My first trip across the Equator - "Sydney Stories 2"

(...Contd from "Sydney Stories 1")

Day 2 in Sydney, we were on our way to Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach! Having heard a lot about this place, we were super excited - the husband pretty kicked about clicking surfers in action, something he had missed during the Great Ocean Road drive.

I, on the other hand, was having a great time people-watching. Excited teenagers - surfboards in tow, an animated group of tourists speaking a strange sweet lilting tongue, a young girl who could make even a brinjal cringe with her purple hair and purple nails, purple sweater and leggings to match - the local bus that we had taken from Sydney to Bondi was fascinating enough to keep me engrossed through the 1 hour journey.

The landscape outside changed as well - busy city roads gave way to wide tree lined streets, pretty row houses with their colourful gardens and picket fences replaced the high-rises and high end city stores turned into quaint looking shops and cafes, as the bus made its way.

Alighting at the Bondi bus stop, we lost no time skipping down the steps straight to the beach. It was a wonderful sunshiny day, the sea was a brilliant blue and the beach, bustling with life.

"The Grin" firmly in place, I looked on cheerfully as the husband got busy with his camera. But suddenly, the look on the husband's face was like that of a kid who had walked into an exam hall only to find out that the subject of examination was totally different from what he had prepared for!

Turned out the situation at hand was no less critical, while the camera and all its lenses had made it to Bondi, the camera batteries were apparently still cooling their heels in the hotel room, charged and kept ready to be packed at the last moment!

The day lost much of its colour for the poor husband, after all a major source of his enjoyment on trips these days is the collection of photos at the end of it. We did hang around for a bit, walked along the "Coastal Walk" pathway for sometime, but with each step that took us farther away from the hotel, the poor man's face fell some more.

So we finally decided to abort Mission Bondi, and trained our sight on a beach that we had originally ruled out for lack of time - Manly.

Bondi (taken on a mobile camera):

Batteries retrieved, we set off for Darling Harbour - from where we'd have to take a series of ferry rides to Manly, a good hour away.

However, this slight mishap actually worked in our favour, right from the ferry ride to Manly itself - it was a charming expedition. The husband got his surfers in action, I had loads of interesting people to watch, and the beach - though not as "happening" as Bondi - was extremely relaxing.

Manly Beach:

Surfer in action at Manly:

We came back happy people with a camera full of nice pictures, and a different view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House from the ferry was a definite bonus! In fact, I enjoyed the ferry ride so much that I even convinced the reluctant husband to let me put my $20 all day pass to maximum use, and repeat the same trip at least once more, the moment we reached Sydney.

Only, I hadn't looked at the clock, and it turned out that while we could surely take the ferry out to Manly, we wouldn't reach in time to catch the last one back. The husband was quietly sympathetic, but just as I was turning away, I thought I heard a sigh of relief.

Of course, he wouldn't agree! :)

The next day, it was time to visit the Sydney Aquarium. We had high expectations from this place, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Right from cute little clownfish to the extra large manta rays, fierce looking sharks to the very benign Dugong, the aquarium was a fascinating place.

Moon jellyfish, Sydney Aquarium:

The Dugong:

The high point, however, was the "Reef Section" - considering that the Great Barrier Reef was pretty much THE REASON for my Aussie trip, the coral gardens with its myriad marine life on display here was almost like a 3D trailer ahead of the magnum opus. I was ecstatic, and I couldn't wait another day to actually face The Real Thing!!!

Up next: "The Real Thing - Great Barrier Reef"

Procrastination...

It was a video posted by one of my friends on facebook, with the same title as this blog post. It was absolutely awesome, to say the least....who wouldve thought of that many definitions of this one simple word!
However, as one of the biggest victims(or is "exponents" the better word?)of this "phenomenon", I was actually made to sit back and think for a while as to what this word really meant to me. And I rather shocked myself when I drew up this list, of the top 10 things I could think of right away!
But 10 down and I had a feeling I wasn't not quite done yet.
Well, isn't that the whole point, anyways? :) :)
Ok, so this is what I have till now -

Procrastination, to me, is....
1. Thinking about restarting those music lessons but never acting upon it..
2. Fantasizing about getting around to finally progress beyond floating with my head down and learn some actual swimming, but always "from the next month"..
3. Resolving to learn new stuff at work but always finding enough reasons not to, right now..
4. Buying the "Learn Kannada in 30 days" book and then leaving the actual "learning" to be done on another, brighter day!
5. Seeing the husband dutifully pay all bills on time, making a mental note to actually submit the bills for reimbursement on time and then.......
(ooops!! isn't it overdue this month as well?! :( )
7. Getting indignant at unexplained fees and charges in the CC bill, but then never getting around to calling up their customer care service to set things right!
8. Thinking of calling friends/relatives but giving in to the "sahi waqt ka intezaar" syndrome..
(you can't call someone up in the middle of a work day, can you? Can you, really?)
9. Dreaming about that gleaming kitchen counter, sparkling cabinets, neatly arranged wardrobes etc and then....well, let's not even begin to get there!!!
10. Trying to snap out of the vicious cycle of putting things off...work piling up....getting down to do it....putting it off again...

What is it that makes it so difficult for people like us to actually "make hay while the sun shines" or "put that 1 stitch in time to save those 9"??
I'm not sure I'd ever know...but then again, "if there's a will, there also is a way", and I'm sure I'll find that will "some day", just maybe not today!

Paint me a rainbow

It's quite amazing what colours can do to my mood these days. And its quite a recent development, for I've never been so "colour-aware",if I may coin such a term, before. Sure, I've always loved blue in all its shades, and have also passed through phases when whatever I'd like while out shopping would belong to one particular colour, but I've never had colours dictate my mood before, at least not the way they seem to do now! :)
It was a cool Saturday evening, I had just woken up from my extended siesta and was sitting on my balcony with a cup of tea, generally staring into space - my thoughts idly straying in a million directions - too lazy to focus on anything in particular.
It had been raining all afternoon, and the sun was just breaking through the clouds...when suddenly I caught myself staring at a full blown rainbow, the most perfect arch in all its colour, as if just out of a children's book illustration!
It was the first time I'd seen such a perfect rainbow, and the overwhelming surge of joy almost had me jumping up and down, much to the amusement of the glued-to-the-telly Husband (it was World Cup season, after all).
He was promptly instructed to get the camera out and to capture the sheer wonder of nature, to which he probably mumbled something to the effect of "Why don't you get up and get it?". He was ignored, of course, I was too mesmerized, almost afraid to look away..lest it vanished by the time I looked back! It obviously did, eventually, and sadly the camera was brought out too late...but somehow, by that time I could not be bothered anymore..I was riding a wave of emotions, I realized how little it really took me to be truly happy, even if for the moment.
That's when it struck me, the effect of colours on my mood lately, and I could suddenly see the cute red top with big black butterflies on it brightening up a Monday morning, the purple shirt putting a smile on my face as I took a last peep into the mirror before stepping out, or the extra spring in my step every time I had the bright blue bag on my arm!
I realised, with a start, I hardly own any all white/all black clothes now, strange especially if I think of the time (back during my college days) when I swore by anything black!
Oh well, I still do fantasise over the idea of owning an elegant black evening dress sometime, and I do love my black Dhakai sari (oh boy, even that has a splash of vibrant green and warm rust to bring it to life), but right now, its a bright magenta kurta (that I'd seen at a store recently but didnt buy) that's on my mind...I can almost hear it trying to convince me how, with a little help from the lilac dupatta, it could make the longest meeting at work on a Friday seem to be over in a jiffy, and the weekend that much closer! And to tell you the truth, I actually think it could be right! :) :)

When Tuesday is a Monday and Saturday, a Friday..

...and then, there is no Sunday! :(
Ok, long story short...we're working next Saturday, and I Hate It!

Footloose...

Q: "What is Malini Bhattacharjee doing all the time?"
A: "Travelling"
...or so read the latest update on my facebook wall, a response from a friend who had taken one of the hundreds of "quizzes" on the site. :) :)
And my first reaction to it was.."Oh, I wish!", followed by an amused realization that though it was an overstatement of sorts (Come on, I also have a job!), it wasn't all that far from the truth either.
Yes, I LOVE travelling, and everything that goes with it.
And I think its got something to do with my genes.
Saying that my parents have always been "fond of travelling" would seem an understatement, considering the fact most of our trips back then would be planned on an impluse, and we'd hardly ever spend a school/college vacation not going anywhere.
Sample this: We had been to Kashmir when I was 3 and lived in Shillong, and the trip was planned in approximately 5 minutes as my father happened to notice an article titled "Heaven on Earth" on the paper bag in which he'd just bought some sugar! :) :)
While almost all the other kids in class would be planning their "holiday homework" over the summer vacations or be looking forward to the gorgeous Durga Puja celebrations in Kolkata during the Puja holidays, I'd be poring over the latest issues of the local magazines with my parents, scouring for our next destination.
It was because of them that I have vivid memories of Durga Puja/Dussehra celebrations in all sorts of places, each place adding a unique flavour to the proceedings. More on this some other time! :)
Well, I dont have Durga Puja vacations or summer holidays anymore...but then, what are the weekends for?! :)
So now, while most of my friends and colleagues plan for a laidback weekend of getting up late and catching up with friends, I am poring over the internet, scouring for our next destination :)
In this, I have an able accomplice in my dear husband (erm, its probably the other other way round, but what the heck..its my blog!! :) :P ) who's just as footloose if not more...and a much better planner! :)
So we travel....quite a lot. :)
And I thank my lucky stars for having got me this ideal partner and put me in the perfect place..Bangalore is a blessing for people like us, with the hundreds of beautiful places just waiting to be discovered, which we sure intend to do! :)

In-Laws, and way beyond...

I get off the phone with Mom-in-law and my granny-in-law, only to realise that my soup had gone stone cold!
The Husband had been shooting glares between mouthfuls of Cheese Rolls which had arrived after he had finished his soup, and began to look positively menacing when the waiter started hovering over the table with the main course, confused whether to start serving the impatient husband or wait for the chatting-away-to-glory wife to at least get started on the soup.
"Ki je eto kotha bolo?!" (What on earth do you talk so much about?!), grumbles the indignant Husband, and I realise I had been on the phone for more than 20 minutes, and had actually ended the conversation with "Ekhon r beshi kotha bolchi na, pore phone korbo." (Could't talk properly now, will call you later.), i.e., we were only just getting started!
Well, my M-I-L loves talking and so do I...so its probably not much of a surprise. What is amusing, however, is the fact that in these 2.5 years that I have been part of this family, we've grown so close that there are times when I am more clued in on what's going on with everyone back home than even the Husband. :)
And I love it, to say the least.
Its a really good feeling, knowing that I am now an important member of the "acquired family", basking in the affection and love that I'm showered with every time they visit us (not to mention all the gifts all the way from Kolkata ;) )!!
If this is not a blessing from the One Above, I would not know what is! :)

One of those days...

It was one of those days.

Not everything was right with the world, a lot of things not the way I would have liked them to be, and I was clueless if they could be set right, yet.

My heart was heavier than it'd been in a while, my mind bogged down.

Just then...the sky suddenly grew dark, it started raining...and we decided to take a walk.

The new coffee joint which had to be checked out, was.

Big cups, strong flavour, lots of gossip and laughter!

Coffee with friends and a walk in the rain....goes a long way in the lifting of moods! :) :)