Beginnings

Beginnings
1st February 2005

If anyone were to bring back that classic way of greeting, "What’s new, dude?" I’d probably look at him (or her) and say, "Everything."

Actually, that isn’t quite true. I’d first look at the person and say, "Dude…where have you been for the last thirty years or so? It’s what’s up or the more colloquial whassup! that you should be using. Get with it man, get with the times!"

But I digress.

I’m not the only person making a new beginning at this time. Even though selfishness and self-pity makes me feel often enough like I’m the most important person making a new beginning, reality soon sinks in to remind me otherwise.

Let’s start with Sweetie. Having ended a relationship with me, she’s on the verge (if not in it already) of a new one. And she’s finishing her first year at work, a rough one. New beginnings for her too.

Groper’s just had her new beginning. Having successfully negotiated her problems with FBW, they’ve made a fresh start. A stronger start. And she’s now finding the happiness she’s been looking for. New beginnings for her too.

The Drunken Painting Poet. Broke off a relationship a few months before she was due to get engaged. She’s now taking the time to rediscover herself too. New beginnings for her too.

(Don’t you just love that emphatic phrase at the end of each paragraph, dear reader? Doesn’t it just make the point oh so well, leaving you panting for more?)

Minty has quit her job (another one, you ask exasperatedly, especially if you’ve known that she’s job-hopped like mad). She’s found a new one in the career she’s always dreamed of. New beginnings for her too. (Damn, I love the repetition.)

My best friend is on the verge of a new beginning. She’s in Dubai at the moment to be with her fiancé, she’s got a job there as well. Soon they’ll be happily married, and I will breathe a sigh of relief as our contract is forever voided. New beginnings for her too.

But all these friends – all girls, please notice, I’m a magnet, I say – are not the focus of this piece, merely the lead up to it.

For I’m writing this piece on my PC – with one difference. It’s the second PC in the house today. Because my Dad is two days away from selling his office and starting afresh.

Things haven’t been going too well for him for a while now. He’s made some bad choices, some bad investments, even refused to accept the obvious (a Capricorn trait, I ask, thinking about my refusal to let Sweetie go). The camera business foundered first, as clients didn’t even return to pick up their repaired cameras. His computer business lost clients, his biggest one was even stolen from him by his ex-engineer. I even feel that he got bored, lost his motivation.

Then he landed up in hospital with an arterial blood clot. And my family took a huge hit – Rs. 3 lakhs spent on treatment, Mom and me having to support the family, having to borrow money from friends to pay hospital bills, constant worry and stress.

But I get the feeling that the worst is over. Even though Dad has yet to figure out what to do with himself apart from his current IT business, has yet to even find a new office. I get the feeling that he’s ready to get up again. Backed (as he now knows for sure) by a family that loves him more than he ever thought they could.

I spent about a week dabbling in numerology, practicing on my colleagues. Dad (and strangely enough, or maybe not, Sweetie) are in for a year governed by the number 1, which indicates new beginnings. In case you’re wondering, I’m in for a 7 year, one of deep introspection. And the fact that I’m back here writing FITM should tell you that it works, and that I’m a bloody good numerologist too.

Life’s in transition for all of us, it seems. For the first time in my life I know what responsibility and cares and worries mean. And for the first time in my life I have not a clue where I’m headed. It worries me, but I know I’ll figure it out. I’ll get where I want to go.

I’m sure Dad’s in the same state, if not worse. The breadwinner in the family now knocked down. Again, I’m also sure that he’ll be up on his feet in no time. That’s definitely a Capricorn trait – success against all odds.

Good luck Dad. We’re all here with you. We all love you. We will never leave your side. And we’re sure you’ll make it through this.

And now I can’t resist ending with this. New beginnings for him too.