The in-between life of a Tomboy

Wikipedia defines a Tomboy as a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of a boy, including wearing masculine clothing and engaging in games and activities that are physical in nature and are considered in many cultures to be "unfeminine" or the domain of boys.^[2] Tomboy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), "has been connected with connotations of rudeness and impropriety" throughout its use.

Though these definitions are not entirely true, some people also consider a Tomboy as a man living in a woman's body. All these stereotypes really amuse me. Having been tagged a 'tomboy' most part of my life, I feel any girl who does not stick to clichés has conveniently been labeled as a tomboy. Today's post is dedicated to some of the struggles of being a tomboy such as:

1. You're too lazy for make-up: A lot of girls love flipping through fashion magazines and take notes on the latest fads, accessories and make-up et al. A tomboy will read the juicy bits, skip the sex quiz, flip through the 'will have to sell a kidney to buy these clothes' pages, yawn over the agony aunts/uncles, laugh at people wanting to share details of their partner's private parts instead of going to an expert, feel sorry for the men who're trying too hard to be sexy in their mile long beards (that's just gross OK) and finish the glossy in 5 minutes. Between all of this rehashed material will lie 5 pages dedicated to stuff that will never make you look like the model who has been photoshopped to the point of plastic surgery. Yup, we realise that spending wads of cash on make-up will only go waste because if years of watching movies, secretly watching FTV (while it was still popular) and fast-forwarding a 10 minute make-up tutorial didn't convince us, maybe it's time we gave up trying. 

2. You only play dress up twice a year: Who doesn't like dressing up? So does a tomboy. Slightly related to point no. 1, dressing up is also a task we're too lazy to do, but you can't live in a society and not be a part of it right. So you play dress up for weddings (which you wish you could attend in PJs because honestly everyone is too busy gossiping about the bride's clothes to notice you) which happen not very often in a year unless you're a social butterfly and have to be at every wedding in the city. 

3. Colours confuse us: We can't for the love of God differentiate between Hot Pink, Magenta and Fuschia!

4. Three pairs of heels can last three years: Black, silver, golden, don't they match everything?

5. Day-long shopping trips can be so exhausting: Most tomboys can finish shopping for clothes/shoes/groceries/miscellaneous in half an hour flat. We jump on any opportunity to be excused from window-shopping around town. 

6. People don't take you seriously: By people I want to focus more on friends as typically you would have more male friends than female ones and it'll almost be impossible for you to come out of 'one of the guys' image forever. The handful of female friends will find you endearing in your ways in sometimes trying to blend in, alas you'll still be doing a cute job at it. 

7. You'd wish you could wear jeans everywhere: Whoever said comfort over style was maybe your idol. Maybe it was the same person who got fired for wearing shorts to a client meeting but of course what could be more comfortable. 

8. Personal hygiene is a necessity, personal grooming is a social evil: Waxing, threading, manicures, pedicures, facials, hair colour and nail extensions. The world could do with so much money if all these things weren't hyped as much a they are.

9. Jewellery doesn't excite you so much. Also, piercings hurt like hell!

10. Lastly, your parents can use you as their handyman whenever they want. You are mostly assigned duties of a driver (also because you like driving), sometimes an electrician (putting bulbs, changing plugs), IT guy (fixing the internet, giving tutorials on net usage and privacy), runner (to fetch the handyman) and also the domestic help  when groceries get over.

It is tough no doubt to not conform to stereotypes but it is even more fun to break them. :)

Arm Candies

How do I explain thou?
The bond I share,
With the bags I have
And I so deeply care.

How do I tell?
The pain I'd endure,
If anything would happen,
To my precious Hermès and Dior.

To let them get tampered,
Would be the gravest sin,
To me they're nothing less,
Than my second skin.

The cheery red, the chirpy blue,
The fiery yellow and the deep maroon,
Staring at me from store windows,
Making me swoon.

It is not a trap,
It is their charm,
Such lovely beings,
They mean no harm.

Gucci, LV, Burberry,
I have them all at home,
Still eyeing the new Prada,
On my arm it will soon roam.

Amen ;)

What is sarcasm?

If there is something Sheldon Cooper also struggles with comprehending it is sarcasm. So today I am going to throw some light on what exactly is sarcasm. It is a way of showing your annoyance or disagreement without actually saying it. But beware it is not everyone's cup of tea. Those who get it are snooty and those who don't really shouldn't bother. Well to say the least, sarcasm is a gift. A gift for those who know how to make full use of it and an unwanted gift for those who are at the receiving end.

To be honest, I am often accused of being sarcastic but I blame that mostly on my allergy to stupid. Also it is my way of helping people be better or do better in life by subtly mentioning things which can annoy others (mostly me). I sometimes also use sarcasm to compliment (I call that an art).

So when I say "you are such an ass" isn't always meant in a derogatory tone but as a compliment that you are a hard worker (like an ass) but are not appreciated for your efforts, so I tell you. Another example is if I refer to someone as "Einstein", what I actually mean is that person's intellect never grew after the Einstein era.

Along with being a gift, sarcasm is also a medicine and the giver a doctor who needs to be careful about how much or how strong a dose the receiver can take. You don't want to piss off the world right.

I think I learnt sarcasm from my family, sometimes when I was out late, my mom would call me and ask, "I don't think you're planning to come home today, are you?" instead of "What time will you be home?", so basically I was never really asked a straight question hence by the time I grew up I had a master's degree in sarcasm.  I have it in my genes.

However, one must not confuse a sarcastic with a hater (lines can blur sometimes) but rather as a person on a mission to sharpen the grey cells of the world by quizzing them on what their words really mean, also as Taylor Swift says haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, a sarcastic's
gonna debate, debate, debate.

Which one are you? Go figure!

Guess who's back

So the nomad is back only this time she's gone from a free ranger to an expat wife!

I've been fortunate to have travelled to a few places in the past 3 years that sort of compensated for not having travelled very often in 26 years of my life. Now that I have some time to spare I decided to come back to my first love - writing.

Today's post is about 5 things I've learned after living away from home:

1. You become more responsible: When you have to manage your expenses, do your groceries, cook, clean, drive (in a foreign land) and sometimes unlearn how to drive and a lot of other things that now seem too expensive or when time isn't your friend any more, you become more responsible (read someone you didn't know you could be).

2. You make new friends: Living away from family creates a void that sometimes get filled by friends you meet where you live or on your adventures. They act as an extended family (one that you can choose) and share your joys/sorrows with. You can't however risk fighting with them because you don't have much option (you don't have a backup plan right :P) and also because you're mature friends (can't throw a fit any more when they get a new best friend..ha ha).

3. You make frenemies too: Not everyone you know will like you because sometimes they will find you to be too brash, too bossy, too boisterous and sometimes too different. They will however never say it to your face (neither will you to them) and sometimes you will let nature take its course.

4. You will value relationships more: Maybe unintentionally but you will jump with joy even if you get to know that your mum's cousin's son's wife's nephew's daughter is in the same city as you and you will make an effort to meet them. Some family is better than no family right. Also, if you are fortunate to have close ones living near you, you feel blessed.

5. You will learn to live no strings attached: When you leave home, you become a traveller, you create new nests, meet fellow travellers, eat new food, drink new wines, save some dough (if you're lucky) and set up new tents when new shores beckon.

An expat is an expat is an expat but carrying humour along makes the journey more alive!

Cheers :)

Here is the Love

I travelled the Earth from end to end,
Across bridges and rivers and roads that bend,
Of lofty mountains and deep valleys,
Broad gateways and narrow alleys.

I searched and searched and searched some more,
The eternal quest, my feet went sore,
To the path that took me miles uphill,
In pursuit of love I kept going still.

While the skies laughed and clouds roared,
The prickly thorns my soles devoured,
The thirsty traveler in me said “let’s go”,
Another mile, another row.

I wondered where is that pot of gold?
Not one can buy, not one can sold,
Where shalt then thee find absolute love,
Who hid that precious treasure trove.

Oh what is this strange feeling I feel,
All the hurt in the world can heal,
Why did then I to all the corners been,
The pure elixir lied deep within.

Wake up call

Well this wake-up call is actually a low-down on how technology has spoilt us so much that we don’t have time or pretend not to have any, for the things we love the most. For example, I love writing but I don’t remember writing a single piece in a long time, even after having revived my blog in hope of getting back to writing again. I mean why do I need to be pushed to do something I used to enjoy so much or has my creative prowess reduced to only writing/thinking of funny status messages. Have I really stooped that much? I hope not and I hope there is still hope of revival. I cannot give up my passion so easily because it has remained my best friend. All the words I wrote have been with me through thick and thin. I’ve read them over and over again only to gauge the state of mind I must have been in or revive the memories associated with them. Will I lose this battle of the mind v/s technology only because the first thing we all do when we get up is to check our phones?? Sad but true that we created technology for convenience but now we have become slaves ourselves. I feel sorry for myself for reducing my life to a BB status. Instead of feeling crippled when I don’t have my phone besides me, I should feel uneasy when am unable to vent out my emotions through writing. I hope better sense prevails for me and for everyone who have forgotten what normalcy felt like because it is true no doubt, that hope always dies last. So am raising a toast to the hope that’s still left in me and will try all my might to be a better thinker and write better and as frequent as I can.

Adios.

Keep Walking

Keep Walking

It’s been a while I met myself,

Lost midway in an emotional whirlpool

A blurred sketch that was once fresh,

A broken car, low on fuel,

Who forgot to laugh,

When rainbows came,

When warm and chilly,

Both seemed the same,

Unaffected, unfazed,

Kept walking strong,

My soles were sore,

It’s been so long,

The parched lips,

Need love to quench,

To brush away,

The helpless stench,

Mind no more numb,

Senses got back,

Took longer than I thought,

To get life on track.