Going to church. On Sunday afternoon.

Im tired of ranting on my blogs, venting my heart out, going on and on about how work is draining me of energy and positivity. But the honest truth is, that it REALLY IS. I've just realised though, that going on and on about it, out here doesnt do much for me, except give me a space to express it freely. So I must stop, and focus on the good things that are happening side by side.

If you've been on my other blog, you'd know that Niyu was here for a good 2 weeks. Priya dropped in one weekend and took the shenanigans meter sky-high. So here's the highlight of her visit. Our visit to the Chapel of Mount Mary. A quaint old chapel atop a hillock. Not very well known by all. At least, I dont think so, because it is strangely desolate and deserted every time that I have been there. A gorgeousy stark white structure, overlooking Old Goa, almost like a sentinel watching over the old city.

I'll leave you with a few shots Niyu took, that perfectly capture the gorgeous day it was. While it was cloudy, overcast and there was a hint of a drizzle, the hot air hung around like a bad mood, making us sweat and feel tired. However, once at the chapel, we forgot about it all..

Head to VC's blog, to see his picture from the trip.

finding lost love again

An old love, revisited.
A bit rusty, a bit rough around the corners.
Skewed perspectives, forgotten techniques.
Yet, Im glad I rediscovered water colours again..

starved for choice

What happens when you visit Goa's most well stocked bar.

My first rafting experience

Last week, my office team went on an offsite to Dandeli. About 150 kms from Panjim.

It was my first experience:
Driving all the way by myself
Driving through ghat section at night
Enjoying the highway driving experience

River rafting
Sitting beneath a waterfall
Kayaking

All in all, a great way to get to know my team better :)

Panjim, going the way Bangalore did?

Yesterday, I heard that Cotton World has opened in Panjim. Immediately my little heart lept with joy. Not because I love shopping, but because Cotton World is probably one of my most favouritestest stores, and in the rare event that I do shop, I tend to go there.

In over a year that I have been in Goa, I havent shopped. I havent bought anything for myself. Mostly because there isnt a single place in Panjim that suits my fancy or my taste and inclination in clothes. Cotton World presents a perfect opportunity for me to undo that :D

And then I heard that Cotton World has opened in Panjim's first mall. Along with Westside, KFC, and from what I know of the place, inadequate parking.

As much as I am happy that I no longer have to ask my mom to shop at Westside in Bangalore and send across stuff to me, Im kind of sad that this is most certainly the beginning of the end of another charming Indian town.

3 of 3900 weekends

the latest weekend getaway was yesterday. a nice long drive to arambol, where iv been before. with anand in town, vc too got enthusiastic to hit the beach. after a good long 9 month hiatus for him. the workaholic in him doesnt let him see enough of the beach. thats life being a bitch -- making you WORK in a place like goa.

anyhoo, armed with the new 10-24mm lens and the beaut that is the 35mm prime, we set off. and here's what happened:

2 of 3900 weekends

a few weeks ago, the husband and i wanted to drive out to chapora fort. having lived here for over a year, we still hadnt seen it. the fort of dil chahta hai fame. tired of waiting for company to join us to make the trip we decided to go on our own, and this is what came out of it:

1 of 3900 weekends

the husband has a new blog. and his latest post has inspired me to come back here and document what we've been up to.

apart from being consumed at work, and feeling like we have no time to do much else, we manage to squeeze in weekends of fun, as his latest post will tell you.

almost a month ago, sirish, vc and i drove out towards old goa. stopped on the way at this alley that lead out towards the river. in an open space behind a dilapidated home was star -- a riverside eating joint. it had everything from noisy locals, to flies, to riverside birds, to creepy crows stealthily eyeing your food, to COWS (yes, you read that right).. but the most amazing fresh fish i have eaten in a while.

and naturally, where there is fresh fish, there are:

another weekend, another island, another morning with photographs to remember it by

date: 12 december 2010
time: 6 am to 9 30 am
place: diwar island, somewhere along the river mandovi

shooting sirish shooting the beginnings of sunrise at ribandar ferry point.

our car being driven off the ferry as we reach diwar island.

chasing the sun. literally.

..some more sunlight.

trying to make the most of the 50mm lens, since shooting wide landscapes is out :( tragic!

wild flowers. open fields.

and then some.

touch of light.

what can i say. thats 50mm glory.

atop the hillock on diwar island.

piyush paparazzi-ing everything in sight!

an IFFI evening

IFFI times are here. and evidently if youre into the artsy-fartsy movie scene, this is the place to be this time of year. im not, though. so i decided to stick to the food-festival part of it, charmingly set out along the promenade by the mandovi river.

as fas as i was concerned, IFFI could very well have been the international food festival of india, with everything from delhi chaat, bombay pav bhaji, nasik special gola, mysore special gobi manchuri (yes, manchuri!) and seek kababs, dum biryani, baida rotis and rolls.

we made an evening out of it, karishma and i, later joined by VC. beginning with beers at the kingfisher village, where we subjected ourselves to some really bad music and probably the most heavily dressed goans i have seen in a long long time. we then proceeded to try everything from the chaat to the kababs to the chicken lollipops and we also dared to sample the mysore special gobi manchuri.

here are a few snapshots: