My Expression!! My Life!!

Ouch and double Ouch TOI!!

2012-01-27T14:47:00.000+05:30

Oh! The Hindu is not done yet!!

Check these out! :) :)

This is getting interesting! ;-)

Ouch! Ouch! And double Ouch TOI!! :) What do you have to say to this? :)

And the best for the last!! :) :)

War of Brands, Words and Comebacks! :) :)

2012-01-26T19:07:00.000+05:30

I have always liked ads! They are fun to watch! Only some of them though! Most of them are just crap! And calling them that is sugar coating it!

There are some that make you want to gag! And some that make you go Ugh!! And most of what comes out these days which have you thinking what the hell was that an ad for?

Then, there are a few that make you wonder about the amount of creativity and the attention to detail!! And the hard work that goes beyond it to capture the viewer’s attention for a span of 40-60 seconds! You definitely need flair for that!

So when this came out a little while ago, you could see that it was a cheap dig! And one below the belt at that!!

And then this comes out as an answer to the above ad and all you can say is –

“Brilliant! What a comeback!!”

Tongue-in-cheek, hard-hitting and a befitting reply!

And not one! Not two! But three!!! :-) :-)

Here's the first one!!

And now the second one!!

And now the third one!!

And you can't but help say it again!!

What a comeback!! Loved it!!

A short post to say that "I am Alive" and oh yeah - Happy 2012!! :) :)

2012-01-23T23:25:00.000+05:30

Err.. Hello.. Knock Knock!

Yes! I am very much alive and all is well and all that!

Happy 2012 to you too! Right, Ok! I know it’s almost the end of January and that I am just wishing you all (or whoever reads this blog nowadays!). But then, I just showed up here! After a long time. And there was no mandatory New Year post this time so if you think I can just start writing without wishing you a very happy 2012, then you’re mistaken. No! I am not being defensive! Just telling you!! Alright! Ok then! :D

My last post as usual was a while back and since then, nothing much has changed... Except that it’s a new year already! And touted to be the year that the world will end or some such thing! But let’s not discuss that! Let’s discuss what I have been up to, that I have neglected this space for more than 2 months. No big story or anything of that sort, just the usual stupid ol’ laziness!

I keep blogging in my mind all through the day, but when I sit in front of the laptop, nothing comes out and I don’t have the interest to sit and pen down whatever went through my mind! Weird eh!

2011 was a pretty good year compared to 2010. And it was a fast year. Like I literally saw how time flies! 2011 was nothing special in terms of what happened. But it was good overall. Close friends expanded their families with some adorable lil’ ones, I made some new friends, I introspected a lot, had a lot of good times with friends, had a couple of good holidays and of course a steady job which was the most important thing on my list last year! :) So all in all, it was great. Wrapped up 2011 with an awesome holiday with the folks back in India and started 2012 with another holiday to Langkawi in Malaysia with a few friends.

So that’s pretty much what I have been up to… How have you all been? :) :)

And yes! Ok! I will post more often. Like always, that’s on my list of resolutions. Oh yes! I have a few resolutions this year too! But until I kinda get started on them all, I am gonna keep mum about it! :D

You’ll get to know about it, I promise!

Yes, 2012 does seem to be a promising year with a great start!

Fingers crossed! :)

Why this kolaveri ... kolaveri... kolaveri di..!!! :) :)

2011-11-21T17:29:00.002+05:30

There are songs that make you think.

There are songs that transport you into another world.

And then there are songs that bring a smile instantly on your face when you listen to it.

This is one such song.

What works for it…

1. Simple lyrics, interspersed with Thanglish. (English spoken like Tamil)

2. The video of the song recording.

3. Dhanush.

Come to think of it, Dhanush should be number 1 reason. It’s just the way he sings, and the manner in which he manages to bring out the expressions required for the song into his singing that works primarily for this.

I was never a huge fan of Dhanush. I agree he is a very good actor, but he was never in my “never-miss-a-movie” list of stars.

But this song makes me want to watch the movie – 3.

Directed by Aishwarya.R.Dhanush and with Shruti Hassan and Dhanush acting, it has evoked enough curiosity with just this one song.

The song has gone viral and how!!!

Maama notes eduthuko, appidiye kaiyila snacks eduthuko... ;-)

Random thoughts on ROCKSTAR!!

2011-11-12T21:35:00.000+05:30

If you go to watch Rockstar expecting it to be a rags-to-riches story of a small town guy making it big in the world of music after hardship and struggles, then chances are that you are not going to like this movie. If you go to watch it, and you see only a musical with a love story in the background, then you clearly won’t like it thinking it is only old wine in a new bottle and you might end up cribbing about how over hyped the movie was!! However, if what catches your notice is how an artist’s evolution from an ordinary guy who had not a worry in the world except making big in the world of music, to a Rockstar who attains fame and popularity for mostly the wrong reasons and does not know how to break free from the shackles of the helplessness and restlessness that fetter his mind, then you might like it and even enjoy a bit of it. I say a bit of it because there are snatches of scenes that are really good which have you hooked on to scenes where you wonder what the hell happened to the story. The final scene where he is led by the policemen and he shows his finger to the crowd with a smirk and a subtle smile speaks volumes.

One of the weak links in the story was Nargis and that bit about her condition was dragged like a chewing gum. Her acting seems too much of an effort for her and it ends up being half-baked and cringe-worthy. Some clichéd scenes, some silly dialogues, and over-hyped sentimental mushy-mushy drama is what brings the film down. If only the love angle had been kept as a background track instead of it taking frontal focus, the film might actually have appealed a lot more to people.

What works for the movie is Ranbir Kapoor (without a doubt), remarkable picturization of the songs, the lyrics, Mohit Chauhan and most important of all AR Rahman’s background and music score. The lyrics of the songs clearly showcase the angst and the frustration of a man who wants to be at peace with himself and not be someone whose life is dictated by society, rules or moral obligations. The way Imitiaz Ali has directed the movie, the past interspersing with the present is pretty good. I enjoyed that bit. Reminded me a bit of Mani Ratnam’s Yuva!!

From the portrayal of a naïve small town boy who wants to experience the pain of heartbreak so that it will inspire him to write better songs, to a rebellious-don’t-give-a-f**k-about-the-world Rockstar, Ranbir has carried the entire film ably on his shoulders. His portrayal of the guy who decides to fall in love initially so that he could write songs from the pain within and then does not know how to handle the conflict of the restlessness and helplessness that arises when really does fall in love is neatly done. The underlying fact is however that, even if it was not pain from an un-requited love, and it was some other kind of heart-wrenching pain, the man could probably have still become the same guy struggling from internal conflicts.

Overall, a onetime watch – for the songs, Ranbir Kapoor and the hype!!

PS: These are my thoughts about the movie and you are welcome to disagree with it.

Ra.One - A Review!!

2011-10-27T18:14:00.002+05:30

So yes! 20 days later, here I am with a post again!

We saw Ra.One. Hey! We see all movies, good or bad don’t matter!! And we also drag our unsuspecting / sometimes-unsuspecting friends for them!! Especially midnight / late night shows!! Like Dabangg for eg!! ;-) I am not sure I have been forgiven completely for that one!!

If you are the kind who keeps up with movies, Bollywood movies in specific, then you would have read umpteen reviews on it. One more is not going to make any difference! :P

We went for a midnight show here. That was how excited we were about the movie. Ok! Scratch that! That was how excited I was about the movie. I mean, think about it! For the last 6 months, if I am not wrong, ever since the Cricket World Cup, SRK with his blue eyes and a-la Iron Man look has been popping up in all places, even in Western Union money transfer ads. For crying out loud! For a moment there, I was wondering what the connection was! 2 slides in the whole “We wish to thank the following people” kind before the movie starts, was only about Ra.One’s brand partners. And there is a full truckload of them! Like one of my friends put it, 3 reality shows, 3 grand finales, same day on TV and SRK was a part of it all. Talk about Marketing!!

So there we were, 12:30 a.m. in the theatre, waiting to see what the hype was all about. And then after 2.5 hours realization dawned that it was all fluff and no stuff. And the worst part – Why bring Rajnikanth into this? Seriously!! And why did Rajni agree to do this? Why oh why!! It was more like a – I have Rajni in my movie and I need to put in a scene with him somewhere! Slightly insulting, if you ask me!

So there is a noodles & curd slurping, ‘ayyayyo’ Tamil speaking geeky scientist, Shekhar Subramaniam, his wife – Kareena, who’s working on a thesis about swear words and a smart-alec kid who likes villains more than heroes. Ok! I am not going to list out the movie here scene by scene since it’s been done to death everywhere else on the net. Here are my thoughts on the movie.

· SRK Sir – please kindly stick to romantic films or films like Swades, Chak De India! You rocked in them! In this movie, the rocks were better off. You Sir, do not make a good ROBOT. Chitti is CHITTI and G.One is just GONE… !!! :P :P

· Kareena Kapoor looks smokin’ hot in the ‘Chamak Challo’ song! The song by itself is catchy. And her few minutes of wickedness were awesome. I am tellin’ you, she will do well as a villain. She has that wicked look down pat.

· Arjun Rampal. He looked very good. Menacing and Evil. He looked the part and he acted the part. And in most scenes where he was, he owned the scene. The chap who played Akashi – Good work dude!

· Some of the special effects were pretty darn good. And the sound effects – AWESOME! Background score – not so much!

· Emotional scenes in a sci-fi movie have to be kept to a bare minimum. It ruins the pace of the movie. What could have been a damn good sci-fi movie is brought down by the disjointed emotional scenes and the awkward jokes.

· SRK – please stop the sliding on the floor arms stretched as if to hug someone. It doesn't belong in this movie. Looked really stupid if u ask me. And please, why did you choose to be a Tamilian of all people? You struggled with the language. It broke my heart to see Tamil being mutilated like that. Yes! I am partial like that!

At the end of it all, Ra.One is nothing but a mish-mash of Terminator 2, Iron Man, Matrix and most of the super hero movies out there.

If you have watched them all, you are not missing anything here.

PS: Did anyone else notice that G.One read as GONE!! :P :P

How old am I?? Apparently not very!! :P :P

2011-10-08T17:10:00.000+05:30

So I came across this site while I was blog-hopping!!

www.urlai.com – it’s a site that analyses your blog !!

Of course, I had to analyze my blog url as well…

And this was the result..

"My Expression!! My Life!!"

"Text analysis"

"aishwarya-ananth.blogspot.com is probably written by a female somewhere between 13-17 years old. The writing style is personal and happy most of the time."

You don’t believe me!! Check this!! http://urlai.com/url/aishwarya-ananth.blogspot.com

Sigh!! So, that’s what my writing style comes across as – teenage, adolescent. Wow! Brilliant! Just brilliant! And I thought I had crossed that bridge ages back!! Double Sigh!! :-(

Oh well.. So long as it is young!! :P Maybe this is the silver lining I gotta look out for! ;-)

A post that is as random as random gets!!

2011-09-13T22:52:00.000+05:30

Yoo-hoo… Anyone around??

Sigh! I thought as much! Hmmppff..!

Come back! Come back! See I have put up a post.. ...

This is the worst case of blogger’s block you’ll ever see.. Me that is! I have no ideas in mind, nothing eventful to share, no news at all.. Blank! Zilch! Totally clean slate here!!

Ah yes! You might ask now why I called you all back saying I have put up a post..

Err..! Would it be very cheesy if I said that I missed blogging despite not having one single thing to write about… yep! I can see you nodding yes!!

By the way, just to remind you all, my blog turned 5 on Sep 10.

Yes! That was a couple of days back and yes I missed it! No need to point that out to me.. I feel guilty as it is!

You know every time September rolls around; I know that one of the dates in there is my blog’s birth date (exactly as cheesy as it sounds)… and I always miss it. And I always have to figure out whether I am putting up the right number of years. I end up doing all sorts of weird calculations. I was not so sure whether this year my blog turned 5 or 6. Well, I was never really good at math anyways!!

In other news here, I bought a new phone. Technically, my husband bought it for me. Its Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and no sooner than I had bought it, I had to give it for servicing.. For some strange reason, the screen kept popping out. But now I have gotten it back after servicing and all’s well for now! Fingers crossed…

I also went to a couple of book sales here and realized that I hate book sales. Point to be noted, I love books but I hate book sales. The whole concept of hundreds of books just lying there in cardboard containers while people rummage through them is so not my scene. For one – Claustrophobia!! Yes! Too many people milling around for you to have a peaceful look through. Nope! Not my cup of tea at all. The one book sale that I thought I might find something good turned out to be an event that was more crowded than the Kumbh Mela. Not that I have been to the Kumbh Mela, but you get the drift!! There was one single queue to bill the books at 4 different counters and that one queue was like a mile long, with loops in concentric circles. Yes! I am not kidding!! It’s exactly as complicated as it sounds. I scooted from there as soon as I could find my way out. Phew! Too crowded! I hate crowds! I’d much rather go to a nice book store and pay a little bit extra but find the book I want in a peaceful place.

Oh! And I saw that movie – Mankatha. Interesting concept! I could not figure out where the heck the movie was heading until the last scene. Which by then was the whole clue to the puzzle types. Ajith is literally in full form and all over the movie, what with this being his 50^th movie! He looks good in that salt ‘n pepper get up! Good movie! Or at least worth a onetime watch! That also reminds me, I saw two good Malayalam movies – Salt ‘N Pepper and Chappa Kurishu! Malayalam cinema seems to be testing unchartered waters… Chappa Kurishu is one helluva movie!

Right! So that’s the most random post that you will have read in recent times! So now you know that I was not kidding about my bloggers block! I am honest about such things, if not anything else! ;-)

So with that ladies and gentlemen, I take your leave for the moment…

I shall be back soon… famous last words!! :P :P

Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers!!

2011-07-17T17:35:00.000+05:30

So I lost my phone. Yes the same phone that I kept bragging about here. Looks like someone up there thought I was into it a little too much! So there you go! I lost it!

There I was returning from a well-played hour of badminton, super-happy in my winning 3 games out of 4 (looks like I never learn about bragging! Hmm!), and I left the phone in the cab. Funny how these things happen, eh! And usually, I am not a careless person. I take care of my things with a maniac like precision! Serious! The cab driver hurried me into getting out of the cab, I had like a pile of stuff in my hand and thus the phone that was almost-always a part of my arm got left behind! And of all the days that I get a receipt for the cab ride, that day I did not! Mr.Murphy was right with me!! And the worst part!! I noticed that I did not have my phone the minute the cab revved up and left… I looked it like I was looking at my best friend speed away! And then I sprinted like Usian Bolt up to my friends place and started pulling out stuff out of my bag in a bid to see if my phone was there somewhere. See in my mind’s eye, I still could not believe that I had left it in the cab.

Anyways, what followed after that was a couple of hours of calling my phone, filing reports with the police, the cab company, calling up the bank to see if we can trace the cab through my payment transaction id, changing required passwords, etc etc. Nothing helped, of course! Now I am back to using my old phone, the same old Sony Ericsson… Sigh! My contact list on the phone has exactly 10 numbers, close friends and family! I do have a backup of my old numbers, but I am much too lazy right now to enter all those into my new sim card. I feel handicapped sometimes without the 3g. I was addicted to it, to say the least. I am back to using my 1 GB mp3 player. The one that I got with my first ever salary!! Sure, using the old phone and the player brings back a lot of memories. :-)

The next day after I lost my phone, I was searching for it on my side table the first thing in the morning. Yes!! It was my alarm clock, my music player, my connection to the world, all rolled into one! Right! I know it is just a phone, I know I can replace it with something else; I know there are always alternatives to staying connected! But I also know that I miss my phone and I miss it in my hand! It felt right there! Go ahead; call me a loony-bin! I don’t care! So much for the melodrama eh! :-P

Well, until the search for a new phone ends… the rock-solid (literally!) Sony Ericsson and the sturdy old Philips player it is!

The end of the 10 day challenge. Last 4 days in one post! Phew!

2011-07-07T15:43:00.001+05:30

Oh my god!

This has to be the longest anyone ever took to complete a 10-day challenge! Damn! And I thought it was going to be easy, and good for me, because it’s talking about myself for 10 days! I mean who would not have liked that! Turns out it’s not as much fun as I thought it would be. For one, it’s unbelievably boring! Talking about myself I mean! I simply have to rack my brains to think up of stuff to write and at the end of it, I feel like I am back in school, filling up a slam book. Maybe it’s just not for me. Kudos to all you others who took it up and finished it on time too!

So here I am completing the challenge all in one go! In one post! And may that be the end of it!

Day 7 - Four Books

Book 1: The Godfather! I can go on and on about why I love this book and how dreamy I find Michael Corleone. Actually Michael Corleone. Enough said.

Book 2: Books on hindu mythology. The latest in the pack being – the Immortals of Meluha! And add a whole lot of other books like - the Palace of Illusions, The Pregnant King, Ashok Banker’s Ramayana Series, The Mahabharata etc to it!

Book 3: I have said this before and I will say it again. The Harry Potter Series. You gotta give it to that woman for the imagination that she has! I know a lot of my friends criticize the book, but its one of the best things that has happened to the literary world! Whats the world without a bit of fun, fantasy, magic and villains?

Book 4: “There is a song for every dance – Mridula Martis”. The book is about a lady who quits her high-paying job and goes to learn dance! And then starts a dance school! Need I say more?? And she gets a dancer tattoo too!! :-)

Day 8 – Three Films

Ok! This is HARD!

Random choices off the top of my head!

1 – Memento.

2 – Social Network.

3 – Manichithrathazhu. Love the movie. Can watch it n-number of times. But only the original.

Day 9 – Two Songs

Ok! Again randomly

1. It’s the time of my life – Dirty Dancing

2. Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji – Ishqiya. (Haunting song and lyrics!)

Day 10 – One picture.

Here you go! I am putting up two pics here. Yes, I am vain like that! I love both these two pics! Both clicked by friends at various times! I normally am not very happy with the way I look in pics but these two I love!

Thank you Dileep and Manu! :-)

Pic 1 - Clicked by Dileep

Pic 2 - Clicked by Manu

Ah it’s done! The 10 day Challenge is over!

Phew!

The Ten Day Challenge: Day 6 - Five Foods!!

2011-07-03T16:34:00.001+05:30

Day 6 - FIVE FOODS

Yes! When you look at me, it will look as though I don’t eat much! Actually I don’t.. But whatever I like I eat quite well!!

This is gonna be a short post… here goes!

1. Idichakka Poduthuval – ‘Idichakka’ is tender jackfruit. Idichakka thoran / poduthuval as we call it at home, is a mouthwatering dish when it is prepared well. It’s quite a tedious and messy job cleaning up the jackfruit but the taste compensates for it all.

2. Fried rice and Gobi Manchurian – An all time favorite. It’s a standard order when we go to Indian restaurants.

3. Grandmom’s Potato curry – I have no idea how a simple dish like this can be turned awesome. And I still can’t get it right even when I try my level best. All she does is fry up the potatoes till its golden brown and I can never quite manage to get the same taste how many ever times I try! She makes it all the time when I visit her in Coimbatore and serves it simple rice and ghee. Tastes divine!

4. Mom’s Vegetable Pulao – Love this! Of course this one I never tried making. Too much effort and I am as lazy as they come!

5. Curd Rice and Egg Omelets - :-) This combo rocks! :-)

The Ten Day Challenge: Day 5 - Six Places!!

2011-07-02T11:07:00.003+05:30

And now its day 5 – Six places!

Ok! Frankly I don’t know what this refers to! Whether its places that I love to be in always, or places that I loved going to, getaway places, or just ones that capture my fancy!

I am going to put here 6 random places from my list because I have a lot of places that I love going to depending on my mood and they all won’t fit here on the list!!

Here we go!

1. Meenakshi Gardens – Rajagrha! :-) Also easily referred to as ‘kalam’ or the ‘farmhouse’!! It’s the place that I spent a bit of my childhood in and I love this place! It makes me feel all good and nice and warm whenever I visit there… lots of trees, and some amazing memories!

2. Home @ Sumukham. There’s a place that I never get bored these days at! Probably because I don’t get to visit and stay there as much as I would like! Yes! I miss home!! Don’t rub it in!

3. Hyderabad! I love that place for a whole lot of reasons. :-) The first flat that we all stayed in, the subsequent move to a PG, the office anecdotes …..

4. The best place for a getaway for me is a place where there is a lot of quiet around, lots of calmness, lots of trees etc… Ashwin’s home at Kerala is one such place. It is very calm, lots of greenery with a river running along the backside of the home and when it rains, you feel like you are in a hillstation! :-)

5. Singapore. If I ever had to leave this place, I would miss it sorely. There are so many memories associated with this place, good bad and ugly. But the good outweighs the bad so there’s that! All thanks to a great bunch of awesome friends! :D

6. If there’s one place that I would be in, given a choice, it would have to be INDIA. Any place in India works as long as it’s India. No I am not saying this because I am fiercely patriotic or anything like that. But I love being in India. I love everything about it. I will crib and complain and be disgusted at a lot of things about it but it’s still home in a larger sense and it’s the place that I want to go back to after my “around the world in a few years” :P :P

The Ten Day Challenge: Day 4 - Seven Wants!!

2011-06-30T18:49:00.001+05:30

This one I am going to enjoy writing. :P

The wants are in no specific order and just ones that popped into my head RIGHT NOW. I have a lot more desires that are just waiting to be fulfilled. :-) Anyone listening up there??

SEVEN WANTS

1. Go back to India for a vacation. Like RIGHT NOW if I could! For a looooonnnnnnggg vacation! I miss my home! :( It’s been AGES since I went home!

2. To learn dance from Shobhana. I have heard that she is a tough teacher but I love her style of dancing. Also to keep learning dancing!

3. All the books in my wishlist. (And that is one long list I tell you!)

4. A room in my future house which is big enough to hold all my books, have enough space to dance, and is done entirely in shades of colors that I love and lots of windows and is on the topmost floor.

5. Small holidays every year, 2-3 times at least visiting new destinations and not always beaches!

6. To learn swimming so that I can get over my fear of water above nose level. Easier said than done! I know!

7. To have a slumber party with my girls. :-) like old times!

The Ten Day Challenge: Day 3 - Eight Fears!

2011-06-29T18:22:00.002+05:30

Onto day 3 of the challenge (Okie! Its day 5!! I know! You don’t have to point it out again saying I missed 2 days! Hmmppff!!)

Anyways day 3 of the ten day challenge is to write about EIGHT FEARS

You know, I wish I could be all brave and mighty and say that I fear nothing. But unfortunately that’s not the case. I would love for it to be, but never mind!

Fear 1: Losing my family or something happening to any of them! I constantly am scared of this, but I tend to keep a low profile about it.

Fear 2: I will say this yet again. FEAR OF LIZARDS. Also add irritation and annoyance and exasperation at seeing one of those slimy creatures. BLEH!! Scoliodentosaurophobia – that’s what it is called. I just found out. And the very word sounds bad-ass scary! And I am not even sure if it’s true! Closest that I came to was Herpetaphobia which is fear of reptiles. Mine is only lizards so well… Enough on this, really!

Fear 3: Water above my head! No I don’t have a name for this. It’s not exactly fear of water but just water going above my nose level, to be very specific. I tend to get a little disoriented in water. Even less steady than I am on ground.

Fear 4: I am highly terrified about not being able to dance anymore at any point in my life. How or why and all that I don’t know! It’s an irrational fear, alright!

Fear 5: Losing friendships / relationships. I don’t think anybody likes this. But seriously, I have lost a lot of friends, people I thought were on my same wavelength and then something happens that ends up in breaking off… I have written about this here.

Fear 6: No money! Yep! I am always scared that I will become bankrupt. Financially insecure. Not that I am doing a lot to make myself secure now! But it’s a fear!

Tomorrow – Day 4 – Seven wants!

The Ten Day Challenge: Day 2 - Nine Loves!

2011-06-28T22:20:00.003+05:30

So the 10-day challenge turned out to be a downer eh! I am sure that’s what you all are thinking! She just says these things and never gets around to doing it. Ha! Here’s where you guys are mistaken! This time I have a valid excuse! No internet at home. And I can’t type blogs like these on my phone however smart it is! It’s a big pain!

We painted our house over the weekend. And that’s a story for a separate post. Suffice to say, house looks like a tambrahm wedding card!

So getting on with the ten-day challenge!

To make up for the lost time... Lets get started shall we…

Day 2 – Ten day challenge – NINE LOVES

1. My Family – of course this goes without saying.

2. Friends – Some of them are absolute gems! Some know exactly what to say to bring a smile on my face. Some know when to stop talking and when just to let me rant and rave. Some are the ones that I call on at any given point of day and night and they would still be there for me. And yes! These lists overlap.. much like the Venn Diagrams! :P

3. Dance – This is something that I can’t imagine my life without. It’s my passion, it’s my way of expressing feelings, it’s my way of communicating, and it’s always a part of me…

4. Books – Another thing that I cannot live without! Give me a book; you have a happy me!

5. Holidays – especially ones that are to back home! I love visiting my home after a while, going to each nook and corner, seeing what has changed and whether my stuff is still in the same place etc… yes much like a dog you could say! New destinations, forest treks, adventure sports, bring it on!

6. Massages and spa treatments – Ah! Bliss! Who doesn’t love a bit of pampering…!!! I wouldn’t say no to a spa package!! The luxury!!

7. Me-time! – I love having some ‘me-time’ once in a while too. Doing my own thing. At my own pace. Indulging in whatever I feel like. I sometimes like to be alone and by myself. And I love that time that I get! Just for me! All mine!

8. I love having a job! I have already written about my sentiments on that here and here. So well… no more on that eh! I also love the smell of books, petrol, fresh paint, turpentine, kerosene, the fog that lingers after bursting crackers, the smell of the earth when it rains… yes, I know! It’s a long list, but I had to say it!

9. I love learning new things, be it dance, or some tool at work, or even a new hobby! Something that interests me, I love getting to know a lot more about it! Call it curiosity or pigheadedness.

That sums up day 2. Onto day 3 – Eight fears!

The 10-day Challenge: Day 1 - Ten Secrets!

2011-06-25T13:35:00.003+05:30

I came across this on Preeti’s blog.

The 10-day challenge post! To write 10 secrets, 9 loves, 8 fears, 7 wants, 6 places, 5 foods, 4 books, 3 films, 2 songs, and 1 picture of yourself!

Need I say more? It’s going to make sure I blog regularly for 10 days, albeit about myself (but then who doesn’t like talking about themselves ;-) )… win-win situation for me if you look at it! ;-)

So without much further ado…

TEN SECRETS ABOUT MYSELF

Well... not so much secrets as random facts! But what the heck! Any reason to blog… especially now that blog rank has taken a huge dive!! Here we go!

1. I don’t like the skin that forms on the top of milk. Or any beverage that uses milk. I loathe it. It makes me want to puke.

2. I hate lizards. I am petrified if they are anywhere in the room. I am constantly on alert if I catch sight of them anywhere and I will not be at peace until the lizard leaves the room or I do. In most cases, the lizard wins and I leave the room! Bah!

3. I used to be a big crybaby when I was a kid. Actually well into my teens. I used to cry at the drop of a hat for the slightest of things. I remember when I was about 8 or so, I went crying to my grand mom saying that the uncle in the opposite flat kept on looking at me. Yes! You can feel sorry for the sissy I was!

4. I read the same books over and again. Yes! More than twice actually. I have read all the books that I own including the Twilight and the Harry Potter series at least 5-6 times. I have lost count of how many times I have read the Godfather. I also read some blogs over and again! Even Archie comics!

5. I sometimes have crushes on literary characters. For the longest time ever, I had a huge crush on Michael Corleone. I absolutely adored him! The cold, calculating personality and that bad-ass attitude made me go weak in the knees every time I read Godfather! Also Sirius Black, from Harry Potter! The rebellious nature, no doubt!

6. I used to write diaries when I was a teenager. About my take on life, crushes, people who annoyed me, curses, everything that I wanted to! And I was highly secretive about it. I kept them in a locked suitcase and I hid the key in a different hiding place every time. Until I forgot where I hid it. And then I had to break open the lock! Sigh!

7. I have a fixed routine in the way I do things! Anything for that matter! I think I get that from my dad! And I always try to do it the same way possible if the first time proved lucky in some way. Like wear the same earrings, use the same route, etc! Superstitious or Super Predictable. Take your pick!

8. I am a creature of habit. And I find it hard to change. I order the same hot chocolate from the same café in office, hot chocolate in the mornings, and cappuccino in the afternoons with strawberry cheesecake. So much so that whenever I go to the café, they now know my order by heart. I have been having that for the past 4 months now. Every single weekday! And the same combination for lunch on most days! Yes! I should get a life! I know!

9. I read in the bathroom. I HAVE TO have something to read in the loo. If by chance I don’t have anything to read then I end up reading the instructions, ingredients etc on the back of the shampoos and soaps.

10. I cannot eat or drink when I am sleepy. I lose interest in food and drink when I feel sleepy. Weird I know! But I just can’t eat when that happens. Probably sleep takes a higher priority over food. :P

There you go! 10 secrets / random facts about me!

Coming up tomorrow – day 2 – NINE LOVES!!

The nostalgic meme!!

2011-06-05T12:05:00.001+05:30

Yes I succumbed to doing a tag! So much for will-power! Sigh!!

Ripped this from “Sunday Stealing”… Who in turn stole it from Emily Barton who I read came up with this meme / tag herself!

I am in a bit of a nostalgic mood and this one is perfect I guess for this situation when you are nostalgic and you feel like writing but you can’t think of anything to write …..

So there you go!!

Emily’s Rules:

Depending on your age, go back 10, 15, 20, or even more years.

Tell us how many years back you have traveled and why.

Pretend you have met yourself during that era, and tell us where you are.

You only have one “date” with this former self.

Answer these questions.

Okay, as we start, what year is it and how old are you?

Going back 10 years into year 2001 and I am back to being a pesky, impertinent 17 year old! Yes! Some things haven’t changed in 10 years time…

Why 10 years back?

I think there’s a whole lot of stuff about me that has changed in these past 10 years… much more than before that..!! and 17 is a good place to start… the teenage, adolescent years!!

Would your younger self (YYS, from here) recognize you when you first meet?

Nope! Oh yes! She would probably recognize me by face and physical characteristics but not by character or ideals or the person I have turned out to be!

Would YYS be surprised to discover what you are doing job wise?

Yup! You see, 17 year old me, thought she was going to be a Chartered Accountant like her dad or have something to do with finance or accounts or even dance for that matter! Not Project Management definitely. She hadn’t even heard of Project Management back then and certainly not jobs dealing with that ….

What piece of fashion advice would you give YYS?

Ditch the bangs, the boyish t-shirts and straight cut jeans! Would probably take her out now and buy a bunch of cooler stuff!! Like maybe some nice fitted t-shirts and jeans that shows off the slim waistline!

What do you think YYS is most going to want to know?

How did I turn out to be like this at 27? How did I change so much? And who am I married to?

How would you answer YYS’s question?

I would tell her to wait and watch! ;-) there’s no fun in knowing what’s in store for you… the sense of mystery is all that keeps us going these days! ;-)

What would probably be the best thing to tell YYS?

Baby.. you’re going to make a lot of mistakes along the way! But don’t worry everyone makes mistakes!! Some learn from them, some don’t!

Fortunately for you, you learn from them! And the lessons you learn you’ll put them to good use! ;-) You’ll know what I mean when you reach here!

What is something that you probably wouldn’t tell YYS?

I wouldn’t tell her anything in the first place, except for that bit of advice you just read above. So that she’s slightly prepared! ;-) Why spoil the fun in its entirety!

What do you think will most surprise YYS about you?

The person I have become from the person she thought she was… Oh hell! She is so gonna be stunned!!

What do you think will least surprise YYS?

That I have continued with my dance!

At this point in your life, would YYS like to run into “you” from the future?

Oh yes! A bit of mistakes, a lot of learning, some new skills, and a brand new career… She is gonna be proud of me! ;-)

I.N.K.E.D. for L.I.F.E.

2011-05-28T10:50:00.001+05:30

How did I forget to blog about this?? Man! The perils of getting older!

I got I.N.K.E.D for L.I.F.E ….

A birthday present from me to myself... Quite an overdue one at that! :P

I got a permanent tattoo done last month… Actually on April 30^th ;-) [Yes! I keep track of important dates like these too ;-)]. It’s something that I have wanted to get done for a long time now, read since 11^th standard or so.

You know what works? Telling all and sundry that you are going to get a tattoo done, and when and which part of your body you are going to get it done. I did that for a long time, except I did not tell anyone what I wanted and when I was going to get it done or even where I was going to get it inked. And then, they all got sick of me just saying it and not doing it. So I set a time and date and told everyone that… a slight variation! I agree! But the sheer pressure works! I lost count of how many people I told and then how many excuses I would have to give incase I chickened out. The lesser evil was to just get it done! And here it is! :-) :-)

I.N.K.E.D for L.I.F.E. and Thrilled to bits about it…

The symbol below the dancer is that of TAURUS, my zodiac! And as for the dancer, people who know me will understand why I chose it! :-)

An Urge to blog and coming up with a rambling!

2011-05-28T09:12:00.001+05:30

Sometimes I get this undeniable urge to blog. Something like an itch that won’t go until you scratch it away. Only trouble is when I sit in front of the laptop and try to type something that sounds even remotely interesting, I draw a blank. Like RIGHT NOW!! But that urge is far from gone. So guaranteed that this is going to be a boring read!!

I know I am not a bad writer. But I suffer from a major complex when I end up reading other blogs, like this one – Tysonice. Or this one here – Shetalkslikejune. Makes me wonder why I can’t write like them! Funny, carefree and cares two hoots about who reads it. Some day! Maybe someday!

What are the odds that the minute I decide to start blogging regularly and hope that my Indirank shoots up, the good folks at Indiblogger decide that they want to upgrade the rank widget? So for the past 2 months, ever since I started posting regularly (Okie.. not regularly enuf, but still it is an improvement!!) there has been no change in my rank. Now I can only hope that it will shoot up like a rocket once the widget has been upgraded. Indiblogger, you listening??

Speaking of months, I had the best month in May. I wish all months were like May. :P it was my birthday month (sigh! A year older), my anniversary month (2 years now since I became Mrs.), a trip to Batam, some good appreciation at work, and a role change to Junior Project Manager.!! :-)

So yes! May was GREAT. I only hope the rest of the months take a hint from May and be as awesome as they can be. Oh! And I also saw ‘Maya Ravan’- the musical dance drama by Shobhana and her crew. I even spoke to her and got an autographed dvd of some of her other performances. Ok so it was only for like 40 seconds but I still spoke to her. And I am thrilled about it! And I got the Maya Ravan dvd also… which was out of stock almost everywhere I looked. But a dear friend got it from me… and now I am glad that I don’t have to watch it on youtube anymore… :-) And also, how good does it feel to have that title manager at the end of your role. :P I love it! Makes me feel all good and important and all. I am not concentrating too much on the junior part now ;)

Anyways, that’s about it!

I have rambled on enough!

Will try and post something more interesting next time! Hopefully!

Guilty as charged!!

2011-05-17T19:08:00.003+05:30

This one is HILARIOUS!! :-)

I am sure most of us if not all are guilty of something or the other in this list… In my case, guilty on a few counts ;-).

Read on and enjoy!! :-)

Written at -- http://localparty.tumblr.com/post/5357007761

I am reproducing the post here…

Stop making fool of yourself

Can’t you sit simply and keep your hands and legs idle? What is your objective in life? To make others jealous? Then why you are simply keep on changing your profile picture? What is the reason? Come on tell me. I want to know the answer.

Agreed boss, you have gone abroad. Your 26th relative uncle is also proud of you. We are also happy only. That is why we even came to airport to say bye and all. But why you are killing us with your pictures?

Ok, I agree ki I have seen that place only in map and you have seen in real life. That’s all no? Every alternate day you are putting one new picture. What you want? You want all of us to press the ‘like’ and say “Wooowwwwww”, is it? Secretly you are monitoring the comments every minute, but like one lord, you will reply only after 4 days saying “Thanks guys!”.

See, that is also acceptable. You have spent so much money and gone there and so you want everybody to appreciate you. Understood. But why you are putting plants and trees and CATS (?!?!) as profile pictures? You have any common sense? Crazy man!

There is one more category. You will put the picture of your baby instead of your picture. I don’t even want to talk about those people.

Best is the ladies. If you convert your picture to black and white means, you suddenly will become good looking is it? People will look at you and think “Wow. Nice!” and send you friend request and all. I only know how you look.

As it is you were doing nothing here. You got married and you went there and again doing nothing only. What is there to be proud of? Every day, evvreee day you are updating on what you are cooking. “Today I made curd rice for my darrrlinggg hubby”.

Really? And that idiot husband will ‘like’ it and publicly kiss you. “Thank you wifey, mmuuaaahh”.

You are from India only no? Don’t you know such things are indecent and doing this in public place is not allowed? If you go out of India means immediately you are forgetting everything.

And then you are putting the pictures of your food. “Yummy!” you will put as title. Who knows how it tasted? Heights is, when some other idiot in some other country asks you for the recipe. Arey goose, you are using internet. Just Google and find out.

Now you tell me, when you were in India, have you cooked like this for ONE day? Your brother is also a gentleman only. Have you cooked like this for him? Hello husband, I am asking you also. When you were here, have you said “Mmmuahh” to your mother because you liked her food?

Of all the monkey pranks that you are playing from “abroad”, worst is when both you and your spouse act like you are always happy 24 hours and 365 days. “Had the best dinner ever at King Cole’s Oriental Palace at the 35th and 16th. Awesome Thai food!”

Just some Thai food only no? Why you need so much scene for that? India is closer to Thailand only.

Boss, in case you didn’t know already, here is the truth. Nobody is happy. How much ever money you earn, you will not be happy. You will only sit on the WC tapping your fingers and think, “Why I came here?”

If I say this truth, immediately you will flash your i-Products at me. For your kind information, iPad2 is also available here, that you know? So shut up and listen to me. Stop making fool of yourself.

Now you are thinking ki I am jealous and so only I am talking like this, no? See, till I also go somewhere and do all such things, I will talk like this only. What you can do?

Hilarious is an understatement! :-) :-). Here's one more in the same vein..!! :-) Brilliant humor, I say!

Written at -- http://www.chutneycase.com/2011/04/angst.html.

Enjoy!! :)

A Rant and A Rave!

2011-04-29T23:30:00.001+05:30

Sometimes you just have to let it go! And sometimes you just have to blow your top!! And sometimes you gotta stop thinking what people might think of you and just say what is on your mind! Some people deserve it!

Things just might be a lot simpler I tell you! This year, I have been trying consciously to control my temper a bit.. Yes! Only a bit!! And knowing me, I gotta tell you that it takes a lot of strength of mind – also called PATIENCE. No more a virtue folks.. Now it’s a talent!!

If I keep biting my tongue to stop myself from telling people what I really think of them, I might soon need a new tongue. And that’s saying something!!

Also, I just realized that it’s been a while since this blog has seen a rant post. Well, it’s been a long time since this blog has seen a post of any kind :P (but let’s not go there!!). This is a valid excuse to blog!

Let’s get started with my rant!!

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Dear hypocrites,

What’s with the holier-than-thou attitude, some of you? What makes you think that you are treading “The Right Path” and the rest of us here are sitting twiddling our thumbs thinking about what next vice to adopt? And what do you have that you think sets you apart from the rest of us? You got something that the rest of us don’t? Do you perhaps crap from another place maybe? Or do you have some kind of Midas touch? Do you really think that somehow you are superior to the rest of us just because you don’t do things that the rest of us do? Or that you have been there, done that and now you are looking towards teaching us the rights and wrongs in life? Seriously what’s the deal!! When I look at you, I get the urge to grab something and throw it at you! And then telling you to stop being a hypocrite!! But the nearest things that I have within my reach are almost always expensive and really not worth breaking them over someone as silly as you! And this gets the most irritating when I just can’t do anything but keep swearing under my breath.

Breathe in! Think of all swear words! Breathe out! Mutter all previously thought of swear words!! It helps! But only sometimes!!

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Dear people who use big words in everyday usage –

Do you know there’s a term for people like you!! No!! Really!!

I asked Google – “What do you call a person that uses big words?” It told me they call them “sesquipedalian”.

Did you know that? Does that sound like some sort of a royal title to you? It sounds like the scientific name of some kind of species of reptile to me!! I would not want to be called that! Oh yeah! Just because you know you a lot of big words do not mean that the rest of us don’t know any! All it means is that we are smart enough not to use them in inappropriate situations.

Are you showing off? Or do you really have some weird reason that only you can fathom for talking like a dictionary! I mean who uses words and phrases like “when push comes to shove!” Or “acrimonious” Or even “obnoxious”! And that too in everyday usage! Once in a while, when the situation is appropriate I can understand. Especially with company that understands these words. Why inflict them on us??

The first thing that goes through my head when I hear someone use words like these is “Ooohh that’s a BIG WORD!” and then I get around to thinking what it means! And then I think if that is the correct meaning or not!! Why can’t you just say “there’s a lot of pressure” or “harsh” or “horrible”!

There! Was that not simple and effective? Easier for the rest of us too… think about it! I respect the fact that you know a lot of big words and that you are knowledgeable, but seriously, stop over doing it!

Your OSTENTATIOUS attitude is EXASPERATING sometimes!!

See I know big words too! :D

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Gosh! I had forgotten how amazing this feeling is!! :-)

It sure does feel good to rant and rave and fume and rage!! I should do this more often. :P :P

And the CUP is HOME... We won! We won! We won!! :) :) Yay!! :) :)

2011-04-03T11:28:00.000+05:30

The MEN IN BLUE finally did it!

They have brought the CUP back home…

The CUP that has eluded us for 28 years….

The CUP that really counts!!!

They have given the greatest batsman, India and the World has ever seen the best gift that they could ever have!! A fitting tribute to the Little Master! :-)

And we were part of the generation that witnessed it!

Some of us – for the first time ever! And what a feeling it is! It’s euphoric! It’s a high that nothing else can match up to…

We are the WORLD CHAMPIONS…. :-) And this is just the beginning…

Dhoni – R.E.S.P.E.C.T. - A million times over! For delivering a Captain’s innings and taking us all the way to the CUP, for coming through when it really mattered, and for shutting all of us up with that awesome knock!!! And also for being candid enough to say that on camera… ;-) :-P

Gen Next of the Indian Team … from here on it’s all going to be win-win!! You stepped up magnificently to the challenge and you won it for us!! :-) Kudos! Hats off! And you guys R.O.C.K.

On a side-note, do Raina and Kohli remind anyone else of Ganguly and Dravid respectively?? :P Or is it just me?? .. The passion that these two show on the field to win the game is just incredible. It’s a pleasure to watch them on the field!!

But best of all… this CUP is for the Sachin Tendulkar!! The MAN who is the face of INDIAN CRICKET and for whom this is the biggest honor the team can give!! Virat Kohli summed it up perfectly - "Sachin Tendulkar has carried Indian cricket on his shoulders for 21 years. So it was fitting that we carried him on our shoulders after this win!!”

TEAM INDIA - You did us PROUD!! You guys played fiercely and how many times over and again we say it, it still won’t be enough!! You have given this country what they were dreaming of for the past so many years… You will always be remembered for this!! For bringing the CUP home! And this is where it belongs! :-)

No more of the 1983 pictures of us lifting the CUP …

No more of us saying – “Remember back in 1983 when we won the CUP??”…

No more of us debating the decisions the team took during the tournament …

From now on 2011 is the new benchmark … !!!

And we have YOU GUYS to be thankful to for it!! :-)

Way to go Team INDIA... Proud of you!

Proud to be an INDIAN… :-) :-)

(PS: pics courtesy - www.indiatimes.com, squidoo.com)

Thank You :-) :-)

2011-03-22T18:09:00.000+05:30

And it's the "10000" mark!! Yay!!

Thank you so much all of you!!

Thanks a ton!! :)

Muchas Gracias!! :) :)

Yes! I can't stop smiling!! :P :P

The story of why I have a bandage on my cheek!!

2011-03-21T19:57:00.000+05:30

Ever since 2011 started off on a low-key note, I have been besieged with health troubles. And no! Nothing of the major sort!! Uh-huh! It’s all those minor ailments that have been irritating me! If it’s not a cold, it’s my back! If it’s not that, then some nit-picking thing that can be quite a pain in the wrong place! Even the two kilos that I managed to gain after a lot of trouble and binging vanished into thin air… :-/

No! I am not gloating here how easy it is for me to lose weight… On the contrary!! If you have any tips for gaining the ‘ever-elusive’ weight please do let me know!! I will be grateful to you as long as it works!! :-)

Well, recently, I visited the doctor again! Yes! I am a regular with the doctors around this area... Why do you ask?! But this time it was not one of the ‘regular’ doctors. This time I went to the National Skin Centre! Yes! It’s a big step ahead from the local doctors that I visit! :P

You ask me why I went there!! Well… I had this huge pimple on my face or ‘something-that-resembles-a-pimple’ that was causing quite a bit of mental pain more than the physical one! And by huge I mean HUGE! So after a few times it got compared to an organism growing on my face, and some other things I don’t want to say here; I decided to go to the doc to get it checked out! Actually the crowning point was when I went for this gathering, and a little kid came up to me and asked who bit my face! That was it!

National Skin Centre – here I come!

So there I was, at the doctors waiting to get the organism on my face checked out! After a lot of prodding and some poking, the doc-lady decided she wanted to incise it!! Right! I am not getting into the gross details of what it was and how gory it was – for me that is! I was a very brave girl!! Ask the nurse! Actually don’t! I will tell you why!

When I saw the needle that she was going to use, I did shiver a little!! And then she said the words I had been dreading – “this will only pain a little”… All those serial killers and murderers from the countless books I had read flashed through my mind! My fear must have shown on my face and the way I was cringing away from her, she asked me if I could relax a little! Yeah right! When a needle that size is coming at your cheek, the last thing you feel like doing is relaxing! Phew! Anyways, in a bid to be brave, I asked the doctor if there was something I can hold on to! Like a rod or something! And there was none! So I looked at the nurse, a petite young thing, standing beside to help the doctor and asked her if I could hold her hand! Yes! I was being VERY BRAVE!!! :P The nurse not knowing what she was getting into, said of course I could hold her hand!!

Well to cut a long story short.. Remember that episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S where Ross gets a shot and he squeezes Monica’s hand so hard that it cracks a tiny bit!! Okie.. No!! I did not crack her bone or anything; but she did tell the doc to get it done with FAST! I am sure my bony hand did hurt a lot!

Hmm… suffice to say that the nurse did not wish me a speedy recovery! Or anything! However she did give me a glare! Ah well! :D

Now, I have a bandage on my cheek and I have people asking me, if I got into a fight or I someone punched me!!

Better a fight than the organism growing on my face I guess!! ;-) :P

PS: My life does have a lot of F.R.I.E.N.D.S moments before you wonder!! :P :P

That machine is out to get me!!

2011-03-18T16:32:00.000+05:30

My laptop at work has been giving me trouble ever since I got it! Of course its age has to be blamed for it! To me, it is from the ancient ages and I doubt there is an older version than this; but like some of my friends pointed out, apparently there are older versions!! It’s probably trying to prove to me that I can’t push it around and treat it like just another machine given its age; it seems that it has feelings too!! Err..! Hmm! So if it is not the keyboard that’s giving me the problem then it’s the LAN connection; and if it’s not that then it’s something else. Either ways I seem to be spending too much of my time at the IT Service Desk rather than at my desk much to the amusement of my colleagues!!

Currently it’s my Outlook that’s experiencing problems! The system has gotten into its head that I am overloading it with emails and has decided to go ahead and create hundreds of ‘personal folders’ (*pst) for me in Outlook. I am not kidding, at last count there was more than 100. How do I know? Well, the IT guy got bored after a while of deleting the folders and taught me how to do it and asked me to delete a few :-/ Ok! I am kidding! He did not ask me to delete it, but the look on his face said that he might as well have asked me to do it!!! Well, he did sit and delete it for like 40 mins or so! Can’t blame him! It’s a boring thankless job, doing that!

Anyways, apparently the problem occurs whenever I reboot my laptop. And so, every morning without fail, I am at the IT desk, asking for support! To rectify my Outlook! And now I am almost like a member of the team!

Sample this!! After one particularly long session of sitting and deleting the numerous personal folders, I asked the IT guy what I should do if it occurs again. He looked at me straight in the eye and said “You come find me!” and gave me this sarcastic smile! Well... he did say to go to him every time it occurs! So well, next morning yours truly was promptly at his desk with my stupid machine!

Another tip from my boss – just drop your machine on the floor! And say ‘Oops!’!!

There you go! A brand-new laptop! :P

Well.. It’s all fine for him to say, I am the one who’s dropping the machine! Hmmppff!!

Anyways, that’s the deal now!

I keep cribbing and complaining to all and sundry! I call up my friends asking for tips to resolve this problem and that!

But the way things are going… one of these days I just might ‘accidently’ drop my laptop!

And say “Oops!!” … ;-)

Oh! Look I tried to blog!!

2011-03-17T22:35:00.000+05:30

Yes! It’s been a couple of months since I blogged!

No! I was not THAT busy!

No! I did have a lot of things to write about!

Yes! I could have made the time to write if I wanted to!

Sorry! I did not blog for so long!

I know! The punishment for it is partly my blog rank taking a nose-dive!

Ok! I will try to blog regularly from now on!

Fine! This will be my last tag-based blog for a while!!

Yes! I promise!!

Right!! You go ahead and read!!

TEN TO START.

1. Are you single? No

2. Are you happy? Yes

3. Are you bored? Right now??

4. Are you naked? No

5. Are you a blonde? No

6. Are you moody? Yes

7. Are you a lover/hater? Lover

8. Are you hot/cold? Warm!

9. Are you Irish? No

10. Are you Asian? Yes

TEN FACTS.

1. Name: It’s on my blog!

2. Nicknames: Aishu

3. Birth mark: V-shaped red mark on the forehead that has a mind of its own! It’s my own mood ring! ;)

4. Hair color: Blackish Brown (yes! That IS a color!!)

5. Natural hair color: Same as above

6. Eye color: Brown, I think!!

7. Height: 5’4”

8. Facebook Mood: Err.. what’s a facebook mood??

9. Favorite color: Black and Red

10. One Place to Visit: Why stop at one place?

TEN THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE.

1. Do you believe in love at first sight? No

2. Do you believe in soul mates? Yes

3. Have you had crushes? Yes!

4. Have you ever been hurt emotionally? Yes

5. Have you ever broken someone’s heart? Yes

6. Have you ever been cheated on? No

7. Have you ever liked someone and not told them? Yes

8. Are you afraid of commitment? To an extent yes!

9. Who was the last person you hugged? A friend who left Singapore!!

10. Who was the last person you kissed? A close friend’s baby!

TEN THIS OR THAT.

1. Love or lust? Forever or for now?

2. Jungle trek or by the beachside? Jungle trek!

3. Cats or dogs? Dogs anyday!

4. A few best friends or many regular friends? A few best friends

5. Television or internet? Internet

6. Chinese Or Indian? Indian

7. Wild night out or romantic night in? Wild night out

8. Money or Happiness? Happiness

9. Night or day? Night

10. MSN or phone? Phone

TEN HAVE YOU EVER.

1. Been caught sneaking out? Nope.

2. Been skinny dipping? Nope.

3. Stolen? Nope.

4. Bungee jumped? Not yet!

5. Lied to someone you liked? Yes!

6. Finished an entire jaw breaker? What’s a jaw breaker??

7. Been so embarrassed that you wished you could sink through the floor? Yes!

8. Wanted an ex bf/gf back? Nope.

9. Cried because you lost a pet? Nope.

10. Wanted to disappear? Yes. This one – loads of times!! ;-)

TEN PREFERENCES IN A PARTNER.

1. Smile or eyes? Both.

2. Light or dark hair? Dark hair.

3. Hugs or kisses? Kisses.

4. Shorter or taller? Taller.

5. Intelligence or attraction? Both.

6. Romantic or spontaneous? Spontaneous

7. Funny or serious? Funny

8. Older or Younger? Older

9. Outgoing or quiet? Depends.

10. Sweet or Bad Ass? Bad Ass.

TEN HAVE YOU’S.

1. Ever performed in front of a large crowd? Yes.

2. Ever done drugs? Nope.

3. Ever been pregnant? Not yet!

4. Ever sung in public? Yes!

5. Ever been on a cheer leading team? Nope.

6. Ever Been on a dance team? Yes. Loads of times!

7. Ever been on a sports team? Unfortunately yes!

8. Ever been in a drama play/production? Yes.

9. Ever owned a BMW, Mercedes Benz, Escalade, Hummer or Bentley? Nope.

10. Ever been in a rap video? Nope.

TEN LASTS.

1. Last phone call you made: was an hour back!

2. Last person you hung out with: a friend whom I went out for dinner with!

3. Last person you fought with: Oh! I can’t remember! I can’t believe its been so long since I fought with someone! ;)

4. Last time you worked: Yesterday!

5. Last person you tackled: was my Bro!

6. Last person you IM’d: A dear friend!

7. Last person on earth you wish to see: Oh there’s a whole bunch of ‘em!!

8. Last person(s) you went to the movies with: Close friends and hubby!

9. Last thing you missed: The finale of a dance show!

10. Last thing you ate: Banana Crumble!! :)

My two cents on Dhobi Ghat / Mumbai Diaries!!

2011-01-24T18:53:00.000+05:30

Did you see Dhobi Ghat yet?

Nope? Yes?

If yes, did you like it?

If not, please do let me know whether you liked it if you are planning on watching it.

Why I am saying this is because I saw a lot of mixed reviews, comments and opinions about the movie. And some of them plainly just did not make sense. But then, like they say, to each his own!! I watched it last weekend and I loved the movie. For a lot of reasons. And they are all my personal opinions … in fact more than reasons, they are simple nuances that I liked in the movie and to me, these are what made the movie much more enjoyable than anything else.

In case you haven’t watched it yet, fair warning!! There might be spoilers ahead!!

The point that struck me the most about the movie was that there was no definitive beginning or end to any of the 4 stories shown in the movie. It was almost as though the director just decided to show snippets of their lives and picked up their story at some point and dropped it at another point. And so for that matter, you do not know what Shai is going to do with Arun’s address or whether Munna will meet her again or if Arun is ever going to go to Sydney for that exhibition… they are all left for the viewer to guess …

The stories were interconnected in a very graceful way, … It seemed very natural and not clichéd or put there just to make sure that the stories could be made to connect. I have always loved the whole concept of 3-4 stories in a movie and the stories being brought together at some point where the characters’ lives intersect… I thought it was done beautifully in this movie.

I do not like Mumbai as a city. It left a bad taste in my mouth, after I spent 8 weeks there on my summer project. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Mumbai is crowds! And so much so that just thinking about it gives me a bit of claustrophobia. But there are people who swear by their love for the city and for the person it lets you be. A lot of my friends are from there or are living there. And until now, at least for me, Mumbai never felt so appealing for me to go back there for a second stint or to know more about it. I felt it was beautifully captured, some in black and white and some in bursts of color.

Prateik Babbar is one guy to watch out for. What a contrast from his character in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na!! And awesome acting! It’s not hard to see where the acting stems from. Right from the beginning, he owns every scene he is in. His expressions when Shai tells him that he is very handsome are so sweet. Shy and innocent. Brilliant!

I read reviews where people said Aamir Khan was a misfit in the movie. I do not think so. It’s a refreshing change to see him being part of a story instead of being the story himself. As usual, he was very good in the movie and exceptional in some of the scenes. One of them especially is the one where he discovers that Yasmin’s video diaries are about to end … you can see his eagerness / impatience to see if there’s anything more that she might have said…anything else that she might have recorded.. Finally drawing upon the conclusion of what might have happened to her.

The final painting of the lady half shadowed by the hues was breath-taking!! It was done very well. Kudos to the artist!! Overall, it’s the kind of film that makes you think. But in a random way, just like the movie! And it’s a refreshing change from all the masala movies that we have been subjected to over the past few months barring Peepli Live.

Kiran Rao, you have talent lady! And I hope you put it to good use!! :-)

A Tag a day saves the Blog!! ;-)

2011-01-24T18:38:00.000+05:30

So much for my tall claims of trying to blog regularly…

I can see how that turned out!! :P

Okie, I am in full form now… ever since I found this wonderful site called ‘Sunday Stealing’ with tags, tags and more tags… and its awesome.. And now I am so glad that there’s someone doing all the tag-stealing for me ;-) you all know how obsessed I am with tags.. :-) They are a sure fire way to rescue your blog from death and you from a blogging hiatus…

And without much further ado… here’s a tag!!

But this one is not from the site, at least I don’t know if it has been up on the site..!!

This is from Calcutta Chromosome and I picked it up!! I had to write something to save my blog from going into oblivion….

Here we go!

20 years ago I…

was 6 years old
probably had just figured that I was going to have to start going to school for the entire day day instead of the usual half days
crying my eyes out for every small thing.. (Did u know that I used to be a big crybaby!! )

10 years ago I…

was preparing for my tenth standard board exams
had just started discovering what the terms ‘crush’ and ‘infatuation’ really meant!
Had my whole life planned out on a piece of paper in my diary! ;-)

5 years ago I…

Was in the middle of MBA wondering what in the devil crossed my mind to take up this degree…
Had just discovered ‘sms’ and was exploiting it to the fullest extent.
Was also wondering how I was going to explain to my dad that I did not want to do finance! :P

3 years ago I…

Was having a good time living on my own, first with friends and then in a PG where I made other friends :) Ah! The newfound independence ;-)
Was in Hyderabad working for the now-infamous Satyam Computers
Learning to deal with excel and the problems it brought along (read vlookup, pivots and other formulae)

1 year ago I…

had just come back from the most amazing new years’ vacation to Phuket
was furiously searching for a job!
Was not a very big fan of Singapore as it was not giving me what I wanted !!!

So far this year I…

Have found myself a good job!
Made some good friends with whom I am having good times!
Have made a few resolutions which almost immediately I broke ;)

Yesterday I…

Went for a movie with my hubby and some friends which I then hated!
Started reading this long-awaited book called “Immortals of Meluha’
Wanted to blog which I did not and finally ended up catching up on my sleep!! :-)

Today I…

Am blogging after a long break – ok! Yes! I know its only a tag! :-P :-P
Had a relatively good day all things considered.
Am thinking of what to cook after posting this!

Tomorrow I will…

Try to get up early and go to work on time and do some number-crunching
Hopefully finish ‘Immortals of Meluha’
And start reading Ramesh Menon’s ‘Mahabharata’

In the next year I will…

Learn some new types of dance
Read a lot more
Visit some new places ;-)

Goodbye 2010... here's to 2011 !!! :-) :-)

2011-01-01T11:46:00.000+05:30

Yes!! This is the mandatory new year recap post … rather it’s a tad late so let’s make this the new year post and the new year recap post all combined into one!! :-)

So how was your New Years Eve? Did you go out party and have fun? :-)

Mine was very different from all these past few years.. :-) I slept off at 10:30.. Lol.. Yes! I know! It’s unheard of.. Or unlike me as most people who know me would say..! But for a change… this was one of the quietest new years I have had! My folks are here and we did have some grand plans of hitting Clarke Quay or Marina Bay Sands here to see the countdown to the New Year… but at the end of the day, I just wanted to head back home, put up my feet and just relax and bring in the New Year. But I could not even keep my eyes open… :P I dozed off by 10:30, and hubby woke me up at 11:55 for the countdown.. So I wished everyone around me a very happy new year and promptly slept off again! :-) Okie Okie! I know what you’re all thinking… Yes I am lil’ bit ashamed of myself too… having slept off so early.. makes me feel as though I have aged a decade :P but well…. I am actually not THAT ashamed to tell you the truth :P :P I got my sleep… and I feel much much relaxed than I have all these days… :-) So there!!

Anyways enough about my New Years eve!! :P :P

And all of you who had a rocking countdown, good for you guys!!! :-)

So let’s get to the recap now…

I had a pretty good year in 2010.

I made some great friends… I got back on the stage after a long time and did a couple of dances … I got a job towards the last quarter of the year… and I had some awesome times with some friends :-) that in a nutshell was my 2010.

I realized that no matter how serious life gets, you will constantly need the company of people whom you can completely be stupid with. :-) :-) and I have those people in my life… :-) and I love them to bits… :-) Life is never going to be the same without them!!

I lost some important people in my life and I still can’t believe that they are gone!

I gave up on some people and decided that if they don’t want me in their life, I don’t want to be in theirs either… :-) [That was quite a late realization, I know!]

I got back in touch with some old friends from school .. thanks to facebook.. :) and that reminds me… Social Network is definitely the best movie of the year!!

I learnt how satisfying it feels when you finally get something you’ve been yearning for ages! And I love the feeling!! I never want to let go of it… I hope I don’t have to in the following year too…

The past year had more ups than downs compared to the year before that so all in all 2010 rocked…

Good times, great people and some rocking moments… loved most of the year!!

Now here’s to 2011…

I just simply hope 2011 is as good as 2010 maybe even better… :-)

I hope I have a steady job all through the year!

I hope I have some good rocking times as I did in 2010.

I hope there is a lot of happiness and peace and a decent amount of prosperity in the days to come. And this is not just for me, but for all of you all too..!! :-)

So here’s to 2011, and here’s hoping that it would be as good as good can get ;-)

Oh yes! And I hope to blog more… if not everyday at least once in 2 days or even once a week… but 4-5 blogs at least in a month. I have learnt that making tall promises in this aspect is not a good thing ;-)

So here’s wishing you all a very very happy 2011 & may you have all good health, good cheers and prosperity for all the days to come..!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Love and peace!!

Question and Answer!

2010-12-30T23:49:00.004+05:30

She looked up at him.

A question in her eyes. An answer in his.

A promise of a lifetime.

A smile creased her lips gently.

She leaned into him and started playing with his fingers, a favorite past-time of hers.

He looked at her and thought to himself how much of a joy fatherhood was.

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

Another attempt at 55 - fiction!! :-)

Had to do something to revive my blog which is dying a slow death!! ;-)!!

Fun with words... ;-)

2010-12-12T01:18:00.000+05:30

So apparently these are the words that I use mainly in my blog posts…

Quite a fun thing this is…

Check it out at www.wordle.net

When a book-worm gets a book tag... :-)

2010-12-12T01:06:00.000+05:30

v Favorite childhood book – The usual Enid Blyton’s, Nancy Drew’s and Hardy Boy’s.. But also Tinkle, Gokulam and Champak .. They used to carry some nice and interesting stories and articles...

v What are you reading right now – “Maximum City” by Suketu Mehta

v Bad book habit – Tendency to get completely immersed in what I am reading and become oblivious to whatever is happening around me. Which I know is ok only sometimes. ;-)

v Do you have an e-reader? Nope. I don’t like to read novels online. I need to feel the book in my hand, inhale the smell of the pages... :-)

v Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once? One at a time.

v Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? They have definitely broadened.

v Least favorite book you read this year (so far)? The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown. It was a major let-down!

v Favorite book you’ve read this year? The Palace of Illusions – Chitra Divakarunni Banerjee.

v How often do you read out of your comfort zone? Whenever something catches my fancy / interest which is not as often as I’d like it to be.

v What is your reading comfort zone? Definitely Fiction or Indian Mythology

v Can you read on the bus? Nope. But I can read on the train!! :-)

v Favorite place to read? Lying down on my bed...

v What is your policy on book lending? I have no problems in lending my books to people who can take good care of them and that means no dog ears, no scribbling, no damage to the book in any which way. I just try and make sure that I get them back from them. ;-)

v Do you ever dog-ear books? No. I try not to. I go by using a bookmark or trying to make note of the page number!

v Do you ever write in the margins of your books? Nope. Only in textbooks!

v Not even with text books? The margins of my textbooks are filled with illegible scribbles. Notes to myself!!

v What is your favorite language to read in? English. I have never been a fan of Malayalam or Hindi books simply because I am not comfortable reading them as comfortable as I am with English.

v What makes you love a book? The story, the language, the characterizations and sometimes the ending!!

v What will inspire you to recommend a book? The same reasons as above. If I love a book, any book, I will recommend it to all and sundry.

v Favorite genre? Thrillers.. Put in a couple of psychopaths and some case to solve and I am hooked..

v Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?) Biographies probably…

v Favorite biography? Losing my virginity – Sir Richard Branson

v Have you ever read a self-help book? Nope. I don’t intend to either.

v Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)? Hmm.. None as yet!! :-)

v Favorite reading snack? No snacks.. Tea anyday anytime! :-)

v Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience – The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand. Too many people said too many good things about the book. I started it with great expectations and I have not gotten beyond the first 20 pages.

v How often do you agree with critics about a book? Only sometimes. I feel some books they are too critical about which I don’t agree with. But then hey, to each his own! :)

v How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? If a book deserves it, then I would not feel it was wrong to give a bad review!

v If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose? Hmm.. Maybe French or Spanish!

v Most intimidating book you’ve ever read? The Godfather!

v Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin? Haven’t come across something like that as yet!

v Favorite Poet? I like certain poems by certain poets but there’s no favorite poet as such…

v Favorite fictional character? Michael Corleone

v Favorite fictional villain? Voldermort.

v Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation? Godfather

v The longest I’ve gone without reading – None so far! I always make sure I have something on hand to read…

v Name a book that you could/would not finish – Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead. (Could not finish, barely got beyond the first 20 pages!)

v What distracts you easily when you’re reading? Extremely loud noises.

v Favorite film adaptation of a novel? Godfather, without a doubt.

v Most disappointing film adaptation? Most of them are disappointing but one that stands out – Mistress of Spices

v The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time? A lil’ more than Rs.3000/-

;-)

v How often do you skim a book before reading it? No skimmings apart from the gist at the back of the book. I don’t like to do that! :-)

v What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through? Actually nothing, I try to complete whichever book I pick up.. Don’t like to leave it halfway through… Leaves me with a feeling of something-not-done yet!!

v Do you like to keep your books organized? Yep!

v Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them? Keep them… Why would someone buy them if they’re planning to give them away!

v Are there any books you’ve been avoiding? Lol… No!

v Name a book that made you angry – None so far!

v A book you didn’t expect to like but did? Godfather… I started reading it with a skeptical outlook and then I fell for it, hard!!

v A book that you expected to like but didn’t? The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown. I think this is how great expectations and hype ruin a book.

v Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading? Comics, Enid Blyton’s St.Clare & Malory Towers series, Harry Potter series, Twilight…

I can't think of a title for this now!!!

2010-12-02T19:54:00.000+05:30

So I got a new phone. Finally! Yes! :-)

I can hear some sighs of relief… Primarily my own!! ;-)

It’s a Samsung Galaxy S and it’s awesome! Mind-blowingly so!! Except that the screen is a fingerprint and smudge magnet!! (I read that term somewhere and it’s been running through my head since then!) But coming back to the screen, it means that I keep polishing it every now and then and admire the beauty of the screen..!! :-) I am vain like that!! ;-)

Anyways, that’s not the point of this post. I am getting there! In a bit…. Patience they say is a virtue!! I would not know about that… ;-)

So my phone! Yeah! It’s cool, and it’s awesome and I am hooked on to it majorly. And I tried out most of the applications, they work like a charm. Except my contacts which got screwed up. Totally! I synced my contacts with my Gmail account and well, to put it simply… It’s a mess! Now my contacts list shows my phone contacts, my sim contacts, and my Gmail contacts and there a whole set of duplicates for a large number of people and more importantly a whole list of them that I do not recognize. Sighhh!!!

And that’s the point of my post.

See I told you we’d be getting there!! ;-)

So well, I was scrolling through my list of contacts… trying to figure out how I ended up with sooooooo many of them! And the list in general had…

# Family and close friends (people who I am in touch with most of the time!)

# Not-so-close but good friends who I am still in touch with once in a month sorts

# Friends who used to be close at one point and who I have lost touch with

# People I have had a falling-out with

# Random numbers like restaurants, house agents, Cineplex’s, bowling alleys, gas delivery etc etc… not unnecessary if you know what I mean!!

So I went on a cleansing spree… and that is tough I tell you! Especially in the 3 and 4^th categories I have listed.

For one it brought back a lot of memories of certain times and places and days… and some of them were not good ones. Which led me to feeling a multitude of emotions all at once and now I am like a wreck!! Emotional Wreck that is!! Out-of-mood and all that stuff!

It was easy enough deleting the people I have had a falling out with, there were not too many there ;-) ‘Coz after whatever has happened between us I don’t think either of us would want to get in touch. For all I know, they have already deleted my number off their lists. Yes! I know I should have done that too a long time back, but well… sometimes you don’t feel like doing it… you know what I mean?? :-)

The ones that I have lost touch with for various reasons were the hardest to delete… I mean… what if suddenly I wanted to talk to them again? What if I wanted to catch up? Or what if they wanted to catch up and when they called I did not know who it was and they took offence?? But then I realized that, if we had wanted to stay in touch, we would have! One way or the other!! Simple huh.. Well.. Took me a bit to get there!! Basically because I was still holding onto the fragments of that friendship … Heck! I don’t even know if their numbers are the same because it’s been over 2-3 years since I last talked to them… so I did whatever was the best thing… I figured I could get their numbers from our mutual friends (the ones that both of us are in touch with – hopefully!) when needed… :-)

The cleansing process ain’t over as yet… it has barely started … for in some cases, you just don’t feel like deleting the numbers or the person because of the memories you share!! And in some cases, all it takes is just a click! And then out of phone, out of mind… :-)

In a weird way, I feel both lighter and heavier … clearing of baggage and influx of thoughts are not a good mix…

So yeah! The post started off in a rambly sort of way and then I got all serious… that’s the way I have been today… like a see-saw..!!

And yes, I know it’s a long post… and I am stopping here…

It’s yet another day tomorrow…!!

Social Network - Review!

2010-11-29T20:00:00.000+05:30

The tagline says - “You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies."

It is based on one of the biggest / famous social networking sites that has taken the world over by storm - Facebook.

It has a rating of 8.3 on 10 in IMDB.

And it is definitely one of the best movies in the recent times that I have seen. It’s definitely up there among one of the most interesting movies ever made, not only because of the fact that it is based on Facebook; but because it keeps you riveted all throughout.

This is a movie that could have easily been tagged as a documentary or a business school case study had it not been portrayed so well. What works for the movie is the script. It’s intense and it’s brilliantly directed. There is no single time that the pace of the movie falters. It maintains the same steady pace right from scene one till the last scene. And it keeps you hooked. There are a lot of things going for the movie. The fine direction, the performances of the main actors, the dialogues, actually everything!

The actor who plays Mark Zuckerberg does his role exceedingly well. He is one guy to watch out for. Him and Andrew Garfield who plays Eduardo Saverin. They have both given fine performances and some of Mark’s dead-pan expressions in certain scenes are just too good. The dialogues help the movie keep the viewer’s attention in check. One thing that stands out for me in the movie is how the present situation as shown is interspersed with the flashbacks. Most of the times when a movie is shot this way, there’s a high chance that it can get botched up. But this one was superbly handled and it made the movie very interesting.

At the end of the day, when you look at it, without considering the tag of Facebook attached with it, it’s just a story of a college-going kid who wants to make it big and invents a social networking site that has a certain amount of exclusivity attached to it. It’s the story of the protagonists who struggle for social acceptance in one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. And this is something that most of us can relate to. They make mistakes. They learn along the way and then they invent something that now most of the world is hooked on. There is not one single scene in the movie which says that this person is right or that person is wrong. Instead, it’s left to the discretion of the viewers to come up with their own conclusion about the movie and its characters. And for a movie that has a controversial subject as its theme, Social Network does a fine job of doing everything just right. Not overdone. Not below par. Just right.

This one is a must-watch!

Long locks cut short..!!

2010-11-21T12:00:00.000+05:30

Nice Feeling: - When the stylist cuts your hair the way you want it, blow dries it and it makes you look so good that you feel great. :-)

Not-so-nice Feeling: - When you wash it a day or two later and then it goes back to the original frizzy / wavy / curly / limp way it was before she styled it perfectly. :-( And no matter how much you try to restyle it the way she did it, it never gets that perfect look again!!

Getting a haircut is therapeutic!! Whenever I feel really down, I go get a haircut done…. But having said that, I am paranoid about getting my hair cut. I keep thinking, re-thinking, taking opinions from friends, finding out where I can go get a good cut done, etc etc…. I told you! I am paranoid about it. I always keep wondering what if it goes wrong and I don’t feel good about it and then I have to wait for it to grow back and live with it until it grows back!! Sounds familiar to anyone out there???

I had long hair until a few years back. Until a few years back, when I joined for my graduation and then I went and cut it all off.. I told my mom that I was going for a hair trim and went and got it all chopped off at the friendly – neighborhood – parlour. I still remember that day very vividly. My mom almost threw me out of the house. According to her, my long thick hair was the one good thing about me. Nothing else! :P Sometimes, looking back, I think she was right!! ;-) Oh and she did not speak to me for a couple of days. She was THAT pissed!!! But trust me; it was a pain to maintain it. A real pain! The whole process of washing it, drying it and all that took ages and when you’re in school/college, you don’t want to be spending your time waiting for your mane to get dry before you can go out! And then on it has always been short hair… through MBA tho’ it was a little longer than I would have liked, but when I joined work at Hyderabad, I got it cut short again! The fact that my parents would be seeing me only after 3-4 months was one of the factors that played a big part!! ;-) I had a good decent hairstylist at one of the Lakme parlors there and I was happy with the cuts she gave me! After that for a long time, my mom kept urging me to grow my hair so that I could have some decent length of it at my wedding. But after the wedding, the first weekend after I landed in Singapore, I got my hair cut again!

And that was where I met Bebe. She was the one who cut my hair that first time here in Singapore. I was walking around in this mall, looking and choosing options of where I can get my hair cut without it wiping out my wallet, and I narrowed in on this small salon that was crowded. So I went in there and asked the lady to trim my hair. She assigned me to Bebe and I felt so good when I saw the cut she had given me that I was up in the clouds for the rest of the day! And then all my haircuts have been with Bebe. Until we moved houses!! But even that did not deter me. When it was time for me to get my haircut, I went all the way to Bebe’s shop. Only the shop was not there anymore. :-( I searched high and low, looked for some glimpse of her shop at some place but did not find it. I was heartbroken. Ask my friend who accompanied me.. She was in splits looking at how despondent I was then! I still get my haircuts done! From a whole lot of places!! But no one has given me such a good cut as Bebe. And none of the cuts have made me feel that good. I miss you Bebe… !!!

Well, all said and done, like a lot of people, I have a love-hate relationship with my hair… some days, it makes me look the way I want it to, and some days it’s like a spoilt brat… much like me again!! :P

That’s the story of my tresses!!! ;-) But one of these days, hopefully, I will find a good stylist again who will give me the cut I want and then I shall be at peace with my mane!!

For want of a better phone...!!

2010-11-15T20:44:00.001+05:30

I am looking to buy a new phone… change my handset to one of the newer models, one in which I can browse the internet and check mails on the go and stay connected with my friends and family… Ok! Yes! You caught me there!! I mean FACEBOOK!! ;-). Anyways, I just found out that this is not an easy enough choice to make.

You ask me why I want to change my phone!!!

Well.. It’s now got a mind of its own... Much like a moody person. Switches off and on, as it pleases. Draws up certain menus when I don’t want it to and altogether tries to tell me that it’s not going to listen to me anymore!! Of course the way I have abused it over the past couple of years, says a lot too. It’s been dismantled and put together again, thrown at walls, fallen down flights of stairs, been wrecked in general and still it’s almost rock solid. Notice how I said almost!! :P Yes.. These days, it functions also as a paperweight sometimes.

Some people I know call it a rock… others say that if it’s got a mouth, it would probably use up all the foul language it knows at me for treating it so… some others don’t like to take it in their hands for fear of contamination… or so they say. Trust me; my phone is not that bad!! It’s just been overused and now it needs some rest… oh you want to know which model it is… Sony Ericsson z550i!! Ever heard of it?? No?? Check this out!!

So coming back to my story, of wanting to buy a phone… I started trying to find a suitable phone… Every single day for the past 2-3 weeks, I have been trying to find a suitable phone… I narrow down on some model, and then I talk to someone or the other who changes my mind completely. Some suggest the iPhone, some HTC and so it goes on… And I am back at square one, right in the state that I started. Confused!! Then I go back to searching again… without any luck... It’s like a vicious cycle and I am still stuck in it… The heights of my inability to choose a phone became evident when I asked this friend of mine – a guy who’s interested in gadgets of all sorts and kinds – to help me choose a good phone. He directed me to this website where you could enter your specifications and then it tells you what phones are suited for you…

Guess what it told me!!

0 matches found!!!

That’s right!!!

That’s what it said when I entered in my specifications. Seriously!! At this rate I think they will have to manufacture a new phone just for me… lol.. :-)

And again we are back at square one!!

I need a new phone and I am unable to choose one!!

Now what?? !!! ?? Any suggestions??

The month that was OCTOBER!!!

2010-10-30T10:54:00.001+05:30

October this year has been a crazy month. But it’s by far the best month that I have seen in a long long time!! It was crazy in terms of get-togethers, getting a job, Achu’s visit, surprise birthday parties and no time to speak of to just sit simply. But mostly Surprise Birthday Parties. Suffice to say, we now to have to rack our brains pretty hard to find ideas to throw surprises now!!

What do you do when 6 of your friends celebrate their birthdays, all in the same month, and one after the other? Well, what you to do is conspire with the rest to throw the birthday boy/gal, a party that would it unforgettable for them!! And also be a lot glad that your birthday did not fall this month! And that it’s nowhere in the near future…. Because it got better and better towards the end. Especially the last couple of birthdays. :P And also because revenge is a contagious thingy!!!

The problem with having surprise parties is that people start expecting the midnight cake-cutting and all the associated celebrations like a default setting on their birthdays. Fair enough… because when you have a big gang of friends, then it’s fun even if you’re just sitting simply and chatting / hanging out!! But then surprises are always fun right… right from the planning stage to the executing stage… And if it is a success, then the satisfaction of a job well done is one of the best feelings ever!! .. :P :P The key is to subject the birthday boy/girl to something that they will not expect.. :-) It’s hard when you have veterans in the field … people who have been planning surprises for ages that they know all the tricks of the trade … We tried!! And I think, we did a pretty good job… our success rate was pretty good ;) ;)

This month’s theme was basically “expect-the-unexpected”… yeah! I know it sounds like one of the taglines of those reality shows like fear factor or big boss or something!! Lol…. However when you have welcomed the already-suspecting soul to a setting of cake, candles, flowers and candle-light all set up in the most prettiest scene ever imaginable, they tend to think the worst is yet to come!! Which was true… so in order not to dash their hopes/fears we had the usual cake smearing, birthday bumps and all that you expect at a birthday, only this time around we also threw in, whipped cream, eggs, durian, castor oil, food coloring etc…

Ah!!! The satisfaction of doing all this!! Priceless!!

By far, this month was awesome… we had some great times, some amazing get-togethers, mehfil sessions, awesome food and all in all a very memorable month… And the best set of friends that make all this possible!! :-) :-)

Here’s to you all!! :-)

:-) I am EMPLOYED !!! :-)

2010-10-26T21:04:00.000+05:30

My rants and raves about not having a job have finally come to an end. I have finally got a good enough job, albeit for a short while, with an investment bank here. And I am one happy gal right now. If you want to know how happy, ask my hubby and friends. It took me a year and a half to get here. A year that was ridden with frustrations, despair, unfulfilled hopes and what not!! And much of it has been written here on this blog and you have been subjected to it. Ok, before I get too melodramatic over it, let me just say that I am very happy right now. It feels awesome to have a reason to get up early each morning and go someplace. It feels on top of the world.

It’s my second week here at my new job. And I love it. I was the happiest when I was working. I still am! It’s nice to have that feeling of no-time-to-spare, deadlines, screwed-up reports, the banter with colleagues, and most of all, I am back doing what I did – working with Excel. :-). I never knew the importance of Excel until I landed in Satyam for my first job. And I knew zilch about it. I used to go blank every time someone asked me to do something in excel. But now I can safely say that’s not the case. :-) Even if I am not an expert, I am at least confident enough now that I can manage to do whatever is being asked of me.

And that confidence is not just related to the reporting / mailing work that I am involved in. But also with respect to knowing what to expect from a job, what I have to do in order to get things done, right from getting access to the various portals to the way to handle / take a query call. I remember back in Satyam, I used to hate making or taking query calls. It was more out of fear that I would not know what to answer if the person asks me something and I would get tongue-tied. This was in the initial few days. Of course I learnt how to handle it in due course of time in Satyam too but for a long while, I would make my list of calls when no one was around me, or take them on my mobile. I guess a few months at the job should help overcome this. I sure did! I still have some of those jittery-nervous feelings – call it performance anxiety!! But I am sure those will be off in no time too…

I love going to work. I am the kind of person who never had those Monday-morning-blues. I love getting up, hurrying about, getting ready and rushing off to work looking all important in my formal dress. I love everything about my job, right from the access cards to the email id with my name in it. It fills me with confidence and makes me feel as if I can do whatever I set my mind to. I love discussing important projects and details with my team, and manager. I love those moments of chitchat with colleagues. I love everything about it. :-)

Okie… I think I am getting super-excited just writing on and on that I love my job. You get the point. :-)

Yes! I am a happy gal!!

Touchwood! :-)

The magic of Rajinikanth

2010-10-04T19:12:00.000+05:30

We watched ‘Endhiran’ yesterday night.

A movie so long awaited. A ‘Thalaivar’ movie.

The bug of ‘Endhiran’ mania had had me in its grip too and it’s been like that for a while now. Say ever since the news of the movie has been in the news. [Okie! That sounds funny!!]

Anyways moving on, I am sure there are scores of reviews been written about the movie. People who have liked it, people who have not liked it. My Facebook page has been filled with ‘Endhiran’ updates for the past few days now. I am not going to give a proper movie review here. That’s been done and dusted with and like I said, I am sure you will find a lot of other good ones about the movie out there.

I will be honest. I liked it. It was entertaining as always to watch Rajini on screen. I would not say it is his best movie till date but it was enjoyable. The special effects, graphics, technical brilliance was all very well done and executed. Had it been a 2 hour flick it would have been even more enjoyable from the story point of view. But it’s a Rajinikanth movie and even if it is a little long you won’t hear many people complaining. I thought Rajini as the villain did an awesome job. It reminded me a lot of his earlier movies where he was the anti-hero. The man still has it! It takes a lot of guts to do something like this when you are 60 years old and you already have a loyal fan base all over the world. For that, hats off to him!

Yes, his movies defy logic. Yes, the story line always revolves around him. Yes, people go crazy over him and his persona and his style. Yes, you will find a lot of puns about Rajinikanth and more importantly his logic-defying moves and stunts. But for me, that’s the whole charm of a Rajini movie. The impossible stunts, the style the guy shows, the punch dialogues, the way he romances women half his age, sometimes maybe even more than that. No one else his age, can get away with stuff he says and does on screen and still manage to pull it off and guarantee a minimum hit. The ‘Thalaivar’ magic is unique.

Lots of other people are out there making movies for serious-minded folks, taking into consideration all the logic, the practicality and sensibility and the realism that people these days crave for. I admit it. I like movies like that too. I enjoy it too. But once in a while when a movie comes along like this, throwing all logic to winds, making sure that all through the movie, the hero and the heroine are always alright, unscathed and guarantees a happy ending all with a dash of the magic of Rajinikanth, it’s a treat to watch. And this is not specific to Endhiran or just one of his movies. It is all his movies, whether it’s Baasha, Padayappa, Sivaji or even some of his gems from the 80’s and 90’s.

I am not as huge a Rajinikanth fan as a lot of others out there. And there are some people who think he is equivalent to God. But I still enjoy his movies. They have made me laugh. They have made me shake my head in amazement and wonder. They have had me at the edge of the seat waiting to watch what happens next. They have made me forget reality for a little while at least and transport me to a place where reason and reality does not exist. And sometimes, that’s a relief too.

And honestly, there is no actor’s antics that I would enjoy more on screen than Rajinikanth. When you watch one of his movies, leave behind, all logic, common sense, practicality etc. Watch it for the magic he shows on screen. Enjoy it for the impossible antics which if anyone else did, they would be a laughing stock. Watch it as you would watch a fantasy movie, for nothing is impossible for him.

The name, after all, is RAJINIKANTH.

250 posts and way more to come...

2010-10-01T16:50:00.000+05:30

Okie this shows how good I am at observing stuff.

“My blog turns 4” was my 250^th post and I did not even realize it until I checked the dashboard after the 251^st post. :-(

Silly me!

Anyways… that’s a lot of blog posts… Yay! Yay! :-)

Here’s to my blog! :-) Cheers!!!

Obsessed!

2010-09-30T19:00:00.000+05:30

I am certifiably obsessed. With my blog template that is.

I get bored with it. Very easily. And then I start searching for a new one. I am a compulsive obsessive blog template changer. Whoa! Sounds eerily crazy! I told you, it’s an obsession these days… actually no! It’s a disease. Yeah that’s what it is!

The thesaurus has a lot of fancy words for “obsession” like passion, fixation etc… This is definitely not passion. Changing my blog’s template that is.

It’s a never ending saga, much like those serials we see…

I search and I search and I search and I don’t get anything that I like. And then I search again.

I had one that I liked but I got bored of it soon and so changed it. Remember the one with the denim background? Of course you wouldn’t … what with the number of times that I keep changing it… phew! I find something that I think I like and then I go about modifying it, and then I don’t like the end result. So I start searching again… and then I don’t like anything.

Trust me… I have exhausted almost all the free template sites out there in the world web, I have gone through so many 3 column, 2 column, wordpress, blogger, xml, css themes that now I can’t differentiate which ones I actually like and which ones are playing an illusion on my eyes.

I am tired. Literally tired. I ping my friends at all times asking them if so and so template is good. I am sure they are tired too. Of me.

This template here that I have put right now; I am not too fond of it … but it rates higher on the stupid silly scale that I have set for myself and my blog. Talk about goals in life!!

So there you go! Until I find another new template that I like … or one that I think I like when I will change this again, this one stays! Call me passionate, call me obsessive. Whatever!

Next thing on list, figuring out those damn irritating CSS templates. Man! Are they classy or what? Except it throws up an error when I try to upload them to my blog design. Argh!! I am sure Mr.Murphy is sitting right up there somewhere and laughing out loud.

But I shall overcome this!! It’s not rocket science even if does come close to it.

So until I change this template to something else again, welcome to my new blog template.. :-)

My blog turns 4!!

2010-09-29T17:04:00.001+05:30

I just realized something…

This month is my blog’s birthday month.

And when I checked my blog archives, I found out that I have not dedicated even a single post to my blog birthday since 2006. I am ashamed of myself… and I am planning to rectify it as soon as possible… actually since this month is almost at an end… let’s just say, better late than never!! ;-)

So here goes,

Happy Birthday to you… Happy Birthday to you…

Happy birthday dear blog of mine… Happy Birthday to you…. :-)

I just sung that in my head and it kinda sounded cheesy.. ah well! :P

Anyways, being reminded that it was my blog’s birthday month took me down memory lane… yes, as if singing happy birthday to my blog was not enough, I am also going to go all bollywood-ishtyle-flashback-mode ….

I started blogging in 2006, during my MBA. It was almost like an escape route from the truckloads of assignments and presentations and the pressures of doing your MBA. And while it did not exactly start out being like that, it more or less became an obsession down the years. My main inspiration for blogging back then was a super senior from school called Sandhya Krishnan, she writes amazingly well and just reading her blogs used to make me feel lighter and happier. Now I have a whole lot of inspirations to blog, a good circle of blogger-friends – some I know and have met, and lots I have not yet met – and now a passion for writing that just keeps increasing day by day.

Of course I don’t blog about all that I think… :P That would be catastrophic… Anyways, moving on…

Back when I was in school, I used to write diaries… you know about crushes, things that I thought were interesting, my opinions and views and of course my rants and raves on a whole lot of things… I did that until I discovered blogging…. But well, I never used to show my diaries to anyone, let alone my family… ;-) Certain secrets are not to be revealed, you see… :P

Blogging is now a passion, a need that craves to be fulfilled every once in a while. Yes! I say, once in a while because, I know someone may point out that I don’t blog regularly… ;-) I wish I could blog daily… maybe I should take that up as a challenge and write a blog every day.. something or the other!!

That sounds interesting… :P Lets see how far it goes.. ;-)

For now, back to being cheesy…

Here’s wishing my blog a very happy birthday month and lots of blog posts from here to kingdom come!! :-)

Dabangg - The debacle!!!

2010-09-18T02:42:00.001+05:30

Disclaimer: This post is being written at 4 in the AM after watching the spectacular show of ‘Dabangg’. So if it seems a bit too critical of the movie or if I seem like I am ranting, you can blame it on ‘Dabangg’. And also the fact that I had to endure some angry stares – some throughout the movie and the rest after it – from some very close friends as I dragged them for a midnight show to watch this debacle.

If you haven’t watched the movie, I sincerely advice you not to watch it. But if you still insist on watching it because of whatever reasons – All the Best! I hope you survive too... :-)

Okie… first of all… THIS movie grossed more than ‘3 idiots’ in the opening week???? REALLY??? You know, this was one of the main reasons that I wanted to watch the movie and one of the reasons I used to convince my friends for the same. Come to think of it, I am not sure if they want to be friends with me anymore…

So coming back to the movie… we have Salman Khan aka Chulbul Pandey aka Robinhood Pandey strutting around as the good, helpful cop bashing up bad guys, and then we have the villain, Sonu Sood aka Chedi Singh… the butt of many of the hero’s jokes, literally! Oh also a heroine – the village belle, a step dad and step bro who don’t get along with our hero, and the hero’s mother. Sounds familiar?

But that’s what Dabangg is…Run-of-the-mill - bad guy tries to kill good cop, politics, bombs, and unbelievable action stunts. Throw in a love angle with the heroine, and there you have Dabangg… oh wait a min! Or was it one of those old movies that we are talking about here… you remember the ones? Same story line, mom gets killed, hero gets to know from younger bro after patching up differences, kills villain in a show of supreme strength, even after being almost beaten to death… makes up with warring dad and all’s well that ends well! Oh yes! How many times I have seen this story? Quite a lot of times, thank you very much!

I read reviews that said that Salman has carried the entire film on his brawny shoulders… well… let’s just say, I have new found respect for all those Tamil and Telugu movies that I deemed silly… the best part of the movie (to be read in a sarcastic tone) was the climax… WHAT WAS THAT?? Seriously? Here I was thankful for the one fact that our hero did not remove his shirt during the entire movie, and then he does the mother of all unbelievable stunts… his shirt gets torn off thanks to his rippling muscles … from anger it was said! ROTFLOL… The way I saw it, his shirt was seriously pissed and just ripped itself off his body screaming, ‘I can’t take this anymore’ …. Much like some of us in the theatre! And the brilliant red color – the director just went overboard with that one! Oh my my! I think he was trying to show something there… Oh wait.. I think it was the angry young man depicting his rage all over again! You know … with the red color and all… well… and what a show of muscles… almost seemed as though they were dancing for some tune …. You know with all the rippling and gyrating…

Most of us were beyond despair at this point… my friend dozed off amidst all the bombs and guns and gaalis … and I had another who was glaring at me in a way that could only mean – if looks could kill…. We actually contemplated leaving during the interval…

Give me a Rajnikanth movie any day… Or some other over-the-top movie over this one!

Not this! Nothing like this! Please…

I heard there’s a sequel being planned for this.. With Sonu Sood playing the evil twin bro … Why oh Why!!!?!!?!?!

Shudder!!! Shudder!!