Time flies...

To pick up where I left off...

So, in September, I joined Pottery classes which pretty much stretched till mid November. It was a simple clay pottery with not-so-simple mechanics of how it works. And in October, the month of Halloween, I enjoyed the hayride at the Headless Horseman.

Then a trip to India, a family wedding and before I knew it, the year was over.

The new year is filled with new promises, surprises and much more.. The first quarter of the new year is coming to an end, along with the tax season, and the brutal winter. And when the spring is just round the corner.. I wonder, whats the hurry twenty-eleven? Slow down!!

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day."
~William Shakespeare

Target Shooting

I am a peace lover. I believe that one day, people will realize that war is not a solution to anything and there will be peace in the world. There will be balanced economy and every basic need (not want) of the people will be met. I also believe that if each human being give away one meal a day there will be enough food for everyone in the world. Its the want of the human being that leads to struggle and war. The want of the man to acquire supreme power over others - other people, country, or the world.

This is not about needs and wants of the man. This is also not about war. It is, however, about the new thing I did for the month of August. As much as I felt the need to justify my new activity in the beginning of this post, I have to agree, I fully enjoyed it. I went to a shooting range to try out target shooting.

I do not exactly recall where I got the idea from, however, it matured while in conversations with a dear friend at work. Her husband is a member of a shooting range in South Jersey and one thing led to another and we decided we will go when three of us are available. It took us almost 2 months to mature the plans and it was totally worth the wait.

Alright, so we got there early Sunday morning before it starts getting crowded. Truth be told, I was not very nervous at first. The filling up the forms etc took a couple minutes. And then we started the training. My friends husband is a very patient man and a good teacher. I started to get nervous when he began explaining me the parts of the gun and showed me the bullets. When I held the gun in my hands, I was scared. The noise of the bullets fired from the guns of other people in the range is loud and scary. I jumped at almost all shots fired (even my own). 

In the end, I did just fine. I brought the target sheet home as a keepsake. It was a thrilling experience. If I want to do it again? Well, time will tell.

“The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of the gun.”

- P. G. Wodehouse

Adios!

A New Game (The Seventh!)

“Virtue, dear friend, needs no defense, The surest guard is innocence: None knew, till guilt created fear, What darts or poisoned arrows were”

- Horace

In the beginning of this month, it felt like I was standing in a wind tunnel with all the moments of my life quickly passing by me. Sometimes, while we are busy with catching what life throws in our way, there is always a need to find time to do something new.

One of the advantages of working at such a cool place is that there are certain things we can do during the lunch hour. Playing darts being one of them. So for the first time in my life, I actually played the darts.

I admit in the beginning my throws were all over the place. After a few tips from some collegues, and a few more rounds of practice, it got better. Someone made a passing remark that playing dart is a good way of letting out anger (if you are angry, that is), and I concur.

Other than that, I also made an attempt to cooking Indian-chinese food. It is a version of chinese food cooked in Indian spices and curry. Truth be told, it wasnt that bad, however, I am sure it could be done a lot better.

And with that, another month comes to an end and I am looking forward to hopefully doing something more fun next month.

Adios!

The Loss Of A Pet!

My pet fish - Mishu died last week. I had him for 10 months. He was bright red in color, with shining big crown . I had someone to take care of and to feed, someone to come home to and most importantly he was my companion.

While I was away for a week for work, I had asked someone to take care of him. Obviously and unfortunately, Mishu was not well taken care of. Apparently, Betta fishes need a lot more care than people think they do. They are not low maintenance fishes who just need to be fed once a day. I realized he was sick the moment I got him back. He was pale and white and weak, as if he had not eaten for days. I found out he had no appetite and immediately Googled the signs of sickness in Betta fishes and the remedies. I got the medicene from the Petco and kept my fingers crossed for my Mishu to get better.

Being so desparate to save him, I made sure there was medicene in his bowl at all times. Two weeks of medicene and he still wasnt eating. He showed no signs of improvement and that was worrying me. Until one day, I came home from work to find him still and floating in the bowl. I said a silent prayer that he is sleeping. Thinking he may need fresh water, I changed the water in the bowl.. still no movement. When I put him in the bowl back again, he did not move, not even a flicker. I was not sure he was actually dead, so I looked up for some signs. He had passed on.

I didn't realize all this while I was so attached to him. He was indeed my companion. I enjoyed sitting by his bowl and watching him circle around while I narrated my entire day to him. Somewhere deep down I thought he was listening and that we had a connection.  I watched him play with his food, pushing it with his mouth and then gulp it in. I assumed he enjoyed that time with me too.

When I buried him that night, it was hard to believe he was gone. It made me sad (also because I miss him), I am only hoping he is in a much better place now.

Rest in peace, Mishu!

“I do not mind having imaginary conversations with animals who are part of my life. The comfort of talking to one at a time of personal distress is so soothing because one has the ease of knowing that one’s secrets will not be repeated to anyone. Yet there are those who are horrified that an animal can be a more reliable part of one’s world than that of the human world.”
- Derek Tangye

A Walk To Remember..(The Sixth)!

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

 - John Muir

June was a busy month. I spent a lot of time at work while still managed to continue my swim lessons. Life was busy and life was good.There was also some work related travel. Yeah, it sounds like a ridiculous attempt on making an excuse for not picking a hobby or doing something new for the month of June. I have to admit (and this is not an excuse), I was dealing with so much stuff in this month, that I didn't even think about it.

Well, even then, the only new thing I did was to visit Liberty State Park. It was a hot, humid Sunday afternoon and I went for a stroll. People were doing bar-be-ques, drinking beer, hanging out in their tents. Kids were playing. Whereas I, was getting baked in the sun. I think I made it sound like it was a real torture. Truth be told, this was exactly what I needed. A stroll to clear my head.

Liberty State Park is located on the New York Harbor. It is closer to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty. The entire skyline of the New York City is visible and it looks astounding (I only wish I hadn't forgotten my camera at home). It is also one of the best places to see the July 4th fireworks.

As long as we have summer in NJ/NY, I do plan to go there again sometime to enjoy a nice walk again, breathe the fresh air and (may be) click some pictures.

Adios!