Goodbye 2020

Phew! What a year this turned out to be! None of us ever imagined that things would change drastically this year. On 1st of Jan, I was making plans – things to strike off my bucket list. As the year came to end, I decided to throw away the list, along with the bucket. 😛

I will not concentrate on what did not work for me during this year. Let me be a little optimistic here and hope not to make to-do-lists for 2021. 😉

Cooking: I am no MasterChef but I am a pretty decent cook. I tried a couple of new recipes this lockdown. Did a lot of baking – garlic breads, pizzas and cakes. This reminds me, I made Tiramisu for Christmas. You are all invited, next Christmas, for a virtual Christmas party – you bring cake, I will binge watch Christmas specials. Oh, isn’t that how virtual parties work?

I created an instagram account thinking I could share recipes there. But they blocked my account, even before I could add profile details! I contacted insta peeps and they gave me a couple of reasons for blocking my account: 1) I might be impersonating someone (in this case, I am impersonating myself it seems…) 2) I might have posted ‘hot’ photos or something. I mean, to post photos of ‘hot pakodas’ and ‘hot jalebis’, I should be able to access my profile, right? Also, who impersonates themselves? Question: Would it be called ‘imposter syndrome’ if we impersonate ourselves?

Gardening: How does your garden grow? I spent a lot of time gardening this year. I am really happy with the results. It feels so good to see the garden in full bloom. I was also gifted my first orchid this October. This was followed by two more (gifts) orchids.

We have two mango trees and this year, each of the trees yielded around 500 mangoes! We had a hard time distributing them, thanks to the lockdown! *eye roll* Mango jam, mango juice, mango this, mango that! Phew! For a few days, I suppose I had mango juice flowing in my veins. 😛

Reading: To be Frank, I will have to change my name…

I think Rekha is a nice name. The remaining alphabets in English language are nice too, but I don’t see me calling myself ZyghuWtb. Not in the near or distant future. How the heck does one pronounce ZyghuWtb? Especially when you have a W in between, in caps!

To be honest, (I do not have to change my name), there have been times this past year when I just couldn’t read anymore. Having said that, I managed to read 250 books this year. 😛 I also got to meet a lot of new authors. 😀 Lockdown or apocalypse, we must applaud the authors who wrote books this year and kept us entertained and engaged. Also, my Best Books of 2020 page went viral in November. I woke up one morning to see a lot of notifications on twitter and THAT certainly made my day! 😀

What I did not expect this year was for Kitty to pass away. For four and a half years, she’d been with me. Sitting next to me when I was watching TV or reading a book, lazying on the terrace when I went there for my walks, sitting in the flower pot when I was gardening… She died five weeks ago – we did not put her to sleep. Her last two days were bad as she stopped recognizing us. She was in a semi-conscious state and there was nothing we could do to make her better except give her her favorite blankie and make her feel comfy until her final breath.

Kate and Mallika helped me with the pet grieving process and I am lucky to have friends like them. 🙂 I owe you two a Chicken Biryani. Since Mallika is vegetarian, I suppose she could keep the Chicken aside and eat only the rice. 😉

Hmm…

I turned 30 this March. I will still be 30 in 2021, 2022 and 2023. 2020 was leap year, right? So that means, we get to remain at the same age until the next leap year. No? Well, we had a lockdown and stuff so I don’t think I turned a year older. I was told 30s are going to different. In a way, it was. I celebrated my birthday on the second day of lockdown – well, it was boring as usual. I cried a bit because I turned 30. Then I realized I still look as if I am in my 20s. After that, a buffalo ran across the street, the cows giggled, monkeys chattered and the birds flew away.

I guess I went a little off topic there…

Covid or not, I am pretty sure each one of us had an interesting year. Let’s say goodbye to 2020 and hope things will get better in 2021.

Wait, I am not done talking. It is rude to think this is the end of the post when it isn’t. But it isn’t rude to think this is the end of the post when it is. I know, right! I got a future reading done (on the internet, of course) and it says I want something but I do not want it and that is why I am stuck. It seems I contradict my decisions and then contradict the contradictions and so on and so forth and what have you!! Wow. I am a PARADOX. 😀 I must be a universal wonder, no? Please stand in line if you want my autographs. Wait, don’t stand in a line, stand in a straight circle. At right angles to yourselves…

2020 has surely been a year of surprises. We have had the mysterious monoliths. You know all those who people who said (and believe) Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus? Looks like their spaceship has arrived (monoliths) and it is time for them to leave. To all the believers aliens, please stand in concentric circles while boarding your spaceships. Thank you for your cooperation. Also, if the real aliens are reading this post, I am a paradox. So, you might actually not be reading this post but you are reading it. Thank you very much!

I think this is enough fun for 2020. We all have had a tough year and I do not want you all to lose your minds after reading my wonderfully crazy posts. So let me keep some for next year. 😉

Before I leave, you might want to have a look at an interview. Um.. Yours Truly was interviewed by a blogger friend a month ago. Geez, I feel like a celebrity! If you want my autograph or want to interview me, call my secretary and book an appointment. Btw, I am my own secretary – PARADOX, remember? Anyhoo, here’s the link to my interview.

Happy New Year!

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