'News' on the shelf - Instant is the buzz word!

Instant here is in reference to the savior food that comes in handy when one is feeling lazy, is short on time, is suffering from a cash crunch, or when one seemply wants the relish the taste of it. Yeah baby, this post is about about “instant noodles”.

There is the new addition to the most adored club of instant food which includes Nestle’s Maggi Noodles as the long reigning emperor. The other brands on the supermarket shelves are –
Nissin Foods’ Top Ramen - I have known them ever since I have known Maggi though I always preferred the former.
Capital Foods’ Chings Secrets - Too unflavoured for me. They have a Chinese twist.
CG Foods’ Wai Wai - You really have to cook them, they are so much more instant!! A Nepali friend introduced me to them some time in 2004.

The very recent additions include:
Knorr Soupy Noodles - They still more of soups I feel.
GSK’s Horlicks Foodles - Here I wonder why did they have to brand it as Horlicks Foodles. I like how they taste for change.

The brand new insurgent into the market is Sunfeast’s Yippie!! I was wondering what was taking ITC so long to come out with instant noodles when they have been here with their instant pastas! And voila, here they are.

I am trying these as you read this post. I am eager to learn about your experiences!

Stuff I've left behind

Tonight as I brushed my teeth in preparation of much needed slumber after a long and tiring day of work, I paused to look at the white brush, an Oral B Sensitive, wondering how soft its bristles felt against my gums. This single thought was enough to plunge me deep into memories of things left behind in the distant past.

I looked at my image in the mirror, turned back and asked my roommate if she had ever left behind stuff at people’s place she was visiting, and the answer was the much expected affirmative. I have been using the sensitive toothbrushes for quite some time now and tonight, something just reminded me that I have left so many of them behind at so many places. I believe toothbrushes happen to be easiest articles to be left behind when packing bags for chiefly two reasons, one, we always leave them lying in the bathroom, never timely recollecting to pick them up before leaving and second, they are so easily replaceable!

Now, there have been quite a few other things that I have left behind and they all hold with them such fond memories. Last month, when I was visiting Kat in Delhi, I left behind a much loved bra by Triumph and I remember that I almost threatened in order to persuade her to send it back to me as soon as possible (You need to experience it yourself to find how procrastinating some of my friends could be!). Yeah, it is one of my favourite comfort wears after all. And the other time, I left behind a pair of new hair-combs and an old towel which dearest Newt very promptly returned to me. The other common things I have left behind have included items like paperbacks some of which I had already finished reading, shawls, various articles of clothing, cellular phone chargers, cosmetics, tickets which I always had to rush back to collect, keys for which I have had to wait a couple of days at a friend’s place or easier broken a lock or two to get into my room, and the list goes on. One of the kinkiest things I have left behind was at Yal’s place, this time it was a pack of condoms over eighteen months old, almost close to the expiry date I guess, he called them antique condoms and joked he would never use them.

Besides all the material stuff mentioned above, there have been quite a few things a lot less material and a lot dearer that I have left behind. The childhood and innocence were left behind first, and it was losing these that have in a great manner made me the woman I am today. Yeah, I am a woman now, not a girl anymore! I have also left behind the bitter-sweet emotion of the first parting from home, the butterfly-in-pit-of-the-stomach feeling from first love, the pain from the first heartbreak, the sadness during some long lonely nights, the smile sprinkled days at the varsity, the frequent evening parties enthused with laughter! Also, as I leave behind these small symbols, I leave behind a legacy that keeps my existence firmly bonded to the Earth, memories that I share with so many, and may be one of these things that I leave behind will keep my memory alive long after I am gone. I am not one of those who desire oblivion, I prefer the limelight. I have got over so many events from the past, and time teaches me that it is the right way to be. Old clutter must be cleared away to make room for the new and I am more than in love with the new clutter in my life.

Dear Readers, do tell me what you have left behind!

Silence and the Words

On the drive back from work to the place where I am staying, my eyes flipped between the odometer on the dashboard of the car and the air conditioning vent gushing out cold air at 23degreeC. Occasionally I raised my eyes to stare blankly outside the windshield of the car, unmindful of the various sights and sounds cruising past me at 125kmph.This evening, I was not being my usual cheerful self. I was not planning to explore tonight the new city I find myself to be in. Tonight, I did not want to venture out into finding new ways of spending the rials I have in wallet.

I am still trying to figure out the thing that had turned me off or exactly when or how it came about. In fact, this is what was on my mind when I drove back from work. I had started playing a game with me; I was trying to describe how I feel tonight as succinctly as possible, and so succinctly that I tried not to make the description last longer than a word.

I thought I felt weird, which I chose to replace with unsatisfied, which was not a very good choice either. A string of words raced through my mind just like the beautiful views on Al Qurm Heights Road in the national capital city of Muscat, raced past outside the car.

And of course, more often than not, such thoughts strike mostly when the scales of emotions are tilted on the negative side. Alas, human nature! I have not yet learnt to encounter pensiveness in jubilation. I have found myself turning a little quiter over the past few month, a little more restrained, a little less voluble. I offer different explanations ranging from New Year resolutions to growing-up for this phenomenon to people around me.

All along, I have tried to live with the personal motto of "18 'til I die", but I guess 24 is soon catching up with me. I guess I need to replace this with "age with grace" now. So far, so good. Again, I guess the one word game for emotions stems out from this very same turn of events. I am being brief and I have now found the word which describes how I feel tonight.

I feel "incomplete"!

If you read this, please leave a comment behind. Tell me how you feel in one word. I look forward to hearing from you!