Tampon-makers can't mention the V-word. Period. | Richard Adams | World news | guardian.co.uk

Tampon-makers can't mention the V-word. Period. | Richard Adams | World news |
guardian.co.uk

Watch this ad, amended of course to not risk hurting anyone's sensibilities. What I don't understand is are these the same people who show boobs and more in shows like Baywatch Hawaii and Desperate Housewives (which has some more-than-suggestive scenes)!! Why would a word like vagina, which sounds like medical terminology anyways, be offensive? And who are we kidding anyway? Could have understood if the whole issue had been in India but in the 'liberated' US? Who exactly are they protecting?!

PS to earlier post!

This is my online apology to a friend's wife. Much as I love to say I don't judge anyone, sometimes we jump to hasty conclusions about others. Many years ago, this very beautiful lady told me the secret to her not employing maids. "There's such joy in scrubbing the floors until they shine," she said. At the time, I just looked at her aghast.

And I relayed this story time and time again, laughing away each time I said it. But really, now I understand. Not that I have suddenly discovered the joys of cleaning (boy, no! I totally like having a maid to help with cleaning) but I just realised that was her inner goddess speaking. She had found what gave her the most joy in life, and she was living life as she saw fit! To every woman out there, live your choices!

A phone call to the past

Easter weekend is coming up, as is the wedding of the younger brother of one of my childhood friends!! It's bound to be one nostalgic Thursday for me as I attend the wedding in the morning and then join my family and relatives for Maundy Thursday service at the church where I got married, right in my hometown. Meeting my friend's family after a long time will be great fun! Our relationship formed in those good old days when friends' parents were just like yours: they could scold you or laud you, just like your folks!! When my friend's mom called to invite us to the wedding, the first thing she asked was, "Do you remember me?" Like I could forget! The phone number as well as the voice is etched into the deepest crevices of my memory.

It was one of the first few phone numbers I memorised: a regular landline phone, black, if I remember right, that Aunty kept in the spare bedroom. Never figured out why!! Speaking of phones, I got a surprise call last week from a long-lost friend. She now lives in Abu Dhabi and is a teacher, mother to a five year old and Hindu wife to a Muslim husband. It's been so long since we got in touch; I haven't had any contact with since she got married nearly 10 years ago! It was a hue and cry at the time: a Hindu girl from a conservative family marrying into a Muslim household. A surprisingly liberated Muslim household, I must add. They not only welcomed her with open arms, they never questioned her right to religion. There was in fact, no talk about the whole issue at all! A total non-issue for them, if any. Not so for the rest of the society, is what she says. Her son sports both her and her husband's name as his surname!

I couldn't believe I was actually talking to her after all these years, and we had a good chat, interrupted by my little one's cries for attention! She insists that my laugh hasn't changed at all, while my Malayalam has improved vastly! Excuse me, I said, I always spoke my mother tongue perfectly. Not in her memory, it seems... Memory is a strange thing. The things you choose to remember about a person or an event may not even remotely resemble what that person has chosen to file away; at times, we just remember our version of the event which may be entirely different from another point of view.

As we were chatting, the topic veered to my decision to work from home. And guess what she said: "Oh, but you always wanted to stay home and do a great job of keeping your house beautiful and your family happy." COME AGAIN!! I don't recall ever being less than committed to my profession! But of course, she was talking of a time a long, long time ago when I was just 16 or 17, hopelessly in love with the boy who would grow up to be my husband, and a total romantic! That was my rosy picture of life back then!

Things did change once I 'grew' up and often job took precedence over family. When I gave up my job and started working from home, I was happier. But I still struggled with 'maid issues', agonising over an untidy home and less-than-perfect meals. But now, I am happier still, and it's a happiness that comes with a little bit of wisdom I think. No-maid days are no longer a hassle, I enjoy cooking for my family and I love the satisfied look on my clients' faces when I deliver a good piece of work! Yes, you have to give some.... you can't have everything picture-perfect; your husband will still toss his papers and keys all over the place, your child will continue to mess things up even though they both know you don't enjoy cleaning up so much!

But the secret is finding your inner goddess! Just stay in touch with her and things will be fine. Yours may not be a housekeeping goddess or a culinary one but she will have some special talent for you as a woman. Revel in it! Also, I have realised it helps a great deal if you embrace your responsibilities rather than confront/avoid/get worked up by them. Life does not move in a straight line but I am enjoying the curves, the dips and yes, the heights!

Go tweet!

The Hindu : Sci-Tech / Internet : Kerala's first ever Twestival to be held in Kochi

Now this is highly interesting! I am still figuring out how to participate but this link should help:

http://cochin.twestival.com/2010/03/25/and-so-it-begins/

Have fun, tweeple!

Missed Day: 1

Yep, missed a day in my blog-a-thon. Not my fault this time though. It's just that Abhi had a holiday yesterday. Have you ever noticed that if your spouse has a holiday and you don't, your work/things-to-do still gets into slow mode? Always happens to me!

Let me tell you something interesting that happened yesterday... While at the supermarket, Abhi and I happened to notice a flyer announcing a discount sale at a furniture store we like but think is somewhat overpriced! We were delighted: we had been eying a futon there for some time; now was the time to get it for a steal!

We rushed to the store in the evening, all gleeful smiles and bulging pockets. The futon was there all right, and on sale too. In fact, we would have gotten 1,000 bucks off the marked price! It's just that we noticed that the marked price was nearly 1,000 bucks above what it had been last month. So much for the 'discount' sale! Well, anyways, we got to admiring the furniture as usual and ooh-ed and aah-ed over some lovely pieces that we planned to buy with a windfall. Fingers crossed.

Just as we were leaving a splash of red caught my attention. Abhi had noticed it too! It was a great looking lounger with a footrest; nothing fancy schmancy, just clean lines and a very relaxing experience when you sat in it. And then something strange happened. Abhi, who is normally hesitant to make a big-bucks purchase without days of deliberation (by which time the object of desire has doubled in price, as has happened to us), pulled out his wallet and made an advance payment on the spot.

Well, well, if that wasn't love at first sight! Or should I say, first sit? The lounger comes home--to our breezy balcony--on Saturday! Can't wait!

Eyes wide open!

Sleep! That is all on my mind right now. Born to an insomniac mother, I've always embraced my ability to sleep well and soundly as a blessing. My mom has recently started a love affair with sleep after having given up her 10-cups-of-tea-a-day habit. So now she is forever napping; every time I call her (and that is like five times a day at least if there's nothing much happening), she's napping or just woken up from sleep or is just preparing to doze off...

Well, all that is besides the point. What's happening to me is that I can't sleep! For the last three days I have been up until two in the morning (watching inane movies on TV; like Wild Things 3, beat that!) and even then I am wide awake. Not even a teeny bit drowsy. Maybe it's the side effects of the medicines I am having (I am on an antibiotic course for some crazy, out of the blue infection), maybe it's a lack of exercise... whatever it is, I am not liking this one bit.

I mean, we all go through those days when we just can't sleep. But you know, you still feel tired and drowsy at the end of the day and you probably lie in bed tossing and turning or like my husband does, watches the TV on mute and promptly dozes off! I have tried all the tricks in my book... reading, playing card games on my mobile and like I shamelessly admitted, watching stupid stuff on television! But my body just refuses to take the hint. I even tried counting sheep last night. No luck! And the sheep were running all over the place; couldn't even count them well.

And it's like I don't even feel tired. Not at night. I wake up at 7 am nowadays; quite late considering that I am a 5-5.30 kinda person. And then I feel drowsy for like 10 min. But that's it! There's no snoozing or anything happening after that! Maybe I am turning into Shah Rukh Khan; he wants more hours in a day to do more. Well, I have got plenty of hours now. He can borrow some! Maybe I should try tweeting him. If he isn't sleeping too, maybe we could chat or something.

One problem I see with this scenario (my sleepless nights, not SRK's) is the appearance of puffy, tired eyes. I see all the signs already and I suppose a few more days like this and then I'll look a wreck. My appearance is the least of my worries though. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that insomnia is not somehow passed down the gene line. Nights are not that fun when you are the only person up and chirpy!

Let me know if you come across any tips to get better sleep. And before you ask me, I only have two cups of tea a day!

Determined to write!

There was a time in my life when all I wanted to do was write. Like the greats, mind you! My favourite authors ranged from Enid Blyton to Jane Austen to toni Morrison and in recent times, Jodi Picoult. In short, I loved everything from the classics to the unabashedly romantic tearjerkers.
Today, I write for a living. Since I gave up my full time job on the editorial desk of a news magazine, writing for a living has taken on many hues. Writing brochures for companies, blogging for marketing sites, writing 'positive' ad-oriented features, websites and yes, the occasional feature stories.
When I first started this blog, I thought blogging would come easy to me. After all, writing is what I was born to do! Right? Wrong! Not about what I was born to do but about keeping up the frequency of blogging. Sometimes you don't have the time, sometimes the patience, sometimes the inspiration.... whatever, my blog looks like the bedroom of a philandering husband... rarely used!
This is my attempt at restarting this whole thing... Am taking a vow (an online promise makes me feel like I am standing in the middle of a very crowded square and shouting it out; everybody hears it but few actually stop to listen) to write in every day, on the big things, the inconsequential stuff and the ups and downs of life!
Happy reading, friends!