25.1.07

Different Genes!

Its been two weeks since I started volunteering for Salvation Army. I had only heard about them in the many Chicken Soup for the soul books, so out of sheer curiosity I once entered their shop and never looked back!! Because they sold books that otherwise would have been for 20 - 40 pounds for about .5 GBP!! I am a woman and its in my genes to stop and make use of any discount/sale! Hence, everytime I cross the Salvation Army place (its a shame, I know..I've been there so many times, but I still don't know what the place is called!) I end up buying at least one book!

Anyways, since I have'nt exactly been the Queen of Luck with regards to getting a part timer, I thought of at least volunteering. The first day of my volunteering, I am dressed in black trousers, a white shirt and boots - compulsory dress code for the shop. Maggi, the store manager ushers me into the store room - whoaa! The place was filled with all sorts of stuff - clothes, suitcases, shoes, stuffed toys, lingerie (seriously!), books floor to ceiling and I am absolutely not exaggerating! And after showing me the tea pot she introduced me to a lady - my guess was about 50 years- called Somaeya. She was pretty and had the greenest eyeshadow I have ever seen and matching eyes!! So Somaeya got into a rapid - what are you doings, where are you froms etc etc! Within five minutes of being introduced to this lady, I came to know that she was an ex-hippie! Wheee!! She happily recounted tales of her visits to India (yes, I asked her if she was a part of the ISKCON movement- but no she wasnt, said she was too lazy to be involved in spiritual stuff.) and how she spent days smoking hash and doing nothing else!

Anyways, I started sorting out the clothes and hanging them on the shelves after identifying their sizes, it wasnt exactly 'fun' but it was'nt boring either and after I got the hang of it, I was pretty quick at it! After sometime (between which I found out that Somaeya had two cats - an uncle and a nephew- and she loved them to bits and that she had been married once to a person she had had a relationship for seven years and after two days of marraige she walked out :-o) she suddenly asked me,"So Ashaaaika, if you're from India, where are your parents from?" - whaahahahahah?!?!!?!?!!? It took me a second to comprehend what she was asking me and after biting back a 'duh' I said, err...they're from India too.

And then she said something that would make my brother proud (and kind of reiterate what K says as well!) "ohhh, okie..well, you look part malaysian." SIGH! I've grown up with a brother who always said that I had japanese genes because of 'chinky eyes' and 'flat nose' and got that seconded by a best friend( there were very few days when Gaay woildnt point out that I was 'chinky'! And when she wasn't talking about chinkiness, she would...ok, I am not talking about 'that' now!!)

Well, not like I have any problems with looking chinese or malaysian or japanese! But I think of myself as an exotic Indian girl (ok, that was a bit too much!), as a very Indian girl with Indian genes and quite proud of it!

But seriously...a woman who talks to me for a few minutes has a doubt if I am part malaysian- SIGH!

On a more cheerul note(!!) - Clement and Divya - Wish you both a very happy married life! Don't let married life stop you from blogging or posting comments on mine! God bless you both!

18.1.07

Happy Feet!

Thank you Clement for the resourceful pic on ' how to refresh your childhood memories'!! And of course, thank you Sofia and Sushma for torturing me on my sick bed and forcing me to lace up my sneakers because Dr.Sofia (who is not a doctor) and Dr. Sushma (who is also not a doctor) decided that the Happy New Year fever might make me dimmer witted. Hence, it was decided by these honorary docs, that to give my brain an excercise, I must fix those laces! Anyways, despite the fact that I thought I might die of cold, fever and lacing up sneakers, I SURVIVED! And am happily trotting away in the streets of Edinburgh!
So in response to my previous post on 'HELP' - I now have Happy Feet!

6.1.07

When the clock struck 2.....

I am a sound sleeper. I can sleep through any sound , of any nature. Have slept through earthquakes, floods, gales, telephone calls, alarm clocks, kicks, tickles and of course, lectures. But when I dont sleep like I usually do, I know something is terribly wrong. Tonight was one such night. Despite the fact that I had woken up on time (11.00 am :D) and had had a considerably productive day, at 12.00 AM, I was so awake, I thought I had never slept.

12.00 am turned to 12.40 am, which later turned to 1.27 am to 1.50 am. I tried listening to gospel music to Enya to New York nagaram (a personal favorite for all the situational reasons, though it is a bit off the mark considering that New York is nowhere near Fresno and that I am warming my seat in Edinburgh!) but nothing helped. And then, when the clock struck 2....all enlightenment dawned on me...I WAS HUNGRY!!! (Ok, dont ask me what took me two hours to realise that I was hungry! I wont answer you.)

Making a mental meal, I picked up my kitchen keys and walked towards the kitchen, already seeing the spaghetti I had decided to make in all hues and shades of orange and red ( all my dishes are Indianised, be it spaghetti or pasta!) and thinking,"Ash, you must be the craziest girl in the whole world to....well, you must be the craziest girl in the world." Period!

Key in the lock, a twist to the right, a creak and Leonard Horner Hall wouldnt have ever heard nor will.. a scream so loud and in harmony and in two accents, mine and chinese!! lol!! Xi Zhen my cute chinese friend was sitting on the table sorrounded by bread, pasties, soups, chocolate spreads and juice!

"Asshiikha, uu skhaaa meee, I skhaa u" was all she could manage before we both started giggling at the banshee screams we had not known we were capable of! She hadnt been able to sleep and had come to feed the tummy monster as well!! It must have been a funny sight, Ashika, her hair askew, with red spaghetti and a fork along with Xi Zhen again hair askew, with an assortment of dishes and chopsticks! Two girls, in the middle of the night, discussing chinese food and Indian movies, and short concentration spans and sleeping during lectures, while faithfully stuffing our faces!!

We both finished eating some 15 minutes ago! Bade each other good night and I came back to my room secure in the knowledge that I am not as crazy as I had thought I was! Misery and midnight hunger crave company!!

My eyes are starting to droop now, I'll go back to the world of sweet sleep!


Ciao!!
Ash

Agendas and winning

When my children were toddlers, I had a quote stuck on my shelf which read, “When we lose our agendas, everybody wins.” At that time I was j...