Happy Days...

Sorry this is not about the show - though I worshipped the Fonz - still do!!

Lately my days have been kind of a blur, happily busy with work and friends, until I realized that September is half gone! We're scrambling to get work ready for the Frankfurt Book Fair while not passing up on any opportunities to live it up, which leaves me very little time to blog ;)

Have spent several long days staring at computer screens, editing, trying to find the right words, thoughts, punctuation marks and others, having long relaxed lunches in the company of old friends - alcohol a must of course - wine, mohitos, margaritas - as a friend of mine likes to say - Jolly!!

Yesterday was particularly wonderful - a dear friend's birthday, nine women, stiff margaritas mixed by moi, delicious Mexican food and interestingly diverse conversation - all making for one long, potent celebration of the best kind!! Haven't had as much fun in a long while :)

As an Indian living outside India, removed from family with a manically travelling spouse - my girlfriends are my sanity, my lifeline, my raison d'etre! Life without them is unimaginable! We share laughs, cribs, books, jewellery and clothes! We give freely of ourselves - our homes, food, advice and ideas. Solutions to problems, shoulders to cry on and an extra pair of helping hands - we are all this and more.

A big Thank-you to all my Friends, for enriching my life, renewing my spirit and bringing me happy days!

I dedicate to all the Phenomenal Women who grace my life,one of my favourite poems, by Maya Angelou aptly titled 'Phenomenal Woman'...'cause that's what you are and that's how you will forever stay in my heart!

PHENOMENAL WOMAN

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

- by Maya Angelou

Happiness Journal...

I first heard this idea on Oprah! Elizabeth Gilbert the author of Eat, Pray, Love (one of my favourite books) was a guest on the show and she was talking about how at the end of each day, she wrote down her happiest moment. She joked about how it helped her let go of all the million little crappy moments that crammed her day!!

I loved the idea!! Isn't it wonderful to have something happy to hold on to at the end of a long hard day? How many times have I held on to those crappy moments and forgotten the happy ones? Too often that's for sure! So this is my way of holding on to those moments that have brought me joy.

Not all of them will be earth-shatteringly 'Titanic' scale happy but that doesn't matter! So often I find joy in the tiny seemingly insignificant details...the bus I caught in the nick of time, an early cuppa that has miraculously turned out just right (believe me even black coffee is tough to get right on some bleary-eyed mornings!), getting a cab in the pouring rain, a good book...the list goes on.

The other reason is that I wanted to get back to writing again. I loved it as a child (way back when!) and was not bad at it or so I was led to believe ;-) I recently started working with a very dear friend as an editor and am enjoying it immensely! It has brought back all the joy associated with books in general (always LOVED them) and writing in particular.

And so here I go...wish me luck!

It's 11.42am and my happiest moment for the day so far has been starting this blog! Have been putting it off for so long - I feel fantastic at having finally done it! Took me all of 5 min to actually get started too! Isn't it weird how the things you think are most difficult seem like a piece of cake once you get started? It happens to me all the time - I procrastinate endlessly until a looming deadline scares the hell out me and then turn into a hysterical maniac!! I blame it on good old laziness and also the fact that I'm convinced I do my best work under pressure! True as that might be, it's terribly stressful. But this journal is not about resolutions - so I won't make any...yet!

Another happy moment - took a mid-week break from the gym and have managed not to stuff myself all morning while working! An achievement worthy of the Nobel Prize in Restraint!!