Random Thoughts

aka The Few Thoughts Rattling in My Head Now

• My house is squeaky clean - right from the anjala potti to under the bed and couch. I even went around the house picking scraps and dust (since someone "accidentally" broke the vacuum cleaner the last time I asked them to vacuum the house). There are fresh flowers in the vases and the house smells great! And yet there is no-one here but me - not even visitors :-( As S keeps commenting (a la Vivek) "Yaarume illada kadai la yaaruku tea aathara", I keep cleaning the apartment

• These days I seem to hate watching chick flicks - I even prefer watching movies like Terminator. I was getting worried that romance was dying in me. Then I came across this video and it made all gooey inside :-)

• I feel like I am neglecting the fine art of poetry. I want to keep a book of poems on my nightstand and read one each day so that I can get beautiful poetic dreams :-). Any suggestions? (Yes, you and you, the only 2 readers of my blog)

• Is it me or do new sitcoms really suck? I mean I caught a few episodes of The Bill Engvall Show and New Adventures of Old Christine - and they both were bad. And even sad. Of course Parks & Recreation rocks. And I am guessing Shut Up Sit Down will be equally awesome it's created by the makers of Arrested Development. For the uninitiated "Arrested Development" is the BEST show on tv ever! If you haven't seen it, go to hulu and watch it NOW

• Like I said, go watch Arrested Development now, I am going to do the same
  

When life gives you lemons, make Lemon Oorkai*

Greetings my gentle readers. How are you all doing? Yes, you, you and you. After ranting in the last post, I am going to make this one a nice breezy what's-up-with-my-life kinda post.

So I started my Tennis lessons yesterday. It was fun. It's a group class and has 5 other girls. Minutes before class, when we were warming up and so, memories of tennis classes at school came hurtling across and for a minute I was very very scared. Wehn I was 8 years old, Appa enrolled me in Tennis classes thinking I would grow up to be another Steffi Graf. And I was pretty enthused about the classes too especially 'coz my parents bought me a new racquet, tennis skirt, T shirt, wrist band and such. The classes beagan innocently enough. And I was the only girl in class. Also the only one who couldn't hit the ball over the net. Who was teased incessantly. I started sleeping in late hoping Appa would let me skip class. But he was still nursing Steffi dreams and so he would bundle me up for class every single day no matter how late it was. But that was a blessing in disguise since I would be made to jog around the grounds to warm up before starting which meant missing more class time. This went on for 2 years until I had a small health problem (totally not due to tennis) and the doctor said that it mighhtt be better to skip classes for a month. I grabbed onto those words and didn't go another class. And we used the 2 tennis racquets to play cricket at home.


There have been a lot of things that I have been wanting to do lately. I really want to take art lessons. I am not very good at it, but I am not bad too. I took glass painting classes in Hyderabad (it was just one class and that female charged 1000 for that!!) and Amma tells me that people have been complimenting my work. I want to work on my swimming and atleast get back to where I was when I was in school. I told everyone that I am renting a bike and biking around Lake Monona. But very embarassingly I slept in. I should do this sometime soon to redeem my pride. :-) I also want to learn a new language and I am auditing Beginning Spanish next sem. But considering I have a couple of tough courses next sem, I might have to drop this course. I also want to write more. Ever since S got me a journal I have been trying to write more and I wrote 2 poems in the first couple of weeks. But I seem to be dry once again. Want to write more short stories too, but unable to get beyond the starting sentences. As I was looking back on old posts I find that I used to write much better than now. Perhaps it had something to do with more readership back then :-) This is all for my personal todo list.

I have taken up a netflix membership recently and I want to rave about how good it is. Netflix rules. I am currently on a 2 DVD at a time membership and they are very quick to ship the next set. I usually get the new ones the day after they receive my old ones. Which is pretty cool. And also they have the "Watch Instantly" feature that lets me watch selected movies and sitcoms on an awesome the best online video player ever. The site is minimalistic and has everything you ever need. I recently took a Blockbuster trial membership since I pass by a Blockbuster store everyday and I thought store returns may get me movies faster. But I have been very disappointed with them. Their site is too cluttered and it took me a moment to find my queue. They don't offer any online viewing. And their DVDs take twice as much time as Netflix to reach me though both have centres in Milawaukee. So its Netflix all the way (atleast till I get back to school) for me.

*Pickle

Who Am I?

Of late my life seems to be changing. I am discovering a lot of new things about myself that is bang opposite to how things were earlier.

For instance chocolate. I was a chocolate lover and I used to say that out. Loudly. To everyone I met. I even had a theory that I would not go out with a guy if he didn't get me chocolate frequently. But since I came to the US, I have started moving towards peanut covered chocolates. The place I am doing my internship has an awesome pantry with hot chocolate (with marshmellows) and a well stocked candy jar. The only candy I take from there are Reese Peanut Butter Cups. And I sometimes scrap the chocolate off the top and eat just the chunky peanut butter. If I ever feel like buying chocolates outside, I buy peanut M&Ms. And I have taken to eating Vanilla ice cream, after eating ONLY chocolate ice cream (sometimes chocolate ice cream dipped in chocolate sauce) for the past 24 years. I don't seem to like chocolate so much any more. This is very distressing for me to say the least. Asking a guy to get chocolate on a date is romantic. But asking for a jar of peanut butter or Reese Peanut Butter Cups, and him watching me scrap the chocolate off and gobble the rest, is surely going to crimp my style.

It's not just chocolate. I seem to started to love shopping, even window shopping. All these years in India, I've never had an urge to shop. H had to literally drag me to shops. And even when I did go shopping, it would all be in one shop, and finished in 15 minutes - doesn't matter if I am buying a silk saree or night pajamas. In fact that used to be in USP to attract guys, that they would never have to wait outside a fitting room, carrying 15 bags, knowing there would be no dinner until shopping is done. And I used to hate jewellery of any kind. Amma had to drag me to the jewellers under false pretexes to make me buy gold. But things seem to have changed now. I seem to be shopping with a vengence now, as if to make up for all the lost years. Just yesterday I spent about $200 on clothes, accessories and other associated items. It doesn't help that I have to walk through the mall everyday to get home from the bus stop. Coming to jewelery, though I still hate yellow gold, I've discovered something wonerful called white gold - just as expensive as the yellow one,, but much prettier. And now I know why diamonds are a girl's best friend. I have about 25 new best friends now. It doesn't stop with just these. I seem to be addicted to grocery shopping as well. What used to be a chore once upon a time seems to be a magical time. I spend almost an hour on just the cereal aisle.

And there's more. Where I've sworn to never let my hair loose, I am now refusing to tie them up (thanks to a wonderful hair stylist who has convinced me I have great hair and taught me style it well. Here's a tip for all (or any) Madison woman reading my blog. Rejuvenation Spa on Mineral Point rocks, especially Jeanna for hair) I am wearing my contact lens to work on most days a week (This is an improvement, considering I used to wear them like once in 2 months when I was in India) I am hunting for a pink T shirt, where I've once laughed at H's pink salwar kameez. In fact when I was buying a tennis racquet yesterday (I am starting tennis classes next week you suckers!), when the salesman suggested a pink racquet, I almost considered it. Oh and before I forget, my bargaining and deal sniffing skills seems to have increased substancially (i.e move up from the zero that I used to be, to say 20%)

I don't know what to make of these changes. S seems to be convinced that aliens have abducted the real me and substituted it with a zestier fake. Amma is alarmed at the amount of money that I am spending (which they are sending from India for my "education") and feels that I am doing all this shopping just 'coz it isn't my money. And she want's me to lay off both chocolates and peanuts and start eating fruits instead. Appa either doesn't notice anything or if he did, is too scared to say anything. I am sure Paati will say this is the corrupting influence the West is having on me.

But I feel that I am turning into a woman. I used to be this distracted soul when it came to such matters like shopping or dressing up. So after a quarter century, my mind has grasped that I am a girl and should act and behave as one. What about the chocolate/peanut butter you ask? Well I think that's just to throw off my bf/husband and start an argument "You don't care about me" or "You've changed". Suppose he comes walking in on Valentine's day with a box of dark chocolate, I can just throw it on his face. Yeah, that sounds good.

This really is exciting news. Maybe I will soon start going "Awwwwww" when I see kids and not feel that they are a nuisance. Maybe I will even *gasp* smile indulgently when they start throwing a tantrum in the movie theatre. Well, maybe not that.

So the million people who read my blog, what's your diagnosis?

P.S1 Wanted to title this post "I am Woman, Hear Me Roar", but I was worried that I would scare away readers who think this is a real feminist post.

P.S2 Want to majorly uphaul the blog template. Any suggestions?

Back

With another tag, thanks to Sasi. So let me start the tag (without the usual cracks about how I am back and the usual promises of being regular)

The tag asks us to state 5 previously unknown quirks/facts about yourself

1) I love watching movies in theatres, but can't stand watching them on TV/laptop. I guess I am a movie theater buff rather than a movie buff. I can watch the worst of movies onscreen and come back with the satisfaction of a $8 well spent. And you could show me the best movie on the laptop and I would still walk away after a half hour. I think my brain is wired to have an attention span of just 30 mins (which would explain why my netflix queue is full of sitcoms)

2) I've had my 30GB ipod for 2 years now, but it still has just 2GB of songs and videos on them. And the only ones I listen to are about 500MB (S.Ve Shekar and Crazy Mohan dramas every night before sleeping) And to think I was soo pumped about getting an ipod. Now I am all gung ho about iphone 3G. But I think I will hold back this time :-)

3) I hate wearing my hair down. It has to up in a pony tail. I mean I have nice hair that would look good if I take some effort every morning (blow drying it upside down etc) (And to all you people waiting to take a crack at my hair, I was told that I had beautiful hair by my hair stylist and she refused to let me straighten it or perm since "it looks so good naturally". So there!:-) ) But somehow I never let it down unless it is dripping wet in which case I had something to tie it back in when it dries.

4) This might come as a shocker to typical Indian mindsets, but I hate yellow gold jewelery. Yup hate it. But since I am girl and all that, and my husband needs to have something to buy me when he wants to make up after a fight, I love thin white gold chains and bracelets (preferably with diamonds on them :-)) I know this is nothing strange by American standards, but if you attend an Indian wedding you would know.

5) This might sound hypocritical, but I don't like many of the Indians in the US. People tell me that they usually feel good to see a familiar brown face in a black and white sea, but not for me. I don't speak for all of them, but a lot behave in a disgraceful manner. Like stealing a bunch of paper bags from bakery aisle of the grocery store (which is meant for taking a donut or a muffin if you are buying one), tipping badly (or not tipping at all), bringing loud and noisy kids to a movie and so on. I understand that most of you are here to make money and I don't mind if you want to skimp and save, but that doesn't give you the right to leave a dollar bill as a tip for a $30 dinner. If you don't want to pay for a babysitter or are squeamish about hiring one, then please take a netflix or blockbuster membership and don't set foot into the theatre. And the America bashers, I really have no words for you all. I miss home too and I've written about it too. But I don't go around saying "Americans don't have family values like Indians" and so forth. Though they might leave home at 18, they are not the ones to leave their family behind and travel half way across the sea to make a few bucks. There is so much more that I can talk about, but I think I will stop with this for now. The usual disclaimer stands - I know I am not talking about ALL the desis in the US. There are sizable exceptions (I like to think myself as one too). And I am not saying that all Americans should be kept on a pedestal too.

So after 4 strange facts and one mini rant, I think I am done with the tag. And since no-one reads this blog I don't feel the need to pass this on.

I Shouldn't Be

I have a project to turn in on Sunday and I am not even done with the code yet. I got a pile of clothes to wash and another pile to fold and put away. I need to cut my nails and maybe color them and feel pretty. I need to start work on Wireless homework. I need to sleep so that I can get up early tomorrow and start doing things I ought to.

And yet, here I am blogging. Slaving away for you all, my kind readers. (Thanks will be accepted in the Comments box. Thanks in cash will be appreciatively accepted)

So how are you all doing? Yes you, you and you. Tell me what's happening. As for me, I am just turning into a sitcom fairy. I am hooked to abc.com, cwtv.com, hulu.com and all the other magic sites that just keep dishing out new episodes of my favourites - like How I Met Your Mother. I mean, I absolutely love that show. Esp Barney and his suits. Even as I am typing it, I have a window with the latest episode with Britney on. (PS I think Britney looks adorable in that episode). And it doesn't stop with just that. I have just sobbed through half a season of "8 Simple Rules". I also watch "Aliens in America" and trying to find Dharma and Greg online. And LOST! Where do I start?

So if any of you have any idea about how to kick off this addiction, comments box please. Rest of you, just grab some popcorn and visit hulu.com

PS1 - I am soo pschyed, I totally wrote this post in 10 minutes. It usually takes hours!

PS2 - So, I write this deep come-back post that just pours my heart open and NO COMMENTS?? C'mon guys, someone notices that I've come back right?

My many voices

* (Insert whining voice) Grad school is hard!! Really. I am neck deep into assignments and projects and extra credit homeworks that I need to absolutely do to get a passing grade. And you know I love the internet - blogs, youtube and all. But sometimes when I am working on the Internet Protocols project, a part of me wishes the internet was dead! (Quit whining)

* (Insert happy voice) I am going to Disneyyyyyy in December!! So yaaay! I love toons and I love theme parks, so Disney is like fairy land to me. A New York trip is also in the offing, with skiiing and all (keeping fingers crossed) (That's all the happy I can muster right now)

* (Insert this date that year voice) Today someone was talking about Hyderabad and I really miss it. It was the best 3 years of my life. Friends, money, movies, food .... Happy times (Stop reminiscing)

* (Insert heady voice) Love the remix song from Polladavan. I like the original song better though! (Song over)


*(Insert Eureka voice) The reason I listened to the above song is aahaafm I like listening to Chennai FM, makes me feel as if I am back in Chennai. But ironically, I never listened to FM when I was in India. (Wishing for more Eureka moments in projects and homeworks)

* (Insert angry voice) I hate the female at the Student Health Services who keeps insisting that I have TB though I have shown her the clear X-Ray!!! (Darn paranoid nurses who hate me)

* (Insert sleepy voice) I need a nap. I don''t know if I am getting senile or going back to babyhood, but I do need a nap. NOW (Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

And I am backkk!

Dusting the cobwebs away from my blog for the umpteenth time after numerous writer blocks. And grad school isn't helping either. Yup this blog is now brought to you from Raleigh, North Carolina and I now join the bandwagon of the American Desis at whom I directed many blog attacks.

So all ye erstwhile readers and commentors, come back and lounge in here again. (S are you listening)

I will now start off with how beautiful Raleigh is and here is a pic of fall color at a lake in our campus.
And since that is out of the way now, I can talk about what I don't like about the US of A. I hate it that we don't have autos here. I hate having to walk 25 mins or take a bus to get milk. I hate that it is nearly impossible to get good Indian food outside of home. I hate the options or the lack of it that vegetarians have in all restaurants. I hate having to talk in a fake accent to make people understand me. I hate to pay Rs 100 for a good cup of coffee. I hate to wear heavy coats thats difficult for me to lift. I wanna go back to Mummmyyy!

People who take the above paragraph seriously and accuse me of being a hypocrite can go to hell

On a totally unrelated note, what is it with these mommy bloggers who post innumerable pictures of their kids, but guard their identity with their life? If I have a kid, I would be more concerned with protecting her identity than mine. Just one word for you mommies - pedophiles!
So kind readers what's up in your lives right now? Leave me a comment and we can talk about it :-)