When I was younger, I used to have this notebook in which I jotted down some of my favorite quotes, sayings and articles that I came across first hand or through friends. It used to be a powerful tool to me back then. If I had a particularly rough day or was struggling with a situation that I couldn't grapple with, I would take comfort in the words hidden in those pages. I would fervently skim through the collection to pick some quotes to include in letters to my pen friends. I would eagerly look forward to the monthly edition of Wisdom (or was it fortnightly, my memory fails me) or the Readers Digest that my dad bought from the old book shops. I remember paying close attention to every word that came out of my very eloquent high school English teacher, so that I could put some of the pearls of wisdom in that notebook. If a friend visited me, I would show it off as my most treasured possession.

Today, when I dusted the notebook and swiftly turned the pages and glanced through the faded handwriting, I re-discovered the strength and inspiration that I drew from these words not so long ago.
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One of the sayings that my very eloquent English teacher often told in the class was on age. He would often say, "For some, wisdom comes with age, and for others, age alone comes",  to  a class that roared with laughter. Even after more than a decade, this saying keeps playing in my brain on and off . I was mulling over this topic last night as I was slurping the Thai take out we had ordered. In my mind I feared that I will get older without becoming any wiser. That I will not learn from my mistakes. That I will not act with a better sense of maturity. So on and so forth. After a while, the mood lightened and I forgot all about it. Once dinner was over, we reached out for our share of fortune cookies, eager to read what "fortune" was in store for us. (Reminds me of the "fortune" that the weighing scales at the railway stations used to predict back home).  Want to take a guess on what mine read? "It is better to be happy than wise". Hehehehe.... I think the universe is trying to tell me something - to chill out and not  take myself so seriously!
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While I am at the topic of words and sayings, why not quote a favorite phrase that I came across through a friend a few years back. Ever heard of the phrase, Throw your hat over the fence? What this means is, once you throw your hat over the other side of the fence, the only option is to go get it.  (The other option is to leave it, but keeping with the spirit of the post I am not going there). I may not know how to get that hat, but it doesn't matter, because once I make a beginning I will figure a way out along the way. It doesn't matter what deficiencies I have because I will learn to overcome them as I get closer to the hat. I love the wild optimism in this phrase. It tells us to blindly believe in ourselves and to just go reach out for our dreams.

I had a super-duper time this past weekend. On Saturday, my twin brother and I celebrated our b'days together after 12 long years.

Very often, people have asked us, what is it like to be twins? pretty much like any brother-sister relationship I guess. But I must confess that after all these years and after giving birth to a son myself, the enormity of what it must have meant in the earlier years is sinking in. Unlike now, when you can find out if you are going to have twins within the first few weeks of pregnancy, my mom was totally clueless until she delivered us. So when the doctor announced the news of our arrival, everyone but my maternal grandpa had tears of joy. My grandpa was worried how his "baby" was going to cope up with the two tiny babies. Fortunately for my mom, both of us turned out to be little angels :-). The truth is, there was an army of people taking care of us. My mom, dad, grandmom, great grand mom and why even the owners of the house that we lived in.

Arun and I were born 4 minutes apart, but he considers himself the "big brother". The notion of being the "younger one" suits me as well, so I never rebel. We are very different from each other - from our physical appearances to our personalities. He is fair and tall. I am not. He is an idealist and I am practical. It's hard to satisfy him but I am easy to please.  Like most brothers and sisters, we have had our share of fights and we are extremely protective of each other. If at all any, there is one disadvantage to being twins. It's easy for people to lose sight of the fact that we are two different individuals with different strengths and weaknesses.

To sum it up, It has been a fabulous journey with Arun, from womb to this day.

The days approaching new year used to be a special occasion when I was a small kid. Back then, making STD calls were expensive and were reserved only for immediate family. So we took the snail mail route to wish family and friends for the new beginnings in the new year. Appa is a very methodical person and it showed in every silly thing he did. Right in November, he would start listing out the names and addresses of people that he would like to wish, which was closely followed by shop hopping so as to purchase the right card for the right person. And with undeterred enthusiasm, he would personalize the cards using different color pens and stickers. Finally, the mailing of these greeting cards were timed so that it reached the intended person(s) right on time, neither too early nor too late. Once we were done with the greeting cards session, appa would buy magazines in order to follow the awards for the year. These editions received special treatment and were preserved for months to come. Arun and I would gang up with other kids in the neighborhood for who-has-the best-new-year-resolution contest. We would stay glued to the T.V. and especially looked forward to the 11 o'clock news which looked back at the year that went by and summarized the happening events. Every year, unsurprisingly, I would dose off at 11:45 P.M. only to be woken up by amma at the stroke of midnight for a new year wish.