Anyhting N Everything To Anything N Everything

On friday, I started typing a post which halfway through, went into a direction of its own and I decided not to publish it. The post was about how moronic I find it when people compare anything and everything to just about anything and everything. Okay. Allow me to explain. I have read bloggers writing about how clothes are like friendships, and food is like makeup or relationships are like cities and all sorts of rubbish analogies which make no sense whatsoever. To illustrate my point, I started on an entirely mind-numbing example - how friends are like teas. The ones that are perfect for spending time with every morning is the english breakfast. The strong, silent ones who almost shock you, are the earl grey. The ones that leave a bad taste in your mouth but are still healthy for you, the herbal green tea. Half way through that example I realised I was making way too much sense in my example that I should be making to prove my point. And that is why, my dears, I deleted that draft. Because I was actually making a brilliant case of why we COULD compare anything and everything to anything and everything. But that is okay... not everyone can do it as brilliantly as I do. Uh huh.

*readies her armour*

Watched 'Devil wears Prada' on friday night, and absolutely loved it. Loved it. Loved it. Must watch. Was saying about that movie to a friend,he had the same opinion.Even the guys liked it. What can I say?

The Basilica de Notre Dame I want it.Will buy it one day and frame it...ufff... Anyone who will complain about the non-availability of jigsaws, please head to Puzzle World in Micro Centre. And do buy me the Monet if you feel extremely generous.

The puzzle, of course! *wink*

The hotel people were very sweet to fix in a DVD player in my room. So now one does not need to stay holed up inside the room to watch movies on the laptop. One shall make use of the comfy sofa covered with comforters and sit and enjoy all the downloaded seasons of Friends.
There is a song that stuck my head. Here's hoping that they stick to you too.

Kahan Kise Ke Liye Hai Mumkin

Sab Ke Liye Ek Sa Hona

Thoda Sa Dil Mera Bura Hai

Thoda Bhala Hai Seene Mein

Awaarapaan Banjarapaan

Ek Hala Hai Sine Mein

- Jism

bibliophile........

I finished reading Paul Carter's Dont tell mom I work on the rigs this wekend. A funny and easy read about life with an oil company. He writes about gun-ridden Nigeria and blossoms of Japan with the same ease. It almost has a travel book flavour... maybe that is why I liked it. I decided to pick up the next new book on my list... I went ahead and chose Maximum City , to read about Bombay. I've been tempted to read it since I saw it on GG's book list. Will start on that today. Also, yesterday I got my long overdue birthday gift(From GG sent all the way from India) - Fly Solo: The 50 best places on earth for a girl to travel alone.

How very appropriate and how adorable! I love her and the book to bits now. It is part of my rapidly increasing travel collection. It will now sit alongside 1000 Places to see before you die, Maximum City, And talking about travel, I am trying to book a short trip to Texas next month... fingers crossed!

Not everything needs to be said....

Like a voyeur, you watch my life through this window. Interested in the highs and lows. The spice. You watch my life. Like a movie. Never say a word. No, you arent a trespasser of my virtual home. 'Coz it was me, who threw open the door, for you to walk in. But still, its strange to see you here...

I have just found out that a lot of people that I know read my blog, and know that it is my blog. They have never commented or made their presence felt, though. Much surprise. But yes, I respect them for being discreet about it... either it was too boring for them to read it, or they realised that talking to me about it would make it a little awkward. Made me think... my life is very much an open-book these days, isnt it? Do I regret it? No actually. Some parts of my life I prefer to keep to myself, and shall stay off the blog. For the rest, it just makes life easier when you dont have to be mysterious about yourself. Less effort. Also, please note, anonymity is NOT the same as mystery.

I wonder what you see of me when you walk in. I wonder if you see a larger-than-life picture... coz it isnt so. Its a simple life, of a simple complicated person.
Sometimes I try to be humorous in narrating my life... sometimes I exaggerate my emotions... sometimes I say it as it is. But I wonder if it paints a larger-than-life picture of me. For all my emotions, I dont break down every now and then. For all my sadness, I'm not clinically depressed. For all my mood swings, I'm not loony. For all my happiness, I'm not a all-is-good-with-the-world optimist. These are but just facets to my life. And I dont say it with smugness or pride, but there is a lot to my life, which you dont know of, despite it being an open book. I guess, some things we keep off the pages....

And while you are still watching this movie, and silently waiting for an exciting twist in the tale :)....soon wil be declared....

Is It Jus Me???

I've been tagged again....
Being the lazy person i'm....I finally picked up this tag from a friend....

Current state of mind: Blank
Current song in my head: Kuch tho huva hai...KHNH
Current read: Financial Statement Analysis *yaaawwwn*
Current pet: Cinnamon Streusel Latte, Starbucks :)
Current peeve: Very chill breezy weather, US :(
Current source of happiness: Life is beautiful nowadays :)
Current source of sadness: Away from home n loved ones :(
Current excitement: Project finally goes underway :)
Current fear: Not accomplishing what i dreamt of:(
Current obsession: Acheving my short term goal =)
Current shock: I dont feel like shopping! :O
Current thought: An unending series of 'what-ifs'.....

Jus' Fun

Some time on friday evening, the brain was switched off. That resulted in a good 3 days of brainless sight-seeing and it went on for 2 weeks continously.... eating and shopping. Did I mention eating? I guess I did. From aloo parathas to roast gobi, I have been pigging out. To make sure I dont gain back the weight, said pigging activities were balanced with hours of walking. Walking to touristy places. Walking in touristy places. Walking back... you get the point.
The most interesting of all the places visited was Niagara. It seriously is huge and magnificent! The detail post about wonderful Niagara is on the way....

Let me now dig out about NY trip...

Here's the deal. NY failed to impress me. :O
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, now if you could just pick up your jaws from the floor, I'd tell you why...
I wasnt impressed because they really have no idea what public transport in the 21st century means! The subway hasnt been renovated or upgraded for centuries, and the explaniation we get.... 'the subway is used by so many people, you cant stop it to repair it'. Yes, this time I dropped my jaw on the floor.

I wasnt impressed because people will push you, shove you and step on you, and yet pretend that they have never ever heard of phrases like 'sorry' and 'excuse me'. The average asian (and yes, I am generalising for a third of the human population!) is waaaaay more polite thankyouverymuch.

I wasnt impressed because you queue up for an hour to visit any tourist attraction, and then go through a tedious security check which involves removing your coat, your shoes, your belt, your watch, your dignity. AND after that when you do get to the top of Empire State or Liberty, you then catch yourself saying... WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?

I wasnt impressed because most of Manhattan is dirty and dingy. And I dont like the idea of being picked up on the streets by big, big, big, black men (yes, I'll be racist. If you were there, you would be too!) who could probably lift you with 2 fingers and nobody would notice you are gone...

I wasnt impressed because I value my safety. Random people on the street try to talk to you. Black men on subway stations scare you...Get lost, idiots!

I wasnt impressed because I value my money. And tipping the waiter for bringing you the wrong dish,tipping the doorman for not opening the door for you and tipping the cabbie for shouting at you aint my idea of spending money!

I wont complain about the winter - it was something I had asked for. But still, could there be a worse topping?

The only thing that slightly redeemed New York was the crusie taken to Statue Of Liberty..
Ladies and Gentlemen, Asia kicks ass anytime.But never we boasted that we are perfect....
The apple might be big, but I wasnt tempted to bite.

PS:- I enjoyed the NY trip as the company was good ;0

Time & Talk

I felt like posting this after coming from Dayton Airforce Musem.Planes used in Wars,lots of life loss and what not...there are some pictures which made me feel bad.

Time, have passed through these gates.

As the dust on your feet

carried from places far away,

bringing stories in every particle,

covering everything

with layers of its existence.

Time, have passed through these gates.

As the wisdom of your age

gathered over the years,

and distributed,

unequallyto all your kin,

as a legacy of your existence.

Time, have passed through these gates.

As the happiness and sorrow

that you carry in your heart,

neatly indexed (alongside their sources)

to be remembered sometimes

only by a part of your existence.

Time...

have passed...

through these gates...

As You.

Goodness knows I saw it coming...

The cough. The mild fever. The deluge of work. The lack of understanding. The disappointed expectations. The loneliness. The stress. The fever. The work. The judgements. The disappointments. The confusion. The loneliness. The cough. The fatigue.

It finally got to me.

I cried for a long time. A catharsis of sorts, I guess.
I feel better now. Phew........

Koi aaj mujhe... yahan se le chalo...

New place ......was feeling very lonely in the crowd....Guess that happens to evryone at a point of time.Yesterday I was missing my family and friends....

Its weird sometimes,

when your eyes are moist

and you dont know why.

When you want to talk

to show you are strong,

yet, your words go dry.

When concern you show,

others, do not echo

and the stories are wry.

When you want to keep

a smile, or a poker-face

atleast, but instead you cry.

Koi is samay ko rok do

Koi is udasi ko tok do

Koi mere aansoo pochh do

Koi meri muskaan khoj do

Koi aaj mujhe... yahan se le chalo...

"PROCRASTINATION" Hmmmmm...Is It???

As weekend approaches. Plans will be made and shelved. Some, might be carried out. Just might. I have an invitation from a friend to make a quick trip to Connecticut via NY. Tempting, very tempting. But I must resist. I need to go out with my team to Hocking hills. Procrastination has become my middle name(given by a Frend).

Someone pointed out to me that I've become a lazy person. And I was too lazy to present opposition to that claim. Damn! A friend dreamt of someone writing poetry and leaving behind copies all over the park. Weird dream, I know. Weirder poet. I laughed. Till someone else pointed out that writing poetry on a blog for everyone to read isnt much different.

Oh well. *shrugs shoulders* .

Baking brownies for your friends is another bad idea. Especially when they dont show any interest in having it. *sigh* VK says there's no reason someone shouldnt be able to get along with me. Very flattering. I wish everyone has friends like him. Sometimes, even a lie can cheer you up! The Clevland plan has sunk even before it was officially floated. Much sadness. Niagra plan will be accomplished.Apparently, it will be a lifetime experience. Another thing for the to-do list? Someone is really testing my patience at times.

I dont want to burst like a bubble. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

It is time for me to make a few decisions. Not all decisions are happy decisions. Not all times are happy times.

And that's okay. Really. Okay.

Circumstances demands and makes you take decisions.

Nicities.com :)

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

La la la la lalala... etc etc etc.

Its the Amy's birthday today, and I've taken it upon myself to thoroughly embarass him by making a blog post about it. Of course, if I were to link his blog, I think I'll be murdered (coz the Amy doesnt like attention), so I'll skip that and let him live comfortably in his little-known virtual abode.

***********************************************

You are not Atlas.

On your shoulders,

the world does not rest.

So put down those worries

shrug it off, just once,

and do what you do best.

Take your mind off work,

have some rip-roarin-fun.

And for this great gyaan

Just say, 'thanks a ton'.

**********************************************

Okay, that was too much of nicities, even for me ;)

Recently, I've been quite baffled by the names some bloggers choose to identify themselves. I mean, seriously, creativity and stupidity are seperated by 16 letters in the english dictionary. I wish I could shower you with examples, but being the politically correct person that I am *ahem*, I obviously cant rant about random blogs and bloggers here. Dont fancy getting sued. But I will however, present my special critique on some of my favourite bloggers' names... atleast on those that seem to have a good enough sense of humour to take criticism well.

The forked tongue shall be in action some good day ;)

My first International Flight

The thought of an 20-hour flight can be quite daunting. Knowing that I will land in Paris at 8:50 in the morning, and not be able to sleep all day is even more daunting. I slept very little the previous night.I was at the airport at 10pm. The flight took off at 1:55am, or that was the scheduled time atleast. I was asleep before the plane took off. And other than an orange juice and a supper, nothing else interrupted my 8 hour slumber. Such is the power of sleep deprivation.

When the flight approaches Paris, the sunrise colours and the city lights below form a beautiful picture. That alone is worth the effort of checking-in early online for a window seat. It is. Also, the city lights spread until so far away - Paris is apparently the most romantic city and ofcourse one of the places I want to visit before I die. Aha.

Seeing the day start. Again.

I saw a time that I had seen before.

Nothing fancy, I just crossed the international date line ;)

Saturday morning happened twice for me.

In different countries.

In different continents.

The mood remained the same though. Excited.

First question I asked myself on landing in Paris - What a language?

I wasnt getting a single word out of it.

Then we took a flight from Paris to NewYork after doing some window shopping at the Paris airport....The touchdown was smooth, the immigration was quick,the baggage was the last. The customs were stopping everyone and asking questions - but a smiling indian girl who said ‘Good morning officer, how are you?’ was allowed to proceed with just a question.

The question I was asked - Ma'am, are you here for business or pleasure?

My response - Hi, I'm here on project!

The immigration officer... oops, the Federal Inspection Agent I mean, wasnt very amused that I didnt pick one of the two choices offered to me. But I'm sorry... saying I'm here for pleasure sounds kind of corny to me! and i somehow didnt feel like saying am here for bussiness.Then we had 2 hrs of waiting time and a short flight to Columbus.

All our collegues were der at airport to pick us up.The jet lag was quite evident on our faces.We checked in the hotel ,got fresh and had dinner at an indian restaurant.

So the journey to a new country was niether very pleasent nor very unpleasent.

Tag Time

Now-a-days most of my friends have started tagging me...will dig into this later...they feel this is the best way to extract what i think....well buddies this wont work in long run...better think for something else ;-)

1. Pick out a scar you have, and explain how you got it:
Numerous scars on both knees... and a major one on left hand...obtained usually while attempting to chase and beat a bet made by friends. Of course all attempts were not successful, resulting in falls over concrete, grass, glass, stones. Ouch.

2. What is on the walls in your room?
A beautiful painting of Horse running in water.

3. What does your phone look like.
Nokia 6600... hoping to change it soon.

4. What music do you listen to?
hindi, and selected english songs.

5. What is your current desktop picture?
Tom Cruise with a sexy stubble... woohoo.

6. What do you want more than anything right now?
Stop thinking....now-a-days its my hobby


7. What time were you born?
My memory is good, but not that good.


8. What are you listening to?
Thats the way it is - Celine Dion.

9. The last person to make you cry?
Myself, with a little help from someone else.

10. What is your favourite perfume/cologne?
DKNY 'Be Delicious'

11. What kind of hair/eye colour do you like on the opposite sex?
I'm not too fussed...

12. Do you like pain killers?
Does anybody?

13. Are you too shy to ask someone out?
I think so. But, not asked actually until now....

14. Fave pizza topping?
Yaaack!!!!! I hate pizza

15. If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?
My words.

16. Who was the last person you made mad?
My Manager? ;-)

17. Is anyone in love with you?
I havent received the memo on this.

"THE DAY"

Oh well. The blogging frequency has taken a drastic downturn. A few factors to that happend in recent days was the reason.

Last week, lot of things changed. I took a major decision of my life, and to say that I am loving it, would be an understatement. The situation is a combination of excitement and nervousness,yea for the first time am running out of words. I was keeping quite busy with phone calls and informing my friends near and far, trainings and meetings. And surprisingly, I have no complains. (Incase you are wondering how I still manage to blog, well, I type posts in my email first *wink*)

Fingers have been crossed, uncrossed and are now getting nervous and happy with evrything that happened. Yes, am getting ENGAGED... So wish for me honey. I know you will.

The shopping started in bits and pieces, and will be done with full gusto this weekend. I promise the post on "The-Day", if am free after that **wink** . If the post don't turn up, we will all pretend we never spoke of it, okay?

There is a lot more I want to blog about... things I have been thinking of, questions I have been asking. But for now, I need to run off to grab a cup of coffee and help my friends to enjoy themselves pulling my leg. Yes, thats their favourite past time from last week....

7 things I miss of Mom's Cooking Menu....

I was tagged by my friend to do this
Filter Coffee...
ummmm....mild coffee...shez got magic in her hand...
Pudina Chutney....
Spicy Pudina chutney, made to withstand for a week or so, but can't last beyond 2,3 days as it gets devoured with a relish.
Mango & Red Chilli Chutney...
One loses count the number of idlis and dosas eaten when taken with this extra super hot side dish. This too is one which I've never tasted anywhere else so far. If one is not very careful with the amount of this taken with dosas, direct consequences which I do not wish to eloborate.... hehehehehe :)
Hal-Bai...
A sweet dish very famous among mangloreans and takes immense patience to prepare..but truly the best among sweets...
Pathrode....
Again the manglorean famous dish...which cannot be got by paying any amount....purely home made...
Neer Dosa & Green chilli chutney....
Not the usual style. A lot different and a killer dish. Many a time, I would just have this and nothing else for the whole day.
Menasu Kaayi....
I love it.Her "Hall of fame" dish...which includes lots of spices and no one can beat her in that.

And sitting down to write this piece, I wondered how things that we take for granted make us miss them when we don't have them. Like mom and her cooking. I am the one who used to make a lot of fuss about taste.I have had her saying that it is better when I stay faraway because I would realise the value of home food.But some things grow on you within the small amount of time that you devote to them.
I don't tag anyone on this topic. It hurt me to write this, living far from home.

Thinking...Once Again...

Despite the fact that there are over hundreds of people around you, there are times you still feel shipwrecked and alone. Times even the most resourceful survivor would feel the need to put a message in a bottle, or on an answering machine.

I feel am playing chess all alone prediciting the move of people around me...uff..I need a break from all these....Break to a place where I walk recklessly...The day when I actually can sing...

I can read your mind,

And say your story,

I see what you are going through,

Its an uphill climb

And I feel it sorry

But I know it will come to you yea.

So not surrender 'coz you can win

In this rain curved road.

Kodachadri Trek (continued)

So here is the detailed post on the trek.....
Friday 30'08

We left office at 9:30 to catch the train to Shimoga.Mr.JK was loaded wit work and this made all of us tensed that will he be able to reach in time.But yea he made it in time for train.The train journey was fun with background score of Mr.PM....He was having a sound sleep( I mean it ,literally a sound sleep).

Saturday 31'08

We reached shimoga by 8 am,2 hrs late as per our schedule.My uncle came to pick us up from Railway station to his home.We had a yummy breakfast n royal treatment...thnks uncle n aunty for all the love and care.

Now starts our trek.....

We took a local bus from Shimoga at 10 AM to a place called Sampekatte...the bus journey was one of the memorable.The driver and conductor took their own sweet time to fill in people.The bus was loaded and it was raining....this made all of us quite worried...Finally Sampekatte....the first point of trek was there....

It was drizzling and to add to the situation no network and coz of lighting all the coin phones were switched off....We could not contact the person who is the in-charge of our staying arrangements...The only option left was take a jeep to the Bhattara Mane...

The jeep ride costed us Rs.800.

But i swear it was worth paying coz to commute through that road was a pain.

...My frend name it as "Disco Jeep" :)

But it was again worth the roller coster ride as the scenic beauty surrounding is just breath taking...

Finally we reached our staying place at 3 PM.... but Bhattara Mane was full of trekkers so arrangement was made for our stay at PWD guest house( well the place is not as luxurious as the name sounds..its like a dormatory). But thats fun...

We were all charged up seeing the beautiful view of mountains so soon after dumping our luggage ,were out towards the peak.It was drizzling and the weather was awesome....The distance of the peak from PWD guest house is about 2 to 3 kms vertical...We reached the peak called "Sarvajnya Peeta" at about 4:30 PM...which also includes lots of stop-bys for photography...

The buttermilk which we get on the way is just yummy.A local hawker said us to take a path downwards... towards the other end of the mountain for a place called "Chitra Moola".I must tell you the place is very steep and slippery.Its just inside the forest...There is the ladder to get inside the cave of Chitra moola and guess what its not hooked up to the rock.If the ladder gets detached from rock then we are into valley of about 200 feet.....Scary isnt it...

It took us around 2 hrs to complete that part of mountain and then we were back to the peak for sunset.As I mentioned in my previous post the sunset is just awesome...it makes you run out of words...

Coming back from the peak was indeed scary as it was dark and luckily we had carried torch.Just a ray of torch light we were following it.Akshay was leading us.I must say "Good Job" buddy...coz next day morning when we saw the way we returned...We all were silent for a minute as it was narrow path with steep valley on one side...one wrong step by Akshay and boom....
In the deep dense forest...
The dinner was yummy...simple rice and sambar but we were all soo hungry that we literally hogged.Dinner was followed by campfire...It was decided that all of us have to wake up early for sunrise view.But that was a difficult task...damn chill morning and waking up at 5 AM was just not right.And half heartdly we went to sleep.
Sunday 01'08
We managed to reach the peak at 6 AM and could get a last view rising Sun.The early morning in Kodachadri Hills is simply heaven....Its once in life time experience.You will be surrounded by mist and fresh air....am seriously running out of words.
We went to the top of a hill and laid down facing the sky.....I just didnt feel like coming back to Bangalore.

It was nearly 8 AM so all of us desended back to our staying place for a hot yummy breakfast.Guess it was yummy coz all of us were damn hungry and each of us had 2 plates of Uppma..
Time to Trek down:"Invade the Leach territory"
Trekking down from Guest house to Karyagatta was fun and a marathon race.The path was steep and slippery and added to that full of leaches...We were running the whole of 3 kms in that narrow path in the jungle with 5 kgs bag on shoulders.At last we reached a road but Pavan,Karthik had few leach bites...
But every experience we had, will always be cherished by all of us throughout our life...

If you want to see heaven on earth then visit to Kodachadri is a must...

Trek to Kodachadri....

Finally the day is come....its decided that we are going to Kodachadri ,the highest peak in Shimoga District. At the peak it is believed that 'Shankaracharya' did meditation.Its also said that the peak presents a not to be missed life-time opportunity in the evening as the sun sets in the west. You can also have a golden glimpse of the Arabian sea for a moment.

Am all excited for the journey.A vague map about our travel is here
From Bangalore catch a Train Shimoga.From Shimoga catch a bus which goes towards Nagara (Shimoga Dist.), and get down at a place Sampekatte [a 45 minute journey].To your right you'll find a mud road where you can find a sign indicating the way towards kodachaadri. On the way you will find a small tea shop (kaka angadi) after one hour walk. From here it is roughly 5 hours of trek to the peak. Just half-an-hour before the peak you will find a temple and deviate from temple will lead to 'Agastya Teertha'. The route will take you inside dense forest.

PS: More to come after the trek....

Any Inputs :)

I just wanted to recommend the music of "Jannat" to any hindi music lovers out there.No no the music is nowhere close to deadly.Its soothing and different.The songs "Judai" and "Zara si dil mein" are my personal favourites.And yes the FM radio has lot of contribution in this as they keep on playing these songs in every 10 mins.

And also woke up early morining to watch Manchester Utd win the FA cup and was happy.For the first time I was supporting the team which was everybodies favourites.I was like supporting the underdogs in sports, except when it comes to Cricket and India.I rememeber when everyone around me used to worship Steffi,I used to support Seles,Hingis and whoever stood against Graf.When people were raving about Sampras,I cheered for Jim Couriers and the like.I got introduced to F1 when I came to graduation and all my friends who introduced me were diehard Ferrari and Schumi fans.I supported McLaren.I dont know if its character trait or something else...trying to thin slice my behaviour and understand it...Any inputs??? :)

Friends Forever

This post was in its draft form from past few months.Its now time to post it :)

The thoughts are the result of various events that happened in the end of '07.This thought comes to my mind after reading Justme's post 'Connecting instantly',and reminds me of someone I lost touch with for quite a few years. When we finally did get in touch, there was just so much to talk about... it felt like nothing had changed.

My humble explanation.. obtained after putting myself under the microscope:

As a 16 year old, the friendships that we make have very little pretence. Infact, we are too naive to know pretences.Its all black and white. There are friends that you like for no logical reason, you are foolishly fond of and will fight any losing battle on their behalf. Yes, at 16 friendship means everything.Cut to 22. I am not saying that friendship doesnt mean a thing at this age. But we start getting conscious of the 'image' we would like to project to people. We build this invisible wall around us, and anyone wanting to come through must go through a lengthy application procedure. At such a time, when you bump into people you knew as a kid or teenager, its so easy to step out of your fortress and breathe the fresh air. Its invigorating. Its beautiful. And even better is the realisation that comes with re-making friends: That if you were to lose touch again, and meet up after an interval of few years, it will still seem like yesterday. Instantly.

PS: This post is dedicated to Minnki....

Friends Forever dear....

Keep Believing in Yourself

There may be days when you get up in the morning

and things arent the way you had hoped they would be.

That's when you have to tell yourself things will get better.

There are times when people disappoint you and let you down.

But those are the times when you hav to remind yourself

to trust your own judgements and opinions,

to keep your life focused on believing in yourself.

There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life,

and its up to you to accept them.

Constantly keep yourself headed in the right direction for you.

It wont be easy at times,but in those times of struggle

you will find a stronger sense of who you are.

So when the days come that are filled with

frustration and unexpected responsibility

remember to beleive in yourself

and all you want your life to be.

Because the challenges and changes

will only help you to find the goals

that you know are meant to come true to you.

Keep Believing in Yourself.

Tooth Ache.....

Nothing is as terrible as tooth ache...I swear.....

Been suffering with it the whole week...

Crossroads......

Sometimes,

the closure of one path,

although heartbreaking,

is essential for decision making.

Otherwise,
how long will you stand at the crossroads,
wondering which path to take?


How long will you linger on a decision,
that you dont want to make?


You cannot finish the book of Life,
without closing its chapters.

If you want to go on...
then you have to leave the past
as you turn the pages.

Mixed Bag

There are several thoughts which are running around my mind for last 24 hours,and I dont think I have time to write a seperate post for each one...so here it goes

Firstly, the book that I just completed. Blink.
A few lines from the book really got me thinking.
"Every waking minute that we are in the presence of someone, we come up with a constant stream of predictions and inferences about what that person is thinking and feeling."
"Mind-reading failures happen to all of us."
"Have you ever tried to have a discussion with an angry or frightened human being? You cant do it... you might as well try to argue with your dog."
I am a person with this urge to 'figure' everyone out.. constantly trying to understand implications of every word and expression. Of course, many of my interpretations go wrong.
So apologies to all those who have been put under my microscope and had their every statement dissected for no apparent reason. Also, apologies to those who have to bear the brunt of my bad temper at times.Will find a way to make it up to you!

Secondly, on memories.
Yesterday while organizing files and folders on my PC (a long overdue activity), found songs which I hadnt heard for a long time, long lost photos, and movies which I've watched 20 times and still not tired of. They brought back sweet memories.. tiny fragments of the past which never fail to bring a smile on my face. Like a bet with a friend on the lyrics of a song, which I lost, yet continued to insist that I was right! Its amazing how selective and intelligent our memory's filing cabinet is. I might not remember what I studied in university a year ago, but I remember every single detail of my farewell at school 7 years back. And these are the things you need to remember to make you smile on a bad day. Kudos to our brain.

We are more complex that we can ever imagine.

"Forget it"

"Forget it"... some people use it so often in their conversations. Do they really want to end the conversation and 'forget' the topic when they say so? Do they really think the other person is stupid enough not to understand any further explanation?Or... do they just like pretending, that they are complex persons?
Well you might be wondering here comes the scribblers's over analytical opinion again...But it really irritates when an argument or discussion is abruptly stopped with this "Forget it" note.I strongly believe in speaking until the people with whom am arguing either convince me that I'm wrong or agree with me or atleast he/she should make sense in their stand.
So here are few lines dedicated to all those who love the word "Forget it".
If you are complex, simplify.
If you are frustrated, relax.
If you really need to... then move on.

I want to write

Today lets write about Love and relationships...
How evryone who are realtionships
are nagging or getting out.
And everyone who isnt in one,wants to get in....
But I think I have too many words.
Or too few :-(

Today lets write about Friends..
Friends who arent really friends
Who give you hope very often
And take it away even very often.
Friends who are life...
Who show you Life is Beautiful.
And make your Life beautiful.
But i'm scared
I cant say it all,or say anything??

Today I want to write........

Lived Happily Ever After

I have this very silly habit. Childish, really. I get so involved in a book or a movie, that it all starts seeming real, and I start looking for logical progress.Yea,dont even bother to tell me,that fiction is just a ficition.I already told ya... its a silly thing I do.
I googled the word fairytale it defines as a 'made-up story usually designed to mislead'. The most misleading part of any fairytale is not fantasy.I think, the most misleading part is the happily ever after.
Anyway, since my teenage years, I've been a big fan of mushy movies. And I used to heave a sigh of relief, when eventually, all misunderstandings were resolved, all romance was back and the lead couple got back together... to live happily ever after!
But like all good things, those teenage years come to an end, and the die-hard romantic is forced to grow up. And then she becomes the skeptic, who then starts asking at the end of every such movie, what if they argue again? What if there is a misunderstanding again? What if there is a 3rd person in their lives, AGAIN? Given that the 2 hour movie just showed me a million and one ways in which the relationship could go wrong, how can they then promise me at the end, that all will be happy henceforth??!!
A relationship, or love, is not a destination. Its a journey. And however much we want it to be static in a way, it still is dynamic. ;-)

Thank You Note

Today I was arranging my cupboard and found my old bag with few cards in it.This took me flooded back to days when I had a wonderful habit.I used to send a Thank You note to people who did something good to me,people who brought a moment of joy and to people who knowingly or unknowingly inspired me.But as I got tangled in this busy life this gesture of mine was totally forgotten.Today arraning my cupboard somehow made me realise that my life needs to be arranged a little.I had to thank soo many people in recent days who brought happiness in my life.
Few acts have the power to build and cement relationships like a heart-felt Thank You note.It shows you care and you are considerate and human.
Simple gesture like this can make your presence felt even in your absence.
Try this out,am sure this will make you actually feel very happy.

Prioritize....

"When from our better selves we have too long been parted by the hurrying world,sick of its business,of its pleasure tired,how gracious,how benign is solutide."
-William Wordsworth

Was reading a book which was in my shelf from past few months.Every time I used to see that book I felt that "Guess book is not for younsters"...(the book was a gift)...

Today after reading that book I truly understood the meaning of saying..."Never estimate the book based on the cover".The book is filled of simple wisdom that anyone can benefit from.There was one chapter which jus left a mark in my heart...

It says"Its not enough to be busy,so are ants.The question is what are you so busy about?"

The story of an old lighthouse keeper.The man had only a limited amount of oil to keep his beacon lit so that passing ships could avoid the rocky shore.One night,a man who lived close by needed to borrow some of this precious commodity to light his home,so the lighthouse keeper gave him some of his own.Another night,a traveller begged for some oil to light his lamp to keep on traveling.The housekeeper gave him the amount he needed.The next night,the house keeper was awakened by a mother banging on his door.She prayed for some oil so that she could illuminated her home and feed her family.Again he agreed.Soon all his oil was gone and his beacon went out.Many ships ran aground and many lives were lost becoz the lighthouse keeper forgot to focus on his priority.

Everybody should keep themselves centered on thier highest priorityin life.
Book title: Who will cry when you Die

Author: Robin Sharma

Publication:Jaico Books.

Infinite Opportunities

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
- Robert Frost

I felt this piece of poetry of Frost is closly related to all our lifes.It is not a complain about 24 hours being too less. It is not about how there is too much work to do everyday, and not enough time. It is about the choices that are available to us these days, and how, regardless of how well we manage time, we can never avail all sides of our choices. It is about the stress of infinite opportunities. I could either take driving lessons, or swimming classes or study or visit friends, over the weekend. I cant do all. More decisions we make, more roads we leave untraveled.
And sometimes, we wish we could take all the roads...

My Dairy....My Story

Its been nearly 10 years am writing dairy....and it seems very true that the thing you do everyday becomes a practice in your life or rather a habit.You need not make time to do that but it finds its own time.Last weekend I picked up a dairy of some years ago and was reading it...
Trust me its good...
Its like reading a journal filled with your own experiences....
Scratch your memories and try to remember what Billy Crystal said to Meg Ryan(When Hally Met Sally) or Saif Ali Khan said to Rani Mukherjee(Hum Tum)....I cant really quote from memory, but the point was, that as our life goes on, we start a 'story' with each person we meet. Some stories are long, some stories are short. Some keep going on and on after intermittent breaks - like missing chapters in a book. But there always is a story.
Whats my point?? U ask...
I had written about couple of such experiences in that dairy..
People you meet on a bus journey, and spend a day sightseeing with. People you meet while having lunch in a food court, and have a great conversation with. People you click photos for at a tourist spot, and exchange two words with.
How long do we interact with them? 10 minutes? 1 hour? 1 day?
How long will we remember them for? A day? A month? A year?
I cant say I'll always remember all these people, but I'll surely remember some of them for a long time to come. Sometimes, it doesnt take more than 10 minutes for a person to say something meaningful to you, to make you smile.. to influence your life.
So this post is to thank those people, with whom my story has been very short... whom I'll never meet again in life, but who definitely gave me a moment worth preserving.

Hurt Hurting Hurt

I dont know why I have come up with this topic...guess I am too very irritated by the worries some of my very close friends are going through.Recently I have developed an attitude where you go numb and nothing matters to you,atleast you think so.
I have heard and myself experienced that,if something good happens to your close ones then you feel happy.But from few days some close one's misfortune is making me forget mine.
Unfortunate but TRUE........

Whats the Hurry?

I touch the stones on my ears.
They remind me of happier times.
Memories are all we have, sometimes.
We go through each day, looking for precious moments to file away as memories.
Recording away furiously,
Everything needs to be done in a hurry.
Everyone thinks they have you figured out.
Someone who knows me for ten years might still not know me.
But they want to believe they know me in ten days? A month? Two?
What is the hurry?
Why is everyone in a rush?
There is no time to rest.
I am not tired of running.
I just wish sometimes, I could walk inbetween...

Finding ME

Let's go find me
in the narrow, crowded lanes
in interesting shop windows
in quaint little restaurants
and rocky, windy beaches
on hills with chinese temples
in friendly, happening clubs
in the people I meet.
Who knows? I might bump into
ME.

Wanna visit fairyland :)

I realize it has been some time since I wrote anything of consequence. It has been some time since I wrote my heart out. Reasons are many. At times my growing unwillingness to share some of my turmoil is to be blamed. At other times, my laziness to share some of the opinions I wish to, is to be blamed. But most importantly, or severely, I blame the confines of my airless office cubicle for stifling and suffocating my words these days.
Yesterday I had a pleasent dream..which is actually very rare nowadays.
No..No am not telling I get horrible dreams but I will dead tired of work that I have sound sleep...literally sound sleep LoL....
The dream was I am on a long vacation away from office.In a very beautiful place,greenry around and me am enjoying the serenity to the core.

Today I was day dreaming in the office... after effect you see....wink wink..
If this happens true then I plan to write a lot. Meaningful or meaningless. That should not matter. If and when I get internet connectivity, I might or might not publish parts of my journal / travelogue. But I will write it nonetheless.

Awesome Budget 2008-09

Today finally finance minister Mr. P.Chidambaram announced the Union budget for 2008-09.
To my surprise I dedicatedly watched it and yipeeeeee it brought happiness to all of us as tax excemption was raised for
Changes in IT slab.
Threshold of exemption for all Income Tax assesses raised from from 1,10,000 to 1,50,000
For women, the income tax limit goes up from Rs 1.45 lakh to Rs 1.80 lakh.
In case of senior women citizens, it increases from Rs 1.95 lakh to Rs 2.25 lakh.
A funny incident happend...one of my colleague got cal from her husband as soon as this information was announced.He said "look down the lane in future when we hav kids and its diffcult to manage office and look after the kid...its me who is quiting the job....as IT excemption is too gud for you....."
I really appreciate his thinking.....

Personal Intelligence Profile

Our office mail was intruded by spam mails somedays ago(spam has started hitting my office email account as well!) ...I had forgot to delete it.

Today as my mailbox was almost overflowing..I decided to delete the not-so-important mails and also move mails to the local folders.A mail gained my notice which read:



Good news from IQtest.com: We're having a sale! Your Personal Intelligence Profile is now available at half price!
I laughed for a good half an hour at the prospect of my intelligence profile being sold for 5 dollars.
I am still laughing....

Forced Cheerfulness

90% of the people we know will disappoint us, it is only a matter of when, I told a friend a few days back. Later I realised, I forgot to mention, that some people disappoint multiple times. Sometimes we just dont learn, do we?Silly conversations arent my thing. I get tired of them very easily. Nobody wants to be gloomy but forced cheer isnt the solution.

Cool Google Logo's

Well as promised in my previous post here am presenting some of my favourite Google Logos from my collection :)... applauses.......

Mothers Day Father's Day

National Library Day Da Vinci's Bday

Michelangelo's Bday Einstien's Bday

Alfred Hitchcock's Bday Water Day
Teachers Day

Now comes the photo of the one of creative people I admire....He is the artist of the google logo's

Dennis Hwang (Hwang Jung-moak), a 23-year-old Korean computer artist in the United States , who has been drawing the face of Google for almost two years, creating a buzz of sorts with his simple yet witty designs.

Valentine's Day.....

Its been a long time did not scribble anything...well not because I was out of topics....I bet I will never be LoL...but was quite busy in work.Today I had decided to finish my work and leave home early...No No not because its Valentine's Day.

All thanks to my chit-chatting hobby...I missed my Cab and got time to write... :)

Lots of colleges fall on the way which I take from my home to office and today being Valentine's Day, the shops were decorated with red ballons, hearts and flowers everywhere...Its actually lovely to see...and the hype in college students hehehehe...

But guess what...I love all these kind of "Days" celebrated,as I get to see new logo in the GOOGLE home page...Ya Ya this is one of the wierd hobbies I have...

Today Google is come with a cute logo...I hav put that for you people to admire, in case you have missed noticing it...

Old romantic couple....isnt this cute...

This makes me write about my favourite AD of LIC pension plan...

"The Old lady is sewing cloth and her husband reading newspaper.

Husband: Ye meri tharaf se tumare liye thofha...(gift from me)

Wife opens the gift

Wife: Heera...Is umar mein...(Diamond....in this oldage)

Husband: Heere ko kya patha tumari umar kya hai...(How will the diamond know your age)..."

PS: More fav Ad's with fav google logo's on the way....

Am Legend

History became legend. Legend became myth.

Yes, its part of Galadriel's introduction to The Fellowship of the Ring, and one of my many favourite parts in the trilogy. But have you ever felt, that the turn of events could be in the reverse direction? That myth slowly becomes legend, and legend becomes history?
A lot of people have childhood memories. I for one, cant remember any of it! I think my first childhood recollections are only from class 2 onwards. Yet I have heard nursery stories of me from my parents and slowly, the more I hear these, the more they start forming part of my own 'memories'. Like how my friends couldnt stop laughing about my first school fight. Like how my mom freaked out when I came home from school with a bleeding knee I wasnt even aware of.But these are not events I remember on my own, yet the stories paint such a vivid picture, that the lines between my own memories and those of others gets blurred. And I have no way of telling fact from fiction.

Myth became legend, and legends became history... and in some ways, we start making our memories out of what we hear.

Anyway, to complete the circle, the post started with Lord of the Rings, and shall end on it as well. I was wondering what character I would like to be, if I were in the story. My favourite character is no doubt Aragorn, but I think if I were a man, I'd be the more human Boromir. So much for wishful thinking. Naaa... I'd be Arwen, for obvious reasons ;)

And you?

Flashback

Yestday had a long phone conversation with a friend who is in a foregin country.This friend is one of them whom I can always declare that has same taste as I have "Birds of same feather" and "we flok together".We were taken back down the memory lane....

Flashback

Engineering second semester holidays and after every even semesters we have a long vacation.So me and my friend planned our vacation.First half of the vacation, we both will spend at my place and rest few days at her place.As we both belong to two different cities which are very contrast.We enjoy a lot at my place,every evening visit to beach,learning car driving which am still not very confident in.Days past by then it was time to go her place.Its a semi Metropoliton city crowded and all time busy...we were enjoying every moment of the holiday.One day her mom asked both of us to come with her for a concert.We were all excited by the mere word "Concert".But then she suffixed the word with "Carnatic Music Concert".This made us frown as we could not even say NO....The singer was my friends aunt.I went with a hope that aunty would sing more songs rather than spending more time for elaborate exposition of a raga, which is the done thing in Classical music concerts. My reasoning was here the audience would be more diverse ranging from swines like me & my friend to savants of Carnatic music and she'd aim to please us all. To my mild surprise, the audience were knowledgeable (not counting myself and my friend) and demanding as well. They wanted the detailed rendition of a raaga more than once.
Per audience demand, my friend's aunt did a detailed rendition of two raagas and added to them, some kritis, bhajans and before one knew the concert went for 4 hours.To my big surprise I enjoyed the entire concert. I can't recognize a raaga for the life of me. Still I was in thrall to the divine music.Aunty brought the concert to a close with a very moving song.

It was my friends aunt's birthday. So at the end, the audience in one voice (very strong voice) sang "Happy Birthday" to her and also provided a strong proof as to why she is the singer and the audience are , well, the audience.LOL......

Book Review

Sometime back, on a boring weekend I strolled in Crossword and bought a book on impulse. And ever since then I had a struggle finishing it. It is a book on Riemann Hypothesis, one of the seven unsolved problems which carry a prize tag by the Clay Institute of Mathematics.

Wait, before I go any further, I anticipate the question what the heck I'm doing reading a book on mathematics and that too a book on one of the unresolved problems. Also, people who know me would wonder what in this world made me, a dunce when it comes to mathematics, take up this book.

The book by Karl Sabbagh gives a layman level intro to the Riemann hypothesis. Don't ask me to explain the hypothesis. I've read it but I cannot lecture on it. It's all for intelligent nodding, remember? I am not supposed to spout formulae. Well, the reason I purchased it because, three years back, I chanced upon a book on Fermat's theorem and how the Fermat Theorem was proved by Andrew Wiles. That book by Simon Singh (if I remember correctly, I am not sure) went at a blistering pace, the narrative similar to a thriller fiction. That made me buy this book and I then found that this book doesn't have the same pace, but still okay. Actually this book narrates the history behind the hypothesis and the ongoing struggle to prove or disprove the hypothesis interestingly.

The Riemann Hypothesis, if true, proves that there is a rule for generating the prime numbers, the building blocks of all other numbers. At the moment it cannot be proved that such a rule operates. The distribution of prime numbers in the long list of whole numbers do not fit to any pattern and look random.

But Bernhard Riemann identified a mathematical function, now called the Riemann zeta function which is a sum of series whose expression involves complex numbers. This Riemann zeta function generates an infinite set of numbers called the zeroes of the function which describe the prime number distribution. Too abstract, atleast for me.The book assumes that the reader is pretty ignorant about Mathematics, which is fine by me for the most part.

But at times the author takes this too far when he explains what a numerator and a denominator are! I recommend this book for readers like me, once badly bitten (by mathematics) but not shy.

Title: The Riemann Hypothesis-The Greatest Unsolved problem in Mathematics

Author: Karl Sabbagh

Publishers: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, NY.

PS:- one more reason for picking this book was the movie "The Beautiful Mind" (on mathematics)