I've always wondered

When would I grow up?
When would my salary come?
When will it stay put in my account?
When will I write my book?
When will I not fight with Uma for frivolous reasons?
When will I stop worrying about little things I forget?
When will my vacation not turn into a workation?
How did the pup feel when its tail or leg (not sure what) accidentally came under my car (sob sob)...
Why didn't I rush it to the vet?
Which is the next course I should do?
Will Ita wake up on time for school?
What shall I do next?
Why do I have to keep thinking of moving on the the next new task or idea?

too many questions... time for introspection... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The abibas way

It was almost a last minute re-decision to join part of my team to the Amarnath Cave trek. Members of my team capitalised on my strong desire to go and inability to deny the trip to re-book my ticket. I was originally scheduled to be there on the trip but had backed out as my father was unwell. He progressed remarkably well and allowed me the chance to take this trip.

At that moment a confusion arose.. my original ticket to Srinagar was not canceled by the Ticketing agent while the airline maintained it was. After half a dozen followups it was clear the tickets had actually been cancelled.

An important meeting at office kept me grounded at work till 3:30am that morning. I reached home around 4:30am, packed a few track pants, tshirts and the stuff into a backpack. Thankfully Uma had organised chocolates and other munchies for the trip. After a two-hour sleep I woke up to leave for the morning service to Srinagar. My "crew" was on another flight. Upon boarding the flight the airhostess requested me to move to emergency exit window sea, which i gleefully accepted, hoping to catch up on sleep. I removed my shoes and realised not using the sports shoes is not a smart idea. its inner sole was giving way after almost 2 years of disuse.

The wait at Srinagar airport was long and boring, with no TV to watch, no music to listen, no paper/book to read and no GPRS. When the rest of the team arrived (3 in all - Rohit, Puneet and Rajesh) we left for the Dal Lake to meet Hamid, the guy who'd arrange our travel thereon. We met him at a hotel near Dal Lake, had Tea, bread and butter and delicious paranthaas (indian bread) that Rajesh had got us from home.

At was well past 4:30 pm when we started for Pahalgam basecamp, The paramilitary deployment in Srinagar and enroute to Pahalgam was quite visible. The state was (is) in a turmoil with clashes between military, police and some pockets of public. We were stopped by Police just outside Anantnag for safety reasons and were allowed to leave after a good 90 minutes. We were advised to take a less troubled route thru a village to rech Pahalgam. You could see young lads pretending to throw stones and stuff at our car to scare us. By the time we reached Pahalgam it was twilight. We decided to stay put at the camp for the night and leave at daybreak for Chandanwari. Registrations for the the travel done, we decided to eat.

Puneet and Rohit went out in search for food outside the basecamp. They returned an hour later with food after battling with darkness on their route. We hit bed hoping to be up & ready by 6am when the gates of the camp open. Before we slept, we pulled Rajesh's leg a mighty bit (which eventually kept happening all day/night of our travel). Some footsteps outside our roadside tent woke us up. By the time we got ready a sea of humanity had already beaten us to the camp gate. The splash of icy cold tap water sure awakened our lazy body.

Failed but liking it in a mixed way.

IPL 2010- the men in blue (MI) defied my guess and lost to CSK. I hugely admire Dhoni's skill and worship Tendulkar's, making it tough to support any one team. My fav team won but fav player lost.

Smoking ban up in smoke.

Was waiting outside a Govt office for someone. Saw a bunch of 14 odd yr old kids striking a lite at a roadside kiosk selling tobacco and Indian bread with tea. If not this kiosk owner some other did fella must have sold it. There is a ban on selling to person below 18 and on smoking in public places. The cops were as silent as I was watching them. Is the ban effective.

Shifting in suitcases :)

My cuzin is shifting and we ran out of cartons. So here's where some crockery ended.

I want to break free. . .

Been wanting to unwind and get to being at peace with my self, the life and the etc. No i don't feel compelled for a holiday. I am less patient, irritable and often impolite. My mind says am not doing enough, and i don't know what next yet. Confused? So am I :)

The compulsive purchase

Ever been to discount sale where the bill value decides the % that you'll save?. So if u find yrself having selected what u really wanted but thats just a few bucks away from the next tier, do u not end by buying more stuff? I fell foe iy, like I usually do :)

Ita's first lyrics ver 4

Even if u r bored now. . . . . Jingle baell jingle baell , mama aioplane mein aaya hai (her uncle arrived this morning. :).

Ita's first lyrics ver 3

Jingle baell jingle baell , Ankita diaper nahi pehna hai (Toinks was making her wear a diaper and she didn't want to). Oh man u need to hear it to believe it . . . . Her on the fly creation . . .am zapped.

Ita's first lyrics ver 2

Jingle baell jingle baell jingle all the aay, Ankita susu kiya hay (she was in the loo then). Her g.father almost fell down laughing.

Ita's first lyrics

She was sitting on my lap and starting singing. Jingle baell jingle baell jingle all the aay, ankita playing, hm hm hm hm hay. She'll nvr forget lines on stage, cuz she make her own. Lol