The light at the end of the tunnel

The thesis finally saw daylight. I defended. :)

A White Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! This winter has been weird. We had a dry and brown and warm Christmas and now we're having a frosty, white and chilly Valentine's Day. Here is a postcard of how it looks outside just about now..

And up close...

For more snowy pics, go here

Of snowy whites and wandering thoughts..

Its freezing cold here (not inside my house) and its been snowing incessantly since 11:30am and we have about 4 inches of accumulation outside. UC's been shut down, people have been directed indoors and asked to stay warm. At times like this, unceremoniously my mind wanders into meloncholy. The snow like the rain enchants me when I am out with them (I love getting caught in them) but puts me on a reflective note when I am all warm and indoors, like today. On that note, here's something thought-provoking..

For Spring to come, one must endure snow

Falling is but a step to help one grow.

Ok that was crappy... but shows how the continuous snow has affected me :) Time to make some hot chai and enjoy it instead.

Stay warm.

Technogeek must-watch

One of my professors forwarded this article to me: http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/jan/31bspec.htm and you have to watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKh1Rv0PlOQ

And you are sentenced to 2 months of cabbage cutting...

And sooo last night was my cooking turn and I innocently turned to my wily roommate and ask her, "So what shall I make for dinner?" After a pretense of loads of thought she came up with the masterplan.. "Cabbage... Make it our South-Indian Style.. and we can have it with rasam." I looked at her in disbelief... Cabbage? Is that the worst thing she could come up with? For those of you who think I am exaggerating, I suggest you try and cut one yourself.

I have this habit of either standing at the kitchen counter and cutting the veggies or sitting on the sofa and watching TV and doing the chore. This time the choice was obviously the latter considering I was going to be taking forever.. and spot on I was... 35 minutes later, I was still left with 1/8th the stupid cabbage and 2 overflowing bowls of already cut ones, not to mention the circle of mess at my feet from the strewn pieces. I shot daggers at my roommate. She was responsible for all of this. And then I knew it was her revenge to my requesting her to make rasam the other day! Hmph.

And then I realized that our government back in India or anywhere else dont realize that they have a gold mine sitting on them. Imagine sentencing someone like this - "You are sentenced to 2 months of cutting 600 cabbages with a blunt knife." I know what you are thinking. Why blunt knife. Come on.. you are 'sentencing' someone.. you might as well make it hard. I promise you.. once you enforce such a sentence on someone, in a week you will see remorse, in a month even suicidal tendencies (they do have a knife!!) and if they last the 2 months, they are never ever gonna commit any crime remotely big enough to land them a sentence! I am yet to meet someone who "likes" cutting cabbage. And someday, when people are hatching plans to rob a bank, they will discuss - "Pakde jayenge to muhjse gobhi katvayenge.. nahi baba!!" roughly translated as "Should I be caught, they'll have me cut cabbage.. Oh no!" Think about it.. the crime rate dips, the cabbages from the cutting can go into making good food for the jail inmates themselves (or to the neighboring village or something), the frozen cabbage industry can flourish, the economy improves and on and on and on... Ok ok... I know somethings are best left as fantasy. Stew the cabbage!