BF...'F'?? :-|

Friends and friendships have always been an integral part of my life. Some friendships I cherished...some I longed for...and some I have lost. Today, out of the blue and for no rhyme or reason, I was pulled backwards to my past. To the days when 'friends' meant everything in life. There was no joy or sorrow without them in it. There was nothing that wasn't shared with those strangers who had become an integral part of the center of our very existence!

I was a person who struck friendships very easily and real quick...without the gender divide. People collected stamps and coins...I collected friends :) And I was extremely proud of it too! I don't think I'd say the same way about school friendships as I would about the friendships that happened at college. There are some friendships that have stood the test of time, they say. Friendships that never wavered from pre-nursery days until after marriage and kids even! It never did happen to me, though :-/

Life changed in a BIG way for me when I left the safe haven of my home and was all on my own when I went to attend my graduate program. New environment...strange faces...no Mom to run to :-( I knew I had to face it. I still remember the tense moments before knowing who were to be my hostel room-mates for the year ahead. How would they be? Would they be able to live with me? Would I be able to live with them? I was on the verge of an emotional breakdown! My hostel days deserve a blog-post dedicated to them alone. Some other day :) 

But friendships happened. Beautiful ones. Seemingly meaningful ones. I thought that I'd found the true meaning of living now! Everyday was so much fun that I used to wish we had more than 24 hours in a day :) We woke up together, used to go down to the mess to get coffee together, used to take bath in adjacent cubicles chattering all the while, went to college together, sat together in class, laughed together, got into trouble together and listened to music together...sharing earphones! :) :) 

Back then, life was all about having identical jewelry, liking the same chocolate, midnight birthday parties, sharing nail polishes, keeping a look-out for each others' crushes, trying to figure out the definition of the 'perfect man', taking all the pain to get group photos clicked professionally and then framing or laminating them for posterity, having endless sessions of 'Did you hear the latest...?', making promises of being this way forever...and then eyes welling up at the thought of the promises getting broken. Life was all about each other. Friends were synonymous with life itself. Never did I, for one, think that it would turn out otherwise.

Many years have passed since the day that we all promised eternal allegiance to each other. Life has happened to all of us....and life has bombed some of us too! We all moved on...holding on to some fragments of our past...and sadly forgetting most of it in the process. Conversations that ran into hours have now trickled down to an occasional and curt exchange of pleasantries. many are happy to have it that way. "At least we're in touch and know where each other are!" is is usual response.

Memories of fun times shared have now become the harbingers of long sighs and the usual expression of 'good ol' times!' When asked, people seldom own up to having changed. 'Oh come on now, I haven't changed! I'm still the same. Just that I got a little busy. Juggling kids and work is crazy really!' Truth is...people have grown up and grown apart as well. New friendships (at work and otherwise) slowly take up the place of old ones. Nobody can be blamed in this inadvertent process. Most happen as a result of 'out of sight,out of mind'.  Thanks to social networking, people do keep in touch with the ones they were really close to. Putting phrases like 'keep in touch with' and 'really close' in one sentence with a 'were' in between is in itself a sad fact. But priorities change with time. And I have come to accept that.

Reunions have become the 'in' thing these days. Events that were conducted like once in 15 or 20 years have now become a yearly thing...which is good,no doubt. At least you get to see the metamorphosis in process rather than seeing total strangers in place of the people you thought you knew so well! There is very little one can do to salvage withering bonds, especially in today's fast-paced world. People have literally 'no time' for anything but to run their own races, lest they get trampled upon and left behind. When entire relationships get pushed to the back seat in the mad craze to succeed, what chance do young friendships stand?

Personally, I have attempted to reconnect with people I used to love unconditionally not so very long ago. And more often than not, I have been surprised by the people they have become. As much as I want to tell myself that I am wrong, I can't help but feel that if these people had been the same way years ago, when I first met them, the chance of a friendship itself would have been doubtful. I have often asked myself ,'What happened to her/him? Why and how did she/he change so much? Did I do something wrong?'...though I know the answer. The mind and the child in me refuses to accept the reality. 'I don't want to lose them...we meant so much to each other...I don't want things to change...Please!' - this goes on and on inside me. 

If any of the beautiful people I once loved has taken the pain to actually read through this post, please know that I still love you as much as I once did. The change in you is painful. I understand perfectly well that I will never know fully what caused you to turn into the person you have become today. Somebody once truly quoted that 'you never truly know someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes'.  But please know this that I did not strike a friendship with you for the heck of it. I wanted us to be forever. I considered you to be somebody truly special. I still do. I hope you realize this someday. Some people do NOT change with time, my dears. I will keep waiting for you.

:')

In search of the perfect tablet!

I don't remember when it was that I first heard of the 'Tablet'. I guess I literally grew up hearing words like tonics and tablets and capsules ... thanks to my dad who has majored in pharmacy.

Over the past couple of years though, the word 'tablet' has come to belong more to today's tech geeks rather than the original world of medicine. I still remember my jaw-dropping moment when I saw the iPad (or was it when I first heard of it? Not too sure...) for the first time. I was like 'A laptop without a keyboard? :-o And u can actually carry it around?? OMG!' :D he he! I guess it goes without saying that I fell in love with it at first sight. Apple Inc. launched the iPad in 2010 and I am still not done ogling at it rather shamelessly at shops, kiosks, on YouTube, in peoples' hands, wherever! Nowadays, even waiters at restaurants take down orders on their iPads! *face palm*

I have always wanted one for myself. But by the time I finally decided 'That's it! I can't do without it anymore!', there were more than a dozen different companies offering 'tablets'. You have Androids and iPads and e-book readers and whatnot to choose from! I was confused... I still am! And I was advised to ask myself what I want/expect from a tablet. To be honest, I hate that conversation I have with myself. Me and myself have been through such discussions many a time and we never reach a consensus. A typical one-to-one conversation would look like this ;

What would you use a tablet for? Stupid question! I would use it for everything. Well......almost everything. And this being a family blog, let's not get into what I wouldn't use it for. Ahem! :P

Then define 'everything'. Everything would comprise of reading, listening to music, browsing the net, watching movies, playing games... and so much more! :)

Aren't you already doing all this? You have a decently well-equipped library of some of the world's best-sellers and Booker Prize winning books. You listen to music 24 x 7 on your mobile playlist. You need WiFi to browse the net. Duh! You almost never watch movies even on your laptop. Movies have always been family times. And the idea of an entire family watching a movie on a hand-held device is kinda weird. Who're you kidding? Duh again! Playing games?? Did you just say 'GAMES'? Do you play anything beyond dress-up games and spider solitaire? Admit it, woman! You just want to fit-in! Just to show-off! Get a life! -_-

x-(

You see what I mean? It's pointless trying to reason with my conscience. I guess the main point of attraction for me was the facility to read ebooks. I have hundreds of them and sadly haven't read most of them as reading them on my laptop would mean straining my eyes. An Amazon Kindle was (and still is) a very good option. I'm not really looking for browsing the net on a tablet. I like the laptop experience better...especially with my one fantabulous babe of a laptop :P She makes every website seem like the world's best! :D ha ha! But then a little birdie told me that I'd have to purchase books from Amazon if I want to read them on the Kindle. And I don't want to do that. Dude, I already have all the books I'd need for a lifetime! I just need a simple device to read them on. How about the other fellows then? Like say, the Nook? I dunno.

The problem is that the reading habit in general is dwindling at a rather alarming rate. And those who do read as before (bless them!) are pretty much old school when it comes to their favorite book. Nothing but a 'propah' paperback works for them. So it is pretty much pointless asking the bookworms about what they think is the best gadget. Hmm! The next option would be to ask the opinion of the geeks who think that it's pointless spending time on 'reading' when so much more can be done with a tablet! Or a tablet phone...or a tablet PC...or a tablet whatever! o.O That leaves me with the rest of them who are just happy that they have some gadget small enough to be able to pop into their bags and that they can use to read something on their way to work. Let's look at some typical answers to a recent opinion poll I did on my Facebook and elsewhere...

Opinion # 1 - 'Go for the Amazon Kindle...that's the best by far...at least going by the popularity charts...I'm using one and it works perfect...PDF? Oh I don't know about that...I get my books from Amazon'

Opinion # 2 - 'Why would you want to buy just an e-book reader? For that money, you might as well go for a proper tab that reads e-books and does a bevy of other functions too! I'd suggest the Samsung Galaxy tab or the Apple iPad.'

Opinion # 3 - 'Buying recycled and second-hand books off the street is much cheaper. What if the bloody thing just drops down when you doze off and it breaks? Nothing happens to a book if it slips from your hand!'

:-/

And so here I am...still on square one. Still confused...yet still wanting that e-book reader or tablet (that has been evading me for years) just as much as I did when I first heard of it. If ever I decide on one, which I don't think is going to happen anytime in the near future, I will definitely scream from the roof-tops that I finally have one of my own! :D

But as of now, it's status quo...Ho-hum! :-/