The elusive bird

Guess what was the most exciting part of a fun day outing from office? Sightings of the elusive paradise flycather :) I've been wanting to catch this little fairy for the past four or so years and he decided to bless me this fine saturday afternoon. I was trying to photograph my fav little one, the Green bee eater, when I heard this sudden swoosh, and there he was. He flew in right in front of my eyes and sat for a long minute on the branch right above my head. I felt so blessed.

Here is the little fellow as seen from my lame camera.

The hands are just itching to get dirty

2010 shall be the year, I hope. All this and yet am missing something...

1. Regional Coordinator for India for Twestival. Working with an amazing team of volunteers and trying to pulling them all together for @Concern
2. Active Volunteer with Startup Saturday Bangalore. Working towards realizing the joys of entrepreneurship... and hoping it will rub off on me.
3. Starting out working with Trupti on We are Children, a six-month media to raise awareness on the impact of child sexual abuse. At last a chance to get up from the armchair.
4. Covering the #Anganwadi mela at Mangalore on this Saturday, which is being organized by @breakthrough and @bell_bajao. Hoping to get inspired.
5. Being part of a Fun team to promote fun at work. In charge of making people have fun! Can get scary at times. And boring.
6. Being a mommy and getting all the special hugs and kisses reserved just for moms :)
7. The words are starting to bubble. The pot is ready to be opened and I do hope the writing starts soon. Can't take the silence too long, however eloquent I imagine it to be.
8. Self-employment is coming nearer and nearer...just a few more months and I shall be there.
   

So what is missing?

The farm of course! If only I can get that up and running quickly. If only I can start planting my tomatoes and Mango trees. If only I get to find a nice farmland up for grabs, conveniently located between Chennai and Bangalore somewhere...if only Life can get better. The hands are just itching to get dirty.

Stranger in the house

There is a stranger in my house
Who looks in on everything I do
I can feel her eyes at times, sometimes her whole presence
But no one can see her, not even the family’s rockstar of a dog
She remains mostly hidden

I wonder what she does when we go out
She doesn’t feel bothered at being left alone, rather must rejoice
I hear her speaking to herself in the night, wondering why she is here
I would like to know too
I think

She disappears when there are too many people around
Probably can’t take all that noise
I feel her strongest when there are hushed conversations, and
And all faces turned towards the TV
Must be lonely to be unnoticed

I look into the mirror and ask myself how it must feel to be unnoticed
I ask the kid to give me a hug and a kiss
To shake the lingering gloom off
I wonder who she asks
For a moment close

On a particularly bad morning, with leftover unpleasantness from difficult confrontations
I muster the courage and turn towards her
How long do you plan to stay, Stranger in the house?
Shouldn’t you be leaving, I ask
Not yet, no not yet, I tell myself.

Stranger in the house.

Please! Enough of these impersonal wishes now!

So many new year wishes...some forwards, some originally written, some on email, some as sms, some thru Twitter, some thru Facebook, and very few (none really) through a phone call! Whatever is happening to this world? No one is sending a real greeting card out, no one is picking the phone to make a call!

On the other hand, I am not really feeling enthused to reply to any of those smses, direct messages, scraps, or posts. Seems expected. Seems boring. Seems like lip(?) service! Its just another day, isn't it? A day is as you make of it, so what difference does the Earth returning to its original (?) position make to us mortals? As humans, we are always, ALWAYS looking for reasons to be merry! Seems stupid...why should there be a reason to let go and have fun?

Enough of the verbal (written?) diarrhea. Just an excuse to post really!