Merry 2011

I do not make any New Year resolutions as resolutions are only meant to be broken, after firmly holding on to them for a while. My first moments of the New Year were waking up feeling crap, like all the previous years after a night of intense partying. When will this madness end, I have often thought? Maybe when the bones feel stiff and I am marooned on a no man’s land. Whenever, however that happens, I hope I am still not alone!

This time we drove down to Caroline’s Springs, a suburb that looks like Gurgaon to me. Plain lands, new housing, not much greenery! Dressed up as hippies, we arrived to an ominous music and people in different dos that gave us a complex. Great enthusiasm. I had my eyes only on the beer as the weather was 40 degrees. I swear I did that when I was young, I dived at the drinks to combat nerves in a party full of unknown people. Now I am empowered that everything I do is out of taste and education on alcohol.

The other thing empowering is watching my friends and thank God, there were no visiting in-laws to the party. I was already warned that there could be one or two and that we had to watch our actions or tame them a bit. The in-laws always go back scandalised. Nats' mother once told me after she came back from Australia, “They are shameless people, they get drunk all the time." I laughed so much. But that is not to say she did not experience her 'sinly' initiation to wine. She said it helped to beat the cold.

I have experienced something unique in Australia. The women all cry when they get drunk. I wonder why. I only head to the loo when I am pissed (as they say here). At a post new year party at my place, another woman was found howling at the bathroom. The result: an embarassed partner left in a huff dragging the wife, leaving my husband in a near state of shock! He said later he couldn’t imagine doing that to me as he would be beaten black and blue. I revelled in the quiet knowledge that, at least, that is one thing he is quite sure about J