Baby Talk...

There are 2 basic reasons for this post:

1. Baby talk is in the air, or rather talk on babies is in the air. And poor Dolz is bearing the brunt of every Gita, Sita & Rita (Incase your going huh...? It's the Indianized, womanized version of Tom, Dick & Harry) enquiring in hushed tones and dumb charades-ish actions- "Any good news??" So much so that our family prefers not to talk or get too socially involved with anyone other than the 5 of us and ofcourse close friends. That is just sooo much better than having to give 'excuses' like,"Oh, they both are in IT. No time you know" or "Ippo vendanu solranga" or "They are trying, but..." I mean, whatever their reasons are NOT to have a kid right now, it needn't be published in the Mylapore Times, right?

2. All that baby talk made me think of my childhood. I mean,I can't believe Dolz is gonna have a kid!I really feel me and her are still stuck somewhere in between adolescence and adulthood and are still nutty as ever. And here she's gonna have to raise a family..?!?!? And what would that kid call me...chitti, aunty, masi...? Uhm, I think I'd rather have her/him stick to calling me Preeti. It is way cooler, isn't it? Besides, it would be an Ego booster :)

Till I was in the 10th standard, me and her never discussed the B word (B=>Boys). I wouldn't dare breathe a word about the cute guy I had my eyes on. And she used to consider whatever I did or said as "Baccha stuff" ['Baccha stuff' was this ultra-famous phrase used back in our school by all the 'Seniors'] I never called her akka or anything, but I always felt the 4-year difference between us. Once we moved to Chennai, living alone really brought us closer. I've been really mean to her cuz of some a**-hole. I didn't talk to her for a while just cuz 'this guy' told me to (Don't ask me what I was thinking then, I really don't know). She used to cry and ask my friends to get me to talk to her, while I would turn away and cry silently :(

Leaving that silly phase aside, I must say that now me and Dolz are inseparable. She's probably the only one who knows me inside out. We still love watching cartoons together, have these CRAZY names (we both call each other 'buji'. The others are unmentionable) and brawl like maniacs in detention. I can show you nail marks on my right forehand that she gave me last month. I responded with a solid punch on her back :D buhahahaha! My friends have been witness to some extra-violent, true-blue WWF at our place. Hair-pulling, dress-tearing, expletives^infinity et all! But the next second, we'd act like nothing happened! (My mum gets super pissed for this cuz if she tries stopping our fight, we gang up against her instead)

For all that she's been through in life, I'm so, SO glad she's happy and married now to this superlicious guy. And the fact that she's still in Chennai and we still get to do all our silly stuff together is another thing I'm thankful for!

Oh, buj, I know this is all senti, and you and me are never that way, but I must tell you that I couldn't have asked for a better sister. And I don't know what I'd ever do without you. "Buji buji boo, I love you" [to be sung to the tune of the title track (!?) of Scooby doo ;)]

The Tag Bug!

UPDATE: I've just updated a snap of my tattoo. FYI :)

Bitten by the Tag Bug again. Busy Lil Writin' Gurl has done the honours this time :)

Ok, frankly, I'm as confused as hell about this tag. It's supposed to be 5/6/7/8/... quirks about me or something. Each person doing the tag has edited it to suit themselves (kinda like that Chinese whisper game. Amazing how one simple word (here,tag) could change from origin till end!) And so, here's what I'm gonna do- Join the bandwagon and edit the tag to suit myself. Gonna reveal 11 things ppl don't know about me. Or atleast ppl in Blogsville High. (Why 11...? I've got noooo clue!)

1. (This is gonna sound like some Tamil film hero introducing himself)
En paeru (my name): Preeti. But everyone calls me: p3 (san), peeto, peeti, peetu, peetri, !#@!@, uhhmm...it's better we stop here
Appa paeru (Dad's name): Ramachandran. Ooru Kerala. (Place: Kerala)
Amma paeru (mom's name): Rukmani. Namma ooru Iyer ponnu. Orey Louves you see!
Akka paeru (Sis's name): Pratibha aka Dolly. Ava oru Seth payyan a kalyanam panita. (She's married to a Seth aka Marwari guy) Avar paeru Harsh. (His name)
Naay paeru (Dog's name): Chintu. Our 4 year old German Shepherd. The apple of our eyes!
Thozhil (Work): Naan oru Engineer. With MBA. Aana naa ippo paakara vela, blogging. (I am an Engineer. With MBA. But now the work that I do is, blogging)

P.S: For those of you who expected some masala answer like "saaraya vyabaram" (liquor brewing) and the likes, I'm sorry to disappoint. I'm just a very ordinary young girl :P Enough of my family! This is about me :D

2. I was born in Bahrain. And raised there till I was 15. The rest is history.

3. I don't know how to ride a cycle. Dad never let us. I never bothered and had no regrets till this one Kodai trip our class went to during engg and every-single-freaking-human being in the class went cycling around the lake. I, on the other hand, had to walk around freezing my ass out and stuffing my face with home made chocolate waiting for the annoying riders to stop. I had a friend for company, who couldn't ride cuz Miss. Smarty Pants wore heels for a close-to-trekking trip to Kodai (!). And we got lost while climbing up-hill. In the darkness. Alone.

4. I talk at Bullet Train speed. Forget the fact that I can talk non-stop for however long on whatever topic. That's nothing. I've been compared to the likes of Ben Johnson for my talking speed, even when I was a kid! On a recent conversation with Andu, he pointed out (God bless him) that I just completed a relatively mid-length sentence in less than 3 secs. Are the Record book people listening...?? I'm not proud of it.

5. My phone is eternally busy. I'm either on the landline or the mobile. Satti christened me "The Call Center". Which is what flashes on his phone when I call. (If ever I do call) I'm not proud of it either.

6. I love Water. I can drink any amount of water. At times, I drink upto 8 litres a day. It's like a compulsion. If there's a bottle near me, I just have to finish it. Which obviously means I visit the loo !@# number of times a day. Though, most of the time it's to check myself out ;)

7. I'm a matching-matching FREAK. I'm kinda known for it. I match my accessories, basically earrings and bangles, earnestly. I pretty much have allllll colours with me. Not the flashy kinds though! I can't imagine an unmatched day. *shudder* [I manage to make it in time to office every morning, inspite of this ;)]

8. I looooveeeeee stickers. I collect them. Any kind. Especially ones with glitter! *starry eyed* I've got alllllllll the stickers I've ever bought till now with me in this big bag. My Dad threatens to throw it out everytime he gets angry thereby forcing me to comply with his (baseless) orders. Best part is I never use 'em! I'm hyper-senti about my stickers. If I do use one of my precious ones for anyone, you can be assured that person is extremely special. More than 'the sticker'.

9. I have a tattoo. On my lower back on the right side. It's my name in Japanese. Decided to commemorate myself and Japanese and so the tattoo. Besides, I couldn't think of anything else. Raring to get more. But the problem is my parents don't know :D I've managed to keep it a secret for a year and a 1/2 now. And there's no other hideable place *sigh*

10. I hate working. I'm a total home body. I would love to be a house wife. Just laze around the house, doing nothing. And in between all that lazing, get some cooking/washing/cleaning done. I'm not ambitious and not the go-getter/gotta-reach-the-top-of-the-corporate-ladder-by-eating-other's-heads types. Nope, not me. Not in the least! Very simple girl, you know!

11. I have BIG palms. Long fingers too, but big palms. They are so big that when I put mehandi, they are tempted to charge for 3 palms, for the extra mehandi and extra effort taken!I actually have a complex about it. For all you know, my 'man' would probably have smaller palms than me! :-/

I guess this should do now. Will save the rest for similar future tags ;) Oh and btw, I tag Janie, Prathiboo, Satti and Mayth to do this!

Happy Birthday again!

Spate of birthdays this month. And all of them are extra special people!Today is Andu san's birthday. Andu san aka Anand Johnson-of the Johnson brothers' fame.

As I alwayz say, the Johnson brothers (Aj and Andu & co.) are the reason the Ramachandran sisters smile. Really. They brought happiness into our life. And I just don't mean happiness, I mean belly aching, rolling on the floor, heart stopping, breath choking Laughter with a capital 'L'. From the time we met till now, I guess we've been laughing all the way. Literally!

Andu san- ur a laugh riot! With your smart alec jokes and whacky expressions, you crack us up allll the time. And ofcourse, ur super sweet, "Love you P3 san" messages that make me smile the instant I get them. Somehow you alwayz know when I'm low and that message of yours comes right on time! Didn't I say you were Godsent?

Wishing you a Happy Happy Birthday. You rock, we rock and we'll keep rocking! Loooooooooveeeeeeee to itsy witsy teeny weeny bits. Hugz! Muah!

P.S: Yet to load a snap of yours cuz I don't have one at work right now. Will do it asap. Pardon!

Happy Birthday!

Oh am I happy or am I happy!!??! It's Pp's Birthday! Finally, the day is here :) I've been waitingggg for this day to go on to tell him how super special he is! Though he should be knowing, but yet :)

Check out this lil hunk:

[All you 18 year old girls out there, behold! He's a perfect catch. Certified by ISI, ISO et all ;)]

No matter what I say right now, it wouldn't be enough to let you know what you mean to me. But I'm just gonna wish you an extremely Happy Birthday. This is the millionth time I'm wishing you, but hey, it's your birthday and you can never get enough wishes now, can you?

Just know that you are loved loadz n loadz by this crazy sis of yours. Wanna see you smiling, smiling alllll the time. (With me around, how else would you be huh??) God Bless! Muahhhhh!

Minna-san, Okurimono ga suki desuka?*

Japanese to English Translation: All of you, do you like gifts?* (That, btw, is a dual purpose title. One, to show off my Japanese proficiency and Two, to increase curiosity in the post. Smart, I know)

*I know I do. I LOVE gifts - both giving and getting. I know it's the thought that matters and all. I totallllllllyy agree. I don't get sad if I don't get a gift. But I'm super happy/ elated/ jubilant/ springy/upbeat....(you get the drift) when I do get a gift. And I truly consider myself blessed in that respect. Cuz I have some of the BESTEST people in the Whole Wide World around me!
See, it goes like this. During my engineering, my parents were abroad => cash inflow was pretty good. That was probably the time when I gave the most. After that, I went on to do my MBA. At that time, most of my engg friends had gotten into TCS/CTS/Infosys/some IT Company. And Dolz was also earning top-notch. So, I was the pampered friend/baby-sister. Birthdays meant a million gifts. I'd get every single thing I wanted. Mum was absolutely disgusted at the way I used to squeal with delight at the gifts and she used to remind me that I have to also give in return. But my friends never let me. "You're not earning yet", they'd say.

And then after MBA, I waited 4 months to get a job. By then the engg set was well settled and the MBA ones started working. So I was pampered again. Then when I did get a job, I got one which paid me peanuts. I couldn't even meet my own auto needs from Mylapore to Adyar and again they'd say, "C'mon, you don't have to spend. When you get a better job, you can get us something". I've received gifts ranging from: Clothes to Cellphones to Ipods to Customized-Calendars-with-my-Pics-all-over to Bags to Shoes to Watches to Books to Flowers to Cakes to Chocolates to Make-overs to Jewellery to.....!!! And now, finally, I have a good, decent paying job. And it's time I start giving! Trust me , it isn't easy. It requires sooooo much of thought!

I cherish each and every one of those gifts. I even save the wrappers and the tiny 'Best Wishes' cards that come along with them. I've got every single card I've received since I was a kid. But one of my most recentest gifts is definitely one of my most bestest gifts. Totallyyyyy unexpected. It was given by my Pp. My lil bro baby, the sweetest, cutest, nuttiest person I've met. Whom I love oh-so-much and whose smile is just to-die for! All of 18 years and full of fun and spunk!I simply cannot imagine an hour without this lil hunk, forget a day. When I opened the gift he handed me, I just sat there, not saying a word cuz, for once, I didn't have anything to say!I was speechless. Stunned into silence! (For those of you who know me personally, that is a pretty impossible task) Din't know whether to laugh or cry, to jump in joy or run outta there and show it to everyone I know!He designed a CD for me. Like, put in a few of my ultimate fav songs, designed the front and back AND got it printed on the CD. My FIRST Customized CD. And he addressed it to -"The Best Sis in the Whole World!"And he did it for ME. *sniff* While I get down to some crying and nose-blowing, you guyz can check it out:



Beautiful huh? Pp, Muah! Love you alwayz kiddoooooo!!!!

Next is by Ruby. Ok, to get into the history behind this, I must tell you I'm totally not a gadget person. Cellphones are solely for 'communication' purposes and I find absolutely no joy in wasting money on a new phone. My friends have tried over and over again to get me to change my phone. I had a 3310 till a year back when a friend gifted me another. That stopped working and I've been using my sisz throw away 6600 ever since, which was in a deplorable condition when I received it and I've managed to damage it even further. It was silver earlier. Now black. It didn't have the keys 'enter' and 'a,b,c' and so i had to use my nails to get inside and type it out. I didn't even find it necessary to change the panel! And so, Ruby dearest decided to do the honours. Gifted me a whole new panel, with a new keypad, a new battery AND a memory card (which is from Satti too). My folks actually thought I got myself a new phone! And me, being the bitch I am, have been cribbing that the 'new-look' for the phone isn't me. And that the phone isn't quite the same now! I know I'm a pain! Rubyyyy, I LOVE it. And I LOVE you! Thanks really, really, reallyyyyy!!! Don't have a snap of it. But it looks super sexy. Totally new.

Don't you think I really am blessed to have these people?

*sniff* There I go again! *sniff*

P.S-Update: It is NOT my birthday. I'm a Cancerian and hence, my birthday is in July! And if my Birthday was coming, the countdown would've started 2 months in advance! :D These are just chumma gifts, which is what makes them a lot more special-er :)

Happy Birthday!

This is gonna be a new feature on my blog. There are these extra special people in my life whom I love to itsy-witsy, teeny-weeny bits. And I decided it'd be a super cool idea to honour them on their birthdays with a small post. And the lucky one to kick-start this feature is my Handsome Hunk of a bro-in-law- Harsh, whose Birthday is on the 16th of March.

It is a wonder how things change with time. It's been a year and a half since he's entered our lil family and I actually feel like he's been around forever! I may have not said it in as many words, Harsh, but I really do love you. For the way you make my sis smile, for the way you take care of her, for the respect you give my parents and for the person you are. You are everything and more than what I could ever ask for Dolz.

Thanks for alwayz, alwayz being there. Wishing you an Awesome Birthday. God Bless You! Hugz!

BLuSh, CrUSh and ALL that MuSh!

Update: Note to Public- I am NOT getting married YET. What I meant by arranged marriage time is that, my parents have been bitten by the 'kalyanam virus' and decided enough is enough and wanna push me out. Considering poor lil me has noone to show-off to my parents as 'the man', I'm left with lil choice but to say ok to the entire (pathetic) process! And the process has just started. Will definitely keep you all updated. So please, I'm not aunty, YET! :(

As much as I have tried denying it, as much as I hate accepting it, I blush. At the drop of a hat. Uhh, actually a name. Ask Jane. She'd tell you. Cuz she's the first one to figure it out yearz back. I blush when you mention certain names. I don't know if my complexion allows me to turn red, but if it did, I would. Beet red. That sudden rush of blood to my face, causing a flush that's called a blush when you mention the name of a crush that makes my insides go mush!

Honestly...? I must admit I don't know if I know what love is. As in, the real love or true love or whatever. I mean, there may have been 5 guyz in my life, but they were all the wrong ones. Only 2 of them meant something. The 1st one cuz that was the longest and the 3rd cuz he treated me the best. In the 1st case, I was wayyyyyyy too young when I was in it. I was more in love with the 'idea of being in love', than in love itself. Carried away, quixotic, all that. And then reality struck. The other 3 were friends, on the verge of becoming more. Professed their love for me and I was in the confused,"Hmmm, he's a nice guy. And a great friend. Maybe he's the one...???" state. But nope, they weren't. Cuz they just weren't genuine. And I found that out later, luckily before things went further. Now, with the 3rd guy, everything was perfect. Like in every-fucking- possible way. The real deal and then wham!it was over (Short and sweet...?) As I did mention in My 10 most, he passed away a year later and the only explanation I see for us breaking up was that God willed that way. To save me the trouble of having to deal with the grief of him going away that way.

Ok, this is sooo not meant to be sad! So lets regress to the basic point - Blushing and crushing and mushing! (henceforth BCM). I may not know what love is but what I do know is that, to blush, it doesn't have to be love. Could be that cute guy passing by. Or, a call from a guy I really like. I even blush when people make fun of me with some random guy! I have this smile stuck on my face -Colgate style - 32 teeth, cheek-to-cheek (or rather whatever my tiny lips would allow) and thanks to Jane's publicity, everyone I know, knows it now. And I hate it! I hate that I blush and I hate it that I'm so readable!

I really am not all that romantic a person. I'm not in denial here. I really am not that extra mushy,'oh my baby baby' kinda person. I don't mind being called that way. But reciprocating it is a different ball game. I love flowers and gifts and all that. But am not much of the candle-light dinner type. I would prefer to go to a movie (I actually went for Marudhamalai!), normal dinners (as long as there's food!) or even coffee (the drinking kinds, d-u-h).

I don't feel the need to hype every occassion (but for a birthday) and disappoint/get disappointed when high riding expectations aren't met. The simple things matter to me. You know, simple caring gestures go a longggg way in making me feel secure rather than mile-long speeches professing undying, unrequitted love and its likes. Everytime I've heard it, I was left stupefied at how people could actually say stuff like that. My reply:
1. Aloud: "Aww, that's sooo sweet!"
2. In the confines of my mind, "Naa already 3 timez kaadhu kuthiyachu pa! (Translation: I've already pierced my ears thrice. Uhmm, doesn't make sense in English, so forget it)

And now it's arranged marriage time. I'm not gonna get into my woes on that but my sentiments are: Unknown guy = extra low levels of BCM. Friends say that'd change and things will get all happy, happy and al. But, I can't help but feel doubtful now. Hmmm, all I can do is wait and watch. Let's see, pakalam, dekhte hain, mitteyou!

Sooooooooooo...Temme guyz, what's your take on all this? What makes you BLuSh, CrUSh and ALL that MuSh!?

P.S: 1. I'd especially like to hear from Mayth aunty on this. If you don't mind :)
2. I take this opportunity to profess my unconditional love for my Best Bosom Buddies, my Darlin Dido Dolz & Ultimate Superstar Pp ;) And I accept your respective speeches, and I promise my 'inner voice' is silent through it :D I have a crush on you guyz man ;)

Belly Dancers...

This post is alllllll about shakes, creamy moves, lotsa meat, spice and delicious eye-candy!Presenting to you my second food post! (Did I just burst that bubble, shucks!) I've been accumulating quite a bit of yummy information to dish out to y'all. So, without any further delay, let's sink our teeth into some of my favourites from around Chennai:

1. Peppers
My rating: *****
Location: Down Chennai Kaliappa signal, towards Park Sheraton.
Pricing: Approx Rs.300/- per head
Definitely, definitely a 5/5. For ambience, service, the super-rich, super-yummy food AND the pricing. What's better, it's a veg only place! [Mayth be happy :)] What's even better..? They have an extensive menu comprising Indian, Chinese and Continental.They also have an extra long list of mocktails and juices. The dessert section lacks variety but the few that do figure are extremely good. They have the 'Dessert of the day' concept and when we went it was 'Shahi Tukde'- pieces of ghee-fried bread in thickened milk with saffron and nuts. Sinful :) I can safely say that in the 3 times that I have been there, all of what we ordered (cheese naan, paneer burji, spinach pasta etc etc) was perfect. Just the way anyone would like it.

2. Tasty Joe's
My rating: *****
Location: Besant Nagar (Next to Cozee/Pupil)
Pricing: Approx 150/- per head
A small, neat place that has tables in the open air as well as inside. Frankly, my expectations from the place weren't too high when I walked in, but we were in for a pleasant surprise. The entire meal was extremely satisfying (with my Best boyz as company, it is but natural). The menu is decent. Burgers, pizzas, steaks, sandwiches, pastas and from somewhere Indian. We pretty much had a taste of most of them - Paneer tikka, Chicken/ Beef burgers, Spaghetti with cheese balls/ bolognaise (came with garlic bread), Chicken/ Beef steaks (came with mashed potatoes and grilled veges) and Paneer & Cheese sandwich. Though the quantity didn't look all that much, it left us feeling just right. And the best part was they gave us 2 plates of brownies with icecream on the house! (We assumed it was a thank you gesture for our noisy bunch getting out!hehe)

3. French Loaf
My rating:*****
Location: Opp. TTK road Univercell, Alwarpet (heard its got branches elsewhere too)
A lil bakery with all those lil pastries that Hansel and Gretel would go ga-ga for. This place has got to have the BEST tarts and quiches in town! Priced at around 50-60/- a tart, they have a number of differenr flavours like berry, pear, apple etc, that are a treat to the eyes and the tongue alike! They are totally 'melt-in-the-mouth' fresh, giving an oral orgy with every bite! Also available are a variety of flavoured bread loafs like garlic, herb etc.

4. Cake Walk
My rating: *****
Location: I only know of the Besant Nagar and Egmore ones.
Oh-so-yumm! I simply loveeee their blueberry ( I go there JUST for this) and lemon cheese cakes and their kiwi gateaux. Authentic as hell. They do have sandwiches and stuff, but I'm not too sure how that is. This place is a must-try for their cakes. Period. They make really pretty cakes for birthdays that are colourful and different in interesting flavours like lychee and kiwi. [I told you, Prathi :)]

5. Cascade
My rating: *****
Location: Besant Nagar. Above the Spencer's Daily super market.
I think I could rate this 5/5. But, I'm just being strict and so 4. Near perfect :) I'm sure there are hardly any of you who haven't tried Cascade. One of Chennai's fav Chinese places, I guess. Ask anyone why and they 1st reason they'd give is the quantity. It's every student/miser/pauper's dream come true. One soup for 90/- serves 4!And the food is really good too. Simple, delicious Chinese food and excellent service sums up the place.

Hmmm, I guess I should also give you all food for thought on places you-dare-not-venture-into.

1. U.S Pizza
Location: TTK Road signal Petrol bunk.
Innovative should be their middle name. Heard of any other pizza place (or ANY place) that serves petrol flavoured coleslaw? No, seriously. Don't ask me why I even went there. On one of our walk-outta-office routines, me and Prathi decided to go there to sit down and talk. Chumma. Just like that (Fate maybe?) First of all, the place was reeking with the smell of petrol (I know, I know, what more could we expect from a petrol bunk huh?). As if that didn't kill our appetite, the garlic bread arrived with black edges and an extremely brown topping, which on closer inspection we realized was burnt cheese. And the coleslaw, as I already said, tasted of petrol. Actually, it was more like the mayo had been kept in a plastic container forever and then dished out for the only customers in a good 6 months, aka, US.

2. Kabul
Location: TTK Road
Was good. Till Mr.Fangs arrived. In the biryani. Yea, we were served veg biryani with dead Mr.Fangs, wings and all. And then no more. Besides, the place isn't exactly cheap. I mean free insect and all ok, but 300/- per head for that ****. Never!

3. Saravana Bhavan
Location: Mylapore tank (This is where I had my tryst)
Stalwarts in the South-Indian cuisine lineage. World famous. Branches in every single freaking city. All that jazz is alright, but are they doing justice? I'm not gonna deny I love their food. But everytime I get out I feel fleeced and angry as hell. My last trip there went like this:

Me: "Tomato soup 1 by 2"
Waiter: "1 by 2 varadu madam" (1/2 won't come madam)
Me: "En?" (Why?)
Waiter: "Adu apdi dan madam" (It's like that only madam)
Me: "Adan en? Apdi na epdi?" (That's what, why? Like that means like what?)
Waiter: "Illa, 1 soup e quantity romba kammi. Adan sonen. Unga naladiku dan sonen" (No, 1 soup itself quantity very less. That's why told. For your good only told)
Me: "Enaku enna naladu nu enaku teriyum. Give me 1 by 2" (I know what's good for me)
*Soup arrives*
Waiter: *I-told-you-so smirk*
Me: *aghast and confused looking at the cup* "1/2 cup dane sonen, illa 1/2 spoon sonena???" (I did say 1/2 cup right? Or did I say 1/2 spoon!???)
And that soup was Rs.35/- 10 bucks more at another place and they'd serve 3 times the quantity in 1/2 itself! And yea another thing, my sis asked for an extra soup stick. (To give to my dog, cuz I guess only her teeth would've been able to crack it). And they said they wouldn't give it. Only 1 stick per soup. And that too she ordered mushroom soup, so not even that. Cuz apparently, soup stick is combination wonly for tametoo soup. In the World Of HSB.

That's not all. We decided to have icecream for dessert. Now they have a pretty tasty range of natural icecreams at Rs 27/- a scoop. Considering we had the 1/2 and all, I was still hungry and thought I'd have a sundae (!!!). Cuz, you know, it'd be bigger. I ordered a black current sundae, which according to their descriptoin, was vanilla icecream with black currant sauce, topped with whipped cream and fruits. And it was Rs 48/-. What came to the table was a Rs.27/- scoop with a tear drop size purplish blob, which I assumed was the black currant sauce, and 'yaaro nakki vecha madri' whipped cream (like someone licked it and kept it) I'm still fuming thinking of it!


Interruption!!!As alwayz, all this food talk is making me hungry. Do lemme know your favourites and not-so-favourites, wherever you are. Never know when information would be useful!

Happy Eating!

Excuse ME? Just who are YOU to tell ME that?!?

So much of bickering, so much of judging, so much of bitching in the air. And it's all so over- whelming to think and react to it. Yes, I'm talking about nasty statements, hurtful words and watchamacallit- Criticism, with a capital C.

For once, this post isn't instigated by some recent personal experience (Thankfully, nothing mean has been said against me recently..hehe..Uhmmm, ofcourse I'm discounting the 'unmentionable terminology' my mum directs at me everyday!). I'm gonna try and make this an objective post. On criticism, judgemental-ism and the likes. That faint line between well and ill intentioned comments that's there and yet, not quite. And I'd like to know how y'all react to it.

A recent post by Keshi on her favourite Indians caused a huge commotion in her comments section. People were telling her who she should've included and who she shouldn't have. I mean, seriously, do they even know what they're saying? As she rightly said, it was a list of HER favourite Indians and she likes them cuz she likes them. She doesn't need to explain it out to the world? If they've got an opinion, state it. Not everyone likes the same things and that's understandable. But to go on and belittle her choice and her and blah blah, that's a little too much, don't you think?

I'm an extremeeeellllyyyy sensitive person, unfortunately, and am pathetic with criticism (All those Zodiac sign thingies say that it's a Cancerian trait. And so, I'm gonna blame it on that) Be it positive or negative, I'd take it to be negative. If my mum tells me I need to lose weight, I think,"She hates me. She loves Dolls more cuz she's thinner". (Not kidding, that's what I think) If Dad says I could've probably gotten better marks if I worked a little harder, I'd think,"Well, he hates me too. I should probably just run away!" And I'd extrapolate those thoughts to the rest of the World hating me and feel like a nobody at the end of it! [Ultimate result: Depressed blogs ;)]

My mind pretty much shuts-down when I'm the victim of any form of scrutiny. Rationality takes a back seat and my defensive mode kicks in. No matter what the other person is saying. Even if implementing what they say is gonna transform into an angel overnight. But then, that's me.

There are those who've got a fuck-all attitude and I seriously admire that. I'm in awe of those who can brush aside such issues and go on like noone's said a thing. This is probably one thing we gotta learn from celebrities. Being in the hot-seat all the time, every move of theirs being scrutinized and publicized, they really need to have a lot of endurance to get through with it all.

I don't know if i've digressed somewhere. I've read and re-read what I've written to try and add a lil more sense to it but...not happening. So I'm gonna stop now. But not before asking all of you to tell me how you'd react to criticism- constructive or destructive.

P.S: 1. The title is indirectly linked to the post. A common retort to such comments. Just incase anyone wanted to know :)
2. @OK: If your reading this, my sensitivities should probably explain why I gave you that unwanted, extra long comment in reaction to your meaningfully harmless comment. Just struck a wrong chord somewhere deep within. My apologies!

I NEED to know now...Does it really hurt...?

Not love. Not breaking up. Not tattoos or peircings. What I wanna know is - Does it really hurt...to SMILE...?

My parents have taught me to be pleasant and polite. And being all full of manners as I am (atleast I try!), I smile at people I know. Not necessarily a buddy or the one-who-sits-beside me. I mean, could be someone on the same floor. There is this one girl at work, whom I see pretty often. I smile at her when I see her and what does she do...? Pass me by like I don't even exist! (This has happened,like, thrice)I mean, it's technically impossible to miss me, you know, thanks to my 'towering personality' (= huge). Besides, I was looking straight at her and smiling. And so, she cannot even use the pathetic excuse that I was probably smiling at the person behind her (or maybe she thought it was the cupboard...?or the wall perhaps...?) Doesn't anyone reciprocate niceties anymore?

She's not the only one. Me and Ruby joint aerobics recently. We were late (as usual) for our first class and the instructor told us to join the crowd and follow suit. We were all left feet and tripping and I looked at the girl in front and smiled sheepishly. She, inturn, threw me this disinterested, 'I'm-too-busy-to-waste-time-smiling' expression! (Adding insult to injury is the fact that she's as thin as a stick of asparagus while I'm that huffing, puffing plump tomato) Thankfully, there was another nice lady who just asked us to hang in there till the end.

With medical reports (eg: Smiling involves just 17 facial muscles and...), poems (eg: Smiling is a merry thing, blah blah blah"), songs (Remember Boyzone's biggest hit: Words, which began with-Smile, an everlasting smile.......??") and the likes of Hallmark/Archies coming up with the 'Smiley' (that cute, yellow thing on cards/keychains/anything & everything) , the entire 'Smile' concept is pretty much in your face. And so, I'm gonna assume the non-smiling kinds are extremely ignorant people with no life. Living in an igloo without a window and no humans around => Zilch people skills.

Or maybe I'm just ancient. Maybe being grumpy is in and I never realized. Well, the lean, mean men have always been considered hot. You know, the 'bad boy' image and all. Maybe that works for women as well.....? Maybe it's better. Would save guys the effort of saying those corny lines like "Your smile just killed me" or "I love the way your eyes light up when you smile" etc. Or maybe, they'd just change them and go, "Your frown just scared the shit outta me" or "Your dead pan eyes and frigid expression just turn me on".

Whatever maybe, a smile works for me. Lifts me up to smile and be smiled at. What do you think?

Million $ quote: "To Smile or not to Smile. That is the question" (by Will.I.A'int Shakespreeti)

P.S: Update: Ever since I've written this post (like 30 min ago), I've seen Girl#1 twice and I couldn't help but smile so hard, I looked sillier than the Cheshire Cat in 'Alice in Wonderland'!

MiSSiN' LoVe!

Song to perfectly describe present state:
"I've been wandering up n down the house
Wonderin what the hell to do!
............(irrelevant lines)
Ah, this is torture, this is pain
It feels like I'm gonna, go insane
I hope ur coming back real soon
Cuz I don't know what to do,
Chorus: Baby when your gone,
I realize I'm in love
Days go on n on
N the nights just seem sooooo long!
Even food don't taste that good
Honey, doing what it should
Things just feel so wrong
Baby, when ur gone"

by Bryan Adams

The house is silent. (Almost. Faint sounds of Mallu comedy, thanks to Dad, fall on my deaf ears) Me...?I lay sprawled on my bed staring at the fan go round n round n round n round n....you get it. My heart feels like it would explode with emotion. It feels heavy. Bereft. I never knew it would be so hard. I thought I could brave anything. But, this...this is difficult.

I've lost track of time staring at the empty space before me. The space 'he' occupied. Me and him would sit for hours on end, staring at each other, not speaking a word. A million images, a myriad of colours would flash before us. And I would laugh, cry and more with the stories he spewed on me. My constant companion. At times, my only companion. He didn't have to go now. Especially not now. When I needed him the most.

I'm low. Freaking, totally, absolutely, all-time low.

Oh yes guyz, the unthinkable has occured.

My TV has stopped working.

P.S: I really hope it's coming back soon. Pray.