December 31, 2007
Happy New Year
Happy New Year 2008!
The French Window
After ample research, a few trial blouses and a lot of cribbing later, I did zone in upon a tailor suggested by my SIL-to-be.. And I went over with a bagfull of pattu (zari) blouses. As this is strictly traditional wear, I thought I had to make the blouses reasonably fashionable to make the attire chic, young and trendy. I pored over the many books that the tailor showed me for the back designs which is indeed the only place you'd dare to experiment. And I thought I was being very thoughful in choosing the designs pertinent to the occasion.. like a pooja demanded a simple, traditional, prim n proper blouse... while the nalangu was the ideal time to experiment with the jennal(window), kadhavu (door) so-to-speak of back designs for the blouses. And then I spotted the perfect one... the french window. I suspect there's no need to explain any further.
Having confidently pointed out what designs I wanted for what blouses, 10 days later now, I am a bit wary of what the end result is going to be. Nights have turned into nightmares where the french window is a bit too wide and the knots a bit too many.. Add to that the tension that I should remain the size I was when I last gave the blouses for stitching (it may seem like a weird concern.. For anyone who thinks so, please come home and savor the food that my house serves doused in ghee, accompanied with sweets , et al.) In retrospect I fear that I may have experimented a wee bit too much and blah blah.. Okay, I realize I am hyperventilating.
For now, Happy New Year.
December 23, 2007
Price Check
December 22, 2007
Roach Rundown
I walked out and surveyed the damage that I had wreaked during my escape from the roach. 5-6 addressed invites completely ruined, 3-4 that required drying and 5 unaddressed new ones completely ruined. Of course they say, don't count your chickens before the eggs hatch.
December 12, 2007
The Lost Memories
December 11, 2007
Crass or is it just me?
On an entirely different note, home sweet home. :)
November 21, 2007
The Great Indian Educational Reprieve
I am an Engineer. Why? I have no actual idea. I took Engineering because I didn't get into Medicine and because my brother did it. Both reasons pretty lousy if you ask me. Why did I take Electronics? Brother dear of course... Why did he do Engineering? Actually, I'll ask him when I meet him tomorrow. But I think I've conveyed my point. From what I have discussed with friends, I have discovered that very few, if any, had any idea what they were getting into with engineering (or anything else for that matter)... everyone thought all you needed was to be fundamentally sound in Mathematics and Physics - both key components, but not the main ones. The important questions that needed to have been answered back then -
1. Was there passion? - Probably not back then.. We had no idea what we were going to be doing..
2. Motivation? - Would good money and a nice-sounding degree qualify?
That is the fundamental problem with the Indian educational system (please discount IIT and BITS - they're the only worthwhile undergraduate institutions for technical study in India). As I was discussing with GH just now, the high school education in India rocks.. when compared to most other countries... We beat China sheerly because most of our schools are English medium.. We beat all other countries hands down because we really don't need a calculator to do 5+4x9-7/6 (yeah it takes a few seconds.. but we're never completely lost) amongst other things.
The problems
1. Learning by the rote: I wonder why we need to know the derivation of E = mc2 when we can just as easily find it on the Internet or something - you may say that the Internet didn't exist back then, blah blah - but when technology has evolved, the educational system needs to have coped alongside for the most effective development. When I came here and was introduced to the concept of the "cheat sheet", I was initially flabbergasted. But the more I read into it, the more it made sense. Its the Sherlock Holmes logic. Why crowd your brain with information you can find in our case, a search query away?
2. Progressive Evaluation: While the high school I was in was known for its continuous evaluation which ensured most of my fundamentals were right (though I cursed it back then). Back in Engineering, I don't remember "learning" anything. It was 4 years of carefree fun, a few days of cramming before the semester exams, practically no homework, easygoing labs and just one final year project which many people ended up "buying". I wrote a post about our exams back then. While that was in light vein, on a serious note, it left us a little unprepared for a competitive educational system like that in the US. When I came here, I was amazed by the range of knowledge and practical experience that the senior students (our high school equivalents) had accumulated over a range of topics. Though I coped great with grad school, I couldn't help but feel cheated with the undergraduate system that left me quite unprepared for the future. This is not how it works in the BITS and the IITs and thats exactly how the rest of the colleges in India need to implement.
3. Autonomous Universities: Each University here in the US is just the equivalent of each of our colleges back in India which is affiliated to a University. But the system here is so sound that they have complete autonomy in all their distinction and no matter where you study it is deemed prestigious. While it is going to take a while in India for that to happen, I see no change with those restricted few colleges that have gained autonomous privileges (eg. whats different in Sathaybama from when they became autonomous to when they remained affiliated? - Nothing). The system slowly but surely has to change.
4. The Teachers: Yes - Mata, Pita, Guru, Deivam.. But you need to be able to respect the Guru. And there are exceptions to every generalization. We have seen our share of mentors back in India as well.. there have been some phenomenal motivators. But for every single one of them, we have 100 others who finish their education at one college and start teaching the next semester at the same college, with just a graduate degree. This could never ever happen in the US. Every professor has to have a PhD for a reputed institution. He/She has to bring in some grants/money and conduct research or lead academic discussions. They have a range of students from post docs to undergraduates working for them, expanding their ideas and their research. Its a whole pool. The kind of respect that you gain when you work under a professor, your advisor/mentor borders on reverence here.. something which I haven't been able to feel back in India. I will comment about the educational system in the Europe shortly.
5.The jobs: Every person who has an Engineering degree seems directly to be entitled to employment in the software industry. And frankly no one cares whether the degree is in Mechanical or Civil engineering. The pay is good and thats all that seems to matter. Pretty sad if you ask me. That goes back to there being no direction or passion in the study that one has entailed. The 4 year education was a stop over to making the money. I can actually understand that in some families where the whole family has made many sacrifices to educate the one stellar student in the hopes that the job he/she gets at the end of the education will uplift the financial situation of the entire family. Whats sad is that the availability of specific jobs as per fields of specialization pale in comparison with the abundant high-paying software jobs. Yes, the quality of living has improved for the recent generation in India and all is owed to these software giants.. but it is still unsettling.
And those are just some fundamental problems. The more I think about it, the more that there is. Personally, I am not surprised about the Brain Drain in the intial stages, i.e. say after a Bachelors degree, simply because the post graduate study in India leaves a lot to be desired for in terms of recognition and reward. But I take heart in that I see many people returning. After that initial stay abroad, after that first job after the education. It is happening slowly, but in larger numbers. And this I am proud of. I started this post so long ago that I can't remember what I wanted to conclude from it... But I suppose this is the bottomline. The educational minister of India and every teacher who cares needs to evaluate this system for what it is and make the necessary reforms to improve it.. to introduce the world class quality that is desired of it.. to make it a force to reckon with. After all, they don't say India is the next big super power for nothing, do they?
November 16, 2007
Om Shanti Om
All I knew when we were going to go see OSO was that it was something to do with the 70s, that Deepika Padukone was supposed to be very very goodlooking and SRK had a new six-pack. All of these ideas were garnered through promos of the songs in SS's house. That was before SS was kind enough to tell me that the story involved reincarnation. Not that I expected anything from the movie, but when I heard the theme, I completely threw away every iota of expectation and logic in my head.
We underestimated the popularity of a SRK/Farah Khan/Bollywood movie and arrived fashionably late at 7:03 pm for a 7:00 show. Not bad, we told ourselves. That was before we stepped into the tiny theatre. It was packed and the noisy desi crowd was laughing, crunching popcorn and talking over the promos of many more movies to come. We waded our way all the way to the front, some 7 rows from the screen and looked up at the massive screen. At first, it took some getting used to... By the time my eyes scanned the length from the left of the screen to the right, the scene had changed. It was funny really. Us girls had subconsciously decided to throw the brains away and have a blast.
And a blast, we did have... The first half was amazingly funny and after Main Hoon Na and now Om Shanti Om, I can safely say that I like Farah Khan's style in direction. She is not afraid to make SRK look stupid and dress him up in red leather, in his skin or even the ridiculous wigs in the movie. And everything is soo obviously melodramatic and overexaggerated that the audience is left in peals of laughter. There is absolutely no logic as suspected and the spoofs of Manoj Kumar, Dharmendra, etc were also very entertaining. While SRK plays the comic relief with his sidekick, Iqbal fame - Shreyas Talpade, Deepika Padukone impresses with her elegant 70s do. She looks very refreshing and as the movie progressed, my opinion of her from "Ok what's so great about her" changed to "Wow.. she is very goodlooking". And not just that. She can act too! My favorite sequence in the first half is when SRK spoofs I am assuming Rajnikant in a flying-shooting-tiger fighting sequence with his funny "Enna rascala" and "Mind it.. Never mind it and Find it". It was hilarious and I was roaring so much that I had tears from laughing. Haha.
By the end of the first half, tragedy of unrequited love on either side and the heinous plans of the appreciable villainous producer played by Arjun Rampal have surfaced. And the intermission comes in when both lead characters die. And then comes the story of the reincarnation, past memories and what not. Completely unbelievable, unexpressibly tacky and way corny, the second half seems to drag a bit with a bhooth sentiment woven in the fabric. But the drag is lulled a bit by the appearance of the "star song" where all of Bollywood makes an appearance. I also especially liked the teeny cameos by Akshay and Abhishek. Conspicuous in her absence was Aishwarya. Frankly though, I have tired of seeing Rani/Kajol/Preity make an appearance in all these songs. As for SRK's six-pack, I must say that the man looks fabulous neck-down for his age. His face gives him away. The lack of proportionate arm muscle makes his body look too taut on his frame and not as natural as it is on say, Hrithik (sigh).
All in all, the movie is a complete entertainer, completely predictable, totally laughable and a sure watch if you don't have much to do. Its a certain time-pass and from what I have seen of some recent movies, (LCMD or Darling for example), a sure sound choice. I particularly liked SRK's goofiness (It was such a relief not to see him weep because of some idiotic ultrasentimental love story), the date song sequence and both the Om Shanti Om songs... Music's catchy if not phenomenal. To bolo Ommm Shanti Ommmmm.
November 15, 2007
Birthday Blues?
My Birthday. Its over. And surprisingly, this time I didn't have that rush, that unbridled excitement that I used to have when I turned 16 or 18 or even 21. I guess thats what happens when you turn mid-twenty something (you didn't think I was going to reveal the numbers, did you?) I had a fantastically normal day, except for the cell phone jingling every few minutes all morning. It began with a super chocolate cake that SM had baked at night, lunch with a sweet colleague in the morning, and ended with the San Diego jing-bang for dinner, dessert and gang talk. Simple and sweet. None of the cake-on-your-face-and-hair business. Sort of the perfect end to the perfect stay at San Diego.
November 12, 2007
Help!!!
November 6, 2007
Happy Diwali!
I gave it a lot of thought, but my sentiments remain unchanged from last year. Read my Diwali post here. Have a fabulous Diwali and a colorful year ahead. I know I will ;)
November 5, 2007
The USA Memoirs
The Miss list
1. Cincinnati - Its the place I've spent most of my USA life.. over 2/3rds of it anyways.. It holds my fondest memories. So it comes down to the mile radius that I existed in... with no car, with 4 of us crammed into a single-bedroom apartment hauling groceries to our basement apartment, the walk in the snow to school, the many many seminar rooms and classrooms that I have been couped up in writing my thesis, the Mainstreet Mart which was my personal Felix Felicis provider of Chai Tea, importantly my last 6 months in Cincinnati ever since S got his Solara and became the 5th roommate almost literally.. Even as he moved away from campus, he moved closer to us and we saw the real Cincinnati through the Solara that he had... The umpteen restaurants, the late Friday nights as we flopped with all of our laptops, did all our theses work and ran a parallel vein of conversations well into the night with the TV blaring some nonsense.. the evening chais at the Morgens verandahs, the latenight Clue with the roomies... crazy, unprecendented, irrepeatable fun.
2. San Diego - Just when I thought I had had the most of living a student life back in Cinci and had left my days back there, I moved in with SM and literally right in the middle of her friend's circle. And work life couldn't have been more fun... As a new gang that got together with multitude connections interwoven around us, it seemed like we couldn't get enough of each other. We meet almost every night.. for a movie... for dinner.. for dessert...for gym... for meeting. We're all professionals and we're all a wee bit crazy in the evenings when we get together. Be it cycling, be it just eating out, this gang has ensured that my last few days in the US are truly memorable. Thanks SM.
3. Few good friends - Some of my most cherished friendships were grounded here. You guys know who you are. I am glad I found you guys here.. Life really wouldn't have been the same without all those bitching sessions, nightouts and the solid support system that you guys formed around me. This also includes my handful of friends from India who are here as well.. Together, this network was my backbone in the US. And I want each one of you at the wedding. :)
4. The seasons - I have been spoiled by the East Coast.. I have seen 4 distinct seasons each year. And it's been brilliant. I have thoroughly enjoyed the brilliant colors of Fall, the flakes of snow in Winter, the sticky Summers and pleasantly rainy Springs. Fabulous!
5. The cuisines - Well, it all has to come down to food, doesn't it? Hailing from the country of spices, most of us Indians find it unsettling here in the US where steak and red meat rule, especially if you are vegetarian like me. But the varied cuisine is something I could've experienced just here... maybe to hunt for something veggie in any cuisine, maybe out of sheer interest. I have now developed for a whole bunch of cuisines, Italian, Mediterranean, Greek, Mexican, you name it. Technically the land I am headed to is very likely to have just as many cuisines, but this is where I fell in love with food. Before the US, I was never really hungry. My Patti took care of that.. feeding me at periodic intervals, hungry or not.
6. The malls - Yes, I have been in the Gulf. And I have seen the vast vast malls or soukhs as they are called out there. So yes I wasn't daunted by the huge Walmarts and Targets here the way some others have. But in the Gulf, Appa bought us everything we ever wanted. Out here, I had my money, my needs and my discretion to buy stuff. And I enjoyed it. I splurged sometimes, scrimped some others and had a blast overall..
7. The deals - Money rules... when you save it. Before the US I have probably not realized the value of electronics or the importance perhaps. Here I have been spoiled by the deals.. by the variety of things and the greed of requiring things... I have bought my famed camera, umpteen memory supplements, and the thirst hasn't been half-quenched. But then, it never will.
Three years of my life... A lifetime of memories. Fully worth it.
November 2, 2007
Bye Bye USA
As I near the end of my stay in the US, with less than a month away, what am I feeling?
Its one of those complex questions and merely by not thinking about it, I have successfully avoided answering it. But its a big question and its been creeping in a little by little as the days come to an end. And living each day for it's merit is slowly drawing to a close. As I was consolidating my stuff and trying to pack everything, it hit me. This is it. I don't know when I am ever coming back again. If I am ever coming back again. As a professional? As a tourist? As a dependent? Ever? No clue. And that riles me. When we all left India to pursue our dreams in this Land of Opportunity, we were never really leaving India. We would always go back. Our roots were there and every vacation began with the Indian dream. But this is entirely different. What does it mean to leave a country where your personal identity was established? Where you first figured what being independent was? First lived away from home, paid your own bills, made ends meet, tried your hand at cooking, woke up to an alarm? Maybe all of this means nothing to someone who has had the "hostel" experience back home too. But for me it was all a first. And most of it was exhilarating. I was completely free to do as I liked. I could come and go as I pleased to wherever with whoever and I was free to choose my activities and everything about my life. Having been raised by very liberal parents, I have little reason to complain. But that was still different. We had to tell Amma we would be late coming home. And late still meant before 11:30 at night. Even as I leave the country to fall into stride with my matrimonial plans, with my future academic plans, my life is yet again entwined with at least one more individual's if not more. My decisions will now impact more than just me. I have grown up. And I have grown past the famed single phase as well. Did I make the most of it while it lasted? Looking back, I think I did. I made some of my closest associations with people over here... Gained a few precious friends, made many business contacts, saw many famed places out here (I haven't seen the Grand Canyon - it's going to have to wait for later), etc. etc. Its a mixed emotion. Maybe coz what I have to look forward to is soo exciting, I tend to believe I won't miss the US much (I bet I will miss the "deals" mainly on electronics - but what are friends for?)
Are they any regrets? Honestly - No. I have realized a place is only as good as what you make of it. With the right company, even a place like Ames seemed fun. I have been fortunate to find joy in the loneliest quarters. I will miss being a cell-phone call away from many many dear friends... But I am sure we'll all find a way to communicate just as well all the same. For now, I look forward to what has got to be the best chapter(s) in my life.
October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween!
October 29, 2007
Drag day
October 26, 2007
jBook
Coming soon - jBook.
Glow - Part II
October 24, 2007
A city on fire
October 17, 2007
Glow girl
October 10, 2007
A matter of perspective..
1. The coffee machine takes you for a ride once again (if you're wondering what I'm talking about, read this post)
2. The SEM needs nitrogen just when you have to use it
3. When you have hunger pangs at 11:00 though you had breakfast
4. When you buy a snack mix at the vending machine and it stops millimeters from the edge and doesn't fall..
5. When you kick the vending machine in frustration to make it fall and then you realize your legs are aching from KettleBells... but hey, the snack mix did drop
6. When you're soo hungry that you tear it open haphazardly.. and everything but 3 pieces spill on the floor
7. When the kind cleaning lady tsk-tsks at your clumsiness..
8. When you decide to quench your thirst rather than hunger and settle down with the water bottle at your desk and forget that you haven't "clicked" the spout.. and when it decides to gush down when you knock it over momentarily in a flurry of activity...
and..... big pause...
9. When your superboss asks for your blog address as he catches sight of this post.
10. And its only 12:00 pm.. The day's only just begun
-10 minutes later -
And then just like that.. when I walked out, I saw the poor bug I'd seen crawling an hour ago, lying squashed and lifeless in a corner. That put things in perspective.
Celebrity driving test
Especially the actual test itself. Lol.
October 9, 2007
Above the influence?
October 3, 2007
Television Overload
1. America's Next Top Model
2. Gossip Girl
3. Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares... and adding a final one to the sequence
4. Pushing Daisies and oh maybe even Private Practice
And all of these are hour-long shows. Gulp.
K-prize..
October 2, 2007
October 1, 2007
More on Tea...
Amongst others, I tried CS's Lemon Zinger, and this tea oozes red because it has hibiscus... It was supposed to startle you into freshness.. But maybe because of the tangy flavour, or maybe it was 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon, I was little more sleepy than awake.
But as I already proclaimed... whats the worst thing that could happen? Extra antioxidants in the system? Nice herbs and a refreshing sugar-free drink? More heart-friendly and cancer-fighting capabilities? I'm game.
Sweat-er
As night fell over our (Me, S and V) boisterous dinner @ Bandar and dessert @ Extraordinary desserts, I wore the new sweater. Warm and well comforted, I was very at home in it and we were playing Dumb-C while waiting to be seated and I snuggled my hands into the pockets.. or where they were a few moments ago! I glanced down and to my horror, the right pocket hung straight down. The fabulous sweater had ripped.. in 2 short hours! And past then, I couldn't think straight. I considered it a major misfortune. Yes, I had the receipt. But did I have the tag? While V and S were talking about something, my brain retraced my actions and I decided I'd ripped the tag and put it into the cover.. which meant it might still be there. And the conversation had veered to the poor-little-kid-and-the-vulture-waiting-to-eat-him photograph. As I snapped on to it, insanely unrelated as it was, I felt sorry for myself having picked the devious loser in a storeful of probables.
This afternoon, I was over at F-21, armed with the receipt and the tag (which was in the bag as I'd surmised). To my chagrin and indignation, they actually created a minor fuss about the exchange because the tag was not still attached to the garment! What was I to do? Wear every damn thing for days on the end with the tag on just to see if it tore? I explained my infallible logic to them and with a few other curious customers watching, they didn't want to risk bad publicity and quickly approved my exchange. I picked a more normal-looking replacement (only after tugging it here and there.. but of course) ;)
September 25, 2007
Conspirational Coffee
So I arrive at work around 10 and the canteen has shut down for the usual breakfast-lunch interim. It won't be open for another hour at least. With my eyelids growing heavy every second, I ambled to the the coffee machine.. one that looks like the picture above (its not that same brand so don't sue me).. dug out my 60 cents.. fed it the money and punched in 1-H-3 which was the combination for my usual non-sweet French vanilla. I shut my eyes while I heard the perfunctory cup-dispensing sound. But it was a wee bit different from usual. I half opened one lid and imagine my horror when there was no cup! The machine however happily displayed "Dispensing" and spat out the 5 cents of change as it poured the coffee literally into the drain with no cup in between. I actually yelled "WAIT!" at the machine when I frantically looked around for an empty cup. None. I donno if the coffee would've woken me up as well as my temper against the coffee machine did. Either way - mission accomplished. I was awake. For the next 2 hours at any rate.
September 23, 2007
Space and Time
On a positive note.. its not for long.. :)
And on an entirely different note, JD turns 2 tomorrow.. Happy Birthday JD (or Kittadri as I called him)
September 20, 2007
Bloody Murphy
Its my 200th post and I take the opportune moment to discuss Murphy's Law with you folks. I bet almost every person who knows of Murphy's Law has experienced it and knows that it does hold good in the best of situations..
Today was one of those days I cursed it... I got up 30 minutes past what I wanted to, having given myself the luxury to sleep more after a late night... I decided I would take the 7:30 am bus. On an average I require about 16 minutes to briskly walk the distance from home to the bus stop. Today I had 12. I ran at full-speed, jogged and power-walked till I reached the bus stop all huffing and puffing.
7:29am - Yoo hoo.. I'd beaten the clock; the bus hadn't come early -> hence I beat Murphy's Law. Or so I thought.
Now lemme explain the situation. At the transfer point where I take the next bus, I have two options - Route 120 - once every 30 minutes- a bus that leaves right after the first one reaches, and takes a half hour to get to work or Route 20A - once every 30 minutes- a bus that leaves 15 minutes after the first one reaches and reaches in 10 minutes to work - which reaches me faster and gives me time for a morning coffee. I usually skip the former bus in preference to the latter.
7:56am - The bus reaches my transfer point. Its 4 minutes ahead of time. 120 (the slower one) hasn't even come yet.. I head for coffee. 120 arrives. As I pay for coffee, it leaves. So what? I still have 12 minutes before 20A.
8:15am - I gulp down the last of the coffee - No sign of 20A - no frustration just yet.
8:20am - Usually 20A has come by now and we're halfway to work. Not today.
8:25am - What's going on?
8:30am - 120 (the next 120) arrives. What the helllllll..... I climb in.
Bloody Murphy.
September 19, 2007
Fall in Love
http://travel.msn.com/Guides/MSNTravelSlideShow.aspx?destinationid=&cp-documentid=380088
September 18, 2007
Spot-o-meter
September 17, 2007
SoP story
September 16, 2007
The Brave One
The bottom line: See it if you are big Foster fan... Otherwise, you ain't missing much.
September 12, 2007
Finger cots?
September 11, 2007
A sliver of hope.. and then no scope!
September 10, 2007
Walking Wounded
September 7, 2007
Rated 'i'
September 5, 2007
Kidney Bazaar
And Pakistan is just one of those countries where there are no laws governing organ sales. Here are the policies in some other key countries: http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0609/p12s02-wogi.html. And in spite of everything, the laws, the sentences, everything, who's to say that there's not a flourishing black market for this kind of stuff? Like someone had commented to one of the articles, it is better having a hospital hygienically remove it rather than having a butcher shop cutting you out and damaging God-knows-what. These days with laproscopy, I wonder why minimally invasive surgery is not an option. Its the rich guys who buy the kidneys anyways and there should be a provision where they'd have to pay for the best kind of surgery and care for the donors. I am not sure any of this is the right thing to do at all. I think Robin Cook's Coma was just one of the books inthe 70s to explore the ever-increasing and appalling organ black market. Whats the solution to this whole thing? Introducing a legal documentation system the way US has and matching willing donors blah blah or trying to rescue 2 sides of the coin - the healthy man with no wealth and a family to support AND the rich dying man?
September 4, 2007
Unshruggables
I met one today.. I was getting back from the airport by bus and he chanced to sit next to me. He seemed plain friendly at first and then went on to trying being pally. He rambled on for the 25 minutes that the first connection from the airport took. Believe me when I tell, you I was answering in monosyllables and said no more than 10 words. I was in no mood to fraternize with overly friendly strangers. He got off at the same stop as I did and waited for the same connection bus I did. I have never had a longer 45 minutes in my life. And it wasn't like he was talking about the weather. He was probing about me.. what I did.. where was I from.. how long was I here... I even went so far as to tell him, "I don't think I need to answer any of these questions." And finally I managed to shrug him off by getting off a stop later than I wanted to. The things one has to do... Whats the politest way of being rude? Any suggestions to deal with such situations?
August 31, 2007
Five too many..
Have fun.. Ciao!
Mommy's naivette
Amma: Enga poyirunde? (Where were you?)
Me: I had gone for a musical
Amma: Oh.. Sandhya nanna padinala? (Oh.. did Sandhya sing well?)
Lol.
My glorious India
State Quarter Collections
Note: All 50 states have not been "minted" yet. Read this for more information: http://www.usmint.gov/kids/coinNews/50sq/
Mamma Mia!
The show with the intermission was just over 2 hours and 30 minutes comprising 22 hits from ABBA's collection. The songs were so tastefully placed with relevance to the story and everything gelled dramatically well. What amazed me most among many things were the performers themselves. Not only was their singing out of this world, they all look nice and danced great and acted brilliantly.. Bundles of talent! The lead performer, actress-singer-dancer Mary Jayne Raleigh was nothing short of brilliant. The story was simple and choreography seamlessly wove over 30 performers at the same time into a fantabulous fusion of music, color, costumes and performances... What I loved most was how these people were saying these dialogues and all of a sudden broke into songs and it wasn't the least bit odd. It wasn't odd when the other unrelated 20 people popped onto stage to dance and melted away towards the end of the song leaving the stage intact as before they'd entered. It was sort of analogous to a flashback in movies.. only that here its all happening in front of your eyes. The last part was my favorite. The encores, the curtain calls, the applauses... It felt entirely exhilarating at the end of the show and I was sure I could watch it all over again immediately if I could.
We had great seats for the price that we paid (Thanks Sandy for booking the tickets) and I enjoyed it enormously. Here's the official site for the musical: http://www.mamma-mia.com/default.asp and I must urge each one of you to definitely go and see for yourself what I am talking about. No wonder this one's a global smash hit...
August 29, 2007
Link In
August 27, 2007
The R rip-offs
The other kind..
Remember how when you see someone in a pink T-shirt, its become common to remark.. "Thats so g*y." But you know what? It doesn't hit you or atleast doesn't hit you hard enough when you finally meet someone like that. I have interacted with this guy for over 20 days without a clue till one day he happened to mention it in a off-handish conversation. And thats when I sat and put the pieces together. The colorful t-shirts (I had attributed it to te sunny weather) and the lime green cell phone (hey that could just be funky). No, its not weird or wrong or strange. Just having never met someone like that and heard all these remarks all along the way in the US, when I finally did meet someone, I didn't realize it. Just goes to show how we have been influenced to think so by society.
August 24, 2007
August 23, 2007
The Feynman Experiments
August 21, 2007
~Office Dares~
ONE-POINT OFFICE DARES
1) Run one lap around the office at top speed.
2) Ignore the first five people who say 'good morning' to you.
3) Phone someone in the office you barely know, leave your name and say, "Just called to say I can't talk right now. Bye."
4) To signal the end of a conversation, clamp your hands over your ears and grimace.
5) Leave your zipper open for one hour. If anyone points it out, say, "Sorry, I really prefer it this way."
6) Walk sideways to the photocopier.
7) While riding in an elevator, gasp dramatically every time the doors open.
THREE-POINT DARES
1) Say to your boss, "I like your style" and shoot him with double-barreled fingers.
2) Babble incoherently at a fellow employee, and then ask, "Did you get all that, I don't want to have to repeat it."
3) Page yourself over the intercom (do not disguise your voice).
4) Kneel in front of the water cooler and drink directly from the nozzle (there must be a 'non-player' within sight).
5) Shout random numbers while someone is counting.
FIVE POINT DARES
1) At the end of a meeting, suggest that, for once, it would be nice to conclude with the singing of the national anthem (5 extra points if you actually launch into it yourself).
2) Walk into a very busy person's office and while they watch you with growing irritation, turn the light switch on/off 10 times.
3) For an hour, refer to everyone you speak to as "Bob."
4) Announce to everyone in a meeting that you "really have to go do a number two."
5) After every sentence, say 'Mon' in a really bad Jamaican accent. As in "The report's on your desk, Mon." Keep this up for 1 hour.
6) While an office mate is out, move their chair into the elevator.
7) In a meeting or crowded situation, slap your forehead repeatedly and mutter, "Shut up, all of you just shut up!"
8) At lunchtime, get down on your knees and announce, "As God as my witness, I'll never go hungry again."
9) In a colleague's DAY PLANNER, write in the 10am slot: "See how I look in tights."(5 Extra points if it is a male, 5 more if he is your boss)
10) Carry your keyboard over to your colleague and ask, "You wanna trade?"
11) Repeat the following conversation 10 times to the same person: "Do you hear that?" "What?" "Never mind, it's gone now."
12) Come to work in army fatigues and when asked why, say, "I can't talk about it."
13) Posing as a maitre d', call a colleague and tell him he's won a lunch for four at a local restaurant. Let him go.
14) Speak with an accent (French, German, Porky Pig, etc) during a very important conference call.
15) Find the vacuum and start vacuuming around your desk.
16) Hang a 2' long piece of toilet roll from the back of your pants and act genuinely surprised when someone points it out.
17) Present meeting attendees with a cup of coffee and biscuits, smashing each biscuit with your fist.
18) During the course of a meeting, slowly edge your chair towards the door.
19) Arrange toy figures on the table to represent each meeting attendee, move them according to the movements of their real-life counterparts.
And if that wasn't enough for you... How to keep a healthy level of insanity:
1) At lunchtime, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.
2) Tell your children over dinner. "Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."
3) Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.
4) Put your wastebasket on your desk and label it "IN".
5) Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has gotten over his or her caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.
6) Finish all your sentences with "In accordance with the prophecy."
7) Dont use any punctuation
8) Use, too...much; punctuation!
9) As often as possible, skip rather than walk.
10) Ask people what sex they are. Laugh hysterically after they answer.
11) Specify that your drive-through order is "to go."
12) Sing along at the opera.
13) Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme.
14) Put mosquito netting around your work area. Play a tape of jungle sounds all day.
15) Five days in advance tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.
16) Have your co-workers address you by your wrestling name, "Rock Hard."
17) When the money comes out of the ATM, scream "I Won! I Won! 3rd time this week!!!"
18) When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot yelling, "Run for your lives, they're loose!"
And the final way to keep a healthy level of insanity....
19) Send this to everyone in your address book, even if they sent it to you or have asked you not to send them stuff like this.
Lost Segal
Update: Oooooh, Look what I found on Alibris - Almost the entire collection! :)
Too late to rejoice?
August 20, 2007
Turning a new leaf...
August 18, 2007
Hurricane Names
On further reading, I came across this site: http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/hurricane/names.html which explains that hurricane names have an expiry date too! And they put it across surreally and call them retired.
August 15, 2007
Fine man?
iDay
GO INDIA!
August 14, 2007
The Bourne Ultimatum
Opulence?
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/07/0725_expensive_rentals/source/1.htm