And sometimes it's like I never left at all

What better way to celebrate the eve of Women's Day than with a crippling hangover, eh? Although I'm really not sure why it IS so crippling. I had maybe four drinks, and back in the day, you know, when my metabolism still was set to super high and I could go a couple of nights with no sleep, I never had hangovers. And now? I might be ID'd at bars (once more on Thursday) but clearly, my system feels all of its almost-thirty years.

Since I've been back in Bombay, I have found myself uncontrolably drawn into the sort of social whirl that even Paris Hilton might balk at. I've been out every single night since my return, not even pausing for jet lag (which finally kicked in on Wednesday causing me to sleep till almost four pm). The consequence for all this drinking has been a) a very, very quiet Saturday evening spent at home watching Splitsvilla on MTV and b) an upset stomach (one more thing age does to you). I am briefly comforted by the fact that I have a "brunch" to go to tomorrow, where assuredly, most of the contributions shall be liquid. My own addition to the potluck are my very famous (well, to me) Bloody Marys, that I do to perfection. (Stomach just rolled over at the thought of that. Oh well. Make mine virgin.)

Soooo, the party last night was a little odd. I mean, it was nice and all. The house in particular was lovely, a split level apartment, balconies everywhere, great view, entertainment etc. But since I didn't know anyone (I went to keep a friend company) I was free to observe to my heart's content the lifestyles of the rich and famous. And everyone struck me, under their shiny, happy demeanours, to be a little unhappy. Maybe I'm just projecting, maybe it was the violently pink drink I was given, but I dunno. At the end of the day, I was quite happy with my own small flat and my own less than rich and famous lifestyle. It all seemed very big and lonely, if you know what I mean.

Oh em gee, the Global Fusion buffet lunch? HOW have I been missing it all this while? It's all you can eat SUSHI and then other stuff, but still SUSHI, which I have been craving and can only afford the cheap Candies version of, this lunch is Rs 475 (for girls, which okay, is blatant gender discrimination but since it's skewed in my favour, I accept it) and is ALL YOU CAN EAT. Plus coke-shoke and dessert. (It's above Croma, opposite KFC, off Linking Road). My friends were having a sushi eating contest, but I was content to go back and reload till my eyes drooped and I had to unbutton my jeans. And it's really good sushi too.

I need a new laptop. This one is driving me insane. For one thing, the battery's given out, so I can only use it when it's plugged in. For another, it keeps hanging and Ctrl + Alt + Del doesn't work anymore, so I have to shut it down with the power button, which cannot be good for it in the long run. Andddddd, it's really slow. Suggestions on which one to get? Here are the specs I need: a nice large screen, so I can watch stuff on it, good battery life, lots of memory, and light enough for me to carry places, which I do frequently. Also not too expensive, so don't bother suggesting the Macbook, which is pretty, but not worth it for someone who just uses the computer to write and surf the internet. Some friends say Dell, some say HP, some say Toshiba and now I'm all confused. Also, if you know of any place in Bombay that does exchange deals, so I can swap my old one for a new one and which does EMIs, that would be great. Internet, I depend upon you.

I've been a Twitter user for a while, but since I'm not blogging with the same frequency I used to, Twitter is now my fallback. I JUST discovered how to send Tweets with my cellphone and now I feel like I can say stuff constantly. Plus, I'm getting used to the character limit thing, so I now sound, well, a little smart as opposed to long winded and rambly.

Oooh, and I saw Orhan Pamuk the other day! When I say I saw him, I mean, I went to his reading at the British Council, but it was so full that I was stuck outside, watching him on a screen. Although he did pass all us screen watchers and give us a little nod, which is kinda like seeing him read in person. No?

Exciting times but next week, no, TOMORROW, I shall get down to real time serious work on all the writing projects I have pending. I've been procrastinating and procrastinating and now the little part of me that needs to hibernate and write is making itself known quite clearly. Creativity is once more beginning to bubble, which is awesome, because for the longest time I had this terrible writer's block. Unblocked now, with some mental Pudin Hara and I am all determination.