cogito ergo sum

To Renewed Beginings

2012-01-23T15:10:00.000-08:00

When I started this blog many many moons ago I had entered a new chapter in my life. I had finished a significant portion of my education and moved out of the secure, comforting awnings of my parents’ home. I was living by myself and working and learning the ropes of adulthood. I am attempting to resurrect the blog as I just entered another chapter of my life. I became a mother to a little darling boy who shall be known as VDK (read vee-dee-kay) which in Telugu means “for him”. So I am kinda writing a blog “for him” to chronicle his mom’s emotions through his early life. Writing this blog helped me a lot with the previous chapter of my life and I am hoping that by returning back to writing I will get some support and sanity in the otherwise crazy life of being a new & working mom.

Motherhood in a nutshell means having boatloads of patience. And I don’t mean small rafts but giant Titanic sized ships of patience. I should have called it shipload then…LOL!! And no, it’s not just in dealing with baby - but in dealing with the free advice that people think is wise to dispense to a new mom.

The first week of lil VDK’s life was chaotic. He arrived a few weeks ahead of schedule and hence we weren’t prepared for the nitty grittys such as diapers and setting up the bassinet. After bringing him from the hospital D and I made a frantic Babies’R’Us run for essentials and bought giant jumbo packs of diapers and formula little realizing that babies change diaper sizes super-fast and a one week old doesn’t drink 8 oz of formula at one shot!!! It took us about 4 days to get the hospital tags off our own hands and a few more days to get them off VDK’s little ankles… In our sleep deprived state we took tons of pictures attempting to document every moment of his existence and his multi colored poop (ok this was to show the doctor!) We filled out forms for birth certificates and health insurance. The first time I was signing the waiver at the hospital as force of habit I began writing my own name and had to ask for a new set of papers to fill out and put my name against Parent/Guardian… VDK’s first visit was of course to the temple where he was officially introduced to the world in the form of a namakaranam. In the middle of the chaos it was D’s and mine wedding anniversary. I am now the proud owner of a Tiffany’s Diamond ring (which was more for the first born than the wedding anniversary) but we didn’t do anything. What got me through the early weeks was advice I received from a random parent in the waiting room at the doctors. Small kids = small problems, Bigger kids = Bigger problems.

Now, at almost 9.5 weeks lil V is starting to display his personality. His best friend is his maternal grand mom who talks to him in a language he understands. He has phone conversations with his grand pa. He chills out with his dad who is thanking his stars that his son has an ear for music and he lets me be the helicopter parent that I am turning into. He still sleeps in the car seat thereby allowing us occasional trips out of the house. He is braver than us at the doctor’s visits for his shots crying for about 30 seconds while his father and I are freaking out and apologizing for putting him through the agony. And that is my entry into motherhood J

Rose tinted glasses

2011-03-03T17:28:00.000-08:00

Life has gotten in the way of my blogging. Have I made any significant strides in the last year? No not really.. Just the same old. Same old..

Sometimes, I feel that we look at the past with rose tinted glasses. (Atleast I do!) After over a year today I felt like reading some of my old blog posts. There is one I especially like about things I miss doing in Chennai... Ironically, I still missing doing all of them..With friends one weekend, we launched into a discussion regarding our rose tinted view of Chennai. We felt that if we packed our bags and went back to Chennai, we probably will not get the similar experiences or flashbacks. We have changed, friends have changed or moved out of Chennai or circumstances around us have changed..

Of travels..

2010-01-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

3 years and 4 days later I went back to Chennai. Watching as the overhead map crossed the Arabian sea and entered India somewhere between Bombay and Goa tears sprung up in my eyes.. I was never one of those folks who pined for Chennai so I never felt the longing or urge to go back.. I made sudden plans and I was there but still I was emotional the moment I landed.. Parents and in - laws were at the airport to get me and I for once got the feeling that I have heard others tell me about.. I vowed only to wear Salwar Kameezes my entire trip there so I did that.. Of course I wore socks and carried my own bottle of water everywhere I went..

I wanted to have the moment where I say "Oh! So much has changed! Is this Chennai??? Wow!! I cannot even recognize the place" However, I couldn't bring myself to say any of that.. I have changed.. In ways that I cannot recognize I have changed.. The city has stayed just the same.. The eyes through which I was looking at them had changed. Of course, I did the usual.. Going to beach.. Going to Spencers.. Going to Saravana Bhavan.. Going to T - Nagar.. Attending a cutchery.. Going to ECR.. and Going to sleepover at D's..

Writer's block

2009-11-19T19:33:00.000-08:00

Writer's block. No other explanation! Many moons ago, I read an article that said that a person's life is defined by his/her profession. At that point in life I thought that it was all BS and that every person is a mom, a daughter a wife, a sister, a friend, a brother, a dad and so on so forth. But in the last few months I think I am beginning to recant on my statement. All through my college and grad school days I was of the extremely strong opinion that I am absolutely non - technical and am probably not a great engineer. However, for the last ten months I have held a fairly technical job and I would like to think that I am fairly decent at it. More than anything else, i think that I have been trained to think a certain way. I am always amazed that education can do this to a person. It also reinforces my opinion that education is the one of the primary things that will drive a person to survival.

OK.. I promise not to die anymore. I hope. LOL!

Growing Pains!

2009-09-03T18:19:00.001-07:00

This week my mind yearned to achieve the impossible. And all it took was phone call to a dear friend. I am not one for homesickness.. I don't spend my days thinking of Saravana Bhavan idlies and Sundal on the beach. Don't get me wrong.. I love Madras and enjoyed every aspect of it but I am not one for craving things that I know are beyond my reach. A few years ago I made a choice and I don't believe in regretting any choices I made. But last week all it took was one email and one phone call and I wished to be instantly transported to next to my friend. To stand with her and help her through her problems. For a few minutes my mind wanted to hug my friend and shield her from all the troubles of the world. We spent some time discussing college friends and the various escapades that we (read Me) orchestrated!!!

During a recent conversation with N we spoke mundane things and re-hashed all old gossip. She filled me in on all the families talk. Its at times like these that I am noticing that though my heart is felt with immense affection for these people I hardly am making an effort to express it.

I am noticing that almost all of my friends are getting married or are getting there. The boys have had kids!!! Its almost impossible for me to think that N was one of the guys that went with me to the A R Rahman concert and screamed and sang with me. He was one of the people responsible for introducing me to Illayaraja music and who can forget his rendition of Illamai Idho Idho during one of the college culturals. I am truly happy for him but at the same time realizing that we are all not teenagers safe in the portals of SVCE, Pennalur.

All this reminds me of a dialog from Rang De Basanti which for some reason stuck in my head.. "College gate ke is par zindagi ko hum nachate hain, College gate ke us par zindagi hum ko nachati hain" Roughly transalated it means " On this side of the college gates we govern our lives and on the other side of the college gates our lives govern us!"

Books Tag

2009-08-08T06:15:00.000-07:00

As usual, I do any tags on my blog.. This one is to mention 15 books I cannot live without..

1) A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth

2) Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

3) Sister of My Heart, Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni

4) Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

5) Unaccustomed Earth - I won't say its a book I can't live without but I say it made a lot of sense to me., Jhumpa Lahiri

6) Not Without My Daughter - Betty Mahmoody

7) As the Crow Flies, Jeffery Archer

8) Kane and Abel, Jeffery Archer

9) Master of the Game, Sidney Sheldon

10)Adventures of Mr. Pink Whistle, Enid Blyton

11) Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri

12) The Toss of a Lemon, Padma Viswanathan

13) The GodFather, Mario Puzo

14)Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

15) Ok this is not a book per se.. But Calvin and Hobbes series..

I tag Swat Cat..

Rite of Passage Weekend or Plain Growing Older

2009-07-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

One knows one is growing old when the idea of a fun weekend is pottering around the house. This weekend was the first time in about 2 months that I put brakes on the other wise hectic life. It began with dropping D and the in-laws off at the station for their trip to NYC. I got home and cleaned my kitchen with a vengeance!! I took a walk around noon to the Subway on Route 9 and brought home some food. I polished it off watching some random stuff on TV and took a brief nap. Afternoon I was elated to discover that I had two 20% of Bed Bath and Beyond coupons so off I went to buy some stuff. I hit the mall later and did a brief bit of shopping.(You know you are really getting old when shopping is brief) and headed home with food from Gourmet India.I decided to do a detour to Toys R Us to buy some stuff for the extended family. You know the store intimidates me. My childhood toy stores were initially Five Star on Radhakrishnan Salai which had a entire floor dedicated to kids games and later the basement in Landmark. But never anything the scale of Toys R Us!! Headed home and cleaned out some more.

Sunday began with more cleaning and some office work. Come evening I began slacking off catching up with family members and checking out friends blogs. Which brings me to the answer Rite of Passage? Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that if I had a free weekend I would spend it cleaning!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Conversations

2009-07-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

Frnd to Me: Trains don't live in houses.
Me: Your right, trains live in stations.
Frnd to Me:(After a few seconds thought) No, trains live on tracks.

I am sooooooo amazed by this conversation that I thought I will share it with you.

25 Random Things About Me

2009-06-16T12:39:00.005-07:00

Mugs tagged me on FB. I decided to do it here instead to save a dying blog.. This is in random order and I don't know if I will hit 25.

1) I am shit scared of cutting vegetables. I will do anything to avoid cutting vegetables. Buy frozen, cook them whole or get someone else to cut them.

2) I sleep with my mouth wide open. And by wide I mean WIDE!!!!

3) I cannot sleep in Jeans. So I never travel on trains in Jeans. I will wear a salwar.

4) I am shit scared of flying. Earlier I used to throw up the entire duration of the flight. Now I force myself to go to sleep the moment my butt hits the seat and I wake up when the wheels hit the tarmac.

5) Babies scare me. I can deal with older kids. Ooohing and aaahing over babies isn't my thing.

6) I need to read to perform some bodily functions. Hence I know the back of shampoo bottles and lotions etc.

7) I can accost people and scare them. I can also not talk to people if I have nothing to say to them. And if its the first day of college then I will not make polite conversation with random people who end up becoming my best friends!!! he he he he

8) I surprised my husband by enjoying Fight Club and Thambi!

9) I say the randomest things some times. The recent one being - "Dasaratha had three wives - Kausalya, Supraja and Ramapurva!!" And one of my all time hits being " Oh! Shit Where Do I live?"

10)I worked my butt off to become the House Captain in school and the Secretary in College. I love to do such stuff.

11)I will read any book with an Indian author.

12)I claim not to be a fan of chick lit, but if I get my hands on one I will not put it down till I finish it.

13)I wanted to become a play back singer, a food critic, a cardiac surgeon, a Nobel Prize winner and a film director. I am an Information Technology professional.

14)I always amaze myself when I code. That could also be because I set very low expectations :p

15)I hate sweets made of coconut.

16)My ardent wish is to completely confuse any kids that I might have.

17)I wish to own a house with a swimming pool in the middle of it. I am not a great swimmer.

18)I love ACGs though I currently don't own any.

19)I make up lyrics if I don't know them. I don't understand 50% of the songs I enjoy.

20)I know the Nagila Nagila song from Alaipayuthey in all the three languages it came out in and I like all three versions.

21) I can watch DDLJ any number of times.

22)I am not one for small talk

23) OK I ran out of ideas

Dandilsa do if you want to

Idle Sunday Afternoon

2009-05-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

Alert***
I have spent the last two hours reading BigB's blog and hence this post is going to a rambling "what's happening in my life kinda entry"..

The last four months have been the craziest by far in my life.. I don't even know what exactly I was doing except that I have been multi - tasking at levels I have never done before. The year started off fine with D and me spending it at R and S's place. Then I went to visit my bro and sis - in - law down south.. To save on money I chose to fly from Manchester and hence spent around 8 hours using various modes of transportation from train to cab to walking to bus to plane.. Somewhere between the new years and eight days later when I flew to OKC I attended a job interview.. Wonders of Wonders they actually liked me.. So after I was back I started working and juggling school at the same time.. Travel to work entailed three different modes of transport and around 20 dollars a day!! Finally I got over my fear of driving through snow and started driving to work regularly.. Between scaling up at work and attempting to maintain my grades at school, the spouse and I decided to go on a domestic hunt.. So if I wasn't studying on weekends, we went hunting along with someone who was adept at doing it.. Compass in hand D and I set off looking at some as old 200 years old!! If I couldn't go because of work D would go by himself.. IF you thought this wasn't confusing in itself, I contracted the flu somewhere around the end of Feb - beginning of March time frame and promptly gave it to D as well.. From then on my husband and I have been continuously in and out of doctors' clinics till as late as yesterday!!

Fast forward about 1.5 months. Finals over, hunt successful. On the cusp of graduation and signing around 100 pages when both husband and I are down sick!!! I have been gone through around 3 boxes of Cleenex and mysteriously D is also down with some mysterious illness! So my first free weekend in 1.5 years and we are both in two different bedrooms trying to pass time which caused me to spend around 2 hours reading BigB..

Just moping and complaining.. Nothing much..

Pssst.. Did you know..

2009-04-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

haar haar haar.. My reaction on reading this

But Angelina Jolie as Dagny!!!!! Yuck!! Dagny in my head is strong and upright. Maybe Meryl Streep when she was younger. Actually I don't think its a good idea to make a movie out of this book because no one can do justice to the writing that is open to such different interpretations.

TV Musings (Spoiler Alert For Those Who Didn't watch 6th April episode of House)

2009-04-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

Pardon me for the long gap between posts.. What am I doing right now?? I am currently Jack of all trades.. I don't know if its a good thing to be doing multiple things at the same time all with different levels of concentration or if its better to concentrate on one task and move on the next.. Multi tasking is the name of the game!! And I also just segwayed into a post that I never intended to write..

Lets start again.. There are some crushes we are allowed to have. Matt Lauer, Dr. House, Anderson Cooper etc.. And hence I watch House!! Yesterday in a horrific turn of events Kutner dies!!!!!!!!!! He kills himself. For days before they went on about how its an episode like no other etc. I was a tad surprised and curious as to why they bumped Kal Penn off the show. Turns out that he is going to be working in the White House. Where did I pick up this random piece of information. I am only going to hint at it as I am not sure of copyright issues.. Its one of the three networks that has the above mentioned follks.. So I am happy for him and also discovered that there are others besides a certain Mr. Jindall to fly the Indian flag in American politics..

After several thousands of times of listening to people Blaming it on Alchohol I just switched radio stations on my car stereo and hit upon Imus in the Morning.. After some more days of listening to it figured out that its a right wing radio station. Not that I have anything against being Right Wing(in fact I am in the process of figuring out where I belong - Not that it will make any difference) but certain other shows that I listened to are bordering on being dumb. Its evident the extent of research that they have put into the show borders on negligable!! They criticize without substantiation, they criticize people's spouses and they criticize physical appearances!!!

Anyhoo.. I am a fan of Imus in the morning and it anydays beats Blame it on the Alcohol!!!!!!!!!

Also noticing that N hasn't blogged in a while.. Wondering what is up with her..

Unaccustomed Thoughts

2009-03-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

My vision faltered and my hand reached for the light switch. A concerned voice's concerns rang in my ears. "Switch on the light.. Don't read in the dark." At times like this my mind yearns for familiar people and familiar surroundings. My unborn child will never know the feeling of putting her head into a softened cotton sareed lap. I might never chat up with the istree or relish the taste of a foreign chocolate. Or even the anticipation of the foreign chocolate. It saddens me that my husband and I don't share any memories in India - of familiar roads and outings spent. Our wedding passed in a daze with a thousand people and to this day this is our significant together memory of the country we call home.

Moments pass in one's life when one recounts one's blessings. I pray for those who have to go through those who make the difficult decisions instead of us. I would like to think that they have the strength to make those decisions that mere mortals don't. I pray for them.

Sodapitan.

2009-02-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

Watched Delhi 6 this weekend with DD and her husband. Felt that the movie was a little confused.My title indicates my opinion. Many moons ago, I had reviewed RDB and I wasn't too impressed by it. But, honestly watching Delhi 6 made me feel that RDB was an outlier. Coz Aks and Delhi 6 sure aren't. Anyhooo.. I felt a sense of Deja vu while watching the movie. The Ram - Leela and riots scene reminded me a lot of the similar scene from A Suitable Boy (Yeah I know, I am obsessed with that book). Also, another scene gave me a book Deja - Vu (am not sure if that is even a word). The end where Roshan almost dies and goes to heaven to his Dadaji (haar haar - Do you think that they will play like brothers in a few years!!) It reminded me a lot of the final part of the Deathly Hallows book where Harry goes to heaven or Kings Cross station and meets Dumbledore who sorts out some priorities before he decides that he isn't dead. I mean both of these could just be co-incidental!

On a tangential sodapal I have a problem with people who fib on their profiles. I mean some of those "I want to make friendship" types are obvious enough for us. However, the ones who read "Rowling", "Paul Colo", "Perry Mason!!!" so on so forth..

2009-02-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

Sam tagged me. The thing about this tag is that I don't store any pictures on my system. All fotos are stored on D's computer. This is one picture that I took. I took this picture myself from a moving vehicle. It was taken on our way to NYC. It was one of the last outings before the winter set in!!!

There was a lot going on in my head coz I had a job interview as soon as I came back. It was a fairly big company and they had layed off about 4500 people the week before. D and I stopped at a BK for lunch and had yummo Onion Rings and dipping sauce. I was excited cause I was going to meet my cousins. D was excited coz he was going to meet his frnds N and S.

Ah well long enough story I think!!!

Unbelievable

2009-02-03T19:00:00.000-08:00

Many moons ago I had written a blog post about how in the course of my conversations with certain people I got a little irritated. Actually, I have written many posts about that but anyways, there was one where some people thought I was doing my Masters to pass my time!!!! Yeah know you remember!! Well recently I was in a conversation with someone who asked me what I was doing.I told her that I was working while going to school part time. Guess what she told me???????????

GOOD.. YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO PASS YOUR TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to use this forum to set the record straight. I wasn't doing my masters to pass my time. And now I am not working to pass my time. I studied to get a job and I am working to make money. Right now, I don't have time to pass.

On a tangential note, I do a weird combo of driving to work and taking the commuter rail to my work which is about 30 odd miles one way. I finally figured out a system where I need to drive to work two days a week. But each time I take my car to work it snows copious amounts!! Every single freaking time.. And the new driver in me freaks out every single time. When I have to stand in the cold and shovel snow of my car!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-26T18:01:00.000-08:00

It took two and a half years but Techie is back at work :-)

For the Rest there is BOA

2009-01-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

Old Navy
Interesting looking Blue and White Stripes TShirt - 2 dollars
Multicolored Turtleneck Sweater - 10 dollars

H and M
Floral Print Work Wear - 5 dollars
Clip - 1 dollar
Woolen Hat - Free
Second Clip - Free

Express Men
Sweater Vest for D - 18 dollars

Body Shop
Vitamin E day Cream - 16 dollars

Ann Taylor Loft
Peasant Blouse - 9 dollars

Three hours later - One Happy Cogito

Gift from D

Mid Rise Felt Boots from D PRICELESS!!!

Added Later: I don't wear leather.

What is in a Name?

2008-12-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

Most Indians who come to the States loose a name.To honour the memories of our grandfathers and their grandfathers or grandmothers and their grandmothers we are named after them. And as the Bengali folks say we all have "Bhalo" names. Telugu folks last names are family names. And boy oh boy do we have weird last names.. They are usually either the profession our ancestors followed, our places that they originated from or deities they worshiped etc. I am thankful for this custom because I wouldn't for the world want a father's name/husband's name attached to my name. Because I am defined by me - my name. I would not want to think I belong to my father or husband. I am not an object to belong to another human being. That way I like to have family names because I would like to think that I cannot not belong to a family. I just don't float around in ether!!!

Post marriage women are expected to change their last names to indicate that she has changed families. As is very evident in Indian marriage rituals a lot of things are changed along with the family name. Now what I fail to understand is how does the gothram change? (Gothram indicates the clan you are born into (originates to certain saintly being!!). The concept being you cannot marry into the same clan because you are in some way a sibling of everyone in the same clan.) So anyway how does the clan I am born into change after marriage? I would like to think that my children would belong to the new clan. I just wish that the Shastras had some way to accomodate this changing gotra thingy with a timestamp. Born into this gothra - married into this gothra sort of thing.

What also bothers me primarily is that by changing last names does it mean that I do not belong anymore in the family into which I was born. Am I going to shed them like an old sweater.(That we all cling to old frayed sweaters is a whole other story). In fact, if we look back to the good old days, families were inter- married. A girl is given in marriage to her mother's brother. Why would they do something like that unless the mother wants her daughter to live in the family which she grew up with and loves. Lets face it. We aren't going to love them any less. If anything, we love them even more now that we don't live there anymore. (Personally, I have got to respect my parents even more after getting married. )So why delude ourselves into thinking by just changing names our loyalties change in anyway!!!! Once again, I can drive home my point with the gazillion mega serials on our television channels, especially a certain one that my husband and I just watched a couple of months ago, with Banupriya jumping around during the credits!!!

Now coming back to Indian folks who loose names once they come to the States. My husband lost a part of his name, so did my brother. I think maybe they just picked one and said, I am done with this name. Now my case is a little different from these two... I gained a name... I inherited a middle name and a new last name. BOA couldn't fit my now wonderfully big name on my credit card so they chopped it in ways they deemed right... It bothers me with the brutality with which they hacked a name but hey..like I said, What is in a Name? Its always in the mind..

J'ai eu un délicieux repas

2008-12-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

Last night my husband threw me a surprise dinner party for just the two of us. We went to the L'Espalier located in the Back Bay area of Boston,MA. This was easily one of the most delicious meals of my life.

An avid foodie, I watch the Food Network channel and over the last 2 years learned quite a bit about the difficulties of gourmet cooking. So I appreciated the meal from all angles.

Us Indians have unique food tastes and almost each state in the country has their own unique cuisine just like our languages. But just we say in India there is "Unity in Diversity", there is a unity in our food. Our savories are deliciously savory and most of our sweets are jarringly sweet. Watching our mothers(and their mothers) cook we know that a dollop of ghee(clarified butter) will take a dish to new heights, a dash of milk will give any base a creamier texture and frying anything will make it taste better. So.. French food was a unique experience for me and I had an epiphany. Ah well it isn't exactly an epiphany if dozens of people already know about it but whatever they say about the French it is all true.

Our evening started out with small cheese puffs, which were little bite sized pieces of heaven. I think they were filled with a goat cheese and the pastry shell was just the right bit of flaky. Very quickly our waitress(I am not even sure if I should call her that) came to help us out with the menu( which was primarily in French - which neither my husband nor I know) She suggested we try the autumn degustation on the vegetarian version. Having lived in the States for a couple of years now I am aware of the limitations of knowledge people have about vegetarian food, deeming us to be eating grass most of the time.. So, I had steeled myself to significantly watered down fare.. To add to my fears our hostess said "Don't worry you won't go out of here hungry". It immediately got me thinking "Oh no!! We need to go hunt out some place to eat something on the way home.." But boy oh boy! was I wrong!!!! Shortly afterward we were served appetizers which were once again out of this world. Mine was a little mashed potato dipped in egg and rolled in bread crumbs and Deepak's was a variation on coleslaw.. Reading about it would make them seem like everyday dishes but the flavors were intense.. The chef was able to intensify the flavors of the creamy potato and the egg. I could taste the egg as well as the potato as well as each single bread crumb!!!!! I got a single one and I thought (ever the skeptic) with such small portions I am never going to feel full.. As soon as our plates were removed and our cutlery replaced the soup was brought out.. What I want to keep stressing is that the dishes sound everyday but the flavors were anything but.. Now coming back.. we had cauliflower soup (which based on my attempts at it - can be significantly bland) but quoting Deepak " tasted like amrutham". We were offered a choice of Sourdough, Foccacia,Walnut and a Kalamata Olive bread with little pats of butter. I had the Foccacia and the Olive ones while Deepak had the other two and although I have eaten the Foccacia before never ever ever had such airy bread before.. The Olive bread was also delicious and intense. Our salad course was a tad difficult for me because of the arugala being a tad too spicy for my liking. But again the salad was a combination of sweet and spicy and a bit of tangy thrown in for good measure. Hence the one dish hit different portions of my pallete which never before have had to work all at once. Our main course was slightly Thai based. Dumplings stuffed with ginger and other seasonal vegetables but primarily the ginger taste coming through. They were flanking a blanched Sweet Potato(which I thought was initially mango or papayya - purely based on the visual) which was on a bed of arugala. It came with a bright red bell pepper sauce and was an appealing visual as much as it was to eat. There was also a bite of slightly grilled pineapple. By the end of this Deepak and I were in 7th heaven and mentally blowing kisses to the chef. Our waiter had mentioned that the chef is known for his Risotto and hence I was eagerly awaiting it. Knowing the effort that goes into making the Risotto I wanted to taste this labour of love. And did it live upto its name or what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Creamy Risotto with some kind of cheese it melted upon hitting the tongue. I am a fan and am now tempted to make it at home though I know that I could never ever re-create the magic.. Post the Risotto yours truly was full beyond measure. I have never been this full in the last 15 years of my life. I can say that confidently because as a kid when we used to go out I have gotten this full. And like a miracle they knew we would be full and waited a bit before they brought on the next course. The next course was a tropical fruit gellato with air bubbles on the side..I mean seriously, it wont do justice to call it foam but if you guys have watched any gourmet cooking show on tv you know what I am talking about!! Now, I am averse to any tropical fruits besides banana but the passion fruit with a hint of peach(thanks to Deepak for discovering this taste) and the tang of the grapefruit. For the first time in my 24 year exsistance I discovered the meaning of the expression melt in your mouth. It just literally melted in my mouth (especially the foam item). We then had our desert course which was again(how does he do it?????????) hitting different palletes (and all were sweet mind you).. One was a Banana flavored Chocolate cream, there was also a marshmellow, a chocolate mousse, yummmo Vanilla Ice cream, and more foam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And of course little candles, as we were celebrating a special occasion in our lives.. Now yours truly was offered and accepted a cappuchino during my desert course, and I had prepared myself as most would that it would taste bitter because of the desert. I was speechless..It stood its ground in spite of the desert. I saved myself some ice -cream to keep an after taste in my mouth (thanks to Dhanalakshmi whom I have been frnds with for too long)

Oh and I almost forgot, we had a cheese course before our desert..... Deepak who is not normally a fan of the cheese loved this experience as much as yours truly who will eat cheese in any which form, shape or size.. I cannot say the names of most of the cheeses I ate, though I did save the menu but every single bite was different from the rest.. We had a variety of cow's milk, goat's milk and sheep's milk cheeses.

Well ladies and gentlemen.. After a three and a half hour, seven course meal with several cutlery changes during the meal, MD and DK were the two most happiest folks on this side of phase earth, although DK bore a slightly significant dent to his wallet!!!

Huge shout out and thank you to Frank McClelland and the numerous gentlemen and the single lady who served us.. I have never eaten such an intensely flavorful meal in my entire life ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And last but not the least a thank you to my husband Deepaku who picked this place, made the reservation and gave me a beautiful meal and memory..

Asked to be tagged

2008-12-01T15:56:00.000-08:00

Normally I dont force people to tag me... LOL!!! he he.. But this time I requested I be tagged by Sam I have a final in about 3 days and as usual I am sitting here writing blog post. Here goes..

Your oldest memories

1) Watching Dalapathi with my dad in Devi theatre (I think)

2) Getting ready to go to Hyd after final exam(same day) to catch the Hyderabad Express.

3) Spending hours at R's house playing with her Baby Alive

What were you doing 10 years ago?

10 years ago I was 14. So I was in 10th. And you know all the good stuff that happens with board exams etc.. But I also remember Phanindra's tution and the irritating folks who went there..(Not you Archu) I meant the others!!! It was also the time when I was finding out about myself and I made frnds with K who I am frnds with till date.. I also discovered the value of my math teacher Mrs.Grace whom I hated with a vengeance before that. It was also the year I read "Not Without My Daughter" for the first time. I was also living in the Lloyds Road house where everyone around me went to DAV... Ah I can go on and on.. I think I also read Sidney Sheldon's Tell me Your Dreams coz V made me go to Eashwari and borrow it. I also think I read the un-abridged Pygmalion that year..

Your first thought in the morning
This morning it was Thank God it is Monday..ha ha..(I dont work on Mondays you see). I usually think about what I need to get done that day. Earlier it used to be what should I wear..

If you built a time capsule it would have
Two of everything.. ha ha ha..

This year..

I started my masters which was sort of my dream. I also think I improved as a cook, fell all over in love again with my husband, missed my frnds, have two licenses in two countries where people drive on opposite sides of the road, grew up in ways I could never imagine!!!

What do you see yourself doing 14 years from now

Who knows?? I don't think that much in advance.. I am a live in the moment kind of grl..No not really!! ha ha.. I probably plan a few months in advance.. More than a decade no way..

Family Values

2008-11-25T18:22:00.000-08:00

I would like to think I am a social person. I have been known to accost people and make frnds with them. I have made frnds in the strangest of circumstances. Like A who I met at Amethyst because she was a frnd of a frnd, or V who was my frnd's grl frnd. At Church Park, I was one who flitted between two rival gangs coz I had frnds in both. I remember L writing me a letter where she wrote and I quote" When I was forced to choose sides you taught me to choose none". So I went to and hosted cool co-ed dance parties while simultaneously going to watch movies in all girl groups. It took me probably all of about 1 week to make frnds with N at SVCE. And there were my families. Wow!! Anyone who went to SVCE between the years 2001 - 2005 had definitely heard about us. We were all strong, different minded individuals who became frnds with Family Values. Again, I hung with the wild crowd(N is going to kill me for this) while simultaneously being a member of ELEMENTS where the gang was relatively chammatu. Wipro brought on the POTS out of which two of us were thrown out because we got married. (Trust me, you don't want to know!!)
Now, getting to the point that I want to make, whenever we attend parties, I am hunting for frnds, every party that we attend, I am hunting out similar age couples to hang out with and do -couply things!!! Before attending the last party that we did, I made a list of all the young, married couples going to be there and told my husband to cover the husbands while I attack the wives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So much so, that now its reached comical proportions. So if there are any couples living in Boston area give me a shout out.. ha ha ha... What else is a blog for..

Abhishtu Abhishtu

2008-11-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

The cattle industry in the United States comprised a relatively setable 33 million head that were replaced by roughly 5.7 million beef calves - both male and female - each year.

There were nearly 9 million dairy cows in the United States requiring 4.1 million replacement heifers each year.

In the United States the $11 billion pork industry was vertically integrated and highly concentrated.

Management of Technology - Fall 2008 ($3150)

I was a tad amazed and quite grossed and wondering what a Masters candidate of Information Technology doing learning this. Thankfully, the $3150 is not coming out of my pocket.

Added about 10 minutes later
After a certain company conducted research and here is the quote "We conducted focus groups and when we looked at the data it was clear that the public had a very 'comic book' perception of what cloning was. In their mind they saw adult animals leaping fully grown from giant petrie dishes, which they certainly didn't want in their food."

To date clones had only been produced in small numbers under a "one off" approach. Going forward, clones would need to be produced by the thousands to fulfill commercial demand.

So I did get some useful information and some portion of the $3150 is worth it. I am still glad its not coming out of my pocket though

A dedication to NH4 and 35

2008-11-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

To those who don't know NH4 is a highway connecting Chennai and Mumbai passing through Pune, Hubli and Bangalore. What Wikipedia failed to mention was it also passes through a significant monument we folks call SVCE, Pennalur. A significant part of my life in SVCE was bus no 35. N and I had long conversations and did a lot of soul searching on the gazillions of trips we made on that road in that bus. What we let off a few years ago, she resumed.. So here goes..

1) Ye Rozu Aithe Choosane Ninnu

This song is from a movie called Gulabi. This song has relieved many a headache that I have had and I absolutely love.

2)Yennai Kanavilaye Netrodu

Well this technically isn't a duet but many men sang it, so I am going to call it a duet. More than anything I really like the lyrics of this song. With my limited understanding of poetic tamil this song is as easy hear.

3)Hey GoodBye Nanba

This song is like an absolute fun song and I really really like the picturization. Once again, lyrically an easy song and beautiful picturization. The dynamics between them is cute.

4)Suraj Hua Madham

Need I say more. SRK and Kajol!!! Enough Said

5)Halla Gulla

This is the Bombay Halla Gulla (in case you dint hit the link). To be honest I don't know why I like this song. But I just do. I like the national integration lyrics that come somewhere halfway through the song.

6)Katre Yen Vasal Vandhal

This is a very relaxing song. I like the melody and to sound like a CTG (Crazy Teenage Girl) this was my caller back tune when Deepak and I spoke to each other. So this was the first piece of info he had about me :P

7)Thotu Thotu Yennai

I like the beats and the tune. I like the yenge naan ponalum part of the song. Once again, very cute naive picturization that I like.

8)Vennilave Vennilave

This is the one from Minsara Kanavu. Beautiful song. Beautiful lyrics. Beautiful chemistry between Kajol and Prabhu Deva. And pavam Aravind Swamy at the end of the song.

9) Irava Pagala
To be honest, I don't know who sang this song. But I really really really like it. Very calming and relaxing and cute.

10)Dekho Na

This is the Baba rip off in Swades. But I like this subtler version and also the romance between them.

To me there are a lot of factors that go into a song than just the music. When I listened to the song, does it hold any significance to me. Also, I don't listen to too much Tamil Music. I was initiated into Tamil songs by N. Also, these are restricted to two people in the song.

Vroom Theory

2008-10-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

I am really stumped with this piece of information

The probability of reaching goal called Expectancy

The probability that the goal will actually produce the desired results called Instrumenality

The probability that the results are indeed desirable and satisfying called Valence

Motivation = Expectancy * Instrumentality * Valence

Who would have thunk that motivation can be reduced to a simple mathematical expression. And for those of you who want to look it up.. It IS called VROOM Theory

Untag - Tag

2008-10-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

What time did you get up this morning?
With a certain reluctance at 6:30 am

Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds

What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Burn after Reading and Saroja

What is your favorite TV show?
I data stream. I love Gilmore Girls. Because most folks around me watch some soap or the other I am trying to catch Desperate Housewives and Starter Wife when I can.

What do you usually have for breakfast?
Cereal in the summer. Oatmeal in the winter. Orange Juice and an occasional cup of Coffee

What is your middle name?
Legally its Desirazu (A former last name). Otherwise its nothing.

What food do you dislike?

None in particular. After some thought Sushi maybe

What kind of car do you drive?
The kind with four wheels and a steering wheel.

Favorite sandwich?
Grilled Cheese. It can also be the Subway Veggie Patty on Italians Herbs and Cheese

What characteristic do you despise?
Stupidity

Favorite item of clothing?
Coats/ Blazers.

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?

Europe

What color is your bathroom?

Well one is white with Black stuff in it and the other is a blend of brunt orange and olive green. (Very Fall-y)

Favorite brand name of clothing?
FabIndia any day

Where would you retire to?
At the expense of sounding mokke - To my bed. Don't think that far ahead

What was your most memorable birthday?
21st. On the train back from Ooty with frnds.

Favorite sport to watch?
Being from Boston, I can't say none. So well ummm Golf!!!

Farthest place you are sending this?
Well I am going to tag N in Ohio and N in Wisconsin..

Favorite saying?

If all the world is a stage where is the audience. Live and Let Live

When is your birthday?
A long time away

Are you a morning person or a night person?
I used to be a night person but of late I am turning into an afternoon person.

What is your shoe size?

9 1/2

Pets?

No. Don't care too much for them.

Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with us?

I got a new plum sateen coat that looks super cool

What did you want to be when you were little?
I wanted to be a bunch of things. I think I went from Cardiac Surgeon to Computer Scientist to Food Critic to Playback Singer to Film Director.

I am an information technology engineer though.

What are you wearing today?
Black pants and a semi - formal orange top(courtesy mom)and a jeans jacket

What is your favorite candy?
Not much of a candy person. Like Chocolate though.

What is your favorite flower?
Not a big fan of flowers. Like looking at tulips though.

What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
Day as such I am not too sure. But if I had to pick a date it would be Dec 6th.

What church do you attend?
I used to go to the church in my school when I was little.

What are you listening to right now?
Nothing. Silence

What was the last thing you ate?
Kellogs Raisin Bran Crunch

Do you wish on stars?
Nope

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Purple

How is the weather right now?
Freezing. It was 27 degrees this morning.

Last person you spoke to on the phone?
D

Do you like the person who sent this to you?

Yeah I guess :D Considering that she dint send it but I stole it from her.

Favorite soft drink?
Pepsi with Lime in it.

Favorite restaurant?
Kebab Factory in India, Cedars in Seattle, Red Sea Restaurant in South Boston.

Hair color?
Black

Favorite day of the year?
As a kid I used to love my birthday. Now I jus don't care

What was your favorite toy as a child?
My Doctor Barbie

Summer or winter?
Winters anyday

Hugs or Kisses?
Hugs

Chocolate or Vanilla?
Depends on my mood

When was the last time you cried?
I don't remember. Maybe when my parents went back to India.

What is under your bed?
Carpet

What did you do last night?
I wrote a mid-term.

Favorite smell?
Coffee. Chanel no 5

What are you afraid of?
Drowning

Plain, buttered, or salted Popcorn?
Masala Popcorn

How many keys on your key ring?
3

How many years at your current job?
Half a semester

Favorite day of the week?
Of late Friday nights

How many cities have you lived in?
5. Madras, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Edmonds, Boston

Do you make friends easily?
Totally

How many people will you be sending this to?
2

Desultory Deliberation

2008-10-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

Can you know more about a person based on the books he/she reads? Would it make a difference if he/she doesn't read at all?

Do you think that engineers create products without understanding markets? Which leads me to the eternal question - Which came first the product or the need for it? haar haar haar

While hunting for that image I came up across this interesting piece of information. I assure you that I cant vouch for the autenticity of the information

"Put simply, the reason is down to the fact that genetic material does not change during an animalal's life. Therefore, the first bird that evolved into what we would call a chicken, probably in prehistoric times, must have first existed as an embryo inside an egg." Professor John Brookfield, a specialist in evolutionary genetics at the University of Nottingham, told the UK Press Association "the pecking order was clear."

Might be as old as the hills but as I am typing to the Ace of Base song "All that She wants". Does it remind you of the beat in the "Telephone Manipol" song from Indian

Tan colored capri pants

2008-09-28T18:19:00.001-07:00

I must take this oppurtunity to say that I have had it with people. People in general and nosy invasive people in particular. Folks who want to know what career choices I am making, when my husband and I plan to visit India, when we plan to have children or better yet telling me when to have children, where to look for houses, the easiest way to host 15 ppl (when I am going to host people is beyond me).I mean I have had it with people in general. Attended a desi birthday party last week and came home with a dull headach and a bunch of laughes. Loud music, parents trying to show off their kids apparent talents, pre-teen girls acting wiser than their age with make up, tons of jarring sweets. Its a 10 year olds birthday. Dont play bingo at it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Buy some pizza, cake and juice, have a bunch of kids over and let them play with the Wii.. D and I decided that our kids are not going to have any birthday parties with adults in them (till they become adults themselves). I used to go for dozens of these things as a kid myself and have had oh about 15 of them before I stopped but there were no adults at most of them. Atleast besides the kid's parents.

When one gets on the plane I think some sense of warped desi-ness props up. A holier- than-thou attitude. I was at the gym a few weeks ago when a nice young lady told me and I quote "I used to be like you. But now I have improved. My MIL has taught me how to be a good wife." I take freaking umbrage lady. I am a great wife. Excuse me if I don't get up at 5 am like an idiot to cook lunch for my husband when I can do it the night before. I also don't like the kind who proclaim that all things desi are soo archaic and try really hard to adapt with the life here and fail miserably. I know someone who is learning "Lawn Tennis"!!!!!
And what is with the dressing like "items". They are soooo awkward in clothes they evidently havent worn before. I mean there isn't a soul here who hasn't heard of India, why not wear clothes you are comfortable with instead of looking weird and extremely out of place.

On a tangential note, I spoke to a couple of my friends last week.. I must be honest it was soooo nice to hear familiar voices and familiar terms.. Took a while to get to common ground which saddened me a little bit.These are folks that I spent everyday of 4 years of my bachelors with. Spent hours talking with.. But I have to say I am super happy to be back on track.

And first prize to guess what the whole thing has to do with tan colored capri pants..

Random Musings

2008-09-10T10:16:00.000-07:00

I just discovered that I am not a big fan of Greek Yogurt. Now that could also be bcoz I ate non - fat plain. It was a tad too thick for my taste. I topped it up with some granola and a dash of honey. Maybe I should buy some flavored.

D and I have been trying to eat healthier of late. Which means that there are more trips to Whole Foods. But both of us are discovering interesting flavors. From the awesomely sweet Maple Syrups to the different types of cheeses including the soy - cheeses( which isnt as bad as it sounds!!!). I am going through a phase of experimenting with different types of granolas. D is attempting buckwheat. You need to boil it till the water evaporates and then add milk. I must warn you that it needs to be flavored quite a bit coz its pretty bland (well that is an understatement) I put in maple syrup/honey, bananas (or watever fruit you have at hand). I pretty much follow the recipe but I dont have patience waiting for the water to evaporate so I cook it in the pressure cooker.

We also switched oils. From Canola to Vegetable Oil. I usually have EVOO lying around the house as well. But sometimes you cant cook Indian with EVOO and of course we cant fry with it. I am really proud of myself coz I can actually differentiate between the canola and the vegetable. Something I couldn't do till atleast 6 months ago.

Oh! Oh! I also tried brown rice. Now tell me.. Has anyone eaten anything more buttery.. more nuttier than brown rice. And no.. Its no fancy pants brown rice from any organic store - Its the stuff one gets at the regular super market. I think that I am officially a convert. A while ago I had also bought Quinoa. I am not sure if I cooked it right but I wasnt a big fan. So the box is sitting on my kitchen shelf hidden behind boxes of my spices. I also gave whole wheat couscous a shot.. Yummo!! But again I load it up with veggies. Anything on hand.

Last weekend I made hummus. It was nice.. Maybe something was lacking.. It dint taste exactly like the store bought one so maybe I did something wrong!!

I donno if its possible. But I think I am getting a lil sick of cereal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyone who knows me even remotely knows that I can survive on cereal. I can eat three courses of it. But for the last few days it aint appealing to me much. a ten year run is coming to a slow down. I dont want it to stop.

I can strongly say that N is an inspiration for urs truly spending more time in the kitchen.

On a tangential note (its not even tangential its probably in a totally other quadrant). As folks get older I think they get a lil cranky and nutty. I just discovered first hand from an aunt of mine. I mean I have learnt manners from this aunt but I jus discovered that maybe as they grow older they kinda jus un learn all the stuff.. Reminds me of the stuff I read in the poem from All The World Is a Stage.
Well that is jus me cribbing but where better to do it tell me???

All's well that ends well

2008-09-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been of mixed emotions. But predominantly with an under current of uncertainty. Then finally the heavens shined forth and I decided what is that I wanted to do and heaved a sigh of relief and learning never to put things off until the last minute. Another thing I discovered in the last few weeks was that my husband and I have learned to enjoy our silences as much as we do when we are doing other things.

We went to Cape Cod last weekend and had a glorious day catching the wee end of the summer. We went on the water scooter and I sat frozen behind D miles into the sea without a tether and knew that if we fell off the bike I was doomed.. Then we went to Provincetown literally to the "place where there was nowhere left to go". We swam a little in the Atlantic and loved the sun. We enjoyed the sun tons that day. We packed a lunch dominated with Garbanzo in a variety of forms. Hummus and Channa!!! (I dint realize that until I got there). To go with that I threw in some bread. We also packed apples and some Tropicana Fruit Punch. We ended the day by picking up food at Subway as either of us were exhausted to cook.

The Labor Day weekend we decided to make good use of the sunny days before Fall sets in and get ready for the Wonderful (and I am not being sarcastic) New England winter. We watched Tropic Thunder Friday night. We played tennis on Saturday morning while a softball match was going on behind us. We decided to be all artsy in the evening and went to Boston's South End. We had a superb time acting all appalled at prices of shirts in Neiman Marcus and taking pictures near the Fountain at the Church of the Scientist building also in South End. Ended the day with dinner at PF Changs and a Great Wall of Chocolate cake. On Sunday D cooked his world famous sambhar. Afternoon we set out to see the Mansions in Rhode Island and the Tennis Hall of Fame. For a few minutes I was transported back to the Jane Austen books of balls and courtyards and balconies. The Rosecliff reminded me of the old Peters Road House. Here I saw a maid dressed in the good old maid's outfit - full sleeved black dress with a white apron and white lil hat thingy. I felt a tad sad for her as it was a good 90 degrees outside. I also saw a family trying desparately hard not to be Desi which kinda got to me!!!!!! The high temp caused D and me hunting for a soda shop but we finally ended up in a Whole Foods type store sharing a bag of chips and some fig bar (Heavenly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).
Monday we went to the temple and met some family for lunch and packed in a good desi lunch discussing their baby( now two months old) and the sambhar. Monday winded down with D and me jus sitting down each with our books and some music.

All's well that ends well.

Sometimes..

2008-08-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

Transferring A Registration on A Newly Acquired Vehicle
The owner, if a person , must be at least 18 years old.
As opposed to cows which can be 5 I guess

In case it wasnt too visible. The caption was "All Lanes Closed"
And we would all just float in ether near the George Washington Bridge if we want to get to New England.

Near here are buried British Soldiers
An extremely personalized tomb stone!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hum Logon ko Samaj Sakho Tho...

2008-08-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

Dropping of my family at the airport and returning home I was overcome with certain strong emotions. Not just because they were leaving but because of our living here!!! There are certain times when I just dont get the point of living so far away from familiar sights, family and friends.. (Currently none of my close frnds except for one live in Madras but you get the point!!) I was taken over by emotion for a few minutes and I felt sad for my husband and I. D promptly cheered me up and within 5 minutes of leaving the aiprort parking lot. I guess I had an immigrant moment which hazaars of families have had before me.. But hey it was a first for me.. Came back to our empty apartment and now a week later the suitcases that we cleared out of the guest bedroom are back in. The towels they left are washed and back in the closet and the tomato chutney that amma made is all eaten up..

Went for the India Day celebrations this weekend on the Esplanade by the Charles. I dint know that this many Desis lived in and around Boston. Salwar clad ladies and some kurta'd and some not kurta'd men standing in long lines to eat chat and drink sugar can juice... Hazaars of junta danced to bhangra and garba and maybe a bharatanatyam thrown in.. It was evident that these dances were choreographed by moms who were teenagers in 90s.. So someone created a medley of Taal songs which was apparently a fusion of Bollywood and Non Bollywood.. All in all it was nice to shove through lines and tap feet to early A R Rahman music..

Was invited to a Shravan festival at the home of one of my neighbors homes.. Ahhh to be married and attend random festivals at random households!! See when I was younger I could just avoid them with the lame ass college excuse.. But as a married Hindu woman you shouldn't not go to people's homes if they are going to give you pasupu(turmeric) and kumkum.. SO off I went in my finest armed with my mangal sutram and saree!!! Came home with a mega dose of guilt for not being a good home maker who cooks, cleans and folds clothes. To make up for it I cooked a giganto humongous batch of Indian food and pulled out D's t-shirts and ironed them.

Was cribbing to N about not going on hikes since we moved to Boston a year ago. This weekend D, R, S and I went on a hike on the historic Minutemen trail in Lincoln,MA. Was fun to be back in the wild and walk and take beautiful pictures of plants and wildlife..

News Feed

2008-08-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

What is the desperate urge to know?? The social networking is finally getting to me. I mean its one thing to catch up with frnds.But a desparate urge to know gets to me. Status msgs.. The facebook what are u doing know thingy-s.. Public profiles.. the visual bookshelf!!! Why should someone know what I am reading right now?? You know facebook has the side questions thingy ( I dont remember its name). Do I like chocolates? Is it brown or black? What would I do if I were stranded on an island (I can assure you the chances of that happening are less thaan zero!!!!!!!!!!) If someone is dating someone or is someone married to someone.. I know of late people putting up their honeymoon pictures.. Now that is where I draw the line.. Why do people need to share the information with others. I mean some things like what is happening in my head this very second is private between me and my head.. If this much information is available right now imagine 10 years from now. Maybe we would have cool gadget thingys that we can put on like headfones or something which would give us our thoughts and we could choose to broadcast them over our private frequency or better still make them a podcast!!!
You know the facebook so and so is attending such and such party!! Imagine if I realized that people are throwing me a surprise party and I get to see the facebook invitation. Imagine how surprised I would be??????

Oh I just found out that two of my juniors(whose names I am choosing not to mention) who gave out mixed signals regarding if they were seeing each other or just frnds jus declared that they are in a relationship with each other!! And I am happy for the two of them. You know who u are and I am happy for you

Oh and Oh Check out tweet.com it does jus this

old wine in an older bottle

2008-07-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

I respect a movie I need to watch!!! I watch movies as I am writing papers or as I am cooking or generally doing other stuff.. and I have watched several movies in several languages and several episodes of koffee with karan and several awards shows etc and so on!! However, if there is a movie that I cannot understand this way then I respect it!!! And of late there hasnt been a movie that I needed to watch.. After decades of wanting to watch it I saw Sarkar Raj. Now there is no story and the actors (sad to say this about Abhishek) dint have much to do and there was hardly any story worth mentioning!!! But I had to watch the movie. I watched Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.. And I must say that a bunch of people were wasted in it.. It was brain numbing.. The two nice songs are over in the first 15 min of the movie!! On a tangential note I watched 27 Dresses and I must admit that its borderline silly..

Folks I must admit I started this post two weeks ago.. I dint get to finish it and this is what happens when I dont write in a flow...

Nanta's Tag

2008-07-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

See here is the story.. I was walking down this crowded by-lane near the Harvard Yard and I saw a hole. I wanted to avoid it and so with great effort I walked or attempted to avoid it.. But in all my troubles I actually ended up falling into it!!!!!!

Sad, pathetic, lying rite?? So I shall not even attempt it. I got very crazy busy with a an extremely stressful class in what was supposed to be a not very stressful semester!!!! And I waited to do this tag bcoz it means a lot to me.. A fun post which reuired some thot process. So I am going to attempt it now..

10 Characters I fell for if they are Real

1) Arjun (am not sure of his last name) from Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni You know Arjun of the Pandava fame. The book depicted him very nicely..

2)Amit Chaterjee Who doesn't love him!!!!!!!!!! And I thot Lata was a huge bad word for rejecting him..

3)John Galt I read Atlas Shrugged at a stretch for a week. I loved her.. And his around 50 page speech..

4)Ron Weasley Coz he is just soooo cute..

5)Micheal Corleone He was soooooooooo much better in my head than AB Junior or Al Pachino

6)Kane (of Kane and Abel Fame) To be honest I liked Kane and Abel both a lot.. Would love to get my hands on that book again sometime

7)Charlie As the Crow Flies. Hard work pays all the time.

8)Rhett Butler I like him and he is the ultimate dream hero.

9)Julian (Famous Five) I don't remember why..

10)Mr. Pink Whistle Coz he is the coolest fun guy I know!!!

Favourite Random Authors

Enid Blyton

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Vikram Seth

Ayn Rand

Jeffrey Archer

Jane Austen

Maybe not favourite but I read a lot of

Sidney Sheldon

R L Stein - Goosebumps

Francine Pascal - Sweet Valley Series ( I went to an all girls Christian Institution)

Authors I downright hated

Danielle Steel - I gave her a chance a few times. But she failed me over and over again.

The Mills and Boon Series. I refused to be a part of the crappy romantic series reading genre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tag -1

2008-06-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

My 6 quirks..

1) I can eat cereal for all 3 meals and snack in between and basically live that way for weeks.

2) I will never sit/ sleep directly under the fan as I am afraid it would fall on me.

3) I cant ahem answer when nature calls if I don't read. Last resort - shampoo bottles. I also cant sleep if I don't read. Have re- read dozens of stuff just cause I don't have a book in hand/

4) I think people with too many quirks are a little silly!!! he he he.. t

5) I will not study on the day of the exam. As in no last last minute cramming.. I also cant write any assignments on the day its due. If I am forced to do this I know that I am in for a bad grade.

I am not much of a quirky person (or so I think) As an experiment I am going to let D fill the last one..

Public Notice
For the lack of reading material in a rush - rush job I picked up Celebrity Detox by Rosie O' Donnell( I can hear ppl asking me why? ) I just did... Reading it scared me. Its by far the most chaotic book I have ever read. Almost as if its an insight into her mind (quite literally) I have always known that my posts are a little chaotic as I dont as much as run spell check on them.. If in the past any of my posts were un - intelligable I apologize for putting you through it...

Times 3

2008-06-09T15:21:00.000-07:00

Today na-manasu turns 3!!! That sounds weird.. To the non-telugu readers na-manasu means my mind.. So in essenece the earlier sentence meant that my mind turned 3.. In certain ways maybe it did.. I went back and read some of my older posts.. When I was fresh out of college, later when I used to work and went thru bouts of frndsickness, later I was busy getting married, suffering homesickness in a different land and finally now back in school.. Many readers have come and gone... But some have stuck it out.. My cousin P, my sis-in-law A, my best frnd N, my husband D, my dad who refuses to read my blog require spl mention.. My family and frnds in general who are often the subject of my posts.. My baby nephews S and N..

OK before it starts to sound like the Filmfare acceptance speech.. (Oscars anni galiju)..Thanks all of you.. Keep reading..

Yay!!! I managed to keep it running for 3 years.. Who knew???????

Have Keyboard Will Type (with food on my mind)

2008-06-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

I am hungry.. Crazy hungry.. See the thing is I have tried to go on some sort of weird diet where I eat whole wheat bread and cottage cheese with a dash of molaga podi thrown in for lunch..And now a few hours later I am ravenous.. And so a few hours later I reached for some mixture(courtesy my husband's grand mom). To the un-initiated mixture is well.. Trail Mix but unsweetened and all fried in oil!!! And then again a few hours later (at this point guilt struck) I ate some watermelon.. And I am still hungry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know what my body is craving for.. But I am hungry. I was reading one of the self-help diet columns in Good Housekeeping(dont ask!! My vice)which is actually pretty nice. This month's column talked about how one shud give one's body what it wants when the body asks for it and the brain objects.. But at this point I jus donno what my body wants.. I could try feeding it some other stuff but its too close to dinner (8pm) and I dont want to not eat dinner coz my mom made delicious brinjal curry.. and I will prob eat that with my wheat bread and cottage cheese..
I am not a big fan of chips/tortilla chips/pita chips.. I dont mind popcorn though.. I am known to snack on weird food combinations.. But I have a frnd named Padmapadam(Real Name I swear) who eats pickle with poli(sweet).Now I could never top that And I am sure my vastly Indian readers know that by pickle I dont mean the vinegary one which you get here.. Indian pickles are dunked in oil (a preservative) and basically live in oil... But yeah.. I am a big fan of the American pickles as well.. In fact sometimes, when we go to the movies I just eat pickles!! And drink soda.. And D eats watever will probably justify asking for 5 packets of pickles(Poor guy)

On a not so tangential note.. Well maybe its a tangential note noticed that a few of my frnds and family are writing about food as well..Pichapaati and N

Has anyone read In Defense of Food.. Read rave reviews about Eat Pray Love.. But being Indian and all I thot the book was a load of **!!! I mean even Indians dont live like that.. The Swami mentioned in the book sounds kinda dubious considering that a majority(read 100%) of his followers arent Indian.. We are a lil too low to reach those stages I guess.. But I like some parts of religion that she talks about..However, I dont like to talk about religion and would hence refrain from elaborating and also digressing..

All the talk about food aint helping and I really need something.. Shall go and forage my mom's kitchen (for 3 months) after which it will become my empty one with boxes of pasta and couscous and Maggi.. Now looking at my kitchen makes my heart swell with pride.. Its stocked with stuff.. Stuff whose names I dont know and probably will never use..

Intelligent People and Daunting Experiences

2008-05-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

Due to the lukewarm respone to my previous post decided to write a new one sooner than planned..
Watched Iron Man. A cool movie. Full of cool dude gadgets and gizmos and a man who flies to Afghanistan from US by himself in air. He also flies to the moon and back.. Or actually somewhere near the moon..As in, in the general vincinity of the moon.. Gweneth Paltrow was wasted though..
Turned a year older.. Its started getting scary.. I realized that one day before my birthday I still wasn't excited about it. Then the warning bells went off in my head.. I am not even near the quarter century mark as yet..But anxiety started.. Most of my childhood was spent thinking about when I would reach college and then for some reason my memory froze.. I never thought about what happens after college..So now at the ripe age of under quarter century and above a few years below that panic is setting in..

Folks visiting from India.. New experience when it turns out that your parents arent invincible. Spooked my mom totally about the smoke alarm to such an extent that she refuses to make dosas now.. Was exhilarating to see my parents at the airport but daunting to see them shiver in the New England cold.. Remembering all the Jhumpa Lahiri immigrant experience.. To be honest it wasnt such a culture shock for me when I arrived in the States as it is for my parents.. Why because I watched Friends when I was in India.. he he he... (Private joke for my husband who thinks most of my types learnt about America from FRIENDS.. maybe true to an extent)

Inspired by N I am planning to try to turn Vegan for a week.. Researching it a bit I realized South Indian Hindu Vegetarians are a weird brand of herbivores. We arent vegan and we arent what most other people consider vegetarian.. We dont eat fish.. We dont eat meat and we dont eat chicken.. And we think chicken is meat and fish is meat as well.. So its difficult to explain our brand of vegetarianism to folks here..Let me see if I can stick out vegan.. Coz I dont mind soy milk or tofu and found an ice cream that serves Tofutti Ice Cream at Harvard Square..

Talking about Harvard Square.. Most people know my love for Cambridge and the Harvard Square area.. And also my dislike for Dunkin Donuts.. I like the bagels. Not a big fan of Donuts in general and hence not sure but absolutely abhor their coffee.. And I think Starbucks rocks.. After extensive research( read walking around Harvard Square everyday last semester) I can aver (albeit hesitantly) that there isnt a Dunkin Donuts around Harvard Square except for in the station. There are 2 Starbucks.. 2 Au Bon Pains and even a Finagle Bagel.. Therefore I conclude that intelligent people drink at StarBucks!!!

Doing some interesting classes this semester one of which is called Negotiation.. Will update more on that later..
For now as its time to head to class Au Revior.. Have a Nice Memorial Day if you live in the States and a nice weekend if you live elsewhere

Of balance sheets and mega serials

2008-05-09T05:34:00.000-07:00

There were tons of things I wanted to write about. However, I was caught up with some educational endeavors!!
Love it or hate it.. Most people use it.. I am talking about Microsoft Corp..Most people I know and you know as well would have started with some of Windows. Depending on their age it would be either 3.0,95,98,NT,2000,XP and Vista.. But the point is this is where it started. Not IBM 360! Not Apple ! Not Open Source.. Microsoft is sitting with large amounts of cash!! It hasn't head debt in a while and is worth about 240B dollars.. People talk about how Vista sucks.. Firefox is better than IE.. I am a lil sick of hearing this.. I can confidently state that most of these innovations happened while working on a PC..I can right a whole dissertation on the topic( and I did in 400 words) but I will spare u..Love them or hate them MSFT isnt going anywhere and if it does all those who are bitching about it are gonna be in deep deep shit!!!!!

I know folks, I know... Give me some time.. I will un learn wat I did..

Anyways talking about MSFT.. Wat is this talk about elitist?? Mass and Class (In my country we call it that way).. I am not endorsing any candidate for presidency. I dont support any candidate in an election I cant vote.. But this is not just true here.. Back home in India as well.. Hide ur wealth, dont tell people how much u make, live frugally!!! For crying out loud.. In India, several and I mean several opportunities were and are being given for young children to be educated. In my home state for instance, mid - day meals were offered as an initiative to come to school. the government hoping that atleast the ruse of food will attract children to school. Most middle class households will give up on luxuries to allow their children to go to a better school.. Why cant those who are being offered free education and a warm meal willing to give up a few hours of their time in order to secure a better life than the ones they currently exist in??
Reading The Name is Rajnikanth.. Sad excuse of a book.. Written badly, with no sense of grammar reads like a home blog of a person with poor writing skills(Note to self.. Look who is talking!!!!) Bad editing and proof reading. Costs 495 bucks a piece.. Read Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.. Amazing piece of work.. Tells the story of Mahabaratha from the perspective of Draupadi.. Reading it I thought(Oh no.. this is dangerous) this is the biggest mega serial ever created by an Indian.. D and I were once discussing the realness of the mega serials.. It struck me.. The plots and the sub-plots, the jealousies and the clandestine love affairs, the women pregnant before marriage and abandoning their bastard children, while secretly pining for them.. Brothers turning on brothers.. Name it and the Mahabaratha has it.. The ultimate mega serial of the good old times.. Also read Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.. Interesting albeit a slightly depressing read. What is with the obsession with Indian authors???? I read others too.. Trust me

Apologies for the confusion of a post.. Several random thots and it took 2 days to pen(type).. U know when that happens u need to beware.. Trains of thought that dont reach a station..any station..

2008-04-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
Jalsa..OK Time pass movie.. Last English movie I saw in a theatre was Juno ( I think)

2. What book are you reading?
Blink - Malcolm Gladwell, All Souls - Micheal Patrick Mc.Donald. Just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and re -read Sister of my Heart.. I know I know.. I read several books at one time

3. Favorite board game?
Pictionary

4. Favorite magazine?
Filmfare, People, US Weekly..
5. Favorite smells?
Chanel No.5.. Cheese melting.. Coffee beans, Bread baking

6. Favorite sounds?
Personalized ring tone I have set for D or when my fone says "Amma".. My fone talks, I swear!!!

7. Worst feeling in the world?
Knowing you cant do anything about the shitty situation you are in!! When things are beyond your control and you are significantly affected..(or is it effected!!)

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
"Every morning when I wake up..Before I put on my make up.." OST My Best Friends Wedding..

9. Favorite fast food place?
Gangotree or Chef Express (for those who remember it). Not hugely into fast food..

10. Future child's name?
As a kid, I wanted to name my kid Sachin(after Tendulkar).. Now I am not so sure.. Lets just call it "IT"

11. Finish this statement. "If I had lot of money I'd....?"
be Tata Birla!!! he he he.. I would prob make a movie.. or more realistically buy more books and a house

12. Do you drive fast?
No, I drive notoriously slow.. S and N can vouch for that.. I drove at around 45 on ECR!!!

13. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Nope.. With two pillows though

14. Storms - cool or scary?
Cool if I am indoors, scary if I am driving...

15. What was your first car?
Fiat, The first one I drove though was a Santro

16. Favorite drink?
Indian Coffee, Java Chip Frappuchino, Water, Diet Pepsi with Lime

17. Finish this statement, "If I had the time I would...."
Read more..

18. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Yep

19. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
I wouldn't dye all of my hair any color.. I wanted purple highlights though, I settled for a dark maroon or some such thing..

20. Name all the different cities/towns you've lived in?
Madras, Chennai, Hyderabad, Seattle, Boston

21. Favorite sports to watch?
Cricket if India plays.. Not a big sports fan.. Yeah I know I live in Boston.. And yeah I watched the Superbowl

22. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
Considering that all I know of her is that her name might start with an N!!! But otherwise, very nice writer and reading her posts remind me a lot about myself!!!

23. What's under your bed?
Carpet

24. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
Yes!

25. Morning person, or night owl?
Night Owl.I am not much of a morning person..

26. Over easy, or sunny side up?
Never an over easy person.. Haven't eaten egg in a couple of years now. But I almost always like it scrambled..

27. Favorite place to relax?
Hyd house on my couch..

28. Favorite pie?
I want to say Pecan, coz I like the way Paula Dean makes it.. But not much of a pie person..

29. Favorite ice cream flavor?
Vanilla with chocolate chips in it.. Mocha (coffee flavored).. Kesar Pista, The over sweet vanilla served at Indian weddings.. Good chocolate..

30. Of all the people you tagged this to, who's most likely to respond first?
I am tagging N.. coz her blog is dying... I wont let her give up this fast..

And now, I tag..
N .. Dandilsa...

Kimi Gayo

2008-04-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

Sitting under the giant window sills at the back of Mrs.Simon's class in first standard I made a friend.We were assigned to be room-mates in the "hostel-hostel" game we were playing.Last month that friend got married and I couldn't attend. She defined the meaning of the word friend to me. She is the first friend I can think back to cronologically.Incidentally, she has shared many of my firsts with me.My first un-supervised outing,my first sleep over,my first major crush,my dream of leading my house(in school),my first experience in a co-educational institute, my first job interview, my first job and my first experience of living away from home.
The first memory I have of her is the above mentioned "hostel-hostel". The other one being our mothers standing under the big tree discussing us. Sitting for hours making plots to kill Pitchaikannu(individual who wrote 12th Maths Textbook -2001),DDLJ vs HAHK, "Hua kya naa jaana", plotting 8A vs 8B wars (yes wars!!!!)to sitting around after school trying to prepare for sports day.( I can aver that neither of us know squat about sports) while eating samosas and bugging lil chubby baby Manicha..(read Manisha).Then before we knew it we parted ways,writing in each others slam books,wishing each other the best in life and promising to meet up in the Buckingham Palace.(trust me you don't want me to go into detail - point is it dint happen).Four months later I get a call from her. She and I are in the same college. We laughed about the slam book.Entering the portals of SVCE she and I were in different departments, making new cherished friends along the way. Blooper in front of Archan-Preethi's Preethi.. he he he ...And before we knew it one stormy night we were both riding home in pouring rain "employed gals" with job offers.We parted ways shortly after that. We filled slam books again.This time we laughed about our prev entries.This time we promised to meet up in Bay Area..(again,trust me you wudn't want me there).6 months later my fone rings. This time though its long distance. She has been posted in Hyderabad.Could she room with me?? I was jumping with joy.My friend was rooming with me.Our mutual love for SRK!! and a certain member of the British Royal family, for hours at Red-E Food court reading a certain report(better left un elaborated), for Hyd and Prasads, for the thousands of movies watched at Satyam, hours spent chatting in Hyd with G3. Trying to cook food and dreaming up of setting up Dosas to combat with Chutneys. Hosting sleep over parties for office friends.
Intelligent,smart,padips,strong minded are all the words that come to my mind when I think of her. Her big smile, her amazing sense of humour. Here is wishing you all the best in your married life.
With lots of love from D Mugs to P Mugs.

Random Thots

2008-03-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

Being married allows you to enter a secret adult club.. 50 year old aunties will tell you personal secrets!!! Other older married women will discuss periods,cycles, babies, labor and certain other gross details.. I dont understand how being married makes you privy to extremely personal, unrequired details!!! But this weekend we met up with another couple we did fun stuff, played games D played cricket and the girls beat boys at Sequence..Thanks to the R and S..

I keep thinking of funky things to write about on the way to college. Entire blog posts form in my head and then today when I sat down to write blankness happening!!!

Most people who know me would say I accost and haunt people. I talk a dime and dozen, won most extempore (excuse if typo) competitions and generally an extremely talkative human being!! I think I am the most un -techie person ever. I can probably code to save my life but beyond that I cant code. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I jus discovered (courtesy my EA mid-term) that I am a techie. I think technically and write technically about non - technical aspects. I keep thinking that under grad is party time.. Where we (read I) blunder our way through, gaining life experiences.. Who knew that somewhere along the way something actually sticks.. SVCE Zindabad!!!

Watched a new Tamil movie after a long time. Its called Anjadhey. It was directed by a guy with a strange name. Anyways, if I want to be all "in" about it I could say,it was different, it had interesting camera angles, and very natural setting.. But I wont. It was a story that existed since the very famous "mera paas Maa Hai". There were no camera angles to speak of. There is a scene where the entire time the camera is showing people's feet. You know, I think that was different for the sake of being different. Prasanna had a horrible wig and Fab India kurtas. I din't know gangsters wore kurtas from FabIndia. The lead guy looked/acted like Surya from Kakha Kakha. Some assumptions are very drastic. You know there is one thing I did like about the movie. It had just one song. Atleast, strange named director guy realized that songs take away from the story in this movie. But anyways, I think the cast and crew tried something different and if people liked it then kudos to him. And for the record I think natural lighting should be left to PC Sriram and ManiRatnam movies.

Reading a book called 'Blink'. An interesting read and explains a lot of things. But beware read only if interested in non-fiction. There is hardly any story in it.

I tried thinking of a conclusion. There isn't any. Just covered the last few weeks of existence. Reading, socializing, movie-ing and in case you missed it mourning over my mid - term grades. So for the lack of a conclusion..
Thodarum!!!

Chiku Bukku Tagged

2008-03-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

Rules:

1. Put your MP3 player on shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write the name of the song no matter what. No cheating!

IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY?” YOU SAY?
Adhi vo Alladhi vo - Annamayya..
OK!!! God's Residence..

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Nandi Konda - Geethanjali
spooky!!! wtf?? I haunt ppl??!!! In a strange sense maybe coz I used to study well at nite and I was born in the nite!!!

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Boss's life - Snoop Dogg,50 cent
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My husband loaded this song in my i-pod so I guess!!

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Century lo kotte vaise madhi - Aditya 369!!!!!
When you want something all universe conspires to give it to you.. With a mid-term on Monday I am writing this post..Shows how many centuries I am gonna hit!!!

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Say Na Say Na - Bluffmaster
To get married???!!! Or to steal!! Donno.. Kinda weird..

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Ossa Ve - Happy
My motto is a crass lil known 'gaana' song from a semi- hit Telugu movie!!!

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Orru Deivamthanda Poove(Male) - Kannathil Muthamital
haar haar haar.. God's gift to them.. I sure hope so.. Was expecting loose penne( i must be honest)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
A Whole New World Instrumental - Alladin
Okie..No comments!!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Naatu Saraku - Puthokotail Saravanan
Y are all the crucial questions lil known 'gaana' songs from flop movies.. If you don't know this song or never heard of it..totally fine!! Its that unknown

WHAT IS 2+2?
You and I - Jalsa
maybe 1+1 but 2+2 donno!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Its the time to Disco - Kal Ho Na Ho
Dedication to Pasha and Families

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Sunta Hai Mera Khuda - Pukar
My God listens to me!! Very appropriate so contended.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
If its another gaana song I am gonna give up, I swear.. OK here goes.
Emi Sodhara - Tolli Prema
My life is a confusion na.. Naaku Kopam ostondi..Kinda like the time I got Catch 22 for the book I resembled most..

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Entrentum Punnagai - Alaipayuthey
Fair enuf.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Chalore Chalore - Jalsa
We are gonna be travelling all our lives!! I donno..Hope not.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Papa Kehte They - QSQT
I swear this is true. I am not making it up.. haar haar

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Considering I am already married,it should be did u dance..but anyways..
Happy Days - Happy Days
Would not have minded dancing for this..But hadn't released back then.

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Theme Music from Bombay
Was hoping it wouldn't be another gaana song..

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Kattu Kuyilu - Dalapathi
Dancing around boghi fires. or thalivar.. considering its neither donno..

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Natpinule - Kadhal Konden
Ok!! I don't get it though

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Suvvi Suvvi Seethalamma - Swatimuthyam
D loaded this into my ipod.. Not sure how it relates to my frnds.. Dancing with pots near a river!! Maybe falling into Pykara falls..

WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?
Chiku Bukku - Gentleman
Okie!!! Fun!!

Fun... Nandita tagged me.. I tag ttgiant and ne!!!

On Feasting and Fasting

2008-03-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

Before people accuse me of pilfering a title. The book is Feasting,Fasting. And for those of you haven't read it. Please do so(free publicity for Anita Desai).

Hindu families check the stars and the moons and various other planets before giving their child his/her morsel of solid food.And they call all and sundry and the sundry's friends and family.

When a friend visits abroad or when we need to go visit somewhere we check out the food available or carry loads of podis and avakais and appadams and vodiyams and goodness knows wat else. My parents had an exchange student from Minneapolis and that boy came with a whole suitcase of food.Mac and Cheese(first time I heard of it),loads of frozen food, chocolates and gum.

Weddings,funerals,engagements,birthday parties all revolve around food. The chunk of a wedding budget for the grl's father is the wedding meal.And they each have their special set of food. Telugu ppl serve Boorulu and Pulihara at weddings and Tamilians serve Boorulu at funerals. Caused a bit of quandry at my wedding. Birthday parties need cake. Engagements just need grand food period!!!

If we want something real bad we are advised to give up our favorite food.Amavasya,Pournami, Ashtami, Navami, Sunday, Saturday, The day the sun rises in the east at 4.45 am we give up solid food. Or maybe a meal. Most people I know who give up a meal hog big time on the other meal with tiffin. I thot the concept was you eat light or eat nothing or something.. If there is a pooja, festival, wedding at home then you need to chill till the pooja was over.. I for one could never do it.. So, I was snuck food when the pooja was going on. At my wedding folks found a work around for me.. Cereal isn't solid food. Its almost just milk.. So its ok.. And so Kellogs Wheat Flakes( I don't think they have it here in the States) it was..

Why does our life revolve around food..What to eat?? What not to eat?? What should I eat to shed the pounds?? What shud I eat if I need to control diabetes?? What did I do to get diabetes.. I mean besides being born into a family where its hereditary..??

Folks, shud excuse me if they wonder what the hell I am trying to talk about.. See the thing is I am learning to write management memos for my class(yeah the one where I am passing time!!) and they need to be absolutely to the point. And my blog is about having no point watsover. And my brain is just unable to make the transition fast enuf from that to this and vice versa.. Quarter life crisis, I guess..

In conclusion, Anna Datta( annam provider, need not jus be annam..watever one eats) Sukhi Bava(live well)

Oh!!Oh!!Oh!! In second conclusion, do any of you folks remember the scene from Nuvvu Nakku Nachav where Venkatesh prays to God for his dinner..Check it out..Hilarious.. and the non-golt blog readers check out the similar scene from Parent trap!!!

Fancy Pants Writing, Ikat Writing!!!!!

2008-02-18T11:55:00.000-08:00

The immigrant lady with her tightly made bun.She sits with her plastic bag of lunch in her lap. A wind cheater and lace up sneakers. She is hunched up in half her seat. The mom in her "mom jeans" and Walmart sweater. Her stroller in front which can seat two. Juice boxes and small toys litter the stroller.A bundled up daughter in it and her son peering out. The awkward "Hindu-East Indian" pregnant housewife. In ill fitting,brightly colored off the rack mass produced "Modern" clothes. The vermiliion in her parting and all jewellery to indicate her marital status. The African-American woman in her business suit and punching emails into her Blackberry. Her expensive hair cut and shoes-bag combo standing out. The pre-teen girl with her straight blonde hair. Her braces are still not out, her sidekick held out in front of her almost like a weapon and her fingers dancing over it. Ipod plugged in and playing "Hannah Montana".

And then suddenly the doors opened. It was my destination and I stepped out to run to catch the next train

You have grown up soo much!!!

2008-02-01T05:42:00.000-08:00

Scenario 1

Fat old balding uncle to young kid. "Pappu,what do u do??"

Young kid to balding uncle. "I am in 4th standard."

Fat old balding uncle to young kid. "Good, you must have something to pass your time."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Does it sound odd.. Well that is because its odd. Because no one ever tells a school going/college going kid that. Now read the scenario below

Scenario 2

Random guy/woman to me "So, wat do u do cogito??"

Me to this random person "I am doing my Masters in IT at such and such college"

Random guy/woman to me "Good, you must have something to pass your time."

NO!! I am not passing time doing masters. Wat sort of a mind can come up with this extremely hilarious statement. Apparently, lots!!! And its irritating me beyond words.. I dont pass my time writing Oracle 10g or read loads of papers on SLA and so on so forth to pass my time.. If I want to pass my time I will read Malika Badrinath and her recipes for cardiac arrest and high colestrol!! If I want to pass my time I will build a TV (Ok I think you get the point).These inane questions irritate me.. When I was in 12th I used to hate it when people asked me what I want to do with my life or better yet if I am studying?? No dude I spent all of my 12th standard I spent partying and watching movies..

I think that if people had nothing to say to me I would rather they not ask me inane questions. Imagine how much more peace would exist in the world if people dont ask dumb questions. Sometimes, I have been considered a snob because I dont ask polite(read dumb) questions. If I ask these questions, they end up sounding hilarious because, it sounds like I absolutely dont mean it.. And most often than not I dont mean it. I dont care!!! I genuinely dont care!!! And when I do mean it, it comes out very concerned. And people know I mean it.

Switching gears, I am really happy about starting grad school.Somethings dont change. I still wait for a bus. But again,there is no N at the bus stop. Psychologically, I dont want to sit next to anyone else. So, I just sit with my bag. N u were the best bus partner a girl could ever ask for.

Now, I have to go and pass time doing some time pass Oracle. And the ultimate inane question of them all.. "My God u have grown up soooo much since I last saw you!!" "No U dingabat, I expected to the same since 1986."

Its All "Relative"

2008-01-02T12:40:00.000-08:00

Most little kids have a fav aunt. The aunt who is super cool. Who probably relates to the problems u are going thru and for some reason ur mom doesnt get it..the aunt who told u abt sleep overs and so on soo forth( by now my male blog readers are wondering what the hell I am talking about!!!!) Anyways,there is such an aunt in every little kid's life. And most of my adult married life (ie the last one year I have spent being married) I have aspired to be this cool aunt to my nephews and neices. These holidays I have managed to impress on of my kid nephews. When my sis and bro-in-law visited Boston recently, I was a tad sad ( he he the pun just sprung up on me i swear!!!!!!!!) bcoz they came in the middle of a bitter snow storm.. I figured my nephews wont have any fun and they were cooped up in a home with only Shrek for cartoons!!! anyways without going into nitty details... the one thing I did with the older one was take him out in the snow for a bit.. 2 steps outside the front door.. I made him a snow ball and let him throw it.. Forward to a few weeks later and my sis told me that the one thing lil N remembers about his winter break is playing in the snow with "Yours Truly" and he drew a pic and took it to school.

Mailed families wishing them for New Year and only C replied!!!! the non - comp family member wrote me an email and he was the only person who I expected wudnt reply. The others dint..

PS Its OK if you dont understand this its not meant to be understood by non-families members.. Just venting.. N u shud know.. I also dint mail you coz I spoke to u..

It sounds like The Sopranos or the Corleones but no its jus a bunch of my frnds.

Last Thursday the temp was around 10F also read . By Sunday it was about 34F and my other half and I walked around saying that the temperatures were moderate and the weather was improving!!!

In case u wonder what the title has to do with these un related pieces of information provided to you its a play of words on the word "Relative!!!"

Symphony of Faith

2007-12-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. . . . I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest. . . . When I place my hand on the Bible and take the oath of office, that oath becomes my highest promise to God. -Mitt Romney December '07.

The Bharatiya Janta Party,was formed in 1980, a major right wing Indian political party. It portrays itself as a champion of the socio- religious cultural values of the country's Hindu majority. - Wikipedia.

But because I am a Catholic, and no Catholic has ever been elected President, the real issues in this campaign have been obscured--perhaps deliberately, in some quarters less responsible than this. So it is apparently necessary for me to state once again--not what kind of church I believe in, for that should be important only to me--but what kind of America I believe in.
- John F Kennedy.

For the first time in the history of TamilNadu, three members from the Vanniyar community have been given representation in the government and given important portfolios. - Chennai Online.

"I think we make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the power of faith in people's lives," Obama said in his speech.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's own mentor was M G Rama-chandran. Now we have Sita-ram Yechuri in CPI-M. This should make Karunanidhi see reason behind Ram Sethu, instead of questioning the very existence of Ram - rediff

I can go on and on. I rest my case.

An idle brain is the bloggers workshop

2007-11-13T07:38:00.000-08:00

My husband and I watched Om Shanti Om last weekend and it was one heck of a movie. I think that Farah Khan has created a genre unto herself. Spoofing movies of the 60s and 70s. Her movies are never intended to be serious and are just my kinda movies. Where you sit and laugh for 2 hours, eat some popcorn and come home with a smile on ur face. Her songs are shot on sets and she doesnt use foreign locations. She uses the best cast money can get (helps if SRK is producing the movie) and the best in costumes and music. I noticed that subtittles dont do justice to her jokes so maybe non hindi understanders mite not laugh as hard as the others. About the movie Deepika Padukone was a stick in costumes. She cant act, she cant dance (her steps look like she is counting 1 2 1 2 in her head). She should go back to doing what she can do well - Ramp Modelling where the focus is on the clothes and not the person in them. SRK rocks as the looser. I think no one else can play a looser as well he can. Karon Johar's costumes looked great on SRK. Manish Malhotra did a good job with the heroine. A special mention is needed about Kiron Kher. She acts well, but I feel she doesnt look good in close up shots. Her age and probably some years of drinking show. Nothing Botox cant fix but I dont think Botox is big in India. Shreyas Talpade could have had a meatier role considering the wonderful actor that he is. This movie seems like his effort to enter mainstream Bollywood.

Coming out of the movie theatre in freezing cold (32 deg) I had a smile on my face. For several reasons.. I was reminded of the joke in Boys where Bharath asks some dude in the bus stop about his preferences. "phil collins number" and the like. The boy answers "naan kadaisiaga patha english padam Sholay!!!". Sometimes, movies are just for fun and forgetting all anxieties and angles and artistic touches. Its just about falling off your seat laughing and tapping your feet to the music.

This was my first Deepavali ( I wont call it Diwali!!!) after marriage. I made some sweets.. (see this is y its fun to be a child or live in ur parents home - u dont need to make sweets to eat them, someone else does) and lit some candles. But what was somewhat weird for me was discussing with N about what to make. She and I have been best of frnds and discussed a whole lot in life, but never once swapped recipes. I felt that our frndship has grown with us and now entering a new phase. It was one of those moments for me!!!!!

Reading Catch 22 and its one of those books which cannot be "data streamed" as my husband calls it. As in, you cant read it in the loo, while cooking, on the T etc. You need to sit with the book and some peace and quiet. also read "the home and the world" by Tagore. That was a really nice book about the freedom struggle showing a new angle of the wife supporting the Swadesi movement and being an idealist and the husband is practical and realizes the downside of the movement and its inherent flaws.

Veritas

2007-10-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

Veritas, Roman Goddess of truth. Verity meaning truthfullness.

They maintain a high standard of educational quality and a whole bunch of individual schools inside. Initially it was called the "the new college." (on a tangential note - there is a para cheri porriki college in my area in Chennai called New College). A guy named John Harvard donated half of his estate - around 780 pounds and some 400 volumes of books to the New College set up in Cambridge. This New College was founded in 1636. Cut to some years later. 1674 to be specific. There was a massive fire which destroyed all the 400 volumes our man donated along with all pictures of him (God bless the poor guy). When they rebuilt the college they decided to name it after its major benefactor - Harvard and just decided to call it university.. Chumma for peethals sake...
Now in the middle of this wonderful school is a statue. I can aver that is the most photographed statue in Boston (atleast Cambridge!!) Tourists rub the toe of this statue for good luck. Harvard students pee on it. But I am not here to write a blog post about Harvard University... You can read about it elsewhere or come and visit it... But what I do want to talk about (this is probably when you want to switch to a different page..so I am getting to the point) The statue reads "John Harvard, Founder 1638."

John Harvard dint found Harvard. Some other dude did..He just donated money because he had no children and dint know wat to do with it.

Harvard University or for that matter New College wasnt founded in 1638 but in 1636.

I saved the best for last... In the big fire which razed the campus, all portraits of him were razed too!!!!!!!!!!! So who is this guy who is sitting there taking credit for wat he dint do... No one knows... Some guy who probably got paid $10 to sit for a statue. he he he.. Wait.. before you say it could be his son John Harvard the fifteen hunderdth!!(brit humor) JH dint have any children, which is why he donated the money in the first place.

Now coming to Veritas. This is the motto of the Harvard University. Easily the most prestigious school in America and probably one of the most prestigious schools in the world.

You Know You Grew Up in the 90s iF

2007-10-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

Hilarious list of things...

1) You know the words to ‘In-pin-safety-pin’ and ‘akkad-bakkad’ by heart

2) Cricket is almost a religion for you, and you idolize at least one of Kapil Dev/Rahul Dravid/Sachin Tendulkar/Saurav Ganguly

3) You have read at least some Chacha Chaudhary or Tinkle comics

4) You’ve watched Shaktimaan on TV at least once in your life. And you can immediately recognize the character when you see him.

5) You have some ‘NRI’ relatives.

6) You couldn’t wait for it to be December so you could have the Toblerone chocolates your NRI relatives brought you

7) You watched Cartoon Network, and then the late night movies on TNT that came after Cartoon Network ended.

8) You watched corny dubbed versions of Small Wonder, Silver Spoon, and I Dream of Jeanie

9) You were THRILLED when McDonald’s opened in your neighborhood (or even eight kilometers away)

10) Your first burgers were at Wimpy’s or Nirula’s.

11) A visit to Pizza Hut used to mean a special treat

12) You have seen Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun at least 5 times each

13) You still remember the theme song to Hum Paanch.

14) You have played hours upon hour of Pukdam-pakdai, oonch-neech, kho-kho, ‘Doctor, doctor, help us!’, ‘Lock and key’

15) You have played ‘Uma Joshi’ more times than you can remember.

16) Dog ‘in’ the bone was your favorite co-ed game.

17) Much of your free time in school was spent playing UNO.

18) You collected trump cards of wrestlers, cricketers, and airplanes, and did not quite understand why your younger siblings were obsessed with Pokemon and the other Japanese trends that followed.

19) Your summer vacations were often synonymous with visiting your grandparents

20) Your parents, at some point, told you ‘Dark Room’ was a bad game to play. But you still loved playing it.

21) Bole mere lips, I love uncle Chips!

22) You know the song ‘Made in India’ by Alisha Chinoi

23) You have seen many many many episodes of ‘Antakshri’ on Zee TV and know the only thing constant in the show is Anu Kapoor.

24) Many evenings have been spent watching little kids gyrate vulgarly on Boogie Woogie on Sony.

25) You were the coolest thing in class if you had a computer in your house while it was still the 90s.

26) You learnt LOGO in school!

27) You couldn’t wait to start 4th/6th standard so you could start writing with PENS instead of with pencils!

28) You often you terms and phrases like ‘kutti’, ‘abba’, ‘same to you, back to you, with no returns’, and ‘shame shame, puppy shame, all the donkeys know your name.’

29) You most probably saw Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge at the cinema at least once. You also fantasized singing songs in mustard fields like in the movie.

30) You have seen David Dhawan and Govinda movies and laughed at them.

31) You have said ‘haw’ or ‘haw ji ki pwji’ when you saw people kissing in English movies

31) You have seen Titanic at least 12 times.

32) You thought seeing English movies and speaking English made you the coolest thing ever.

33) You remember the Orissa cyclone, even though you didn’t know what a cyclone was.

34) You remember the Gujarat earthquake very clearly and could possibly tell everyone EXACTLY what you were ding when the earthquake occurred.

35) Barbies for girls, and GI Joes for boys were the ultimate status symbols. You just wanted more more more and more. And how can I forget Hot Wheels, for both boys and girls?

36) You have worn Osh-Kosh B’gosh and United Colours of Benetton clothes while growing up. And you thought ‘imported’ clothes were definitely way better than ‘made in India’ clothes (never mind that a lot of clothes brought from overseas by NRI relatives were actually made in India, before ‘Made in China’ started appearing on EVERY existing thing)

37) You know the words to ‘Posham Paa’, and like it better than ‘Oranges and Lemons’ even though you’d sing the latter to sound cool (see 32 above).

38) At some point or other, "cool" was your favourite, and therefore, most overused word.

39) Captain Planet was your first introduction to environmental consciousness.

40) You have tried to convince people around you to not burst crackers on Diwali, and then gone straight back home and burst them yourself.

41) You have had endless packets of Parle Gluco G biscuits, and of Brittania Little Hearts biscuits.

42) You loved licking off the cream from the centre of Bourbon biscuits.

43) There were no Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Puma- Bata and Liberty was the way to go for your sports shoes.

44) You have probably consumed more Frooti in your lifetime than there is oil in Iraq.

45) You watched Baywatch on Star World even though (or because) your parents said you shouldn’t watch it.

46) You bought packets of potato chips for the specific purpose of collecting Tazoa. And you had Tazos depicting everyone from Confucius to Daffy Duck to Daffy Duck dressed as Confucius.

47) For the longest time, the Maruti 800, the Premier Padmini, THE Fiat, and THE Ambassador were the only cars you saw on the road, and the Contessa was cool because it was bigger.

48) You would literally jump up in excitement if you ever chanced upon an imported car (Oh my gosh, is that really a MERCEDES?)!

49) You spent a good part of 1998 drooling over the Hyundai Santro and the Daewoo Matiz , debating which one was better.

50) You used to chew Big (big) Babool and/or Boom Boom Boomer chewing gum. They were bright pink and disgusting tasting, but you loved them for the temporary tattoos.

51) Talking of temporary tattoos, you sometimes had contests with your classmates about who had more tattoos on their arm, leg, knee, hand, forehead, wherever.

52) You thought Mario and Tetris were the coolest things ever invented, especially if you were a boy.

53) You knew that having the latest Hero or Atlas bicycle would make you the coolest kid on the block.

54) You can imitate Sushmita Sen’s winning gasp to perfection.

55) You have, at some point of time, worn GAP clothes (real or fake) like SRK in KKHH.

56) Seemingly senseless acronyms like SRK, DDLJ, KKHH actually make sense to you.

57) You have at some point debated who was more beautiful- Aishwarya or Sushmita.

58) If you lived in Delhi, you went bowling at Essex Farms, or Go-Karting at 32nd Milestone and couldn't think how you could get any cooler than that.

59) Baskin Robbins ice-cream was THE thing to have!

60) You know what Campa Cola is. And you also knew that Coca Cola was THE drink.

61) When you would watch WWF keenly every evening/afternoon and really think that Undertaker had 7 lives and he made an "actual" appearance in the Akshay Kumar- starrer Khiladiyon ka Khiladi.

62) When all backpacks (or 'schoolbags') and water bottles and tiffin boxes had strange cartoon characters that were hybrid versions of seven or eight different characters, and you still bought them, because a green man wih a water pistol, boots, a jet-pack, Johnny bravo hair, a rajasthani mustache, gloves, and underwear (long johns) over his pants, called 'Mr. X' was OBVIOUSLY a status symbol.

63) You remember the Nirma tikia jingle.

64) You remember the Nirma girl.

65) You remember the 'doodh doodh' ad and also the 'roz khao andey' ads.

No I Dint Die

2007-09-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

No I Dint Die and go to heaven. I am very much alive and kicking. Lots been happening in life lately.. But have observed that certain other bloggers too haven't been active of late.. Raju of Raju's Blog, TTG though he does have a new post up now, Suze etc.. Been reading a new blog lately, a certain cookery blog, link is on my page.Prema's Cookbook. Have tried out a couple and must say they were quite awesome and easy to make.. I started a cookery blog decades (read few months ago) and havent written a single post yet..Will get started on that asap.. Even if it means I have to put on a few pounds trying new recipes.. Well its all for a good cause. What did I do in the past month and a half u ask? Well for one I learnt a lot of big new words which I am intentionally not using in this post. I learnt to write good essays. Again, I am refusing to use it (explains the lack of paragraphs), travelled across the country visiting loads and loads of places.. Mite never do the road trip again but it was fun while it lasted... Took me a month to want to eat a sub again.. Found and moved into a new apartment which rocks by the way.. We have an awesome view of the Boston skyline from our bedroom.. Please do read my other blog vantagadhi in a few days, I should get something up by then,please do keep reading my blog, I promise not to die without notice..

PS If u notice any flaw in this blog gramatically or otherwise I am tryin to un-learn what I crammed into my head the past month..I shall return to my normal coherent self soon!!!

Auld Lang Syne

2007-07-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

Pic- Sea-Tac Airport with Rainier In the Background

Should an old aquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind
Should an old aquaitance be forgot and Auld Lang Syne

AS a little girl in Madras, I had one dream.. That was to come to the States and study. AS I grew up and Madras became Chennai, the dream modified a bit. I would come to America to set up a family and study!! You get the drift. It was never to visit Disneyland.(Was never too much into cartoons.) Never to see LA or Vegas or Niagra Falls etc.(K I am rambling on here)

Finally one day I came into live here. During one of the most brutal winters Seattle has ever had. Edmonds to be more specific. (City north of Seattle). This city taught me soooo many things I cant even begin to list them. Helped me undergo an experience I cant put down in words. I have realized inner strength I never imagined I had.Started the studying I was dying to do(Maintained a 4.0 mind you) And now I am leaving this place in 1 week, and it struck me. I might never come back to Edmonds and my wonderful 1st floor apartment that my husband and I so lovingly furnished. Here is a few of the wonderful snaps of Edmonds.

My temporary Alma Mater - EDCC

Pike's Place Market

Space Needle

Edmonds Ferry

I-5

My hangout.. University of Washington

Material Girl

2007-07-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

Ok the title sounds MOKKE!! But what I am trying to convey is that I am in love with the city. Any city. Cities in general. With malls and theatres and clean public toilets and fruits and veggies sold in packets. I know, I know India is an agricultural country(yeah right!!!) and most of the country is in its villages, but that is not me.

I was watching this show about Glamping. What is Glamping you ask? Glamarous Camping. For about 200 odd dollars per night you can live in the woods but feel like you are living in a 4 star hotel. With antique mirrors, monogrammed sheets so on so forth. Now that was taking things a bit too much. I wouldnt mind a bed and maybe some mosquito repellent and a clean bathroom. Then the woods wouldnt be such a bad bet for me atleast.

I dont need glamping. I can live in a town for a maximum of 5 days. After which the lack of cable will frustrate me, the lack of theatres will distress me further and the lack of cell phone network will just drive me up the wall and I will want to go home. Normally on hiking trips after 30 min into the trip I will be irritating my husband beyond words. I am sometimes surprised why he doesnt leave me there and drive back home!!!

I am quite sure that is something that isnt exclusive to me. Yes, I did my research on it.(what some people do when they have time on their hands!!!)If you look at the five things I cant live without column on Orkut. Here is how the list goes for most people esp those in the 15-18 group(first of all these arent allowed on orkut but whatever!!) here was the list.. Cellphone,Music,Internet,Laptop and then comes frnds and families. Family isnt a thing but ok.. What is the youth of today coming to? We are sooo caught up with wants that they are slowly becoming needs.

This brought a smile to my face

2007-06-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

1). The Lecturers don't teach... The Students don't study... The only guy who benefits is the one who owns the 'Dhaba' next to the college.

2). Rules are made to be broken.

3). Promises are made to be broken.

4). Deadlines are made to be extended... ALWAYS!

5). Guys always think the chics in the next college are more beautiful.

6). The geeks are the most pampered lot during the internal exams.

7). The lab assistants are the most respected people (During the lab exams i.e)

8). The watchmen are the people who are bribed the most.

9). The HOD is the person most respected! (Heights of sycophancy here :D)

10). The Principal is the person who is abused and insulted the most! (Behind his back... Obviously!)

11). Dropping subjects is 'Cool' (Arey yaar... Drop the idea of dropping subjects plz).

12). There is always a lecturer in the college who can't speak proper 'English'.

13). Night-out is the second most important tool to ace the exams.

14). The most important tool... the Bhramastra... is the 'Chit' in which the words can only be understood by the person who wrote them (in most of the cases i.e)

15). The freshers are the most sought after people in the college... Be it in the canteen, during the 'free' periods or for completing the records, assignments.

16). The second-years are the ones with the 'I am the don-of-the-college' feeling.

17). The third-years are the ones with the 'So-many-backlogs' feeling and the poor souls get down to studying after bossing around in the college for so long. But the fun still continues.

18). The fourth-years have no connection with the college whatsoever... With no interest in ragging, pulling each other's legs, the b'day parties, the b'day bumps which they enjoyed so much all these years till now. All they want is a good placement and a '1st-class' tag attached to their resume.

19). The first three years are spent in cursing the college, the people there, and the system.

20). But towards the end of the fourth year, people tend to feel nostalgic about the pure unadulterated fun they had for 4 years. The very system they disliked, the very canteen they cursed, the time that they spent there, the b'day bumps they suffered... All these become the best days of their lives...

Creative low

2007-06-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

I have hit a creative low. An official low point where there is a desperate urge to write but no topic good enuf. Loads happening in my life but when I sit in front of the laptop with blogger open in front of me I am hitting a blank. There is a certain pressure to write about something that is not trite and also something that is funny and captivates you and makes you relate to it. Phew!! what pressure on a house wife!!!!

Anyways, I want to bless my cousin another one to get married later this week. Pretty much covers the whole bunch. Hard for me to believe it but a whole generation just grew up. The images that run thru my head are of us all lining up in front of tatagaru to take our muti-vitamins. Or M standing behind tatagaru and me stuck in front of tatagaru listening to some lecture and he running around making fun of me. Or M and me sitting on top of the tank trying to identify stars. Or M and me writing a letter to M telling him to stop bullying his little sisters and dropping it in the mail!!! Not the one year that I spent in Hyd but the childhood memories stick. And we all just grew up!!!! God Bless her and the new life that she is about to embark on.

IF you wondering what the hell there are soo many M's in the family. Well our parents made some amazing freaky co-incidence decision to name us all with the letter M.

Well I saw the movie that was almost 2 years in the making.It was apparently the most expensive movie made and yadda yadda. And for three hours the Umerican Desi's left all their dignified Umerican-ness and yelled and screamed and threw paper in the air and generally had a ball. Yead the movie was Sivaji.Like my better half says " you can feel Talaivar's screen presence". I say" Yeah if he is on the screen for pretty much most of the movie you cant miss him"!!! Vivek did a great job according to me. He looks good and acted hilarious.

We are at the end of the our lease agreement so we are house hunting and someone called me Matthews. I have been called a lot of things in life but never been called Matthews!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The course I wanted to take up in summer was cancelled. CANCELLED!! Now why would they do that. I wanted to do it real bad.

Wow!!! I managed to get out a post. And I thot I was at a creative low. Nothing hilarious but definitely trite. Well maybe about the M part of our family. And Oh Oh Oh I am cooking interesting things and they are tasting nice.

God bless and Wish that wonderful cousin of mine a Happy Married Life.

Turn 2

2007-06-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Bday "na-manasu.blogspot.com"

My blog turns 2 today...

Coffee and my tryst with it

2007-05-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

Lingering over a cup chatting with friends. Sitting near a window staring out and contemplating over life in general. Gulping one cup down quickly before sitting down for loads of work. Sitting down with one before a long night of studying. And of course the large steaming cup to help reduce the headache. I am sure that most of us use our cup of joe for the above mentioned reasons and a whole load more.

I stumbled upon coffee when I was 19 at a kalyana mandapam where they served nothing but coffee and tea.(ie no milk!!!) and fell in love with it. The sights and smells of coffee give me a high (of the non alcholic kind). To me coffee is not an addiction.. As in, I dont need it to survive or start my day. But I do have an extremely hilarious addiction. I need coffee at weddings. Maybe it has something to do with my inception to this drink. As most are aware Telugu Weddings are at absurd times of the night and the only thing that will keep me going is coffee. 2 30 muhurtam..no problem, if i start drinking coffee by 11 by the end of 5 cups it will be 2 30. Dont look at me like that.The cups at the kalyana mandapam are usually really little. My wedding was at 10:11 in the morning. But I dint want to break the tradition (bad karma et al) . So I had my shots of coffee. 5 minutes before muhurtam with the sheet between TTG and me when he couldn't see me I had my coffee.

Back in my Wipro sojourn 16 hour days usually meant coffee at the end of 8 hours. And another one at the end of 10 hours. By which time they would shut the coffee machine. And I am not a big fan of the instant variety that the Lipton vending machine dispenses. Half of its water anyway!!! I need my black coffee with milk. More black than milk. The best coffee I have had is a a huge giant tumbler that an aunt made for me in Bangalore, when I was interning there.

I do get a lot of the caffeine thing and back when I was in India and un-married I used to get the coffee makes you darker thing. I also get the coffee can be addictive thing and the general coffee is not good for your health thing. But what the heck. I am not addicted to it. Just need it like a bit of adrenaline now and then to get me through activities. That is not wrong is it? (Gawd, I am sounding bad even to myself)

However here comes the problem, I dont make good coffee. Well, atleast I dont like my coffee(that is the coffee I make). I make great tea. However, I dont like tea!!! Recent solution that I have hit upon. TTG (though he doesnt drink it) makes a really good cup of coffee. I also discovered a StarBucks within walking distance from home (heck, I wouldnt go if it was further, I would just loose the urge for it)
I am a strong liker ( big fan) of small bistros or the friendly coffee shops where you can sit with ur cuppa and chat and eat a whole lot of cookies or biscuits. There is something about the ambience and the smell which gives me the "feel good" feeling. But till I discover that, TTG I am depending on you to tide me through the migranes or if we do attend any weddings around here.

A little mokke that I thought of.. If you dont get coffee, eat tiramisu.. haar haar haar..

Another mile stone - Big Dreams

2007-05-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

You know when you are really little -people who went to college were big people.And you couldnt wait to go to college. And then when you come to college - married people are uncles and auntys and only friends of your parents are married. And when you graduate and start working you are sort of stuck with this awkwardness of whether to call ppl aunty and kids call u aunty.(what is the fixation with aunty!!!!!!!!!!!) Well, I have graduated so I am a big person and I am married so I am an aunty. And I am gonna turn a year older in less than a week!!!

In the last one year I have seen loads of things and grown up ages. I gave up a gothram and took up a new gothram, I got a whole new family along with my own, I moved to a new country and started a certification in management (Wait all that happened in the last 6 months) In the 6 months prior to that, I changed hair colours, I worked maniacal hours, I wrote my TOEFL and forgot my glasses at the test center, ate out of cartons (to avoid washing dishes) and worked 14 hour days. Phew isnt that a lot to be doing over a year. Gone from one extreme of the spectrum to another. I would definitely say that I have grown a lot in the last one year. I think I have done justice to the whole year and made the most of it.

In the bazaars of....

2007-04-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

What do you sell O ye merchants ?
Richly your wares are displayed.
Turbans of crimson and silver,
Tunics of purple brocade,
Mirror with panels of amber,
Daggers with handle of jade.

What do you weigh, O ye vendors?
Saffron and lentil and rice.
What do you grind, O ye maidens?
Sandalwood, henna, and spice.
What do you call , O ye pedlars?
Chessman and ivory dice.

The poem doesnt end here but I just put it an exerpt. The first city I fell in love with. As the train was coming toward the Mouala Ali station I could not contain my excitement. Visibly more joyful I would wait for the station to come. Couldn't wait to go to Ammamma's home and drink Boost and eat Idly. Then sit with the paper and decide what movies to watch. In case you wondering what place I am talking about, its Bhagyanagaram.

Yes this place was called Bhagyanagaram some several years ago. Now its called Hyderabad. This city is important to me for several reasons. My first nursery was here. My first memories of playing with friends was here. My first movie without adults was here. My first job was here. My first attempt at serious cooking. The first time I spoke to my husband was here. My first house is/was here.

Its one of the most welcoming cities I have been to. You can get a mix of sorts in this city. From amazing theatres to the para local ones. From Salarjang Museum to Kutub Shahi Tombs. From Necklace Road to Madhapur. From Mega Star to NBK!!!!! From chaos at Punjagutta junction to the calms of Banjara and Jubilee Hills and of course Bawarchi/ Paradise Biriyani..

I am dedicating this foto blog to my favourite city Hyderabad

Qutb Shahi Tombs

Most movies were shot in the above location. Horror Movies to Historical Movies.

Buddha Statue By night

This statue was supposed to be placed in the middle of the Hussain Sagar Lake. It fell into the water and lay there for several years before some noble souls hauled it out and placed it in its true location.

Birla Mandir
Amazing view from here. First temple where my office tag was placed. Once you climb this temple you can get a view of almost the whole of Secundrabad. Right across from the Buddha Statue.

Eat Street

My favourite eating spot in Hyderabad. On the banks of the Hussain Sagar Lake. ALL FOOD is here. AND I MEAN IT.. ALL..

Cyber Towers- HiTech City
The first place set up to handle the IT boom. Increased the economy of Hyderabad by leaps and bounds.

Wipro Madhapur. My Work Place (ex)

I can go on. Give you more and more places where you can visit. The most important thing about Hyderabad is Seshu Mammayya's house.

No post abt Hyderabad can be completed without this.

Will Sivaji be a hit?

2007-04-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

If more people focus on a particular thing and wish for it to happen real hard will it happen. The power of positive energy.

Does barter system work with God. You do this for me and I will do this for you!!!

For a person who doesnt have anything to do with a particular place can he imagine he has memories there.

Can your troubles seem magnified a decade after they occur. That is when you look back at them do they look bigger.

If a lie is repeated several times does it become the truth.

Can we re create Genesis. Can Genesis be done in a lab.

Why do we have to ask why? Would we never be satisfied with a given explanation. Why do we have to touch wet paint on a chair to accept the fact that its wet paint?

On a lighter note, Will Sivaji be a hit???? Or Dasavattaram???

As usual... Unedited!!!

2007-03-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Is it wrong to want something???

Is it wrong to work toward tangible benefits???

Is it wrong to think that this "I am the best at what I do" and to play up those positive aspects???

Is it wrong to tell the world that "all i want is everything"???

Anyone who expresess desire for something is censured by society in general. Its wrong to want. We should be happy with what we get. Think of the millions who dont have it. So be thankful. Well ok, I am thankful. But what if I want to work towards making my life a little better. Where is the better u ask me? Where is the level of satisfaction? A good home, good food to eat, money to take yearly holidays etc. Is that satisfaction? Or is it a meal, some shelter over my head? Or is it a chance at a better education? The answer is all of it... To some it might mean the first, to some the second and to some others the third. So when I was told to think about the starving millions, were the starving millions told that they have to be thankful for the fact that they are alive as opposed to the dying millions!!!!

Wont society be a better place if everyone worked toward their wishes. Aim for the stars. Ok so everyone isnt an astronaut!!! (haar haar haar..thought i might introduce some humor into my otherwise serious post) But aim high. Work towards that goal. Turn all the forces toward it. Focus all of the mental forces and physical forces toward it. And once its achieved then the next goal and then the next. As it was told to us as babies "God helps those who help themselves". This way I think we can have Utopia. Everyone works hard and honest(sorry forgot to stress this earlier- wont help if the robber works really hard) If you work toward something without stepping on people you are entitled to it. Enjoy it and work toward it...

Maybe this is why Ayn Rand is criticized soo much. Atlas Shrugged (I am sure now u got where the post came from!!!) talks about just this. If I work toward something and aiming high then I am entitled to its benefit. If I make a ton of money I will use it the way I choose. I dont need to make sure everyone else gets an equal share of it. Read the book if u can go through a lot of similar speeches. You will either love it or hate it( as put by my loved one). It took me over a year and a half to read it. Had to put it down several times. But I loved every bit of it. What is the worst that can happen - you will hate it. Even then you can show off sayin you read an Ayn Rand and you hated it...(its a status symbol to hate it too)

They have big words for it. Objectivism etc.. I am not really sure what it means. But I think wants and desires are the reason we are human and not otherwise. We have a duty to do. Lets fulfill it.

A slice of Kaindi

2007-03-11T11:49:00.000-07:00

I nagged and nagged the husband to take me to visit this new restraunt in town. And he gave into my nagging and drove some 30 miles and took me there. It gave me a bit of nostalgia. It reminded me of a little dhaba that one might find on the way back home from college or some such thing.Where you are expected to sit at a "nawar mancham" ( I donno what its called in any other language) and eat. I have been to one of these places on the Pune - Mumbai highway years ago where I drank Milk out of a bathroom mug and the chappati - pan was cleaned with a broom!!!! Well to put it in one word it was LOUSY!!!! The husband and I pretty much spent the remaining portion of the day alternating in the loo and ended the night with a Gelusil each!

The service was terrible. One doesnt put a notice near the plates saying "please use a fresh plate each time" and NOT clear the used plates from the table!!!!! Another basic rule of running a restraunt- Make sure that the water glasses are filled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And if you decide to make Mutter Paneer make sure that there is some Paneer in it. I really had to fish for it and finally got one elusive piece.

The food itself was quite innovative. You know for a South Indian Veg Cusine it served a strange variety!! It wasn't your typical "American - Indian" cusine. You know the channa , fried rice, vada, poori combo. For starters the food was arranged weirdly. You know the appetizers were near one part of the desert(Carrot Halwa) and the other part near the plates (Payasam). Half the dishes were empty and the hostess or usher (or whatever u call them - u know the person who seats u at ur table ah yea Maitre'd) person doubled in for the person who fills the dishes once they are done. And only her mind you. No one else filled any of the dishes. There was Yellow Pappu and some Aloo Palak. And beans and beet-root!! Yeah well.. And rice and fried rice that looked surprisingly like Indian- Chinese. There was some sad looking ice- berg lettuce that served the purpose of salad. And broken pieces of idly!! I mean there wasnt any round idly. You know how its when you make idly in the microwave in a bowl and just eat it like that. Well this idly was just like that. And I dint go anywhere near the sambhar and rasam. But from husband I heard we had to be told which was which. In the middle of the entire buffet was a large pan of roasted veggies with an empty bowl in the middle. Apparently this was their idea of chat. Toward the end of the meal that empty bowl was filled with gravy in which channa was found floating. Dont even get me started on the curd rice!!

My husband and I shared a water glass because the waitress dint bother to give us refills. Toward the end a frustrated me just yelled to her for some water. No one came to us with the cheque and so we thought maybe we have to go to the counter to pay( like the '60s) and that was just what we did.

The people who came in were very interesting though. A married couple next to us. A family in which the mom refused to belt the son into the high chair and therefore had to keep running behind him all over the eating place. A couple sitting at a table and making conversation with the lady at the table next to her. I dont think they came together coz they dint leave together but they were talking to each other ALL the while. And two sets of onsite PMs and their families( Onsite PMs of offshore Indian companies) and one extremely Interesting family. There were two men (one of whom my husband recognized from grad school) and a mom and dad( straight off the plane from India. You know Saree over wind - cheater and Pondy Bazaar purse) and a female with long oiled hair ( i donno how she managed it coz even after loads of shampoo I cant seem to get it off.. Long live Shiakai!!!!!) and chunky gold earrings ( they had GRT written all over them) and Jeans and a T and no jacket.... ( quite a brave girl I must say). My husband and I spent quite a part of our lunch wondering if she was a wife to one of the men or a sister. And she for some reason was eating out of her neighbor's plate!!! I swear she dint have a plate of her own...For reasons best known to her.

All in all I dont know what to say. One of the strange times when "Cogito Ergo Sum" cant find a concluding sentence. I just dont know. and to call it a slice of Kaindi.. I think would be offending Kaindi coz the food there is soooooooo yummmm..

Cable

2007-02-23T11:33:00.000-08:00

Hey all, nothin much to report... We got cable!!! Yay!! Yay!! So now I can finally go beyond the Judging Community. For those who dont know.. I am a TV addict. I do just about everything with the TV on.. From cooking to cleaning to being on the computer!!!!!

Happy Days are here.. Wish us happy viewing..

three things that the country is obsssessed with right now.

Britney Spears

Britney Spears without hair

Britney Spears in Rehab

Another three things its obssessing about

Anna Nicole Smith

Anna Nicole Smith's baby ( God help that poor child)

Anna Nicole Smith's romances

Seriously!!!! Everywhere I go.. Gym, TV, magazines, websites.. look at this

Sometimes In Life

2007-02-16T09:01:00.000-08:00

Lots of new things happening with life.. The primary thing being cooking on a daily basis.. I have always prided myself in being a reasonably good cook. Well turns out I can stand by that statement.. 2 months of cooking and neither my husband nor I are having any serious health problems of the food kind... (though yours truly can afford to shed some pounds) But last night was my biggest disaster in the history of cooking.. I normally am not one for wasting food.. I hate throwing food into the bin or down the sink or whatever.. But this time without any qualms, I threw the whole dish into the sink.. What was this big disaster? UPMA.. I followed the recipe as my mum told me.. but for some reason it was sooo terribly bad, maybe one of the reasons being that we ran out of salt... So techincally maybe it was not my fault.. Maybe it was the salt.. Or so I shall say and console myself!!!!!

Speechless

2007-02-07T10:43:00.000-08:00

It keeps bothering me and therefore I keep writing about it. Y is the marriage system in India so archaic.. Heck 20 years ago the girl and guy look at each other and it still works the same way today!!!!! I still know in this day and age where marriages are decided in a matter of 15 minutes.. Are life changing decisions made this fast. Think about it...In 15 minutes a person has to decide if he/she is the best spouse. How on Earth can a person decide over coffee or Coke if that person is right for them. How about other things that actually make a marriage.

I am a product of an arranged marriage that was fixed in 15 min 28 years ago!!! I am also a part of the arranged marriage.. As in, my marriage was arranged 2 and done 2 months ago. But it wasnt fixed in 15 minutes.. People require time to get to know each other and even then not everything is known. There are things that one learns to live with after marriage.. But 15 minutes!!!!!!!! I dont even judge a person's physical appearance in 15 minutes where would I judge my husband in that period of time..

God save the world and wish u luck my wonderful frnd...

One of my serious posts- Goals

2007-01-17T10:13:00.000-08:00

"Going to college and getting a degree are all goals. And I am working toward attaining my goals!!!!" This advertisement for a certain educational institution shocked me beyond words. Where I come from these aint goals.This is something I just did. I was amazed that people actually wanted to do something else.Heck what else can you do??

I guess this is the difference that exists between countries,continents, the east and the west, whatever which way we choose to put it. In India at age 3 a child is put in school and the child continues until he/she finishes it and then goes on to college to obtain a degree(atleast most middle,upper-middle class families work this way). After the degree he/she finds a job and settles down in life. This is life as I know it and this is how it exists. However here in Umerica going to school and finishing it is apparently a goal!!!!!!! Why is this such a glaring difference. Is there a total lack of regard for a formal education in this country. Is basic education not required to get ahead of life. A knowledge of the history of this country, basic math , chemical formula of water, sulfuric acid and organic chemistry are all this a total waste of time and money and brain space??????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it because the basic needs are provided to any person in this country that education doesnt seem that important. In India we had the mid day meal scheme, and also free and compulsory education for all children until the age of 14. Hasnt a place like this come up with schemes like this to keep children at school.I am not aware of any. Would incentives like that work here??

Rush

2007-01-09T16:05:00.000-08:00

I want to write a book.

I want to be a business analyst.

I want to be a gud wife.

I want to curl up into a ball and sleep.

I want to eat a big bowl of ice cream

I want to eat masala dosa with chutney

I want to host a dinner party

I want to loose about 100 pounds.

I want to be worthy of someone's expectations.

I want to get through Atlas Shrugged

I want to make a movie.

I want to act in a comedy movie.

I want to dance with gay abandon.

I want to sing a song fully.

I want to eat pizza.

I started to read i post.I was like "Hmmm!! what do I write about??" And all these thoughts came through my head. So I thought that I shall put them all down..So here goes.

Peace on Earth

Valla- man!!!!

2007-01-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

I just recently watched the movie Vallavan and it set out of a series of thots(as usual--- sometimes I wonder why most of my posts start like this)
Anyways comin back to the post..Yeah Vallavan.. Wat the hell was going on in Silambarasans mind.. Friendship,love, and revenge.. As a 22 year old girl who went to school, went for culturals , heck who went for the Le Park Culturals I can state that that sort of ridiculous revenge doesnt exist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It might be that "I want my school to win" or "yay!! i get to miss school". And HELLO - no 15-17 yr old will have this shitty "nee ambalaia irrunda" crap. It sounds sooooo fake and silly and stupid.

Let me share a secret(with most men, grls already know it) if u really really love somebody u wont want to take revenge on them, but u wud want the best in life for them...So there goes the entire concept wrong..And the other secret is that a woman needn't be looking like a silly stupid idiot to take revenge..Her silences will give her her victory.

Coming back to the post..I feel that it brings out Simbu's insecurity.Is he scared that a woman can dominate.I am actually surprised that someone like him who actually went to school(and attended the same culturals) knows how these work..Come on..People arent that stupid..Its not just this movie but even his prev work like Manmadhan- women cheating on the guy, 2 timing etc...

Its not just this movie.. I havent watched Timmiru but from what I have seen of the trailers of it, I think Sriya Reddy has also been portrayed as this female reekin revenge on the hero for being jilted in love.Chiranjeevi over Nagma in Gharana Mogudu, A certain Hero over a certain heroine(risk of domestic violence is causing me from abstaining,but i cudnt go without mentioning it). Is the South Indian film industry setting a silly trend that most women arent going to like.. I am not sure..
Just wanted to put across a point I had in my mind abt 10 seconds after watching Vallavan..

On a tangential note there was this Hindi movie called Pyar Tune Kya Kiya(made by Ram Gopal Varma) where Urmila gets obbsessed with an already married Fardeen Khan. There is no revenge, she just wants to be with him, the movie ends with her in the assylum. The movie had great music but a huge flop.

thodarum

2006-11-19T03:19:00.000-08:00

Alma Mater,Stand Brave,Stand True Under the Green and Gold
Mrs Simon with her "Presen-t" and "Absen-t", Mrs.Annapoorna with her Hindi,Mrs.Grace with her"Your 10th board exam Math paper will fly out of the window when its going for correction and they mite not be able to retrieve it", Ms Soans with her"when will u stop reading Sweet Valley?????????" Mrs Shahuna calling us Sack Potatos!!!

I MD,promise to do my best to do my duty to God,my country and my people and to uphold the honour of Sacred Heart School and the Lotus House(or so it goes,i think i skipped a couple of lines)

Working from the 7th std and building a network to give the above said speech at the investiture ceremony and lead the house..

Sitting with chubby baby Manisha and attempting to guide other innocent souls through Sports Day practise along with Mugs and Ketu and Jollu etc.Running 75m,100m,400m and the relays making sure the runners dont faint and ending up fainting myself!!! Praying to heavens that I march well as the first person entering the sports field.Elation when the points were pouring in, joy in getting an ALL THE BEST card from a nameless lil 6th std kid.. The final cheer when Lotus House won and running up to get the winners cup.. Dramatics where Resh decided to do a spoof on Bollywood, and of course the amazing farewell assembly where we went on abt school for abt 1.5 hrs much to everyone else's chargin..

Brench and Bauble March(read French and Bubble) with Band Master, and of course the famous VIP call,feeble attempts at running away from Juliet(yes tat was her name) who called me her Romeo(decided to grow my hair after tat)... Art exhibitions where Resh and I gave the same display for 3 yrs in a row... Failing 9th std Maths Quarterly and feeling desperately low..Miraclously passin 11th std and wondering how the hell did I manage that(yeah times change that fast)..Playing at St.Williams School and Lil Flower School for the Blind and feeling happy with ourselves..Playing for the State Games in front of Kalaignar..

Math tution with AKutty and Ashish and the other boys...Phaneendra sir and his wife and daughter whose range of bad words ended at "cud chewing animal", Physics Chandrasekar who always encouraged me to give my best and the Chemistry Chandrasekar who decided that I was upto no good at all and doubtful of passin 12th..

Mugs,Manjakka,Ketu,Resh,Jollu,Lavanya S&R,bureedi,Polly,DH,Keerthi,Mridula,DS(my sports sec,with whom I shared many a joy and sorrow), Rohini Metharam(best frnd for life),Swanu,Ro,Reeba,Ramya,Vidya(the Oliver Twist gang)Freeda, Ruveetha,Rubha,Trisha(yeah the actress chik),Akhila,Xena or Kichu,Hema,Tijitha(yes tat is her name),Sariga(yeah a name again)Lakshmi Kannan,Malathi Suresh,A Malathy,Nalina,Divya Spandana,Reema,Asha,Aushi,Neha,Bindya,Sangeetha,Kanchu,Ria,Nitya(and her mom),Johnathan,Kunal,Ghouse,Keerthi Prasad,Sunny,Shawn and the rest of the boys from Don Bosco..The amazing parties we used to have..Where I lost any inhibitions I had about dancing and where I learnt to play Truth or Dare and Spin the Bottle..

And then"Yenna da,Peter-a indhu Ponnu,Church Park nindu vanda..." and Bus No 35 and DB attempts at ragging me and flopping miserably..Physics Sirs first class abt the vernier calipers... The several attempts at BITS taking over our very own Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering and thereby it being the south's own BITS-P(Pennalur)... Peters Road-Anna Arivalaiam-Nandanam-Intermediate(!!!!!)-Saidapet-Little Mount-Guindy-Butt Road(with the famous Butt-Inn)-Poonamalee(with the matter theatre and the court side by side)-Porur-Hyundai-and then the famous SVCE,Pennalur..Did the journey almost everyday for 4 yrs and enjoyed it every single time..Neddi Sir and Porur McRennet where we used to stop for pastries jus coz a certain someone(ahem ahem) had a terrible urge to eat Japanese Pastry... The famous Bridge Course and how i missed it due to Chicken Pox(thanks annaya).. the papers for re evaluation, Banglore IV, IT- A vs IT - B fights...Gazillion trips to the canteen..Millions of Puffs, Aloo Bondas,Vadais consumed...Having to get an out pass and steering away from the Nair Kadai..My Families
Dee,Nanta,Suze,Kandameanie,Arch,ADi(yes spelled tat way),Mole,Chat,Arun(who owns Nelson Manikkam High Road) There are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many memories and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many things we did together..I dont know where to start and where to end and therefore am gonna not mention anythin...Pasha,BnB,Kaiyendi(yes we believe in equality and therefore visit road side and 5 star hotels likewise), Besi beach,Dee's house,My house sleepovers,Satyam Cinemas,Zaaras Tapas Bar,Ooty and Banglore trips tat we took together,Amethyst,Anokhi,Arun's and Sharan's beachouse...Buharis near Adis house, sitting around in the sports field and yapping away,playing in the water,pouring sand on each other,Chat falling of the horse singing Laka Laka,Chats adventure trip to Ooty(I have never in my 22 yrs of existance seen anyone so creative and so persistant)I will stop coz otherwise I will bore u out...

Vasudha,Chaitanya,Sriram,Ashmit(those 3 names still come together), Saishyam and Divya(my co office bearers)Jan,Div,Laks,MP,Sow,Chinni,Dog,Pig1 &2, Reva,Sangi, Rattle Raaj,Reddy,Abhi,RJ(the lil bro i never had and my sounding board),Janani Junior and a whole bunch of others..

love u guys lotttttttttttttts thanks for making SVCE the most memorable events in my life..

I thot I wud write abt my Wipro Tech experience but decided to spare u torture..Anyways wat is the pt I am tryin to make u wonder(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) well I am jus recalling my last 22 yrs...Someone was jus tellin me tat its not possible to have several best frnds..But I for one can tell u tat its verrry possible to have several best frnds and love all of them jus the same...

PS Y is the post called Thodarum u ask..Well in line with the mega serials wat has happened is just an episode in my life and I have the new episode starting in my life with MY TTG

PPS Thanks a lot for being a part of my life all of u and for helping me grow as an individual...I have tried to avoid using names wherever possible but otherwise I am sorry :((

guns grls and car chases

2006-11-05T07:43:00.000-08:00

yes i am talkin abt don the movie Don.In case you havent watched it then please get yourself to a theatre near u asap...The movie is worth watching for of course SRK, but the surprise(or not such a surprise) packet is Boman Irani.. Man can he act..The laughing doc from MunnaBhai..the Lucky singh from Lage Raho..Dr.Bhalerao from Bluffmaster.Boman is really amazing.Likewise as DCP DSilva/Vardhan he does an amazing in fact must say mind blowing job..

As of the rest of the movie well its extremely predictable.Its replete with Guns,grls and car chases..Its also got SRK jumping out of an security aeroplane,freefalling for abt 200 ft and then fighting in mid air with a guy the parachute!!!!! Its got the legendary "Kaike paan banaras vaala" which got the likes of my dad whistling...

As of the story..well since u ask here goes..dont blame me if it takes away from ur surprise..So there are the big mafia dons(Singhania and Vardhan) and a German boss(Gawd for crying out loud)..Singhania knocks of German boss and decides to take over..Vardhan vanishes from the scene..No one has seen him for years and no one knows how he looks...Don,an arrogant,ruthless henchmen..he works for Singhania and basically is the brain behind his empire..His lover is Isha Koppikar( I dont think she has a name in the movie!!!!!).....He kills Roma(Priyanka Chopra's bro) in a fit and Roma decides to take revenge on him..Once when the Don comes to India he is chased by DCP DSilva(who is the man on the mission) and is wounded terribly..DSilva saves him without the knowledge of anyone else admits Don to the hospital and gets him treated.
Cut to Vijay(the other SRK)..He is everything Don isnt..Kind,gentle and humanitarian...DSilva asks Vijay to act as Don and work as an informer..Vijay agrees and heads to Malaysia and Priyanka is let in on the secret..Just b4 interval(after several car chases) DSilva(who by know is considered dead) turns out to be Vardhan...
The rest of the movie is abt how Vijay escapes from all the evil..

jhalak dikalaja

2006-11-02T07:35:00.000-08:00

jhalak diklaja..ek baar aaja aaja..aaaaaja..

in case u wondering wat the hell i am talkin abt..i am talkin abt Himesh Reshammiya..Yes the cap wearin..mike carryin..nasal singing Himesh Reshammiya..

Back when I was in Hyderabad there was this channel called Hi Music.. For whatever reason the name.It was my sole companion thru many days(But anyways that is another story)And our man Himesh was their fav artist of the month for abt 5 months!!! The whole nation made fun of Himesh including me..I am now missin the music a lot!! neither does MTV or Channel V play Himesh...!!!

randomest post!!!!!

2006-10-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

verrrrrrrrrry random post....not much to write about but a compulsive need to write...so here goes..
1)had a discussion with a certain special someone on the Ramayana..was embarrassed me beyond words...and hence picked up the first book i cud find on the topic..which happened to be Prince of Ayodya by Ashok Banker..It only served to confuse me further..It makes the Gods sound human like everyone of us...I have gone 345 pages into a 516 pg book and only a day has passed in the story..Lakshman is called Lucky and Shatrugan is called Shot!!!!!!!!!!

2)Is God a proper noun??? Why do we write it with a capital letter..

3)If there is anyone who hasnt read Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo please do asap..its a superb book..I read it when I used to work and it was such an inspiring book...Please do..Its there somewhere on ensips.com....(someone sent me the link when i was at work..dont remember it..sowie)

4)Can insults/kalai be cloaked in such a way that the person at the recievin end get confused as wat was jus told to them!! I am in-capable of this...I am blunt to the point of being rude...But I think it can be done...

5) Water proof mascara never comes off..and by tat i mean NEVER..India doesnt send eye make up remover..and hence one has to resort to using H20..and inspite of repeated washin it doesnt come off for atleast 24 hrs.... I had a cousin who used to use spit to remove it..But it disgusts me and i havent tried it..Any ideas anyone

6)The CPU is fashioned to be the brain of the computer..Can the brain multi task..Is multi threading possible..If so then what is the duration of each thread..Or does it just that mean tat i have an attention defficiency..And I am not adept at sticking to a particular thot for more than a certain period of time..My mind would come back to the thot..But its in capable of concentrating for too long on something..I used to take breaks in the middle of my exams(all my boards and semesters included) and tune my brain out to somethin else..PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS EXTREMELY NORMAL AND I AM ABSOLUTELY SANE

K this is the point where i stop thinking and going to sleep as I am deviating and startin to not make sense..

Gnite....

yeppidi irnundha naan ippudi ayiten

2006-10-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

get up at 6:45 in the mornin..sleep walk to thee front door and then take the paper and the milk...put the milk on the stove and read the party whirl section of Deccan Chronicle.Turn on the geyser and wash the dishes from last nite's dinner..Fill in the water bottles and pick clothes for the day....sit in front of the tv and watch last nite's Seinfeld and eat Chocos and the boiled milk...Go have a bath..change clothes...put on tag and run from the house after double checkin the lock...call mom on the way to work..and then a mad rush...runnin around..orkuttin..checkin mail..callin client..fightin for credit for work done...achievin something....and finally comin home...tryin to heat up some MTR mix or if brave and its still 10 in the nite then try to cut up some veggies and cook..else eat more cereal..

AND NOW
get up at 6 30...sleep walk to drawin room and read the Hindu..Get to the dining table and eat breakfast..have bath and go to gym.come back home and eat lunch...sleep or read a book...get up and read somemore...watch tv...go out...

yeppidi irundha naan ippudi ayiten...wwaaaaaaa i miss hyd

gandhigiri or stalin

2006-09-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

have been meanin to watch lage raho munnabhai like forever now..have tried for tickets like atleast abt 5 times now..all on weekdays and for day time shows... returned home empty handed each time..

and then there is mega star...giga tera star watever...hero worship at its best..and then each time i went tickets were available..finally decided to watch the movie..(yes i am at that jobless) and guess wat the theatre ticket counter guy said.."Ma'am please dont watch the movie even if u have nothin better to do..Not worth the torture"

and my Lord and Ladies and Gentlemen and Sweetheart(sorry cudnt resist) i rest my case

For Matrimonial Purposes

2006-09-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

i had read this book called "FOE MATRIMONIAL PURPOSES"..its by far one of the most nicest and most true to life books i have read in recent times..hilarious..
here are some of the quotes in that book..some of them crack me up..thot i wud put them up here..not sure how many copyrights i am breakin but wat the heck..

1)The normal religious marriage was and is still arranged my the parents of the couple,after much consultation,and the study of the omens,horoscopes and auspicipus physical characteristics

2)It is highly improper for a young man or woman to take the initiative for his or her own marriage.With the spread of education nowadays the boy and grl are given a chance to see each other unlike the old days when the couple met on the day of the wedding.

3)The scriptures prohibits the sacrifise of female animals, but in the case of human beings,sacrifising females gives the greatest satisfacation..

4)The father who does not give away his daugther in marriage at the proper time is censurable.

5)Discrimination between the sexes in India begins at birth,or even before it.It starts before the child is born,in the mother's womb.None of the conventional blessings showered upon a pregnant woman mentions daughters!!!!!

6)Women must be honoured and adorned by their fathers,brothers,husbands and brothers-in-law who desire great good fortune.Where women,verily are honoured,there the gods rejoice;where,however,they are not honoured all sacred rites prove fruitless.Where the female relations live in grief-that family perishes.

7) My love,my true mate
Lost by the Fates
Found by the moon.
My love,my true mate
Come to me
Now,dont delay

This is a love spell to be repated 3 times
NOW WE KNOW Y ITS CALLED HONEY MOON..(HA HA HA)

8)A college boy,instead of adopting what the West would call an enlightened view,came to see his diploma as a sign of increased worth,enabling his parents to demand more dowry for him!!!

9)..I looked at the vast numberes of ordinary,non-psychotic women who have faced that not marrying is not the end of the world..

10)And now we come to the Big Road..the Great Road which is the backbone of all Hind..such a River of life as nowhere else exists in the world

and many more similar ones..decided to spare u..but if u do get ur hands on the book please do give it a read..awesome book
For Matrimonial Purposes by Kavitha Daswani

then and now

2006-09-09T05:43:00.000-07:00

There comes a period in everyone's live which acts as a defining moment..Well not defining.. but a realization dawns.. and that happened last week. I did something that I had never wanted to do all my life and had been postponing for atleast 3 years.When I left Chennai on Aug 14th 2005, I knew that the next time I come back home it would be as someone else's wife or fiance atleast!!! And well it turned out that I was right(as usual!!!!)

After severe nagging from my mom I got down to cleaning my cupboard.This was my dad's cupboard and it had been passed down to me.The chocolate brown Godrej with "Kumar" written on its side..In some weird mood or childish whim I had filled the front of it with stickers..

I came down to the task of sorting out the stuff..Michelle and me making plans to kill Pitchaikannu(the guy who wrote the 12th Math Text Book), notes to Div and Janani about what to do on the weekend, scrapbooks from 6th to 10th..The history project I had done in 7th.. Old OD forms with KRL's signatures..Tickets to Titanic..Tickets of the first Saarang I went to..Tickets to the AR Rahman Concert and the Bryan Adams Concert..The project document on which the prof wrote"Best Wishes to the Best Student" all this and much much more..It all had to go...

And then came the stuff that I could not bear to throw away.. The posters I has collected over the years, greeting cards from friends over the years and certificates and medals I had gotten over the years..The letter of invitation inviting my parents for my Investiture, special passes to the sports day for my folks,friendship bands from friends...

This was essentially letting go off my childhood..Something I had refused to do..I personally believe that a person should hold onto the innocence and the childhood for as long as he/she can.. Well I just let go of mine..

But for all the kids out there.swats,mittu,rj etc..guys hold onto it for as long as u can kiddos..mmmuuuah

(*hint hint-- general can I hold onto my childhood..please pretty please)

bonding

2006-09-04T05:49:00.000-07:00

Situation 1: Abhishek and Ashish are common friends.. One evening Abhi calls Ashish

Abhi :"Machan, hi da!! going to play cricket da at somasundaram grounds. Its Rainbow Colony Street 1 against Rainbow Colony 2"

Ashish : "Ok da,when its da??.. What is the bet da?? who is the host team da"

Abhi :" Adham yellam teriyadu da!! its on next sunday..tat is all"

Ashish : " seri da..will come off..i will bring one spare ball da"

Abhi : " Machan,one more item da.. we are short of one batsman da..u know anybody ah"

Ashish : " seri da..i will find someone"

Cut to Cricket Match

Ashish :" machan this is Rahul da.."

Abhi : "Hi da"

Rahul : "Hi da"

And tat is the end of it..They will be best of frnds for life.Bonding over cricket is all enuf to be frnds for life..Next time would be Rahul calling Abhishek about cricket match..And thus the story goes on..

Situation 2
Harini and Janani are two friends..Harini has an extra ticket to a movie.Harini called Janani and ...

H : Hi Janu..how are u??
J : I am gud di.. how are u.. hey listen i was wondering,wat was that dress that Malini was wearin..
H : I know..it was this funny blue rite..Not blue but blue
J: Ya di..Wat was she thinkin!! She was tellin me that she thot it brings out the blue in her eyes!!! Such a fakie!! Like her eyes are blue or something
H: I know!!! and hey u read that Femina Article about blue being out...

hmmmmmm well i wont bore u with the rest but..finally they hung up..

Harini calls back..
H : Hey Jans..I forgot why i called in the first place..I bought tickets for u for Fifty First Dates.. Its at 3 30 show on Saturday di..Ok?
J: Wow!! so sweet of u..yeah yeah i will come..meet u at satyam..ok rite?

Point to be noted here..Harini doesnt Janani that its a spare ticket..

At the movies..
H : This is Janani..Janani this is Malathi and Shruthi and Amruta..
J : Hi u guys..

And then no conversation.Silent movie watching..

Y is there that inherent difference of conversation..Y is it that two guys cant have a normal conversation.. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TT this is just to avoid ur naggin love..

SAPPI MATTER

2006-08-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

as someone i know calls it.."SAPPI MATTERS"

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SAPPI MATTER #1
KANK..sappi is an understatement..i cant believe i put myself thru 4 hrs of utter nonsense.. And NO..this isnt typical "Bharatiya Nari" talk.. Abhishek is as perfect as husbands can get..i really dont get the reason behind their(Abhi & Rani) marriage falling apart.. Karan i think needed to give us a lil more solid explanation here!!!!! Well Shah Rukh and Preity.. i get it..grouchy husband,wife more successful than the husband etc..The movie might(and i stress it) might have been bearable had it been say 1 hr lesser..Just when i thot the movie was about to end there was a song..and then i thot it was gonna end again and this time there is a weeping confrontation..AND then when i thot it was gonna end there is a marriage(God save all humanity) AND THEN FINALLY when i thot it was gonna end there is a chase on the train, but this time it was with a twist.. the heroine chases the hero..

SAPPI MATTER #2

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BOMMARILU.. one of the most nicest movie i have seen... talks abt love, and life.. it also talks about how parents in their efforts to give their children the best in everythin end up making the children miserable..it talks about learning to let go of ur baby's hand once he learns to walk.. it also talks about letting ur baby learn from his mistakes..it talks about doing anything for the person u love and most of all it talks about pursuing ur dreams.. somehow the movie struck a chord with me!!! music is also awesome..All the songs are hummable.. Actors were top notch...Even Genelia who i always thot cudnt act to save her life..

SAPPI MATTER # 3
was reading
Suze's post and got reminded about my first day at college..Also 8th Aug 2001(surprise!! surprise-- we both went to the same college and are best of frnds)and i was at the bus stop..there was this grl asking me nosy questions.. I was not in a mood to bond with anyone and this female jus wudnt shut up...i dint mind her..but apparently she thot I was a snob.. She turned out to be one of my best frnds..Nandita..Love u babe!!! and yeah like Suze said..most of the my best memories..Heck all the nicest memories till date are from college.. Miss all u guys..MY "FAMILIES"

and oh oh oh

SAPPI MATTER # 4
i am 400 pages into ATLAS SHRUGGED..i am proud of myself coz i cudnt get beyond abt 25 pages in this book..it was a personal insult to me tat I as in I cudnt get read this book..and therefore as a personal challenge i am reading this book

and yeah i know its sappa matter and not sappi matter.. but jus in case ur version is patented

New Meaning- Old Songs

2006-08-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

if i have to live my life without you needing me..
my days wud all seem empty and my nights wud be sooo long..

please forgive me i know not wat to do.
please forgive me i cant stop loving u
dont deny me this pain i am going thru.
please forgive me. i need u all my life thru..

-- Bryan Adams

every night in my dreams i see u.. i feel u..
and that is how i know u go on..
love can touch jus one time and last for a life time..

-- OST Titanic

nothing's gonna change my love for u.
u already know by now how much i love u..

-- Glen Mediors

say a lil prayer for u.i will say a lil prayer for u.
forever and ever u steal my heart and i will love u forever and ever
never be apart from me coz tats too much of heartbreak for me.

-- OST My Best Friends Wedding

yennai kanavillai netrodu..yenge tedi pakiren katrodu
uyir odi ponadu unnodu..anbe anbe..

-- OST Kadhal Desam

tujhe dekha tho ye jaana sanam.
pyar hota hai deewana sanam..
ab yahaa se kaha jaye ham
tere bahon me mar jayen hum..

-- OST Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge

pehla pehla pyar hai.
pehli pehli baar hai.
Jaan ke bhi anjana..
Esa mera yaar hai

-- OST Hum Aapke Hain Kaun

yeto velli poyindi manasu..
illa ontari ayindi manasu..
oh chala galli.. achuki teesi..kaburu iva leva..
yemma ayindo..

-- OST Ninne Pelliadtunanu

gundelo yemundu kallalo telusutundi..
pedavulu ee maunam ne pere pilustundi.

-- OST Manmadudu

and i cud jus go on.. all these songs have just taken on a new meaning to me.. i finally understand wat it is to allow another person into your life

Being Twenty Something

2006-07-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

They call it the "Quarter-life Crisis. It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realising that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like.You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now. You start realising that people are selfish and that,maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognise is that they are realising that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you. You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realising that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realise that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realise that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward. You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot don't seem as fun. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender! What you may not realise is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." It's really amazing when two strangers become the best of friends,but it is really sad when the best of friends become two strangers.

PS thanks nanta..love u babe!

my frnd killed herself!!!!

2006-06-18T02:55:00.000-07:00

sorry for the hard hitting title.. i cant think of any other way of putting it!!!!!!!

shradda and i had known each other since we were kids..we used to do all the lil girly things like play barbie and house-house etc.. basically we were frnds coz both our dads went to the same Rotary Club...So I know her dad and mom and lil sis also...she was the vice-president of the annets club of which i was the president..she was at times cranky and also partly nutty... but in lil kids world all this hardly meant anything at all.. actually there were three of us.. bhavna and shradda and me..we are inseperable..both of them were a yr younger than me but i think that hardly made a diff..
anyways the yrs passed by and we went our different ways.. bhavana and i ended up in the same college and hence were on passing aquaintance with each other.. there was the occassional "how is shradda doing??" but that was about it all.. Our dad's met more often than us.. and each was showing off his daughther's achievements.. I am an engineer working with an MNC and shraddha was an actress!! yeah a couple of movies and a whole lot of TV serials!!!

and then out of the blue my dad calls me

dad: have u hrd abt shraddha or read abt her in the papers
me: no pa, wat happened??
dad: She hung herself in her room
me:did she die??
dad:yeah, ur mom and i went and saw her parents the next day!!!

and then nothing happened for a while..after abt 2 days it sunk in..there was this perfectly normal grl and out of the blue she kills herself.. wat caused this to happen??? wat pressure did she have??? maybe the exposure we have today leads us to have stranger and stranger thoughts??? wat sort of problems wud cause a person to hang herself from her fan leaving a note saying "Sorry Dad, i wasnt a gud daughter"
Damn rite Shradda.. u arent a gud daughter..if u really were a gud daughter as a normal 21 yr old u wud have gone to ur mom or dad with ur problems and there is nothin tat they cant solve for u!!!!!!!!!!! i am sorry that u had to resort to such a drastic step.. A coward wud do something like this.. a truely brave person wud stand up and face the world..tat is wat u shud have done..or come to one of us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

shradda has been replaced by other actress in her serials and rumor has it that she suffered from depression.. maybe she was... u put a 18-19 yr old grl to act and expose her to the harsh world and expect to her survive it.. i guess not.. in more ways than one i am thankful for the protected environment i living in...

i am jus mad at shradda for doing wat she did.. so apologies to others who think i am being harsh or stuff..
anyways love u babe and u made my childhood a lil more memorable for me..

BEHIND EVERY SUCCESSFUL WOMAN IS HERSELF

2006-05-19T06:06:00.001-07:00

BEHIND EVERY SUCCESSFUL WOMANIS HERSELF
Words Women Use
Fine
This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

Five Minutes
If she is getting dressed, this is half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given 5 more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
Nothing
This is the calm before the storm. This means "something" and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with "nothing" usually end in "fine".
Go Ahead
This is a dare, not permission, DON'T DO IT!
Loud Sigh
Although not actually a word, the loud sigh is often misunderstood by men. A "Loud Sigh" means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over "Nothing".
That's Okay
This is one of the most dangerous statements that woman can make to a man. "That's Okay" means that she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
Thanks
This is the least used of all words in the female vocabulary. If a woman is thanking you, do not question it, just say you're welcome and back out of the room slowly.

Must admit tat i dint come up with this..but thot it was hilarious..hell i am not kavya viswanathan..so i dont care wat happens!!!

happy bday

2006-05-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

yay!!! my blog is one yr old now!!!!

tagged!!!!-- post after 2 months

2006-05-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

k well the truth be told i was tagged a couple of months back..but till date i had no idea wat was to be done..now tat i have finally found out courtesy my frnd preethi (preethim.blogspot.com)
so created a similar one for myself

First Best Friend: Preethi,(the grl whose blog i am talking abt)
First Vehicle:Sunny
First Crush:Arjun(praying he doesnt blog!!!!!- lost touch with him)
First Movie:Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
First Kiss:!!!!!!!!!!(My kid sis reads my blog!!!)
First Book:Enid Blyton's Amelia Jane
First Tape:Dalapathi
First Flight: Age 3 to Hyderabad all by myself

Nine Lasts

Last Alcholic Beverage:!!!!!!!!!(like i said..my lil sis reads my blog)
Last Bike Ride: With my PM back from work at 12:30 am
Last Movie: Well the last movie I saw in the theatres was Pokiri..Watched Bluffmaster last nite
on DVD
Last Explicit Used : Shit..( i have lost count today itself)
Last Book I coudnt get past the preface of: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand..(Still at it)
Last Time I cried:Last weekend when I spoke to Sharan,Adi,Mathi
Last TV Character that made me laugh: The whole cast of FRIENDS

Eight Have You Evers

Dated One of Your Best Frnds: NA(Not Applicable)
Been Arrested: Nope not yet.Got caught for the above overspeeding though
Been On TV: Yep(On radio too)
Written A Poem: Yep.When I was in school
Been out of the country: Crossed the LOC at the border if tat counts
Fantasized about a Cartoon Character: Che!!! no..thank God I am not that sick

Seven Things I can Do
I can watch FRIENDS any number of times
I can walk really long distances(From NIMS to home)
I can eat cereal for breakfast,lunch,dinner and snack on it also in between
I can talk nonstop for more than 5 minutes without pausing for breath!!
I can type without looking at the keyboard!!!!!!!(This is the point where my brain stops functioning)
I can sit on the phone for hours together
I can sleep at anytime and get up at 6 30 in the morning

Six Celebrity Crushes
Abhishek Bachan
Prince William
Tom Cruise
Aravind Swamy
Shah Rukh Khan
Uday Kiran

Four Greatest Fears
Death
Snakes
Loosing my frnds
Fast Cars

Three Sacrifices I can make
Sit up all night to talk to a frnd in need
hmmm i cant think of any others k wait i got one
Give up material goods for a loved one

Two Things I'd Want to do before I die
Make a movie
Fall truly madly deeply in love

One thing I would hope for myself
Watever happens with me I shud have the perseverence to endure it and see the light at the end of the tunnel!!

Whew tat was an effort!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

these are a few of my favourite things

2006-05-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

"when the dog bites when the bees sting i simply remember my fav things and then i dont feel sooooooooooooooooooooooo bad" and that is exactly what i decided to do

1)Cadburys Fruit and Nut
2)Munching on a Snickers bar
3)phone calls from a special someone(It always brings a smile to my face just to see the number on the caller id
4)hugs from another dear frnd(by far the best hugger in the world)
5)dosas with peanut chutney
6)my blue shorts and torn white tshirt
7)lying down on my couch in hyd and reading a book
8)walking on the waterfront in the beach
9)sitting at broken bridge and feeling like king of the world
10)midnight conversations with frnds
11)loooong drives back home from college
12)looong drives anywhere
13)leaning on nanta's shoulder and going to sleep
14)the top room in razole(the best guest bedroom in the whole world)
15)being at one with myself(hardly ever happens)
16) landing at chennai airport
17)looking at old fotographs
18)going dancing with frnds
19)Ooty
20)Calvin and Hobbes
21)ABHISHEK BACHAN
22)Watching DDLJ
k i think i am gonna bore u guys...
but trust me it really works..try making a list of ur fav things..u wud defi feel a gr8 new high!!

Cain and Abel

2006-05-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

Cain killed Abel..and thus began sibling rivalry.. sometime last month praveen shot pramod and yesterday pramod died..in case u wondering what i am talkin abt i mean praveen mahajan shot his bro pramod mahajan!!! now there was one politician i thot was sensible and he too was shot dead...wat causes sibling rivalry..as a single child i wud not be able to give an answer to this question..however as a layman i can give an opinion!!
i strongly think and believe in the prospect of each man unto himself..yes u have siblings and yes u love them and yes u share ur joys and sorrows with them..but then u are wat u make of urself..u are responsible for urself and after a point no one and nothing can help u..and its also wrong on ur part to expect anyone else to be responsible for ur life..y shud anyone else help u?? y shud anyone else share ur burden???
this is just an observation and mite not be true..but ultimately sibling Cain got the better of Abel..Abel died.. And Praveen got the better of Pramod..Pramod died..The rights and the wrongs can be analysed later..Lives were lost..

y do we do what we do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-04-23T03:24:00.000-07:00

i was having a conversation with a frnd earlier today when the topic came about of why we picked the careers that each of us chose...he is a mechanical engineer and i am a software engineer... turns out he wanted to be a cricket player and i wanted to make movies...but look where our lives took us...

how does one make a career choice?? here in India you have to pick a career at the young age of abt 14-15( i picked mine at 14).this happens when we finish 10th std!!!! then comes the next cumbersome of an actual graduation degree...this decision i made at 16 and most ppl around 16 or 17... exactly how much wud anyone expect to know at that age??????? well this was my only chance at makin movies and i gave it up..y u ask???? well that "just wasnt the propah thing to do..i had to make a actual career!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!".. and so i picked my next best option...becoming an engineer..and from then on i made only one choice - my elective in 8th sem(age 20)... and then i landed a job at a gud MNC(age 20).

When i joined my firm i wasnt offered a choice of which platform i wanted to work on..heck i wasnt allowed to pick the city i wanted to work at!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(apparently i was too young and hence immature to make that decision-age 21) .thankfully i am on a platform which requires little or no coding...i cant code to save my life!!!!!!

the purpose of this blog is do we really have choices when it comes to careers???? are we really happy with what we are doing with our lives???? or are we jus making the best of choices we made as immature kids??????

well if the questions were put to me..i wud say ---- i am super glad i am an engineer...cant think of any other career i wud have pursued.... and there are days when i curse myself for the job that i am in..and some days when i feel i am on top of the world and this 100 billion rich MNC cant function without me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

stopping by the office on a sunday afternoon..

2006-03-19T02:38:00.000-08:00

for the people who dint get that..i wanted to make it sound like the "stopping by the woods on a snowy evening" by robert frost...

anyways... i finally took my turn at supporting our 24*7 applications this weekend... my mom thot i was going on some sorta camping thingy..she packed me an apple and a banana and a huge 1 litre bottle of water..she offered to pack in curd rice,chips and chocolates also..i put my foot down..

so day one (18th March)

i get to office at 2 pm to see a whole bunch of ppl outside office..(walk ins are on) look at them and think...poooooooooooor souls..donno wat they in for..wanted to tell them..puhlease think twice before u accept.. anyways get to cubicle to find a whole bunch of ppl there..wow i thot it wud be empty on saturdays..so socialize with a couple of them..bitch abt the boss and then check my batch.. one job in error..had no clue wat to do and hence re-start the job..it completed successfully even b4 i cud check..well anyways wat do i have to loose..wait for the other batch to start.. then at 3 40 the link(network conn btn india and london) goes kaput!!!!! vanish..lost..i had a mini heart attack..shit had i screwed something up.???.. looked up to see that the other folks were also streching..then come the party words..."planned outage" in case u wondering what this means..it means they decided to cut the link... so wat is my poa..call the ocs(onsite co-ordinators) and tell them tat i cant check anything from here.. one guy says"have a nice weekend,go home", the other guy is all grumpy and makes it sound like my fault!!!!!!!!
sit around for a bit..get a cup of coffee..bond with co-worker (who if i met outside work wud call aunty..).she discusses her marital problems with me..heck i dont even have a boy frnd!!!(wud she listen to mine :D) then pack and decide to go home..hit the gym and call office every half an hour to find out if by any crude twist of fate the link had "come up"...no news till 7 so head back home instead..

day 2..(march 19)
8 in the morning..call on the support mobile saying that 3 jobs have failed!!!(poor guy it was around 3 in the morning for him)get to office at 12 30pm.. link is still down..(la la balle balle) its then that boredom hits me.. no one is in office..not even aunty!!!!!!!!!!!! read the "vegan lunch box" fully including archives.. read suze's blog fully including archives.. read filmfare.com.. feel guilty..google cmu.. open johnabraham.com instead..read it fully.. then decide to update my blog instead..so here it goes..

small notes for rj,abhi etc who read my blog..please comment..be nice..

when the sun sets...

2006-03-18T00:55:00.000-08:00

what is it with it being 11:30 in the nite and one has the desperate urge to pour out heart and soul..most of my soul searching conversations have been after 11 in the nite..i have wept buckets and buckets..and likewise comforted frnds!!!!! confided secrets that wud have otherwise never have seen the lite of the day(or in this case nite!!!!!) i have had my biggest fight right then.. wat does the nite bring with it????

but lately i must confess those nitely conversations have come down to zero... is it coz i have no soul searching to do??? or is it because i have no more secrets!!!!!!!!! or is it because i am plain dead tired and have begun to dread conversations from those old frnds in case they gonna drag for more than 15 minutes... "i have to cook dinner still!!!!!!!!, has anyone hrd of relaxation!!!!, now what am i gonna do by listening to that jack shit that i dont relate to anymore!!!!!" and these were thots that passed thru my head when having those above mentioned conversations..(am tormented with guilt!!!)

2006-02-19T22:27:00.000-08:00

everyone was talking about the movie.. frnds in other countries had watched it..ppl who normally dint go to theatres had seen the movie and then there was ME.. i was the only one who hadnt seen the movie and ppl were looking at me as if i was from another planet!!! in my defence it wasnt as if i wasnt trying..every weekend i hauled myself to the theatre and stood patiently in a serpantine queue-only to return empty handed..well in case u still wondering wat movie i am talking abt-- rang de basanti..finally this weekend after basically threatening to kill the ticket counter guy at prasads imax i got tickets...
anyways i am all patriotic and all that but i must confess that the movie dint have too much off an impression on me.. the major point that stood out was it took a woman from another country to remind us of our sense of duty to the country!!!
I am also hoping sincerely that our youth dont decide to take this as an example and set off killing all and sundry.. I am sure that this would lead to a lot of chaos and more political parties and more people stealing money..in this case i think that the movie Ayutha Eluthu(Yuva) gave a more sensible option.. Join politics and try to solve the problems from the grassroots level.

all said and done the movie had beautiful songs and also wonderful locations(one cinematogrpaher who made rural india look as beautiful as it really is) cast was ok..

random thots

2006-01-21T20:39:00.000-08:00

its 11 am on a Sunday morning and I have been in office for the past 3 hours.. i am barely able to keep my eyes open,I havent had a bath and havent had lunch,dinner(yesterday) and breakfast today.. but then i have a desperate urge to blog..so here i am..kindly pardon any nonsensical writing..i am really sleep-deprieved..

i just realized the therapeutic effects of snake..as in the game on the phone..back when i was in college a year ago [:D] i used to play snake jus during my semester exams..say at 2 in the morning on some random nite i wud be sitting on the kitchen counter(the best place to study) with books and papers around me and I would be playing snake. it was my stress buster.. playing snake for some 20 minutes would charge me enuf to go through atleast 2 hrs of studying..then after i joined work and changed mobiles(i am still a very faithful nokia user but this phone 6630 has no games and i cant be bothered to go and add games)then i was given a mobile at work..and i sat and played my faithful stres-buster game and was so relieved..the very act of jus elongating the snake makes me feel like i am on a mission..and when i beat my own highest score i have achieved my own personal objective..

i have always wondered about how one person would become the center of ur life and all you do or wanna do revolves around him/her. that person wud sometimes be the reason one gets up in the morning.. and then something goes wrong and still that person would be the center of ur life..but this time the only reason u dont wanna get up is this person..how can one person manipulate all ur thots,feelings and emotions??

how can a person change at all?? u know i had a frnd in kindergarden..she was jus like me..two pigtails,running nose and handkerchief pinned to the pinnafore.. as we grew older she started becoming nutty(that is the only word i can use to describe her) then now at 22 she is positively mad..she knows the cops, she knows where to buy dope etc..am i the only one who stuck to my thots and ideals?? am i the only one whose attitude hasnt done a complete 180 degress flip?? does it have to do with the fact that my parents gave me a secure childhood?? was it because i had gud frnds?? wat went wrong with my poor frnd??

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwn i am still sleepy.. i think its only when i am really sleepy that serious thots like the above run in my head...

which leads me to my next thot..how much the computer has become a part of our lives.. my dude(that is my comp's nick name-i spend sooo much time around him)..i swear i am half asleep,my eyes are stinging, yet i am sitting here in an empty office..typing away as if my life depended on it..i dont even look at the keyboard now..i can jus keep looking at the screen and type away.. wow i am talented..

6 months in the software industry and..

2006-01-03T23:22:00.000-08:00

ok its official..i am a techie now.. for the un-initiated it means a bonded-cheap laborer who works by the clock.. it also means I wear a tag and sit around sipping coffee by the gallon. when i joined this industry i used to get baffled by the use of certain terminology and felt that the entire world of software has people doing important things.Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut 6 months into the industry i am using the same words and here is what they actually mean..

On call/in-a-call -> means that i am on the fone with frnd,family etc and dont feel like talking to you.If i am sitting in the t-con room(that is tele-conferencing room) and having this conversation it means that i dont want the others to hear the conversation.
team meeting-> u sit around with the rest of ur team and show off what u have supposedly worked on in the last one week.Its also a chance to kalachify ur frnd/colleague who bugs u otherwise
on call support-> it means i will be able to help u by instructing u on the fone. It also means i will answer the fone only if i feel like :-)
thanks in advance-> it means exactly this
" u freaking get this job done!!!!!!!!!!!!!".
usually at the end of the mail that begins with FYINA
hidden resource-> means i labor and i toll and i work but i sign off all documents on someone else's name.
billable-> basically someone whose name is put at the end of the work done by the hidden resource
FYINA/FYI & NA-> For Your Information Needs Action means its not my work or i am not gonna do it.Please do it. usually occurs at the begining of a mail and ends with thanks in advance.
cc to the boss/pm-> that is carbon copy to the project manager. it means that i am not gonna take any **** no more and that i am complaining against you.
KT-> knowledge transfer.it basically means that i will give u the user-id and password along with the database for the application.then God help u..i am washing my hands of the application.Maybe i will provide you with a bunch of outdated documents.

then there are some other things which i think are exclusive to the software industry

sending mail to the guy sitting next to you. in the begining i used to wonder y the hell cudnt one jus walk up to the guy or in most cases jus turn around in that rotating chair and ask him instead..but then these days i do it too.. y take the effort???????????????????

i am doing a high priority job as in i am doing exactly what i feel like doing and hence its high priority.

users are dumb..they defi and really donno what they want..and i have to break my head trying to understand what they probably want and convince them that they want just that.

i put my monthly expenditures in an excel sheet and perform calculations on them.

having absolutely no recollection of the name of the person i am having a conversation with!!!!!! thank god for name tags.

if i am talking abt my sweetheart,my dude,my hunk,my babe etc in all likelihood i am talking abt my computer.

if a bunch of us colleagues(not frnds-never call them ur frnds!!!!!!!) get together we wud invariably end up discussing tech stuff..swear this is true...

all forwards that i recieve/send are jokes on my pm,the computer and code!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i donno y ppl think i dont have a life besides my job!!!!!!!!(the hrs that i am made to put in..i really dont have one)

my next target is to get myself on-site!!!!!!!!!!!

k now that is the end of my lunch hr and i shud get back to work now..

long road home

2006-01-02T04:22:00.000-08:00

the other day i had this terrible headache..it felt like ppl where using sledge hammers and banging my head from the top,left and right.so i decided to leave work early and get home to bed.. so i packed off from office at 6 pm.

I caught an auto at the gate and we bargained about the fare. I finally gave up due to my poor throbbing head..our man sets off at a slow 30kmph..the world is a happy place to be living in..suddenly there is an open strech of road and the auto hits atleast 60(i swear!!!!!!!!!!!) . Now I am obbsessively scared of fast traffic,so i clung for dear life to the bar/rod in front praying for dear life(also wondering y auto's dont come with seat belts ($$$***####) then a sudden break..

I am now gonna divert from the main story and give u a piece of information..the entire city of hyderabad(or atleast all the places that i have been to) is undergoing some road widening thingy. so basically its like half road.quarter -dug up item(for the lack of a better word) and another quarter-all that is dug up from that item..Now going back to the story....

My driver decides that he has had enuf waiting in the traffic so he cuts across to the road item on the other half.. so i am basically travelling on sand,pebbles and some other items of un-describable nature.. my headache has already gone up two notches.. Then a bus also decides to get into the cycle gap of non-road place and so there is a bus next to me also stuck in the jam...

again a digression.. have u ever wondered how the auto and bus manufacturers got together and decided to build their vehicles in such a way that the exhaust from the bus wud hit the face of the person sitting in the passenger part of an auto..i mean did they all get together, have a nice conference in goa or coorg or some beach resort/hill station and decide.."ah how can we make the life of our ppl more smoke filled" i am sure a lot of hardwork and design went into this.. the direction/position of the exhaust pipe from the bus is such that if an auto is parked next to it- surely the passengers must be treated to a breath of fresh diesel smoke!!!!!!!!!!!!

k back to the story..after breathing some loads of diesel from the bus next to me and also recieving my share of stare from the ppl of the bus my auto zooms off again in a gap so small that u cant even call it cycle gap.i really donno what he hoped to achieve coz no traffic was anyway moving.. and he chose all the bumps(actually here he isnt to blame-- he was riding on non-road place) and the hammers on my head jus got heavier.. let me talk to someone i thot..maybe it will be a diversion..so i tried calling a frnd..status-all lines on this route are busy..please try again later.. so it wasnt just the road-the airwaves were also jammed..(sorry cudnt resist the mokke) after a while i felt as if i was in a video game..u know the likes of midtown maddness or need for speed or road rash types.. i started feeling like the hero that a kid is playing around with using his joystick...
finally after abt an hour and a half of maddness and a whole lot of abuse my driver hurled at passers by i reached the supermarket close to my house..suddenly remembered that i need to buy dinner so i stopped him there,got out with a reeling.throbbing head and walked into the supermarket in a daze..

am sure most ppl can relate to this..also decided that i am bored of my home-sickness blogs.if u dint understand any of this its alrite..coz i made that entire journey with a throbbing head and eyes shut most of the way

come they told me...

2005-12-21T23:13:00.000-08:00

this morning on the way to work i drove by a school.It was decorated with stars and generally looked all christmas-y.... this reminded me of my school and how awesome christmas was at school..
A long time ago when i was in class 3(i said long time ago) we were doing the christmas play and I was Mary.I was all dressed up in blue with a long gown sorta thing with a blue veil on my head.My best frnd keerthi was joseph and she had this beard stuck on her face that made her look really scary.The entire play I avoided looking at her. And another frnd of mine Mridula was the drummer boy who sang "Come they told me..pa rapapam pam.." and another frnd Vidya was the angel right on top.
Anyways without boring you guys with those details of who was who..The thing was the frndship that we all cultivated.Each year christmas was a chance for us to make frnds with ppl we didnt know.It also was a chance for us to share our goodies with the less privelaged ones.One Christmas tradition which I really liked was playing Chris-ma/Chris-child. It was super fun figuring out wat to get ur Chris-child.Still have some of the stuff we got.This was a gud way for me to make frnds with ppl outside my circle of frnds.It also taught me to save money for the little gifts I had to buy.
The other thing was making Christmas Cards.My school set aside this day when we all of us made cards that were sent home around Christmas/New Year.The loud speakers played Christmas carols and we set about making the cards.Then again was a time for sharing the felt-tip pens,glue,glitter etc..
And finally the one thing that had a profound impact on me..This was called White Christmas where we all dropped gifts into a huge bag and these were shared with left fortunate ppl than us.This was a superb concept.

And then there is now.When the first thing that came to my mind was..Y is it on a Sunday??? I would have a holiday from work otherwise.But looking at those children in that school I smiled to myself and thought someone else is doing all those things that I did..and they cherishing it as much as I did

I must also add that I am still best frnds with keerthi(inspite of us living in diff cities) and still in touch with Mridula and Vidya..(guess everything didnt change after all!!!)

And if u wondering y this post is called come they told me.- the first thing I associate with Christmas is this carol that the little drummer boy sang on his way to see the New Born King,Son of God

things i miss doing in chennai

2005-12-18T21:57:00.000-08:00

k this post is being written with a serious bout of homesickness..
I spent my last Sunday thinking about how much my life has changed after moving to Hyderabad and that was when I came up with this list.It essentially comprises the things I did/miss doing

1) fighting with my dad for the Hindu paper and reading the entire paper back to back.Then reading the Calvin and Hobbes strip
2)fighting with my dad for the Sunday magazine section which he would invariably leave in his bathroom before I got up as a consequence of which it would be wet(wait i dont think the sentence formation is right there- but am sure you get the drift)
3)eating crisp dosas with peanuts chutney and last nites pesarapappu/onion sambhar
4)chasing the bus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5)calling chaitanya,adi,sharan,arun,priya and telling them that they gonna miss the bus at nandanam.calling manju to check if i missed the bus and making it wait at nandanam.
6)saying hi to all my teachers from school.(My bus-stop is outside school)
7)looking at the new students and wondering how much better school was when I was in it.(y the hell dont they wear their badges????)
8)walking all the way to the canteen so that I can eat puff(real reason-socialize with half a dozen ppl on the way)much to divya/janani's exsasparation
9)having a desperate urge to eat dahi papdi chat/rasagollas/pasta/mirchi vada/vada at 3 in the afternoon in the middle of some boring lecture
10)playing bingo with janani
11)sitting in the verandah outside krl's room and jus whiling away time(supposedly on duty organizing something)
12)basically torturing janani with my odd comments/thoughts/opinions
13)snubbing abhinandan..(we had a mutual hatred)
14)sitting at amethyst and eating black current youghurt in their trophy cups(their cups were shaped like trophies) and talking to the gang..or kalaichifying(that is pulling each others legs) or abusing the boys.. also commenting abt some odd female who is in the gym with us
15)sittin on the beach and eating peanuts/raw mango for 200 bucks(record of sorts am sure)
16)playing running and catching on the beach and throwing sand on each other.
17)playing boys vs grls antakshari and then ending up singing all our fav songs together.
18)actually all of us singing pehla nasha!!
19)sharan's beach house(sorry da arun..liked sharan's better)
20)eating food at kayandi/buhari.
21)planning to go for a movie at 6 20 and going to Satyam for a 6 30 show
22)bugging my mom to watch telugu movies with me due to the lack of company
23)buggin shivanth for brownies and then fighting over who gets how much.
24)going out with div/jan to watch the most outrageous movies in the world.
25)going to landmark and browsing through the cds.
26)making my father take me to gangotri for dahi papdi chat and then bring it home and eat it watching full house.
27)talking for hours together on the phone-dispensing advice,getting advice,making plans,crying,gossiping.The famous conference calls!!!!
28)sleep overs at deepa's house where we raided her fridge for anything edible.
29)sleep overs at my place where we played pictionary(actually i dispensed the cards and the rest played)
30)getting the notes/xerox some 2 days before exams.
31)doing the lab exams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
32)driving my car(ok i drive at 40 on ecr-so what)
33)sitting on top of the tank and watching the fire-works
34)sitting at move-n-pick and complaing about y they dont have chocolate ice cream and still enjoying what they have.
35)waking up in the morning and find my mom sitting on the chair next to my bed drinkin her coffee/tea
36)telling my folks some stories they absolutely un-interested in but still listened to coz i was telling them

well i guess tat pretty much sums it up..k wait one more..am sure am gonna get clobbed if i dont put that up
37)talking to nanta on the bus and generally being her one -woman-entertainment show

title

2005-12-02T00:37:00.000-08:00

have u ever wondered if its possible to condense an entire essay/passage into a few words.as in give it a title.if the title describes the stuff in the passage then y bother to write a passage at all.mite as well use all my thot process to jus come up with a title.i am guessing the same goes with headlines.have u ever wondered y politicians "make it to the headlines". they never make it to a "3 paragraph article" or that event "made headlines." i personally think the world wud be a far more interesting place without a heading. imagine reading thru an entire article in the magazine or an entire blog and then deciding if u liked it or not.how much more of our brains wud we be using in tat case!!!!(not sure of technical details)it wud get us thinking much more atleast.
the taglines tat come with movies are a gud example of this.noticing it a lot in telugu movies these days..the one thing tat comes to my mind is "nijam-its a lie" for those who dont follow telugu nijam means truth..so the entire title is an oxy-moron in itself.the tagline caught on like a rage but the movie was one of the yrs biggest duds and one of the most boring movies i ever saw(actually i hace never gotten around to watching the whole movie) or for tat matter.."baalu-abcdefg) and if u wondering wat the alphabets represent then u watch the movie..another absolutely senseless movie..the hero lives with a bullet lodged in his stomach for 2 yrs as he wants revenge for his sweetheart' death.and wat does abcdefg stand for u ask..
a boy can do everything for grl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! grrrr..i wanted to strangle the writer/lyricist/public relations guy. not only telugu movies hindi movies too have those things which are apparently called catch phrases."daag-the fire","kabhi kushi kabhi gam-its all about loving ur parents" and so on so forth i can go on forever..

so wat i am gettin to is tat the title wud have nothing to do with the stuff its titling...so lets do away with the titling..

if there are any lapses or lack of any sequence in this blog its coz i wrote it from work where i rushed to solve some problem.I swear I started it when i was free at lunch..

happiest phase of my life

2005-11-22T00:29:00.000-08:00

Deepthi was my best frnd in college.We did everything together.Deepthi was seeing this guy who didnt belong to the same community as her.But for that difference(which accordin to me is no difference at all) they were an ideal couple.They were made for each other(or so our circle of frnds thot)
Flash forward to the future.Deepthi and I finished college.Deepthi told her mom abt this guy and the next thing I know she is gettin engaged to a gud boy from the same community as her and the boy was chosen by her parents.The guy had apparently come down from some place in America with the sole aim of finding a bride.And after rejecting some 200 fotos,accepted to meet my frnd.(her family was flattered)And before I knew it they were engaged.All this happened within a week and my frnd Deepthi is all of 21!!!!!!!!!!

My amazement doesnt stop here.Deepthi's mom-in-law doesnt like it if she has ear-piercings so she takes of her earings.Deepthi's mom-in-law doesnt like it if she has her nose pierced too..so off with that.Deepthi's mom-in-law thinks she should cut her hair and within half an hour calls back to say that she doesnt think its a gud idea and she shud probably grow her hair.Deepthi's mom-in-law took her saree shopping and picked all the sarees that she thinks my frnd shud wear at her wedding.Ok i am sure u got it..Bottom line..Deepthi's mom-in-law.

Wat amazes me is that this grl who checked out guys with me,ate pani puti on the street with me and did all the crazy things that normal teenagers do is putting herself thru this load of crap without complaining.

I always thought tat the millions of saas-bahu serials were a cliche.And all those books which showed the huge comical family were an exaggeration.But apparently not..I have just come to realize that when an Indian grl turns 21 her family starts the famous quest for the most suited bridegroom.(their logic is u have all the fun u want but when u gettin married we pick the guy)

Deepthi spends her time shopping and at the parlor these days.She came home and gave me her wedding invitation yesterday.It was worded as follows
join me when i enter the most happiest phase in my life with the man of my dreams!!!
All that I hear from her these days are how irritatin her mom-in-law is..wonderin wat the happiest phase is..

At times like this I am really thankful that my parents let me do my own thing.I am at the moment leadin my life on my terms and am still biding my time till when the man of my dreams comes and i enter the happiest phase of my life!!!

new life

2005-09-28T04:56:00.000-07:00

first time in my life i am completely responsible for myself
first time in my life i have salary that is completely and totally mine
first time in my life i burned my dinner and laughed over it.
first time in my life i ate half cooked rice(courtesy nut roommate)
first time in my life i saw movies 5 days in a row at the same multiplex.(the ticket guy recogonizes me now)
and the list goes on.. and y u may wonder..that is coz i have just started working and living by myself. its like absolutely the most thrilling experience of my life.
the freedom is exhilarating but so is the responsibility that comes with it.
i have had cousins saying that u will get bored..u will want to come home.. u will hate it.. but strangely 2 months into it i am loving each minute of it..
i think that every person at the age of 21-25 should live this life. it teaches one things that he/she would not learn when lives at home. i have frnds who are home sick and pining for their mom and home food..ok i agree that there is no place like home but still.. hello!!! its ur life start living it for urself..the way u want it too.. after all there is only one life and its urs...
k me signing off now as its time for me to head home from work and tend to my domestic duties :)