DAY 100.

And that my friends is the end of my 100 happy days pledge!

Lots of memories, lots of struggles to find something happy in the day, hurried flashes of camera, getting out of bed half asleep after having forgotten to post the day's happy picture, and penning some beautiful pieces on days like this and this! Oh and this too!

Pursuing this taught me a very important lesson - Even on the worst days, there's a possibility of joy! Earlier, only Kate Beckett spoke it, now experience does too. 

And I have not been alone in this 100 day journey! Without my family and friends to give me the much needed support, I wouldn't have managed even a day!

Their lovely smiles, crazily optimistic spirits, penchant for unconditional love, a "Hi!" here, a "How are you?" there and sometimes just their being around was enough to make my day.

Dance like it is the last dance. Live like it is your last chance. After all, only cats get nine lives! A little craziness wouldn't make you insane. Been there, done that! ;) Unless, you think I am damaged beyond redemption, then you should steer away from the advice (AND THIS BLOG!) right away.

Technically, this may be the end of my 100 happy days, but I will carry forward this experience for the rest of forever. 

Oops! I could continue typing away but this technically marks the end of my one hour break too and now it is time to get back to my live-in partner - my beloved books!

Psst - There have been days when I have skipped posting, but can we keep it to ourselves, please? A day or two can be forgiven and forgotten right? ;)

Psst again *very discreetly* - My other blog completed a year today! Yay!

Day 71!

Thank you Mommy and Daddy! Thank you little sister! Thank you Twin Soul and Toto, the monkey! Thank you Jakarta Girl! Thank you onion seller! Thank you to all my office friends who braved the heat and the finals to join in the celebrations and mock cake fights! Thank you all of you! Love you guys a lot!

Day 69!

Happiness is your 8 year old cousin calling you to scold you about being online on Whatsapp rather than studying for your CA finals!

Yeah, he's 8 and Whatsapping. That's a matter for another day, another post.

Thank you for the smile!

Day 67!

Long drive. Check. Night time. Check. Coffee shop. Check. Loud music. Check. Happiness. Check.

Don't let time fly!

Kabhi kabhi toh milte hai (we meet very rarely), my cousin said yesterday evening. That is exactly what has been going on in my mind since then! How rarely we manage to get time out for the ones dear to us!

We're all so busy with our lives, our work, that the time left has to be spent very carefully to satisfy all. A year ago, when I was preparing for a major exam, I’d only spent time with my books for around a month or so. And at that point of time, I’d promised myself, I’d give time to all that I’d neglected during the preparation. And I had later. But today a year later, when I’m going to office on a regular basis with no long vacation in the near future it is so difficult to please everyone in one Sunday!

Today we live in such a competitive world, racing against time, immersed in our work, involved in our own lives that we fail to regard the other important aspects of our life. Our relations, our friends, our passions, our pleasures ― they all take a backseat. And we fail to understand when that backseat turns into neglect.

And years later all we will be left with will be regrets, unfulfilled wishes, laments...

You don’t want to live that way. No one does. So before you get lost in the whirlpool of distractions, stop for a while, take a deep breath, think about all those people you’ve been meaning to talk to for a long time and give one of them a call. Any one.

You’ll hear the smile in their voice! Trust me. Cuz I just did!

Once in a while, give yourself a break. You deserve it. Every one of us does. Just laze around. Relax. The world won’t come to a halt if you ease up a bit.

As the world proceeds ahead, tougher do the times get! But, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”