Monday, December 1, 2014

One Day



"Whatever happens tomorrow, we have today...And I will always remember it..." - Emma Morley

"One Day".  It was brilliant in every possible way. You can not believe how much I adored reading this one and writing a review for it is far more impossible than I thought. No amount of words can justify the beauty of it.

It is generally said, that the first book you fall in love with is what you spend your whole life rewriting. Well I think in my case this is it. I stumbled across this beautiful book by mistake but for a reason.

The character of Emma Morley resonates deep within me. She is possibly everything that I am or I fear about. Reading about her and the way she thinks was sort of assuring maybe. Maybe that No I am not the only idiot on the planet, who thinks like this.

If the idea of saying "We grew up together" in your wedding vows makes you happy. This is surely a book for you.

It made me happy, it made me laugh and it made me cry (but gladly not in a depressing way, the kind of way that just takes time).  #Does that makes sense to you?

In particular things that I loved about this book were :-

1. It will be cruel not to say about the intimacy that Dexter and Emma share.
2. Dexter can be good at the times he wants to be. (though its rare, most of the times he is an asshole)
3. The Letters Emma wrote and that one particular letter Dexter writes when he is travelling in India(But fails to post, I told you he is an asshole.)
4. Emma and her ambitions and with that her confusions. The constant dilemma between the job she hates and the opportunities the job has to offer (graveyard of her dreams that what she calls it) and doing what she really believes in.
5. Her Patience, Insecurities and her constant struggle to make things right. (Because that what makes Emma, the Emma)
6. Ian Whitehead. Perfect example of a failed relationship.
7. Emma and Dexter finally talking to each other after 8 years at Tilly Killick's wedding.
8. The fact that Emma finally becomes a published author.
9. The way the book ends. Bit nostalgic but beautiful.

#The Soundtrack
........................................................................................................................................................

Here are my few absolute favorites from the book :


-->
“Don’t keep fighting battles that are already lost.” 

-->
“Their friendship was like a wilted bunch of flowers that she insisted on topping up with water. Why not let it die instead? It was unrealistic to expect a friendship to last forever…”  

-->
“Can I say something?'
'Go on'
'I'm a little drunk'
'Me too. That's okay.'
'Just....I missed you, you know.'
'I missed you too.'
'But so, so much, Dexter. There were so many things I wanted to talk to you about, and you weren't there-'
'same here.'
'I tell you what it is. It's.....When I didn't see you, I thought about you every day, I mean EVERY DAY in some way or another-'
'same here.'
'-Even if it was just "I wish Dexter could see this" or "Where's Dexter now?" or "Christ that Dexter, what an idiot", you know what I mean, and seeing you today, well, I thought I'd got you back - my BEST friend. And now all this, the wedding, the baby- I'm so happy for you, Dex, but it feels like I've lost you again.'-

-'You know what happens you have a family, your responsibilities change, you lose touch with people'
'It won't be like that, I promise.'
'Do you?'
'Absolutely'
'You swear? No more disappearing?'
'I won't if you won't.'
Their lips touched now, mouths pursed tight, their eyes open, both of them stock still. The moment held, a kind of glorious confusion.” 


“Sylvie's sort of pregnant. Well not sort of. She is. Pregnant. Actually pregnant with a baby.'
'Oh Dexter! Do you know the father? I'm kidding! Congratulations, Dex. God, aren't you meant to space your bombshells out a bit. Not just drop them all at once?'
She held his face in both hands, looked at it.
'You're getting married?-'
'Yes'
-'And you're going to be a father?'
'I know! Fuck me a father!'
'Is that allowed? I mean will they let you?'
'Apparently'
'I think it's wonderful. Fucking hell, Dexter, I turn my back for one minute...!'
She hugged him once again her arms high round his neck. She felt drunk, full of affection and a certain sadness too, as if something was coming to an end. She wanted to say something along these lines, but thought it best to do this through a joke.
'Of course you've destroyed any chance I had of future happiness, but I'm delighted for you, really.” 



-at Tilly Killick's wedding after 8 years of indifference

-->
“You know what i can't understand? You have all these people telling you all the time how great you are, smart and funny and talented and all that, i mean endlessly, i've been telling you for years. So why don't you believe it? why do you think people say that stuff, Em? Do you think it's a conspiracy, people secretly ganging up to be nice about you?” -Dexter to Emma

-->
“As the possibility of a relationship had faded, Emma had endeavored to harden herself to Dexter's indifference and these days a remark like this caused no more pain than, say, a tennis ball thrown sharply at the back of her head.” 

-->
“You're gorgeous, you old hag, and if I could give you just one gift ever for the rest of your life it would be this. Confidence. It would be the gift of confidence. Either that or a scented candle” -Dexter to Emma

-->
“I'm not the consolation prize, Dex. I'm not something you resort to. I happen to think I'm worth more than that.” - Emma to Dexter

-->
“She drinks pints of coffee and writes little observations and ideas for stories with her best fountain pen on the linen-white pages of expensive notebooks. Sometimes, when it's going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a fetish for stationery.” 
-for Emma

-->
“Once you decide not to worry about that stuff anymore, dating and relationships and love and all that, it's like you're free to get on with real life.” 

-->
“you feel a little bit lost right now about what to do with your life, a bit rudderless and oarless and aimless but that's okay that's alright because we're all meant to be like that at twenty-four.” 
-Dexter to Emma

-->

“This is me.’" He handed her the precious scrap of paper. ‘Call me or I’ll call you, but one of us will call, yes? What I mean is it’s not a competition. You don’t lose if you phone first” 



-->
“Why can’t you just love me? Why can’t you just be in love with me? You were once, weren't you? In the beginning?” 

-->
“He put one hand lightly on the back of her neck and simultaneously she placed one hand lightly on his hip, and they kissed in the street as all around them people hurried home in the summer light, and it was the sweetest kiss that either of them would ever know. This is where it all begins. Everything starts here, today. And then it was over.” 

-->
“In eight years not a day has gone by when she hasn’t thought of him. She misses him and she wants him back. I want my best friend back, she thinks, because without him nothing is good and nothing is right.”
-for Emma 

-->
“Occasionally, very occasionally, say at four o’clock in the afternoon on a wet Sunday, she feels panic-stricken and almost breathless with loneliness. Once or twice she has been known to pick up the phone to check that it isn’t broken. Sometimes she thinks how nice it would be to be woken by a call in the night: ‘get in a taxi now’ or ‘I need to see you, we need to talk’. But at the best of times she feels like a character in a Muriel Spark novel – independent, bookish, sharp-minded, secretly romantic.” 
-for Emma

-->
“I love him, she thought. I'm just not in love with him and also I don't love him. I've tried, I've strained to love him but I can't. I am building a life with a man I don't love, and I don't know what to do about it.” 
-for Ian Whitehead

-->
“If you're my friend I should be able to talk to you but I can't, and if I can't talk to you, well, what is the point of you? Of us?” 
-Emma to Dexter

-->
“A moment passed, perhaps half a second when their faces said what they felt, and then Emma was smiling, laughing, her arms around his neck.” 

-->
“You can't throw away years of your life because it makes a funny anecdote.” 

-->
“Sorry' he said. 'No, I'm sorry.' 'What are you sorry for?' 'Rattling on like a mad old cow. I'm sorry, I'm tired, bad day, and I'm sorry for being so...boring.' 'You're not that boring.' 'I am, Dex. God, I swear I bore myself.' 'Well, you don't bore me.' He took her hand in his. 'You could never bore me. You're one in a million, Em.” 

-->
“This isn't a letter, it's a gift.” 

-->
“So they were pen pals now, Emma composing long, intense letters crammed with jokes and underlining, forced banter and barely concealed longing; two-thousand-word acts of love on air-mail paper. Letters, like compilation tapes, were really vehicles for unexpressed emotions and she was clearly putting far too much time and energy into them. In return, Dexter sent her postcards with insufficient postage: ‘Amsterdam is MAD’, ‘Barcelona INSANE’, ‘Dublin ROCKS. Sick as DOG this morning.’ As a travel writer, he was no Bruce Chatwin, but still she would slip the postcards in the pocket of a heavy coat on long soulful walks on Ilkley Moor, searching for some hidden meaning in ‘VENICE COMPLETELY FLOODED!!!!” 

-->
“She wondered if she was doomed to be one of those people who spend their lives trying things.” 

-->
“…and Emma felt another small portion of her soul fall away.”

-->
“He could feel her laughter against his chest, and at that moment he thought that there was no better feeling than making Emma Morley laugh.” 

-->
“She made a firm resolution, one of the resolutions she was making almost daily these days. No more sleepovers, no more writing poetry, no more wasting time. Time to tidy up your life. Time to start again.” 

-->
“He has found himself more and more reliant on her at exactly the point that she has become less available to him.” 


-->
“but they had also settled into the maddening familiarity of friendship; maddening for her at least.” 

-->
“I don’t think there’s anything we can do, is there? We either stop or we carry on.” 

-->
“and not for the first time she felt a reassuring shiver of dislike for him.” 

-->
“He wonders if he still might tell her that he loves her or, more tentatively, that he 'thinks he might be in love with her', which is both more touching and easier to back out of.” 

-->
“She made you decent. And in return you made her so, so happy.” 

-->
“Finally, she loved someone and felt fairly confident that she was loved in return. If someone asked Emma, as they sometimes did at parties, how she and her husband had met, she told them: 
‘We grew up together.” 

 #
And the soundtrack





Sunday, June 8, 2014

F. R. I. E. N. D. S.





Hey.... How you doing??.... :D

Now I have been intending to write this one from quite a time now but needless to say last month was one hell of a ride, and managing time was a tricky thing to do. But I guess its better to be late than never. So here it is.

A small Thank You note to all the people who made these four years unforgettable for me. Who helped me transform from who I was to who I am. For putting up with all my tantrums and melodramas. (yes I know I can be such a pain sometimes :P). To let you know, that even if I do not get the chance to see you people tomorrow, you will always remain close to my heart. And I will probably never be able to talk about college without mentioning your names. :)

Since our college student body doesn't have time to give titles to 1000 students. I thought I should take matter in my own hands and so here is the outcome. :P

Saumya Mishra  -  The one who will always remain close to my heart .... :* (trust me when i say this)
                             The one with the risk taking ability .. ( I wish i had the guts... too proud of u :) )
                             The one with the fabulous roommate ... (mujh jaise nahi milegi :P)
                             The one who recharged her phone and typed correct ATM no.... (How can you ...:O )
                             The one with all my embarrassing secrets. ... ( Lets not discuss them :P )
                             The one who tolerated my replay of songs... ( I knw u hated me 4 dat :P )

Aditi Wadhawan - The one with the Golden Heart .... (yes you do have it.... :) Dont change urself )
                             The one with the honey chilly potatoes.... :P
                             The one who got me ghar ka khanna .(I cudnt hv survived hostel without your lunch :D )
                             The one I always lectured..... ( you are imature..but i hv grown up in ur company..#Fact)
                             The one who constantly gave me a reality check ... (Yeah I surely needed dat.. )
                            
Neha Garg         -  The one who is still a kid      (GROW UP.... and you knw wt i mean by that :P)
                             The one who took the chadder.... (shud i really comment)

                             The one who is the best shopping patnr (ohh yes u r ...i miss u trribly on my shopng days)
                             The one who was my third rummy ( i miss u :/)
                             The one with the "KD" talks... (haha....will v ever need it again :P )
                             The one who is strong... (yes u r )
                             The one who has seen me crying`.... :(
                             The one with the straight hairs.... (yes i will always remain jealous of dem :P )

Sarthak Arora     - The one who played Guitar for me.... (Continue doing so :P)
                             The one who picked up fights for me... ( thanku :) )
                             The one with "Ek thi........" (hehe)
                             The one who gave me a new name.. "PC" (kuch acha soch leta... :/ )
                             The one who will always remain "fattu" for me.... :D
                         
Mohit Singh        - The one with all the dirty jokes.... (i will record n play it at ur home some day :P )
                             The one I fighted the most with... (u start it.... ALWAYS... i knw u wont agree to it :P )
                             The one with the kaspersky...
                             The one who made me an encyclopedia of abuses... ( kab sudhrega :P )
                             The one with the"seedha" looks :P
                             The one with the "Attendanceeeeeee" ( B2 ki yaadein :P )
                            
Ankit Chaturvedi  -The one who is always short of words (and I am here 2)
                              The one who is not mailing me my farewell pictures (kerde mail)
                              The one with the 10% party rule ... (joh aajtak nahi hui :P )
                              The one who made me watch Batman in hindi :|
                              The one who saved my ass in the major project (thanku 4 dat :) )

Namit                   - The one who made me over eat
                               The one who freaks me out... (yes u do.. n u knw dat)
                               The one with the chicken tikka rolls... ( i miss dem)
                               The one who is always there to support and help me :)

Vanika Kapoor    - The one who is always ready for a party
                              The caring one (Never change yourself)
                              The one who is always with the shopping bags
                              The one who is awesome in managing time and situation (How do u do it)
                              The one who made it all possible :D
                              The only Punjabi who does hisaab better than baniya :P

Sakshi & Mayuri-  The two who cook awesome cakes (Thanku 4 those cakes :D )
                             The two who finally made visiting Doll museum possible :D
                             The two with the class notes :P
                           
Manshul             - The one with the gentleman qualities :)

Kunal                 - The one with the unlimited phone calls :P

Reetika               - The one who is a hygiene freak ... (reetika sach mai.... u r obsessed)
                             The one who can embarrass Monica Gellar
                             The one who is always late :P
                             The one who never close the door on leaving :P
                             The one with the photogenic face and perfect pose :D
                             The one who is fun to be with :D

Rajshree            - The one who introduced me to the whole new world (dont knw wt i wud hv done wout u)
                            The one who helped me discover myself (Yes u r d reason :) )

Atishay              - The one who wants 2 level higher of..... (u knw wt :P )

Ankiti Bansal     - The one who understood the intensity of the hidden meanings in my choice of quotes :)

Sonam              - The one with the bubbly attitude.. (stay dat way )


College was so much fun with you guys.Hope to see you all soon again..:D    

And Yes... Please do leave a comment 

PS- I wanted a perfect ending, but now I have learned that some poems don't rhyme, few stories do not have a clear beginning, ending or middle. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing whats going to happen next. :)                            

Thursday, April 10, 2014

To My Daughter


To the love of my life

I know I am probably considered too young to write this one as I am just 22 and well honestly I agree to that as well. But then this is the youngest I will ever be and this is the least age difference we are ever going to have. So I thought I should give it a shot. May be I will write one more to you when I will be 30 and more sane, sober, responsible and all of those things... (read boring) but for now I want you to know what I was like when I was twenty two in my so called "leather jacket and Avril phase". What mistakes I made that I don't want you to. How I freaked about almost everything. And how I knew, you are going to be the anchor of my life. :)

So my intention was primarily to write a beautiful poem for you, but sorry sweetheart its not possible for me to sum up all of it... merely in few lines. Those two stanzas that I carried along everywhere for a couple of months are at a dead end now. So I am finally giving up. :(

I honestly don't know from where do I need to begin from, So I will just start by saying what I always crave to hear. "No matter what horrible things you do, how much you push me away or how many times you fail.... you will always find a way back to my heart. I will always stay and I promise we will get through it. " :)

Lets go through things one by one.

     1. Those who want to stay will stay. Don't ask for it.

     2. Not everyone you loose is a loss.

     3. Its compulsory to have a 4:00 AM friend, who won't ask you to stop crying or will try to know the reason but will let you silently sob all you want.

     4. Moisturize your hair, and apply sunscreen like your second job. If you have my DNA, you are going to get troubled by both.  

    5. Travel all you want, just come back home safe.

    6. Find a goal, sooner the better. 

    7. Be a window cleaner if you want, but be the best at it.

    8. Be a lady who falls in love with the struggle of his man not his money. Be the one he needs not wants.

    9. Love is over rated, and butterflies are misleading. At least that's how I feel right now ... (It comes and goes in phases 4 now) but still when I will be 52 and you will be 22, I want you to experience all of it and fight with me and tell me otherwise. :) Because if I know something and I am certain about, It is that it's totally worth it. (Y)

  10. Being simple is not simple anymore.

 11. World is unfair, make sure you aren't to yourself.

 12. There is no universal benchmark for whats rights and whats wrong. Make your own rules and stick to them. Its okay if people don't always get you or get along. May be you are a 22nd century girl living in 21st, because there was also a time when drinking tea was considered to be evil. :P

 13. Keep the house clean. Sorry I am Monica Geller (watch friends).

 14. Your mom has this secret envelope and a book hidden somewhere in her shelf, Please throw it away if she hasn't so far. ( I know, I should have done that a long time back but its difficult and you will know. )

 15. Everyone will tell you, its easy to give up and hard to keep going on. But for once you will know giving up can be the most difficult thing to do. 

 16. Watch "North and South", "Painted Veil", "Mona Lisa smile", "One day", "Flipped", "Brave", "Alice in the wonderland".... observe the tinniest bit of details and may be you will know what do I intend to say.

 17. Beat the shit out of the guy who thinks like you are a public property and its okay to grope you because you are alone. Do it, don't hesitate. You are that strong. 

 18. There is no right person out there, just the right time.

 19. Read Books, whatever that interests you. Crime, Love stories, Romance, Sex...whatever.... but just read.

 20. Writing and shopping. Both are great therapy. 

 21. Instead of having 1000 good friends make 2 close friends.

 22. Don't let numbers define you. Be it your size or your GPA.

 23. Don't compare your inside with others outside. 

 24. Indulge in a sport.

 25. Make a point to call your old friends once in a while. Try and stay in touch.

 26. Make waving friends. Not just with the ones you find in college or school but the kid on the street and that lady passing by.

 27. Smile more often. Happy girl look the prettiest of all. :)

 28. Pick a signature perfume for yourself. Its classy. (I haven't done it myself so far :( )

 29. Define your own "Classy".

 30. We see things we want to. We hear things we want to. Don't let yourself be blind to this primary fact.

 31. Go and watch the night sky from the out skirts of the city. It's the most beautiful sight of the world.

 32. If you don't mean it, don't say it.

 33. Just because your friends have a boy friend should not be the reason you need one.

 34. Give personalized gifts, write letters to your friends. Its never too outdated to do that.

 35. You can tell me any and every thing. I promise I would always be listening.

 36. Learn to appreciate small acts of kindness. Observe the details.

 37. Say Thank you and Hug people more often.

 38. Maintain your journal. You will be surprised, how much you have changed and matured with time, even if its not really visible.

 39. Don't over think, over analyze and worry. You will miss the moment. Sometimes its good to be in the fools paradise.

 40. Learn to love the fool within you. Who is not always right, acts crazy and stupid, has bad hair days,and have insecurities.  

 41. I won't ask you to go to the temple everyday ... frankly i haven't done it either. But just go once in a while to tell them how you feel about everything that is going on in your life.

 42.. Kiss that guy. Your mom is slow but don't you be.

 43. Don't take sex lightly. I mean it.

 44.Cut down on bahar ka khanna as much as you can. Processed food is not healthy no matter what the nutrition value says.

 45. Learn to like fruits, veggies and milk products.

 46. Don't be in a hurry to wear make up. You don't need it anyways.

 47. Personal hygiene has no multiple choice. It's a must.

 48. Don't be embarrassed for hoping for true love.

 49. Disconnect once in a while.

 50. No, you are not allowed to smoke and never will be.

 51. Drink but in a safe company and let me know. "OCCASIONALLY".

 52. Random act of kindness and anonymous charity is sexiest of all. And you deserve a guy who can see and believe that.

 53. I have a magical power and I can see through your lies. But I will still wait because I know you will come and tell me the truth anyways. :)

 54. Some people do not deserve your reaction. For them your silent treatment should be all.

 55. Fashion magazines and cover models are not real. Do I really even need to say that.

 56. Tattoos are permanent. Think hard before you get one.

 57. You are never too old to watch Disney.

 58. PMS are no excuse.

 59. Learn the art of saving money from the beginning itself. Its very important.

 60. Speak your mind. ALWAYS.

 61. Family is very important.

 62. Never be afraid to get a little dirty. Flirt shamelessly. But only till its sensual and not slutty.

 63. Learn the difference between sexy and vulgar.

 64. Watch super hero movies. They are amazing.

 67. I know you are strong and independent but still marry a gentleman who has the chivalry to order food for you, who won't mind holding gate for you.

 68. You know butterflies die, never knowing what beautiful wings they own. Don't be one such butterfly.

 69. Many times you going to regret things you have said. But more than that you are going to regret what you did not say.

 70. There are really no short cuts to success.

 71. Psithurism. Find out what it is.

 72. Pick your favourite word and find out why ? Mine was "peregrination"

 73. Rules are meant to be broken, unless they are mine. :P

 74. Don't regret a single thing.

 75. Its going to be okay. No matter what. It always has, and it always will. Whatever is going to happen will be for the better. I have witnessed it and you will witness it too. :)

Okay so I am tired. Lets keep it till here for today.
Lots and lots of love.
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