The Winter shopping

The seasons in Europe are clearly marked and they make their presence felt during that time too!

Dec, Jan, Feb - Winter
Mar, Apr, May - Spring
June, Jul, Aug - Summer
Sep, Oct, Nov - Autumn

So, right now Germany and of course, I am experiencing Autumn and I can't describe it in words how beautiful the trees are looking right now with their orange, yellow and red shades. Slowly all the leaves will wither and the trees and the mountains would look sad and barren and frightening. The first-timers to Germany are looking forward to the snow and the beautiful sight which it brings with it. I have seen the snow 2-3 times now and I am really not waiting for it eagerly. It is a beautiful experience when one is at home, inside, in a cozy little place with some nice music and a coffee to sip and a favorite book to read. Not when one has to walk and catch the train and go to office or bring the child back home from the crèche, struggling with his pram, trying to make way in the snow clad streets. So, to be fully prepared for this and make my life easier during the coldest times, I decided to buy a good pair of shoes and jacket. I knew that I had to invest a good amount for a real good pair of shoes and a winter jacket, but as I was going to spend 2 winters here, I decided to go for it. There is a saying in German 'Es gibt kein schlechtes Wetter, nur schlechte Kleidung', which means there is no bad weather, it is only due to the fact that we do not dress up properly that we feel that the weather is bad. I didn't want to take any chances this year as I had to take care of Tanay properly and for that I need to be fit and sound. Not that I slip and fall in the snow or get cold and fever. 

My Indian neighbor here came to my rescue. She is a great fashionista and she loves shopping, she is also well aware of what is available where and at what price. So, we both marched to the market and found all that I need in my town itself. I just had to cross the railway station and I found two good pairs of shoes and a winter jacket and a winter coat, all in good 180 Euros! I was very happy with the stuff that I got and I said to myself thinking about the winter, 'Bring it on'!! And the week I got the stuff, the temperature dropped down to zero degrees and I got a chance to test the jacket and shoes for the same. And to my amazement, I did not feel cold at all. I was very cosy in the winter jacket and the shoes provided warmth to my feet and I was so happy to walk to office that I did not dread the winter anymore. In the next week though, the temperature rose to 12-13 degrees and when I wore this stuff, I was sweating. I realized, that these shoes and jacket are worth to wear only in sub-humane, (i.e. 5 degrees and below for me) conditions and I put them aside for a week or two. I also checked the weather forecast for the month of October and November and snowfall is not expected till November end at least. Let's see if we have a White Christmas this year in Stuttgart, which has actually happened rarely.

All these times, when I was in Germany, I hardly had a good jacket and a good pair of shoes to fight winter. I feel amused when I even think of it. How did I walk with sport shoes in the snow last time when I was here? What was in my mind when I did that? Thankfully, I didn't injure myself. Now, this time, with age and maturity and experience, I am well equipped for the harsh winters in Germany and I wish if I had proper clothing in the years that went by, I wouldn't have dreaded German Winter so much!

Na, ja, all's well that ends well!

 

Boon or bane

My best friend, John is on a writing spree and I feel good to see him like that. He rightly pointed out to me that I have not being writing for some time now. The last post was from 19.09 which is almost a month ago. What has happened to me? Why am I so lethargic when it comes to my favorite activity, writing? 

I dread to sit with my laptop at home in front of my little one. He immediately comes running from any corner of the house that he is in and sits in my lap waiting to pounce on the keys and 'appear' as if working very seriously, just like his dad! My laptop has once crashed, thanks to his unceasing pounding of keys with his tiny hands. Had to get it repaired and then it has become dead slow. I do not want to work on it anymore and thought of having a Tab where I could easily work on it. Tab arrived with my mom as a gift from her and my little one had another toy to play. He just does not want to play with his toys and he does not even let the tab charge, when I put it for charging. He loves watching videos of his favorite Marathi songs on it all the time and knows how to switch the song off if he is bored with it. I wonder how fast this generation is!! What was in my hands when I was one and a half years old? I played with dolls and my grandparents. Here, there are none. Toys are plenty, but nothing as fascinating as a cell phone or a laptop or a tab, perhaps. Why are the little ones attracted to these electronic gadgets so much? What could be the reason? Is it only due to their tremendous curiosity that they want to handle these things and you all will agree that they do it aptly and smartly! I have seen school kids having mobile phones. I am not sure whether it is really helpful to give a mobile in their hands at such a tender age. It is debatable and when it comes to my son, I will be in a better position to write about this.

So, I was thinking, inspite of the fact that I have a Samsung S3, Micromax tab and a personal laptop, why is it that I am shying from penning my thoughts regularly on these gadgets? It is definitely simpler and suave than taking a pen and a paper and sitting in one corner where no one disturbs me and putting all in reality that is just a vague thought.. Is having a lot of techno gadgets at my disposal not a boon to boost my creativity with minimum of efforts? Or is the will lacking? I think it is the latter. I must gear myself and pull up my socks and get back to writing which gives me the most happiness. I know, I have strayed a bit here and there now and then, but I have always come back on track.

Let me encourage myself to see me writing more often and expressing more often.

Buck up, Mrunalini!!

John! I will be there soon!!