Heppy Bhelantine's and all that.

Two pleasure weekends with a work week in between can be quite draining, even if the work week amounts to nothing.

The weekend of Sixth, i was on a bus to Gokarna. A destination i had planned on as part of my holidaying back in the early 2000s - mostly as a clandestine getaway with an ex - that never quite materialised. Of course, because the planning with ex always left me tense and anxious about making it safely to the place, this time when i finally did manage to go there, i was faced with an unpredicted anxiety attack. It just didn't seem right to travel there without him. Once i had figured out that it was because of all those years of agonising over to-go or not-to-go, i was fine.

And Gokarna itself helped.

I think the place beats Goa hands-down. I love it. Quiet, unhyped, un-Indian (a bliss on beaches) and very, very peaceful. The water was crystal clear, with shallows extending to at least half a kilometre so one could venture in without drowning. Think, i even managed to take my Nikon D3000 into the water! We stayed at Kudle, which i would say is the better off of the two beaches, the other being Om.

Debauchery happened over the two days, of course. Lots of food, sending (an incredile 18 in less than 24 hours!) and watermelon juice.

Last weekend, i was in Chennai. A reunion of the Three Musketeers after six and a half years. The first time since college that we were together again. It started off on a fairly sour note because i happened to land up pretty late, but then it was all okay. Sunday, we drove to Mahabs - the place where it all started. We swayed by the sea, had an average breakfast at the Radisson and then indulged in some fishy business - the fish pedicure.

Interesting experience, that. Initially, it seems like the fish are bent on tickling you to death, then sometimes it seems like they're bent on chewing off your toe, but otherwise they're okay. The session's pretty enjoyable - almost like dipping your feet in a pool of water with a thousand little electrical discharges in it that do you more good than harm.

This weekend, i hope to be at peace. NO travelling for a while. I want to be a home bird - just nestle into the comforting warmth of endless mess and TV, read a little, write a little, watch lots of movies on the laptop... Maybe i'll even put the sewing machine to good use and get started on the fabric i picked up for cushion covers in Chennai.

Yes. I is domesticated. Like the cow.