The next Local......

Local trains of Mumbai, (also known as “Locals”) are considered to be the heart beat of Mumbai. It is said that Mumbai comes to halt only when its local trains comes to halt.

Somehow, I have often thought of my journey in life as being analogous to a very long train ride. But the entire ride doesn’t have to be on one single train, one doesn’t always know what their destination is and *most heartbreakingly* the companion who shares your berth may not necessarily take the entire trip with you.

In the last couple of years I’ve felt like I’ve switched so many trains, spent long amounts on time on platforms wondering where I’ve come from and where I am going, and looking at the person sitting next to me wondering “How far along this journey are you going to travel with me?” It used to be unsettling, but lately, it’s become an idea I’ve welcomed.

Now, instead of lamenting over a train I missed or being told by the the conductor that my ticket is expired and I need to get off, I look forward to where my journey takes me *bright eyed and bushy tailed* and tell myself that at the end of the day, no matter which train I take, I will reach my destination. It may take awhile, the ride might be uncomfortable, I may be cheated, lied to and hurt during my travels, but its all part of the growing experience.

Another idea I’ve quite grown accustomed to is the notion of “travelling light”. I’ve found it quite therapeutic over the past couple of months to give away my clothes, sell my furniture, home and dispose of things I never used (or have no use for). I know some of this I will regret (I should have kept the damn toilet brush!), but overall, I feel lighter, freer and more able to enjoy my journey knowing that I have very little too worry about losing. Someone did say “you cannot lose what you don’t have” – so there you have it!

So – where to now? I laughingly say – I don’t really know. I know life changes dramatically when you miss your last Local and have to wait on the platform for the next train. It’s happened so many times before – but this time I’m prepared (with everything but a toilet brush!). Wish me luck!

Excuse me - Are you Indian?

So - today's blog is inspired by another super hilarious blog I read. It goes:

"I cant get rid of smell. it smell ever so bad. I go sleep and still smell it then dream about curry. I think it serious problem. I did everything in the kitchen and it smell worse. omg I wanna cry. I cant afford to move, since I'm ever so poor . Please if you smell of curry do house swap with me you can get familiar smelling house for free=)"

This is something us Indians totally struggle with (in addition to unwanted body hair!). It is something that cannot be avoided if you love to cook and eat Indian food at home. This is how it goes: You cook a regular indian meal (with all the six essential spices of cumin powder, coriander powder, tumeric powder, garam masala, red chilli powder and cumin seeds) and whoa! the smell of curry permeates every the very core of the home; right down to its DNA. I know it sounds funny, but no kidding! Even our clothes smell - and I have to admit (even tho I am not speaking from personal experience) it can be quite embarassing. People can tell you are brown a mile away!

Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love Indian food - but dude, I really don't want to be walking on the street and smelling like I just came off an Air India flight. Economy.

I know it used to drive my mom nuts when she'd come to visit, slave for hours at the kitchen cooking my favourite meals and I come home and go: "What does this place smell like Indian people live here?!?" And she goes "But Indian people do live here!!!" *say this with an Indian/Singaporean accent please*

I am looking for a place in my heart where I can come to peace with my curry roots - but its just so hard! Its like I want to have my curry, eat it and smell like I just walked out of Crabtree and Evelyn! Is that too much to ask for?

So my resolution? Be a closet curry eater - and no, this doesn't mean that I will eat curry in the walk-in closet! It means that I will have an extra-marital affair with curry outside the home and still maintain the olfactory stability of my home.

How long will it last? *sigh* I really don't know....One day I will come home and my clothes will smell like curry - and then my dirty little secret will be out!

Saying Goodbye

Last night, Bentley and I said our final goodbyes to 108 - 6833 Village Green. It was our first home together. I still remember the day I saw the posting of this place on mls.ca and knew in my heart that this was going to be my home. 10-8 were my birthday digits (I know - How corny!). I did lose the place with my first offer to someone else but miraculously, that offer fell through and I got it!

Now, walking through the empty rooms I could not help remember the time this place was the location of mini-parties, family reunions, cook-offs and puppy play-dates. Packed with furniture, personal belongings and up to 5 people at one time, Bentley's barks made a sad echo through the emptiness.

Then I realised that this emptiness was just a doorway into new beginnings and possibilities. To move ahead effortlessly we sometimes need to leave the past behind. But before that, I want to share this quote that best describes what 108 Village Green meant to me:

"Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserve; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room." - Harriet Beecher Stowe

Thank you Village Green for being my first home, my shelter and my haven. And also thank you for making it possible to move to my new dream home, The Harris!

On a side note - the place smells a little like an Indian restaurant (smells like curry) *lol* Good luck new buyer! *evil laugh*