Mind speak Vs Mind games

I will never understand why people don't say what's on their mind. Why all the hiding? Is it fear - fear that the other person will do something you don't expect. Something which can ruin your plans for yourself and the world around you. I can understand holding your tongue in check and not lashing out loud when you are trying to protect someone. Also it's better to keep your mouth shut before judging someone, you might turn out to be the one having delusions. Trying to avoid a conflict is also something I can live with (though there are cases where getting things out in open & clearing the air is much better than keeping mum and sulking about it).

Once I moved out of the house and started my work life in Bangalore, I have faced a dilemma. Should I keep my thoughts to myself, think more before I speak out, especially in my professional life. Is it good to be so frank with my peers? I am not talking about hiding something or even lying but being more 'professional'. One of my friend had once told me, 'you should not be too open, your seniors/peers will know how to manipulate you'. When I first heard it, I thought it to be too extreme. But maybe my friend does have the right idea. Maybe sometimes its better to keep your thoughts to yourself. I am sure that my colleagues have a pretty fair idea of what my thoughts are in a given situation.I agree that there have been situations wherein I have done things that I would have liked to avoid. Got irritated coz of something and though I may not have told anything, everyone near me can make out that I am irritated. Said yes to a work assigned by my PM, when I am already flooded & would have liked to say no. But than this is something you can not avoid being in IT field. Deadlines are always unrealistic and work is always just a tad more. Small lies and sacrifices are part of our life and I take it with a pinch of salt. But they should be as less and as true as they can be.

It has happened to me so many times when I have said/requested something and got a hedging response from the other side. I generally have opinions on almost everything - don't know if it's good or bad but I do have it. Given a situation my friends know what my feelings are. Till now, I have never had any major problems because of it. With friends/family, if there comes a situation where-in I am uncomfortable, I tell it to them. Such situations are rare, since they already know about it without my telling. And I am blessed with friends who are understanding beyond expectations. (Thanks for being such gr8 friends.. Miss you all.. hey I am coming back to India soon.. so cyaaaaaaa :-).. though some friends will be left behind here.. :-(.. )

Off late I have started growing increasingly uncomfortable sensing all the planning and politics and stalling that generally takes place. And when I talk about speaking your mind, I am not talking about truth or lie, it's about having an honest conversation with your peers, subordinates and seniors, especially on issues that involve them. Management will always have some excuse for all the decisions made. I agree that this decisions maybe for the overall growth of the project/account,etc. But does this and your personal growth have to be mutually exclusive. Can't they go hand on hand. Do we really don't get anything without first fighting for it? And this is when my professional life has just started. I am still very near the bottom rung of the corporate ladder and I feel dizzy. Can't even imagine what must be going on at the top. Games people play!! Sigh!!

Picture Blog

Here's a link to a new blog that I have created.. <Picture Blog>

This is exlcusivley to share some of the pics that I capture though my lens. Hopefully it will be easier for me to publish regular posts here.. ;-)

Here are 10 Things..

..(in no particular order) which seem to test my patience or to be more precise, prove the absence of it.

• My low tolerance with a select few people & they are very few.... I think I give pretty enough room to everyone. But there are a few people I just can't seem to get along with. Guess you can blame it on bad vibes. Oh, I try so hard but my body-language just gives me away!! I am very bad in hiding my feelings. Everyone around me knows what my current mood is.. I make sure that they do.. ;-) Anyways I still have to pretend to 'not dislike' them, even though I know that they know :-(
• Those 'well-intentioned' relatives who just can't seem to think of anything else but you & your family's happiness. But in reality are always jealous with your happiness.
  
• People who oppose you just for the heck of it. Especially the stubborn ones who won't even listen to what the other person has to say.
• Arranged marriages where the girl is expected to be beautiful, intelligent, smart, educated, a great cook, an obedient daughter-in-law, a perfect home-maker with a good career, an ideal wife & to top it all bring in loads of dowry!!
• People who are always bragging about something or the other. I know some who are 'pro' in this.
  
• People who get bored in their own company. They get bored too easily and in the process bore others too. It takes a huge effort to stay away from their boredom, even if you are someone whoz pretty excited yourself most of the times.
  
• People who are always late for meetings, appointments - formal or informal. Hey do whatever you want with your own time but please do respect others.
• COLD!! And not the weather 'cold' but the sickness 'cold'. Oh it has been a constant companion of mine as long as I can remember.
• Movies which try to justify extra martial affairs. Sorry guys.. i can't understand that.. like in 'The English Patient', the love between the lead pair may have been great but i couldn't understand the heroine cheating on her husband.. why was she not happy?? It wasn't as if he didn't love her. How can one love be great and another trivial?
• My wonderfully "choosy'n'forgetful" memory - some things I can't forget and some things I just can't seem to remember. And there's no pattern in there. Just random.
  

You know, thinking about these 10 things was so difficult.. it nearly tested my patience.. I was about to leave it in between.. but then I guess I am patient enough.. ;-)

Trip to NY/ Niagara - First things first

I went on a trip to New York and Niagara falls on this memorial day weekend (May25-May28). A very eventful and fun trip with loads of 'first-time' things happening to me. As usual I noted then down :-) Whenever I experience something for the first time, I remember an ad I saw when I was still in school. At that time, we used to get "The Telegraph" newspaper at our home. If I remember correctly, the ad I am referring to was for 'Emirates Airlines'. The tag line for the ad was 'When was the last time you did something for the first time? Keep discovering.' Profound, ain't it? ;-D

A few details about my trip - I started from my place at around 7 in the evening, reached NY by 9.30. (FYI - the night-view of NY skyline when the plane's landing is brilliant, saw a big baseball stadium too - it was glowing - prashant mentioned it must be the 'Mets'). Anjali & Prashant had come to pick me up from the airport, so we went straight to their place. They live in a beautiful apartment in an equally beautiful area, Newport. It has spectacular river-side view. Here's a picture I took from their apartment complex.

(Manhattan skyline reflected on Hudson river)

Harish arrived from Phoenix later that night. And 4 of us started our trip. A trip which had a few first-time-things (some of these were also in my "To-do" list)

1. Visited Niagara falls - It's just beautiful. Specially at night - with fireworks, coloured beams of light illuminating the falls and the beautiful Canadian skyline in the backdrop.

2. Times square, NY - I had such a nice time in times square. We were there from about 8.30pm to 2.30am. The place was sparkling owing to the big, huge and bright billboards at display there. Went to Hershey's, Toys'R'Us, saw the famous NASDAQ bill board, Broadway (legally blonde was playing there, couldn't even try to see, no time.. ),.. got a sketch done (had to sit still for about 30 min.. I can tell u its VERY difficult and even after trying I was not still for a moment - the poor guy who had to sketch me.. :D ). Even we started back for home, we still had loads of energy left to continue. The fact that we had to start for Niagara early in the morning next day was the only constraint.

3. Visited statue of liberty - couldn't go near the top - it's not allowed now a days.

4. Started a new collection - I went to the gift shops on all the places that I went, statue of liberty, empire state building & Niagara falls. Have started collecting beautiful souvenir glasses. Something similar to shot glasses.

5. Empire State Building - The view of NY from the observation deck at 86th floor is amazing. One of my first thoughts on seeing ESB was King Kong. :D. The lift in the ESB is awesome - we ascended/descended "80 floors" in just under a minute.

6. Drove at 100mph - Yes finally I touched 100 mph. We drove from NY to Niagara in an SUV (Nissan-Pathfinder). I LOOOOVE driving. :-)

7. Got a speeding ticket - The fact that I was driving at such a speed and in a big vehicle, no one - with the exception of me - was surprised that I got ticket :-(

8. Saw traffic Jam - Hey b'lore is not the only place having huge traffic jams. While coming back from Niagara to NY, we were literally crawling on the interstate. For about an hour or so, we saw vehicles jam packed on the road as far as we could see. Another thing, traffic in NY is BAD.

9. Eat in a diner - while coming back from Niagara, we had lunch in a diner. Very limited vegetarian choices but the preparations were good.

10. Saw the famous Yellow NY taxis - There are loads of taxis in NY. They looked very cute - especially when seen from the observation deck at ESB. One of the famous modes of transportation here apart from the buses and railway/subway.

11. Punjabi Dhabas in Niagara - I was quite surprised to fund so many punjabi dhabas in Niagara. No surprise considering the fact that about 80-85% toursits seemed to be indians. :-)

(A pic taken from the deck near the top of Niagara - American falls on the left and Horse-shoe falls on the right)

Dreams

“But I, being poor, have only my dreams.

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams.”

- Lines from a beautiful poem by W. B. Yeats

I'll be seeing you

Here’s the lyrics of a song I heard recently. It is from a lovely, romantic movie, The Notebook. It has a very simple and universal “rich girl meets poor boy” story. A common theme has been captured well by the director, with the help of good leading pair, Rachel McAdams & Ryan Gosling. Of course when you have as charming an actor as Ryan Gosling in the lead, things get even more beautiful. I won’t say that he is a great actor but he is good. I have see a couple of his other movies too & liked him in all – he draws you to himself plus when in a negative role, he has this dark aura around him. He is in ‘The List’ now and by that I mean my list of fav ppl ;-) The movie also has excellent cinematography with beautiful, picturesque locations. I especially liked the view which accompanies the opening credits of the movie and the sequence where Noah(Ryan) takes Allie(Rachel) for a boat-ride around a lake which is filled with geese.

Ok coming back to the song, I especially liked the lyrics, the music, and Billie Holiday’s voice - it's a bit different ;) you may not like it at first go. The song fit in perfectly with the situation in which it was being played, giving it a kind of nostalgic/haunting feel. Here goes the lyrics..

I'll be seeing you

In all the old familiar places

That this heart of mine embraces

All day through.

In that small cafe;

The park across the way;

The children's carousel;

The chestnut trees;

The wishin' well.

I'll be seeing you

In every lovely summer's day;

In every thing that's light and gay.

I'll always think of you that way.

I'll find you

In the morning sun

And when the night is new.

I'll be looking at the moon,

But I'll be seeing you.

I'll be seeing you

In every lovely summer's day;

In every thing that's light and gay.

I'll always think of you that way.

I'll find you

In the morning sun

And when the night is new.

I'll be looking at the moon,

But I'll be seeing you.

Analyze this ;-)

I was watching 'Analyze This' yesterday… another re-run :) .. one helluva funny movie.. I was laughing like anything most of the time while watching it.. Billy Crystal & Robert de Niro.. an awesome combo... :D .. as deadly as Danny DeVito & Billy Crystal in 'Threw momma from the train'. Please see it in case u already haven't.. u'll enjoy every bit of it.

Coming back to ‘Analyze This’, there are loads of funny scenes in here.. especially the ones where Billy Crystal , a psychiatrist, is conducting sessions for his patients. While watching those scenes, I realized thank god I was not a psychiatrist.. Most of the cases were so hillarious, I would have laughed out on the face of the patients.. :).. And I am serious about that.. I have a penchant for laughing at the most inappropriate times. During tonnes & tonnes of lectures in , my friends would say something funny and I would burst out laughing, while they would be very good in controlling their laughter.. During my engineering days, I and my friend Amrita..(Amu for me ;-) .. and here's a link to her blog), used to sit together during our classes and laugh together.. she would deliver one of her deadly one liners and keep mum. And I would have a very difficult time controlling my laughter.. This really worried me during my 3rd year of Engg as our HOD was about to take one of our subjects.. he being a terror in our dept, I was pretty skeptical of how I would fair in his presence. Thankfully I was never caught by him.. though I did laugh out loud a few times.. ;)

Hmm.. so as u can see, imagining myself at Billy Crystal's position was fun.. It has happened to me once too while I was trying to psycho-analyze a situation.... It was during the time I came to b’lore after completing my engg degree. I had joined as a SE in one of the big software companies. During the training period, I was staying at a PG in Koramangala with some of my friends. We used to go to office together, take the 5.30 bus back home and would have talk-sessions till late at night.. (the experience I had at the PG can fill a few more blogs). During one of our such, there was this girl, who came to us (us being me, chandra and preeti).. then very seriously she told 'Let me give u a case study, analyze it and tell me your opinion about it' (Fyi.. she was working part time and preparing for further studies and we assumed the case study was for that.. ) .. And then she started telling us abt the case..

'Let's assume a hypothetical situation.. there's a guy and a girl.. the girl really likes the guy.. he is her best friend.. she has counted on him and trusted him forever.. and the guy likes her too.. Let's assume they are working together.. and hence see each other everyday.. then all of sudden the guy gets very busy.. u see.. he is preparing for his MBA while working.. the girl realizes that & understands the situation.. she knows that his carrier / growth are very imp.. and she is supportive.. even lends him her book to help.. So now they see each other less often.. mind you she hasn’t told him that she likes him and neither has he..
Ok. then one day after a long time they meet again at their work place.. the guy seems preoccupied.. tells her he will return her books soon as he has read them & doesn’t need it any more.. Few more days pass.. since the girl also is preparing for MBA and needed the book.. she tried contacting him a few times but was unable to due to some reasons.. reasons are not imp.. ok.. now after another long passage of time.. they meet up and the guy returns the books.. he is grateful to her for her help.. and after some time says bye and goes.. '

Now she told all this to us and then stopped. We 3 are staying at her like.. “ok.. carry on..” Then she asks.. 'I just have one question.. why did not the guy just ask.. "How was your day, XYZ?" '

Ok.. now she is waiting for our expert comments.. Let you tell me our positions.. I was sitting on a bed.. she was sitting opposite to me on the same bed.. preeti and chandra were sitting on the adjacent one. After finishing this and asking her question, she stops and is looking intently at me for an answer.. And guess what did I do.. I burst out laughing on her face.. Yes that's what I did.. The most funny part being.. in the question, "How was your day, XYZ?".... 'XYZ' was her name. :-D

Oh my god.. the look on her face seeing me laugh was too much.. it made me laugh even more.. I was expecting preeti and chandra to laugh too.. I looked at them and those poor souls were just keeping quiet.. trying hard to control their laughter.. It was quiet some time before I stopped.. preeti and chandra (God bless them!!) did some analysis, gave some answers to soothe her and finally she went to her room.. The moment she went upstairs to her room, we had another bout of laughter.. this time 3 of us together.. Oh I know it was bad.. laughing at someone's prob.. but the way she told it.. it was too funny.. and also it had sounded so artificial when she was telling about it.

Whatever the case be.. that was yet another time I wished I had control on my laugh riots.. Asking someone 'How was you day, XYZ?'.. replacing it with their names was one of our favorite jokes during that time.. and it still is :-D

Moral of the story: Doing what Billy crystal did in 'Analyze this' is a difficult job. He did great!! ;-)

Travel Bug

That’s what has always been roaming around me, making buzzing noises and putting a sting whenever it gets a chance. If there is something I enjoy more than reading & good food, it’s traveling. I have always been fond of it, at least as long as I can remember. All thanks to my dad.

My dad just loves traveling. Being a businessman, with the sole responsibility of the business and always being a tad too busy, he is not one who has had the luxury to enjoy it the way he would have wanted. Even with all the various strings attached, he has traveled a lot. Always taking out time during our summer/winter vacations and exploring new places. And it was not just limited to tourist attractions back home (though we have covered many places like Agra, J&K, Delhi, Chandigarh, Calcutta, nearly the whole of Orissa & Southern India, etc. I could not accompany my family to Rajasthan though.. Engg exams.. :-(.. ). Even the small places in and around our town has all been explored by us. The small creeks near by, a garden here, a farmhouse there. We just used to pack up and get into the car. The picnics we had were so much fun- a new place every time. With my father’s idea, we once had a picnic on boat. (A river passes through our town).Tied a couple of boats together, hired some people to row it, moved downstream and then back. That is one of the best picnics I have been to.

My father’s love for traveling has rubbed on me. (Even the reading part comes from him, though he was not into novels, just magazines, newspapers, articles and some philo books once in a while). And I, being my father’s daughter, try to satiate the bug as much and as often as I can.

Started working on this, as soon as I got a job and landed in Bangalore. Saw any near by places I could get a chance to. Went to Mangalore, Mysore, Kerala-Munnar, Cochin, Allepy, Pondicherry (I have been here about 5 times or so, thanks to my friend Rohini – its her hometown, a quaint, little & very cute French town.. first time was with my family). I could have covered many more places (Ooty & Shravanbelagola are few places I really wanted to see) but lot of times I had to back out of a plan due to absence of female company :-( . I have some ghummakad friends who were always ready with a packed bag. But my girl frineds, at most times, had some or other ties they could not break out of, even though they also like traveling.

So now here I am in a new & very different country with the possibilities to see some more new places. And I have dived in head on. Have seen some places already, Phoenix, Washington, Cary, Raleigh. Made travel arrangements for a few more – New York, Niagara Falls, Florida, Orlando. Before I head back home, I want to see San Francisco, California too. Let’s see if I can. Quoting Paulo Coelho: - “And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”- The Alchemist (Quite a book, I suggest reading it if you get a chance). And so I do believe he is right, let me add here my wish to see Paris & Rome too. Just in case universe needs extra time. ;-). After all there are miles to go before I sleep..

Finally a century!!

Last week, I went bowling with my colleagues. The client company which I work for, had organized a bowling night, termed Bowl-A-Thon ;) - volunteer teams of 4-5 ppl were formed. Each team had to collect donations, buy tickets for bowling & have fun while helping the community. The proceeds went to a local charity group in here.

Having bowled only a couple of times, I was very skeptical of how I would fare. I remember the first time I went bowling. It was in Bangalore and we had gone to a bowling place, Megabowl, for a project party. I had a fun time there. My first attempt resulted in a strike(first throw knocking down all 10 pins) :-) U can guess how happy that made me. Beginner's luck!! And that was the only luck I had that day. Every other bowl hit everything but the pins. Threw a lot of gutter balls (situation when the ball falls out of the bowling lane, instead of going straight and knocking down the pins). The bottom line - I sucked in the game but nevertheless I had loads of fun bowling.

So with the kind of low score I had earlier, my expectations were pretty realistic. Motto being - One at a time. The game started well, in the first round- the 1st ball hit nothing and the 2nd hit all 10. I was pretty consistent after that. Managed a strike in the 8th round too. So in the end it turned out better than my expectations with a score of 101 :) I crossed a century!! And here's what the score card looked like at the end.... the 2nd one from the top.. tht's me.. I was 2nd in my group too..

I know it's not much of a score but considering my exposure to the game and a whole lot of other things (some facts, some excuses ), I was pretty happy & proud. :D With a suggestion from my colleague, shashank, (the top scorer in the chart above), I thought of blogging it. Thanks Shashank.. another gr8 idea.. ;)

Here's more about me: --

-- my visual DNA. And I got this one from Chitra. ;)

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

The "To-Do-Before My Next B'de" list

My B'day is fast approaching and I thought let me just pen down a few things I would like to do in the coming year.. (I wanted to write about things to do before 30 but then I thought of that film and kind of dropped it. Another factor being 30 is still far.. I have got loads to do before that.. ;). So here goes the list of my things-to-do-before-my-next-b'de:--

• See Niagara falls - from both sides. And by that I mean both US and Canada. - Hoping to cover atleast the US side of it in May.
• Shopping at NY / Time square - I have planned to go to NY next month so hopefully this will be done.
• Go back to India before Diwali - would hate to miss diwali celebration. Another reason is in college I took a bet with my best friend. During one diwali back then, I was going home leaving our college events when all my friends were asking me to stay. But diwali means home. And my friend quipped "A time will come when, forget home, you will not even be in india during diwali". I was quick to say 'NO WAY'. And hence the bet. Since "a time" is very vague, we decided on a time limit of 10 years, so I better not be out of india during diwali for atleast 7 more years.. ;)
• Create a small but proud DVD collection of my all time favourite movies
• Have a plantain leaf meal - oh.. i miss the lovely 'North Karnataka' meal they serve on banana leaf at Kamat Yatri Niwas, Bangalore. I am gonna have it agian before my next b'de for sure.
• Visit Paris, have a lovely meal at one of the famous sidewalk cafes' there and roam around the streets of paris at night - this is actually in my 'things to do before i die' wish list so even if i can't do it this year, anytime before i die is fine with me.. :D. For now my plan is : When I head back for India, I will take a connecting flight through Paris and take a 2-day break there.
• Go for a long drive in a RED Mustang Convertible with the top down and loud music playing and nothing beats it if the drive is along a beach/sea. :)
• Go for Sky-diving - I think I am afraid of heights though I am not sure about it. I did parasailing once so guess trying this won't kill me. Hopefully.
• Drive at 100mph - I have touched 80-85 so I guess 100 shouldn't be that hard.
• Pack a bag and just leave. No plans, no destinations.. just pure whim!! :)
• Learn atleast one of the two: a. Swimming b. Waltz/Dancing. And in case i am able to learn swimming, then go swimming at night.. that too while its raining heavily!! ;)
• Go on a cruise - Arre I am so near florida, I better take a cruise or something.
• Climb to the top of statue of liberty - I missed going to the top of washington memorial. I was late and the last trip for the day was over :(. Lets hope this one goes right.
• Wear an evening gown ( a classic designer one) - trial in a dress shop would also be counted.
• Eat at a diner or go to a drive-in theatre - have seen so many of them in movies. Now that I am here, I would like to experience it some day.
• Learn Tennis - I bought a tennis racket some 2 months back and I have used it only 2 times.. :( Lazy me.
• Buy a superman T shirt(a perfect replica) and have the guts to wear it to office - Wearing it to office back in india would be more fun!! Here it seems a possibility ;)
• Save something before I go back to India. If I can save $5000, that would be great.
• Go to a night club - Believe it or not after being in b'lore for more than 2 years and in US since 5 months now, I haven't ever been to a club or disc or pub.
• Buy a slick and really cool mp3 cum video player with 80GB memory or so - My sister would love it. I would too.. ;)
• Be a regular at Gym and loose the extra pounds I have put on since coming to US. Alternatively don't add any more pounds.
• And in the end something for my personality developement - Learn to be patient and especially towards people I can't tolerate. I think the way I behave, I am sure the person knows that I can't tolerate him/her.

Most of things above are pretty simple and achievable. So wish me luck and let me just dive-in. Ciao!

Disappointed....

- that India is all but out of the world cup.

- that tendulkar, - a player who has entertained & captured our imagination like no one else , a player who made us dream big- , was out for a duck in maybe his last world cup inning.

- that tendulkar, irrespective of all his records and achievements, will not have a world cup in his kitty.

- that a country, where cricket is almost another religion, where people fought sleep and tiredness to catch our team in action at the world cup, will go to bed with disappointment.

- that even after putting so much focus on cricket( at the cost that we do not have any other sport to fall back on), our team could not give us a reason to be proud of.

- that even after our dismal performance off late, I still hoped against hope that we had a chance.

Snow and Ice

It snowed here on thursday and the world looked even more beautiful, enveloped as it was in pristine white snow..

In case you need reasons to be a kid, it was "A puurrrfect day" to bring out the kid in you.. I just had loads of fun playing in the snow..
For my friends back in India, I played for your share too.. ;-)

It snowed in the morning putting a white blanket on everything.. doesn't it look like a bush of white flowers??

By the time it was noon snow started turning into ice, yet another beautiful form..

Beauty does leave you speechless.. sighhhh.. :)

One month & running....

Just completed a month here in US. As of now it has been treating me well.. lets hope it remains the same way. :) I had least expectations from this place and hence had to suffer no disappointments. I do not have any friends here and since its an unknown town in an unfamiliar country, I did not expect to make any. Though my colleagues here are very helpful & friendly, making me feel as much at home as possible. Feedback from all the people who had been to this town before was pretty consistent.. small town.. no friends.. no entertainment.. boring life.. Being a person who doesn't allow herself to get bored, I was sure I would find ways to keep myself ticking. And till now I have had no time to feel bored.. Touchwood!!

The first thing I did here, was rent an apartment.. :) yes.. I have an apartment.. a nice cozy 1bedroom flat.. its on the 1st floor( 2nd floor by US standards ).. has a balcony too.. The next thing I did after getting an apartment was shopping, shopping, shopping & some moooooooooore shopping. Got a TV.. (need to keep myself occupied.. m staying alone with no friends yaar.. ), DVD player, Laptop and a Digicam(to share pics with my friends). Got all of these things during the Thanksgiving Sale. Arre its such a big event here. The day after Thanksgiving is known as "Black Friday" and you have amazing discounts in all shops. Shops open late at night.. somewhere around 2am-4am and there are big queues of people trying to get their hands on good deals. People here start planning for this day well in advance. Papers on thanksgiving day carry a lot of ads about all the good deals available. I also went to Circuit City around 4 o clock in the morning. Got my laptop on a discount of $350 on the original market price.. and that too with lot of free accessories like printer/scanner, wireless router, security software,etc. Had one helluva experience.. :) After this I got myself subscribed to TimeWarner cable service. So I have cable, phone & internet and I'm all set.

Can't tell you what fun shopping is. I am not a shopoholic except when it comes to clothes, they are never enough.. ;) I am an impuslive shopper who values a thing by the amount I am ready to pay for it.. So it may happen that I won't take a good bargain just because I don't think its worth it & I may well end up getting an otherwise expensive thing just coz that's worth that much for me.. I know thats stupid and foolish.. but can't help it.. an incorrigible trait!! Here I am slowly and steadily getting used to WalMart, HarrisTeeter, Sears, Macy's and the likes.. Grocery & food items are too costly compared to India and I do make comparisons often.. guess will stop that after sometime.. You get varieties of things though.. have seen atleast 5 kinds of potatoes.. normal(the one we get in india), yellow colored, purple, fibrous & sweet.

On weekdays I generally don't get much time. Start for office around 8.30-9 and come back by 6-6.30. Rest for some time, watch TV, then I start working on my dinner. After dinner, I call up my parents. Log onto net, chat with friends, check my e-mails. Then I read something and go to sleep anytime between 12.30-1.30. This is my normal "routine" on weekdays. Weekends I sleep till 12 or later.. :D.. Sleeping is one of my favourite hobbies.. Afternoon go out with my colleagues for shopping, buy groceries for the week, wash my clothes, try to clean the apartment and do similar small things. Go out for lunch/dinner. Last weekend, we went out for lunch in a Mexican restaurant, then went to a book shop "Barns&Noble" and bought some books. At night, went for a movie "Apocalypto". An overall fun day!

Lastly, before signing-off, here are a few things which I am getting used to:

1. Doughnuts: I can finish half a dozen doughnuts in 2 days.. and then I go and get more. And you must have guessed.. I am gaining weight.. :( .. but what the heck!!

2. Chips: Anytime u come to my place, u'll find atleast 1 big bag of lays chips. Actually at times u can get 1 bag each of 2-3 different flavours. The tagline for Lays couldn't have been more apt, "No one can eat just one".

3. Cold weather: Its quite cold here and believe it or not, I haven't sneezed even once yet.. that's quite a remarkable feat.. :) my friends can vouch!!

4. WalMart: For basic shopping. It's open 24x7.

5. TV Ads: The Ads shown on TV here are so kiddish & stupid. Majority of ads are either for medicines or legal counsels. And its not at like the ads back in India, which are so witty and humorous. Here they explain things like u would to a 4 yr old.

6. Clean air/environment. And I mean CLEAN!!

7. Sound of horn: Or you can say the absence of it. I have been here a month and I haven't heard it yet. Bizzare, right?

8. Listening to statements like "Hi! How are you doing?", "Have a good day" and that too from strangers. Don't know why but everyone greets everyone here.

9. Christmas decoration: Houses here are really beautiful. Small and cute. And most of them are decorated for Christmas. The holiday season begins as early as Thanksgiving. :)

Have a great day!! and advance wishes of a Merry Christmas!!

First Flight

It’s been sometime since I last wrote. I have been keeping a bit busy lately. Been busy having new experiences.. experiences which I would love to share. Not sure where I should begin from.. :) But let’s just start from the start.. It all started when I was about to head home for Diwali holidays, I was informed that I would be needed to pack my bags and report onsite my mid of November. Onsite being US. (Fyi.. Our project caters to a leading American financial institution).

This being my first trip out of my country.. try imagine the excitement mixed with apprehension, euphoria with a tinge of fear, etc etc etc.. I was experiencing. Last couple of days in Bangalore was just flew by.. spent on shopping, eating, treats to friends, chatting with them (with night-outs on the last weekend) , more eating and then more shopping.. And then all too soon the D-day arrived. This was not just my first international flight; it was also my first flight ever. It would be quite impossible for me to express the mixed feelings I was having. Away from family & friends. Off to an unknown land. So let me just skip the part.

Flight was wonderful. B’lore -> Frankfurt -> Chicago -> Greensboro (my destination). Family of 2 of my colleagues were also travelling with me. Had a window seat in the Frankfurt->Chicago flight. :) :) The view, simply put, was breathtaking. Especially during take-off. Frankfurt is surrounded by some very beautiful hills and the scenic colourful display was wonderful. We crossed the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of 38,000 feet. :D. (Being a first time traveler, I was noticing everything.. from the altitude, the trajectory, the outside temperature and pressure,.. At one time the outside temp was -59 degree centigrades.. ). The clouds made beautiful formations with sun rays crossing through it. The plane went right into three cloud covers while preparing to land in Chicago. You feel like you are in a dream. It looks just like the dream sequence they show in movies. Saw a couple of movies in-flight. The food served in the flight was quite good, contrary to my expectations. Infact, the b’lore-f’furt flight had Indian food, complete with Paneer & Raita. I was advised to drink lot of juice and hence followed it diligently. (Fyi... the coffee was BAD.. especially after the wonderful coffee you get in Krishna Cafe' or the various ‘Sagar’ restaurants).

Frankfurt was crowded and it was raining in Chicago making it freezing cold. Thus passed the journey, complete with lot of security checks and long queues but on the whole uneventful. All seemed to change as soon as we landed at our destination. Just when we were picking up our hand luggage and preparing to un-board, the flight attendants asked us to go back & take our seats. After around 45 minutes on the plane, we were asked to go into a conference room on the airport. It seems some bomb threat was received and we were about to be questioned… oops I meant welcomed by.. guess what.. FBI.. quite a warm welcome right? ;-). So after waiting for another hour in the conference room, feds arrived and we were told that people sitting in a particular area need to wait and others can go. And believe it or not I was one of the few who had to wait.. Just my luck!! :(.. hey on hindsight, this could be the effect of a movie of the same name which I saw in-flight.. :D. After that each one of us was taken aside, asked to write down our name,address,etc, questioned about wheather we saw anyone do anything suspicious, told we would be called again if needed, told sorry for delay & thank you for co-operation and then we were free to go. Phew!!

My colleagues, who had come to receive me, had to wait for around 2.30 hours. And finally I did manage to reach the US of A. Its been 2 weeks now, have some more experinces to add but guess that would have to wait. :) Cya.

End of an era

Last week pulled down the curtains on an era. With Sampras already have retired in 2002(official announcement in 2003), the retirement of Andre Agassi last week left a void in the tennis circuit which would be pretty hard to fill up. This would be the case at least for me. It was Pete & Andre who attracted me to Tennis. They, along with Monica Seles & Steffi Graf, were the ones who made watching tennis so much more interesting. The rivalry which the above 2 groups of players shared resulted in many a visual treats.

Pete and Andre are two of the greatest tennis champions of all time and their play has served as a timeless entertainment for tennis fans worldwide. There will always be a debate between their fans as to who is the better of the two. Their style of play is as different as chalk from cheese. Sampras is a great server of the ball (just love his aces.. :)..) & Agassi, a great returner. Sampras is a better player on grass courts and Agassi would be dominant on clay courts. Sampras’s style is as plain & unpretentious as Agassi’s is flamboyant. Even with so many differences between them both dominated the tennis circuit during the same era. The rivalry which they shared helped bring out the best in them. Both acknowledge that they have used each other as a yardstick for upping their respective games. They also share a great deal of mutual respect for each other. Hence it was just appropriate that the last grand slam match that Pete played (& won, US open 2002) was against his biggest rival, Agassi. A fitting end to a glorious carrier. It’s sad that Agassi could not end his career with a win. Never the less he will always be a proud member of the grand slam Hall of Fame.

It was not just the game but also the attitude which they possess, which made them so special. Not just great tennis players, they are also great sportsperson. New players have risen to fill up the void. Federer is already on a fast track, closely followed by Roddick, Hewitt, Nadal & the likes. But simply put Pete & Andre are just irreplaceable.

Indian Coffee House

Stumbled across a portion of history while taking a walk down MG Road. It was around 10 in the morning and I, along with a few friends, was looking out for a place to have a coffee & grab a few bites on our way to see the 11 o clock show at REX theatre.

Since I don’t relish eating breads & stuffs falling into this category, I avoid the multinational coffee chains like CCD (a.k.a Café Coffee Day), barista, etc. Another reason being the absence of sugar in the coffee served there. You need to help yourself when it comes to sugar. :( . So while looking out for a place to take our breakfast, we came across the Indian Coffee House. It’s situated at maybe the most prominent location on MG Road, but is as likely to get missed. We had taken that road for n number of times & we had missed it. But the n+1th time turned out to be different.

The moment we entered the restaurant, the first thing which I felt was a feeling of stepping out of the present and into the past. It felt like a place which had just sprung out of the books by R.K.Narayan.

A black & white photo of Gandhi adorns one of the walls. There are also quite a few framed advertisements/ pictures.. old..faded.. (could not take a good look at them though). The waiters are dressed in off-white uniforms (must have been white once) with the classic Indian turban on their head. The chairs & tables are pretty old fashioned. No flashy frames, no modern-arts, no ethnic/modern furnitures… nothing that would urge a dekko. The interior of the place takes a backseat. So that you give your full attention to the coffee and your companion(s).

It’s the ideal place for khatti (oriya slang for “a little chit-chat” ;) ). Just the place to spend a lazy Sunday with your friends. And I mean “friends”.
Want to experience the past? Just visit Indian Coffee House.

PS: People finicky about cleanliness stay away! That’s not one of its USP. (USP: Apart from the ambience, it’s the Coffee, with “sugar”, and Dosa-chutney, kind of “home-made”)

PPS: Another uniqueness: No Sambhar ;)

Main Lafzon Mein Kuch Bhi Izhar Nahi Karta.....

Here are a few lines I read recently..

Main Lafzon Mein Kuch Bhi Izhar Nahi Karta
Iska Matlab Ye Nahi Ki Main unse Pyar Nahi Karta
Chahta Ho on Main use Aaj Bhi Par
uski Soch Mein Apna Waqt Bekar Nahi Karta
Tamasha Naa Ban Jaaye Kahi Mohabbat Meri
Isi Liye Apne Dard Ko Mamoodaar Nahi Karta
Jo Kuch Mila Hai Usi Mein Khush Hoon Main
Uske Liye Khuda Se Taqraar Nahi Karta
Par Kuch Tau Baat Hai uski Fitrat Mein
Warna Main use Chahne Ki Khata Baar Baar Nahi Karta

Got it as a forward. Don’t know why but it seems to have tugged in my heart. It’s not as if it is the greatest piece of poetry I have read. Still it has kind of stayed with since the time I first read it, which was about a week back. I am not the sort of person who reads poetry, ghazals, & the likes. I love reading though. I read things and if I like them, well & good. Else just ignore maadi ;-).

Coming back to the original topic.. I did some brain storming on why these lines keep popping up in my head. Had a long discussion with my roomies & friends on this.. everyone had there take on it. Since I’ve never been in love (not the Romeo - Juliet kind anyways..), couldn’t blame it on that Ruled out in the first go itself.. :-).. Sighhhh..… :-(. Here are a few of the reasons which we could think of:

1. Great lines! – Yeah it is. At least I believe so. Since that’s not entirely the case it was ruled out.

2. Most romantic one- Nope. Not even that. PB Shelley’s poems would do more justice here.

3. Essence of the poem – True. The feelings conveyed in the lines are really quite touching. Maybe coz there’s that dash of sorrow into it. And as they say nothing touches people more than tragedy.

4. Even after making the earlier disclaimer, per my friend Ashwani, that’s coz I am in love… ;-) But since I know I am not and thank god I am not, this also gets ruled out.

5. The one which hit the closest was the observation made by my friend Rachna. She told it reminds of my major crush.. Mr.B… sigh.. can’t even write his name without letting out a sigh.. FYI, he is my ex-colleague & that’s all. There begins & ends my story. So I am not sure whether it reminded me of him from the beginning but yes after her observation it does remind me of him. :-)
It’s true. You like a poem more when you are able to associate yourself with it in some way. Even if it is only through a foolish crush. You look back at those moments and have a good laugh. Brings a smile into your face. You don’t regret it but as they say an “If…" is always there.. ;-) And it’s our tendency to remember only the good times.

6. Can you think of anything else?

Whatever the reason, I have really enjoyed the above poetry (or ghazal or whatever it is called.. as u can see my knowledge on these things is negative). Hopefully u’ll like it too. Have fun!!

Lord of the Rings: Been there and back again

Finally I have been able to read the cult classic LOTR (acronym for Lord of the rings). Having already seen the movie (all the 3 installments: the fellowship of the ring, the two towers and the return of the king) a couple of times and getting hooked by it, I had been craving to read it too. And let me tell you it met all of my expectations.

LOTR is a work of fiction created by JRR Tolkien. It traces the life of a hobbit, Frodo, as he comes into possession of the One ring (the Ring of Power, which was forged by Sauron, the Dark Lord) and his struggle to destroy it. He is aided by 8 companions in his journey: - Aragorn-a man, Gandalf-the grey, Boromir-a man, Legolas-an elf, Gimli-a dwarf and 3 hobbits-Sam, Merry and Pippin. There are many more interesting and important characters in the book like Gollum, Faramir, Arwen, Eowyn, Elrond, Galadriel, etc. You gotta read the book or watch the movie to learn more.

Whenever I am reading a book, I tend to visualize each of the characters present in the book. I read about the character’s physical and psychological description and place someone (mostly an actor) in his/her place and imagine them going forward. This is one thing I really like ( / dislike :)) while reading a book.. u need to rely so much on your imagination.... But for LOTR I didn’t have to go through this activity.. having already seen the movie (and loving it), images of all the characters were already before my eyes. I just had to place them in all the scenes. After seeing the movie I had become a great fan of Viggo Mortensen a.k.a Aragorn (have watched quite a few of his movies since then.. got a tiny-winy crush on him.. what a handsome guy.. :) with a multi-faceted personality) and after reading the book I have another favorite: Faramir (brother of Boromir, enacted on screen by David Wenham). I had also loved the character of Sam Gamgee (played by Sean Astin) in the movie and after reading the book, this love was just re-affirmed. If not for him Frodo would have been lost for ever.. can’t help but admire his courage, optimism and loyalty, above everything else. Just goes to show that “Things are never quite as scary when you've got a friend.”

The language of the book is just Wonderful. The English is awesome. There are many small & big poems in between and though it may seem boring, they kind of just fit-in perfectly. Here’s one of my fav quote, in reference to Aragorn:

"All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king. "

Here’s another classic:
“Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.”
There are some real good and thought-invoking phrases in the book. Lines which would make you ponder & debate on the issue. Its in a beautiful poetic language.. got that old world charm about it.

The book exceeded some of my expectations.. After watching the movie, I was quite sad for Eowyn (lady of Rohan) since she seemed to have lost out to Arwen while vying for Aragorn’s love. (Since I preferred Miranda Otto to Liz Tyler.. I cudn’t fathom this ;-) ).. But the book healed this sadness a.k.a wound (For more information read the chapters around “House of healing”).

There are quite a few interesting incidents which have not been included in the movie version…. Especially some involving Faramir… have heard its present in the extended version DVD of the movie.. I am currently looking out for it.. :) Either as a movie or a book, LOTR is definitely worth collecting.

Chivalry - Slow Death?

An incident on the bus today made me think of my take on the issue.
It was 1pm on a Wednesday. And I was tuned into RadioMirchi (93.3FM which kicked off its operations in Bangalore a few days back, giving competition to RadioCity & a choice to bangalorians) & reading a book( have just started it.. "Stepping Out" by Mrinal Pande.. it talks about life of rural Indian women) while commuting to office through the office bus. After picking up fellow colleagues from a lot of places, the bus reached BTM layout at around 1-1.10. There stood a hoard of people waiting to get into the bus and all the seats got filled up in no time. Around 15 or so persons had to stand & commute. In those 15 people, there were a couple of gals. Watching them standing on the bus, I couldn’t help yearning for the good old times when guys used to take it as their holy duty to be courteous to women, and offering them their seats on a bus was the least they could do.

I know it’s the era of the so called emancipated women. We are screaming our lungs out to show that we can compete with guys anywhere and everywhere. We can’t just lecture about the need for equal opportunities and then expect guys to offer us seats on an over crowded bus. Shouldn’t we also stand & commute and realize what guys go through? If women are asking for equality that is what they shall get. Agreed that all the above counter-arguments put forward by guys are correct. But then there are some things which are above being just right or wrong. Don’t you think so too? Being polite and a bit chivalrous wouldn’t do anyone any harm. And I am not saying that men should be the only one doing this. It’s for everyone. Even for women. Offering your seat to a woman, an elderly person, a sick person, helping someone who looks as if he/she is in need even if they are not asking for the same. These are some things that can be followed by anyone & should be followed by everyone. Wouldn’t it just make things so much more beautiful? And don’t do this expecting gratitude. Even if the other person acted like a complete moron and didn’t appreciate your gesture, rest assured someone else will. As they say a good deed never goes unnoticed.

While I was musing over chivalry, my friend Neeraj (who was sitting beside me) got up & vacated his seat for a lady :) . And oh boy!! Wasn’t that impressive? I don’t know whether it mattered or not but I made sure he knew how much I appreciated it.