Never bored!

Sometimes, things happen to me and I go "Of course!", because really, it is so weird, I can't expect it to happen to anyone else. These are such instances. Only, the "Of course" comes after the instance, but during it, all I'm thinking is "Seriously? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?" Grey's Anatomy style.

There are some incidents that happen to you in high school, that you choose to bury deep, deep down and choose to forget, but we all know that you're lying to yourself, because it's right there and all you can really do, is hope like hell that you never have to relive that again.

Since it's me we're talking about, I have to relive it. Many times over.

There is this language called Kannada. I'm not very fond of it (or any other language), but I had to study it at school. On the last few days of tenth grade, I learned that I had an audience of teachers outside my classroom door, who wanted to hear me read Kannada, because I apparently do such a stellar job of it. With my exquisite accent and all. Oh who am i kidding? Let's just say it's unique.

This was a day that was rather embarrassing, and I would give anything to never relive this. But then again, it happened. All too soon. I wish that I'm an old woman with Alzheimer's if this incident has to repeat itself for the third time. Anyway, here's what happened, the second time round.

A child comes up to me and asks me to speak in Kannada so that he can show his friends my funny accent. I politely laugh it off and REFUSE. Now there are other people, important people, around me when this happens, and I have no intention of making a fool of myself. Now, any reasonable person would think that this child would go away. But noooooo. He actually pulls out a toffee from his pocket and offers it to me asking, if I would talk in Kannada for a toffee. Yeah, that's right. It really happened.

I, of course, have to oblige him. It soon becomes the comedy hour as I am made to speak in many different languages. Hindi being my weakest point. But, I have had years of preparation, and while someone else would want to drown themselves, I actually enjoy it! I then show them my uncanny Scottish, Australian and American cheerleader (always a winner) accents and we all have a good laugh.

But seriously, how come these things happen to ONLY me?? I have no other friends who recount such stories, at least not in the frequency that I do! Like everyday!

I now, have been told that I speak "cultured Kannada" as opposed to the Kannada that the ordinary people speak. To further illustrate this, I was compared to Gossip Girl (the second time in as many months that this has happened). Fascinating stuff. Really.

As if this wasn't bad enough, my geyser exploded this morning. Well, not exploded, but there is a nice crack on it! I switched it on in the morning and then went to make myself some breakfast. About ten minutes later, I heard a putting noise followed by a loud spraying noise and I go to the bathroom to see what the hell happened! The entire right side was drenched and it took me a while to figure out what had actually happened. The water was everywhere, and it took my keen deducting skills (honed by the copious amounts of Criminal Minds I watch) to figure out that it came from the general direction of the geyser. I look up and sure enough, there is a crack. My first word was "crap."

I am getting a little concerned though. Yesterday, the eggs exploded. Today, it was the geyser. I'm just hoping it's not my head that explodes tomorrow! The way things are going though, I wouldn't be too surprised if it's the shampoo bottle or something because I just jinxed it.

Life sure keeps me entertained.

One down, three to go!

A couple of years ago, if you had asked me if I would ever do an MBA, I would have vehemently denied it. Vehemently, in the sense, screamed "NO" so loud, that your  toupee would have flown off, like in the cartoons. And don't even try to deny that even if you don't wear one, you want to at least own one.

But, here I am, sitting in my room, one day before the first semester of my MBA ends. Who would have thought that this would ever happen. I don't regret my MBA, because somehow, I found an MBA in Communications which means I can happily skip the subjects like macro economics, finance, etc. The sad part is that I am stuck with Design Technology, Audio-Visual Communication and horribly, Statistics.

Now the first two sound like fun, and I'm sure they are, if you have any aesthetic sense for design and a yearning for technology. Learning about Photoshop and (God save me!) Flash next semester, does NOT make me want to jump with joy. Instead, I'd like to start digging a tunnel to the centre of the earth because that would be easier.

Now, learning about different camera angles and different cameras, is fun. Give me an exam, where I have to write a treatment plan for a short film (based on some excerpt from a story), DRAW a storyboard, write a script (YAY!), make a shooting schedule, plan locations, equipment required and write casting sides in an hour and a half is rather ridiculous! Let's just say my boxes with stick figures and squiggles leaves a LOT to be desired. The only thing worth anything in that paper was the script.

A semester here has taught me a LOT of things! For starters, I was introduced to the concept of roommates. Yeah, I'm an only child and I've only ever shared my room with my dog. And she's small and sleeps under my bed, so it doesn't really count. I'm so not used to having someone around me ALL the time!

Another fun thing, boys in my class! I've never really had those! Girls' school and then girls' college for my undergrad! They really do mix things up!!!

I FINALLY met someone who is as big a fantasy geek as I am, and that is saying something. I won't mention who it is, because that person is a closeted geek! Needs to maintain an image and a reputation and all that!

My friends here are super awesome! I honestly didn't think I'd be lucky to have such fantastic, quirky friends!

There's Supriya, who reminds me of me, when I was 16 and thrown into a world that was so alien to me and I had to grow up really fast to catch on. I LOVE that she still has her innocence, cracks PJs and is wide-eyed at a LOT of things! She is also my tall and skinny buddy and my guard-detail partner (you know what I'm talking about!). She also helps me keep in touch with my super girly-ness and I still feel cool talking Meg Cabot and Nora Roberts with her!

Aloka is someone who I doubt I'll ever be able to describe! She lives on pure instinct, doesn't have a filter (ever) and always claims to be an "introvert" and a "good girl", which cannot be further from the truth. She is one person who can always make me laugh, no matter what mood I'm in and I love freaking her out when I read her mind! All she has to do is smile (Aloka style) and meow.

Shaliny is my literature buddy! She is the one who understands my whining about how it's just wrong to sit in a classroom and not be studying literature. She is also someone who gives me an immense amount of comfort during exams (Shalu, you know why) and she is the most fun to irritate! (Swaliny .......)

Anisha is the powerhouse singer. We all knew Anisha could sing, and then she sang. Shaliny and I were left gaping. She is someone I can talk to about life philosophies and theories, even though mine and her's are polar opposites. She always gives me a different perspective. Other than that, I love the fact that I can mention names like Yael Naim and she knows who she is!

Darren is my entertainment. He was put on this planet for this purpose! He's someone who "gets" me and who I can talk to about a lot of things! Our opinions are the same on a LOT of things which is awesome! We have somewhat similar tastes in music, but our TV/Books tastes match almost a hundred percent! Thank you for coming here dude! I don't know I would have survived Stats class otherwise!

I got luckier I think when it came to my roommates! They are seriously the best I could ask for!

Azmeen is wonderful! She and I have the same feelings about a lot of things. I vibe so well with her. She meows, not like Aloka though, and she doesn't share chocolate. She makes me give her my gulab jamun and tells me that I remind her of her eldest sister. She is someone who I can laugh with, whine with and share gossip with! I love it when she gets excited and jumps up and down and when she leaves notes on the mirror that no-one sees.

My other roommate Jayati is someone who is hyper-active and loud. But somehow she is endearing and I know that life would be rather boring without her! In the beginning, she used to be the one who woke up the earliest and now, she is the last one to wake up! She is someone who plays The Pretty Reckless, followed by Akon in the mornings while taking a shower. If there is music coming out of the bathroom, you know she's in there!

I love our late night talks that leave us rolling with laughter. We all are so different from one another but I can't see anyone else I'd rather live with! It's horrid, because I am going to miss them for the six weeks that we're gone!! And here I thought I would never, ever want to live with a roommate!

I did learn some language skills from people I've come across. Here are some phrases, every person from SIMC-B must have in his/her vocabulary.

"Ai Shappat"
"Sheri"
"You know"
"You getting it?"
"You understand no? You understand?"
"Lordy"
"Basically..."
"As I was saying..." (with gestures)
"Oye listen"
"My friend knows someone who...."
"Okkkay then"

Other valuable take aways include how to sleep with your eyes open, how to talk non-stop, without a breath, how to text in class, how to write emails, a lot of Hindi, how to hide while studying and how to play spy.

It's been a fun four and a half months overall, I've stayed up till 4am doing projects and gone to class at 8 the next day, I now feel like my knees have been reshaped, the amount of times I've rammed them into various tables, I've learned to sleep on what can only be describes as a slab of granite, I've lived in a grey and white building (after ALL my houses/rooms have been multi-coloured) and I've lived without Gypsy (that has been the hardest of all!).

I am so looking forward to going back home to Gypsy, my cupboards, my TV, my books, my alone-ness, my green walls, my posters and all that, but all said and done, I am going to miss this place and all the people in my life here!

A roller-coaster ride!

I would like to write an essay about how much my life has changed in the last month, but will put it in bullet points. A fair warning - some of the points are going to sound whiny!

1) I have roommates! They are fantastic (thankfully!) but I have never, ever shared space with someone apart from Gyp! And they are VERY different from Gypsy!

2) I am now a night person! I was ALWAYS a morning person and couldn't really stay awake past 10pm, but now, even if I can, I can't sleep before 12am!

3) I now speak in Hindi. Well, sometimes. Unconsciously. It didn't happen before!

4) I make PowerPoint presentations. I can see Excel in my future and I'm strongly considering rebelling!

5) I am living without an animal!!!! Feeding the stray dogs dog biscuits just isn't cutting it! I MISS GYPSY!

6) I do SuryaNamaskar in the mornings!!!! This is AWESOME because I can feel my stamina getting stronger! Whoopee! And I can do other asanas easily now!

7) I have GAINED weight! A good 3 kilograms! I'm REALLY hoping it's muscle mass!

8) There are boys here. After 5 years of girls' school and college, it's a change.

9) I sing. Out loud. And people don't run screaming for the hills!

10) I play basketball!!!

11) I study! Statistics. Never did before. Always skipped those five marks in the Psych practicals!

12) I WEAR FORMALS and manage to look GROWN UP and not awkward. Well, some of the times at least!

13) I attended the Art of Living course and actually liked it! See earlier blogpost for details on that one!

14) I make my bed EVERY morning!

15) I've learned to live without a hair dryer. Yes, I had a love affair with my hair dryer, but I think I'm okay with the fact that we broke up and that it's over.

16) I MISS TELEVISION!!!!! And all my TV shows, especially Australia's Next Top Model! :P

17) I question life. I could honestly do without that though! All it's done is leave me thoroughly confused!

18) I am learning to let people in my personal space, but it is HARD! In the words of Achmed, the dead terrorist, (who I am learning to imitate), "stop touching me!"

19) I drink iced tea at least once a day!

20) One thing that has stayed the same and that has kept me grounded, I still LOATHE the rain!

That's about it. I will update this as life changes and hopefully it won't be too drastic!

Dangers of sleep!

So, I've had two major sleep events if you will so far! One happened in at the Art Of Living Ashram (which is now, my MOST embarrassing moment!) and one in my room, with my roommates as witnesses. I'm going to tell you the incident in my room, before the AOL incident. Need courage to share that one!

This morning, I woke up and did my Surya Namaskar, and went online, while waiting for the hot water to come on. My roommate Azmeen woke up a while later, and casually asked me if I talked in my sleep. I froze. I was like "Please tell me I didn't! Please tell me I didn't" in my head, but as luck would have it, of course not. I said that I did sometimes and it was the result of an over active imagination. She said that she heard me talking and called out "Saroma?" and I said "Huh?" and when she asked if everything was okay, I turned on my cell phone for a second and went back to sleep!!!! But she couldn't quite make out what i was saying (thank the Universe!).

I apparently really freaked her out! LOL! And I was, of course, mortified! And here are the perils of social networking.... I posted the fact that I talked in my sleep on Facebook and Twitter and then, proceeded to tell Azmeen and Jayati, my other roomie to not tell anyone! Like an idiot! It then occurred to me that I had already essentially told the whole world and not just my classmates. Nice Romy, nice!

I need to cut down on the Facebook and Twitter, but when something this funnily humiliating happens, I can't not share it! So anyway, lets just say that my roomies are now well aware of my sleep talking habits. I wonder if I should let them know about my sleep walking or just let them discover it themselves! (KIDDING!)

Now, the second incident, aka, my most embarrassing incident!

In the Ashram and the AOL programs, when we do the Pranayamas and the Kriyas, we are asked to lay down and relax, to ground yourself. Because doing the breathing exercises and meditating really stirs your body and mind and you kind of need to calm down. Now, this is for ten minutes, and I am usually awake and conscious. For some weird reason, I totally fell asleep. It wasn't even asleep, because I was dreaming, but I wasn't because it was SO realistic and I truly believed that I was awake. But yes, when the ENTIRE class of eighty people woke up, I still remained SLEEPING! I am so mad at Anisha for not waking me up!!!

I woke up to find the class and the instructors watching me and you can always tell when people are staring, so while I don't remember this exactly, i shot up and said "What's up?". That was just...... embarrassing to say the least. Apparently, four people were hissing my name to wake me up, because you're not supposed to wake a person up, if they "go to sleep" after the meditation and the breathing. I am using quotation marks, because I'm not entirely sure one goes to sleep. It's not a trance, but it's like looking at the world from a third person's point of view. Super weird, but cool. I wouldn't want to do it again though. They couldn't wake me up, because I am the girl who sleeps so deeply that I've slept through an EARTHQUAKE!

Anyway, to sleep and wake up with a "what's up?" in front of your class, that you've known for ten days, and the senior teachers at the Art Of Living Ashram, is something not many can boast about can they?

Sigh.

Art Of Living - An honest opinion

So, as a part of the induction program, we were made to take the YES+ program the Art Of Living. I was honestly VERY sceptical about this, because I usually tend to run away from such organisations.

Our teacher was Arvind Bhaiiya who started us off with introductions and such like. We learnt Pranayama, SuryaNamaskar and a breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya. We also learnt about positive thinking and how to react to stressful situations and situations we dislike in a positive manner, without panic and just plain old bitching and unpleasantness.

It took me six days for this message to actually sink in. I was one of those girls who alternated between paying attention and making wise cracks and snickering at the back of the class. It was a mix of actually, truly agreeing with some of the points and wanting to look cool. One thing that Arvind Bhaiiya said earlier, but that struck home yesterday at the ashram, was that you don't have to be a cynic, to be dismissive to be cool. And that was EXACTLY what I was doing.

I think I had to come to terms with the fact that I agreed with what was being said and the part of me that didn't like the fact that it had to be told. I am one that fully believes that you need to experience life in order to learn certain things. Like, take for example, yesterday at the ashram, I felt like a total schmuck for not being sincere in the beginning, and I did learn that it's not necessarily cool to be the cynic.

I loved that we did the SuryaNamaskar, because it's been almost ten years since I actually practiced yoga. I used to do it EVERYDAY till I was in the tenth grade and then I stopped. After doing the series for about three days, I attempted some Asanas, that I couldn't do before, but I could do now, with just a little bit of stretching. It made me SO happy and I know that if the Art Of Living and Arvind Bhaiiya hadn't come to my life, I would still be disappointed when I tried and it would hurt like the dickens.

So I thank him for that, and for enabling me to learn a lesson in life. I like that everyone at the ashram was so down to earth, including Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, or Guruji, as he is called there.

There are a lot of things I'm hesitant to sign up for, but I can truly say that I acknowledge and respect his knowledge and admire the fact that he has helped MILLIONS the world over. I can also say that at this moment, I am not a disciple if Guruji. To me, I believe that life is the best teacher and you learn only if you live it! But this is me now, and I have learnt to not say "never" so who knows what will happen in the future.

Another thing that reaffirmed something that I've been trying is for me to look at the positive in all situations and to stop cribbing about things that aren't in my control. There are positives and negatives to every situation and I have to grit my teeth and bear the bad and focusing on the good makes this easier. Hearing this, everyday, for the last six days kind of made me take a decision to cut down on the whining and the bitching and just live life and enjoy it! I'm not saying that I'll never complain, because if I can do that, then I should start my own Art Of Living! I'm nowhere near that kind of peace with myself and life! I have ISSUES!

Another thing that truly touched me is that there were thousands of people in the ashram, just trying to get a glimpse of Guruji and we were just given the opportunity to meet him in an audience of about a hundred people and actually talk to him, just because we joined Symbiosis. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I am truly a lucky person!

For me, apart from all of this, the highlight of this was introducing JeetuJi to berries that grew in the ashram, meeting Maheshwara and Indrani - the elephants that live there and finding out that Rihanna, a teacher there was my neighbour and had seen me walk Gypsy!

All in all, it's been an interesting session, it taught me some things, reaffirmed things that I've been trying to do and opened my eyes to a different side of me. Thank you Symbiosis for this opportunity and thank you Arvind Bhaiiya for making this happen!

PS: I will get permission to post pictures before I do with this post!