Day 3 - Fruits & Veggies

It wasn't bad at all. Had some grilled aubergines, carrots, fruits, salad and since we went for a movie, some plain popcorn. I have to say I wasn't at all tempted by the delicious smells at the food court either - maybe because I had already made up my mind about having the salad (with mint dressing) and cut fruits. I didn't feel drained out, and even did a bit of yoga. Almost half way through!

Day 2 - Veg Extravaganza

As expected, the first thing I did was to bake me some potatoes. I seasoned it with salt, pepper and dried chives, topped with some butter - YUM! The rest of the day wasn't so hard since I got to have hot, and seasoned food such as - spinach soup (just spinach and garlic); baked aubergines with mint; carrots; and I cheated a bit with popped corn (technically it is still a veggie).

Although it wasn't mentioned in any of the sites that talk about the GM diet, I had to 'go' quite often on days 1 and 2. Every corner of my stomach must be clean by now! I guess that's the reason for any weight loss.

My First Diet Plan: Day 1 - Frooty

I don't do diets...mainly because I am easily tempted. But when I heard of the GM diet plan and the many people who claimed to have been cleansed at the end of it, I decided to give it a try. This would be more of a detox diet than a weight loss plan, but of course a couple of missing lbs won't be missed. I don't have a weighing machine handy so I'll have to just go the 'feeling' of being lighter.

Here I am at the end of Day 1. Today I could eat only fruits (except bananas). This is what I had: 1 pomegranate, 1 cantaloupe, 1 papaya, 1 medium-sized watermelon, 1 apple, and 1 pear...I am starving still. With that and the 10 glasses of water I am required to take, I am not going anyplace too far from the loo.

I have a low impact schedule on most days when I skip gym (which I have for 2 weeks now!) since I work from home. This helped because I did not need much energy required to go out in the crazy world where a bucket of fruits will be used up the minute you step out your door.

Beware though! The absence of carbohydrates drives you crazy. I wasn't able to concentrate on work, and all I keep thinking about is that I can have potatoes tomorrow morning. I can't wait!

Diwali - More about the noise than the lights!

Yes, I am aware that the title sounds cynical but unfortunately, that is what it has come to mean for most. I remember the time when Diwali meant the excitement of new clothes, the smell of homemade sweets wafting in the air, visiting friends and family, some sparklers and at the most a couple of small 'bombs' that could be heard sporadically. The little noise that was, would die down much before midnight, giving people time to relax and look forward to the coming year.

Since then, crackers only mean strings of bombs - if Mr X got a string of 500, I should get one of a thousand at least. They start bursting it a week before and go on till very late in the night, regardless of the discomfort of others - man and animal alike. Many I know prefer to sneak out of the city for some peace and quiet, but not everyone can.

There was a time when fireworks were discouraged since it employs child labor. As a result, people lamented on the fate of the poor children while still buying bags of fireworks. And of course the environment angle would never inspire people to quit, no matter how many animals get terrified or injured, and no matter the amount of noise, smoke and garbage that result.

     

This Diwali, our first in Bombay, was as noisy. Rummy barely came out from under the furniture for the whole week. But it was also a time with family. My parents were with us. Our home was lit up. I had made small give-aways for our neighbors along with a box of sweets, and we even had some rangoli at the door. All of us got dressed up and went for a drive. It was good to see the buildings all lit up (we tried to ignore people playing with fireworks on the roads and near parked cars), and the neighborhood temple was all decked up too for the occasion.


Although a quieter Diwali is still a long way off, there is some hope because people are becoming aware of the hazards of fire crackers. Change usually creeps in very slowly, and before you know it, you will be celebrating a peaceful festival with family and friends the way it was meant to be. Hopefully, I will see that in my lifetime.

Time Flies - in a Hypersonic Jet

This past month has gone by without so much as a notice. During this time, things have happened, things were planned, plans got cancelled, work and life continued. It's times like these that make me melancholy, and gets me asking myself the age old questions: What is happiness? What am I doing with my life? What is all my material possessions going to get me? Why doesn't the dog stop barking?

The past month has been mostly about work. Trips were planned but could not get executed due to some reason or the other. The last movie we saw had a robot programmed to talk to mosquitoes. The weather has been hot and humid. Gymming has been irregular, and weight's fluctuating between 68.7 and 67.4 despite a 'progress chart' which was supposed to be motivating. The bread I baked didn't rise and therefore has awful texture and taste. To make a long bitching session short, there hasn't been much fun that has been had.

But there are things to look forward to, as always. People to meet, Diwali to celebrate, weather to get cooler, Harry Potter movie 7 to watch, and more trips to plan. That's the best way to find yourself out of gloom. Chocolate cake helps too.

Watercolours

The rain had been getting on our nerves - the mold, the gloomy weather, the mud, the traffic because of water logging and potholes - all of it just got a little too much. When you can't beat 'em - join 'em! So we decided to go for a nice long drive just outside Bombay and at least enjoy some views that the monsoon brings with it. Of course, our dear Rummy can't be far behind. Here he is all leashed up and ready to go!

The rain had ensured that there were more than the usual amount of potholes, which stretched the 2 hour journey to 3 and a half...each way! We couldn't spend as much time at our destination as on the road, but it was a good day trip. The only one we took this rainy season!

Random waterfall along the way

 

   

Follow Up

I had mentioned in an earlier post about a mudslide that rendered a few families homeless. Well, since then not much progress has been made. The hills are still being worked on, and the wall that was damaged by the incident has apparently given way to leopards that have have killed a few dogs. A few years ago there were reports of leopards taking away small children from another building. Yes...we forget that Bombay has it's very own National Park which we are encroaching upon as the city continues to grow, so the city has incidents such as these.

In other news, even after the bleaching and disinfectants, we are still struggling with mildew. It rained the whole of last week, and it is still drizzling sporadically. It is getting annoying now. Someone make it stop....puhleeze!

Husband and I fell ill after a long time. It was no common cold either. Husband first developed high fever and was shivering, and in Bombay the first thing that comes to your mind is Malaria. Scary! The country claims to be on its way to becoming a super power where diseases like Malaria and Dengue are still commonplace. But we digress. We got the Malaria test done and thankfully it was negative. As was inevitable, once he started to get better, I caught on the virus. Both are better now.

Rummy has been neutered finally. The day of the operation he was restless because of the anesthesia. He winced in pain and discomfort which made us feel like pure villains. But he slept it off and was ready for his walk by evening. He was put on the Elizabethan collar but he managed to get it off by dragging the flap across the wall and other edges. Problem: he kept licking at the stitches that resulted in swelling. Solution: make him wear the collar so that the flap is inside the cone. Took us a while to figure that out! But since he couldn't scratch is ears, he came looking for us to do it for him when the need arose! Cone and stitches are off now. No changes noticed so far except that he has stopped chasing motorbikes and cycles. Rather, he doesn't do that as often as he used to!