Longing

Read a wonderful piece here.
"
I wish I could say it took me by surprise. But no emotion save blind urgency was permitted to address me while the virgin longing coursed through my body and held it utterly captive. In that moment, nothing else mattered.
"

"
All that excess water pricked the back of my eyes and flooded mountains in my throat. Atlantis drowned all over again and oceans rose to demand a tenant.
"
Beautiful Word Picture.

So my blog says this about me :)

Checked my blog characteristics here.

The analysis indicates that the author of http://tina2blog.blogspot.com/ is of the type:

ISFP - The Artists

The gentle and compassionate type. They are especially attuned their inner values and what other people need. They are not friends of many words and tend to take the worries of the world on their shoulders. They tend to follow the path of least resistance and have to look out not to be taken advantage of.

They often prefer working quietly, behind the scene as a part of a team. They tend to value their friends and family above what they do for a living.


Great to know somethingbased on what I write. :)

"Friends"

Sometimes friends are rude… Sometimes friends really want to show that they are the smart ones..Sometimes they are caustic..
Or maybe there is problem with me who always homes in such so called “friends”….

If they are so..then are they friends?

What brought this post…

For a few days, I have had some free time…either waiting for a late running train.. waiting for someone or some work to be done…
During this idle period, I have always thought of ringing up someone whom I have not rung up in some time and maybe just talk…
No, I am not talking about immediate family, spouse, etc…. They will be more than willing to talk to me ..
However just to chat up on topics with and put rather than only hear thoughts, opinions, viewpoints..

Then I got thinking that for a person with HUGE contact list and even more friends/acquaintances on orkut … I don’t seem to having that many friends..
What I seem to be having are more or less acquaintances… Hmm Not so good I guess.

It does not matter that I don’t have any friends to fall back on ..I have family for that …
However it does feel bad that there is no extensive network where one can share stuff , judge and be judged … and be a sort of support which is bi-directional..
i.e I am not the only one providing support or motivating but also receiving some support or pep talk when required.
Be in touch irrespective of the geographical location… and work commitments.
And no I don’t mean sending email or calling everyday by staying in touch… Just in general be in touch..Even once a month , six months or a year.
But when we talk, write the conversations or thoughts should just flow.
Comfort and support can be shared, propagated and plus provide a listening ear to one and all…

I am tired of always being the listening ear, motivator, sane one and trying to make others think positively about their situation .
So much so that sometimes all this negativity just remains with me and manifests when I am with my close family and people end up thinking I am so critical.

Today spoke with two of them and I guess if I continue getting irritated then better not to have “friends”
Categories of friends I have had :

People who chat up after a long time and generally want to show that they are doing better than you in a way belittling you…(Ok..But I don’t need your approval to lead my life)
People who will only remember you when something is going bad in their life and want you as an emotional anchor..(Don’t mind putting things in perspective but remember me in ur good times too)
People who are out right rude to you but will never apologize or break off friendship.. (Ok.. I can understand you are having a bad day but not every day your interacting with me)
People who will remember you at their time of need but forget you when good things happen to you…( Fine but then don’t pretend that it is me who has forgotten.)
People who will act like a wise owl and always tell that they are the only ones facing that situation or they are the only one having some knowledge.. (I agree with your points but give a benefit of doubt that my points might also be valid)


Nowadays I have realized that I really cannot put up with people like this and probably won’t hesitate to say so if need be.. Better to keep myself away from potential feeling bad.
But it still hurts me too…
This is just a vent I guess .. but that leaves me with very few good people whom I can converse with but who for some logistical, geographical or personal reasons cannot contact all the time..
I guess I am not so good at attracting the right kind of friends..

Hmm…. Need to think more and do more on this :)
i.e Not put up with unnecessary “friends”.

Take care,
Tina :)

Fortune for Today...

Today's fortune: Try and fail, but don't fail to try

Nice to read but difficult to implement.... I so need to prep up my trying esp in professional and yes also personal front...

Key here is : Don't fail to try...
Have to remember that..
:)

Smile to light up ur life

Today, I realised how profound the statement is ..
" A smile can light up the face "..
After a long time met up someone and smile perked up everything she said to me ...
Atleast brought out the positives in life and allowed me to refocuss on
"God's in his Heaven n All's right with the world!"
Things will work out.....i.e eventually ..

Wats a Carrier ?

What does the word “carrier” indicate ?
I used to think that I had a fairly good idea of English Language. But nothing prepared me for the different meanings a simple word can construe.
A colleague and me were walking from an evening dose of ‘chai’.
That was a time period when people of another company were leaving from their morning shift.
As we were walking, my colleague mentioned “ So many carriers in this building?”
For a split second I did not really get it as to what was the main subject.
For me, carrier implied a vessel or more like the ‘dabba’ you get as your lunch box.
Or somebody sitting on the pillion carrier of a two wheeler. But as far as I could see there were just lots of people walking down to the gate.
I know that wiki has lots of meanings for carrier.
But I was seriously stumped that what could possibly be this ‘carrier’.
Then realization dawned and what she was referring was that there are lots of pregnant ladies or rather expectant mothers among the lot who had left for the day.
Too much I say …
Ciao,
Tina :)

Should blog more often...

When I started blogging I thought of updating it regularly..
Initial tempo remained but then steadily the pace diminished...
Not that there wasn't anything more to say ..just that lack of connectivity to blog was one of the major reasons..
Then came too much of tasks on the work front and blogging got backseat...
Though random thoughts did flow in occasionally ..wrote them down but bundled them to friends as emails :)
These whenever possible did upload it to the blog as some resemblance of updating the blog.
Unfortunately they have been far between..
Not that I have not been reading blogs. Keep updating myself on the blogs I follow and also on the food blogs around. But chances of updating by blog just kind of fizzled out..
The day is spiced with some or the other happening but by the time you come to putting in paper you get engrossed in work. It just remains from being shared via blog..

But now have decided to update blog whenever possible. As rather than uploading from email or directly blogging is less time consuming. Lets see how far it goes..

Did came across another good blog BoHeMiAn RhApSoDy. Wow good work.. Going through some of the posts just reminded me of some of the thoughts I had ...Will keep checking and like Chandu will try to find time to update my blog..

So long lets see how far it goes :)

Onam Aashamsagal

From: Tina

Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 1:10 PM

Subject: Onam Aashamsagal
There are very few festivals which are celebrated by all…. As in it is not confined to a particular religion or area…
Generally any festival is marked by a particular religion and hence people of that religion practice or celebrate it with religious fervor and all other communities partake or join them in the celebrations.

But some very few festivals transcend religious boundaries…

Ganesh Chaturthi being one of them …Atleast that’s what Bal Gangadhar Tilak expected before commercialization kicked in.

In Kerala , among a couple of festivals, Onam has a prime spot in terms of celebrations.
For any person of any religion, Onam holds a key spot of celebration.

So you will find a cultural harmony in Onam celebration where Hindu’s Muslim’s and Christian’s partake in the joy and festivity of Onam.

ONAM AASHAMSAGAL ( literally translated : Onam best wishes…) …

Here’s wishing all of you a hearty Onam best wishes or phonetically O-nam Aa –sham- sa- gal.

For more details about the origin of Onam and additional details do refer to this piece in wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onam.

“
Onam ഓണം, the foremost festival among the cultural repertoire of Malayalees, falls in the harvest season of August- September. The festival is primarily celebrated in Kerala, a state in India, by people across all caste and religions. Chingam or Bhadrapada, the first month of the calendar ushers in Onam, the national festival of Kerala. After the rain drenched Karkidakam with its privations, Chingam is a welcome month of plenty. Additional Details here and here
”

Also check out how Kerala gears up for Onam at here and here. I especially found this statement pretty true

“
During the Onam season, domestic tourists outnumber foreign tourists simply because a large number of Malayalis settled outside the state
make it a point to come back to celebrate the festival,
”

Although Onam has its origins in mythology, as a festival it is really removed from religious leanings.

In Kerala, Onam marks a start of festivity period, or a period where the festivals just start to kick in…
Onam – Ramzan - Dusshera – Diwali – X’mas. And finally the new year.

In Kerala, most houses still celebrate Onam with the traditional Onapookkalam.


Onapookkalam (translated means Pictures from Flowers) is a flower decoration more like Rangoli with flowers.








Thiruvathira kali



This is an extremely popular folk dance performed by maidens of Kerala wearing traditional set sari..
It is a group dance and mainly performed on the occasion of Onam.
Then watching thiruvathira kali also formed another Onam specialty though now I guess it is just in gatherings, Malayalam Samajam get-together and movies .

Vallamkali (Vallam meaning Boat)

Another occurrence synonymous with Onam is Vallamkali (the snake boat race).
For Vallamkali, there are many tournaments and people gear up to see snake boats gliding over water.

But the main highlight of Onam being the Ona Sadya… Sadya meaning feast. More info or at least for visual treat check Sadya@wiki

Though if you are more enterprising then I would suggest this food blog link detailing the Ona Sadya and ways to get to eating it..
There is a saying that “ On Onam, no man should go hungry even if you are hungry or not in good financial position the rest of the year.

As tomorrow is Onam, here’s wishing all of you a wonderful and food laden Onam.. Happy Onam or rather Onam Aashamsagal.

Thinking about tiffins

From: Tina

Sent: Friday, August 22, 2008 5:04 PM

Subject: Thinking about tiffins

My latest past time is to read blogs (as you must have come to know by the mails I sent)… and notable among them being Food blogs :)

It generally helps to whip up an appetite for the cafeteria lunch..:)

Of course the downside is that it makes me feel the dishes shown there are easy to whip up.
So in order to surprise V, plan some different stuff to cook so that at least it is different from my usual routine khana.

Unfortunately, V ends up being shocked.

So after a few days of disasters, I mentioned that maybe over the weekend , I lost my special cooking skills.
As a result we were having disasters for the past week.

I knew the level of my skills, when V replied “Oh is it, were they not disasters before last weekend” :)

Just today when one of my colleagues was miffed about his mom not packing his lunch right, we all ended up discussing about Moms/Dads packing out tiffins.
I was thinking our moms(could be parents too ) were generally a class apart.

Dunno when they found time to whip up all the good stuff.
Not just breakfast but include a lunch and snack also for the evening apart from morning milk/tea.

Generally all I have time to whip up a safe breakfast of bread and omelets in the mornings.

But when we were in school, our mums used to send us to school with a tiffin bag. Tiffin bag containing a water bottle, short break tiffin , lunch break tiffin and Napkin.

And we people had enough nakharas like…

Short break tiffin will have something different from long break tiffin.
Short break tiffin will have something exceptional so that friends in the group share and say “WoW”.
Lunch break tiffin should have roti’s, Rice in rare scenarios permissible.
If Rice present then spoon also should be present.
If Rice present , curry should not drip out.
If Papad there then that should be in separate polythene.

Dunno how my mom found the time to give us such tiffin bags for all siblings, with rules directly proportional to number of siblings.

But I guess it is true that you start appreciating all this when you are trying to achieve one-tenth of what they used to do..:)

So long see ya.
Tina :)

Everyday Hurdles !!!!

From: Tina_Thomas
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 5:42 PM
Subject: Everyday Hurdles !!!!

It seems like Mr Murphy law is coming true for us the past few days… It is not that my bread is falling on the buttered side but still it is holding true for me.

Murphy's law is an adage in Western culture that broadly states "if anything can go wrong, it will." It is also cited as: "If there's more than one possible outcome of a job or task, and one of those outcomes will result in disaster or an undesirable consequence, then somebody will do it that way"; "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong"; or, "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way".

Why is it that whenever one is late from office that all things go wrong.. I mean not wrong or a disaster in the strict sense of the word.
Instead of beating round the bush let me get straight to the point or rather Murphy point :)

For the past few days, we never the train on time :) . I mean we leave office in order to catch the right train but somehow in order to send some update or mail back, we generally leave at the last minute.

That’s when generally all things do not work out as per general scheme of things.

For starters till we reach the bus stop or the junction (chowk) there will be no sign of “share auto”

“Share Auto” will put our Chennai auto rides to shame. It is the same three-seater rickshaw but in front at least 4(inclusive of driver) male members somehow squeeze in…
And behind at least three to four females. I guess diesel prices are having their effect.


If it is the bigger variant of the three seater(mind you not the six seater). i.e same as the pix above but the back side is not enclosed. So in the back also has open space to carry luggage etc, if the hatch is opened. So the more enterprising sit behind with legs dangling..
For some reasons I have not garnered enough courage and hence I have never sat that way.
But I have seen people enjoying that kind of seating, of course with the company id card in prominent display :)
So if it is that kind of rickshaw then at least three people are expected there too.


For some reason when I used to say “rickshaw” friends here used to wonder what am I speaking about as that was what we used back in Pune.
So here if I am referring to the three seater above , I have to say “auto” :) . So much for trivia.

So let me come back to my story…

In case if at all we do get the “Share auto” , either it will be too empty or too filled. Murphy’s Law starting to work..

Drawbacks of

· Too empty means only 2-3 ppl, so the driver will look and turn the auto at every individual remotely waiting.. maybe for bus, friend or just standing.
In the effort to get the desired no of candidates, there will frequent slowing asking them to enter the auto to go to destination.
· Too full means he will have his auto full but driver will drive slow and frequent stops.

Yesterday’s fellow for some reason was going so slow that I felt if we get down and push the auto probably we would reach faster.

By the time we come to the chowk, there will be 10 mins till train timing.
And then in his own sweet time with multiple stops he will drive to the station.

Luckily he will reach the station, roughly 2 mins before the train timing. Yesterday was better as he at least left us near the station entrance as opposed to the road entrance.
If dropped at road entrance it would mean another minute gone sprinting down till station entrance.

So if all is fine then we will reach the station entrance which opens to Platform 1 at the nick of time and train will be coming at luckily Platform 1.

But Mr Murphy has been having few different ideas since past few days, hence as soon as we reach Platform No 1 there will be an announcement if we are lucky or we see the local come to Platform No 6.

So with absolutely no time to spare and the next local being there after an hour, we have nothing best to do but sprint towards the train at the other end of the station at Platform 6.
Now don’t get me wrong, sprint not towards the over bridge… No time for that…
That’s what I mean by hurdles J Run across directly from Platform 1 to Platform 6. Fortunately the platforms are not barred and separated.

But the height of the platform is amazing… So down – jump – climb – run scenario goes on till we reach the 6th platform ….and finally run towards the train.
By the time we manage to get into the same, we are totally out of breath and heave a huge sigh of relief that at least we have not missed the train.
Seriously should get a bit fit as portly me looks real funny with this hurdles race.

But if you feel that I should in fact, try to go early then Bhaiyoon aur beheno have tried that too….
Then it is opposite.. Few days back we reached the station early with 10 mins to spare but guess what the train was about 40 mins late…

That’s why I said Mr Murphy having some problem with me :)

Njoiiiing everyday hurdles…

Cya,

Tina :)

Morning Musings :)

From: Tina
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008 5:00 PM
Subject: Morning Musings :)

For the life of me, I cannot understand how people can travel in bus especially Volvo where all windows are closed and jam packed.….
I prefer trains..especially the part where the wind drives all over you and fails to leave your hair in single piece..
The icing of the cake is if you get window seat…then you can allow your thoughts to run wild while also looking at the scenery.

Today fortunately at least after half an hour was able to rest on a window seat and let my thoughts run lose.
That’s one of the reasons I prefer going by local trains… You can be in autopilot :D

You really appreciate the amount of rocks hi-tech has…and they are really big big boulders :)
And in the midst of all that barrenness you find civilization taking roots …with new buildings complexes …Especially since IT is a buzzword…

But you find the trees and gardens reducing so much so that while walking outside you have a distinct impression that you are traversing via dessert..

So it was really surprising that in all that barrenness I saw a pond or rather some slush water..It all happened in split second …
In all that barrenness what really caught my eye was the presence of white/creamy lotus flowers….
Unexpected to actually see them there… Reminded me of the days long gone in our childhood when trip to grandparents allowed us such visuals..

But they use lotus as a metaphor saying that it’s roots grows in slush or marshy areas but the flower the soul or essence goes above all the slush to reach the skies where it remains pure and untouched (they did not know about air pollution then )…

It was surprising how a chance single second scene can really make a difference in your day :D

Ciao

Hope you can use this metaphor to rise to the occasion :)

Have a gr8 week ahead.

Warm Regards,
Tina :)

Cooking -Male or Female Streak :)

From: Tina
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 7:27 PM
Subject: Cooking -Male or Female Streak :)

One of my friends sent out an email detailing a recipe he made over the weekend.
It was a well detailed account of how the subji had to be made….Some of the tadka rules which even I had missed out were listed there…

That set me thinking about when guys cook :) Strange about why it set me thinking…

But some of the guys I know cook real well :) somehow have the patience that lacks in general female.

One of the first male characters whom I saw cooking was not Sanjeev Kapoor (Khana Khazana fame) or Yan (From Yan Can Cook fame)
Though TV did popularize the two :)

It was Dad, who used to enter the kitchen to whip up something exceptional (generally deep fried ) when us kids and he had a holiday…
Basically when Mom was in office so that you get the whole day to cook and clean :)
But woe to us sisters who had to clean up after that…
Generally rules which coincided with the fact that it could be one of the lucky days when dad was cooking.
1) The kitchen was spotlessly clean.
2) Backup food was generally :) just in case of a disaster ( which generally did not happen)
Generally I guess men who have stayed as bachelors or with friends atleast some of them have a tendency to cook :)
One of the more ways to show off the creative side.
Most females (read moms) have generally come up with their own styles and fast forward tricks for the dishes they seem to dish out day in and day out.
Generally they are whipping up stuff daily just before the other household chores and before rest of the family gathers for dinner or an unexpected guest comes up.
Yet they are ready to dish out something from ordinary to something really exceptional.
Of course dad would also make something exceptional once in a while with us sisters as helpers and also audience.
Generally it used to be onion bhajji and by the time mom used to be back from office the spotless kitchen which she had left looked like Hurricane had just run through…:)
Then friends developed an interest to cooking…Guys generally I knew of some of them exceptional cooks some how things used to turn out good when they cooked.
Of course in guys generally they have thousands of ‘nakhras’ when they are at home and mommy cooks but when they cook no such thing :)
When ppl who enter kitchen once in a while cook they really dish out sumthing nice.. coz generally they take the own sweet time and patience required and the dish turns out voila ‘Nice’.
The carrot will be chopped at distinctly one inch piece…as though geometrically shaped. That onion and potato look like they have come out of geometry book instead of under knives..
So with lot of time and patience the time which probably likes of mom take to cook three dishes , our friends (read guys ) take to cook one :)
But seriously they have been better cooks though some of the stuff even beats them in terms of patience and notable in that is the desserts especially the ones involving Rice :)
This is not to start a post as to who is good and who is not…But generally cooking is what I consider one of the outlets to show creative outlets..
Guys or gals are good at it but the variation and cooking style differ in terms of who is cooking , how often and in combination with what all other things you are cooking…

Like in my case hopping from before the TV and kitchen :)
So long keep mailing and cooking or best eating :)

Warm Regards,
Tina :)

Being Engaged ;)

From: Tina

Sent: 10/11/07 02:48 PM

Subject: Being Engaged ;)

One of my friends asked that so do you feel engaged? I said yes ..Now slowly slowly i do feel engaged or committed.

On asking what exactly prompted the feeling ....i thought little bit abt it and then thought will better frame the answer in a mail.

Here are the reasons which include a bit on the wackier side :D

-- Of course phone bills increase and if you have pre paid then monthly bank statement seems like only prepaid recharges.

-- Guessing game starts whether whose SMS it is.

-- Everyone starts asking you are you all set for the 'D' Day.

-- ' What ur still doing in office ? ' or ' When are you going ?' As if ppl have nothing better than getting rid of me .

-- People are wondering whether you changed Orkut profile so as not to mislead others and if you have not changed then they want to know when you would.

-- All friends stop communication like as though you are hot potato... Like as though you are continuously on phone with ur would be better half. Thanks for the consideration :)

-- Casually ppl mention now you are going away from group or ur have already stopped communicating to the group. This esp after u have written a huge mail. And to top it all the explanation is 'It is expected that you would now that you are engaged.'

This was a mail which i almost did not send. but hope it makes out esp inspite of the mail sending restrictions ;)

Take care

Regards,
Tina :)

P.S : Ppl in cc will not get this mail ... If it can be reforwarded by some one that would be gr8 ..Thanks.

Marie Gold

From: Tina
Sent: 8/19/07 8:05 PM
Subject: Marie Gold

There are some movies that you should risk to see...some that are so inspiring that you can see multiple times...
But there are some which you should definately not see esp after seeing the rushes and promos...

Marigold was one such....
After seeing an good and inspiring movie.like 'Chak De' just a few days back....we went to see Marigold......

It was as bland as marie gold biscuit....
Salman was doing favor to be somebody by acting in it i guess.....atleast that favor was not to the audience...
Went with a couple of friends who were wondering what in the name of god was I thinking when i was taking the tkts....
They were like Rush hour 3 ke bhi lete toh burra nahi lagta....

Neways my sincere and warmest wish....try not to see marie gold in any decent theatre ..get a DVD or rent it yaar...

regards,
Tina :)

Hungry Kya?

Phew !!! There was no way I could recover what I wrote earlier...
Did not save the draft so lost all that I had written.
So essentially the topic is the same, though the way the personal comments that have been written is different.....
---------------------------------------------------------------
It all began with a lunch time discussion on whether Maggi contains MSG(Monosodium Glumate) or not.

For a person for whom Maggi is the Quick fix meal... knowing more abt maggi is the big thing...
So it came as a surprise when someone mentioned that there is no MSG in maggi atleast not in the nutritional info given in the packet.(Here in US all foodstuff should have the calorie , fat,etc marking in the package cover.)

Maggi being the intial manna for most of the 'onsiters', this was something which did not gel well with what I had read somewhere... Also inspite of the fact that it contains MSG we all have it and can cook it in a variety of styles. All that differs is the water and veggie content...

So we have maggi in south indian style with tadka, or maggi in north indian style with garam masala or maggi in chinese style with soy sauce or just plain old maggi....

Coutesy google did find some more abt MSG and Maggi... which of course have pasted below for FYI.

http://thepaintedchef.blogspot.com/2007/01/fridgesaver-1-noodles-with-stir-fried.html

the MSG thing: look carefully at the packaging of the product you pick up. More often than not, it'll say :NO ADDED MSG. This doesn't mean that they haven't added any MSG. There IS the requisite amount of the vile thing needed to add shelf life and viscosity to the product. It's clever marketing meets semantics. If it were 100% MSG free, it would have said: NO MSG ADDED. It's that simple, it's that complicated.

http://www.nestle-family.com/maggi/eng/maggi_faqs.aspx

http://www.thetasteofasia.com/products.asp

Just wanted to share the info too.

As I was going through this thats when I started visiting the food blogs..
For a foodie that I am this seemed to be a real nice treat..
Especially since I am hungry... Have given below the links I visited in the order of visiting them.

http://thepaintedchef.blogspot.com

http://chachiskitchen.blogspot.com/

http://www.chubbyhubby.net/blog/

http://www.seriouseats.com/

Browsing through some of this I am really hungry u know....
So off I go for lunch and probably you can also njoiii some of these atleast.

Warm Regards,
Tina.

Singles getting extinct .????

This is a post I have been thinking of writing....wht prompted me to write it....

Lets see...

Two of my very good friends got married on Saturday...Me being here missed all the fun.
Most of my friends on orkut are putting up double photos meaning couple waale...

Most of my batchmates guys including hav got married or commited...(commited mane booked :) ) Of course there is another set who are putting kids photos...

Fortunately my school friends and some of my college friends are remaining in the same boat as me :)

In Office all are married else fianced....

what happened to the singles movement....I wonder?

Its nice to knw ur friends status is changing if not VISA status, nice to see the snaps whether it is them alone or with spouse or with kids....
But somewhere wistfully you look and feel where are ppl like us.

Among the gang the rush of knowing a close friend getting married is amazing and best still is attending the wedding. Given the different regional friends its nice to attend different types of wedding.

Greater is the amazement when you know of some of your friends with kids.. It is a very pleasing and fun feeling to knw that a key to the next generation is in their hands....
( Of course that does move you to Bhai jee and Behen jee or Uncle-Aunty Level.)

Though I guess i wrote this feelingly because of my inability to attend the weddings...But i think it is nice to get or rather give some reassurance to my still single friends..

Bhaiiyon - Beheno our tribe is not extinct yet :D

Neways still on a lookout kii ab kiska number next aayega...

Rgds.................

rAnDOm tHoUGhts

So many times it happens that you have so many ideas in ur head but nothing to jot down.......
and when you stare at the blank computer page....nothing absolutely nothing comes to your mind.....
I started like that just to try to remember the thoughts that accumulate..........at random...and so many views I have but maybe cannot express.....

I subscribe to the pravsj forwards...sometimes the messages which come are really good and especially the quotes.....The quotes in themselves are pretty motivational but some times the pictures are pretty bleak.....though the quote makes up for that too.......
I had subscribe to those messages to ensure that i am in regular supply of good quotes so that i could forward to my friend circle morning moring as a good morning wish....just like some of my friends religiously send the Good morning mails...its nice to go morning morning and receive the morning mails...it's a different thing that my morning here happens pretty late......as compared to indian mornings.....
so by the time i decide to send a good morning mail its almost the next day there ....

Neways...i am slowly slowly getting used to being alone though cannot associate that with loneliness.....have to find a way to find solace in it.....
first I used to avoid staying alone coz thats the time when you terribly miss everything that matter most....
but now slowly slowly inch by inch trying or rather learning to deal with it......
Of couse having internet helps coz browsing sites themselves causes a lot of timepass though you might not say productive time pass...
you can also ensure it is productive....by searching for deals....

when i came to US..one of the first things i learnt from collegues and roomies was that if u get good deals online you save quite a lot,..... so each of them ensured that they saw deals online in various sites first and publicise it...most of them had a daily morning good morning routine.....of seeing all the possible sites for deals....

I thought it was a trend here so me to joined the band wagon for some days....but had no patience to wait and search for some thing which I would not buy thinking that there would be a good deal next.... thankfully its not become a habit now :)

Old World Charm.........

As I was browsing rediff came across this article..... http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2006/oct/13sd1.htm

But instead of thinking abt the Diwali factor...(article was for How Bollywood celebrates the festival of lights) I went on a different track.....

This picture reminded me of how Waqt (one of my favourites movies) is so different from the movies that come up today .... Looking back at this picture reminded me of how chivalrous men were and how different were the get up of females then....

The bouiffed hair do and the stitched on to you clothes....Yet it was an era ...be it in regional cinema...bollywood or hollywood...

where actors charmed people by their graces.....and most of whom had an aura about them..irrespective of whatever the tabloids said.... there youthful Shashi Kapoor...a yahoo Shammi Kapoor... a charismatic Dharmendra and a wonderful Sunil Dutt......boyish Joy Mukherjee

Of course there were stalwarts like Balraj Sahni, Pran, Prithviraj and of course Dileep Kumar.

Who can forget the doll like Saira, the Sadhana in white, coiffed Asha Parekh,smiling Vyajayantimala, doe eyed Sharmila, the trendsetter Nargis or the effervescent Madhubala....

They had a grace which could be rivaled by very few.....

The different part about these movies were that most of them are not watchable with the current mindset...for these you have to go to the nostlagic mindset :)

All the movies had real good songs..hummable even now...and mostly with social messages which did not seem like a bitter pill to swallow....else it was the typical "Alls Right with the world" ending inspite of all the trials and tribulations the protagonist had to suffer through out the movie... And yes some fabulous scenaries prior to Yash Chopra discovering Switzerland ..........

So long those were the days of some real good different movies.......the magic of which can rarely be recreated now.....

Idle Ramblings

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tina
Date: Jul 12, 2006 5:50 PM
Subject: Idle Ramblings

After a gap ........not long one though i slowly started to write sumthing....generally when I am observing sum thing or going thru sumthing.... then i always think kii yaar this i shud remember to mail ...sort of mailing in the experiences.....
but mostly these thoughts remain thought alone...

Generally i have something conclusive to write about and then it develops ...today it is just ramblings..........

The cubicles as i described earlier in my office are of a height kii i am dwarfed....toh even if i stand up no one will cum to knw
unless of course ur the person in my next to next cubicle who is above 6" in height.....

So it came as no surprise that i hav almosted crash landed into many ppl...... when i get out of the cubicle i kinda march ahead or rather forge ahead.......like a bullet ( not exactly i am not the size of the bullet though and army truck wud be better) .....so it is like 'na aav dekha naa tav'

And the startled guys are the poor ppl who are cumign from the opposite direction.....

toh generally it is like .... now ppl who hav almost crashed......before they come near my cubicle take a wider circle so that esp they are not hurt.....

When i imagine it from their perspective it is kinda funnny.....

today it was amusing when one collegue just stood... freezed out.... while i was almost rushing out to update sumbody......he saw me rushing(uskii height above 6 ft hai ) so he kinda freezed while telling me he was averting a possible mishap.........................
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I just dunno understand the concept...... i mean in the cafeteria i can many ppl having ghaas poosss(Salad's) ....mostly lettuce and lot of variants...
agar itna hii concious hotein ho toh duniya bhar ke type ke cheese kyun daaltein ho.....
also there will be one bottle of coke or pepsi......(frm which angle are either of them healthy?? )
kya pata .....samaj hii nahi aatee......

today had sum dish frm cafeteria...
ek serving of rice (sum kinda masala rice i think) and one chicken and then one serving of sweet corn....and sum kinda sauce on top it....
it looked like straight out of TV cookery shows.....
my collegue and i had were having it and i was like completely taken over by the looks and all
and i asked kii yeh kaunsa type ka khana hai (tasted pretty indian) is this the thai ...kiii mexican variant.....
toh mera collegue bola..."yeh american hai ....and i guess the serving is so small that kuuuch aur bhi lena padega....."

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Aaj cafeteria mein baithey toh ekdum lag raaha tha kii india mein baithey hai .....kyun?
arrey TV pe CNN pe Mumbai ke blasts ke feed chal rahein theey
Mostly the same feed ko hii infinite loop mein daal diya....
par baas yehiii kiii ekdum lag raha tha kiiii Aaj tak chal raaha hai ....
waise agle table kiii madamjee soch rahee thee kii new york mein dhamaka hua .....hey bhagwan.....
Mumbai is mumbai whether u like it or not....and it always will have a soft spot

It has an identity of its own.....and it is in many ways the city that never sleeps
Countless reams have been written on the Spirit of Mumbai.... so not repeating most....
Also throughout any friends with remote connection to mumbai....dhadaaa dhaad mailing mailing to find out kii everyone is ok or not...

I guess for most Mumbai is just a place known or been but mumbai in itself is a vibrant and a different metro.....
glad that it is not like many other metros....
While ppl are aloof and always on the move yet u do find realistic ways in which ppl do ensure to enliven the way they interact ...they help
Of course the grey and black sides also exist but in general ppl are such kiii they are wrkign towards making a living and in the midst of the harried pace they do stop to help .....they do stop to get up in case of adversaries and stand up and pick the Pieces and forge ahead.....

And thats one of the things we need to be grateful for kiii Gud that everything went back to normal in a short time and 'Touch Wood ' it remains that way.......

For more info : http://www.mumbaihelp.blogspot.com/

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I guess pretty soon sumone will definately protest against ekta kapoor........
why suddenly u might wonder ..... am i raving abt the poor kid who kinda struggled up to carve her niche in the tough bad world of film industry......

it all started when my roomies found a way to see the TV serials.....
For a person who got Tired of serials where Taa raa ra Tara made headlines...... (i stopped seeing the serials long back...wud prefer movie or a one episode one day sitcom ne day)

So during dinner when they used to see , since i did nt have anything better to do... i was also seeing it...... the 30 min serials are generally classified as

5 mins - Previous Day recap
5 mins - Ad... (fortunately ek site mein woh bhi nahi hai)
5 mins - sum song khushi hoga toh sum gaana bajana..dukh mein sum other song.agar gaana nahi hai toh phir se ad.
10 mins - 2 mins worth of front,side, zoom view of all the characters including the butler......
in between few lines in which u cum to knw wht the story is( 0.0000000000000001 % of the story so that they can drag the story till eternity) ....
also maybe sum other serial kii character or sum hero or herione will make an appearence....
and sumtimes in the serial ad.... for eg:
Character A : July 17th or sumthing mein kahii nahi jauungee...
Character B and C : Kyun
Character A : Golmaal release ho rahee hai naaah it has my fav actor....(does character A mean by any chance Tusshar Kapoor ...seems to be seen )

Last 5 mins are preparing for the sudden surprise for next day......
And haa bhalein hiii u can't hear the dialogue but u can definately hear the background song.... which in this serial is 'Kalyug ' movie ka song....arrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhh

and then finally the torturous..... half and hr is over
where i hav a whale of time criticising everybody and my roomies are trying to figure out the serial in middle of my running commentary......
For those of my friends who have experienced the running commentary i used to giv at movies.....try not to sympathise with my roomies yaar mere ko jara sympathise karo :)

mostly filled the mail with nonsense.....padh looo reading improve hogeee :))

tak care
Tina :)
P.S : agar mailing list se hatana hai toh just intimate me ok ...

Realization ...

I hav realized one thing....
If i tend to write mails i am able to word things better.....
so these are a compilation of all the mails i have sent across to my friends and collegues :)
in between i will also be writing in normal blog format also.....