Thursday, November 29, 2012

People Person?

Namaskar folks! I spent sometime writing this post, and this morning, realised that I forgot to publish it. So I am posting it now. Birthdays come and go. All that comes out of it is the reminder that we are yet another year older. My knees are also reminding me of the same thing these days. Folks! Got to make the most of our precious lives, whatever is left of it. I exercised for 45 minutes yesterday. Felt good. I know consistency pays off. It is easier said than done. Read about the baby girl whose parents named her “Hashtag”. Hmm. What were they thinking? Pity that poor girl’s future state in school. It is indeed the social networking era folks! And it is finally worth talking about Bigg Boss 6! They have got it right this time with Imam Siddiqui. I watched yesterday’s show and boy! “IS” owned that show. He is an intelligent man. Just with words he has taken all the others as hostages. Yes, in real life, I would not tolerate anyone like him, but like he correctly pointed out, these people are supposedly professionals who are paid big money to provide entertainment. They better do it for us who are continuously wasting our time watching TV. I loved it when he said it took 50 episodes for the show to finally take off! He has interesting one liners. One of his favorites is when he knows that he is losing the argument he says. – “Ab ho gaya, maine maafi mangi. Bath khatham”. With this he shuts the other person up! I can’t wait to watch today’s episode. This colorful character called Immam Siddiqui reminds me of the actor, Govinda. Song of the day is from the movie Dulhe Raja. Govinda was such an entertainer!
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I looked up the definition of a “people person” today. It said - an outgoing, gregarious person with good communication skills. I think, in today’s Social networking era, to succeed, this trait is a plus to have. People close to me tell me that I am a “people person” and for the most part, I am. I like picking up conversations with random people who I meet, outside of work and home. After analyzing (surprise!) this behavior of mine, for some time I realized I do this because, this type of interaction is less pressure. I like the fact that the person on the other side, does not know me at all and we might never cross paths again. So even if he/she is judgmental, it would not make a difference to me. I can talk about anything under the sun and get it out of my system. And when I meet people, who agree with me, or give me free advice or better still go on to share their own experience, it is such a beautiful experience. I like this especially when I am waiting in long line, or sitting on an airplane or when I am shopping, basically when I am doing mundane, brainless activities. This doesn’t mean that I meet such people ALL the time. There are those ‘introverts” that I accidentally bump into, on one of MY most “chirpy” days. One nasty look from them is enough to tell me, to stay faaaaar away from them. It’s always a gamble. But then, life itself is a gamble isn’t it? So beware folks, you might be that next unfortunate person that I pick on. Lots of love. Have a fabulous day!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

November 22, 2012 - My Birthday

Helllloooo friends! I was away from this spot for sometime and I had a very good reason for that. I was in the midst of so many good people who gave me a surprise B'day party on Thursday, Nov. 22nd 2012.  It was a day of double celebrations with a supportive family and fun loving friends. I feel blessed to have such awesome friends, who can bake, paint, sing and cook! One friend even went to the extent of presenting me with a custom painting made just for me encompassing my life! And my dear friend Anu made a Japanese cream cheese cake just for me. Hubby dear and the kids gave me flowers and jewelery.  So carefully thought of  as far as the choice of flowers. Yellow happens to be my fav. color. Thanks again all!

 Baloon and Sunflowers from Hubby and Kids
Bright and gorgeous. Aren't they? Made my day!
 Japanese cream cheese cake baked for me by my dear friend Anu
"All about me" - painting presented to me by my friend Vaman Kamath

Also, we celebrated Thanksgiving at a friends place with an all Italian menu. Did some shopping on Saturday and also met with some friends at a local Burmese restaurant. The food was so good. This was the first time I was trying out this type of cuisine. Have some pictures for you. Stay tuned for my next post. Bigg boss 6 is finally getting interesting. I am so glad they brought back Imam Siddiqui. TV shows is all about drama. Got to be spicy. Salman Khan does a great job hosting the show. Folks, it's quiet late here. Got to wake up early tomorrow. For the Song of the day, leaving you with a chirpy song picturised on the chirpy Anushka. I love this girl. So fresh! Love the voice of the singer Neeti Mohan. This song is so addictive. No wonder they say that A. R. Rehman's music grows on you. This has the flavor of the song "nanna re, nanna re, nanna re, nanna re" from the movie Guru.

Shub ratri folks! Love you all!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Lyrics - Vyrics

Hello friends! Yet another manic Monday. Ideal weekend again folks! Celebrated a friend's 50th B'day in style! I was the MC of the evening along with a friend. Participated in a skit and dance again. Hopefully, the host will release the video soon, so I can share it with all of you. Watched Jab tak hai jaan on Sunday. My SRK made me cry as expected. He does need to improve his health. His face looks thin and drawn out. I liked his bearded look though. Unlike what others have to say, I still think his acting was par excellence. Gorgeous Katrina can move!  Her angelic face can make any man go weak in their knees. And believe it or not, I loved Anushka Sharma's acting. Agreed, that the movie is not a blockbuster, but it worked for me. I got the sugar coated romance, that I had paid money to experience. I will add this movie to my DVD collection. Let's talk Bigg Boss 6 now. With the addition of the new rural house, this season is definitely alag che but boring che! They are bringing back all the contestants who had gotten out. So the game is starting all over again? And the wake up call by the rooster is so annoying. Grrr! Except for Urvashi Dholakia and Sapna, who are the only reason that I am watching this show now, the others are so dull. I am not understanding what game they are playing. Colors tv better step it up a little. Talking of colors a thought just occured to me. I wish they introduce a button called "format" on facebook. I would love to commnet in different colors. Song of the day folks is form the movie Ustadon de ustad made in 1963. I heard it after a long time at the 50th B'day party last Saturday. It was a memorable musical evening for me.

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I was listening to a song on the online radio last Friday and tried to write down the lyrics of the song quickly on a piece of paper. Could not even get the first line down. Gone are the days when I had good hand eye co-ordination. I used to be able to write the whole song in one shot. I tried hard to finish the lines when the beginning of the song played again, but in vain. I could not understand the word at all. Maybe because it was a Ghazal and the language was Urdu. Thank god for Google, I could just type 2 words into it and get the whole song! The quality of life is so much better now, compared to say even 10 years ago. Technology is indeed amazing! On that note I will take your leave for tonight folks. Good night!




Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Pilgrimage sounds good!

Happy Children's day everyone! The Indian nation is fondly remembering "Panditji" the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru on his 123rd birth anniversary. He loved Children very much and so, he was often referred to as, Chacha. That’s why the Birthday Day  i.e 14th November of Jawaharlal Nehru is celebrated as Children's Day in India. I remember celebrating this in school. I understand the importance of schooling beyond studies now. Much has been written about the Petraeus scandal. It was a mistake at a personal level and there was no breach of security. Therefore, should not have been a punishable crime according to me. Adultery, however, is a crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. And then there was the hideous crime that the University Hospital Galway in western Ireland committed. Doctors refused an Indian woman an abortion despite serious risk to her own life, because Ireland was a Catholic country and the foetus was still alive and that aabortion is illegal in the Republic of Ireland. The 31-year-old dentist died of septicaemia, or blood poisoning, on October 28. Imagine the trauma the family is facing right now.Sad, sad! Remember Pinki Pramanik, the gold medal-winning athlete in the 4x400m relay at the 2006 Asian Games? Indian police have charged her with raping her former partner after medical tests showed she was actually a man. They have declared that Pinki is a male pseudo-hermaphrodite. Male pseudo-hermaphrodites are genetic males who develop some female physical characteristics and identities. Pinki is fighting the case. Sigh! Anyway folks, it's time for Song of the day. Today's choice is from the movie Sadma sung by Suresh Wadker.

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Not an ideal day for me today. Too much going on. I finally got my hour to relax. At this point, going on a Pilgrimage sounds like fun to me. I would get to relax and I would have no connection to the "real" world. A predominant reason that people of all faiths go on pilgrimages is to develop a closer relationship with God or nature or to seek forgiveness. Currently, for me it is to get away and also because I am curious and wish to observe. I would like to have that new experience and find out for myself if it can indeed bring me peace of mind and the change that I am looking for within myself. I would like to make new friends, who are so much different than the friends I have now. I have heard a lot about Haridwar, Vaishnodevi and Varanasi. People who have visited these holy places have been heard saying, that they have been cured of fatal diseases, mental illnesses, have experienced spiritual bliss, etc. I have read and heard of too many miracles. I would love to visit at least one of these locations to start with. Lets hope I get that opportunity. Hari bol! 

Monday, November 12, 2012

Palying cards

Happy Diwali friends!

Vajan badjayega agar khaoge mitai gheewali
Lekin kya farakh padtha hai, roz, roz todi aati hai Diwali

Khao piyo aish karo said Sallu Bhai on Bigg Boss 6. I have already had sweets overload. My friend Anu, had made a Tresleche cake for Shekar and I for our 20th anniversary. Enjoyed it with a few friends on Sat. She is such a fab baker! I am the luckiest person, who can taste so many different cakes from her.

 Tres Leche Cake

 A yummy slice!
I bought some fresh sweets from a restaurant called "Hot breads" which has newly opened here. I feel so nice, when I shop there. So many Indians come here to eat all kinds of delicacies. It feels like I am in India. Love this time of the year. There is a festive ring in the air, and everybody seems busy. Had a busy weekend again! I am participating in yet another skit folks. This is for a friend's 50th B'day this Saturday. I am aslo taking part in a dance, for the same event. So all through the weekend, I was busy with the practice. Feel guilty that I cannot spend enough time with the kids. I will make it up in Decmeber. On BB6 Sidhu paajis exit was sad, but the show needs more spice, so it might actually work out. Can't wait to see what the Big key has in store. Bollywood is getting ready for a HUGE day tomorrow. Jab tak hai SRK! I hope all goes well for him. It is very rare that a movie is opening on a weekday. Song of the day is from JTHJ.

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Unlike my North Indian friends, for me Diwali is not associated with playing cards. But today, as my friends are looking forward to a good time of some competitive card game, I am reminiscing my college days with my family back in India. My Grandma and Grandpa had 12 children of their own. Every night after dinner, they used to unwind with a game of cards when their children were well fed and in bed. Their favorite game was "Bridge". To think that my uneducated Grandma could actually put up a strong fight with Grandpa on an intelligent game. Wow! she was indeed an amazing woman! She just did not have the opportunities to prove herself. Unfortunately for her, my Grandpa died early and she had to stay with her children. She would distribute her time evenly among all her kids. I think she liked coming to our house (my Dad is her 2nd son). One of the reasons being, we all liked to play cards. Two of my cousins went to the local engineering college and would visit us, when Grandma was with us. So we had a big team of card lovers. My Mom, would not play, but would cook some delicious food for dinner along with the domestic help, who was so kind. Man! I miss those days. Our favorite game to play was '28'. I was always on Grandma's team. The cousins formed another team and my Dad and my brother made the third team. We would play for hours together. Our decibel levels were so high, our neighbors must have been cursing us. After college , the first time I played cards was a couple of months ago with few of our friends here. I am trying to understand the game of poker. It's not rocket science I know, but the sequences are so confusing to me. Lets hope I pick it up quickly before my love for cards starts to disappear. I am not sure, if it was my Grandmas enthusiasm, or being with family or the anticipation of yummy food after the card game, that I am mesmerised by, at this point, but I sure miss those times. Shub ratri my friends!

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Fakebook - Live!

Kem cho friends? Another fantastic weekend later, back to the 8-5 grind. Finally performed our skit "Fakebook" on stage LIVE! for a very supportive audience of 400 + people this past Saturday. It was well received. There is a first time for everything correct? I now have a new appreciation for actors.  I have posted the video below. Check us on You Tube. Don't forget to comment.

For the people who have seen the YouTube video from my previous posts, in the version below, we have added 2 more characters and some more dialogues. See if you can recognize them. Today is election day here in the US. All people were busy casting their vote to their favorite candidate all day. I did too this morning! Had to wait in a loooong line for a hour and a half, just to get to the booth. Because it is the 21st century, I picked the electronic booth as my choice to enter my vote. After standing in another line for what seemed like 30 minutes, I noticed that there was only one electronic booth. All the others were paper booths. Really? I used the paper ballot in the end as I had to be at work. Some students used the long lines to collect money for a wounded warriors. Good idea. Anything for a good cause. Now, the whole nation is glued to the TV for the results. May the best candidate win! Haven't watched BB6 for a couple of days now. Got to catch up soon! Read that Starbucks India has an item called Konkani Twist on their menu. The article said “Konkani Twist” (90 rupees) looks like a cheese puff, but longer. It’s basically flaky croissant pastry filled with spicy mutton and twisted. Definitely trying it next time I am in India!  Got to go now folks! Not in the mood to research a new topic. Will write again soon.

Leaving all my dear friends with this beautiful song from the movie Izzat from 1968. Kya feelings express kiya hai! Shub ratri folks!

Friday, November 02, 2012

Good advice, Bad advice

Hi friends. Happy Karva Chauth to all my North Indian friends! Hopefully the moon came out on time and all of you could break your fast. First of all, I am sorry, I spoke too soon regarding Karishma from BB6. I was sad to learn that her Dad passed away and she had to leave the house. No wonder, she seemed a little disconnected on the show. May she find strength in dealing with her loss. Looking forward to the grand entry of BIG mouth Dolly Bindra, pretty Shweta Tiwari and sexy Mink. "Ab aayega maza". Oh, oh and today is the Badshah's B'day. Wishing SRK a very happy B'day and a lot of success for "Jab tak hai jaan". Also, did you all think that Ash deserved the second highest French Civilian award "Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters" for her contribution to cinema and promoting Indo-French cooperation? What contribution? There were so many more deserving actors like, Tabu, Rani Mukerjee, maybe even Priyanka Chopra (although I don't like her that much). Anyways, with a name like Aishwarya meaning wealth, born as a Scorpio, success is just a formality for her. Song of the day is this intense song from my favorite SRK movie, Veer Zaara.  SRK looks so handsome in this movie. He makes us believe that true love does exit. He makes you want to be in love. Uffffff!
  
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Advice is like opinions. Everyone’s got one. Over years I’ve gotten some good advice and some bad advice, advice I wish I’d taken and advice I wish I’d never heard, advice that made no sense at the time and advice that was like one of Oprah’s light bulb moments.

Best advise to me – The best advice is advice that makes a difference in our lives. Many times the advice we receive, and find useful, even life-changing, is full of words of wisdom that can be of benefit to others as well. The best advice that I received was from my gynaecologist when I was pregnant with my second son. I used to be paranoid that I am going to miscarry my baby. I would call the doctor every second day. One day, when I was in the final trimester of my pregnancy, I remember that I could not fall asleep, as I was sure, my baby's heart beat had stopped and I felt that the baby was not moving. I made an appointment with the doctor the next morning. The patient doctor sat me down and told me "don’t worry about the things that are beyond your control. You are not going to achieve anything". That night I slept like a baby. I went on to deliver a beauty baby boy who is 11 yrs old today. To this day, I try to follow what that doctor told me. That reminds me, I haven't seen him for more than 2 years now. I should make an appointment. For general women's health of course.

Worst advice to me  – Have you ever taken someones advice and it backfired? Well, I have. But it did not exactly backfire, it did not make sense when I tried it. Someone told me, "let babies sleep in the crib and not in between parents right from day one of their birth". I tried it as an experiment with my second born.Yes, even after I went through so much during the pregnancy. What was I thinking? Poor child kept on crying the whole night. My heart was ripping apart everytime I heard his cry, but I did not want to give up as that person had told me that it was normal for a child to behave like that. If I give up now, then he will sleeping with us for a long time. I tried this for 3 days in a row. Did not work for me. Neither he nor I slept well. So, I decided to bring him back between us. And it worked so well. I had the satisfaction of bonding with the baby. We transferred him to his elder brothers bedroom when he was 2 and  to his own when he was 4. All is well that ends well now. There was no need to rush the process, in my opinion.