Delusions in tune!

Bye bye blue bird!

2009-10-12T14:49:00.001+05:30

Am officially retiring this blog. Here's to 5 years of the good times, lull times, and then some!

Curious circles of trash

2009-05-31T10:43:00.004+05:30

Was walking into the workplace the other day when I saw this beside the stairwell.. for a second I was wondering what the heck it was.. :)

Houston calling!

2009-05-12T20:37:00.003+05:30

Lowest ever fares to Texas.. anyone interested ;)

Just like that

2009-02-07T11:21:00.002+05:30

Technology can be so pervasive... so accurate... and so damn irritating. Citi has this feature on their phone support that puts me on hold with music, but interrupts the music every 2 seconds to tell me how much closer I am to the customer support officer... kind of like a rocket blast countdown.. imagine my disappointment when the CSO came in at 1 minute 29 seconds itself.. sigh!

anyways.. nothing beats true freedom... and after 3 years I've finally let go of my credit card.. yaay!!

Hobby-ism

2009-01-30T09:49:00.000+05:30

Passing thought today..

A hobby is something that you make time for... not something that you do when you have nothing else to do.

Ringing in the new year

2009-01-05T14:36:00.000+05:30

Here's wishing everyone a happy and fun-filled 2009!

I never get tired of new year resolutions... even as they resolutely remain the same for the past 4 years (or more)

Stop biting nails
Lose weight

At least this time I've narrowed it down to just two... so that's progress!

I think 2008 was fun... need to resume those weekend trips and also build some experience traveling on other modes of transport. Like water for example. I'd like to do some sort of a boat/ship trip this year... let's see.. reminds me of that speedboat trip to Langkawi that I blissfully slept through while a friend of mine couldn't stop throwing up ;)

Come to think of it.. I think I'll actually add another resolution to the list - Learn to swim!

Seriously... I really have to get over my fear of water... or rather depths. Am ok having a great time as long as my feet can touch solid ground, and my head is above water. Anything beyond that and panic strikes!

Belur Halebid weekend trip

2008-12-22T19:47:00.000+05:30

Just got back from a bhelpuri of a trip to Belur and Halebid. Something that we've been wanting to do for quite some time, and then like most other times, we just decided to do it this weekend.

Good part of the trip - the breathtaking architecture, intricate carvings, country green, windmills

Bad part of the trip - highway roads!!!

Pictures and good moments up here - http://picasaweb.google.com/shubarulz/BelurHalebid#

Road advice
The highway route through NH4 to Nelamangala, and then NH48 to Kunigal - Chennarayapatna - Hassan is half complete. It is a 2-lane highway, but at several places the side coming towards Bangalore is under construction. Highly accident prone highway - expect at least 1 detour through very narrow roads.

Better to do the longer route which is Mysore road to Srirangapatna - take the detour to Sravanabelagola and Melkote and then join NH48 at Chennarayapatna.

Now the long story...
We drove down with 2 other friends and it took a while to get out of Bangalore - mainly because we had to get onto Tumkur road from the Mekhri circle side of town and none of us knew the way after MG road :( I'm telling you... Bangalore is one heck of a confusing city... I've been here 3 years now and the old city (basically areas in and around Malleshwaram, Majestic, Jaya Nagar) is just beyond my understanding.

Anyways... we get on to Tumkur road and then after a couple of wrong turns and confusing road signs are on our way to Hassan - this is the big town where people usually halt to get to these cultural sites like Belur, Halebid, Melkote, and Sravanabelagola. As luck would have it, there is some accident on the main highway and we have to take a detour. After 45 excrucitating kilometers later, we get onto the highway again only to witness the aftermath of a verybad accident that must have happened recently. Add to the crowds that were forming around, the highway itself becomes a single lane with the other lane under construction.

After 7 hours of driving down this half complete highway we reach Hassan and started looking around for a place to stay the night - there was hardly any time left to see the temples and we wanted to get some nice pictures in the morning sun too. Suvarna Regency was the pick (not that we had several to choose from!) For Rs. 1200 we got an AC double room that was reasonably big and had a clean bathroom. Whew.. one thing went well!

We decided to get to Halebid after that - Halebid is closer to Hassan, but the temple is a "sunrise to sunset" one, which means it closes at 6pm. We managed to reach the temple by 4.30pm and had to experience what you experience at every tourist spot in India... the hawkers, the beggars, the noisy schoolchildren, etc. etc. It's the biggest irony. Every historical monument in India (which usually is a former place of worship or residence) was meant to be one where you went to get a rare moment of peace and quiet. It was believed that every king would spend some time here to open up to his higher spirit, and allow the spirituality and the wisdom of the being to guide him towards righteousness. That's why it's made with so much care and eye for detail. Now it's a place to snap pictures. It's a place on the map where you say "I've been there". It's a low cost alternative for a school trip. And that's rather sad... kind of defeats the whole thing.

The sculptures and carvings in the Halebid temple are absolutely stunning. After a while the constant chatter and camera toting crowd just doesn't matter. The painstaking work on each pillar and wall on the outside shows the eye for detail and the imagination of the artisans. It's amazing how detailed they were a thousand years ago.. and how it seems to have almost disappeared now.

The next day we took a different route straight to Belur that turned out to be a very smooth and direct road (must have been newly done). The Belur temple again proved that there are no limits when it comes to imagination. This temple took over a 100 years to complete and you can see why. We were fascinated by what we saw on the outside walls of the main temple, but what we saw inside was beyond comparison. No words can do justice to the beauty, skill, and imagination that have come together to create the pillars, ceilings, and walls of the inner temple. The sheer dedication and will power of the artisans is enough to put any present day worker to shame. All I could think of was how in heck's name did anyone have the heart to destroy something as stunning as this. There's a word in Tamil that I think is appropriate here - brahmaandam. Sheer brilliance at play.

After Belur we did Halebid again. This time we went inside the temple to admire the similar workmanship that is on display here. The Halebid temple is in fact incomplete. 87 years into the making, invaders struck the Hoysala empire to destroy most of Halebid giving it the name the "ruined city". The dedicated efforts of the ASI to restore and protect whatever is left of these sculptures makes me think that we should be giving more of our taxes to these guys :)

We left Hassan around 3pm and thought we'd take the longer route via Mysore road which is much better than the half complete highway we came on. To hit Mysore road, you need to take a detour from Channarayapatna towards Sravanabelagola and keep going straight. One word of advice - keep asking for directions at every intersection you come to. Road signs are far between and there is every possibility that you might go off the route and land somewhere else.

It's about 7pm now. and all is smooth after we take Mysore road. That is until we thought we'd take the NICE corridor route to get home. We stay near Marthahalli, so it made sense to take this road which promised to drop us off somewhere on Hosur road. Little did we know what was coming.

First we had to pay a toll of Rs.21 for the 11 kms stretch between Mysore road and Kanakpura road. And then we had to pay another Rs. 20 for the 7 kms stretch from Kanakpura road to Bannerghatta road - don't ask me why we were taking Bannerghatta road. The options on the road were Kanakpura or Bannerghatta. No Hosur road after the first sign. Now comes the best part. After paying the toll for the second stretch, we drove for less than 500 meters, when we realized that there was no road ahead!! The guys at the toll booth get us to pay for a 7 kilometer stretch... and never tell us that there isn't any road to get there in the first place! Believe me, those 20 minutes that we took to get the car in and out of the dust and sand path between deep excavations on either side (there was no path... we literally had to shine the headlights left and right before moving forward to make sure we don't fall in!) they were the worst 20 minutes I've experienced in driving. Normally we never ever drive at night, and try our best to do trips such that we reach our destination before 8pm. We thought we'd reach home faster through the new highway... by the time we got out and finally parked the car home it was midnight.

Whew.. am tired.. but 1 notch higher on the crazy adventure scale :)

Pictures and good moments up here - http://picasaweb.google.com/shubarulz/BelurHalebid#

Unchartered territory

2008-11-04T13:41:00.000+05:30

It's been thirty long days... THIRTY days since the last time I bit or chewed off a finger nail....

That calls for a HUGE celebration, doesn't it?? It's been on my New Year resolutions list since God knows when... it's remained faithfully broken every single time I tried... and in net worth am sure it's costed me more than anything I've spent on hair so far!

But it's weird... it's unfamiliar... and it's quietly asking me to change a lot of things. Like typing for instance. As if the super fast 2-finger typing was not noisy enough now there is an extra clickety clack because the nails are touching the keypad before the fingers do... and no... I learnt after a very frustrating experience that the iPhone recognizes finger taps and not nail taps... grr..

And then there's the constant application and re-application of nail polish... the rationale is that with the color and smell of the paint you're less inclined to chew the head off.. the part nobody told you about is that it's hard to get used to the paint brush and the remover liquid smells repulsive... I ended up having to do each nail at least 4 times... worse with the left hand. And after all that effort you'll have to do it again in 2 days... I mean seriously!

One good thing that came out of it is I don't knead atta any more.. whew! I've always hated that gooey loopey stuff, and now there's no way am going near it!

Best time was with the manicurist... I've tried doing expensive nail treatments in a vain way to stop the chewing habit, so I know the names of the strange pokey instruments... but for the first time she asked me "square or round?" and I was lost.. talk about being speechless!!

Blog migration itches

2008-11-04T13:39:00.000+05:30

Problem:

I started this blog using a certain gmail id and now I want to link it to another one. Anyone know how to do that? Can't seem to find it on Blogger Help or Google...

Have a cracky Diwali!!

2008-10-29T22:15:00.000+05:30

Happy Diwali to everyone!

This was our first Diwali at home in Bangalore... so it was fun lighting up all the diyas and getting out throats burned with that legiyam.. man.. I hate that thing :(

Managed to click some fun pics in the process - http://www.flickr.com/photos/enchant_me/tags/diwali/

I had a very strange question this Diwali... what do people really do on Diwali?? I know it's a very big deal in the north of India, but it's rather boring in the south. To start off with, Diwali in the south is celebrated in the wee hours of the morning... wake up at 4am and have an oil bath. As a kid I remember everyone getting so impatient to finish that oil bath and run down wearing new clothes to show off your booty of crackers (at least most of my friends did.. I was content watching from the 3rd floor). And then as we grew up firecrackers were too "kiddish"... we still burst them for the sake of Diwali but it's not such a big deal any more.. unless of course you have a kid and he/she is dying to be cooler than his/her neighbor with more quantity and quality of firecrackers.

So what do you do then after that 4am oil bath? Seriously... I for one was super bored this time and went to sleep by 7am :)

I don't get the whole thing about going around visiting folks... don't you do that anyway on some weekend or the other? So what's all the fuss about?? Even if you have a hundred people to visit that day, you'd probably end up visiting less than half a dozen and end up eating food and sweets triple your capacity...

Did some Googling.. honestly.. and this wiki article on Diwali threw up some interesting facts about the festival..

Oh.. the evening were much better.. and since the next day was Kali Pujo we got to do the whole diya lighting, kolams, et al for 2 days in a row.. what a shocker!

Back from vacation!

2008-10-14T14:41:00.000+05:30

Just got back from an amazing 2 weeks... glowing in all the good food :)

So after all that thinking, we managed to spend 5 days exploring Darjeeling by foot - the 2 adventures we decided to do by taxi turned out to be expensive and worthless.

All photos uploaded here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/enchant_me/tags/darjeeling/
so take a look and let me know what you think!

The remaining 8 days at Calcutta were simply amazing for 2 reasons - heavenly home food, and Pujo :) I don't think I have experienced such festivity anywhere else. It was like watching an entire city come to life to celebrate this one festival. The closest I can compare it with was Christmas in Singapore. But Singapore is meant to be that way and everyone celebrates Christmas anyway... so Pujo was simply fabulous. While the creativity in the use of material was beyond comparison, the architecture and design of the pandals and the idols seemed to reach a realm far beyond imagination. Like someone said once, "Pujo can never be described... it just has to be experienced"

An attempt to capture a little of the magic on camera here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/enchant_me/

PS - my Pro account expired.. so no sets :(
PPS - I wrote this post 2 days back and am still waiting for Flickr to upload all my pics.. damn!

1 more week to go!

2008-09-16T17:52:00.000+05:30

yaay!! just 1 more week to go before a nice and refreshing 2 week vacation :)

after what seems like ages, we are actually going somewhere nice and far away from dusty Bangalore :)

this time it's Darjeeling and Calcutta - these are the only 2 places fixed on our itinerary.. rest is up to exploration!

some of the things we are looking forward to:

a ride on the DHR toy train
waking up to a view of the Kanchenjunga
the original Darjeeling tea
mountain biking - Martam to Gangtok
(hopefully some ballooning... but I just can't find any info on that..)
Exploring Calcutta in walking
and many many more :)

anyone has any comments, tips, must-do activities... am all ears (or should I say eyes??)

How do you deal with a craving?

2008-09-11T18:17:00.000+05:30

I've been having this hopeless craving for banana chips for the past 2 weeks or so, and it just won't go!!

I like banana chips.. and then I stopped having them for a while.. gym n all that.. now I am going crazy if I don't eat them! The good thing is the craving lasts from 4 to 6 in the evening and not through the day.. otherwise I'll be rolling my way to work very soon... The bad thing is, it's junk food.. and its chips for God's sake!

But not everyone agrees that it's 100% bad.. there are some folks who actually think it's good for you! Now I'm not siding with them.. but does anyone know how to get rid of this want??

Me is very hopeless :(

Follow the rules!

2008-09-09T11:55:00.001+05:30

Rule 1:

RED = STOP
GREEN = GO

Have you ever noticed that most rules/policies/regulations always talk about what should NOT be done, rather than what should be done..?? Rule 1 would have been easier to understand if it had been written like this:

RED = DO NOT GO
GREEN = DO NOT STOP

There you go! Now everyone will know what to do when they see a light.. correct?? WRONG!! You know why? Because fundamentally, at a subconscious level, we simply don't understand rules. The basic logic that even a 3-year old can comprehend - the meaning behind YES and NO - we just don't get it, do we?? We just don't get it.

As of 11.20am this morning, I have already had 1 sorry email from IT that clearly states "you must not install commercial VoIP software on any company owned hardware" but 4 arguments, and 6 emails talking about how we can find a way to still do it!! There surely must be a tiny loophole somewhere. Arguments, emails, web references... after the tipping point, you realize it's not about the rule any more. It doesn't matter what the rule says or doesn't say. We just don't care! Brings me back to the classic Indian attitude that - like the cockroach that survived the Ice Age, and the dinosaurs - still believes in this mantra:

"It's not like you're going to get fired... relax!!"

This is so hard to believe... the fact that in today's world of man-eat-man, you would still believe that YOU are SO GOOD and SO irreplaceable, that even after you screw up a million times you won't get fired!! Hell, it's not the government that's employing you for God's sake!

But honestly if you take a step back and think for a minute... why don't we get it? Is it that we aren't taught rules (blame it on the teacher) or is it that the enforcing doesn't happen (blame it on the rule creator)?? Or at some level deep inside us, we really don't give a damn?

What is it with Chinese food..?

2008-09-05T15:21:00.000+05:30

No seriously... why is every Chinese restaurant serving the same food? It's always got noodles, rice, and gravy with a heavy dose of garlic. Now I am not talking of the mixed type restaurants - the Eastern Asian ones which serve Thai as well. In that case, throw in a Thai red/yellow/green curry and the rest is the same. It's just so boring!! And don't even get me started on dessert. Have you noticed that Chinese restaurants have a colossal lack of options for dessert..?? It's always the crispy honey noodles with vanilla ice cream... duh!!

I remember going to so many Chinese places for lunch outside India... and it is SO different! First of all, they always always serve you unlimited cups of Chinese tea.. where do you ever find that in India..?? And then there's the chopsticks - now that is something I am not complaining about :)

But the food has so much variety, that too in vegetarian. I mean, think about it. All you have to do is pick some 2-3 different colored vegetables, slice them flat and wide, and cook them in a watery gravy.. how hard can it get?? And yet, you always have to get stuck with some manchurian, or a veg balls, or a vegetables in hot garlic sauce. Don't the Chinese eat anything else???

A sporty endeavor

2008-08-29T10:25:00.000+05:30

I played table tennis yesterday after almost 4 years! That too a tournament!!

Never mind that we lost (doubles) but it was so cool to actually play something again. Seriously... I've never really played any sport my whole life - sport, not game since that includes things like Pictionary or jigsaw puzzles that nobody can beat me at :)

The only problem is I play with my left hand (or lottai) which becomes very difficult in a doubles match - you have to serve from the right side of the table, which means serving backhand, which eventually means that my serve goes at a speed of 1 kmph :(

But whatever... I still did go out and play and that's a huge achievement!! I'm going to go buy a bat n ball and keep playing once in a while... after all, you can play any game, sorry sport, well if you keep practising.. that's all there is to it!!

Remembering this place!

2008-08-16T19:46:00.000+05:30

No reason... not one...

For the record, I am sitting at home watching Charlie's Angels on HBO and it couldn't get more couchy potato than doing this for the past 4 days :)

So I was talking to a friend of mine couple of days back and he mentioned that he stopped by this place.. so... I thought I'd stop by and say hello too :)

One small step for man...

2008-01-10T15:17:00.001+05:30

A giant leap for cameras... here's the first shot from my new Canon S5 :)

Taken in Super Macro mode with fill-in Flash... can you believe this was taken in broad daylight...

Twist of fate

2008-01-10T15:15:00.000+05:30

I don't know how it happened...

I don't know when it happened..

But I am stuck like a voodoo doll nailed to a tree... because something twisted in my back and I just can't bend the damn thing..

:-((

Small changes... big results

2008-01-08T13:21:00.001+05:30

I just never realized how much I missed that cup of tea in the morning...

Somehow in the hurry of getting ready and trying in vain to beat the city traffic, this seemingly unimportant ritual got swept under the carpet. Wake up, brush your teeth and take a shower at the same time, and rush out of the house, hair still dripping wet. That was the case some time back..

I guess not going romping around some place for the holidays, and staying home had some benefits... we actually spend a good 15 minutes every morning with the newspaper and the steaming cup... Aah.. how did I ever manage to do without it for a whole year.. :-)

Resolutions (once again!)

2008-01-02T16:11:00.000+05:30

What drives people to make resolutions? Everyone knows it's going to be broken in no time (I broke one in less than 3 hours), but still we resolutely make them... every single year.

I think the difference is that we need to constantly be reminded of them. Problem is, we forget about these resolutions after we make them... they may stay in memory until Jan 30, but after that they are obviously pushed aside by other important things (like tax!)

So this time, I am going to write out these goals in big bold letters, and put it up on the mirror so that I can see it everyday. Let's see how long that works...

New resolutions for 2008:

Travel to at least 1 new place every alternate month
Start painting again
Spend smarter, not larger :)
Read 1 book every 2 weeks
Keep writing

Resolutions continued since 2005:

Go to the gym every day
Talk less, listen more

Resolutions since God knows when:

Stop biting nails

Closing credits

2007-12-30T19:10:00.001+05:30

whew... one more year over... yikes... one more year older!!

2007 was a fun year... not as much travel as I would have liked to do... but did some things new, learnt a LOT of new things... and am hopefully a lot smarter than 2006 :-)

the wedding was the single biggest thing this year. it was more fun and more stressful since we planned the whole thing out and executed it by ourselves. it was more or less a lesson in event management, and after seeing the pictures, I honestly should have been more interested in enjoying the moment than yelling in different directions for people to do the right thing.. sigh!

and then the whole effort of setting up a new house... man... it seemed to take forever! I have this thing with living in houses that other people have already lived in.. call it picky, but I really wanted to find a new new house at a reasonable rent - no buying real estate in bangalore. that took a while, until we found this really nice and big apartment for just the right price we were ready to pay. so then buying furniture, gadgets, this and that... my oh my... huge task indeed!

i think 2007 was a year of new steps... when we did really big new things... and I finally got to accept that I am getting bloody old...

hopefully 2008 will be better... a lot more travel for sure :))

The pain of buying gadgets

2007-12-28T22:55:00.000+05:30

Some how I have never been good at making a sound decision on a gadget. It's just too complicated, and most of the time you're so used to one thing, that it gets very difficult to adjust to a new one. Classic case in point is the mobile phone. Am so used to a Nokia that I hate the Sony Ericsson/Motorola interface, and the new Windows Mobile is driving me nuts..

I've been trying to zero down on a digital camera for the past 1 week and am so far still at square 10 (there are 100 squares right??) The LCD screen on my simple, slip-it-in-your-pocket camera broke and it costs a bomb to get that replaced. So am thinking of getting a new one. But I am completely lost with the choices. On one hand, I don't want to go back to point-n-shoot (you need to graduate after a point of time right?) but at the same time the biggie DSLR type cameras are just too daunting. I tried holding this Canon S5 camera a couple of days back and wow... that's just too many buttons and menus and options for me!

Then what? I'm stuck... I don't like the big and rapidly growing compact cameras because they all look the same - at least from the point of view of controls and menu options. So I feel like I want something new. But the "superzoom" and SLR types look a bit too much.

What to do :(

an inspiration to write... after so long :)

2007-12-27T19:35:00.000+05:30

I guess it's one of those times when you rack your brains wondering what to do. Holidays can be really challenging sometimes! Everyone thinks you have to travel somewhere. Possibly because it's one of those rare occassions when you get 10 days off, and no option to work :(

But what if you don't feel like traveling? You just want to eat, sleep, and watch TV. Yes, that gets very boring after a while... I've watched close to 10 movies in the past 4 days... and since I've never been a TV person, am beginning to loathe the idiot box. Finished reading 2 books, nothing spectacular. No lingering aftertaste. And to top it all off, I have 3 people at home, and I just can't talk to them! I'm including my ever-so-sweet hubby because he seems to be in a world of his own.

Ever heard the saying, "you want to know a girl, try to understand her mom" I love my mom, but there are some times (a lot of times) when I honestly don't want to be like her. But the strange thing is, I find myself reacting more and more like her these days. Good, bad, ugly. Whatever you choose to call it, I find myself uncomfortably similar to her. Why is that? I have no clue!

And then there are these times when you think you've had just about too much of the same people, the same places, and the same conversations. You stay at home with the family for 5 straight days, eating together, sleeping together, watching TV together, going shopping together, and suddenly you need a wave of fresh air. You just want to go somewhere outside, do something new, and breathe a little better.

Hmm... maybe it's time for a holiday?

Years gone by...

2007-02-11T04:53:00.000+05:30

Times change... People change... Life changes...

It's just so good to meet friends after more than ten years... you know they are up to something... working.. studying... you get to hear from other people... but it never prepares you for the actual moment when you actually meet them face to face... it's something incredible :-)

Dorky moments... saying "You remember the time we did this?" over and over again for a hundred different things... acting like a bunch of school kids (someone poured stale coffee into my ear ten minutes back... grr..!!) and basically fooling around... sometimes I don't really mind not going around seeing places or doing anything touristy... just being with people kinda makes up for everything ;-)

White wonder :-)

2007-02-07T04:58:00.000+05:30

So I finally saw snow first-hand... yaay!! :-)

Spent an amazing weekend at Cleveland, Ohio... Did the same bizarre things, but had company this time.. lolzz!

Updated pics... Same set at http://flickr.com/photos/enchant_me/sets/72157594510855268/

New Pics!

2007-02-01T00:36:00.000+05:30

Just managed to find time to upload pictures from California. Managed to click beautiful pictures of the famous Redwood forests, some nice shots of the HP office, and then bits and pieces from sightseeing :-)

http://flickr.com/photos/enchant_me/sets/72157594510855268/

Will put in comments, description, et al soon... (hopefully!)

Remember this...

2007-01-28T04:00:00.000+05:30

The best trip is always done by yourself. More people means more dependencies, and more dependencies means more problems. It just doesn't work.
When there is a kid involved, just forget about having a good time. (makes me think a hundred times about marriage and the whole nightmare after that...)

Basically I am completely pissed off. End of discussion.

why why why?

2007-01-06T19:10:00.000+05:30

You know what my problem is? It's not getting mad at silly things... Or expecting someone or something to be the way I want it to be... It's not even about my own messed up self.

My problem is, I can't express WHY I am angry/sad/upset in words. I can't tell someone the reason for my cranky reactions in such a way that they can understand it. I can't put a finger on what or why or who is the reason for my mood... and I can't translate that into something people can relate to.

That... is my biggest problem. And I just have no clue how to solve it.

How can you justify pain or anger? If I am angry or upset about something, and you think it does not make sense, then does it mean that I am not supposed to feel that way? Or just because YOU think that it's not fair for me to feel that way, does it mean that what I feel has to be thrown out the window? How fair is that?

Back home :-)

2007-01-03T18:16:00.000+05:30

Yo everyone!! (rebound from Ferrari's post.... grin!)

Though a bit late, here's wishing everyone here and elsewhere a fantabulous year ahead! 2006 was crazy but fun, and I hope 2007 turns out to be just the way you want it to be :-)

As for where I had disappeared the past 2 weeks, I finally made the trip to Rajasthan... and what a whirlwind tour it was! We did Jaipur, Shekawati, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Delhi in 9 jam-packed days... what with the Delhi fog threatening to ruin our plans, and the peak tourist season in Rajasthan trying it's best to dent our bank accounts to the T... it's been crazy indeed!

It's gonna take me a while to post all the pictures from my brand-new Nikon L6 (am guessing about 1200 snaps in all... but I could be optimistic!) so do check back by the end of the week... hopefully, I would have a half-finished travellog also in place... let's see :-)

Sorry for all the folks who had to start work on Monday/Tuesday... am starting only tomorrow... grin again!!

Of stamps and smells...

2006-12-14T10:16:00.000+05:30

Apparently the Postal Service decided to try something novell, and came up with stamps that smell of sandalwood... I think they unleashed a wave of imagination that running way beyond wild...

Someone wants a stamp smelling of petrol... another one thinks we should have something smelling of tulsi.. apparently it helps get rid of a running nose (ya.. just keep a stamp handy in your pocket and sniff as needed!)

Best of the lot... a stamp smelling like Rexona... just peel off and stick wherever...!!

The feel good factor

2006-12-12T10:18:00.000+05:30

Have you ever had this feeling that the thing that made you feel so good was actually not super-significant at all? The thing that seemed to make you turn around, push all those nagging blue thoughts away, and actually want to start looking at the bright side of things was something that, on any other day, you wouldn't have given a second thought to?

Happened to me today... when I had just about resigned to the fact that my master plan was not going to work out, and I'd have to just convince myself that it wasn't my time anyway... something came along that made me forget all that and just focus on the good things happening around.

Looks like the trip to Rajasthan and Agra is finally happening :-)))

The legend of this blog...

2006-12-09T22:56:00.000+05:30

Seems like that blogger in me has gone for a period of hibernation... Was just looking at all these posts over the past 2 years or so... (I didn't even know that Blogger beta was released!)

I've at least been making 1 post per month on an average... so much for enthusiasm!

Let's see how it goes from here... thing is, every time I get the inspiration to write about something I don't have a computer in front of me. And when I do, that "moment" is gone... sigh!!

Somewhere in the middle...

2006-12-09T22:49:00.001+05:30

A bit too confused... a bit too stressed out... a bit too angry... a bit too upset...
a bit of longing... a bit of a smile... a bit of love... a bit of want...
a bit of freedom... a bit of holding back...

Sometimes it's as if you want everything to happen at the same time...
sometimes you wish it would all be over, and it's just you out there...
and sometimes you wish it weren't just you... and there'd be someone there with you.

Warm smiles for comfort :-)

2006-11-01T23:01:00.000+05:30

You know that warm feeling you get from nostalgia?

Getting an email from a friend you haven't heard from in ages
Catching up on blogs that were down in the Bloglines list cuz of the darned alphabet
Finding a new blog that's so refreshing and funny you forget yourself for a while
Reading a Satyajit Ray book
Listening to Joe Satriani
Putting together a painting for someone
Planning the next trip... even if its less than 200 miles away...

Sometimes a thought is all you need to keep yourself warm on a chilly night :-)

Colors of a wing

2006-10-10T11:26:00.000+05:30

Colors of a wing
Originally uploaded by chikuado.

One of my favorite shots at the Om Beach resort. The garden was full of butterflies of all shapes and colors..

But this one was exceptional. The combination of stark black and white stripes on the inside... and the filling of yellow on the body... and red on the border... how wonderfully artistic nature is!

The "hairy" question...

2006-10-08T23:25:00.000+05:30

What is it with men and ignorance?

All mammals have hair on their skin. This is to protect them from heat, cold, yadda yadda.

Why is it such a big deal when men see hair on a woman's face? And it's nothing to do with India. Remember that episode of "Everybody loves Raymond" where Ray walks into the bathroom when Deborah is using hair remover on her upper lip? Remember that look of horror on his face? I mean, grow up for God's sake!!

Mangalore and along the coast

2006-10-08T23:09:00.000+05:30

Just back from a runaway trip hopping along the Konkan coast near Mangalore :-)

This has to be the first trip I can honestly label as "completely ad-hoc". We had just no time to plan where to go, how to go, and what to do. I think we had about half an hour before leaving where I checked out Mangalore on the www. So, being the methodist that I am, I wrote down all the "must see" places in Mangalore - the beaches, the historical spots, the not-so-famous corners, et al.

What happened later, was that I got to tick off less than 25% of that list. But the cool part was that we got to see and experience things I never thought the list would include. As a sampler:

- A round trip boat-ride across the backwaters for Rs.5

- A piece of culture with a traditional Navratri dance where people painted themselves as tigers, monkeys, and what not!

- A train ride showcasing some spectacular sights of green forests, rainy towns, and blue, blue rivers

- A distant glimpse at the 62 feet idol of Shiva through the mist and the clouds

- Rickety, bouncy bus rides spent staring at the locals, and trying to understand what they were saying

- Calm, waveless, and almost flat beaches

- The sight of towering green mountains dipping their skirts straight into the ocean

Somehow in a holiday, it's not the names of the places that you get to see, but the little things that you experience there, that stay with you for a long, long time.

More anecdotes and pictures of Mangalore, Murudeshwar, Gokarna, Om Beach, and places en route in here.

Take me home...

2006-09-09T11:14:00.000+05:30

How do you explain going home? Do you say it feels good, because you're going to see your folks after a long time.. or do you say it feels a little lukewarm, because of all the screw-ups that you have done, and it's going to be confession time now?

Hmm... I guess over a period of time this whole feeling about going home has changed.... Not the food - home food is still the biggest attraction factor to go home - but you stop thinking of going home as a reclamation of life. It's more of a "this was my life a while back... and I'm just revisiting it to make sure the memories don't fade out."

Don't get me wrong... it's not the people I'm talking about... but your life, as it existed, when you used to live at home. The sights and sounds and smells that were so much a part of your life... now lingering at the back of your tongue like good chocolate...

Perhaps the bigger fear today, is "What if I go home and realize that I miss everything so much that I want to come back?" That it's great to live by yourself... be independent.. and free... but it sucks to be lonely... even if it's for a few minutes.

For the love of crocky....

2006-09-05T11:26:00.000+05:30

What's the first word that comes to your mind when someone says 'Crocodiles'?

HUGE
lazy
intimidating
murky
powerful
unpredictable
eerie
solid
sinister

With all these "seemingly" negative connotations, there was still one guy who LOVED the damn creature... made people stare open-mouthed as he casually stuck his head into the beast's mouth, or pulled a 10-footer on his back as if he was carrying a really heavy rucksack...

"Crocodiles. I've been catching them since I was nine. No problem."

He showed people how much fun being in the wild can be... he laughed at those who were scared of creatures... and he brought Australia to the rest of the otherwise "America-focused" world.

Steve Irwin - the Crocodile Hunter - died today in as dramatic an incident as the rest of his life. He was struck in the chest by a stingray's barb while filming underwater in the Great Barrier Reef. What's strange is that the stingray is usually a very docile creature - attacking only when provoked or threatened. Only one other person in Australia has died from a stingray attack over 60 years ago.

Steve was a wonderful person, and I hope Australia dedicates something to this lover of adventure, thrill, and wilderness.

Of night shows and cry baby movies...

2006-09-03T13:17:00.000+05:30

**Like this song 'Bolo na' by Sona... really slow and serene**

Saw KANK last night... somehow all Karan Johar movies seem exactly the same to me... lots of people.. lots of fungama in the first half... and tons of (equally distributed) crying in the second half. Oh, and someone just has to die. It's mandatory.

Sudhish had compared this movie to Closer. I saw Closer a while back and I really liked it. It was a very different kind of movie. Yes, it dealt with infidelity, but in a way that made it look like a mystery, love story, sattire combined in one. More than the theme and the people, I liked the way the movie had been made - each frame was a different piece... and the whole thing came together seamlessly as one movie. I wouldn't say that the movie appealed to my better senses, or that I agree with its primary characters... but it's a movie that I would recommend people to see.. just to get a flavor of how different one kneaded theme can be dealt with.

That said, KANK was very very Indian-ized. And what's with Indian movies and women having male friends. It's very rare (especially in Hindi movies) to see a guy and a girl being best friends and nothing else. They just have to (both, or at least one) fall in love... or left with a feeling of emptiness in the end... so stupid!

Probably one of the only scenes that I liked was when Amitabh is in the hospital (apart from the Karan Johar principle that he just had to die, there was no sane reason for pushing him into the heart attack scene) and he tells Abhishek that he really missed his wife. That was super Amitabh.

Oh, and the Rock n Roll song was the best... simply because the dad and son duo looked simply awesome on screen. Abhishek truly rocks... perhaps he should've been cast as "Don" instead of our sugar boy ;-)

Questions and scribbles....

2006-08-21T18:12:00.000+05:30

sometimes i dont understand why people do certain things... why they act cranky... why they try to repel other people... why they have a wall around them that spells "stay away from me" in big letters. when there's two people who love each other and want to do everything for each other, is it fair to keep the other person in the dark about what ur truly feeling? u love, live, and see each other every single hour of the day... you think about the other person even in the few minutes that you're not together... u've crossed those stages of uncertainty and hesitation wondering if this is the right person, and whether u will stay together forever... and u've been with each other for so long that u just know that things r going to be the way they are today - perfect.

u know all that. and suddenly one day when the other person goes into a shell, wanting to be away.. wanting to stay alone or aloof... its confusing. because u dont know whether to understand it and accept it, or kill urself wondering why. accept it, cuz sometimes u feel the same way too... u have this satiated feeling that "hey we aren't married yet... why are we so much into each other... it's getting a little sticky.." and u try to push urself away in subtle ways... doing ur own thing... disagreeing to things u have never fought on till then... ur scared that ur losing urself... ur having so much fun loving this person that u didn't see that ur own self kind of walked out the door sometime back.... then suddenly u realize it.. and u want it back...

and so u go do all these crazy things... and ur better half is wondering what the hell went wrong.

Jillunu oru kaadhal... sizzling indeed!

2006-08-14T11:37:00.000+05:30

Finally got muh hands on a copy of "Jillunu oru kaadhal" this weekend at Madras. Apart from the instant ooh factor caused by Surya's pic on the front, and ARR's pic on the back (sigh again!)... the "red red red" theme of the cover was really cool..

ok.. I haven't seen any of the trailors... but I have seen the picture shots from the various email fwds that have been doing the rounds for the past (4??) months..

New York nagaram is my favorite in this movie... the perfect song for just closing your eyes for a couple of minutes when you've had your daily share of staring at the blue screen... or driving the car alone on a rainy night... the song leaves you with such a warm feeling... like good tiramisu... :-)

Next comes Munbe vaa... with silky voices that just glide past... this song is such a treat to the ears... I hope this is a Jothika song, although it looks like it's gonna be a Bhoomika song :-) I'd love to play this song while cooking something for dinner... it's the kind of song that will make you think whatever you're doing is magic *grin!*

Majaa majaa is a very sensual song... I'm guessing the video will have a lot of teasing and playing hard-to-get... at least that's what the voices do... lovely number...

Marisam is where the eyes-closed-and-forget-about-the-rest-of-the-world feeling of the album changes... I like the foot tapping beats of this song... and the way it ends... like a salsa number... really cool song :-)

Jillunu oru kaadhal reminds me of men in black tuxedos and top hats and walking sticks doing that really smart, smooth dance in the 60's. a great number for some jiving... dancing.... and basically having fun... wonder how the video for this song would be... hope it's not in the title track...

Just because I put Ammi mithichaachu here does not mean I did not enjoy it... especially loved the way it starts... one traditional song in an otherwise "world appeal" album...

On the overall, all the songs in this movie are very refreshing... they have the typical ARR stamp - so fresh that you can never predict a pattern or say "Oh he did that last time.."

Can't wait for the movie to release... and the two hotties to get married... sigh! How can they be so cute together?

Love you forever

2006-07-22T15:14:00.000+05:30

What does "I love you" mean? That I love everything about you... everything that you say, do, and think... and I can't imagine living without you.

Isn't that a little too much for just 3 words - or rather just ONE word, considering that the other two are just a prefix and a suffix...

It's scary... to pledge your love for someone... and promise to stay together forever... because honestly speaking, forever doesn't exist.

But then I love you now... isn't that what matters?

Yes it does... it does matter... now it matters... but tomorrow? And the day after? What happens if one fine day you don't? Can I handle that?

Is that why people get married? Since a "break-up" then, would be a hell lot more difficult... sweeping the how-can-you-live-with-someone-you-don't-love-any-more question right under the carpet...

It's weird... this whole thing about deciding to spend the rest of your life with someone... the big hype about finding your soulmate and all that... When you know it's all about one of the many human emotions called "love"... and when you know that each emotion is as strong and short-lived as the other... why do you keep believing in undying love, and eternal happiness?

Groan!

2006-07-18T17:49:00.000+05:30

Rule #1
Never say things like "It's been a long time since I got sick". Even "touch wood" does NOT help.

Rule #2
The crave for spicy food shoots up when you're stuck with the no-salt-no-spice regime of boiled vegetables and lemon tea. This does NOT mean you pounce on the closest bag of Tango chips.

Rule #3
Nobody went to their grave wishing they had slept less. So use the time to sleep, sleep, sleep!!!

Dandeli = green

2006-07-14T11:38:00.000+05:30

Sometime during my disappearance last month, I'd been on a trip to a really nice place called Dandeli.

Rainy weather... fresh green forests... black snails.. Malabar squirrels.. Red soil..

Some of the words that come to my mind when I think of that beautiful wildlife sanctuary, about 480 kms from Bangalore towards Goa.

The Dandeli forest protected area covers about 400 sq. kms. of the 3000 sq. kms. that marks the Karwa and Western Ghats forest. The black panther is the most famous inhabitant of Dandeli, while white-socked bison, and the Sambar deer come close.

We stayed at the Jungle Lodges and Resorts, a quiet and cozy place nestled on the banks of the river Kali. Trust me, it's one amazing place to stay. Despite the monsoons resulting in most of the activities being shut off (they offer white water rafting, canoeing, kayaking, mountain biking, and more) just sitting on a cane chair under a thatched roof, listening to constant pitter patter of rain, with an interesting book in my hand, and a cuppa hot tea beside.. man! I wish that moment lived on forever!

Dandeli is beautiful, quiet, green, and refreshing. I wish we'd spent more than just a weekend there.

Pain in the I-don't-know-where

2006-07-04T20:11:00.000+05:30

It's another one of those boring Tuesdays... you're in the mood to do absolutely nothing... the sight of the laptop is repulsive... going out some place seems like too much effort... and you're caught in that spot where you can't put your finger on what the heck is bothering you so much...

You're not lazy... it's not that you want to doze off after doing nothing for a whole day... you just don't want to do anything at all... and when you don't want to do anything at all, just about every other thing irritates you...

What the heck do you do then? I tried listening to some old songs... stashed away in the attic of some sub-sub-folder in My Music... put it on 'random play' and just shut out the rest of the world...

Did it help? Well, at least I started thinking about the song... the movie sequence... some stupid memory associated with that song (like pausing and pressing 'print screen' during every second scene in Alaipayuthey in an attempt to capture PC Sriram's magic...)

Then tried blogging... nowadays I find reading blogs more interesting to write (or is it just the sheer effort involved in pressing a few extra keys?)

Whatever it is, hope this naggy feeling goes away soon... it's beginning to bother people around me too... sigh!!

Veetu saapadu :-)

2006-06-19T18:10:00.000+05:30

Am not referring to my new found interest in the kitchen, leading to pulao a.k.a. pongal... and potatoes green and yellow in color...

Nor am I referring to going home once a month and gorging on home food like I haven't eaten for 4 days...

Just discovered this little house near the workplace.. with a mama and mami serving plain n simple sambar, rasam, and stir-fried veggies... It's simple... it's down-to-earth... you have to wash your own plates and sit on the floor and eat with your hand...

But walking into a house, and hearing "Vaango... Inga okkarreLa" was music like nothing else!

It's during times like this that I realize how much I miss the little things back home... A warm feeling... and fond memories come flooding back to me...

Stressed out... and loving it!

2006-06-05T21:26:00.000+05:30

Swamped with work... after a long time...

Feels good... after a long time :-)

Do you get that feeling once in a while that you're spending too much time, giving too much of yourself to work?

Do you get that feeling that it's so going to be worth it.. and it's not the adulation and the awards that matter, but the satisfaction of something done really well?

Trust me, it's an awesome feeling :-)

Road trip to Shivasamudra Falls

2006-05-24T19:32:00.000+05:30

Big fan of bikes... but never been on a long ride before. This Saturday, Phantom and I decided to try it out with a small step - a 120 kms stretch from Bangalore to Shivasamudra Falls.

DSC00150
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The weather was purrrfect. Not too sunny, but hardly a cloud to dampen our spirits. As we started cruising down Kanakpura road, I just stretched out a bit, resting comfortably on the back of the Avenger... pure comfort!

//As an added attraction, I got to suck on a popsicle.. after almost 15 years!!

We reached Shivasamudram falls after about 4 hours. Apart from a few pits, the road was pretty much decent all the way. The landscape was lovely, especially the reddy-red gulmohar trees lining up on either side every once in a while.

Once you reach the sign that asks you to take a left to the falls, you need to drive up about 3 kms to reach the actual vantage point. The drive takes you through the Shivasamudram dam project, and the whole hydro-electric plant that harnesses the power of these magnificent falls.

There's nothing much you can do once you reach the vantage point. It's like a small landing area, with a couple of small shops, and mobile tender coconut and raw mango vendors walking around.

But the highlight is the almost picture-perfect view of the falls that you get from here. The thundering of water as it plummets almost 140 feet down... spraying the boulders that try to stop its flow...

Some how I had this feeling that this was what I wanted to wake up to, every single day. The sound of a river gurgling, a waterfall spray... what a wonderful feeling it would be!

We were there for about an hour.. the sun was getting up pretty high, and we weren't keen on getting our heads burnt.. So we got back to the 'landing area' and zero-ed in on a tender coconut guy..

Man! I swear it's been a really long time since I had such fresh, really tender, sweet coconut.. it was bliss!

After that, we decided to head back. It would be another 4 hours, and it didn't make sense to drive when the sun was sinking, especially on a bike.

So I thought of giving my bike driving skills (if there were any!) a good test, and took the wheel ;-)

It was an exhilerating feeling! Riding the bike by itself was a VERY big deal, cuz I had just about no confidence in my bike driving... and add to that, the mostly-good-but-sometimes-really-bad road.. and the look on the faces of passers-by when they saw me driving the bike.. that was something I felt REAL good about!!

Somewhere just before reaching JP Nagar, I gave the wheel back to Phantom. Me is still freaked out about driving in traffic... and Bangalore traffic? No way!!

Overall, it was a fun trip.. the falls was beyond my imagination.. and the drive was just lovely!!

Hopefully will do more bike trips from now on.. Apart from a really sore butt, and aching wrists, I think I'm doing just about fine! :-))

All pics courtesy: Phantom

Sivan puja-la Karadi...

2006-05-19T12:23:00.000+05:30

Ever wondered what's the funda on the whole Bear-entering-Shiva-puja is all about?

(for the uninitiated, this is the Tamil version of "kabab-mein-haddi")

First of all, this is a Kannada saying. The original version goes like this:
shiva pUje madhye karaDige biTTa hAge

And this dates back to the time when Lingayats had to wear a poonal (string around the body) with a small Karadige (Linga/Shiva idol) tied to it. The gAde (rule book) says that the Shiva puja cannot go on if you forget the Karadige. This is the most important, and all other preparations don't count.

So you can't bring the Karadige in the middle of the puja, cuz it doesn't count then, and it messes up the whole puja.

Over time, Karadige has become Karadi :-)

Thanks to a Missouri website for this funda... Jeez!!

Breaking away

2006-05-19T10:50:00.000+05:30

Take away my pain
Leave the cold outside
Please don't let it rain
Don't stumble on my pride

Take away my pain
I'm not frightened anymore
Just stay with me tonight
I'm tired of this fight
Soon I'll be knocking at your door

Let this bird go... let it be what it wants to be... it will love, it will leave, and it will hurt... but it will find itself again... and again....

Smiles and tears...

2006-05-16T21:42:00.000+05:30

Every time i feel low, every time i want to kill someone, i catch up on a random blog.

usually it makes me feel better... somehow there's this silent force that pulls me up, tells me to get going with life, and go ahead and kill that person if it makes me feel better.

Thanks to all these words... all these emotions, forays, off-handed comments, everything that makes this world of words so special.. made my day just a little bit more bearable :-)

Pic courtesy: stock.xchng

That was just a dream...

2006-05-16T21:23:00.000+05:30

Some people never change... they do the same things... the same lies... the same mistakes... the same hurt..

and life goes on... like a circle... over and over again...

Feel like a king!!

2006-05-12T12:45:00.000+05:30

Originally uploaded by *Fly*.

Nothing beats getting a Flickr Pro account as a birthday gift! Thanks so much Ferrari :-)

Seldom in... seldom out...

2006-05-10T15:15:00.000+05:30

What a difference the outside world can make in your life!

If it's bright and sunny outside... we're all happy sitting inside this white-n-blue world...
If it's a little cloudy, and it's just about to rain... we just want to shut down these machines and run straight out!

Man... if ever we had to work in a place where the weather was lovely, pleasant, a little bit chilly, and beautiful all year round... exactly the same every day... would we like it... or would we ask for the scorching sun, and the heartless cold?

Pic courtesy: Bharat

I want this!!

2006-05-10T11:44:00.000+05:30

All 7 seasons of Mad About You on 15 DVDs for $149.99!!

My birthday's coming up... Anyone interested in getting this for me??

Thunder and lightning

2006-05-09T17:52:00.000+05:30

The freshness of rain...
the warmth of the ground just moments before it starts...
the cool breeze that slowly builds up into a strong wind... skidding over the roads..
gathering dust, and liberally spraying it all around...

The first few drops of rain...
quenching a parched earth...
that opens up so readily like lovers meeting after a long time...

The fast falling pellets of rain...
as they hit the ground and bounce out to make little star marks...
the chill wind that gently sweeps away all the dust, all the smoke,
all the sadness, all the frowns, and all the bad moods of the city...

Rain is beautiful... and yes, sometimes Bangalore rocks! :-)

Adventures in the wild

2006-05-08T10:53:00.000+05:30

What a crazy weekend! Started off from Bangalore on Friday night... reached Coorg (Virajpet) by 4.30 am Saturday... loitered around until 8 am... started trekking up the hills of Coorg at 9.30 am...

Screamed at leeches as they crawled up in greedy want of human blood... Stopped to listen, smell, taste, and feel the forest... the world we were new to... the world where they ruled, and we obeyed...

Realized we were lost somewhere in the dense forest around midday.... decided to trace our way back to the starting point... amidst claps of thunder and rain slowly beginning to pelt down, reached the place about 5.30 pm... drank close to 3 liters of water.... rubbed hot tea glasses against our feet as a vain attempt to revive them... crazy jeep ride up to base camp... eat dinner around a campfire that the boys so bravely built... slept like a log.... woke up to a bright and sunny Sunday drenched in sweat for overestimating the mountain chill... packed up and left for Bangalore....

Back to home sweet home by Sunday evening... crashed as contented people with no plans of waking for a tomorrow....

Here at work... not believing that I can be so refreshed after such a tiring, cold, damp, leechy weekend... after listening to nothing but crickets, birds, and our own gasps of breath... after drinking water straight from a stream, and licking fingers after lunch cuz we had no water... after getting so close to nature, and so close to our own selves... after testing the limits of our endurance, patience, tolerance, empathy, and more... now back to computers and traffic jams.... back to pollution and people... back to life, as we know it, as we hate it, as we accept it.

The DUDE factor

2006-05-04T17:33:00.000+05:30

Have you ever noticed when 2 guys are talking? They always refer to each other by some common slang word that usually means "friend"...

Dude
Boss
Buddy
Machaan
Maaplai (Maapu... Maps)
Mama
Guru

Have you ever noticed when 2 girls are talking? They always refer to each other by their names/nicknames...

Interesting indeed! :-)

TV typing

2006-04-26T15:02:00.000+05:30

Hot... sleepy... super boring day. Hate it!

Working on a 29" desky... that's so big, you have this feeling that you're typing straight into a television. Wonder when it became such a big deal... am constantly worried about doing a stage performance of what am working on... all you have to do is just pass by and everything is in full view. Damn!!

On the other hand, I hope my laptop comes out of the hospital hale and healthy... He's been acting cranky for a while, and I hope the surgery goes on well. Ideally he should be back to work in a couple of days... let's just hope for the best!

:-(

What's eating Gilbert Grape?

2006-04-24T18:44:00.002+05:30

No... my problem is much more complicated than handling Arnie or falling in love with Becky in that adorable 1993 movie.

My problem is putting up with people who seem to be perfectly normal... but have the rare talent to make you hit the ceiling 20 times in a span of one hour...

Are you ok with someone drinking water off your bottle?
Are you ok with someone tapping you on the shoulder incessantly just cuz they're bored?

Are you ok with someone acting all normal to everyone else, and completely ignoring you?
Are you ok with doing everything you can to stop yourself from knowing why?

Are you ok with someone calling you everyday even when you don't want them to?
Are you ok with someone not calling you everyday even when you badly want them to?

If you are, can you swap places with me for a while?

:-)

Photo courtesy stock.xchng

Hypnotic stuff!

2006-04-21T10:58:00.000+05:30

Been hooked to this band for the last week... Aaroh is a band from Karachi that's 1 album (Sawaal) old... and now officially split.

Sad... cuz their music really rocks... a unique blend of rock and desi stuff... similar to Strings...

The last number - Pyaar Ka Jal is available for download at http://www.aaroh.net/
Beautiful song... with very powerful beats...

Apparently Aaroh was famous for its live stage performances... and they went on to win Pepsi's Battle of the Bands sometime back...

In any case... the music really rocks. I got a copy of Aaroh|Sawaal a week back... it's definitely worth a buy... do give it a try!

Pic courtesy aaroh..net

Am I addicted?

2006-04-20T12:34:00.000+05:30

How do you know if you're addicted to something?

Is it when you get a splitting headache if you don't have it? Or that "I-just-have-to-have-it" feeling?

Is all addiction bad? Or are some just ok?

If you're addicted to something, how can you tell someone else not to? Isn't that contradictory?

Man... I am so full of questions... and I badly need a coffee :-(

Pic courtesy stock.xchng

Action... Reaction...

2006-04-19T15:23:00.000+05:30

Have you ever been in a spot of bother, when you get this sure fire feeling that someone is hiding behind a veil... unwilling to show their true feelings out?

Why the heck do people do that? Drives me totally mad...!!

You don't want to talk... Tell me that. You want to talk... Tell me that. DO NOT expect me to get some sort of spiritual insight into what's going on inside your head. Damn!

I hate it when people do this... makes life so much more complicated than it already is... And all you folks who are gonna tell me, "It's not that simple." SAVE IT!

Trust me, it's us who complicate it... It really is very simple.

- A very flabbergasted me

Pic courtesy stock.xchng

Life.... love... and everything in IX G

2006-04-17T19:47:00.000+05:30

Flashback... July 1994

Due to population pressures, I get moved to class 9G. Hate it.. cuz I don't know anyone there, and it's scary to go to a new class. At least there's Raji for support.. but she knows some folks here.. hopefully she won't leave me alone.

There's this short girl... what's she, every teacher's favorite? Man... why does she have to do that?? It's MY hot seat, not hers!!

Finally, we meet. Formal? You bet! Just a "Hello!" or a smile when we bump into each other.

I don't know when things changed... but soon we ended up talking more than that... unfortunately, since she was short, she had to sit somewhere else and I got stuck with this really boring guy sitting next to me.

I can't begin to write about all the Judy Blumes, Paula Danzigers, Famous Fives, and Enid Blytons we read and laughed about together.. The customary 4 pm Coke at ABH... All the guy-gossip.. He-likes-me-He-likes-me-nots.. Buying matching Ladybird cycles... Deciding to wear jeans for the day after Diwali...

And then when we drifted apart.. I still don't understand why... All those long letters we wrote to each other after I moved schools (I still think that was the biggest mistake I ever made)... Waiting after school and walking down the same roads talking about people...

Somewhere down the lane I messed up. And I still feel responsible for it, cuz I was stupid.. I was besotted with an illusion... and I lost everyone including my best friend.. Even today, I don't know how I could mess up so much.

Back to now, March 2006

She's now getting married... And to who? One of the sweetest guys in our class back then! How absolutely delightful! It's one thing for a guy to be a girl's best friend during their teens... but to actually pull it through.. all the way for almost 10 years... and then get married to each other... man! I love those two just for that!

Here's to a wonderful couple... two amazing friends... and a very lovely family.

Love you both... and hope I see you soon :-)

Waiting for tonight :-)

2006-04-12T11:44:00.000+05:30

Months just flew by.... and now it's time to see you again....

Time to smile, and time to fall back knowing that things are going to be just fine...

Love you very much... and am so glad to have you back. :-)

Colors of the rainbow

2006-04-05T22:48:00.000+05:30

Violet - Regal... Arrogant... Haughty
Indigo - Quiet... Amusing... Mysterious
Blue - Smart.. Straight... Ordinary
Green - Cheery... Simple... Rustic
Yellow - Bright... Enthusiastic... Talkative
Orange - Tangy... Radical... Creative
Red - Bold... Daring... Brash

How many emotions a color can evoke... Are they rainbows, or are they people?

The Wall

2006-04-04T19:13:00.000+05:30

There's a wall around each one of us...

From the outside, it stops people from getting in.
From the inside, it stops you from reaching out to them.

There is a wall inside each one of us...

From the outside, it stops ideas and emotions from getting in.
From the inside, it stops you from reacting, forging ahead, and creating your destiny.

Eureka!!

2006-03-31T16:40:00.000+05:30

What is it about an idea that spurs you to do something about it?

What does it take to ignite that spark within?

And how motivated are you to grow the idea into something really compelling?

Random thoughts...

2006-03-20T14:11:00.000+05:30

How difficult is it to fake a smile?
How easy is it to wrap yourself in disguise?

How difficult is it to forgive?
How easy is it to forego?

How difficult is it to turn dreams away?
How easy is it to forget memories?

How difficult is it to get past the day?
How easy is it to pretend that it's fine?

All of 48k...

2006-03-20T09:50:00.000+05:30

Pic courtesy: stock.xchng

Plus taxes for a body toning program at VLCC.

I think I lost a couple of pounds right there!

Anyways... Am motivated enough to hit the gym today... Yaay!!! Now I can actually see the day I will walk to work instead of just rolling away..!!

Welcome aboard!

2006-03-19T11:24:00.000+05:30

What a surprise... One of the craziest, whackiest specimen alive (not me) steps into the world of blogs...

Brother dear, hope you have a good time here!!!

Wish list...

2006-03-14T10:00:00.000+05:30

need to concentrate more... seem to be totally distracted...
need to give time to the things that matter...
need to decide what exactly ARE the things that matter...
need to go to the gym before it's really late
have to stop worrying about stupid things
have to learn to shut up more often

hope at least some of these happen!!

Six coffee breaks

2006-03-13T20:53:00.000+05:30

And I still feel messed up. Why do you do this to me?

When I wanted to be with you... you never had the time...
When I went away with a broken heart... you come rushing back...
Now I want to be with you... but I can't.

Why is it so difficult to celebrate the day?
Why does the anger and the hate shroud the love that we share?
Why are we left repenting over what could have been?

Yesterday I wanted to go away...
But today I want to be with you...
Yesterday I thought you didn't love me...
But today I know you love me more than anything...

I wish you hadn't hurt me,
I wish I'd understood...
But I guess things just happen...

Life is not about making decisions,
it's smart enough to do that on its own.
It's about how fast you deal with what happens,
the timing, the damn timing, makes all the difference.

Memories of midnight

2006-03-09T15:59:00.001+05:30

Is there any such thing as "I'll love you forever"? What exactly does that mean?

I know when I die, you'll be on my mind
and I'd love you... Always.

I want to love you... I want to love you today, more than yesterday... and tomorrow maybe I'll love you a little less. But how can I promise you that tomorrow will, if not be better, be at least the same as today?

Streaks of passion... smudges of love... scratches of pain... and lots of emotion.... what a painting it is!

What would I do without you? I'll miss you.. I'd wish you were back... but I'd still live... cuz in the end, the only thing that matters.... Is me.

I've been down on my knees more than once...
Been kissed more than once...
Fallen desperately in love more than once...
Sworn I'd never do it again, more than once...
But I keep feeling the adrenaline rush back every time I wake up...

Please explain...

2006-03-06T19:21:00.000+05:30

Dear mom,

I did grocery shopping for the first time this weekend. It was weird. Do you remember the times when we used to go to Food World every month to get all the stuff? I remember you walking down the "Pulses, Cereals, and Oils" aisle... and me walking down the "Soaps, Cosmetics, and Detergents" aisle.. Oh, and remember how much I used to get mad at the kid for asking you to get a stupid Gillette razor that costed a bomb?

All these memories came flooding to me as I rolled the trolley along each aisle.. Never knew those days would end...

I am all nostalgic now as I write this, but there's one thing that had me stumped when I was done. We used to shop for our family of four... and keep the bill within 1500. Pray tell me, why my monthly shopping bill ran up to 1200?!

Lots of love,
A bewildered daughter

Fresh coffee anyone?

2006-03-06T18:14:00.000+05:30

"Nearly all of the coffee out there is stale. The good news is that stale coffee is drinkable if you've never had truly fresh coffee. The bad news is that once you've tasted truly fresh coffee, you'll be forever hooked. It will make you giddy every time you go to make a pot. Tingle right down to your toes. Reverberate around your head like a funky aura. That's because coffee, just a few days out of the roaster, is nature's most flavorful drink - more complex than even wine - containing well over 900 flavor compounds to dance on your taste buds. But after a few weeks, you'd be lucky to see half that number."

So how do you find out if your coffee is fresh? Simple. If it tastes bitter or flat, it's too late. Cuz the truest coffee is *gasp!* sweet. Shocked? Find out more at the Home for Coffee Fools :-)

Eyes wide shut

2006-03-01T10:58:00.000+05:30

What is it about the unknown that excites us?

What makes you smile when a sweet surprise springs on you?

Is it that little surge of adrenaline up your cheeks that tickles you into a smile... or is it a spiritual thing, where everything in the universe seems to conspire to make you happy?

Lay a whisper on my pillow
Feel the winter on the ground
I wake up lonely, and stare at silence
in the bedroom, and all around

Maybe it all started when the radio station that he hated so much, started playing his all-time favorite hits. The fact that this stale radio station that only played sad old Hindi songs, suddenly turned around and played songs that he held very close to his heart, was something that made him shake his head in disbelief.

How did they know? How could they possibly play every single song he loved so much, one after the other??

Sometimes destiny is as confusing to the people who believe in it, to the people who don't.

Just another day

2006-02-28T22:53:00.000+05:30

She walked in about 10 minutes before schedule. Typical IT person. These people earn too much, too fast. That's their problem. So they don't know what to do with all that money. Good for people like me.

Like everyone else, she spoke English. But where was she from? I was trying to guess between TamilNadu and Bombay, although she looked a lot like a proper Tamilian.

Just another day. Just another client. I had neither the time nor the sensitivity for first-timers and their awkwardness. I told her in as neutral a tone as possible to take off her clothes.

She looked at me with that blank face. I didn't think she didn't hear me. Maybe she was just uncomfortable. But you had to take your clothes off. Otherwise how can you do it?

Slowly she took her clothes off, and stood there, trying hard to hide the embarrassment and shyness that accompanies one not used to being in the nude.

I softened down a little. Not every job involves dealing with naked people. I was used to this. Although she had asked for it in the first place, I wanted to make sure she was totally comfortable doing it.

We talked a little - she in English, and me in my language, interspersed with broken English words.

As she lay down on the polished wooden divan, I went to get the accessories ready. At the corner of my eye, I saw her closing her eyes... her body tense, and her skin dotted by goosebumps.

For the next one hour, as I tested the elasticity of every muscle on her body, I could feel the tension all the time. Not wavering up or down, but just staying at a constant, high level. I told her to relax, and just let the body move to my rhythm. But she said she couldn't help it. Managing a weak smile, she said maybe next time she could do better.

I'm a very straightforward person. And this was my job. Something I loved doing everyday. So after awhile, I stopped worrying about making her comfortable, and set the pace for a very invigorating session. The human body holds a lot of surprises... and each one is completely unique, speaking a language of its own. I tried to understand her body... be a part of her for just a while... part of the nuances, the moves, the little things that made her different from everyone else... for just a while...

Somewhere towards the end, I think she fell asleep. It was good in a sense, because at least then she was able to completely relax. I gently shook her awake.. told her it was over, and she could go take a shower now.

Gently sliding off the divan, she walked unsteadily to the shower room. For almost ten minutes, I heard her pouring water again and again on her head. What was she trying to do? Was she trying to cleanse herself of everything that had happened just minutes back? Why did she want it then?

She came out soon after that.. with the towel wrapped securely around her torso. I was sitting at the other end of the room. Whether she was naked, or had a towel around her made no difference to me. As she struggled to put on her clothes, while holding on to the towel, I smiled to myself.

She was after all, just another client. And I was just a masseuse.

Drifting away...

2006-02-21T17:55:00.000+05:30

I don't wanna be lonely no more...
I don't wanna have to pay for this.
I don't wanna know the lover at my door,
it's just another heartache on my list.

Rob Thomas... sigh!!

It's been a long time since the first time I "chatted" up with someone on the net... crazy... brings back a lot of fun memories :-)

Anyways... had been to The Hint last night... beautiful place... suits every mood... and really good Peach Schnapps ;-)

I found a reason for me....
To change who I used to be....
A reason to start over new....
And the reason is you...

Makes me want to start playing the guitar again... man... those classes... the day we start strumming, everyone would want to play "Nothing Else Matters" :-)

V day!!

2006-02-14T21:14:00.000+05:30

Happy Valentine's Day!!

**been stuck with work the whole day.. so kindly excuse if this is the last wish of the day!**

What's with this day anyway?? Red balloons and streamers everywhere... A red rose on just about everyone's desk.. Dedications on the radio/TV/websites/cafeteria/everywhere..!!

Why does everyone go bonkers on this day??

Is it a reason to celebrate and gift? Is it a reason to have a good time??

Hmmm... although the enthu level wears off after you're of a-certain-age, it's still fun to watch everyone else go crazy over it... We call them "kids"... They call us "OLD"!!!

Rule(s) of Commons

2006-02-13T19:53:00.000+05:30

If you stay determined to remember something, you will always forget something else that was more important
Too much chocolate does result in insomnia
Sleeping on the sofa means you will get up with a sore back. Lying on your side has no effect at all.
Sun = Heat. 24 degrees C does not mean you can walk out without a hat and expect to not have a red forehead
A free upgrade to Business Class does not mean you have a stupid smile on your face the entire time. Initially yes, but it has to wear off eventually.

Happy Birthday!!

2006-02-10T11:10:00.000+05:30

Today is the birthday of 2 people very close to my heart :-)

Rajesh - the corniest friend ever!!

and.... Flickr!!! Wish I was there for the party... Me all J :-(

Man... Can't believe another year has flown by!!

Some of the amazing moments pocketed in Flickr here

....

2006-02-08T22:55:00.000+05:30

I can't say No
I always regret not saying No
I try very hard to say No
I end up saying everything but No

Am gonna be a terrible mom.

Found something!!

2006-02-08T11:37:00.000+05:30

Yahoo!! Finally found a great tool to keep track of comments :-)

http://www.cocomment.com/

Cocomment offers some pretty neat tools to keep track of comments. It uses a bookmarklet... so you have to use that everytime you comment on someone's blog. Once you do that, all your comments are bundled up under 'My Conversations'. You can either access that from your Cocomment ligin, but that's no fun....

Cocomment lets you add an Alert box right on your blog, showing the latest conversations you've had (see mine here on the right!)... and also has an RSS feed that you can subscribe to, to keep track of your comments and if you want to, other related comments also.

I think this is incredible... you guys should try it too. Login is by invitation only, something similar to Yahoo 360 and Gmail... I donno what's with this invite thingy... maybe they want to collect email addresses.... but request them an invite, and you get one within a couple of hours...

Sounds really cool... go ahead n try it!

Luck...

2006-02-07T14:30:00.001+05:30

I feel lucky.

I am lucky.

What does all that mean? That you get what you want without too much effort? Or you think about the way things have turned out on the overall, and you think "Oh well... It could've been worse!"? Hmmm....

I guess both hold good... and there's also Situation III - The "Thank Heavens I did NOT do "that"" feeling. Gawd..! How many times that's happened!

Right now, I'm SO happy I did not tell Mr.X what I thought about Mr.Y... They turned out to be roommates.. eeks!!!

Quizzing...

2006-02-03T21:12:00.000+05:30

Q: What's worse than taking a cab home at 3.30 a.m.?

A: Paying 500 bucks for it.

Q: What's better than catching up with a cousin after 5 years?

A: Nothing :-)

How tactful!

2006-02-01T14:24:00.000+05:30

Originally uploaded by locaburg.

One of the many unique pictures I came across on the Flickr blog

Spaced out!

2006-01-31T22:54:00.000+05:30

Just loafing around...

checking out airfares to nowhere in particular...

IM-ing people who "sound" like they're really busy...

listening to Staind...

Still at work at 11 p.m....

I'm so bored!!!!

Down south... family et al!

2006-01-30T12:43:00.000+05:30

Just back from a trip of sorts :-) What started out as a long-due trip to the "Kula Dheivam" turned out to be a mix of ancestral gyan, tradition, and adventure ;-)

The original fool-proof plan would've been to start from Tambaram by Kumbakonam Express at 9.45 p.m., reach Vaitheeswaran Kovil at 5 a.m., finish whatever you need to do in that little village of 2 streets and 1 big temple, board the Chennai-bound train at 10 a.m. and be home by 5 p.m. on the same day. Would've been just perfect. No hassles, no complaints. Just that it was too simple. Being a family that's used to last-minute adventure, long moments of waiting on the road wondering where to go next, and trusting intuition more than maps, my dad decided to explore the place a bit and maybe leave a little late. 10 a.m. was just too soon :-)

So.. tired and dirty (I can never, ever get used to 2nd class sleeper, no matter how short the journey is, and how pleasant the weather may seem like.) we landed at the famous place when the sun was still sleeping. (actually, we would've slept all the way to Mayiladuthurai if it weren't for a middle-aged guy who started screaming in Telugu at what seemed like his family to either get off/on the train... Gawd.. it's awful to wake up to "Ra.. Ikkad rAAA.." at the top of his voice.. damn!)

Apparently Saturday is picked by most tourists, sorry, pilgrims, to visit the place so, all the lodges/madams/mutts were all supposedly full. Now, you need to know that Vaitheeswaran Kovil is a really tiny hamlet. Apart from the sprawling Sivan temple, a hut-like thing called a railway station, and exactly 2 perpendicular streets, there's pretty much nothing else. Just about everyone who lives there is somehow associated with the temple. They either work inside as a gurukkal, or outside selling flowers/making prasad/so on n so forth.

So my point is, you can't find any classy hotels out there. In fact, you can't even find a hotel. All you have is either a lodge - some 2 floors of just rooms, each hopefully with an attached bathroom; or a madam - a big house where you can use the rooms for free up to 4 hours, and shared bathrooms; a mutt is similar to a madam, except that you may need a membership.

Anyways, coming back to the point, we couldn't find any lodge, so we set up camp in a madam. Just a small room to dump a couple of bags, and then we had to join the queue for the bathroom. Now this is where it gets a little complicated. I suck at queues. And when the rest of the women folk are from deep down south Tamil Nadu - basically the kind of folk that don't give a damn however lost you look, and just push past you in a reckless spirit to be the next person to shove a mug of semi-hot water on their heads - you're in for a not-so-nice game.

I guess at some point, some woman kinda realized that I was going to be standing in the queue for a long time. SO she just pushed me forward, and before I could react, it was my turn to take a shower. Jeez! That was madness!!

Am not gonna describe the bathroom, cuz it was kinda mucky and I don't want to remember it. Plus, the rest of the trip was a lot of fun too, so I don't want to bore you with minute details. :-)

Once we were all ready (which by itself seemed to take forever cuz we had to use the same room in turns...) my mom drags us to this "mess" (which is actually a place to eat!) which is supposed to serve "the best" food in that hamlet.. My brother and I didn't quite seem to agree - if the black walls (they use firewood), roaches (or whatever those black, creepy things are called), and dirty-woman-serving-food were any testimony... sigh!! We just gulped down some coffee (I have my doubts on that... the liquid was really thin, and hardly any flavor. Besides, later in the the day, I had a weird feeling that the temple elephant was laughing at me...) and started walking towards the Eastern gate of the temple.

Some odd omen, but just about every time we go to a temple, I get stuck with the job of carrying the flower basket. I hate that thing. Not only is it huge, and pricks your arms everywhere, it also is really heavy if you add a lot of coconuts and bananas in there.

We caught hold of this one guy in the temple who agreed to take us around to all the sannidhis, and do the archana at each place. Sounded cool. At leas we don't have to run behind the gurukkal corresponding to each sannidhi now.

One hour later, I realized I should've worn sneakers. Too late. This temple was just so BIG, that I never thought we'd see the entrance that we came in, again! Usually you go around the temple 3 times before you leave. But that was simply out of the question here. By the time we walked across half the courtyard, my ankles began to really complain. Not to forget the fact that we had to literally drag my mom from each sannidhi... I guess she must've been born as a super saint or something like that in her previous life. You actually have to tear her apart from the sanctum sanctorum.. gawd!!

Now I'm not a big fan of temples. And honestly speaking, pilgrimages bore me to death. It's not that I don't appreciate our culture, tradition, and all that, but I just can't stand in front of an idol for more than 2 minutes. Maybe I'm not religious, or maybe that doesn't define religion to me, but the point is, this stuff really, really bores me. And this whole hullabaloo about having to visit your "Kula Dheivam" every now n then, and all that muck around... I just wanted to be back home. Mom however, had no such plans.

Anyways, all fantasies are short-lived. So, after tearing my mom apart from the temple, we went back to that "mess" to grab some breakfast. Idly, dosa with chutney and sambar. Sounds good? Think about cold idlies, dosas with the top side charred, and the bottom side uncooked, 2 spoons of chutney, and really thin gruel-ish sambar. Just one word - AWFUL!

Call it hunger attack, call it the voice of the tummy, but we still ate close to 6 dosas and 2 idlies :-) Man, now that's the spirit!!

Temple done. What now??

Dad decided to explore this place closeby called Poonthotam, some 45 kms from this place. So we took a taxi and rode down some of the greenest, bumpiest, freshest roads I've seen in a while. Lots of sugarcane, lots of cows... oh man, a scene straight out of a Sarathkumar classic ;-)

** am gonna continue this in a short while.. gone for a meeting now... **

I guess I dozed off for most of the journey cuz my head kept hitting dad's shoulder and after a while he kinda shifted a little to the left to avoid the head banging...

The car finally rolled to a stop.. and I woke up rather bleary-eyed to see brown, raspy fields in just about every direction... oh, and there was a little dirt road going on the left.. and oh! a sign pointing us to a temple!! (We had to walk down that last stretch since the car couldn't fit into the street...)

The temple was deserted... in fact, if it weren't for a bunch of mendicants lying around I would've assumed it to be one of those dying monuments of no historical significance. Thankfully, a pundit came around before we could come to some rather solemn conclusions about the place...

My oh my! We were treated like foreigners! I guess it must be quite unusual to have visitors from the urban world to this place... and the pundit was quite excited by all the hoopla created... He did the puja with more than usual reverence (By this, I do not mean that I did a statistical observation of his capabilities on other days, but it's one of those gut feelings that you just can't resist blogging about...) and told us a lot of history and special significance of this temple. I didn't get his drift at all.. he was too

Tell me a tool...

2006-01-25T13:33:00.000+05:30

that updates you on comments you have left on other blogs
that lets you comment on a blog from your feed reader itself
that updates you on template changes done on the blogs that you track
that lets you subscribe to a blog without having to specify the feed URL explicitly (I guess Bloglines does that to an extent... Google Reader expects you to give a .rtf or atom.xml link)
that sorts feeds that you subscribe to, based on the number of times viewed/number of comments, so that you're on track with the most popular posts

I liked Google Reader for the really cool swishing up n down of the feeds in the left window... but switched back to Bloglines cuz of the folders. I kinda prefer organizing my feeds before reading them...

When love and hate collide

2006-01-24T19:39:00.000+05:30

Love. Hate. Friend. Foe. Wanting to let go. Yet holding on to the last reign.

I hate twin emotions. And I hate dilemmas.

There's me on the outside. Knows exactly what to do. When to do. Who to talk to. What's "right". What's "wrong" (In however warped a connotation that itself may be)

And then there's me on the inside. Doing everything that I didn't want to do. Finding reasons and excuses for doing insane things. Wanting love, but pushing it away at the same time.

Why is there so much of a conflict?

Do I blame the one on the outside for expecting me to be the person that I portray?

Or do I blame the one on the inside for falling short of every expectation?

..............

Sometime back, I realized the twins were actually my mind, and my heart.

And I know very well, that the mind is ALWAYS right.

But if things are so plain and clear, why is it so difficult to trust the mind?

My heart is laughing.

Cuz it knows that no matter how hard I try, it's always gonna win over the mind.

And my mind is crying.

Cuz it knows that winning isn't the point. It was never the point. It's the pain, the anger, the hurt, and the guilt that it's so afraid of facing.

But the heart doesn't care. Cuz what matters to the heart, is today. This moment. And as long as it's happy now, it doesn't care.

I hate twin emotions. And I hate having to choose between them.

Another darned tag!!

2006-01-24T18:07:00.000+05:30

You love 'em, you hate 'em, you run behind 'em, you run away from 'em, whatever you do... YOU CAN'T IGNORE 'EM!!!

Me's got tagged by Vikkki and Sheky... grrr... so here goes nothing!

So what's this one about? From what I read, you need to come up with 8 criteria for your perfect lover... and tag 8 other people to do so. From what I see, it seems to be one of blogosphere's strange ways of imitating shaadi.com :-

Here's my list.. or rather, what I can rattle off my mind pour le moment...

Target: Handsome Hunk

Description:

Has all existing girlfriends falling into one of the following categories: Dead/Lesbian
Is crazy about cars
Knows Tamil (Englees varla na parava illa!)
Is totally vegetarian
Is from my school (ah... caught you there!! No reasons for this one!)
Loves shopping for me, with me (read that twice!)
Has no brothers (no Vaali episodes for me!!)
Is NOT a sloppy dud!

Ah... now for the best part.. *Evil Chikuado rises...*

Me throws a red dart, ok ok... me tags these guys:

DV
Magix
Shiv
Pals
Apu
Nat
Dumbs
Monica

Please point all your knives at the 2 people mentioned waaaayyyy on top of this blog post... Spare me.. Spare me!!!

Keep smiling... and one day you'll get shot

2006-01-18T14:01:00.000+05:30

Some people have a penchant for weird and strange things. Either it happens to them, or it happens to people around them. Either way, it's kinda dangerous to be around these people.. cuz you never know what's gonna happen next.

Some people have the Midas Touch. Not the everything-becomes-gold thing, but a slight variation: the everything-conks-out thing. Need to be totally out of reach from these people...

Some people are very bored in life. So either they start bugging everyone else... or they start imagining crazy things.

Sigh!! Just a peek into the social life of an average person.... and it has to get so complicated!

In any case, honestly, don't keep smiling. Or you'll get shot.

O.C.D.

2006-01-16T18:01:00.000+05:30

Have you ever been obsessed over anything/anyone? How about habits? Have you obsessed over something like talking to strange people, or eating too much?

I know lots of people have, at some point of time, been addicted to chocolate... And even cigarettes... but I'm more interested in the habits thingy....

Like take shopping, for instance... How many times have you just bought something for the heck of it, when you very well know that there was absolutely no need for it? Sometimes, there isn't even "want"...

Or the "I-just-have-to-have-that" feeling..

I don't know... just that I seem to be obsessed with a totally insane urge to keep on buying something or the other... and I just can't stop :-((

Pointer!

2006-01-09T19:14:00.000+05:30

Aftertaste updated after what seems like ages!

Not that I quit reading... I did read a lot of really nice books.. and am leaning more towards Indian writing of late... more because of the kind of topics that are typically written about by Indian authors - relationships (not necessarily love), family ties, traditions, the different types of people w.r.t. color, race, religion, and so on... the kind of problems, solutions, and situations that you can relate to simply because you were born and still live in this country... maybe that explains my affinity towards Indian writing...

Anita Nair, Arundati Roy (for just one book, the others are more politically/literally inclined), Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth (sometimes a little too heavy), Anurag Mathur (for the love of humor)... these people have redefined the way the world looks at Indian writing. And being a part of the world they create, is such a unique experience.

Offline:

http://easylib.com/ is a really neat virtual library for Bangalore residents. Browse through a range of subjects and authors, book your book, and have it delivered at home for just Rs.10/- You pay 10% of the book price as rent. Very impressive collection of books, and really good service. Do try it out!

Gyan session for the week :-)

2006-01-09T17:44:00.000+05:30

Don't watch "In Her Shoes" unless you're starved to see Diaz's body in every second frame
Don't watch "15 Park Avenue" unless you can tolerate a really serious movie, with no sound effects at all, at 10 am on a Sunday morning
Don't envy me for picking up a glossy paperback copy of "A Beautiful Mind" at 70% discount at Landmark @ The Forum
Don't walk into Krishna Cafe @ Koramangala on a weekend and expect waiters to give you top notch attention
Don't stand in the middle of a shocking Pepe sale and expect to spend less than one grand

One thing you can do. If you like bobbing your head to the likes of Metallica, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd, and the Eagles, all the while enjoying good old Chinese food, head to Hungry Buddha :-)

Welcome 2006!

2006-01-04T17:09:00.000+05:30

I know it sounds kind of cliched and "what's new?" but let's face it. Apart from the fact that three hundred and sixty five days have rolled by... and a LOT of things have happened ;-) what do we really have to look forward to, apart from another three hundred and 65 days (can't type again!) and a lot MORE things to happen?! ;-)

But then, more than a time for making resolutions, I guess January 1st gives you an opportunity to look back at what happened. Sometimes, time seems to race so fast, that by the time you blink, the day is gone.

Some random things I remember about the year that just sped by

A lot of traveling! Exploring south Tamil Nadu, trekking up the Nilgiris, awestrck in Malaysia, and Thailand.. been a fantastic year of traveling indeed!
Moved out of home. Finally! It's scary, exciting, fun, intimidating, and a lot more!
Started thinking better, learning more, and focus better at work :-)
Friends came, and went. Been a tossy year in that area :-)
Did 2 things out of 35 on my list :-)

Remember the famous line, "When was the last time you did something for the first time?" Well, 2005 was all about firsts, and the most fun year I've had so far. This year, am gonna see more, explore more, and enjoy more!

Toast to a wonderful year ahead for everyone!!

Wondering...

2005-12-29T14:19:00.000+05:30

It's strange how things can change so much.. so fast..

HOME was a place to come back to everyday.. put up your feet and close your eyes.. spend a couple of minutes with mom... scream at brother with renewed energy...

Now HOME is a place u visit every couple of weeks... relish rasam and potatoes as if you're never going to see them again... spend a couple of more minutes with mom... scream at brother and wonder why it sounds like music...

FOOD was something you never cared too much about... you never had to worry about putting on weight or eating a wee bit more when you're full... you waited for friday night so that you could dine out and gorge on a 4-course meal...

Now FOOD is something you really dread... you have to be careful about where you eat, how much you eat, who makes it, who serves it, how he serves it, what goes into it, what comes out... the list is endless!!

WORK ITEMS were those really boring things you did at office... you struck them out on the whiteboard once a week (sometimes once in 2 weeks)... you hated them, but you had to do it cuz that's what you get paid for...

Now WORK ITEMS include really weird and strange things you need to do outside of the office.. difficult things like washing clothes, ironing them, cleaning your room (and even the bathroom, is that Harpic?)... you hate them, and you aren't even paid for it...

SLEEP was something that came naturally... all you had to do was scream at everyone to turn off the lights, make sure the mosquito repellent is still on, pull up the sheets, and zzzzz........

Now SLEEP refuses to come unless you shut your eyes real tight and start counting imaginary sheep... you need to turn the lights off yourself... and God forbid those crocs under the bed!!

Sigh!! Life has changed so much.. so fast..