Unassisted compliments...

Every once in a while, I have been in the spot where I fail to notice some noticeable changes in my better half.. It would either be a new dress, new earring, new bangle or just a new hairstyle.. I would just fail to compliment her on it.. It is surely not intentional. After she walks back and forth a few times it would then strike me that I am missing something and then most times catch the difference and sometimes I fail even then. I have come to realize that these "Unassisted compliments" mean a lot to them. I am learning it slowly and these days, I have started complimenting her on stuff that I have already complimented on.. Just to make sure that I am not missing anything.. This lands me in trouble some time.. But not as much as missing those "Unassisted compliments". So I had to choose between the better of the two evils... and I decided to go with the latter..
I have also come to learn that it does not take a lot to make ones better half feel special. These "Unassisted compliments" go a long way in achieving that and trust me it always helps me score a point every single time without fail.. I have started liking it and I can find myself noticing her even more these days looking for those subtle changes that will help me score a point..
Some ideas that I have to score more such points... (I am still in the process of implementing some of them)..
1. Surprise her at work one afternoon and take her out for lunch
2. When going out on a weekend, stop before you get into the drivers seat and open the door for her..
3. Wake her up one morning with tea or coffee..
4. Compliment her shoes..
5. Cook a dinner one evening before she comes home from work.. Make sure to cook something she loves..
6. Say "I love you" atleast once a day and mean it...
7. Put her clothes for laundry one weekend without her asking you to do it..
8. Rent a movie on a Friday evening that stars her favorite hero and watch the whole movie with her.
9. Make sure to check with her what she had for lunch every day..
10. Make sure to let her pick your dress when you are going out for a party together..

These are just a few I could come up with in the past 3 minutes.. I do not want to let out too much of my ideas and become very predictable.. My wife is usually the first to read my blogs. I am trying to imagine her reaction when she reads this one.. Its going to be interesting..

A perfect morning...

Its 7.45 on a cool fall morning and I am clad in my formals with my laptop backpack. I walk out of my hotel to the Starbucks around the corner with the morning papers in one hand and the other inside my jacket with the cool damp air hitting my face as I hit the sidewalk. As I enter the coffee shop, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee tingles my nostrils senses and wakes it up. As I stroll up to the counter to order my usual tall, no foam latte, I change my mind to go with the foam today. I also order a butter crossant to go with the latte. With the paper tucked under my arm, I pay the cashier and wait for my latte to be prepared. I glance around the shop to gauge the environment and I see a bunch of Asian students huddled around a small table gossiping. There was a 30ish gentleman connected wirelessly on his laptop skyping away on his headset. A couple of other people were busy with their beverages on the table and their heads inside the paper.
By then my latte was ready to be consumed. I mix it with copious amount of fructose and glucose to satisfy my taste buds and found a table by the window overlooking the side street. I sat down and started going over the headlines, occasionally glancing up to see busy pedestrians ambling along the sidewalk. Some with their coffee cups in one hand and a bag across their shoulders, some with their iPods in one hand and the morning paper in the other and some smoking their way to death... It was interesting to watch all these people busy in their own little world that they had to themselves just before a long day of work.
I sip through my latte going over once section of the paper to next. I was in no hurry to finish my coffee today. Latte with Crossant was just the perfect blend for a morning breakfast. It was a relaxed morning for me since I did not have to get to work until 8.45. I even finished going over the arts and entertainment section of the paper by the time I finished my coffee. I spent a full 35 mins in the coffee shop savoring my latte, the morning paper and the pedestrians(It usually takes less than 15 mins for me to finish a tall latte). It was one of those perfect mornings that I have read in a lot of novels and watched in so many movies. It was great to finally experience it.

Hectic days...

For those unflinching patrons to my little blogworld, I am back again.. Its been a very hectic 2 weeks. I cannot recall when was the last time I was this busy.. I was in town and still busy.. This week is not going to be any less busy.. I just got a free afternoon today in Toronto so decided to take a peek in the blogworld to see whats happening here and also to update my space..
Yes, I am in Toronto this week. Flew in yesterday and already fell in love with the city. I am staying at a hotel in the downtown area and the city resembles more like a European city than an american one.. Did not get to venture out much but decided to take the shuttle bus from the airport to my hotel rather than taking a taxi. This way, I was given a good tour of the Toronto airport and the downtown area. It costed me 1/3rd of what it would have cost me in a taxi and I got to see more places.. I usually do not take public transportation on my way in but always do it on my way out. This time, since I landed on a sunday and had some daylight in my hand, I decided to go for it.. The shores of Lake Ontario was lined with beautiful trees sprayed with magnificent fall colors. It was just picture perfect. These are the only times, I miss my Connecticut stay.
The downtown streets are as usual line with tall structures.. But what makes it look more European is the little sidewalk cafes and coffee shops. The climate is also just perfect. Light cool breeze which warranted a windsheeter kind of jacket and a warm sunshine both at the same time was just the right kind of mixture.
I am not sure if I would get any more time this week to go sight seeing. Although I am in no mood for sight seeing without my wife, the fall colors are just too inviting. Will surely visit with her one more time..
Looking forward to more hectic days..

Unpredictable life....

How predictable is my life? If I plan to go to a movie in the evening, what all can prevent me from doing so? If I plan to visit a friends house, what can go wrong? Over the years, I have learnt that everything that could go wrong can go wrong and will go wrong, even if I once doubted it..
I see my life analogous to the traffic on 101 when I go to work in the morning. I am all set to brave the long line of cars near the on-ramp to 101 on a monday morning only to find that I am the 3 car in the line from the metering light. But wait, I have learnt to keep my hopes down , by experience that I was able to get on to 101 this fast only because there was a big accident that was cleared 1 exit down and all the traffic and now piling up in front of me.. One can argue that I have learnt this lesson over the years and should be prepared for it.. Do you think I am not? Of course I am.. So I try to start early, go one exit in the opposite direction hoping that I may get on to the freeway a little faster than my usual exit.. Guess what?? It was just one of those days where everything has to go wrong and it sure did...
Now coming to my life.. I try to plan ahead as much as possible since I am not such a big fan of surprises.. One can call me a non-spontaneous person.. I have learnt, again, over the years, that whenever I try to become one, I have always blown it... Big time.. So I can say that I learnt my lesson.. So whats this got to do with my life being unpredictable? I find that the more I plan ahead of time, the more the chance of it being whisked right under my foot. I have sort of come to an agreement that given the uncertainity of my planned activities, I would rather not plan anything which I know for certain will not happen. Then how do I know what will happen and what will not? Here comes the classic Ferrian Quadro Dynamic multi classification theorem.... Sorry.. I was just kidding..
I have come to accept the fact that my life has become unpredictable over the last few years and I would rather take it by the day. I have no regrets over it except, I did not expect it to happen so soon. I liked the comfort zone of predictability. I hate the fact that I do not have the time to react to the unprecdictable events. Maybe I am not planning it properly. Maybe my plans need some fine-tuning.. Maybe I am just growing tired.. Maybe I am just growing old...