Bloglets: of love affairs and anniversaries!

Nov. 27^th marks 5 years since I packed my bags and left Mumbai for the big bad world of New York City. I had promised friends and family and especially the boy that it’s just an experiment for 6 months as I don’t want to let go of an opportunity to try something new. You see FOMO (fear of missing out) & YOLO (you only live once) have driven a lot of such random but wondrous decisions in my life! And if that was not yuppie enough for you, I got No DICE! 

It’s like they say, days and weeks are long in the passing but years go by quickly. I cannot even attempt to try to capture the essence of 5 years of my life here in one bloglet and but I will try to acknowledge it bit by bit and what’s left unsaid are stories that, long nights and bottles of wines are for.

First things first, I love New York city only because it’s the greatest city in the world, period. You’ll just have to take my word for it. For someone who’s always suffered from the immigrant’s conundrum, I have found New York City to be home. I have thrived in this city and connected with it despite being an outsider because everyone else here is an outsider too. It’s as much mine as anyone else’s and I own every bit of New York proudly, even the dark and dingy alleys near Port authority. I don’t think I am even an inch closer to being an American in the last 5 years but I feel and live like a New Yorker. Heck, I became one the day I packed my bags and left India. And on this day of thanksgiving, I am very thankful that I did! 

Despite this love affair, sometimes one has to leave home and go explore the world. Maybe some of us are probably not meant to be at one place, are probably wanderers by spirit or driven by the primal instinct of looking for better opportunities to feed themselves and their clan.  As I am getting close to the end of my stay here, it’s time for this Bihari to pack her Bihari roots, her New Yorker snoots and head to London in search of more of life’s adventure, meaning and je ne sais quoi!!

P.s. Nov 27th is also my engagement  anniversary & my elder brother's birthday ! What a glorious day !  

 To be continued ……..

Ricercato, Osservato, Acquisto ! - Fashion and shopping tips learnt from my trip to Italy

My recent trip to Italy was fabulous in every way. However, before the trip, I was stressed about what to wear and pack given how well Italian women carry themselves. Hence ‘ricercato, osservato, acquisto ’ i.e. I researched, I observed, I shopped.  Here are some of the things I learnt the easy or the hard way -

• Take clothes that will not risk you being stopped at duomos or cathedrals; as a thumb rule maybe wear clothes that at least touch your knees and cover your shoulders. I had a near escape at Milan Duomo thanks to the girl in front of me wearing a shorter skirt!
• Carry a nice leather handbag; you are in the land of leather and iconic Italian fashion so you have no excuse
• Pearls go with almost everything that you can or should plan to wear
  
• Almost everyone in Italy wears cool glasses so feel free to wear your funkiest pair. No one even blinked at my otherwise in your face red D&G frames
• Don't tie your scarf on your head in Italy as it’s very French; unless you are French. Throw it stylishly across your shoulders or wrap it around your neck 
• Forget contacts, prescription sunglasses are the way to go especially if you plan to go into water
• Italian youngsters wear leather everywhere i.e. leather jackets paired with jeans, leggings and short skirts. Something to keep in mind if and when you plan to go out
• Don't try to compete with Italian women when it comes to walking on the cobbled streets in high heels; you've not been trained by birth 
• In fact, do not carry any shoe that you cannot walk in as there is no getting around walking in Italy. My RL loafers, Jimmy Choo wedges and low heeled ferragamo sandals worked out just fine for me and I never once used any other heels I carried. I had also researched how Hogan sneakers (owned by Tod’s group) are all the rage in Italy and saw it firsthand.
• Shopping in Italy is great. Period! It’s the land of iconic brands like Armani, Bvlgari, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada, Valentino....; so many that they can have their own alphabet.. so plan to splurge on a few of these brands if they catch your fancy! If you like outlet shopping, you may be able to find a few good deals but be ready to slum it out with other Asians !  
  
• Try and find some local designers as the delight of self-discovery elevates any shopping experience. I was not sold on more popular Italian brands like Liu Jo or Pinko which are as expensive as the Italian brands you may have heard of. Instead I discovered and adored the beautiful tops and dresses from Massimo Rebecchi, shoes from Vicini (same house that owns Zanotti) and silk scarves from Massimo Ravinale.
• While shopping for leather in Italy, no amount of research substitutes what you can deduce by look and feel. We looked into quite a few stores and distinctly found the difference in quality of leather and stitching in the shop that we eventually purchased from. Rest, time will tell!
  

• Italy is probably the only place where your grocery shopping can likely exceed any clothes, accessories or shoes purchase. The pastas, sauces, mushrooms, truffles, spices, wines, mushrooms…..I could go on.
• VAT refunds can make shopping worthwhile but expect to stand in long lines for VAT refund and preferably take cash as the return on credit card comes late and at an unfavorable exchange rate
• Bottomline, don't pack everything you want to as you will find something even more beautiful in Italy if you are willing to look for it! 

p.s.  Let me know if there's a better Italian translation available !

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! 

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.