Up for air

I guess it would be an understatement if I said that Squiggles and I are enjoying ourselves so much that we've kind of lost track of the online world and our blogging mommies and babies. Or, probably what's more true is that life in India is so different from Singapore, much more busy and hectic, atleast it seems that way.

The doorbell rings, it's the courier fellow. Shut the door. Intercom rings, it's the neighbour calling to see if the maid has turned up for work. Telephone rings, wrong number. Doorbell no. 2, it's maid no.1. Then the intercom rings again, neighbour no.2 is trying to locate the maid as well. Doorbell again, Courier fellow again (maybe he just waits around the corner and keeps turning up every hour just for fun). Make a call to the local grocery store and ask him to send 5 eggs, 6 slices of bread and one tea bag. Doorbell no. 3, it's maid no. 2 but no one is looking for her so she's obviously not very popular. Doorbell no.4, the delivery boy from the local grocery shop is here. You hand over the change but the price of eggs seems too high. Call the shop owner, discuss and lament the craziness of spiralling prices, hand over the change to the delivery boy. Doorbell no. 5, it's the courier boy again!!!!

And so it goes on and on. In the midst of all this, there is the drama of Squiggles: wake up, milk, diaper change, play time, screaming, solid feed, crazy play time, cat nap, wake up, feed, play, throw tantrum and so it goes on.

Add to this my desire to meet people, window shop and also shop, and it calls for a crazy time. It's usually 1 in the afternoon before Squiggles and I can manage to leave home. Delhi distances and traffic are so crazy that even if you want to go a mere 10 km it will take you an hour, only to find that there is no parking. This is what happened today. My in laws wanted to take me to Connaught Place to buy me a handbag for my birthday which is in a few days. My mother in law had chosen a shop and so off we set off for Connaught Place at 3 in the afternoon. We reached CP at 4. It took us an hour to complete a journey which shouldn't take more than 30 mins. It was so crowded that my father in law dropped us outside the store and asked us to start while he joined us after parking the car. He was still looking for parking when we called him to tell him that the store didn't have any decent stock. He came and picked us up without parking (not that he had any choice really). We then decided to head to the mall after all. But the closest and most convenient one was in Noida which for those not familar with Delhi NCR, is a suburb of Delhi, a good 15km from CP. It was 5.30 by the time we entered the mall and we hadn't even started shopping yet!

Days have been whizzing past. DD was here for his annual 2 week vacation. He left last Sunday and now I have some time to myself to do some random bits that have been pending for a few years ... boring bank stuff.

I am already depressed at the prospect of returning to Singapore. Squiggles is really having fun here now. She loves going out and enjoys talking with people and creating a ruckus. She has really come out of her shell. She's still a clingy child but much less than before. She's happy to go to new people and greets them with a smile. I'm very grateful for this. I think she is going to be super bored when we get back. Who am I kidding? I'm going to be super bored when I get back. I know I have to start looking for a job soon. But there's a lot of inertia which I need to overcome. I have made up my mind to get back, but haven't translated it into action yet.

I don't want to go back................................. wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (big wail).

BTW, Happy New Year!!!