Yes, that's my sound track for October. Andrew Bird's My Skin. Its so very bohemian raphsody and has me singing laling laling laling...which is a good thing because its OCTOBER people! Clearly it doesn't take a genius to figure its my favourite month of the year. It has always been. October is the one month in the year that gives you a break. I'm not speaking in a literal sense, ofcourse in school we used to get holidays for dussehra, but I'm talking about the state of mind here. October is the month to stop running. It's the month of winter sunshine and blue skies. Its not as horrid as those winter months that bring with them coughs and illness, although there's a certain nippiness that adds to the excitement of the month.
Part of what makes October special are the festivals. Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali. I'm not one for festivals but if there is merriment count me in! Yes Navratri is part of my psyche even though I'm as south indian they get. I like Navratri and the whole Daandiya ding. I went for daandiya again this time and it was sooper fun. Funny thing, though, was the fact that after 2 hours of daandiya, the music turned to old faithful punjabee music and Singh again became king. What is it with us and punjabee music?? I'm looking forward to Diwali this time because I get to go to Bangalore for a full week! I can't wait to go to LOR and have cheese bites. yummmm!
Also, another thing that makes October special, is that it features my Birthday. I only like it because I'm guaranteed money and prezzies on this day. Which is a good thing because I'm like a human ATM, doling out money and paying various bills every other day. This time, given the financial situation, I've decided I'll accept only cash. I'm crushed about turning 25 though...eeegad. I don't feel 25 at all and I'm thinking if that says something about me. I don't feel like I have achieved much you know..... aah fuck it. Tomorrow, just tomorrow, I get rich.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Full Award-Shavard Only
what do you know, my dear friend suhas has presented me with the following honour
Thankee, thankee *passeses imaginary glasses of champagne around*. Thanks Suhas :)
I like Suhas's posts because of a quiet sort of irreverance in his writing. This understated way of cocking asnook at things around him is extremely endearing. My favourite ofcourse was the beatles' spoof of yellow submarine. Suhas, my man, do write often.
As with tradition, I'll pass the baton on to some of my favourite blogs who I read quietly and who ofcourse deserve to be read by everyone because they're so awesome.
1. Amrita: My favourite blogger and best friend since yore. I love her details on life as a grad student (ahem, now a pretty famous grad student) in Australia. She also blogs regularly and even though we are miles apart, I feel like I have a pulse on my best buds' life. and Girl, I'm not exaggerating when I say this, you're the only scientist apart from the Stephen Hawking that I'll spend time reading
2. Vaish: I love her blog period. I love the quiet passion with she writes about her travels, food and ofcourse tea. Sometimes, when she's describing food, I can actually feel the taste, sitting over 2 oceans apart. Ofcourse I hate for that because it makes me instantly hungry. Her blog is replete with wonder photographs, especially of food. So don't tell me I didn't warn you if you drool all over your keyboard
3. Megha: I have to admit that her blog is a recent discovery. I got to know her through Amrita and now I'm pretty hooked to her blog. Especially about her travel posts. I see them and sigh a deep sigh and then wanderlust strikes me.
I also read a lot of other blogs. I love Jabberwock's blog and the Mad Mamma. Blogs are a part of my daily fix. The first thing I do in the mornings is check everybody's blog. It sort of reinforces a feeling that all is right with the world you know...knowing that my friends no matter where they are doing great. God bless ya'all
Now here are the rules for all..ahem..awardees..
1. Award other people. (Or zero, or one, or two depending on how seriously you decide to take this).
2. Write a post about this award, and link to my blog in that post.(Optional)
3. Buy me any food or drink for this award. If anyone wants to know I like seafood and no vegetarian food please
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Pop goes my heart
This is an improptu post. Just saw a movie called Music and Lyrics, yeah that one, starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. It was giggle worthy and very cute. But, I don't want to talk about the RomCom buuuut about the title song of this movie. Its called Pop! Goes My Heart. Its hilarious!! My roomate and I were rolling on the floor laughing at this. lololol
It brought up loads of memories of 80s Pop. I LOVE 80s Pop. I grew up on them. My dad used to get something called best of CBS tapes from bombay whenever he came home from there. These CBS tapes contained the hits of the year. Dad was transferred to bombay you see for 12 years I think. We saw him once in 6 months and he came bearing gifts always. To us he was the greatest daddy in the world because he got us so many fabulous things, with twinkle in his eyes. He also got us new music - nice, peppy songs with very catchy beats that we as a family would sway to. That's why I love 80s Pop in a way. It harks back to happier times when music came out of a magic box called the the tape player that we would watch mesmerizedly (is that a word?) looping infinitely. Sigh, theres no charm in the art of playing music these days
There's this quality to 80s Pop that I find utterly endearing. I can't quite describe it - Its cheesy, its weird, its catchy and its sort of uplifting you know? I find it more palatable than Pink Floyd. Sorry people. Thats what I think. But you know what makes Pop ..er..well..Pop? Its the SYNTHESIZER! Any good Pop song would have an overdose of this. May be its just me, but I miss Synthesizer riffs on songs today. Well anyway, the movie got me thinking of my favourite Pop songs. Here they are in no particular order. Go ahead, listen to them and make your day. See thats how much I love the 4 people who read this blog.
1. Step By Step - New Kids on the Block: I used to watch MTV most wanted as a kid in the mornings, before I left for school. When this song came out, I used wait for this song every morning. This is quintessential POP for me. On another note, how cool is my dad? he used to let me watch the most awesome videos and I was 8 years old and was the only one in my class to watch MTV. I even wrote to Nonie, who used to host MTV most wanted at that time. My dad very cutely posted the letter to Hungom Bay, Hong Kong but the buggers never played my song :(
2. Wake me up before you go go - Wham!: I love George Michael, I really do inspite of Wham! I still have the wham tapes. They are mouldy and damaged but it makes me nostalgic to the time when music was about the sound and the beat and not so much about the lyrics. I'm not a lyrics person at all. I somehow don't pay attention what is being sung. I love the beats and the Rhythm. May be that's why I like Pop so much, its sooo uncomplicated you know? While we are discussing Wham! do check out Last Christmas and Faith. George Michael had the sexiest music videos methinks. They were sexy but not trashy. Too Funky is my eternal favourite (would you like me to seduce you? Is that what you're trying to tell me?)
3. Take on Me - A-Ha: Morten Harkett, ahhhhhh, sigh... need I say more. A norse god who sang in english. What more can a girl ask? I loved the song and the video. I saw the video later but it was so close to what I had imagined! Btw is it just me or have we given up on videos? I haven't seen a single video that made go WOW in that last 4 or 5 years. Is our generation so satiated with the digital world that we are no longer inspired?
4. Rhythm is gonna get you - Gloria Esteban & Miami Sound Machine:This song typifies a synthesizer heavy song. This song was even copied bollywood in a movie called Tridev. Yesss that one where Nasseruddin Shah is wearing a Cowboy Hat and Kimi Katkar. Jeez, may be thats why I remember Tridev
5. Tarzon Boy - Baltimora: Raise your hands if you've heard this song before. If you've not, you should not waste a single minute and listen forsooth right NOW! If you're at work, turn up the volume when Maurizio Bassy's voice goes "ooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaahoooooooooooo" ..ok I was trying to represent the Tarzan Howl in text form there.
6. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship: Perfect ending for this post on POP. Great Grace Slick vocals. Sing with me....
And we can build this dream together
Standing strong forever,
Nothings gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothings gonna stop us,
nothings gonna stop us
Ok now, go back to work. Tata and pip-pip
It brought up loads of memories of 80s Pop. I LOVE 80s Pop. I grew up on them. My dad used to get something called best of CBS tapes from bombay whenever he came home from there. These CBS tapes contained the hits of the year. Dad was transferred to bombay you see for 12 years I think. We saw him once in 6 months and he came bearing gifts always. To us he was the greatest daddy in the world because he got us so many fabulous things, with twinkle in his eyes. He also got us new music - nice, peppy songs with very catchy beats that we as a family would sway to. That's why I love 80s Pop in a way. It harks back to happier times when music came out of a magic box called the the tape player that we would watch mesmerizedly (is that a word?) looping infinitely. Sigh, theres no charm in the art of playing music these days
There's this quality to 80s Pop that I find utterly endearing. I can't quite describe it - Its cheesy, its weird, its catchy and its sort of uplifting you know? I find it more palatable than Pink Floyd. Sorry people. Thats what I think. But you know what makes Pop ..er..well..Pop? Its the SYNTHESIZER! Any good Pop song would have an overdose of this. May be its just me, but I miss Synthesizer riffs on songs today. Well anyway, the movie got me thinking of my favourite Pop songs. Here they are in no particular order. Go ahead, listen to them and make your day. See thats how much I love the 4 people who read this blog.
1. Step By Step - New Kids on the Block: I used to watch MTV most wanted as a kid in the mornings, before I left for school. When this song came out, I used wait for this song every morning. This is quintessential POP for me. On another note, how cool is my dad? he used to let me watch the most awesome videos and I was 8 years old and was the only one in my class to watch MTV. I even wrote to Nonie, who used to host MTV most wanted at that time. My dad very cutely posted the letter to Hungom Bay, Hong Kong but the buggers never played my song :(
2. Wake me up before you go go - Wham!: I love George Michael, I really do inspite of Wham! I still have the wham tapes. They are mouldy and damaged but it makes me nostalgic to the time when music was about the sound and the beat and not so much about the lyrics. I'm not a lyrics person at all. I somehow don't pay attention what is being sung. I love the beats and the Rhythm. May be that's why I like Pop so much, its sooo uncomplicated you know? While we are discussing Wham! do check out Last Christmas and Faith. George Michael had the sexiest music videos methinks. They were sexy but not trashy. Too Funky is my eternal favourite (would you like me to seduce you? Is that what you're trying to tell me?)
3. Take on Me - A-Ha: Morten Harkett, ahhhhhh, sigh... need I say more. A norse god who sang in english. What more can a girl ask? I loved the song and the video. I saw the video later but it was so close to what I had imagined! Btw is it just me or have we given up on videos? I haven't seen a single video that made go WOW in that last 4 or 5 years. Is our generation so satiated with the digital world that we are no longer inspired?
4. Rhythm is gonna get you - Gloria Esteban & Miami Sound Machine:This song typifies a synthesizer heavy song. This song was even copied bollywood in a movie called Tridev. Yesss that one where Nasseruddin Shah is wearing a Cowboy Hat and Kimi Katkar. Jeez, may be thats why I remember Tridev
5. Tarzon Boy - Baltimora: Raise your hands if you've heard this song before. If you've not, you should not waste a single minute and listen forsooth right NOW! If you're at work, turn up the volume when Maurizio Bassy's voice goes "ooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaahoooooooooooo" ..ok I was trying to represent the Tarzan Howl in text form there.
6. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship: Perfect ending for this post on POP. Great Grace Slick vocals. Sing with me....
And we can build this dream together
Standing strong forever,
Nothings gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothings gonna stop us,
nothings gonna stop us
Ok now, go back to work. Tata and pip-pip
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
New shoes, Mumbai and other things that make life exciting
The sniffles are out! my home remedies worked and how! Ok I'll stop but just wanted to inform those people hooked on antibiotics to try a safer approach. With the sniffles out of the way, I looked at the world anew and found that we are in September which in Pune means that that the festive season has indeed begun. The Ganesh utsav is on, all speakers blaring, where lord Ganesh, in his fancy new age pandal, can be heard telling the masses that Singh indeed is King. Thats why I love Ganesh Utsav's in Pune. Its so unintentionally irreverant. I've heard more 70's bollywood classics and Shive Sena rhetoric in these pandals than any Bajan extolling Lord Ganesh.Pandals, it seems, are a way of paying homage to the people's "God", so merriment is indeed the norm. Overall good fun, except when you have no power at 9 PM and the speakers outside are still blaring. Yes, these pandals have backup generators when my apartment complex does not. That's the thing about Pune sometimes. Priorities seem misplaced here.
Anyway, had some work at Mumbai last friday so ended up spending the weekend at Good Ol Mumbai. I love driving over to Mumbai. Since I don't have a car, in my case, I'm generally driven there and have ample time to take in the awesome scenary of the western ghats. This drive always invigorates me. After going through the weaving road, crossing the ghats, one feels like entering the promised land on entering Mumbai. It all seems soo apt. What I love though about the drive is the Vada Pavs. I'll say it again for effect - VADA PAVS. I love them. Especially that ones you get at Karjat. Oh my god, this is probably the only thing that is keeping me here. Every time I eat Vada Pavs on the expressway, I think to myself, I'll never leave this country, I'll open a vada pav stall and make it my life's mission to spread this wondrous entity around the country. O ye venture capitalists, if you want the next best thing, look no further than the vada pav. Give me funding you bitches...... Ahem you get the drift. This time the drive was even more awesome because it rained so gloriously. The western ghats look superb when it rains and there are this rivulets that are formed on the road and when you drive at 120 Kmph, it sets off a humongous splash on the side that goes whooooooosh. Its awesome and the twelve year old within me is doing excited cartwheels
Mumbai is ofcourse fun because my favourite cousin lives there with her family. She is my favourite because not only does she make AMAZING mangalorean chicken curry and other sea food, she also does impromptu jigs with me when our fav songs come on. I love her spontaneity. Infact, Mumbai being THE place when it comes to Ganesh Visarjans, we started dancing in the kitchen as we watched a Ganesh procession which was blaring the song "Bachna ae haseeeno..". We were even giggling uncontrollably because the thought of Lord Ganesh asking all the beauties to beware was too funny. And there was this marathi song. My favourite at the moment. Although its a Hindi song, it was featured in a marathi movie. Hear it and tell me its not Groovy. Lol. I love the madness in these moments. When our eyes are shining and we are doing ridiculous dance moves. It does not matter one bit because we are happy and care free
Oh also watched Rock On for the second time with my cousin and her family. I loved the movie and enough has been said to give it an additional 2 weeks at the theatres, although, for me, the show stealer was Purab Kohli. He was without doubt the soul of the film. The movie also reminded me of the RV band that all of us hated but secretly admired. What was their name again? anybody? It had something to do with milk and I remember they had a female drummer. You know I always wanted to be a drummer. Its sooo me. I told this to mom once and she rather over enthusiastically pushed me towards the Violin, which I love and will be the prodigy that I know I am, but I swear when I get my own pad someday, I'm gonna blare drums man! Yes, I'll be that cool drummer chick, with a hot belly button ring and 6 inch heels!
Speaking of heels, I made my pilgrimage to Aldo's store in Worli. Granted, its no Blahnik, but Aldo shoes are still soo HOT. I got myself a beautiful new pair of Mary Janes. I love them. I want to talk to them all day. I want to ask them how their day was and their opinion on who will become the next president of the united states. They're soo pretty that I'm dreading wearing them and besmirching them. At the Aldo store I had a minor celebrity sighting. Lilette Dubey was there with her daughter, Neha (remember Monsoon Wedding?) Oddly enough, they both were wearing identical black and white striped tops. They looked like a tag team wrestling team. I didn't realize it was dear Lilette because her top blinded me but after I got used to the visual aberration, I got my fill of celeberity sneak peaks. I even looked at dear Neha haughtily when she chose a sports shoe. I was all, Neha, darling, what would make you opt for sports shoes when this store is a wondrous heaven of high heels?. She apparently wanted the sports shoes really bad, because mother and daughter asked for the way to the sketchers store and walked out. After I got my prutty prutty shoes, I gushed about them to the loved one over phone. He said he would never understand women. Considering men do the same thing over a fancy new phone, I guess both the the genders will never understand each other.
That was it really. A nice, short fun trip. Great experiences and sooper hot shoes, isn't this how life should always be?
Anyway, had some work at Mumbai last friday so ended up spending the weekend at Good Ol Mumbai. I love driving over to Mumbai. Since I don't have a car, in my case, I'm generally driven there and have ample time to take in the awesome scenary of the western ghats. This drive always invigorates me. After going through the weaving road, crossing the ghats, one feels like entering the promised land on entering Mumbai. It all seems soo apt. What I love though about the drive is the Vada Pavs. I'll say it again for effect - VADA PAVS. I love them. Especially that ones you get at Karjat. Oh my god, this is probably the only thing that is keeping me here. Every time I eat Vada Pavs on the expressway, I think to myself, I'll never leave this country, I'll open a vada pav stall and make it my life's mission to spread this wondrous entity around the country. O ye venture capitalists, if you want the next best thing, look no further than the vada pav. Give me funding you bitches...... Ahem you get the drift. This time the drive was even more awesome because it rained so gloriously. The western ghats look superb when it rains and there are this rivulets that are formed on the road and when you drive at 120 Kmph, it sets off a humongous splash on the side that goes whooooooosh. Its awesome and the twelve year old within me is doing excited cartwheels
Mumbai is ofcourse fun because my favourite cousin lives there with her family. She is my favourite because not only does she make AMAZING mangalorean chicken curry and other sea food, she also does impromptu jigs with me when our fav songs come on. I love her spontaneity. Infact, Mumbai being THE place when it comes to Ganesh Visarjans, we started dancing in the kitchen as we watched a Ganesh procession which was blaring the song "Bachna ae haseeeno..". We were even giggling uncontrollably because the thought of Lord Ganesh asking all the beauties to beware was too funny. And there was this marathi song. My favourite at the moment. Although its a Hindi song, it was featured in a marathi movie. Hear it and tell me its not Groovy. Lol. I love the madness in these moments. When our eyes are shining and we are doing ridiculous dance moves. It does not matter one bit because we are happy and care free
Oh also watched Rock On for the second time with my cousin and her family. I loved the movie and enough has been said to give it an additional 2 weeks at the theatres, although, for me, the show stealer was Purab Kohli. He was without doubt the soul of the film. The movie also reminded me of the RV band that all of us hated but secretly admired. What was their name again? anybody? It had something to do with milk and I remember they had a female drummer. You know I always wanted to be a drummer. Its sooo me. I told this to mom once and she rather over enthusiastically pushed me towards the Violin, which I love and will be the prodigy that I know I am, but I swear when I get my own pad someday, I'm gonna blare drums man! Yes, I'll be that cool drummer chick, with a hot belly button ring and 6 inch heels!
Speaking of heels, I made my pilgrimage to Aldo's store in Worli. Granted, its no Blahnik, but Aldo shoes are still soo HOT. I got myself a beautiful new pair of Mary Janes. I love them. I want to talk to them all day. I want to ask them how their day was and their opinion on who will become the next president of the united states. They're soo pretty that I'm dreading wearing them and besmirching them. At the Aldo store I had a minor celebrity sighting. Lilette Dubey was there with her daughter, Neha (remember Monsoon Wedding?) Oddly enough, they both were wearing identical black and white striped tops. They looked like a tag team wrestling team. I didn't realize it was dear Lilette because her top blinded me but after I got used to the visual aberration, I got my fill of celeberity sneak peaks. I even looked at dear Neha haughtily when she chose a sports shoe. I was all, Neha, darling, what would make you opt for sports shoes when this store is a wondrous heaven of high heels?. She apparently wanted the sports shoes really bad, because mother and daughter asked for the way to the sketchers store and walked out. After I got my prutty prutty shoes, I gushed about them to the loved one over phone. He said he would never understand women. Considering men do the same thing over a fancy new phone, I guess both the the genders will never understand each other.
That was it really. A nice, short fun trip. Great experiences and sooper hot shoes, isn't this how life should always be?
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
STILL not a good time to be me but I try
The update on the fever and the continuous sneezing is that it has graduated into something I can't quite define except that my throat feels quite constricted and I sound like Marlon Brando in the Godfather. That would be such an awesome thing to have except that it isn't the best of voices to interview people with. I was half afraid that the candidate I was interviewing would ask me if we were going to the mattresses yet (haha Godfather movie joke. get?) My throat is still pretty fucked and I'm still sticking by my home remedies for some inane reason when I should be banging on my doctor's door. I don't want to have antibiotics. They make me so weak and wuzzy and give me terrible dreams
In a desperate bid I have given to mixing and matching my various home remedies. Clearly delirium has given way to delusion. I've already mixed herbal tea, milk, turmeric and black pepper to no effect. I'm addicted to a new cough syrup btw. Its an ayurvedic syrup with honey and a couple of herbs. Its so sweet and soothing that I have taken to glugging it like coca cola. It has no alcoholic content whatsoever so I don't feel woozy at work. Instead of chai breaks I have cough syrup breaks. I love it, so much so that I even made a cocktail out of it by adding vanilla vodka to it. It was HEAVENLY! It was possibly the best cocktail ever. It was sweet, had a certain kick to it at the back of throat and... its healthy.
Yes, I know, I should succumb to the antobiotics and stop the drama but honestly these pills scare the beejeesus out of me. I can't decipher the words on the back of the pills and when I don't know what I'm taking, it scares me. Its like sampling a new cuisine, what if the food doesn't agree with you?? Thats why I like my herbal cough syrup. It says - Effective relief from cough. No side effects. Simple enough. So anybody out there have any more home remedies for cold? I'm willing to try out anything before I finally succumb. I also think it would be extremely useful and fun to have list of home remedies. If anybody has any interesting home remedies for anything please put it in the comment section and I'll update it in the post later. Here goes my contribution:
Ze Ultimate Home Remedy List
1. Chicken soup: briliant for minor colds
2. Hot milk, turmeric & pepper: awesome for a sore throat
3. Vodka Martini: Brilliant for anything (wooohooo!)
4. Honey in Hot tea: Soothes a sore throat
In a desperate bid I have given to mixing and matching my various home remedies. Clearly delirium has given way to delusion. I've already mixed herbal tea, milk, turmeric and black pepper to no effect. I'm addicted to a new cough syrup btw. Its an ayurvedic syrup with honey and a couple of herbs. Its so sweet and soothing that I have taken to glugging it like coca cola. It has no alcoholic content whatsoever so I don't feel woozy at work. Instead of chai breaks I have cough syrup breaks. I love it, so much so that I even made a cocktail out of it by adding vanilla vodka to it. It was HEAVENLY! It was possibly the best cocktail ever. It was sweet, had a certain kick to it at the back of throat and... its healthy.
Yes, I know, I should succumb to the antobiotics and stop the drama but honestly these pills scare the beejeesus out of me. I can't decipher the words on the back of the pills and when I don't know what I'm taking, it scares me. Its like sampling a new cuisine, what if the food doesn't agree with you?? Thats why I like my herbal cough syrup. It says - Effective relief from cough. No side effects. Simple enough. So anybody out there have any more home remedies for cold? I'm willing to try out anything before I finally succumb. I also think it would be extremely useful and fun to have list of home remedies. If anybody has any interesting home remedies for anything please put it in the comment section and I'll update it in the post later. Here goes my contribution:
Ze Ultimate Home Remedy List
1. Chicken soup: briliant for minor colds
2. Hot milk, turmeric & pepper: awesome for a sore throat
3. Vodka Martini: Brilliant for anything (wooohooo!)
4. Honey in Hot tea: Soothes a sore throat
Just wondering, if it isn't too crazy, should I try mixing hot milk, turmeric, pepper & vodka?
Monday, September 01, 2008
Soooo not the right time to be ME
Oh man! what a weekend! and what a culmination to that weekend - Sore throat, runny nose, fever (like those all hot, shaky hand type fever) and to top it all MAJOR WORK. I'm telling you its a conspiracy between top management and God. I always get down with a major illness when my work load is at the heaviest. Damn! major sneeze happened right now and the laptop will have to be disinfected I suppose :(
What a weekend, I said, because the parents were here and were all cute and adorable. That's why I don't live with them I suppose. When I do, we get on each other's nerves, when I don't, all the love can't stop gushing. But considering the state I'm in now, I wish ma were here to make me her EXCELLENT masala chai. Living on your own sucks because at times like this, when you are all hoarse and delirious, you STILL have to do all the chores. Can I wail here? I really want to wail and feel sorry for myself now. Even though I have fever now, I will not go to a doctor because in our family we never go to the doctor unless were are literally dying and gasping for breadth. I usually turn to ma for medication advise or just battle it out with Hot water, vicks, turmeric milk and vodka for ammo. You might not believe me, but vodka is EXCELLENT for a small cold. It is, it is, it REALLY is. Those Russians are onto something. I could try the Vodka now but in the state I'm in, I'll prolly puke it all out and feel silly.
Self medication is loads of fun when it works and crappy when it doesn't. I mean 2 weeks back, when I felt a sore throat coming on, I drank up loads of hot milk with turmeric and black pepper. It soo worked and I went around advertizing it as the ultimate cure. Even the cafeteria guy looked at me with reverence for my home remedy. I felt like a droog (in Clockwork Orange), albeit a weird, desi type of droog. Now I'm not so sure about the efficacy of milk. I really hate going to the doctor. It feels like such a chicken thing to do. The last time though, when my fever had reached delirium proportions, I went to the doctor, took my prescription and went out with out paying him. I realized two days later that I hadn't paid! The antibiotics suck too. Makes you all woozy, weak and waify (oh my god, I'm alliterating now?? )
ok, I'll give warm milk and masala chai one more shot, if the fever does not subside, off to the doctor I march and this time, I promise, I'll pay him
What a weekend, I said, because the parents were here and were all cute and adorable. That's why I don't live with them I suppose. When I do, we get on each other's nerves, when I don't, all the love can't stop gushing. But considering the state I'm in now, I wish ma were here to make me her EXCELLENT masala chai. Living on your own sucks because at times like this, when you are all hoarse and delirious, you STILL have to do all the chores. Can I wail here? I really want to wail and feel sorry for myself now. Even though I have fever now, I will not go to a doctor because in our family we never go to the doctor unless were are literally dying and gasping for breadth. I usually turn to ma for medication advise or just battle it out with Hot water, vicks, turmeric milk and vodka for ammo. You might not believe me, but vodka is EXCELLENT for a small cold. It is, it is, it REALLY is. Those Russians are onto something. I could try the Vodka now but in the state I'm in, I'll prolly puke it all out and feel silly.
Self medication is loads of fun when it works and crappy when it doesn't. I mean 2 weeks back, when I felt a sore throat coming on, I drank up loads of hot milk with turmeric and black pepper. It soo worked and I went around advertizing it as the ultimate cure. Even the cafeteria guy looked at me with reverence for my home remedy. I felt like a droog (in Clockwork Orange), albeit a weird, desi type of droog. Now I'm not so sure about the efficacy of milk. I really hate going to the doctor. It feels like such a chicken thing to do. The last time though, when my fever had reached delirium proportions, I went to the doctor, took my prescription and went out with out paying him. I realized two days later that I hadn't paid! The antibiotics suck too. Makes you all woozy, weak and waify (oh my god, I'm alliterating now?? )
ok, I'll give warm milk and masala chai one more shot, if the fever does not subside, off to the doctor I march and this time, I promise, I'll pay him
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Where I wonder why I'm not punjabee
Whenever I see Hindi movies these days, this is the one thought that strikes me - Why am I not punjabee?? Clearly it seems to be the most fun ethnic group around. I see them on screen and wonder why my life isn't like theirs. Why there aren't as many weddings in my family as there seems to be in an average punjabee family. Hell they even have humongous families. What is that punjabees do? multiply like rabbits?? and how, I wonder, do these humongous families manage to sing and dance in perfect synchrony and celebrate the business of holy matrimony? It almost seems like they've all been trained in this matter. I see punjabee weddings and wish that weddings were an olympic sport. I look at them and sigh deeply that I will never see my sombre south Indian family going "shava shava" and I really want "shava shava" although I think its in everybody's interest that south indians not do "shava shava"
Another thing about punjabees is the well endowed-ness. The whole carefree- stress free-I'm-Karan Alhuwalia-I-don't-have-to-work thing. how is it that they never have to work? how is it that they never have worry about appraisals and review? why is it that they have rich daddies? These punjabee daddies are a confusing lot if you ask me. They send their daughters on europe trips (favourite haunt being switzerland) and allow them to spend obscene amounts of money and then act all funny and conservative and start arranging marriages. What sort of twisted logic is that?? although to be fair, most of these punjabee daddies are closet softies and will certainly do the trade mark about turn and agree to the daughter marrying her chosen punjabee, sweet talking, good dancer type, chikna lover.
So I'm thinking, why not me. I want daddy to send me on europe trip too and have a romance on eurail and miss my train and fall in love. I want to have the certainty of knowing that just because I'm punjabee, I'm guaranteed a saccharine life. I want to psuedo rebel against my parents and then sing and dance and make up with them. I want nephews who are called bunty and chintoo and who have little beanies on their head. I want the satisfaction of knowing that I'm guaranteed a life time time supply of butter chicken and sarson ka saag. I want to be assured of having the confidence to break into a ditty number in the middle mall and have everybody around me dance and telepathically know the song too. I want to know that I can shop at Christian Dior's outlet in St.Troprez because being punjabee means never having to worry about that little thing called money.
So clearly, as I have outlined, being punjabee is the ticket to good life and if any punjabee family, preferabbly one owning manufacturing facilities in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, wants to adopt, please pick MEEE!
Another thing about punjabees is the well endowed-ness. The whole carefree- stress free-I'm-Karan Alhuwalia-I-don't-have-to-work thing. how is it that they never have to work? how is it that they never have worry about appraisals and review? why is it that they have rich daddies? These punjabee daddies are a confusing lot if you ask me. They send their daughters on europe trips (favourite haunt being switzerland) and allow them to spend obscene amounts of money and then act all funny and conservative and start arranging marriages. What sort of twisted logic is that?? although to be fair, most of these punjabee daddies are closet softies and will certainly do the trade mark about turn and agree to the daughter marrying her chosen punjabee, sweet talking, good dancer type, chikna lover.
So I'm thinking, why not me. I want daddy to send me on europe trip too and have a romance on eurail and miss my train and fall in love. I want to have the certainty of knowing that just because I'm punjabee, I'm guaranteed a saccharine life. I want to psuedo rebel against my parents and then sing and dance and make up with them. I want nephews who are called bunty and chintoo and who have little beanies on their head. I want the satisfaction of knowing that I'm guaranteed a life time time supply of butter chicken and sarson ka saag. I want to be assured of having the confidence to break into a ditty number in the middle mall and have everybody around me dance and telepathically know the song too. I want to know that I can shop at Christian Dior's outlet in St.Troprez because being punjabee means never having to worry about that little thing called money.
So clearly, as I have outlined, being punjabee is the ticket to good life and if any punjabee family, preferabbly one owning manufacturing facilities in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, wants to adopt, please pick MEEE!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
To summarize, I need a stiff drink
Well the last couple of weekends were fine. It was spent in lovely drunken+ amazing conversation haze, so much so that I don't remember the exact details but just remember feeling nice and dopey. Oh also managed to see the latest Rajnikanth Starrer - Kuselan, which I definitely want to forget. VERY BADLY. So much so that, I hear its going to be the weapon of choice to torture people. Now, now don't get me wrong. I'm HUUUUUUUGE Rajni saar fan. I am. and Infact, I'll even say, "ALL HAIL RAJNIKANTH" (Ok that will attract a huge bunch of fervent I'll-worship-the-very-screen-he-appears-on rajni fans to my blog and if I am not kind in my words, they'll vandalize this blog and I'll lose all hope of that book deal but that's just the risk I must take, so bear with me y'all) but that doesn't take way the fact that I lost 3 hours of my life when I could have shopped!!
Why did I go you ask? Go?? I was bloody dragged there by two wily tam fans who said Dark Knight first and then at the ticket counter said "Kuselan". I believe there even was an impromptu jig by one of them tams but I was too shocked to notice these things (or I was slightly tipsy, was alternating between these 2 extremes, you see). The two tams also happened to be RV College seniors, so much nostalgia happened. Infact, you won't believe this, but at the Kuselan screening we even bumped to a classmate of mine at RV and he had even booked his tickets through the internet. The other 2 tams agreed that THAT was desperate but this dude was like a die hard fan so we respect that. We invited him to sit with us and so there we were, 4 RV college alumni, in poona watching a tamil movie. That is just soooo wrong. Which is why I desperately need women friends in this city
RVites are one of the smartest people I know and so the conversations are usually pretty sharp. We talk about world politics, about the olympics, about the darfur crisis, but when alumni gather, there is only one thing to talk about - RV. Where our current classmates are, what they are doing, basically a lottttt of "THAT bastard got into THAT B-school???" stuff. Then there also is talk about who all got married and that just depresses me. I dunno but just thinking of all those fellow 25 year olds running to the altar, gettin hitched and spoiling it for the rest of us (who have to defend our single existence for no reason) is maddening. I mean what's the tearing hurry??
Th other day, I bought a saree for mom which she outrightly rejected. I told ma that it was fine and that I'd use it to wear to the weddings of all my friends. Her face widened and I knew what was coming and I wanted to hit myself for being stoopid. "All your friends are getting married?? Really?? Shouldn't you too?" Why is marriage a necessary stamp of approval? isn't it about a personal choice to be with the person you love? and if that is so then why is it happening around a particular age? statistically speaking (and I can't believe I'm saying this!!) but this should be a fairly random distribution. I don't have anything against my fellow twenty-somethings getting married but it sure is fucking up things for the rest of us. I mean, I'm asked at work, when I plan to get married!! The other day, I was telling someone that I was goin to bangalore for a week and her immediate reaction was to ask if I was getting engaged!! Jeeeesus!!
I hate this slotting. I hate society sometimes for its oppressive and archaic thinking. So when ma was pleading with me to get married, I told her about this theory called the "Odyssey Years" and I BELIEVE in this theory. It appeared in the Op-ED of the New York times last year and it was written by David Brooks, in which he proposed that twenty somethings these days were going through an "Odyssey" phase where instead of following the traditional path of graduate-find job-marry, they were following a path of self-actualization. Where individual achievement takes precendence over starting a family as the big goal. Read the article here
I told mom about this. Spoke quite passionately about my Odyssey phase. She listened to me patiently and then she said, "What do Americans know huh?"
Why did I go you ask? Go?? I was bloody dragged there by two wily tam fans who said Dark Knight first and then at the ticket counter said "Kuselan". I believe there even was an impromptu jig by one of them tams but I was too shocked to notice these things (or I was slightly tipsy, was alternating between these 2 extremes, you see). The two tams also happened to be RV College seniors, so much nostalgia happened. Infact, you won't believe this, but at the Kuselan screening we even bumped to a classmate of mine at RV and he had even booked his tickets through the internet. The other 2 tams agreed that THAT was desperate but this dude was like a die hard fan so we respect that. We invited him to sit with us and so there we were, 4 RV college alumni, in poona watching a tamil movie. That is just soooo wrong. Which is why I desperately need women friends in this city
RVites are one of the smartest people I know and so the conversations are usually pretty sharp. We talk about world politics, about the olympics, about the darfur crisis, but when alumni gather, there is only one thing to talk about - RV. Where our current classmates are, what they are doing, basically a lottttt of "THAT bastard got into THAT B-school???" stuff. Then there also is talk about who all got married and that just depresses me. I dunno but just thinking of all those fellow 25 year olds running to the altar, gettin hitched and spoiling it for the rest of us (who have to defend our single existence for no reason) is maddening. I mean what's the tearing hurry??
Th other day, I bought a saree for mom which she outrightly rejected. I told ma that it was fine and that I'd use it to wear to the weddings of all my friends. Her face widened and I knew what was coming and I wanted to hit myself for being stoopid. "All your friends are getting married?? Really?? Shouldn't you too?" Why is marriage a necessary stamp of approval? isn't it about a personal choice to be with the person you love? and if that is so then why is it happening around a particular age? statistically speaking (and I can't believe I'm saying this!!) but this should be a fairly random distribution. I don't have anything against my fellow twenty-somethings getting married but it sure is fucking up things for the rest of us. I mean, I'm asked at work, when I plan to get married!! The other day, I was telling someone that I was goin to bangalore for a week and her immediate reaction was to ask if I was getting engaged!! Jeeeesus!!
I hate this slotting. I hate society sometimes for its oppressive and archaic thinking. So when ma was pleading with me to get married, I told her about this theory called the "Odyssey Years" and I BELIEVE in this theory. It appeared in the Op-ED of the New York times last year and it was written by David Brooks, in which he proposed that twenty somethings these days were going through an "Odyssey" phase where instead of following the traditional path of graduate-find job-marry, they were following a path of self-actualization. Where individual achievement takes precendence over starting a family as the big goal. Read the article here
I told mom about this. Spoke quite passionately about my Odyssey phase. She listened to me patiently and then she said, "What do Americans know huh?"
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Let this be a lesson
so the upshot of things was that the Drunken revellery did happen. Over the weekend. And no it wasn't me that got drunk. It was a friend and the best part about dealing with drunken people is that its the best time to wean out secrets from them. And wean out secrets we did although i'm pretty sure that THAT friend will not want to socialize with us ever again and that would truly suck because he was the one with the car. So no more rides, no more late nights, no more random 2 am stops at streetside chaiwallahs, I guess for my sake I better be discreet now.
I'm a social drinker.Yeah ok, not quite a social drinker considering I have a whole bottle of malibu hidden in my closet. I dunno why but I hide things that I don't want to share with anybody in my closet. Just Like my mother actually hmmm. Anyway, so the malibu sits prettily next to my pile of special underwear (too much information??) and I have a swig of it (the malibu not the underwear) every other night. I like it with pineapple juice and that combination is heeavenly! but my drink of choice these days is the dirty martini. A martini makes me feel all grown up and mature. It makes me feel like a woman who has her life sorted and which is extremely sexy as opposed to what I am - a 25 year old who collects happy meal toys
I've never had a particular thing for alcohol tho. I mean it wasn't particularly glamorous because it was never denied to us as kids. My dad loved his beer with fish curry rice and we had a lot of those growing up. Infact my mom completely spoiled beer for me by telling me it was good for the knees!! imagine beer having medicinal properties! I'm glad that my parents were cool about alcohol as it meant that I was regarded as super cool in my school, as I was the only one among them to have tasted all the alcoholic drinks. But their coolness also meant that I could never store my alcohol at home. Infact when I stashed my breezers in our fridge, I would often find those consumed by my folks. Infact my mom even called me at work once and reminded me to get more breezers. Now you know why I moved to pune...
But I've had my drunken tryst with alcohol too. What I describe next doesn't make me look good, but if I wanted to feel good about myself, I'd watch splitsvilla. Anyhow, my drunken binge happened, unfortunately at an office party. The party was at Geofferies and since the alcohol was on the company all of us literally immersed ourselves in an alcohol frenzy. I had 8 tequila shots, 2 large whiskies, 1 glass of wine, 1 cosmopolitan, 2 shots of baileys and then I lost count. Then I also started slapping people around. One of the people I slapped happened to be a senior sales guy and he wasn't particularly pleased with my slapping him and so he poured his wine over head as he was drunk too, see? I don't think I consumed that...and then I passed out on the lawn. When they tried to take me home I started puking my guts out. Another dear friend (I won't say who, you know who you are) who was also drunk and who happened to be in the same cab as mine also started puking but unfortunately inside the cab. The cab driver actually refused to drive any further because of all the puking and demanded that he be paid a thousand bucks more inorder to pay for the cleaning. The onus of pacifying the driver came on the only guy who was not drunk and not puking and I bet at that time he seriously wished that he was one of us puking people.
The next day I felt sick to my stomach and spent the better part of the day in the loo. After that incident I did not drink for a year. Now, in fear of such an event ever ocurring I actually take in just one small drink and make it last the whole evening. Its for the greater good - no puking and no angry cab drivers to deal with
I'm a social drinker.Yeah ok, not quite a social drinker considering I have a whole bottle of malibu hidden in my closet. I dunno why but I hide things that I don't want to share with anybody in my closet. Just Like my mother actually hmmm. Anyway, so the malibu sits prettily next to my pile of special underwear (too much information??) and I have a swig of it (the malibu not the underwear) every other night. I like it with pineapple juice and that combination is heeavenly! but my drink of choice these days is the dirty martini. A martini makes me feel all grown up and mature. It makes me feel like a woman who has her life sorted and which is extremely sexy as opposed to what I am - a 25 year old who collects happy meal toys
I've never had a particular thing for alcohol tho. I mean it wasn't particularly glamorous because it was never denied to us as kids. My dad loved his beer with fish curry rice and we had a lot of those growing up. Infact my mom completely spoiled beer for me by telling me it was good for the knees!! imagine beer having medicinal properties! I'm glad that my parents were cool about alcohol as it meant that I was regarded as super cool in my school, as I was the only one among them to have tasted all the alcoholic drinks. But their coolness also meant that I could never store my alcohol at home. Infact when I stashed my breezers in our fridge, I would often find those consumed by my folks. Infact my mom even called me at work once and reminded me to get more breezers. Now you know why I moved to pune...
But I've had my drunken tryst with alcohol too. What I describe next doesn't make me look good, but if I wanted to feel good about myself, I'd watch splitsvilla. Anyhow, my drunken binge happened, unfortunately at an office party. The party was at Geofferies and since the alcohol was on the company all of us literally immersed ourselves in an alcohol frenzy. I had 8 tequila shots, 2 large whiskies, 1 glass of wine, 1 cosmopolitan, 2 shots of baileys and then I lost count. Then I also started slapping people around. One of the people I slapped happened to be a senior sales guy and he wasn't particularly pleased with my slapping him and so he poured his wine over head as he was drunk too, see? I don't think I consumed that...and then I passed out on the lawn. When they tried to take me home I started puking my guts out. Another dear friend (I won't say who, you know who you are) who was also drunk and who happened to be in the same cab as mine also started puking but unfortunately inside the cab. The cab driver actually refused to drive any further because of all the puking and demanded that he be paid a thousand bucks more inorder to pay for the cleaning. The onus of pacifying the driver came on the only guy who was not drunk and not puking and I bet at that time he seriously wished that he was one of us puking people.
The next day I felt sick to my stomach and spent the better part of the day in the loo. After that incident I did not drink for a year. Now, in fear of such an event ever ocurring I actually take in just one small drink and make it last the whole evening. Its for the greater good - no puking and no angry cab drivers to deal with
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
I Got Panda!
This is a tale of triumph. of inspiration. of overcoming great odds. This is a tale of how I FINALLY got the King-fu Panda Happy Meal toy at McDonalds.
Ok, ok, I realize as someone in my Mid-Twenties, I should not be associating myself with anything MacDonalds. Even remotely, as that would prove detrimental to my cool yuppie chick image and instead should be writing about alcohol, orgies and grass but seriously, I live in Pune, which has not quite recovered from that ill fated rave party (which people still talk about...I mean..C'mon...) so expectations about tales of drunken revelry need to be tempered a lil bit methinks. Also. Also, and this is hugely embarassing, I have a thing for collecting Happy Meal toys. Some ok. Not all *she says, rather defensively*
See, at first I was a huge closet admirer of Happy Meal toys. They were cute alright but I was too embarassed to ask the guy at the counter for fear of being judged. When MacD was rolling out Shrek Characters as Happy Meal toys I was greatly tempted but I resisted myself. Then epiphany happened by way of talking to kay my best gal friend. I told her about my secret craving for Happy Meal toys and found that kay had a whole bloody collection going! and when we were in school, kay was the first one among us to have a living, breathing boyfriend as opposed to some of us (I'm not saying who) who were still into fantasy boyfriends. This fact alone made her an icon in all our eyes and if she was collecting Happy Meal Toys, there is no SHAME in me collecting one too.
So from then on, I became a Happy Meal Nazi. I constantly harassed the MacD staff when they didn't have the "right" toy in stock. I mean they NEVER had shrek in stock. I got the donkey and other assorted characters but NEVER shrek. I personally love the look on their faces when I ask about toys - the "You need to grow up lady!" look, that said I was often perplexed about why I never got the toy of my choice. Are there so many friggin' kids in our country? Why are there so many friggin kids in the first place? Are people having so much sex that kids just happen? why? why? and why me?
When the Kung-Fu Panda toys came out, I again wasn't able to get the panda toy. I enquired in 4 different MacD and still no luck (I can't believe I admitted to that, I sound positively neurotic). Thats when I began to harbour notions that there was a special clique of slimy kids which was working specifically to thwart me in my attempts. Thats when I decided to change strategies. I asked a friend to get me a Happy Meal and to ask if they had the Panda and Guess what? they HAD it!!!. See, see, I told you there was a grand conspiracy.
Ok I sound neurotic but really its more enthusiasm and joy brought on by this coup. And get this, after my friend saw the Panda, he was like "duuuude I should have got one too!"
so moral of this story - Don't ever take me to MacDs and I badly need a drunken revellry jig clearly
Ok, ok, I realize as someone in my Mid-Twenties, I should not be associating myself with anything MacDonalds. Even remotely, as that would prove detrimental to my cool yuppie chick image and instead should be writing about alcohol, orgies and grass but seriously, I live in Pune, which has not quite recovered from that ill fated rave party (which people still talk about...I mean..C'mon...) so expectations about tales of drunken revelry need to be tempered a lil bit methinks. Also. Also, and this is hugely embarassing, I have a thing for collecting Happy Meal toys. Some ok. Not all *she says, rather defensively*
See, at first I was a huge closet admirer of Happy Meal toys. They were cute alright but I was too embarassed to ask the guy at the counter for fear of being judged. When MacD was rolling out Shrek Characters as Happy Meal toys I was greatly tempted but I resisted myself. Then epiphany happened by way of talking to kay my best gal friend. I told her about my secret craving for Happy Meal toys and found that kay had a whole bloody collection going! and when we were in school, kay was the first one among us to have a living, breathing boyfriend as opposed to some of us (I'm not saying who) who were still into fantasy boyfriends. This fact alone made her an icon in all our eyes and if she was collecting Happy Meal Toys, there is no SHAME in me collecting one too.
So from then on, I became a Happy Meal Nazi. I constantly harassed the MacD staff when they didn't have the "right" toy in stock. I mean they NEVER had shrek in stock. I got the donkey and other assorted characters but NEVER shrek. I personally love the look on their faces when I ask about toys - the "You need to grow up lady!" look, that said I was often perplexed about why I never got the toy of my choice. Are there so many friggin' kids in our country? Why are there so many friggin kids in the first place? Are people having so much sex that kids just happen? why? why? and why me?
When the Kung-Fu Panda toys came out, I again wasn't able to get the panda toy. I enquired in 4 different MacD and still no luck (I can't believe I admitted to that, I sound positively neurotic). Thats when I began to harbour notions that there was a special clique of slimy kids which was working specifically to thwart me in my attempts. Thats when I decided to change strategies. I asked a friend to get me a Happy Meal and to ask if they had the Panda and Guess what? they HAD it!!!. See, see, I told you there was a grand conspiracy.
Ok I sound neurotic but really its more enthusiasm and joy brought on by this coup. And get this, after my friend saw the Panda, he was like "duuuude I should have got one too!"
so moral of this story - Don't ever take me to MacDs and I badly need a drunken revellry jig clearly
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Oh Bangalore! or Alternately - Why folks from RVCE will love this post
Sigh! what can I say, every time I visit Bangalore, I realise how much I miss home. This trip was especially nostalgic, considering I visited my alma mater - R V College of Engineering. I'll get to that later but first the really goody details of my trip. Well goody for me anyway!
But thankfully one thing hasn't changed drastically - the RVCE canteen. It's still the same hole-in-the-wall place next to the mech department.
RV sure was fun. It might not have been one of the best places to do engineering, but I'll vouch for this with every ounce of my being, it was the best place to meet people with character & personality!
First, this trip was unusually bountiful. I got a lot of gifts & serious bling from the loved one from his trip to bangkok and I must say that the man has really REALLY good taste! I got a fully ensembled black dress and by fully I mean it even came with a chic bracelet, bling-bling necklace and get this, a CLUTCH PURSE. The whole look was so classy and 50s chic that for a moment, a brief fleeting moment, I felt like Marlene Dietrich. sigh
Ok I'll stop but this trip had lots of good food too. That should interest you all. We went to a restaurant called Take 5 on 100ft road which is supposed to be a jazz restaurant. The ambience was very classy and very Manhattan type-y. The food was EXCELLENT. I mean, even as I write this, I long for their fish fingers in tartar sauce. mmmmmm. They even serve Belgium Beer, which was something I tried for the first time. Apparently belgium beer is "Alive" like all good wines. The beer menu had some good choices with good flavours. I mean never thought cinnamon would serve as an ingredient in a beer! But the big disappointment was the music. They call themselves a Jazz bar and they play U2. Sad that.
But really, do you know what I like about places like these? that these places are generally good conversation enablers. The music is not too loud, the food is amazing, the alcohol too is just right and if the company is good, it makes for stimulating & memorable conversations. Nag and Gowday, my two best buds from ice-tea days in college joined us for one such stimulating dinner. I like the fact that although we have graduated from ice-tea to alcohol, the conversations are just as stimulating, if not more. Oh I also found out that Gowday, by virtue of his job, could get me Rahul Bhattacharya's (Remember Pandits from Pakistan? my rave in my previous post?) number! Good now I know someone who knows someone who has written a book!
Now onto my trip to RV. I had to go there for some mark sheet related work. Found that the place has had a dramatic makeover! As visible from the grand entrance below -
But thankfully one thing hasn't changed drastically - the RVCE canteen. It's still the same hole-in-the-wall place next to the mech department.
Although inflation has caught up with these guys too. Check out the prices for the mini meal, puri-saagu and Idli -vada! a mini meal costs 14 bucks!! dude it was 10 in my time. lol
But inspite of the price rise, the humble mini meal has retained its ..er..essence. It still looks and tastes exactly like I remember it. Its even served by the same people! their expressions too are exactly how I remember them! I owe my engineering existence to this plate of marvel *giggle*
Did I say nothing in the canteen has changed? I'm sorry, something has. They have openly embraced corporate branding. As a marketer, I couldn't be more prouder of my alma mater. It positively warms the cockles of my heart.
But not all branding activity seems to have succeeded. The on campus Coffee Day has been shut down apparently. Sigh. RV Without Coffee Day? What will attract those poor outstation folks to the college then? It was our only plug! and our only salvation towards hipness. Alas!
RV sure was fun. It might not have been one of the best places to do engineering, but I'll vouch for this with every ounce of my being, it was the best place to meet people with character & personality!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Look Out World, She's got a book and she's not afraid to throw it
Damn Right!
Guess what? Yesterday I spent the whole day reading Amitav Ghosh's Calcutta Chromosome. Yes, Even at work (during break times ofcourse!) and then I ran back home as soon as could to finish it. I EVEN (and this makes me sad retrospectively) told the loved one "sorry baby, I'm reading a book, can I call you..er..tomorrow?". It was about 3 AM when I came to the last page and found that this book has the LAMEST, most Fuck-All ending of all times.
I HATE it when a book makes me feel stupid, more so when its absolutely absorbing in every page except the last. It literally made me go HUH? or rather a humongous HUH???
And the worse part is that I like Amitav Ghosh's previous works - Glass Palace, Hungry Tide, In Antique Lands etc. I can't understand why this one turned this way and I've spent the last two hours deciphering the ending on the net, but nobody seems to have a clue. What's even more frustrating is the glowing reviews. Like all of them literary types have understood exactly what the book was all about.
I did like the book tho but the ending just didn't make sense and I felt like calling the author up and asking for an explanation and ofcourse for my money to be returned. If anybody has read this book and more importantly has understood the ending. CALL MEEE
Lately, I've reading a lot of books with Fuck-All endings and its like, I've hit a lean patch equivalent of the literary world. There was Candace Bushnell's 4 blondes before this and that too had a lame ending. But the silver lining in all this is that I am Reading. That I am reading atleast one book a month like I resolved to. I'm glad I can still stay till 4 am reading books when I have work the next day when I know I'll all be bleary eyed, just like it used to be in college. Nothing makes me more happier than curling up with a good book and losing all track of time and space.
Inspite of my whinging today there have been loads of good books that I have read.
*Drumroll please, for the lady recommends.........*
1. Reluctant Fundamentalist - By Mohsin Hamid: sweet, short good read
2. Boys From Brazil - By Ira Levine: Gripping thriller, OMG ending. Loved It
3. Atonement - By Ewan McEvan: Well Written, absorbing. Felt good after reading it
4. Pundits From Pakistan - By Rahul Bhattacharya: My favourite read of the year. I'm not a sports fan but this guy made cricket absorbing for me. Wonderfully constructed sentences on cricket and life in Pakistan. I can't recommend it enough
5. The In-between world of Vikram Lall - By M G Vassanji: Another well written book on the life of 3 asian kids in post colonial Kenya. I'm a sucker for stories with strong political bacdrops so much so that more than a backdrop, it ends up being a strong character in the book.
I have 3 more books on the cards that come highly recommended - Manil Suri's Life of Shiva, Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy (OMG...Yeah I know...I've still not read it.. so shoot me ok?) and Orhan Pamuk's Snow. I hope I'll be able to finish these by the year.
What have you guys been reading? Any recommendations?
Guess what? Yesterday I spent the whole day reading Amitav Ghosh's Calcutta Chromosome. Yes, Even at work (during break times ofcourse!) and then I ran back home as soon as could to finish it. I EVEN (and this makes me sad retrospectively) told the loved one "sorry baby, I'm reading a book, can I call you..er..tomorrow?". It was about 3 AM when I came to the last page and found that this book has the LAMEST, most Fuck-All ending of all times.
I HATE it when a book makes me feel stupid, more so when its absolutely absorbing in every page except the last. It literally made me go HUH? or rather a humongous HUH???
And the worse part is that I like Amitav Ghosh's previous works - Glass Palace, Hungry Tide, In Antique Lands etc. I can't understand why this one turned this way and I've spent the last two hours deciphering the ending on the net, but nobody seems to have a clue. What's even more frustrating is the glowing reviews. Like all of them literary types have understood exactly what the book was all about.
I did like the book tho but the ending just didn't make sense and I felt like calling the author up and asking for an explanation and ofcourse for my money to be returned. If anybody has read this book and more importantly has understood the ending. CALL MEEE
Lately, I've reading a lot of books with Fuck-All endings and its like, I've hit a lean patch equivalent of the literary world. There was Candace Bushnell's 4 blondes before this and that too had a lame ending. But the silver lining in all this is that I am Reading. That I am reading atleast one book a month like I resolved to. I'm glad I can still stay till 4 am reading books when I have work the next day when I know I'll all be bleary eyed, just like it used to be in college. Nothing makes me more happier than curling up with a good book and losing all track of time and space.
Inspite of my whinging today there have been loads of good books that I have read.
*Drumroll please, for the lady recommends.........*
1. Reluctant Fundamentalist - By Mohsin Hamid: sweet, short good read
2. Boys From Brazil - By Ira Levine: Gripping thriller, OMG ending. Loved It
3. Atonement - By Ewan McEvan: Well Written, absorbing. Felt good after reading it
4. Pundits From Pakistan - By Rahul Bhattacharya: My favourite read of the year. I'm not a sports fan but this guy made cricket absorbing for me. Wonderfully constructed sentences on cricket and life in Pakistan. I can't recommend it enough
5. The In-between world of Vikram Lall - By M G Vassanji: Another well written book on the life of 3 asian kids in post colonial Kenya. I'm a sucker for stories with strong political bacdrops so much so that more than a backdrop, it ends up being a strong character in the book.
I have 3 more books on the cards that come highly recommended - Manil Suri's Life of Shiva, Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy (OMG...Yeah I know...I've still not read it.. so shoot me ok?) and Orhan Pamuk's Snow. I hope I'll be able to finish these by the year.
What have you guys been reading? Any recommendations?
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Comment Allez Vous?
Did I mention doom in the last post? Well things have already begun to happily unravel for me. Its time for my annual mid year crisis. I lost my debit card. Well I thought I lost it anyhow and I cancelled the card. And because Citibank sends a replacement card with such alacrity, I found myself consuming copious amounts of Vada Pavs at Joshi Vada Walle for lack of money for a proper dinner. This is the same joint that attracts Auto wallahs and skoda driving peoples in equal proportions and yes, that’s what I said to console myself in this state of temporary penury.
Things always go haywire for me around June time. Work starts getting hectic, I fall sick a zillion times – and what I hate the most – the combination of those two together. Ever since I’ve started working, I’ve noticed that my most demanding projects happen around June-July AND when I’m at my sickest. That’s life telling me – “Deal with it super girl”. This has happened to me every year for the past 3 years that I’m beginning to suspect a collusion between top management and God. It’s as regular as that 3:30 PM email from boss on Friday afternoons.
Well work has involved a lot of traveling too. It took me to Mahabaleshwar where I spent a rain soaked weekend in a resort that had no cell phone signal. The only place where there was signal was a solitary tree near the pool. Things got so desperate that I was seen juggling a laptop, a phone and a gigantic umbrella, sending emails amidst a downpour under that particular tree. I did that for 2 days and when I was checking out, the hotel manager asked me what I was trying to do exactly. When I told him that I was sending emails and that I’m the consummate worker bee and very dedicated to work and do not mind emailing under desperate conditions, he tells me that there was wi-fi in the lobby.
I wanted to KILL HIM!
Work has also taken to me to a lot of five star hotels and the best, most awesome things about these hotels is the most awesome complimentary breakfasts. I dunno whether it reflects on my upbringing, but I feel like an Ethiopian famine survivor at the sight of so much free food. And food that I my bleak, solitary life doesn’t ordinarily see in one place. All to tuck in as much as I ever want. Sigh. I want to die and go to heaven at this time. A heaven that consists of Bacon, pastries, apricot jams, grape fruit juice, scrambled eggs, potato wedges, pancakes and maple syrup…sigh
Work has also made a mini mafia don out of me. I find myself yelling and making bizarre sentences like “I need that consigment in my office even if you have to sacrifice your life for it” or even contemplating on the alcohol consumption of about a 100 middle aged men. Don’t ask. It’s a lot of stress and I end up getting pissed off quite often. I can literally feel the muscles in my forehead stretching.
And sometimes, because I get so stressed, I stress about being stressed and wonder if I’ll be part of the statistic that takes BP pills below the age of 30. As long as I have constant access to complimentary star-hotel breakfasts, I think Not!
Things always go haywire for me around June time. Work starts getting hectic, I fall sick a zillion times – and what I hate the most – the combination of those two together. Ever since I’ve started working, I’ve noticed that my most demanding projects happen around June-July AND when I’m at my sickest. That’s life telling me – “Deal with it super girl”. This has happened to me every year for the past 3 years that I’m beginning to suspect a collusion between top management and God. It’s as regular as that 3:30 PM email from boss on Friday afternoons.
Well work has involved a lot of traveling too. It took me to Mahabaleshwar where I spent a rain soaked weekend in a resort that had no cell phone signal. The only place where there was signal was a solitary tree near the pool. Things got so desperate that I was seen juggling a laptop, a phone and a gigantic umbrella, sending emails amidst a downpour under that particular tree. I did that for 2 days and when I was checking out, the hotel manager asked me what I was trying to do exactly. When I told him that I was sending emails and that I’m the consummate worker bee and very dedicated to work and do not mind emailing under desperate conditions, he tells me that there was wi-fi in the lobby.
I wanted to KILL HIM!
Work has also taken to me to a lot of five star hotels and the best, most awesome things about these hotels is the most awesome complimentary breakfasts. I dunno whether it reflects on my upbringing, but I feel like an Ethiopian famine survivor at the sight of so much free food. And food that I my bleak, solitary life doesn’t ordinarily see in one place. All to tuck in as much as I ever want. Sigh. I want to die and go to heaven at this time. A heaven that consists of Bacon, pastries, apricot jams, grape fruit juice, scrambled eggs, potato wedges, pancakes and maple syrup…sigh
Work has also made a mini mafia don out of me. I find myself yelling and making bizarre sentences like “I need that consigment in my office even if you have to sacrifice your life for it” or even contemplating on the alcohol consumption of about a 100 middle aged men. Don’t ask. It’s a lot of stress and I end up getting pissed off quite often. I can literally feel the muscles in my forehead stretching.
And sometimes, because I get so stressed, I stress about being stressed and wonder if I’ll be part of the statistic that takes BP pills below the age of 30. As long as I have constant access to complimentary star-hotel breakfasts, I think Not!
Friday, May 30, 2008
God ...I thought you were on my side
I have to write, even thought its 2 am in the night. I have to write because this restlessness is killing me.
I always get this way when the season is about to change, actually when the year hits June because, I'm thinking to myself, dear lord its JUNE!!. June is like my time for a mid-year crisis. All of a sudden my birthday is looming, and although most people like the idea of their birth being celebrated, I don't because it terrifies me that I'm getting older. this time I'll be hitting the quarter-century and apparently as a girl in india, thats peak "shelf life". The last chance to get married after which, its all downhill apparently. Usually, I'd scoff at the mere thought of this, but now, I can't help but wonder if it indeed will be downhill.
I can't help but think of the last time I was deliriously happy. It was May 26th 1999, I remember the date very clearly because the 1999 world cup was goin on and India were playing Sri Lanka that day and licked them so royally that the lankans wished that the earth would open up and swallow them. That was not why I was deliriously happy though. My 10th boards results were out that day and I went to school to find out my results in trepidation and anxiety. To my utter joy I found that I had topped the school. I felt on top of the world. I felt like God's anointed child. I felt so high and the world was at my feet. I honestly have never felt this way again or may be I've grown and become more mature. Or so I would like to thing. But that thing that day made me want to love everybody, be a nice person and want to truly love the world because I was so happy.
I dunno if I'll ever get such a moment again but I really, truly want one. Every year I wait for a day where my life truly changes and moves on to another plane. A moment that transforms me for the good. last year it was the move to pune. I guess I did it solely because I wanted a major change. theres nothing as demoralizing as the slow grind of status quo.
May be I'm thinking too much, after all, a date change is nothing to get a panxiety attack over (panic & anxiety attack together) but thats the thing with me, I do think too much. I think in sentences. You know I mentally correct my thoughts if the grammar isn't right? and when I think, I usually concern myself with the worst possible scenario because thats the situation thats really tough to deal with right? and thus my agony.
I forsee nothing but doom at the end of this year.
I always get this way when the season is about to change, actually when the year hits June because, I'm thinking to myself, dear lord its JUNE!!. June is like my time for a mid-year crisis. All of a sudden my birthday is looming, and although most people like the idea of their birth being celebrated, I don't because it terrifies me that I'm getting older. this time I'll be hitting the quarter-century and apparently as a girl in india, thats peak "shelf life". The last chance to get married after which, its all downhill apparently. Usually, I'd scoff at the mere thought of this, but now, I can't help but wonder if it indeed will be downhill.
I can't help but think of the last time I was deliriously happy. It was May 26th 1999, I remember the date very clearly because the 1999 world cup was goin on and India were playing Sri Lanka that day and licked them so royally that the lankans wished that the earth would open up and swallow them. That was not why I was deliriously happy though. My 10th boards results were out that day and I went to school to find out my results in trepidation and anxiety. To my utter joy I found that I had topped the school. I felt on top of the world. I felt like God's anointed child. I felt so high and the world was at my feet. I honestly have never felt this way again or may be I've grown and become more mature. Or so I would like to thing. But that thing that day made me want to love everybody, be a nice person and want to truly love the world because I was so happy.
I dunno if I'll ever get such a moment again but I really, truly want one. Every year I wait for a day where my life truly changes and moves on to another plane. A moment that transforms me for the good. last year it was the move to pune. I guess I did it solely because I wanted a major change. theres nothing as demoralizing as the slow grind of status quo.
May be I'm thinking too much, after all, a date change is nothing to get a panxiety attack over (panic & anxiety attack together) but thats the thing with me, I do think too much. I think in sentences. You know I mentally correct my thoughts if the grammar isn't right? and when I think, I usually concern myself with the worst possible scenario because thats the situation thats really tough to deal with right? and thus my agony.
I forsee nothing but doom at the end of this year.
Friday, May 09, 2008
More Notes From China Trip
I know, I know it's been a month since I came back and my visa to milk this story has run out but things have been quite hectic and I'm in Hyderabad (Oh the new airport totally rocks) and a colleague's T-shirt has inspired me to blog so there...phew! and Also, I made a lot of mental notes which I thought I'd share and besides which one of you smart asses has been to china eh? and by the way things are going, you might soon end up working for the commies and then you'll thank me for these interesting notes.
So, for the interest of future prosperity, here it is in bullet point format:
1. Actually, I'll sneak in some singapore vignettes too, coz you see the genius me managed to sneak in some stop over time at Singapore. See apparently they let you into the country if you have a valid "white" country visa like Australia, USA, UK you get the point right? This visa is free and its diff. from visa on arrival
2. Singapore is mighty expensive. Fie on people who shop in singapore. Laught at them and tell them about this friend you know who got awesome stuff in china for just Rs 500. No kidding, when i got out of the airport, I went to the Raffles City Mall (but naturally since we are such a mall rat) and I almost died to find T-shirts costing 80 sing dollars. Thats like 3000 bucks. eesh. And if anybody raves about Topshop and the likes, again, tell them about this great friend you know who got Prada rip offs for Rs 500 in China so its really no big deal. (thats me btw, if anybody was wondering who this friend was)
(as an aside, I've always wondered about these supposed "friends" when people reference them in to bring credibility to some incredulous claim. Who ARE these people? how did they make it into common floklore and why do not have names and more importantly why am I not in this clique, when clearly they are looked upon with awe and stifled envy)
3. California Roll is not really really Sushi as it does not contain any raw fish and Imagine, just before I found this out, I declared to my bemused host that I aboslutely lurved lurved LOVED Japanese food especially, the california roll. Sometimes I have an IQ of a tomato
4. In china now and it must be mentioned that the chinese (Yes we are making sweeping statements here and that's not politicaly correct but who am I to be politically correct about the commies) come off as rude and quite often you are not sure if they are yelling at you or trying to sell you something or both. Assume the latter. Coz rude is when they try to spit at you for quoting a far below price when bargaining. This happened to me at the Great Wall and I escaped unhurt and without spittle
5. Language is a HUGE problem and the only way to get around is to put on a "Stoopid Foreigner Face" (Yeah thats when an IQ of Tomato helps) . Although, sign language may not help you much. The chumps at singapore airport threw my contact lens solutions off and I had to roam around the streets of Beijing looking for contact lens solution. Fun it was not, as, to explain, what I needed, I pretty often had to pretend like I had a horrible eye disease and hence needed a solution. Get it? EYE SOLUTION? No? they didn't either and everywhere I went, they got out some ghastly looking herbs. Till finally someone told me to go to a spectacle shop
6. Languge is however not a barrier when you are shopping oddly enough. Who knew the potential of the humble calculator to unify two races. Especially between that which won't give a bargain and that which can't live without a bargain. I got that from russel peters and he's so bloody spot on. When you tell the vendors an outrageous price, they all go NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. If the calculator can diminish the language barrier, you have no idea what the mention of Gucci can do to you. Do not for heavens sakes yell out Gucci or Rolex, for you'll be swamped with vendors of fake goods and they'll pull you, assault you, pummel you till you buy it from them
7. Chinese are good at faking things. They can imitate the crap out of anything. I heard that they even had imitation Ferraris. They are soo good at faking, that one day they'll even fake your orgasm for you.
Ok I've been dying to put that out there for ages (hehehe)
8. The food is heavenly but why the Chopsticks??? and who thought that eating food with 2 sticks was a good idea and why did a billion people buy the idea? I say this not out of contempt but out of frustration. Lets say that I was not exactly adroit with the chopsticks and lot of good food slipped through the cracks. A LOT of food. Why can't they copy the good things about western civilization, like Spoon for example?
9. If you see a Bank of China gathering, prostitute yourself if need be and get inside somehow. For these guys dish out the whole deal. Opera and complete string orchestra at the Great Wall of china complete with champagne and stuff. I saw this and I really wanted to part of the chinese creme de la creme. Only briefly and my democratic, human rights self reared its pretty head again
10. Thats the things about China, it brings your nationality and culture into sharper focus. You don't feel like an individual but like some kind of ambassador dressed in dowdy tourist-y clothes. May be its because I'm a proud Indian and there's so much being bandied about the two countries. May be its because I live in a democratic society or may be its because they fucked us in 1965. May be its all of the above Or may be I really do have the IQ of a tomato
So, for the interest of future prosperity, here it is in bullet point format:
1. Actually, I'll sneak in some singapore vignettes too, coz you see the genius me managed to sneak in some stop over time at Singapore. See apparently they let you into the country if you have a valid "white" country visa like Australia, USA, UK you get the point right? This visa is free and its diff. from visa on arrival
2. Singapore is mighty expensive. Fie on people who shop in singapore. Laught at them and tell them about this friend you know who got awesome stuff in china for just Rs 500. No kidding, when i got out of the airport, I went to the Raffles City Mall (but naturally since we are such a mall rat) and I almost died to find T-shirts costing 80 sing dollars. Thats like 3000 bucks. eesh. And if anybody raves about Topshop and the likes, again, tell them about this great friend you know who got Prada rip offs for Rs 500 in China so its really no big deal. (thats me btw, if anybody was wondering who this friend was)
(as an aside, I've always wondered about these supposed "friends" when people reference them in to bring credibility to some incredulous claim. Who ARE these people? how did they make it into common floklore and why do not have names and more importantly why am I not in this clique, when clearly they are looked upon with awe and stifled envy)
3. California Roll is not really really Sushi as it does not contain any raw fish and Imagine, just before I found this out, I declared to my bemused host that I aboslutely lurved lurved LOVED Japanese food especially, the california roll. Sometimes I have an IQ of a tomato
4. In china now and it must be mentioned that the chinese (Yes we are making sweeping statements here and that's not politicaly correct but who am I to be politically correct about the commies) come off as rude and quite often you are not sure if they are yelling at you or trying to sell you something or both. Assume the latter. Coz rude is when they try to spit at you for quoting a far below price when bargaining. This happened to me at the Great Wall and I escaped unhurt and without spittle
5. Language is a HUGE problem and the only way to get around is to put on a "Stoopid Foreigner Face" (Yeah thats when an IQ of Tomato helps) . Although, sign language may not help you much. The chumps at singapore airport threw my contact lens solutions off and I had to roam around the streets of Beijing looking for contact lens solution. Fun it was not, as, to explain, what I needed, I pretty often had to pretend like I had a horrible eye disease and hence needed a solution. Get it? EYE SOLUTION? No? they didn't either and everywhere I went, they got out some ghastly looking herbs. Till finally someone told me to go to a spectacle shop
6. Languge is however not a barrier when you are shopping oddly enough. Who knew the potential of the humble calculator to unify two races. Especially between that which won't give a bargain and that which can't live without a bargain. I got that from russel peters and he's so bloody spot on. When you tell the vendors an outrageous price, they all go NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. If the calculator can diminish the language barrier, you have no idea what the mention of Gucci can do to you. Do not for heavens sakes yell out Gucci or Rolex, for you'll be swamped with vendors of fake goods and they'll pull you, assault you, pummel you till you buy it from them
7. Chinese are good at faking things. They can imitate the crap out of anything. I heard that they even had imitation Ferraris. They are soo good at faking, that one day they'll even fake your orgasm for you.
Ok I've been dying to put that out there for ages (hehehe)
8. The food is heavenly but why the Chopsticks??? and who thought that eating food with 2 sticks was a good idea and why did a billion people buy the idea? I say this not out of contempt but out of frustration. Lets say that I was not exactly adroit with the chopsticks and lot of good food slipped through the cracks. A LOT of food. Why can't they copy the good things about western civilization, like Spoon for example?
9. If you see a Bank of China gathering, prostitute yourself if need be and get inside somehow. For these guys dish out the whole deal. Opera and complete string orchestra at the Great Wall of china complete with champagne and stuff. I saw this and I really wanted to part of the chinese creme de la creme. Only briefly and my democratic, human rights self reared its pretty head again
10. Thats the things about China, it brings your nationality and culture into sharper focus. You don't feel like an individual but like some kind of ambassador dressed in dowdy tourist-y clothes. May be its because I'm a proud Indian and there's so much being bandied about the two countries. May be its because I live in a democratic society or may be its because they fucked us in 1965. May be its all of the above Or may be I really do have the IQ of a tomato
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Yo China!
Well, back in India after a whirl wind trip to China and what can I say except that China took my breadth away! Yes, I got swept away by the commies (literally too, on Tian'nmen square, but that's another story altogether). China is vulgarly showing off. From the moment you enter the international terminal of the beijing airport (a yummy looking building by Norman foster) to the ride through the streets, and the awesome thorough fares that beijing's roads are, its plain - the commies ARE showing off
Beijing International Airport - Its effin' Huge!I'll write in detail about my trip but here's a quick list on what makes china fabulous and why it may also suck sometimes..
Why China is Faaaabulous!
1. The Food! - ok if you're the typical indian who likes getting assaulted by Indian spices then subtle chinese cuisine is not for you, but if you're not, its effing heavenly. I was quite surprised by the variety in their vegetarian food. Trust me folks, this is one country that takes its beans seriously! I've never seen beans being manipulated like these guys do. The taste is subtle, sweet & sourish, crunchy and fresh but NEVER spicy. Thats why its awesome. It never assaults your taste buds. It grows on you with every bite
That's a Fish with its mouth open
More exotic food pics
And oh we had the Peking Duck too, which the locals were very Meh about. We went to a place that was famous for its roast duck and it was soo famous that it had 2 menus!! yes you heard me TWO menus. One for the average crowd and one for the high rollers. I swear its all true. The menus were very corporate brochure type-y and had elaborate images and description. The duck dinner was a 24 course meal! by the end of the 12th course, there even was an effing mid-meal dessert! who's heard of a mid meal dessert. Anyway the food kept coming on a revolving table and I kept sampling everything that came my way in a touristy fashion that clearly amused my hosts.
2. Shopping! - This place has the ability to bring out the maniac in you. Yes you'll be surprised by how easily you part with your yuans because everything is so fucking cheeeeaaap. Soo cheap, that you want to cry that you don't live here or didn't bring a bigger suitcase or don't have a bigger budget or combinations of the the above three. The standard price for evrything is 100 yuan..that about 500 bucks. That will get you a fabulous fake Dolce & Gabana bag, 2 fabulous leather boots, A hot looking Jacket and 2 4 GB pen drives. Almost makes me want to emigrate!
But shopping here is almost like a torrid love affair. You've gotta bargain like crazy and stick to your ground no matter what. The thumb rule I discovered, was 10% of the quoted price - thats generally the OK price. So first they tell you the ridiculous, gargantuan price thats when you gotta put on a zen like face and put forward 10% of the said price (All thru calculator ofcourse). Then their faces bulge out like a fish and they say NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. They then reduce the price by half. but you still have stick to your price. More cajoling and price dropping later, you have to act like you've had enough and pretend to walk out in a huff and thats when they pull you back in and literally hold on to you and assault you. But you still have to be tough and stick to 10%. After all the drama both parties agree to the 10% price, after which everyone agrees that Indians are really good bargainers
Yes its high drama and almost feels like sex, only instead of "Yes! Yes! Yes!" you're saying "100!, 100!,100!"
3. The Heritage - Beijing has the most amazingingly preserved heritage structures. The Forbidden city, Summer Palace and Temple of heaven are breadth taking. Lessons to all indians - no mutilation of any building anywhere. I guess in china they shoot such people
Why China Sucksss
1. No English - Oh yeah, that can screw you up big time. I arrived in Beijing at 2 AM and the cab driver couldn't speak english and didn't know my hotel. Luckily I had with me a woman from WHO who was used such language barriers and put on an expert "Stupid Foreigner Face" that the cop directing traffic at the airport helped us out. All in sign language
2. No sense of service - these guys can also be extremely rude and sadly, do not have a sense of service. Methinks that its more like crude than rude but that attitude is not going to win hearts. My hotel dudes turned out to be cheeky and gave a room far below the standard of what I was paying for. Its only after I complained and showed them their own brochure they upgraded me. It seems like an isolated incident, but most people dealing with tourists like Shopkeepers, peddlers, taxi drivers etc were unusually rude
3. No sense of fun : You know sometimes you get the "Jolly Feeling" from a country...like these blokes are ok? You don't get that in china. People are serious bordering on grumpy and it feels like everyone is wearing the nation's pride on their sleeve when they are interacting with you and not like an individual. Its hard to explain, but it feels like nationality is driving a wedge between two individuals. that is truly sad
But still got some awesome memories - My first authentic chinese meal by the temple of heaven, listening to a chinese opera on the great wall of china (Bank of china - the chinese big kahuna bank was having its annual get together on the great wall and they had the entire shindig - a ensemble orchestra and an opera singer), Shopping at Yashov shopping market, handing out an indian 10 ruppee note to a shop vendor as a trade off, eating sweet spicy apricots, getting swept of the pavement by a marching cadre of the Red army at the Tian'nenmen Square and ofcourse fake Gucci Bag Sellers :)
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Much Excitement is happenning
Oh yes, yes
I've got to be brief because we're writing this from the departure louge of the brand new Mumbai International Airport. Oh yes that's excitement number one.
We're travelling to china people!! to Beijing! Imagine that. Imagine the possibilities of me blogging about the commies. Yes I'll try to provided I can wade the language barrier, which, I got a taste of, when trying to confirm my hotel reservation. I'm still not sure what they have booked me as. Yes I have a complicated now but is that complicated? so the 5 people who read my blog, please check out my travel blog..err...I think it is... Called Garam Chai
Excitement # 2 came in the form of coming fourth in the Brand Equity Quiz- Pune round and in the process getting guess what? A DIAMOND RING!!! yes and its doesn't even fit!! My first ring and it comes from a quiz, not that I'm complaining, but it sounds soo geeky...
Excitement #3 - getting stuck in the lift for 45 mins. I always wanted it to happen to me. Its such a creepy and weird thing. Well this one was ok. I was stuck inside with another guy. Luckily his cell phone had signal so he called his friend and the whole security jing bang came to rescue us. I felt like I was in my favourite movie - Speed. You know - the opening scene where Keanu Reeves save all those people from a Lift. Its like my all time favourite scene ever. Sadly no keanu reeves tho'
Ok gotta rush people, take care and look out for tales from the People's Republic. And no, I'm not taking my "Save Tibet" T-shirt.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Still Rolling
I know what you're thinking...hoping..rather, that this time "Rolling" refers to marijuana and rolling joints and not about that house hunting shit that I was talking about..but..sorry..no, we will go back and dissect that topic even more because guess what? there have been fresh developments. Yes, I have shifted houses AGAIN and now I'm a World Champion House Shifter and boy, can I pack, I can soo pack that I think I should make it a full time occupation.
Turns out that the only thing worse than a single woman house hunting in pune is TWO women house hunting together in pune. This time it’s not the society that is to blame, although it continues to be predictable and be horrendously evil, this time its US - us women. I teamed up with a good friend to go house hunting inspite of already having moved recently because she - the good friend, wanted to move out from her PG and I was feeling all chuffed that I was finally goin to have a cool roomate. I always wanted to have that fantasy roomate. You know where the roomate is this boho-chic, extroverted type, where she'd take the nerd me to all the cool parties- yes THAT roomate. Although this chick wasn't thaat boho and stuff, I was still excited about getting a roomate.
So anyway, we house hunted together and we found a really good deal where the house was all furnished, and for the rent that was being asked, it was as good as MTV CRIBS. So we both were really excited and right when we were about to sign the lease at the broker's, she backed out because, hear this, her "Parents did not want her to move out". This was really it and long story short, I exploded, she exploded, and obviously the friendship exploded and in this combustible mess, I had an epiphany. Actually two. First, most women, if competing for the same prize, HATE each other and second, most women, are actually very weak decision makers.
I’ll explain epiphany two before I lose my last remaining girl friend. I’m not sure if it’s the result of upbringing or self-confidence, but most women I know run all their decisions by their parents. I’ve never seen guys do such a thing but this aspect troubles me. If women can’t decide for themselves how they should live, how they should spend their money, where they should study, what company to work for, no wonder their parents are also decide who their husbands should be. I believe parents are the root cause for this. They bring their girls up on such a tight leash that the girls themselves are unable to take a firm decision without the approval of their parents, in turn feeding the insecurity of the parents with regards to their kids. I think a strong able parent would be one who lets his girl go, one who gives her enough independence to confidently make her own decisions.
Epiphany one is no brainer really. All women HATE each other period. If they are the best of friends today, come tomorrow and they both are competing for the same thing, all bets are off. But then all women tend to take things personally and really can’t look at a situation objectively. Not like men, who can cuss the hell out of each other and can still have a friendly banter on Tendulkar’s batting a moment later. Women hold deadly grudges. I know that because I had a major blow up with almost every woman I know here and it’s true! we all can be quite the bitches.
And suddenly I’m having epiphany three. No wonder I studied Mechanical engineering, where I was pretty much the only girl in the class, No wonder I like working with men more than I do with women, no wonder my closest friends are men, its not other women, its Men! I expect these women to act like men, be independent and fierce like men and it is unfair, given how women are brought up in this country, but I just wish my tribe would be more confident and sure of itself and that sometimes, it's OK to act like men
Turns out that the only thing worse than a single woman house hunting in pune is TWO women house hunting together in pune. This time it’s not the society that is to blame, although it continues to be predictable and be horrendously evil, this time its US - us women. I teamed up with a good friend to go house hunting inspite of already having moved recently because she - the good friend, wanted to move out from her PG and I was feeling all chuffed that I was finally goin to have a cool roomate. I always wanted to have that fantasy roomate. You know where the roomate is this boho-chic, extroverted type, where she'd take the nerd me to all the cool parties- yes THAT roomate. Although this chick wasn't thaat boho and stuff, I was still excited about getting a roomate.
So anyway, we house hunted together and we found a really good deal where the house was all furnished, and for the rent that was being asked, it was as good as MTV CRIBS. So we both were really excited and right when we were about to sign the lease at the broker's, she backed out because, hear this, her "Parents did not want her to move out". This was really it and long story short, I exploded, she exploded, and obviously the friendship exploded and in this combustible mess, I had an epiphany. Actually two. First, most women, if competing for the same prize, HATE each other and second, most women, are actually very weak decision makers.
I’ll explain epiphany two before I lose my last remaining girl friend. I’m not sure if it’s the result of upbringing or self-confidence, but most women I know run all their decisions by their parents. I’ve never seen guys do such a thing but this aspect troubles me. If women can’t decide for themselves how they should live, how they should spend their money, where they should study, what company to work for, no wonder their parents are also decide who their husbands should be. I believe parents are the root cause for this. They bring their girls up on such a tight leash that the girls themselves are unable to take a firm decision without the approval of their parents, in turn feeding the insecurity of the parents with regards to their kids. I think a strong able parent would be one who lets his girl go, one who gives her enough independence to confidently make her own decisions.
Epiphany one is no brainer really. All women HATE each other period. If they are the best of friends today, come tomorrow and they both are competing for the same thing, all bets are off. But then all women tend to take things personally and really can’t look at a situation objectively. Not like men, who can cuss the hell out of each other and can still have a friendly banter on Tendulkar’s batting a moment later. Women hold deadly grudges. I know that because I had a major blow up with almost every woman I know here and it’s true! we all can be quite the bitches.
And suddenly I’m having epiphany three. No wonder I studied Mechanical engineering, where I was pretty much the only girl in the class, No wonder I like working with men more than I do with women, no wonder my closest friends are men, its not other women, its Men! I expect these women to act like men, be independent and fierce like men and it is unfair, given how women are brought up in this country, but I just wish my tribe would be more confident and sure of itself and that sometimes, it's OK to act like men
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Life, Randomness and Horrific A-HA moments
Question: Does it mean that you love your work when you feel guilty about blogging when you're absolutely bored by..er..work?
So...this utterly random day has been puntuated by certain horrific A-HA moments. Horrific
A-HA means stuff that I should have known but was stoopid enough not have figured out sooner. Thats why the horrific part. but this one takes the cake:
Did you know that you can actually convert the case of all the letters in MSWord WITHOUT TYPING THEM OVER? Did you? I just learnt that. All my life I've been cursing MicroSoft for not having such an option, turn out they do. Bastards. Now they make me feel stoopid
There were other comp related stuff - like how to turn an awesomely massive Hi-resolution file into a oh-so-easily-emailable low resolution file, Also and my favourite, how to go directly to your desktop at the click of a button..ah..lot of geeky stuff, that I was clearly too cool for in college.
So...this utterly random day has been puntuated by certain horrific A-HA moments. Horrific
A-HA means stuff that I should have known but was stoopid enough not have figured out sooner. Thats why the horrific part. but this one takes the cake:
Did you know that you can actually convert the case of all the letters in MSWord WITHOUT TYPING THEM OVER? Did you? I just learnt that. All my life I've been cursing MicroSoft for not having such an option, turn out they do. Bastards. Now they make me feel stoopid
There were other comp related stuff - like how to turn an awesomely massive Hi-resolution file into a oh-so-easily-emailable low resolution file, Also and my favourite, how to go directly to your desktop at the click of a button..ah..lot of geeky stuff, that I was clearly too cool for in college.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Where we are that proverbial rolling stone that gathers no moss
...except for the fact that I don't want to be that proverbial rolling stone. I like my roots just fine, but this dratted world just won't let me have any and instead I find myself writing this in a new house and not in that not-so-perfect apartment that I lived in. Which obviously means that this post will be all about spewing venom on house hunting and what a bitch that can be. Lets begin shall we?
The danger to the world isn't terror groups or virulent diseases, it seems, the danger to society is infact the single woman. The reason I was getting evicted in the first place was that I was living alone. My insidious landlord had the nerve to tell me that even though I could pay the increased rent, I had to evict as she wanted a "Family". That word has been my bane throughout the process. Landlords, are perfectly normally people, till I tell them that "its just me". Then their eyes bulge out, they swallow a dozen times and ask me how I'm going to the pay the rent "all by myself". At this point I've heard this refrain so many times that I want to blurt out "By pimping myself mother fucker" but no we can't, we are desperate. Thats when it seems cruel. Cruel how single independant woman are treated.
We work as hard as anybody else but its so unfair sometimes. If you're a woman and your single, the society we live in feels so bloody threatened by it. they want to marry you off, they want to pair you with somebody and if they can't, they want you to just disappear. Nobody asks a guy when he plans to get married even if hes on the wrong side of 35 but for a woman and if shes 25, she over the hill. Its business of the society, it seems to police the single woman - to monitor what shes doing, who she goes out with, who are friends her and oh on the business of friends all the landlords made it perfectly clear that boys were not allowed. Nada. no way. I want to know if bachelors face the same ordeal? Do people tell them that they can't have girl friends over? or is it assumed that boys have raging hormones anyway and they can't control them, its the women who are susceptible and ergo by this insane logic they should be policed.
WTF!!
The danger to the world isn't terror groups or virulent diseases, it seems, the danger to society is infact the single woman. The reason I was getting evicted in the first place was that I was living alone. My insidious landlord had the nerve to tell me that even though I could pay the increased rent, I had to evict as she wanted a "Family". That word has been my bane throughout the process. Landlords, are perfectly normally people, till I tell them that "its just me". Then their eyes bulge out, they swallow a dozen times and ask me how I'm going to the pay the rent "all by myself". At this point I've heard this refrain so many times that I want to blurt out "By pimping myself mother fucker" but no we can't, we are desperate. Thats when it seems cruel. Cruel how single independant woman are treated.
We work as hard as anybody else but its so unfair sometimes. If you're a woman and your single, the society we live in feels so bloody threatened by it. they want to marry you off, they want to pair you with somebody and if they can't, they want you to just disappear. Nobody asks a guy when he plans to get married even if hes on the wrong side of 35 but for a woman and if shes 25, she over the hill. Its business of the society, it seems to police the single woman - to monitor what shes doing, who she goes out with, who are friends her and oh on the business of friends all the landlords made it perfectly clear that boys were not allowed. Nada. no way. I want to know if bachelors face the same ordeal? Do people tell them that they can't have girl friends over? or is it assumed that boys have raging hormones anyway and they can't control them, its the women who are susceptible and ergo by this insane logic they should be policed.
WTF!!
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