Musings from Mumbai – The Best Day Ever

You know those days where everything just seems to go right? I had one of those, and it turned out to be the best day ever. WHAAAAAAAA..!

I just want to talk about what an amazing day I had.

My old workplace left me with an entire array of experiences scattered across the emotional spectrum. I had some fantastic ones – those were the good days, when I’d feel like I was flying through paradise. And then there were the sucky ones, where all I wanted was to die, and I’d hope and pray the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

Not going down the latter path today, because I wanna talk about the AMAZING. You know how we’ve all heard you can’t make friends at work? It’s largely true. In the entire universe of people we work with, maybe 200-300 of them, 196 will not be your friend, and will never be. But the 4 that ARE..? I’m thankful for them. They’re the ones who make work fun, and bring life into your otherwise seemingly dull and dreary days.

When I left, I knew they were the ones I’d miss the most. And I do.

Good Thing No. 1

So yesterday, I went to meet one of said friends (let’s call her Z). It might be one of the last times I’m seeing her here, because she’s moving out of the country. It SUCKS when friends leave. I decided to work out of BKC for the day and went over to Starbucks a little earlier than when we were supposed to meet, and perched myself on one of the high chairs by the window, set up my laptop, and began happily typing away.

Close to an hour must’ve passed, when I happened to look up, and there I see a friend walking past. We spotted each other and *insert tight hugs and happy exclamations*. It was SO WONDERFUL catching up with her after what seemed like AGES! We somehow seem to pick up right where we leave off every time we meet, and this one was no different. It just acted as an instant shot of happiness injected right into my heart. YAY, amirite?

Good Thing No. 2

I resumed work after she left, and soon enough, Z joined me. We headed over to our decided lunch place, and right as we were placing the order, the guy across the counter looked at me and went ‘Are you from SIES?’ I was slightly taken aback, and said that I was. ‘Preethi?’ NOW I was stunned. I mean, looking familiar is one thing, KNOWING WHO I AM in a college FILLED with students of all courses and ages is something else. Turns out he was my senior, and I took a minute to recognise him, because of the amount of time that has passed from then to now. Also turns out he owned the place I was at, and he had another branch of the same outlet in Mumbai itself.

This world is SMALL.

Did I mention he knocked off 50% from my bill? SO unnecessary, SO unexpected, but that was SO SWEET OMG!! I was floored. Z said she was gonna go out with me more often LOL.

Here’s the freakiest thing, though. I’ve spoken to this guy twice, maybe thrice in my entire life. Around 9 years back. And yesterday, for some reason, I’d thought about him. No, I am not kidding. I thought about him in the morning, and somehow, I ended up meeting him in the afternoon.

We won’t talk about that anymore 😛

Back to Starbucks I went, and got to work again. I was working with the aim of getting at least ONE post up on the blog, so I really, really wanted to be in the right headspace and go at it with single-minded focus.

Good Thing No. 3

Turns out ‘single-minded focus’ was not the theme of the day. 15 minutes after I’d set up shop, in walked my old colleagues, the folks I used to sit in the same bay as. They saw me and converged upon my table, creating quite a hullabaloo about my current life, attracting attention from the tables neighbouring mine. So much, that when they left, the lady next to me said ‘Excuse me, now I really must ask, are you a celebrity?’ I must have blushed to the very roots of my hair, and thus began a conversation about who I am and what I do. I won’t lie, it felt nice to talk about my work to someone I’d just met.

I ain’t a celebrity. I’m just trying to make my way through life, like everyone else, but the path I’ve chosen now is very different from the path I’d chosen earlier. It’s one that looks beautiful and perfect, but comes with its own share of pros and cons. The flawless facade is what a lot of folks around me find to be ‘cool’, which probably explains what my colleagues feel like. I’ll just repeat what I said to them – Don’t feel jealous of my life, please. We’re all a sum of our choices, which we make based on our priorities. My path is slightly unconventional. That’s all.

That being said, it does feel pretty great to be treated like a celeb of sorts sometimes 😛

Good Thing No. 4

Red-faced me got back to working on the article, when I saw a fellow Instagrammer had messaged me. She wanted to meet, and I was more than happy to. She came over and we spoke about all things content and Instagram and life outside corporate. On the same note as before, about the unconventional path, nothing feels better than connecting with a like-minded someone, who knows and understands what you’re doing and is happy to exchange ideas on it. Anyone feel me?

By then, I was giddy. I had been drowning in a CRAZY rush of emotions from the second I’d stepped out of the house, and it was giving me a high. I had left for the day wanting to meet a friend and get some work done. Instead, I’d not just met her, but also another friend, a college senior, my old colleagues, a brand new person, an Instagram-buddy, and the day wasn’t even over yet. I felt like I’d get anything I asked for, anything at all.

I put my wishes out to the Universe, lol.

Good Thing No. 5

10 minutes after she left, a very respected, very popular professor from my MBA college walked in. I couldn’t even believe it. I could NOT believe it. He is someone EVERY SINGLE PERSON who has studied under him looks up to, and I knew I had to go say hi. So I did, and in the process, I met another alumnus of my college, who he was meeting then.

TOO MUCH OMG!!

You’d think that in all of this, I wouldn’t get any work done. But HEYYYYYY, it’s a GOOD DAYYYYY, and my post had formed itself right there before of my eyes. All I had to do was throw in some photographs and schedule it.

Good Thing No. 6

I glanced at my watch, and realised I was half an hour behind schedule and had now entered The Peak Hour. Dammit. If there’s one thing I KNEW wouldn’t go my way today, it was getting a rickshaw to drop me off to Kurla station (that place is a nightmare even outside of rush hour), and then getting into a train where I’d find place to stand (i had no hopes of finding a seat. There was no point). I was also a little hungry by now, and really wanted to get something to eat, but I knew I was getting late.

And just as I was throwing that idea out of the window, one of the staff members slid up to me and went -‘ma’am, would you like to try a sample of our cherry chocolate cake?’ I stared up at her, and it took all of my will power to not go ‘OH YEAH I WOULD, YOU GODDESS!’ Can you believe this happened? Can you? I couldn’t! I SCARFED DOWN that cake, slid my laptop into my bag, and got out of there, still recovering from everything this day had been. Time to get an auto, I thought, as I crossed to the road. I spotted one and hurried over to it.

Good Thing No. 7

The general understanding in Mumbai is that you get rejected by at least 5 auto guys before one agrees, begrudgingly, to take you to the destination of choice. DO I EVEN HAVE TO TELL YOU WHAT MY LUCK WAS LIKE TODAY?

Yep, I only had to ask once.

Good Thing No. 8

Got to Kurla station, had no hope of getting a train with enough place to stand, BUT I GOT A DAMN FOURTH SEAT, which translated to a regular full one within 2 stations (Mumbai folks, YOU KNOW what I’m talking about!)

What even was this day. WHAT EVEN WAS THIS DAY.

Good Thing No. 9

EVERYTHING went right. Every. Damn. Thing. I got home, fixed up my post, scheduled it, and just sat back and reflected. I told my family about everything that had happened. I told my closest friends.

There was some magic at work that I couldn’t understand. It’s as if after all the shit life had dealt me over the past two weeks, it was showing me it could be beautiful too. It’s as if the Universe was telling me ‘hey girl, I’m here’. It was surreal. And I’m thankful. SO thankful.

There’s no reason for me to write this. It’s not travel-related. It’s not strictly about me. It’s rather random. It’s simply an outpouring of thoughts and emotions I felt, something very real and yet unbelievable that I wanted to out out there. It’s just an ordinary day in the life, that turned out to be extraordinary. It’s just a reaffirmation of belief in the Universe. Maybe it’s also something I’ll turn to when I’m having a sucky day. Maybe you could too 🙂

I hope all days are as magical, and more. I wish that for you too. Sending lots of love, light, and good vibes your way <3

Until next time!