Henna bolo bolo

"WHAT? Go to Little India? On a Friday night? On my own?? Yeah, right! Over my dead body!" This would have been my typical reaction.

But last Friday night, I was forced to eat my words and my hat, skip over my own dead body and make my way to the only area in Singapore I am scared to go to by myself -- Little India.

So why did I go?

Sigh... a song comes to mind... with a little modification...

Charity ke liye sala kuchh bhi karega.

Just before midnight, I had received a message from SVC - Student Volunteer Corps - for whom I had done some fund-raising work last year (I had blogged about it here.) They wanted to ask me if I was available to do the same this year.

I'd love to, I told them, except that I did not have any materials on me. And the only place in Singapore that I knew would have henna cones was Little India. So I braced myself and made the arduous journey to Little India, got lost, called a friend who guided me, wandered the streets of Little India until I finally found a shop that sold henna cones. Phew.

I was up very early on saturday morning and reported to Singapore Polytechnic - the venue of the fund-raising event. I was to be a part of a carnival where I would do henna for people all day. The volunteer who had approached me showed me my table.

And the table-mat... errrr... I mean table-mate who came with it.

Now I had never done joint-venture fund-raising before. In the last 6-7 years of doing this, I'd always had a table to myself.

"This is the face-painting lady, and you'll be sharing the table with her." She told me.

I looked at the FPL just as suspiciously as she looked at me. We exchanged polite hellos.

It was still quite early, and after setting up the stall, I found myself quite jobless. Ditto for her. So we started talking.

"So where's your henna shop?" She asked.

"Err... I don't have a henna shop. I only this one in a while for charity."

"Oh okie..."

"Where's your face-painting shop?" I had to ask.

"I don't have a face painting shop. I only do this as a part-time business at birthday parties and other events."

"So what do you do?"

"I'm a senior editor in a book publishing company."

"Oh okie..."

"What about you?"

"I'm a freelance graphic designer."

Whoa, the things we had in common.

"What's your name?" She asked.

I told her. "And yours?" I asked.

"Hazel."

"Hazel... hmmm..."

Looooong pause.

"So did you get teased a lot in school?" Suddenly I found myself blurting out.

"As in?"

"As in... You know... "Hazel, you're a nut!" type of teasing?"

The moment I said it, I regretted it. I barely knew her, what the hell was I doing cracking bad jokes about her name?!

Thankfully, she started laughing. "Yes, I got teased a lot. I hated my name all through school."

"I like the name 'Hazel'." I said.

"Yeah, me too. Now." She smiled. "Hey, you want to make a poster for our table??"

"Yeah!"

And suddenly we were friends. I guess sometimes a bad joke is all it takes to break the ice and become friends with someone.

So I made our table poster, careful to use exactly half of the sheet of paper to advertise my henna and half to advertise her face painting.

"So when's it gonna start?" I asked.

"Not sure... the chief guest is not here yet... Hey, you wanna make me a henna design meanwhile??"

"Sure!" I was too happy to do it.

After I semi-handicapped her due to the wet henna on her hand, I took over making the pokemon models. She'd been making them to sell at the carnival.
















We made shitloads of them but ended up giving away all for free to the children with Down's syndrome who visited our stall.


There was a balloon sculpture stall next to ours. When I saw the balloon sculptor, I did a double take.

I walked over to him and said, "Hi, are you Victor?"


"Yes, I am! How do you know me?"

"You were featured in my magazine last year, remember?"

"Ohhh! Yes yes, you are the editor! Small world, huh? Are you still with them or doing henna fulltime?"

"Haha! No, I'm still with them."

"Give me your number, I will call you when I get calls to do balloon sculpturing at birthday parties, we can set up shop together!"

"Errr... uhhh... I don't really... why don't you ask Hazel? She's the face-painting lady!"

In five minutes or so, numbers had been exchanged and we were ready to become the trio that terrorised kids at birthday parties.

Speaking of kids, some had soon materialised at our stall out of nowhere. Hazel got busy painting the most adorable spiderman on this kid's arm.

The kid came back later to get a spider's web painted on his face. Then he asked Hazel for a mirror so he could look at it. He then proceeded to use the mirror to examine the spiderman on his arm. Hazel, the kid's mother and I burst into laughter.

"You can look at it directly, you know. You don't need a mirror." Hazel said.

The kid gave all three of us a disgusted 'What-do-you-grown-ups-know' look and continued with his inspection.

Meanwhile, I had a queue of teenagers waiting to get henna done. I soon got to work, and both Hazel and I stayed busy till it was lunchtime.















A kid was observing me as I was making this design. He remarked, "Is that a waffle in the centre?" I laughed so hard, I almost lost control of the cone.
















This girl asked me if I had any design samples to show her. "Oops, all the designs are in my head. I just follow the shape of the hand... if you can trust that." I'm glad she did. This was one of my favourites that day.

As I encountered some strange requests, I remembered a few funny incidents from last year's carnival. When the children with Down's syndrome came down to the stall, (Actually it's difficult to guess the age of someone who has Down's syndrome, so we'd been told to refer to all of them as children) there was a very shy boy amongst them. So this shy boy - I call him Bashful Benny - was looking at the henna and smiling.

"Do you want it done?" I asked him.

He pointed to his arm.

"Okay, let's do a design on your arm. What do you want?"

"My name."

"Your name? Great! What's your name?"

"Benny."

"Okay, Benny, here you go!" I wrote 'Benny' on his arm.

Soon, there were two more of them at my stall asking for the same thing.

"Same thing? Okay, so what's your name?" I asked the first one, while the second one waited.

"No, I want you to write 'Benny'."

"You want me to write 'Benny'??" I glanced at his name tag. His name was something else.

"Yes."

"Err... Okay." So I wrote 'Benny' on his arm.

The second one also wanted me to write 'Benny' on his arm!

The real Benny was standing there, enjoying the spectacle.

"You see, Benny? You're a celebrity! Everyone wants me to write your name!" I told him. He blushed again. They stuck around for a while, and soon Bashful Benny and the other two 'Bennys' were escorted away by the volunteers.


This year, I was slightly more prepared. Girls are never a problem, but usually, I have to think of what to draw for guys. The most popular guy-designs are barbed wire, lizard, spider and its web (see picture), etc.

Once I even had someone asking me to draw a dragon. I had no idea how to draw a dragon with henna, and I told him so. He insisted. I drew what I thought looked considerably like a dragon, till his girlfriend came along, took one look and exclaimed, "Wow! Dolphin! Cool!"

Gee, thanks a lot. :|

Coming back to this year's carnival, the performances by the disabled had started, and people settled down in chairs. I saw some of the most amazing performances ever. A secondary school boy wowed us with a song in Chinese. I seriously believe he was better than some of the finalists in Singapore Idol!

Next, a troup of speech and hearing impaired musicians played some very beautiful pieces. I still can't get over how someone who can't hear music can make music. Amazing.

The SVC volunteers were next, and they put up a very unique performance. They played songs by boybands, and used sign language to translate them to the audience. It looked like a very well-choreographed dance, especially because they were all in sync. Brilliant idea, I must say. And I wondered how come the actual singers in the boybands -- even though they do almost the same actions -- look like such dhakkans in their videos.

Hazel then asked me if I wanted her to paint something for me. I jumped at the chance.

"Yes yes, I want!"

"What do you want?"


"What is your favourite?"

"Powerpuff girls."

"Okay!"

"All three of them?"

"Three?? Whoa! No, one maybe?"

"Which one?"

"What do you mean?"

"Blossom, Bubbles or Buttercup?"

Sheesh.

"I dunno! I'm not really a fan." I said. "The pink one maybe?"

"Oh great! She's Blossom, she's the most popular one."



So she painted this really cool tattoo-like Blossom on my hand.

(By the way, the colour she had used for the hair was a tad stronger than the rest, so after my bath the next morning, everything else had been washed off, but an eerie orange wig was around on my hand for one whole day.)

At the end of the day, I was so dead tired that I felt like going home and collapsing into it, dead to the world until sunday afternoon. But I was supposed to meet my friends for dinner and I turned up, proudly showing off my Powerpuff Girl.

I was tired but I felt really good on the inside. I guess that's the thing about volunteer work -- it's a win-win situation. Someone benefits and you feel really great.

It is probably the only place where the time=money equation is so obvious. Time or money -- give whatever you have more of.

Though sometimes I do wonder if one is really supposed to have so much fun doing volunteer work.

The BYOB (bring your own blog) party

Now I've witnessed a bachelor party before, but on Sunday night, I was invited to the first bachelorette party of my life.

An e-bachelorette party at that.

So what happens when eight crazy bloggers in various parts of the world decide to hold a BYOB bachelorette party online?

A lot, most of which cannot be disclosed here since this is a family blog, and also because the sistahs of the ya-ya sistah-hood would not spare my life if I disclosed the dirty details.

So I decided to blog about PG-rated parts of the party instead. The planning, that is. With the kind permission of the attendees, of course.

*For all the times that you gals ran away with the gold at my bar, Sayesha grabs first bragging...errr... blogging rights to this party and runs away muahahaha*

===========================================

The invitees

Smiling Girl
The girl from Ipanema
Gemini
The girl who sold the world
Nirwa
Aarti
Jane aka The chosen one
Sayesha


The scheduling

Ipanema Gal - hey girls!!! following up on s.g's wonderful idea. QSG is also game for an "e"-girls-night out. we can get together on gtalk and chat. fun will come. we need to fix a time, preferably over weekend..

Sayesha - Wow you guys were serious! This is super exciting!! :D But gtalk??? Gtalk?? No font colour, we'll go crazy trying to figure out who wrote what! Do they even have conferencing?? How about yahoo instead??

Aarti - Btw.. just a passing thought.. NIGHT-OUT??? Night for whom & day time for whom?? :P:P

Ipanema Gal - people throw in times and dates and ideas and let's make this happen! :)

Sayesha - SG sunday night waapas aa jayegi... that would be sunday night for me too... and Amrikans ke liye sunday morning...

Gemini - I am absolutely game for the little chat - Sunday, is it? So this really is a bachelorette party??? When is the shaadi? And whose? I am planning to get drunk and chat with you girls - am even planning to wear a funky outfit, play loud music, and laugh a lot, to get in the groove! ;)

Ipanema Gal - Lets try this again. Sunday 8 30 pm IST = Sunday 11 am EST (U.S time) = Sunday 11 PM Shingapur time. i think that works for most, except it might be too late for sash, and smiling girl can be fashionably late. sash, what do you think??

Jane - So is the grand plan on or not, gals??? Sash hasn't confirmed if 11pm is ok with her...altho' I doubt it...how will the poor gal wake up for MoAnday morning? She will be blue anyway!!

Sayesha - Ati sundar naariyon ka bhandaar, namaskaar. (Hey that rhymed!) 11pm works for me... but I can stay up only till 12... cos 6 baje uthna hai :'(

World Gal - Okay, summary of the latest decisions: time to meet is 8:30 pm IST which is 11 am EST anf 11 pm Singapore time.

The food

Gemini - Hand raised for daaru...i just got back from shopping and i hv my baatlis ready to go!

Sayesha - Baatlis?? Arre baatlis se kya hoga, yahan toh BAALTIS chahiye! HAhahahaha! :D I am buying nachos and I will make my own low fat dip.

Nirwa - Now now.. for drinks, I suggest orange juice! :P And food mein, please make it vegetarian! :P whatever it is.. :P

Sayesha - Nirwa babes... don't worry... tujhe kuchh na kuchh toh mil hi jayega.. and gharwali-'bar'wali a.k.a Sayesha has generously donated fifteen tankis of orange juice for the party. :D

I dunno if this is weird but I actually went and bought nachos and I made my low-fat dip too, the divine secret recipe of which, if sufficiently high on girl-talk, I shall gladly share with the ya-ya-sisterhood at the party tonight.

Nirwa - I say we have pizzas and popcorns and even watch "Naagin" or "Haatimtai" for that matter.. that will make the party ROCK! :P

World Gal - And please, Sayesha...nachos megatons mein banana and bigger share should be mine. Muhahahahahahaha *is very happy that tgfi bhukhad is asleep and won't be able to protest*.

Jane - Hey bhagwan....Sash jaldi se market ja aur extra 20 packets aur le aao! I'll be the popcorn maker (that way I can eat more standing next to the machine :P)

The music

Ipanema Gal - and myuzzik.. how bout good old 80's?? of course, World Gal will have no idea. she can bring nursery rhyme cassettes.

Sayesha - Music... hmmm... I was thinking sharara sharara but that was for a bachelor's party... heheheh... sorry sorry... I don't lissan to much engris muzic... main gaaon ki bholi bhali chhori... sirf brajbhasha ke geet hi sunti hoon. :D

World Gal - Hindi music bhi chalega but Sayesha will have to leave out Himesh Nasalammiya. She said once that she likes his songs. :|

Sayesha - World Gal ki bachi, I did not say I liked Reshammiya - I only like 'Aapki kashish' okhayy??? Hmmph! :|

Underage drinking issues

Gemini - we can have one bachelorette party every month! :p We might become alcoholics, but hey, anything for friends! :))

Aarti - But hey, what alchoholics??? Its not necessary that you need to get drunk every time we chat!!!

Ipanema Gal - eh! what's a party without some daaru?? hum bhi piyenge, tujhe bhi pilayenge. nahi to smiling girl ki tarah apne liye bournvita ya horlicks leke aana.

Aarti - Sayesha ke bar mein jaate jaate aap full bewdi ho gaye ho lagta hai.. You won't get drunk.. no one will..

Smiling Gal - Tune sach hi kaha tha Ipanema Girl... World Girl thoda underage hain is party keliye... :) *Successfully invited a fight*

Ipanema Gal =- HULLLOOOOOO! is bacchi ko kisne laaya party mein?

Gemini - Seriously, 18 yr olds cannot drink - can we make sure we have some OJ and some Soda? Cant be held responsible for serving drinks to bachchas...! :)

World Gal - :O :O :O
Why can't 18 year olds drink??? Why, why, WHY???!!! X-(
*stamps her foot on the ground, throws a tantrum and wails* :P

Sayesha - I had my first drink when I was 24. :O

World Gal - 24??? :O :O :O ITNA LATE??? :O 24 tak toh main curiosity se hee mar jaoongi. :P

Gemini - shiva shiva!!!! aaj kal ki ladkiyan....you are not allowed to drink until you are 21!~!!!!

World Gal - 21??? :O But maine toh suna tha ki it's 18!!! It's 18 in my city! And Delhi mein bhi limit 18 hai!!! Pffft....oppressive people. :|

Gemini - Ahem....delhi is 25... India overall is 25... oppressive, it seems - ek to aaj kal ke bachchon ko sahi raasta dikhao..tch tch... no gratitude only!

World Gal - Delhi is 25? :O But maine toh padha tha ki they're only THINKING of raising the age from 18 to 21.......ab 25 kahan se ho gayi? :O
There's NO justice left in this world.
*grumbles under breath*

Sayesha - Hahahah bachi ko talli hone do behnon.. shaayad usi se sober rahegi...

World Gal - Bachi kisko bola? :O *puts her face into a pillow and sobs*
WHY this ban on drinking? Just when I have finally turned 18. Hmph. This is a gross violation of human rights and I shall appeal to the Amnesty International. X-(

Aarti - about the drinks.. Hmmm.. sochna padega!! Lets take a vote.. girls in favour of drinks kindly sign the petition (I think am gonna see all the names here :P)

World Gal - *Raises one hand in favour of drinks*
After it gets counted, *raises the other hand too for increasing the count*. :P
This is way better than signing a petition. :D

The technical glitches

Gemini - Not to be paranoid or anything - I don't seem to be able to log in to Yahoo - something is not quite right with the servers here - so if I don't show up in the am - its not because I am not up for partying, just thta the Internet stars are not aligning!

Ipanema Gal - yahoo down over here too.\

Sayesha - Come in Charlie 1 2 3... Come in Charlie 1 2 3... Charlie ke bache kahan hai tu... Singapore reporting Yahoo's downfall :'(

Gemini - Charlie ka bachcha North America mein bhi nahin hai...kisi aur ne usse dekha hai kya???

Sayesha - Newsflash - Yahoo is working. YAHOOOOO!!!!!!!! :D

The stripper

Sayesha - All right gals, I'm bringing a male stripper.
*pauses for effect*
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :D

World Gal - Male stripper? *fake scandalised look on her face*
Just ONE??? :P

Gemini - can we get abhishek b???? ;)

Sayesha - Hahahaha! Abhi Bachha I mean Abhishek Bachchan is too likeable for me to see him strip. :D People look sooooo much better with clothes on, na? :D

Gemini - Yea, some ppl look good with clothes - like Gulshan Grover - not Aby Baby...! ;)

Sayesha - So you have seen Gulshan Grover without, eh? :D

Gemini - So who do you have for the strip show???? George Clooney? Brad Pitt?

Sayesha - I'm getting a sumo wrestler... that way the contrast between clothes on and clothes off is not a lot.

Gemini - I am sorry but I wont be able to make it...! Not if you hv a sumo wrestler for the stripper...!

Ipanema Gal - Hahahahahhahahahha i just went thru the string of emails and found out about the sumo wrestler. aa raha hai kya woh? i need to be dressed up accordingly. IMHO, a sumo wrestler is better than abhishekh hunchback bacchan.

World Gal - the stripper's still not decided....make it John Abraham please...although a sumo wrestler might tell us what NOT to eat and that way, some of us can lose weight. :P

Sayesha - John Abraham naked???? Nahiiinnnnnnnnnn aisa durachar mat karna behno!!!

Gemini - ABHISHEK OR ARJUN RAMPAL - OR EVEN JOHN ABRAHAM. NO SUMO WRESTLERS!

Sayesha - Hahahahaha! I actually read it as Arjun SINGH! And I was like - yeh ladki paagal hai kya??

Gemini - I don't want to hurt feelings but that is NOT an option! ;)

Aarti - In any ways, NO SUMO WRESTLER Sayesha.. pleeeeeaase.. itna atyachaar mat karo.. Nahiiiiiiiin :P:P

Jane - EH???? Oye Aarti behena, aise conditions lagaogi na toh party ka satyanash ho jayega!! No drinks, no strippers, oye yeh party hai ya kindergarten ka class?? Tauba tauba, kya zamaana aa gaya hai

Aarti - I changed my idea for drinks yaar.. ap sab to raashan paani lekar mujhpar chad gaye! Bichari bachi ki jaan loge kya?!?! And who said no stirpper??? :O:O:O
Oye.. this is a bacherotte party.. and no bachelorette party is complete w/o a stripper okay! Who's the stripper.. that has to be decided :P

World Gal - Why can't WE decide the stripper? :| Why? Why? WHY??? *stamps foot on the ground and throws a tantrum*. make it John Abraham, please.....or wait, can it be Francesco Totti? :D Or if someone has a problem with Italian football team *looks sourly at dukhi Lajjo*, then, make it Orlando Bloom. :P
JOHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNN!!!!!!!! :D :D :D *super duper excited*

Aarti - And one vote in favour of John.. Sorry Sash, get someone on your side quick :P:P

Sayesha - I just called and cancelled the Sumo... bechara ro raha tha... kaha ki pehli baar kisine usko bachelorette party mein bulaya aur phir cancel kar diya... abhi woh solid diet-exercise regime par hai. Says he'll make it to my bachelorette party.

Gemini - Kya daddy-cation hai!!!! ;) Let us know when your bacherlorette party is - and with that, pl to send dimesions of this sumo dude too, okay?

Sayesha - Ok let me make it clear... I LOVE John... he's da best... which is why I DON'T WANT HIM TO STRIP!! Mera sacha pavitra pyaar hai woh... uski izzat ko sareaam neelam hote nahin dekh sakti main.. nahiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn :O

Gemini - Kya pyaar hai - ab bipasha kya karegi???

Aarti - So Sayesha doesn't want John.. then give us some strong recommendations Sash else ye sab ladkiyaan John ko hi laakar rahengi!!!

Nirwa - Stripper Options :
1. Satish Shah
2. A K Hangal
3. Alok Nath
4. Mithun Chakraborty / Mimoh Chakraborty
5. Karan Johar :P :P :P

Sayesha - Nahiinnnn Karan Johar nahinnn I LOVE him!!!!!! Meri aakhon ke saamne uska wastra-haran??? Nahiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!
Who da hell is Mimoh? Mithunda ka puttar hai kya??
A K Hangal? Bechara Nangal?? Hehehehee!

Nirwa - I think Karan Johar is gay...

Sayesha - And Karan Johar gay hai toh kya hua, mera pyaar phir bhi sacha hai! SATC fans, gay friends are the loophole of monogamy, remember? ;)

Nirwa - And yeah, Mimoh is Mithunda da puttar! :P Coming soon to a cinema near you.. (psst.. try google image search to see this dude - eewwww)

Sayesha - I want Arjun Rampal!!!! Lekin with clothes on! :|

Aarti - Nirwa, if you wanna see Mimoh or Mithunda strip.. Govinda kya bura hai yaar??? :P:P
Hey Sash.. what is this?? KJ is your pyar, JA is your pavitra pyar.. Kisiko chodoge ke nahi????? Now kindly come up with some real nice suggestions for the stripper, girls.. kya kar rahe ho?? Less than 7 hours for the party and the stripper hasn't been decided yet !!! Btw.. hehehahaha.. A piece of news.. I guess its our great "Himesh" ka happy budday today LOL but am sure none of ul would like to see him strip.. anyone interested in nightmares?? :P:P

Nirwa - Happy Happy Happyyyyyeeeinnn beerrrrththhhhdeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnn
The day I blog about the Gujaratis who changed the world, Himesh Reshammiya is a must on the list..
I vote for himesh as the stripper.. 'mere mere mere.. kapdeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn'

World Gal - Hey Bhagwaan!
Did someone dare mention KARAN JOHAR as the stripper??? Eeeeeeeewww....he's SO gay! No, me no homophobic but please, don't do satyanaash of our party.

Okay, I've finally decided the stripper. Remember that Pardesiya guy? Yeah, yeah, the female sucked but please, did anyone notice her hot boss? And that hot 'Ali Baba' in some recent remix too? The one who also modelled for Pulsar? 'These boots are made for walkin' ad...in all black! Ooooh......I remember a blogger telling me his name....it's Muzamil Ibrahim. :D Really really stripper material...errrr....I mean, super hot. :P

And it's Himesh Nasalammiya's birthday?
Ooooooooooooooooooo.....eh.....alright, this proves it. I suck at everything, including mimicking Himesh.

Nirwa - hark hark hark.. yes yes.. i liked that dude.. one vote for him! :P
let's change himesh's name to nakesh gawaiya :P :P :P

Jane - Goodness gracious me! 84 mail threads in this one continuing thread, not counting hte side mails for yahoo ids et al....party yahin ho rahi hai kya sisterlog????

Kuch toh bachke rakho evening ke liye! I eyed all the choices for strippers and now my eyes hurt. I think I need to lie down. The Muzzamil kid is definitely a sight for sore eyes though, pls have pity on my poor heart and leave the Mimohs and Miyyans and Nangals out...as it is, Parekhombie is scary enuff! :P

Sayesha - Yes yes Pardesiya's hot boss is fine with me... yeay! :D

World Gal - Okay, all the chalu sistahs, I'll have extra popcorn too, please. :D And *edges her way past Jane to reach Sayesha* Sayesha, agar uske liye 20 packets aayenge, toh mujhe 40 chahiye! :P

Jane - Oye Nacho World Gal! :P
Are ye gonna be edging your way up to Muzzamil as well??
I don't think so, young lady!
Go and do your homework, NOW!
:D


World Gal - Yes, I am! YES, I AM!!! He's miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!!! Stay away from him, chalu sistah Jane :P *gives a menacing and cold stare*. X-(
You take Karan Johar! Muhahahahahahahahaha
*runs off as fast as her little legs can carry her*. :P

Nirwa - LOL - yeah, Jane, take Karan Johar.. aka Kooo :P (inspired from Poo of k3g)

Jane - Okay-o! *Jane cheerfully picks up Karan Johar, mixes him in the popcorn, listens to the crackling, and when just right, makes a paper cone and hands the popcorn to sweet, innocent li'l Nacho World Gal, who's li'l big mouth is anyways open and ogling at model Muzzammil.*

World Gal - *Munches on the popcorn, suddenly realises that the taste sucks*
Euuuuuuuuughhhhh....kya milaya isme? :O Oh no!!! I'm poisoned!!! :(
dyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiingggggggggggggggg
dyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnn
dyyyyyyyyyyyyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
dyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
ddddddddddddddddd
*DEAD*

Jane - Koo.....bwahahahhahahahahhahhahahhahaha!! I'm loving' it!
So, Nacho 100th Scrappie Navs.....how didja like my KOO POPCORN?
*EVIL LAFF*

World Gal - *Nacho 100th scrappie Navs can't reply because she's busy thinking of her epitaph one-liner*
thought of it..."excuse my dust" :P
Now, please bury me deep. :|

Jane - Ooopps!! Muzzammil dahling, would you pls revive poor baby here with some CP...err...i mean some crisp popcorn?
Bwahahhahahahhahahaha

World Gal - *Hopes that Muzamil ignores Jane's faltoo ka full form of CP and gives some ACTUAL CP*
ahemmmm.

Sayesha - Muzi sirf mera hai!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Well I can't disclose the details of the party, but the most important thing is that Sayesha had to leave early, and so Muzi offered to drop her home, while the other girls turned a horrible shade of green.

Muahahaha! :D

I called. I spoke. I conquered.

Yes, they rock.

Now I just gotta get the visa before they wake up and change their minds. :O

And may I add -- dhaaki tiki dhaaki tiki dhaaki tiki!!!! :D

Note: Errr... Details of the 3-day convincing strategy and flawless execution cannot and shall not be disclosed for fear of misuse by the crazy youngsters of today.

Weather forecast - Sunny and sneezy today, storm expected tomorrow

Namaskar. Aaj ke mukhya samachar.

My Marketing Manager popped by my cubicle to ask me what my parents think about the Pakistan trip. I didn't have an answer for him. I haven't called them yet, I'm still rehearsing what to say and how. I will call them tomorrow and tell them even though I am really nervous. But I was sitting in Komalas today, having sev puri, when songs from Veer-Zaara started playing and I think that's a good sign.

In local news, if you live in Singapore... no no no this is not another survey! So where was I?... Yeah, if you live in Singapore and have some time to spare tomorrow, drop by Singapore Polytechnic to support the Student Volunteer Corps Olympic Dream - a campaign for athletes with disabilities. (I'm helping them raise money by setting up an all-day henna stall at their carnival, and I promised them I'd do a lil publicity for them on my blog.) Swim a lap or two and help them raise money. You have nothing to lose.

Errr... Except for the $5 registration fee and some flab around the waist.

Samachar samaapt hue.
==============================================

So this kid sends a letter addressed to my science magazine. They often send really cute questions to a section called 'Ask the experts', and my science writers answer their questions.

His question was, "Why do I sneeze when I step out in the sun?"

If I could, I'd have hugged him!

Reason -- I suffer from the same 'sneeze in sun' syndrome. Once I stepped out of an airconditioned room into the sun, and sneezed 32 times. Not fun. :|

So I googled to find out more and this is what I got.

Close association between the eye’s optic nerve and nerves causing the sneeze reflex may explain why an estimated 5-25% of people sneeze with sudden exposure to bright sunlight or other light sources. Sudden bright stimulation of the eye that occurs after a person has become adapted to darker surroundings is thought to bring on the condition, known as photic sneeze reflex.

5-25% of the people? I think not. My colleagues seemed pretty surprised when I told them about it. I don't think it's that common. I think it's just three ultra cool people who have this ability. The cool kid, the cool Sayesha... and before Mithunda can jump in and ask "Teesra kaun?", it's the very cool Scott Adams. Yes yes, the Dilbert wala.

And here's the really funny part.

The reflex is also known as Autosomal dominant Compelling Helio Ophthalmic Outburst syndrome.

Also known by the acronym ACHOO.

I have ACHOO. Do you have ACHOO? :D

Just in the neighbourhood

Life is full of amazing coincidences.

So this morning, I'm still thinking about how cool pkblogs.com is.
And then my blog gets its first comment from Pakistan.

And then my Marketing Manager pops by my cubicle to tell me he wants me to go to Pakistan on work.

"Pakistan?" My eyes almost pop out.

"You mean Pakistan? Pakistan Pakistan?" I'm so excited I can't say anything after that.

"Umm... Yeah. Pakistan. Seven days. Three cities. Three presentations."

"Pakistan??" Ok, I'm beginning to sound dumb now.

"Well, of course I'll understand if you don't want to go... because of the...errr.. you know...."

"No no! I wanna go, I wanna go!"

I was stumped. I'd never even dreamt in my entire life that I would even think of going to Pakistan. Ever.

And here was a guy willing to put me on a plane which will take me from Singapore to the land of Ghulam Ali, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, Junoon, Strings and Jal!

I could not believe my luck.

No one in my family was a freedom fighter. Neither my parents nor I was around during partition. And yet, for some reason I am very emotional about Pakistan. And though I had recently blogged about how I wish India and Pakistan merged to form a single cricket team that whacks everyone's ass, the hunky cricketers are not the only reason.

To me, Pakistan has always been the forbidden land, the mysterious place. A country full of people who are exactly like me. And yet different.

And now I was so close to getting a chance to see it all with my own eyes.

"So? Can I confirm that you will be going?" The Marketing Manager shook me out of my dazed state.

"Yeah, definitely!"

"Great, I'll arrange for the paperwork then."

But suddenly I had a thought. That before even thinking about doing the three presentations to people in Pakistan, there was a telephonic presentation I would have to do to certain people in India.

"No, wait. I think I need to get my parents' permission first... because of the... errr... you know..." I said.

"Of course, of course. I understand. Let me know if they agree."

"Okie, sure."

Hmmm... now what?

I'm sure Mom and Dad will freak out. They're not anti-Pakistan, but I know they will fear for my safety, what with the bomb blasts in both countries, and all the finger-pointing. Sigh. When do I call them? Now or after they're back from the US? What do I tell them? How do I tell them? Do I just 'inform' them or do I 'ask' them? But whatever I do, I know what they will say. "What?? Go to Pakistan?? Have you gone crazy??"

How do I convince them to let me go?

Hmmm... Will getting someone to stop their newspaper supply, and disrupt their TV connection help?

I really really wanna go. Should I? Or should I just pretend that I am five, and listen to Mom and Dad? I may be 26, but on some levels I still believe that our parents always know what's best for us. Should I even try to convince them against what I'm sure they'll say?

I feel so lost.

Inshallah it will all work out fine.

And yes I call myslef a ediotr

Update 1 - Blogs blocked
All the blocked blogspot sites can still be accessed by people in India via pkblogs.com. The new blog url will be http://www.pkblogs.com/blogname if the original url was http://blogname.blogspot.com
For example, the bar can be accessed at pkblogs.com/sayesha if sayesha.blogspot.com is blocked. Alternatively, you can use http://www.inblogs.net/sayesha

So if you're getting distress messages from blog-readers in India who can't access your blog, spread the message, tell your buddies about pkblogs.com and inblogs.net, or leave a comment on their blogs (which I presume will go to their email even if they can't access their own blogs).

Update 2 - Dissertation survey
172 down, hoping to get 28 more before my subscription expires. So if you live outside Singapore, and have watched Krrish, then please please take my survey by clicking here. :)

Samachar samaapt hue. Now I can get back to my new post.

A colleague mentioned something very interesting today.

When you're an editor, you tend to look at everything around you with an editor's eye. Especially that of a copy-editor.

When I joined my company as an assistant editor, my jobscope involved a lot of copy-editing -- language, grammar, tenses, style, consistency, punctuation, etc. etc. And that kinda spilled over into everything else. I would be horrified to see things in my daily life which I wouldn't have noticed (or cared about) earlier. I spotted 'errors' in newspaper articles, emails, posters, outdoor advertisements, everything!

"Gosh! Double space between the two words!"

"Why is there a space before the full stop?"

"Oh look, they spelt out the number 10 in the first paragraph and wrote it as a number in the last paragraph. How inconsistent!"

"Drink milk 'everyday'?? Sheesh, there should be a space between 'every' and 'day'!"

"Hey there are opening quotes but no closing quotes!"

"There should be a comma here! The meaning is different without the comma!"

"This should not be a hyphen! This should be an 'em-dash'!"

Thankfully, I no longer have this annoying habit. It could be because my jobscope is no longer what it used to be. As a senior editor, my job involves more of conceptualisation, strategising, talking to users, market research, identifying new book ideas, training, drafting frameworks and content editing than copy-editing. I leave the copy-editing nitty-gritties to my project editors.

But there is one copy-editing tip that I learnt years ago, but follow even now.

When I was undergoing copy-editing training, the trainer gave a tip that I found exceptionally useful. She suggested that while copy-editing a manuscript, we place a ruler under each line as we read it. That helps us concentrate better because we're not distracted by what comes after that line, and so it helps us look at that particular line with a sharper eye.

It was an excellent tip, and I always follow it, even now, especially when I am checking the final proofs of my editors' work.

But I also find the tip to be useful for another very important reason.

It gives me the ability to differentiate between simply reading something and reading as an editor.

I know that when I put a ruler under a line, I'm sub-consciously preparing myself to read it in a different way. I am not gonna read it like I read a newspaper or a magazine or a blog, I am gonna read it to ensure that it is clear, concise and error-free. It is very important for editors to do this differentiation because the nature of our job is so similar to what we do outside of work, all the time. We're always reading something or the other. If I started reading everything with an imaginary ruler under it, I would go bonkers. I would have to quit my job and seek counselling. And I'd probably be copy-editing my counseller's namecard as I wait for my session.

So I made a rule -- when the ruler is off, I don't see the typos, I don't see the grammar errors, I just read the stuff like everyone else.

Once in a while, I get comments on my blog that go somewhat like "And you call yourself an editor?" or start off with a sarcastic "Miss editor, why don't you... blah blah..." But it doesn't affect me. Because this is a blog, not an editorial in a daily. And I am proud of it, complete with all its typos, grammar boo-boos, all its little imperfections.

My blog contains my thoughts, which often come tumbling out in one big mess and that's how I will put them up. I will not look out for grammar and punctuation and spacing and spelling and sense when I blog. Of course, before hitting 'Publish', I read it once just to make sure it represents in a fair manner what I wanted to write. But I refuse to put a ruler against my monitor.

Because this is not an editor's blog.

This is just the blog of someone who does editorial work from 8:15 am to 6:03 pm five days a week.

And this doesn't hold for editors only. I have always followed the policy of "Do not let your personal life interfere with your professional life. And oh, do not let your professional life interfere with your personal life either."

In fact, I vote for a livelier world -- a world where a doctor faints at the sight of blood when he cuts himself shaving, where an electrical engineer can't figure out why his radio set is not working, where an artist helps his son with his art homework and the son flunks, where a carpenter has a wobbly dining table in his house, where a mathematician can't divide a 140-dollar dinner bill among his three friends and himself, where a dietician is found munching on a packet of potato chips every night while watching her favourite soap, where a lawyer is rendered speechless by his wife, where a banker can't manage her home expenses, where a negotiator can't peel his son off the X-box and get him to finish his homework, where a sharpshooter can't aim with a water pistol, where a cricketer can't catch a saucepan that his wife throws at him in anger.

A world where no one (including myself) cares whether each of my posts is 'well-edited' or not.

I blog at home, you see.

And I don't like to bring work home.

Every blog has its day

Some time ago, someone I knew suddenly closed down her blog. There was no explanation - just a note thanking her blog readers and requesting them not to ask her to change her mind.

It brought back memories of the day when this bar almost closed down.

I believe that every blogger, at one point in time or the other, considers shutting shop. A blog, just like a relationship, can end anytime. For no reason. But then sometimes, there is a reason. It could be anything. It could be a desire to retire at the peak, just like many football coaches do, rather than to see the blog going downhill and then giving up. Or it could be due to other factors - burnout, boredom, blogger's block, mean anonymous comments, readers you don't want on your blog, anything at all. That's when you just feel like it's not worth it anymore, that it's becoming more of a burden than a joy. When you know that merely taking a break will not help. When you know that it's time to end it all.

However, I'm fortunate that it only happened to me once. I have often experienced frustration because of this blog, but I always woke up the next day, feeling happy and wanting to blog again. But this particular incident was different. I knew I did not want to continue anymore. It was getting too difficult to maintain the bar. I was paying a very high price. And I knew I could not afford to anymore. I'd even written a final post, because I felt that it would be a dishonour to Sayeshaz and the bewda readers if there was no closing post.

So I wrote a post titled 'The rent is too high' and saved it as a draft first, to post the next day, when I was slightly calmer. The next day, for some strange reason, I did not want to post it. Maybe I did not really want to shut down. Maybe I convinced myself when I said, "No one should be able to emotionally hurt me without my explicit permission." Maybe there's something about blogosphere, something that doesn't let you quit, that doesn't let you die. Instead, it pulls you up, dusts the hurt away, and makes you stand up on your feet again, and you feel ready to write again.

But the draft was still there. And every time I'd see the draft, I'd think, "Hmmm.. I wonder when..."

That draft was driving me nuts. I wanted to delete it but I knew that if I deleted it, it would stay in my head forever. I could see me pointing an angry accusing finger at myself, saying "You destroyed a post? How could you do that? You put effort into writing it and you destroyed it? You are a dhakkan!"

And if it stayed on as a draft, I saw me again, saying, "You just wanna keep it so that one day when you're frustrated again, you'd have an easy solution and a convenient last post, isn't it? Coward!" I knew it was highly possible that I would just post the saved draft one day and that would be the end of this blog. Just like that.

As the purane bewdas would know, running the bar over the last 1.5 years hasn't exactly been a bed of roses for me. But I refused to give up because I am in love with this place. I love to hang out here with my blog buddies. It's my place of relaxation. My end of the day chillout place. I can't shut it down just like that.

I'm not saying that I will never stop blogging. But if this blog has to end, it should not and will not end just like that.

If there's an end, it will be a happy one.

So I decided to post the saved draft today and get it over with, done with, so that it's out there, and out of my system. And I wouldn't think about it anymore. (Have you noticed that once you blog about something, it stops bothering you?) So here, it is, the post that I'm publishing today as a mark of how stupid I was - to actually allow myself to get so hurt that I almost stopped doing what I love to do.

Blog.

So here's the saved draft:

It was one of those days that we label as 'bad'
I was angry, I was shocked, I was hurt, I was sad
I was walking alone on a grey, foggy day
When I bumped into myself on the way.

She smiled a knowing smile and said "Hi!"
"Ah, so you finally decided to drop by!"
You had to come here, it's been long due."
I said, "You look like me, but who are you?"

"I'm you", she said, "but you wouldn't know.
You're the same as me, but from a long time ago.
Come along with me, let me show you, my dear
The ugly truths of the blogosphere."

"On every single post that you pen down
There will be some faces that will frown
You will be judged you on whatever you write
You'll come across malice and plenty of spite."

"The same thing if posted by a friend
Is cute and funny and adorable to no end
But if it's posted by someone they dislike
The spiteful comments will suddenly spike."

"You'll make on your blog many a good friend,
But not all will stay with you till the end.
Just when you think that you know them through
They'll choose that moment to tell you what they really think of you."

"And once in a while, you'll feel the stress
And you'll shed a few tears and wonder in distress
Your heart will ache, and depression will strike
You'll ask - is this what blogging's supposed to be like?"

"Spite, malice, cynicism... Is happiness the new sin?
But shouldn't being happy be perennially in?
If grumbling and complaining is not your cup of tea
Does that make you an 'uncool blogger' for eternity?"

"If you start the miss the good old days
If you feel that you're trapped in a wordy maze
If you feel unhappy, if you feel out of place
Maybe it's better to drop out of the mad race?"

I listened to her with patience, but I had something to say
"But why are there more bloggers today than yesterday?
If it's all so ugly, why do people still blog?" I asked.
"We do it of our own will, it's not like we're tasked."

"Why do you blog, Sash? You need to ask yourself."
And I replied "Isn't it a joy - blogging in itself?"
"Well, it is, but only till the day it brings you pain
Perhaps then it's time to start thinking again."

"What is a blog? It's the words in your heart.
It doesn't need skill, neither is it an art.
You can express whatever you have to say.
It doesn't always have to be the same old way."

"Don't brood over the joys of the old blogging days
Do you know you can blog in a million other ways?"
I looked up at her, amazed, and she whispered to me
"Your blog is your heart, and only you have the key."

I had one more thing to ask her, "Do you still blog?"
And all I could see was her smile through the fog.
Before walking away, she stopped and looked back at me
"Blog?" She laughed. "I just did, didn't you see?"

A 'uni'que experience

My friend Max - also my senior from uni - is leaving Singapore.

So over dinner on Thursday night, he expressed a desire to visit our uni before he left Singapore. We decided it was a fabulous idea to go to uni and do addabazi at the usual haunts.

So he sent out an email to a bunch of people asking them if they were interested. Soon a roll call was started over email, as people kept adding their names on the list. (These kinda emails make you pity the people who don't use gmail.) It was decided that we would meet at 10 am at the train station and then take the bus to uni. This bus has a very scenic route and I would consider the bus ride as an integral part of the uni-viewing experience.

So I am waiting at the train station at 10 am, and there's no sign of the dhakkans. I wait patiently till 10:15 am and then send an sms to Max to ask his whereabouts. He calls back immediately.

"We're taking a cab to the train station. We'll get there soon."

"Max, tell me the truth. You just woke up, didn't you? You're not really in a cab, are you?"

"Oh it's my flatmate who was taking so long... we're going to take a cab now..."

"Going to??? Max, it's 10:15!"

"Sayesha, this is supposed to be a trip down memory lane. So the timings will also be like that."

"Okay, get your asses here asap."

A loooong wait later, they finally turned up - Max, American Pi, and two others. So it was only five of us. The rest bailed out. Too early for them I suppose. Office-goers are usually reluctant to wake up early on saturdays.

So as usual, I found myself on a trip with an all-guys company. Except that this trip was not to Cambodia, Perhentian or Goa, but it was just down memory lane.

We went to Canteen A first, the main adda of the IG, or the Indian Gang, as we called ourselves in uni. In the old days, there used to be a western food stall which served good breakfast. Their omelettes were pretty popular, and the stall lady would yell at her cook every few seconds, "Ikha omh-leh!" She became known as the 'ikha omh-leh' lady. Unfortunately, her stall has been replaced with a McDonald's so poor Max could not eat his last 'ikha omh-leh' for breakfast.

We decided to get a drink and sit at the IG table. The IG table is a big table in the canteen which has been kinda reserved for the noisy Indians from India, for years now. No one dares to sit at that table - not the Chinese, not the Malays, not the local Indians, nor anyone else. And this holds true to this day. It's like an unwritten policy.

I had a glass of cold milo - the best and the cheapest (40 cents) I have ever had in Singapore - and the guys also got some drinks. We spent some time doing addabazi at the IG table and then went to check out the library.

The library is just above the canteen, and during exams, we would study for half an hour in the library and then come down to the canteen to take a ten-min break, and would only end up going back an hour or more later. It was earlier known as Library 1 but is now named after a guy. As we sat and wondered about how much money the guy must have donated to get the library named after him, Max's flatmate made a profound statement.

"There are two ways to get something named after you. Either you donate shitloads of money, or you become so famous that they pay you shitloads of money to use your name."

"I think I'll just use the second approach. Financially, more viable." I said.

Max's flatmate joked, "Max, since you're leaving, you may name a piece of furniture in our house after you. The Max chair, or the Max table or something?"

Max retorted, "Yeah, sure! And oh, can I name the shitpot after you??"

His flatmate said, "Yeah, but you have to pay me royalty for using my name."

"Yeah, the shit I deposit will be your royalty!" Max said.

I think we forgot we were in a library, we were laughing so hard. Luckily, we were not kicked out of the library. IG members were famous for getting kicked out of places - especially from hostels.

From the library we started walking towards the other end of the main uni building, also known as the south spine.















We stopped by the steps near the admin building and remembered the days when we would have the annual IG photoshoot at the steps. We sat there for a while and chatted about the old days, before moving on.
















The Student Affairs Office - I'd laughed for months at the name!
















Coffee club express, where we used to sit and have cheesecake slices. Yummy!
















The auditorium where my convocation was held





















The tutorial rooms where we used to study at night for exams
















My green and beautiful uni! Yeay!


We passed by the computer room, and remembered the hilarious days of IRC and how one of our seniors had made a complete ass of another by posing as a hot chick and talking to him on IRC for weeks! The guy actually turned up at the airport, complete with flowers, to "receive the babe", but was greeted by the prankster instead! The story had been passed down to generations of the IG.

Then we went to the MLT - the Main Lecture Theatre - which has also been named after someone now. This lecture theatre can house a thousand students, which was how big the first year engineering class used to be. One of the guys pretended to be a lecturer and even gave a mock lecture, which he ended with a "Pretty girls may stay back."

We sat for many of our exams in the MLT, so all the funny exam stories came out. Apparently, one of our seniors entered the MLT before an exam and remarked, "Yaar, bahut thand hai yahan..." ("It's too cold here.") The prof who taught the subject happened to be an Indian, and he retorted in Hindi, "Beta, exam paper kholo, bahut garmi lagegi." ("Son, open the exam paper, you'll start feeling very hot.") :D

Then there was another incident when a prof was giving exam tips when he noticed my senior sleeping in the first row. He asked the guy next to him to wake the sleeping guy. The sleeping guy was woken up and made to listen to the tips, after which the prof said, "Okay, you can go back to sleep now." And he did!!! :O















The canteen B tables, where I would do last minute revisions before exams

We next went to Yunnan Garden, where much of the ragging used to take place. More here on how I was ragged. We took pictures in front of the fountain near the Chinese Heritage Centre.















We walked by Nanyang Lake, the lake with dirty brown water, where we'd been dunked by the seniors in our first year. The memories were not very pleasant. :|

We had lunch at Canteen 2, and went to the mini co-op there. The aunty at the counter is the same even now after so many years!

Then we went to the SRC - the Sports and the Recreation Centre - near the running track. This is where the seniors would line us up and grill us. This is where I had been asked to play antakshari against myself for an hour. Sheesh. :|

We checked out the swimming pool and the indoor basketball courts (we actually had some of our exams in the basketball courts!) Memories came rushing back.

















The dirty pool outside Hall 6, where many IG members were thrown in on their birthdays















One of the hostels




















A closer look at a hostel block















View from where we waited to board the bus

After taking tons of photos and roaming around campus for 4-5 hours, we took the bus back and went our separate ways. Just like we're about to do in life.

Here's to my friend Max. I hereby forgive you unconditionally for ragging me. Have a great life, buddy! :)

And I'm more than sure we'll meet again.