Bye bye 2005, Heylo 2006

Allrighty ppl., time to put the resolutions into effect..

No.1 and only one:

No more blogging for another year..

yaa rite..........I'll be baaaaack on Jan3 2006...:-D

Do I hear you asking why...well...Work starts only on the 3rd...rite ;-)

>>>>>>>ASTRO PREDICTIONS FOR 2006>>>>>>

Statuory warning: This is just for fun. Dont read any hidden meanings into it.

As the hero Honda slogan goes (Fill it, shut it, forget it)

Read it, laugh at it and forget it.

I have always found this site pretty interesting..

The 'plastic' bit sounds interesting, cause I am going thro something like that..

But again, Please dont read anything into it..

At the best itz a confidence booster, at the very worst, a grim warning...

SO here you go folks..

GEMINI OVERVIEW: While it's always been just about impossible to keep you from expressing yourself, you've probably been a bit quieter over the past year. Perhaps you've even felt downright hesitant to say what you're thinking -- especially if you're not absolutely sure of the potential repercussions of your words. That's not a bad thing; it's the wisdom of experience and age, and the universe will be tossing a bit more of it your way throughout 2006. If your friends continue to scratch their heads and ask what's wrong, reassure them with the very thing they've come to expect from you: interesting, chatty evenings over at your place, complete with the whole gang. You may be thinking more seriously lately, but that doesn't mean you can't indulge in some fun!

Speaking of serious thoughts, though, the period from early January through the beginning of March may demand some very careful consideration of joint finances -- that goes for both investments and any shared resources. If you're not happy with the way someone is handling a credit card that you're responsible for, if you're asked to cosign a loan and the thought just doesn't sit well with you, or if taxes have been a problem, this is definitely the time to resolve the situation, once and for all. And don't be shy about taking back that plastic! Remember, if your name is on the contract, you're responsible. Think of the future, and not lightly. This also wouldn't be a bad time to put a few pennies aside for a rainy day.

You may need to make some serious decisions in the romance department over the course of 2006. Changes to a friendship in April may get that show on the road -- but if you're thinking of turning this relationship romantic, be very sure that you can go back to being friends if it doesn't work out. Oh, and don't ignore a family member's efforts to introduce you to someone they think would be 'just perfect' for you -- no matter what happened last time. They could actually be right.


my dear family members, Are you all listening.......Are you gonna introduce someone to me...;-D

and yes...Herez wishing you all A VERY HAPPY, EXCITING and FUN FILLED 2006 for and each and every day there is..:-)
who is listening...TAKE THAT RED WINE OUT.....

Lunch time

Ever been in a sitn where ppl mis understood wat u said..

It happens with me always..though it most cases, it is intentional..

and even in those cases, when I dint mean it...ppl dont believe so..cause I always smile at the end of it..and they think that Im pulling their leg..

But then, who am I to complain, if it works, eh ;-)

So this was sometime last week, when a few of us @ work decided to go to Cheese Cake factory.Enter the waitress,

" I am so and so..(blah blah) I'll be your ...wat can I get for you all"

Everyone else ordered some drink or the other, while I decided to settle with water...and to the waitress, I said " Water should do for me...."

And here comes the fun..

Immediately her face turned totally red...and there was a momentary silence..
and I looked at the other guys they were like...as if I did a KPS.gill
on her..

"Excuse ME"..said the shell shocked waitress..

I realised something was amiss and repeated my order a bit slowly and a bit differently..

"I said, I am fine with water."

waitress: "oh..........." with palpable relief on her face..and others..
" I thought you said.. "what else can you do for me".....

and the others joined in.."Thats exactly what I thought too"...:-)

and the Afrikan American guy with us, was like.." boy, and I thought what the &*^%& you were saying. Shez gonna spit on our food tonite..."

Lolz, looks like what they show in Sitcoms like Seinfeld, friends, and a some other movies where you mess with the waiter(ess), they spit on ur food, does bother ppl...:-))

and so we ordered whatever we wanted..and I had to change my dish after I had ordered...Thats when the mini me' inside me, cudnt resist..

"You know what else you can do for me..."

waitress:...(with a broader smile this time).."yaaaa...."

" Well..I'll just go for this the chicken taco instead of the eggplant burger.."

This time she did...do that for me :-D

That reminds me ppl....Next time u hit the Cheese cake factory...try the Eggplant Burger... ;-)

and before u do that, try asking the waiter or the waitress(as the case maybe)
...in a bit faster tone...." water should do for me.."

And yeh, if you know my mom, please do tell her I'm a strict vegetarian.. most of the times :-D

Taste bites of 2005

Time for the lingering 'mouth watering' moments of 2005 :-)

Herez a few that I can remember...

(1) The best Indian Buffet that I have had in the us
The credit shd go to Gandhi restaurant in Las vegas..truly the best Ive had. The
first time, was when I went there in 2000 and the last, a few months back, this
year. They have only gotten bigger and better.


(2) Best dosas I've had..
LA's Annapurna - Panneer Burji Masala Dosa..
If you havent had it so far, go for it. You wouldnt regret it

Houston's balaji Bhavan
Pav baaji Masal Dosa...
This was another that I was very skeptical in the beginning, but turned out to
be real good.

(3) Best sea food.. Sichuan from the sea @ PF Changs
Go for all three mixed together (scallops, callamari and shrimp)
For a veg to say that, and that too, to like sea food is in itself a big deal.
But this is awesome. Next time you go there, try this.

(4) Best Naan..
This has to go to the Punjabi restaurant on Devon street in Chicago.
Nobody' elses' comes close..sher E Punjab. Thats what it is called!

(5) Best biryani
Cant remember the exact name of the restaurant
But I guess itz a paki restaurant again on Devon st, some garib niwaz or
something like that..


(6) Best Pasta
barnelli's pasta bowl in Schaumburg, a suburb of Chicago..
Try it and you will know why.

(7) malabar restaurant
Not sure itz still open. The last time I heard, I was told that it has been
closed.They had some very good keralite dishes. Located in Mountain view, CA.

(8) Ethiopian Restaurant
Therez one in Tempe, AZ where I live. Havent had a chance to taste that many Ethiopian restaurants, but this one is awesome. More the reason why I dont understand the dislike for the cuisine by my friends. Guess itz called Blue Nile.


(9) Best Parantha..
ah..cant take my mind of the small dungy place we had in my undergrad. Chidamabaram. Guess the place was called AA or AAA restaurant. either one...:-)
But till date, I havent seen a place that serves better parathas, or the side dish
that they used to give.(Egg chutney) . Gosh..Im drooling already...

(10) Best Drink
Dr.pepper...hehe...For totally personal reasons

So whats yours!!

Herez your chance..Learn Chinese

Some English sentences and their Chinese equivalent))))

Are you harboring a fugitive?-----------> Hu Yu Hai Ding?

Small Horse------------------------------>Tai Ni Po Ni

Did you go to the beach?---------------->Wai Yu So Tan?

I bumped into a coffee table---------->Ai Bang Mai Ni

Has your flight been delayed?---------->Hao Long Wei Ting?

An unauthorized execution-------------->Lin Ching

I thought you were on a diet------------->Wai Yu Mun Ching?

He's cleaning his automobile-------------->Wa Shing Ka

I think you need a facelift------------------>Chin Tu Fat



PS: Okee okee...I admit...Its a fwd :-)~

What Cruelty is this..

Showing an actual photo of a dead duck with her feathers and kin worn away to the flesh, next to the tagline "Ducks Die Like This to Make Foie Gras," PETA's anti-foie gras billboard asks consumers to spurn cruelty to ducks. The ad comes in the wake of investigations into both Sonoma Foie Gras in California and Hudson Valley Foie Gras in New York by GourmetCruelty.com and the Animal Protection and Rescue League, organizations that are dedicated to exposing the cruelty behind the "delicacy."

Foie gras, which is French for "fatty liver," is made from the grotesquely enlarged livers of male ducks and geese. Birds have up to 4 pounds of food per day pumped into their stomachs through long metal pipes that are shoved down their throats. The cruel ordeal often causes severe injuries that make it painful or even impossible for birds to drink. Those who survive the feedings suffer from a painful illness that causes their livers to swell to eight to 10 times their normal size. Many birds become too sick to walk and are reduced to pushing themselves across their cages with their wings. When the birds are slaughtered, their livers are sold for foie gras.

The mahabaharat Spoof

Go here and continue from there...Intro
or main link
This is hilarious stuff...Dont miss it guys..:-)
and Thanks Sowmya for the link

My First Email..

It seems a long time ago...guess happened around 93-94.

I was a virtual novice then, on 'www' and other than writing programs or playing games., I had no other use for the computer.

Guess that was the first time I created an account in Hotmail.

Never ever sent email before that..and when my friend made me sit on his comp @ home and explained how to go about it.To cut it short, he finally said, "This is how u send email.."

I never had one @ home then, was so enthusiastic...and said, lemme go out to one of those browsing centers and send u an email later today..

A few hrs later I left for home, and chanced upon a browsing center on the way back..

So I went in and first time into a browsing center.

The guy asked me if I knew how to go about it.

With a dismissive air, "ofcourse. no big deal. Go help the other ppl"

lolz..little did I realise that my first attempt is gonna be such a 'PIA'.

And so I switched on the system, and cudnt get hold of the 'mini tower' that the netscape icon was then or the 'orbit e' that Explorer was..

Hard as I did try, I dint know what to do..then tried to glance over my shoulder to the next guy.

I shdnt have, as I later realised, the poor guy was still figuring out where to click on the mouse..:-D

Then I did a surreptitious glance at the Net Cafe owner..who gave a wry smile., hit himself twice on the head..which to me meant..

" engenthuda vanthu senthenga neenga laam..saavu kraaki"
translated..
" which part of the universe did u guys drop from.. Morons"

and proceeded to show me an AOL like interface..to open up a browser..

Now now, that was too much for a newcomer. Even in the US,when I first got hold of a AOL CD and used it to connect to a dial up connection, I had trouble for a few minutes figuring out how to use the built in browser..

Any way, now that I'm done defending myself:-), he helped me figure out 'the browser'

so I triumphantly went into hotmail..and proceeded to email my friend..

I typed the email address..and then pressed send.

I panicked when it said, 'There is no subject. Do you want to send a message anyway.'

Making sure that the cafe owner wasnt watching, I cancelled it., and proceeded to type some message..

I clicked on the subject and started typing a long message...

I was so surprised by the appearance of the subject bar, but dint want to freak the net cafe guy much more..,

So after finishing my typing there, I sent the message.

Then I triumphantly called up my friend, once I got home and said, "So did u get my message"

He must have been rueing as to why he showed me how to do it., when he got the reply to his question.

All he asked was " So why dint u type anything in the message window. U typed everthing in the 'subject' bar. "

The answer I gave him must have conked out the living daylights out of him..

But thankfully..he dint show it..:-)

And so I take leave here....ppl :-).........


Haan, u wanted to know my reply rite.....:D

Lolz, here u go..


" Ohhhhh...thats wat it was. I was wondering why the 'subject bar' was so small..
just space enough for just one line..I was wondering, cause u showed me a bigger container to type the message. I thought something was wrong with the browser that guy made me use,@ the browsing center."

Needless to say, I dint know there was a scroll button at the very right, which would have taken me to the 'message window'...:-D

NOwwwwwwwwwwww...ppl cut that GRIN... :-|

Dr.Pepper..

"Yikes..How could anyone even drink this.
what the heck is it anyway"

" oh.come on dont make a big deal out of it..
It is pretty good. Infact itz my fav drink."

"you must be crazy to drink something like this"

"Letz see..you will get to like it one of these days"

That was me cribbing to my friend, about Dr.Pepper 7 yrs ago..

and yet, @ the lunch meeting yday..

I took what I thought was a Coke can..and dint even feel the odd taste.

Maybe it had to do the with the girl sitting before me, that I have been eyeing for a while now @ work :-). Boyyy, shez got a gorgeous smile..well well more abt that later:-)

And so I finished my lunch and was about to throw my tray, when I looked at the can..

"Yikes..this is Dr.Pepper"

She gave me one quizzical smile and said, "Waat. dint u realise it when u were having it.."

"Well..with you around, even Dr.Pepper tasted good..."

She gave me a smile and a look.,that said..'There you go again'..

Hopeless...Aint I :-)

From the Horse's mouth..

Do u have animal instincts...Are you a flirt wannabe..

here are your top 10 tips..:-)


10. Show some spunk..Be the first to approach..

9. Expect Rejection. Most times being turned down, @ first, is a blessing..

8. Be different from others, that will make ppl at the least curious, if not attracted.

7. Initiate conversations. Lead them rather than looking at each others lips or biting ur own

6. Tease ur way into the other persons heart. But dont push it:-)
Itz a very thin line, I agree.Being Nervous is a good sign..both in u as well as the other person :-)

5. Do u have a pick up line...
well, how about "Hello"

4. Compliment ur way to the other persons heart..If it worked once, it works always..
Again, As before dont overdo it:-).

3. " You maybe right"
Practice saying that..which means u shud listen that much more..

2. Dont ever be predictable.

1. Eye to eye.. and smile as often. be the magnet, not the 'sticky' glue :-)

Pawar play

Will Indian cricket be any better., now that there is a change of guard at the very top...

No..Im not referring to the Captain but to the Board president...


Pawar as a politician is a scumbag...one who ditched congress when they were in the pits
and then came back again..after bargaining with Sonia..

In his term as President of MCA, all the current players who did well last season, shifted
allegiance to Maharashtra and moved out of Mumbai cricket association..

The moment he came to power, he removed 3 selectors that were supposedly Dalmiya's men
and coincidentally all 3 had supported Gangulys inclusion in the team.

Will chappell breathe easy, now that they have removed the committee that oversees his
performance? I dont think so..


Well well while on Mumbai...wat will that famous son of mumbai...Sunil gavaskar do..

He has been lying low for a while...unsure which camp to support..
Now that the cat is outta bag, expect him to start trashing dalmiya and supporting pawar..

Again, expect him to get his son out of Bengal and get him to play in Mumbai again..


He is another politican in the making...:-)

The curse of the Pandaram

or the sweet tidings if u wanna call it...

now travels to...

Jeenu and Shilpa ( Considered other possibilities and I thought, amongst Vi, Jeenu and Shilpa...all other ppl will be covered, later )

etho ennala mudinjathu.. :-D


I knw I still havent completed my random musings...but pretty close to getting it done..
But then I thought first things first..:-D

and remember...if u dont do it.., like the Bethaal says to Vikram...ur head will splinter into 1000 pieces :-D

So FFBW u have been saved...

pandaram's Box..

Ah, so I’ve been tagged

Vi has conveniently stepped away…for now atleast ( in her words, again :-))..

20 Random things about myself..:-)
Lolz, had I seen it before Vi did, would have made her the sole responder to this tag..
But alas., I’ve had enough misfortune in the last one month and I better not risk another:-)…lest, I don’t do this tag thingie….

FFB, what are the odds of me tagging u again at the end of this post :-P

Don’t think I can do it in one go..

But for it to appear complete, every time you see…, I’ll do the 1st and the 20th random ‘thingie’ first :-D

And ppl, if u want to help me out, do so by all means, with whatever you noticed about me. But be warned though, only good intentions will find favor ;-)

(1) Letz start with the name...I thought Pandora was a femme...and so the male equivalent should be 'Pandaram's box', just like Spiderman 'Peter Parker' became Pavitr Prabhakar :-)

(2) If someone says ‘Don’t do it’….you can bet on me wanting to do it and trying it and of course, failing miserably at that..

(3) If someone says ‘Don’t do it’, you can count on me, once in a while to go by what you say…:-)
.
.
.
.

(19) I think I’ve stayed too long in this country. 7 yrs may or may not be too long. But letz see the chronology of events that made me think so..

Year 1: All African Americans appeared queer folks. All Hispanics seemed the closest to Desis. Went out of the way to smile at desis. Had trouble appreciating the ‘Appreciations’, from the ‘appreciating’ people. :-)

Year 2: Started thinking, hey Afro Amer' are after all fellow inhabitants of Planet earth and started warming up to them. Removed my mush as every other Hispanic male and older looking femmes came over and started making small conversations in Spanish..
All I had in response was ‘Si’ (translated: Yes) ‘ No habla hispaniol’ (translated: I don’t speak Spanish , ofcourse taken from numerous ads on tv’s that say we speak Spanish..do business with us :-) )
Dint’ know the equivalent of No in Spanish. So kinda had to do some spanglish :-)

Year 3: started trashing the Mexicans, became more interested in the football cheer leaders.. Dint matter to them, who they were with, once they got drunk…Not that it mattered to me either ;-)

Year 4: Maaan, whus that damn babe, that tanned girl over there.
Me to my friend: you know what, Girls with big lips are good kissers, I’m gonna go talk to that desi girl.

My friend (she’d just been here for a semester) : Un mandaila idi vizha ( thts tamil, translated as: Let lightning strike ur head)
That’s no desi. She’s a kalli (A feminine Afro American). Just that she’z got lighter skin. Probably a cross between a white and a afro.
U better go after her. Tholai ozhinjathu nnu iruppen. (translated: Good riddance. I’ll be happy without u around)
I prolly think this is where my fixation with Afro Americans started.., to the extent that I thought that they now resembled Desis..
Forget Hispanics, I had, by this time, given up on figuring out if they were desis or Hispanics, unless they came and talked to me…:-)
Worst, was when I had gone to the airport to pick up a girl student ( ya ya, I do the pick up only when girl students arrive from India. And bumped into this Spanish girl that was like looking totally lost.. I assumed she was the desi we were to pick up..and said..
Me: “Hey Shilpa…This is Gi……"

She gave me one blank look….
I shd have guessed by that time…but then…, I dint :-|

Me: "You are Shilpa, right." ( There were actually 2 univs that were in that region, including mine) and I thought she mite be there for the other one.
"Are you a student of this A &M or the other..Does anyone know you are here. Should I drop you..”

She: Si..

Me: “ Nasama poga *%*&#@^&$ (translated, loosely: U be doomed, followed by choice expletives)..and thts when I realized :-D

Year 5: second trip to India, and ppl started wondering why I still aint ready for marriage.
Mom: Are you in a relationship with some girl, there. Let us know. We are okee with it.
Me: smiling…”ya I wish”
Mom: Athana paathen. Onakku avallu samathu ethu…( grrrr…I don’t think I’d wanna translate that….”Ah. thts wat I thought. Was sure u dint have that much smartness.”)
Sigh mommie…so much confidence in me…

Year 6: started talking about bonds and shares and buying houses. And I realized, alrite, 'I am getting past the college crowd now…'

(20) If all this sounds strange so far, the middle portions will only worsen, wrt perspectives :-) Haan, after all, I am a Gemini, aint I.
Aren’t Geminis’ supposed to act this way…:-)


For now, let me give advance warning to the next 2 that I should pass this on to..
Any volunteers, nominations please…:-)

Be warned if there are no volunteers, I might have to choose them myself..
And FFB, you are not in the clear yet :-)

Of Koreans and Roaches..

Guess this is one of those posts where disclaimers are necessary right at the beginning....:-)

All characters are real with imaginary names and any reference to real persons were always intended and never was it an off the cuff remark..:-)

Easy ppl, and my korean friends..this is just another humorous attempt...and not to belittle anyone..just see the funny side and get on with it...

Kim sun moon..he was one of my grad school friends..

By the time I joined grad school in the summer of 99, he had already been there for 2 yrs. Coming from a country that dint speak English...He had had to attend ENglish development classes for the first 2 years and hence could not take any course work..till he managed to get done with his English classes., that is.

A very very hard working fella, but having been taught English the American way, he would find Brit English and Indian English very tough to understand...

We used to pull him always, but he would always take it in the right spirit..

The first brush with his english happened when we got our first take home assignment.

And so we all got done with our 'homework' and poor moon, still not proficient enough..

was struggling with it. So I thought, maybe I'll help him and asked him

"Hey moon. Are you done with your home work "

" Wajt..home work..wajt iz jhat"

(yeh thts how he sounded then..:-) )

I gave one stary eyed look at him..
"home work man...the class assigment that is due tomorrow"

" Oh.the take home you mean.. Why ju call it home work..."

And then followed the long sermon about how we say it back home, british english ...and what not..

After some time, I wasnt even interested in seeing if he understood, I just wanted to stop all the other desi morons laughing at my predicament..
...of this convo between A korean keen to improve his English vocabulary...and a Desi('me')...who was starting to forget HIS. :-)

Everything you speak to him had to be familiar with the American equivalent. Anything that the americans dont say or use...he would no way understand..

A queer predicament that we were in..but fun neverthless..

He was staying with another korean, when one fine day he announced that his GF had joined him and he was moving to a bigger better apt..pretty close to ours..
And that meant..we had to help him move..

Me and 3 other desis said we would and one bright sunny saturday..helped him move that..

He was pretty happy with it..and wanted us to repay the 'debt' or watever...
He called us for an early dinner (early by Indian standards..esp students) by around 6PM. I was pretty much reluctant to go...those days I was still a strict vegan..and wasnt sure what he would cook...

So the other 3 finally left without me...

I settled down nicely in my sofa @ home , thinking if I did the right thing and dreaming abt what delicacies they werent eating..
I had just popped in an oft repeated movie..into the VCR..and had barely gone past the first song sequence.. when there was loud and hurried thudding on the door.

I need not have worried, cause no sooner had I opened it, I saw 3 pale faces covering their mouth and fighting to use the 2 restrooms in the apt.

My face was beaming by now...and waited for them to reemerge..frm the rooms :-D

"What happened guys..Itz not even 10 mins since u left"

"man..tht bugger...U *^&%*@ u escaped...guess u probably knew abt it. No wonder u dint come over. I knew something was wrong the moment u declined.."

"Arre dude. what areyou talking abt, what happened to the dinner"

and so inbetween further trips to the restroom and the occasional..vomiting I got the full story. This is what I grasped from them.

They were pretty much happy that it was just the 3 of them and since I declined, they vowed not to bring home anything for me and finish off everything by themselves.
The moment they stepped in, there was this wierd smell...and the very moment their stomach started churning.


If you remember the first time u stepped into a chinese restaurant, you will know what I am talking about :-)
even now, the moment u step into a chinese grocery store, u still get that sic feeling, but now I get over it pretty soon :-)

And so, came the first dish...some eggroll appetizers and some other stff with a wierd blood red sauce..

Rofl..they managed to ahve it in.
All this time, they were having some small convo going on..and all these guys, though they ate non veg, hadnt havent had anything other than Chicken and Lamb.
So anything else was new to them, More so...sea food.
Next came some small wierd little creatures fried and roasted to a golden yellow brown.. and some fried rice to go with it.

And so our Korean host decided to humor then..and decided to call the lil Prawns by another name..
Well yeah...what do you think he called it as...

"Hey guys.want to taste some delicacy of Korea. You wont get it any better any where else "

"what is it, Moon"

"eat it first. Itz a sea food delicacy. u'd love it. Here have some"

And so all three grab a bite..

" So how iz it"

" Pretty good. but what is this stuff like hair hanging out.."

" Oh guys..come on..cant u tell them yet. Itz cockroach.."

"whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat" < all three in unison>

and thats when one rmembered that he had to call his gf, another to take me to the doctor, cause I was feeling sic and the third to have to get back to his experimental setup at the lab :-))

All this when Moon was totally confused as to what happened., and not even wanting to wait and hear what he was trying to say after that...:-)

Poor moon, came over to my apt a hr or so later...and lolz, with all the three guys listening to our convo hiding in the other room, and me trying to listen intentively to Moon.

And he then asked me about my sudden mysterious stomach ailment that I had developed, which was apparently the reason I had given him for not having dinner at his place.

He was kind enough to bring me some of the delicacies that were left over..that I could have.. :-)

Aloo parantha..:-)

was goin to a desi rest with a couple of colleagues @ work

they had the We're open sign..out
but it was so drab and without the customarylights and my colleague immediately quipped


Sorry. We're open... :-)

and that set me thinking..ya ya I knw..thts a forbidden word..but looks like im dusting it and using tht stuff today a lot.;-)

Are there other signboards tht u wud like changed..in a funnier way..:-)

found this one on car..a bumper sticker..
Hop in, Buckle up, hang on and Pray..:-)
**********
Remember seeing this quite a few times..ofcourse made famous by that Bruce willis movie..

Found on a 18 wheeler..

If u can read this fine print,..u r probably too close..:-)
**********

A couple of other memorable convos..

this actually happens all the time with the help desk @ my work place...

"Hello..This is the Helpdesk. Can we start with your First and last name please"

I spell my first and last name..

"Okay. wutz ur fone no sir. Can we have ur cubicle physical location too please"

I give both. This is where I go crazy always...


" So. thts great. Now who am I talking with Sir.."

Me : "eh....*(&^*#N#@!

rofl..these ppl never learn... This happens each and every time..
**********

Next...this was the time when we were drunk and just called 911....for fun' sake...
A few yrs back when I was in skool

the call goes thro...
therz some automated stuff that tells u to press this for emergency something else for non and..so forth..
Finally after a min or so someone comes over the line..
" Hello 911. emergency response.."
I start to mumble something..

"Sir. please hold on..."
and I hear her munchin somethin hurriedly..
Rofl..that really had me in splits..
wat if some one says...
" im dying..please help me"

and she gives that line to him..
" Hold on.Sir...Im getting another call..:-))

**********

This is another good one...
guess it was the time of exams..while in grad school..
we were doing a combined study...5 of us..

1 went home to have dinner..
another stayed put at the apt..
and the other 3 of us went for a walk..

saw the campus help line...phone booths at a corner..and thought we will play a trick on the guy sittin at home..

the apt belonged to the 2 guys tht I took a walk with..and so I called up
and sounded like a Police officer..

me: " Sir. We are calling frm the campus police.
Can We speak to the man of the house.

my friend: Yes..

me: Oh you are..Good. Sir we are looking to rent a car for police neighbour hood watch activies.
we would pay you a good amount around$20 a hr if you could spare yours. We are facing a shortage and need help
urgently..

Friend: Oh. everyone has gone out. I dont stay here. I will let you knwo once they get back or please call in like 20 mins.

Me: (sounding pissed of): " Who are you then. what are you doing there. DOnt you belong here.
Stay right there, I am going to send a squad right over to investigate.."

the other 2 behind me were squealing big time..
I cudnt handle it either and had to cut the call.

So we walked back home..and this guy acted as if nothing happened..

SO we started poking him..

" Did anyone call. was there a call for any of us?"

friend: No..

"Are u sure"

friend: Oh yeah..koi call aaya tha.


poocha tha ki gaadi chahiye. guess from the cops.

I think I will go home now..Will come back latr..after dinner..

rofl..he was running away scared cause I said, we r gonna send a squad to inquire... :-))

had to calm him down and...rofl was soo much fun..:-)


Disclaimer:
okee...this is a bit late..:-)
has nothing to do with the title

Rajnikant is a super man... Nay

He is a spider man...

No No...He is batman...


Are baba no...He is the superstar..

Alrite...He is the Super hero...Says the Hindu..

Check this out:

Traditionally, stars in Tamil cinema have been classified into two broad categories:
the actors and the superheroes. People saw Sivaji as an actor and MGR as a superhero. They saw Kamal as an actor
and Rajni as a superhero. Now they see Vikram as an actor and Vijay as a superhero

Wat morons...:-)


While on the super star....herez' one on the Telugu Super star Chiranjeevi

or Chiru as he is popularly known, has been selected as the mascot for the Beijing Olympic games.. :-D

and u thought itz only Rajinikant thts popular is china..
Now 'Chiru' has prooved that he is not only popular but also the unanimous choice.

Read further here

The case of the missing haircut..

As always, Disclaimers first. I am no Ian Flemming and this is no 007 story..:-)

"Wow..Gi is that u."

"Maan you look good."

"I see a lot of face now..this is better."

"You think this is good. I think I liked the prev style better.Guess that suited him more. What do u think Gi"

" Why did you go for it Gi. What happened"

"Did you Gf threaten you with dire consequences" ...(A wicked grin)

"Oh Honey. I was looking forward to seeing you in a pony tail.."

"Sigh. why did u do this. u looked like Maddy in Priysakhi.

All these were the comments and questions that I needed to handle a week or so back..the day after Halloween.

What follows are my responses.

" Just thought will chg it a bit"

" Its time for a change..dont u think...

"Just to keep u interested" (another wink...)

" Halloween was done with yday wasnt it. So I had to get it done with"

If you havent guessed it already...yes it had to do with my hair and the hair-cut I had..

I hadnt gotten one for like 6 months..and it was growing like Dhoni's hair..and uncontrollable..at that..

But I thought it was cool then, but seriously..it took me like 10 mins to brush up my hair in the morning..
and when u get up so late in the morning and have to rush to work..this can be such a pain..

and god forbid, if you go to work like that with dischevelled hair...There would another set of questions..
and to top it all, if I dont shave that day, the q wud be..

"Oh Gi., what happened. did Ur dog die.." :-D

and itz such a relief that I dont have to worry abt it anymore..

Just wondering, how do all of u girls manage with such long hair..or maybe, did u all cut it short..to make it easier.

Patience is a virtue aint it:-)

A tribute to kamal hassan

Looks like Kamal Hassan turned 51 today...

One of my fav actors...and here is a list of movies of his that I'll always cherish....


The problem is I cannot classify them as No.1 or No.2...

Each one is a gem in their own way...

I will still number them though, for clarity sake...not as a Ranking Index :-)


(1) Michael mathana kamarajan...

The movie where he plays as quadruplets - brothers separated at birth, if anything, should be called as the best Tamil comedy I've ever seen..apart from Golmaal's tamil remake...

This is the only movie I can see time and again and still never get tired of it..

There are quite a few comedies of his that are as good...but I am still biased to this movie..till date..


(2) Virumaandi..

This movie is about a community in TN who are by nature a very violent community.
The main reason why I like this movie, besides the fact that he ghost directed it...was the narration..

Itz basically the same story that is repeated twice- one through the accusers' eyes and the next by the defendant telling the viewer where the accuser lied and twisted facts..

Amazingly done and not for one moment is there any jarring note..


(3) Anbe Sivam..

Normally in all his movies, when Kamal has another famous actor, he normally steals the limelight.But this is one movie, where the Costar being Madhavan., both of them have an equal opportunity to perform and maddy duly obliges with a terrific performance of his own..:-)

The film is about how Maddys' outlook on the 'lower strata of society' ppl he despises, changes as kamal and Maddy get to be together during a train journey from Orissa to madras.

Amazingly done...esp for the physical trouble that kamal brings on himself..
Imagine this...His character is a guy that has shortsight and is suppsoed to wear -10 glass all along in the movie. What does Kamal do...esp if he has a near perfect sight..

he wears a contact lens tht a + 10. and then wears his -10 glasses above it.
Hmm.......

(4) Sathi Leelavathi

Made as Biwi No.1 in english ( if TOI is to be believed, that is) is another where his co artist and another leading star at that time, gets as much exposure as Kamal.

Kamal is more of a guest artist but still appears in all scenes..:-), and his female lead in the movie is a full time comedian in southern cinemas..
Wow...any other hero would have said No straightaway..

I was apprehensive too, when I heard abt it. But when I saw the movie, that was when I realised the thinking behind it.

The movie is another rip roaring laughter..about a two timing friend who cheats on his wife because she becomes fat after marriage., and the story is about how he makes him see the truth. Hilariously done, without making anyone a villain...and that is something..

(5) Nayakan
Made as Dayavan in Hindi..more famous for the Madhuri -Vkhanna lip kiss..:-)
ya rite, I have seen the dwnloaded clip hazaar times;-)

Anyways, the credit for the movie shd go as much to the director Maniratnam as it went to Kamal. In many ways, redefined Indian cinema and tamil cinema in particular...even though some may call it a shameless copy of Godfather.

(6) Thevar Magan...Virasaat in hindi

Again which was much talked abt for Tabu's clevage show..

I guess Anil kapoor did a disservice to Kamal hassan by copying his movies in Hindi. He never did any justice. Though I would emphatically say Anil is a very good actor...inspite of his 'karadi Kutti' appearance :-D

translation: Karadi Kutti = For his 'hairy' appearance.

Coming back to the movie, A movie similar to Virumaandi for the violence ..but Kamal puts up a tremendous performance as the foreign returned son unable to understand the violence hatred between his and his dads bros' family.


(7) Hey ram...

Wasnt a hit, but I kinda liked the movie.. made more famous for Sharukhs statement...that I learnt more from this movie in Kamal than what I ahve so far in my career...

and ofcourse his biting Rani Mukherjee's arse...gosh my heart broke into thousand pieces when I saw that scene... Wish King Vikram's Bethal was sitting on Kamal hassan
at that time...:-D

(8) Moonram pirai..forgot the Hindi name..guess sadma

Amazing movie..where he tries to bring a mentally unstable sridevi to normalcy fully knowing that she may not remember him once she gets normal..
The climax at the Railway station is amazing...and I shamelessly cried when I saw that the first time.Not sure what will happen now, guess I wont risk it though... :-)
To be fair though, I was a kid then..:-)

(9) Avvai shamughi or chachi 420..
Even though this movie was from Hollywood as most movies of his are, for the shear ability to do such a varied role and the way he changed the movie to suit local tastes....makes it eminently wachable..

I wouldnt be far off the mark if I say, He did better than Robin williams in the original..:-)


(10) mahanadi

Boy, if there was one movie that I felt totally involved with, this is the one..

Never have I felt so much into the movie...than this one...
Amazing performance.. as a helpless dad..who starts with rescuing his daughter from a brothel house
in Calcutta to seeing them through till the end...


(11)subha sankalpam (in telugu)
forgot the tamil movie name...with Priya raman and amani
where kamal plays a accountant but who doesnt know to read or write...

shades of Dustin hofmann in Rainman, but without the mentally challenged part..

Nice performance...as the old mans servant for whom he will do anything...

(12)There a quite a few movies of his where he plays a baddie...How many top flight heroes would think of doing something like that...Abhay, Indran chandran are some of those...

Kamal..Herez wishing u a memorable half century in life...

and I hope u crack the Oscar puzzle one of these years...:-)

Dreams

There is nothing more stressful than waking up in the middle of a sound sleep., sweating profusely, all over :-).....Dont u think...

And if the centre of 'attraction' of the dream is u urself..itz what I call a double trouble.Now to the dream..

Guess shd be around 3 Am or something, last night, probably the first time in 3 days that I was having a non -alcohol induced sleep..

I was in the middle of a sound sleep..and suddenly I felt as if I was having a laserless painless hair surgery..felt like my hair was parting off, right on the left lobe of my brain..

Isnt it the left lobe that causes you to dream..:-) or maybe I'm wrong..

watever the case, it was like the seas parting when lord krishna's dad took him to safety.. from Kamsa.

or maybe I felt more like that erstwhile news reader from Doordarhshan...Guess his name was Pankaj mohan or something..

I used to be as freaked out by his lack of hair, as much as on the other extreme when I used to see his female counterpart, usha albuquerque...whose hair was like a oversized shrub.

Anyways, it was good enough to wake me up..

But then itz a question of hair, aint it...not content with touching my hair in all the right places and making sure it was okee, I had to get up look at the mirror and satisfied myself...:-)

Boy..wat a dream...wonder what triggered it..

The more I think of it, the more the blame goes to that girl who devised that game idea in the Diwali party over the weekend. The idea was for girls to not cross their legs and guys to not touch their hair.

Now now, that seems like a sinister campaign...I was trying hard not to touch my hair all along..and guess that boomeranged on me in the night...:-)

gosh...and surprisingly this is the first time I remember any dream so vividly..lolz

Quotes can be fun...

Here are some..:-)

This one from a footballer turner cricketer"
I thought it was a bit rude when the umpire gestured me with a finger so I showed my middle one back."
Crystal Palace midfielder Aki Riihilati shows why footballers will never be the new cricketers after he plays his first match

"This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." -- An internal Western Union memo, 1876
Hello....Hold on am getting another call...hello ...:-)


"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
--Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

Lolz, Jeenu..how much did u say ur 700m weighs, again.....:-)



"But what ... is it good for?"
--Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

ah, it wasnt pringles or lays..was it...that he was talking about :-)


"Life is an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep." -- Carl Sandburg

Rite..I let my roomie peel the onions when I cook..promising a delicious dish as a result



"If you aren't living on the edge, then you are taking up too much space." -- Anonymous

Now, Now...who was talking abt some space...nandya ..was that you :-)

"If we find a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sheesh..wat was I last read.....ahem :-)


"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself." -- Albert Einstein

Now again, wut or who is a virgin...:-)


I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok.
-- Shaquille O'Neal

ah Shaq, u forgot to add Burger king and that hummer, dint you...:-)


and finally one of my own..
Yes itz time to work...? 1/2 hrs are over :-)



for the day...that is..:D

Blog or work

I knw half of u ppl, dont work :-D...be it school or office...But here are the stats anyways, :-P


Blogs are a work hazard in US offices

Around 35 million workers -- one in four of the labour force in the United States – spend three-and-a-half hours, or nine per cent of their working week on blogs, the survey found.

The week that was..

Well travel seems to be the flavor of the month for me, more specifically the last few weeks..

And so in keeping with the trend, it was LA this week.

And as usual, it was just a casual encounter that got it going.

Another lazy sat aft, we were looking for a place to get free food, and that usually means going to some married persons’ house .

The procedure has been well rehearsed over the years, that I can do it even when half asleep.

Just think back of any the recent coversations with some guy who has talked abt some good happenings at home or work.., call up that guy and demand a treat for that.:- )

‘Demand ‘ is prolly not the right word, maybe Gentle persuasion shd do the trick..;-)

So the guy or the girl now gets alarmed and calls you home instead.

So off we went, me and my roomie to their place..:-D

Few other guys cudnt make it to lunch, though they did join later, and that is where the trip idea started.

We were planning to go a sunset place called South mountain. A nice mini hike place with an awesome view of Phoenix from the top. Remind me to post a pic of that next time.

After a heavy meal though, the legs refuse to move, and my ‘object of terror’ the one that gives me nightmares of late, my ‘mini me’ – my tummy that is..:- ) refused to let me get off the sofa.

So plans started floating around.
I must say all of us are pretty good at floating ideas..and for one we agreed to do what we floated

One of us said we shd go to a beach, rather sarcastic when it was offered the first time, cause sitting in the middle of the desert, you can imagine what the comment was for..

So immediately, it was LA and the plan was made, knowing fully well that someone will come up with a way to cancel it. How wrong we were. To the surprise of all of us , we went ahead with the plan.

Got the rental vehicle and stuff. Getting the rental car is a story in itself.
Will probably hold it for some other time..will prolly have it for one of my flirting escapades..:-)

Any way, so we finally decided to go ahead with this and started on Sunday early morning round about, 3 AM.

We went to the temple first, understandable, cause because of all the recent happenings,. I thought it would be nice to be on the right side of God, and put in an appearance at his abode.:-)
My friend wanted to do an abhisheka’ and the priest asked him his star and other stuff. He gave me the details, and for some reason or the other, the priest suddenly asked him if was married. He replied in the negative and the priest said, lets as well pray for u to get married soon.

“No No. Anything but that. Velai ethavathu innum nallatha kedaikanunu vazhtunga.”

Translated.. -No no, anything but that, better wish me for a better job than to get married, for now.

Wonder what made him say that. There was no reason for him to say so. He did, and so it stands that way. ;-)

The priest that gave him a big lecture as to why he thinks marriage is imp and likened his statement to that of a kid that just denies what he actually wants hinting that he wants it , but feels shy to say so.

Anyway, we all were laughing at his expense. And so were a gp of ABCD girls. One looked cute and even tried talking to him after that, but guess, he was taken aback by the priests’ response and did not heed her.

She looked cute. What a wasted opportunity, I thought:-)

Well, I don’t or rather try not to, at the least, when in a temple..;-)

After that, we did go to the beach….to Huntington..
And then to the river walk. We had a whale of a time..

Btw, how many of you have seen a marriage ceremony happening @ the beach.
We were witness to one…and there were quite a big gp there

What with the windy conditions and lotsa mini skirts around…I did have a whale of a time..:-)

The trend seems set to continue next week as well..with a hike in the canyons that I missed last time, beconing.
Lets see if I get lucky this time..:-D

Houston...We have a problem!!

The weekend was spent travelling.

My roomie and a few other friends were planning a hiking trip to grandcanyon over the weekend. Their main aim was to hike all the way down to the Colorado river which was like 7.5 miles from the top of the hike..and then make it back the same day.

I wanted to go, but one part of me dint want to, as well.

My main grouse was that, ppl should stick together, and not just go on their own.

It being a very risky climb on the way up and wanted ppl to look out for each other.

A couple of guys in it were fast climbers and dont have the patience to wait for the guys tht are not able to keep up with the pace set by others.

In any case, everybody was like " If anyone cant continue, they just drop out and go back and the others can continue"

I was not ready with it, and decided against going.

I need not have worried, everyone managed to complete the full stretch, and it looks like a sunday and a monday still aint enough to recover..

But itz a very good exp, I was just feeling bad that I missed out.

Anyway, one door closed and another opened..

My colleague wanted to go to houston all of a sudden on fri evening..and we decided to drive all the way from phoenix.

Around 1200 miles, each way:-), guess it took us around 16 hrs to go there..

We went all the way to the Harbor and got a chance to look at any of 'Rita's' damages, if any.

Houston, was and is still', a maze of concrete bridges. I m not sure as to when they will put an end to the construction..

There seems to be a maze of them and it seems the construction engineers relish the site of one bridge jutting out on top of each other like a pack of cards..just like any of your Lego construction toys that you would have had., as a kid.

I sometimes get the feeling, that If you let these guys build your home.,they will have a direct walkway from your kitchen to your living room then an overbridge from he kitchen to the batroom and one more from the living room to the bathroom. As if thts not enough, your bedrooms will have individual bridges from each of these above rooms.

Boy..all those concrete structures and the effort it takes to build them.. not to mention the hardship it puts to the traveling public..is enormous.

I can seriously feel, how ppl must have felt while trying to flee from 'Rita'. It would have been better to stay put @ home during the time..

While there in Houston, got a chance to go that Balaji bhavan that everyone were
raving about as the best Vege place of late. For the first time ever, got hold of a Pav baaji Dosa..

Yessss.. dont blink..thts the name..

I was apprehensive, with good reason too..as everytime that I select a dish that I havent tasted before, it ends in disaster..and I end up getting ridiculed for my choice. But this time, it was awesome.. and more importantly the price was just about right.

Next time when you folks go to Houston, make it a point to go there..

Any way coming back to the trip, we had to stop at an immigration checkpoint on the way. You are forced to do it, even when you dont cross the US border..

Kinda stupid, because, u never get to know that such a thing is possible. Why on earth would anyone expect something on US soil, when you dont cross the border at all, is the question everyone will ask..and Rightly so.

The place in question was ElPaso,Texas and you have to pass that town to get into Texas when driving from Phoenix. that stupid jerk @ the outpost..had a look at my papers, and got hold of one line where the heading was a bit bolder than the other places.

All he asked was.." Why is it like this. Do you have any other papers"

Here was a gent questioning my valid papers given by the US govt on the pretext that one of the headings were in bold text. I was so perplexed that I did not know wat to say.

My friend luckily had a older copy and it was the same in that as well. We then managed to convince him, that this is how the US authorities do it and that we did not fudge it. He finally let us go.

Another funny incident happened right after this..a couple of hrs later..actually.

The speed limit in Texas was 75mph and I had set it to cruise at 80. I would have gone faster, if not for the fact that only recently had I exptied my wallet, at one obscure town on the way to Niagara falls, in NY.

The cop there had caught me for over speeding and had emptied $600 in just fines.

I was wary of getting another one and decided to play safe this time..as the incident was still fresh in memory..:-) and so imagine my surprise when a cop caught me this time..for being just 5 miles about the speed limit.

We were just having a conversation in the car that in Tx the cops are so f**King
M*r*ns that they will catch u even if u are just 6-7 miles above the speed limit.

and voila, the lights flashed behind me..

I had no insurance on the car, as it was my friends' car and we were wondering what the heck did he catch us for. He came over and said, " you know why I caught you."

"NO, Officer"

" you were going on 85. on a 75 stretch"

I just lost it right then and there... "NO WAY. I have set it on cruise., for the past hr or so...and I've not even accelerated at any time since then."

I just stopped short of saying he was lying..:-)

He kept repeating his, and I, my lines..

He finally got tired and asked me to step out..

He must have been totally thrown of balance with the way I talked, cause I knew for a fact that this time I never speeded, and wanted to avoid another ticket at all cost, and in all that hullaboo, he forgot to look into the insurance papers., luckily :-)

So I stepped out, and he asked me where Im going.

" We are going to meet a friend of my friend."

I then told him where we are driving from and when we are going back. He was so shocked that we were driving non stop for 16 hrs just to see someone for a couple of hrs then and then head back again..

"Are you crazy. You are just going back immediately today after seeing him"

I had by now started enjoyin this. and was amused at his expression. He just could not believe it and went and asked my friend about it, who basically said the same thing except that the person we were going to meet was his brother., while I had said, friend'.

SO he came back to me and said, "so this guy you are gonna meet, is he a friend
or a family member. "

" I guess family member, a cousin probably."

" so in few minutes itz changed from friend to family member to brother"

I was cornered. All I could do was, give a shrug of the shouders and a none too convinving smile..

"Do you have anything ilegal in the car trunk."

me: " Nope. nothing at all. YOu are free to check, if you want to"

"Can I "

" Im sure you can, officer. I dont see why" I said, tongue in cheek and then biting it immediately after I said that.

I sensed I'm pushing it too far..

Guess, at that point,he just got fed up, gave my license back and said.. "Drive safe man" and pushed of.

We finally managed to meet his friend..oopz cousin...nay nay..brother..;-) who again was astonished that we drove this long to just meet him.

The drive back was eventless..and I guess thats all we wanted..:-)

Of Doctors and Identity...

Was tired of my usual places for lunch..

My friend suggested, why not get to the Hospital Cafteria that I work for.

I work in the admin building that is right opposite the hospital.

So we normally never go into the hospital...,unless ofcourse you are carried into it :-D

So we did get it, and first impressions, I was very much impressed with what I saw
esp, the cost of the food.

Interestingly, everything was measured by the ounce and charged accordingly.

Very very useful, for someone like that me, that ends up wasting the food all the time. That I again wasted, even this time, is a different matter altogehter:-)

I saw all those stuff there, a burger section, pasta section, grilled section...I took a bit of everything and normally outside, that would have cost me atleast my 1 hrs worth of salary..

I ended up paying a very miniscule amount..(pretty neat..eh..:-) ).

There were lotsa chic' docs and nurse assistants, a pretty youngish crowd...and as expected.. I banged ( literally) into a few of the cutsies around..Oh yeah I knw the words..

Excuse me..Just got attracted like a magnet towards you. Sorry about that...;-)

I see all these pretty docs and medical technicians with their stethoscope dangling around their necks..and brightish floral uniforms as their over coat.

Seemed pretty neat...and that set me thinking.. Me being a compu guy, how are ppl to know, on seeing me, that I am so and so.

Just like docs have their steths, shdnt we as well have hard drives or CDs and stuff to be dangling around, that will tell ppl what we are..:-D

ah...I set you thinking, Dint I :-)

Be a Natural.

"Look at him, He is the state first in Class X this year.

I want you to be like him. I know you have it in you.

If only you can cut down on your playfulness and be a little more attentive..

Atleast during the exam times.."

Yup..thts my mom ...in case you hadnt figured yet..

I surpassed my own expectations then....No No ...I dint get close to what my mom wanted..

But atleast One of us were happy...:-)

Im sure she would have been happy too, or rather relieved...

Atleast this time, I could have my dad sign my progress report, rather than having to forge his signature..,like I did the previous time..

That was the first time I did and she found out...cause Id been telling my dad that I havent recieved the report card yet frm school.

The reason...I had performed badly in one of the papers and was telling him, that the teacher hasnt given us the papers yet..:D

That had soon gotten erased frm memory.,

Imagine the fun when the tables turned.

The last time I had gone to India, my cousins complained that I was being a PIA' ( Pain in the A_ _ _) for them.

Reason, the first line that my mom had bugged me with, has now been uttered, 'quote verbatim' to them..by their parents..


Imagine the surprise when, my Dad's colleague came home a couple of days after I landed in India with his son in tow.

He wanted to tell him what to study and how to proceed further in his career.

I looked at my dad and couldnt make out if he was laughing at me or just smiling.

I just told him whatever I knew, the poor chap was feeling so pissed of. I could sense it.

I prolly should have taken him aside and told him, but somehow mine and his dad were around..and eagerly watching what I was gonna tell to him. My dad because, he knew me and was eagerly expecting what Im gonna blabber..and his dad for some sign of redemption for his son.

To me, it seemed as if all that the guy wanted was to get things over with., so he could go home and be himself.

I totally agree with him...

Therez a huge cry now in India, what with everything becoming so competitive....

I remember seeing and hearing about all kids having to go for various classes. Their whole day seems to have been charted out and slabbed into various one hr slots....one for math, one for chemistry, one for IIT, one for State engg/medical colleges, cricket coaching etc..


The same applies to Indian parents in the US too...Instead of subject tutions it is for singing, dancing, swimming, Indian culture..etc.. etc....


Itz a pretty competitive world, and I knw you can get left behind pretty soon if you dont bend your back. But then, is that the only way to do so....


I remember, the guy who used to be the class topper in Grades XI and XII @ high school, he used to cry even if gets to be second in the class, or miss out on a hundred in Math or science..

I used to really go crazy seeing him, "Why is this idiot crying...I'm trying to keep my head above water and here he is...crying cause he missed the 100 by a whisker.."

Only later did I realise that he had demanding parents, who would even beat him or not give him food for the night, if he did not measure up to the standards they had set for him.

Both of them were IITians and they wanted no less for their son.

He is doing good now, but then so are others who exactly didnt measure up to him...

okee this has become quite long, All I can think of is, Let them be Themselves..

Guide them, but not lead them...into what you think is right...Im sure they will learn to swim with the tide. The experience learnt that way will be more than what they would get, if their hands were held... all the time.

what are your fav ads...

Ad films have always caught my attention. Be it in India or over here.

In India they are pretty much more colorful. With more emphasis on the beautiful, photogenic 'female' models.
.

But I have always noticed, though itz been like 5-6 yrs before, Indian ads tend to be a bit more serious,
and more specific to the product promotion than in promoting them as small interesting 30 sec 'movies'

Over here in the US, they tend to have a story around the product.

But last time I saw, things have changed with Indian ads too. They are more lively now.

In fact, itz a dream in me to start my own ad company one day.

What you can convey in those 30 sec is really mind boggling.

You need to simplify matters, yet give a reason for the consumer to go buy that product.

Some of them, are like a series of ads, and you have to be watching them for a while to make sense of it.

Case in point, Capital one ads, and the one for ING' Insurance

The capital one is kinda done tastily, enough to hold attention, but not something I like.

They started with their caption 'what's in your walet'. The first in the series, was abt the user getting boggled up high interest rates and with medieval warrriors trying to go after ppl

with defaults and high interest rate cards

The initial few were nice, but prolly they carried it a bit 2 far. The latest one shows those medieval warriors out of job as everyone shifts to capital one and they are forced to do other jobs.

Logical concept, but I feel they have carried the series a bit too far.

For one, doesnt show anywhere as to how it helps to promote their product.


Coming to my fav ones..

Most of the times, new concepts are brought out during Superbowl(American Futball). Ads during that time are supposed to cost
a fortune, but nobody cares, Large companies want to showcase their product at that time as most ppl are tuned in at that time. Marketing gimmicry

But then most ads shown during that time are new, and some amazing concepts and ads can be seen.

So much so, that there are articles in News papers that devout space to discussing these ads the next day, along with the superbowl stories and discussions There are lots of others that hold my attention

3 of them that caught my attention of late...


(1) GE genworth ad, which features Agassi and Graf and supposedly their kid.

The ad goes like this..

The kid faces up to this aan adult player. One look at the kid and he tosses the ball which is promptly smashed back.

Surprised, he hits it a bit more flatter, the result the same, the ball whizzes past him.

It countinues and they engage in a slug fest, and finally the guy wins, He exults as if he beats the world champion,

when Agassi and grass drive by and pick the kick..

Nice ad. really liked it.

Concept: Pedigree. Trust in GE.
there is a saying in tamil " Puli kku piranthathu poonai aaguma" which roughly traslates as

"what is born to a tiger, you can never be a kitten"

GE says the same thing abt their product. Nice


(2) The ad for Kia's new SUV.

Starts with a Suave office goer, who drives it first. He stops on a light, and tosses the key to
a travelling junkie. or a hippie. He drives it for some time. then again tosses it to a mom of 4. then to a
tourist, a surfer and so forth...

This process takes thro different ppl in society that drive the SUV around.

Concept:
A very nice interesting strategy, suggesting ppl from diff walks of like will find it comfy.

One thing they could have done, changed the colors of the SUV each time a new person drives it., therby
specifying a diff color to each moods while at the same time, showing all colors that they have on the model.


(3) There is one more thing that I liked. Cant seem to remember now.
maybe will update it at a later time..



What about urs guyz..

Anything that you like..specifically...!

BCCI - show some spine..

If it is true that the Indian Board has been trying to replicate the Australian method to bring success all these years, they would do well to emulate what the Cricket Australia has done to its National team., after the Ashes debacle.

These are the things they could do to bring that much needed improvement in its national team

(1) Sack Ganguly frm the ODI team. Remove him as captain from the test team, and give him the whole of SL and 3 tests of the Pak series, to prove that he has it in him

(2) Give Dravid the control in both forms until the end of England series and the SA ODI series.

(3) Notify Sehwag, Kaif and Harbajan as potential stars to replace Dravid after world cup 2007 and that their form, plus the way they influence the results and their behavior and attitude in equal measure, will decide who gets the Captaincy and VC.

(4) Drop zaheer from the test team and tell him that the ODI series against SL will decide his future. Put pressure on him and tell him he has to show that he can work under pressure and that his future depends on it.

(5) Consider Nehra again only for the ODI series. If he has no interest in test matches, as reported, nothing wrong in it. There is no reason to crucify him as long as he conveys his interests to the outside world.

(6) Make Kaif, Yuvi and V.Rao as the next in waiting for a test spot, in that order. and the first chop in the middle order would give a slot to one of them. That includes Laxman as well as Ganguly.

(7) Bring Balaji into the test XI and make him a certainity for the SL and Pak tour., for tests that is.

(8) Earmark Karthik and Dhoni for tests and ODIs respectively, and for god sake, give them 2 full tours irrepective of how they perform. Let their review happen the same time as Ganguly's., until the end of Pak tour...that is

(9) Identify bowlers that can bowl at 145+ and give them a longer rein. --Munaf, R.Bose and Srishant(??), RP singh, VRV singh

(10) Tell Kumble its time up in ODI and to concetrate only on tests.

(11) Make Murali Karthik as the first replacement for Harbajan in ODI's

(12) Appoint a bowling coach and a manager FULL time.

(13) Make it clear to the coach and captain that in Indian Cricket, its the captain that comes first. No equal powers or the coach being the imp person as in Soccer.

(14) And last, restrict Tendulkar to decide between tests and ODIs now.... With the added proviso that, with his body being able to stand up, he will walk into the ODI team like Lara, for the world cup.

You think the BCCI has the spine to implement all this???

Sep 15-Itz one year now

Boy, the euphoria and the relief, same time last year, can never be matched for some time.

Sep 15..and thts when I started work.

I was really getting worried., very very unsure of what future had in store until the week that preceded 'Sep 15. I had been searching for a job for like 3 months and Sep 15 is one day., that I will always look upon as one of the most cheerful days of my life.I did get the news the friday before, but then Sep 15 was when I started work.

Going back, I get reminded of the fun and twist before I selected Sep 15 '04 as my first day.

I normally dont bother abt good days or bad days..unless ofcourse somebody brings it up and it plays upin my mind.

So being my first job, I was a bit apprehensive as to when to join.They had asked me to join on a Tuesday. and from the limited knowledge I had, itz better to avoid starting something on a tue.

I still remember the day, when I got my first bicycle, a BSA SLR. guess I got it on a monday evening.and my dad wanted me to take a ride then and there.
But then, I'm nothing if I dont have a different view point from others...mildly put, that is..:-)

Somehow my mind decided that I did not want to take it out immediately and said" No ma. maybe tomorrow morning. Itz pretty late already".

My mom though would have none of it. "Inniku illane buthan kezhamai thaan."translated as "It's either now or wednesday. Dont you dare touch it tomorrow.."
The threat had then worked. I did take it out immediately. :-)

Same was the case with my job. The company wanted me to join on Sep 14 Tue.So I immediately said, " No no...Lets have sep 15 as my first day"

As it so often happens with me, I called up home and asked them if the date was okay.My mom checked the dates, and said, oh oh Tue, Sep 14 is the best day you can get this month.You should not join on the 15th in any case..:-)
And I was...totally dumbfounded.

Trust my dad to come up with an escape route.

"All active days are good days. The bad days are the days when you are lazy and do nothing. All these panchangams are for old ppl, you dont worry about em'. Sep 15 is the best day you can get. Take my word. You will do good"

and so I set forth. It's been one year. and touch wood, I've been able to keep my head above the water..:-)

Sep 15 is indeed a good day.

Has to be, aint it so, FFBW... :-)

Jay Leno or David letterman

Those of you that watch the idiot box late night shd knw what I'm talking..

2 of the most successful late night talk show hosts.

Jay Leno's late night show is one that I really really like to watch.

The year that I had landed here, I had no idea of any popular shows over here.

And the very first time I saw His show, I immediately got attracted to it. The show was novel to me, I hadnt heard of such shows in India then. atleast they werentpopular yet..and this was so refreshing...esp the cracks he took at everyone in power.

To think you could comment on anyone including the president and just get away with it..was like amazing., atleast to me, back then. Had I been Clinton ( heck I would have loved the attention from monica ;-) ), I would have fallen flat at Jay leno's feet and begged him to not make fun of me anymore.

He became the focal point of such a butt of jokes that I really felt for him.

yeh yeh...I did imagine him in the same position that Jackie shroff found himself in..that
flickwith Amitabh and those 3 gorgeous babes..forgot the name of the movie...shuks..
was it boom??????? I forget..

My favourites of his were the Jay walk, when he would sneak by some unsuspecting passer
by,who in the first place was happy to show his/her face on national TV.

To this day, I havent figured out if its made up. I just cant believe some ppl can be so stupid.
But come to think of it, I emphathise as well.

Some time back, I had asked some of my friends, to tell me at the drop of the hat as to who is the VP of India is..and ppl just couldnt name that person. Yeh yeh...that includes me as well :-s
Why else would I ask a question, unless if I dint know...that is ;-)

I even posted on sulekha with a caveat...dont google the answer..

I think pretty few got it on the first try... okee okee..dont back off...I aint asking u yet :-D

That reminds me of one Sve shekar comedy serial in DD- tamil that was quite popular then..
The moment he'd ask that question, every character in that serial would run away hither tither..
I would laugh at it..and then immediately fear would grip me.what if my dad who was also watching it...asked me to figure that out...:-))

I eventually breathed a sigh of relief one day, after watching it for the 10th time, my inquistiveinsticts reappeared on the horizon.I managed to muster the courage and ask him what the answer is...

He was like "there is no one answer to that question...kanna"

Boy..Did I breathe a sigh of relief..!!!

" He does not mention how long each person works or what is the capacity of each person..."my dad went on to explain...but it never registered. I was happy that all my fear of not having an answerto that question so far was unfounded..:))

The question goes like this.. " If 10 ppl work for 8 hrs a day to do a particular job and get it done in 1 week...how long does ittake to for 5 ppl to do the same job?
or something similar to that...:-)

Pretty interesting it used to be.Needless to say, I used to bug the other ppl in my class esp the girls and show of my intelligence to them :-D

Why else would all the girls in the class vote for me to be the leader in the class in the electionsthat were held after that.

That I lost was a different issue, as all the guys realised and ganged up against me and made sure I lostthe election to the other candidate...........grrrr

Boy...this is getting so far away from the topic.

Any way coming back to Leno, he seemed more youthful and vibrant than David letterman.
Letterman, to be fair to him, needs some getting used to. Once that happens, you find him prettyfunny. As good and sometimes even better than Leno.

Once the initial thing wore off, I try to see both as much as possible changing channels, during the ever sofrequent ads.

Letterman is a bit of a sexist. I can picture him being another 'Hugh hefner' of Playboy fame.
Some nerve he has got..that guy..:-)

And almost all oldtimers seem to like him better than Leno....

And I guess itz a queer way for me to find out that Ive stayed long in this country...now that I'vestarted having a preference for his brand of comedy :-)

Meetings can be fun

Had to get the approval from my supervisor for some of the tasks from last week..and he was on his way to our full team meeting before the Integration testing.
It was almost 12:oo

"I am going for a meeting now. ..Are you.."

" Is this a lunch meeting.." I asked him..

" Nope.."

"Well then.. I am not interested" I smiled

" smart man.." and he pushed off

But then I had to change my mind immediately. Therz been this girl who is part of the solution provider's team and has been assigned to our project on a full time basis until we go live.

I saw her getting ready for the meeting., and I immediately got into the room ahead of her. :D

My Boss saw me and gave me a quizzical look.

"Hmm... I thought you...." with his arched eyebrows..

I took no notice and stayed away from his seat., and refrained from looking at him..

And presently my girl came in . I mean, the one I've been eyeing.
and stood next to me.

That dumb fucker of an idiot, guess some new hire from the solution providers' team stood up and gave her the seat..

"Damn you fella. No greeting you today, for doing this to me. "

My boss had by now figured why I'd had a change of heart. He kept pointing towards her and kept smiling. I took no notice..or rather pretended that I had no idea what he was doing. :-)

and so the meeting finally started. Looked like there were like 100+ ppl in the conference call.

" Boy...what did I get into. All this for nothing..... I would have happily been browsing in my comp, had I not gotten into this meeting"

Anyway, the mandatory introductions over, the facilitator was having a hard time with the call
and kept on asking., 'Can you hear me now.....'

" Is this a verizon sales meeting or what..."...quipped the guy sitting in front of me.

everyone had to laugh. After all itz the Program mgr that cracked it..:)

I would have laughed anyway. It sounded funny. Not just that, gave me a chance to pass a comment to the girl next to me.

More talk more garbage...And the meeting finally ended...cause no one had any idea what the other was talking.
and everyone agreed that things were proceeding well and that everything is in place for the testing to begin...and we disperse..

and there..she goes....with the new team members in her vendor team ....for lunch..

and there...goes again..my chance to ask her out for lunch...

and so starts monday...on a 'positive' note ...:-)

Is Blogspot better than sulekha..

I am new to blog spot, but not to blogs..But like any change, it feels kinda exciting and lonely as well..in equal doses.
Exciting as all new things are. Lonely because you are stepping into a new place and not sure if you would be welcome here and get the same treatment as in the other place.
Good or bad, abuse or praise, Im sure most ppl would prefer a known place mainly because they know what they are getting.
If you would want a loose analogy, its like the difference between staying in an Apartment complex and in an independent house.
Needless to say, Sulekha was like an apartment complex, Where you can see so many other bloggers at the sametime.It makes things easier for one. A comfy kinda blog atmosphere.
Blogspot, on the other hand is more like independent house. You can post your stuff without anyproblems about the admins trying to do a Jayalalitha' on u :-)
and better still, you can delete comments if you dont find them complimentary :D
But the good thing is, ppl have to make an effort to see your blog. They have to really know your blog address or go thro a series of links clicked from other websites.
The down side that I can think of, is you dont always remember all the ppl' blogsites and there is little chanceof knowing new ppl unless you do the searching yourself.
Something, thankfully you dint have to do in Sulekha.
It would be good to have the best of both worlds. But from what I've seen, I've liked Blogspot so far.
Hopefully Sulekha will be up pretty soon. and we can have the best of both worlds.

Elppp...I cant see my Belt.

Anyother time or for that matter any of the prev years of my life...that wudnt have been a problem...

Flash <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Call me Futuristic'. Mebbe thts a tad too fancy. Guess cud call it farsighted..;-)

I have always got my Pants a size larger than what it wud fit me..
That way even if I grow into it, I cud do so...seamlessly..:D

But all thro my school days both high skoool and grad, I had always been skinny..and the problem has always been tht my pants are becoming useless cause they always seemed big for me.. Now tht those days are past...a big jolt to the present...

Flash >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I just got back from my lunch at an Indian restaurant..and I thought..lemme take a quick detour tothe mens' room and tuck my shirt in properly..
and be a bit more presentable... Good noble intentions..."No harm done..." I thought to myself..

Soo., I went it, and unzipped my trouser zipper...(No noo nooo..Dont let ur imaginations run riot:-P ) and tucked in my pants..

Everything went okee., and then I just bent down a lil bit looking to admire how fit I was...
"*&&%&*^*&....what is this solid mass obstructing my view...Elp....I cant see my belt.. "

I was soo flabbergasted..."No wayy.." I squeaked or rather muttered to myself.

I probably did squeak...for the guy in the next 'mens' room 'Cubicle' ...:-~ (Cudnt find a better word...sorry ppl) let out a big fart..probably his way to shush me and sent out a message to clear out or be ready for further launches...

Shocked but unable to comprehend, I inhaled deeply, so tht my stomach was now flatter and behind my ribs,,I looked to see my belt..and to my relief...realised.., that my belt was of the same color as my Trousers..and in the fading light, cudnt spot it...:-D

"bhssssssssssh..." What a relief...and the guy in the next cubicle seemed to agree for he let out one moreof his missiles..

Unable to hold my breadth any longer,for obvious reasons..:-).....I was happy enough to sprint thro thenext 3 floors to my cube....:-D

Run...Run for your life....

Gosh..When iz it when iz it...
**Flash back to those 4 yrs in Undergrad...

I've never hidden from girls consciously in my entire life except for that dreaded day...
.

As they say, me and my cohorts in Flirtation....

well we were just one 'safe' step ahead of the CLose up style Teeth showin Romeos who just do that all day.

But this was one day every year, when we would literally run helter skelter and make sure.. no one knows where we are...

We would dutifuly hide or lock ourselves somewhere or if we had to go to class that day.,

would be very sincere sitting in the very first row and listening with RAPT attention to the proff.

Itz a diff story that if it was a good lookin femme proff we wud be in the front rows every lecture day. ;-)

Lolz, still remember the day when 'Sushmita Sen' came over for our 'Chemistry' class in our first semester..

rofl.....Seriously..that was her name...and she did take CHEMISTRY... ;))

A bit like Main hoon na....eh...;-)

She had a 3 yr old kid, but then why would we let a 3 yr old cloud our thoughts...

If anything, it just made us admire her more...

Now now...my mind...stay still' Office is not the time when u think abt her...

That was my ' mini me' ppl...Neglect him...:)


Maybe , I'll have 'mini-me' talk about her in the next blog.
But for now letz stick to this one....

So this was the day, when I never never never talked to femmes Married or single..and that applied to the band of romeos that Were with me..

"where did u go all day yday. U fraud. I was looking to get this on u...so that I cud be safe from now on..." was the refrain all around...

.

.
.
..

..

..

Yessss.


...That day was Rakhi..

My first encounter with Taj

Please Read this after reading FFBW's post
Memories..and Taj..

I remember, vivdly even today.

That was the first time out of home and out of familiar environments.
.

I had never done this before.

Add to the fear none at home knew about it.
Add to it, friends I barely know. I've known probably, for wat say, 3-4 weeks.

and here I was, going all the way for Taj.

I was excited, to put it succintly..

I was dripping and sweating profusely..and it was not just because of the rain outside.

I do love rain, but then I'm digressing.

So, letz stick to Taj.

We got out of our meeting place, then walked a few paces, all the while animatedly talking..

or so it seemed to me. They had done this several times, and all of them infact sweared by it.

They said it was an out of the world experience and nothing else comes close.

So.... the fated moment arrived and I was eagerly awaiting to take it in all.....ONE sip at a time..


waah Taj, Taj mahal tea....They are reaaaaaaalllllllllly good :D

Top 10 reasons to Go for Arranged Marriage

Dont Shoot the messenger..:-)

Primary Inputs provided by Meetu and D_w :D

10. You have already given up.. and worse EVERYONE knows it. :)

9. To proove ur Former GF that you could love and be loved too

8. 'Cause u wanted to proove u aint gay....

(FFBW, this has no relation to the 'Be happy and Gay' post of urs :-)

7. To all those ppl that said ' Go get a life' which u mistook as ..'To Get married' ;)

6. 'Cause D_W said so, or else he wud keep Muaahing everyone that posts irrespective of them being single or not

5. 'Cause Meetu said so, and that too twice., in 2 diff comments she made.

4. Even more so because, she agreed to wat D_w thought she said.

3. You are not the only one feeling guilty. Most probably the one u'r getting married to, is as well.

2. It's free. U get to be the hero, to be changed later to a Zero.( Considering that itz a change of just one alphabet, from Hero to Zero, itz pretty remarkable) :-)

1. You dont have to tell ur wife to be that u are already married ( if you are, that is), Cause u never started it in the first place. and that u r not obliged to. :)

I sink.......in chinese

Statuory Warning: Contains Anglo - Chinese text"

And so...One more of those School memoirs...And before I forget, Now tht the storm over FFBW is over..Letz start one more with Vi ...:)
by dedicating this blog to her..


This is not one of those High school memoirs...Ther r too many to write..
I wud be flooded with thoughts, jus like Bombay is marooned now..
.


This one was in my Masters...


And so, we had this Chinese proff, who like most other proffs frm there, has trouble communicating in English.


Itz a big wonder as to how they interview and get selected as well..
maybe they accept lower salaries..but thts a diff story..


She made us get to school on a sat, as she had something to discuss abt..


A 3 hr class on a sat morning....yikes....somehow we made it.
I was having trouble focussing and was jus prancin around..and the fact that she is difficult to understand made my choice easier..




10 mins..


15


she was getting fed up with me...and finally..summoned the courage..
"uroan..".(thts how she spells my name)" how many fishes in the
cube.."

"huh..excuse me" I was totally taken aback...

and she repeated that again...this time a bit more slowly...But I heard it the same way still..

Now everyone around were as bewildered, but since they werent in the firing line..they started laughing as well...

She was loosing her cool by now

"Oh cmon..Den u no...how many fishes..iz viry izzey. Cmon sink"
translated as " Dont u know. Its very easy... Cmon think" :-)

It was an manuacturing Engg class and I dint know what fishes and sink got to do with it..

"fishes..fishes...sink sink.." she continued.......

..and so..to cut a long story short..

She finally answered it herself..

"6" said the proff..

We were like...eh..how...do u have a particular size and shape for the fishes..Did u mention how big the cube is..

or iz it like a fish displaces this much amount of water..and u calculated accordingly........

And then, she showed it with her hand, and took a book and showed us

"Think this is a cube..U have six fishes"
and showed the top, bottom and the sides of the book..

"Ohhhhhhhhh....Faces..."
and our own 'fishes' brightened...I mean Faces :D


"wat dij u sink..." asked she...

translated as " what did u think"

"oh nothing..I just dint get it...6 faces u r right" and I sat down..

and so the story goes..:)

Grandmas and Vegas

Yes..u read that right..
U must have heard of vegas and show girls

of vegas and beauty queens
s

even of vegas honey mooners'

But this one is something new...

Grand-mas and vegas..

The last 2 times I was in vegas I had to take grandmas along..including one as latest as last week.

Pics of me hand in hand with grandmas are all over my computer folders..

and my mom is pestering me for fotos taken on the trip....sigh

Word has it that she wants recent fotos for fixing alliances..

wonder what will happen, if I send her fotos of mine with the other 'woman'...

ya ya...grand mas of course..:)

But this vegas trip was a defining one -very diff from my prev ones..

I have always lost an obscene amount of money on all those trips..

But this time..GULP..hold your breath, I lost not even a penny..

Kewl eh...

To round it up, itz one hell of an experience to go with grandmas..

forget all those bikini clad and handerkerchief clad babes, U always get a chance to get going with them.

trust me, grandmas are fun too...:-)

The most exciting part of the trip, was when

Remember all those mexicans standing by the roadside, and handing out credit card size pics of nude girls
with their 1-800 no.s on the streets of vegas..

Grandmas, got hold of one..rofl ...that stupid mexican gave her one...

he was just handing it out to all and sundry, and lo she extened her hand to get one..

She looked at it, and silently put it down..

Her facial expression at that time..said a 1000 words..

Nay..I'm lying make in 1 Million.. :))

The last time I lied

Always dedicate ur work to the one that inspired you..said mr.somebody
So letz dedicate this one to Flower bestial...and ...to her chaotic post..:)
and that had me thinking..

this is something I can Identify with..An incurable curse..at one point of time..
.

Trust me...I can lie thro my teeth..and I have no problems lying about something..even when there is absolutely no need for it.

so if I say, Your post touched me to the heart..or well written..:)

well well...Not so fast, re read the prev line..I said " at one point of time.' :)

It pretty much seems to be a part of me..

No wonder my fav song is frm the movie Run..the tamil version of it that is..

The first 2 lines go like this..


Poi solla koodathu kaadhali
Poi sonnalum neeye en kaadhali/...

For the Non Tamil Junta..that translates as..

Dont lie.. my sweet heart..
Even if you do, you ARE my sweet heart..

Any ways, getting to the point..
When was the last time I lied...
..

..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..

hmm...wat am I doing right now :-)

Air India - Do U really wanna fly that:-)

Guess it was my first trip to India from here..
Had a overnight stay in Sing - I had flown there in a Korean Air flight
and from there to Madras by Indian Airlines...
.

That 3 hr journey, I realised never will I fly Air India again..

I had stayed overnight in my cousins place and she had come to drop me at the Changi airport (or watever that is called).

One look at the queue outside, you could have mistaken it for a fish market..

was sooooooo crowded with confusion all around that ticketing area..
It looked more like a vegetable chawl in India.

I looked at it in disbelief..and my cousin gave me a wry smile and she said, this is the reason why I was asking you yesterday, about not taking a sing airlines flight..

I consoled myself, thinking this is prolly cause, the rate by Air india/ Indian Airlines is 1/3 of sing airlines. Hence the crowd..and mebbe they dont fly as frequently as IA did...

WRONG...
some how got into the flight...

and as vi or some one else said...

At the ticketing counter outside, there were scores of ppl, waiting to get a seat, and they were being turned down saying NO place sorry..

Once I got inside and everyone had settled down( thts a misnomer..nobody settles down:-) more on that later )

I could spot atleast 4-5 seats that werent taken the whole journey...Talk abt wastage..shuks..

Now comes the interesting part..:-)

The moment u step in the plane, the feel and smell and the commotion..sacchhe mein..:)
reminded me of a Bus station in India..

ppl were like fighting jostling to get it...the others wont even wait for u, they will just twist their body and go past u.
No wonder I guess, that they airhostess seemed pissed of the whole journey..:-)

It was very sultry and I thought lets turn on the vent above us, No sooner did I do that., there was this thick white smoke coming out from them and all over the plane at all vents..
with a chlorox like smell...
shuks..

At my wits end, I asked the Air hostess wat this is all abt, she just mumbled and went off, prolly the guy next to me was a freq traveller on this flight, just laffed off and said..dont worry, u wont notice it when the plane takes off :D

and I thought he meant they will go...But note the words..U WONT NOTICE IT..:)

Then finally after a 30 min delay it took off though I shd say, they landed on time)...and unbelievable, the moment the flight took off...
ppl were walking here and there on the flight as if they were walkin in a train..
some with babies..in their hands that were crying no end...
and others with their lungies and munda banians..:-)

and others like me who wanted to cry but cudnt and only ended up cursing my travel agent...

apparently the airhostesses got tired of telling them to take their seats...they infact never bothered...
little wonder they wanted to get the business of food done pretty fast..

10 mins into take off, one of them a above middled aged 'aunty' brought a tray of eclairs...
I looked at it, and they were off various shapes..and sizes, not like the eclairs I had seen when I was in india..:)
One look, I decided I dont want it, and said no thanks. She gave me one frightful stare..:-s and shoved the tray right under my nose and said" TAKE IT"

Like a scared school boy, I took 2 lest she should shout for taking more than what I am allowed..
Man that make up she had...the less said the better..
all tht was probably because of the airconditioner barely working..
Mebbe she felt it even worse than me..what with sweat dripping over all that makeup :-)

Then came the lunch or mini meals or watever..
had 2 packs one upma combo for veges and other an omlet combo for NV.
I had ordered veggie and wanted to find out what the NV was..

she was like " what did u ask for. That s what I have given u. Eat it"
me : " no I dont want this. tell me what you have in the other box"

she: " no u dint order this. How does it matter to u"

I just got totally pissed off and glared at her. She then gave me the other one and said itz got omlette in it.

the one next to me was having that, and afterI saw how it looked like, I decided to go for the veggie again..

haha...u can visualize that..for sure..:) when I asked her for the veggie thingie again...

rofl, her expression said a thousand words..
thankfully she just gave it to me and pushed of..


Finally in 2.5 hrs it touched madras...and I heaved a sigh of relief....

and rather than thinking of the 3 month holiday ahead, I was thinking of what to do on the return flight..to see if I could change it to something else..


Now MAKE UP ur MIND... :)

PS: this was in 2000. Might have changed for the better now..hopefully:)