Time Zones

I am officially depressed today like most of the people who already are or will be very soon in the United Kingdom.
The time zone changed from BST (British summer time) to GMT (Greenwich mean time). Which basically means you turn your clock back by one hour and the freaking sun sets at 4.30 pm. It's horrible. To see your day end so early. I love sunshine and long days.
Infact It was a fantastic sunny day. Like the weatherman's way of mocking you. Ha ha it's sunshine but it will go away in 2 more hours never to come again.
Also my oldest friend is extremely upset with me over something I didnt create.
So apart from the sunshine today, winter is pretty shit.

Debauched Housekeeper

Now while that sounds more like a, ahem* sinful video name. It is anything but. They are two different experiences lets just say condensed into one badly thought of title.
Last weekend as all god fearing Hindus would know was Diwali. I love Diwali at home; Diyas and sweets and the general happy family bonding thing. And since of course I am away this year, I thought I'd rather spend it with my oldest friend. To Swansea - boring little ex mining town. To wine street to Wine Street to get a little drink, It's Jack Daniels and Cola with a little Spink (meant spunk for the rhyme). Poetic license. Also watched Don in Cardiff (This is only extra information)
Ok so where is the debauchery? Waking up the next morning - mind you a holy morning, Hung-over like hell with a blonde haired boy next to me in bed. Ok so nothing exciting, just sharing space with friends Finnish/Flemish flatmate! But what the hell, who wakes up hung-over on Diwali?? Now Christmas I can understand....But what will the sadhu baba's in Rishikesh say to me when I visit them next? Boom Shanti.
Gush* I also met a sweet Spanish guy called Juan pronounced Khwaan or so I think. He has my no. Maybe he will call.
The housekeeper bit was yesterday. My mother will be glad to know I am officially "trained" to be arranged married. My future ma in law to be will think the same. I cooked, vacuumed, laundered dirty clothes, cleaned wardrobe and watched tele all in one. These are skills a good Indian girl must possess. I also bought flash antibacterial all purpose cleaning wipes from the supermarket.
Conclusion: I am a very bad good Indian girl.

The flexi mood changer

The pleasure of washing down a bad day with a glass of wine. Pinot Noir for a long evening, or a muscat for aperitif happiness.
Last weekend my flatmate and I grabbed some great deals at our local wine shop which unfortunately is shutting down. Look out for oddbins, I think most areas have one.
This evening, which happens to be a not so great one for both of us - we uncorked a bottle of Soave Portone. Smoothly glides down your throat, and into the blood stream to calm fraught nerves.
The label reads - Portone is the product of a meticulous selection of Garganega, Chardonnay and Trebbiano grapes cultivated on the rolling hills of Verona.
A crisp dry white wine with a fruity apricot flavour, this unoaked wine makes an ideal aperitif.
Highly recommended by me. I always envy people who know exactly which one to buy and can distinguish between all the million kinds with a whiff of the fragrance.

!!!

I hate to be emotionally twisted into feeling things i am not. I am who I am, and it is for me to decide what's good or bad for me. I owe no moral responsibilty whatsoever to anyone or everyone. And no one has the right to be all judgemental about me.
Infact why do we try to change people into who we want them to be? Isnt it just better to move on, or better still keep your trap shut. ..

P . S.

15/10

My Birthday. The specialest day :). I am 24 years old, still have black hair and no fine lines. This one's for Jedi, at last count my chin had 2 spots.

I woke up to sunshine and a phone call from home.
We decided to go up the London eye. London eye is a huge giant wheel with capsule boxes and gives you a 360* view over the city. This was really fun spotting all the places we'd been to just the previous day. The wait was long, but it was totally worth it.
Nearest tube: Waterloo

A show on the south bank. Very funny british guy getting free from chains. A mini houdini show. I enjoyed it!
A long long lunch at iguanas, a Latin American restaurant - Mojitos, followed by Pinot noir from Chile, Tortillas stuffed with portobello mushrooms, totops with guacamole, chocolate banoffi for a birthday treat mmm and a smooth finish with espresso and twinkling eyes looking adoringly at me across the table. Perfection.
A walk by the river thames to the Tate Modern Art gallery. My favourite spot in London.

I also love Orkut. It tells everyone it's my birthday. I got 45 scraps. :) I also got a call from my best frnd Bhav, she never remembers the dates!. Many calls from bombay from all my other friends. Feels brillliant!
Thank you all.
Kisses.

The Tourist.

This weekend, I played London Tourist to the max. Overdid it perhaps. I had a friend visiting London for the first time and had a list of must see's.
Portobello Market.
Ok this one was my idea. It is an antiques road market with lots of old paintings, clocks, china, porcelain, mirrors, marmalade jars, books, spoons, silver, vintage shoes, maps....and the list is endless. Now I am sure this would be a fantastic place to see things, browse but for a million other people who thought it might be a good idea to visit as well. The crowd just throngs here and it's quite insane. The street itself is cute with pastel hued terraced houses on both sides. (Some of you may remember seeing these in the movie - Notting hill). Why anyone would like a supposedly 1940's chamach is beyond me, but I loved the marmalade jars.
Nearest tube: Notting hill gate or Ladbroke grove.

The royal circle
Ok this one we followed from the map in the National geographic guide to Londra. Famished, we got a high calorie energy boost with a typical angrez lunch/supper/breakfast before we began the big walk. I ate jacket potatoes with melted cheddar and beans while Simone ate the Ham, eggs and chips with a pint of Guiness. Then came the coffee confusion, where we ended up drinking bad american black coffee on the steps outside the houses of parliament.
So the intenary is as follows - get out of Westminster tube station, Look up and you will see the Big Ben(Ding ding dong). Take some photos. I'm not explaining what the big ben is, look up wikipedia. Then move your eyes to the massive gothic Houses of Parliament (which remind me of Bombay high court near the oval maidan).
Walk to your right and check out Westminster Abbey. The stain glass is brilliant. I still dont know why this abbey is famous... but i know it's really old.
Keep walking down Victoria street and try to find Scotland Yard. Clue 1. Look for cops. It is Scotland Yard you get only one clue.
Then look on your right for the Buckingham gate road, and walk towards what else but the Buckhingham palace. I had a small flutter when i saw the Taj hotel, felt homesick. The guards wore gray instead of red , perhaps it is the winter uniform. Take some more photos.
Walk through st James Park. Hold hands. It is beautiful and reminds you of 18th century picnics. Weeping willows, squirrels and mandarin ducks provide the quintessential english garden setting.
Sweep through the Horses Guard Parade thingi, try to make the unsmiling guard smile. Walk walk.
Ten downing street. Google for Cherie Blair. She lives here.

Phew am exhausted.

Nearest tube: Westminster Abbey

In the night for my birthday, we went to the West end, Dinner at Angus steak house (Ha ha! Am vegetarian, but they had options :)) Followed by whisky cola in the bylanes of Soho.
Nearest tube: Leicester square

High Fidelity

I’ve just finished reading High Fidelity (remember the movie with that Cusack guy and all his ex girlfriends?). Read the book because I vaguely remembered the movie.
Anyway for those of you who don’t, watch it and then come back and read my rambling.

What is it about ex boyfriends? You date people you’re happy, and then one guy comes along who you really went mad for and affects every single relationship after. Is it never possible to be truly content? Over and over again, the pull never ceases to exist. There are days when a mere memory makes me want call and seek clarifications on vague answers. But the point is that there is no point. There is no point to the call or to the answers, because they will never satisfy me. In this case I was the dumpee and not the dumper. It’s not like you even want the guy back or that you’re still the best of friends. And while I know ex’s are a thing to keep away from while in a relationship, I have come to realize that it’s best to make the odd call, feel stupid and give up on your own. Let the impulse pass. It’s fun to be impulsive but sometimes it can come up with equally crazy consequences.

It pisses me off.

Sulk. Sigh. Kick.

Right now it’s dvd and a rice bowl.

Kill Bill!

Swing my darling!

A rainy day is best spent inside a museum...I love museums -The history, the story behind every object. Victoria and Albert Museum was on a list of things to do in London before class starts - huge list written down by the professor! The day was fantastic for me since they had on a special exhibition on fashion with focus on the swinging 60's. Twiggy met Mary Quant and Kings Road antique sales met Givenchy's classics. This was the time when the Mod's were cool, and the Beatles were hot. Music, art and fashion were almost going through a renaissance after growing up in the dull fifties. Personally I think the 60's would have been a fab time to be a teenager in, especially here in London. A copy of the 1966 Us Time Magazine said ' London has burst into bloom, it swings, it is the scene.' The psychedelic mini dresses, Long tee's, tights and the PVC raincoats in romantic bright colours brought out elements of fun, almost with a playful flirtatious feel. Then there was the video, In Gear, brilliantly reflecting street style. The 60’s, in fact were a time when fashion came to the youth, it got affordable and yet you were trendy. Street style from the youth hanging out in the pubs of Soho and Carnaby Street moved to the couture ateliers of Paris.
A must see if you are visiting London and love fashion, or the sixties which ever comes first in the priority list. Nearest tube: South Kensington and follow the signs on the subway.

What did i do this weekend?

London is divided into two bits, the east and the west. I live in the west, but most of the 'hip' joints to go out with happen to be in the supposedly dangerous east!

This weekend was Shoreditch, around the Bricklane area. It is really vibrant and multi cultural with the buzz of Marrakech or some great market city like Constantinople in its peak. Kebab's, various exotic languages in the air, strange smells, feels like something's going to happen next....
This bar called 1000 cafe is the cheapest spot for a pint. The rest look really cool but they charge entry. It's got a good mix of the backpackers, yuppies, new in the city French and Europeans, desi's, rappers and British women. Based over 3 levels, they play house music and generally chilled out atmosphere.
Nearest tube: Aldgate east

Last evening I met a girlfriend over dinner, Walked around soho and Covent Garden. It is energetic on a Sunday night with neon lights from the west end cinema's beckoning. Expect to find only tourists though. We blew up a huge 20 quid on dinner at fancy Mexican joint called chiquittos if i remember correctly.
Also there is a lovely second hand book store called quinto's near Leicester square that I love with a mix of second and first hand books. It is possible to spend hours losing oneself here while waiting for friends who come late.
Nearest tube: Leicester square

The underground tubes are safe late night on weekends, the whole city is out innit?!

So today is the day - anxiety pangs

In a world where everything comes easy, the land of easy is everything but. Multiple choices, multiple freebies with multiple asterix's, multiple customer care numbers with multiple digits that cost a quid a minute.
I have now discovered that moving into my perfect fashion student haven is going to cost me a lot.

The list includes -

1)Paying the BT guys £125 to create a new line for moi petite home.
2)Waiting for them to come on the 18th of October. (this one costs me time).
3)Paying Tiscali £12.49 to create a broadband connection using the £11per month and £125 in all BT phone connection.
4)Waiting until I have the BT connection i.e 18th October to order Tiscali which will reach me by the 30th of October.
5)Installing broadband (I will study fashion journalism for god's sake! I admit zero knowledge in all things to do with wires and connections, infact i scored a zero on a physics aptitude test i once took after my 10th. I prefer smart spectacled gentlemen to help me out in distress).

The Television which was in my perfect world something that came home, was installed and cable connected by various people on the flick of a cordless telephone on off button is a far away dream. More updates once i figure out if i need one cable or two, aerials, digital set top boxes, cheap 14" television from Argos.