Don't quote me!

" It's always either pre-MS, MS or post-MS. So, don't ever hold me responsible for my actions!"
- Me

Quirks? Me?

I've been tagged by Mad Momma, whose blog I now frequent.

The Rules:

- Link to the person that tagged you.

- Post the rules on your blog.

- Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.

- Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.

- Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

1. I avoid cutting my nails after sunset or on Saturdays - silly superstition? Maybe!
2. I have to always get up at least once after going to bed, to check something (doors, taps, TV, switches etc).
3. I remember useless details like faces of the 'extras' in Bollywood songs and I can name other songs they were in.
4. I went through a phase where I had to serve myself food even number of times.
5. I always wear/carry a jumper/jacket with me -always!
6. I have never bunked a lecture in four years of university.

It's crazy how much trouble I had with that tag! And it's crazier still that blogger now refuses to revert back to normal font.

In turn I tag Megz, Amruta, Vatsa, Mayu, Ashanka and Abhilasha!

What not to do?

Just learned that the 'Great' Britain is coming up with 'etiquette guidelines' for immigrants. This in the form of a 'welcome pack' that will 'highlight' the 'rules' of the country and something they expect new entrants to abide by. 'A good idea' you say?
And pray what are these rules? Believe it or not they are things like 'Don't touch people without permission (!!??!!), don't spit in the street, don't play loud music and send your kids to school.

"Information packs are a way of getting that info across - providing a rough guide to the country, the county and the city and helping to ensure that new arrivals avoid doing or saying things that might upset local settled communities or getting into trouble with the law," says the Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, while the information is in perfect contradiction to this statement!

My family migrated to New Zealand about 10 years ago. We were provided with relevant information and my folks, for the life of them, could not imagine not sending us to school or telling us it's ok to spit in the streets. Nor was it considered ok to use foul language on buses or at teachers (a regular occurance on the school bus or in classes!). All this was not thanks to a patronising information pack provided by the government of the community. Rather, it was a initiative taken by us regardless of which country we inhabited.
This pack does not welcome as much as it demeans a person entering a country. If someone at Auckland airport had the cheek to tell me or my parents that we must not spit on the streets of 'their country' they would be in for an earful! However, if they had told us how to register with the local GP or how to enroll at the local schools it would have been mighty helpful.
A more useful venture would be to provide 'youth packs' for 'children' leaving school informing them of what exactly manners and etiquette mean. This should be targeted at 14-24 yr olds who really have no notion of acceptable behaviour, at least in public.What say?
See what http://thebratthebeanandbedlam.wordpress.com/2008/02/07/manners-for-immigrants-tantric-sex/#comment-14611 has to say about 'welcome packs' for people entering India :-D!

My friend asked me the other day why I feel an inexplicable emotion towards lonely and seemingly abandoned old people on the streets and none at all for babies in prams. They make my heart ache and my eyes well up.
I remember when I was about 8 years old and on the bus to school. An old man got on and not a single person moved to give him a seat. I did and he looked so stunned that it took him a few minutes to realise what I had done and seat himself.
Even today I help old people cross streets, shelter them under my umbrella when it rains and once I have even carried an old man's groceries up to the steps of his house from the bus stop. I cannot bear to watch old people eat their lunch alone on a park bench or watch a movie alone. It makes me want to cry. In school I volunteered at an old age home for one week along with two friends. We all can safely say that it is an experience we will carry with us for as long as we shall live. There have been times when the old person doesn't really want my help and has made this clear in as many words - yet I persevere.
You must realise that this is very unnatural for me. I am a rather cold and practical person. If someone sticks a baby in my arms, I don't gush all over it. I am fairly neutral towards babies, beggars, old beggars and most animals. I contribute towards Green Peace and the Wildlife fund because I believe in preserving nature and wildlife- but my eyes don't well up at a dying animal (except elephants!) or a cut tree. But lonely, tired looking, old people - they can make me weep like I've just cut an onion!
So back to answering the original question of 'Why' - I am really not sure. It may have something to do with the fact that my family lived with my paternal grandparents when I was growing up and to this day they still call me every Sunday night at 8 pm. It may be because our locality for at least the first 10 years of my life was filled with old people and I would see them go for walks in the evening with their walking sticks, in groups of 2 or 3 and they would stop to chat with my grandparents and with me. It could also be because my grandparents have, to me, personified dignity, brilliance and forward-thinking (individually!) very unlike others I have met.
Whatever it is - it's my weakness.

I am not an e-bay virgin anymore!!
I bid on a Friends complete 10 season DVD set and won!! Picked it up yesterday and this weekend is going to be spent in, what I hope will be, 'friendly' bliss. I got into Friends a lot later than most of my counterparts. Partly because it wasn't something that I could watch with my parents. It was a a 'coming of age' comedy and mine happened a little later than most other people my age. So anyhow, now I am officially hooked and had been wanting to own the box set for quite a while, now I do!
Seriously though, it helps me in ways I would have never thought possible. I do not have a close friends circle in Canberra anymore. And anyone that knows me knows that I am nothing without friends. I love having people to hang out with, have coffee with, talk to for hours over the phone. My friends have helped me thorough all good and bad phases of my life.
Now, Im not implying that via the TV show I enter some delusional world where these 'Friends' are my friends but in watching the shows I am reminded of times with my own set of close friends and it does to brighten my days.
Here's to watching all 10 seasons!

If wishes were horses...

The life that I want:
A hill-top house overlooking the ocean. A huge bed with Egyptian cotton sheets and a balcony with lie-back chairs. Wake up in the morning and shower in a black tiled bathroom. Have breakfast in an airy, sunny kitchen/dining and head off to work in my sleek-black car (the make and model of which varies in my head!). Work is on the top floor of a high rise and even though the details of the job are blurred, everyday I do something I love and so the time passes quickly. The weather is sun with a cool breeze, I don't even mind the occasional drizzle or clouds (no heavy rain!). There are parks and people and the bustle of life to weave through on the way back home and once home there is a warm cup of tea, maybe a hot-bath with some good music. Dinner is home-cooked almost always and ranges from Indian to anything else exotic. Some TV on a flat-screen before heading to bed.

The life I have:
Bottom-floor apartment where almost all the sunlight is blocked off by huge bushes. No bed - just two mattresses piled one on the other. Struggle to wake up each morning, no time to make breakfast or eat it. If I have bought Up 'n' Go then that is breakfast! Rush to work in my bottle green Suzuki (which is the highlight of my day) with good music playing. Work is in the middle of nowhere and usually involves spending the day in the lab in the basement with no windows. Weather is either scorching hot or freezing cold with a few pleasant days thrown in. There is barren land, no people and no bustle of life. Once home there are dishes to do and bathroom and kitchen to clean. Dinner is usually last night's leftovers or takeaway (I try to cook as often as energy permits!). Some DVDs, on a Dick Smith DVD player bought for $60 which stops working as and when it pleases, to watch before falling asleep on the couch.

Now that I read the life I have - it doesnt sound half bad!

My hair is, as of yesterday, officially a vector! It not only has magnitude and velocity but it has direction! In fact more so in life than I do at the moment!
Chemical straightening y'all - do it and take the stress of the hair and yourself!

For the love of the game

Do you think in blogs? Of late I do! Any event that I think is worth writing about translates itself into a little story.
So, last weekend was blissfully spent in Melbourne at the Australian Open! Amidst the brilliant atmosphere, good seats and heaps of junk food. Watching tennis live is an experience in itself. So this year the list of sightings included Sharapova, Justine Henin, the Williams sisters, Nadal, Sania Mirza and Leander Paes (to name a few!) Bloody brilliant!
Next year it will be Fed, Roddick, Djokovic and (by the looks of it!) Tipseravic!
Speaking of lists - another blogger wrote about her list. You know the list.
Here's mine: Not in any order, just off the top of my head

Roger Federer - For sheer effortless power
Prince William - understated regality
Matthew McConeghey - rugged good looks
Hrithik Roshan - the moves!
Hugh Jackman - Have you seen 'Scoop'?!!
Will Smith - That smile
Kyle Chandler - The looks again
Matthew Perry - actually the character he plays 'Chandler'

Of course this list, like all others is subject to additions and omissions but Im happy in that it is fairly non-standard, what say?
Would love to know yours!

Shoe woes

So my blog sidebar now proudly sports 'Shelfari' and a small collection of what I've read so far and my feet proudly sport the cheapest and most comfortable shoes I have ever owned. I buy expensive shoes - i.e running shoes, trainers etc. All branded and all utterly comfortable. Ever since I can remember I have had trouble with two pieces of attire, shoes and jeans. My father solemnly vowed never to come shoe shopping with me but had to, very reluctantly, every birthday. My mother is vehemently opposed to shop for jeans for me and luckily for her my friends and my sister (half!) willingly oblige.
I have strange feet. Long and narrow. For some reason shoe-makers in Australia and New Zealand decided that long feet must be wide, same goes for jeans. Luckily Indians were smarter!
The comfort factor rates very high on my list when buying shoes. Hence, I only end up spending a bomb on sneakers/runners. The width of which can be fixed by tying the laces on nice and tight.
My feet are, more often than not, clad in socks and stuffed into a pair of Adidas/Nike/Basics runners.
Canberra summer decided that socks and runners are for the faint-hearted and when I was all but ready to pass out from the oven that were my shoes - I decided that I needed to buy a pair of slip-ons for summer (I am not allowed to wear open-toed stuff to work). A quick trip to the shoe shops revealed that nothing had changed - not the length of my feet nor the width of the shoes. I finally decided on a pair and bought 'em only to find myself limping in them the following day. 'It happens' they said. 'New shoes always bite, put a band-aid on it for a few days' and I did. I also gritted my teeth and endured the fact that the shoes although the right width didn't seem to be long enough for my foot and prayed hard that somehow they would grow into my feet!
Well 10 days later, here I am, proud owner of a pair of slip-ons that, magically, seem to have grown into my feet (not to mention the nights of stuffing them with balls of paper and cardboard!). Unfortunately a pair of jeans purchased a year ago refuse to concede.
Incidentally, on a completely unrelated note, does anyone know how to eat a kebab without making a mess. If you do I need some pointers. Why is it that kebab vendors do not understand the meaning of 'little sauce'. Generosity is not appreciated in these matters. I wish I had taken a picture of the godawful mess that was my kebab-lunch this afternoon. If any one of those kebab-vendors can eat one in front of me without making a mess - I'll eat my newly grown shoe!

Offs and Ons

The only thing sadder than window-less labs is finding out that -1 people read your blog. Judging by the comments left, or lack thereof, I can only assume that my writing has gone to 'heck in a handbasket'. Pray tell me what happens to them creative juices when they are forced to reckon with the likes of a PhD, the related thesis and the aforementioned window-less labs - they too go to 'heck in a handbasket'.
I was going to say that today I shall don the garb of entertainer while discarding the disguise of a Physicist - but that will do nothing more than raise the bar and that I don't need right now.
On the reading front, apart from the lack-lustre journal papers, to which I am about to add my own lack-lustre contribution, I have managed to read The Alchemist and Shame. The former needs no introduction and the latter is by an author of Indian origin, Jasvinder Sanghera. Rather than writing about sugar-coated Indian things like 'smell of camphor, spices and flower coupled with dung and despair' and how 'the demure Indian girl adjusts to the western lifestyle', Sanghera writes about the harsh reality of western vs. Indian conventions and the (mis) treatment of women. What intrigued and interested me most was that the story (true as it is) is set in a conventional Sikh household and not a Muslim one so the stereo-types are the same with a different background and therefore a new perspective.
As 'feminist' books are being thrust at me from all angles I feel the need to clarify my stand on this issue - I will say this and only this - Feminism should be a cry for equality not female dominance. Many 'radical' feminists of my generation seem to miss this very basic point.
On a brighter note - I am off to watch the Australian Open this weekend - hoping that the weather keeps its promise yet manages to spare us its worst. I love Melbourne. Its a beautiful, vibrant city and it has treated me with the respect I think I deserve, with every visit.. It is a place where one can be creative, very unlike Canberra, where one must fight to keep one's spirit alive. With tickets in hand to, what I am hoping will be, a Federer vs. Somebody game one I can barely contain my excitement. My cousin said to me today that watching Fed play is so boring because he is too good. Granted. BUT it is the effortlessness he exhibits that I find thrilling. I cannot forget a Fed vs. Roddick match I watched some years ago - while Roddick was melting Fed had barely broken a sweat!
Much awaited rain has finally wet the Canberra earth and so celebration is called for, I reckon. Hot tea and some of my mother's chocolate cake (that is currently being eaten in slivers!) is warranted.

Can't think of a title

On Tuesday, 27th of March, 2007, I wrote a blog entry about the Indian Cricket team and the fiasco that was Cricket World Cup 2007.
10 months on and here I am trying to gather my thoughts about the abomination that is the India vs. Australia series. Sports columnists, youtube and the public have all voiced their opinions on the disgraceful umpiring, Australian arrogance and general mistreatment of the Indians on this tour and for once I agree with them. Any monkey could see that Dravid was not out (no pun intended!).
Personally I have never agreed with sledging in a game. I think it kills the spirit of the game and there is a fine line between what is acceptable and what is not. How can one adhere to a set of rules regarding sledging on a playing field. There are racial barriers and then there are personal barriers both quite easy to cross, maybe even unintentionally.
Similarly I find it hard to agree with the fact that a fielder knows best whether or not he took a fair catch. Under situations of immense stress and pressure (not to mention the financial consequences!) the brain does not function normally (again any monkey knows that!) . The last thing a player can do is judge whether or not he is right. As far as he is concerned he is right unless proven wrong. The facts are right there people - make your decision.

On another note: it is mid January and time to summarise lessons learned from last year:

1. A driving licence (read hundreds of dollars expenditure!) is just a pass to put reckless people on the road- in a car!

2. People treat speed limits as a challenge.
3. I have road rage
4. Canberra weather and the city itself is only suited to masochists.
And finally perhaps the most important lesson of all:

5. To have a successful relationship one must share, not their likes, but their dislikes!

And what a holiday it was!

Ive been hit hard by the 'after holiday' blues. After two weeks of (mostly) sun and sand and more sun, a badly tanned I am finally back to Canberra and back to work.
No dearth of sun here though with the earth baking in predominantly high 30s temperatures. What is lacking is my home and my family. I had not gone home for one long year i.e all of 2007 and leaving home once again to face, what will decidedly be, a year of hard work and sleepless nights, was possibly the worst feeling.
However, whenever I feel the tears coming on that I must choke back, it makes me more determined to finish this blasted PhD and head home!
In my dazed state at the airport, having bid farewell to my mom and sister, I bought a New Zealand souvenir calender and it has done wonders to brighten the day. I am seriously contemplating covering every inch of the white walls of my office with scenic shots of NZ - just to show these pale, life-deprived people what they are missing.
Its amazing what the sight of clear blue water, rolling hills and blue skies will do to cheer up the dull mind. Try it! [consider that my handy hint for 2008]

Happy New Year!

My year in 3 sentences - '2007 has been a year full of pleasant and unpleasant surprises. Fulfilling in terms of seeing the world and exciting in terms of meeting old family and new people. While some aspects of my life are back on track others still wallow in the depths of despair'.

I guess there is always 2008 to pull those wallowing ones out and put them on track. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my life over the last 24 years. I trust that some of you enjoyed it enough to stick around for the next 24 years.

It is the last day at work before the Christmas break. Of course this would warrant early closure and one would half expect everyone to just mingle happily and talk about plans for the festive season and so on. Well, not physicists. They would rather discuss what they will do when they get back the official second offices open.
I knew early on that this was not for me - and it has been confirmed now. When I began writing this blog (in my head last night) it flowed easily. It was filled with humorous anecdotes of the year gone by. Somehow those thoughts elude me now.
So Merry Christmas everyone! and a Happy New Year!

'One could not count the moons ...'

...that shimmer on her roofs, or a thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls“. - Tebrizi
As mentioned in my earlier post (and therefore you were forewarned!) I have here a book review - as promised. On saturday I began and finished reading 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseini. From the, now acclaimed, author of ' The Kite Runner', this book traces the life and times of two Afghan women. This book is a woman's book. It captures the essence of being a woman more so in a political atmosphere where being female was nothing short of a curse.
Hosseini demonstrates a unique and tremendous understanding of the female psyche. It seems like a woman's story from a woman's perspective. The insight provided is brilliant!
'...Splendid Suns' is in a very different vein to 'The Kite Runner'. While the latter might be characterised as gripping the former is riveting. Both books, to me, were equally haunting.
Several books have been written about the plight of women in Islamic, war-stricken countries but none so written in so beautiful and poetic a manner. It is gruesome without being gory and terrifying without being graphic.
This book is almost a painting. It has hues and texture is as much as it has words and a story. Buy this book, read it and cherish it as a memoir, an ode and a tribute to all those women.

Back

There is plenty to write about even without breaking down the year in three sentences (I am going to try to do that for the blog at the end of this year - 'My year in 3 sentences' - why 3, I don't know!).
So I went to India for my sister's wedding (and before you start bombarding my 20 yr old blood-sister with queries, it was my cousin's wedding!) and for once the whole family would be there. No I mean the whole family. Brilliant!
So after an exhausting day of air travel and more air travel within the land where i was given birth, the land that gave me my skin-colour and immunity to harmful virus and bacteria (do you know HOW immune we Indians are!) we finally arrived in good 'ol Bhopal. I say good 'ol because that city has not changed since I was about 10. Well it has changed a little in that some paan shops might have been replaced by shopping malls and you can buy everything from an Irish pin to an Italian piano there!
The wedding was fantastic to say the least. I never thought of myself as a wedding person but needless to say we all got caught up in the excitement of things and after one impromptu 'musical-skit' and several pats on the back for carrying on the family 'drama' genes, I was well and truly in.
Good food, good wine, good music and excellent conversation.
My family is, for want of a better adjective, stimulating. We fight, we argue, we laugh, we cry and then we hug and bid goodbye only to do it all again at the next gathering. Stick us all in one room and give us room - we will change the world!
I miss my family. For better or for worse we are who we are and we are related to who we are and nothing can change that.
Memories of this trip will last forever. So P and S - Wish you both a very happy married life!

Of other things. I am back in Canberra as of Friday last and since then things have gone from dull to duller. Watched Aaja Nachle, as I had to pay my tribute (and $12) to MD - she being my all time favourite actress 'n all. One must give her full credit for making a comeback and what a fantastic figure she cut after having two kids! Very commendable!
Have brought back a ton of books from India and am making my way slowly but surely through them. So watch this space for some book reviews.

Chak De!

It is easy to lose a good'un amidst all the rubbish doled out by Bollywood. One such is 'Chak De' . Even though it is c/o Yashraj Films it is very much minus a mindless love-story, no plot and white-clad heroines running around in the Swiss Alps. Turns out the director, Shimit Amin, has worked on several Ram Gopal Varma movies and was indeed discovered by RGV himself. Good on Aditya Chopra I say, for giving him his directorial debut. And what a debut it was!
I personally hold that any director who can make SRK act - and I mean really act - not just 'overact his way across India' stuttering and bleeding, is due some credit.
Ashutosh Gowarikar did it in Swades and now Amin has managed to it in Chak De. Restraint makes an actor.
I loved the moment in the movie when the women's hockey team mercilessly beat up a bunch of rowdies teasing their team members. Indian men are disgusting. While I am in India I am oblivious now to men looking at me, making lude comments. Boys aged 14 and men aged 40, all do it. It is not like I dress less. I am covered neck to ankle, trust me, I wouldn't leave the house any other way in India be it scorching heat or blistering cold. Still, no respite from cat-calls, whistles and the like. It is plain disgusting. What I would not give to just pick up a hockey stick and whack the living bejeezus out of those men. When I watched it happen in this movie I felt like jumping from my seat, pumping my fists in the air and shouting 'hooray! you go girls!'.
Needless to say this movie appeals to the female-chauvinist in me.

Tag!

So here's a questionnaire that has apparently been doing the blogger rounds. So I thought I'd answer it and Tag a few friends too!

Tagged: Megz, Ashanka, Vatsa, Amruta and Abhilasha (if and when you read this blog!)



1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
No

2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters?
No, I like to see things coming.

3. When is the last time you went sleigh riding?
Never. would love to though.

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
Someone else is not an option right now

5. Do you believe in Ghosts?
No not really.

6. Do you consider yourself creative?
Depends...

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
No freakin idea

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Jen.

9. Can you honestly say you know anything about politics?
Honestly, no.

10. Do you know how to play poker?
Yes I do.

11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
Yep. And more.

12. Do you kill bugs that are in the house?
Yes, its MY house dammit.

13. Have you ever cheated on a test?
No

14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around...do
you go through red lights?
No, I would want to but I wouldn't.

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you?
Yes, I thought everyone did.

17. Have you ever Ice Skated?
Yes and I don't intend to do it again in a hurry.

18. How often do you remember your dreams?
Half the time.

19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you were crying?
Quite recently. After watching a Kannada song on YouTube

20. Can you name 5 songs by The Beatles?
Heck Yes! Yellow Submarine, Love Me Do, When I'm 64, I am the walrus,
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

22. Do you believe in love at first sight?
I don't believe in love.


24. Do you always wear your seatbelt?
Always

25. What talent do you wish you had?
I wish I could run on the treadmill without holding onto the sides for dear life.

26. Do you like Sushi?
No.

27. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident?
Not yet and hope I never have to

28. What do you wear to bed?
Tracks and t-shirt

29. Have you ever been caught stealing?
No

30. Does size matter?
Yes, I like my houses big and my cars small :-D

31. Do you truly hate anyone?
Yes

32. Rock and Roll or Rap?
RnR anyday!

33. For love or for money?
For the love of money.

34. Do you have a relative in prison?
No, but Im sure there is atleast one that deserves to be in there.

35. Have you ever sang in front of the mirror like your favorite singer?
Sure

36. Do you know how to play chess?
Yes

37. What food do you find disgusting?
Snakes


39. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
Yes and to their face too.

40. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew?
Yes.

41. Have you ever walked out on a movie at the theater?
Oh yes.

44. Do you ever sit through a bad movie, just to see how bad it can get?
Yes - bollywood movies.

45. Would you consider yourself obsessed with anything?
Yes I would, and if you knew me you would too.

46. Have you ever met someone famous that you really wanted to meet?
No, I really wanted to meet Einstein.

47. Have you ever been stood up?
Yes

48. When's the last time you screamed at the top of your lungs?
I don't scream at the top of my lungs.

49. Did you ever do something that you didn't want to, just to fit in?
Not that I can recall.

50. Do you consider yourself "the biggest fan" of something?
Probably not.

Also watched 'Laaga chunari mein Daag'. It adds on to the ever continuing list of 'controversial' different films that Bollywood is aiming to make. However the story is done and dusted. But for the picturesque portrayal of Benaras the movie is found lacking in many many aspects. What irks me most is the ultimate message of the movie which seems to be that any woman, a callgirl, a prostitute, an escort, anyone, is 'forgiven' all her 'sins' if she gains the acceptance of a man and - here's the clincher- if he marries her! If he (HE!) is ready to overlook it - who are we to point fingers eh?!
When oh when will we get over this inherent obsession that a woman needs a man to validate her. Or maybe I completely missed the 'deeper' point.
As an aside, I bought the DVD of this movie at an Indian store here and as always the subtitles are hilarious! The conversation between Rani M and Jr. AB when she reveals why she absolutely cannot be with him went something like this:

RM - main koi event manager nahin hoon (Translated: I am not any event manager)
RM - Main ek escort hoon (Translated: I am Scot)?!!!!!!!!?!!!!!!!!?????!!!!

Needless to say I almost fell off the chair laughing! Enjoy!

Memoirs

Nobody had anything negative to say about 'Memoirs of a Geisha' so at the Fyshwick markets last weekend I bought the book (a bargain at $1, I must say!). 'Memoirs...' is an exquisite book. All my knowledge of Japanese life prior to reading this book came from Samurai-type movies and reviews of Japanese cartoons, which really does not reflect this rich culture.
Imagine walking into a shop full of the richest silks and lace - imagine sitting down while each piece of absolutely unique fabric is laid out in front of you and unfolded to reveal a more intricate and beautiful layer underlying the previous one. You can marvel at them and you can even run them over your skin and feel the lush, soft fabric caress you - yet you cannot have it. This is precisely the 'feel' of this book. It is a whirlwind of emotions narrated with such poise, grace and restraint that you don't realise that you've held you're breath all along. It is a cool breeze that leaves you as breathless as if you were just hit by a tornado!
I do not really want to talk about the story. The synopsis really tells the gist of it, yet one must read it to truly experience its brilliance.
Enough said I think. All that is left is for you to do is to read it.

Fun n Games Room

Today's fortune on Orkut says 'Good things are being said about you'.
Makes me rather uncomfortable that somebody, somewhere might be talking about me as I type this. Even if they are saying good things.
It is Friday and it seems like a decent weekend to look forward to. I discovered the 'games room' at work yesterday. Not sure how long it has been operational but it is complete with pool table, TT table and dart board. A good diversion if not distraction from work I say! And many might mistakenly think that the reason it went undiscovered was because I have been working too hard. In fact nothing could be farther from the truth. The truth being that as soon as my rear hits the office chair my body and brain go into a vegetative state in which they remain till about 5.30 pm, when I painstakingly hoist myself away from Orkut, Gmail, Facebook and other such and head home.
Of other goings on - there is not really much to talk about except the weather! Those that know me know that complaining about the weather is my favourite pastime. I was born in Gwalior and raised in Bangalore for the first fifteen years of my life. The Bangalore climate is excellent, or atleast it was all the years that I lived there. It is not too hot, not too cold - its just right! (sort of like that Maggi hot 'n' sweet tomato chilli sauce, I like hot 'n' sweet chilli type sauces, but that rant for another day). So from this 'just right' haven we moved to New Zealand where I spent another ten odd years. New Zealand is a far cry from good weather. It was a shock to the system how that island went through four seasons in one day. And now I am in Canberra. Summer is here now. Yet last night the temperature hit below 5 C. Kindly explain for I am at a loss!