THE Soul...

For you!

2012-01-22T00:47:00.000-08:00

First post for the New Year. I have been slacking. I Know! All I have dealt since September 2011 is check-ins, check-outs, baggage claims and crammed airplane seats....some personal travel, some business, most of it unavoidable though! But whats a better place than an airport when you are waiting for the next thing to happen and you open your laptop…which seems quite dead without internet honestly but sometimes Word works quite ok to type in a long due post, right?

So, It’s HIS birthday soon, in the month of January, my first and oldest best friend…Abhijit!

As I type this sitting on the Milan airport, I totally believe that it doesn’t matter which corner of the world I am sailing through, 22^nd January cannot be forgotten, now and ever. Abhijit and I share this lovely friendship from Kindergarten to grade 10^th to grade 12^th to graduation to post graduation to job to real world! It really seemed to never stop! He has been a friend with whom I was 100% ME, a person who just never expected anything out of me! The whole equation was very simple with him, no complexities and formalities involved.

Kindergarten to grade 10^th was a very immature period where I never realized that this guy means a lot to me! It was only after we changed paths while entering college, we made different decisions and 2 years kind of just flew away. Engineering were the days when we gelled again in our mature senses and then there was no coming back. Tremendous fun and exuberant joy….thats ALLwe share. The beauty of this friendship is that it’s truly Pure. A true true Friendship that has no definitions, he wouldn’t want me to be something he would like me to be and I wouldn’t ask him to be what I would like him to be! We just adore each other the way we are!

So, a very Happy Birthday to my first and oldest F.R.I.E.N.D, Abhya!

All Xmassy already!!!

2011-12-21T18:45:00.000-08:00

Weather is cooler, Xmas songs are playing in buses and taxis, office cubicles are decorated with green and red, restaurants are full of servers with Xmas hats! Don’t you just love this time when holidays are round the corner and every other person is waiting for the grand year end with a brand new start?

Cooler winds in Singapore are certainly a pleasure, all that natural air to breathe in, only December can do this miracle! Ya, it’s not quite cold to wear boots and coats but a few nights without turning the AC on, is definitely not less than showing off your stylish winter clothing.

This bit of a slowdown at work, colleagues relaxing and listening to music without headphones, everyone wishing each other “happy holidays”, god I love it!

Donot rush, take your time; this is the most happening time of the year. This glimmer and cheer around you is to enjoy and have fun! Stop, look back, breathe and thank for all those beautiful and not-so-beautiful Decembers you have had. Don’t be angry with you or anyone else. Let go and everything around you will be simply beautiful.

Oh, is it Friday already? Well, not quite! One more day to start a long vacation until next year :)

Merry Christmas you All and happy ~~Friday~~ Thursday!

And the mood just gets better :)

2011-12-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

Candle light hot shower is therapeutic! Hot steam of water and miraculous flame of candle make a deadly combination.

If you are sweat-soaked after an intense workout or if you are worn out after a full day of hectic work, aroma of the Lux lavender bodywash will scent you up from top to bottom. This hot shower after loads of tiring paper work is like a rebirth for me. And it can be made absolutely divine if you shut the 100 watt bulb off and light a beautiful scented candle in your shower. Why do you think a little flame in your shower brings “Bali” home… it’s all the candle effect.

Now just as much I love candles, how about a cuppa scalding hot coffee after this steaming hot shower! Ahh “Life” -- What’s there to not love about it?

A dream that i saw with my eyes wide open!

2011-11-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

This poetic evening with "Gulzar" at the Esplanade theater was indeed one of my best evenings in Singapore. I have tried to put the entire experience in words...writing a poem on this poetic evening would only make up for a few emotions that i went through while listening to Gulzar, the great Indian Poet, Lyricist, Story writer, Screenplay writer, Director....

I enter the theatre and settle down in my seat,

I see him on the stage, mere visual treat!

Rest of the lights are dimmed; in that One spot is the "Star",

My world is shaken in a moment, at the live sight of "The Gulzar"!

I rub my eyes again; make sure he is sitting in front,

Cease the moment, I feel, on this evening pleasant!

He reads to us his poetic treasure, one after the other,

His presence noticeably simple, everything else but glamour!

His overly starched, naturally crinkled kurta, purely white,

Symbolizes his personality, peacefully calm, undoubtedly polite!

Hushed everyone else, his voice thunderous, husk and heavy,

A memory of Gulzar sahib narrating live, an experience classy!

His imageries are made of daily life through his eyes, savored,

His imaginations out of the world, An array of topics covered,

Be it a mountain, a river, a walnut, a tree, a cigarette or an ashtray,

His pen doesn’t hold back to write anything that sways in the way!

His gentle Urdu-Hindi, to which he refers as “Hindustani” proudly,

Leaves the audiences mesmerized, rising their emotions fiercely!

The web of words he knits, has no rhymes and bounds,

Compositions flow from heart to paper; it’s not a square or round.

My eyes full of tears after this wonderful 2 hour poetic journey,

My body trembling from head to toe, mind unsatisfied and thirsty!

I want to meet him in person and hold his hand, my urge says,

20 minutes later I see him walking across and I jump his way!

I hold this "legendary hand" of Sahib and bow with earnest satisfaction,

My eyes closed to feel the zeal of standing with a superstar of our nation,

Even more surprised to see his reaction,

He taps my head with his other hand to shower blessings and affection.

And I, Astounded, Astonished, Stunned and Amazed, stand there stricken!

Only to question myself, "Is he Him and am I Me", Did All this just happen?

Are you blessed too? I am...

2011-10-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

And how do i find time for everything? Right! I just love doing everything, What A Pain...arggghhhh!!!

Tons of interesting things to do around and Major Scarcity of time!
Wake up, get ready, rush, work, rush back, cook, clean, workout, sleep! Day1 Day2 Day3 Day4 Day5...Weekend! Do a "ToDo" list for the most wanted Day6 and Day7 and on a Sunday evening you are soooo worked up by checking the tasks on the ToDo list, plus Monday is round the corner. What a Mundane life! When do i blog and paint and dance and learn a new language and see places and make a "handmade pillow cover" and learn ice skating and continue with my drumming lessons and read books and call up friends, friends from everywhere and and and...huh! Sometimes i think why do we have to sleep for 7-8 valuable hours and why do we have to preach healthy living when the Long Lived Life wont be enough to do what we love. But then i really love sleeping too :P

While i was struggling over all these thoughts i saw this episode of Kaun banega crorepati (who wants to be a millionaire) last night....this person wanted to win money because he has a government job paying 10,000 INR/month and a wife with 2 kids. His biggest worry is that he cannot support his parents with his salary. 10,000 INR, ~~257 Sing dollars~~, 257.06 Sing Dollars, Wait, is this real? People still survive, smile and act as if they are satisfied?

The other day i heard Singapore has come up with a special train station for blinds. The entire platform is Blind Friendly, isn't that amazing? Then it struck me, the morning rush to catch a train in Singapore is not a cake walk for a person with two eyes that are absolutely functional....and blind people travel by these trains? Is this real too?

My mom arranged a trip to a local old age home on my Grandmom's 5th death anniversary. She served food and donated some goodies to make the senior citizens happy. Bless her heart, what a wonderful way to celebrate a death anniversary of our loved one. I saw pictures of these old souls and the smile on their faces to take the goodies from mom. I got a feeling that they missed being Loved and were extremely happy to get that special attention from ma. "Not being Loved", i am sure nothing hurts more :(

And when i see such sad little things around, my mundane routine life seems very stable, very hopeful, very satisfying and i feel absolutely blessed to have one...Discontent is sure a killer! We have, have to be thankful for what we have, a very simple key to Happiness, i think!

The hunt !!!

2011-09-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

Are you kidding me? Last post on 15th August...no way! I have been crazy busy and really lazy otherwise. The stress level is now up here and I have to write to get relieved.

It’s that phase when I am not liking anything without friends. I am missing them all from back home and from Birmingham. All the ones around here have different lives and different directions, I feel. I haven't felt that connection yet. This urge to meet Bham buddies or school friends or college friends is driving me crazy.

Sometimes I think why can’t we just take our loved ones wherever we go? This ambitious life when superimposes those small joys like vada pav on a tapri, garam chai in a bad bad ambiance of a college canteen, limitless laughs on stupid jokes, waiting for a bus on a yuk bus stop, back benches and heights of inattentiveness in lectures, potlucks with loads of food, Saturday afternoon brunches and long lasting chit chats till dinner, late night walks to nowhere, midnight drives to somewhere, unending plans, cheap shopping sprees, THE SALE fever, coffee breaks, weekday afternoon time-pass and the list goes on. These simple things fade out in the hussle and bussle and you become an inseparable part of the corporate life. I still think that all this could be brought back if you find Friends and not just people. This can get really difficult, you know! Until now, friends just happened to me I think, I never looked for them! But here in Singapore I feel that I have managed to make a bunch of contacts but am still in search of “Friends”. The hunt of that special “Connection” continues.

This change in me is Novel or its a Novel ME ???

2011-08-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 23; the twenty-third edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The theme for this month is FREE.

"Its amazing how you can speak right to my heart.....You say it best, when you say nothing at all...."

Ahh...beautiful lyrics and lovely song! Its "Our" song, Me and Mandy!

I am amazed to see the curve of our relationship going up and up and up. Five years ago, same time of the year we met each other for the first time and blink blink....fall in Love! Beautiful Love, which still is, exactly the same as it was on our first date, Sweet!

But one big difference between today and back then is Trust, the trust that is built up over years . Its the insecurities that made me crazy at a point but today i feel Free, free of insecurities that i had 5 years back, 4 years back, 3 years back, 2 years back.....

He is in Bangkok right now having a "guys-out" holiday, i mean in "The Bangkok" and i want him to have all the fun he can. Ironically i watched Hangover part II this weekend (if you have seen it, you already know what i mean) and i am perfectly fine! My mind doesn't wander in the strip clubs he might go to while going crazy in the wild city. It feels great to not sneak in his email while he is away.

And i am enjoying this new essence of ME being bound in a marriage yet being careless about the boundaries i sometime ago wanted my husband to be in!

The "Insecurities" are now Obsolete and My "Free Mind" on the other hand is novel today :)

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Happy Independence Day!

Scribbles from Italy !!!

2011-07-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

A Morning at an Italian cafe, while i sit out and enjoy this beautiful weather and charming Italy, i miss Mandar to the fullest. The cafe server gave me this piece of paper on which he plans to serve food but as soon as i see this piece, first thing i urge for is a Pen. Only to write my mind on and with, at that very moment.

I couldn't get the image to fit this template...so click on the image to zoom it if you cannot read the writing properly.. Here is goes...

A big "A" :)

2011-07-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

A big "A" for Amir or his Adult Delhi Belly?

Not to say anything less when it comes to Amir khan. Be it a production, direction, act or any aspect of cinema, the tag Mr. perfectionist is much deserved by Amir Khan. After watching Delhi Belly, I believe in it even more.

Something that looks pleasant to your eyes has a quick appeal from the audience. A message that was delivered in Taarein zameen par or 3 idiots is truth of the country which has to be a hit nonetheless. Something on the lines of Lagaan revolves around Cricket which needs no further adjectives. It is bound to catch attention of the mob. Dil chahta hai had so much youth to it, pretty ladies and the melodious music added an extra charm, obviously people loved the movie, it was So Bollywood! Rang de Basanti being pictured on a soldier’s tragedy, it gave a vibrant patriotic feeling that can hold the audiences undoubtedly. The list goes on for what essence his movies have had and what reason can be most closely associated for so many consecutive hits that he has gifted the industry with. But Delhi Belly is different, it’s PURE entertainment, definitely for those who would Accept the movie as it is.

Yes, it is gross, foul, Not pleasing to the eyes, Not lyrically beautiful, songs Don’t sooth your ears, No pretty locations, No costumes that will leave your mouth open, language makes you mumble words like F*** & OMG & shit & plzzz stop. An absolutely "A" rated movie, not a category of entertainment to watch with kids or parents :) Being said that, I loved the movie. It’s a big step for a Bollywood movie and a Bollywood director/producer/actor. It’s a bold production, very much resembling the Hollywood eshtyle.

I was urged to pen this post because half of my friends on FB started putting reviews right after the release and when I read opinions like, “Delhi Belly: Pathetic, disgusting, stupid, senseless, worst movie ever”….I feel bad, really bad! “Hangover”... a recent example, it was a hugeeee hit, everyone lovedddd it. If I compare the two I don’t think there is much a difference. But since Hangover comes from the land of Hollywood, anything is pretty much uncensored, no objections taken. The moment a Hindi movie tries to be bold, it is hurting your values. Why?

If values and culture is an issue, you would rather wear khadi then and hate ALL Hollywood movies. I don’t believe in being somewhere on the edge where you can step your feet on both sides selectively & politically. Let’s be real, let’s be adults. Lets either Like it all, H or B wood, or just Hate it all, right? Yes, the A rating is for a reason you see, so no point in watching it when you are not mentally prepared to be an A :PP

I think Amir Khan has once again proved his perfection. As gross and foul it can get, Delhi belly is one bold and ugly production. I loved every aspect of it in an Adult sense.

Add that little Pinch :)

2011-06-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

I read about this blogging contest sponsored by HP on Indiblogger and a sudden memory ran through me. An ophthalmologist that I used to visit often for my eye checkup had this portrait in his clinic. Hung on the wall, it sat there for years but every time i saw it, something about it made me smile.Three butterflies painted on either side of a window! These butterflies, Black & white inside the window and the same butterflies, colored, outside the window!

This magical window drew a fine line between the B&W and the Colorful world, yes, the window represented nothing else but Spectacles, Ophthalmology in its own artistic way, right?

I loved the concept then and there and never forgot it ever after. The way those spectacles can make this beautiful life Look beautiful! Moreover, make life Look colorful! What do I say differently about how I love Every color. Please don’t let me pick one or five. I honestly cannot. My mind makes a somersault when I see a refreshingly fresh color, any color. My heart skips a beat when I see a hint of “Rangeele Rang”. I decorated my living room in orange and green. Yes, the couch -- bright orange and it never looked gaudy for a minute second. The Mouse that I got for my black office laptop is pink and it looks perfect. That little accent a Color can add to your office, house, car, dress, shoes, bags, smile and life as a whole entity, makes it all so much worth Living.

If we cannot imagine such simple things without that extra accent, how do you think a big black & white spot in life not make a difference? Confused? Don't be! I don’t want to knit a puzzle here; it’s a simple question about those kids, those poor little innocent buds, who are deprived from the brightest color of their life, an important reason to be in this world, Education. The underprivileged kids in India who are fighting against that big black hole of not being educated and are trying to push the dark future away, need help to do so. They need my and your help to make their future colorful. Their circumstances that might leave them all blank, white or colorless without the arms of books, need you, each one of you who can help them fly on the other side of that window. You can let them be the colorful butterflies by offering a small part of what you might spend on a delicious dinner in an expensive restaurant, a small part of your exotic holiday to Hawaii, a little bit of what you owe to the society since you are part of one. They don’t need much from you but they do need many of you to give away just a little bit.

So let’s add a pinch of color to these black & white lives and see how everything around us will turn bright in a glimpse. It's time to think in color! You can help these children and support their education through “Asha for Education” or many such NP organizations.

Let’s thank HP for adding color to our lives with their products and moreover giving a chance to us bloggers for supporting such wonderful causes through the platform they have sponsored, the blogging contest conducted at Indiblogger,

Like me on FB if you Like this :)
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This post has been submitted for the HP Take Flight with Colour contest on Indiblogger, where HP Laserjets give colour to your imagination.

It just so Happens :)

2011-06-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

I found this quote somewhere, read it! Quotes reflect so much reality, reality that is expressed in beautifully constructed sentences, right?

"Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you"

This guy, Breyon Hooper, met me in Alabama, 24 years after my birth, we worked together for less than a year and today i feel like i have known him forever. We met, became co-workers, made friends, became buddies and the day this job was over, he said he found a sister in me that he never grew up with. This touched me, i felt a churn in my stomach when i bid him a final goodbye on the airport while leaving US.

Now that i am traveling to Italy on a business trip, i recalled him mentioning about traveling to Europe sometime this year. I rushed to ask him about his plans and guess what, he is coming to meet me in Italy. His real sister stays in Italy. What a small world and what coincidences! I will see him after almost a year now and i think that's relatively a very tiny period of time for two people living in two different continents, going to meet in the third continent. See, small world, right?

Do these things surprise you? I happen to be very fond of such coincidences, always. I can Feel the awesomeness in these lil bits. It might be a usual thingy for someone to co-ordinate trips and meet up in different parts of the world but for me, this is beauty. "The happening" of such coincidences and the least expected things that just "happen", is the most wonderful thing in life. I can't wait to see "Hooper" or "Mayo" as everyone calls him! Yo Italy!

The mood is Fluid, my dear readers :)

2011-06-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

I am in a Friday mood yet again and the gloomy weather and the rains is giving it a perfect edge. The weekend awaits! Something tells me I want to get high with hot coffee, pull that cardigan in tightly, more tightly to save myself from the monstrous AC in the office. I want tit bits to munch over while looking out the window and watching this shade of rains with all that mizzle. I wonder how the day makes it all different, if it was a Monday with all this mist in the air, expression would certainly reflect depression. Friday makes anything beautiful though, this misty morning too. The plant in my cubicle gives me a feeling of being loved and the flowers on my desk ask me To love. Flowers, yes I feel like buying flowers. Have you noticed there is a special pleasure in walking through the aisle of flowers, fresh scents, water sprinkled on the leaves, droplets dripping from the petals, colors soothing your eyes! I feel like walking through such an aisle right now and breathe in all that naturally perfumed air. Earphones plugged in my ears, lyrical pleasure, instrumental satisfaction, hindi romantics are to die for! A chocolate brownie or a blueberry muffin would have been perfect, leaving the calorie part aside :). Fragrance of the twilight woods body cream makes me feel soft and positively chic.

Files, papers, calculator, binders, stapler, caliper…yuk, this stuff is so not Friday. Friday should have been a “whatever you want to do day” or “a treat yourself day” or “have fun day” instead of a week day, ya?

This mood is to blog for, always, no matter how many more Friday’s I see in life, I will still be refreshed after blogging about a same yet different Friday every once in a while :)

I was Flying for a while :)

2011-06-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

I know i have been misplaced from this space for a while but lots been going and finally it looks like i am settling from the Euphoria and excitement of my new job in Singapore :)

The simple pleasures that i have experienced in last two months, right from getting the interview call to the second interview to the offer letter to the visa approval to the extreme happiness of getting the visa in my hand to the first glance at my business card to my empty and awating cubicle in the office to my own 3 digit phone-extension that indicates DID to getting a building access card in a grand business park location to my email address shalmalee_vaidya@instron.com! It has been a long long wait after i relocated to Singapore before i got this job and got working, again. Its beautiful to cherish all the small ME-moments that i have experinced these last 2 months.

And now that i am back on the ground from that other world where i was almost unable to land on my feet, i better stop flying and start blogging ;) what say?

Connecting dots!

2011-04-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

Its all about connecting the dots!

You come from extreme corners of the world and meet people who suddenly take an important place in your life. You meet, make friends, stay together, depart, get in touch, miss each other and pretty much forget about how you met in first place. A simple bond of Friendship makes it all so wonderful. I get a strange feeling about it sometimes, how people come from somewhere and just start meaning so much to you, you find out strange secrets about them, you explore few common friends, you simply share a bond of memories that felt, like new, just yesterday!

My friend KG, many of you already know her, for those who don't, read this, and you will know her.

Well, here it goes!
Part 1:
KG, originally from Dhanbad (Jharkhand, India),
Me, originally from Sangli (Maharashtra, India),
We, met in Birmingham (Alabama, USA).

Part 2:
She, got married and moved to Shetland (Scotland, UK),
I, got married and moved to Singapore (Singapore, Singapore).

Part 3:
My sister, moved (for her MS) to Aberdeen (Scotland, UK),
KG, has now moved (for her PhD) to Glasgow (Scotland, UK),
Ankur, KG's husband is working in London (England, UK),
My parents, who stay in Sangli (India) are vising my sis in Aberdeen (UK),
My parents/sis took a trip to London (UK) and KG was with Ankur in London (UK) at the same time,

and after each of them traveled so many miles from the extreme corners of the world, they finally met in the Marriott of London yesterday, that too without the actual point of contact, and that would be certainly, me :) I was wanting my Mom and KG to meet for a longgggg time and it finally happened.

These are the reviews i get to hear from both the parties.....me sitting in Singapore, wink wink!
Mom says, " KG's smile is priceless and she chats with no bounds, we loved her"
KG says, "They are such lovely people, Shalmalee - tell Mandar he is lucky to have such in-laws!! :)"

and i am a happy soul to read these precious comments :)

"That"

2011-04-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hardship is sort of a human shadow,

Like a smooth forehead with "that furrow",

Like a worry that is tough to calm and mellow,

You walk ahead and it will still follow!

You wait for an answer for so long,

And "that answer" awaits you a furlong,

Things fall into place with a click, and

You keep searching "that moment" of a flick!

But the true hardship lies in "that wait",

The moments in life when the time dictates,

"That time" when you want to know what's ahead,

The reveal of "that something" that's yet, unsaid!

Shades of that morning!

2011-04-08T23:45:00.000-07:00

A click of the shades of that morning, the day of India-Pakistan semi finals.

I went for a run and it was mesmerizing. The morning sun beaming on the amazingly-greenly-green leaves and the fresh air around felt magical. Musical waves through the iphone left me no choice but to hide behind a tree where no one could see me while i tapped my toes to a few tunes playing in my ears. The green, the songs, the sun and the run made my day that morning.

Purely Life!

Champions 2011!

2011-04-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

A day later after India won the cricket world cup 2011, i have now settled down from the euphoria to write something about it. Three crucial matches, India-Australia (knock-off round), India-PAKISTAN (semi-final) and INDIA-SRI LANKA (WC Final). What beautiful games these three have been!

India-Australia was a definite victory. We did beat the three-times-in-a-row WC winning team, Australia. That was a huge relief to be honest. I never thought India was going to beat Australia because we have had a bad bad history in 2003's WC finals :( Inspite of all that India gave a tough head-to-head fight and won with a gorgeous performance this time.

India-Pak was undoubtedly the most awaited of all three and we watched it with a big crowd on a big screen and man-oh-man, that was some fun. My eyes were wet the instance India's national anthem began and every Indian in the room who was drinking, chatting, smiling, clapping, just stood upright like a storm coming to a sudden stop. The low voices in the room singing to the tune along with team India made me feel heart full of pride and extra long breaths that i was breathing within. As soon as the Anthem ended, the storm was all set to destroy the opposing team, India won the toss and the shouts remained unended till the final finish of the game. Of course, we won!

India-Sri lanka, both Asian countries, contenders of the WC Final 2011. India being the host nation, the match was in Mumbai, with Indian team playing for the cup, in the WC final, on their own soil. Are you kidding me, it was the bestesttttt feeling for each and every Indian in India or where ever in the world. Those 8 hours, i am sure where the beautiful hours of 2011 April's first Saturday. Unbelievably special, unforgettably amazing, undoubtedly The Best day in any Indian's life for many more coming years, you bet! Sri-lankan's won the toss and chose to bat first. Team India is not very well known in terms of chasing a score and playing under pressure, that too, to a score of 274! Whoa! It was some target and hearts were pounding before the second inning started. Are you kidding me again, team India proved every previous misconception wrong. In a row, first two batsman who were expected to pull the target were out of the field in no time. I mean , 4 runs for 1 wicket in the WC final was nerve racking, trust me! Before coming out of that shock, Tendulkar, the god of cricket as they say was gone and Indian's almost thought, that was the end of it. But hey, the man Gambhir and our captain Dhoni, handled the pressure like noone has done before. They chased the score magnificently and Dhoni ended this historical game with a striking sixer and there, there it was, OUR world cup, glory for next 4 years and more, We the Champions of 2011 WC Final! What a match, what a game, what a spirit!

Extremely proud to be an Indian! Long Breaths and Emotions full of Tears, again!

Shalmalee's International Kitchen, in its real sense :)

2011-03-17T22:51:00.001-07:00

Now you know why Singapore is soooo expensive after importing all this from around the world! This is a sample receipt of the groceries i did yesterday at a local store and was amazed to see how i can use this stuff and make a thoroughly diverse international meal.

Potatoes from Bangladesh

French Beans form Indonesia

Coriander from Thailand

Cucumber from Japan

Red Onions from India

Egg plant from Cambodia

Cabbage from China

Bananas from Philippines

Guavas from Malaysia

Whoa, isn't my kitchen International in real sense?

What fun to compose such a post where you can write less and convey more :))

I have lived through it, with you, trust me!

2011-03-07T21:23:00.000-08:00

Not that i have experienced it in first person but my friends have, so in turn i have suffered through listening to their cries and feeling their wounds. Different faces of love in its own way has made me experience pain, longing, possessiveness, ego, too-much-love, too-harsh-love, pretentious-love, momentary-love, lost-love, not-found-love and much more.

A friend of mine is struggling to get married to a person she loves with her whole heart and he does too but their religions don't allow them to unite. A friend of mine got married and was extremely in love with her husband, unfortunately she is getting divorced for reasons not to be mentioned publicly. A friend of mine, happily married for a while with a sweet little kid, just lost her husband in unavoidable circumstances. A friend of mine suffered through a lump in her breast, didn't tell her husband for a long time and kept on suffering because she thought, he will be in too much pain after knowing it. A friend of mine has a picture perfect connubial bliss for the outside world but i know what she is going through while tackling her husband's ego issues.

To all my Girl-Friends, on this Women's Day, i want to say, i love you all. You all shared your pain with me and believe me, i have lived through it, with you. I am always there for you all, in pain and happiness.

Happy Women's Day 2011!

Symmetry and colors!

2011-02-17T08:32:00.000-08:00

Went to the mall!

A SALE! HURRAY!

$1: Pick any nail polish :))

I picked six!!!

The pics depict colors and symmetry for me :)

Very chick post, right? I know :P

My heart weighs those additional XXX pounds....

2011-02-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

Its some kind of a heavy feeling,
That makes my heart weigh,
Those additional XXX pounds,
I struggle to breathe in and out,
Drowning in my own worries,
The terrible loneliness surrounds!

I need some air, And that too fresh,
A brand new breeze, to help thoughts un-mesh,
Someone who can teach me to be least bothered,
If at all i can learn to stay un-quivered!

I want my heart to explode for once,
Throw it all out and find a balance,
Keeping it inside makes my brain go numb,
I really want it all again, to be blithefully blithesome!

PS: Blithesome: Cheerful, merry

A trip to.....Somewhere or Nowhere!

2011-02-09T22:17:00.000-08:00

This post is submitted to clear trip "my purpose" contest,"Tell us about an interesting trip you took and it's purpose!" Vote for me :)

No, i don't want to take you on a tour, neither do i want to be your tour guide. Mine is not a travelogue, so i definitely won't be writing every second of the day 1 to day 6 of my trip. I would rather like to focus on "the purpose". A million trips to same place are different for millions of "different us". Yes, may it be India's splendid Taj Mahal or New York's rocking Time Square, our unique perceptions create different versions of the same place. So every trip in my opinion is unique to YOU and thus, the place hardly matters.

You are bored with your routine chores, make a trip to "somewhere".
You are exhausted from work, take a break to "somewhere".
You want to find your Self, go "somewhere".
You want to wander a little, where? "somewhere" :)

This going "somewhere" always has a reason, a purpose. We had one too. Me and my husband Mandar planned a road trip in the spring of 2008.

The constant existance and support of technology, flights to fly you around the world, laptops where ever you go, GPS if you are traveling in cars, iphones to give you traffic updates, is somehow making us too dependent. So-very-handicap, that we don't want to memorize roads anymore, we don't want to look at the directions, we might possibly get lost looking at the maps, we won't be surprised to look at the jammed traffics because we know it all in advance with the help of a million gadgets surrounding us. They won't let you think beyond the extra-comfort and the instant-assistance.

So, we decided to leave it all at home, plan nothing, allow ourselves to bungle a little and try our luck at the most exciting road trip to..............where? Well, we didn't know yet. The purpose of the trip was to make it to somewhere without the technological armaments :) Instead we grabbed an Alabama state road map and..............we left :)

Coming to a traffic signal from where we were suppose to turn left for highway X and go straight for highway Y, but of course we didn't know which one to follow. So we left it up to the traffic signal. First come, first serve :) and thus we turned left because it was the first one to turn green. Progressing through the journey to nowhere, the map came handy and we spotted an excitingly beautiful destination, The Talladega National Forests of Alabama USA. It was a few exits away from where we were on highway X and we stamped it, Talladega it is! The air felt romantic. Enjoying the company of the greenest nature, windows open, music aloud, and lovely spring weather, we drove, drove and drove without any specific destination to go to.

Few hours later.................we were LOST! Majorly! The map was 2 years old, we figured it out when we were surrounded by huge trees, extreme silence and boggling shade of the approaching evening. The roads were new which misled us somewhere deep into the forest and we didn't know where we were and how to get out of there. Suddenly the air felt scary, the breeze was too cold and the greenest forest seemed to be staring at both of us. No network on the phone and rest everything was at home. So, us, map, car and a non working phone in Talladega!

Lost in the map, still trying to figure out what exactly to do, after 2 and half hours of wait, i saw two lights blinking far away, slowly coming towards us and what do we see! Ah! A Cop's car, he stopped by, and asked "Can i help you guys?" OMG! a big big sigh! "Yes sir, you sure can :) We are lost and blah blah blah". This was the first time when an American cop escorted us to the nearest town instead of handing a traffic ticket :PP

We found a hotel to crash in and talk a little more about the day we had spent with heaps of mixed emotions. Roamed around the town, saw some countryside, clicked a few pictures, made some new memories and returned to Birmingham 2 days later. One heck of a trip through which we experienced freedom, endurance, adventure, thrill and a dynamic energy that surrounds us in the name of Nature. Plus, a satisfaction on the completion of an independent, non-technology-assisted trip full of spirit :)

That was Talladega for us in our unique way. We rocked it and you?
Give it a try some day to somewhere or nowhere :)

Image Courtesy: Google Images, of course!

Happy CNY!

2011-02-06T02:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese new year everyone. Went to the CNY celebrations the other day. Chinatown was crowded, oh! i am saying this as if any other area of Singapore is not. Yes, Singapore is always crowded, whichever part of the city it may be, whatever day you choose and the time of course doesn't matter to Singaporeans. They run at 2 in the night, health freaks i tell you. No offense :)

Chinatown has fireworks on the CNY eve, very similar crowd to the one on 4th of July in the US. I definitely noticed the difference in the way the fireworks were shot in the sky. On the 4th, fireworks used do be really pretty, organized, one after the other, streamlined. Here in Singapore, the fireworks were definitely not as random as it is in Diwali, neither were as streamlined as they used to be in Birmingham. It didn't give a feel of a monotonous parade, it was lively, colorful and warm. I thoroughly enjoyed the 5 minutes of extreme sound pollution, colored sky, rapidly blinking eyelashes around, religiously pouring rain in the background, umbrellas not so much on the heads but in the hands and the heads looking up in the sky, mouths shut and open, mild smiles on faces, breeze breathing through hairs and the happiness around.

Pics:

For Agnes!

2011-01-24T02:53:00.000-08:00

Back to my soul after a long break indeed! I know, 2011 has started and January is half way through. This is my 1st post in 2011 and 101 th overall. So happy new year to all you readers and writers out there.

India trip was awesome. One month just passed by. Other things are same as they were. While in India, i hardly visited my blog, so all my fellow bloggers, i am yet to catch up on your December posts.

After coming back to Singapore, when i first visited my blog, browsed through the updates from my blogger friends. I had mixed emotions when i saw an update from Agnes, one of my favorite bloggers. She was struggling with her husband's cancer for last few months and had hardly updated her blog. Her title update said, 16th Jan....which didn't give me any good or bad news. I was nervous to click on the link and didn't want to see anything that i didn't want to know about. I was scared for her like she is my childhood friend, my family or somebody who i have known forever. Surprisingly none of this is true. I have known her, her husband, her cats, her dresses, her boots, her purses and everything about her, through her one stop blog. I don't know how i got so attached through words, only words. Finally i gathered the courage to visit her page and saw what i hated to see. One picture, him and her, and one line which said, "He died in my arms". I broke into tears, lots of tears, unstoppable tears. Mandar was worried because he kept asking and i never said a word, just cried, for a long time.

Agnes,

I didn't want to blog about this, was going to send you an email instead. However, the hundred times i visited my blog to write something after that day, i couldn't. I was just so emotional every single time i saw your name on my page. I couldn't. So this is my attempt to support you in your hard time and get over my mental block and clear my mind.

I know how positive, how creative, how strong, how different of a girl you are. I hate to see you tearing apart. So this post is to help you gain your strength.

Love you. Be strong!
Shalmalee

My 100th post for Akshaya Patra!

2010-12-15T20:30:00.000-08:00

2 Indian words with a Sanskrit meaning,
Akshaya= Immortal, Indestructible, Inexhaustible
Patra= Vessel

The organization, Akshaya Patra, http://www.akshayapatra.org/ has given an entirely new meaning to these 2 sanskrit words.

Their slogans say,

Feed a Child
Click a smile
No child must be deprived from food
Children can learn faster than you can imagine, all it takes is a filling meal

Akshaya Patra feeds, 1,253,266 children everyday and the goal is to reach 5 million by 2020 and note, its a NPO. What do i write about them, watch their very own video to see the unbelievable work they are doing for the children of India and their one filling meal.

This is my 100th post and i don't think it would have been any more special without this worthy and outstanding cause. Thanks to http://www.indiblogger.in/topic.php?topic=31 for such an opportunity to blog and feed 50 more children. Yes, that is what they say, 1 blog post for their cause=food for 50 hungry children :)

My few cents for these kids of India. May your futures be the brightest, kids :)
For donations, http://www.akshayapatra.org/why-donate

Save me through this one pleaseeeeeee :(

2010-12-07T04:51:00.000-08:00

The trip to Bintan was amazing. This island brings to mind the words like indulge, explore, rejuvenate and refresh. Beautiful 2 days where i refreshed the memories Mandar and i made together since we met and fall in love. I wanted to blog about the serene beach, splendid resort, the beach view from our room, peacefulness in the widespread greenery, calmness about the south asian culture, the incredible customer service at Angsana resort, the flawless floral arrangements on various tables, the candles elevating your mood, the mellow asian music, the comforting aromas from the scented oil burners and so much more.

But, back to reality!

Oh god! Oh god!Oh lord!

Guess what! Its not just the beautiful memories i brought back with me to Singapore. OMG, these buggers i tell you. Sandfly its called i guess. Bless my heart, i have sandfly bites all over me :( Red rashes that itch like crazy. First i thought its the sunburn thats giving me a hard time and then i suddenly recalled this caution board that i almost ignored, read "Beware of Sandflies"....Awwwwwwww God, why did i miss it and never applied the insect repellent. I hate myself for being careless when it comes to reading NOTES/CAUTIONS/SIGNS/FINE PRINTS arghhhh! Now this will take weeks to heal, thats what the forums are saying!

Save me through this one!

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 30th: A as in Appreciate, Applause and Accomplishment!

2010-11-29T23:02:00.000-08:00

A big Sigh of Relief first!
And then, a bigggggg Wohooooooooooooooooooo :)))))))))))
What a month, hey November 2010, you totally rocked :)
Last day, Last alphabet and a Last post, until next time of course!

I am not in a mood to compose anything today. This is going to be a short and sweet Bye-Bye to the Z-A challenge in 26 days. A big Appreciating Applause for Leo, the host of this challenge and an even bigger pat on my back for the Accomplishment :)

The day i decided to do it, i was excited. In the mean time, their were days when i was short of words, ideas, time, commitment and enthusiasm. Inspite, i decided not to quit, only to experience this feeling that i am having today. I am on cloud nine.

Thanks to all those who have been following, reading, commenting, not commenting, suggesting and most of all, having fun! The idea was to Create and have fun. Their was nothing to compete against anyone. The goal was to challenge yourself, which i did and won :)

Now, huh! Its time to take a break :) I will be off to Bintan, Indonesia, for the weekend and will update here only after that. Its our 3rd anniversary :))))))))

Until next time,
Shalmalee!

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 29th: B as in Bar!

2010-11-29T00:25:00.000-08:00

Oh come on now, not a booze bar of course!
I am talking about the "Max Brenner Chocolate Bar". Yummmmmmm!

This place in Singapore serves irresistible chocolate delicacies that are deliciously creamy and rich. I had a Hug Mug Hot Chocolate. What an interesting name! Equally interesting is the menu, crockery and their presentation style. I pretty much chose my hot chocolate after loving the picture of this mug. It doesn't have a handle to hold on to, you just have to hug it and savor your hot drink to experience the heaven :)

Ya ya, i know, you all chocolate lovers out there are wanting to have a sip or two right now, isn't it? Don't give a damn about calories for now, just go and make yourself a cuppa hot CHOCOLATE and try to satisfy that insatiable craving you are having in this very moment :))

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 27th: C as in Colors!

2010-11-27T00:33:00.000-08:00

Colors make me happy. Colors are the spice of my life.
Everything's dull if i am not surrounded with those vibrant shades.

Image Credits:
Prachi at http://purplehomes.blogspot.com/
Archana at http://rangdecor.blogspot.com/
Kathakali at http://kattykally.blogspot.com/
Archana at http://shortsnippets.blogspot.com/

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 26th: D as in Dimple!

2010-11-26T05:40:00.000-08:00

For Ridima, my little sister who is Not so little. Ya, she is 5'8" and four years younger than me :( OMG, i look like, shhhh shh shh...ya, really short in front of her....you know, wink wink! Well, she is a darling and more or less, a part of me.

Her tantalizing eyes, captures every glimpse,
Her dark long hair, with a natural crimp,
Her soothing smile with a sparkling crisp,
Two cute Dimples, beauty at its tip!

She's a darling,
She's a sweetheart,
How i miss her,
Its hard to depart!

A part of me she is,
The love we share,
Will only increase,
An understanding,
That will never cease!

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 25th: E as in Ecstasy!

2010-11-25T03:59:00.000-08:00

I light the incense stick,

And watch the smoke mystic!
I urge to close my eyes,
Sensing the emotional rise!

Magical smell surrounds,
Blissful Ecstasy abounds,
An experience, profound,
Vibrant divineness around!

A long breath i take in,
Still staring with a mild grin.

This scented stick, makes the room smell "Rose",
I take a quick glance around and notice,
How differently now, everything glows!

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 24th: F as in Frustration!

2010-11-24T04:28:00.000-08:00

Frustration at its peak,
Tensions continue to creep,
Letting my stable mind creak,
And they call me, a stress freak!

Why o why?

New country, new place, new people, and most of all, new visa rules...
Every day is coming with a new surprise lately, i feel i almost have the right to be stressed out. 24th November will be a memorable day for me this year onwards. Situation had almost slipped from my hands today...some goodwill somewhere saved me, i think. I need some positive energy here. I feel awful :(

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 23rd: G as in Ganesha!

2010-11-23T06:02:00.000-08:00

This is a video that i simply adoreeeeee :)
Just watch her, Ayona, she is world's cutest little thing!
She gives a speech where she makes the mythology and Lord Ganesha's story sound interesting and cute :)

Notice, she says, "Ganeepati Pappa Moraya" :PPP instead of Ganpati Bappa Moraya!!!

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 22nd: H words and H adjectives for H as in Hemali :)

2010-11-21T23:53:00.000-08:00

Yes...she is the one who is loaded with millions of PJ's. Did i tell you she keeps reminding you about her birthday on every 10th of the year till November? Everyone will like to be the first one to pull her leg...thats how she is built, you know! Don't trust her if she says she is not emotional. She will act like the strongest person on this earth in front of you and cry like a baby when she is away. She manages to be the favorite in the bunch, i still don't know how :PP She can make friends with all ages, all genders, all races, no ifs and buts. She falls in the genre of people who effortlessly share your secrets but don't find it easy to open their own book. You can barely tell, A is her best friend and B is not, she likes C more and D irritates her :P

She has this little appearance with a few centimeters of height ;) & a few pounds here and there that she weighs but a massively huge heart that can fit just anyone inside her.

Another amongst my dear ones, H for Hemali. She reserved this alphabet for herself when i was still writing Y. She didn't have to. I wouldn't have wrote H for anything else other than the lovely, Hemali :)

I found on the journey of life,
This, One, darling friend,
Our bond reaching heights,
There is nothing to descend.

A heavenly friend, that Hemali has been to me, i am heart-fully thankful to God for how such relations have happened to be a part of my life. This hard to find, Heteroclitic breed, Hemali, how i love her :)

PS:
Heteroclite: Different

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 20th: I as in Implumous!

2010-11-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

Beach-side, i was taking a walk,

And saw it lying by the rock,
Trying to make its way to the sky,
A bird, hurt wings, Implumous, Sigh!
I sat by this bird, watching it strive,
And felt so helpless, to see it rive!
I wish i had super powers, to make it fly,
Would have granted feathers, to see it up high!

PS:
Implumous: without feathers
Rive: tear apart

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 19th: J as in Jinn, Jinni or Jeannie, whichever you like :)

2010-11-19T05:26:00.000-08:00

Me and my thoughts....

Me: I want to be with Mom today.
Thoughts: You can't be.

Me: What can i do?
Thoughts: Hmmm, nothing.

Me: Its her 50th birthday.
Thoughts: I already know that, isn't it?

Me: I did send her 50 flowers though.
Thoughts: No, the florist screwed up, its proly more than 50.

Me: Oh ya! right!
Thoughts: Back to me, i mean, back to your thoughts.

Me: Ya, i need that lamp.
Thoughts: The Jinn, you mean?

Me: Yes, i want to be a Jeannie. So i can be home in seconds.
Thoughts: Fraction of seconds actually.

Me: Hmmm. Ma will be so happy. Hey, wait. Is Jeannie spelt as Jinni or Genie?
Thoughts: Starts with a J mostly.

Me: Probably...
Thoughts: Google it!

Me: Yes! Jeannie, Jinn or Jinni, anyone. All J's.
Thoughts: Yes! You got your word for today then, J as in Jeannie :) Now write.

Me: Yeah....thats the one.
Thoughts: Happy now??

And hence i started....

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 18th: K as in Kathakali!

2010-11-18T03:25:00.000-08:00

I have saved every post-it note she gave me,
I remember every tea talk i have had with her,
I miss her when i recall how she woke me up on lazy mornings,
I was fond of the midnight gossip we did laying in our beds,
I crave for those brownies we baked at half passed 12,
I feel the need for her wisdom words in my melancholy times,
I learnt to write a few bengali alphabets with her,
I got inspired to read books from her,
I shared all facts "about me" with her and if i didn't, she figured it out, somehow!

Most people call her Kay-jee, short for Kathakali Ghosh. I call her KG. Few relations just click, no explanations needed. This one is out of those few for me. My room-mate, KG, we lived together for a very small span. However, the connection was instant. The day she left Birmingham, i felt empty deep down in my heart and since then we haven't met as of today. Her last image in my eyes is still clear, she said, " Hum Milenge, Rona Nahi" ("we will meet, don't cry").

This post is for her. I look forward to meet her and give her a longing hug, hopefully soon :)

Yours,
Babooni (that is what she calls me :))

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 17th: L as in Letter!

2010-11-17T05:06:00.000-08:00

Electronic age definitely saves both, time and hassle, and hence email is the mosttttt convenient medium of conversation to date. However, emotions are more, ahhh, how do i say it, "flowy", yes flowy is exactly what i want to say, when hands actually write, not type. Writing letters is something that still needs pen and paper, i think! and you?

Lately it is kind of forgotten,
Early on it used to be written,
Technology shows its own wonder,
Terminates dear old pen and paper,
E-mail is now, what we prefer,
Racks full of P-mail, is a mere clutter :(

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 16th: M as in Mid!

2010-11-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

Hmm...Its 1:00 pm, i know, i know, past 12 on the 16th November, huh! Out of the 26 alphabets, its M, the 13th letter today. So MID for coming midway in this challenge :)

What a stressful day,
Thats why, this little delay.
Morning started with a surprise bouquet,
And I thought Today's gonna be my Way.

Alas! Noon came with horrible things in reserve,
One after another, shocks hitting my nerve,
Brain went dead analyzing options, this or that,
I and the problems, facing each other, in a combat!

16th November, 11:30 to 12:00 PM,
Restlessly rushing through work i am,
Want to get home and write up that 13th letter M,
Its the MID today, now don't want to lose, damn!

But i missed the clock by a few ticks,
And Decided not to sleep before this is fixed!

So i tried to compose
This day full of torture,
I am not giving up,
---A hard Core blogger :)

Btw, this is the bouquet that my friend from India sent me as a bday gift. It arrived this morning :) Lovely, isnt it? Thanks darling Anu!

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 15th: N as in Name!

2010-11-15T01:28:00.000-08:00

A very old and repetitive custom in India and most of the world, girl has to take her husband's NAME after she gets married. I am not very much in favor of this tradition, custom or a mere freedom-attacking ritual. The first step into your marriage and you are compelled to do something you might not necessarily like.

I don't know how many girls agree but i strongly vote against this tradition. My name is my identity. World has known me by that name for years. Getting married doesn't mean you belong to a new world. Will the guy take his wives name and live by that for years? No. That wouldn't be fair,would it be?

A lot of Indian girls change both, their first and last names. So when i see a friend's request on facebook from a childhood friend, i simply ignore it. Why? Well i don't know who this XYZ is. Doesn't it scare you, being a non existing personality for people who have known you for years.

Parents give birth to a girl child, name her with all possible love in this world and she is asked to change it as soon as she ties a knot. So unfair.

I however am lucky when it comes to this. Mandar has never ever asked me to take his family name and dissolve my identity into his. So, i still remain Shalmalee Vaidya on my 26th birthday today, on the 15th November of 2010 :)

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 13th: O as in One!

2010-11-13T04:37:00.000-08:00

Looking for a Word,
That starts with an O,
This writers block today,
Scares me like a foe!

Searching, Looking,
Thinking, Thinking,
Ideas stuck,
No luck,
And I am still,
Waiting, waiting!

This O, that O
Oh oh, no no,
Which O, what O,
No O? Hell No!

Finally, One comes across,
Saves me this One time,
Nothing fancy, Nothing hype,
Simple One, completes my rhyme :)

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 12th: P as in PA!

2010-11-12T06:14:00.000-08:00

He brought me in this world,
In the warmth of his shelter,
Kept me in a cocoon,
Secure and furled.

He decided my gender,
And let me be a baby girl,
He filled my life with glitter,
Handled me like a delicate pearl!

He worked hard, day and night,
So i can live, easy and light,
No hardships did he let me face,
Like a diamond put in a safest place!

Proud to be a my PA's daughter,
He comes first and everyone's after!

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 11th: "Q" words

2010-11-11T01:43:00.000-08:00

10 things i like to do with the Q's on and off:

To Querl lazy in the Quilts
To read random Quotes
To eat Quadratini
To be Quietsome at times
To make few Quick-bucks here and there
To spend Quality time with books
To unfold the meaning in Quaint poems
To be playfully Quizzical
To collect Quadrins fallen on the streets :P
To feel Queenly on days

and i wish, cozy was spelt as Qozy, curious as Qrious, cute as Qute and so on, i could have extended this list to 20 things i like to do with Q's :)

PS:
Quirl: curl
Quaint:unusual or different in character
Quadrins: A small piece of money or a half cent
Quizzical:mildly teasing or mocking

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 10th: R as in Relucent

2010-11-10T02:45:00.000-08:00

Resupine i am on my bed,

Effulging through the window,
Light fills my room widespread.
Utterly blissful morning it is,
Candescent sun-beams embed.
Eaves still loaded with sleep,
Nevertheless hands try to open the curtain,
To see the beautiful day ahead!

PS:
Relucent: Bright, shining
Resupine: Lying on the back
Effulge: To shine forth, to beam
Eaves: Eyelids or eyelashes

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 9th: S as in SALE!

2010-11-09T01:57:00.000-08:00

I have pretty much figured out that Singapore is not the place for clearance shopping. They say too many %'S off' here but it doesn't mean a whole lot. US was the place to knock out some awesome deals. Inspite of this fact, I was extremely excited to do my first clearance shopping in Singapore the other day. Heaps of clothes, oh how i love to get lost in those heapssssss :) Yes, i am a SALE SALE SALE person, wink wink :*

So the offer was to pick any piece out of the massive stock and its yours for S$3.
Fine Print: It may be defective!

and usually when i see such an offer, i almost always skip the fine print IMP note :) I picked up a couple of tops, checked or may be semi-checked them, paid at the counter, walked away.

Fine print again: No returns/No refunds!
Hmmmm! Interesting!

Out of the six tops, one has a torn lace, one is zip-less and one is missing buttons.But what the heck....I just went back next day and got a sewing kit :PP
Positive attitude you see :D

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 8th: T as in Taal

2010-11-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

TAAL means Rhythm in Indian musical terms. This word takes a considerable space in my world! I am an engineer by profession but art is my soul.

One hundred % inclination towards dance, music and theatre, thats me,
And Taal is a major part of all three.

Rhythm doesn't have a language, region or culture to it in my opinion. It is a free wave that spreads its own character. It makes your feet tap to its tunes irrespective of your origin, talent and rhythmic sense. You don't have to be a dancer to understand rhythm. You can absorb it all being a performer on stage as well as being a part of the audience, off stage.

I wish it wasn't necessary to graduate from a good school and have a commendable degree and and work and make money and live a life without actually living it! All i would have done is, written poems, danced around the world, played various instruments and would have learnt as many art forms as i can in one given life.

Thats my definition of LIVING! Unfortunately life is not fair to this extent.

So, for now, i am happy blogging!

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 6th: U as in Urge and Ughten

2010-11-06T01:03:00.000-07:00

Urge to see the UGHTEN on a Diwali morning in India,
Urge to be home again,
Urge to be with mom and dad,
Urge to see the fireworks,
Urge to feel the festivity in the same old way!

Memories make me weak!
Happy Diwali everyone!!!

PS: Ughten: Morning twilight

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 5th: V as in Vulcan

2010-11-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

Wiki info:

The Vulcan statue is the largest cast iron statue in the world, and is the city symbol of Birmingham, Alabama, reflecting its roots in the iron and steel industry. The 56-foot (17 m) tall statue depicts the Roman god Vulcan, god of the fire and forge.

Here at the roots of VULCAN, we decided our fates for rest of our lives. Under this seventh-tallest free-standing statue in the United States, Mandar proposed me to be with him forever after the November of 2006. The parking lot in the premises of Vulcan holds a special place in my heart.

So, no matter how many more alphabetical blogging challenges i participate in, my V will always stand for Vulcan :)

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 4th: W as in Wife

2010-11-04T06:21:00.000-07:00

An interesting fact comes to my mind,

How husbands are caught in the grind!

Upside down, M and W,
Serves as a mirror image,
And yes yes yes, obviously,
That causes a worldly damage!

Two important women in his life,
One his Mother and other is WIFE,
M blackmails him with the past,
W threatens him for the future, Avast!

M stares to the east,
And W to the west,
Poor guy struggles in between,
To somehow save his nest :P

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 3rd: X as in Xeric

2010-11-03T00:47:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...

What kind of a letter is X. I mean seriously, do we ever think about X in a right way? Think of it and you will realize, X is often used as a "cross mark", a "don't", a "not", a "wrong". X belongs to a negative category and is full of dryness. Believe me or not, i googled words starting with the alphabet X and more than 50% of the words name some kind of a disease...good god!

Here is what X says,

Please don't say i am X for XERIC,
Why wont you rather think, i am unique !

I Know,
I don't spell L for Love and B for Blossom
But that doesn't mean i am not A for Awesome!

Yes, i know i stand for Wrong (X)
I have been doing it all along,
How otherwise would you praise Right ( ✓)
If wrong is not sitting in its place uptight !!!

It takes courage,
To be an X,
To show all the negative sense,
To let the positive dwell around you,
Right now and hence :)

PS: Xeric means Dry.

Z-A challenge in 26 days:November 2nd:Y as in Your

2010-11-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

In Your smell, i breathe you
In Your breath, i feel you
In Your feel, i touch you
In Your touch, i feel you
In Your feel, i breathe you
In Your breath, i smell you!

Z-A challenge in 26 days: November 1st: Z as in Zip

2010-10-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

And starts the Z-A challenge today!
26 days, 26 alphabets, 26 posts.

Yes, i am excited! So looking forward to zip up this challenge with ideas, creativity and enthusiasm. I personally think this is extremely self motivating and invigorating to find the best suitable word originating from a specific alphabet and putting a blog entry relevant to it.

Here is what i mean:
I have participated in a Z-A challenge (Host: My fellow blogger LEO), where we, all participants will write or at least try to write 26 posts on 26 days of November, excluding Sundays.

One new alphabet everyday
In the sequence of Z to A,
A new word daily,
Like Z as in Zip,
All creative minds together,
From toe to tip :)

This is the badge provided by Leo for bloggers participating in the challenge.

PS: He writes here and you are welcome to read more about this challenge here.

Soundless Silence...

2010-10-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

Very Alone

In the crowd
No "company"
Just crowd.

Jokes, Jokes
Many smiles
No "laughs"
Just smiles.

Too much noise
No "Sound"
Soundless silence
Scaring "Around".

Lots here
Around and "In"
Nothing however
Feels "Within".

Honey....I love you :)

2010-10-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

No, no....not really, i am not talking about Mandar (my hubby). I meant HONEY as in Honey Bunches of Oats :PP I LOVE IT. Full Stop.

I am sure you must have tasted it at least once and if not i strongly recommend it. I happened to eat it for the first time today since i left US and suddenly realized, i missed it....or may be i missed 139 Hayesbury CT, Birmingham, Alabama,USA where i have had endless spoons of this cereal, one morning after the other for 3 years.

Flavors sure have a feel and memory to it. The satisfactory burp after eating this, reminds me of all those sunny, wintry and springy mornings in Birmingham!

Ma MAC-intosh !!!

2010-10-20T03:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Mac,

I have been an Apple fan for long now. For the very same reason, i was very much willing to buy a white Macbook during my "hunting for a new laptop" days. I had just started my Masters on a research assistantship and everybody knows how short of money RA's are after paying for tuition, rent, groceries and living. So i kept on looking and searching and looking and searching for a cheaper option and just couldn't get you out of my head.

Finally, that day, i decided to treat myself with the money i had saved from a couple of months of scholarship-salary. I made my mind to bring you home. Not waiting for anymore deals or upcoming thanksgiving sales, i bought you directly from Apple's website. You were my first big purchase from the salary i earned in my first job. The moment you were shipped,i started counting days for you to come home. Apple did a great job with your packaging but i was so anxious to see you, i almost tore it all in pieces and there were....The magnificent, white you! I blushed and was absolutely delighted to have you with me @ our home, Summit house apartments.

Since then--2006, i have had you in all my good and bad times. When i was writing my 130 pages of thesis, when i graduated,when i was looking for jobs, when i used to chat with Mandar for long nights, when i cried seeing my family miles away on the webcam, when i was blogging, when i didn't have time to surf and when i had so much time that i almost felt alone. Time changed, people did too but you have followed me like my shadow. No matter how many more versions of you come in the market and no matter how many more laptops i purchase in the coming future, you will always be my first love, darling MAC!

Love,
Your Proud Owner :)

One of those times :)

2010-10-14T02:05:00.000-07:00

One of those times when you love yourself....One of those times when you want to feel that cold breeze on your face...One of those times when you want to take it all in and close your eyes satisfying yourself....One of those times when you want to dance alone in the room....One of those times when you want to hold the curtains and swing to the tunes....One of those times when you want to open the windows wide wide...One of those times when you can feel the trees swinging with the wind....One of those times when you want to move in slow motion......One of those times when you want to roll on the bed by yourself....One of those times when you want to blow kisses in the air....One of those times when you want to roll your fingers through your hair....One of those times when you want to look sexy for no one else but you....One of those times when you can feel Love flowing through your nerves....

This song gives me goose bumps every time i play it. Its one those times right now !

The entire PORTAL thing is a mess!

2010-10-12T03:33:00.000-07:00

Do job portals help in actually getting jobs? I dont think so...and what do the HR's do? They dont even want to reply to the emails...WTH!

I am almost feeling like copies of my CV are being distributed all over the universe.
The open position is a perfect match to my profile and their are hundreds of such matching positions on these portals and i am nowhere within the shortlisted candidates? Is that agreeable? The previous job i got was through networking as well.... then why to keep posting resumes to these frustrating portals....and their are tons of such websites all over the internet....why? I dont know a single person personally who actually found work through these sites. They should stop posting adds if they dont want to actually employ candidates. Please....DONOT post openings and waste time, YOURs and especially OURs...huh!

Oops...too many "Actually"s in this post...can't help...
A little frustrated as you can see !!!

Aha!!! Chai :)

2010-10-05T08:11:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful cup of tea!!! Thanks to Chirag.

I am craving to drink tea since i have reached Singapore. Canteens on campus do serve good coffee but no chai :( Oh...my mornings crave for it! Noway....starting your day without tea....nightmare i tell you. My friend chirag found an awesome solution. I didn't know about these magical instant packets of tea+sugar+creamer++++++added masala flavor to it, all in one. One cup of hot boiling water+this magical packet=Fantastic Tea is ready :) It doesn't even taste like those typical mixofied instant tea packets. This is prettyyyyy close to our homemade masala wali chai.

You made my day :))
I owe you Chirag !!!

FYI: Cooking is not allowed on the campus accommodation. That is the reason i am so delighted after finding this superb masala tea packet.

Thanks to "T"

2010-09-23T02:55:00.000-07:00

When my father bought his first cell phone, i remember the local incoming charges in India were 17 Rs./min. My uncle flew to the US for the first time in 1988 and it was almost next to impossible to make international calls and talk for long hours. In my school days i knew nothing more than "dial ups" for connecting to the internet and checking some absolutely vague unnecessary emails.

Technology has come so far and its been made so amazingly easy for us to do, get and have almost everything instantly, whenever and wherever. All you need is a technology ka magic, "internet connection" and the world is yours.

My pa strongly believes in picking up the phone and making a quick call for getting work done. He is old school and usually likes to follow conventional path. Ma likes the whole concept of internet but prefers apna mobile ka zatpat funda. For last 4 years i have been convincing them to get onto internet and learn. Time demands for it now. They were just too busy in their lives and my younger sister was a savior for them. She took care of everythinggggg....I was so worried about mom dad now that she has moved to Scotland...but guess what....mom has taken it very seriously and she is at it :))) These days, ma spends more time on facebook than i do. She starts the chats pretty smoothly and dad is having fun talking to his 2 daughters, one in Singapore and other in Aberdeen. Video chatting has made it so easy for them to see us and fill up the vacuum that was created since my sister left. Dad says, " it doesn't feel like my daughters are somewhere out there in this big world" and ma is inquiring about the video conferencing procedures ;)

This is the time when my parents are all alone in that huge house of ours, all by themselves, i feel the urge to appreciate what technology has done for us. 2 thumbs up for everyone who has made "connecting" so straight forward and most importantly, cheap, of course, not to forget about the "free" part of it, right ??? :)

Emotional Downhill !!!

2010-08-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

3 years ago, it was about our new house, purchasing, decorating and setting, which came along with tons of smiles, highlighting the fact that Mandar was all along with me to add another smile to mine.

Last one month has been all about putting adds, calculating, bargaining, negotiating, selling and emptying. Every item i sell, donate or give away has an emotional value or a memory attached to it.

Unscrewing every single screw in the house, emptying every closet, trashing...everything, that too by yourself, HIM being miles away, it is just beyond words. Its a feeling that is emotionally charged up, uncomfortable and distressing, ugly and vexatious.

I walk in the half empty house and i can almost remember it all like a flash back. Every moment is full of confusion if i can fit some more stuff in those 100 pounds i am allowed to take. I almost run to look in the mirror and then realize, oh! the mirror is sold. My eyes cant take sunlight from the bright window and my hands run to close the curtains, all i can do is close them to remember the person who bought the curtains. I eat on the floor and miss my dining table, i sleep on the carpet and miss my bed, i cry by myself and miss Mandar.

Another month till i get to Singapore and every moment is already like centuries.
Till then, i hope to stay calm and get away from this pesky little feeling that is running within.

For all my dear ones in the Magic City, Birmingham!!!

2010-07-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

So here is the news. Mandar got an admit for his MBA at Nanyang, Singapore. Yes! we are moving to Singapore. It feels like yesterday when i landed on Atlanta airport with 2 bags, lot more excited and little lost. God knows when and how it all ended up with so many good friends, few married, few newly weds, few singles but all full of masti. We ate, drank, danced, worked, chatted, sung and had fun out of anything and everything. This amazing set of friends here in Birmingham threw an overwhelming party last weekend. Mandar being here for last 6 years and me, for last 4 years, these are the long lasting relations that we have made in the US. Here are a few words dedicated to all of them who made everything in Birmingham, memorable.

These short poems are a mix of Hindi, Marathi and English, so forgive me if you dont understand any of these languages :P

Sujay and Hemali (The Chauhans)

Sujay ani hemali chi jodi
Sweet sweet, pan chulbuli
Murti lahan, kirti mahan
Ajun kon, hech amche Chauhan !!!

Amol and Ruchi Vaidya (Ruchi is the would be mommy :))

Amol ani ruchi
Yenar ahe ek navin mirchi
Doghan madhe tisri addition
Vaidyanchya family chi multiplication !!!

Amit and Ashwini Patki (Patki's are graced with a cutie kid, Neil)

Amit ani ashwini,
& the neil tini mini
Bayko la talwarichi dhar
Navra matra COOL, thandddd garrrr !!!

Davey and Richa (The Templins)

Shantata ani dangyacha total milap
Tarihi opinions nahit ekmekanchya khilaf
Templins is a unique couple
Sweet like syrup, Maple !!!

Shardul and Rakhi Nagre (Nagre's are blessed with a techie kid, Arrush)

Shardul ani rakhi
Navryala bolayla paise padtat
Bayko matra jhakas baki.
Arrush, hi Nagrenchya galawarchi khali,
Ruchi chi mirchi, sawadh raha,
Chotya Nagrena padu nako bali !!!

Ramya and Tapan (Mehta-nu parivar)

Ramya and Tapan

Great love story aur lamba jatan
Gujju and tamil sangam
Ruchi-amol ke piche,
Ab aap log bhardo aangan !!!

Rohan and Sayli (Shah Parivar)

Mr and Mrs. shah
Shant sayli and tyahunhi shant rohan
Secretly romantic jodi
Agadi radha ani mohan !!!

Sayli and Aditya (Deshpandes are the newly weds)

Nitin and Vindya (Nairs are newly engaged)

Nako Rahul, Nako Ridhya
Mag ale Adi and Vindya
Sayli ani nitin chya life cha sunrise jhala
Sampli ti ekti sandhya :)

Niroop and Sameera Kaza

Niroop aur sameera
Sidha niroop, utnihi sidhi uski meera
Couple simple but love marriage
Love story not less than veer zara !!!

Girish anna (Ramaswami appa, The PhD student and the lucky single and active member of the NGO, Asha for education)

PhD student ish
Akho pe chashma
Girish hamara breakdancer
And Asha's answer !!!

Love you all !!! We will miss you !!!

March 25th...muah!!!

2010-03-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Darling.

Its Mandar's birthday. We were not high on a candle light dinner this year but hey...it was pouring this afternoon and we had a very romantic lunch...at a mexican place "Salvatore's". Very cozy, you know. I drove to his office this morning and tried to set some romantic stuff on his desk. Flowers, a balloon, bday card and a gift along with few decorations. The good part is he loved the surprise :). The bad part is, he and his boss walked to his desk..."together"...duh!!! and saw my "I LUV U" decorations..."together"...as well :(. Lol.

Well, the lunch was all lovie dovie and i had a lot of butterflies in my stomach during those 45 mins...not that we are in our dating phase or anything...but...who knows :)) I felt something exactly like the lyrics say in this video...ohhh....i love this song!!! Its an oldie but a goodie :))

Huh!!!

2010-03-01T09:36:00.000-08:00

Yes i know. Hate is a strong word but its the only one that comes to my mind right now. This is for all who have betrayed you, your friend, your sister/brother or whom so ever. Huh!!! i am so Angry.

I hate when they promise,
and don't keep it.

I hate when they say Sorry,
and don't mean it.

I hate when they pretend
and don't really try.

I hate when its impossible
and just not difficult.

I can swallow the tense,
I can eat the frustration,
I can breathe through anger,
What do i do with the wound though?

For they can't make there mind,
I pity them,
For they can't commit to One,
I care the least as well.

Love is another strong word,
Handle it with care,
As much as brittle it is,
Betrayal you don't dare!!!
Because...
For me, i wont accept it,
and choose not to live with it,

So you all be careful out there,
Who all chose to "love"
Understand and cherish the word,
Relation is not something to Shove.

Confession :P

2010-01-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

Wish you all a very happy 2010 !!!

This is not a post about either 2010's resolutions or 2009's memories.
It is about a few changes that i have made to myself in past few years.

Yesterday is when i thought about the differences between being"ME"and pretending to be "ME". When i think of all those years i was in India and how i was well known for being a tomboy :)) wonderful memories...and comfortable too. I was more friends with guys than girls coz i hated discussions over a few bucks here and there after watching a movie, being possessive about friend A than friend B, gossiping about an X affair in the school blah blah. I would rather do something adventurous, more creative and productive. 21 years of my life, i never dealt with an eye-liner, i claimed i knew all about sex & reproduction but honestly...i didn't, i never dreamed of a perfect guy in my teenage, i loved to dress-up but in my own way...and what that means is look good & be comfy. Be noticed in a way that you don't need to hold your breath to pull in your tummy and look stunning. I remember the first 6 months in Birmingham. I never found a good enough beautician to thread my eyebrows and guess what i never took an effort to find one either. My sis saw me on the web-cam and she was more worried about the full grown jungle on my face:P thats when she threatened me to go and get it done.lol. I believe i had 1 body lotion, 1 deo, 1 perfume, 2 nail-paint shades and 3 lip-sticks....that was my entire stock of cosmetics..believe me....ROF!!!

Today it takes me an hour to get ready before i leave for a party with enormously kayotic cosmetic choices...a dozen liners, 2 dozen lip sticks, a wide range of matching accessories and what not...uhhh!!!

Today i socialize in girl-groups, i gossip, i chat about jewelery, dresses, make-up, shoes, hand bags and fashion....thats weird!!!

Today i wear a Capri just so that my pretty boots are noticeable in 30 degree F...how and why???

Today i care about looking good, looking perfect and try to fit within all other girlie girls. Unfortunately its not ME. Striving to look good with a punch line, "Anything for fashion"...its not me.

I have this confession to make. I have changed 180 degrees and by no means its doing any bad. Its just that i have to choose fashion over my comfort (reason: Mandar likes it)which makes me uncomfortable....would rather wear a blue jeans, GAP hoody and go to a new years party:P

For now, here is what i actually wore :)

UPDATE.......Christmas update :)

2009-12-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

Here you go all!!!
I think it looks wonderful....oh i feel content :)
What do you think???

Chritsmas!!!

2009-12-14T11:12:00.000-08:00

Will update on the decorated tree with the beautiful ornaments soon :))
This is our first Christmas tree!!!

25 it is !!!

2009-11-16T11:03:00.000-08:00

What a weekend it was!!! Beautiful!!! I am fully satisfied and content.

People, it was my birthday on the 15th, which was supposed to be only on Sunday and which lasted for 4 long days, believe me. Totally pampered...Mandar, friends and colleagues. Yes, bday wishes in advance started with a "I Sing" balloon & a very sweet card on Friday morning by Jarvis, a very dear friend of mine at work. Friday evening was really special, Mandar drove me to a surprise sitting in a absolutely high-end spa. People...massage, facial and pedicure with a complimentary drink & a snack on Friday eve after a long tiring week....do i need to say anything more? Saturday, wonderful weather, sun-shine & breeze together..aha! A cup of chai in the morning(that Mandar made for me), a bed, laptop and TV...all day!!! Between, i got a very pretty hair cut done and yes...i highlighted my hair in RED, what say? It feels amazing to look totally different. Mandar and his credit cards are suffering, it wasn't my fault, it was my birthday you see ;) 12 o clock Saturday night...we were still hooked up to the TV and the bell rings...my dearest friends with cake and candles. wowwwwwwww...thats the end of CAKE 1. Sunday morning, the actual Birth- Day...chai again accompanied with my cell phone ringing every minute :)) uhhh!!!offcourse i felt special :) I and Mandar decided to head out to oak mountain with snacks, music for a small lil picnic and the phone was still ringing. We were a lil romantic, funny at times, had a few serious discussions, books on the side, music unlimited, food being on the top. Sat at the lake thinking about the finest moments when him and i were sitting on the same spot a couple of days later after he had proposed me. Picked up a couple of movies on our way back...and the phone was still ringing. Very shortly my bhaiya bhabi were with us with CAKE 2 and chocolates :)) Mandar cooked a nice meal, his special biryani to go with wine and candle light dinner, muah! Monday morning, people started wishing belated birthday at work and by noon, all of my colleagues with 2 more cakes, in my office, one from my buddy-buddy at work and other from my gossip buddy at work...wowwwwwwwwwwww...i feel so speciallllll. So, finally CAKE 3 and CAKE 4 is done, done now. 2009 has reminded me of turning 25, big time!!!

I feel really blessed..thank yo'all...I had a great great birthday :))
Smiles and hugs!!!

Tired...

2009-10-29T08:33:00.000-07:00

Tired of getting up early and coming home late!!!

Its dark when i wake up
Its dark when i sleep
Its dark when i come home
Its dark when i leave

I strove to see sunrise before,
But i used to be fast asleep,
I strive to see sunrise now,
Am already busy,when he is ready to peep.

Being on the road, in the dark, in the nights,
Its hard to see any further than the headlights,
But you can make the whole trip that way,
Its ok...even if the car tries to sway ;)

This is the changed story of my life,
& this is the fact, not at all a rife!!!

I was chasing the sun earlier,
And he is doing the same now...
We need to try & wake up together,
Just have to figure out how :)

HAPPY DIWALI!!!

2009-10-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

Diwali has always been very special for me. My mom use to make great sweets for diwali, we use to have a big puja in our factory with all the workers in house, my friends, family, big time party with food and sweets. Center of the story were the firecrackers though. OMG!!! we had a fascination for this "5000 chi phatakyachi mal" (its a type of firecracker) which goes on for like 4 minutes continuously. I just loved it when all the faces in our colony use to peep through the balconies to see this three minute show and make sure its us again who had the priviledge of lighting this huge and expensive cracker in the entire neighbourhood. Not one single time did my dad made me miss this feeling of being on top of the entire world. Doesn't matter if it was only for a couple of hundred people around the neighbourhood, i still felt to be the superior one amongst the bunch.

The very last diwali that i celebrated at home with my parents was the one before i came to US. My heart was so full that i was wiping my eyes every other second. One thought was all over me, "this is the last one". For the very next diwali, my grandmother expired and we didnt have no reason for any celebrations. The following one was just before my wedding and guess what...i was back home...at my parents place :) One more year for 5000 chi mighty mal and i was full of it again. Diwali last year was here in the US as a newly wedded wife's first festival of lights and brights. I made sweets exactly the way as my mom did. I did the puja with the marigold flowers all over exactly the way my dad did. I tried to bring back every bit of it...finding for reasons not to miss home. So, for all those 24 years of my life, diwali has been full of celebrations, customs, lights, enthusiasm, sweets, happy moods and wonderful wonderful memories.

2009 has not been the same for me though. I made no sweets this year, i dont have no crackers, i didnt do any puja at home, i did not put candles all over my house, and most of all i dont even have a feeling that its DIWALI. I have no enthu to dress up and have fun. My parents are not with me, i miss my sister every minute and as worse it can get, Mandar is not here. I miss him so much today.

Just one thing i would like to say, its hard without your loved ones, cherish them as much as you can. There is nothing much important than a person.

Love you mom
Love you dad
Love you chikya
&
Love you Mandy

Miss you all!!!

HAPPY DIWALI TO EVERYONE. HAVE A BLAST. LOTS OF SMILES FOR MY READERS :))

What a day!!!

2009-09-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

Its 6:50 am. I am sitting in my car...roadside. Its drizzling...sun is hiding behind the clouds.... and i give a shot @ writing whatever happened in last couple of minutes.

I got up with a heavy headache this morning..double thoughts about calling-in sick. next moment...i made my mind to go to work. Ready, got in the car and was off on my daily road in dark, chills and rain. Tried calling my mom as i always do...she didnt answer. I was a lil awake, lil sleepy...driving to the tunes of lagan lagi tumse mann ki lagan...a person flashed headlights at me and i thought why?? My "why" thought was still incomplete and the next thing i saw was a log lying on the road, just ahead of me, and BANG...bam bam bam!!!I hit the log real hard...tire was obiviously flat. I somehow pulled the car over into a driveway and waited, waited and waited for 2 minutes. My breathing was a lil heavy, pulse was beating hard... This guy who flashed the lights @ me comes back and asks," do you want me to change the tire?" In a split second i said, "No thanks...i think i am gona call a friend". He left...in another split second i did regret...was it right to ask him to leave? Anyways, it all happened for a reason coz i found out later that i didnt have a spare tire. Meanwhile 5 people stopped by and offered help but i rejected all of them coz i didnt know whom to trust. Moving on, i started calling my husband...it took about 15 calls to wake him up...tried calling colleagues...nobody answered. Finally i decided to call 911....my best bet...and before doing that i called my hubby one last time and he answered.Oh!!! what a relief!!! I called the roadside service as he advised me to, the ETA to tow me and the car was 1 hr. what the hell!!! Between , few cops stopped by to say hi...they were my friends by the time i left ;) because the towing vehicle arrived after 2 hrs and 10 minutes. WHAT THE F***!!!!!!!

I hardly wanted to look @ this tow expert BEN...or VAN...or whoever....i dont even remember....and he says " sorry it took so long..."gadhva...kuthe tari jaun jeev de" i actually mumbled it in marathi ;) Finally the car was on and me in the tow-truck.
On the way to med center mazda, i called everybody who was trying to help from where he/she was. Mandy from home, my colleagues from office and mom from india :)
The great Jason @ the service center gave me another good news, "Maam, the rim is broken and the battery is dead too. It might take 2 hrs if the tire is available. If not...????

Mandy...tring tring...2 more hrs...pick me up.
I hardly hung up the phone...
A fairly old guy...does anyone need a ride?? shuttle is ready to go!!!

Mandy...tring tring...i am going to take the shuttle...dont pick me up.
I reach home and at that very moment...it strikes me...
My house keys...with the car keys...in MED CENTER MAZDA :(((((((((

Mandy...tring tring....no keys...please come home...
And finally...15 minutes later...i saw a green mazda coming in our driveway and i thought...My savior is here...now nothing can go wrong :)

So...a day worth of no work, $0 paid (since i get paid hourly), $300 worth of repair, $107 worth of 2 hrs waiting for the towing service and a day full of errors.

But the "Afterall kiss" from my savior made it all WORTH :)

Patterns :)

2009-08-22T14:33:00.001-07:00

Since i have started working on a construction site, i have known americans on a different level. I had a lot of american friends in school, we hung out, had fun, but this is all different. Believe me or not, for the last 5 months i am here, i havent seen much of a "family guy" trend, the one who is married, has kids, and is having a sound life. They do have a fun life but none of them seem to be stable. A 26year old girl has 2 babies..she isnt married. 21 year old guy is not married and has 3 kids. A guy is 40 year old with an 8 year old son and is a single now. 35 year old person has an 18 year old son who is going to have a kid pretty soon. I knew this like 2 days ago. Today, the 35 yr old invited me for his wife's baby shower ...whoo! strange haan!!! A guy has dated a stripper for week, then he had a nurse for another week, he went out with a bar dancer and he tells me now, he has 3 kids, he is on his way to get divorced..."on his way"...so technically he has a wife too.

This is supposedly not about "just dating" or having sex for fun...these are messed up patterns of life in my opinion...but i am glad i came across this sector of america and got a chance to actually make friends with these patterns too :)

This...that...and whatever!!!!

2009-08-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

I have stacks of paper in front of me, infinite to-do lists all around, 100 post-its notes and god knows what else. But i feel the urge to write something right now.

This morning was really beautiful. I was driving to work at 5 am...extremely sleepy...closed my eyes for a second or two and ended up on the other side of the road when i woke up. SSShhhhhuuuuu....Was scared to death...didnt tell anyone about it. I stopped by a gas station ...got some warm coffee and turned on the music real loud. The first song i heard was...ghanan ghan ghan...badra ke dhamke...man dhadkaye badarva...aha!!! loved every single tune of it at a volume of 26.

The other night when all of us were at the spain park high-school to play volley ball on a friday eve...we were sweating like hell. All husbands were off to get the cars from a far-away parking lot and we, all wives, who were miserably tired, for a change went into a nearby park, full of swings, slides and fun. Can you imagine jhuling a jhula after hec of a long time. I went back into my chilhood memories....The Nagraj Colony park, where we waited in humongous line to get to those swings...they meant whole world to me. The breeze you feel when you get closer to the sky, all that you let go when you swing back, the feeling of you being "aaj mein upar" is absolutely amazing....It was all dark that evening, sky full of stars, and i felt that breeze on my cheeks again...after a long long time. I breathed, smelled and felt satisfaction in and around me...

I know...i dont have anything specific "this or that" to say....felt like writing it all...i am miserably busy these days and thats when i think a lot...i multi-think....my thoughts are all mixed up (wohoo...not messed up though)...and i tend to throw such random things at my readers...i hope you guys dont mind it....so basically blah blah and blah :))

????

2009-06-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

Have had no time to write/read anything. My in laws are in town and i am all engrossed in them.
It just happened so 2 weeks ago when i was ready to leave my office and walk out...our site manager calls everyone in the common area and tells us that our general manager/company's vice president is no more working with us.

He is fired or laid off, whichever sounds better. I was lost, he is the same person who had hired me . I dont remember what was i thinking for next couple of moments...everything seemed pretty much blank. 3 days following this news, company released his wife, PS: she worked for us as well. I wasn't blank this time,just a little uneasy. Today, they released our office associate @ the corporate office. There is a rumor that the office associate at our plant is in the queue. I didnt feel anything....Its amazing how you get used to shocks.

But yes...i am scared of this current situation where people just wake up one day and know that they dont have a job anymore. This economy and the overall bad time leaves me with a big question mark....will i have my job tomorrow or it will limit everything to a laminated MS degree hanging on the wall, spa trips, daily shopping and snappy dressing??? or am i actually going to continue using my knowledge for working and making some money?????

Clueless...

2009-05-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

I want to go back...i dont know where.
Where do i want to go...go back...where???

May be home...may be India...may be back to a single's life...may be. Watched a movie today, "The Holiday". Fantabulous acting by Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet and the Irish gentleman (not sure what his name is). Well, once again i realized that i am crazy about irish guys. Ya, i sort of like them...no wait...adore them...not exactly...love them...ooo...hot...oops...i mean good looking or handsome may be. Whatever, you got it, didnt you ;) Its a good movie except for the fact that they weep the entire time coz they are singles. Well...it isnt that bad.

You get to be yourself...do stuff...sometimes...or most of the times do nothing. Not cook...not worry...eat noodles...watch TV, doenst matter how long...surf...date...sleep....whatever man!!! I feel like living boundless again. I want to be careless...i dont want to track myself or anyone else. I feel the urge to mess up a little, may be myself, may be my house...no hold on. I dont want a house...a mortgage neither. A studio apartment would work...which can give me enough room for my twin bed, TV & a small kitchen...and yes, a bean bag to lie on for hoursssss.

Every weekend is different for me...week doesnt matter much coz then i dont have enough time to think about such random stuff. Last one was full of dresses... this one was about watching a shakespear's play, attending a DJ/bhangra night where DJ Rekha was one of the attractions it seems. Apparently, we, i mean my husband was expecting her to be a babe and she wansnt...pretty famous though and i absolutely dont know why. She was no good than a regular DJ. You know what...DJ parties are no more fun for me. Why? Oh god...i have no clue what i am writing...

I am out of my mind...weird...tired...and yes...married!!!!

Weekend dressing :)

2009-04-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

A Weekend full of dressing and make up...i had fun, fun and funnnnnn!!!Spring/summer is here and its worth dressing for all the colors we have around :))

:((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

2009-04-24T05:36:00.000-07:00

We talked about this last evening...its been 3 years since i and mandar met, made friends, fell in love, got married. Since then, we never had a fight-fight. It was all ruthna-manana till date. Yesterday...we had our first actual fight-fight. The reason is not worth mentioning but i was mad...thats all i can say. He was too.

After a while, i was far passed the basic reason of the conflict and was upset about the fact that, we fought!

Fight is not meant to be when it comes to me & mandy. We have a perfect rapport. Thats why i feel like crying :(((

Bonsai post :)

2009-04-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

Any "mini" thing catches my attention and i go crazyyyyyyyyyy.
Any "Bonsai" works for me and i am not refering to "plants only". Generally, mini is my turn on thingy. So here is my bonsai post on miniatures!!!

Recently, we got a notebook, HP mini, 10" screen size. It is literally mini....so cuteeeee!!! Remember the miniatures of the tea sets that we use to play with when we were kids, i loved it. I was fond of the little bitty cups, saucers & the tea pots :). Whenever my gradma use to bring a plant-bonsai in, i kept staringgggg at it.
Any showcase item/miniature makes me smile and i go...chichi, michi, cutie pieeeeee!!! Ya, i know its crazy but i have that kid in me when it comes to tiny things. I am not a big pet lover anyways. In fact, i am a little finicky when it comes to pets, however the tinish puppies make me love them with their intolerably cute mannerisms. Not to forget, the tiny mandarine oranges, have you ever looked at the small pieces inside...Oh My God!! Nature is unbelievable. On one fine spring day, me and my husband were getting some garden material from a nursery and i see these small pots, extremely cute garden carts, and various mini garden items. I have some pictures here...please take a look and i might wonder if you dont go....chichi...michi....cutie pieeeeeeeeee :)).

First day at CPF Dualam!!!

2009-03-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Yes!!! I got the job :)

As much interesting it sounds, it actually is. Recession and the overall economy has affected millions and i am not an exception. However, i got this job in a well-to-do construction company, very commonly known as Dualam, USA. 8:00am was a nightmare to be in school for the first class of the day and we use to curse Dr. Chawla for being that punctual. He wont allow a 5 minute delay :(. Big deal...5 minutes. Yes...it is a big deal in real world. Being used to a cocooned life style where undergrad's-day started at 10:00am back in India, promoted me to the grad's-day, here in US, which used to start at 8:00am. Its time to get out of the cocoon though....i have received this grand promotion where i have to clock-in on site at 6:30am. Getting to the job site takes me about 50 unwanted early morning minutes when the sun doesn't bother to show up but i need to...how about that? You better leave home by 5:30am or you are fired girl!!!

Its no normal AC cabins for the bosses and reasonably big cubes for the beginners. Its no luxurious computers on the desks and cleanliness all around. Its no putting pots and plants, frames and photos, crafts and paintings on the desks. Its no skirts and formals, make-up and hair, jewelery and matching purses. Keep it real baby...blue jeans, safety glasses, hard hats, steel toed boots and vests....the boots are too heavy though :(. I can hardly walk.

I and my boss sit in the same cabin. After all, i am the Junior Inspector and he is the Senior Inspector...yeah its the Quality Assurance Dept. I like it so far. Lets see when the actual work begins. Seems like my boss is on a 12 hrs shift right now...i don't want to be promoted any sooner :)

Ms. NOBODY!!

2009-02-18T17:47:00.000-08:00

The very nature of human is to mourn about everything he has. Mine is not very different. I am tired of complaining to myself. I usually don't share my worries....doesn't matter how intense they are. I try not to bother anyone else unless its a need.

All this makes me recall Will Smith's movie, Pursuit of Happiness and understand his words/dialogs..."This part, this SMALL part of my life is...Happiness"! Oh ya! you bet if this is not a universal truth. I am getting a feeling that happiness contributes very less in life or is it that we don't want to be happy? We criticize. Small-little things continue to annoy us, irritate us, make us unhappy and we give up the strength to resist this cycle of dissatisfactions. Who knows what would have been the best decision for you...if you don't, nobody does. So its wise to stop the blame game and come a step back to keep up with the fact that you can be happy nonetheless. But but but....thats only my way of thinking. Nobody really wants to take a step back and compromise on his/her sharpened ego. No-one is willing to keep mum and listen. It has begun to become the good old way of my life and its not very uncertain anymore for people to think of me as Ms. NOBODY. Its an unuttered understanding that i am the one to let go things to any extent. My insult, my ego, my self respect, my opinions are very much compromising themselves to please the surrounding. Loosing temper and being rude is not my way of securing my self respect. I have thoroughly felt, applied and experienced the word "Compromise" through different phases of life. I wouldn't say it was equally difficult at all times but i wont accept that it was always easy either. It has built my character a lot but lately its kind of annoying me for not being respected inspite of my age, attitude, qualification and the overall dignity. I feel being taken to be granted very similarly like when i was in 5th or 6th grade. My attitude has changed towards people who were old and are getting older, towards personalities who were young and are getting older, towards people who were short tempered and are getting sarcastic, those who were jealous @ me and are my friends now, those who were just friends and are my best friends lately, those who annoyed me to death but still i call them often and all those who had started terribly and have ended up being just fine.

I think this attitude doesn't help much coz people haven't changed the attitude towards me and haven't really considered me being at a different level from what i was a few years before. To avoid being nobody, its worth while to speak for yourself and be at peace. Looks like thats the only way of being happy for a longer time. Compromising has not given me any returns other than the complains that i do to myself when i am totally frustrated. Its hard to keep everyone happy at the same time. So let them be happy in there own ways and i should find a way to stop giving up the arrogance and insulting times that a few people have given me...World peace is a huge thing and i cant help it all by myself. So let me be a little selfish and think about the small part of my life :))

Huh!! I feel better now!!!

The Bridal Dress!!!

2009-01-23T06:45:00.000-08:00

I wonder how different one thing can be at several different places. I am talking about a common thread, “Wedding”. Two souls getting together and sharing “WE” and “US” is the only backbone of a wedding, any wedding. This being the fact, weddings have a flavor of variety, traditions, beliefs, conceptions and colors.

I was fond of a Christian wedding since childhood. Being in the US for last two and half years, I have seen quite a few church weddings. The most attractive thing for me in a church wedding is the white bridal dress. I so wanted to wear it once and get married in the church. Since i went straight ahead and got married to an Indian guy, there was no chance to keep aside the Vedic Indian traditions and ignore Hinduism. After all, colors in the Hindu wedding are mind blowing, red is the heart, green is authentic, yellow is the tradition, flowers are in seven colors, dressing is enthusiastic and bright, chaos is enjoyable and last but not the least….my favorite….the henna tattoo…the Mehendi….its the most lovable part. Against all this, a church wedding, terribly organized, well mannered, people hardly smile, black & white are the colors, the flowers are white…at the most pink, the bride & groom with their rehearsed steps to walk through the aisle, groom is in black and the bride is in her pretty, wonderful white bridal dress. The huge difference to see but hardly any to feel, coz the feeling is same, the vows are same (though the languages vary), the post marriage fun is same, the hulchul in two minds is immeasurable and in differentiable, no matter what, where & how the wedding is!

Apart from all this, I got to wear that white bridal dress once in a lifetime…its my dream to walk down the church aisle with the dress on, flowers should be red though….white is not a wedding color…my bridesmaid should be in a red gown, and yes, people should smile…its not a serious occasion damn it! Music should be Indian….i don’t like those American non-understandable music bands, I & my groom won’t rehearse the vows & imitate them on the wedding day….its a one time thing & it should come from your heart, it shouldn’t require a rehearsal in my opinion, its not a drama or a performance. Neither does it has to be perfect, speak & span…its not an exam where you need to mug stuff for getting an A. It should be clear & real…that’s what I would like to do in my dream wedding. My father should walk me down the aisle and Mandar should grab me from there…but ya! My groom should be only him…no matter how many times I get married :))

President Elect Barack Obama...

2008-11-22T12:54:00.001-08:00

I was registered for voting at the age of 18 in my home country, India. Back then i was never serious about the right to vote. My disliking politics was to the extent of not voting...who cares who is gona be your next authority...they all are the same anyways. Irrespective of my mindset that the elected person has nothing to do with the word IMPROVE, the right to vote is a prime requisite for a citizen of that particular country. I have started experiencing and believing it more...after all, i am counted amongst the minorities now and cant vote for any good reason.

I never portrayed myself following politics. I hateeee politics; however, Elections-2008 was a huge deal, for both, me & Obama ;). Moreover, i was into it since the primaries started heating up.The battle between Clinton and Obama was at its peak....thats when i realized....i like Obama better. Not that i knew anything about him and his work...but i liked the way he was campaigning. I felt some percentage of honesty and clarity when he spoke out his plans and policies. On the other hand, Clinton's fake smile and her non-promising objectives were absolutely shaky & annoying or may be... i just had a little crush on Obama ;). Oh ya! he is one super handsome fellow...tall, dark, handsome :). Jokes apart...coz DARK is not a very casual term or part of a phrase in his case...it can be profoundly stated as BLACK or subtly uttered as African American to be on the safer side, no offense anyways.

Eventually, Maccain-Obama times were more fun to me. From the very beginning i was not too serious about it but as it reached the vice-president choosing stage...oh ya!i was so not with Maccain, i soooo didn't like Palin! I had a feeling that this lady knows politics as much as i do and i wont definitely go and stand for a vice presidential post. Holy moly...that self conscious s*** lady-politician should have come out of Alaska first to be a potential US vice-president. I was amazed to see her debating abilities and i thought that she was literally making an assault on the history of politics, not verbally, just that the technicality was nowhere existing. She was taught to speak what she spoke in the debates and not being able to give the relevent remarks, she was taking both, Joe Biden and the debate moderator, back to the question bank/answer bank she had learnt. It all sounded very similar to the standard 10th "Most Likely" question paper series to me. Alas! (not Alaska ;)) unfortunately the syllabus was changed this year and the vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin failed ( i am happy for her and in turn US citizens too). This was the time when i felt that Maccain is not affordable and i wished i could have put my 2 cents into it by voting for Obama :(

On the very day...The day of unwrapping the count of votes...the facebook status updates were in Barack's favor, my labmates, both, a white & a black guy voted for Obama, many of the minority friends were supporting obama-policies, counting was going at its full speed...looked like Maccain was not gona make it...i was sighing! The black community through the entire US was blushing...i just thought, we were getting there...and at 11 pm or so, ABC/CNN/Fox, all the news channels had one thing to say..."Barack Obama is the president elect with 270+ electoral votes....AHhhhhhhhhhh!

I enjoyed the moment...just one regret...my 2 cents.... :((

Lina :)

2008-11-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

Are you aware of many such people who are real good at heart...people who wouldn't ever think of hurting someone for any damn reason? One of this rare species is my friend/labmate, LINA. She is quiet a composition...a perfect combo of beauty and brains, sweet, cute, nutty, smart, transparent Columbian female...whose full name runs a line long before stopping..."Lina Paola Herrera Estrada"....yup...thats a real name :). She has a people pleasing disorder, to be short, she is very much engaged in PPD. Yes, she goes out of her way to bake a cake for every single occasion....may it be a birthday, a baby shower, a wedding....doesn't matter. She needs a reason and a new awesome cake is ready each time. Her partners in crime are Leigh hudson (my other cutie labmate) and none other than myself...

So, a few words dedicated to this pink lover, cake baker and a sweetu friend :)

Mona, Rina, Sona, Tina....
Coming from the same genre,
What's so special about Lina?

"Sweet" is a Lina-word,
"Cute" is Lina's sword.

Inside out being a nurd,
She manages being preferred!

Organization is her key,
Study-time....no see.

Unlimited gossip, no fee,
All-time partners, Shalmaleigh :)

Someone whose dress is pink,
For whom, blue comes later...
Pink is the primary ink,
Lina@pink is her website link,
Hello-kitty girl she is, blink blink!

Usually,
"Two" makes friends,
"Three" is a crowd...
But, Leigh, Lina and I
Can say it loud,
We are buddies,
In search of fun,
Only smiles matter,
A million, a ton :))

Hope you like it girl!

Sight...

2008-09-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

Ya right...sight is what i miss today. I was proud to have a perfect sight after 3 major eye surgeries done on my tini tiny Chinese looking eyes. They were still smaller at the time of my birth than they are now. Doctors tried their bit to open them to the fullest. I have had a bit of encounters with my friends on this point...they use to tease me...i felt embarrassed at times. It was all taken in a wrong way till a point when one person gave me a knew vision and a new way to look at the topic. Somebody had said, i like your "Eyes"...they seem dreamy to me...awaiting...promising...and that was the day when my inferiority complex went way far then i would have ever thought. I started believing in the tini minies and now that i had Mandy to date with, surprisingly he said the same thing...i like your "Eyes"...oh!!!!! So now, i was in the attitude mode...you like my eyes, good for you, you don't....who cares :)

But but but....once again, i am shattered...the proud feeling is smashed off...why???
what do you mean why....my eyes need those idiotic pair of glasses now :(
Ya...why did i even go to that stupid FREE vision screening...Indians have a bad habbit...look at the word FREE and we will be right there...uff! The good looking young dashing doctor said...."your right eye is getting worse...you cant see 20/20"
Hell with you and your all time Ophthalmology. I was mad and i started rubbing my eyes so hard that it felt like the retina might detach at some point ;). I was cursing this beautiful young lady in my mind and i certainly asked "Mam, can we do a double check?". That was extremely foolish of me to ask such a question. Her mischievous smile was maliciously annoying, however, she agreed. I was struggling to see the blurry line, i pushed myself to look at the smallest letters on the board. I was frenzied by the maniacal insane manufacturer of that ambiguous board and its letters. The doctor was done with me and she asked me to skip to the next step and i thought ALAS! Its not the white board or the manufacturer...its your ambiguous vision dammit. You need SPECS.... :(( oh!

I returned to the lab and told my buddy about all that happened and he said "you are getting old"... :(. Mean people...but again, i am over it and have a smart pair of glasses now and it feels good to see the letters clearly again.

Hellen Keller quotes, "The most pathetic person in this world is someone who has a sight but has no vision" and vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others....So...i am safe!

"Within"

2008-09-12T11:30:00.001-07:00

Detachment is a good way of survival. Attachment binds you in feelings, memories, tears and bonds. Last night was a sleepless one out of the few. Yes...sleepless night is not my issue, i sleep tight in good and bad :)...so, i was all happy in my cozy bed, ready to close my eyes with content.

I suddenly see myself in a mirror...trying to wipe my hair with a white towel after a long shower. This is the story with my eyes open and blinking, observing the movement of the ceiling fan in the dim-dark light of the night lamp. I was watching the fan moving and was striving to match my eyeballs with the rotating motion of the blades. For some reason,i was distracted...my concentration was messing up with the flashing image of that mirror,the visible rusty spot at the right bottom corner of that mirror, my long wet hair, that typical white towel with maroon stripes on it and my mom asking me to come for the Sunday morning breakfast. The entire flash was a tableau of all my Sunday mornings at home with my parents, sister and grandparents.I made an effort to come out of the picturesque sense of my emotions and get back to the rotation. Nonetheless...the effort was in vain.

Here is a truthful saying in my native language, Marathi. "Lahaanpan dega deva"....
The three words signify and focus on the time of your life, "childhood". Its a golden time without the worries of income, budgets, jobs, earnings and much much more. I wish i can get back to that stage with my parents, enter back in their rules and regulation's world and take off the responsibilities off my shoulder.

Technically, i have my own house..now...with full authority where i reside on my terms, my rules and my comfort. I have all the luxuries, a contemporary furniture...like the one i always dreamed for, a colorful living....like i always wanted, a magical bedroom...like anyone would love it to be, a small front yard....with bunch of flowers, a minimal backyard.....to see the beautiful sunset with a cup of tea, my own car in the parking space and a official caretaker...just for ME. Doesn't it sound like a dream come true? why not? However, the connubial bliss is not enough to call it a HOME. Its the years you have spent without any power, authority, judging, ordering or anything of this sort, with your nuclear family...the place to reside there with them is what i call HOME.

Many such things kept flashing during all these flying thoughts...being physically apart, i had a bitter feeling of getting unofficially evicted from my own house. No longer am i the core part of that nuclear family of four? Am i still intrinsically "Within" as the very essence of that core???

Symmetry...

2008-08-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

I came home after a long day. Rain was pouring in its own rhythm and my nostalgia took me long back in the sweet longings of my mom's "Bhaji's" in the rainy season...thats what are called "Pakora's" in Hindi. Also, that is what the Indian restaurants in US describe as the popular Indian cuisine in which onions/potatoes are dipped in a batter of gram flour and deep-fried. Yes, it is a yummy Indian snack ate with sipping of chai (Indian tea) at times when days are blessed with rains.
So...here it goes...i took a big knife and started cutting the red onions. I cut the onion into 2 halves ....WOW! Interior of this half onion was amazingly beautiful...lol...yes, what else can i do but laugh? Isn't "beautiful onion" a mere rhetoric???...but the adjective is not pretentious or exaggerated...its my sincere thought at a glance. Since i was a kid, i always had this endearing attitude towards symmetry. I am quickly attracted and connected to symmetry in anything, anywhere, everything and everywhere. I think symmetry ties together various aspects... proportionality, balance, perfection and ultimately a beautiful pattern....and that is the reason i was always fond of free-hand drawing. It served a challenge for the center line to be a mirror and for the two halves to be its mirror images...and that too without an ounce of error. The onion reminded me nothing but the free-hand drawing in my elementary class. Yes...Symmetry it is :)

P.E.R.F.E.C.T

2008-08-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

Its an unusual Friday night.
Mandar is with his friends and i am in my lab...working on my thesis write up!
The mood swing says...WORK TODAY :)

I was trying to build up some discussion on the Flexural(bending) tests that i had performed on my specimens. Some idiotic result caught me and i was thinking about the trend in the plot. Alas! it was one calculation that went wrong and all the trends just flipped in a moment. Well, that was known a long time after referring to google, yahoo...bla bla bla! Within the process i went ahead and referred a book by Dr. K K. Chawla on mechanical behaviour of materials. I was aiming to browse through the index page and what i see here is a thought...before the index even started...i mean on the previous page where authors usually dedicate there book to someone!

It says,
"We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the secret sits in the middle and knows..."

Those are bunch of true and amazingly real words and i want to insist that the lines are PERFECT...it can be stated that logically they don't have any varying degrees like most, almost, rather, nearly etc...they are "Absolute"!
It is one chance and it walks down to one in a bunch of millions...and that ONE PERSON understands and truly absorbs the meaning of the above lines...something like this...

The secret is in the "MIDDLE" of the ring,
He doesn't have to "SUPPOSE" anything!

He never ASSUMES it to be pragmatic,
He knows the difference between real and dramatic!

Proudly being, at the center of the ring,
World is the diameter, he is the king!

"HE"= Absolute and a complete package
My O Dear,
Its hard to find a defect,
Because he is PERFECT!

Ya right! He doesn't have to intrude in anybody's affairs to solve his queries and get the answers. He knows how to work it out without being meddlesome...isn't it?
I wish i had understood the secret and gotten a chance to push myself into middle of the ring and get the honor of being ABSOLUTELY PERFECT:))...if not anything else, it would have atleast helped me solving the queries related to the wrong calculations and pushed me towards the better understanding of the weird trends in my results ;)

Unfathomable version of my coded frustration....

2008-07-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

The rainy spells this week are giving me the blues. May be not...life is full of blues and the rains are just contributing to it! Who cares...its a perfect time to put a new post :)

Here is something i want to add to my frustrating blog. Its a relative comparison between two families...i don't want to unwrap the subject and tell everybody what this comparison refers to directly. Only thing i can mention is that, these two families are the unending, inseparable, perpetual and everlasting parts of my life. I am hurt a little bit...to be honest...i am hurt a lot...and the abyss of time is not healing my hurt soul this time...and that is what has led to these unfathomable words below!

They are four and they face each other,
We are four and our backs face each other!

They don't care if whole worlds a mess,
We care, care, care,and our worlds a mess!

Nothing departs them...they are "A Square",
We stand at 4 corners...we protect "The Square"!

They are always inside the circle,
We always watch the boundary!

They are cool when they are within "them",
We breath hot fumes when we are amongst "us"!

They are honest to each other....we are too,
But...the styles are different!
They love each other...we do too,
But...the ways are variant!

Sometimes
It hurts,
But still
It works,

It is the good old version of life,
Where "Change" is not critical... but impossible!

Deal with it and be "A Part",
This attitude will never set you "Apart",
They and Us are not the same,
Thats your life, so, nothing to blame,
Play it calm and its your game!

I hope its not tooooo absurd and irrelevant for the readers...since it is related to my personal life, i couldn't loosen the thread right away! So, the frustration is a little bit coded this time. Try to decode your version and give comments :)

Coffee and starbucks...Means of my survival

2008-07-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

STARBUCKS is a survival ...yes surely it is!
What else do you need while writing a thesis and striking your head over couple of nonsense graphs....to be technical about it, absurd or fatuous pictorial device such as a pie chart or a bar graph, used to illustrate quantitative relationships...who in this world would live without a cup of coffee to bring relief from the effects of tension and anxiety. A transient storm of lightning and thunder with rains and gusty winds incorporate and bless these tense and stressful situations which allows me to ask myself for a reason to have one more cup of coffee.

I know this line from somewhere "Its not the coffee...its whom you drink with"

Ya...right...i love this line too but its not always true. Romance should be in the air to lean in fanciful daydreams associated with the coffee and then it matters with whom you drink it. The time when you write an 80 page document and still dont have any clue what you are at...thats when you tend to drink the coffee alone....by yourself...under frustrating thoughts...to overcome your headache and freshen up yourself for the next frustrating moment coming in....get ready for the war again... :)

What amazes me is the act of drinking coffee at different times....Be it in a state of mental agitation or disturbance that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort, often accompanied by physiological changes or be it a breakfast mood on the way to your office, it might be as well perfect on a date and many more such instances. Coffee belongs to or is a characteristic of romanticism, emotions, frustrations, depressions, love and feelings.

And what would it cost to drink a coffee with a starbucks flavor added...that too Cafe Mocha...ahh!Mocha is a type of 'chocolatey' coffee bean (from Mocha in Yemen)...Unlike cappuccino, cafe mochas do not contain the well known milk froth on top. It usually has whipped cream and a dusting of either cinnamon or cocoa powder....wow...i love it...moreover my mood swings love it...they are on track after a sip...good to go for the next fight buddy!

I am heading out to Starbucks now...

Life is Short!

2008-07-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

I am uneasy since yesterday night. We saw this movie, "P.S. I Love You" and i was totally sunk in my own tears. I didn't enjoy the movie coz i was crying all the way through it.

"PS, I Love You" is Irish writer Cecelia Ahern's first novel, published in 2004 adapted by the film in 2007, "PS, I love you".Holly (Hillary Swank) has been married at the age of 19 to a handsome named Gerry (Gerard Butler), an Irish gentleman. He is the only love of her life and they have big plans for the future. However, Gerry is stricken with tumor and he dies, leaving Holly desolate. Much to her surprise, letters start arriving from Gerry, under unusual circumstances, letters that provide encouragement for Holly to move forward with her life. Gerry suggests Holly to do some karaoke and take a vacation to Ireland, where she visits his relatives. Holly truly overcomes the serious blow that life has given her and survives through these letters and finds her lost self...one year later to Gerry's death, she tells her friend, "I dont feel Gerry around me anymore, i think he is really gone"...oh gosh! this struck me so bad...time is always a solution. Human being is so strong. It doesnt take much out of you to recover and lead your own life. At the very beginning, people sympathize, as time passes by, they are tired of your healing wound....they just want it to be healed ASAP. The instances at which holy imagines his presence, feels his touch and tries to hear him by calling his cell phone and listening to the answering machine....oh god!it just killed me. At the age of 30, this women had to be apart from her good looking, handsome and caring hubby and live by herself rest of the life....deciding not to fall in love again, trying to be away from the sexual drive she often had to fight against and live a widow's life which is good for nothing. On the other hand, not to blame and curse the feelings if they go wild for another man since she is a human being after all and live in the guilt that poor Gerry...who was honest to me till the solid end of his life and i am piece of a shit who cannot be a good enough loyal person...

God!I was so upset and uneasy throughout the movie and was holding my hubby tight in my arms with all the possible insecurity gathered in my breath...after all it rolls down to you and your relationship and the delicate moments of life that you waste in the fights, rage and egos. Every moment is precious...whatever it takes to be with your man holding him tight, co-ordinating with his heart beats and LIVING the moment...coz life is short people :(

"TODAY" was different...

2008-06-24T12:07:00.001-07:00

Today was different...it was not a Friday. Yes..friday's are special for me. I leave from school and ride up all the way home as if i am a free bird. I do not follow the the usual routine,i dress in gaudy colors and make sure that people notice the friday mood and swing in the air. The moment i take off towards my car in the parking lot, i feel....aahhhh :) So, pretty much i can do all the inane things on a friday eve :)...thats my exception to me being a fairly discplined women.Today was something different though. I was leaning towards being inane without a FRIDAY.

I never heard the weather forecast throughout the day or the day before...that is strange for sure...coz i usually track the weather and plan accordingly. Why get caught in a thunderstorm and then blame meteorologist Stephanie Walker on 102.5... :)...(she is the one who judges and gives the weather forecast...i suppose she works for NBC 13). Anyways, back on track..

So, the weather was full of gloomy skies...a perfect melancholy mood...very much suitable to spend a little time on the boredom blues...to be undoubtedly despondent about your life...and a well defined time to promote your depressive spirits.
Ahh! but it never happened so. This weather turned me on...i was actually happy about the pleasing dark shade of the gloomy sky. I was about to get on the Inter-State-65-South which runs all the way to my house from my school, and what i saw coming across was this black dude in his car...fulto funky. He had a ramshackle car which seemed like a literary archaic piece...the blatant radio and his vociferous music would have usually annoyed me to death but guess what...i was agreeable and enjoyable to whatever he was doing and listening :) And here i proceeded with the radio in my car which was NOT blatant and emitted some form of a soothing country tune and i was blushing for no reason.I quickly went ahead and turned on the CD as i felt the urge to feel the rhythm in Indic vernacular and i started listening to hindi songs. To go well with the atmosphere, here started the song from a Farhan Akhtar film "Dil Chahta Hai". Just to eleviate the mood with the mellifluous voice of srinivas for "Kaisi hai ye rut ki jisme", i started tapping the steering wheel and accompanying the artists with the instruments...though i suck at it...i never stopped :)

The traffic was not a problem today...no anger, no depressing moods, no honking, no speeding...everything was perfect. I made my way home with all the possible positive spirits one can have. I took the exit and drove down the fantastic road called "Old Montgomery Highway" which is full of greenery. The road has ups and downs, ramps which takes you through a wonderful green shot at different heights. By the time i took this road, rains had approached my way and the journey was even more beautiful in its company. I reached home and got out of the car with the overwhelming memory of the same usual road in a different way TODAY....

Kolhapurchi mahalaxmi....

2008-06-19T09:27:00.001-07:00

This is such a live photograph...Isnt it?
At first glance i had a feeling of being in kolhapur infront of the Mahalaxmi who is often called as Ambabai...

Ambecha udo
Ambabai cha udo majhya...

MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE...

2008-06-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

You know what...i found this sight today which lists the MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE...and since my name refers to one of the plant species called as Bombax ceiba L...i found it interesting...Here you go!

Marathi: Saanvari, Saura.

ASSAMESE : Himila, Himolu.

BENGALI : Katseori, Roktosimul.

BURMESE : Didu, Lepanbin, Letpan.

CHINESE : 木棉 Mu mian (as B. malabaricum).

DUTCH : Simalboom, Randoe alas (as G. heptaphylla), Zijdekapokboom .

ENGLISH : Indian cottonwood, Indian kapok, Kapok tree, Red cottontree, Red-flowered silk-cotton tree, Red silk-cotton, Red silk-cotton tree, Shaving brush, Silk cottontree, Simal tree.

FRENCH : Arbre bombax, Fromager.

GERMAN : Indischer Seidenwollbaum, Semul, Roter Seidenwollbaum.

GREEK : Βόμβαξ ο μαλαβαρικός Vomvax malavarikos.

HINDI : Kaantisenbal, Kantisembal, Rakat senbal, Semal, Semar kanda, Semul, Semur, Shembal, Shimbal, Simal, Simul

KHMER : Roka.

NEPALESE : Simal.

PORTUGUESE : Algodoeiro do mato, Bómbax, Bonga, Borracha, Borracho, Cartageno, Ceiba, Imbiruçu, Kapok, Paineira da India, Panha, Panheira, Sumaúma.

SPANISH : Arbol capoc, Arbol kapok.

SANSKRIT : Shaalmali, Shalmali.

TAGALOG : Buboi gubat, Malabulak, Taglinau.

TAMIL : இலவு Ilavu, பூலா Puulaa, முள்ளிலவு Mullilavu.

THAI : งิ้ว Ngio, งิ้วบ้าน Ngio ban, งิ้วแดง Ngio daeng, งิ้วปง Ngio pong, งิ้วปงแดง Ngio pong daeng, งิ้วหนาม .

VISAYAN : Salay, Talutu.

ANU...

2008-06-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

ANU...my best friend...
18th june...its her birthday today!
I wish i was there to celebrate it with lots and lots of flowers, her favorite cake, lots of chocolates and with her idea of celebration. To be honest, i never got a chance to do so...her birthday was always our vacation time and she use to be back home,in Jammu. The craving to celebrate her birthday in my style was usually left half way through and i ended up giving her a call from miles away to wish a warm birthday. Its no change this time...i will give her the same warm birthday call and thats it!

I was thinking about all this and it suddenly clicked me...why not a blog? why not a new post for her? I am sure she will love it if i write something for HER.

So...this is dedicated to my bestest, nearest and dearest friend...ANU.
It was a time...when these three letters came into my life and everything changed. Friendship was a nightmare with some of the so called friends back then. ANU was the person who completed the real meaning of friend with her presence. We were far apart for a year, just a hi and a bye ...and thats it. Circumstances permitted and we got closer and there after fun seemed to have no full stop. How many adjectives can i use to express our times...pleasure, joy, exhilaration, bliss, contentedness, delight, enjoyment, satisfaction and muchhhhhhh more.A logical or natural association between two persons, in other sense the relevance of one to another; thats what i call : CONNECTION! The connection was great...the chemistry was awesome...not a single moment that i remember was out of place. Life was solely a mess with engineering, our engg. college and conservative mentalities studying there but everything was in place when it came to US. The bond never failed to understand each other in tedious times...we went through a lot but came out of it very soothingly through our relation which was as thick as it could be...thick to the power of infinity in mathematical terms :)
I had to come here...in the U.S...miles went on increasing the physical distance between us but it never felt so....i never ever had a dream of a thought that we were apart. One soul, one mind, two bodies sharing a whole lot of common's in between, thats what me and ANU stand upto...
I wish her every possible happiness throughout her life and may God do the favor of giving her everything that she wants...and you know ANU, what i am talking about :)

Love you and Miss you...
Happy Birthday!
Have lots of fun!

THE DAY....

2008-05-31T22:09:00.000-07:00

Writing is my best form of expression and that is the reason i am doing it right now. I need to sort out my delicate feeling which is hurt. I have always claimed my self through my poems, written thoughts, letters, essays...some or the other form of writing.
There is one hidden thought behind all this. I always dreamed of somebody writing something for me. I have seen people satisfy themselves when they get something in a written form especially for them. It feels good when you see a group of words newly born ...just for you, your presence in this world is the reason for there birth...is something impressive. So, the core is.... i wanted a poet around me. I always thought of a person who would have noticed my each move, my smile, my particular style of moving, my extra activities while talking and have composed a poem with a gist of all this. The unique composition of words with an essence of his artistically characterized form and rhythm would have expressed an intensely imaginative interpretation of...ME!
That is one amazing thought and one amazing feeling i always felt the hunger for.
Rationalizing this thought, not many people can write. Not a whole bunch can do a literary composition with an intensity or beauty of language more characteristic of a poetry than of a prose. Same is the case with my husband. He is world's best buddy, partner in crime, lovely friend, excellent support but...not a poet. Oh!how do i accept this now? Its so hard...this was the one thing i kept on looking for and that is the one missing :( I dont have to make an issue with this...God gave me a person ALMOST close to a one hundred and that ALMOST accounts for not being a poet. I should not bring this up...i feel guilty sometimes...he does all those 99 things and you blame it on the one that is lacking. But its me and my self who understands the precious value of that one expression.
I wish someday he will feel the same hunger and some miracle will inspire him to write a poem and interpret me through words....oh!that will be THE DAY!

Pronunciations...

2008-04-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

Oh gosh!i am really tired...it was a longgggg day! I should have slept by now but this question is bugging me and i couldn't really sleep.
How much do "Pronunciations" matter in a person's life? Something came up today and i suddenly recalled a bigggg argument between 2 stubborn human beings...i dont definitely remember the exact identities though....Yes..these guys had a huge fight. It started with the word proNUNciation which is usually misunderstood and mis-pronounced as proNOUNciation. The two brilliant faces never came to a conclusion on this topic but i always found proNUNtiation to be more accurate. It was just as a matter of opinion....not a very strong belief or a highly charged argument. The reason i want to clarify this is, few personalities are very conscious with the way they pronounce words and rather more sensitive about how others do the same. Few know the exact origin and the dictionary explanation with additional grammatical details and the most others judge people through there own style of pronouncing. I personally dont have a right to declare them as the wrong ones...however, i could neither be specific about them being right.
I see it in this way...A phonetic transcription of a given word is obviously customized but the manner in which one can actually utter a word could be different. It is according to his or her understanding more than anything else like a customized agreement. Words can be understood to your knowledge inspite of the standard correction or acceptability.
Is this more of a schooling influence, environmental effect and the surrounding phenomenon rather than a simple individual understanding? May be...my teacher said that and i have been following her for years....thats it! She made the actual wrong impression and you never ever gave it a thought again. You never felt the need to rethink on a separate track...may be. You cannot ignore this inevitable fact of getting influenced by anybody whom you tend to follow. Some olden days when your friend said it this way and you liked the phonetic sound that the word delivered...doesn't matter if it was wrong....you still loved it! Could this be a good reason to consider?
I dont know the answer...atleast i felt better and relaxed after i tried putting my question into some shape and format....lemme sleep now...i can see a longggg tomorrow already....GN :)

I WISH...

2008-04-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

I am really stressed out. So many things happened in a short period...i have been really busy all these days. The only entertaining part was...our dance. Now its done, we won the first prize..it was amazing...i was literally exploited past few days but was happy about the evening time that we spent on our practice. I had a heavy work load in school...day use to rise and pass by and the only thing i use to remember was ..DANCE...the moment i slept all these days was the most relaxing point in the entire day and night journey but the way i use to close my eyes was never with a silent breath..it was always some or the other step in my dance that ran through my body, my uneasy feet, my moving hands, my fumbling facial expression which never came out as something resembling to sleep with eyes half the way open, nose breathing heavily and voice pressed low but still mumbling the songs, rhythm and the tunes :)
Its all done though! Today is a little lonely...without the need to remember all steps that we choreographed with all the possible energy that six different souls could have :( No more attempts to try things that were out of my reach for the very first time...No tempers that went way off their limits due to funny reasons...nothing...
I am not sad...it had an awesome end result but the way i am missing everybody today makes me feel stressed out and lonely. I dont see academics going anywhere today..my day was productive..i worked with the same pace but it was stressful not waiting for the pleasant evening to come. I will go home...cook, relax, eat, watch TV and yes i have groceries too....Its not very encouraging though....i want to go back to square one from where the 6 blazing satrangis started off....I WISH!

A beautiful feeling unfolds...

2008-02-29T08:57:00.001-08:00

I saw this advertisement yesterday on TV...I don't remember what product was advertised but the only thing my memory can recollect is the punch line at the end..."A beautiful feeling unfolds"...not that it has a handful of strong words, not a tough sentence construction or anything special! Still...the sentence has a gliding feeling like...
A beautiful-llll(goes up) feeling(lingering) unfolds-ssss(goes down)...don't you think so...i do!
The sentence made me take a slow motion in the actions i was doing...i found my body interesting when i repeated the line again and again rolling down the palms over my arms. I felt like giving myself a hug and recollecting all those memories which were "TODAY" someday and today they are already "YESTERDAY". I was trying to strain the corners of my lips(in slow motion off course)...trying to force my pupils to the right side of my eye in a Aishwarya Rai adda :) with my neck angled a little bit towards the ground...ya...a dictionary explanation might be something like a facial expression characterized by an upward curving of the corners of mouth and indicating pleasure, amusement, or derision....hahaha....i found all this funny after a moment but really....the sentence turned me on...brought some good memories back and as far as i can portray it,i felt as if a feeling was unfolding like a wave in front of eyes and floating along and along...i was waiting for the next morning to put all this together in a new post, though it was a Minute thing...Yes! everything just unfolded in a minute... :)

10 minutes....

2008-02-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

Oh! WOW...
We got up at 8 today...i think the alarm clock was ringing and we just pretended not to know anything about that damn idiot thing. Mandy was up before me and i left bed by 8:05 or so...i could smell freshness through his clean white teeth with my eyes closed and nose wide open. The best part of this morning was...he asked me back to bed for 10 cute minutes....took me in his arms when i was insisting him on getting late and slept for a while with his hot breaths caressing my cheeks...i was actually finding it very interesting that this work freak is also that ways some fine mornings :)
Wonderful 10 minutes than all lllllll the mornings i had...getting up by his side everyday in itself is a pleasure but going back to bed for a while was more fun than anything else :)

Writing....

2008-02-07T10:09:00.000-08:00

I love to write...yes i do!
Just start somewhere and end up with something else...why not?
One of my closest friends, my near and dear one, to whom i am very close to, a versatile personality with tons of talents loaded...he likes to write too. Yes he does!

We meet a common point on lots and lots of things, our opinions resemble a lot when we discuss something, he loves poetry, he observes nature, he points out all the very cute little things that we deal with usually but dont really think about...i appreciate this quality...rather find it interesting and very much like me...I enjoy doing that as well...why not give some additional preference to the things that usually doesn't matter to anybody, they dont make any difference by behaving differently, no one cares...why not care about all these....HE does it and i love him for doing it.

I had kind of assumed me and him to be very similar...keenly close to each other in terms of resemblances...NO...thats not the truth....not atleast in case of writing.
Long back i use to read his poems with all my possible imagination...his is a more "core writing" kind of...yes, he writes more to the point...lacks the abstract sense. I use to love his poetry but never thought about the difference between his poems and mine. Some uneasy thoughts ran through my nerves when i read them but i never quite followed my nerves and understood what they were trying to say. They were pointing out the differences between HIM and ME. I like to float...be abstract...write direct from the heart to the paper...simple language...no external quotes....the feeling that runs through the passage is my satisfaction after paraphrasing it. He terms it as "Escapism"....i dont know from whom! He thinks i need to beautify my words...certainly not by using high funda language...but i dont know how...
He thinks that i need to shape my feelings ....i dont know why...

I dont agree...i thought about it though...
I dont want to add that artificial flavor to my words...finding some core or some matter in the writing might turn you professional and take out that innocence in your expression of opening up a little bit and trying not to keep everything inside yourselves...i think writing is not all about the matter in it...its different...its the satisfaction...its the expression and essence of your happiness or sadness or whatever at that very moment....atleast for me...

Its totally different for him...ya...even though i didnt agree to his opinion i found out the reason for my uneasiness running through my nerves...yup...that is pretty much the conclusion here :)

To Do List...

2008-02-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

What is the most common, most frequent and the most repetitive thing that i do as days pass by, months go through and years lay back???
Yeah it is the TO DO LIST...tick mark the DONE's and write the TO DO's...thats what life offers, wants and needs :).... atleast my life... :(

On the refrigerator, i would have liked either a family photograph or a picture posing romance between me and my darling....you know....something of that kind...unfortunately the TO DO's dont leave any damn space for such interesting things. Everytime i open the refrigerator to take out something, thousands of post-it's sticking on the door remind me..."dear, you are suppose to do it this week"...and i am like "ya....ya ...i know....so, DONOT embarrass me by peeping in each time...u jerks"...what a hell! I am talking to those tini-tiny piece of papers...yup..though that was the last thing i would have liked to do!

No matter how much i get tired of the little-bitties, i love them the way they are...i mean it makes me feel extremely satisfied when i tick a listed thing to do. I think i am going good and should keep it up with it approaching towards the next pending job. Yes, i couldnt be perfect without listing things, tieing them up together, gathering all of them from their original forms of bits and pieces and get them all to work for the good. This satisfaction and perfection is not possible without the cute little ones. You forget, you mess up, you couldnt help yourselves asking them to help, isnt it true....yes it is, atleast for me...

At the end i just want to ask that is this a topic enough to write a blog on?
:) i dont know...but i liked one ...so i tried to pen down ... not pen actually...key down.... :)