This is the most inspiring real life story I have read in a while. I am actually quite ashamed of the fact that in my 2 years at Stanford I never realised the importance and role of the Office of Accessible Education (OAE’s) Student Disability Resource Center. The amount of time, dedication and efforts that the staff at OAE put in to support the disabled students at Stanford is highly commedable. Giving an exam is such a long and complex process for a disabled student; just proves how easy giving an exam is for a student without any disabilities. http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/mayjun/features/blind.html
Another Stanford article that caught my eye was about the rejected Business school applicants who had tried to use a public hack method earlier this year to see their application results on the ApplyYourself website. Is this just a stunt for B-schools to maintain some integrity in public image or a shaping experience that will hopefully reduce the number of Enron type fiascos in the future. http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/april13/bizkids-041305.html
Drop it like its hot
While I totally abhor Snoop Dog and his pimp lifestyle, I did wish today that I could drop a hot cup of coffee on some HR person. The US Govt is good at doing that too. The hottest and most controversial stories of the week be it the Koran down the toilet in Cuba or Saddam in underwear, they just deny them categorically. The Govt even makes free news presses to retract stories and apologize only to drop hot matters off the public palatte. By the time truth comes out to corroborate the stories the news is as cold as a turkey and the public attention lost.
Some wise person aptly said this recently, the US is not a country with states and government its actually a corporation where Bush is the CEO and all he is trying to do is maximise profits. International governance is also thought to be a business tr
Some wise person aptly said this recently, the US is not a country with states and government its actually a corporation where Bush is the CEO and all he is trying to do is maximise profits. International governance is also thought to be a business tr
Whats in your heart ?
Understanding others is difficult sometimes but isn't the toughest part not knowing oneself. The quest of the self is the oldest one and more pronounced in certain stages of life than others.
How long does it take one to assimilate diverse feelings and palpitations of the heart in to thoughts synchronized with the head ? I am making no sense at all, am I ?
If the heart is what drives us all then why would there be so many directionless people working hard to make money, buy lavish houses and then feel unhappy at the end of the day ? How does our wallet keep us ticking while its the heart that should really be the chauffeur of the car called Life ?
Herz cheering the spirit of the heart, of pure passion and joy, of the will to follow the heart over the brain, of happinness over luxury, of good over evil....
How long does it take one to assimilate diverse feelings and palpitations of the heart in to thoughts synchronized with the head ? I am making no sense at all, am I ?
If the heart is what drives us all then why would there be so many directionless people working hard to make money, buy lavish houses and then feel unhappy at the end of the day ? How does our wallet keep us ticking while its the heart that should really be the chauffeur of the car called Life ?
Herz cheering the spirit of the heart, of pure passion and joy, of the will to follow the heart over the brain, of happinness over luxury, of good over evil....
Delirium : A Jerry Maguire moment
So whats it all about ?
that's how Jude Law's movie Alfie ends, with that rhetorical question! Isn't that the top question on the top of all our minds at some or many points in our lives ? It should get something like the top all time question (think keyword) award from Google, Yahoo and MSN combined.
The same weird feeling that Tom Cruise had in Jerry Maguire that one night when he just couldn't sleep and ended up battling his delirious mind and conscience by writing a company memo. No I am not trying to write a righteous memo here. But hey how do you battle your own conscience when nothing seems to make sense ?
On a lighter note, good won over evil or at the least over deceit last night when the nice and helping couple Achaean & Joyce Agu won THE AMAZING RACE over Rob & Amber and Ron & Kelly. That made sense, huh ?
What did not make sense over the last few days ?
- 6 people killed in a home in California in a bizarre incident
- A freak plane coming within 3 miles of the White House before getting diverted
- Toyota posted another fruitful quarter of profits while GM and Ford stocks got downgraded to sheer junk
- The never ending Michael Jackson trial. Don't we all know by now : "He's done it all"
- Renee Zellweger getting married in a secret ceremony to the 4 month love of her life Kenny Chesney
- David Letterman continuing to have gallons of paint thrown from the top of the theatre where his show is filmed
- Save the best for the last: "HSBC is in the news for a 4 day bank strike in the UK over paycuts and layoffs"
Alright no this is not a news service blog! But hey betcha you guys did not know that the script of a recently famous Indian comedy movie called "Munnabhai MBBS", which I really liked a lot by the way has been purchased by 20th Century FOX for reproduction in Hollywood. Now that's a first!
Oh something has caught me by surprise! I haven't been blogging at all in the recent past and I still have some visitors on this blog of mine. Why is that ? Ahem not because of my prolific writing of course. Its a few keywords that are bringing people to my blog and they ain't real pretty. The top clinchers are "420 friendly" and these are words in a post on "what is 420 friendly", apparently a very American or Californian phrase that I had no clue about.....
Until next time when I promise myself I will devote more time to revamping this now kinda ageing blog of mine :)
that's how Jude Law's movie Alfie ends, with that rhetorical question! Isn't that the top question on the top of all our minds at some or many points in our lives ? It should get something like the top all time question (think keyword) award from Google, Yahoo and MSN combined.
The same weird feeling that Tom Cruise had in Jerry Maguire that one night when he just couldn't sleep and ended up battling his delirious mind and conscience by writing a company memo. No I am not trying to write a righteous memo here. But hey how do you battle your own conscience when nothing seems to make sense ?
On a lighter note, good won over evil or at the least over deceit last night when the nice and helping couple Achaean & Joyce Agu won THE AMAZING RACE over Rob & Amber and Ron & Kelly. That made sense, huh ?
What did not make sense over the last few days ?
- 6 people killed in a home in California in a bizarre incident
- A freak plane coming within 3 miles of the White House before getting diverted
- Toyota posted another fruitful quarter of profits while GM and Ford stocks got downgraded to sheer junk
- The never ending Michael Jackson trial. Don't we all know by now : "He's done it all"
- Renee Zellweger getting married in a secret ceremony to the 4 month love of her life Kenny Chesney
- David Letterman continuing to have gallons of paint thrown from the top of the theatre where his show is filmed
- Save the best for the last: "HSBC is in the news for a 4 day bank strike in the UK over paycuts and layoffs"
Alright no this is not a news service blog! But hey betcha you guys did not know that the script of a recently famous Indian comedy movie called "Munnabhai MBBS", which I really liked a lot by the way has been purchased by 20th Century FOX for reproduction in Hollywood. Now that's a first!
Oh something has caught me by surprise! I haven't been blogging at all in the recent past and I still have some visitors on this blog of mine. Why is that ? Ahem not because of my prolific writing of course. Its a few keywords that are bringing people to my blog and they ain't real pretty. The top clinchers are "420 friendly" and these are words in a post on "what is 420 friendly", apparently a very American or Californian phrase that I had no clue about.....
Until next time when I promise myself I will devote more time to revamping this now kinda ageing blog of mine :)
The future of Indian Cinema aka BOLLYWOOD
Driving down at 80 mph from LA to San Diego my mind was totally focused on the functioning or rather mal-functioning of the Indian Cinema aka Bollywood, this after watching a couple of the popular Koffee with Karan Johar episodes!
While King Khan SRK, Big B and Hrithik Roshan were all happily chatting about their past and present on the show my thought process was hoping for some visions for the future from the superstars.
What lies ahead ?
Why is it that producers are willing to spend zillions of dollars in shooting on location in UK/US for masala movies but not in INNOVATIVE SCRIPTS...
And then there are others like Aishwarya Rai, Om Puri, Shekhar Kapur who tried dabbling in British and American productions....
WHY ISN'T SOMEONE trying to make quality films in India for viewers worldwide and by that I just don't mean Indians worldwide...
If European movies like Amelie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Asian movies like Stephen Chow's KUNG FU HUSTLE can be distributed and marketed by SONY, Miramax, etc. why can't India produce quality movies for the world population...
India lacks no talent or resources in any field whatsoever..
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050418/ts_afp/afplifestyleusfilmindia_050418174712
With specific context to this article where Mr. Amitabh Bachchan talks about racial stereotyping which is why he claims he never set his eyes on Hollywood, I would like to question him if Hollywood did not welcome him with any offers why didn't he make the typical Hindi movie all with the song-dance sequences but with a strong story line for a global audience...It really pains my heart to see a talented actor like Mr. Bachchan copying AL PACINO from SCARFACE in his vastly successfully AGNIPATH! Why couldn't it be vice versa ? Why don't we make original movies ? Why copy the West ?
While India is finally proving its mettle in the areas of science, technology and business I don't see why Indian authors, actors, directors and producers cannot create a new era of Indian cinema for the world to see and admire.
This should be a challenge that an ambitious star actor and businessman Shahrukh Khan (who apparently does not have an official website :) ) who has it all: the influence, work experience and big bucks; should strive for. There is nothing more left for him to achieve in India than scale new heights of global success, fame and wealth. I don't know how Shahrukh Khan motivates himself to keep doing the samething day in and out without any new challenges in life ? Shouldn't the new generation of BOLLYWOOD try to make a real difference in how the world perceives India today - as a nation of 1 billion smart, beautiful and diverse people not just as a land of snake charmers!
If Sabeer Bhatia could create a new phenomenon called HOTMAIL for the world to use can't we dare have an INDIAN CINEMA for the WORLD AS WELL ?
While King Khan SRK, Big B and Hrithik Roshan were all happily chatting about their past and present on the show my thought process was hoping for some visions for the future from the superstars.
What lies ahead ?
Why is it that producers are willing to spend zillions of dollars in shooting on location in UK/US for masala movies but not in INNOVATIVE SCRIPTS...
And then there are others like Aishwarya Rai, Om Puri, Shekhar Kapur who tried dabbling in British and American productions....
WHY ISN'T SOMEONE trying to make quality films in India for viewers worldwide and by that I just don't mean Indians worldwide...
If European movies like Amelie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Asian movies like Stephen Chow's KUNG FU HUSTLE can be distributed and marketed by SONY, Miramax, etc. why can't India produce quality movies for the world population...
India lacks no talent or resources in any field whatsoever..
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050418/ts_afp/afplifestyleusfilmindia_050418174712
With specific context to this article where Mr. Amitabh Bachchan talks about racial stereotyping which is why he claims he never set his eyes on Hollywood, I would like to question him if Hollywood did not welcome him with any offers why didn't he make the typical Hindi movie all with the song-dance sequences but with a strong story line for a global audience...It really pains my heart to see a talented actor like Mr. Bachchan copying AL PACINO from SCARFACE in his vastly successfully AGNIPATH! Why couldn't it be vice versa ? Why don't we make original movies ? Why copy the West ?
While India is finally proving its mettle in the areas of science, technology and business I don't see why Indian authors, actors, directors and producers cannot create a new era of Indian cinema for the world to see and admire.
This should be a challenge that an ambitious star actor and businessman Shahrukh Khan (who apparently does not have an official website :) ) who has it all: the influence, work experience and big bucks; should strive for. There is nothing more left for him to achieve in India than scale new heights of global success, fame and wealth. I don't know how Shahrukh Khan motivates himself to keep doing the samething day in and out without any new challenges in life ? Shouldn't the new generation of BOLLYWOOD try to make a real difference in how the world perceives India today - as a nation of 1 billion smart, beautiful and diverse people not just as a land of snake charmers!
If Sabeer Bhatia could create a new phenomenon called HOTMAIL for the world to use can't we dare have an INDIAN CINEMA for the WORLD AS WELL ?
Blame India & Stuff
Alright! Came across this Blame India Watch blog and am immediately hooked on it..Must read from now....http://blameindiawatch.blogspot.com/
My blog has pretty much gone to the dogs what with blog frequency and visitor activity down to zilch! Must find more time for blogging! Well with the way life has been going on, kinda boringly phasing away, a whole year may pass before I realize one more year of life is over and done with. It has been kind of a drag the last few months, just work, TV, movies and dinners; none social enriching activities either :) Must take more control of life and find time to exercise, read, write and blog apart from the house maintenance chores and the usual office routine!
Last few days have been unusually very tough on me for no good reason. Unecessary complications made work more exhausting than need be and lead to a bunch of late nights which in effect leads to a sell fulfilling cycle of frustrating events. To further my anxiety, I have been getting injured every single day of this week due to some odd reason. I know have 5 bandaids holding me together :)
Yesterday was the mother of fast paced, and a maddening surreal amount of work filled day. The whole day left me in a foul mood by the time I left work at 10 pm and the only thing that cheered me for a couple of minutes was the comedy of Ray Romano and Ashton Kutcher's candid interview on David Lettermn's Late show.
My blog has pretty much gone to the dogs what with blog frequency and visitor activity down to zilch! Must find more time for blogging! Well with the way life has been going on, kinda boringly phasing away, a whole year may pass before I realize one more year of life is over and done with. It has been kind of a drag the last few months, just work, TV, movies and dinners; none social enriching activities either :) Must take more control of life and find time to exercise, read, write and blog apart from the house maintenance chores and the usual office routine!
Last few days have been unusually very tough on me for no good reason. Unecessary complications made work more exhausting than need be and lead to a bunch of late nights which in effect leads to a sell fulfilling cycle of frustrating events. To further my anxiety, I have been getting injured every single day of this week due to some odd reason. I know have 5 bandaids holding me together :)
Yesterday was the mother of fast paced, and a maddening surreal amount of work filled day. The whole day left me in a foul mood by the time I left work at 10 pm and the only thing that cheered me for a couple of minutes was the comedy of Ray Romano and Ashton Kutcher's candid interview on David Lettermn's Late show.
Tid Bits
A few minutes back on The Tonight Show, Jay Leno made a snide remark about Americans being mad about losing jobs because of companies setting shop in India. I couldn't care less about Jay and his poor jokes on Martha Stewart, George W Bush and of course Michael Jackson but this non objective economic picture painting is reckless on Jay's party. The world is growing in to a global market space and capitalism - the highest valued virtue in the US of A of is showing its true colors to the US economy!
Someone at work was having fun criticizing the British English that Indians speak; which, while understood well but the entire globe may not be the most familiar colloquial use of the English language to common Americans. Poor Americans, they don't have their own language or for that matter food (now u know why most restaurants in the US have internatioanl cuisines) or culture, drive on the wrong side of the road and play a game just within the States and call it footbal while the whole world calls some other game football (think soccer)! A bunch of crazies I would say....
This may seem like a hate post or something..It isn't meant to be ....
Someone at work was having fun criticizing the British English that Indians speak; which, while understood well but the entire globe may not be the most familiar colloquial use of the English language to common Americans. Poor Americans, they don't have their own language or for that matter food (now u know why most restaurants in the US have internatioanl cuisines) or culture, drive on the wrong side of the road and play a game just within the States and call it footbal while the whole world calls some other game football (think soccer)! A bunch of crazies I would say....
This may seem like a hate post or something..It isn't meant to be ....
Stanford Cardinals beat the UCLA Bruins
A source of tremendous joy, excitement and entertainment for me this weekend was the Mens Basketball game at the Maples Pavilion, Stanford. Both Stanford and UCLA teams looked in good shape initially and were giving each other a run for their money to take the 3rd spot in the PAC-10 rankings.
As the game progressed, just like a bottle of good wine, the Cardinals started showing more and more of their class and character and the Bruins could do nothing to undo the sparkling effect of the ever so cute Chris Hernandez. Chris led Stanford to a 78-65 win over UCLA while scoring an all time career high of 37 points. That does not go to say that the team did not put in a solid effort. Scott Allen, sports editor at the Stanford Daily best summed up the team's performance with:
"Stanford seems to have found at least one recipe for surviving the rest of the season without its leading scorer Dan Grunfeld: Seven guys play solid basketball while one plays completely out of his mind."
Matt Haryasz was also a great contributor to the team on Sunday. While the Cardinals ruled, UCLA star player Dijon Thompson struggled against the Stanford defense. Jordan Farmar was the only one who tried to fuel a second half resurgency on the Bruins part but his efforts were undermined by the over performance of Chris Hernandez. Coach Trent Johnson looked more than happy with the Cardinals performance.
With four more games to go, all I've gotta say is "GO STANFORD!"
For more coverage about the game in question:
The Stanford Daily
The Daily Bruin
As the game progressed, just like a bottle of good wine, the Cardinals started showing more and more of their class and character and the Bruins could do nothing to undo the sparkling effect of the ever so cute Chris Hernandez. Chris led Stanford to a 78-65 win over UCLA while scoring an all time career high of 37 points. That does not go to say that the team did not put in a solid effort. Scott Allen, sports editor at the Stanford Daily best summed up the team's performance with:
"Stanford seems to have found at least one recipe for surviving the rest of the season without its leading scorer Dan Grunfeld: Seven guys play solid basketball while one plays completely out of his mind."
Matt Haryasz was also a great contributor to the team on Sunday. While the Cardinals ruled, UCLA star player Dijon Thompson struggled against the Stanford defense. Jordan Farmar was the only one who tried to fuel a second half resurgency on the Bruins part but his efforts were undermined by the over performance of Chris Hernandez. Coach Trent Johnson looked more than happy with the Cardinals performance.
With four more games to go, all I've gotta say is "GO STANFORD!"
For more coverage about the game in question:
The Stanford Daily
The Daily Bruin
Monologues of a dreamy, lazy and last minute traveler
So I am back to writing after a very long time, cursing myself ever so subtly about how I let my laziness overpower my motivations to spend time creatively rather than watching TV. When a friend told me sometime back that when he goes home after work all he wants to do is to lie down on a couch and watch meaningless TV shows, I had totally not believed him. But time tells its own tales and today I feel the same clichéd feeling myself on every single working day.
Getting back to an exciting topic, I recently went to see the newly formed country of Eritrea. This is a small country, an offshoot of Ethiopia that undividedly enjoys the coast of the Red Sea right across from the Saudi nations.
Highlights of my trip that I hope I will never forget:
- Sipping great coffee all over the country. Oh man, that was real coffee! Starbucks is nowhere near their bar on quality.
- Enjoying and at times getting annoyed over the raw and rudimentary level of services available to tourists.
- The ever smiling faces of the poor people of Eritrea hiding their real aspirations in life. Unlike Indians, these people are not at all fatalistic, which is definitely a positive for there are very few paths by which ordinary Eritreans can create easy and happy lives for themselves; given the various anti-developmental policies adopted by the current Eritrean Government.
- The gut-wrenching gun shelling marks that covered all over the walls of homes in parts of Massawwa, the port city.
- The people both to and fro on the airplanes clapping loudly so as to laud the pilot’s efforts in helping us reach our destination safe and sound. This was obviously very amusing to the non-local observers.
- The peculiar nature of the happy-go-lucky population which by no means could afford meals twice a day but somehow could manage to have a coffee or beer at the local café/bar in the evening. During the evenings, it seemed as if nobody was at home, the streets were always so full of people.
- The unique quality of every local presenting him/herself as a very well dressed individual never ceased to lose my attention. I even told my Mom that our maid was better dressed than us.
- The calm and in a way very slow motioned life there. It was more of an irritant to me but I guess in a way its better to lead a slow paced life rather than an ultra-high paced all American lifestyle.
There is more that I want to recollect and capture before I forget all about it…But time is my enemy at the moment….Hopefully, the next few days will allow me more time to scribble!
Who says its a Merry Christmas ?
All of a sudden my heart choked and I felt a lump of guilt and gloom in my throat....Here I was celebrating Christmas in my own small way, having a nice meal, relaxing and watching movies, shopping at bargain prices and then complaining to God about some ridiculous thing....
We all kind of live in our own small bubbles aware of the happennings around us yet aloof to an infinite level....For me the bubble bursts every now and then....Here I was leading a perfectly normal and nice life and there across the world the poor fishmen who already had so few things to be merry about on Christmas were clutching logs of wood for dear life.....The most powerful earthquake of the decade and one of the most powerful ones of the century had struck the coastal towns and villages of South East Asia yesterday...While the main quake was 9.5 on the Richter scale, scientists believe that many after shock quakes are yet to come....
Official numbers are still in the 13,000 range yet the real toll no ones knows.....Imagine the number of people dead and the innumerable shattered lives..All in one single day....God only knows what these people had done wrong..Nothing I guess...Why all of them had to die in such a dreadful and sudden way that too on Christmas...Sometimes its extremely difficult to understand the workings of God....
Was it really a merry Christmas ? Should we still say Happy New Year 2005 ?
We all kind of live in our own small bubbles aware of the happennings around us yet aloof to an infinite level....For me the bubble bursts every now and then....Here I was leading a perfectly normal and nice life and there across the world the poor fishmen who already had so few things to be merry about on Christmas were clutching logs of wood for dear life.....The most powerful earthquake of the decade and one of the most powerful ones of the century had struck the coastal towns and villages of South East Asia yesterday...While the main quake was 9.5 on the Richter scale, scientists believe that many after shock quakes are yet to come....
Official numbers are still in the 13,000 range yet the real toll no ones knows.....Imagine the number of people dead and the innumerable shattered lives..All in one single day....God only knows what these people had done wrong..Nothing I guess...Why all of them had to die in such a dreadful and sudden way that too on Christmas...Sometimes its extremely difficult to understand the workings of God....
Was it really a merry Christmas ? Should we still say Happy New Year 2005 ?
Dignity of work!
Learning a lot of lessons or shall I say one too many pearls of wisdom at work these days! I guess the honeymoon is over. Now its just plain normal work life.....The other day somebody said I don't do that shit work I have a *** degree...Hullo ! Thats so arrogant, brutish and indecent...I don't know how and why as people get more educated they forget the basic lessons of life...Didn't we learn from our parents when we were kids to respect all individuals for their work...I guess its a even a human right! There is dignity in all work and no man who forgets that can go very far in life, at least thats my opinion.....
Just because someone is a doctor or lawyer does not make his work or him more important and a janitor or cab driver any less important! While I talk to and thank the guy who walks by all over cubicles and clears our trash baskets every evening at 7:30 pm I guess for some other people you need to belong to a certain class in society in order for you to even warrant being respectful of basic human dignity!
Just because someone is a doctor or lawyer does not make his work or him more important and a janitor or cab driver any less important! While I talk to and thank the guy who walks by all over cubicles and clears our trash baskets every evening at 7:30 pm I guess for some other people you need to belong to a certain class in society in order for you to even warrant being respectful of basic human dignity!
The Ideal Day! Was it really?
In some ways today was an ideal day. Well not at first, not really. I got up late as usual and rushed away to work. Work was okay: relaxed as well as fast paced as it should be. Learnt some lessons in life via deliberations and interactions with people. Thereafter, for once I left work early and hurray I went to the gym. This was a long awaited beginning of sorts. I knew I needed to exercise once I had realised that I wasn't snoring through the night. Perhaps I was getting mentally tired but not physically....Or is it perhaps that I sleep better on the left side of the bed and not on the right....
The next big surprise of the day was that after an hour's workout I felt revived and superb. I came home, relaxed for a few minutues, put on some music and then did the bit that I have been avoiding forever: cooking some good food. Its not that in the last 2 months I haven't cooked dinner. I have several times but definitely not as regularly as I would prefer! The most important part is that today for the first time I cooked the way I like to with great interest and with my heart. For the last few months I guess that hadn't happenned. I was so tired and so angry all the time that enjoying the process of cooking dinner for myself was never a priority....
So ya that boring chain of events has come to an end....From now on every day is going to be even more sunny and full of energy filled activities.
Wasn't this like an ideal day: me doing every regular thing that I should always do but never end up doing?
Not ideal for some other reasons: did not sleep early, did not bathe in the morning and did get mad at someone who tried to bully me.
Okay enough about me! Here are some great news items that caught my eye today. First the funny one with real serious implications::
All you guys out there, are you ready for this piece of information?
Laptops 'a threat to male fertility'
OKay so this is serious business: Guys might need to change their computing habits to maintain good health.
The next funny bit comes courtesy my very own Desh i.e. India....Cellular providers in India are now providing subscribers a new service that allows them to view a movie on their EDGE technology configured cell phones...Isn't this funny ? Okay ya so if you can't get tickets to a movie that's sold out and you can't wait for the DVD to come out, you just watch it on your small screen on your mobile phone...
Indian Movie to Debut on Cell Phones
After all this fun stuff how about appreciating a real nice deed done by a man I really look up to for his work, life and passion for persuasion. He is none other than noted Venture Capitalist Vinod Khosla who donated money for addition of educational resources to his alma mater Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Vinod Khosla's $5-million grant for IIT
Okay last funny bit for the night:
Catherine Zeta Jones tells Jay Leno on the Tonight Show that its amazing what people believe! She was saying that people have actually come up to her and asked her about T-Mobile pricing plans and their 1-800 number. And she was like "Can you believe it? I have literally had to tell people that I just say "T-Mobile Get More"..I don't know anything else about them..."
The next big surprise of the day was that after an hour's workout I felt revived and superb. I came home, relaxed for a few minutues, put on some music and then did the bit that I have been avoiding forever: cooking some good food. Its not that in the last 2 months I haven't cooked dinner. I have several times but definitely not as regularly as I would prefer! The most important part is that today for the first time I cooked the way I like to with great interest and with my heart. For the last few months I guess that hadn't happenned. I was so tired and so angry all the time that enjoying the process of cooking dinner for myself was never a priority....
So ya that boring chain of events has come to an end....From now on every day is going to be even more sunny and full of energy filled activities.
Wasn't this like an ideal day: me doing every regular thing that I should always do but never end up doing?
Not ideal for some other reasons: did not sleep early, did not bathe in the morning and did get mad at someone who tried to bully me.
Okay enough about me! Here are some great news items that caught my eye today. First the funny one with real serious implications::
All you guys out there, are you ready for this piece of information?
Laptops 'a threat to male fertility'
OKay so this is serious business: Guys might need to change their computing habits to maintain good health.
The next funny bit comes courtesy my very own Desh i.e. India....Cellular providers in India are now providing subscribers a new service that allows them to view a movie on their EDGE technology configured cell phones...Isn't this funny ? Okay ya so if you can't get tickets to a movie that's sold out and you can't wait for the DVD to come out, you just watch it on your small screen on your mobile phone...
Indian Movie to Debut on Cell Phones
After all this fun stuff how about appreciating a real nice deed done by a man I really look up to for his work, life and passion for persuasion. He is none other than noted Venture Capitalist Vinod Khosla who donated money for addition of educational resources to his alma mater Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Vinod Khosla's $5-million grant for IIT
Okay last funny bit for the night:
Catherine Zeta Jones tells Jay Leno on the Tonight Show that its amazing what people believe! She was saying that people have actually come up to her and asked her about T-Mobile pricing plans and their 1-800 number. And she was like "Can you believe it? I have literally had to tell people that I just say "T-Mobile Get More"..I don't know anything else about them..."
The Ambani Wars :: Reality TV :: Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki !!
One fine day when one of the Indian cable channels ZEE TV presented a comedy soap called HUM PAANCH who knew that history was being created. Promoted by the then 19 year old Ekta Kapoor, daughter of the renowned Jeetandra, a moviestar, the soap hit all time records for TRP ratings and ran on for 5 straight years..This was a loud but enjoyable comedy show about a couple raising 4 young and independent daughters in Bombay!
Then came those years where the letter K and Balaji Telefilms impounded us with one after another soap about family drama and what not...The very superstitious Ekta continued to rampage all the channels now with her newer soaps...She alone became responsbile for the success of so many new comers: actors/actresses/writers/directors on the tube that had more than half the country glued to their sofas.....
For more information on this topic refer to:
http://www.balajifilms.com/corporate/ekta.htm
http://www.balajitelefilms.com/tvs_h.htm
While these serials were coming out at rapid speeds akin to bullets fired left and right in Kill BILL, the Indian crowd slowly started getting bored with the same old story, same faces, day in and out....A bunch of taglines and jokes came out on the SAAS-BAAHU serials.....By the way SAAS means MOTHER-IN-LAW and BAAHU means DAUGHTER-IN-LAW in Hindi....So you can imagine that these serials were something like the ever-meddling Marie from Everybody Loves Raymond who keeps messing with her daughter-in-law Debra...But the similarities end just there...While Ray and his whole family try to get us laughing, the sordid tell tales of the Balaji "K" serials made you cry and feel sad.....
Anyways, I found them to be such a drag...and once in a while when I did watch them the whole concept struck as stupid and funny to me....
But why tirade so much about EKTA today...Well, the same SAAS_BAAHU story is today coming true in modern India..The biggest conglomerate in India called RELIANCE INDUSTRIES is today facing a similar situation as we have seen for ages....2 brothers fighting over the big Billion dollar business legacy that their late Dad left them....
Isn't it funny and amzing how the reel drama has come alive for real ?
Very interesting articles over the Reliance Ownership Issue :
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/top/story/0,4136,78814,00.html
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?hpFlag=Y&chklogin=N&autono=174575&leftnm=lmnu1&lselect=0&leftindx=1
Who should be the knighted king ? Mukesh or Anil ? Should they split ? After all their professionalism and higher education they have still come down to the same old Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki or for that matter Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi!!!!
Reliance :: What a company ! Ambanis :: What brotherly love ?!
Then came those years where the letter K and Balaji Telefilms impounded us with one after another soap about family drama and what not...The very superstitious Ekta continued to rampage all the channels now with her newer soaps...She alone became responsbile for the success of so many new comers: actors/actresses/writers/directors on the tube that had more than half the country glued to their sofas.....
For more information on this topic refer to:
http://www.balajifilms.com/corporate/ekta.htm
http://www.balajitelefilms.com/tvs_h.htm
While these serials were coming out at rapid speeds akin to bullets fired left and right in Kill BILL, the Indian crowd slowly started getting bored with the same old story, same faces, day in and out....A bunch of taglines and jokes came out on the SAAS-BAAHU serials.....By the way SAAS means MOTHER-IN-LAW and BAAHU means DAUGHTER-IN-LAW in Hindi....So you can imagine that these serials were something like the ever-meddling Marie from Everybody Loves Raymond who keeps messing with her daughter-in-law Debra...But the similarities end just there...While Ray and his whole family try to get us laughing, the sordid tell tales of the Balaji "K" serials made you cry and feel sad.....
Anyways, I found them to be such a drag...and once in a while when I did watch them the whole concept struck as stupid and funny to me....
But why tirade so much about EKTA today...Well, the same SAAS_BAAHU story is today coming true in modern India..The biggest conglomerate in India called RELIANCE INDUSTRIES is today facing a similar situation as we have seen for ages....2 brothers fighting over the big Billion dollar business legacy that their late Dad left them....
Isn't it funny and amzing how the reel drama has come alive for real ?
Very interesting articles over the Reliance Ownership Issue :
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/top/story/0,4136,78814,00.html
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?hpFlag=Y&chklogin=N&autono=174575&leftnm=lmnu1&lselect=0&leftindx=1
Who should be the knighted king ? Mukesh or Anil ? Should they split ? After all their professionalism and higher education they have still come down to the same old Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki or for that matter Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi!!!!
Reliance :: What a company ! Ambanis :: What brotherly love ?!
Sleep Deprivation Triggers 'Hunger Hormones'
Sleep Deprivation Triggers 'Hunger Hormones'
Oh my God! This completely caught me off guard....Dear God reading this article has made me realise how true it is...When I sleep less I do get more hungry ! I should now follow a strict sleep pattern..No more sleeping after 1 am and getting up at 7 am....I have to sleep well..At least a 8 hour sleep daily will have to be the order of the day....No late night TV or books...Sleep is important....Just a few days back someone at work said that he lives for sleep! Yes he looks forward to a restful sleep at the end of the day...Thats his key motivation in life...
Medical science and new studies never fails to surprise me !
All the Bridget Jones in the world - are you guys reading this!?
Oh my God! This completely caught me off guard....Dear God reading this article has made me realise how true it is...When I sleep less I do get more hungry ! I should now follow a strict sleep pattern..No more sleeping after 1 am and getting up at 7 am....I have to sleep well..At least a 8 hour sleep daily will have to be the order of the day....No late night TV or books...Sleep is important....Just a few days back someone at work said that he lives for sleep! Yes he looks forward to a restful sleep at the end of the day...Thats his key motivation in life...
Medical science and new studies never fails to surprise me !
All the Bridget Jones in the world - are you guys reading this!?
Be Proud to be an Indian :: JAI HIND!
Here is a superb presentation on India, its culture heritage, history and contribution to the world. It makes you feel nice and proud to be born as an Indian! Not that I wasn't a proud Indian before seeing this..But this is just great! Check this out folks..
http://www.geocities.com/upasu/India.pps
http://www.geocities.com/upasu/India.pps
‘Bhajji ka har bhajan dhyan se suno!’
indian satire: discard dead weights
For your regular but hilarious cricket update be sure to check this one out!
For your regular but hilarious cricket update be sure to check this one out!
Special trains to promote condoms, fight AIDS
Special trains to promote condoms, fight AIDS
What an innovative idea? How well it will work I don't know but hey its an idea...It will do something! Better than doing nothing about this tremendous looming disaster waiting to happen...India, China and Thailand are leading the race for maximum AIDS victims..With 1 billion people its no surprise that India is headed to win this race..But this is one race we shouldn't be wanting to win...Not only is it disastrous but the HIV virus has a multiplicative effect and the faster our Health ministry realises this and does something about it the better....
Baby steps are fine at least they are steps in the right direction: to increase AIDS awareness.
What an innovative idea? How well it will work I don't know but hey its an idea...It will do something! Better than doing nothing about this tremendous looming disaster waiting to happen...India, China and Thailand are leading the race for maximum AIDS victims..With 1 billion people its no surprise that India is headed to win this race..But this is one race we shouldn't be wanting to win...Not only is it disastrous but the HIV virus has a multiplicative effect and the faster our Health ministry realises this and does something about it the better....
Baby steps are fine at least they are steps in the right direction: to increase AIDS awareness.
Child is the father of man!
Okay a friend passed this along...Its funny hence I am posting it. Babies can really surprise you with their wit!
A first grade teacher collected well known proverbs. She had twenty-five students in her class and she presented each child in class the first half of a proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading these keep in mind that these are first graders...........6-year-olds, because the last one is classic!
1. Don't change horses......................until they stop running.
2. Strike while the .bug is close.
3. It's always darkest before ...........Daylight Saving Time.
4. Never underestimate the power of .....termites.
5. You can lead a horse to water but ...........how?
6. Don't bite the hand that .................. looks dirty.
7. No news .........impossible.
8. A miss is as good as a .................... Mr.
9. You can't teach an old dog new .......... math.
10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll ...... stink in the morning.
11. Love all, trust . me.
12. The pen is mightier than the ............. pigs.
13. An idle mind is .... the best way to relax.
14. Where there's smoke there's ............ pollution.
15. Happy the bride who .................. gets all the presents.
16. A penny saved is ........................ not much.
17. Two's company, three's . the Musketeers.
18. Don't put off till tomorrow what ....... you put on to go to bed.
19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and .........youhave to blow your nose.
20. There are none so blind as .......................... Stevie Wonder.
21. Children should be seen and not . spanked or grounded.
22. If at first you don't succeed ............. get new batteries.
23. You get out of something only what you ...........see in thepicture on the box.
24. When the blind lead the blind ............... get out of the way.
And the WINNER
25. Better late than .............. pregnant.
A first grade teacher collected well known proverbs. She had twenty-five students in her class and she presented each child in class the first half of a proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading these keep in mind that these are first graders...........6-year-olds, because the last one is classic!
1. Don't change horses......................until they stop running.
2. Strike while the .bug is close.
3. It's always darkest before ...........Daylight Saving Time.
4. Never underestimate the power of .....termites.
5. You can lead a horse to water but ...........how?
6. Don't bite the hand that .................. looks dirty.
7. No news .........impossible.
8. A miss is as good as a .................... Mr.
9. You can't teach an old dog new .......... math.
10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll ...... stink in the morning.
11. Love all, trust . me.
12. The pen is mightier than the ............. pigs.
13. An idle mind is .... the best way to relax.
14. Where there's smoke there's ............ pollution.
15. Happy the bride who .................. gets all the presents.
16. A penny saved is ........................ not much.
17. Two's company, three's . the Musketeers.
18. Don't put off till tomorrow what ....... you put on to go to bed.
19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and .........youhave to blow your nose.
20. There are none so blind as .......................... Stevie Wonder.
21. Children should be seen and not . spanked or grounded.
22. If at first you don't succeed ............. get new batteries.
23. You get out of something only what you ...........see in thepicture on the box.
24. When the blind lead the blind ............... get out of the way.
And the WINNER
25. Better late than .............. pregnant.
Thanksgiving Sale Update
Hello People,
Longtime no hear! Yup thats me, never expect regularity from me. Anyways, so last Thursday was Thanksgiving in the US and on Friday was the Day After Thanksgiving door buster sale....And in fine American fashion yours truly decided to make the best out of it...What did I do ?
Till about 2 in the night on Thursday I was busy with God only knows what ? Was I reading a book , or maybe watching TV, nah I think working online, which reminds me I need to do some rework on my website...Anyways, enough of diversions..So anyways, late in the night I set out to find the newspaper for Thursday i.e. the Union Tribune because all the electronics and other stores publish their Friday morning deals only in the Thursday or sometimes even Friday paper! Okay how smart of me to go looking for a paper at 8 in the night..I spent 1 hour looking for the paper. I went to all the gas stations nearby which generally have a 24 hour booth for basic amenities and yeah also the newspaper...They were all sold out...Man I also went to some vending stations and ended up wasting quarters as all the machines were empty!
Anyways, when I returned home helpless, I was even more determined to find out the rates..You see you can't really afford to go to all the stores..U have to make a list of your items compare the rates before hand and then head off to the place where you have the best odds of getting your stuff...
Finally, by 3 in the night I had found a bunch of forums with listed prices for all stores you could possibly imagine. After all if you have Google who needs a Union Tribune !
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=black+friday+deals+san+diego
http://247malls.com/GO1/thanksgiving.htm
BY 5 in the morning I was in the shower which was a first I might say, I was like yeah for the first time in my professional life I will be at work before 8 (which was only a dream, it never happenned okay!)
By 5:35 I was at Frys which is the biggest electronics chain in California and I was like "OH MY GOD"...There was a freaking line with at least 5000 people and there was no scene for parking...I parked like many others in an illegal spot off the street....Ran to get in line...The line started at the entrance to the store and do you want to know where I was relative to that ? I was at the very end of the line which by the way went all around the big store and ended again at the entrance...Only difference there was so much security, you really had to walk all around the store in the line to get to the entrance...In the line I saw the young and the old, the excited shoppers and the determined ones..It really is true, some people had camped through the night for they had folding chairs and what not with them...I saw a lot of students from UCSD and SDSU in the line, all in their friendly circles talking about you get 2 of those I will get 2 of that...It was all fun! Meanwhile I borrowed somebody's newspaper and checked the rates...They were slightly different..I referred to my list and had a thought that this might be a bad idea..I might still be better off heading to Circuit City which was my next best shot after Frys...Why, why didn't I follow my basic instinct ? Thats the million dollar question !
Doors opened at 6 am sharp...The line screeched in...I was in by 6:15 but by then there were long lines....Which line should I join the one for the digital camera or the one for the home theatre system/DVD player...I took a shot..I started in the latter line...It was long very long...By the time it was my turn at 7:15 all the home theatre systems were sold but I did get 2 DVD players for $15 each...I wanted one for myself and one for a dear friend who got married on Thanksgiving day in India! Next I hit the digital camera line which was again very long basically from one end of the store to another....Shortly came the announcement all digital cameras have been sold out! Aw man that hurt...My heart was set at getting one for my parents...It was going at $149 at Frys while Best Buy and Circuit City were at $199...Anyways, along the way I got a rice cooker for 5 bucks and then decided to join the checkout queue which was as long as it possibly could be!!! It started right near the farthest end of the store and kept going to the entrance/exit towards the cashier lanes....That was 1 long line...Thankfully, I found a colleague from office in the line and we started chatting...Another fellow also joined and we started figuring out the whole concept behind the maddenning sale....While being naive as I am, I was of the view point that why do these store keepers not stock pile..How come everything is sold out within the first hour ? If the prices are so damn cheap the only way they can make money is in volume so then why not hold more volumes...Someone suggested that but they are trying to be risk averse....And then came the right answer.....
The Black Friday or the Day after Thanksgiving sale is not for store keepers to sell tons of stuff cheap but the point is to hold very minimal stock of very low priced goods which they evidently sell at a loss...But the idea is to create the fantasy, to pull in just about enough people that most of them would end up being lost leaders i.e. they tried to get the booty but they just missed...Like me but then I ended up not being a lost leader....A lost leader would typically feel bad about not being able to buy his/her stuff and end up buying something else at close to regular prices just to feel better....The crucial thing for the average customer is "STICK to your list"...And thats what I did!! I endured the long lines but did not buy anything that I wasn't planning to buy! Okay I am not determined..In fact I am very impulsive but after my detailed research I really couldn't find anything except the rice cooker that was well priced and so that I picked frivolously...
I headed out of Frys very tired and dehydrated after 3 hours lamenting myself that why didn't I just leave when I saw the long lines....See the thing is that I could have bought the DVD players at the same rate anywhere but the Home Theatre and Digi-Cam would be SOLD OUT at all the places by now! And then it was after all a working day! Screw it! I thought hey people left work at 10:30 on Wednesday so I can go late....I'll deal with what people have to say!
So I went to Ciruit City..No it was not very crowded and EUREKA I found the Home Theatre system all with 5 speakers and 150 watts and a DVD player for just $68...The digital camera was expensive so I didn't bother to get it!
Now I was in the real sense WOMAN ON A MISSION! I knew what I wanted and where! I headed to Staples bought the wireless mouse, calculator and webcam at dirt cheap rates as I had decided last night....Next stop was the big W, WALMART! Here I wandered a little...They had changed rates and did not have many deals this year! But I bought a vacuum cleaner cheap..Basically I got a bagless one at the price of the old bag type with all the other factors same! Then I bought myself a set of cutlery you know with plates, bowls, etc...This is because last week I broke a plate and I had only 2 plates to start with...So now everytime I have to eat I have to wash my plate which is a big pain, right! Next I bought a set of nonstick pots and pans for cooking, which by the way I have been hardly doing since I left Stanford....Those were the days.....Oh I also bought an electronic can opener for 4 bucks...With the amount of cans I open every month you know for tomatoes, kidney beans and what not I figured this was a good investment!
By now I was dead tired and it was almost 10:30 so off I headed to work.....I left work by 4:30-5.. By that time most of the office was deserted.....I offloaded all the stuff at home, put in my sleepover bag and all the goodies that had just come from Mom in the car and off I started towards LA....Driving at 80 miles per hour without having slept the night before....It was all nice...The Desi Thanksgiving dinner was being hosted by my sister on Friday night and I was there to ravish all the Kashmiri style cooking....The weekend flew by with a trip to Catalina Island and a bunch of jokes with friends and family and I was back home by 10 pm Sunday night....
Its about 10 on Saturday night right now...Its been a week and after all that excited shopping I still haven't opened any of the items and checked whether they work. Neither have I bothered to mail out the mail-in-rebate forms...
OHHH What a week ! Did I forget to mention that each day this week I came home after 9 pm...I almost started hating my job...Things will be better next week, I hope!
RISE & SHINE is my new MOTTO!!
Longtime no hear! Yup thats me, never expect regularity from me. Anyways, so last Thursday was Thanksgiving in the US and on Friday was the Day After Thanksgiving door buster sale....And in fine American fashion yours truly decided to make the best out of it...What did I do ?
Till about 2 in the night on Thursday I was busy with God only knows what ? Was I reading a book , or maybe watching TV, nah I think working online, which reminds me I need to do some rework on my website...Anyways, enough of diversions..So anyways, late in the night I set out to find the newspaper for Thursday i.e. the Union Tribune because all the electronics and other stores publish their Friday morning deals only in the Thursday or sometimes even Friday paper! Okay how smart of me to go looking for a paper at 8 in the night..I spent 1 hour looking for the paper. I went to all the gas stations nearby which generally have a 24 hour booth for basic amenities and yeah also the newspaper...They were all sold out...Man I also went to some vending stations and ended up wasting quarters as all the machines were empty!
Anyways, when I returned home helpless, I was even more determined to find out the rates..You see you can't really afford to go to all the stores..U have to make a list of your items compare the rates before hand and then head off to the place where you have the best odds of getting your stuff...
Finally, by 3 in the night I had found a bunch of forums with listed prices for all stores you could possibly imagine. After all if you have Google who needs a Union Tribune !
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=black+friday+deals+san+diego
http://247malls.com/GO1/thanksgiving.htm
BY 5 in the morning I was in the shower which was a first I might say, I was like yeah for the first time in my professional life I will be at work before 8 (which was only a dream, it never happenned okay!)
By 5:35 I was at Frys which is the biggest electronics chain in California and I was like "OH MY GOD"...There was a freaking line with at least 5000 people and there was no scene for parking...I parked like many others in an illegal spot off the street....Ran to get in line...The line started at the entrance to the store and do you want to know where I was relative to that ? I was at the very end of the line which by the way went all around the big store and ended again at the entrance...Only difference there was so much security, you really had to walk all around the store in the line to get to the entrance...In the line I saw the young and the old, the excited shoppers and the determined ones..It really is true, some people had camped through the night for they had folding chairs and what not with them...I saw a lot of students from UCSD and SDSU in the line, all in their friendly circles talking about you get 2 of those I will get 2 of that...It was all fun! Meanwhile I borrowed somebody's newspaper and checked the rates...They were slightly different..I referred to my list and had a thought that this might be a bad idea..I might still be better off heading to Circuit City which was my next best shot after Frys...Why, why didn't I follow my basic instinct ? Thats the million dollar question !
Doors opened at 6 am sharp...The line screeched in...I was in by 6:15 but by then there were long lines....Which line should I join the one for the digital camera or the one for the home theatre system/DVD player...I took a shot..I started in the latter line...It was long very long...By the time it was my turn at 7:15 all the home theatre systems were sold but I did get 2 DVD players for $15 each...I wanted one for myself and one for a dear friend who got married on Thanksgiving day in India! Next I hit the digital camera line which was again very long basically from one end of the store to another....Shortly came the announcement all digital cameras have been sold out! Aw man that hurt...My heart was set at getting one for my parents...It was going at $149 at Frys while Best Buy and Circuit City were at $199...Anyways, along the way I got a rice cooker for 5 bucks and then decided to join the checkout queue which was as long as it possibly could be!!! It started right near the farthest end of the store and kept going to the entrance/exit towards the cashier lanes....That was 1 long line...Thankfully, I found a colleague from office in the line and we started chatting...Another fellow also joined and we started figuring out the whole concept behind the maddenning sale....While being naive as I am, I was of the view point that why do these store keepers not stock pile..How come everything is sold out within the first hour ? If the prices are so damn cheap the only way they can make money is in volume so then why not hold more volumes...Someone suggested that but they are trying to be risk averse....And then came the right answer.....
The Black Friday or the Day after Thanksgiving sale is not for store keepers to sell tons of stuff cheap but the point is to hold very minimal stock of very low priced goods which they evidently sell at a loss...But the idea is to create the fantasy, to pull in just about enough people that most of them would end up being lost leaders i.e. they tried to get the booty but they just missed...Like me but then I ended up not being a lost leader....A lost leader would typically feel bad about not being able to buy his/her stuff and end up buying something else at close to regular prices just to feel better....The crucial thing for the average customer is "STICK to your list"...And thats what I did!! I endured the long lines but did not buy anything that I wasn't planning to buy! Okay I am not determined..In fact I am very impulsive but after my detailed research I really couldn't find anything except the rice cooker that was well priced and so that I picked frivolously...
I headed out of Frys very tired and dehydrated after 3 hours lamenting myself that why didn't I just leave when I saw the long lines....See the thing is that I could have bought the DVD players at the same rate anywhere but the Home Theatre and Digi-Cam would be SOLD OUT at all the places by now! And then it was after all a working day! Screw it! I thought hey people left work at 10:30 on Wednesday so I can go late....I'll deal with what people have to say!
So I went to Ciruit City..No it was not very crowded and EUREKA I found the Home Theatre system all with 5 speakers and 150 watts and a DVD player for just $68...The digital camera was expensive so I didn't bother to get it!
Now I was in the real sense WOMAN ON A MISSION! I knew what I wanted and where! I headed to Staples bought the wireless mouse, calculator and webcam at dirt cheap rates as I had decided last night....Next stop was the big W, WALMART! Here I wandered a little...They had changed rates and did not have many deals this year! But I bought a vacuum cleaner cheap..Basically I got a bagless one at the price of the old bag type with all the other factors same! Then I bought myself a set of cutlery you know with plates, bowls, etc...This is because last week I broke a plate and I had only 2 plates to start with...So now everytime I have to eat I have to wash my plate which is a big pain, right! Next I bought a set of nonstick pots and pans for cooking, which by the way I have been hardly doing since I left Stanford....Those were the days.....Oh I also bought an electronic can opener for 4 bucks...With the amount of cans I open every month you know for tomatoes, kidney beans and what not I figured this was a good investment!
By now I was dead tired and it was almost 10:30 so off I headed to work.....I left work by 4:30-5.. By that time most of the office was deserted.....I offloaded all the stuff at home, put in my sleepover bag and all the goodies that had just come from Mom in the car and off I started towards LA....Driving at 80 miles per hour without having slept the night before....It was all nice...The Desi Thanksgiving dinner was being hosted by my sister on Friday night and I was there to ravish all the Kashmiri style cooking....The weekend flew by with a trip to Catalina Island and a bunch of jokes with friends and family and I was back home by 10 pm Sunday night....
Its about 10 on Saturday night right now...Its been a week and after all that excited shopping I still haven't opened any of the items and checked whether they work. Neither have I bothered to mail out the mail-in-rebate forms...
OHHH What a week ! Did I forget to mention that each day this week I came home after 9 pm...I almost started hating my job...Things will be better next week, I hope!
RISE & SHINE is my new MOTTO!!
Get A Life III :: What Life ?
Life has been lost for the past few days in the mundane activities at work.....There has been no time to do nothing not even to sleep well for me to even venture into blogging....Few quickies though:
Thanksgiving shopping was eventful and I bought a bunch of things!
Visited Catalina Island on Saturday, beautiful and not touristy!
Mon-Wednesday has been 12 hour work days and a numb brain and body at the end of the day!
Freakishly enough its freezing these days...
The change of roommies thing will work out fine I think!
More fun writing will be over the weekend.....
And yohoo BLOG is the most popular word this year
'Blog' Is Number One Word Of 2004!
Enjoy the WWW and keep blogging!
Thanksgiving shopping was eventful and I bought a bunch of things!
Visited Catalina Island on Saturday, beautiful and not touristy!
Mon-Wednesday has been 12 hour work days and a numb brain and body at the end of the day!
Freakishly enough its freezing these days...
The change of roommies thing will work out fine I think!
More fun writing will be over the weekend.....
And yohoo BLOG is the most popular word this year
'Blog' Is Number One Word Of 2004!
Enjoy the WWW and keep blogging!
Get a Life II
Alrighty, I haven't written anything since Sunday..Why is that ? Um I was super busy on Monday at work..Damn, half the office is on leave for the holidays...Tuesday I came in on time and was super anxious to relax and watch some TV and have a proper dinner...Okay Wednesday was a real easy day by means of work...Half the office had left early anywhere between 11 to 1 in the afternoon trying to get to their families for the impending Thanksgiving dinner today! I heard on the news that yesterday, Nov 25, 2004 was the biggest commuter day in the US since 9/11/2001....Airports, train stations and freeways were all packed thereby....
I spent most of the day on the phone haggling with super irritating customer service reps trying to get my menial chores which were pending since ever to be done with...Thereafter, for the first time I left the office at 4:30 and hopped from one to shop to another to check out the pre-Thanksgiving sales...Viola not many discounted rates were being offered but tomorrow 5:30 am to 12 noon will be the big boom time....Okay I really don't know who and why came up with this crazy idea of the day after Thanksgiving sales that too starting at 5:30 in the morning...C'mmon folks what is the hurry really ? Why not starting at 9 am ? If its a question of busting the doors and who gets there first we can all still shoot for 10 am why the need to get up so early...Well maybe 'coz thats so early for me and regular for most Americans....I know so many people who sleep at 10 every night and get up at 4:30 and get to work before 6 everyday for no specific reason...Companies don't demand that people be at work before 8 then why the hell this aversion to the very enchanting early morning sleep ?
Anyways, in the last 2 years I never had the need or determination to participate in this yearly post Thanksgiving sale...This year while I am setting up a home base and have recently acquired some purchasing power I might as well make use of this maddenning sales event! Well the prices are damn cheap sometimes going down by more than 50%..Last year a friend of mine went to Best Buy at 8 in the morning and he saw people stamping, running over each other to get the last best deals...My friend was able to buy a digital camera priced at 300 for $150..Awesome...Okay I have to be all guns ready to do this tomorrow....So tonight I need to research everything online and get the discount rates as published in the newspaper to know which shop to go in order to purchase what! But yo tomorrow is a working day, ya its sad but what can I say! Anyways, I could always shop from 6-9 and then head to work! Well I better get working to organize my shopping spree....
Last nite was such a drag....I got tired visiting all those stores to check out prices, then saw some TV and finally ended up watching Veer Zarra at midnight...Okay I went thru the movie fine but I can't really say that I liked it..Its too mushy mushy and stupid for my liking! An intelligent Air Force officer gets emotinal and decides to spend his entire life in the prison so that his girlfriend and her fiance live a peaceful life, this on the promise of a deceitful fiance in the first place..Its hard to digest that both the lovers get through their lives in total ignorance that the other person is alive and living a painful and secluded life for him/her....Why do directors make such movies ?
On that note, I recently saw a trailer of this new upcoming Robert De Niro movie "Hide & Seek" ...Its a horrifying and chilling tale of a man finding out that his 9 year old daughter has found a new way of dealing with her mother's death...She either has an imaginary friend Charlie or she herself is the very violent Charlie..I saw this spine chilling trailer last weekend when I went to see Bridget Jones Diary II and immediately I was thinking why do they make such movies ? What is the purpose ? Its not that I get frightened easily..I have seen a bunch of horror movies..My real concern is that how does this effect the society and our psyche....Especially the kids..Granted that this movie will definitely be rated adult but what about the young movie actors and actresses...Doesn't it affect them ? Why do writers write such scripts and parents allow their kids to star in such movies ? I wonder how I would've reacted? Being a 9 year old I would have been horrified going through painful make believe scenes about murder, rape, etc...Why give your a child such a wild and possibly hurtful experience ?
No wonder domestic violence is on the rise and its such horrifying tales of human drama that affect the kids, their parents and the whole society in some hidden way at some point in time....Why not make more happy movies ? Give people true entertainment...A reason to forget the problems in their lives and enjoy something for 2 hours...Alright now I am being opinionated to the point of no return....
Lemme get started on my big bang for the money shopping race tomorrow and wish you guys a very Happy Thanksgiving! This year I had no turkey and no family around me but I had a restful day and yes I am thankful to God for giving me so many reasons to be happy!
I spent most of the day on the phone haggling with super irritating customer service reps trying to get my menial chores which were pending since ever to be done with...Thereafter, for the first time I left the office at 4:30 and hopped from one to shop to another to check out the pre-Thanksgiving sales...Viola not many discounted rates were being offered but tomorrow 5:30 am to 12 noon will be the big boom time....Okay I really don't know who and why came up with this crazy idea of the day after Thanksgiving sales that too starting at 5:30 in the morning...C'mmon folks what is the hurry really ? Why not starting at 9 am ? If its a question of busting the doors and who gets there first we can all still shoot for 10 am why the need to get up so early...Well maybe 'coz thats so early for me and regular for most Americans....I know so many people who sleep at 10 every night and get up at 4:30 and get to work before 6 everyday for no specific reason...Companies don't demand that people be at work before 8 then why the hell this aversion to the very enchanting early morning sleep ?
Anyways, in the last 2 years I never had the need or determination to participate in this yearly post Thanksgiving sale...This year while I am setting up a home base and have recently acquired some purchasing power I might as well make use of this maddenning sales event! Well the prices are damn cheap sometimes going down by more than 50%..Last year a friend of mine went to Best Buy at 8 in the morning and he saw people stamping, running over each other to get the last best deals...My friend was able to buy a digital camera priced at 300 for $150..Awesome...Okay I have to be all guns ready to do this tomorrow....So tonight I need to research everything online and get the discount rates as published in the newspaper to know which shop to go in order to purchase what! But yo tomorrow is a working day, ya its sad but what can I say! Anyways, I could always shop from 6-9 and then head to work! Well I better get working to organize my shopping spree....
Last nite was such a drag....I got tired visiting all those stores to check out prices, then saw some TV and finally ended up watching Veer Zarra at midnight...Okay I went thru the movie fine but I can't really say that I liked it..Its too mushy mushy and stupid for my liking! An intelligent Air Force officer gets emotinal and decides to spend his entire life in the prison so that his girlfriend and her fiance live a peaceful life, this on the promise of a deceitful fiance in the first place..Its hard to digest that both the lovers get through their lives in total ignorance that the other person is alive and living a painful and secluded life for him/her....Why do directors make such movies ?
On that note, I recently saw a trailer of this new upcoming Robert De Niro movie "Hide & Seek" ...Its a horrifying and chilling tale of a man finding out that his 9 year old daughter has found a new way of dealing with her mother's death...She either has an imaginary friend Charlie or she herself is the very violent Charlie..I saw this spine chilling trailer last weekend when I went to see Bridget Jones Diary II and immediately I was thinking why do they make such movies ? What is the purpose ? Its not that I get frightened easily..I have seen a bunch of horror movies..My real concern is that how does this effect the society and our psyche....Especially the kids..Granted that this movie will definitely be rated adult but what about the young movie actors and actresses...Doesn't it affect them ? Why do writers write such scripts and parents allow their kids to star in such movies ? I wonder how I would've reacted? Being a 9 year old I would have been horrified going through painful make believe scenes about murder, rape, etc...Why give your a child such a wild and possibly hurtful experience ?
No wonder domestic violence is on the rise and its such horrifying tales of human drama that affect the kids, their parents and the whole society in some hidden way at some point in time....Why not make more happy movies ? Give people true entertainment...A reason to forget the problems in their lives and enjoy something for 2 hours...Alright now I am being opinionated to the point of no return....
Lemme get started on my big bang for the money shopping race tomorrow and wish you guys a very Happy Thanksgiving! This year I had no turkey and no family around me but I had a restful day and yes I am thankful to God for giving me so many reasons to be happy!
On Bride & Prejudice & Gurinder Chadha
Disclaimer: This is more of an elongated comment to a post Balle Balle, Amritsar to LA (Bride and Prejudice) on Deepak's blog than an original post. For background, please read his post first !
While I have serious misgivings about Chadha's potrayal of modern India and Indian families in both her films - Bend it like Beckham & Bride & Prejudice, I think the new movie "Bride & Prejudice" does bring something to the table..It brings the very Indian Bollywood in the limelight and Miramax to Indian cinema in the future...Wudn't it be great if we could bring $$$$ and pounds to Bollywood from renowned production houses rather than the Dawood Ibrahims (an underworld don in India) of the world and churn out movies for the world audiences...Just like European hits like Amelie, My big fat greek wedding, Run Lola Run, etc. the global movie-goer would be able to enjoy desi hits like Golmaal, Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Company, Hera Pheri and what not!
I seriously think that in any business venture a wrong direction is better than no direction..Hence, while Chadha has faltered on many aspects there are some angles worth appreciation...For instance, an original and well presented concept is family and peer pressure which affects all of us notwithstanding if we come from a middle class Indian family or a filthy rich American or British family..(Think Darcy's Mom having serious apprehensions about her son Darcy falling in love with an Indian girl who does not belong to a rich and famous family)
Thats all with my 2 cents on Bride & Prejudice..
p.s. Deepak :: U must see the British versions of Jane Austen's novels...Sense & Sensibility with Hugh Grant & Emma Thompson and Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth are absolutely beautiful movies....Austen was really not as bad as u think of her...Maybe it was your boring professor after all...Things would have been different if your literature teacher in your teen years were perhaps a youthful and inspiring woman :)
While I have serious misgivings about Chadha's potrayal of modern India and Indian families in both her films - Bend it like Beckham & Bride & Prejudice, I think the new movie "Bride & Prejudice" does bring something to the table..It brings the very Indian Bollywood in the limelight and Miramax to Indian cinema in the future...Wudn't it be great if we could bring $$$$ and pounds to Bollywood from renowned production houses rather than the Dawood Ibrahims (an underworld don in India) of the world and churn out movies for the world audiences...Just like European hits like Amelie, My big fat greek wedding, Run Lola Run, etc. the global movie-goer would be able to enjoy desi hits like Golmaal, Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Company, Hera Pheri and what not!
I seriously think that in any business venture a wrong direction is better than no direction..Hence, while Chadha has faltered on many aspects there are some angles worth appreciation...For instance, an original and well presented concept is family and peer pressure which affects all of us notwithstanding if we come from a middle class Indian family or a filthy rich American or British family..(Think Darcy's Mom having serious apprehensions about her son Darcy falling in love with an Indian girl who does not belong to a rich and famous family)
Thats all with my 2 cents on Bride & Prejudice..
p.s. Deepak :: U must see the British versions of Jane Austen's novels...Sense & Sensibility with Hugh Grant & Emma Thompson and Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth are absolutely beautiful movies....Austen was really not as bad as u think of her...Maybe it was your boring professor after all...Things would have been different if your literature teacher in your teen years were perhaps a youthful and inspiring woman :)
Get A Life - I
Well whats been happenning with me ? Nothing much! Its not very difficult to fall into the monotonous rhythm of home-office-home day in and out, is it ? Its been just 2 months since I started working and I am already on the verge of being called a workaholic. I have been at work on several occasions past 8 pm and once I even had the absolutely hilarious fortune of getting locked in the office at 10:30 pm. That incident really jolted the blues out of me...New motto to be followed very seriously :: Get a Life!
Ala Upasana, so far the start has been pretty bad...Well if you've been in sunny San Diego for 2 months and haven't yet taken a dip in the ocean I would say pretty much your life sucks, thats to say my life sucks....In a genuine effort to revitalize my energetic self, the new game plan is to maintain a healthy work life balance....No more late nights at the office! More athletics, fun activities, exercise and yes no skipping meals either...
So once I decided it was high time to shake my lazy bones, which was about 2 days back..I still haven't gotten far....Friday was okay..A relaxed work day, an elongated pool session with colleagues, a good survey of the Pacific Beach area and to top of the day some great Mexican tacos and a superb Margarita! Not bad for starters at all...
Okay but Friday was Friday....Saturday morning got off to a late start...Gotta catch up on my beauty sleep on the weekends :) Did a very boring yet much delayed task of paying bills online..Done with that for a month....Then I tried to motivate myself a lot to head down to a sports bar where my co- Stan Alums were all piled up to root for the Cardinals in the 107th Big Game...But I guess it wasn't worth it...My gut feeling and lazy bones made the right decision...The Cardinals chickened out and the Bears now have their 3rd straight win over us in the Big Game since 2002...Really poor performance...But we may come back with a vengeance next year...
Anyways, the afternoon progressed smoothly as I guzzled on spicy Rasam, a South Indian recipe courtesy my roommate while we watched the much entrancing Entrapment....Wow Catherina Zeta Jones is one heck of a babe in this flick....Much to my surprise the Satur - day then went spiraling down towards a no lifer as I planned to catch the new Hugh Grant movie Bridget Jones II - The Edge of Reason...I must say I love Studio Canal and most British movies...They are definitely a bit different from the regular Hollywood movies...Much more original, earthy and a feel of more reality and less glamour....Love Actually, Sense & Sensibility, oh I love them all....Bridget Jones II was definitely not a disappointment but yes it was not as refreshing as the part I and yes Hugh Grant has much less footage...Also in an attempt to potray Bridget as a plumpy ageing spinster, the director has gone over board and at times Bridget just looks plain old and ugly..Hey I have nothing against fat women, in fact I am quite plump myself but c'mmon its a movie if not super beautiful let Rene look at least decently good...
If that wasn't enough, a friend of mine handed me a copy of the new Indo-British movie by Gurinder Chadha (of Bend it like Beckham fame)...The movie is adapted from Jane Austen's novel and is available in English as Bride & Prejudice and in Hindi as Balle Balle Amritsar to LA... And you won't believe that after getting back home from watching Bridget Jones, I decided what the heck lemme see this one too...I started with the Hindi version because you know the dialogues and jokes are at time more hilarious in the original language....Wo its funny and yes Martin Henderson is one handsome hunk as Will Darcy in the movie....Ms. World Aishwarya Rai looks sparky and thankfully not so much glamorous as the fiesty Lalita...All in all its a good movie but I wish the director would not have tried to pack in everything in one movie..Its too much you know....First she packed up the movie with some extraneous songs, then in a bad attempt to show crossing of cultures - the Indian Amritsar to the American LA ala Beverly Hills she packs in everything from elephants to Baywatch, an over dose of Indian dance and Mexican bands....
To my surprise, the English version of the movie is not only different in terms of the language but there are many scenes which are different or cut in the Hindi version....And if you think I am nuts to see the same movie twice on the same day..I most certainly am not!! I just checked that out in a jiffy you know some scenes here and there to catch a glimpse of adorable Martin Henderson and hear his real voice....
The movies Bridget Jones and Bride & Prejudice always remind me of the typical ups and downs of real life love stories and yes the colorful on screen marriages brought back some nostalgia..How many weddings of close friends and cousins back home in India have I already missed and will continue to in the near future as I live seven seas away in the US of A.... Its so sad to miss them, weddings are always fun especially if the one getting married is close to you...
ALL in ALL, what a life...a Movies Super Saturday, another weekend almost down the drain...One good deed of the day..yu hu I am hereby posting after ages on my blog..Better & hopefully sunny days are yet to come and Get A Life is still motto of the year!
Ala Upasana, so far the start has been pretty bad...Well if you've been in sunny San Diego for 2 months and haven't yet taken a dip in the ocean I would say pretty much your life sucks, thats to say my life sucks....In a genuine effort to revitalize my energetic self, the new game plan is to maintain a healthy work life balance....No more late nights at the office! More athletics, fun activities, exercise and yes no skipping meals either...
So once I decided it was high time to shake my lazy bones, which was about 2 days back..I still haven't gotten far....Friday was okay..A relaxed work day, an elongated pool session with colleagues, a good survey of the Pacific Beach area and to top of the day some great Mexican tacos and a superb Margarita! Not bad for starters at all...
Okay but Friday was Friday....Saturday morning got off to a late start...Gotta catch up on my beauty sleep on the weekends :) Did a very boring yet much delayed task of paying bills online..Done with that for a month....Then I tried to motivate myself a lot to head down to a sports bar where my co- Stan Alums were all piled up to root for the Cardinals in the 107th Big Game...But I guess it wasn't worth it...My gut feeling and lazy bones made the right decision...The Cardinals chickened out and the Bears now have their 3rd straight win over us in the Big Game since 2002...Really poor performance...But we may come back with a vengeance next year...
Anyways, the afternoon progressed smoothly as I guzzled on spicy Rasam, a South Indian recipe courtesy my roommate while we watched the much entrancing Entrapment....Wow Catherina Zeta Jones is one heck of a babe in this flick....Much to my surprise the Satur - day then went spiraling down towards a no lifer as I planned to catch the new Hugh Grant movie Bridget Jones II - The Edge of Reason...I must say I love Studio Canal and most British movies...They are definitely a bit different from the regular Hollywood movies...Much more original, earthy and a feel of more reality and less glamour....Love Actually, Sense & Sensibility, oh I love them all....Bridget Jones II was definitely not a disappointment but yes it was not as refreshing as the part I and yes Hugh Grant has much less footage...Also in an attempt to potray Bridget as a plumpy ageing spinster, the director has gone over board and at times Bridget just looks plain old and ugly..Hey I have nothing against fat women, in fact I am quite plump myself but c'mmon its a movie if not super beautiful let Rene look at least decently good...
If that wasn't enough, a friend of mine handed me a copy of the new Indo-British movie by Gurinder Chadha (of Bend it like Beckham fame)...The movie is adapted from Jane Austen's novel and is available in English as Bride & Prejudice and in Hindi as Balle Balle Amritsar to LA... And you won't believe that after getting back home from watching Bridget Jones, I decided what the heck lemme see this one too...I started with the Hindi version because you know the dialogues and jokes are at time more hilarious in the original language....Wo its funny and yes Martin Henderson is one handsome hunk as Will Darcy in the movie....Ms. World Aishwarya Rai looks sparky and thankfully not so much glamorous as the fiesty Lalita...All in all its a good movie but I wish the director would not have tried to pack in everything in one movie..Its too much you know....First she packed up the movie with some extraneous songs, then in a bad attempt to show crossing of cultures - the Indian Amritsar to the American LA ala Beverly Hills she packs in everything from elephants to Baywatch, an over dose of Indian dance and Mexican bands....
To my surprise, the English version of the movie is not only different in terms of the language but there are many scenes which are different or cut in the Hindi version....And if you think I am nuts to see the same movie twice on the same day..I most certainly am not!! I just checked that out in a jiffy you know some scenes here and there to catch a glimpse of adorable Martin Henderson and hear his real voice....
The movies Bridget Jones and Bride & Prejudice always remind me of the typical ups and downs of real life love stories and yes the colorful on screen marriages brought back some nostalgia..How many weddings of close friends and cousins back home in India have I already missed and will continue to in the near future as I live seven seas away in the US of A.... Its so sad to miss them, weddings are always fun especially if the one getting married is close to you...
ALL in ALL, what a life...a Movies Super Saturday, another weekend almost down the drain...One good deed of the day..yu hu I am hereby posting after ages on my blog..Better & hopefully sunny days are yet to come and Get A Life is still motto of the year!
Okay Kanpur guys under heat again ?!
Ok now what is with these Kanpur guys...Grow up u guys..when will u leave ur petty narrow minded style of functioning.....Eve Teasing is legally a part of sexual harrasment and you can be sued for it...
Find below a link to a real life incident that took place recently at IIT Kanpur and the resulting aftermath...
The interesting aspect is that after atypical political fumblings, student protests and what not all in all the fact of the matter "guy teasing female basket ball player" was completely laid to rest while all else was wilfully debated and discussed!
http://sonrisa-meaning-smile.blogspot.com/2004/10/iitk-guys.html
Find below a link to a real life incident that took place recently at IIT Kanpur and the resulting aftermath...
The interesting aspect is that after atypical political fumblings, student protests and what not all in all the fact of the matter "guy teasing female basket ball player" was completely laid to rest while all else was wilfully debated and discussed!
http://sonrisa-meaning-smile.blogspot.com/2004/10/iitk-guys.html
What is wrong with Kanpuriyas?
While the world is full of larger problems and important issues like the US elections, bomb blasts in Tel Aviv, Larry Ellison marching ahead with Oracle's hostile bid for Peoplesoft, ethnic riots in China, Vijay Singh breaking records on the PGA tour, India trying to save face in the last Cricket Test match against Australia on home ground.......
....the people of Kanpur apparently have nothing better to do than create chaos and disrupt the shooting of a new Hindi flick "Bunty Aur Babli" that was being shot in their city. Again I am making a gross generalization but its very amusing to read headlines such as these:
Bunty aur Babli creates chaos in Kanpur!
Abhishek, Rani escape mob frenzy in Kanpur
Kanpur shoot turns nightmare for Abhishek and Rani Mukherji
More than the movie stars Rani and Abhishek, I pity the poor director and producer. After reading through these articles it seems like that their shooting plans were scrapped for no real fault of theirs. In this time and age, people just getting berserk on seeing movie stars is crazy and plain stupid... C'mmon people these movie stars are also normal human beings, they have not fallen from the moon or something....Get on with your life!
....the people of Kanpur apparently have nothing better to do than create chaos and disrupt the shooting of a new Hindi flick "Bunty Aur Babli" that was being shot in their city. Again I am making a gross generalization but its very amusing to read headlines such as these:
Bunty aur Babli creates chaos in Kanpur!
Abhishek, Rani escape mob frenzy in Kanpur
Kanpur shoot turns nightmare for Abhishek and Rani Mukherji
More than the movie stars Rani and Abhishek, I pity the poor director and producer. After reading through these articles it seems like that their shooting plans were scrapped for no real fault of theirs. In this time and age, people just getting berserk on seeing movie stars is crazy and plain stupid... C'mmon people these movie stars are also normal human beings, they have not fallen from the moon or something....Get on with your life!
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