3 days into blogging and I’ve already missed a day!! D’oh!! But no regrets at all, Seema and I had a fun-time shopping, getting drenched, eating pasta n pizza, chatting long hours about everything that came to our minds…
With 2 weeks away from September 10th, I wanted to make a list of top-5 things I would miss the most about my life here… I am staying clear of dialogues such as “I’ll miss my family so much”, “I will miss having lunch with friends on a weekend”, “Oh, I cannot attend anyone’s wedding for a long time”, “what will I do without my weekly dose of street-food” etc… cuz those would be just staying the OBVIOUS!!!
So what follows is the list of material-possessions that I will miss most… I really won’t put it in any particular order cuz everything is so dear to me….!!
CELLPHONE: Who knew I would stick to one phone for 4 yrs!!! I have my little 2300 when conductors in the buses I travel carry N-series…!! Not that I am embarrassed or anything, but frankly, I never had the temptation to buy a new phone…!! Partly because of the memories associated with the phone... When I exchanged my 2100 for 2300 with cousin, it was primarily cuz I wanted the radio… The radio no longer works, the keypad is flat, the screen blurred… but it doesn’t matter!!! This was the medium through which I made quite a number of friends, learnt which “topic is which page in what textbook” during exams, flirted, fought, lent a helping hand, sought help!!! L will miss it so much!!!
TVS SCOOTY: I wonder if my Scooty had a mind of its own, how long it would tolerate me!!! I bloated from since I got this vehicle, I never wiped it till Ayudh Puja every year, I never gave it for servicing on time, I sometimes tested the limits of its braking and acceleration…!!! But, this is my FIRST LOVE!!! The freedom that comes with having your vehicle is unparalleled and being my very first ride, I would always keep it with me… But that is not rally possible, so I am giving mom the job of giving it away to someone…!!!
BOOKS: I think I remember the exact date I went back to being a bookworm!! December 20, 2007, Bhavya and I went to Strand book festival. Fuelled by her enthusiasm, I blew a decent 1500 bucks on original books (forget originals, till then I dint even buy road-side books!!!) Having spent so much, I had no other option but to read them all and as time passed, there was a renewed interest in books. I agreed that I had a very India-centric reading habit but that was what I have enjoyed so far…!! Looking forward to newer books to read in Philly, but sadly leaving my old books behind…
SONGS: This is from my work at Cerner, 8-plus GB of some of my favourite songs….!! It was with a heavy heart that I deleted my songs folder when I left Cerner in July. English, Hindi, Kannada and some Tamil songs were my constant companions while I worked. I don’t even know how I got hooked to the habit of working with music, cuz till Cerner happened, I could never have music playing when I had to do any kind of work….!!
TAI-PEI: For all those who don’t know what this is, its my huge stuffed doggie…!!! And he is too big for my suitcase, and shall miss him…!! Uh-waah!!!!
Ooow!!! Things would be so different post September-10, without these 5 in my life….!!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Footpaths in namma Bengalooru is for street-vendors!!!
The other day, I had to go to Avenue road (Gosh, I hate that place from the bottom of my heart and wished/hoped/prayed that I would never have to step into the road ever again). As usual, I got my tiny scooty out and set out with mom to Subas store, the place where I could find any academic book that I want…!!!
It was a different matter that the dude at the stop stared blankly at the sheet of paper having the book name. But what irritated me most and somehow always gets to me here is the absolute lack of some civic sense among people…!!!
The vendors have their wares on display all along the footpath, these ranges from had-made wooden toys from Channpatna to cheap plastic imitations from China. Oh, loved this thing I read on MTV (I read the Tickr everyday and THAT is how jobless I am!!!)…. So what if China won 51 gold at Beijing, the medals are still “Made in China”!!!
Oops… there I digress again!!! Haan, so, the footpaths are all taken by these guys who are selling their stuff… And this Chinese stuff is sooooooooo inexpensive, that each fella has atleast 5 of them eager to buy his goods…!! As a result of this, the footpath looks horrendously crowded….!!! And so what does the rest of the bunch do?? They parade down the streets like it is a ramp and they are supermodels…!!! Needles to say, they are oblivious to the incessant honking of the numerous two-wheelers that fight desperately for space in a road laid out for their riding… And of course, add to that some 10-15 men pulling huge carts and what you see is a mess….!!! A mess that would make headlines if featured on a Discovery channel show (esp if it is hosted by a foreigner with a skewed outlook of India)…
My point is how long to allow this to happen??? Thankfully, someone has taken notice… I watched news the other day and a small group of youngsters have taken the initiative to educate people here to use the footpath instead of the roads…!! Kudos to them!!! High time we re-learnt some things taught in kindergarten!! Like... Always walk on the footpath…. (could probably add “Red=stop; amber=get ready; green=go” to the list)!!!!
It was a different matter that the dude at the stop stared blankly at the sheet of paper having the book name. But what irritated me most and somehow always gets to me here is the absolute lack of some civic sense among people…!!!
The vendors have their wares on display all along the footpath, these ranges from had-made wooden toys from Channpatna to cheap plastic imitations from China. Oh, loved this thing I read on MTV (I read the Tickr everyday and THAT is how jobless I am!!!)…. So what if China won 51 gold at Beijing, the medals are still “Made in China”!!!
Oops… there I digress again!!! Haan, so, the footpaths are all taken by these guys who are selling their stuff… And this Chinese stuff is sooooooooo inexpensive, that each fella has atleast 5 of them eager to buy his goods…!! As a result of this, the footpath looks horrendously crowded….!!! And so what does the rest of the bunch do?? They parade down the streets like it is a ramp and they are supermodels…!!! Needles to say, they are oblivious to the incessant honking of the numerous two-wheelers that fight desperately for space in a road laid out for their riding… And of course, add to that some 10-15 men pulling huge carts and what you see is a mess….!!! A mess that would make headlines if featured on a Discovery channel show (esp if it is hosted by a foreigner with a skewed outlook of India)…
My point is how long to allow this to happen??? Thankfully, someone has taken notice… I watched news the other day and a small group of youngsters have taken the initiative to educate people here to use the footpath instead of the roads…!! Kudos to them!!! High time we re-learnt some things taught in kindergarten!! Like... Always walk on the footpath…. (could probably add “Red=stop; amber=get ready; green=go” to the list)!!!!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Riot or Laugh-Riot??????
I became a member of this great networking site called Shelfari this year. It is basically a forum for members to write reviews about books, read about what others have written etc…
And like any networking site, this one has got communities too…!! I joined a 50-books-a-year challenge on the site… almost the end of August and I’ve read just 28… i don’t think I’ll EVER read another 22 in 4 months!!! L
But then again, this challenge had so many positives that I am not complaining one tiny bit… I have explored books like never before in my life… And I’m not speaking the best-sellers (although most of what I read did figure in best seller lists!!!) such as Harry Potter (haven’t read a single book, will eventually read it), the Lord of the Rings (ditto as Harry Potter) and so many others….. (my list of regretful “have-not-read-these” include A thousand splendid suns, every second counts, the Calcutta chromosome, motorcycle diaries, memoirs of a Geisha)
Oh, have to mention that I have been reading Shashi Tharoor books a lot…!! Latest is “Riot”, a gripping story about communal violence in a small town and how it affects everyone… This book does not give a scene-by-scene picture of how/why/when riots occur, but focuses more on the emotional battles that the people fight during such a crisis…
I was wondering if ever this book was “Bollywoodized” (don’t know if that is a word, please let me know if there is a better word), who would be acting in it!!! I fervently hope Farah Khan and Karan Johar are not into books….!! Imagine Johar Sir doing… ummm… lets see… well… A matter of honour perhaps!!! The movie simply has to star Shah Rukh Khan (even if Adam is in his mid-20s) as the main protagonist and Kajol as Heidi (it does not matter if their romance is subtle in the book, but for Johar how the 2 fall in love would span generations of family feuds, rain-dance, cliché dialogues)… Lawrence would be played by their “good-friend” Arjun Rampal… Because Adam goes to Switzerland in the book, a liberal dose of romantic-songs would be added to “capture the beauty of Swiss Alps”!!! The heroine CANNOT die (and hence, this movie is only “inspired from A matter of Honour”) and our hero fights 10-15 villains in the climax (care would be taken of ripping his shirt just a wee bit to showcase the 6 pack!!!) And Voila!!! 3.5 hrs later, we can walk free from the theatre……..!!! Free to go back to our mundane lives till the next Johar movie comes along!!! :)
Hey!!! I deviated sooooooooooo much!!! So I was speaking of books… I aint no critic… But Riot is an awesome book… Read it!!!!!!
And like any networking site, this one has got communities too…!! I joined a 50-books-a-year challenge on the site… almost the end of August and I’ve read just 28… i don’t think I’ll EVER read another 22 in 4 months!!! L
But then again, this challenge had so many positives that I am not complaining one tiny bit… I have explored books like never before in my life… And I’m not speaking the best-sellers (although most of what I read did figure in best seller lists!!!) such as Harry Potter (haven’t read a single book, will eventually read it), the Lord of the Rings (ditto as Harry Potter) and so many others….. (my list of regretful “have-not-read-these” include A thousand splendid suns, every second counts, the Calcutta chromosome, motorcycle diaries, memoirs of a Geisha)
Oh, have to mention that I have been reading Shashi Tharoor books a lot…!! Latest is “Riot”, a gripping story about communal violence in a small town and how it affects everyone… This book does not give a scene-by-scene picture of how/why/when riots occur, but focuses more on the emotional battles that the people fight during such a crisis…
I was wondering if ever this book was “Bollywoodized” (don’t know if that is a word, please let me know if there is a better word), who would be acting in it!!! I fervently hope Farah Khan and Karan Johar are not into books….!! Imagine Johar Sir doing… ummm… lets see… well… A matter of honour perhaps!!! The movie simply has to star Shah Rukh Khan (even if Adam is in his mid-20s) as the main protagonist and Kajol as Heidi (it does not matter if their romance is subtle in the book, but for Johar how the 2 fall in love would span generations of family feuds, rain-dance, cliché dialogues)… Lawrence would be played by their “good-friend” Arjun Rampal… Because Adam goes to Switzerland in the book, a liberal dose of romantic-songs would be added to “capture the beauty of Swiss Alps”!!! The heroine CANNOT die (and hence, this movie is only “inspired from A matter of Honour”) and our hero fights 10-15 villains in the climax (care would be taken of ripping his shirt just a wee bit to showcase the 6 pack!!!) And Voila!!! 3.5 hrs later, we can walk free from the theatre……..!!! Free to go back to our mundane lives till the next Johar movie comes along!!! :)
Hey!!! I deviated sooooooooooo much!!! So I was speaking of books… I aint no critic… But Riot is an awesome book… Read it!!!!!!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Archangel.. Not Quite..
Finally, I am 20 days away from leaving the safety of my home to start a new-phase of my life in Philadelphia…!! But a situation that would probably make anyone little apprehensive has made me ecstatic... I have NEVER lived away from home and this whole new experience is already giving me goose-bumps...
I am pretty sure I would miss the comforts of my home, but that has done little to curb my enthusisiam for my MS degree. I know that it is not the studies aspect that has excited me, but rather the opportunity that this has given for other activities (getting a boyfriend is one too, well, maybe not!!!!)
None to tell me what to do, how to behave and how to dress etc... What that basically translates to, is that I can live my life the way I want to!! I am not a rebel yet (oh God!! Why not) but that does not mean I am a conformist either!!
I have begun to realize that this will probably be the best opportunity to find the true ME!! Not the goody-two-shoes that everyone wants you to be or the punk-rock star that is every mother’s nightmare… I feel I am dangling somewhere in-between, desperately trying to look serious during a puja while I have “Have a nice day” running in my head… Oops, just in case anyone has ALREADY got offended, I am a spiritual person!! Just not the type to showcase it to the whole world..!!
Yup, so I was mentioning about trying to find the true me… beneath all the layers that has accumulated over the years!!! Guess I have somewhat started the transition of breakin out of the mould that society-parents-peers have created... e.g. Mom is complaining about how shorts my tees are becoming... Bro complains of my spending habits… My cousin complains about how “fussy she is when shopping”!!
And that is why (everyone PS:) Archangel.. not quite!!!
I am pretty sure I would miss the comforts of my home, but that has done little to curb my enthusisiam for my MS degree. I know that it is not the studies aspect that has excited me, but rather the opportunity that this has given for other activities (getting a boyfriend is one too, well, maybe not!!!!)
None to tell me what to do, how to behave and how to dress etc... What that basically translates to, is that I can live my life the way I want to!! I am not a rebel yet (oh God!! Why not) but that does not mean I am a conformist either!!
I have begun to realize that this will probably be the best opportunity to find the true ME!! Not the goody-two-shoes that everyone wants you to be or the punk-rock star that is every mother’s nightmare… I feel I am dangling somewhere in-between, desperately trying to look serious during a puja while I have “Have a nice day” running in my head… Oops, just in case anyone has ALREADY got offended, I am a spiritual person!! Just not the type to showcase it to the whole world..!!
Yup, so I was mentioning about trying to find the true me… beneath all the layers that has accumulated over the years!!! Guess I have somewhat started the transition of breakin out of the mould that society-parents-peers have created... e.g. Mom is complaining about how shorts my tees are becoming... Bro complains of my spending habits… My cousin complains about how “fussy she is when shopping”!!
And that is why (everyone PS:) Archangel.. not quite!!!
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