GujjuPunju.com

Song of the day: Kisiki ki muskuraahato pe ho nisaar…

This year has already been so eventful, a real roller coaster ride. From hitting rock bottom to flying sky high and then diving down again to slowly raising my wings out one more time. So if someone asked me “Hows the year going so far?” I’d say, Its goin’

Some very important lessons that I have learnt, not just this year but over many years. Now, I am not an expert on wisdom and lessons learnt but its nice to pen them down somewhere to look at during times when the roller coaster of life takes that 90 degree dive downwards.

Lesson 1 - When you have achieved everything in life by working just enough, you get used to it. Failure and rejection are the best teachers in life. They should motivate you to rise after each fall, and do better. Don’t ignore that failed task and take up a new one. Finish it. Succeed at it and only then move on to a new one.

Lesson 2- You did not get to choose your own family because it takes special people to stick by you through thick and thin, and not all of these can be picked by you. Some divine intervention needs to pick them out to stand by you through all those crazy things you do in life.

Lesson 3- You cannot seek love, nor can you run away from it. But you have to recognize it when its there, acknowledge it, embrace it, and most important of all, believe in it.

Lesson 4- When someone says something harsh, or something you did not like, or just something that was true but bluntly put, don’t stop talking to them, or run away from them just yet. Sometimes, they might apologize the next day and what if you weren’t there to really know that they realized their mistake and regretted saying it?

Lesson 5- People can walk into our lives easily, and can walk out just as easily. Just when you think you would never get in touch with that friend that moved away when you were in 4th grade, he/she might just pop up on orkut and say hi and all those memories would come rushing back. It will make you think back and say wow! I never thought I would hear from them again.
Us humans are a social lot, you cannot search for meaning in every friendship/relationship you make, because sometimes the purpose could be as simple as bringing that huge smile on your face after many many years.

Lesson 6- There is no such teacher as travel.

Lesson 7- Phone companies are out there to get your money. There is never a no hassle deal! Always a catch!

Lesson 8 - Put your feet up, let your hair down every once in a while and go crazy. It can be very therapeutic. Or just spend some “me” time - alone!

Lesson 9- I am the best! Okay okay just checking if you made it to the last one. I got more lessons but no one can be bothered by the lessons of a 20-something girl! I will write more 20-some years later now.

You know how you hear some people say, “My life just took a complete 360 degree turn.”

I am yearning for one of those GOOD 360 degree turns.

But in retrospect, is there anything that I really need to be complaining about? There’s nothing really, but it just doesn’t feel right - like it could be better.

Funny how we are never satisfied. There’s always “just one more thing” to ask from God when you go to the temple.

Holi pictures circled the family emails last week. I kept looking at them over and over again with the same expression and thought in mind: ” Oh my god, I am soooo fat!”

I dimissed the thought as a figment of my overstressed over-worked brain thinking that I was going through that phase of anorexia where every body part seemed fatter than usual. But then the bombs dropped. One after the other.

I should have taken the hint right away when the first thing B’s mom said when she met me last year was: “Photo main kaafi patli dikh rahi thi” Imagine if these were the first words you heard from your extremely sweet future mother-in-law. It hits hard in the gut. I thought that maybe those pictures from Didi’s wedding were flattering and maybe I had just looked a wee bit too thin then. I dismissed the thought and didn’t think much of it. It has come back to haunt me, every minute now.

The subject of Holi pictures was broached by one of my cousins last night. He thought that the pictures looked like an advertisement for the obese face of growing Indians in the US! “its like all of you were competing for the chubbiest face contest.” Sadly, it was true. To make matters worse, this morning at work two people told me I was gaining weight. One of them was a customer, so I gladly sent her home with a smile on my roly-poly face. The other was not spared. Azzie*, a very nice Morrocan gentleman at work was talking to Katie*.I happened to pass by when he said in a very thick Morrocan accent, “K, you seem to be getting faatter.” I wanted to dig a hole right there and bury myself. If looks could kill, the look in my eye that minute would have fried him. Realizing his folly, he immediately corrected himself, “No no,I mean you are now looking even preettieeeer. Real wemin have corves you know.” The damage was done. Azzie tried to make amends by smiling and remembering everything good that he could think about me, to no avail.

I still remember the medical/physical test that every immigrant to US has to go through. At that physical five years ago, the Parsi doctor at Breach Candy hospital said to me in her stern voice. “Dikra, you are underweight and you want to go to US?” She was checking my BMI(body mass index) that fell under “Underweight” category. Just on whim today, I checked my BMI and sure enough, it fell smack dab in the middle of the “Overweight” category.I let out a cry and as mom came over my shoulder to see what I was doing, she exclaimed: “Huh, atleast you are not obese.” Sure! The glass is half full. Literally.

5 years and 50 lbs (23kgs) is what I have accomplished since that BMI test at Breach Candy, Mumbai. Somehow, I don’t remember those years when I used to fall under the “Normal” category. I am not one of those to go completely anorexic and starve myself because I do love food! Having a palate for all kinds of food doesn’t help either. However, I have come to realize that I neeed to do something about it. Not get to the point where I am vain and all I care about is how thin I am, but atleast to the point where I am not competing for Ms Roly Poly award.

New resolution added to this years list (a first): Lose weight and get to a “Normal BMI”

The good news is that I now have an excuse to explain my procrastination with not blogging, finishing up taxes, getting off the couch, not doing all things and sundry. Buahaha! Who said I was not positive about this?

2007 has not exactly been my favourite year so far. Yes yes, its only been a measly 18 days!

I thought I was looking forward to the year being a great year on the personal and professional front, but I have realized one thing for sure in the past few days..and its the fact that nothing is permanent in this world except change. It seems some raahu-kaal has hovered over my family all of a sudden and has been the cause of several setbacks on the homefront one right after another. The flip side is that ma and pa are in India right now! They will be meeting B and his family soon. Hopefully, that will be the highlight of January 2007. Otherwise, I might just write this year off as a dull, unfair, sad, and LONG year!

Yup, I am in a bitter state of mind right now. So 2007 better get its act together and start being good or else Ms. Gujju is going to be a very upset and sulky lady!

Song of the day: Baawri piya ki

The customary new years resolutions have to be made and published at the end of each year, but I am going to keep them to myself for right now. Maybe reveal them one at a time? However, the customary end of the year post is here. Something new this year with my personal best and worst of the year. Start with movies and music, shall we?

Best Movie: Khosla Ka Ghosla
In spite of the numerous big banners and names this year, my personal fav is this low budget movie based in Delhi. Apart from a taut script and excellent performances, this film is very down to earth and realistic, not to forget the amazing dry humor! Undeniably noticeable, it outruns all the other major movies that I enjoyed this year. A full review remains…

Best Song: Baawri Piya ki – Baabul
I am an ardent Sonu Nigam fan and this song from Baabul (the only decent one in the whole album) takes the cake. There were not really many songs that stuck to the heart this year. The only one that comes close to this number is “Mere haath main” from the film Fanaa which also runs a close second in terms of movies this year.

Best Actor: SRK, Hrithik or Johnny Depp
Okay okay! I digress from the “what’s really important” here because I am biased. Biased with these actors and the Punju will not agree on these “best” ones for sure! So lets move to the next one ;)

Best Actress: Eh?

Best Place Visited: I didn’t really travel many major places this year. Just here and there. The place visited this year is the only major outdoor vacation that I took and the glory goes to Las Vegas, Nevada!!!!! Tis’ true that Vegas is like adult Disney land. Your first time there, all you do is gape at the lights and more lights of the sparkling city. Ditto when you enter your first major Las Vegas hotel. For me it was The Luxor, where I stayed. The lights, the glitter, the moolah, the cards, the roulette, the dealers, but most of all the gamblers, it was all very well…err…Vegasy! Vegas is a must visit atleast once in your lifetime. Even if you are not a big gambler, its just worth popping those eyes out at the glamour of this huge blob of light,energy, money, and alcohol in the middle of the desert!!! Moreover, I also met Neeraj and Poonam for the first time during this visit. I never did a travelogue on this one…should have. Just remember…everything that happens in Vegas, happens late! :p

Best New Experience: this year was full of new experiences and adventures that included playing blackjack in a Las Vegas casino. However, my fav new experience was watching the famous Broadway show, Mamma Mia!: hilarious with lots of music and completely entertaining, a jaw dropping experience. Loved it!

Best Moment: I thought I would have to scratch my grey matter real hard to remember ALL those moments that happened over the past 365 days, but it wasn’t too hard. Undoubtedly it was the moment when ma, pa, and I drove back from a weekend vacation in the mountains to find my license to practice waiting between the front door and the screen! Its indescribable, when the moment that you spent years preparing for and eons biting your nails over is finally there!

The worst? Well let’s see, why fret over what was bad and ugly? I will just let those worst things be and look forward to good things next year. Overall, 2006 was a good year. B agrees. A lot of changes took place within my life. Several of them were life defining and important ones that are already charting the course of the years ahead! There were quite a few defining changes at B’s end as well. To add icing on the cake, ma and pa finally started talking about B! What a year!!!!

Ah, I forgot to mention. I must have increased the “times watched” number of Maine Pyar Kiya and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to a gazillion this year.

Wishes for a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR to all from Ms.Gujju and Mr. Punju. Hope 2007 is a FANTABULOUS year for all of you ahead.