Really really upset :(

There's nothing more upsetting in this world than feeling cheated... and especially when all you wanted to do was bring a smile on a 4 year old's face.

8 June 11.14 am EDT: On 11 June my niece Jiya was turning 4 and I thought why not send her a cake.

8 June 2.10 pm EDT: An innocent poor me logs onto a nice looking pretty website called http://www.gifts-to-india.com/ and selects a cake, a teddy and 5 balloons. Your order is now done, the webiste claims. Please proceed to make the payment.

8 June 2.14 pm EDT: I use my internet banking option to make the payment and smile as I get a prompt reply from ccavenue and the website 'Your order has been approved and will be delivered on your specified date.'

11 June 8.00 am EDT: My telephone bell rings. 'Athi, they didn't get any cake.' My ma is yelling me awake. Really, you shouldn't tell your mothers anything in advance. Its more difficult consoling them than anyone else. I tell her to calm down. I call them, after many calls they pick up and say they say they are going to ship it next day since they don't have an agent in Palakkad. Whatever I say, do it tomorrow.

12 June 8.30 am EDT: 'Athi, they still haven't got any cake.' 'OK ma, I can't create any cake, let me see what to do. Pls relax.' I call the only customer care number on their site 9230721098. No answer. I put a hate mail, which was a less hate mail, almost beg mail.

13 June 1.30 am EDT: I finally get a reply to my mail, saying they can't deliver since address is very far and they need more money to deliver there. Very well.. I call them. They pick up !!! Wow. Then they say Mam please cancel your order, We will refund. I'm not convinced. Something has been telling me these guys aren't right.

13 June 2.00am EDT: I simpy google 'www.gifts-to-india.com complaints' and what do I find. Just what I feared.. a FRAUD website.

http://www.reviewcentre.com/review589326.html

http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Gifts-to-india.com-925591455-sort-AvgRating-order-d.html

http://www.consumercomplaints.in/?search=gifts-to-india.com

Disheartened and upset, I write a hate-beg mail again to cancel my order and refund my amount. I get a mail saying they will refund in 10-15 working days. They must be trying to avoid my phone calls obviously.

13 June 3.30 am EDT: I write a review on mouthshut and a blog.

Going off to sleep now... Will update the progress.

Lesson to be learnt- Never ever pay online before checking the authenticity of the website and well if you find no complaints anywhere and you are the first one to be doomed, hard luck. But please please warn others.

A small hello !

I was wondering for a while why I wasn't writing , my husband inquired too. Yes, I got married on Feb 7. And had the loveliest honeymoon in Srilanka. :) That I will write about later.

Well really, I guess when you have someone to talk to and vent out all your frustrations against, there is little reason why you would crib in writing. I'm getting used to this change in my life.

For all the people who aren't married yet, folks.. you are in for such a surprise. Mine has definitely taken an entire 180 degree turn. And for most people I think that holds. Trust me on this, you can live in , you can have a relationship for 10 years together and then marry but you will still be shocked. For the basic reason that someone questions you, bugs you and cares for you every minute. And you can never ever know the true self of another person until you are actually married. So I can totally understand now why some marriages work and some don't.

The good thing is I can now officially call myself a pretty decent cook. And I also don't really hate the US, like I thought I would. Its pretty copeable here.

I was just dropping in to say a hello. I'm gonna come back later and write more.

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My spell check says 'copeable' spelling is incorrect. Does anyone know whether the word does really exist?

OMG! I just realized that this is my only post in this year. I must have been hibernating. I'm definitely gonna write more often now.

An easy choice

I haven't posted for ages.. but I have written lots. There is a certain notslagic and permanent pain in this story which I'm sure most of us can relate to. I think I should go back to telling experiences.. thats what I like the best. Articles... not really my cup of tea.
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As I stood at the railway station watching him go, I knew I wouldn’t see him again. Was I sad? Maybe. But I was definitely being practical. You can’t be in love with someone you have known for barely a day. At least not the sort of love I wanted to be in. Yet it hurt, deep inside, a pain indefinable and illogical. And when he looked at me, his eyes filling up, I wanted badly to ask him to stay. But I knew I couldn’t. It just didn’t seem right.

I have always been an independent lot, walking away from sinfully tempting situations unscathed, with disappointment and hurt but never regretting a decision ever. Always wanting an easy uncomplicated life. But I had no idea this was going to different.

I never forgot him. I have often (at those vague uninspiring instances in life) wondered what it would have been like, if we had been together. Would a common love for books, movies and everything creative have been a reason enough to stick together? Is that all there is to love? He came across as one of those genuine people you rarely get to meet, people who leave their mark in one meeting. There was this aura about him which I loved, an aura that was pleasant and warm and put people to ease. Some charmer he was and the declarations of undying love were quite enticing. But I happen to be fairly level headed and so I saw nothing more in that meeting except for a momentary companionship, bordered on infatuation. But maybe there could have been more… He just became one of those million things, in a life cluttered with random people, things and thoughts, that I couldn’t erase but would never really be a part of my life.

Choices like these are not always hard to make, because you never really get deep enough in them to let it really affect you. But there are many other decisions in life that are extremely difficult to make. I have often found myself on that road where I had to choose between two equally important things in life. And often we may not be right in that choice. But it is important to stick through what you choose, till the very end, at least if it is not harming you in any manner. But of course, it is true you can never go back and correct things in life. You can only hope that you will get a similar chance in future and you will be able to make the right choice next time.

Coming back to my story, I did see him once many years later. My friend’s wedding. We saw each other, the unexpected encounter leaving us momentarily stunned and then quickly looked away. He had a girl on his arms. A very pretty girl. I choose to pretend otherwise but I was secretly jealous. I was surprised that I even remembered him, I mean I did, but I never thought I would recognize him after all these years and he did look so different. A mutual friend introduced us and we smiled courteously. There wasn’t a hint of ever meeting before, and I guess for good. I really don’t know how I would have reacted otherwise. I searched for him before leaving. He had already left. Maybe if there wasn’t that girl with him, I would have struck up a conversation, or maybe not. I‘ll never know.