At the turn of the millennium I was........

In the spirit of year-end retrospection, which this time coincides with the end of the 21st century's first decade, I thought it would be fun to see how much I'd changed since December 1999. Let's see now:

At the turn of the millennium I was......

1) ....well, 10 years younger (25) and a little bit naive.

2) ....still basking in the newlywed glow and thrilled to discover that, contrary to what one hears, marriage can be extremely liberating. Arvind and I got hitched in 1998.

3) ....on the way to becoming a mum. Full of hope. Oblivious to what a natural childbirth really entails! Baby 1 arrived in August, 2000.

4) ....more patient. Or was it less? I can't quite decide. I do think little things drive me insane much sooner now. But then I realise that I have become immune to a lot of aggravation and provocation being around my children all the time.

5) ....a LOT slimmer. But less fit and flexible than now.

6) ....able to make friends more easily. Now I just don't have the time or patience to endure pointless small talk in the hope of unearthing a friend. Go for quality rather than quantity. Few pass muster, I'm afraid.

7) ....less likely to give people a second chance. Thanks to being a parent, that has changed.

8) ....more likely to be distracted by the superficial. Thankfully, with time, lucky ones like me learn to separate the wheat from the chaff and go for substance rather than flash.

9) ....much more ambitious. I wanted to build a career in the news business. I don't miss my professional life one bit now.

10) ....totally unaware of my painting skills. Didn't make a start until 2003. Was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. Now I hope that can turn into my primary profession some day.

11) ....more easily drawn into arguments. I'd rise to the bait each time. Now I can let things slide when I know an argument would just lead to bickering and not a constructive exchange of ideas.

12) ....less capable of being a heartless bitch when the situation demanded it (some might disagree). No such problems now!

13) ....more likely to wear jewellery.

14) ....less likely to wear make-up. Camouflage is now necessary sometimes!

15) ....just as likely to pick out mistakes in print, even text on the TV screen. Can't switch the inner editor off - ever!

16) ....able to consume mind-boggling quantities of food and alcohol! Those days are, mercifully, behind me.

17) ....as likely to switch on the telly and hunt for the funnies. I badly need a good laugh to unwind at the end of each day.

18) ....just as impatient with Hindi films. While things have begun to change, the majority of movies coming out of Bollywood still hold no appeal whatsoever for me.

19) ....more likely to offer justification for my behaviour in the hope of validation. Now, I frankly don't give a fig what others think.

20) ....less in love than I am today! (I know, I know. High on barf value. A sappy note to end on, but it's the truth)

So tell me about yourself. How have you evolved in the last decade?