what can i say...

be very careful of what u wish for. u just might get it.
yup, a cliche. but it's true.
2010 was supposed to be the year of the wild child.
well...atleast that's what id said to my friends...as a joke.
little did i know that that's how the year will turn out.

i did more uncharacterstic things in 2010 than at any other time in my life.
some im happy about, some not so much.
but all in all i think 2010 was a year that in many ways has laid the foundation for the rest of my life.
i don't even know what it means except that i can just feel it in my heart.
all i know is that i've changed as a person. for the better, u ask? hah! who knows...

but now in 2011, i hope to take a chance on myself.
its not as crazy as it sounds. its crazier.
how often do we become slaves to our jobs, that many of us don't even like?
a strict regimented life where it becomes essential to check all the right boxes, that supposedly grade us on the "success scale"?!

nah, don't get me wrong.
like everyone else, i too want a grreaat job. the best in the world.
but not one where il be a slave to it.
yes, i want great successes, decent money and lots of fun.
but nobody gets everything and that's why we prioritise, don't we?
job, money, house, car, more money, husband/wife, kids, more and more money, isn't that the order?

well recently it was pointed out to me, that all fun had gone out of my life.
i was also chasing all the above mentioned things. well some of them anyway.
but when i prioritised i realised my top of the list was happiness.
real happiness that comes with doing things i like, not necessarily that make me a mover n shaker!

so here's to happier times in 2011, doing stupid, crazy things but always having fun.
my bestest friend and i have a new deal with life.
"kuch bhi ho jaaye yahan bass khush rehna hai..."
(no matter what happens in life, we always have to be happy..)

thank you zeus, your advice has been heeded.
no more making plans but just going with the flow and being open to everything without prejudices.
all with an eye on a better, happier future :)






m

dressed for success but not for travel...

travelling is an artform. ya it is.
u remember seeing that cool guy/girl at the waiting lounge, just reading a book without a care in the world?
the one who always looks fresh and never like the rest of us mere mortals struggling with 400 things at the same time just to make our flight on time?!

well...being cool is an attitude that ur born with. but hopefully some of these tips will make us better travellers:

- do NOT dress according to the weather ever!

if u think its summers and so uve dressed in a vest and shorts...the smarty-pants (officials!) are guaranteed to freeze ur ass off at the airport and on the plane. For God's sake...just cos its 90 degree fahrenheit outside, doesnt mean everyone inside is craving sub zero temperatures!

and heaven forbid if its cold outside. PLEASE i beg of u, just wear a t-shirt n carry a light jacket even of its bloody snowing outside. cos the minute ul wear a turtleneck under ur t-shirt along with a woollen scarf and a thick jacket...that's when they'll start turning the thermostat to high until it breaks!

Even if you HAVE to wear layers...just cos its so cold...pls again i beg of u! do NOT wear them UNDER ur t-shirt. otherwise there will come a time when ul wanna RIP YOUR OWN CLOTHES OFF and damn the consequences. believe me, i speak from experience. officials at shanghai airport almost had to rush assistance in my direction cos i was gonna pass out due to hot flashes!!!

- do NOT wear boots, bandanas

oh yeah sure, they look great they are super comfortable and u really wanna wear them. boots are the bane of air-travel. in America u have to take off your shoes anyway, so its ok but believe me anywhere else...the damn boots dont stop beeping at metal detectors, if they havent already pulled u aside ie! avoid the bandanas too...especially if you have piercings..even if its a tiny one on the nose. they will let the narcotics dogs sniff u till kingdom come...believe u me!!!

- do NOT be oversmart with ur hand luggage.

take it from me, its best to just dump it all in check-in luggage and PAY for it, rather than carry the weight of a dead body (literally!) on ur back across airports. and if ur luck is anything like mine....believe me ur boarding gate is going to be in the furthest corner of the airport and ya good luck trying to get that trolley!





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sun, sand and songs...

i was born in a small town surrounded by the mountains...next to a lake.
i grew up in the city (in the plains! as everyone calls it) but i pride myself on being a mountain girl through and through.
i love the mountains. i do.
they just speak a very different language. the language of solitude.
i always crib about the cold and then long to go on walks by the lake.
i hate it when my feet are killing me cos of the long walks and are frozen.
yet a steaming cup of coffee by the fire and all is forgotten.
yup, i love my mountains.

but this year in 2011 i really want a PUURRRRFECT beach holiday.
there will be sun, white sand, and lots and lots of beer.
there will be bonfire, a hammock and great music.
so i dont have any resolutions. i have a goal.

and here's the song constantly pushing me towards making this holiday happen.






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tripping over neruda...

for someone who doesnt believe in lauuu (i hate to even say the word) to begin with, it may only seem ironical that i absolutely lauuu neruda's 'love sonnets n poems'. there is just something about the way he wrote...so heartfelt and pure of emotion.

i dont think the lauu that neruda wrote about, exists.
even if someone may have convinced themselves that it does, i think its usually shortlived.

but in 2011, i hope il spend more time looking for lauu and finding this lauuu.
lauuu, that can now only exist in the imagination of poets and writers.
so here's to a new year, hopefully filled with beautiful poems and great stories.

here, sharing one of my most fav neruda poems.

cheersss


I don't love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,
or arrow of carnations that propogate fire:
I love you as one loves certain obscure things,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom but carries the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,
and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose
from the earth lives dimly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you directly without problems or pride:
I love you like this because I don't know any other way
to love,
except in this form in which I am not nor are you,
so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,
so close that your eyes close with my dreams.

- pablo neruda

mama, im coming home...

i lived very close to the city of dreams, dreams that are coming true for every fourth if not the second person.
i still hope that very soon, one day...im gonna be that fourth person.
till then...yup it's been a great almost-one-year.

i think its just the relaxed vibe of laid-back california that i may have fallen in lauuu with.
most mornings i used to ride my bike to work.
it was a beautiful ride along the golf course and a small lake, in the midst of a valley.
my helmet on, my backpack behind me, everyday i waved to the four boys who live in the block next to mine.
we crossed each other every morning, as they went to get breakfast.
i dont know their names since i never stopped to talk to them but waving was part of our routine.
the lady next door was usually out too...walking her dog. she didn't speak much english but i lauu her enthusiastic 'goooood morning'.
yup, everyone is relaxed and very very friendly here.

if it was a specially breezy morning, i would sometimes stop to hv a large coffee.
my other favorite was the carrot juice from 'jamba juice'!
blueberry muffins...yummm.
my favorite thing on the weekends was to go sit at 'borders' and just read or browse for hours.
in the gazebo next to the theatre, they had jazz evenings on most weekends.
btw i lauuu jazz.

most people hate doing laundry. i lauu it.
i lauuu the fresh smell and the warm feel of clothes as they come out of the dryer.
u may think im crazy but i even lauu vaccuming.
i may be in a long term relationship with Macy's and Abercrombie n Fitch.

i was lucky to have the worlds best room-mates!
i NEVER felt like i was renting a room from them, they are now family.
so many new friends...so many new experiences....yup life here in not-always-so-sunny california has been GREAT.

im really gonna miss it. miss my friends, miss my life here.
i hope im gonna be back very very soon.
but i would be lying if i said that i wasnt excited about going back.
in many ways i think, california and the life here has changed me.
i feel more relaxed, more open to adventures of life, which i wasnt earlier.
im not sure what im gonna do next.
for the first time in my life, i dont have a plan.
and really for the very first time, i dont give a shit. im not scared about not having a plan.

right now there is only one thing, one thought in my mind.
mama, im coming home....




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going with the flow...

apni marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain
rukh hawaaon ka jidhar ka hai, udhar ke hum hain

waqt ke saath hai mitti ka safar sadiyon se
kisko maalomm kahan ke hain, kidhar ke hum hain

chalte rehte hain ki chalna hai musafir ka naseeb
sochte rehte hain kis raah guzar ke hum hain



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keep ur panties on...pliss!

i know, i know. ive gotten really lazy with my blog.
sometimes i start writing and then get bored and leave it midway.
which would expain why i have so many half-written posts in my mail.

but i just HAD to write about this.
here is my open letter for everyone.


dear all,
im planning to throw a party very soon.
yes, some of u will be invited. some of u wont.
for those of u who dont recive the invite, perhps u should jst be glad.

like all my parties, there will lots of drinks.
there will be loud music ad yes you may bring a friend.
u see, we really like rockin the town at these parties.
but this time there will be one exception.

anyone wanting to be a part of our revelry...pls be ready for a full body search before ur let in.
no im not alarmed about any terror threat.
its more complicated that that.

im sure by now we've all seen and heard the world go into a tizzy over yana gupta's...errr...wardrobe malfunction?
u see she was invited for a children's charity event.
she remembered to wear a very short dress but apparently forgot to wear underwear with it.

now ive no moral stance to take on what one can and cannot wear.
so im not even gonna get drawn into THAT debate.
but one aspect of the whole brouhaha, I must say has made my head spin.

apparently some guy in lucknow got very upset with this display of obscenity and has filed PILs against yana gupta, the photographer who clicked that pic AND THE ORGANISERS of the chaity event.
now i understand that he is very upset, wants the world to know...and some 'punishment' for yana and the photographer for contributing to that obscenity.
but HELLO?! the thirde one didnt make any sense to me.

a PIL against the event organisers?!!!?
im sorry...but they were just hosting a show for underprivileged kids and wanted celebrities for it. now if the invited guest...either forgets or simply doesnt want to wear...underwear...whats the bloody organiser supposed to do in this???
were they supposed to ask yana at the gate...of what she was wearing or not wearing?! duh....

seriously guys...u just cannot be too careful these days.
so next time im throwing a party...ALL of you...pliss keep ur panties on!
and as the organiser and host i shall reserve the right to check for myself..
hope you guys understand.

best
katie

ps: meanwhile im wondering who is the genius who came up with the pink star?! like really....




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