Sightings and Musings

Spotted: Hardball’s Chris Matthews walking in a daze near Zara’s in Georgetown.
Spotted and Giggled: One squeaky Blue Jay bird circling one frustrated grey cat behind the Federal Judiciary building. Cat loses the old fight. Again.
Spotted and Observed: An Abercrombie & Fitch-type couple on the Orange Line playing curious flirting game: Boy (imagine blonde version of Christopher Reeve) enters train and sits down. After 5 mins. a girl (imagine Margot Kidder with hazel eyes) enters same train car and sits in seat across from boy. Boy looks down, pretends he doesn’t know her. Girl delicately places purse in empty seat next to her. Looks at boy and smiles. Boy smiles and shakes head. Girl pretends to undo jacket button, tosses hair and makes hand movement to say how hot it is. Boy, fairly amused by now, laughs and looks down. Girl rolls her eyes and sends text message to boy. Finally, boy goes over and sits next to her.
Spotted and Glazed Over: A silver hybrid Volkswagen Beetle with some snazzy wheels in Arlington ie. one of my dream cars.
Spotted: At least two women near Chinatown wearing a red and black keffiyeh ie. the Palestinian scarf. It did not look they were making a political statement.
Spotted: Man strolling in red kilt and sweater at Union Station (did not stop to spot lack of underwear)
Spotted and Consumed: Another near-perfect cappuccino at Bagels and Baguettes on the Hill. The coffee and sandwiches are to die for – on weekdays you can see the line out the door – but it’s perfect to fix a hangover on a late Sunday morning!

Stop Press!

The news is not that it’s international women’s day and how we must celebrate our womanhood by avidly following Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar’s nuptials in a castle and then a palace with Parmeshwar Godrej and Shilpa Shetty’s air kisses at all the parties thrown in between. It’s not even news that the Cricket World Cup is starting next week and the cup itself has become slightly damaged thanks to overzealous fans (in Kolkata, where else?) and for a change we don’t have to stay awake at odd hours of the night to see the matches. It’s not news that I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby has been found guilty of lying and to say that everyone is disappointed not to hear from Karl Rove instead of Richard Artmitage, would be mildly putting it. And it’s certainly not news that Daniel Radcliffe aka Harry Potter is now making love to horses on West End.
The news IS that Steven Spielberg has started pre-production for Les Adventures de Tintin. And it’s not going to be an animated feature. Blistering barnacles! 10,000 thundering typhoons!!! Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, the Thompson Twins and of course Snowy and Lady Bianca's parrot... all coming to the big screen... can you tell I’m excited? Some might think that Hollywood will ruin a good thing but I think Hergé would approve of Spielberg taking a shot at it. After all, worse movies have been made of other franchises. But the Batman (OK only the ones with Christian Bale) and Spiderman movies are doing their fans and creators proud.

Holi Sunday

My roomie and I had a really fun potluck this Sunday afternoon. Some highlights included M cooking kadai chicken till 3 a.m. and waking up 4 hours later to make appetizers; playing antakshari and singing horribly out of tune, of course; C brings guest who brings another guest who knocks over furniture; D’s guest falls off papasan chair! Sits right back up to sing Rafi melodies; U brings bloody mary mix without the vodka…duh! Takes out trash to compensate; G makes cutting chai sans sugar. Su steps in for second round, makes kick ass adrak chai. And props to most women who turned up in desi outfits and the 2-3 men who obliged as well :)

Some random quotes from the afternoon:

“I really can’t look inside his brain right now.”
“I might gag if she dances on the table.”
"I look like Punju aunty on her morning walk."
“If your landlord evicts you now, you have enough people here to help you move.”
“The heat is on, yaar.. umm, sorry I didn’t mean it to come out like that.”
“What’s funny is you state the obvious and then make it worse by explaining what you just said!”
“Did you just say hermaphrodite?”
“The irony is you women can have it anytime but you don’t have the desire. Not always at least.”
“Can you please stop announcing I look like Michael Jackson?”
“Last time I had a potluck at my place you slept over, remember?”
“I am going to rediscover my roots... on Palace on Wheels.”
“Start by losing your American accent.”
“Yeah my room is cosy. It’s definitely not Starbucks or Kramer’s.”
“Am I supposed to know where your room is?”
“I’m getting a feeling you like flan.”
“How come I don’t get introduced to her… because I’m not from MIT?”
“Look at your shoes. What’s your size?”
“Of course I have talked about you… just not very good things.”
“There’s a lot of talent in this room.”

Thanking You Very Kindly

There are kind people and then there are those who actually perform random acts of kindness without knowing what they just did.
I woke up carrying a headache the size of the erstwhile U.S.S.R. (ie. very big) and almost couldn’t turn my head without a piercing throb attacking my central lobe system (ie. freakin brain in general). But I dutifully trudged to work and tried to gulp down my coffee without burning myself, hoping against hope it would work a miracle in 90 seconds or less. Clearly, it did not. It continued to get so bad, in fact, that I had to call a friend: “So what exactly is dizziness a symptom of?” Stupid question. “It could mean a lot of things,” he said in clipped medical tone. “But sit down, or lie down, somewhere.”
So there I was on the Metro, trying to have a quiet shut eye while listening to Norah Jones and commanding caffeine and central lobe to meet harmoniously for my sake. I didn’t really notice when some dude got in to the seat beside me. And I didn’t really notice when my eyes started watering up… just a trickle and before I knew it, I was wiping away a tear! No, the music wasn’t as moving as the train (except for tracks 5 and 13, but more on that later), the dude next to me didn’t smell of onions and I don’t think I was PMS-ing. Maybe I was stressed about a deadline or mourning my dead plant or missing my dog. No, I was just having a random emotional outburst. Anyway, this dude also has his music going on but he finally notices the silent sniffler next to him. And I can definitely feel he’s getting uncomfortable because he’s getting very shifty (not in a shady way, though). Finally he taps me on the shoulder and asks, “Would you like me to move?” I could’ve started howling – but then it would scare everyone out of the train – but I managed to shake my head and smile. He was kind enough to ask and that’s all I needed. Besides a couple aspirins and more coffee. Sanity, at last.

Such a Pansy

Union Station. 6:30 p.m. i'm sitting on a bench minding my business when a homeless dude comes up and presents me with a flower.
dude: pretty flower for pretty girl
me (rolling eyes): huh. thank you
dude (shaking finger): do you know what that flower is called?
me: yes. it's a pansy.
dude (really shocked): gee, most girls don't know that. so could you spare me some change?
me: sorry i'm all out of change... would you like to give the flower to someone who does?
dude (shaking head): it's fine, just keep it. i can't believe you knew the name of the flower.
me: umm, sorry!
he goes off looking for other victims in clueless flora world.

It's Over

my no-alchohol diet for this month is officially over... i had two glasses of wine in the past 2 weeks with the excuse that it was for some celebration or the other... but yesterday under the nose of extremely judgmental bartender, i succumbed to a mango mojito (it was OK) and decided to put the final nail on the coffin of Stupid Pretentious Diet Which Was Never Going to Last, Anyway. yes, yes all of you who've been dyyyying to say "i told you so" can start singing in a chorus. and here i was thinking 28 days couldn't be so bad?! pshaw.

A Few New Friends

While I’ve been carefully navigating the slippery sidewalks lately, the dogs in the hood are having a field day in the snow. What is it about the snow that makes kids, animals and everything in between so playful? In the past 4 months since I moved to my new place, six dogs or 3 different pairs have started to recognize me as I start making these high-pitch squeals (something like “heyyy!”) which turns into a conspiring whisper (something like “yesh yesh, show me ze love”) when I approach them.
The black Labrador pair next door are called Java and Laska, named after the software program and the dog in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. Whenever I go over, they come bounding to the door together and compete to see who gets to jump first on top of me. Laska is definitely the tamer one but the minute I start scratching Java’s belly, she’s looking at me with those me-too-please kind of eyes. Soo irresistible :)
Mimi and Gigi are the pair of Scottish terriers who live around the corner from my house and are apparently retired show dogs. They still seem to be very obedient and don’t even require leashes when they go out for their walks. And having to live up to their French names and fine pedigree, they like to waltz around wearing these fine looking highland coats, too! Gigi is getting on with age and doesn’t care too much for socializing. But when Mimi comes over to sniff and say hi, Gigi will slowly hobble over to see what the fuss is about.
Recently I’ve started seeing a lot of Duncan and Macduff, west highland white terriers or more commonly known as westies (as shown in picture). The pair of them – named after the characters in Macbeth – love frolicking around in the snow and Duncan is the more excitable of the two. The other day he just hopped up to lick my face, snow and all. Macduff sniffed around my boots for a bit before looking up to declare “hmm, you’re not so bad.” I scratched his neck to show my gratitude and silently prayed my dog back in Delhi was not shooting telepathic rays of utter disdain and contempt.

Post-V-Day Thoughts

That's the pink and teddy bear saccharine-infested manufactured holiday that's stuffed down everyone's throats by the card companies and not the World War II commeration i'm talking about. everyone's feeling some sort of pressure (overtly or otherwise) to do something. quite unfair given the fact that christmas and new year's just happened and come on, do you really need an excuse to buy chocolates?? hell no. well, since i spread the love so generously throughout the rest of the year, i randomly picked on some other emotion... such as total indifference. haha!
i decided to trudge to work in a miniature snow storm that hit the region. in case you didn't know, DC-area commuters are weather wussies. there's a little rain and people forget how to drive. there's some 2 inches of snow and it's a federal holiday. not that i mind! :) but there were like 6 people who made it in and we had a pizza party. a colleague's husband sends these huge long-stemmed roses to work every year. and every year she sighs, "when will he learn that tulips are my favourite?" and passes the hershey's chocolate kisses on to us.
later on at night, i'm at Union Station and this woman is walking down the hallway and yelling -or screaming like a banshee - into her phone, "you bastard, you can't do this to me! i can't believe this." her hair is totally disheveled, she's pacing up and down and she looks like she is going to throw the phone at someone or do something really, really bad. so psycho and so scary. "i'm going nuts!! i don't know what i'm going to do!!" she's still yelling. a lot of people stop dead in their tracks to get out of her way, but someone starts laughing at her. i mean this woman was clearly a mental case. and getting dumped by some jerk. on valentine's day. over the phone. the phone???! have a heart... and how pathetic.
On a lighter note, check this out. A math formula for the perfect parrallel dating scene. don't some of you do this already? Thanks, Chhav :D

Butt Fatigue and Other Tales

First off, this is going to be a long, but fairly entertaining post considering it was a weekend of many firsts. So brace yourself :)
We were celebrating the birthday of another friend who has joined the ranks of the fabulous Thirty Decade. So in the afternoon, 5 of us girls kidnapped her from home (covering face with ski mask et al) and took her roller skating. It was quite an adventure. The Skate-and-Fun Zone is around 45 mins. outside of DC in a town called Manassas. Naturally it was full of suburban mom and dads with their screaming little tykes rolling around in skates to the cheerful tunes of Who Let the Dogs Out? Surprisingly, the DJ refused to play even the clean version of 50 Cent’s In Da Club, but he was fine spinning “clean songs” like Tempted to Touch, Naughty Girl and the redneck anthem Sweet Home Alabama. Surrounding the rink were gumball machines, a laser tag room, a pizza joint, and just a lot of cheerful and colorful stuff. Did I mention the strobe lights and fog machine? It was like being transported back to your childhood… which was the entire purpose of taking our friend there. I got my pair of rollerskates and bravely entered the rink. Unlike ice skating rinks, this rink did not have a fence surrounding the entire periphery. My friends tried helping me a bit before I fell on my butt for the first time. But kids were falling all over the place like flies – there was no reason I couldn’t do the same, so no fear. Two more butt falls happened, but after a pizza break, I got much better. Like ice skating, I learnt the trick to keep my balance and keep moving… just don’t look down all the time!!
The birthday celebrations continued in the evening with a sumptuous Indian dinner at Heritage. There was too much wastage of food since it was a pre-fixed menu. I also made an exception to my no-alcohol diet and had a glass of red wine. I didn’t drink anything else after that. Then we moved the party to a club called Andalu, also in the Dupont Circle area. The music was pretty decent and we all had a great time dancing. I don’t know at what point the boredom seeped in. I turned to a friend and said, “I think I want to hook up with a random stranger.” And I did. Some desi dude (and it's not that i was looking for a desi in particular, he just looked as bored) was hovering around and we started dancing. He tried to make conversation but I wasn’t obliging. “What’s your name?” he asked. “Doesn’t matter. Any name you want it to be,” I said. Really, there was no point in talking. Then suddenly another girl wanted to dance with him. He clutched my hand tightly – don’t go yet. Err.. ok, so what am I supposed to do? The girl turns to me and says, “You know, he’s a total whore.” I was amused and touched his six-pack. “Of course, he is.” But then she starts dancing with me… nothing wrong with that, it was nice music until whoa! she touches my butt. Umm, thanks but no thanks. I excused myself to go to the bar. Suddenly, six-pack guy grabs my hand, pulls my face towards him and before I knew it, there I was making out with him as my friends watched in shock and awe. As I came up for air, he said, “You must be a Punjabi.” But for a Punjabi himself, he did these weird Karate Kid-type dance moves. Also he thought he was being funny by saying he worked at a 7-11 and his wife (i know, what???) was waiting for him at home. “Goodbye, have a nice life and oh… keep working on those pecs,” I said. We ended up exchanging digits, but he blew it when he asked, “Is your name Deepali?” I stared. “Something like that.” Not that i was planning on marrying him anyway!
So first time 1) rollerskating 2) got hit on by a girl and guy simultaneously and 3) made out with someone without the influence of alcohol in a public place.

Famous Last Words

My new diet may have already come to an end. I was at Sash's place for dinner last night. There were candles, nice wine, great music, and the smell of tender lamb shanks cooking happily - but ever so slowly - in the oven. Sash and Denn (pls bear with the 4-letter names now) did a brilliant job of feeding their friends... of whom, i have to add, were 2 other couples, besides me. apparently the 6th guest was m.i.a. so of course i had to fight off Bridgetty feelings before it hit me they were not a) smug marrieds and b) did not in the least bit make me feel like a loony singleton who did not partake in drinking alchohol. speaking of which, i started off drinking Coke and then at some point i was informed it had been spiked with vodka!! it could have been a convenient deviation of topic - from dogs and all things wonderful related to them - or it could have actually been done. whatever the case, i knew something was odd. but i think i'll try to continue this endeavour for as long as i can... only 3 more weeks till the end of the month!!

Prohibition Time

So inspired by Oprah's fitness guru, Bob Greene, i am abstaining from alchohol for a month. According to Greene, when you are on a healthy diet and trying to increase your metabolism, it's important to keep the body as hydrated as possible. Alchohol doesn't help the cause so it's best to avoid it for a while. So no liquor and that includes beer and wine. And since Feb is the shortest month of the year, i thought i might as well grab the bull by its horns, etc. etc.
Not that i'm an alchoholic, but i was rather worried about how i would survive social situations where if one does not drink, one is not having fun or is gently reminded by friends for being a hopeless old fart. But despite the taunts, I survived the past weekend and drank water at the clubs and avoided the beer on Super Bowl Sunday. It sort of feels like the time i was 14 and wanted to be vegetarian for a while (animal rights, etc.) and miserably failed in that venture after just 10 days. So let's see how long this lasts... it's Day Seven.

Don't Worry, Chicken Curry

I know this isn't a cooking or recipes blog but i had to share this. It is my version of chicken sans tomatoes. Take 4-6 chicken drumsticks and marinate in yoghurt, salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Chop an onion and a half and fry them in saucepan. Add some garlic and coriander (jeera) seeds. Dump a little MDH chicken masala for good measure. Now, take a bottle of Maggi Chat Pat Tomato Sauce and add a couple of tsps. into the pan. Stir nicely. Then add the chicken, let it cook for around half hr or so till done. Chatpata Chicken Curry is Done in a Hurry! Yumm. It was so good, i tell you.

No Bra-vado for Me

A recent article on intimate wear got me rolling my eyes on the number of exhaustive bra excursions i've had. Back in Delhi's Sarojini Nagar Market, there was a male sales shop assistant who sized me up with one look and proceeded to whip out wholesome cotton designs like he was showing off the latest designer kurtis. when i arrived here, i ran to the nearest vic's secret to get myself all properly measured by helpful female sales staff - only to learn that to afford the best for the twins, one must go on a rameen noodle diet for at least 2 weeks. while i've learnt to acquire some decent innerwear without getting too broke, i did refrain from touching certain apparel which i knew - for the lack of a better term - was going to be a bust.
anyho, when a friend got me a gift cert recently, i finally decided to invest in that strange engineering malfunction known as a strapless bra. imagine begging a piece of material with some metal hooks to come together for a good cause. they tend to oblige but only for the sake of it. what happens when they do is a complete disaster. along with my boobs, my self-esteem plunges into this abyss until i start crying: "please, lord, give me back the straps!!"
yes, life does go on without a strapless bra... but it would be nice to have one that works. for me, at least!

Hot Salsa, Cold Weather

Old man winter is pounding the door as I type so I’ll try to recall the unusually warm spell of weather we had recently instead of the freezing temps outside. In fact it was so pleasant, I finally wore a skirt to let the breeze in and let my hair hang out. This weekend my friends and I went salsa dancing at this café where the music was as good as the mojitos. I think the five salsa lessons I had taken 2 years ago did me some good, but it’s equally important to have a good lead. At least 2 out of the 3 partners I had were having some coordination issues! But it was a lot of fun.
Also watched a couple of good movies: one was the Spanish film “Pan’s Labyrinth” which I can’t stop raving about. I think it had a lot to do with the fact I saw it from the third row in the hall (it was house full) and it reminded me of the time I saw “Forrest Gump” at Chanakya... think large screen, super special effects and a very craned head staring straight ahead. But it was also how the movie brilliantly intertwines the horrors of the real world and a fantasy world through the eyes of a 10-year-old. The second was “Guru” which was surprisingly good. Coinciding with the news of their engagement, I think the AB-Ash pair did a nice job… plus we had a highly entertaining post-movie debate about tax laws and licenses that went on till the wee hours (think 4 a.m.) over pancakes and coffee at Ihop… ooooh!

Hold Your Nose

Imagine sitting next to a cute teenager, someone who looks like a tree-hugging surfer dude type straight out of "The O.C." He's actually sitting really pretty close to you... because the chairs are really pretty close to each other... and he's telling you about how new he is to the city and how he bagged a super competitive internship and how he is studying comparative literature at Berkeley... and the only thing you can really think of is, dude you are umm, like, totally adorable but you have to do something about your bad breath. that's right. he forgot to pop the mints. or something. while i am enjoying his attention and i admit, flirting just a tad bit, at the same time i was just praying for him to basically shut the hell up. i fiddle with my phone, rustle my papers and smile ever so sweetly and say, "that's awesome!" to pretty much everything he's saying. but that doesn't stop him. finally i am forced to play the age card. i am a professional woman in a decade-i'm-coming-to-terms-with and you, young man, need to do whatever interns do... of course i didn't say all that... i had to "act" all grown up. how irritating!
anyway, back to the stinky breath.. and i know everyone has it at some point... but it's different when you're just getting to know someone vs. someone close you can be frank about it with. so once i was dating this guy who usually smelt v.good. but one day we had gone to a concert and of course you sit next to one another at a performing arts event. he had terrible breath. i was tortured for 2 hrs as he talked and talked. and talked. of course i'm not dating him anymore.

Edge of Reason and Beyond

This year's New Year's Eve was so low key and mellow from last year's madness at Times Square, i had to pinch myself a couple times. ouch! like that only :)
A couple of my friends - and i literally mean, a "couple" - had a house party to break in the new year and their new apt. I love house parties but when there are too many married couples in the mix, i start having my Bridget Jones moments. There were around 14-16 people and i was probably one of 3 or 4 single people in the crowd. At first, it really didn't matter because everyone chatted each other up and stuff. Then my wise-cracking friend (and party host) inevitably starts poking fun at his wife and she gives it back, and the whole "My Spouse is Crazier Than Yours" routine gets the room rolling in laughter. However, for us singletons it starts to become a bit annoying after sometime. Alright, we get it. You married folks are besotted, especially when you tease one another in your marital bliss.
We also played a round of "Taboo" which was good fun but... and you know there's a huge BUT... it was so remniscent of the whole "When Harry Met Sally" thing when couples in their sacchirine sweetness are always fighting over points to keep score. aaargh. No couple envy, just that the last time i played board games on NYE was ages back with my family i think!!
And finally, I know we all get a bit senti as the clock strikes 12 and the new year dawns (help! i'm on a metaphor roll here) but after all the hugs and kisses got over, we singles were the only ones on the dance floor. I'm sure not all married folks are like that or perhaps some of them didn't dig the music but that night it gave you people in coupledom quite a bad rap. C'mon you guys, i shudder to think what'll happen when you have kids!! Don't tell me...

Christmas Crazyness

So this is Christmas, what have you done? I had a fun festivus of eating, drinking and general merry-making with friends. And watched a brilliant Penelope Cruz in Volver and a pretty funny Rahul Bose in Pyar ke Side Effects. But being the holidays, my family has once again provided some priceless hilarity to the occasion.
Somebody suggested putting in a matrimonial ad in the Times of India for my eligible brother who is visiting India. But apparently my parents forgot when the ad was supposed to come out and as Ma likes to pointedly say: “We’ve stopped looking at the classifieds or putting ads there… what’s the point?” So what is the likelihood that my uncle sitting in Lucknow – who already has 2 sons married/committed to someone – scanning the classifieds instead? Probably killing time checking out the grooms for his lovely niece(s)? Fair enough. But what is the probability of Lucknow Uncleji coming across the same bloody ad about my brother and not recognizing it as my brother’s? Highly unlikely. He calls up my dad and says this could be a probable match for your daughter. That's right... yours truly, y'all. Dad diligently takes down the details and tells mum – you know where this is going, right? In the meantime, charitable well-wishing uncle does not hear from dad for a few days. Hmm, wonder WHY… the family tree is still shaking in laughter.. haw haw haw!

Putting Out Kitchen Fires

My roommate and i were looking forward to a mellow Sat. evening enjoying her boyfriend's gourmet cooking. We sipped wine and traded gossip as he diligently carved out bell peppers. M and i were on the far side of the house when he yelled at her to come. She lazily replied: "yaaa coming." he yelled again: "come NOW.. it's kind of an emergency." i didn't like the tone so i went along, too. there, in the kitchen oven was a fire burning and it wasn't about to cook our food. he had set it to 400 degrees and started smelling something weird and when he opened the oven, there were flames dancing around. As he used the fire extinguisher, smoke and the yellow powdery stuff enveloped us. I decided to call 911. It was my first 911 call and I tried to be calm but when the guy told me to "get out of there now" i was pretty freaked out. we ran out of the house and within minutes there were 3 fire trucks racing down the street. I tried calling my landlord next but got his answering machine.
The firefighters went running in with hoses and a smoke blower. A ladder went up somewhere. My roomie was nervously asking if we should tell the pros it was an electric fire. I nervously giggled in my tweety bird slippers (it was the only pair i could slip into quickly) and her friend nervously lit up a cigarette. was this an appropriate time to light another fire? Meanwhile, some neighbors had come out and i told them what happened. I looked at a couple from next door - they seemed vaguely familiar - but shook my head and thought it was a bad time to socialize. Soon, one of the firefighters called us upstairs and said the fire could have been caused due to leftover grease. I went back down and said hi to Angie and Jake, whom i had met at my former roommate's wedding last year. Surreal, but true.
Back at home, the kitchen was a mess and the oven is still out of commission. The landlord has promised to get us a new one but till then microwave meals will have to do! I also have a newfound respect for firefighters but i have to admit, there is a reason why they have so many sexual innuendos associated with them :)

Never Forget

The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished today in 1992. The mosque was built by Babur in the 16th century, India's first Mughal emperor. So Hindu fascists led by the saffron singing Bharatiya Janata Party came out to destroy the mosque since it was alleged that the mosque was built over a temple to commerate the birthplace of Lord Ram.
I was only 16 but i remember feeling sad, angry and deeply secular. The newspaper pictures showed rubble and what promised to be utter chaos in the days ahead. And what followed was one of the bloodiest communal warfares in recent Indian history.
First, there was a Muslim backlash and then a Hindu backlash resulting in the Bombay Riots. Around 1,000 people killed before a commission was appointed to investigate who did what to whom when and where. It was found that the right-wing Shiv Sena party incited the riots but till date none of the commission's recommendations have been acted on or implemented.
That's secular, democratic, 21st century, call center, multiplexes, so-sexycool-yaar, dosa and tikka loving, nuke dealing, IT revolutionary India for you!

It's Fun to Stay at the Y...

This year I am not waiting till Jan. 1 to make the resolutions. The most consistent one I make is not to make any. And the most consistent one I also make is to make an effort to exercise more frequently. That resolution sticks for a while – hmm, 2 months – before whimpering out like a scared puppy.
So on Dec. 1, I finally joined the YMCA. I was partly inspired by my roommate who is very disciplined about her running schedule and also because it would be good to have someone to go with. The Y in DC sits in the heart of downtown and has lots of cool facilities spread over 7 floors. I was especially excited about the Olympic-size swimming pool and the racquetball courts. However, Friday was not a good day to join because the women’s locker room was a real stink joint. The smell of sweaty socks was simply overpowering but I held my breath through it. Then there are the showers. I haven’t used a communal shower in ages and I think there is some sort of unwritten locker room rule: if you’re naked, look up and if you’re not, look down. I also thought the older naked women had to be German because they seemed to be the most uninhibited about letting it all hang out. It’s not as if there weren’t any towels available, people!
Finally as I was about to leave, one of the "happy smiley staff members" asked me to write a postcard note for a U.S. soldier in Iraq. The Y sends these notes to soldiers during the holidays and as she forced this on me, I really had to think about this one – why should I, an Indian, write a note to an American soldier in a country where a conflict seemed totally unwarranted. But I was going to reach out to another person in the end so I wrote: "Have a cheerful holiday and come back home safe."
As for the work out, that was really good. I felt great and hopefully I can break the resolution jinx for the new year this year.