where is a sister when you need one?!?

The room is picture perfect.

All the clothes are arranged neatly in the cupboards. The carpet is vacuumed. New Fab India bed covers and table cloths adorn their respective bodies. Charles Camoin's colorful and empty fishing village on the wall. Dusted television and CD cupboard sits proudly. I, freshly bathed, sit here and wonder where my sister went!

Classes begin tomorrow. My roomie, our friend A and I get a spurt of energy. We subconsciously prepare ourselves for the impending two months by disciplining the chaotic house.

I have the solution now. Sis dearest should come not during holidays, but during term. She will see a different side of us!

Though there are some more thoughts I want to share relating to my sister's visit and my seasonal hygiene standards, I think I better leave it at this. I so wanted to take a photograph of the room and post it, but A had made her bed by the time I came out from the shower. For now you'll just have to take my word for it :)

!!sister power!!

I might just be losing my blogoholic tendencies. I have so many posts in my head from the last 4 days that I was in NYC but i'm too tired to track back the million thoughts.

I had the most fulfilling time with my sister - the best we are capable of having at this point in time.
We did the laughs, the confessions, the giggles and the confrontations.
We did the walks, the talks, the shops and the hops.
We travelled on the train, in the bus, by the taxis and on our feet.

We spent this morning having desert at Serendipity (yes, the one in the film by the same name). It was spectacular.
We circled Manhattan on a cruise two days back - we saw the famous statue of liberty which made us both feel sick somehow; we saw the building where our friends stay (rachael, monica, joey, etc.); we saw the financial district with the missing twin towers; we saw the beauty of new york city as evening dawned on us and lights glittered all around.
We had the most fun walk on 5th avenue late at night when all these famous expensive stores were closed down - we saw the Trump tower, the Disney store and other famous cars, clothes, shoes and jewellery stores.

I learnt more about her and hope she got to know me better too.

I have a strong feeling that she didn't get all that she had expected from the trip. I was afraid of this. With distance, people create romantic illusions about each other. It's only been four months but I could tell my sis had sort of forgotten how not-nice I am. I'm sure she knows now. I tried hard. But it was tough. Her monster-like energy levels and her obsessive cleaning around my house made me feel dizzy. Imagine B, what would you do if I came to your house and started cleaning around everywhere, all the time??! :)

So she's on her way home now - I'm sure counting every second before she is reunited with her 7 month old.
The last 10 days were full of ups and downs and in-betweens. Hoping the new year is just as colorful.. :)

last update of the year..

So today is my sister's last day here - tomorrow we leave for NYC. Still haven't decided what we will do for new year's eve - we're stuck between a walking tour on the Brooklyn Bridge or the times square dropping of the ball. We are definitely watching a musical and going to at least one museum. We are hoping to explore Greenwich village and be overwhelmed by Manhattan - since it is our first time there.

Yesterday was another interesting day. We started off with getting on to the wrong bus, getting off it, running around looking for the right one and in the meantime having a heated argument about our personal differences. It's amazing how we need a break in the regular routine for something important to happen. So we finally get on to the right bus, with greater knowledge about each other. We go on to shop, shop and shop some more.

In the evening we saw a musical called "I love you, you're perfect, now change." It was good fun. It was my first time in a dinner theatre sort of a place where we sit at tables and have drinks and eat cake while we watch the play. Another surprise was my interest in the wine. I enjoyed the wine at the theatre! Seems like I am beginning to develop a taste for it. The wine-maker of the vineyard we visited day before had such an infectious enthusiasm for wine and it seems like I caught it too!

After the theatre, we went to this really cozy and beautifully done place called the Starry Night cafe. The food was good and so was the wine :)

We have some more shopping planned for today and then we might watch a film or something.
See you in NYC..

twenty seventh of december

Today has been an eventful day.

My sister's birthday. She turned 26 today. Sounds so cool. I had planned a surprise for her. A VIP tour in a cool winery. She loves wine and always wants to learn more about it, so this was perfect for her. And I'm glad the day went well and she had a really good time smelling and spitting out numerous wines. The wine-maker and his assistant gave us a lovely tour and shared all their knowledge about wine and the process of making it! The place was so beautiful despite it being winter. I was worried it won't look half as nice as it does during Fall. The weather was lovely and the whole trip was just perfect.

Benazir Bhutto dies. I hear this news in the morning when we were waiting for our Greyhound. I was shocked. It makes sense and I was expecting this news but was still very shocking. Another one bites the dust - Another one bites the dust - And another one gone and another one gone - Another one bites the dust...

My sister finds her favorite glove. She was wearing the gloves this morning and dropped one somewhere. We went back to look but couldn't see it anywhere. We gave up and went ahead to another bus ride out of town, took the wine tour, another bus ride back to town and while walking to take the bus home my sister remembers the glove. I tell her to forget about it. Just then she spots it on the side of the pavement! Unbelievable!

I commit a felony! The border police decide to carry out a random check in my greyhound bus. Thankfully my sister was carrying her passport with her tourist visa in it. I of course go around thinking I have a right to be here. I hardly think of myself as an alien anymore. Why then am I expected to produce my I-20 for no fault of mine?! Though I did feel insulted, I do realize that I commit a felony if I travel without my immigration documents. No matter how unfair it sounds and feels, I guess it is for our own good - for our own safety?!?! Here I go again - talking the language the rulers of the world want me to talk - "I am unsafe and I give up my rights willingly so that you can protect me"!

So it was a good day - and we're going out for dinner now - hopefully there won't be any more events to report for today..
Buenas noches amigas y amigos :)

Getting the Jitters

So my sister arrives tomorrow night - i'm more nervous than excited. When I spoke to her sometime back, she told me that she now understands why I left home. It felt good to hear her say that.

The context was that our mom has bought her a new suitcase so that she is able to carry the millions of things that are being sent for me. My parents have a problem - they can only buy in excess. So my sis says that to escape my parents' generosity (love) I could have either left home like I did or get married like she did.

I also spoke to my Aunt a few hours back. She is the youngest of all my aunts and the most wise. We were talking about my sister's visit and she said that siblings are a part of each other. It made so much sense to me. She used just the right words. I wonder how she knows so much about life and relationships.

So this visit is very crucial for me and my sis. I hate putting so much pressure on myself but I can't help it. This is the first time we will be together for so many days since she got married three years back. With so much going on in her life, the husband and the baby, she has hardly ever been free of responsibilities. I hope I can get her to live a different life for the few days that she will be here.

Fingers crossed :)

sis sis sis sis wonderful sis

My sister is right when she says that I'm doing all those things now that I used to frown upon earlier when she was doing them.

In my defense, people grow and people change. The change becomes easier when one is far away in an unfamiliar environment. Before I came here, I did want to learn how to dance, be it any kind. But the inertia of the static environment around me made it next to impossible.

In the bigger picture, there have been many stages of my relationship with my sister.
When I was 4, I wanted everything she had in her hand.
When I was 10, I wanted to do everything she did.
When I was 16, I found all her interests to be boring.
Until she pointed it out, I didn't realize that this too was another phase in our relationship.

Now that I have the comforts of having a new start in a new place, I happen to be doing things she would love to do. That is because when she was doing similar things a few years back, I did understand their importance, but was just not grown up enough to appreciate and accept them. Yet her choices influenced me at that point, and that influence is now materializing.

So, my dear sister, never forget that you have been my only companion for the most part of my life - and thus, you are more a part of me than anyone else.

And you were afraid that I will forget you when I leave!!!