Brainiacs?

The Japanese have made a device that sits like a crown on your head. This wirelessly connects to a toy train and by merely thinking about something, you can move the train! Welcome to the technology that's going to make remote controls obsolete. Apparently, the "crown" detects changes in blood flow or something up in your brain. So blood rushes to certain parts of your brain when you try to say mentally calculate something and rushes out when you stop. As enticing as all of this sounds and as successful as the demonstrations have been, makes me wonder - what happens if a people have many different thoughts at once. What if whiole you compute 1235 x 12, you think that you have to buy a carton of a milk, pay your credit bill and do your laundry for instance? Who knows... I bet these guys have all the right answers.. Read all about this innovation here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070622/ap_on_hi_te/japan_brain_remote

Hilary's campaign

I havent been following the Sopranos. But I do know that they ended the 10 year series or something with a blank screen - all in suspense, much to the consternation of many and admiration of many others. So what did Hillary do here? She created a campaign based on this and the estimated viewership for this video is 500,000 people as of the day it released. Thats certainly not less. As politics takes to the internet, things are bound to get more colorful. Check the campaign video out here. Good old Bill's on it too.

Back to Square 1... Almost

Its just over a week since I resolved not to bite my nails. I looked down at them and was I imagining it? Tiny nails were starting to appear over the top of my badly abused fingernails. Out of sheer joy, I bit them. Well, not all of them.. but some. But I am getting there. In 7 months, I will be there.

~Potter Mania~

I don't know about you, but I am a huuuuge Harry Potter fan.. That means that July is the most exciting month of the summer, hell, maybe even the year! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the 5th installment of the movies is all set to release on July 11th and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the 7th and last installment of the book series comes out a week later. As a prep-up to receiving these two huge additions to my already Harry-muddled brain, I started reading the HP books from the IVth one onwards (considering I know the other 3 pretty well and all the details that are going to be in the movie and the book transcend them) and I am currently in the last few pages of the Order of the Phoenix. Though I hated Half-blood prince, I am going to have a go at it again to read between lines and strengthen the theories I already have formed for what should be happening in the final book. I remember the conversation I had with my bro, the day after Half blood prince had come out and we'd both read it. Itw as our most animated discussion after many many years. For all you HP fans who want a sneak preview of anything HP-ish, visit MindBlogging right after.. you won't be disappointed!

Thalaivar - The BOSS!

Check out these dual interviews by Thalaivar on Sivaji - the BOSS. All in dass-buss englees.. Check it out!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwwFTFRRSnw

Winds of change?

I found a link to this article in Aravind's blog. As I read through it, I realized how true it was. I am one of these new generation Indians who definitely wants to return and soon at that. Whenever I read such articles or see something thats so heart-wrenchingly patriotic, only one song comes to my mind, the one in Swades - Yeh Jo des hai mera. No other song has captured the Indian spirit better. Go India!!!

Knocked Up

This is the second movie from the same guy who made 40-year-old virgin that shot Steve Carrel into the limelight. The plot is typical.. Rich, sophisticated girl, Allison (Katherine Heigl of Grey's Anatomy fame) gets together with rogue and drinking-time-away wastrel, Ben (Seth Rogen). Its a typical story of one-night-stand gone bad and Allison ends up pregnant. But whats different is that she amazingly decides to keep the baby. And the rest of the movie is a comic relief as to how a wasted man shirks his drinking, pot etc and rises to the moment - to becomea DAD.

The humor is much on the same lines as 40 year old.. a bit adult, a bit weird, a bit uncomfortable, but all time-pass nevertheless. Overall, the movie was just a normal flick, something a guy could watch and be happy too (sort of a chick-slick) but with more guy-like humor in it. There were a couple of gross scenes up in the end and a few gross dialogues... but then we've come to expect that from this director. The verdict: The perfect solution to melt away 2 hours when you have absolutely nothing else to do on a Sunday Afternoon.

Nancy Drew

This is going to be my shortest movie review ever. In one short sentence - I don't think the makers of the movie read even ONE of the Nancy Drew books. Its a pretty bad movie and I wouldn't recommend anyone who even had free tickets to watch it. A total let-down, very incongruous, pretty dumb, totally unworthy movie... If anyone needs elaborations, watch it for yourself :)

The Solitary Reaper

Next to Glove and the Lions, this is my favorite poem.

Behold her, single in the field
Yon solitary highland lass!
Reaping and singing by herself
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
and sings a meloncholy strain;
O listen! for the vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

No nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among arabian sands.
A voice so thrilling ne'er heard
in springtime from the cuckoo bird.
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest hebrides.

Will no one tell me what she sings?
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago.
Or is it some more humble lay
Familiar matter of today?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain
That has been or may be again?

Whate'er the theme, the maiden sang
As if her song could have noending;
I saw her singing at work
And o'er the sickle bending.
I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill.
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

-- William Wordsworth

There's something about Paris

Honestly... whats with this place? Every newscast I have tuned into the past week, every news page I have opened, everywhere and anywhere, there's Paris Hilton splashed across the pages, either in full made-up glory at some high profile red-carpet event or tear-stained inside the sheriff's car. Whats the big deal? If you are one of those people who dont live around the US (and I'd be amazed if it still didnt make your local papers), all you need to do is google it!. Surely there are bigger crimes, definitely more important things happening in the world, a lot more major occurences - congolomerates coming together, a homicide, hell, even a genocide. So, why's everyone hung up on Paris? Why is everyone soo hell-bent that she serve her sentence in the propriety blah blah. How does this affect anyone on a personal level? I would be enraged if I had been given a harsher sentence for the exact same crime - the people with that much give and take on this can be forgiven. But I bet that they form less than 0.05% of the whole uproar thats been on. Whats soo fascinating about the rich n famous? And why is it that if she so much as glances somewhere its news? And every channel or page that remotely has news has capatilized on this with tons of photographers lined up so they can splash one of the gazillion pics of Paris behind bars and sell it to the public that apparently has nothing better to do. Grow up, people.

Nail it.

Today I have finally decided that this is it. This is where I stop biting my nails. I want to have very pretty nails 8 months from now and I am the only person who can do anything about it. So far, I have grown my nails 4 times overall in my life and each time I have ended up biting out far more than I grew. But I am a mature, responsible adult and I have the necessary will-power to give this filthy habit up. This blog will remind me of the public oath I am taking to keep the biting away. I have quit. I am a fighter. :)

The iPhone

Unless you've been locked away in Mars, you have probably by now heard all about the iPhone.. All about Apple's battle with Cisco for the name, blah blah. And if you haven't already checked out the pretty cool ad campaign for the iPhone check out a sample here. Sure.. this is the next best thing to hit the cell phone industry. Ever. Its unbelievable as to what all features have been included in a handheld device and with such magnificent colour and splendour. Its a first and it will be spoken about a long long time. But finally, above all it is a phone. How many normal people who are not gizmo-gadget freaks or of the younger generation or both and are reasonably rich (its minimum $499) are going to get this? I don't know. But I am sure that Apple will make back everything it wanted. There are enough of us techno-maniacs in the world for that. I read this article which compared an iPod to the iPhone (thats the title of the article though it really doesn't dwell too much on the comparison) and thought it was worth the read. The only thing I didnt get was why they were comparing a mere function of the iPhone to the whole purpose of existance of the iPod. People have been talking with whatever knowledge they have all over the place about it. And so the world waits with bated breath. Coming soon on June 29th. The iPhone.

~Officially done~

It was truly fun.. Meeting friends, taking that last walk across the podium - THE WALK, for all those photo opportunities that freeze a frame of time in eternity, for moving that tassle from the right to the left... for throwing that hat up in the air... for all our efforts that have paid off.. Congrats Class of 2007 at the University of Cincinnati. We did it!!! :)

Something to cheer about..

Those AIDS figures in India were all wrong! We aren't that high up the ladder.. Yoo hoo!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/world/asia/07cnd-aids.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087%0A&em&en=5d4b5d161712f209&ex=1181361600

Interesting business reads

I am shocked at myself.. Me n business are at opposite poles of the world. But I chanced on this article and it was good. Give it a shot:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/10/business/10money.html?em&ex=1181361600&en=8b0faac7d65e0c58&ei=5087%0A

And having read that, here is a follow-up article which pretty much says what all comebacks you came up with.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/02/business/02money.html?em&ex=1181361600&en=d28d5632ec5380a4&ei=5087%0A

He did push the "buy used things" bit way too much.. But still.. the rest of it is worthwhile. :)

Happiness

A matter of perspective:

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go” - Oscar Wilde

Hell's Kitchen

So its on again, one of my favourite reality shows - Hell's Kitchen. And like anyone else who likes the show I like it because of the acerbic hero of television, the badshah of boorishness, Gordan Ramsey. Its shockingly caustic the way he treats his "probables". But thats what makes an otherwise normal cookery show very interesting. It was the season premiere last night and the chef already had a huge man called Aaron weeping like a baby. When the show began, in 'lone-time' with Chef Ramsey, he promised that he wouldn't shout, scream or verbally abuse people. I almost fell off my chair. That would ruin the whole show (for people like me). And then he said "Who am i kidding? Welcome to Hell's Kitchen". It almost put a wry smile on my face. Hell has just begun for these people. Now there's something to look forward to Mondays (talk about a mundane existence!)

Now running...

With an hour's bus travel each way, there's a lot of music in my life. The i-pod is not overrated. Its every bit as good or so I think. Thanks da :)

My first road trip

Finally, I had done it.. My longest drive ever... all by myself. I drove from Ames, Iowa to Waukesha, Wisconsin... Its not much; its the next state; its barely 365 miles. But it was my first and it was memorable. I'd asked for a bright car to beat the gloomy day.. here's what I got.. bright alright... But somewhere within the first 50 miles, I wished I'd asked for a better equipped car.. this one has roll-down windows and non-key-less entry.. But it was still memorable... Fighting with the FM transmitter while driving, listening to some clueless radio, hoping the next 50 miles would just melt away, it was all an experience that I'll forever remember. My first road trip.

The classic "bulb"

How long has it been since we've heard the phrase "bulb adichuten", the Madras lingo for "mera popat ho gaya" or simply put, an ungloriously "dumb" moment (I am not able to find the right words to describe it!)

It happened to me over the weekend.. It wasn't embarassing. It was just funny. We were at a glorious buffet lunch in Milwaukee downtown. Nithya and I were analyzing the delicacies in front of us and I am not going to go into how yumm the food was. But there was Pani Puri and after a few failed attaempts, I located the "meeta chutney" or the tamarind sauce which according to me defines the taste of the pani puri. I had already held up the growing queue behind me, having fussed over many things. Nithya was standing in front of me and was attempting to pour the chutney into each of 3 puris. And I could sense the glare of the giril behind me. I looked at Nithya hurriedly and said - "Freeyavidu, Moraikara." loosely translated as "Forget it, she's glaring." Imagine my shock when the girl chirps in pure ABCD accent "Moraikalai." = "Nope, I m not glaring." Shocked as we were, Nithya and I laughed it away and practically dropped the ladle and ran for our table! It was hilarious. You should've been there.

The rest of lunch was ofcourse spent skirting around the girl's table and running a marathon past it, etc. And they happened to leave at the same time as we did. We were so tickled that we had to get Ram to bring the car from the parking lot to us coz we couldnt keep a straight face. An ode to the classic "bulb" I say!

Blackle

How many of you have heard about Blackle? Its a google search engine.. yes I know thats redundant.. (Black + Google = Blackle) But the interface is in black as opposed to the white screen that google has. When you visit Blackle, don't forget to check out the About Blackle link which gives the simple story that led to its creation. And a black screen apparently saves power... Makes me wonder.. Should I change my blog pages to a darker shade? I would appreciate suggestions.

Max Posts!

May'07 is the leading month for my posting at MindBlogging! Its at 14 posts this month, which is almost a post every 2 days... I surpass myself. Wow :) (Ofcourse u cud attribute it to the teensy-weensy posts like this one and a coupla others!) But then, cheers to the blog!

Here Wii Is....

I had the opportunity to play with Wii last evening, thanks to my housemate. And in case you haven't heard about Wii or need more information, go here. Its Nintendo's answer to the X-Box and any other contemporaries I am not aware of. The thing that makes Wii different is what you all must already know by now.. That it reacts to you. That the 'joystick' is actually a wireless controller that signals to a sensor that you attach to your TV. And then the magic begins.

The controller is impressively responsive and sensitive and reacts to the slightest twirls on your hand. What makes it more fab is that for certain games , like boxing for example, it has an auxillary connector unit, making the whole thing funciton like a nanchuk. Its tremendous fun and I had the opportunity to play Tennis (you have hold your controller as the racquet and literally make those backhands, volleys and slices to win points), Golf (the controller becomes yr club), Baseball, Bowling and even Boxing! Was unbelievable fun and more exercise than any other video game can offer. Indeed after 20 minutes of boxing, I can barely lift my hands above my shoulders today... Excellent workout ;) (For the lazy ones like me).

The games themselves are great fun and imagination is the limit. The ones I saw were all 2D normal games, nothing elaborate. No level-after-level gaming like say Super Mario etc (yet). But there must definitely be more than what I was able to experience. I guess one might think its a tad overpriced... but with new innovations, honestly, sky's the limit. Brushing with such technology has always made me wonder, whats awaiting us? Will it be a mini-imax of sorts projecting 3-D images to your walls maybe? Wii will wait n watch. For now, welcome to the newer generation of gaming.

Pirates of the Carribean - At world's end

Major spoiler alert!

When you are in a town like Ames, its the best time to catch up on alllllll the latest flicks considering there isnt much else to do.. But that wasn't the reason I saw Pirates the night it released. The reason was the trilogy (or so I think) itself! So, me n my housemate gallavanted over to the theatres for the 8:40PM show. And lucky we went 40 minutes early coz when we entered, the theatre was almost packed to capacity. We did manage to find excellent seats though.

So, the movie begins almost where it left off... the quest to find Jack Sparrow. He's dead and put away in Davy Jone's locker. I am not going to go too much into the plot itself. But as the East India Company capture the pirates and hang them for, well, piracy, the dying ones start the pirate song. And the song when sung in distress echoes across the 9 coins of 8 belonging to the 9 pirate kings. I won't reveal anymore at this point. So, Jack as it happens has been locked away in Davy Jone's locker and so the crew that abandoned him go back to fetch him. Jack's intro itself is an unnecessarily close shot of his nose (so much so that u can see the pores on his nose - eew... Ok, We all love Johnny Depp.. but not THAT much :D ). And then comes an unbelievable sequence with stone crabs. I give whoever thought of it full marks for imagination, but it did get a li'l weirdly boring here.

After Jack is back, they have to escape the locker.. And this sequence of the movie is completely delightful. The cinematography, the visual effects and everything else was purely brilliant as they make their escape. As the movie twists and turns with each person in the crew having his/her own motive (Will - wanting to rescue his dad; Elizabeth having wanted to rescue Jack out of guilt at first and then get together with Will; Barbusa wanting the Black Pearl and its crew ofcourse; Jack wanting to retain the Black Pearl, to name a few), it takes one through a journey through the unbelievable pirate life. Davy Jones is captured by the East India company, now ruled by Capn Beckett, a ruthless 'businessman' who gets to capture Jack and Will individually and sets them free for good deals he thinks he has made. The Dutchman, the ship captained by Davy Jones with the sea creatures (which has one day in land and 10 years at sea) has to have a captain at all times. So the person who killed Davy Jone's heart in that chest would have to give his heart up and be chained with the ship forever. This forms the crux of the movie towards the second half.

As it progresses, you realize that neither Will nor Jack have as much a say or do in the movie as Elizabeth. This is her movie throughout, from being crowned the 'King' at the Pirate Shipwreck Brethren to being named Captain of the Singapore Pirate crew. But this is sort of the pattern. The Curse of the Black Pearl was through and through Jack Sparrow, and the Dead Man's Chest was a whole lot of Will. So, this one was a tribute to Elizabeth. The last sequence of the maelstrom at sea was a bit too long and dragged unceremoniously with a lot of haggling between pirates and typically dumb east india company folks, and with some melodrama such as Will and Liz getting married amidst all that fighting all the way to a climax no one really expected.

Pros

1) The plot - everything was woven in so well

2) The comic timing that Jack has

3) Return of Barbusa

4) Incredible fight sequences and fantastic cinematography

5) Last but certainly not the least - Jack's dad (!!!) from whom he's gotten his obvious dressing style! And whats most interesting is that the character is played by Keith Richards, the famous Rolling Stones guitarist from whom Depp himself claimed to have inspired many of Sparrow's characteristics!! - Excellent casting and very fitting!

Cons

1) The length of the movie

2) Unnecessary drags at many points which may have helped retain all the interest and reduce the length of the movie.

All in all, if you loved the first two movies, you are sure to like this one as well. There is no doubt about that. But as in most trilogies, I maintain that Pirates-I was the best for the sheer originality of the concept. And as we got exposed to more, our expectations rose that much more and not too many movie sequels have stood up to that. But for the length of the movie, this is a good follow-up to the two movies and has excellent contiguity to its peers and provides an unexpected closure to the series. At the same time, because they gave it a slightly loose ending, I wouldnt be surprised if a year later they came up with a Pirates IV. Definitely worth a watch.

American Idol

Warning: If you haven't seen Idol yet and you don't want to know the winner, don't read!

So, today was the finale of the American Idol. I must admit I got quite used to watching it week after week and to have closure, ofcourse I had to see the finale. The two hour finale was obviously just an advertisement gimmick because the performances were over and to announce the results would have taken all of 20 seconds. For those who didn't know but do care, the finale was between 17-year-old (they never never let you forget that) Jordin Sparks and beat-boxing wonder, Blake Lewis. After yesterday's performances, I was quite certain that talent-wise Jordin had to win. But seeing Blake's popularity carry him soo far, I wouldnt have been really surprised if he had won either. As it happened, the just audience prevailed and Jordin won!

A few observations I made - over the days, the audience had proved themselves as worthy judges of talent (even if they sort out Simon's acerbic comments to make their decisions). The most amazing result was in the round of three, when I thought Melinda was her perfectionist best and got eliminated! That was due to Blake's sheer popularity. However, the audience does seem to vote wisely going by the no of Emmy-Grammy and Oscar winners from years of preceding shows.

Well it was a season filled with hysterical performances from the audition stage right upto the final show. It was a season where Sanjaya gained undue popularity. He had a performance at the finale and he made that girl cry again (Check here if you dont know about the cry-baby). Its almost like they paid her and poured glycerin down her eyes.. I mean whats there to CRY? Gosh! Anyways, it was a fitting result. Jordin fully deserved to win and was clearly the better singer though Blake was the better performer and mass-wooer. But after all, Idol is a singing competition.

For all you TV junkies, there's a lot to look forward to - 'So you think you can dance' and 'Hell's Kitchen' are starting soon.

No. 100

Hi All,

Thank you for soliciting my blog so.. This entry is No. 100 for MindBlogging! Cheeeeeeers!!!!!! Its a milestone with many more to surpass. I wanted to make this entry special. Couldn't think of anything dramatic. So, I leave you with a poem I scribbled this morning.

Change.

As time goes by ever so fast
Makes one wonder if anything does last?
Why sometimes then does it sting..
And they say change is a good thing..

Memories shuffle in my heart
Fond thoughts surely it does bring..
Of days from which we've been torn apart
And they say change is a good thing..

Its the only constant in our life,
Putting an end to all that strife
Of lost friends and forgotten flings
Is change really a good thing?

A brand new morning every day
Vast horizons to spread our wings
And make the most in every way
Change is really a good thing

New beginnings like fresh breeze
Fill life's kaleidoscopes with fond memories
Makes my heart want to sing
Change is really a good thing.

Love before first sight?

Disclaimer: The views in this blog are solely my own.. Its not meant to hurt or disrespect anyone's sentiments. Also, I am not giving any form of "how-to-find-love-online-advice". So don't ask me for any. Just kick-back, relax and read forward..

I have been meaning to write this post for quite sometime now.. To start with.. how many of you believe in love-at-first-sight? I am sorry to disappoint you.. but I am not one of those die-hard romantics who does. In fact I am cynical about the whole thing because I believe that at first sight what you at the most feel is an electric attraction to the looks of the person which I personally don't classify as "love". That it may blossom into something beautiful in future... that you may cherish it years ahead, that it was 'just-right', etc doesn't count here.

But coming to the modern world... how many of you believe in love-before-first-sight as I've coined it? This is the age of 'internet-love', where MySpace, Orkut etc. are the best matrimonials that singles can themselves rely on... Having truly witnessed many such unions between people who didnt know each other from Adam, I can tell you it exists and its true. And in many ways, I feel that its more real than love-at-first-sight. Its a purely mental connection that happens and you like the person for who he/she portrays themselves to be. Its not physical (hopefully) and you share similar interests (hoping more so) etc. But this is the deception point as far as I am concerned. This way of finding love has sooo many holes in its fabric that you're lucky if you find anything pseudo to true-love. What if the person is sooooo not what they claimed to be? What if their tiny thumbnail picture on their profile was one moment of surreally great photography? What if they lied about anything from their hobbies/interests to their educational/family background? There are sooo many 'what ifs'. Yet, how are these hundreds of people finding love?

I'll tell you when love-before-first-sight has the best chance of working..

1) Timing is everything - The people involved definitely need to be the right age and 'marriage material' - What may not have worked on a girl even 6 months ago may as well work for someone who "tried" right now coz she is all ready to 'settle-down'

2) A little bit of genuinity - Lies ain't gonna build no love castle... All the stuff people say better ring true

3) Taking it beyond the scrapping - No love stories are truly built around the initiator engines.. The stories have to transcend these boundaries into the IMs - Yahoo!, MSN, GTalk or whatever works for you and then on, you'll be surprised at how similar the process is to the typical matrimonial engines themselves. (Except you arranged it for yourself! )

And so on... you get the idea...

So, how many of you believe in love-before-first-sight? I do....

The Loner in Me.

I never knew she existed,

For me to pry and see

She emerged from the shadows,

The Loner in me.

A movie here, a dinner there..

And a drink maybe,

She went by herself everywhere

The Loner in me.

T'was all an experience,

Different from being chirpy

Was all so new and hence,

The Loner in me.

The seeds were sown

And now, I feel oh-so-grown

Am glad I set free..

The Loner in me.

Shrek the Third

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

So it was the day of release and this month is the month of III segments.. first Spidey, now Shrek and next week Pirates... Ofcourse I had to check out Shrek the Third and offer my vishesh tippani on the movie. Without further ado, I m going to jump into the review..

I thought the movie was great... It was great follow-up and sheerly to live up to the legendary Part I and pretty good part II was a phenomenal part. I thought Shrek III was a worthy sequel and thoroghly lived up to the expectations. But then again, it maybe coz I am very partial to animated movies and Shrek is one of my favorite series.

The movie opens with Fiona's dad, the Frog King's illness which leads to the necessity of Shrek and Fiona playing King-Queen of Far Far Away temporarily as the king recovered. As it happens, he doesn't and there are a few gags even as the king lies in his death-pond issuing last wishes as he dies more than once, the final one being that if Shrek isn't willing to take up the Kingdom, he has to find the next-of-heir, a kid named Arthur. And so begins the movie, the primary goals having been established.

Its really cute to see that the dragon and donkey have 5 kids, each a mini-version of the donkey, just flying and shooting flames from their mouths... Very cute and adorable as they fuss around their "daddy". Shrek, Donkey and the Puss-in-boots decide to take a boat ride and fetch Arthur back to his Kingdom. Fiona chooses this opportune moment to reveal that she is pregnant. And Shrek barely takes it well, like every man (though he's an ogre!!) And what follows is a hilarious dream sequence of Shrek's where he is avalanched wih Shrek Jrs.. Very funny!
Meanwhile Prince Charming braves his way back to the pub of rejected people, the villains from the Fairy Tales where he puts together his own army with a goal saying that though they were villainized, they deserved their own "Happily-ever-after" in Far Far Away. I liked this concept of trying to glorify the villains - your typical Good vs Evil concept. But with the Fairytale creatures, it was a lot better than otherwise. Through all this, the Donkey and Puss have a voice-swap period which is really cute and fun....

Then what follows is the triumph of good over evil ofcourse....

What I liked:
1) The involvement of the Fairytale creatures - Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, all have their own tiny roles
2) The Arthur character - he's cute and has SOME personality
3) Merlin
4) The Donkey-Dragon's babies - adorable
5) Shrek-Fiona's triplets - so so so cute :)
All in all, a treat for all Shrek fans alike... Don't miss this one. Super cute, quite funny and very very watchable. Fully recommended.

Key to true and everlasting happiness

Over the years I have discovered and perfected the key to true everlasting happiness - zero expectations. People may have told you a variety of things... But nothing can actually substitute experiencing it yourself. And the best results are in the most important of things. When you don't expect something of a person, not only are you not disappointed something didn't happen or they didn't do something for you... But importantly, it makes the times they do count much more. You are taken completely by surprise and the joy it brings is obviously way past what it would if you had anticipated it happening.

Somebody, surprise me.

Wife or Cook?

The idea behind this post just sprung from a chat conversation with my bro. We were discussing the ongoing bride-hunt for a cousin bro, who is I am unhappy to say younger than me. He barely turned 25 a few months ago and out came the horoscopes and the whole rigamarole of mixing and the matching began. I expressed my views on the whole new arranged marriage deal in this post. Hearing about it all over again, this time with a cousin was a reaffirmation of how the process hasn't really come a long way from back in the days when my parents got married (except for the technology that is).

Wanting to probe into this deeper, I actually asked my Patti, whom I consider a key figure in expediting wedding procedures (well if you think she's been patient in my case, I assure you that it has taken her monumental effort and the only reason she's as cool as a cucumber is that she didn't have any searching to do!) a whole bunch of nagging questions.

Me: Avanuku ipo kalyanam pannikarthuku enna avalo avasaram? Innum 1-2 years pogatume. (Whats the rush for him to get married? Can't it wait a couple of years?)
Patti: Illa dee... Iruvathi anju vayasu ayachu... Engineering mudichachu.. nalla velaila irukan... samblam koodindu iruku... Jaipur la thaniya irukane... Kalyanam aana veeta paathuka yaravadhu irupa la... (No dee.. He's 25, Has completed a degree in Engineering, has a good job, has an increasing salary, is alone in Jaipur.. If he gets married there will be someone to take care of the house)

Me: Basically, veeta paathuka dhaan pondati. (You need a wife to take care of the house?)
Patti: Cha cha.. Illa dee... Avanuku vela velaiku vidha vidhama samachu poda yaravadhu irupa la... (Not at all.. Someone has to be there to cook a large variety of food for him for every meal)

Me: So samayalkaari nu solla vare.. (Oh you need a cook then..)
Patti: Paithyakara thanama edhavadhu solladhe.. Kala kaalathuku kalyanam panna dhaan azhaga irukum. Apram aathukararku samaikardhoda enna velai? (Don't talk nonsense. If you get them married early only, it looks nice. What better work than cook for the husband?)

Thats what I am talking about... Most single men away from their mollycuddled homes tend to get married early... not because they are financially sound and can support another individual, etc. But from the elderly perspective apparently to have a cook free-of-charge! I am not generalizing... For all I know, this is a TamBrahm trait.

Pet Peeves?

When I first learned that the house I'd be subletting would have 2 cats in it, I freaked out. I am a pet enthusiast... more specifically, a dog enthusiast. To be totally specific, I haven't ever lived around a dog.. so I'd imagine it would be much different from what I fantasized it would be.. when the stark reality of all the litter and stuff creeps in.

So when I met J.D (Jamuna Das is his real name), a big grey cat at Steinbeck, I was a li'l wary of him.. More so coz he was too friendly for a cat I just met. He became all pally pally and started nosing around my feet right away (Initially I thought it was the slippers... I tried throwing it away and all.. but it was me he was after!) I am sure it was a sight to see with me trying to tiptoe away from him all the time. When his owners were around, he fussed around them. Otherwise, he was always around me..

The first morning ofcourse was a shocker... I opened my bedroom door a bit wide (I wasnt used to animals waking up to me..) and JD jumped into the room before I could act fast... And horror of horrors, he pawed around for a good spot and landed square in the middle of my comforter to snuggle into a morning nap... Horrified but very scared to touch him, I timidly approached him and he purred. Hmph. I stalked off into the restroom praying he was gone when I returned. But guess what? He followed me right into the restroom and didnt leave no matter how much I coaxed him. (I became smart midway and shut the bedroom door when I could). I had a hard time chasing him outta the restroom and now this is a daily routine.. But he's learned quickly that I dont appreciate that much and doesnt wander into the restroom. However, now when he misses me, he vividly knocks on my door and mews outside. (His mew is a sign of protest. If you shut a door on him, he'll mew... if you dont let him in, he'll look you in the eye and mew). And last night once I had retired for the day, he kept mewing outside. And when I ignored him, he actually put his paw under the door and sorta waved!

In less than a week, I have adapted to a lot... a cat nonetheless... I must admit that my hosts are gracious and do their best to keep him away.. The other cat, Kitty is petrified (and maybe I prefer it that way) and barely shows herself.. Also, I admit that the prospect of cat hair on my clothes, comforter or bed isnt comforting... So, I keep JD at room's length... We have our 5 minutes of daily palliness... Thats good enuf...

Have you ever........

Have I ever what?? This is what... I saw this on Aravind's blog centuries ago and wanted to flick it back then.. Forgot about it.. wrote a whole bunch of other stuff.. Finally while chancing upon it on someone else's blog, thought I should publish this one.. This one's for timepass... Here goes:

1. Thought your cousin was hot? Eew ..No
2. Been in love? Yes
3. Gone over the speed limit? Yes
4. Painted your room? No
5. Drove a car? Yes
6. Danced in front of your mirror? Yes
7. Been dumped? No
8. Stole money from a friend? No
9. Gotten in a car with people you just met? Yes.. in fact even yesterday!
10. Been in a fist fight? No
11. Snuck out of your house? Yes
12. Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back? Yes
13. Been arrested? No
14. Left your house with out telling your parents? Yes
15. Had a crush on your neighbor? Yes (my first real crush.. the guy downstairs!)
16. Ditched school to do something more fun? Not school school... but college.. YEHA!
17. Slept in a bed with a member of the same or opposite sex ? Yes
18. Seen someone die? No
19. Been on a plane? Yes
20. Kissed a picture? Yes
21. Slept in until 3? Yes
22. Love someone or miss someone right now? Yes
23. Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by? Yes
24. Made a snow angel? No
25. Played dress up? Yes
26. Cheated while playing a game? No
27. Been lonely? Yes
28. Fallen asleep at work/school? Duh ..YES
29. Been to a club? Yes
30. Felt an earthquake? Yes
31. Touched a snake? Yes (eeks!)
32. Ran a red light? Yes
33. Been suspended from school? No
34. Had detention.. No
35. Been in a car? Yes
36. Hated the way you look? Yes - just one freaking time!
37. Witnessed a crime? Yes
38. Been lost? Yes
39. Been to the opposite side of the country? Yesss
40. Felt like dying from embarrassment? Yes
41. Cried yourself to sleep? Yes
42. Sang karaoke? Yes! Awesome fun...
43. Done something you told yourself you wouldn't do? Yes.. many many many times
44. Laughed till some kind of beverage came out of your nose? No
45. Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Yes
46. Kissed in the rain? No
47. Sung in the shower? Yes
48. Had a dream that you married someone? Yes
49. Played getting married? No..
50. Got your tongue stuck to a flag pole? No
51. Ever gone to school partially nude? No
52. Sat on a roof top? Yes..
53. Didn't take a shower for a week? Yes
54. Ever been too scared to watch scary movies alone? No
55. Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? No
56. Been told you're hot by a complete stranger? Yes (thats one of those dying-embarassing moments)
57. Broken a bone? Uh.. does a fracture count?
58. Been easily amused? Yes
59. Laugh so hard you cry? Yes
60. Cheated on a test? Yes.. (Kaviiii...)
61. Forgotten someone's name? Yes
62. Blacked out from drinking? No
63. Played a prank on someone? Yes.. yes.. yes!
64. Gone to a late night movie? Yes.. all the time!
65. Failed a class? No
66. Choked on something you're not supposed to eat? No
67. Played an instrument for more than 10 hours? Not continuously
68. Cheated on a girlfriend/boyfriend? No
69. Did you celebrate the 4th of July? No
70. Thrown strange objects? No
71. Felt like someone? Yes
72. Thought about running away? Yes..(but when I was already away from home.. Does that count?)
73. Cried over someone? Yes
74. Have a dog? No
75. Own an instrument? Yes
76. Been in a band? Yes
77. Drank 25 sodas in a day? No
78. Broken a cd? I tried very hard one day.. Twisted it and malformed it.. Couldnt break it!
79. Shot a gun? Not unless u count those fake guns in the amusement parks!
80. Been on facebook for more than 5 hours? No..
81. Have a major crush on someone right now? Not a crush
82. Have a religion? Yes
83. Thought about what people would say at your funeral? Yes

Spidey 3 - Entangled

Warning: Detailed plot outlines ahead. Limited spoilers. For a brief, one-para review, skip to the last paragraph.

I was sooo excited to catch this movie, the third in the trilogy the day of its release and all.. and that too in Ames, Iowa... So, me n my newfound roommates went to Movies 12, the only complex in the 5-mile radius town that shows the latest flicks and bought tickets instantly for the 10:25 PM show.

As the plot unravelled, it was clear that ofcourse the movie had taken a few twists and turns of its own and wasnt going to be nearly as faithful as its comic... And fromt he trailers (if not the comics), one would know that Harry Orborn was going to be Spidey's next nemesis. The first fight between the Harry Monster (the new Goblin?) and Spidey was downright unbelievable.. and not in a good way. (Okay, if you are one of those people who wants to tell me... listen babe, you are watching a superhero flick and you are talking believable, you n I shd have a chat.. there are limits to even superhero fights!) And while the Goblin's moves and stunts were phenomenal, Spidey shoots sad-looking 'web-bullets' at Harry... And through a twist of events through steel, concrete and glass of the Manhattan skyline, Harry ends up in a pile next to a dumpster, waking up with.. well, you guessed it, a memory loss.

In this phase, is the introduction of the Sandman and his creation ofcourse... A criminal, the guy who murdered Ben Parker, nevertheless is being chased down by the police and in his run finds himself trapped in a particle physics testing facility. The 3 huge probe kinda things are supposedly whipping the silicon (silica?) in the sand beneath them and because of their sheer intensity and power, end up whipping the man in between them also! The scene's been graphically done quite tastefully.. And then rises the Sandman.. this weird superpower that can become sand as he likes and take his original human form as he likes. His one leading goal is to aid his ailing daughter for which he is ready to literally 'blow the city apart'. And so is formed Spidey's second nemesis for the movie.

While all this is happening, how could we forget MJ, Spidey's forever love interest.. She is in a Broadway musical and isnt doing so well... She's fired. While she wants to talk to Peter, her boyfriend about it, he's too busy glowing in the pride of Spidey's acceptance by the whole of New York... Here's where Gwen Stacy is introduced as the daughter of the police chief and Peter's labmate (Comic-wise, Gwen was actually Peter's college girlfriend who's tragically killed by the Green Goblin). While saving her and revelling in glory, Spidey kisses her upside down very much the same way he kissed MJ for the first time. This doesn't go unnoticed and MJ seeks Harry out for solace... Ofcourse Harry in his attempt to look innocent and 'I-don't-remember-anything-that-happened' ends up looking a wee bit retarded. Meanwhile, there's this black goo that makes its way to Spidey's house... And while he's in bed climbs all over him and makes this pretty cool-looking black Spidey outfit... (I know you already think there's a lot happening.. but read on to find out more!)

And with the outfit comes a reckless power, a power in which Spidey loses all compassion, all goodness and becomes downright selfish n evil. And the Peter that goes with this Spidey is not this well-groomed kid we've gotten used to seeing. Instead, he is this supposedly cool-looking dude with his hair flicked all the way across his forehead and some kajal (I swear!) and funky dance moves while walking etc. Harry gains his memory back, threatens MJ to break up with Peter.. and then fights him. Reckless as Spidey is now, he doesn't care no more...

Between allllll this drama, another nemesis remains to be introduced. A young photographer vying for Peter's job at the Daily Bugle to take Spidey pics, also being Gwen's boyfriend. Reckless Peter not just steals his girlfriend, but also his job.. And the guy wants revenge...
And how does he get it? When Reckless Peter forces himself to desparatelyrid his black suit, the goo sticks on to this guy making this toothy black villain. The rest of the story ofcourse is about how Spidey has to survive three formidable nemeses as they let dangle his most precious possession.. MJ ofcourse... I am not giving away the most important part of the plot here.. Go see it!

The movie was a little over 2 hours... but felt much longer... It was packed with stuff.. Three opponents to one Spidey, a whole new angle to his love interest on MJ, avenging his uncle's killer (who wasnt the guy who died in Spidey I), balancing his responsibilities and his fame and I could go on forever. The stunts were as usual out of the world (though I didnt think much of the first fight between the new Goblin and Spidey). The final sequence of stunts that ends the movie is worth a watch. All in all, I think Spidey III had definitely bitten more than it could swallow...

One to Ponder...

How many times has it happened to you? You are seriously working for more than 2 hours on something important... All along, your boss doesn't even know you exist.. And those 2 precious minutes you take a break to check email/orkut/chat or write this blog, he peeks into your cube.. Hmph.

Ta Ra Rum Pum

No major spoilers ahead. :-)

Its been movie-time here at San Diego and 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' happened purely by chance. Lazing arond on a Sunday afternoon, Sandy and I decided to check out if there were any Desi movies. And we chanced upon this one. I was certain that we weren't going to get tickets for the show an hour later. And it was a PayPal deal. Before I knew how, we had tickets and we rushed...

The Desi public had turned up in fullflow for this brand-new movie. I barely knew anything about the movie and had no expectations whatsoever. This was probably the YashRaj's next movie after Dhoom II. So, I thought we could expect another movie full of exotic locations, extravagant clothing n accessories, etc. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that the movie was all set in New York (with a hint of Mumbai here n there) and was paced pretty swiftly. There was no drag between the "love-at-first-sight" (or close) to marriage to kids.. Or the story from tyre-changer - ace racer... The whole race thing had the audience's adrenaline racing.. And the couple of Saif n Rani reuniting after Hum Tum couldnt have been cuter. I was pleasantly surprised at the subtle make-up that the two had on so much that you could see the freckles on Rani's nose. It was natural.

As in all stories, something had to go wrong and the ace-racer becomes a 'loser' and the rich lifetsyle gives way to poverty. And the protective parents tell the kids that they are a part of a reality show in which they had to live on a budget to win a fictitious reward. The kids called Princess and Champ (never revealed if these were nicknames or not) are sweet but annoying sometimes. And as poverty strikes, the man loses is values and stoops to low levels to try and save the family he loves. To cut a long story short, through a quirk of fate, his morals fall in the right place and then follows the rise of the phoenix from the ashes. The movie actually is very 'child-friendly' and is very enjoyable for kids with an animated song n everything. And in fact the whole movie is narrated by a child and so is all in all a "family movie".

All in all, the movie is definitely worth a watch,a chick-flick feel to it, some catchy songs, a fast-paced entertainer and a pleasant family movie with an underlying theme for kids to 'save' the day... which is revealed through the movie.

Return to Innocence - A trip to Disneyland

A day-long trip trip... very memorable and totally worth it. For all those who think a trip to Disney is for kids or for those with kids, think again... With 7 theme-parks within one huge circumference Disneyland has a lot to offer for one and all.. I could go on n on.. but I m going to make it short n sweet..

Do not miss...
1) The Pirates of the Caribbean ride - check out the likeness of the Jack Sparrow within and be bowled over
2) The Indiana Jones adventure
3) The Space Mountain
4) The Aladdin narration..
5) The Toon Town - Mickey land - things just couldnt get cuter
6) The "Honey I shrunk the audience" 3-D show (if you have been to Universal and seen better 3-D stuff, you may wanna skip this..)
7) The Water-Sled (i forget what exactly its called) ride
8) Fantasy land - particularly Peter Pan.
9) The lit-up glory of the Anaheim Fantasy Castle (and fireworks above it)
and last but NOT the least....
10) The expressions of ecstasy on all those kids faces... Its incredible. :)

La Jolla Coves

Maybe not the best picture... but it wasn't the best day either.. The La Jolla Coves... utterly gorgeous.

The San Diego Wild Animal Park

Thats just one of the many brilliant colors we saw at the San Diego wild animal park today.. It was a total day of funnnnnnn.. And its something that everyone HAS to do on a decent-length visit to SD. Sandy told me that the Wild Animal park was a lot more fun than the zoo and after the day I am guessing she was probably right... There were far more birds than animals on retrospect. The birds were all brilliantly colored and flew from far corners of the world. We sat through a bird show at an amphitheatre which was soo cute.. All these birds of prey swooping in from different places of the theatre was a sight to see.. they had everything from talking parrots to overgrown condors and it was such fun..

We also got to catch the elephant show where 'Cha cha' who almost danced Cha-cha-cha.. It was a pretty cool show as well. As for the wilderness, we got the majestic Lion, the king of the jungle in a habitat that I felt constrained them too much. They had an island kind of thing for 4 lions that was about 200 feet radius... A li'l small.. whereas for one lone boring white tiger they had yaaaaards of space. Hmph. I love tigers.. but this one was a little bit of the let-down. We felt most bad for the poor gorillas that looked bored out of their wits. Indeed Sandy and I were taking turns to make faces like the expressions those gorillas had which was basically staring into eternity and scratching their head probably wondering why the hell such similar looking creatures were gawking at them.

All in all, I must say that the park is sooooooo well planned... so well chalked out... tonnnnnnns of open space, natural habitats for allll the animals, loads of food places, restaurants, rest rooms and gift shops - a cool tram ride around the "African" region and a lotta more perks.. It was a lot of walking but it was worth every calorie burnt... So, if you are in San Diego, dont forget to invest a day in the Wild Animal Park... there's something for everyone out there. :)

Fracture

So me and Sandy decided we had to make most of an evening that she had worked very late here at San Diego.. And what better relaxing thing to do but to catch a latest flick?! So, we like good diligent people went to yahoo! movies and read reviews of a multitude of movies before choosing 'Fracture' after all the good reviews and the fact that we were both suckers for courtroom dramas.

I'd seen the trailer before and I knew that that Anthony Hopkins was accused of shooting his wife in what seemed like an open-n-shut case. But what followed was a classically different no-nonsense movie. It was refreshingly different in that it didnt leave you guessing at any stage EVER and had no weird inexplicable twists and turns. It was subtle, slick and pretty much to-the-point. I was very impressed with Ryan Golsing as well. This was the first movie I was seeing him in and I had heard rave reviews of him and I must vouch for his performance in this one. He was all character.. the accent, the walk, the talk... Was pretty cool.

The plot in itself is simple... You know who shot who... You see it happen in the movie. The plot relies on the loopholes in the US judicial system. And its pretty cool.. And while it comes together, most of us would've guessed what really happens.. And they didnt dwell on that too much either. All in all, it was fast-paced, sleek and totally worth the watch... And Ryan's quite cute... :)

The VTech Tragedy

Its one of the saddest things that happened. On April 16th. If you haven't heard of it, read all about it here. What makes it the worst thing is that this could have been any of our schools. Its very shocking.. And it just shows how unpredictable everything in life is.. And how much of it is not even in your control. The whole world mourns this loss... Yes there have been far bigger tragedies.. This is just another one of them.. There was an Indian girl who was killed in all this. She has an Orkut account. I could understand people sending her - "Hope you are okay" messages when it was unconfirmed if she was dead. But to keep sending 21000+ messages of "May your soul rest in peace"? I am not so sure. Then again... maybe thats the way people make peace with themselves. But messaging the wrong girl with the same name? And that too the RIP messages? Inexcusable. And one message I read was - "May your sole rest in piece". Whats that? Black humour? May your broken shoe lie in a corner? Guys... good will is all understandable. When you send condolence messages, wouldnt you have the sensitivity to verify who you are messaging and what!? Open your eyes people!

May the victim's souls rest in peace.

My USA

Inspired by my bro's this post, I decided to mark my own territory around the US with Google's My Maps feature. 19/50 states. View it here. A small percentage.. just 38%. But in student life? Pretty good I must admit! And it looks like the midwest and a lot of the south has been covered. The Northern, Eastern and the central portions leave a lot to desire. With the current H-1B situation, its anyone's guess where else I'll get to go. Good luck to me!!

Meet the Robinsons

Warning: Spoilers ahead

I soo feel at home now... Another movie review!! And make way for the Robinsons! This was my first 3-D experience after I grew up (I dont remember Chotta Chetan or Kutti Satan) So I was really excited. Two versions of the movie released, a normal one and the 3-D one. Me and Sachin were really enthused to see the 3-D version.. I imagined the red and blue paper glasses and everything as we went to catch the 11:50 PM show. And we were in for a surprise.. the glasses had become suave.. They looked like sunglasses but unfortunately carried a warning that they had no UV filters and werent to be used as sunglasses. Hmph.

So back to the movie... It starts out with the awesome animation that Pixar has come to be known for... This baby, the hero of our story, Louis being left at the orphanage... a sort of Harry Potter feel to it. He grows up to be a boy genius and ends up scaring away most prospective parents with explosive science experiments. He has this jock roomie, Goob, who loses night after night of sleep over his nerdy roomie's experiments. At the center of the plot is a Science Fair where all the students are falling over one another to showcase their talent. And Louis has his memory machine... And ofcourse there is a villain - a man in a bowling hat, who foils the brilliant invention. Why? And how? I am not going to go into the details coz that will just plain give it away. And this "boy from the future" - Wilbur sees through the bowling hat guy and his plans! But to credit it, the movie had oooooodles of imagination... and a lotta fundu stuff, even if scientific - a time machine, singing frogs, an artificially-intelligent hat (which learns and grows against you!), a memory machine, and even a dinosaur! The plot was pretty cool and was woven together in an adorable manner. It almost felt like it was dragging a little in between when we actually Meet the Robinsons. But the movie quickly slides back on track with a brilliant twist.

With its awesome effects (I took my glasses off ever so often to compare the effects), sweet storyline, fabulous imagination and fantastic animation, you all have got to Meet the Robinsons atleast once. This may not be one of those animation movies people speak about for yeaars (Shrek), but its definitely worth your while.

World Cup Blues

Disclaimer: This is not so much as a World Cup discussion as it is a cribbing of the recent events with the game's biggest tournament.

Ok.. everyone who is anyone is talking about the Cricket World Cup hosted right here at the Windies. But the cup's been the most dismal one already. Both India and Pakistan knocked outta the cup by newer, thought to be easy-to-beat teams like Bangladesh and Ireland.. The Super 8s are just the Super 6s now for the other teams.. Or are they? To make matters worse, Bob Woolmer killed?! Whats that about? When did cricket stop being a game and start being a mob?

There was always an unhealthy obesession with the game in the subcontinent. It ceased being just a sport. It was a religion. And the demi-Gods had let us down. The team with the most runs on paper, the "Men in Blue" all gave the most abysmal performances of their career. Under the umbrella of one of cricket's greatest's career, under Sachin Tendulkar's career, India have not won a single World Cup. Its just the dumps.

So what went wrong? Was it the overconfidence? The complacence? The over-exposure making money and ads? The lack of commitment? Pressure? 1 billion hopes? Or was it just all of this?

The most optimistic-yet-cautious supporter in me was in denial when Bangladesh had us confounded. Hope against hope, I thought this would waken the lions that we would love to believe we are against the Lankan tigers. Not to be. Another sucky performance. And it was almost illegal to hope that Bermuda could beat Bangladesh. It was ridiculous letting our fate being decided by two other teams. And I would have personally recommended India forfeat if ever Bermuda beat Bangladesh. That wasn't to be. And the Men-In-Blue head back. TO make more ads... make more money.. irrespective of the career slump or anything else. As long as their purses kept jingling, it doesnt look like they are bothered for too much more.

Dad tells me that the cricket-based ads have been put on hold. Considering the majority of the 1-billion no longer wanna see them. This is normal. What scares me is some of the obsessive folk, some of the variety thats going to go around burning Dhoni's house or Sachin's restaurant. Dad also tells me that the players are expected to arrive in an undisclosed variety of flights. What next?

Personally, I think we should let all of these legends go. Their time's up. Its time for young blood. Newer players, newer ideas. We lose then... we lose with a learning new team. Not the biggest names in cricket. We need mew energy, new strategies, a whole new plan. So much for all those emails pointing out striking similarities between our 1983 victory and our horrendous start this world cup.

Revamp, India!

Once bitten.. twice lucky

Do you believe in luck? I do. And I completely believe that for something to happen favorably, you need the luck. So whats fashioned me to become Lady luck savvy? My whole life! I have realized that for me most things aren't as straightforward as it is for many others. Most things that matter in my life require that second stab at it.

College admissions? - HCE was the second college I saw and stuck to... (Thankfully I didnt have to repeat my Boards or my entrance exams!!)

GRE - I had to give it twice to get my dream score

Admissions - I had to apply TWICE. One year I didnt get great results - I applied too high. The second year, I had to send in the packets TWICE (coz SpeedPost lost my package) - that means two sets of recos, two sets of application forms, two of everything and TWICE the freaking headache as well!

I could also relate a whole bunch of other stuff that fit right into my 'twice is nice' label, including some very important life decisions, but I am not going into that. :)

I have done a looot to be here.. And now jobhunting sometimes drives me to WHY do I want to be here? I sure hope I get that one job that will validate everything I have been through. Twice has been lucky... Fingers crossed.

Why me?

Many of you must be familar with this scenario.. You've just completed your degree (in the US) and you are looking for jobs. Ofcourse you have uploaded your resume on Monster, Careerbuilder and the many other job portals in the hope of flagging the one dream job you want. No matter what your degree, I bet you have a million consultants call you everyday the first few days. I have no problems with the genuine guys who are just out there doing their job and trying to offer you one.. Many don't get that you are an Electrical Engineer simply not willing to settle for a "software consultancy job". Thats also fine.

But what about some genuine freaks? I got this one call for example, about a month ago and I still can't believe it happened. And that was it for my patience. This dude called himself Vijay and started out by saying hi.. hello. When I asked him for what company he worked for, believe me when I say it took him 4 whole minutes to concoct a 'John Grunther Solutions' which doesnt exist ofcourse. He claimed the reason for his delay in answering to be his debating between the 3 groups that owned different companies. All that was okay. This was the part I couldn't take. I had just finished narrating my rehearsed speech of how I wasn't interested in software job.

Him: So what kind of jobs are you looking for, Jayalakshmi? (I hate the fact that every consultant seems to be Desi. I hate it even more that every sentence each one uses on me ends with Jayalakshmi. How are you Jayalakshmi? We have a job to offer, Jayalakshmi... I mean.. I understand you can pronounce it.. but give it a rest, will you?!!?)

Me: I am interested in MEMS.

Him: Oh you are interested in MEN (I capitalize it to emphasize it) And his tone, believe me wasnt confused, wasnt embarrassed or any of that. It was as casual as 'Oh you are interested in Visual Basic'. Who the ^@%*$!&$P)!*{$!($# canvasses candidates like that?

Me (in pure rage now): NOT MEN!!! MEMS - Its an expansion of Microelectro Mechanical Systems!

Him: Oh ok. So where are you from in India?

I hang up.

And I have all rights to be saddened.

Some color in my life..

I was just glancing through my past few entries and realized that it was plain and colorless though very very beautiful.. With the onset of spring and many things all over again, I realize that its time to bring some color into my life.. (well into the blog at the very least... hehe). But then whats not colorful in my life? So far so good.. All I lack is a job which I am hunting at the moment.

I had a party at my professor's house and after having a full three-course meal, theres this buzz in my head. And suddenly I was struck by how much I am going to miss Cincinnati once I leave it. I know alllllllllll we grad students spoke about in the last few weeks leading up to the defense is how we "can't wait to be done" or how "I am sick of this place". And then suddenly just like that you realize what you're saying is not true. It was never any of those things. In fact, my whole existence in the United States has revolved around the 1 mile radius that UC occupies. About 2.5 years of my whole life spent in a 2.5 km radius. With little laments, little regrets, little urge to do anything else. Unbelievable. I guess thats the feeling that envelopes every single one of us as we unknowingly get attached to places, people, buildings, offices, even that morning coffee at the campus Starbucks. And when you graduate, suddenly you are an alumnus. Thats not good enough. It never is.

Ok.. this entry was supposed to be colorful. Instead it turned into a reflection of my thoughts at this exact instant. But the grass is greener on the other side. Every single time. For now... California beckons.

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!