*Long post alert again. Please read at leisure.
I missed to mention about my higher secondary school friend in the previous post. Hey P if you are reading this sorry di. Slap me tight when we meet ok?. Even in my short stint of two years at the new school I managed to get a best friend 😀 .. May be I was obsessed with this best friend mania on those days. I needed a best friend always who will wait for you near school gate, who will look for you in the crowd, who will cheer you up when you score low, who will bring record books home when you are sick, who will make sure you are not bullied, who will…. Okay where was I yes about P. We were sharing the same bench with 3 other girls and I was sitting at the corner and she was sitting in the middle. She was active in sports and leaves classes in the middle for practice sessions. That means every time she has to go out I have to get up to give way to her or she will step on the back side of the bench to get out. This annoyed me to no end and we had a tiff down the lane. I don’t remember how the table turned but we became the bestest friends. Parting away with great pain and exchanging 4 to 5 pages of letters during college days. She writes about the silly jokes her hostel mates crack and I write about my daily happenings. I still have those letters in my safe aka amma’s home :). She is the one who helped me on the initial days at US finding a room, engaging me on weekends, taking me out with her friends and all that. She is expecting her first baby anytime now. Wish her good luck people.
And then happened college. I have more to write about college friends but for the benefit of my readers (what you are not bored yet? then go and read Part 1 again) I will fast forward to next phase.
And then happened the first job. We joined the company in mass. A group of 45 campus recruited freshers from different colleges at Tamil Nadu. We tagged our group as “JET” (June Eighteenth Team) as our joining date was 18th June. Yeah we were brilliant and our brain was acting over smart on those days :). HR was kind enough to create a group email alias (actually to ease his job) for our group that helped us to plan all our outings, get-together, wish people on their birthday just to get treat from them, share jokes, inspirational quotes and what not. We used the email alias as an effective communication medium. The 7 girls in the group christened ourselves as BAASMAS – a name formed with first letter of every girl’s name and enjoyed our girls-only times to the fullest. We shared our lunch at that tiny dining room behind the office and visited each other’s house frequently. This is the gang that introduced me to the world of Maggi. When amma had to travel to attend unavoidable functions at native I preferred to stay back at the girl’s house who were sharing accommodation at an apartment right next to office and that’s when we relished different varieties of Maggi. These two girls were proudly called as “Nobel neighbors” by our company folks 🙂 We talked, talked and talked about everything under the sky for next 3 years until two girls got married and moved out of town and I changed my job. Just to mention one of the quietest girl from our gang is no more. She doesn’t deserve this is all I can say. We still follow the tradition of emailing the group wishing on special occasion including our anniversary, kid’s birthday and the thread continues for next two days with current happenings from all ends. Touch wood I am still in touch with this gang.
With this gang not being enough I was also blessed with an awesome team in my first job. A team of around 10 members. We named ourselves as “thillalangadis” (naughties) 🙂 You see we were all after naming those days :). We planned our share of outings, team lunches, dinners et all. Those were double dhamaka days for me with my team on one side and JET on the other side and of course with ex-college mates meeting now and then to keep up with the promises made during the teary farewell.
And then happened the second job (current one) where I didn’t develop an intimate relationship with anyone but there are few friends I made on the go at every project and we are still in touch. We had long lunch hours, tea breaks, long walk post lunch and do what? Talk, talk and talk. My thirst for talk never ended. Once a friend is always a friend to me.
And then happened the exile to US of A. It took a while for me to adjust to the new life style and make friends. I didn’t make any friends at work as my work time was limited. I preferred to take lunch at desk so more time can be saved. These are the days I started blog hopping as there was no one around to have a lively talk.
And then around three years ago when Adi was going to a daycare I made friend with Adi’s classmate mom K. We agreed to meet at the train station every evening and walk together to the daycare that was 10 minutes away, pickup kids and walk back together as her home is on the way to my home. What did we do while walking? You should know by this time 😉 Some days we even stop at the signal near her home, chat for a while until one of kid gets cranky and then proceed on our directions. This continued for almost two years.
And then happened Adi’s new school. She joined this school for Kindergarten and I was back to my early US days. Had very few (read as none) people to talk to on daily basis. I report to work between 8 to 8:30am, bury my head on computer until 11am, take a short coffee break with colleagues for 10 minutes, bury head again on computer till noon, re-heat and eat lunch at desk, bury head again on computer till late afternoon, leave at sharp 4:50pm (one can hardly see me at desk by 4:51pm) to go pickup Adi and reach home to start with evening chores.
And then happened the lunch group. I am now sharing lunch with this group at cafeteria. It feels good to be part of a gang again where we have all common talks. And then I started sharing the evening train journey with this colleague from lunch group. Little did I realize until that time that I was missing this one on one conversation with a friend or an acquaintance so much. I realized that ten minutes conversation during train journey recharges me one hundred percent to carry out my evening errands. I am now happy that I found that sort of a person to share my day. I have adjusted my return time on few days to 4:55pm to travel with her :). That additional 5 minutes is worth the kind of inner happiness I feel end of day :). The happiness that has been missing unknown for few years and realized only after it has been regained. That happiness was the trigger of this post. I have failed miserably in trying to talk less. Bottom line I have to admit my love to talk and love for friendship. I can talk over phone for hours. I still get into my shell now and then but talking has always been the best stress reliever for me. No not with any stranger though. It has to be a relationship developed over a period of time with like minded person. Don’t worry I am not that kind to keep talking if you are not ready to listen. It has to be mutual. So, need not worry about meeting me next time ok? 😉
Between my littles and me 