Friday, April 14, 2006

Being 25 (2nd edition)

My 25th (2nd edition) birthday was made very special by surprises from friends, some really cool gifts and cards, and one more thing. Being wished by many people who have never met me in real life.

So I came back to office after a meeting in a school, to be greeted by the sight of two envelopes on my desk. I opened the first one and I was so utterly surprised that I had to rub my eyes to confirm that the country name I saw on the stamps was not my imagination.


This was a card sent to me by a very smart blogger. In fact, this chap would do very well in the stalking business. He had guessed my birthday using the combination of my yahoo id and my zodiac sign. Then he had used his ip tracker on his blog to track my company, googled it to find my mailing address and sent me this card. But since he knew neither my full name nor my department, he addressed it to 'Sayesha, Editor, Children's books section'. I nearly died laughing when I saw that. What an absolutely adorable geek.
















Then I turned my attention to the second envelope. I'd guessed right, it was from ROS. She had sent me a handwritten letter, a card and a very interesting book. As soon as I saw the nice handwriting on the card, I knew Virdi had had no hand (literally) in it. ;) It was evident that her geneROSity had forced her to include the names of the other two blokes in Chatur Chaar too. I guess it is difficult to plan a Chatur Chaar surprise without the official surprise planner. Okay fine is saal maaf kar diya, agle saal yeh sab nautanki nahin hona chahiye. *Sayesha looks coyly at her nails.*



ROS had "edited" the book, and changed the story to a hilarious one. The book had snippets of fairy tales, and she had changed the characters to hilarious ones.

"Snow White Sayesha hears singing in the forest. Who can it be? It's the seven dwarfs Chatur Chaar!"

"The prince is holding a wonderful ball at his royal palace. Who will be his dancing partner? It's Cinderella Sayesha! The prince falls in love as soon as he sees her."



"Everyone thinks Cinderella Sayesha is beautiful...

...except her jealous stepsisters MACs!"



Other hilarious lines included:

"Jasmine Sayesha and Aladdin Mithunda (our favourite) take off on the magic carpet. Wicked Jafar Shaan is foiled again!"

"Flora Virdi, Fauna ROS and Merryweather Vikram wonder where Briar Rose Sayesha has gone. Oh, there she is, singing in the forest. The woodland animals love to listen to her. Prince Phillip Shaan is also in the forest. He hears her beautiful voice and falls in love!"



On Wednesday morning, I found this cute little envelope from a colleague who was gonna be on leave on my birthday, so she had warned me not to touch the card till Thursday.

I recognised her handwriting, but decided to be patient and honour her request and open it only on Thursday.

On Wednesday night, I figured some of my friends would be turning up at my place at midnight, so I spent some time cleaning up my room. These days, my room only gets cleaned up when I am expecting people. Sheesh.

Two of my closest friends came a bit early. We were sitting and talking when another friend called. "Achha, which cake do you want?"

"Huh?
Why are you asking me?? Can you like surprise me??" I said.

"Errr... there's strawberry, there's almond..."

"Eeeeks! I HATE almond cake and strawberry cake! Don't get that!"

"Errr..." He said.

And then I realised why he had found it safer to call me before getting the cake. I am the kind who has very specific dislikes, especially when it comes to birthdays.


"You know what I like yaar! Just get what you think I'll like." I said.

"And don't forget Nachos and my super spicy dip!" I reminded him.

This is my all-time favourite snack. I remember a time when a friend and I finished a whole big packet of it within half an hour while watching 'Dil toh pagal hai'.



He got me a cheesecake! Yeay! He said he got it cos it was called the 'Princess cake'. (Yes, in some circles, I am known as the princess.) Lately, I have developed an affinity for the colour pink, and so I was quite thrilled to have a pink Princess cake (which was NOT strawberry!) with 25 (please note the number) candles on it.

Soon, old friends from university started streaming in. From the blog world, Clueless and Starbreez came. Just around midnight, calls started pouring in. I got a call from Kusum, followed by one from Rohit. Virdi called soon after, and Vikram called just when I was about to cut my cake. (Yes, that's Viks on the phone in the picture above.) My friends got impatient and started singing "Happy birthday to you!" and so I had to hang up. ROS sent me an sms. I think she tried to call but my line was probably busy.




There I am, cutting my pink princess cheesecake!


























Hilarious card from my friends A and R - the front



















The inside! Hahahah! :D




Knowing my obsession with the series, Starbreez got me the SATC book! Yippeeeee! I think I need someone to confiscate it till after my exams! :O















Clueless got me a magnet that perfectly matches my beliefs, and an anklet that I have been looking for, since last year when I broke my old anklet - a single strand anklet with very little frills - a most perfect piece of jewellery. Singapore only seemed to have double strand anklets. In fact, I looked for it when I went to Manila too. But they only showed me what looked like cowbells. I had almost given up when Clueless got this for me. And the most amazing thing is - she had no idea I wanted that anklet so bad! In fact, she was wondering if I would like it!















Search over! Yeay!


My friends hung around till about 1 or so... by the time I cleaned up and went to bed, it was almost 2 and I had to get up at 6 am the next day, as usual, to go to work.


So I showed up at work, my eyes drooping with sleep, when I got something that totally woke me up. The receptionist in my office called to tell me that there was something for me outside. Virdi had sent me roses - the most beautiful white roses ever! And they were in this cute little bucket-like thing. The bouquet was much admired by my colleagues. Some curious ones asked me, "Hmmm... secret admirer?"
"No. Hand-stalker." I wanted to say. :D
But I said, "From my friend in India."


His note was hilarious. It said, "Tum jiyo hazaaron saal, saal ke din ho pachaas hazaar." (Note how it contradicts and yet validates my new age structure.) Happy birthday to you. Now give me your hands quick! :)" Hahahah! I was reminded of Sholay's "Yeh haath mujhe de de, thakur!" :D


Another friend sent me a Sasa skincare set. But what was more extraordinary was the little accompaniment he had sent. A handwritten three-page letter from a guy who's the laziest bum on the planet! That was such a HUGE surprise!





My colleagues also landed me a surprise, brilliantly executed by my team, notably by my editor Banana who can give anyone a run for their money in the creativity department. She and I have planned so many surprises together, that she knew she had to outdo whatever we'd done so far, all by herself. And boy, what a job brilliantly done!

My team is *touchwood* the most fun team in my company. We have two e-fairies, one elf and a new-bee (the newest editor), and I am the queen bee (a name I am not too fond of, but have been living with). So my team decided to give the queen bee a royal surprise. Purple being the colour of royalty (and a colour I like, besides blue, pink and black), everything about the surprise was purple. They got purple roses delivered to the reception. The receptionist then called me to deliver it. The bouquet was beautiful but it had no card!

"Who delivered this?" I asked her.

"I don't know!" She said.

"Which florist was this?"

"Err... From the building opposite our office..."

"WHAT?" I was a bit freaked out. Anonymous guy from the building opposite delivers a bouquet for me to my office? As I walked back to my cubicle, still pondering over the mystery of the bouquet, I saw like half the office at my cubicle. They were all grinning away, and there was my favourite cake (cocoa exotica), complete with candles, sitting smugly at my desk.

After I blew out the candles, I wanted to cut it immediately, but Banana said, "No no, see the card first! If you cut the cake, everyone will take a piece each and go back." (Ah! Experience!)

So I opened the card. The creative darlings at my company had made a mock cover of my magazine and called it the 'birthday issue'. It was a sunflower field and the faces of my colleagues were sprouting from the centre of the flowers. My team members and I had bodies of bees, and we were shown hovering above the flowers. The card was a treat to see! (Can't put up the pic here, as it has photos of other people).

The elf had written me an ode, but the e-fairies and the new-bee did not like it too much, so there was a disclaimer beneath his 'Ode to the queen' saying "We had nothing to do with this." and signed by the three girls. It was super hilarious.

I turned my attention back to the cake, only to hear Banana say, "No no no! Open the gifts first!"

"But I wanna cut my cake..." I protested.

"No no no, open the gifts first!"

Okay, fine.


The gifts were adorable. More skincare stuff, a set of pink and purple towels from Esprit, and a pair of REALLY comfortable bedroom slippers. I was asked to wear everything and pose for a picture. So I pretended that the towel was an elegant pashmina shawl and put it around my shoulders. Then I took off my shoes and wore the bedroom slippers. I think I looked quite a sight. I was scared they'd ask me walk around in them the whole day, but thankfully they did not. The slippers were so spongy and comfortable, I could not help but hop around in them for a while.


Finally, the photos of a ridiculously dressed Sayesha were taken, and I asked Banana, "Okay, may I cut my cake now?" My 'boss for the day' finally granted permission and I attacked the cake.

Yummy!








Banana then proceeded to take pictures of what she called "competitors' gifts". (See how market-oriented my editors are?) She put the two bouquets side by side and took a shot.


That's one incredibly sight, isn't it? When I was carrying the flowers back home, I got a lot of jealous stares in the train and the bus. Yippeee!

Many bloggers also sent me emails/e-cards - Hitler's soul, Rohit Talwar, The girl who sold the world, Harshi, Macho Girl, Sinnerman, Surreal Reality, American Pie and Shub.

Thanks everyone, for making my birthday so special! Thanks for all the gifts, cards, emails, phone calls and sms messages. Maza aa gaya bilkul!

Happy birthday to me :)



50 comments:

Sahil said...

wow, a real happening birthday! Good stuff Sayesha, you got so many gifts - awesome!

I guess u never need to shop for toiletries. You get a whole year's worth on your birthday :)

Floyd said...

Seems like this post is just out ;)

Happy B'day!!

Arians rock!
U beat me by a day though.
Mine's tomm.

Have a blast.

BP said...

Hehehe I doubt you'll ever need videos or photos to remember this birthday :)

Nirwa Mehta said...

That was such a sweet birthday you've had!! I love surprises!! And the flowers are so beautiful!! :)

You sure had a great time! :D

Happy Birthday, once again! :)

Nirwa

starbreez said...

I don't get it, man, explain to me how a pink cake doesn't have strawberry? I thought I tasted strawberry ... anyway, what a great 25th (II) bday! How went the Bombay Cafe dinner?

The Girl Who Sold The World said...

Sahil snatched my gold this time...nevermind. I'm still here before Ipanema girl...MUAHAHAHA! :D
Chalo, let's read the post.

Sayesha said...

#Sahil,
Thanks! :)

#Subhash,
Thanks! Yes, arians rock! And happy birthday in advance! :)

#Banana,
Hehehe... true! It was awesome fun! You guys always give me stuff I really like! As you may have noticed, the pendant from last year is my default! Love it to death! :P

#Nirwa,
Thanks! :)
Yeah, I keep looking at the flowers every now and then... wish they'd never wilt! :)

#Starbreez,
Ever heard of pink food colouring? :D
Anyway, I never eat the icing. And the insides were just pure white cheesecake! Yum! :P

Bombay Cafe dinner was great! I think the Thums Up guy served us! I dunno who was more nervous - he or I! :O

#World Girl,
Yeah, lagta hai Sahil's back in the competition! ;)

The Girl Who Sold The World said...

Whoa! That's SOME birthday! That Chatur Chaar fairytale book idea was awesome...and nice cake. :D Hey that drunk card was GOOD...lol.
Oh, and don't worry, it was all our pleasure to remind you of your birthday....or rather, of your TWENTY SIXTH birthday...muahahaha.

shub said...

whoaa! super! cards, flowers, and letters! what more could a girl ask for?!
:D oh, more shoes and clothes!:p
*looks coyly at HER nails :P*

shub said...

hmmm....skin care set, and bath towels? shaadi to nahi kar rahi hai??! :p

shub said...

hmmm....skin care set, and bath towels? shaadi to nahi kar rahi hai! :p

Sayesha said...

#World Girl,
Thanks! :D

#Shub,
Hehehe... yeah, all the gifts were very "girl", huh? Love them! :)

//more shoes and clothes!

I wouldn't trust other people to pick my clothes and shoes, you see. And the "other people" know that! So they got me safe stuff ;)

//skin care set, and bath towels? shaadi to nahi kar rahi hai! :p

Hahaha! I wondered about all the skin care stuff too... As my lazy bum friend says, "Sabko chinta hai tere lovely skin ki... so they want to make sure you care for it well" :)

The Girl Who Sold The World said...

Oh and Sayesha, I forgot to tell...I've exactly the same kinda bedroom slippers! :D Same pinch!

Unknown said...

i come RIIGHT after you TGWSTW..actually there was some confusion between sayesha and me, so our plan didn't work out this time.. but chalega, it's her heppy budday, no?

very heart-warming birthday post, sayesha. and beeeutiful flowers!!! :-)

now next time don't mess up haan, i gotta get my gold back. ;)

The Girl Who Sold The World said...

@Ipanema girl: Nope, SHUB was after me...muahahaha.
And stop framing poor Sayesha. I've poora vishwas on Sayesha...I'm sure she won't plot against me like this. Right, Sayesha? *innocent, sweet smile*

R said...

Mazaa to aana hi tha! Aise surprises ke baad!

Lucky you! That sure is an amazing day!

Chatur Chaar gift is soooo cute! :D

Here's wishing many many more full-of-smiles days!

Rock on babe! :D

R said...

pink cake w/o strawberry???
:O:O:O:O
*deep sigh!*
I am gettin increasingly out dated!
*anuder deep sigh!1*
Anyways...I see you hadd a rockingg budday!!!!!

the bouquets are bothe absolutely lovelyyyyyyyyy

I simply cannot decide which one is better!!!!

mujhe bhi chihiye waise hi boquets

*wails*
*wails lottsa more*
*sniffs*
*sniffs lottsa more*
and ansoon pochatein hue leaves Sayeshaz.

Abhi said...

Man , are you sure your friends don't have wings on their backs ? Such angels.Mujhe itna sab milta to har din 'mera budday hain aaj' ki tee shirt pehan kar jaata office.Chill maar jalebi singh , you deserve all this love.Have phunnn.

Nabeel said...

first of all belated happy birthday wishes,nd may this year bring you more and more happy moments in both your personal and proffesional life. and it was like going through a fairy tale. may god bless you, your family and your friends. take care byeeeeeeeeeeee

Sumit panwar said...

"Awesome day" Full of Surprises.

Anonymous said...

Being your friend must be tough ...after all the cool stuff you do for them on their bdays they got to think of even cooler ways to outgift you! :)

Cheers
Kais

dharmu said...

wat a bday babe !!!!!
and wat a post !!!!

loved both.....way to go..........

Macho Girl said...

Wow! Thats gotta be one of the most awesome birthdays ever!!! I am really happy u liked the gift clueless gave. u have no idea how much time she spent thinking abt wat to get u! I lost track of the number of malls we visited to shop for birthday gifts!

(she was thrilled to bits to see that magnet. The minute she spotted it, she pulled me by my sleeve and pointed at it excitedly saying "isn't this just perfect for sayesha???!!!" What could i say?! :P)

Eclectic Blogger said...

Appe Appe Berthdey!

Ankur said...

happy bday, dudette

Just another ... said...

Happy Birthday :)

Abhi said...

Looks like the anon guys wanna gift you some 'extra money' as a belated gift too.

Sayesha said...

#World Girl,
Owwwww! :/

#Ipanema Girl,
Thanks :)

#World Girl,
Right. I am 25 years old. I don't get involved in petty fights with teenagers!
*nose in the air*

#Rohit,
Thanks yaar! :)

#Moonie,
Thanks! :)
Mat ro yaar... tere bhi din aayenge! :)

#Hitler's aatma,
Thanks, Ladduram! :D

#Nabeel,
Thanks! :)

#Sumit,
Yes, it was! :)

#Kais,
Haha! Yeah, life's a challenge, kya karein! :)

#Dharmu,
Thanks! :)

#Macho Girl,
Oh she dragged you on her gift-hunt too, eh? Hehehe! :P Thanks for all the patience with her, it was all worth it! Love both the anklet and the magnet! :D

#Eclectic Blogger,
Thengyu! :D

#Ankur,
Thanks! :)

#Just Another,
Thanks! :)

#Hitler,
Zubaan ke kache hain! Har post par waada karte hain, lekin chillad bhi nahin diya aaj tak! Hmmph! :/

Unknown said...

Wow! Doesn't that make you feel special? You must be such a lovely perso to mean so much to so many people.

Hope you year is full of unexpected and great happiness in store.

Rashmi.

Mary said...

Happy Birthday! :)
All those presents looked just awesome.. and beautiful flowers :) all the best till your next b'day!

Anonymous said...

A photo blog! Now that's almost like a gift for me :D Congrats on your 'second 25th' birthday again! Thoroughly enjoyed eyeing all the pics. Btw...what camera do you use yaar?

Sayesha said...

#Rashmi,
Thanks! :)
Yes, I do feel very very very very very pampered! :P

#Mary,
Thanks, dear! :)

#A Jane,
Thanks! :) How are you doing, now that Tarzan's in the desert? ;)

//Btw...what camera do you use yaar?

I use a Panasonic DMC-LC33. Why? Is that good or bad? :O

Anonymous said...

I am not tech savvy when it comes to cams...atleast not yet :P I just love the way you always seem to have a cam ready to click all sortsa pics that find their way onto your blog! Presuming you carry a hold all around like Kkusum (:P) with your camera always in it?! Or do you use your fone wala cam? Now what phone do you have? Ok I love gizmos, just saying, I'm sure you can't tell!
As for Tarzan...poor guy has no trees to swing from in the desert!! :-D

A Jane

Sayesha said...

#A Jane,
Hehehe.. that's true... yeah I like to capture my moments :)

Kkusum? The one on TV or the one on my blog?? :O I have no idea about the TV one... I dun watch Ekta Kapoor's creations :D

My Samsung phone has no cam :P I like my phone to be very basic, no fancy stuff, no radio, no MP3 player, no camera, no nonsense. Call karo, sms karo, bas ho gaya! :D

Tarzan is swinging from palm trees, drinking local daaru! :D

Anonymous said...

it was pleasure reading this entry too. ( I am sort of going in reverse order, and its fun.)

Happy birth day.

virdi said...

happy birthday !!! :-)

V..

Sayesha said...

#Satish,
Thanks! :)

#Virdi,
Thank you Happy Singh! :D

Pujya said...

Happy Birthday..a little late :D
my exams, presentations, assignment submission, etc etc etc is going on. "bhagwan jab deta hai chappad phad kar deta hai!
..all the best for ur exams.

Sayesha said...

#Aethyr,
Thanks! :)
I completely understand the phata chappad thing. I am in the exact same boat as you :|

Kathy said...

...oops belated Happy Birthday Kawaii ,umm late though ,i'm sorry but better late than never right ?*grin*
...aries girl huh?hey i'm taurus you know hehe...same month bday cool naa^_^
...glad to know you had a great day with your friends...so you're 25 now ,when can we hear the bells ring for you ?hehe...soon soon?
Goodluck yaar.

cheers,
-kathy-

Kusum Rohra said...

you getting jealous stares from me too :)

What a loot u got :)

Aaee thora saman idhar bhi bhej na Please, dekh we are best blogging friends na??

Anonymous said...

happy 25th (2nd ed) sayesha!

... and yes, i still lurk around here ...

Mohan Kodali said...

wow u r some lucky girl!!!

happy birthday sayesha. :-)
though belated.. better be late than never :D

Anonymous said...

u might want to get a decent pedicure before u flaunt those ugly feet

Anonymous said...

And didnt u get 25 last year as well.How many times are u going to get 25.

Leon said...

Oops.. I seem to have missed your birthday..

Happy Birthday!

Looks like you had an awesome time.. :-)

And thanks for taking the time to visit my blog on this so VERY BUSY day.. ;-)

Sayesha said...

#Kathy,
Thanks yaar! :) No wedding bells yet, only exam bells! :O

#Kusum,
Mere saamaan par nazar?? Chal chal, khud ke budday par samaan bator! :D

#Kel Tamashek,
Thanks! :)

#Chandu,
Thanks! :)

#Anonymous,
You may wanna get a decent course on manners before you flaunt that ugly mouthpiece of yours. My feet may be ugly but they are great for kicking asses of the likes of you.

#Anon again,
Sigh. You don't give up, do you? If you had read my last post, you would not be asking me this.

#Leon,
Thanks! :)
ps: Yeah, old blog friends die hard! ;)

Preethi said...

Hey u r an Arian too.. tht too, u also turned 25 this year??? Now thts cool yaar... Coz its the same with me.. just that my bday is on Apr 15th.

Belated Happy Bday to u, girl...

(Long post, didnt read it completely,sleepy u see, so cant comment on its quality..:))

Angelsera said...

jus catching up w ur posts...sorry for the late wishes "Happy Birthday Sayesha Darling :)"

Will catch w u sometime soon..now tt i dun ve to worry abt rushing for classes for sometime atleast :)

Anonymous said...

That's a great story. Waiting for more. Hbo jenna jameson information about plotters young guns of hockey Zone pilates vhs freezers comparisons http://www.laptops-wholesaler.info/Celebrex-skin-changes.html Free internet washers