A Pot of Thoughts

We're Moving!

2009-07-16T22:12:00.002+05:30

Hello there!

This blog has now moved to....

Fresh Tales and Everything Else

http://www.freshtales.blogspot.com

I thought, now that we've moved into new room, why not move blog location as well?!

See you there!

Foosh and Other Stories Including One on One Annoying Thing

2009-07-15T21:27:00.011+05:30

Hello, intelligent readers. The new term has begun and everything is going so fast! I really don't have much to say. Story for the day is how Wash has now been renamed as Foosh. I think Foosh is cuter, but she thinks Wash is cuter. BTW, the much anticipated moving into new room has been done. The manual labour bit was bone-breaking and muscle-ripping. The post-move arrangement of goods was also quite boring but the END result is fab. Fab. We love our room. It's spacey, has way roomier cupboards AND wifi! It's truly a blessing to finally be a part of the majority of students who enjoy the fruits of wifi in their room. We often ask people to drop by and check out the newly done room. Yes it's all for the compliments. And the compliments are rather copious because most people are astonished at the spacey-ness of our new room compared to the mess that our old room was. But not any more! Foosh (wow, it goes with Fish. Fish-Foosh. Cute!) and I now have Woogs and Aats as neighbour who devour that Rakhi show and enact funny scenes for us. So you're in the middle of this boring article when Woogs enters swiftly (almost like a mouse- very realistic description. She's TINY.) and is there in front of you. Immediate reaction is to start laughing at the very sight of Woogs. Then she starts her one man performance and has Foosh and me in peals of laughter. And is laughing herself. It's crazy.

Also, turns out I'm not the only one who obsessively followed hindi TV serials during the break. Woogs is secret (not any more) partner in crime! So is Gurgles, who is the official authority on things TV related.

Among happy news which involve acquisition (*eyes light up*), Purple has got me very pretty earrings from Stonehenge. You see I really want to go to Stonehenge (especially because of something Linda has written about :)) so I'm all the more excited. It's basically mini trithilon earrings. Have also acquired new nikes! This is relatively old news. But new news is that have finally purchased weights to get a complete workout.

Foosh is very compliant with regard to working out regularly. The only thing is she needs to be woken up but she can be surprisingly obedient and disciplined. Very astonishing for her roommate (read: BlogOwner). However, target #2 of fitness-attack is Purple who is like Rock of Gibraltar. Nothing works. Nothing. Very upsetting, but shall figure way out soon. Suggestions? Out of the Loons and the Girls, Woogs is most diligent at being fitness devotee. Last term she stuck on to her workout video for a good number of days and also saw good results! Should take tips from her on diligence.

I feel proud. I finally have a "fitness and workout" label. Whoopee. But the chicken burgers must stop. MUST.

One thing that annoys me:

"Why are you going to the lib? It's only the beginning of the term."

"What are you doing? Why are you doing? How are you doing? Are you doing ? Are you doing ?"

"Why are you on jstor?"

"What are you reading?" (when NOT with a book but in front of laptop)

I think every single person in law school gets quizzed in a similar way and every single person dislikes it, then why do we do it to each other? Let's stop!

Things I'm Looking Forward to Most

2009-07-07T11:20:00.003+05:30

When I return, I get to:

1. Shift to new room.

2. Therefore, declutter, arrange everything in a new way, add new things, throw out (yes, this time, I promise to throw out old stuff that I don't need anymore but keep hoarding thinking "what if I need it some day...?"), use all my new bedsheets and pillow cases (esctatic) and do up my wardrobe again.

3. Meet and catch up with Purple, Fish, Woogs, Aats and everyone else. So much fun! I haven't really been in touch with most of them and vaguely been updated on the others, but going back and listening to their stories first hand should be great as always.

4. Take notes in class in my new pretty notebook (yes, this is why #4 excites me).

5. Make Secret Thing with Fish happen! *evil grin*

6. Borrow that book from Pengy and get to hear her screech happily!

7. Look at (and analyse) people's new clothes and haircuts with Fish and pay compliments.

8. Get a haircut at Groovy or Mystique and a pedi at Fee Chu.

9. Watch Love Aaj Kal when it releases and Ice Age 3!!!!! (Which reminds me, I have a girl crush on Deepika Padukone and celeb crush on Imtiaz Ali)

10. Give Fish her Sambalpuri kurta and Secret Gift and watch her scream in joy (hopefully).

Wow, three posts in an hour is good.

Ideas!

2009-07-07T11:01:00.004+05:30

Clearly BlogOwner is not the most regular blogger on blogosphere. But she wants to be!

So intelligent and innovative reader, tell me, should I go weekly? That is, post every, say, Sunday? But will that be sufficient? What if something really exciting happens on Monday and I must talk about it, then must I wait an entire WEEK to be able to post on my own blog?

On the brighter side, a weekly blog will make it a routine. I might look forward to publishing every Sunday and won't feel guilty the rest of the week for not posting. But then again, what if I allow myself to post a "Quick-Non-Sunday Post" on a non-Sunday so that I can prove to myself that I can post whenever I want because it's my blog for goddake. Is that a good enough solution? What if then most of my posts become such "quick" posts? It's almost like cheating on Sunday.

What about a bi-weekly? Say, Sunday and Wednesday? If something really exciting happens on Monday, then I possibly can wait 2 extra days to publish it. But what if I forget about it? As in, the essence of blogging on a personal blog is in reporting events fresh from your life (or other people's lives for that matter). Also, what if I have an opinion on something (event X) that is happening in the world. Say X happened on Monday. I may come across as a tubelight commenting on it on Wednesday. Actually, I won't. Because everyone knows it's a bi-weekly blog, so it's not like I didn't know about X, it's just that you gotta wait to read it. That sounds good :)

But EIGHT posts a month.... I don't like 8. Let's make it 9. End of Month Post would be like a quick extra. A round up of sorts.

But what if I want to post everyday? Or every night, for that matter. A sort of roundup of the day's events? But is my life that eventful? Heh, actually it is. It's just that most of it isn't bloggable. May be I could find more bloggable things and blog everyday?

For now, I like the bi-weekly and a-post-a-day ideas the most.

Declutter

2009-07-07T10:43:00.006+05:30

I am not one who has all her things organised all the time. I do have a sense of organisation, though, because I like my things in order (not in a crazyvirgo way though) and I keep putting them back in that order from time to time. But there are times of... disarray. I have noticed that when the folders on my laptop, my table, my wardrobe (my side of the steel almirah which I like to call "my wardrobe") and my room in general are in a mess, my work and work related areas in my life seem to be in a messy state as well. By messy, I only mean disorganised and therefore not producing optimal results.

So far, I have successfully re-organised the folders on my laptop and CCleaned it! CCleaner is my new favourite software. It really makes a difference. :)

When I get back to Bangalore, I shall clear out all clutter and this should be easy because Fish and I are moving into a new room. Woogs and Aats are also moving into the same hostel and we're neighbours! Fun times ahead!

Yes, this was a pointless post.

Bring Ba Back

2009-07-04T08:47:00.011+05:30

Have been very wedding-y these hols primarily because of the non-stop supply of TV serials where someone or the other is getting married or has just got married or doesn't want to get married or is actually not getting married because she's already (secretly) married but everyone else wants her to get married. Of late, there has been a transition (rather exchange, in terms of character) in the roles of the eldermost woman in the family and the youngest adult generation of women (bahus). During the Kyunki era, Ba was the quintessential warm and caring woman who showered her motherly affection on every child, grandchild, great grandchild....and so on. Her desecndents confided in her and she tried to help them out. She was the understanding go-to person in the family. That's when the Ba's of the world were in vogue. Gujju families were in. A couple of bahus out some 10 were the rotten apples, and these were the vamps.

Now, however, evil Rajasthani Ammajis seem to be popular. The prototype Ammaji is this strong and mean character who is the all-powerful decision maker of the family/village community. The setting has moved from Urban Bombay Rich Gujju joint family to rural/semi-rural (mostly) rich Rajasthani joint family. Today, the bahus and daughters are the embodiment of "values" and "Indian Culture", but these Ammajis torment them, forcing their own sense of morality which is (mostly) an even more patriarchal and orthodox version of the bahu's sense of morality.

Talking about "indian cultulre", here's a piece by Pratap Bhanu Mehta on the recent Delhi High Court judgment which decriminalised consensual, adult and private homosexual acts.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/its-about-all-of-us/484966/0

Absolutely daft criticsms of the judgment can be found here.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_gay-is-bad-chorus-maulanas-saffron-brigade-and-church_1270429

Their quotes show just how ignorant they are of what the judgment really says and what it does not and the implications thereof.

Banjrang Dal's response is hilarious, really. They (along with the Maulana) clearly don't know how judgments are delivered. It's a function of the judiciary and not the "centre", which is the executive. Further, the Maulana has completely ignored the fact that the judgment only decriminalises adult and consensual homosexual acts. This means sex-related crimes against minors are STILL crimes.

And really now, is homosexuality a thing of the "West" as Baba Ramdev (for whom I have obviously lost most of the respect I once had) states? Not, is the answer. A brief response consisting the very basic arguments can be found here- http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/chandnichowktochicago/entry/gay-rights-not-a-western

This book by Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai also sounds very interesting- http://www.amazon.com/Same-Sex-Love-India-Readings-Literature/dp/0312293240/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246681651&sr=8-1 (Same-Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History).

I don't have much of an opinion on the matter except that people should stop forcing their own sense of morality on others (and therefore, obviously in favour of gay rights because they're as much human as you and me and as much citizens of this country as you and me and pay as much taxes that a heterosexual person in their position would pay). Unfortunately TV Serials like the ones which are on all the time just continue to enforce this paternalistic attitude of fundamentalists and this needs to stop.

The response of Ammajis to their bahus' allegedly immoral behaviour is shockingly similar to that of these religious groups to progressive laws. The castigation, the bold statement of what is "indian culture" and "indian tradition", how one is expected to behave, the unequivocal subjugation of an entire segment's rights for the benefit of others is common with Ammajis and the Bajrang Dals of the world. What I find blood-boiling-ly annoying is the certainty and authority with which these groups decide what others must do.

At most, these can only be "self-appointed custodians of tradition" (as Pratap Bhanu Mehta puts it and several others have as well) and we all know how much real weight lies in the opinion of any person/group which is completely "self appointed" (read: zero).

It's That Time of The Year...

2009-06-21T15:30:00.002+05:30

...when the blog gets a new look. It's high time I revived this blog from the useless existence it had been enduring and do something with it.

First things first.

A new template must be picked. I quite like this one. It's clean, pretty and pink... but not so much that it gets to you. Seems perfect. A little crowded perhaps? Perhaps.

This blog needs fresh direction. It needs a purpose. And it need readers. I shall go out there and fetch all of this. You wait.

I wish I could re-do the labels. They're too specific and there are too many of them. Any help? I wouldn't mind patiently re-labelling all 120 odd posts of mine.

Trip

2009-06-15T22:23:00.000+05:30

I want to take a weekend trip.

BlogOwner....

2009-06-10T11:40:00.001+05:30

... is home!

Exam Time Break Post II

2009-06-05T17:31:00.002+05:30

Well this is just an exam time post really, not a break post because I haven't yet started studying for tomorrow.

I shall be parting with my laptop for 24 hours so I couldn't resist posting yet another pointless post. It's one of those things- check email, facebook, tarot.com, feed, blog.

It's exam time so I'm allowed to post crap, ok?!

Exam Time Break Post I

2009-06-04T23:54:00.003+05:30

It's almost midnight. I have an exam tomorrow. I'm sleepy. This post is so pointless. But I just wanted to say hi :)
I can't wait to go home. I'll get to meet mom dad AND sister under the same roof at the same time! Plus, good food. Mmmm. HOWEVER, I should also find something to do during hols. Bhubaneswar is not the best place for a legal placement (and I REFUSE to 'work' with NGOs) and I also want a break, but since I'm not even going to be touring, I'll get highly bored if I have nothing concrete to take up my time.
Ok this is getting too long (relatively). Need to study. Actually, don't need to study anymore given I've been reading the same articles and their summaries since yesterday (like the 70 others in my class), but I should study more.... because there's still time until exam. This is an exam on jurisprudence by the way. I quite like the subject! Ok nuff said.
Later gators!

Exam Time Joy

2009-05-31T19:23:00.003+05:30

It’s exam time. It’s fun!

Things I like about exam time:

1. I get to buy and stock up on interesting looking and highly functional (and some not) stationery goodies. I love it all- purple, pink and orange post-it prompts, multi-coloured plastic flags, highlighters, highlighter refills, different coloured pens for underlining and making margin notes, special marker for plastic flags, yellow legal pads filled with notes, exercises and ASP notes, stapling sheets of freshly photocopied notes and articles, lots of spiral bound bundles of articles which have that distinct new-paper smell. All of it.

2. I like studying in what is called the ‘new mess’ in my hostel. It was meant to be an extension of our mess, but it turns into this study hall when exams are close. There are approximately 12-13 tables. Each one is rectangular slab of granite or something of the sort surrounded by 6 chairs. One such table is usually occupied by a single person. When there are too many people, 2 share a table. The table is usually covered with prep material- heaps and heaps of photocopied stuff and notes- and accompanied by stationery *slurp*. (I tend to get like that around stationery- lustfully long for stationery and admire new and rare stationery.) I love the mess in this state. It reminds me of the Gryffindor common room under similar circumstances. I often compare life around me with life in Harry Potter and it’s soooooooooo much fun. It really makes the dullest of things seem so much more fun. I only wish I had a cushiony armchair like the one in the Gryffindor common room. It would then be perfect. Well, I do have a soft cushion which is often dressed in a silk cover. I just pretend that it’s my own cushiony armchair *giggles* The new mess is comfortable, people are silent and look like they’re engrossed in their prep, there’s a cooler around so water is not a problem, there’s also a loo nearby so that’s taken care of, and of course, no wifi signal. Perfect study conditions. When you feel you’re slacking off, you look at the others around and draw inspiration from them and buck up. In case you’re turning into crazy human and are studying excessively, there will be people to calm you down.

3. I enjoy making schedules and to-do lists. So I make these lists on the last page of my yellow legal pad and strike things off as and when I’m done with them! It almost reminds me of Hermione making a colour coded study schedule for Ron and Harry (which they did not follow). And when there’s too much to do and I don’t have the requisite material to study for one course, I tell myself that “On the brighter side, you can study for Course II!” This reminds me of the time when Harry and Ron couldn’t write their essay for some professor when Hermione brightly pointed out that “On the brighter side, you can work on your essay for Snape (or someone else!)!” and they pondered on the thought whether that really was the “brighter side”. *sigh* I love the series.

4. At times, I enjoy the anticipation before exams. Everybody is curious to know how much other people have done, whether they’re doing as much as them, etc. While it can get quite vile in the real world, I try to think of the time Harry and gang took their OWL. When you think about it, it’s more or less the same, except it tends to get to us in real world. So the 5^th book is like a note to self at such moments.

5. I feel productive during exams because this when we really learn our courses. Sadly, there usually isn’t enough time during the term to read for class on a regular basis. In a way this makes us fast learners- or that’s what we tell ourselves.

Now I shall whiz off and get back to studying.

BlogOwner and Friends

2009-05-26T17:22:00.003+05:30

Updates:
1. I was in Dhaka for a week a few days ago where my passport and camera (and Fish's wallet with a lot of money and all her cards) got stolen. HOWEVER I came back to India nice and safe thanks to awesome contact that Fish had at the Indian Embassy there who were uber sweet to us. We were there for a debate, Asians Universities Debating Championship. The organizers were really nice to us and gave us free transport and even sent a competent person along with us wherever we went (local language would've been a problem otherwise). Any way, when I reached

2. As a result of this passport thing and the hassles that ensued, I couldn't shop much at this really cool sarojini-type place from where everybody else bought like 10 tops each. However, Fish shopped for me and got me one really cute top and one bangladesh tshirt so I'm not sad :) PLUS I got to come back unscathed, so that's a positive (hee).

3. Fish, Purple, Another Person and I did go souvenir shopping on the last day however. Was fun.

4. I notice how everything ultimately boiled down to shopping and I mustn't be so unidimensional, SO let me also tell you that the debate was reasonably fun. Too many Indians all over the place though.

5. Post AUDC, when we got back to law school, we did this dance thing for EMD. Danced to bollywood songs :) much fun. Won.

6. I think my planets are awesomely positioned right now because my last two meals (dinner last night and lunch today) (both of which were at a nice place) were not paid for by me.

7. I had parted with my laptop for a greater cause for a whole period of 3.5 days. Now I'm back with it. Yeay! Life without a laptop was strange.

It's Been a Hard Day's Night

2009-05-09T22:02:00.004+05:30

We are doing this debate this weekend. The first round was fun. It was on this geo-pol motion and THANKFULLY we ended up debating a motion which I'd done a political science project on so I knew what it was about reasonably well. But we just couldn't get our point across well enough. Fair. We were up against Purple and team and they're just awesome awesome. We lost. That was okay because the feedback made sense and we knew we'd lost before they gave their decision. HOWEVER, our second round was atrocious. The judging, that is. We got a single chair and we were all thinking we'd win by clear (margin). BUT. Not, apparently. Well, it's happened before, horrid judging that is, but this was just taking it to a whole new level. Any way, I love debating and shouldn't get SO ticked off by arbit bad decisions (even though they seem to happen with alarming regularity). Later had conversations with multiple people and felt better because said judge is said to spaz out on a regular basis (but he's supposed to be a decent judge because he has pretty rounds where he gives lucid feedback quite often. But I guess we all have our crazy-bad days). Heh. Horrid that we should be at the receiving end in this tournament, but well, sigh, we're not the only ones! Hopefully we'll improve and become so kickass that we can convince even the slowest of judges even on their worst day :)

Then ended up realising that should IOM much, much more. Have totally stopped visiting HappyLand.

Among other updates, I'm extremely sleepy right now so I should get done with work and then go get some sleep, expecially since we need to wake up at 8 tomorrow morning to debate some more. Not really an "update" but well. Whatever.

Also, I love The Beatles and this album especially. Sigh.

When I'm home everything seems to be right
When I'm home feeling you holding me tight, tight

However, my favourite-est* song on the album is And I Love Her

And I Love Her - The Beatles

I give her all my love
That's all I do
And if you saw my love
You'd love her too
I love her

She gives me everything
And tenderly
The kiss my lover brings
She brings to me
And I love her

A love like ours
Could never die
As long as I
Have you near me

Bright are the stars that shine
Dark is the sky
I know this love of mine
Will never die
And I love her

Bright are the stars that shine
Dark is the sky
I know this love of mine
Will never die
And I love her

Wouldn't you just die if someone sang this for you?

*Look, I just CANNOT decide between the title song, I Should Have Known Better, Happy Just to Dance With You and Can't Buy Me Love. They're all my favs. I love this album.

Making Someone's Day

2009-05-06T15:31:00.003+05:30

The fact that someone's day was made because I emailed them, makes my day :) And getting an email from them makes my day any day :)

Kate Winslet and Places to Eat

2009-05-03T16:59:00.008+05:30

I adore Kate Winslet.

1. She's multi-talented and is awesome at everything she does.
2. She doesn't live on a piece of lettuce a day.
3. She is normal and just SEEMS so happy (obviously, nobody but her knows whether she really is. But at least she LOOKS more than content.)
4. She's a libran. Hee.
5. She's almost never on gofugyourself.com and when she is, it's under the "Well Played" tag (of course gofugyourself matters *sniggers*).
6. I love this song of hers.

What if

Here I stand alone
With this weight upon my heart
And it will not go away
In my head I keep on looking back
Right back to the start
Wondering what it was that made you change

Well I tried
But I had to draw the line
And still this question keeps on spinning in my mind

What if I had never let you go
Would you be the man I used to know
If I'd stayed
If you'd tried
If we could only turn back time
But I guess we'll never know

Many roads to take
Some to joy
Some to heart-ache
Anyone can lose their way
And if I said that we could turn it back
Right back to the start
Would you take the chance and make the change

Do you think how it would have been sometimes
Do you pray that I'd never left your side

What if I had never let you go
Would you be the man I used to know
If I'd stayed
If you'd tried
If we could only turn back time
But I guess we'll never know

If only we could turn the hands of time
If I could take you back would you still be mine

'Cos I tried
But I had to draw the line
And still this question keep on spinning in my mind

What if I had never let you go
Would you be the man I used to know
What if I had never walked away
'Cos I still love you more than I can say
If I'd stayed
If you'd tried
If we could only turn back time
But I guess we'll never know
We'll never know

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Among other things, I have tons of work to do (as usual) but have gone out to town twice in three days (not so usual). I think I should review restaurants that I've been to. I have a mental checklist and every time I go somewhere new, I tick it off my list!

Places I've been to in Bangalore (in no particular order):

1. Casa Picola (Residency Road)- I've been here 3 times and it's AWESOME. I absolutely love the cuisine. Mediterranean (obviously Indianised). It's not too expensive and the portions are great. Fish and I have always ordered this thing called "Chicken Parmigiana" (Sorry, I'm TERRIBLE and uncultured etc wrt exotic names) and Chicken Tettrazini or some such thing and split. They're both amazing and now they're our standard order at Casa. There's this creamy mango drink which is superb.

2. Casa Del Sol (Residency Road)- It's right above Casa Picola and is this classy, jazzy place with an open air part too. Decent food but not great. QUITE expensive, but amazing ambience. You can there with the girls and relax and talk and just unwind.

3. Oye Amritsar (Churchstreet)- Very popular place. Very good Punjabi food (not excellent, though). The lassi which they serve in horribly HUGE glasses are to die for. The place is designed to look like this typical roadside dhaba in Punjab. Fun. But there's no air conditioning (or there was none the 2/3 times I've been there). Portions are quite big, so it's good for like a huge bunch of people going out for lunch.

4. Saigon (Churchstreet)- Right under Oye Amritsar. Good food, nice ambience. I don't really have many comments about this place. It's a nice place to have dinner. Quite expensive though.

5. Shezan (somewhere in town!)- Good, semi-cheap Chinese food. I liked. If you don't want to spend a fortune but hang out at a nice, comfortable place, this is a good pick.

6. Bamboo Shoots (town!)- NICE lunch buffet for 150 bucks. Really good. The dessert is yum. ambience isn't to die for but hey, it's good enough for a 150 bucks!

7. Three Quarter Chinese (a.k.a. 3QC) (Churchstreet)- Really Indian and Chinese food. I was there for the "Christmas buffet" and it was great, though buffets are wasted on me because I can't eat that much in one go. It's a charming place with great food. I'd recommend!

8. The Only Place (Museum Road)- Stunning Cheese Fries. You give me fries and cheese and I'm happy. I loved the food. The Chicken Burger is also quite good. I loved the service because those guys are really prompt and they have special order-takers who know the menu well. So, that's a plus. It's this quaint little place with good Mediterranean food (even though I've only tried their chicken schnitzel and it was good, but I hear most other things are good as well) and happy people all around so it scored with me.

9. Oye Shaava (Churchstreet)- The food is just like Oye Amritsar's, except, it's got this classy ambience thing going on. So I like this more. Really really good lunch buffet.

10. Hotel Empire (Churchstreet, I think)- I've heard the lunch buffet is GREAT with lots of chicken stuff and it's only for 99 bucks. I have had this thali thing for dinner for a 100 bucks and that was great as well. So I'd recommend this place for when you're really hungry, want chicken, are short of cash and still want good food (obv the ambience isn't to die for, but it doesn't really matter).

11. Boca Grande (Koramangala)- NICE place. Neat. Good Mediterranean food. Excellent portions (I couldn't finish my maincourse thingy). You MUST try the Cake Shake that they serve. Happy place, nice decor, they also have games that you can play alongwith tv screens etc. I also hear their mud-pie is really good though I haven't tried it.

12. Gelato place (I don't remember the exact name!) (somewhere in town!)- NICE dessert. Cozy interiors. Nice dessert, again.

13. Corner House!- Everyone knows about Corner House. Dessert place! Confession: I've been to one only ONCE.

14. Cafe Fresco's (Cunningham Road)- REALLY REALLY nice dessert. Honestly. LOVELY place. Sigh. I could LIVE there.

15. Chungs (Cunningham Road)- Nice, cheap Chinese food! It's really close to Fresco's so doing both is a good idea.

16. Reliance Cafe place in Forum (Koramangala)- Nice granitas! At least the one I had was nice. It was yellow on top and green towards the bottom. Charming! If you're in Forum and are bored, you can go there for a break.

17. Donut Baker (Brigade Road)- Cute. Awesome donuts.

18. Couch (MG Road)- Really nice place to hang out. Expensive, though. They have this mango drink which is SINFUL. So is the oreo cheesecake. Really nice. I like lots. There are racks of books, couches (obv), nice loud music, and decent food.

19. Pecos (town!)- Law school fav. It's a pub where they play EXCELLENT music. MUST MUST go there. I like the dosa+chicken curry combo. Yum. I pilfer popcorn which comes with the beer which my friends order. Nice place. However, it's quite dingy so if you don't drink AND you don't like the music there, then you're doomed (I LOVE the music there so I like the place). I hear the pork ghee roast there is amazing (I don't eat pork so I don't know).

20. Mojos (town!)- Owned by the same people who own Pecos. Similar place with similar food. I LOVE the chilly chicken there. However, this is much less dingy, with better circulation, space and places to sit. TV screens all over so it's quite nice. But the music isn't as great as Pecos'.

21. Koshy's (town!)- I went there with a bunch of friends for breakfast. Nice food, cute place. Nothing exceptional though. Good, nonetheless.

22. Indi Joe's Sizzlers (MG Brigade Churchstreet)- Nice nice. I like much much. Awesome portions. Good place to hang out with friends, though it's quite expensive.

23. French Loaf (Churchstreet)- Nice bakery type place with yummy desserts. Not very expensive. I'd strongly recommend for their desserts. I obviously had this chocolate thing which was SINFUL. Very cute little place and it's right across Blossoms so a book-shopping trip + dessert at French Loaf sounds good!

I can't remember any more of the places I've been to, though there are definitely more. 2 years in Bangalore, have got to have gone out to more than 23 places! But 22 is not bad by my standards. I rarely go to town! I am obviously not going to write about the McDonalds, KFCs, Coffee Days and Baristas of the world.

BO's Guide to Uninhibited Exam Prep Material Acquisition

2009-04-25T19:38:00.002+05:30

RULE 1: (The most important of them all) Drop all notions of justice, fairness and equity and silly school-day-ideas such as one-must-waste-that-one-hour-photocopying-and-not-ask-others-because-it's-unfair-that-you-should-get-an-hour-extra-to-study- when-they-wasted-it-photocopying-and-you-must-do-the-same. Just BANISH these ideas. Do not think that you're being a skeaze by borrowing photocopies of other people to photocopy and are not photocopying it from the original source by spending hours in the library trying to get hold of the book first, and then the photocopy man.

Case Study: Fish and BO were diligent photocopiers in whole of 1st year. Then they just realised that efficiency is THE thing to consider, so they just waited until at least one other person got almost all photocopies and they'd just ask them for their consolidated set and photocopy it with much glee. So much time saved. Opportunity cost. Whee.

RULE 2: Lose all shame. Do NOT feel like and obliged while asking someone for their photocopies. Gratitude, yes. Of course. But don't feel bad about the fact that you're asking. Everybody does it. It's a norm, a custom now. The way you're giving back to the pool is by photocopying from the original source at times and letting others borrow from you. Well, dear old Fish is rather extremely enthu this trimester and has been super efficient in getting tons of photocopies so she's earning joint karma for both of us (hee hee).

Case Study: It's been tough, this rule, but both of us are trying hard. Fish has been supremely efficient this trimester in procuring photocopies. I get a couple at times, but not too much.

RULE 3: Keep an eye out. If you're at Swathi (which is the local stationery place where EVERYONE gets their stuff photocopied), look at who is getting one. Get a copy for yourself! Jump in the bandwagon!

Case Study: So Fish and I are at Swathi. We see X photocopying ABCDEFGH. We say "2 copies for us as well please!" Voila! This is really the easiest of the rules. Therefore, frequent visits to Swathi is a must.

RULE 4: Do not hesitate from asking seniors for their stuff. Be shameless. Be ruthless. BADGER seniors into giving you their photocopies. Fish and I used to find it EXTREMELY hard to follow this one because, really now, it's quite a pain running after people and randomly asking them for their stuff when you haven't even spoken to them in ages but then after doing it like TEN times this trimester, I think I should do it more often because most of them are so sweet about it. Plus, they get to get rid of their material, but MOST importantly, they're usually very generous and you feel like a queen because you've saved some time, energy and cash. Plus, some of this stuff comes HIGHLIGHTED which is an added bonus :)

Case Study: This one's a bit of a toughie for Fish, but I've aced it. Hee. So amongst people WE, i.e. people on this blog, know, we (i.e. Fish and I) successfully procured Purple's stuff, even though we'd gotten it longggg back. We also got tons of other stuff so I felt super efficient etc. because I was always like this woman on a mission, texting away to glory.

I THINK that's about it.

P.S.: I need expert help with template, again! *hint, hint*

Blair and Anne

2009-04-19T14:10:00.004+05:30

1. I have tons of work to do. Tons of essential shopping, exam prep, project research, other important work with Fish, setting up room (which btw is in a horrible mess), decide what I'm doing in June, other fun work with Fish.

2. If I could save up by not spending on all the Nags food I eat, and instead eat in the Canteen and/or Mess everyday, I'd be saving about a 100 bucks a day. That's 3000 a month. SO MUCH MORE TO SHOP. PLUS, I'd lose weight (muscle really, which I'd hate. But I'll also get back to working out regularly to keep mental sanity in place so I'd be all healthy etc.) because I won't really EAT the horrible horrible food in Mess. But I'll also get cranky and inefficient. Law school does not permit one to be inefficient. But I could TRY to eat that horrid horrid food and not be too cranky. Keep thinking of all the shopping. Muahahahaha. It's a plan. Must convince present regular lunch/dinner company to sanction plan.

3. I want home cooked food.

4. It's incredibly warm here in Bangalore. Global warming is horrid.

5. I think I say "horrid" way too often.

6. I'm reading The Time Traveller's Wife which is extremely cute. You MUST read it.
"Do nothing. Wait for me. Wish you were here."

7. I took the "Which Gossip Girl Character are you?" on Facebook and it says I'm Blair. That's just NOT possible. I picked such unblair answers wherever there were oh-so-blair answers. Sigh. Though I'd really LOVE to have a Dorota. She's the cutest thing on earth! I shouldn't take FB quizzes too seriously. Haha. Smartu is Chuck Bass, according to the same quiz. She loved her result of course :)

8. I want to watch Anne of Green Gables right now.

Busy Lives, Busy People

2009-04-15T02:57:00.003+05:30

People I miss right NOW:
1. Mommy- because your mom loves you unconditionally and thinks you're the best-est thing that happened to this planet (in my case, I'd come after S in my mom's world :) Annoying first borns. Argh. This reminds me, I have to still blog about funny mom story in Delhi.). She thinks you're perfect (in my case, with a LOT of scope for improvement, but largely perfect in things which are somewhat important) no matter how much better/cooler other people may be *scoff*. And you can trust every single word she says with complete faith when she's reassuring you because you KNOW it's true (that your mom thinks you're awesome). Not an iota of doubt. We always take that for granted when we're at home and miss it when away and lonely. And have projects to submit the next day. Or are drowning in self doubt and other such horrid thoughts. My mommy says that even if there are lots of pretty peacocks around and a mom's child is a fugly scruffy silly bird, mom will always genuinely, from the bottom of her heart BELIEVE that her baby is the best :) Mom will always pick you over ANYBODY else (in my case, after S may be. haha). So much mutual faith.

2. C- Those exams better get over FAST and better give me updates FAST and get updated FAST. Probably the only nonlawschoolite human currently who is almost entirely updated on my life. Better live up to it. I know you will :D You'll just tell me I'm stupid and I'm wrong when I NEED to hear that. I know, very strange. But it's the context. I OBVIOUSLY rarely want to be TOLD I'm wrong.

3. S- Because I need to HEAR wisdom :) You have to tell me everything and I do too. I DESPISE the fact that I no longer know about EVERY single detail of your life and you mine. It's come to that point that I just don't tell you about stuff because there's so much history. So you can't be "updated". Same is true the other way round. Call more often, woman! I should call too. Hee. But I like blaming you. OBV. If Ma loves you more, you have to at LEAST be the caller in this relationship (I don't know where exactly the causal link is, but it's there somewhere).

4. P, TC and Abhu- I want to giggle and be updated on your lives. Like NOW. And I mean PROPER updates, even if it takes hours. Friends for life should be friends for life, ok?! Ok. Need the feeling that I'm surrounded by people who know me :) You guys do. Really. (Disclaimer: Not that others don't, but you know what I mean?) :)

Much Love

Rapidex English Speaking Class

2009-04-13T23:58:00.006+05:30

First, Fish:

Contact
Fishspeak-(true blue dally punju way) cun-tackt
It's almost like The Bin's pruh-jeckts (projects), papsi(pepsi), eye-run(iron) and cun-trackt(contract). But then again, she IS dally so she's forgiven.

Second, Woogs:

Year
Woogspeak- eee-ur

Available
Woogspeak- Avaaalabul

Via
Woogspeak- Veeeyah

Third, Purple:

Cabin
Purplespeak- Cay-bin (He's going to object to this and say that he himself admitted he was wrong and therefore isn't really embarrassing etc. HOWEVER, he still said it, even though just once (and God knows how many times before that :) *giggles*)

Excess
Purplespeak- Excass (in true blue dally punju style, but then again, he is :) *runs for cover*)
Now, now. He may object once again and say that he never said it, BUT (and Fish would testify) he said it once while saying something angstily.

Now that I have sufficiently anticipated and countered all objections that Purple may come up with, I may safely proceed to next human.

Fourth, Hotness (This was shocking given how pseudobrit she is :) *much love*)

Piracy
Hotnesspeak- Pee-rah-see
*laughs hysterically*

Fifth, BO (ONLY because the above would KILL me if I didn't admit own mistakes, which are rather numerous. DO NOT JUDGE ME.)

Photo
BOspeak- Phaw-toe
*blushes red and crimson*
And I'd pronounced it this way ALL my life.

Drawer
BOspeak- draw-yer
This isn't that bad.

----------UNDER DURESS-----------

Altruistic
BOspeak- Al (as in Cal)-truistic instead of Al (as in All)-truistic

---------END OF DURESS------------

*shoots nasty glance at Fish for making me write what SHE wants on MY blog*

POINT TO BE NOTED is that all of us have however LEARNT and corrected ourselves, (almost all with the possible exception of Woogs, hahaha) though during moments of angst and anguish, true ganwaarness surfaces. At times. Very rarely.

Songs Stuck in my Head and Pigeons. Again.

2009-04-13T21:27:00.003+05:30

1. Masakalli
I LOVE this song. S and I always knew pigeons had a lot of wisdom to share. Just listen to the words of this song. Awesomeness.

2. Ayo Technology by Milow
I almost have minor celeb crush on Milow because I absolutely love the song. SO much better than that horrid 50 cent composition. Have been making Fish and Woogs listen to it like 3 times an hour so that it grows on them FAST. Also, I am now the bearer of ALL POWER because I own an entire box of After Eight and I CONTROL who gets pieces of it. So BO is all powerful, as always. Also, Fish and Woogs are finally back from their Kerala trip. Fish has been totally mallified. Hotness also went along and she has been momo-fish-woogsified because she said "momzuuuu" during breakfast. Ha! Score.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV11oDLtlmc (the song)

Go listen. The video is a bit creepy, but the song is really really good. Grows on you.

I Want

2009-04-11T20:13:00.004+05:30

This is a post where I cleanse my system (for now) by talking about some of the things I've always always always wanted to do but haven't YET got the chance. Certainly, will happen sometime. Soon, hopefully.

I've always wanted to take proper dance lessons. Salsa, jazz, ballet, and general shiamak davar type dance. I guess I LOVE pilates (during those rare phases when I'm really into it for more than a month) because it makes me feel like a dancer. Hee.

I've never taken part in any official dance competition type thing (except the ones you do at school or rep school etc.) but I clearly remember my favourite compositions.

O Humdum Suniyo Re (Saathiya)- We did this for our school annual day in my 8th. I STILL remember the steps!

Bootylicious (by Destiny's Child)- This was for a competition where we were representing school. Was SO much fun. The boys in the dance could NOT dance to save their life but I guess the girls saved the day.

Korean Dance to a Telugu Song- Yes. That's right. We did a beautiful beautiful beautiful Korean style dance in nice pink and lavender gowns with lovely feathery (and rather huge) fans (which, btw, we had sat down for HOURS and made. Had stuck one feather at a time on the skeleton!) to a telugu track which was a welcome song. This was the first piece during our school annual day in my 10th. There was this amazingggg fan-ripple-effect sequence which was truly awesome. Sigh. Ooh, also, being one of the tiniest and quite lithe (sigh, those days), I also got to be up front and do nice spin type things (which left me extremely dizzy) in the middle of the dance. I wish I could go back and do this again.

Me Against the Music (Britney Spears- I LOVE her music, ok?)- I think this is one of the very few songs which I had entirely choreographed on my own and taught the group. Yeay! Ok, well, in all fairness I had tons of help from S who is an awesome dancer (her "I'm a Barbie Girl" in 7th Std was SOOOOOOOO cute :)), but still. We did this in 9th and it was for the farewell party for those in 10th. It was reallllllllllllllly good and everyone loved it and thought it was very well done etc.

I remember dancing to Larger Than Life, LOTS of hindi songs like It's Magic, Dil Dooba, (this was fab fab fab) Chudi Jo Khanki, Bole Chudiyan, Chandu ke Chacha ne (by that band called Asma) etc. Tons of medleys. The credit for choreo-ing most of these songs goes to AG and SD :) Both were superb.

11th and 12th were 2 years when I couldn't dance because, well, I was in this junior college where no one ever did anything.

Then came law school :)

We did this medley- Mahi Ve, Sajna de vari, Nach Baliye for EMD last year.

Then we danced to Dholi Taro for one of the social events for this International Client Counselling event that our university was hosting. It went down really well with the crowd. Almost everyone had something to give to the choreography but it was mostly the hard, hard work of K, G, and C :) I think the super shiny (due to the gazillion little mirrors stitched on) lehengas had a LOTTT to contribute to the effect. In FACT, I have found a video on youtube which has a part of the dance! Look! Oh and there are two people in blue. The first blue person who has her back towards the camera when the video begins is M, an adorable, adorable girl. who's a trained dancer. I'm the other blue in the circle. See if you can spot me :D

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgzFX4IL3nY)

We danced to Love is a Crime (Anastacia, Chicago OST) for WMD! It was soooooooo much fun. Aq and C must be given full credit for the stunning choreography, which was mostly easy jazz which people who weren't trained in it could pick up in 3 days (that's usually the maximum amount of time we can get here to prep for a dance thing! An hour or a couple for 2-3 days, MAX). Our outfits were highly cool. Black pants, white shirts and RED ties. Very smooth. We used chairs as props for about a minute and then pushed them off the stage.

Please, someone send me off to just dance and get lost in it? It's so therapeutic. Sigh.

Ok, now I'm tired of typing and MUST get some work done so I will stop.

Look!

2009-03-28T01:22:00.003+05:30

(click on the picture!)

Appropriate.

Lost and Found

2009-03-26T21:09:00.003+05:30

BlogOwner has been extremely busy over the last few days, primarily due to prior commitments. Well, there's excitement and nerves!

I have good news and bad news. Good news first. I almost lost my ATM card, but I found it lying under my bed at long last :) Bad news now. I lost my prettttty wallet, the one Fish had got me for Christmas :( I left it in some auto. REALLY irresponsible, yes. However, there wasn't much money in it. Just about a hundred. So, well, glad didn't have anything important in it :) I guess the only silver lining is that I get to buy a new wallet now, but I sorely miss that adorable one. It was red and had white, pink and purple flowers on it! How much cuter can a wallet get?? Well. Anyway.

Hmm. That's about all the updates I have for now. This blog is scarily turning into a random my-journal type blog. Not good. Must be more creative. Next time!

Just. Like. That.

2009-03-15T11:54:00.007+05:30

Hellos, alls! (I am doing this new stupid thing where I append an "s" at the end of every word. Eg. Cools, Okays, Alrights) (now you may stop judging me).

I think I should post on some new blog where I copy paste pictures of pretty clothes and shoes I wish I owned. So much fun! Should bring up idea with Fish. We could do this group blog thing then!

Also, after all the anti-earthwatersigns posts that I have churned out, I have come to realise that most of my closest friends and favourite-people-in-the-world type peopl are earth/water signs and the ONLY fire/air sign friends I do have are Sag and Libra which isn't that surprising. But then well everyone who reads this blog frequently enough knows why that would be so.

So profile of closest closest friends (but almost none of them know my deep, dark secrets. haha)

Virgo
Sag
Sag
Pisceas
Scorpio
Capricorn
Libra
Pisces

I also have bosom-anne-lover-friends now! Whee! And such human is Gemini. So yes.
ALSO, my childhood best friend was a Virgo girl.

SO.

ANYWAY.

Fish and I share this strange connection where we just KNOW what we're talking about without really saying it. It's somewhat telepathic. You know when we look at each other and communicate through our eyes and start nodding our heads knowingly. Too cool. So well our most recent connection was one regarding this song by Maroon 5 and Rihanna called "If I Never See Your Face Again". Now, as you all know we are lover of quad party music who also like listening to good music at times. Fish had heard this song and was making me listen to it and I said "Omg. This is the perfect mix of respectability (Maroon 5 element) and quad party randomness (Rihanna element)" and then we giggled and laughed while Woogs and Aats made funny noises of disapproval. In our little "group", Aats is the cold hearted (but secret closet romantic because she loved A Walk to Remember) prudish (or, not? hah!) aunty. Fi sh is Vatamma, hahahaha. Woogs is THE golum-like loon and I'm the one everyone makes fun of like ALL the time. Hmph.

Fish and I have the most ordinary but cute gift past. I think we have gifted each other almost every standard thing that normal people can give each other.
My birthday 2007- she got me a realllly pretty puff sleeve (all you Anne fans. Sigh.) pink top.
Her birthday 2008- I got her a kurta and I randomly gave her this chikankari kurta that I had that I had never worn and would've never worn because I'm not fond og chikan while she's CRAZY about it. It looks very nice on her!
From Hong Kong, 2008- she got me this white chinese top thing which DOES NOT fit me. It's too huge for me and it's un-alter-able. However, as we have already concluded, it's better if you dont fit into a top by virtue of it being large than to not fit into one because it's tiny because the latter just makes you feel horrid about yourself.
From Europe, 2008- I got her this pretttttttty and chic green bag for her from Italy!
For my birthday 2008- She got me this pair of pretttttttttttttty chappals from Jaipur which I totally adore and fun stationery because I'm mad about stationery.
For Christmas, 2008- She got me this really awesome wallet which I'd been dreaming of since ages and I got her a book on domestic violence because she's into it and well, I CHOSE another book on behalf of someone else (who will henceforth be called Purple, because I can't think of any other moniker) and it turned out to be on her wishlist! Connection, see?! It was quite a moment.
For her birthday, 2009- I got her this really strange black top which I HOPE she likes! It's not her, but it's still cute! :(

Songs currently stuck in my head:
1. All You Wanted- Michelle Branch
2. U2- Unknown Caller (courtesy Purple)
3. The Wonders- That Thing You Do (courtesy Purple)
and........
3. Maroon 5 feat. Rihanna- If I Never See Your Face Again (Fish and I thought this was the PERFECT combination of quad-party (the Rihanna element) + somewhat respectable (the Maroon 5 bit). (Courtesy Fish)

Also, WHY has nobody volunteered to be music teacher person? I mean, come ON. I am a good learner. I went from Britney and Westlife to Iron Maiden to Floyd, Lep Zep and Doors in like TWO WEEKS. So yes.

VERY random post, mostly due to boredom

2009-03-14T23:26:00.006+05:30

*I finally spoke to S for like an hour and our call ended due to this cross connection thing that happened about 50 minutes into it. Then, well, neither of us called because we had to get back to work, etc. Didn't talk about fun things though. And spent considerable amount of time talking about the recession, people we know who've been hit by it, crazy S plans and the like. I mostly did the listening and the scolding. Hee. I like it when I get to do the scolding.

*I can't WAIT for Wednesday because that is when my exams will be over. Wheeee. However, there are other imminent tasks to be taken care of. I will OBV keep beloved blog updated on all bloggable events.

*I was supposed to pick up my PRETTY tailored clothes from the tailor guy today but I couldn't go because I had to study and didn't want to waste a lot of time going there. So will go there on Wednesday. CANNOT wait. You see my Dilli Haat cloth pieces are supposed to have been made into kurtas :D Joy!

*I have been stealthily stealing After Eights from Fish (well, not really stealing... I stole only once, the remaining were taken with her permission) which had been gifted to her. If Fish were S, I'd have shamelessly stolen and eaten all. When Dad used to get S and me tubs of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream from BnR, which btw is my standard order there, I'd immediately consume mine while S saved her for "later" when she'd "feel like some ice cream". At times I'd be sick and horrible and just eat it up before she could get hands on her tub. But I think this never happened with BnR ice cream; only with Feast bars or other random ice cream. BnR she'd save and consume later, IN MY PRESENCE, dangling it in front of me and basically torturing me. But she'd also be kind enough to give me a generous spoon or two of some of it and I'd end up with net profit of those many extra spoons which I got BECAUSE I'd finished mine earlier. Score.

*Can you believe this? Cosmo ezine?!?! Well, there's nothing like printed copies of anything but I don't mind saving 100 bucks a month AND having an additional source of online tp.

*I LOVE Suri Cruise. She's incredibly adorable. I CANNOT get enough of her on popsugar.com. I got very excited when I heard rumours that Katie Holmes is expecting again or is trying to conceive. I want Suri Cruise part II! The more the merrier :) What? I love babies and they love me too.

S, Woogs and Changes in Self

2009-03-13T22:08:00.004+05:30

S has now put it on me. Well, it was only fair. She told me to call her when I'm free. When I'm free, I just.... forget... to call her. Ok, ok now it's my fault because I am not calling her, but yea. The fact STILL remains that I haven't spoken to S in ages and now I don't even feel strongly about the things I wanted to update her on. SO. I'll just let it be and call her next time I feel strongly about it :)

Too much love is coming for Woogs as I type this post. She pats my head like one would pat their pup, she makes fun of me like one would of their little sibling, she calls me fat in jest (mostly) (I am HOPING) like S used to and just wants to "keep me" in some corner in her room and makes fun of EVERYTHING I do. Hee.

ALSO, Woogs is that human who tolerated me for an entire day while I looked for LBD. She was the sole direction in my life then. That is, she showed me where all to look for it :D It's not easy to walk all over South Delhi for some 5 hours (with an hour long nap-break at her place) looking for the perfect dress. VERY frustrating. However, she stood by me and led me to that Ted Lapidus store at LONG last where that gorgeous dress was spotted (read: "Spotted!" as in GG).

Speaking of GG, don't you think Dan and Rachel are most horrid?

Changes in self over the past 5 months:
1. From momo hater to chicken momo lover.
2. From strongly against Virgo humans, well mostly, to creating happy exceptions on the basis of arbitrary but very convincing justifications.
3. From Woogs-n-Aats-liker to Woogs-n-Aats-lover.
4. From regular after-lunch-juice-consumer (very good) (ok, not that regular, but somewhat regular) to during-lunch-thums-up-consumer (very bad).
5. From oh-I-don't-waste-my-life-on-TV person to I-am-addicted-to-GG-and-I-love-it person.
6. From Pantene Total Strength consumer to Herbal Essences Body Envy Consumer (Vital change. Hair products are important.)
7. Turned blog from place-where-imagination-went-into-random-daily-things to place-where-random-daily-things-are-simply-put-down-because-I-am-almost-too-bored-to-imagine-too-much-while-blogging (not good).

Updates, all.

2009-03-10T17:31:00.005+05:30

Hello humans.

Happy Holi!

I am BACK in law school, and the minute I got here, I wanted to run back to Delhi (or any other place for that matter). Speaking of Delhi, I had the most amazing dark chocolate mousse EVER at this quaint little place called Choko La in Priya. Must try it if you're there. Also got two of those for the fam to celebrate! I was also quite rude once when I accidentally burst out laughing when the man across the counter handed over a popcorn and pepsi combo saying "Papsi". HOW can one expect me to keep a straight face? I don't think the man must've felt bad or anything because he must've thought I was laughing at something else because he doesn't think there's anything wrong with papsi, right? Right.

I have been terribly out of touch with S and this post should shake her into calling me up like RIGHT NOW. S, are you listening? Lots of updates waiting for you. Also, YOU have to update me on several things. Hmm.

Speaking of updates, I have some bloggable updates-
1. Obviously shopping- Did lots! Finally bought myself an LBD (Little Black Dress) and matching stilettoes. They look gorgeous together :)
2. Have been addicted to phdcomics.com ever since I got back. It's a phase.
3. Had set my room up really well but now it's back to being messy partly because......
4. Fish is back! We chatted for like 2 hours straight when she got back and exchanged random knick knacks and stories. She has the funniest of friends EVER and their lives are no less than soap operas.
5. Strange things have been happening in my life, which are not bloggable, however there are TONS of those, and are meant especially for S' ears. Are you listening, woman? I don't want to reach that point when I can't 'update' her on anything for a quick rant or for advice because I'd need to give her an hour's worth of background facts. That's just NOT nice and NOT sisterly behaviour. Now I have bitched enough about S.
6. This is that stage of the year when I'm all hopeful, optimistic, starry eyed and feel as if flowers are blooming all over the place and I'm running around a field of pretty flowers in a soft blue summer dress. Or something close to that.
7. It's Fish's birthday tomorrow! Everyone mentally wish her, ok? Good.
8. A bunch of us are hanging out tomorrow on account of said birthday at this AWESOME place called Casa Piccola where you get the most amazing mediterranean food. CANNOT wait. Also, this group of people happens to be a bunch of roomie couples! Damn cute. Important point to note is that I am even more excited because I get to wear my pretty new black skirt and pretty new black top for said occasion.
9. I think I have extremely horrid Sarojini luck because I NEVER get pretty tops out on the streets. Like NEVER. These hols, I went there THRICE and looked ALL OVER, but ended up picking up only two tops. Sucks. But I like the stuff I got :)
10. Delhi 6 is extremely boring and annoying. Dev D is nice.
11. I got a haircut, which btw, is fab.
12. Speaking of fab, Fabindia should seriously consider innovating. I mean honestly, I went to THREE Fab stores in Delhi and all of them had stale stuff which I've been seeing since years and someone or the other I know owns most of that. Horrid behaviour. Not good to deprive enthu customers of supply of pretttty and tempting kurtas.
13. I got the Anastasia VCD. I LOVE that movie. Turns out Fish and Woogs ALSO love that movie. S and I used to go crazy whenever it came on TV back when we were little girls. And I so so so love the soundtrack too. Dancing bears, painted wings, things I almost remember......
14. I must find shelter in Bombay for June hols.
15. I can't WAIT for the next season of Gossip Girl.
16. I want fresh music education. Please volunteer.

That's about it. Love y'all, humans!

P.S.- Formatting problems seem to have vanished today. Joy!

100th!

2009-02-23T11:34:00.008+05:30

PrePost Note- Formatting has gone crazy, AGAIN! Someone HELP!

This is the 100th post on this blog! I'm not sure of blogger counts the drafts which haven't been published, but well, I had 99 posts until this one. So.

What's been up?

There are about 30 things on my to-do list (I am a compulsive list maker) and my schedule for the last week (when I was supposed to have struck off at least 8 of those) went completely OFF because, well, I chose to be lazy and not do anything. So I have now officially hit the panic button. Must regain calm and composure. Ok.

On the shopping front, the most important bits of shopping are yet to happen. I must get myself an LBD and shoes, which I am happily procrastinating in the hopes of magically becoming super hot in like a week and therefore get a dress which fits better. I ALSO have to, have to, have to, have to buy 2 pairs of jeans which I have procrastinated since ONE YEAR for the same reason. My mom yelled at me today for NOT buying something. Can you believe that? Someone being cross with me for NOT shopping for a particular thing?

Oh talking about shopping, I have shopped a bit. Bought myself two cloth material thingies from Dilli Haat (out of which I intend to make kurtas). Whee! They're absolutely gorgeous. I LOVE.

I NEED to get a haircut. Before that, however, I need to ask reliable Delhi friends where I should get my haircut from. Reliable Smimp has suggested a couple of places. Will refresh memory. I like the fact that I'm getting to know this place. As in, I like knowing about places- what's good where, having favourite places etc. Apart from the coolness factor (think of me in a conversation where I go, "Oooh, yea I know, that place is amazing. But you should also try this one." and "Yep I've been there! But I liked [ ] more.") it's in someway... me. Moving around and exploring different places is how I've grown up. I've moved around a LOT and have been in 7 schools (that I can remember) and one junior college. While variety could be the spice of life, at times I regret not having known people for a long time, or not having "childhood friends" with whom I'm still in touch with, or for that matter a place I can call "home" with all my heart. I really don't have a "home". They're all houses, all over the country. And the fact that the four of us (Mom, Dad, S and I) live in four different cities/towns, doesn't make it any better. I can't meet my "family" when I go "home". So when I go back to college, I won't be saying "Home was good. Yea, had an awesome time with family", but "Yea, Delhi was fun and it was good spending time with Mom." Not that I'm complaining, but this is how it just is. It's one of those things that I guess most people take for granted- having a place to call "home". I think the closest that any place comes to being home to me (consistent with the saying "Home is where the heart is"), it would be Bombay. I love Bombay. I love everything about it. It's the place I've spent the maximum number of years of my life (6 years). Those were my formative years. I can't say I made "many good friends for life" during my years there, but at least one, may be a couple. Whenever I go to Bombay, I feel elated. And somehow, it feels like I'm wanted there. It's that warm, fuzzy feeling of familiarity. Yes, that's right, Bombay seems to be the place I'm most familiar with. Bombay has MKG, the awesomest colony in the world; where Latika and I would go skating ALL OVER THE PLACE, would play badminton, go cycling early in the morning during holidays, play hide and seek with the rest of the kids and I was always a "kachha nimbu", where we'd have SBI v. IDBI cricket and football matches, where Latika and I spent numerous afternoons playing house-house in the park, on the slides (the steeper, longer slide was my 'house' and the shorter one was hers), where we used to act like models on this rock fountain between G bldg and H bldg and pretend we're being photographed by papparazi, where all of us went for fun art-and-craft classes conducted by Kalyani Aunty. Bombay has Elite, the place where I bought all my clothes from, even my famous "paper pants" :) It has Bombay Blues, the place where I went often with friends; where my standard order was nachos and lemon/peach iced tea. It has Bandstand where Dad, S and I would go on drives at night with Saathiya playing on full volume in my green Santro (which is now gone). It has Society, where I bought Lindt chocolate from. It has Archies right in front of MKG where I bought all my letter paper sets from. It has Amardeep where the whole of MKG bought every-damn-thing from. It has Juhu Beach which I could see from our terrace, from where (the terrace) I'd often watch the most beautiful sunsets ever with Latika. It has BEST, which I used a couple of times even as a 10 year old, all on my own (without having anybody to show me how to and take a zillion precautionary measures like I have to here in this, no offence meant, unfriendly city). It has autos which use the meter- ALWAYS. And autowallahs who're nice. And people who're friendly. It has monsoons. It has ICSE schools all over the place. It has Fort, where you can get books for like Rs. 20. It has LINKING ROAD! It has Juhu Road and Carter Road and BANDRA and Santa Cruz and all the places I was so used to and loved. So yes, that way, those few places in Bombay seem like home to me and deeeeeep inside, I am a Bombay Girl. At least, I want to be a Bombay Girl.

On the other hand, probably Bhubaneswar (Bbsr, henceforth) should be home since I ethnically belong to that place, was born in Bbsr, both my houses are there and my Mom lives there now, though I've spent only 4 years of my life-when-i-can-sense-things there. Most things about those four years, I don't want to recount. What I do want to remember and celebrate are the two friends-for-life that I have taken back :) One is supremely protective of me and the other, well, I share a lot in common with the other (wink, wink). I love them both soooooooo much. Thank you, girls. They are the ones responsible for making 11th and 12th enjoyable for me. The funny thing is, most of the people I know in my Bbsr school, called me "Mumbai Matinee" in jest. I was the new girl who'd come from Bombay. The snobbish what-does-she-think-of-herself big city girl who spoke English all the time. Some of them still call me "Matinee" when we meet :) Somehow, I really like it :) Makes me feel like I'm from somewhere, that I belong somewhere.

Well, anyhow, now Bangalore is "home" to me because I spend 9 months a year there. Delhi has become my "vacation home" because it's convenient for me to intern here. Bombay is still home in my heart and I do all that I can to keep it that way :) The only entity(thing/human/place) I have wept so much for is Bombay. Hence the fondness.

AND S is now in Bombay. There. That just DOES it. How can Bombay not be my favourite place?

P.S.- Turns out blogger does count unpublished drafts. But well, I don't care. This is 100th! Hmph.

Facebook

2009-02-19T21:25:00.002+05:30

Not enough social networking? See this :)

I live a quarter of my life online and of late, a lot more than a quarter.

Facebook is more than social networking. It's bonding with people, in so many ways :) Comments on pictures, notes, ridiculous tests, status updates... all in all, FB is a prime source of goss imussay!

BlogOwner’s Guide to Soul Satisfaction, Part II- Blogging

2009-02-12T20:10:00.001+05:30

Now, now, different people talk about different things on different blogs on different themes. However, the one thing that connects all of them in terms of soul satisfaction of the blogger, is that of feeling that you are keeping something alive, feeding something, that there is someone listening- if no other human being, then at least your blog listens to you.

Sigh.

This is how it all started with this blog, and it may so happen that the story is not so unique .

One fine day BO decided she needed to own a blog and become BO so that she can just say some things OUT LOUD. SHOUT OUT LOUD, without really shouting out loud. So she said- hey, let’s blog! No one will know it’s me me. So I can bitch about anything I want, make fun of whoever I want and nobody will ever know! But, well, she got a comment on her first post and she realised that some people may know. But that did not perturb her because even though some people may know, they don’t know me and that I am me. You know. Semi-anonymous. SO. Lot of bitching happened. Lot of fun-making happened. Whatever boring events highlighted BO’s day, she would go back home and turn it into a funny story for her and people to laugh at. So ANYHOW. There came a point when BO couldn’t go through life’s gifts, good and bad, without thinking “OMG I MUST blog about this!” or “I am SO blogging about this!” or “What should I title this post?” or “What should this person’s moniker be?” or “Haha. You are so paying for it on my blog.”

How to derive maximum utility out of this activity:

Pre-conditions- OBVIOUSLY get a blog, set your template, all that jazz. I’m not turning into google’s Help page here. Love you too!

Step I: Write, Vent, Make It Fun and Funny
Well, what I do is make it all seem funny. You could make it angsty or mean or sarcastic or whatever makes you feel most content. The joy of turning a mundane incident into something funny is that when you read it over, you not only laugh at how mundane it really is and how it actually is something funny (because everything has potential to be funny if you laugh at it), but also makes you all philosophical and you realise that there’s no objectivity in anything. Everything is subjective. One thing can seem serious and life threatening, but if you turn it around, it may sound stupid and silly. It also makes me very, very happy if I can make someone, anyone, laugh. Everybody has their own troubles. But such few entertainers, no? So I shall be funny girl. I volunteer! And more than anything else, it makes ME laugh out loud when I go back and read these very posts. It’s like reading your old journal and getting embarrassed. Or thinking about your old school crushes and going “OMG how could I EVER have had a crush on him? Ewww.”

Step II: Soak-it-in. The Glory The Printed Word Brings
So, when you hit the publish button, it’s out there. It’s out. Everyone can read it. Not that everyone is reading it, but lets be positive. Hee. It’s technically not printed, but it’s out there. It’s been published. So it counts, ok?! When you see your piece up there, no matter how trashy, how silly, how poorly drafted, how badly edited, it’s still yours. And you are the author. The fact that something could empower me to call myself an author - of whatever bull it may be, of whatever little significance and consequence it may be, but it’s mine – makes me feel so so so powerful (and you know how much BO loves power *evil, manic laughter*). It’s almost analogous to the joy that gardeners get out of watching their plants grow. The joy pet-owners get out of watching their pets grow. The joy parents get out of watching their children grow (or not, well, if the kids are brats, but umm, you get the point don’t you? Or may be even they get the same amount of joy. Not that BO would know.) *Continues with the same poise and wonder-filled eyes as before the slight interruption in thought flow* The joy designers and artists get after completing a piece (you go, S! and Suk, for that matter!) The joy lawyers get after resting their case (*giggles wildly* That was for fun.) Such is the joy a blogger gets after hitting the ‘publish’ button. You’re published, yeay!

Step III: What Others Think
Some people may write only for themselves, but I write so that I’m read. I DO like having my words read, no matter how trashy, how silly, how inconsequential. SO. The aftermath is… almost the best part…. Comments. Wheeeee! This is where seeing that one email saying someone had something to say about what you said brings much joy to you. Therefore, I say this form of therapy is prolonged therapy. You keep getting the returns for a couple of days or so. Then there are oral comments. People you talk to, tell you they agree/don’t agree (in my case they just laugh and go “haha ya” since most of my posts are not like opinions or anything. Bleh.). This way, there is also the illusion that your blog is read by more people than what you seem to think. So you can, as someone put it, you can pick a happy figure for yourself :)

So that ladies and gentlemen, is blogging, at least to BO. It’s not just writing something and posting and then writing some more and posting. BO must confess though, that she had once launched another blog where she jotted down her dreams as and when they came to her. There was one who was a magnificent interpreter of those dreams because those interpretations made complete sense. Of course, then BO realised she shouldn’t be putting her dreams out in public like that. Too scary to think of putting so much of yourself out there. So then blog was removed. But BO continued to consult said interpreter when something was bothering her particularly much much.

Coming back to the point, blogging is a marvellous way to satisfy your soul, kind readers. Well, of course, for materialistic BO, it is about the publishing and the knowing you’re being heard and the getting comments and being read bit which is most therapeutic, but yes, she also does write for herself at times :) More on that in the next part to Guide to Soul Satisfaction. Pwomise.

Mood Indicators

2009-02-07T09:39:00.001+05:30

1. Us and Them (or anything on The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd)- Content, bored, want to get high on something, but since Jimi Hendrix said music is the safe kind of high, self chose music.

2. Quad party type music (basically club music, or really “shady” music which one must be ashamed of listening to Eg. Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Britney, Bebot and Promiscuous Girl type songs)- Stressed. Need to relieve all the tension with some mindless music. Head would simply explode if subjected self to Floyd or suchlike when stressed. Imagine listening to Time when you’re stressing over having wasted the past 2 hours zoning out and being totally unproductive! Need some mindless whee-whaa-wham-jam type music at such a point.

3. Pussycat Dolls- VERY stressed. VERY. If watching the video on youtube then even more stressed than “VERY stressed”. This is exam time, project submission time music.

4. Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield- Love the world and want to live life properly and reminding self that must do that. This is generally followed by manic list making.

5. Kya Mujhe Pyar Hai (Remix)- In love with something/someone/someidea/somesuch.

6. Cry by Faith Hill (or Going Under by Evanescence, though nothing beats Cry for me :))- Time for revenge. Plotting, basically. And very very angsty.

7. Anne of Green Gables OST- Very very very pleased or want to be very very very pleased.

8. Enigma- Working seriously, but there’s too much distraction, so I need to put earphones and music on, but I get distracted with songs which have words, especially words I know (which is most of the songs I like) so must listen to instrumental music.

9. Beatles- Happy :)

10. A.R. Rehman- Want to concentrate on the music and feeling okayish but want to be cheered up.

11. Sultans of Swing+Lady Writer+Romeo and Juliet+Tunnel of Love- Something exciting is going to happen after 30 minutes, but I can’t wait. I’m very, very restless so must spend that much time some way and try to keep my mind off said exciting thing. Listen to these 4 in a row :)

12. Led Zep- At peace. Not restless. So can happily listen to and fully appreciate 10 minute long songs.

13. Euphoria- Full joy is coming. Obviously.

14. Standing Still by Jewel or Love Will Come Through by Travis- Frustrated (but I so so so so so so so totally love Standing Still. It’s been one of my all time favourites since like 5.5 years.)

15. Hands by Jewel- Must not quit. Must persevere!

“If I could tell the world just one thing, it would be that we’re all okay” :)

16. Murder on the Dance Floor by Sophie Ellis Bextor- Need inspiration (don’t ask me why).

17. Rest unclassified- Nice mood. Peace ho!

Also, songs keep getting added to/taken off this list obviously. It’s rather fluid.

Character

2009-02-01T22:27:00.003+05:30

This post is about a Sag friend of mine (read: delightful little creature. Not little really. Rather tall and wiry) (Do not kill me, said person) who has been mentioned in passing and only in passing on this blog so far. It is ridiculous that he has not been written about at length, primarily because of the character that he is. Must not deprive blog of such great fodder, therefore this post. ALSO, must formally introduce blog to said character. First thing, what must character be called? I say Character. I have several vewy interesting names for Character, but I have been strictly forbidden from using them in public :( Censored! BO has been asked to censor said names. SO. Character is a Sag, so obviously BO hearts said character. Character ALSO happens to be a number 6 which is a great thing, in BO's considered opinion. Also, it's funny because BO knows Character through this blog. They were introduced through this blog so blog must be thanked. Further, Character has several eccentricities, like most characters.

So anyway, one funny thing about Character. In the recent past, he was madly in love with Deepika Padukone. And thought she would want to want him. And that she was gettable. So he'd try every way possible to get to know her. For instance, this once, while catching up with old friends, Character got damn kicked to learn that P's driver was also Deepika's driver. Much joy came. But soon subsided.

Ok I can't do this! It's really difficult to write funny things about Character. It JUST doesn't sound as funny as it really is. I'm failing at this. Not a good thing. SO, instead of trying to make fun of Character, I will write nice things about Character.

a) Taught me how to like proper music, i.e. NOT Britney Spears (which is now purely for stress-relief)(I love crazy quad-party music like The Way I Are and Bebot etc.). So now I like proper un-embarrassing music.

b) BO also gave fabulous names to Character but cannot reveal on public forum. Argh. Most entertaining I tell you.

c) Is Sag, so obviously BO must adore. I have started noticing patterns in my life. It is getting increasingly difficult to think of anybody in a positive way these days. BO has tried to sit down and shortlist some signs which she likes and she found major flaws in everyone. Not a good thing. But thankfully, Sags have fewer serious flaws. OBVIOUSLY librans are flawless, almost.

d) Character likes physics much much and BO feels slightly intellectually challenged in that regard, but yours truly makes up for it in much knowledge and expertise in other fields, thank you very much.

e) Character falls "in love with" (which BO suspects is only mere infatuation, the sort a 14 year old would probably feel) random people all the time. Many people, at the same time. And rings up BO for advice and the like. Obviously BO gives excellent advice. So Character thinks BO must write for a newspaper/magazine... "Ask BO".

f) Character can read 1000 page ebooks in one day.

g) Character once made fun of BO when she asked him how he stays up so long. Character said he clips his eyes with drying line clips. BO actually believed statement for a moment. Then realised stupidity and laughed at C (Character is too long.).

So there is C for you, mighty old readers. NOT the kind of post that this was supposed to be. Sounds more like a Facebook testimonial or something, but still. At LEAST C is now on the blog. BO was most upset to learn that C HADN'T been written about. How strange, considering what humour and entertainment he brings to BO. Most of all, all Sags must be written about- S's (is that right? Or is it S'?? I don't much care.) command.

Must Chronicle Events

2009-01-26T20:28:00.005+05:30

Events must be chronicled for joyful reading in later years. And of course, to keep you alive, dearie (I'm talking to the blog). And of course to keep you entertained, most sharp and witty reader.

1. I am in Delhi! And it's not frigid. AND it's sale season. I am one moderately warm, happy owner of blog.

2. So, obviously I went shopping. I basically bought tons of formals at several hoity-toity places in South ex. I will now itemize (my favourite activity!)*.

1 shirt from Van Heusen- 900 (was originally 1300) It's a really pretty half sleeved shirt which is absolutely adorable.
2 shirts from Park Avenue- 700 each (bought them on 50% off! Originally priced at 1400.) REALLY great fitting because they have a bit of lycra and that tag which says "Has it.". Thank you very much :) I strongly recommend this brand for womens formals! I'm really really pleased with the fitting, because it FITS nicely. Doesn't hang loose like some over sized ill fitting piece of fine fabric. Or isn't tight at all the wrong places and loose at all the wrong places. This one would fit well because it's got lycra. So it fits one well. And I have been sufficiently repetitive and will now move ON.
1 pair of black trousers from Park Avenue- 2000 (no sale :() Absolutely gorgeous. Fits SO WELL. I'm in love with it. I already had a pair of black Allen Solly trousers but it doesn't fit that well. It's rather loose and really long and looks quite funny. I drown in those. This one, however, is beautiful. Again, this pair has a bit of lycra. You go, Lycra! I love lycra.
2 sweaters from Allen Solly- 1700 (buy one get one free! Obviously had to pay for the one that cost more. The other one was for 1300. So, steal, I say!) I love Allen Solly and i understand the concept of brand loyalty. So I went there and got these! They're lovely. One's a pretty black one, and the other's a grey V-neck. Absolutely pretty and cute and [insert appropriate girl type synonym indicating awesomeness].
1 pair of black strappy sandals from Bata- 1000 (no sale) Very useful. Efficient, serious type sandals. Much needed by BlogOwner. I only own black formal heels. High heels. Closed shoes. Scary for Delhi wear, especially when wearer would be travelling by bus. These sandals are really nice and I quite like them much much.
2 mufflers from Sarojini- 150. OBVIOUSLY I went to Sarojini on the first day along with South ex! Must. It's a ritual.
Other random things that I don't remember.
This is where I stop boring witty reader and move on to other subjects of BO's life.

3. I am now reading Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason. Total non application of mind and fun! I am one of those who loves quality chicklit. Yes, there is quality chicklit! Stop being all nasty and condescending and giving me those oh-my-god-I'm-so-judging-you looks, the odd idiotic reader!

4. Smimp, the delightful little creature, has introduced me to the most joy inducing site ever! http://saleraja.com/category/new-delhi
This website keeps a tab on all sales, location wise! It's brilliant. BO is hooked. ALL thanks to Smimp. Isn't she the most adorable thing who deserves to be lifted up and thrown down?!# Much love is coming. Can't contain. I will stop here.

...I'm out of things worth chronicling. Hmm. Doesn't say very good things about BO's life. And also shows how BO considers shopping as the highlight of her post regarding current life (given, 2/4 points were related to shopping and 9/10th the words in that list are regarding those 2).

This is where I get down to blogwhoring. Please, dear followers, become followers of zis blog by clicking on a link somewhere. I would love to know who, if any, loves this blog and follows it. You know not (or may be you do, for you are the wittiest and the smartest of them all) what joy it brings to these eyes to see an email saying there is a comment on this blog (pointing towards reasdership and love and affection). Obviously, I love those who love me and/or this blog of mine, so for the love and affection (this is where I bribe you smart and witty reader), do it, will you? Thankyah!

*- All figures in rupees. This almost sounds like "Guide to Formals Shopping" off Seventeen or some such (which, by the way, (Seventeen i.e.) I totally miss)!
# That is BO's way of showing love and affection, though credit, total credit, for the original phrase goes to a certain Aries girl who wants to do BO in the most violent way. *giggles*. She is Screechy on this blog. xoxo.

Libran Feels Like a Gemini- but there's more too!

2009-01-19T21:59:00.004+05:30

I was going through posts labelled ‘Self’ and bumped into this. And I spiralled into self conversation.

BO1: How marvellously interesting!

BO2: I know! What was I thinking while putting some of those things in? I mean, seriously, now *blushes red and crimson*

BO1: Haha. Well, it’s great that I’ve done 2.5 of those things. I never thought that time that I’d really be touring Tuscany so soon.

BO2: Yea, and while I was there, I didn’t even realise it was on my list. That I even had a list.

BO1: And come to think of it, another one would have been ticked off had I not had school in May this year. The Egypt trip.

BO2: Right! S and I used to dream up our Egypt trip with much enthu! Which brings me to this. Remember S’ crazy, old archaeology days? When she was obsessed with Egypt and archaeology and how she wanted to become an archaeologist and wear those hot short khaki pants and go around touring and excavating in Egypt with intellectually hot co-archaelogists?

BO1: Haha yea. She almost sounds like Ross.

BO2: S will SO kill me for this.

BO1: No, not really. She LOVES being featured on this blog, remember? S would keep asking “When is the next post coming? Am I on it? Please put me in there somewhere!”

BO2: I know! Adorable she was. So much love for this blog and stardom.

BO1: Ok, getting back to the point…. I should like totally update that list!

BO2: Yes! It would be soo much fun to see how what I really, really want to do may have changed a wee bit.

BO1: But look, most of the things on that list would still go up on my 2009 list.

BO2: This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I LOVE blogging.

BO1: I know! *kisses Azureline in the abstract*

Talk about having both sides of the conversation *giggles stupidly* So now there’s two of me for you to handle, o patient and most intelligent reader. I almost feel like a Gemini.

When Stressed, Here's What BO Does....

2009-01-19T01:19:00.003+05:30

When I’m stressed, I do one or more of the following:

1. Clean my room. Clean everything.

2. Put facepack/peel off type thing. Mmm. Pleasure.

3. Work out. Manically.

4. EAT. A lot. Whatever I can lay my hands on.

5. Blog.

6. Write un-bloggable material furiously.

7. Shop (but that’s really rare because I need a lot of cash for that).

I’m not sure whether I should put this on the list because I anyway do this all the time- talk to myself. A lot. For hours. It’s most fun! I mostly just imagine one person I know in real in some imaginary situation talking to me, and I talk. It’s amazingly therapeutic. You should try it.

Right now, I’m doing 4, 5 and thinking of 2 and almost 3. I’m too lazy to do 1. 1 would do me some good though. I should consider 1.

Then I just tell myself, stop being so stressed, silly! The world is good and so are you. Cheer up and be awesome. And then I see all the magic all around :) (DO NOT LAUGH).

PS: My template is still messed up. Help!

Here It Is

2009-01-14T18:04:00.007+05:30

[Pre-Post Imporatant Note: This template is not functioning properly. The font is all messed up. SOS!]

BlogOwner had promised her faithful readers that she’d supply them with rather exciting posts on soul satisfaction, but she hasn’t lived up to that promise. Yet. As with this blog, it may be late, but it will come. Some time. *giggles wildly*#

Now, on with updates.

BO has exciting unmentionable things happening in life. But BO is most most happy and gleeful and joyful and filled with wonder and is all starry eyed etc.
BO also has had unmentionable sad things happen in life, but net effect is positive by a rather large degree. So worry not, you charming and intelligent reader.
BO has become a fixture in Smimp and SPW’s room. So is Fish. Fish was the original fixture, then BO followed suit. It’s most awesome. You would be most pleased to learn that they are quite amused with BO and consider her a delightful little creature. It’s rather enchanting, the whole thing. Everytime BO walks in, they go “Momo’s here!”$ and flail their arms around and send flying kisses and generally get exicted. So much love BO has for these wonderful structures!
BO has a new obsession. Gossip Girl. DO NOT JUDGE. It’s amazing, ok? Ok. So. BO and Fish have almost started calling each other S and V. It’s so much fun. It’s most addictive too. It’s perfect.
BO can’t WAIT for her break from college to start. She will be in Delhi for a good 6 week span. She’ll be doing most fun things there, including shopping. Wheee! All that theory put in practice. *nods like a sage* However, S is in Bombay and it pains BO that she won’t be meeting S for ages. DO NOT JUDGE, but what is more painful is the fact that BO has to wait longer for S to take her shopping. Materialistic, BO is. It’s true. We must deal with it.
BO has resolved to go back to pilates for body and soul therapy :)

You know you love me...

Xoxo

BO@

#- BO is known for randomly giggling for no apparent reason.

$- Yes, Momo is one of BO’s monikers. Thank you very much.

@- *Blushes* I just wanted to do that once. You go, Gossip Girl!

BO urges you to listen to this song and feel warm and fuzzy.

Really.

2008-11-14T16:18:00.001+05:30

They may say Gil doesn’t exist, but well, he does. They may say Diana doesn’t exist, but she does. They may say they’re only fictional characters, but this fiction is that fictional character’s reality. So if one person could imagine this to be real, it can be and is real. Probably only Gil and Diana realise that they exist in someone’s reality. I’m sure at least one person would agree with me and another smile and say, “Very magical indeed”. Weaving fiction into reality is most enjoyable. Thank you very much.

BlogOwner’s Guide to Soul Satisfaction- Part I: Shop (and Window Shop) Till You Drop

2008-10-25T21:23:00.003+05:30

So when you generally go out shopping with the girls, who aren’t particularly that interested in shopping and window shopping (important: window shopping is as important for the soul as shopping itself is!, with some girls and non-girls (who are almost automatically disqualified as shopping company), you, as a person who thrives on retail therapy cannot satisfy yourself to the optimal extent with the resources (time and cash, which, by the way, are always limited) you have. So you must get rid of these barriers. SOO, spend some alone time and hit the shops!

Imagine yourself in a street full of shops, the glimmer, the bustle, people eating ice-cream, randoms wearing funny things, some very well dressed people, all on their own way. Soak in all the products all around you. The sight of wonderful clothes, that LBD (Little Black Dress which you MUST buy when you grow up and earn pots of gold), those Swarovski studded shoes, that pretty beige sweater, those gorgeous plum bags. As you walk past these shops, it’s all a blur when you also try to absorb the fragrance of delicious perfume , clothes , bags and shoes. So what is one to do when she’s overcome with all the wonderful things on earth that money can buy? She must follow a three pronged strategy to maximise utility of an afternoon or evening in the midst of shopper-land.

Step I: Breeze past the street

Soak it all in, woman. Soak-it-in. FEEL it. Walk up the street and mentally short list a couple of places that you MUST spend a lot of time at and some that you would like to explore. For instance, every time I do this, I MUST visit an Archies and absorb all the stationery around and perhaps even buy letter papers (my favourite stationery article). It’s amazingly soothing. SO well, now that you have mentally shortlisted your targets, stop at the end of the street and turn around :)

And then it begins…

Step II: Close (read: Open) your eyes (read: eyes and ears and olfactory nerves) and take it all in

Enter your shop and look around first. If you intend to buy something specific then go ahead and try out whatever it is that you want. Meanwhile, be extremely perceptive to everything else around you. The soft, elegant lighting of exquisite stores, the special dim lighting of craft and soap stores and the jing-bang lights of the big malls. The fresh fruity smell in Pepe stores, the serious and strong i-need-that-in-a-perfume-bottle fragrance in a KBN type shop. So you know, retail therapy is not only about shopping random things. It’s about the experience. Everything counts.

Don’t spend too much time in one shop though, unless it’s absolute heaven of course. Malls are therefore a good place to spend an afternoon. Because of risk diversification, they generally have a number of different types of stores. So you can get a taste of everything! However, covering a street with assorted shops gives you the illusory satisfaction of having ‘covered more’. Well, both are okay as long as it’s therapeutic!

Street shopping is wonderful but it’s wholly different. The satisfaction that you derive from that is not really about the ‘experience’ but about the end result (your bounty). However, shop-shopping and WSing is pure therapy because it’s a delight for all your senses. It’s like a spa treatment, if not better! Well, I’ll write about street shopping in another post. Worry not!

Don’t be afraid to pick up that face wash here and the lip gloss there to read the exciting little story that they usually print on the back about how it smells delicious and makes your skin soft and supple and you will have not a single misery in your life if you use this product. Certainly go ahead and try out those delicate black shoes! Yes, even if you can’t afford it! The point is to be in the moment and feel like a princess. So be there, do that. But don’t ‘lose yourself’ in the moment and forget about it. HOLD on to it. Picture yourself in those shoes whenever you’re feet aren’t feeling pretty :) Smile at yourself in the mirror and feel happy about your existence! Just stand there and look around. Again, soak it in.

Step III: Imagine, wonder and BUY!

Depending on how much cash you have, buy a little souvenir or so from almost every shop you go to. Shopping is almost like travelling, yes! And BlogOwner loves both :) If you can’t buy something, it’s alright. Few years from now, when you’ll be earning pots of gold, come back and buy that, alright?! Experience it now, then own it :)

THAT, girls and boys, is retail therapy. Not just entering a departmental store and buying toothpaste and soap (though that can also be turned into a very, very satisfying experience by feeling the right things. BO often does that! In fact, BO’s usual quick pick-me-up therapy involves going to a pharmacy and buying face wash or shampoo or lotion or some such wonder good.).

Watch this space for Part II, III and IV *giggles* Happy Shopping to you too! Now, run along!

And she comes. Again.

2008-10-22T00:00:00.006+05:30

Since this is the only place where I can talk and nobody interrupts me, I shall indulge in a little gloating. But well, even though I know it would be absolutely delightful for you to read volumes on how awesome I am, I shall act pricey and not write one long epic on it. You ought to wait for it and it comes… bit by bit :) (that almost rhymed!)(I should like totally become a poet. See?! I’m so multitalented (1) )

So anyway, things have been up. Exactly what, cannot be divulged on a public forum (sidenote: and this is where people start paying attention to this post for hidden messages. *grins*). The point is that poor old BO’s life is no longer as dull as it used to be. Well, she can always say (like Anne did *sigh*) she lived it all out in her imagination, but it’s more than imagination. That reminds me, BO has been watching a LOT of Anne. Remember? That miniseries on Hallmark? Anne of Green Gables, The Sequel, The Continuing Story? Road to Avonlea on Kermit where Gus Pike, Felicity’s beau (gosh, I love that word. It’s so… elegant! Much classier than ‘boyfriend’. Yurgh.) goes away and meets with a tragedy but they’re reunited again when they just die of all that lowe? Well, nevermind. You MUST watch these on youtube or some such place. Absolutely worth it. It’s based in Prince Edward Island in Canada.OR, you could read the books! Easy peasy.

So when BO and the fam were out holidaying in Italy (yea bay-beh. Envy me.) (2) S and BO met two sisters who were taking a trip together. One was 59 and from Ohio and the other, 8 years younger (the ‘baby’ as described by the older one. really cute.) from Florida. They decided to go on a holiday with each other and spend some quality time. So, over dinner in Innsbruck (oh, there’s more, I promise) (3) they told S (the sis-tah, remember? The coolest of them all) and BO that someday, we’d also go on such a trip. BO and S looked at each other and just knew where they’d go together. *sigh*. Of COURSE. Prince Edward Island!

Visit this link for more information, now would you?

http://prince-edward-island-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/avonlea_and_anne_of_green_gables

Prince Edward Island, Anne, her imagination and world, her strength and ideas, Gil, her bosom friend and kindred spirit Diana, Mathew and Marilla and even the annoying Rachel (AND Josie for that matter, but we would rather focus on the bright side, that you very much) are so very inspiring. I have never been touched to this extent by any work of fiction. *sigh*. BO’s all emotional now! BO and S are head over heels in love with the series and the feelings it inspires in them. Oh, and the soundtrack. Gorgeous. Never has any other piece of music uplifted my spirits to this extent. *sigh*. So. If you want to feel such immense joy, inspiration and the will to imagine your way through everything good and bad to make some extra magic happen, watch/read (I suggest watch! Because of the visual pleasure that the setting brings. It's warm, fragrant and delicious) Anne :)

Until next time!

Joy to the World

2008-09-03T09:40:00.002+05:30

You MUST listen to this song which BO came across all thanks to Fish. It's most likely to make chills run down your spine. It's wonderful. Sigh.

Lyrics (for your convenience):
If I told you a secret
You won't tell a soul
Will you hold it and keep it alive
Cause it's burning a hole
And I can't get to sleep
And I can't live alone in this lie

So look up
Take it away
Don't look da-da-da- down the mountain

If the world isn't turning
Your heart won't return
Anyone, anything, anyhow

So take me don't leave me
Take me don't leave me
Baby, love will come through it's just waiting for you

Well I stand at the crossroads
Of highroads and lowroads
And I got a feeling it's right

If it's real what I'm feeling
There's no makebelieving
The sound of the wings of the flight of a dove

Take it away
Don't look da-da-da down the mountain
If the world isn't turning
Your heart won't return anyone anything anyhow...

So take me don't leave me
Take me don't leave me
Baby, love will come through it's just waiting for you

So look up
Take it away
Don't look da-da-da- down

If the world isn't turning
Your heart won't return anyone anything anyhow...

So take me don't leave me
Take me don't leave me
Baby, love will come through it's just waiting for you

Love will come through
Love will come through
Love will come through

Peace!

2008-08-30T20:20:00.001+05:30

Now you know I have made it a point to do all the fun things that I like doing and doing new things, etc and all that jazz which makes people happy and which makes you want to run around singing ‘aaj main upar, aasman neeche’ type songs. You must know, dear intelligent and in-touch-with-your-soul reader, that we must not let what other people think is good or desirable affect what we want for ourselves. This becomes especially important if you’re marooned, somewhat, in a place full of 500 people who were very, very bright, interesting and had crazy different unique dreams in their heads before they landed up here. Now what happens to most people in my place of study, o discerning reader, is this. Some of them get ultra enthu to ‘kill the system’ and become all ‘studly’ and ‘awesome’ and worshippable by doing the things that most such worshippable people have done before. Follow precedent, basically, regardless of whether this is in unison with their crazy unique dream. Some think the system ‘sucks’, that it’s absolutely unfair and they don’t need to give a damn because that’s cool and they any way don’t care about their grades. They’re assured of a good job when they graduate from this place. Then there are some who’re just… there. They study, do their thing. Work when it’s time to work, chill when it’s time to chill. Form the bulk, basically. So there are the studs (including the almost-there studs) the theres and the this-place-sucks-so-I’m-going-to-dope-my-way-out-of-its. Now, there are also some people who’re in touch with their subconscious and so happily live happy lives dreaming about wonderful things and making them happen and do make them happen, etc.. Now, the best part is that these are some people who could’ve easily been a part of the theres but because they truly love their life, they vibrate at such a high frequency that people stop and take note of them. Well, most people do, barring some perhaps who’re so obsessed with doing the right stuff that they just forget to live their life.

So. Now, I’m not passing any value judgment or saying one is better than the other. All I’m saying is this. Why should we let other people’s dreams become our dreams? Why should A’s dreams be better than my dreams? Why should I care about whether people think I’m doing a better job of my life? Think about the enlightened ones I mentioned in the previous paragraph. We do take note and salute them in our minds and hope we could be as happy as them.

Then there are some cliquish people who think that the ‘best thing is do is ____’. Excuse me? Please add a ‘for me’ in there somewhere. You can’t decide what the best thing for XYZ to do is. And even if you think activity A is better than activity B, it’s only what you think and that perception is based on what your experience has been with activities A and B. Right? Right. So you don’t go around crowing one thing the most ‘studly’ thing to do, because honestly, it’s not that tough and doesn’t take an Einstein. And would only Einstein-ish things be worthwhile? Everything one does requires a certain kind of Einstein. Why should one type of Einstein be better than the other? Those who know what I’m talking about also know that when you portray yourself to others, you shouldn’t come across as a someone obsessed with one kind of Einstein. Einstein himself was not obsessed with one thing! Nor was Leo, nor was Newton, nor was or is anybody at all who is worth knowing and learning things from. If everyone just let themselves be and did everything for the kicks of it, without really thinking about how awesome it makes them in others’ eyes, then everyone would be studly. So status quo is this. Everyone here is still very very bright, except, some have progressed to being tube lights who’re in series resistance and glow very brightly when the voltage is high and because the voltage is high; and there are some very few who’re in parallel connection who glow brightly regardless of whether the others in the connection glow brightly or not. They really don’t care. And they’re the happiest of them all.

It’s just that you learn about the best and the worst in people only in certain circumstances, and the happy enlightened ones don’t really care about how well others are doing. You can’t keep measuring yourself against this scale which consists of the achievements/failures of others. It’s incredibly difficult for us to do that here, but I think that’s why we’ve all come to this place. I guess most of us are in the ‘temperance’ phase of our tarot-story-lives. You’ve got to keep going through it, till you learn the lesson :)

So just do your thing and don’t measure yourself against any such scale, alright? Please. Because you’re a lovely, beautiful, intelligent, creative and happy person. And X’s doing cool things doesn’t make you uncool. You’re cool yourself if you just do your thing. And I’m telling myself all of this more than anyone else, so PEACE! And yes, some of it is directed towards the general universe at large. Thank you very much, and PEACE, again!

Writing About Writing

2008-08-25T01:04:00.001+05:30

Right. So it’s been long. I’ve been doing a lot of things, but no, I don’t intend to ignore this blog. Not at all. I have been writing. It’s just that I don’t think I’d want to publish that :) I think I should probably spend time reflecting on why this blog was started in the first place and trace (un-boringly, I promise!) its journey. Well, it was started when BO wanted to tell someone about something but didn’t want to do anything specific in that regard. So she started blogging! She was more or less anonymous that time and nobody really read it. BO led a double life for about a year or more. By then she had ‘blog friends’ who later became friends. She also happened to bump into a person she technically knew, but didn’t really know through blogosphere who she loves talking to. BO would then write about funny things that happened to creatures like Abhu, TC, the weird sisters and suchlike. BO misses car trips to BJB Jr College and stuffing herself with 2 half plates of BJB chaat and then proceeding to Vinay and stuffing herself more. With Abhu, of course. Those were fun times! And, Monkey! Jeez, Monkey and his escapades. Abhu, TC and BO led wildly interesting lives back then. BO even had a stalker (ok, this is the scary part) back then at her tutorial. Quite a freak! And ‘counselling’ with Monkey during rainy afternoons when Monkey would confide in Abhu and BO about all this astrological shortcomings and frustrations in life :) Those were fun times.

Anyhow. Moving on. Then BO came to law school. She ignored this blog for almost a year. But then again, she came right back in full vigour! Now she’s been reduced to publishing stories on the loons here. But she’s scared of divulging too many stories about them because of the lack of anonymity and the possibility if this turning into a ‘goss blog’. So. BO can’t talk about funny stories about her loons. And she can’t possibly keep writing about herself. So what DOES she write about? She writes about what to write about. Like this post. Smart, innit? Anything to keep the ball rolling, bay-beh.

One fun snippet. BO has been taken over by the dark side- i.e. SPW and Smimp. And Fish, for that matter. They are in LOVE with that immensely shady-sexist-senseless-idiotic-nonsensical-crappy song called ‘Ey Hip Hopper’. BO hated it for the longest time ever, however, about 3 days back, she found herself humming the tune. It was earth shattering. Really. BO has no faith in herself now :)

BO also calls for applications from people who wouldn’t mind giving BO guitar lessons. Thank you very much.

Also, is BO funny? Hmm?

On Popular Demand- The Loons Part II and the Answer to "Wassup dude?"

2008-07-16T23:20:00.004+05:30

Hottie- Hottie is well, hottie. She was the resident hottie of my floor when we were on the same floor. BlogOwner now sorely misses going to her room, going through the 500 books that she’d be reading at the same time and telling her how hot she is. Hottie was BO’s most special person because they used to work out together. However, Hottie ditched her for speed walking every walking with other workout buddies. Fine *in that tone* But BO still loves Hottie!

Kan Kan- Can Can is actually the name of a move which cabaret performers do. It’s also the name of a specific exercise in pilates (which, by the way, totally rocks). But that’s not why Kan Kan is called Kan Kan. Kan Kan, quite uncannily (heh) has the same ring to it as Bam Bam. Kan Kan is a sweet little Aquarian who has been debating much too much of late and gives BO a complex! Kan Kan can cannily canter around acad. Actually it’s not a matter of can. She does it. I just wanted to play around with the cans *giggles*

Bin- Bin is the lover of pink and orange. When she falls asleep in class, Fish and BO look at each other and mentally decide that it’s now legitimate to fall asleep because The Bin is asleep. Guess who this is. Clue: She loves papsi and writes pruhjeckts.

BlogOwner has been feeling rather important of late. She is actually a senior in college. That’s just it. People now come to her for gyaan. She is helping people with project writing- not that that’s a great thing, but still! Ok, this is not interesting. My dreams of being a top class carrom player some day are probably more entertaining. Nay. What would I want to read in this post after, say, 2 years when I’m looking back? I’d want to recall fun moments.

It’s generally difficult to record them these days because there are just too many. A lot of those moments involve Funtan and BO calling each other ‘funny’ (the most common message sent by/to them is “you’re too funny” even though it may be out of context, because that statement is always true) and breaking into peals of laughter. Some were spent having nice long gtalk conversations with Guru on the most interesting things that people generally don’t know about either of them. Some of these moments also include Bam Bam cracking mean jokes on poor little BO, who takes it all too well and doesn’t say a thing. They’re funny but at times BO certainly wishes she could like propel Bam Bam at a velocity greater than escape velocity and send him off! For good! Fish and BO are almost always together which implies that Fish is automatically a part of all this. However, at times BO likes spending zen-alone-time when she only listens to her favourite music and thinks about nothing at all. She also talks to herself, but that she has always been doing. This once, ORPAR caught her talking to herself in class and messaged her to notify her of the fact that it is very noticeable! BO has often been caught off-guard when she’s happily walking towards her room, thinking she’s the only one around, when suddenly she notices one of the ammas or a senior around. BO could just evaporate at that instant. It’s that embarrassing! But it can’t be helped.

BO is too cool and has bought shiny (not really, it’s plastic) new pink earphones which have this funky clip-on utility. She still doesn’t know what the point of being able to clip the two earphones to each other could be, but she’s still excited. And they do NOT look like an eight year old’s property. They are very matured and funky. Thank you very much.

Oh, and BO bought a new phone! With golden thingies! With cute little concentric semi circular stuff! Yeay! But for some strange reason, she’s feeling bad about leaving her old phone which had an excellent camera and never broke even after being dropped like some 3897064 times. Good phone.

Ok, that’s it. Off you go!

The New OCD- Obssessive Compulsive Debating

2008-07-08T00:17:00.000+05:30

What is this nonsense? Coming, reading, deriving joy by reading this blog which reeks of awesomeness and not even reciprocating by commenting or at least letting BlogOwner know you were here? Hmm? Leach! BO loves being loved. It’s a fact of every Libran’s life. This blog was born partly to gather a devoted group of BO’s followers who would eventually help her in her fantastic plans of world domination. Commenting should be mandatory. The browser shouldn’t shut before one leaves a comment. Or your comp should crash or something if you dare to leave before leaving your thoughts behind. I have no issues with Anon comments, ok?! I’m not too cool for them. So please, ok? Don’t be a ghost on this blog.

Now, moving on to the substantive part of this post…

I have been debating obsessively. These days, I’m either debating, or thinking about debating or talking about debating. I’m a nocturnal debater, plus my debate buddies are also night people, so we debate after dinner. While I’m in class I think about debating. When it’s 6.00 pm, I start counting the hours before we start debating. I come back to the room and discuss the debate with Fish for two hours. Fish also debates. When I speak, I sound like I’m debating. When I’m consoling someone, I start off with “Ok, I have 3 points of rebuttal and 2 substantives. …” Ok, it’s not that extreme, but somewhat like that. When someone’s saying something I start thinking of points of rebuttal and mentally ask points of information.* Vague things have started making sense to me. I have started cracking debate jokes. For instance, a couple of us were chatting when Fish and I thought we should go back and resume working. So I said, “This house believes Sneha and Fish should go back” and started laughing. I have the natural urge to refer to people as ‘ladies and gentlemen’. I have an entire excellent quality notepad devoted for debate notes.# I have a debate pen. I have some specific lucky debate clothes. I have a debate hairstyle- pony with bangs towards the left. I have a sore throat because of excessive debating. Bam Bam says his throat is on the verge of getting sore and it is in such a condition when it sounds the best and debates like a maniac, which he does ordinarily as well. He seemed absolutely kicked about it and said he generally talks so much when his throat is such because he thinks he sounds absolutely hot this way, he eventually necessarily ruins his throat. Further, debating has started giving me a high even though I lose most of my matches. It’s like therapy. When I’m in class, I think about how I want to do nothing else but debate. Chill or debate. The only two things I feel like doing these days. What is wrong with me?!?!

*Well, this is also due to my Libran nature.

#Which other people constantly borrow sheets from. Hmph.

The Loons

2008-07-06T10:57:00.003+05:30

Yes, this is the long overdue post on the many loons in my life. In my current life. Now, why is this post important slash entertaining slash worth your time or mine? It is important because there are several loons and it is absolutely essential to record a post on them for future reference and so that none of you lovely, intelligent readers with excellent memories forget who these illustrious beings are. After all, if they’re featuring on this blog, they must be special, else why would BlogOwner, who is a rather bizzy person want to write about them or even mention them? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these are indeed loons of the highest order, hence. Not that BO thinks and writes only about loons, but given the environment she is now, it is mostly this kind of creatures that she lives with, hence this indelible mark on her mind and soul.

In no specific order regarding love, affection, etc., (at all!) (whoever popped in my head, was written about), here they go!

1. Fish- Fish is, well, the fish. Her moniker is such because she’s the last sign on the Zodiac and because there generally is a fishy feel about everything she does. Fish, as her name suggests is generally good when served in certain dishes, but she can also have too many thorny bones if you don’t get the right piece. She is slimy, but that is only before you remove her scales. Once those dreadful things are gone, she’s lean and clean.

2. Funtan- Funtan rhymes with his several other names, hence the moniker. BO couldn’t come up with anything else! He’s simply funny. Too funny. Be careful, he can make you laugh compulsively and not stop for a very, very long time. Hence, his alias is Funny Boy. He claims BO is funnier, but we all know that’s a lie. Polls regarding who’s funnier have been taken, where Funtan has won hands down. He has a special, innate talent for appointing himself as the ‘judge’ in the middle of an argument or mini-debate type thing and declare himself winner.

3. Screechy- Screechy is a ram but I didn’t want to call her ‘ram’ lest someone should confuse ram as in the Arian with Ram-Shyam Ram. Yurgh. Schreechy screeches. A lot. This should be enough. She is the ultimate entertainment but only when she’s not after your case. Thank you very much.

4. ORPAR- One of the Remnants of the Pure Aryan Race. She’s small but she’s a LOON. She loves dancing around in unmentionables and must not be angered. Even if she is angered, she must not be man-handled once angered. Man-handled includes every sense of the word. Every.

5. Smimp- Small + Imp = Smimp. She’s really small, and really impish. One of the high grade loons around. Smimp happens to be a fellow Libran though! BO is absolutely thrilled about the presence of one normal sign around herself, one of the very, very few. Sigh. Normal signs are almost a rarity around BO! Don’t ask me what ‘normal signs’ are. Please. It’s a subjective thing, you know.

6. SPW- Scary Photo Wali. Name is self explanatory, however, a clarification is necessary. She has only ONE scary photo where she looks like Gollum and BO has decided that the name must stay. Her characteristic features include her stunning ability to make funny faces and her blue pyjamas.

7. Pengy- I have written volumes on this character already, but in order to rightly serve the purpose of this post, I shall reiterate. She is one to be feared and cuddled. Yes, it’s a rather strange combination and I fail to understand how she manages both. She can make disgusting fish faces with Mr. Pengy and gross the people around out, which generally happens to be a large number of people because they do it in public places.

8. Bam Bam- I have suitably named him Bam Bam because when he gets seven minutes to talk, he sounds like a revolver shooting out tiny bits of acerbic, acidic, terribly mean yet funny (if the joke’s not on you) (actually, it’s funny even if it’s on you) words. You may feel like pinching his cheeks due to their extreme cuteness (and somewhat Libran appeal, even though he isn’t a Libran which BO now finds very hard to believe) when you see his baby pictures, but may get scared (and scarred*) in real life. Bam Bam seems to know everything about everything but BO suspects he really doesn’t know everything he seems to know.

9. The Guru- A certain synonym of his moniker is used rather liberally to refer to this man in PoS of late. A sport and immensely helpful when it comes to talking about his favourite intellectual sport, he and Bam Bam share a love-hate relationship. They can’t live with each other and can’t live without each other. They’re like this cute little married couple where each keeps joyously and shyly blaming the other for their faults. Except, these two aren’t particularly joyous or shy.

10. E-Man- If you’re looking for entertaining, funny stories about people you know and even about yourself, go to E-Man! *plays the He-Man tan na na na na music with E-Man instead of He-Man* E-Man often seems to be on the verge of screaming out on top of a cliff, “I have the power!” Hence, the moniker. E-Man’s characteristic features include his zombie like gait and his own way of narrowing his eyes and staring at you like a loon. Hence he’s perfect for this post.

Ok 10 people. There are many more, though. But, rest with these 10 for now, will you? I must go and figure the rest out.

*Because he may flash his characteristic expression of extreme disgust and act all grumpy which would scar a gentle, loving, peaceful, harmonious being like you for life.

BlogOwner Rants About Happy Endings

2008-06-24T00:39:00.002+05:30

I’m all for happy endings. Now, tell me, what’s wrong with happy endings? That they aren’t real enough? Too fairytale-ish? They happen only in movies? What are we clashing on here? A) that happy endings are not possible in real life or B) you and I won’t have a happy ending?

I was watching Pretty Woman today and what struck me the most was that there actually are very few movies that make any sense at all and have a happy ending. A happy ending that is could be real. There are also very few books that seem to satisfy these criteria. Cynical writers? Or is it really so that happy endings are rare and hence we don’t write about it? Is it not so that we tend to write about that which is not or that what one wants or that which is, but with a certain degree of spin to it? What we are living, what is here and now is so difficult to write about. There is probably no novelty in that. Why would I want to read a book which describes, accurately and with every single detail, what it is to be Sneha and what it is to wake up at 8.20 am, shower at top-speed, rush to class, sleep (mentally) in class, have lunch, go to the library and work, ‘bond’ with people in the library, go back to the room at midnight and sleep? Well, I’d say that I would indeed read such a book if it were not written by me, which obviously wouldn’t happen because I wouldn’t do such a thing. But then again, I would read it to see my life, no, my daily chores (that’s not my life) through someone else’s eyes because there would certainly be some spin on it. It wouldn’t be what I live. And who else would read it? Nobody, except my stalker, if any, perhaps. And in any case, this wouldn’t be a book about what is, because it’s not written by me and nobody but I knows what is. So even if anybody else read it, it would be because it is not about what is. So either way I win. You get what I’m saying, don’t you?

Happy endings happen in real life. Now, there is really no ‘end’. Hence, there are no endings. Hence happy endings aren’t possible. What is possible is just, well, being happy. And that happens. So why are people saying all the time that happy endings are not real enough? Of course, they’re real if you assume there’s an end. This leads us to ask, what is an end? If we are to assume an end, then that end would be more of a turn or a culmination of certain events. There actually is a problem in the terminology and not in the idea itself. When two people fall in love and tell each other that, that’s a happy event, a happy turn, a happy end assuming both of them die that instant. Assuming they don't,they get married, that’s another happy turn. Then they have problems. They get, what is called, real. They take each other for granted. But they do come to some agreement at the end of each such set of events and live this way. Loving each other, hopefully. If they’ve managed to do that, then they’ve been happy. This brings us to the very definition of ‘happy’. What is being happy? I won’t define it, because it means something tangibly different to each one of us, but is the same in essence. A lot of people have tried, and failed, to define it. That’s not because – in the words of some idiot- that we’re not good enough to define what it is, but because the language we communicate in not equipped to define it. Everybody knows what it is and I say peace to that.

Anne of Green Gables is one movie, where there’s no such ‘end’. Anne and Gilbert do get married, but that’s only their happy turn, not their happy ending. When the knight in shining armour comes and rescues Vivian in Pretty Woman, it’s not the end, it’s the beginning of the story. A happy turn. So why is such a thing so unreal? We all get a taste of that feeling a lot many times in life. I’m sure you can recount at least 5 such turns which really made you feel that you’re special and that you’re you, a distinct soul in this sea of human beings, then why are happy turns, or if we can to accept the faulty terminology and proceed, happy endings unreal or rare? If it can happen to you, who may be at the most, say 24, 5 times already, then what makes you think happy endings aren’t possible? Why is pursuing your love so different from pursuing what you want in your work-life? I’ll tell you why. Because you value the former a little bit more. So you don’t want to make mistakes. But you know what? You have to go for it. You have to do as the 8 of coins says. You have to work towards it and glory will be yours. You will have a happy turn, a happy ending. And guess what, it’s not only you who wants that. The other person also wants it. It’s just so absolutely idiotic to not do anything about it and say happy endings are unreal and rare. Don’t be like Celine and the guy (I’ve forgotten his name) in Before Sunrise. Be like Edward and Vivian, like Anne and Gilbert, like Oliver and Jenny, like all those who loved love enough. You do not want to live all your life thinking “Oh, I should’ve done that, I should’ve tried that.” If Edward had not gone ahead in Pretty Woman and they’d have met after 10 years, they’d probably have been like the two in Before Sunset. Full of regret. Do you want that to happen to the story of your life? Or do you want your sequel to be like Anne and Gilbert’s where they don’t ‘live happily ever after’ because ‘ever after’ is not one day. They do live happily, yes. But they are not regretful. At the worst, they may fall out of love and become indifferent to each other. They may even start hating each other. Then, they’d think they rushed into it, or that they were foolish. But they wouldn’t regret not having done something. At the worst, they’d think they made a mistake. But they’ll certainly value their days of happiness because they did have that happy turn. They were happy at some point. It’s better to have that burst of happiness for a few days or months or years than not have it all AND have regrets. So even on a cost benefit analysis, going for it wins. Because this way, happy turns are guaranteed.

Please, do it, ok? Thanks. I had to say this.

Adoption and Pengy

2008-06-18T21:33:00.001+05:30

There is a certain strange phenomenon which oft takes place at my place of study, law school (henceforth, PoS). People adopt other people as their ‘kids’. There are natural kids as well. First, there are rank kids, rank parents- rank genealogies. These are people who share the same rank in the entrance test conducted by PoS through which certain 80 victims are chosen to be tortured in a manner that you, oh innocent reader, cannot imagine. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t say this torture is bad or undesirable. This is the pain is pleasure kind of torture, if you know what I’m saying *sage like grin*Then there are roll kids and roll parents. Roll genealogies are rare because people are generally too lazy to calculate who their roll parent is.

The norm is to take your ‘kid’ out for lunch/dinner and ‘get to know’ him/her. It’s a very warm thing to do, especially in the kid’s first week at PoS when he’s all confused and harrowed and doesn’t know what to do types. Now I’ll tell you about my experience. My roll dad was taking me for lunch this one day but I had to cancel at the last minute because I had to attend a moot feedback session which basically consisted of a general 5 minute speech intended to encourage us first years to moot. So I missed that lunch. My rank dad (yea, I know, I have 2 dads. No mom.) tried scheduling lunch a zillion times in trimester I but it didn’t work out because either of us was always busy with something. So now the plan is that he’ll take me for lunch when I’m taking my kid. It’ll be like a Rank 6 family thing. Three Glorious Generations.

Now, people often adopt people- even people from their own batch. For fun. So this Virgo debate buddy of mine who I shall henceforth refer to as Pengy, the Penguin because she strongly resembles one (we have conducted surveys to affirm this) and very cutely flaps around while mumbling indecipherable noise type things, decided to adopt me. Now, Pengy had to take me out to seal our bond. So this once during a break between classes, Fish casually asked whether we could go out for dinner that night. Pengy and I were okay with that. Chick, a certain Scorpio friend who along with her roomie, Nepali, are the funniest people on my floor, was randomly roaming around looking lost and aimless. So Pengy asked her if she wanted to come along. Chick was game. So this is how it happened. We went to a lovely place called Casa Del Sol and if you’re in Bangalore you should definitely try it. It’s right above Casa Picola on Residency Road.

The four of us happened to have a moniker which was the name of a bird of some sort. Chick is chick. Pengy is well, a penguin. Fish looks like a duck and they say I look like a sparrow- small and chirpy. So we decided to call ourselves the Birdies or the Avian Society. The mandate of the Avian Society is to try new and jazzy restaurants in Bangalore and pamper self by doing such. Birdies Dinner happens once a month.

You may brace yourself for my next post which will detail out the various monikers that some rather indescribable characters have. So I won’t get into that in this post. It’s funny how we rarely call each other by our name. Putting spins on people’s name is so much fun. Something special by each person, for each person *sigh* Okay, disregard that last sentence. I’m in one of those moods, you see.

BlogOwner's Happiness and Movies

2008-06-16T15:49:00.002+05:30

After a long drawn conversation with S (the sis-tah, remember?) which basically revolved around BlogOwner’s happiness (yes, she’s slightly self-obsessed) it has been decided that the mandate of this blog shall be upheld and it will be used as a place to make fun of all the serious things that happen to BlogOwner as she goes about doing her thing. Some news that you, as an inquisitive reader, might want to updated on:

1. BlogOwner has resumed her pilates sessions. Now, now, for the uninitiated, Pilates is NOT some sort of a coffee blend and it’s NOT pronounced as pie-lates. It’s pi (as in timid)-lah-tays. Thank you very much. It is a form of exercise which is usually practised by ballet dancers and suchlike who need strength in their core, need to be able to balance while performing and need long, lean muscles. Well, heh, BO is neither a ballet dancer nor does she have long, lean muscles *sigh* however, she will practise pilates till she gets them. Do not snigger the way S does! I shall pursue this cause with passion. Thank you very much.

2. She’s been watching movies obsessively. The ones that she’s seen of late are-

1. The Mistress of Spices- It was quite terrible, to put it in mild terms. BO loved the sarees Ash wore, though. They were simple and beautiful- quite like Mrs. Gandhi’s. BO loves her sarees as well. Don’t you think they’re gorgeous? BO would kill to get those sarees.

2. The Graduate- Awesomeness oozing from every frame.

3. Four Weddings and a Funeral- Bleh. Not funny.

4. Rounders- Very interesting movie. BO got all excited about it after streaming and watching it at some 4 in the morning. So she wikied Texas Hold ‘Em and is now all inspired to become a poker champion. Must watch! In fact, BO watched it after it was highly recommended by someone.

5. Little Miss Sunshine- BO fails to understand why it inspires the oh-my-god-this-is-so-cute feeling. It certainly did not succeed in making BO, who happens to be a soft-hearted, harmless type creature who cries at the end of Meg Ryan movies, feel that way. Quite a disappointment. She did like Twain’s character though.

6. Love Story- Really, really, really….. (to infinity) nice. Much better than the book, in BO’s humble opinion.

7. The Pianist- Good movie. Mild, yet leaves an impact.

8. The Devil Wears Prada- Good chick flick. Really entertaining. S recently told BO that she (i.e. BO) looks thin and BO reacted just the way Emily did. BO likes Emily!

9. Night at the Museum- Funny. Loved the “Hey octavus/octopus/whatever.” “It’s Octavius.” bit! Octavius was obviously BO’s favourite!

10. Before Sunrise- Too good. Perfect BO flick. She totally related to Celine and agreed with almost everything she said in the movie.

11. Before Sunset- The sequel to #10. Wonderful. BO is now suppressing the extremely strong urge to discuss it here so that it doesn’t spoil the movies for you. Absolutely BO type flicks, these two, I tell you!

12. Half of Across the Universe + Half of Thank You for Smoking- Yes, they do not make one whole movie, but still. BO loved both of them till they went off and made her sad. Now she shall stream them online and finish watching them.

13. First 15 minutes of Trainspotting- Absolutely gross. Couldn’t get past 15 minutes. Why subject self to such unpleasantness?

14. Father of the Bride- For the nth time. Good fun and really funny. BO loves Steve Martin.

15. When Harry Met Sally- For the mth time. Love love love. However, BO’s favourite Meg Ryan movie is Sleepless in Seattle.

Well, BO might have seen another movie or two which she cannot remember now. Yes, it’s become quite an obsession especially when one considers the fact that BO had never been a movie-person. She can’t sit through movies. She gets restless and keeps looking at her watch. That still happens though. She keeps checking how much of the movie is left.

Fish has been pestering poor BO to ‘watch a movie with her’. There are certain logistical constraints which Fish refuses to acknowledge. For instance, one can plug only ONE pair of earphones at a time. How are 2 pairs of ears supposed to share that? Further, BO likes watching movies alone. Peacefully. Also, Fish loves those scary thriller morbid terrifying screech-scream-inducing movies. On the other hand, BO loves anything that’s NOT that. Not that she doesn’t like thrillers and suchlike, but she simply prefers happy and/or interesting ones, not necessarily romcoms. BO is NOT a sucker for only romcoms. Thank you very much. So Fish, dearie, BO must break your heart. We can always go shopping together, right?

3. BO wants to listen to some good, fresh music. Please suggest your all-time-favourite type music.

4. BO loves Simon and Garfunkel.

5. BO loves blogging! Well, this isn’t news, but BO simply wanted to state this.

Until next time, most intelligent reader (since you chose to read this), may all be well with you!

Are you one of us?

2008-03-15T19:27:00.001+05:30

Have you ever been ashamed to admit you like a particular song because it’s uncool or doesn’t fit with your image? Do you secretly listen to songs that you know your friends will make fun of (even though they may be liking it as well, secretly, of course)? Do you have hidden folders on your computer containing Himesh Reshammiya music?* If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, then, join the club! You aren’t alone, sweetie#. We’re with you *nods with copious amounts of solidarity pouring out* So, the other day I was listening to ‘Tum se hi’ from Jab We Met, which by the way, was a shockingly sweet movie (I never thought I’d actually watch and like a Kareena flick) (using earphones) and fish admitted that she hates to admit it but she likes the song as well and we had a nice, long discourse on the phenomenon of secretly liking songs that one isn’t generally allowed to like. You know. It was then that this story about a friend of mine who had renamed certain himesh songs on his itunes playlist came up! I mean, okay, you don’t want the whole world to know you’re a fan of the Nasal Twang King, for obvious reasons (which is, the fear of having your sanity and the well-being of your sensory receptors doubted) but this is just the limit! I mean some sense of security and normalcy must prevail!

So what you do when you’re quietly listening to some such apparently must-not-be-liked-by-normal-people song and a human being appears out of nowhere, hijacks your laptop and opens your itunes (or WMP or whatever)(or takes away your earphones or exhibits some such behaviour- you get the drift, right?)? Heart comes to mouth, fear comes rushing like you’ve got gifts from US for it (ok, sad joke.) etc.? Worry not. Learned BlogOwner will give you sound advice. You should pretend that the song you’re listening to is indeed a wonderful piece and wonder out loud how they never heard such a gem and prod them to listen to it (well, to be fair, it wouldn’t be pretending because in your opinion, it IS a good piece and that’s why you’re listening to it). It’s at least better than frantically changing the song every time you sense human infrared radiations. Further, it could possibly get that person to listen to that track and perhaps s/he might even like it! Then you both could secretly like it! Well, it wouldn’t be much of a secret if everyone did this. That would be great, if we humans weren’t this judgemental, won’t it? Well, not really. It keeps things spicy. :)

P.S.- Why are slam books called slam books? Just a question.

*I SWEAR I don’t.

#Pardon me for the annoying saccharine language, but it just fits. Hence.

Rajasthani Method of Torture

2008-02-15T23:36:00.001+05:30

After the immense success of the Chinese Method of Torture, a certain friend Bobgem*, Mother G, I and several other companions who have been of late subjected to the practices mentioned herein, have devised the Rajasthani Method of Torture. It includes the following.

Feed the subject (‘it’ henceforth, since it would have lost all human semblance after a few of these excellent tricks have been applied upon the subject) ONLY dry, hard, rough and tough makkai ki roti(MKR) for 3 days in a row, twice each day. As an accompaniment, serve watery dal which has 5 spoons of chilly powder for every 100 ml of water, such that it conveniently burns the subject’s lips.
Don’t let it use the loo for 2 days in a row.
Let it wander off in a desert jungle devoid of any vegetation in search of ‘bushes’ to relieve itself, which by now it calls ‘loo’.
Load it with 40 kg of luggage and make it travel 10 hours a night in rickety old buses. Make it change 4 buses in a single night.
Leave the subject stranded in the middle of nowhere with that entire luggage in 3 degree celcius frigid weather at 5 a.m., 3 days’ worth MKR in its tummy and 10 other random law schoolites to wait for some bus or truck or jeep or anything that moves on wheels which could probably come any time then.
Do not let the subject bathe more than once in 3-4 days.
Let it bathe in an open tent with ice cold water and have another similar creature posted at one of the flaps to ‘guard’ in order to create a false sense of security in the mind of the subject. Annoy the Wind God in some way or the other and make him/her send strong gusts of wind such that the guard is rendered useless and the tent-flaps start flying open in every possible direction while subject is bathing. Better yet, send a random kid to walk in on the subject who’d (kid) later come out and report to her friend, “Arre, tu yahan hai. Mujhe laga tu andar thi, lekin andar toh ek didi nikli!”

“Oh, you’re here. I thought you were in, but there was some didi inside!”

Keep the subject so far away from civilisation that it would come up with come up with corny distortions of even cornier movie lines such as “Ek sip Pepsi, City Girls ke gale ka haar hota hai. Ek sip Pepsi”.
Make it sleep in a 8 ft by 8 ft room with 6 others, draped in 3 layers of blankets. Even better, make it sleep between a mal boy from its class and a girl who decides to sit on top of her neighbour’s head in the middle of the night thinking it’s a roll of bedsheet or toilet paper or some such thing.
Make the subject run out of toilet paper.
Make the subject climb random hills in random villages to see random temples in an absolutely random fashion and offer NO explanation to the subject. That is where the element of torture lies. *evil grin*
Again, feed the subject ample MKR. This is the BEST part of it all. Watch closely the way in which the subject pretends to relish it in order to not offend its hosts. It’s the most beautiful thing to watch if you have sadistic tendencies.
Make it stand in front of a mirror after subjecting the subject to all this for 16 days.

It is hoped that torturers and suchlike will soon adopt our system and experiment it on their own victims. It has been a great pleasure in developing this fool-proof system which ensures everything that you need. Personal experience says this 13 pronged approach# will definitely drive your victim to unimaginable levels of insanity. Make the most of it.

* I was confused between Bobgem and Gembob as a moniker for this Gemini but decided the former sounds more dignified. I know it’s ironical that a moniker should sound dignified, but what the heck, Gembob sounds outright ridiculous!

# 13 is a lucky number!

Important Note: This post is purely for the readers’ and the writer’s amusement. Rajasthan is an amazing place and its people are brilliant. Peace!

Yes. It's true. I'm officially confirming the rumour, people!

2008-02-15T22:07:00.001+05:30

Keeping the interest of the bored, the lazy and all those who seek salvage from this unreal real world* with a bit of humour from someone else’s life (because it’s always easier to laugh at another’s life) in mind, BlogOwner (BO) has decided to revive, no, resurrect (the more powerful the expression, the better) this blog. Well, this blog has been a place where I laugh at events, rather, little things that were so mundane that they could only be laughed off, which weren’t necessarily funny but were made to entertain myself after it happened to me. As a person at work had remarked at my and a certain Aquarian’s (henceforth known as Mother G) laughing at the most tense of times during a particular exercise… “It’s nice to see how you can find humour in everything.”

And yes, I write utter rubbish.

* I’ve always felt my imaginary world is a lot more real than the real world. I’m often caught talking to myself, when I’m really not talking to myself but only doing something in my imaginary world, I get quite dazed about what is real and what was only my imagination.

Shiny New Life and Pigeon Magnetism

2007-07-21T21:35:00.000+05:30

BlogOwner(BO) is not exaggerating when she says she’s been having the time of her life *ahem* since the past three weeks. No, seriously. Okay so she’s been working like she’s never worked before but she’s also enjoying it all.

She’s also bringing you some pictures of her shiny, new life. Of course, she misses Abhu’s, TC’s and the gang’s antics. Those were the good old days when she’d bring you funny tales about these characters, innit? Aww, she misses them too! And she loves this blog more than ever NOW that she can go back to all those delightful light blue links and relive the hilarious moments one again. This is much needed at times, especially when she’s in the library (lib, henceforth) at 11.45 pm, struggling to find SOME relevant info for her term paper. Talking about the lib, she must let you most intelligent people (like, of course! You’re reading this scholarly blog. BO loves you. Honestly.) know that it happens to be her favourite place on campus. No, really. It’s not that she’s nerdy- which, by the way, she most certainly isn’t- it’s just that the lib is nice and crowded most of the time and BO loves it.

Now, now, there’s a lot to be told. Three weeks seem like forever, in a good way. Oh, it has been ascertained that BO is a pigeon magnet. Window Sill, Bathroom, BO’s room is where another branch of that good old Maternity Home has been set up. It’s doing really well. A couple has already built a nest and the eggs are on the way! BO can’t wait. No really.

Okay, take a look at some pictures.

The upper berth is BO's resting place.

Football match in action. The clouds were more interesting, though.

Most of the batch.

New pigeon! Woo Hoo! His/her mate was around but BO couldn't get both of them AND the nest in the frame.

I know I know, this post isn’t as exciting, fun-filled and oh-I’m-so-happy-I-could-just-fly as BO's usual posts (What did you say? No, come again..?), but please bear with her. Thank you very much.

BO is a huge fan of these. All of them make sense to her but this one makes a LOT of sense. Change the ‘lab’ to ‘lib’.

Oh, by the way, BO’s shiny new friends (the kinds that come in dazzling pink and blue wrappers) (with a red ribbon) include a fish (Piscean for the uninitiated)(Crack, henceforth), a ram (Aries, who, by the way, happens to be fish’s roomie and calls fish ‘her crack’(Ram, henceforth). BO loves Ram. And her crack. Heh.) her own roomies both of whom happen to be librans (imagine a room filled with 3 librans!) and many many others. Okay this paragraph was inserted to somehow mention the ‘crack’ bit.

This has been BO's super favourite song since quite some time. *sigh*. If someone would play and/or sing THAT for her, she'd like, fly or something. Or drift away. Or something in that line. You get the picture, dont' you?

The Return Of The Zombie.

2007-06-18T21:57:00.000+05:30

Right. I have been away since a long time but this is my blog and I happen to be the BlogOwner and I shall do what I please and I am NOT feeling guilty about having abandoned this haven of mine.

Okay now that that is out of the way, I’ll fill you all wide eyed, bushy tailed, anxious and curious people about what has been ‘up’ in my whatever excuse for a life that I have.

~~ The baby pigeons* are flying! They’re so grown up. I feel like their gramma. Here, look at them. I’d thought I would provide you with this week by week update of their development etc, but that has not been possible. They’re so quick at growing up. They’ve been very, very naughty since they learnt how to fly. Their favourite spot to perch on is the wall unit.

Papa Pigy

Papa Pigy and Elder Baby Pigy (Lechu henceforth)

Momma Pigy, Lechu and Papa Pigy perching on our wall unit with much pride.

Momma Pigy and Papa Pigy
Lechu on the wall unit

Lechu and Papa Pigy basking in the sun and posing in their usual fluffed-but-flat way :D

(Btw, the younger one has been christened 'Pechu'. Pechu has started flying but not as much as Lechu. I'll put some pics of Pechu as soon as possible.)

~~ Since I’m going off to law school, I’ve been given this laptop of my own, which by the way, is awesome. Like, totally. I haven’t yet removed those plastic screen covers, but still, take a look. It looks a lot sleeker in real! Lenovo 3000 Y500 37Q.

~~ My old cell phone landed in the commode. Do not ask what I was doing with the phone in the loo. Hell, okay, I’ll tell y’all. It was a dark and stormy night (all nights are dark, aren’t they? But all nights are surely not stormy). There was no electricity and the bathroom bulb isn’t connected to the inverter. It was pretty spooky. I always use my phone as a torch. Hee. So anyway. As usual I had taken my phone along with me and BEFORE anything unmentionable could land into the commode, my phone landed in it. I don’t understand how these supremely trained hands of mine could not prevent such a fall. Nevertheless, the phone thus suffered an unglorified and shameful death. The circuit was gone. Completely. SO. I got a new phone. Woo hoo! I’m very happy with this one. What is surprising is that its 1.3 MP camera clicks incredibly good pictures which are even better than my mom’s Cybershot 2 MP camera phone which has autofocus, flash and all that jazz.

That's my new phone (mom's phone has taken this shot)

And here are some shots I took with my phone

Okay, don't look at the mess. Look how sharp they are!

~~ I have exactly 7 days left at home. I can’t believe I’m actually going. No, actually I can believe that I’m going. It’s just that I seriously hope things turn out the way I want them to and everything is just fine.

~~ I’m thinking I should perhaps write about something deep, meaningful and blah blah. But I like the funny old me a lot more than the apparently serious me. What do you think? It’s just that I’ve ceased being as funny as I used to be some day *Sigh* No. Actually, it’s just that Abhu, TC and S are behaving in a strangely sane fashion these days which is why I can’t find anything to write on and they were always my blog fodder! I hope I soon get some blog-worthy content. Muahahaha. I’m pretty positive I’ll be blessed with fresh raw material soon enough ;)

~~ This is a reply to the comments on my previous confessional post :

I DO NOT record secretly. Hullllooooo. The phone beeps like crazy when the convo is getting recorded. I am NOT loud and childish. Sheesh. Abhu needs to reduce the volume of her speakers. TC will vouch for this. Hello to all the first time visitors to my blog who bothered to leave a comment. You know, comments mean such a lot. I feel like putting up a ‘Please let me know you were here!’ batch like the one Asha has. It makes my day. I feel so grateful for the fact that >2 people may actually be reading this blog! THAT is quite a feeling, you know.

* Click here for the entire pigeon series.

Talk To Me

2007-05-29T08:59:00.000+05:30

…. But not on the phone!

You see, I have this thing against talking on phone. Especially when I’m talking to someone for the first time, I’d rather talk face to face. You see, it becomes very difficult (or so I assume) to imagine what I must be looking like in real if you talk to me on phone. I, erm, sound like a 2 year old. Okay. So, I’ve said it. Whew. My voice. There is something in my voice that makes me sound sooooooooo… young, almost kiddish! When I was in 7^th Std, someone, who had ONLY heard me over the telephone, had offered me a dubbing role in one cartoon. He thought I was in 2^nd Std or something and my Dad had a tough time convincing him that I really WAS 5 years older than what he thought. When he showed our Kullu-Manali trip pictures to everyone in his office (in the same year), all those who had heard my voice (I was a regular caller, “ May I talk to blah blah, pleeeaaasee” I literally used to sing this line out. Okay, this once when I was in 3^rd Std, I had called my Mom’s office and the convo went something like this… “May I talk to my mother, please” “ Who is this?” “I’m my mother’s daughter” “Hahahahh. And who is your mother?” “Oh! Erm.. she’s [name]” *blushing red and crimson*) were expecting to see a toddler or something perhaps because they were shocked to see such a grown up 11 year-old!

This voice problem of mine (which at times turns out to be a good thing as well. S says she and others find it hard to believe that I can ever be rude (even when I AM rude) because no matter what I say, it sounds very ‘sweet’. Right. Now THAT must be a surprise to you all. Acidic BlogOwner isn’t REALLY that acidic, then. Hah!) has been thoroughly tested by me. I was always the voice on the answering machine at home, so, *sigh*, I have heard it many, MANY times. I have even recorded my own conversations with TC and Abhu, where I’ve purposely thrown in all sorts of voice maneuvers or whatever (like giggles, expressions of indignation, horror, etc) just to hear what I sound like. Was I shocked! I do sound…. Cute, may be. But erm.. I sound like a very, very, VERY smart, intelligent and discerning 6 year old.

(The above is applicable only when I’m in a normal frame of mind and body and I’m not down with cold or fever or hysteria or something.)

My second problem with phone conversation is that there is no facility to ‘pause’. One has to keep talking. Blank phases make you sound stupid. You can’t multitask or talk to 5 people at once or pretend to be absorbed by the beauty of the lettuce sandwich kept on the table when you’re on the phone. You just HAVE to……talk.

Problem number three is that if the line is *bleep*ed up then you have to keep going like “Pardon?” “Sorry?” “er.. WHAT?” and pretend that you’ve heard what they’re saying and feign a “Er.. Okay..” or “Hmm..” or better yet, a little “Hmehemmehe” which is “Hmm” in a giggly way, so that works at all times, in all situations, except when the other person is asking you a question.

So. Yes. Don't call me, okay? IMing is SO much fun! You can send smileys and winks and nudges and whatnot. We should take advantage of such technological advances, innit?

P.S.: Okay so half the post has been written within pairs of parentheses. I had no other place to fit those!

P.S.2: My voice isn't THAT kiddish, also. I think I've exagerrated a little, but who cares?! Same thing!

O Blog Pals, This Is BlogOwner, Live from The Pot!

2007-05-26T09:23:00.000+05:30

(Okay. So the title sounds corny. Sue me.)

O Blog Pals, pardon me for having abandoned this sweet blog for more than 10 days. You see, there was so much going on in ‘real life’ that ‘net life’ had to be given a little less time than usual in order to cope with the surging wave of real-life events. Okay, I wasn’t THAT busy. You can couple this real-life activity (major) with utter laziness and boredom and you’ll get a fair idea of the last 10 days.

I won’t go into details NOW (They’ll be coming soon. What fun! Wheee!) but this is a round up :

1) Some extremely good news which will make sweet ole BlogOwner(BO) a lawyer!

2) Some rescheduling and re-dreaming up of future events.

3) Point 1 has led to a fair amount of freak-show taking place at our residence and S, of all people, is fairly annoyed with BO’s theatrics. (Who would’ve thought that S, queen of all drama (okay, she’s going to KILL me for writing this!), will say.. “Okay, fine na. Now shut up and get back to lazying around.”)

4) The Baby Pigies (yes! There are two of them!) have grown up SO much in SO little time! They’ve even sprouted little wings by now and they start flapping those whenever I climb up the sofa and crane to look at them. Adorable, aren’t they? I don’t click pictures because I’m afraid they’ll get scared, or shocked, or something.

5) BO has been doing a fair amount of reading.

6) And MAJOR networking. On facebook AND orkut. This is my official request to all those who’re on my ‘friend list’ on Orkut. Please (please please please please please please) shift to facebook :) There are NO fraandshippers there! Plus, you have a lot more privacy (you can change your settings though). Plus, better interface. Plus, the registration process is a toughie. So there must be fewer fake IDs which implies there’ll be fewer weirdos. You see, the very many advantages of FB. Join in, please? Thanks!

7) BO has been pestering her friends to join FB.

8) Only 1 has obliged so far.

9) While that ONE has managed to make 10 people sign up for yet another networking site which he considers a great achivement, since, he says he is the ‘lone campaigner’. How very brave. BO calls no contest.

10) So this, my dear friends, is BO’s life. Amen and Awomen.

P and I

2007-05-15T11:52:00.000+05:30

As you may recall, P is a much-delight-causing Sag friend of mine. We don’t live in the same city any more (it’s been 4 years since I moved) but we’ve kept in touch. Well, the only problem that does happen to crop up at times is the apparent lack of juicy topics to talk about. In order to address this issue (according to P alone, I in no way think this addressed the issue!) P has come up with a rather brilliant (in her opinion. Don’t ask for my opinion, P is going to read this!) way to ‘keep talking’ (on MSN of course). Her standard question after the absolutely loathesome ‘wassup’-type questions is invariably, “ Sooooo, any new crushes?”. Now, I have told her in length, in may be about 5674328 words, that I absolutely have no such inclination towards any such character at this point of time. If miraculously I DO happen to like someone in my current scenario, then hell, I’ll let you know. For sure. Now STOP!! She doesn’t stop there, you know. She goes on prodding… and on….. and on….. in a fashion very similar to my way of going on… and on… okay, we’ve gone through this.

So, sweet reader (Hi! And hi to you too! Oh, no more of you is here. Damn.), I’m often prodded by P in a way that is so unimaginably prod-ful that no amount of so-how’s-the-weather-there or which-book-are-you-currently-reading or saw-any-new-movies or even what-colour-is-your-chaddi type questions fall flat at the face of P’s intensely powerful prodding. You can imagine.

She does, however, acknowledge the fact that the apparent-crush-talk is a total blooper. So I suggest to play Minesweeper Flags on MSN. Don’t even ask what her reaction is! She HATES that game because whenever we play, in some evil way, I always (okay 90% of the time) win and in general she hates the game and finds it ‘irritating’. So another rather superb option, gone.

We tried making lists of mundane and not-so-mundane-questions like…

-how long is your hair ( I suggest)

-who u crushin on huh ?:P ( P suggests) (what a surprise there!)

-did you shop this week (I)

-wat did u eat today (P)

-wat song u listenin 2 (P)

-how much did u sleep 2day (P)

I even considered talking about a future joint-venture that we (at least I would!) would call Amma’s Paratha (it has some inside joke-type meaning which only P and I understand. Heehee) to which P’s response was – “i wud rather die of hunger”. So much hatred, for Amma’s Paratha, P? What is SO wrong with the name? Tell?

So anyway, after meandering about in many such absolutely non-sensical loops, we concluded rather gravely that “P-Sneha convos are MEANT to be psychospeak”. How genuine are we.

On How I Found The Next-to-Perfect Template

2007-05-14T23:19:00.000+05:30

New template. As you’ve noticed by now. Pretty, innit? Classy, innit? Smooth, innit? [Insert absolutely-stunning-type adjective], innit? And oh, did you scroll way down and have a peek at the ‘Credits’ section? If not, then please do, for I have revealed some exciting facts in that very section.

….Okay, so you’re back?

Oh now! Thank you, thank you. Oh, please, stop! I’ve been humbled. *waves around like a movie star* [Take the hint! Carry on, I say!]

After a long and rather *ahem* torturous journey, I have finally tweaked this template quite a bit to my 90%-satisfaction mark and mind you, that is quite a high mark. So till I find (or make, or ask someone else to make) that absolutely gorgeous, stunning, very-like-me template on seeing which I’d gush—“That’s THE one”, you know, when you find that top while casually looking at clothes in some random shop and you must totally have it right then, or that pair of jeans which fits you so perfectly that you never want to take them off (urgh, this reminds me of those dreadful ‘Killer Jeans’ ads). So, you get it right? Till I’m struck with that time-just-stops type feeling, I’ll be happy, very happy, with this template.

Let’s have a poll, then. Just for fun, since I’m so not changing this one.

(Obviously, one of the votes for the first option has been cast by me.)

Opinion Polls & Market Research

And The BlogOwner Rambles On...And On.....And On.....

2007-05-13T10:31:00.000+05:30

~So today is Mother’s day. Happy Mother’s Day to those 2 or may be 3 moms who might be reading this! Y’all are the best, no, The Best!!

~S and I are grandmoms! How cool is that? The egg(s) (I think there was just one egg) has hatched. I was neatly perched on the sofa next to the window in my hall, reading something, when Papa Pigy makes a sudden dash for the window. My, was I petrified! I thought the pigeon was trying to attack! Since when have pigeons become birds of prey?! So anyway, that wasn’t the case. PP swiftly carried Baby Pigy (BP) out the window and most probably to Momma Pigy. Where else would he go? So once again, the egg has successfully hatched at our place but the BP has been carried off to some tree house perhaps. S and I already miss having a cute little ready-to-hatch egg in the house *sniff* Weren’t we entitled to at least ONE good look at the adorable little birdie, you wretched parent pigeons? Answer me, you!

~I was down with a sore throat on Thursday which rapidly gave rise to full fledged fever on Friday. Of course, the fever subsided by Saturday but I still have traces of cold. I chanced upon this wonder gharelu-upaaye for sore throat at this site. I tried the honey-ginger drink. Of course, I knew honey and ginger are both good for relieving cold etc, but I had never tried out this recipe. Here is a shot! (These days whenever I run to get the camera, S runs to the kitchen. She KNOWS I’ve been cooking (or doing anything which is remotely connected to cooking) when I look for the cam!)

This drink was not only uber delicious, but totally moisturised (or whatever) my dry, sore throat and 2 such cups (one Thursday evening, one Friday morning) were enough to completely get rid of the sore throat. I got my voice back so easily, all thanks to this drink from the heavens. Amen. And Awomen.

~I was doing my usual astro-friend-check tally# last night and I realised that I was indeed very weird. I get along with everyone! Yay! Now THAT’s a cause to celebrate. Well, of course, one can attribute it to my Social & Lovely$ Libra nature. Of course, I always maintain that I absolutely adore the fire signs especially sags, moreso, because S is a sag too. How perfect are we!

~Isn’t this new way of bulleting cute?

# Hello-oww. Don’t you know what an AFCT (Astro-Friend-Check Tally) is? You just count the number of aries, taurean, gemini, etc friends you’ve got. As simple as that. It can bring some things into perspective, you know. Don’t you do it? Well, if not, then you absolutely must. No, I insist, you must do it!

$ That, in some creepy way, sounds SO Fair & Lovely-ish. YUCK! I am very sorry, dear reader, that it does, but believe me, it is NOT intentional. We, at A Pot of Thoughts, absolutely loathe those idiotic F&L sorts. Thank you very much.

All About Pigies, S and Therapy

2007-05-09T08:45:00.000+05:30

Momma Pigy(MP) and Papa Pigy(PP) have laid their eggs ( I mean, MP has laid their eggs.). It's been about 2 weeks. MP takes the night shift (7 pm – 10 am) which is much longer than PP's day shift (10 am – 7 pm). Very efficiently, they've been working out this schedule of theirs since the past few days. I must take this opportunity to point out a certain point of difference between MP and PP. We( ie. S and I) once tried scaring away MP by brandishing a folded newspaper at her while she was guarding the eggs. In vain. She didn't even budge an inch. S and I were deeply impressed with her parenting skills and by the fact that she guards her eggs with her life. Then PP was tested. PP first looked about nervously and when the level of brandishing was upped a little, he got extremely scared and fluttered out the window, leaving the eggs unprotected. Shame, shame, PP! This piece of news was relayed to all my relatives who knew about those adorable creatures and their home (ie. our home).

Responses were in the lines of

“Now you know what a mother is made of!”

“See! We moms inherently consider our kids a part of us. Quite literally.”

There was, of course, a hint of smug satisfaction (very very justifiably) about the Mommy's victory over the Daddy. Little wonder why MP takes the longer and harder (I guess) shift. *sigh*

S (sister, for the uniniatiated), with much pride, declared that she has been entertaining the Pigies by singing and dancing in front of them.

My reaction-

“Very thoughtful of you, but, please spare them the torture.”

But I must admit that S does a fine job of entertaining. Pigies AND humans.

I have decided that I need Jean Therapy after I saw Oprah last afternoon. I feel so dejected and that something is perhaps wrong with ME after a jeans-shopping (rather trying!) experience. *sniff* Oprah!!!!!!! Send my your jean therapist ASAP!!!!!

In case you're wondering, my search for 'the perfect' template is still on. God. This is turning out to be worse than the supposed search for 'Mr. Right'!!!

I've noticed, these days I don't chew my food completely before swallowing it. I'm to desperate to get done with eating, perhaps? I have to make a concsious effort to chew!! Is it wrong?

Bleh. I don't have any constructive work to do. I'm so bored. Any suggestions? All my to-do lists are failing miserably!! And I need to re-do them. Sheesh. Any suggestions, honestly?

And yes, I do not have anything better to write about.

How Are These?

2007-04-23T13:14:00.000+05:30

What do you think about these templates?

Template1 (personal BO fav, even though it's a bit TOO flowery + S feels it's 'pretty'):

Template2 (S felt this was 'nice and interesting'):

You like?

Watch Out! Food Ahead!

2007-04-19T18:56:00.000+05:30

This is my off-to-college year which is one of the reasons why my mom has been very co-operative in giving me pointers on everyday cooking. Even though I won’t be cooking in hostel, I feel I should make good use of this summer to learn some basic dishes as I really want to be able to cook for myself after I graduate (etc etc). I don’t really like the idea of someone else (read: cook) cooking for me and me having to complain about the salt, the mirchi, the masala and what not. Better to just be independent, right? PLUS, it’s a helluva lot of fun :)

Okay. So I haven’t really learnt any everyday-dishes so far because I always get tempted to make yummy snacks and that’s exactly what I did!

Yesterday, I made dosa for breakfast. Onion dosa, my personal favourite. It was the first time I was making the actual, thin and crisp dosa. I have made the normal thickness ones umpteen times before, but would think twice before making these. To my amazement, they came out to be perfectly golden and absolutely delectable! Thanks to the new non-stick pan, of course! Here’s a picture!

Last Sunday, I’d made onion pakodas (which are called ‘piyaji’ in Oriya. Onions are called ‘piyaja’(pronounced as piya-jaw)). They are my mom’s ALL TIME favourite snack. She totally loved them and also shot a few my-little-girl-is-growing-up-so-fast type dialogues which I’m not repeating over here! ;)

Here, take a look!

And another :) I can’t get enough of these!

I had also tried out Asha’s Kodubale but had substituted maida with atta. They tasted real good and everyone liked them but their shapes were all messed up! They looked like famished bangles *sheepish grin* So I’m not putting up a pic! Heehee. I hope next time I try them, I get the shapes right!

Maternity Home for Pigeons

2007-04-12T10:13:00.000+05:30

Are you a smart pigeon looking for a safe place to build your nest, lay eggs and perch on your nest till those sweetums hatch? If yes, then listen up! Your search has come to an end. You are cordially invited to lay your eggs (and also to do the necessary before that event takes place *ahem* so call all those who might be involved in the process) in a first-class environment such as this :

The topmost rack on the wall,

Blogowner’s house (hall, to be precise),

Top floor,

Building next to the tall Ashoka trees.

In case you’re wondering about the safety of this Maternity Home, rest assured as we have 90% success rate. Last December (a hard time, indeed, for most pigeons) Momma Pigy and Papa Pigy had wooed each other outside our Home (window sill of BO’s hall), must have mated successfully, had found long periods of much needed rest in one of the guest rooms in our Home (a different area of the topmost rack), had found all the necessary nest-building items from the trees nearby, built the nest over a period of 7 days and successfully laid 2 eggs. You see, Momma Pigy and Papa Pigy might’ve changed their mind after a while since neither the eggs nor the parents were to be found after a week (the week when the human inhabitants of the area around our Home were out). Hence, we say 90% success rate. How honest are we!

The Home provides excellent entertainment facilities in the form of a certain human who is said to be ‘S’. Said S finds our kind rather enchanting and we, of course, love such humans. There is, however another human who goes by ‘BO’- that creature, we do not much appreciate since she keeps the curtains closed most of the time. Only we know the extremely painful periods of longing that one parent spends one side of the curtain, and the other on the other side. It is much like the India-Pakistan saga that we have come to learn about from the 7 or 8 newspapers that these humans read (get, rather). So, be warned of BO. Rest of the humans can be safely ignored.

No human, however, has ever tried to break our Home. This is a huge plus for our kind since we always target peace-loving family-type human territories to set up our special Maternity Home facilities.

Do not worry about food. There is enough around. At times, the human inhabitants offer some to our kind. So be not worried.

From the above information, I’m sure you realise what a safe and comfortable location the abovementioned is.

We invite booking-applications from expecting parent pigeons after 20^th April since we are currently tending to a couple- a beautiful white (with grey specks) pigy and his/her usual grey type counterpart. Remember, the early bird catches a room in our Home!

Happy spring-time mating!

Template Blues- What must be done?

2007-04-08T09:00:00.000+05:30

This is a harrowing time for me. The navbar does not appear no matter WHAT I do. As a result, I don't have a search box. I tried inserting codes for a search box in my sidebar, but the sidebar is too tiny and has limited space, which is why none of those search boxes fit (my VDNA didn't fit either, which was why i had to put it up in a post *sniff*). I hate such inflexibility! I don't like the drab blogger templates on offer plus I want something unique for my pot (heehee). I have been pestering S to design a template for me- which she can, since she is excellent at that stuff, but she doesn't know the coding bit which is turning out to be a problem. So basically, I'm stuck with this template (no matter how pretty it may be, if it's as rigid and inconvenient as it is, I shall remove it sooner or later!) and beta blogger. Yes, beta blogger. There are hardly any templates on the web for beta blogger. This stinks!

P.S.: Yes, I'm even creating a new label for this- Template Blues!

Fraandshippers, Food and the Famous Five

2007-04-06T20:47:00.000+05:30

You know, after a point, the whole deal about ‘vacations’ gets a tad boring. Heck. A lot boring if you don’t particularly engage yourself in worthy ‘activities’ (perhaps this would give me some ideas of what to include in the ‘activities’ section in my Orkut profile, which by the way, I must say is the stupidest question that one can ever be asked. Would breathing qualify as an ‘activity’? Say?) that keep you from wanting to sleep or only listen to your ipod or read endlessly or some such.

Talking about Orkut, there is new breed of fraandshippers that I have unfortunately come across. They try to ‘make fraandship’ with you by taunting you in some way, or asking you pathetically stupid questions on something that MAY interest you. For instance, this one particular fraandshipper (it should be in the dictionary by 2009, I say!) asks me:

“So, astro girl, what is it about astrology that interests you?” (in horrid grammar which I am incapable (thankfully) of reiterating over here)

I really felt like replying and going like ‘na na na na’ (you know, with the whole making of faces, pulling of tongue and wiggling about, like they do when a team is badly losing) ‘I didn’t fall for THAT haha’, but I resisted. Making their victim reply is the sole purpose of slothful frandshippers and EYE (to emphasise on I) am not going to let them have that pleasure. So, smart me did not reply. I couldn’t resist telling SOMEONE, so I blogged. Hee. *blush*

However, the most common breed of fraandshipper that I have come across is, quite obviously, the one who sends an ‘h’ followed by a string of ‘i’s whose purpose I still haven’t figured out. I mean, WHY would anyone scrap any random person ‘hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii’ ? Why? Do you know? I don’t know!

Maximum pity is, neverthless, felt for those who send their whole bio-data in one scrap. God save them. Please. This particular breed of fraandshippers, somehow, reminds me of Dr.Batawekar and his beloved cow with white teeths who is so attractiu that grasses comes flying to her teeths. How louly. I don’t know! They simply remind me of Batawekar (for the uninitiated, Dr. Batawekar is a character, a rather hilarious one, who features in a string of ads for Happydent White chewing gum).

Among other things, Abhu and I, who SO love BJB Chaat (this is the chaat this is available outside our college. Since college is called BJB blah blah, the name of the chaat wala’s chaat is BJB chaat) did NOT get to eat some on our last day of college. Sad, righ? We were shocked that the chaat wala wasn’t there. Instead, we settled for some alu-dum-dahi-vada (which is served in a leafy bowl along with a single toothpick) which was heavenly. We had never tried that out! Well, the most interesting and challenging yet fun part was to eat all that with a toothpick. It IS an art. Really. But when it comes to eating, Abhu and I are unstoppable. We have such congruity in what we want to eat (absolutely anything that looks and tastes good), when we want to eat (absolutely any time of the day) and how much of it we want to eat (as much as our stomach can fit without tearing at the sides) is delightful. I would say, we are meant to eat together. On the other hand, TC is the one who looks disapprovingly at us (and with a certain amount of disbelief that we can manage to gormandize the manner in which we do) and eats like half of what we do. Heehee *sigh* We shall all miss these food trips. The joys of eating. *sigh*

I cannot write anymore! I must go and eat something delicious now. This reminds me of my Enid Blyton days, when I could read ONLY with a plate of yummy chocolates and sandwiches next to me, for all those scenes when the famous five would ‘lunch’ on ginger beer, marshmallow, sandwiches that Aunt so-and-so had made for them, bacon and eggs, milk etc. It is torture to read Blyton’s books without some food near you for immediate consumption!

'Back' is the word

2007-04-05T09:04:00.000+05:30

Yoo hoo!

I am SO back. It pains me to see that I’ve been missing out on so much fun in Blogosphere.

Hmm.

It’s strange. I can’t find anything to write about! God. Is this the dreaded ‘writer’s block’? I hope not. May be it’s just the ‘writers’(who-haven’t-written-since-a-mighty-long-time) block ?

Well, there IS one thing that I do want to talk about- The Beatles. My current ultimate-favourite band *sigh* I simply cannot find a Beatles song that I don’t adore. It’s weird!

*thinks*

*keeps thinking*

Okay. Nothing more to say. Well, there are tons of Abhu, S and TC related stories, extremely entertaining ones, mind you. The problem is that I’m still thinking which one of those to recount in these holy pages. So until I figure that out, I’ll do the tag that Isha has sent my way!

The Three Things Tag (hee, I named it myself!)

3 things that scare me: Fear, fear and fear

3 people who make me laugh: S (max!), Abhu & TC (BIG time), Suk & Raghu (erm.. I’ve mentioned 5 people, but you see, they must be mentioned in groups)

3 things I love: travelling & shopping(THAT, is the motivation behind travelling, you see), Belgian chocolates (the ones that look like seashells), cool, breezy evenings

3 things I hate: bad table manners (I CANNOT eat with people who make funny food-noises. Yuck!), sugar boiled candies getting passed as ‘chocolate’, bad breath

3 things I don’t understand: there are a hell of a lot of things I don’t understand

3 things on my desk: random papers, ipods, watches, calci, books, pens and their holders.. my desk is in a perpetual mess!

3 things I’m doing right now: listening to The Doors, typing, breathing..?

3 things I want to do before I die: 3 is too less a number!!

3 things I can do: forgive (I am the shockingly non-grudge-holding type) and forget, crack pjs at any given time, give long lectures!! P (remember, soul sister Sag?) calls me Grandma!

3 things you should listen to:

Songs apart, you must listen to your Mom!

Okay. Now these are only THREE. There are tons of other songs that I think you should listen to :D

3 things you should never listen to: anything that makes you feel unhappy or morbid

3 things I’d like to learn: I did a whole post on this one! Well, for starters, I’m learning Mandarin this summer :D Don’t laugh!

3 favourite foods: Does chocolate qualify as ‘food’? Well, absolutely anything my Mom makes, mint chocolate chip ice cream from Baskin Robbins, Samosas from Vineeth, BJB Chaat :)

3 beverages I drink regularly: since water doesn’t qualify as a beverage, I’d say Bournvita and Tropicana Mango Nectar (do these qualify as beverages?)

3 TV shows/Books I watched/read as a kid: Barbie Book, Newshouse, Famous Five and all those thick, hard cover Enid Blyton books

I tag…. Hmmm.. Raghu boy, Suk, TC and Abhu (4 people will do? Please?)

I also did this video DNA thing that I spotted at Isha’s. Here’s my VDNA!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

P.S.: Any comments on the new template? Please say it’s nice! No pressure or anything though ;)

Secrets....really!

2007-02-17T19:09:00.000+05:30

Er.. Yes, I have this thing of starting new posts with "It's been long...". So this one isn't starting that way. Well, I suppose it has already started in that inevitable way so I'll just let it be.

You (ie. those FEW sane, extremely intelligent and discerning blogger people who have paid me a visit today and who continue to come day after day, hoping and wishing that they would get a new post to live by till the next one arrives (which basically means no one) (my, am I good at talking to myself** or what! :)) might be wondering what had kept me, the former NA, away for so long. Well, a wave of self control (or whatever) had taken over me. Hee hee, okay, alright. That's not true (ok so you knew). I have my boards in March :) :) So this is the cram-NOW month.

Among other news, insightful S has earned my profound appreciation for herself by getting 'The Secret' which we have seen over and over again. I was already aware (all hail Linda Goodman and 'Linda Goodman's Star Signs') of the concept they have focused upon in the movie however the very fact that they had produced the movie so beatifully and explained every single thing with so much clarity and detail is truly a marvel. This movie marks the beginning (okay, well a little AFTER the beginning perhaps) of the Aquarian Age. Sigh.

Favoutite Quote (well, ONE of my favourite quotes would be more appropriate) that has been featured in the movie--

" Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. " - Albert Einstein

You can watch this trailer and be awed......

(got the YouTube trailer from www.Stevepavlina.com)

..... and watch the whole movie after that :) Please watch it! Please! Please? *bats eye-lashes*
Thanks!

Now, it iz zime fure meh to leeeve. Until next time (which is going to be a long time), dear bloggy and friends, Tata!

P.S.: Now don't you go "Birla"! I am a little biased towards those who sell tea.

**- MSN friends shall testify.

Philosopher S, fellow and Litchi Juice

2007-01-30T11:02:00.000+05:30

Right. It’s been long. I have been weaned from internet and gotten myself addicted to tea. Twice a day is how much of it I need.

Amongst latest news, S has become quite a philosopher. She has proposed a very convincing Theory on Eventuality. She has grown all wise and sage-like and keeps thinking for long hours. After her thought binge, she comes to me and tries to make so-what-is-going-to-happen-after-all-this-crap type conversation which gives her an excellent opportunity to showcase her eye opening theories. It may sound funny over here but I have been convinced and have even started thinking in terms of The Theory*** of hers.

Driver-fellow gave a brilliant performance, so I heard *sigh* While I sit typing out this post as a faceless nobody, fellow must be getting compliments for balancing like a pro on that motor-bike. I shall now try to cheer myself up by thinking of those glorious days when my super shiny hair *runs to touch some wood* and I were featured on the SECOND page of the Times and when I was on TV, live performance that too straight from the awards ceremony and when I…. er..er.. there isn’t any thing left *sniff* *sobs*

I saw Lage Raho last night, which, I must say was awesome. I was also very happy to see that they were trying to do away with the whole manglik notion that people have. A manglik is someone who has his/her mars in the ascendant, the second, fourth, seventh, eighth or twelfth house of the natal chart (and there are 12 houses in all). So about 42% of us are mangliks. It’s no big deal. It is very saddening to see some people who call themselves professional ‘astrologers’ go about predicting someone else’s death. One cannot use astrology to predict death! It’s absolute crap. People often forget that the planets incline, they don’t compel. We must blame those who have given astrology such a bad reputation by simply removing the actual essence of this extremely helpful science and reducing it into a trash-worthy subject. Sheesh. So I say, do NOT believe any astrologer who predicts ‘death’ or who just tells you horrible things are going to happen or who asks you to perform a million pujas. That is SO not what astrology is about. *weeps*

SRK is doing a rather lousy job. He overdoes all his pjs and really pisses me and the guests off. I don’t see why someone should have to hug HIM before leaving the show. I mean, save the poor guy that last torture!

Tropicana Litchi Juice is my new favourite. I have been consuming copious amounts of it and have been feeling 0% guilty! Well, I must add that I had chole-batoore for dinner last night. Nah! I am not guilty! Not one bit! Er.. okay, may be I shouldn’t have gobbled down FOUR batoores (hey! They were tiny, okay?!) but I normally think in the lines of God-alone-knows-after-how-long-I-am-going-to-get-to-eat-this-again-so-I-better-
satiate-myself-NOW. Yea, it sounds as if my Mom is one cruel woman, but no. She isn’t. I must add (for her sake) that she is the most fabulous cook and feeds me a hell lot. It is yours truly who tries to regulate our eating habits. I have sort of transformed into the Grandma of the house. Age is indeed taking over.

Shilpa has won and she is RICH!

Songs that are stuck in my head- See Emily Play(Floyd), D'yer Mak'er(Led Zep), All of my love(Led Zep)

See Emily Play-

D'yer Mak'er-

oh oh oh oh oh.. God. I would SO not go if someone sang THAT for me *sighs wistfully*

All of my love-

*** No, I cannot tell you anything else about The Theory. You know, the whole IPR thing. I cannot be the bitch sister who stole her trusting sister’s ideas!

Lalala

2007-01-20T23:26:00.000+05:30

1) I have been following the whole Big Brother thing. I have also been watching gazillion BB videos on YouTube. Dirk and Shilpa are SO cute! Awwww *sigh* The whole Dirk-Shilpa Love Fest thing is really funny!

2) I have been wrapping gifts in a rather absurd fashion. Today, S and I set out to accomplish the ambitious task of wrapping 2 gifts (actually it wasn’t very strange for S since she has always been The Wrapper in the house… wrapping gifts and covering books were always HER thing). Anyway, we set out to wrap a rather oddly shaped, cylindrical bag without making it look like a blob of crap. However, it ended up looking like this-----

Doesn't it look like an over sized toffee?

3) We have added Salad (which only includes kakdi, gajar, pyaaz, tamater) as a regular feature with our dinner.

I guess that’s pretty much it. I haven’t really been doing anything much. Yawn. Oh, in case anybody missed it, Shiney Ahuja’s actual name is supposed to be Suraj Ahuja (courtesy TC)(see previous post’s comments section for further details. Thank you very much). I didn’t know that! Poor boy! Having to live with SHINEY when he has such an adorable 5-lettered name, ‘Suraj’, which starts from S! *sigh*

Pssst… This is Post # 50!!! Half century! Woah!

UPDATE!!! 21.01.07

4) While S and I are living loser lives of anonymity (well, almost), our driver-fellow is going places and making news. Literally. Fellow has been practising with his Daddy for some stunts that they'll be performing in the Republic Day Parade that is going to take place here. He has also come on 2 local channels!! He has really been dressing up and behaving less stupid of late. Oh and you know what he said to my all-in-one maid about me??

"Badi didi (S) achi hai. Maa(Mom) bhi theek hai, zyada gussa nahi karte. Lekin, Choti didi (that would be me) thodi gussewaali hai *nods his head in horror* "

Can you believe that? Hahahahaha!! Now, if fellow is late for like 99.99% of the times when I need the car (Abhu and TC shall testify) and I need the car the most out of the three of us, then naturally I'd be a little pissed off! However, I don't say anything 'gussewaali' type. Rather I speak in a low volume when I am pissed off. How cunning! Heehee

Famous People Crush-es

2007-01-15T11:24:00.000+05:30

I know this is weird and illogical but I am getting an urge to chronicle all my famous-people-crushes :) It’ll be hard since I don’t remember many, but the ones that I do remember are incredibly incredible (ie. How could I EVER have a crush on THEM!?!)!!

Hee hee.. Shoaib Akhtar. I know I know. Disgusting choice you would say. I agree! However, during the India-Pak test series back in 2004 I was a crazy 14 year old. I had collected like millions of snaps of his but was totally annoyed when I found out he used to like SONALI BENDRE. I DO NOT like her. He has bad choice. Just like me. Hehe.
Orlando Bloom. Do I need to elaborate? But yes, it was a very short-lived crush :)
Mel gibson. I was totally crazy about Mel Gibson for like 3 days. But they were 3 crazy days. (This was after watching What Women Want) (I like Helen Hunt) (I loved the scene where they were dancing around in her new house)(Awwww)
Michael Ballack!!!!!!!!! One of the few FPCs (Famous Person Crush) of whom I am not ashamed! He is totally adorable, plays football (and is HOT at it)(and the captain of the german team) AND a libran. How perfect is that? Longest FPC this was. Sigh. About 2 weeks. Sigh.
Kunal Kapoor. Who wouldn’t have a crush on him? He is totally cute AND a libran AND a number 9!! Brilliant!
Shiney Ahuja. Actually, it would be more appropriate to say I had a crush on his character Daya in Gangster. Totally adorable character.
Erm.. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. I have no idea why I kind of had a crush on him and still sigh when I see him on TV. :S It was after I saw an interview of his on this channel and felt he was very genuine and very much like a Mr.Perfect.
Okay. This is the strangest of them all. Salman Rushdie. I am reading ‘Midinght’s Children’ and for no apparent reason have taken a liking for the author. Oh, by the way I just found out he is a Gemini. Now I know why he gets bored so easily ;)!

Crazy or what?!

This is it.

2007-01-03T22:53:00.000+05:30

So yes. The new year has begun. Jupiter must be gleefully bouncing about in Sagittarius and I have finally acquired my Ganpati*~* Planner-cum-Diary after 3 days of 2007 have lapsed.

I am now making a *ahem* public declaration. I am getting my life back on track and I am shifting from the passenger seat to the driver's seat, right behind the steering wheel. Last year, I let things meander about their own way. That is not happening anymore. Tata ghost driver, I am taking charge.

Thank you very much.

*~*- I have this thing for Ganpati diaries. I don't know why. I just have it and I must have a Ganpati diary every year.

Ps.- 1) I am also promising myself to not allow myself to go blog hopping and blogging and such too often. I have contracted obsessive compulsive blogging form somewhere and I need therapy! So, well, I am my own therapist. (Woah, there are many 'myself's in there!)

2) S is fine. She is doing very well. Yes, she is still mesmerised by ants and has pigeons for friends (haveI written about Momma Pigy and Papa Pigy (pronounced as pidgy) hanging out at my window sill?) S is excellent at bonding with birds, insects and such normally ignored creatures. What a lovely being S is *sigh*. Of course, she IS a sag after all. All this animal(or whatever) bonding is pretty natural.

When O when.

2006-12-30T21:04:00.000+05:30

One more day to go. Urgh. Can’t wait for this year to end. One more day and I’ll be free! Yeay!

My plans for New Years? Well, nothing, really. Most probably I’ll be reading something, listening to music or simply be asleep at midnight. Well, what else do you expect? No, I don’t write down resolutions. I don’t need a new year to resolve to do something or refrain from doing something. I do that everyday. Lessons are taken everyday :)

How was 2006? Frustrating would be the best word. I did, however, learn a couple of things and unlearned some others. Well, I did have my good, bad and ugly this year as well. It wasn't really “bad” as such, but not even a good year to remember. Oh, I read all of Linda’s astro related books a gazillion times this year. Woo hoo!! I started listening to a different genre of music which I am so very in love with now. What else did I do this year? Hmm. I can’t seem to remember. Well, lets let this year just pass. Whew. It’s over and I am happy that I am done with it. Almost done. Whatever.

Hope the next year is good for all of you! Well, I guess it should be, since lucky Jupiter is returning to its own house of Sag after like 12 years. So, that’s good. Do whatever “you’ve always wanted to do” this year. It should be a good time to make changes too. :)

Happy New Year.

P.s.- Yes yes, I KNOW I am not some astrologer or anyone, but hey, any normal person who knows even a teeny-weeny bit about the star signs would know what Jup in Sag means in general!

It's been long week!

2006-12-27T10:49:00.000+05:30

NOTE: None of the beach pictures have been photoshopped or edited in any way (apart from being resized). The others have only been edited to adjust the contrast and lighting. That is it. They are REAL pictures. The beach pictures are straight from the cam! Enjoy!

I am back, folks! I am back! Okay, calm down, take a deep breath. Hmm. Yes. Better.

The trip was great and the reunion was pure fun. Whenever I was in the middle of something exciting, I would keep thinking- “I just HAVE to blog about this. This is crazy fun!”. Now, however, I am almost at a loss of words. I don’t quite know what all to say. There’s just so much that it would be unfair to say some and leave some. Saying it ALL isn’t feasible, considering the condition of my fingers after eating 75 billion hot-hot-fried-in-ghee-samosas and playing 11342 carrom matches and infinite rounds of Bluff and Rummy and eating cotton candy at the beach after eons and what not. So I’ll just post some pictures and say something about them. Fair enough or what?

Panchlingeshwar

Credit: Me and only me :)

This is 'Panchlingeshwar' which is about 1.5 hours from Balasore. This temple-type-thing is up on the rocks of a certain hill. We lost our way while driving to this spot and spent about 45 minutes going round and round in some tiny villages. That was.. erm... some experience. The walk up the hill was enjoyable though. It felt a lot like Manali. Dad and I were quite fit (hey! I do pilates, okay?) and could walk up without getting very worn out, but S and Mom were, *ahem* a little slow and resembled zombies by the time we reached the actual spot.

Credit: S, edited by me

This is a shot of the hillside taken by S while we were on our way down. Pretty, isn't it?

Khi Ching

Credit: S (or Dad.. don't remember!), edited by me

This is the Khi Ching Temple which is about 5 hours from Balasore. So that day, we travelled for about 11 hours (including breaks) by car and spent about 40 minutes at the actual place. It was worth it though. We did see some interesting sites.

Credit: S, edited by me

This is the top most part of a buried temple. Why aren't they excavating and digging this place up?! Ridiculous! A temple is buried right there and no one bothers to unearth it. Shame on the Archaelogy Department.

There was a heavy metal (no, this isn't the 'heavy metal' effect. heh) rod out there. Folklore has it that it belonged to Bhima and has been there since ages and if you pick it up and take 3 rounds around the temple-top then your wishes are fulfilled. Dad and I did that together and gosh that was fun! It was back-breakingly heavy (if at all there is such an expression), but then again, I had my pilates techniques of pulling belly button to spine and activating the power-house working for me!

Credit: S, edited by me

There was this little museum at there where we saw this very fascinating statue. Prosthetic legs are nice :) Khi Ching was built in 940 A.D. out of pure granite rock (I suppose).
Why were our ancestors so fascinated by busty ladies? I saw them in every carving I saw on every temple! Our culture... sigh! (srcoll down and check the Updates for more!)

Credit: S, edited by me

Another one. All very pretty and intricate work, but even more intewesting poses.

Chandipur

Credit: S

Sunrise. Shot taken from our room. Absolutely NO photoshopping. It was really this wonderful.

Credit: Dad

The blue sky and the waters. This is a gem of a picture. One rarely finds such clean, blue water in India.

Puri Beach- My favourite beach in India.

Credit: S

Fishermen! We saw many interesting sights at 6 in the morning at our very own beach. The beach, the Jagannath temple and the swing in the second floor of my grandma's place are the regulars where all of us hung out when we were little.

Credit: S

Credit: Cousin

Isn't this place just awesome? (did you notice how clean the water is?)

My ipod(s)!!!

Credit: Me and me!!

Yes! I now have not one, not two, but THREE ipods (2 gifted by my aunt(mami))!! Isn't that just the ultimate? Well, i listened to a lot of music on my trip and even found a topic to talk about with my younger cousin (bro)- Floyd and psychedelic rock in general :) He plays the guitar, the sitar and what not. AND he's got this awesome hair which fascinated all the other cousins :) Yea, we cousins and uncles and aunts had truckloads of fun this time.

Credit: Me

I just could NOT leave out the lovely sarees that my aunt(masi) got for S and me. They have special Lucknowi work done and the colours are the most beautiful ones!

We even went to the Sun Temple, Konark. I thought everyone must already be knowing about it and would've seen pictures and blah blah, so didn't post anything on that.

Well, anyway, that was MY holiday. One helluva week. Loved every bit of it.

UPDATE!!!!

So yes, on being asked by S, I am doing this update.

1) The statue up there has 'prosthetic legs' because this legendary person called 'Kala Pahad' (which literally means black mountain) had gone all over Orissa destroying the famous heritage sites. So the 'legs' have been put to support the statue.

2) So, okay I WILL after all this fuss post some pictures from Konark since S believes her photography at it's best has been manifested perfectly in those pictures. Right-ho.
So here they are.

Credit: Dear old S

(FYI, none of them out there are family)

Credit: The Missy (S)

This is a shot of the marvellous carvings on the temple. These carvings depict the various poses in some Indian Dance. I am not sure if it was Odissi or Bharatnatyam... er.. but yea it's one of the two!

Credit: The Sag. S.

This is a shot of one of the wheels of the chariot which is also a sundial. It was very interesting to watch the guide tell us the exact time using this sundial. There are little beads which tell you the EXACT minute. How cool is that?

North-Indian or South-Indian, Monty? + News

2006-12-13T23:23:00.001+05:30

It was a class joke.

“He asked her whether she was North-Indian or South-Indian and she said she was East-Indian!! I mean, is there even such a thing in existence?!”

The ‘he’ was the class clown, AB (no, it wasn’t a Bachchan) and ‘she’ was good old me. Those were the glorious days when kids found AB spoofing on me and V vrooming off to some zumba-land and doing the zumba dance funny and derived entertainment from such things (yes, I(and everyone else) used to get teased with every random person and elaborate tales were concocted based on such ludicrous ideas which in turn provided great 12yearold-type joke-fodder). The above line was one which remained a much quoted line for about 3 days (which is a very long time for such things). I still don’t understand what is so absurd in my being an Easty and saying that I am indeed one. You can’t categorise all Indians as Northies or Southies. Where will the Bongs, Oriyas, Gujjus, Assamese people go?

And I can’t even begin to recount all my monikers. Everyone had them. Everyone’s surname was made fun of and it was distorted to something that sounded silly and generally was silly. I was called ---

>Mohan Aunty

V still calls me aunty!!

>Monica

God alone knows how this came into being.

>Mona darling

The cheesiest of them all. This, I assume (and I may be wrong), was a derivative of Monica.

>Monty, full-monty, half-monty and other crap related to ‘monty’

Well, a lot many people there couldn’t pronounce ‘Mohanty’ and ended up calling me ‘Monty’ which was damn irritating. Plus, I wasn’t the only Sneha around. There were 3 other Snehas and one(or may be more, of whom I am not aware) Snehal which made it ever the more confusing.

>Matinee

Since I am the ‘Mumbai Girl’ here and there was this movie called ‘Mumbai Matinee’ which had released some 3 years back, people in my new school decided to call me ‘Mumbai Matinee’, which in due course of time became only ‘Matinee’. So yes, I am Matinee.

There were many more names which I can’t remember (old age is taking its toll). However, there weren’t any that I don’t want to remember. I love all of them!

Sigh! Those were the days of innocence.

I have been spending the last 10 days sleeping, eating and not really doing much work. So, this is a Public Declaration that I shall get working and be more productive in the remaining days of 2006 which, by the way, wasn’t a great year for me. It was frustrating and a year wasted. I didn’t learn much, I didn’t read much, I didn’t do anything that would make this year special (apart from reading some valuable metaphysical stuff from Linda’s books, but hey, I have been doing that every year since the past 3 or 4 years). I am so glad this year is ending and 2007 is beginning. 2007 is my number 3 year! Yay!

I’ll be off for a 9-day long break to my Dad’s place (the place where he’s posted. It’s supposed to be a tourist-y place too) and then to Puri (where my granpa and granma live) where we’re having this family reunion after 17 years (ie. After 17 years everyone will be under one roof. This hadn’t happened in the past 2 decades minus 3 years since we couldn’t coordinate our time of home-visit). Then there are other family type plans happening so this Christmas should be fun (more people around->more gifts).

Happy holidays and I hope you have a magical year ahead!

P.s.- Yes, I have grown extremely fond of writing cocktail posts.

Strange Events, Events and a Poll

2006-12-03T22:17:00.000+05:30

Author of This Blog (ATB) (yes, I am no longer the BO since S(sister) gets to censor my posts pretty frequently) has been exhibiting such strange behaviour over the past couple of days that she herself cannot explain her actions (which happens very rarely since ATB is rather good at explaining things, no matter how ridiculous the reasons may seem, she still HAS a theory on almost eveyrthing).

This inability to explain such behaviour is again, one of the many anomalies that seem to have taken over her life. However, thanks to the planets, TC and Abhu are still weird and normal (ie. being weird is normal for them). So, she’s most thankful for that.

Firstly, she no longer eats every 5 hours. She can now do with one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner (Yes, it’s important to mention the ‘one’s in there).

Secondly, she has been having tea (which is very mild of course. It’s only have half teaspoon leaves per cup) and has not been suffering from insomnia and anxiety due to that. So, that’s a positive.

Thirdly, she has forgotten to have lunch or has not felt hungry at the right time 3 times in a single week. This is rather peculiar. Hmm.

Fourthly, she has been sleeping for 4-5 hours a night and has been okay (rather great) with that. THIS is the biggest shocker of them all! ATB is a self proclaimed kumbhkaran and this particular point is disturbing her the most.

Fifthly, she has been getting late at whatever she’s doing. For instance, she was late by an hour for her physics class and this has NEVER happened (until now) to this punctual Libran.

Sixthly, she has been turning out trashier than the trashiest trashy posts (like this one).

Seventhly, she doesn’t even care about all the above ABS (Aberrant Behaviour Syndrome) symptoms!

Now, time for some news.

1) New group blog has been launched. Warning- it’s orange.

2) Poetry written by Raghu on the manual scavengers (rather it’s the voice of one).

3) I am starting to wonder if my blog needs a fresh look. Iam too indecisive a Libran to actually decide. So help, won’t you?

No words.

2006-11-28T10:07:00.000+05:30

I had been reading some lines of a poem which was a part of our course in Alt. English. They went something like this… and they made me spiral into some rather strange questions...

“This is a man who talks of pain
As though it belonged to him alone.
Maybe he has invented it himself
And made a virtue of it.”

(Of a Questionable Conviction by Jayanta Mahapatra)

This led me to think whether I too hold any resentment and pain within me. Am I living in denial or is it that I have not seen anything ‘real’? Why is it that I find it difficult to be morbid about anything for more than a day or two? (Yes believe me, being upset is such a rage these days that I feel left out at times and start questioning myself!) Am I living in a bubble? Why are so many people depressed and go about proclaiming their depression as if it’s something to be proud of? Do I get everything so easily that I have (almost) nothing to feeling bad about? To be depressed about? Have I had it so easy that I haven’t really gone through the ‘polishing and cutting’ phase would would eventually ‘mould me into a stronger being’? Am I actually very weak within?

Then I came across these words while reading Shantaram(it's in my Currently Reading section), which by the way is a must-read for all of you. This definition of suffering, gave something to think about—

"Suffering , of every kind, is always a matter of what we've lost. Real suffering is measured by what's taken away from us."

I agree. I couldn’t change it or better it in any way (of course this is only one instance of the author’s way with words. The book is sprinkled with quote worthy lines, many of which are debatable which in turns adds to the fun.)

So, going by that definition, I should really be suffering. But suffering isn’t being miserable. It’s just there, somewhere inside. I wish I could have some things back, which I can’t.

Then, may be what I have lost never really topped my priority list. Yes, they may not have. That’s because I always took those for granted! And that doesn’t decrease the suffering in any way.

You may think, what you’ve lost isn’t probably that big, so you don’t feel it. Okay then, so I take you away from your home to some place you’ve never liked living in (because you haven’t really ever lived there), turn your life upside down, take you away when you think you’ve got friends for life and then ask you to start all over again. Then you’re asked to ‘make new friends’ and ‘fit in’ and ‘do the right things to be in the good books of people’. I make you feel horrible, suffocated and lost.

So, it isn’t really a small thing. Of course, many lessons were learnt and tests were passed. In those first 2 years when I felt I (at times) could just die, I had once called up this friend after a long long time. It was diwali. I didn’t think she’d recognize my voice. She knew it was me the minute I said hello. When I asked her whether my voice hadn’t changed at all, she said it had changed but it still had the ‘happy ring and enthusiasm’ in it which she was sure only one person she knew in the whole wide world could have despite all that she may be going through. (me). That did make me feel glad, to be honest. And since then, I have started noticing if people whom I’ve never spoken to before on phone recognize my voice the first time. They always do and they tell me the same thing that the old friend told.

This again led me to think that yes, I may be suffering (but I am not ‘depressed’ or ‘miserable’. You can suffer silently without being a pessimist) but I don’t let that be the major part of me. I haven’t got everything...anything... easily. I have been through my share of testing time for this phase of my life. I have gone through the ‘polishing and cutting’ phase which I am sure many people my age haven’t even gotten a clue about. A lot of time people do get annoyed with me for not getting annoyed with them. Strange!

Despite all this, I somehow manage to see the silver lining. I don’t need anybody’s pity. I don’t need to be morbid to be different. I am already different, just by being the happy me. So don’t ask me why I keep smiling so much because I’ll only tell you one thing- I find things to smile about even where there isn’t anything, because if I didn’t, I’d probably have become a coke-addict or a chain smoker or a total goner by now. And I am never going to be those things. The only thing that can help one out of their lonliness, ‘depression’ and addiction is addiction to something else- happiness. You’ll never feel the need to drug yourself to be happy. That’s the way we were made. When we were children we never needed a ‘fix’ to get a ‘high’. We were always ‘high’, if you ask me. You don’t need to feel 'low' which would lead you to do things to make you artificially and temporarily feel high. So why take so much trouble? Feeling low isn’t cool, at least not in my book, so why feel that way?

Please Note:

1)Yes, I have digressed a hundred times in this post and even I don’t know what the actual topic of the post should be.
2)These are my views and they work for me.
3)I am not an intolerant person who despises addicts (to anything ie). I just wish they’d see the light within instead of searching the whole world for it.
4)No, I am not preaching. In case you thought I was, then you should look ‘preach’ in the dictionary. I am just saying what I want to say since this is MY blog.
5)Yes, 'happy' is a very general and relative term. I have used it to only denote not being sad and upset and just being pleased in general.

Midnight Madness

2006-11-26T11:21:00.000+05:30

Be Thou Warned: This post may be too ‘girly’ at places for your ‘taste’. So if you’re a total pig then read no further.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

No, I didn’t turn into a werewolf and scare the hell out of S (sister).

No, I didn’t start sleepwalking and break half the things in my house while doing such a thing.

No, I didn’t go to a zombie-haunted house to give the zombies a fright (heh, that would be fun though).

So, what was it that I did at midnight? Okay… I just freaked out and did what I do best- act like a lunatic!

It was around 11.45 in the night, S was busy doing something online while I was getting bored in the background. So I decided to clean out my clothes shelf which was desperately screaming out to me--- “DO something about me you..you..you……!”

So, I decided to oblige and set down to removing all the clothes and arranging them and blah blah. Everytime I indulge in this activity, I find something that totally makes me happy and this time it was my old school skirt!! I couldn’t find the shirt neither could I find any other set of uniform. I then remembered, while packing (before moving) Mom had warned me to leave all my ‘unnecessary’ stuff back which could be given away to the bai but I had slipped in my beloved skirt and given away the rest. Oh how I ADORE this skirt. Once in school while I was hanging out in the corridor between classes, this really scary teacher whom I didn’t like was doing her ‘rounds’. When she saw me, she was like—

“Your skirt is like one foot long! You must get another one stiched!”

To which I replied—

“Sorry but it actually is about 1.3 feet long and I won’t be here much longer so I won’t be getting any more skirts stiched!” *smiles*

Her expression was somewhat puzzled and amused at the same time! :D

That was my favourite piece of uniform that I ever owned! I was so overcome with emotions that I even took a snap of it to put it up here. *sigh*

After the skirt-gazing and skirt-photo-clicking I continued with my pursuit of rearraging my clothes when I came across this absolutely warm, fuzzy black shirt with a little butterfly on it! I wore that and clicked like a thousand pictures of myself where one could easily pass me off for a sleep-deprived zombie (er, I think sleep-deprived is contained in the word zombie, but still). All this while S was blithely unaware of my adventures right behind her back and was doing her work peacefully.

Then I came across my wrap around skirts which I hardly wear. Anyway, they were there- all washed and ironed and neatly(?) kept. I started messing around with one of them. I tied the little stringies around my neck and started yelling “Woohoooo here comes Superwoman!” while performing an act of mock flying to which S nonchalantly replied with a practised yawn (she’s pretty used to me acting like a mental-asylum-patient-on-the-loose).

After the flying around ceased, a brilliant idea struck me. I wore the wrap around skirt in an absurd way which was held together by a banana clip on the back (heh) and the stringies at the neck. A pink shiny diva-like belt was worn on the waist to keep the frills and folds of the skirt-turned-dress together. 6-inch heels were worn. Holy mother of God! I asked S to turn around and told her this was my mock-red-carpet outfit. I quickly justified such behaviour of mine by saying I had been looking at fugly people too often these days! S gushed—

“OMG! It seriously looks like those things they wear!”

Then I started posing with one leg in front of the other, waving out, flashing fake smiles and catwalking around and still managing to look perfectly sane for the first time in the evening! S responded to all this diva-act with—

“OMG! You look like Malaika Arora!”

Thengew berry muds!! (I assume everybody has received and read that forward by now!)

No. That was a serious compliment, really! Hee. I do kind of do like Malaika. So, you know…

After all this I am giving fashion designing a serious thought. Erm. No, on second thoughts, I shouldn’t become a fashion designer. If I do, my models will all end up walking the ramp in wrap around skirts and PJs!! :D

All this activity has left me a little drained (did I mention that before all this cleaning started, I was busy dancing away to glory?). Old age is really getting to me! Okay, I take the last sentence back! It’s high time my PBT (Post Birthday Trauma) passed. Okay. Yes. No more PBT. Smiles :)

Weird Sisters Do It Again!

2006-11-21T23:24:00.000+05:30

Of late, S has been thinking a lot (I suppose) and has been adorning our conversations with ‘witticisms’.

I have recollected and documented two such incidents in the following lines.

Scene 1:

S was sitting on the bed with books (and clothes, and bags and phones and every imaginable item that a 17 (newly turned*blush*#) year old Libran could possibly own) scattered all over it. I was rummaging around for some books or something and noticed a frown (very rare in case of S!) on her face. Of course, I acted as if I hadn’t seen it. She waited for me to acknowledge the frown and ask her what was up and when enough time had elapsed and she got no favourable response form me, she remarked wisely—

“Sneha ke books- na shelf ke, na bed ke”

(inspired by the doggie lokokti)

Wah wah!

Scene 2:

This is an unsaid, unwritten law in our house. When either of the two weird sisters is sitting on the comp (okay, not sitting ON the comp, but working on the comp. it’s just a way of saying this same thing, okay?!) the other feels an incredible urge to displace that sister and herself occupy the comp (okay… you got it!) even though she has much better work to do. In order to accomplish this feat, the second sister starts roaming around the comp-chair and peeking into the screen, all of which are clear indications of her desire to oust the incumbent comp-user.

One evening, I was merrily reading blogs, orkutting, checking mails blah blah when S started exhibiting all the properties of the second sister (as stated in the law above). Now, as I have already once mentioned, I HATE it when people look into my work and the comp is no exception. I always get irritated and cranky when this happens and minimize all the windows and drive her away before I regain my normal, calm and composed state.

However, this time, S said she DID NOT want the comp and only offered me one of her wisecracks—

“We are like honeybees and the comp is the honey” *eyes gleaming*

Wah wah!

Will anyone ever run out of sources of entertainment with sisters like THESE around?

I tell you, even brother-brother jodis aren’t as good as sisters! And I loathe Ms.De for writing a book on two ‘sisters’ at emotional war with each other. Hullo. They are proper ‘sisters’ neither by blood nor by any form of emotional bonding whatsoever. Then why call the books ‘Sisters’ and make ‘sisters’ look so bitchy? I don’t like that woman! No one has the right to tarnish the pure bond of sisterhood, as Elle rightly pointed out in Legally Blonde (LOVE that movie and ADORE Elle).

#- I have no clue why I blush when I say I am 17. I just feel a little old and weary now. Sigh!

Things can go wrong once in a while!

2006-11-14T22:29:00.000+05:30

Someone who lived in the college hostel has committed suicide. Yet another case. Exam season, so it’s likely that more such cases will be reported now that December is close. It’s pretty upsetting to see (alright, hear) such things happening around this time of the year, every year. Why? Why can’t proper counsellors and Student Advisors be made available to students who need someone to talk to? Most of the time, it’s lack of communication of what’s troubling one that causes the sufferer to cause such things to happen. Miserable.

The technician guy who had been called by my Dad to come over to load a new OS has screwed my existing one and didn’t even load the other one. So basically all my data was at stake like 4 hours ago. The funniest part was when he produced a 64 MB pen drive to take back-up of my old data (we wanted to get the damn thing formatted). I even let out a little giggle in that very serious situation (I know it must’ve seemed a little rude, but hey, it was just toooooooooo funny to see that someone could even IMAGINE that we’d have like THAT MUCH data!!). We told him gently that we’ve got more than 60 GB data and blah blah (rest is irrelevant here). So well, the point is that I have to wait till Sunday when that guy gets his posterior here and loads the other OS and I can go use my comp without worrying about spyware and adware embedding themselves on my poor HD.

I didn’t even do 10% of all the work that I was supposed to do today. Bleh. I feel horribly guilty since exams are from Monday!!! Lord save me. Pleej!!!

As a cherry on the pie, maid made BAINGAN for dinner. Urgh!! Of course, it wasn’t the seedy, yucky variety but it was still baingan!

However, looking on the brighter side, I got a 250 GB external USB HD. It had to be bought in order to save all my data :).

Oh, by the way, Abhu just messaged me to tell that she got a puppy! So the day wasn’t that bad for all of us, eh?

PS. Today was a bad hair day too!! Everything goes wrong on like, ONE CHOSEN day, right? In a way, that’s a good thing. You don’t have to waste all the days of the week cribbing. Seven things going wrong on one day is better than one different thing going wrong every day of the week, right??!!

Feeling wonderful!!

2006-11-10T22:52:00.000+05:30

Maid was on leave, mom was to return home at 10 p.m. after a hectic day at work and S didn’t feel like cooking. So I, the blogowner set out with newly found inspiration to cook more, from Asha, and with nothing else but the taste of my mother’s rassam or charu or whatever it’s called (!) to make dinner for the night.

I couldn’t think of any dish that I would want to try neither did I feel like finding the dusty old Sanjeev Kapoor and Tarla Dalal recipe books. So, like everytime I’ve made something for the first time, I trudged along with with only my instincts (which actually must be enough for seasoned cooks since my mom (and everybody else’s of course!) keeps coming up with new innovative ideas every now and then).

The charu I made-

Yea well, it doesn't look great but it did taste so! Yes, i have no modesty left in me!

It took me about half an hour to prepare the charu. It took me 10 more minutes to toast some bread and cut it in shapes. My mom was home by then. I immediately served all I had made (hot hot!! Yay! it all tastes best when it’s hot :)) and she, being the understanding mom who has spent 20 odd years of her life trying to make a slow-eater S eat while the food is still warm, got down to the eating business. Of course, she told me it was wonderful and called up my dad to tell him about the Sneha-making-actual-dinner story! God! That feeling, watching mom have the food I’d made was most heart-warming. I was so happy to actually see her…. Okay well, istead of trying to put the feeling down in words I’ll just leave it on the hindi saying – Khaane se zyada khilane me mazaa aata hai!

UPDATE!!!

Okay, so originally I had not included the procedure that I had followed to make this charu (I don't use the word recipe here, because it's not the real recipe!). Anyway, here goes....

1) I heated some oil (about 3 teaspoons) in a kadai and added a little mustard seeds, saunf or fennel seeds and asafoetida or hing powder till the mustard seeds spluttered (which was very early!!). I then addded some curry leaves, crushed ginger and about 3 cloves of garlic which had also been crushed.

These are mustard seeds!

Saunf (or fennel seeds)

Asafoetida Powder.

2) I then added some salt (to taste of course!), some curry powder, a little chilli powder and finally 3 (I didn't really know how many tomatoes I should be using, however since I was cooking for 3 people, i thought why not 3?!) tomatoes which had been cut in thin slices. The tomatoes were medium sized.

3) I cooked the contents of the kadai for a while (till the water from the tomato had almost evaporated). Then, I added about 3-4 cups of water (I was really generous with the water :)).

4) I added a lid and let the water come to a boil. After it came to a boil, I cooked it further for about4-5 minutes (till the salt-water balance came ie!) with stirring from time to time.

5) Then....... my charu was ready! :)

Enjoy!

PS. I added the pictures (which I found from the net) of those 3 components because I thought it would be easier for other novice cooks like me to figure out what all these ingredients actually mean. I didn't know those black chaunk seeds were mustard seeds till I googled it this morning!!

Saying it all and still not saying anything....?

2006-11-09T14:51:00.000+05:30

She’s sorry. She didn’t know. Now she does.

Did you know it for real? Or did you only think that she needed it? No, she didn’t need it. She only wanted it. There’s a difference. A huge one.

She only wanted to break the cycle. She has set you free. She really has. She feels she doesn’t even know you. She’s right.

She doesn’t need to know you. She may want to know you though.

She took it all and went away, because she wanted to break the cycle. She needed to break it. She didn’t want to break it though. But she needed to.

May be you don’t yet know what she wanted to do and what she needed to do. By the time you get that, she won’t even know you. Actually, she doesn’t know you even now. But that time, she will refuse to know you. She won’t want to know you any more.

She says she is sorry for it. Is that okay?

I know it’s not.

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Almost a year of blogging (but hardly a couple of months of regular blogging) ! Celebrating(?) blog anniversary with the same theme that gave rise to it all in the first place......

Should I go template-hunting or html-css-learning to give my blog a fresh look?
	Yes. This one's stale and it stinks big time.
	Yes. This one isn't bad, but a fresh look would be good.
	No. This one's totally FAB!
	I am a Libran. Don't ask me to vote in this ridiculous poll.

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