How to go to the movies in Senland...

Yesterday I decided to go to the movies and watch a nice hindi film. My friends have been raving about the two new releases - Tanu weds Manu 2 and Dil Dhadakne de. I ran a quick poll on Facebook to make up my mind... Buggy suggested Tanu weds Manu 2 and that was that... I decided Tanu weds Manu it is .. accordingly I researched where in London they screened hindi films and how far these theatres are from my area.... google popped up cineworld theatres in Ilford and Feltham. Turns out Ilford in closer... take the DLR to Stratford and from there a train to Ilford. Easy peasy you say... but you couldn't be farther from the truth... not when you happen to be me... the one gifted with the navigation skill of a rock and the impulsiveness of a child. I wouldn't take the right road, if the road sign jumped off the road and smacked me on the head, in an attempt to point me in the right direction.

 

You don't believe it, well let me tell you a little story that happened last November.  I decided to get myself a two-wheeler licence, I already have a four wheeler licence, but the fact that I don't drive is well know as lets face it... I don't have the guts to drive. But I can ride a bicycle quite proficiently and decided the natural progression for me would be riding a two wheeler... a scooter. Accordingly I arrived at the driving school and was directed to go to RTO Office... the new one. I've been to the old RTO which was at Oshiwara, the new one apparently is much closer at 4 Bungalows. I set out looking for it... Have I ever told you that I'm a corrupt rickshaw driver's delight... the one I hired that day had a field day...half an hour later after going through various back alleys and getting stuck at a number of traffic signals... I arrived at the place. I finished the test for the temporary licence, and it was only when I stepped out via the back gate... I looked around and the place seemed familiar... very familiar... that's when it hit me ... I was standing on the road which ran parallel to Veera Desai (which is where I live in Mumbai) at the very junction where the road linking Veera Desai met with it... the blasted RTO was no more than 3 minutes away from my home... but I digress.

 

I was ready by 9.30 a.m. but the show was at 12.30 p.m. and I decided to get a bit of telly while trying to pass the time. Before I know it, it was quarter to 12 and I decided it about time I left... I got to South Quay DLR station and as luck would have it there were no direct train to Stratford (if only I'd check the time tables with a little more care)...so I took the train going towards Bank and decided to change at Canary Wharf. The train arrived at Heron Quay which is the station before Canary Wharf and for some strange reason I don't know what possessed me to do it... I alighted here and went straight to Canary Wharf Tube Station where I could get the Jubilee line, when I arrived at the station I realized I actually should have stayed on the train as I needed to get the DLR train from Canary Wharf to Stratford, feeling rather foolish I made my way to the Canary Wharf DLR station and took the next train going towards Stratford. We had just arrived at Went India Quay when I realized I forgot to swipe my oyster card when I re-entered the station at Canary Wharf, not wanting to be on wrong side of the law I alighted and went downstairs where I could swipe back in. All this ate up 30 minutes and I was no more than 5 minutes away from home. After that fate took pity on me and I arrived at the theatre at 1.15 p.m., I missed the morning shows for both Tanu weds Manu 2 and Dil Dhadakne do and was left to decided either to kill time till 3.30 p.m. to see the next show or catch some other film. I decided to see Jurassic Park in 3D.  I'm still recovering from the paper-thin plot and the bad acting, as a rule I like Irfan, but he seemed lost in the quagmire that is Jurassic World... all in all it was a mistake of ginormous proportions... if you'll excuse the pun.

Start of something good...

I've been in London for a little less than two months... and without any outside interference, have been left to stew with my own thoughts and a few facts have become surprising clear...

 

Sherlock said, Life is infinitely stranger that anything the mind of man could invent... and I agree wholeheartedly...

 

Now that I have a sufficient number of years behind me, a few decades if you must know, I can speak of things from my own experience and if I've learnt anything it is,

 

1) Things eventually work out, most things that bother you now, you won't remember five years down the line, even if you wrote about it, trust me, I wrote about some things here, cryptically of course (I used to have a loyal following then, viz. friends, office colleagues, relatives, random stranger, the neighbourhood dog etc. all hooked to my online rantings), my logic then being, since this is a life- changing incident, I will remember it even in my dotage and honestly its less than five years to that date and for the life of me I can't remember what it is that I wrote about...

 

2) I'm something of a magnet for people with problems, being the kind who will always be a shoulder to cry on... my dad always tells me, 'Everyone turns to you for a shoulder to cry on, when will you find yourself a shoulder to cry on?'. He was of course, referring to the many nocturnal calls I get from my girl friends who at that time were going through shit in their respective married lives and turned to me in their time of need... I patiently listened and to my eternal shame I admit that I let their rantings influence me and am guilty of painting every man I met with the same brush as their husbands...

Now that I've got this off my chest, I've decided to try and change my outlook towards life and put myself out there a little so I can see how the world reacts to my tentative attempts to re-connect with my fellow beings. As a tentative step I tried to strike a conversation with the maid who cleans my apartment, I live in a serviced apartment and the maid come every Monday, this being a bank holiday Monday I actually met her in person. I had just got out of bed when she arrived and was in the process of making myself some tea, tentatively I asked her if she would like some. She politely declined saying she had just had breakfast, this being the first flat on her cleaning rounds.

From there on we just hit it off, Ausra (meaning dawn) is from Lithuania. When I told her I'm from India, she just went into raptures about India. Apparently her cousin was over in India the week before last and loved it... expect for the fact that it was too hot. I don't blame her cousin, the summer heat is something I myself haven't got used to in spite of the fact that I'm born and raised in India, coming from the cold climes of Europe it must have been positively stifling for her cousin. We chatted about this and that as she went about her job and parted as friends...

I don't know why, but I just feel very good after this small interaction... hopefully its the start of something of good...

Deja Vu

Have you ever felt deja vu, I for one seem to be plagued by them, ever so often I feel like, this situation happen before and it seems to have happened in a dream long ago... but I remember it... every small detail, where I'm, the setting, what is being said, everything... when the event unfolds I get the uncanny feeling, it has happened once before... I always remember it as a scene from a dream long ago. 

 

This set me thinking do I have ESP which get triggered when I'm most stressed and it gives me glimpses of my future so that my subconscious mind which is really worked up... relaxes for a bit... Thankfully this deja vu thing only happens about things related to me.

 

The latest in the string of events happened last week ago, I should have jotted down the facts asap but, I was too busy and even though I felt the distinct feeling of deja vu, I let it slip and now I can't remember the exact details.

 

I'm positive of one fact is that it was set in my current office, at my current desk and was  something related to my being in London. Now I've been in this office for less than a month, and though I've visited this office in the past, there was never a chance of me ever sitting at my current desk as the person whom I replaced was like a rock, with many years to go to retirement. Also there was no inkling what so ever that he would move roles, and even if he did move, me replacing him wouldn't feature in my or anyone's wildest imagination. Nothing to do with my lack of capability, I assure you, its just that such a thing was unheard of. Like I mentioned in my previous post, last year this time I was on the point of losing my mind, at that time I must have had a dream about me living and working in London, something which at that point was beyond wishful thinking. One year later, it has become my reality and something that happened last week filled me with a sense of  deja vu...

 

 

Long week end...

So the long weekend (4 days) is over and I haven't stepped out of the house...save one trip to Tescos as I ran out of food...

Yes, I'm quite capable of shutting myself in my house with nothing but books and food for company, if I don't see a soul for a month I wouldn't complain... not a chance...

Its not to say that I don't like getting out at all, I'm an avid traveler, and love to explore but I love my solitude even more and for a long time I've looked forward to spending time with only I, me and myself for company.

I did want to see atleast a couple of plays but thanks to the tumble in the tub as I like to call it now, I had to stay at home on Saturday and everything was closed on Easter Sunday and today I couldn't be bothered to step out...

The little voice in my head that nags the life out of me on normal days, went into overdrive from Friday itself... it wanted me to get up at 5.30 in the morning and go for a run... then it wanted me to go shopping... then it wanted me to go watch a play .... then it wanted me to cook...I mean do something... anything other than this shutting myself away from other humans and cozy up with a book... and I kept fighting and as it always happens with me and even though I really enjoyed the time I spent shacked up with books, one part of me was guitly... my mind kept bothering me that I should be out there... meeting new people and making friends...

I try to reason I don't want to meet new people, I don't enjoy putting myself out there, I'm quite content with my life the way it is.... with not even a cat to complicate matters.... so as a peace offering I've decided to take up a hobby, I've decided that every day starting today, I will cook a dish, something that I haven't made in a long time from scratch.... that will put my conscience off my back for a bit... hopefully...

Weekly roundup

Its been a crazy week where my colleague has already started match-making for me and I've managed to lock myself in the office bldg. at 9 in the night with the bank holiday weekend staring me in the face, then I fell in the tub and got this humongous bump on my right leg and shocked my new office colleagues when they found out how ancient I really way....

 

Lets start in chronological order, A new joiner in another team was being introduced to my team and some how that topic that I have been with my India company for 8 years before I moved here came up... I thought I heard a sound like someone gagging and I put it down to my overactive imagination.

 

No sooner had the others left than L pounced on me and was like '8 years!!! you serious, you been working that long???, I don't even remember what I was doing 8 years ago, must have been an university, I think"

 

I told yes I had 8 years with the India subsidiary and a few more before that in other set-up and then I told her how old I was and she almost faints... 'D, I'm in shock, you with your baby face, and baby voice, I thought you were in your early twenties ...late twenties at the max, wow, you maintain yourself very well, I hope I look so well when I'm your age'

 

Then L goes on a tangent,

 

'D, how is it that you are still single, its not right, is that why you are running away from India???...

Do you have a boyfriend, do you want a boyfriend??'

 

and I calmly look at her and say, 'I like my life the way it is, uncomplicated, and btw, I'm not gay, but why do you ask,  someone you know wants the job of my boyfriend??'

 

Shamefaced she goes, 'I don't know why I asked you that ??, but I'm positive you will meet someone, you know, when you go for your opera'.

 

My love for the musicals and plays is well known so I go, 'We shall see'.

 

This long weekend I planned to watch a few plays, but as luck would have it as I was stepping out of tub this morning after my shower, I slipped and fell with a sickening thud, banging my right leg on the edge of the tub.

 

I felt the pain and staggered to the living room, a look at my leg confirmed that I had hurt my leg real bad as big bump was already in place where I hit my leg and just looking it made me feel faint. I collapsed on the floor for a few minutes and then gingerly got up and shifted my weight on each leg to check whether it was as bad as it looked. Thankfully it was only a bump and there seemed to be no other repercussions, I thanked God, that it was my leg that was hurt and not hand or worse my head.

 

But the pain put paid to any plans I had for going out and I had to be content with sitting at home reading a book, not that I feel sorry, I enjoyed every moment :)

 

Next I have to tell you about how I managed to lock myself in office on Thursday night. I was working late as it was the monthend and next week we would have more responsibilities and were working with one staff on leave. Sometime after the last of my colleagues left, the maintenance guy walked in to check that all was well. When he tried to go out, the door wouldn't open for him and he asked me to please let him out. I did that and conveniently forgot to re-swipe myself in, as a result when it was time for me to leave, that door wouldn't budge. I began to panic as I sit on the 8th floor with the only security in the office on the ground floor and I didn't know the emergency numbers to contact any of them!!!

 

My mind was in total panic mode and at last I remembered I could call DJ, hopefully he could help me out. Accordingly I put through a call to him and told him my predicament and he burst out into laughter. 'Sorry D, I know I shouldn't laugh, but you sure you don't want to live in office, sure you haven't got a sleeping bag, stashed somewhere under you desk'

 

He always chided me about the time I put in at office, and I wasn't at all surprised at the reception. Finally he went off the phone promising to call me back in a few minutes when he had sorted this mess. At that time I had a brain wave, when I had my security induction a few weeks ago, they gave me a pamphlet with all emergency contact numbers'. A quick glance through the list and I had the number I was looking for and within 5 minutes I was outside the building, breathing the cold but welcome London air...

My reputation is dented...

My friend returns to India tomorrow and in true blue Indian style decided to pack up all the left over cooking ingredients and pass them on to me. She knows I'm crazy about cooking and every bit of it will be used up, so she was leaving it in good hands so to speak.

 

But the bag she used to pack these bits and pieces have made me something of a sensation at office... to be honest people barely know me, what with me being here only two weeks... but after today no doubt I'll be known as the playboy bunny...

 

My friend the crazy woman, decided that the only good bags she had were the ones from the Playboy store and packed the stuff in not one but two Playboy store bags and delivered it to my office .... and I had to bring it to the floor and endure some of the weirdest looks of my life...

 

Thankfully just last week I had transported my shoes to office in a large Dmart bag... yes, I wear flats while travelling and change to my beloved three plus inch heels the minute I arrive at office... I keep three pairs in my drawer, so at any given time I have a range of shoes to choose from ...but I digress... so thankfully I had a large bag where I could banish the offending playboy store bags and breathe easy.

Starting off a brand new way...

Ok, lets start from the beginning shall we...  Last year this time I was so fed up with my life in general that I decided that something had to change... call it mid-life crisis if you will but I decided enough is enough... and to bring about the change I took the easiest way out... I quit my job ... my reasoning at the time, if you don't do it, one of these days you will be found dead at your desk... the fact that my parents decided to move cities too... just gave me the necessary push....

 

Also at that particular point in time, if someone told me that its all going to be OK, next year this time you will be sitting in London (incidentally, my favorite city) after having landed your dream job, I would have laughed in his face...

 

But I quit, spent the next few months travelling and when my bank balance was finally in the red I started looking for another job ... and out of the blue this London opportunity came up... after that it was a whirlwind of activity, as they say, before I knew it I was in London... fairytales do come true and here I'm sitting in my apartment by the river...watching the beautiful London skyline... listening to the sounds of the city as life goes on ...

 

I've been in the city for two weeks and other that a few trips to the theatre and a trip to the Cotswolds, I have made no new friends... but no regrets on that count... everything happens for the best, and now that I've all this time to myself, I can finally figure out what I really want...

After reading e-book after e-book, something stirred inside me today...a small voice said... why don't you blog again, its been years since you actively wrote anything... meaningful or otherwise... don't you remember... its what made you feel funny and creative and last but not the least gave you happiness and peace of mind...

They say to write/ blog is good as it help you heal and move on with your life... not that I need much moving on ... don't get me wrong... I'm living my dream ...
 

Now that I've started blogging again I intend to write regularly, hopefully a post every day...we shall see!