Bah.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
My Tryst With TB
I was diagnosed with TB about 3 months back. It was scary at that time, I was constantly worried about the 3 lumps on the right side of my neck. Doctors scared me with multiple possibilities of it being all kinds of diseases. I woke up some days thinking if I have lived a full enough life :P. (Happily enough, the answer was yes.)
I was so upset some days, that I called up my friends and family and just chatted. He was also concerned, to say the least. Then, I took a 10-day off from work and went home. Spent a blissful week and a half in Baroda. I went with him to see his new life. We travelled through the old city areas and while he sourced for his sports lounge. We went to this really shady place from where he got his Red Bulls. That place also had a lot of fake personal care products - my new world. We were very curious about what we had grown into, in the 8 months that we spent away from each other. I could make out that he thought I was pretty sharp to point out fake-imitations of Garnier and L'Oreal products and I thought he was pretty cool to have digressed distributors and found himself a douche of a supplier who got him lower than market prices. We were happy to have had a glimpse of the new worlds we know nothing about. That day was perfect, because it ended in an auditorium with peals of laughter around the city's latest band of entertainers regaling us with stand-up comedy. Some days are meant to be treasured and this certainly had that dreamy quality, right down to cloudy skies, a balmy breeze, a starry night and lovely shared glances at jokes we found funny.
At the end of that day, I decided I was quite dumb to let him go fully. He was a FRIEND first and everything else next. So I Whatsapped him and I Facebook-Messaged the Light-of-His-Life that I have made peace with all that was the past. I guess it was all those silly impressions about dying within a couple of years that made me do all this, haha. Ten days down the line, I realized I didn't mean any of it! :D I still get a kick out of baiting him - I know exactly what to say! And, I most certainly still think of her as a bitch, especially when I think of all the crap that she and her friends dared to write on my blog :P
So, anyway, moving on, I have TB. I pop a lot of meds in a day. Sometimes, I feel nauseated, but more often than not, I am pretty much okay *touch wood*, but it is hilarious how I equate everything to the meds. My skin is too oily, so Google search: anti-tuberculosis treatment oily skin. I am becoming fat. Tuberculosis treatment weight gain. I have a slight shoulder ache. Tuberculosis treatment body ache. I feel tired at the end of the day. Tuberculosis treatment tiredness.
On the other hand, I know some of the side effects of the TB meds. So, there's that too. Am I going blind? Is my head aching because I can't see anymore? Is my liver swelling (yeah, like I can tell!) Are there rashes on my neck?
I guess I shouldn't laugh at a malady I haven't been cured of yet. It takes a year to be completely okay. But, I think I will always look back at this with a sense of whimsical amusement. What all life throws at us! What all thoughts I have had! :D
I was so upset some days, that I called up my friends and family and just chatted. He was also concerned, to say the least. Then, I took a 10-day off from work and went home. Spent a blissful week and a half in Baroda. I went with him to see his new life. We travelled through the old city areas and while he sourced for his sports lounge. We went to this really shady place from where he got his Red Bulls. That place also had a lot of fake personal care products - my new world. We were very curious about what we had grown into, in the 8 months that we spent away from each other. I could make out that he thought I was pretty sharp to point out fake-imitations of Garnier and L'Oreal products and I thought he was pretty cool to have digressed distributors and found himself a douche of a supplier who got him lower than market prices. We were happy to have had a glimpse of the new worlds we know nothing about. That day was perfect, because it ended in an auditorium with peals of laughter around the city's latest band of entertainers regaling us with stand-up comedy. Some days are meant to be treasured and this certainly had that dreamy quality, right down to cloudy skies, a balmy breeze, a starry night and lovely shared glances at jokes we found funny.
At the end of that day, I decided I was quite dumb to let him go fully. He was a FRIEND first and everything else next. So I Whatsapped him and I Facebook-Messaged the Light-of-His-Life that I have made peace with all that was the past. I guess it was all those silly impressions about dying within a couple of years that made me do all this, haha. Ten days down the line, I realized I didn't mean any of it! :D I still get a kick out of baiting him - I know exactly what to say! And, I most certainly still think of her as a bitch, especially when I think of all the crap that she and her friends dared to write on my blog :P
So, anyway, moving on, I have TB. I pop a lot of meds in a day. Sometimes, I feel nauseated, but more often than not, I am pretty much okay *touch wood*, but it is hilarious how I equate everything to the meds. My skin is too oily, so Google search: anti-tuberculosis treatment oily skin. I am becoming fat. Tuberculosis treatment weight gain. I have a slight shoulder ache. Tuberculosis treatment body ache. I feel tired at the end of the day. Tuberculosis treatment tiredness.
On the other hand, I know some of the side effects of the TB meds. So, there's that too. Am I going blind? Is my head aching because I can't see anymore? Is my liver swelling (yeah, like I can tell!) Are there rashes on my neck?
I guess I shouldn't laugh at a malady I haven't been cured of yet. It takes a year to be completely okay. But, I think I will always look back at this with a sense of whimsical amusement. What all life throws at us! What all thoughts I have had! :D
What have I been doing?
Ever since I came to Bombay, I feel I have been on a perpetual househunt. Even now, I am still finalizing the finer details of getting the latest house in Bombay. The endless encounters with brokers have left me feeling listless. Sometimes, I feel like I need to get away from it all - and I go jump into work and read Marie Claire (because that is work, too!) (Fancy job, I have!)
Whenever I work, I wonder why I give my entire soul to it. I mean, I wouldn't think of me as that type, but, some how, I am. I become the brand. I wear it, I cuddle with it, I dream about it. I couldn't stop thinking about Discount District. But, now, I cannot stop thinking about DD, Kiehl's, L'Oreal and my dream patisserie! Which, if you look at it, is a strange combination. It basically makes me stretch right from a really mass outlook to a really luxury point-of-view with a good bit of mashed masstige perspective thrown in, in the middle. I am not too sure if it is healthy - considering I have TB and I might have thyroid. But, whatever it is, I cannot put an end to it just yet. I constantly think. If not about one, then about the other. And, then about the third. And, then about the people in my life! Ah, the varied people!
A flitting butterfly that has been caught in a beautiful world full of colour, so much so that she doesn't know which flower to pick is sometimes how I feel. There are other times, when I feel like I have been slimed by several buckets of yukky green muck landing on me, much like in Nickelodeon's old TV shows.
I used to always feel sheltered, surrounded by love, surrounded by a barrier of warmth-friendliness-affection-security, but the brokers made me feel exposed. Now, I no longer feel that the barrier exists. Weird how talking to 13-15 men who are complete strangers from a very different walk of life and sitting on their bikes can do this to you. But I feel alone. Whenever there is a phone, a message, or some notifications on Facebook, the envelope of love closes in around me, but, then again, it slips and I feel desperate. I feel a sense of anxiety. How will I manage all this by myself? I feel overwhelmed. Just for a moment and then, I laugh at myself. Ha ha. I call up a few friends, I switch on my work laptop or make some nasty comment to something idiotic on Facebook. I feel in control again. But, there are those disconcerting moments.
I know that it stems from not having a permanent roof over my head. Roti, kapda, makaan is just not working out. Physiological needs haven't been met. I could dish out a hundred different rationales to why I feel the way I feel. (I also know that the thought of having a roomie and a pretty beach-front house is going to make me the happiest girl anyday :D). But, I just want this week - this week full of terrible house-related formalities - to end!!
I want to move in to my new house and stay there for the next year! I want to concentrate solely and fully on driving Kiehl's into more cities in India! I want to feel the delicious lick of excitement on having ACHIEVED something. I want to forget Bhavin FULLY (including angry midnight calls about DD, horrid Whatsapp exchanges, his apologies, his indulgence, his instantly calming down when he realizes I am extremely upset, the way he softened immediately when I started cried for the first time in front of him because it was all too much to take... the electric awareness.. everything...) I want to just be. Like I was in the first few months in Mangalore. Alone, yet capable. Excited, yet contented. Having blocked out all memory of silly Gtalk chats about Dadar beach and Vadodara Express. (The problem is that my first experience of Bombay has been tinged with him, but, fortunately, Luxury hasn't. Kiehl's hasn't. So, let me take the good with the bad, the salt with the sugar, or some such cliche).
Bottomline, what I want is to be rid of the a sense of pressing concern. I want to feel the world opening up in front of me like a welcoming avenue lined with flowering trees and pretty lived-in houses on the sides, instead of appearing like a monster rearing its ugly head and opening its mouth, ready to swallow me.
Am I making any sense? I guess I have got so much Bombay in my head, I have become way too garbled.
I think I should prescribe me a remedy: A dose of laughter with my girls, a week full of FRIENDS on the lappie, work-filled hours, zero Whatsapp, FUN with Vikram and the gang at work... and, well, maybe Sikkim in September! :D :D Jaa, jee le apni zindagi, Simran! (Bah! I was never the Bollywood kind! Hello, Newness!! :P)
Whenever I work, I wonder why I give my entire soul to it. I mean, I wouldn't think of me as that type, but, some how, I am. I become the brand. I wear it, I cuddle with it, I dream about it. I couldn't stop thinking about Discount District. But, now, I cannot stop thinking about DD, Kiehl's, L'Oreal and my dream patisserie! Which, if you look at it, is a strange combination. It basically makes me stretch right from a really mass outlook to a really luxury point-of-view with a good bit of mashed masstige perspective thrown in, in the middle. I am not too sure if it is healthy - considering I have TB and I might have thyroid. But, whatever it is, I cannot put an end to it just yet. I constantly think. If not about one, then about the other. And, then about the third. And, then about the people in my life! Ah, the varied people!
A flitting butterfly that has been caught in a beautiful world full of colour, so much so that she doesn't know which flower to pick is sometimes how I feel. There are other times, when I feel like I have been slimed by several buckets of yukky green muck landing on me, much like in Nickelodeon's old TV shows.
I used to always feel sheltered, surrounded by love, surrounded by a barrier of warmth-friendliness-affection-security, but the brokers made me feel exposed. Now, I no longer feel that the barrier exists. Weird how talking to 13-15 men who are complete strangers from a very different walk of life and sitting on their bikes can do this to you. But I feel alone. Whenever there is a phone, a message, or some notifications on Facebook, the envelope of love closes in around me, but, then again, it slips and I feel desperate. I feel a sense of anxiety. How will I manage all this by myself? I feel overwhelmed. Just for a moment and then, I laugh at myself. Ha ha. I call up a few friends, I switch on my work laptop or make some nasty comment to something idiotic on Facebook. I feel in control again. But, there are those disconcerting moments.
I know that it stems from not having a permanent roof over my head. Roti, kapda, makaan is just not working out. Physiological needs haven't been met. I could dish out a hundred different rationales to why I feel the way I feel. (I also know that the thought of having a roomie and a pretty beach-front house is going to make me the happiest girl anyday :D). But, I just want this week - this week full of terrible house-related formalities - to end!!
I want to move in to my new house and stay there for the next year! I want to concentrate solely and fully on driving Kiehl's into more cities in India! I want to feel the delicious lick of excitement on having ACHIEVED something. I want to forget Bhavin FULLY (including angry midnight calls about DD, horrid Whatsapp exchanges, his apologies, his indulgence, his instantly calming down when he realizes I am extremely upset, the way he softened immediately when I started cried for the first time in front of him because it was all too much to take... the electric awareness.. everything...) I want to just be. Like I was in the first few months in Mangalore. Alone, yet capable. Excited, yet contented. Having blocked out all memory of silly Gtalk chats about Dadar beach and Vadodara Express. (The problem is that my first experience of Bombay has been tinged with him, but, fortunately, Luxury hasn't. Kiehl's hasn't. So, let me take the good with the bad, the salt with the sugar, or some such cliche).
Bottomline, what I want is to be rid of the a sense of pressing concern. I want to feel the world opening up in front of me like a welcoming avenue lined with flowering trees and pretty lived-in houses on the sides, instead of appearing like a monster rearing its ugly head and opening its mouth, ready to swallow me.
Am I making any sense? I guess I have got so much Bombay in my head, I have become way too garbled.
I think I should prescribe me a remedy: A dose of laughter with my girls, a week full of FRIENDS on the lappie, work-filled hours, zero Whatsapp, FUN with Vikram and the gang at work... and, well, maybe Sikkim in September! :D :D Jaa, jee le apni zindagi, Simran! (Bah! I was never the Bollywood kind! Hello, Newness!! :P)
Friday, June 22, 2012
Long Time No Gripe
I completed a year at L'Oreal and, boy, do I feel happy about it! :)
L'Oreal is definitely one of the better things that has happened to me. I love the people I work with. I love the fun I have with the people around me. I love the wonderful things in life that I have experienced because of L'Oreal!
And, I absolutely cannot wait for the coming months, because, boy, it is going to be a joyride! Chandigarh, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Noida, Delhi... Delhiiiii!! :D I love the sound of all this cushy travel and hotel-stays! :D Love the fun people too!
TB medication is going on okay. Touch wood. I hope I get cured soon, so that I can sip on sangrias a little bit. :P
Miss everyone in Baroda this Friday.
L'Oreal is definitely one of the better things that has happened to me. I love the people I work with. I love the fun I have with the people around me. I love the wonderful things in life that I have experienced because of L'Oreal!
And, I absolutely cannot wait for the coming months, because, boy, it is going to be a joyride! Chandigarh, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Noida, Delhi... Delhiiiii!! :D I love the sound of all this cushy travel and hotel-stays! :D Love the fun people too!
TB medication is going on okay. Touch wood. I hope I get cured soon, so that I can sip on sangrias a little bit. :P
Miss everyone in Baroda this Friday.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Always.
We’re
moving on. But just because we are leaving, and that hurts, there are
some people who are so much a part of us they’ll be with us no matter
what. They are our solid ground, our north star. And the small clear
voices in our hearts that will be with us. Always.
Castle Season 4 Finale (Yeah, that's what moves me to write these days! :P)
Castle Season 4 Finale (Yeah, that's what moves me to write these days! :P)
Saturday, March 17, 2012
LPD
I work in L'Oreal Luxe! Or LPD, as we call it - the Luxury Products Division. What is great about LPD is that it is made up of genuinely-nice, warm, sweet people. My guide ROCKS. She is a delight to work with. She is clear, uncomplicated, open, fun, she shares it all like I do, she is really really great. I LIKE her! And my guide's boss is gay :D :D It is fun to observe his eccentricities. He says "retarded" like it is a norm. He IS luxury. His ideal vacation is a garden-restaurant in France with good food and wine. :P Ah, well. Okay. No problem. Can work with him, regardless. Because he is not pretentious. He is not an exploiter when it comes to work. And, this is what matters.
And, then there are the other brands in Luxury. I love Ruchi, who heads YSL. She and I get along well. I am sure she is not fun to work with, because she is kind of dumb. She doesn't even know vlookup on Excel. But, she is sweet and unpretentious too. And, there is our financial controller - Ayesha. I adore her! She is SMART. She is an experimenter. She is pretty. She is a Gujju :D And, I guess I needn't say more :D
And, then, there is my favourite duo - Carton and Vikram. Carlton is the product manager for the perfumes - Diesel, Ralph Lauren and Armani. Vikram is the Assistant PM. Carlton is a good boss and I can see it from how he and Vikram work together. They get things done in a snap. I like that.
And, Vikram! :D :D What do I say! He is FUNNN!!! On Valentine's Day, we got little red lollipop-chocolates from the company. I was busy hogging those chocolates. Vikram wasn't going to have his, so he gave me his lollipop. That got the others talking and teasing, haha. And, then, he comes to me and says, "Beg borrow steal, but I have a craving for them, and I want them!" :D hahaha!! So, I searched for one and went up to him with it. That's when there was an uproar about the whole thing hahah!! But, because I don't like Vikram, I just really like him, what slipped out of my tongue was this: "Vikram is like my father!" Hahhaahahaha!!!! That's when he got indignant :D :D And, since then, I have been running all around him calling him Daddy. Hahah! But we have fun. He sits right next to Josh - our designer - with whom I have a lot of work. He is very possessive about his desk. So, we end up erecting invisible walls and taking over chargers (did I mention he also has the same HTC as I? And he is the first person who I really like who is not visible to me on Facebook. I am sure he has an account. He will be those Abhjt Arra types who omit vowels for anonymity. :P :D But, Vikram-fun I will miss when I move out of LPD!
And, then there are the other brands in Luxury. I love Ruchi, who heads YSL. She and I get along well. I am sure she is not fun to work with, because she is kind of dumb. She doesn't even know vlookup on Excel. But, she is sweet and unpretentious too. And, there is our financial controller - Ayesha. I adore her! She is SMART. She is an experimenter. She is pretty. She is a Gujju :D And, I guess I needn't say more :D
And, then, there is my favourite duo - Carton and Vikram. Carlton is the product manager for the perfumes - Diesel, Ralph Lauren and Armani. Vikram is the Assistant PM. Carlton is a good boss and I can see it from how he and Vikram work together. They get things done in a snap. I like that.
And, Vikram! :D :D What do I say! He is FUNNN!!! On Valentine's Day, we got little red lollipop-chocolates from the company. I was busy hogging those chocolates. Vikram wasn't going to have his, so he gave me his lollipop. That got the others talking and teasing, haha. And, then, he comes to me and says, "Beg borrow steal, but I have a craving for them, and I want them!" :D hahaha!! So, I searched for one and went up to him with it. That's when there was an uproar about the whole thing hahah!! But, because I don't like Vikram, I just really like him, what slipped out of my tongue was this: "Vikram is like my father!" Hahhaahahaha!!!! That's when he got indignant :D :D And, since then, I have been running all around him calling him Daddy. Hahah! But we have fun. He sits right next to Josh - our designer - with whom I have a lot of work. He is very possessive about his desk. So, we end up erecting invisible walls and taking over chargers (did I mention he also has the same HTC as I? And he is the first person who I really like who is not visible to me on Facebook. I am sure he has an account. He will be those Abhjt Arra types who omit vowels for anonymity. :P :D But, Vikram-fun I will miss when I move out of LPD!
Exercise
I MUST EXERCISE. If there were a scientific method to measure age based on the status of one's body, I'd be 60 years I am sure. I must mustg must go for a walk every morning. Beginning tomorrow. I am reaching Bombay at 5. Will reach my place by 5:20. Will clean up, have tea and then head out to the sea-face! Yes!!! :D :D I live just a couple of minutes from the Worli sea-face!!!! YAYYYYYY!!!! I am paying through my nose. But, honestly, I think, it is okay. It gives me time to sleep. To wake up at about 7 in the morning. To take bath at about 8. And to go to work within 7 minutes of a cab-ride. I like, I like. Even if it is for a month. This not knowing can sometimes irk you, but it also keeps the excitement alive. It makes you want to put in those long hours. It makes you think of Singapore and the ASEAN project with a whole lot of interest If I am going to Singapore, I am definitely going to quit DD formally and have NOTHING interfere with the 3 months there. I am not going to read emails from the past and reminisce about could-have-been's. I am going to be free.
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