Luring oneself into action by giving an Oscar

So I have been suffering from procrastination and lack of self discipline for a long time now. So much that I was not even doing my regular bit of yoga regularly [I think if while going to sleep any body part aches/feels pain one is not fit. (I also read similar such thing on Tanvii's blog some time back and completely nodded with a vigorous head shake) So stick to at least 20 minutes of exercise everyday]
So things needed to be straightened big time. First things first to start a good day one needs to wake up in time to have timely tea/coffee, breakfast and then daily chores. So I lured myself into this trap of watching Oscars, which started airing here at 6 am. Like a good girl got up by throwing away all impulses to snooze the alarm and go back to sleep [I went to sleep at 12 you see, after watching that GREAT match of cricket. What nonsense!] While aishwarya and abhishek gabbed about how they accidentally were in LA, I started my day on a resounding note. Successful yoga mixed with stretching exercises for 30 minutes without tiring myself out. And then I was left to nothing but watch the show. Instead of tweeting with a hashtag, I compiled all my reactions (140 characters or not) and thought would attach as an adage to the post (Again!!). 


To put it succinctly if you want to skip my tweets :D 
"The show was a sham. The hosting was really mediocre. I brightened up only when Billy Crystal, Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law were on the stage (all three are personal favorites)"


# and they start the show with a fabulous montage of all the best picture nominees


# Alec Baldwin touch is EPIC. I like Alec Baldwin FYI.


# howmuchever one criticizes the writer's sense of humor, having Anne Hathaway and James Franco up there presenting the show is refreshing for the eyes!


# the art director winner guy is actually trembling!!!


# James Franco really looks bored out of his wits!!!


# did not know Kirk Douglas was Michael's father! :0


# though toy story 3 is amazing, I had loved how to train your dragon more! but one more for steve jobs and his enterprise! (His good health features in my prayers these days)


# I will be a late bloomer - David seidler (the original screenplay winner guy) :)


# Russel Brand and Helen Mirren should have hosted, no ?


# Reese witherspoon OMG. All dolled up but pretty nonetheless!


# Had a little patriotic moment with AR Rehman's name being announced


# Now Social Network's soundtrack was really really AWESOME. Well Deserved.


# Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law. Drooooooool. (I recently watched a Jude Law, Natalie Portman gem Closer and cannot get that starting shot out of my head!)


# And Anne Hathaway is looking like lady gaga (love her voice and few songs) look-a-like in that blue dress.


# I have no favorites as such. Just clearing the airs. (I have watched only toy story 3, Inception and social network amongst the best picture nominees)


# and now Anne Hathaway has turned into an eye sore. Such a pretty face and what a bad dress. 


# James Franco looked horribly bored and looked as if all this was a gag.


# Why does Steven Spielberg always present best picture award ? (or his face looks really common or I have a bad memory. Last I saw oscars was some 3-4 years ago.)


# So my twitter timeline is all sad and mourning as King's Speech won instead of Social Network.


Anyways, as I finish (check for spelling mistakes) the post, our finance minister has finished producing the budget. Baba points out price rise of branded clothes. I promptly message my brother who I am sure will indulge in some shopping before things get implemented.  
I personally care about my jeans brand (Have a strange connection between the make of a jeans and its fitting in my head). And sadly I dont need any new jeans. So there! Budget wraps up for me.


~nightflier

#SmallJoys

Came across this (above) tag on my twitter timeline and thought it would be great to make a post out of it!


# eating panipuris.
# Finding exact 10 rs or a dollar bill in pocket to buy five star/milkyway/ mars bar.
# Reading old letters.
# People watching.
# Parallel Universes.
# Tender coconut ice-cream.
# Calvin and hobbes.
# Buying (for myself)/gifting/watching flowers.
# Thinking of calling/pinging a friend and getting called/pinged by the same friend at the same moment.
# Madhuri dixit. (I caught a few scenes from beta yesterday)
# Learning any new language/words.
# cheap thrills (as mentioned by neha in her post. I had forgotten how joyful they are!)
# Getting up to see 15 unmoderated comments in blogger inbox.
# seeing updated blogs in my reading list and hurriedly devouring them all! (There was a time when KP was not as frequent in her blog updation as she is now :D)
# Clearing any angry birds level with a 3 star. without it also actually.
# Writing notes with gifts/greeting cards.
# Making greeting cards.
# Beating baba (dad) to the remote at 9 pm. [He wants to watch some bajirao serial and I want to watch Master Chef]
# Imagining filmy reactions to situations to spice them up.
# Sachin Tendulkar.
# Watching SRK romances.
# Wearing ironed clothes.
# Planting pranks on friends/aai.
# Watching chors like Kalmadi getting punished.
# Winning a game of solitaire/mine sweeper without any strategy
# Books.
# Writing blogposts.
# Aai trying to include my kitchen methods/short cuts/styles in her routine :D
# Beating myself to catch the bus. [Chicago days]
# Taking long walks on my own.
# Exploring neighbourhoods.
# Gossiping about random hostel-mates with kt, rinku, lee, prady, kp, rupali.
# Not letting go of  old clothes. [OK I do let go if they no longer fit me]
# Not saying 'I told you so'. Instead being SMUG about it. :D
# Running away from boring/nosy relatives/people.
# Shooing off a lizard after much deliberation and finding courage to do so.
# Forgetting the umbrella at home and getting wet later.
# Accidentally finding the iTouch to be fully charged in a long journey/boring lecture/session.
# Getting to know interesting people.
# Selective forgetfulness.


Oh My God! I can just go on adding stuff to this list and it will become never ending.
So must add this one 
# Trying to make such a list and finding out there are so many small things to be joyful about! :)


~nightflier

the cooking lessons

Few days back I was staying with a pregnant friend as she was advised bed rest and needed some help in daily chores in the absence of her husband.


I cooked a lot in those 3 days. Making breakfasts, lunches, dinners, tea/coffee/milk shakes and the likes. In between all the cooking friend continued giving her two cents in the form of instructions or telling sometimes 'this is how I do it' not at all sounding smug but more out of a compulsive need to make sure her kitchen was in good hands and being taken care of. Well, like an obedient guest cook I obliged and ended up impressing her more than I had ever hoped for. Because instinctively/unintentionally I was following aai. The way she is resourceful, fast, has back up plans and takes care of everyone's taste. 


And then I read Upasna's article and smiled. I always used to be a fussy, process following, fancy cook around aai in her kitchen (I used to watch a lot of cookery shows and even had one myself where the only audience was aai or sometimes brother). And she would say in the long run not always will you be able to keep up with your fancy ways. Being productive and efficient mattered more. Sounds like corporate lingo no ?


~nightflier


P.S. Upasna is a college senior and we are used to addressing seniors with a suffix 'didi'. So somehow addressing her by first name sounds super weird :D
(I am process/instruction following in other walks of life too :D)
Oh and like her I also ask aai to pray for me or wish something for me. She also believes that its hard for me but I do get things the way I imagine/want them. Its a strong belief that she has in me that I ask her to root for me, may be :D

and then it sounds like this...

I was reading maximum city a few days back and liked the way the author talked about life defining moments/decisions. Life defining in the sense they would decide where you land up, what you end up doing etc etc. In the sense of shorter periods of life defining larger ones.

So should one be practical ? should one always listen to one's mind/instinct ? Similar questions cloud my mind. How does one decide ? May be if the belief is really strong enough what one's gut says remains the only choice and becomes practical, no ?

Silences are deceiving. Not letting them deceive you is the real test, then ? And to have the courage to fail but still not feel like a failure is better deal no ?

~nightflier

P.S. Moral of the story - Really need to indulge in something really really fun.

Quotes misquotes

There is stuff that resonates within you and stuff that you make yourself believe. One must be very very wary of the latter.


~nightflier


P.S. And I am back to one liners.

learn. un-learn. re-learn.

The problem with an analytical mind is it thinks a lot. And if gets even better company, it goes into over drive.


I think I am pretty much self aware (with an annoyingly strong (sub)conscious which always advocates not being mean). I not only observe myself, I also end up analyzing behavioral patterns of myself, people in my life and sometimes on larger scales (depending on how much free time I have) society.


So it is something related to very mundane. 4 years back when I had to learn electric machines, I did it without much fuss, in spite of knowing I had a phobia for it but very well aware that studying is the only way to pass. 4 years down the line, I am required to study some mathematical stuff which will not be asked in any exam (rather more experimental and research kind of stuff), I do it without any doubts/questions/fuss. Again. Very happy about the entire process. But few days ago I was asked to study those darned machines again and I just could not bring myself to give my 100%. So in this growing old process, my awareness that my life will be better without putting 100% to it, killed the fun/excitement I once found in learning ? [part of this sentence is as put by the even better company I talked about in the first sentence]


So in a sense, in trying to make myself learn something I had 4 years ago, I have to get rid of the baggage of this awareness by un-learning it. Re-learning will not look that hard then. May be.


Attitude, they say, determines your altitude. No wonder Mount Everest looks so tall from here. :-|


~nightflier


P.S. I tried and I failed. Again. Electric Machines are stupid that way :D
also pardon any inconsistent sentences. I have a bad feeling about the grammar here.

...

A friend commented on a really old picasa picture related to this and I suddenly realized how happy I was during that entire time. It was a strange feeling. I feel an emptiness inside. :-(


Missing Shayok and Krishna and working with them.


~nightflier