I’m in the airport on Christmas eve. Last time I was in the airport for Christmas eve was in 1998. That time I was flying from New York to Chennai. I had to be on air for Christmas.

Is a decade already pass by? Apparently yes. Did I notice it pass by? I was conscious some days, but not other days. Not many days were boring; most of the days were full of actions – of course some good & some bad.

Its another Christmas on air.

(btw, I wish you a merry Christmas & a wonderful year ahead)

When I was in Belgium, i.e. about 5 years back, I used to hate this holiday season. I thought the decorations were pompous, get togethers were superficial and celebrations were meaningless. Retrospectively, I view such hatred as a mere reflection of my depressed state. I went through a severe relationship issues and it made me feel as a complete failure; though in reality, I wasn’t a failure at all, when that one particular issue was pushed aside.

Even after that relationship issue was resolved and eventually I got married, I continued to harbour those feeling, although to a smaller extent.

However last year, at around this time, my mental models went through an absolute change with respect to this issue. I wasn’t bitter; I wasn’t hateful; in fact I was happier than ever.

Again, I believe it was a reflection of my state. Or may be it was a reflection of how I viewed my state. I thought, I was raising myself up from shambles – I had a happy marriage; I was becoming an independent consultant; I was going to be part of making this country little more competetive. It was all good.

And this year has been even better. I am the consultant & program manager for a new business vehicle introduced by govt of India; this vehicle has been welcomed and most talked about in the media; I sponsored a holy land trip for my parents; my earning capacity increased; but all of this become pale compared to the one fact that I gave birth to another life.

Given all the good things, its no wonder I’m full of happy thoughts & looking forward for the holiday season.

My friends & I have taken the Bible seriously and obeyed the command of Lord. Am sure the blessing of the Almighty will shower on us for our obedience.

First one to obey was my dear Belgian friend KD. KD has been a real good catholic gal – she got married on time and reproduced, twice. Am not sure she knows the first command of the Bible – B fruitful and multiply, but she obeyed it well.

I was little late, as in all cases, but I too will be demanding His blessings as I was obedient of the first command too.

Latest to join the marching saints is my another friend LA. Exactly a month after Piyo was born she gave birth to a beautiful baby gal.

Now that we obeyed the Lord’s first command, knowingly or unknowingly, will we keep other commands like “Don’t covet your neighbour’s wife”? Hmm…its easy for them. What about me?

Piyo has grown well and well attached to his aunt – my sister. He falls asleep on her shoulders.

But today was different. He was crying loud and often, for which we wer not able to find a reason – is he crying out hunger or some discomfort etc. May be babies are like that; we just don’t know it.

During my stay in Belgium, I used to go along with my friend Xavier for shopping. He prefers large shopping malls like ‘Cora’ instead of smaller ones like ‘Coluryt’ (I don’t know if the spelling is correct; I’m typing this on a mobile). His reasoning is that shops like Cora is a one-stop shops thus saving him both time and gas bills. Moreover there will always be some discount sale going on, thus overall he gains.

But he felt that whatever he thus saved meticulously was lost by some stupid mistake he later committed.

So our discussions would go as, is there truly any benefit of being frugal?

Such discussions long forgotten, come back to active memory triggered by similar incidents.

I planned to visit Piyo & Rani in Bangalore this weekend. Normally I would take a Kingfisher flight, primarily because I’ve a Kingfisher club membership and I’m satisfied with their services so far. But this time I wanted to be frugal. So I compared prices of other flights and booked an Indigo flight since the price difference was about Rs. 5000 for a round trip. It was too much of a temptation to let it go. I thought, I’ll give it a try this time.

The booking was easy – as expected it was online & I had my tickets within few minutes. No big deal; its no different from Kingfisher. But I was proud of saving Rs. 5000. I’ve saved one month worth of expenses. Isn’t it financially prudent?

My flight was scheduled at 20h30. At about 14h30, I get an sms that flight is rescheduled to 22h30. Hmm…first sign of trouble. Nay, it could happen to any airlines; atleast they informed it much earlier. I appreciated their usage of technology. I arrived at the airport at 20h00 and the front desk agent conveyed that the flight is scheduled to 23h00. I came well prepared; I had brought a good book to read. I checked in, sat in a coffee shop, ordered a muffin & a capacino and started reading the book. I finshed a chapter and another and yet another, but still the long waited announcement of flight departure. In fact even the last flight of the day has left but still no sign of our dear Indigo flight.

If I wouldn’t have been so financially prudent I would be either at home with my son & wife or resting in a lounge after good snacks. I wouldn’t have been typing this in a mobile.

After multiple long discussions, we decided that its better for Rani & Piyo to be in Bangalore than in Delhi, so that Piyo can celebrate his first Christmas with the family.

On Saturday, Mady drove the family – Joy, Appa & Amma to Coimbatore. On Sunday Rani & Piyo came to Bangalore with them. It looks like Piyo is attached to his aunt Joy.

I’m planning to go to Bangalore this weekend. Excited about it, as usual.

I came home with an idea of a peaceful weekend, especially after reading ‘Answered Prayers’. I wished to spend the weekend cozily toying on the bed or shoot some creative photos.

But fate has other plans.

As I entered the apartment complex, just before entering the lift, I noticed that the car cover has been removed. I didn’t think anything wrong with it; I thought the wind has been heavy. Only when I reached near the car, I saw a heavy dent on the roof of the car. I went to complain to the security and then to the apartment association. Nothing satisfactory outcome came through. I’m disappointed at the dent. I have driven for the past three years without any damage and now this.

Its cold, damn cold now in Delhi. Temp ranges abt 9 or 10.

The owner of the house has built it for investment purposes & so, its not properly insulated. Hence it feels all the more cold at home. I have to wear sweater & head cap while sleeping 🙁

Add to it the lonelyness – there is none to talk to, none to cook some spicy, tasty food, which makes this time all the more unbearable. Its going to continue until Feb.

It is unbelievable, but true.

For the past two weeks, I’m one of two-man committee in framing the draft of laws governing a new corporate vehicle – Limited Liability Partnership. It has been hectic but truly a rich experience. The sections of the law that we framed have been sent to the Minister for approval. After that, it will be sent to the law ministry for gazette notification.

I’m living the life true to the meaning of Joseph (read my other post: What’s in a name).