Long time....

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

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

Snow, snow and more snow!

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

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

Without a single post. Wow!

Lack of Diplomacy

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

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

After a hectic, yet relaxing weekend.

Weather Update

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

October and Winter

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?

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!

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

Tips to a wonderful married life???

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

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! ;)