Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

Well, it’s done then. I just handed in my last assignment for this semester…. Now I have 3 months of glorious summer to look forward to …. Happiness is me !!!!

Wow, I can hardly decide where to start,

I have to get down to reading the books I’ve collected over the course of this past year. Have to complete The Bronze Horseman, Conversations with God , Memoirs of a Geisha ,The World is Flat, Tao of Pooh , Te of Piglet as well as the other books lying in my cupboard. Other books in my reading list would be Love in the time of Cholera , Zahir by Paulo Coelho , I want to read Pirsig once again; also have to read the Fifth Discipline once again, hopefully read some more Maya Angelou , yes I wont be a stranger to the public library anymore ...( reading suggestions welcome )

Get back to working out .

Clean up the apartment!!!

Back to veganism and detox .. yup I think I can do a better job now that school’s out .

Watch TV… watch some good movies … since I got this laptop haven’t seen a movie in like forever.. saw Spanglish on HBO recently though…it’s a good movie ….

Try and improve my blogging skills.
Try and improve my cooking skills ???? Maybe not , not one of the ‘funner’ things on this list .
Travel a bit hopefully.

OMG , return calls and log on to messenger , I’ve been so “swamped” I haven’t gotten back to or called up any of my friends in about 3 months …should do so his weekend …


Watch VH1 or listen to the radio, I know that some good new songs have come out in the past six months !!


I think I’ll miss the long holiday part of student life a lot, though when you have a job you hopefully don’t carry work back home with you, unlike the situation in grad school!!

This reminds me of something a wise bear once said ,“Don't underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.”. Well, I don’t know if this out of context, but I can do a lot of “doing nothing and just going along” for a while.

Of course I will be working over the break. But I look forward to the few “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” I have in the interim, of course it would take a separate post to go back to the last real “Lazy/Crazy days of summer” , summer break was so much fun during high school!!!

Wanted...

Avid listener …
Has to listen to a boring, long winded story (it’s so long it’s an epic probably consisting of three to four separate books!!!)….
Has to provide direction….
Has to empathise and totally understand what advertiser is talking about
Based on long ,boring story has to confirm with advertiser that she is absolutely right …
Needs to indulge in catty conversations with placer of ad… advertiser misses being a B!T$H…

Promises not to leak out placer of ad’s skeletons in the closet ….
Needs to dispense sensible advice ….
Should not have any problems of their own, so that they can worry totally about my “problems”…

Just sending my ad out to the Universe … yeah I know… I know ..I’m not lacking for friends … but for the last few weeks I've just been bursting with things to say…. Soul mate/ kindred spirit … Where are you ..when I need you ??!!! ???

80's Forever

"We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first "lost generation"; in fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak. We are the ones who played with Lego Building Blocks when they were just building blocks and gave Malibu barbie crewcuts with safety scissors that never really cut. We collected garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Ponies and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked just a little bit like I would when I was a woman. Big Wheels and bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big enough for you to be Luke and the kitchen table and an old sheet dark enough to be a tent in the forest. Your world was the backyard and it was all you needed. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson sang back up to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material Girl and a glove like Michael Jackson's. Today, we are the ones who sing along with Bruce Stringsteen and The Bangles perfectly and have no idea why. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still look to The Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through T.V. stations and stop at The A Team and Knight Rider and Fame and laugh with The Cosby Show and Family Ties and Punky Brewster and what you talkin' 'bout Willis? We hold strong affections for The Muppets and The Gummy Bears and why did they take the Smurfs off the air? After school specials were only about cigarettes and step-families, the Mr. Rodgers was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated? We are the ones who still read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, Beverly Clearly and Judy Blume, Richard Scary and the Electric Company. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship pins went on shoes - preferably hightop Velcro Reebox - and pegged jeans were in, as were Units belts and layered socks and jean jackets and jams and charm necklaces and side pony tails and just tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored rubberbands made you cool. The backdoor was always open and Mom served only red Kool-Aid to the neighborhood kids- never drank New Coke. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was high heels and an apron; the Sit'n'Spin always made you dizzy but never made you stop; Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump Ropes never failed to trip someone. In your Underoos you were Superman or Wonder Woman or Spider Man and in your treehouse you were king. In the Eighties, nothing was wrong. Did you know the president was shot? Star Wars was not only a movie. Did you ever play in a bomb shelter? Did you see the Challenger explode or feed the homeless man? We forgot Vietnam and watched Tiananman's Square on CNN and bought pieces of the Berlin Wall at the store. AIDS was not the number one killer in the United States. We didn't start the fire, Billy Joel. In the Eighties, we redefined the American Dream, and those years defined us. We are the generation in between strife and facing strife and not turning our backs. The Eighties may have made us idealistic, but it's that idealism that will push us and be passed on to our children - the first children of the twenty-first century. Never forget: We are the children of the Eighties. if this is familiar, you are one of us... pass it on to all the others... May God's blessings of true happiness be upon each of us in every endeavor we undertake and in every circumstance we encounter."
-Author Unknown

Music to my ears...

Who doesn’t have a song that means much more to them than just the lyrics? May be a song you associate with a certain period of your life or with certain people… there are a few songs that I listen to and it feels like they were written just for me …as a matter of fact I could have written them myself!!! I don’t begrudge musicians their millions ..they deserve them!!! Their work hold such meaning and bring such joy to so many people.


I was trying to recall songs that hold special significance for me, it wasn’t easy, songs which I thought were the epiphany of life and love just sound plain corny now!!!
Anyway here I’ll list a few significant ones.

To start with , Heaven by Bryan Adams. This song doesn’t have much of personal significance, I just remember seeing the video on TV as a fourteen year old and deciding that it was my favorite song ..and it remains one of my favorites, though recent remixes of the song put me off at times!

Next in line would be Brit pop songs of the early 90’s . This takes me back to my childhood in Dubai , with FM 92, Chesney Hawkes, Jesus Jones , Rick Astley and Amy Grant ( she’s American though).When I used to listen to the FM then, it wasn’t because I turned on the radio, it was because dad had it on while driving , or mom had it on while doing her morning chores ….( I could go on and on about the FM and its place in my childhood .. but I’ll just say that Dubai was the one place where I could listen to current hits from ALL over the world – and I mean all over , here in the States you just listen to current American hits or Brit songs that reach here after 5-6 months or songs from Australia that probably take even longer to reach, and if I didn’t make an effort to search on the web I’d be clueless about the current Indian chart busters. )

There are a few Hindi songs I like but I’ll mention Chalte Chalte .Before joining undergrad this was just another song from a movie with Simi Garewal that was probably a massive hit when my mom was a teenager , I would have never thought it would show up in such a list ..but that all changed after undergrad ….
I studied away from home and lived in a hostel the four years of my Bachelors. In our hostel it was almost a ritual for the batch preceding the outgoing seniors to sing Chalte Chalte , and believe me there was hardly a dry eye amongst those 50 graduating seniors , when we were in first and second year and just waiting for the day when we could leave that town and college , we found this highly amusing , it was almost as if the third years wanted to make the seniors cry!!! But when I did eventually reach my fourth year , as expected the juniors sang this song , and all of us did start weeping , I mean for four years we were each others family and after a few months Heaven knows if we would ever meet up again….. Well its been almost four years since I graduated from undergrad ,and I pretty much know what all those girls are having for dinner today!!! Ok ok I don’t know that but ….yea I think that idea of never seeing each other again didn’t quite work out!

Any way because I’m feeling senti I’ll post the lyrics …

"Chalte Chalte Mere Ye Geet Yaad Rakhna
Kabhi Alwida Na Kehna
Rote Hanste Bas Yoon Hi Tum Gungunate Rehna
Kabhi Alwida Na Kehna

Pyar Karte Karte Hum Tum Kahin Kho Jaayenge
In Hi Baharon Ke Aanchal Mein Thak Ke So Jaayenge
Sapnon Ko Phir Bhi Tum Yoon Hi Sajaate Rehna
Kabhi Alwida Na Kehna...

Beech Raah Mein Dilbar Bichhad Jayen Kahin Hum Agar
Aur Sooni Si Lage Tumhe Jeevan Ki Yeh Dagar
Hum Laut Aayenge Tum Yoon Hi Bulate Rehna
Kabhi Alwida Na Kehna... "
*sniff* *sniff*



Incidentally while searching for the lyrics I chanced on a site which has literal English translations of Hindi songs , most of the translations are of the newer lot of movies; the good songs are as good as ever ..the funny ones are downright hilarious ;) check it out @ BollyWhat??? They did a good job of translating the songs from Kabhi Kabhie.

Moving on, I Miss You by Blink 182 ,reminds me of Wellington , it was one of the songs that was on the airwaves while I was there , extremely catchy and I have good memories of irritating friends with the song!!!

I cringe as I write this , but I admit there are a couple of Michael Learns to Rock songs were literally life support for a few months … I believed they held special meaning … I have nothing against MLTR , they are good musicians .. the songs were Complicated Heart and Someday…. I’m sooooo over those songs now …I change the station when they come on…… but maybe one of you will find some meaning in them…..

A good love song is Picture by Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock , a mix of Country and Rap/Rock (or whatever the genre of songs it is that Kid Rock belongs to ).

Have I mentioned that I like The Eagles?? The Best of Eagles album takes me back to first year of undergrad.


Given my Crimson Tide connections, I have to say that after a year and a half of living somewhere near The Strip, Sweet Home Alabama By Lynyrd Skynyrd will have a place in my heart …..

I’ll end with some notable mentions :) …. Bruce Springsteen doesn’t ever get it wrong , Just another day without you by Jon Secada, Mariah Carey is an inspiration( she’s been around since ’91 and she’s still going strong!!) ….And finally, Old Hindi songs from the 60’s and 70’s ..Because they remind me of Mom , Dad and Annu Kapoor LOLLL!!!

Why do people blog???

Actual Conversation I just had with my mother tonight :

Mom: Hey you know that family function I just went to in remote village in India , third cousin XYZ , she came and told me she reads your blog and that you write well.
Me: WHAT!!! Third cousin XYZ knows I maintain a blog ? she read my blog ? how ? why ? what …. Darn!!!!! ( don’t get me wrong third cousin XYZ is a cool gal, i’ve spoken to her a few times , but I’ve never kept in touch after leaving India and there wasn’t anyway she would know of my whereabouts let alone blog.... though I’m happy she read it and said nice things about it to my mom).
ME: So how did she know I have a blog ?
Mom: Your friend who’s her friend showed it to her.
Me: Oh!!! (I didn’t even think my friend read the blog , well now I know….)
Me: Yea ,Mummy I try to keep this blog impersonal , just write general stuff..
Mom : Yea , don’t give out personal info , like your name and stuff….
Me : (Thinking) Ooops!!!
Me: (also thinking): Ok not only have I scared away a sizeable number of people with my ideas, my relatives also know about it!!! …my poor parents …no no not poor parents …they have a daughter who maintains a decent blog . .they should be proud!!!

Incidentally, my parents can’t read this blog at home , some internet firewall problem . I’m sure they wouldn’t mind the stuff I put in , but I’m sure I would get some comments about keeping my opinions to myself , also I doubt if I would write about soul mates if I knew my dad was reading this!!

What Wikipedia says about personal blogs
In common speech, the term blog is often used to describe an online diary or journal, such as LiveJournal which was one of the earliest uses of blogs. The blog format allows inexperienced computer users to make diary entries with ease. People blog poems, prose, illicit thoughts, complaints, daily experiences, and more, often allowing others to contribute. In 2001, mainstream awareness of online diaries increased dramatically.
Online diaries are part of the daily lives of many teenagers and college students. Friends use blogs to communicate with each other, keeping each other up-to-date with events and thoughts in a non-intrusive manner. The appeal of this form of communication is that the recipient can read whenever it is convenient, and the writer does not need to remember who still needs to be updated with certain pieces of information - it is there, waiting, for whenever people wish to read it.

And I had a similar conversation with my friends earlier this evening . So what makes people blog… write about happenings in their life , how they view the world and everyday events, for everyone with an internet connection with a remote interest to see…
The way I see it . ....these are the reasons I blog ….
I didn’t join the blogging bandwagon for a long while , I felt I wouldn’t have anything remotely interesting to write , in retrospect I wish I had , would have been to nice to maintain a blog while I was in New Zealand, my earlier blog was a personal one I wasn’t too worried about that one . I honestly didn’t expect anyone apart from parents ,sibling and a few well meaning friends to read it ,served as a personal journal of sorts and yes I did go on occasional personal rants, mom used to read it , I wonder if she knew what I was talking about …

Cut to the new blog … the way I see it people have so much to say ..but you don’t find people who are willing to listen ..so you frame your thoughts as a journal entry just to send out to the universe , however as it happens the only people out there in the universe interested in reading the entry would be people somehow connected to you …so the stuff you are quite comfortable sending out to the universe gets read by folks you would probably think four times before saying the same thing to , sounds like a contradiction doesn’t it … .

I guess primarily I do it for myself , to brush up my writing skills, like a hobby I like doing , sometimes to write about something I’m honestly interested about that I would no way bring up in normal conversation ..(refer soul mate entry)!! If I get feedback its good because I know other like minded people exist and that I’m not the only one . Designing the layout ,links list, thinking up templates…. just the fact of owning your own bit of cyberspace is appealing ….


I also appreciate the comments, the fact that people read and give feedback on what I write is more than icing on the cake ...definitely keeps me writing ….

While I stick by pretty much all I write, I think without ever having spoken to me making character assessments based on what I have posted online is not the way to go … however if you have serious disagreements with what I post (can anyone have serious disagreements with the stuff I post??) then I agree, I probably would not get along well with you … the same way if you totally agree with the stuff I write ( can anyone totally agree with what I write ???) , unless I know you from some other place as well….. I don’t foresee us becoming best friends.


Maybe I’m blowing things out of proportion, I read the blogs my friends maintain …. For me reading their blog entry is just like having an online discussion … holds no more depth than that .. so I guess in retrospect I guess should feel glad that cousin XYZ took the time to read my few lines penned out for the universe, and thought it good enough to tell my mother about it …and anyway I shouldn’t worry about friends and relatives reading this blog ..What about the people I surely wouldn’t want to read stuff about me ? For all you bloggers and other online type people here are some safety hints:
Safety Hints for Bloggers

please no comments about the link, but it seemed like one of the better ones, the author says such things happen rarely, but yeah she tells us to be a bit careful while posting.....

How Cute!!

Drifter..

I don’t know..... I guess that to succeed in life you need some drive; a dose of killer instinct, at least give a fig about what people think about you and at least make an effort to keep up with the Joneses ….“unfortunately” I’m past all that …I think I’ve been like that for a long time, I would go as far as to say that I’ve been born like that!!!


I don’t know if I’m a drifter , but I know when I don’t like the particular place in life I’m in…. past experience shows that I usually catch the next bus out… maybe I was passionate about a few things in my life. I’ve however moved on to a stage where right now , at this present moment …I don’t really know what drives me to keep going… it’s a bit sad really ….

Maybe getting a degree or finding a job should be my passion right now , I have a vague idea about what job I’d like to be doing in the future, but in the meanwhile I wouldn’t mind washing dishes or flipping burgers, okay maybe I would mind..(Only because I’d get bored with it soon enough)…. Believe it or not all that has happened in my life so far has been pretty much luck, go with your gut kind of stuff….. I have a lot of faith in my gut instinct!!! Right now my intuition isn’t telling me much … I wish it would. I need some direction right about now, but when what you want from life is different from most people you know, sometimes you end up getting confused …

I don’t value material possessions much , yeah I like shopping ,it serves as therapy for me , I usually buy stuff I like ,if it’s good I don’t mind paying extra for it , I like the independence and freedom money would give to satisfy my immediate desires i.e. food, clothing, shelter, books and music( not in that order). But I don’t need a swanky car or a swanky home ….those are things I don’t aspire for…That’s one thing I know for sure … I really don’t get along well with people who place a premium on material possessions , maybe because I’m such a hermit myself …. So that’s one thing I know I don’t want …

… Power doesn’t excite me at all … what’s with power!! I don’t want to assume responsibility for or over other people, I have a hard time looking after myself as it is!!!

… May be knowledge , yes that’s a good driving force , but honestly I don’t harbor Nobel prize intelligence or aspirations….


… people … well when it comes down to it , I really consider everyone my equal , irrespective of age , religion, color, caste ,class , nationality, date of birth, region of India , America, China or Germany they hail from,sexual orientation, dietary preference,..( what other ways of classifying people do we have??).. How do I know this??.. well one thing that has been right with my life has been the opportunity to really interact with people from different walks of life… and what I’ve learnt from that is people are really all the same.. and not to look up to; or look down on anyone … the folks who get their hands dirty so that you don’t have to, folks you meet when you travel by bus … KSRTC in India , greyhound in America , my Hindi movie star “uncle” if you ask I’ll tell you who it is ( no I haven’t met him or spoken to him , but my mom and aunt talk to his elder sister ..She’s how I’m related to him) and I’ll give you a hint his surname is Khan and he recently had a hit movie!! (I know I’ve always been a bit of a showoff this way!!!! gottto stop!!!)) ,Teachers, the Hindus, Muslims , Christians , Jews , Parsis , Sikhs, Buddhists ,Atheists , pagans and Goths and members of their myriad sub sects I’ve gotten to meet in this journey ; some albeit for a short while …you know how it goes… just get out of your comfort zone.. of people just like you .. to find out that outside guess what???
The rest of the world ain’t that much different from the other people in your life..

Now you might think that’s easy for me to say , but to everyone out there the only reason you haven’t had the opportunity to explore is because you haven’t let yourself! You don’t need to get on a plane to broaden your world view , just think about all the things around your world right now that you’ve closed out, it could be anything from blocking a particular type of music , or a particular type of dress, or food or a particular “type” of people…

You know at times like this I wish I had a master plan ,something to work toward, may be do something so that in the end I could tell people “Look at me , look what I’ve done!!!” but I don’t want to do that , what’s the point of living your life to prove something to other people , I’m sure that would drive me into depression… well I guess I’m not too stressed out with life the way it is now .. I guess I have got something down right …. But I just wish I knew where I was heading!!!!!!

Searcher

Some people do not have to search -
They find their niche early in life and rest there,
seemingly contented and resigned.
they do not seem to ask much of life,
sometimes they do not seem to take it seriously.
At times I envy them, but usually I do not understand them.
Seldom do they understand me.

I am one of the searchers.
there are, I believe, millions of us.
We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content.
We continue to explore life,
hoping to uncover its ultimate secret.
We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand.

We like to walk along the beach -
We are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power,
its unceasing motion,
its mystery and unspeakable beauty.
We like forests and mountains,
deserts and hidden rivers,
and the lonely cities as well.
Our sadness is as much a part of our lives
as is our laughter.
to share our sadness with one we love is perhaps
as great a joy as we can know ---
unless it be to share our laughter.

We searchers are ambitious only for life itself,
for everything beautiful it can provide.
Most of all we want to love and be loved.
We want to live in a relationship that
will not impede our wandering,
nor prevent our search,
nor lock us in prison walls;
that will take us for what little we have to give.
We do not want to prove ourselves to another
or to compete for love.

We are wanderers, dreamers and lovers --
lonely men and women who dare to ask of life
everything good and beautiful.
Those who are too gentle to live among wolves.

–James Kavanaugh

Read..Read ..Read (Books!!)

Is this a sign of things to come?
It’s eight minutes long ,but made me think , are we gearing away from print media of all types and towards a future of internet based, narrow dimensional perspectives…I have to admit i may have fallen prey myself..
Epic

جبرأن

Camel Train ,Dubai, UAE. Khalil Gibran was born in Lebanon, so this picture probably isn't totally relevant to this post...


Upon the bank of the Nile at eventide, a hyena met a crocodile and they stopped and greeted one another.
The hyena spoke and said, "How goes the day with you, Sir?"
And the crocodile answered saying, "It goes badly with me. Sometimes in my pain and sorrow I weep, and then the creatures always say, 'They are but crocodile tears.' And this wounds me beyond all telling."
Then the hyena said, "You speak of your pain and your sorrow, but think of me also, for a moment. I gaze at the beauty of the world, its wonders and its miracles, and out of sheer joy I laugh even as the day laughs. And then the people of the jungle say, 'It is but the laughter of a hyena.'"

*************
SEVENTY

The poet youth said to the princess, "I love you." And the princess answered, "And I love you too, my child."
"But I am not your child. I am a man and I love you."
And she said, "I am the mother of sons and daughters, and they are fathers and mothers of sons and daughters; and one of the sons of my sons is older than you."
And the poet youth said, "But I love you."
It was not long after that the princess died. But ere her last breath was received again by the greater breath of earth, she said within her soul, "My beloved, mine only son, my youth-poet, it may yet be that some day we shall meet again, and I shall not be seventy."
**************

"And think not you can guide the course of love. For love, if it finds you worthy, shall guide your course"


"It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding"


"Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof"

"Trust in dreams, for in them is the hidden gate to eternity"

"They deem me mad for I will not sell my days for gold, I deem them mad for they think my days have a price."

Every man loves two women; the one is the creation of his imagination, and the other is not yet born.

When you see a man led to prison say in your heart, "Mayhap he is escaping from a narrower prison."
And when you see a man drunken say in your heart, "Mayhap he sought escape from something still more unbeautiful."

Only those beneath me can envy or hate me. I have never been envied nor hated; I am above no one. Only those above me can praise or belittle me. I have never been praised nor belittled; I am below no one.

If the other person laughs at you, you can pity him; but if you laugh at him you may never forgive yourself. If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember. In truth the other person is your most sensitive self given another body.

You cannot judge any man beyond your knowledge of him, and how small is your knowledge.

نتأشأ سمٲني Compiled by

What's your ecological footprint???

Try this quiz to measure ( to an arguable degree of accuracy) your ecological footprint (i.e. how your existence and lifestyle has affected planet earth !!)
Earth Day Footprint Quiz

My Result
When I did the quiz for my lifestyle in the US my total Footprint was 9 ,as compared to a US average of 24. If everyone lived like me, we would need 2.1 planets.

For India my total foot print was 2.7 compared to India’s average of 0.8 global hectares per person!!! If everyone lived like I do in India ,we would need 1.5 planets to live in.

Happy Earth Day 2006

As Indians apart from the fact that we’ve got garbage strewn all over the place and the concept of not littering has yet to gain a strong foothold , I still think Indians have got the basics right when I comes to not wasting and being environmentally friendly …. Think of the reusable bags when we go to the market , using actual washcloths and dishcloths rather than paper napkins, Styrofoam cups and plastic spoons ( are you kidding me??) we have our fingers for heavens sake ( I still cant eat a vada or dosa with a fork or spoon without being messy , and I couldn’t care less, cutlery is overrated!!) , paper plates ( we have our staple stainless steel dishes , ok when guest come we get out the china , or actually if it's a traditional ceremony we have our eco friendly banana leaves),in India the concept of have legs –will walk or at least use public transport available when needed exists ( this is tiring and you get a tan!! ,but you know sometimes a little walking is good)..and I can go on and on, unfortunately once we leave India , and I’ve noticed this more so in the US , we tend to forget this, yea I know we cant really do laundry half as often as we do in India ,so there goes the idea of reusable washcloths ,but what about all the other things ,we certainly don’t need as many plastic bags when we go shopping or all that packaging , and here's one I’m personally guilty of … how many printouts of the same thing do I need I just OverDose on print outs at times ..should cut down on it …anyway ..its earth day today , used to have a compulsory commemoration of the occasion when I was in school , here are a few eco friendly tips for when you go shopping …….

from Global Stewards



Simplify your life as much as possible. Only keep belongings that you use/enjoy on a regular basis. By making the effort to reduce what you own, you will naturally purchase less/create less waste in the future. For information on voluntary simplicity, check out Voluntary Simplicity Web Resources. (umm I lead a pretty cluttered existence sad to say!!)

Switch from disposable to reusable products: food and beverage containers, cups, plates, writing pens, razors, diapers, towels, shopping bags, etc.

As much as possible, create a tree-free home:
replace paper napkins with cloth napkins
replace paper towels with a special set of cloth towels/napkins - store the used ones in a small container in your kitchen and just wash and reuse
purchase bleach-free, toilet paper that is made from the highest post-consumer waste content you can find (80% minimum)
if you print documents, print on once-used paper and/or bleach-free, recycled paper with the highest post-consumer waste content available (or hemp/alternative-source paper, if you can afford it)
create and use note pads from once-used paper ( I do this often)
leave messages for family members/roommates on a reusable message board ( yup Pranoti and I used to do this :)
make your own cards/letters from once-used products or handmade paper

Avoid products that are packaged for single use (i.e., drinks, school lunches, candy, cat and dog food, salad mixings, etc.). Instead, buy in bulk and transfer the products to your own reusable containers.

Instead of buying these items new, save and reuse all: bags (plastic and paper), rubber bands, twisties, boxes, and packaging material.

Avoid creating trash wherever possible: when ordering food, avoid receiving any unnecessary plastic utensils, straws, etc. (ask in advance specifically not to be given these items - it may (I have found many times it DOES) make the store clerk/owner think twice about giving these items out freely in the future), buy ice cream in a cone instead of a cup, don't accept "free" promotional products, buy products with the least amount of packaging, etc. Every little bit of trash avoided does make a difference!

Buy products that will last and take care of them.

Teach your children the value of thrift.

Pick up books from your local library or used book store. The library is also many times a great place for finding magazines, CDs, books-on-tape, and videos.

Buy food (and drinking water) from local companies whenever possible. Support your area's Farmer's Market. If possible, grow your own fruits and vegetables using organic gardening practices.

Eat unprocessed/unpackaged food whenever possible.

Only purchase tuna labeled "dolphin safe".

Reduce your energy consumption:

If you enjoy reading newspapers and/or magazines offline better, consider visiting a local library. If they don't carry a magazine you like, find out if you can buy a subscription for the library
Never release balloons outdoors. They frequently find their way to open water (even from 100's of miles away) and can harm or kill turtles, whales, and other marine mammals.

GIVE ECO GIFTS ( interesting concept!!)
Offer/ask for gifts that don't involve buying anything. For example, time together, a back rub, babysitting, donation to charity, tickets to an event (musical, lecture series, play, movies, concert, etc.), etc.

As an alternative to standard greeting cards, look into sending electronic greeting cards or making your own from waste paper. ( i dont know ecards are cool but regualar cards are good too..)

I guess digicams and e-newspapers are the way to go !!!!

Awesome... I say!!

How cool is this…….. ????
Not an exhaustive list ..but pretty much spot on … I own maybe just 3-4 cd’s from this list.. not much of a cd collector…..
Create your own Music List @ HotFreeLayouts!

Death by Chocolate/Coffee

got this from the unwiredone

Well I’ve given up on coffee , if only I could do the same with candy !!!..
Try this out if you’re a coffee or candy junkie …Death by caffeine


It would take 217.34 cans of Diet Coke to get rid of me!!!

Soulmates and other flaky stuff.....

From Wikipedia
Soulmate (or soul mate) is a term sometimes used to designate someone with whom one has a feeling of deep affinity, friendship, love, strong intimacy, sexuality, or compatibility.
A related concept is that of the twin flame or twin soul - thought to be the ultimate soulmate, the one and only other half of one's soul, for which all souls are driven to find and join.
However, not everyone who uses these terms intends them to carry such mystical connotations; they are sometimes used simply as an expression of strong emotional feeling for someone.

Apparently the concept of soulmates arose from Greek mythology. According to the story, our ancestors once had 2 heads, 4 arms. They did something to offend a god so that god punished them by splitting them down the middle, resulting in the creation of humans. As a punishment, we are condemned to spend our lives searching for the other half, our soulmates.

Well with my overdosing of chick flicks, email forwards( refer quotes below) ,new age books and Richard Bach…. I have to admit it did seem quite nice if soulmates did exist…in fact in an episode of FRIENDS, Phoebe thinks she’s found Monica’s soulmate, which gets Chandler agitated because the guy Phoebe knows really ‘clicks’ well with Monica…well in the end Chandler figures out that even though Monica and he are not soulmates in the true sense of the word …they are perfect for each other , in that they love each other and choose to be together
Excerpt from that episode( yup it really stuck to my memory : )) )


Chandler: Phoebe thinks you and Don are soul mates, and I don’t believe in that kind of stuff. But then you two totally get along. So look, I won’t stand in your way if you want to run off with Don and live in a house of cheese.
Monica: Chandler, you don’t believe in soul mates?
Chandler: No. But I’m sure ‘Don’ does.
Monica: I don’t believe in soul mates either.
Chandler: You don’t?
Monica: No. I don’t think that you and I were destined to end up together. I think that we fell in love and work hard at our relationship. Some days we work really hard.


So destiny and fate are overrated, which basically means all of you who waited for Mr. Right should have settled for Mr. Right now ,which means some people should have had more fun in undergrad and high school!!!!


Having said that don’t you ever get the feeling that people you are close to say family or very good friends, well don’t you feel a deeper connection ,that in someway the folks who are your family were meant to be your family ..well same way the person you marry is probably the person you are supposed to get married to ,as preordained by the guy/gal who decided who your parents should be …. Most probably the person you end up with wont be a soul mate according to the definition of the word…. In which case your true other half would be roaming earth,time and space in search of you but not finding you, not even at the end of all eternity …
Have I psyched you out already with this new age stuff??? :)

Some Gyaan...

Just some gyaan to get me through this week!!

"I know I ask perfection of a quite imperfect world and foolish enough to think that's what I'll find."
~The Carpenters

"Each of us represents a star in heaven. Sometimes we shine with the rest. Sometimes we twinkle alone and sometimes, when we least expect it, we makes someone's dreams come true."
~source unknown


"Do not spoil what you have by desiring which you have not; but remember that what you have now was once among the things you only hoped for."
~Epicurus

This is it. This is life. It's only coming around once. Move forward and don't look back. There's only gonna be one time around. If you got something to say, say it. If you got something to do, do it. This is your show."
~Louise Sybing

"The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them - words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out. But, it's more than that, isn't it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you've said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried when you were saying it. That's the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for the want of a teller but for the want of an understanding ear."
~Stephen King

You were chosen as the best possible person to live your life.
~source unknown


"Life isn't about keeping score. It's not about how many people call you and it's not about who you've dated, are dating, or haven't dated at all. It isn't about who you've kissed, what sport you play, or which guy or girl likes you. It's not about your shoes or your hair or the color of your skin or where you live or go to school. In fact, it's not about grades, money, clothes, or colleges that accept you or not. Life isn't about if you have lots of friends, or if you are alone, and it's not about how accepted or unaccepted you are. Life just isn't about that. But, life is about who you love and who you hurt. It's about how you feel about yourself. It's about sticking up for your friends and replacing inner hate with love. Life is about avoiding jealousy, overcoming ignorance, and building confidence. It's about what you say and what you mean. It's about seeing people for who they are and not what they have. Most of all, it is about choosing to use your life to touch someone else's in a way that could never have been achieved otherwise. These choices are what life's about."
~Nike Ad

"If you can look at the sunset and smile, then you still have hope. If you can see the good in other people, then you still have hope. If you meet new people with a trace of excitement and optimism, then you still have hope. If you still give people the benefit of the doubt, then you still have hope. If the suffering in others still fills you with pain, then you still have hope. If you still watch love stories or want endings to be happy, then you still have hope. If you can look at the past and smile, then you still have hope. If when faced with bad, and told everything is futile, you can still look at the up at the end of the conversation and say 'yeah...but...,' then you still have so much hope. If you still offer your hand of friendship to those who have touched your life, then you still have hope. If you refuse to let a friendship die, or accept that it must end, then you still have very much hope."
~source unknown


"To be nobody but myself, in a world which is doing its best night and day to make me everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting."
~E.E. Cummings

"All your life, you are told the things you cannot do. All your life, they will say you’re not good enough or strong enough or talented enough. They’ll say you’re the wrong height or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. They will tell you 'no' a thousand times 'no' until every 'no' just becomes meaningless. All your life, they will tell you 'no' quite firmly and very quickly. They will tell you 'no', and you will tell them 'yes.'"
~Nike Ad

"In the end, it's still best to wait for the one we want rather than settle for what is available. It is still best to wait for the one you love rather than settle for the one who is around. It's still best to wait for the right person because life is too short to waste on the wrong one."
~source unknown

When you're a little kid you're a bit of everything; Scientist, Philosopher, Artist. Sometimes it seems like growing up is giving these things up one at a time."
~The Wonder Years

Quotes 2

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
Beverly Sills b. 1929

Quotes 1

Clouds over Mt. Everest


There were many ways of breaking a heart.
Stories were full of hearts broken by love,
But what really broke a heart was taking away
Its dream-whatever the dream might be.

Pearl Buck (1892-1973)

Top movie quotes

I found a listing of the top 100 movie quotes according to the American Film Institute’s Top 100 series, it was based on how much the movie lines have become a part of popular culture…. Here are a few ?? of them ….


1 Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. GONE WITH THE WIND 1939
2 I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. THE GODFATHER 1972
3 You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. ON THE WATERFRONT 1954
4 Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. THE WIZARD OF OZ 1939
5 Here's looking at you, kid. CASABLANCA 1942
6 Go ahead, make my day. SUDDEN IMPACT 1983
8 May the Force be with you. STAR WARS 1977
9 Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night. ALL ABOUT EVE 1950
10 You talking to me? TAXI DRIVER 1976
11 What we've got here is failure to communicate. COOL HAND LUKE 1967
13 Love means never having to say you're sorry. LOVE STORY 1970
14 The stuff that dreams are made of. THE MALTESE FALCON 1941
15 E.T. phone home. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL 1982
20 Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. CASABLANCA 1942
22 Bond. James Bond. DR. NO 1962
23 There's no place like home. THE WIZARD OF OZ 1939
25 Show me the money! JERRY MAGUIRE 1996
31 After all, tomorrow is another day! GONE WITH THE WIND 1939
32 Round up the usual suspects. CASABLANCA 1942
33 I'll have what she's having. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY 1989
34 You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow. TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT 1944
35 You're gonna need a bigger boat. JAWS 1975
37 I'll be back. THE TERMINATOR 1984
38 Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES 1942
39 If you build it, he will come. FIELD OF DREAMS 1989
40 Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. FORREST GUMP 1994
43 We'll always have Paris. CASABLANCA 1942
44 I see dead people. THE SIXTH SENSE 1999
45 Stella! Hey, Stella! A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE 1951
46 Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars. NOW, VOYAGER 1942
48 Well, nobody's perfect. SOME LIKE IT HOT 1959
49 It's alive! It's alive! FRANKENSTEIN 1931
50 Houston, we have a problem. APOLLO 13 1995
52 You had me at "hello." JERRY MAGUIRE 1996
56 A boy's best friend is his mother. PSYCHO 1960
58 Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. THE GODFATHER II 1974
59 As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again. GONE WITH THE WIND 1939
60 Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into! SONS OF THE DESERT 1933
62 What a dump. BEYOND THE FOREST 1949
63 Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you? THE GRADUATE 1967
65 Elementary, my dear Watson. THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES 1939
66 Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape. PLANET OF THE APES 1968
67 Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine. CASABLANCA 1942
68 Here's Johnny! THE SHINING 1980
69 They're here! POLTERGEIST 1982
71 Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet! THE JAZZ SINGER 1927
75 I have always depended on the kindness of strangers. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE 1951
76 Hasta la vista, baby. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY 1991
81 Hello, gorgeous. FUNNY GIRL 1968
83 Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make. DRACULA 1931
84 Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast. KING KONG 1933
85 My precious. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: TWO TOWERS 2002
86 Attica! Attica! DOG DAY AFTERNOON 1975
88 Listen to me, mister. You're my knight in shining armor. Don't you forget it. You're going to get back on that horse, and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we're gonna go, go, go! ON GOLDEN POND 1981
90 A martini. Shaken, not stirred. GOLDFINGER 1964
93 Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death! AUNTIE MAME 1958
94 I feel the need - the need for speed! TOP GUN 1986
95 Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary. DEAD POETS SOCIETY 1989
96 Snap out of it! MOONSTRUCK 1987
97 My mother thanks you. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I thank you. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY 1942
98 Nobody puts Baby in a corner. DIRTY DANCING 1987
99 I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too! WIZARD OF OZ, THE 1939
100 I'm king of the world! TITANIC 1997
________________________________________
Jury members were asked to choose up to 100 movie quotes from a comprehensive list
MOVIE QUOTE
A statement, phrase or brief exchange of dialogue spoken in an American film.* (Lyrics from songs are not eligible.)
CULTURAL IMPACT
Movie Quotes that viewers use in their own lives and situations; circulating through popular culture, they become part of the national lexicon.
LEGACY
Movie Quotes that viewers use to evoke the memory of a treasured film, thus ensuring and enlivening its historical legacy.

Comics Part 2

100 things....

I stumbled across this blog idea and I thought it would be a cool to introduce myself to my blog audience post 100 random facts about my self ..though I don’t know where I’m going to dig up 100 facts …( this is probably highly narcissist …. But this is MY journal!!!!)… this is going to take a looooong time to read so I suggest you take breaks in the middle… hopefully you wont get lost in all this randomness…


100 things
1. My name is Natasha, I was named after the heroine of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, my mom was reading the book at the time. Incidentally mom wanted to name my younger sister Ayesha so our names sounded similar ,but my great grandmother didn’t like all these newfangled names and insisted my sister be named after a variant of Devi , our family deity… so my sister’s name is Devika ,which is a cool name.. I honestly don’t think I can do as good a job as my mother thinking up kids names!!!
2. My pet name with family is Babli , that was my dads contribution ,I respond with equal enthusiasm to both names, though at times I prefer babli to Natasha.. needless to say I was really excited when Bunty aur Babli was coming out… my sister’s pet name is Babusha ( also thanks to dad)
3. I am a woman.
4. I’m 25 years old.
5. I’m a February baby
6. 80’s child – 1981
7. I believe I show strong Aquarian traits!!! I check my daily horoscope ever so often….
8. I was born at Nanavati Hospital, Vile Parle .Mumbai, India.
9. I am single… out of choice and fate both!!!
10. Hope to marry and have kids …. And I think I can twiddle my thumbs patiently till it happens
11. I spent all of my childhood , 18 years in Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates. Up to the point my dad actually made clear that under no uncertain terms we would be moving , I always believed I would stay there my entire life ….. most of my childhood friends still stay there.
12. I did all my schooling from Kindergarten to the 12th grade at the Indian High School, Dubai.
13. I’m a CBSE product… I’m NOT a CBSE snob , it didn’t help me much the first year of undergrad , and that was entirely my fault….
14. When I opted for science PCMB in the 11th grade ( not completely out of choice ..but in hindsight I am glad I did ) I realized that I was going to have to reprogram my mind to think analytically , ( not a very easy task ) ,but I had to stick with it as I’d topped my school in tenth grade science
15. I can remember all sorts of random trivia and do alright in quizzes .
16. Old friends from the past usually remember me as the girl with the long hair , or the girl who used to win quizzes , or my wacky sense of humor ,yess i do have a sense of humour!!!
17. i would like to get a tattoo done ,but have been dissuaded most times by friends and family
18. I wear four rings on my fingers , some people think it’s way to much bling ,but I’ve grown attached to them now so wont take them off!!!
19. I have two earrings in each ear , body piercing is cool!!!
20. I have a Bachelors in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Sri Dharmasthala Manjunateshwara College of Engingeering and Technology , Dharwad , Karnataka
21. I stayed in a hostel during my four years of undergrad
22. I worked as a Computer Science Lecturer for a year and half at Poornaprajna College,Udipi.
23. The first time I wore a salwar kameez was when I joined undergrad.
24. I had to wear a sari every day to work as a lecturer in India .
25. I have a graduate diploma in commerce from Victoria University of Wellington , New Zealand .
26. Will graduate with a masters in Operations management from the University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa.
27. I will never become an astronaut as I suffer from motion sickness.
28. I’m ambidextrous, I prefer to use my left hand for everything except eating and writing
29. My handwriting is somewhat illegible, it has forever been the bane of my existence
30. My mother tongue is Tulu, I speak to my parents in English , that pretty much says it all!!
31. I’m the elder child .
32. My favorite colors are variants of maroon.
33. I recently learnt the fuchsia looks good on me!!
34. I love to listen to music , pretty much anything goes , but haven’t yet developed appreciation for classical music or gangsta rap.
35. Recently realized that I am a closet country music fan .
36. difficult to list all my favorite songs but some of them are Heaven –Bryan Adams, Waiting in Vain- Annie Lennox/ Bob Marley , a few songs by the Eagles , Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark and Bruce Springsteen’ I’m on Fire ,and many more
37. Like Bryan Adams, The Eagles, Rob Thomas, Richard Marx, Cyndi Lauper, Belinda Carlisle.
38. I like retro hits 90’s,80’s ,70’s ,60’s American/British/Hindi is about as far back as I go.
39. I also like fullto timepass Hindi movie songs and indipop , favorite albums … Dhadkan, Tum Bin also like old Kishore Kumar songs .
40. I get to watch and listen to old Hindi movies and songs because of my mom , she’s a repository of knowledge on 60’s -70’s Hindi movie stuff.
41. Like desi remixes , I also like nusrat fateh ali khan ,and some sufi music.
42. some movies I like are Pretty Woman, Zoolander, Serendiptiy , When Harry met Sally , Hum Tum , Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, Andaz Apna Apna, Padosan …
43. I was an avid reader till the age off 18 ..didn’t get much time to read after that??? So most of my reading at present has been pretty sporadic … and somewhat light .
44. pride and prejudice, books by Lucy Maud Montgomery, books by Louisa may Alcott, Richard Bach , the alchemist , Enid Blyton’s , especially the enchanted wood , malory towers and st. clares series, famous five’s are good but liked the fairy ,gnome and elf stuff better!!, chronicles of narnia , Ruskin bond , simplified Indian history and mythology , Acts of Faith –Eric Segal appeal to me .
45. I like John Cusack ,Aamir Khan , Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson!!!
46. I used to watch a lot of TV , haven’t been watching much the past couple of years
47. I try to watch grey’s anatomy when I can and sex and the city reruns
48. Like the Wonder Years and FRIENDS.. two of the best shows ever.
49. at home in India when I have the tv to myself I usually put on MTV , which pretty much runs hindi songs and trailers back to back. ( I like watching trailers of hindi movies that have songs in them)
50. I like Phalguni Pathak’s music, euphoria is good as well.
51. I like soy milk
52. I don’t mind eating raw fruits and vegetables the whole day!!!
53. I prefer not to eat non veg food when I can .
54. I like going to Qdoba and Jimmy John’s.
55. I like collecting souvenirs from airport duty free’s
56. my favorite meal is Kori Rotti , it’s a mangalorean dish , I have it without the chicken.
57. every time I go out with my parents to eat snacks I end up ordering chaat.
58. I used to like strawberry milk shakes and smoothies , but inclinations towards veganism is putting an end to that.
59. My favorite comic strips are Peanuts followed by Garfield , oh and I like Ziggy!!
60. My favorite cartoon…that’s tough .. I like the Hanna-Barbera ones I guess… Yogi Bear, The Flintstones and the Jetsons.
61. I like Archie comics and Mad magazine, Amar Chitra Katha and Chandamama
62. I don’t like tomato ketchup.
63. I don’t like Mirinda
64. I don’t like Coldplay!!!!
65. I don’t like Shah Rukh khan.
66. I think my favorite genre of movies are probably chick flicks , romance or comedies , maybe historical ones as well …
67. all the other genres bore me …. I don’t have the patience to watch movies these days.
68. I watch the amazing race and america’s next top model on tv.. the only reality shoes I like .
69. I like Anderson Cooper on CNN ( who doesn’t???)
70. I also like Jon Stewart and Bill Maher.
71. I prefer the New York Times to USA Today.
72. The Times of India Sucks, but I don’t like any of the other newspapers in India either.
73. India today, outlook, cosmopolitan .glamour , O magazine and readers digest are magazines I read most often .
74. I like Will Ferrell.
75. One Night at the Roxbury ROCKS!!! Especially for its 90’s soundtrack.
76. I prefer not to have tea or coffee.
77. I’m possessive about my stuff !!
78. One sure way to piss me off--- say something unflattering about someone I care about .
79. I don’t care much for snobs and manipulative people.
80. I don’t like sushi.
81. Sometimes senti movies and cartoons make me cry!!!
82. I do well in standardized tests.
83. I’m accident prone
84. I’ve got butter fingers!!!
85. I don’t particularly like long train journeys.
86. I don’t particularly like airline journeys.
87. I prefer winter to summer.
88. My favorite subject in school the past couple of years has been business strategy .
89. I don’t talk much.
90. but I don’t mind people who do…
91. I think people who’ve stayed with me for a period of time know me quite well , the rest don’t even know the half of it!!!
92. I’m somewhat of a pacifist, I’m firm with my beliefs but I really would much rather not argue with people .
93. I’ve got a good memory .
94. I have a bad habit of completing other peoples sentences !! its very ,very bad …have overcome it to some extent .
95. I don’t know what my height is exactly … its around 5’8 I think.. at times I wish I were a bit shorter …. but its ok … Live with what you’ve got!!!!:)
96. I have a tendency to behave as a goody two shoes and get preachy at times.. I don’t like that…. So I’ve controlled it to some extent.
97. As of now …. I’ve got no regrets, that’s pretty much how I lead my life … I won’t do anything I’ll regret later.
98. Don’t really follow fads, and don’t really succumb to peer pressure….much!!!
99. I wouldn’t call myself an escapist………but I prefer not to get jaded with life .
100. I like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!!


Wow , this took me a while to write ……..

Does , do , don't ,did

Does anyone who is not an American like Dr. Pepper?
Does anyone think that at the age when their mother had two kids, they can barely manage them selves, let alone anyone else …
Does any one feel that its not fair that they cant get at least 8 hours of sleep regularly without feeling guilty about it ?

Does anyone feel 25 is the new 22?

Does anyone wonder how they managed without 24 hours internet access?
Does anyone wish they got time to read a newspaper cover to cover ?

Did you know this ?
Van de Graaff, Robert Jemison (văn də gräf), 1901–67, American physicist, b. Tuscaloosa, Ala., grad. Univ. of Alabama (B.S., 1922), Ph.D. Oxford, 1928. He was research associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1931–34) and associate professor from 1934. He developed an electrostatic particle accelerator particle accelerator, apparatus used in nuclear physics to produce beams of energetic charged particles and to direct them against various targets. Such machines, popularly called atom smashers, are needed to observe objects as small as the atomic nucleus in studies of its structure and of the forces that hold it together.—now called a Van de Graaff generator—used in nuclear research. Introduced in 1931, it uses the charge that accumulates from a rapidly moving belt inside an insulated hollow metal globe to produce high-voltage electrical discharges that look like lightning.

Cool huh, I actually had a 6th semester undergrad exam question about the working of this thing …little did I know I would end up in this guy's birthplace!!! And I’ve been to his house in Tuscaloosa because my friends wedding happened there .

Does anyone think it's strange that Americans eat chips with sandwiches?

Does anyone wonder how they would keep in touch with old friends without the internet?
Does anyone wonder if there are any more lost deserted islands a person can get lost in.
Do you already notice a reverse brain drain happening ?
Does anyone still keep their story books from when they were four years old?

Does anyone feel that we are using too much paper , tooo much fuel , too much plastic too much everything ..
Don’t you wish things that keep you awake at night and in class !! didn’t contain oodles of caffeine or heaps of sugar or both!!!


Does anyone else think the author of this blog has waaay too much time on her hands ?

Everybody's Free to wear Sunscreen

Ok , the author of the below words suggests that anyone above the age of 26 should prepare a sort of graduation speech they would give to graduating seniors , based on acquired wisdom . this would be a good exercise I would like to undertake if
a) I was 26
b) I had any wisdom to impart, which I really don’t
Anyway this is old ,most have probably seen it , I first read it/ heard the song when I was around 20 , it appealed to the year 2000 generation don’t know about the folks now now, but I still like it after all these years …

Everybody's Free
(to wear sunscreen)
Mary Schmich
Chicago Tribune
( later Baz Luhrman)

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’97... wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are NOT as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.
Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.

Calvin and Hobbes

Ok maybe I was wrong…may be I lacked the maturity and insight to appreciate Calvin and Hobbes the first time around …. So there definitely is a reason why I get CnH forwards and most people have Calvin as their profile picture on Orkut!!! I especially like Bill Watterson’s take on the education system ( for obvious reasons!!!) , life and people in general.

-You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
-What mood is that?
-Last-minute panic.
~Bill Watterson

woodstock!!!

Which Peanuts Character are You?

You are Woodstock!
Take this quiz!








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The Invitation

Found this while searching for an American Indian quote to put in my previous post….
A real gem……

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting in your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit in pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own,if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tip of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.

I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day, and if you can source your life from God's presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

The Invitation
By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

copyright © 1999 by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.

The America I Believe In

With all those immigration issues showing up in the media this week , I thought this article by Colin Powell seemed relevant.

The America I Believe In
by Colin Powell
Morning Edition, April 11, 2005 •
I believe in America and I believe in our people.
Later this month, I will be participating in a ceremony at Ellis Island where I will receive copies of the ship manifest and the immigration documents that record the arrival in America of my mother, Maud Ariel McKoy, from Jamaica aboard the motor ship Turialba in 1923. My father, Luther Powell, had arrived three years earlier at the Port of Philadelphia.
They met in New York City, married, became Americans and raised a family. By their hard work and their love for this country, they enriched this nation and helped it grow and thrive. They instilled in their children and grandchildren that same love of country and a spirit of optimism.
My family's story is a common one that has been told by millions of Americans. We are a land of immigrants: A nation that has been touched by every nation and we, in turn, touch every nation. And we are touched not just by immigrants but by the visitors who come to America and return home to tell of their experiences.
I believe that our greatest strength in dealing with the world is the openness of our society and the welcoming nature of our people. A good stay in our country is the best public diplomacy tool we have.
After 9/11 we realized that our country’s openness was also its vulnerability. We needed to protect ourselves by knowing who was coming into the country, for what purpose and to know when they left. This was entirely appropriate and reasonable. Unfortunately, to many foreigners we gave the impression that we were no longer a welcoming nation. They started to go to schools and hospitals in other countries, and frankly, they started to take their business elsewhere. We can’t allow that to happen. Our attitude has to be, we are glad you are here. We must be careful, but we must not be afraid.
As I traveled the world as secretary of state, I encountered anti-American sentiment. But I also encountered an underlying respect and affection for America. People still want to come here. Refugees who have no home at all know that America is their land of dreams. Even with added scrutiny, people line up at our embassies to apply to come here.
You see, I believe that the America of 2005 is the same America that brought Maud Ariel McKoy and Luther Powell to these shores, and so many millions of others. An America that each day gives new immigrants the same gift that my parents received. An America that lives by a Constitution that inspires freedom and democracy around the world. An America with a big, open, charitable heart that reaches out to people in need around the world. An America that sometimes seems confused and is always noisy. That noise has a name, it's called democracy and we use it to work through our confusion.
An America that is still the beacon of light to the darkest corner of the world.
Last year I met with a group of Brazilian exchange students who had spent a few weeks in America. I asked them to tell me about their experience here. One young girl told me about the night the 12 students went to a fast food restaurant in Chicago. They ate and then realized they did not have enough money to pay the bill. They were way short. Frightened, they finally told the waitress of their problem. She went away and she came back in a little while saying, "I talked to the manager and he said, 'It's ok.’" The students were still concerned because they thought the waitress might have to pay for it out of her salary. She smiled and she said, "No, the manager said he is glad you are here in the United States. He hopes you are having a good time, he hopes you are learning all about us. He said it's on him."
It is a story that those young Brazilian kids have told over and over about America. That's the America I believe in, that's the America the world wants to believe in.

Maybe I’m wrong but illegal immigrants or not, I’m sure 100-200 years ago the paper work to enter the United States was a lot less tedious . Really only native Americans , or the indigenous people of any country have the right, if any , to decide whom or whom not to let enter their country. And native American were pretty much wiped out of the face of this continent .. I have yet to meet an actual native american, though most of the general american population has had some native American blood surreptitiously seep into them.Having said that, Spanish is all over the place, it is Americas second language and many goverment forms , tv shows and books have a version in Espanol.

"We who are clay blended by the Master Potter, come from the kiln of Creation in many
hues. How can people say one skin is colored, when each has its own coloration? What
should it matter that one bowl is dark and the other pale, if each is of good design and
serves its purpose well."
~Polingaysi Qoyawayma, Hopi

We didn't start the fire

This has been around for a while .. got the link again recently …. Check it out if you haven’t already We Didn’t start the fire …. Gosh , I would love to do something like that … good use of web space :)

Currently listening to With or without you by U2….. there’s just something about this song…..

Comics Part 1

..I have no pretensions of being an intellectual reader... give me O magazine or Glamour any day:))..any way here are some perennial favorites....

A few of my favorite things.....

These are a few of my favorite things( in no particular order)….
Raindrops on roses ….Sleeping in on Sundays….The Garden Collection Fragrances by Victoria’s Secret….The smell of wet earth after rains. especially in India..Bookstores and libraries …gotta love ‘em, ….Cute stationery .….Actual real mail from friends, I love postcards, cards and letters.. love it when my friends send them , love sending them off as well….The Eagles…I can’t tell you why….well I can… but whatever….
Walking …… Sunsets…..Deserts….Daydreaming…. I have a vivid overactive imagination!! Daydream believer ..that’s me….Peaches and plums……Seeing Stars on a clear night….Musicindiaonline.com and launch!!!! …Surprise birthday parties … just showing up, or just remembering my birthday!!!collecting famous quotes… quizzing ….
FM radio ..who needs ipods anyway!!!!bright city lights!!!
Comic books and magazines ….Public transport…Chaat…Chikki, especially peanut chikki!!!!Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist ….Ok ok give credit where it’s deserved …. I like my laptop!!!!Skirts ….Long drives…. Headphones….Veggie food …Books by Lucy Maud Montgomery
F.R.I.E.N.D.S...Steve Martin..Comedy’s featuring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks
Zoolander..Serendipity…Temple food ….Shopping.....The Wonder Years, Sex and the city... Charlie Brown.... Garfield... …

Post Script- Sorry Gals/Guys... sort of a very random blog entry... but wanted to maintain the overall tone of this blog??!!!

full circle

Life goes on …. Just when you think you’ve wiped the slate clean along comes something or someone to remind you of the past … And what happens then? Do you revert back to the person, people thought “you were”???

...life happens, things change, people change, I’ve changed!!! But not really ……the person I am truly inside..the absent minded , but kind hearted?? Goofy gal with the long hair , bad handwriting, et al …. that’s the true me , and those who saw me like that and continue to see me like that I love you and always will (to people who really know you , nothing you do or become should come as a surprise)

Yes life has come full circle… I’ve moved on and I’m back where I belong!!!

Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years.
-Richard Bach

The Fortune Cookie Prophecy...

I still find this story cute, read it for the first time maybe 5-6 years ago……. Read more such stories at the Chicken Soup for the soul website. Read when you have the time. .sometimes your parents and friends know better than you do…..
-N


The Fortune Cookie Prophecy
by Don Buehner
I was married three times before I was seven years old.
My older brother Gary performed the ceremonies in our basement. Gary was good at entertaining the family and neighborhood kids with his creative ideas. Since I was the youngest boy in our group, I was often on the receiving end of his creativity.
What I remember most about those weddings is that all the girls were at least five years older than I was, and they all had beautiful eyes that sparkled when they laughed. Those weddings taught me to imagine what it would be like to find my soul mate one day and to be sure that I would know her by her beautiful eyes.
Puberty hit me late. I was still afraid of the opposite sex when I was fifteen, and yet I prayed every night for the girl I would marry. I asked God to help her do well in school and to be happy and full of energy-wherever and whoever she was.
I first kissed a girl when I was twenty-one. From that time forward, I dated many beautiful and talented young ladies, searching for the girl I had prayed for in my youth and still certain that I would know her by her eyes.
One day, my phone rang. "Don," it was my mother. "You know I told you about the Addisons, who moved in next door to us. Well, Clara Addison keeps asking me to invite you over for cards some night."
"Sorry, Mom, I've got a date that night."
"How could you? I haven't even told you what night it is?" my mother responded with exasperation.
"It doesn't matter when. I'm sure the Addisons are nice people, but I'm not going to waste an evening socializing with people who don't have any eligible daughters."
That's how stubborn I was-I was positive that there was no reason for me to go to visit the Addisons.
Years passed. I was twenty-six, and my friends were getting nervous about my prospects. They kept lining up blind dates for me. Many of these dates were fiascoes, and they were interfering with my social life. So I made up a few rules about blind dates:
1. No dates recommended by my mother (moms don't understand the sex-appeal factor).
2. No dates recommended by a female (they're too easy on each other).
3. No dates recommended by a single guy friend (if she's so awesome, how come he hasn't asked her out?).
In three simple steps, I eliminated 90 percent of all my blind dates, including one recommended by my old friend Karen. She called one evening to tell me that she had become good friends with a beautiful girl who reminded her of me. She said she knew we would hit it off. "Sorry," I said, "you're ruled out by rule number two."
"Don," she said, "You're crazy, and your silly rules are eliminating the girl you've been waiting for. But have it your way. Just take her name and phone number, and when you change your mind, call her."
To get Karen to stop bothering me about it, I said I would. The girl's name was Susan Maready. I never called her.
Just a couple of weeks later, I ran into my old buddy Ted in the university cafeteria. "Ted," I said. "You look like you're walking on air."
"Can you see stars under my feet?" he said, laughing. "The fact is, I just got engaged last night."
"Hey, congratulations!"
"Yeah," he said, "at thirty-two, I was beginning to wonder if any woman was going to have me." He pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "Here," he said, suddenly serious, "look at this.
It was a thin strip of paper from a fortune cookie. "You will be married within a year," it said.
"That's wild," I said. "They usually say something that would fit anyone, like 'You have a magnetic personality. They were really taking a chance with that one."
"No kidding," he said. "And look at me now."
A few weeks later, my roommate Charlie and I were eating dinner at a Chinese restaurant. I shared this story about Ted's fortune cookie prediction, and his subsequent engagement. Just then, the waiter brought over our postmeal fortune cookies. Charlie laughed at the coincidence as we opened our cookies. Mine said, "You have a magnetic personality." His said, "You or a close friend will be married within a year." A chill ran up my spine. This was really strange. Something told me to ask Charlie if I could keep his fortune, and he handed it to me with a smile.
Not long afterward, my classmate Brian said he wanted to introduce me to a young woman named Susan Maready. I was sure I'd heard that name before, but couldn't remember how or where. Since Brian was married, and therefore I wouldn't be breaking my "rules" about being fixed up by single guys, I accepted his offer to meet Susan.
Susan and I spoke on the phone, and planned a bike ride and a cookout. Then, the meeting-and as soon as I saw her, my heart started beating hard and wouldn't stop. Her large green eyes did something to me I couldn't explain. But somewhere in me, I knew that it was love at first sight.
After that wonderful evening, I remembered that this hadn't been the first time someone tried to fix me up with Susan. It all came back to me. Her name had been popping up all over the place for a long time. So the next time I had a chance to talk to Brian alone, I asked him about it.
He squirmed and tried to change the subject.
"What is it, Brian?" I asked.
"You'll have to ask Susan," was all he'd say.
So I did.
"I was going to tell you," she said. "I was going to tell you.
"Come on, Susan," I said. "Tell me what? I can't stand the suspense."
"I've been in love with you for years," she said, "since the first time I saw you from the Addisons' living room window. Yes-it was me they wanted you to meet. But you wouldn't let anyone introduce us. You wouldn't let the Addisons set us up; you wouldn't take Karen's word for it that we would like each other. I thought I was never going to meet you."
My heart swelled with love, and I laughed at myself. "Karen was right," I said. "My rules were crazy."
"You're not mad?" she asked.
"Are you kidding?" I said. "I'm impressed. I've got only one rule for blind dating now."
She gave me a strange look. "What's that?"
"Never again," I said and kissed her.
We were married seven months later.
Susan and I are convinced that we are true soul mates. When I was fifteen and praying for my future wife, she was fourteen and praying for her future husband.
After we had been married a couple of months, Susan said to me, "Do you want to hear something really strange?"
"Sure," I said. "I love to hear strange things."
"Well, about ten months ago, before I'd met you, my friends and I were at this Chinese restaurant, and…" She pulled a slip of paper from a fortune cookie out of her wallet:
"You will be married within a year…."

What type of Hindu are you???

What kind of Hindu are you ???
My result
You are a traditionalist.
You are a traditionalist, staunch in your conviction that the authority of the Vedas (scripture), Shastras (rules of conduct), and Parampara (traditions) contain all that Hindus need to know about how to live. You have great reverence for the past and for tradition. You're most unwilling to cast aside what is tried and true in favor of passing fads or modern interpretations of Hinduism.

hmmmmm.............

Well religion is personal and I practice mine… so if traditionalist be it, that’s what I am!!! Though I think an American probably developed this quiz….. tell me what u get ..you can try it out here.. they have a test for most religions ……
Belief net Test

Life's Little instructions- Part 1

I thought I would pen some inspiring stuff in this blog . Life’s Little Instruction book is one of my favorite books , I have two of the series with me right now and a copy at home in India. I love inspirational reading, would say its my favorite genre of books…I’m a sucker for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and recently bought a gift book called “A little book of hugs”, well for as long as I can ,whenever I feel like I’ll post a few instructions from the book in kind of the sequence they occur in the book.. again it’s called Life’s Little instruction Book..it’s by H. Jackson Brown Jr. ,and it’s a gem of a book :)
1. Believe in love at first sight .. ( no harm in believing!!!)
2. Never laugh at anyone’s dreams.
3. When you feel terrific notify your face.
4. Accept a breath mint if someone offers you one.
5. never apologize for being early for an appointment
6. use a travel agent. It costs no more and saves time and effort.
7. never miss an opportunity to ride a rollercoaster
8. never be the first one to break a family tradition (my dad’s favorite!!)
9. Park next to the end curb in parking lots. Your cars have half the chance of getting dented .
10. remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something.
11. take along a small gift for the host or hostess when you are a dinner guest . A book is a good choice.
12. never be photographed with a cocktail glass in your hand.
13. remember no time is ever wasted that makes two people better friends.
14. there are people who will always come up with reasons why you cant do what you want to do .ignore them .
15. when boarding a bus say “hello” to the driver, say “thank you” when you get off.
Source :Life’s little instruction Book – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Disclaimer: I don’t necessarily follow any of the instructions in this list , but I sincerely wish I did!!!!