From Bihar to Big Apple Bloglets: Of birthdays and growing old

It seems to be the right time to pick up the pieces and break this reverie that I have gotten myself into. Also, in the interest of being regular, I plan to post some of these mini blogs (bloglets as I call them) along with the unusually long ones while I live and grow through the nouveau and banal experiences in the fabulous city of New York. I am hoping these bloglets will be crisp, frequent and, diverse. If I am up to any good, they'll also be interesting. 

Well, in terms of timing, I am approaching my 31^st birthday this week and the one thing I have realized is nothing humbles you & makes you realize certain truths more than age. While, knowledge and wisdom are no prerogatives of age, realization definitely is. The fact that being able to sip a cup of coffee in “central perk” pop up shop on Friend’s 20^th anniversary is a subject non grata for a lot of folks I interact with, made me realize that I am already part of an "older generation".

I on the other hand, am still trying to figure out what I need to do with my life so it seems kind of harsh that I am already old :P. Not helping, is that extra perk I have being a female; yes, I am talking about the proverbial body clock that's perennially ticking. So, between being chronologically adult and psychologically adolescent, 30s could be a disorienting era. Thankfully, I have company as there is supposedly an entire Peter Pan generation of similar disoriented souls. :P. Here's hoping that an entire generation cannot go wrong (excluding the 80s fashion sense or 90s depending on your preference) !

Another thing that comes with age is a reconciliation of the fact that despite your best attempts, you cannot avoid being like your parents. Living 1000s of miles away from them, not having spent more than 2 weeks in a row continuously with them in past however many years; you find yourself doing little things just like them. Same annoying little things that you absolutely swore to stay away from. Not sure if it’s good or bad but it’s also the time some of us start looking like our parents. I have a picture of my mom when she was about the same age as I am and it’s hard to point out the differences except, she looks a lot skinnier despite having had two kids.

But as they say, 30s are the new 20s and I am just getting started. I had a cantaloupe mimosa for a Monday morning beverage and skydived from 10000 feet on a Tuesday afternoon this week. I don't have that many visible wrinkles yet(here's hoping) and still have the belief that I can make a difference. I can afford most of the stuff I aspired growing up but now I aspire for finding experiences I love, doing work I enjoy and living a life where I learn and grow every day. I still take selfies (rather, I am a pro at it) and check in on Facebook. Yes, I am not THAT cool yet but I think I might just take to this growing old thing well. 

Also, while we are on this topic; may I propose taking some time off on your birthday. Why not take one day to celebrate yourself and do something that you have never found the time to do so far or to think about who you have become and who you want to be. The whole world goes through the rigmarole of making New Year resolutions but why not makes those resolutions around your birthday as technically that’s when your new year starts. I survived turning 30 by making a list of 30 things to do before my birthday which actually made me look forward to it than dreading it. You may call it vain but I see no harm in sitting down and smelling the roses once a year or jumping off a cliff if that catches your fancy! 

Icelandic Adventures - Prelude

If there is one word to describe Iceland, I’d say unique. If you'd ask me in two words, I’d say unique and expensive and if you want multiple words – read my blog(s)J. 

My friends questioned my judgement when I decided to take a trip to Iceland In February this year. In their defense, I have been whining about the cold, snow, ice, polar vortex etc.hitting NYC this winter and Iceland is not exactly akin to Caribbeans as a winter destination from the Americas. In my defense, this was one of the best years in this decade to see aurora borealis aka northern lights, I found a great deal on Icelandair, the flight was for 5 hours only (same time you would take to fly to LA) and if one has to die of cold, might as well die exploring something new or die trying.

Coco, Jumbo & Jordan in Split

As I had said in my previous blog post, one of the things I love most about travelling with Jordan and Jumbo is that no matter where we go there are always stories to tell. Stories of our misadventures, mis-steps, follies and forced wisdom reverberate longer than the high-points and in similar spirit …there was no dearth of stories in Split.

(Mis)adventures of Jumbo, Jordan and Coco enroute to Plitvice(Croatia)

Stories of a lifetime: One of the things I love most about travelling with Jordan and Jumbo is that no matter where we go, there are always stories to tell. Stories of our misadventures, mis-steps, follies and forced wisdom reverberate longer than the highpoints. It’s probably due to the fact that we can never let the other person live it down in this lifetime and the trip to Croatia and Montenegro was no exception in this regard.

The Choo Conundrum !

Conundrum: kəˈnəndrəm – noun - a confusing and difficult problem or question.

1.  a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun
2.  a question or problem having only a conjectural answer                                                        

(Source: my friend Google and my very old friend, Merriam Webster)

Choo Conundrum: The sexist conundrum where an entire half of human population is grappling with why the other half loses its moorings when it comes to shoes; named after a high end shoe brand ‘Jimmy Choo’ that has triggered this in many households across the globe.