Revelations, Chapter 2

Thanks Lijy for tagging me again, and giving me something to blog about on a day I have nothing to write about. But I am worried I am revealing too much about myself, boring others with too much details about myself and getting repetitive (hence I will delete a few questions I have answered in earlier tags)

What Book Are You Reading?

Maximum City by Suketu Mehta. (It is a gripping and powerful account of life in Bombay, but I dont get to read more than 2 pages a day since blog-writing and blog-reading eats up most of my free time at work. At this rate, I will take two years to finish it.)

Favorite Board Game?

Snakes and Ladders/Ludo, once upon a time.

Favorite Magazine?

India Today, even now - though people say the content quality has gone down.

Favorite Smells?

I have answered this earlier but there are so many to choose from, so I wont delete this question. The other fav. smells are of roses and chips fried in coconut oil.

Favorite Sound?

Of waterfalls. Cant think of anything else right now.

Worst Feeling In The World?

"I wish hadnt done anything sooo stupid" feeling.

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?

"Oh! 8 a.m. again! Tomorrow I will get up at 6 a.m. and go for a walk!" (But as Tara says, Tomorrow is another day)

Favorite Fast Food Place?

Tic Tac (here in Chennai) for the kebabs, but I wont call it a favorite.

Future Child's Name?

We go by the "We two, Ours two" policy, so no future child. But both of us sometime toy with the idea of adopting a kid when the duo are a lil older. For all you know, it might never come to pass - for one, it is just an old romantic desire of mine and secondly, adoption is a very difficult process in India especially since we have a male and female child already.

Finish This Statement. "If I Had A Lot of Money I'd..."

Spend the Chennai summers in Switzerland or any hill station in India for that matter.

Do You Drive Fast?

No, I only drive mad - my husband, that is.

What Was Your First Car?

Maruti 800

Do You Eat The Stems On Broccoli?

Yes.

Name All The Different Cities/Towns You Have Lived In.

Chennai, Delhi, Dar-es-salaam, Changanassery.

Would You Like To Be Born As Yourself Again?

No. I want to be a red-tailed dragonfly or a fish in the deepseas :)

Morning Person or Night Owl?

Night owl. I can stay up till 3 am in the morning, but I cant wake up at that time however early I go to sleep.

Favourite place to relax?

A room in a five-star hotel overlooking the beach, such as a suite/chalet in GRT Temple Bay in Mahabalipuram (where I had the fortune to stay once). And provided it is on the house!

Tag quirk

Tagging is the new mantra in the blog world. I know it helps to know one other better but sometimes I dont have seem to have the right answers - or any answer at all. This tag invite from Bombaygirl, for instance, looks easy but I dont know if I can list more than a couple of quirks of mine. Whatever I wanted to say, I had said earlier without any Tag invitation.
Anyway, first the rules for this tag:-

• Post the rules on your blog.
• Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
• Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
• Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

1. I am a clutterbug. I store away things thinking it will come to some use later but nowadays I mercilessly throw away things since there is not enough storage space in my little flat.
2. I like shopping on my own. Shopping with my hubby (who invariably starts complaining that his legs are aching and he is getting a headache etc.) or a friend leaves me at a disadvantage - their time constraints and discomfort spoils my shopping pleasure.
3. Actually, I like window-shopping more, especially in the posh malls.
4. Minor mismatches irritate me. Like when my maid put the wrong lid for a tiffin box or pairs my kids' trousers with the wrong colored t-shirt or my daughter's frock with the wrong panty. But I dont make an issue of it, I quietly change to a matching one if I am around.
5. Many afternoons at work, I wish I were a homemaker - to have the pleasure of an afternoon nap and not having to sit and doze at the workdesk :)
6. I love to watch the rains from the parlour of my family house back in Kerala. And watch the raindrops form a huge pool in the riversand-laid front yard. I hope to recreate the romance of the monsoons during my proposed vacation to Kerala next month. Well, I am hoping that the southwest monsoon will set in a few days early this year, say last week of May...

p.s. The tag invitation is open to anyone who wants to take up the challenge. Lijy, Usha, Marcia, Romila, Amos, Sunita - interested??

This tagged business

For want of anything better to do, I am taking up the Tagged challenge presented by fellow blogger Lijy of Mama's pet. And I hope Romila of Rustic Notes wont mind I didnt do her Tag. It is just that these Q&A are simple and straight that even a dumb moron like me can answer.
1. What is your occupation?
Journalist, loosely speaking. Subbing, to be precise.
2. What color are your socks?
Navy blue & beige (when I go on my more formal walks at Loyola or the parks).
3. What are you listening to right now?
The silence, marred only by the door opening and closing occasionally. Almost everyone else has gone for lunch, and the only other soul here is reading a book.
4. What was the last thing you ate?
My lunch - rice with pumpkin erissery, string beans fry and tender mango pickle (no fish, since we are on a non-veg fast for 10 days until Easter). And dessert - wheat halwa that V got from Kerala yesterday.
5. Can you drive a stick shift?
No. I have a licence but I cant drive.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Green or blue. I cant decide which I like more - I always liked to think I was a blue person but whenever it comes to choosing clothes I go for green.
7. Last person you were on the phone with?
My hubby. The usual call at lunch time to let me know that he has picked the kids up from playschool and what they ate and what they are upto.
8. Do you like the person that sent this to you?
Sure. I enjoy talking to her, despite the generation gap. We vibe well - ditto about our husbands and ditto about our fathers-in-law (though hers passed away last year, and he was a person I really liked in my husband's town) and ditto about our mothers-in-law.
9. Favorite Drink?
Orange juice. Also Swiss Chocolate Milk.
10. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Cricket during the final overs.
11. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Not yet. But ever since I came across this new female here with a strand of pink hair I am tempted.
12. Pets?
A Chennai-born labrador named Bruno I gifted my dad 9 years back. We had an eventful journey to Kerala by train, and he still adores me though I keep him at arm's length after the kids came. But no pets here save for the crows I feed in the balcony and the giant lizards that live in my kitchen.
13. Favorite Food?
Pastries. In fact, any cake that is well made. And beef cutlets. And Kerala Syrian beef fry.
14. Last movie you watched?
At the theatre - Vinodayatra, a Malayalam movie, sometime last year. At home - Taare Zameen Par on DVD. I am excluding the bits and parts of movies I see on TV.
15. Favorite day of the year?
Certain days in February.
16. What do you do to vent anger?
Shout. But I generally try to repress it or just grate my teeth.
17. What was your favorite toy as a child?
An ugly-looking old man in plastic/rubber I called Mannunny. I dont know who decided on the name.
18. What is your favorite? Fall or Spring?
Spring. My favorite memories are of spring in Delhi when the roadside gardens are abloom.
19. Hugs or kisses?
Neither. A pat on the back is more our (family) style.
20. What kind of pie?
Any from the Famous Five books. Enid Blyton always made the pies sound so yummy.
21. Living arrangements?
A small two-bed apartment of our own, with plenty of sunlight and enough space for a small family. Will have to think of a little bigger house when the kids are older and need their own space.
22. When was the last time you cried?
While watching Taare Zameen Par. Movies make me cry - and V watches my face instead of the screen during the climax of the movie to catch a tear.
23. What is on the floor of your closet?
A travel bag of V's, which I havent found time to stack away in the loft.
24. Who is the friend you've had the longest that you are tagging? And the shortest?
I think my friend Usha for the longest friend. (b) And my colleague "The other Romila" can be tagged, if she can find time between her superquick SMSing and Ergo reading.
25. Favorite smell?
Of cashewnuts being fried in the dying embers of our traditional mudstoves on a rainy day. The smoke adds to the romance of the monsoon season.
26. What inspires you?
Sermons and advices - but at the most for half an hour.
27. What are you afraid of?
Falling into a borewell.
28. Favorite cat breed?
I dont like cats.
29. Number of keys on your key ring?
Four. Of the wardrobes and the doors.
30. How many countries have you been to?
Two. I wont count the transits.
p.s. I did away with a couple of questions I didnt want to answer. And anyway it is pretty long even otherwise.