Reelistically Speaking ...

"Well done, McDonalds" or "Why kids need to STAY IN SCHOOL!"

2008-07-28T15:27:00.003-07:00

I'm not a hard person to please. In fact, one thing that makes me very very happy is McDonald's McFlurry. It's a very simple, easy dish that involves mixing various chocolates\candy in vanilla ice-cream. My favourite one is the Smarties-Rolo combo McFlurry. It puts a satisfied smile on my face.

So, today, I go to McDonalds for the sole purpose of wanting something to smile about. After standing in the ridiculously long line (I still don't understand why people eat the other stuff at McDonalds!), I place my order. I look at the 14? year old in front of me who is about to make me very very happy.

First, she brings me 2 McFlurry's - one Smarties and one Rolo. I say, "No, I want just one, with both Smarties and Rolo." I'm still smiling at her, as this small setback is nothing compared to my happy feeling I'm going to get afterward. She comes back with the order and I leave.

Outside the building, I start to sense that it doesn't look like the colourful McFlurry I have grown to love. Maybe the Smarties are hidden underneath, as I saw pieces of Rolo on top. I took a bite.

Stupid #$%^ing Bitch! That was KitKat. Not Smarties. I like KitKat. But not in my McFlurry. I wanted Smarties. Seriously, how hard is it to get a simple order right??? I gave her not one, but two chances!!!!

Maybe I should have gone back and got it exchanged. Stand in line again for 20 mins till she screws up my order yet again? It's just a $3 item that does not seem like a big deal. But it's not about the money. I wanted my "happy meal" and she couldn't even comprehend my order. Why is she even working there?

I think kids need to remain in school and concentrate on being there. I don't understand why 14-15 yr olds have to get jobs and try to become independent. Yeah, they grow up faster, but what's the point if they remain stupid? When kids work while in school, they probably enjoy coming to work more, as they get paid, and then have their own money to spend on Pokemon cards and other stuff, while instead their parents should be getting them these things, so that these kids stay at home and study their books!!!!

The winner here is definitely McDonald's who hires these kids. The best kind of employees are the ones you can hire at $6 an hour and pay them $2 an hour instead, because their dense brains won't catch the difference anyway!

Waiting for the light

2008-04-04T03:46:00.000-07:00

It's dark
The world's asleep
I can hear the silence

I lie awake
Count the minutes
Clock's chiming in the distance

Floorboards creak
Furniture "pops"
The heater is a nuisance

Fearing
Then reassuring
It's just a matter of patience

Everyone's waking
The earth's rotating
Sun's here in all its brilliance

I've won this fight
But gotta rest for tonight
I'll yet be waiting for the light

Huffing and puffing

2007-02-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

Today was a beautiful day - a breathe of fresh air (literally). Usually, the weather around this time of the year is wet or dreary or chilly or wet or dreary or chilly. But today was perfect. A sunny day, clear blue skies, a cool breeze - exhilarating. I took a deep breathe to fill my lungs with the freshness in the air. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Cough cough cough!!!!

I turned to my left in disgust to find the culprit of my irritation - a 30-something year old female having a cigarette. Why anyone would find the need to be smoking on such a beautiful day is beyond practical reason, but to stand in the direction of the blowing breeze and thereby, cheat others next to her of their beautiful day is a worse sin. I stared at her, angrily. For a sudden, I felt most Harry-Potterish, as her cigarette proceeded to fall out of her hands and onto the dirty mud in front of her. "Serves her right", I thought to myself.

Without so much as a flinch, she calmly bent down, picked it right up and put it back in her mouth. And that's when it hit me - why smoker's smoke. They'll just about put any filth into their mouth.

Die smokers. Die.

(o)(o)

2007-02-04T01:15:00.000-08:00

It's so much easier to write when I'm in a bad mood. Here's what caused it.

Apparently, Americans find this picture offensive.

Seriously. I actually need a few moments here to get myself together before I can continue writing. What the fuck is wrong with these people???

Here are some reactions, just to give you an idea.

"I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one person wrote.
"I immediately turned the magazine face down," wrote another.
"Gross," said a third.

Gross??? What in the world is gross about it? It's a picture of a cute little baby breastfeeding. Why is that offensive? Why? Why? Why?

One mother who didn't like the cover explains she was concerned about her 13-year-old son seeing it. "I shredded it," said Gayle Ash, of Belton, Texas, in a telephone interview. "A breast is a breast — it's a sexual thing. He didn't need to see that."

First of all, lady, if you think you're 13 year old son hasn't seen a breast before, you are not naive, but plain stupid. Secondly, wouldn't you rather that your son see this picture and start associating breasts with something sacred and pure like feeding and nourishing babies, as opposed to the only other image out there that breasts are something that men whip out their dicks to jerk off at????

If you read the stories, there are many, that range from a woman being asked to get off a plane for nursing her baby to a woman being reprimanded in a food court for feeding her baby and asked to feed her baby in the bathroom instead, as it was offending people.

That's real nice. A poor baby can't be fed mother's milk at the food court while we stuff our fucking offensive mouths with fat-laden burgers. Classic American attitude.

Breastfeeding is highly offensive, while this is completely acceptable???

Bloody hypocrites.

I've got femail.

2006-12-17T04:02:00.000-08:00

I've always wondered of what use hi5 would ever be of to me and today, it played its part.

For the first time in my entire life, or at least that I'm aware of, I got hit on by a chick.

I've never been this flattered EVER. Not by any of the compliments or 'hit ons' that I've gotten from guys. They haven't even come close!

I can't reveal the entire contents of the message but let's just say she thinks I'm pretty and wants to do some rather interesting stuff with me the next time she's down in the Middle East.

Of course, her being a pretty hot latino chick helps the whole blushy 'n' gushy feeling. Daymn.

Too bad I don't swing both ways.

Or do I?

I can't change my past. I can influence the future. But for that, I need to be able to choose a freaking present!

2006-12-02T23:10:00.000-08:00

I first heard this sweet little rhyme from my dad:

The past is history
The future's a mystery
Today is a gift
That's why it's called the present

But no, this post isn't about poetry or tenses. I have a serious problem. (Well, what's new, eh?)

It's that time of the year again. I don't celebrate Christmas (or even New Year's for that matter) but the Ghost of Christmas Gifts seems to have possessed me.

As is common knowledge, I can count the number of close girl friends I have on one hand. (3 fingers, to be precise.) So obviously, the 100 odd (and I use this word oh-so-lightly here) remaining friends are all guys. (Go ahead, i'll say it with you. Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!) I don't have the fortune (or misfortune) of having any eunuchs as friends. Unless, of course, he\she (no pun intended) is doing a good job of hiding it; which, by the way, IS how I know all my friends - with their clothes on. Where WAS I again??!

Yes. Gifts. It is SO hard to find a reasonably priced gift that a man will truly appreciate. If you're buying for your lover (or the married man whose mistress you are), you can just buy yourself some sexy lingerie and it substitutes as a gift for the both of you. But to shop for a gift for other men??? Diffi.. nay.. impossible!

Don't get me wrong. I don't think guys are fussy about what they're gifted. I think most guys are glad about the fact that at least some girl, other than their mom, thinks they're worth spending some money on. But you can't get a guy something he really wants and likes without burning a hole in your pocket.

Once again, I'm not saying that guys are hard to please. In fact, it's our gender that has that reputation. I don't know how true that is either. I'm rather very very easy to please EXCEPT if I have sufficient evidence to believe that the 'gifter' concerned is loaded. (And by sufficient evidence, I mean my gut telling me, "He looks like a rich guy!") That's when I believe "sentimental and thoughtful" just don't cut it. But serious rich-guy talk aside, I'm 22 and I still love receiving soft toys as gifts. Same goes for artificial jewelry (some of which, I must admit, look better than the real stuff), cute looking stationery, cartoon merchandise or even hand-made cards, most of which can be bought under 20 bucks. Add another 20 bucks to it, and you've got yourself a whole year's supply of gifts for me. And I'll be thinking the world of you all year round. Marvelous, right? Thanks to Hallmark and Carlton and the female sex being the mushy type, most guys have it pretty easy.

However, is there anything you can get a guy for 20 bucks, or even 40, that he will want or even like? I don't mean to say that guys are ungrateful for the gifts we do get them, nor will they ask for the receipt to exchange it at the store; they just smile, say thanks, and put it away in a box somewhere till the next men-only garage sale. (I'm so sure they have these!) But there are just no I'm-on-a-student-budget gifts available to give guys.

I can gift books to my few book-reader type friends. But what about the rest? Guys like cars ('all the way to Mars and back' way over budget), gadgets and other technical gizmo (too complicated for me to understand and pricey too; plus if he wanted something, he'd probably already gotten it anyway), and girls. (I refuse to start playing pimpstress. It's just Christmas, not a winning Powerball ticket, for Christ's sake!)

So guys, please tell me, what exactly do guys appreciate as gifts, that doesn't cost me my kidney and won't end up in the designated men-only garage sale cardboard boxes? (In spite of how this entire post may sound, this is a genuine cry for help, "Help!"

Hrithik makes looking bad look really good...

2006-11-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

... and Bips makes looking hot look really cool.

Moo-V talk - brought to you by Ms. V.

This week's release:

If you're looking for something to exercise your mind, Dhoom 2 is definitely not for you. But if you're looking to get your hormones real excited, go for it.

Hritik has something that no one else does. We've seen guys with well-built bodies, and we've seen guys with great dance moves. But ever seen a guy with fantastic muscles moving with such flexibility? Add to that a good-looking face and you have a man to die for.

Since Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, I have been waiting for a chance to letch at him again, and so far, none of his other movies delivered. You can change my name if you're a chick and you're able to watch him rock the Dhoom Machale song without having drool trickle down your chin. Even my guy friends sitting next to me had their mouths open in awe.

The story is so-so if not predictable with some major flaws in the plot line (the biggest one for me being "why is only the Mumbai police force behind an international criminal?"). The movie does not have you "wowing" at the robberies unlike "The Italian Job", "The Thomas Crown Affair" or "Ocean's Eleven". But there is still enough in the movie to keep the adrenaline pumping.

For the ladies, there's Hritik for drop-dead gorgeous and there's Abhishek for rugged coolness. Uday Chopra does not do much for the hormones, but he provides much-appreciated comic relief. And for the men, there is Bipasha who is looking mindblowingly stunning. In one song, she's clad in an orange gown and all her sensuous moves turned ME on! Aishwarya does what she does best - looks really good and sucks at acting. Her first scene was so awkward, it was ridiculous. Ash can look hot but she cannot pull off looking cool. So, in my opinion, Bips with the lesser-character role, stole the show.

Nothing more to say about Dhoom 2 except one thing. Hritik, the superstar is back!

Last week's release:

Another movie I want to talk about a little is Vivah. I never really read any reviews but the titles to a lot of them conveyed the message - don't waste your money or time watching Vivah. I still went ahead to watch it. And I'm so glad I did.

Vivah was absolutely adorable. Though some scenes were very reminiscent of Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, since even Vivah had Alok Nath and Anupam Kher playing in-laws, Vivah came to me as a breath of fresh air. The story is very very predictable but that's not the point. The point is that even today, we still have a director who is willing to make a movie without a smooch scene, without having his female lead (or an item girl) almost naked, and without dhishum-dhishum of any sort.

Vivah will probably strike a chord amongst our parents' generation than ours. And I find that so sad. We expect our parents to change with the times. And yet we can't be open to what used to be part of our culture. Arranged marriages are becoming old-fashioned. A shy bride is becoming old-fashioned. A city boy marrying a village girl is becoming old-fashioned. Indian culture is becoming old-fashioned.

With all Bollywood movies becoming part of one huge glam-fest, I embrace the simplicity of films like Vivah with open arms.

(And people need to stop using the phrase "It's just another love story." Would you ever call your love story "just another"?)

Earlier this month:

A lot has been said about it, so I won't say too much. Shah Rukh Khan sucked as Don. I know it's unfair to compare this Don to the previous one, but I felt that the movie was almost insulting to the previous one. The biggest flaw of Don? Casting. SRK is not Don material. He may be a superstar, he may be King Khan (blech!) but he can never be Don. In fact, I think Abhishek would have made the perfect new Don and not just because he's Big B's son.

And is it just me or is there way too much of Boman Irani in Bollywood these days??? Get him off the damn screen!!! Seriously. What was Farhan thinking when he cast him to play the big villian in the movie? What a damper. One thing he did do right was give us Arjun Rampal - the actor. Behind the "I cannot describe in public the effect everything about him has on me" looks, body and voice, Rampal proved that he is taking his new profession seriously. I want MORE.

Earlier this year:

KANK. If you're not a Karan Johar fan, don't go watch this movie and crib about it. You know the kind of movies KJ is going to churn out, so why do you expect KANK to be something its not going to be? Ram Gopal Varma has his genre of movies. David Dhawan has his. And so does KJ. People just need to stop being stupid. I liked K2H2. I liked K3G. And so I liked KANK. As simple as that. (Though casting Rampal in a movie sure earns brownie points from me!)

Coming soon:

A movie I'm looking forward to is Kabul Express. I watched the promos and it's been a long time since a Bollywood movie gave me goosebumps. As I heard Arshad Warsi and John Abraham describe their experience shooting the movie, I was thinking "Man, these guys have balls!" The entire movie has been shot in Afghanistan, apparently the first movie ever to be fully shot there post-Taliban. They even said they actually witnessed live bombings. In one incident, John mentioned that they had been strictly warned to stick to one particular dirt-road and neither go slightly right or slightly left as there were land mines on both sides! All this in the name of movie-making? Very impressive to me. All that effort is well worth my money and more.

I will NEVER get over it.

2006-11-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

(Do not read post. Go read the news and fill me in on the fun stuff that's happening in the world.)

Some things time will never heal. I don't know why that is so hard for you to understand. Are you stupid? Insensitive? Or a whole lot of both? It's like when someone's been injured really bad. After some time passes, there's a scar left where he'd been wounded. In some cases, there's a little bit of pain that remains behind that scar to remind him for the rest of his entire life that he'd once been injured. You'd understand that pain, wouldn't you? Every time that person flinched when you punched him playfully on his once-broken arm, you'd feel bad for him and be glad it wasn't you, wouldn't you? So, is it because I don't have a scar to show as proof of being wounded that you don't understand? It's not my fault that I can't show you the hole in my heart. But how is it that this same you can understand the plight of your other friend who'd been dumped 5 months ago? He doesn't have a scar for proof. But he must obviously be in so much pain. After all, the love of his life just broke his heart. What's not to understand? That sweet little thing he knew for maybe a year or two walked all over his heart. That must really hurt. Not that another sweet little thing won't come right by and set it all right in a matter of time. But in my case? There are no replacements. This is not about some sweet little thing I knew for only 1/10th years of my life. And yet you don't understand. You just don't understand. Well, let me ask you just one question then. Do you have any idea what it's like to be sitting all alone in your room, away from your family and friends, crying on the day of the first death anniversary of your bestest friend in the whole wide world, and to receive a phone call on that same fucking day that informs you that your dad is dead? Do you have any fucking idea? No? Are you sure? It doesn't happen to everyone? Geez. Well then, the day you know what that feels like, you tell me to fucking get over it. For now, shut the fuck up.

He knew. She knew. They knew. I don't news.

2006-11-10T01:44:00.000-08:00

Over the past 2 weeks, I've been getting the feeling that everyone's beginning to believe I might be the female version of Michael Kelso. (For the uninitiated, there's Google.) There may be those of you who've had that opinion for a long time but you've just been wrong all this while. However, now, I wonder if "the people" (like they really matter!) might be right.

I've officially given up "The News". It's been a while since I've read a newspaper and I don't watch TV either. I do live on the Internet, but I don't waste my time hitting up news sites. So, in other words, I'm sort of cut off from world events.

Today, I was sitting on the couch, flipping channels to find something interesting to watch for 10 minutes while I relished my cold glass of pomegranate soda (somehow cold things taste so much better in the winter).

"...the Democrats have taken over the Senate..." - FLIP - "...and just a dab of rouge will help your beautiful cheekbones to pop out..." - FLIP - "...MOM! Milhouse is not my best frie..."

"Heyyyyyyyyy! Change it back!!!", screamed my roommate.
"What???? WHY? I don't want to watch the girl scream in glee over how beautiful her cheekbones now look!" replies I.
"Not that. I've already seen that episode. Flip it back to the news. They're talking about the Democrats' victory." whines my roommate.

Now here's what a penny would have gotten you at that point in time.
[Gosh. He's so slow. He reacts to everything 10 hours later. And he's already seen that episode? Geez. His "kind" puts me to shame! But I guess a Democrats victory is something his "kind" needs. Huh?? A Democrat victory? What victory????]

FLIP BACK. FLIP BACK.

"There was an election????"
Unfortunately, I said that out loud.
"Oh my goodness! You didn't know that?"
"Uhm... I don't really keep up with the news."
"What kind of lame excuse is that?"
"Uhm..."
"Well, the Democrats control Congress now."
"Yeah, I sort of gathered that."
"So, do you know that there's a storm heading towards Vancouver tonight?"
"Ohh! Really? Anything serious?"
"And do you know that Brad and Angelina are currently in India?"
"Wow."
"And do you know about the pastor who resigned?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, so you must have at least heard that Saddam's been given the death penalty, right?"
"?!?!?!"
Brain overload. Must sit down and take deep breath.

Okay, I lied. I didn't say that aloud. But I honestly did have no clue that there had been an election. So, had I admitted that out loud, the above conversation would have pretty much taken place. After all, the rest of the news bites mentioned above (which, I'd like to mention that if had been told to me all at once, would have followed that exact order of priority) were also told to me, courtesy: my so-up-to-date-with-current-affairs roommie. Except for the one about the pastor which I was tricked into reading online only because the headline had the words "sex" and "gay escort" in the same sentence. Enough said.

But yeah, as I was saying, I have cut myself off from the world. My friends probably watch the news but there are better things to do and talk about when we hang out. So, my only source of current affairs is The Dilbert Blog. In my opinion, if Scott doesn't blog about it, it's just not important! And about taking sides on issues, I stick with his. It's not like the media isn't biased, and I like him so much better than the media because he makes me laugh. So, since he hadn't really brought up the above issues, I was quite unaware. I guess now I understand why he was making all that fuss about the electronic voting machines.

Is it wrong of me? Am I being ignorant? I just don't care to read anymore about natural disasters and lousy politicians and wars and rapists or even miracle children and Oprah and China's booming economy. I honestly don't care. And I don't know why I don't care. Yes, it's depressing to hear about the horrible things happening to people (because some day that "people" could be me) and it's also depressing to hear about the great things happening to people (because I'll spend the rest of my time wondering why great things don't ever happen to me). Ohhhhhh. Eureka moment here. I don't care because it's depressing to care! Very well, then. That's the end of this post.

Just. Need. To. Write.

2006-10-31T22:05:00.000-08:00

I don't know what to write about. I just know that I need to write. This is ridiculous. I haven't blogged in forever. And it's not really because my life has gotten more meaningful. I just haven't "felt" like it. And that's scary. I've never really needed to feel like writing before. I would just sit in front of my screen and out would pour the words. So, what's different now? Is it the fact that I know no one's reading this anymore? Or is it just because I've lost my penchant for writing? I do know that I have a sort of ADD; I bore of things very easily. But writing is not just a "thing". It was never meant to be a fling! Christ, I'm writing a poem now. Anyway, I've decided I'm just going to force myself to write a couple of lines once in a while till I get the hang of it again. It's going to be a whole lot of boring crap. But you know what? I learnt something today. I need to do this for myself. Gosh. I should stop watching all those South Park episodes. It's stunting my creativity. That's only because I spend all my available time in AWE of Trey and Matt's creativity. Man, those two guys are simply brilliant! Seriously. Okay, that's it for today. Mmm-kay??

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky..."

2006-09-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

I believe the world is moving in the wrong direction. We all need to stop this whole education business and start honing our creative sides. You'll be amazed by what you'll find.

Who would have thunk that my hands could be capable of creating this???

So proud of myself. So. Fucking. Proud.

Wake me up when September ends

2006-09-12T22:58:00.000-07:00

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends

Like my father's come to pass
Seven years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends

Here comes the rain again
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are

As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends

Ring out the bells again
Like we did when spring began
Wake me up when September ends

Here comes the rain again
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are

As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends

Like my father's come to pass
Twenty years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends
Wake me up when September ends
Wake me up when September ends

- Green Day

Blogging from Frankfurt

2006-09-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Iäm on mz waz to Canada, and am transitting through Germanz. Germans have reallz weird kezboards. But thatäs not the point.

Anzwaz, I know Frankfurt airport like the back of mz hand. Okaz, I need to digress, but where in the world did that phrase come from_ I mean, who reallz knows the back of their hand_!_! Iäm not even sure if I know which one is the front and which one is the back of mz hand. But zeah, I know this airport prettz darn well. I know where to find the lounges that are not overßcrowded, and where to find the rare one or two computers with the free internet connection. A lot of people have walked bz me over and over again, in the hopes that I will vacate this seat soon. Little do thez know (unless thezäre reading over mz shoulder) that I have a six hour halt here, and that Iäm not going ANZWHERE for that span of time!

To be quite honest, this airport is reallz boring. The dutz free shops are too darn expensive. I donät think I can afford anzthing in Euros! Luckilz, I struck gold at Muscat airport. I found a 700 page book for the measlz price of Rial Omani 1.8 i.e. approximatelz Rupees 200. Well, itäs a sillz chick flick book, but at that price, Iäd read anzthing! (Zes, living in the west screws up zour sense of monetarz value.) Plus, Iäve been to this airport so manz times, Iäve seen everz nook and corner. In fact, if onlz I were travelling with a lover, I know all the nooks we could be hooking up in!!!

Itäs depressing to go back to Canada. First of all, leaving the comforts of home is NEVER fun. I mean, what was I thinking when I wanted to run off to foreign lands after 12th grade_!_ Secondlz, the weather in Canada is going to be equallz depressing. 3 pm is prettz much night! Ugh. Thirdlz, I have to studz, just to get a stupid piece of paper thatäs going to determine who I am for the rest of mz life. I think thatäs reallz sillz. In fact, over the past 3 zears, I donät think Iäm anz smarter or anz dumber. Education is overßrated. But thatäs another blog post!

Anzwaz, itäs the month of September, and Iäm getting on a plane. Weäll meet again if I ever get to the other side.

P.S. ß As the observant maz have noticed, the y, apostrophe, hyphen, and question mark are all grossly misplaced on this keyboard. No matter how well zou know me, it was not a purposeful attempt to make zour life miserable. Danke! (Thatäs German, not misspelt.)

Gaana bhajaana

2006-08-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

I love music. All kinds of music. And I'm not just saying that because I don't have an opinion. Anyone who knows me knows I'm never short of opinions.

So, when I say all kinds of music, it of course includes Bollywood music too. I love Bollywood music. It's just plain whacky! I mean, where else will you find songs like "Isne bola kem che, kem che, kem che" and "Jab tak rahega samose mein aalu"!!!

But there are some songs and melodies that really play with my heart-strings. Dil ko choo lete hain.. bollywood ishtyle!

In the song "Dekho na" from Fanaa, there's a small little tune right before the singer starts singing. In fact, the song starts with 3 different instrumental tunes... I'm talking about the 3rd one. I just love it!!!! It has such a beautifully romantic feel to it. Just makes me sigh! A similar effect was had by the ending chorus of the song "Kuch tho hua hai" from Hum Tum. I would rewind and replay the ending over and over again.

And then sometimes, the effect is more because of the singer rather than the tune. "Bheege hont" is a perfect example. It's a great song, no doubt (and I'm really trying hard to resist cursing that bastard Malik for shamelessly copying every single note from the original Pakistani version!) but Kunal Ganjawala sounds AMAZING! After that song, I looked forward to hearing that magic in his voice again, but just didn't find it. Until now... "Sabse alag" from the movie "Alag" is Kunal at his best again. He has a ridiculously romantic voice!!!

But nothing beats old Hindi music when it comes to beautiful melodies and lyrics. Here's one from in memory of Hrishikesh Mukherjee from his movie, 'Anand'.

"Zindagi... kaisi yeh paheli haay
Kabhi yeh hasaaye, kabhi yeh rulaaye"

Seriously funny

2006-08-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think that Pearls Before Swine is a better comic strip than Dilbert and Garfield!!!

Just check out these gems!!!

Tooting my own horn

2006-08-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Update: Pics up now

I wish I could toot a horn literally, and maybe someday I will. After all, the Arts bug has bitten me in the arse. The bug's been residing on my butt for a long time now, but has somehow recently decided to bite me good. (As always I digress, but I have a question. How many of you today use the word bum to mean the bottom? Because just recently, and after a really long time, I heard a grown up use the word, and it cracked me up like a five-year old!!! Okay, enough of gluteus maximus talk.) So, as I was saying - Arts.

I have always loved the Arts. I've been singing since I can remember (trained in Carnatic). I play the keyboard\organ decently. As hard as it may be for some to believe, I trained in Bharatnatyam for 5 years. And now, I'm learning to oil paint, and am also moving on to other mediums like oil pastels and charcoal. I alo started taking guitar lessons. In fact, I consider writing to be Art too, especially poetry.

When most people my age use their vacations to make contacts, take up training jobs or internships etc, I prefer to hone my creative side. After all, these are the last few years you can tap into it. Plus, as you get older, you also become less confident about your ability to pick up new stuff. Of course, there are exceptions, but the fact that I already whine about my fingers being too small for the guitar tells me that I'll have a billion and one reasons at age 45 about why holding a flute up at that position with both elbows up could be a bad posture at that age. I'm not an ambitious person. So, it doesn't make a difference to me if I'm working with Microsoft or with We-will-shortly-be-out-of-business-because-of-Microsoft. But the feeling of having completed a painting or mastering a song is undescribable. I'm probably not good at them all, but that hardly matters. I enjoy it and there's a definite feel-good factor about it, and that's what counts.

I can't share with you my vocal, instrumental or dance talents, and you've probably had enough of my writing, but I sure can show off my paintings, and with great pleasure at that!!!

Still Life (Oil Painting)

Usually, most beginners start off with a still life painting i.e. a couple of still objects on a table etc. My painting consists of some apples, a vase and a UBO (unidentified blue object).

At the Pier (Oil Painting)

This was my second painting, and I found it quite challenging because of all the detail. But I love it now because it's so colourful and alive.

Marketplace (Oil Painting)

This was my next painting after the first two, and I'd done the previous two a year before this. So, I was quite scared, as I thought I might have forgotten how to paint! Plus faces are always scary!!! But, not bad, eh???

Sunrise or Sunset??? (Oil Painting)

I've titled it thus because I don't know myself. But I know it's looking gorgeous.

At the Countryside (Oil Pastel)

This is the first of 4 oil pastel drawings. There's a sort of freshness about it that I like. And do check out the reflections in the puddles of water!!!

Snowfall (Oil Pastel)

If you look at it from a distance, it looks better.
Winter Beauty (Oil Pastel)

It's pretty. Me like!

Arab Lady (Oil Pastel)

I feel like I didn't capture the beauty on her face, but it looks like a face, at least!

Note: None of the oil pastels have been done on white paper. Can you guess the colour of the sheets???

Coronation of a Princess (Oil Painting)

This is my most recent painting, and I'm quite proud of it. You can tell the difference between velvet and satin, can't you???

Anyway, that's it folks. End of show. I'm currently working on one more oil painting. When it's done, it will be up! It's my best one yet (I hope).

Tagabond

2006-08-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Sid. It feels good to be tagged. First, let me complete the formalities of the tag.

I tag: my newest, dare I say, fans! Mise and Saikat.

Moving on...

I'm thinking about: where this world is heading to.

I said: that today's concept of true love is about as real as a mirage.

I want to: make a life-changing positive difference to at least one person's life.

I wish: life had been kinder to me.

I hear: voices in my head... all the time.

I wonder: how much more Time will change me as a person.

I regret: not spending every second of my dad's life with him.

I am: content with who I am.

I dance: when I'm alone.

I sing: every chance I get.

I cry: myself to sleep every night.

I'm not always: a bitch.

I make with my hands: Art - be it music, painting, poetry, baking etc.

I write: because I love to.

I confuse: being completely honest with "digging your own grave".

I need: someone to take care of me.

Boost is the secret of my ego!

2006-08-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

Ego restored.
Blogging resumed.

Ms. V khush hui!!!

Who will cry when my blog dies?

2006-07-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, I will. But, who else?

Change of plans, guys!

2006-06-28T03:43:00.000-07:00

Ok. So, I'm not REALLY in Germany. Well, I was. But everytime I tried to get out of the airport, they demanded something called a visa. No, not the credit card, because I showed that to them and got dirty stares for it. How dare they!! Like I would try to bribe them just for some stupid football tournament???? (Oh I SO WOULD!!!)

So, I'm home, in Muscat. And it's depressing. Exciting yet depressing. Home's not the same anymore and will never be. That's the life I've to live. It's inspired me to write a whole lot of depressing poems though. (Look out, RA.) I'll post them some time later.

Right now, there are only 2 things on my mind - FIFA and my cousin's wedding.

FIFA is awesome! (Gautam, you stupid fool. How is football boring??????) I hate the French and the English. I'm still rooting for Portugal to beat the Beckham team. Poor little cute Deco. I hope the other ruthless Portugese kill the Englishmen on the field, if not by tactic, then literally! They seemed to show some good WWE potential out there on that field!

All of you who doubted Ronaldo for even one second, go eat your hats. He is BACK in form. And has broken the record of 14 FIFA goals. That too in Germany. Ironic.

As for my cousin's wedding, I'm SO excited that I can't imagine how she must feel. I have yet to meet the groom, so if I don't give the green signal, he's in big trouble! I usually think marriages are a BIG BORE, but when someone so close to you is tieing the knot, it is exciting as hell!!!

So, anyway, I'm coming to India tomorrow - Madras and Bangalore, to be specific. So, if anyone is around there and wants to chat or meet up, leave me your numbers!!!

See you on the other side of the Arabian Sea.

GGWCF - So, the question of the day is...

2006-06-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

... how many people actually did NOT get carded in the Portugal-Netherlands match???

(Gosh. That's the dirtiest match we've had thus far, eh? But, what a match. WHAT a match!)

I AM IN GERMANY!!! WOOHOO!!!

2006-06-18T03:05:00.000-07:00

Okaz guzs. Zou are going to have to excuse mz spelling errors, because the Germans apparentlz think it's more important to have a Z on their first line as opposed to a Y. Anzwazs, I'm presentlz eating some reallz zummz football-shaped cookies!!! Let's see if I can catch a couple of matches or so. Look out for me on TV, okaz???

P.S. - I'm also sporting a football brooch to show mz passion! Let the games begin.

GGWCF - It's obvious that MEN came up with the rules to football!

2006-06-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

I'm not even going to bother to do a proper organized recap piece today because I'm pissed!!! Seriously, in which bloody world is it fair to pit 10 weak players against 11 good ones? Okay, forget their relative strengths. 10 versus 11? That's just lame, man. L-A-M-E!

And even the fouls are so questionable. I agree that the referee cannot be perfect, but sometimes it's so pissing off to see a player be given a yellow card because he bumped into the back of the opposing player while running. I know you sports guys aren't really all brain up there; so for your information, it's called INERTIA. (You probably never took physics though, so I don't blame you for not knowing.)

It's also amazing to see the player bumped into instantly fall to the ground crutching his ankle\wrist\crotch. No doubt that it hurts, but being a professional footballer, you'd think they'd develop some level of tolerance to pain, right? Even mosquitoes learnt to become resistant to DDT!!!!

Yeah yeah. So, it goes both ways. But it's not time to be doing probability here. It's about how a single mistake can make or break a team. And that's what happened today. When Poland lost Sobolewski, they lost their morale too. I don't think they came into this game thinking they could beat Germany, or even tie with them. But when they had managed that for 75 minutes, I'm sure they thought they could somehow pull off a draw with Germany. And that in itself would have been quite an achievement for them. But that referee just had to go and screw it all up. The minute the Poles were down to 10, Germany basically had a psychological advantage from there on.

Today, I am disappointed in the game. And I hate the Germans.

Auf Wiedersehen.

GGWCF - Superpower-LESS!!!

2006-06-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

June 12th

Match 1:

The winners - Australia (3)
The losers - Japan (1)
The game - I didn't watch this match. However, considering that the score at half-time was 0-1 with the goal in Japan's name, it can only mean that the Australians played a damn good game in the second half!

Match 2:

The winners - Czech Republic (3)
The losers - U.S.A. (0)
The game - Oh. What a game. It was a delightful one for anyone who is a CZE supporter! Or a U.S.A. hater such as moi. Every goal that was scored filled me with such joy that I wonder how the Czech Republicans must have felt. The Americans were the clear favourites going into the game. But the scoreboard told a different story altogether.
Men that matter - Rosicky scored 2 goals. He is also a 4/5 on the qutometer. I don't know about men on the American side because I don't really go for losers. Or maybe I'm just racist. Bah.

Now for the remaining recaps.

June 10th

Match 1:

The winners - Paraguay (0)
The losers - England (1)
The game - Yes. Technically, England won the points for the match. But it was hardly something to be proud of. "The best English side yet", the commentator reports. What they do on field could hardly be more of a contradiction. That one goal they got was sheer luck because the Paraguans were feeling a bit like deer-caught-in-headlights for the first few minutes of the game. But after the first quarter, the Paraguans were clearly the better team.
Men that matter - Owen (ENG) is a cutie (4/5 q.r.). But he did jack shit in the game. Beckham (ENG) is for those of you born in the 50s. Seriously. Valdez (PAR) has cute dimples (3/5 q.r.).

Match 2:

The winners - Trinidad & Tobago (0) and Sweden (0)
The game - I only watched it in bits and pieces but for a team that's participating at their first World Cup, T&T sure did a good job of not letting Sweden score.

Match 3:

The winners - Argentina (2)
The losers - Cote d'Ivoire (1)
The game - I did not watch this game. I did expect Argentina to win. What I didn't expect was Cote d'Ivoire to score.

June 11th

Match 1:

The winners - Netherlands (1)
The losers - Serbia & Montenegro (0)
The game - I did not watch this game. I just have one question though. How in the world is SCG a suitable acronym for Serbia & Montenegro???

Match 2:

The winners - Mexico (3)
The losers - Iran (1)
The game - I did not watch this game. But I have been told to regret that I didn't.

Match 3:

The winners - Portugal (1)
The losers - Angola (0)
The game - This pretty much looked like a recap of the ENG-PAR match. Portugal get lucky with an early goal and then pretty much suck through the rest of the game. The funny thing is that the Angolans weren't even all that good. They really need to work on their scoring-a-goal-in-the-vicinity-of-the-net skills. So, basically, it seems that either the Portugese were just being way too casual since it's just a Round 1 match, or they really aren't that good a team.
Men that matter - Loco (ANG) is following the footsteps of Beckham and Ronaldo of setting new hairstyle trends. A 1/5 q.r. though.

The Girl's Guide to World Cup Football - Introduction

2006-06-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

Yes. This is a post about football. But since it is being written by a girl, it can actually be understood by the masses. You will not read about throw-ins, corner-kicks or the off-side. You will also not read about forwards or wingers. Though you may read about cute guys who happen to be forwards or wingers. What you will definitely read about are the winners, the losers and the cute guys on each team. So, if you are a self-proclaimed football expert, you might as well sod off.

A few basic things to know before you read on.
1. A football field is usually green. The colour of the green depends on the type of grass and the angle of sunlight rays falling on it.
2. A football game is played between 2 teams of 11 players each. So, excluding the goalkeeper, there should be 20 men running around the field. There are times when there may be say 19 men only. Do not be confused. Someone has just left the field to pee. Okay, not really. There are technical reasons behind that; nothing to break your head over, really. You can be rest assured that the 20th man will be back!
3. A football game is 90 minutes long. Therefore, half-time is at 45 minutes. However, extra time is sometimes added on by the referees for fun. After all, more time, more excitement.
4. A cute-o-meter a.s.a. (also spelt as, for further reference) qutometer should be self-explanatory. This has nothing to do with the official game of football, per se.

So, to recap what has happened uptil now...

June 9th

Match 1:

The winners - Germany (4)
The runners-up - Costa Rica (2)
The game - What a GREAT way to start the FIFA World Cup. It was honestly one of those you-can't-take-your-eyes-off-the-screen-for-a-second matches! Trust me. I was trying to make a sandwich to eat while watching the match, but I couldn't get to it till half-time. There were 2 goals scored (1 each) in the first 10ish minutes. And even though the Germans were clearly the better team, the Costa Ricans were in no way losers. This game made the 4-year wait worth it.
The men that matter -
1. Klose (Ger) - Scored 2 out of 4 goals for his team. Scores 2 out of 5 on my qutometer. But then again, I just don't really like blondes.
2. Frings (Ger) - Scored 1 goal but with great style. And that counts!!! 1/5 on my qutometer, though.
3. Ballack (Ger) - 4/5 on my qutometer! He's as cute as a button. (How the hell did this phrase originate???) So, you can keep gushing about him, and the guys will pretty much nod their heads in agreement, because he also happens to be a class player.
4. Wanchope (Crc) - Apart from having a really cool last name, he scored both of Costa Rica's goals. 2/5 qutometer reading (q.r.).

Match 2:

The game - I did not watch this game. All I know is that Poland shouldn't have lost 0-2 to Ecuador.

To be continued...