Thursday, December 30, 2010

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

Sunday, December 12, 2010

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

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

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…

Thursday, December 2, 2010

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

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 4th 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…!! 

Monday, November 29, 2010

Social Network - Review!

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! 

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Long locks cut short..!!

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!!

Monday, November 15, 2010

For want of a better phone...!!

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?? 

Saturday, October 30, 2010

The month that was OCTOBER!!!

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!!  :-)

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

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

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! :-) 

Monday, October 4, 2010

The magic of Rajinikanth

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. 


Friday, October 1, 2010

250 posts and way more to come...

Okie this shows how good I am at observing stuff.

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

Silly me!

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

Here’s to my blog! :-) Cheers!!! 

Grahanam - A review!

It has been quite some time since I penned something on this blog, and even longer, since I wrote a movie review. But there is no good time ...