Heavy snow here. Bright and sunny. Everything is white and shining. Must be really cold outside, but I am in the warm office, looking out at a beautiful day. My love to dad too.

<nokia>Sending message…Message Sent.</nokia>

Yes yes, I know. Its been a month since my last post here. I am well aware that one of the cardinal sins of blogging is inconsistent writing. And I am guilty of it again. I won’t apologize, coz I have barely had time to breathe, let alone surf the net. I am quite proud of the fact that I managed to delete most of my comment spam within a reasonable timeframe, and saved any remaining readers from objectionable materials. But I do know and understand how annoying it must have been for any remaining regulars here. So, I will really try to be more consistent - things are getting a bit less hectic, and I will aim for two posts a week (putting a frequency down, hopefully, will make me stick to it). For all those blogs I haven’t visited for ages, I’ll dedicate this weekend for some serious catching up! And lastly, if you are getting sick of irregular updates, yet wouldn’t like to miss anything, do consider subscribing to the rss feeds (its on the right side bar). And I am really in a customer-service mode today - if you don’t have rss feeds, you can sign up for email updates everytime I write a new post - just drop me an email (also on the right side bar).

So, whats kept me busy so far? hmm..lets see. I started a new job. I must have met close to a hundred new faces in the last one month, many of whose names I can’t even begin to remember. Spent some quality time in Paris and Belgium for my work. Finally moved all my stuff to Amsterdam and set up my apartment here - picture frames, curtains, plants et al are all in the right place . And heres the bit I am most proud of - cooked and served a house warming dinner for 18 people!(i am never accepting any snide comments about my cooking anymore).

Bought myself a second hand bike, which looks like a second hand bike (a very important criteria in Amsterdam, or its going to get stolen before you can say “Ikakanabikaboo”) and did a fair amount of ‘bika-vanting’ and added to the confusion and chaos of Amsterdam roads with total ignorance of biking etiquette. As if that wasn’t enough, I further add to that whenever I exercise my non-existent driving skills, because I completely don’t know how to watch out for bikes when I am in the car (Its not as simple as it seems, really!). Bikes and cars should belong to parallel universes, definitely not on the same roads! Reading the Netherlands traffic rules book is definitely on the top of my to-do list (and has been there for a while now!) I signed up for skiing lessons and will spend the next few weekends on the slopes, in preparation for a grand ski trip in March somewhere close to Geneva (the destination is still a well-kept secret, which I am not privy to). If any of my insurers are reading this, maybe its a good time to temporarily suspend my insurance.

Despite all the external distractions, work (the usual suspect, isn’t it!) is really what is keeping me busy. Its quite different from what I used to do, and I am still in the adjusting-to-everything-around-me phase. But I am completely ‘lurrving’ it, which means I end up spending more time than I should at my work. Aha, and did I forget to mention learing dutch. Whoever told me that I don’t need to speak Dutch in Amsterdam (there were many of such people), is a complete moron! Yes, maybe to buy groceries at the supermarket, you can get away with English, but to work in an office which is predominantly Dutch, speaking the language is a definite bonus.

So, now I hope you can begin to forgive me for my MIA (that’s Missing In Action, if you have never done military time before) phase, and lets all make merry and have a great weekend.

I finally got around to writing the customary “About Me” page. It’s here.

I just looked at the date of the last post - I have been gone for almost a month, haven’t I? I spent the first two weeks of that learning Dutch in a old French chateau-looking place tucked away in the middle of nowhere in Belgium (that one deserves a post of its own). And then the next two weeks, ahem..ok, I was being promiscuous and trying out a few other blog sites and experimenting with having topical blogs, rather than one whole blog where I dump every junk that happens in my life. But you know what, I am back. I still think I might maintain a couple of those blogs, or I may decide to kill them - if they survive, I will introduce them here when the time is right.

I guess part of my fickleness with blogs comes from the uncertainties that have invaded my life, at the moment. After almost a year of commuting, I am in the last stage of moving completely to Amsterdam - by January, I will be wholly and severally ( I dunno what that means here. I have just been reading a lot of legal contracts and they always seem to say that) in Amsterdam. So, a lot of moving around and traveling these days and thats affecting my online life too. I cant seem to settle down in one blog home.

Ah yes, I had started to write about acquired love. Don’t you think love for someone or something is acquired? And I mean, love in general. Including, but not limited to, the one you feel for your life partner. I don’t always get it when people tell me about love at first sight. I mean, how do you know something is right with just one look?

For me, it takes a long time to like someone, or something. Like this blog, for instance. Its really taking ages for me, to feel comfy here. Given its my space in the online world, about time I felt at home! But I think thats just the way I am, with everything.

When I went out on my first date, I think I just wanted to go out on a date. I still remember I was so nonchalant about the whole thing, I showed up in an old pair of jeans and T-shirt and it was too late by the time I realised the guy who I was meeting, was dressed smartly in a turtle neck shirt, which I suspect he bought especially for the occasion, and have never seen him wear ever again. Of course, there was a little bit of love at first sight, but there was a lot of room to grow and to this day (yes, its been 6 years and am still with Mr.Turtleneck!), i still feel like I love him a little bit more with every passing day.

And the first time I started my current job - I hated it, hated it, hated it. In fact, two months into the job, I created a ruckus and insisted that I should be transferred into another department. I still can’t remember why my boss let me stay. Well, I am glad he did - coz I grew to love it. Slowly, but surely, I acquired a genuine passion for it.

Every country I have lived in (on last count, thats five), I have steadily fit into the place. Not that I get off the plane and go, “Oh! this place is so me! I am so gonna love living here.” Nope, never worked that way. Took lotsa time and effort to genuinely belong, anywhere.

Love at first sight is for some. And acquired love is for the rest. I guess I belong to the rest. So I will grow to love my little online corner and be regular here, soon enough. Soon enough. Just a little bit of patience is all I need.