In the waiting line...

I wait

- for weekends
- for every trip that gets me out of Bombay
- for the end of the business day
- to be fit (I have a hold on reality - I'll never be thin, so fit is good)
- holidays
- friends & lovers
- birthday gifts and new clothes
- a good movie to release "in theatres close to me"
- to see snow again
- for television shows
- for autos and taxis and traffic to move
- hateful, older men to be less cynical
- my next job (and I just started this one!)
- for the day I roll out of bed and see straight hair and high cheek bones
- to live in New York someday
- to visit friends in South America
- for an interesting, intellectual conversation

When did I stop enjoying today?

Fix me

VH1 is my soul-fry. StoryTellers - my bedtime hug.
Coldplay makes me want to fall head over heels in love.
And get a tatoo.

Phew

Nine to five
Living lies
Everyday
Stealing time
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can

Bali

Spent the last 5 days in Bali. Beautiful, beautiful Bali.
Forget the bombs - if you can go, you absolutely should. I felt safer there than in Mumbai!

I am now PADI certified and the underwater journey has begun. First stop - World War 2 shipwreck off Mount Agung. Unbelievable.
Marine Life sighting - need to buy a book with pictures and tick. Two blue Clownfish followed me for an hour.

I met some friendly Balinese (don't think they come in the unfriendly variety) and Brits. My last two dives were with a famous DJ. Google & Digweed say he's very good!
Need to download his music - he joked about it and didn't have no Metallica mentality.

Shopped till I dropped.
I got the 'tourist' prices until I said the word 'India' and 'Hindu'. Then I had to sing songs from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and say that I could see Shah Rukh Khan's house from my apartment.
Anyone want to open Bali store in Bangalore with me?

Mumbhai

I live in Bombay now. Its one big circle, this world, I tell you. :)
And this blog entry has been a mini-project for a while. A slow, but happy transition. I am beginning (almost beginning) to enjoy the madness that is Mumbai.

I like
- Mi casa - 13 floors high, sea-facing, fully-loaded (with extra sheets, colour coordinated curtains and all - you know me, no?) Mi casa, su casa.
- People visiting
- Sandals & the air between my toes
- The sound of the sea
- Go 92.5 fm
- My new IAudio

I detest (this was the longest list - here's the highly edited version)
- Paan cheewing plumbers & auto & taxi drivers who stain the ground red-
Rash drivers
- Cockroaches
- Aggressive women who push you around, literally.
- The many many many smells
- Marathi abuses - sounds just awful, awful
- Suspensionless Autorickshaws

I'm trying to
- Find my personal space
- Ignore nosey watchmen and slimy liftmen
- Work in that much-needed workout into my day
- Appreciate the good in this city
- Talk in Hindi
- Think of the whirring fan as a gentle lullaby
- Bargain

I want
- Adu/A-man to move here
- A fancier camera to capture the craziness around
- A smog free day to see the horizon clearly
- To rid the world of poverty
- Little kids to stop begging and attend school
- Muchos amigos
- Ceci to live with
- Bombay to be Bangalore or Toronto or Brussels or Barcelona :)

Back

For those who can't keep track of me anymore, nothing's going to change.
I'm now based in Singapore, but will be in India 70% of the time, and the rest of South East Asia for the other 30%.
Good news is that a special cellphone package allows local call rates to the US, Canada, China, Puerto Rico - so expect middleof the night phone calls.
Oh and yeah, I'm loving the heat. Swimming and sweating. Yay!

Goodie Bag

T & J are the best. They make me laugh so hard, let me sleep on their oh-so-comfortable couch, wake me up with coffee, drive me to work and then spoil me with goodbye gifts.

In my little goodie bag are the most exquisite Mexican handicrafts, some Costa Rican coconut Liquor and a "Cacha Novio".

The tide will change. And they will happily travel far to celebrate.