Two trips, a marriage (not mine) and cash

That was a long break now.

In the interim, I have made a trip to Silvassa and a trip, closer home, to Kharagpur. Both were enjoyable for different reasons.

The Silvassa trip was that rare occasion when my parents, my sister and I were travelling together. I don't know if I have become more tolerant of my parents, but after the last couple of years' events I do try harder. Being around them has also become a lot more bearable now because I can feel that they respect me now. They probably did that earlier too, but I wasn't willing to see that. The trip was made extra-special because of the marriage of my favorite cousin to his long-time girl-friend. I abhor marriage ceremonies - I still can't reconcile to the idea of inviting the entire tribe for something this personal - but this one was fun because of the people involved.

I think, though the verdict is still out on this for the time-being, that I can't be happy on my own. Even if something really good happens to me I spoil it by feeling that it could have been better. The only time that I have noticed I am really happy nowadays is when someone important to me is happy. I love it when these people smile, and I think one can tell by the quality of a person's smile whether he is truly happy or just moderately so.

The Kharagpur trip was fun because of the company and because we won the two quizzes we had gone for. Earned some much-needed cash. In one of our Economics courses, and I take this opportunity to make it known that our Eco faculty is out-of-this-world, a prof had talked about how the students here spend based on expected income. It all makes sense when occasionally someone like me takes note of the cash-flows in and out of my bank account. The only saving grace is that it's my own money, or at least my own debt.

Coming back to the trip, after a long time I enjoyed travelling the way the average Indian does. Cheap air tickets have spoilt us. It did get a little painful on one occasion but quizzing the whole train journey back from Kharagpur to Kolkata using my laptop and getting stuck at Kharagpur station for a few hours and watching Pink Flamingos in the IIT-Kgp auditorium more than made up for it. Most importantly perhaps, my love for quizzing that had begun to wane a bit got rekindled.

Life's been good. And as an aunt of mine rightly guessed after seeing me at the wedding - I look happy after a long time now.