jabberwocky n jazz

Ask me no Qs

2006-09-22T21:48:00.000-07:00

It has begun.

I miss... Me.

I Like .....

2006-08-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

This is by far the easiest tag I've done till date. Hey wait .., Thats not me..I havnt been tagged once until now ! Guess that line will just have to wait for another day ;)

Lets start again .So here I've been tagged by Bjorn ..upon request ofcourse . I'm taking liberties to modify the tag to Pick Some - Kick Some ..which some people will recognise as an oooooooooooold idea of mine that has been dragged about the net for a while..But what the heck.It hasnt been to my blog yet.

My Picks

Chocolate Chip and Coffee icecream scoops with loads of Chocolate Sauce (lets get the overlaps out of the way first )
Van Gogh
Beach road in Vizag , esp where it winds up around kailashgiri hills
Muzzzzzzzzziiiiiicccccccc
Long walks (unless its a crowded Abids bylane .God forbid!) , long drives and all that jazz [Remember here .. I'd rather be alone than bored]
Surprises
Most ramp music - Inshallah ,Lazy, Sholay mix
Giving non-bday gifts
Travelling ! ( Any form of travelling ....Even a bus trip to local Monda market counts.I'm kidding here..but you get the picture ..)
Catching up on favourite blogs on a rainy day with a completely new tracklist to keep me company
Illustrations
Watching Ads with my sister
Aloo parathas
Hercule Poirot
The written word - books , movie quotes , mags , .....
Coffee shops
Watching dance competetions
Colours !
Jack Black
Oilpaints
Catching four movies in a row with sister [Sil ..stop figuring in my list over and over again..will you?]
Mails from long lost friends [Ever notice how the longlost aquaintances are remembered as friends while current friends remain aquiantances ? until they become longlost ofcourse .]
While we are on that topic..Friends who dont mind my not initiating-keeping-in-touch.[This one is actually a trap]
Goo goo dolls [Best to put on earphones and let Rzeznik sing into your ears] [Yes..I realize teher are better bands around..sorry Rzeznik..and also realize I've been saying GGD since forever but well..it does it for me!]
Bangalore for a week [only ;)]
The sound of an accoustic guitar
Doing nothing [By now..I'm the resident expert.]
That excuse called Hibernating ! [Call me for your very own copy of How-To-Disappear-Completely 101. On second thoughts, DONT call me!!! ]

The Kicks
Polite bores - always tops the list
Actually..Child labour does.tops the list I mean
Getting splashed while walking in the rain by big bad car with blaring hindi remix driven over ugly puddle by mean snobbish looking dude [I always thought this happens only in the movies..but it happened to me couple of hours ago..and I'm almost willing to put this one over child labour even! That annoying. Better sense prevails though]
Hate it when I forget to call/mail/sms sumone I actually fully intended to call/mail/sms and remember only after they have left town/country/planet .
Being used :( By friends! [ I mean just ask me for what you want ! Dont try to talk me into it .You are not helping anybody ..yourself included]
Reality Shows - To be fair the only one I watched was the PFMI Miss India thing where they eliminated just one girl out of 25, then asked her how she felt and wudnt stop broadcasting even when she was beginning to cry .Whats the BIG point?
Earworms - there are so many of those annoying songs this should be an entire post of its own.
Losing interest halfway through a task
Formal do's

Lots more..But even I can bore you all for only so long ! [ And dont you give me that Oh-I-wudnt-say-that look!]

I pass the tag on to..well..anyone who would like to do it.

A Worthy Cause

2006-07-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

Promotion time..! Do checkout this link everyone and if you/your company would like to participate for the ACE quiz at ISB, please get in touch with Anuj/me .The registration fee goes towards sponsoring the midday meal for students from Yellamma Banda School,Hyd for one whole year .This is the sole event their meal will come from .So if you are interested in participating or know someone who would be..do register !

Check out WAH-Work An Hour initiative too .And if you are employed (unlike yours truly) and would be happy to spend an hour's pay on a worthy cause , welcome .I vouch for the integrity of the organization and the genuineness of the cause .

All of us look at the kids serving tea in coffee stalls,working in quarries,walking long distances to school without chappals,begging on the roads and shake our head at how wrong it all is and wish things were better.Here is your chance to do something and help keep a small section of underpriviliged children at school and fed atleast one meal everyday . Go people!

Jack & Jill

2006-07-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

She: " I think we should spend more time... "

He : " Damn fool woman ! You want more time? Dont you see we are already spending way too much time together!?! We are doing every single thing like we are joined at the hip ! But dont let that worry you .You just keep clinging on to me like the vine of the year and life will pass us by !Whoosh..What we NEED to do..is GET A LIFE ! Get it ? "

She: " ... apart . "

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Edit: After reading Srini's comment I just had to turn this into a tag . If you are reading this ..consider yourself tagged !!! [The exclamation marks are here to make it sound exciting !Working ? ] Post your own Jack & Jill story !!!!!

Book Review : Sophie's World

2006-07-05T04:43:00.000-07:00

Another gift from my sister .
Sophie's world by Jostein Gardner , a Norwegian writer..not to be confused with aforementioned Sophie's Choice by William Styron .

Do not believe anyone who tells you its a childrens book.The closest it comes to being a children's book is in mentioning Winnie the Pooh and Caroll's Alice once each . A brief [and frequently biased] history of Philo"sophy"..the story itself is more riveting initially..tempting you to skip the intermingled lessons..but begins to grate on you towards the end ...There is a very definite attempt to recreate the whole Alice and her tea party and the mad hatter effect which kinda falls flat .

The plot extends only halfway through the book and ends rather abruptly in a tangled mass of Hyderabadi bylanes. Whhhhat ? Was that too random for you? Well thats how the plot proceeds !So halfway through the book you'll jump lanes and switch to reading the Philosophy lessons track and begin skipping the story track as opposed to what you were skipping up until now ;)

Though I love fantasy and fiction as much as the next girl , I totally dont get the whole magical fable thing a la S.W and Mistress of Spices and some of Paulo Coehlo .However the lack of plot not withstanding, the history of various schools of Philosophy alone was enough for me .[But why is the entire evolution of philosophy centered around Rome/Greece ONLY ?]I particularly liked the way Uncle Scrooge and The Matchgirl were used to explain Marxism and the offbeat insight into war and UN.
Anyways...we arent doing a dissertation here ofcourse.In Albert Knox's own words "Its all just bagatelle" after all . Some interesting revelations I had from this book.

#The Dark Medieval Ages ( DMAs) were anything but dark in reality , rather a period of fulminant germination for all that was to follow in Renaissance and probably the most interesting to wannabe Historians with a penchant for art and culture . [points to self ]

# Darwin was a philosopher as well !

# Sophie is a bestselling name !Seriously..no shit .If you want to write a bestseller..christen a central character Sophie !Sophie's world, Sophie's choice, Da Vinci Code , Shopaholic series,When Sophie gets really angry.. See what i mean?

#I'm a sucker for ALL books and its just not in me to not find something to appreciate in each of them.[you give me a Silhoute romance..and I'll still find something worth raving about !]

#I have way too much time on my hands. (I didnt get This from the book..but thought I'd just mention )

#The best way to take my mind off something (Some of you might disagree and attempt to question the logistics of 'taking off something that does not exist' but clearly..you are not bringing up anything new ! So be quiet lest I'm tempted to condemn you to the DMAs ) is to hand me a book.Any book. Shopping be damned..reading is therapeutic to me.

I hear that The Solitaire Mystery is a lot more interesting and well written..and loosely speaking 'unputdownable' ..
(Sil, are you listening?)

Before you ask ..by 'loosely speaking' I mean it wasnt MY precious opinion :)

In Your Time

2006-07-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

Something bad happened.Something very bad. I could write more but then again..like I said in my initial posts , this isnt that kind of a blog nor is it that kind of a readership.Besides I dont want a pity party..theres enough selfpity already to make even me wanna throw up !! Anyways I've felt the need for a that kind of blog lately and this morning [a blue blue morning] saw the inception of one such space.This is the end of my blog's self proclaimed existential angst.[Thanx Ari..for looking out for me..and for Wordpress]

Continuing from where Calvin leftoff..what I do want to share here is that guilt is the worst thing about failure .It wasnt an exam..but I didnt make it and even though friends[always the unexpected ones...while the expected ones are missing in action] are rushing in to assure me it isnt my fault..the guilt does Not go away ..and it makes things that much worse .When I read that book Sophie's Choice , I loved the first 50 pages thinking [rather lamely] that the narrator was Sophie..When I realized it wasnt..I felt oddly cheated .And the rest of the book just wasnt the same..and even at its biggest revelation..I felt nothing.apathy mingled with mild anger..It was supposed to be different ! Bigger than that !..But now I understand it..Now I get what it was all about .

Some things hurt and somethings never really go away ..even if you are carrying on .Theres nothing in it but to carry on ofcourse..Contrary to popular belief , the path of least resistance is to carry on..not to give up.Giving up takes a lot.

But again..since this isnt that kind of a blog [I know I've said it before ..but seeing as how I'm the one doing all the hardwork of writing..and you are just sitting back and reading it..I'll keep it this way] , I will settle for posting bits of the song I learnt at my music class recently ..one of the few songs I can sing and play [just strings..not chords..:( ] Its beautiful though.

"In Your time, in Your time,
You make all things beautiful in Your time."

Thats the one I was talking about.Its lovely..And this is the one I am going to post ..Bob Seger's

Towering waves
Will crash across your southern capes.
Massive storms
Will reach your eastern shores.
Fields of green
Will tumble through your summer days
By design
In your time.

Feel the wind,
And set yourself the bolder course.
Keep your heart
As open as a shrine.
You'll sail the perfect line.
And after all
The dead ends
and the lessons learned,
After all
The stars have turned to stone,
There'll be peace
Across the great unbroken void,
All benign,
In your time.

You'll be fine
In your time.

A time to dine and a time to whine .

2006-06-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

20 things that really annoy me :

1. Bankers who seem eternally surprised when requested for a balance statement like they
never knew the bank actually issues those things !

2. People who get off buses/trains/escalators and come to a dead stop. Zombie style. Bang in front of me .Puhleez..
Pick a direction. Any direction. Just MOVE ! Out of my way. Quickly.

3. Guys who say “But can you explain why?” after I say "I don’t like you in that way".

4. “Token number 562 .. please collect your meal” ..recorded announcements with fake accent at Ohri’s which instantly wipe away the entire ambience and transport you to local railway canteen with a Thud.

5.That guy who tells my friend ‘you don’t deserve me’ only to go crawling back the second she begins to get her life together. And we are supposed to be the clingy ones ! Ha

6.Spitters: please! Its bad enough that you don’t like the contents of your mouth. don’t subject the rest of us to it as well.

7.Parents pointing me out to their kids and saying .. say hello to auntie!! Aaargh

8.Sonu Nigam, Himesh Reshamiya …and if you ask me why .. you are on the list as well.

9. Acquaintances who are very easily convinced by ‘lets eat out today’ plans but when it comes to paying, wild horses cant drag their purses off their pockets.

10.ATMs which are always under repair / refill / heat stroke whenever I death urgently need them.

11.Arjun Singh .

12.People who call me up in ages and go.. “so how come you never called?” I could say the same for you buddy. If neither of us bothered to call all these days.. chances are we had nothing to say at the moment ! Duh .So you called. Great. Now get a move on and lets talk! If not save it for another day. Shall we?

13.Dimwits who say what ?..why? ..how? To everything I say ..the minute I begin to speak. How am I supposed to have a conversation with you if you are so lacing it with questions that its obvious you aren’t going to let me complete any sentence in one go .

Seriously, its no fun waiting for you to catch your breath and rushing to say it all before you resume breathing! Come to think of it..You should speak less and breath more...it will rush some well oxygenated blood to your grey matter and raise your IQ points a notch.

14.MCPs and feminists .Do us a favor and wipe each other out, will you?

[But the jokes are fun..leave them on.Thankyou.]

15.Guys who say.. “Is she pretty? Is she a babe?” everytime I even begin to mention a friend who has even a remotely feminine name.[Whats up with that anyway? I’m trying to talk here…how the hell did THAT get mistaken for running a Date-a-Girl service?] And if I dare say this aloud , they will instantly assume I’m jay! HellOOO !! .Gimme a break. Just let me speak. Nonstop. And the world will be a better place.

16.The fact that the closest I’ll ever get to writing a funny blog is to leave a comment on someone’s funny blog :(
On my more positive days the option is to resort to quotes[Tried ,tested and messed up :s]

17. Idiots who make random generalizations like “I hate doctors” and think its ubercool. What do they know!
Oh also..the idiots who make random generalizations like. “Doctor is God! They save lives..sigh..drool.” .Bah! what do they know!

18. Women who bring their children to the park near my house..and don’t allow their kids to go play.I mean whats even the point??? Are they supposed to sit in your lap and pay attention while you go gossipy-gop with your friends? One tight slap in order for everytime she yanks her kid’s arm back with undue force.Why breed if you cant spare 2 minutes for your kid??? While we are at it, couple of tight slaps to the set of parents who beam in delight as their spoilt brats go around knocking cutlery off tables and shrieking their ears off their little heads .

19.The flock of women who throng to me with heartaches and brainfreeze expecting me to play agony aunt YET again. Didn’t we just go over this yesterday ?And every other night of the past month? Theres just no way you are getting over it if you begin enjoying your crib sessions! I know I make charming company..but still!! So sorry girls… come back another Tuesday. Another life.

20. People who crib / complain /whine / hyperventilate ALL the time! But then again , Not everyone can be all bright and sunshiny like I am ;)

Budday Blog

2006-06-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

Like all bdays this one began with vehement protests of there being nothing to celebrate n such blah..eventually ended up being special all the same :) 90% credit goes to my sister [and mom dad ofcourse] .She totally figured out what makes me tick.If you dint know already.. I'm as vain as can be. So she made me little movies with me..just me..all me ! lol

Rest to the very thoughtful friends I just discovered I have :) Thankyou all ..even though I havnt yet called you back and thanked you..and even though I'm expressing my thanx here..on a blog you dont know of ! You did make my day better all the same.

And there are some blog friends who would really hate me for not announcing the bday in good time :) Aplogies ..really sorry about that. But hey..I was ~~saving you money~~ busy proving to parents I can stay off the net for a day. Many more bdays to go anyways..And this one wasnt even supposed to be special! Not fair .

No..I dint paint this.Henry Matisse did .,~~I got a copy of this for my birthday :))~~
But I'm painting a copy soon ! And this is just how its going to look.Why am I bragging already ? Because I know I wont be able to once I'm done with it :)

Coffee & Conversation

2006-06-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

Did I dare ? If I dont ask now..I never will. I looked at the coffee running cold .It doesnt have half the worries I do !

Me : "Are you avoiding me ?"

Him : "Me ? hell..no !"

Me: How come you are always running out then?
Him: Oh..thats just my nature..I do love you though.
Me: Yeah right. Strange way you have of showing it.

Him : Well..isnt it more fun this way ?
Me: bug off .
Him: Aw c'mon ! admit its fun .
Me: Its fun allright. For you !

Him: Oh please..you know you will never have enough of me .no matter what..you'll just crib this way.. into eternity .
Me: Brilliant logic you have there . Loser .
Him: You know I'm always on your side..
Even when I'm not.. ;)
Me: Very funny..Bring in the mindgames now. Huh .

Him : Vish.... do you remember when you got seriously ill just before your exams and were hospitalized for three weeks straight? I was with you the whole time. I helped you heal..didnt I ?
Me: You dont say ! I thought it was the medicines that did it .
Him: lol ..Okay..what about last year when every single thing in your life was messed up..and the only thing on your side was me !
Me: So what! everyone is nice on occasion . even you.

Him: And what about when you were so heartbroken you thought you'll never get over it ? who was it that helped you get back and get a life? Surprise ...me again !
Me: Your point being ?
Him: I am always there for you..you just dont see it .Nor do you respect me any better for being there .

Me: Thats not true..
Him: Yeah ? this is going to sound really strange..but when I was by your side at the hospital those 3 wks...I imagined you were cursing me the whole time!!! Pardon me..I must be paranoid .
Me: Err...well..I had soooooooo much of you right then..I had had enough.I was practically thinking of ways to kill you !

Him: There ! you only want me when i'm not around :(
Me : Um..you are only around when I dont need you !
Him : I'm outta here...
Me : Wait !

And he ran out again..by force of habit.

Extract from my umpteenth conversation with my fickle friend , Time .

To Hell and Back ;)

2006-06-06T02:36:00.000-07:00

Not really . But a little exaggeration never hurt . So many of you you have been visiting so much more that I think I should stay away from my blog more often ;)

The whole disappearing act which has been confusing freaky no end began with rather complicated stuff .(If that sounded like a prelude to the details..sorry..its not) . But whats keeping me away lately is the lack of access to the web !No ..I'm not an undercover agent who has lately been transferred off to the other side of the arctic [Gee..bad joke that!] We just moved to a new place and it took forever for the fone lines and net to be restored .I cant say I missed the net much which is surely odd ! I spent my time helping around with the shifting bit [Read manual labour..which turns out is very good exercise indeed ], running after the internet service providers office , and painting random stuff . Only the last part was fun ofcourse . I've been reading Artemis Fowl late into the night (when I would normally have been blogging or downloading music)...which is slightly disappointing since Fowl did not turn out to be as foul as promised after all .

About a week ago..suddenly I had a lot to say..I had woken up to so many things ..but since I had no access to net ..I sort of let it slide .Maybe later .

And its good to be back ;)

Old World Charm

2006-05-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

Going to a different country involves finding accomodation there first.While this by itself shouldnt be very surprising ..I never expected that I would have to do my househunting from here ! Through classifieds, and university board posts, emails and google maps !Its fun really..if you didnt have to actually make a decision at the end of the whole thing..a decision involving big money..Would you believe it ?Not only do I have to choose my house and roommates from here ..I also have to pay up the lease amount by wire transfer !If I forget all this..then ofcourse its all one big party..scouring classifieds..mailing people with what good roomies me and my friend would make , seeing pictures of the places..imagining it in third dimension with all my stuff there ..googling and yahoo-ing for maps ..locations..distances..busroutes.Some of the ads are plain hilarious..My personal all time favourite was one where this person who had an iguana had a room to rent out ..The post went on and on about the iguana , its eating and pooing habits..the stench ..its cage..location..dimensions..blah blah blah ..and how loud noises scare the iguana..so you cant blast your music there ."If you are a realgood roomie I'll move the cage into my room !"and so on..I cant begin to tell you how cute it was !

Some queries get indian joint family kind of response..I mail one little query..to one person..and all of the four existing roomamtes..about 2-3 ex-tenants ..the landlord..the neighbour..the dhobi EVERYONE sends me one reply each !Plus loads of pictures..and I'm like..this sounds sooo good..where's the catch ???

My worst was this realtor who mailed me a HUGE form without bothering to answer a single query..and a form which I actually filled up patiently and mailed back ..please note..a form which includes my planned budget ..And what does she write back ? One line..just one line saying..

"Whats the maximum amount you can pay per month ?"

Is that the US way of saying.."I dont have a place for you???" I was so pissed off but then its all my fault..why did I bother to fill the form in the first place when she didnt acknowledge any of my queries..I indicated to her that I will take shit..so she gave me just that.

She totally deserved my reply "40000$ , Kate" .
Hell..if I had that kind of money..I would buy a condo by the sea and party every day no ?

I had a lot of housing offers which were totally wrong for me..Sometimes I replied..sometimes I just kept them hanging..sometimes they were option Z on my list and I let them know it..sometimes I didnt bother..Yesterday I sent a reply to one such landlady explaining why her house would not be right for me..and wishing her luck finding a good deal. This is what she wrote back :

Dear vish,
Thank you for the "OLD WORLD" custom of reply!
So many have forgotten this politeness.
We are an old couple trying to rent this place and finding it an uphill task.
We too wish you good house hunting.

C.P

This got me thinking.Everybody deserves a reply ..dont they ? Even if you DONOT need anything from them..Even if there is NOTHING in it for you.This might be way-of-life for most of you..but frankly I never gave it much thought before .

Maybe I'm growing up..but good manners do go a long way !I have a resolution for this year..to reply to every mail I get !This does NOT include the unsolicited "can I make frandship with you" mails from people with John Abraham pics on their profile !I mean..if you HAVE to have HIS pic there..dont go around writing crap scraps !..He should sue you for that ! Or maybe I can go around with an oriental sword going swish- slash on my own personal V for Vendetta and be really badazz with it too :)) Oh what fun .

Me Against The Music - Take 3

2006-05-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

“Music has been my playmate …
And my crying towel.”
Buffy Sainte-Marie

Music is magic.It can add a spring to you step .A melancholy mood creeps upon you for no reason and leaves you puzzled until you realize it was a song that did it.It can wake up memories you didn’t know remained.It can make you want to dance, singalong or drum on a trashcan.
If you are wondering what happened to me today ..wonder no more .I’m dying to show off anyways !

I bought my first guitar today . [ I like the sound of that . ‘First guitar’. Sort of suggests there are many more to come in future years J] I’m calling it Daisy. After much deliberation ..my sister and I agreed that a guitar is certainly female..atleast mine is . Its pretty and curvy and its dulcet tones can make any guy go crazy . Okay okay kidding ! I do realize Daisy is a SAD name for a guitar .So any bright ideas anyone ?

[Note: My guitar does not look as great as this one ..but close.]

And guess What !Guess what walked into the music class today ?A band of boys ! Three guitarist hunks .No less .In my guitar class..ah the perks ! ..So all those ladies who are cribbing about the lack of handsome Gult dudes..go join some music classes! The only thing better than a hunk with a guitar is a hunk with a guitar who dusnt know he is a hunk! One of them and me even had an ‘intellectual’ conversation .I mean they played a song and both of us thought it was too slow.That counts right ? I’m going for my classes with renewed vigour now;)..lol

But not to digress.This post is about my new friend .At my music class. No , not one of them hunks .Give me a break! I’m not THAT superficial ! [Read , the hunks are not that superficial ] . Back to beginning.I’ve made a friend there.Have made many but this one is special. I mean she totally gets me.Now how often does that happen? We share this deep and meaningful level of understanding .Plus she appears to have this little adoration complex which is a definite bonus ! Everyday we enrich our friendship a bit more by having a great time pulling each others hair..playing the ‘guess what I had for breakfast’ game..the ‘whats on ur T-shirt’ game..the ‘matching matching’ game..making faces at each other..giggling uncontrollably all through our vocals practice and such.

She is four years old and is learning to play the casio .When asked what she would like to be when older she says “A gitaal girl, I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuve gitaal.” in a singsong voice with her eyes almost closed wistfully. I had a déjà vu..I have made just that face..and said it in just that voice so often !! And then she says.. “I will learn to play the violin when I’m big”..lol..a 4 year old with so many “I wish..I will..I want to..”
Ladies and men..discovery of the day..I sound like a 4 year old!!!

My music teacher deserves a special mention too.Halfway through our braying session he decided to talk about ..hold ur breath.."his smartness" ..What eh? ditto what rushed across our minds..
"See..I never try to sing the song just like the original.If I sing ‘Nothing else matters’ like Metallica did..then it means I'm giving credit to them!"..
Huh..What possible reason could you have for not wanting to do that anyways ?
"So I sing it my own style.That is my smartness."
Really ?You dont say ?!
"And a singer should have style..presentaion you know..I shud not look at the fretboard and play..I shud look at my audience..and express myself…Or I should do some 'actings' with my face.”
A whole lot of ugly expressions later
"This is my intelligence you see"
Ah..Now I really do.Ever considered the mensa ?
“You know some girls are very talented.They flirt with me”
"????!!!" If thats what talent is..I'm feeling seriously deficient !
" So I look at them when I sing?That is my presentation to them”
I do not want to even begin getting into the connotations of that.
Forget music lessons , I get my daily dose of absurdity n humour here ! I wonder what tomorrow shall bring ;)

Oh and theres this slightly odd buisiness..While we girls sing Bryan Adams and Marc Anthony stuff , guess what the guys get to sing?? Metallica ! I'm still a bit thrown by this selection bias .I will protest as soon as I begin to get whats going on here .

Little Angel

2006-05-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

Dearest God,

Mummy said to talk to you when I sad .I is sad now.Daddy tell me mummy didnt die.She went to be with you because u=you very lonely there. I miss mummy but I will share mummy with you..Mummy said u=you are my best friend and we should share everything with our best friends .I dont cry.

But Daddy cries .A lot.Everyday he cry .I know he misses mummy a lot.He drinks the brown medicine which make his eyes red and he cry more and he sleeps with his shoes on and he wake up very late.Daddy says he dont like that mummy chose sumone else over him.So daddy dont like mummy choosing to see you? I ask granny what to do..she calls up daddy and daddy shouts at granny and me and looks at mommy's photo and cries more .Daddy not go to work also.

I not like to see daddy like this.If mummy is together with daddy he is happy.

Yesterday when daddy brought me milk..I make him drink it.Now daddy will be strong and very happy too.Like you mommy.Because I put the magic pills in the milk.I will share both mommy and daddy with you God.The same pink magic pills which I saw him putting in mummy's drink the day they fought and mommy cried a lot..and went to sleep and never woke up.

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The Game

2006-05-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

This is to avoid any brickbats that might come my way for having cheated you out of the guessing part first time around !
[Can you tell I'm jobless . Yes ?? Ha! What do you know ?I'm just taking time out for the greater good of humanity .I hope to replace the average stupid/obvious/commonplace remark quotient with a good average 'smack quote quoted' quotient .Next time you find urself on the verge of saying something REALLY stupid ..pick a quote..Any quote.And the moment would have passed :) ]

[Ari: You better come up with a good chunk of movie names to go with my quotes! ]

Ready ?

#1 The first rule of Fight Club is - you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is - you DO NOT talk about Fight Club. Third rule of Fight Club, someone yells Stop!, goes limp, taps out, the fight is over.
ANY guesses ????
:)))) Okay..no more cheating !Here we go :

#1 God of Rock, thank you for this chance to kick ass. We are your humble servants. Please give us the power to blow people's minds with our high voltage rock. In your name we pray, Amen.

[Clue : Think Led Zep ]

#2 As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.

[Clue : Frankly dears, I have no clue for you ;)]

#3 "I strenuously object?" Is that how it's done? Hm? "Objection, your Honor." "Overruled" "No, no. I STRENUOUSLY object." "Oh. You strenuously object. Then I'll take some time and reconsider."

[Clue : Chocolate boy , Vanilla boy , Public fool ]

#4 "sometimes best way to deliver a punch is to step back...
...but step back too far, you ain't fighting at all"

[Clue : Rope Burns . Think Clint Eastwood ]

#5 A:No! That's not fair.
B: Fair? Who do you think you're talking to? I don't recall anybody accusing me of being fair before. I'm insulted.

[Clue :Everybody loves Hugh Grant's big mistake ]

#6 The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.

[Clue : Easy one .
Remember Papa tomato , mommy and baby tomato ? I have a tomato and onion killer if you want to hear sometime .I promise its just as bad :)) ]

#7 A: There's a man downstairs. He brought us eggs. He might stay.
B: Why? Can he lay eggs?
A: He's Canadian.
B: Why are people so happy when they collide with someone from the same place? What happened in Montreal when you passed a man in the street? Did you invite him to live with you?

[Clue : another quote
I once traveled with a guide who was taking me to Faya. He didn't speak for nine hours. At the end of it he pointed to the horizon and said, "Faya!" That was a good day. ]

#8 A: How about we play a game?
B: All right.
A: Okay, I'm thinking of something orange, and it's small...
B: It's me.
A: Right!
[Later]
A: I'm thinking of something orange and small...
B: Me again.
A: All right, Mr. Smartypants...
[Later]
A: ... It's orange and small, and has stripes...
B: Me, and the next one - just a guess - me.
A: Okay, that's just scary.

[Clue : I'm thinking something thats orange and small ;) ]

#9 I'll be back .

[Clue : And he was back .Twice .]

#10 Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father: prepare to die.

[ Clue : As You Wish - Farm Boy ][Might be a tough one ]

#11 A: Lord, feed the hungry, and bring peace to all of mankind. How's that?
G: Great... If you wanna be Miss America.

[Clue: G]

#12 If your mother says she loves you, get a second opinion.

[Clue : courtroom drama ][You can tell i'm tired..this is the most straightforward clue!]

CAUTION: The clues are not there to help you .You might do better if you ignore them ! :)
Have fun people..I know it could be a LOT better.But I have to start someplace!

news !

2006-05-12T04:38:00.000-07:00

Hi people , had a small road accident yesterday .Recuperating .Have been given deadline to recuperate by tomorrow as there is a must-go-to wedding then .Grrrrrrrr ..No sympathies from first degree bloodties :(

Be back soon .

The Age Factor

2006-05-10T00:18:00.000-07:00

At a Xerox shop last night an elderly lady asked me if I could tell her which of her papers were originals and which were photocopies.
I did.
She eyed me strangely for a while..then said, "How do you know which is which ?"

I was stumped for a moment.
I told her how.In detail.I pointed to the blue signature in one document and the black copy in another . She just continued to look at me like I'm a whizkid .I kid you not! Her documents were strewn all about the counter. She could not even put the papers back in her file by herself. Her thin frail hands were shaking .Parkinsonism, rheumatism, loneliness, regrets, living with failure ...the banes of old age ! She was simply too oooooooooooold to be there .

What is a woman like that doing coming out on her own to a busy market road and photocopying important documents?What happened to her family ?? What if there is no family ?Or family is too busy ? or maybe there is one old crippled incapacitated husband? What if I get so busy discovering and living my life I let my parents turn that helpless ?!

How would it be..when you see the first rain and put your feet forward to run into it , to feel the water in your hair..on your face.But have to stop because you have a smokers lungs and a cold could be fatal? Or you have arthritis of the knee and dont dare move from where you are seated for fear of sharp shooting pain down ur legs? Will I turn someday into an old cripple content to just sit and watch the rain from my window? Scary !

Perhaps orphans are better off than abandoned old people.To have lived and lost..isnt it worse than to have never known goodtimes ?What do we see in the old people we know? A cranky grumpy failure who is way behind the times ? Or a man who once was trekking, sailing, laughing , dreaming and all that his young body allowed him , but now sits resigned in a corner coughing and wheezing all day, watching life pass by ?

white curtains
hum of a ventilator
what he wouldnt give
to be able to breathe
a full puff of fresh air
all by himself

wide wet eyes watching
as the whitecoats whisper
memories
rain,wet earth
her by his side
giggling like children

a jab
in his arm
fading voices
tight chest
darkness
then nothing ...

Going on 60

2006-05-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

Rain! the first rain this season
he tugs at the window
cool breeze hits his face
wet earth
drawing him in
bringing back

her excited giggle
pulling him by his hand into the garden
loud drops splatter on them
as they lift their faces upto the sky
almost inviting them to hurt them

she turned around
rain made everything pretty...
overwhelming his world
they giggled and smiled like silly children

she wasnt with him now
but the rain was
he made for the balcony
a flutter caught his eye
the hospital file
his chest tightened with regret
he could not catch a cold now
he could not go back to the clinic wheezing

but he hadn't stopped to think
all those years
when he chose to smoke
standing aloof
while she waited

he wudnt make her wait anymore
for once he was choosing her
going to her memory
he turned on his heel
a sharp stab down his knee
curse the arthritis

he stood watching
with a heavy heart
rain from the balcony
match from the sidelines
life had passed him by
didnt have time to stop for it then
forced to sit it out and watch now

PS:- This wont be here long.I'm not a poetry person..Reading great...Writing not! I approach it much the way I approach prose :) With the added plus of ignoring grammar and punctuation !
Though you cant tell from this..the focus is actually on the limitations of oldage.[The picture is maple leaf on a bench just after it rained. Ripped off from the worldwide web !]

Whats in a word ?

2006-05-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

While I was watching Crash , I noticed that the intensity of the situation was directly proportional to the number of expletives used .Every time theres a crucial "tense up people..great things are afoot " moment..the frequency of the F word goes up a couple of notches . The same phenomenon followed with Snatch .

So as is my compulsion....I googled it .[yes..for once I'm talking facts ;)]
I find that "Crash contains more profanity than any other film nominated for the best picture Oscar over the prior five years with 182 expletives, 99 of which are "fuck," according to a report by Family Media Guide.The only Best Pictures with more expletives are Platoon and Deer Hunter. " Now thats straight from wikipedia..Am I allowed to do that?

And in Snatch it is said 153 times . You might want to tell me.."So what? Its the norm..whats the big deal ?" I realize that..check this out . The point is not to tell you what a prude I am or any such...The point is [You didnt think there was one ,did you ? ;-l ] that I wonder how the movies would sound without the expletives.

#Graham: F you very much. Thanks for thinking of me.
This one goes right down the drain .

#Mickey: Why the F do I want a caravan that's got no Eff-ing wheels? You want to settle this with a fight?
Why do I want a caravan thats got no wheels ? [Or why the hell do I want a caravan ?]You want to settle this with a fight?
See what I mean ? Takes the wind right out.

So would they be able to create the same situational tension ?Will they convey the same intensity ? In short..would moviemakers be seriously handicapped if not for the F word ?
One word ..and Hollywood is crippled ! And what about real life ?

Movie Mania

2006-05-06T02:34:00.000-07:00

Serious advice to one of my seriously-in-trouble friends !!

“He’s perfect and he likes me !! He does all these little things for me.He’s perfect vish..He has even got flaws!! Okay..just one..one little flaw .He..hmm..he doesn’t like movies.” She says .

Um..hello ?? Did I hear you right? One LITTLE flaw ? He doesn’t watch movies ? He’s never going to watch a movie with you? Think of all the possibilities that just slipped away ! Don’t you get how serious this is? You can fix a guy who likes plain vanilla icecream and get him to upgrade to chocolate or coffee or something .I mean ..he probably just dusnt know better.
But a-movie-pathy ?? There’s only one thing you can do when you see such a guy ..Move on!

Okay..that might be extreme .Give him a chance if you like..But no movies ???? No movies at all ?? And here I always thought that the reason human race stuck around for so long is cause somewhere along the way they started making movies ! (and music) .

I watched four movies this weekend..back to back.At PVR .By the third movie the girl at the security stopped checking us ![They have a metal detector routine at the security counter in case you havnt been there] .Does that mean not too many people do this ?Why not ? My sister was my accomplice .While my mom and dad kept shaking their heads and laughing at us and making wisecracks like “So which village do you girls come from?I’ve only known gaon-wale to watch every movie in town in a row before they return to their villages ."But we were made of sterner stuff than to be put off by all this.

May I take a moment here to mention that Prasadz turns into “Poorna market”/“fishbazaar” on weekends? If an RTC bus ride experience in a mall is not your thing , then prasadz isnt either. Its about a dozen times easier to breathe in PVR without inhaling ugly combinations of sweat and perfume hanging in the air.Now for the movies..

ICEAGE2 –The Meltdown

Hmm..Sid, Manny and Deigo were cute as ever. All the possum/mammoth identity crisis was fun too.But scrat ! Scrat was a big bore until the very end when he more than makes up for being a bore all this while .I mean.. “why me” jokes are only fun for so long .This was a longish movie..which had its moments and lots of waiting for the moments to happen ! I promised myself I will not compare sequels to originals but you know what I want to say here .

POKIRI - Vernacular

While watching this..I thought it was THE longest movie ever made !Until I watched mistress of spices . We had one and only one reason for watching this ..and it didn’t disappoint on that account :)

Need I say more ???

GANGSTER : Warning :Spoilers ahead ..If you havnt watched the movie..shoo !

Well I watched four movies in a row..and when you do stuff like that..it tends to addle your brains.But mine picked this..The only mood I carried home with me..was that of this movie .It was so so so watchable ! Let me warn you this is Not a gangster movie..It’s a love story and quite an intense one.It does have a couple of inevitable bollywood-isations but on the whole it unfolds and falls into place very neatly . If you believe that “Character is plot” , you will enjoy this .It’s a character driven story.And halfway through the movie you don’t really care if it has anything to do with Abu Salem or Monica Bedi.You are far too invloved in the characters than the story and its sources .

All the characters are totally relatable and do not fake out in first half hour.
The music is great..Seoul is now totally on my list of cities to visit .Looks byoooooooooooootiful .And Shiney and Kangana make a great pair..They fit their parts perfectly..and I loved Shiney as u can see ..:) drool.. sigh..
.And that woman..Kangana she looks great in Anything ! But ahem ladies..lets move on to the real gem..Shiney Ahuja!! And for all those who think it’s a sissy name…the man himself is anything but ! And he really is “Roshan Shiney Ahuja” .So there .

As for Emraan Hashmi… No comment..hmm….Oh..there was this one scene with Emraan I absolutely enjoyed..the one where he gets shot !! ha ha ..
To be really fair though he did a good job too. I am only mad at him cause the girl chose him over Shiney when she had to pick!! HOW ??I mean ..Shiney Ahuja was the 'unavailable' guy ..the bad guy ..the unavailable bad 'silent' hunk who is totally in mad crazy love with you and bawls like a baby if he thinks he is losing you .How can you pick Hashme over all that?

I say..go watch it..Its to be seen on the bigscreen .

Mistress of Spices :

This IS the longest movie I have ever had to endure .It was painful,boring,pointless and fully capable of inducing suicidal ideation .The magic dies out even before the so called magical fable begins .And I know my bad karma debt hasn’t yet died out cos I got fooled into watching this crap !

Some others

CRASH :

Again this was great to watch on the big screen but was it a great movie ? I’m not sure .It was very filmy[Bolly ishtyle], very formula-ish and very transparent . I know some things are bound to be cliched..but an oscar winning movie ?I think Not .If you want a better review ..check this out .lol
But if we put the whole oscar pressure aside, it was a complete 'effects' movie..great watch.I luvvved the whole little girl-invisible cloak part.
Ludacris was great . Oh..and what were Sandra Bullock and Brendan Fraser doing in the movie ??? [Not that I minded his presence much ]

SNATCH :

Vey well made. ..hilarious ..bit too gory for me.. [But it dusnt even begin to match Pokiri on goryness scale!] But again..nothing new to offer really ..if you like Lock,stock and two smoking barrels and likes .

TAXI9211 :
Good hindi movie .Great adaptation of changing lanes.And I'm not even saying it just bacause there's John in it .[I swear ! ] :)) First 15 mins drag but it picks up pace pretty quick and dusnt look back . Not life changing /hair raising / thought provoking ..none but eminently watchable .

More later ..

Language of love ?

2006-05-05T23:53:00.000-07:00

I found this on some website today .Wish this was "good morning" or "I'm hungry..show me the food !" or "which way to restroom" or some such practical thing to learn in different tongues but this is what I found.So this is what you get to read .Check it out..The chinese one is Oh-so-cute ;)

"I love you"

German: Ich liebe Dich
Japanese: Aishiteru
Thai: Chan rak khun
Italian: Ti voglio bene
Chinese (Mandarin): Woh ai ni
French: Je t'aime or Je t'adore
Danish: Jeg elsker dig
Dutch: Ik hou van jou
Egyptian: Ana bahebek
Spanish: Te amo
Turkish: Seni Seviyurum
Swedish: Jag alskar dig
Norwegian: Eg elskar deg
Hawaiian: Aloha I'a Au Oe
Tagalog: Iniibig kita
Portuguese: Amo-te
Greek: S'agapo
Russian: Ya vas liubliu
Vietnamese: Em ye^u anh
Korean: Sarang Heyo
Hindi: Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hain
-->

Current song : Saigon Kick - I love You
Current Mood : Blogger's block ..Already !

With A Little Help From My Friends

2006-05-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

I always thought all I ever want from my friends is that they be game to have fun , do spur-of-the-moment stuff , take on challenges , say "Yes !! " before I say "Shall we?" to some crazy plan . I am lucky to have been blessed with such friends too . Like one evening couple of years back I returned to hostel after an evening clinic to find my friend P waiting for me .She looked thoroughly distraught and ofcourse all the credit goes to a some loser guy .One look at her and I knew she was near breakingpoint .Just when I thought she would burst out crying , she said "I dont want to stay here tonight." I was my most supportive and articulate self ofcourse . I went "What???!" In my defence, there arent too many places two girls can suddenly go to , at 9pm when you're living in a hostel in a small town where the only notable landmark is your college and the nearest station to anywhere is 20kms away . But was that going to stop us ? * ;) *

So off we went , caught a bus to the station . Over the next 45 mins , with the wind in our hair and the world in our eyes, we had our POA ready .We bought tickets to the nearest city . We yakked away through the night..all through our long wait on the platform..all through our journey in the general compartment .Through noisy catfights, enthusiastic pushing n shoving, in your face smoking, some pretty loud snoring, strange smells emanating , sudden jolts and long silent stops ....we kept talking . Eventually a comfortable silence ensued and she cried and slept like a baby with her head on my lap. By morning, she was a new girl. We hit the beach ..had a great time all day [ bunked classes, needless to mention ! ]
and went back to hostel with all the usual perks of a good trip , rejuvenated and happy and full of rocking ideas . Our lives were about to change and they didnt know it!

Our lives didnt change perhaps ..but we did have a blast . A lot many friends continued to indulge my crazy plans and I love them for it.My sister, I must mention , tops this category ! This would only be one half of the story though.

Life being what it is..there were many times when I was stood up, cancelled upon, dumped last minute , given lame excuses ..the works .Sometimes it stopped me..scarred me..annoyed me.But at some point it ceased to be an issue. I would shrug , pick up my bags , and leave for my trip with me ! What fun ! Each trip is a big story and there were many . Just all my train reservation fiascos would make up a looooooooooong kahani ! this continued into my internship when I did 36-48 hour duties straight ..but waited for the moment I could handover my pager and run to the station. Sleep deprived, starving and looking like something the cat brought in ..make that after a lot of clawing ..I would rush towards another journey .. taking in all the smells and sounds of the trip back with me..to carry me cheerfully through another few weeks of nosegrinding variety of work .

Um..I notice I've digressed .Yet again ! This was to be about friends !

So we go back.I always thought all I wanted from friends is guaranteed goodtimes .But I just had the hugest row with a friend today and realized what I want most of all is that "They dont give up on me.Ever.No matter what." If they do..I'd pick myself up..dust my dress and walk on..But I would rather we were walking on together , laughing away.There are a lot many things you can do by yourself and have toe curling , mind blowing fun. Laughter however is best when shared :)

PS:- If you are thinking of the Joe Cocker song from The Wonder Years , yes ..thats what the title is about :)

I Hope You Dance

2006-04-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

For someone who just wrote an entire post on how nothing is happening to her .. my weekends are awfully jampacked ! There is SO much to do .And SO little time really ! I'm sure there was some horrible mistake at the beginning of creation [or evolution .Whichever makes you happy, be you a Ross or a Phoebe ] and there were definitely supposed to be more hours a day or a longer lifespan or some such..But midway the Earth must have crossed some spacetime continuum and evolution must have gotten all haywire and made a mess of itself .[Alternatively, midway God mustve been paged for some emergency in a different continent ..flown over..gotten jetlagged and lost all his sense of time ..and said..oh Boy..wher was I? frowned , and set the dial all wrong ]. And now we suffer ! Life just isnt fair !!

I'm hardly home but I did manage to find time to change the template here and am SO happy with the new one :) Oh..and yesterday was World Dance Day [29th April] .. Do they have a World LeftFeeter's Day as well? Its unfair if they do not..Thats discrimination I say ! Not that I'm one .... Dancing is not my achille's heel..Singing is , remember?

Here's a song it reminded me of ..

Artist: Lee Ann Womack
Song: I Hope You Dance

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes,
I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

So when life offers you lemons ...
pickle them/crib/throw them at people/but whatever you do
I hope you dance .
[Read.."have fun doing it"] :)

Nothing Ever Happens

2006-04-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Nothing Ever Happens - Del Amitri

"Post office clerks put up signs saying "position closed"
And secretaries turn off typewriters and put on their coats
And Janitors padlock the gates
For security guards to patrol
And bachelors phone up their friends for a drink
While the married ones turn on a chat show
And they'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow

Gentlemen time please you know we can't serve anymore
The traffic light change to stop when there's nothing to go
And by five o'clock everything's dead
And every third car is a cab
And ignorant people sleep in their beds
Like the doped white mice in the collage lab

And nothing ever happens
Nothing happens at all
The needle returns to the start of the song
And we all sing along like before
And we'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow

Telephone exchanges click while there's nobody there
The Martians could land in the car park
and no one would care Close circuit cameras in department stores
Shoot the same movie every day
And the stars of these films neither die or get killed
Just survive constant action replay

And nothing ever happens
And bill boarding advertise products that nobody needs
While angry from Manchester writes to complain
about All the repeats on TV
Computer terminals report some gains
For the value of copper and tin
While American businessmen snap up Van Goghs
For the price of a hospital wing

And nothing ever happens
Nothing happens at all
The'll burn down the synagogues at six o'clock
And we all go along like before
And we'll all be lonley tonight and lonely tomorrow
And we'll all be lonley tonight and lonely tomorrow "

Its a great song ..but I dont like all that lonely talk at the end ..like its a really bad thing ! It could be fun too.You could do so many things ...like..hmm..err..blog? ;) It just occured to me that this is a really bad time for me to start blogging..Cause my blogs are reminding me of creative writing contests at school ! It isnt about me really..but it is too in a way.Just that NOTHING is happening to me at the moment .Oh soon I'll be boarding a transatlantic plane and flying all the way to a new country , so maybe its only a matter of time before there are classic tales of adventure and whatnots on my blog !..ha ha ;) After all the whole ' single desi girl in relocating to new country ' scenario just reeks of adventure ! So wait n watch ..shall we?

Come to think of it.....life at the moment is too perfect, too simple and it follows ..dead boring ! The last time this happened was four years ago..and I prayed like crazy for a complication..a twist...any kind .And the consequences were disastrous ! But its better still than perfect and predictable .

The other thing worrying me is I suspect I am growing up ! Only I cant be too sure cause some of the things I do arent very grown up things to do [ No..I'm not referring to those occasional endearing tantrums ;)] So if I'm growing up my blogs have zero chance of being fun ! Oopsie ...my life I meant ! Same difference ;)The blogs do reflect our life after all..even if they might be sprinkled with generous doses of flyaway imagination !

[Aside here : When I wrote uptill here I wasnt in very great spirits , as you can tell. Reason being I just read a book which ends in a 'Lady or the Tiger' style of ending .And everyone will agree that can be quite a dampener to an otherwise normal boring-in-an -expected-kind-of-way day .But I'm in great spirits again now .Reason being I spent past couple of minutes reading sumthing wee bit more interesting than my blog :))Quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy ..the original radio scripts !!! End of Aside]

So what I'd really love to do is something absolutely unplanned .Okay I do wake up about an hour later than I always intend to and I do miss the first half an hour of every movie on bigscreen and I never manage to plan journeys in time to get decent seats etc etc ..But thats NOT the kind of unplanned I'm talking about here !You know like Tricia Macmillan.Here she meets Zaphod.There he is asking her to go with him .Just one not-all-that -cool line and off she goes!Stopping only to pack her mice in ! How I would love to do sumthing like that ! I like to think I am likely to do sumthing like that..Go off on a transgalactic cruise I mean. Not elope with some loony guy .

There is just this one thing that worries me .The company. I mean Zaphod turned out to be all fun n dandy..yay to him..but what if he hadnt? What if I'm stuck with some realworld handkerchief carrying kinda guy , which with my kind of luck is a distinct possibility ?? OH MY GOD!! What would I do with him once he got beyond the point of bearablity and I got beyond the point of politeness ?I mean , isnt it quite cumbersome having a body to hide sumplace while on a transgalactic outing? I suspect it might be a tad inconvenient. If not for that ..I would be off on the cruise. On count zero !

Me Against The Music - Take 2

2006-04-27T01:13:00.000-07:00

Thats how I found myself with the drumsticks in hand dumming away with great gusto.Why it sounded all different from those songs I listen and airdrum to , I cant fathom.I must have said this out loud cause my music teacher says.. "Hmm..Interest is there. But sense is not there." THUD ..huh? What sense? As in music sense ?Boy ..you have no idea ! Just u wait !Henry Higgins!!

So I drummed away with renewed determination . He just nodded indulgently for a little while .Just when I thought he was reviewing his aforementioned opinion he politely
asked me to keep practising , shut the door and left ! :(((
I mean, I know he didnt mean a thing by shutting out my noise....but a weaker heart might have taken it as a less than encouraging sign no?

On Day Three ..I found myself enthusiastically plucking away at guitar strings. Please note I use the term plucking quite loosely because the note that resulted was all dry and prickly like someone dying a painful premature death and managing to let out only a strangled half cry :(
Half an hour of plucking and wincing later the teacher says, "I cant guarantee you will learn to play instruments well in 3 mths but if you sing for 15mins everyday..I promise your voice will open up and you will be singing like never before!"
My first thought "That sounds ominous." Thought Two "Huh..singing did he say? What singing? Perks with the deal ?Wokay !!!" Third "Wait a minute..How did he know my singing talent wasnt upto the mark already?" Fourth "Oh My God..Oh My God !!!..Do I have to sing alone ?" Blind panic replaced all hitherto budding thoughts.

Thankfully there was a comfortably large group of fellow scapegoats to drown my voice among , and the world is still in one piece . At the end of the marathon pop music spin session he goes ."Hmm..I guarantee if you practise regularly..you will play the guitar like a pro.Singing I cant promise." Is he trying to tell me sumthing ?

Apparantly he was. Yesterday he said, "You have the talent you know. You got the beat. You pick up the rhythm fast...". I took a minute here to mentally add an "I SO ROCK ." He continued "Now..if only u cud make all that drumming n strumming sound like music." :((( Waaaaaaaaaaah !! Is there no mercy in this world ?!!

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

*Disclaimer *: All selfdeprecation is solely in the interest of humour . Any resemblance to actual musical incompetence of the author is purely coincidental. And the author is ofcourse one day going to play for free in a concert in the city of Hyd as she believes in giving back to the community . She has also, to date , not been diagnosed with grandiose personality disorder.

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

"...the moment of passage from disturbance into harmony is that of intensest life." -- John Dewey

"Wagner's music is better than it sounds." -- Mark Twain
"Me too ! Me too !!" -- vish

Me Against The Music - Take 1

2006-04-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

It all began with one of those ads in the Sunday paper which catch your eye entirely by fluke..Add to that the fact that its been on my 'things to do before I get rheumatism of the small joints' list for a little while now..say about 15 years ,give or take a couple of weeks .Thats how I found myself haggling with the music academy to teach me to play the Violin in its entirety in 3 mths flat ;)

Vish :"Can I learn playing the Violin in 3 mths?"
The receptionist lady gave me an odd look.I guess it was really your standard dirty look , but it was a lovely morning and I decided to give her the benefit of doubt.
Receptionist :"Yes you can." Hurray !
R: "You wont finish learning the whole thing though.And you wont be able to play it at the end of 3 mths either .But you will know how to hold the Violin ."
Is it just me being paranoid or do I detect a tinge of sarcasm ?

V: "Eh? err..okay.In that case, can i play the guitar in 3 mths?"
R:"Yes..You can also learn the Casio in 3 mths."
V: "What? No..i dont want to play the Casio..guitar it is.Guitar can be taught in 3 mths right?"
R:" Or Casio." she reminded .
V: " Um.....No thanx.What else can i learn ?"
R: "Vocals . And Casio."
V: Vocals? hmm..naah..it will be an uphill struggle."
R :"So will Guitar be. Casio is easier."
Man !!! I'm almost done counting to 107 and she just dusnt get off the casio's case !

V: "Well ..You know..It sweet of you to mention it and all..But I'm NOT INTERESTED ! Why are you stuck on Casio anyway?"
R:"I'm not..You cud even learn Drums if u like."
V: "You mean I can learn both Guitar n Drums in 3 mths?"
I can see she instantly regretted ever having mentioned drums.
This time she does give me a clear and unambigious dirty look.
R:" What?? No no! thats difficult.Or maybe u can..just for funna ?"
V: huh? "Aa ..funne" ..I reply in golt .This finds favour with her.

R:"Do u sing? "
V:"You mean sing well? "
R: "Like professionally?"
V:" hmm..No. More like casually , solitarily..forlornly ..I might not have the best vocal chords but I have a great ear for music u know.....So I sing okayish..You wanna hear??"
R:"Uhoh..Okay...You can learn both Guitar and Drums. Tomorrow 7.30 ."

Clincher !! ;)

Space Dynamics

2006-04-19T01:11:00.000-07:00

Richa calling ...
Richa :Hi ! How was ur day ?
Adi :Nuthing great..just work,work and more work .
Richa: Oh..My day was allright too.
Adi : Cool.
Richa : So ? what else is up ?
Adi : The usual yaar..same old .
Richa : Hmm..so ? Last week was fun no ?
Adi : Yeah.
Richa : So...watching any movies this weekend?
Adi: Not really..hey Rich..gotta go ..sorry girl !
Richa : Its ok...no probs..where ?
Adi: I mean..hav to hangup..little busy now.
Richa :Oh! why dint u tell me earlier? You know u can always tell me !
Adi: Yes Rich..hmm..call u later?
Richa : Sure..what time?
Adi: Huh ? I'm not sure..tonite's busy.
Richa: Yeah? what are u doing tonite?
Adi : Um..nuthing..i hav to hang up..sorry.
Richa: Adi..wait..!
Adi :Yes ?
Richa : When do we meet up again ?
Adi : See Richa !..u remember that whole space conversation we had ? ?
Richa :Yeah.Ofcourse .I totally get it u know..I'm just like that as well..I hate it when people...
Adi : Richa richa..stop. .I'm sorry..but i need space. Okay ?
Richa : What? You mean me? from me? But even I want space..what are u saying? we hav space! We give each other lots of space !
Adi :No..we dont..u're not my GF Richa ..Stop sounding like one...I have to go now.See u around..
Richa: Call me later?
Adi: I guess..cya.
Richa..What time ?Adi..one sec..
hung up on me ???!

He dint want to be rude to her.She was a really sweet girl.Intelligent too...but well..she really was asking for it..He could sooooo see where this was all going..and he wasnt sure if he particularly wanted to go there.Now they would never find out.Though he shud feel guilty..all he thought was.."good riddance"!His space was very important to him.It was his most prized possesion.He hated these courtmarshalls and "so..how was ur day.."drills and microscopic scrutiny of his inconsequential daily schedule and weekend plans . .

Adi :Hey Anisha !!!
Nish :Hi Adi..hows everything?
Adi : Great..life's great.fancy meeting u here !
Nish:Yeah..was just out on some errands. So..Hows work?
Adi:Work's great..we have this new project we are working on..hey..did i tell u about my new boss?
Nish : No..where are u headed ? Panjagutta ?
Adi : No .I'm free..can i drop u sumwhere?
Nish: No..got my bike yaar..Your offer wudve been very welcome otherwise ..A car is so much more convenient in this pathetic weather.
Adi:Oh ok..where are u headed anyways?
Nish: Shopping..Listen..im getting a lil late..mind if i rush?
Adi:Shopping? oh..diwali time right? So what are u off to buy? clothes? I hav sum shopping to do as well.
Nish : I'm meeting up with Nina actually..in a little while.
Adi : Oh that friend of urs who works with TCS ? I know one of her colleagues really well.
Nish : Yeah? Nice..Hey Adi..i hav to go..find nina..c u again then .
Adi : Hey..what r u doing tomorrow? saturday off right?
Nish : Just meeting up withold friends..we're all jobless.
Adi :I know..me too! I cud join u guys I guess. Where are u planning to go?
Nish :We havnt decided..will let u know..
Adi: Sure sure..u'll call or wud u like me to call up?
Nish: Oh anything. I'll call u.hey..have to hurry now..
Adi : ..Uh..okay..what time ? Tonight right?
Nish : Man Adi ! I hope I am not being rude but WTH..Give me some space will you?
Adi : ???!!!!??

She didnt want to be rude to him.But he was well..asking for it.Pity really..he could be so much fun.But people who didnt take hints and latched on to her really got on to her nerves .Her space was very important to her!

Headcase

2006-04-19T00:25:00.000-07:00

I find that I'm happier living inside my head . At the very least , it has the whole "If it makes you happy,.......... . " arguement going in favour of it.

Mooning about

2006-04-16T03:31:00.000-07:00

A couple of nights ago..I went for a long walk and spotted this lovely full moon..peeking through the trees ..complete with halos..and clouds playing hookie with it ...looking amazing..It was so beautifull !!!

I started feeling all Ricky Fitts-ish .. Had to tell sumone rightaway.Since I dint have a video cam to record and show it off to any interesting member of the opp sex that I might chance into at a future date ..complete with quotes from American Beauty and all . I just settled for SMSing a whole lotta friends .

"Hey , See the moon today..its gorgeous..out of this world I swear! "

The replies and calls I got kept me busy for the rest of the nite . And its really true what they say .. "It takes all kinds of people."

# "I thought you said zero balance ?"
Oops !

# "Waaaaaaaah ...cant see no moon..am stuck on night duty in the OG ward"
Yeah ? poor you. am sooooo glad I'm done with that posting .

# "Whats with you ? Get a life . "
Gulp !

# " Missing me already ?"
Who are you ? what r u doing on my list ?

# " Yes..its awesome..isnt it? wish Addy was here..do u think he ever really loved me vish? "
ayyo ! agony aunt routine tonite :(((

# "Shit..its Eid already? I'm so dead."
huh..what ???

# "You never ever reply to my sms/calls/IMs..and now u want me to see the moon !"
Oh shit ! I sms'd EVERYBODY !!!

# "Saw it..whats all the fuss about?"
Like u'll get it even if i told ya , u neanderthal boor .

# "Sure..we cud see it better from that rooftop restaurant..what say..dinner at 8? " Now thats what i call an opportunist !!

# "I dont see no moon darling..Amazing number of stars though...Lovely day..Lovely party this..Hic "
Ofcourse .Its a saturday night.

# "Technically the moon was always out of this world as we know it ...orbiting planet earth .To be precise it orbits around the earth with a cycle duration of 27days.. Unlike the earth it does not have a revolutionary movement.Only rotatory.yak yak yak." I'm truly sorry.I shall never sms you about trivial happenings on earth or elsewhere again .Promise !

Remind me to kick myself before I go off the deep end and do sumthing like this again. :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mama's pet

2006-04-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

Top 5 reasons my mother could not possibly be my biological parent .

#5 She dusnt look a day over 25 . I'm 24 yrs old. You do the math .

#4 She is perfectly photogenic . Actually , so is my Dad. So is my entire tribe ...except me ofcourse. Not fair. One of them has got to take the blame for the bad genes ..right?

#3 She has this little mental countdown calendar in which she keeps striking off days till July....which is when I leave country .Yeah ! And I got this straight from her ! Arent people with first degree bloodties supposed to love you unconditionally and be loathe to watch u go?

#3 She asks me if Brad Pitt is single .
[ Yes, I can count .. konjum adjust ]

#2 While every-last-one of my classmates , juniors , childhood dosts....dogs ..fish ..everyone is getting matched by their mommies for prospective grooms..my mom just shrugs and says.."We cudnt do that to some poor unsuspecting soul.If u want to..go ahead....find one..we'll have no part of it tho." Seriously ! You'd think I was going to hunt a black buck and have it for dinner !But for this particular insult, [I've been assured by my friends its an insult..and a very bad one at that.]..I'm one hundred percent NOT complaining :)

The Top Number One reason why she couldnt possibly be my biological parent.. yeah bring in the karyotyping ... ..

#1 When I go off on long holidays and return all haggard and spent fully and fairly expecting a bearhug and some fabulous khana..and ask her if she missed me a lot..she looks up from her book smiling indulgently and says.."I enjoyed the space ".

????!!!!!!!!!???

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly. ~Ambrose Bierce

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his. ~Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895

All mothers are working mothers. ~Author Unknown

And lastly.....
"Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother." ~Oprah Winfrey

Leftist parties ...

2006-04-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

If I had to go out where there might be dancing ..I'd pick a guy who cant dance to save his life over a rocking Shiamak anyday . The Govindas n Jackson wannabes seem compelled for no fathomable to reason to exhibit every last single one of their snazzy moves [the dance kind ;)] on the floor before their hour is up.Whats up with that ? This isnt warzone u know !

I'd gladly have my foot repeatedly mercilessly stomped by a 'two left feet'-er any day of the year than be the cynosure of all eyes while keeping pace with the gyrating form next to me with the flailing arms n thrashing feet .It can get rather tiresome trying to have a good time or do a graceful cha-cha while intermittently ducking from any wayward limbs and hurtling bodies heading your way !!!

I mean..if I wanted to see status epilepticus..I'd go to the wards dont ya think ?

for a day

2006-04-13T04:45:00.000-07:00

Dogma

2006-04-13T03:47:00.000-07:00

September 2005

I'm not big on religion.Hell..I'm not even small on it. And I've never had trouble with the Big Bang Theory before..I'm especially fond of the name .Almost sounds like a five year old thought it up.

But sometimes...just on the odd day ..I get this eerie feeling that maybe thrs sumthing/sumone /sum God person after all. I mean just the other night..I was trying to get yahoo launchcast to work on my PC and it just wudnt .So I tampered with a few settings and got it working sumhow..but to my great disappointment the song display wasnt coming up.Whats even the point then ?! By normal standards I shud have given up around 20mins ago..but its music we're talking here ..so I persisted .Looked up help n realized I'll have to fiddle with the firewall and I dint really want to do that .

So I did the next best thing .I sat firmly in my chair...with grim determination..narrowed my eyes..wiped my brow .And went on a click-o-mania ! Kept relaunching it over n over.. All the while keeping my fingers crossed and absentmindedly chanting in absolute despo fashion ..plz plz please ..just show up..just show the song display ..plz just get fixed..get okay..show up. and suddenly there it was... Song Display!!!

I mean though I was actively working on it..I wasnt exactly employing any time tested strategy or any technical knowhow ..So I was pretty freaked out for a couple of minutes .I sat and stared and gathered my gaping jaw in remarkably good time and decided this was a freak accident in my karma cycle .God knows [metaphorically speaking] its not daily fare for me at all.

Okay this is so not a big deal and really is all about me & my yahoo radio but still ! I'm sure it happened to everyone sumtime ! [Dus that by default..rule out its miracle value?]

And what about the other time I dint want to go all the way to Kothi on an errand ..so feigned a headache ..and the very same bookshop got burnt down at the very same time i might've been there ??

So ..It was on these lines that I was thinking when my sister walked into the room and said..What makes u think you can tell mom what to do with me ? You're what..God now? And thats when realization dawned..That explains it ofcourse ..I'm God..or one of the gifted sidelings at any rate..

Be afraid .Be very afraid ;)
...

"When did I realize I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized I was talking to myself."(Peter O'Toole, The Ruling Class)

Jabberwock

2006-04-13T02:11:00.000-07:00

Jabberwocky

Perhaps I shud start with an introduction..I could go into a long story about how i first met jabberwocky on a long summer afternoon in my granny's house among some junk .But this isnt supposed to be that kind of a blog..So suffice to say..I met it. At 12. And was intrigued by it. More than the jargon it was Alice's response to the cheshire cat that struck a chord .Days of pseudo intellect started early you see. So..here's the whole deal.

Lewis Carroll (Through the Looking Glass)

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird,
and shunThe frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought--
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One two! One two!
And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead,
and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Alice to the cheshire cat ... "It seems very pretty," she said when she had finished it, "but it's rather hard to understand!" "Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas--only I don't exactly know what they are! However, somebody killed something: that's clear, at any rate---"
how very convenient ..

I spent many school afternoons learning it by heart... ..googled it extensivley later on...
And grew up to find jabberwockies everywhere.

Jabberwocky n Jazz

2006-04-12T13:52:00.000-07:00

Phew ! Turns out the 3 easy steps to creating ur own blog arent all that easy ! Every possible name/title/url is taken. Even the most outlandish garish ones .. The name I really wanted was 'jabberwocky' ...taken ofcourse...Then 'All that Jazz' .very much taken..it was all downhill from there..after couple of tries I was almost ready to settle for pleabian fare like my blog/journal/musings/ramblings /variations thereof ..rum n raisins / all by myself / pieces of me /piece of shit..anything .

Anyways..Jabberwocky and Jazz suits me just fine..as I'll be mostly talking about books and music .And movies ofcourse. And medicine .My clothes....shoes..chocolate ..And worldpeace ...;)

How much ever deep n different I want this to be..I'm sure I'll end up writing chickshit..err. chicklit .