For me 2008 was different from others..it was a year away from home...which put us in the midst of new people and culture...it brought in its share of joys and sorrows...Sorrows were deepened by the distance and a sense of helplessness of being so far from everything and everyone.
It was the year we spent with just the two of us ,a year we saw snow fall, bought our first car ,enjoyed the magic of seasons ,learned to play tennis and saw places.
Year which turned my family Internet savvy...it saw my dad browsing, grand mom orkuting ,google talk replacing phone calls.
Then among other things there was a new job for her ,a new project for him and a lot of grumbling from both the sides.
2008 is winding up today adding another year to our credit ,I am hoping it did add some wisdom ,which people say comes free with that.I dont wanna be a year older and none the wiser.
So it is goodbye to 2008 and a hearty welcome to 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
NY trip and a tryst with Lady Liberty
Our flight landed at JFK on the 26Th of November at 11:00 AM. That was the start of our 4 day trip to the Big Apple. We had a list of things to do and see in NY .
Day 1: Statue of liberty ,ground zero ,wall street..
But Day 1 being thanksgiving holiday had no ferries to Island. So we had to move our trip to Staten Island to Day 2.
Day 2: Times Square, downtown shopping trip, Broadway Show…
Day 2.1 : Time square ,Statue of Liberty, Broadway show
Day 2 we reached the Cruise spot around 3, to take the 4 'o clock trip. Waited for around an hour, to find that 3 o clock was the last trip of the day. We cursed our luck and argued with guy at the counter for not informing about the cancellation of the 4o'clock Cruise. We went back to Broadway.The show put everyone in a good mood .Then we made slight adjustment to our 3 rd Day Schedule
Plan Day 3: China Town, Lunch with friends, Ground zero, Wall Street,
Plan Day 3.1: China Town, Friends, Ground Zero, Liberty ….
On Day 3 we decided to take the Ferry to Island. After a long wait at the jetty ,it was our turn to get it in .The guy at the ferry told us they have exceeded the maximum number of people they can allow on the Island and the Ferry will be closed for the day. Foul mood is back again. By this time we are exhausted from 3 days of sight seeing in NY and walking endlessly in Times Square. Still no luck with the lady.
Plan Day 4: The Met, Central Park
Plan Day 4.1: The Met, Central Park, Statue of Liberty …..
The version one of our plan cut short our Met hours drastically.But we had to do what we had to do. From Met we had planned to take the Subway to Staten Island, but for some reason unknown, the trains to our destination was cancelled. So we had to switch trains an umpteen number of times before we got somewhere close to the nearest possible station. Time was ticking away , and did I mention that it was raining and we were all soaked from head to toe .In half an hour our last cruise to Island would leave taking with it our only chance to visit the Lady in this NY trip. We were walking as fast was we could. Half way through a taxi stopped and 4 guys squeezed in and the two of us continued walking and running in the rain and freezing temperature. We barely managed to drag ourselves inside before the doors were closed ..And our trip to see Lady Liberty started….
We saw a lot of NY in those 4 days, we used the subways extensively, at one point we knew the train routes to all the 5 the boroughs ( slightly exaggerated) , Broadway show was a delight,Brooklyn bridge beautiful, we walked the length and breadth of Times Square ,contributed to the Black Friday loot ,bargained and bought the quintessential I LOVE NY T shirts for 3 bucks a piece.
But star of the trip will be our ‘Journey’ to see the Lady. I never know why we took so much trouble to see her .Maybe that was her way of making herself the most special memory of the trip.
Day 1: Statue of liberty ,ground zero ,wall street..
But Day 1 being thanksgiving holiday had no ferries to Island. So we had to move our trip to Staten Island to Day 2.
Day 2: Times Square, downtown shopping trip, Broadway Show…
Day 2.1 : Time square ,Statue of Liberty, Broadway show
Day 2 we reached the Cruise spot around 3, to take the 4 'o clock trip. Waited for around an hour, to find that 3 o clock was the last trip of the day. We cursed our luck and argued with guy at the counter for not informing about the cancellation of the 4o'clock Cruise. We went back to Broadway.The show put everyone in a good mood .Then we made slight adjustment to our 3 rd Day Schedule
Plan Day 3: China Town, Lunch with friends, Ground zero, Wall Street,
Plan Day 3.1: China Town, Friends, Ground Zero, Liberty ….
On Day 3 we decided to take the Ferry to Island. After a long wait at the jetty ,it was our turn to get it in .The guy at the ferry told us they have exceeded the maximum number of people they can allow on the Island and the Ferry will be closed for the day. Foul mood is back again. By this time we are exhausted from 3 days of sight seeing in NY and walking endlessly in Times Square. Still no luck with the lady.
Plan Day 4: The Met, Central Park
Plan Day 4.1: The Met, Central Park, Statue of Liberty …..
The version one of our plan cut short our Met hours drastically.But we had to do what we had to do. From Met we had planned to take the Subway to Staten Island, but for some reason unknown, the trains to our destination was cancelled. So we had to switch trains an umpteen number of times before we got somewhere close to the nearest possible station. Time was ticking away , and did I mention that it was raining and we were all soaked from head to toe .In half an hour our last cruise to Island would leave taking with it our only chance to visit the Lady in this NY trip. We were walking as fast was we could. Half way through a taxi stopped and 4 guys squeezed in and the two of us continued walking and running in the rain and freezing temperature. We barely managed to drag ourselves inside before the doors were closed ..And our trip to see Lady Liberty started….
We saw a lot of NY in those 4 days, we used the subways extensively, at one point we knew the train routes to all the 5 the boroughs ( slightly exaggerated) , Broadway show was a delight,Brooklyn bridge beautiful, we walked the length and breadth of Times Square ,contributed to the Black Friday loot ,bargained and bought the quintessential I LOVE NY T shirts for 3 bucks a piece.
But star of the trip will be our ‘Journey’ to see the Lady. I never know why we took so much trouble to see her .Maybe that was her way of making herself the most special memory of the trip.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Colours Of Change
I was huddled up in my cubicle ,typing off with my mittened hands ,when my colleague said 'You look frozen,you don't like this cold,do you ?' and without waiting for a reply he added ,if you don't like the Minnesota weather ,wait for a while ,it will change.
That was last winter,it was my first winter complete with snow and ridiculous sub zero temperatures.
Around March the temperatures rose, snow melted ,grass grew,trees sprouted leaves,rivers and streams flowed ,there was pollen in the air ,more people on the streets and the golf season started.The white curtain ;behind which lay all these beautiful scnenes ,drew open and the Spring was here
Sun continued to shine and rising temperatures gave greener leaves,colorful flowers,lot of fruits and birds on trees.The streets got crowded.There was farmers markets ,street food ,jazz on the side streets ,Summer was here.Fishing ,Canoeing ,kayaking and camping season started and almost every car moved with a canoe or kayak trailing behind it.
Shortly afterwards, the temperature starts dropping ,it becomes a tad cooler and leaves changes colours .One by one each tree picks it colour ,turning it leaves into yellow ,red or orange.Giving itself an amazing make over.Farmers markets and street food vendors wind off , hunting, apple and berry picking seasons starts .
One strong wind here and another there takes of all the leaves from the trees and the winter takes over the beautiful Fall.
After a complete revolution ,I realized that, weather can do wonders to human spirit and senses.It is one thing to have a pleasant constant tropical weather,with no ups and downs ,but another to miss the changing weather and the beauty and unpredicatbilty that comes with it .
It is winter again and first snow brings in a beautiful white fur coat .The skiing ,snow boarding ,ice skating season starts and I plan on hibernating and waiting for a while ...
That was last winter,it was my first winter complete with snow and ridiculous sub zero temperatures.
Around March the temperatures rose, snow melted ,grass grew,trees sprouted leaves,rivers and streams flowed ,there was pollen in the air ,more people on the streets and the golf season started.The white curtain ;behind which lay all these beautiful scnenes ,drew open and the Spring was here
Sun continued to shine and rising temperatures gave greener leaves,colorful flowers,lot of fruits and birds on trees.The streets got crowded.There was farmers markets ,street food ,jazz on the side streets ,Summer was here.Fishing ,Canoeing ,kayaking and camping season started and almost every car moved with a canoe or kayak trailing behind it.
Shortly afterwards, the temperature starts dropping ,it becomes a tad cooler and leaves changes colours .One by one each tree picks it colour ,turning it leaves into yellow ,red or orange.Giving itself an amazing make over.Farmers markets and street food vendors wind off , hunting, apple and berry picking seasons starts .
One strong wind here and another there takes of all the leaves from the trees and the winter takes over the beautiful Fall.
After a complete revolution ,I realized that, weather can do wonders to human spirit and senses.It is one thing to have a pleasant constant tropical weather,with no ups and downs ,but another to miss the changing weather and the beauty and unpredicatbilty that comes with it .
It is winter again and first snow brings in a beautiful white fur coat .The skiing ,snow boarding ,ice skating season starts and I plan on hibernating and waiting for a while ...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Mumbai Bleeds Again
It was just another winter afternoon ,the eve of thanksgiving .I was trying to wind up my day's work .My Colleague from across the aisle tells me..hey there is some gunfire going on in your country .in 'Mombaa' ..I correct him it is "Mumbai" ..and dismiss the whole thing as another police encounter..and continue with my work.I reach home ,turn on the TV and surf through the channels ,to my horror CNN breaking news displays Terrorist take over Mumbai..followed by pictures of burning Taj Mahal hotel ,bleeding men ,a woman running with a baby in her hands..I am numb ..it is a live telecast...terrorist were still inside killing innocent people...I call my friends and relatives in Mumbai ..luckily they are all safe ..I call my dad I ask him about the situation in Mumbai,he says it is pretty bad ,he is worried and angry ..I continued watching the TV ........
I was ashamed of myself ,I didn't even bother to check when my colleague told me about an attack.Has these attacks become a part and parcel of life ? People die in hundreds The Wall street journal says (http://s.wsj.net/article/SB122783260486063039.html) more than 4000 people have died in terrorist attacks in India since 2004 not counting the hundreds who died in Mumbai .More and more people will die and will become numbers like the 119 in Mumbai .I cant imagine the grief and pain the families of each of these innocents might be going through.And now the politicians have started the blame game which will go on till the next attack or bombing ,when a fresh game can begin again.We are living in tough times ,where terrorism is become a world threat,all the countries have beefed up their security measures,Ironically in India where the most number of people are getting killed due to terrorism there are no strong anti terrorism laws .There is no sense of security in the country .Being oceans away from the family and friends leaves me with an aching heart ,if it happened today in Mumbai ,it can happen tomorrow anywhere anytime.I hope not.
I was ashamed of myself ,I didn't even bother to check when my colleague told me about an attack.Has these attacks become a part and parcel of life ? People die in hundreds The Wall street journal says (http://s.wsj.net/article/SB122783260486063039.html) more than 4000 people have died in terrorist attacks in India since 2004 not counting the hundreds who died in Mumbai .More and more people will die and will become numbers like the 119 in Mumbai .I cant imagine the grief and pain the families of each of these innocents might be going through.And now the politicians have started the blame game which will go on till the next attack or bombing ,when a fresh game can begin again.We are living in tough times ,where terrorism is become a world threat,all the countries have beefed up their security measures,Ironically in India where the most number of people are getting killed due to terrorism there are no strong anti terrorism laws .There is no sense of security in the country .Being oceans away from the family and friends leaves me with an aching heart ,if it happened today in Mumbai ,it can happen tomorrow anywhere anytime.I hope not.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The Day I tested Gravity
I am a lazy,non adventurous and non crazy person ,but it gets more than compensated by my adventurous better half, he is always on the look out for some crazy stuff to do .So I was not at all surprised when one day he announced his desire to jump out of the aircraft. I agreed to go with him and watch him from the "ground".But when we reached the sky diving place ,I surprised myself and registered to dive.I think it must have been the air,the colourful parachutes ,or the fearless divers.Something made we want to go crazy.
We were given a10 minute instruction on how to dive and land.Then we had to sign a dozen disclaimers for our life.List of things that could go wrong seemed endless,parachute not opening,improper landing etc..danger ranged from a scraped knee to lifelong paralysis.I was having second thoughts ,what if this was it ...my last day on earth.Too late for opting out ,it was one thing to decide not to jump,but to chicken out after paying the money,signing all these papers , honor was at stake.I hoped on to the aircraft, it was a 15 minute flight which took us to 13,000ft to the drop zone. I sat on the lap of my tandem instructor ,while he strapped me to his body.My mouth felt dry ,all I could manage was a nod and a very nervous smile to all his questions.Strapped together we moved towards the open door.Now I am standing at the edge of the door ,looking down ,I can only see the clouds and hear the countdown 1 ,2 3 and Juuuuuuuuuump. It was like being dropped into an bottomless hole..till now I am not sure whether I jumped or he had to push me .But there I was ,falling at the rate of 120 miles/hr racing down with a vengeance ,I felt like a bullet fired from a gun ,suddenly the pace slowed down and I was floating in the air.Instructor guided the parachute wonderfully I had most beautiful view.We glided for a while in the air taking in the spectacular view ,and after a while I gracefully landed on my bum.I loved the feel of the solid ground below.I was disoriented for a few minutes after landing ,but gained back my senses quickly. That was the amazing ,crazy 5 minutes of my life .And thanks to Mr hubby for that...and he says next in his list is bungee jumping. .and I say No way !!
We were given a10 minute instruction on how to dive and land.Then we had to sign a dozen disclaimers for our life.List of things that could go wrong seemed endless,parachute not opening,improper landing etc..danger ranged from a scraped knee to lifelong paralysis.I was having second thoughts ,what if this was it ...my last day on earth.Too late for opting out ,it was one thing to decide not to jump,but to chicken out after paying the money,signing all these papers , honor was at stake.I hoped on to the aircraft, it was a 15 minute flight which took us to 13,000ft to the drop zone. I sat on the lap of my tandem instructor ,while he strapped me to his body.My mouth felt dry ,all I could manage was a nod and a very nervous smile to all his questions.Strapped together we moved towards the open door.Now I am standing at the edge of the door ,looking down ,I can only see the clouds and hear the countdown 1 ,2 3 and Juuuuuuuuuump. It was like being dropped into an bottomless hole..till now I am not sure whether I jumped or he had to push me .But there I was ,falling at the rate of 120 miles/hr racing down with a vengeance ,I felt like a bullet fired from a gun ,suddenly the pace slowed down and I was floating in the air.Instructor guided the parachute wonderfully I had most beautiful view.We glided for a while in the air taking in the spectacular view ,and after a while I gracefully landed on my bum.I loved the feel of the solid ground below.I was disoriented for a few minutes after landing ,but gained back my senses quickly. That was the amazing ,crazy 5 minutes of my life .And thanks to Mr hubby for that...and he says next in his list is bungee jumping. .and I say No way !!
Friday, November 21, 2008
The Life and Time in GA
What can I say about GA ,the place where 6 naive college girls turned into professionals,shopaholics,alcoholics, learned cooking ,overcame floods or formed memories that would last them a lifetime.
It was a hot August day in Chennai when 6 of them met,nothing much common to them except the anxieties and anxiousness of their first step in the software world.
An unknown place,a strange language and a need for accommodation brought them together to GA. Thus began the life in GA.
The GA beauties not necessarily in any order
Miss R : energetic, excited and so full of life and never short of words .A music and movie buff who opened my doors to the RD Burman era of music and a huge collection of M&B's
Miss N : One who drops things and bumps and falls and steps on your feet if you happen to be walking with her,a constant envy of the other GA girls for her perfect figure ,and I bet you 100 bucks if you can get her angry or win an argument with this sweet lady .And now a Mrs
Miss S :Is GA's Miss twinkling toes ,Nightingale ,PJ queen .The concert starts in the morning ,and audience is outside the shut doors of this Missus bathroom .You want it or not ,you begin your day in GA hearing her lovely voice ,she did bring a lot of drama into our dull GA lives
Miss Sa : Convinced and strong in her beliefs,clear cut definition of right and wrongs ,do and dont's. Advising GA girls against all their viles .A beauty,perfect figure and a daddy's girl.So much that GA girls ate rice recommended by the daddy.
Miss Ni : The GA rocker, for a year I woke up to the Alarmaaa...and her hip hop dance moves.
and O boy she has some moves and beautiful hair..and quite an angry cat ,pick up a fight with her at your own risk.
And Finally Miss K : The calm,sober,,intelligent.. ran short of adjectives here ..What the heck..It is my blog...and I sure can make things up :)
So this is the 6 of us for You. GA is strategically located at a walking distance from the place of work ,auto ride to Multiplexes and shopping malls .Which made many a people envious.
The morning in GA is quite an affair ,with Miss R's tape playing,Miss S the bathroom singer at her best,and Miss Ni playing the Dj.Others attacking each other's wardrobe to find matching kurtas and dupatta's .
Afternoon sees everyone getting together for cooking lunch,Miss Ni talking on the phone.
Dinner brings out all the office gossips and new developments at personal front.
On Weekends someone would need a wardrobe update ,which will cause the 6 of us to squeeze into a single rickshaw ,playing anthakshari ,riding down to the mall.Coming back home with the loot and tadaa the music flows and the show begins..and then off to disc to dance the night off
Special occasions called for special celebrations ,come New Year ,GA was the happening place there was music ,food ,booze and the 6 hot ladies.We were wild ,happy ,no strings attached..
GA saw its share quiet moments too ..of heart breaks and love aches ..and plans to move on and so forth. Life moved on ,so did we,now we are all apart separated by distance and oceans .
Whatever be ..it is a place we have fondest of our memories,the place where some of us met the love of our lives,some of us loved but had to move on ,some of us broke a heart or two .
I hope we can all meet and spent a day together in GA someday sometime...
love Miss k ..eee ..Mrs K
post dedicated to my 5 wonderful friends
Disclaimer :This post is solely for my friends..as for others read at your own risk
It was a hot August day in Chennai when 6 of them met,nothing much common to them except the anxieties and anxiousness of their first step in the software world.
An unknown place,a strange language and a need for accommodation brought them together to GA. Thus began the life in GA.
The GA beauties not necessarily in any order
Miss R : energetic, excited and so full of life and never short of words .A music and movie buff who opened my doors to the RD Burman era of music and a huge collection of M&B's
Miss N : One who drops things and bumps and falls and steps on your feet if you happen to be walking with her,a constant envy of the other GA girls for her perfect figure ,and I bet you 100 bucks if you can get her angry or win an argument with this sweet lady .And now a Mrs
Miss S :Is GA's Miss twinkling toes ,Nightingale ,PJ queen .The concert starts in the morning ,and audience is outside the shut doors of this Missus bathroom .You want it or not ,you begin your day in GA hearing her lovely voice ,she did bring a lot of drama into our dull GA lives
Miss Sa : Convinced and strong in her beliefs,clear cut definition of right and wrongs ,do and dont's. Advising GA girls against all their viles .A beauty,perfect figure and a daddy's girl.So much that GA girls ate rice recommended by the daddy.
Miss Ni : The GA rocker, for a year I woke up to the Alarmaaa...and her hip hop dance moves.
and O boy she has some moves and beautiful hair..and quite an angry cat ,pick up a fight with her at your own risk.
And Finally Miss K : The calm,sober,,intelligent.. ran short of adjectives here ..What the heck..It is my blog...and I sure can make things up :)
So this is the 6 of us for You. GA is strategically located at a walking distance from the place of work ,auto ride to Multiplexes and shopping malls .Which made many a people envious.
The morning in GA is quite an affair ,with Miss R's tape playing,Miss S the bathroom singer at her best,and Miss Ni playing the Dj.Others attacking each other's wardrobe to find matching kurtas and dupatta's .
Afternoon sees everyone getting together for cooking lunch,Miss Ni talking on the phone.
Dinner brings out all the office gossips and new developments at personal front.
On Weekends someone would need a wardrobe update ,which will cause the 6 of us to squeeze into a single rickshaw ,playing anthakshari ,riding down to the mall.Coming back home with the loot and tadaa the music flows and the show begins..and then off to disc to dance the night off
Special occasions called for special celebrations ,come New Year ,GA was the happening place there was music ,food ,booze and the 6 hot ladies.We were wild ,happy ,no strings attached..
GA saw its share quiet moments too ..of heart breaks and love aches ..and plans to move on and so forth. Life moved on ,so did we,now we are all apart separated by distance and oceans .
Whatever be ..it is a place we have fondest of our memories,the place where some of us met the love of our lives,some of us loved but had to move on ,some of us broke a heart or two .
I hope we can all meet and spent a day together in GA someday sometime...
love Miss k ..eee ..Mrs K
post dedicated to my 5 wonderful friends
Disclaimer :This post is solely for my friends..as for others read at your own risk
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
my life in the West ..
I don't think too much about things that scare me ,worry me and trouble me..that's my way of avoiding trouble..so when the time came for me to leave my dear motherland I was not too worried or troubled...but a little anxious of whether NYPD will throw away my precious huge boxes of pickles and spices and packets of maggi .I had my last Masala Dosa served by the smartly dressed Kingfisher air hostess ,thus on a cold winter night I started my journey across the Oceans.A word of caution of those planning to fly international ..keep your clothes to bare minimum ..yeah bikini would be the right dress for ladies. Every step you take towards the flight you will be asked to strip in the name of security ,after a dozen or odd striping I was so tired I bought a bottle of water ,one sip and I was at the next strip joint and they confiscated by bottle of mineral water ,clever ones ..I was planning to blind the pilot by splashing water on his face and tickling him till he pukes and hijack the flight .
The journey itself was uneventful ..my neighbours Mrs and Mr Sardar never let out a single joke from their huge collection .I bet there was an expectant and ready to laugh look on my face every time I looked at them ,they started snoring as soon as they were seated ..which left me browsing through the movies and falling asleep,thank goodness for the excellent movie collection I got good sleep ,my nose waked me without fail at all meal breaks ,my first experience with different varieties of bread and soft drinks started there .I had no idea how many hours I had slept,time zones were switching quickly ,the light inside the airplane was always dim ,I had no sense of morning ,noon or night ,I couldn't figure out from food either ,I missed Indian food ,it would have been so easy to tell ,Dosa,idly ,sambar : morning .rice ,roti,dal : noon,followed by another meal of rice ,roti ,dal :night
Munching and sleeping I reached my destination.Waited for the luggage ,dragged,pushed and managed to put it onto the trolley and through the customs clearance ,there each of my bags of banana chips,chooda,shev,MTR puliogare mix ,packets of chilli powder,chicken Masala and rest of the food contents were carefully inspected and the verdict pronounced: Not guilty .
Thank you God for letting me and all my packets into this country.Immigration was easy ,I let the guy know that I was the one person who held the solutions for all their businesses.Once I was through all this ...I was let out into the land of Opportunities ...to be contd...
The journey itself was uneventful ..my neighbours Mrs and Mr Sardar never let out a single joke from their huge collection .I bet there was an expectant and ready to laugh look on my face every time I looked at them ,they started snoring as soon as they were seated ..which left me browsing through the movies and falling asleep,thank goodness for the excellent movie collection I got good sleep ,my nose waked me without fail at all meal breaks ,my first experience with different varieties of bread and soft drinks started there .I had no idea how many hours I had slept,time zones were switching quickly ,the light inside the airplane was always dim ,I had no sense of morning ,noon or night ,I couldn't figure out from food either ,I missed Indian food ,it would have been so easy to tell ,Dosa,idly ,sambar : morning .rice ,roti,dal : noon,followed by another meal of rice ,roti ,dal :night
Munching and sleeping I reached my destination.Waited for the luggage ,dragged,pushed and managed to put it onto the trolley and through the customs clearance ,there each of my bags of banana chips,chooda,shev,MTR puliogare mix ,packets of chilli powder,chicken Masala and rest of the food contents were carefully inspected and the verdict pronounced: Not guilty .
Thank you God for letting me and all my packets into this country.Immigration was easy ,I let the guy know that I was the one person who held the solutions for all their businesses.Once I was through all this ...I was let out into the land of Opportunities ...to be contd...
Friday, July 18, 2008
A human induced natural calamity
Humans are the reason for most of the natural calamities.....I have heard this a lot.How the humans disrupt the natural harmony through destructive socialization etc etc and thereby induce and bestow upon them these natural calamities .I believed those ..in a can be possible sort of way ,but it was not until I was the victim of a natural calamity which was absolutely 100 % human induced that I became a firm believer of this theory .
It was an ordinary day ,time somewhere around 7 in the morning when the door bell rang.I ignored the first few rings (as usual) hoping that the milkman ,the maid,the grocery man would go away ,my roommate would open the door etc...The ringing continued , I listened hard ..not a sound from my roommate .So I decided unwillingly to surrender to the persistent ring , the minute my feet touched the floor I was wide awake, standing ankle deep in water .Flood ..I panicked...heart skipped a beat ..I am dying ..should I grab my new jeans ? I could see frantic cockroaches running for their dear life ,I woke up my roommate and ran out of my room ,almost slipping and falling ,the water level steadily increasing, I reached the front door and hauled it open in an attempt to flee...... neighbours were outside the apartment ..water was steadily flowing onto the street , O 'yeah onto the street from our apartment ...O my God , forgot to close the outlet of our water tank .
After effect :
Late for work
A lot of work to clean all up the mess(all our rooms + kitchen was completely flooded)
Fine of 600/- for wasting water
And a lot of speculation about who let the taps open ..which remains a mystery till to date
and to top it all ,we the people repeated the flood another 3 times ..making it nothing short of biannual flooding festival.
Now I see that you agree with me on the Human induced natural calamity thing ;)
It was an ordinary day ,time somewhere around 7 in the morning when the door bell rang.I ignored the first few rings (as usual) hoping that the milkman ,the maid,the grocery man would go away ,my roommate would open the door etc...The ringing continued , I listened hard ..not a sound from my roommate .So I decided unwillingly to surrender to the persistent ring , the minute my feet touched the floor I was wide awake, standing ankle deep in water .Flood ..I panicked...heart skipped a beat ..I am dying ..should I grab my new jeans ? I could see frantic cockroaches running for their dear life ,I woke up my roommate and ran out of my room ,almost slipping and falling ,the water level steadily increasing, I reached the front door and hauled it open in an attempt to flee...... neighbours were outside the apartment ..water was steadily flowing onto the street , O 'yeah onto the street from our apartment ...O my God , forgot to close the outlet of our water tank .
After effect :
Late for work
A lot of work to clean all up the mess(all our rooms + kitchen was completely flooded)
Fine of 600/- for wasting water
And a lot of speculation about who let the taps open ..which remains a mystery till to date
and to top it all ,we the people repeated the flood another 3 times ..making it nothing short of biannual flooding festival.
Now I see that you agree with me on the Human induced natural calamity thing ;)
My Experiments With Exercise
By the grace of God I have a low metabolic rate ...in layman's term I put on weight pretty fast..
Thus began my experiments with exercise..I always treaded the thin line between the lean and the fat lane..and there was also the relativity ,60 % percent people are fatter than you ,by theory of relativity you become thin (calculations happen in your subconscious mind )
So all was going well till I took a job and moved to a metro ,from then on the 'Relativity' was not on my side .Looking around I was convinced that it was time to cross the line and join hands with the thinnie minnie's (they seemed to have a lot more fun than the other side and so the decision ) so a plan was forming in my mind ..So I listed down my options
1) Go walking
2 ) Join Aerobics
3) Controlled Diet
Combining the 3options..I had my first plan ..Walk to the nearest gym (Option 1 ) aerobics for an hour (Option 2) walk back home (option 1 again ,good planning) and diet
Synopsis:
Plan rejected
Reason :way too ambitious..
so back to planning.. Start with Option 1 ,next step move on to Option 2 and next Option 3 .It seemed reasonable. Alarms set and kept at the farthest end of the room.
Morning ...my alarm caught a throat infection after screaming steadily for more than hour
Though an hour late as per my plan, I didnt give up, squeezed into my running shoes and set off..only to realise all other joggers were on their way back ,people on their way to office were giving me a weird look and the metro being a pretty hot one was not in favour of my walking at that hour..
Synopsis:
Plan rejected after unsucceful implementation
Reason :Not a morning person
Mitigation : Try the same plan in the evening
Risks: Getting out of office before sunsets might lead to joblesseness
But before I could formulate my next plan ,I had to visit my family back home .As soon as I reached home everyone unianimouslly declared I have lost weight .I was happy and surprised ,maybe days and months of planning had paid off , or was it the one day walk which did the trick ?
The Mind :O God is it the relativity again ??
Next I opted for the true test of weight loss ..tried on a dress I had to leave behind as it was getting increasingly difficult to squeeze inside . ..and there.. it just slided on smoothly and I still had some breathing space...my confidence increased
The Mind :maybe the fabric expanded due to global warming
I decided to put an end to the speculations and went for a quantitative measure, found my old weighing scale and jumped on it..and believe it or not I was 5kg lighter.
My joy knew no bounds ..
The Mind : What about a book on 'How to reduce weight by strategic planning'
My first attempt at exercising Successful !! I was atonised at the power of my mind ,as it was my planning which helped me get closer to my goals..but in a few months I came out of the delusion ,it happened when I moved on to another location and started feeling the affect of low metabolic activity on my favourite outfits .So I took sometime and found out the real reason
So any of you seriously thinking of losing weight find a job at a place that will statisfy the above 3 .
And as of me ,I cant go back to my old job for various other reasons so my next plan is
Thus began my experiments with exercise..I always treaded the thin line between the lean and the fat lane..and there was also the relativity ,60 % percent people are fatter than you ,by theory of relativity you become thin (calculations happen in your subconscious mind )
So all was going well till I took a job and moved to a metro ,from then on the 'Relativity' was not on my side .Looking around I was convinced that it was time to cross the line and join hands with the thinnie minnie's (they seemed to have a lot more fun than the other side and so the decision ) so a plan was forming in my mind ..So I listed down my options
1) Go walking
2 ) Join Aerobics
3) Controlled Diet
Combining the 3options..I had my first plan ..Walk to the nearest gym (Option 1 ) aerobics for an hour (Option 2) walk back home (option 1 again ,good planning) and diet
Synopsis:
Plan rejected
Reason :way too ambitious..
so back to planning.. Start with Option 1 ,next step move on to Option 2 and next Option 3 .It seemed reasonable. Alarms set and kept at the farthest end of the room.
Morning ...my alarm caught a throat infection after screaming steadily for more than hour
Though an hour late as per my plan, I didnt give up, squeezed into my running shoes and set off..only to realise all other joggers were on their way back ,people on their way to office were giving me a weird look and the metro being a pretty hot one was not in favour of my walking at that hour..
Synopsis:
Plan rejected after unsucceful implementation
Reason :Not a morning person
Mitigation : Try the same plan in the evening
Risks: Getting out of office before sunsets might lead to joblesseness
But before I could formulate my next plan ,I had to visit my family back home .As soon as I reached home everyone unianimouslly declared I have lost weight .I was happy and surprised ,maybe days and months of planning had paid off , or was it the one day walk which did the trick ?
The Mind :O God is it the relativity again ??
Next I opted for the true test of weight loss ..tried on a dress I had to leave behind as it was getting increasingly difficult to squeeze inside . ..and there.. it just slided on smoothly and I still had some breathing space...my confidence increased
The Mind :maybe the fabric expanded due to global warming
I decided to put an end to the speculations and went for a quantitative measure, found my old weighing scale and jumped on it..and believe it or not I was 5kg lighter.
My joy knew no bounds ..
The Mind : What about a book on 'How to reduce weight by strategic planning'
My first attempt at exercising Successful !! I was atonised at the power of my mind ,as it was my planning which helped me get closer to my goals..but in a few months I came out of the delusion ,it happened when I moved on to another location and started feeling the affect of low metabolic activity on my favourite outfits .So I took sometime and found out the real reason
- I had to cook my own food (Here is where I got the inspiration for my book :101 ways of making bread delicious )
- Office hours were from Noon to Midnight :making me get up so late that I could skip my breakfast
- Other meals from Office Cafteria
So any of you seriously thinking of losing weight find a job at a place that will statisfy the above 3 .
And as of me ,I cant go back to my old job for various other reasons so my next plan is
- Jogging
- Biking to office (bicycyle)
- Join Marathons
Thursday, July 17, 2008
me too ..
After all the blogg hopping ,commenting and criticising ..I think I am ready for my own blog !!
So here I go ..the first post of my brand new 'blog' .
My experience of creating this blog was not an encouraging one..
all went well till I reached the stage of naming my blog url. .I entered 'the' name and 'Checked Availability' oops not available .Thatz fine ...some nice soul grabbed the name ..scratched my head thought of another name and hit the button again ..negative..next try ...response negative..and next and next ..I am on the verge of losing patience ..despising all the people who have cheated me of my beautiful blog names...and steadily losing out ideas (read random phrases from movies and books ) for my would-be blog url's . I was almost convinced the celestial forces were trying to convey a message that today was not the right time ,right place for my first step into the blogging world .With all these thoughts engulfing me ,I ran my mix n match 'Namer' algorithm once again ..and tadaaa ..what you know.. .I have a blog
So my note to first time bloggers (if there is anyone left to start one ,the whole experience has taught me that there not many left in the world of non bloggers) blogging is not for the weak hearted !!
Have a nice day /nice night ..and hope I keep up my blogging spirit !!
So here I go ..the first post of my brand new 'blog' .
My experience of creating this blog was not an encouraging one..
all went well till I reached the stage of naming my blog url. .I entered 'the' name and 'Checked Availability' oops not available .Thatz fine ...some nice soul grabbed the name ..scratched my head thought of another name and hit the button again ..negative..next try ...response negative..and next and next ..I am on the verge of losing patience ..despising all the people who have cheated me of my beautiful blog names...and steadily losing out ideas (read random phrases from movies and books ) for my would-be blog url's . I was almost convinced the celestial forces were trying to convey a message that today was not the right time ,right place for my first step into the blogging world .With all these thoughts engulfing me ,I ran my mix n match 'Namer' algorithm once again ..and tadaaa ..what you know.. .I have a blog
So my note to first time bloggers (if there is anyone left to start one ,the whole experience has taught me that there not many left in the world of non bloggers) blogging is not for the weak hearted !!
Have a nice day /nice night ..and hope I keep up my blogging spirit !!
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