:-)

For a change of mood, a funny one from my earlier blog - this is almost 10 years old by the way! I think I had quoted a funny email someone sent me. Happened across it and it did make me smile, so here goes:

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.

I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just assholes.

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.

I've learned that you can get by on charm for only about fifteen minutes.

I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to others - they are more screwed up than you think.

I've learned that you can keep puking long after you think you're finished.

I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, unless we are celebrities.

I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades, and there had better be a lot of money to take its place.

I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones who do.

I've learned that we don't have to ditch bad friends, because their dysfunction makes us feel better about ourselves.

I've learned that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get arrested and end up in the local paper.

I've learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away.

Choices

I had taken up a distance learning Masters course last year, in Mass Comm and Journalism. Not because of a career requirement, but because it is something that has always interested me. Something that I had told myself I would definitely do someday, sooner or later.

But then this new job came along and life turned almost upside down. There hasn't been enough time to go through the study material, forget about turning in assignments. I haven't been able to appear for exams in the last two rounds of quarterly exams. The nice ladies from the study centre keep calling up to remind of resitting dates.

I could have taken this as a challenge, and decided to get by on three hours of sleep each night so that I could make time for the assignments and the exams. I could have decided to take my eye off work for a bit and do this. But I didn't. The job is still new, and it's extremely challenging in many ways. People see the glamorous side of it, when i post travel pictures on Facebook, but not many are aware of the long hours spent working and all the sleep and energy lost in the process....

Anyway, I have decided I cannot at this point of time in my life combine work with an MA. My inherent nature does not allow me to do anything half-heartedly or in half measures, and I know I'd just be miserable trying to keep up with everything. So. no studies for now. Even though sometimes I feel a little bad about it, I know it's not the end of the world. Or life. Time will come when I will have more time. The course goes back on my "Someday Maybe" list!

Winterland in summer!

Work took me to Leh last week. From a hot and dry Delhi, I found myself in subzero temperatures in Leh, within the space of a couple of hours. Quite the change. The town isn't fully open yet, most of the shops/hotels/restaurants are still shut and expected to start opening from the end of April, with the beginning  of the "season". The first shipment of vegetables had just reached town via the Srinagar - Kargil highway. One of my travelling companions was actually carrying a box of food provisions for friends - things like veggies etc that are worth their weight in gold during the cold weather season, when Leh is cut off from the rest of the world. Locals we knew had to scour the town to come up with a couple of bottles of Coke for an evening get-together.

It was mostly routine work - meeting local partners, carrying out hotel inspections, checking out rooms and facilities etc and sorting them out into "yes we will use", "maybe we could use" and " no way will we use". But I was in one of the most beautiful places on this earth, Ladakh. Every way I looked, I could see magnificent snow peaks. On one particular day in Leh we saw bright sunshine, clouds, snowfall and again sunshine - all within the space of a morning. And the one day that we spent outside Leh more than made up for all the hard work. 

We took a daytrip to Pangong Tso, the lake made so famous by movie 3 Idiots. One of my travel companions had a funny story about how a guest who visited last year insisted his phone HAD to work at the lake, because after all Aamir had taken a call here in the movie....Speaking of the movie, did you know that tourists to Leh often actually ask to visit the "3 idiots school" and pee on the "susu wall"?? I kid you not!

Now I had visited Pangong once before, with family on a trip in the fall of 2011. The lake then was a beautiful blue-green, changing colour every now and then depending on the sunlight. We'd taken a long walk along the shore and I don't think anybody could really get over how pretty it all was. This time, it was a sheet of ice. I was seeing a frozen lake for the first time, and was super excited about it. The ice was almost white, but not quite - there was a beautiful sea-green tinge to it. We walked around on the lake; the ice was slippery and I had to spend a considerable amount of energy keeping myself upright. The temperature was in the -20 to -25 degrees range, but because there was no wind that day it didn't feel as cold. It was definitely a memorable experience, made more unforgettable by the fact that on the way back our car got stuck in snow just short of Changla Pass....

I also managed to find a couple of hours to drive out and visit Gurudwara Patthar Sahib. Had read the legend associated with it and "Nanak Lama" but had never got around to seeing the place for myself. It's a nice, quiet place in the middle of nowhere just next to the highway. Once you have paid your respects, one of the soldiers (it is managed by the army; a different unit each quarter) will smilingly invite you for tea and prasaad. The hot tea and jalebis tasted awesome in the cold weather. There is also a langar on Sundays. What struck me about the place was the silence. It was extremely windy and you could actually hear the sound of all the flags flapping away in the wind. 

It was a good trip on the whole, even though I was sick for the most part of it. We were lucky to get to meet some local Ladakhi families and spend time with them in their homes, having tea and being pressed to eat this, eat that, try this, try that....amazing hospitality. Ladakhis are some of the warmest, friendliest souls one could ever meet. They live mostly in harsh conditions but everybody seems to be happy and smiling always. The children are just too sweet, red cheeks and all.

I know I'll be back again soon! I also know that a longer travelogue, from my two earlier trips, is long overdue and will end up here someday soon!!