Have you ever...

Have you ever felt really happy and upbeat; and in the next hour or so felt really sad?

Have you ever felt your heart will just burst with all the love you feel for him/her?

Have you often wondered how beautiful Nature is?

Have you ever wondered how complex people can be?

Have you ever been able to understand why there is so much conflict or violence in this world?

Have you learnt lessons from something that happened in your life?

Have you ever accepted that you do have a Big Ego?

Have you realized the true value of good friends?

Have you ever felt this sudden urge to be able to see/touch someone you love?

Have you loved unconditionally?

Have you ever thought about your last breath on Earth?

Have you ever considered yourself beautiful?

I have...

Stained Glass...

...Notre Dame De Paris! Exquisite, isn't it??

One of my quirks!

It is already a month since we moved here! Time just flew by, am still waiting for my furniture and all my precious photoframes and knick-knacks to arrive. Till they do, I feel like I am living in someone else's home! Well, I am sort of,...but don't you think these little things that you can relate to, cozy up your home? Like the odd cushion with the special cover you had to argue about buying or the photo collage that reminds you of fun times or a lovely holiday or that lamp shade you insisted on buying!

Note: My current home in Paris, which I shall modify soon with my stuff, will update that pic once I am done and of course, my stuff arrives!

It breaks my heart to accept the fact that some one else is living in my own home. Yes, we found a tenant for our home and my amazing friend took care of everything for me. I know you got to be practical and all that blah, but it is a home ( Click on this link to read the earlier post) we built with a lot of love, effort and utmost detail. But like S says, even if someone else lives there, it is still OUR home! Well, that is indeed some consolation! :-)

I strongly believe that your home reflects your personality; just like how well groomed a person is, reflects an individual's personality. I am not referring to good looks ( that would be a plus, yes, I am vain! Murder me?) here; I mean clean nails, feet, well-groomed hair, that sorta thing. In fact, when I first met S, that was the first thing I noticed. He has absolutely beautiful pink feet and he is very well-groomed ALWAYS!

I personally feel, it speaks volumes about a person ( Please note I speak only for myself and it happens to be MY blog, heard of freedom of speech?!). Just like how a few quirks about someone is endearing, the little things around the house seem to complete YOUR home! I have even named a few of my knick-knacks as if they were real and we often refer to them with their names! Come on, they have been with us for years, you are bound to care about them!

When I think about something, I visualize it in graphic detail. So I visualize my home with all the trimmings; even that slight rip somewhere in the corner of the sofa! Yup, Go Figure! So I can't wait for my stuff to COMPLETE my home! :-) Do any of you have any such attachments to a particular thing?

A moment of epiphany!

Continuing this , I have often come across people who make a generalized statement like 'Oh, Women always gossip' or for that matter ' Men are such chauvinists'. It gets my goat when you judge someone based on their gender or which part of the country they are from! I strongly believe that an individual is an individual. PERIOD. Irrespective of whether you are a male or a female, your personality, beliefs and attributes are strongly influenced by your upbringing and the surroundings you have grown up...

You don't have to be a woman to gossip or a man to be chauvinistic! A few years back, it would have been really easy to provoke me with such gender-specific statements. I would get into a huge argument with the said person. Over time, I have realized that there is no point. Is there anyone who likes to be proved wrong, including me? No! So I have become mature enough to understand there is no point trying to convince someone otherwise and choose to keep quiet. Saves a lot of trouble for both of us, right? However, if I know the other person well enough, I will try to have a healthy discussion, at least get to know why s/he feels that way.

Having said that, I have also understood that it is important to listen, not hear someone when they speak. Often, I am so excited about what I want to say that I never LISTEN. I have to change this trait of mine!

For a long time, I also thought that its so boring to be quiet and found quiet people boring! I am a woman of words; in fact too many words. I have realized it would take a lot of effort to restrain yourself from expressing yourself in a fight or heated discussion with someone. Often, When S and I argue, I have learnt to control myself and keep quiet. Its extremely difficult for me, but I do coz I might say something in a fit of anger and regret it for the rest of my life. So I remain silent. It helps A LOT!

When you are calm and take some time to think; it puts a lot of things into perspective. I know my basic nature will not change. But when you stay quiet, you feel calm and serene inside after some time. Another lesson learnt; its not easy to be quiet AND sometimes its good to remain silent :-)

I have a confession to make! I am not too conscious about what others think of me; I mean I don't bog myself down about what people will say or think! That does not mean I don't care at all...I do care about people I love; rather people who mean a lot to me. The buck stops there. I don't want to spend the rest of my life trying to please EVERYONE. It is just not possible. In fact, I have had some people tell me the most vicious things with a ' I say this with no malice' and I can't help but laugh! :D So there is just no point. Such people just don't matter. PERIOD.

I ALWAYS dream, when I am sleeping. Even if I sleep on the way somewhere for like 15 minutes, I dream! Its so wierd...sometimes the most obscure person features in my dream! Nowadays, if I have a bad dream, I try to think about pleasant things. I realize that I want to control my dreams as well...but it does not work...after some time, it goes back to the bad dream!! I have tried praying too but it does not help. Any suggestions here?

Picture this!

On my kitchen window....

...I have some fresh coriander, want some??!! :-)

Standing tall !!

Today, I went to the bank to open an account for myself, along with S. On my way back, I saw these amazing purple-fuschia ( Its a double color) colored shoes...they looked so awesome, my resolve not to shop is all gone! :P ( Its ok, I can go hungry for a few days!!)

I don't really need heels coz I am pretty tall, I am close to 5-8' , a fact that I am really proud of!! However, as you can see, I have large (ugly broad) feet, I have problems finding good shoes that look feminine more than anything else! So, if I find any shop that has my size, its a moment of bliss! REALLY!!

Amma often tells me its good you wear flats and heels damage your spine and posture and all that blah! All said and done, heels add elegance to your personality and I have always longed to wear them. S is much taller than I am...so I can afford to wear them. I guess, once in a while, its ok!! Thank GOD for that! :) Coz, these add quite a few inches! My brother often makes fun of girls that they walk on stools!! :P

Now, I want to be impartial and fair! So I bought another pair of shoes...not now, long back...coz it was a good deal, they had my size and they are flats!! I am sooooo thrilled, ya, anything new makes me go bonkers!! :P Sharing my newest acquisitions!!

Other than the time difference..

Apart from the time difference of about 4.5 hrs between Paris and India ( back home for me!)...I found many other interesting differences....

People are nattily dressed even to the market

Many people have these toy-like dogs that they bring along everywhere. These dogs do not bark or do anything....you can see them even in shopping malls, little balls of fur...really cute!

You can NEVER see anyone carry their babies or toddlers in their arms. They are ALWAYS in a pram and oh, how can i forget? with a nipple stuffed into their mouth.

You can NEVER see bi-lingual boards on the road or shops or for ingredients. Everybody speaks only FRENCH. Oui?

Most fathers spend a lot of time with their kids and seem to genuinely enjoy their time with their children. Its endearing.

Mostly, it looks like people thrive on cheese and chocolates. Even digestive biscuits have a chocolate coating!

The Internet/TV/Phone takes a minimum of just 2 weeks to be installed!! You have to pay a fortune if you want a technician to come home for installing it! Yeah, you heard me right!

Every street corner has a 'coiffeur' ( Hair styling salon) or two and there is a mandatory cafe at every two blocks filled with people enjoying some wine and maybe cigarettes. No, this is not on a weekend, this is on every single day!!

You can see people jogging on the road at any time of the day. Even if its bizarrely cold, you can see people in shorts. I often wonder how they manage to bear the cold? I have even seen people jogging on the road when we were coming back home from dinner, say about 10.30?

Everybody is thin and fit. ( I guess the jogging is the secret!) EVERYBODY!
Incidentally, I have recently discovered the joy of good music and going on long walks. I feel AWESOME! :) I don't have to fear running into someone, coz I don't know anybody! :P

Edited to add more:

There is 'Pomme' ( Pomme refers to apple) in everything...Pomme de pain, Pomme yaourt, Pomme verte savon..like lime is a flavor used extensively in India, Pomme or Green apple is a flavor used in everything from bath foams to yogurt!

S's naturally curly hair has become straight and my straight hair is now poker straight! :D

Ms.Congeniality!

I am moving on! Yup, I am…instead of brooding about missing my friends and the tiny social circle I had back home in India, I decided to extend my hand…and viola! I have two friends now! S’s colleague’s wife Teresa, a Spanish lady, a lovely person and a mother of three…she came home and we got talking…she introduced me to another girl who is apparently on the same street as mine… she was shopping in the ‘Wednesday’ and ‘Sunday’ Market that happens right below my apartment and she popped in too…and we all hit it off instantly…J I felt so happy that there were other people I could talk to…

Tomorrow, Cristina and I will meet up in the nearby station and we are off to Teresa’s! Not bad, eh? I feel great!

P.S – Teresa got me some lovely flowers and it looked gorgeous and that's the picture! These are posts I had drafted long back when I had no internet!

My appy Birthday was awesome!

I am 29! Yes, I am loving it! This birthday was one my best ever...S came home with a bunch of flowers hiding behind his back, which he cleverly hid ( yeah, right!!)...made dinner for me even before my birthday began!

I was a little upset that I would be alone at home on my birthday and wanted to scream its my birthday!! :) ( Yeah, I am like that, I love my birthday and feel like a princess!). So I expected S to go to work and I thought we would celebrate in the evening, coz its a weekday. Surprise of surprises, S took the whole day off...served breakfast for me. (We had to get a medical test for the social security. So we got that done) ...and just roamed all around Paris...did some shopping...came home, S made lunch for us!! ....Went out again and did some more shopping....went to the Eiffel Tower and had the awesomest view of Paris!! S got me this awesome red coat for my birthday gift that I have been drooling over, as we pass by the store everyday!! :D ( among many other things, which we can discuss later!)

S wanted us to have dinner at the Eiffel, there is a cool place right on the tower. But he found out that they don't serve any vegetarian food. Anyway, it was a good thing...coz we just took the Metro and went to the Notre Dame area and found an amazing restaurant and we had dinner with candlelights and good conversation!

We then found this really interesting lane and washed off dinner with warm crepes filled with Nutella and walnuts! :D It was such a pleasant feeling...really cold weather...the warm crepes....I had a warm fuzzy feeling as we ended the fabulous day!

My parents / inlaws /family sent me an e-mail and e-card, I was pleasantly shocked!!! I did call them and speak to them anyway. I got a lot of wishes from all my friends, thanks to orkut and facebook! :) Thank you all for making me feel so special on my birthday! S, as always, you made me feel out-of-the world!

I celebrated my Birthday in Paris!!!... and the entire day was romantic!! Like my dear friend N says, what more do I want? Dear God, I thank you for this fabulous life and for all the love I recieve...look out for your child. I know you will and you do :)

Edited to add: I just noticed that this is my 201st Post!!! :) Double Century is not bad at all, eh?

I have been productive, I told you so!

A simple yet easy transformation!

My bedroom in Paris! and yes, people who know me personally? I agree, I am incorrigible!! :D

A Grand Entry into Paris!

We arrived in Paris; the trip was uneventful…well, mostly. There was a slight problem about the baggage which was solved by an extra bag that we had to buy at the airport! We made a slight miscalculation in the distribution of the stuff!

It was my first time in a business class and I have to say there is nothing to write home about, except for a lot of leg space and the bed-like seat. I don’t understand what all the fuss is about! REALLY. Since it was an early morning flight, most of us slept for the majority of the time. So I didn’t really feel like it took a long time to come here! :) Incorrigible that I am, the minute I woke up, I watched F.R.I.E.N.D.S again! For that matter, so did S!

I felt like royalty as we arrived at the Paris Airport to take a cab to go to our new home. Listen to this, it was a Mercedes!!! :D I was thrilled to say the least, and S could not stop grinning ear to ear, the little boy in him smiling for a long time :) I felt really happy for both of us. :)

We both prayed silently to God for the smooth flight and everything going well without any hiccups. I couldn’t believe I was in Paris!!!! It was bloody cold and I think I need some time to get used to the weather; I tend to have headaches which I hope I can get rid of, over time! (The only downside, I hope!)