Profound Insanity

Shifting Base

2007-03-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

Since my life is now centered around my son and I have noticed that since the last few posts all I write is about him.I have created a new blog which records his activities.Well, if you are interested to read about little Nitin's antics, please do drop by at The Life and Times of Nitin !

Life changes after having a baby....

2007-02-05T12:18:00.000-08:00

People said " Life changes after having a baby.Your whole life suddenly is so centered around this little person that you do not have time or the energy for anything or anybody else."

I never believed them.I always thought 'life revolving around baby" funda depends on how much you are enmoured or overwhelmed by the baby.

But let me tell you was I wrong, the little one at home takes up so much of my time and energy that I have very little of it left, to do anything else.Its like the 24hrs of my day revolve around Nitin's timetable of feeding,sleeping and crying. Oh yeah, babies do cry for an alloted amount of time daily..to let out the excess unexpended energy!Even doing simple things in life, which you had taken for granted before, takes lots of planning.I have to time his feeding and sleeping cycle such that it does not coincide with my tasks like taking a shower, cook a quick meal or watch a fav show on TV.Much of my patience and perseverance is tested while putting him to sleep.I guess going out and socializing is something which I have to forget about for months to come.And everybody says this is only the begining....!!

But all the trouble is worthwhile when little Nitin gazes at me for a few seconds and gives out a sweet smile.He is fast reaching 2 months,he now recognizes me and is comforted by my touch ONLY... much to the chargin of this doting father :-)

Ah! The joys of motherhood ... !!! :-)

The First Three Weeks

2007-01-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

Week 1
Went by in a haze the first 3 days were spent in the hospital.And the rest of the week was spent anxious,sleep deprived and gratified....that the baby is finally out and all is well with him.

Week 2
Still sleep deprived but adapting and bonding with the baby gives immense joy!

Week 3
Some nervous moments abput non-existent illnesses ! First time parenting jitters I guess :-)

Baby Arrived !

2007-01-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

Nitin arrived 10 days earlier than expected on Dec 18th , weighing 6 pounds and 18 inches in length.Life has been revolving around him since then.Nurturing him has been the only agenda at hand since the last 3 weeks and will continue to be for days,months and years to come...!!!

Priceless Possessions

2006-11-28T13:25:00.000-08:00

Shopping :
Noun, Searching for or buying goods or services

This is what the dic says is the meaning of the word.It means various things to different people.Each one indulges in it in their own way.I have seen three types of shoppers.

There are some like my mom who love shopping and that too with an entourage in tow.She takes along everyone who show interest in tagging along.I personally feel these people come along so that they too can gain from my mom's amazing eye for the best quality things.Other than the items on the shopping list, she ends up buying lots of other things which she might take a liking to.Not only for herself but even for the entourage.She almost always crosses the budget, much to my dad's dismay. But she is a very shrewd shopper and knows how to handle a fair bargain.She maintains a very loyal relationship with the stores she frequents, be it the jeweller,the saree store or the neighbourhood sabzi-walla.These people too know her and pamper her accordingly.

There are some like my dad who is quiet shopper.He has a fixed budget and never deviates from the list.He is one of those numerous nameless persons who enter a store buy their booty and leave without anybody ever noticing their presence.

Then there is S, his approach to shopping is like a project manager's approach to new project.He goes about it in a very meticulously planned manner.For eg. if he wants to buy a digital camera.First and foremost he does his research about the various features of a digital camera and what features he is looking for.Then comes the various brands and what features they have to offer. Then he googles about their reviews , prices,where to buy etc.Once he has decided about all these things, he just places an order online or walks into a store goes right to the place where it is displayed and gets his loot home.Almost similar process is followed for things as simple as shirts and for as complicated as cars.

As for me, I am best described as an impulsive buyer.Less said the better about my choosing capabilities.I am so bad at making decisions that I rather buy out all my choices than pick one of them.But sometimes once in a blue moon day, I know what I want and indulge! Or rather let others pampers me with things which I want ;-)

Much shopping was done during the Thanksgiving Weekend!
Self-gratification was attained

Much satisfaction was gained from having indulged in fancy whimsies...

he he he..lots of viewing, reading and laughing is to be done for the rest of the year.

Happy Holidays Everyone !!

What are your priorities in life?

2006-11-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

Sigmund Freud's Priorities

Five things are happening in your house at the same time.
1. The telephone is ringing!
2. The baby is crying!
3. Someone's knocking or calling you from the front door!
4. You hung the clothes out to dry and it is beginning to rain!
5. You left the tap on in the kitchen and the water is alreadyoverflowing!

In which sequence would you solve these problems? Write the sequence and check below how your decisions were made...
First write down the sequence then look for the significance below

Every individual point represents something in your life.On the list you can see which meaning every point has:
1. Telephone represents Work
2. Baby represents Family
3. Door represents Friends
4. Clothes represent Money
5. Tap represents Love Life

Your chosen sequence determines the priorities in your life.

Here is my sequence : 2,5,3,4,1

Kitchen Computer

2006-10-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

Having spent the last few weekends lazing around at home, we decided to venture out this weekend. While looking for an interesting place to go,stumbled upon the Computer History Museum. It seemed the ideal place for a quick, informative and lazy stroll.

The museum had a wide range of artifacts ranging from ancient computing machines to transistor machines to mini and super computers. It was a fascinating to note human advancement in the past century. All these things which we so easily take it for granted today have been invented by men who toiled for days/years to achieve it.

Of the various exhibits, the one which caught my fancy was the Kitchen Computer. This mini computer was made especially for storing recipes. This was made in 1960s and had limited usability. The display was in the form of lights and switches , so people who needed to use it had to be well versed with the binary language.They say that none of these machines were ever sold.However if they were ever sold , imagine the fate of any dish prepared by wrong intrepretation of a light/switch.

Below is the ad which Neiman Marcus came up with for selling it.

Do you remember him ?

2006-10-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

Think Hard...

Hint : anime series , DD

Mature Person

2006-10-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity. -Eleanor Roosevelt, diplomat and writer (1884-1962)

I do not know of or met any person who is 'mature' as per the definition above...have you?

Pregnancy Perks - II

2006-09-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

Well here is the second part...

Even though the only breathing and moving persons at home currently are S and me(well,me+baby),there are quite a lot of pseudo-people present in every nook and corner of the house.No , I am not talking about ghosts here.They are well-wishers(WWs)...parents,in-laws,friends etc... Even though they are not present with us in the current timezone, they can inflict us with their thoughts,fears and ofcourse love :-).

They have this never ending list of dos and don'ts , like for a teenager.And this list is duly repeated at every available oppurtunity.Every time I climb onto a bench to reach out for something,mom's words ring in my ears about not doing it.Every time I reach out for a second helping of that dessert,same ringing.It makes me feel like in school again :-)

Even though, poor S tries his best , I miss these WWs so much. They try to pamper me with words and make me feel special in every phone call..They send homemade stuff thru collegues visiting from India. They rebuke S, for not taking care of me enough, even though he is clueless, as to what else can he do other than the stuff he is currently doing. Coming to S , he has become my favourite punch bag offlate. He bears the brunt, even for things which are beyond his control like if its too hot on any particular day,if the water is too cold, if there is just too much traffic..etc..

I can get away being completely unreasonable(sudden urges of pani-puri at 2:00am), irrational(will always use his laptop to do my stuff and that too when he is using it) and quirky(making dosa for all meals in a day, because I cannot stand anything else)

He puts up with most of these stuff,lest I start crying and that exact moment any one of the WWs call up and he is taken into the 'principle's room' hehehe :-).He ignores me sometimes and chides me ..but then I have this 'magic sentence' which brings things back to square one...and what is that sentence ..."You don't know what its like to be pregnant!"

Let go...

2006-09-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

Some people just dont let go...

rejected 'lovers'
crabby ex-colleagues
inquisitive relatives
narcissistic bosses
stinging acquaintances

Sudoku Generator

2006-09-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

For all those who are interested in Sudoku...here is a Sudoku Generator

Pregnancy Perks - I

2006-09-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you, out of personal experience, that pregnancy is not all about nausea, cravings and hormones. There are quite a lot of perks that come along

Bosses are more charitable - they do not drop in, at the fag end of the day, to ask me to do something 'real quick'.
Co-workers , especially women, make you feel special by offering sinful treats for those hunger pangs which catch you offguard.
That elderly lady who turns out in crisp business suits even on fridays and romps around with an air of aristocracy, gives sympathetic smiles everytime you run into her in rest room.
That woman in the marketing department whom I never liked, gives me "when-will-I-ever-get-married-AND-pregnant"look , while I give her the 'blissfully-happy" look **evil grin** :-)
The carpool partner does not crib if I want to leave work early.
People hold the elevator door, as I snail my way to it from the front door.
It makes me feel so important, when my baby's due date figures in the project plan. That would be the time when I would be taking off so backup plans..et al...

All these are at the work front, there is more to come on the home front... :-)

Two Books and A Movie

2006-09-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Two Books and A Movie--that about describes my labour day weekend.

Scoop by Evelyn Waugh - Extremely witty and very enjoyable read.It is about a small time writer William Boot who, mistakenly, gets sent as a special correspondent to Africa to cover a possible revolution.The book is an hilarious account of his time in Africa.He succeeds in getting scoops for his newspaper,'The Beast", but not without amusing adventures.

Mr Blandings Builds hid Dream House by Eric Hodgins,William Steig - I liked this book so much that it is now in my favourite books list. Remember the TV Serial,'Wagle Ki Duniya', which used to to telecast on DD long time ago...the protagonist of this novel, MrBlandings, is a Mr.Wagle like character.He is a simple man with few needs until he plans to build a cosy home.As the title suggests, he sets out to build a house in country far away from the city.His encouters with Real Estate Agent,the Architect,the Building Contractor, the Plumber,the Electricity Personnel, etc...make up the hilarous content of the book.Even though this book was written way back in 1940s..it is still very much relevant to the current state of affairs.I recommend this book to any person who sets out to build a house !

Lage Raho MunnaBhai - Well what can I say about this movie, except, kya mast picture banaya mamu..;-) . This movie almost lives upto its predecessor, but for a few things.The 'jadu ki jhappi' was the most missed part, Arshad Warsi cud have had a bigger role. Otherwise the movie is a great entertainer.The best surprise package was the 30 second-Abishek Bachachan screen appearance.

Hence was spent the best parts of labour day weekend amidst fun and laughter :-)

We love you Andre !

2006-09-01T14:38:00.000-07:00

1992 was the year when I was at my rebellious best. Everything that was offbeat appealed to me.I used to oppose and protest against any kind of authority and viewed it as tyranny and dictatorship.Even the softest rebuke used to send me into rages of anger.I guess that is, what is called as adolescence !

During this time,there was similar 'rebel' in the tennis world. Andre Agassi.He just broke into the tennis world with his first grand slam victory.For me, he was not only a great player but a player with an attitude, with a big A. With his long hair and ear-ring, we was not just a sports star..he was a kind of stlye icon :-) . We girls used to drool over him in the SportsStar and SportsWorld magazines.Pray that he would be the center spread in the next issue.

At that time in India, teenagers were supposed to be aping and falling prey to the western culture...For me he represented everything 'western' ! Whenever a tournament was telecasted on TV, mostly it was good old DD then, my mom would be vexed about missing her saturday/sunday evening movie. But for me, I would await , all stars in my eyes, for matches played by Agassi.I dont think I knew much of the technical knowledge about Tennnis, but watching him play was eye candy. I used to brood when he lost and was extra joyous when he won, much to the amusement of my dad and uncles.Well they followed tennis the way it is supposed to be, I mean not judging players by their looks and attitudes ..etc...:-)

I have come a long way since then, my devotion to the rebellious nature has matured...I have grown to appreciate the subtleties of life.
But when ever I see you today, even with your bald head and the mature years behind you...you remind me of my myself..back then when life was ..well..different!

From that day in 1992 at Wimbeldon, when you won a five setter against Goran Ivanisevic...
Till yesterday at New York,when you won a five setter against Marcos Baghdatis...

There has never been anybody like you..there will never be...We love you Andre, We will miss you !

Happy and Contended

2006-08-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

There is a common norm which says, 'Happy Women make Happy Babies' !

Since I am in the process of making one, S is very particular that I stay happy and contented all the time.He tries hard and sometimes goes out of his way to do things for me. I am also surprised, that he CAN do things(cooking,cleaning,etc), which he earlier denied any knowledge about.hmm...

Sometimes its fun, when he tries hard to please and I act hard to get pleased...pure evil..he he he..!!.But unfortunately, he can read me like a book and see through most of my acts..:-(

This is the usual scene on the domestic front nowadays ...

Invitation.........

2006-08-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

This is post would be truly enjoyed by people who are aware of the Telangana dialect.This is an email forward and made me smile on a particularly grumpy day at work !

Laggam Pilupu

Maa Pedda Poradu

Chi: Ellaiah
&
Chi: Sow: Ellamma
(Satthenna Chinna Bidda)

ane porini pendli cheskuntundu, mari meerantha pendlam/mogudla,pillalagandla thoni, lekapothe Nachin Pori/Poragadi thoni, yaadmarvakunda randri

Eppudundi ante shanivaram Dinamna poddugala Dec 24 na 11:41 ki
Ekkadnanante mana Ashoka Gardens leda, Bowenpally Secunderabadla, gadhe bhai Petrol pumpu pakkaku, aadane,marshipovadu soodu mari.

Pendlikangane masthuga thini povale.

Pilichetollu Evarante,
[Vishal Sanganaboina]
9985100000

Life's a Mess

2006-08-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

The living room needs vaccuming,The kitchen is all greasy and raking with curry smells. The bedroom furniture holds more clothes than the wadrobe.The bathroom is only room, which is kinda clean..considering the innumerable number of times it is used in a day...mainly by Me.But still there are those tough nook and corners which scream for attention to be cleaned.Everything at home is a mess , right now !
And It is not going to get any less messier, from chirstmas onwards...
But well, the mess will be much more a pleasure to clean...considering the fact that it is going to be made by two tiny hands and legs... :-)

2006-08-14T18:29:00.000-07:00

Aankhon mein kuchh aansoo hain kuchh sapne hain
Aansoo aur sapne donon hi apne hain
Dil dukha hai lekin toota to nahin hai
Umeed ka daaman chooka to nahin hai ...

Happy Independence Day , India !

Pic Courtesy:People of India

Bibliomancy

2006-08-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

I subscribe to Anu Garg's Wordsmith which sends me A.Word A.Day via email.This is what I found in my inbox couple of days back...

bibliomancy (bib-lee-o-man-see) noun
Divination by intrepreting a passage picked at random from a book,especially from a religious book such as a Bible.

If you are having a hard time deciding between turning groupie and following your favorite band around or to stay put in your accounting job, help is at hand.

Try bibliomancy.

Here's the step-by-step method:
1. Pick a book you trust a lot.
2. Put it on its spine, and let it fall open.
3. With your eyes closed, trace your finger to a passage.
4. Interpret the passage as your lifemap to the future.

You could even add more randomness to the process. To do that at the macro level, visit a library and pick a book at random from the shelves. At the micro level, instead of interpreting a passage, pick a single word and let it point you to your path.

Then you could try awadmancy -- divination based on words from AWAD.
Focus on the question in your mind and then click here to get a random word from our archives: http://wordsmith.org/words/random.cgi

How I wish I had the guts to make choices in life by bibliomancy!!

Strange Situation

2006-08-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

At work yesterday, I was invited to my manager(J)'s office to attend a conference call regarding a future release. I could have taken the call from my desk, but J wanted to avoid the trouble of too many people joining into the same call from different desks in the same office.The call had just started and we started listening in on the discussion.

When suddenly J's manager, R, walked in and started talking to J, completely ignoring the fact that I was present in the room. At first he spoke casually about how work was going on. Then he started talking about how we were in a bad position in the current release cycle. How J is not able to manage things well and how he is put in a tight situation in front of his boss due to J. In return J was trying to justify his stand.

And me, I was trying to make myself part of the furniture and wall paper. I did not want to be in the room at that time when my manager's manager was appraising his performance. But I could not walk away because J and R were blocking the way to the door. If I had to walk away, I have to disturb them and make them aware of my presence.I wished I could just vanish into thin air for those few minutes. I was trying my best to use all facial muscles to convey the message that all my concentration currently lies on the conference call and not on their discussion.

I felt it was such a tough situation and did not know what to do.I just had to stay there till their discussion ended, which it did thankfully, in a few minutes. But J appeared consious all day yesterday and tried to avoid eye contact.Guess he was embarrassed by what happened and I could not help the situation in any way!!

I wonder what would anyone else in my situation would have done?

Everyday

2006-08-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

Everyday I think of new things to write about and say to myself
Today I am gonna write about this in my journal

Everyday I see newer,nicer occurances around me and say to myself
Today I am gonna write about this in my journal

Everyday I witness nasty and greedy entities around me and say to myself
Today I am gonna write about this in my journal

Everyday I attempt to overcome the indolent in me and say to myself
Today I am gonna write about this in my journal

And Today I relieved the Blogstipation and say to myself
I feel much lighter! , Today I posted onto my journal

Why are the Stars Angry?

2006-07-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

Why are the Stars Angry?

This article published on the Times of India website talks about how bollywood film stars, are miffed about the Mumbai Blasts.
Other than the ghastly blasts, we Indians have to put up with these pathetic and despicable comments from these so called ‘Stars’

Honestly, does anyone really care about what they say? Are they doing any good to anybody by condemning these acts or uplifting the spirit of Mumbai?

Can anyone please ask them not to cash in on the blasts to get some media space and publicity??

Can anyone please ask them to shut their f**king mouth up???

Happiness

2006-07-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

Even though this comic reflects the thoughts of a kid, yet it symbolizes the selfishness in people. We all want to be happy, and strive for a comfortable life. We consciously make sure that we attain that happiness with minimum effort involved from our side. Different people have different ways to achieve this. Some put their needs before others to attain this. Some willingly give up their happiness for others to attain a greater sense of satisfaction. And some are glad when they cruelly take away other’s happiness…to attain their own goals !!!

Kasturi

2006-06-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

The other day I overheard couple of elderly ladies talking in an India Eatery.Atfirst I was not interested in listening to them, what can a bunch of elderly Indian ladies talk about? Recipes? Kids and grandkids? Neighborhood gossip? The latest episode of some absurd TV serial?

But what caught my interest was their multiple references to a girl called Kasturi.I knew about a friend by that name that I completely lost in touch with. I wondered if they were talking about the same person and my curiosity arouse (as usual!) to know more about their chat. I was eaves dropping shamelessly, and could gather that Kasturi is the Ideal Indian daughter/sister/daughter-in-law/wife/mother. And what makes them conclude that? Because she

wakes up early in the morning "before sunrise"
cooks and cleans regularly
makes the best tasting dishes in the neighborhood
takes care of MIL,FIL,SILs,BILs and all other in-laws with utmost care and respect
even though "professionally qualified" has chosen not to work, so that she can devote all her time to her family
Can haggle and bargain away to glory at the market till the shop keeper gives up in meek submission at her intelligence.
gives the most sensible and practical advice to all troubled souls around
Always kind, generous, helpful, sensitive to other's needs, etc...Etc...Etc...
slogs away to glory without complaining ,not even a word ..mind you..!

Besides wondering if this is the same Kasturi I knew, I was wondering if there exists any such person in today's day and time! I do not come anywhere near to possessing any of the qualities mentioned above. Nor do I know of any female of my age(20-30) who has ALL the qualities mentioned above. They do have couple or more,but not ALL!!

S was as usual busy with his blackberry, which gave me time to focus my whole concentration on their discussion rather than my masala dosa. I was so absorbed in their talk that I "Shhhh-ed" the waiter who came by to ask if we want to order for more!! Well, by doing that I guess I gave away what I was doing...listening in on somebody else's personal chat sessions. I blushed red with embarrassment, and expected angry glares. But quite contrary, the 'aunties' in question did not seem to mind, they smiled politely and I HAD to ask them about Kasturi.

That is when the cat came out of the bag, Apparently they were talking about a 'Kasturi' who was the heroine of a daily afternoon soap opera...duh...!!"Don’t you watch that serial?” they asked. Strangely I was mighty pleased that Kasturi was in fact fictional. And here I was imagining some super-woman, and going all J over her!

Personally, I feel it would be a miracle if there really is some person like Kasturi in real life in this age and time. There were women like that in the bygone era but nowadays and 'all of the above', I don’t think so. Today women are endowed with enough freedom of thought and action that it is not quite 'womanly' possible in reality to be THE IDEAL PERSON.

Superman Returns

2006-06-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

Hurray !!...Superman Returns...June 28,2006 ...Need I say more? :)

06/06/06

2006-06-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

Today is 06/06/06 !

I am not gona talk about how this date is the Day of the Devil and other theories. So many people around the world have already spoken,written and blogged about it.Such envisions always excite me ! I get really interested in such stuff and read as much about it as possible.

Much to my fancies, I start imagining all sorts of things to happen on such days.Things like

Aliens landing on earth and talking to us and it is broadcasted live on TV...(this has been my top-most fantasy all my life :-)
God appearing on some mountain and granting us all 3 wishes...
Some of my favourite people(einstein,netaji) come back to life...
All poor people turn rich and vice versa...everybody cannot be rich you see..we need to maintain the balance...
All the evil people on earth die..just die...one shot and all are wiped off...

etc..etc..oh I can go on...:)

But much to my chargin nothing ever happens..!! Remember what happened during the start of 2000!!

Hopefully, something will happen today...let me cross my fingers !

By the way, what were u doing at 06:06:06 am today ? me ? I was sleeping..:d !

Am I the only one?

2006-05-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Picture This..

Place : Lunch Room at Work

Newly joined Indian Guy(IG) walks into Lunch Room. Opens his '2 storey-ed' lunch box.Wow ! Wonderful aroma of Sambar and Aloo curry wafts all over the room.All my senses are on alert , thanks to this delicious smelling Indian food.Makes me think about mom's cooking, plan to call her in the night.But for now I return to my good old Subway sandwich.

I am one of those people who focus on their plate when they are eating.Yes, I do not lift my head off the plate unless to get more food on to it.Sometimes I talk too, between morsels but, only when I am talked to and the other person in expecting a reply from me. But this time the food across the table is so tempting that I look up and glance at IG.Evil Mind goes to work and I try to be nice to and smile at him, so that he shares some of his food.But Alas, this guy has no intentions of sharing this lunch which, in all probability his wife must have cooked for her dear hubby.

So, I imagine my sandwich to be roti wrapped with paneer tikka masala and munch on.Taxing my brain into remembering the actual taste of the dish, rather than the horrible ones available here in the indian restaurants.Also make a mental note of preparing some indian food for dinner,maybe sambar and aloo curry :).

I woke from my reverie by a loud dragging of chair,IG has finished his much relished lunch. I wonder, Can he NOT be quieter with the chair?Yeah I can understand he is well..quite heavy , XXL guy, but still..??? Can he not be more modest and NOT let everyone in the lunch room know that he has filled his belly, by NOT letting out a loud burp?

Flustered by the above acts, I track him as he proceeds to the wash basin to wash his hands. Urrgghh..that was the most disgusting sight I ever saw.IG put his hand covered with rice and sambar under the tap to wash it.Can he not eat more thoroughly ?Can he not waste all that food that got stuck to his hands?I am not talking about a few rice grains stuck here and there...the amount of food he actually washed down would actually come to atleast 2 morsels. I do not expect him to lick his fingers, but excuse me??So much food and it all goes down the drain, thanks to your lazy annoying habit?? I eat rice too, and I savory it more when I use my hands than with cutlery. But it is really annoying to see how insensitive or shall I say unrefined some people can get when they eat with their hands.

This was followed by another gross act. He came back to the table and packed up his lunch box and left.The after effects of his lunch was there for all to see.There was food all over the table in the shape of two circles , marking the place for where his tiffin box was placed.Of the amount of food he had gulped down his throat, 1/4 of it was lying there on the table. OK , agreed that is the way he eats...but who is going to cleanup after him? Here at work, usually people have lunch without spilling and by mistake even if they do, they make it a point to cleanup. It is not that he did not know about this,he saw people do it right in front of him. I wonder from where does such arrogance stem?

I consider this as an act of erratic and careless behavior towards food.Which we especially Indians with so much of poverty around us cannot afford to.We all waste some amount of food at some point or other but imagine the amount of it this guy has wasted till now in his lifetime.Even if you take the food aspect of it out of the way, this person is 'professionally qualified' so does it befit of him to act in such a manner?

S says I am being too judgmental !I dont think so !

Am I wrong in my feelings of disgust towards this crude habit of IG ? Does anybody else out there feel about this the same way? or, Am I the only one?

Stuck In Second Gear

2006-05-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

Like the Friend's Title Song goes...my life is currently stuck in second gear...no major happenings...and added to that ...my creative brain has 'attko-fied' in some corner due to dearth of thoughts...will write more..when a fresh gush of enthusiasm will flush it out of its place!!!

Books - Movies

2006-04-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

There have been Mixed reviews from the British Press - The Mistress of Spices . I am happy.

I read two books by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart. I read these books almost 4 years ago, when I was in India. I found 'Sister of My Heart' an interesting and a easy read. On the other hand Mistress of Spices, was intruging and engaging with various short stories interwoven into the main story of Tilo.

Now why do I feel happy that Ash's Mistress bombs in the UK. Even though I did not see the movie, I can say that Ash was a wrong choice of the role of Tilo. Tilo,as depicted in the book is an very intense and passionate woman. I feel Miss Ash's acting capabilities do not even fulfill even these basic crieteria. Her physical self can make or sell a million dollars,but when it comes to acting abilities..she can never perform unless supported by a very good film maker.How come I can't think of any good, sensible film other than Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas , where her, performance was appreciated. Hope the failing of this movie, would make other film makers who aspire to make movies out of successful books to really make an effort and choose the right actors.I feel Ash was choosen because of the Bride and Prejudice connection.I have not seen 'Mistress of Spices' but I can visualize how bad the movie would be, after reading all those reviews.

I personally have much higher regard for books than movies. The only movie which I really liked which was based on a book was 'To Kill a Mocking Bird'.

One of my favourite books, Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake , is also being made to be movie. But this time by a very sensible film maker- Mira Nair and a brilliant actress, Tabu.Hope the movie turns out to be as good as the book was..!!

2006-04-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

You Are a Peacemaker Soul

You strive to please others and compromise anyway you can.
War or conflict bothers you, and you would do anything to keep the peace.
You are a good mediator and a true negotiator.
Sometimes you do too much, trying so hard to make people happy.

While you keep the peace, you tend to be secretly judgmental.
You lose respect for people who don't like to both give and take.
On the flip side, you've got a graet sense of humor and wit.
You're always dimplomatic and able to give good advice.

Souls you are most compatible with: Warrior Soul, Hunter Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Cute-teessst...

2006-04-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

This is the most cute-teessst video...I have ever seen...:)

Doodh..Doodh..Doodh

2006-04-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

Doodh...Doodh...Doodh...Doodh
Doodh Hai Wonderful
Pi Sakte Ho Roz Glassful
Doodh...Doodh...Doodh...Doodh

If you were in India during the late 80's and early 90's, you would never have missed this Mother Dairy commercial on the idiot box.It had a very catchy song with interesting ways in which you can drink milk.

Milk is a very important part of ones diet as a kid.I bet that across households all over the world,children as coaxed,bullied,terrorised,intimidated and dunno what not..into doing one thing which they hate the most...DRINK MILK !!!

As a kid I was no different, I just hated milk,the look of it,smell of it , the taste of it ..everything about it.I would come up with all sorts of excuses to avoid drinking that awful liquid.But my mom was one steadfast lady, who would not give up that easily.At first,she tried various means to make me take a liking to it.It was mixed with various things like Horlicks,Boost,Bournvita..etc..but it was still milk and I still hated it :( .

Later she started using other means.I was terrorised that various things would happen to me if I would not drink milk.For eg.,As a kid I was threatend that, I would be given away to the milk man if I do not drink milk.The story was the milkman's family had milk all 3 times a day,no other food.Me in my innocence believed it and drank it up thinking once in a day is more than I can take.It was so ingrained that I had to drink milk to build stamina,to grow taller,to have a good complexion,to avoid pimples, to have thick,lustrous locks...even to pass my exams!.I was so terrorised that I drank milk right thru college.Any day, I tried to avoid milk,my mom would be up, all in arms.Sometimes she would let go, and then as if to prove her right, a tiny pimple would sprout from some where.And there she would go..and explain that it had to happen because ..you know why...MILK !!!

I hated milk so much that , I could never myself into drinking it in any other form like tea/coffee.milkshake etc... Or was it that I was so addicted to plain milk ?? :( . Till not long ago I never even ate curds,because somehow it tasted like milk for me. Oh yeah, but not Ice Cream, its made of ice and cream right ? not milk..;).I waited for the day I would step out and go to a hostel so that I can avoid drinking milk. But Alas, I studied in the same city which I grew up and there was no need for me to go far and wide for gain knowledge.

So,I could not escape milk as long as I was at my parents' place and Once I got married, I thought I was done with milk for good. I rejoiced that now there is no one to persuade me, but alas !!.

God is a great leveller,once my mom was out of the way...along came S. Need I say more????

Three Things

2006-04-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

3 things which are annoying me today - hounding boss, pesky relatives, unrelenting cold

3 things which are worrying me today - my disinterest in the project I am working for, deep cut on my index finger(thanks to early morning ,sleepy cooking adventure!), what if I fail the test?

3 things which are making me happy today- reading Memoirs of a Geisha,cozy coversations with S,the thought that there are only 2 more days for the weekend...hurray !!!

Mooning Around In Monterey Bay

2006-04-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

We set out early , very early on a Sunday morning. Aim? to catch the boat into the Monterey Bay for Whale Watching .We aimed to reach Wisherman's Wharf, that is where the boat rides start, in about 90 minutes, just in time for our boat trip.We drove along CA-1 which is supposed to be one of the most scenic highways in CA.On way, we were greeted by greenery all along the hills and the wide fields with crops of artichokes.Started reminiscing about the lush green paddy and rice fields in India and the specks of bright clothing of farmers bent down tending to their fields.Oh ! There is no place like India :-).

I wokeup from my reverie,to a call from the Boat Ride guys informing that the boat is going to start in another 5 minutes.Where were we??.Panic Mode in my brain! How can this be? I woke up so early on a Sunday morning, just to get onto to this boat!!.Planned meticoulously about the drive and how fast/slow we would go and how we would be there in time!.And now this sweet lady informs us that we are gonna miss the boat! No..No..No..Please wait for meee .First Panic,then misery and then comes the realization that our clocks are set to one hour behind time,thanks to daylight savings! Damn DayLight Savings! .

But as usual S came to rescue and asked for the booking in the afternoon instead.Since the boat ride was not until 1:30 in the afternoon and we had about 2 hours to burn at Monterey Bay.We went visiting the Aquarium.Got to see lots of fishes and gooey jelly fish of various kinds.Other than the fish, the place was filled with lots of cute kids in various sizes and shapes accompanied by their parents.I felt the Aquarium was totally kid-centric, with play areas and fun activities.Had fun, watching the fish feeding session.After gaping at the fish feed, my stomach began to growl and we set out to find a good sea food restaurant to binge.On the way to the quest, tasted some yummy Clam Chowder which was being served free outside some restaurants .This was an incentive to get inside the restaurants, some marketing innovation I should say.We got into a Bay Facing restaurant with only 15 minutes for the joy ride to start and grabbed a quick bite.

The Whale Watching boat started bang on time,and then I did the most 'stupid-est' thing, well one of the many foolish things, which I do on a daily basis.Wondering what it is?this is it..the navigator of the boat, a lady(marine biologist) kept repeatedly warning us to take the motion sickness pill if we are prone to sea sickness.She kept saying things like, we are going to travel far and wide in the bay and not return for another 3 hours so better take the pill if you are prone to sea sickness.If you don’t take the pill now and if you feel sick in the middle of the ride, we are not going to return and you have to endure the suffering all along,etc..It was like she was hypnotizing us into taking the pill , even if we do not have motion sickness.As she was reciting her sermon, S was looking at me suspiciously and kept saying 'why don’t you take the pill?", 'are you sure you wont get sick?" , "are u ok, going into the ocean for 3 hrs?" , etc.And me, having this uncanny virtue of getting pysched up at the slightest thought of all the possible ways I could get sick and then induce pain upon myself and people around me, took the pill !.Yes, I took the pill even though I never had a bout of sea sickness in my entire lifetime, How is that for ficklemindedness?

Well after that what happened is still a haze to me..At first I felt ok, but once the cold sea air hit me, I started feely dazed.Then I remembered what I read on the cover of the tablet,taking this pill might cause ' slight drowsiness'.I could not believe that all my excitement of whale watching would just slip by as I sleep.But I wanted to fight this pill,I resolved that I can fight a 'slight drowsiness',that is no big deal !But after a few minutes,It was as if my brain was having this argument with my body , my body was going "oh! I am sooo sleepy , wish there was a couch somewhere around in this boat"and my brain was like "hey come one, no sleeping...only whale watching !!".In addition to my brain, S kept asking me "are u sleepy?" every 10 minutes.It was as he is was expecting me to goto sleep ,so that I cause no harm to self and ofcourse him.But I did not give in,I did not want to sleep, I want to see whales.In an attempt to stay awake,I tried various stunts,walking around the deck, change places on the bench, trying to touch the cold ocean water so to regain my senses.I even thought of chanting a quick prayer to the ocean-god to send some whales up to surface for me to see before I blackout.But then deferred from doing that, as I wondered if this american-ocean-god could comprehend my Indian prayer.What if he translated it into something else and sent a killer shark instead! Can't forget JAWS! But Alas!No Whales,instead sleep was closing in on me like a dark shadow in a lonely alley!!!

There was no whale is sight even after about 90 minutes of search, the only things to be seen were sea lions.And I was sleeping with my eyes open!. Then at that precise moment as per S, there it came Mr Humpback Whale .I got up with a start, with a 'Whale!, Whale! ' chanting all around me.First came the blow, then the top of its head , then the back and lastly the swish of its tail.It was an awesome sight, even in my dazed vision I could see how magnificient the animal was .It presented itself only for about 2 minutes and then dived deep into the water for its grab of fish.As per the marine biologist on board this particular whale visits every year during its migration period.It was greyish blue in colour and seemed like having a splash! It would emerge approximately every 4 minutes to take a breath of air.Every time the whale would surface,I would wake with a start to the chant and ofcourse S shaking me vigourously so that I don’t miss the moment. I managed to keep up with the enthu with S and catch glimpses of all the whale sightings.But after passing in and out of my Z's a couple of more times.It completely gave up and just went into the boat's chamber and slept for the rest of the trip.I do not know if there was any more sightings nor do I know if S tried to wake me up, I completely passed out.

All my excitement about Whale Watching lastly precisely for about 15 minutes.In which I could catch glimpses of the mighty whale thru my sleep induced eyes.Later when I was going thru the pictures which S had taken of the whales, I found one picture of me …sleeping !!!

Sound Advice on Marriage !

2006-04-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

in the words of Khalil Gibran, poet and philosopher :

. . . let there be spaces in your togetherness
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you
Love one another, but make not a bond of love
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous but let each one of you be alone
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

Tongue-tied

2006-04-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been in a situation when you are tongue-tied?.Tongue-tied, not in shock,not in fear,not in an awe inspiring way, but in a dumb way.

There is this queer question thrown at you or some odd comment passed on you and you just dont have the wit to give back with an equally quaint reply.When you fail to utter the right words at the right time.When everybody is hanging on for your response, to the remark hurled at you,and here you are taking a billion years to just say something, something coherent to prove that you are smart!,you are not what is being made out of you!.

Sadly,I have been in such situations many a time. When I think about these incidents later , the most wittiest thing I could have said stikes to me.But alas, the time has passed my friend and you have been nailed!

I wonder if there exists any other person in this human species as dim-witted as me!

Dal without Wawl !

2006-04-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

Below mentioned is the fool proof way of cooking, edible dal, without causing any injury to self or the kitchen, and well of course even to the consumers of the dal !

Absolutely Essential Ingredients (Please go thru the list below and procure all the items. There is no point in trying to substitute any of the things mentioned below, and if you do so please do at your own risk)

One pressure cooker which works (any brand is ok, lets not get into any campaign here!)

One non-stick pan. If non-stick pan it is not available, do not fret. You can still make the dal.Just take any other pan/kadai or similar looking thing but please make sure that it is clean. Yes, you need to make the effort and clean it. Period.

One Clean Spatula. Well you can use your hand, but it is advisable to use this so that you avoid causing any injury to self.

One Cup Tuvarl/Toor Dal/Yellow Split Lentil (found in any Indian store. If you do not find it, ask the store assistant, just do not pick up any dal, otherwise the results are not guaranteed!)

One teaspoon of Oil/Ghee (Preferred: peanut / sunflower/vegetable oil. Not Preferred: olive / coconut oil)

Half teaspoon of Mustard Seeds/Rai (Appearance: very small, black, round balls)

One stalk of curry leaves (use only the leaves not the stalk)

2/3 Dry Red Chilies (Found in any Indian store. Again, ask if you are not sure!)

1/4 tea spoon of turmeric (try not to use more than this quantity, otherwise the dal will taste like turmeric instead of dal)

a pinch of hing/Asafoetida(its ok if you don’t have this, it is only for flavor)

1 tea spoon of salt (on an average approximately, 1 cup dal = 1 tsp salt. Always remember, you can add more later if it is not according to your taste. Food is edible with less salt, but impossibly horrible with too much salt)

Now that you have procured all the items, here is the cooking process

Cooking Process:

Step 1 : Pressure cookers are usually sold with a container which can be placed inside them. Take that container only. If that container is soiled and you are not in a mood for cleaning, its ok.Or, if you are not able to find that container in the kitchen, it’s perfectly ok.You can take some other container and try to fit it into the cooker. But make sure that you can take it out once you have inserted it into the cooker. OH! Another thing with the container, do not use plastic or glass. Now that you have successfully found the container lets proceed to the next step

Step 2 : Add the dal to the container , add enough water such that whole of dal is immersed in the water. Usually the equation is 1 cup dal = 2 cups water. Do not add too much water; otherwise, it will overflow into the cooker from the container.

Step 3: Close the cooker tight shut, place the weight on it. I wonder why it is called 'weight' when the weight of the cooker is more than the weight itself!

Step 4: Place the cooker on the stove and very important, ignite/start the stove.

Step 5: Leave the cooker alone and let the dal cook. Things you can do while the dal cooks, talking on the phone, watching TV, feel good that you have covered the first 4 steps successfully etc...

Step 6: Whistles are an indication that the food is being cooked and the pressure cooker is doing its job. Pressure cooker is just like humans, you need to acknowledge it for all the cooking that it does. If you keep letting it do its job for you and you don’t care, it is going to explode. The maximum number of whistles which it can emit to reach its stress levels is around 9/10 whistels.Then it goes BOOM!, there now do you feel my presence , is says !.So do a good deed and once the pressure cooker emits 2/3 whistles. Switch off the stove.

Step 7 : WAIT ! Wait till the cooker completely cools down and then, only then, open the lid. If you open it before, let me tell you there will be lots of hot water and vapor breezing all over the kitchen.If hate to clean the mess, then have patience till the cooker cools down.The way you open the lid of the cooker is also very important. Do not open it towards you, otherwise you will have to literally 'face the steam’!. Open it away from you!

Step 8: If the hard yellow dal has not changed into a semi-molten state, you are very unfortunate. You need to repeat the steps 2-7 again.

Step 9 : Place the Pan on the stove and ignite it , the stove that is.Let the pan heat up and if there is any water in the pan let it evaporate. Now add oil/ghee to it and wait till it heats up.No, you do not have to wait till there are fumes coming out of the pan,just enough heat so that if you place your palm above the pan,you should feel the heat. Do NOT touch the oil in the pan to check if the oil is heated!Another important thing,switch on the exhaust NOW, if you have not done so earlier.Otherwise you will have the whole house, not only the kitchen smelling of dal.

Step 10 : Now comes the tricky part,you need to add some spluttery stuff into the hot oil without burning yourself AND without causing the fire alarm start to off.The best way is to collect the mustard seeds+curry leaves+red chilies+hing+tumeric into a plate and then add all of them at once into the oil.Wait till it splutters, which it should within seconds.This splutters a lot so keep distance. do not put your face or hands too near otherwise , well, you know what is going to happen.Use spatula to move these around in the pan, once they are considerable fried.Add the dal to the pan,be careful do not spill , otherwise more cleaning.Add salt and mix the dal.Let it boil for 2minutes and switch off the stove,lest the dal is overcooked/burnt and all you efforts go vain!

Voila! Your dal is ready in 10 easy steps!!!

Eating Process :
You can eat this with hot boiled white rice or with rotis/chapatis etc.But wait , let the dal cool so that it is in a edible temperature, otherwise you will burn your tongue!

Acknowledgements: Self. The above mentioned process has been mastered by the author after numerous experiments in the kitchen.

If you find this information useful, please leave a message in the comments box!

My Interesting Life

2006-03-29T12:44:00.000-08:00

My Life-Bill Waterson's Words !

Make a Wish , Under the Bridge !

2006-03-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

Fascination with the Future

2006-03-23T12:42:00.000-08:00

Easy way to Learn - http://www.learntarot.com

Quick Look at the Cards and what they mean - http://www.learntarot.com/cards.htm

whatz funny about this?

2006-03-21T15:47:00.000-08:00

Knitting/Crocheting/Yarn Stores Across the US

2006-03-10T16:39:00.000-08:00

http://find.mapmuse.com/re1/interest.php?brandID=KNITTING_SHOPS