"You're late!" If I had a penny for every time I've heard that, well, you know... (Popular idioms are clearly not my thing.)
Let me try again. If life were a school bus, I'd be the girl sprinting after it, gasping and breathless, but somehow, hmph-ing and tutting my way and catching up to it. (OK, that definitely sounds cooler than the idiom.)
So it's New Year's. Time to chug that can of beer and simper with pride upon the highlights of it. But I got Facebook to do that for me already, like everybody else. Besides, I'm not a great person at recaps. I'd probably not even be able to tell you what I did last week. I'll merely zone out J.D. style for an uncomfortable amount of time and come up with a sad rhetoric like, "What do you think a full-time mom would be doing?"
I mean yes, there was travel, there were celebrations, there were large amounts of calories created and consumed, there were extended periods of boredom...And then there were pictures...Oh thank God for pictures!
So I thought, instead, I'll go down the other, traditional, look-ahead, "forget about yesterday" route. Resolutions. (Excuse my slow-flowing creative juices I guess.) But allow me to explain. You see, as I had mentioned in one of my early posts, I'm all about unfinished projects....well, until I found that one project that constantly nags me, follows me around like a pup, yells at me and goes to the extent of shaking me violently from time to time, so that I'm aware of her indomitable presence in my life. I should add that I've sweetly surrendered to her too.
But then there are some departments in my life that just have to try harder. For those, I need resolutions. Or let's call them goals while we're at being constructive. I mean we all know resolutions are meant to be broken.
So here are some of my 2015 goals that have been lurking somewhere in my insane, self-inflicted, super-mom cum super-wife ideal.
Then again, some are your everyday, face-your-irrational-fear sorts, so let's start with that one:
1. Visit the Dentist:
Say what? Yes, believe it or not, I've managed to dodge that commitment to a flawless smile for a pretty prett-ay, prett-ay long time. Sure, I'm as committed to brushing and flossing as a vicar's committed to church but I'm happy keeping the mouth exploration to a minimum. Unless of course, it can't be avoided.
Anyway, I was going through my recent pictures and I realize that I'm choking all my crooked smiles to death, almost on the verge of coming across as stiff-lipped. So, I guess for the sake of flashing picture-perfect smiles on social media and for the greater good of coming across as an amiable person, the dentist'll have to come to my rescue.
2. Buy wardrobe basics:
3. Learn how to bake (like chef-quality stuff):
I've sort of been following (and stalking) this amazing bake maestro and I happen to have put to test two of her delectable recipes (Corn pancakes and Peach tartines) that are now a family favorite. And now, she is holding classes. Here in Mumbai! I missed her previous sessions but it's time to unmask my inner Nigella and step up my game, especially for holiday food.
4. Commit to finishing stories:
Not to brag, but I've been getting epiphanies of these gripping, nail-biting story ideas. And I may have started them all at the same time to follow the trail to their deeply dark conclusions. And now, they're lying abandoned in a secluded well of drafts, like a bunch of frogs. So, starting this January, I'm going to see them through their fated ending and who knows, I may actually have a book some day? (Writer Beware: Long Daydream Sequence ahead.)
For those of you who like reading random, unfinished stories, here's a small excerpt from one of them:
"You know that feeling when you look at something and you just know it's going to be the hallmark event of your life, one that blurs everything that happened before it? When I first saw her face, she was in her bare-naked skin - every line, every scar, every pool of darkness, all the little details that women flutter to conceal, was mine to take stock of. She seemed to me a little broken, rather strange and somewhat lost. And I was transfixed by her.
That was then...But now, she was towering above me in all her glory and magnificence, with her skin radiating like a goddess in the mellow tint of the pink sun falling down on her , its light dispersing from her angular frame into a million luminescent crystals. It was near twilight and the window behind her, which let the sun in for a brief stop before it sank into oblivion, appeared to me now like the light at the end of a tunnel."
5. Start a fun, mommy-daughter, girls-only activity:
Kids are such vessels of learning. And one thing that I want to be able to learn from mine is her ability to dance her tutus off! Alone. On any f-ing song!
As it happens, I'm a total Elaine as far as dancing's concerned and it looks almost pointless for me to even step on the dance floor. So I thought, wouldn't it be fun if I could shed my inhibitions (and that not-so-cute, post-baby fat) and learn how to laugh at myself while swinging away those tightly-wound hips. I don't care if we have to follow one of those embarrassing dance-cardio workout videos with exotic names but time to shake that biscuit baby.
Eww...
6. Cook up a mouth-watering storm every week:
2014 had me going experimental with flavours. I wanted to bring the aroma of cuisines from around the world to my kitchen. I can only thank my better half for inspiring me to go on. Some of the efforts made it successfully on Instagram, while others were sneakily shoved away into trash, all evidence leading up to them destroyed. But I realized I love experimental cooking and I want to continue finding my muse in other herbs, and not just parsley and basil. Maybe I'll do a food diary on Instagram this year to keep me going. (Oh, the things we do for public approval.)
7. Fix the laundry when it arrives:
Well, if you read this post, you know how freshly laundered clothes and I meet just once every week to tackle the overwhelming jigsaw puzzle of what goes where. But my heightened image of super-wife and the mountains of laundry to be sorted just don't add up. I mean would Samantha Stevens have to hike up a mound of clothes to get to her delicious husband? I think not. (Where can I learn magic?)
8. Buy more shoes (Sorry Sumit): I never gave shoes much of a thought, nothing beyond sneakers and thongs. But my two-year old, blossoming fashionista's shoe fetish got me caved in to the undying lust for shoes of all shapes and sizes - strange, bunion-rendering, impractical shoes. All we need is a bigger closet now.
9. Exercise: Every time, I open the wardrobe, this is the first thing I see.
Naturally, it stops me short in my tracks, to suck my doughy midriff in.
But then, I say to myself, who am I kidding? I'll just give it away. I happen to have won this dress from MissMalini. and I really want to able to wear this some day.
So, this year is about fitting my boot-ay into this dress and every bodycon dress that I have...And rocking it! Guess I just have to take my lumpy ass back to the gym. Sour-faced, of course.
So this is me bidding adieu to 2014, all the incredible things that it was about, and getting started on my goals for 2015. And there will be a mid-year review and everything. (And I wager, some blame-games to follow.)
Happy 2015 folks!
Let me try again. If life were a school bus, I'd be the girl sprinting after it, gasping and breathless, but somehow, hmph-ing and tutting my way and catching up to it. (OK, that definitely sounds cooler than the idiom.)
So it's New Year's. Time to chug that can of beer and simper with pride upon the highlights of it. But I got Facebook to do that for me already, like everybody else. Besides, I'm not a great person at recaps. I'd probably not even be able to tell you what I did last week. I'll merely zone out J.D. style for an uncomfortable amount of time and come up with a sad rhetoric like, "What do you think a full-time mom would be doing?"
 |
So I thought, instead, I'll go down the other, traditional, look-ahead, "forget about yesterday" route. Resolutions. (Excuse my slow-flowing creative juices I guess.) But allow me to explain. You see, as I had mentioned in one of my early posts, I'm all about unfinished projects....well, until I found that one project that constantly nags me, follows me around like a pup, yells at me and goes to the extent of shaking me violently from time to time, so that I'm aware of her indomitable presence in my life. I should add that I've sweetly surrendered to her too.
But then there are some departments in my life that just have to try harder. For those, I need resolutions. Or let's call them goals while we're at being constructive. I mean we all know resolutions are meant to be broken.
So here are some of my 2015 goals that have been lurking somewhere in my insane, self-inflicted, super-mom cum super-wife ideal.
Then again, some are your everyday, face-your-irrational-fear sorts, so let's start with that one:
1. Visit the Dentist:
Say what? Yes, believe it or not, I've managed to dodge that commitment to a flawless smile for a pretty prett-ay, prett-ay long time. Sure, I'm as committed to brushing and flossing as a vicar's committed to church but I'm happy keeping the mouth exploration to a minimum. Unless of course, it can't be avoided.
Anyway, I was going through my recent pictures and I realize that I'm choking all my crooked smiles to death, almost on the verge of coming across as stiff-lipped. So, I guess for the sake of flashing picture-perfect smiles on social media and for the greater good of coming across as an amiable person, the dentist'll have to come to my rescue.
 |
| The almost smile |
- Vintage floral gown with obi belt: Check
- Poufed-up 50s inspired Parisian striped skirt: Check
- Metallic pants: Check
- Military green jumpsuit with gold embellished shoulders: Check
- Crisp white shirt: ?
- Black formal trousers: ?
- OK, how about a basic grey tee: ?
3. Learn how to bake (like chef-quality stuff):
I've sort of been following (and stalking) this amazing bake maestro and I happen to have put to test two of her delectable recipes (Corn pancakes and Peach tartines) that are now a family favorite. And now, she is holding classes. Here in Mumbai! I missed her previous sessions but it's time to unmask my inner Nigella and step up my game, especially for holiday food.
4. Commit to finishing stories:
Not to brag, but I've been getting epiphanies of these gripping, nail-biting story ideas. And I may have started them all at the same time to follow the trail to their deeply dark conclusions. And now, they're lying abandoned in a secluded well of drafts, like a bunch of frogs. So, starting this January, I'm going to see them through their fated ending and who knows, I may actually have a book some day? (Writer Beware: Long Daydream Sequence ahead.)
For those of you who like reading random, unfinished stories, here's a small excerpt from one of them:
"You know that feeling when you look at something and you just know it's going to be the hallmark event of your life, one that blurs everything that happened before it? When I first saw her face, she was in her bare-naked skin - every line, every scar, every pool of darkness, all the little details that women flutter to conceal, was mine to take stock of. She seemed to me a little broken, rather strange and somewhat lost. And I was transfixed by her.
That was then...But now, she was towering above me in all her glory and magnificence, with her skin radiating like a goddess in the mellow tint of the pink sun falling down on her , its light dispersing from her angular frame into a million luminescent crystals. It was near twilight and the window behind her, which let the sun in for a brief stop before it sank into oblivion, appeared to me now like the light at the end of a tunnel."
5. Start a fun, mommy-daughter, girls-only activity:
Kids are such vessels of learning. And one thing that I want to be able to learn from mine is her ability to dance her tutus off! Alone. On any f-ing song!
As it happens, I'm a total Elaine as far as dancing's concerned and it looks almost pointless for me to even step on the dance floor. So I thought, wouldn't it be fun if I could shed my inhibitions (and that not-so-cute, post-baby fat) and learn how to laugh at myself while swinging away those tightly-wound hips. I don't care if we have to follow one of those embarrassing dance-cardio workout videos with exotic names but time to shake that biscuit baby.
Eww...
6. Cook up a mouth-watering storm every week:
2014 had me going experimental with flavours. I wanted to bring the aroma of cuisines from around the world to my kitchen. I can only thank my better half for inspiring me to go on. Some of the efforts made it successfully on Instagram, while others were sneakily shoved away into trash, all evidence leading up to them destroyed. But I realized I love experimental cooking and I want to continue finding my muse in other herbs, and not just parsley and basil. Maybe I'll do a food diary on Instagram this year to keep me going. (Oh, the things we do for public approval.)
7. Fix the laundry when it arrives:
Well, if you read this post, you know how freshly laundered clothes and I meet just once every week to tackle the overwhelming jigsaw puzzle of what goes where. But my heightened image of super-wife and the mountains of laundry to be sorted just don't add up. I mean would Samantha Stevens have to hike up a mound of clothes to get to her delicious husband? I think not. (Where can I learn magic?)
8. Buy more shoes (Sorry Sumit): I never gave shoes much of a thought, nothing beyond sneakers and thongs. But my two-year old, blossoming fashionista's shoe fetish got me caved in to the undying lust for shoes of all shapes and sizes - strange, bunion-rendering, impractical shoes. All we need is a bigger closet now.
9. Exercise: Every time, I open the wardrobe, this is the first thing I see.
Naturally, it stops me short in my tracks, to suck my doughy midriff in.
But then, I say to myself, who am I kidding? I'll just give it away. I happen to have won this dress from MissMalini. and I really want to able to wear this some day.
So, this year is about fitting my boot-ay into this dress and every bodycon dress that I have...And rocking it! Guess I just have to take my lumpy ass back to the gym. Sour-faced, of course.
So this is me bidding adieu to 2014, all the incredible things that it was about, and getting started on my goals for 2015. And there will be a mid-year review and everything. (And I wager, some blame-games to follow.)
Happy 2015 folks!
He-ay great work Shalu! You must keep this up!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rupa! Glad to hear you like reading my blog :-).
ReplyDelete