Anxiety is a deadly thing. It makes little coils in your stomach. So the days went by and I wondered everyday about where we would find ourselves at the end of this month. A week ago we were enlightened. New York it would be. We might choose to live in New Jersey but that is yet to be figured out. I know, you true-blue people who live in the city get all worked up when someone (erroneously) deems New Jersey to be a part of New York. I am not taking a chance of being clubbed by a New Yorker lurking around the corner of one of those glitzy avenues.
Yesterday after a long long chat with the woman co-ordinating our move about flooded gardens, motherhood, full-time work, the joys of putting up the feet with pizza and no laundry when the husband is away, I had to make another important call. The council office for a parking waiver because there is that small matter of the mover’s vehicle which has got to be parked on the double yellow lines outside our building. Now my darling, you never do that, e’en by mistake – park on double yellow lines that is.
You get a billet-doux of 70 quid, from a patrolling officer who will sniff his way to your car just like I find my way to cheese and popcorn. The councilman was a jolly fellow. I promise you that I had not expected a laugh with a councilman on all counts. But do not underestimate the chattiness of an Englishman. He asked me promptly where I was abandoning this fine borough for. “New York! You are leaving this little borough for NEW YORK and you expect sympathy, eh?” Chortles. “Just drop me a donut in return for the parking waiver”. The dilemma remains: To do or not to do. I mean I have bought hapless men drinks in bars (because they sweetly informed me that it was their birthday) without meaning to hit on them (which earned them the wrath of their girlfriends and me a scowl) but a donut presents a different degree of sweetness.
Now to the important business of answering questions. Some time has passed since I have been tagged by four lovely ladies, Cheila, Grace, Jamie and thebeyoutifulgal (do take a look at their blogs if you have not already), but I take things slow usually, so here we go with the awards. Except for Cheila’s Liebster Award and thebeyoutifulgal’s Awesome Blogger Award nominations, I had already participated in One Lovely Blog Award and Sunshine Blogger Award before, but Jamie had taken time to put out some questions of her own so I wanted to answer them along with Cheila’s and beyoutifulgal’s.
Off we go:
Cheila’s questions:
- What show are you binge watching right now?
Designated Survivor, Riverdale, Pretty Little Liars and Grand Hotel
2. What are you reading?
Another Time, Another Life by Leif G.W. Persson, How it Happened by Shazaf Fatima Haider and Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough (because how can you even be in just one world when there are so many waiting out there).
3. What do you usually go for if you’re cooking just for yourself?
Chilli garlic noodles
4. What’s your favourite eye and hair colour?
Hazel and black
5. What sports did you practice in high school?
Badminton has been a constant love. Baseball was fun too. Cricket did not leave its mark on me (I am shamelessly breaking stereotypes here – putting an Indian and cricket together is like arranging a sure-shot love match). I had a deuce ball fly into my face when I was about 10 and after it smacked me on the cheeks with the kind of hardness you can expect from a ball made of cork and encased in leather, it was a no-show for me at any cricket game.
6. How many hours a day do you spend on the internet?
I do not even count.
7. Do you choose your outfit in the day before or in the morning?
That very morning the bed will end up looking like a battleground, make no mistake about it.
8. Can you play any instrument?
Harmonium. Have you even heard of it? I am terrible with phonetic alphabets, okay? So where you would normally use ‘Delta’ to indicate D, I would think of ‘Donkey’ or ‘Dumb’, both words you should not be using with a stranger, and where you would use ‘Hotel’ for H, I would probably pop up a poor, unloved ‘Harmonium’. I did it once at a store here and the girl in front of me had the blankest look possible. That is the day that I realised that the harmonium needs to be left alone in its corner. It does not care about recognition, it will have you know.
9. Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather?
Cold though I do love spring. You have to understand here that I hail from India where temperatures on a hot summer day scale up to 50°C. But what I would take wholeheartedly is a British summer’s day with Pimms.
10. What is your favourite fruit?
Blueberries and mangoes
11. Can you swim? How old were you when you learned?
One of the many chinks in my armour. I learnt swimming at the age of 14 and I sucked at it because I could never raise my head to take a breath, but I Did learn it. Over the years, this necessary life skill has decided to abandon me. I have the wonderful Kristyn who has promised to teach me the art of one-legged swimming and I am waiting to become her protege and prodigy (in reverse).
Beyoutifulgal’s questions:
1.What impact do you want to have on the world?
I am not sure I want to have any impact really.
2. What is a skill you’d like to learn? Why?
The art of saying no without feeling like an ant.
3. What are you most grateful for?
For life itself. Most importantly, my husband, my family and this extended blogging family (you guys make me happy everyday).
4. If you had the opportunity to get a message across to a large group of people, what would your message be?
Let judgement take a back seat.
5. Which activities make you lose track of time?
Blogging, reading, talking and running.
6. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
Scoffing a scone.
Jamie’s questions:
- What is one unpopular opinion you have?
Hand over All the books in the world (Psst: I foresee stoning by hoards of book lovers in the horizon) and no one shall get hurt.
2. If people start moving to Mars, are you going?
No way. This planet has too much happening for me to leave it for all the luxuries on Mars.
3. What’s your favourite sandwich?
Ham and cheese
4. If you could live in a movie, which would you choose?
Sabrina
5. What’s your go-to snack?
Salted Caramel/Peach Melba yogurt with blueberries, pecans and pumpkin seeds.
6. If you could turn into an animal, which animal would you be?
Polar bear. My husband loves polar bears.
7. Coffee or tea?
Both! I could not decide which but tea relaxes me and coffee wakes me up.
8. What’s your favourite go-to outfit?
A flirty dress
9. Do you have any guilty pleasures? Share one!
Tsundoku. It is a Japanese word for someone who is a book hoarder and keeps buying them. The only exception to the definition would be that that I do read the books I buy, but after an extended period of time, because there is always a tall pile waiting on the bedside table.
10. Who’s your favourite TV show character?
There are so many but I will go with Sherlock Holmes.
11. If you got abducted by aliens, what would you ask them first?
You got popcorn?
ARUNDHATI BASU 
Leave a comment