August 04, 2006

Barry Happy!

Got my first birdie present of the year today: a collection of Dave Barry articles sent by The Boyfriend. It's awfully nice to open the pigeonhole at the hostel reception and find something addressed to you in it. Something other than National Westminster Bank telling you that you have sixteen pounds and thirty four pence in your account. (At this stage MSN informed me that I have received a mail from vegas@home) Been giggling on buses and in shops as I dragged myself around town to help wendigo buy clothes (a whole another blogpost, I assure you!)

I could not help but remember the time I was introduced to Dave Barry. It was by the first and only person in the world to have a crush on me. He was a beer-and-dance bar owner, who was also a bodybuilder with a shaved head, and was known universally as Shetty. How this character came to develop a soft corner for me is a long story. For now, it is enough to say that I was a wide-eyed benevolent spirit who set out to make friends with ALL my classmates in advertising school, and in the case of this person, I was the only one to have made this gesture. Before long, it was clear that I had started something strange, but I put a stop to it in my own militant and brutal fashion.

One day, Shetty came into the classroom where I was typing a letter out to my mom, and told me he was going to give me a gift. Having recently been threatened with a tubelight being smashed on his head, I wondered why he even wanted to talk to me. He gave me the URL to Dave Barry's column, and told me it was a precious gift that he had not shared with anyone, and I was not supposed to share it with all and sundry either. It was a really kind gesture, and I not only thoroughly enjoyed the articles, but was quite discriminating in choosing candidates to pass the good word on to.

Poor Shetty was feared even by the teacher, and he liked me and I threatened to kill him….

It's horrid and evil to let a gift from your boyfriend set off a chain of recollections about a guy who liked you, so instead of stopping I'm gonna add that he too was a photographer, and he too hated Delhi! :P

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

How did u add a blog at 2:03 AM on August 5 . when it is only 1:27 am at London while I am writing this? Do u have some time machine to travel to future?

Ameet said...

Dave Barry has amazing wit - no matter who introduced you to him. In my case, it was his weekly column in the Washington Post Magazine. Alas, I don't live there anymore and Dave doesn't write the column anymore.

Hornswoggler said...

Belated Happy Birdie. Enjoy Dave Barry...and why is it that you have such janam janam ka rishta with beer?

Ink Spill said...

Allo Anonymous: My computer time is set to IST to keep track of friends and family there. Home sick home etc.

Ameet: Buy the book! :)

Rash: Thanks for the wishes. Birdie on Wednesday. Boyfriend sent gift in advance to avoid broken nose.