Big Move & Blog Awards

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by Arundhati Basu

Anxiety is a deadly thing. It makes little coils in your stomach. So the days went by and I wondered everyday about where we would find ourselves at the end of this month. A week ago we were enlightened. New York it would be. We might choose to live in New Jersey but that is yet to be figured out. I know, you true-blue people who live in the city get all worked up when someone (erroneously) deems New Jersey to be a part of New York. I am not taking a chance of being clubbed by a New Yorker lurking around the corner of one of those glitzy avenues.

Yesterday after a long long chat with the woman co-ordinating our move about flooded gardens, motherhood, full-time work, the joys of putting up the feet with pizza and no laundry when the husband is away, I had to make another important call. The council office for a parking waiver because there is that small matter of the mover’s vehicle which has got to be parked on the double yellow lines outside our building. Now my darling, you never do that, e’en by mistake – park on double yellow lines that is.

You get a billet-doux of 70 quid, from a patrolling officer who will sniff his way to your car just like I find my way to cheese and popcorn. The councilman was a jolly fellow. I promise you that I had not expected a laugh with a councilman on all counts. But do not underestimate the chattiness of an Englishman. He asked me promptly where I was abandoning this fine borough for. “New York! You are leaving this little borough for NEW YORK and you expect sympathy, eh?” Chortles. “Just drop me a donut in return for the parking waiver”. The dilemma remains: To do or not to do. I mean I have bought hapless men drinks in bars (because they sweetly informed me that it was their birthday) without meaning to hit on them (which earned them the wrath of their girlfriends and me a scowl) but a donut presents a different degree of sweetness.

Now to the important business of answering questions. Some time has passed since I have been tagged by four lovely ladies, Cheila, Grace, Jamie and thebeyoutifulgal (do take a look at their blogs if you have not already), but I take things slow usually, so here we go with the awards. Except for Cheila’s Liebster Award and thebeyoutifulgal’s Awesome Blogger Award nominations, I had already participated in One Lovely Blog Award and Sunshine Blogger Award before, but Jamie had taken time to put out some questions of her own so I wanted to answer them along with Cheila’s and beyoutifulgal’s.

Off we go:

Cheila’s questions:

  1. What show are you binge watching right now?

Designated Survivor, Riverdale, Pretty Little Liars and Grand Hotel

      2. What are you reading?

Another Time, Another Life by Leif G.W. Persson, How it Happened by Shazaf Fatima Haider and Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough (because how can you even be in just one world when there are so many waiting out there).

      3. What do you usually go for if you’re cooking just for yourself?

Chilli garlic noodles

     4. What’s your favourite eye and hair colour?

Hazel and black

     5. What sports did you practice in high school?

Badminton has been a constant love. Baseball was fun too. Cricket did not leave its mark on me (I am shamelessly breaking stereotypes here – putting an Indian and cricket together is like arranging a sure-shot love match). I had a deuce ball fly into my face when I was about 10 and after it smacked me on the cheeks with the kind of hardness you can expect from a ball made of cork and encased in leather, it was a no-show for me at any cricket game.

    6. How many hours a day do you spend on the internet?

I do not even count.

    7. Do you choose your outfit in the day before or in the morning?

That very morning the bed will end up looking like a battleground, make no mistake about it.

    8. Can you play any instrument?

Harmonium. Have you even heard of it? I am terrible with phonetic alphabets, okay? So where you would normally use ‘Delta’ to indicate D, I would think of ‘Donkey’ or ‘Dumb’, both words you should not be using with a stranger, and where you would use ‘Hotel’ for H, I would probably pop up a poor, unloved ‘Harmonium’. I did it once at a store here and the girl in front of me had the blankest look possible. That is the day that I realised that the harmonium needs to be left alone in its corner. It does not care about recognition, it will have you know.

     9. Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather?

Cold though I do love spring. You have to understand here that I hail from India where temperatures on a hot summer day scale up to 50°C. But what I would take wholeheartedly is a British summer’s day with Pimms.

     10. What is your favourite fruit?

Blueberries and mangoes

     11. Can you swim? How old were you when you learned?

One of the many chinks in my armour. I learnt swimming at the age of 14 and I sucked at it because I could never raise my head to take a breath, but I Did learn it. Over the years, this necessary life skill has decided to abandon me. I have the wonderful Kristyn who has promised to teach me the art of one-legged swimming and I am waiting to become her protege and prodigy (in reverse).

Beyoutifulgal’s questions:

1.What impact do you want to have on the world?

I am not sure I want to have any impact really.

2. What is a skill you’d like to learn? Why?

The art of saying no without feeling like an ant.

3. What are you most grateful for?

For life itself. Most importantly, my husband, my family and this extended blogging family (you guys make me happy everyday).

4. If you had the opportunity to get a message across to a large group of people, what would your message be?

Let judgement take a back seat.

5. Which activities make you lose track of time?

Blogging, reading, talking and running.

   6. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?

Scoffing a scone.

Jamie’s questions:

  1. What is one unpopular opinion you have?

Hand over All the books in the world (Psst: I foresee stoning by hoards of book lovers in the horizon) and no one shall get hurt.

      2. If people start moving to Mars, are you going?

No way. This planet has too much happening for me to leave it for all the luxuries on Mars.

     3. What’s your favourite sandwich?

Ham and cheese

     4. If you could live in a movie, which would you choose?

Sabrina

     5. What’s your go-to snack?

Salted Caramel/Peach Melba yogurt with blueberries, pecans and pumpkin seeds.

     6. If you could turn into an animal, which animal would you be?

Polar bear. My husband loves polar bears.

     7. Coffee or tea?

Both! I could not decide which but tea relaxes me and coffee wakes me up.

     8. What’s your favourite go-to outfit?

A flirty dress

      9. Do you have any guilty pleasures? Share one!

Tsundoku. It is a Japanese word for someone who is a book hoarder and keeps buying them. The only exception to the definition would be that that I do read the books I buy, but after an extended period of time, because there is always a tall pile waiting on the bedside table.

10. Who’s your favourite TV show character?

There are so many but I will go with Sherlock Holmes.

11. If you got abducted by aliens, what would you ask them first?

You got popcorn?

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Arundhati Basu

The great affair in my life is to travel. I count myself immensely fortunate that my partner shares this passion. We are a team that likes to spend time planning and plotting out places to go. Destination check, flights check, accommodation check, cheesy grins check. Off we go.

91 thoughts on “Big Move & Blog Awards”

  1. You guys are moving to New Jersey? That’s exciting! Or was this part of a story? Forgive me, it’s past 10.30pm and i should sleep, but I saw you had posted and I wanted to read. It was fun to read all your answers! You really do love books ??
    I scoffed a scone yesterday I’m proud to say. I was hiding out in the kitchen and had to scoff it before the kids could see and ask for one ?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Tee hee, you evil girl. Why bother with a donut when you get a scone? I bet it tasted better while hiding. I know a thing or two about that (ref: when I was a kid I used to steal bottles of pickles and my brother’s share of chocolates, hide under the bed, or in the balcony, and wallop them with relish). No you read right. We are moving to NY. It is exciting alright even though my heart is not ready to leave this country! All the cows, horses and sheep shall feel abandoned xx

      Liked by 2 people

      2. You think they will smell of big city and urban living? Sigh. But I do have enough horses, sheep, llamas and cows in the story bank to help me make the transition. I am banking on them! xx

        Liked by 1 person

      3. It’s nice to have both, but don’t sell the city short. It’s got lots of beauty in an urban way as well as an old New York way. I went solo on my last trip there and just walked around staring at the architecture of old buildings. You’ll be newly inspired and some of your readers who are from the country may like to see what’s on the other side. I’ll be going back with my kids in June. It’ll be their first time, so we’re crazy excited.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Oh that is fantastic! If you have time at all for a cup of coffee, I would love to meet you and two excited little babies. Though I will have just moved and be in the process of searching for houses/apartments but hey let me know? I shall not sell it short whatsoever. I believe once you are in New York, you go a bit goggle-eyed. I think I will be goggling therefore a fair bit. All my friends who have lived there or studied nearby have proclaimed their die-hard love for the city and I think that image is already carved into the mind. Far be it from me to resist her charms 🙂 xx

        Liked by 1 person

      5. I would love to meet up absolutely! I am definitely with your friends on my die-hard love for the city. There’s just so much to love! Sigh. I wish I could go back in time just to experience it for the first time all over again.

        Liked by 1 person

      6. That first time is always so special isn’t it? I shall cherish mine since I know I will later miss it 🙂 And I shall hold on to that thought for the move and be excited! If we meet, that will be the cherry xx

        Liked by 1 person

      11. Wow! That’s a big move 😀 Good luck with it all! I’m sure you’ll find some new walks in your new home 🙂
        And yes the scone did taste better while hiding. I also use to find sweets hidden as a child and them scoff them as fast as I could. The thrill made it so much sweeter 🙂 I’m glad I can carry that feeling into adulthood 😀

        Liked by 1 person

      12. The child in us never goes away, I suppose. What matters is letting it out from time to time 😉 Thanks Angela. It is a big move and life will be disorienting for a while but hopefully fun nonetheless and the joys of discovering a new place should take away the sting of leaving here.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Okay, #1 Congrats on the awards–you are indeed an awesome blogger and full of sunshine. 🙂 #2 I can’t believe you sold me out on my one-legged swimming, gah! 😛 Now the question is if I will be plagued with people mocking me, or begging me to teach them the fine art of dysfunctional swimming. hehe. #3 Scones and Sabrina ❤ Are you for Audrey and Humphrey or Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Working backwards #3 Audrey and Humphrey! I watched both, the A & H version more than a few times. My heart beats for them #2 I am spreading the good word and your fame o future guru of mine. This could get us the menagerie faster than Hollywood #1 *silly grin xx

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Bwahahaha, our swim school will be a global phenomenon 😛 As for Sabrina, it has to be original. There is just no denying the magic in the original, and who can resist Audrey Hepburn or Bogey?? ❤

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Loved this post. I am totally with you on reading multiple books at once. I can never settle on just the one. Morning time clothes-picking is definitely a battleground. And you just gave me a name: Tsundoku. I’ll never have enough bookshelves, sigh.
    Can’t believe you’re moving to the USofA. How exciting. Bittersweet, I’m sure, but a new adventure.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Bittersweet. You got it just right with that one word, Lyz. So I try and read the funny ones once dusk falls because the creepy ones, if I am alone, can send the wussy alarm bells ringing. Especially when the eyes fly open in the middle of the night and I go as stiff as a cardboard. Except for in my parents home, where I have a library room, I have never had enough space for my books. Someday I aim to have a room like that to stop stashing my books away.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh a library. It’s been a dream of mine for so many years. Maybe one day I’ll just have to build an attachment to the house. I’m on two tall bookshelves and a half. When my kids see me buying more books, they sometimes laugh, sometimes shake their heads in disbelief lol. Me and you aren’t breaking laws, just giving books a loving home, right?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. An attachment to the house that is only for books sounds like heaven. Your kids and my husband seem to have somewhat of the same reaction. Though ages apart 😛 That means we are on the right track hun. Breaking laws? I say go on, break a few more. I shall be right there soon breaking some 😉 xx

        Liked by 1 person

      3. (insert evil laugh) Excellent. We may have to eventually throw potato sacks over their heads and tie them up in an unmarked warehouse while we hit the used book store, but that’s the price they pay for loving book-lovers.

        Liked by 1 person

      7. Okay this is strange to leave comments about your current post on my post! But the comment refused to appear again, so here I go: “Ahahaha for the last one. But heartfelt words. We do not even realise while growing up what mettle our mothers possess. It is only now that I look back and I see all the sacrifices as also the reasons behind the spatula smacking (though now my mother vehemently denies it!). Here’s to all mothers (even spatula-wielding ones ;)) xx ” Btw you’ve got mail.

        Like

  9. Cricket… Isn’t that where you play in woolen sweaters for six and a half weeks, always breaking for tea at 5 and when summer has turned into fall, the final score is 481.753 6/7 to 12? I am a big baseball fan myself, so I enjoyed reading about your favorite there. Also, hazel eyes and dark hair…. But I am drifting off. I had no idea you guys were on the move! Well, I certainly can’t wait to read about your experiences. I think I agree with your choice. NJ is fine for a short stay, but taking that commute daily? No, but thanks no. On the other hand, where does that leave us for the future of cow-themed hiking travel?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. LMAO. Valid points, Lars. 1) Cow-themed hikes, sigh. I think I shall have none of that in NY. It will have to wait till I return to this beloved country. But I have plenty waiting to pop out yet 😉 2) I shall keep you all updated with the Yanks and their mannerisms. I shall also do my best to annoy them 3) You are spot-on with the cricket talk! Ahahaha loved the summer-to-fall line. You know it alright 😀 I do not waste any more time on it ever since I found out how my time was being wasted while matches were being fixed and a whole lot of moolah made by some greedy cricketers. And there was silly old me getting all emotional and shedding copious tears during matches while my astonished brother would brand me ‘weird’.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Wow! You’re moving to the states! Blimey. If we get some funding for a project I’ll be visiting MA a lot in the next few years! You should go with the swimming thing. I’m a long distance swimmer – and I mean a long way…

    Liked by 2 people

      2. We leave at the end of this month. Solid stuff with the 2.6 miles, eh? I wish I could swim and feel as stretched out as a hardcore swimmer. I mean, those extra toned muscles I could live with.

        Liked by 2 people

  12. Congratulations! on your awards..loved reading all your answers , interesting that you learnt harmonium ..Good luck with your move and Welcome to the US ..hope to see travel posts from around here now 🙂 Enjoy!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Nisha 🙂 Harmonium is like a must dumped on the head of every Bengali girl. There is just no getting away from ‘kalchaar’ (culture) as it is said in Bengal 😉 Yes now a new (your) country beckons! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Wow! I love this!
    Firstly OMG you are moving across the pond?? so lucky and how exciting for you! What a lot of change though…are you excited? Secondly, i love the questions and answers -what fun! Good luck with all your preparations. xxx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Sophie! 🙂 All those exclamations are sounding off in my mind too. I am indeed moving across the pond. Excited but it is also mingled with sadness. This has been home, our first home together since we got married, so it shall be tough to let go. I think I shall carry the country and its loveliness in my heart wherever I go. Appreciate your lovely words xx

      Liked by 1 person

  15. As one who has moved countries more than once and who is currently in that same limbo-anxious state not quite knowing what the next stage is (will it be France, will it be Boston MA ?? or will it be yet another that I can’t talk about because it’s top-secret) I am delighted that your fate is sealed and that you are now planning the exodus and the new adventure. I loved my year in the States and there may be more to come, should be really but life has a habit of spinning googlies (that’s my cricket reference to you, of course) but I love it here in France. I think that’s the trick – love the one you’re with and always cleave strong to your real love (the husband) xx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You said it all with the wonderful googly thrown in. That is the one thing that matters, the husband, the rest shall come and go. I am sure it shall be a place full of joie de vivre and that it will jolt me out of my reclusive life. You are in somewhat of the same apprehensive place that was I have been for the last three months, is it? Well, I would say douse it with wine and cheese. There are some things that are just beyond our control. You might be in Boston? Well I shall be happy to hear that too because then we will be near each other somehow – though given the size of America I should not be making such silly statements. Well I will hope that what you wish for is what comes to you xx

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Boston to NYC is around 3 1/2 hours by car depending, of course where you actually are. We can meet and sit reclusively drinking wine and reminiscing about googlies and scones! I wish you the best of transitions and I hope that my fate will be sealed soon. In the meantime, Doctor Dippy I am happy to take your prescription of wine and cheese quite literally! Chin chin ? ? ? xx

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Hee hee. DD does her best 😀 Plus it helps when she has willing patients. I love the sound of the plan. You shall know where I am soon and let us keep our fingers crossed for yours! Here’s to the future xx

        Liked by 1 person

  17. Whaaaaat? You’re pulling a Carrie Bradshaw on me?? We’ll be so far away!! Meeting for coffee is an illusion now!! (cries in a corner). Loved your answers. So truly living is scoffing a scone? You’re such an inspirational speaker, love! BTW, I’m a Charlotte. xx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I loved Charlotte. Actually I do not know who I would choose but Samantha had me in splits. I am close to you in spirit my lovely. Plus now you shall have a home in NY! 🙂 I mean that. I am an inspirational speaker?! 😛 I will let the scone convince you on that score 😉 xx

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh my, Samantha is probably the funniest ever. I remember when Berger left that post it not for Carrie ending their relationship and Samantha read it and said “Well, at least the motherfucker is concise” Too good. (I watch it every year, I know many quotes by heart)

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  19. What happened with the doughnut? Did I read someone is expecting too? How exciting all these changes. Also, my favorite sandwich is ham & cheese although I’ve been recently reading about all these meats that are not meat at all – scary!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ahahaha, the donut is yet to be delivered. Though knowing my donut-devouring-wayward tendencies it might not get anywhere. Erm no one is expecting! I have a few friends who are but not mentioned here 😉 What do you mean by meat not being? The popular one is of horse meat used as substitutes but what is ‘not meat’?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh sorry, I read motherhood and then interpreted the wrong thing heheh (sorry!). Most ham, turkey breast and other cured meats have more in common with potatoes than with meat itself. While living in Chicago a kid died because of food poisoning and I read it was cheaper for the government to pay the family than to shut the factory. That’s when I stopped eating processed meats. No more ham and cheese sandwiches in the US for me I am afraid!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Not to worry at all. That is a terrible story. It is the kind of thing you see in films and shudder. Thanks for pointing it out to me! I shall keep my ham-and-cheese sandwich cravings on check.

        Liked by 1 person

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