Ah, September, you are a Fickle Fellow

Well, September is almost over. It has truly been a month of ups and downs for me. I did my very first order of wedding invitations for a dear friend on twitter, and hope to perhaps start my own handmade wedding invitation business in the new year; lost a little girl in my dayhome who I've had since I started (tears flowed freely as she left on her last day), and subsequently have had to fight off creditors as my income plummeted (for anyone ever considering opening a private dayhome as your means of income, I say RECONSIDER!!!); and I got in my first big fight with my best girlfriend, made up and went to Vegas for our annual birthday celebration.

I love Vegas. I've been there three times now, on the strip, and it never gets boring. What did get boring, however, were the clubs. No dance space, men who just decide they're going to come up behind you and start humping your ass until you move away, and urban house music sprinkled every now and then with a top 40 dance hit. I longed for a good desi club, but as far as I know there isn't a single one in Vegas, let alone on the strip. Too bad. If I'm wrong, someone let me know for next time.



My actual birthday day was great though. We spent the entire morning/afternoon by the pool. Despite what a lot of people on trip advisor said, the pool area at NYNY hotel is really very nice. We had a cabana, complete with unlimited snacks, drinks and service. It was wonderful, and the weather was so gorgeous I could hardly stand the thought of coming back to crappy Alberta, especially since we had probably the worst summer on record ever! I got a lovely silver scarf and Indian cookbook from my gf's mom and friend, who also accompanied us on our trip.


After they literally had to kick us out of the pool area (which closes at 6! Wtf?! I will never understand why they don't keep them open into the evening), I was taken to The Gaylord Indian Restaurant at the Rio hotel (is it just me or is that the worst name for an Indian restaurant, seriously?). We indulged in a couple of bottles of wine (in addition to the champagne and malibu rum we'd had earlier), made some new friends (a table with teen ladki beside us joined in a little dance when Mauja Hi Mauja burst forth from my phone), ate some super delish and exceptionally overpriced eats and shared some laughs with our servers. Once again they had to kick us out. The rest of the night was spent dancing and fending off unwanted advances at Jet nightclub at the Mirage, then at Nine Fine Irishmen at NYNY where my gf insists she was given a roofie laced shooter from the husband half of an older couple from Detroit. Aaah, good times.


Birthday celebrations took a disappointing turn when I got home though when I didn't get so much as a card from neither my husband nor my mother. Bless my sister, however, for knowing me so well and surprising me with a copy of Anupama Chopra's King of Bollywood. Thanks didi! So, all in all, a good birthday, though as much as I try to deny it, this body of mine is getting older, even if my mind isn't, and partying all night definitely takes it's toll. NAHIIIIIIIIN!!!!

Birthday talk aside, though I didn't blog at all this month (I really don't know where all my times goes these days), I did manage to watch a few movies. Sholay finally graced my screen. LOVED IT!!! So much goodness I could hardly stand it. If you haven't seen Sholay (Erin I'm looking at you!) get on it NOW!!!! I also finally got around to see Rocket Singh, which I also really enjoyed. Ranbir Kapoor has really been impressing me lately. I think I'm ready to put Saawariya behind me.

What else?.... Oh, I watched Badmaash Company, which was one movie I was extremely excited to see and would have probably seen in a theatre if I had one nearby. What can I say about BC? I was confused at first what they were doing. Was it a con? Was it legitimate? The registered company name really threw me off. Who cons someone and then has payment made to a licensed business name? Also, Shahid, who dresses up to the nines to go gambling in a casino and takes their ginormous wads of cash in a white garbage bag? You can take the boy out of Delhi....

Lastly, I was devastated when I was not able to accompany my sister this summer to a screening of Kites, so I was beside myself to receive a copy and had to watch it immediately. Despite all of the rumored spoilers, I was actually still surprised at the ending. I thought it was a lovely film and Hrithik and Barbara both were just passionate and lovely. My only real critique was that I couldn't understand how they kept getting found so fast and easily. Tony, dude, she doesn't want you. Give it up! Also I would have liked to have seen Kangs a bit more, but what are you going to do? I have Vaada Raha sitting on my dvd shelves to watch if I can stomach a whole movie with Bobby Deol.

So that's been pretty much my entire movie experiences this summer. What the heck? I need to get back into the Bollywood swings of things. So many movies, so little time.

Happy viewing all!

7 Response to "Ah, September, you are a Fickle Fellow"

  1. Maya Magdalena says:
    September 29, 2010 at 10:15 AM

    Lovely post, Shell! Keep enjoying yourself :)

  2. Shellie says:
    September 29, 2010 at 10:41 AM

    thanks darling. I'm going to put forth my best effort!

  3. bollyviewer says:
    September 29, 2010 at 11:36 AM

    That is one very eventful month! A Belated Happy Birthday and hope your wedding invitation card business does come to fruition!

    And I am so glad you liked Sholay - it's the be-all and end-all of 70s masala films. I usually watch it till around Dharam's "suicide" scene and then duck out before the shooting starts. :D

    Re "The Gaylord" - it is a very popular name for restaurants back in India. Almost every city has a Gaylord restaurant (I used to love the one in Bombay) and there was even a "Gaylord" ice-cream company when I was a kid. It's probably a hang over from the Raj era when "Gay"lord only meant a happy aristocrat!

  4. Anishok says:
    September 30, 2010 at 1:05 AM

    Missed you Shellie! Glad you had a fun time in Vegas :) P.S. And your sister is a genius!

  5. Shellie says:
    September 30, 2010 at 7:32 AM

    @bollyviewer - thanks hon! I would have never guessed that the Gaylord name stemmed all the way from India itself. Now I feel even more priviledged to have eaten there.

    I'll have the VCR ready and waiting for whenever your wheels make it to you!

    @Anishok - Thanks babe, and she certainly is!

  6. triShie says:
    October 4, 2010 at 5:17 PM

    ok, i'm ubber late... sorry!! HAPPY HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY!!.. life just keeps bringing it, aye? admist all the downs, there'll always be the "ups".. i like how the teen girls danced along to your ringtone! :)

    simple things!

    ps: i LOVED Rocket Singh.. Ranbir's definately a star in the making...

  7. Shellie says:
    October 6, 2010 at 10:52 AM

    Thanks Trishie! It was a fab birthday for sure. However, I always miss my Bollywood when I go there, so I am going to treat IIFA in June as an early birthday!

    Ranbir's got some tricks up his sleeve that are going to keep up guessing for a long time. I'm sure there's more goodness to come.