SHELL SHOCKED AND HEART BROKEN

Everything in my life was returning to a happy place. The legal battle over the tenancy of my south Bombay residence was partly laid to rest when the supreme court issued a judgment in a similar case that protected my towny ass from being evicted.

My long time friend, colleague and now partner and I finally settled on a name for a company. We are calling it Talking Heads. We finished all the paper work and business was ready to roll. It seemed that the turmoil and anguish of life from just a few months ago was all finally a thing of the past. But life has a way of knocking you off your high horse. Ironically life also picked Valentines Day as the day to come a’ knocking.

I was determined not to be a hater, so what if I was single I still loved lots of people. I called and wished them. I bought some candy but that’s as far as my Valentines Day spirit would go. I was going to keep my head out of the clouds and my nose out of trouble. Today was going to be uneventful; I would go home and chill with my parents. Like the boring 26 year old I can sometimes be.

But it’s a Friday night and of course someone somewhere is throwing a party and I got invited to one of them. Of course getting drunk with the buddies beats being boring at home with the parents. So very quickly my plan to keep my nose out of trouble was altered. Many hours later and a few drinks down I left the party a little wobbly. I got on a friends bike (a friend who wasn’t drinking). We rode on his magnificent Enfield the chill of the Mumbai air in my hair. I was pleased with myself I had survived the night head held high heart intact. In fact I had fun, lots of mad, loud fun, with some of my favouritest people.

But that was not the end of the night. Why would it be that easy!!

We were riding, me with my many bags one hanging from each side. When I felt the weight on my shoulders lighten. One of the straps of my many bags had snapped. I turn around to see my bag is now on the road a few feet away. I stop the bike get off and run to it but before I reach it a giant SUV runs over it and I feel like someone pulled my heart out and then stepped on it. The bag that just fell off a speeding bike and then got run over was the bag holding my laptop, my very expensive mac book pro laptop. The laptop I saved for many months to buy. The laptop that was only a few months old I might add. 

I pick up the bag, dust the tire tracks off. My hands a little shaky, I’m shocked it is not 2 separate pieces. I open it and the screen display is perfect except for a couple of cracks and some shards of glass that are now in my hand. Besides that the laptop works perfectly. I bow to thee oh great ‘Apple’ how durable art thou!

Anyway long story short, mac doesn’t cover laptops getting run over by cars. SHOCKER!! Getting the screen repaired is going to cost me close to 50 grand, which for a self-employed sap like me, is heartbreaking not to mention bankrupting. But we live in the land of jugaad and someone; somewhere will do it for less. So I got it done for 15. What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger and more broke. 

Disclaimer: This blog post was written on a mac book pro that got run over by an SUV.  GO APPLE !!

FRIDAY THE 14th

Sometime last year I broke up from what was a pretty long and serious relationship. I forgot how dreadful and lonely the holidays were as a single person. Christmas went by relatively smoothly, with lots of food and family. But the New Year would not be as easy. To compound my horror, of bringing in the new years in as a single person was the guest list of the party I had chosen to go to. It consisted of the couple that had been married two years, the couple married a month ago and a couple that would be married in a month. YEAY FOR ME!!!

Married people are horrible, they are all happy and blissful setting up their homes, planning their lives, optimistic, and dripping with mushy goodness and love lets not forget the oozing love. YUCK. For their part the couples tried their best not to ooze their super sweet happiness around me, I got lots of consoling hugs and conciliatory and reassuring ‘there is a perfect guy for you out there’ comments. The night passed and I survived only to be alive and kicking for the next holiday extraordinaire.

The holiday most dreaded by all single people is almost here. There is no running, no hiding and no Shiv Sena to help counter what will happen. I thought I was going to ignore it but facebook (that bitch) wont let me. 6 different online valentine day sales, I better hurry! Maybe they mean I should hurry and find my self a man. Best of luck with that I say to myself.

My loathing for holidays and married people is not a common factor in single people. Some single people are far more, well adjusted to being single than me; maybe they’ve had more practice. I haven’t quiet figured out how to be ‘okay’ alone. I don’t mean in isolation, though I find that hard as well. I mean single alone. Hopefully I will survive Friday the 14^th with head held high and heart intact.