Mundane Musings

This year is seriously pulsating with new promises and new goals. I have been so busy, so swamped with work that it is ironically, getting addictive. I juggle my work commitments with my house work; one of the reasons why I freelance. It feels as if all the years of neglecting the house following Ana kutti's birth, has caught up with me now. There is so much to do. Repairing broken cupboard doors and hinges, cleaning and organizing cupboards one room at a time (oh how many things we accumulate!), cleaning and cleaning and cleaning the grease and dirt out of the kitchen (that never seems to be over) and of course constantly cleaning up after Ana kutti. Somehow as I whizz about doing these things, I actually like it. Looks like my Virgo trait for cleanliness and tidying up is bubbling out only now. I also feel compelled to try some new things this year. This I attribute to having felt energized and happy when I had tried a few new things last year. Last year I had tried trampoline...

I have started zipping over Chennai city in the metro train again. It felt so comfortable and amiable like a forgotten acquaintance, that I immediately got into the groove of things. It was especially useful during the brief spell of rains we faced last week. I almost pray that it remains this way for years to come, which could happen considering the manageable crowd that commutes by it everyday. The other day, as I clattered down the long flight of steps that led to the Shenoy Nagar station, I saw a man ahead of me who had just an umbrella in his hand and looked like he was out for a stroll. Why did that observation interest me, you ask? Well for one, no one really goes out for a stroll at 3 in the afternoon, I think. Secondly, I was going out in the afternoon too and I had a huge tote bag and a water bottle nestled in my hands. The lack of any such baggage on his person stumped me a bit. Why would he pay anywhere between 35 to 45 rupees for a stroll? That was expensive. The lovely...

Howdy people! I have just beaten a bad flu and cold with a severe body pain to boot. Oh the pain...it gives me the shivers even now. I haven’t been able to do anything, leave alone exercise a few gray cells to make simple decisions. I am so glad the flu has flown away...hehehe. I have been gearing up for what was going to be a busy busy week for me with back to back training assignments happening and a content development deadline looming over my head. I had to cancel two of the training programs and have had to pump myself with antibiotics to not miss the rest. The author on the PCT Just as the flu took on its full blown avatar I managed to finish Cheryl Strayed’s amazingly written, bare-it-all book “ Wild – A Journey From Lost to Found. ” I had read the last few pages of the book just as my eyes had started watering (because of the flu, in case you were wondering) and my head started getting hammered from within. To think of leaving such a good book almost at the en...

So the direction challenged, hard-to-tell-right-from-left me has used the Chennai Metro rail and lived to tell the story. Travelling by Metro was not so new to me as we did commute in all its glory when we had visited Europe in 2012. But what was different between then and now is that this is our very own spanky, new, bright-eyed skeletal frame work Chennai Metro, as against the mind-boggling colossal labyrinth seen in Europe, and this time S wasn't with me to help make sense of the direction and destination of each train. It all started when I decided to take the Metro to commute for a training assignment to DLF, Porur. The training program which will last 45 hours of 2 hours each class demanded a more reliable and cost efficient transport especially since my client was paying me all inclusive. Earlier I used to be extravagant and take the cab to and fro thereby dipping into the margin of my profits. But what can I say, I have gotten mature, and so more responsible (ahem). More...