From stragers to friends.....

I just came back from a short walk...and my thoughts wandered to this article I read about the difference it makes between who you choose as friends. The questions is.."In life, are strangers drawn to you or are you the one who chooses them?" Reflecting on this, I believe that some of the friends that I know were chosen by me and some were drawn to me by chance, destiny, pre arranged meetings...(not by me of course)..
Some have turned into wonderful, lifelong fruitful relationships, while others have just wilted away and died a natural death (the relationship I mean..) whether it's owed to my own doing..i'm not sure....there are even some relationships that have nearly gone into the ICU of relationships but somehow or rather been jolted back to life and kept on going......
Nevertheless, I'm glad I've known most of them in my lifetime and I hope to have many more...

Will where are you??

Willpower!!! where has it gone??? Here I am trying to get my act together...and my willpower deserts me at the most inopportune time!! I was strong willed before.. but I don't know where it went to , it's like my will has gone for a long walk and not retuend to the owner..How do Iget it back?? Will..Will..?? where are you??

Damn..Creed is playing on the tele...I love them!!His voice is sooo macho!! See..even when I'm typing I still cant concentrate on what I'm doing...which is looking for my will....Well I'm pretty sure it never left me..I mean, how can willpower just lave?? not possible..it's hiding somewhere and it's waiting for me to find it!!

Come on Mary....you are living here in a place full of challenges and you can't find something so simple as your Will?? Well, what should I do ? my mind needs to change the way it thinks and works, when my body wants to get up, my mind tells me.."No..you don't need to get up this early.." "you can sleep some more.."....and I go right back to sleep!! This is not good at all.. ..I was much more disciplined before I went on holiday,the moment I came back, my will slipped!!

I'll start again tomorrow morning...and I WILL Sleep early ...that's what I'l do tonight...

A New Nepal....

It's the weekend, did I say that in my last blog..cant remember..anyway it's strikes and "bandhs" again today...what else is new!! Is there all these people can do,for everything that goes wrong the answer for them is to call a stike and create havoc for everyone!!
It's understandable that they don't have a voice and most of the time they are not heard, plus the govt's attitude towards the situation is not really what you may call a "listening" one.

The political scene is also not too promising...which only make everyting else a lot more difficult to deal with...my heart goes out to the people, they are the one in dire straits...

Everyone talks about the New Nepal...I was also witness to the birth of the New Nepal..from being a kingdom to a republic...change is not going to be easy but I do hope that there is progress...

Whatever

I finally got my Visa!! What a relief , I can finally open an account, start checking out the online Degree programme ,transfer $$ to my mum...ahh...

Lately, I've been feeling a little low..cant pinpoint what it i actually..just feel lonesome sometimes, I try so hard to keep an open mind..bring happy thoughts smile..but when I go to bed a night it just feels all the more worse...
I think too much sometimes, a bit too much actually, why!! Why do I always get myself into this situation??? I know it only brings me back to that dark place and I told myself I would never never ever go back there again!!!
It's like a black hole sucking me in..it weakens the body and mind!! But I will perservere I will be in Control!!
I have to let go..that's what I need to do ..let go and let God take over! I can't do this by myself, I have to move on in my life and enjoy the journey. I tell this over and over, Enjoy the journey ....

Well at least now I'm listenning to some rock music..havent done that in quite a while...

In a blink...

Today while I was working, I realized that yesterday marked my 14th year with the company.Wow!!! I did not even realize it, damn...how much I have grown with the organisation, they've been really good to me also, no doubt..I remember the 1st day I went for my interview,hundreds and hundreds of people around....all looking to be the "chosen one".

A Hyatt in our hometown was a Big deal!! I did some research on the hotel, went for my 1st interview, I was so nervous..I remember I wore this really bright yellow dress type thing..hahaahha..I think I still have that dress in my closet back home, tucked away somewhere. Well, maybe that dress was a lucky charm, I got thorugh..

Believe me, what came next was a whirldwind of activity in the hotel, we were part of the pre-opening team.Meeting new people, meeting my boss..and boy..was my boss ever good looking!!!! He was like a model, tall,fair,handsome...spoke sooo well..he could melt the even the White Witch of Narnia!!!

It was an experience to remember..those carefree times...no worries..we used to party like hell..nearly every weekend we would go out..ahhh....fond memories..

Some tough times I had ...but I managed to keep my head obove water..and survived..

And look where it landed me...some 14 years later, in my cozy hotel room, with a laptop(which by the way came free) in a foreign land, learning and teaching...

Amazing!!! So, herre's to ME...may I survive another year with my sanity still intact....

The rain...

Ahhh.....I'm in the confines of my comfy room, with the rain pelting down...signs that the monsoon is drawing near..I dislike rain..and I'm putting it mildly..my friends know that of me...I really dont like rain, getting caught in it I mean..as soon as fat little droplets strike the ground,or my skin or the windshield of my car..I let out a muffled oath..or I whine..or even exclaim.."It's R-A-I-N-I-N-G..." I cant even say the word...I have t spell it!!!

I dont mind the rain if I'm tucked away in my room under the covers, I'm not into day time showers either...I just have no idea why..but that's me..

I had a really frantic and crazy week so far..continued with our celebration culminating in a grand "gala" dinner and show, we danced till there was no tomorrow...damn, the music rocked!!!!

Everyone was partying-never knew these people were wild!!!

Ahhh...the sound of thunder..haven't heard that in a while and I'm pretty sure it's going to continue for the next few weeks...hmmmm.....

What to do? what to do?? Thank God I got myself some books to read, at least that will keep me occupied when it rains. Tomorrow is a working day for me..how boring but at least I wont be disturbed much.

Guess I'll have an early night.

Let the celebrations begin...oops I forgot some parts

I was so tired, that I even forgot some additional stuff we did during our festivities..We had our all important Tree Planting ceremony...that was hilarious to watch actually...and guess who was there to capture the moments...yours truly..

Everyone was really into this whole tree planting...all my departments took part,they each had a plot for their saplings..and went right into the whole exercise. As always, everyone wanted their pics taken...I was like this bee buzzing around from one end to another..I tell you, I haven't done this kind of workout in a long time and the sun was practically burning our skin off!!!

By the time we finished I was gasping for air and dreaming of drinking a gallon of Coke! Fat chance that would happen- so I made do with a cup of iced juice instead. It was fun day for all of us and now we are the proud owners of whatever tree that we planted, although I may only get to see my tree perhaps in 2011...

Later on in the day, we had a game of volleyball which was really exciting. I cheered and cheered till my voice was sore but what the heck-it was done to celebrate our people....so that I certainly did!!

Let the celebrations begin....

Pheewh!!! What a day this was and it;s only the beginning!! It;s our annual "Celebrating Our People" week and damn...what a roller coaster ride!!

Day 1 started off fairly slow-we had to greet our employees at the entrance..somehow or rather I was roped in as the "unofficial" photographer...(I seem to be doing that a lot)..so there I was clicking away on my trusty camera, requests from people left and right demanding their faces be immortalized in print!!

The crowd was slowly trickling into work, some bleary eyed from the day before..(they must have had a little too much..), as people approached the entrance, we took bets to see if we could recognize their faces from a distance!!

Some employees were so distinctive..from the way they walked, to the way they dressed, to their hair!! We gave each one some chocos and sent them on their way...some of the choch (well i think a lot of the chocs) landed in my Chef's mouth too....(hahahah)

We also prepared lunch for "Our People" ..me as always ...click..click..clicking away...my God I never knew that the people here ate so much..and I mean really really eat so MUCH! ..I saw one guy having 4 helpings of the food...the rice piled up as tall as the Everest itself ! I must say the food was actually delicious...compared to the usual S**t I have! We also had this cake cutting ceremony, and that was a total chaotic situation!!

The cake was wheeled in by the chefs, and immediately a huge crowd formed, and they started taking pic of the cake-I said out loud that the cake was more like a celebrity than it was a cake to be eaten. And when finally it came to the eating of the cake-it was a if the people were suddenly transformed into starving piranhas!!! People pushing and shoving, thrusting plates at me...while here I was the struggling "unofficial" photographer trying to cut and serve the damn stupid cake!!!

I was getting a little annoyed..and here in this country..you cant show your annoyance nor can you raise your voice even a little for fear that "certain parties" would misunderstand it and cause a ruckus!!
So I tried as much to hold my tongue and with a little help from my friends I made it through.
Sheesh-by the time I was done- I was covered in icing and licking my fingers from all that cake! Boy...I have never ever seen anything like that in my entire life....

Tomorrow is Day 2-God only knows what's in store.....Good Luck to me....

Ms Prim...

I just realized that I may be an uptight "panties in a bunch" woman!!! Why do i say this?? Well, someone asked me a question( and it is not another woman-I dare say)...about what type of shoes I wear and how high they are..and I got annoyed!!!

Does that mean I am uptight?? Well on that person's part, who would even ask that kind of question to someone you dont really know well? Perhaps, I was a tad too prissy...my over-active imagination working extra hard to scramble my brain, hmmm....I mean, it was only a curious question (right?)....I mean, as a woman..would I ask another man (what shoes he wears and ask him to describe them to me?) Perhaps that would even turn the man on!!!

Is it because, men have been so stereotyped as chauvinistic, egotistical, "sex- on the mind" beings that us; women, tend to be cautious about questions like this.

Do we ( or shall I just stick to ME) take the bold step and radically change the way we ( or I)behave or is there still a small glimmer of hope that in cyberspace..especially on the the internet....we could have a decent conversation and not doubt the other party's motives....

Well, all I know is that, I may need to lighten up a little and not take things too seriously (which by the way is what certain people think of me).....

My trip to the KATC

Since I've been living in Nepal for the past 9 months, I've been trying to find ways to occupy my time productively ( as I call it) instead of lounging around on my bed or sofa...so I browsed around the web and came across this site on KATC. (that was 1 month ago) since then I have not done a single thing to accomplish my goal of going to the KATC (Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre)

So, y'day I took a bold step and ventured into the unknown...got myself a cab, cost me a fortune..and went on my way. The journey there was kinda cool, bumpy at times, dusty of course-most of the roads here are..and scenic too. It was a 30 minute drive, the taxi driver as like all taxi drivers here, did not know the way so I had to use my trusty hp to call the centre.

Finally made it! It was a modest place, met with the ppl there, went around the place, saw the dogs in thier kennels, it was good to see that they were all taken care off, it was clean( which was really important for me)

Had a chat with the caretaker, he gave me some forms to fill and i got myself a T-shirt..

Took some pics of the doggies..Tango and Tara...she was sooo sweet (little Tara)...my heart went out to them. Now all i need to do is get my Visa done and i can start....my Visa.. another long story...for another day perhaps...

My neighbour has left....

How time flies...it seems only like yesterday that I came here to Kathmandu some 9 months ago.. and so it's time so say a fond farewell to my neighbour and colleague..it had been a wondeful experience knowing them.but too short, I must say.

I only feel that I was too late in getting aquainted with them...I kept to myself most of the times ..only recently did I really spend time with them...I realized that the one whom I thought was closest kept themselve away from these very nice people...

To JK & Vinti I wish them all the happiness in Goa..thier new home..

I lost a friend...

I lost a good friend today!!! He was stabbed to death back home, I cant believe it!! I just got a mail from him 2 days ago!!! Dammit!! If i had only replied, who could have done such a thing!!! And I cant even go for his funeral since im here!!

He had so many friends ...why is this happning???? Im in daze..everyone will be there...he was our housemate, a colleague, a friend...

We shared such good times together...at the house!! Bhav called to tell me the news!I was stunned!! I couldnt believe it!!