Shanti Thokchom's Life Experiences
- Part 42 -
Preparing for trip to California

By Shanti Thokchom *

To continue with the story, we packed in lots of our usual survival snacks & drinks, DVDs, maps etc. Our original plan was to drive to S. California to San Diego as we had been in contact for over 2 years with my old classmate's sis-in-law Kabita Sagolsem. Anyway, in between this time, comes my good friend Akhan Zingkhai from San Francsico staking her claim to divert us to visit her first in Berkeley.

I was left mulling over the choice for days...before start of our trip. I tried to compare the two cities' distances as to which one to visit first....so we decided to do the Berkeley visit first as it was the further of the two up north. I embarked upon "Lin Su Sinaba Chei Su Su Tek Tanaba "(killing 2 birds with a stone ) trying to please these two ladies..one in the north & one in the south of California....!!!

I have been away from writing for so long due to my personal constraints and others.I am sorry for this long wait and I know so many of my young readers & other friends have been bugging me on Facebook to write soon and that you all missed me. Really??? Many would of you like to read what I write cos its not a doctored nor covered up writings but all that have happened and is happening to me in real life.

And I wont shy away from sharing with all of you. If it invokes some kind of sisterly affinity to me or been a kind of encouragement to you all ,then I must say, its worth my time doing that. I am all for it for the good of one & all!!!

Bole to Ngari khane wala hai ham!!! kisise kam nahi!!( we are fish eaters & not lesser than any one else!!!) Do you all agree?? I am sure you all are in agreement with me as we all love our one and only Ngari ..(fermented fish) the smellier the better!! ha...ha..ha...!!! Un-Ngari eaters, dont be alarmed, its only fish,,,we are talking about!!! Nothing fishy about it at alll ... ..hee..hee..hee !!!

So much has happened this past year. But I am taking it all in my stride. I dont like routines . I enjoy interacting with others & enjoy their viewpoints. It enriches me as a person & it has changed my views . I like to be a doer & not a talker or mere lip service giver!!

I like to be a hands on person to meet people & broaden my views than stand aside on a high horse expecting everyone to fall in line with me!! No sir, I would never do that..Thats just not me. I am very down to earth & can mingle with anyone everyone anywhere anytime!!! Dont get me all wrong about it !!! I mean every word of it !!! You wont find any fancy stuffs in my place as I lead a very spartan lifestyle.....ha..ha..ha..but all of you are welcome any time but do let me know in advance so that I can have Manipuri foods ready to share with you all.

But no fake people , please..I have had enough of them already!!! But that wont stop me from what I am doing & still doing...!!! I can look back in satisfaction over how much happiness I got out of being able to help anyone !!Despite my being taken advantage of..I still have a clear conscience & relax !!!

Did I just mention "RELAX"? It doesnt exist in my dictionary/vocabulary.....ha..ha..ha..Anyone who knows me can vouch for that..I dont sit still. Some of you have even called me all sorts of names.."Khong Yangbi (light footed), Road Tripper (whatever that means..).Thillapi (in Kuki it means ..speed fairy or something).

Too funny..I didnt think it that way....cos am the way I am....!!! If I had to have an off day, believe me, its the most difficult day of my life !!! as I dont know how to sit still. I relax myself by doing interesting things which I love to do always!!! It may not mean anything to anyone but for me, it gives me immense pleasure & joy!!! I am never bored!! as I always have something to do all the time !!!

This past summer was wonderful. Me and son took the road trip from Tulsa to California after our usual pre trip discussions & all that verbal agreements we had to abide by.. It was all of 1792 miles to drive to reach San Francisco!!!

We had to be very well prepared as it was a very long drive , that too in the three digit summer heat. You all could say I am bit of a tiger mom..ha..ha..!! It was great time as the 2010 World Cup soccer was already rolling in S. Africa....I didnt even want to miss any single game!!! but I did keep the current scores via radio even while driving & during our routine road side stops at McDonald's for bathroom breaks..!!!

I was supporting all the good teams cos I know they had really worked very hard to get to the final 16 teams!!! I was eager to see the athletic guys play and admire their good physique !!!...That can only come with years of hard work & determination to keep fit!! Or am I the only one to drool over these good looking soccer players of the world?? I dont think so. I am again veering off track again. Forgive me ya'll !!!

I am sure many of my fellow Manipuri sisters too have their own fantasy soccer guys out there !!! not to mention about your jealous BFs, hubbies & significant others but its great fun!!! When you are in a group of women, see how the conversation goes which direction.....we just let it all out unlike men who keep it bottled inside them...We have more fun than them discussing, dissecting or just ripping apart our favorite hunky soccer players to bits!!! and have a great laugh over the silliest stuffs we could think of...

Its the YA-YA sisterhood syndrome !!! our Manipuri men can only step back & look at us & think we are crazy !!!No offence to you all, bros !!! We all like Yakking...Bak Bak-king away our joys & sorrows to one another without any hindrance !!!

Men are visual & women are emotional creatures...Yabiningbro?(agree or not?)

We all do have our fantasy guys & gals..even men do have their own favorites. They are more visual & cant deny the fact that all they look at a female is from the sexual point of view !! Thats the difference between a man and a woman's point of view . Its pretty normal so nothing wrong about admiring a woman's good features !!

Dont tell me guys, you dont have!!! It doesnt hurt to be your normal self!! Even the women do look at guys' features & pass comments...I am sure the men too lap up the attention they are being directed at too. The women too know they are being observed , looked at, drooled at, by guys when they walk past them....ha..ha..ha...!!

Some of my favorites good looking soccer players are that Portuguese hunk Ronaldo Cristiano, Messi and many others I cant name them all here.... log jo bhi kahe kehno do..ham to hai unke diwane.......eikhoidi ngaojarabani.......( let anyone say anything, we are the die hard fans of these guys).

Just know am an avid fan of soccer so anything related to that topic would really get my attention!!!



To be Continued.......