MIA

Hello hello....so I've been missing in action, and there's been radio silence...an explanation is in order, and about time too, along with a quick update...

The past fortnight has been rather hectic, what with work, travel and lots of socialising :) This hectic fortnight saw me travel on alternate days for work, turn a year older, be a part of some showdowns and some reconciliations and meet some wonderful new people. And of course, meet Usha Uthup! :) 

But to begin at the beginning, as they say...some work, which had seen me spend a month at Kolkata last year, has revived and required me and a colleague to be present in Kolkata again. The work panned out in a manner that I was required to go to Kolkata a day before the parents were supposed to come down to spend some time with me and celebrate my  birthday with me. Decided to take full advantage of the fact that the birthday is on a national holiday, and so it transpired that I was on a flight to Kolkata on the morning of my birthday, after having brought in my birthday with a quiet dinner with R, with whom I share my birthday, PB and her husband, AA. Talked to AA properly for the first time that day in the two years that PB and AA have been married, and generally had a really good time catching up with them. Also learnt a valuable lesson along the way, that often a lot of our preconceived notions of how well (or otherwise) we'll get along with some people are just that....preconceived, and often, misplaced notions :)

But to get back to the day of my birthday, there I was groggy eyed, waiting for my flight to be announced, in line for a cup of coffee, when I heard this really familiar voice...looked up to see that said voice belonged to none other than THE Usha Uthup...yup, that's right...in person, standing right in front of me!!!

Suddenly, I found myself walking up to her and gushing about how I realised it was not an appropriate time to bother someone, given as it was early morning etc., but how I just had to come tell her that I was a huge fan...made myself stop with great difficulty and dashed off before I could prattle anymore, and promptly texted and told the whole world (ok, some five people) about how I had just met and talked to THE Usha Uthup...but then, given how huge a fan I am of the lady's inimitable style, the slight streak of exhibitionism may be forgiven, nyet?

Anyhow, after that excellent start to my 26th year on this planet, landed in the City of Joy to an effusive welcome by the parents, endless messages from friends (which I found really touching) and a whole lot of activity that had been planned by the parents. Also met some lovely people in the course of the evening, and spent a charming couple of hours chatting with them about a world that is as different from mine as chalk is different from cheese...and the evening was marked by a whole lot of cake cutting activity with the extended family...all in all, a good day indeed :)

The week that followed was fairly humdrum, marked only by work, work and then some more...got a break on Sunday, thankfully, which was spent in meeting family and friends and then it was back to work again from Monday through Friday. Dashed back to amchi Mumbai on Saturday morning, in order to prepare the house for the parents, who landed in town on Saturday evening. Though the visit is a fortnight behind schedule, it sure is good to have them here, and amazing to be able to spend time with them for a prolonged stretch...if the beginning of the year is any indication, it sure does look like this is going to be a good year :)

Did miss a lot of stuff while I was away in Kolkata..missed being in office on the day it was SM's last day in office (SM is a dear friend and ex-colleague, who I almost wasn't going to talk to ever...but that's another story for another day) on the day it was NB's 25th birthday (who is another colleague who has transitioned to being a dear friend), and on the day of a colleague's wedding...and most importantly, missed some yummy Parsi food at said wedding...I did tell you I was a foodie, did I not? :)

Am finally back in town, and it sure feels good...And now, dear reader, hopefully, I shall be a lot more regular in posting about me, my life and the myriad issues that have my attention at the moment :)

Till then, toodles!