General Rambles (aka I am Offically Out of Sensible Titles)

I love visiting used book stores. I have written about this in the past as well. I love the smell of freshly minted books as anyone else, but I think that old books have more character. Also the smell of old books take me back to Easwari Lending Library, where I spent many happy hours as a child. Yesterday, I went to Frugal Muse, a new used book store that I had been meaning to check out for a couple of months now. And it was really different than the second hand book sellers that I had been used to in India. All books were in very very good condition. Everything was neatly categorized and sorted alphabetically (which makes me think that more than half the cost of the book is the cost of identifying it and placing it at the right spot) But I missed digging through the piles of books and finding a hidden gem. Or just picking books that looked interesting. I remember when S and I were kids, we went to the platform book sellers near ESI Hospital in KK Nagar (this was back when my husband actually used to read for pleasure!) We spent nearly an hour and I was so happy to dig through piles with S. Once, during my final semester at Pilani, I went to Rungta House to sell the textbooks I couldn't carry home. And digging through the ginormous book stacks filled with textbooks in all editions, I came across a Wodehouse! I was thrilled beyond measure and incredulous that someone would actually sell "Righto Jeeves!" Long story short, that book cost more money than I got from selling my texts, but I still have that book (that is if my mom hasn't thrown it away or donated it very generously).

You all know best that I love watching sitcoms. Back in Hyd, my sitcom watching was whatever was on Zee English and Star World and the DVDs from the US sent by S to me and by K's brother to her. When I landed in the US, Grad living did not permit the time and cash for TV and satellite/cable. So I caught up most of the shows on hulu and other sites on my trusty laptop. Going to Florida to visit S would equate to a TV wonderland for me and I would be loathe to stir out of the sofa to actually go out somewhere in Tampa. Naturally when I got a job and my own apartment, the first thing I did was to buy a decent TV and a get it hooked to Dish. You would think that all is for best and that the reason I don't blog is because I am too busy watching TV. Well you are almost there, except I am watching the same shows over and over and over. I have 15-20 shows that are set to record on the DVR and barring the the current ones which have new episodes almost every week, I always end up watching staples like Seinfeld, King of Queens, Frasier, Will & Grace etc. And I have watched every episode there is of these shows and I am too lazy to try and find reruns of some interesting old shows. This wasn't a problem when I was using my laptop as my primary entertainment device. Since there was no schedule of any sorts, I would dig and find a lot of new things to watch. So gentle readers, do you see my dilema? Since I pay an obscene amount of money to Dish each month, I feel a moral obligation to watch my money's worth of shows on TV. But digging through hundred channels trying to find something new is not easy. This is where you, the readers of this blog who have excellent taste in TV viewing, come in. Suggest shows for me to watch. Doesn't have to very good - these are shows that I would see while cooking or have in the background while getting dressed for work (I know I watch too much TV) etc. So it has to be new content and at least slightly interesting and funny. So suggest away!

Traveling J

Hello my lovelies! How is the new year treating you so far?

I would like to announce that after 2.5 years of stepping foot into this country, I am finalllly going to visit the other coast! (I know I live in the Midwest and not the East Coast, but then the West Coast is still the other coast, no?) I leave tomorrow afternoon and have stuff to do on Friday. But on Saturday, I will be in LA, living it up Hollywood style. R has told me that I wouldn't really spot any celebrities, which does leave me a little upset. But I do get to go to Universal Studios though! I know people usually complain about going to theme parks, but me I just love them! Love love love. And R has very graciously decided to drive down 7 hours, just to meet moi and S. Is he a friend or what! So this weekend is going to be all about fun.

The next weekend will find me in Toledo, Ohio, where I intend to stay until Tuesday, assuming my manager lets me work from home for 2 days. Keeping fingers crossed! So we are planning to go to Detroit, eat at a "good" Indian restaurant and then watch Aayirathil Oruvan - the good Desis we are :-)

Also we are planning an anniversary trip in March (since Feb will not work for S due to work related reasons) Right now sunny Florida is on our radar. When I visited Daytona Beach a year or 2 ago, I remember seeing this hotel that was right on the beach. Too bad I didn't make note of the name of that place. Anyhoo I would like to stay at someplace where we would get a view of the water from our room and would have to just walk out to step into the water. Hopefully we will find someplace soon.

I guess I have rambled enough about my upcoming travel plans. If you are going to take just one thought away from this post, it should be this - this weekend I am going to be in Sunny California and you aren't! Maybe if you guys behave well enough, I might post some pictures. Keep watching this space.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year to all my reader(s)! I hope 2010 brings all your dreams to life.

Personally, 2009 has been hands down the worst year of my life so far! With the the exception of getting married, there has been a dearth of good significant events in my life. And even for the wedding, the days leading to it were horrendous, with everyday being a marathon scream session with my parents. All because of one single person! And that said single person is yet to call/mail or even know if we are still alive after the wedding. But I digress. Now that 2009 is behind me, I would like to think that 2010 has begun on a better note. It is not that, I don't want to face any problems in 2010, but I would like to have some normal problems in 2010. You know, the kinds I see my friends and others complain about!

And yes, I have some resolutions for this year too. The usual ones - a healthier lifestyle and pay down debt. And I would like to have a more positive outlook towards life. People who know me in real life, know that I am pessimist. And S is even more so! My parents feel that this sort negativity might add to our misery and maybe if we wished good things for ourselves instead of wallowing in our self pity, something good might actually happen. So I've decided to be thankful what I actually have and start believing in myself. In that note, I am thankful that we can afford for S to fly down every weekend and I believe that we will be together soon. :-)

So gentle readers, what are you looking forward to the most in 2010?

One of Those Days

I have a lot of things to rant about. Like about how my manager asks a co-worker to go home early coz she's just back from India, but I wasn't even asked how I felt when I came back from India. Or about watched phones never ringing. Or even about about how I spent all my paycheck in just 3 days. But S is here with me and everything is alright with the world. :-)

Happy Festivus, to the rest of us! :-)

Yet Another Sleepy Friday Afternoon

Since this blog has long lost its credibility and well written pieces, I thought I might as well make a bullet list of things on my mind right now.

• People who complain about bad roads in India, should drive in Madison in winter! Seriously, they can now give stiff competition to the mud roads back there. The slush and ice are driving me nuts and I feel like I am traveling on a maatu vandi. Atleast back home, your brakes don't stop working.

• In the same vein, could someone just take all the snow away? I am sick of it already and it's just December. There's about 3 feet of snow sitting pretty on my patio right now. My body is built for Madras - wearing even one sweater is a big deal for me. Oh I wish I lived in Florida.

• I've realized that I wear yellow gold earrings, a white gold diamond ring (thanks S), a platinum ring that somewhat resembles a wedding band (thanks Viji Athai) and a sterling silver chain. Nothing matches! I think I would do well to get a new set of everyday wear jewelery - preferably from Tiffany. Wow this is far cry from the girl I used to be - who hated jewelery of any kind.

• A watched phone never rings. You can add this nugget to the treasure chest of wisdom that I have bestowed upon all readers over the years. And also a constantly refreshed mailbox, never gets new mail.

• Despite not being a Christian, I love Christmas (Disclaimer To Appa : Except the Jesus part of it. I still firmly believe in Venkachalapathy) Well decorated trees, beautiful ornaments and gifts! What's not to love about it? I really wanted a tree at home this year, but then no-one visits me. And it would be pretty sad to throw a Christmas party by myself for myself. But I have been playing Secret Santa at work though. It's been a fun week, finding small gifts at my desk each day. And all so beautifully wrapped. All my gifts have been going in store bought gift bags.

• I wanted to write something about Super Mario Galaxy, but people are telling me that there' are too many obscure references to Mario in th blog. So I will refrain from talking about it. Except to say I only have 18 stars left to capture before I finish the game in entirety.

That's all folks. Have a rocking weekend!

Of Rambles and Such

So I am back to the US after an awesome 3 weeks in Madras. Trips going back home are always nice, but when you have to leave it is such a gut wrenching feeling that leaves (or atleast me) questioning why I left in the first place. It was no fun that I had to come back alone, which led to a lot of sobbing on the flight while watching movies that were even a wee bit emotional. Again, my resolve is strengthened about moving back to India in another 4-5 years, when I can finish paying off my education loan.

Madison seems more desolate now than when I left it. Probably due to the sun disappearing at 4pm. Just coming back from India, coupled with winter blues has made for a very depressed Janani. (Yeah go figure, I have even started referring to myself in the third person) And it doesn't help at all that it started snowing today - enough to cover the grass.

What's the point of this post you ask? Just to inform kind, gentle readers that the author of this blog is depressed, restless and lonely. My mother is of the opinion that I should make more friends at the Indian store, temple and so on. So if you see a crazy female at these aforementioned places handing out a flier with name, age, occupation, orkut profile, facebook profile, twitter page etc you know that it's your truly.

Since this whole post it a rambling mess, why don't I just write more to make a huge rambling mess. Like I tweeted (or twittered whichever the right word is) the only thing that was holding my interest was Super Mario Galaxy. But since then I have defeated Bowser and rescued the princess, I am not liking the Purple Coin comets! I want to buy Super Mario Bros, but S has become kanjoos lately and is refusing to buy it for me, nor is he buying it for me (unless it's a secret gift that he is bringing along with him when he coming home tomorrow) S's bro B, has greatly insulted me by laughing outright when I said I like Mario games, but he assuaged my ego by telling me that no-one's Manni plays games on the Wii and so I am redeemed and elevated to starry heights in Mannydom. I told B that maybe if I owned a PS3, I would play games of worthier mention, but like I said before S has become kanjoos and it's become more and more difficult to pry money from him. I suspect his recent konjoosness has stemmed from knowing only now, how much I actually owe in education loans to the bank, my father, Viji Athai, K and the pakkathu veetu nai kutti. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard the total figure I owe and I quickly reminded him that since we were married and half my debt is rightfully his. Add to that 2 car loans and the amount we owe is quite staggering. Hmm, maybe it is time to cut down on the Starbucks lattes and the Wii games I buy and then immediately dislike.

In other news, I have started positively disliking tv since coming back. I do not attribute this to Adithya TV and Sirippoli TV in Madras. All I am saying is that I am bored of watching rererererererereruns of sitcoms. This is also why I need a PS3, so that I could watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia from hulu on TV. Also I am now taking sitcom suggestions from commoners (that you!) If you do recommend a show and I start watching it and like it, you could go down in history as the person who actually recommended something to the sitcom queen (or sitcom junkie, I prefer queen) So suggest away you lesser folk!

Madras Ahoy

Well I started this post as a Toys R Us/toys for kids in general rant. But then I figured I might as well make it a what's-up-in-my-life-now kinda post. I know it's very charitable of me, but I have since learned that I have a few more uncommenting readers and a couple more interested in the joining the Janani-blog-reader bandwagon, provided I get them a laptop from the US, bookmark my blog clearly as "Janani's Blog" in all browsers and leave a prominent link on the desktop. The lengths I go to make people read my blog! Whew!

As you all know, a trip to India is in the offing, and one of the highlights of the trip is that I get to meet my cute nephew/cousin A (Yeah our family relationships are pretty weird) From what I see in the pics, A is the cutest, sweetest, most good looking baby in the world (despite resembling his father! :-)) So I wanted to buy something for him and I headed into Toys R Us. After stopping for awhile in the Wii/Playstation aisle, I figured I would head into the preschool/infant section and be spoiled for choice. Boy was I wrong! What's with the toys for kids these days? Why do all of them have 1000 small loose parts that are definitely going to get lost 5 minutes after opening the toy. And why do all the toys make some sort of noise? My expectations were simple - I wanted to get something for A to play with, something that endures for atleast a month in entirety. There were a lot of walker kind of toys, but I didn't want to get those since his parents might have some definite ideas about that and buy that themselves. And for the same reason, I didn't want to buy any DVDs since his parents may have some rules about the kind of DVDs they want for their child. (Though I was sorely tempted to buy Blues Clues seeing the kind of publicity it gets on TV shows) Ultimately I chose to buy a Leap Frog product that makes a noise, but seems to be reasonable (atleast as per my standards). And also I like the ads on TV for Leap Frog and really think they are edutaining. And while I am at it, what's with all the pink and glitter for girl babies? I dream of having a daughter someday, whom I can dress in a pink frock and a bow, but isn't there something as too much pink? And I was also buying a baby doll for one of my aunt's friends. Most of them were cute and lifelike and said Mama, Papa and giggled to a good effect. And then I saw them. Pooping baby dolls. Ewwwww! Really, do kids like them? And more importantly do you want your kid to play with doll poop? Ewww!

And I was sorely disappointed with the service at Toys R Us. I walked to an employee and asked her for suggestions to get something for a 6 month old boy. Her only remark was to comment that I was in the right aisle before politely walking away. Contrast this with Barnes and Noble where I have been thrice to get books for babies and toddlers. The staff there were very helpful, walking with me across all the aisle and pointing the different kinds of books and what babies might like. And to top all these, I realize that the Leap Frog toy that I bought in Toys R Us is almost $8 cheaper online and in Walmart. Makes me feel silly now, taking the pains to go to Toys R Us. I have half a mind to return the stuff in Toys R Us and buy it from Walmart!!!

Talking about shopping for India, buying something for Appa has been an epic fail! :-( My parents never ask anything for themselves. Don't get me wrong here, they make me buy plenty from here, but everything is for someone else. When it comes them, they don't want me to buy anything that costs more than $1. So I was pleasantly surprised when my Dad, for the first time in his life, asked for something without my begging and cajoling. He said that he wanted a couple of good quality T shirts, which are collared and had a front pocket (for the times when he is in a veshti). So the next time I am in the mall, I figured I would check the out the T shirts and to my horror I found that none of the T shirts had a pocket on them. I became desperate and yesterday when I was in Kohls, I saw collared T shirts with a pocket on them. I called S in glee and discussed which size would fit Appa and then I noticed that they were full arm T shirts! I sorrowfully called home and told him I would buy shirts instead, which he didn't want. To cheer me up, he asked me to get a 2010 diary for him, the only stipulation being each day had 1 page dedicated to it (My father is an avid diary writing for decades now and he needs a lot of space for the kind of details he maintains in his diary) Again, after scouring Barnes & Noble, Borders and the likes I failed to find him one. So finally he asks for the DVD of a movie called "Seven Times Seven" that came in the 60s or for Laurel and Hardy DVDs with some specific episodes. Again, unable to find the movie DVD and the required episodes are spead over multiple DVDs which cost $45 apiece if at all they are available!

On the subject of buying things for India, I am really at a loss for what to get for everyone. I think people who lived in the US a decade ago had it easy, coz these days anything I mention has people going "Oh we get these in India now." Well, I am giving up on buying anything for anyone this time, due to the lack of time and monies. It makes me feel a little sad because I used to love getting stuff from V Mama when I was a kid. But then, you people get everything in India now right? :-)

Ok I have to sign off. Gotta go and buy random crap to take home :-)