Let's blog over tea...

Getting ready to party

2011-01-09T22:33:00.000-05:00

Not really...but that's the theme of the pictures I clicked today. Here goes...

You like?

A gift to myself

2011-01-04T21:12:00.001-05:00

Christmas holds a special place in my heart. At home, we would decorate a small tree, my dad would get a cake for us and I would get a gift from Santa. At school, it was the most festive time of the year - we would sing carols, give food and clothes to charity, and we would deck the halls with boughs of holly (Fa la la la la la la la la) and mistletoe. I remember this one time when my sister signed the gift from Santa in her own writing and I got all suspicious. But she covered it up by saying that Santa was in a hurry and asked her to sign it. I actually bought that and continued to believe in Santa for another year or so.(Yes I know I was naive)

Anyway, this year, I indulged myself with a little Christmas gift. I figured I liked clicking pictures, so why not graduate from point and shoot to DSLR. So I got myself a Canon Rebel XS. If you are interested in technical specs, then please read the review here.

As expected, I am going to flood this space with some amateur photography while I learn to use it. Also as expected, you will be my critic and help me improve. Deal? Okay? Okay. Here are some of my clicks from the blizzard that wreaked havoc in New York over the Christmas weekend. I had read about blizzards in the fifth grade. We had this cute geography book which taught us about a place and natural phenomenon for every letter of the alphabet. So B for Brazil and B for Blizzard. I had never imagined I would actually get to experience one, but I did. Anyways, here are the pictures. Looking forward to your vishesh tippani! :)

Snow covered street

My Footsteps

Bush in hiding

Snow in a trash can

Mounds and mounds of snow

A long walk home

Snow at your doorstep

Diversity - While one tree has so many leaves, others don't have even a single leaf.

P.S I still believe in Santa. It may not be a man in red clothes with a snow-white beard, riding a sleigh pulled by reindeer, but I am sure there is someone out there who watches over us and gives us exactly what we need, when we need it :)

P.P.S 2 down, 50 to go ;)

Happy New Year to all!

2011-01-03T20:42:00.000-05:00

This is the first post of 2011 and I just wanted to use this space to wish all of you a very happy new year! I have often wondered what the big deal about a new year is. After all, a new year is just another date. But over time, I have realized it means much more to people. For those who’ve had a rough year, it brings new hope of sunshine and happiness. For those who’ve had a great year, it brings back good memories and a good feeling that the next year will bring more of such memories to cherish for years to come. Most importantly, I think it promises a fresh start. So raise your glasses, dear readers, and let’s toast to a year of joy, hope and love - Cheers!

I welcomed 2011 with a few friends in Cambridge. We had a quiet dinner at a Thai restaurant, relished some lip smacking dessert at another and ended the evening with a few games of good ol’ carom. Like good children, we also went to the temple on the 1^st to seek God’s blessing for this coming year.

And a New Year would be incomplete without a New Year resolution. So even though The Boy insisted that I was perfect (**awww moment**), I still came up with a list of things I want to accomplish this year. Here goes:

1. Attain the perfect weight and a perfectly toned body. (Okay, don’t laugh)

2. Catch up on my reading. (You would think that the books theme on this blog would be inspiration¹ enough, but a Kindle might be necessary. This resolution was actually inspired by someone I know who read 52 books in less than 52 weeks. )

3. Spend lots of quality time with family and friends.

4. Learn to cook at least 52 different recipes. (Obviously, I am inspired¹ by Julie & Julia)

5. Learn to drive. (Very important)

6. Blog at least 52 times this year. And hey 1 down, so 51 blog posts to go ;)

¹We are sophisticated and hence we don’t copy. We are inspired. **Cough cough**

The above list is in no particular order. So please don’t complain by saying I put books and weight-loss above family and friends ‘cos you know I wouldn’t do that! I also have a few other personal resolutions which I am not going to list here. But you get the drift ;)

So what’s your New Year resolution this year?

Sigh...Kids these days...

2010-12-10T08:46:00.000-05:00

Not so long ago, in a land not so far away, there was a little girl who’s favorite pastime was reading books, playing outdoors or some other such inexpensive pleasure. Fast forward 15 years, the big girl now doesn't read as many books as she would like, doesn't play any sport and most of her weekends are spent in shopping malls scouting for the best deals or indulging in culinary delights at restaurants, or some other such pleasure requiring her to spend money.

In case you didn’t get the hint already, the person in question here is yours truly. Now how can I not buy that perfect fitting jeans when the poster in the trial rooms says

I wonder what has changed in these years. I used to be like any other kid. I went to school, played outdoors with friends, and went to karate/swimming/art/music classes. What happened that I no longer seem to do any of these things? Is it just me, or in general the scheme of things changed when I was not looking? Part of the change is that I now have a job and an in-flow of money. And we all know Newton’s third law – Every action requires an equal and opposite reaction. Going by that, an inflow of money requires an outflow of money too. But if an inflow of money required an equal outflow, then we wouldn't be saving any money. Thankfully, that law doesn't hold true in this case…at least for most of us!

Another glaringly obvious change is the revolutionizing technology that has made the world flat. Kids today are glued to the computer, in school and after school. I am not saying technology is bad because I, for one, cannot imagine my life without email, laptop and a cell phone. But my question is do we really need to start that early? And how much of a kid’s time is spent doing useful things on a computer. I am confident that a majority of it is spent on social networking and chatting. Not just that, they go to clubs and pubs, malls and restaurants, and throw expensive birthday parties much before mine or your generation ever dreamed of (Yes, I am talking like a grandmother and assuming my blogs limited readership doesn't include youngsters!). Though I can’t find a solid argument as to what’s wrong with this change in culture, I still find it hard to come to terms with. As long as the kid has a sensible head on his/her shoulder, I think its fine. But it’s definitely not the kid’s fault if he/she is crossing the limits of acceptable behavior. Knowingly or unknowingly, parents encourage it or give in to it. A large part of it is due to the parents’ need to keep up with the Joneses. Or sometimes, it is the need to give their children the comforts and luxuries they always wanted but didn’t have. Either way, they end up doing more harm than good.

Another contributing factor that I see is the growing trend of nuclear families. Married couples move away from their families and most of the times both the parents are working. So the kids do not come home to the loving care of grandparents or their mother. While it is not realistic to say that parents should give up their careers once they have children, it is important that couples figure out some flexible working options to be able to spend time with their kids. However, in the not so ideal world, flexible working options are sometimes not available to everyone and many have to let go of their career aspirations and settle for a comfortable job that may not be the most challenging, but will allow them to spend more time with their kids. Sometimes, it boils down to a catch 22 situation. Do you take up more challenging positions at work that will allow you to bring home a bigger package and provide better for your children, or should you take up a job that lets you spend more time with your kids albeit at a much lower salary? There are couples who strike a balance between both and manage to get the best of both worlds. But for others, it’s a tough choice that they have to make.

In my opinion, there is no right or wrong here, and there are just too many variables involved to be able to arrive at an ideal situation where each variable is set to a specific value. In the past the formula: mother_working = FALSE and Joint_family = TRUE and career aspirations = MEDIUM might have worked, but not today. So the best that you can do today is to bring up your children with values and teach them to be good human beings. If you have achieved that, consider it a job well done. Rest, they will figure it out as they go along.

Thanksgiving weekend

2010-11-27T22:08:00.000-05:00

Since we have decided to be sincere about our blogging this time around, here we are. The only way to keep me motivated at this is to appreciate me. So any/all feedback is not only welcome, it’s absolutely critical to the survival of this blog. Get the point? Good.

Anyway, so yours truly took her first vacation day off this year and decided to spend Thanksgiving in Boston. I wanted to catch up with all my friends before I leave. We dined, laughed, clicked random pics, walked around in the windy weather, and basically much fun was had. I had forgotten how cold Boston can get. I officially hate the winter weather. I had quite enjoyed the first winter, excitement about seeing snow for the firs time surpassed the pains of cold weather. I don't like it anymore. I hate wearing the thick jackets, gloves and hates. Anyway, enough cribbing. So back to the happy stuff. Black Friday Shopping! I actually woke up at 4:30 AM and was in the mall at 6:30. Madness. But it's the my last Black Friday sale, so why not go all out huh?! And it paid off, I got some good deals. So I'm happy. Oh, here's a picture from the trip:

And to continue the Thanksgiving theme:

Dear God,

Thank you so much for giving me such a good life. I am surrounded by people who love me so much, and who I love so much. I have a place I call home, people I can call, people who call me, people to visit, people who visit me, people who give me a ride and let me stay in their homes, people who care so much about me. I don't have to worry about where my next meal will come from. I don't have to think too much before buying the next gadget that I like. Thank you for keeping me healthy and happy and thank you for the most wonderful family & friends!

Love
M

P.S. What are you thankful for?

A heartfelt Thank You note

2010-11-21T19:59:00.000-05:00

Dear N,

Thank you for being such a good friend. You were there with me when I was lonely. You entertained me with something new every time. What would I have done this year without you? You were promptly at my doorstep when I needed you. Never missed any dates, never disappointed me. You even managed to bring some flavor of home. I am so grateful to you. And I must thank P for introducing me to you. Even though I am moving to India now, I will always think of you fondly. If you ever decide to come to India, rest assured, I will introduce you to all my friends. Thank you, Netflix.

Love,
M

Yet another comeback

2010-11-20T18:15:00.001-05:00

So there's no point in me making a big hullabaloo about my comeback. Yes/No? If you said yes, then sorry, that's the wrong answer. If Hollywood, Bollywood, Tollywood, & not to forget - Kollywood (Am I forgetting any other wood?) celebrities are allowed multiple comebacks, then why not me I ask. Fair enough you say. Okay let's cut the crap. This is my yet-another-lame-attempt at keeping my blog alive. Lets see how long this one lasts. Hopefully longer than the last one. And obviously, a comeback has to be accompanied with a totally new look (you know how celebrities say " I have reinvented myself with this movie"), so I obviously had to reinvent myself with this blog and hence the new look. Hope you like it. 'Cos I do. It has one of my favorite things. Books! Lots of them. In all honesty, we haven't done much reading in the past year. Except for Eat Pray Love. Which we totally loved. If you haven't read it yet and if you are of the female race, do yourself a favor and read it. No, watching the movie is not good enough. And yes, we did watch a lot of movies this year. So much so that we can call this year - the year of the movies. And talking of Eat Pray Love - The movie. Not only did we watch it, we watched it in true eat pray love style: by promptly eating some spaghetti and gelato as soon as it got over - Totally Julia Roberts style. She looks kinda old in the movie. But we love her. Still. Bali looks heavenly. (Note to self - Gotta visit Bali.) Talking of Bali, S is in Jakarta for a couple of days. The currency there is really funny. 100 USD = 8,00,000 Rupiah (approx). So S has pocketful of 50,000 Rupiah notes. And he had dinner worth 75,000 Rupiah. It amuses the hell outta S. I really shouldn't be blogging now. I could have gone to the gym. But I chose to blog. Because I am passionate about blogging...oh well, or lazy about sweating it out at the gym(**Guilty**). Enough rambling for today. More to come. Soon.

I am back!

2010-03-08T10:36:00.004-05:00

You could say I went into hibernation from fall through winter. But now that spring is knocking on the door (yay!), I find myself inspired to get back to blogging. I don't promise to post something everyday, but I will try to keep you all updated with the latest. So what have I been doing all these months?

1. I graduated! So now I have B.Tech, M.E.M after my name. Cool huh?
2. Survived the rigors of a job search during recession. Phew!
3. Visited India for a month :)
4. Survived the rigors of apartment hunting in NY.
5. Completed one month on the new job.

Now aren't you glad that I wasn't blogging all this while? Cos If I did, all you would have found here are rants and complaints about my struggle, except for a month of complete bliss when I was at home.(I do make it sound more dramatic than it was!). So what have I been doing lately? Well, I have watched more movies than ever in my life (I signed up for Netflix). I will soon add a movies list here so that you know what I have been watching. Next on the list is to enroll at the public library so that I can get back to voracious reading. I miss doing that. Then maybe we will add a reading list here as well. So that's the plan. Ready, Get Set, Go!

Craving for good food!

2009-11-14T15:18:00.002-05:00

Random musings:

-Lately, I have been craving for good indian food and maggi. Somehow, this term I have not been cooking as much as I did in the other terms. I wonder why. Maybe because I don't feel like spending so much time in the kitchen just cooking for myself. Or sometimes I feel its such a waste of time. Anyway, so yeah I am craving for good food.

-I am looking forward to meeting P next month...a much-awaited and much-needed reunion after 3 years! I am so excited and I am sure P feels the same way too.

-Oh by the way, I am almost done with my Masters. Precisely, I will be done with my exams on December 7th. Yay! Last 2 assignments and last 2 exams. I don't think I want to go back to school ever again. Or atleast, so far, no such plans!

Anyways, I better get back to work now. It's a nice rainy day and all I want to do is curl up in my bed with a book, and a bowl of popcorn, or maybe watch a movie...sigh...I am back to dreaming about food. Somebody please send me some maggi!!!

A Simple Life

2009-11-09T12:58:00.003-05:00

Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need - a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing - Jerome K. Jerome

The above quote precisely states what I want in my life right now. Except that I am not too keen on getting a cat or a pipe. A drink - Orange juice will do :)

I am back!

2009-09-25T21:11:00.002-04:00

I am done with 390...yay! High five!!

So those of you who don't know what 390 is, it is the course code for the M.E.M project. Basically you need to do a project at a company and then present it later at school in front of a review board. And as soon as you land here for this program, you start looking for a 390 project. This year, getting an internship turned out to be a bit more tough than last year, thanks to the economic downturn! But all's well that ends well - all of us did end up getting one.

So once you find the internship, you have to obviously work at the company and finish your project. Typically, everybody does this over the summer term. And then we present it to the review board at school in the Fall term. So this whole cycle takes almost a year and now you know why I am so glad to be done with it. Everybody say yay! :)

Anyhoo, after my presentation, I finally made my first trip to the grocery store this term and got lots of veggies and fruits. All healthy food, but ended up burning a hole in my pocket too...*guilty face*

After that I ate, I cooked ... and that's pretty much it! Hopefully, I will continue to regularly update my blog. I will try my best, but I don't promise!

Please visit the blog regularly for more updates.

Breaking the blogging fast on a happy note!

2009-08-13T10:43:00.005-04:00

Hello guys!

Sorry about the brief (actually not so brief) pause! I am sure many of you would have decided that I am dead by now. Maybe I was, but anyhoo I have sprung back to life now - with renewed enthusiasm! And the reason behind this uber enthusiastic spirit you ask? It’s simple! I am going home in two days. TWO DAYS! yaaaayyy! :D
I have been doing a happy dance in the shower for a week now, smiling everywhere I go and generally sharing my happiness with everybody around! Ten weeks of loneliness has finally come to an end...
Every experience teaches you something and the last ten weeks has made me appreciate my family and friends all the more. Sniff sniff! I am getting very emotional now.
Anyhoo, here's a quick update of what’s been happening at my end:

* Roommate visited me one of the weekends. Had an awesome time with her. Went to Statue of Liberty and Empire State building, Central Park, Wall Street, Times Square. And this time I did go into Tiffany's! Clicked 216 pictures in 17 hours. So that translates to approximately 12 pictures/hour! :D Those interested in seeing the pictures, let me know - I will send you the link.
** The next weekend was spent entirely on shopping. Bought tons of stuff for myself. Wheee!
*** Wrapped up my internship projects. High five!
So those have been the highlights of the last few weeks. You didn't miss much, did you?

Alrighty guys, I am signing off now - next post will be from Kolkata! Woohoo!!

The one in which I blog for the sake of blogging

2009-08-09T19:17:00.003-04:00

Have blog. Will post.

P.S This was posted on popular demand only!

M's day out in the city

2009-07-27T20:03:00.021-04:00

Finally! So finally I did some touristy stuff after being in NYC for 7 weeks. I could have done it earlier, but I thought it would be best to wait for my camera to arrive so that I could click pictures. Yes dear readers, yours truly is finally the proud owner of her very own digital camera! And this is after months of browsing for deals and talking to a zillion people for advice. Click here for the specs.

Anyhoo, so I took the downtown train straight to Wall Street. Now we imagine things to be in a certain way before we see them, or we imagine people to be of a certain kind before we actually meet them. I often form a mental perception of things. So I had imagined Wall Street to be a crowded, busy place where I would find investment bankers dressed in Armani suits strutting around. Instead what I saw was a narrow street swarming with tourists. Obviously because I went on a Saturday! So I found myself in the middle of Wall Street, with the Trump building and Tiffany’s on either side.

And with the Trump building on my right and Tiffany’s on my left, I caught a glimpse of Trinity Church:

I walked towards it and at the intersection of Wall Street and Broad Street I saw a huge United States flag looming in front of me. And that my friends is NYSE:

And at the intersection, on the left was the JP Morgan building:

And on the right was the Federal hall with a statue of George Washington in front:

I walked further down Wall Street towards Trinity Church on Broadway and I found myself on the other side of NYSE:

I went across Broadway and inside the Church. At the entrance of Trinity Church:

Here are a few pictures that I clicked inside the church:

And this was the cemetery on the side of the Church:

Here's how Wall Street looks from the entrance of the Church:

Doesn't it look really narrow? Sort of reminds me of Burra bazaar in Kolkata. Ok don't laugh. I couldn't help but notice the similarity! After all, both are business districts! :D

And then I marched towards the charging bull - the moment that I had waited for ever since I set my foot on NYC soil was finally here:

I walked towards the WTC site on the other side of Broadway and I saw this cube outside Brown brothers Harriman:

So I had to do this :D

After demonstrating my strength at the cube, I proceeded to the WTC site. I cannot even begin to imagine the kind of panic that would have set in on 9/11 when the two towers came crashing down in the financial hub. Construction of the new towers is in progress:

For a $5.00 student pass, I browsed through the gallery started as an initiative by WTC survivors and families.

Inside the WTC memorial gallery - two guns, both 357 Magnum revolvers, encrusted in melted concrete, were recovered from Federal evidence lockers at the World Trade Center

Photos and puppet salvaged from the home of a Battery Park City resident

An actual elevator sign board from one of the WTC towers

Names of people who died in the 9/11 attacks

Pictures of people who died in 9/11 attacks

This quilt was prepared by young children and became a means of emotional recovery for them and the firemen who received it post 9/11. It expresses their appreciation of things that are important to them in their daily lives. Pretty moving huh?

Oh I also saw the American Stock Exchange:

and World Financial Center:

Waterfront at Battery Park:

The sphere behind me used to be in the plaza between the WTC towers. It's deformed now.

Eternal flame that was lit on September 11, 2002

Then I proceeded to take the Staten Island ferry. It takes you from Manhattan to Staten Island and back for free! On the way I saw this:

That's a real man! He had painted himself. And was standing in that pose for hours. At least I saw him twice in 2 hours and he was in the same pose. And that's how he earns his daily bread. And we think we have a tough job!

Finally saw the Statue of Liberty, albeit at a distance! Here's a view of Manhattan from the ferry:

And one of Brooklyn bridge (Again, it reminds me of Kolkata's second Howrah Bridge!)

and when I got off the ferry, this man was still there in the same pose!

And thus came an end to M's day out in NYC. Oh I forgot to mention that I snacked on a burrito bowl at Chipotle. So at the end of the day, even though my feet ached for a massage, I was one happy soul! :)

The one in which I scold my readers

2009-07-24T16:22:00.003-04:00

If you are one of the diligent readers of this blog who almost always leaves a comment, then you can safely ignore this post. Others read on…

I have observed something. The blog audience only likes funny posts. They do not enjoy anything that is remotely serious such as my post on divorce or even regular posts. So you are asking how I discovered this profound secret? And you think it’s from the number of comments on my posts? No way. It is obvious that most of you people who visit this blog do not bother to leave a comment despite all the subtle hints that I have dropped in my earlier posts. I wonder why. If you are taking the time out to read my posts in such detail, you might as well leave a comment to make me happy. You thought I would never know right? But I do. Thanks to my good old stat counter. The picture below shows my blog stats for the last week.

As you can clearly see I had 40 unique visitors on the day I published my post on IPR’s cats. On other days, number of visitors has ranged from 1 to 10. The only thing that was different about this post was that it scored highly on your humor scale. But when I had started writing it, I had no inclination to make it sound funny. In fact, when I set out to write something, I usually have no idea whether I am going to make it funny or ordinary or serious. I just go with the flow. And these blog stats will in no way affect my decision. If I choose to write about something serious today, then that’s what you will see and if I choose to put on my thinking cap, then you will have to put up with that as well, and on days when my humor quotient is running high, you will find posts such as the one on cats. It’s similar to how we, as kids, ate whatever our mommy put on our plates. At least I did! So dear readers, be good children and read whatever I post, okay? okay. And as stated in my very first post, this blog is going to be a mixed bag of my emotions. If humor is your only cup of tea, then you are welcome to not read my blog. Also, if you want to continue being rude and not leave comments on posts and be a silent stalker of my blog, then so be it. I have nothing to teach you, you ill-mannered readers! Hmph.

Divorce

2009-07-22T14:55:00.005-04:00

On my way to work, I see a particular hoarding every day. I haven't been able to click a picture because I pass by it when I am on the bus and my awesome phone isn't sophisticated and advanced enough to be able to click pictures at such far distances. So I googled for a similar picture and here it is:

I find it mildly amusing as well as a bit appalling. Amusing because – just imagine one fine day you find out that you are no longer married because your spouse filed for a divorce and you had no inkling about it! Appalling because it makes me ponder – should divorce really be that easy that you don’t even need your spouse’s signature, let alone a court appearance? In some cases, yes! I strongly feel that one must be able to break free from an abusive marriage, legally and otherwise, without any hassles. There is no point in being stuck in one. It’s not worth another day of your life. So I leave out this category. But I am talking more about everyday divorces where normal couples break up just because they don’t get along with each other anymore, they don’t understand each other anymore or just because they are bored of the monotone that their marriage has become. I really wonder how minor tiffs and peeves such as ‘He always leaves a wet towel on the bed’ or ‘She always has the last word when it comes to TV’ can lead up to a divorce. Don’t these couples remember their wedding vows of being together till death do them apart? And I find it even harder to believe when love marriages end in a divorce because of such reasons. Here they don’t even have the excuse that their families had set them up against their wishes. They, as mature (I hope) adults (I really hope!) had chosen to come together. Nobody had forced them to. In fact, they were madly in love. Those were days when everything seemed right as long as they were together. Nothing else mattered. How can the memory of those days be wiped out by wet towels and TV remotes? At least for the sake of these memories, couples should make an honest effort to sort out differences and make it work. If despite that, things don’t seem to work out, please go ahead and go separate ways. But allow yourselves some time to figure things out instead of letting these small, every day issues overcome your life and make your decisions. Otherwise there’s always divorce for $399!

P.S Even divorce is expensive. That should give couples enough reason during recession to stay together.

I heart google!

2009-07-21T22:56:00.021-04:00

I am sure we all have our 'I love google' moments. I had mine today...again! So lets back up a little bit and let me give you a quick brief about what happened last Sunday. I had put some rice to cook in IPR's pressure cooker. You know the prestige/hawkins kind? These pressure cookers are a blessing. Everything cooks so quickly in them! So on that day I had put the usual quantity of water in the rice and expected that it will cook within the usual twenty minutes. But within ten minutes I smelt something burning. And you can imagine a hungry woman's dismay and frustration when she sees her dinner stuck to the bottom of the cooker. The rice had turned as black as one of IPR's cats and It was an ugly sight. So I scraped out the rice or what was remaining of it and let the cooker soak for a bit. Then I began the difficult task of scrubbing and cleaning. And I kid you not, but the cooker was charred and there were even outlines of rice grains on it. And I kid you not again when I say that I scrubbed it for half an hour straight. But nope, the charred cooker was stubborn. By then, I was getting really worried. So what will I tell IPR?! After all, pressure cooker is a prized possession of almost every Indian in US. Pressure cookers are insanely expensive to buy in this country so every Indian will guard their pressure cooker as they would any treasured possession. So then I did what I usually do when I don't know what to do. I googled how to clean burnt pots and pans! I found a remedy recommended by quite a few people. Here it is:

"Fill the burnt vessel with an inch of water, add 1 tbsp of dishwashing liquid, 2 tbsps of baking soda and 2 tbsps of vinegar. Bring to boil on the stove. Then set it aside for an hour or so. Then use a steel scrub to scrub it."

I wasn't too confident but it's not like I had other options. So it was worth a try. I felt like I was back in my chemistry lab, mixing up all sorts of chemicals. I used to really enjoy doing that. I distinctly remember the distinctive smell of the chemistry lab in school, my teacher explaining the experiment of the day, the rotten egg smell of Hydrogen Sulphide, pH test, titration experiments, yadda yadda! I remember my excitement when I was assigned my 12th grade chemistry project. It was analysis of soft drinks and I thought it was the coolest of the lot because I got to buy all varieties of soft drinks from the canteen and do all sorts of experiments with them. Its a different issue that I don't remember any of it now.

Anyway, so back to the problem at hand. I didn't have any of the ingredients for this home experiment so I went out and bought all of it, including the dish washing liquid and the steel scrub. I came home and proceeded to do exactly as mentioned above. And voila! it worked! Ok, I had to repeat the procedure three times. So you can imagine how stubborn the problem was. But it worked like a charm. And I know you guys won't believe me if I don't give you a proof. So here's a picture after the third round of experimentation.

I wish I had taken a before-the-experiment picture so that you could have appreciated this better. But I didn't! Sigh...

Anyway, so now I have a remedy to pass on to my kids and grandkids and so do you. You're welcome! For now, I will sign off in 'Powerpuff girls' style...so once again the day was saved by Google! Anybody remember powerpuff girls? Blossom? Bubbles? Buttercup? Anyone?

P.S It is essential to use the steel scrub. The other scrubs didn't do the trick.

Spot the difference!

2009-07-19T20:11:00.008-04:00

As a kid, I would wait eagerly for the newspaper man on Sundays so that I could grab the Sunday magazine before anyone else did. Of course, my sister found that habit extremely annoying. I still do this when I am home. And my sister still finds it very annoying! Anyway, the Sunday magazine featured a couple of pages of cartoons, word puzzles and along with that a puzzle that I loved - 'Spot the difference'. For the uninitiated, this basically required you to spot six differences between two images that were seemingly identical. It was always easy to find three or four of these and sometimes five, but I would almost always struggle with the last one. My mom also loved it and after we were both done, we would compare to see if we got all of them right. As years have gone by, we have graduated from 'Spot the difference' to 'Sudoku'. But last week I was reminded of it again.

This picture was clicked on my way back from work last week. You might need to maximize it so that you can have a closer look. Now compare it with the one below:

Now go ahead and spot the difference! :)

My feline flatmates

2009-07-14T19:31:00.012-04:00

As promised, here's the story about the cats.
So, it was just another usual morning. I sprung out of bed, smiling and excited about yet another day at work (Really!) and hopped and skipped to the bathroom. Only to be greeted by one of IPR's cats. This one’s called Zoey. I finally found out the names of the four cats: Lily, Midnight, Grace and Zoey. The names are pretty easy to remember if you’ve seen the cats.

Lily – she’s white. She is the biggest of the four, but for her size she is meek you know. If you are as much as 10 steps near her, she will run for her life. She sleeps near the fridge and looks up every time I open it.

Midnight – Haven’t seen her around much because she is locked up in IPR’s room most of the time. She is the new one and the other cats fight with her. So she will be kept in the room until the others are accustomed to her. And as the name suggests, she is as black as midnight. But I caught a glimpse of her yesterday and I kid you not, she looks big and a little oddly shaped.

Grace – She is another black cat. Build: Slender. And hence the name. She is quite active. I guess that’s the secret to her well-kept, well-groomed figure. Once in a while she stops outside my room when she finds the door ajar for a few seconds. I keep my door closed at all times because I really don’t want these creatures in my room.

Zoey – Last but not the least, this one deserves a special mention. Now if you pay attention to detail, then you would have noticed that I haven’t attached a gender to this one. It’s still a mystery to me. I think it’s a she. But it could be a he too. Whatever. We will refer to ‘it’ as ‘it’. Okay?

So yeah, the story revolves around Zoey. It’s a pretty big black cat. And the kind that gives you a cold stare every now and then, sending shivers down your body. It sort of would remind one of he who must not be named (Yay! The new HP movie is here. Can’t wait to see it!). So on that fine morning, Zoey decided to curl up on the window sil of the only window of the only bathroom in my apartment. And it gave me one of its cold stares as I entered the bathroom…the kind which sizes you up and says ‘Remember this is my space’. I tried to shoo it away. But it didn’t budge. I tried different things (including politely pointing to the door, and I kid you not, I bet it understood and still ignored my gesture and proceeded to make itself more comfortable). So I thought ‘Ok. Let it have its moment of glory’ while I switched activities in my morning routine and proceeded to make my morning cuppa tea. Once done with that, I went back to the bathroom feeling confident that Zoey would have respected the extra allowance of window time and proceeded to its next perch. But no, our friend Zoey was still happily gazing outside the window (longing for the birds flying by I guess). Now folks, you know how mornings are. You have just about enough time for a quick shower and then you run to the bus stop. So I could not give it any more time. I decided to be brave and ignore the fact that a cat was in the bathroom. So I stepped into the bath tub and turned the shower on. And at the very moment when the first drop of water touched the bottom of the bath tub, Zoey’s feet touched the bath tub sil (For lack of a better word, I am using this to refer to the side of the bathtub. If anybody knows what it should be called, please let me know so that I can edit it.) So from the other side of the shower curtain, I could see Zoey’s silhouette perched on the bathtub sil. I poked Zoey from the other side of the curtain, gingerly, with just one finger. And it jumped onto the bathroom floor. Then, thanks to my quick thinking (I know you want to pat my back right now!), I quickly opened the bathroom door and out ran Zoey! So, our mighty looking Zoey is actually scared of the water. But I wonder why it didn’t run when I flushed after you know what. Maybe when I turned on the shower, horror memories flashed in front of Zoey’s eyes – of IPR giving it a good scrub. That explains it.
And by now I know you must be dying to see a picture of the hero/heroine of our today’s story. So ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the star of the evening:

Zoey on its other favorite perch: Kitchen window sil

That’s another thing about Zoey that irritates me. Every now and then, Zoey's paw will rest on the cutting board. Now why would it want to rest its paw (which I am sure is awesomely manicured. Cmon, even if it’s a he, can’t a man, err feline male, enjoy a manicure these days?! 21st century. Metrosexual men. Remember?) on the cutting board which us humans use to cut our daily bread?! And IPR is no less. She will keep the cutting board right there. As if it’s Zoey’s birth right to keep its paw there, like it’s not a cutting board. It’s a paw resting board. And IPR will use the same scotch brite for her dishes and the cats’ dishes. Ewww! Who in their right mind would love cats so much and who in their seriously right mind would want four of them creatures in their house?! Our friend P.J. O'Rourke has explained it very succinctly:

“It's easy to understand why the cat has eclipsed the dog as modern America's favorite pet. People like pets to possess the same qualities they do. Cats are irresponsible and recognize no authority, yet are completely dependent on others for their material needs. Cats cannot be made to do anything useful. Cats are mean for the fun of it.”

I have no idea who P.J. O'Rourke is. But I agree with him. And no, bathing with a cat is not on my list of ’50 things to do before I turn 30’. But I am adding it now. ‘Cos how many of you can boast of having done that? ;)

And just so that I don't offend the other feline inmates of this apartment, here's :

Lily reclining on the cane basket oppposite the fridge

Grace on one of her periodic stops outside my room

The paparazzi has not yet succeeded in clicking a picture of Midnight because as I said she is kept under tight surveillance or shall I say 24 hours security. But they are working on it. So please keep checking this page regularly for updates!

A quick update

2009-07-09T11:35:00.012-04:00

Hello everybody! Sorry about the brief blogging pause. Don't you worry, this time I am determined to keep my blog alive. So here's a quick update on the last few days:

1. I did not get to see the July 4th fireworks.
2. I finally decided to put to use the TV in my room. Only to find that something's wrong with my cable connection. So until and unless IPR fixes it, I will have to postpone TV watching until I am in India.
3. A lot of time has been spent on online window shopping - browsing through store websites and making mental notes of gifts to pick up for family and friends.
4. I am officially addicted to "How I met your mother". So far I had watched the episodes only once. Now I am re-watching and re-re-watching them. I wonder why I still laugh at the same jokes again and again. But I love 'em and they make me laugh. So that's all that matters. Doesn't it?
5. I have been going off to bed at odd times without really having the intention to fall asleep. And then I talk nonsense in my sleep when S calls. I bet he finds my sleep talk extremely cute. (Official blog announcement: S shall henceforth be called 'The Boy' on this blog)
6. IPR taught me how to make sambhar. So far I had never managed to make it just right. You know what I mean. IPR says tadka/tempering is essential as it adds the flavor.
7. Funny incident happened with one of IPR's cats. A separate blogpost shall be dedicated to the cats soon.
8. Roommate visited NYC and I happily played guide to the only touristy place I have been to in NYC - Times Square. Yes dear readers, I went there again! I still can't seem to figure out why people are in awe of this place. It's just a bunch of fancy hoardings and hordes of people (most of them looking upwards, gaping and clicking random pictures. Ofcourse, I did the same minus the gaping). See pictures below.

Have you noticed that everybody who visits Times Square always takes a picture in front of the Yahoo and Nasdaq hoardings and of course The Hard Rock Cafe?

9. Mental note was made that one must act all touristy in one of the next couple of weekends and take the tourist bus (you know one of those double decker ones where you can sit on the top) and marvel at the city's sights and smells.
10. Solemn resolution was also made to stop refreshing orkut/FB/gmail tabs every 2.67 minutes. Ummm...ok gmail is allowed.

P.S Those of you who know me from my workplace in Kolkata will know why one of the pictures was clicked. Any guesses? :)

Shopping and other related stuff

2009-07-04T18:37:00.004-04:00

I love shopping. Whether its for myself or for someone else, I just love going to the malls. After coming to NY, today was my first visit to the mall. And I spent nearly four hours at just a couple of shops. I browsed through each and every aisle at length. I scorned at some of the hideous yet exorbitantly expensive stuff and ooohed and aaahhed over the sweet deals. But its not like I bought anything. I found a good pair of formal shoes but I wasn't sure if I wanted them. So I put them back. After a couple of hours of browsing, I allowed myself a break and sat down at the Starbucks in the mall and did what I love doing at times: People watching. And as I snacked on my blueberry scone, I watched men and women with kids in tow pushing huge shopping carts, some lone shoppers like me, and some disinterested husbands just waiting for their wives to end this torture! I wondered why most men hate shopping. What is it in their DNA or cellular structure that makes them detest this experience that most women find delightful! Are Men really from Mars and Women really from Venus? Then why on Earth are they together on Earth?! Maybe I will ask S about it tonight. The men among my readers: please feel free to vent your suppressed emotions (regarding shopping) here so that I can understand your anatomy better!

P.S Happy 4th!
P.P.S The red eye is gone...yaaay!

Long live Bollywood!

2009-07-02T23:10:00.005-04:00

Munching on grapes and watching Saif twist in the Twist song promo from Love Aaj Kal on youtube, I am reminded of my long lost love for Bollywood. I love the dance-gaana, good looking people, palatial homes/larger than life sets, designer clothes and every bit of other unrealistic stuff that comes with this package titled 'Bollywood'. I love it that the hero and heroine break into a song-dance routine at the drop of a hat. I like the big fat indian weddings and parties.(I am big sucker for feel-good stuff. Evidently.)It's a different story altogether that in real life, neither do I enjoy going to parties nor am I particularly fond of attending weddings (unless its a close friend's or for food).

Anyway, now imagine if Bollywood didn't exist. Then real shaadis would get so boring. What songs would they play during the sangeet?! How would the bride and bridegroom design their D-day clothes according to the latest trends?!
Even real life runs the risk of being boring in the absence of Bollywood. I mean how else will I associate a song with every other situation in my life?! Be it romantic, funny or sad - Bollywood offers all kinds of songs for every kind of situation.

So all of you who share my love for our beloved Bollywood, raise your glasses and say cheers! The rest of you can stay boring and shut up. And I look forward to catching up on all of the Bollywood gossip while I am in India. I am sure my Mum knows all of it. And of course, I am going to catch up on the movies I missed!

Hush-hush

2009-07-01T18:41:00.004-04:00

When I finally decided to end my blogging hiatus, I was torn between two choices. Should I keep my blog private so that no one knows it's me or should I make it public so that everyone knows it’s mine? There are advantages and disadvantages of both. The obvious advantage of guarding your blog like it’s top secret is that you can truly speak your mind without fear of being “found out” or being judged by acquaintances. (Friends of course don’t judge you.) But the disadvantage is that your blog will probably not be well read. Most bloggers take great pleasure in having their blogs read and keep a close watch on their stat counter. I definitely belong to this category (Yes, I celebrate with a drink every weekend if the counter shows a satisfying number. And the drink is of course my usual. Any guesses?).

We all say that we like to speak our mind on our blogs. But when we make it public, we filter some content in order to maintain decorum. Especially because the blog could be read by one's colleagues, boss, teachers, annoying neighbors and cousins! So certain posts just stay as drafts on a blogger’s dashboard And at such times, I wish Blogspot/Blogger would introduce privacy levels for each post (Google developers, are you listening?!). Wordpress does have that flexibility I hear. But I am terribly attached to Blogger for some reason and refuse to move to Wordpress, Tumblr, etc. I wonder why I get attached to such things. Is it the change syndrome again?!

So I wrestled with these choices and ultimately gave in to the benefits of making it public. Comments maketh a blogger happy and the pain of not being well read outweighs the benefits of a private blog. So dear readers, please take this as a gentle hint. (Very subtle, no?) And one of these days, I will go ahead and create a secret blog which will record the secret life and work of M. I will let you all know when I do that so that you can let yourselves loose and look for it everywhere on blogosphere!

Oh by the way, my favorite drink is orange juice/watermelon juice! I bet none of you would have guessed that. And it's not even a secret!

This and that

2009-06-30T18:40:00.010-04:00

So today I had decided to enroll myself in a gym for the time that I am here in NY. Of course this was after much coaxing and cajoling by S. Poor thing spent an hour over the phone trying to explain to me the benefits of staying fit. And of course this is not the first time he has done that. Ani & Swati di, sounds familiar right?;)

So yeah, he finally managed to drive home the necessity and I had truly decided to do the good deed today and prepared myself to be praised by him when we talk tonight. I even took a printout of the google map directions to the gym from work. But as luck would have it, I stepped out of the office only to find that it’s unusually dark and windy and cloudy and by the time I walked ten steps, it began to drizzle. So instead of taking the subway to the gym, I took the bus back home. And rain it did! In fact, there was lightning and thunder to add to the dramatic effect! Its almost like the forces of nature joined hands to ensure that I do not go the gym today. Now tell me what can I do about that? I had even planned on taking my gym gear with me today. So anyway, in my defense, I honestly had the best of intentions!

Apart from that, I am back to my mint-addiction. I wonder whats the connection between me going to work and getting addicted to mints. And that was my gtalk status message today. Needless to say people had a lot to say about it. But where has the creativity disappeared? Four out of five people who commented on it had the same thing to say: "Do you know the side effects of excessive consumption of mints?" (Impotence...duh! And this would invariably be followed by an annoying giggling fit!) The fifth person who commented was a friend from school who thankfully had something different to say! And she said if someone mentioned impotence, I should say: "I do not plan to procreate" or if they meant mental impotency then I should say "I am smart enough already". Ha!

Oh and you know what? On my way to work today, I saw this super creative flower display outside a restaurant window. See picture below:

Isn't it a creative way to use old shoes? I am mighty impressed!

Oh and I saw a white limousine yesterday. Now I don't find it terribly exciting but I remember someone saying to me that there are no white limousines. So this is just to prove my point , ha!

And then a friend went on to make fun of Kolkata chaats. I can tolerate a lot of things but not this. Hmph! I take it very personally. Kolkata chaats are the best. Period.

P.S The red eye is still there.

Everyday stuff

2009-06-29T18:11:00.008-04:00

Now playing: Hai Junoon from New York

Yay! My blog has new clothes. I am thrilled to bits. I wasted nearly a couple of hours (not just mine, but also my friends') yesterday, trying out new skins and finally reverted to the usual one. Nothing seemed to fit my taste. Either it was too dull or too colorful or didn't have as many columns as I would like. This is not the first time I have wasted precious time doing this. Then it struck me. It's the 'change' symptom. I can't seem to stand any change on my blog too. That got me quite worried. Am I really that rigid? But finally today, I took the big step. A new look for my blog. And am glad I did. Otherwise this blog looked just like my old one. It defied the purpose of having a new blog. So that's the story behind my blog's new clothes! (By the way, do you like it? Also, if any of you know someone who designs custom blog templates for free, then please let me know!Note that the keyword here is free)

Other than that, my right eye is red for some odd reason. No I don't have conjunctivitis/Madras eye/Jai (Pronounced: Joy) Bangla. I guess it’s just due to over excessive exposure to the computer (Read: 24x7 minus the time I sleep).

And today I finally got the 4:57 bus back home! I know you won't appreciate my excitement behind this. But for the last few days, I have been noticing that this bus never turns up! In fact, I got drenched in the rain on Friday just waiting for the bus to come. So now you can imagine why I was cursing myself for having forgotten that when I stepped out of office today at 4:45. And as I stepped out, I realized that it's getting cloudy as well. I definitely did not need a re-run of Friday evening. And thank God that it wasn't! The bus got in right on-time and it didn't rain either. So all's well! And on this happy note, I am going to give my eyes some rest and take a short nap!

P.S I just realized that the title of this post is not apt. It's not like my blog has new clothes every day, no?!

Yamma Yamma!

2009-06-27T21:33:00.006-04:00

*Edited at gunpoint
**Published with the permission of all parties involved

You know what makes me feel good? A fun conversation with Hema (Yamma Yamma!). My roommate and best friend from undergrad! Talking to her is like writing in my journal and this post is just a glimpse of our crazy times together :)

Read on...*GIBBERISH ALERT*!

[[8:27:30 PM] manasvi: hema..when she told u
[8:27:33 PM] manasvi: u should have said:
[8:27:42 PM] manasvi: yeh sunne ke pehle mere kaaan phatt kyun nahin gaye
[8:27:47 PM] hema: hahahahahahahaha
[8:27:55 PM] hema: drama queen you are manas
[8:27:58 PM] manasvi: and 3 times u should palat ke look
[8:28:21 PM] hema: 3 times turning n looking
[8:28:25 PM] manasvi: hahahha
[8:28:34 PM] manasvi: actually i have watched too many K serials
[8:28:39 PM] manasvi: i was addicted to them
[8:28:41 PM] manasvi: hate to admit it
[8:28:44 PM] hema: yeah i can see the effect
[8:28:55 PM] manasvi: yeah
[8:29:13 PM] manasvi: silly woman
[8:29:17 PM] manasvi: tum bhi dekho na
[8:29:21 PM] manasvi: silly woman
[8:29:27 PM] manasvi: maine jisey abhi abhi dekha hai
[8:29:32 PM] manasvi: kaun hai woh anjani
[8:29:47 PM] manasvi: usey jitna dekhoon utna sochoon
[8:30:10 PM] hema: silly woman is the name of a K serial????? :O
[8:30:17 PM] manasvi: no hema..it can't be
[8:30:22 PM] hema: hahaha
[8:30:25 PM] manasvi: It would have to be KKilly woman
[8:30:26 PM] manasvi: :D
[8:30:35 PM] hema: it should be villy woman
[8:30:36 PM] hema: hahahaha
[8:30:37 PM] manasvi: K-silly woman maybe
[8:30:46 PM] hema: oh lilke thatttttttttttttt
[8:30:49 PM] manasvi: yes
[8:30:49 PM] manasvi: :D
[8:30:51 PM] hema: ahh!!
[8:30:54 PM] manasvi: silly billy
[8:30:57 PM] hema: i see what ur saying
[8:31:02 PM] manasvi: tubelight
[8:31:10 PM] hema: hehe
[8:31:30 PM] hema: hey listen to black eyes peas my humps please
[8:31:39 PM] manasvi: oh your fav song no?
[8:31:42 PM] hema: yeah
[8:31:43 PM] manasvi: u keep talking abt it
[8:31:48 PM] manasvi: okie will listen
[8:31:51 PM] hema: havent you heard it?
[8:32:00 PM] hema: i met a girl down at the disco
[8:32:00 PM] manasvi: by the way, this conversation of ours is going to the blog
[8:32:13 PM] manasvi: part of it
[8:32:15 PM] hema: she said hey-hey-hey-hey lets go
[8:32:23 PM] hema: what??
[8:32:26 PM] hema: means?
[8:32:31 PM] manasvi: i thought u were saying u really met a woman at a disco
[8:32:33 PM] hema: you will blog abt k serials?
[8:32:40 PM] hema: hahahaah
[8:32:43 PM] manasvi: i am saying ke i am pasting part of this convo on my blog
[8:32:45 PM] manasvi: cos its funny
[8:32:49 PM] hema: noooooooooooooooooooooooooo
[8:32:52 PM] hema: you cant
[8:32:54 PM] hema: which part???
[8:33:04 PM] manasvi: i want to share my happiness with the world..for having a nutty friend like u
[8:33:12 PM] hema: privacy violations
[8:33:17 PM] hema: i could sue you for millions
[8:33:29 PM] hema: ;)
[8:33:31 PM] manasvi: u have blank check already
[8:33:38 PM] manasvi: why go through lawyer n all
[8:33:42 PM] manasvi: extra jhanjhat
[8:33:47 PM] hema: no i will get the court to seize your assets
[8:33:48 PM] manasvi: he ll take off most of it
[8:34:06 PM] hema: declare your assets to me manasvi
[8:34:06 PM] manasvi: hema...hema..when will u learn
[8:34:19 PM] hema: is duniya ke tarike
[8:34:28 PM] manasvi: ke u should pick on someone your own size
[8:34:34 PM] hema: hahahahahaah
[8:34:36 PM] hema: shut up
[8:34:39 PM] manasvi: rofl
[8:34:51 PM] hema: those days are gone when you used to threaten me with size
[8:35:02 PM] hema: ab main badi ho gayi hoon
[8:35:12 PM] manasvi: hema..u haven't grown an inch since then..if anything, u have "shrunk"
[8:35:13 PM] hema: (rofl)
[8:35:19 PM] hema: rubbish woman
[8:35:22 PM] hema: rubbish
[8:35:24 PM] manasvi: and I have grown in width and depth
[8:35:31 PM] hema: depth it seems
[8:35:34 PM] manasvi: so the equation is more disbalanced now
[8:35:39 PM] hema: no
[8:35:40 PM] manasvi: cos i realized am 3D
[8:35:48 PM] manasvi: so i need to have width and depth
[8:35:50 PM] hema: rotfl
[8:35:58 PM] hema: you are 3 D
[8:36:06 PM] hema: you just realized
[8:36:20 PM] manasvi: yeah.. I mean I never gave it much thought before this
[8:36:31 PM] manasvi: but it just dawned upon me
[8:36:51 PM] hema: why dont you blog abt being 3 D
[8:37:13 PM] manasvi: ummm, maybe I should
[8:37:27 PM] manasvi: my readership will increase due to the profound width and depth of my thoughts
[8:37:41 PM] hema: hogu
[8:37:47 PM] hema: enuf manas
[8:37:53 PM] hema: enuf is enuf i say
[8:38:04 PM] manasvi: sigh hema
[8:38:11 PM] manasvi: I never thought this day would come
[8:38:14 PM] manasvi: when you would say this to me
[8:38:47 PM] hema: iyyo manasvita :((
[8:38:59 PM] manasvi: yes hemavathi
[8:39:26 PM] manasvi: this badrinath no... some names he has given us!
[8:39:35 PM] manasvi: and very dilligently we use it also
[8:39:50 PM] hema: heheheheh
[8:41:08 PM] manasvi: Years ago, I had decided I would sue my parents for my name one day..
[8:41:10 PM] hema: crazy you are
[8:41:45 PM] hema: sue ur parentss?? ur so dumb..ur gonna get what is theirs anyway
[8:41:47 PM] hema: stupid
[8:41:53 PM] hema: hahahahahah
[8:42:00 PM] manasvi: true that. didn't think of it then!
[8:42:07 PM] hema: sue ur paretns
[8:42:11 PM] hema: my god
[8:42:14 PM] hema: shiva shiva
[8:42:15 PM] manasvi: like meet your parents
[8:42:20 PM] manasvi: we can make a movie.
[8:42:20 PM] hema: what has this world come to
[8:42:40 PM] hema: ok! im up for it!
[8:42:44 PM] hema: i'll be the heroine
[8:42:50 PM] manasvi: you wanted a break no?
[8:42:55 PM] hema: you can be the heroine's mother
[8:43:04 PM] manasvi: ja jee le apni zindagi
[8:43:09 PM] hema: hahahahahaa
[8:43:16 PM] hema: pah! fullto filmi
[8:43:21 PM] hema: too much
[8:43:23 PM] manasvi: bade pardey pe I will give you break
[8:43:29 PM] manasvi: and woh bhi hollywood mein
[8:43:44 PM] hema: meri to life ban gayi
[8:44:19 PM] manasvi: correct. then 30 years later - Main hemamalini banna chahti hoon.
[8:44:30 PM] hema: yes yes
[8:44:38 PM] hema: i will become sooper star over night
[8:44:40 PM] manasvi: correction. Main hemamalini murali banna chahti hoon
[8:44:52 PM] manasvi: otherwise ppl will get confused with other hemamalini
[8:45:04 PM] hema: kharrectt
[8:45:16 PM] manasvi: yes hema...you can practice your oscar speech now itself
[8:46:29 PM] manasvi: waise, you know what... when I was a kid, I would practice my acceptance speeches in the bathroom...no wonder I would take ages
[8:46:55 PM] manasvi: and I would imagine being on simi garewal's show - Rendezvous...
[8:47:16 PM] hema: yes honey i remember
[8:47:24 PM] hema: hahahahaaha
[8:47:34 PM] hema: you know you were sort of following the secret
[8:47:45 PM] hema: you were living a dream
[8:47:50 PM] hema: without knowing
[8:47:55 PM] hema: had you continued
[8:48:20 PM] hema: you could have become some major action heroine :))
[8:48:25 PM] manasvi: hahahaa
[8:48:25 PM] hema: (rofl)
[8:48:31 PM] hema: no no
[8:48:35 PM] hema: i meant some great person
[8:48:42 PM] hema: nobel laureate
[8:48:45 PM] hema: its not too late
[8:50:22 PM] hema: im alone at home
[8:50:24 PM] hema: alone alone
[8:50:27 PM] manasvi: Home alone
[8:50:28 PM] hema: akele hum
[8:50:29 PM] manasvi: hmmm
[8:50:31 PM] hema: akele tum manas
[8:50:43 PM] manasvi: jo hum tum sang hai toh phir kya gham
[8:50:54 PM] manasvi: manasvi ko hema se pyaar ho gaya
[8:51:14 PM] manasvi: pehli nazar mein pehle pyaar ho gaya
[8:51:25 PM] hema: pehli nazar main nothing happened though
[8:51:29 PM] hema: hmph!!!
[8:51:34 PM] hema: cold looks you gave remmeber?
[8:51:39 PM] manasvi: lots happened no? remember that bus ka look?
[8:51:45 PM] manasvi: that was hidden louu hema
[8:51:46 PM] hema: yeah true
[8:51:51 PM] manasvi: till today u never understood
[8:51:53 PM] hema: dil jiagr dono ghayal hue
[8:52:04 PM] hema: haha
[8:52:10 PM] manasvi: teere nazar dil ke paar ho gayaaaaaaa
[8:52:17 PM] hema: so true manas
[8:52:29 PM] hema: this should be offically our song what say?
[8:52:37 PM] manasvi: yep
[8:52:39 PM] hema: manasvi to hema se pyaar ho gaya
[8:52:50 PM] manasvi: if someone reads this, they will officially declare us gay
[8:52:52 PM] hema: pehli nazar main pehle pyaar ho gaya
[8:52:56 PM] hema: yeah man
[8:53:01 PM] hema: totally
[8:53:17 PM] manasvi: I think this should go to the blog too
[8:53:29 PM] hema: go to the blog?
[8:53:32 PM] manasvi: lets come out in the open
[8:53:37 PM] manasvi: lets declare to the world
[8:53:42 PM] manasvi: our true feelings for each other
[8:53:50 PM] manasvi: which have remained in the closet for years
[8:53:56 PM] manasvi: and are gathering dust
[8:54:16 PM] manasvi: lets seize the moment!
[8:54:18 PM] manasvi: carpe diem!
[8:56:13 PM] manasvi: I love you hema
[8:56:18 PM] hema: omg!
[8:56:20 PM] manasvi: (heart)
[8:56:26 PM] hema: this is what i was afraid of manasvi
[8:56:29 PM] manasvi: (inlove)
[8:56:44 PM] manasvi: I am afraid hema
[8:56:48 PM] manasvi: i have said it
[8:57:02 PM] hema: aur ek lafz mat kaho
[8:57:14 PM] manasvi: the words are out of my mouth and now i cant take them back
[8:57:27 PM] hema: manasvi
[8:57:35 PM] hema: let me apply for jobs woman
[8:58:59 PM] manasvi: okie..
[8:59:09 PM] manasvi: tumhari khushi mein hi meri khushi hai

P.S Utter gibberish no? Don't tell me I didn't warn you! :P

Addicted.

2009-06-27T19:06:00.004-04:00

Ok, so it's confession time. I am addicted. I should have told you all before but I couldn't muster the courage to do so. Sigh...

(Mom, Dad, N and S - Relax! I am not a drug addict, nor do I drink or smoke, ok? Ok.) I am just addicted to my laptop. I wake up in the morning and before I even jump out of bed, with one eye open, I check if anyone has buzzed me or if I have new mails. My family and a few friends don't seem to quite understand my attachment (they call it obsession!) to this inanimate object. But how can we coin it inanimate?! It's through the laptop (duh! and ofcourse the internet!) that I get to see everybody I love, watch them smile, take part in the diwali puja, and show them my room or anything I want to! It's my window to the world I miss and love the most. It connects me to anyone and everyone who matters to me. I wonder if I could have survived in US had I come years ago when technology wasn't so advanced and people spoke to their loved ones back home only on birthdays, anniversaries, festivals and other special occasions. So instead of cribbing that I am away on a faraway, strange land, I am going to count my blessings!

Dear God, thank you for the laptop, high speed internet and cell phone that connects me to everyone I yearn to be with! :)

On Love

2009-06-24T21:19:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since I wrote something here. I won't say I have been busy. But I will say that I have been lethargic and drowning myself in self-pity. And at times like these, there are only a handful of people who can lift my spirits and put me right back on the race track!

I received a comment on my previous post saying 'Love is blind'. So yeah let's talk about love today.

When we are falling in love with someone, it's an exciting feeling. It's a tickling, tingling sensation that keeps you on a high forever. Now if things work out and the person you love reciprocates your feelings, then you are on cloud number nine...only for a bit...for a month, 2 months, 6 months...maybe a year! The period varies from couple to couple. And then you sort of get into a routine. Talking about the same stuff at the same time, day in and day out. Its a wonder that we still find it exciting. I still look forward to that time of the day when S and I talk about our day and our todo lists and other household stuff. And just when you are getting used to this humdrum, your love does something super nice and makes you fall in love with him/her all over again! You get reminded of your 'dating' days and reasons why you initially fell in love with this person. Its again a wonder that from then to now, this person has seen you in the worst of your moods, on your bad hair days and on days when you look your worst. Yet this person continues to love you, cherish you and always tells you that you are the best.

It's true. Love is blind. And I am so glad it's that way! :)

P.S Somehow I am reminded of the song 'Yeh tumhari meri baatein' from Rock on! :)

NY: Reality check (Continued)

2009-06-16T22:12:00.010-04:00

Here are a few pictures I clicked on my way to work:

So yeah, this is NY!

P.S Uma, so now you see that US doesn't look good in all pictures! :)

NY: Reality check

2009-06-13T19:12:00.011-04:00

So it's exactly a week since I came to NY and I thought it would be a good time to summarize my experience so far. I think I understood a lot about myself over this week. A LOT!

While I was at D, I thought I loved the hustle-bustle of big cities. I realized I don't quite enjoy it. Or maybe I do. Maybe I have just got too used to the quiet and peace at D. However, I do know that I love Calcutta. I REALLY do LOVE it! Even though it's big, it's crowded, it's noisy and it's dirty, I still feel it's home. Chennai comes a close second.

When I was in India, I had this very glossy picture of NY in my head. Contrary to popular belief (or at least mine!), NY is like any big city: it's crowded, it's dirty, it's noisy and it's huge. I had imagined it to have perfectly clean roads and sidewalks and prim and proper, well-dressed people. Reality check: it has potholes, horrible traffic...and it smells weird (or maybe I have been spoiled by the clean air at D!). NY has a really diverse mix of people. On one end you have the hoity-toity, immaculately dressed crowd that resides and works in Manhattan, the Wall street bankers and on the other end you even find beggars here. It's fast paced. Everybody is running, always running. Sometimes it almost feels like I am in a daze as I see the city whiz past me. Oh, and I finally went to Manhattan today. And I am not being snobbish here, but seriously, if you just made the buildings in Calcutta taller and newer and a little glossier : Voila! We would have our very own Manhattan! (No offense meant to die-hard New Yorkers!) I didn't really get to see much because my friend had an important matter to attend to. But I did get a glimpse of Times Square and Union Square. It was incredibly crowded. There was a farmer's market set up at Union Square and hordes of people flocked around at the various stalls.

Times Square

Union Square

...and that's me at Union Square! (Sheesh...I have become chubby!)

I hope I get to explore the city a bit more and hopefully appreciate it's energy. After all, it's supposed to be the land of opportunities! Something that I do miss every time I go to a new place is: my family (S, that includes you!). I wish I could go to these places with you all and click pictures where I am not standing alone. Love you and miss you all a lot!

There are other things that I have learned about myself in this past week which I don't feel like writing about right now. More on that later!

Coming up: Pictures of NY that you probably wouldn't have seen before!

The only thing constant in this world is 'change'

2009-06-07T08:16:00.014-04:00

Have I ever told you that 'change' unsettles me? I realized that only about a few months ago.

I didn't like it when I moved to Chennai and it took me a couple of years to settle down. Then when I moved back to Kolkata, believe it or not, first month I actually missed Chennai, just a teenie-weenie bit. And then of course I moved to US and detested it. I was unhappy and miserable and I cried such a lot! (There were many reasons for that in the first couple of months, those of you who know me well would know what I mean!) Soon I settled down and got into a rhythm of things.

And now comes another change - I moved to NY yesterday. I get that 'unsettling' feeling again. My roommate is an Indian Professor who teaches Nutrition in one of the universities close by. We shall call her IPR from now onwards. IPR has 4 cats. I mentioned in one of my posts before that I am not really a dog person. But what I didn't mention is that I am not a cat person either. So it's sort of weird every time I step out of my room to see cats roaming around. I feel like they are glaring at me and saying: "So you are the newbie huh?" Also, the house doesn't look as nice as it looked in the pictures I had seen before. But yeah, this will have to do for the next 10 weeks. I am not sure if I am just paranoid or what but even the food here doesn't taste as good. I ended up having extra sweet cereal with a raw banana for breakfast. And yesterday I made some maggi for a snack. That was the last packet of maggi that I had and imagine my plight when the maggi didn't taste the way it does! I mean how can maggi ever taste bad?! It freaks me out! Anyway, IPR took me out for grocery shopping in the evening and I am stocked with stuff for the week. So far what I have seen of NY is not very nice. It's crowded, dirty, smelly. I miss India and home and parents and S and friends. Sigh...

Anyway, so as you all know now, that this 'unsettling' period is temporary. I call it the inertia of motion. Once I settle down in a place and get into the rhythm, then its like I am moving at a certain fixed pace. And then suddenly I find myself somewhere else. And I feel all unsteady for a bit until I get a grip on things and start moving again!
(Until then, you've to put up with my grumpy self for a bit!)

Oh by the way, here are a few pictures of my new room:

Yet another trip to Boston (with pictures)

2009-05-30T12:51:00.022-04:00

If you are wondering why I haven't been writing much over the past week, then it's because I have been caught up with a lot of things. Last weekend was good fun with friends who drove up here for a visit. We drove up to a couple of places close to school and spent the Memorial Day in Boston. I had wanted to blog about it. But I have been lazy. So I will just mention a few bullet points of things to do if you visit Boston/Cambridge :

1. Boston Common: You can see the state house at one end of the park, or just laze around in the park. During the winter, you can skate on the icy frog pond!

2. Harvard & MIT : Walk around and see the hallowed portals of these two great schools.

3. Charles River: MUST take a walk down the Charles River and marvel at the Boston skyline and watch the yachts sail by. This river forms the border between downtown Boston and Cambrige and Charlestown.

4. Quincy market: Browse through the shops, pick up something to eat and sit by the harbor and watch the ships come and go.

5. Prudential Center: If you are a shopaholic, then you'll love this place. But before you drown yourself in the pleasure of shopping, enjoy the skywalk at the top of the hub. You get a bird's eye view of Boston and a quick brief on the history of one of the oldest cities of US!

And if you are one of those uber-enthusiastic tourists, then you will enjoy walking the Freedom trail - the red brick path that will guide you through the streets of Boston to the most historical sites. I think the easiest way to get around the city is to buy a day-pass and use the T (subway). There are also those 'hop-on hop-off' buses that conduct guided tours. Oh by the way, the first subway line in the United States was inaugurated in Boston!

One of the many marvelous views from the top floor of Prudential Center

Picture of Charles River taken from the subway

Quincy market

Charles River again!

At the Prudential Tower

Outside the gates of Harvard

Statue of the three lies at Harvard:
FIRST LIE: This is not John Harvard! Who is it?
SECOND LIE: John Harvard was not the founder of Harvard.Who was he?

THIRD LIE: Harvard was not founded in 1638. When was it founded?

BONUS QUESTION: What do Harvard Students and tourists do to the statue for luck?
(Answers at the end of the post)

At the Boston Common
State house at Boston

Answers to the Harvard trivia quiz:

1. A 19th-century Harvard student
2. An early financial contributor
3. 1636
4. Rub its shoe

P.S The things-to-do list is not at all comprehensive. Boston has a lot more to offer: museums, art, sports (Red Sox!), nightlife et al!
P.P.S I am sorry I don't have a picture of MIT from this trip 'cos we didn't have the time to go there. But here's a picture from my last trip there!

My sister at MIT

Frog Pond at the Boston Common during winter is open for ice-skating!

Charles River : Frozen!

Make love, not war!

2009-05-26T09:17:00.004-04:00

Something reminded of this quote today:

"We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person. "
-W. Somerset Maugham

I wish people didn't fight. It makes me feel horrible. It's like you are torn between two extremes:
On one end is your unwillingness to give up your ego and hope that the other person will apologize and on the other end is the willingness to forgive and forget. It's a fight between the angel and demon within you. It's a fight between your left brain and right brain. It's the fight between your mind and heart. It's like the toss of a coin - equal probabilities of landing heads/tail up!

So dear readers, think before you decide which end of the bridge you want to be on.
Sometimes, in order to win the battle, you lose the war!
And sometimes, in order to win the war, you have to lose a battle!

P.S. Guys, don't be misled by the language and choice of words. I am really not a violent person.

Sunday

2009-05-24T06:38:00.005-04:00

Good morning world!

You must be wondering what's wrong with this woman to be up at an unearthly hour on a Sunday (its 6:45 AM as I write this, and I woke up at 5:00 AM). A couple of friends are driving up to visit me and I am going to play the host, tour guide, et al. So here I am just waiting for them to arrive!

Anyway, so one of my friends had this as his status message on Facebook and I quite liked it, so I thought of sharing it with you all:

Doing something useful on a Sunday is an insult to the calendrical institution it upholds. The other days would make fun of it...and call it names (Mondays can be a real bitch sometimes..hah) ..be human..be kind...waste the day away..give it the respect it deserves...I'm doing my bit right now... :)

So guys, give Sunday it's due respect! Enjoy the long weekend !!

P.S I have never been too fond of Sundays. Mostly because it makes me feel sad that the weekend is over and that I have to go to work/school tomorrow. Does that mean I won't hate it anymore if I am not working/studying? Time will tell baby!

A beautiful day!

2009-05-23T22:20:00.005-04:00

I am almost done with my spring term (I can't believe that I have been here three terms already!). I have just a couple of more weeks of classes and an exam to go and then am off to NY for my summer internship. Anyway, so today we had our end-of-the-year picnic at one of our Professor's house. Despite the forecasted rain, we decided to go ahead with our plans . It was worth it. The house looked like it was straight out of a story book...or rather one of those amazing vacation homes that I have seen on Travel and Living shows! The living room was so cosy that I just wanted to settle into the rocking chair in the corner (with a book of course!). But the deck was so much more prettier! And there was a HUGE dog outside. Now I am not really a dog person and I don't really go around playing with every other dog. But this one was really harmless and cute. And there was a cat. I forget his name. But he clearly bosses over the dog. Anyway, so the house was by the side of a lake. We had a good time playing around - frisbee, baseball... (atleast we tried!). We canoed. It was my first time! And it was so much fun. Mr. Professor and Mrs. Professor didn't have too much faith in us and were sure that we would topple over. But we did pretty well. Now all this activity obviously made us hungry. There was SO much food. I don't think I have ever eaten so much in a span of six hours (or maybe I have!). So the menu was:

1. Samosas with chutney
2. Naan
3. Dal (Mrs. Professor had taken the pains to cook it herself!)
4. Rice
5. Veg Burger
6. Salad
7. Fruits (strawberries!)
8. Cookies

(there was some chicken curry and beef burger which is not something I would have, so I didn't bother to add it to the list)

We ended the day by warming ourselves up around a fire and eating s'mores (roasted marshmallows and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between a pair of crackers). So that was the end of an 'awesomely' beautiful day! (...and the day of a couple of firsts : canoeing, s'mores!)

P.S See the pictures below! :)

Back to blogosphere!

2009-05-23T12:07:00.000-04:00

Hello readers!

I am back from my blogging hiatus. A very long one at that. And I thought the best way to get back to it would be to start afresh. And hence the new blog! Obviously much has happened since my old blog was abandoned. Here's a gist...

1. Completed my bachelor's.
2. Half-way through my master's!
3. Had my heart broken.
4. Found someone who patched it together again! :)
5. Moved cities...countries!
6. Broken friendships. Renewed friendships. Brand new friendships.
7. Got the taste of paychecks.
8. Went from 'hate cooking' to 'love cooking'!
9. Lost some weight.
10. Put on lots more since then!
11. Grew my hair to a length I would have never imagined on myself.
12. Cut it all over again!
13. Traveled more than I have traveled all my life.
14. ...and spent some quality time with family!

...so trivial as it may sound to you in the above list, my life has been pretty eventful from my perspective. And I thought the best way to sum it up would be to say it's been a mixed-bag-of-emotions and thus the new blog was born! Stay tuned as it grows and blossoms into a wonderful err...blog-being?