The Bus Ride

Everyone has adventures on buses. That is a given. At some point in their lives, something will happen and they will be on a bus.

Now, I think I'm unique. How you ask? I don't have AN adventure, I have three. Three pretty embarrassing tales that of course provide you, the reader humour and me, something to blog about.

I took a bus yesterday and it was VERY crowded, so I stood at the head of the bus. I held on to a railing with my left hand and proceeded to text my friend that I was on the way to a place we were going to meet at. As I completed the text, the next stop arrived. Now, when you know you have to stop, you ease into the stop by SLOWLY applying the break. This is what all sane drivers do. Is our bus driver sane? NO. The moron swerved to the left into the stop and applied the break so suddenly, I ended up splattered on the windscreen! Gah! I proceeded to yell at the driver and went towards the back of the bus.

I found a place next to two railings and held them with a vise like grip. The lady sitting next to where I was standing was in the fifties and had witnessed the whole scene of me falling and me yelling. She looked up at me and asked if I wanted her seat. I was MORTIFIED! An elderly lady giving me her seat is a little ridiculous. With my cheeks flaming red, I politely declined and looked everywhere but at her. In this process, I glanced at a boy. This boy smiled widely and as a reflex reaction, I smiled back at him.

The journey continued and I finally got a seat when that lady got off. The next thing I know, this boy is standing next to me. he says hello, I say hello back. Then this is the conversation that follows...

Him: Where are you going?
Me: Brigade Road.
Him: Me also. You want to get some coffee?
Me: Huh???
Him: You are pretty. We can hang out. What is your phone number?
Me: No thank you.

I realise that this is rude, but dude, seriously? Ew. I then stared out of the window for the next 20 minutes, giving myself a nice crick in my neck. Finally my stop came and I got off and walked away really fast without turning back!

Adventures of Romy Skye in a bus. Le sigh.

2011 - the year of change and acceptance

It's that time of the year, about ten days till the new one begins, where you look back at what exactly this year has been. How you've changed (if you have), major events, the people, the places and everything else. This year has been like no other. I learned of love and loss for the first time. I learned of weakness and of strength, I learned definition and classification and planning.

For the first time, this year has been a year of uncertainty, where I'm just not sure and I absolutely hated it. I like knowing, and this unknown thing does not excite me, there is no adrenalin rush and there is no love for it. It's been this way right since January, when the SNAP results were announced. Since then, it's been a road of choices, and they were hard choices.

Big decisions - I decided to take the final step that would define my future. Doing an MBA in Communications. This is going to pave the road of my career and there's no turning back. This was huge in my book, because it's not just another thing that people do, it's something that you decide for the rest of your life. There is no room for mistakes and I needed to be absolutely sure, and I am. I'm happy that I took the decision, I'm happy that I know what I want and that my future is not a list of maybes or what ifs.

A turning point this year, I lost my soulmate. This is probably the hardest thing I will ever have to go through. I believe that a soulmate doesn't necessarily have to be of the same species. It's just two souls bound by this thing that cannot be defined. It's been ten years of intense love, something unconditional, that I didn't know I was capable of. I lost my best friend, my rock, my strength and a part of my soul on November 25th, 2011. It is decidedly the worst day of my life. What I gained from it, is the knowledge that though we are not physically in the same place, though I cant hug her or hear her, I know that she is with me, because who I am today is who she made me. Gypsy will ALWAYS be a part of me and she'll always have a part of me with her and I believe, with everything that I am, that we'll meet again.

On a personal level, I grew leaps and bounds. I learned a LOT about myself, some things I liked and some I didn't. Some things I'm going to embrace, some I hope to shed real fast. I exercise now. Regularly. It's an odd concept for me to understand, because I truly loathed it for the longest time. I guess it's like till you get up that hill, you hate it, but once there, the view is fantastic and you never want to leave. Believe me, the view is fantastic.

It's my first time in a co-ed school after like 9 years. Somethings have changed, and somethings haven't. I got roommates this year. I've never had to share a room before so this concept is alien and it's very educational! I am learning two languages (perish the thought!) and I saw a Wonder of the World for the first time! Going to north India was a massive culture shock to me, it showed me that though it is all one country, how massively diverse India is. It's positively insane! I made some fantastic new friends and caught up with a whole bunch of old ones (thank you Facebook). I learned to value my family and I'm still learning to live out of one closet (le sigh!).

So many things have changed this year, my life has literally been turned upside down, I've accepted and loved so many things about myself and have absolutely hated some others (which I'm in the process of eliminating). I unfortunately picked up the tick of shaking my leg when I'm bored or restless, which is so ugly. I'm definitely working towards shedding that! Relationships with various people have changed and taken on new forms. There are times when I just want to go back, before anything changed and before this year began, but a part of me looks at how much upheaval has happened this year and I can't wait for 2012 to begin, so that I can begin again.

2011, you have been a year that I have absolutely struggled with. I have grown and changed this year, more than any other year. 2012, I look forward to you now. Next year will be a year of change again, but this time, change on my terms. 

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!