July

July
Originally uploaded by Aartee.

Me and My Titan.... Aamir Khan doesn't measure up to me!

July

July
Originally uploaded by Aartee.

Gorgeous dawn, with two great friends.... (Rui and Rolf)

love in difficult times

Ah, the sweet pain of separation....... No, this has nothing to do with me. Second-hand emotion. My friend, darling girl, is in love (although she insists 'like' is more appropriate than 'love', i insist otherwise). and just as she was beginning to enjoy the feeling, the object of her affection had to go away for a few days. And thus start endless pinings and pointless questions of 'When is he coming back?' , 'Do you know there are still 7 (or countdown) days to go?' ... None of which i can effectively address, of course.
So in the meanwhile, as you would expect, I have to listen to sudden eruptions of 'so cute' and 'so mad' and 'oooooohhh', when there's no one around but us and not raise my eyebrow to wonder why that was. and then there are sudden sightings in obscure photographs where the subject occupies not more than 6.235 pixels of the jpeg image.
I have to admit though, that inspite of my feigned exasperation, I kind of find it cute.... good gosh, did i say 'cute'??? I knew she was bad influence!!!

Daffodils

Read at leisure, and breathe in the last few lines of the poem, one of my favourites.

"Daffodils" (1804)

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

Resilient London

In a completely chaotic situation that could have resulted in a complete breakdown on life, the calmness of Londoners stood out. One can't help but admire the organised manner in which not only the emergency services dealt with the multiple blows, but equally those who were actually in or around the places affected.
Go London!!

DSC01156

DSC01156
Originally uploaded by Aartee.

London lives - the quintessential London bus

moving

Allergic to - moving houses. And the more you hate something, the more of it you have to do. I knew Murphy didn't like me! anyways, it so happens that in the next week, I shall be moving. Not once, but twice. so then my super- excitingly-busy schedule is as follows:

 

• Wake up
• Have tea
• Read some dissertation material (ok, fine! i'll change it.... open some dissertation material to read)
• Look out of the window, think of how I'll miss this house
• (still staring out of the window)
• Trudge to my room
• Refill suitcases.... exclaim in wonder at all the stuff you owned and never knew!
• Exclaim in wonder --- Did I really read all these papers?
• Exclaim in wonder -- Did I really have all these clothes to wear ?(I hated my black-striped top anyways)
• Cram more junk into the suitcase - I've thrown out a lot, but i might just need these sometime (an old plastic cover, when there is a flood and i have to protect my walkman remote from getting wet; blue benetton t-shirt beyond its last days to use in case of a break-in where all my other clothes beyond their  last days are stolen; dozens of rubber bands joining their cousins for when i have to pack all my belongings in little plastic bags and secure them so that they dont spill - i might not have the use of my suitcases, they were taken in the break-in, remember!)
• Stand in the middle of the new packing mess, marvel that I got so much done, and decide to take and break... till tomorrow.
• Feel guilty about not having done enough work on the dissertation, switch on the computer, sign-in to yahoo messenger (it's rude not to say hello to those who might be online). Check the weather, read today's horoscope, check out the news (NO, Diana did NOT sleep with JFK, Jr., did she?), forward important mails - Urja needs to know about the sale at Old Navy after all! Update the blog.
• Attend to the growling stomach
• Such a busy day - no point tiring myself out further. it's the same hectic schedule tomorrow. So go to bed to recharge my batteries.

And there you were, thinking life was tough for you!