The Terrace..!

The other day, as usual, I went to my Poweryoga class.

I was just reaching when the building welcomed me with colourful lights all over it. It looked beautiful and happy. I smiled back at it and entered looking at the decoration with awe.

It was Christmas! No wonder there was a celebration here. As I stepped on the terrace of the building, I saw it lit up as well. The whole range of beautiful plants were proudly looking at me, showing me the decoration n lights which adorned them.

"Wow," I could not help exclaiming. The celebration mood descended on me and I felt a surge of pleasant enthusiasm. It was a unique experience working out there with the rare cool breeze.

Yes, I believe that houses or constructions have a face of their own and an attitude. Some houses are pretty, some gloomy. Some welcome you, some are repulsive. Some send positive vibes, many are negative and so on.

This building is owned by a Christian family. We have the classes on the terrace. The family members also join in with us for a workout. The family is cultured and likable. They are unostentatiously rich people. The terrace is well maintained with a neat roof, a variety of colourful flower plants, a tiny basin, two large fish tanks and a few caged pigeons. There is a barbeque for the family parties that they host there. It is a great place for an evening workout.

Honestly, its all about the positivity of the place. Ever since I joined this class, I have sensed this positive vibe not only from the family but also from the building and the terrace. This quiet place exudes energy which gets transferred to me during workout. I have been to many gyms before I joined this class, but nowhere have I sensed this kind of warmth and positive energy.

This terrace surely makes my evening delightful and energetic.

FACEBOOK - the new addiction!

God, how I hated being part of a networking site!

"I don't need to get connected to old, older and oldest aquaintances who are not in touch anymore. Those who matter to me are there in my life by other, better means of communication. I don't need a networking site for that" I thought. Many friends of mine sent me invites to become member of facebook. I ruthlessly deleted those. I also deleted my orkut profile because it seemed more of nuisance than value-addition.

Then, I read an article, written by a middleaged writer, on how facebook was just a waste of time connecting with people on a net-site. She felt exactly the same. Her article completely supported my viewpoint on networking sites.

Then a very close friend of mine opened an account for me on facebook, of course, with my permission. He said that I can popularise my blog amongst my friends n fans through facebook.

Very selfishly, I gave him a nod to open my account on facebook.

Initially, I found it boring n also bit confusing. But the slow poison had already started working. I got hundreds of friend requests from known n unknown people.

I uploaded my blogspot link on it. Of course, that was what I was there for. Not for other stupid things...

Then I created photo albums with pictures from my television serial shoots. People commented on those.

I got messages from very old friends saying it was nice to find me on facebook. I shared few comments with them. It was quite nice actually.

Slowly but steadily, the facebook poison penetrated in my veins. I looked forward to opening my account and to seeing who has visited my profile.

For the last few days, I have been surfing facebook regularly. and what I thought stupid was actually entertaining me for at least some time.

So, I now have to rethink whether facebook really is a waste of time or no? Does it really serve any purpose?

I guess, I have found the answer.

Facebook CAN be a waste of time and at the same time, it CAN serve many purposes not just one.

Whether our time is wasted or not, is upto us. Only we can allow ourselves to spend too much time on it without getting anything substantial out of it.

Facebook can be a good distraction from your work and daily routine for a while.

It can really make you feel good and become your friend in the moments of loneliness.

You can casually keep in touch with acquaintances.

It can really be a very useful tool to inform about your activities specially professional ones.

I am sure it helps media people to advertise their new projects or writers to advertise their upcoming books...and so on.

I must say that it is definitely very useful in every way if used with proper discretion.

Today, my mother's old friend called up. She welcomed me on Facebook. She complimented me on my photo albums. I felt really proud that an old lady is techno-savvy and actually is a part of a networking site. I mentioned it to her and her reply was," How would I pass my time, otherwise? My daughters are married and away. I can't go out as I can't walk even short distances..."

Well, I dare not call facebook a poison when it is actually somebody's medicine on loneliness and the only connection to the world.

Finally, we must accept and keep up with the new technology advancements and the newer ways of communication of the younger generations, right?

Yes, I am a Facebook addict now. What about you?

A good hair day!!

Well, today was that rare occasion when I experienced a good hair day!

You may wonder, "So? What's the big deal?"

It is a big deal for me because I face this recurrent problem of my hair looking bad almost everytime I wash them.

Sometimes they look too dry because probably more shampoo was used, sometimes somewhat oily because the oil did not get washed off completely, and other times, lacklustre because the conditioner did not get properly washed off.

Having heard my habitual complaint of a bad hair day, a close friend of mine once wondered, how can I not figure out the right amount of shampoo and conditioner which would make them look perfect, even after so many years of washing them regularly? She was actually right. But still, the problem exists.

The moral of the story : I am always unhappy about my hair.

Now coming back to the point. My hair looked good today. They felt really soft and the texture healthy. They played with each other, sang songs, looked proudly silky. They came across as a bunch of happily cleaned hair.

How did this miracle take place? Well, If I knew that, I wouldn't be writing this post.

It just happened. and I got the confirmation of my feeling just as I went out to give a few clothes to get ironed from across my apartment. There I met my neighbour, about my age, who complimented me on my haircut. "Did u get your hair cut today or something? They are looking very nice". Wow, I felt proud. I walked to the Istriwala (the person who irons clothes!) tossing the most beautiful hair in the world.

I then remembered that I did not use my expensive L'Oreal shampoo today. My mother told me in the morning that some of the shampoo which she diluted by adding water is left usused in a bowl in the bathroom. She requested me to use it and finish it else the bowl will remain there as it is till she washed her hair next.

My mother is not someone who would waste money on branded shampoos. Obviously, she is not interested in her hair and their moods at all. So she uses any shampoo that is available at home. These days she is using an unknown brand of shampoo which came free with some other product at the supermarket.

I gave it a thought. Should I use that unbranded shampoo or not?

I did not have to go anywhere today so might as well make her happy and finish her leftover shampoo. I decided. And of course, I was going to use my L'Oreal conditioner over it. So no problem.

And when I least expected my hair to look shiney n bouncy, they did.

So was it that unknown brand of shampoo or was it just the perfect amount of shampoo and conditioner by fluke?

I really can't tell until I get the same result next time!

Till then, I can enjoy my GOOD hair day!