So it’s official. I am the good kid. I dint say it, our maid did. And her opinion matters. At the ripe age of 30 she is a worldly wise woman who has interacted closely with many families and therefore is in the perfect position to decide whether or not those residing in the said families are spoilt brats. By her standards I am not. She made that amply clear this weekend.

I was officially in-charge of the traditional (and excruciatingly tedious) Diwali cleaning. Just like half of the nation, we engage in this ritual religiously, year after year. Our part-time maid and car cleaner were brought in to reinforce our Diwali Cleaning Team this year. I like to say I was in-charge of the Team but in actuality it was my mother. I was only a lowly team member who wanted to believe she was in-charge. As the “in-charge” I decided to participate in the actual process of cleaning, you know, to be a part of the team etc etc instead of sitting around, giving instructions and thus de-motivating the team. Just as I opening one of the drawers to pick up a duster, our maid broke into a broad smile and spoke aloud “Didi kitna kaam karti hain na? Sunday ko bhi kuch na kuch karti rehati.” Most of the “kuch na kuch karana” is related to my attempts at baking which can’t really be categorised as a hardcore household chore but nevertheless it seems to impress her. While I realize I have made an impression on our maid, the maid’s comment offers me the golden opportunity to make an impression on my mother. I am one of those who are still living off with my parents and are exploiting the situation to the hilt. I keep thinking I need to do more in the house, you know, to earn my keep, but the motivation is perennially low. Plus I believe that full time work gives me precious little time to do stuff around the house. And then there is that logic that says something like ‘if you can’t be a lazy lump in your parent’s house, where can you?’ All put together makes me a non-contributing member of the family. But once in a while major pangs of guilt hit and then I need to do something to make myself feel better. If that something is only to build an image of a conscientious family member, so be it.  I see the maid’s comment as a golden opportunity for the image building. I catch my mom’s eye, give her a grin and ask the maid “Baki gharon main bacche kaam nahi kartain hai na?” I am waiting with bated breath to hear her say “Haan,haan, bilkul”  and all I get is a non committal “hmm” and with that she picks up her broom and  walks out. Whaaat? I though she was on my side! Ploy killed mercilessly I grab the duster sullen faced and walk towards the cabinet that patiently waited my attention.

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Tag time again. I am finally doing this meme sent by Manpreet and Chandni that asks me to list out my addictions. I don’t really think I am addicted to any of the things listed below. I mean I can live without them but life would be difficult!!

  • Reading- now this one is an obvious first. I love to read- anywhere, anytime.
  • The internet – well, some of my friend do live in it, as do many blogs and blogging buddies so it’s really important to me.
  • Baking- a relatively recently developed interest that is taking over my life, more correctly my weekends. But the end products are good enough to keep me going at it.
  • Handicrafts- I am not a shopping freak in general but take to a handicraft exhibition and I will tell you why I need at least one sample of each item being sold. I cant remember even one exhibition that I went to where I browsed and got home empty handed. To justify making purchases we dont need I try to buy less or small or incomplete. So I will end up with only the dupatta of a mix-n-match dress or a pair of tiny wooden spoons that look cute but can be used  or one hand woven mat that has such odd dimensions that it cant be used anywhere in the house. Odds and ends that annoys everyone in the family.

Now that we are doing lists, here’s another one. This time it’s a tag about my quirks from Anar.

  • Surfing- this is the only way I know how to watch tv. If that not how you do it, I suggest you don’t hand me the remote. Or get another tv.
  • I don’t walk over manhole covers. I believe the Municipality doesn’t really care about them and just throws a slab of concrete to cover the hole. The said slab of concrete is liable to give way under anyone’s weight, therefore the need to skirt the said slab.
  • I love driving but demand discipled traffic and clear roads.As a result I hardly ever drive. Strangely in spite of driving rarely I am extremely confident about myself whenever I take to the wheel. I think may be that’s what other people call over confidence.
  • I can’t stand chipped/unkept nails or nail paint. If its there, it better be in good shape or you just keep your nails short. Simple.
  • I can’t use unsharpened pencils. I’m talking of the wood pencils we used to get as kids and not the lead pencils. I still like those better than the lead ones and I like them best when they are sharpened properly.

I am not tagging anyone in particular. If any of you havent done either of these tags and feel like picking it up, please do.

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Office IT chaps have blocked blogspot completely so if you are on blogspot and havent got a comment from me in a while, they are to blame! I think I am beginning to panick. They are going to target wordpress next. I just know it. Its sooo not fair. What does it matter to them if a few people blog? Its not like anyone clocks 8 hours of serious work at office. People chat, take long coffee breaks, read magazines, use the office phone to make long calls to friends and family. If  I chose to blog, why is there a problem with that!?

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On a happier note here’s a nice song . It has made an appearance here not because it is in anyway related to this disjointed post but simply because I lorvve it and wanted to share it with ya!