Smelly Shit and Potpourri

This is potpourri, it masks the stench of your bathroom after you've dumped a happy log.

Ayyyye it’s 2022! I’m hoping that everyone has gone into the new year with positive vibes and a sense of revival! For those of you who have resolutions, I’m excited for you and wholeheartedly wish for your progress and success! You got this. As for me, I didn’t bother setting goals this year because, in all honesty, I’ll probably not get to them until 2032. Instead, I decided to just stop planning and start doing.

2021 was 73% smelly shit and about 27% POTpourri (pun intended). I’ve witnessed how dishonesty and secrets can shatter dreams. I understand that some forms of dishonesty can be justified, but the most atrocious kind of dishonesty are the lies people tell themselves – in some cases, it can deform their entire identity. This got me thinking about a time last week, when I felt a pang of guilt for a lie that I told nearly 20 years ago:

My brother, his girlfriend and I were enjoying some fancy sushi at a restaurant called, Baba Sushi, in Worcester. After a few oysters and drinks, conversation flowed, and my brother recalled a time when he and I were 5 and 8, respectively. My brother valiantly confessed, in front of his girlfriend, that he once called 911 when my parents left us at home alone. I instantly remembered that incident - the cops came to our childhood home, and my parents almost got into some big doodoo for leaving two little children at home alone for hours. Why did I remember that event so clearly? Because my brother wasn’t the one that called 911 that day - it was me!

When I was a little girl, my thatha used to show me how to craft, paint, and sketch. The most memorable were the paper flowers. Art was our thing; I get all my arts-and-craftiness from my grandfather. That day, my parents left me to babysit my little brother and went shopping for a few hours. We were overall civilized kids, so they let us stay home when we didn’t want to go to Lowes or some other boring place. I occupied myself by making paper flowers for a show-and-tell at school the following week. Midway through my project, I realized I forgot how to shape the rose petals. So, I decided to call my thatha, in India, to ask him. For those of you who don’t know your international country codes, USA is +1, India is +91. I got the 9 1 right and then accidently dialed an extra 1. Almost instantly, the emergency dispatcher answered the call. Scared shit-less, I hung up. She called me right back.

These are the flowers my thatha made.

I tried to explain the mistake, but she knew I was a child and asked to speak with my parents. I didn’t know what to do, and I couldn’t bring my parents to the phone. The cops arrived at my house about 10 minutes later and requested me to open my garage door. All I remember thinking was that I was going to be in some major trouble. Without any consideration, I scapegoated my little brother and told them that he had done it. But all day, Krishna had just been watching SpongeBob SquarePants on repeat. The police stuck around until my parents came home and no one got in any real trouble, but my parents gave Krishna a not-so-nice scolding on why calling 911 is not a joke. I just stood there, and watched. He, cluelessly, took it all - he didn't even object or defend himself!

My brother is currently floating around somewhere in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. For the next 6-8 months, he’ll be guarding a nuclear reactor submarine and his life will be almost entirely up to fate. On our drive to drop him off at the Naval Base, I had a sudden urge to come clean. Shockingly, his response was, “uhm.. no, I remember doing it, but whatever.” That spur-of-the-moment lie had been a fake reality to him for nearly 20 years. He had literally convinced himself that he did it - he didn’t commit the act though, he had no motive for the crime. I felt better after telling him the truth, so then we had some more oysters and got drunk.

My baby brother, who never told on me. We don't remember taking this picture.

Or this one...

Step 1 to anything starts with building your own character. I’d like to encourage all of you to get into the habit of being honest - especially with yourselves. Look beyond the bogus that surrounds you. It’s so easy to fool, and to be fooled in today’s world – you don’t need to be fooling yourself. Smell that shit, no more potpourri.

If you read all this, I'm impressed and grateful. Stay tuned for more random thoughts and stories. Alright, I’m done. Byyyee!