2005...

I have been flooded with “Happy Birthday” mails since morning.
Ten mails till now…from people in my company I have no clue about.
And nope…today isn’t my birthday.

Some of the mails go like this, “Happy Birthday! Happy 2006”. I know I feel old. Heck I feel OLD. But definitely not 2006!

Even as I type this post, the wishes keep pouring in and with equal alacrity are people “replying all” in gay abandon. There was this one mail that had around 100 ppl on the mailing list, and a single happy birthday. And now each one of those 100 guys is bent on wishing the mystery birthday boy.

I am seriously confused. Is this some new trend of greeting the birth of a new year? That sounds like a noble thought, but why bug me with such mails!

You have spam…and you have polite spam. I don’t have the heart to tell these people that I am actually not celebrating my birthday sometime this weekend.
“Don't forget to call me... :P” he tells me.
“I don’t even know you. Nor do I have your number…what makes you think I will even remember your name” I yearn to tell him.

But I don’t. Why? Today is that time of the year. That time when people begin to talk about how fast the last year has moved. The last time I checked, time moved at 1 second per second. Never an inch slower or faster.

Since that is the flavour of the season, I might as well talk about the year past. Let me begin with, “It is indeed so surprising that time moves so quickly. In fact, it feels like just yesterday I was getting done with my courses…” Oh crap! I don’t have the energy to do that again.

2005 was a year filled with many highlights and firsts.

First and foremost, I never got to see Rajneesh the entire year. Not once. Since 1995, ever since the inception of the Gang, this year is deplorable in this respect. Rajjo, I won’t forgive you for this! My bike, with its near deflated tyres, yearns for your “holy weight”!

First year when I started a religion. I was going to write “we”, but the ex-God is ex for a reason. Which leads us to the next first.

First girl to be inducted into the Gang - Mary. All those shouting at the obvious hypocrisy being perpetuated by this God, I have one defence: ......... I am too egoistic to accept the lack of a defence…so try to imagine a puzzle out of nothing, and crack that cipher.
[As an aside, a few non-Gods would be hoping for this count to increase. All the best for that]

First roadtrip. Make that two roadtrips. Munnar & Mudumalai.

Return of Achuth.
(Rajjo, are you listening???)

First nephew. Oh yeah…I became a maama! (Knowers of tamil slang, wipe that smirk off your face!)

Acronyms galore. In fact, I came up with one just today morning – CCC (;-)). The others from the year are MSM (Misplaced Sense of Machoism), FNU (Friday Night Unwinding), AGGB (ahem…better left unsaid).

Obviously I have omitted on a lot more things that have made this year so…hmm…I am a bit wary of affixing any adjective that might jinx it.
[Speaking of “jinx” reminds me of an old incident. We guys always had this knack of picking drunken co-passengers in the BTS buses. And inevitably, Rajjo would bear the brunt of their “advances”. On one such occasion, Rajjo glared angrily at me and said, “you are a jinx” on hearing which, the drunkard went, “drinks-a? Yaenu drinks? No drinks!”.]

Hmm…so, in toto (;-)), 2005 was pretty eventful.
New friends.
Old friends.
Happiness.
Sorrow.

Well…the usual.

Sigh…I need a drink.
“One fresh lime soda – salt please!” ;-)