My blogger profile still says 30

Lol.. thats the first thing i checked on my blog today.. I am still 30 as per my blog profile.. oh well!!!!!!! Small things make me happy!!! hehehehhe

On my 31st Birthday... I am remembering some moments / people .. very fondly...

1) A - love you lots... especially the perfumes (materialistic that i am).. ah well.. love you even if you hadnt given the perfumes.. :)) Today is also special .. more special rather.. our marriage got fixed today 4 years ago.. after much pain and trauma .. and dont regret any moment of it!!! :)) Enough senti now!!
Went on a merry chase in the morning.. trying to find my gifts.. Euphoria (Calvin Klien) and Mont Blanc (perfume) and a plate of steaming hot idlis for breakfast is what i got for my efforts :)).. only 28 more to go... ;)
2) My support system
Home support system -
A - for telling me to kick ass every time i crib!!!
Mom & Dad - for wanting to come over for anything small..to be able to recognise that i am not feeling that great just by hearing my voice!!!! Does that happen automatically to parents?

Sis, her family, esp my niece - i got married only bcz of my niece.. and to her am eternally grateful.. just for her birth!!! :)

My best(est) friend - Mommie... on the first day of college.. we zeroed in on each other.. and have been like that ever since... i dont know what i would do without you!! Her birthday was on 24th March.. we have never missed wishing each other.. yet.. our anniv is also a few days apart only!!!! :)

My online support system - Knife, Scarlett - dont know what i would do without you guys... you guys make my day by posting.. commenting!!!! I have hated it for not having been able to be with you guys .. whenever it happened.

My office support group - K, S, G and J.... K who helps me ease into work.. balances me wonderfully.. the one person who must be tired of all my cribs!!! And J for the wonderfully non panicky ever smiling persona!!!! You guys make work a bearable place!!! And G and S.. .. the two who play the calming effect on me.. who probably want to beat me up .. but continue to listen to me day in day out with an interested expression on their face!!! :)

My sms buddy - Scarlett... My special friend...What in the world would i have done if you werent there.. reality shows are fun only because of you!!!! lol....i will kick you if stop messaging me.. also i know i have said this earlier... but thanks for getting me addicted to blogging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scarlett, besunni, mommie, K - my closest girl friends .. the world is truly a special place!!!!:)) Very crappy dialogue.. but so what..

And some sweet people from earlier work group in Bombay who still sms me.. call me to share the smallest of things ..

My lunch table.. for making lunch fun.. time away from work.. making me forget work..a blessing ...

And facebook.. because of which old old friends are calling me up today!!!!!!!!! :)

Lots of special people in my life... some of who at this point in time, i am not in touch with anymore.. but special people nevertheless..

I know most of you wont read this.. but what the heck.. i still love all of you.. its the thought that counts, right? And i hope you do know how i feel whenever it is i meet you all .. though i may not say it!!!!

Geez.. I am 31... and all wonderfully warm and gooey (as you can see)... so i should shut up quick... And stop with the weird senti talk!!!!

As an aside...
Happiness is getting stuck in a lift with 7 girls.. and 1 traumatised boy... yesterday we decided to test out our lift... bundled 7 of us girls and wrestled the one guy in.. we managed to shut the door.. though the lift didnt go anywhere.. how we laughed.. along with the laughter there were comments on us laughing and eating up all the oxygen.. all this while, the hapless boy trying to prise open the lift!!!

It took 5 mins (someone did prise open the lift from outside) .. i think we destroyed the lift.. because it refused to function after that... why would anyone think i am 31!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An update: A says blogger operates on US timings and therefore 30... stupid girl.. eh...

the rating scale

As I am sure I have mentioned in my previous posts.. I hate appraisals. If its not my own appraisal that i need to fight for.. it is somebody else's that is an issue.. and that without fail has always been the case... rage, anger, frustration, tears...Always!!!

I have never had a happy appraisal time.. i have never seen a time when everyone is smiling.. you and the team members.. everyone together.. only in fairy tales!!

Why is it so traumatic i dont know. Shouldnt it be a time of the year which everyone looks forward to...yes, i will come to know how to utilise my talents better.. and try to understand what can i do to make MYSELF better!!

It is supposed to be constructive, isnt it .. then why should there be this aura of dread surrounding it!!!

But yesterday there was this eye opener.. apparently i make too much of a big deal about it.. i was chatting with A about all this.. when he suddenly was like.. why do you get so hassled. What does it matter. At times there are constraints that people have.. accept it and move on. And it doesnt bother him at all!!!!

Whereas me.. i would always be fretting.. oh why this rating.. why not that.. maybe i take it more personally. Its my performance afterall..

But then i think.. there is a grain of truth in what he said.. i shouldnt let it affect me.. whether its to do with me or my team..

Just accept it.. and let it be. It does not matter. Yes, thats my mantra... ask me again next year this time!!! :)

Where in the world do they get this money from?

1700 crores and 1500 crores for pune and kochi.. where does such money exist... how do these people have so much money.... an atrocious, monstrous display of wealth...

How can we get some ..

Outlook traveler magazine.. cant live without

The outlook traveler magazine.

The one thing i look forward to every month!!! End of every month.. beginning of a new month.. i start pestering our newspaper guy.. when when when.. when are you giving us the magazine.

And then the day i get it... there is this peace of mind that prevails.. when you are really really really waiting for something.... and then when you finally get it..you want to savour it..

It is like the last harry potter book.. knowing there are no more to come...
Or the last day of a vacation when you want to savour every minute..

For this magazine, well, there is no such consequence attached. But then, the day i get it.. is not the day i start reading it.

I look at the cover.. then after a few days take it out.. read the editor's note.. the note about each journalist or travel writer.. i read letters to the editor.. the queries people put up to marco polo..

Basically i read it cover to cover.. and read it real slow.. an article at a time.. slowly, lovingly, spending time on each article and each picture .... visualising and thinking about the time we will make that trip to that far off beautiful place!!!

Till now i had never met anyone who subscribed to it!! Till i reached Bangalore.. and i discovered my neighbour at work who enjoyed and savoured it as much as i did!!!!

We had numerous chats about Kai Friese, the editor. The thing is, they never put a picture of him..untill recently.. And boy, were we excited about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And happy with what we saw.. thankfully close to what we thought.... the two of us smiling happily.. staring into space..thinking about Kai Friese.

Oh well..

OT is really special to me. I have been subscribing it from 2006.. and the flutter and the curiosity.. what will they cover this time i wonder...still is present!!!

Its so refreshing .. so easy to immerse yourself in it.. and then be in a stupor!!!

Maybe its because i am an escapist... and am forever plotting and planning to escape into one of the many worlds that OT showcases!!!

Its march end.. almost.. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.. I am waiting..

ps: does anyone know how can one get a job there!!! :)

yak yak

Saw percy jackson yesterday.. a kid movie, i kid you not!!! Heheehhehe... didnt require that i know ;)

Very similar to the book.. which i didnt like too much.. so you may think why is it that i even went for it.. the movie usually is a worse version of the book as a rule... but i like fantasies.. and for some reason, for the want of any other movie to watch.. ended up watching percy jackson..

And ok type movie.. no great shakes.. similar to the book.. may appeal to kids? Maybe!!!
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During the movie.. again seated with some imbeciles on one side.. i hate it when people yak through the movie.. and the trailers as well (really look forward to it)..

Yak yak yak... animation.. yak yak yak.. clash of titans is better... yak yak yak.. the medusa shown in titans is better.. she's slippery.. very phatang (what the heck is that.. swear they used this word) ... thankfully most of the chatter was reserved for breaks / start of movie..

What is it with me.. is it my age.. all i could think of was swatting them.. smashing them.. and jumping on their head.. and clobbering them.. i just cannot deal with them .. and they didnt even talk much during the movie..
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Yesterday was ugadi.. new year for Karnataka / AP/ Maharashtra.. since one half of us belongs to AP.. i decided to make something.. sweet..

And i made something similar to shahi tukda.. at least i tried to make it..what it finally turned out to be like.. i dont know!!! Came out decently.. as long as you dont know that it was supposed to be shahi tukda. Rest all is fine!!!

Very simple recipe (me being the lazy sorts) i adopted.. about 6 slices of bread cut into squares without the edges.. fried in oil.. and dipped in sugar syrup which is laced with cardamom.. and some milkmaid on top.. thats it!!! Thats my version of shahi tukda.. or whatever you want to call it!!! :)
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Had a really nice lunch at ITC
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Had a nice day doing nothing.. woke up only at 11am!!! And still more sleep to catch up on!!! It never ends... and on that note.. let me catch up on my sleep.. goodnight..

Road, movie

Road, Movie
I watched it weekend before last. A little late in writing .. doesn't matter!!

I liked it.

Warning : the movie does not have a conclusive end.. there is a story but no end.. its like someone narrating an incident / series of incidents that happened to them when traveling.

So while watching the movie, there were a whole lot of booooos...i dont know how anyone can ensure it but am sure it would make a lot of difference to the quality of movie watching if you are not stuck with a bunch of losers.. like we were. A set of people.. who did not like the movie or maybe couldnt understand it.. were at it, through the entire first half.. commenting.. laughing raucously.. till A jumped up in his seat and scolded them loudly in his barritone voice. And the theatre fell silent...then we watched the movie peacefully without any interruptions.

So coming back to it... the movie is quite nice.. as long as you do not expect action or thrills... just enjoy it for what it is.. scene by scene.. and you will like it.. you will like everyone in it.. the small kid, the gypsy, satish kaushik and abhay deol.

When will you ever get to see a hero wiping his a** using plants after potty out in the wild.. lol .. though that is not the main attraction.

Quite a nice movie.. kaafi thehraav hai.. as my boss used to say.. the movie has a mind of its own .. wanders off to explore nooks and crannies in between.. wanders off the road to smell the flowers.. comes back.. and then again stays on path for sometime.. till the next interesting thing comes along. It reminds me a book by Ruskin Bond called book of nature.. the similarity between the two being.. nothing happens.

And nothing needs to happen to make it interesting.

I came out feeling nice and pleased.. pleasantly satisfied with the movie.. happy at having seen it.. liking abhay deol even more (so what if he has started featuring in crappy ads)

knock knock.. who's there

I have been observing this for the last few months..

And i dont know what is the reason... suddenly... the numbers visitors to this blog has gone up... That is point a.

And more importantly, feedjit everyday keeping throwing up some tantalising details (in not so much detail) about you all... come to think of it.. it tells you only the place and gives some direction.... about who comes directly.. indirectly.. in search of something!!!! I just cant stop the researcher in me!!!!!!!!!STOP IT... you twit ( a note to myself).

Ok, the real deal is.. the real question.. that is burning inside me.. eating me up alive...

How do you all get here? Would love to know so much more (if i may) about you.... .... tell me something.. anything about you... please please tell me.. as much as you can.. really waiting...living for every scrap of information!!!!!!!!!!!

:))

A few pondicherry pics...

Gingee (en route to Pondi) ... There is a fort here. We were totally zapped when we came across these hills. It looks like somebody has heaped up big boulders and rocks!!!!

De'l Orient Facade... Its in this bright pink colour.. and it makes you feel really happy when you see it. Right next to it was a school with a bright big green door. Extremely cheerful. This hotel is an 18th century restored mansion. And they have put up pictures of how it was when they found it... totally derelict and cracks everywhere. The 2nd pic is of the small yet very sweet courtyard.. ideal to sit and read books!!

The giant doors, pretty bathroom, the footstep to a high bed and such small artifacts in

every room. Each room is different - these are pics of 2 different rooms. And for me that was the greatest pleasure.. the one I looked forward to ... we stayed in 3 different rooms :)


Auroville - Matri mandir.. Pick your day carefully before you go. We went on a weekend and were surrounded by hordes of people. It was also extremely hot.. wear comfortable shoes since you do need to walk a bit!!!

Mahabalipuram - There are 3 places that one visits.. the panch ratha, the sea shore temple and Arjuna's penance... pick a cool day to do so.. we almost fried in the heat. Everything said and done, it is gorgeous.. if you like history.. you just cant help but marvel at the carvings.. The first picture is of the seashore temple, then one of the carvings (Krishna lifting the mount govardhan) and finally the often seen on TV, Krishna's butterball.

Pondicherry is quite nice if all you want to do is laze around... maybe walk around the french quarters a bit.. and then walk on the promenade.. and then twiddle thumbs and do nothing... an idyllic place :)