Well, turning 28, I learnt a few things.
And I wanted to share it with you all. Also, I wanted to thank every single one of you for showing me so much love and affection.
Yes, just the last two days of being 28 have taught me quite a few things.
It’s taught me to beware of my dreams. Cuz they do come true.
I put up this silly nick on my msn messenger that read: “Dear God, I want a Ray Ban for my budday on the 8th. Listening?” to taunt a good friend who asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I thought wishing for an expensive gift no one would afford to buy me was a smart ass thing to do.
And now, I have with me a Ray Ban Fugitive Sunglasses that cost a very dear friend very dearly. 3400 bucks or something like that! During a season when he has to forego the next two months salary just to pay his income tax for the year. During a phase of his life when he is so broke!
That’s Abhishek for you guys, a brother born to another Mom!
Like Santa Claus, he came home and left it for me at home when I was away with a note that read: “Hey Brother, Happy Birthday. I want a Pulsar for my budday on 22nd. You listening?”
Lol! I wish I could! How I wish I could do that!
It has taught me that people have their ways to show that they care. And some of them really go out of the way to show that.
Then there’s my other ‘brother’ Sravan who does not have a job and he’s broke too. He makes it a point to call three times a day to check what I’m doing. And it’s not just with me. It’s with every single person he knows. I wish I can be like him in dealing with people. I’m trying to be. He’s the one who’s taken Jerry Maguire’s Mission Statement more seriously than I have:
The key to the job is personal relationships.
He’s got me some gift which he’s been wanting to give me since my budday. He called me three times to meet up to hand over the gift before he left to Hyderabad. I know this would sound corny but the idiot does not know that the biggest gift he can give me is his friendship.
Okay, we have this tradition among my set of friends to surprise each other on their buddays. Since I had lined up this dinner date with Ms. Sphinx on my budday evening, I called up my friend Shalini, the mastermind behind surprise parties and told her on 7th evening: “Listen, surprise me tonite itself. Tomorrow night, I’m gonna be busy.” She pretended like she had forgotten my budday and apologised that there was no surprise planned.
Ms. Sphinx wanted to be the first one to wish and she called very sweetly at 10 minutes to midnight, inspite of being sooooo sleepy and unwell. I was at a party a colleague’s place and little did he have a clue that it was my budday eve. Yet, I made her sing Happy Budday for me. She squeaked out the song from beneath the blanket. Thank you Sphinxie… you’re a sweetheart! I dunno about tomorrow, but today, I love you very very very very much!! *smaaack*
She wanted the others to sing the song for me and asked me to ask my colleague to sing.
So, Me: Saptarshi, sing for me.
He: What?
Me: Happy Budday.
He: Happy Birthday… (and it hits him it’s my budday, and he extends his hand) Happy Birthday man… totally forgot!!
So thank you, Saptarshi for giving a super start to the day with Apple Flavoured Vodka!! And to his wife Vandana!
Now, I had shamelessly told most of my colleagues to go to Spencer Plaza and buy me gifts. And you know what, they actually did!
Shonali (Muthalaly), Paro and Meera, the toothfairies decided to make my wish for “Hawt Chick” come true and introduced me to Candy, who they picked up from Landmark. Candy is a girly blonde doll in orange. Even the packing was sooo beautifully and thoughtfully done, the wrapper had the word ‘Girl’ all over it! Thank you, toothfairies. But I hope you guys realise that this gift is not gonna stop me from nagging you to introducing me to a hawt chick!
Ramya (Kannan) actually thoughtfully saved up a Bacardi Breezer from her Pondy trip for me. And I love the Orange flavour. Thanks Raamaiyya!! Like I’ve said in the link, her heart is Sokka Thangam!
Swahilya got me Laughing Buddha after overhearing me telling someone that I lost a Laughing Buddha idol from my desk. Thanks Swahilya.
Tejas, an intern we have from Canada, who I’m just getting to know as a really funny, thoughtfully little boy, got me Red Clover shampoo that will help me keep my hair red and a bottle of red wine! Dude, I really didn’t expect you to take the present thing so seriously! Lol… but I got adequate time to get back at you. Thanks man!
So in the evening (late night that is), I went out with Sphinxie who took special permission from home to spend the night out to take me out for dinner. Sphinxie as always was well-dressed, looking super hawt. We went to Eden, Besant Nagar and reached only by 10.45 to realise that they were closing in 15 minutes. Five minutes after we placed the order, the brat pack datecrashes into the place – There’s Shalini, Abhishek, Sravan, a usually lazy Prasanth who I’m not in the best of terms with, of late, Vivek all the way from Erode, Mani, Kavitha and Sandeep who walk in with a chocolate cake that went into my mouth, nose, eyes, ears, hair and shirt too as Shalini smashed it straight on to my face and then stuffed the cream into every little place she could find around. Gross, I know!
Never got to tell you then, but Thank you for the cake guys!! I didn’t quite expect them there since I had concealed location of date from everyone. None of them knew Sphinxie, so I was confident no one would find us. But damn, Sphinxie was part of their plan and team too, after Abhishek managed to get her number!
Thank you Shalini and Abhishek, for datecrashing. It wouldn’t have been half as fun without you walking in. It really was the icing on the cake!
And thanks for leaving us alone after that! 🙂
Oh yes, Sphinxie paid. She took me out. Didn’t I say, she’s adorable! The cheapskate that I am, I find women who pay really lovable! he he!
So once they left us alone, Sphinxie and me went to the coffee shop at Chola Sheraton and ordered the banana flavoured cold coffee.
And she got me a gift too. Fiddler on the Roof! Awwwwwwww…. Sphinxie, Big Warm Long Bear Hug!!
We sat there for two and a half hours, talking about nothing in particular. We made fun of those crappy children’s drawing that they passed off for a wall painting, we spoke about movies and friends and I showed her messages she sent me as we sat on the couch. Occasionally, our fingers touched each others, our heads got closer and I wondered if the hair falling in front of her eyes would make her squint. Just once, I cleared the hair from her forehead and realised that she had the most beautiful eyes I’ve seen. I told her.
We were in a daze, caught in a trance and she was sure the coffee was drugged. We were high, a sleep-induced high as we just lay our heads back on the couch and continued to wonder about the ugly children’s drawing on the wall. “Children’s ugly drawings,” she corrected. “Children aren’t ugly. The drawings are.” We were in no mood to leave but we knew we had to.
So finally, we drank up the rest of the coffee in one gulp and left. I dropped her back at her friend’s place and we hugged for the first time ever. I’ve often wondered why she does not hug and she would joke: “Cuz I can’t reach you.” More seriously, she would say that she hugs only her parents, her sister and her best friends. So when she gave me that warm hug, I was glad I made it to that elite list.
Earlier in the day, my best friend Murugan called me from America. My latest confidante and Jaan, Fid did her missed call routine from UK, some three times, apart from mailing me. So did Sandhya, my air-conditioner. And all those people who messaged me, some of them I was rude enough to reply ‘Thanks, But who’s this?’ Thanks to my chat buddies Elixir and Chirkut and Shelob for all that attention and affection.
Came online and saw all those wonderful wonderful comments you guys left. I answered every single one of them and crashed at 4.30 in the morning. Thank you guys, I would not even have dreamt that there are so many of around, not just reading me but also caring for me. This post is just to say that it really means a lot. To have you around, unconditionally.
These two days taught me that I am not me without you.
Thank you.
Not everybody gets friends like Suderman does. And that’s why Suderman is a superhero. Cuz he has you. And I love you all for that.
Post Script: If I’ve forgotten to mention anyone, kindly excuse, its 3.30 a.m. as I type this. And I love you for forgiving me for that too 🙂
MADRAS INK. 