A gift to myself

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 ;)

I am back!

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!

M's day out in the city

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! :)

I heart google!

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.

My feline flatmates

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

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? :)