Urge to see the UGHTENon 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!
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 :)
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 :)
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 Yourbreath, i smell you!
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.
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!
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 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 !
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 !!!
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.
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 ??? :)
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 up ads, 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.
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 !!!
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 :))
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.
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
My world is small...colors, lights, dance, theater, music, poems, writing, coffee, tea, pleasant weather and flowers......
i love it all !!!
I prioritize practically but i love to dream !!!
I accept reality but imagination means more to me !!!
I live an ordinary life but i love to think extraordinary !!!
Wiki info:
This is the badge provided by Leo for bloggers participating in the challenge.
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.
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.
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.
Nitin and Vindya (Nairs are newly engaged).jpg)
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