'Namaste'. Being an Indian, I am supposed to hear that word too often. But in Mumbai hardly anyone uses it as a greeting. 'Hi' and 'Hello' had taken over long back. But, Maria makes it sure that I am greeted with a 'Namaste' atleast once everyday. Maria is a latina from Spain, thats like 5000 miles west of where I stay. Boy! is she loud.
I know her for more than a year now. We hardly talk. Maybe thats the secret of our friendship! Instant Messenger, the new age communication joyride, thats where we meet.
Maria works in the same organization as mine. Its a monster of an organization. But enough about that. We are hear to talk about Maria, the QTpie. She is the most adventurous and fun-loving girl I know. There is not a single weekend that she wastes on her couch, sipping coffee and watching TV. A complete travel freak, she has been roaming around entire western Europe since she got her passport. That should explain the graduation in Tourism. She knows all the islands in the Mediterranean and the Aegean by heart. She loves India, has travelled most of North and Eastern India. Too bad she missed Goa. Recently Mexico had to bear the brunt of her invasion. And, she didn't get me anything from there. I hate Mexico!!
We chat almost everyday, you may call it occupational hazard. Mostly the chatting sessions are related to work.......ok, I am a bad liar. Its hardly related to work. We discuss her travel stories, her grudge against our organization, future plans and what not, among other things. That doesn't mean she enjoys a light workload in office. Believe me, what Maria does is way beyond tiring and boring. That should explain the grudge against the company. And its not like she is making big bucks. Poor thing! I wonder how she manages her trips across Europe.
Another striking feature is her sense of humour. Chat with her for a while and you will know. She aint like other girls, you know, the ones who go bantering along and all you do is 'Hmmmm...'. You dont get bored while chatting with her, but theres a high possiblity that she might get bored of you.
It doesnt take much to put a smile across her face. The best example to support that - all she wanted for her birthday was a piece text describing her. I doubt if I have done justice to that. Also, its almost a month late. But hey! better late than never :-)
Any reference to anyone or anything is utterly and purely unintentional. On the contrary, I am possibly more or less not definitely rejecting the idea that I undeniably do or do not know if there is at all any intentional reference that probably shouldn't be. If that indeed is what it shouldn't be.
