Friends??

Statutory Warning: Negative splurges ahead. Reader's discretion is advised. 

Everyone is familiar with the vent spree I went on few days ago. I got messages, calls from so many of you. A lot of long lost friends got back in touch just to check if I was ok or if there is anything they can do to make me ok. Aww.. See this doesnt happen often. I am someone who goes to bed every night thinking, 'where are my friends?'. 

Where are the ones who used to hang out with me? The ones I used to fight mom for..


"I need to go on that trip mumma! I dont care if it is expensive. 
I want to go. All my friends are going."

Where are the ones who I used to lie for...just so that I get to be with them more?

"Mumma, if I don't go for this group study, I fail. I will definitely fail the exam."

Where are the ones who I used to go on long bike/car rides with? Where is the 'gedi' gang?

"Chaat, paanipuri, aalu tikki, rain, breeze, giggles, Jazzy B on the car audio, laughter"

Where are the ones who stood by me when I was low?

"Break ups, fights, tough times, ill-health, rain or shine"

Where are the ones......

Wait.. see I cant think of many things... I have always been this bird... flying from one shore to another..season after season..no long memories...no long stories (or probably too many)... but then..
look at me all grown up..with responsibilities and duties to fulfill..professionally and personally..still wondering sometimes..'Where are my friends?'

So when so many of you got back in touch.. I kind of didn't know what to do. What to share and what not to.. there is just so much to catch up on.. How will you understand what happened today when you were not there yesterday? How will you know the rain if you didnt understand the reason behind it?

I don't know how to be a friend.. I have never known.. I would never know.. For a simple reason I have never had a long time friend..or friends.. Just drizzles of emotions from people around me once in a while... at least that's how I look at it..

Where is that strong pillar or the shoulder to lean on or the 'I am here for you always' pat they define a friend with? Where is it? It is no where... 

927 'Friends' on my Facebook list... 
*smiles*

"Neha, these friendships disappear as time passes by. Don't run behind them like a shadow. Focus on your goal. You can be your biggest friend and your biggest enemy. You choose.", he said. She squirmed and replied sternly, "Dad, you just don't understand me. You don't understand your own daughter!!" He smiled, "Time will answer this for you."



Ciao!
Aparna 

11 Things I Learned at 28!

28 Years Old!

Oh God!! Old? Young? In between? That definitely is a big number though! What is it about 28 that really shocked me? It is that two steps to the BIG 30! I would be done with my 20s so soon. 

But then when I look back, it has been quite a journey. So many lessons, failures and successes. 

Below are the 11 things I learned at 28:

1. Choices - Life is all about the choices that we make. 
2. Books - If there is one friend that will always be by your side, it is your favorite book. And the best part is there are so many of them.
3. Friends - I have seen strangers turning into friends to best friends to Facebook friends to becoming strangers again. If you want a friend for life, BE a friend for life.
4. Love - More than emotions, it needs dedication. 
5. Work - Like my father always tells me 'A busy life is an easy life'.
6. Hobby - Everyone should have at least one. Routine is for machines.
7. Travel - Travel to unwind. Travel to learn. Travel to explore. Got to do more of this from now on.
8. Trust - Relationships have two problems - No trust or too much trust. Be realistic. Trust wisely not blindly.
9. Health - Mostly taken for granted. It's time to make a change.
10. Education/Learning - Should be never ending. The day you stop learning, you stop growing. 
11. Family - Most important. With you till the end and beyond.

Happy 28 to me!

The Friend in Me

Matching dance steps,
Pictures clicked,
Gleaming with joy,
Loads of messages,
Hours of calls, 
Laughing till your eyes tear up,
Secret jokes,
Mysterious humour,
Selfless appreciation,
Leg-pulling and of being un-hurt, 
Eager wait for the next meet up...

All these facets,
Of friendship and togetherness,
Leave me uneasy, unhappy and quiet. 
It's strange unfamiliar territory. 
Either it takes a lot to be,
Or may be,
I don't have a friend in me.

Think About It - 2

Planning to do everything? You will get nothing done. Take baby steps. Concentrate on the most important things first.  

Why Dont I Wake Up Early?

So now we have come down to one post a month? And what has brought this post up? A video. A video which did not load because of an internet speed which is waiting for the new billing cycle to start in spite of the bill being paid before time. (Some logic I say!). Anyways, the video is about "how to wake up early?" by the bestselling author Mr. Robin Sharma.

 

So like you would have guessed by now, I did not get to see the video but nonetheless the title of the video got me thinking. My question to myself is "Why Don't I Wake Up Early?". Let's think. Why don't I? Why have I never got up early unless there are 'life & death' situations like board exams I didn't prepare for? Should we get down to listing down reasons why I never got up early till today morning err.... afternoon.. mmm...late afternoon. ;)

 

1. Sleeping early? Early? Never early. I sleep late at night or to be precise I sleep very early in the morning. By 3:00 am; 4:00 am, or 5:00 am sometimes 6:30 am. Is there a typographical error in this statement? Nope. I sleep at a time when I should be getting up.
2. Why do I sleep so late or not sleep at all? All the thinking. Sometimes self generated. Sometimes thanks to loading/not loading of the FB and twitter timelines. Thanks to the iPhone never leaving my side. Technology never lets you sleep. It leaves you curious. Hungry for more. It leaves you refreshing the webpage every 10 seconds. I am one of those honored souls who complain at 2:30 am that the timeline is reallyyyyyy slow.
3. Other times, its a book. Some hell-of-a book not letting me sleep. A thought provoking write up. A work so interesting that I prefer going till the last page than to shut my eyes and go to sleep.
4. Thinking. Well I cannot leave this point unexplained. One of the major reasons why I lose sleep  is that I think a LOT. Chain of thoughts sometimes lead me to such negative zones that I find it difficult to come back without losing sleep for a couple of days.
5. Mornings. This is something worth imagining. Sometimes I do sleep in time. 10:00 pm sharp. Then what happens. There is also an alarm for 6:00 am (perfection galore) but then... The alarm goes sharp at 6:00 am and I snooze it for a while and dismiss it after a while. I ask myself what do I have to do getting up so early. My mind screams out loud - Nothing. So there we go. I doze off even before the fan takes into the next round. zzZZZ.
6. Baby! Baby! Baby! No not the Justin Bieber Song. A point. A valid point. The most beautiful point. And I will do anything for my small packet of joy. Losing sleep is the least I could do for this wonderful addition to our lives.

So I conclude that people who get up early are the ones with 'Purpose'. For anybody to get up as planned should have an agenda for the day. Simple reason why I used to get up for exam preparations was to prepare for the exams. (Duh!) My day should have a schedule as tight as if I wish to squeeze more life out of each day. I need to get up to live, to have a dream and to achieve it. Day dreaming is not helping me. What I am fascinated by is the outcome of hardwork. But where is the hardwork for me to have the necessary outcomes? Where is the spark? The shine? The purpose? Its time to think right. Its time to sleep in time. Its time to wake up early. And in Mr. Sharma's words.... Its time to join the 5 am club.

 

The clock is ticking,

Cheers.

The Pink Orchid

 

 P.S. Do you get up early? How?????
You don't get up early? Why???