Truth Personified ;)

2nd legal year together

2012-01-22T23:26:00.000+05:30

It's been 2 married years dude! I mean how can time fly by so freaking fast!!! So not fair! It's been a fun roller-coaster ride and I usually keep my eyes closed at the top but I mostly felt it all ;) So here's to the 2nd for now as my this years resolution is to 'be in the present' 'thank the past' and 'welcome the future'

I've also decided to try some more authentic dishes this year, stick as much as possible to being grainfree as I can, knit some more, finish my unfinished projects and start some new ones, read some news, learn a new game and the list keeps growing! But as I said before I'll also make sure I enjoy the present as much as I possibly can.

Oh and a very happy 2nd anniversary to (R)oomie and me!

A year wiser

2011-11-25T03:42:00.001+05:30

As a kid I had a few issues - like most kids do.

I would always mix up d and b. Thank gubness I got over that one!
I would speak about me in the third person. Example instead of saying "I want a chocolate" I'd say "Anu wants a chocolate". THe only thing familiar about this is that I still want chocolates.
I had no issues with singing or dancing the moment my Mom asked me to. I'd just stand up and start right away. I wouldnt do it now even if my life were at stake.
I couldnt and still can't hurt animals. As a kid I remember vividly how I'd cry and call out for my Mom when an ant was biting me instead of pushing it off for fear that I'd hurt it.
I couldn't and still can't bear to share my Mom. I remember when I first saw her wedding album and spotted 2 kids sitting on her lap, I started crying right away and asked where I was and why she cared for those kids more than me. It took her a long time for her to explain and for me to understand that I wasn't yet born!
While wearing my school tunic I used to iron only my sleeves because those were the only exposed parts on the blouse.
Since I was never allowed to grow my hair, I used to kerala towel and a hair band and imagine I had really long hair albeit white.
I've tortured my Mom for a sibling briefly but secretly couldnt bear the thought of her loving my little brother more than me.
I just have to stand up when the Indian National Anthem plays. Be it in the theater, at home, school, college, roadside - I don't care. I'm not claiming to be an extreme patriot but the song brings out the patriot in me.
I can't copy in exams. I was terrible earlier, I used to scold people who used to copy, later on I decided that I couldn't force my ideals on others.
I can get really obsessed about timing and end up being dot on time. So next time you are inviting me make sure you give me a time that you actually want me to land up at your place.

Usually I do a thankyou post on my birthday thanking all the people that wished me or were a part of my birthday. This year the list has grown longer and more precious.
This Vegetarian Thanksgiving as our Tofurky sits roasted to perfection, I'd like to say a word of thanks to you, for being there, playing your part and making life as beautiful as it is right now...

Also since this song is all the rage right now and has absolutely no connection with my life I'd like to share it with those of you that haven't heard it yet and for those of you that have, I'm sure you're addicted enough to listen to it again.

Peace

Happy Birthday Ma

2011-11-19T01:11:00.000+05:30

For a ton of things and more I can hardly be thankful enough...

For the gift of love and for the gift of you

I thank you...

Love you Ma...

Happy Birthday!

Having celebrated so many of your birthdays with you I'd like to celebrate this one with some of my favourite people in the world.

P.S: Some of you out there have made my Mom's Bday extra special and I might not have included your pic in here but please do know that you are remembered and thanked and loved a lot!!!

p.s: and i havent included it in here because i havent asked your permission for it :) You know who you are...

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:55:00.000+05:30

I play a grim reaper who has to keep her identity hidden on Halloween. My character is George from 'Dead Like Me' one of my favourite TV Series!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Stay Spooky!

Happy Diwali

2011-10-27T00:10:00.000+05:30

Great service

2011-10-19T04:18:00.000+05:30

Some experiences are meant to be shared and some are not. This one definitely is. For the past week or so we kept hearing a screeching kind of noise coming from the rear wheels. We assumed it needed a complete check-up and so over the weekend booked an appointment with PepBoys. We went to the Pepboys on a Saturday and booked an appointment for the next day. The guy who took a look at the car said that the tires seemed fine and also that the noise was probably the sensor going off.

I for one, dislike being late for an appointment so we were dot on time. When we walked in we were told that a Tire Rotation and Brake Inspection would take an hour and a half to start as they had other work going on. We informed them about our appointment and that we were told that we would be the first ones they would start working on. Very reluctantly he agreed to fill out the forms and start working on the car. The whole process took about 2 hours and we were finally informed that we would need to get all our tires replaced with brand new tires and also change the front rotors and brake-pads. While we were there we let them know that we felt one of the tires was losing air and were informed that there was a nail lodged in one for the front tires. They did us the 'favour' of moving the tire with the nail to the rear end.

The quote finally showed up a total of $853 including labour and taxes which included a change of 4 tires, change of front rotors and brake pads. We were aghast that a relatively new(2007) car which has only 26000 miles on it would need a change of tires? Also a lot of googling later we were pretty sure that the tires would start wearing out in like 10 years with a lot of miles on it! Given that the only driving this lil dude was used to was home-office-home we were sure that something was amiss. The guy at the counter was very reluctant to answer questions regarding the tire type, tire cost, alternative options etc. When we requested for a quote again he seemed to be angry at having to redo the quote(print it out) though he had our details on the system. We were also told that the job would take an entire day. All this happened on a Sunday.

I rarely complain about service providers but this just had to be noted. Also if you go on the yelp site for reviews - most of the reviews will tell you the same thing and I regrest not having checked their review in advance. Lesson learnt.

The next day the home-office-home drive was a lot more noisier than before and so we decided it needed to be repaired right away. We called up the Pepboys hot-line to re-confirm the prices and then scheduled an appointment at the Honda service center. We also spoke to them to get an estimate on the prices. Before driving down to the Honda service center we on a whim decided to give the local auto repair shop a try.

We walked into J and M Auto and were greeted by Michael who welcomed us and heard us out in detail. He asked us questions like 'where is the sound coming from?' 'What does it sound like?' 'How many days has it been this way?'. He then took a quick ride in it to confirm the issue and he also took a look at the tires and gave us his opinion.

He said it was very rare that a car would have an issue with its rear brake pads. A car would normally run through 2 of the front brake-pads before it needs a rear brake-pad change. He also ran us through his computer where in he showed us the possible complications - How there might be a brake caliper replacement required, How there might be a rotor change required and how much each of it would cost. His labour was fixed no matter what the work involved. He was also quick to run us through what might be an issue and how he would go about replacing the new parts. A quick tour of the car and he informed us how to identify if a tire required a change and told us that the tires were perfect and required no change.

We were then told that it would take about an hour to complete the whole job. I asked Michael if I could watch him work and he readily agreed. I also asked him permission to record while he worked and he said 'go ahead'.

The moment he looked at the brake-pads he told me that he knew what had happened. We had driven with the hand brake ON. And I knew that was true because it happened once. I was not completely convinced and asked Michael if just once was enough and he said ' Yes'. So another lesson learnt!

He also checked all the tires and found that one tire had a nail in it BUT, wait for it, it was just stuck in one of the ridges - It was NOT IN the tire and so the tires were FINE!!! NO change of tire required and NO tire repair required and certainly NO replacement of tires at all!

If you take a look at the video the brake pad change took about 15 minutes for one and then he checked all the tires and also got rid of the stuck nail with a single pry and then he checked the air pressure in all the tires to make sure they were good and not losing any air. Fun part was, he let me do it because I wanted to.

Observe that during the video he was constantly conversing and answering all the questions I was asking and yet was focusing very well on the job at hand.

Also at the end of replacing the brake-pads he demonstrated and said "Before you start your car make sure you sit in the drivers seat and press on the brake real hard and make sure it goes all the way. This is a must because if this is not done and if you apply the brakes for the first time later on the brakes won't work n the car will continue to move ahead and you definitely don't want that happening"

The attached video has me capturing Michael at work on the left rear brake pad. He uses specific tools for performing some of the tasks and

Disclaimer: This video is NOT a 'How to replace brake-pads myself' tutorial. I will not take any responsibility for any damage that occurs to any person or property if you follow this video. The procedure has been performed by a certified professional. I took the video for personal reasons with the permission of the person in the video and to share a great service experience.

Get a life!

2011-10-05T07:33:00.000+05:30

I've been contemplating on deleting this space for quite a long time. Well, mostly because I don't really write here, nor do I say anything that's coming from the true me. When I started writing here, I didn't have to try to be nice nor did I try to be anything I wasn't. Over the time I started using this blog as a facade.

I cannot change that and go right back to where I came from but I am going to try. I've known a person for more than a 3rd of my life and I realized how much I was changing to be okay with the person instead of simply being me and earn that person's wrath. A person who's life is run by comparisons, constant and hurtful. Have I told you how I detest competition with anyone but myself? Honest! I dislike it when people try to compare their lives with mine, compare numbers with me, constantly intrude in my space to make sure that in their tiny mind they are in a better place. And if they are not, they feel it's the next point to compete for.

I had a discussion with a person sometime back on how I chose to 'remove' people from my life if I felt that they were causing distress instead of joy. I simply 'delete' them 'literally'. This person couldn't comprehend how it helped but for me, it absolutely did. Sometimes I don't delete them and just let them be but I choose to ignore them when they raise their ugly hood.

There is something I would like to tell you though - purely from the heart. Stop comparing. If you do have a life, try and enjoy it instead of trying to compare yourself with your peers and smiling(that smile is truly the ugliest)

Get a life. At least try to enjoy your life instead of trying to make sure that you are in a better place than people you call your 'friends'! Be thankful for what you had and have, instead of praying that you get better than someone else! Each one of us have had a different life and some of us have made it through tough(er) times. It makes you a rich human being when you actually learn from your experiences and I'd say richer if you learn from someone elses'. And that's hard because you can never really put yourself in their shoes.

Peace out!

Leaving you with one of my favourite songs...

Smile
and this song because I love it!!!

A lot of firsts

2011-09-23T07:21:00.000+05:30

My 1st peahen spotting(in the US)

My 1st purchase of crazy chocolates on a road trip

My first so called highway pic - atleast of this highway.

My 1st mani in the US

My 1st week here.

My 1st hospitalization

My 1st of a peacock dance!!!

My 1st time - of wearing so many bangles.

My 1st - of volunteering on World Environment day

Battles within

2011-09-20T00:33:00.000+05:30

Food, Glorious food... The time that people spend on experimenting and displaying and serving... I wish I could tell you that you can eat the whole plate but no - it's pretty heavy and half of it goes into trash but the food is lip-smacking!

I have an egg-plant recipe that I got from watching my friend that I want to make asap! I usually never know what to do with that vegetable and have, on multiple occasions, tried to grill it, bake it, roast it, fry it and ended up throwing away most of it unless I have company.update: It turned out great by the way and I'll blog about it soon!

I'm a guilty shopper. I love shopping - even if it's the smallest of things, even if its not for me, even if it's the silliest of things - if it involves the word shopping - i'm all up for it. I remember how I could walk miles and miles if it involved shopping and how I'd crib if I'd have to walk 1/2 a mile for work! I'm also constantly having an internal battle for need vs want vs luxury buying. I don't need a Louis Vitton, I certainly don't want it(given that it's not really worth the 1000s of $$$ and the purses are probably made in a third world country for 1/1000th of the MRP) but the "i have "that"" factor sometimes plays with my mind. It goes for anything really - I dislike paying rich people more money and making them richer while I can pay a poor person a little money and and help him earn his daily bread! I win tiny battles with myself by walking into such luxury shops selecting items and then walking away without buying it. Honestly, whom am I buying it for? Does it really make me "happy" happy? Am I buying it purely to show off in front of others? And who are these others that I need to show off to?

That's why I love handmade products. I always proudly shopped with the handmade cloth bags that Mom stitched so that we don't end up getting home more plastic. I intend to carry on the tradition by learning how to stitch or by improving on what I already know. I like making my own gifts, knitting my own scarfs/cowls and whatever else I learn in the near future. If the act isn't appreciated I prefer not to take the pains to make a gift. What I also realized is that in the past I have been cribbing about gifts that I recieve about how it's not thoughtful enough or how it's too thoughtful and I want to change that about myself. I know and thank God that each day is in itself a gift and that all I get from my loved ones is too precious to assign a value to. When I start putting a value to a gift I simply will refuse to take that gift because I don't deserve it. period.
Where's all this coming from? I have no clue.

Someday in my home i will welcome strangers, grow my own vegetables, teach and share what I know... Till then...

Peace.

P.S: Some beautiful DIY ideas... from
tidymom
tidymom again
cake love from iammommy
watercolour painting
glorious food

Onam 2011

2011-09-13T13:45:00.000+05:30

Being a fraud mallu doesnt exempt me from celebrating the 2 festivals when I get to eat some of my favourite food! There I go again - all about foooood :) I didn't make much and I didn't plan it all out but it was just about enough and things came together perfectly...

Onashamsagal you beautiful ppl!

Yay! 3rd year in a row

2011-08-13T09:39:00.000+05:30

Dear (R)oomie...

Thanks a ton for hanging around... and loving me so...

I love ya!

SCARS

2011-08-06T06:24:00.000+05:30

I realized I'm a loner... I mostly love talking to strangers but then I suddenly freeze up and wish I were alone. I had a very interesting meetup with a group of girls sometime back. Talking to them, listening to their stories got me thanking God for a lot of things... When I was 5, we lived briefly in Kuwait(I know I bring it up a lot of times but I really loved that place) and I attended only 6 months of my 1st class... I dont really think I spoke to anybody about why I never got to attend the whole year. I had a skin disorder/disease/issue... All of a sudden out of the blue my skin started peeling heavily. NO pain nothing.. Just huge white patches of dead skin would peel away from all over, even my head. It took me a while for the new skin to grow and the whole skin to peel away... I think about 3-4 months and then by the time my parents got me admission into a decent school I was a plumpy(thanks to staying home and eating all the good food) 6 year old with new skin. Surprisingly for a person who loved capturing our time together, my Mom didn't click a single picture of me while I was sick or recovering.

I've honestly never dared talk too much about the whole incident and I am sure the doctors couldnt figure out what happened - and since it wasn't life threatning or anything it was left at that. Also I think it was an age when you didn't really care about looks or about how people saw you and so it never affected me much. I had remnants of that till a few years ago- an odd skin peel here and there but I think I kinda grew to accepting it as a part of me.

I never really bothered much about looks all through my life - didn't really bother combing my hair or getting tanned or putting on or losing weight(until very recently) and so when I met with an accident that fractured my forehead or rather jus shattered the bone to fragments, I was not very sad. It did concern a few people about how the accident might not get me 'matches' and how I'd remain single forever. But I was excited later on (after I thanked the Lord for a 2nd chance to live n all) about how I'd have a Harry Potter SCAR on my forehead on the left side though. And I did click pics of my recovery(This was NOT appreciated by my loved ones) and it reminds me of just how lucky I am to be here today.

I have a few scars to talk about - a horrible earthworm like scar on my left arm that was caused by neglecting a cut made by a thorn. I decided I didnt need to get it stitched because it wasn't paining - voila - SCAR!

I fell off my bike one other time and a really sharp stone left a scar so bad that I can't wear open shoes without having someone point it out to me - thankyou very much for spotting that SCAR ;)

Then there are other scars that I put on myself - like my lovely tattoos

And some other scars caused by cosmetic mishaps - not gonna discuss them here!

And last but not the least, scars from birth - Birthmarks! I have one shaped like SriLanka :)

So that's about it from me now... Hope you are having a decent time and lifes treating you well!

Peace

Being typecast

2011-07-13T02:58:00.000+05:30

I had a really weird experience recently at a friend's get-together. 2 generations had gotten together for a simple lunch at home. {Flashback***After being "employed" for 5 years I resigned and have been "jobless" for 1.2 yrs now. I'm actually enjoying this time away from the monotonicity that work might get you into but I am also totally looking forward to getting back into the professional field. }

What really felt like a punch in my guts was a conversation at the lunch table. While the younger generation was talking about the latest in the media industry, the older generation kept asking me for the recipe of my infamous 'onion chutney'. The younger generation then chimed in and went on about me and my food experiments... I was pleased, taken aback, even hurt and confused all at once. bad>good ?!? Would I want to be known as just another food blogger or a food blogger that actually makes a difference in the food industry - you know like actually be part of a team that revolutionizes food(in a good way and preferably vegetarian way) If I could convince one person at a time to have fun in the kitchen - I think it's worth it. The first cake I baked when I came to the US was for a charity event at work and almost all the ingredients were semi or fully readymade - the cakemix, the icing and the toppings. All I did was add butter, sugar and eggs. I even named it!

I don't cook on a regular basis - I do it when something really calls out to me and when I feel inspired to shop specifically for the ingredients after some careful research. Mostly we end up eating out or doing a 50:50 though nothing can compare to fresh homemade food except maybe soupplantation ;)

Recently a friend of mine happened to see a pic of an orange peel I photographed and decided that I was on the verge of crazy. I felt a lil bad that he couldn't get the extent of my passion but I also realized that I was serious about it! I have tried some recipes about 4 times in 3 days just to make sure I got it right. I knitted with pencils once just to make sure I hadn't forgotten . See below :D

So for all this and more I hope you don't alienate me ;) Like I've said someplace else "I'm just me and my cooking and a lot more"

Macarons make you feel gr8(inside)

2011-07-05T13:05:00.000+05:30

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaron

I finally conquered my fear of macarons! Lavender macarons with fruit infused govida filling... I took some major help from cake journal and halved the ingredients in weight.

Hope you all are doing really well peepal... If you aren't, drop me a note and i'll make you smile

;)

Picnic time!

2011-06-14T11:58:00.000+05:30

A huge part of my childhood - maybe from when I was 4 till I turned 12 - was a time without too many gadgets. Except for the colour tv which had only doordarshan on, we had no source of virtual entertainment that we were addicted to. I was never after any freaky games(before the xbox and ps3 - stuff like mario) or anything and so the good side to it was that I ended going out a lot!

Picnics, Mom's friends place, markets(unlike now when i go to the farmers market once in a bluemoon), shopping, visiting the local museum, historical monuments. Ma used to make sure that we always carried food and drinks from home - always, so that we didnt have to end up eating out or being hungry. Given that, the number of eateries in those days were a lot less when compared to now a days - the max you could expect in a park would be a stray ice-cream guy or a local spicy bhel guy - let me tell you it was very unhygeinic and Mom made sure to tell me about it lest I create a scene.

Late evenings in the sultry summer were spent watching stars from the terrace of our home. We used to burn goodnight mats to protect ourselves from the bade bade machar(big big mosquitoes). I wouldn't change a thing about those days and I'd go back in a giffy if I could but as I look in the mirror these days I realize that instead of going back, I can try to re-create some of those beautiful memories and capture them in my own way.

Thats exactly what I'm about these days... I totally cherish these days of abandon which I might never have later on in life and I'm trying to make the most of it.

Like my Mother, I'm addicted to my camera - I need to have one on me, ALL the time. My entire childhood has been captured in about 50 albums with copies! She's not much into the digital camera these days but I manage to get her to click pics now and then. She loves sharing all those childhood photos with my friends and cribbing about her curly, mallu beautiful hair... :)

In my haste to capture "the moment" I sometimes miss out on a lot(like looking at the real sunset instead of just clicking at it) but I'm learning to get it all together.

So Mom, for all those funtastic times, this post is for you...
Love
XOXO

P.S: As for the rest of you, enjoy the pictures and share your own favourite childhood memories. I'd love to hear from you...

Peace

Times and Me

2011-05-31T10:06:00.000+05:30

Don't complain because our scars are our medals. But hit back whenever it's possible, because we are not saints.
I have yet to find a line that could apply to me more than the line above! I spent the weekend with a frd I know for 12 years now - more personally in recent years... And I literally poured my heart out - spoke about common people, my opinion about them and how people have changed. And very suddenly I had this extreme curiosity to know what people I know thought of me now after all these years.
Eons ago there was a game in college where 17 girls wrote their opinion of the other 16 girls on a piece of paper and in all confidentiality their opinions were shared with the others. So each girl in class knew what the other girls thought about them without knowing who thought what. I'm sure a year or two later the opinions changed completely but quite a few of us changed our behaviours based on the feedback we got and some of us were stubbornly happy the way we were.
I wish now that I could get an anonymous mail saying the names of people who want to say what they want and their opinions not necessarily in the correct order though. I've changed a ton and for good reason(I'd like to think so) and so many of the opinions have changed i'm sure - in fact many opinions no longer exist.
I had this habit of carrying and keeping a lot of memories with me for a long time and I've changed that now. I'm very selective about the memories I keep. As I was rummaging through my stuff the other day this paper fell out and I decided to just put it up here before I tore it off:
What the other girls of my class thought about me after about a year of "knowing" me :

Great artist for your age, helps people as far as possible, But only thing is that you correct other's mistakes too often. Sometimes it is very humiliating. (Funny thing is I found a mistake in this sentence and I corrected it as I typed it, so I haven't changed much ;). Don't get me wrong, I make a ton of mistakes and )I always welcome the corrections)
'This person' would like to be you - So sweet, so friendly, so nice (I have definitely changed :D)
Very good, very frank - 'this person' likes your friendship.
Intelligent, hard worker.
Good, nice and helpful. Mingles witheveryone and is a good person.
Good, helpful nature.
"most sweet talking person in the class , I suppose" (I have no clue who said this but I was hardly that ever)
It is a bit difficult to understand you. Sometimes this person finds it difficult to understand your expressions. This girl thinks twice before speaking to you. (I'm kinda sure I know who this person is ;))
Very sweet and funny at times and understands other's feelings.
Good, her seriousness at times is irritating. This person believes that you must believe in everybody and try to share your feelings openly. You should be less reserved and enjoy all moments with everybody and not just with G, K and last bench boys. (Lol I love how this person took time out to write about me and I couldn't agree more now, though I was pretty happy with myself back then)
Helpful nature, helps a lot when 'we' require. Good looking. (I'm not sure what 'we' stands for and I had a bob cut back then with tons of pimples so I'm not sure where the good looking comment came from)
First thinks about others then about yourself
Sincere, helps everybody who cares for her and cool too.
Feels free and is open hearted.
Helpful, friendsly and never(almost) says no to anyone. Energetic.
Very understanding, friendsly, sees and treats everybody equally.
You are really too good.

Note: "You" refers to me in the above few lines ;)

blogs bakesale and the like

2011-05-18T05:15:00.000+05:30

I was so excited about the bakesale I was a part of that I forgot to take the camera's memory card and now to share the few pics i managed to click on the camera mem I need the connecting wire which i seem to have misplaced. I feel so clumsy!

The bake sale hosted by Gaby and many others in different cities raises money to feed hungry children across the country. The bake sale here raised more than $2000 and I'm mighty pleased even if it may be a drop in the mighty ocean. #updates What I managed to bake were sugar cookies, meringues, vegan fondant roses and cocoa almond hazelnut florentines. The cookie decorating didn't come out as I wanted it to but it was past midnight by the time I finished and I was done - I'm gonna continue working on it though.

So much more to say but stuck on words right now...

Latergater

INSIDIOUS

2011-04-23T23:24:00.000+05:30

I've been a great supporter of "alone time". We all need it in good measure at regular intervals and it does a whole lot of good. The other night I was taking a midnight stroll alone - it was forced alone time because I locked myself out and forgot my keys AND had 0 charge on my mobile - when i encountered a kitty. At first she gave me a fright by just brushing past me and then slowly we got acquainted since I had the rest of the night anyway. After all that time that the lil Kitty spent with me I felt obligated to give something back. I finally found my way back into the house and got her some milk. She purred in delight and waved goodbye after having her fill.

What I do NOT like doing in my alone time is watching horror movies. I'd start imagining hands from under the bed and I could never go to the loo without the fear of being strangled! Okii, but got me started on this was this horror flick I treated myself to giving up precious sleeptime. INSIDIOUS was a horror flick that reminds you of certain Zee Horror show clips but with better quality makeup. The entertaining part was a bunch of scared silly kids(boys) seated a row in front. Don't get me wrong, the movie is pretty entertaining too with some good scary portions. The last time I hoped to get scared was with Eli Roth's 'The Last Exorcism' and I was terribly disappointed maybe that's why this movie stood out. I'm not going to put up any spoilers here because the last time I did the Prodigal Sons spoiler I got a few hits from all over the world just for that and I'm not looking forward to having horror movie lovers(read psychos) come visit.

;)

How's it going people? How IS life treating yo'll?

p.s: that's some homemade wine(red and green grapes with cranberries infused) - absolutely delish!
Happy Bday Goks! *Hic

Hridayam niranja Vishudinashamsagal

2011-04-15T18:54:00.000+05:30

Have a beautiful year ahead people!

Lovely Bones

2011-04-08T22:26:00.000+05:30

The country needs a 72 year old gandhian to fast onto death(Wonder why no 20/30 year old does this) to get India to get corruption free(Are you kidding me, like THATS going to happen)? Of course I support him(I'm not the one starving, am I!). All I need to do is spread the word, "LIKE" it on facebook, "SHARE" the link, "TWEET" about it... How hard can that be? As long as you're still biting into that $50 dinner that some 5 star chef whipped up for ya, sipping some champagne and pretend like you're enjoying that caviar! The old man is going to stay without food till his old, tired body can't handle it anymore and then get admitted in the hospital and go on forced nutrition. And what after that? The tweeting, sharing and liking will stop and life will continue with the caviar and champagne...

People, define corruption for me. Is it the 1000s of crores that our polititians are making sure they accumulate for their future generations(which actually seems pretty thoughtful,no?) OR is it the hundreds of rupees a civilian pays to get their paperwork running(How many of you actually went through the right procedure to get your licence?) OR is it the few rupees you put in a place of worship trying to bribe your God to get your work done? Are you going to change all of this?

Dilbert in one of his episodes spoke about charity work, something to the effect that until you have ZERO balance in your bank account, you cannot claim to say that you are doing rightful charity(within your capacity). Your capacity is your bank balance and muscle power, isn't it? When we make claims about doing something within our limitations, it sounds so hypocritical because what is within your capacity might just be the smallest fraction of your earnings or savings that you will NOT 'MISS' having. Like you should still be able to buy that very expensive handbag, jimmy choo, cashmere and finally you decide not to eat out that night(to avoid calories) and give that money to charity AND think you've done your part.

On a different note let me ask you , if you found a person dying of thirst in a desert and you had champagne, soda, wine, alcohol and a cup of water - would you willingly share the water knowing very well that in a few hours you might need water to quench your thirst and all that champagne is not going to help? I actually know a person who would think about the chance of feeling thirstly at a later point of time and not save the dying person.

I'm not making any claims about being pious or over charitable, in fact I probably come under one of the many hypocritical categories we tend to put ourselves under. I claim to be a vegetarian and eat egg and find comfort that some group of people believe that egg is vegetarian! So there I am, for you. I'm merely stating my opinion in the only true way I can.

Peace.

P.S: I baked a cookie and even made the frosting. Can you believe that I found just ONE other link with the Indian flag on cookies? For me, it was unacceptable! There you can see my love for my country in a cookie.

A morbid day

2011-03-31T01:15:00.000+05:30

Yep! I know the whole of India is celebrating... I saw some of the Tankbund pics - the one with the flag was awesome! I've never been introduced to Cricket the right way. It was like gilli danda for me. Just make sure the ball doesnt hit you. And i've always been asked to bowl. But I've never really been passionate about sports or for that matter, anything. Even my love for animals or my need to work in an NGO is overshadowed by other materialistic needs of the moment and other emotional attachments. The Men in Blue dont need my prayers - they have the entire population praying for them and I sincerely believe most matches are fixed so I'm pretty sure we will win this one. We have 1000s of crores at our honest polititians disposal to pay a few people to look the other way. Meanwhile their pockets are going to fill with the amount of betting thats going on and the gazillion ads and whatever not. I miss the blue pepsi though ;)

On a serious note my Mom was admitted in the hospital today- and that's what marks this day as morbid for me. I'm a little sad and off today. Everyting will be fine, I know. Well, it better be. So here's praying real hard that my Mom gets well soon. I love you Ma...

Tanjore - Start to fini(well, almost)

2011-03-15T04:47:00.000+05:30

Betrayal & Compassion

2011-02-28T13:15:00.000+05:30

Mostly this space was started to rant and complain. In the recent past I've hidden most of my emotions for various reasons. But then I decided to let go and just let it all run. Isn't that why one has a personal blog? To let out ones feelings without the worry of having to hurt anyone. One of my main reasons for not letting out any pain I feel is a wooden plank with a scribbling hanging outside the bathroom, that I read in a relatives house when i was 13. The gist is that When you are happy and you share your happiness with the world, you rarely have a hand full of people being happy for you. In fact most of them are either sad or angry or jealous of your happiness. But when you are sad, it makes most people happy and a bunch full sad. So somehu I understood that it was of no use sharing your sorrows or your happiness with the world. And then Internet happened. I saw a whole world of strangers out there ready to be happy/sad with you and for you. I didn't have to disclose who I was and still half the world was happy that I was smiling that day. And then it led to over exposure which led to known people leaving unholy comments. So I shut down again, made this space private and went into my shell of writing in a diary. But somehow that didn't help much. The need to get out overcame me and I opened up this space. Luckily most people had forgotten this space by then and I rarely if at all had any visitors. It seemed like the whole world was reading what I wrote and that itself calmed my innards. So why now do I feel the need to pretend to be something that I am not. Don't get me wrong - I'm not unhappy or depressed in the american sort o way. But I'm angry with a few individuals and the anger building up doesn't help. I'm learning to forgive and I'm trying hard to forget but if people try to poke and prod and disturb the peace and harmony you worked so hard to build, they deserve to be punished. Backbiters was a word I learnt in school and its the only word I can use to describe the people causing harm.

I worked on my Tanjore skills a few weeks back. I'm pleased to say I wasn't disappointed and I definitely haven't lost my touch. But this work of mine is inspired from one that emanates immense power and it reflects my current state of mind.

Shut up!

2011-02-20T04:00:00.000+05:30

I cannot keep it in any longer. This is probably the result of reading too many food/health blogs instead of keeping myself abreast of the happenings in the world including WC11 which I have absolutely no clue about except for the once in a while(not) twitter updates. 3 cheers for keeping a tv out of the house and ending up as an internet junkie!
While I enjoy reading and participating in a multiude of food related challenges of which I've recently become a participant of I do acknowledge the food types I've been consuming. A whole lot of new ingredients which I'd never heard of before in the name of experimenting, new cooking styles etc has put me out there vulnerable to a lot of immune system resistant attacks.
No, i'm not giving up grain or dairy or gluten or sugar but I am going to make a note of how much I consume and how that affects my body. I am due for a full body check-up and a look at reality. I'm going to hit 30 in less than 3 years! Now, how in heaven's name did that happen? The last time I checked I was young, confused and 21!!! I'm still confused but the other two dont hold good any longer.
I am NOT going to lable it as a resolution but I have to atleast try and grow younger atleast in body - leave alone my mind-period.

Peace...

Cliche II

2011-02-15T05:46:00.000+05:30

I've always been a hopeless romantic - for forever! I've been celebrating this day religiously for almost 2 decades now and every year I make sure I get myself and my Valentine something in red - even if its just a red coloured mint. One Valentines Day I convinced Ma to buy us Crystal Beer mugs which is still safe and sound in our attic. The best thing about her is her enthusiasm to play along and make the day as special as I made it out to be. So here's wishing my first Valentine a beautiful day, today and every day after.
This year too I painted a red Tee shirt for myself... While I was talking to my 1st Valentine, my 2nd Valentine walks in and drops 3 roses onto my lap and I end up grinning ear to ear and feeling like the foolish romantic I've always been...
Today is going on like any other day with a sprinkle of Love here and there, just like any other day. The (R)oomie hasn't ever celebrated Valentines and finds it all weird and awkward ;). I agree that it might be another commercial stint with a lot of hype, for those that think that this day has to be about exchanging expensive gifts. But for those that think a flower picked from the roadside, or a heartfelt line scribbled on a paper napkin is more than enough - Happy Valentines Everyday to you!
Care to all the gorgeous people in my life and yours interspersed with a lot of hugs >*<
As you walk away I leave you with this song and hope it striks a chord somewhere deep inside...

OMG this post is sooo full of mush! I need to get outta here ;)