Phoenix Tears

Another Favorite Forward

2010-03-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

I dislike forwards, specially the religious forwards, the consequence forwards (categories here).

But there was this one forward that my uncle sent me last year that I loved and rather than 'forwarding' it I posted it on my blog (here).

This one below is i think on the same line as the last link, and this one made me smile, so rather them bombarding your mailbox I am hosting it here. Cheers!

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Dear All,

I wanted to thank all my friends and family who have forwarded chain letters to me in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 and continuing it in 2010 also :)

Because of your kindness:

* I stopped drinking Coca Cola after I found out that it's good for removing toilet stains and can harm intestines.

* I stopped eating Kurkure and Mentos since they are made of kurkure is made of plastic and mentos may blast in stomach

* I stopped going to the movies for fear of sitting on a needle infected with AIDS.

* Forwarded hundreds of mails but still waiting for FREE DESKTOP, LAPTOP, CAMERA, CELLPHONE or cheques from Microsoft.

* I smell like a wet dog since I stopped using deodorants because they cause cancer...

* I don't leave my car in the parking lot or any other place and sometimes I even have to walk about 7 blocks for fear that someone will drug me with a perfume sample and try to rob me.

* I also stopped answering the phone for fear that they may ask me to dial a stupid number and then I get a phone bill with calls to Uganda, Pakistan, Singapore and Tokyo.

* I also stopped drinking anything out of a can for fear that I will get sick from the rat faeces and urine.

* I also stopped withdrawing money from ATM machine due to the fear of hidden devices that may capture my card information and empty my bank account.

* When I go to parties, I don't look at any girl, no matter how hot she is, for fear that she will take me to a hotel, drug me, then take my kidneys and leave me taking a nap in a bathtub full of ice.

* I also donated all my savings to the Amy Bruce account. A sick girl that was about to die in the hospital about 7,000 times.. (Poor girl! she’s been 7 since 1993...)

* Still open to help somebody from Nigeria who wants to use my account to transfer his uncle's property of $ 100 million and more. So much trustworthy.

* I have forwarded 35 emails to over 400 people hoping that Ericsson or Nokia will send me latest mobile phones but those models are also obsolete now.

* Made some hundred wishes before forwarding those Angels, Ganesh, Tirupati Balaji pics etc. Now most of those 'Wishes' are already married (to someone else)

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you do not send this e-mail to at least 11,246 people in the next 10 seconds, a bird will P on your head today at 6:30pm.
Nothing has happened till now... but who knows. So please forward..... Otherwise! !!

As a result of travel

2010-03-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

I made 2 trips to India in the past three months. And in both the trips I was stuck surrounded by kids who were being kids (mildly understandable), and parents who were totally not being a parents...letting their kids run like a wild animal, kicking people, waking people and just generally being loud....the usual....what pissed me off was that the parents of these kids either made no discipline their kids, or totally ignored what the kid was doing and slept while other people bore the brunt of the Brat!

So it was interesting that I came across this below write up.....its all in good fun..hopefully someone dosen't take it literally and runs their mouth...

Let me say this again..this is posted as a fun read...if you have objections...just remember I am NOT listening!

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How come everyone today is too much of a pussy to smack their kids around? That's what I want to know: why are parents afraid to beat their kids? When I was a kid and I screwed up, my parents beat my ass. We didn't have a conversation about it. I didn't have a "time out." In fact, I've never even once been grounded in my life. What's the point? Send your kid to his room and make him play video games and read comic books all day? Great idea, why don't you take him to a psychiatrist while you're at it so she can pull some disorder out of her ass to hide the fact that you're a bad parent?

Kids today need a good beating every now and then. If you don't beat your kids when they fall out of line, the next thing you know your son will go off and bang some dude in the ass just out of spite. You tell them to clean their room, they say "no," you smack them. It's simple; it works. Don't listen to these assholes on TV with their bullshit hippy psycho babble; if they had it their way, every child would be raised in a pastel colored room with Philip Glass pumped through the speakers 24 hours a day. Then again, it might not be all that bad because it will make your kids complacent, so it won't be as hard for them to swallow when they realize that they'll be spending the rest of their lives chained to a desk in a cubicle writing reports to make someone else rich.

The problem is that kids today think their opinions matter. By not beating your kids, they get a skewed perspective of reality where they start thinking that they have it rough and that they can get away with dying their hair and listening to Insane Clown Posse. That's where you need to come in and put the law down. To help you, the negligent parent, I've put together a guide to smacking your kids for your convenience (hint: you may want to even print this guide up and hang it on your fridge as a reminder to both you and your kids). Here are some useful techniques:

Five across the eyes. This is a very basic maneuver and usually enough to cover most situations when your child is out of line. Simply put four fingers tightly together and either leave the thumb off to the side or fold it behind the other four fingers. Then smack your kid across the face with the back of your hand. Now this is the tricky part: make sure to snap your wrist just before contact otherwise you won't get a stinging effect. Very important because you don't want to risk letting your kid think you're a pussy

The sucker punch. Just ask the question "hey, what's that on your shirt?" and when they look down, bust their lip. You need to do this every now and then to keep them guessing. Don't ever let them off the hook. Just because they're not doing anything wrong doesn't mean that they didn't do something wrong earlier that you weren't aware of

The yard stick. Or for those of you who don't use the arbitrary American system, this is also known as "the meter stick." This is a good general purpose beating because the stick usually doesn't last beyond three or four good whacks--usually enough to send the message

The one-two shut-the-hell-up. This is priceless when you're shopping and your kid won't shut the hell up: "I'm hungry, I want toys, I need my Insulin..." etc. First smack your kid (the 5 across the eyes technique works). Wait a few seconds for your kid to start crying, then smack your kid again to let him know that you mean business. This usually shuts them up because they see that the amount of crying is proportional to the amount of beatings

The 2 x 4 / PVC pipe. If you do your job as a parent, this should never have to be administered. This is for heavy duty jobs only (ie. any time your kid comes home and begins a sentence with "she might be pregnant..." or "I can _____ if I want to..." where the blank can be any of the following: smoke, have sex, experiment with drugs, watch Oprah, etc). Usually the threat of this beating is enough to keep your kid from screwing up

The Dragon Kick. If you're interested in a permanent solution to your child giving you lip about washing the dishes, cleaning his or her room or filing your tax return, then the Dragon kick might be the technique for you. I guarantee that you will only have to ask once after the Dragon kick has been administered.

The skull thump. A quick blow usually dealt to the side or back of the head. Simply flick them in the head with your finger. An alternative is to smack your child up side the head with your palm. Very useful for teaching your child to read when he or she makes a mistake. Hitting your child when he or she is learning builds confidence, or undermines confidence--I can't remember which.

The one-handed chauffeur reach around. A quick reach around while you're driving to smack your kid and his friends too if they disrespect. Swerve the car back and forth for the full effect.

The cane intercept. If you're too old to chase your kid around the house, use the handle of your cane to trip him if he tries to get away. When he gets up, poke him in the head a few times to let him know who's boss.

There you have it. Use these basic techniques to discipline your child if you want him or her to turn out to be a success story like me. Here's how to tell if you've fulfilled your obligations as a parent:

Remember: never take shit from your kids. You make payments on the house, utilities, their clothes, school, and their food. You own them. If they don't like it, they can move out. If you love your kids, love them enough to beat them so that they don't grow up to be idiots.

2,245,644 people don't know the difference between discipline and child abuse.

Credit to the site: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=beat

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Hope you enjoyed reading ... and it was worth a few laughs :)

Cheers

Back to Square one

2010-03-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

I started with this layout and after bouncing around I am back to it......oh the joy!

I have been neglecting this blog for a really really long time and I have my reasons...the primary one being I am Lazy :) so now you know.

But I do have a ton of stuff to blog about and hopefully tomorrow morning after getting through a couple of episodes of Dekh Bhai Dekh I will feel like blogging...till then my friends...adios

Happy 2010!!!

2009-12-31T23:38:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all you wonderful people! May 2010 be filled with good health, Wealth and tons of Joy and happiness....

Cheers!

In a street food state of Mind

2009-11-30T18:11:00.000-08:00

It all started in the last Sunday of November when mom, hubby and I went shopping. While mom was busy picking out fresh veggies, hubby and I were scouting the store for puri and murmura :). After dropping mom off (and making promises to eat healthy food) hubby and I headed home, and immediately whipped up some Pani Puri….that fried piece of dough dipped in Jal jeera water is like a little piece of Sunshine….suffice to say that ended up being lunch and dinner :)

Then came my blur of a trip to Mumbai (that is another post altogether), where I was unable to eat any Vada Pav or Pav Bhaji, and was totally disappointed. So naturally the only way to remedy the situation was to make a mouthwatering batch of bhaji, complete with side garnishes of raw onion, Nimbu and Mirchi. Combine that with Garam Pav soaking in Makhan and I was in Pav Bhaji Heaven :)

Then came this weekend, we were completely snowed in and like the rains, when the snow is covering everything and it is cold outside, the heart yearns for some food that will soothe your soul and what better to do that the Pakodas!....and you guessed it, that is exactly what I made, some Onions, some Potatoes and some Paneer pakodas matched up with a steaming cup of Garam Garam ginger tea and I captured another piece of heaven….

With so much sunshine and Heaven going around, I am one happy girl…forget the fact that I am trying to get in shape for the Feb trip…that weight loss can wait….it’s time for some good soul soothing street food :)

Design Dilemma :(

2009-11-20T20:14:00.000-08:00

It has been 2 months since hubby and I moved and more or less we have put all the stuff in place except for one Major area…notice the capital M….actually it should be a capital D…..the Drawing room

The room is L shaped……a looooong L…and the lower part of the L is the Dining room …at least that is what we have designated it as. For a better idea I have tried and depict what the apartment looks like right now.

The picture is self explanatory and as far as possible I have kept the colors as close as possible. One thing to note that even if the carpet under the TV, Futon and the rocking chairs looks grey in the picture, it is really like egg shell white.

Now you must wonder why all this trouble of not only drawing the whole thing out, but putting it here..on this blog….the reason is I need help…

Time to admit that I totally sick when it comes to design, styling or anything to do in that world, and hubby made a big blunder by relying on me to make the Apartment a home; hoping that I would have some style…hahahaha BIG MISTAKE!!!!

So now dear dear readers/friends help me out and tell me what can I do with the big empty space from the main door to the futon? I am willing to move the furniture around (except the dining table…there are 2 huge windows and we appreciate the view during dinner and the occasional lunch).

I have no idea what I can do …and I am even willing to buy a couple more pieces of furniture to fill the space, ….help me…pluuuuleeeeezzzzz

I Finished the movie

2009-10-26T17:35:00.001-07:00

I am going to make this short and sweet...and yeah it is defefinetly sweet!

So many of you remember the saga of District 9. I was totally aghast to how I reacted to the movie, and in spite of the horrible time I had that day, I was determined to conquer the movie.

And so ladies and gentlemen, let me proudly proclaim, that I have indeed managed to watch the complete movie and was feeling well the whole time! no t sickening feeling in my gut, so fainting spells...nothing; I sat through the movie and actually enjoyed it.

Turns out that the point that I fainted on the first time was the worst part of the movie, after that point the movie grossness goes down..and the movie actually becomes interesting ..in a good way!

So as I promised ...short and Sweet :)

Cheers!

Tagged !!

2009-09-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

I was feeling guilty for neglecting my blog (I have damn good reasons for it by the way...but that is a different entry all together).

So when EISI tagged me, it was a perfect timing and entry for me to be back....so here goes

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.- "I think he's a destructive, unscrupulous ruffian who's been grossly overrated"

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can & catch air? – The cable bill (HUGE!!)

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV? – Football!!!! (no foot football lolz)

4. Without looking, guess what time it is? – 8:40 pm

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time? – 8:41 pm (Damn i'm good...lolz)

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?- S discussing the US Open and the ad for the new Prius

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing? – Going to Work :(

8. Before you started this Q&As, what did you look at?- EISI's Blog and feeling totally guilty for neglecting my blog!

9. What are you wearing?- my fav Blue Pajama's and a black cami ....comfort my dears

10. When did you last laugh? – at S making a funny face 2 mins back

11. What is on the walls of the room you are in? – Paint :)

12. Seen anything weird lately? – A drag queen in rail conductor's blog (the drag queen wants to be addressed as only Miss Columbia)

13. What do you think of this quiz? Kinda fun!

14. What is the last film you saw? District 9 (you know what happened if not read here)

15. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?- that's a tough one....but probably a Nissan 350Z and a Bike....rest of the money i'll probably give to S and bro A..to do what they want to with it .... dang i'm boring!

16. Tell me something about you that I dunno!- hmmmm lets see.....EISI dosent know where I stay now :)

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?- Equality for women!

18. Do you like to Dance?- Love to Dance!!!! (actually represented my school for many years...and that is another thing you don't know about me)

19. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?- Krishna

20. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?- Krishna (what can I say I LOVE the name)

21. Would you ever consider living abroad? – Yes....do away with borders and I will be a nomad

22. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates? – you are here *screams in happiness*...Babe let's PARTY!!!

I am tagging Ava (would love to read her list), WITN , Bedazzled (take a break from chocolate), Mama Mia, Bain-gan Lores, and AEIOU !!

Waiting to read everyone's list ....This was fun!!! time to do another tag soon :)

Cheers!

You make me sick - Wikus Prawn

2009-08-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Whole of last week I read tons of reviews about this one movie 'District 9', how good it was, how well directed it was, good story line etc etc.....overall heard it was a good movie. So that's what I decided I will spend my Friday night on, and S was up for the movie. So off we went, had dinner and strolled in for the 10:00 pm show, all this without reading what the movie was about. That was my first mistake.

We stroll and the movie theater was PACKED, and usually I don't like to sit on the front few rows, but the fact that this was supposed to be a good movie and I really didn't want to come back for the later show, I begged and pleaded to make S agree to sit wherever we found space. And that just turned out to be the 7th row from the front. That was my second mistake.

The last and final mistake I made was that I was not true to myself. I am the kind of person that will cringe at the sight of anything even remotely disgusting, a needle, blood, peeled skin ....I will cringe. In this movie, when the Prawn like aliens showed up with their tentacles all gross looking, I should have done what I do and close my eyes. But no the fool I am, I kept looking and looking and looking....that was my third mistake.

Around 45 minutes into the movie, I started to get queasy, this the point where Wikus the hero (read the story here) gets sprayed with the mystery liquid and starts his transformation into an Alien. The first thing that they show is his fingernails starting to come off, I sat there looking at the big screen, each of his fingernails as big as my face, peeling off, all the blood and the tissue hanging from his naked nail.....even thinking about it makes me want to puke....I should have my gotten up at that point and left..but no !!!!!! trying to be brave and gutsy (and prove to myself that I can watch something that is not a comedy or romantic comedy I sat there)...I sat there; watching District 9....and that my Final and perhaps the biggest mistake.

15 more minutes after Wikus started to pull his nails off, he wandered into the Prawn colony and started to eat cat food, with his fingers, slurping up pieces of meat, a little in his mouth a little on his hands and completely making me sick. Then came the last straw, Wikus's teeth started to fall out, he put a finger full of cat food into his mouth, and when he pulled his finger out, out came a tooth...with its root and blood. But Wikus is just so good, he didn't feel happy that only one tooth came out. He reached in and pulled another one out, blood, slimy stuff....(gag)..that was the last straw....

I didn't want to quit, I wanted to stay, but my body completely gave up, I started to get physically sick and my head started to spin. Poor S noticed and held onto me and took me right out of the theater, and his timing was perfect! As soon as I stepped outside...I blanked out!

Next thing I know S is over my face, sprinkling water...this is a first..a movie made me sick to a point that I fainted. There were two firsts that were achieved as a result of me going to watch this movie....This is the first movie that I went to see and did not sit through till the end and A movie was gross enough to make me faint ...freaking Awesome!!!

The only thing I feel terrible about is S not finishing this movie...Maybe I should buy him and my bro A a pair of tickets...the guys would sure like to see the grossest movie ever!!

Ps: Go see this movie...heard from a lot of people it was good...I am going to try and watch it again....lets see how the second attempt at this goes :)

What really Impresses us - The Secrets

2009-07-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

Another C&P from my MS reviews! Hope you enjoy this one :)

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Impressing a woman is seen as a monumental task! Before you say ‘I knew it!’ just remember anything worth having is worth fighting for. So for the male kind, I the Angel am putting out tips, that will help you stay the number one guy in your Gals life!

There are stages to every girls’s life. The Girl is a daughter first, then a sister, then a wife, then a mother, then a mother in law, and then a Grandmother. So to impress a woman, you need to go thru impressing all the stages.

Lets start with the Kiddo Versions

Impressing your new Born baby Girl
This is perhaps one of the easiest stages for you, all you have to do is pick up the bundle of joy, and she is already gurgling her love for her dad. Feed her some mush and she is smiling her toothless smile at her father. Rock her to sleep and you have got all the loyalty you’ll ever crave.

Impressing your Girl Child
The girls in almost all cases (including me) idolize their dad. The dad is the hero, he is the strong one that protects us. He is the one we turn to when we need something. So all you have to do as a dad is be there for your child. An occasional chocolate (yummm), a occasional pretty dress will impress her. But what will impress her the most is when you the dad will sit and talk to her, listen to what happened in school, but most of all, just be there when she needs you….how hard can that be?

Impressing your sister
Yes sir, sisters are the greatest of your allies in this big bad world. Remember the times she sat up all night with you during your exams, made Maggie just the way you like it when you were hungry? Stood up for you in front of your parents, and prevented you from getting a beating? Well show your appreciation for her, buy her flowers, sit and talk to her, but her chocolates, and always be there when she needs her brother.

Now to the Grown up Versions

Impressing your I-Want-her-as-my-Girl-friend.
She makes your heart flutter, at the slightest of an hair flick. She distracts you during lessons, by her just being there. Her braces filled smile is the brightest you have ever seen…ah the joy of love. If only you could impress her right?

The key here is subtlety. Always be yourself, coz you want her to fall in love with the real you. Draw her attention, by going up and making polite conversation with her. Give her a flower, not necessarily a red rose, a orchid, a tulip, any flower will do. Talk to her when she comes up to you, but don’t stalk her just to carry out a conversation. Number one Rule : DO NOT DROOL at her

Impressing your Girl Friend
So she is already your girl friend, right? You have already impressed her enough for her to actually become your girl friend. But dear boy, the work does not end there. Buy her flowers, if she likes them. If your girl friend does not like flowers there is not rule saying you have to buy her those, you could instead take her to a fun evening, which you should be doing anyway. Look out for her when you guys are outside, little things like opening a door, pulling back a chair etc will ensure that she appreciates you and loves you for a long time to come

Now to even more grown up stuff

Impressing your wife
Your wife is someone who you have promised to share a lifetime of happiness with. So impressing her is just a way of keeping that promise. And a good man like you will always keep his promise right?

For the wife, small gestures of love amount to a lot. Help her with the house, the cleaning, the cooking, the laundry etc. Remember those are actually supposed to be shared tasks, but when you cook, or clean, she will be immensely thankful to god for such a wonderful man in her life.

Small gestures aside, never forget to serenade your wife, with flowers, or chocolates, or just surprise her with massages, a candlelight dinner, either home made or in a restaurant. If you have kids, take the responsibility to get their homework done, read a story to them, keep them occupied so that your wife can take some rest. Hey give her a gift to a Spa, let them pamper the queen of your life….Just because she deserves it!

Impressing your Mother
Yes sir, this person is the reason that you are alive in this world. She nurtured you and made to capable to stand in the position you stand today. She always placed your needs first, fed you when you were sick, a single kiss from her, took away the pain of a scrapped knee. You ran home from school, because you knew that she would be waiting with a big smile on the face just for you. How do you impress a woman who has undoubtedly dedicated her life to you?

Its simple, all you have to do is take care of her when she needs you. Take the time to ask her, how the day was, listen to her when she gives you advice. Ensure your kids spend time with her. Buy her flowers, take her out with the family, when making plans to do something major, involve her. But as always most importantly be there when she needs her son.

Impressing your Mother-in Law
Contrary to belief this is not as hard as people make it out to be. All you have to do is show respect to your mom-in-law as you would to your mother, and then make sure you treat her daughter right!

Impressing you Grandmother
Hey! This has to be the easiest person to impress. I mean how hard is it to impress a person, who is floored by you the minute you were born. All you have to do is look at her and smile and her soft as butter heart will melt. None the less, your brownie points will only increase if you just pay attention to your grandma and heed to her words that you will eventually realized are heavy with the wisdom that only comes with age.

So you see, it does not take much to impress a woman , all you have to do is be thoughtful and considerate, and really how hard can that be? So on that note, I end this review

Dedicated to all the wonderful men in my life, My ‘world’s best’ Dad, My ‘Cutest n Sweetest’ Brother and now my ‘God sent Blessing’ Cowboy.

Cheers!

Ps: To all the Women out there...anything you might want to add?
To all the Men out there.....any secrets you have to impressing your women?

Bernie's Survivors and the SEC

2009-06-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

As stated in my last post, I am a news junkie and sure enough today while watching the news (yup...I read plus I watch...and yeah I also listen to public radio news :)..its an addiction)...back to my point...while watching the news about Bernie Madoff's sentencing (he got 150 years in jail for running a $65b billion Ponzi scheme) they were interviewing the supposed 'Survivors' ('Victims' for the sane). Apparently these people are angry with the government and SEC. They are asking how come the SEC did not regulate Bernie Madoff's Hedge fund and are asking for answers.

So here is what I think about them...I do feel bad for them, at least those people who had no idea where their money was going, but for those who invested in Bernie's scheme expecting a 20% return, I have no sympathy.....its simple..no straightforward financial plan is going to give you a 20% return......they were greedy and they lost...and now they should just deal with it

As for government control, these are the same people who are the first ones to cry foul when the government is trying to regulate the financial industry....these fear mongers call it socialism and government interference. They don't want the government to regulate anything, they want the forces of capitalism to work their charm..everyone is happy and skipping around like a drunken monkey till the cash is rolling in....

But as soon as they fall victim to their own greed, they want the government to be responsible for the failures and hand out bail out money to them!

What is next? eat tons junk food and make BIG boo boo and when they are unable to clean themselves off very well...blame the government for not regulating their food and wiping their ass**s clean??....Idiots!

MIA ..... a long due blog entry

2009-06-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys for being MIA, life is kinda Topsy Turvy...not complaining, just stating the facts. Anyhow, let me state all the things that have been going on ...

First of all my work for the past 3 weeks was crazy busy! Some days were so busy I had no time to freaking go P**...forgive my french :)

I was running to the restroom and back..I mean I was so fast that I could have tried out for the Olympics...but the reality hit me one time...rather I hit reality really hard...for those who haven't guessed yet, I fell...hit the floor face first and thus lost two things; the Olympic dream and my dignity :)...plus here is the kicker I was late for the meeting, which was the reason I was running in the first place!

Then came the great news last Friday that the whole department (in which i am working) is getting shut down, so back to square one!. Super Sucky situation and in response I have been super pissed :) just coz I have no intention of sitting at home and put on anymore weight...at least in the pretext of going to work I was getting some exercise...and yeah for some freaking crazy reason for two years I did not put an ounce and in two months BAM 5 freaking kilos...what the hell!! but then that is a mystery I am still trying to solve.

In response to my weight and S's need for something fun to do, we went and bought a table tennis set (2 bats, 3 tt balls and a net) and converted our dinning table into a tt table...Super cool!!....we are still in the fun and games kinda spirit. Apparently I sulk when I start to loose and therefore we don't play for points....we just see how many times a person misses the table......and yes I am winning that count :) .. thank you very much!

And just following the news, with all these people kicking the bucket there was a ton to read about. Not that I was interested in any of their lives when they were alive, but hey I felt bad when they died and read a lot of news about them...in any case I am a news geek, gotta get my dosage of daily news....the only difference is that I read a lot more news than normal and therefore no time for anything else.

Anyway looks I am going to have a lot more time on my hands...hopefully I will catch up on the reading of everyone's blog entries.

In any case if any of you want to find me a job..here is what I want. Ideally I would like to be paid to travel and eat.....but that might a difficult position to track down... so if that is not possible, then I would like be one of the voices in a cartoon show, hopefully something like the Family Guy...My voice is High pitched, nasal and I can be super whiny.... in short perfect for a cartoon ( I can so be Meg!)

So there you go, you have a good Idea what I am looking for...go forth and bring me results!!

Cheers!

Ps: EISI..this is the entry I was working on :) its out at last! yay!

Love the beginning!

2009-05-25T13:48:00.001-07:00

Happy First Sweetheart!

Love how this journey has begun!

Love you

2009-05-21T04:08:00.001-07:00

Happy 30th Mom and Dad

Love you tons!

Exceptions to the Rule are Few!

2009-05-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

As much as I loved the last forward I got, (and I shared it) I am not a big fan of Forwards at all. Only once a while do I actually read something that I like.....

Here I share an old post from MS.....with the help of my friends C&P!...Hope u like this one :)

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Email…ah THE life line, I would be so lost without it. Its my link to my loved-family, my oh-my-god-why family, my loved-friends, my why-do-you-bother friends, my Boss, my co-workers and sometimes a connection to myself….come on…don’t pretend…haven’t you mailed yourself??? Even to send an attachment??? Never?? Ok now I am ashamed :)

With the life line comes a major thorn .....forwards they are like the small enough glass particle, that gets into your skin but doesn’t completely kill you…it just stays there till you evict it.

For me forwards are just like that, not all but MOST of them. Now I will not go into what forwards are ….coz if YOU DON’T KNOW THAT…please quit reading…and send me your email address…and I promise to send you the forward that WILL KILL YOU if you don’t forward it….!

There are various types of forwards….and I will take the trouble of Listing them…for your Pain..I mean your Pleasure!

Types of Forward

The HA HA Forward

These are text jokes, or pictures, or Pictures with Text ..you get the idea. Some of these jokes are of the ‘even-a-3rd-standard-kid w-wont-laugh-at-this’ Category! ….say like a Santa Banta jokes :

Santa (at the ticket counter) : Hi can I get one ticket to the Punjab Mail and one to the Punjab Female?
Clerk: What???
Santa: Yeah my wife also wants to travel !

(you are not allowed to beat me for this! :))

Remedy: I usually DELETE this email…..at the first chance I get….but now before sending an even more BORING joke and/or a mail threatening the sender (who in this case could be a friend…..or soon to be EX-friend).

The SCARE Forward

You will recognize these, by their very non-non-threatening, message that reads, that So-and So (usually MSN , or Google…oh and most recently ORKUT.) is checking for active users. And you will get deleted if you don’t forward this to all the members in your address book.

Remedy: DELETE…though it does seem that these organizations, HAVE to use this kind of email to check if you are active, you logging in a 100 times a day apparently does not tell them that…Blah!!!

The INCREASE/BOOST forward

You know what I am talking about ….Increase you *Cough* for the guys and *Different Cough* for the girls, boost your S*ex life …blah blah blah…OH really!...can it happen…can some one vouch for that…What a loa*d of BHAISE GOBBAR!....

What gets even more disturbing is why are they sending me forwards to increase my *Cough* that is supposed to be meant for the MANLY man kind???? Is this some Kind of message….or is it some joke?

Remedy: DELETE….or I would consider forwarding it to people who I particularly don’t like….Hey don’t look at me like that….I am just trying to INCREASE and BOOST their Confidence ;) ;)

The CONSEQUENCES forward

You know the one with the Religious overtones……A picture of a god, a prayer..etc…and after the initial goody feeling that the email projects…it takes you Immediately to the DIRE consequences section.

If you don’t forward this…with a long list of Consequences:

Your Cat will turn vegetarian
You will not be invited to the Martian Party
Your dog will stop Licking his *Gullis*
You will not be able to PEE for 2000 years
Your 215th hair will turn Green

And the most famous one of all

You will not find your TRUE LOVE!

Hello….he is already DEAD!...I killed him…for sending me this forward!....

Remedy: Do I have to repeat this again?? Ok here goes DELETE…..So far, I have not died, my True love hasn’t left me (read above why!), I don’t own a cat…and Dogs will always be dogs…Licking is a part of their existence…sorry even you can't meddle with that!

So that’s that the High and low of the Forwards!...Hope you enjoy it

Oh wait what is this???? Nice…Another forward..!!!

This is the 1500th forward that I have received, which lets me know in oh-so-polite a manner, that unless I forward this mail to a 100,000 people in the next 5 seconds, that my Mother’s Mom’s only Daughter’s only Daughter, will die in the next seven days.

Oh well……For those who have know me for so this long ........

GOODBYE! , just incase I don’t see you again!

Still Waiting!!

2009-05-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

This one sent by my uncle...I found it totally awesome! thought would pass this one on..:)

BLOOD ~ the Sweet Sinister ~ BLOOD

2009-05-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

Red and thick it flows between the wheels, continuing to coat everything around, the handle, the levers, only to find its way to the floor; a bright red steady stream against the brown wood. Seeping into the drainage, coloring the underground system red; it finds its way to the open seas…..the blood has coated and colored them all!!!!

This ladies and gentlemen is how the movie opens. So open your eyes, train your ears and strap yourself down for a bloody journey ahead.

First the basics

Movie : Sweeney Todd
Director: Tim Burton

Actors: (ref.– IMDB)

Johnny Depp : Sweeney Todd
Helena Bonham Carter : Mrs. Lovett
Alan Rickman : Judge Turpin
Timothy Spall : Beadle Bamford
Sacha Baron Cohen : Signor Adolfo Pirelli

Story:

After serving a prison sentence for a crime he did not commit, Sweeney Todd a.k.a Benjamin Barker sails up to London. Opening with a brilliant rendition of ‘No Place Like London’ he sets foot into the city, with an intention of finding his beautiful wife and his then infant daughter. On arrival he meets with Mrs. Lovett, in her aptly doomed meat pie shop, who tells Mr. Todd of the tragic death of his wife thru the doing of the lecherous Judge Turpin, who is now holding Todd’s daughter Joanne as his ward, who she adds he is planning to marry.

Todd fueled by rage and a desire for revenge sets up his barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s Pie shop. Staring with Signor Adolfo Pirelli, a self proclaimed barber and a flamboyant Con Artist, who he defeated in a public display of skills to regain his reputation, and then kills but slitting his throat dramatically in a spray of blood, Sweeney Todd begins his murderous journey thru all who sit in his chair to get to Judge Tupin.

What follows in scene after scene of slit throats and bodies being ground into pie stuffing, which bring Mrs Lovett’s business back roaring in full glory, thanks to the delicious MEAT pies, that all of London Craves.

Throw in Anthony a very good looking sailor and his love for young Joanne, the ever so wicked judge Tupin and his ever scheming Beadle Bamford and ofcourse the Beggar lady who senses ‘London Burning’ and you have the most fantastic murderous tale staring you in the face.

My Take:

It is by now well known that though Sweeney Todd is a musical, and the main leads were not singers per se. But the brilliance in the movie at least according to me is Depp, he blurs the lines between singing and acting so much so that the audience is not aware of his inadequacies as a singer from the very first note he hits.

Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs Lovett is a perfect companion to Depp’s Todd. The rest of the cast also compliment the Main characters and together they deliver a Oscar worthy movie…that’s right…you heard me!

I was going to take my parents for this movie, unknowing of the contents, but I am so glad they stayed home. No matter how many times throats get slit and the human flesh gets ground, the audience is aghast every time as if it were the first.

The brilliance of the movie lies in the blood, the thick dark, all engulfing blood… I would ruin it for you if I would tell you all the details and how the movie ends, so I will refrain. But I must warn you, this movie is not meant for the faint hearted and if you are one you would be well advised to steer clear, but then again its ok if you have to put yourself thru this movie…Its so worth it…I vouch as perhaps the most faint hearted person among all I have known, that this movie is one of the very very very few that you should sit thru.

After all the gasps and the shrieks, and checking to see of there is any blood on the floor, the audience is guaranteed to exit with a broader appreciation for the perfection of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.

All in all this is thrill, emotion, Humor , Murder and Gore in all their glory….NOT TO BE MISSED!!!

Cheers

PS : My Take was going to be just one word DEPP *sigh*.....I mean girls..do I have to elaborate? I did not think so ..but for the guys sake I did :) .

Note: I saw this movie over the weekend...and therefore the repeat (C&P) posting!

MS - My Ode to Coffee

2009-04-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

Starting off the efforts of my friends (C&P) by bringing to my space one of my fav reviews....It was written a while back and while the situation is not relevant...the emotion behind the review sure is!

Here goes...

Sorry people I went into hibernation for the past 4 weeks due to the fact that I did not have access to the comp for a really long time. But I have woken up and hey guess what woke me up, come on you know by now, you read the topic of this review didn’t you??? Coffee of course !!!!!!!! This review is more of what coffee means to me and none of what Brooke Bond is!!! hehehehehehehe.

Let me start of by explaining my whole waking up process. I was asleep ( had to be!!!! I have to wake up right?) well, I distinctly remember dreaming of chocolate cake, basically caffeine, right. Well, as my dream got more and more dreamy, I remember wanting coffee(even in my dream amazing what addiction does to you.). Just then the smell of coffee extended its hand and just like in the cartoons wafted through my nose, ahhhhh!!! the heavenly smell, its like a deep fog of pure pleasure filling up your lungs.

This was the cue my body needed. I jumped and ran from my bedroom to my kitchen just to be able to glance at the source of the smell, I had to see for myself the coffee brewing, knowing very well that all I had to do was freshen up, and then my mouth will experience sheer ecstasy that comes with just one sip of the god send drink.

I was right I did see the coffee brewing, yes!!!, but I also was my mom standing there with a big grin on her face. Something was not right, DAMN then I remembered; the bet how could I have forgotten????? Well filling you in, my mom had asked me to get up early that day to go to the temple, and me being me, lazy as ever had protested, and said that I could not get up at 6:00am, that was ridiculous..... My mom had then said that she knew how to wake me up, and I has dared her, that nothing in this world could wake me up, at least nothing she could do.

Apparently I was wrong. Boy I should have known that she has a secret arsenal, she obviously exploited my feelings by using my addiction to coffee to wake me up, not only that I now owe her One week of waking up early just for the sake of it, and that is because me loudmouth dared her the night before that if she could wake me up, I will myself get up for a week as early as she wants me to.

Well back to my morning, I glanced back at the watch it was only 5:30am!!!!!!!!!!!. I cannot believe mom deprived me of my 30 minutes of sleep. Cannot blame coffee for waking me up, it cannot help but be the elixir of life, tell me can you blame the rose for being beautiful? No right? In the same way you cannot blame the coffee for being itself.

The morning story ends with me going to the temple and all and a whole week of misery. But I am not complaining. It is alas a small price to pay for my mug(s) of freshly brewed coffee.

Imagine if you may, the first sip, as your lips touch the rim of the coffee mug, and you are tilting the mug towards you, your body in anticipation of the coffee almost goes mad. Then as coffee enters your mouth, the latter is filled with a deep dark full taste that is like no other, you close your eyes and savor every drop in every nook and corner of your mouth. When you swallow the coffee you feel it burning through your food pipe (its hot, who the hell has the patience to cool the coffee and then drink it?) the cool burning sensation, this is what you have been waiting all night. As it enters your system, it awakens all your senses, your mind is on full alert, energy is surging through your body, and you are ready to face the day ahead. Oh heavenly coffee I owe you so much!!!!!!!!

I drink 9-10 glasses of coffee a day, and yes I do admit it I am an addict, but this is one addiction I am not ready to forgo. People all the time have something to say to me about how bad coffee is. That I should stop drinking coffee and blah blah blah. STOP DRINKING WHAT??????? No way, you cannot pry that mug of coffee from my dead hands, I will sacrifice my life for the noble coffee (haven’t you read all that it does for us?). I need the elixir of life, It doesn’t matter that I need 10 glasses of it, it is a part of me, I cannot give it up. Coffee has been giving its life and soul for humanity for ages and if I am required to make a sacrifice, and drink it all the time, then that is what I will do!! As a matter of fact that is what I am off to do now. If you have a heart and a faint love for humanity, go drink coffee, give coffee back what coffee gives to you!!.

Lots of Love and Coffee, I mean peace

Copy and Paste - My friends

2009-04-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

Meet Copy and Paste...they are good buddies to me. Now they have agreed to work efficiently and tirelessly to bring over all my work from one particular website to my blog :)

So ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together in appreciation for Copy and Paste my buddies....for all the work they are going to do (and all the work I won't HAVE to do)

Cheers!

By self; Birthday and Bling!!

2009-03-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

Last week was a week I will not forget for a long long time! Let me start from the beginning...

S decided to go visit India and mom decided that she would go too. And being that the other two men in my family were also in other parts of the country, I was all alone. For the first time in almost 10 years, I was in my house all by myself, left to enjoy my own company (Oh Boy!) It was more fun than I thought it would be, I came home every evening after work and just chilled! no cooking, no talking, no nothing; just sit myself on the couch with a warm cup of coffee and enjoy the silence...Bliss!

Then of course later in the evening I would get to see S and mom....thank god for Skype!!!!..(or the software programmers :))

Well, but at the end of the week I was so ready for some company! and at the right time guess who shows up? S...yipee!! so yesterday he comes back, and may I add just in time for my birthday! That was the best present ever! and on top of that he arranged for a cake ...I tell you this man sweeps me off my feet !! *swoon*

Now S is not the romantic type, at least that is what I claimed for sometime, but with the first engageversary surprise, the Valentine flowers he bought for me (and he also bought a bouquet for mom on behalf of my dad...*awww*)and now him showing up for my Birthday, it is getting more and more difficult for me to call him unromantic.

And on top of that he actually bought me a pretty pair of earrings with a little diamond in each as my present! and he picked them out too! Plus the only piece of jewelry I bought for my self (my wedding ring) came from India!...and so I am now all Bling Bling :)

So now ladies and gentlemen, I have enjoyed my time By my self, got to celebrate my Birthday with my sweetheart and now I am all binged out!

Life is freaking cool!!

Cheers!!!

Go Girl!!

2009-03-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

Read a article in BBC today. Egyptian Women are taking up Martial arts for Self Defense, coz harassment is a huge problem. Here are some Statistics from that.

Pretty shocking huh! And guess what as the case is in a lot of times, the perverts carrying out the sexual harassment blamed the women!! In this case 53%!! Apparently the women brought it on themselves by not being "Modest". Same shit different country I guess. But the article goes on to say this:

The author of the report, Nihad Aboul-Qumsan, says too often it is the woman who is blamed for dressing provocatively.

"Most of the people we questioned said there wouldn't be such harassment if women dressed in a modest way. But when we questioned women on what they were wearing when they were abused more than 70% said they were wearing a headscarf.

Ha! but there is a note in this article that made me smile

"Our job is to give them the skills they need to protect themselves should something happen.

"One of our girls was attacked on the way home. A boy on a bus grabbed her from behind. She used a technique we had taught her to restrain him, until other people on the bus gathered around to help. He was later handed over to the police."

So Basically....... Teach every Girl to Kick some A*** and the world will be a better place!....and maybe then the perverts out there will own up to their corrupted morals, rather than blaming the girl.....coz u know blaming the girl while she is tearing you a new H**e is not the wisest thing to do!

God has been found !!

2009-03-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

Our belief in god is varied from those who don't believe at all, to those who dedicate their life to god. God has been involved in human life from the very beginning and the fact that we have created the image of God to our likeness, just goes to show how much we want to relate to the Almighty and how we try to find Her/Him in our life and in all its wonder.

Read the following article in Time.com and wanted to share it. Its about finding God, in this case Jesus.....Its a true but funny take on the places people claim to have seen the image of Jesus

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1884117,00.html

Jesus can be found in:
• On a grilled cheese sandwich
• On a potato chip
• On a window pane
• On a pancake
• On a piece of burnt toast
• On a tree trunk
• On a Cheeto
• On a waffle
• On a spoon
• On a frying pan
• On a cinnamon roll
• On a danish (this may be the same as the aforementioned cinnamon roll. Unclear)
• On a fish stick
• On a cat
• On a moth
• In an ultrasound (creepy)
• In some salsa
• On a grape
• In a cellphone pic
• On a turtle shell
• In a vat of spumoni ice cream
• We didn't even mention the man who's convinced that he can see the Virgin Mary in the leg wound likely suffered when he fell off his bar stool ("You can actually almost see her holding the baby Jesus").

Cheers!

Can't make this up!

2009-03-10T16:59:00.001-07:00

Getting really bored I was checking out some stuff about Vedic astrology. Came across this forum and on one thread was this guy offering free horoscope readings....and here is a Gem from that thread!

SIR MY SISTER GET MARRIED AROUND 10 YEARS BEFORE AND STILL NOT HAPPY WITH THIRE LIFE,SHE ALWAYS IN TENSION HER DESIRE HAPPINESS AND LOVE, SATISFACTION FROM LIFE NEVER GET HER AFTER MARRIAGE.

WHAT WE DO SIR???

SIR SISTER HAS TWO GIRLS,THERE ANY CHANCE FOR BOY?IF YES NEED TO DONE ANY POOJA/UPPAY.

SIR SISTER ALWAYS SICK.(TENSION,PAIN IN BODY,ANGER,AND WEAKENS)

SIR ABOUT MY JIJA JI HE ALSO SEEK AND GOING WEEK DAY BY DAY.NOT CARING TOO MUCH MY SISTER,SIR FINICAL CONDITION ALSO NOT SO GOOD(SHOP MY SEALED IN DELHI SEALING )NOW WORKING WITH BROTHER IN HIS SHOP.WHEN HE ABLE GET HER SHOP,WHEN HIS FINICAL CONDITION IMPROVE.

ANY UPPAY AND REMEDIES FOR JIJA JI PLEASE.

SIR I KNOW YOUR TIME IS MORE PRECIOUS THEN ME BUT I WRITTEN THIS MAIL WITH LOTS OF HOPES PLEASE GIVE ME GUIDANCE SO I CAN HELP MY SISTER.

JAI MAT KI.

My current favourite thought

2009-03-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

"When she stopped conforming to the conventional picture of femininity she finally began to enjoy being a woman." ~Betty Friedan~

Me n My 25

2009-02-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

Ok I did this 25 thing once...so obviously wasn't gonna do it again...(the first 25 tested my lazy gene enuf!)

But since Ava and EISI tagged me...I am reproducing my work here..dang my second reproduction...Wow that sounds BAD...hahahahahahaha!! Anyway ... so here it goes!

Rules:
Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. 25 just happens to be my favorite number :)

2. I am watching 'The Chronicles of Narnia' at the moment...Love it! (now watching hubby play on the wii :))

3. I have wanted a tattoo for a really long time now....only if I didn't fear needles so much :(

4. I get light headed when I see needles.....even on the TV !

5. I cannot see Horror movie, or suspense movies or thrillers....so that leaves me Comedies and Romantic Comedies

6. I am a total cry baby...any emotional scene is guaranteed to make me cry!

7. I love the smell of fresh ground coffee

8. I am blessed to have friends that have stuck with me for almost 20 years now :)

9. Seeing my friends at my wedding was the best present ever!..I missed you guys for 10 years!

10. I just got a whole new set of parents this year...and a sister I never had....I love them!!!!..Touchwood !

11. I think I have the coolest guys in my family...specially my dad, my uncle and my hubby...My drinking buddies!

12. College days were the best....I wish there was such a thing as a professional student...and the position paid well :)

13. I realized that unless you love yourself no one else will...that includes loving the weight on you

14. I stopped dieting ... or even trying to diet 2 years back....now I just love the way I am..no more body issues :)

15. I put on weight when I exercise....so I stopped :)) and lost 10 lbs..how cool is that?

16. I don't learn from others mistakes....Only learn from my mistakes...and I have learned a lot!! ha ha

17. When something happens, I go over the incident over and over again in my head..and play out various ways the situation could have ended....at the end of which I have no idea what exactly happened in the first place :)

18. My memory sucks......can hardly remember what I ate for breakfast

19. Pretentious people piss me off!

20. I think I have a mild form of OCD

21.Sleep is the best therapy!

22. The only way to eat chocolate Ice cream is to partially melt it and lick it off your fingers

23. I LOVE chocolate

24. My hubby spoils me and I love it!!!

25. And I just turned vegetarian couple of years ago...Love it!

Ps: Not tagging anyone..since most poeple I know have been tagged..yeah yeah I know..I Late Latif!

Cheers

Because I am a Girl

2009-02-11T19:41:00.000-08:00

This world is nuts....Girls getting molested, raped and at the end of the day the criminal(s) give some pathetic lame ass excuse....more recently, apparently these vermin are using the 'Protection of Indian Culture' as an excuse...I am yet to see where molesting women is documented as Indian culture!

Oh and now the Economic divide is another reason...a Upwardly mobile girl gets raped by 10 village men...and here is what the Village elder has to say

"We respect our women," village elder Ranbir Yadav tells me.

"But we also have our traditions," he adds, gesticulating at a young woman who hurries away from us with her face averted, her head covered. As he explains, unmarried women in the village cannot travel unescorted or reveal their face to men.

"All the boys are innocent," one man tells me. "They did not rape anyone but yes, they may have beaten the couple up."

More on that here

I am sick of molestation and Rape being used as a weapon .. and with the Fantastic attitude of the Indian society towards the girl child, I am kinda thrilled to see the recent uprising....and so I am all in support of the Pink Chaddi campaign...I will be waiting to read all the wonderful happening on Valentines day.

Here is a BBC article on that

All this going on...reminded me of an article I had written some time back on a review site...and I thought this just ties in somehow...its an article I am proud to recycle.

So here goes......

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Title : Because I am a *Girl*

So if you were to tell me about the story of yourself or a Girl child you have known; what would you say, if you looked; what will you see, if she turned around
and narrated her story….What would you hear???

Just a Story told…..

Because I am a girl, my mother cried when I was born
Because I am a girl, my father walked away, despising my face
Because I am a girl, my family sees me as a burden
Because I am a girl, education is not meant for me
Because I am a girl, I am exploited from the moment I can walk
Because I am a girl, I am teased and humiliated, and it’s still my fault
Because I am a girl, Rape on me is used as a weapon of war
Because I am a girl, I will be sold off, traded, gotten rid of like an animal
Because I am a girl, I will earn half for double the work I do

Because I am a girl, I will shed a tear when I bear ANOTHER baby GIRL

Her Story told….

Because I am a girl, I know I am hated from the moment I was born
Because I am a girl, I am told over and over I am unwanted
Because I am a girl, I stay home and work, while my brother plays outside
Because I am a girl, I yearn to go to school, but know I can’t
Because I am a girl, I will fetch fire wood, a load I can barely bare
Because I am a girl, I will sweep the floor, and wash the clothes
Because I am a girl, I will cook for all, while my brother plays Football
Because I am a girl, I know I’ll be marrying at 15, a burden unloaded
Because I am a girl, I will bear a child, before I end my childhood
Because I am a girl, I will be chided for bearing another baby girl

Because I am a girl, I will shed a tear, when my girl, gives birth to JUST another GIRL

My Story Told….

Because I am a girl, my father was overjoyed at my birth
Because I am a girl, I was showered with chocolates and dolls
Because I am a girl, I was bought pretty dresses and ribbons to wear
Because I am a girl, I was told to study well and play hard
Because I am a girl, I am told never to back down in the face of adversity
Because I am a girl, I am told I am stronger mentally and emotionally
Because I am a girl, I am pushed to prove myself
Because I am a girl, I am protected and taught to protect myself
Because I am a girl, I feel loved, as a daughter, as a sister, as a person

Because I am a girl, I hope to bring into this world, a SPECIAL baby GIRL

What story will YOU tell?

Enjoy being bitten!

2009-02-05T20:49:00.000-08:00

Brand India is cool, known for its engineers, brilliant minds, colorful culture and people. Yes sir, we make most of the IT industry, and we dominate the Call centers. Yoga is spreading like wildfire, and Indian food is definitely catching on!..and now we have the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire'...fantastic...we were all smiling.

These are things that help in the long run, sure, this Brand India will continue to grow in its popularity and its influence. India also happens to one of the more stable countries in the region, at least compared to the neighbors who are like drunken sailors running out of money (well technically they are not allowed to drink), we look like the respectable Accountant uncle who is amassing wealth the righteous way!

But is definitely not roses all the way now is it? We as Indians have always dealt with things like, Major sexism (sply the girls...makes us stronger in a way..and provides ammo), Caste based discrimination, 14th century attitudes etc etc. But then we kinda put up with it, shrugged it off...its the Jane do yaar kinda attitude....and that my friends has come back to bite us in the ass!

Picture this...One happy couple, walking hand in hand, smiling at each other...the rush of love...suddenly a man stops them and screams at the girl for wearing jeans, the boy for wearing shorts, and at them for holding hands and public display of affection!!...there is already a crowd forming...all on lookers " Bhaagte ho ke bulaoon public ko tumhe maarne ke liye...saale angrez if aulad..humare Bharat ke sanskriti ko kharab karte ho"...screams the nut job and the poor couple runs away from there, before there is any trouble and more people gathers. What comes of this incident... the couple are more careful while out in public and the So called upholder of Indian morals feeling triumphant moves of looking for his next target.

And now the ass biting begins...!!

New year revelers are molested, Indians and Foreigners alike, coz no one in India has the right to wear western clothes and party in pubs and clubs. And you definitely cannot intermingle with the opposite sex unless you sport or she sports a Mangalsutra. You can if you want drink roadside liquor, visit a beer bar, lust after a dancing girl and and then go home and beat your wife...but just make sure u are wearing an Indian outfit....Dhoti will be Ideal.

And god forbid on Valentines day you venture out to buy your loved one a rose or a gift or take your loved one out for a romantic evening to show your appreciation for them. Don't you know that Valentine day celebration can lead to SEX....*tauba tauba*. And In India no one has sex!! Fornication is not what India does....all our children are born through Immaculate conception.

Today Jay Leno talked about the Valentine day threat in India...fantastic, He is spreading our warning to the world; Dont you guys dare to come for a romantic getaway to exotic India, we will not tolerate you kissing or fornicating...but we will be there to molest you !!

And no before you ask the question, you are not allowed to kiss...Kissing even a peck on the cheek leads to Sex...and you should know by now where we stand on that Issue.

I think we are sending clear signals to the rest of the world too arent we? The news about Gere kissing Shilpa and the resulting reaction of the Keepers of Indian Culture created such a fantastic opportunity for the world media. They had a field day!! Now even they know that Indians don't kiss!...here is the BBC Article

Ooh that took out a big chuck of the rear....Enjoy there is more to come and the wounds are only going to get much more painful!

Apologize for winning ?

2009-01-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

Read this piece of news this morning - here -

The gist of the story is that there was held a high school girls basket ball game between two schools; The Covenant School and the Dallas Academy. The end result was that the Covenant school defeated the Dallas academy by 100 - 0.

And then came the drama, the winning team was criticized for wining with such a huge margin and being not showing any humility in the game. Its a sensitivity issue u see, be sensitive towards your fellow looser, feel sorry for winning. Here is how it was put in the article :

The private Christian school defeated Dallas Academy last week. Covenant was up 59-0 at halftime.

A parent who attended the game told The Associated Press that Covenant continued to make 3-pointers -- even in the fourth quarter. She praised the Covenant players but said spectators and an assistant coach were cheering wildly as their team edged closer to 100 points.

"I think the bad judgment was in the full-court press and the 3-point shots," said Renee Peloza, whose daughter plays for Dallas Academy. "At some point, they should have backed off."

Now officials from The Covenant School say they are trying to do the right thing by seeking a forfeit and apologizing for the margin of victory. Covenant coach Micah Grimes did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press on Thursday.

Queal said school officials met with Dallas Academy officials to apologize and praised "each member of the Dallas Academy Varsity Girls Basketball team for their strength, composure and fortitude in a game in which they clearly emerged the winner."

My immediate thought when I read this article was that the world has gone completely wrong. Are we asking the winning team to apologize coz they won?? And the losers should be one ones to forgive coz they are so high and mighty...traits apparently bestowed by the devastating loss???

It is a competition, one team wins one team looses. Rather than telling the winning team to forfeit the match and apologize, how about taking to task the loosing team and its coach and see where they failed.

I am sick of these people trying to make everything better for a looser rather than congratulating the winner. As children when we lost anything, we learnt from our losses, and that is what made the victories even sweeter.

This sensitivity issues and the way they are dealt with is getting to the point of being insane! or am I being too critical? Should winners not be applauded and losers made to strive to be winners? or should losers be applauded and winners chided for wining?

Cheers President Obama !!

2009-01-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

I sat on my favorite couch all day and watched the new President being sworn in. There is a sense of hope, a sense of better things to come and after a long time there is a optimism that we all so need at this time.

I hope President Obama is able to fulfill his promises, bring the change that he spoke about and continue to inspire the nation and the young people that look up to him.

Here is wishing for a new era. We have been going through a very tough place and with the swearing in of President Obama there is Hope again.

As Justin Timberlake put it on last evening's Oprah 'America is Cool again"...lolz...On that note check out the video - Barack Obama keeping it Cool on SNL.

Cheers to you Mr. President !!!

2008 was Very Special

2008-12-31T09:49:00.000-08:00

This has been a year full of mixed situations, good and bad. The year is not ending on a high, but I am making it a point to not think about anything but the positive that has come out of this year. So I am putting in this post highlighting why this year is the most special year in my life.

This year is the year that me and my sweetheart got MARRIED!!! and for this reason alone, 2008 will always be cherished. Weddings are supposed to be a happy but tensed time. The girls side running helter-skelter, catering to the wimps and fancies of the boys side and the girl all shy and demure, anxious about her new life and the new family.

But my wedding was totally the opposite, my In-laws arranged the whole wedding, and I wanted my mom-in-law and sis-in-law to pick out stuff for me. In fact they picked out all my clothing, my jewelry everything. All I did was show up !! Fantastic.

I am blessed in so many ways, my MIL and FIL are like a second set of parents to me, and my SIL is like the sister I never had. I was so relaxed during my wedding that I was up on stage waving and blowing kisses to people who i knew, while my sweetheart was paying attention to the ceremony. I was far from being a demure bride.

Another cherished thing about 2008 is that I got to see people very very dear to me. My college buddies who I hadn't seen for 10 years, dear dear friends who have been my rocks for all these years, a very dear professor ho has been a friend and a mentor, and people I had only spoken to and had grown fond of.

Can life get any better than that? Surrounded by family and friends on the best day of your life, getting married to the love of ur life! I think not.

Let me thank everyone who has been a part of my life. I am truly thankful that you choose to be part of my life. I am truly blessed. So here is wishing you and your loved ones a very happy new year and may you be blessed with tons of love and happiness in the coming year and the many more to come.

See you all in the next year and God Bless!! Cheers!!

In Love with Mehandi

2008-12-25T19:33:00.000-08:00

This is in response to my new profile pic. It does seem like I am posing for no apparent reason and doing some heavy Bollywood stuff.....but no, its not as bad as it looks.

Yes I am doing some heavy Bollywood kinda stuff but I am not posing for the hell of it....in fact I was posing for Love!!...

Let me explain.

I love Mehandi, Love it! I take every chance I get to look up people's work, put some Mehandi on myself (inspired by others and some original design), my mom (someone has to cooperate) in short I Love it!

Now a chance came somewhere in March of this year, I modeled for a awesome Mehandi artist, all I had to do is observe her work while she drew Bridal Designs on me, and then model for her, so she can use those pictures in her portfolio. I was more than happy to do so...For those interested you can check out the pictures Here

I am still in the stages where I am getting better, but I thought I'd put up some pics and get some feedback. In fact I am putting a pic first of a wooden Box that I put Mehandi on :)...then a couple of pics of Mehandi'd Hands.....Take a peek!

The Box

My Mehandi Works :)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

I have always been doing the Mehandi for everyone except the bride whenever there is a wedding in my family. I am hoping to that one day I get good enough that I can do some good Bridal Mehandi. :)

Hi Snow, Bye Snow and the Chicago Cold

2008-12-21T17:26:00.000-08:00

S and me got away for the first time after our Honeymoon. But it was far from a 'get away' kinda trip, in fact it was a trip with a mission....a mission to be completed only in Chicago.

So we left home at 3:00 am to get to the airport an hour away for a 6 am flight, thanks to the 2 hr security check process. Anyhow the previous night to our leaving there was a warning of a severe Snow storm. We were to get 4-6 inches of snow from 2:00 am onwards. But when we flew out at 6:00 am there was not a flurry to be seen...boy was I happy. I am a person who does not like the cold and was thankful that I did not see any snow.

The flight was peaceful, more so coz I slept thru it, and woke up only when the flight touched down in Chicago. We were greeted with TONS of snow. Chicago was COLD! Everywhere we went I was begging to get inside a building, to get away from the cold. There was a foot or so of snow on the ground,, slush everywhere the wind made the conditions worse by making it feel 10 degrees less than it already was. The only good that came out of it was, that in the Cold my shoes got destroyed and I got an awesome pair of walking leather boots...cute cute cute...I always wanted those :) .....back to the main point of this post now...

Coz pictures speak louder than words (testament to the cold), here are some pictures of the Windy city after a snow storm.

On Arrival

Downtown Chicago

Frozen River - View from our Room

Another view of the Frozen River

Frozen Lake Michigan

Chicago is pretty, I loved it, we even took a bus ride to see all of Chicago (plus seeing the city from inside a heated bus makes it so much better.) Now here is hoping to see the windy city when it nice and warm in Summer

Cheers :)

Paint Domination

2008-12-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

I got tagged my Smita...who asked me to draw a few words up, just as she had done herself. Check them out here, if you have not already.

Before you go ahead and take the risk of looking at my drawings, let me warn you, you will get addicted to my drawings, you will be forced by your heart to visit my blog everyday and seek out my drawings, you will not be able to stay away....you have been warned! proceed with discretion.

Here goes,

Vote

Rules

Engagement

Flowers

ps: here is how they actually should look :)

Keyboard

And now for the Tags...and I'll try to make this interesting.

Vee - Cowboy (:)), Camera, Beach, Chill, Sleep
Couch Papaya - Fashion, Couch, Papaya (lolz), Theater, Dhaaba
Manjula - Saree, Mischief, Phone, Movie, Drive
My Two Cents - Beard, Teach, Cricket, Sleep, Party
EISI - Sunglasses, Surfing, Time, Racing, Juice

Pass it on to how many ever people you want :)....Just don't tag me back...I dont want people addicted to my drawings :)...and that's a Wrap!

Passing It On Hugs

2008-12-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

Friendship is the ship that ferries me across is ocean of worldly existence !!!! Too corny?? Yeah ok..fine....Ignore!!

But its true that a few friends online and their friendship is precious to me. So therefore as promised to one such friend that I would be doing this post.....Here it goes

First let me send out a Big thanks and a Hug to WAIN for giving me this. Love Ya!

This award is given to a blog that invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness
in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These
kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or
self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut,
even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these
writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and
include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

Now time to pass this award on ....so here goes...

Smita
Mayunk
Vee
Abha
Ava
Couchpapaya
Bouncing bubble
Ratna

That was awesome!.. Before I end this, there are two more people that I want to give this award to. I met each of them before I started blogging or even going online. But both of them are special to me...for reasons known to them..here is my way of saying thanks for being part of my life.

Manjula
My Two Cents

Thank you .... all of you for just being you!...love ya!!

The Final Word

2008-11-30T12:43:00.000-08:00

Mumbai has been attacked and wounded, 200 people died, many more injured, millions stunned and a political few ran for cover.

Its done, the media has pumped article after article out, people on the net have talked about it over and over and most discussions in the past few days have been dominated by the gruesome incident in the desi community here.

We will talk more, we will print more and we will blog about it to, yup for the next month or so we will all be talking about it, and then our own personal lives will divert our attention and that will signal the end of our concern and need for action.

Its frustrating and here is my solution to the whole deal, yeah I will take flak for saying this but we know who is responsible, we know who has reigned terror on India time and time again and then claimed innocence.

Even now after evidence has surfaced that Pakistan is the origin for these terrorists and we will likely face more of Pakistani shit in our country, I really wanna say....NUKE THE FUCKERS

But that would not work right! Coz there have to be many a good souls across the border. So how about shooting at sight all the people you see infiltrating our border, woman, child, idiot, no matter who. If they choose to cross over, then it's implied that they accept the chance of being shot dead.

And yeah another thing we can definitely do is stop pardoning killers. The vermin have the balls to bomb us, and then when the same dimwits are caught they ask to be pardoned!!!!! In addition shoot also those who rally for the killers pardon in the name of human rights.... Screw them, let them take the killer and their fucking righteousness to their own little piece of hell!!

You Heard

2008-11-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

Obama Won...now we have a great deal to look forward to the New Year!

Hear Hear!!! for sense prevailing!

I Voted !!

2008-11-04T06:41:00.001-08:00

Hurray!!!!!

Yup its me a supposedly responsible citizen :)

Here is story of the vote :) We have been hearing about the candidates in full force for the past few months, and by the time today came around I think almost all of us were just ready to get this thing over and done with.

So anyway, the polling stations here in the city are open from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. The voting lines were predicted to be long and time consuming, as a lot of first time voters were expected to show up.

My family and me decided to get the voting done early in the morning to save us grief at the end of the day. We got up bright and early and headed to the Polling station after a healthy breakfast at 7:00am. We were very lucky, as the polling station was a mere 7 mins walk from our place, so we combined the voting with a pleasant early morning walk.

The polling place just happens to be Public school, and as soon as we entered we could see a lot of art in the hallways done by little kids. There was no line whatsoever. We went in, gave them our address to determine out congressional district. Once that was done we were asked for our identification, and once that was verified, we were led into a booth where we made the choices for President, Congress, Senate and Assembly.

After making our choices, we walked out of the polling place and headed back home having contributed to Democracy. And now I am back home munching on a piece of warm toast with heavenly melting butter....yummmmm

Oh did I mention I voted!!! Hurraayyyyyy!

First Engageversary!!!

2008-10-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

It brings a smile to my face just thinking of last Tuesday. It was a day of celebration, a day very close to my heart, it was a year since me and my sweetheart 'S' got 'officially' engaged *wink* *wink* :). So well as my brother put it, I celebrated my first "Engageversary"!! ..phew that's quite a mouthful.

So yeah its not supposed to be an official celebration, but being the hopeless romantic that I am, I could not help but celebrating. I had no expectations from 'S' as I cannot really give him grief for not going all mushy for me on a day that really doesn't even have a given official name .... So after I wished him at midnight, I fell asleep and woke up the next day all happy and bubbly. My thoughts were predominantly with 'S' coming home from work and then hopefully getting to watch a movie cuddled up in the comfort of the sofa.

Evening came and brought my sweetheart home. I was in for a big suprise as he bought me.....*drum roll* Flowers!!! OMG....I was shocked...flowers?? for me?? really?...I almost pinched myself to make sure I was not dreaming :)

After jumping around the house for the next 20 mins, I managed to get the flowers in a vase...ahhhh my heart still sings looking at the expression of love :). What makes it even more special, is that 'S' is not really a romantic like me, but just knowing what this day means to me, he picked something that would celebrate the day....awww such a sweetheart!

The flowers are gorgeous...he did really good!...ah well...it was a wonderfully romantic gesture..and here is hoping for many many more of them :)

Love to all!

The Bad, the worse and the GRIM

2008-10-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

I know the title sounds awfully depressing, but then all the reading I did online was much much worse, and it has left me thinking....or rather brooding.

I have always been interested in Vedic astrology, more so for the calculations and methodology involved than the actual predictions themselves. So invariably like everyone else the internet is a great source of information for me. Coz of the excessive time on hand owing to the economic downturn here, I started to read about vedic astrology late last night, promising myself not to read past 2am, unknowing to me, that was not to be.

Long story short, I stumbled across predictions for the US and the world for the years 2008 written by this guy. He predicted the Dollar falling, the hurricane season, the rising Petrol cost, rising of gold, war in the middle east (duh!), UK going into recession etc etc. Well we have seen all this happening...right! so ok all is not fine and dandy...but at least its something we are already experiencing and so not so bothersome.

But then there are other things that he predicted, Iran war, Burning of US war ships, Quakes in Indonesia and Japan, assassinations worldwide, India Pakistan tensions escalating, Us election scandal, a new deadly world virus etc etc....u get the idea. So if that wasn't enuf, I wanted to find out some more, and I went hunting for information, more predictions, and lo and behold, all I found was people predicting, wars, starvation, drought, floods, earthquakes, power hungry people, genocides etc.

This got me thinking, is this what we have to look forward to? Or is this just fear mongering by all? Do astrologers not look into the positives, is their business just based on picking out doomsday and telling us just what the path to that looks like?

I was technically up reading till 4 am, but it left me sleepless, and the little mercy of sleep that I was granted was strewn with nightmares, mainly of cockroaches running around in my neighborhood! Now maybe that should be my prediction of the coming of the plague.....how does that sound?

Well all in all, not only did all this negativity leave me wondering about our future but the future of the coming generations. Is it really fair for us to actually bring in children to this Grim world??

So much for Women being Bad Drivers

2008-08-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

Every morning before getting into the subway, I grab the 2 free newspapers.....after all they are my only link to the happenings of the world apart from BBC, CNN, Time, IBN etc...hehehe

But me being a news junkie is besides the point. The reason I brought the newspapers up is coz, in one of them (AmNy) there was this article stating some facts about Men and Driving ..with a few statistics thrown in. So with all credit to the above newspaper here go the facts

1. About twice as many men as women are killed each year in crashes. Even though 1:1 Men tend to drive more miles....not twice as much...but just a little more.

My Take : So its therefore implied that men are twice more likely to die in a car accident...

2. More men tend to have the condition Sleep Apnea, and Drivers with this problem are FIVE times more likely to be in an car accident.

My Take : So therefore not only are men FIVE times more likely to be in an accident, they will also be responsible for killing more MEN ....wow this keeps getting better !

3. A National Safety Council analysis found that men account for 81% of all drivers with blood alcohol concentration .08 or greater who are involved in fatal crashes

My Take: So therefore not only are men FIVE times more likely to be in an accident, they will also be responsible for killing more MEN...AND they will do this while being obnoxiously DRUNK...That's 1 more for the Women

4. Men are more likely to speed.

My Take: Simple and straight...So therefore not only are men FIVE times more likely to be in an accident, they will also be responsible for killing more MEN...they will do this while being obnoxiously DRUNK...and they will do it at great speeds.....ahh for the love of Mankind!!

And just when things were going from Bad to worse here for men ... here is the aptly termed 'kick in the groin'..in other words the conclusion...which includes this line

The actual number of men killed in car crashes has declined from the year 1997 to 2007 (48/million to 45/million). This decrease can be attributed to *drum roll please* The number of WOMEN driving has increased!!

Yes you Heard it right...the world is ACTUALLY safer .... coz women drive more. I am ecstatic..this is big considering all the stupid jokes about women drivers...

How do you feel now little men??? In your face(s)!!!

That reminds me...for all the trouble Saudi Arabia is having with unruly drivers...maybe its time to let their WOMEN DRIVE!!!!...

Bumper Sticker

2008-08-06T19:37:00.001-07:00

DON'T STEAL!!!!!

The Government Hates Competition

And I snickered at the Apple

2008-07-11T06:10:00.001-07:00

Got dropped by S to the station to take a train to work...and lo and behold..I see a long line of people..waiting...took me a moment to realize that they were all standing there to get their hands on the new iPhone...lolz

I couldn't help myself and snickered...boy some people have time on thier hands...and to top it all off, I heard one of the guys way back in the line say he was there since 4..and was hungry.....poor chap, I almost bought him a coffee....lolz

Bhindi Masala

2008-07-09T08:57:00.001-07:00

Ahh... Bhindi (okra) one of the most loved veggies out there. Bhindi like aloo (potato) is a very versatile veggie...and one of my fav's ...

So here goes one of my fav recipes with Bhindi.

Ingredients:

3 Pounds Bhindi ( approx 1 1/2 kgs)
2 medium onions - chopped
1 large tomato - chopped
1 ' cube Ginger - Chopped
4 cloves Garlic - Chopped
3 medium Green Chilles - Chopped
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
2/3 teaspoon Red Chilli pwd
Pinch of Turmeric
Oil to Saute
Corriander leaves for garnish

Method:

Quater the Bhindi 4 ways
Heat some Oil in the pan and saute the Bhindi will sides are golden brown, and set aside
Heat the remaining oil. Once Hot add in the Cumin and wait for it to splutter
Add in the Ginger, Garlic and Green Chillies, stir till the garlic turns golden brown
Add in the Onion and saute till the Onions turn transculent
Add in the tomatoes and saute for 3 more minutes.
Add all the Masalas, cook for a high flame for 2 mins and then cover and cook on a low flame till Bhindi cooks completely
Garnish with Corriander before serving...

yummm!

Hope you enjoy it ....as much as we did :)

5 Mins Chocolate Pie

2008-07-09T08:56:00.001-07:00

This one literally takes just 5 mins, and turns out yummy!! Everytime I have made this one, people rave about it...and think it takes a lot of time to make :)

So here goes

1 Pack Instant Pudding (I Devil's food...even plain chocolate will do)
2 cups Milk
1 pre-packed pie base
1 pack sweet Whipped cream (yummmm)
Chocolate shavings 1/4 cup (Optional)

Method:

1. Empty the Pack of Pudding into the Milk and whip till it sets

2. Pour Immediately into the Pie Base

3. Refrigerate for a couple of Hrs

4. Top with Whipped cream (enough to cover the pie :))

5. Sprinkle a few chocolate shavings

6. Cut and Serve!

How easy is that??? Hopefully U stumble across this recipe!! Let me know how it works out !!

Intro to food :)

2008-07-09T07:59:00.000-07:00

Now this makes me real Happy! Food...

I have a so called degree in Food and its prep..but my fascination with food started a really long time back

I still remember watching Sanjeev Kapoor cooking show as a child, and trying out his recipes.

The latest development in the area of food as been my recently acquired love for vegetarian food....this is a world that I chose to ignore when I was young. With age they say comes maturity...as I age what is coming is the love for vegetables...hahahahahaha..

Well here is to the new discoveries and less disasters in the kitchen......GO Veggie !!!

Countdown

2008-03-26T11:48:00.001-07:00

Comfortable with Strangers – Part II

2007-10-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

On the professional side things are no different.

Not long ago, there was a time when people actually met each other in an official setting and got to know each other as a person. People were warm in their reception extended to the new entrant in the office.

A number of people if not all in the department, including the dept head would actually take time out and talk to the new member. They would take them out for lunch, take them on the tour of the office, get them introduced to the people around, and all in all give them a decent chance and time to settle in.

But in today’s day and age the very thought of something like this happening is absurd. With the environment of Hire and Fire, relocations, work at homes, consultants and many many other modern concepts, it is rare for a new person to get the time to get acquainted.

Typically the new person meets the manager, who shows them the designated work area, the Cubicle, settles them down with a word ‘Welcome!’ and then hands them a bunch of documentation to read. By the end of the day the new person has a bunch of meeting invitations on his/ her calendar, from people that he/she has no idea about.

In the meeting itself, the newbie is bombarded about who is who and where they are located, (coz people in the same department are now spread across the world). There have been times that I have spoken to a person on a almost daily basis on the least for a year or so, and have never seen who they are, all I know is what they sound like.

People in big organizations, talk to each other either with emails, or thru some kind of instant messaging. Forget meeting the person, there is a certain reluctance now to even pick up the phone and call someone. There are no more ‘How are yous’ and “How you doings’, all that remains in the name of conversation is ‘Hi, can you send/give/forward to me this&that’

I must confess that though, this kind of working is now something I am totally comfortable with, I still look forward to the 15 mins everyday that I have to STEAL away from my desk and meet my buddies for lunch with my colleagues.

On the other hand I have become friends with people sitting halfway across the world. The daily Hellos and the interaction sometimes extend into conversations about weekend activities, movies, food and drink. There have been moments when you can message this person and talk for 5-10 mins and unload if something is bothering you, without the risk of the person judging you…Hell they don’t even know what you look like

The long distance and the online environment have created something that helps a person work and connect with people in all corners of the world, without having to REALLY connect with them…

Comfortable with Strangers - Part 1

2007-09-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

The Introduction :-

This world at this time is a strange place indeed....we are now more than ever interacting with people online and looking towards strangers for love for friendship.

No its not what u are thinking...I am talking about strangers we have never seen never met....strangers we meet online...we seek online....

This morning I saw something on a online news channel, about how boys from rural areas, get all dressed up on weekends and drive to the nearest town, where they get on these internet public chat room and are actively looking for love, looking to meet women from far away, looking for something that they are supposedly not finding in their physical world around them.

These are the same guys that are considered shy and have no real contact with a woman, let alone go out and date women, these boys havent even had a chance to have a decent conversation with the opposite sex...but this might be more a rural setting situation right?

Wrong!...for the most part whoever reads this entry or this blog is a complete stranger to me as I am to them, barring some of my buddies from a review site (u got here mostly thru there)...and u are still here relating to the blog in some way or the other.

Talking about the review site. I hold that place very dear, because of the people I have met there, the poeple I have interacted with and the admiration we have developed for one another, not only reviewers but also as exceptionally wonderful Human beings.

Infact the reviews, the comments and the mails have stemmed of this whole new camaraderie....we now have regular interactions, find joy in sharing news, tell the other person how wonderful a review they have written, look forward to everyones comments on our review, discuss shopping and anything else under the sun, create groups on Orkut and other site...network!

Orkut...another boon for the virtual world....How many of us, go in and see how our friends are doing? find new friends and see if someone is trying to connect with you. Orkut is great for connecting with existing friends too right....scrap each other, send messages, create and join groups? Extend ur hand in friendship to other people on the site, ask them to come and join a group, send them a scrap, and reply if they send you one....pleasant or otherwise.....

Long story short.....I find myself online constantly....not only has all my professional life gone online...looks like most of my personal one is going there too...

to be continued!

The Day of the Tornado

2007-08-09T06:54:00.000-07:00

For many a days now I have been racking my brain to come up with something to write about…..coz the truth is no one wants to put down stuff that sounds totally idiotic…even if the Blog is really supposed to be a virtual diary……yeah! But everyone reads it!

Irrelevant…now…what is relevant atleast to me is what happened yesterday on the 8th of August 2007. The day the rain gods and the tornado gods decided to pay a visit to NY.

The night before we were issued a minor warning that there will be thunderstorms in the area, nothing major. In the morning though around 6:00 there was terrible thunder and lighting….and it was pouring cats and dogs!

But that lasted like an hour and then it was all quite. Commute was a different story altogether. As soon as I got to the Subway, I was told that all the trains were shut down. When I looked up, I saw thousands of people, stranded! Waiting for the bus that refused to come, trying to get into work!

I managed to get on into an Express bus, the driver of which was way more grumpier than the weather that had just passed by. He kept screaming at the top of his voice that there were only 5 seats on the bus!....yeah right! Like that message was going to get across to the thousands waiting to storm the bus.

Anyway as soon as I sat down, a very heavily pregnant woman got on and was standing in the Aisle. Not one person had the courtesy to get up and offer the poor lady a seat. I figured, that she needed to sit more than I did, and asked her if she wanted to. The relief on her face was unbelievable! So I got up ad let her sit.

The journey on that bus lasted for around 2 hrs during which I kept standing, during which time, a man kept making clicks, coz I was standing too near his seat. I was literally at a point where I would have gotten right near his face and screamed “Shut up u moron, atleast u are sitting.! This aisle is hardly 2 feet wide, a little inconvenience is not gonna kill you!...and stop making that noise…if it bothers u so much…leave the seat…and go upfront and stand’’ Idiot!

Oh well….the journey lasted a long time….infact it lasted 3 ½ hrs….it usually takes me like an hour and a half to get to work!...but at the end I was proud of myself of never loosing my temper, inspite of all the annoyed and annoying people around me, and more so for doing atleast one good deed on a day when it would have been much easier to turn a blind eye to the inconvenience of another

So from now on, I am going to do atleast one good deed a day…and everyday there are many such opportunities…it is just that many of us choose to ignore them….but not anymore…not me!

So my good deed for yesterday was giving up my seat to a pregnant lady…who needed it more than me….lets see what today has in strore!

Prejudiced Reaction?

2007-06-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

After a long day of work, I was thrilled to get back into the subway to start my journey back home. Lucky me I found a seat, and I gladly took the chance to sit down, and read the days paper, glad that it was not another computer screen, that I was staring at.

In the middle section of the paper, there was this really interesting article about money management, more specifically loan management. Being in a reasonable amount of debt myself, I was engrossed in the article, desperately looking for a way to manage my credit cards.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a bright pink and white kurta, pass in front of me, and sit in the next seat. The Kurta was a stripped pink and white kind. It was I think made of either silk, or was a synthetic material, not sure didn’t really pay attention to it too much.

But since the kurta’s colors had caught my attention, I kept looking. Only to notice, that the person sitting next to me was wearing a long necklace. A trendy one too, with stones wrapped with metal and spaced apart.

Suddenly the sandal the person was wearing caught my eye. Flat sandals, with golden straps and Rhinestones. But the feet looked big, by girly standards, but very well maintained.

With those thoughts in my mind and the curiosity to know who was sitting besides me, I broke the unspoken rule of the New York city commute. I looked at the person beside me.

Normally I would look away, but then, this time, it was not so. I looked for a good 30 secs…and not deliberately, but blank, just couldn’t look away.

The person sitting next to me was a guy!...and he was reading one of the PRIDE publications….I guess that explains a lot…..

Now sitting here I wonder, even though I consider myself to be a very broad minded, liberal person, is there a chance that might not be true…I mean I was not disgusted, I was a wee bit shocked…So what made me keep looking….was it just the shock…or is there something more to it.

I would like to believe that it was just the surprise of seeing a man dressed like a woman, that made me stare…I mean reactions cannot be termed prejudiced right? Or can they? If so what does that make me?

A Wishful Difference

2007-05-27T20:37:00.001-07:00

I hear the birds singing,
But, my heart does not sing along ,
I see the sun shine ,
But the day has, already gone too long.

I dread the evening as it comes,
Because it brings nothing but cold ,
Sitting in this empty space,
I have none but myself to hold.

I wish, I could be there
where ever love resides,
And not have to fret about
Anything, you and me besides

Alas, peace is not meant to be
for Social Norms, a lot prevent
Only thing that remains now, love
I wish everything around was different!

A helping hand

2007-05-25T23:31:00.000-07:00

Travel has it seems become a huge part of my daily routine. Sitting in the Bus and Subway and catching up on a snooze or listening to songs, oblivious to the hundreds of people around is now second nature. But then again , this is probably the story of every person in a major city! On my way back from office today, as I got into the subway, I noticed a man slumped in the seat, fast asleep, with his hand on his stomach. So as usual no one wanted to be seated near him. People it seems avoid anything that can become remotely uncomfortable. I wonder if the man was drunk, that's the first assumption isn't it? or maybe he was just really tired from a hard day of work...but hell no one dared to go near him....let him be...all by himself..till the very last stop...and even then...no one dared to go near and wake him up....I wonder if I am a coward like everyone else in some way or the other....or have I become that cold? With those thoughts running thru my mind, I boarded the bus for the next phase of my journey. A few stops later, a man boarded the bus, limping, using his hands to pull himself up, at the same time, trying to balance the shopping load. He had a huge knee brace on...so he stretched out...and people just kept bumping into him...unconcerned..cold! When his stop came, he got up and tried to step down the three steps to the ground....I never knew that taking three steps is perhaps the most daunting thing in a man's life. He struggled and struggled , unable to take a single step....but no one got up to help him...even I sat there...in waiting to see what he does. But I couldnt stand it anymore...couldnt face the voice within asking me to help this man....so I got up, and asked if I could help by holding his shopping bags, so he can use his arms to help himself down....at the same time the driver came to help ...not out of concern...but knowing he wold be in trouble if this man hurt himself. I got off the bus a few stops ahead...and I turned back to see....a few people looking at me from the passing bus window...thier eyes cold!..while I walked away feeling the warmth!

Here I go

2007-05-25T23:24:00.001-07:00

At last I took the effort to sit myself down to create a Blog and pen a few words.

Not going to go on and on in my very first post....its useless, not that I think this blog is going to be useful to anyone but me!

So here I go, Om Sai Ram....setting a religious tone already??? only time will tell how much that will hold up.