Happy happy!

New Year's eve is a little overrated. And it took me 24 years, 11 months and 12 days to figure this out.

December 31, 2007. My first proper New Year out of home. (Not withstanding the night i spent at PK's some six years back, gorging on pizzas and playing the role of couch potatoes to perfection.)

Obviously, i had to make it big. And memorable. So i bought my first dress. Evening wear, cocktail party kind of dress.

G, S and i went to Brand Factory on the 30th in the hope of finding something for myself, and shopping for S's new wardrobe. (Miracle of miracles, for once i knew exactly what i wanted.)

That place sure does something for one's wallet, what with superb offers and oh-so-irresistible discounts. While G and i floundered all over the place finding everything but dresses, S spotted some and i headed to the trial room to see what they would do to boost my self-esteem.

They were AND dresses; stylish, chic and elegant. And the right length too. But not the right size. Some fit me too tight in the bust and some had to be peeled off me with G's help. So we decided to head to the AND retail store after Brand Factory. Unfortunately for us, by the time we were through tripping on the discounts and offers, it was quite late and i had a rendezvous with mom to go to Safina Plaza. The dress would have to wait.

December 31st dawned bright and quite early. But without an answer to where AND Store was located. That day, G and i were women with a mission. With warpaint on (read make-up), dressed to roam and armed with plenty moolah, we started off with western wear stores closest to home. The first store we went to was... closed. Not a good start at all.

Chemistry, Wills Lifestyle, KFC, Jealous 21, Blush - we tried them all. (Uh, well, KFC was for food to get my deflated ego up and running again.) I didn't find any clothes that fit me well. WL was shit-expensive. Chemistry had a nice dress, but the neckline started where my belly button ended.

Very, very depressed i was. That made G doubly patient with me, and generous - she suggested we go to Commercial Street; i was likely to find something nice there.

So it was that we took an auto and were on our way to Commercial Street, when we passed Lido Mall and decided, on impulse, to get off there.

Our first stop was Guess, where i tried on a couple of black satin tops. What i liked wasn't available in my size, what i didn't like was. I tried on one that made my bustline overflow (like it doesn't already), and walked up to G doing a Voulez Vous number. G was flabbergasted, and just about wishing to God that she was blind. Or anywhere but there.

Next we went to Next - another pesudo place with nothing stylish in my size. Misery, misery, misery. 109 degree F. Found some very pretty dresses that fit me (!), but i wasn't too keen on any because they were not something i was looking for. We were three hours down into the shopping spree already. And still empty-handed. I tried getting in touch with everybody i could to find out where the AND store could possibly be so i could just go there and pick up stuff, but no such luck. G and i took the elevator to head to Pantaloons - a brand i completely adore because they have good stuff in my size.

As the elevator drew close to our destination, the other stores were revealed like a curtain lifting off the screen of a movie theatre. I saw an 'A' emerge from behind the railing, then an 'N', followed by a 'D'. I was stunned. AND. An AND store. The only AND store in Bangalore. And i happened to stumble upon it.

Thank God for passing UKG classes where they teach you how to spell stuff.

If anybody can hop (like a kangaroo on ecstacy) on an elevator without getting a foot pulled into a disappearing stair, it's me. I have never felt such happiness in a really, really long time. Genuine happiness.

I zoomed into the AND store, and tried on every Size 16 they had available. Short-listed two: a black number, with a boat neck and sequin embroidery in white, and a zig zag just-below-the-knee number with a cream shrug. Hmm, tough. The zig zag one it would be.

That night, my excitement was only heightened by the clothes i was wearing. And i looked, if i may say so myself, positively yummy.

What a great way to begin a new year!