Rideo ergo sum

The warm fuzzies

A good friend and colleague gave me an unexpected bit of news today, that she and her husband have adopted a baby girl. I have no idea why, but the news gave me warm fuzzy feelings and I have been unaccountably happy for the rest of the day today.

I have no idea about the background of this child, but I am sure that she couldn't have a better set of parents if she had chosen them out of a catalog herself. It is people like these who make this world a better place and I wish all three of them every happiness in their lives.

I have no idea why this news has turned me into a pile of mush, but I thought that this needed to be written down and it was all I could do to stop myself from giving her a hug today! (Professional decorum frowns upon hugging in office meetings, I suppose.)

Goa fish delight...

That was what the waiter told me the drink was, when he brought us two glasses of a pale pink beverage as complimentary drinks at a Sunday Brunch. I was bewildered but bravely took a sip to figure out that it tasted strongly of guavas with a peachy aftertaste... Well with the varied accents in this country and the fact that my friend is in Goa right now, and I will be in Goa next month, can you blame me for mishearing the "Guava Peach Delight"?

Heartfelt Gratitude

The autorickshaw strike going on in Hyderabad is causing a lot of people serious inconvenience. But this is not a post on autorickshaw drivers and their tyranny, nor is it about whether or not strikes are a good thing to have. This post is to express my gratitude toward all the people who have pitched in to help their friends and colleagues who depend on autorickshaws (like me) get to work and back in the past 10 days. To all of my friends and colleagues who are going quite a bit out of their way to pick me (and others) up in the morning, or drop us home in the evening, a million thanks. May your tribe forever grow and prosper.

Natural Progression?

Here's a set of ads that I happened to look at, while browsing on reviewjournal.com.

This is a real screenshot, honest! See how it gives you a progression:
1) Meet your match (and presumably marry them for the next step)
2) Get divorced from your spouse
3) Look for true love again
4) When you can't find it, eat chocolate and strengthen your bones in the process.

How straight and simple that looks, no?

Rolling blogs...

I am now a proud member of the Atheist Blogroll!

Mangal Attacks!!!

I am listening with half a ear right now to the news on tv. There is a report on Abishek's engagement to Ash, which is of course accompanied by the whole hullaballoo about Ash being "manglik". There have been a lot of "upay" or "workarounds" suggested to get over the bad influence of Mangal or Mars over the horroscope of the girl, including getting her symbolically married to a tree!

The general idea that everyone has of the "Manglik dosha" (don't ask me what exactly it means in terms of the horroscope, just that it involves some sinister positioning of Mars) is from weird Hindi movies where a Manglik girl gets married and then a lot of misfortune befalls her new family and so on. People never really tell you what exactly is the matter with a Manglik girl, and why people say that it is likely her husband will die. But I discovered something very interesting a few years ago about this matter.

My dad has a very good friend, who shares his interest in astrology and in fact practices it beyond the amateur interest that my dad shows in it. So one fine afternoon when these two buddies had their charts and papers strewn about and were discussing horroscopes (mine, of course) I overheard my dad asking this gentleman what being Manglik means. The gentleman assured him that is wansn't anything to worry about and generally people with the Manglik dosha have very strong sexual desires, and that is why it is recommended that they should be married to another Manglik. I suppose you can imagine what I thought about that? Well I rushed to share this news with my cousin who used to live with us, and who is also a Manglik. We sometimes still giggle about having a high enough sex drive to kill a guy from exhaustion.

Anyway both she and I got married in circumstances where our parents were not able to match our horroscopes with the guy's so I will never know if my SO is Manglik or not. But for the time being he seems to be coping well under the pressure, so to speak; in fact he seems to be positively thriving.

Of course, if you have read anything of my blog before, you will know that I do not believe a word of what horrscopes are supposed to reveal to us, and so it is all irrelevant to me. But it is sad to see that people let their entire lives be ruled by these ancient systems which have ceased to have any meaning in today's world, if they ever had any. Here you can read some interesting facts and workarounds for the Manglik Dosha. Of course, if you read this, you will know that it is all a money-making enterprise, (yep, you can pay by credit card or via direct debit from the major banks!) whether it involves buying charms or getting pujas and yagyas done to reduce the Martian terror or paying a pundit to get your daughter married to a tree!

ETA: Apparently my blog has been getting loads of hits since I wrote this post, because of the typo: "Abishek". So I won't correct it, but I will add the correct spelling "Abhishek" here too, so that I don't miss out on people Googling the correct spelling!

How was my vacation?

I've been asked why I didn't post about my vacation. Well I suppose it was not one of those life-changing vacations that people seem to have all the time, where they experience some awe-inspiring sight and then things are never the same after that. Well mine was more of a comfort vacation, being pampered, first by hotel staff, and then by a favourite aunt and her mom!

First of all, in Dubai, we stayed at the Grand Hyatt, where there are 14 different outlets to eat and drink at, and a lovely, lovely spa, where you are made to feel like a queen! There was the usual bit of shopping, specially requests from friends, some walks along the creek at night, and a lot of photography. And of course, the belly dance show!

Oman was a different story. It was laid back and peaceful, with serene white buildings all over, carefully manicured greenery all over the town of Muscat, contrasting with the rugged beauty of the mountains. Thousand year old forts provided lovely photo-ops, and so did pristine beaches with not a human in sight. And then there was the food. We had a surfeit of roast chicken and schwarma to choose from. Not to mention the heavenly cooking of my great-aunt. Who had pulled out all stops to pamper her "naat-jamai" (loosely translated as "grandson-in-law") on his first visit. There were daily siestas and scenic walks overlooking the sea. There was a barbecue party and there were gifts from relatives (ooooh yes!). It was a time to recharge and relax, which we did in spades. Go look at some pictures...

A conversation

Me: "I have a friend who lives in Chennai, and her dad goes for a walk every morning on the same beach where the tsunami struck. But that day, he had to take a different route because of some procession happening, and he was safe,"

X: "Ah, that is an intervention by God."

Me: "Eh?"

X: "See, he was saved that day, because God intervened and caused him to take another route."

Me: "Oh? And what about the quarter of a million people who did die?"

X: "Ah, that is their karm."

Me: **Shrugs and just shuts up**

Nepali Dhoom?

Alright, alright, I'm back! Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I am still alive and kicking and all that. OK, reality check... most of the readers of my blog knew I was on vacation (silly, all the readers knew! That's what my last couple of posts were about!) Anyway, onto the topic of Nepali Dhoom.

I was reading a review of the new Dhoom 2 by a certain film critic who features a lot in the "Comedy Show Ha Ha Ha" and in Greatbong's blog. This phrase jumped out at me and for a second I thought the movie had been shot in Nepal: komsi-komsa".

For a few moments I was wracking my brains wondering what it means. Here's the phrase in context: "If you've tasted the best, you would never settle for anything komsi-komsa stuff later, right?" Suddenly, you see the light, eh? He means "comme ci comme ça"!!! Apart from the queasy feeling at his horrible grammar, I wonder why he has to try to use difficult words when "so so" would have done just as well (according to The dictionary of difficult words)and would have the additional benefit of being comprehensible to the reader. I am sure this guy gets paid for this job. Oh, The unfairness of the world!

Move your body like a...

Yep, I'm just back from a "Desert Safari" where I saw the belly dance performance! I am inspired. Am going out to buy myself a belly-dance belt tomorrow!!!

I'm Leeeeeaving on a Jet Plane!

Yeah yeah, very silly... but I am, really! Tomorrow morning. Off to the Middle East for a two week vacation, the first four days of which, I will be staying here. Click and be jealous!

The itinerary is Hyderabad-Dubai-Muscat-Hyderabad. I will be away till December 9th, but I'll be connected, so I will probably post a pic or ten once in a while. See y'all and oh, don't forget to buy my birthday present. I"ll be back in time for that!

Heartily Ashamed

I am heartily ashamed that my NaNoWriMo writing has been abandoned at about 1000 words (thats 49000 words short of target).

However, Aparna is going full speed on her writing and I am sure she will make the 50000 mark well before the deadline. She is probably the only one I know who is actually writing the thing and is on track.

Something wrong with sitemeter?

Sitemeter no longer gives me the referral pages that brought visitors to my blog.

So now I can no longer see what weird Google searches brought people to me. For a few days I thought that only people who knew of my blog were visiting me, but then later on looking at the details, I found that this wasn't the case. Anyone have a clue what is wrong?

Tagged again!

This is my second tag ever! This one is a little more difficult than the last one since it is a bit more free-form. Am I very silly to be excited by tags? Who cares? Here goes!!!

Rules of this Tag:

1. Name the person who tagged you.
2. 8 things about you.
3. Tag 6 people.

Name of the Person : Ms.N
Her pictures speak volumes, but her words aren't too far behind!

8 things about me
1) I am a die-hard web addict. Nothing too techie, just that I like being online all the time, on my various messengers, reading Wikipedia articles and recipes if there is nothing more pressing to take up the time. Because of this, I had to go out and buy one of the "Natural Keyboards" yesterday and now I am typing on that. It really helps! Those with any symptoms of RSI, go out and get one ASAP!!!

2) I don't like it when it gets all cloudy and grey and stays that way for days. I am more of a bright, sunshine-y kind of person.

3) I love to dance! I like to learn new kinds of dance and I am really happy when I find friends who share my interest. I am lucky to have a few of those!

4) Before reality bit me, I wanted to be an astronomer. The astronomer idea was actually a compromise from the astronaut, because when I reached the age of 9 or so, I realised that being an astronaut takes a lot of physical fitness, which was not something I was very good at (still am not, of course).

5) I am an atheist but I love visiting ancient temples. The older the better. I like ruins of all kinds, of course, but temples are usually better preserved that any other sort, and are more numerous in our country anyway. Of course I don't like going to temples that are more recently built. If it isn't at least 200 years old, it's not worth seeing, IMO.

6) I am not very fond of watching movies. They are the last candidate on my things to do on weekends, because I can't get over the idea that I will be wasting 4 hours of my weekend on a movie when I could be doing something more productive (like napping).

7) I love getting haircuts. A new and different haircut can change the way you look and can boost up sagging spirits! No wonder my hair never grows beyond shoulder length.

8) I am "dromophobic", which as far as I could find is what it means to be afraid of crossing roads.

Now to tag 6(!) people (do I even know 6 bloggers???)

Aparna, Spiral Architect, KoPoS, Anshuman, Mithun, Ritesh

Proud Participant

I am a proud participant in the NaNoWriMo. Target is to write 50,000 words by Nov 30th. Wish me luck, everyone!!! And all you wannabe novelists like me! Click on the image to go sign up!!!

Cartesian Bloggers

It's a strange co-incidence that two of the blogs that I frequent a lot (both written by Bong women) have a tagline related to DesCartes' famous quote. As does mine

Aparna says "I think, so I am" but does not go on to explain it anymore. M, on the other hand does not have the quote, or any paraphrase of it, as the blog title, but instead quotes it in her profile and gives a bit of explanation of how it applies to her. I have, of course, stolen the phrase, twisted it to suit my needs and, of course, retained the original Latin of it. When I thought it up, and then looked to google for the correct translation of what I had in my mind, I thought I was being awfully clever and original. But there are a bunch of sites listing this phrase and what it means.

DesCartes' is a quote is worthy of a "सप्रसंग व्याख्या"(think back to Sanskrit classes of yore). Though I don't think mine deserves a "व्याख्या" per se, I could at least give an "अनुवाद" and a bit of "टिप्पणी". The title of my blog can be translated to "I laugh, therefore I am". What it means to me is that in this world full of negatives, looking on the bright side is essential for me to survive. It means being an optimist and it means being able to laugh at myself. If it weren't for laughter, the terrible weight of the world around us would make it impossible to exist.

Enough thought???

When I tell any of my friends about my decision to be childfree*, they always say "I hope you have given the matter enough thought", or something to that effect. To me, this is quite incomprehensible.

I have been married for more than four years now and have a lot of time to think about it. We have talked it over between ourselves and have come to a decision. That is more than I can say for a lot of couples who have had kids. I have acquaintances where having the baby was almost a unilateral decision on part of the wife!

When a couple has a baby before their first wedding anniversary, does anyone ask them if they had given the matter enough thought? Rarely, if ever. At the most, they may be asked if it was a good idea to have a baby so soon after getting married. But once the deed is done, there is no going back, it is an irreversible act. You are bringing a human being into this world and will be responsible for raising it to adulthood. The decision will change your lives completely and will change the way you relate to each other and to everyone around you. It will have enormous repurcussions on your career(s) and one of you may have to quit working. But does anyone ever ask parents-to-be or new parent whether they have "given it enough thought"? Nope!

But when a couple wants to maintain status quo, to be as they are without bringing another factor into their relationship, to keep living their lives as they have been, then all the questions come up. Even though the decision to be childfree need not be necessarily irrriversible. With the advances in medical science, older women are having children too, and there is always the option of adoption if you are not hung up on "flesh and blood". But everyone assumes that the decision has been made on the spur of the moment, because the couple is too busy enjoying themselves to have kids right now, because they are too wrapped up in themselves and their careers and they haven't thought about having a baby at all. I personally feel that couples who make a choice to be childfree actually give the matter much more thought and deliberation than most couples who have children.

*I use the word "childfree" to indicate a concious and voluntary decision to not procreate, as opposed to "childless".

Migrated to Beta!

I have finally migrated my beloved template to beta after a lot of tweaking to make it look similar to the old blog!

Hacks used:

So lonely without you

I never liked watching TV. Even today, if my SO is out of town, I don't switch on the TV for the entire duration of his absence! I often think back to Sunday evenings in the days of Doordarshan, when all my friends would be at home, watching the weekly movie, and I would be out in the playground all by my lonesome, having no one to talk to (of course, coz my parents were also watching the movie). I don't think I ever hated television more than in those lonely three hours every week.

A similar feeling comes over me during the "festival" days. Most of the time, in this season, I stay in Hyderabad or at the most go to Pune for an extended weekend. But most of my friends and cousins in the city disappear for two weeks or so, to their hometowns, to be with family and friends. While having a friend go on vacation for a couple of weeks at any time of the year is a bit hard on me, having all of them go away together at once is really awful. Moreso because during these two weeks or so, they will not even be accessible on any of the IMs! I recently wrote a post about the fun things to do during the festive season. But now that the "extended weekend" is over, I am depressed because my friends and cousins are still not back, and I don't have anyone to share my holiday experiences with, and no new blog posts to read. And the feelings I used to have for the TV are now getting transferred to the "festive season". I suppose I'll just have to gorge on chocolate for a couple of days to get back to my usual cheery self.

Anyone ready to sponsor this dinner?

Here are some of the world's most expensive foods. I don't want the whole meal. Just the dessert will suffice. Any volunteers?

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