The sitcom that is my life...

Last November, on the Bonfire night, I had gone out on a date with this Greek-Albanian guy I'd met randomly somewhere. It was absolutely the most boring date I've ever had! He could barely speak proper English. How he stayed in England is a mystery to me. But, his English was so basic, that once we asked each other what do we do and where we are both from, we were pretty much stumped for conversation. Coming from such varied and rich cultures, we should have had LOADS of things to talk about. But the moment I'd say even ONE big word in English, he'd start looking all perplexed. And explaining things to someone who is hyperventilating for not understanding is not my cuppa tea. I asked him if he liked reading. And he said, "No." Yea, just that, no explanations, no asking me if I did, nothing at all. Just, "No." And THEN! He said, he liked singing. And he started humming a song. In Albanian. In the crowded, noisy bar. IN MY EAR! How I wanted to burst out laughing! Needless to say, I never met him again. 

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A couple days ago, my father asked me what I was trying to tell him the previous night. I told him that I was asleep even before he came back! So, obviously, I didn't talk to him. How could I have told him something? Apparently, as it turns out that he had come into my room after I had gone to sleep and when he was there, I mumbled something in my sleep and then shouted out numbers "2100" and "2500" before going back to sleep. I have absolutely no clue what those numbers meant. I just know that it's dangerous if I talk in sleep because fortunately, this time, I was talking to my dad in my sleep and shouted out numbers in Gujarati. But what if I was talking to someone else? Like Sun and Moon? or Atom? My dad would be scarred for life! :P

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Later that day, Hoppy came to our house and both of us were fooling around. Then, Hoppy went and laid down his head in my mum's lap. I got jealous and shooed him away and went and laid my head down in my mum's lap myself. Hoppy, being the mischievous little brat that he is, came and snuggled in next to me, subtly trying to nudge my head out of my mum's lap with his own head. There was much tickling and laughing and we both ended up taking pretty pictures of lovely bhai-behen ka pyar in my mum's lap. :D

Last night, I went to Hoppy and my grand parents' place. My aunt (Hoppy's mum), my granny and granpa and I, we were all talking about adult worldly things, like reconstruction, building towers in place of old buildings and houses etc. Hoppy got bored and piped up, "Granpa, have you also worked in a construction company when you were young? How do you know everything about everything? If my cycle is broken, you repair that. If the bulb or the fan is not working, you repair that. If there are problems in the building, you know the solutions. Why do you do everything?!! This is your age to shut up and do your own religious things, no?"

Hoppy-isms

Hoppy, my 10 year old cousin. (See, I'm so intelligent, no?!! Happy + hopping all over the place = Hoppy! :D No? You don't think so...? :( Ah, well, I think it's an intelligent name! So, there! :P)

As children are, he is often the source of entertainment in my drab, drab life! :P 

Being the youngest in the family, he is often called "baby" by everyone. Once, when he was about 6 and we had gone to Rajasthan for a holiday, he had just woken up from an afternoon nap and I said something to the effect of "My baby has woken up!" And he just started screaming, "What baby, baby, baby?! All the time baby, baby, baby! I'm not your baby, ok?!!" causing all of us to burst into peels of laughter. On the same trip, whenever he was tired, he would say, "Uncle, my tyre has gone flat." And my dad would have to "fill air in his tyre" by basically going back to the hotel/ car if we were too far away and letting him go to sleep. Once he rested properly, he would wake up and say, "Uncle, my batteries have been re-charged. Let's go somewhere!" 

Recently, after I came back, my mum made pani-puris (golgappa, puchka, whatever you call it! ;)) and the mint pani was a bit spicier than it usually is. And he couldn't have it with as much relish as he would have like to. But of course, he can't say that my mum made a mistake in cooking. It's an ultimate insult to her! :P (Now that I think of it, it's awesome that he's learning that so soon, when he's only 10. I think there are some thing boys must learn from their mothers' wombs and come. And not criticizing women in something that they are good at is one of them. It's the recipe to a healthy life. :P) Anyway, since he couldn't say anything to her, he turned on my dad and screamed, "Uncle, if you want everything spicy, why don't you keep some chillies separate for yourself? Why do you make aunty put them in food for everyone? Now, no one except for you can eat this!" And boy, did we all laugh! 

See his naughty smile? Here's what he must be up to: 

Mischievous that he is, he used to always pull my leg. (Ok, you probably will too, if I tell you why but hey, I'm possessive about my things, ok?!! :P) I have a specific plate and a specific spoon that I use in my house. No one else should use it and I definitely don't use anything else. And Hoppy, knowing this, just before I sit for my meal, will grab my plate and spoon and serve himself. And I scream at him and everyone else in the vicinity. :P Then I went away to England and Hoppy was bored. So, he turned on to my father and started doing everything that he does. He would want to sit in the same chair that my dad uses and drink tea from the same cup that he uses. So much so, that once, my mum was scared that both of them will break the chair and ordered two new, exactly same chairs for both of them. :P And if he is ever staying over, as soon as he hears my dad's bike come up inside our building, he'll go and sit next to my mum in front of the TV. Since, my dad always does that when he comes back home from work! 

Sigh. I don't want him to grow up at all! He seems to become taller and older and more mature everytime he comes here. And I wish he would just stay my baby and do silly, stupid things for us to re-capture our innocence for a few moments when we are with him!

This is him doing a silly dance pose for the camera at a cousin's wedding venue, after the ceremony was over. Hee.