Letter to an Ex

I had a dream last night that I had come to Dubai to meet you. You were there, I was there. We spoke for about 10 minutes, when your really large family barged in and you acted as if you did not know me. But your family members knew me. Some girls started to be really bitchy with me and even accused me of stealing something, which I had not. Then you disappeared, and I decided I had to get out of here and go back home.

I looked into my purse to see how much money I had for an air ticket back home, and it turned out I was flat broke. I could not call home, because my parents did not know that I had come to Dubai. I started roaming the streets, very worried. Then I saw you were lying in a puddle of water, and there was no one around you. I came over and I helped you.

The next day, there was a large table where everyone was eating, and you sat next to me. I whispered to you that I needed some money to go back home, and I promise I will pay you back once I'm back home. You weren't paying attention, and I was getting really worried. I put my head on the table, when I felt something touch my hand. I saw you had placed three thousand dirhams under my elbow and then you started playing with my hair. I looked up at you and smiled.

And my dream ended.

Girls

Oh to be you. Just for a day.

There are two kinds of girls in this world—those who take a lot of effort to get noticed by boys, and those who get attention without any effort. I belong to neither of these groups since I make no efforts to get noticed, and whenever I am noticed, it is not for positive reasons. Anyway.

I know these two girls, great friends of mine, who fall in the second category. Men of all kinds fawn over them, and they don't have to do anything to get their attention. Let's call my friends A and B. Ever since I have known A, she has gotten hit on by so many guys, and it seems a little surprising to me, since she is not a flirtatious or 'come-hither' sort of girl. She's shy and sort of an introvert. Yet, guys are just naturally attracted to her. But this comes with drawbacks too, since she has been stalked several times by very creepy guys.

B, on the other hand, is full of life. She's funny, smart and cute. In her case, boys are attracted to her effortless charm. In fact, a friend of mine doesn't even know her and he proclaims he likes her based on her photographs!

Sometimes, just sometimes, I wish I could be them for a day. Even an hour, tops. Though I run the risk of sounding really pathetic here, but I wish I knew what it feels like to get so much attention. The last time someone liked me was back in 2007, which ended in 2008, so if the previous line wasn't pathetic, this surely is.

Ugh.

Ok enough of this sad stuff. In other news, I turned 25 last month *throws streamers*. At the stroke of midnight, I was sitting outside this mall with 3 friends and a guy I just met. I got hugged, got a lot of handshakes and the calls started pouring in. But that moment when the clock struck 12, I was miserable. I cried. The last time I cried on my birthday was 5 years ago when I turned 20. Turning 25 is not so peachy after all. I wonder what will happen to me when I turn 30. *gulp*

Bye now.

Seriously, go!

Of...

Of crushes,

Silly and surreal.

Of meeting for the first time,

And acting like a fool.

Like Medusa's seen you

And being frozen in time.

Of being red faced,

and tongue-tied.

Of not knowing what to say,

Yet wanting to say a hundred different things.

Of abrupt endings,

And cursing yourself

For zoning out for hours,

Thinking what went wrong.

That's basically what today has been.

In a nutshell, of course.

:)

Photo Memories

Working for a photography magazine has certainly made me realise the importance of photo memories, amongst other things. I think the age of film was a great time, because whatever photographs we shot with our cameras, prints were made. Since there was no other way to view our photographs, we relied on prints to view the final results. And now, years later, as I sift through old photographs, I feel that hit of nostalgia again. I am sure you must have also had those moments where, looking at old photographs, you felt all the memories connected to that photograph come back to you. Today, I thought I'd share some photo memories with you.

1. Le Marriage

Growing up, I was extremely fond of dressing up and applying makeup, and my aunt was only too happy to oblige. In this picture, a 4 year old me demurely poses as the bride, while my sister (who, judging by her expression, was quite embarrassed) dressed up as the groom. That doll you see in her hand was the baby. I don't really remember this moment happening, but it always gives us a good chuckle each time we look at it.

2. Le Beach Time

I remember this day so clearly, even today. My cousin had flown down from Scotland, and we were taking him on a Bombay darshan. We visited all the major landmarks, and here we were at Juhu beach. By the looks of it, it seems I was killing fishes, my cousin was just about to join me, and my grandfather just looks happy.

3. Le Family

When we were in Dubai in 1995, my dad decided to have our family portrait shot. All of us dressed up in our best, this strawberry dress was my first ever 'propers' dress, and those red flats were my first girlie footwear. In the excitement of getting a picture clicked, I guess nobody noticed my hemline was lopsided. I like this picture because it frames my family perfectly, and we have never had another family portrait shot after this one time.

So here's my suggestion to you—if you have prints with you, please digitise them. Scan them, take their photos, and what have you, but do store them in a digital form. You won't regret it!

I have a lot of other photo memories, and I wish I could share them all. Do you have some you can share? Let me know! Till then, happy nostalgia!