Grubbs n Critters

June 18, 2015

World of Moms: Grubbs ‘n Critters gets Published!

Just about a month ago, Shikha from World of Moms contacted me and invited me to be a member of a one of a kind family community in India that’s been created to build a one-stop destination for all mommies. She has kindly mentioned that she stumbled upon my blog and in her words “was, frankly, fascinated!” by her find. She was looking at featuring me as a World Of Moms’ Mommy Blogger.

At first, I wasn’t sure if it was just another spam or hoax. After all, I’m only a small-time blogger, with hardly that many followers to boast of and my writing isn’t that very fantastic either! I mean, ME! Featuring ME, MY writing in some established mommy’s website. They’ve gotta be shitting me. What sort of stuff should I be writing about?!

While I was skeptical, I was humbled by the acknowledgment and was keen to find out more. The site looks legit and after several correspondences which Shikha replied quite promptly (and patiently), I thought that I should be able to commit contributing to a monthly feature. (I had offered a weekly feature of recipes just because it’s easier for me given my weekly event, but that was rejected…and I had to crack my head to think of something to write)

So here I am, 37 days after the first correspondence, I feel like I have been “officially anointed” as a Mommy Blogger for a site aiming to become India’s most loved mommy community with my very first official feature. I’ve got Shihka to thank for suggesting several topics to write about or I’m certain that I would still draw a blank!

Here’s an excerpt of my featured piece on World of Moms on my Touching Moments & Life Lessons of Motherhood:

I never wanted to have kids. In fact, if I back-track a little further, I never did want to get married in the first place. Those were not part of my grand plan when I stepped into the corporate world more than 15 years ago.

I’d more likely to laugh in your face if you’d tell me 10 years ago that I’ll earn my bread and butter living in Thailand and actually even GOT married.

Even when I did get married, having a child was the furthest thing from my mind, because, unlike most women, I did not like kids. I had an intense dislike for them and cannot imagine myself cooing unnecessarily over them. Most importantly, I was not so into a “lifetime responsibility”…

Read the rest of my piece here.

World of Moms aspires to bring together like-minded women who believe that sharing experiences doubles the joy of parenting, reduces the agonies associated with motherhood, helping moms to find peer moms to resolve their queries, make parenting fun, grow their businesses and create a one stop shop for all their needs.

It is a place to connect, share experiences, give and get advice, vent anonymously and discover all that this place has to offer. And if you have a little time to spare, do browse through the site for there are much more things to be discovered. You may just like what you see! Don’t forget to share them.

Thank you Shikha for reaching out and featuring my writing on World of Moms. I am thankful for the opportunity. This is an exciting milestone, indeed!

Why I Refuse to Get on a Tuk-Tuk or Motosai in Bangkok

Category: In and around Thailand

2 modes of transport I would never take in Bangkok:

1. Tuk-Tuks

2. Motorbike Taxis (also known as Motosai)

This is not about being a snob or having my nose high up in the air, but more because I value my life, as the drivers of the afore-mentioned transportation are, in my opinion, suicidal. They drive like a maniac, they are likely drunk by noon and reeking of alcohol, they squeeze into the smallest space and cut corners, they don’t respect road rules; often driving in opposite directions of traffic when they think they can without giving any thoughts to their passengers. And, they think they are Michael Schumachers of the world.

Have you ever been in one of those? If you have, you are very brave! I think these drivers are sometimes too brave for their own good. I find that they can be stir-shit scary when they go behind the wheels.

These guys, they live by the power of the amulets they wear around their necks which they believe will protect them from any harm. Not being dead is one of them. With the amulets, they are invincible. They can never get into any accidents and they can never die. Only because they are protected by the super powers of the amulets.

Would you believe if I told you that in my 10 years in Bangkok, I have only ever taken the motorbike taxis no more than 5x and the tuk-tuk only once? Yes. You read that right. ONCE.

And that tuk-tuk ride had happened only recently; more out of desperation than anything else. In a span of 45 minutes, I must have hailed at least 5 taxis and waiting for one who would be willing to drive me home using a metered fare. But, either they wanted an unreasonably high flat rate which can be 2.5x of what a meter fare would be or they just flatly refused because they can.

So after a relentless wait in the very humid and hot weather, I caved in. I waved a tuk-tuk, told him where I needed to go and hopped in. In fact, he accelerated WHILE I was climbing in and then sped away as the music blasted away into my fragile ears.

As soon as I plopped my butt into his neon-light decorated tuk-tuk, he zig-zagged through the traffic at top speed, sending my heart on a race and my head, about to explode from the glaring light and the annoyingly music. I couldn’t actually bring myself to even look ahead of me.

When I told him to slow down, I got a scolding. A big, fat scolding.

He immediately raised his voice above the blasting music and with an annoyed how-dare-you expression, body language and a harsh tone of voice, he probably was also cussing at me in Thai. Actually…it wasn’t the first time that I have gotten a royal scolding from drivers when I told them to slow down. This asshole is no exception!

As if trying to teach me a lesson after my request for him to slow down, he accelerated even faster and then went against traffic, grumbling away at me. I yelped a big “Oi!! as I hung on to my dear life. I didn’t like how he drove one bit and the loud music he was blasting into my ears was equally driving me insane! But I didn’t have a choice.

The only thing he didn’t do was a wheelie on that 3-wheel junk.

I still managed to snap a quick shot with my shaking hands in my first few minutes of my ride. I wasn’t a very happy camper back there!

20150403_192618 — I was in there and about to shit in my pants!

The fare was a little higher than what a normal taxi would cost and he got me home in less than 10 minutes. I got off the tuk-tuk with my knees shaking, my ears buzzing and a fraction of my heart in my gut. Longest 10-minutes tuk-tuk ride of my life! I was once again humbly reminded why I had refused to take those tuk-tuks.

If you fancy a little adventure, by all means, take those tuk-tuks or the motorbikes. They can be a good time-saver. The tuk-tuks may even be kind enough to offer you a free ride if you agree to a little detour where they’ll take you to some gem-stone shops of which they would get some commission for bringing new customers.

Otherwise, my advice is, just stay away from them. You can always label me spoilt, a little too paranoid for my own good or a snob even. And that’s OK – I can live with that as I’m known to be a wuss when it comes to such things.

Above all, I’m a mother and although my kids drive me to the brink of insanity sometimes, I am far from being suicidal and I don’t wish to die in the hands of drivers who are.

A Re-Blog: This is Why by All That’s Jas

Category: Life's Essentials

A story of fear, hope and a life changed forever.

As I read each and every word, I felt the goose-bumps and chills that tingled down my spine. It’s a personal narratives from a mother trying to get on with life in her war-stricken country while the rest of us have been fortunate enough to be untouched by the cruelty and hardship of war and living in the modern-ages.

The warring world is something I could only be aware of, but not something I have ever experienced The turmoil and agony a mother, or anyone has to go through watching her children going through the same thing, and not being able to do anything, is just…unimaginable. Unthinkable.

Her story left an imprint at the back of my head for a couple of days now, of how so very uncertain life is. Yet, when there is hope, all is not lost. And sometimes, all it takes is just a little kindness…like the guard at the bottom of her stairs in her narratives.

The beauty of it all is that kindness does not cost a thing.

Here’s an excerpt of her story:

Twenty years ago life as I knew it changed forever. Following short conflicts in Slovenia and Croatia, the Bosnian civil war was the most brutal chapter in the breakup of Yugoslavia. It was inconceivable to us that the multiethnic republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Catholic Croats, Orthodox Serbs, Muslim Slavs and many others lived side by side and intermarried, would fight against each other. Although my experience is not as tragic as many can claim, it was traumatic enough. It changed and shaped my identity in the aftermath so much that at times it feels like thunder and lightning, emotional garbage, embarrassed ego, mental torture and tears. And at other times it feels like pride, defiance, stubbornness and unearthly strength. Twenty years later I am ready to share why.

Rows of old wooden benches and tables dominate the scene. There is something cold about the way they are placed on the lawn. I can’t see beyond them. There is a void in the landscape and I feel fear. I’m choosing the table in the middle row. It’s sticking out as if it doesn’t fit in and it wants to part away from the group. I sit down slowly and look at the clear, blue sky. I’m alone and I feel fear. I know my destiny. I sense its approach. My heart is pounding as I hear the steps. It is here, it will not bypass me. The feel of cold metal pressed against my neck, below my left ear sends shivers down my spine. I know it is over and I’m anticipating my end. I feel fear. The form behind me is silent; though I want to scream I don’t dare to. No one would hear me and it would not matter. I long to hold my daughter one last time; I have so many things I want to say to her before my time is up. The longing is so strong, it pains me. The bullet is entering my head in a slow-motion and the feeling terrorizes me. Astonishingly, it does not hurt but I’m in agony. The agony of a mother filled with so much love for her child realizing she will never be able to give it. I want to have one more chance to make up for her stolen childhood; I want to ask forforgiveness for I wasn’t always the understanding mom she expected me to be. My heart is breaking apart as my mind is soundlessly shouting how proud I am of her, how much I love her and that she will be alright, pleading that she can somehow hear it. The scene before me disappears. Darkness envelops me…

I’m sobbing profusely; my body is trembling and my heart is still aching. Slowly, my eyes begin to recognize the outlines of my dimmed bedroom.

Continue reading the rest of Jas’s story here.

May we have that compassion and kindness embedded in our hearts to make this world a better place for our children.