I knew I loved you

It's July 1st already! Can you believe it's over 4 months since I've been here? More importantly, it's 2 more days to India...and 1 more week to seeing Brendan and a few more than that to be being engaged! I am looking forward to this trip if not just for that then for the one time that I can be in India and really be accepted by everyone because i have finally taken the bait and decided to "settle down". It's quite a different story though that we haven't set a date for the wedding and we are in no hurry to do that.

The last weekend was crazy - I spent most of it shopping. Now before you go bouncing off the walls, let me inform you that I was not shopping for myself..most of the time. I was shopping for the family and by family I mean my family, my fiancé and the in-laws. Gulp.

Saturday was spent skyping with mom who has been graciously easing my errands by finding the stuff she wants online. Endless bags and clutches and shoes were ordered on Endless.com. They arrived yesterday - comfortable and stylish heels that mom will love to wear (she's short like me, so no flats!), bejewelled flats for grandma to wear at the engagement, evening bags and clutches for mom and mom-in-law - anything to make the leading ladies of both families look their best. Boo, being the spoilt brat that he is, had a long list of things he needed from the sister who is finally seeing a paycheck again after what seems like centuries...ed hardy jeans, ralph lauren tees, dress shirts for the new job he starts soon, PSP games.. I have obliged. Groan.

On Sunday, I had other things to buy from the list. The first and the most important thing was an Hermes tie for Brendan to wear with his new bespoke suit. Why Hermes? Nothing but the best for my baby! No seriously, I think Hermes is the best when to comes to silk accessories and I have always bought into their pretty orange boxes and someday I hope I can have a beautiful scarf to call my own. Swoon. Anyway, yes the plan on Sunday was to first go to Hermes. I put on a pretty dress because I wanted to be treated right (and you can think that's super pretentious but that's how these damned stores are) and I called them in advance and what do i find out? THEY ARE CLOSED ON SUNDAY! Doesn't get more French than zhat, does eet? Fuck and double fuck! Now you're thinking, what's the big deal, go on Monday or Tuesday or whenever, right? wrong, because I knew the week would be too busy for me to be able to leave before 6 (and yes the store closes at 6!). And then it dawned on me, if not Hermes then.....Ferragamo...Salvatore Ferragamo ("I can kill you with a single tie... ha ha"). I called the store and praise the lord, it was open. The guard who opened the door said "Good afternoon, ma-am, you look lovely today". Why thank you! (Yes I am gullible). A nice Lebanese salesman helped me pick and model the ties on himself (he had on a grey suit and Brendan also plans to wear grey) and I chose one within ten minutes of entering the store. It is a purple spotty tie in shiny silk and the design is woven as opposed to printed; it wasn't on sale but it wasn't expensive either and I can only hope that Brendan likes it. Mission Success.

Next stop, perfume and makeup shopping intended for the sister-in-law-to-be. I picked up a DKNY perfume set for Brendan's sister at Sephora and then I went into Bloomingdales to hunt for a discontinued Dior perfume that my grandmom likes. Here I ended up getting a free eye makeup lesson and buying some nice makeup. The makeup artist at the Lancome counter did a vibrant eye makeover at my request that it match a pink or purple saree - he must have used 10 brushes and 5 shades and God knows know many bases/primers. I walked off with two shades of eyeshadow in pink and bronze and several freebies (that had the other shades I needed to complete the look, whooopeee!). All I need to do now is buy some brushes and practise, not unlike what one would do if one painted. In between I picked up a highlighter (read a stick that makes my undereye area look more appealing) while being told that I have hideous skin and that I have no clue when it comes to skincare. For what it's worth I am having an explosion of freckles on my face and it is inexplicable and worrisome and I need to see a dermatologist when Iget back. (But regardless not wearing primer, highlighter, foundation and concealer on a daily basis isn't a crime!)

And so it was a pretty productive day even though I didn't technically cross out most of the list until yesterday. It did get overwhelming - the pressure to make sure that every member of both families like what you get for them, the realization that you have to think about two families or that you have to use the suffix "in-law" in your vocabulary. Who would have thought that shopping leads to introspection?!

This morning (or rather this evening in Singapore), Brendan picked up my ring. Can I get a woohoo?! Super Sap-tastic post title dedicated to my baby of course! * croons," I knew I loved you before I met you, I think I dreamed you into life" and swoons*

remember the time

I met an old friend yesterday for a drink or should I say someone who used to be a friend and now is merely an acquaintance who keeps a safe distance. She is a good person and I have nothing against her. But I see in her what I see in so many of my female friends who got married – a superiority complex. She has turned into a typical DINKs type who compares everything everywhere to her own super-awesome worry-free existence and is only all too quick to judge. I am happy for her but being unmarried (at least the moment) doesn’t make me any less fantastic. She was surprised to learn that I save money despite my ridiculous shopping benders. She was surprised that my apartment was a decent size (she said, and I quote, she wanted to check it out to see what all the fuss on facebook was about.) She made little of my job and my company, even though she knows I did reasonably well for myself. She said she couldn’t meet today because she had plans with married people. Obviously I don’t fit the demographic. As my colleague rightly said, such women think “All women want to steal and bed my husband in positions I can’t even dream of”. What other rationale excuse can you have for not even inviting someone who used to be a good friend to you and take care of you whenever you visited her city to dinner at your supposedly lovely home? Wouldn’t you want to introduce an old friend to your husband, seeing as the two have never met? Or are you really that paranoid even after being married for 2 years?

Well, whatever. As zip observed, she’s in too much of a hurry to be all grown up. Maturity is over-rated. And it’s only too ironic that I must think of this now, now that I have found out that Michael Jackson has moved on from this world. In a world where most of us want to grow up, he wanted to continue being a child forever. I think it’s sad that he always had an abnormal and sad life despite the fact that he gave us so much in terms of music and dance. I am a child of the 80s and my first dance performance was to “Remember the time”.

I know it’s clichéd to say something nice about someone right after they’ve passed away but it’s Michael Jackson for crying out loud! There has never been and there never will be ANYONE like him. And yes I did hate him at one point but then a year or so ago, I read in detail about his life and how unfair it had been. People with less fucked up childhood have turned out to be murderers and rapists, so well, with his childhood, it’s no surprise that he was confused and strange. In fact, to have no childhood at all and turn into the greatest pop icon on the planet… that’s greatness. Anyone and I mean anyone from an 80-year old in Kazakhistan to a 7-year old in India would know him, his music and his dance. I don’t think even Lennon or Presley can boast of that much stardom and truly universal popularity. So long, MJ and thanks for all the memories.

easy as life

I need something... ice cream.. but i need to lose weight...shoes...but i know i shouldn't shop so much...a hug.. but he's so angry with me.. and so far away...

All that I need

What a fantastic weekend. I slept very little because there was so much going on. Friday night was utterly SHITE as my inglorious boss made me stay till midnight yet another Friday ruining any chance of my having a social life. Regardless I went to meet zip and a coupla girls for non-drinks (I was on antibiots) and returned at 2. Had to wake up early after to do a meet-and-greet with my new sofa! IT IS THE AWESOMENESS…like sitting on a cloud or some bunnies or a heap of cotton or a heapy cloud of cotton bunnies… you get the gist. I love it and though I am beginning to rethink of my choice of colour .. natural twill (that’s a stylish way of saying I picked the un-dyed, cheapest, most natural fabric from the lineup), I think I can make it work with a little bit of care and some color throw by way of accessories. It's bright and very much in sync with the rest of my sundrenched living room. An occasional table set and couple of simple vases filled with fresh flowers and there you have it – home sweet new york.

So the sofa is fantabulous and since I was awake already, I cleaned the apartment (this was much-needed) and then went over to zip’s apartment for some scrumptious Indian food. Then I met Chiquita for a heart-to-heart. And then I met another Swedish classmate for Swedish espresso and chocolate balls that were delicious, and to think this place is a hop skip and a jump away from my place. I wanted to be nicely dressed and yet weather-appropriate – it was cold, rainy and humid. I wore my brand new Just Cavalli teeshirt with black "formal shorts"– I love this tee to bits – it’s pretty and flowery and very Cavalli.

The rest of the evening was spent at bcbgmaxazria trying on dresses and in particular this one coral colored (coral is my colour of the season) dress that was absolutely gorgeous. Pity, they didn’t have my size – only XS and L. I needed the S. I called other stores that evening and they didn’t seem to have it. But in a last-ditch effort, I called one downtown and they did! So I convinced them to hold it for me and finally said pretty dress came into my possession on Sunday evening. Meanwhile I bought the golden bangle that matched it. It's fabulous and I cannot wait to be a few kilos lighter and wear them both.

Then there was dinner with another friend and then three bottles of wine with Zip and another cousin (while we sat on the floor because I was too anal about having red wine in the vicinity of a white couch). Sunday I was up early again, got my nails done. My first mani/pedi in the city – it was cheap and convenient, the place is open till 11pm and doesn’t charge too much . I need to keep the nails in good shape till the engagement so I am not going to chew on them every time my boss springs a nasty surprise on me.

After that I went to the Village, which is a really cute neighbourhood in downtown manhattan. I had to buy my pink maxazria dress after all and I finally did. I found it and it fit and it was glorious. As I walked back, I stopped at adidas, where I picked up some cute gym clothes (that I hope will inspire me to work out more and lose some of the lard before the engagement). The gym was closed by then but well the thought counts.

I really miss Brendan and as per the instructions of my girlfriends, I have actually started “counting down” –because that means I am getting increasingly terrified of how horrid I am going to look at the engagement (I am at a record high weight and no I am not kidding) but also because I am really excited to see Brendan again. Some days (and nights) are very hard on me, I miss being with him and a phone call just doesn’t cut it. And I am excited to wear a ring that he will have picked. It’s surreal and I don’t know if it has all sunk in yet. Maybe when I see the ring? Or when I pick out the saree? Maybe when I see him in the context of family and Bombay and Indian food and floral decorations? Oh my god, I just freaked myself out.

Right after writing this, I had a mini drama in my life. Brendan picked the ring. Leo tells me it's beautiful. Now it has finally sunk in. I am engaged. I need a drink and I mean that in the nicest way.

blame it on the alcohol

Chi-town was a great way to spend memorial day weekend. What is memorial day weekend? Something to do with veterans or war heroes (conveniently holidays in the Western world sync up to each other. Occassions in the US translate to "bank holidays" in the UK.. yeah and you thought noone would notice)

Anyway, I had booked tickets to Chicago a long time ago. My cousin lives there. I had spoken to her a few times before and asked ever so coyly (to test the waters) "ummm do you go out partying by any chance?". This was answered by an overenthusiastic "yes" and was followed by a conversation about eating meat and sushi. I knew I would have fun. I had been told she had an awesome apartment too. Me being the cynical skeptic that I am, I took that with a pinch of salt and "let's see" attitude. Also I was a tad cocky because my apartment in Ny is pretty kick-ass and hard to one-up, or so I thought. I landed in Chicago on Saturday and Cuz picked me up and whisked me off to Wisconsin, where her parents stayed. We had a lovely home-cooked lunch, lots of conversation and off we went to a suburb of Chicago to meet more relatives. Here i was freaked out by all the marriage and Brendan-related questions but overall, it was nice.

We then drove back to Chicago with the intention of freshening up and heading to dinner and drinks with Cuz's friends. Of course this involved stopping by the apartment. And man, was it an awesome superfantastic apartment - 45th floor on a luxury high-rise right beside the John Hancock building, a stone's throw away from Michigan avenue and a view of Lake Michigan that would stop you in your tracks. It was tastefully decorated, clean and spacious and trumped my apartment, no questions asked. (And she owns it!) Not that I was jealous, in fact I was so proud of her and inspired too...I want to own an apartment like that before I am 30.

So yes, back to the apartment. We skanked ourselves up and went par-taying. First stop - hors d'oevres at Sushi Samba - a sushi place with a Peruvian (huh?) influence. Interesting but no points for the bumbling waitress who messed up our ordered multiple times. Then we went to Japonais for drinks. With all my exhaustion and lack of sleep, I couldn't even go through my dirty martini. But then I met a cute-as-a-button bartender who served up a Japonais signature drink called Cucumber Passion. Cucumber Passion is fucking awesome. It's an alcoholic detox if there is such a thing. The night pretty much went downhill from there but in a good way. 4-5 passions later, I had mustered enough courage to scribble mr.bartender a cute little note on the bill. The tip was generous so he obliged - free shots and free cucumber passions. Whoopeee. Cuz's friends were suitably impressed at how a newcomer and a non-local could so successfully get free drinks for everyone. To quote the lone guy in the group "You just asked and he agreed?" What can I say except that I am good?

Next stop, Rhino. A real club, not a pansy lounge bar. A real club. Too bad I remember so little of it because between Cuz spotting my drinks and free shots from Japonais, I was a goner. I went back home, slept in my dress and makeup and woke up with the big bad wolf, I mean hangover. Groan.

Sunday was spent recovering from the insane hangover. In fact, I was actually still tipsy as i hadn't had any water and i am pretty much my blood was 60% vodka and 40% cucumber juice. After scarfing down a scrumptuous scrambled egg and garlic bread breakfast which my cuz so lovingly prepared for me, I got dressed and we headed to Cafe Le Grand, a very decadent looking cafe famous for its brunch offerings. Oh the irony. I could only order a strawberry smoothie and it was delicious. We then went to see Terminator Salvation (I wasn't really in favour of this) but it was a fun way to spend time with the cuz as I didn't want her to change her plans or not hang out with her friends just because I was there.

In the evening, her parents came over and we went for a long walk in the most windy fucking city I have ever visited. It was crazy. Chi-town is beautiful and I was especially charmed by the Lake Michigan shore, which I hear is beautiful in warmer weather. Sigh. The next morning we went for another walk and this time stopped at Tiffany's where I tried on rings. Hmmm....

I then forced everyone to take me to eat Chicago's famous deep dish pizza. It was great, a little too fast-foody for my taste but still pretty good. I saw this in a pizza documentary once (yes I watched the entire thing!) and they'd spoken about this particular pizzeria so I just had to try it. It is actually a stuffed pie - in this it was stuffed with cheese, onions and spinach. The top layer is then covered with yummy tomato sauce baked. We had green peppers on top too. It had been impossible to get a table but I think it was worth it.

So yes, all in all a weekend well spent.

don't let me be misunderstood

I chomp down a fruit salad at my desk in another dismal attempt to lose weight. I am trying everything – I work out whenever I can (which isn’t too often seeing as I have to work such crazy hours), I go swimming at least once a week and I am trying my level best to eat better. The last bit is the toughie because there aren’t too many great lunch options – there are sandwiches, sandwiches and more sandwiches. No I am joking, there’s also soups and overpriced salads. I am happy to eat salads everyday but ever so often something goes wrong (yes I use the lightest dressings like lemon or raspberry vinaigrette…) and I get indigestion and stomachache presumably from some greens that weren’t washed properly.

So far I don’t see any results. The diesel jeans that are a tad too tight are still tight. I still look miserable in bikinis. I look miserable, period. I really want to lose this unemployment-weight!!!

Work has been busy busy busy, and that means that there is no time for gym. It doesn’t help that the gym in my building closes at 8pm.

What is even more petrifying than the fact that my miniscule efforts aren’t bearing fruit is the nagging suspicion that I might actually be gaining weight. I am not looking my best here ladies and gentleman. Either my clothes are shrinking or my body is expanding. I don’t even know how that is possible because I am eating salads, very little meat if any and only simple carbs, whole grain bread and general healthy stuff. Like right now I ate a whole grain sandwich with vegetables (and a bit mozzarella in one half). It was quite literally raw inside-out. I went for a run on Sunday because the gym was already closed. What else can I do? How am I ever going to look svelte (ugh..i hate that word) and slim and sexy in time for the engagement?

In engagement-preparation related news, both Brendan and I are so busy with work that neither has any time for anything. It didn’t help matters that I went to a real Tiffany’s store and altered my preferences. The Legacy is pretty no doubt but it only looks super fantastic when it’s a good 2 carats or more. There are prettier rings; and I had to take a fresh look at them when I tried them on my tiny fingers (which are a blessing because the caratage required is lesser when you have thin fingers. In fact, A 1.5 carat looks positively enormous on me). I liked the patented Novo ring and another stunning ring that Brendan picked out. I liked the latter a lot especially because he chose it and that meant something. Overall, I guess by now Brendan has a clear idea of what I like and dislike and I am pretty certain that I will love whatever he buys for me. I don’t want to see it before the engagement; I want that miniscule element of surprise since I never actually got to experience the surprise proposal moment that I see sooooo often in movies. Sigh.

It’s one of those days (or weeks I should say) when the self esteem really takes a beating. A lot of miserable things are making me miserable. The weight loss issues for starters. I am hungry, deprived of cheese and fat. That equation simply does not balance. The ring issue – Brendan was mad at me because I somewhat changed my mind (technically I haven’t, all I am saying is that princess cuts look better at 2 carats or higher and that is out of his budget so we have to go for plan B but the fact remains that I still place princess cuts at 1^st place).

I went for a cooking contest at work, made a half-assed effort and made deviled eggs. Why? Because I knew I wouldn’t win anyway. It was after work and I had to bring every ingredient with me and that’s just fucking annoying because I am a total cooking nazi and I would end up taking my entire kitchen with me if I had to make something a little more complex. Anyway, I usually add a tiny amount of spring onions to the deviled eggs but because I didn’t find those, I added leeks instead. That wasn’t a bright idea because it ended up being a bit pungent. But they did taste nice and they looked stunning. Prettiest dish in the contest, but I didn’t win and I am not at all surprised about that. I am bummed out though. Sigh

Zipadeedoodah moved to New York last week and that’s just great – having a good friend move here is very heartening. We hung out over the weekend – we shopped at Macy’s and I picked up something I have longed for forever – a Nespresso machine, not an espresso machine, a Nespresso… that stuff is awesome. Then everyone and their mother told me it was a ridiculously overpriced gadget that I didn’t have any real need for. Add to that the fact that it won’t work outside of the US (then I realize that wait a minute! My super awesome TV and dvd player won’t either…what the fuck!). So now I have to return the nespresso machine. Sigh.

Zip and Casa both think that I don’t need an expensive 1 carat ring. On the one hand, I do value their opinions and they are sort of right. On the other hand (and I kinda like this hand more), it’s a once-in-a-lifetime purchase and a thing of beauty and it doesn’t have to be a logical decision. I said to Brendan that I would wear it for the rest of my life and I would really like to wear something I like because I would look at it every day! I find out later that Tiffany’s uses the same reasoning in their marketing brochure for engagement ring! There will always be bigger and better ways to spend that money. Today it can buy ten overpriced sofas or pay 4 months of rent. Tomorrow it can be part of the downpayment on a house. Day after, it can pay for a kid’s college fees. Whatever, you get the drift. My point is there’s always going to be a use for a sum of money and then a better use for a sum of money. Should I deprive myself? Should I lead myself to believe that I don’t really want the one thing that I actually want in this wedding? Or should I only want the things I need? Should I really have to justify this to you or to Brendan or to my parents or to anyone else? Sigh.

p.s. coming up next the long over due post about my super-awesome visit to chicago...stayed tuned for the lowdown on chi-town jups style..

you give love a bad name

The more you know that you cannot get something you want, the more you want to want it. Right? Case in point The tiffany legacy ring – a ring so perfect for me, it’s as if in my former life, I was a queen in a forgotten era and I wore that ring and that is precisely the Edwardian glamour they’re talking about and that is precisely why I feel such a deep connection between my finger and that ring. If I had the money, I would buy it for myself and propose to myself and accept and get married to myself and live happily ever after as long as that ring was on my finger. It’s as if it was the one. The one that when you laid your eyes on, violins started playing in the background and birds started singing and you just knew that it was the one. Do you get my drift or should I come up with more metaphors?

Brendan has ruled out the ring hereby referred to as The One. He says The One is too expensive. He says there are more value buys and the mandatory 1 carat diamond can be obtained without burning that much cash. Yeah but will that ring have the EDWARDIAN GLAMOUR that The One has? Will I hear birds sing when I look at it? No sir, I won’t.

I am aware that I sound like an ungrateful, stupid cow but humour me, will you? I am getting more and more frustrated knowing that I have little or no control over any aspect of this engagement, save for the guy I am getting engaged to. Thank God for small mercies? I can’t control the fact that people are choosing to attend this event uninvited or that they’re choosing to stay at our place uninitiated with little regard for the fact that I get so little time with my family and that I don’t want to get crowded around on the few days prior to this event. Why are Indians so pushy and clingy and annoying? Is it too much to ask for you to book a hotel? Oh no! Wait! Let us pay for that too. No, it’s not enough that my dad will probably run up an astronomical hotel bill during the two lavish weddings I will have in the future – he has to fork out for any out-of-town guests even for the engagement! WHYYYYY!!!! And don't even get me started on this new trend in India of writing "no gifts please, only blessings!" on the invitation. Why? Because you're too proud to accept gifts? Only Blessings MY ASS. My wedding invite's going to say "Only expensive gifts please, we have no money left after planning this elaborate party for your pleasure"

I can’t pop open a bottle of champagne at my own engagement – partially because the place charges extra for serving alcohol and partially because oh no it’s a religious ceremony. Here’s an idea, if marriages are sooooo fucking religious, how about if we didn’t throw lavish parties in banquet halls and went back to the temples again? How about if we didn’t care if there was a continental cuisine or a chaat stall at the ceremony huh? How about not being selectively religious and selectively ostentatious?

No Veuve Cliquot, No Legacy ring but I get relatives for free. Congratulations to me. As you can see, when I started writing this I was in a bright and cheery mood but somewhere between speaking to my mom and getting all my suggestions vetoed and realizing that my work environment is thoroughly sexist, I lost whatever good cheer my crisply ironed linen pants and a picture of The One brought. Whatever.

I told Brendan once that we're already getting married south India meets Bollywood style and North Indian style. Can we get married free style just for us? A wedding we can enjoy? He said "we already did that - we lived together". Don't you just looooove a smart-ass?

diamonds are a girl's best friend

The apartment has been in the process of being set up for a loooong time. There are many reasons for that, not the least of them being that spending more than a 1000$ on each big ticket item makes me feel very guilty and I need to space it out because I am not Paris Hilton and I don't have a platinum credit card anymore. No siree, the Jups who had the nice credit cards with the nice perks and the nice credit history is relegated to the cheap-shit debit card. UGH! First of all it's a debit card and second of all it's a cheap-ass looking plastic see-through card. I loathe it. Not to mention in 3 months, it's already so worn out it refuses to work in metrocard machines. Annoying much?

On the plus side, I know exactly how much I am spending on any given day and don't have to wait till the end of the month and get shocked by a huge bill. On the minus side, there are so many fucking minuses! Can you imagine how many rewards points I could have earned from all these sofas and bed purchases?

As I was saying, the apartment is in the process of being set up and perfected. I have mixed tastes and shuttle between contemporary and modern and it's very unsettling because I sometimes want a mix of a modern look and a Pottery Barn look. Both those looks are expensive! Anyway, I ordered the sofa weeks ago but it's not going to be ready before mid-June. What a bitch.

But that is the traditional side of the apartment. I also ordered a fatboy in marimekko print. Fatboy is a contemporary reincarnation of the beanbag – it’s like a beanbag only way huger and way way wayyyyyy cuter. Add a marimekko print to it and you have a refreshingly youthful but not hostel-like look. The fatboy arrives end of this week. Come next week, the TV stand arrives too. I spent days and days trying to narrow down my choices after IKEA betrayed my sensibilties by trying to charge me 150$ shipping on a 90$ stand. Screw you Ikea, I’ll buy a 200$ stand then and spend 0 on delivery. HA! So that’s what I did, I settled for a subdued black TV stand with ample shelf space. Here’s hoping it looks good and is durable.

The apartment looks really empty now and I think it will continue to be so until the sofa arrives. I need a nice rug and a really nice coffee table to tie it all together. I wish those two things weren’t so expensive. A decent coffee table is upwards of 300$ and I am hellbent on getting a square one (if not square at least a very generous rectangle that’s almost square). I want my table to be light colored and I want it to have no glass. That shouldn’t be so difficult to find but let me tell you that it is. There are very very few tables that are square, even fewer that are square and don’t have a glass top and even fewer that don’t like 5 left over wood planks glued together.

As you can imagine, my bank balance isn’t doing too well in the face of said furniture purchases. I also booked my ticket to india paying a hefty 1300$ for the ticket.Apparently July is the worst time in terms of prices. ARGH! I have never paid that much for anything! And why is everything more than a thousand dollars? My air ticket, my sofa, my bed… my god, I am not liking this.

And all that made me feel terribly guilty about Brendan getting me a diamond ring. After all, if 1300$ can annoy me so much, parting with say 10 or 15,000$ would be ten times more unpleasant right? And what’s his is mine (heheh yeah baby yeah!) so shouldn’t I be more responsible. That’s the one half of my brain. The other half is busy imagining how different it would be doing everyday things wearing a big and beautiful diamond ring. Like umm.. paying for my coffee…flirty starbucks barista who upgrades my coffee for free gets blinded by the shininess…no more upgrades… skeevy guy in disco.. “hey beautiful”… I wave back at him and lasers shoot out of the ring and he instantly retraces his steps. Sitting at the office with my face resting on my fist like whatshisfacegreekphilosopherguy would, big diamond catches rays of the sun and makes brilliant aura around my cubicle….Aaaahhh Life is so much better with diamonds.

Okay I am going crazy but I blame the Tiffany’s website for that. Obviously I forwarded it to Brendan not hinting that I want my ring from there (because I don’t…tiffany’s overcharges and their rings are a shoddy VS2 clarity..uh uh…not good enough!) but rather hinting that these are some of the classic designs that would look good on my finger. My ideal ring would be a princess cut stone bordered with little stones on a pave setting. Yes, that would be the one ring to rule her. I sighed audibly just typing that.

In fact I’ve seen a ring very very close to that description – one is on the tiffany website (it's so pretty!) and the other I actually tried on. Several months ago, when Brendan and I were in a more casual place in our relationship. The ring was gorgeous and you could get it with a yellow or a white diamond. I liked em both. Unfortunately, Brendan went back to the store and no surprise, they don’t sell it anymore. For that matter, it’s become really tough to get princess cuts these days. PRINCESS JUPS WANTS HER PRINCESS DIAMOND!

candyman

Where have I been. I have been busy. Isn’t that always the case? Work has been a killer so I try to make the most of my weekends. I so badly wanted to tell you about last weekend which was absolutely wonderful. It has something to do with the fact that 4^th was Brendan’s birthday; I was on a high because I had arranged a series of surprises for him – a large, luscious Belgian chocolate cake in the morning, champagne colored roses in the afternoon and best of all a box full of luxurious dress shirts and cufflinks (well the box arrived 2 days late). Before the day itself, we had a virtual date via Skype. Why is a virtual date different from any of the other times we talk on skype? I’ll tell you.

On Saturday, I pretty much stayed in, cooked, ate and studied for my certification exams. I also hooked up my miscellaneous gadgets with all the cables I’d ordered online so I could listen to music wirelessly and watch stuff off my laptop on tv and send an email from my microwave and stuff like that. After spending a very lazy yet productive Saturday, I was excited about Sunday. On Sunday morning, I went to Pottery Barn for a flower arrangement course. Yes I am aware that it makes me sound like Bree from desperate housewives but who cares? I had nothing to do and it was a free class. Given that I am quite domesticated and that I have a brand new apartment that could use decoration tips, this was perfect. It was a really fun class and they even gave us free muffins from Williams Sonoma (they were chocolate peanut butter cupcakes to be precise and I even bought the mix the next day to try it at home). I hurriedly took a cab home because I didn’t want to be late for my little virtual date. I already had my makeup on, I changed into a skimpy, green summer dress, made breakfast and waited for Brendan. This was the same dress I wore when I once decided to surprise him by making steak and setting up a surprise date in the living room as he came home from work. He was also nicely dressed – he’d worn his new linen jacket from British India and he had cooked a lovely dinner for himself. So we toasted and enjoyed our respectively meals in our respective continents and when the clock struck 12, I sang for him and he blew out (virtually) a votive that I held out for him over skype. Call us crazy but we did all that because once in a while it is worth the effort to ditch the jammies.

And that was Brendan's birthday Sunday. On Monday the boy was overwhelmed with presents as even his office folks participated in my little surprise and I was thrilled that it all worked out. He loves his new shirts. Meanwhile I studied the rest of the Sunday and went to bed waiting to read his surprised emails in the morning.

Tomorrow, stay tuned for this weekend's update post because now, I am off to bed. Good night.

Stupid Cupid

I don’t see myself as someone who could turn into bridezilla but nonetheless I would still like to obsess to a tolerable level about the wedding related planning that’s been going on lately. I don’t want to turn into my parents and start writing out the 400-strong guestlist or start shorlisting caterers and banquet halls because none of that seems appealing. If I had it my way, I would have a small yet somehow grand wedding, invite fewer people by eliminating anyone and everyone who has said anything mean to me. That would take care of at least 300 of those 400. I want to obsess about this to someone and yet somehow I can’t. I talked to mom yesterday for sometime and she went with it but it’s always risky territory because any disagreement leads to a fight. I can’t talk to Brendan because he is sometimes too practical and it drives me up the wall. Two reasons – if he’s so practical, why does he want to marry me? That’s like Hitler preaching tolerance. Secondly, weddings aren’t meant to be practical – court marriages are. If I had to do the latter, I would but we’ve both agreed that’s not going to fly with the parents. So the whole crux of the matter is if you’re going to do it the proper desi way, then you have to stop questioning the “logic” of things…correction..question less. I can’t talk to other girls without seeming like a self-indulgent twat with a superiority complex because that’s how I see most of my married friends and I’ll be damned if my friends see me that way. If you’re married and you’re reading this, know that you have said some terrible things to your unmarried friends and that too in the most nonchalant manner, so shame on you. And you’ve treated them like sh*t when they were your bridesmaids, so shame on you for that too.

Right now, so where was I? Yeap, obsessing. So here’s what I am going to do. I am going to vent my obsessions into cyberspace where I can be as compulsive and as repetitive as I want and you can’t do a damn thing about aside from making a snide comment and even that won’t bother me. Once again, Juice saves the day.

And so we begin. Can I just start by saying how calm and happy I am about getting engaged to Brendan? He is such a great guy and he’s generous and kind and those are important things (even though he can be a dumass at times, especially times when I buy low-cut dresses, but don’t tell him I said that, okay?)

As un-Jupiter as it is, after much deliberation, I’ve decided to forego the big engagement ring. It just seems like too much to ask, ya know? The small ones seem too…well stingy and the big ones...they just look like you’re blinding other people with your marriage. Nah, I am lying, I would love to have a nice big ring but it’s just not part of my life plans right now. For god’s sake I feel guilty about a 1300$ SOFA, a 30,000$ ring would be so much worse.

I am going to wear a Tussar silk saree for the engagement. It’s not south Indian but then again, neither is the groom…ha ha. The saree is elaborate but not gaudy and certainly not shiny and see-through so I guess it would photograph well. The issue is going to be getting the blouse stitched on time and how am I going to do that sitting here? I have no idea.

I need to lose weight before the said ceremony. That is not going to be easy!! His family already thinks I am short – I can’t have them think I am fat too. Ugh, no way. My gym plans have not taken off yet for the simple reason that I don’t have a pair of sneakers. I guess I’ll have to buy it online because I just don’t have the patience for this. 5 kilos in less than 3 months - it's going to take a lot of discipline to pull that off.

Okay, I had no time to publish this post yesterday or the day before so I am doing it today. In the meantime, my eyes hate me for all excel spreadsheet scrutiny I am doing day in and day out. After dinner on wednesday, I purchased three pairs of sneakers online (so I could try 3, keep the one that fits and return the other 2, relax will you?). I also purchased a ton of wires and cables on amazon (ridiculously cheap compared to Best Buy, hullo?) and a mini-jar accessory for my blender. All this time I spent obsessing about mini-jars – if only someone had told me “look Jups, it’s all very well to want a mini jar but here in the US, you don’t the mini jar with the blender, you buy it separately and it costs less than 10 bucks!”, they’d have saved me a whole lot of time! You live, you learn.

UPDATE: AND DID YOU REALISE THAT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY JUICE TURNED 4 YEARS OLD??? HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUICE! I LOVE YOU!

Instead

There are good weekends, there are bad weekends and then there are mixed bag weekends – you spend a ton of money, you get drunk, you eat a lot, you watch a movie, you have a fight, etc etc. Mine was like that. It started on a very positive note on Friday evening; I left work early and headed to Diesel. While Diesel is famous (imo) for jeans, I was more interested in their clothing. Their apparel is hip and very au courant and even their feminine dresses have a distinct rock attitude to them. Me Likey.

Between the fantastic 5th avenue store décor and music and the very very gay guy helping me try dresses, I walked off spending more than 300 $ and that was after having 30% shaved off the 2 200$ dresses! I bought a very cute strappy teeshirt – simple but with tons of attitude. The dresses – 1 chocolate brown dress that is a different take on a wrap dress and finally one that doesn’t need a cami inside. The other is a houndstooth check short frock that would look stunning with my black boots. Overall, Diesel 1, Jups 0

Then I met Chey for drinks and had such a fun time. Chey went to the same university as I and actually bothered to look me up after he found out that I lived in New York. How nice. So we drank tons that night and after that we went back to my place to watch Gladiator and drink more. We also made plans to go to ikea to buy identical media stands. Whew. Chey’s a good kid.

Saturday was also totalllly fun. I went to Chinatown, I’d made plans to go there to get my haircut and ended up having lunch with Donald before and hanging out with him after. Lunch was good old wanton noodles with soup and vegetables and some fiery chili sauce. It was so lovely and reminded me of my good ol’ Singapore. Food was cheap, obviously. Then I noticed that you get real asian vegetables in Chinatown – real vegetables like pumkins and gourds and stuff. I went nuts. And it literally cost me what I would in my neighbourhood supermarket for 2 pounds of tomatoes. Whoa!

Then we walked around Chinatown and onto Little Italy and back to Chinatown in time for my hair appointment. And it was divine. Finally some pampering. The stylist was great and attentive and had an eye for detail. He painstakingly “texturised” (his words) my hair and the end results? Well short, curly and already getting me loads of compliments.
At this point I wanted to go home and watch La Vie En Rose but Donald insisted I should stay out and walk around with him. He then walked me to Wall Street where we spent 4 hours at his favorite bar; I drank ginger ale and tomato juice so as not to ruin the high I had from it being such a gorgeous day because it really was a beautiful day – no annoying wind, no rain, just perfect weather, not hot nor cold, just right. Then I went back home and cooked some rajma and ate rotis with rajma and veggies and raita. I put on the movie but then Brendan came online. So I chatted with Brendan for hours till I was too sleepy to go on.

What a perfect day right? Well apparently the balance of the universe must have shifted because the next day was an utter shitfest. I readied my lunch and put on La Vie on Rose once more. Brendan came online again so we started chatting. Except this time it wasn’t much fun because we had a fight. At around the same time, my boss calls me up asking me to go to work. IT’S SUNDAY!!!!!! ARGH! I get a missed call. I call back and it’s Tee – he cancels our dinner plans. I was in tears! It was all too much to bear. Groan. I had no voice left at the end of it. Defeated, I took a shower and went to work. Spent 3 hours there doing some crappy shit (crappy shit..eehhehe) that could as well have waited till Monday. Went then to Pottery Barn to check out sofas and finally finally ordered one. They take 8 weeks to deliver. I sheepishly agreed because I didn’t have it in me to explore this sofa market any further. If it takes until next year, so be it. I’ll sit on a box till then.

I then came back home, ate and watched (finally) La Vie en Rose. It was a well-made movie but I didn’t want to like it – it’s quite tragic and depressing –it must not be nice to lose everyone you love like that, heartbreaking. I then cooked more (for no reason) and packed my lunch for the next day. This morning, I left it on the bartop and rushed to office without it. Groan.

The silver lining? Well Brendan sent flowers this morning – I haven’t seen them yet (my concierge mailed me about them) but I am excited to. Strange occurrence of the day? The owner of a restaurant in Singapore emailed me after reading my scathing review apologizing on behalf of his staff and offering me a free meal to make up for my experience. It was a really touching and generous gesture and I am definitely taking him up on the offer when I visit Brendan next. I feel bad for writing such a mean review especially because he complimented me on my writing skills. Oh man…