It was all so clear in his mind - the clarity of a dawn dream. "Morning dreams always come true", Ma always said... He could see it now, hear the applause ringing in his ears... feel the elation as he walked up in his crisp, smart uniform, shoes gleaming to get his report card from the head of the school. Beaming his beatific smile as he looked down at the row of A+ grades on the report card, feeling the applause reverberate in his very being as he lifted the card high...
He looked down at the report card, unable to meet the disapproving eyes of his teacher.. Looking down at a row of Cs and Ds, feeling his heart plummet right down into the toes of his ratty, shabby shoes.... "You will amount to nothing", he heard his father say in his head - words so oft repeated, they felt almost real as he heard them echo in his mind. His optimism evaporates as he trudges home, past the palatial houses he longingly stared at everyday.. to the wrong side of the tracks... to the beating he knows awaits when the cursed report card will be asked for and produced. He felt his knees tremble as if already imagining the hot wetness of his bladder losing control with each blow that fell on his defenceless back.
"You'll never do well... never.... EVER"... and it was then that he KNEW. He wouldnt ever be that boy in his dreams, the achiever, one of the "haves".... he'd always be a "have not", an underdog.... always be mediocre.... in his mediocre life. Never exceptional, always so-so. But in the haze of blinding pain that came with this knowledge, a glimmer of his long buried hope resurfaces... the only thing that could possibly work to break him out of the vicious cycle his life seemed to be stuck in.
Excellence in mediocrity - he smiled as the irony of his epiphany sunk in. His head, no longer bowed, his back erect, he makes for his future, optimism intact with the epiphany ruling him.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Tech City Madness!
So the settling in has happened, hounding carpenter to come and put up all my lovely posters has happened.... but before we get into the good stuff, allow me to rant!
Serenity (thankfully!) got a relocation allowance - so we went with a highly acclaimed packing and moving company Aggravating Packers and Movers (get it? I cant take names, very aware of possibility of litigation you see? C.Y.A at all times is the motto - Cover Your A$$!!). They cost us a bomb... and my big 6 seater dining table (thats as old as Serenity) arrived as a tripod!! Yup, table and three legs as one piece, one leg as a separate piece. 2 big beautiful framed posters arrived with the glass shattered, the bed came with a bolt loose that caused it to collapse when Serenity sat on it! (which earned him the nick name 'Palankh Thod' which has its own off-colour connotations!!) Cartons packed by them, which bore their logo and the proud epithet of "Relocation Intact" came looking like a particularly overweight elephant had sat on them. Relocation Intact - HAH! And did they pay for any of this damage? Take a guess, go on.... No F%$^ing way!
So yeah, we got everything fixed, unpacked the zillion million cartons - who knew that in 2 years we had collected SO MUCH stuff... and now we're fully functional! This is a spectacular city - considering neither Serenity nor Calamity has to commute anywhere (Serenity walks to work!) the traffic doesnt bother us that much... and the weather, is TO DIE FOR!!.... Phew! After the city-that-wakes-up-early, its a VERY welcome relief. We spend a lot of time on the terrace, Calamity set up wi-fi so she even works outside! Add to this whole lovely equation a motley crew of friends who we love to hang out with and you have 2 very happy people! Never a dull moment on the weekends... Oh and the two of us have joined the church choir (where Calamity sings like a little mouse in the corner in the face of so much musical talent!) and we're learning the Halleluiah chorus from Handel's Messiah now.... Confronted with sheet music and having to learn the Alto part, Calamity's head swims...So much so that I looked it up on youtube and practise diligently!! Floundering, but ever optimistic we are!
Weekends at home also feature a character from the city-that-wakes-up-early - I have a pair of soul sistahs, and this trio is named in true blue Malayalee fashion (we take great joy in stereotypes!) as Arliemol, Ansiemol (yours truly) and Albiemol. Arliemol comes and visits, calls herself Wife #2 to Serenity and proceeds to be a complete riot! The days she stays over, we sit on the terrace long after Serenity has gone to bed, laugh like idiots and do insane things like splatter red nail paint on my pristine guest room floor and order 5 pairs of shoes online at 3 am... yup, full bundle of laughs! Arliemol was also introduced to our local bunch of friends and it was super cool to see them all get along like a house on fire! Perenially on a diet, on a good day she has 3 cornflakes for breakfast and TOTALLY cheats on her diet around us! Its nice to not have completely lost touch with the city-that-wakes-up-early because this clown moved here around the same time as us.
All in all, Tech City has been wonderful.... and I'm very happy to be here.
Serenity (thankfully!) got a relocation allowance - so we went with a highly acclaimed packing and moving company Aggravating Packers and Movers (get it? I cant take names, very aware of possibility of litigation you see? C.Y.A at all times is the motto - Cover Your A$$!!). They cost us a bomb... and my big 6 seater dining table (thats as old as Serenity) arrived as a tripod!! Yup, table and three legs as one piece, one leg as a separate piece. 2 big beautiful framed posters arrived with the glass shattered, the bed came with a bolt loose that caused it to collapse when Serenity sat on it! (which earned him the nick name 'Palankh Thod' which has its own off-colour connotations!!) Cartons packed by them, which bore their logo and the proud epithet of "Relocation Intact" came looking like a particularly overweight elephant had sat on them. Relocation Intact - HAH! And did they pay for any of this damage? Take a guess, go on.... No F%$^ing way!
So yeah, we got everything fixed, unpacked the zillion million cartons - who knew that in 2 years we had collected SO MUCH stuff... and now we're fully functional! This is a spectacular city - considering neither Serenity nor Calamity has to commute anywhere (Serenity walks to work!) the traffic doesnt bother us that much... and the weather, is TO DIE FOR!!.... Phew! After the city-that-wakes-up-early, its a VERY welcome relief. We spend a lot of time on the terrace, Calamity set up wi-fi so she even works outside! Add to this whole lovely equation a motley crew of friends who we love to hang out with and you have 2 very happy people! Never a dull moment on the weekends... Oh and the two of us have joined the church choir (where Calamity sings like a little mouse in the corner in the face of so much musical talent!) and we're learning the Halleluiah chorus from Handel's Messiah now.... Confronted with sheet music and having to learn the Alto part, Calamity's head swims...So much so that I looked it up on youtube and practise diligently!! Floundering, but ever optimistic we are!
Weekends at home also feature a character from the city-that-wakes-up-early - I have a pair of soul sistahs, and this trio is named in true blue Malayalee fashion (we take great joy in stereotypes!) as Arliemol, Ansiemol (yours truly) and Albiemol. Arliemol comes and visits, calls herself Wife #2 to Serenity and proceeds to be a complete riot! The days she stays over, we sit on the terrace long after Serenity has gone to bed, laugh like idiots and do insane things like splatter red nail paint on my pristine guest room floor and order 5 pairs of shoes online at 3 am... yup, full bundle of laughs! Arliemol was also introduced to our local bunch of friends and it was super cool to see them all get along like a house on fire! Perenially on a diet, on a good day she has 3 cornflakes for breakfast and TOTALLY cheats on her diet around us! Its nice to not have completely lost touch with the city-that-wakes-up-early because this clown moved here around the same time as us.
All in all, Tech City has been wonderful.... and I'm very happy to be here.
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