Acknowledgements!

Thanks to all those who expressed (minute amounts of) distress at my moving outta here. You guys are nice souls and I like you. Those of you who visited my new space or tried to, you are all sweethearts, I like you very much. For those meanies who feigned sadness and then forgot about my move, I'm presuming your jealous and hene glad competition has moved, but it's ok - I'm a nice girl and I like you too. BUT, I'm still here and I've still got a comp at home and so this space isn't gone, ok???

Oh I also wanted to mention, all of you who miss my commenting (ahem), Idling has come up with a way for me to comment without it being directed to blogger.com. He says,

"I think I have a solution to your commenting problem on blogger. “Blogger In Draft” allows people to embed the comment form in the post itself so that the URL won’t change to http://www.blogger.com when you try and comment. Try it on my page, and if it works, may be you can get your other blogmates to embed commenting in their posts as well."

And I did try and it did work. So, if anyone is interested, you could try making that change. I mean like atleast TRY! Hmmpph!

P.S: Yes, nasty mood!

Farewell

I can't believe the time has come for me to say Goodbye to my first blog page.Well, I guess I still will come back and use it whenever I can.But thanks to Blogger being censored at my work place, I've got no choice but to move to keep my writing skills intact.I know I can blog from home, but a 9 yr old PC is definitely not blog-friendly. Infact, it isn't 'anything' friendly...Besides, I write to combat work-induced boredom, and so if I don't get to blog from work, I probably never would. I considered quitting my job and moving to another place, but right now this seemed better...*sniff*

Cheer up people, I'm not gonna stop writing, you can now get to read my stuff at www.beetlejuice357.wordpress.com. Just some shmall minor changes. See ya there.

One Tag, Many Questions

Tagged by Satti. I see 2 ways to do this tag. Considering that it contains a set of highly profound questions that warrant some very thought-provoking answers, one way to do it would be the heart-felt way. But that isn't me (atleast not now) The other way is 'my' way. Any guesses which way this is gonna be done?

I am: Preeti

I am not: Dolly (my sis. A lotta people get our names interchanged. I can never get why!)

I think: Actually I don't

I know: that I'm hungry now

I want: Pepperoni pizza

I have: no money

I wish: I had money

I hate: Arrogance and not being understood

I miss: being a kid

I fear: the boogey-monster in the dark

I feel: hungry! (should explain the Pepperoni)

I hear: Some guy here saying, "Ramakrishna is our team-member" on the phone.

I crave: A couple tequila shots right here, right now :( :(

I search: My bag for my comb

I wonder: What I'd wear on my Birthday this year

I regret: Not being able to go to aerobics for the past month and a half

I love: Chilli chicken and honey roasted peanuts (Yea it's all about food!I'm hungry!)

I ache: When I fall down the stairs every-single-time

I care: A little more than necessary

I always: Have my phone around me

I believe: In God

I dance: All the time. People say I dance when I'm normally talking itself (I shake my head and move my hands a lot)

I sing: because I like to sing.

I cry: Pretty easy actually

I don’t always: like company. I need to be alone at times.

I fight: silly!

I write: hardly anything. I type is more like it.

I win: if I'm lucky

I lose: when I'm unlucky

I never: wanna be unloved

I confuse: myself - all the fuckin' time!

I listen: to music I like (obviously)

I can usually be found: talking. No, I can always be found talking.

I am scared: of the dark! Isn't it the same as I fear...Wait a min now, is this some kinda psychometry test?!?

I need: to turn the AC off here before I freeze!

I am happy about: the fact that my Birthday is coming up in just 15 days :D

Q: One religious work from a non-familiar tradition you’ll read:
A: I like reading about Ancient Egyptian Mythology. You know, Ra, Amun Ra and the likes. I don't know if any 'religious works' exist, but just information from google is interesting enough! Blame it on Nefertiti and Tutenkhamun if u wish :)

Q: One music video–that you like–from your “least likely to listen to’ genre:
A: Weird question. One of 'em songs by Bond Girls. I'm not really the instrumental kind.

Q: Somewhere you’d never thought to go on holiday/vacation, and why it might be fun to go there?
A: If I haven't thought of going somewhere, why would I think it would be fun to go there...!?

Q: A sport or game you really hate, or haven’t tried yet, but are willing to give one more go.
A: Bowling. Because I end up falling every time!

Q: A style of dance you probably won’t try..
A: Ballet. Balancing my body on my toes - OUCH!

Q: A career job you don’t feel you’re suited for, and why:
A: Anything to do with software or finance. How much ever I try, I can just never understand writing a program or the stock market!

Q: An item that’s “thinking out of the box’ for you
A: Ahem ahem, cough cough, wink wink! Go figure! :P

Q: If there’s one thing in life you wanted to do, and will do, what will it be?
A: At any given point, there are close to exactly 1 million things I'd wanna do, but what I would do is certainly a mystery, even to me. And so, if I'm asked to confine my doing-desires to just one, it is a task close to impossible!

I tag all ye guys I've linked up on my side bar - too many for this lazy one to type out :) [Excepting 'The One Who Doesn't Wish To Be Tagged'. Hahahaha!]

P.S: 1. Satti, seriyana potti?? Hahahahahahaha!
2. Others: Don't bother figuring out P.S.1!
3. Some kind soul just turned the AC off :) :) :)

Trippin' Pics!

Part of the 'wild-life' at Thekkady



Those goddamn trees that kept us awake. There were million more of these around!



A Waterfall somewhere up-hill to Munnar



Smiling Harsh atop Sankarankutty (we were behind)



There's baby Kannan with his mommy.



View from our room at Munnar.



Stopped the car somewhere in between to get this.



The World Acclaimed Wild Goat. Beware!



The Wild Bison - Thekkady



Our House-boat - Manikandan! (Yea, he had a name)

City City Bang Bang!*

Finally, it's out! Pardon the delay, I was just not in the right mood to write. This one is gonna be long, so, pardon that too!Anyway, let's start off with the basics trip details:

Locations: Ernakulam -> Munnar -> Thekkady -> Kumarakom
Total distance to be covered: Close to 600 kms
Time available: 5 days to be exact.
Mode of transport: Chennai -> Ernakulam => Train, To everywhere else => Qualis
Company: 2 couples and 1 stag. Total fun material.

After a 12-hour train journey to Ernakulam (11 hours of which we slept) our white Qualis met us, along with Raju- our guide cum driver. I, keeping up with tradition, was the back-seater. Which in this case was so not cool. Which meant having American Tourister trolleys for company and being the official supply cabin of the vehicle. Which also meant that it really didn't matter if I had motion sickness, I just had to hand over whatever was required whenever required. More fun material!

Destination I: Munnar
Temperature: For a Chennaiite, just the right temperature to be turned into a human popsicle.
Ok, embarassment time. I have to confess my ignorance. I don't know why or how, I always thought Munnar was one of those beachy places with an abundance of sunshine. Somehow 'Munnar' just doesn't have a hill-station-ish ring to it, like say, Kodaikanal or Ooty. Thankfully, when I was just about packing my bags, Pp 'reminded' me to carry warm clothing. And the closest to 'warm clothing' I carried along was a couple of shrugs (For those uninitiated into women's-clothing, these are those small jacket-ish things that are meant not to cover anything but just be worn anyway. And oh, both of mine had holes all over).

The trip, though, helped me to discover another of my hidden facets - getting up a mountain makes me as sick as, uhm, someone sick (I should stop trying to use similies). I've heard a lotta people tell me earlier that they tend to feel nauseous when going up and blah, but I always thought I was that 'steel-body' kinds and nothing could affect me. And so through the entire trip, the only position I could be found in, in the car, would be curled- hugging the seat with my eyes tightly shut and that weirdly pukey, groggy expression on my face. But I guess the rest of the world in that car were oblivious to my discomfort. Every now and then I would hear someone go, "Preeti? What are you doing? Why so silent? And oh yea, pass me the water". And I would mumble something incoherently and they would go, "Always sleeping. Wonder why you came for the trip!" They should be thanking their stars I wasn't well enough right then.

To top it all, our 'resort' was located somewhere close to the tip of the mountain and the only other thing we could hear at night other than our own echoes, was the slow but constant zzzhhhhhhhh of the wind through the trees. And it was LOUD! Like each tree had it's own amplifier and 3-D surround speakers or whatever. I slept in between my parents (Fine, I'm a killjoy, but in my defense, those noises were pretty eerie!) Dad fell sick and Dolz was puking through the night. So much for a 'relaxing' vacation.

We did do our share of 'sight-seeing' and 'photo-taking'. We even climbed some real high peak to spot a couple of 'wild-goats'! C'mon, they are goats!!! Incidentally, when I was passing on this 'just goats up there' information to the rest of the family, one of the officials out there happened to eavesdrop on our conversation and he immediately burst out, "It is naat justa goatsa madam! These goatsa are seen wonly here! Nowhere else in the entaayree warld you will see this, ok???So don't say 'just goats' ok??? Too bad for him I was just recuperating from the journey uphill. (My motion sickness seems to have been a blessing in disguise for a lotta people, huh?)

The rest was the usual valley, waterfall, echo point thing. I mean, what else could a mountain offer!? Yea, yea it was beautiful, picteresque and all that. Yea, every crappy picture of mine looked frame-worthy because the place was just so-damn-beautiful, but even excessive beauty could cause sore eyes! We were really glad when 2 nights after, it was time to head to Destination 2. I must say, you see one mountain, you've seen 'em all!

Destination 2: Thekkady
Temperature: Uhm, sunny but cold. Not too bad
We found Thekkady a lot better than Munnar. We reached around 12.30 pm, had lunch and wanted to check-in. But we were told by our driver that once we check in, we couldn't get out after 6 pm. We were intrigued and assumed it was because wild animals would be on their rampage or something equally exciting, but he confirmed it was nothing of the sort and had to do with political crap.

We were in a 'Tiger Reserve' with supposedly 45 tigers inside and we spotted anything but. Infact, I think all we saw (apart from killer insects) were 'Wild' Domestic animals. Like wild pig, wild buffalo, wild goats etc etc.

Me and Dolz were certain we spotted quite a large no. of UFIs here -Unidentified Flying Insects. And by large no., I mean LARGE. If in Munnar it was the noise that kept me awake, here it was the lack of it and the fear of waking up to an insect-infested body! (inspite of sleeping in between my parents!) Thankfully, we spent just one night and a couple of hours before that here.

Other stuff we did there was: Go on an early morning boat-ride (we saw a lone elephant somewhere in the distance, or so I think), watch a Kalaripayattu show (which was AWESOME really. Will try and post the videos), go to a wax museum (which had wax dolls of Mohanlal and Mammooty, which we got to know from the sign-post below. They also had aquariums and really ugly paintings on display), do a bit of shopping (for nothing really) AND do an elephant ride. This was good. Me, Dolz and Harsh atop Sankarankutty (who was anything but kutti, ie, small). A 30-minute ass-fracturing ride. But who am I to complain when I'm not the one with 200 kilos on top huh? Oh, there was also this absolutely adorableeeee 1-year old ele baby named Kannan. He was just soooooooo cute and naughty! He even caught my mum's saree with his trunk and almost did a mini Draupadi-sequence there, if not for his care-taker's rebuke. It left my mum giggling and blushing while my Dad was FURIOUS! Time now for Destination 3.

Destination 3: Kumarakom
Temperature: Hot, humid, sweaty
This is the Kerala I thought I knew. And also what I wanted to see. Coconut trees et al! We stayed on one of 'em house-boats (corrected thanks to xh). Pretty good actually. Even the food. We were really in for a surprise when the boys on the deck turned out to be really good cooks! And they made alllllll of our favorite mallu food - puttu and kadalai, pazham pori, Pomfret fry for Daddy - all of it.

I know I sound like I really liked it. I did, but not for more than a day. (Part of my liking was because I was thankful as ever to be on levelled roads and no hair-pin bends!) The initial ride across the back-waters was really nice. It even rained. But how long can you stare at a huge expanse of water!?? After a point, I was just yearningly looking at the land across. It was the thought that there was just another day to go that kept me going. But I must say, the best food and sleep that we had through the entire trip was here. (Ignoring the million mosquitoes and lizards)

Finally, it was time to get back. We pit-stopped at 2 beautiful temples - Chottanikara and Vaikom Sivan temple on the way to Ernakulam. There we met up with a couple of our realllyyyy close family friends from Bahrain and it was time for a lotta nostaligia. That done, we were all set for Chennai.

I realized that I'm a total city person. None of this wildlife, greenery stuff for me. It's all fine to a limit, but not more. I just love the noise and bustle of a city, the fast-life, the luxury- everything! I need to see people move around, not just still-life. I can get my dose of the nature stuff from Discovery& NatGeo, paintings and google and I'm totally fine with that! I'll put up photos shortly. Left them at home and didn't wanna put off posting this because of that. And oh, thank you for your patient reading. You asked for it!

Update! P.S: 1. *- The title IS a popular show on Radio City (as Scribblers Inc. pointed out) It isn't a coincidence, I used the name to express my love for the 'city' but I guess I should've included this attribution before :P
2. I've also come to the conclusion that most of you thought I had a good time. Well, I had an O.K time which definitely is not the same as good. This post was meant to be sarcastic but I guess a lot of it wasn't received. Anyway, maybe I should accept that (it sounds like) I had a good time!

Happy Birthday!

Before I put out my trip-log, I just have to post this wish for one of my BESTEST friends- Janie Wanie! There are like a million names that I've called her through our 7-year friendship (Can you believe it has been 7 whole fucking years..!??) Janie, Johnny Bravo, Panni etc etc, basically anything but her real name Jane!

Through 4 years of engineering and another 2 years of MBA, we've been through every-single-shit of ours together. There were some crazy times when we stopped talking to each other for totally pointless reasons but I always knew deep down that together we were meant to be! Ok, being senti is sooo not us, so I'm cutting this down totally :D

Whether or not I express it (it just wouldn't come out right, however I try), I know for sure that you know what you mean to me. The both of us somehow have that weird connection - we just know it, accept it and don't care to express it. And to me, that's what keeps us going. Love you always and forever - so, so very much di. You truly mean the world to me. And we're gonna make it through tough times ahead together :) Here's wishing you a super Happy Birthday and an awesomely, absofuckinglutely (quoting you!) kick-ass life ahead. Muahhhh!!!

P.S: This post hasn't done even 1% justice to what you mean to me, Jane. There are way too many things to mention if details are to be given. I could go on (pretty much) forever on this!

I'm BACK!!!

Buhahahahahaha!

I've just GOT to tell you all about my tour. I'm like brimming with enthusiasm (!) to let it all out. But I just haven't gotten around to writing it out today. So I'm gonna let that be done tomorrow. BUT I just couldn't resist coming here and telling y'all that I'm BACK! And boy! Am I happy to be back or WHAT?!*
*Did that give away how my trip went???

P.S: I 'almost' kissed the Chennai Central floor today morning. But, uhm, decided against it as the 'suveet shmell' hit my nose :D
2. I will clear all the back-logs in replies to the comments in the previous post tomorrow as well! I'm HAPPY!!!

No Peanuts for me Please!

I'm a very weird person really. As I've probably mentioned a million times over, I'm crazily sensitive and sometimes the weirdest of things gets on my nerves and irritates the hell outta me. One of those things is, going by the title, what is most commonly known as the F word - Flirting! (Not that F word!).

Oh, before I continue, I realized that the title relevance would be lost on those who aren't local, ie, not from Chennai. In youth-Tamil (Tamil of the youngsters), we call flirting 'Kadalai podardu'. Kadalai = peanuts, podardu = putting. Now, eating peanuts is considered a time-pass and so is a guy talking to a girl. No clue where this phrase originated and where it was used first. Most likely to be in some Engineering college and as a code-word. There are many such interesting phrases but we shall look into them as and when required, ok class..?? *laughs at own alpa (trivial) joke*
This translation game is getting konjam (little) stale..Aaaah!!!

Anyway, as I was saying, I hate being the flirtee in the entire process of Flirting. I really don't mean to come across as vain (not even close, please!) but I have been on the receiving end of some lameeeee attempts and it kinda makes me :( I've got noooo clue why!Like this one sms conversation:

Me (tensed): "Ok, so I'll send u my resume by tomorrow. Hoping for the best!"
Guy: "Haha, you are so cute"
Me: ?!?!

The history behind this guy I unforunately cannot tell, just incase, but the reason it was sooo annoying was because I know for a fact that his intention was to flirt (though he claims he is in love with me. Like yea rite!)

I just wish guys would be normal when around a girl. Whether or not they have a crush on her or are trying to get her out on a date. Not all girls fall for flattery! And also when the display of affection or care has an (obvious) underlying motive, it creeps me out.

Like when I was sick last week (with just a goddamn cold), this guy actually gave me a mini condolence talk (that's what I call it) like I had some extremely communicable disease and would just about drop-dead any second.

And then there's reassurance. The you-are-so-pretty or you're-just-perfect routine. Sometimes I wonder if my adverse reaction is because I don't like, as in like, the guy in question and whether if I did like him, maybe I wouldn't mind this. But no, that's not true. It's just that it's all so obviously flaky and fake!

Unfortunately I'm a person loaded with guilt. My Guilt is the bane of my existence, really. I feel miserable not to reply to an sms from these guys because they are friends, afterall. But at the same time, I'm extremely conscious of my intentions being misconstrued!

Friendly is fun and funny is fine, but flirty....? No, no, no!

P.S: 1. I'm not a mean girl! I'm not :-/ :(
2. Today is special. EXACTLY 1 month to go for my Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

It's Prathiboo's Birthday! The Day of the Pink Lady has finally arrived! As always, I'm excited, but here is one girl who probably shares the sameeee amount of excitement for Birthdays as me! The ensemble shopping, the hype and allllll that jazz!

For all that she's going through right now, I'm hoping and praying with ALL my (big) heart that the year ahead is gonna be allll full of smiles for her and she gets exactly everything that she's wished for! I'm kinda more than certain that this is going to happen! You just wait and see di!

A part of the veritable Sexcee Six, Princess Cinderella from the Elegant Group of Princesses, this girl is one person I totally totally love. I know you know this but lemme say it again today I do love you so Prathi! :) Muah!!! And Happy Happy Birthday to you!

And it Continues :)

The Happy-Happy phase continues. I guess all that tension from last week is slowly fizzing out thanks to the all-pervading happiness :)

The babe is fine. He's shifted outta the ICU now. Pretty soon you think? Well, apparently inspite of the sedatives, he was sooo hyper inside that they decided it was OK to let him out :) And now that he's out, he's all raring to go. Though he does complain of pain intermittently (like obviously!), he's doing fine and blabbering non-stop! :) These are moments when I guess Ignorance is really Bliss. He doesn't know what's happening to him and all he cares about is being done with whatever's happening to him, whatever's holding him down from getting on that cycle and romping around my grandmum's place scaring those kittens away! And he'd do anything to get out of his present state (of misery).

But imagine on the other side, someone like my Mum. Paranoid about dying in her sleep. Paranoid about waking up, sitting down, walking etc etc. According to the Doc, she had one block and after her angioplasty her heart is probably in a better condition than most normal people and her chances of having another attack would be the same as any other normal person! And yet she's scared. Why? Because she 'knows' (or so she thinks), she hears, she reads, she's supposedly 'aware' and that is just about a big pain in the...wherever!

Anyway, this was meant to be about me being happy, so continuing on that note, Pp is back from Singapore :) :) :) And he got me a Tommy girl perfume. I'm super-super-happy for that. And he also got me (Ok, fine it's for Dolly) stickers - like LOADS of stickers. Disney stickers, shiney stickers, awesome stickers. WOW! Any wonder why I'm happy? :)

Next, I did some stuff to my hair again and I really like it. There's more to be done though. All this is for my Big Day!Yup, the countdown for my Birthday has begun [There is just about a month left ;)] I'm gonna be sooo busy from now on planning for my Birthday - Clothes, hair, shoes etc etc etc. Damn, I'm gonna get busy! :)

Next, the family is gonna be off on a trip! We are going to Munnar this week for 4 days. It's been ages since we went on a proper family 'vacation' => Not a temple visit. From Bahrain to Singapore to Kodaikanal, we finally settled down on Munnar. I'm pretty worried about the train journey though, because almost everytime, I come back with some skin allergy or the other and that is positively the worst thing ever! But it's ok, we are going and I'm happy because Mum and Dad need this break :)

My Boss is off for the week and there's nothing more :) than that!

P.S: 1. Okie Dokie, don't I sound a lot like you? Not the way of writing, but the extreme levels of 'everything-is-oh-so-perfect'- ness...??? Hehe...
2. I kinda find all those smileys and that over-happiness a lil gag-worthy right now. I think I just sounded too weirdly bimbo-ey up there, but I just don't know how else to express how happy I am!!!!

Euphoric, Ecstasic, Elated, Exhilarated

Cheery, Glad, Sunny, Fortunate, Bright, Upbeat, Jubilant, Merry, Joyous, Delighted, Pleased, Blessed, Beaming, Gleeful, Light-hearted, High, Jolly, Buoyant, Exuberant, Perky, Glowing, Laughing, In 7th Heaven, On Cloud 9......Add alllll those synonyms you know for the simple word "HAPPY"!

The operation on the lil baby was a Success!!! His heart is Fine and the babe is Fit as a Fiddle. Maybe a lil too early to say that yet, considering the operation got over just an hour back, but of this I am certain. He is fine and he is going to be fine! And Everything is A-OK!

When I went to see him yesterday, he was a tad bit cranky thanks to those sedatives they injected into him to take the scan. He was crying and complaining that his hand was paining. But then slowly, as the effect wore away he was back to riding his cycle with one hand within the confines of the hospital room (which looked more like a 5-star hotel room!) And was busy reciting rhymes from his Smart Cookie DVD! And we were all mellow thinking of what was in store for him today. But now it's all over. He's fine!!!!!

Prayers can work miracles really. Because a miracle of sorts this was. From the scans, the docs were pretty skeptical and kept saying there were a number of follow-up procedures and surgeries that would be required even after this one. But itseems today, when they opened it up, everything seemed to be OK and he may not need the other surgery after all!

I really really wanna thank ALLLLLL of you for your wonderful, heart-felt prayers. It really really means soooooo much. I truly believe it all worked out fine because he had the blessings and prayers of all of you out there. Thanks, thanks, thanks and more thanks! (Don't think I can EVER thank everyone enough!)

Love you allllllll! Hugs by the dozen, all FREE! :)

2 is Company, 3 a Crowd, 4 is FUN and so this TAG!

Anoo tagged me thrice (!) and Wolfie once. I'm gonna do 'em All-in-One, my way. I'm combining 6 quirks-about-me and 5 things-people-dont-know-about-me and making it 6 Whatevers About Me:

1. I've got 15 first cousins. Thanks to Grandad's favourite past-time => Mum has 10 siblings (and she's the first)

2. I'm shit scared of the dark. Which explains why I can never ever sleep alone. I would never dare to. Infact even when friends stay over, and if we ever do get around to sleeping (a rarity), I would do so only if they agree to have the lights on, or I would let them sleep and slowly walk out into my parents' room and cuddle up to Daddy.

3. On any day, at any time, if you ask me,"What's up?" I'd only say,"Nothing. It is soooooo boring!". I'm a born cribber.

4. My eyes are extremely 'power-full'. -4 and -4 to be exact. Yea, I wear lens (and glasses at home)

5. I love, collect and cherish (after stickers) pencil boxes. I've got close to 30 pencil boxes from my adult life (=> engg and MBA). And scales and pencils and sharpeners and erasers and colour pencils and water colours and brushes.

6. I dislike long hair. On me or anybody. Most of my friends would be profusely shaking their heads for this (you can stop now before it falls off). I'm alwayz the one to remind them it's time for a haircut! I would never dream or dare to have hair more than 2" below my shoulders. You should see Dolly, she's like got it down to her waist. *crinkles nose* If only she would listen!

10 Things I miss in my life right now: (In random order)
1. Pp, who is in Singapore right now. Come back soon :(
2. Being occupied
3. Being carefree
4. Being thoughtless
5. Everything about
6. College life - engineering to be specific
7. ICECREAM! And soon, mangoes :(
8. Being able to fit into many of my old clothes. Especially those jeans :(
9. Life alone (-) parents. Those into-the-wee-hours-of-the-morning talks with friends and those million stay overs and LOUD music. I love it with Dad and Mum around too, but those days were really something.
10. The good 'ol days with Aj and Andu (and the gang). Those 4 days - were entirely something else, huh? Lazying around with Lays and Pepsi, Dumbcharades, google and you-tube, Russel Peters and Grey's Anatomy, Simba hair and all those tears. Wish I could relive that for just one day. Time for next!

10 Things I Wanna Achieve (not necessarily) Within a Decade:
1. 10 kilos off in 10 years...? Or maybe more. The more the better :D
2. Get married and have 2 kids.
3. Take Mum and Dad on a World Tour. This is something I really, really wanna do.
I'm definitely short-sighted as I haven't been able to look too deep into the future! I've been sitting with my fingers frozen for the past 7 minutes, to be exact. FINE! I'll just continue!
4. Go on a roller-coaster ride. Did I mention I'm ride-averse?
5. Get 3 more tattoos. I'm not letting out what and where for fear of idea-theft.
6. I just recently pierced my ears again, so now there are 4 on the left and 3 on the right (maybe I'd put up a snap sometime) so I think that option is out. Maybe my nose again (I had pierced it once and it fortunately or unfortunately closed). But I know quite a few people who are against this :D
7. Get my hair cut real short. Boy cut kinds. It's been a dream for toooooo long. (Yes, I dream weird)
8. Just reached #8?? Oh man, this one is difficult. Hmm, oh yea, start my own restaurant.
9. Start my own boutique.
10. Go to the Himalayas. Not to surrender, but just to see the heavenly abode. I'm as pious as it gets!

Last, but not the least, The Book Tag by Adi aka Wolfdude. It comes with its own set of rules:
Pick up the nearest book.
Open to page 123.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the next three sentences.
Tag five people, and acknowledge the person who tagged you.

I swore I'd do this asap only because the book next to me would provide a lot of interesting information which I just really wanted to share.

Book: KHANDWA MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, BID DOCUMENT, VOLUME II, PRICE OFFER-I
Page No. 123, Line 5-8 read:
'D' is duties/ excise payable per unit of electrical energy (KWH) on the date of submission of tender, if applicable. 'A' is Any other levy/ charge per unit if applicable on the date of submission of the tender. 'E' is the Amount of difference payable/ recoverable by KMC for prevailing bills of energy charges.

If you understood that, hats off to you. If you didn't, Welcome to my World. Any wonder why I hate my job? :D

Yaaay! I'm done! I'm going to go on and pat myself on my back while you guys take your time to recover from my brilliance. I tag Mayth, Wolfie, Janie, Satti, Prathiboo, Aneri, Arun (ONLY cuz I know you won't do this), Anoo, Maverick, K10, Busygurl etc etc on Tags you haven't already done from here. Take your pick. The rest of you can do it too.

Randomness at its Best

I have a lot of random stuff I wanna write about. Stuff that definitely doesn't warrant a separate post for itself, some of them updates from previous posts:

1. My baby cousin's operation: He got admitted yesterday. They haven't fixed his operation date yet. Apparently there are close to 10-20 operations happening there on a daily basis and they aren't able to find a 'slot' for him. The only thing, more than the operation itself, that everyone is worried sick about is how to keep that lil hyper-active nutcase bound to his bed for godknowshowmany days! Damn, the irony of it all.

2. Daddy's wallet: He got it back guys! I kinda forgot to put up this update actually. But yea, he got it back. He had dropped it at some shop and some guy (God Bless his soul) found it and returned it back to him, with everything intact. Nice people really do exist :)

3. I have a lousy ass cold. The one that makes you feel like your throat is on fire and your nostrils are stuffed with cotton. The one that makes you feel like your head is filled only and ONLY with solid lead and ears are high-pressure cabins with scary 'pops' going off now and then. Lousy!

4. Some crazyyyyyy stuff has been happening in a friend's life (those who know, know). I really don't know how else to describe it but for crazy, silly, nonsensical, irritating, frustrating etc etc. I don't wanna get into details here, but seriously, I think I would be on a ship on the way to NeverLand by now had I been in her situation. So much for it being 21st century with 'modern' values and all that. Just praying time would sort it all out for her and him.

5. Why I write. Ok, let's down to some facts. I don't generally new-blog-hop. Not even when I'm dead bored (which is like 99.95% of the time). I don't think I have that much of patience. It works this way for me. When someone new comments on my posts, I see theirs and leave a comment and the bond is formed. As a daily ritual, though, I check the pages of those on my side-bar and I'm close-to-content with that. (I know the list keeps increasing). So, why do I write? At the expense of sounding Highly (with a capital H) cliched, I write to vent. I really don't write for others to read. Agreed, I do use 'guys' and 'people' and stuff like that, but it isn't directed at anyone really - it's just a figure of speech. I like writing, no, I LOVE writing and that's why I do it. And this goes out to noone in particular.

6. I'm ADDICTED. To Icecreams. And I would never ever agree that my cold has anything to do with it. I've never quite been this addicted before. Excepting the last, what, 4 days...? I think I've had icecream pretty much everyday. My favourite flavour of the season is this totally deliciousss strawberry yoghurt from Emilios. Oh yummmmm! I can't go on with this, I'm way too tempted and knowing that I can't have 'em right now is downright torture.

I'm pretty cryey- whiney right now. So, That's All Folks!*
*I'm just quoting Warner Bros.

P.S: 1. Uhhhm, the 'Best' in the title isn't an adjective to describe this post, I just liked the way it sounded in totality. And uhhmm, this is directed at noone in particluar too :P

Star-ry Eyed

Warning: Profundities ahead. In abundance.

Another month in the passing. It's so weird to imagine that this new month actually signifies that half the year has gone by. The Birthday season has begun. The first half of the year, sparing March, is not that packed. But the second half has Birthdays and festivities galore. Soon my meagre monthly wages would be spent merely on gifts and party-planning. And ofcourse, forget not that MY birthday is coming soon. The one day that I look forward to every year, no matter if it means I'm growing older.

I don't know why I get the feeling this year is gonna be different. If I could give it a name, it would probably be "The Year of Changes". Because deep down somewhere I feel things are gonna change from now. And there's nothing I or anyone can do about it because, I believe, it's already pre-set. Yes, I'm talking about Destiny.

I know a lot of you out there won't agree with a word of what I've got to say. But I'm a firm believer in Destiny, Fate, Karma and the likes; Astrology not included. (Though it does arouse my curiosity quite a bit, and I have consulted astrologers because I just 'wanted to know'). I think my life has already been etched. I'm meant to be where I am, doing what I am doing. Silly, you think? My Dad certainly thinks so. He always tells me we can change our Destiny. But how can we change something we don't know anything about? And even if we try to alter a situation that seems likely to happen, THAT in itself was probably meant to be...?

A lot of things have led me to reiterate this belief. There were soooo many times when I was on the brink of getting into something extremely dangerous, and I was saved just in the nick of time. I never looked at it in the right sense intitally. I used to lament and bemoan my fate, till from somewhere the truth would be in my face and I would do nothing but sit and wonder just HOW things would've been hadn't I gotten out - hurt but unscathed.

This has made me positive. Because when something goes wrong, I have the strength to accept it and expect happier times ahead. Whatever happens, happens for a reason and for the good. Besides, I'm certain of one thing - I have never wronged anyone intentionally and so my current low is just fair-play. It's really helped me get a better grip of life. It's my right hand excuse - That I am the way I am because I'm meant to be the way I am (I know quite a few people who are gonna smirk for this :) Ok, now, enough!).

I'm not and have never forced this on anybody. This is how I look at things and it keeps me happy thinking this way. For some, the belief in one's self is stronger, the belief that they rule their life is what drives them. So be it. As for me, I'm a simple, lazy girl - not taking blame for my mistakes - instead accounting it to what's written on my forehead - just keeping up with it's zigzag course - and trying to be happy through it all.

P.S: 1. I guess I probably sound like a Grandmother, but it's just me being starry eyed :*)
2. You know what I just realized? That my current header has a slight Cosmic tinge to it...Tee hee!

Tag Along and Sing A Song!

Another tag! Battling writer's block has never been so easy. Thanks CRD and Superficial! Anyway, the rules of the Tag are as follows:
1. Put your MP3 player/Media player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write the name of the song no matter what.

I'm gonna do this just once and so the answers are most probably gonna be super random. Here goes:

1. If someone says "Is This Okay?" you say?
A. New york Nagaram urangum neram......from Jillunu Oru Kadhal. Sexyyyyyy songggg. I can listen to it 24X7 on repeat mode. No relevance to the question, but I'm known to blabber so noone would notice if I sing this in response to that question :D

2. What would best describe your personality?
A. Dard-e-Disco from Om Shanti Om. "Woh haseena woh neelam pari, Kar gayi kaisi jadugari" So much for modesty huh?

3. What do you like in a guy/girl?
A. Paint my Love by MLTR . Uhm, he should paint my love...??

4. How do you feel today?
A. Kya mujhe pyar hai from Woh Lamhe.

"Kyun aaj kal neend kam khwab zyada hai,
Lagta khuda ka koi naek irada hai,
Kal ka fakir aaj dil shehzada hai,
Lagta khuda ka koi naek irada hai,
Kya mujhe pyar haiiii!"

Ahem. *cough cough*

5. Whats your life's purpose?
A. Pehla Nasha from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander. Thu, this is never my life's purpose and all. I mean love.

6. What is your motto?
A. Hakuna Matata from Lion King!!! How COOL is that:

"Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze
It means no worries, For the rest of your days
It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata! "

:O I'm still in awe that the PERFECT song came through :D

7. What do your friends think of you?
A. Run to You by Bryan Adams. Awwww! :")

8. What do you think of your parents?
A. Wonderwall by Oasis. Lines I pick- "I don't believe that anybody, feels the way I do, about you now!"

9. What do you think about very often?
A. Best of Me by Bryan Adams.

"When you want it, when you need it,
You'll always have the Best of Me".

This goes out to alllll of you out there :) Damn, I'm so sweet ;)

10. What is 2+2??
A. Leaving on a Jet Plane by Jewel. Uhh, whatever!

11. What do you think of your best friend(s)?
A. Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits."We are the Sultans... We are the Sultans of Swing". Oh, that we certainly are :D

12. What do you think of the person you like?
A. I'm gonna get you by Shania Twain. Hahahaha! This is super-funny!

"Don't wantcha for the weekend - don't wantcha for a night,
I'm only interested if I can have you for life".

Not bad for coincidence huh? ;)

13. What is your life story?!
A. Kya Surat Hai by Bombay Vikings. I'm gonna have to confess, "It's been so long since I last fell in love, baby I swear I swear by heaven up above". Really ;)

14. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A. Hound Dog by King Elvis! Hahahahahahahahahahaha! This is getting nuttier by the minute :)

15. What do you think when you see the person you like?
A. Subah Subah from I See You. I absolutely LOVE this song. Such a mood lifter, and yea, I guess it would describe what I would feel in such a situation :)

"Subah subah yeh kya hua,
Naa jaane kyun ab main hawaaon mein chal raha hoon,
Nayi subah, nayi jagah,
Nayi ada se nayi dishaaon mein chal raha hoon".

16. What do your parents think of you?
A. I Swear by All For One.

"I swear, by the moon and the stars in the sky, I'll be there.
I swear like a shadow that's by your side, I'll be there.
For better of worse, till death do us part,
I'll love you with every beat in my heart, I swear!"

AWWW!!! Though they definitely would've never heard of the song. :)

17. What will you dance to at your wedding?
A. Meter Down from Taxi. 9211

"Kisi ka chutta, kissi ki daulat,
Kissi ka love, kissi ki mohabbat
Yahan pe zindagi ki har khushi,
Rupaiyya hai ya dollar ya pound,
Meter down!

It's all about the money huh, honey? ;)

18. What will they play at your funeral?
A. Everything I Do by Bryan Adams

"Search your heart, search your soul,
You'll find me there, you'll search no more!"

Awesome huh?

19. What is your hobby/Interest?
A. Woh Lamhe by Jal. I'm thinking I could equate the song to Reminiscing? That is a definite past-time.

20. What is your biggest secret?
A. This Love by Maroon 5. Oh yea, BIG secret ;)

21. What do you think of your friends?
A. Beauty and the Beast by Celine Dion.

"Tale as old as time,
True as it can be,
Barely even friends,
Then somebody bends,
Unexpectedly"

Isn't that how all friendships begin? I'm a believer in Coincidence now. I'm a believer! :)

22. What would you post this as?
A. Shut up, just Shut up by Black Eyed Peas!

Ah! I guess that's like a message from up above. So, it's time I do that. Not bad that it 'coincided' with the end of the tag itself, huh? I tag all of you who see this. Please do it, I think it was fun :D

Block and Tackle

Oh please, don't get silly, we are NOT gonna play games on my blog. You get that? Huh? Ok??

Uhmm, I'm sorry I snapped out like that. I have a reason - a proper, justified, totally-makes-sense explanation. The juices aren't flowing, the connection isn't there- it's short-circuited perhaps? Some evil person has put an evil hex on me, thanks to which, a strange something is wedged in between my thoughts and my fingers, thus breaking that connection, thereby resulting in lack of flow of thoughts. See how complicated I made that sound? See how I just used exactly 40 words to desribe what can simply be said in 4 words- I have writer's block. See how my mind is thinking 4 words but conveying them 10 times? You see???

I've been reading this over and over at many others' blogs- xh, Drenched, Busygurl - but I was always like,"Ha! Fat chance of that happening to me!" I guess I 'thought' a bit too early. And now the spell has started taking effect. Everytime I think of writing, nothing pops up! And I thought it was easy :(

It just doesn't feel right not to write. Thankfully, inspiration came in the form of a comment! In my previous post, C R D had mentioned How Relatives say the Darndest (read: nerve-wrackingly-annoyingest) Things. I found that sooo totally true and so I decided to write about a few such irrelevant dialogues spoken when there was absolutely no need for it to be spoken. (that's what irrelevant means right? Now you see what I mean???)

Situation 1: When Mom was in the ICCU after her Angioplasty, this one class mate of mine, who sadly lost his Mom to heart-attack a few years earlier, held on to my Mom's feet crying and said,"Aunty, meri mummy bhi heart-attack se hi mari thi". The word to note is "bhi". Thankfully, she was partially conscious and her knowledge of hindi isn't extensive. But she still managed to remember it a while later and ask me about it!

Situation 2: A Friend's wedding last week. Now, this is hearsay, for I wasn't there when this happened. Apparently a 'cousin' of the bride came upto her when she was getting ready for her big moment and told her,"Ippo dan paaka ponnu madri iruke (Only now you look like a girl). Much better than your dumb jeans and t-shirts in which your ass protrudes out". Awww, now isn't that just the sweetest thing to say???

Situation 3: A family friend's recent visit home. (Unfortunately) I was caught alone with the uncle, just when I wanted to catch some sleep. Nice uncle really, he was earnestly giving me advice on "How to Choose the Right Guy in 5 minutes - Arranged Marriage Style". Mom had gone out and happened to call right then and I gave the phone to Uncle to talk to her. And as they spoke, I guess she mentioned that Dad recently had a giddy spell for Godknowswhatever reason. An absolutely flabbergasted uncle said,"Oh! That isn't good, I say! Please ask him to get it checked, I say! Because, sudden fainting means either:
1. He has a heart problem
2. The brain stem has some problem and could result in haemmorhage
3. His spinal cord has some issue OR
4. Could be nothing.
So please be careful".(Did I mention he's not a Doctor...??) I'm surprised Mom didn't faint on the other end of the phone. (He started off the conversation by asking her why she sounded breathless and how sweating isn't good for a heart patient. He also successfully managed to undo 2 years of our convincing talks with Mum in just under 2 minutes, by telling her,"Heart attacks can come again. Blocks can come again. We are never safe". No comments.)

Situation 4: My Cousin's Class 12 results. A few years back I figured out she's dyslexic and even though the entire family would never get close to understanding the symptoms or her, I stopped asking/ advicing/ pressurising her to 'study'. And so when she got 63% in her 12th boards, I was bordering on elation because, knowing her, it really was no mean task. Heart of hearts I know she was happy with her results (basically passing) too but she couldn't obviously let it be known that she was content with just that much and so she had, no choice but, to cry. Right then, one of her paternal uncles called and said,"63%??? You won't get admission anywhere. And oh, your other cousin xyz got 94%. Bye." and he hung up. Encouragement was his middle name, by the way.

I'm not even claiming to be the Perfect Speaker in all situations or anything. Actually, not even close. The foot-in-mouth syndrome is common but I guess there are certain situations when extra-caution must be taken. If all of us just think before we speak (and that includes me), the World would be a better place to live in.

(You see how how I extrapolated a seemingly simple topic to World Peace..? Damn, I'm losing it. I rest my block)

P.S: 1. For those of you who didn't get my initial outburst, the title is a popular game/ event played at most school and college culturals.
2. Long time since I professed my undying love (on my blog) to BujiBoo, Pp and my Best Friends* - Robo, Janie, Satti, Prathiboo, Andu San, Ani, Rekoo etc. MUAH! *I've included only the Best Friends who read my blogs, the others are loved no less :) Ok, I'm nuts. I'm gonna shut up! :)

Cuteness in the Darkness :)

One night last week, something really cute happened. It actually involves a biggg bag of mixed emotions but I still think 'cute' topped the list :)

It was around 3 am. We were all asleep (like naturally. And yea, I sleep with my parents. No further questions). Through my hazy, sleepy-as-hell state, I heard someone sobbing like a baby. Initially I thought it was someone laughing in my dream but then I realized it wasn't and that it was my mum crying.

Now, lemme tell you, ever since her heart attack 2 years ago, she's paranoid about dying in her sleep. We've realllyyyy tried talking to her about this a zillion times over and tried getting her outta this silly mental framework, but it just doesn't seem to work. And to top it all these stupid tamil magazines that she reads and TV shows keep harping on sob-stories and tragic incidents in people's lives. Once in a while it is ok to probably get a dose of reality, but otherwise I think such shows must truly be banned. Oh, and credit must also be given to those veritable pakkathu-aathu maamis (next-door aunties), who keep going, "Rukku, epdi iruke? Heart attack ku apram elam ok dane? Unaku teriyuma, aniki kooda enoda akka-ponnu oda maamiyar heart-attack la apdiye thookathla sethuta. Careful aa iru" (Long dialogue, sorry, but here goes: Rukku, how are you? Everything is ok after your heart attack aa? You know, even that day my sister's daughter's mother-in-law died in her sleep of a heart attack. Be careful). It isn't a wonder that my mum doesn't sleep at night. So much so that she refuses even to get her tooth extracted because one such 'aunty' told her that her Dad passed away of a heart attack while having his tooth removed! I wonder if there is a personal-life analogy for every death that goes around.

So, thanks to all that and the fact that my mum is really weak herself, she never sleeps. Apparently she gets proper sleep only after dawn breaks because she knows the new day has come and she isn't gonna die in her sleep. (Forgot to mention, the 'stat' she gave an extremely irritated Dad and me that night, was that most deaths due to heart-attack happen during early morning or some crap! Source: Unknown).

And ever since we didn't take her symptoms of an attack to be anything worrisome back then, we now tend to take even small signs slightlyyyy seriously. We try not to show it out because we don't want to increase her already sky-rocketing anxiety levels.

Ok, so where's the cuteness in all of this? Let's get back to the 'situation'. Dad wakes up, jolted from his deep sleep by my sudden,"Appa, amma azhara" (Dad, Mom's crying). And he immediately takes mum into his arms like a baby and rocks her slowly, soothing her down and intermittently asking her,"Enna da aachu? Are you ok? Naa iruken illa? Enna achu? Bayapadade da kutta" (What happened? Are you ok? I'm there, no? Don't get scared baby). And I just couldn't help but feeling like one total idiot for being there in that room right then. But I was rooted. Because it was soooo cute and special to see their love going rock-solid strong even after 30 years. I've always admired that in my Dad. His love and the way he expresses it, it just makes me cry all the time. And my Mom is such a baby. She uses it, you know, her innocence trick. Doesn't work with us but works allll the time with Dad.

Infact, yesterday Dad was realllyyyyy upset he lost his wallet. One reason, apart from the existence of all his cards and contacts in it, was that getting a white wallet is really difficult (Dad wears only white, even his belt, shoes, socks etc etc). But it was only slowly that he blurted out the real reason - He was extremely sad because the wallet had a 30-year old snap of Mom - the way he fell in love with her. And he was pissed as hell with himself for being careless. Not for the wallet, not for the money or the cards, but for that 1 snap. I seriously, seriously found that super-cute.

He isn't the eloquent, quixotic, romantic kinds. Really isn't. But these small gestures of his are sooo...soo....special in their own way, it really rekindles my dying respect for love and its hype. Makes me feel like that little girl waiting for her Prince Charming to come get her :)

P.S: I've been away from the Blog World for 9 days. 9 days of not posting is huge by my own standards. I actually didn't feel like getting on. I guess battling the call to turn Anonymous had a lot to do with it, with mild coaxing from people around me. I still need more thinking on that.

Prayers.

I need your prayers. All of you out there.

My little 3-year old, adorable baby cousin Ashwath is gonna have an open-heart surgery to remove a block in his aorta on the 30th of May. He was born with Congenital Heart Disease. Multiple complications. He had an open-heart when he was just 20 days old. Now suddenly they realised that this growth is growing pretty rapidly and the aorta is 60% blocked. He'd also need to have another valve replacement surgery before he's 20, but ofcourse, there's a long time for that.

The kid is totally normal though. He's as active and hyper as any kid. Like totalllyyyyy adorable and totally cute. Which I guess kinda makes things worse to know that there are so many things going wrong inside that tiny little body.

I was talking to my Dad about this the other night and I was really worried. An embodiment of practicality that he is, he was trying to convince me that the operation would definitely be successful and that prayers could really do wonders. Which is why I'm turning to all of you. Not only for him, but for all those little kids out there with similar problems. You don't even have to believe in God to pray for someone, just goodwill would do.

I think it would make a difference. Thanks.

Getaway!

Now that me hating my work is stale news, it obviously is no surprise that I don't work at all. And so I don't know whether I would qualify as one who requires a 'break', 'vacation' or a 'stress-relieving outing'. But I still feel I deserve it. Because I'm like a bird in a cage, stuck where I don't wanna be and that's as stressful as it can get. Ok, that's like heavy logic and all, so I'm gonna skip that. But, I'm glad that I went on a recent trip to Pondicherry that my sister made me go to. (made => forced, threatened, black-mailed).

Planning for vacations is one of the most important pastimes for my family and friends. It's like building castles in the air. In the midst of a conversation, someone would get a brainwave and say,"Hey! How about we all go to Pondy next week? Ok, we'll call so and so. We could take this car and that. And we could stay here and..........". The next time another one would break out,"Hey!How about we all go to Goa next week?Ok, we'll call so and so. We could take this car and that. And we could stay here and.........". The next time it would be Coorg, Ooty, Kodai - you see we were never short of ideas. We'd plan and plan and plan. We'd laugh about how much of fun it 'would' be and what all we 'could' do.We'd even crack the jokes we 'would' crack and crack over them way in advance like cracks. But on the trip we would never go.

This one, though, was different. It wasn't a family trip (Dad & Mum weren't there) and it wasn't with my friends. It was just the 5 of us -Me, Dolz, Harsh and his 2 best friends (it was one of their b'days on the 4th). I felt like the 5th wheel, the wet blanket, the kebab mein haddi -you get it. My Dad and Mum were insistent I shouldn't go, like I was flying in the air for going on a trip with a mushy couple and unknown guys. Dolly felt otherwise. She felt she would be alone amongst her man and his buddies and she needed me along. Like that stuffed teddy for security.

And go I did. Surprisingly, I had a super-awesome time. Doing nothing much but just lazing around. We started from Chennai by car at around 1 pm. It was like freaking hot and half the trip went by cursing the weather. By the time we reached, it was like 4. We stayed at this really nice resort - 10 km or so from Pondy itself. I LOVED the place. A nice, ancient recluse kinds.

We got to our rooms to change into more comfortable, summer clothes. Now, we sisters aren't swimmers, thanks to Dad being hydrophobic, so we just sat around by the pool sipping cold orange Breezers and watching 3 grown up men act (as nutty as) 3 year olds in the pool. After a while, it got really boring and we decided to get into the pool and just wade around.

We got out at around 8, went up and changed and headed down for dinner. The restaurant was beautiful. French style architecture et al. (It also had a very 'natural' setting, like, we had insects exercising their natural right and flying about unattended) Harsh then came up with a brilliant idea of going down to the beach for a walk. I'm a total dark-o-phobic and I pretty much walked the way with my eyes shut. Thankfully though, the 'men' ran back once they heard a couple of wild dogs howling somewhere in the distance!

My Darling bro-in-law is really smart and his next idea was to talk about, what else at 11.30 pm, but ghost stories. I was mad as hell, I mean, he knowsssss I'm really, really scared! I let him go ahead with it only because I knew how to get my revenge- I would sleep with the lights on and not let him sleep the entire night! Buhahahaha! [Unfortunately a combination of Bacardi and Vodka turned out to be a potent sleeping pill and he was in Dreamland the second his head hit the pillow].

Anyway, we headed back to the room for a drink-and-music session. Harsh was the man of the day. He was in some mood, trust me. Usually the un-romantic types, he seemed bent upon singing only 'romantic' songs (which was the only reason my sis didn't mind the sharp increase in his alcohol intake). Kishore Kumar was everyone's favourite and each one of his songs was brutally rendered by us 4 vocally-challenged people (minus my sis, who's is an awesome singer). Oh, I even played hip-hop tutor for a while. Public demand, you know, tsk tsk. It was hilarious to see them trying out the steps, especially when they were high :D

Finally by 3:30, we retired tired to bed. I couldn't sleep till like 5 am and I woke up by 9 because I vaguely heard that the 'complimentary' breakfast table would close down by 10.15! Once again, the men decided to get sun-bathed in the pool and me and Dolz, for fear of skin-cancer, stayed back. We cut a cake for the birthday boy, had lunch and headed back to Chennai.

Short vacation but high on rejuvenation. I somehow didn't wanna get back. I guess a vacation always does that. It is true, y'know- the lesser expectations you have, the more satisfied you would be. Because I went thinking I'm gonna have a miserable time, but I ended up having a fantastic time.

Work Culture??? Pah!

This is probably the only moment in (my) blogging history that I feel i should've maintained anonymity.

Why? Because I HATE my office and I'm gonna be all super-bitchy in this post and what if someone from here is reading it...? Hmm, actually thinking of it, I'm sure none of these stupid, sad-ass morons around me would even come close to understanding the meaning of blogging.

Why am I here then? I guess it was because my aunt recommended it and so once I got the job, I couldn't turn it down. Also, the pay is decent and then there's the proximity factor. Hardly 10 min from my house. I should've just listened to my Dad. He kept telling me NOT to take this up. But I was insistent, as always, for no apparent reason. First of all, work and me itself are like miles apart. On top of that, I need to work in a place like this. So much for career idu adu. I quit my previous one 5 months into it cuz of this. And it's just been 4 months here. So, Why this frustration?

Reasons:
1. I work in a 3-member department. 2 men & me. Both married, both cheap fuckers. And they have ego-clashes as to who the bigger fucker is.

2. No Freedom of Speech & Movement: There's just ONE girl in this entire damn office that I talk to. Which in itself is a first for me. As in, I generally tend to make friends really fast. But here, since I'm in a totally different department, interaction with others is low. And I'm not complaining because I think I already have too many friends to handle. Now, I sit in the basement and she in the 1st floor. There isn't a loo on my floor (Yea! Imagineee!!!) and so I need to go up everytime. When I do, I just stop over at her place and do the usual "Had lunch?How's work?I'm so boredddd!" talk that lasts all of 2 mins and get back to my seat. Apparently sometime recently, her boss asked her why I keep coming up and talking to her so many times!!! (For 3 l of water, 3 loo-visits is within permissable limits, right??)

3. They have like a fuck-all 'dress code'. You have to wear a dupatta. Even if it has a high neck and full sleeves. Apparently, there are people from local colleges who work here as well and so the precaution.

Corporate Culture - my fucking torn bamboo chappal! I know it probably isn't reason enough to quit, but I sincerely wish I could. I could just say it a million times over that I'm not meant to work. I should be having my own restaurant or boutique. I should be designing clothes and conjuring up delicacies rather than preparing tender bid documents! Ayo ayo, enna kodumai sir idhu! (Translation: Oh!Oh! What torture sir this is! As alwayz, effect lost in translation)

These are also moments when I wouldn't mind being married - as long as the Mister is loaded and I would be designated "Home Maker"! *sigh*

HipHopper!

Update: Taken off the snaps, just incase :)

Moving away from the gloom of the previous post, lemme share one of my happiest, proud-est moments with all of you :)

I passed the Hip Hop Intro-2 examination conducted by the United Kingdom Alliance and received the highest grade for our level- Highly Commended!!!I'm officially, professionally, properly, truly a "Highly Commended" Hip hop dancer!!!! YEA!! WOOHOO!! :) Ok, so is the rest of the group from dance class, but that includes MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Rewind:
I've alwayz loved dancing. When I was a kid, I mostly stuck to swaying my body because I was really conscious of not getting the right moves. And most of my friends were classically trained dancers. Even in college, initially I used to help others choreograph but never had it in me to actually dance on stage. Till, on my 2nd yr "College-day", one of the girls suddenly fell sick on the day of the event and she couldn't get on. Since I had helped them and knew all the steps, I was asked to take her place. My knees were doing their own little jig outta total petrification there (noun form of petrified, don't care if it isn't a word). I've done a lotta stage dramas and shows and stuff as a kid, but this was infront of the entireee college. And you know how guys in college are, especially the kinds in Sathyabama who behave like they have never seen a girl in their life, let alone a girl dancing! But I did it and it was sooo much of fun that the dancer in me was awaken :D

After that there was no looking back. There was the usual dancing at parties and at 'discs' and blah and I realized I realllyyyyy enjoyed dancing. Talks of joining dance classes have been in the air from when I joined MBA, which is like almost 3 years back, but we (Ruby, Janie and I) finally got around to doing it just now at "The Academy of Modern Danse".

Why Hip-hop? Actually, it was the only one with convenient weekend timings. And also, we assumed it was slightly a laid-back form of dance and would be a good choice to start off with. Oh man, were we wrong or were we wrong! Out of a 1 hr class, we basically do 30 min of gruelling, back-killing, muscle-tearing stretches! Even aerobics felt like heaven in comparison. This, combined with the revelation that we have an 'exam' with 'syllabus' for it, made me decide to leave it half-way, keeping up with my excellent track record of hobby-jumping (tennis, gym, music class etc etc). After a lot of convincing by Jane and Ruby, I stayed. And it was worth every-fucking-injury!

Oh and I must add we have like THE BESTEST of instructors. The dude -Balaji, is one of THE best dancers I've ever seen. He is like the embodiment of energy, attitude and style. In the remaining half an hour of effective class, we girls ogle at him for 29.5 min.

The Exam and the run towards it:
Now, the Exam in itself was to be a mere 3 min affair on the 1st of May. We were divided into 3 groups of 4. Ours was the only group that had 3 - me, Jane and Ruby were fucking happy to be together. We were taught 4 steps that had 8 counts, ie, 4 sets of 8 steps. The song was 'Bebot' by Black Eyed Peas. We had to dance it out infront of our 'firang' judges, who flew down from the UK for this.

We actually bunked office the previous day and spent 4 hours rummaging through Spencer's for the right 'hiphop' clothes. We decided on black and pink as the colour-theme and settled on something simple and comfortable, yet cool.

I was really, really, really nervous. We had tons of practice and I was sure of my steps but I guess just the word 'exam' is enough to give me cold feet. We managed to pull it off pretty neat, though and the result is our grade and certificate.

It's supposed to come in the papers and stuff, if and when it does, I shall put it up here for all of you.

"D"

"D" for Death.

Sorry for this morose beginning, sorry for writing on this Dreary Dreaded Depressing topic of Death, sorry to all those of you who thought I'm a happy-happy person all the time, sorry if this post isn't gonna be a happy one and sorry if this is gonna bring you down. But today is one such day when everything else seems immaterial and life itself seems larger than it is.

This post is replacing a VERY HAPPY post. Something I was dying, uh, something I REALLY wanted to share with all of you. Something that meant a whole lot to me, but right now this seems more important.

Someone died in my office today. This boisterous, bold, loud, energetic, live-wire of a woman. I didn't know her personally, ofcourse. Just met her a couple of times, but Death is always shocking, it always hits with full-force. Worst part...? She killed herself. I don't think details are necessary, not that I know much but for this, but it still is unbelievable.

It's moments like these that make me extremely vulnerable to a torment of emotions. I'm sad for her death. I'm happy for my life. I'm thankful for everything. I'm anxious about the future. I'm shocked at her courage. I'm appalled at her timidness. I'm glad I've got all those who are important to me with me. I'm worried for her family. I'm scared for her son's future. I'm curious to know where she's gone. I'm surprised it's HER. I'm admiring the woman she was. I'm wondering why.

I have always felt I am a practical person. I dislike and do not believe in living a quixotic, highly romanticized life. Does not necessarily mean I'm Miss-I-can-take-anything-that-happens, but I try to be. I cry, I break down and all that, but I talk to myself to have the strength to get out less hurt. I try because I want to try. I look forward to living. We do have just one life afterall. All that jazz on re-birth, past-birth and blah can go to heaven. If it happens or did happen, i'm never gonna know right? So I may as well forget what may have been or what will be and concentrate my energy on what is. And that is this life I have.

But I guess it's close to impossible to be practical about death. Probably because of the suddenness of the event itself. And then having to deal with physical absence and all its associated emotions. Anything can happen in the wink of an eye. Good, bad, ugly- anything. It is all going to end one day, so why think of it? Today is here and today is nice. Today is special and today is interesting. Today is NOW. It irritates the living hell outta me these days when small issues are blown outta proportion. when everything is made a life or death situation. Silly don't you think?

Let's forgive and forget. Let's move outta pain and into happiness. Let's try to just make OUR own life worth living. Let's celebrate the smaller things. Let's stop finding fault with ourself and others. Let's try to appreciate the goodness in others. Let's try to accept others the way they are. No point regretting later right?

As my Dad always quotes,"Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we may die". Nothing else seems right to me right now.

May Her Soul Rest In Peace.

Update: I've been brooding ever since and I thought I must share this really awesome quote by, none other than, Thalaivar from his latest movie Shivaji-"Saagara naal terinja, vaazhara naal naragam aayidum" which translates to "If you know when you're gonna die, your living days become hell". I kinda reflect on it all the time.

Silver Screen Debut...

So I had a pretty okay weekend. The usual Saturday-with-friends and Sunday-with-family routine. But this Saturday, in order to take out our pent-up frustrations (against ourselves) on ourselves, we decided to try self-torture techniques. This was suggested by, none other than, my adorable sister. And we actually agreed. We watched a movie called Tashan. Starring: Akki-bhaiya, Style bhai Anil, Slinky Chinky Saif and Size 0 Kareen-o.

Oh, I must tell you, this post is less of a critical review and more of an "Issued in the best interest of the public" warning.

Ok, so to start, I'm going to attempt 'classifying' the movie genre-wise. Is it a comedy...? Not even close, unless you find the usual Bhai-ised English funny. Is it an action movie? Not if you call the usual barn-blowing-up in the climax and hero-escaping-unscathed-with-heroine as 'solid-action' Is it a lou-story? Uhm, maybe, everybody seems to be in love with everybody. Saif loves Kareena loves Akshay loves Kareena who is also loved by Anil. Is it a tragedy movie? Oh yes, yes, YES! For the audience.And Yash Raj films. Is it an educational movie? Maybe, they teach you how not to speak Englees.

Ok, attempt failed. Next let me try and find a basic point to the entire story (from whatever little I did understand from whenever I was awake)

Attempt#1: Do not steal from the Bhai-log. Or you'd have to face his red-haired wrath
Attempt#2: Do not trust a (flat-chested) woman just because she wears revealing clothes
Attempt#3: Englees hamara Universal language nahi is.
Attempt#4: Never trust the one you love. Worse, never trust the one who loves you. She just may end up being the bad guy's childhood love.
Attempt#5: .........................

Ok, failure again. Forget it, guess I'd get into narrative-mode. Starting now.

Scene 1: Random car down a deserted desert. Hollywood-ish look. From the car emanates, alternatingly, some English song and Kabhi-kabhi-mere-dil-mein. The car swerves this way and that and finally catapults off the mountain and *splash* into water. Next shot: Saif. He bubbles something under-water about how he should've listened to his mother about something and blah blah and suddenly a gun is pointed at his head.

Flash-back time. Saif is, keeping with the current times, a BPO-guyand a part-time English tutor. Enter heroine: Wet-in-the rain plus padded-bra minus the pads Kareena. Love at first sight. She approaches him and says she needs his tutoring help but it would have to be home-tutoring. Would he refuse the offer?? Never! Duet song by the waterfall beckons, afterall! Unfortunately, he discovers it isn't she who requires the tutoring but her Boss, aka, Anil dada. He has 2 pachyderm-look-alike assistants, you know, the dumb, trained to kill types, who add that extra humour (?) element.

All is well until suddenly one day, Anil lashes out at Kareena for some unknown, mysterious reason and she runs away crying. Saif, all angry and protective, asks her to leave her job and "mujshe shaadi karlo" dialogues follow. But she refuses, because she is bound to work under him as it was her "pitaji's karz". Master plot: They decide to steal money (Kareena receives the 'money bags' containing crores from Anil's 'Clients') from Anil, run away and live happily ever after. So now, Saif realizes he needs to apply for 'leave' from office because he's 'running away' (!) and so he goes leaving her alone at his place. As expected, he comes back to an empty room.

Scene change: Salwar-clad desi girl becomes Bikini-sporting babe and she warns noone in particular "Don't look at me like that baby". There's really not much of her to look-at unless bared ribs are an attraction. Anyway, this is the right time for the entry of Main Hero: 'Akki' Bhai. He's the bred-on-violence-Dada-doting Associate Baddie. His mission: To search hither and tither for the 2 perpetrators and kill them. Wish that was the way the movie ended, but nope.

Akki 'interrogates' Saif but to no avail. That's when Saif realizes,"She would have gone to Hardiwar to lay to rest her father's asthi". And the journey begins. It's too boring to even get into details. Lemme gist it out. So they find her and threaten her to give the money and all that. But she's one helluva clever woman ok? She's hidden the money in different locations all over India!!And so the journey continues. In the midst of all this, she makes an indecent proposal to Saif that they could still take the money and run away now. So, to take care of Akki, Kareena 'flirts' with him to make him fall for her evil vices (depicted by cutting off her jeans into the tiniest of tiny shorts, baring her legs etc etc).

Highlight scene of the movie: Akki and Kareena having a tete-a-tete over Daaru and snacks on a boat by the river. A teary Akki reveals his innermost secret- how he, Ullu Ram, lost the only girl he ever loved- Guddi. Second flashback: He was a bijli thief and she, the cute lil girl-somewhere-near-next-door. Minor squabbles leads to big-time love and he asks her out on a date by the banks of the river. He goes there and some people attack him for stealing electricity. He puts a knife into one guy's leg, thanks to which, he gets sent to prison. Gets out 2 years later to find Guddi missing. End of love story. He completes his story and looks up to find Kareena, eyes glistening et al. She jumps up and says,"Ulluram, Guddi is I"! in not-so-poetic words. Yes, REALLYYY!!!!!

The rest of it is obvious. They join hands and decide to end Anil Dada's life in Tashan (style). And how! Our very own Bebo does a Kill Bill Uma Thurman-ish sky diving attack on Anil and pierces her long sword into his chest screaming "Aarrrrggghhhhh". The scene is unbearably gruesome, uh not the killing, but Kareena's contorted face!

Bad guy dead. Good guys live on. End of movie. End of post.

Here, this Crocin's for you.

Note: If any of you has seen the movie and liked it, please leave your contact number as a comment. A fellow hiphop-ian suggested rifle-shooting as a hobby and I'm planning to enrol. I'm not too sure yet, but I guess we would be required to bring in our own targets and I'm certain you could be of some assistance. So please, don't forget.

Tag-athon! Cause: Run (the memory cells) to aid eternal-preservation of Memories.

Tagged by OK. He used his space to pen down memories for him to remember but after Drenched's slight persuasion and Payal-Rohtagi as bribe, this has been made a tag. And I decided to get down to the task asap, because my other post doesn't seem to be shaping up the way I want it. Besides, I'm using this as an exercise to try and remember because, as I've mentioned earlier, I've got bad memory. Anywayz, here goes:

1. Everyday when Dolly used to go to school (and I didn't cuz I was 1/2/3), I used to 'bid farewell' by wailing by the lift and begging my mum to let me go to school with her. After much convincing, I used to shut up and get in and I'd wear my sister's uniform and wait for her to come back.

2. The day I joined school. I was 3. This I remember not from the event itself, but mostly from what my sister told me. I didn't know which bus I had to get into to get back home. My Class teacher was in my bus and had told me to follow her. I guess I was too busy gazing at the other nutty kids around that I followed some other teacher and got into another bus. The buses weren't starting and there seemed to be a mini-commotion outside. That's when someone came in and asked if there was anyone called Preeti Ramachandran from Prep. I stood up and when I got out, there was Dolly, all crying big-time because she thought I was lost! (Now she regrets having looked out for me)

3. I used to wanna celebrate my birthday every-single-day of the year. I remember it clearlyyyy. Dad would be standing by the bathroom mirror, shaving, and I would be standing outside the door asking him if I could wear 'colour-dress' to school and take 'chocolates' to give everyone. And he'd say No, every-single-time. Associated memory: I'd celebrate my birthday 3 times a year. Schools in Bahrain would close down for summer vacations during July and August, the hottest months there. My birthday is in July and since it's holiday time, I would do the colourdress-chocolate-party routine in June itself, before I go on vacation. And then, I'd have another party with relatives in India. And the third would be on Dolly's birthday. Really.Every year (till I was 7) I used to get a new dress and my own (smaller) cake for her birthday. Most of my friends thought my birthday it was July 16th (Even me, for a long while :-/ cuz mine is July 11th and Dolz's is Nov 16th and I was just too confused!)

4. My Barbie House: Dad got it when he had gone for a trip somewhere (Uhm, yea, I don't remember where). It was this 3 story house which even had a lift! Well, not an automated one or anything, but it had a thread attached and we could pull it up and down. It had 8 rooms, fully furnished with bed, dressing table, bath-tub and all.

5. There was this kid named Adithya who used to be my neighbour. He was the youngest in the building, after Mayth moved out, and we used to bully him like crazy. I remember playing Monopoly and we used to steal all his money and make him lose everytime. But he used to pretty much adore/dote-on me. Inspite of all that jesting and jousting, he used to write me cute, cute Sorry notes with "I love you, Preeti" written on it and slip it under my door. (Don't even THINK otherwise, he is 6 years younger => total kid) And I used to melt all over.

6. My own sorry notes. I have this habit of writing people notes or letters when I'm angry or sorry, especially to my Dad. I've written sooo many "I hate you Daddy" notes and magnet-ed them on the refrigerator, a strategic location cuz it would be the first thing he'd see when he enters home! He used to pretty much ROFL at it, minus the ROF part and that used to BUG me BIGTIME. And then he'd tickle me till I didn't have a choice but to laugh.

7. I used to write stuff and send them through to magazines. Everyday after getting back from school, I'd start writing. Then I'd put it an envelope, write the address and keep it silently into my dad's briefcase. He'd find it the next morning and laugh, but he used to post them (atleast so I'm assuming). I've had quite a few articles published in the Indian magazine 'Gokulam'. I guess they did put mine cuz it probably would show their far-and-wide reach of their magazine, but yet it made happyyyyy to see it published. I had written a Gokulam rap, a store "All for my stone" etc etc.

8. Once on Channel 55, there was this program on animals and that episode was on chimpanzees and orangutans. At the end of the program, they gave an address for people to write into incase they would like to 'adopt' a chimp. It was obviously for people in the US but I still wrote a letter to them! I don't even know if my Dad sent it.

9. I had an imaginary friend called 'Atta'. Ok, this is realllyyyy embarassing :-/ Apparently, I used to keep talking about Atta alllll the time. Like Atta and me played this, Atta said this and so on.

10. When I was in my 1st standard, there were these 2 boys- Harpal and Jaspal, who used to call me everyday sharp at 6 pm and play the piano for 1 hour. My mum still reminds me of my 'boyfriends'.

11. I won the 1st place in the Memory test in 3rd standard. We had to walk once around a room in which there was a long table with 60 items. We had to then get out and write down whatever we remembered. I wrote 58/60. This guy, Adil, copied it all from me. My teacher knew he did but she didn't want to point him out. He got second place.

12. Me and Dolly used to call ourselves the 'Cross Sisters', no clue why. We'd pose in front of the mirror with our hands and legs all crossed up like idiots.

13. I remember this 4-wheel cycle that me and Dolz had. She used to ride it (most of the time) inside the house on the carpet. That was the only cycle we EVER drove.

14. Dad was very strict about girls playing on the road and stuff. So me and Dolz never used to go down and play inspite of alllllllllll our friends playing. We used to sit inside and play Scrabble, Uno, Mastermind etc. Mum used to feel sad for us and she'd let us go down (all the other kids would begggg her) ONLY if we didn't tell Dad she let us (I am a blabber-mouth by birth, you see). Dad had a white car and more than enjoying our play, we would constantly keep looking down the road for any white car that happened to pass. And if we spotted one, we'd rush up 3 floors in a hurry and jump into our rooms.

15. I had a black-board and I would 'teach' all my 'students' as I studied. I loved chalks and Dad used to get me alll colours and I'd preserve them.

16. We used to jump outta the bus with our bags in the front and beat on it screaming "Thunder, thunder, thunder, thunder CATS!" from our favorite cartoon.

17. On our Chennai trips, my great grandmother used to always give us Poppins. She had this Butter Cookies dabba that we had given her once and she kept her Poppins in that, along with her medicines. It was always sooo special.

18. My thatha used to buy us these kutti, colourful rasagollas and round bubblegum when he gets back from his walking trips with his friend Dar-bur chittapa (Christened so because of his sleep-fartness). I miss him sooo much :(

19. Fridays meant Calling-India-day. And every time, Mum and Dad would talk to all my relatives and then pass the phone to me and Dolly. Our Tamil wasn't great and we used to be sooo shy to ask "Epdi irukeenga" (How are you). We would awake early and remain in bed practicing how to say it right. But we'd always end up asking "Ammamma, how are you?" and she'd laugh.

20. I used to love it when Dad used to drop me at the bus-stop. It was just across the road but on Thursday mornings when he had an off, he would drop us. Dolly used to find it a lil embarassing cuz she was older and all, but I used to get outta the car like I was a Queen, all-smiling and showing off (for God knows what reason).

I've written more than I thought I would. I could go on but this would do.