tag - as if!!!

Shreya seems to be very excited that ive been tagged. And Rajiv wanted something interesting to read this weekend. "How will i spend my saturday if u are not going to post??", quoting him.OK Rajiv, i know u were TRYING to be sarci, so here it is.

The rules:



1. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.

2. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.

3. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.



so here goes, 8 random facts about myself, mes amis!

1) I hate people snapping their fingers for no reason.

It irritates me,bugs me,irks me,pisses me off,gets on my nerves when i hear people snapping their fingers. It makes me want to go and rip their fingers off their palms. Strange, i dont remember having similar reactions in play school.

2) I love aavakai.(typical south indian mango pickle)

I have to have aavakai with at least one meal a day. I can have it with dosai for breakfast, rice for lunch and with rotis for dinner. Although onion and chilli pickle come a close second.

3) I always notice a guys feet and hands second. His face first of course.And his clothes. Tight t shirts and jeans are a strict no-no.

They have to be clean with short nails. I cant stand dirty fingers with long nails.Oh yeah, he should wear nice clean shoes too.

4)I was a nail polish freak between class8 and 12.

I had about 60 colours. From bright red to black. Blue,green,yellow,glitter, and all that inbetween. Im SO glad im over that stage and so are my parents.

5)I hate waking up early.

Although, if i do, i'd love to go and watch the sunrise,take a walk,listen to the birds and all that jazz. But that seems like too much of an effort. I wish they day would begin at 12 noon. Although I can compromise with 11 am. Now tell me, what is so special that you can do in the morning that you cant do a few hours later?(other than watch the sunrise.well, bully for you.) HA. u cant think of anything much that matters??? good. my point EXACTLY!

6)I need a dose of chick lit once in a while.

After a hard day at work/college/whatever, its nice to drown urself in a witty,romantic,sweet story where all guys are nice, and bring you flowers and candy and an occasional diamond bracelet.Where they'd rather spend their evening with you than rubbing paws with some grubby guys at some grubby pub drinking beer from glasses that were spit washed. And they'd cook nice yummy dinner while you put up ur tired feet. OF course it goes without saying that he's super rich,gorgeous,makes you laugh,is sensitive,and he has eyes ONLY for you.

*sigh*


7)Although I sometimes behave like I dont care, I am a very sensitive person inside.

Every little thing is dissected and pondered and analysed and mulled over and deliberated upon to the T. Not necessarily to a person as such, but in my head.

8)I love baking.

Be it cake, or cookies, or cheesecake,pudding,brownies or a souffle. I generally like baking from scratch,with flour,sugar,butter,cocoa and all.Not the ready-made mix type. I feel truly happy when everyone loves what i bake and when the little ones want "just one more piece akka!!!"

:)

A Hundred

A little something to think about, which was forwarded to me by a friend.

If the population of the Earth was reduced to that of a small town with 100 people, it would look something like this:

57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 Americans(Northern and Southern)
8 Africans

52 Women, 48 Men

70 Coloured Skins
30 Caucasians
89 Heterosexuals
11 Homosexuals

6 people would own 59% of the whole world wealth and all of them will be from the United States of America.

80 would have bad living conditions.

70 would be uneducated.

50 underfed.

1 would die.

2 would be born.

1 would have a computer.

1 (only one) will have higher education.

When you look at the world from this point of view, you can see there is a real need for solidarity, understanding, patience and education.

Also think about the following:

This morning, if you woke up healthy, then you are happier than the 1 million people that will not survive next week.

If you never suffered a war, the loneliness of the jail cell, the agony of torture,or hunger, you are happier than 500 million people in the world.

If you can enter into a church,mosque, or temple without fear of jail or death, you are happier then 3 billion people i n the world.

If there is a food in your fridge, you have shoes and clothes, you have bed and a roof, you are richer then 75% of the people in th e world .

If you have bank account, money in your wallet and some coins in the money-box, you belong to the 8% of the people on the world, who are well-to-do.

If you read this you are three times blessed because:

1. Somebody just thought of you.
2. You don't belong to the 800 million people who cannot read.
3 .And... you have a computer!


As somebody once said:

Work as if you don't need money,
Love as if you've never been hurt,
Dance, as if nobody can see you,
Sing, as if no one can hear,
Live , as if the Earth was a heaven.

The last bit was a bit too much to take at the end of the mail. A little overboard. But im not going to say anythng silly. Let the words have their effect on you and just say a silent prayer of thanks to your parents and God for making you the way you are.

SO awwwwww!

This is one of the most beautiful poems i've read.It was written by A. i couldnt resist posting it here.

The moon shining bright above,
The sweet wind flowing with love,
And i ride the wind, towards you it blows,
Every second i get closer, my love for you grows.
The trees, the flowers,the mountains bow down,
Seeing you my queen, my heart, your crown;
As the wind gets sets me next to you without a fall,
I'd lay there forever, forever and all.

Needless to say, this wasnt written by me. My poetry is strictly of the 'roses are red,violets are blue' kind. so NATURALLY, this is something that is waaay beyond my poetic ability!

the sky is the limit - not literally!

This cliche has been exploited(in want of a better word) to the maximum. and im not talking about the weather here, which by the way is AWESOME!!! tell me, who has seen nice,light rainy days in chennai during june??? none i tell u. ask around and see. take a survey, a census, a poll, a vote, a few opinions. This year is different. so different that we are all wondering of the one above has blessed our very own chennai with some good fortune in the likes of the climate this year(yes, i have studied geography and I know the difference between weather and climate). But as they all say I shouldn't say this aloud too much and 'put the evil eye on us'. :-/

What I was actually saying was there are limits to cliches too. Especially if u live in a city which considers itself traditional, and does weird things to make it more 'happening'. Im talking about none other than our pattu podavais(silk sarees).
When they came up with an ulle velliye(inside-outside) saree, we dint say anything. The specialty was that it is one colour when you are inside, and changes colour when you go into the sun. Something i would NEVER wear, but hmmm ok..people do have different tastes.
Next was a saree with a pocket, we dint say anything more than before.After all, it can be kind of useful even though it looks weird. Another store is competing by making matching cell phone pouches with the saree you buy. We can deal with that in some convoluted way.
We thought they exhausted all ideas when they came up with a denim saree(suitable for all ages, quoting the bilboard). The pic was of some hot model wearing this super low saree,sleeveless blouse with tassles, a gun holster and a cowboy hat. She looked like she lost her way from kancheepuram to Kansas(i dont know if kansas is a cowboy town, but it just rhymes. better than saying Kancheepuram to Austin). Probably because even the horse felt embarrassed to be seen with her.
But let me tell you, we were sadly mistaken. This new idea REALLY takes the cake.
This is called jodi pattu(couple silks). Matching silk saree and matching shirt. Silk saree for the wife and a silk shirt for the husband which is the colour of the pallu. The shirt looks so gay, even a gay man wouldnt touch it with a ten foot pole. The picture is of this happy couple with the husband wearing that disgusting shirt with zari down the front. Cream shirt with leaves in gold and embroidery and green zari. GREEN.
Isnt it time someone does something about their warped sense of 'fashion'?? I cant imagine what they would think of next. I cant even think of anything more ridiculous than this to make fun of.
It has some advantages though. In case the husband's shirt gets burnt under the iron or ripped in the wash, all the wife has to do is cut off her pallu and make another shirt for him.
Simple na? all's well that ends well. After all, the sky is the limit.

new anklets :-) :-(

I bought a new pair of silver anklets today. And i love them. They look kind of traditional, but will still look nice on jeans and whatever else.
What brought about a mixed feeling was that i exchanged my old silver anklets for the new ones. Although i havent worn them for a long, long time now, they were a part of my childhood. Just looking at them made me think of the time when i wore them, those little silver bells on my feet. Those years where nothing much seemed to matter. They just seem like faded sepia photos in my head, ones i so badly want to splash with colour and get them back again. Now, all we have are the videos and photos of us as kids, priceless frozen pieces of time.
The moment I took the anklets out of that satin pouch this evening, before going to the jewellery store, i had such a strange feeling. I was looking at them after such a long time cause they were locked up at the bank ever since they became too small for me.It was as if i was practically holding a part of my childhood, one I am giving away for the next phase of my life(im not talking about the crazy teenage years here).
Those anklets somehow mean more to me than i ever made it out to be.I just probably havent been very vocal about it.
Those were the ones i made my cousin wear when i dressed HIM up as a girl when he was 2 and I, six. Poor thing, he was too small to even understand what i was doing, i happily made him wear a frock,make up, managed to put that little fountain like ponytail on the top of his head and pose for a photograph!!
Needless to say, it is one of my all time favourite photos!
Amma told me i can wear them only tomorrow. Apparently something new shouldnt EVER be done on a tuesday. I have no idea why. Just like I have no idea why we shoudnt cut our nails after 6 PM, or have a haircut on a tue/friday(i forget which one), or ask someone where they are going just before they leave the house, or never sneeze just before u leave to go somewhere.
So from tomorrow, i am going to have pretty silver anklets on my pretty feet.

today!

I dint get mad at anyone the whole day today.i dint get grumpy or irritated or even remotely bugged with anyone. Not even secretly!
Today was pretty much normal. The usual rigmarole.Woke up, went to work, worked of course,got home, went to the tailor to get an absolutely cute top stitched.i hope she deosnt screw it up if not i'l SCREAM.cause it costs more then the skirt i picked it up for. Its true the price of women's clothing is inversely proportional to the lenght of the dress!
just had a nice dinner! curd rice and chips! yeah i know what a simple life i lead. your grandmother would be proud of me.
i shouldnt have shot my mouth off. I am bordering on irritation now! that stupid irctc site is not allowing us to book train tickets. @#$%.

on gtalk right now :

prith :
$#^##^ &I^&I( ^%$$^Q %^#*^#*
here i cant even select the %^#^$ ^& station,,, %$^%$@%$@^

n u wanna plan another $#^ &#%^ trip
$%#%&$^&^%&#%$& *$# 2& %*#%^ @& &@^%&#%&#&^@%^$ $%^%^*& #

clearly i have a slight temper

(btw, i was just planning a goa trip in my head. i dont thnk thats on p's mind right now..

fine... im sure the others would loove the idea >:-P )

ok back to the point.

today was one of those days when u love the world.

when the sun is all bright and nice, just the right amount, a little rain too.

when ur happy to be alive.

when u know nothing can go wrong.

when u just want to smile and laugh and make others happy.

when u feel like this is how life should be.

when u know that everything is going to be back to normal tomo and you'll probably wake up grumpy not wanting to go to work and screaming at the auto guy in the morning. and the tailor calls to tell you that those sequins you wanted are not available anywhere on the face of this earth and not even on mars or venus or wherever they claim women are from.or men for that matter.

yes, we optimists always look at the glass half full.

salt and saffron

Once upon a time, there were 2 girls. lets call them P and Q. This once upon a time can be now, 50 yrs back or 50 yrs into the future.My mathematical genius of a mind is saying that i am now in the middle of the bell curve(ok.im not so sure.so what?? ). OK.back to the point. P and Q were happlily living in the city W. P was what u can call a 'homely', 'nice' and all the words associated with 'good girls'. especially in a city like W, which is just about starting to accept there are other things in life than studies, weddings,work and kids. movies, coffee shops, and clubs(oh!!shocking!! do u actually GO there???) are mushrooming around the city. so u can think of a place that has its mixture of kacheri and the 'club culture'. P is from a family that 'protects' their women. going out after 6 PM, wearing jeans, etc are all frowned upon by the elders in the family as foward behaviour."look at this generation" they all say, "the kind of things they do.what is going to happen to their children.they are going to grow up with no culture" is their favourite line, forgetting that their parents said that about them and their parents and the so on till 12 century B.C. although they call themselves 'modern'. "why??whats wrong with us?? we allow our girls to go to college, and work. we also let them have a say in the boy we choose for them. we are very modern. in my time, i dint meet my husband until the wedding day.consider yourself lucky, young woman."

Q was from a 'liberal' family. She was brought up with the same freedom as her brother. She could wear whatever she wants(although no noodle straps as her dad would put it), go out late(not after 10 pm)club once in a while, hang out with her friends.after all everyone has to draw the line somewhere with girls. Her parents trusted her and she dint let them down by having a boyfriend. Boys who are friends are fine. but no BOYFRIEND. and there was no pressure on her as such to get married, although she finished college a year back. "take sometime for yourself till next year" her parents said and she was ok with it. "what more could a girl ask for? she's enjoying herself now.she's not ready to get married. when she is,we'll tell you" said her parsnts.

Now life was all hunky-dory for both the sets of parents, and family, other than the occasional outburst of an argument. nothing that a little emotional blackmail can't put an end to. thats what we all are specialists at aren't we? epecially as we grow older. "is this how you repay your parents after ALL we have done for you?? girls your age should be married. only then it will put you in your place. Thats why they always say you should get your daugheter married early.If you dont, they will start getting too independent".

About the girls. Although P was brought up to be quiet and that jazz, she really enjoyed going out. whether it was movies, an occasional lunch with friends, shopping, she was always the center of attention. she loved cutting ancient history class and watching the first day first show on friday mornings of popular movies. Her quiet demeanour belied her actual self. Although Q hung out with a group who liked to go out and have fun, she was an introvert. She preferred spending time with friends and family instead of saturday night out. Her idea of a good time was reading a book and munching chocolate and having her best friend stay over for the night.

Now, we know what kind of girls P and Q are, what kind of families they have and what kind of a city W is. But do we really KNOW what kind of PEOPLE they are? what they really like? what DO they do for fun? what is it that makes them tick? Has anyone cared to find out? The family and the so called friends and neighbours, 'society' . Not being judgemental is all it takes. Let each person be who they are. Who they ultimetely grow up to be. Of course, discipline has to be instilled as a child. The 'society' we grow up in is confused by itself. Can we meet even one person who knows what he or she wants? or what family wants from him? on one hand they say they want us to be happy and do what we want.But when we do, it is wrong. Who makes these rules? who says that this and that should or shouldnt be done.

At the end of the day there is no prize for being a good woman. Are the ones who did the 'bad' things when they were young living in some godforaken part of the world in shame? they are all either happily married/single/divorced just like the rest of us. Then what is all this fuss about? As long as you dont intentionally harm or hurt anyone, why cant we just BE? Thats all every woman wants, right? To have time for themselves, so that they can get to know who they really are. And not who they HAVE to be. The good girl, the good wife, the good mother.