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.

Spot the difference!

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

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? :)

Shopping and other related stuff

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!

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

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!