Pepper in mint?

Why is peppermint called peppermint, even though it does not have any trace of pepper in it?

Bliss.

A moon. A Guy. Some music - Beautiful.
The moon smiles at me all the way back home;
The guy makes me run out of reasons to cry;
The music, brings him that much closer to me - makes me realise, he is not as far as the moon is!
Perfect bliss.
Amen.

Million little silver friends.

A smile stays on me, as the photographer tries to click a snap.
The photographer, checks us out at various angles through his lens, and finally manages to push the button.
Then comes a flash as bright as lightening, exposing me to a million little friends of various shapes, all silver, moving helter skelter in confusion, like they are in a hurry to meet their couterparts and complete a jigsaw puzzle.
Before I get to see the puzzle complete, the black background disappears and so do my million friends.
Normalcy resumes, even while I try hard not to lose those silver friends of mine who are busy solving the puzzle, who are trying meet their counterpart with whom they can snugly fit in - happily forever, and be satisfied by the knowledge that they have done their job in completing the mysterious jigsaw.
Will I be able to see them again?

Starbucks at Crosswords

I find it hard to believe it myself, but yes, I have been bunking work very frequently now. Such actions from me were unheard of - the past two years. Sometimes, Im suprised by how carefree I have become. But deep down I know, its not that I shun my work. I am just enjoying the time I am getting on free pool.
Last Friday, I left early from work - just like what I have been doing on all the Fridays of August and September.
It feels nice to have such times off for yourself and having such times off, on a weekday, is even better! :)
Instead of going shopping, I decided to go to Crosswords.

Crosswords - I am so glad there is such a place in Bangalore. I would place Crosswords, third in my "ways to relax" list. The first two would be watching a sunset on the beach and a nice massage.
The smooth yellow lights, the soothing instrumental music in the background, comfortable seats around the bookshelves make it one of the best bookstores in Bangalore.
While looking around the bookstore, the word "Starbucks" hit my eye. Me being an ardent fan of Starbucks, how can I not pick that book up!?
God must have been truly happy with me that day.. :)
Why else, did I get, some precious time, for myself - in the most relaxing environment I could get hold of that day AND with Starbucks!?
Ok! Starbucks was just a word I read there.. but Starbucks was with me nevertheless! :) The word brings back beautiful memories of the times I spent in their many outlets with cute looking Baristas around :) heh.
And what more can I ask for, when I found out that the book with that word, was interesting as well?

"How Starbucks saved my life" is a lively autobiography of a laid off US advertising executive, Gill. I thought Gill would explain his hardships, seeing them in negative light - he was a well-off guy before starbucks afterall - but I was in for a surprise. The book is interestingly very positive. Even after a week of reading that book, I am reminded of a thought he has mentioned in the book. He quotes his father when he mentions these words:
"The first rule in life... Is to have a good time in whatever you are doing... There is NO second rule!"
Need I say more? Go read the book!

American Shaolin

American Shaolin - The title was enough to arouse interest.

After reading the subtitle - Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China, I knew I HAD to read this book!

Even though its been more than three months since I read this book, every teeny-meeny aspect of the book is fresh in my mind. No. This should not be attributed to my good memory, but to the amazing writing in the book.

Mathew Polly(the author) travels all the way to China, to learn Kung-fu. Leaves his home, his parents and his stable life, to go to a place where he knows no one.
This book is about Polly's journey from being a geek to being a kickboxing champion.

From flying kicks, cat style kung-fu and iron-crotch kung-fu, to stuff about Chinese women and Chinese drinking games, this book, is marvellous.

Personally, the various Chinese words used in the book, brought back a lot of memories of my Karate practicing days. I could relate to a lot of moves mentioned in the book, and that excited me all the more.

Even if you have zero knowledge about martial arts, this book is a must read.

I bet you would not want to put the book down, until you have finished it!

Happy reading! :)

Umerkot.

UmerKot.
The name sounds, fabulous, and the pictures on their website look delicious!
Umerkot, is one of the many restaurants that line Kormangala.
The pictures on their website are yuuuuummmy and irresistable.
So off I went to try out the Rajasthani Food festival that has been going on for a while now.
I wanted more than myself for company, and so pushed a few mortals around here, in Sjp to join me on my expedition. All of us, took the very convenient inter-office shuttle, and landed there sharp at 12:30 PM. Just the right time for lunch :)

The first shock, was with the ambience. Although it was not that bad, the photographs had raised my expectations!
The next was the soup. It was a normal watery tomato soup with a complex name.
Chris even admitted, that it tasted exactly like the tomato curry she makes! Yup! You got it right.. both taste horrible.

Next in line, were the starters. They were not all that bad; but those pictures on the internet were really deceptive!
One of the starters was my good old Onion Pakoda. This is one thing I will never get tired of eating. I remember going in search of these, even in London.
And, take my word for it, Londonised Indian chefs make better Onion pakodas! :)

Anyway, coming back to Umerkot. Everything following the Pakodas, were nothing extra ordinary. Sadly, nothing was typical Rajasthani. The same, roti, dal makhni, alu gobi.
Would want to try out authentic Rajasthani someday.

Then came the most important dish for the afternoon. The dessert. We ordered, "Raj Ladoo".
All of us, almost fell to the floor laughing, when we saw it!
The perverts that we are, we just could not view the ladoos as ladoos. All of us seemed to think on the same lines, when it came to the ladoo decoration.
Two ladoos, with cream(shaped like what you get on a softee cone)in between... and red syrup all over the place.
What was the chef thinking!?

I know all this sounds disgusting. Maybe I should just delete this post of mine. And be the decent dreamer I have been all these days.
But, I just cant help it. How can I not publish something so interesting!
Mayb I'll just edit this part of the post, after a while, when I assume a more mature me.

But seriously, please dont miss the Raj ladoo! when you go to UmerKot..
Atleast go there, to look at what Im talking about. No! Im not gonna upload the million pics we clicked of that masterpiece and spoil all the fun. :) Go check it out urself!

Or maybe, they donot do such decorations for everyone afterall.They must have found us gurls, very attractive and charming, and they wanted to make us laugh.
Hmm... one of the most memorable incidents that I am going to remember for a long long time!

For the records: (This is only for the dreamer, so she can test her memory, after 30-40 years from now :P)
What was the name that the Gang of gurls gave the Raj Ladoo?

The transparent wall.

Around two weeks back, I came to realize that I am good at any relationship, as far as I don't get too close.
I am good at maintaining relationships where I have the liberty to have a transparent wall between myself and the other person.
I am good at being best friends with a million people in the world, as long as I don't have to get too close to anyone.

All these days, I preferred to ignore this thought and move on. I am happy, with such relationships in my life.
But then, when I am lonely, the very thought that I have a million friends, but none of them close enough to share my thoughts with, make me more lonely.

Lately, I have been working on this. Been trying to push myself to break that barrier. The transparent wall, was built with no conscious reason. There exists no reason for me to hold on to it, and take it with me into the future.
Unfortunately, this wall is not made of glass, which would shatter, if something is thrown at it.
Looks like, slow erosion is the way to break it.
I have made a resolution, to get this out of my life. It sure is going to take some time.
But I will walk past the eroded wall soon. :)

GMAT.

Long time, since I filled up this space.
No excuses. I have been busy, yes. But I still have enough time in my day, to type crap around here.
Just plain lazy, I guess.

GMAT preparation has been in full swing. I have realized a lot about myself while preparing. I once thought, I suck at problem solving. I have come to realize, that I can rate myself higher at problem solving, when compared to the critical reasoning and reading comprehensions.
Man, the world, seems such a simple place, with uncomplicated problems, after I go through a section of reading comprehension! Reading line after line, of how Anneles' book, describes Augustus, made me pull out my hair. The next time I see a passage talking about "comaprable worth" and pay equity for men and women, Im going to run to no-man's land!

On the whole, I am having a nice time(Other than while reading the afore mentioned reading comprehension passages).
Life is good :)

Impossible is nothing.

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

-Adidas Ad, ESPN magazine.

Is today a bad day for you?

I have found a list which helps me decide, if today is a bad day for me..
"You know it's going to be a bad day when...
You turn on the morning news and it's showing emergency routes out of town.
The sun comes up in the west.
Your boss tells you not to bother taking off your coat.
You jump out of bed and you miss the floor."
The bird singing outside your bedroom window is a buzzard.
You wake up and your dentures are locked together.
Your car's horn gets stuck while you're following a group of Hell's Angels.
You put both contact lenses in the same eye.
You walk to work on a sunny morning and discover the back of your skirt is stuck in your panty hose.
You call to pick up your messages and are told it's none of your business.
Your tax return check bounces.
You put your bra on backwards and it fits better.
You step on the scale and it says "tilt".
You call suicide prevention, and they put you on hold.
Your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles.
You want to put on the clothes you wore home from the party last night and there aren't any.
You wake up and discover your waterbed broke and then you realize that you don't have a waterbed."
And so... Im not having a bad day as yet :)
- Quoted from "How you can tell when it's going to be a rotten day."
http://www.joke-archives.com/toplists/rottendy.html

Congratulations :)

There was once a guy who was happy and gay(Gay as in Happy!! :P).
His life was simple.
He had many friends and all his relationships he ever had, were simple and smooth. His logic was sharp, and there was no sign of emotional intelligence.
And then something happened..
The very thoughts he was thinking, begun to change.. and before he tried to figure out what was happening..
He got engaged! :P
Congrats Bubu, and I speaketh the truth.. "I pity you" :P

A pro at languages.

I'm ashamed of myself(Something new?). Sigh!
All these 24 years, I thought I was good at languages.

I was under the assumption that, given a considerable amount of time, say a month or so; I would be able to understand any language pretty well. But I was wrong.

Even though it has been with me for more that 24 years now, I dont understand it.
It grumbles sometimes, it roars sometimes, it makes some amusing noises sometimes. Still I havent been able to understand what it really wants. Yea, Im talking about my tummy.

Currently, Im not keeping well. Not sure, whats wrong! All I know is, it has something to do with my tummy.
Its speaking a new language today, other than the grumbling. I dont know if I can call it a new language. Maybe I should say it has begun dancing. I can feel it twist and turn. And hey! Im not pregnant! so.. you get the point right... its my tummy doing the dancing(without music) and not anything else.

The doctor gave me some tablets to put my tummy to peace. But they too seem to be having a ball of time in my tummy! I suspect, they are dancing along to the tunes, my tummy is dancing to!
Sigh! Someone help me.

Love story..

One amazing love story.
A story where there's only sacrifice. I'm sure, you'll agree with me, after you read this through.

He is old now, and all his sensory organs are feeble. A few years ago, he was one of the heros is his group. Shiny and handsome, and famous for his senses, he was incharge of providing water to people he recognised.
While he was at his prime, and enjoying all the attention, he fell in love.
He was so madly in love, he could not see her leave, everytime she came to him.
Although she came to him,only for a minute everyday, it was all that he waited for.

He fell in love with those hands.
Those manicured nails and soft palms, was all he waited for, everyday of his life.
He knew what he was doing was futile. There is no future, to what he was wishing for. Still, he wouldnt stop.
He decided he would love her till the end and serve her till the end. And thats what he did.

With age, his much talked about sensory organs failed him. He could not recognise anyone anymore.
But her.
Whenever he saw her hands, it was as if he was in his prime again!

He still continues to serve her, everytime he looks at her hands.
His sensors become sharp again, when she shows her hands to him.He never fails to give her enough water, whenever he sees those hands.
Even though he can never get to see her face. Even though he can never get to talk to her. Even though he can never get to touch her, he loves her. He Loves her to death.
An amazing love story, full of sacrifice, isnt it.
A love story, of a tap(with hand sensors!) and a lady with beautifully manicured nails!
Awwww..

-----------
Its time, I go to a psychiatrist dont you think!? I am beginning to fret about the thoughts, I think and write around here!
Yesterday, when we went out for lunch, one of the taps was malfuntioning. Out of the 3 of us who tried to use it, only one was successful. This lady had manicured nails! Now you know where this story is coming from! :P

Hair punches!

I have always taken pride in my punches.
"My punches".
Hard blows, on the face or chest, which has made many people cry in pain.
Well.. I was very proud of it, until I recently realised how very "hard" they really were! :(

Sniff..

I have always adored my hair. (Yea yea, so what if they are scanty!? I still love them...! )
All extra care is taken, to look after them.
There are times when you end up taking out your anger on your loved ones.. when your angry with something else.
I dunno what/whom I was angry with, but my beautiful scanty hair had to face my wrath that day!
Im still so sorry for that!! sniff... :( (Didnt quite get a count of how many hair took off to faraway places from my head that day! )
While I was at my best, treating my hair as badly as possible... I suddenly saw a streak of blood...
I was amuzed. Thought there was something sitting on top of my head, which I had managed to crush. What a proud feeling! :)
The pride however was uncomfortable.. I couldnt feel proud and breathe easily at the same time!
Only then did I realise that I had punched my own nose! I prayed n prayed for the bleeding to stop, and guess what..!? it stopped miraculously... :)
Only to leave me with a blood clot on the bridge of my nose.. :(
Its more than a week since it happened but...
The clot still seems to be in love with my nose! :(

I no longer take pride in my punches.
Punches are bad.
Self-inflicted punches.. are WORSE!

Parents I say!

I tell my mom, every night, to wake me up early in the morning, so I can go for a jog. And man! does she wake me? Well.. Im not sure, if you call that waking someone up, but I think you can sure call it torture! :)
With her signature waking up tone(VERY irritating one I say! :) ) she screeches my name.. while my mobile plays one of KennyG's breathless for me. I switch it off. Tell mom I got up.
Ahhhh... silence.. for 5 dear minutes. And back she comes.. switches on the bedlight.. and goes back to her work. I switch it off.. and snuggle into my blanket, when all of a sudden the fan is switched off. I switch it back on, and I am about to doze off to sleep, and the tubelight comes on! I groan, as I can hear mom's waking up tone again... Ahh! How I hate her..!
I drag myself out from bed, brush my teeth, and decide to give mom a piece of my mind, when I hear her say..
"Good morning dear... coffee is ready!". Sigh... Moms!! How can anyone be angry with them! :)

The morning's precious 60 minutes passby so quickly, and Im almost gulping down my cornflakes. Dad comes by, checks the time, warns me that there is only 5 minutes left for the bus to arrive. He begins a countdown, like he's been doing from the past 2.5 years. I groan again. He gets angry, that Im late, goes down before me, to warm the Honda activa up, so he can drop me to the bus.Honks a million times.
I almost jump down from the first floor, to the parking lot, making up my mind to scold dad this time..
I go to where he is, and I see a person, jumping around the place where the activa was parked. After looking at him for 2 minutes, I confirm he's my dad. I ask him.. "dad.. what are you doing" ? He says (as matter of fact).. "killing ants"!!.. (wt!?)
and coolly, sits on the activa, and drops me to the bus.

Am I kinda growing sane or are they turning crazy..!?
Either way... I am loving it! :)

Silence..

He hears: Tring tring
I hear: Thank u.. for loving me..
(I pick the call)
He: Hi!
Me: Hi!
He: Whats up?
Me: Nothing.. at all.. where are u?
He: Just reached office.
Me: Can you ever make it to office on time??
He: (Smiles sheepishly) well.. no..
Me: Breakfast?
He: I will have lunch in a while..
Me: Sigh..

Been more than a day since I had this routine conversation! Why does it have to be the women who break the silence all the time? Things are going to be different this time!!
Is someone listening!!??

Missing you..

Finger prints...

Everything seems to move slowly.
I walk in slow motion, show them my passport. They put a red smiley on it for some reason. "May I know what the red smiley is for?" I ask him,but he doesnt seem to hear me.

They direct me into another building which has a wierd machine in the entrance. They tell me to place both my palms on it. Something tells me not to do it. But they wouldnt let me go until I did what they said.
I would keep both my palms on the machine, and the hulk standing next to the machine would stare at me, open-mouthed, tongue sagging;disbelief in his eyes.
He would not find any finger prints. He tries again.. and again.. but with no luck!The sensor just would not read my finger prints. He then takes me to some place else, which looks like a lab to me, where they try again.They make me go through a series of checks, and conclude I AM SCREWED UP. A set of people also think I am an Alien! They not only deny me a H1B, they also, prevent me from exposing my hand to the sun. All of a sudden I am a celebrity! People are actually looking at me.. and not Deepika Padukone when we are taking a stroll together in one of the parks! People are amazed with my hands.They believe it has healing powers.I touch a bald head, and hair grows!
I touch a crying baby, and it starts to laugh, I touch the CPU, and it works without electricity..

Someone: "Ma'am which visa are you applying for?" I say : "huh? ahem.. well.. (Scratch my head) uh..H1B".
There I go again.. this time.. dreaming away to glory, in the middle of a travel briefing session.
Sigh!

Tralalallalaa..

Chanda bhi saath laayaa, taare bhi saath laaya paagal banaane aayaa, vo

Mera piya ghar aaya.. oh ramji...
Mera piya ghar aaya.. oh ramji!

:) :) :)

What did I do over the weekend?

The badam milk I am drinking, inspired me to log on to blogger, and read my own posts.. I got bored halfway, and so, decided to write another post instead.
(Typing the below lines, while munching on the left over badam pieces from my drink)

I think something is wrong with me. I spend almost four hours in the bus everyday, (doing close to nothing) and I still love the idea of an overnight bus ride. I guess its romantic! (Gawd! what the hell is wrong with me!?)
And this is exactly what I did, over the weekend. Enjoyed bus rides!

Had been to Udupi.. for my sister's marriage for the weekend. Will, keep the story of the marriage, for another post, 'cos I want the limelight to be on the bus ride for now. :)

Nothing compares to bus rides I say!
A push back seat to relax on and a clear glass window for your entertainment; what more do I need?
Spent the entire night.. peering out into the silver scenery. Yes, the moon, kinda made everything, look silver.
It was beautiful.
The never ending chain of trees, the tiny whispers of a waterfall far away, the twinkling stars, lonely temples standing on a barren land and KennyG's Breathless.. Nothing can beat this..

Maybe, I should find a job that allows me to work alternate days. I dont mind, not having a weekend you know.
Once I find this job in Bangalore, I would rent a house in Udupi. This way I get to travel overnight to work.. :) On the alternate days that I get off, I would sleep, BLOG, and jog along the beach! :) hmm... bliss! :)

New sandwich bar, in campus..

Hello.. :) welcome to my world :)
Thanks for visiting by again, and since, you managed to read my posts to this WORD, you might as well read what follows! :D

There is a new Organic food kiosk that has opened recently, in our campus. Its called the "The city deli". A sandwich joint, which also happens to sell, pastries.
Any new canteen/eat out kinda place, and I HAVE to be there, to evaluate it first hand! :) So, there I was, wondering what to eat/taste in The City Deli.
The outlet, had a special item for the day..who's name I cant recall now. I sure remember it to be a complex name thoe. I ended up having that and a muffin :) :) :) (Guess, I will miss London a little less from now on :) )

The guys(are they called chefs too?I'll call them "The Deli boys" :) ) seemed to be referring to a recepie book and then preparing the sandwiches.
This set me thinking. I strongly feel that these guys, were software engineers like the owner of this blog. They too must have been jobless, and tired of dating a computer all day long, which forced them to quit, and take up that job!

My idea of opening a Starbucks chain in India, is not a crazy idea afterall.
I could always refer to a receipe book, and manage for a few days, before I master the art of coffee/pastry making.
I have my doubts on how patient my customers are going to be though.
But who cares, it doesnt matter at all.
In case, my first outlet fails, I always have the software industries to fall back upon.
I can always open, "inhouse Starbucks outlet" within Infy,Wipro,TCS and Im done! I'm sure I will be successful! There's no doubt about it!
With thousands of people, in the campus, if atleast ten people try to eat my food, it is going to work out.
And, ten is a very pessimistic number mind you. Almost 70% in the flower company are committed.
Among the 70% atleast 50% have their "other-halfs" working in the same company itself.
Among the 50%, atleast, 50% will have a minimum of 2 fights in a week. And the other 50% would be experiencing their most romantic period of the week.
Now, what do most couples do, when they have to manaufy their gf's bf's? COFFEE!!PASTRY!! :)
And, what do most couples do, when they are VERY romantic?? Go out for a COFFEE!!eat PASTRY!! and romance :) :)
Given that, we spend most of our time, within the campus(supposedly working!), the chances that all the rootufying,manaufying and romancing happen within the campus as well.. and whats the one place inside campus, with good ambience where all this can be experienced with the best possible service offered? Yup! you got it right..
It is.. "The Dreamer's inhouse, Starbucks outlet"...!
Man... Am I gonna be famous :)

Valentine's day.. :) - part two.

Yea yea yea, another post today.
The content of the last post was actually supposed to be an introduction to the actualy topic for today! :P But then, that grew big enough for a post by itself, so, I let it be.
Ok, before I turn this intro to another post, me will come to the main thing.

My house, just like many other, has many window sills. In one of those window sills, a couple- sleep,laugh,mate,bring up kids(basically live.. get the point right?) Before you break your head trying to analyse this, the couple on the window sill, are pigeons :)

Its a lovely site to see them there. And did you know that, they sleep with their eyes open!? It was kind of exhilarating to realise that :)

Everytime I see them, I always wonder -These pigeons, live together.. do they also have their routine fights?? Let alone pigeons, I wonder if any non-human couples argue/fight too?
(I know one non-human who argues/fights with a very innocent human! Any guesses? lol..)
And if they do.. then "manana" would be a part of the game!

How do they manaufy? Sing songs? We would sing songs like..
"kabhootar ja ja ja.. kabhootar ja.. pehli pyaar ki pehli chitti.. saajan ko de aa"..
What would they sing??
Any ideas?? :)

Valentine's day.. :)

Man! How the hell did the weekdays pass by so quickly!?
Had been busy the whole week. (Dont you dare, ask me what I was doing.. I DONT KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING!)

This week was a BIG one, with the Valentine's day being the captain of the other six.
Dont ask me how mine was.. 'cos.. I'll let u know anyway! :D
It was just another day. But somehow, everything- the trees, the dusty buses, Hosur Road!, the sun, the moon, everything seemed to have been gift wrapped.. with a neat glazed paper(no hearts on them please!) and a smartly tied satin.. :)
Was it 'cos of the expectations for the day, or was it just the hype.. I dunno... but then.. it rocked! :) Especially, with so many love songs on radio.. dont think I wanted anything else! :) (No,no, I wanted u around Bubu :P )

Office too seemed to have turned red suddenly.Most of them wore red.. although there was no official dress code announcement as such (I was as usual in my whites btw! :) :) )

I actually got to see, guys n gals exchanging red roses within campus! And guess what the first reaction to seeing this was?
Hey! that's not part of the corporate code of conduct!
and then I tell to myself.. "dude.. what the hell happened to u!? Whatever happened to the romantic.. who was waiting for THE guy to come and sweep you off your feet?"
Conclusion: Sigh!... Im getting old...
...
...
...

or not! Maybe I have grown from a hopeless romantic.. to a hopeless mature romantic. :)

And one of my resolutions on Valentine's day (why are u smiling?? people do make resolutions on Valentine's day as well!) will be to make Bubu more romantic!
I still dont want to believe.. its a lost cause!
Help me god!! :)

From the papers..

Why do the weekends have to whisk away so fast!?
Anyway, I am back to work.. where I dont work, but blog :)

Did you know, that couples who fight tend to live longer? Not sure, if they do tend to live longer together! but they do live longer!
Whoa! isnt that cool? :)
Naah... I didnt say all this. There was an article published in the papers last week. (In the rocking Indian Express! :) )

Apparently, the conclusion was a result of a research carried out, on 30 couples.
Those couples, who did not fight/argue, died at a very early age.
Those, where only one kept arguing/fighting, ended up with the same result!
The people who lived longer, were the couples who fought like in a battlefield :P

More research concluded, that couples tend to live longer, when the woman is allowed to win an argument!! Sooper isnt it!? (Is someone listening!? :D)

Okie... fine! I confess! :(
I made up the last line.. but I really wish, that were true too :) Life would be so much more cooler that way! :)

All said and done... Bubu.. how about some sword fighting classes? :)
Afterall.. the papers say.. we need to fight like, we are on a battlefield.. dont they? :)

My good old bus..

Everyday blogging seems to have become a habit now. :)

Been in this thing, for five days straight. Guess will take a break over the weekend..

Currently: sitting with a cup of lemon tea, and typing, while wondering what this post should be all about.

Today being a Friday, there is no one! in my supposedly big team! I am sitting here, like a loser, waiting for the 6 'o clock bus!!! Yea... just another disadvantage of staying in CORE bangalore :)

The joy of travelling in a bus, is altogether different. And, if its in the multicolored flower's company bus(will call it MF from now on) , the joy is doubled..

Where in the world can you find such amazing means of transport.. ?
With red blue green and pink (Yes!Pink!) coloured lights to light up the bus... its diwali everyday! :) You think the sparks of Diwali are missing?? Naah... you can find that too :) There's a spark.. every time the driver, brings together two wires... to start the bus.. :)
To top this, there is always the dink chik dink chik music (believe me! you would have never heard such songs!) to give you the DJ night feel. My driver's favorite music is "Commando Commando Comm...aa...n..do"!

We, the employees, of the MF company, dont need any kind of exercise too..! The bus is equipped with hi-fi seats which ensure, that there are no traces of fat left in the body.. How? Simple... the seats in the bus, have very strong legs.. that keep oscillating left and right, each time the bus turns..
So.. the bus takes a left... the seats go to the right, and we go to the left..! (Get the point??)
And did I tell you... we donot believe in something called cushions on the seats :P

And do you know the "bestest" part??
We have mosquito repellents in our buses. The driver sprays this.. before starting the engine. The only thing I always remember after this is, I reach home, bruised with mosquito bites. Guess, there's only one thing that gets nauseated, with the chemical... ME! :(

All the above was true, until six months back. Now, the story is completely different. The colored lights are replaced with tubelights, and the seats dont move all by themselves.No dink chik music..
Well.. this post is dedicated, to the good old buses which I kinda miss these days.. miss the "HaLLi bus"( Translation:village bus) feeling :P

Talking of HaLLi bus, got reminded of some old movies, which start with an old bus, finding its way on a muddy road, and suddenly comes to a stop, bringing to life, a brown halo of dust around it. Then, from the dust, emerges the heroine.. of the movie..
Well... now get a picture of how my bus used to look like!? :)

Happy weekend :)

During my travel back home..

Back from a coffee break.. was rather an entertaining one. Passed time, looking at the taxi drivers celebrating some occasion.. Wonder what the occasion was, which called for so much music and dance. Unfortunately, I was not invited! :( so.. today's munching count is still at 5! :( Such a disgrace!

Okie.. back to the actual topic thought of, for this post.

Was wondering what, the most toughest job in the world is.

Yesterday, while travelling back home, the bus stopped at a traffic signal for over 10 minutes( This is a routine everyday).Along the footpath were a lot of stores, out of which one stood out. Not that the store had more funky lights than the rest in the row, nor was it a hi-fi shop with babes in it. Just an ordinary, kid's store with two tubelights to light it up.

Two days ago,I was a little dejected with things that were supposedly going wrong in my life (apparently, there was nothing wrong,just my brain working overtime! sigh!)and was trying to think it through, while I was travelling back home.
Sitting by the window, I see the shop, and try to ignore it;and begin to think of all my sorrows. 10 minutes later, the bus is still there, has not moved an inch, and the shop holds my interest again.
I stare at the shop, blank headed. I dont remember what I was thinking, but all that I remember is, I was smiling and laughing again, before, the bus, moved out of that place.

Standing there, in front of the shop, was a dwarf, dressed like a joker. He stands there everyday, waving at all the people passing by, doing all crazy stuff, just to amuse us.
Before the bus moved out of that place, the other day, he made sure, he had my attention, and did all stupid stuff, and ended up making me laugh. He showed me a thumbs up, when I started to smile..!
Why? Who is he?
Whoever he is.. a BIG thanks to him! :) Life is beautiful again..

I just hope, he has someone to make him smile, just the way, he makes thousands of people on the road, smile at him everyday..

I make it a point, to smile and wave at him, every time, I pass by that shop now. Not sure, if I am waving at the same guy everyday though! :)

I think what the guy in the store does everyday, is one of the toughest jobs to do. Trying to make people smile, while he himself, might be crying within, takes a lot of hardwork, and self will.

Its time for the bus ride now :) Go to go..
Tata!

Problem problem problem!

Been busy,all morning... naah.. not with work! Generally, catching up with friends, making sure the rabbits are all right, etc etc. :P

I have a problem at hand...
Everytime I decide, to go on a diet... (Diet = eat ONLY 3 times a day :P) people I know, suddenly find a reason to celebrate; and how can I not be part of the celebration??
Cakes, coffee, royal lunches.. ! what do I do!? what do I do!?

Well.. I decided to do nothin! :) Me will go with the flow..
Just eat... whatever comes my way.. :P

Will keep life simple :) heh

Another post.. follows... after a coffee break! :)
C ya for now..

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@Uma: No comments to this post will be entertained :P

Time for a change.

The calm sea I was sailing over all this while, has suddenly turned rough. Instead of steering through with all my might, I have ended up fretting about it.

Worse still, all my worries were bottling up, and most of the time, someone else ended up facing my wrath!
More negativity all around.

Decided to put a hold on this now. How?

2 simple steps:
a. Wake up in the morning, with a smile on my lips, and say to myself "its gonna be a happy day today".
b. The moment I begin to worry, try to replace it with a smile, and a happy thought.

Lets see how this goes. Been successful as of now.

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(Update:7th February 2008, 15:00)

This works! :)

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(Update:8th February 2008, 14:15)

This really works! :)

Another surprise!

(Intended date to publish post: 3rd January 2008
Actual date published: 5th February 2008. )

I will stop procrastinating! I promise!
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Life began to get more interesting on the 1st Jan..
Made sure... I went to the temple in the evening... to convey a personal thanks to the Omnipotent.
Came back to a home.. that no longer was the one known to me.
Man, hadn't I known my home to be a place..of zero confrontations?
Hadn't I known my home to be a place where.. no one speaks a word against the Omnipotent at home, who's now retired and with Equity on his mind all the time!?(Yea.. Im talking of dad,I say!)
Anyway, things sure seemed to have changed, in the six months I was away!
The 1st of Jan handed the torch to the 2nd of Jan, while I was rolling in bed, thinking, how I could get away so easily.
While I was rolling in bed, the stable mind of mine, decided I needed a new pair of spectacles tomorrow!

And, so off I went to the L&M, to select my new pair. Pulled dad along too; and both set off on the nature friendly car (Reva!) towards good old Malleswaram.
Dad parked the car, and we set out towards the store, on the dark lane.
Malleswaram one of the oldest localities of Bangalore.. one amazing place.. and also an amazing set of one ways.. with vehicles creeping out of every other alley in that place.
As you guessed, there was a LOT of noise;traffic,people shouting,dogs barking,kids sreeching,and what not.
Amidst all this, there was one particular voice, that was so, distinct. That voice, was of someone laughing, or someone crying.. no.. maybe screeching.. somewhere far behind us. It seemed to come closer to us, every minute.
Dad and I, mentioned the voice to each other and laughed it off.
But we both did turn behind simultaneously, to check what the laugh/cry/screech was all about; and what did we see!?
We saw a set of white teeth, that seemed to come closer to us, by the minute, and the distinct voice, getting louder by the minute.
We jumped off the footpath, right on time, to escape from the beautiful set of teeth, and the distinct voice.
We just then realised, that the qualities did not end here.. strong legs were a forte of the figure too!
Apparently, the figure with white teeth, just wanted to have a good jog; 'cos right after we jumped off the footpath, he(she?) stood still, right in front of us, with the smile intact.

Now, how many people get warm wishes for a new year like this??
Not many I suppose, get wished by a Donkey! Yea.. Donkeys do have a pretty perfect set of teeth! and they shine too! believe me!
An icing on the cake, would have been a live display of the strong legs in action..
But hey! no... I have an aversion to icing... the cake was good enough!

Happy new year.

Start the new year with a new blog was the mantra all along.....till the new year started.
I never realised how and when the new year and the new month whisked by me..
Anyway.. better late than never... starting off a new blog on the second new month of the year. (yea yea yea.. the fourth day of the second new month! sigh!)

Me seriously have to stop procrastinating!
But then... I think, to procrastinate, is the best thing to do! It gives you a feeling, of being loaded with so much work.. (if you want that feelin that is!) and a feeling of importance. It always puts things at the back of your mind, and keeps prodding you about it. :P
Prodding! ah! such a lovely exercise to the brain!

Things like.. buying a calling card and weighing yourself should never be done! These are meant to be procrastinated! Is someone listening!!???
Helps the brain to be active you know..

Belated happy new year by the way!

First day of the year!

(Intended date to publish post : 1st Jan 2008.
Actual date published: 4th February 2008!! :o )

Landed back in India, on the 30th of Dec 2007.
The few lines that I was trying to rehearse during the flight, was totally forgotten when I landed.
Dad mom.. welcomed me back with big smiles.. and I.. could feel the jitters down my spine..
The day was nearing.. nothing seemed to distract me from the D day.. the 1st of Jan 2008.
Uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, nothing... seemed to help me relax for a while..

Jan 1st 2008:
Woke up at 5:00 in the morning.. went out for a walk... to relax the so called tensed mind.
Came back.. eat breakfast.. puked. Felt feverish.. had... a tablet.. dozed off to sleep.. for a while... thinking.. maybe it would help me gather myself..
Woke up in 15 mins sharp... sweat trickling down my forehead.. made no attempt to wipe it away..
Went straight to dad.. pulled mom along...

Sat there..trying to still the room that was spinning around.. and trying to calm the hands.. that didnt seem to obey my orders...
Was unsuccessful in doing both... Dad was becoming impatient... mom was looking at me.. with a blank stare..
and then I blurted out...

Me: Dad... I have a guy in mind..
His name is bubu
With your approval... I would like to think of a future with him..

Dad: ok.. go ahead
Me: uh?
Dad: I said.. ok.. go ahead... do you have any pictures of him? where is he from? what does he do?
Me: uh?
Dad: Where is he now? Any siblings?
Me: uh?

Darn! so much ado over nothing!
And all of a sudden... my sweet companion called Sweat vanished... the room stopped spinning.. everything was normal again!

How could I get away so easily!!?

Am I lucky or what!? :)