Pets or People?

Do you have any pets? I don't.
Do you like pets? I don't. Not yet.
Would you like to have a pet? Maybe. I think so.
What kind of a pet would you like to have? A dog.

I cannot believe, I just said that! A dog? I am afraid of dogs. Puppies, maybe not. Full grown dogs? Definitely. And yet, last night, as I was pondering over certain people that I have encountered in my life, I realized that I was better off having a dog in my life rather than them. I, also for the first time, did not laugh or feel sorry about these so called "lonely Americans who buy Get Well Soon greeting cards for their sick pet".

I have never had a pet but heard many stories, especially of dogs. And as I write this blog, I realize..

• A dog will never not answer your call because he or she is not in the mood, busy with his or her significant other, or has his or her phone on silent.
• A dog will never not answer the door because he or she is asleep, is screening visitors, or still at work.
• A dog will never laugh at you, ask you to "get over it", or get bored of listening to your problems over and over again.
• A dog will never cheat on you, lie to you, or break your trust.
• A dog will never go "bitch" (no pun intended!) about you behind your back.
• A dog will never tell you that you need to lose weight or get your eyebrows done or get a face lift.
• A dog will never hit you, or abuse you.
  
• A dog will never fuss over the food that you have cooked.
• A dog will not change overnight and dump you!
  
• A dog will always feel sad when you are sad and be happy when you are happy.
• A dog will always be loyal to you.
• A dog will always go shopping with you if you wanted him or her to.
• A dog will sleep next to you if you want him or her to, whether or not you have had a fight with him or her.
• A dog will always..............be there for you!

And so, the next time I switch apartments, I am going to rent a pet-friendly one. And buy myself a friend who will always be my friend. Any advice for a first-timer? BTW, I do know that barking dogs seldom bite!

Switch the channel please!!

Are you one of those people who is unable to watch one TV channel for hours?
Are you one of them who is tempted to switch channels when a commercial comes through, often forgetting to go back to the original program?
Are you one of those who has to watch two programs at one time because both are your favorite and you cannot miss one for the other?
Are you one of those people who feels handicapped when the remote control is missing?

If you answered no to all the questions above, then are you one of those people who feel mighty irritated at those who do the above??

Well, don't be. Think about this. Don't we all sometimes wish that someone talking to us would just shut up like a droning professor or a snappy boss? Sometimes, we often wish that the person talking changes their topic of discussion such as a nagging wife who wont stop talking about how you left the toilet seat up or an angry mother who is displeased with the time you came home. Wouldn't a remote control work wonders in this case? Play, pause, lower volume, and switch channels as you please!!

And then taking it up to a deeper level..don't we often wish that we could just get rid of some people who came into our lives but are completely useless to us? Easier said than done! But if we had a remote, just like the couch potato, we could have switched on to a better person, and forgotten about what we were wasting our time on, in a jiffy!

Yesterday, I found new respect (for lack of a better word) for channel switchers. They are able to forget quickly, move on quickly, not live in the past, not worry about the future, and get rid of whoever or whatever they think is a waste of time! Wish I could do that...

Now will someone switch the channel of my life please? I am bored!

8th year in the 21st century?

2008 is almost here. We pride ourselves in being in the 21st century. We talk of the 1980's as being the "olden times". Life is different today. We can get information about anything at the touch of a mouse, within seconds. We do not have to yell out loud on long distance calls in order to be audible. We do not have to rely on telegrams to send messages quickly. We do not have to travel by ship for three weeks to travel within one continent.

And yet, some attitudes are still as old as they can be. For specifically, I would like to talk about the superstitious world that we live in.

Last year, I recall having paused for a second when a black cat crossed my path on my way to school for a test. I drove on but nevertheless, I did think about what I should do for that one fleeting second.

My mother will not let me leave the home if I have expressed a need to drink or eat something right before I step out. She will make me drink water to negate that sentence. And without any argument, I do.

More recently, a friend of mine got married. She told us all (at least 20 of us) that she was getting married only a week prior to the wedding. Her defense was "buri nazar". I am surprised she took the risk of telling us a whole week early. If someone wanted to caste a black eye, they could have even in that short period of time, right?

And then finally, I met with several accidents, lost a lot of money, and suffered from poor health all in a span of 6 months. Someone told my mother, that a certain someone, was doing black magic on me!!

As a student of science, I question these superstitions that we have, often ingrained within us since childhood thanks to our moms, grandmoms, and great grandmoms. How true are these? And God forbid, if we defy this, and something bad happens, would that be coincidental or would we actually be facing the negative consequences of being oversmart and modern? And how will we find out?

Oh by the way, please do not clip your nails after dusk!!

Happy New Year!!

A Happy Day..A Happy Birthday!

People say birthdays are about cakes, presents, and parties. I say partially true! I say birthdays are also about friends and about knowing who really cares. They are also about growing older, and hopefully wiser.

Yesterday, was one of those days for me. The day that comes once a year, and makes me wait all year for it. But yesterday was not an ordinary birthday for me. It was a revealing birthday, quite an introspective one. For the first time in XX years, I did not get a birthday present wrapped in colorful paper, with a cute little bow on it. Neither did I get any flowers that would make my jaw drop with awe and my eyes cry like a beauty contest winner. And yet, I remained unperturbed and experienced no shame in answering people when they asked me what I got for my birthday, much to my surprise.

When people asked me what I was doing or what big plans I had, my answer was "walking around in the malls and shopping". I could sense the disguised disappointment in some voices while some appeared nonchalant, unsuccessfully. And yet, I experienced no embarassment. In fact, I was amused. How could this be for I have always made a huge deal out of my birthdays!?

And then I realized that when I was being materialistic in the past, there was something amiss in my life, or so I thought. I had certain expectations of how a birthday "should" be, and how people around me celebrate their birthdays. In a futile attempt to fill that void, I pledged to have "happening" birthdays and wished for expensive presents that I could display with a smug demeanor. But yesterday, I was content. I was content with what I have in life, and content with what is to follow. Expensive presents, fancy restaurants, or apple-picking and wine-tasting activities would not have added to the joy (as it would have last year, and the year before that, and as far behind as I can remember).

Yesterday, I probably realized that I had grown wiser. I had no need to boast of the red silk top that I bought from New York and Company (which I did not) or the Christmas tree that I decorated (which I did not), or the number of birthday wishes I got on orkut within a couple hours of my birthday starting. I had no need to boast about how I am capable of winning the Miss Popularity contest. I had no need to show anything off to people who dont really care.

I was secure being who I am. I knew that the people who had my phone number and actually bothered to call or text message me, truly cared. I knew that the people who did not have my phone number, and actually bothered to write me an email, truly cared. I knew that my blogger friends, who had no access to any reminders, and sent me birthday messages, truly cared. I knew that I was loved. I knew then that my birthday was an eye-opener.

Some Things Never Change

Often times we wish for things that are not. For example, we wish to be thinner, we wish that our next door neighbor was nicer, we wish that our exams were easier, we wish that our paycheck was bigger, and we wish that we were happier.

With the advent of the NEW YEAR, there are lots of people writing blogs on the things that they wish to change in 2008, a few new resolutions, a few old ones never fulfilled, and a few that are in the process of being fulfilled. Anything new brings us hope, revives us, and makes us more optimistic.

But some things never change.

• Some people will not stop complaining about their bad luck.
• Some people will not stop fighting for control in their relationships.
• Some people will not stop valuing money over people.
• Some people will not stop bitching about others, on the telephone, on orkut, through blogs, through private messages, and in person.
• Some people will not stop being jealous.
• Some people will not stand up for themselves or others.
• Some people will not stop being selfish and vain.
  
• Some people will not respect others or their property.
• Some people will not be appreciative no matter what you do for them.
• Some people will judge others based on their beauty.
  
• Some people will not stop being annoying or irritable.
• Some people will just not change.

Sometimes, our new year resolutions dont matter if they involve others. Sometimes, it is two-way traffic. Sometimes, no matter how much we wish to change, we cannot because others wont let us. Sometimes, only sometimes.

Merry Christmas. Wish you all good luck with your new year resolutions!