18.

TOTGA has 1000 odd friends on facebook. And I am not one of them.

I guess it is because I am no longer one in a thousand as far as he is concerned.

17. Malai Neram

The radio played malai neram. Again. It was our song. Everytime I hear it, I go back to thinking about the day he called me on his way home from work, in a magical land far far away, so I could hear it playing through his car radio. And I keep thinking about it till someone points out that I'm sitting at my desk with a silly smile on my face.

I wonder if I am allowed to stalk him on facebook. There's not much to do though, since he unfriended me and all. And I said "My ex unfriended me on facebook". That was the first time I'd given our relationship a name. I think he took offense to that. But like the two of us already know, offense is the best form of defense.

I have another teacup in my hand, yes, but I'm somehow unable to sweep up this broken one. Maybe because I never got to use it.

As an aside: it is maalai, meaning evening. Not malai, meaning mountain. Or malaai, meaning milk cream. Although some malaai neram would be nice.

16. The one that got away.

The boy and I survived his 4 month long trip to the des. Intact. We survived the "longer distance" portion of our perpetual "long distance relationship". In a few months, it'll be a year. Good lard.

In a few months, it'll also be a year since I stopped seeing multiple boys at the same time. That, I don't regret. Except for when a really cute boy is on the bus and I want to just ride the bus till wherever he is going. Then, I just want to club the boy on the head. Monogamy while one in the couple is unconscious is just ridiculous, so it excuses the other's actions. [This argument will not hold in court. If you're married, please do not try to use this as legal advice. Just a reminder] But I didn't. I'm nice like that.

Except for the times I think about the guy we will refer to simply as the one that got away, or TOTGA (pronounced toga, or to-go, depending on your preference). In a few months, it will be a year since I stopped seeing him. I use the term "seeing him" rather loosely, for the fellow was in the des. All through our flirting and courting and.. um, dating. All thanks to the marvels of technology like the laptops and the webcams and the interwebs. I am less surprised by the fact I built a "relationship" with totga than I am by me and the boy lasting his international trip. I wonder if that means something.