tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50612228517448542092024-03-05T20:06:54.700-05:00Rants 'n' RavesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-31087016565483616832010-12-16T16:48:00.002-05:002010-12-16T16:50:40.499-05:00I moved!Hi ... I have now moved to the following location: <a href="http://muddledup.wordpress.com"> http://muddledup.wordpress.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-31557893627410892632010-10-27T15:16:00.002-04:002010-10-27T15:18:20.650-04:00Wordless Wednesday 3 - Leaning Tower of Paapad<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk6sOnp6Re_TmGgNQhTtaCZNM3KBacAgQhy4PZr3n0QWCzwkALZLT0YLlLtPPwVKOV3eXHWbSvDyoZGnURb6-oJxGtVdi6NijfbFtoAg5ps1KTCp9WdYRQHKDKgrWV69rw0knl187MP-s/s1600/LP.bmp"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk6sOnp6Re_TmGgNQhTtaCZNM3KBacAgQhy4PZr3n0QWCzwkALZLT0YLlLtPPwVKOV3eXHWbSvDyoZGnURb6-oJxGtVdi6NijfbFtoAg5ps1KTCp9WdYRQHKDKgrWV69rw0knl187MP-s/s400/LP.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532807134621524994" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-72959379163553084572010-10-26T11:09:00.002-04:002010-10-26T11:12:17.164-04:00Some Respect?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Last evening, I spotted this woman bullying her dog. This woman lives in the same community as I do and she usually walks her dog around the time I get back from work so I have had the opportunity to observe her before. I love dogs and they know that. The moment they spot me they will stop and wag their tails and try to jump over me – at least the friendly ones will do that. So the first time I saw Rosy, the beautiful dark chocolate brown/black colored Labrador with eyes that would melt your heart, she was a little puppy. Like any other playful puppy she started wagging her tail and tried to run towards me. Her owner, this young lady who never smiles seems constipated most of the time - let’s call her Miss C, just dragged her using the leash and yelled at her. I just let it pass thinking that Miss C was probably in a bad mood and didn't really feel like socializing. But that was just the first of many such observations - I have routinely watched Miss C yell at Rosy, drag her collar so much that it probably hurts and generally be mean to her. And Rosy would always wag her tail at Miss C looking for some kind of affection or acceptance - I am really not sure what. Rosy was always sweet and her owner just seemed mean. How I wished I had Rosy and not Miss C!! Rosy is more than a year old now but is still as beautiful as ever...</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Yesterday, Miss C stopped Rosy right outside my porch during their daily walk, and rolled her palms into little fists and kept punching Rosy on her face while scolding her and Rosy just stood there wagging her tail with a look that said "I love you, why are you always angry?" My brains froze as I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">didn</span>’t know what to do. They walked away after 5 minutes and I forgot about what I had just witnessed. I feel like a terrible person but I was not sure what I should do? Next time should do I just stop and stare at Miss C and make her feel small so that she may not repeat this kind of behavior? But what would she do to Rosy when they are at home? I don't know and every time I think of this I only wish Rosy had a better human friend...</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Why is it that some people are mean to animals? I can never respect those who are mean to animals. There are some those who will purposely stone other animals or throw stuff at them for laughs. I have heard of <span style=""> </span>kids who trick dogs or cats to eat food laced with anti-freeze just because they think its funny that poor animal trusts you and eats that food and chokes on it and dies! What kind of contribution would these people make to this world when they cannot respect another life? We do not have to love everything and everyone but we can at least treat all living creatures with some respect as they have feelings too. I wonder how Miss C would feel if she just woke up one Freaky Friday to find that Rosy was her mistress who would walk Miss C using a leash and punch her on the face. Knowing Rosy, if this ever happened, she would be so sweet to Miss C that the lady would die in shame!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-74976454654007974282010-10-25T16:05:00.001-04:002010-10-25T16:07:31.118-04:00Random Thoughts - 1<div style="text-align: justify;">I am pretty amazed at bloggers who post so much of personal information about their lives on their blog and I am talking real personal. Yes the blog is a kind of a journal, but how much of everything which goes on in your personal life would you want your friends and relatives to know? Call me old fashioned but I am a very private person - have always been. Not even my parents would always know what I am up to, especially if it has anything to do about conversations with a guy or anything on those lines. That is classified information and I wouldn't want my parents, friends or relatives knowing about everything that goes on between 2 people....I have not even written about my thoughts and feelings about tiffs with relatives, friends or other crazies that I have met throughout my life. Come to think of it I don't have a problem talking about these subjects :)<br /><br />I would prefer to maintain a personal journal to record my inner-most thoughts and password protect it! It's the age of digital journals and I can write pretty much what I please without worrying about who would stumble upon my private thoughts and feelings compared to the old days when diaries could and would be opened by anyone from parents to ! Well that's me.<br /><br />But I should admit, these bloggers have lots of courage and I admire them for that. I love their bindaas attitudes which screams "I don't care what the world thinks!" This is probably the reason why there are many more followers on such blogs compared to other not too personal blogs...Way to go people..hats off to you!<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-49826144531867936252010-10-20T18:34:00.001-04:002010-10-20T18:36:36.055-04:00Wordless Wednesday 2 - The Future? Go Green People!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVt-coANTyyb2kAxvqHCiBq51rQxHGpgkWZL8y08A2Rrnmt2SFwEo5E32QbosBjvJHcZPnngyzukx2rAXz51ZojSKDm9137JfhfRJbD4PsKQ7HnJrG6DJizMOzShsar0Yt4Yi4ORlU-U/s1600/IMG_1495.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVt-coANTyyb2kAxvqHCiBq51rQxHGpgkWZL8y08A2Rrnmt2SFwEo5E32QbosBjvJHcZPnngyzukx2rAXz51ZojSKDm9137JfhfRJbD4PsKQ7HnJrG6DJizMOzShsar0Yt4Yi4ORlU-U/s400/IMG_1495.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530260587994567346" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-53102568675055034902010-10-19T15:19:00.002-04:002010-10-19T15:27:39.841-04:00Different Worlds - some heavy ranting<div style="text-align: justify;">It is such an interesting world...there are some countries (like where yours truly is from) where people start work early in the morning and continue late into the night and hardly complain. They go about it like it is their life's mission - the mission which enables them to take care of bills and pay mortgages. Most don't have the advantage of leaving work on the dot at 5:00PM or say something when their boss SMS'es them to be at work bright and early on a week end when they have worked until 2:00PM the previous night or when they are asked to cut short a holiday to get into work just because it is expected of them....Even Tea and Coffee is rationed at most places of work and folks don't get to enjoy long luxurious lunches. Not to mention that the commute to and from work probably leaves them in bad mood for the entire week! If you happen to be a working woman, you have the additional exciting tasks like cooking dinner after a long day at work, cleaning up, wake up early next morning to cook lunch for you and your better half before you both rush to work , put up with your maid (if you have one)etc., If you have kids its even more fun - you just need to manage a sleepy or screaming toddler, drop em off at school or day care and rush to work before the boss can make a comment about why they should not be hired! More about this later.<br /><br />Then there is the other side of the world - people get into work as they please. The moment they get into the office you will find that they have not even settled into their chairs or checked their emails but there they are already gossiping with others who don't mind listening to their useless banter and the incessant ranting and complains! Some people are always too good for what they do, they are better than everyone else even when they are not, they need to keep telling themselves and you how you can never be the same as them even though you can and you already are (you are probably better). They have the knack of looking busy and stressed thereby exuding an important exterior. Men and women alike think its no big deal to miss deadlines, not turn up to meetings, not answer emails (heck they are busy browsing the internet) and basically do whatever it is that they please. They have great paid vacation time, protected by extremely strong employment laws where you cannot discriminate based on gender, color, race, medical conditions.. you are not even allowed to verify their performances at their previous jobs or for references!! Oh let me add that these kind of employees are rarely ever taken to task! <br /><br />I am in awe of this world - how does this even exist? How can an organization with such employees show growth? How can such a world bloom and grow? This is a world protected by an excess of everything: land, food, water, strong laws and more. It is a world which going to be filled up with lazy folks who can't do anything few years from now..a world where there would be very few achievers and one that would contain an overflow of those depending on the government to hand out benefits for any kind of disaster or personal problems that rise out of their own making. These folks are too lazy to work so they get fired and the govt has to hand out unemployment! I know of those who make sure that get fired so that they can collect unemployment without doing anything..And because they are unemployed they cant afford medical care so that government has to hand out free medical care! And what is the source of cash to make sure that all these people have a cushy life - tax payers money. A few people work hard and pay their taxes so that the rest of the country and sponge off someone's sweat and blood.<br /><br />When I think of such deep issues I only wonder if God is being unfair. Did he really create some countries and its citizens to be above others? Did he just create someone countries and its citizens to be slaves to these so called superior countries? Is he just so mad at some countries that he filled them with rotten politicians? What other rational explanation exists? And why is it that hard working citizens anywhere have it tougher than the lazy ones?? So many questions and no real answers....<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-65177646033864820412010-10-15T10:03:00.004-04:002010-10-15T16:56:46.406-04:00TGIF!! 15-Oct-10 - Suicide of the Office SuppliesIt's Friday y'all! My favorite day of the week - a day whose evening I can look forward to and a day which makes the days that follow seem exciting. Hopefully I don't have to hear the alarm go off on the week-ends, can laze around and spend time with myself, my family and loved ones. Nothing but pure bliss!<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />I wanted to share this extremely hilarious photo with everybody. I feel nothing explains the "TGIF" concept better. Last Friday someone at work just attached a pen holder, a docking station and what looks like a punching machine to a string and hung (yes hung) them to the ceiling!We all love our jobs which is probably the reason why we look forward to week ends and enjoy them in the first place. But every now I can't help but not take myself too seriously and cut through the stress to enjoy such silly gestures! Enjoy an have a great week end!<br /></div><br />P.S - I have named this photograph "Suicide of the Office Supplies"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCzsSXUonMpBByBELHauLSmuJN39QDdlPvIuAsZlbUc0kfni9gGDQASfzKPuNXsGvCB3PdUSjj8wMqa93GmIueiNk5AVU8u6ENaVToqu_eR28_b0jDx8D1DkU7OuQvj9dPZvl4ie1xhLg/s1600/IMG_0216.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCzsSXUonMpBByBELHauLSmuJN39QDdlPvIuAsZlbUc0kfni9gGDQASfzKPuNXsGvCB3PdUSjj8wMqa93GmIueiNk5AVU8u6ENaVToqu_eR28_b0jDx8D1DkU7OuQvj9dPZvl4ie1xhLg/s400/IMG_0216.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528349875819768530" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-47824971209863897932010-10-14T18:54:00.003-04:002010-10-14T19:03:11.379-04:00I won!<div style="text-align: justify;">Today has been a very exciting day for me - I won the chili cook-off contest at work! After years I participated in something and won. My recipe which was a desi version of the westernized Chili was selected as the winner and also found mention for originality and spice /kick! This was my first attempt and the reward is extremely motivating - at least it motivated me to update my food blog after 6 months! Honestly only I know that I was really mad at someone when I was cooking...but seems my anger was channeled well :)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since I have been working on my recipe, this is my post for today. Interested parties may please click here to read about chili and check if the recipe interests you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://yumpalettes.blogspot.com/">http://yumpalettes.blogspot.com/</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note to self: I really need to work on getting all my blogs in one spot!!! I am just not sure how to do it. if anybody has some suggestions please let me know.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-5391071488060031462010-10-13T11:45:00.006-04:002010-10-13T12:09:32.652-04:00Wordless Wednesday 1 - What's smoking??<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazOPYelVWH_ahsyyKIHjRqXBfyVgEw3xpvR5EQvaMy64n4_JqFnPY507uJn40iP-wK9TNtsZMgpt1OwjPkuh2-2PQcO0fB1OtxH2wd9uKAJCAWWV4d3XufqH5zVYLyzkQiQWvICAQJb8/s1600/IMG_0457-2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazOPYelVWH_ahsyyKIHjRqXBfyVgEw3xpvR5EQvaMy64n4_JqFnPY507uJn40iP-wK9TNtsZMgpt1OwjPkuh2-2PQcO0fB1OtxH2wd9uKAJCAWWV4d3XufqH5zVYLyzkQiQWvICAQJb8/s320/IMG_0457-2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527563460732231554" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><br /></u></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I noticed that Wordless Wednesday is very common across the blogosphere. I think that the concept is great. I wanted to do one too. This is my first one. Here goes....</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-80724050246277667372010-10-12T14:00:00.003-04:002010-10-12T14:04:29.754-04:00Girl vs Diet<div style="text-align: justify;">It was a boring "Tuesday" afternoon and she was contemplating about her assignment when her colleague made eye contact with her. Get into the kitchen said those eyes and then pointed to the big brown box that she was holding. Oh no! thought the girl - not this not now. Why does this always happen to me? But she couldn't resist walking into the kitchen wondering about what the consequences of her careless action would be. Soon there were others bustling around them as the box opened to reveal its contents. As the girl fought the lat few ounces of temptation her mouth spoke the words - "There goes my diet!!!I will take a slice of the veggie pizza!!!!"<br /><br />P.S - This is my second post for the day. The first was supposed to have been posted yesterday which is why I have 2 posts today. This is my first attempt a short story like thingie...am going to call these "shorty" :)<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-6980645169792947922010-10-11T16:57:00.008-04:002010-10-13T11:45:10.601-04:00The MInd, Body and Yoga<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ok</span>..so here I am on the path to finding myself and an important part of this project is to have some kind of discipline in life, the ability to shut off negative influences and concentrate on what is important to you as a person, a pure mind and body etc., I am not going to go on cos I might sound like a philosopher which I am not even close to... Speaking of a pure body and mind (ahem!! My body probably cries every time I feed it junk and my brains are overworked as they never rest) I have just started taking yoga classes as an important step of this journey :) I was skeptical at first about yoga - you would be too if parts of your childhood were spent sitting with an aunt who chanted "Om" when you looked on like a deer struck by headlights wondering how this supposed to be fun! Anyways I digress.<br /><br />Have you ever had the experience of trying to stretch like a cat years after school and college ? More simply put you are no longer between the age range of 16-27?? The only way I can describe how I felt when I tried the most simple and basic yoga stretches is confusion and pain!Here I was trying to concentrate on holding a cat-dog or cow or some kind of animal pose (maybe it was pigeon which actually makes it a bird pose) without tripping on myself or someone next to me! It seemed to be that my body was taking revenge on me for the years of abuse it had been subjected to over the last 3 decades!! And you what they say about pay backs - you get much more than you gave! And it didn't help that some others were doing all of this without breaking into a sweat when I couldn't even touch my toes..Those who know me well know that I am obsessed with touching my toes. It has been a life long endeavour of mine to touch my toes...I couldn't do it when I was a kid, when I was dancing full time and I still can't do it! I keep blaming it on my genes whilst some say its my hamstrings. This "unable to touch my own toes complex" has become a regular joke in my life because of which I have decided to overlook this inability of mine while navigating the journey of life. Getting back to my class, towards the end of it I was desperately looking forward to the death pose where you just lie down and relax!<br /><br />All said and done a few classes later I find that I can do the cats, cows,dogs and even cobras but not the bird!! I try to take inspiration from my cat who can stretch himself like nobodies business and who thinks I am just being silly when I try to do the cat-cow and dog... he runs beneath me trying to play the "let me see if you will fall" game! But I do look forward to every class so maybe, just maybe I am finding some kind of discipline in my life after all.<br /><br />So here is to me trying and filing my experiences here so that I can look back one day when I can do all the fancy back bends and remember my humble beginnings and laugh at the girl who was trying to something - I am hoping the future me would have it figured out the "something" by then :-)<br /><br /><br />P.S - I had a very silly look on my face as I typed out this post - I have missed not posting on the weekend and I had nominated myself for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">nablopo</span> of all things....<br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-5879036160882705642010-10-08T11:33:00.007-04:002010-10-08T11:45:06.548-04:00TGIF!!!!! 08-Oct-10<div style="text-align: justify;">It's Friday! Yay! It has been a long week and I am looking forward to this week end more than I normally do! The only thing I have planned is to attend my yoga class. on Saturday. A separate post on that will come soon. What I'd like to do other than that has been summed up well by furry little pal:-)<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuf5BbQE5yNSXzHaKabwRdI3Z9_ohMavs5eB6v-2U3ff5_HoNDy9iZZ0RbaWJEX-taPljq2VNxEwrLCRepQpo355en3WQyr4GouW_WwVgmrYNhSOJIIrQK9wLmARAuMeXC-1yRQ8Wanw/s1600/IMG_0453.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuf5BbQE5yNSXzHaKabwRdI3Z9_ohMavs5eB6v-2U3ff5_HoNDy9iZZ0RbaWJEX-taPljq2VNxEwrLCRepQpo355en3WQyr4GouW_WwVgmrYNhSOJIIrQK9wLmARAuMeXC-1yRQ8Wanw/s400/IMG_0453.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525699508351853154" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On a different note I am going to give <a href="http://www.nablopomo.com/">nablopo </a>a try and am starting off small but cute (with this post) Also going forward I am going to do TGIF posts every Friday. These posts will be the best way for me to unwind after my week...everybody does wordless Wednesdays so why shouldn't I do TGIF Fridays?? :) For those who may not know (though I am sure that is a rarity) TGIF is an acronym for Thank God It's Friday! What do you have planned for the week end??<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-13683131047501855122010-09-30T11:36:00.004-04:002010-09-30T13:28:36.096-04:00Of Concentration, Me and MM<div style="text-align: justify;">Have you ever wondered what happens to your sense of concentration once you are done with college? I have been trying hard (not real hard though) to start studying for a very important exam which I have been planning to write for quite some time now. Every time I open my books I go through the same experience which can very comically be described like this:<br /><br />Me: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ok</span>! Time to get serious..I need to pull up my socks and get this done! After all its for my own good...I can snag that corner office with a view some day (soon)!<br />MM: That's right babe! You can do it...together we can conquer the world!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5 minutes later:</span><br /><br />Me: Chapter 1: "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">XYZ</span> is the term that is used to define process which describes........"<br />MM: Are you comfortable in this seating position???<br />Me: Sure...I have never used a table and chair all my life! Why start now? <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">XYZ</span> is the terms that is used to define process which describes........<br />MM: Sorry to interrupt, but your back is going to get all <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">bendy</span> this way and you will start hunching more than usual....<br />Me: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">grrrr</span>...<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ok</span> fine! I am moving to the table<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">After moving to the table:</span><br /><br />Me:"<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">XYZ</span> is the term that is used to define process which describes blah blah and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Blee</span>. Those who are very adept at following these processes are referred to as........"<br />MM: Gosh! What's the sound I hear?? Is someone walking past your window??<br />Me: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Grrr</span>....shut up and concentrate! "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">XYZ</span> is the terms...."<br />MM: Whatever! I think I need some coffee so that you can be fresh and really concentrate..<br />Me: Good Lord!! U are a pain...fine will get the coffee..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">30 minutes later after coffee:</span><br /><br />Me: "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">XYZ</span> is the term....................blah blah.........<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">bleh</span>!" Yes finally I can remember this...I am done with one page! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Yippeee</span><br />MM: Good Job! U need a break Let's check whats on TV.....<br />Me: That is so true....we have been working hard on this for the past 30 minutes! Let's check out the telly...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Another 30 minutes later:</span><br /><br />Me: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Ok</span> lets get back to work...<br />MM: Yes! Yes!<br />Me: "Page 2: The entire <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">XYZ</span> process is depicted in the diagram below...."<br />MM: Speaking of diagrams did you notice that you still haven't finished that painting??<br />Me: Yes..will get to it soon...."Page 2: The entire <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">XYZ</span> process...."<br />MM: You have been saying that for some time now...<br />Me: Can I please finish this page?? "Page 2: ....."<br />MM: Look you need to tidy up this place first...It is messing up with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Feng</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Shui</span> of this room..this is why you can't concentrate...<br />Me: Good Lord!! Please help :(<br /><br />Finally, I just closed my books and decided that I was just not up to it at that moment. There was a time in life when I could sit at a place with my books and go on for hours! I woke up at 4:00AM and kept going till 9:00AM sometimes even longer with no real breaks! Only my books got my attention and nothing else...I could concentrate...Now I have become lost in this world of multi-tasking where I have to 100 things at a time to feel satisfied: read my book, check my email, clean my room, think of a solution for a work problem and more!Does life makes us this way? Or do the words of a good friend (who rarely reads this blog ) are true when he says: "It's the age! You are just too old for this stuff!!"<br /><br />Me:Gulp! I hope not.....dear God please help!<br />MM: Babes don't you worry.....you can do it!<br /><br />Sigh....<br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-31900017274418920522010-09-07T16:55:00.004-04:002010-09-07T17:34:43.505-04:00Conversations with MMTuesday afternoon after a long week end my mind (MM)which pretty much likes to do its own thing tells me:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MM</span>: I wanna do something adventurous,<br />Go back packing some where or just pack and go somewhere (based on convenience),<br />Stay in a small town, in the mountains....<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SR</span> (that's me):Maybe, but please ensure that there is running water and electricity...am all for the simple life but I need to shower everyday and not let the heat and mosquitoes kill me..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MM</span>:(after a whatever expression)....Live the simple life<br />Write, paint, eat, sleep, grow my own vegetables, cook......<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SR</span>: Yeah sure - If we don't get too lazy that is!<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">BTW</span> from where will the funding come for this dream trip??<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MM</span>: Why do you have to rain on my parade? Do u have to be practical all the time?? I can't believe I live within you!! I am so adventurous, creative, and happy go lucky and u....<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SR</span>: Well.....<br /><br />- Interrupted by a superior at work (SP@work)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SP@wor</span>k: So whats the status on the blah blah item we were working on this morning???<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SR</span>: Well its going on a blah <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">bleeh</span> mode and should be done soon....<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MM</span>: While this silly girl is trying to work on real life let me go back and doze some more before she will let me fly.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-19908111558106533862010-09-01T12:50:00.003-04:002010-09-01T14:34:20.057-04:00Krishna and Me<div style="text-align: justify;">Today is one of my most favorite Hindu Indian festivals - Krishna <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Jayanthi</span></span> as we tam <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">brams</span></span> call it or Krishna <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Janmashtami</span></span> as the rest of India calls it. I am not sure why this is one of my favorite festivals especially when the other festivals are equally amazing. Maybe it is the food quotient attached to this one.......think about it: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">seedais</span></span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">murukus</span></span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">thatais</span></span>, milk sweets, fruits basically just about everything. But then every tam <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">bram</span></span> festival is always comes on top where food is concerned. God! all this talk about food makes me want to schedule a day off and go home right now and start eating. Oh! How I digress!<br /><br />So why is this special to me?? Cos Krishna is my most <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">favorite</span> God! <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">OK</span>..I know there plenty of you ladies out there and a few guys who might claim the same thing, but for me my relationship with Krishna has been a life long thing. If you are interested about the how and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">why's</span></span> read on else you can just skip this post right now!<br /><br /><ul><li>I befriended Krishna when I was very young! As soon as I started babbling words as a baby. My parents always fondly tell me stories of how I would stay awake (after they though I was asleep)at night speaking to the red night lamp in the room babbling the words "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">aali</span></span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">thana</span></span> la <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">lal</span></span> la <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">lal</span></span>"!!! <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Nobody</span> could figure out this meant...almost 2.5 decades later a few years ago my mom who was listening to a discourse somewhere understood what I had meant while saying those words..it was code for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">aaillai</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">krishna</span></span> which actually means baby Krishna on a leaf!</li></ul><ul><li>I got my first toy a little plastic doll (which I still have <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">btw</span></span>) right at the time I started to talk... I named him Krishna! Nobody knew why and neither did I. "Krishna papa" stayed with me all the time for a few years. Teddy bears and other toys came and went but "Krishna papa" stayed and enjoys his place on the shelf till date! Maybe one day (hopefully) my kids can play with him.</li></ul><ul><li>When we lived in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">B'lore</span></span> my mom had this awesome statue of Lord Krishna playing the flute in the living room. She had drooled over this <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">magnificent</span> piece of art and purchased it for its beauty and craftsmanship. One day as she was working elsewhere in the house, I am presuming it was the kitchen, she heard a loud crashing noise. Since it happened to come from the living room she rushed there only to find the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">magnificent</span> statue of Krishna on the ground broken in several pieces and yours truly standing / kneeling right beside the "holy" mess! Obviously she was flooded with anger as an expensive piece of art was gone and asked me why I broke the statue. The reason <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">lil</span></span> ole me gave was "I was playing with Krishna and he fell down"!! Needless to say I received a lot of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">wacks</span></span> and mom never ever purchased delicate objects of beauty again - at least not until I grew up!</li></ul><ul><li>During the summer holidays after completing my 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">th</span></span> grade I was introduced to paints and brushes! It took me a year or two to get really friendly with them paints and brushes and then boom! There I was painting pictures of Krishna one after the other. Some of them hang in my house, some were gifted to others and some are still trying to find a spot on the wall where they can proudly rest....This phase continued despite classes, exams, college projects and more..</li></ul><br />I don't know what happened with me since I started working! Seems that the more and more I flooded myself with ambitions to snag a corner office with a view somewhere (which I am sad to report that I have not yet done) and travel the world, I immersed myself in a web of meetings, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">deliverables</span></span>, late nights with no sleep and bad food and what not. I didn't even realise as Krishna slowly slipped away from my heart and moved far, far away. He was around but we were not as close as before... On this day as Indians across the world celebrate his birthday I hope to make an effort once more to woo him back to where he belongs which is close to my heart. The first step was realisation and I think I did that pretty well...<br /><br />Happy Krishna <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Jayanthi</span></span> to all....What your most favorite Krishna experience? I would love to know...<br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-68484552507021065492010-08-24T15:17:00.006-04:002010-08-24T17:15:56.208-04:00An award and other random things...<div style="text-align: justify;">I recently discovered that a few months ago I was conferred the "Honest Scrap" blog award, by <a href="http://swarbrat.blogspot.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Swarna</span> </a>for my thoughts and work on "<a href="http://srsstudio.blogspot.com/">Oodles of Doodles</a>". That blog and this one have been so ignored by me for the past year that I feel I need to hide under a table to avoid my embarrassment from letting laziness and the humdrum of life take over me! So in all earnestness I am looking at this award and the tag that was associated with it as a sign for me to wake up from hibernation and let my mind flow...<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqG9etRjb98U0tODsItsgD4bVchuIfVOTAn7gEhcNhuC5LAp-F8KjPU-1LuCF7F8ngUbIK1NwzUdLFC6Y3XP3oVxGU_xFcGRtcd8FhjqW5kWpUstUbPj0yc_B9j4rXBBR_tOvm_U7mic/s1600/Honest_Scrap_2%5B1%5D.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqG9etRjb98U0tODsItsgD4bVchuIfVOTAn7gEhcNhuC5LAp-F8KjPU-1LuCF7F8ngUbIK1NwzUdLFC6Y3XP3oVxGU_xFcGRtcd8FhjqW5kWpUstUbPj0yc_B9j4rXBBR_tOvm_U7mic/s400/Honest_Scrap_2%5B1%5D.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509057898821998866" border="0" /></a><br />So here goes....25 random things about me! 25 is a bit much but I will try! I just hope I can stop :)<br /><br /><ol><li>I love so many things in life and want to do so many things before I die that its difficult to make a list...........</li><li>I savor silence, solitude and personal space</li><li>I have a desperate need for everything to be organized and clean that I feel that I maybe a borderline <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">OCD</span> case!!</li><li>Even though I don't fall into the short category in terms of height, I am crazy for heels....</li><li>I am a very private person and don't like other folks intruding in my space </li><li>I believe in God and that destiny shapes a person's life and that a woman's intuition about something must always be listened to.</li><li>I love love <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">loooooove</span> my pets! So much that I feel they they are better to hang out with rather than annoying humans!</li><li>I always find it difficult to make decisions! Even after I make the decision I always ponder and dissect it to ensure that it is correct driving myself nuts in the process!</li><li>If you force me do to something that I am not sure of or don't want to do I will turn around and run the in other direction away from you!</li><li>If you were to tell me that I cannot do something, I will always have a need to prove you wrong! </li><li>I can eat anything vegetarian as long as its not bitter gourd!!</li><li>If you steal my thunder I would most probably hate you!</li><li>I dream of the day that I could do what I love for a living</li><li>I hate politics - at work and in life!</li><li>Books, music and television are very important in my life</li><li>I prefer watching comedy genre movies than serious ones!</li><li>I don't like crowded places; too much commotion drains me out</li><li>Sometimes I tend to talk a lot..so much that you can't stop me</li><li>I set the bar really high for myself and am always disappointed if I can't make it</li><li>I do what I think is right no matter what the rest of world thinks about it</li><li>I don't like to dominate or be dominated by anyone</li><li>I have had secret ambitions to be a chef and a writer..</li><li>Sometimes I lack discipline when it comes to sticking to an exercise or study routine</li><li>I respect those who respect animals! If someone were to tell me that they hate dogs or cats for no good reason I won't think much of them...</li><li>Unless they are at an interview I don't think much about folks who keep talking about themselves and try to make themselves seem important and intelligent to get some attention..<br /></li></ol><br />OK. time for me to stop!!! If you stop by this blog please do say Hi using the comments section!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-83730644563884745632010-01-20T19:18:00.005-05:002010-01-20T19:29:47.021-05:00And I start this year with......Books!Art and Books are perfect beginning for my blogs this year! I have been more regular with my brushes than I have been with my writing! It seemed like I couldn't write about anything when the topics of books hit me...I have been reading two of them this month and wanted to post my thoughts.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3H9JzhSrlzHhJrkX2i3c6tYHannxhansll4uYNyYp9vn2Ew1FW4aXjzFKV7_F4Y2KC6EWfCcI5NUOLQx30C1gPa-o-x4RX5ZvgljPmhcapNkJujoofrGuvvLKWVHMJE-xOEfrnfxhnE/s1600-h/devil-bones.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3H9JzhSrlzHhJrkX2i3c6tYHannxhansll4uYNyYp9vn2Ew1FW4aXjzFKV7_F4Y2KC6EWfCcI5NUOLQx30C1gPa-o-x4RX5ZvgljPmhcapNkJujoofrGuvvLKWVHMJE-xOEfrnfxhnE/s320/devil-bones.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428981993557186722" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The first one was "Devil Bones" by Kathy Reichs. The author is an renowned anthropologist and her life and experiences have been made into the hit reality TV show "Bones" of which I am a great fan of. I had been waiting to read her books for a really long time and finally found them at the local library. Well to say I was not disappointed would be far from the truth. The author says that she is not a trained writer and it shows! This was one book where I actually skipped pages just to get through...it is so strange considering the synopsis of the book guarantees a page turner. This is what the synopsis said:<br /><br />"In a house under renovation, a plumber uncovers a cellar no one knew about, and makes a rather grisly discovery — a decapitated chicken, animal bones, and cauldrons containing beads, feathers, and other relics of religious ceremonies. In the center of the shrine is the skull of a teenage girl. Meanwhile, on a nearby lake shore, the headless body of a teenage boy is found by a man walking his dog.<br /><br />Led by a preacher turned politician, citizen vigilantes blame devil worshippers and Wiccans and begin a witch hunt, intent on seeking revenge. Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan — "five-five, feisty, and forty-plus" — is called in to investigate, and a complex and gripping tale unfolds in this deadly mix of voodoo, Santería, and devil worship."<br /><br /><br />This seemingly thrilling plot was intertwined with useless romances of the main protagonist, voodoo and devil worship (which may get a readers attention ) and descriptions of the human anatomy (which is not my strong subject) and high way descriptions of North Carolina! Half way through the book, I forgot who the characters were and what exactly each one was trying to or had done! If you like human anatomy and scientific research give the book a try and maybe you wont feel like me! I was let down - maybe it's because I am so used to the dynamic, intelligent portrait of Dr. Temperance Brennan and the strong, charming and funny FBI agent Seeley Booth on the TV series. Neither the character of Tempe nor the FBI detectives live up to this mark..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTjysWlEjzwp2Us4weLCA5WwtyDSyKoG8TsB1x3r8_5WHNVLm4Nyq0NpaOG-DOmKb4U_hELQWF1twrsrC6h6Goca8hGaplrO16Pj1EmXouY1R59mE4FhDMMYTOFwjOuDpu_zulbT5O4s/s1600-h/can_you_keep_a_secret.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTjysWlEjzwp2Us4weLCA5WwtyDSyKoG8TsB1x3r8_5WHNVLm4Nyq0NpaOG-DOmKb4U_hELQWF1twrsrC6h6Goca8hGaplrO16Pj1EmXouY1R59mE4FhDMMYTOFwjOuDpu_zulbT5O4s/s320/can_you_keep_a_secret.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428982231284837474" border="0" /></a><br />Just to balance reading something like "Devil Bones" I started reading Sophie Kinsella's "Can you keep a secret?" OK! I have to tell you I was tempted to pick up this book as this author is frequently mentioned on one of my favorite blogs "Life, Books and More". Plus I haven't read chick lit in years.....now this book was funny and entertaining! The classic story of the black horse that triumphs, only the black horse in this case being Emma - a twenty something Londoner with a crappy job, struggling with crazy colleagues, few best friends, a cousin who stole most of her childhood and other equally crazy characters. While on a business trip, the plane on which Emma is flying heads into turbulence. Fearing that she may die, she gives in to a sudden bout of hysterics and reveals all her secrets including the most embarrassing ones to her fellow passenger. Now for the twist in the tale - she turns up to work the next day and guess who is visiting the company to supervise its European operations? None other than one of the companies founder Jack Harper - the fellow passenger from Emma's flight! After that its a Laughton all the way to the end and how Emma finally gets what makes her happy and her romance with the mysterious Jack Harper forms the rest of the book!<br /><br />I loved it... It is a wonderful feeling to escape from real life into books such as these. But me being me, my silly mind wandered to imagine how it would be if something like this were to happen in real life... The heroine would probably work in a software company surrounded by colleagues who are silly in their own ways and the bosses would most probably be egoistic middle aged males, if not middle aged I am pretty sure a good chunk of them would be obnoxious.....the chance of romance - pretty much zero! A male reader may be getting ready to shoot me a hate mail but try polling female readers and many would be support what I just said :D<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-36847630875897556092009-12-18T15:12:00.005-05:002009-12-18T20:59:26.293-05:00Mr.Monk and the Blue Flu<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh803dO5bz-Mbh_axHmKU1dDsZL_83Su5Rl0g9KWXvGhxIOf0YKTcBviDG3wE0jLwNY9L3NnuRvqza4j07-u0_P8TanhQLtMf0pYWX3Ajb82oEPlJBHv0tdvQADc89XaLLF-Yks6x13Ek/s1600-h/M.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh803dO5bz-Mbh_axHmKU1dDsZL_83Su5Rl0g9KWXvGhxIOf0YKTcBviDG3wE0jLwNY9L3NnuRvqza4j07-u0_P8TanhQLtMf0pYWX3Ajb82oEPlJBHv0tdvQADc89XaLLF-Yks6x13Ek/s200/M.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416672903374809298" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I picked this book from a "throw away" organized by a moving neighbour. Since I can't stand books being ignored I picked (rather grabbed) this book and it was totally worth it! A very light and fun read. Based on the popular TV series "Monk" this book is written by Lee Goldberg who penned the screen plays for the TV series.<br /><br />Adrian Monk is an ex-cop and since the death of his wife suffers from an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">OCD</span> (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) syndrome. He loves nothing better than order and balance in the universe to the extent that he slices his pizza using a compass to measure exact portions! He carries his own cutlery to restaurants and even washes the dishes (his own and the restaurant's dirty dishes) after his meals there. He can't bear to see a speck of dust anywhere and thinks that the duster and the mop are the best inventions of all time and his way of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">de</span>-stressing is to clean the house and any ones house at that! At time he is even unable to control the urge to set things right at a crime scene. It is this very characteristic that makes him look at angles and clues that other detectives miss out while investigating homicides and solves cases in record time. The San Francisco police department engages him as their consultant to close out on important cases.<br /><br />Monk is aided by his very efficient and loyal assistant Natalie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Teeger</span> who rightfully describes her job as a baby sitter. She is always there to hand him moist wipes when he needs to clean up after touching a messy desk at a crime scene, hand him his mineral water when he needs it and chauffeur him around the city while he investigates his cases. She tries to make him look sane to the rest of the world.<br /><br />All these details are humorously narrated by Natalie in this book where Monk takes over as the acting captain of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">SFPD</span> when the entire police force goes on sick leaves also known as the Blue Flu so that the mayor of the city can understand their needs for decent salaries and medical insurance. In India we would call that a strike! The mayor hires Monk as the acting captain and also assigns to him a team of equally twisted detectives - a conspiracy nut, an officer with anger management issues and a really old detective who forgets his name every few hours! How this team led by Monk, solve 2 high profile cases dealing with serial killers forms the rest of the book!<br /><br />If you want to laugh a lot, give this book a go - you won't be disappointed<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-22552511105745170212009-12-10T16:05:00.007-05:002009-12-10T20:35:10.683-05:00The curious case of the designer bag<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Have you ever wondered why you can never find something when you need it the most? You are turning the house upside down to locate that important bill that you need to pay today as it is the last day and you just can’t seem to spot it? How you can’t find your keys or those discount coupons when you need to leave the house in the next few minutes? And surprise, surprise how these objects usually turn up in the most unusual places when you are not looking for them! It seems to be some weird law of nature that states:</span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">a)<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >You shall never get anything when you need it the most! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">b)<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >One can never stick to a budget when it comes to gift vouchers! You would always have to spend more than what is on the voucher to make us of it! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >I am pretty sure there are Murphy’s laws which states these weird ways of life. If you are wondering why I wrote this post, please keep reading as it describes how both laws came to play in a single day though in different ways: <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Yesterday I realized that I had a gift coupon from one of the huge stores in the area. The store carried pretty much everything from clothes, shoes, bags, kitchen electronics, bath and bedding, cosmetics, jewelry and more at affordable costs. It was the last day that I could use the coupon before it expired – so I decided to go and treat myself to all the possibilities that the store offered. I was excited to have found the coupon before it expired and not after! The first law was disproved and I was excited. I made a trip to the store and spent about 1 hour walking through the entire store only to find:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >The jacket that I wanted was not available in my size. They had a size bigger and a size smaller but no stock when it cam to my size.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >The pretty yellow sweater I wanted – they only had the larger sizes<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >I didn’t want shoes or jewellery so those sections were out of the running<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >No kitchen electronics to interest me and I didn’t care much for kid stuff or make up!<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >And the bags – none to catch my interest! I had been looking at the same bags in the store for more than a year now!<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >What’s a girl to do? The first law was rearing its head again…..Finally I spotted a beautiful handbag in mustard yellow under a mound of dull and boring bags. I have wanted to get a bag in that color for a long time now! So I inspected it and found out that I had to shell out extra cash (apart from the gift voucher) to make it mine! Hello second law!</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >I walked another half hour throughout the store checking if I could find something else instead. Defeated I finally walked up to the billing counter and parted with the extra cash. The lady at the counter exclaimed – wow you found an amazing deal and all I thought in my head was “Lady, you have no idea!” As I walked out with my new bag, I consoled my self saying that I had got a nice designer bag at an affordable cost. Nature’s laws had struck again but in different ways – I did find the coupon but didn’t really find something worthy of it and per the rule had to spend more to get something worthy. And this is how I ended up buying the mustard yellow color bag which I have wanted for quit some time now.</span><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxNi4EAujy3exwaq5dDjFrdAZHFzYTA7dmDtaIxYleiAkYCVAHCAfYCJ3zp7G2gvyUKgG-E6iBvQZMPVrEVWTOBM_8EoG_vqNA8e-7j8AiTRHgmN6QxH1zPx6-bTkbkbe3r7sEPTTLmk/s1600-h/442431_Warm_Gold.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxNi4EAujy3exwaq5dDjFrdAZHFzYTA7dmDtaIxYleiAkYCVAHCAfYCJ3zp7G2gvyUKgG-E6iBvQZMPVrEVWTOBM_8EoG_vqNA8e-7j8AiTRHgmN6QxH1zPx6-bTkbkbe3r7sEPTTLmk/s320/442431_Warm_Gold.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413718104734708450" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6i5bvxw4FfXQyvSV_VIdjl_MYwWcGcS2v6CIS5pd4IkdtAqKlJLRz_YHZIiLP9qUHI0-Wn5yP_tOGyS4bgsdBonPe_uEojJJ0XX_tjK8FuKhS4v-eCJRlRKZ4xpXue7Lo6Juaz1-cezs/s1600-h/442431_Warm_Gold.jpg"><br /></a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-12924833919860298102009-12-09T11:29:00.003-05:002009-12-09T11:35:53.404-05:00Book Challenge 2009!<p class="MsoNormal" style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justifyfont-family:webdings;" align="justify" ><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">Yes! I finally did it - completed the book reading challenge. We had to read 20 books in the year 2009... I know I know for some of you this is nothing! You can read 20 books in 20 minutes but then for people like myself it took some discipline though I do read quite a bit. And I am also happy I didn't really cheat - I didn't read books like "Tales of Beedle the Bard" and similar 20 page books for this challenge! I am thrilled about finishing this for the year - I may have not lost my 5 pounds but I did complete the book challenge! I found some friends on the blogosphere thanks to this challenge. Here are the details of the books I completed this year with the links for my take on the books</span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></p></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="FONT-FAMILY: arial"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></o:p></p><ol style="MARGIN-TOP: 0in; FONT-FAMILY: arial" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Rozabal Line by Shawn Haigins a.k.a Ashwin Sanghi</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">Princess by Jean Sasson</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">Catcher in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Rye</st1:place></st1:city> by J.D Saligner</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">One Night at the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Call</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Center</st1:placetype></st1:place> by Chetan Bhagat</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">Ghost Stories of <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:place></st1:state> by Dan Asfar</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Alice</st1:place></st1:city> in Wonderland and Through the looking glass by Lewis Caroll</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">The <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Palace</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Illusions</st1:placename></st1:place> by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">Son of Witch by Gregory Maguire</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">Life, Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">20000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne</span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Restaurant at the end of the Universe by Douglas Adams</span></li></ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-72795681471216315412009-12-08T10:56:00.003-05:002009-12-08T11:01:12.574-05:00The White Tiger<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1SCTPgzRnq73w0aQAyV7B5Qns7UYvBgOlFcCM_q20YDV4S8lbqukzz9ch3PJeKQx-8DZqs4XWM5k47CvepMyz9wq09DvywlWYLTxpIWibtCmVwrHpwLn1h9QdkUlY_ysdIPCjLzD-qY/s1600-h/white-tiger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1SCTPgzRnq73w0aQAyV7B5Qns7UYvBgOlFcCM_q20YDV4S8lbqukzz9ch3PJeKQx-8DZqs4XWM5k47CvepMyz9wq09DvywlWYLTxpIWibtCmVwrHpwLn1h9QdkUlY_ysdIPCjLzD-qY/s320/white-tiger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412895764563003858" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I know I was a bit late in the game when it came to this book however I picked up this book with great expectations considering it had win a booker prize and stuff! At the end of it have mixed feelings about the book.<br /><br />First I appreciate the fact that an Indian author like Aravind Adiga was able to command an international prize and people around the world have been able to appreciate his writing abilities. But then why is that people around the world seem to usually appreciate books that show India in a poor light? Or do the authors deliberately write books like this to expose their talents to an otherwise unappreciative international audience?<br /><br />I don't feel like reviewing this book at all - it has been done by millions around the world already! I am just peeved about the fact that this book describes India and Indians in a very poor light and books like these will ever change the view of what the world thinks of us! It just pits Indians against Indians and the world will continue to think that they can boss over us! India and its mindset is slowly changing - it is a slow process but it is happening and I think we should stop writing best sellers that show us in a poor light! However the book is gutsy and I guess the author was ready to take the flake from what people like me would say. Pick it up if you like thrashing India and fellow Indians or you think India will never change or if you are just interested in a black humor literature! You will either love this book or will hate it..<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-40396492731307146832009-12-05T15:20:00.005-05:002009-12-07T08:37:28.287-05:00The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKTiRGnxusH7IN_1USMCTMLInfnuX6GSbnR82_hIjkdecjZsN3PgiqV9yICR9jHXnWBrLf6964Obg-Rx-ORa7Pqs8e6nN54HRaO-dQ9H8aPZeNBv-xOblKN_9tfSYLz3AB0mWbKlSd4rc/s1600-h/theconstantprincess.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKTiRGnxusH7IN_1USMCTMLInfnuX6GSbnR82_hIjkdecjZsN3PgiqV9yICR9jHXnWBrLf6964Obg-Rx-ORa7Pqs8e6nN54HRaO-dQ9H8aPZeNBv-xOblKN_9tfSYLz3AB0mWbKlSd4rc/s320/theconstantprincess.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411849585554455794" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Betrothed </span>at the age of three to the crown <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Prince</span> of England, Arthur Tudor to strengthen the ties between emerging power England and the super power of Europe -Spain, Catalina of Spain (Queen Katherine of England in the future) was always destined to be Queen. With powerful parents in King Ferdinand of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Aragon</span></span> and Queen <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Isabelle</span> of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Castille</span></span>, Catalina grew up in the midst of a holy war to establish Christianity as the supreme religion of the world and drive away the so called heretic religion of Islam (as it was known in the early 15<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">th</span></span> century) from the face of the earth. Her journey from a young girl from Spain to the most powerful and beloved Queen that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">England</span> ever had, is riddled with <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">hardships</span>, intrigue, love and the biggest lie of them all.<br /><br />At the age of 16 after a grand marriage to Arthur and exploring her new life with her young and brave husband destined to be the next King, Catalina finds herself widowed in a new country and clueless as to what her future maybe. The foundation of her dreams and future which was built upon her destiny to become the Queen of England is shattered <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">as</span> she is caught in a political war between her parents the most powerful and feared monarchs of Europe and her equally cunning and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">savvy</span> father in law king Henry of England. She soon discovers that she is nothing more that a pawn in the struggle for power and she cannot trust her own parents to rescue her from a savage land to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">fulfill</span> her destiny to be Queen. Refusing to be controlled like a puppet and having her dreams and future <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">destroyed</span> by those who have no personal interest in and based on her promise to her beloved husband Arthur on his deathbed, she tells the biggest lie of them all and takes control of her own destiny - the lie about the truth of her marriage with Prince Arthur.<br /><br />After a great struggle she finds herself engaged to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Arthur's</span> younger brother Harry (a.k.a Henry the VIII) the next future King. She faces the Kings formidable grandmother and puts all those who shamed her in her place and takes her place as the Queen of England. However this journey is not smooth sailing as she <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">strives</span> to be a good queen along side a king who is just a young boy who was not really destined to be the king, cannot stand to have anything go wrong and is vain and selfish to his needs and desires. Slowly but surely she starts running the country with her knowledge <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">acquired</span> over her lifetime with great parents and her husband comes to depend on her to guide him in making England a powerful country!She comes into her own right when she commands the English army to their greatest victory of all times - against the Scots!<br /><br />The book very beautifully explores her life from a being a young innocent girl transforming to a regal Queen. The emotional turmoil in her mind and her faith in God is shaken a lot but she never gives up. She also learns that her parents were wrong about just driving people and nations that follow <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Islam</span> and other religions to establish Christianity as the ultimate faith and begins to understand that success lies in driving away the evil and bad that lies in the world and not a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">particular</span> religion. Her travails as her women as her honor is questioned and put to the ultimate test when her <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">husband</span> tries to nullify their marriage citing Kathrines inability to have sons, to take on a younger queen after more than 3 decades of marriage is very beautifully etched out.<br /><br />The book started out slowly and I was wondering if it would be as good as the racy "The Other Boleyn Girl". But I was not disappointed, the book gradually picked up pace and kept me glued after a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">certain</span> point to know what comes next. The beauty of 15<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span></span> century Spain and savage England is beautifully described. The contrasts between the old English court <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">commanded</span> by her father-in-law to the young court captained by her young husband is also brought out well. The political pulse of the time, the ambitions of the Kings and their willingness to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">sacrifice</span> anything or anyone to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">fulfill</span> their own agenda is quite shocking, not to mention how women were given no place in those times where the Queen job was to give birth to the next male heir without which she means nothing. It is pretty ironic that in spite of Harry's obsession for a son, England finally ended up being ruled by women starting from his daughters with his Queen Katherine. Queen Mary and till today is still being ruled by an English Queen! In fact some of its golden years was when it was ruled by Queen Elizabeth again one of Harry's daughters and step sister to Queen Mary, who was cast aside by the great king when she was young. Does that tell you something? Well I think women have powers that even they are not aware of and if only we could channel these powers in a good way rather than idling in gossip or frivolous activities we would make grand strides in every way!<br /><br />If you enjoy historical fiction, love hearing about <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">medieval</span> England and Tudor history, this book is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">definitely</span> a must read.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-83744621127949303802009-12-03T15:27:00.005-05:002009-12-03T19:43:13.021-05:00Perfume and WaterWhen I go blog hopping I generally notice that most folks write about humorous incidents that have happened in their lives and it just feels so odd that I have never been able to recall anything funny that happened with me while I was growing up. Or maybe it was funny and I just <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">didn't</span> see the humor then! Anyways I have been thinking over such incidents that may seem <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">funny</span> to me now and I remembered this one.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Growing up, my 2 cousins lets call then D and V and myself used to almost always vacation at Bangalore at my aunts place! Being from hot Chennai, it was the 'it' place to spend your summer holidays. Anyhow this aunt had a daughter (she was our cousin too) who was studying medicine. Apparently my aunt and uncle thought their daughter, lets call her S was the best thing that ever existed and there were strict rules about not making too much noise, not disturbing her while she studied blah blah! So naturally most of us were in awe of her as she was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">destined</span> to be a success story. S had all the nice things a girl could have - fancy clothes, shoes, accessories, perfumes, make up etc., all courtesy my aunt who used to make plenty of trips to the USA to visit her other daughter and son! You see visiting the USA was huge in the 80's...now its like making a trip from Chennai to Bangalore! So getting back to my story, future doctor S had this amazing perfume (again from the great USA) which smelled like a dream!D, V and myself we just wanted to try some - you cant blame kids in the 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span>, 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">th</span> and 6<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">th</span> standards! So we decided that one day we would definitely try it out!We got our chance one afternoon....<br /><br />You see D had this habit of sleeping most of the day! She would easily spend about 16 hours sleeping (nights and afternoon combined) so she just missed out on the fun! V and myself went to S's room and opened the perfume bottle. We just wanted to dab a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">little</span> bit on ourselves and see how it felt. In our efforts to open the bottle and get a little <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">someone</span> (I don't want to point fingers here) ended up <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">tilting</span> the bottle then fell on the carpet spreading perfume all over! None of it was left in the bottle! We panicked not knowing what to do! Then we hit upon a brilliant idea and filled water into the bottle and put it back! Naive as we were it didn't occur to us that the room was smelling like a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">perfumery</span>! We went about our business for the day and that evening when S got home she got suspicious considering her room was smelling like the perfume department at a fancy store! She discovered the bottle with water and threw a big <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">tantrum</span> and made a huge ruckus! Everyone got so worked up about the perfume and V and me just <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">didn't</span> get why it was so important. It was just perfume! D escaped just because she slept through the whole mischief! Finally we were chided so much and V <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">even</span> tried to blame it on me and tried to take and escape route! I wasn't going to let that go and fought back! She has always been like that - ever since that day I never trust her!We were all so mad at everyone and mentally I thought the future doctor or her parents would not be going places especially when they could be so petty about the tiny perfume bottle and not understand a kids prank! I just remember being mad at everyone and learnt to be wary of everyone since that day!<br /><br />Today, almost more than 2 decades after that stupid incident I laugh about it. I think it was pretty funny. We wanted something and we went for it - where is that instinct now? I guess I would just have to say that I grew up and these days am concerned about so many other things when it comes to going after something that I really want. This incident did teach me a lot about who you can and cannot trust and that something that may be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">insignificant</span> to us would be valuable to another - even something like perfume! However I still do resent being called the mischief maker when it was just a childish prank. Well, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">at least</span> I had fun and the rest of them just wasted a load of their energy trying to think what they could call us kids! Guess I did have the last laugh after all and I sure feel glad that this is now out of my system!<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-24435565606592058082009-11-18T15:49:00.008-05:002009-11-18T15:54:11.241-05:00Weighty Woes<div style="text-align: justify;">What is it with women and weight? We never seem to be the right size to make us happy! In order to avoid being generic I am going to make this about me and how my mind works regarding this issue. Me - am never happy about my weight! With great difficulty and lots of sacrifices (call it not eating properly cos I was lazy to cook and clean by myself all 7 days of the week!) I did loose a few extra pounds that I carried on me before I moved away from home. Boy! did that make me happy - loosing the weight I mean. All those days of eating whole grains and brown rice and avoiding ice creams seem to have paid off! And then my parents came to visit and here I am few months later finding out that my clothes are a bit snug! Like most other women who <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">obsess</span> about this issue my first reaction was panic! I was on my mothers case, telling her that it was her cooking that caused it (in a fun way of course) - you see its the effect of food being served with lots of love and affection :-) As long as I did the cooking and groceries and maintained my eating habits I did not have this problem...maybe its true, maybe its not.<br /><br />Anyways now I am left wondering how to get rid of the extra pounds that have found their on me and am making myself miserable trying to think of ways to shed it off! I have been hitting the gym like a loyal dog and I am definitely not feeling very kindly towards all the skinny dames out there who eat as they please and never gain a single ounce! God is just unfair sometimes!!! Man I do hate the gym! I prefer doing chores around the house and walking everywhere!<br /><br />And the food, the less said on that topic the better! I am trying to get back to my "healthy" eating habits but it is such a tough job after those months where food was served with love :) I have been trying hard to come up with a list of food I can give up. Well there is no way I am kissing cheese good bye! Hey am only human you know and considering all the crazy stuff that goes on in life, cheese gives me comfort and that can't go! I did manage to get rid of a bag of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Hershey</span> kisses.. I dumped it in the common candy bowl at work with a really heavy heart! Yesterday I found myself almost throwing away the biscuits and then I came into my senses and hid them in the tallest shelf in the kitchen! I will probably be too lazy to fetch a stool and stand on it to get access to the shelf! <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">At least</span> I hope so...<br /><br />As of now I have decided to ignore that weighing scale that lies in my room. Checking my weight is a strict no no. The day will arrive when I shall win that scale, when that magic number appears in pretty red digital print. I wait for that day and until then I bid adieu to chocolates, ice creams and all other evil food! My parting words to the cruel food world - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Hasta</span></span> la vista......I'll be back!<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061222851744854209.post-52891102126935627322009-11-15T15:28:00.002-05:002009-11-15T15:32:05.749-05:00The Rozabal Line<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJFPxuP1lYqGZuTunVub2IJeBV6qp5_PTv9cNL2CArxDPQdh6lMAbtHLbniMi67M9cxQouRq7t2QXxJIQdkx4LRHF7rK87ntne4vV5QV4HmgiVr7UnEI6CYRKKkkG0EHFXQGrQ99KQ9I/s1600-h/RozabalLine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJFPxuP1lYqGZuTunVub2IJeBV6qp5_PTv9cNL2CArxDPQdh6lMAbtHLbniMi67M9cxQouRq7t2QXxJIQdkx4LRHF7rK87ntne4vV5QV4HmgiVr7UnEI6CYRKKkkG0EHFXQGrQ99KQ9I/s200/RozabalLine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404430525885149314" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I finished this book at least 4 weeks ago and.....here goes I have mixed feelings about this book. It explores the possibility that Jesus did not die on the cross and once he escaped how he travelled around the world and even came to India. In fact it goes on to state that Jesus lived in India and died there and his tomb exists in Kashmir. All this and more are meshed with the story of a political religious war between the roman catholic church, the free masons and the Islamic war groups. The main protagonists though from different parts of the world are all linked to each other by their actions from their previous births! If this was too much for you to digest the book doesn't stop here...the various religious groups try to plot their terror attacks in a such a way that the final one ends on December 12 2012! Gosh!<br /><br />The reason I wanted to read this book as it was a historical fiction by an Indian writer! Ashwin Sanghi who actually used his pen name Shawn Haigins for the first few editions! I feel he has a long way to go when compares with historical fiction experts like Dan Brown or Phillipa Gregory. Honestly if this same book were written by Dan Brown it would have been a guaranteed page turner! However this book is rich in its research but its keeps zooming between the present, past and future so quickly that it makes the reader dizzy! I didn't even feel like doing a review about this book because the book is chock full of information and its crazy to remember all that stuff. The book tries to answer the million dollar question..did Jesus really die on the cross? Did his blood line continue? If so what happened to that generation? How different is Islam and Christianity? Does one feed of the other? If you happen to read the book let me know what you thought about it.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1