Tan colored capri pants

I must take this oppurtunity to say that I have had it with people. People in general and nosy invasive people in particular. Folks who want to know what career choices I am making, when my husband and I plan to visit India, when we plan to have children or better yet telling me when to have children, where to look for houses, the easiest way to host 15 ppl (when I am going to host people is beyond me).I mean I have had it with people in general. Attended a desi birthday party last week and came home with a dull headach and a bunch of laughes. Loud music, parents trying to show off their kids apparent talents, pre-teen girls acting wiser than their age with make up, tons of jarring sweets. Its a 10 year olds birthday. Dont play bingo at it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Buy some pizza, cake and juice, have a bunch of kids over and let them play with the Wii.. D and I decided that our kids are not going to have any birthday parties with adults in them (till they become adults themselves). I used to go for dozens of these things as a kid myself and have had oh about 15 of them before I stopped but there were no adults at most of them. Atleast besides the kid's parents.

When one gets on the plane I think some sense of warped desi-ness props up. A holier- than-thou attitude. I was at the gym a few weeks ago when a nice young lady told me and I quote "I used to be like you. But now I have improved. My MIL has taught me how to be a good wife." I take freaking umbrage lady. I am a great wife. Excuse me if I don't get up at 5 am like an idiot to cook lunch for my husband when I can do it the night before. I also don't like the kind who proclaim that all things desi are soo archaic and try really hard to adapt with the life here and fail miserably. I know someone who is learning "Lawn Tennis"!!!!!
And what is with the dressing like "items". They are soooo awkward in clothes they evidently havent worn before. I mean there isn't a soul here who hasn't heard of India, why not wear clothes you are comfortable with instead of looking weird and extremely out of place.

On a tangential note, I spoke to a couple of my friends last week.. I must be honest it was soooo nice to hear familiar voices and familiar terms.. Took a while to get to common ground which saddened me a little bit.These are folks that I spent everyday of 4 years of my bachelors with. Spent hours talking with.. But I have to say I am super happy to be back on track.

And first prize to guess what the whole thing has to do with tan colored capri pants..

Random Musings

I just discovered that I am not a big fan of Greek Yogurt. Now that could also be bcoz I ate non - fat plain. It was a tad too thick for my taste. I topped it up with some granola and a dash of honey. Maybe I should buy some flavored.

D and I have been trying to eat healthier of late. Which means that there are more trips to Whole Foods. But both of us are discovering interesting flavors. From the awesomely sweet Maple Syrups to the different types of cheeses including the soy - cheeses( which isnt as bad as it sounds!!!). I am going through a phase of experimenting with different types of granolas. D is attempting buckwheat. You need to boil it till the water evaporates and then add milk. I must warn you that it needs to be flavored quite a bit coz its pretty bland (well that is an understatement) I put in maple syrup/honey, bananas (or watever fruit you have at hand). I pretty much follow the recipe but I dont have patience waiting for the water to evaporate so I cook it in the pressure cooker.

We also switched oils. From Canola to Vegetable Oil. I usually have EVOO lying around the house as well. But sometimes you cant cook Indian with EVOO and of course we cant fry with it. I am really proud of myself coz I can actually differentiate between the canola and the vegetable. Something I couldn't do till atleast 6 months ago.

Oh! Oh! I also tried brown rice. Now tell me.. Has anyone eaten anything more buttery.. more nuttier than brown rice. And no.. Its no fancy pants brown rice from any organic store - Its the stuff one gets at the regular super market. I think that I am officially a convert. A while ago I had also bought Quinoa. I am not sure if I cooked it right but I wasnt a big fan. So the box is sitting on my kitchen shelf hidden behind boxes of my spices. I also gave whole wheat couscous a shot.. Yummo!! But again I load it up with veggies. Anything on hand.

Last weekend I made hummus. It was nice.. Maybe something was lacking.. It dint taste exactly like the store bought one so maybe I did something wrong!!

I donno if its possible. But I think I am getting a lil sick of cereal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyone who knows me even remotely knows that I can survive on cereal. I can eat three courses of it. But for the last few days it aint appealing to me much. a ten year run is coming to a slow down. I dont want it to stop.

I can strongly say that N is an inspiration for urs truly spending more time in the kitchen.

On a tangential note (its not even tangential its probably in a totally other quadrant). As folks get older I think they get a lil cranky and nutty. I just discovered first hand from an aunt of mine. I mean I have learnt manners from this aunt but I jus discovered that maybe as they grow older they kinda jus un learn all the stuff.. Reminds me of the stuff I read in the poem from All The World Is a Stage.
Well that is jus me cribbing but where better to do it tell me???

All's well that ends well

The last few weeks have been of mixed emotions. But predominantly with an under current of uncertainty. Then finally the heavens shined forth and I decided what is that I wanted to do and heaved a sigh of relief and learning never to put things off until the last minute. Another thing I discovered in the last few weeks was that my husband and I have learned to enjoy our silences as much as we do when we are doing other things.

We went to Cape Cod last weekend and had a glorious day catching the wee end of the summer. We went on the water scooter and I sat frozen behind D miles into the sea without a tether and knew that if we fell off the bike I was doomed.. Then we went to Provincetown literally to the "place where there was nowhere left to go". We swam a little in the Atlantic and loved the sun. We enjoyed the sun tons that day. We packed a lunch dominated with Garbanzo in a variety of forms. Hummus and Channa!!! (I dint realize that until I got there). To go with that I threw in some bread. We also packed apples and some Tropicana Fruit Punch. We ended the day by picking up food at Subway as either of us were exhausted to cook.

The Labor Day weekend we decided to make good use of the sunny days before Fall sets in and get ready for the Wonderful (and I am not being sarcastic) New England winter. We watched Tropic Thunder Friday night. We played tennis on Saturday morning while a softball match was going on behind us. We decided to be all artsy in the evening and went to Boston's South End. We had a superb time acting all appalled at prices of shirts in Neiman Marcus and taking pictures near the Fountain at the Church of the Scientist building also in South End. Ended the day with dinner at PF Changs and a Great Wall of Chocolate cake. On Sunday D cooked his world famous sambhar. Afternoon we set out to see the Mansions in Rhode Island and the Tennis Hall of Fame. For a few minutes I was transported back to the Jane Austen books of balls and courtyards and balconies. The Rosecliff reminded me of the old Peters Road House. Here I saw a maid dressed in the good old maid's outfit - full sleeved black dress with a white apron and white lil hat thingy. I felt a tad sad for her as it was a good 90 degrees outside. I also saw a family trying desparately hard not to be Desi which kinda got to me!!!!!! The high temp caused D and me hunting for a soda shop but we finally ended up in a Whole Foods type store sharing a bag of chips and some fig bar (Heavenly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).
Monday we went to the temple and met some family for lunch and packed in a good desi lunch discussing their baby( now two months old) and the sambhar. Monday winded down with D and me jus sitting down each with our books and some music.



All's well that ends well.

Sometimes..

Transferring A Registration on A Newly Acquired Vehicle
The owner, if a person , must be at least 18 years old.
As opposed to cows which can be 5 I guess



In case it wasnt too visible. The caption was "All Lanes Closed"
And we would all just float in ether near the George Washington Bridge if we want to get to New England.



Near here are buried British Soldiers
An extremely personalized tomb stone!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hum Logon ko Samaj Sakho Tho...

Dropping of my family at the airport and returning home I was overcome with certain strong emotions. Not just because they were leaving but because of our living here!!! There are certain times when I just dont get the point of living so far away from familiar sights, family and friends.. (Currently none of my close frnds except for one live in Madras but you get the point!!) I was taken over by emotion for a few minutes and I felt sad for my husband and I. D promptly cheered me up and within 5 minutes of leaving the aiprort parking lot. I guess I had an immigrant moment which hazaars of families have had before me.. But hey it was a first for me.. Came back to our empty apartment and now a week later the suitcases that we cleared out of the guest bedroom are back in. The towels they left are washed and back in the closet and the tomato chutney that amma made is all eaten up..

Went for the India Day celebrations this weekend on the Esplanade by the Charles. I dint know that this many Desis lived in and around Boston. Salwar clad ladies and some kurta'd and some not kurta'd men standing in long lines to eat chat and drink sugar can juice... Hazaars of junta danced to bhangra and garba and maybe a bharatanatyam thrown in.. It was evident that these dances were choreographed by moms who were teenagers in 90s.. So someone created a medley of Taal songs which was apparently a fusion of Bollywood and Non Bollywood.. All in all it was nice to shove through lines and tap feet to early A R Rahman music..


Was invited to a Shravan festival at the home of one of my neighbors homes.. Ahhh to be married and attend random festivals at random households!! See when I was younger I could just avoid them with the lame ass college excuse.. But as a married Hindu woman you shouldn't not go to people's homes if they are going to give you pasupu(turmeric) and kumkum.. SO off I went in my finest armed with my mangal sutram and saree!!! Came home with a mega dose of guilt for not being a good home maker who cooks, cleans and folds clothes. To make up for it I cooked a giganto humongous batch of Indian food and pulled out D's t-shirts and ironed them.

Was cribbing to N about not going on hikes since we moved to Boston a year ago. This weekend D, R, S and I went on a hike on the historic Minutemen trail in Lincoln,MA. Was fun to be back in the wild and walk and take beautiful pictures of plants and wildlife..

News Feed

What is the desperate urge to know?? The social networking is finally getting to me. I mean its one thing to catch up with frnds.But a desparate urge to know gets to me. Status msgs.. The facebook what are u doing know thingy-s.. Public profiles.. the visual bookshelf!!! Why should someone know what I am reading right now?? You know facebook has the side questions thingy ( I dont remember its name). Do I like chocolates? Is it brown or black? What would I do if I were stranded on an island (I can assure you the chances of that happening are less thaan zero!!!!!!!!!!) If someone is dating someone or is someone married to someone.. I know of late people putting up their honeymoon pictures.. Now that is where I draw the line.. Why do people need to share the information with others. I mean some things like what is happening in my head this very second is private between me and my head.. If this much information is available right now imagine 10 years from now. Maybe we would have cool gadget thingys that we can put on like headfones or something which would give us our thoughts and we could choose to broadcast them over our private frequency or better still make them a podcast!!!
You know the facebook so and so is attending such and such party!! Imagine if I realized that people are throwing me a surprise party and I get to see the facebook invitation. Imagine how surprised I would be??????

Oh I just found out that two of my juniors(whose names I am choosing not to mention) who gave out mixed signals regarding if they were seeing each other or just frnds jus declared that they are in a relationship with each other!! And I am happy for the two of them. You know who u are and I am happy for you

Oh and Oh Check out tweet.com it does jus this

old wine in an older bottle

I respect a movie I need to watch!!! I watch movies as I am writing papers or as I am cooking or generally doing other stuff.. and I have watched several movies in several languages and several episodes of koffee with karan and several awards shows etc and so on!! However, if there is a movie that I cannot understand this way then I respect it!!! And of late there hasnt been a movie that I needed to watch.. After decades of wanting to watch it I saw Sarkar Raj. Now there is no story and the actors (sad to say this about Abhishek) dint have much to do and there was hardly any story worth mentioning!!! But I had to watch the movie. I watched Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.. And I must say that a bunch of people were wasted in it.. It was brain numbing.. The two nice songs are over in the first 15 min of the movie!! On a tangential note I watched 27 Dresses and I must admit that its borderline silly..

Folks I must admit I started this post two weeks ago.. I dint get to finish it and this is what happens when I dont write in a flow...

Nanta's Tag

See here is the story.. I was walking down this crowded by-lane near the Harvard Yard and I saw a hole. I wanted to avoid it and so with great effort I walked or attempted to avoid it.. But in all my troubles I actually ended up falling into it!!!!!!

Sad, pathetic, lying rite?? So I shall not even attempt it. I got very crazy busy with a an extremely stressful class in what was supposed to be a not very stressful semester!!!! And I waited to do this tag bcoz it means a lot to me.. A fun post which reuired some thot process. So I am going to attempt it now..

10 Characters I fell for if they are Real

1) Arjun (am not sure of his last name) from Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni You know Arjun of the Pandava fame. The book depicted him very nicely..

2)Amit Chaterjee Who doesn't love him!!!!!!!!!! And I thot Lata was a huge bad word for rejecting him..

3)John Galt I read Atlas Shrugged at a stretch for a week. I loved her.. And his around 50 page speech..

4)Ron Weasley Coz he is just soooo cute..

5)Micheal Corleone He was soooooooooo much better in my head than AB Junior or Al Pachino

6)Kane (of Kane and Abel Fame) To be honest I liked Kane and Abel both a lot.. Would love to get my hands on that book again sometime

7)Charlie As the Crow Flies. Hard work pays all the time.

8)Rhett Butler I like him and he is the ultimate dream hero.

9)Julian (Famous Five) I don't remember why..

10)Mr. Pink Whistle Coz he is the coolest fun guy I know!!!


Favourite Random Authors

Enid Blyton

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Vikram Seth

Ayn Rand

Jeffrey Archer

Jane Austen

Maybe not favourite but I read a lot of

Sidney Sheldon

R L Stein - Goosebumps

Francine Pascal - Sweet Valley Series ( I went to an all girls Christian Institution)

Authors I downright hated

Danielle Steel - I gave her a chance a few times. But she failed me over and over again.

The Mills and Boon Series. I refused to be a part of the crappy romantic series reading genre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tag -1

My 6 quirks..

1) I can eat cereal for all 3 meals and snack in between and basically live that way for weeks.

2) I will never sit/ sleep directly under the fan as I am afraid it would fall on me.

3) I cant ahem answer when nature calls if I don't read. Last resort - shampoo bottles. I also cant sleep if I don't read. Have re- read dozens of stuff just cause I don't have a book in hand/

4) I think people with too many quirks are a little silly!!! he he he.. t

5) I will not study on the day of the exam. As in no last last minute cramming.. I also cant write any assignments on the day its due. If I am forced to do this I know that I am in for a bad grade.

I am not much of a quirky person (or so I think) As an experiment I am going to let D fill the last one..

Public Notice
For the lack of reading material in a rush - rush job I picked up Celebrity Detox by Rosie O' Donnell( I can hear ppl asking me why? ) I just did... Reading it scared me. Its by far the most chaotic book I have ever read. Almost as if its an insight into her mind (quite literally) I have always known that my posts are a little chaotic as I dont as much as run spell check on them.. If in the past any of my posts were un - intelligable I apologize for putting you through it...

Times 3

Today na-manasu turns 3!!! That sounds weird.. To the non-telugu readers na-manasu means my mind.. So in essenece the earlier sentence meant that my mind turned 3.. In certain ways maybe it did.. I went back and read some of my older posts.. When I was fresh out of college, later when I used to work and went thru bouts of frndsickness, later I was busy getting married, suffering homesickness in a different land and finally now back in school.. Many readers have come and gone... But some have stuck it out.. My cousin P, my sis-in-law A, my best frnd N, my husband D, my dad who refuses to read my blog require spl mention.. My family and frnds in general who are often the subject of my posts.. My baby nephews S and N..

OK before it starts to sound like the Filmfare acceptance speech.. (Oscars anni galiju)..Thanks all of you.. Keep reading..

Yay!!! I managed to keep it running for 3 years.. Who knew???????

Have Keyboard Will Type (with food on my mind)

I am hungry.. Crazy hungry.. See the thing is I have tried to go on some sort of weird diet where I eat whole wheat bread and cottage cheese with a dash of molaga podi thrown in for lunch..And now a few hours later I am ravenous.. And so a few hours later I reached for some mixture(courtesy my husband's grand mom). To the un-initiated mixture is well.. Trail Mix but unsweetened and all fried in oil!!! And then again a few hours later (at this point guilt struck) I ate some watermelon.. And I am still hungry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know what my body is craving for.. But I am hungry. I was reading one of the self-help diet columns in Good Housekeeping(dont ask!! My vice)which is actually pretty nice. This month's column talked about how one shud give one's body what it wants when the body asks for it and the brain objects.. But at this point I jus donno what my body wants.. I could try feeding it some other stuff but its too close to dinner (8pm) and I dont want to not eat dinner coz my mom made delicious brinjal curry.. and I will prob eat that with my wheat bread and cottage cheese..
I am not a big fan of chips/tortilla chips/pita chips.. I dont mind popcorn though.. I am known to snack on weird food combinations.. But I have a frnd named Padmapadam(Real Name I swear) who eats pickle with poli(sweet).Now I could never top that And I am sure my vastly Indian readers know that by pickle I dont mean the vinegary one which you get here.. Indian pickles are dunked in oil (a preservative) and basically live in oil... But yeah.. I am a big fan of the American pickles as well.. In fact sometimes, when we go to the movies I just eat pickles!! And drink soda.. And D eats watever will probably justify asking for 5 packets of pickles(Poor guy)

On a not so tangential note.. Well maybe its a tangential note noticed that a few of my frnds and family are writing about food as well..Pichapaati and N

Has anyone read In Defense of Food.. Read rave reviews about Eat Pray Love.. But being Indian and all I thot the book was a load of **!!! I mean even Indians dont live like that.. The Swami mentioned in the book sounds kinda dubious considering that a majority(read 100%) of his followers arent Indian.. We are a lil too low to reach those stages I guess.. But I like some parts of religion that she talks about..However, I dont like to talk about religion and would hence refrain from elaborating and also digressing..

All the talk about food aint helping and I really need something.. Shall go and forage my mom's kitchen (for 3 months) after which it will become my empty one with boxes of pasta and couscous and Maggi.. Now looking at my kitchen makes my heart swell with pride.. Its stocked with stuff.. Stuff whose names I dont know and probably will never use..

Intelligent People and Daunting Experiences

Due to the lukewarm respone to my previous post decided to write a new one sooner than planned..
Watched Iron Man. A cool movie. Full of cool dude gadgets and gizmos and a man who flies to Afghanistan from US by himself in air. He also flies to the moon and back.. Or actually somewhere near the moon..As in, in the general vincinity of the moon.. Gweneth Paltrow was wasted though..
Turned a year older.. Its started getting scary.. I realized that one day before my birthday I still wasn't excited about it. Then the warning bells went off in my head.. I am not even near the quarter century mark as yet..But anxiety started.. Most of my childhood was spent thinking about when I would reach college and then for some reason my memory froze.. I never thought about what happens after college..So now at the ripe age of under quarter century and above a few years below that panic is setting in..

Folks visiting from India.. New experience when it turns out that your parents arent invincible. Spooked my mom totally about the smoke alarm to such an extent that she refuses to make dosas now.. Was exhilarating to see my parents at the airport but daunting to see them shiver in the New England cold.. Remembering all the Jhumpa Lahiri immigrant experience.. To be honest it wasnt such a culture shock for me when I arrived in the States as it is for my parents.. Why because I watched Friends when I was in India.. he he he... (Private joke for my husband who thinks most of my types learnt about America from FRIENDS.. maybe true to an extent)

Inspired by N I am planning to try to turn Vegan for a week.. Researching it a bit I realized South Indian Hindu Vegetarians are a weird brand of herbivores. We arent vegan and we arent what most other people consider vegetarian.. We dont eat fish.. We dont eat meat and we dont eat chicken.. And we think chicken is meat and fish is meat as well.. So its difficult to explain our brand of vegetarianism to folks here..Let me see if I can stick out vegan.. Coz I dont mind soy milk or tofu and found an ice cream that serves Tofutti Ice Cream at Harvard Square..

Talking about Harvard Square.. Most people know my love for Cambridge and the Harvard Square area.. And also my dislike for Dunkin Donuts.. I like the bagels. Not a big fan of Donuts in general and hence not sure but absolutely abhor their coffee.. And I think Starbucks rocks.. After extensive research( read walking around Harvard Square everyday last semester) I can aver (albeit hesitantly) that there isnt a Dunkin Donuts around Harvard Square except for in the station. There are 2 Starbucks.. 2 Au Bon Pains and even a Finagle Bagel.. Therefore I conclude that intelligent people drink at StarBucks!!!

Doing some interesting classes this semester one of which is called Negotiation.. Will update more on that later..
For now as its time to head to class Au Revior.. Have a Nice Memorial Day if you live in the States and a nice weekend if you live elsewhere

Of balance sheets and mega serials

There were tons of things I wanted to write about. However, I was caught up with some educational endeavors!!
Love it or hate it.. Most people use it.. I am talking about Microsoft Corp..Most people I know and you know as well would have started with some of Windows. Depending on their age it would be either 3.0,95,98,NT,2000,XP and Vista.. But the point is this is where it started. Not IBM 360! Not Apple ! Not Open Source.. Microsoft is sitting with large amounts of cash!! It hasn't head debt in a while and is worth about 240B dollars.. People talk about how Vista sucks.. Firefox is better than IE.. I am a lil sick of hearing this.. I can confidently state that most of these innovations happened while working on a PC..I can right a whole dissertation on the topic( and I did in 400 words) but I will spare u..Love them or hate them MSFT isnt going anywhere and if it does all those who are bitching about it are gonna be in deep deep shit!!!!!

I know folks, I know... Give me some time.. I will un learn wat I did..

Anyways talking about MSFT.. Wat is this talk about elitist?? Mass and Class (In my country we call it that way).. I am not endorsing any candidate for presidency. I dont support any candidate in an election I cant vote.. But this is not just true here.. Back home in India as well.. Hide ur wealth, dont tell people how much u make, live frugally!!! For crying out loud.. In India, several and I mean several opportunities were and are being given for young children to be educated. In my home state for instance, mid - day meals were offered as an initiative to come to school. the government hoping that atleast the ruse of food will attract children to school. Most middle class households will give up on luxuries to allow their children to go to a better school.. Why cant those who are being offered free education and a warm meal willing to give up a few hours of their time in order to secure a better life than the ones they currently exist in??
Reading The Name is Rajnikanth.. Sad excuse of a book.. Written badly, with no sense of grammar reads like a home blog of a person with poor writing skills(Note to self.. Look who is talking!!!!) Bad editing and proof reading. Costs 495 bucks a piece.. Read Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.. Amazing piece of work.. Tells the story of Mahabaratha from the perspective of Draupadi.. Reading it I thought(Oh no.. this is dangerous) this is the biggest mega serial ever created by an Indian.. D and I were once discussing the realness of the mega serials.. It struck me.. The plots and the sub-plots, the jealousies and the clandestine love affairs, the women pregnant before marriage and abandoning their bastard children, while secretly pining for them.. Brothers turning on brothers.. Name it and the Mahabaratha has it.. The ultimate mega serial of the good old times.. Also read Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.. Interesting albeit a slightly depressing read. What is with the obsession with Indian authors???? I read others too.. Trust me

Apologies for the confusion of a post.. Several random thots and it took 2 days to pen(type).. U know when that happens u need to beware.. Trains of thought that dont reach a station..any station..

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
Jalsa..OK Time pass movie.. Last English movie I saw in a theatre was Juno ( I think)


2. What book are you reading?
Blink - Malcolm Gladwell, All Souls - Micheal Patrick Mc.Donald. Just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and re -read Sister of my Heart.. I know I know.. I read several books at one time

3. Favorite board game?
Pictionary

4. Favorite magazine?
Filmfare, People, US Weekly..
5. Favorite smells?
Chanel No.5.. Cheese melting.. Coffee beans, Bread baking

6. Favorite sounds?
Personalized ring tone I have set for D or when my fone says "Amma".. My fone talks, I swear!!!

7. Worst feeling in the world?
Knowing you cant do anything about the shitty situation you are in!! When things are beyond your control and you are significantly affected..(or is it effected!!)

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
"Every morning when I wake up..Before I put on my make up.." OST My Best Friends Wedding..

9. Favorite fast food place?
Gangotree or Chef Express (for those who remember it). Not hugely into fast food..

10. Future child's name?
As a kid, I wanted to name my kid Sachin(after Tendulkar).. Now I am not so sure.. Lets just call it "IT"


11. Finish this statement. "If I had lot of money I'd....?"
be Tata Birla!!! he he he.. I would prob make a movie.. or more realistically buy more books and a house


12. Do you drive fast?
No, I drive notoriously slow.. S and N can vouch for that.. I drove at around 45 on ECR!!!


13. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Nope.. With two pillows though


14. Storms - cool or scary?
Cool if I am indoors, scary if I am driving...


15. What was your first car?
Fiat, The first one I drove though was a Santro

16. Favorite drink?
Indian Coffee, Java Chip Frappuchino, Water, Diet Pepsi with Lime

17. Finish this statement, "If I had the time I would...."
Read more..


18. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Yep


19. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
I wouldn't dye all of my hair any color.. I wanted purple highlights though, I settled for a dark maroon or some such thing..


20. Name all the different cities/towns you've lived in?
Madras, Chennai, Hyderabad, Seattle, Boston

21. Favorite sports to watch?
Cricket if India plays.. Not a big sports fan.. Yeah I know I live in Boston.. And yeah I watched the Superbowl

22. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
Considering that all I know of her is that her name might start with an N!!! But otherwise, very nice writer and reading her posts remind me a lot about myself!!!

23. What's under your bed?
Carpet

24. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
Yes!


25. Morning person, or night owl?
Night Owl.I am not much of a morning person..

26. Over easy, or sunny side up?
Never an over easy person.. Haven't eaten egg in a couple of years now. But I almost always like it scrambled..

27. Favorite place to relax?
Hyd house on my couch..

28. Favorite pie?
I want to say Pecan, coz I like the way Paula Dean makes it.. But not much of a pie person..


29. Favorite ice cream flavor?
Vanilla with chocolate chips in it.. Mocha (coffee flavored).. Kesar Pista, The over sweet vanilla served at Indian weddings.. Good chocolate..


30. Of all the people you tagged this to, who's most likely to respond first?
I am tagging N.. coz her blog is dying... I wont let her give up this fast..

And now, I tag..
N .. Dandilsa...

Kimi Gayo

Sitting under the giant window sills at the back of Mrs.Simon's class in first standard I made a friend.We were assigned to be room-mates in the "hostel-hostel" game we were playing.Last month that friend got married and I couldn't attend. She defined the meaning of the word friend to me. She is the first friend I can think back to cronologically.Incidentally, she has shared many of my firsts with me.My first un-supervised outing,my first sleep over,my first major crush,my dream of leading my house(in school),my first experience in a co-educational institute, my first job interview, my first job and my first experience of living away from home.
The first memory I have of her is the above mentioned "hostel-hostel". The other one being our mothers standing under the big tree discussing us. Sitting for hours making plots to kill Pitchaikannu(individual who wrote 12th Maths Textbook -2001),DDLJ vs HAHK, "Hua kya naa jaana", plotting 8A vs 8B wars (yes wars!!!!)to sitting around after school trying to prepare for sports day.( I can aver that neither of us know squat about sports) while eating samosas and bugging lil chubby baby Manicha..(read Manisha).Then before we knew it we parted ways,writing in each others slam books,wishing each other the best in life and promising to meet up in the Buckingham Palace.(trust me you don't want me to go into detail - point is it dint happen).Four months later I get a call from her. She and I are in the same college. We laughed about the slam book.Entering the portals of SVCE she and I were in different departments, making new cherished friends along the way. Blooper in front of Archan-Preethi's Preethi.. he he he ...And before we knew it one stormy night we were both riding home in pouring rain "employed gals" with job offers.We parted ways shortly after that. We filled slam books again.This time we laughed about our prev entries.This time we promised to meet up in Bay Area..(again,trust me you wudn't want me there).6 months later my fone rings. This time though its long distance. She has been posted in Hyderabad.Could she room with me?? I was jumping with joy.My friend was rooming with me.Our mutual love for SRK!! and a certain member of the British Royal family, for hours at Red-E Food court reading a certain report(better left un elaborated), for Hyd and Prasads, for the thousands of movies watched at Satyam, hours spent chatting in Hyd with G3. Trying to cook food and dreaming up of setting up Dosas to combat with Chutneys. Hosting sleep over parties for office friends.
Intelligent,smart,padips,strong minded are all the words that come to my mind when I think of her. Her big smile, her amazing sense of humour. Here is wishing you all the best in your married life.
With lots of love from D Mugs to P Mugs.

Random Thots

Being married allows you to enter a secret adult club.. 50 year old aunties will tell you personal secrets!!! Other older married women will discuss periods,cycles, babies, labor and certain other gross details.. I dont understand how being married makes you privy to extremely personal, unrequired details!!! But this weekend we met up with another couple we did fun stuff, played games D played cricket and the girls beat boys at Sequence..Thanks to the R and S..

I keep thinking of funky things to write about on the way to college. Entire blog posts form in my head and then today when I sat down to write blankness happening!!!

Most people who know me would say I accost and haunt people. I talk a dime and dozen, won most extempore (excuse if typo) competitions and generally an extremely talkative human being!! I think I am the most un -techie person ever. I can probably code to save my life but beyond that I cant code. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I jus discovered (courtesy my EA mid-term) that I am a techie. I think technically and write technically about non - technical aspects. I keep thinking that under grad is party time.. Where we (read I) blunder our way through, gaining life experiences.. Who knew that somewhere along the way something actually sticks.. SVCE Zindabad!!!

Watched a new Tamil movie after a long time. Its called Anjadhey. It was directed by a guy with a strange name. Anyways, if I want to be all "in" about it I could say,it was different, it had interesting camera angles, and very natural setting.. But I wont. It was a story that existed since the very famous "mera paas Maa Hai". There were no camera angles to speak of. There is a scene where the entire time the camera is showing people's feet. You know, I think that was different for the sake of being different. Prasanna had a horrible wig and Fab India kurtas. I din't know gangsters wore kurtas from FabIndia. The lead guy looked/acted like Surya from Kakha Kakha. Some assumptions are very drastic. You know there is one thing I did like about the movie. It had just one song. Atleast, strange named director guy realized that songs take away from the story in this movie. But anyways, I think the cast and crew tried something different and if people liked it then kudos to him. And for the record I think natural lighting should be left to PC Sriram and ManiRatnam movies.

Reading a book called 'Blink'. An interesting read and explains a lot of things. But beware read only if interested in non-fiction. There is hardly any story in it.

I tried thinking of a conclusion. There isn't any. Just covered the last few weeks of existence. Reading, socializing, movie-ing and in case you missed it mourning over my mid - term grades. So for the lack of a conclusion..
Thodarum!!!

Chiku Bukku Tagged

Rules:

1. Put your MP3 player on shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write the name of the song no matter what. No cheating!

IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY?” YOU SAY?
Adhi vo Alladhi vo - Annamayya..
OK!!! God's Residence..

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Nandi Konda - Geethanjali
spooky!!! wtf?? I haunt ppl??!!! In a strange sense maybe coz I used to study well at nite and I was born in the nite!!!

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Boss's life - Snoop Dogg,50 cent
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My husband loaded this song in my i-pod so I guess!!

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Century lo kotte vaise madhi - Aditya 369!!!!!
When you want something all universe conspires to give it to you.. With a mid-term on Monday I am writing this post..Shows how many centuries I am gonna hit!!!

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Say Na Say Na - Bluffmaster
To get married???!!! Or to steal!! Donno.. Kinda weird..

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Ossa Ve - Happy
My motto is a crass lil known 'gaana' song from a semi- hit Telugu movie!!!

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Orru Deivamthanda Poove(Male) - Kannathil Muthamital
haar haar haar.. God's gift to them.. I sure hope so.. Was expecting loose penne( i must be honest)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
A Whole New World Instrumental - Alladin
Okie..No comments!!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Naatu Saraku - Puthokotail Saravanan
Y are all the crucial questions lil known 'gaana' songs from flop movies.. If you don't know this song or never heard of it..totally fine!! Its that unknown

WHAT IS 2+2?
You and I - Jalsa
maybe 1+1 but 2+2 donno!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Its the time to Disco - Kal Ho Na Ho
Dedication to Pasha and Families

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Sunta Hai Mera Khuda - Pukar
My God listens to me!! Very appropriate so contended.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
If its another gaana song I am gonna give up, I swear.. OK here goes.
Emi Sodhara - Tolli Prema
My life is a confusion na.. Naaku Kopam ostondi..Kinda like the time I got Catch 22 for the book I resembled most..

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Entrentum Punnagai - Alaipayuthey
Fair enuf.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Chalore Chalore - Jalsa
We are gonna be travelling all our lives!! I donno..Hope not.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Papa Kehte They - QSQT
I swear this is true. I am not making it up.. haar haar

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Considering I am already married,it should be did u dance..but anyways..
Happy Days - Happy Days
Would not have minded dancing for this..But hadn't released back then.

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Theme Music from Bombay
Was hoping it wouldn't be another gaana song..

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Kattu Kuyilu - Dalapathi
Dancing around boghi fires. or thalivar.. considering its neither donno..

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Natpinule - Kadhal Konden
Ok!! I don't get it though

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Suvvi Suvvi Seethalamma - Swatimuthyam
D loaded this into my ipod.. Not sure how it relates to my frnds.. Dancing with pots near a river!! Maybe falling into Pykara falls..

WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?
Chiku Bukku - Gentleman
Okie!!! Fun!!


Fun... Nandita tagged me.. I tag ttgiant and ne!!!

On Feasting and Fasting

Before people accuse me of pilfering a title. The book is Feasting,Fasting. And for those of you haven't read it. Please do so(free publicity for Anita Desai).

Hindu families check the stars and the moons and various other planets before giving their child his/her morsel of solid food.And they call all and sundry and the sundry's friends and family.

When a friend visits abroad or when we need to go visit somewhere we check out the food available or carry loads of podis and avakais and appadams and vodiyams and goodness knows wat else. My parents had an exchange student from Minneapolis and that boy came with a whole suitcase of food.Mac and Cheese(first time I heard of it),loads of frozen food, chocolates and gum.

Weddings,funerals,engagements,birthday parties all revolve around food. The chunk of a wedding budget for the grl's father is the wedding meal.And they each have their special set of food. Telugu ppl serve Boorulu and Pulihara at weddings and Tamilians serve Boorulu at funerals. Caused a bit of quandry at my wedding. Birthday parties need cake. Engagements just need grand food period!!!

If we want something real bad we are advised to give up our favorite food.Amavasya,Pournami, Ashtami, Navami, Sunday, Saturday, The day the sun rises in the east at 4.45 am we give up solid food. Or maybe a meal. Most people I know who give up a meal hog big time on the other meal with tiffin. I thot the concept was you eat light or eat nothing or something.. If there is a pooja, festival, wedding at home then you need to chill till the pooja was over.. I for one could never do it.. So, I was snuck food when the pooja was going on. At my wedding folks found a work around for me.. Cereal isn't solid food. Its almost just milk.. So its ok.. And so Kellogs Wheat Flakes( I don't think they have it here in the States) it was..

Why does our life revolve around food..What to eat?? What not to eat?? What should I eat to shed the pounds?? What shud I eat if I need to control diabetes?? What did I do to get diabetes.. I mean besides being born into a family where its hereditary..??

Folks, shud excuse me if they wonder what the hell I am trying to talk about.. See the thing is I am learning to write management memos for my class(yeah the one where I am passing time!!) and they need to be absolutely to the point. And my blog is about having no point watsover. And my brain is just unable to make the transition fast enuf from that to this and vice versa.. Quarter life crisis, I guess..

In conclusion, Anna Datta( annam provider, need not jus be annam..watever one eats) Sukhi Bava(live well)

Oh!!Oh!!Oh!! In second conclusion, do any of you folks remember the scene from Nuvvu Nakku Nachav where Venkatesh prays to God for his dinner..Check it out..Hilarious.. and the non-golt blog readers check out the similar scene from Parent trap!!!

Fancy Pants Writing, Ikat Writing!!!!!

The immigrant lady with her tightly made bun.She sits with her plastic bag of lunch in her lap. A wind cheater and lace up sneakers. She is hunched up in half her seat. The mom in her "mom jeans" and Walmart sweater. Her stroller in front which can seat two. Juice boxes and small toys litter the stroller.A bundled up daughter in it and her son peering out. The awkward "Hindu-East Indian" pregnant housewife. In ill fitting,brightly colored off the rack mass produced "Modern" clothes. The vermiliion in her parting and all jewellery to indicate her marital status. The African-American woman in her business suit and punching emails into her Blackberry. Her expensive hair cut and shoes-bag combo standing out. The pre-teen girl with her straight blonde hair. Her braces are still not out, her sidekick held out in front of her almost like a weapon and her fingers dancing over it. Ipod plugged in and playing "Hannah Montana".

And then suddenly the doors opened. It was my destination and I stepped out to run to catch the next train

You have grown up soo much!!!

Scenario 1

Fat old balding uncle to young kid. "Pappu,what do u do??"

Young kid to balding uncle. "I am in 4th standard."

Fat old balding uncle to young kid. "Good, you must have something to pass your time."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Does it sound odd.. Well that is because its odd. Because no one ever tells a school going/college going kid that. Now read the scenario below

Scenario 2

Random guy/woman to me "So, wat do u do cogito??"

Me to this random person "I am doing my Masters in IT at such and such college"

Random guy/woman to me "Good, you must have something to pass your time."

NO!! I am not passing time doing masters. Wat sort of a mind can come up with this extremely hilarious statement. Apparently, lots!!! And its irritating me beyond words.. I dont pass my time writing Oracle 10g or read loads of papers on SLA and so on so forth to pass my time.. If I want to pass my time I will read Malika Badrinath and her recipes for cardiac arrest and high colestrol!! If I want to pass my time I will build a TV (Ok I think you get the point).These inane questions irritate me.. When I was in 12th I used to hate it when people asked me what I want to do with my life or better yet if I am studying?? No dude I spent all of my 12th standard I spent partying and watching movies..

I think that if people had nothing to say to me I would rather they not ask me inane questions. Imagine how much more peace would exist in the world if people dont ask dumb questions. Sometimes, I have been considered a snob because I dont ask polite(read dumb) questions. If I ask these questions, they end up sounding hilarious because, it sounds like I absolutely dont mean it.. And most often than not I dont mean it. I dont care!!! I genuinely dont care!!! And when I do mean it, it comes out very concerned. And people know I mean it.

Switching gears, I am really happy about starting grad school.Somethings dont change. I still wait for a bus. But again,there is no N at the bus stop. Psychologically, I dont want to sit next to anyone else. So, I just sit with my bag. N u were the best bus partner a girl could ever ask for.

Now, I have to go and pass time doing some time pass Oracle. And the ultimate inane question of them all.. "My God u have grown up soooo much since I last saw you!!" "No U dingabat, I expected to the same since 1986."