The Little Mission Accomplished! Moments Of Life

Life is settling down again. The frenzied, running-helter-skelter-istically frantic activites of the past few weeks have ceased, otherwise run out, and things are pretty much normal again. The absence of events that shake the foundations of my hitherto sheltered and goody-boy existence is a bit of a letdown perhaps. But it also gives me time to refuel and unwind in some length of monotony, getting ready for another later explosion of calamities, and goof-ups, and wild rides and whatever elses.

So, in the spirit of leading a life of gentle, undulating monotony I went to buy cosmetic items at the local...place. Well, now this place is stacked up with all the goodies of the world (including several imported canned food items, perfumes, eating things, drinking things, moisturizing things and all), but it is just a shop. The sign outside boldly proclaims "Supermarket".

I went in, all set to buy a toothpaste and soap and come out. But you're all swept away with this sudden rush of action. Let me step back, and explain how it all began. Came about, so to say.

You know how you don't ever do the things you need to do? You keep procrastinating, and procrastinating, and procrastinating (its my new favourite word. sounds cool and its tough to type. hee hee!) and then finally its too late? Or if you're lucky, someone else does it for you. Anyway, you dont do it yourself. (also take note of how I use the word you at every opportunity, thereby bowing you in guilt and acting like it doesnt extend to me. diabolical!)

Like, how you promised yourself you'd do your assignment long before time so you could relax and take things easy later. But you didnt. And you find yourself pondering over the evils that have taken you over, as you sit at your table the night before submission date. And you're copying someone else's.

You know then? You know?

It was all a bit like that to start with. I needed a toothpaste. I needed the soap.

For the past month, I'd been borrowing toothpaste from all over the hostel. Every morning I would wake up, shake my weary fist and curse at the sun, reach out for my toothbrush, that Excalibur of absolutely horrible colour scheme (dark blue and purple), and groggily stumble my way towards the common basins. Enroute I would arbitrarily enter one of the 3 rooms previously marked as toothpaste-providing zones. This is where I took my desired fill and stumbled on. The state of affairs suited me quite well. But the previously unmentioned owners of the toothpaste tubes appeared to have issues with it. They vouched their eternal friendship and their wholehearted willingness to stand by me were I in dire straits or deep sea or other forms of water-bodies, but were I to not cease this annoying habit of trespassing early in the morning and helping myself to their goodies, I could be sure of bitter recrimination. I protested vehemently. Or as vehemently as groggy half-consciousness allows. I beseeched them to stop thinking of themselves. Look at me! It all makes sense. Its not like I have to even go out of my way. Your room is exactly on the way to where the basins lie. I dont have to take a detour or walk in negative x-direction. Its so easy. Think of me also! In vain.

As for my lack of soap-ownership, Utsav uses a shower gel. And he usually wakes up after me. QED.

So I went in. Now here's the trouble with these places full of fancy-shmancy containers packaged so attractively! I floated towards the cosmetics/bathroom-thingies racks, and suddenly I'm surrounded by strangely designed bottles full of liquids of varying density, colour, surface tension and what not. There are after-shave lotions in bottles of all possible volumetric dimensions. There are face-washes and moisturizers and skin-pore cleansers and nail massagers and body-creams and after-showers lotions and intensive skincare soaps and la-dee-da skincare soaps and shaving creams and shaving gels and talcum powder and muscle relaxants and pretty soon my eyes began to haze over and a blackness almost overtook me.

And thats how it happened. With my self-defense weakened and my armor let down so I could catch a breather. I couldnt help it! I was charmed. I was seduced. I was waylaid. I found myself buying a shower gel.

Soap runs out so fast. And I've always wanted to try one of these na? Why not? Why not? Why not??

The bottle was designed to comfort the hand that held it, with those polka dot like things poking out at the sides of it. The translucent liquid inside was dense and slightly grey. Adidas Revitalizing Shower Gel. It had the cool Adidas logo upfront, and words like Fresh!, Body Recharge, with minerals, soap free and pH balanced scattered in different lettering and alignment everywhere.

Now see, I've always wanted to be revitalized. So I went for it. I've used several brands of shower gel over the past few months, and I feel I know enough now to finally be able to buy one for myself. When a shower-gel offers you a golden opportunity to revitalize yourself, you go for it. Because none others that I've seen have dared to offer that. They say recharge, they say rejuvenate, they say healthy glowing skin and all else. Never revitalize. Never! *employs his deep sober tone of quiet evil and scaredyness*

Thats how it all ended. Another timeless little incident, so integral a part if anyone yearns for that monotony of everyday life. And I walked out confidently with the feeling of having a good day's work (albeit the day was 120 days ago), the shower gel and toothpaste and face-wash in my packet in my hand.

Hmm..err...yes. I bought a face-wash gel too. Its all herbal and soap free this free and that free, not to mention good for oily skin.





Afterword: The shower-gel is good. It works. Quite revitalizing and all that. The first time I stepped out of the shower having used it, I distinctly noted a different feeling about myself. I stood still and I reached out for it again. The feeling. Yup. I was feeling revitalized. I looked to my shower-gel in my bucket. I nodded to it. I think it nodded back, one doer of one's duty to another.

Which reminds me, time for class in a few short minutes. I must rush and shower. Yeah so you guessed it. Hah. Big deal. I know I'm predictable. I must rush and shower, with my revitalizing shower gel of mineral extracts and no soap and mysteriously viscous slightly grey translucent liquid.