lazy sort. It also makes me miss breakfast and lunch at the mess, and have very high expectations of tea. This, very naturally (and, as ought to always be foreseen), leads to disappointment and a very hungry tummy.

I then end up making plans for excellent cheese and white sauced restaurants. Closest and verrrry interesting, is Bombay Blue. Very unfortunately, right next to it, lies Big Bazaar, one that houses almost everything but what I need, and the longest queues and the slowest Gujjus.

All I needed when I wandered in was a bottle of body wash, some chocolates (yes, yes, sometimes one needs chocolates!!!) and a giant packet of green Lays. I picked up the bottle and sauntered into the crunchies section, looking straight ahead and really making an effort to not stare greedily at all other kinds of food when drooling. I wished I had blinders. I felt a slow dribble forming as I caught sight of chocolate-chipped biscuits. Just one pack, I told myself. My sneaky eye caught hold of a pack of Haldiram's Bhujia Sev, and my brow tweaked itself.

A few minutes later, I found myself rushing to the chocolate counter, carrying five items in each hand. I didn't dare pick up a basket lest I went berserk, pulled the shop down and stuffed it in. Asking for a couple of Cadbury's bars, I stared at my shoes after glaring at a lady who bought a dozen chocolates- all expensive foreign brands.

As I finally made my way out, I had a huge bag and a hole in my pocket. I'd always known I was a little demented when it came to food and shopping, but I could now forsee a future where I would spend my entire salary buying food, eating out, and hunting for couches that could take me, a gazillion bags of chips- and The Stomach.

THE RETURN OF THE LOST LOVE

I am, at this moment, quite the blubbering idiot. I know not how to express my joy at seeing my baby blog back after a three day disappearance. I could never understand how women baby-talked to their men, but if I can goo-goo to a black computer screen, then.. ah, it's time I shut up:)

I remember roaming the net aimlessly, where any black templated page reminded me of Bloggy. Each time I looked up, I hoped to see Bloggy. Each time I opened the laptop, my eyes hunted for a link to Bloggy. For three days, I kept getting disappointed each time. I realised that I could not look at other blogs..

And now Bloggy is back:) I have nothing to say really, but I'm typing away to glory anyway. I can't but feel that it somehow expects me to post today:D

To the one who got my Bloggy back for me: Thank you, your mighty highness, evil queen of the Deep Blue Sea:)

"GUESS WHO-OO??!!"

An unknown number calls on a fine birthday night, and a deep voice at the other end says, "Many Happy Returns of the Day!! Guess who??" Ordinarily, I would have raised an interested eyebrow at the nice voice, but the 'Guess who-ing' put me off. I normally get snappish the minute anybody starts this, but I know I should be nice when people call up to wish.. With a timer ticking away inside my head, I play along, injecting a smiling note in my voice.

"Thank you sooo much.. Can you pleeease tell me who this is?"
"Go on, guess away"
"I've no idea really.. Is it X (arbit guy's name)?" [Tick tick]
"No... but who's X? Hmm hmm, some new guy on the scene, eh?"
"Umm.. no, nobody really. Seriously now, who is this?" [Tick tick tick]
"Nobody? Hmm.. but you want it to be him, na.. Something's cooking here!!"
"Nothing's cooking anywhere. (Voice turning cold) I think it is time you tell me who you are now. I'm kinda done guessing." [Tick tick TICK]
"No no, you've gotta guess.. Come on, give it another shot. You Know Me.."
"Really? (Face turning red) Oh, are you-- sorry, second call, will be right back!!" [Beep]

As I discovered much later, it turned out to be a friend's (boorish) friend, somebody I am no longer connected with.

It is even more difficult when relatives do it, because then there is no way one can afford to be considered rude. One does not want the family name to be sullied due to lack of control over temper. So even at weddings and marriage receptions, when asked, point blank, "Sooo, do you recognise me?", you politely nod agreement, all smiles. You hope he will not ask you to tell him who he is, whilst all the time racking your brains. You desperately cross fingers, hoping for a timely interruption. You dart a sneaking glance here and there, looking for help. Your eyes fall upon gleeful looking siblings, who have been through the same ordeal minutes before, escaping unscathed. You turn back, smile uncomfortably, and ask him how he has been doing.

He will, unfailingly, turn out to be the old neighbour-uncle who dandled you on his knee at your maternal grandfather's house when you were five.

Having a very bad memory for voices and and even worse one for faces, I've discovered that the only solution is to pray- for a second call or for Mom :)

OVER AND DONE WITH:)

I've stayed up for goodness knows how many nights in a row, burning the midnight oil and bursting a bulb, and now I feel totally content with a fat thesis in my kitty and nothing to do for the next few days:) At the peak of thesis work, when rushing to make the deadline, I've felt sleepy at 1 a.m (which I haven't felt in years!), felt extremely sorry for myself, and promptly fallen asleep in a chair, on the keypad, and in the library.

It has been a craazy time, and one would expect that I'd want to get some sleep as soon I could get to my bed, but I got very frisky after I was done and pranced all over the place, especially in Dee's room. So much so, that I managed to catch my first ever daybreak here :D Since then, it has been a relaxed period of doing so much of nothing, it's sinful :)

• I can now lie down, prop my laptop on my tummy, open a word doc, and not type.. without feeling guilty!!!!
• I can watch movies till 6.30 a.m. and wake up at 3 p.m.
• I can buzz people on G-talk and say "What you doing?" and know fully well they're not doing anything either :D
• I can give people a snooty, triumphant "Why-shouldn't-I be?!" look when they say "You were asleep at 2 p.m.?!" :D
• I can wake up, waggle a gleeful finger at a clock that says 8.40 a.m., and plop back off to sleep :)

I know most of my treats are related to requiring sleep, sleep and more sleep, but then being a poor sleep-deprived person is not easy, you know. I dread the day when I have to start work and keep regular hours, when I'll have to wake up 7 a.m. and go to bed like a good little working girl at 11 p.m.

Though, very honestly, I can see more chances of me sleeping late, awaking late and falling alseep on the job than that happening:D

BORED BEYOND BELIEF

The temptation to blog right now comes at the most inopportune of moments. With a truckload of thesis work pending (visions of a huge weighing scale with me sitting in one pan and losing to a tiny book bound in black in the other..), and a bed that temptingly tweaks its finger at me, I refrain from pressing Alt+Tab at this moment.

I've been arbitly copy-pasting from academic articles and journals for the past two hours, after an evening which I spent randomly saying "Poop!!!" at regular intervals to poor Dee, for reasons unknown. I've now checked my mail three times (even though Gmail has those little pop-ups), checked Orkut twice (even though Gmail would have popped up to notify), combed my hair, filled water, and compared three different versions of "Neele Neele Ambar Par". I'm borrrrrred and I'm looking for more time wasting activities (TWA, as pop would say)..

The clock is fast galloping past 2 a.m.-- the time limit I'd given myself before I absolutely have to work. But then my conscience rests easy.. the limit was first 12.30, then 1.15, then 1.45, 1.50, 1.55 :D Even though I think it is pointless, I shall still strive to try and get work done tonight. And then maybe I'll sleep late tomorrow morning.. maybe I can get up after lunchtime..

Think I'll just curl up for a little while.. only a couple of minutes..

HMMM...

After a craazy, but lovely week, I seem to be doing a lot of soul-searching and wondering. Now, I'm not the kind that normally broods over the past. I'm reminiscent and I'm nostalgic, but I'm rarely emotional-- to the extent of being jokingly called a robot with an ice cold, stony heart:D

The week began with me realizing that I've got a tonne of work to be done before G landed on campus, and this was not counting thesis work. After finishing a very rushed book presentation and muddling through my International Marketing report, I managed to wake up at 7.30 a.m. [yes, yes, ME!! And this shall always remain a feather in my cap:) ] in time for G's bus.

We spent a lazy weekend and a night where we discussed everything we haven't managed to in the past year. We even spoke of love, hate and infidelity. We watched Sex and the City, with large pauses as related topics were initiated in between and gossiping was necessary:) It has been ages since we arbitly walked around and unconcernedly discussed anything and everything, staying awake till 5 a.m.

I had the loveliest time ever, and as I returned to an empty room, I realised how much I missed people back home. As I thought over all that we spoke of, and looked at an old classmate's photo album today, I saw that people have moved on, saw how much they've achieved, the shortcomings they've made peace with. Some of them are now very happy.

Not-so-arbitly wondering: In many ways, I'm still at the same place I was five years ago- dissatisfied. Do I want what I can't get, or do I want it because I can't get it?

I'm not sad or sentimental, purely dispassionately analytical. But I still want to see light at the end of my tunnel.

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL

Waking up to sounds of a lot of bustle, I heard people say, "What've you got to get done?" and "Lemme know when you've finished, I'm after you". I opened a bleary eye to squint at myself in the mirror. I needed to get in line. My eyebrows looked like they'd multiplied and decided to fall, one right below my nose. I wish I'd managed to convince myself it was a shadow.

I analysed whether I really needed to get my upper lip done (well, it hurts like crazy, so I naturally try to postpone indfinitely). No mirror likes me in the morning-- and such a ghastly picture naturally puts me in very bad humour. Anyway, I plodded off to find the beautician, a once-in-three-weeks miracle.

When it was finally time, I was well armed-- I had my rolls of tissue ready. Surprisingly, the woman was gentle [.. this is somehow sounding perverse..] She didn't bare her teeth, stare at my mouth in a bloodthirsty manner and then make a go for my face. It hurt lesser this time, but it still reaches infinity :(

I don't think any man will ever understand this.. except Joey. I have to mention him. He's been through eyebrow-shaping and waxing, the darling:) Hmm, the sadist in me wants him to get his upper lip done tooooo!!!!! Bwahhaahahhaha!!!!!!!

But the end result is such a relief.. I don't have to get it done again for three whole weeks!!! Hallelujah!!!!!!!

Things I desperately needed today: tissue, cold cream, ice, ice, ice!!!