almost there…

Gosh I can’t believe January’s almost over.. This past week, days have been creeping by instead of rushing past like they usually are… I think because I realize March is like ALMOST here..Because I’m aware it’s so close the days are not going by as fast as they usually do… Time.  It’s such a bitter sweet thing because there’s so much I need to finish before March arrives and yet I want it to come soon…

My boyfriend and I have been doing it long distance since April 19th 2009 and he will be coming to visit me for a month in March.. I wish he could come and then I could freeze time for like a couple months or so.. we haven’t met each other in 2 years. He’s coming to visit India just to spend time with me and I’ve taken off work so I can spend as much time as possible with him and basically catch up.. We both wanna make sure we’re making the right decision.. I mean 2 years so much can happen so many things can change.. but my gut tells me that everything’s gonna be fine… We talk to each other online almost the whole day and we call each other on the phone whenever we can.. it’s pretty exciting that he’s finally gonna be here.. we’re planning to go to Goa together while he’s here too.. That’s where the best place to chillax in India is.. Yummy seafood, great beaches to get tan on… M so excited… I get to finally wear my new bikini I bought last year when I visited my parents in California. My bikini is like a halter top like this one and has boyshorts below and its brown and turquoise… really cute and colorful!!

(The idea of owning a bikini, that too a California bikini always appealed to me… I haven’t really ventured towards a bikini since I was 7 or 8 . I stopped wearing them when I was that age after my nipple was exposed a little because I hadn’t tied the top on properly and my best friend at the time instead of quietly telling me shouted it out for everyone to look at before i could cover myself up in time. I was so traumatized even though i still had a chest as flat as any boy’s at the time that I never touched a bikini up till now.. lol.. ) Anyways back on topic.. gonna be relaxing on one of the many goa beaches there.. Goa is basically known as the Hawaii of the east..

a lot of European travellers come and visit for a cheap and chirpy beach vacation.. It’s a touristy yet very laid back bohemian kind of atmosphere. lots of beach shacks… lots of night parties,raves, good food, local alcohol made out of coconut (feni) also spelled as “fenny” and cashews (also a different type of feni) did i mention good seafood?…

I’m gonna be meeting his parents for the first time when we go spend time in Goa. More than anything I just want to confirm that we both are on the same page.. I know we are but confirmation makes it feel more secure and complete.. If things are as we think they are I guess this Christmas 2010 his parents are going to celebrate in Goa and yes that means my gojira will come and visit India then as well and all of us will be there together.. I’ve never celebrated a real Christmas before… His family is Catholic so it will be interesting to be there and participate in all the fun celebrating.. He showed me pics of how they celebrated this past 2009 and it looked pretty special… Goans are known for their seafood culinary skills.. I am going to make sure to ask his mom how she makes crab curry. It’s one of my absolute fave Goan dishes to eat.. It looks something like this…

Till then my apartment painting will keep me on my toes… it’s gonna start on the 26th. I’ve already cleared out 2 rooms so the painters can get it done soon… Ive cleared out the dining room area, the master bedroom and attached bathroom… I hope it doesn’t take forever to finish. I DON’T WANT THIS DONE ON INDIAN STANDARD TIME!!!!???!!! ….. We Indians have this saying that there’s the rest of the world and then there’s Indian standard time because most Indians are allllllllways late for everrrrrrrrything… It’s like genetic or something.. lol… If you hold a dinner party and tell everyone to come by 8pm they’ll start coming in by 9 and everyone will finally be there by 10pm.. its not a big deal when you talk about partying but when you want things to get finished it becomes very frustraating…  When those rooms are complete I’ll be clearing out the guest bedroom and attached bathroom and the living room… Right now practically all of my life is stuffed in the living room… it looks pretty funny actually..

And yes I moved everything including tv, piano, tables, sofas, beds ALL by my little self!! My back could do with a pain killer but I’m surviving to say the least ;P I’ve also taken on another freelancing project with a colleague that I used to work for in the UK. He has offered me article writing work which actually doesn’t pay amazing but otherwise I’m just sitting here twiddling my thumbs so I decided to take it so I can be super busy till March comes.. plus extra moola is always a good thing… hehehe.. Just thinking about all my plans has gotten me all hyper and excited all over again..can’t waitt….. i have a feeling 2010 is gonna be a brand new start.. yeah sounds cliched.. but for the people who don’t know me and the way my life’s been the past 4 years nothing this amazing has worked out for me… so keep your fingers crossed everyones…. This light is turned off…

Currently listening to

Wavering Radiant
By Isis

my apartment is getting a makeover!!

So when my parents came down to visit me in December they realized how bad my apartment needed a fresh coat of paint… So they are getting it done for me :P  Don’t think I’m a leech. I’m not. I’ve been self sufficient for the last 4 years and I’d like to say I’m proud of myself. I could never afford to paint my place. It would cost a bloody bomb. Mom said I could actually go ahead and do some wall art and get my creative juices thinking once a fresh coat of white paint goes on. I’ve already got some exciting ideas… the painting will begin on the 26th so I will be jumping around like a kid before Christmas till that starts… Check out some of my ideas…

I’ve had this idea in my head for a while now. In India you get these henna (mehendi) tattoo stamps on the street for probably less than a hundred bucks. (i’m talking rupees not $) 100 rupees is roughly equivalent of 2 dollars. They come in various pretty designs like paisleys and birds and fish… I had originally been wanting to pick one or two up to make my own greeting cards. But now lately I’ve been thinking about using these stamps to make a pattern on the wall. This is what the henna block stamps look like. It’s basically made out of carved wood. So in my head I thought it would look really hot if I dipped them in dull gold paint and made a border along the bottom of a wall. I was also thinking, I have a couple of vertical beams in my living room area which would look amazing if I made a consistent repetitive print covering the whole beam making it look like a wallpaper print. That would be so hot.

I’ve also been thinking about doing something in my bedroom… but more free form. I was hunting the Internet for some ideas and I came across these that I liked.

I don’t know what type of material they’ve used here to create an art collage on the wall. I was thinking of doing something similar with little small pieces of mirror… or bottle caps.

love this one… reminds me of my gojira… but i don’t think I have a steady enough hand to recreate something like this… and I’d get bored painting all those countless bones…

i like this one but I think if I painted Audrey I would do it on smaller scale.

Have you done anything similar? I’m looking for DIY, cost effective, cheap and chirpy ideas. Got any thoughts that would help me give my apartment a makeover? This light is turned off…

Currently listening to
The Trucks
By The Trucks

diwali banter…

hmmm…. well for the past week ive been living with my cousin cuz she had some really bad backpain and found out it was slipped disc and so has been ordered by the doctor to not get out of bed. She’s not allowed to move much and since her husband and kids are also out of town I’ve been taking care of her and helping her out. I’m actually bugged with myself because with all the exercise and weight I’d lost recently I’ve gotten quite lazy staying here.. no proper schedule… so waking up whenever… haven’t worked out for at least the last 10 days… eating all the yummy sinful things in the world… I’m disappointed at my lack of self control… ugh… I’m honest to god looking forward to getting back to my apartment and living on my own and getting back into my own swing of things… waking up early exercising, eating healthy, working diligently, doing other stuff like yoga, making the time to write, reflect, spending time talking with my boyfriend… i just feel so flustered right now because theres nothing grounded in my life when i rotate around someone else’s schedule… i’m not lost i just feel like life is too busy for me and i need my space, peace and tranquility…

with diwali coming up and my cousin bed ridden I helped her do all the diwali shopping for the family.. I bought 8 salwar kameez fabrics, 20 saris, 2 dupattas, 1 kurta, 1 kurti, 3 skirts, 1 dhoti-kurta set, 1 double bed spread, 3 pairs of silver orissa filigree earrings, 4 curtains, and umm that’s about it..

I also wrapped all of it mind you and wrapped some shirts that my aunt had bought for some other relatives along with 2 sets of socks… shopping, wrapping and everything it was a fun hectic chaotic experience. Since I did all the shopping I got to pick out what I got for diwali.. instead of picking out a salwar kameez set which I really don’t wear often I decided to pick up a really pretty chikan work dupatta… chikan work is so delicate and pretty… chikan is a type of specialized embroidery from Lucknow. I picked out a pretty blue dupatta which I can even use as a shawl… I’ll take a pic of it when I get it but for now here’s an image so you get an idea of what chikan work looks like….

Anyways I’m exhausted after all that diwali shopping so this is where I disappear. This light is turned off.

Currently listening to Vegetable
Pablo Honey
By Radiohead

Obama will have 5 hours to move into his house. How long did it take you to move your current home?

That’s not surprising considering now that he’s got people doing things for him he’ll have plenty of help and White House staff to move in his stuff to the White House. And I’m sure his previous house was smaller than the White House and it’s always easier to move from a smaller house to a bigger one. Its always tougher and complicated to move from a big house to a smaller one. My current apartment took me 2 days to move in cuz I moved in all by myself with no one to help me.

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Currently
Tempest
By Jesse Cook