Two Worlds Apart

Sometimes I think that an arranged marriage is the way to go. I've always thought it to be clinical and impersonal, but sometimes it's just so much easier on the heart. You find the guy you think suits you best, you talk it over and you both make a decision. There's no second guessing each other, no wondering how he feels, no wondering if you had him figured out all wrong.. and no getting hurt.
Everything about the dating game is just so complicated, and despite knowing the rules, I seem determined to sabotage myself by refusing to play. I know everyone says that for a relationship to work out you have to hold off having sex, because then it will make the guy want you more, it will make him like you more..but that makes no sense to me. If I like some one, then sex for me, is just a natural way of expressing that feeling. But maybe, just maybe it's true. Because once you take that final step, and just do it (forgive the phrasing), you can actually see the interest drop in you soon after.
In my last post, I introduced to you all the latest man in my life, whom I was later told that I sounded 'smitten' by :)... Well, that probably was the case. But what I neglected to mention at that time, was this man is not Indian.. mostly because I decided that that should have no relevance. However, I'm starting to believe that it is in fact extremely relevant.
I've discovered that there is a lot to be said for the comfort level you share with the people of your own nationality. This comfort goes beyond just knowing the same customs, and possibly speaking the same language.. it includes the very fundamentals of social behavior.. what will be taken as a joke, what will be offensive, what is too presumptuous....
I find myself constantly tip toeing around this guy purely because I have no real idea of what makes him tick.. and if I had a penny for the number of times I've said 'You know, I just can't peg him'..!!
Then comes the eternal struggle of 'Does he like me, or is he just having a good time?' now compounded by the question of 'Is he naturally this remote, or is he just not interested?' .. further compounded by the question of ' Is this not going anywhere, or are foreigners just really much slower than Indians when it comes to deciding this kind of stuff?'..
Now, doesn't the arranged marriage thing sound so much more appealing?? :)..Unfortunately though for me, no matter how annoying and depressing and sometimes downright nasty the whole dating game can be, I doubt I'll ever be a player in the marriage market.
But anyway, coming back to my dilemma, the question that I seem doomed to struggle with for the near future is just how much of my problem is the cultural divide and how much of it is the man....?

Sun, No Sand.. And a Chocolate Martini...

Every time I meet a guy, my mind balks at the idea of including him in the accountings of my blog, for fear of scaring him away. What if he thinks that I am a total psycho for writing about him so soon into meeting him, or better yet, he takes offense at something I've written and I never hear from him again. And then I have to remind myself that come what may, this is my blog and this is what is happening in my life. So the devil take him and anyone else who cares :).. (But all of this is decided with a good deal of deep breathing and spine straightening)

So yes, I have met a boy.. or in all honesty, I have met a man. A very charming, and interesting and handsome man who's company I enjoy tremendously.

Now, the reason I have decided to include this man in my blog is because I wanted to share with you all, the details of the absolutely blissful weekend I just had.

What started off as a relatively innocuous weekend, with an office party on Friday night, followed by much lazing around and dinner/drinks on Saturday culminated beautifully with a gorgeous brunch at Olive Beach on Sunday afternoon, with the man in question.

It was absolute perfection from the setting, the food (although admittedly, I gorged so much on the starters and seafood, I never got as far as the main course), the champagne (which again, my unrefined palette does not permit me to enjoy), the conversation, the beautiful sunny day and of course, the company.

While it may sound like I'm gushing (which I am), I have no choice but to, because it was such a perfect day. I did absolutely nothing, all day! I ate like a pig, I drank beautiful, yummy cocktails, basked in the warmth of the sun, and waddled home to roll around in bed and watch tv. Now this is what God had in mind when he said Sunday shall be a day of rest!

And as you all have probably discerned, I am becoming very fond of this man, and I do look forward to seeing more of him, but before you all think I've gone off the deep end, let me set you straight..:).. Do I like him? Yes. Where is this going?.. I'm not sure. What I can tell you is that I'm just enjoying it, and riding this wave out for as long as it lasts... and well, in the end Que Sera Sera right?

A New Day

Recently, I hadn't been feeling the love when it came to my blog, so I decided to take some time off and give it a break till I had something of interest to write about. After having received a very gratifying message from a friend about my absence, I decided to jump back into the game. So here's what's been happening since my last post.
When you all last heard from me, I was in Mumbai and thinking of starting things off again with my ex boyfriend. Needless to say, this never panned out. We discovered that while we make extremely good friends, the minute you add something more to the equation, the whole thing goes completely off its axis. Having been seduced by the city, I was also simultaneously thinking of re establishing my roots in Mumbai, which also, (not surprisingly) did not pan out. While I was thrilled to be back in Mumbai, and couldn't imagine why I had ever left, over the course of the next few weeks I discovered that everything had changed, I had changed. I no longer felt the same connection that I used to feel with my friends, I discovered that finally, finally I had broken free of that bond that kept me so inexplicably tied to my ex boyfriend, and that while I liked to party five nights a week and piss all my money away when I'm on holiday, I have no interest in doing that on a regular basis. I don't mean to say that I didn't have a good time in Mumbai. On the contrary, I had a fantastic time with my friends, it's just that for the first time I saw Mumbai as my holiday spot and not my home.
Amazingly, with the turn of the new year, everything just started to fall into place. I returned to Bangalore, armed with a new job and no regrets. The city was finally starting to feel like home.
My first day on the job was amazing. I knew I was going to love this place before I even agreed to go for the interview. Somewhere, deep inside, my intuition was telling me to not worry about a thing, that I was meant to have this job.
This company was everything I was looking for.. small enough to feel like home, not small enough that you don't have any facilities, great people, close to home, good pay and interesting enough work. Finally, I am once again at a job where I don't dread waking up in the morning and going to work, where Monday morning fills me with anticipation instead of apprehension!
Now things have settled down a lot, and I wake up in the morning looking forward to my day whether its a Monday or a weekend, and soon, so soon, is the much awaited first salary!! Accompanied for the first time in my working life, by no debt and just a long ignored shopping list!
I'm so glad with the turn my life has taken, and I hope the Gods will forgive my insolence in saying 'after the last year I had, the universe owes me!!'