And that's what it's all about

Like you can't do without a title

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:55:24 GMT

Now here's the deal. I was so so sure that I would not complain or rant for a while to average out the whiney undertone of the blog. And I intended to pretty much do just that. Nah-nah. You can't deny that really. So much so, that just when I am being all nice and positive and chirpy and downright cheerful, life decided to push me to the edge by giving me ridiculously bugging days at work. So bugging, they actually start getting more amusing than bugging and then in a while we forget that this has been a bugging day afterall. And even though we start at 7 in the morning for work, and it is like 8 in the night right now, and we are still at work, and we are still not sure when we would leave, and more importantly why we are still here, it still feels more funny than bugging. Heh, such happiness I have to say. But not good really, because the usual angry me somehow feels a little more accomplished at the end of it all. Relieved, after losing it more than once in front of more than a few important work people. Harmful, but very stress busting type activity that is. But now, when we are allowed to be rantier, unhappier, all we are doing is typing this highly incoherent blog, and venting out the frustration, by, guess what, putting up abusive status message on google. No-no, not random abuses, but more specific, changing the receiver with situational changes during the day. But in reality, we think that is a mega-loser thing to do. When really, we should be huffing and puffing (and blowing the house down), and stomping around, and passing random comments about buggers inc. to anyone who cares to hear, and increasing the volume when a member of buggers inc. is in audible distance, we are putting status messages. So. not. Ok.

On a not so different note, Excel is a weird invention. We share a typical love-hate relationship with it. Now on days, we look at all the things this sheet with rows and columns can do, and ooh and aah about how awesome all this automation is, and how did people survive without this before Bill Gates existed and all that. And on the next day, when we are hard-pressed for time, and running out of the small stock of patience we usually carry around, it acts totally weird. It will give random error messages, which you would need to google, search solutions for, fix, only to end up with another such message, only a different one this time. That's enough for us to hate it with all our heart, only the next week, when there is less work and more time, and we find out yet another awesome formula, we start liking it again. And yes ofcourse, Excel definitely features as the non-human member of Buggers Inc. Why would we bring it up otherwise.

Now we are hungry. Typing is making us hungry. Which reminds us that there is this cool typing game on facebook, which suits people like us, who sometimes are so jobless at home (usually between 8 PM when I get back home, and 10:30 PM, when the dude does), that they need a mind less, keyboard tapping, mouse clicking kinda game to keep us busy. This game is just that. But guess what, it will refuse to work at home on the personal laptop! With all the add-ins, installations, three browsers, it will just not work! And then when we randomly check out the same at work (not during the heavy work time please, when we are waiting for some member of Buggers Inc. to get back with updates or something, then), with all the restrictions, and firewalls and all that, lo! It will work! But then how can one play a typing game without everyone noticing? And wondering what important work we are doing? So, basically, we can't play. End of story. Oh yes, that's why we are blogging instead. Atleast it looks like one of the important documents we need to work on without knowing for what and when it would be used really.

Now, we are really hungry. It's not a nice thing. But we have booked cab for 20:00 hours which is another 12 minutes. So, we are praying that no Firang member of Buggers Inc. mails back before then, because then we can look forward to a Jagraata. Jagraata = jag+ raata = awake + night. For the benefit of my posh I-dont-know-hindi-readers. I definitely have some of those yes?

Ooh, this post got pretty long! It is unintelligble, incoherent, and all those nice words which mean dont-waste-your-time-here-because-this-post-has-nothing-important-to-say. Even-remotely. But you just did, you just did! Which means you have so much time on hand really! Shameful! Oh, but seriously, can we switch jobs? Please? Think about it, I am off!

Edited to add: Apparently, I am not. Off that is. It is 20:00 hrs on my system's clock, and I am still here rambling. Obviously I am not off. Wow. Some awesome life I have eh? And no, Firang members of Buggers Inc did not mail us anything, we are staying back really in anticipation of something they might send eventually. I think I will go get me a hot chocolate, this is going to be Jagraata after all. Sigh.

My very materialistic Wishlist

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:40:04 GMT

Borrowing the idea from vixlist, I am now making a list of things I really really want. Affordability, requirement, availability and all be damned. Oh, and this being the materialisc wishlist, I am avoiding dil-ka-sukoon, happiness and peace for the world, equality amongst all and the like, which is actually what I would wish for. You know me.

Number one on the list is the very basic need of any individual, a makaan. And it has to meet our tiny list of specifications, this being the dream house The Dude and I are getting together and all. So once we find a 3BHK, on the 15th floor or above of a really tall building, which along with its brother buldings forms part of this ultra-cool township, with basic provisions like a pool, club house, gym etc, has a big living room, and a large balcony, preferably overlooking a lake or even the awesome city lights, and is available within a year from now, when we think we can have enough cash to make a down payment, at ofcourse the price we have in mind, or rather, in our bank accounts, we'll take it. Simple wish really. You would think one has to struggle so much for this?

Number two is something no one can have enough of. A vacation. A long break to somewhere exotic and awesome. Please note that the level of exotic-ness of the location can vary between Goa and Tokyo. So there are in fact, quite a lot of choices really.

At number three we have a Sony Vaio. Red in colour and a good configuration. Or a Mac-book. White in colour this one. The current laptop is 3 years old, and almost dying. Really.

At four is a new phone. Mine is old and boring and tacky, and has dropped to the ground so many times that even though its a Nokia, it can only bear so much. Yeah, and this time we are looking for a touch phone; an I Phone, an HTC touch or atleast the Nokia Express Music touch phone.

Number five is a 42" LCD Plasma TV, Sony, or Samsung. Now this actually was to adorn our AV room in the new house, but since we already wished for that, we can go ahead and wish for the associated accessories as well I think.

Number six is a subscription to Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Femina. Including the yummy gifts they offer on subscription. Reason being, our Magazine guy's gotten extremely bugging and ends up bringing all these magazines the month after which they are released. And so I end up reading "Fashions for summer" during the monsoons, and "How to make a dull winter morning bright" when the sun is blazing and almost burning my skin off. Not a nice feeling I tell you.

Number seven, is a set of new speakers for the bedroom. See, thing is, though there are huge speakers in almost all the rooms in the house, there are none in the bedroom. So if I feel like listening to music while sleeping, it either has to waft through the other rooms, or has to be plugged into the ears. Both not ok. So.

Number eight, I need the complete 4th season of How I met your mother, and also episodes 2 and 3 of the 3rd season.

At number nine, we need gift vouchers for all possible shopping malls and stores across the city. Because the end of season sales are about to start. And why I say vouchers and not money is because, while the end effect the same, spending cash makes me feel very guilty, probably because it could be put to better use or something (don't ask me what could be better than splurging all you want at a sale, but still)? But with vouchers, you can't really do anything else can you? So, vouchers make much more sense really.

Number ten, since we are talking of vouchers, I wouldn't mind a few to some exotic spa kinda thing really. And the reason here is similar, if not the same to the one above. See there, the issue is guilt, I spend, and then I feel guilty. But here, it is plain thrift. I cannot bring myself to spend anything at any of these parlors/spas etc. Anything they charge seems way to expensive and I end up not spending anything at all. So while I am on a wishing spree, might as well wish for some vouchers which just have to be redeemed at these otherwise ridiculously overpriced places.

And that's about it. I am a pretty content person I think, that list actually took a lot of thinking after point 5 or so. I am happy with the way things are, really. Although, I wish for there to be no traffic jam on the way home today. And that it rains. But there should be no power-cut. Oh, and the roads should not be clogged with water. And there should be no work tomorrow. And, that's all for now.

What? Those are small things, that doesn't prove anything. I am an extremely content person, thank-you-very-much. And before you form any more judgements, I am off. Ciao.

GM Diet ke side effects

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:06:01 GMT

We have been there. Done that. And the learnings remain the same. Those who know of the GM diet, obviously know of it's effects.

But for those who want to know more, here is the otherwise ignored list of side effects that this self-imposed torture has!

1. Day 1. You hate apples; Day 2. Could someone please give you just one bite of an apple?; Day 3. Ugh, why do all fruits and vegetables taste alike?
Basically you're losing it.

2. The whiteboard at your desk has tallybars for the number of bottles of water you've had during the day. Especially if you are a self-proclaimed camel who can survive with no water the whole day like some.

3. You wonder whether the actual reason behind the whole weight loss is the change in diet, or the countless trips to the restroom you end up making, thanks to those countless(counted?) bottles of water you consumed.

4. You eye the extremely bland curd rice with pickle that your collegue is having for lunch with jealousy.

5. You take vows like "I am going to eat two icecreams, and a whole pizza the day this gets over"; that it would actually defeat the whole purpose of the diet is a conveniently forgotten point.

6. Every call that you make to the partner in crime (endeavour, one might call it) starts with a " So how are managing so far? F*** this whole thing really, and let's order pizza tonight!"

7. You tell yourself " I'm not that unfit really, do I really need this?" everytime you look at the mirror.

8. You curse everytime there is a food related commercial on the television. Or a restaurant scene in any of the movies or soaps you watch.

9. You sprinkle generous amounts of chat masala on the fruits you are expected to finish. And then justify saying "I checked the ingredients on the box, they are all natural and healthy".

10. Whenever anyone asks you if the diet has worked so far you reply saying " It's not for weightloss really, I am just detoxifying myself. It is supposed to have a positive effect on the mind as well".

Oh by the way, today is Day 2, and to say I'm not liking it, is well, an understatement really. But then, what do you say to a person who repeats the same mistakes over and over again? Nothing. So let's leave it at that.

So, if all's well, see you on the other side of the week then huh?

The one where we are not so Whiney

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:38:08 GMT

So, since 11 in the morning when I logged into the system, till right now (it is 3:30 in the afternoon just FYI), I have opened the reports we usually work at thrice. And closed them within 5 minutes of opening them all three times. Why you ask? Well, they are making me sick. Literally. As in, I can actually feel my head reeling, and eyes going heavy and blurry everytime I look at all those numbers today. And I blame the past 3, 14 hour long workdays for that. When I did nothing but crunch numbers and then make (atleast try to make) the end result look all pretty. Bah.

I know, I know. I am ranting again. Infact, someone who knows me personally, and who reads this page commented that 'I have an extraordinary ability to rant". And that got me wondering, if that infact was the message I was conveying through this whole blog business; that I am this whiney, complaining, dicontented, bugged individual, who can find a fault with everything and anything.

And the answer to all the self-exploration carried out is, well, yes. That seems to be exactly what I convey through what I post, atleast through most of what I post. There is also this happy, cheery part once in a while, but it's so small, that it get's lost in the melee of rants I have generated. The underlying tone of this blog is whiney. There, I said it. And if you think about me in reality, I am whiney in real life too. I fret, frown, complain, grumble quite a lot. It is just that it is not all the time! And this realisation actually uncovered a bigger secret. The reason as to why the days I post, are so much lesser than the days I don't.

Because, though I would love to capture all those happy-shiny-moments-of-joy out here, I am always too busy enjoying them, to actually logon to the site, and type out what I feel. And so they get missed out. And what get's captured instead is annoying co-workers, bugging cab routes, traffic, reports, long work hours, irritating neighbours etc etc. Because, when something get's on your nerves, and you have nowhere to go vent out the frustration (we are ignoring the fact that all the rants here are actually filtered versions of what The Dude gets to hear, but then, whatever!), you login to this site. Because, the number of posts, seems to be directly proportional to our number of complaints. And less number of posts means we have less to complain about! There you go! Now that was a statement only a non-whiney person could make eh!

Coming back on track; after all the self-explorations details we painstakingly typed above, we are now moving on to the good things that happened recently. And average out the somewhat whiney tone of the blog. To a relatively less-whiney tone. How creative. I know.

- So Work day 5-6-7 are over for this month, and so is the nightmare of deadlines. For this month that is. The numbers and reports still stay, but shall be ladled out in relatively smaller dosages, and hence might not hurt as much.

- I found red shoes! I found red shoes! And bought them too! No-no, Bata didn't have them in my size, but I managed to find a super-sexy pair at 'Inc.5'. The right color, the right heel, everything! Phew. And oh by the way, 'Metro' sucks. Nothing close to what I wanted, and to think they advertise on TV! I still heart 'Soles' though, and am ready to believe the shop guy when he said they are just out of stock.

- I am reading again. I just finished 'French Lover' by Taslima Nasreen. And I have Volume 3 of the Cal n Hobbes collection lying at home. And on the side, I have some light reading going on, and this time it's the first of the Twilight series by Stephanie Myer. Oh Oh, since I am no good at reviewing anything, my verdict on the 'French Lover' would be; nothing great, decent level of detail, not boring either, but not really something that would want me to run back home from work just to read what happens next. I wouldn't mind checking out 'Lajja' though.

- Oh, and the Deccan Chargers won! And I think with this season of IPL, I think I finally belong to some place. You know what I mean.

- It rained in Hyderabad. Enough said.

And life in general is good! And tomorrow is a Friday. So that's like a lot of good things to be happy about. And we shouldn't really spend any more of the precious happy time typing stuff out. So we will go ahead and enjoy them, yes? I think so!

Enlightenment etc.

Mon, 18 May 2009 11:40:16 GMT

Before I forget, a (relatively) short note on the much appreciated learnings imbibed in the recent past!

- You can have marathons of sitcoms other than F.R.I.E.N.D.S. The mantra is - STOP COMPARING. A season and a half of 'How I met your mother' down in 2 weekends, definitely classifies it as impressive.

- If you find Barney Stinson's crude humour more entertaining than the Ted- Robin romance, it doesn't necessarily mean you're turning into a guy. If you are really worried, all you've got to do is go watch Grey's anatomy. Makes you all sentimental and mushy? See, you're back on track!

- You can get emotionally involved in a cricket match. The fact that you were frowning all through dinner yesterday, at the place which serves your favoritest dessert ever (Chocolate Bomb at Little Italy, if you haven't tried it yet, well, God save you), just because Deccan Chargers lost to Kings XI Punjab, pretty much justifies your Dad knocking the sofa's arm off when Kapil Dev's wicket was taken in some random match during World Cup '83.

- There is nothing like too much chocolate. There is nothing such as I-dislike-x-chocolate either. But there is something like I-like-x-chocolate-better-than-y-chocolate. What else explains the Diary Milk lying the refrigerator for more than a week, just because there is so much of Dark chocolate to binge upon?

- The irritating fight between the multiplex guys and the movie makers, which has ensured no new movie or music releases these days, is actually good in a way, because it makes you revisit all the songs you used to like wonsaponatime and have totally forgotten now. Awesome they are, you realise.

- While grocery shopping at your favorite super market, try and check beforehand if the card machine is working. There are actually chances that you pick stuff for like two hours, and then go to the billing counter to be told that they can only accept cash. And you won't have that much cash ever, you being you. So just check next time.

- You will never find the perfect red shoes you have been looking for forever in any of the best shoe stores in the city. And then you will find them in, wait for this, the Bata store near your house! But ofcourse, they wont be available in your size, but that's a different issue altogether.

- You can actually like colors other than blue. At times. Red is, for example, you realise, is a pretty nice color. Ok, definitely not better than blue, but it's pretty damn good.

- Mondays can actually be nice (!!).Not as nice as Fridays, but nice nevertheless. Even if it is a hot summer monday afternoon in Hyderabad, you can actually be happy, provided the airconditioning in office is working just fine, there is really strong coffee available on demand, and you're allowed to download music. And after a long time, you've all the time in the world to sip this coffee, browse the net, all the while listening to the music you just downloaded.

- And ofcourse, wanting to, and actually being able to post on your blog twice within a week's span feels good. So. Very. Good.

Not happening

Tue, 12 May 2009 05:56:48 GMT

Not happening at all. One, I post after like a month after I posted last. Two, I don't even bother posting to atleast wish the blog on it's birthday. 5th birthday. Milestone. Who does that really?

The excuse I have is extremely relevant though. A little shocking even. So those who are not the brave kinds can please not proceed further.

I have been, well, ok, here goes. I have been busy. (Shocking part follows)

With Work.

Ok, go on, go on. Act all shocked. Say, "naah, quit joking" or " Work, and you?" Gag. Choke. Faint. But that, everybody, is the truth. And nothing, but the truth.

I would be shocked too, only I am too busy for that, so much work you see. Actually I didn't realise my level of workaholism till recetly, except that, well I was spending 4-5 hours more than the stipulated working hours at the office each day. And oh, I was carrying work home. Eep. But still, acceptable. But then I noticed some really weird situations, which weren't too positive. Scary even.

Weird Situation no. 1 - I wake up at 6:30 in the morning (no-no, that's not the the weird situation. Though if you think, it actually is. But still, I actually have more!), look at the poor sleepy Dude next to me and say " You know what, I think I hardcoded x formula in x sheet. And now it is only going to pick values for X. And it should actually be dynamic, so that it can pick values for Y,Z,A,B,C and all that too. I have to correct it! Now!" The Dude just blinked, and asked me to go switch the geyser on if I wanted to get to work on time. But still.

Weird Situation no. 2 - I am all dressed for work, and the only thing remaining is the shoes I intend to wear for the day. I usually, think in my head, as to which shoes would suit the outfit the best, and then search for the right box and pick them. And I do just that. Only, as I am wearing them, I think, "Man, today is Work Day 5. Which means I will be doing a lot of print validations today. Which means I will be taking a lot of prints, and the printer is kinda far from my seat. So these shoes are, well, not best suited considering the amount I need to walk today. So I should wear the more comfortable shoes. Yes".

Changes your perspective huh? Now I sound like a workaholic don't I? I am worried, really. I mean, I hate the computer so much these days, that I refuse to switch on my laptop at home. And that is saying something, me being the net-addict I am. Oh, before you say I sound all ranty and cribby, I shall now mention the one postive effect of all the work I am doing. Well, I am not putting on any weight! Ok, before you say 'Big deal, if you lose weight, it's still something, what is this', let me clarify, and actually explain the whole theory.

You see, if you remember, The Dude is now back from Umreeka. And what is the one thing you do when you come from there? Bring chocolates. For friends and family. And that's what he did. Only this time, I somehow convinced him that I being his closest friend and family, should get have the first go at all the loot, and then we can think of the rest. And he agreed. So the result is, no one else got an opportunity to have a look at the sinful quantities of sinfully dark chocolates that had been splurged on. Except for moi. Which should, in regular scenarios, lead to still more expenditure, on clothes that can handle the repurcussions. But that, my dear friends, didn't happen. Positive effect of the crazy amount of work. See. Working long hours has paid off, for once, without the overtime concept.

Ok, I have pretty much made up for my absence out here in the past month me thinks. So, I shall stop the ramble, and probably present more of it more often, in smaller bits ? Makes sense, pretty much. So, till then, let's us all wish and hope that things get back to normal. As in, I really don't want to dream of excel sheets anymore. And I don't want my last thought before I go to sleep to be "Did I allign those charts to the numbers or not?" I really really don't. I miss the good old days. Really. Sob. But for now I guess it's time to get back to the charts and graphs. Atleast till all your wishes come true. And you don't even know you're supposed to wish for this. Hello, this is not published on the blog yet. So I will stop. And publish it. Pray for me. Ok? Ok.

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:20:46 GMT

It was a regular Friday. Actually it was not a Friday. It was a Thursday, only it was more of a Friday, because, the weekend was about to begin. This time, a day earlier.

And actually, it was not regular either. It was a once a month occurence. It was the Financial Quarter close day for the company. The company she worked for.

As part of their job, they happened to churn out almost a hundred 40 page reports every close. They churned them. And checked them. And re-churned them. And re-checked them. And then re-re-churned them. You know where I am going. So, sometime near the end of the day, they put up the final version of these 100 odd reports for all and sundry to refer to. And make big decisions, or point out issues, and the like.

She was churning their 8th or 9th version. Now the point is, in this world of automation, you have the luxury of making one report, adding some technology here and there, and then getting yourself 50 reports, which are very similar, but not the same, in one go. She was doing just that. Working on the one report, and trying to add the bits of technology She was aware of.

And then, he came online. As usual. And all was fine. There was a little bit of chatting, and updating, and general talk. It was fine. 'I am tired of all the work , X', she said, calling him by the nickname only she used. 'I need a long vacation, come back soon, and we'll plan one.' After a while, the chat was done, and she was back to her original job of churning reports.

At the end of the extremely hectic 9 hour long day. She finally had it all done. All she needed to do was press that little 'Go' button on the file. And sit back. While it did it's job of churning out 50 variants of the same report. To satisfy 50 different parties. So that's what she did.

She went for a chat. And a coffee. Looked around, walked around. And returned. Ah! The reports were ready to go.

She glanced through the little thing they called an error log. Some reds. Here and there. But majorly green. Cool. That was good news. A few reds were ok. The computer was afterall a computer. The team mate came along and had a look. 'Cool' , he said. 'Such few reds? You're good to go. Don't bother about them.' She was happy.

All set to put them up for the world look at, she was doing the last minute checks. And something made her want to open just one of the reports and see, why those tiny reds were showing. It couldn't matter, but still. And it would waste a few more minutes. And she was tired.

But she chose to go ahead and check 'just one file'. She went to the highlighted page. Ah, the Income Statement. That's important. What could go wrong there.

And there she saw.

In place of the Sales figure for the second most popular brand of the company

Something unintelligible. Something she had to move to the slide show mode to check out.

It said.

She rushed back and randomly opened 10 of the other 49 reports. And there it was. X.

The sales value for the second most popular brand for all the countries the company had branches in was X.

Oh. My. God.

And so she began her original process of churning reports for the day. Once more.

And that's how, the 9 hour long Thursday, became a 14 hour long one.

Fate.

So what happened was

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:35:21 GMT

The last week was spent back home with the parents. With The Dude far away in the US, this seemed to perfect thing to do. One, it would knock off some bit of the sulking and complaining that has commenced since he left. And two, who wouldn't want a week with no work, customised food menu, childhood memories, old books, photographs, long chit-chat sessions with the parents over free-flowing chai, and uninhibited hours of sleep. What we wouldn't want, and would rather not get into, are the associated aspects of post-vacation depression, change in the weighing scale results (dislclosed to a very closed group - namely my Gtalk list), and a cold, thanks to the change in weather, by which I mean, Meerut was deliciously cold, and Hyderabad is roasting me alive, and the combination chose not to suit moi.

Yep. So the parents decided to choose the very week I was visiting (after 6 long months!) to get the house redone. Redone being rennovating the kitchen, and building a long due store room at the back of the house. Now this store room I have been dreaming of since school, because of the basic reason that it would mean so much stuff could be dumped in it, making way way for so much new stuff. Which could be dumped in it when it got old, making way for yet another set of new stuff. Ok, it's not like the store would be a black hole to swallow all the stuff, but it would be helpful nonetheless. But no one listened to me back then. And now, 9 years after I first left home, they do this. When I am not even there to scatter my stuff around. Anyway, I am happy because this will mean my mom won't call me for a while to ask me when I was taking my Enid Blyton collection from there. As if.

Yeah, so there was a lot of 'Thak-Thak, Thok-Thok' most of the time. And ya, the kitchen was in the other bedroom. And there was cement everywhere, And I was not allowed to wander around in my shorts (sheesh!). And If Mom reads this, she will blame me for making her feel all guilty. So I'll stop.

So, now that I am gone, Mom is busy shifting the stuff around. And guess what she finds. An old diary of Yours truly. Now this isn't the kind of secret diary one would hope to find, and expect to excavate deep dark secrets of the owner. This was the Diary dating back to 1993, and belonging to a 10 year old, who believed in, well, quite a few things.

Like, she wrote poetry. Poetry with rhyming words. Sequence of the words be damned, the last word of each sentence had to rhyme with that of the next. And it did. Ofcourse, some exceptions were made. Like, hmmm, think mermaid (gasp!!). And marmalade (ok, I am gagging now). And think raindrops falling with cuckoos calling (?!). See, she didn't have a phone then, so calling was more like any noise I guess. But cuckoos? Really? But you have to give it to her for the creativity. At 10. And hello, the grammar was perfect. Even then. There are a few more embarassments from much earlier (read a book of rhymes for 'kids' written by a 7 year old). So. And she wrote letters. Condemning cruelty to animals. The Kind soul. Only, she wrote it to, guess who. Ahem, to the animals themselves And also elaborated her stance that till they stood up for themselves, things wouldn't change for them. Nice girl, this. So very kind.

And then I asked Mom to stop reading any further. Reading to me and to herself as well. See these things need to be treasured, and read at leisure, not rushed through over phone. Also, she was laughing way too much. And I am not sure that was a humorous poem she was reading.

Otherwise I have been busy off late. Lots of work, lots of meetings. Don't think that's big? Then beat this. I reach work by 8:55! Wow! Now that's something eh? I don't even wake up by that time in general, and now , I travel for an hour and reach work by that time. Ooh, the world looks quite pretty at 6 I must say. Been a while since I saw it at that time. And then I work till 7! Ah, Niravana! Professional Nirvana this is! Anyway, for all the hard work we're putting in, we are off to a team dinner now. To a nice place, and thank goodness for the new office's location, we're not off to Krishna Bar and Restaurant this time. So yay.

I'm off then. Tired sorta. And nothing more to write about either. So I am off. For my dinner. Ta.

Look! There's a Trolly on my Bloggy!

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:43:20 GMT

Why God Why? Why are you doing this to us?! *

I am a minisucle being in this blogsville. A tiny, microscopic, quiet, never into controversies kinda individual. But you had to go and do this to me.

I am talking about this.

Why? Just because I thought I would share my wordly experiences , and my knack of making a seemingly boring Friday a little better with the world? Is that the reason? If you knew what I was doing would inflict so much pain on others, why didn't you let me know of it immediately? Why did you put Trolly through the pain of having to read what is probably my longest blog post ever, and then let me know how it had effected him/her (it?)? Ofcourse, I should have thought how painful it would be for someone with no life of his own, to read the tiny details of someone else's seemingly better life. But you could have given me a hint atleast, yes?

Trolly is also angry with me for bringing in F.R.I.E.N.D.S. into my blog. It also said something about the subtility with which I do it. Should I have written Chandler Muriel Bing instead of the cryptic Chan-Chan man? Or is it more to do with all the poupularity, and ratings, and blog hits I would have got because people would have come searching for Chan-Chan man's life history here, and then stumbled upon my blog instead, and been utterly disappointed? Is it that? Did Trolly have to face that pain?

And 'fake'? Not only myself, but the entire blog community? Are we fake God? Actually, that was a question, not a statement, so I shouldn't take it so personally, I guess. But the question ' Why are all you bloggers fake' (abbreviations expanded for the sole purpose of keeping this place free of ridiculous abbreviations) kinda assumes we are, right? Oh wait. It is because of the story behind my name, isn't it? I knew no one would believe it. That's why it was a closely guarded secret, and now I have declared it everyone! Look what I have done, brought such a bad name to the blog world.

It also asks me if I live my life to blog about it. God, how come you never put such profound thoughts in my mind. Do I live to blog. Do I? (That topic really deserves a post for itself, probably under 'DI's guide to productive Tuesdays'? Alright alright, I will give due credit to Trolly. Pah, you and your idea of justice).

And it hates Khudaya Khair. :(. I added that in the last remember, when I suddenly thought of the song? Probably if I hadn't, it wouldn't have been so angry. What is this God. You're making Trolly so angry, it is being so mean to me. It probably likes Deepika Padukone more, or Kareena? And I didn't mention their songs here. That is why it is angry nuh?

Anyway, the harm's already done. But one thing ,Trollies usually visit only interesting or controversial bloggies no? And I am so so kind in my bloggies. Once I became mean, you sent me an angry trolly to visit. But this time, I was not even complanining, only rambling about myself! Could it be a sign from you that I am inching towards interesting now? If yes, please send better signs next time, and not mean Trollies. Hmph.

But you can do one thing for me yes? Give Trolly a life , will ya? So that it doesn't bother itself reading stuff it doesn't like? And then feel frustrated about it? Or atleast give it the sense not to bother itself posting comments on these blogs, it surely has better things to do? No? Ok, then just stick to option one for now. And do it fast ok?

Best Regards

* Ok, I brought F.R.I.E.N.D.S. into my blog once again! But this time, no subtility. Is that better? Ask it that. That's all. Thanks.

And yes, don't scold it too hard, afterall, it gave me an idea for a blog post today!

DI's guide to productive Fridays

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:03:41 GMT

I would have made this into a book, but since the solution is so short and sweet, I am restricting it to here. To use your Friday well;
- Write a random Blog post
- Read other blogs
- Read some more blogs
- Pick a tag from another blog and write yet another post
- Ensure the tag has a minimum of 50 questions in it
Tada! Your day is done! Well almost.

Picking this from Priya's blog!

1. Were you named after anyone?
Nope. However, there an interesting story behind my name. And since this is my blog, I am narrating that inspite of not being asked to. Story begins. So, when I was born, my maternal grandmom took it upon herself to name me, and hence went ahead got my birth certificate done with name chosen by her, which was in fact an anagram of my current name. No points for guessing what. When my dad arrived, he apparently blew his top off, as he couldn't digest the fact that someone had actually gone ahead and named his first child without as much as bothering to consult him. So, he cancelled the original name, and gave me my current name. If you ask me today, I am very very glad he did that. Also, when my sister was born, no one even ventured to suggest anything to him. Story over.

2. When was the last time you cried?
A few days back - I think it was one of those tantrum fits I threw about The Dude going away for 5 weeks. FIVE WEEKS.

3. Do you like your handwriting?
It is nice yes, if I am in the mood to write neatly that is. Or else it is scribbles even I cannot decipher later.

4. What is your favorite lunch meat?

Lunch meat? I dont know. First of all I have turned a non vegetarian recently. And I definitely dont have meat for lunch. My favorite lunch however would be a veggie delite from Subway. Heck that would be my favorite breakfast, lunch and dinner! I like sea food though if you are inetersted to know.

5. Do you have kids?
No I dont. As yet. Which brings me to the names I have in mind for my future kid(s). I had shortlisted 'Zoravar' for a son, and 'Zoya/Zia' for a daughter. Some fascination for the letter Z. But they have all been vetoed. So suggestions are welcome, and you have all the time in the world, so think hard.

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you?
I'm not sure. Imagine this, two people, exactly same by nature, and having the exact same views on things, and the exact same likes and dislikes, we would get bored really fast and run out of things to do together. We won't even have arguments, life would be so boring.

7. Do you use sarcasm?
Yes I do, I try to atleast. My kind of humor it is. Why do you think the Chan-Chan man is an all time favorite!

8. Do you still have your tonsils?
Yes yes

9. Would you bungee jump?
Yes I will! I am thinking in NewZealand. If anyone has any excess cash on hand, please pass it over, and I will plan a vacation.

10. What is your favorite cereal?

Cereal and all we people in India don't eat so often. I have rotis for breakast, very healthy. Once in a while we have Kellogs Chocos with cold milk, but that is so addictive that we don't buy it anymore.

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
I have only one pair of them tieable shoes, that's my sports shoes. And no I dont untie them before taking them off, which is exaclt wy I purchased slip on sports shoes this time. People not to assume we do any sports because we dont, and their only use is when there is a chance of me walking more than a kilometer, because then, the heels kill.

12. If you were to pick your own first name, what would it be?
Princess Consuela! No, I wouldn't pick anything different, my name means a lot to me.

13. What is your favorite ice cream?
Chocolate. I really wish I could say something more exotic and different, but nothing satisfies like chocolate. I can say choco-mint though

14. What is the first thing you notice about people?

The way they talk. I am kinda judgemental, I decide whether the person is arrogant, or creepy, or friendly, or funny, or stupid, or intelligent depending on how the person speaks.

15. Red or pink?
Red

16. What is your least favorite thing about yourself
My whiny nature, and the ability to make up or dig for issues in life, even if there aren't any.

17. Whom do you miss the most?
I miss my home and being with my parents and lil sis. But I am sure than from the 15th, I will have a different story to tell! FIVE WEEKS.

18. Do you want everyone to complete this list?
Their call.

19. What color clothes are you wearing?
Maroon. And blue. That is so not a good combination!

21. What are you listening to right now?
Nothing actually. Which makes me wonder why. So I will switch on something now. Most probably the band version of 'Emosanal Atyachaar'

22. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Blue - no doubts

23. Favorite smells?
Chocolate, Vanilla, wet earth, Gucci Envy me, Armani Code

24. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
The Dude

25. How do you know the person who sent this to you?
She is the writer of a blog I frequently visit!

26. Favorite sports to watch?
Cricket - if it is a one day match, even better if it is a 20-20 and is between India and a good other team

27. Hair color?
Black. Turning brown because of excessive use of chemicals to keep it in place

28. Eye color?
Black. Not turning into anything.

29. Do you wear contacts?
Nopes. My eyes apparently are doing fine, though if I do get a chance I would rather wear glasses. Too scared to put anything in the eye!

30. Favorite foods?
Pani Puri, chocolates, Pongal, rasam, sea-food. What combination no?

31. Scary movies or happy endings?
Happy endings, Happy endings!

32. Last movie you watched?
Delhi 6

33. What book are you reading now?
Then we came to an end by Joshua Ferris. I don't know why I bought this book, but I am really trying hard to read it.

34. Summer or winter
Winter, cold, fogs, quilts, hot chai. peanuts. Winter definitely.

35. Hugs or kisses
Can't do without both

37. Describe your pencil cup
There is no pencil cup here, but there is one common one kept behind and it is not worth describing

38. Favorite artist(s)?

I am currently in awe of A.R.Rehman, good enough no?

39. What kind of music are you into?
I am very Bollywood, hindi music rules my ipod

40. What is on your mouse pad?
My mouse. Ok, that's what 'on' it. Anyways, it's a basic Dell mousepad, if that was the question

41. What did you watch on tv last night?
Top Chef on AXN. Oh, and Baalika Vadhu on Colors. Aiyyo, it was depressing!

42. Favorite sound(s).
The sound of waves on the beach most definitely. I need a vacation :(

43. Do you sing or play an instrument?
I sing all the time. Can picking tunes on the keyboard with one hand be counted as playing an instrument? Please?

44. What is the farthest you have been from home?
London Baby!

45. Do you have a special talent?
Define special. I mean seriously. And then define talent. What is this? I can move my ears, twitch them actually. Does that count?

46. Where were u born?
Hyderabad. Such a perfect example of 'life has come a full circle' this.

47. Favorite piece of jewelry?
My very precious 'engagement ring' for sure. The Dude gave it to me in the car parking lot of the mall we purchased it in. So lots of mush value attached!

48. How did you meet your spouse/significant other?
How? Ah, long story, I met his CV first actually. Was told that this 'profile' was joining our team soon. In short, we met at work.

49. Favorite song?
How can you ask for a favorite song like that? Current favorite you can ask. That would be 'Khudaya Khair' from Billu Barber, 'Genda Phool' from Delhi 6, and 'Pyaar Ki Daastan' from Luck By Chance.

50. Favorite musical?

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in Hindi. I used to love Fiddler on the Roof in college, so that too!
</lj-cut>

I am done now! What a productive use of Friday eh? So are you bored? Do you have no work to do? Or do you have work that you don't want to do? Whatever be the case, now you have a solution! Do the fifty question tag! For free!

Ok seriously, it is actually pretty much fun to do, much like those slam-books we used to fill back in school, and it takes almost an hour. So, your call.

Edited to add : I have tried really hard to put this whole long list under an LJ cut, but it is refusing to happen. Hence giving up
Edit 2 : I did it. I did it. Pah, things I do for junta's convenience!

What's on your mind?

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:21:42 GMT

- Oh my God March 15th is almost here, The Dude will be off to the US of A!

- Oh my God what will I do the 5 weeks The Dude isn't around

- I will have to watch nonsense on TV

- How in the world do you explain Rajdeep being voted out of Indial Idol

- It's good in a way, because now I have more time for myself on Friday evenings
- No movies are releasing this Friday

- Delhi 6 was ok, a bit too depressing

- If Rakeysh Mehra had killed AB in the end, I would have sued him

- I can still sue him, for the weird climax
- The music is nice though, The Dude loves Genda phool, we had it on repeat last saturday night
- A.R.Rehman Rocks, and he won two Oscars! Yay!
- But for Jai ho? Ok I am not complaining
- I am bored now
- People seem so busy, especially the neighboring team

- Why is that girl wearing such a bright yellow, with black flowers and silver writing!

- Are we going out for Lunch today?

- If not, how will I spend so many hours with hardly anything to do

- I should post more often with all the time I have on hand

- I should try my hand at fiction

- I want a hair straightener, my hair is curling again

- I need to pay my credit card bill

- I need to start working out

- Will start tomorrow

- Ok Monday

- We have gym fee reimbursement, I really should use it

- But when do I have time?

- I should sleep lesser than I do

- I am not sleepy right now

- Which is surprising, heh, people who know me would understand

- Now I am smiling at the screen, which is stupid

- So I will stop

- This post is pointless

- As if I didn't know when I started.

- Ok stop.

- Oh, I forgot, I love that Priyanka Chopra song from Billu Barber

- And that stupid magazine guy didn't give Cosmo and Femina this month

- Fridays are so lazy

- And awesome

- The last time I posted it was a Friday too

- This was such a quick post

- And so easy to write

- I should make this a regular feature

- So that the blog stays alive

- And I get to pass my time too

- Like I did now

- If I don't stop now, this will be the longest post ever

- With no point

- I already said that

- So I am off

- For a break ofcourse

- Over and Out.

By the way, what's on your mind right now?

Oye! It's Friday!

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:54:32 GMT

And Friday means Happy day. It is a norm. Unless you're the really depressing sorts who don't like any day of the week, even Saturday mornings. Or if you have a meeting every scheduled for every Friday evening, and which has a scheduled start time but no end time, and wherein the agenda is usually ripping apart each individual for the all the things he's failed do over the week. In that case you're just unlucky. And allowed to dislike Friday.

So I am going to be happy today. I am not the dont-like-any-day-of-the-week kind; I love Friday nights and Saturday mornings and Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings. I hate Sunday evenings and the rest of the days of the week, but that's not being depressing, that's being normal. And I no longer have meetings on Friday evenings.

And I am not too busy even. New job's kept me pretty busy till now, but today is good. I am actually waiting for a third party, who I have no control on, to send in work, and sercretly hoping they never do. Comeon, we are already like half done with the day. So I am sipping hot, sweetened lemon tea and typing this post out, glancing outside the window to my right once in a while to check out the surprisingly pleasant weather, this being Hyderabad, and February, and 2 in the afternoon. And it is not cloudy even. I do wish that I was on a floor higher than the 8th though, which is where I currently am. But that is not happening for sure, and in fact, there are talks of moving to a whole new building, and I have heard people utter terms like 2nd floor, 3rd floor etc. So we are just going further down I assume. And God knows if it's going to be half as pretty, my seat, and I really hope it is next to a window.

So new place has been good to me so far. Thing is, it is a completely different industry, and so there is a drastic change in the type of population that surrounds me today. Type and size both. Oh, one thing remained as is. At my old job, I used to get weird looks from people around me when I would leave for home each day. And I still get those. Only there, it was a ' Oh-my-God-she's-leaving-at-9PM-when-the-day's-just-begun' look then, and now it is more of a 'Oh-my-God-it's-6PM-the-sun's-gone down-and-she's-not-leaving-yet' look. Heh. What to do.

Ok, since this is a haphazard post any which way, let us now get into the reigning favorite tracks. I am no different from the world, so ofcourse we have to mention 'Delhi-6'. Very nice, very varied, and very Rehman. While 'Masakalli' catches your attention immendiately, the others take some time to grow on you. When I say others., I mean ' Rehna Tum'. But my surprise fave from the album is the title track! I don't know why, but I found it awesome, and even before the video released. Waiting for the movie to release now. And then 'Luck By Chance'. 'Sapnon se Bhare naina' stands apart ofcourse. But here we have a surprise fave again! 'Pyar ki daastaan', a very regular slow romantic number, which doesn't need a video to make you visualise the trees and flowers and a couple running around. But, it is actually a nice song. And. here's the clincher. It has been sung by Amit Paul! Don't say who Amit Paul, please. Ok, say it. For your information, he is the guy, who did not win the Indian Idol contest last year. Lost in the finals. In an extremely unfair vote out. Though he was undoubtedly the best. So I am happy for him; and the song.

Hmmm, and read Almost Single, by Advaita Kala. It is an ok-ok Indian chicklit book. But then, I find anything in that genre only OK-OK, now that I have read The Zoya Factor. I mean seriously, Anuja Chauhan just ruined all the light chicklit books, authored by Indians, that I was looking forward to reading. Damn. I guess she can make up, by like, writing another one of the sort? Huh?

Now, we've moved on to our second cup of lemon tea for the day. And we just got some awful news. That from Monday, we would be travelling an unnecessary illogical additional 6-7 kilometeres to and from work each day (which I hate and can't stand but have to accept anyway) and also be at the receving end of dirty looks from people who get off the cab after me for having contributed to 2 of the extra kilometers (which I shouldn't really bother about, but actually I do, but will continue to show as if I don't for the sake of the ego. Whatever)

But I am still going to be happy today. Because the weather's pleasant. And it is 3PM. And the lemon tea is kinda nice, a little too sweet, but nice. And there is still no update on the work. And ofcourse, the thing that started it all.

It's Friday.

The Belated Happy New Year post!

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 06:51:39 GMT

What do you get when you combine the following?

- Last few days of break before joining new place of work (which by the way are weekdays)

- Lil Sis's visit to the city

- Exclusive previews of End of season sales for the club memebers at all awesome malls in the city.

Well, you get;

- No work to worry about

- Awesome fun shopping experience
- No long queues at trial rooms
- A really big pile of stuff to choose from for your first day at work

- A huge credit card bill

Which all adds up to (ok, all but the bill part);

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Which is what I am having by the way. New Year this time began as a vacation. If you haven't realised already, I quit my work place of 3 and a half years, my first job, my only professional experience, my comfort zone, sometime back. And had a short break of about 15 days before I could proceed on to where I am right now, and have been since day before yesterday. This by the way, also explains lack of posts. I did think I would post during my short stint as the housewife, but man, it's only at work that I get all the enthu. Heh.

Also, I am superstitious this way. As in, I believe in the 'if-you-tell-anyone-about-something-good-that-supposed-to-happen-it-might-not'. Nazar lagna types. Ofcourse it's based on experience from the past. So I could not post without mentioning the biggest event in the recent times, and hence, chose not to post at all.

But now I am done. I am here, working, have filled all the forms in the world, submitted all the documents, and have it in writing that I am in fact now part of this new company. Actually I had that from more than a month sgo, but I being me, was playing safe. The pros of the new work place as I have noticed, so far include; my seat, which for once is not mine in the day and someone else's in the night. The view, which is actually just a long long road and crazy tall buildings housing hundreds of companies in the city, but then, atleast there is a view, which by the way means I am right next to a window that allows me to know the prevailing weather conditions (which if you remember, was not something I've had before). Then, I work normal timings, which is come in the morning and leave when there still remains natural light in this part of the world. Then there is a very nice beverage vending machine, which doesn't spout sweetened liquid no matter what you choose, and in fact has a varierty of options. The cons noticed so far is just one (which means its a con?), I have to wake up early and I hate that, and then I have to travel through mind blowing traffic which totally surprises me because I didn't even know that Hyderabad had so many people. Oh and it is 20+ kilometers. So ugh. Hmmm, other than that, so far, so good.

The long due, and much planned Goa trip happened during the christmas vacation. If I hadn't mentioned it, well, that was because of the same belief mentioned above. But that was an awesome break! The sands, the sea, the shacks and the humongous quantity of beer, wine and seafood consumed, we couldn't have asked for a better holiday. Only I don't know when the next one's going to be, and that makes me a tad sad. Anyway.

That's about it actually. New job means more busy schedule. I actually started this post yesterday, and that's proof enough. So I leave at that, and proceed on to more important work, erm, the job? So, till we have a free hour again, Ciao!

Some Self Dabba

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:48:17 GMT

Before the year comes to an end, I thought I would do some serious show off. For the uninitiated, that is exactly what Self Dabba means, Blowing your own trumpet, which is more or less the point to this post. I once again, very smugly announce the receipt of two extremely sweet awards from two of the nicest friends I made, thanks to blogsville!

The BFF award, aka the Blogging Friends Forever award, given to me by I-Love-Lucy!

And

from Snippets and Scribbles!

I know, I know, not all of you can read foreign languages, so here's a brief narration for what it stands for!

This award is given to a blog that invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

Thanks ladies, it means A LOT to me!

So, pretty cool huh? Yeah. I am kinda done. Oh ya, I am supposed to pass it on too, but will leave that for next year. In fact, was not supposed to be back till then, but was so tempted!

See ya in 2009! And this time, I keep my promise.

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:38:20 GMT

So,

I saw RNBDJ. And, here is the surprise, I did not hate it. As in, I think I even liked it in some bits (Quit judging me already, will ya?). Point is; I know the basic story doesn’t make much sense. Ok. Fine, it doesn’t make sense at all (yes, I am referring to the girl-cannot-recognize-husband-because-he-shaved-his-moustache-off-and-wore-weird-clothes bit).But there were some nice parts you know, and SRK can act. Especially as the Suri guy. Remember I said that is a big thing? Well, it was. And I am not even an SRK fan. That’s good enough right!
On another note, I am very very upset with Rehman. Really. Here’s the thing. I have forever gone by the ‘If it’s Rehman, it’s good’ principle. Yeah, that is a principle, I made it. And then, he goes and does this. I mean really! Don’t believe me? Then go listen to this. And when you reach the antarah, try thinking what the chorus sounded like. You won’t be able to, I bet. And Gulzaar Saab. Isn’t he the poetic kinds? What in the world was he thinking when he wrote this song then? Rustam Chustam? Huh? I have a strong suspicion that this infact is a collaborated effort on the duo’s part, to sabotage Subhash Ghai. And actually, I am hoping it’s just that.
I read Adiga’s book, that Booker prize winning book. I was so worried when I picked it up, because the last time I tried a Booker winning book, it was The God of Small Things, and I did not last beyond 10 pages, and if I remember right, it took me a while to recover from it. So, I was apprehensive, but this one is good, really good. Written well enough to keep you absorbed till then end, and has a social angle to it too. Two things I never thought could end up together. Recommended, give it a try.
I am now reading The Zoya Factor. And I find it very funny, which is a very good thing. As in, there are these silly one liners which make me crack up all the time. The Dude is so happy. Because he feels that all the books I pick have to be related to oppression, and tragedy, and sadness, and the fight of women against the cruel world types. And when he is able to hear me laugh out loud (I mean really loud, he can hear me over the noise of AOE on the speakers), he thinks it’s good for me in a way.
Oh, AOE reminds me, the house is so technically advanced now. See, the problem was, my laptop became the house computer once I moved in with The Dude. So it has a variety of soft-wares, music, videos, games etc on it, and it was kind of dying of the overload. Oh come on, it is a poor little 2006 model (which I don’t see in the shops anymore by the way, hmph!) with a 512 MB RAM and an 80 GB Hard disk (and a list of other specifications which I am sure are outdated). So we bought a new House Computer, and this one is fully loaded! And has a 22 inch monitor! Yay! For The Dude actually, because it’s being used for games only so far. But Yay! for me, because the Laptop’s free! Oh, and we wi-fied the home, so, I can be all cool and sit and browse from my balcony! Which by the way I tried but there were too many mosquitoes, so I had to leave, but atleast I have an option!
And lastly, I actually cooked something other than the regular dal, chawal, sambar, rasam, curry yesterday. Ok, it wasn’t big, but I happened to try and make Egg Curry. Which was good, because it was a change, and it looked just right, and smelt just right, but I wish I could say that about the taste. As in, it was ok, but I, considering my regular smart self, I added 4 times (please to notice, FOUR times) the required amount of garlic ginger paste. Result; in place of egg curry, we now have what we could call – Garlic-Ginger curry, with egg pieces. My creation nevertheless.

And the rest of the world is the same. And the mood is good, I can’t stop smiling in anticipation of the fast approaching Christmas and New Year (holidays); though there are no plans in place as to how I will be spending them. And before I go, I am changing the template. This one’s for my favorite season; which I don’t even get a glimpse of anymore. Pah. Not that I ever saw Snow (except for that sad excuse for a snowfall in London last year which doesn’t count technically), and obviously never built a snow man (Ok, this is getting worse), but still. It’s just a template. Not a list of things I haven’t done/seen yet or am missing. I guess. Ohkay, before this awesome good mood update post changes to a rant log, I will sign off.

See ya then, say next year?

Raindrops on Roses...

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:08:50 GMT

The color blue. And not just any shade. Only sky blue. I know, I know, the sky’s blue changes shades all the time. But the one shade I am referring to is the bright light blue, almost like powder blue? The kind of blue the sky used to be in April, after winter is long gone, and summer is yet to set in. No, I won’t say spring and all; India has three seasons only apparently. The blue which is visible from between the very bright white clouds, at around 10 in the morning. Visible from the terrace back home. You had to squint to look at it; the sun would be bright enough to make you. On holidays and Sundays of course; who do you find loitering on the terrace at 10 AM on a school day, tell me?

Beaches, yes. And when I say beaches, I don’t indirectly mean vacation. I just mean beaches. The vast expanse of the sea, which makes you look like a non-entity, humbles you almost, like they say? And waves, the very sound of them. Rhythmic in its own way. Sitting on the sand, guessing how high the next wave would be. Watching small fishing boats far inside the waters. Walking on the sand, letting the waves just about reach your feet. Or letting go altogether, allowing the waves to splash you all over, not minding the sand deposits in the clothes for once.

And Rain. Cloudy weather, cool breeze, the roar of thunder every once in a while. And the constant pitter-patter of rain drops. Watching the rain from the safe confines of your balcony, while sipping hot tea. Or just listening to the sound of rain, while wrapped in cosy blankets, a book in hand. Or getting drenched in it, looking up towards the sky, welcoming each drop of water that splashes on your face.

Paani puri! The exclamation mark is to mark its special importance, even if it figures late here. No limitations on the number consumed. Water, as spicy as it comes. Not a drop of sweet chutney. Preferred filling, surprisingly the Hyderabadi version of boiled chole, the hotter the better. Boiled potato from the back home version is also good; guess the relatively spicier water makes up for it.

Chocolate. So what’s new you may ask. Nothing really. I am as chocoholic as they come. They who? Women in general I hear. Chocolate in all forms. Bars of Toblerone, the amazing Chocolate Bomb from Little Italy, the equally amazing Sizzler Brownie from Bombay Blues, chocolate ice cream, cakes, pastries, brownies. All of it. Any of it.

Cappuccino from Barista. Not much foam, strong, and really hot. One packet of caramelized sugar. Everyday, at around 3 in the afternoon. Between 3 and 4 actually. And in case it is one of the I-am-not-that-fat days, a muffin. Blueberry, for sure.

Oh, and Books. Lot’s of them, colorful, pretty, bright books. Not necessarily only when I am reading them. They can be just there. That’s good enough. Like, book shops? Neatly stacked, rows and rows of band new, shiny books. Reading excerpts, checking out comments, picking and choosing what you finally want. And then piling it on the ever growing stack at home. And thinking which one to go for next. Of course I intend to finish them all. Someday.

Shopping too. Ok, before you roll your eyes and say ‘Women!’, I am not talking clothes, bags, shoes alone. Obviously, those too. But planned shopping in general is what this is about. Even if it is groceries. Yeah, go ahead, laugh. Making a list, driving down, ticking things off the list. And picking things not in the list; can be anything, an extra pair of shoes, or a box of exotic cheese. Like that.

And of course, music. The tracks you heard for the first time and liked immediately? Or the ones which took a long time to grow upon you, but once they did, they hung on for longer than many others. Or the very rare ones which you hated initially, but grew to love for other reasons. And those, which remind of you of a certain day, or event, or place or person, and bring a smile on the face. And sometimes, tears too.

And lo! I am feeling better already! That song makes so much sense, I tell you J

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:29:59 GMT

So, do I have a take on the Mumbai terror attacks?

I think I am not allowed to.

You know why? Because when my mother in law knocked at our door and said, there was an attack in Mumbai; my immediate reaction was, ‘Again?’ Yes, that was it.

And then I went and watched 5 minutes of television. The same shots of gunshots being heard, people running around, firing from the vehicle. Then I picked my cell phone, called and messaged those who I knew and who could have been around. Once I knew all was fine with them, I went back to the room, and closed the door behind me.

So, I think I don’t deserve to have a take on the matter. Some years ago, I guess I would give myself the right to speak about it. Because, I feel that if I had faced the same situation a few years ago, I would have been scared. Watched the encounter re-runs the whole night even. Even if it was the same shots over and over again. With ‘Breaking News’ covering half the screen. With the reporters quoting the same things over and over again, while giving extremely irrelevant opinions on what the police, and the intelligence, and firemen, should be doing. I would have watched, and been shocked and surprised, and hated the wrong doers with vengeance.

I do hate them even now, really. But more than for this particular act of terror, it’s for making me immune to terror, and violence, to news of innocent lives being taken. For making me accept things as they are, and going to the extent of just nodding and saying ‘So what’s new in this?’ I hate that I am not shocked enough. That though I feel sorry for those who have been hurt, I am unable to empathize. If there are tears, they are no longer tears of sorrow. They are more to do with anger. Anger at being so helpless. And at times, tears of relief. Relief that people I love and those who matter are safe. I know that is selfish, but that’s how I feel. And that’s what I hate those terrorists for; for making this feeling of relief for myself, my family and friends, stronger than the feeling of sympathy for the others at this moment.

And the fear. No place is safe anymore. The mother calls and asks us to cancel the weekend plans, what with all this going on, it is not safe. The Mother in law asks us not to visit crowded places anymore, malls, multiplexes, you never know what might happen. Extreme suspicion, if someone leaves his bag under the seat in the train, while he gets off to say good bye to his family. Twice in the last month, people at work were made to stay back within premises for 3 hours, till the police dogs were brought in and made to sniff that bag on the bike parked outside of office. It was an employee’s gym bag once, and clothes he had brought along for donation the other time. I hate them for the feeling of suspicion which has now become an inherent part of the mind.

But I still remain optimistic. No, I am not positive that things will change for the better, or all this will stop. I can only be hopeful for that. But I am optimistic in a very crude kind of way. That these people, who are responsible for the terror they caused, the sorrow they brought upon people who were minding their own lives, will suffer too. In a much more painful way. And no, it doesn’t bother me that they are sons, brothers, or anything else, or that there are people for whom they are everything. For me they are animals, in fact worse, because atleast animals kill when they are provoked, or hungry. The acts of this category of living creatures cannot be justified. And all I wish for is pain for them, even if it means hurting those who matter to them.

Good things happen to good people, that’s my most positive belief ever. And for once, I am just hoping that the vice versa stands true too.

...

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:13:38 GMT

Once in a while it is okay to accept that things are not going to work the way you want them to. It doesn’t mean that you haven’t tried enough, because if you hadn’t, then you were in your own way, somewhere at the back of your head, sure that things would not work out at the end of the day. In which case, it wouldn’t matter much either. But that is not the case. The fact of the matter is that you’ve worked so hard to make it better, or atleast stay the way it is, that seeing it get worse with each moment hurts. In fact, it more than just hurts, it is practically unbearable.

Very often, you just assume things can’t go wrong. You make things which were meant to be a small part of your life, a predominant factor governing it. And then, marvel at how wondrous life is. You look at others, who struggle to make things work and feel sorry for them. ‘Tsk Tsk, he is just not trying hard enough. Why else would it be so tough for him? Probably, he doesn’t care enough, in which case, losing, won’t hurt him, right? Not as much anyway’.

But one fine day, your own wondrous assumptions start sounding unreal, and when things start to change, you are startled! ‘This cannot be true! I have given it all I had, and this, I was sure was going to last! Then how the hell did it not?’ And then you try to grapple and grab at what is left, trying to get it back to atleast a bit of what it was. At times you succeed. But at times you don’t. More often than not, you’re left with bits and pieces, which when you closely observe, are just not the same. And for all you know, will never be.

Once in a while, it is much easier to get rid of those bit and pieces, wash it all away, and start afresh. Once in a while, it is okay to let go. And move on. Because this time, staying back is not an option.

I don’t get it

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:22:30 GMT

I really don’t.

So I watched Dostana this weekend. And I loved it. Despite the fact that I had to wait outside a local theatre, so that I would get the tickets in black, and came to know that even those were sold out. Despite that I had to go to a really old, out of the way theatre to watch it, and there too, all I got were upper stall tickets. And which of course meant that I was surrounded by weirdoes who were cheering, whistling, shouting for almost everything. Heck, I could hear cat calls when the Nima Sandal ad played, at Preeti Jhangiani that too. You get what I am saying right?

But I thought it was worth it. Not in a DDLJ sort of way, I doubt I would be seeing it again anytime soon, but accept it, it made me laugh. A Lot at that, and that’s something not all movies are able to do these days really.

But that’s not my point. I have been trying to read what others thought about the movie, and I come across too many blog posts discussing how nonsensical the concept was, how insensitive the portrayal of the gay characters was, how the research done was inadequate, how the movie was a mockery of relationships, blah blah.

I just want to say– Give me a break. Seriously dude. Go to IMDB; check the genre under which the movie is categorized. It says Romance/Comedy. COMEDY. And pray would you tell me, when was any movie sensitive when it was supposed to be a comedy? When did we not have stereotypical characters? I can actually say this out of personal experience, being a tam, and having lived my initial 17 years in UP. Every time, the word South Indian was used, my classmates would go, ‘Aiyyo Rama’, or switch to what they thought was a south Indian accent! Why? Because countless Bollywood movies have the tams, in veshtis, wearing huge vibhuthi naamams on their foreheads, and of course talking in that funny/comic accent. And no, I was not supposed to take offense, because, it was supposed to be funny!

And so was this. I might be repeating what a lot of people said. It is a K Jo movie, for heaven’s sake. When you go for a K Jo movie, you go for the locales, the music, the pretty clothes, the sets, and the exaggeration of sentiments. He made KANK, the most rotten concept ever! And he tried to sell it as a love story! Please keep in mind this fact, and all will seem better. I know this was a much exaggerated comedy, but people, it was supposed to be one. Atleast be thankful, that the movie shifted from its stereotypical image of gay character, who is always dressed in flowery clothes, has the typical gait, and talks in that weird feminine way. Hello! It had John and AB as the gay couple; could it get any better than that? Also, Kiron Kher added to the funnies in a beautiful way! And please, don’t say the extremely hilarious scene where she welcomes John into the house was a mockery of relationships and all! I think the ‘Jaane Kyun’ song summarizes the relationship bit quite well in itself!

About the research part, I couldn’t care less. Ok, so they showed erroneous laws and procedures in Miami. Fine. Is that what is hurting you, the General Knowledge bit? Do you think gay couples will be misled, and start moving to Miami thinking it is much simpler to survive there? No nuh? Then why are you so bothered? You might as well assume they were in this far away, illusionary where all this was actually true, just because it made the story get ahead. Would is make a difference? About child manipulation, the idea was to make us all go ‘Oh man, are they mean or what!’ Instead, we brought in the moral police once more. Leave them at home when you’re coming for some mindless entertainment, will ya?

In short, I think a big deal is being made about nothing. Why take everything as a moral issue? Or as a personal one? Does it really matter? I don’t think so. The purpose is entertainment, take it that way for once. As they would say in Hyderabad ‘Thoda Light lo bhai’.

And yeah, do go watch the movie.

The one in which we congratulate ourselves!

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:32:00 GMT

Oh my God, could someone please let this girl know about the existence of Capital letters which are expected to be used at the beginning of all sentences, and while using Proper nouns, and especially while saying ‘I’? And punctuation marks too, also that ‘…’does not mean a full stop, or a comma, and using endless ‘…’s does not justify never-ending sentences? And of course, also let her know, that today, 4 years and 7 months later, she hates the usage of short forms like Fwd and Ur even in SMSes, so their rampant existence on what she calls her blog, is not appreciated?

Ok, the idea was not to criticize, but to celebrate. This, my dear readers, is the 200^th post on the blog!

*Brief pause for Applause*

Yep, so while I was reminiscing the good old days of yore, when this page had just been created, I obviously had this brainwave of revisiting those pages. And this is what I found. I know, I know, I couldn’t stop laughing either. And so many of those posts are from work, during my internship days. I guess some things never change!

What else? Yep, let's make this a movie centric post. Especially since Bollywood seems to have a lot to offer in the second half of Q4'08 (Sheesh! This sounds so much like one of my forecasting reports!). I am really looking forward to three of them specifically.

Dostana; in spite of the 2 star rating Raja Sen has bestowed upon the movie which he calls injuriously entertaining, and the tickets for which are universally unavailable. Ok, they are available in Bangalore apparently, so we’ll make it Hyderabadally unavailable. Any which way, this movie has my ringtone song! So it better be good.

Rab ne bana di Jodi; don’t hate me please, but I can’t not watch a Yash Raj movie, directed by Aditya Chopra, can I? Agreed, from the excerpts I have heard, it promises to be a lame story, but I am going to take this chance for SRK, who seems to have shed his cool-dude image for such a down-to-earth, regular-guy-with-clerk-type-moustache, reminds-me-of-A.P.Sharma look*. Seriously, I have a new found respect for him now. And I’ve never even liked him, so this actually means a lot.

And of course Ghajini. People, let’s accept it, no one misses an Aamir Khan starrer. That guy has class, seriously (Mangal Pandey/ Mela/Mann to be ignored. Man it’s about the letter M or what?!). So, like I was saying, that has to be watched. However, I am hoping that I don’t end up comparing it too often with the original flick, because that would definitely spoil the fun. Also, I am sure it would have been heavily Bollywoodised, so expecting it to have the finesse of Memento would be unfair.

As for the weekend, we have the Bond movie. And of course (this is actually the awesome bit, the of course was just to sound cool) Our first Mystery Shopping Assignment!!! Yessir, we are now an official mystery shopper! Ah, what and where and all shall not be revealed, hello, it’s supposed to be a mystery after all, right?

With that, we are done. With the post, and also, for the day. So, while I start my weekend, here’s wishing you all a Happy Weekend too! Tada!

* The physics teacher for class 11 and 12 in our school, thanks to who, I never regretted taking up commerce after class 10th

The one with the customised header

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:30:40 GMT

Did you see that? Did you, did you, did you? The header people; isn’t it just awesome! Ok, not really bothered about what you think, but fact is, I did it! I now know the secret of personalized headers on blogs, that too live journal blogs. Of course it is a Ctrl + C Ctrl + V html code, but still hello, this is me, remember? Technically, html-ly challenged me? But I managed to google long enough to find, and then adapt what I wanted! So I am back to the old Basic account now. But, with, a, brand, new, header! Oh yeah, look at them pictures on it, it wasn't easy huh, finding them (credit :Google Images), and ofcourse, sizing, resizing them to finally get to this. A little amateurish agreed, but trust me, it will get better. Also, I should probably change the name to ‘These are a few of My Favorite Things’ or something. But that’s so duh. And this name is like 4 and a half years old. So it stays.

Ok so, I am in pretty good spirits as you can see, mainly because of the header. And oh, I haven’t changed either; I am still the same ranting, complaining, celebrating-for-no-reason, not-bothered-about-changing-the-society-while-bitching-about-it etc. So, nothing’s changed really. Oh yeah, I have screened anonymous comments though, who would’ve thought eh? Things popularity does to you. Sigh.

Well, this is my happy month otherwise. I officially enter my late twenties. I liked being 25 by the way; nice number this, perfect square and all. And also, I could still think I was in my mid twenties, right in the middle. But it’s all going to be over now. Sob. But I like my birthday in general. November month is very nice to people who work for US based companies. So many offs and all. I don’t by the way, work for the US people that is, I work for the English people, but seeing the whole floor empty kinda puts the holiday spirit in you. And the fact that the bosses follow US holidays, yeah, that too. And then November is like right before December, the month of celebrations and parties. In this case, for the English too, so double happiness.

By the way, the tell tale signs of old age are pretty prominent now. First there were the teeth, which I don’t discuss, and this casual mention is just FYI and NQ (no questions, for the uninitiated). Then there is constant back ache. And yeah, I can longer read the stock ticker on CNBC TV 18 if I am lying on the bed. So that officially means bad eyes. Old age is sinking in. I can feel it. I should go buy myself a jar of anti-aging cream.

I am trying hard to keep up with the regular blogging resolution, so please expect more randomness. Of course unless I am dealing with troll attracting, life changing, extremely controversial topics like the last time. I mean, would’ve thought eh? (I know, I already used that line, it just sounds so nice) But that would be it. I strictly believe in ‘Too much ramble in a day, keeps readers away’. Wow. Life changing, that revelation was. Ok enough.

P.S. Do come back, ok?

Mean files

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:24:51 GMT

Yessir, You, in the Honda Accord, on Tarnaka road, yes. Please don’t spit on the road. Just because you are at a signal doesn’t mean you have to use the stop for opening the door of your big car, pushing your big sunglasses over your head, and then, ahem, spit. Trust me, it’s disgusting, and really fuels my violent streak, which might actually make me get off the bus, grab you by your hair, and rub your face over the puddle of phlegm you are leaving behind. Really. Please don’t do it again.

Oh, and you, yes-yes, remember, we met in the elevator at work today? You have conjunctivitis, is it? Huh? Poor you. No? The why were you wearing those sunglasses inside? Lights too bright? Ok, Ok, I know you spent a lot of money on them, but it’s ok to take them off when you are in there, you know. And in malls. Oh, and in cinema halls too! And oh, please don’t mind, but having them on top of your head the whole day is not so cool either. I mean, you know you are not leaving this building for another 9 hours atleast, so you can actually take them off? No-no, no force, just a suggestion.

And sir you, on the phone? I know you had fun at the party last night, but I really don’t want to know the details. I am trying hard to get these two excel sheets to match, and it is tough job you know, they are 30mb files and all, take an hour to even open. And all your chatter is just too distracting. Actually, the floor is not really meant for telephone conversations, could you step out? Oh, if I may mention, it’s been like 30 minutes since you stepped out of the conference room, don’t you think its time you get back?

Ah, and you, we have travelled by the same cab a lot, how can I forget you? I know you mean public service when you switch on the music on your mobile inside the cab. But see, I am very picky. About the music and the sound quality, and you know those speakers on the phone aren’t really happening. As for the music, I know you are playing English numbers to look cool and all, but Backstreet boys and Britney Spears? Even I, with my limited knowledge of phoren music, cannot forgive you for that! So, plug in those earphones. Now.

And dear neighbour lady, coming to you. When you reached the elevator, there were already 6 people in it, no? And that’s the maximum it can carry. So how does it make sense to open the door, call your husband and kid, glare at all of us, go ‘Tch, how do we get in now?’ and then after 5 whole minutes of contemplation finally decide to let us go, all the while looking extremely bugged? We got in before you no? So we get to go first, it’s only fair I think. And also, it’s just a matter of another few minutes. Which by the way, would have been slightly lesser if not for all that drama from you. Right?

Lastly you, dear lady with the kid in the movie hall. I like kids I swear. I think they are the cutest, and even crying kids don’t bother me much, because that’s a given, kids cry. But bringing the tiny thing to a movie like ‘Mummy III’ or ‘Journey to the centre of the earth’ is not the smartest thing to do. You see, these kind of movies have loud noises, and scary faces, and gigantic dinosaurs and yetis and what not. They are bound to make the child cry; hell they made me cry (for totally different reasons though). Take them to Kung Fu Panda instead, and I won’t get bugged even if the kid names every animal on screen and then proceeds to spell it in the loudest tones during the movie. It is after all more of his movie than mine, and I accept that. Totally fair, I am, really.

That’s it, I am done. And no offence to anybody. Just that we couldn’t talk then. So, I thought I would let you know this way. More polite, and of course, much easier. Right?

So, till we meet yet again,

Best Regards

An extremely bugged, ME.

Hmmm...hmmm, Ok, Time up, No Subject , Kindly Adjust

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:44:31 GMT

Yawn.

That is my status message on Gtalk when I have nothing else to say. And suits me perfectly. People who know me personally would vouch for that. And it also defines my current mood. So.

I am back to post before it is too late. Too late as in, you know, if I wait one more day, this would start with an ‘It’s been a month since I posted last, but now I am back, and this time I promise I will be regular’. And the title in all probability would be ‘I’m back!’ And I didn’t want to do that, repeat titles i.e.; you see, content I will repeat, complaints I will repeat, but repeating titles, not happening.

So please don’t expect much sense of this post, ok? You have been warned. Hmmm, so what do I want to write? Something important of course, I never forget that the primary purpose of this journal is to let my grandkids know how awesome and super cool their Grandma was. Or is, depending on my presence at their moment of enlightenment. And I hope I am around when that happens; come on, who would want to miss that look of immense pride on their faces! Ok, enough.

So, my current favorite song is ‘Jaane Kyun’ from Dostana. Have you heard it yet? If not, please do! And oh yeah, if you are the kind who turns up their nose at Bollywood stuff, then don’t bother, and get back to the trash you call music! Ok, so, this song is my ringtone these days, and believe me, to get to that level you really need to be impressive! So you know the authenticity of the claim now.

Otherwise the mood’s not too good. And because of an array of factors of course, I am not the kind who gets bugged for no reason. Like there is this persistent back ache. The kind which wont go, no matter how many of those ‘Ergonomic exercises’ you do, and the kind which wont reduce in any position, sitting, standing, sleeping. Basically the mega-bugging kinds.

Then there is the absence of dust bins. Yes, dust bins, which are mysteriously missing from near all desks here. The smarter people (me i.e., if you are too slow to get that) bring their own garbage bags and collect trash in it and throw it while leaving. The not-so-smart ones walk all the way to the common trash can to throw their stuff. The deserve-a-frigging-slap-on-their-faces ones, conjure imaginary dustbins under the desks, and continue throwing stuff into it, and that means wrappers and papers on the floor. Ugh.

Then the fact that I have not been posting regularly enough. I have 196 posts in 4 and a half years. 196 in 4.5 years. That is 43.5555555 posts in one year. That is 1 post in every 1.2 weeks, so I am actually almost at a post a week. That’s not too bad huh? Fine; please to ignore above mentioned fact as reason for current state of mind. Thank you.

Then of course, there is the fact that I am me. ‘Me’ here refers to the most indecisive, confused, impatient, worrying, panicky, impulsive individual in the whole world. And trust me; with this definition, it is not a good thing to be me. Oh, now the Dostana song acts as a pep-up mantra for me! Oh and, and, it was my status message on Gtalk till yesterday! Phew! So many good things about this song, I tell you!

Oh just FYI, my current status message is a line from ‘My Rollercoaster’, you know that awesome song from Juno? Oh, and that by the way is the ring tone for The Dude on my phone these days. I like technology J

Oh, just to update, I couldn’t read that Rushdie book. There are two reasons. The stated reason; it was from The Dude’s library, and he forgot to renew it after the initial 2 weeks and so we had to give it back. Now, the actual reason; ahem, well, ok first of all, those who belong to the book-wise-we-think-we-are-elitists club, turn away. Yeah, ok, now listen. I did not read enough to judge what I thought of his writing, but (here is the big but), the fact that I didn’t go beyond 10 pages in 2 weeks says something no? As in, I wasn’t drawn towards the book to continue reading, like I have been towards those not so elaborate, not so poetic sounding, not so describing each flower and leaf in two pages, to the point , but extremely interesting nonetheless, books. So there I said it. The current pick is Kiran Desai’s ‘Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard’. Half done, and ok so far.

And that would be it. This one is a long post huh? Makes up for the days I have been missing for. There is so much more to say, but I’ll keep that for the next post. And now that I am done with the most fun thing I did in the whole day today, it’s back to square one.

Yawn.

So Far, So Good!

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:28:58 GMT

I have been reading quite a lot these days. In fact, I think I am pretty close to what would probably put me back into the league of those ‘who-quote-reading-as-a-hobby’. Good for me.

I have to accept that I made a more conscious effort to pick books, and more importantly read the books I picked, once I blogged about the Orbit Terrarum Challenge. Remember? Only, I don’t think I stuck to my original list by far. And two, I never blogged about it. Anyways, any progress is good progress, and here’s my list of achievements so far. Along with short-short commentaries which I am hoping count as reviews! J

Girls of Riyadh – Rajaa Alsaena
The first book I picked, and which thankfully features in the challenge list as well. A light read this one, has the chick-lit element in it, which makes it easier to absorb. The story of four friends from the elite class of Riyadh, it does deal with the impact of the society, religion etc on them, but in a subtle way. It is more a personal take on their dreams, their quest for love, their aspirations; their lives in general. The narration is interesting, and is in the form of anonymous mails to a group id, and the author identifies herself as a friend of the four protagonists.

A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khalid Hosseini
Another book from the Challenge! This one was awesome, something I expected from the author of The Kite Runner. Definitely depressing, with its set of highs and lows, I love the way the author defines each character. Both the protagonists, Mariam and Laila come to life as you read through the book. Unputdownable (I really think there should be a word like this!), this one, I read in one go during our 5 hour wait for a connecting flight in the middle of the night.

Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I think it is an automatic thing; I somehow always reach out and pick books which have an element of depression, always a tad higher than regular tolerance levels. The book revolves around the Nigerian Civil war, and though I am not a big fan of war stories, this one is more about the effect of the war on the lives of the central characters. But where there is war, there are casualties, sorrows, some very graphic descriptions, and inevitably, depression. But once again, beautiful characterization, and amazing emphasis on detail.

Purple Hibiscus – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
When it is about an author I have read before, I always have higher expectations from the next book I read by him/her. The same held true here, irrespective of the fact that this in fact is the first book by her. But it met expectations quite well. The story is the narrated from the point of view of a 15 year old Nigerian girl Kambili, whose father is a philanthropic for the society, but is more of a cruel religious fanatic when it comes to his own family. The element of personal touch is evident, and the sense of empathy it evokes for the protagonist is unavoidable.

Prisoner of Birth – Jeffery Archer
Who doesn’t like Archer? Huh? If you don’t, well I would rather not comment or react, because whatever it is, or whoever you are, I can promise you I won’t sound polite. My love for Archer titles is unconditional. He is the only author whose books I have picked up without checking the review at the back, simply because he never disappoints! Agreed, some concepts may sound repeated, and you might actually confuse between two stories some time later (I know I have), but he will not bore you. He promised you thrill, and he delivers. Like with this one. The uncanny resemblance to The Count of Monte Cristo , or that the protagonist mentions that he would follow the classic while seeking revenge, does nothing to put you off. You still read it, and at the end, you’re smiling, just like you were when you finished other titles by him.

The Silent Raaga – Ameen Merchant
Yes! Finally an Indian author, whose book I didn’t want to take breaks while reading! Janaki Venkatakrishnan is going to be one of my favorite characters for a long time I think. I don’t know if it was the simplicity of the story, or the fact that it revolved around a Tam-Brahm Iyer family (very staunch and all, nevertheless), or the way it was put forth that appealed to me most, but it did. Strongly recommended this one.

Undomestic Goddess/ Remember me/ Confessions of a Shopaholic/ Can you keep a Secret – Sophie Kinsella
The ‘by’ sign in the above line refers to ‘and’ and not ‘or’ as it may suggest. How can it be 'or'? Anyways. Why in the same line you ask? Because I really doubt I will have 6 lines to write about each of the titles. Oh, they weren’t bad or boring or anything like that. You really think I would go ahead and read so many of them? But then they were all of the same genre. 100% chick-lit, funny, full of mush, and very very happy. They kept me sane, these titles above, and gave me the much needed breaks when I was busy obsessing about how wars destroyed humanity, or how oppression of women was abominable, or how religious fanaticism was unacceptable. All the titles revolved around regular women, leading regular lives, facing regular problems, and then overcoming all of them, and of course also landing up with the nicest guys in the end. Like I said, happy stories.

That makes it one Indian author, one Nigerian author, one Afghani author, one Arabian author, and two English authors. And 10 titles by them. And just 3 of them are from the old list! Whoa! That means that if I intend to stick to the challenge I still have 4 titles/authors of different countries to go. Hmmph! I am not too keen on half of what I listed there now, so I have to make a new list. And fast!

Other than that, I haven’t mentioned The Japanese Wife by Kunal Basu, because I am yet to read the two remaining short stories. Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies was picked, attempted and then given up on. I couldn’t read beyond 10 pages. Detail is good, but this much detail, well, puts me to sleep. Have just started upon Rushdie’s Enchantress of Florence, my first Rushdie book (not counting Haroun and the sea of stories which I read so long ago, I have no clue what it was about). And he isn’t even going to help add to the challenge list. Sigh. And yet another Sophie Kinsella title. Strictly for reading during the breaks I take from reading. Not bad huh? *Pat on my own back*. And so that’s that, I am hoping this post doesn’t jinx the rhythm though. Good luck to me!

P.S. Is Frederick Forsythe an American? I really hope he is, I plan to read 'The Afghan'' by him, and he will add to my tally too then.

P.P.S. No he is not! I just checked. Another English author, what is this? He has to wait I am telling you. If we go month wise I am running one month late, I should have been 6 authors down by now. Damn! Suggestions are welcome! Just remember the ‘Only Fiction, no philosophy’ mantra. Danke.

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:19:16 GMT

So I finally succumbed to temptation!

And upgraded this blog to a plus account. Well, there was a relevant reason this time. Remember how I once said that this mega-bugging Live journal does not allow me to post pictures? Remember? And then I did shifted to word-press, and got all happy? And then I shifted back, because, hmmm, ok, I didn’t have a reason, probably it was lack of substance to post about. And the ‘I am moving’ and ‘No, I am actually not’ posts count as two posts, adding to the sad number I have accumulated in the past 4 years. Probably.

Anyways, I really needed the picture posting thing to work this time. Because, how else, would we be able to do this!

Tada! * Drum Rolls*!!

The blog has just received an award! Yes! And it has been give by the very sweet Snippets n Scribbles; Danke Lady!

And I am supposed to pass it on to who I think deserve it. And I will of course, so I pass it on to -

purely_narcotic – For being able to string the simplest of words into sheer poetry!

Ryan– For being really funny! (when he isn't busy quoting enlightening statements from movies or TV shows)

Ok, basking over, drum rolls over. Moving on to the much hyped upgradation, I can now post pictures, and choose from a bigger variety of themes! And since I am HTML, CSS, everything-remotely-to-do-with-making-a-pretty-web-page challenged, that is a big plus. So when you see this, chances are the page looks much brighter, not necessarily, probably different, that’s all. But there will be ads on the page now. Two I think. One right at the top. The last time I saw, they were advertising a new website by NBC for its show, The Office, with goofy pictures of its characters. So don’t turn away if you see a weird header, it’s not me. It’s the ad; my chosen header will be below it somewhere. Ok?

By the way, if the post seems disjointed and all, it’s because I am hopping back to the journal settings again and again to check for a new theme. I can’t decide though. It’s bugging. I like blue in general, but I want the page to be bright too, and bright blue isn’t my favourite kind of clue. Life is tough at time, no? What is with these LJ themes classification though? I went under ‘modern’ and all I can see is boxes, in different colours, no header image and all. How is that modern? Pah. And now I am bugged, the best themes are available only if you have a paid account. Great, so now I have nothing great for a theme, and there are advertisements all over my page. Ok, no more complaining.

Between the last two sentences, and the stuff I wrote before that, I actually went and attended a telecon. Cool huh? I knew I was a multi-tasker and all. Also, I am being extra nice today, because I am off to Meerut tomorrow for a whole week! So, I might as well not act funny, or bug anyone now, right? Right. Also, I had a huge choco-walnut brownie from Barista, which is like the second best walnut brownie in the world. The first being the ones I make. The one I like to talk about all the time, because that’s probably the only exotic (brownies are so exotic!) thing I have ever made. So, I am thinking that might have something to do with the mood in general as well.

Oh, btw, I have chosen the theme. It’s a bright autumn theme. Orangey, greeny, leafy; autumny like I said. There were four of them to choose from, one had sneakers on the leaves, now you know how I hate running, or for that matter any exercise, so I didn’t pick that, though it was brighter and all. The others didn’t have a white base, which I have always been very particular about. Ok, not always and all, but atleast for like a month now. This one has a book lying on the leaves, and it’s blank. So I am assuming it makes sense, a blank book for writing stuff in autumn. Whatever.

And that’s that! I am done. I enjoyed writing this today by the way, senseless banter. I don’t see myself updating for another week for sure, but I don’t think I will be able to ignore the blog-hopping bit. Till then, Ciao!

P.S. I want to slap LJ right now, for putting idiotic, embarrassing advertisements on the page! Ugh! Ignore, please ignore!