Found my Daemon

Last month

A lot happened last month. First was an agonizing wait for my Advance Parole to be approved and then endless shopping for chocolates and knick knacks. What do the 2 have in common? I was going HOME after more than a year! :D Happy me!!!!
Though there was a lot of anxiety over the Advance Parole, I managed to get on that airplane in the end. Got picked up at the airport by Elf's sis. What a cutie pie she is. Oops! Forgot to mention the whole reason for going to India. My brother in law's wedding. So you can imagine the hustle and bustle. The wedding was at Trivandrum, which is the capital of Kerala. A whole 11 hrs away from Calicut. Needless to say, it all went well. Had fun with R's cousins. Don't remember laughing so hard or joking around after my grad days.
I cannot begin to describe the shock I experienced at seeing all the changes back home. Remember that attack of nostalgia I had described earlier? All that vanished into thin air. Poof!!!! The face of Kerala has changed, with clumps of high rise apartments doting the skyline like unwanted warts. I hated it. My tiny house sits in a tiny lane, so tiny that it can be considered a one way lane. And in that space, there are 4 - 5 apartment blocks. And the price of land has skyrocketed. Much as it is good news for me, I feel sad at the way the place has transformed.
Now back to my Advance Parole. My husband's company sent it to Bangalore and so we had to postpone our tickets, lose some money in the bargain and then pack our bags and head off to Bangalore 2 days before we had planned to leave home. Bangalore was another shock, the same story being repeated, except on a bigger scale. :( Shopping, which I used to think was cheaper in India, turned out to be just as expensive as back here. The only good thing that happened was that I got to meet 2 of my dearest friends. It felt so good to sit and blabber my heart out. :)
After all this, I was so eager to get back, even NJ seemed way better. Guess am a proper NRI now, living the American dream.
PS - It did not rain even one day while I was there. :(

I met the Angel of Music

Last night in NYC. Ha ha ha! Don't think I have gone crazy, but to some of you out there, that name might strike a bell!
The Phantom of the Opera is what am talking about. The longest running musical on Broadway and I finally got a chance to go watch it last night.
Needless to say, I loved each and every thing about it. The set, the characters, the costumes. They were brilliant, and the music - mindblowing!

That's one off my list of broadway musicals to watch.

Lost forever? Not quite....

Ever wonder where all the unclaimed baggage go to? What happens to all those clothes, knickknacks and jewelery? I used to think they would eventually be destroyed, what with the security regulations at airports and all. Apparently not!
All these "lost treasures" end up in a huge warehouse in Scottsboro, Alabama. The place is as big as a city block and the items are put up for sale at very low discounted prices. People from all over US travel to this sleepy town in search of bargains. Stories of finding hidden treasures sewn into the seams of suitcases are not so uncommon. They seem to have found a lot of unusual objects from a diamond mounted on a platinum ring to 500$ tucked inside Barbie's head.
Sounds really interesting, doesn't it? Sweet home Alabama! ;)

A weekend in the city......

NY is what am talking about. After leaving my job, R and I seem to be spending more time in the city during weekends than ever before. I have to admit I have fallen head over heels in love with NY. The old buildings, the bustle of people and the charming parks have captivated my heart like no other place has. Each time we go, we find something new to do - let it be dining or movies or....well, let's just say dining! :D
Well, this weekend was no exception. Saturday night was spent at this very charming restaurant called Aspen. I was completely bowled over by the decor. The food was excellent and the service - impeccable. Needless to say, we left the place feeling quite sated and in no mood to do what we set out to do - the famous Brooklyn Bridge walk. :) But that did not stop us from going to Max Brenner. This is one experience which I feel every chocolate lover has to go through. Oh man! The chocolate crepes (Parisian style) were absolutely sinful! For all you ignorants out there - Max Brenner is this chocolate cafe set in Times Square. The place goes by the name - Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man! But do not be fooled. There is no bald man! It is all a marketing gimmick by 2 Israelis, who started this place in Jerusalem 10 years ago. The bald man that you see in Oded Brenner, one of the 2 founders of the place. That is one place I will visit over and over again. Cross my heart and hope to die! ;)
We ended the night watching a hilarious French movie called Le Diner de Cons. I have had a brush with French movies while I was a kid and I thought they were quite original. This movie is a laugh riot from the beginning to end and the actors are brilliant. Well, so ended Saturday on a high note.
Sunday was again spent in the city. I had been waiting for long time to watch Vanaja ever since I read about it. The story as such is OK and the movie tends to drag at times. But the actors - they were brilliant. The young girl, the landlady and the maid were amazing and I guess that was the best part about the whole movie. They are not mainstream actors but I felt the director has done a brilliant job bringing out the best in them. At the end of the movie, we met the girl who played the role of Vanaja. A very sweet and shy person. :)
After the movie, we did do the Brooklyn Bridge walk. Yesterday was perfect in terms of weather and the walk into Manhattan was quite romantic. I was just sad that it ended too soon. Gotta do this again!
I have come to the conclusion that eating is a big part of the whole experience of going to NY. The place is filled with restaurants and yesterday's dinner was Thai food at this tiny but highly rated joint called Pam. Good food and good service all over again.
Well, what more do I need to say? I am having the time of my life! And the next time I go, I think I should get one of those wildly popular t-shirts which declare - I Love NY! Coz indeed I do!

Poo venam...

Does anyone remember this song from the movie "Oru Minnaminunginte Nurungu Vettom"? An oldie. I have been listening to old malayalam songs nowadays and I came across this one.

The movie itself is a lovely story about a childless couple (Nedumudi Venu and Sharada) who adopt Parvathy and how their lives change after that. I remember watching this when I was a kid. Directed by Bharathan, it is one of those movies which stay in your heart forever. It also got Venu the state award for Best Actor.
Well, the waves of nostalgia just keep coming....:)

PS - For some reason, the embedding has been disabled. Hence the link.

50th random post

I wanted to post this, just for the heck of it! :D
While talking to my long-time married friend about shopping, she remarked:

"Oh, I can never go shopping with X. His taste is so different from mine. If his wish were to come true, I would be walking around in micro mini skirts. And to think - most husbands are happy if their wives would not expose too much....but mine is just the opposite!"

Now that is worth a thought! ;)

Happy Onam

"Hridayam niranja onamshamsakal" to one and all.
I had a wonderful Onam a day ahead of the actual one. On Sunday to be precise. And since my apprenticeship last year, I have come a long way. Actually cooked on my own, that is :D
Made sambar and calan and payasam. Had a very nice onasadya with R's cousin cooking the rest of the kuttam.
That was for lunch. To make up for the overdose of authentic Mallu vegetarian food, we decided to end the day with chicken biryani. Yummy yummy! Right now, my life is all about good food and TV and a lot of unwanted but blissful sleep. :) Life is GOOD!

Chill Out...

Literally!
Dubai's Chillout is an ice lounge and the first of it's kind in the Middle East and the ninth in the world. Well - it is THE latest hangout place and no wonder - everything in there is made of ice! Can you believe it? And when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING including the chairs, tables and glasses. The temperature is a chilly -10 deg C.
The place seats 40 people and the cover charge is 65 dirhams (17 USD) and this includes winter gear, disposable gloves and boots and a free drink. The employees of the place are from Russia and Romania. 50,000 kgs of ice has gone into building this room.
Here is a video of what it looks like.

Facing foreclosure?

Be careful about what you do in the US.
Most of us who read/watch the news know about the fallout in the housing market. As more and more people find it difficult to meet the monthly payments, they wish to bailout. And usually, they do this by selling their house for less that what it is worth and getting their debts canceled. Well, sounds reasonable, does it not? But there is a catch. The IRS will send you a tax bill on the amount of debt canceled since this is treated as an income. (Form 1099). On the other hand, if the debt were to be canceled after declaring bankruptcy, this will not happen.

Well - the first thought that came to my mind was - this system is really screwed. I mean - people who cannot make the payments are the ones who sell their houses and move on. And it is not like everyone gets the whole amount back. But then, thankfully you can appeal against this and prove that you are insolvent and win.

Read this article to know more.

Pure "dabbankuthu"

ha ha ha! I watched this song while I was in Cyprus. Must be one of the most colorful songs ever. Notice the people in the background? It is all a matter of perspective

Am I homesick?

I guess I am. Coz for the first time in 6 years, I feel like going home. I miss Kerala. :( Onam is around the corner and my parents keep telling me that its been raining in Kerala all this time.


I miss the rains - the kind that starts one evening and doesn't stop till the next. Miss traveling on a highway while it rains so hard that you can barely see what is in front of you. I used to sit near the window and watch the rain fall.
I miss the small lanes that you have to travel through to reach a house. Villages in kerala are famous for their 'ooduvazhikal' - small mud roads that are too narrow for any car or bus. Its fun to walk through them with both sides of the road covered in green.
I miss the greenery, the wild growth of plants and coconut trees in each and every house. :)
I miss the roadside vendor who sells you tender coconut water and tries to overcharge you at the same time. :D Gosh! what fights me and my friends used to put up, all for saving a buck. Hahaha
I miss the small quaint temples. Going to one of these hidden in the country side is mind calming in itself.



On a different note, this song is a beauty. Though R says that the lyrics don't make sense, I love the song for its music which is by none other than the maestro Illayaraja. It is from the movie "Achuvinte Amma" and has Meera Jasmine and Urvashi in the lead roles. Directed by Sathyan Anthikad, this is a story with a twist. Well, there is another reason to love this song. Watch it to know why. :D

And in the news today....

A man in Houston ordered flowers on 1-800-FLOWERS for his girlfriend and a Thank You note gets sent to his house, which his wife picked up. Already undergoing divorce, the wife promptly doubled the amount of cash settlement and its costing him half a million now.
Well, what does our man do? Sue 1-800-FLOWERS since they breached his contract not to send anything to his house and collect 1.5 million as damages.
Phew! Such shocking terrifying heartrending news, isn't it? Ha ha ha, I have to admit - the American News channels do give Malayala Manorama a run for their money.
PS - I watched this snippet on NBC news. :D

Woman Power

In a land where Muslim women are literally kept under wraps, this woman really stands out. Majda al-Bahr, is a Muslim taxi driver, that too in Jerusalem. That is something remarkable and her courage is outstanding.
On my trip to Israel, I ended up going to Jerusalem with a young Israeli Arab as my guide. At the end of the day, we became very pally and he showed me his wife's photograph. But he would not show it to any of the guys in our group claiming only his family members are allowed to see her and no other male can look at her. At first I thought he was kidding. But he was not. (And believe me - She was HOT! ;) ) That is when I got a taste of how conservative these people are.
Need I say more? Read this to know what I am talking about. Hats off to Majda!

Go Mallus!

Casablanca is being remade as an Indian movie.
The language? Malayalam
Actor - Suresh Gopi (Woo Hoo :D)
Actress - Mandira Bedi (YUCK!)

One movie to definitely look forward to. Read this to know more.

New World! New Name ;)

One of the funniest ads I have ever seen! Made me laugh my head off the first time I saw it!

Enjoy!!! :D

5 things I hate....

at the workplace

1) Food at your desk - Gosh! How pathetic and gross! The smell, oh the smell! Food, especially Indian and Chinese food stinks when you have it at your desk. Don't people just get that? Food is to be had at the cafeteria, not at your desk!
2) Kids - No, I do not work at a Montessori, thankfully! Not that I don't love kids, but when I am deep into debugging, hearing my neighbor's kid test his/her voice box is not what I need! If you need to pick up your kids from school/crèche/party or whatnot, pls do drop them at your place or take the rest of the day off! The office is not for them to run around. And we are not here to amuse them. Sheesh! Talk about saving on baby sitters!
3) Conference calls - No one can escape these. I have more than enough in my calendar; I do not want to listen to yours! If you happen to attend a conference call, at least use the phone receiver or use a headset. We get more than enough of our share, thank you very much!
4) Blah Blah Blah - OK, admit it! Everyone loves to talk! But talking in your mother tongue for the rest of the world to hear is not really exciting for us. Save that for your home/fun time!
5) Not refilling the coffee jugs - In spite of the new coffee jugs, there are times when I find them as empty as they can be! :(
The rest of the things that happen there - well...sigh! That is a whole new story

To lead a team....

Well, as most of my readers know, I do not have tons of work experience. This is my third year and in these 3 years, I have worked under 3 – 4 GLs. Most of them were cut from the same cloth but there was one who stood out. Maybe he is not exceptional when compared to the other people I have not yet worked with, but for me he was someone special.
Consider this – am a new employee, barely in the company for 6 months and I get thrown into a new project. My team lead, let’s call him C, gives me small tasks in the beginning and then later he starts pushing me to do bigger better tasks. Soon, I was leading a small team from the client side into learning, and setting up their environments for a new project. He made me the focal point for the client to interact with. All that aside, he never questioned me about the status of the tasks assigned to me. I never felt I was working under pressure, even for the tiniest of the tasks and he trusted me implicitly. Whenever we faced issues, he would first make it sound like a joke and that set the mood for the whole team and made our work easy.
After 1.5 years of freedom in that team, I moved on to another team. It is the same product that am working with and the work is fairly similar. But here, the tables are turned. I feel as if am a novice and in our team, the team lead acts as if he is the only one who knows stuff. Well – R, the team lead, even goes so far as to review our mails before sending it to the onshore team! :O
Talk about trust. He goes to each and every person and checks what they are upto, sits with them to solve issues, sits up late debugging issues which we are supposed to solve!
Everyone calls R Super SME (SME being Subject Matter Expert which is the lowest rank of programmers!) OK – everyone appreciates his efforts and frankly – I think his team members are happy he does the work for them. I was horrified in the beginning. Thankfully, I was there with him only for one month and I moved to the US.
But this is what I felt during the whole time. When it has been proven over and over again that every member is capable of doing his job, why does he come and breathe down our necks? Is it lack of trust? Is that what makes people micro manage? If so – am sorry, but I find that whole concept repelling.
I was chatting on the messenger with C yesterday and I realized how much I miss him, and the work that we used to do. There, we were all equals because we were free to toss ideas around and he treated us with respect. A respect which we returned tenfold, because at the end of the day, we knew that he was the expert. Well, though R is an expert, am sure no once can say the say about him. He just does not let others grow.

Am not going to tell you what I learned from this…..coz I am not an expert, yet! But someday…..

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

AM SO PISSED I COULD BASH SOMEONE'S HEAD IN!
I mean - WTF! I HATE people who honk at you while you're driving. Yea Yea - you might ask how the hell I managed to survive in India?
Hmmm - let me put it this way. In India - everyone honks...the place is in a constant state of noise pollution. But here, as in US, people honk at others when they wanna say - hey, you made a mistake. OK - am fine with that too coz I did hear a couple of them during the early days of my driving.
But listen to this - here I am, in my car, waiting to get onto the main road and believe me - lunch time is not exactly the time when roads are free of traffic. This car comes and stops behind me and starts honking at me! :O
What the hell does he want me to do? Get onto the main road in between all those cars flying by? I had been in such a good mood after that awesome lunch and a nice mallu comedy movie! All that went flying out of the window!
What is it with such ignorant bull headed pathetic losers anyway? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Christie's charm

"An archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have. The older she gets, the more interested he is in her." Guess who said this! :)

From God's own country

Came across this particular image which going over my friend's blog. Quite eye catching! It is an ad by the Kerala Tourism Board which says - "Sometimes it take water to kindle a fire".
I quite liked it :)

Dancing like Buddha

This video is quite an old one and I recently stumbled upon it again. Knowing pretty well how difficult it is to achieve a level of synchronization for a dance, I feel this is the heights of perfection. The dance never ceases to amaze me and when I first came upon this, I remember reading that the performers are blind! No idea how much of that is true, but no matter what, this is worth more than a glance.

glumbert.com - Dancing like Buddha

Cups of Java

Our office got new coffee machines last week. Earlier, the kitchenettes used to have those old coffee percolators which had to be refilled each time 5 people decided to have coffee. There was a mail last week that the vendors have been changed and the new coffee is supposedly roasted in Champaign and brewed right under our noses, in the kitchenette of course.
There is a new contraption which churns out the coffee which is then stored in huge canisters. The difference? I do not have to refill the percolator every now and then and there is more coffee made at one time. Old coffee in new jugs. That is what I thought.
Unfortunately, I could not make out any change in the taste and there seem to be more people thinking like me.
I was standing in the smaller kitchenette, sending some documents by fax when one of the senior managers came in. The guy from admin also happened to be there.
This is a part of the conversation that took place there.
Old guy: "Joel, what is it with these new machines? The coffee tastes the same to me! What change do you claim to have brought about?"
Joel (the admin guy) has no answer and being the tricky old fellow that he is, he says, "Negative, I am not going to answer this. You know, there is a saying - some people would complain if you hung them with a new rope. That is the situation here."
:)

Why use Gmail???

Almost everyone has a Gmail account now and I never thought in my wildest dreams that Google would advertise this!
The funny thing is, I did not bump into this video while checking out videos at YouTube. I was checking out the online edition of WSJ when I came across this. Damn good I must say! The marketing strategy.

On the way to office....

I have gotta write this now. Am still giggling after the tiny nerve wracking experience that I had. Nothing great! Am a relatively new driver though I can claim to have gotten my drivers license 9 years ago. Was driving my cute little Rabbit (the name of a VW manufactured car for all those ignorants out there) at around 40mph and listening to a nice rocking Mallu song, when I came across a bend and saw 2 ducks waddling across the road. Was a little too late to see them but fortunately (for them & me & the people who clean the roads) I managed to brake soon enough.
Drove the rest of the way with a silly smile on my face. I think I still have that on my face :D

Ghosts of the Library

Illinois is the Lincoln State and Springfield, which is the capital of IL, boasts of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Lincoln's Tomb and his house.
Saturday afternoon was spent at the Lincoln Museum. The museum is not large as museums go, but it does give you a very good insight into the life and lifestyle of this great person through various shows and exhibits.
The best part, according to me, was a show called Ghosts of the Library - a holographic show with a live curator/historian which lasts for 30 mins. The curator/historian goes on to explain why people are still interested in collecting memorabilia like letters, music boxes, journals etc from the Lincoln period. The show is made magical by the 'ghosts' who seem to wander out of books, the quill that starts writing in the air in Lincoln's handwriting etc. The ending of course was quite a surprise which I will not share with you. You need to watch it to know what am talking about.
The Presidential Years' Exhibit starts at the White House where you find the Lincoln family waiting to greet you. The first room has Mary in her evening gown and as you go in, you pass through various parts of the White House, including the kitchen. A very striking lifelike exhibit. At one point, you pass through a room where you find Lincoln in his office introducing the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. The whole thing seemed so lifelike, I felt someone would move any second now and ask - 'Young lady, what do you think you are doing in here?' :D Amazing work indeed.
The Pre Presidential Years Exhibit starts at the Lincolns' log cabin with the much heard scene of Abe learning to read as the family slept at night. It takes you through his life as a young man and of his years as a lawyer and how he met Mary and so on.
Another show called Lincoln's Eyes was a fully automated special effects show which focused on the personal and political dramas and the key issues during Lincoln's period. As you come to the start of the Civil War, cannons start booming and your seats start shaking. Very theatrical!
There is more to the place like an exhibit of Lincoln's personal items, a play area for kids called Mrs Lincoln's attic and of course, the cannot-do-without gift shop!
Did you know that Lincoln had 4 sons, 3 of who died? Two of them died when he was the President. After Lincoln's death, Mary was declared insane by their son and taken to a mental institute. Well, quite sad, I must say!
Abe Lincoln lived during a time when the whole nation was divided over the slavery issue. But in the end, in spite of receiving practically no support and all the personal tragedies, he triumphed. Well, we all know who he is and the museum just got me a step closer to Abe and his family.
It was an afternoon well spent.
On a lighter note, we also bumped into a lot of people dressed in green - green hats, green pants, green jackets, green blouses, green beads, green headgear and believe me - even green streaked hair. St Patrick's day and they were waiting for the parade to start. Was quite funny. As the chef at the Japanese restaurant put it, when we went there for dinner - "Are you Irish?" "No", said the man wearing green beads. Pat came the reply - "Oh, just for today, eh?" :)

Easter & Cadbury Eggs

One of the funniest stories that I have read in a long time is this. Thieves made off with a truck containing Cadbury's chocolate eggs at Staffordshire, UK. Well, the haul has been estimated worth 70,000 GBP.
It is not the fact that the driver was tricked or the truck was stealed that makes it funny. Is just the fact that it was a whole truckload of chocolate that was stolen. Admit it, you do wish you had been one of the thieves, don't you? Well, I know I certainly do.

Me! Just me

Got this from wanderstruck's blog. :)

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How weird am I?

I always thought I was weird (secret longing perhaps!). But my close friends kept insisting that am as sane as they come. Now this site also says am not weird! Am sad! Am heartbroke!

You Are 30% Weird

Not enough to scare other people... But sometimes you scare yourself.

How Weird Are You?

Check out and tell me how weird you are! Maybe there is hope still :D

Slave Britain (BBC)

It is shocking and yet so touching! Makes me count my blessings for sure
Check this out!

Vulture Funds

Money! Guess that is the only truth for most of the human race. On one hand, we squander all our savings on petty things like flowers and chocolates for our loved ones while on the other, the only thought running through our mind is how to get a bigger piece of the pie.
Till I read this article on BBC, I did not know that such things as Vulture Funds existed. Vulture Fund companies buy the debts of countries that are in bankruptcy situations. These companies buy the securities for a factor of what they are worth and then try to get back the amount by suing the debtor for an enormous amount.
Consider a poor country like Zambia. They took a loan to buy tractors from the Romanian Government and now the Vulture Fund company is suing them for $42m. According to the article, it was the Romanian government that had given Zambia the loan and then they sold the securities to the Vulture Fund company for less than $4m.
In this era of decadence, it is no surprise that Vulture Funds seem to thrive by preying on the weak and the needy. Allegations are rampant that it is the politicians themselves of the affected countries who allow this happen. Talk about 31 pieces of silver. In Zambia, there are allegations that the deal was made possible by bribing the former President of Zambia. Documents show a huge contribution to the former President's 'favorite charity'.
If only the world governments would take a strong stance against such immoral companies. As far as I am concerned, this is more much more dangerous and terrifying than some country developing nuclear weapons.

French or nothing

I have blogged about languages before and I have always been surprised by the way some people pick up a language so easily and how some people choose not to.
But a whole nation protesting against a language? Now doesn't that sound weird? Yea am talking about the French! The way they insist that companies who want to do business in France should not impose their culture (meaning - learn French or nothing) sounds so kiddish. I mean, when they insist on something of that sort, are they not imposing French on others? Does it not amount to the same thing?
Everyone knows that English is preferred by a lot of countries as the common medium of communication. By turning they back on the masses, I wonder if they are not shutting the doors on a lot of business opportunities. Their unemployment rates are nothing to be proud of as such.
Read this to know what I am talking about.