Travel broadens your mind, BUT....

....narrows down your wallet. A lot. Vacations have become very expensive these days. Don't agree? If you need more proof, come near my house and feel free to listen on the huge 'gasps' and 'oh nos!' when our travel bills come in.

It's great when you start picking out exotic destinations. You get excited and start planning every detail. Go online. You shout - brace yourselves Expedia, Orbitz, Trip advisor - here we come. Carefully pick your dates. Crowded holiday weekends. Nah. The air fares go upto Mars. So, you cleverly avoid the peak times, yet, pick out a time when there are no hurricanes, cyclones etc that visit the tropics. Speaking of disasters, one thing that scares the bejeepers out of me is the dreaded "T" word. I can't even print it. Hint. Ocean - waves - recede - wash away.

Moving on to hotels. So many options - enough to give you a headache. Does it have a suite, a swimming pool, is it child-friendly, is continental breakfast included, is it nearer to the beach, is there a restaurant on-site? Etc etc. On top of it all, you need to check the room cam, ratings - give it the full works. And, when you think you've nailed it down to one hotel, some trivial fact comes up. You have been given a room in the 10th floor, which has a great ocean-view. But....but....there's no elevator service. &*#%@#. Because you have no burning desire to run for a marathon in the near future, you go back to searching for yet another hotel. All over again.

After what seems like eternity, you finally finish all the bookings. Aha. Go ahead. Give a pat on the back that you have done your best penny pinching spree ever. But, hey, wait a minute. This vacation is not until 3 months. Aren't you tired and exhausted with all this planning? I have an idea. Bright idea.

How about taking another smaller vacation before the big one- like, right now?

You and your compass....

Let's talk about what each and every one of us have within ourselves. That deep, down voice that tells us strongly what to do, not to do, what we ought to do but choose not to and regret later on with a "I-told-me-so", things that we wish to do but dare not try in our lifetime....you get the drift. Yes, it is that all-pervading, metaphorical inner compass, or the SatNavs of our lives that I'm getting into. Young adults think they have an independent mind, and do and act that way. In reality, though, in most of the cases, it's not even of their own choice, but out of peer pressure. Which interestingly, brings a point- whose collective, mob voice is it then? If everyone is busy copying someone else doing the same, then who the heck started the fire? No clue, but let's assume for sanity's sake that some life form starts a trend which gets viral, bacterial, whatever. And, suddenly there's a strong urge that compels every youngster to do it ...

Mothering Business....

Quite a bunch, aren't we? Not only burdened with the responsibilities of raising new-age kids who are high tech, but come with nope, not even a "Parenting for dummies" manual, managing a challenging and dynamic job-front, dealing with the social aspects of the family like being the perfect daughter, a good sister, the kind neighbor, a caring wife, dutiful daughter-in-law et al. Add the mundane chores of cooking, cleaning, gardening, chauffering to this list and - I know, my head is spinning too. Easy now, let's sit down for a minute. Most of the current gen mothers that I know take their diverse roles to their heart, and try to make the best out of it. It's business as usual for them. No big deal, they would brush off. But, I always wonder if we're all unconsciously trying to be "Supermums", especially the huge task of balancing work and home. We definitely want to be out having a career or a job which is what keeps us sane and yet, no way ...

Human Needs and Relationships....Part 1

Let's admit it. All of us as adult humans have needs, wants and desires. At first, they have and will be at a basic sustenance level of food, shelter and clothing, and once that's done, it moves to many different elevations above. Also, it always starts with material things like money, car, house, job etc., then kids (and the heavy price tag that comes with them) etc. Think of it as the " taking " phase. At some point of life, when many hairs have been "grayed-and-dyed" after, we hopefully evolve to higher-order thinking like social work, helping/caring for others or spiritual quest etc. - basically, chucking the hugely inflated and egoistic "me and only me" out and replacing it with a big picture view of "what i can do for others", "how i can be useful to Mother Earth" line of thought process. This would be the " giving " or " pay-back " phase. Sorry, life doesn't offer any free lunch, anytime, an...

C'est La Vie;That's life

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