I'm supposed to be studying right now. Ha.
But today I realized that after 8 months of living in Pittsburgh, I haven't blogged about anything substantial.
So here goes:
My First and Only Crush at CMU (aka The Lil Coward)
---------------------------------------------------------------
The first time I saw Him, it was during Negotiations class in the summer semester. I instantly knew that He was different.
By the end of our first group discussion, He made me laugh so hard that I had tears in my eyes.
I liked Him. A lot.
I dropped the class after the first week though. Why? Because I thought I couldn't handle it. The class, I mean. :)
I thought I wouldn't see Him again. But I did, two weeks later at the bus-stop.
I was running to catch my uni bus at the bus-stop. And because Kismet wanted a chuckle, I was wearing a pair of Horrible Magic Jeans.
You know, those jeans that seemed to fit you snug but the moment you think about increasing your pace, they magically start to fall off, no matter what belt you wear. Unfortunately, all my pairs of jeans belong to that category.
So there I was, oblivious to everything except the moving bus, ignoring all known traffic rules of the road, running with one arm hitched around a hip to hold onto the Magic jeans and thus Ms Modesty. No sign of Ms Dignity though. She left the moment I saw the bus.
Anyway, I saw Him standing at the same bus stop that I was trying so desperately to get to. So I stopped for a split second. He was watching me and He was smiling. Uh oh. That's so not a good sign.
I thought to myself: 'Hold on. Maybe I should forget about the bus and instead take this chance to talk to Him. At least get Him to know my name.'
But being the Lil Coward I was, I didn't do that. Instead, I got into the bus (which I managed to catch after all). The bus moved along and soon, He was left behind.
This is not the end, though.
In the fall semester, He and I took IT Business Leadership together.
He always sat ahead of me. Which I did not mind at all.
I found out that He had a YouTube channel. So I stalked His channel a sufficient amount of time.
And listened to every word He spoke in class.
Sometimes, I would find Him walking ahead of/behind me when we got out of class.
So, did I ever speak to Him? No. The Lil Coward inside wouldn't let me.
Now I don't think that He is the greatest person who ever lived anymore. He is just an ex-classmate of mine.
But He'll also always be that cute guy I liked at CMU; the one who saw me running, holding onto my Magic Jeans. :)
Friday, January 20, 2012
Snow
Don't ask. Maybe this is my first and only post of 2012. Maybe there are more to come.
All I know is that it's too beautiful outside to not write about it.
I'm at the Hunt Library Cafe. Snuggled right next to the window. A cup of hot chocolate at my side. Soft music in the background.
It's snowing and let me tell you, the view is breath-taking. Everything is dusted with what seems like a soft coat of fine icing sugar.
I could sit here for ages.
All I know is that it's too beautiful outside to not write about it.
I'm at the Hunt Library Cafe. Snuggled right next to the window. A cup of hot chocolate at my side. Soft music in the background.
It's snowing and let me tell you, the view is breath-taking. Everything is dusted with what seems like a soft coat of fine icing sugar.
I could sit here for ages.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Resistance is [Truly] Futile
I went to the beauty salon the other day to get my eyebrows done.
Since this was an American salon, I was going to have my eyebrows waxed for the first time in my life.
"How would you like your eyebrows?", the lady asks.
"Mine are quite thick. So I'd like them a bit thinner," I reply.
"Got it", the lady says.
10 minutes later, my eyebrows look like this:
My sis now calls me Spock.
Damn you, Supercuts, damn you.
So what now? Well, live long and prosper. :|
Since this was an American salon, I was going to have my eyebrows waxed for the first time in my life.
"How would you like your eyebrows?", the lady asks.
"Mine are quite thick. So I'd like them a bit thinner," I reply.
"Got it", the lady says.
10 minutes later, my eyebrows look like this:
My sis now calls me Spock.
Damn you, Supercuts, damn you.
So what now? Well, live long and prosper. :|
Friday, June 24, 2011
It's That Special Time of the Year
Come June and I think about: term exams, summer and of course, my birthday!
Like everybody else, I've always loved my birthday. When I was young and since we had to wear uniforms to school, I treasured the day when I got to wear 'color dress', choose that special 'friend' and go around distributing chocolates. My birthdays were spent with family then. I'd cut some cake with friends/relatives and then we'd have a grand dinner afterward.
Then there was the first time I celebrated my birthday without my family: I was 19 (during my first year of college). Even though I was feeling really blue, my friends cheered me up and we celebrated it with a lot of pomp so that I didn't miss my folks too much.
Now I fondly think of all those surprise parties I had in the past. A particular one stands out: I going with Reena to ChicKing at Cochin, expecting to meet a new friend, and getting a party instead. The funny part was that when my friends jumped out from behind the counters and started singing, I thought they were singing for Reena. I didn't get it that they were in fact singing for me. :D
My 23rd birthday was the weirdest of them all. That day, I was irritated because my sister chose an Aerosmith concert over me (ok, maybe I'd do the same) and my friends was ignoring me the whole day. So I organized a dinner with my then-new colleagues. But during dinner, my friends surprised me by showing up. Yes, I fell for the oldest trick in the book. :| Anywho, they presented me with a diamond pendant. I still wear that pendant to this day. :)
The day before I turned 24, I was feeling a bit lonely in Bangalore because my sister-cum-roommie was away living in Tokyo for a long time and my best friend had just left the city for her higher studies. I had finished moving into a new apartment. I was tired and unhappy. A lil bit of self pity was thrown in as well. Anyways, I had just got into bed when at 11:50 pm, I got a call from Saneef.
'Hey. Come on downstairs and meet me at the front gate', Saneef said.
'What? Now?' I asked.
'Yeah. Come downstairs now.'
So I was like, Ok. He wants to wish me before heading home for the night.
When I got out to see him, he said, 'Ok, get into the car. We're going someplace.'
'You're kidding, right?'
'No. Just get in. We're going to Trissul (the guys' hangout place). It will be fun.'
So I did, thinking that I was going to my friends' place for my birthday. I was already feeling touched when Saneef suddenly stopped the car in front of the Leela Palace.
'We're here', he said.
I was shocked. 'You're joking, right? I'm in my PJs!'
Now, folks, we're not talking about any normal set of PJs. We're talking about a piece of rag that I have been clinging onto since the age of 14. No matter how much my friends, sister and even my mom coaxed me, I could never throw that damn thing away. And I went to the Leela in that rag.
But I quickly overcame my embarrassment when I saw my friends. Oh my, I was felt so special! My friends, along with my best friend who came back to Bangalore only for my birthday, gathered around to sing 'Happy Birthday'. It was a wonderful start to a wonderful day, and I loved my friends more than ever for that.
Last year, I had 3 birthday parties: one with my college mates, one with my sister and room mates and another one with my close friends from work. The ones with my colleagues was hilarious. I, as usual, least expected it, and we went to Kyra, the dining+live theater lounge. I can't go too much into the details right now, but let's just say that I have never laughed so hard... and neither have my friends. :) The other parties were also a lot of fun. Can you imagine me with 3 birthday cakes? I was in heaven. :D
This year, I spent my birthday in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, I had a major assignment to finish so I couldn't properly relax. But I thank my new room mates that they tried to make it a special day anyway. :)
Well, more news later.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
(Almost) Change Of Heart
One word: OMG.
I joined the MISM graduate program at CMU 2 weeks ago.
Me on 16th May, 2011: 'I know that the 1 year program will be tough. But I'm Supa Woman. Of course, I can handle it.'
Me on 27th May, 2011: 'Ok, I have re-think this. Can I do this? For real?'
Folks, I'm not Supa Woman. And that's something I'm taking very hard. :'(
It's the beginning of a long weekend (on account of Memorial Day), and all my hopes of taking it easy for at least 1 day has been dashed. Why? Because of the mountain load of assignments. Even Professional Writing is difficult for me. :(
Did I make a mistake? Should I not have left Bangalore? Maybe not, considering my sister and my friends. But otherwise, definitely yes. I got all that I could from the city. There was nothing else for me.
Yeah, this 1 year's going to be difficult. Lots of sleepless nights and even more hard work. But hopefully, 2 years from now, I'm going to look back and say: 'It was worth it.'
More posts on my life and the city of Pittsburgh to come soon... ie whenever I get time! :)
I joined the MISM graduate program at CMU 2 weeks ago.
Me on 16th May, 2011: 'I know that the 1 year program will be tough. But I'm Supa Woman. Of course, I can handle it.'
Me on 27th May, 2011: 'Ok, I have re-think this. Can I do this? For real?'
Folks, I'm not Supa Woman. And that's something I'm taking very hard. :'(
It's the beginning of a long weekend (on account of Memorial Day), and all my hopes of taking it easy for at least 1 day has been dashed. Why? Because of the mountain load of assignments. Even Professional Writing is difficult for me. :(
Did I make a mistake? Should I not have left Bangalore? Maybe not, considering my sister and my friends. But otherwise, definitely yes. I got all that I could from the city. There was nothing else for me.
Yeah, this 1 year's going to be difficult. Lots of sleepless nights and even more hard work. But hopefully, 2 years from now, I'm going to look back and say: 'It was worth it.'
More posts on my life and the city of Pittsburgh to come soon... ie whenever I get time! :)
Thursday, August 5, 2010
From Here to There
For the past 3 weeks, I have been relying on autos to get me around in the morning.
I have to haggle like crazy at 6 am in the morning to get to the gym (as a result of which I'd be in a bad mood for an hour) and then once again at 8am, I have to bargain again to get to the office.
Today was another usual day. I thought that the routine would repeat itself. I got into an auto. 'CMH Road', I told the driver. He nodded and started his engine. 'That's a first', I thought to myself. Usually, I have to coax autoriskhaw drivers into driving me the 3 odd kms.
After a short while, the meter started counting really quickly. I instantly thought, So that's why he's willing to take me to CMH road without any extra fare. The meter is rigged.
When the auto finally stopped, the meter read Rs 33. I waited for the driver's demand since the new meter rates have started being implemented. The driver turned around and said to me, 'Pay me Rs 35.'
I was surprised. That's it?
He saw me hesitate and said, 'This is not my autorikshaw. My friend drives it. He's rigged the meter and then demands extra fare from his customers. By the old rates, it's only Rs 27 to get here. I know that.'
I was kind of shell shocked to hear a rick driver openly admit that people of his trade rig meters and extort money.
Anyways, I found out that I was Re 1 short. 'Do you have change if I give you Rs 10 extra?' I asked him.
He: 'Give me whatever you have. That's enough for me.'
I was even more stunned. I told him, 'Thankyou, Bhaiya. Thanks a lot.'
An honest guy who stuck by his principles, in the heart of Bangalore.
After I was done with gym, I got into my second auto ride of the day. This driver demanded Rs 20 extra (we settled for Rs 10) and cursed me whenever his vehicle hit a pothole.
The usual.
Whatay contrast, don't you think?
I have to haggle like crazy at 6 am in the morning to get to the gym (as a result of which I'd be in a bad mood for an hour) and then once again at 8am, I have to bargain again to get to the office.
Today was another usual day. I thought that the routine would repeat itself. I got into an auto. 'CMH Road', I told the driver. He nodded and started his engine. 'That's a first', I thought to myself. Usually, I have to coax autoriskhaw drivers into driving me the 3 odd kms.
After a short while, the meter started counting really quickly. I instantly thought, So that's why he's willing to take me to CMH road without any extra fare. The meter is rigged.
When the auto finally stopped, the meter read Rs 33. I waited for the driver's demand since the new meter rates have started being implemented. The driver turned around and said to me, 'Pay me Rs 35.'
I was surprised. That's it?
He saw me hesitate and said, 'This is not my autorikshaw. My friend drives it. He's rigged the meter and then demands extra fare from his customers. By the old rates, it's only Rs 27 to get here. I know that.'
I was kind of shell shocked to hear a rick driver openly admit that people of his trade rig meters and extort money.
Anyways, I found out that I was Re 1 short. 'Do you have change if I give you Rs 10 extra?' I asked him.
He: 'Give me whatever you have. That's enough for me.'
I was even more stunned. I told him, 'Thankyou, Bhaiya. Thanks a lot.'
An honest guy who stuck by his principles, in the heart of Bangalore.
After I was done with gym, I got into my second auto ride of the day. This driver demanded Rs 20 extra (we settled for Rs 10) and cursed me whenever his vehicle hit a pothole.
The usual.
Whatay contrast, don't you think?
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Jam... and Not the Strawberry Kind
I've been living in India since the age of 18. I came to Bangalore when I was 23. The thing that used to infuriate me 8 years ago and that still infuriates me is: cutting lines.
People fail to understand the concept of 'queues'. When they see a queue, what goes through their heads are: 'Cannot understand order. Must disintegrate and create chaos. Chaaarrggee!!'
At my office, we need to x-ray our bags when we leave the premises. Obviously at peak hours, there's bound to be a long line of people waiting to get through. There is this unbelievably annoying woman who, in spite of being sufficiently educated (I remember having learnt about queues in Social Civic classes during the 2nd grade), comes reasonably late, looks at the long queue ahead of herself, cuts in at the front and places her bag in the x-ray machine. Obviously, she is undeniably the queen of the world. I have seen her in action only once, though my colleague tells me it's a regular practice.
Over the weekend, I went grocery shopping at the local mall. Big mistake. Saturday night at the mall is a horrible sight to behold: people at their worst, trying to run over the others who may stand in the way of their trolleys.
I was at the vegetable counter, trying to get my items priced. His Highness was clearly behind me in line, but placed his veggies on the counter before I could. The A/C was off. I was hot and sweaty and quickly reached my breaking point. I promptly shoved his veggies to the side and put mine in. Glares were exchanged but life went sweatily on.
The express counter is supposed to be for 10 items or less, and can be paid in cash only. Of course, nobody really bothers. So I, the idiot, stood in line with my 5 items, while people with overflowing trolleys stood ahead of me. Of course, most of them just had to pay by card. If the cashier tried to explain that cards were not accepted, the customers made a fuss. So really, the 'Express' counter was clearly anything but.
A lady with ice-cream cartons tried to cut in front of me. I, taking advantage of my wide body, wouldn't give her an inch to slide by. The result? She took her place behind me and shoved the cold ice-cream boxes against my back. Puurr-fect.
Another shining example of people's total disregard of maintaining rules is the auto rikshaw driver. He won't go where you want to go. And if he does take you there, he swindles you so that you can't go anywhere else. The public transportation law states something, but clearly he is above it all.
I have to admit that when I came to Bangalore for the first time, I was pretty passive and docile with strangers. I held onto my traits as staunchly and as long as I could.
I'm not the same anymore. And you can't be the same, either. It's not Bangalore that's the problem. I guess every other city has it's demerits. And if you need to survive, you need to adapt.
I only wish that it were good changes that we were taking in. Instead, more often than not, we get to see the ruthless side of others and they of us.
People fail to understand the concept of 'queues'. When they see a queue, what goes through their heads are: 'Cannot understand order. Must disintegrate and create chaos. Chaaarrggee!!'
At my office, we need to x-ray our bags when we leave the premises. Obviously at peak hours, there's bound to be a long line of people waiting to get through. There is this unbelievably annoying woman who, in spite of being sufficiently educated (I remember having learnt about queues in Social Civic classes during the 2nd grade), comes reasonably late, looks at the long queue ahead of herself, cuts in at the front and places her bag in the x-ray machine. Obviously, she is undeniably the queen of the world. I have seen her in action only once, though my colleague tells me it's a regular practice.
Over the weekend, I went grocery shopping at the local mall. Big mistake. Saturday night at the mall is a horrible sight to behold: people at their worst, trying to run over the others who may stand in the way of their trolleys.
I was at the vegetable counter, trying to get my items priced. His Highness was clearly behind me in line, but placed his veggies on the counter before I could. The A/C was off. I was hot and sweaty and quickly reached my breaking point. I promptly shoved his veggies to the side and put mine in. Glares were exchanged but life went sweatily on.
The express counter is supposed to be for 10 items or less, and can be paid in cash only. Of course, nobody really bothers. So I, the idiot, stood in line with my 5 items, while people with overflowing trolleys stood ahead of me. Of course, most of them just had to pay by card. If the cashier tried to explain that cards were not accepted, the customers made a fuss. So really, the 'Express' counter was clearly anything but.
A lady with ice-cream cartons tried to cut in front of me. I, taking advantage of my wide body, wouldn't give her an inch to slide by. The result? She took her place behind me and shoved the cold ice-cream boxes against my back. Puurr-fect.
Another shining example of people's total disregard of maintaining rules is the auto rikshaw driver. He won't go where you want to go. And if he does take you there, he swindles you so that you can't go anywhere else. The public transportation law states something, but clearly he is above it all.
I have to admit that when I came to Bangalore for the first time, I was pretty passive and docile with strangers. I held onto my traits as staunchly and as long as I could.
I'm not the same anymore. And you can't be the same, either. It's not Bangalore that's the problem. I guess every other city has it's demerits. And if you need to survive, you need to adapt.
I only wish that it were good changes that we were taking in. Instead, more often than not, we get to see the ruthless side of others and they of us.
Monday, February 15, 2010
For Matrimonial Purposes
Gone were the days where the girl shyly takes tea to the boy whilst their parents look over approvingly. Gone were the days where the glances and sneak-peeks at each other were 5ms long at 10ms intervals.
So what has the pennukannal come down to ?
Well, take my household.
Sunday, 10:30 am
Dad: "We are going to see 2 boys today. We'll meet one at the mall at 4pm and the other at 6pm."
A low groan from my sis.
Sunday, 2 pm
Mom: "I'm not feeling well. I think we should invite the boys to our house."
A loud groan from me.
Sunday, 3 pm
Dad: "Why can't you girls be clean and tidy?! *Loud sneeze!!* Why do you have to have books everywhere?"
Me: "Why do you always criticize us? I didn't KNOW that we had to be military clean every day of our lives!"
Mom: "Do you have to argue NOW? Somebody help me get out the good tea-set!!"
My sis: "My eyebrows look ok?"
Mom, addressing me: "You look so fat in that! Go and wear something else!"
Me, grumbling: "The boy isn't coming to see ME."
Sunday, 4 pm
The boy (lets call him X) comes over. We introduce ourselves to X. After a short while, we leave X and my sis to speak in private. I occupy myself with F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
After half an hour, we come back and quickly send him off on his way.
"Well?" I asked my sis. "You guys certainly had a lot to talk about."
"He did most of the talking... On his cell phone with his friend!"
We discussed some more and decided that X was not worth it. He was dominating, arrogant and rude.
Neeexxxt!
Mom: "Oh no!! The next boy will arrive just in time for StarSinger Finale!!"
Sis: "Mommmm..."
Mom: "I've been waiting all month for this day!"
Sunday, 6 pm
The boy (Y) arrived. Blah blah. I left my sis alone to watch Chandler being right for once. Blah blah.
It was already past 6:30 and Mom was getting pretty restless. Y and Dad were totally into his career and the different aspects of mechanical engineering.
Me: "I think it's time to start cooking our dinner."
Mom joined my sis and I in the kitchen as I peeled and sliced onions for our sausage curry (Yum!).
Mom: "My Star Singer!"
Me: "So, did you like him?"
Sis: "He's very paavam and conservative... I don't think he'd appreciate our sausage curry."
Me: (Gasp) Naahhiiinn!
Mom: "Great. In that case, I'll scare him off. I'll ask him if he wants anything to drink (as in liquor)."
Sis, laughing: "And what if he says 'yes'?"
Mom winked and said: "In that case, that was a test! I'll show him the door!"
Sunday, 7 pm
Y finally left.
BTW, the Finale of StarSinger went on till 11pm. My mom slept happy. :P
So what has the pennukannal come down to ?
Well, take my household.
Sunday, 10:30 am
Dad: "We are going to see 2 boys today. We'll meet one at the mall at 4pm and the other at 6pm."
A low groan from my sis.
Sunday, 2 pm
Mom: "I'm not feeling well. I think we should invite the boys to our house."
A loud groan from me.
Sunday, 3 pm
Dad: "Why can't you girls be clean and tidy?! *Loud sneeze!!* Why do you have to have books everywhere?"
Me: "Why do you always criticize us? I didn't KNOW that we had to be military clean every day of our lives!"
Mom: "Do you have to argue NOW? Somebody help me get out the good tea-set!!"
My sis: "My eyebrows look ok?"
Mom, addressing me: "You look so fat in that! Go and wear something else!"
Me, grumbling: "The boy isn't coming to see ME."
Sunday, 4 pm
The boy (lets call him X) comes over. We introduce ourselves to X. After a short while, we leave X and my sis to speak in private. I occupy myself with F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
After half an hour, we come back and quickly send him off on his way.
"Well?" I asked my sis. "You guys certainly had a lot to talk about."
"He did most of the talking... On his cell phone with his friend!"
We discussed some more and decided that X was not worth it. He was dominating, arrogant and rude.
Neeexxxt!
Mom: "Oh no!! The next boy will arrive just in time for StarSinger Finale!!"
Sis: "Mommmm..."
Mom: "I've been waiting all month for this day!"
Sunday, 6 pm
The boy (Y) arrived. Blah blah. I left my sis alone to watch Chandler being right for once. Blah blah.
It was already past 6:30 and Mom was getting pretty restless. Y and Dad were totally into his career and the different aspects of mechanical engineering.
Me: "I think it's time to start cooking our dinner."
Mom joined my sis and I in the kitchen as I peeled and sliced onions for our sausage curry (Yum!).
Mom: "My Star Singer!"
Me: "So, did you like him?"
Sis: "He's very paavam and conservative... I don't think he'd appreciate our sausage curry."
Me: (Gasp) Naahhiiinn!
Mom: "Great. In that case, I'll scare him off. I'll ask him if he wants anything to drink (as in liquor)."
Sis, laughing: "And what if he says 'yes'?"
Mom winked and said: "In that case, that was a test! I'll show him the door!"
Sunday, 7 pm
Y finally left.
BTW, the Finale of StarSinger went on till 11pm. My mom slept happy. :P
Friday, January 15, 2010
My Second Korean Phase
This trip to Korea has been a helluva ride.
It has been all about work. 24/7.
There were days when I couldn't wait to get on a flight back to Bangalore. Days where I'd run to the office rest room and cry because of the immense work-pressure I felt. Days where I'd come home late, too tired to cook and have dinner.
Weekends -if I had any- were crap. Xmas and New Years were terrible.
I dreamed about the day when I'd be free from my load.
I left S Korea today.
But this is me wanting to go back.
I know I'm crazy... But, if given a chance, I would only do it all over again.
:)
It has been all about work. 24/7.
There were days when I couldn't wait to get on a flight back to Bangalore. Days where I'd run to the office rest room and cry because of the immense work-pressure I felt. Days where I'd come home late, too tired to cook and have dinner.
Weekends -if I had any- were crap. Xmas and New Years were terrible.
I dreamed about the day when I'd be free from my load.
I left S Korea today.
But this is me wanting to go back.
I know I'm crazy... But, if given a chance, I would only do it all over again.
:)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Why We SHOULD Have Secret Code...
A true-life enactment of Murphy's Law:
You're in an elevator with friends. Enter person about whom you suddenly remember a juicy tidbit. You're itching to tell your friends. You automatically switch to your regional language only to realise your friends understand only English.
Darn. A good opportunity lost and then you think maybe you should encourage Pig-Latin. :)
You're in an elevator with friends. Enter person about whom you suddenly remember a juicy tidbit. You're itching to tell your friends. You automatically switch to your regional language only to realise your friends understand only English.
Darn. A good opportunity lost and then you think maybe you should encourage Pig-Latin. :)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Home Sweet Home
After one and a half years, I came back to the UAE the previous Saturday morning.
I guess you can call me a snob, but I like travelling in 'Ish-style'. So I always prefer Emirates. This time, however, I felt the need to be responsible as my parents now live in Ajman (Another emirate of the UAE) and not in Dubai anymore. So the nearest airport would be Sharjah and the flights would be limited to Air Arabia.
Air Arabia is a budget airplane. I booked the tickets with trepidation, consoling myself that it would be a red-eye flight and hence would be more concerned about sleep rather than food and entertainment during the actual flight. And I was right. I was so tired that all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep. But I also found out why people prefer Air Arabia. The seats are bigger and there's more leg room. Since it's a night flight, you dont spend the extra money on food. You do have to pay for your own blankets though. Another plus point: Sharjah Airport is much smaller as compared to Dubai Airport. You really don't have to walk that much to get to the exits.
My home place hasn't changed all that much since I last left. Yes, there are more malls. Speaking of which, I went to Dubai Mall, the day I landed, with my sister, brother in law and my mother. Dubai Mall, is supposed to be one of the Gulf's biggest malls, but I didn't really take it to heart. 'How big can it be?' were my thoughts. I didn't think anything could surprise me anymore.
But I was wrong. Dubai Mall is HUGELY big. I was tired after I finally got back. And we hadn't even covered 25% of the mall!
Anyways, I felt like a country bumpkin that day because a lot of things have changed from my day. The information screens, which were placed at strategic points all over the place, were touch screens. Touch and you'll find where you need to go. Touch and you'll find a list of shops that you're interested in. The restrooms- well, I've seen sensor taps before. They're common in India too. But I was a lil surprised to see sensor flushes. You place your hand over a screen once you're done and it automatically takes care of cleaning as long as your hand is still on the sensor. This looked so much more cooler than the multi functional toilets back in Korea.
Ok, enough about toilets!
There were shops that I had only heard of in books and movies: Bloomingdales, Ralph Lauren FOR KIDS (Yes, you read right!!), Tiffany's, House of Graff... The jewellery on display was especially amazing, though kind of depressing because I knew I couldn't afford a single piece.
We visited a small-scale aquarium. Even though it was small sized, it still looked remarkable. There were sharks as well as manta ray among other giant-sized fish. And I know that these are all artificially enhanced containers, but aquariums have this connection with nature that can take your breath away. :)
A few of my girl friends think I'm slightly off but I like electronics stores just as much as the next guy. It's always fascinating to see how technology keeps advancing with the blink of an eye and you should always keep abreast of it, I think. My bro-in-law loves gadgets too. So he and I spent a considerable amount of time at a particular electronics gallery, ooh-ing and aah-ing (guy style, of course) over some, while comparing prices of others. My sis and mom were waiting impatiently outside. 'What took you so long?' my sis demanded after we were done. I couldn't help supress a smile.
Anyways, this one mall was a surprise for me, with all its Ice Rink, Water Fountain, Gold Souks and all.
I'm going to Dubai again tomorrow. I hope to be pleasantly surprised again! :)
I guess you can call me a snob, but I like travelling in 'Ish-style'. So I always prefer Emirates. This time, however, I felt the need to be responsible as my parents now live in Ajman (Another emirate of the UAE) and not in Dubai anymore. So the nearest airport would be Sharjah and the flights would be limited to Air Arabia.
Air Arabia is a budget airplane. I booked the tickets with trepidation, consoling myself that it would be a red-eye flight and hence would be more concerned about sleep rather than food and entertainment during the actual flight. And I was right. I was so tired that all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep. But I also found out why people prefer Air Arabia. The seats are bigger and there's more leg room. Since it's a night flight, you dont spend the extra money on food. You do have to pay for your own blankets though. Another plus point: Sharjah Airport is much smaller as compared to Dubai Airport. You really don't have to walk that much to get to the exits.
My home place hasn't changed all that much since I last left. Yes, there are more malls. Speaking of which, I went to Dubai Mall, the day I landed, with my sister, brother in law and my mother. Dubai Mall, is supposed to be one of the Gulf's biggest malls, but I didn't really take it to heart. 'How big can it be?' were my thoughts. I didn't think anything could surprise me anymore.
But I was wrong. Dubai Mall is HUGELY big. I was tired after I finally got back. And we hadn't even covered 25% of the mall!
Anyways, I felt like a country bumpkin that day because a lot of things have changed from my day. The information screens, which were placed at strategic points all over the place, were touch screens. Touch and you'll find where you need to go. Touch and you'll find a list of shops that you're interested in. The restrooms- well, I've seen sensor taps before. They're common in India too. But I was a lil surprised to see sensor flushes. You place your hand over a screen once you're done and it automatically takes care of cleaning as long as your hand is still on the sensor. This looked so much more cooler than the multi functional toilets back in Korea.
Ok, enough about toilets!
There were shops that I had only heard of in books and movies: Bloomingdales, Ralph Lauren FOR KIDS (Yes, you read right!!), Tiffany's, House of Graff... The jewellery on display was especially amazing, though kind of depressing because I knew I couldn't afford a single piece.
We visited a small-scale aquarium. Even though it was small sized, it still looked remarkable. There were sharks as well as manta ray among other giant-sized fish. And I know that these are all artificially enhanced containers, but aquariums have this connection with nature that can take your breath away. :)
A few of my girl friends think I'm slightly off but I like electronics stores just as much as the next guy. It's always fascinating to see how technology keeps advancing with the blink of an eye and you should always keep abreast of it, I think. My bro-in-law loves gadgets too. So he and I spent a considerable amount of time at a particular electronics gallery, ooh-ing and aah-ing (guy style, of course) over some, while comparing prices of others. My sis and mom were waiting impatiently outside. 'What took you so long?' my sis demanded after we were done. I couldn't help supress a smile.
Anyways, this one mall was a surprise for me, with all its Ice Rink, Water Fountain, Gold Souks and all.
I'm going to Dubai again tomorrow. I hope to be pleasantly surprised again! :)
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Hindu Taliban
I dread reading tomorrow's newspaper.
Last weekend, yet another woman (this time a journalist) was assaulted by two bikers on Mount Carmel road. The journalist was punched in the face before she quickly recovered and grabbed the pillion rider's shirt. The man fell off the bike but both of the riders managed to run away. Cowards. They have no issues in ganging up on lone women but are such wimps when they're challenged back.
First of all, good for the woman because she managed to hit back. Second of all, it's such a pity that she couldn't do more (like kick those men in the family jewels, for starters).
Any person with an ounce of common sense and tolerance condemns the Mangalore pub attacks. It seems that the Bangalore attacks on women have been inspired by the Mangalore ones.
I fail to understand the psyche of an individual who feels it's Indian to abuse and assault women. Who thinks its morally wrong for women to drink or wear jeans but feels its perfectly alright for men to do the same. Who stress that a sari is the icon of Indian culture. Yesterday, inspite of wearing a salwar kameez, I still attracted the wrong kind of attention on the street. Say, wasn't I being 'Indian'? Why did those perverts still materialize? It's like, no matter what you do, you end up losing anyway.
The attacks affair is more than just about inequality (men can do this; women can't do the same). It's also about the inability to tolerate others who live around you.
Last time I checked, India was a free country. The SRS, Muthalik or similar clowns can't dictate what people should and should not do. Apart from anything else, it's in violation of a human being's basic rights to freedom.
By the way, how different is the SRS from LeT? As far as I'm concerned, SRS is just a few steps behind. All the SRS needs to do is kill women. Else they have pretty much 'terrorized' women anyway, which is basically what LeT does: terrorize people. Such groups, needless to say, need to be outlawed and such miscreants need to be caught. Would the Government take such measures? At least to save their seats in the upcoming elections?
Am not sure about that. As for me, I now carry pepper spray in my bag since I usually travel alone. I've also saved my friends' numbers on speed dial.
So this is what the world has come to.
Last weekend, yet another woman (this time a journalist) was assaulted by two bikers on Mount Carmel road. The journalist was punched in the face before she quickly recovered and grabbed the pillion rider's shirt. The man fell off the bike but both of the riders managed to run away. Cowards. They have no issues in ganging up on lone women but are such wimps when they're challenged back.
First of all, good for the woman because she managed to hit back. Second of all, it's such a pity that she couldn't do more (like kick those men in the family jewels, for starters).
Any person with an ounce of common sense and tolerance condemns the Mangalore pub attacks. It seems that the Bangalore attacks on women have been inspired by the Mangalore ones.
I fail to understand the psyche of an individual who feels it's Indian to abuse and assault women. Who thinks its morally wrong for women to drink or wear jeans but feels its perfectly alright for men to do the same. Who stress that a sari is the icon of Indian culture. Yesterday, inspite of wearing a salwar kameez, I still attracted the wrong kind of attention on the street. Say, wasn't I being 'Indian'? Why did those perverts still materialize? It's like, no matter what you do, you end up losing anyway.
The attacks affair is more than just about inequality (men can do this; women can't do the same). It's also about the inability to tolerate others who live around you.
Last time I checked, India was a free country. The SRS, Muthalik or similar clowns can't dictate what people should and should not do. Apart from anything else, it's in violation of a human being's basic rights to freedom.
By the way, how different is the SRS from LeT? As far as I'm concerned, SRS is just a few steps behind. All the SRS needs to do is kill women. Else they have pretty much 'terrorized' women anyway, which is basically what LeT does: terrorize people. Such groups, needless to say, need to be outlawed and such miscreants need to be caught. Would the Government take such measures? At least to save their seats in the upcoming elections?
Am not sure about that. As for me, I now carry pepper spray in my bag since I usually travel alone. I've also saved my friends' numbers on speed dial.
So this is what the world has come to.
Friday, February 27, 2009
In Conclusion to My U.S. Trip
As I always like to say, inorder to survive in Richardson, Dallas, U.S., you have to be any one of the following:
1. Be sociable (That means you have to actually like the act of talking/interacting with people)
2. Own/rent a car (The trick is to get your company to pay for those expenses)
3. Be pretty (Especially if you're a woman)
Luckily, during my first 2 months in Dallas, there was always at least one team mate who knew how to drive a car. That helped fulfil our grocery/movie-theater needs. However, during the last 2 weeks of my stay, it was my team mate, Neha, who came to the rescue.
Mind you, Neha is a very pretty young girl. So naturally, anybody and everybody with half an ounce of brain would come to the aid of the Damsel in Distress. Even if she wasn't quite in Distress. And being Neha's loyal side-kick, I could tag along for perks as well. :D
Sigh. The things you do to get your things done. :D
1. Be sociable (That means you have to actually like the act of talking/interacting with people)
2. Own/rent a car (The trick is to get your company to pay for those expenses)
3. Be pretty (Especially if you're a woman)
Luckily, during my first 2 months in Dallas, there was always at least one team mate who knew how to drive a car. That helped fulfil our grocery/movie-theater needs. However, during the last 2 weeks of my stay, it was my team mate, Neha, who came to the rescue.
Mind you, Neha is a very pretty young girl. So naturally, anybody and everybody with half an ounce of brain would come to the aid of the Damsel in Distress. Even if she wasn't quite in Distress. And being Neha's loyal side-kick, I could tag along for perks as well. :D
Sigh. The things you do to get your things done. :D
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Ice, Ice Baby!
Yesterday, I went out with my teammates to ice skate.
All my friends know me for my absolute love for gravity. In other words, I can be pretty clumsy. So I tend to stay faaaar away from such activities.
My first experience with ice skating was around three weeks ago. Sundar, who was an amateur, gave me a few guidelines: Keep your knees bent and never fall backwards. I was determined to at least walk around the rink that evening. So after three tries, I managed to maintain my balance and walk the periphery of the rink.
It was nothing special really. Especially when you were forced to observe kids figure-skate around you. :D
But yesterday was a different story. As I started my usual slipping and sliding, a passive observer gave me a few tips: 'Look straight ahead and make your feet point in a v-shape.' I'm not sure how I got it so quickly but in less than 2 minutes, I was maintaining my balance with no difficulty at all. In less than 5 minutes, I had moved to the center of the rink.
To say in the least, I was ecstatic. Balance was just never my thing. I mastered the first few steps of an art form which I initially thought to be very tricky. And now I have the confidence to do more. :)
All my friends know me for my absolute love for gravity. In other words, I can be pretty clumsy. So I tend to stay faaaar away from such activities.
My first experience with ice skating was around three weeks ago. Sundar, who was an amateur, gave me a few guidelines: Keep your knees bent and never fall backwards. I was determined to at least walk around the rink that evening. So after three tries, I managed to maintain my balance and walk the periphery of the rink.
It was nothing special really. Especially when you were forced to observe kids figure-skate around you. :D
But yesterday was a different story. As I started my usual slipping and sliding, a passive observer gave me a few tips: 'Look straight ahead and make your feet point in a v-shape.' I'm not sure how I got it so quickly but in less than 2 minutes, I was maintaining my balance with no difficulty at all. In less than 5 minutes, I had moved to the center of the rink.
To say in the least, I was ecstatic. Balance was just never my thing. I mastered the first few steps of an art form which I initially thought to be very tricky. And now I have the confidence to do more. :)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Some Old-fashioned American Hospitality
If I could chronicle my entire stay at 'Homestead Suites, Richardson' into the form of a movie, it would be a runaway box office hit. The movie would be a comedy where in the beginning, everything goes wrong but turns out fine in the end.
Ahem. I'm still waiting for the end though.
But here's how the movie would go:
A very beautiful, petite woman travels halfway across the world to the US of A. 'Would there be any aana motta growing on the trees?' Mocha wonders as she makes her way to the hotel.
Scene changes to where she enters the hotel room. She gasps in delight as she looks at the plush surroundings. 'Very nice' she murmurs to her room mate Kat. Who wouldn't be? Take a look at the pics yourself.
'Don't get yourself too comfy', Kat says. 'The hotel service is terrible'. Mocha rolls her eyes in response.
As the days go by, Mocha finds that Kat is right. The front desk 'help' are hostile people who take offense at everything. The manager is even more incompetent albeit slightly less impolite. As a result, Mocha and Kat suffer through weird hotel room rates, clogged bathtubs and ghostly smoke alarms (it sounds a bit like 'wheeeeeee') which go off only when Mocha and Kat are in the room and strangely goes quiet when a third person enters the scene. Regular weekly cleaning service? Yes, if you could redefine the term 'week'. Simple requests such as 'please, give me a detailed bill in only my name' processed? No way, Jose!
The climax is when Kat leaves for India. Mocha is living alone for a few days. But after one tiring day at work, she finds herself locked out of her own room. Wait a minute. She has already paid the bill. But none of the keys, including the masterkey, work.
'I'm sorry ma'am,' the night personnel informs her, after some investigation. 'You're going to have to spend the night in another room. The technician will be over only tomorrow morning.'
Oh boy, Mocha thinks. But she makes her way to the new room at 1 am in the night, after some office-related chores. She hopes to get a good night's sleep. Enter the NEW ghostly smoke alarm. This one goes a loud beeeep after every 180 seconds. Yes. She actually times it. This is while she tosses and turns in bed. Result: no sleep. And we're talking about a heroine who can sleep through the sounds of a bomb or with the sun right next to her pillow.
The next day morning, the technician arrives and works on the electronic lock. After a few new batteries and some reprogramming later, the door magically opens. But wait a second. The room hasn't been cleaned. And it was supposed to be cleaned on Monday-postponed-courtesy-the-lousy-staff-to-Thursday.
Mocha wearily makes her way to work.
What more surprises await our heroine, you- the audience- ask?
I'm sorry. You're going to have to wait like the rest of em.
Though I'm seriously worried about my - err, I mean - HER plight.
:)
Ahem. I'm still waiting for the end though.
But here's how the movie would go:
A very beautiful, petite woman travels halfway across the world to the US of A. 'Would there be any aana motta growing on the trees?' Mocha wonders as she makes her way to the hotel.
Scene changes to where she enters the hotel room. She gasps in delight as she looks at the plush surroundings. 'Very nice' she murmurs to her room mate Kat. Who wouldn't be? Take a look at the pics yourself.
'Don't get yourself too comfy', Kat says. 'The hotel service is terrible'. Mocha rolls her eyes in response.
As the days go by, Mocha finds that Kat is right. The front desk 'help' are hostile people who take offense at everything. The manager is even more incompetent albeit slightly less impolite. As a result, Mocha and Kat suffer through weird hotel room rates, clogged bathtubs and ghostly smoke alarms (it sounds a bit like 'wheeeeeee') which go off only when Mocha and Kat are in the room and strangely goes quiet when a third person enters the scene. Regular weekly cleaning service? Yes, if you could redefine the term 'week'. Simple requests such as 'please, give me a detailed bill in only my name' processed? No way, Jose!
The climax is when Kat leaves for India. Mocha is living alone for a few days. But after one tiring day at work, she finds herself locked out of her own room. Wait a minute. She has already paid the bill. But none of the keys, including the masterkey, work.
'I'm sorry ma'am,' the night personnel informs her, after some investigation. 'You're going to have to spend the night in another room. The technician will be over only tomorrow morning.'
Oh boy, Mocha thinks. But she makes her way to the new room at 1 am in the night, after some office-related chores. She hopes to get a good night's sleep. Enter the NEW ghostly smoke alarm. This one goes a loud beeeep after every 180 seconds. Yes. She actually times it. This is while she tosses and turns in bed. Result: no sleep. And we're talking about a heroine who can sleep through the sounds of a bomb or with the sun right next to her pillow.
The next day morning, the technician arrives and works on the electronic lock. After a few new batteries and some reprogramming later, the door magically opens. But wait a second. The room hasn't been cleaned. And it was supposed to be cleaned on Monday-postponed-courtesy-the-lousy-staff-to-Thursday.
Mocha wearily makes her way to work.
What more surprises await our heroine, you- the audience- ask?
I'm sorry. You're going to have to wait like the rest of em.
Though I'm seriously worried about my - err, I mean - HER plight.
:)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
'Life in these United States...'
Yes, I know. I haven't blogged.
The past few weeks had been a lil busy for me as there was a lot of work. Scrap that. There IS a lot of work. :)
Yesterday, my team mates and I went on a trip to a wildlife park called Fossil Rim Wildlife Center at Glen Rose, Texas. It's a sanctuary to certain species of deer, giraffes and a few other exotic animals such as the ostrich, rhino and cheetah. We left at 11 am and reached the park by 1 am.
The idea is to interact with these animals/birds by offering food to them (but obviously not the dangerous ones). The first bird we met on our way was the ostrich. It was daring enough to move towards the car as we slowed down. It was also aware that we had food and it kept incessantly pecking on the roof till one of us rolled down the windows and offered food.
Even though in reality deers are very shy and nervous creatures, the deers at the park were quite used to human presense. The Arabian oryx was the most friendly as each one of its kind kept approaching the cars to get more food. My personal favorite was the giraffe. It was so gentle!
We all were famished by the time we sat down for lunch at the picnic area around 3:30 pm. I had never been so happy to see rice and sambhar in my life! :D
After lunch, we found a petting zoo. That's where you could brush down or hold a few farmyard animals. It was a lil funny because the sheep and goats looked so huge around the tummy area that we all thought they were pregnant. As we were exiting the zoo, there was a board that said: 'No, we're NOT pregnant. We just have four-chambered stomachs!' I guess the zoo keepers were a bit tired of answering that question. ;)
On our way back, we saw more giraffes, bison and cheetah. The surrounding areas were beautiful and we even got a spectacular shot of a watering hole.
Here are a few pictures of the whole drive. Click here.
As we made our way back to Dallas, I thought that we were on our way back to the hotel. All of us were tired. But a team mate, Sundar, had other plans. We reached Richardson around 8pm. He took us to a dancing fountain which was near our office. The dancing fountain itself was beautiful and Sundar made us all to splash around in the water. I definitely perked up after that unexpected shower. :D
We reached the hotel by 9pm, all drenched, and then we spent some time reviewing the photos and movie clips that we shot during the day.
Today, the girls (Kat, Poornima, Youngsil and I) spent the day shopping. I thought I'd get bored stiff but this time we shopped for accessories. So, YES! As usual, I went ahead and bought lots and lots and.. LOTS. :) I'm not kidding people, we girls had enough of shopping bags to fit the trunk of our car.
Anyway, one month down. Hopefully less than one month to go.
Yes. I'm homesick. :(
The past few weeks had been a lil busy for me as there was a lot of work. Scrap that. There IS a lot of work. :)
Yesterday, my team mates and I went on a trip to a wildlife park called Fossil Rim Wildlife Center at Glen Rose, Texas. It's a sanctuary to certain species of deer, giraffes and a few other exotic animals such as the ostrich, rhino and cheetah. We left at 11 am and reached the park by 1 am.
The idea is to interact with these animals/birds by offering food to them (but obviously not the dangerous ones). The first bird we met on our way was the ostrich. It was daring enough to move towards the car as we slowed down. It was also aware that we had food and it kept incessantly pecking on the roof till one of us rolled down the windows and offered food.
Even though in reality deers are very shy and nervous creatures, the deers at the park were quite used to human presense. The Arabian oryx was the most friendly as each one of its kind kept approaching the cars to get more food. My personal favorite was the giraffe. It was so gentle!
We all were famished by the time we sat down for lunch at the picnic area around 3:30 pm. I had never been so happy to see rice and sambhar in my life! :D
After lunch, we found a petting zoo. That's where you could brush down or hold a few farmyard animals. It was a lil funny because the sheep and goats looked so huge around the tummy area that we all thought they were pregnant. As we were exiting the zoo, there was a board that said: 'No, we're NOT pregnant. We just have four-chambered stomachs!' I guess the zoo keepers were a bit tired of answering that question. ;)
On our way back, we saw more giraffes, bison and cheetah. The surrounding areas were beautiful and we even got a spectacular shot of a watering hole.
Here are a few pictures of the whole drive. Click here.
As we made our way back to Dallas, I thought that we were on our way back to the hotel. All of us were tired. But a team mate, Sundar, had other plans. We reached Richardson around 8pm. He took us to a dancing fountain which was near our office. The dancing fountain itself was beautiful and Sundar made us all to splash around in the water. I definitely perked up after that unexpected shower. :D
We reached the hotel by 9pm, all drenched, and then we spent some time reviewing the photos and movie clips that we shot during the day.
Today, the girls (Kat, Poornima, Youngsil and I) spent the day shopping. I thought I'd get bored stiff but this time we shopped for accessories. So, YES! As usual, I went ahead and bought lots and lots and.. LOTS. :) I'm not kidding people, we girls had enough of shopping bags to fit the trunk of our car.
Anyway, one month down. Hopefully less than one month to go.
Yes. I'm homesick. :(
Sunday, October 5, 2008
'The Eagle has landed'
With reference to the title, I guess my airplane could be likened to an eagle and well, I didn't really land on the moon but rather Texas.
You heard right. I'm as of now, standing on American soil. Ok, scrap that. To be technically correct, I'm as of now, lying down on my bed in a hotel which has been built on American soil.
For y'all who know me really well, you'd be thinking: 'OMG. This girl has finally obtained her dream.' Umm, yeah sort of. :)
I reached Dallas, Texas last Sunday. The journey consisted of a total of 19 hours on two different flights and I'm not counting the transit time at Frankfurt. But it was a great trip.
My flight from Bangalore to Frankfurt was pretty uneventful since it was a night flight. The man sitting next to me was a pharmaceutical representative on his way to attend a conference at Frankfurt. It was pretty sweet to see the way he was enthusiastic about everything down to the food served. It was, without a doubt, his first time flying. :)
Frankfurt International Airport is pretty big and I had to take a sky-train to reach my terminal. Even though my transit time was around 3 hours, I couldn't go around the airport much. So I took the opportunity to get online and email my family that I was indeed still alive. Simple task? You wish! You'd think that the numerous computer terminals would slightly resemble our computer keyboards. Not even close. These keyboards have keys for everything. Two for space bar (which don't even say 'space'). Two suspicious looking ones that ended up being the ones for left-click and right-click of a mouse. Letter keys placed totally out of sync.. well, you get the picture. To say in the least, you NEED a certification to use those terminals. And this is coming from a software engineer.
So in the span of four minutes (and EUR 4), I managed to log onto gmail, click compose, select the appropriate email address that belongs to my sister and type out the following email to her:
"i reached frankfurt stop flight leaves in one hour stop tell everybody stop this computer is dumb stop bye"
I spent the next one hour trying to analyse how the others fared at such similar terminals. Not very well, let me assure you. :)
The flight from Frankfurt to Dallas, predictably, consisted predominantly of Americans and Germans. I took my place next to an Israeli man, Rafi, and an American woman, Rhonda.
"It's my lucky day", said Rafi, "I never got to sit in the middle. Now that I did, I'm sitting between two women."
This man, fellow ladies, was ONE charmer. :)
It took me very lil time to get comfortable with Rafi and find out about his interesting background. Being a software engineer himself, Rafi too could empathise with the strain of being one and declared that he would stick around in the field for only 2-3 more years before he called it quits and get a job that he really liked.
I've always been fascinated by people who are a product of different cultures and race. Give me a person who's quarter Irish, native American, Thai and Mexican and has spent half of his life travelling around Asia, and I think I'd marry him for it. :D
Rafi was an Israeli, whose father was a Muslim and mother a Christian and who had studied for five years in Cape Town, South Africa. And let's not mention his foreign trips. Ladies and gentlemen, I was in heaven. :D
I asked a lot about his culture and was surprised to hear that his own was a bit conservative as well. They actually practise arranged marriages and dowry! But it's practised a bit differently from mine. The groom, it seems, provides the house, gold and money for the bride. The bride, on the other hand, provides the electronic items necessary for proper functioning of the household. So it's very common to hear mothers-in-law not being happy with what the grooms have given their daughters. Hmm. Interesting twist, don't you think?
Rafi himself had given arranged 'alliance' a try, but couldn't wait to break off his engagement a year later. He said, 'I don't want a woman who can't make her own decisions and whose mother still picks out her clothes. I want someone who's independent and looks beyond money and gold.' Same here, brother, same here. Umm. Except I'd want a man and not a woman, thanks. :D
On Rafi's other side sat Rhonda. Rhonda was a very friendly Texan. Not many people go out of their way to make you comfortable, but she certainly did. 'Is it your first time going to the United States, sweetie?' she asked me. I nodded. 'You must be scared,' she said. 'Now don't you worry. It'll be alright, you hear?'
Rhonda grew up in a small town near Dallas. After a few years of growing up in the States, she went and did what she always wanted to do: live in Europe. So she packed her bags and flew to Italy. Learnt Italian, opened a shop that tailored to her 'big-boned' American clientele and spent 6 years of her life there. After that, she fell in love with an American who worked in a big enterprise in Romania. So they got married and she was on her way to joining him in Romania. 'Now, I get to learn Romanian', Rhonda said. 'It's just one more adventure!'
Sigh. Romantic, don't you think?
Anyway, travelling with these two people was delightful. Ten hours flew by (pun not intended) and we reached Fort Worth, Dallas.
I was a lil scared at the Passport Control. Hundreds and hundreds of tips/advice/do-s and don'ts went by in my head.
"What's the purpose of your visit?" the Immigration officer asked.
"Business", I squeaked.
"How long will you be here?"
"Four to six weeks."
Scrutiny of passport. Fingerprints taken. Stamping on the passport.
"Welcome to the United States, ma'am."
Whew!
A couple of hours later (which included goodbyes to Rhonda & Rafi and a taxi ride), I was brought to the hotel which would be my home for the rest of my stay in Texas.
Folks, I'm IN. :)
You heard right. I'm as of now, standing on American soil. Ok, scrap that. To be technically correct, I'm as of now, lying down on my bed in a hotel which has been built on American soil.
For y'all who know me really well, you'd be thinking: 'OMG. This girl has finally obtained her dream.' Umm, yeah sort of. :)
I reached Dallas, Texas last Sunday. The journey consisted of a total of 19 hours on two different flights and I'm not counting the transit time at Frankfurt. But it was a great trip.
My flight from Bangalore to Frankfurt was pretty uneventful since it was a night flight. The man sitting next to me was a pharmaceutical representative on his way to attend a conference at Frankfurt. It was pretty sweet to see the way he was enthusiastic about everything down to the food served. It was, without a doubt, his first time flying. :)
Frankfurt International Airport is pretty big and I had to take a sky-train to reach my terminal. Even though my transit time was around 3 hours, I couldn't go around the airport much. So I took the opportunity to get online and email my family that I was indeed still alive. Simple task? You wish! You'd think that the numerous computer terminals would slightly resemble our computer keyboards. Not even close. These keyboards have keys for everything. Two for space bar (which don't even say 'space'). Two suspicious looking ones that ended up being the ones for left-click and right-click of a mouse. Letter keys placed totally out of sync.. well, you get the picture. To say in the least, you NEED a certification to use those terminals. And this is coming from a software engineer.
So in the span of four minutes (and EUR 4), I managed to log onto gmail, click compose, select the appropriate email address that belongs to my sister and type out the following email to her:
"i reached frankfurt stop flight leaves in one hour stop tell everybody stop this computer is dumb stop bye"
I spent the next one hour trying to analyse how the others fared at such similar terminals. Not very well, let me assure you. :)
The flight from Frankfurt to Dallas, predictably, consisted predominantly of Americans and Germans. I took my place next to an Israeli man, Rafi, and an American woman, Rhonda.
"It's my lucky day", said Rafi, "I never got to sit in the middle. Now that I did, I'm sitting between two women."
This man, fellow ladies, was ONE charmer. :)
It took me very lil time to get comfortable with Rafi and find out about his interesting background. Being a software engineer himself, Rafi too could empathise with the strain of being one and declared that he would stick around in the field for only 2-3 more years before he called it quits and get a job that he really liked.
I've always been fascinated by people who are a product of different cultures and race. Give me a person who's quarter Irish, native American, Thai and Mexican and has spent half of his life travelling around Asia, and I think I'd marry him for it. :D
Rafi was an Israeli, whose father was a Muslim and mother a Christian and who had studied for five years in Cape Town, South Africa. And let's not mention his foreign trips. Ladies and gentlemen, I was in heaven. :D
I asked a lot about his culture and was surprised to hear that his own was a bit conservative as well. They actually practise arranged marriages and dowry! But it's practised a bit differently from mine. The groom, it seems, provides the house, gold and money for the bride. The bride, on the other hand, provides the electronic items necessary for proper functioning of the household. So it's very common to hear mothers-in-law not being happy with what the grooms have given their daughters. Hmm. Interesting twist, don't you think?
Rafi himself had given arranged 'alliance' a try, but couldn't wait to break off his engagement a year later. He said, 'I don't want a woman who can't make her own decisions and whose mother still picks out her clothes. I want someone who's independent and looks beyond money and gold.' Same here, brother, same here. Umm. Except I'd want a man and not a woman, thanks. :D
On Rafi's other side sat Rhonda. Rhonda was a very friendly Texan. Not many people go out of their way to make you comfortable, but she certainly did. 'Is it your first time going to the United States, sweetie?' she asked me. I nodded. 'You must be scared,' she said. 'Now don't you worry. It'll be alright, you hear?'
Rhonda grew up in a small town near Dallas. After a few years of growing up in the States, she went and did what she always wanted to do: live in Europe. So she packed her bags and flew to Italy. Learnt Italian, opened a shop that tailored to her 'big-boned' American clientele and spent 6 years of her life there. After that, she fell in love with an American who worked in a big enterprise in Romania. So they got married and she was on her way to joining him in Romania. 'Now, I get to learn Romanian', Rhonda said. 'It's just one more adventure!'
Sigh. Romantic, don't you think?
Anyway, travelling with these two people was delightful. Ten hours flew by (pun not intended) and we reached Fort Worth, Dallas.
I was a lil scared at the Passport Control. Hundreds and hundreds of tips/advice/do-s and don'ts went by in my head.
"What's the purpose of your visit?" the Immigration officer asked.
"Business", I squeaked.
"How long will you be here?"
"Four to six weeks."
Scrutiny of passport. Fingerprints taken. Stamping on the passport.
"Welcome to the United States, ma'am."
Whew!
A couple of hours later (which included goodbyes to Rhonda & Rafi and a taxi ride), I was brought to the hotel which would be my home for the rest of my stay in Texas.
Folks, I'm IN. :)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Here's one that's not mine...
** This post is going to be very unoriginal. I've copy-pasted a forward that I had received in my email. There was more, but I've copied only what I thought was relevant (and I've changed a bit of it too). **
Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death. The question was: What do women really want?
Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed and impossible query. But since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end.
He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone. The princess, the priests, the wise men, and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer. When the last day had arrived, Arthur was at his wits end. Eventually, one of his ministers asked him to consult a very wise old woman who lived beyond the highest hills and the deepest oceans, for she would definitely have an answer.
He went beyond the highest hills and the deepest oceans to meet the old woman. His question thus: "What does a woman really want?"
She said, "To be in charge of her own life."
He instantly knew that the woman had uttered a great truth. And that Arthur's life would be spared.
And so it was.
The neighboring monarch granted Arthur his freedom.
:)
Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death. The question was: What do women really want?
Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed and impossible query. But since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end.
He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone. The princess, the priests, the wise men, and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer. When the last day had arrived, Arthur was at his wits end. Eventually, one of his ministers asked him to consult a very wise old woman who lived beyond the highest hills and the deepest oceans, for she would definitely have an answer.
He went beyond the highest hills and the deepest oceans to meet the old woman. His question thus: "What does a woman really want?"
She said, "To be in charge of her own life."
He instantly knew that the woman had uttered a great truth. And that Arthur's life would be spared.
And so it was.
The neighboring monarch granted Arthur his freedom.
:)
Sunday, August 3, 2008
"Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...
... Can I be the fairest of them all?"
I'll admit. I have a beauty regime I strictly follow every Saturday evening. It's one of those ways I use to relax myself and I also do it so that I do not look horrible the following Monday morning.
When I told a guy friend about this, he started ranting about the evils of cosmetic products and procedures and finished off with "Whatever happened to natural beauty?" The very next moment, he got distracted by a very pretty woman, wearing at least an inch-thick of makeup, walking by.
Once back in college, while I was talking to a classmate, he looked at my arms and asked "Why don't you shave your arms? And your skin tone seems uneven. Why don't you do something about it?" I was surprised that he noticed all of this. I asked him, "Why do you give so much importance to looks? Why is it a definite must for all girls to look pretty even if it's through artificial means?" He shrugged his shoulders and said "Girls have to look pretty. That's the way it is."
Then we have women who sometimes involve themselves in some competition of sorts. Who's the prettiest? Who's the slimmest? Who's the trendiest?
We are all equally guilty of setting standards when it comes to beauty and rules about what we should and shouldn't be. And being humans, we are apt to being insecure when we don't meet those standards and we succumb to the pressure of it all. That's when we ramp up to do something about it. So if cosmetics helps the process, why be a hypocrite and crib rather than accept it?
I understand that it can be a vicious circle. The latest of products claim to make you look younger/fairer/prettier which makes you buy them which sets the new trend for 'beauty' and so on...
I wish I lived in a world where external appearances meant nothing. But I don't. What I can do is either choose to be unconcerned about it and be happy with what I have even though it may mean being one of the uglier ones or I could get 'help', be more prettier and be fine with it anyway.
What I'm trying to say is that natural beauty is almost a thing of the past. It's very rare to find. Cosmetics, when not used in excessive amounts, are good and help ease at least some of the pressure a person finds himself/herself under.
Unless something radical is done to change the concept of beauty or people are suddenly blessed with tremendous amounts of self-esteem, cosmetics will always be used. By men and women alike.
So get used to it.
I'll admit. I have a beauty regime I strictly follow every Saturday evening. It's one of those ways I use to relax myself and I also do it so that I do not look horrible the following Monday morning.
When I told a guy friend about this, he started ranting about the evils of cosmetic products and procedures and finished off with "Whatever happened to natural beauty?" The very next moment, he got distracted by a very pretty woman, wearing at least an inch-thick of makeup, walking by.
Once back in college, while I was talking to a classmate, he looked at my arms and asked "Why don't you shave your arms? And your skin tone seems uneven. Why don't you do something about it?" I was surprised that he noticed all of this. I asked him, "Why do you give so much importance to looks? Why is it a definite must for all girls to look pretty even if it's through artificial means?" He shrugged his shoulders and said "Girls have to look pretty. That's the way it is."
Then we have women who sometimes involve themselves in some competition of sorts. Who's the prettiest? Who's the slimmest? Who's the trendiest?
We are all equally guilty of setting standards when it comes to beauty and rules about what we should and shouldn't be. And being humans, we are apt to being insecure when we don't meet those standards and we succumb to the pressure of it all. That's when we ramp up to do something about it. So if cosmetics helps the process, why be a hypocrite and crib rather than accept it?
I understand that it can be a vicious circle. The latest of products claim to make you look younger/fairer/prettier which makes you buy them which sets the new trend for 'beauty' and so on...
I wish I lived in a world where external appearances meant nothing. But I don't. What I can do is either choose to be unconcerned about it and be happy with what I have even though it may mean being one of the uglier ones or I could get 'help', be more prettier and be fine with it anyway.
What I'm trying to say is that natural beauty is almost a thing of the past. It's very rare to find. Cosmetics, when not used in excessive amounts, are good and help ease at least some of the pressure a person finds himself/herself under.
Unless something radical is done to change the concept of beauty or people are suddenly blessed with tremendous amounts of self-esteem, cosmetics will always be used. By men and women alike.
So get used to it.
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