2015 - A Friend Or Foe ?

Continuing  A  Piece Of SHE's  tradition of writing this post at the end of every year...

Every year on 1st January, a new friend comes to visit us. Every year they come with a new name. Last year, it was 2014. This year we called it 2015. They stay with us for one year and then wave us goodbye exactly at 12 am on 31^st December. Like every friendship, this friendship too takes it own sweet little time to blossom. And we get well acquainted with our new friend after spending at least 3-4 months together . We make so many memories with these friends every year and  talk about them even after 10 years. Like in 2004 , i lost a very dear person , 2012 gifted me love, in 2013 I got married and so on. So, whenever I will think about 2015, these are the things I will remember!

January – our year didn’t start the way we had planned it. We were planning to start New Year in a new country. I left my job and on my farewell day we got to know that our trip had been cancelled for some official reason. So we were bit down and didn’t know how to greet 2015. I was again jobless and had no clue about my next move. But amidst all the confusion we went to Chennai to visit our friends. We had a little reunion in Chennai and we had so much fun. We took the right decision to go there because we forgot all our worries and sadness and were ready for the fresh start with lots of new energy. 

On the way to Chennai 

Just few days after coming back from Chennai, we left for Ooty again with another friends. Again, we had so much fun. Even the long road journey in the hired car from Bengaluru to Ooty was awesome. In this trip I discovered that I am a talented mobile photographer and also, earned the title of “official mobile photographer”. These two trips changed our life. We were again ready to move forward in life.

Moyaer River at Ooty

February: - I decided to start looking for a job again and February was all about answering calls, sending CV and proving my worth to the companies. I was too busy but enjoyed this business of busyness a lot. I discovered so many things about myself and all those interviews taught me something.  I also got acquainted with the road map of Bengaluru.

March – Nothing changed in March except for the fact that I was getting better with every interview and I had pizza at my husband’s office, if that’s something! 

April – In April, again the Chennai reunion happened in Bengaluru at our place. I and my girl friend were left alone to have fun like old days. And we utilized every bit of it. We tried to do the things we used to do in Kolkata before marriage. Meanwhile, I was also planning when to go home next to meet my parents.

May – Here comes the twist in our life. I’ve so much to write about this month that I would need a separate new post for this. In short, we were travelling again but this time to UK in a 7 days notice period . We couldn’t meet our families. We felt terrible for that reason but I was excited too to see the world. As soon as we arrived in UK, all hell broke loose. We just wanted May month to end and soon. We lived in a Bed & Breakfast for few days and then on May 16 shifted to our own rented flat. I can go on and on but I need to stop here.

Swindon

June – I’ve no idea how I survived those initial days in UK. We had no internet and no television. I did lots of shopping and window shopping to kill time and wondered about the times when  internet or TV were yet not discovered. But then I found a wonderful library and I never got bored in UK again. I also met one of best friend in UK. I couldn’t believe that it was actually happening and they took us to London. Visiting London was my dream since I was in college. We also visited Cardiff and Bath. Cardiff is capital of Wales and Goa of Southern England. Bath is the place where Jane Austen spent her last years. The vibe of Victorian era still lingers at Bath Spa.

London

Celebration of Jousting at Cardiff Castle

July – My elder sister was admitted to a hospital and she  went through a   minor operation. Thanks to God, all is well. Other than that God was kind enough to keep me away from any untoward incidents. Bristol was our destination on July and it is my least favorite among all the places I had been to in UK.

August – The memories of 1st August will forever remain fresh and young on my mind. We celebrated our 2^nd anniversary in a very romantic and beautiful place called Bournemouth. We saw beautiful beaches and we both agreed that we had never seen a beautiful place like Hengisbury Head before in our life. We had famous fish & chips, Nachos for lunch. It was bright and sunny which is very rare in UK. It was just perfect!

Hengisbury Head at Bournemouth 

I also got the opportunity to see oxford on August . Oxford is a small town which we could easily covered by a bike but rain God never stopped showering its love upon us on that particular day. Our second trip to Bath also happened in August. We tried to cover those places which we missed in our first trip and had lunch in an awesome place.

Oxford - The Radcliffe Camera - built in 1737–1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library

September – It is the month of many birthdays in my family including mine. So I always feel excited about this month even though I get a year older (but not wiser). 2015, September was terrible for me. My dear mommy got admitted in a hospital urgently at night. I got to know about it next day afternoon. Those few days were terrible for me. I became completely mad.  But even though God gave me problems, He didn’t leave me alone. He also gave solutions to my problems and my mom came back home after few days totally fit. I had lunch in a Chinese restaurant on my birthday. I had lots of cake and sweets. I also met my friend and we spent some time together  again in London.

October – I had planned a small surprise at home for my husband’s birthday and it went well. I did cooking for him and next day we went to a restaurant to celebrate. We also  explored few new places in London together.

November – I joined a club in my library. I got to meet new people from all around the world. We discuss about our country , culture, traditions and stuffs like that.

December – This year everyone in my family had been admitted to  hospital at least once. December was my papa's turn. But again, God helped us to overcome this difficult situation. I was excited to see all the Christmas and holiday lights but I live in a small town and they celebrate in a different and  non commercialized way. On 24^th evening we left home at around 7pm. We went to a church and got to know that the midnight mass will start at 11:30 pm. Meanwhile, we had dinner at Nandos and came back at 10. Nobody had arrived and the front door was closed. The Christ Church is at the middle of cemetery. So we two were sitting in the middle of a graveyard waiting for the church door to open in a cold and windy night. It was scary in an exciting way. I got the opportunity to attend the Christmas midnight mass for the first time in my life. It was very spiritual.

And now all those  lights shining everywhere to welcome another new friend, 2016 is telling me that it’s time to go home and hug my dear mommy and papa and my niece. 2015 was all about travelling and friends but in 2016 I am looking forward to add infinite crazy  pictures of my family in my facebook album.  I hope I get along with 2016! 

I want to thank God for taking care of everyone in 2015! 

How was your 2015 ? What will you remember most ? 

Round of Applause for 2014 !

So the curtain on 2014 is going to fall down in few days and here I am sitting with a bowl of butter scotch ice cream to rate the performance of this year. Like last two years, before I start my review, I would like to thank God for keeping my family and friends fit and fine. Every year I want this only ! now you are wondering that why I am writing after so many days ? wait, months ? then just hold your breath I will reveal the reason in my post.

I remember 1^st day of Jan started with a birthday of a very beloved person in our family. I wore a sari gifted by HIM and I was happy! Also, I remember that after my husband came back from office I forced him to click my pictures in sari. 

Jan started with a sudden unplanned trip to Pondicherry with friends. It was our first trip with them and they had lived up to our expectations and made this trip for memorable for us. Other than good company and incredible places what we enjoyed most was the food. Daily we used to have French breakfast at a French café which was a good break from our regular breakfast. We lived in an Italian’s owner hotel. They were friendly and helpful. We were so excited to hear about the rooftop swimming in our hotel which later turned out as some water storage stuff at the roof.  Our idea to click a profile picture in facebook in front of the pool was then laughed off!

I was dying for February to come soon because my mother was coming for the first time to visit our place.  I had really some great time with my mother. Every day we used to go out for walk and after 10 years we went to watch a movie together. This month will stay with me always. Oops I have already started craving for my mother’s hand and her hug and her cheek to kiss while writing about her.  February also bit misbehaved with us as my hubby fell seriously ill.

March was a blessed month. We went to Vaishnu Devi to seek Mother’s blessing and while returning from her place, she gave us wonderful surprise to us. We had booked helicopter tickets for the journey but our return ticket got cancelled due to bad weather.  In an extremely bad climate, we climbed down. We were not prepared for it. Our cloth had got completely drenched in rain and body was refusing any kind of movement because of cold. You may find it dangerous but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the company. Without them it wasn’t possible for me to come down. All credit goes to HIM. One thing I realize while coming back that how much I love my husband. Somehow we lost contact and came back separately but when I was enjoying the beautiful sight, I had wished that he was there with me! 

Also, on March, my niece, uncle and sister came to our place for the first time. Though they were here for only one week but we all had blast. Late night chit- chat, sightseeing, long drive, Mysore trip, good food. It was just perfect!

On April, we were preparing for my husband’s cousin engagement which was on May 1. On the mid of April cousin’s father became seriously ill and was rushed to a nearby hospital. We were shocked but we thought everything will be fine and he will return home soon before the engagement.  Later, we doctor told us that he is suffering from cancer. 

May went like that. We were worried about him and his daughter’s engagement was called off.

June I met my best friend in Bangalore. It was a great surprise for me. We were quite inseparable before marriage but I left my hometown after marriage. Distance still hasn’t done any harm to our friendship. We are in long distance friendship and its going very well! Touchwood!

July came after 4 years in my life. I started working again. I loved my new challenge of working as teacher for those little angles. What I realized afterwards is actually there were my teachers and I was their student as they know how to live life better than me. I have not acquired that knowledge from my degrees. 

August was learning period for me. Nobody was ready to teach me except those kids. I was finding my own way to survive and to make my own little space in the professional world. I had also got my salary again after 4 years. From that money I went out for lunch with my husband and also, ordered pizza for my parents online. 

September, was the last I visited my home. After a long time I got to spend some time with my family and my little niece. She is growing real fast but I am not the lucky one to see her growing. Hope she will remember whatever little part I played in her childhood. May God make her a beautiful human being! I miss HOME!

October was month of festivals. We celebrated Durga Puja with my in laws. This year puja was shifted to a different place but still we enjoyed being around Bengalis. Again, missed my parents who were all there when their city was oozing out celebration everywhere and the sad part is they never complain about their loneliness and their old age as if they had accepted it long back when their two daughters were born. Life! 

November and December we were busy planning a dream together. Every morning we woke up and thought that we are one step closer to our dream. And then one day , our dream was gone. It had hurt my husband. It’s really killed me to see his sad face. I knew how much he wanted this for me and how much he had work to make it come true.  But I am sure that God has some great plans for our future and He is working on it. 

I have no regrets. I am happy with whatever God gave me in 2014 and ready to take whatever He thinks is good for me in 2015.

Happy 2015 to all you lovely people out there !

2012 - The year of friends, family and turning points.

I was going through my facebook timeline and I found this wonderful message, which I would like to share with all of you. It says:

"Here’s to 2011:
The year where friends became strangers and strangers became friends. Where lovers became haters and haters became lovers. The year where mistakes were made and lessons were learnt.Where stories were shared and memories were created. Where people hit rock bottom and where people raised back up.
Here’s to 2011: the drama, the fights, the memories, the laughter, the tears, and the craziness.Bring on 2012!!! :)"

Today is the last day of this year. The year "2012" was good to me and I am very grateful to God for that. A big "Thank You" to God. It was a year of friends, family and new relationships. It was the year of more joy and less drama , more happiness and less tears for me. Here is the quick recap of my life in 2012: 

Jan - The month of making and breaking resolutions.
I had made two resolutions in 2012. First, resolution was to spend a portion of whatever amount I‘d saved last year in learning something. Like every year, I did not want to spend it on Make Up and Clothes. Therefore, I enrolled my name in Ashoka Motor Training School near my house to learn driving. I drove a 100 years old Maruti 800 during my training. I left my driving school after getting my learner license and that is how I broke my first resolution.

My second resolution was to quite alcohol, as I was scared of gaining alcoholic fat. 

Feb - The month of party.

Juhu Beach @ Mumbai

My room

I went to Mumbai with my uncle to appear for an Interview. However, I could not crack that interview but the overall experience was good. I always wanted to visit Mumbai –the financial capital of India since my childhood. God also granted my childhood wish to visit king khan’s place “Mannat”in Mumbai. I had also seen houses of other stars of Bollywood like Salman khan, Amitabh Bachhan, Hema Malini, Rekha etc.

In the middle of Feb , one of my best friend who had left city 2 years back came from London to stay here for  15 days. We spent most of the time with her whenever she was free. I broke my second resolution when I heard the news that she is tying the knot in 2013 with her Slovakian boyfriend. It was celebration time for us and I could not resist myself from sharing my best friend’s happiness. 

I don't remember what I did on Valentine's Day. Either I was with my friends or else I was at home.

March & April - The month of nothing.

Well , nothing worth mentioning happened in these two months. Life was boring but I am not complaining. Like Paulo Coelho has rightly said that ,"to enjoy rainbow , one must enjoy the rain first".  

May - The month of family.

My niece completed her six months and we had gathered to celebrate her "anno prashon". She had rice for the first time. Anno Prashon is done on an auspicious day when a child is 6 months old. Senior members of the family bless the child after feeding her rice. 

June - The month of matrimony.

I started looking for my Mr Right and I met my future husband in an online matrimony site on 10th June :-D

July - The month of blogging.
I had been to Puri for two days with my friends. It was my first trip with friends. I had my last wild party there and after that, I had never touched alcohol again . A piece of SHE was born on July. I got my inspiration from my boy friend to pen down my thoughts . He writes really well. While reading his blog suddenly I had decided to open my own blog. 

Aug - The month of Love.
I was falling in love with my Mr. Right. I did not know it that time. Later in this month he informed me that he would be coming to my city on Sep.

Sep - Turning point of my life.
I met my future husband for the first time on 4 Sep 2012. After 3-4 dates, we decided to tie the knot. 

Oct - The month of celebration.
My fiancé and me celebrated our first durga pujo (which is the most important festival of Bengalis) together. We really had good time. 

Mr. Right busy taking pictures.

Durga Puja @ Kolkata

Nov - The month of waiting, waiting & waiting ...
I did nothing except missing and waiting for him :-D and I am still waiting for him :( :-D :-p

December - The month of happy ending.

I met my boyfriend's grandmother and other family members for the first time. Second trip with friends to Behrampore happened this month. 

On Christmas Eve @ South City Mall, Kolkata

@ South City Mall, Kolkata

I wish all of you a happy , healthy and safe 2013 !!! Good Bye to 2012 and my dear  readers ,see you next year :)