Week 7 : First Outing With My Girlfriend’s Family

This week I start German lessons at the institute and it’s quite a strange feeling. Travelling everyday early morning, learning and studying. Something I haven’t done since college. For now, I’ve figured that I will take the bus early in the morning from my place which will drop me 5 minutes away from the institute. There are no direct buses till evening so I may have to take the train and then a bus back home. It’d almost take me 2 hours to come back. If the parking is cheaper near the institute, I might end up taking the car so it’s easier for me to come back with less traffic.

It was absolutely horrific while coming back. I had to change my mode of transport 4 times just to get home and it took me two hours to come back. It was so hot, I ended up with a headache. I think to myself that if I spend a little more I could take the car while a different part of my brain thinks that maybe I don’t deserve to spend that much money on myself when I’m not earning and have no job.

I took the car for a couple days trying to find a reliable parking lot which won’t overcharge. It turns out that all government parking lots have been handed over to private contractors who charge ₹100 an hour or ₹200-300 for 3-4 hours. Where is this country going? Even after checking the government tariff board at the parking lot, they do not adhere to the cost and overcharge. I decided to take the train to save money on parking and started taking Uber auto till the railway station. So my travel expense comes out to be a little over the cheapest option but almost 40-50% less than taking the car plus parking or even the direct bus in the morning. The Chalo app and buses from CSMT have been a saviour. I’m getting used to the travel but the severe amount of pollution isn’t helping even when I’ve worn a mask.

A story about bad timing. I paid the tuition fees and a day later I got a call to interview for a potential day shift job. They weren’t ready to wait till I finished my classes. After explaining the situation to them, I gave my first interview this week which lasted for four hours. It’s the same role I have been doing and mostly remote. So while I have classes from morning till afternoon, I will start work after reaching home. Once my classes end, I will be shifted to a permanent day shift. That is if I do get the job. I am absolutely dreading not having enough time to myself. I also do not want to work Saturdays. Going to a 6-day work week from a 5-day work week is absolutely horrible. But maybe this workplace would offer better work-life balance. Honestly, low-key I was hoping that I would get the job and they would cancel the classes due to not having enough students. The interview went well, I think. There’s not many remote jobs out there and even if there are, it’s not easy to get them. Practically, it makes sense to just take this and sustain myself. I just want to take a week-long trip with Arya at this point. It’s been a week since I gave the interview, they haven’t called back or anything.

Remember I was supposed to go out with Arya and her parents? We did that this weekend. They came over to see where I’ve lived for the past year and it seemed that they did like the house and the view from the studio apartment. I had been so nervous about having my girlfriend’s parents come see where I live; it did go well, I think. We took the car and went to Palladium, it was her parents' first visit to the mall. Arya and I had decided we’d have lunch at Ishaara and we had a really nice meal. They said they did like and enjoy the food. Well, I really did want them to like the place. I don’t know, there is a certain amount of nervousness for a first outing with the girlfriend’s parents. I was sharing my couponing stories and how there are food festivals which give almost 50% off on dining out for a couple months a year.

We decided to go to the grocery store and Bath & Body Works but that didn’t last more than a couple minutes. Arya mentioned that they wouldn’t prefer window shopping because they only want to see stores when they want to buy something. After seeing the quick rejections on their faces, we moved on to bowling.

A side mini story, while we were going towards the arcade, Arya just casually held my hand and I was flush with awkwardness. Obviously, I loved it. But come on! Her parents were right there! So there hasn’t been a single time when we’ve gone out and not held each other’s hands while we’re walking. It did feel weird and off that in the last one year, this was the first time we had not held each other's hands. So while she was giggling throughout the whole thing, the awkwardness in my brain reduced gradually. What a rush! We were discussing how during the car ride I couldn’t hold her hand or even pat her head or anything else.

We reached the arcade and while we’re waiting for our turn to bowl, Arya and I decided to show them around. We made her parents play quite a few games including but not limited to skee-ball and basketball, and damn were they good. It was their first time playing it and they were much better at it than us. Bowling was a lot of fun too. It felt nice to see Arya laugh and smile, and at the same time be grumpy cause she bowled a few gutters.

Her parents got a little tired and didn’t want to walk anymore so we decided to head back and I was going to drop them home first. Arya tried to convince me to stay over for the night which I was okay with as I had carried sweatpants as backup. But I didn’t want to intrude too much considering her parents might want a break after the outing. She mentioned they’re okay with it so I decided to stay over. Her mom made us dosas the next morning, so I ate and left later. I didn’t want to leave and go away from her. Reality sucks.

The drive back home was a little weird. I felt a rush of strange emotions and was overwhelmed by it. Not knowing how to process the whole thing, I broke down in the car. Arya being herself, so kind and accepting towards me, I don’t think I’ve ever had that on a regular basis. This entire past year I’ve been so happy being with her that it has overwhelmed me at times because I haven’t experienced it with this consistency. Her parents being so accepting and open to getting to know me, being nice and kind to me, it’s a strange feeling. Yay for trauma. I’m grateful I met her.

Food Update of the Week

Nothing fancy for this week since I started learning German. I haven't been getting much time. Still getting used to the routine. Have been getting food from the local kitchen or heating up the frozen parathas from Aashirvaad. Went to Ishaara with Arya and her parents. I took Phab’s granola bars to snack in the class. They tasted quite good, however, they do seem to have some amount of sugar in them but not to a bad extent. I’m thinking of trying The Whole Truth’s bars next.

Binge-Watching Update of the Week

Finished watching season 2 of Squid Games; what an existential crisis it caused. Got done with season 6 of Virgin River; had a nice cry session. I didn’t get much time to watch anything else considering my weekdays are spent going to class and studying after coming back.

Thank you for reading :)

Catch you in the next one, peace.