Of Henna and Brides

My cousin is getting married in a few days...and as per tradition we had mehndi (henna) put on today.... *sgH* certainly brought back memories...
The bride normally puts on henna on hands and feel. From finger tips to elbows in normal cases and at times even on the fore arms... needless to say it takes real long to have delicate henna put on.....and even longer to let it dry. It took the lady four plus hours to put henna on my hands and feet when I was getting married. Can you believe having to sit that long without moving, lest you spoil the delicate lines she put on? well, i'm a restless person by nature and I kept asking her for breaks.... lol... she got so tired of me in the end she shedded her polite front and got quite brusque with me. I tried telling her it was her i was thinking of and not me... but.... oh well.... in the end she told me to keep the henna on as long as I could.... for the colour to be dark as possible. Over here, there is a superstition which says that the colour of the bride indicate how much her husband will love her. The darker the better. When I got engaged, the henna colour was darkest ppl had ever seen. The wedding colour was not that dark... *sgH*.... but I stopped believing that superstion (ie if i had ever any belief in them anyway!!) when my friend kept the henna on for hours and hours and hours... (nearly 36 hrs!) and she didn't get any colour worth mentioning...and she has a husband who dotes on her like anything..!!

My cousin will have it put on tomorrow... hopefully she will get good colour....

Henna puttoing is soooo much fun... everything abt it has its own charm... *gRn*... even getting small menial tasks done by others... so as not to spoil the wet henna! lol!

Of Handsets and Heads!

My brother recently installed an antivirus in my cell phone. I had never thought the day might come when people would need anti viruses in their cells! I mean... huh?! Of course the fact that I now ger a message from this antivirus almost everyday to update it and visit the ite and blah blah isof no consequence to my bro! but... an anti virus in a cell.... *sgH*... *shake of head*.... what is the world coming to!

Another thing. When my husband gifted Nokia 6600 to me- I was on cloud 9. It was the *in* thing. Not many people had it. It was one-of-a-kind cell phone. It was way way way expensive too. Now, just over 18 months later, it somehow feels ancient. People around me have changed their cell phones at least 3 or 4 times during this priod... and I'm *still* with this hand set?! What is this cell phone mania anyway? A new cell in the market and suddenly everyone wants it. They do not care about the cost...and the fact whether it is worth it.I mean, I only use my cell for sms, few phone calls and surfing at times- do i really want the *best* in the market for that?

Thinking, I decided no matter how ancient my cell phone feels like- I am *not* changing it! I happen to like it, I am comfortable with it's functions/options and over all it is a pretty good set.

AND if anyone dare comments on how Nokia 6600 is a slow set anymore.... I'll.... I'll......

Hmmm.......I dont know what I'll do :-/

Besides, I can't afford a new set anyway!!

:-/

Eric Segal's Love Story

What can you say about a twenty-five year old girl who died? That she was beautiful. And brilliant. That she loved Mozart and Bach. And the Beatles. And me. Once, when she specifically lumped me with those musical types, I asked her what the order was, and she replied, smiling, “Alphabetical.” At the time I smiled too. But now I sit and wonder whether she was listing me by my first name- in which case I would trail Mozart- or by my last name, in which case I would edge in there between Bach and the Beatles. Either way I don’t come first, which for some stupid reason bothers the hell out of me, having grown up with the notion that I always had to be number one. Family heritage, don’t you know?

Somehow, that bothered me too… but, can you think of a better beginning? And gosh, did Jenny really have to die? Then again, had she not, it would’ve been an average love story. Now, it certainly is not. A Radcliffe music major and a Harvard jock falling in love… they really had not much in common. Except that both of them were atheists, and both of them were totally in love. What gets to me most is how little time Erich Segal gave them together. Another twenty-odd years wouldn’t be amiss… but ah well….. I loved the book.

The beginning grips you totally...as does the end! but still..... did she *have* to die...

Once Upon A Bedtime

It’s important to read bedtime stories to children- both for them and for you. The benefits for children are well known: reading opens up language centers in the brain in a way computer games and TV do not; it helps get children to settle; and it’s important to have that one on one attention and close physical contact. But parents win too, through the chance to relax the mind and drift away with stories.
Melbourne psychologist John Irvine believes parents who think they are too busy to read are missing the opportunity to end the day with their children on a good note. “You need to unpack the day and snuggle into bed feeling all is well with the world,” he says. “Books are good fore parents who are tired, or feel they are not good at playing, because they tell the story.”
-Claire Konkes in ‘The Australian’

hmm.... this i found quite interesting.... but my lovely lil daughter snatches the book from me, closes it, says 'und' (closed) and tosses it aside :p :p

what have psychiatrists got to say for that!!

Duped!!

I groaned when I heard the bell. Okay, so I knew it was around mid day and I should’ve been up; but I honestly hadn’t felt like leaving the bed and since Yumna was peacefully asleep I was keen to make use of the extra time to rest. Who could it be? No one came up without getting through the guard and the guard made sure the residents were informed about their guests before the guests were allowed up. Sigh.
I got up, swayed on my feet and sat on the edge of the bed to let the vertigo pass. It also seemed that my left leg had gone numb. The whole of it! Well, let ‘em wait! Grr!
After I made sure I would be okay on my feet I went to the door. A man I had never seen before. Who the hell was he and why hadn’t I been told on the intercom first.

“Good day ma’am. For the anniversary of the best pizza in town, we decided to…….”
A salesman?!?!?!
Anniversary? Best pizza? Huh?! I wish I was in my full form at that time, but I was still reeling from the vertigo and the numb feet effects. He was offering me these discount vouchers. Buy 1 get 1 free vouchers. I knew for a fact that they were *not* especially for the anniversary since I had politely declined to buy the very voucher a few months back at my mom’s place. I also knew that the marketing company that the salesman worked for specialized in such vouchers since my parents had owned a number of them over time.
I told the man politely that I did not like the pizza by that particular pizza shop. Best pizza in town? Bah! He started on telling me how the management had recently changed and the pizzas were so much better now. But why should I waste so much when I haven’t tasted the new pizza? Who knows whether I like it or not? He replied there was one special coupon which would get me my first pizza free. On that first free pizza I would have gotten my money value- and even if I didn’t like it, I could give the coupon away since I already had my money’s worth. I could go give it to my enemy!! Erm! Salesmen!
So it was me against him and I wasn’t in my best form and I thought just saying and abrupt no and shutting my door and as a result? I bought the vouchers!! Double Grr! Who had let him up anyway!
Taking the voucher back in and reading it I discovered a few facts he had not let me know. For example, the free pizza deal was only till December 2005. I had a little over two weeks. And it was a regular pizza, not a large one, as he had hinted. So I wouldn’t get my money’s worth in that one pizza, especially if I had to pay the tax on that pizza and every free pizza I bought! I wouldn’t even get half my money’s worth! And lastly, I did not have one year to enjoy the rest of the coupons as he had said. The voucher expired July 2006. 4 months short of the time he gave me. Somewhat back to my normal form I ran to the door to look around if he was still there for the other flats on my floor. I couldn’t see him. I sighed.
10 minute later a neighbor called me up to ask about these coupons. I told her what I’d discovered and she was indignant. Why hadn’t I told her before. She had already bought the card. Seems the guy told her he only had 5 vouchers and 3 were already sold. (Another ploy they always use- I have a lot of knowledge about them since some one or other was always coming around my parents’ place!) Now, there are around 60 apartments in the building that I live. How was I supposed to call everyone? I kept quiet as she went on about how it was a neighbor’s duty… I knew how she felt. I felt worse since I had dealt with so many of them in the past...how could I loose my form?
A call to the guard informed me that he was unaware a salesman had walked up. What is the world coming to?! May be some excuse on the salesman part had let him get through? Or maybe he passed himself off as a resident? A confident stride, not looking at the guard and looking as if he belonged here. Whatever. It was over. I’d have to make use of this discount voucher. Maybe I could get away with not making dinner for a few days. :p :p


PS: We had the pizza. It wasn’t bad. Albeit expensive.

I have been away for a few weeks now. I missed the blog. But it could not be helped .Lets see now, I’ve been busy. Very busy- being ill! After a bout of high fever and asthmatic cough right after Ramadan- I was afflicted by general weakness. Only, the vertigos seemed to last forever and my backache prevented me from sitting on hard surfaces!! My lower back was in bad bad shape. Of course the fast that I looked like someone who was in her last days goes without saying. My skin has gone real bad!!

I have been taking vitamins, calcium and iron for the past few weeks and have had calcium and multivitamins injected! My doc advised me not to get iron injected because that is supposed to really painful and I am weak as it is!!

Yumna is now on bottled milk! It could not be helped. My appetite had all gone and she wanted a lot of milk. One of the reasons for my weakness was this.

I have improved, yes. The back ache is there- but only a small percentage of it. I have started eating well again- and I have been suppressing the anorexic in me that keeps warning me I’m gaining weight! It doesn’t matter- it doesn’t matter- it doesn’t… lol! That is what it has been like for me!

It was so bad at one stage that I went and stayed with mom for a week. That is an amazing thing about moms, no? They are always there for you. No matter how old you get! Thanks, mom. Love you. :)