Confession time…
I admit, I’m out of practice and outta shape with the whole work-life balance thing. Not only has getting to the gym suffered completely in the last few months but, I must confess, I’m a recovering workaholic who has completely fallen “off the wagon” and slipped back into bad patterns with the Jakarta project.
As Lady of the Cakes succinctly diagnosed my condition “Bad case of projectitis!” and very aptly prescribed “3 hours of blogging faffery!”
And I couldn’t agree more!
Which is what made my trip to Bangalore such a delightful break from intense non-stop work. I’ll confess, I still did a couple of hours both days, but in a relaxed detached manner. This morning my emails were made from the guest house terrace while leisurely sipping my 2nd morning espresso, listening to the birds chirping, enjoying blue skies and a balmy breeze with feet propped on a stool.
One night in Bangkok… I mean Bangalore!
Having literally just breezed through Bangkok airport on my trip back from Jakarta to Mumbai, I find myself throwing jeans and a t-shirt into a small bag for a quick trip tomorrow morning to Bangalore.
I admit it… I have a special fondness for Bangalore… and I can’t wait to be back after years! (more…)
Triple fe(a)st – Thanksgiving, Dushera + Eid Al-Adha
I surfaced from a manic work session to realize I nearly missed today is a triple fest / feast :
- Thanksgiving in my home & native land Canada
- Dushera and Durga Puja in my adopted home India when the goddess Durga was victorious over the demons
- Eid al-Adha in my temporary work home Indonesia in addition to India and so many other parts of the world
I hope you have a joyous and peaceful festival – Eid Mubarak! That good triumphs over evil your life! And that you are sharing time with family and friends over a delicious feast.
So happy festing and feasting to all my friends at home and away!
Durga – destroyer of evil! (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Related posts:
- O Canada!
- Two Causes for Celebration (reneeduke.wordpress.com)
Bollywood baby birthday bashes
Have you ever been to a 1st birthday party? In Bombay, particularly when there is a link to the film industry, these seem to be very much ADULT parties!
My 1st introduction to what I’ll call the “1st birthday phenomenon” was years ago at the Spastic Society (now known as ADAPT – Able Disabled All People Together) in Bandra Reclamation.
The father was the director of the film Leela and it was his pride and joy’s birthday! Was the little guy to be seen? Well… he did make a sleepy appearance for a short while but then retired. Which was perfectly fine because this was very much an adult bash – brilliant fun full of all sorts of interesting characters.
Fast forward more than a decade later and I popped into another 1st birthday celebration in Bandra during my ‘bonus time.‘ Bereft of my partner who was busy with a film shoot in Goa, I landed up by my lonesome wondering what to expect.
Cake cut, signal for “adult” time!
The princess of the evening did an admirable job of smiling, chortling, being oohed and aahed at, tossed giggling into the air. In the earlier part of the evening there were puppets, games and other activities for the little ones. However after the cake, the mood clearly shifted from being a “general” admission party to time “parental guidance” at a minimum… it was clearly time for the adults to pick up the pace and strut their stuff.
Shots made the rounds along with the snacks, casting agents rubbed shoulders with actors, much merry industry networking took place. Now… lest I sound cynical, the parents of the enchanting birthday belle are truly lovely people and fully appreciated the irony that their gal wouldn’t remember her 1st birthday at all.
The adults clearly enjoyed the babes bash! And I’ll admit, I was no exception…
With Irrfan Khan, one of the many adult celebrants!
No these weren’t wild nights of debauchery however both were parties as much (or more) for the full-grown celebrants rather than the tiny tots.
Have you been to any “adult” baby birthday’s lately – Bollywood linked or otherwise? Or is this phenomenon unique to Bombay?
Related posts:
Music Musings – Coffee
In this week’s feature, film that takes ‘centre stage’ and lead to discovering some catchy music. Think I better add another category to my list of ways to discover new music!
The film guy – Ivan Hughes
Ivan (left) with my uncle (right) – both big whisky fans!
Ivan is a guy who loves mountain climbing, film making and a good whisky. When his wife Angela got a job back in her hometown of Winnipeg a few years ago, they packed up the kids and critters, sold their gorgeous home in Squamish and settled down in the ‘Peg.
It was no surprise that he got involved with the Winnipeg Film Group and joined a private whisky tasting club – The Cabinet. (Hey Ivan – Am I STILL the only woman to enter the hallowed tasting den?)
As for the mountain climbing and adventurous spirit? The Canadian prairies are a loooong way from any serious rock climbing. However don’t let that fool you! Just check out their company Fringe Filmworks – pretty clear there are creative ways to let an adventuresome spirit loose on the world even if the base is Winnipeg!
For Coffee, Ivan did the direction and camera work…
The film guy’s family – Angela Heck ‘The Businesswoman’ & Thea Heck Hughes ‘The Child’ (more…)
Glenlivet Nadurra, Scapa, Mitcher’s Straight Rye, Kilchomen Spring 2011 + Caroni
Part of tasting notes series from a monthly private whisky club in Mumbai, India. This post is a ‘blast from the past’.
Tasting Notes from 20 Oct 2011
This month we were back to our standard format and blind tasted before revealing the whisky. The session featured: Glenlivet Nadurra, Scapa 16 yr, Mitcher’s Straight Rye, Kilchomen Spring release followed by an extra treat Caroni 18 yr rum.
It was an exceptionally lovely evening in Worli with perfect hosts. A comfortable setting, the right music, glasses, spitoon and cucumbers all laid out, followed by the most fabulous nibbles… yum!
The contrast between the different single malts was also a wonderful learning experience… which was, naturally, the real focus of our evening.
Trophy Accident – Celebrating 100 Followers
I’m still a complete neophyte when it comes to navigating the wonderful world of WordPress and blogging features. Only today when going through the Reader did I notice a funny little thing labelled “Trophy Case” on the right hand column.
I clicked on the link to discover that since 23 Sept 2013 there are 100 fabulous folks following this blog. How the heck did that happen?
Followers (23 Sept 2013)
And because I’m a little slow… between this “Trophy” and today, apparently we’re up to 114 followers, augmented by an additional 60 through Twitter.
So thanks folks, keep following, commenting, liking and most importantly reading and publishing your own blogs! Good luck to you achieving a happy milestone when not looking!
Happy 1st October!
Related posts:
- 999 views? It’s an emergency! (Pssst… according to the latest stats am inching towards 5,000 views)
- Blog Trivia
- 1st Quarter Summary
Everyday Asia 