That machine is out to get me!!

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!!

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? Yes

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!!

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!! ;-)

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 !!! :-) :-)

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!

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.


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Another attempt at 55 - fiction!! :-)

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

Fun with words... ;-)

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