Gentle Whispers

It's been a while since I've blogged and while I have wanted to, I've been simply too lazy to actually do something about it. Of course, I've probably lost the two readers I had, but Cest la vie. It's been a strange eight months since I last blogged. A lot has happened and while I'd love to rant and whine to you, most of it has been good. I'm still working. I even got a raise, though it was so minuscule that even calling it a raise is a joke. My brother bought me a digital SLR, this one I want to marry it and have babies. Accordingly I've named him Flint and he's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I went on two holidays. One to Dubai and the other to Sattal in Uttarakhand. Two holidays as different as anything I could ever have hoped for. I gave my MA exams in English Literature and actually passed Part 1. Now I only have Part 2 to worry about. I now have, not just one, but two new blogs, one is a photography blog, Swirls of Sapphire and ...

I talked about Moving on . Mentioning how much the lack of privacy was getting to me. And then I disappeared for almost two months without any indication of what I was planning on doing. Until a very dear friend kicked me in the ass and forced me to think over very carefully what I was planning on doing. The simple truth, however, is that, I love this blog and the idea of shutting it down and moving elsewhere leaves me very near heartbroken. My simple solution however, is that I've created a new blog. A secret one with no clues as to my identity. Where I can safely pour out my soul. But this blog stays and for that I'm glad.

I've been toying with the idea of closing down this blog off late and the more I think about it, the more I like it. I love my blog. My very first one, all mine, bright, shiny. It got me raw and unknowing and it slowly grew on me as did the whole blogging shebang, but the lack of anonymity has begun getting to me. A lot of people I know seem to be reading and half the things I want to blog about, I can't. I often find myself staring at the blank screen, mulling over how I should disguise the people and incidents I am talking about, all of it leading to me feeling very stifled, at which point I just shrug my shoulders and give up. Which might perhaps explain the paucity in posts. Also, almost all the google searches for my name seem to lead here and I don't think it's a very good idea to have my thoughts and feelings laid out here for people who are actually googling me in the first place ! A new blog, a new identity, a new name have been slowly pulling me towards them.

This blog came into being as a lark. I had no specific ideas and no precise interest. Just plain old curiosity to see what the big deal about blogging was. I wasn't too sure of how long I'd stick to it and how many times I'd post. And while I haven't written as much as I'd like to, I've done fairly well. A lot of the time I haven't been able to do it properly, and in such situations I've given up rather than rush into it and force myself. It's been exactly two years to the day since I published my first post on this blog and what a journey it's been. When I reached that first year , I didn't take it too seriously, figuring I'd gotten there without much effort. But the second year around, I've put a lot more into it. I've wanted a prettier blog. I've changed templates. I've dusted and polished it and sent it out all new and shining. It's mine and I feel fiercely protective it. But more than that, this blog has given me ...

... you know my restlessness. I have to have change around me constantly. I can't sit still for more than half a hour and I absolutely crave action (get your mind out of the gutter). So anyway, I had nothing better to do and I decided I need a new template. And so voila, I now have a new template. I alternated between about 10-15 templates. Before I settled on one. And while it looked pretty in the sample. It was much too pink for me. And for a girl, who has just one pink shirt in her entire wardrobe, something had to go. And there you have it, it has some flowers. It's my favourite blue and it's pretty without being too girly. Creating a new blogroll with about 68 people on it was quite the pain in the you-know-what though, and is probably the only thing keeping me from changing my template much more often. I hope these flowers bring you a little cheer in the midst of the gloom of the rains.

I have a new template in case you didn't notice. And yes, I know it's been only a month since I changed the old one. But I can't stick with one thing for too long. And I fell in love with this template the minute I saw it. It's pretty. And I think it goes beautifully with my blog. And I like it. And well, I don't think I really need to say anything else, do I? It does have a few kinks though. So bear with me while I iron them out. But I am proud of the fact that I've managed to blog roll almost all the blogs I read which is no mean feat. Unlike last time, where I lost half the blogs when I changed templates. So anyway, please drop a line and tell me what you think of the new template. Pretty please with a cherry on top.

I've been supremely busy of late, with absolutely no energy to do anything other than what has been absolutely required of me, or I have not been forced into doing with a gun held to my head. To know why, refer to this post below this one. And I've been feeling very badly about the fact that I was given not one, but two awards by Homecooked , which I was feeling too lazy to acknowledge and pass on to the rest of you. But I'm feeling nice now, and in a mood, where I can barely keep my eyes open and do some actual work that I get paid for. So I'm going to just accept the awards while my boss thinks I'm being oh so diligent and doing major work, while I'm actually blogging. (*Raise your hand if you've done this before*). The tag I'll deal with later when I'm at home and Youtube isn't blocked. So anyway, the first one is the very lovely Friends one. And now out of the kindness of my heart I'm going to pass it on to a) Moo - Because she IS a frien...

God bless who ever came up with the idea of scheduled posting. It helps me balance out days when I have tons of blogging ideas as well as the urge to blog with days when I have none at all. *Whistles merrily*

Vikram Seth has always been one of my favourite writers. I loved A Suitable Boy and From Heaven's Tale has filled me with a longing to experience Tibet. Mappings especially was beautiful, with the classical learning, wit and lyrical charm of Vikram Seth. Who couldn't love The Tale of Melon City and From Mount Tamalpais or The Walkers and Moonless Night. Take Sit from All you who sleep tonight for example Sit, drink your coffee here; your work can wait awhile. You're twenty-six, and still have some life ahead. No need for wit; just talk vacuities, and I'll Reciprocate in kind, or laugh at you instead. The world is too opaque, distressing and profound. This twenty minutes' rendezvous will make my day: To sit here in the sun, with grackles all around, Staring with beady eyes, and you two feet away. But that's not what this post is about. This post is about that little hit meter on the right hand side of my page, that registers above 10,000 hits and yes I know i...

In case your wondering, about the spate of posts, two of them were languishing in my drafts, Far far away and Forever and I've been in a blogging mood. So I finished them off and put them up and as I go through this draft posting mood, you can expect a lot more posts. It makes me feel a teeny tiny bit better about the beginning of the year when i hardly ever posted.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I have a new blog template and I for one, am chuffed about it. I keep coming back to check it out and marvel at how cool and professional my blog seems now. As opposed to my DIY template, that looked like a five year old had something to do it with. Hopefully, it shall inspire me to post more too. On the other hand though, I lost a lot of wonderful widgets. The clustermaps showing me where people were visiting from. My stat counter. And most importantly of all, those little numbers that showed me how many people had visited my blog in a year and a half of its existence. And to think I was almost up to 10,000. Out of which around 9,999 would have been obsessively checking. Anyhoo, I shall be up and running full steam again soon. As far as the speaker in the header goes, I seem to find myself doing a lot less whispering these days and a lot more yelling, shouting, screaming and generally being the loudest person wherever I go. And now that I me...

I have around 10 posts sitting in my posts and tons of ideas in my head. But still, the only thing that I actually wanted to blog about is this. I got my blog rating done today after I came across this on Sue's blog and I'm none too happy to see that they've rated my blog as Parental Guidance necessary. Hmph. And now I'll be supposing you'll be wanting to do the same. Here .

I tried accessing someone's blog recently, only to realise that it was now private. And since that's something I've been contemplating doing for a while now, it hit me. I started work as you all know, a month ago. And since I sometimes access my blog at work, because I find it hard to stay away from the goings on in the blogging world for more than a few hours, a colleague of mine has noticed and has been asking for the link to my blog, which I've been avoiding rather successfully. But sooner or later, she'll put me on the spot, and then I'll be in a quandry. I'm not worried about her accessing the blog because there are personal things she'll know about me. But because in a way, it'll take away my honesty, where else would I crib about my work and everything else, if not here. And I'd hate for them to get the wrong impression simply because, while I might crib, I don't really let it affect me or my interactions with people. But seeing it up ...

of being a blog. Yesterday was my blog's first birthday. And I'm quite speechless and I don't know what to say really. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly I've gotten out of this blog. And to say things that I haven't said before. But I'll try. Mostly I've used it as a space to vent and rage, to talk about issues and things that most probably people wouldn't want to listen to, to unabashedly give my opinions and pass judgement when I wouldn't really give them otherwise. Thank you blog.

This post is officially my 101st post. And while I have a long long way to go before I reach a 1000 , I am ecstatic and proud. And I am excited at some levels and at some, I can't believe that I've actually reached a 100 posts, in the 10 months since my blog has begun. What astounds me though is how integral blogging has become to my life. I have begin to contemplate every little thing as a potentially blog worthy issue. And I have another admission to make. Huddle in close. * Whispers * I am a blog addict. * Stops for shocked gasps .* Really ! * Stops again to allow information to sink in* There are blogs I have to read at and it gnaws away at me if I don't. I contemplate all the stuff I'm missing out on while I'm away and the huge amounts I'll have to read. I agonised over the fact that I wouldn't be able to read Moo 's hilariously fun blog posts or salivate over Homecooked 's delicious food. I felt dreadful about the fact that I wasn't here w...

what's with the whole new list of food blogs on my blog. I have a new obsession with food blogs after the Mommy ones that is and spend virtually all my free time reading them. And I decided that I needed a new list of just food blogs, that I could access without searching through all my bookmarks. And here it is. I was also going to create a separate list of Mommy blogs, at which point I woke up and realised that I need a life!

My Blog finally has a new link thanks to a new Header courtesy Bloggernet . And while I love it, I would love to know what you guys think of it. Does it go with my blog personality. If not, why? P.S : This is my 21st Birthday Present. A blog header. I've been coveting one for a while. And finally here it is. Yay!

I haven't been blogging for very long. Just six months. And I already can't live without it. It's much better than therapy. I have some blogging friends now. Mynie, Ace, Xorkes. People who actually comment and let me know what they think. I have blogs I regularly check. Compulsive Confessor, ??! etc etc. But until a couple of days back, I didn't realise how big a part of my life blogging has become. Not until the Mad Momma announced that she was shutting down her blog. And I was devastated. Hers is a blog I check all the time. As soon as I'm online, hers is the first blog I traipse across to. As essential as my morning cup of coffee. I feel as though the Brat, the Bean, the OA, the Mad sibling and the Mad Momma are a part of my family. I've laughed my head off at their antics and empathised with what she says more often than not and said better than I could ever hope to. I kept checking her blog whenever I came online in the hope I would see a change of heart a...