It’s December 31, 2016 and clock shows 11:05 PM. I am in Burnaby (one of the cities in Metro Vancouver, Canada). It was snowing heavily today and seeing snowfall has become one of my few favorite things to do. I had to shovel it off twice from my driveway and parkway so as to prevent any accident caused by slippery surface. And shoveling is a hell of a task which I don’t like at all. But I have to shovel it off at my work too, so why not where I live. I work six days in a week, Monday to Saturday in a warehouse. I often get very upset mentally as this is not what I want to do. Well, I have to do it for a while for some other reasons. And now that I know I have to do it, I give my best at work. I get very tired physically. Thus, Sunday is not just a day-off but more of a bliss for me. And guess what, I have three consecutive day-offs now! Saturday for it is new year’s eve, Sunday for it is Sunday & new year’s first day and Monday for it is being observed as new year’s first (business) day as the actual first day of new year was itself a holiday i.e., Sunday. You got it! Right?
I stay with a family here. They are very nice people, just as I would expect any decent family to be. Earlier, I used to live in a rented apartment. That was kind of good but not as good as it is now. I feel like home here. Anyways, I woke up late today and soon realized I was about to get late for my driving knowledge test. So I rushed into the bathroom to get ready as fast as I could. I turned on the shower and pulled its lever towards ‘hot’. I waited for few seconds just to make sure water gets suitably warm. I stood under it and ‘What the f…!!’ I stepped out of it in a fraction of second. It was a minor heart attack for me. I literally forgot to breathe for a moment. Water was freezing cold! Before I could go out and see what was wrong with the boiler (Here we have a boiler in the house. It is used to heat up the house and to keep hot water supply running.), I heard a voice from outside informing me about boiler breakdown. It was Nani Ma cautioning me. Well, she is my friend’s grandmother and that’s why I too call her Nani Ma. I knew something was wrong with the boiler. I can’t remember when was the last time I skipped taking shower. I am pretty sure I never skipped it and I am never going to skip it. I just can’t. Today’s shower reminded me of some good old days spent in Haridwar once. I felt the same sensation as I felt there while taking deep plunges into the cold waters of The Ganges.
I soon left for ICBC’s knowledge test center. In half an hour or so, I was done with my test and this time, I nailed it by securing cent percent in the test. This was my second try. I failed my first test by mere 2 percent. I had to score an 80 but I got 78 only. Though it’s considered okay for most of the people to fail this test for first time, yet it was a major concern for me. I felt like a loser that day, for few minutes though! But the good news is, I got my Class 7 — learner’s driving licence. After coming back to home, I played Mortal Kombat XL and Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare on my newly bought PlayStation 4 Pro. It is quite an expensive console. That’s the reason why your computer keyboard has $ sign on number 4 key. Just kidding! But your keyboard has it 😉
As it was already January 1st in India, I got some new year text messages from few of my friends there. I was expecting few messages from some people, but did not get it. However, I got some wishes from few unexpected people. I was surprised to see their text. The day went by finally.
I was about to sleep, but I realized I haven’t written anything lately. So now I am sitting on the couch writing this long boring and random write-up. Almost everyone has gone to celebrate new year with their friends. Aman is in Vancouver, Anisha in Victoria (beautiful capital city of British Columbia) and Amrita in Seattle, USA. Nana Ji and Nani Ma would have gone too. But they didn’t as the roads are full of snow and it is not very safe for them to drive in this weather. Anjali is busy packing her suitcases. She will be going to Trail to start her internship with Canada’s largest diversified resource company. I hope she finds that place good for herself. I can hear the songs she is playing right now. She has a nice collection of English, Hindi and Punjabi songs. Yesterday, we both were playing together on PS4. I don’t know how she managed to beat me up in every single fight we fought.
Vancouver is among the western most points on earth. That’s why we observe each occasion in the end. Oh! It’s 12 AM now. I wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year 2017. Thank you for withdrawing some time and reading this thing (whatever it is!).
NOTE: This write-up was first published here on Medium.