Revisiting places... and memories...

My facebook status said that I was visiting one my favourite places on earth.

Certain things make certain places special. Sometimes it is the sheer beauty of the place. It could also be the people there. Certain times it is simply the memories that place holds for you.

This place that I went to sure holds a lot of memories for me. Most of my holidays were spent there. Roaming the farms, playing in the sand, making bullock cart miniatures, learning to climb trees (never did succeed. I tried to start with a coconut tree. Bad choice for beginners.), and learning to play gilli thandu (which, again, I failed at).

My aunt and uncle don’t live in the farm house anymore. They’ve moved to the village proper. And these days when I visit, I don’t usually visit the farms. Today I decided to.

The funny thing with growing up is everything that looked big and far don’t seem that big or far anymore. Not much has changed except that one of the farms has become a coconut farm, the farm house is gone, though there is a portion of the old building still standing. The bend in the road is still the same. And the bumps. You use the age old trick to escape dogs – bend down pretending to pick a stone. And oh, some things were bigger. The coconut trees in one of the farms that I used to walk past. They’ve grown quite tall.

On the way back I spotted a peacock.

I love villages. I love this particular village.

I would love to hear about your favourite places and the memories they hold for you. So, let's play tag.
Marsha, here's one more blog idea for you. Madison and Sandy, i love your stories and insights. Anju, i know you have some stories and you are dying to tell them. Clarissa, if you want to play along. And anybody else that wants to reminisce, please play along.

Sometimes, i've been called a Grinch...

I've been tagged!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Like the person who tagged me, I haven’t had egg nog. So, I will go for hot chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
No Santa. No Christmas trees. Friends and family give me gifts. Friends usually wrap them. Family just give them.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Again, no Christmas tree. And, no lights on the house. The lights in the house are usually the fluorescent bulbs and them yellow blubs which consume lot of energy.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No mistletoe. Haven’t seen one in my life. Ever. Well, except on television, I suppose.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Ummm… I don’t put up decorations.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Guess it would be what I eat at Thom’s Christmas party.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child:
As a child, I was back from my boarding school for the holiday season. And I guess my favorite memory is of going to my aunt’s place and roaming around on the farms.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Well, I didn’t know I was supposed to believe in him in the first place. My early memories of Santa were of this somebody who was dressed as one distributing prizes during some school Christmas celebration. And no, there was no gift-receiving during Christmas.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Ummm… The last couple of years I opened them on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. This year I forgot and opened it on the day I received it. Yes, I am the one that Anju is talking about.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
See response to no. 2.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
I have never ever seen snow.

12. Can you ice skate?
Nope.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Umm. I guess there are quite a lot.

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Friends and food. Family doesn’t really celebrate Christmas.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
See response to no. 6.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Don’t have holiday traditions really.

17. What tops your tree?
No tree.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Both.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
O, Come all ye faithful

20. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?
Not really fond of candies.

21. What do you want for Christmas?
World peace?! Ha ha.

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas Party?
Guess it would be Powerhouse’s and Thom’s and those that my friends host. Used to go to the Svobodas’, but they’ve moved. :-(

23. Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs?
I dress normally.

24. Do you own a Santa hat?
Nope.

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with?
Friends from church. But this year it’s with family.

And I tag Sandy, Julie, Clement and anybody who wants to play it...

The book meme: Pt 2

I was tagged for a second and third time for the book meme. And since there are so many books to choose from, i am playing it for the second time.

Again, there are so many books to choose from and I am wondering which one it should be…

Alright. It is going to be my last weekend read - Agatha Christie's Five Little Pigs.

And the sentences,

"No."

The word came sharply - with almost an anguished rapidity Meredith Blake said, his face flushing:

"I abandoned the whole thing - dismantled it. I couldn't go on with it - how could I?"

And i am not tagging anybody particular this time around. Play along if you choose to.

Six-word memoir meme

Sandy tagged me with the six-word memoir meme so long ago. Here are the rules.

1. Write the title to your own memoir using six words.

2. Post it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who tagged you.

4. Tag five more blogs.

While Sandy had a couple of interesting titles, the best that I could come up with for my memoir is this:

This weird thing called 'my life…'

(yes, I'm ending it with three dots/ellipsis…)

Now, I tag Anju (because she likes this kind of stuff), Brandy ('cos I think her life is darn interesting - well, at least the way she narrates stuff), Angel ('cos I haven't heard from her so long), Clarissa ('cos she hasn't heard from me for so long), and Julie ('cos she's in the process of writing novels. She might as well get started on her memoir).

The book meme

I was tagged by Sandy at Writing in Faith: Thoughts for the book meme.

Here are the rules:
*Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more.
*Find Page 123.
*Find the first 5 sentences.
*Post the next 3 sentences.
*Tag 5 people.

The book: Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

The sentences:
He told me several times that all he had heard others say and all that he found in books - indeed, all that he himself had written, seemed pointless in comparison with what faith revealed to him about the greatness of God and of Jesus Christ.
"He alone," he used to say, "is capable of making Himself known to us as He is. We search in reasoning and in the sciences, as in a poor copy, what we neglect to see in an excellent Original."

I tag all those who want to play this.

My very first blog award!

Sandy, a great encourager and a good blog-friend awarded me the Shameless Lions Writer Circle Award. Sandy has these wonderful blogs and her posts are pretty thought-provoking and challenges the 'regular.'

The way the award goes is like this. “Distribute this award to those people who have blogs we love and can’t live without, blogs where the writing is good and powerful. I thought interested members could kick things off by publishing the award on their own blog, naming five people they would like to give it to, and accompany the image with three things they believe are necessary to make writing good and powerful. The recipients then do the same, passing it on to five other people, and so on.”

The five people that I want to give the award to are:

'Lost in wonder' - One of the early blogs that I got addicted to. Although Anju makes things sound funny she delivers a lot of intense content like only she can do.

Jean at 'It's all good' writes these honest posts which makes you sit up and listen and think.

Liz Strauss at 'Letting me be…' has this way of using words which do not fail to amaze me and she has these very interesting thoughts and interesting ways of communicating those beautiful thoughts.

Madison Richards at 'Write on the edge' has such fresh outlook at faith and following. I like the way she finds the sacred in the ordinary.

Julie Layne - I quite can't put my finger on why I am addicted to her blog. It was by chance I came across her blog and now I am hooked. She's funny. She's real. And she has this way of engaging you in her story - even in the real ones.

These are the three things that I believe makes for powerful and good writing:

1. Truth - Nothing appeals like truth. And nothing repels like truth. There are new facets to truth that different writers bring. And it is amazing how we think the same thoughts and how different they are.

2. Being precise - I think powerful writing needs to deliver the truth without having to use too many unnecessary words. No, I don't mean using less words or being blunt. It is good to read something beautifully written, but using words just because one wants to use a lot of words doesn't make sense.

3. Humour - This is something that I have not been able to incorporate much into my writing. But those who have the ability to deliver truth with humour are awesome.

Tagged

Chriz tagged me intentionally and Jollyroger sort of sneak tagged me. So here goes.

1. Pick out a scar you have, and explain how you got it.
I have this scar on my left heel. It sort of runs from one side to the other. I put my leg in between cycle spokes. And the rest is an indelible identification mark.

2.What does your phone look like?
(Disclaimer: Not for the weak hearted.)

Errr… Do you really want to know?

Don't tell me I didn't warn you…

This is a four-year old antique piece. Priceless. I have also added pictures of all the major scars that my mobile incurred during its four year existence.

However, within a week or so my phone could look like this.

3. What is on the walls of your bedroom?
A hair-line crack.

4. What is your current desktop picture?
A picture of my best buddy and i.

5. Do you believe in gay marriage?
No

6. What do you want more than anything right now?
Sleep! No, wait… I want to travel. I'm itching to travel.

7 . What time were you born?
6.24 am

8. Are your parents still together?
Nope. Dad died long ago.

9. Last person who made you cry?
Myself

10. What is your favorite perfume / cologne?
Tommy Girl and Tommy Girl 10.

11. What kind of hair/eye color do you like in the opposite sex?
Never really thought about it really.

12. What are you listening to?
Some generator running somewhere, masons working in the next building, our front office person on the phone…

13. Do you get scared of the dark?
Nope.

14. Do you like pain killers?
Don't believe in them except when in extreme pain. Refer answer to Q. 1

15. Are you too shy to ask someone out?
Ummm… I believe that the guy should do the asking…

16. If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?
Chocolate mousse cake. The one that Anju talks about...

17. Who was the last person you made you mad?
Must be those crazy guys on the road. Don't know which one, but definitely someone who wouldn't give me way…

18. Who was the last person who made you smile?
My friend... The one whose picture is my desktop wallpaper...

Five questions

Here are my answers to the five questions from Just sayin' at Site Insights.

1. What are your feelings towards Americans? Do you feel the label of "Ugly American" is deserved? Why, or why not?

My feelings towards Americans is different when compared to my feelings towards America.

I have met Americans who are lovely people and I really respect them and hold them in high esteem.

Now America is the larger whole. Here I see the collective. I do appreciate the fact that America gives much importance to the freedom of its citizens. No other country takes freedom so seriously. But sometimes I wonder if this freedom and rights thing is taken too far. I find it silly, the way people sue for things that they should have been responsible for. There are far more serious issues. I must also say that America has and is contributing positively to a lot of global issues like AIDS and poverty - but sometimes with the contribution comes too much control. The whole we-know-better-so-listen-up attitude gets a bit to me. I do wish that America will wake up to the fact that there is a world outside and it is not just about its rights and comfort.

So, it is a lot of opinions. Well, everyone has opinions on America. It is so big on the map that you can't miss it. I must also say, what is said here is opinion formed on the basis of experience and what I have heard and read. This may be far from the truth. Please feel free to tell me I am wrong, but do it kindly please. I have a gentle heart. And it is not my intention to offend anybody.

2. You've said on your blog that you are prejudiced against certain people groups and nationalities. And that you are not proud of that. And are am working on it. Can you expand on that?

As one may have noticed in the previous answer, I tend to have strong opinions about certain countries and people groups. And they may be biases most of the time - without any rationale. These biases, I tend to carry it towards individuals and label them. I am not proud of that. I am working on it. Try to remove my tinted glasses when I interact with people. Meanwhile, I am also working on the biases towards the country or the people group as a whole.

3. If you could change any one thing about your life... Anything... What would it be and why?

I wish I could give up chocolate chip cookies… They add a lot of pounds. That's why.

4. If you could change any one thing about the world... Anything... What would it be and why?

The calorie-adding nature of chocolate! Do I need to give a reason?

5. What has been your greatest accomplishment to date, and what is one thing you hope to accomplish in the future?

I have learnt touch-typing!! Yay! I can do some 310 characters per minutes. Pretty cool, huh?!

I hope to, umm… travel the world and meet different people and eat different foods and do different things! Ah… *spiraling down into the dreamland*

If you want to play too, simply type “interview me” in the comments with your email address - or - email me at bungi33@hotmail.com. I will respond by emailing you back 5 questions with my very own flavor and you have to answer them all. You then update your blog with the answers to the questions. You will also include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. When others comment asking you to be interviewed, you will ask them 5 questions of your own.

10 things meme

I have been tagged (for the first time on blog) by Trish at The Coffee Shop. Now, i am supposed to write 10 things about myself and tag 10 other people after that. So, here goes...

1. The job i am currently working at is my second job. I lasted my first one for 22 months. I was hoping to last two complete years. Hopefully, with this one i will.

2. My job involves working with poor women doing micro business. And i love my job.

3. My supervisor says that i am possibly the only person in the organization who can relate well both with the senior managment and with the women in their huts. And that makes me special!! Yay!! *patting my own back*

4. I have lived away from home for more than half my life.

5. I am a very prejudiced person. I am prejudiced against certain people groups and nationalities. And i am not proud of that. And i am working on that.

6. I am a Hindu baktha (devotee) of Muktinath (Jesus Christ).

7. I like music that sounds dark and gloomy. No, i don't think i am depressive (except when i pms) but such music helps me focus. That brings me to the point that most of my music listening happens when i work.

8. I am an INFP on Myers-Briggs personality test. And the profile seems to be pretty accurate.

9. I want to get married. But i haven't met anybody that i think i can marry.

10. I love chocolate and coffee but i don't think i am addicted to either. And i don't overdo either. Ah well, i do occassionally overdo chocolate. Anju thinks that my preference for coffee is a result of the pop coffee culture. And i disagree.

And since i have this obession for eleven things at the moment...

11. I ride an automatic scooter. And think it better than driving a car as you can zip through traffic jams! I do wear a helmet. But occassionally, when i feel lazy, i don't.

Now to tag 10 people...

Anju

Archana

Me

Mimi

Zip

Katie

Just Sayin' (at Site Insights)

Crazedmama

Angel

Clarissa

It's your turn now people...

Currently reading: School of Obedience by Andrew Murray
Currently listening to: Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes