LGBT!!

I knew about sexuality way before I probably should have. Chalk it off to curiosity or just being around a lot of information, the right and the wrong kind. I also knew that I was unsure about it. India being the ever open minded country, being gay or lesbian was frowned upon. I like men. No doubt about it. And somewhere down the line, I realized I liked women too. It wasn’t about the sex. It wasn’t about experimentation. The day i figured I might be into a woman for more than just the looks and body, was when I looked into a pair of wonderfully beautiful blue grey eyes. And I felt the same kind of butterflies I did when I had fallen in love with a guy. But my immediate reaction was, WTF just happened??  I remember calling up my friend who is a proud and bold as fuck lesbian, and rambling about this crazy feeling I’ve got about a woman. I didn’t think it could happen to me. While I’ve always thought, “A things of beauty is joy for ever!” it took me a while before I knew I like all beautiful genders. I do mean more than two because I’ve had the fortune of getting to know a Transgender lady, Ash in all her glory. I knew her when she was a man and i know her now after she transitioned. What a brave, gorgeous and strong human being she is. People think lesbians look at all woman like they want to sleep with them, or that gay men cant wait to do it with every guy they meet. What most people don’t understand is that the LGBT community falls in love just like a straight person does. You fall in love with the person, their ideals, their values, their brains and their goofiness. You do not decide when you came into this world, “Yes, I am going to be straight. I am going to marry a guy. I am going to not accept the fact that I may not be into guys. Its just a phase.” A few of my friends know am Bi- Sexual. My family does not. Probably because I knew they wouldn’t understand what being bisexual is, so I didn’t bother to tell them.My ex-husband did. He chose to ignore it like he did me. And no, he isn’t my ex because I chose a woman over him. I believed in that marriage as much as I believe in love. But somethings aren’t meant to be. Being bisexual is not a choice, its not because I want the best of both worlds. It is because I’ve seen love in the other gender too. I’ve only fell in love with a woman once, and it did not pan out to anything, but that hasn’t made me lose hope that may be my Knight in shining Armour is a gorgeous girl. I do believe in falling in love with a person. Not their gender.You cannot Pray away the Gay, You cannot keep telling yourself you are something you are not. Its not a defect. Its human to fall in love. You cannot choose who it is with. I do not hate men nor am I averse to being with a man. I enjoy it as much as I enjoy being with a woman. These shootings, these hatred spewing words you hear everywhere, is just another way to intimidate you into being someone society thinks you outta be.

You can vote, You can buy guns,

But you cannot choose who you love?

You can pierce, you can get tattooed,

But you cannot choose what you do to your body or what’s within?

This is today’s world, formed by the prejudice few,

For what do they know about love so pure. 

SO TODAY AS I PRETTY MUCH OUT MYSELF TO ANYONE WHO IS READING THIS POST, I PRAY SOMEDAY MY WONDERFUL GAY AND LESBIAN FRIENDS, GET THEIR RIGHT TO MARRY WHO THEY LOVE, TO ADOPT  A CHILD WITHOUT ANY HASSLES, & TO PROUDLY BRING UP KIDS WHO LEARN NOT TO BE HOMOPHOBIC, NOT TO SHOUT OUT RACIAL SLURS, AND TO TREAT EVERYONE THE SAME. 

And I hope someday I find someone I can love again, regardless of the gender. 

P.S.: Prayers to all the families and friends of Orlando and every other inch of this world who are fighting for their family’s right to love.

 

 

WORK BLUES !!!!

 

Monday Blues-  Every one has had it from time to time.For me: Its a constant. I’ve seen friends who love their job, have a great passion for what they do and yet seen them crumble under corporate pressures. I’ve seen entrepreneurs fail constantly because the need to make money and be successful, trumps the joy of creating and experimenting. Our journey from Kinder garden to College, seems to be a pathway to pay bills and not discover the world we came into.

Yes- Bills need to be paid, and so yes you need a job. But you are more than that. I know its easy to say these things. Anyone who knows me, knows that I come from Money. Not much, but enough to make me take risks and go jobless for months together trying to find the right work. I know I sound like a Brat. But my reasons for it are probably not what you expect. Its not because I’m worry free because I know my parents have money. No. It is solely because I never found any job interesting and wonderful enough to stick to it. I knew as much as the world wanted me to have a steady 9 – 5  job, that wasn’t me. Every job in which I got to create, be artistically free, inspired me. And in those jobs, I learnt everything I can from it and then move on. Even if i hadn’t had money, I probably would’ve done a number of odd end jobs to pay the bills, while constantly searching for what I want.

As in love, In work, there isn’t just that one job.You can have a pick of what you want if you’ve the guts for it. So I say quit that dead end job that pays the bill but doesn’t feed your soul, work in as many different sectors as you can to find out where you fit in, and when you do, learn and accumulate as much knowledge as you can and move on to a place were you can learn more. Because your knowledge will be your saving grace at all times. You will be respected for it.

Learning never stops, until you choose to stop. Take classes, Find your passion and Don’t let the pressures of making money kill your soul. Believe in what you want to do, because a Job is just that. A Job. So the questions you need to ask yourself is, Is your current job what you want to do for the rest of your life? In the process of making money, did I lose memories? Am I doing this because I love it or because, am responsible for others and would rather kill my dreams and needs than be a disappointment?

WHATEVER YOUR ANSWERS ARE TO THIS, KNOW THAT YOU’VE THE POWER TO CHANGE IT, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE.  IT IS YOUR DECISION TO MAKE.

On a lighter note: Do try working in smaller sectors, when you travel. My dream travel job is to be a bartender 😛 Can you believe the kind of people I would get to meet ??  🙂

CHEERS TO A GOOD WEEK OF WORK

Measuring Life by Coffee Cups

 

TO ALL MY FELLOW OWLS AND COFFEE LOVERS

My tryst with Night started way before my eternal Love Affair with Coffee. Though now they both go hand in hand. My first taste of coffee was at my Brahmin neighbour’s home. Her toothless cutesy paati had just made herself the most aromatic Filter Kaapi. They say no one does filter kaapi quite like brahmins do. One sip and I was hooked for life. Then came Bru and Sunrise and Nescafe. Somehow these instant coffees never held the flavours of a good Filter Coffee.

Coffee- you know more of my stories than the best of my friends. You’ve helped relationships bloom, and saw them whither, walked hand in hand with me in my solitude. Almost all the best moments in my life have begun with a cup of coffee. Be it friends like River,with whom I discovered different ways to brew different coffees or those quiet moments spent with my family in the farm looking at the rain, a cup of coffee goes a long way to soothe your soul.

But my favourite kinda coffee is the one I share with myself. The best out of them all has to be – Sundays at The Bagel Shop, at Palli Hill. I stumbled across this haven during one of my strolls to discover Mumbai on my own. The quaint little place, with comfy big furniture and the biggest cup of coffee ever, was almost my second home there. I met travelers from all over the world and sweet locals who told me all the secret little places i should visit. After a hectic week,all I need at night,more than sleep , is a nice book and Coffee in my favourite coffee mug( thanks to my bestie shru-another coffee encounter). The Owl in me loves these moments the most.

So snuggle up with your favourite book & a cuppa, Make that special person a cup of liquid love, Invite that cute neighbour over for long drink of cold coffee, visit the local coffee shop where ever you travel, to meet new people( way better than a drunken night). Whether it is a strong cup of Espresso, Mild Latte, Grande cinnamon latte with nonfat whipped cream and two pumps of caramel syrup, (i don’t know how Starbucks employees remember these crazy orders 😛 ) or a cold cup of Ice Drip coffee, Order your kinda drink and watch the aromas of coffee bring in new life into your World.

P.S.: Any one visiting Malaysia, do check out M-Ti-Cup Studio @ Centrio Pantai Hillpark, Bangsar South. The coffee lover in you will rejoice.