Seven! (for Ranju)

Ok, here we go.

7 Things I Plan to Do Before I Die:

1) Own a home
2) Run a 10K
3) Explore Africa
4) Be the CEO of the Organization that currently employs me
5) Sew a quilt by hand
6) Raise some kids
7) Design my own line of jewelry

7 Things I Can Do Well:

1) Dance
2) Listen
3) Take pictures
4) Multi-task
5) Bake
6) Give advice
7) Write speeches

7 Things I Can Not Do:

1) Sing
2) Swim laps without having to stop (I can't do the turn under water)
3) Sleep in late
4) Draw
5) Reach the top shelf of my cabinet/closet without a stool or ladder
6) Sit for prolonged periods of time
7) Throw a frisbee well

7 Words To Describe Me

1) Loyal
2) Cute
3) Sweet
4) Crazy
5) Loving
6) Obsessive
7) Compulsive

7 Things That Attract Me To Another Person

1) SMILE.
2) Punctuality
3) Sense of humor
4) People who are true to themselves
5) Adventurous spirit
6) Ambition
7) People who can talk about anything

7 Things I Say Most Often

1) AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!
2) You know?
3) Seriously.
4) Jesus.*
5) What up, yo?
6) Good times. Good times.
7) Freak of Nature.
*sorry if this is offensive.

7 People I Want To Do This

1) Mom
2) Jay
3) Chai
4) deep
5) Mahanth
6) You
7) Your mama.

Need a Little Direction

As I was walking to the metro from work, I had a guy ask me, "Do you know the way to the metro?" Of course, I said yes and proceeded to give him directions. Afterwards, I thought to myself, "Holy mother, I can do that now." Granted I have been here for three months, I must at least look like I know what I'm doing. I no longer look like a tourist. Am I becoming a DC-ite? That would be so cool.

I'm also starting to see some familiar faces on the metro. I usually take it at the same time every morning and evening and I recognize people. Of course, I would never talk to these people, rather I like to make up my own stories about them. Like the lady that wears the sari and carries a briefcase - we'll call her Lalitha. My story about Lalitha is that she's a woman who, like many that I know, got married quite young and followed her husband here from India. She did some school here just so that she could gain her independence and get a job so as not to spend the entire day in the house. Headstrong, I like that. She couldn't abandon her culture and she didn't want to give up her identity, hence the daily wearing of the sari.

Then sometimes I see an Indian man that is always hanging out with this Indian couple. Here's the story. The couple - who we will call Shankar and Sushila - are married. Their friend, Devdas, is still single. They are all computer software technicians. Not only do they all work together, they all live together since Devdas just recently moved to the states and needed a place to live. There's a love triangle situation, though. Sushila is married to Shankar but loves Devdas. She has loved Devdas since primary school, but would never admit it to herself. She married Shankar because her parents arranged it. Shankar is a good provider when it comes to material possessions, but that is not enough for Sushila. Devdas makes her laugh and smile in a way that no one has before. For all intensive purposes, Shankar loves Sushila. Devdas is gay. He's got a thing for Shankar.

See? I don't need my iPod on the metro. I can just use my ridiculously wild imagination to come up with stories. That's entertaining enough.

It's just....

got to be so much easier to be a guy. Seriously.

As I was twisting my way in and out of a sari this morning, I realized that guys are truly lucky beings. Well, for one, they don't have to wear saris. They can go to any event in a polo shirt, khaki pants and a blazer and get away with it. But, there's so much more...here are my top 3

1) No monthly visit from Aunt Flo. That in and of itself has got to be a blessing.
2) No pressure to marry or have kids before a certain age (though I hear for guys that around age 30, parents start getting anxious, compare that to the age of 21 for females).
3) The ability to carouse around without being judged. Guys are just "sowing their wild oats" and if a girl were to do the same she'd be a slut.

There are plenty advantages to being a girl...I'm not knocking it. I'm just really mad at the sari.

Beeeeday Week

Wow. This week has been like none other...just a whirlwind of friends and family calling to bestow their good wishes on me to have another awesome year. If I could just drag this out for a month, I'd be in good shape. ha!

Yesterday was by far the highlight. First I'll rant, then I'll rave. I had to get a license tag put on the front of the car which required me to find the dealership. Well, I found the dealership after getting lost and then apparently there's a service department for that specific dealer in the vicinty. After driving around lost for about 30 minutes, I found it just a block and a half away. Driving here is the only thing that truly makes me homesick. It's hard to get lost in the South. The streets are actually labeled. I know the South comes under harsh criticism for many other things, but at least we don't have an amalgam of seven roads - merging together and all leading in different directions. Not impressed. I did make it home relatively unscathed and I still in my heart believe that getting lost and getting yourself out of the situation is a good learning experience. I just prefer to know where I'm going.

In the afternoon, I went to my very first Kentucky Derby party (and yes, for the record, I got lost going there, too). It was requested that we dress the part - felt a little like a cosume party - everyone there in big hats and dressed to the nines. I wore the white suit and looked quite pimp. I took the opportunity to schmooze with some influential people which I know will be good for me in the future. Just having that skill of networking, even within people in your own organization, is priceless. I also learned quite a bit about horse racing. I didn't realize that jockeys were generally 100 lbs. or less. Sheesh. How do they keep that up? They should sell their workout/diet plan in an infomercial. It could be the next big thing.

Then comes the night. CS, NV and I met up here, ate some pizza and had a great girl talk session. It's nice to just hang with the girls and it's on my list of things to do again sometime in the near future. Then MI and her entourage arrived and we went over to Guarapo's for drinks and dancing. At the end of the day, I think old age won since that's the only place we went. It's not like college - when I'm sure any one of us could jump from place to place without a second thought. Now, sanity and the voice of reason have kicked in and it's easier to pick one cool place and stay there for an extended period of time. And, let's be honest, do we really want to plod along in those ridiculously high heels? Not so much.

Anyway, I send big thanks to all of my friends and family for making this an unforgettable week. I can truly say I had a great first birthday in DC.

One is the lonliest number? really?

"She's deaf." My mother heard this from the kindergarten teacher on two occasions. While other kids were being loud and obnoxious, I was in the corner, playing with blocks all by my lonesome. To humor the teacher, mom got my hearing tested twice, knowing that there was absolutely nothing wrong with me. I wish mom had said, "Yes, it's unfortunate, but these kids aren't as fabulous as my daughter, so she chooses not to interact with them."

At any rate, I've thought about this a lot lately - no, not my fabulous-ness, that's a given (CS - Konkani=fabulous!). I've been thinking about why I wouldn't play with the other kids and why sometimes that's still the case. I think the language barrier was one hurdle when I was younger as English was not my first language. I was also quite an independent child which has translated to me being an independent adult. Then, there's the only child situation. I think this is the reason for all of the above.

Back in college, I noticed how everyone had to do everything together, all the time. How irritating! I know college is a place where you're transitioning, and meeting new people and you need to get to know these people better, especially because you're going to need their notes to study for a test (I think that's the core motivator for most friendships in college). I was nearly suffocated by the clinginess.

I'm not trying to say that I don't like hanging out with my friends. I adore them and enjoy all of the good times. But, for example, if I've planned to go out shopping and I invite someone and they are too busy, I'm not going to let that prevent me from going shopping. My day continues, where I know someone else's would end. And they would be pissed, whereas I am perfectly content. I just have noticed recently how comfortable I am in my own skin (though this may have always been the case). Sometimes you have to go it alone and that, in my humble opinion, isn't such a bad thing.

Two 6 Mafia

Well, it happened. I turned 26. I remember when anything above 20 was just plain old. I must admit with that mindset, I had a wealth of "goals" I wanted to accomplish before this age. How could I have possibly thought that I would have a fantastic job, be married, living in the suburbs and working toward a family at this age? I still marvel at the fact that I can take care of myself.

Today was interesting. I made some friends laugh, I let some friends down (sorry CS and SS), I saw a different side to a few friends and I touched base with friends from the far past. My entire family called me this evening, which is the norm, but is always special anyway. I can't imagine my life without all of these people. My conclusion is that I'm lucky. Just plain lucky.

So, this starts a new year. I suppose it's time for resolutions. Yes, most do this on January 1, but not me. I've always got to be just a little bit different.

Resolution 1 - Start a blog. This idea was actually spawned by CS. She's a damn good writer. I guess the initial hurdle was the thought of "what would I write about?" But everytime I asked, the answer was always "whatever is on your mind." How simple and complicated all at the same time.

Resolution 2 - Work on the social life. With having just moved to DC, I'm starting to get better at this.

Resolution 3 - Try a new hobby. I've been knitting for a while. Go ahead. Laugh it up. I enjoy it, but need something "crafty" to do other than knitting.

Resolution 4 - Revive an old hobby. I used to take pictures like I was getting paid for it. I loved photography so much, but have not done any creative photography since my last trip to India in Jan. 2005. I love picking up my Cannon again with it's extra lenses and going out and just doing a photo shoot of anything - nature, people, landmarks. I need to get that feeling back.

Resolution 5 - Write more letters. Letter writing is a lost art, which is understandable given the technology that we have today. I would like to revive it, but I don't know what any one of my friends or family would do if they received something handwritten from me.

Resolution 6 - Learn something new everyday. This was my grandfather's advice to me a long time ago. When you stop learning, you stop living. That's just plain wise.

Note that there's nothing in there about finding a husband, house or any children. But hey, at least I've got a fantastic job, great friends and an awesome family. I can't complain.