Out of the frying pan, into the fire?

Have I mentioned that I am a neatness freak? I like things to be organized and neat, so I can find what I want when I need it. My brain is not functional in an environment of disorder. So, it is very important to me for my workspace to be clutter-free. I’m not exactly a “Monica” but I’m close in a few aspects.

At work, we have this row of desks, which is shared by some grad students and some staff. My earlier neighbor was a mess, literally. In spite of having more space for herself, she would always find my desk-space more convenient to dump her things on. Her papers, stationery, food and anything else would land right on my desk as it always happened that her desk was so full of clutter already.

My other neighbor liked to drink warm water. So, she regularly filled up her bottle to the brim with scalding hot water and left it open on the desk (next to my computer) for it to cool. Imagine my plight when I discovered this for the first time. She was very sorry but not as sorry as I was.

I was delighted when I discovered another desk, which had freed up. So, I requested to move there. Since my new neighbor didn’t have too much stuff around her, there would be less clutter. Or so I thought. My happiness was short-lived when I discovered her chopping up her split-ends with my scissors and dusting her fingers on the desk. The same thing happened when she ate biscuits. Off came the crumbs on my keyboard.

The person who sits on my other side now is another story. She has all these lotions and potions all over her desk. Starting from moisturizer to perfume to hand-cream to face-wash, it’s all there. Considering that she practically lives there, I don’t blame her for making it so comfy. Add to it her collection of soft-toys and a soft pillow for her afternoon naps; could it get any weirder?

And I always thought, I was the weird one.

This is for you, V.

You ran away from home together, when you were still in school.

You committed all your first sins together like smoking your first cigarette and drinking that first beer.

You were a notorious twosome and they had many a nickname for you.

You know each other’s deepest darkest secrets.

You laugh at each other like there’s no tomorrow.

You call each other names that you would never tolerate from anybody else.

You don’t want to shop together because you know that you’ll end up liking all the same stuff and fighting over who buys it. Even when you don’t shop together, you end up with a similar wardrobe.

You can’t be any more different from each other, but you are still so much the same.

You really connect and can take off from where you left even after months of no communication.

You have so many memories together that you can’t even remember a life before you knew her.

She knows something is wrong even when you don’t mention it.

She’s your one-man cheerleader who also knows exactly how to cheer you up.

She has stuck by you through all your bad times and pulled you through it all.

She knows about all your unspoken fears, because she has the same.

She was mad when you left and 3 years later, she still gives you grief over it.

You don’t say it often enough but she knows what she means to you.

Only if you’re extremely lucky, just once in a lifetime you make a friend like that. I was lucky I did.

Getting out of comfort zone

I ate lunch all by myself today.

No, I wasn’t watching TV at home and no, I wasn’t at my desk.  I actually sat by myself in the canteen, all alone on one table and ate Japanese food, all by myself! And I actually enjoyed it.

I am so proud of myself.

PS: Yes, I’ve never done that before.