Through an elf's eye...........

Long time....

2011-05-09T17:22:00.001-06:00

I was reading all those old blog posts of mine and I was wondering why I stopped writing. Life is so different now. I am not that young girl who used to have fun in Cyprus. No sir No! Am a mother now and a career woman too! I am 30 years old and I feel like am 30 going on 60. What happened to my life? When did all the responsibilities take over? I have to have fun again!

So, heres to a life of more fun!

Random thought

2010-02-27T11:33:00.001-06:00

Would there come a day when every possible combination of notes have been played?

Snow, snow and more snow!

2010-02-26T09:14:00.003-06:00

Its been a crazy winter to hit the NE this year. And being in SD, which has the perfect weather all year round, would it be crazy to say that I actually miss it???

I do! I miss the beauty of waking up to see that its all white outside your window. Being a person who prefers the cold to the searing heat of summer, I have to admit that I miss this.

I know that R will disagree with me since he would have had to drive to NY every day. :)

Baileys

2010-02-04T09:30:00.002-06:00

My fav liqueur. I love when its added to hot coffee. YUMMM!

So, the other day I was just craving for such a drink when I came up with the idea that a dash a whiskey should work as well. :D

Well...let me tell you - IT DOESN'T!

One whole year

2010-02-04T09:29:00.001-06:00

Without a single post. Wow!

Lack of Diplomacy

2010-02-03T20:51:00.003-06:00

I totally lack diplomacy while my mother is the ultimate diplomat. I just realised the other day that I am almost 30 years old but I talk like a 13 year old. Now, I need to become a diplomat.

The best thing I have heard so far, for aspiring 'diplomats' - "Its easy to be nice to people you like but tough to be nice to people you don't."

Social Networking

2010-02-03T09:41:00.004-06:00

I have a doubt. How many of us who use social networking sites like Facebook or Orkut actually use it as a medium for social networking?

We tend to add people as our friends - people from school, long lost classmates, seniors, juniors, people from work, your neighbours. But how many of us actually use it as a social networking tool? We mostly use it as a place to declare to the world what we are upto at the moment (In the supermarket buying fish for dinner) or uploading snaps of your pets and so on.

I know I have people I have not talked to in years, and do not want to either, in my list. Maybe I shouldn't be on a social networking site. And neither should 90% of the people there.

Refreshed

2010-02-02T09:40:00.001-06:00

After a hectic, yet relaxing weekend.

Weather Update

2008-10-29T06:43:00.000-06:00

It didn't rain or snow last night! What a bummer :(

October and Winter

2008-10-28T09:50:00.003-06:00

Its October. The leaves on the trees have not even fallen off. And yet - its raining big fat hailstones and there's snow predicted for tonite! Winter is HERE. A bit too early, I must say!

All's fair in love and politics?

2008-06-18T06:52:00.001-06:00

I don't think so. And read this. Its utterly disgusting. Just to show people like these - I hope Obama wins!

I Wanna make some dough!

2008-03-07T11:57:00.001-06:00

I think I have figured out a way to. ;)

Tips to a wonderful married life???

2008-01-21T19:57:00.000-06:00

Here's an interesting excerpt from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.

The best of women (I have heard my grandmother say) are hypocrites. We don't know how much they hide from us; how watchful they are when they seem most artless and confidential; how often those frank smiles, which they wear so easily, are traps to cajole or elude or disarm - I don't mean in your mere coquettes, but your domestic models, and paragons of female virtue. Who has not seen a woman hide the dullness of a stupid husband, or coax the fury of a savage one? We accept this amiable slavishness, and praise a woman for it; we call this pretty treachery truth. A good housewife is of necessity a humbug.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above belong solely to Thackeray and his grandmother (God rest their souls) and have no bearing upon R or me, so help us God!

Found my Daemon

2007-12-10T09:23:00.001-06:00

Last month

2007-12-05T15:20:00.000-06:00

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

2007-09-28T07:45:00.000-06:00

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....

2007-09-24T13:24:00.001-06:00

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......

2007-09-23T07:42:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-09-04T12:56:00.000-06:00

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

2007-08-30T06:14:00.000-06:00

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

2007-08-27T07:36:00.000-06:00

"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...

2007-08-22T12:32:00.001-06:00

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?

2007-08-22T05:33:00.000-06:00

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"

2007-08-16T14:49:00.000-06:00

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?

2007-08-14T12:09:00.000-06:00

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....

2007-08-13T13:04:00.000-06:00

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

2007-08-09T13:05:00.001-06:00

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!

2007-08-08T09:21:00.000-06:00

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 ;)

2007-07-23T08:09:00.000-06:00

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....

2007-05-01T16:18:00.000-06:00

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....

2007-05-01T16:11:00.000-06:00

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

.
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!

2007-04-27T12:14:00.000-06:00

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

2007-04-05T12:41:00.000-06:00

"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

2007-03-30T12:35:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-30T08:34:00.001-06:00

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

2007-03-26T14:13:00.000-06:00

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???

2007-03-25T15:29:00.000-06:00

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....

2007-03-22T09:38:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-20T13:09:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-20T06:25:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-12T15:09:00.000-06:00

Got this from wanderstruck's blog. :)

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

How weird am I?

2007-03-03T18:34:00.000-06:00

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)

2007-02-20T13:50:00.000-06:00

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

Vulture Funds

2007-02-15T16:24:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-07T18:09:00.000-06:00

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.

Midnight Surprise!

2006-12-20T10:30:00.000-06:00

Not my birthday! And definitely not a pleasant surprise!
I had bought this huge bar of dark chocolate and had placed it on sofa so that I won't forget to take it to office the next day. At night, I hear these strange noises! The rustle of plastic...Is it someone in the room? Nah! Cannot be - I had locked it!
Being the very brave person that I am (hee hee), I take some time to switch on the light. :D
And what do I see??? My precious bar of chocolate! Attacked! By rat(s)
In a hotel room in US! Imagine....

Security Checks

2006-12-16T15:10:00.000-06:00

At the airport! At the mall! :S
Lost my face scrub at Amsterdam airport coz it was bigger than the allowed limit. Had to go through a secondary security check at Newark coz I happened to be wearing a belt that went beep beep when I went through that check thingy. They opened my hand baggage and actually took swabs for testing. Sheesh! That was embaressing and also learnt a lesson there!
Got stopped again at WalMart when the security gate went bersek again as I passed through it with a bunch of stuff in the shopping cart. The culprit turned out to be the Card Reader/Writer that I had bought from Circuit City. Took some time to convince the girl that I had not stolen anything.
Hmmm....security checks! What a bother!

Life in Champaign

2006-12-12T06:15:00.000-06:00

Writing this post from a hotel room in Champaign, IL. A tiny University town with just 7 main roads, this place is as small as Limassol (which I did not expect from a town in US!)
Much of the town life revolves around the University (The University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign)
Takes 10 mins to drive to work but this place has all the usuals that you can find in an American town - WalMart, Macy's, JC Penney, Taco Bell.... Well, you get the pic ;)
People say I came in at the wrong time. Why? It is winter and the temp is way below 0 deg C. Now, that is cold!
Well, welcome to the American Dream :)

Jane of the jungle

2006-11-30T03:21:00.000-06:00

A lot happened last month!
Got married! Managed not look like a piglet (the workouts paid off) and got to spend one whole week with my R in the wilderness for our honeymoon.
The first 2 days were spent at Edakk al, Wayanad. A night in a tree house was a new experience and the view from the window in the morning was breathtaking. Blue mountains far away with cloud topped peaks were really a sight to behold.
A visit to Edakkal caves and a walk up the mountains followed by a scrumpilicious breakfast was the best part of the day!
Another 2 days were spent at Kabini near Nagarhole National Park, Karnataka. Now this area is known for its wildlife esp the birds.

Birds - of so many colors, species. More than 300 species! The number of spotted deer that we kept bumping into was mindboggling. We also bumped into a stray young tusker who seemed to have wandered away from his herd.
The most disappointing thing was the sheer number of people who were there at the resort and who seemed to have come there just because it is the in-thing to do. Children, noise, firecrackers - that was really a downer.
The rest of the 3 days were spent at Masinagudi. A quiet retreat located at the foothills of the Nilgiris, this is a paradise and a perfect getaway for nature lovers. The highlight of the stay there was the 2 hour trek through the jungle. Though we did not get to meet any leopards or tigers, the whole trek was amazing. We did bump into herds of spotted deer (again!). Totally relaxing and totally lost to the realities of the big bad world, it was an awesome experience. Definitely game for more (no pun intended)

Tarzan & Jane ;)

Mistress of Spices

2006-11-23T02:49:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I took a well deserved break from work and set out to enjoy the day and relax at home.
Happened to watch one of Aishwarya Rai's movie called Mistress of Spices. Now, am no big fan of Ms Rai (in fact I think she is too cold and doll like), but this was one really nice movie. Of the same genre as Chocolat, the story seems like an Indianised version of the same. Not that am complaining.
I loved Chocolat. The chocolate, the magic and Johnny Depp were too yummy...mmm!!!!
Ok ok - back to what I was talking about. The story is about this lady who has this gift to read people and help them with their problems. The medium - spices!!! Who would have thought that our ordinary pepper, ginger and garlic had healing powers or magic in them? The story unfolds in San Fransico and you meet so many characters you can relate to. The Indian girl who has an American boyfriend, the grandpa who cannot tolerate this, the struggling taxi driver and so on.
It is a well directed movie with a nice feel good theme (though I wouldn't credit it with originality)
So, after getting inspiration from this movie, the one thing I did last evening - cooked a damn good (ahem ahem!) gobi masala curry.....

Rackets

2006-11-20T13:00:00.000-06:00

Not the noise kind. Badminton kind!
Last Saturday, after a gap of 12 - 14 years, I managed to lay my hands on one of them and the game began.
And Yes!!!! I managed to win one game...... :D
Ok - I admit am not in the best of physical shape or anything and even though the game was played inside the house, it felt good to deliver those backhands and smashes.
Remembered those evening when my sis, my cousins and friends and I used to get out of the house by around 4 in the evening and how we used to play our guts out on the road in front of my house. Every day till around 7 or till it got too dark to actually see the shuttlecock.
Never used to feel tired. What a marvellous time we used to have.......

Rain....

2006-10-11T07:20:00.000-06:00

Its raining here in Limassol. The sky is dark but the mood is bright.
I LOVE the rains and I MISS it so much. It rains for around 120 - 140 days in Kerala and here in Limassol, it rains only 2 months a year and that too in winter. I mean, who would want to get out in winter???
So, when it rains unexpectedly, like it is doing right now, everyone welcomes it.

Here are some pics that I love to look at whenever I feel blue :)

My friend's house at Aluva

It's BBQ Time!

2006-10-09T00:43:00.000-06:00

Saturday was BBQ time! Since my friends decided to help me celebrate my last weekend in Cyprus (as a spinster, think I will be back after the wedding), we went out for a BBQ party. Loaded with yummy looking chicken and mutton marinated in indian spices, we headed out to a picnic spot on the mountains. Had fun! The smoky flavoured chicken was lip smacking! mmm.....

As usual, I did something stupid (need I mention 'stupid'???)

The guys and I were playing catch and I slipped and landed on my back. Hee hee hee.Thankfully, am still in one piece. No broken bones, though it is a little difficult to sit down ;)

Tag along

2006-09-30T02:26:00.000-06:00

Whoops! I had been tagged months ago, by a warrier who wanted to know what an elf thought… :D
Here is what the elf thinks

If the world were to be flat – there are a lot of people I would have loved to push over the edge. But, since it is round, I guess I will have to just go on bumping into those people again and again…Damn this circle of life!

If I had a million dollars – I would retire from my job, buy a plantation in Wayanad, grow marijuana in between the tea plants and live in style with my man and 2 tigers (a rub off from tarzan, george of the jungle and of course my fav – phantom)
On the other hand, in the real world, I guess I would end up with a few thousands after paying off the taxes. And then back to the grind :P

If I had to relive some experience of mine – it would be the times I spent doing my undergrad. Was on top of the world (literally! Our college was on top of a hill with a BEAUTIFUL view). There was no program that escaped our presence, be it with dancing or singing. Miss those days!

I would rather be reborn as Belle. She ended up with a prince who had this amazing collection of books. The best library I have ever seen (hee hee hee). As Lumiere correctly points out – there are rivers of books which you will never finish reading in a lifetime.
On the other hand, since there is no hope of that happening now, I would rather use the downtown library. (No, the librarian is not a handsome young man, rather a sweet old lady)

My fav pastimes – reading, as you might have guessed, sleeping and of course eating. (still a piglet …. :( )

I love – to dance to any kind of music.

I love – to get red roses, clichéd… but if asked to choose between a pala and a rose, the pala wins hands down. Does that make me a witch???

I hate – dancing at parties. In fact, I hate parties (though I still attend the ones thrown by the company)

From my travels I learnt – people are basically the same everywhere, be it in India or Cyprus or Israel. A little bit of nosiness, a little bit of jealousy and tons of love and concern.
If people were to stop fighting and start living for once, there would be world peace. (cannot do without one on world peace. Can I be crowned Miss World pls?)

Asked what I learnt in these 26 years – time flies by too fast when you are having a good time, but during the best moments of life – time does seem to stand still. Life is just a bunch of memories strung together.

So, here is what the elf thinks. What about the warrier and elf’s sister?

Yet another Onam...

2006-09-06T02:32:00.000-06:00

Has gone by. Onam, the most secular of all festivals is THE festival that is celebrated by all, irrespective of caste, creed or religion in Kerala.
This Onam was made special by 2 friends of mine who decided to throw a proper sadya for the few unfortunates on the island (read - bachelors/spinsters who are not much into cooking).
There were 7 of us and so I decided to help the girl by offering to go over and be her assistant. Chucked half a day's work at office and off to her house after lunch. Out comes the tons of vegetables and the knifes. Any thoughts of sharpening my culinary skills were lost admist the slicing and dicing of carrots and beans and drumsticks. She was the chief chef while I was just the assistant.
We took around 5 hours to prepare 8 dishes, rice and then of course the yummy 'palada' payasam (this is a sweet porridge kind of thing and is served as a dessert).
The girl's husband managed to get banana leaves and in the evening we had a splendid onam sadya. It was so yummy! Home cooked food!
Well, there are 2 sides to every coin. Even though I felt like heaven, I guess my stomach could not handle the overdose of authentic kerala food and it is still protesting. :(

The food we made!

Wine Festival

2006-08-31T05:03:00.000-06:00

The Limassol Wine Festival is back!
It is an annual event which we all look forward to. (Read - lots of free wine ;) )
Last year, my friends and I spent a wonderful 3 - 4 hours walking among the crowds, tasting the different kinds of wine, watching the local artists sing and dance. The best part was watching the grapes being crushed and the music and the dance during the whole process.

Well, we managed to get out not too drunk and with a few bottles of some really nice village wines.

The Entrance

From here floweth the wine

Letters of appreciation

2006-08-30T11:22:00.000-06:00

29/Aug/2006

Dear Ms Gopinadhan,
We are glad to inform you that the company has decided ot reward you for your extra efforts.

As a token of gratitude, you will get an amount of 250 CyP and a gift hamper from GUCCI. Please collect the same from your floor secretary.

With warm regards,

Dido Baygon

30/Aug/2006

Dear employee,
On second thoughts, the company has decided to limit the extra efforts bonus to less beautiful girl employees and to those who is expected to stay with DVCC for next three years. So, you are kindly requested to give the money back. You can do this by depositing the amount with the secretary, whose name starts with an "A"

With regards,

Dido Baygon

Well, as you might have guessed, this was a prank pulled by one of my friends. He took a printout of these letters and left it in my pigeon hole.
Have sent a reply, but all that later......

Paphos and Parasailing

2006-08-22T06:35:00.000-06:00

Saturday was a change for me after a loooong loooong time. One of my friend's gf has come down to visit him and we decided to show her around the island.
So, out came the map of the island and among the 4 – 5 places of interest, we decided to head out for Paphos.
Paphos lies to the west of Limassol and it is one the most beautiful drives I have ever been to, in this place. The best part about the drive is that we are passing through mountain sides and all along we can see the sea stretching below us, all sparkling blue and inviting.
Stopped near Curium Beach, Aphrodite's birthplace, Paphos port, Mosaic exhibition and then went parasailing.
Parasailing was the high point of the trip!
The boat that we were in got overheated in between and we got stranded and had to be rescued. The whole parasailing thing was AMAZING. It definitely is a whole new world up there. Like taking a ride on Aladdin's magic carpet ;)
But the bad point - now a tanned little piglet :D (not a pink one)
A very red lobster look (definitely not fit for a blushing bride)
Ended the day with a nice dinner at a Kerala Restuarant and then a sleepy ride back to Limassol.

Curium Beach

On the way to Aphrodite's birthplace. You can see the blue sea right ahead.

Aphrodite's Birthplace (the rock a little far from the shore)

View from the road

A Monumental task

2006-08-18T03:57:00.001-06:00

One Two! Huff! Puff!!
2 more months to go and I still look like a piglet. Ahem, don't have the heart to call myself a pig. :D
Now, the days of binging on yummy chocolates (1 bar before lunch, one after and of course the one before going to sleep) and the huge helpings of dessert are over. Sad, but I must say I relished them to an extent that was quite sinful.
Have to get back into shape (err, whatever shape I used to be). Gotta be the radiant bride! Proving to be quite a task.
All my cousins and sis are on a diet and they seem to be succeeding. Think the air in Cyprus has something to contribute?
Somebody help me out!
Liposuction seems an option
Well, of course there is always the age old argument that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and that beauty is skin deep and all that.
But call me a little vain if you must! :P

Who wins? Who loses?

2006-08-09T01:34:00.000-06:00

The urge to protect one's own territory has been present in man and beast alike since the dawn of evolution. This is a well known fact.
Cats scent-mark their territory by rubbing their faces and flanks against objects (never knew this. My cat always used to do this to me! :D)
Birds and gibbons defend their territories by either visual or auditory means.
While in the animal kingdom, defence of territory rarely takes the form of overt fights, it is not so in the human kingdom.
It is when this urge becomes an obsession that the urge to protect becomes more than just that. You transgress and then there is chaos.
A beast is born. A beast who is unstoppable and like a juggernaut picks up pace and flattens all that comes in his way – be it the innocent or the criminals that invade his space.
Now the question is – what do you get out of all this? A land to call your own? A territory to be marked and proclaimed as 'my land'? At what cost?
This is the modern age where war is one country affects not just the people there or their neighbours but every one else.
Consider this.
Terrorists blow up a pipeline in the middle east. What happens next? The price of petrol shoots up all around the world. Cooking gas becomes dearer.
Israel attacks Lebanon. And then? Countries all over the world have to send in their ships to move their people to safety. The air ways of the neighbouring countries are jam packed. The normal routines of millions are disrupted, not to mention the lives of thousands and the emotional turmoil of the people.

I recently read this article on the net which proclaimed

GE was one of the first companies to recognize the business opportunity in counter-terrorism and has spent over $4 billion since 2002 to acquire smaller business to take a bigger slice of the $160 billion global security industry.

Recognise the business oppurtunity in counter terrorism!!! God! How can you be so cold when saying something like that?
Terrorism opens businees doors and oppurtunities to so many companies – now that is really something new!
Someone makes better weapons and then the next individual markets a way to get over this. Now – that is what humanity is all about, isn't it?
Instead of proclaiming this so proudly, why don't people find a way to break this vicious circle? Coz as far as I can see while the common man on either side loses out, it is only these businessmen who still manage to laugh all their way to the bank.

Languages galore!

2006-08-01T02:12:00.000-06:00

Talking of languages, I have always wanted to learn new languages. I have always been fascinated by cultures different from mine, their way of living etc.

I have always liked to believe that it is easy for me to learn new languages. But was I wrong!!! After coming to Cyprus, I tried learning greek. Phew! Gave up after learning a few phrases like kali mera, parakalo etc.

And there was this short stint at learning French! Man! That language has more exceptions than rules. Am still struggling with the basic phrases.

I read somewhere that it is easier to learn a language when you are a small child. Small children have this amazing ability to pick up languages, any number of them. One eg would be the Indian babies that I see here in Cyprus. By the time they are 2 yrs old, they can speak in their 'mother tongue', English and Greek too.

I remember watching this 1.5 yr kid who has a malayalee mom and a tamilian dad. The kid was so smart that he used to talk to him mom in malayalam and to his dad in tamil. After saying something to his mom, he would translate the same into tamil for his dad. Now, is that smart or what? Ever wondered how the kid picked this up?

On the other hand, I also know kids of mixed parentage who could not pick up either of the languages. Not their fault am sure!

What language do you think in????

2006-07-31T09:04:00.000-06:00

Kinda strange rite? But I have always wondered about this.

We Indians are the only people who can boast of so many languages. 14 official languages. And there is also the concept of a 'mother tongue' . Not just something that your mother speaks….there is more to it. It is supposed to identify your roots, where you come from and so on. Don't know how much of it holds true for kids nowadays.

Well, I know my mother tongue is malayalam but I have always noticed something. It is not the same language that I think in. Why is that? When this is the language that I have heard the most since I was born, I think in some other language? I am sure if most of you observe yourself while you think of something, you might notice the same thing. Isn’t that kind of weird?

Losing a Friend

2006-07-01T10:26:00.000-06:00

I have been in Cyprus for the past 2 years or so and I never thought I would meet someone who matches my wavelength on this tiny island.
But I finally did end up meeting someone and talk about wavelengths matching!!! It is so totally weird.....

Let me explain.

My friend and I share the same taste, same views, same experiences, same everything.
I would recollect something from school or college when he would say he also went through the same thing.

We seemed to communicate via ESP. I would be thinking of something and it used to end up that he was also thinking of the same thing. Pass the same comment (not even a difference in the words used or their order) at the same time. How weird can that be? Every day that we were together, we used to have something funny happening.

I have never come across such a person. And now he is leaving.

Well, that is life I guess... meet someone, have some fond memories for the rest of your life. There are very few people who would be with you forever! :)

Am Orkutting...

2006-06-14T04:25:00.000-06:00

Got drawn into this damn crazy and addictive stuff called Orkut
Man, whoever came up with this idea for a network of friends has definitely hit the jackpot.

In a space of 2 weeks, I reconnected with long lost friends and classmates most of whom I had not even heard of for almost 10 years.

This thing is unbelievable and has me hopelessly enslaved.
I fall at thy feet! Oh Master Orkut!

Well needless to say - my work is suffering....wail!
But as a friend of mine says - it is just a matter of time. Easy to say - he somehow managed to survive the same fever and emerged victorious and unscathed. Having no Internet connection at work also helped I guess.

Now am waiting for the day I can say the same, but till then I WILL KEEP ORKUTTING!

Of husbands and sleep

2006-06-11T02:16:00.000-06:00

Man, I realised something very important today. Men HATE it when someone wakes them up from a nice long sleep. They demand 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep and go around like a bear with a sore head if they don't get it.
We females on the other hand can handle interruptions to our beauty sleep at any time of the night.
I was discussing this phenomenon with a male friend of mine and he was complaining that his girlfriend does not understand this basic rule. She takes it as a personal insult when he does not wish to talk sweet nothings late in the night.
This led to interesting discussion and in the end we blamed it on evolution.

Women being the child rearer has a genetic makeup that lets her handle any interruptions to her sleep. This is particularly useful when her baby starts crying in the night.
Men on the other hand do not have to handle this and is hence used to his precious 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Am sure there are lots of fine fathers out there who would disagree with me, but on the other hand, am sure there are just as many girlfriends, wives and mothers who would stand by me.

Loneliness

2006-06-02T07:12:00.000-06:00

"My loneliness is killing me....." sang a pretty blonde

It is summer time and here in Cyprus, I see a lot of happy people roaming around on the beach, all half naked of course! :-D
Kids with ice creams, young couples with babies and old couples who are here for a well deserved break. Everyone is soaking up the sun and enjoying the calm of the Mediterranean Sea.

I stand all alone on the beach and the loneliness sets in. I once again realise that life is not meant to be lived for yourself. It is meant to be shared with someone special. Roam around the beach at night, make love under the moonlight, watch the sun set from atop a hill ..... :-)

Astrology - wise or vice?

2006-05-20T21:54:00.000-06:00

"Astrology is a 4000 crore business in India" - one of my astrologer friends mention.
Not a big surprise since a majority of the Indian population find it necessary to consult the astrologer before taking any decision in their life.
Is our destiny really written in the stars? Aren't we the makers of our destiny?

At Last!

2006-05-17T10:03:00.000-06:00

After months of trying to escape the blog fever, I succumb!
My better half, my fiance, the blogger maniac pulls me into this...When someone goes to the extent of creating a log in for you and even publishing the first post, what else are you supposed to do?

welcome du

2006-05-17T09:38:00.000-06:00