Small world

I am wary of cliches. I love some of them, but some of them I really really dont like. And for some I have not made up my mind yet. 'The world is small' is one of those such things, which happens to other people. I always marvel at stories told by people around me about how they found someone after so many years and how it felt wonderful. Personally I feel cramped by the idea of a small world, where everyone knows everyone through someone. I like the idea of a connected world, but I like my space as well. I mean I am fine without the need of knowing everyone. Am I making any sense ?

So during my recent travels I went to a friend's wedding in Austin. During a friends and family get together I overheard an uncle sitting across from me talking about my hometown. Of course I got interested and when chance came upon, told him that I was also from the same city. One thing led to another and soon we figured out that the said uncle and I went to the same school. Separated by a span of 25 years. Isnt that cool! Then we started talking about school experiences and teachers. To everyone's amazement we shared the same teachers! 2-3 to be specific, but the teachers who had just joined school were on the brink of retirement when I graduated high school. This story started making the rounds in the entire gathering and soon we were excitedly telling everyone how cool this was! 
I somehow felt more at ease and comfort for the next 2 days of the wedding. I also met them again in California where they actually lived and I was visiting for work. They were super nice and treated me with great home food and another gathering of people of my hometown. I liked experiencing this cliche of a small world. Travel does open you up to things you thought you were not prepared for. The joy of meeting someone 25 years your senior and still talk about some of your favorite growing up moments is one such thing!

Wandering heart

That sometimes has been my problem.
Specially when I am in some other country. Other place.
I am there and I cannot completely be there.
13 days into this trip, I am already missing my food, my people, my friends.
Its like parts of me are missing.
And they show up at random street corners here, during my daily run in the cemetery, while nibbling on takeout chinese food.
I like my independence of checking in and out of hotels at any time and ability to drive around on whims. I do like this country.
But inside me remains a deep craving for the known and familiar. 
Every unknown adventure here feels empty and forced.
The land of opportunities feels like a land wasted on me.
My 'abandonment anxiety'* type personality wakes up at ungodly hours to check my phone, to look outside if its sunrise yet.
When I am here, my heart wanders to a place I have come to call home. 
Though I argue with the security guards there all the time.
Back in Aundh. 

* A term I learnt recently from a beloved writer. And which I think suits me too well.

New York

How does one come about to write about a city romanced by so many ? After having had the SATC and woody allen influence, its hard not to look at the city through borrowed glasses.

Neveretheless I tried.

I journeyed in Coach USA to get down at port authority of New York and walk down the dreamy landscapes of central park. How can one not love central park! At first sight its kaleidoscope of people, couples, friends, teenagers, oldies, dogs, trees, foreigners, onlookers (like me) hit you like a storm. When you do settle down, there is just scope for being oneself. When the feeling of not belonging runs high, the idea of getting lost in the central park-ness of new york is just fine! And over the course of next 3-4 hours I read a book, walked aimlessly and sat on stones to answer questions about happiness and contentedness to a couple of chinese student film makers. You know I tried to sound profound to those guys. But blurted out saying, I am reading a book I have wanted to for a long time and that to me right now is happiness. Also told them that I was going to meet some friends later, which equated to contentedness. If at all I become a celebrity one day, one can imagine how boring tabloids will sound.

So on so forth. I walked and walked. With the sun going down as my indicator. At one moment I thought I could do this all night and for the next day and the day after. But boredom set in. Was frantic to be reunited with friends. Familiar faces. Took a turn on 42nd Street towards 5th avenue. Times square beckoned. In the wait to meet friends bought souvenirs. 'I Love NY' and the assorted bunch. Some Irish-ness and forever 21 later, I was taken. The glitz, the power, the wealth. It is this which makes people migrate to this city. I found Mumbai-ness in it. Because my liking for Mumbai has evolved over the years, NY liking came by easily. There is just so much to look at and soak in, it was not at all possible for me to remain unaffected. Promise to self - NY on foot and trains and buses. Sometime soon. Oh and a visit to the Public library in the day time. Not just to click pictures outside a closed one.

Taken!

On a slightly tight schedule the next day, Brooklyn bridge visit happened. This was my 4th bridge in the cities I went to in US, I did not feel the excitement. But it got me closer to people I had not really grown apart from. Some interesting conversations later, I thought to myself, may be this is the point of bridges. Literal. Metaphorical. Call me slow.

My most humbling experience in this trip was visiting Ground Zero. I am not sure what I felt, but it felt like a symbol of resilience and not a place of tragedy. The towering freedom towers make your jaw drop and feel small. 

I am awed by cities*. I may be a city-girl even! The most therapeutic thing about them cities is they make you lose you to find your way back. And because one finds strength in this routine. However cliched this may sound.

~nightflier

*Chicago love, you are the most loved!

Texas reloaded!

2 years ago around the same time of the year I lived in Dallas for more than a month. So when we were planning a college friends reunion and things moved from the west coast to the southern state, I felt a bit reluctant to visit Texas. Again! I mean Austin, Dallas same difference right ? WRONG.

Specially with the 'keep austin weird' thing going on. So anyway, the texas part apart, I did what one can do best in Austin. Eat, binge drink and eat and chill out. To top it off it rained most of the weekend and that just helped the above mentioned activities even more.

my crumpled version of the esther's
show guide :D

Few touristy things like visiting the UT austin campus which is super beautiful and capitol which is the regular state building, also happened. And a sketch comedy show at Esther's was thoroughly enjoyed. My general tiredness and enthusiastic-lady-behind-me's jolly laughter aside. After some pub hopping on 6th street (we went to the east side because we were tired and well we were'nt really following dress code), saturday was called off. Accompanying me in these little adventures were snita, advait, shayok, nikhil and a lot of other fun people (who don't blog/tweet).

The best outing of this trip was getting together at Trudy's over their famous house martinis, served in giant-ass lassi style glasses. The food which accompanied was equally yummy! Saturday afternoon saw us at Able's on the lake, with some amazing grilled chicken salad (tired of wraps/burgers/breads already!) and the famous Texas tea. Perfect recipe for a lazy afternoon. Not so perfect if you have activities planned for the evening.

the pennybracker bridge! from snita's camera

Apart from this Masala wok, Bombay express (Please forgive me pani puri gods for trying a plate in texas, when I can get the real stuff back home so easily.) Taco deli, Amy's and such local eating out happened.

The icing of the trip was the smallish hike to the hill overlooking the 360 loop and the Pennybacker bridge. If I could, I would visit Austin for this part of the town. Just to sit and may be play some chess/scrabble.

~nightflier

CA1 and catching up!

Since I have decided to jot down whatever fun things (apart from ginormous amounts of work, which looks never ending) I will be doing during this trip, I feel bad that it took me such a long time to update activities from last weekend.

Saturday was spent in driving around the scenic beaches of SFO. From Santa cruz wharf to the beautiful CA1 drive till bixby bridge, it was a day well spent taking in nature and its sights. 

from google

The bixby bridge was built in 1932 and literally connected the two regions separated by a valley otherwise. The Pacific looks as majestic as one would imagine it to be from here.

Despite being from the same college I and Neha had never interacted much before and on Sunday I finally met her. Yay!

She was really nice and picked me up from where I am staying and took me to the shoreline lake and cafe. We talked about random stuff over coffee and delish chocolate cake (which Neha was reluctant to finish, so I finished very happily :D)

It was fun to touch upon topics of blogging, growing up in India, work life, cultures and college gossip.

I am really happy that I am getting to meet all the people I really want to meet and spend time with. (not sure if that's the case with them, but I dont mind burdening people with my company for a change :P). I am also happy that even though I am not that mobile (like being really lazy to rent a car or explore the local transport) I am meeting people who are generous enough to let me tag along! I know sucks being an independent woman of the 21st century and blah but hey! whatever :P

~nightflier

Source code-ed!

So if you watch that movie, do make note of the red building near which the train explosion takes place.
That's my school!!!!! (you have to look out for this particular building)

courtesy - google

clicked by my N72 - circa 2009 spring

Also the movie features tons (is that even a relevant metric?) of chicago!!! And metra train!!! And millennium park (that was my favorite show-any-visitor-friend destination) And my school!!!


The building is very old btw (from 1930 or something). There are still those old elevators inside which take 4 minutes to travel 4 floors!! And there are spiral iron staircases too! They have kept and maintained all these antic(s) from times gone by. iLike!


Oh btw, I had gone equally crazy after seeing bhagat singh (ajay devgan wali) movie, because they had shot extensively in our undergrad college. :D 
[before that I used to be amused by such going-crazy people!]


And to think that, I was going to skip on the movie today, and to remain down in the dumps. I am glad for taking this good decision! Sometimes strangest co-incidences can cheer you up! :)


~nightflier

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

Dallas Diaries II

When I came to Dallas, I was bringing up Chicago in almost every other sentence. From cribbing about the windy weather, to walking in knee deep snow, to charms of downtown Chicago, to shopping outlets and eating joints, to grocery prices, to public transport, to every chindhi thing one can think of. Every time fondly.

I was also termed as being paranoid on multiple occasions. So I learned to control myself and look at the southern life and culture open heartedly.

Then I was introduced to dining out and partying and having fun on a regular basis. After shedding my inhibitions I have been really enjoying every outing. Started from visiting a very english-esque club called Sherlock's. The atmosphere was charged enough to get one drunk without any real drinks. It was me's first outing with the bunch (who were I had no idea then going to become some of the fastest (duration wise) friends I made). So me spent most time looking around and noting down the details about its quaint interiors. I LOVED them. The owner seemed to be a really huge Holmes fan. I think I should have hung out more there to get to know him (convenient assumption) more!

A lot of places happened next.

Madras Pavillion - Really good value for money south Indian food. We had the thali. Very filling affair.

Sambuca Jazz club - A really fun but expensive place. We were the only sajjan crowd there.

Dallas 300 - The best margaritas we had. To the fun fact that I won at bowling that day. I know!

Masala wok - Amazing spicy stuff. No wonder Indians prefer to live in Texas. For the food there I would too!

Chili's - The molten chocolate dessert there! We acted so high while eating it that I am sure they will watch out for the rest when they visit next.

Truluck's crab house - Oh what a place. I will leave you with this pic.

* the outer bag is made of chocolate (edible). Inside is pound cake mixed with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries. Topped with hot chocolate sauce. Thats whipped cream dollop with choco-chips on top.


Cannot remember any more places. One more highlight of my stay was the Onam feast we prepared. Aviyal, Sambar, Payasam, Ishtu, Injipuli. Wow. The most amazing part was learning how to make all this. 

So as stated at the beginning of the post, I was being paranoid about Chicago during my initial days in Texas. And now that I am in India, Texas is the only place I seem to be talking about. I wish the girls read this :D

These 2 months surmise the amount of fun I missed out on during grad school days. So much fun human company did a lot of good to my mental well being. And at the risk of sounding repetitious I will once again say that, these girls are the most wonderful people I have met in a long long time. Their zest for life and enjoying small things in life, make them the most addictive company ever. I really miss them :(

So the much needed post on Dallas excursions comes to an end. Time to bore you guys with India stories, henceforth!

~nightflier

General

Was the last post tearful or did it seem that I am on the brink of doomsday ?
It did to me, in a way. Because a part of me is really sad. But then I have so many other functioning parts that the sadoo sad part feels really lonely now. Hence the happy post!

(And Neha and Mansi you both are too sweet.. but I am leaving US of A, as of now.. What I am going to do back home I have no clue :D)

Today was talking to a friend and we were discussing what I will miss the most about the US. In my humble opinion clothes from forever 21 and H&M (that was my spontaneous reply) until she made me realize the internet and guacamole.


Internet. Hmm. I think I will be able to live with broadbands. Cos I will have real people around. Tuk Tuk :P
Guacamole. Hmm. I will really miss thee :( Farmers in India please start producing avocados! You will have one dedicated consumer for sure! But then Krishna told me that they do grow/sell avocados back home. I must find out where!
I will also miss pouring 2% milk from the can and making microwaved coffee (the art which I had perfected for my taste) and drinking in the day which passed by and feeling good about the day which lies ahead. How profound. (We are into homeopathic medicines at home, and hence there is restriction on the amount of coffee I can consume on a daily basis. Plus the hot weather adds to the woes. I really hope Aai-baba read this and let me drink coffee everyday :P) Hence the deep connections :D
I will miss my comforter if I have too much baggage and can't take it home. :( Kindly don't roll your eyes. I am normally allergic to blankets back home. So my snot (allergy) free 2 years are a fond memory of the comforter. And hence the keenness on taking it back with oneself.
I will miss these crazy bunch of girls from Dallas. And grocery shopping at 12 in the night with them. I also bought myself a tinker bell tee (which prompted other 2 friends to buy one as well :D) as a souvenir to remind me of the happy days spent in Texas.


And before the list grows too long and the happy mood switches back to cold feet, I will stop.
But my mood already got spoilt when earlier today I read the extra bag charges on air india website. They should consider special cases and let people carry as much baggage as they want. I am also considering of convincing them by saying my excess baggage compensates for me being weightless. You guys think they might listen ?


Parting song of the moment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oRFEiXV0zY


~nightflier

Dallas Diaries

After the usual woes of the baggage that I tend to accumulate over time and packing and moving, I have finally arrived in Texas. I was sleeping through most of the touch down and hence dont have any specific aerial observations about the city I am in. But from what my sleepy head can remember, the landscape seemed pretty sparsely crowded (with buildings and vehicles) and greener than I could have imagined. 


Oh and the airs of Dallas blew me away. Literally. As soon as I got out of the airport gusts of hot winds greeted me. Except for the people around I had a deja vu feeling for a second of being in my homwtown, where things get hot, hotter and hottest! My shared cab driver made me wait for 20 minutes and then finally we took off. Normally I do my bit of research before visiting any city to at least know about the people and culture. But this time due to lack of time and lack of internet I ended up being a total nomad. I was clueless except for the fact that I had the address of the friend where I was supposed to go. [May be it was the comfort of visiting someone familiar that I was so careless to not do my part.]


And since I was caught in an unfamiliar territory I started my bit of small talk with the driver by talking about the weather. [:P] After making it obvious that this was my first visit to southern USA, he broke the ice pretty fast. Talks soon moved to schooling and education and what I was doing there. After giving my standard replies, I asked him where he was from. Algeria. I made a very stupid attempt of guessing its geographic location and made a huge boo boo. Thankfully I was judged for being an engineer, a person who should know more about technology than geography. He then went on to explain the whole geography of Africa. He had no difficulties telling stuff about India and our neighbours too. He also mentioned Kashmir and then we ended up discussing how political the whole situation has become. Which lead to an interesting revelation on his behalf. Apparently he was a business administration student at a nearby university. And due to the recession he dropped out of school in his last semester, 2.5 years back and started this driving business. That was apparently the reason for his good knowledge of current affairs. Looking back he reflected he should have continued school and finished it sooner instead of trying to earn more money. But for the better part he also got his family here [but it seems his younger brother and sister have also dropped out of school and are part time drivers]. 


We humans are weird. I met a guy who quit school to earn money by doing something he never thought he would do, at a point when I am contemplating my next career move. I could not help but compare myself with him and feel a tad bit secure.
At the same time, I could not help but wonder if they will join school again and be able to go back home ?


So that's the story of the first texan friend I made. He plans to join school and finish his Bachelors soon. And I can just hope 'that soon' is not the next 2 years.


~nightflier

to all the concerned friends

To all the people stated above,


Me losing the job is not the end of the world. The very moment when my then would be HR expressed concern over me not receiving work authorization, I had a gut feeling that this is not going to work out. Sometimes however positive you are, your instinct tells you that this is it. And that just happened with me. 
Though I did give a good fight (trying to negotiate with the HR and trying to communicate with stupid USCIS and stupider international center at school) before deciding to be patient and mature. As a growing up gift, life has taught me to let go of things. And with great pains, I have learned my lessons. This incident just gives me a chance to apply that theory :P And I am trying to do that. So when you still ask me (over and over again) why you did not do this or that (rather you should have done this or that), I just have one thing to say, let it go pal :P [Better still come to play tennis with me. It is superrrr fun!]


For I seriously cannot beg anyone to let me work beyond a limit. Nor can I tell white lies (except when I have to pull a prank).


I am quite serious about my career. And I also think I have what it takes to find another job :D


~nightflier


P.S. for those who still don't understand, such situations bring along a lot of negativity, lack of confidence, frustration, self pity, irritation, loss of appetite, self isolation and related tendencies. So give up mate!

Life in the slow zone

Most of you will agree that life as a student is slow except for those elevated periods of activity and exhaustion during exams and semester end. But on a routine basis if you follow a time table life is more or less the same. Having done that for almost 2 years I was REALLY looking forward to get my hands dirty in the real world and start working. It seems god or one of his subordinates with a mean sense of humour has different plans (cos I think I have a friendly relation with mr. god. I know he is reading this! coy smile). 


Anyhow that throws me in the slow zone (what I sometimes also call the unpredictable zone) once again! To tell the truth, I did get caught a bit off guard here. But after 4-5 days of lamenting and sob stories (to myself), I am back to being an optimist. Sigh..


I am planning to learn a few new programming languages/tools (Strictly for AwareNet purposes).
Also in the pipeline is a lot of reading. The pending reading list seems to grow by day and looms on me menacingly. In a wake up you lazy ass way.
The evening walks are an integral part of my day now. Planning to add badminton sessions. Any bakras in picture or vicinity ? Well, playing with imaginary friends doesn't quite look appropriate for my age now. 
And in the cooking section we have Mark uncle making a re-entry. Of course he will be on Minimalist and me in my kitchen.
On the gadget front if I can carry it off then try to download cool applications and games for my iTouch. Seriously it must be feeling ignored/rejected/sad with my meagre musical needs and limited use. But pretty soon I will be as cool as Tony Stark. Hope floats!


And not on the list is any TV related activity. Because I pulled up a crazy stunt of watching 5 seasons of Lost in 15 days (Each episode lasts for 42-45 minutes :-|) Now I have a pretty good gist of how its going to end. If you have heard of parallel universes and infinite dimensions you might know what I am talking about. And if you are somewhere between season 1 and 5 or don't watch it, then don't bother. This isnt even a spoiler. So I hope there are no chappals or chopsticks coming my way ? Phew!
Waise in my defence I thought any free time before starting work is like your last few days on earth before doomsday. Well watching 5 seasons of Lost will not be anyone's choice in such situation, but let's agree people are weird. Waise I am on episode 4 of season 6 now, if you were still thinking.
The effect of this incessant Lost bombardment has been tremendous on my nervous system. I have lost (the verb) appetite for tv. That also makes my stomach churn at the thought of movies. Now that's pretty bad for a fanatic. So I beg you to not suggest any more new tv series by amreekan versions of Ekta Kapoors. I also hope the damage does not last long.


So now coming to the point behind this non stop badbad, please suggest me good books on design of products, entrepreneurship and marketing. Not my cup-o-tea all this stuff. Par kya karein karna padta hai.
Also if any of you at any point of time has developed a facebook/mobile custom application, kindly let me know. 
And be a good girl/boy and help your technologically challenged (lazy more like) friend by suggesting nice iTouch/phone applications (needn't be useful). Also let me know what your plans for summer are, in case things get really slow, I might gatecrash (into ?) them.


Parting songs of the moment(s) : 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91QBcm07kXE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8me1GXijJA


(Go ahead my friend. Click them. Sometimes clicking unknown links can make all the difference :))


~nightflier

The Engineering Fight

Ladies and gentlemen,
Presenting to you the commencement anthem for us engineers :D


e to the x
dy dx
e to the x
dx
cosine
secant
tangent
sine
3.14159
i
PI
square root of 3
rockem
sockem
iit


We sang it at the end of our commencement ceremony!!!
Too much fun :)


~nightflier

Ramblings

1. The other day was talking to a friend and he started telling me how his mother gives my example as an ideal girl (in terms of independence) to his younger sister. Boy! If I was his sister I would have hated me. Seriously, when I was small and dad/mom used to tell me 'see him/her and see how independent/polite/nicely behaved/whatever they are!' I used to put those very people in my 'always-keep-safe-distance-with' list. It was an automated thing. With time I have managed to be in touch with most of them, but there are some who still secretly lie(or lay ?) there ;)


2. I refresh my facebook page almost every minute, to see how much people rock. And sometimes it does make me feel miserable, seeing how these people can put their entire daily life out there. I really admire these people. Is there any lower barrier for sucking ?


3. Have a new found love for walks. Started it after the DC trip (thanks to the amazing weather!). Fun walking as I call it, is therapeutic. Just my iPod, no running/walking shoes and taking random strolls at my will. This is the highest point of my otherwise boring routine life. And somehow the idea that I wont be here after 15 days, makes me sad :(
Anywho, better late than never. I hope to explore the Michigan lakeside more. And to anyone planning to visit the city, this place is a MUST visit! (only during May-August).


4. Have started watching LOST. To tell you the truth, I found it okay. I mean nothing great. Plus I think if you have watched a lot of tv then you get a hang of it all. Not that I am looking for something to think or ponder upon, but LOST doesnt exactly deserve the WOW ratings it gets! (totally my opinion)


5. And the desire or wish to go back to India is all the more strong now. I mean I should stop lying to myself or anyone, hence putting it here. I do have a job in hand, which looks promising for long term. But I am not happy. Not a bit. Now some friends/people will call me ungrateful or stupid (may be) but I seriously dont want to live here. So anyone who knows any openings in India, specially tech sector, please please please, let me know! (Especially in Mumbai or Pune :D) Thanks in advance!


~nightflier :)

notes to random people

Was out whole day for St. Patrick's day celebrations! Chicago river colouring, the downtown Irish parade, warm and friendly people from neighbouring states and some personal take-a-ways!


1. Never keep anyone waiting. You might be a girl who wants to look her best for an Irish event (not me yaa) on a particularly chilly and windy day. But do value others time. Not everyone is fond of becoming a kulfi!


2. Group dynamics are difficult. Its difficult to keep everyone together, in sync, on the same plane during an outing. Specially in an international community where conversing in your mother tongue (which no one else understands) can be quite awkward, discomforting, annoying and sometimes offensive. And this one applies to me too, as sometimes to soothe people from my country in case of a debate/dispute, I use Hindi. Sigh..


3. Planning without communication is as good as not planning at all. Anyways things are going to be random. Then why even bother ? So dear friend, next time you want people to follow an agenda to maximize fun, participation etc, communicate!


4. Don't judge others because they did not laugh at your jokes :P May be they are really dumb or may be you are. God knows. So lets stop trying!


5. And cross cultural sensitivity is something about which I can go on and on. Sometimes even I dont realize, any harmless comment can be taken quite literally and personally. Its advisable to keep things simple. After all being a global citizen is in itself quite tough!


Moral of the story: I can be quite a mean person when instigated ;)

the ski tale

1. Whoever, who has gone skiing once, tells you that its fun, they are LIE-ing! Yeah! a flat lie, which sounds real on the phone or chat. It isnt fun. It makes you fall and tumble and crawl and sour (with pain).

2. Also whoever invented skiing did not think of people like me for sure. Walking with your feet tied down to the ground is no fun. Again! The boots are so damned heavy that forget walking, even standing seems impossible.

3. Falling down is so easy. Getting up is harder. Doing so on your own is even tougher.Yours truly fell down 7 times and got up on her own each time. Thankfully! Once she also made 2 people behind her on the rope fall, she smiled sweetly at them and decided to focus on herself.

4. Try to keep your focus on not falling. Someone kept on telling it to herself and managed to stay on her feet for a surprisingly longer slope.

5. Also try to take a very heavy breakfast in the morning. Helps in maintaining energy levels. Believe me its one hell of a energy sapping sport. And weird part is you dont realize it.

Believe me, but I was not scared. All had looked so good in theory. Alas..

To all the skiing enthusiasts, I really admire you.

To all the aspirants/first timers, all the best. You will really need it. And in case you do manage to break my record of falls, do let me know. I might just gloat in that momentary glory before empathizing with you!

Now I am back to recovering from the muscle crunching, ego shattering (3 year olds were better than me..hmmmppffff) experience.

Till then, 

cheers,

~nightlfier

J.E.R.S.E.Y. boys

There is so much I dont know about music! Bah!


Experienced Broadway musicals for the first time yesterday! And boy what an experience!
So thrilled I am, that I have to blog about it. To share it with you. And if you are not much of a fan of musicals/theatre or have not experienced it, then to urge you all to please please try it. At least once! 


To start off, Jersey Boys is a musical about the most famous American pop and rock band The Four Seasons. It tells the story of a class act, some pure musical genius and talent, in the form of Frankie Valli (the lead Italian singer with an I and not a Y), Tommy De Vito (the leader), Nick Massi (the sentimental Italian) and Bob Gaudio (pure genius and far sighted businessman). The four seasons who started off as the Four Lovers, to become Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons ultimately. 
The narration was crisp with the right touch of humour and wit. Nothing dark, shady or sad about it. The sombre moments were handled with an easiness. The lighting was perfect. The stage just transformed the whole theatre into the 60's and even me, a person who does not know the abc's of rock-n'roll travelled back to the era of handsome guys (no offence to this generation :P), Italian mafia, funny clothes (stripes and all yaa!!). 
The music and the dances were the essence of the play. Not at a single point did I feel out of sync. I think thats the best thing about plays, there s always something going on the stage. The energy these guys put up in making those 3 hours memorable, is commendable. I think thats why I have always been awed by my college theatre group. It must be a different world, performing to a full crowd and riveting them. I literally laughed, sang, tapped my feet, anticipated in anxiety as to what will happen next, as the show progressed. I enjoyed it more than a movie would not be an understatement although sounds a bit dramatic. 


Recently Ketaki wrote about how frustrated she was with movies (Hindi) in general. And I realized how much sense she was making, as I stood there transfixed and mesmerized, clapping till my hands ached, to the last performance of the Four Seasons. Why theatre remains so less explored is a mystery though. (I have figured out a few things but thats not what the blog is about, so lets leave it for a rainy day)


So that's my returning post! About the musical that moved me. So much, that I had to write about it :)
I hope and wish that at least those of you who are in the US, watch it.


Sharing one of my favourite tracks with you all. This Frankie Valli is one hell of a singer. Enjoy!





~nightflier!


P.S. Now lets move to the topic of your concern. Kindly lower those raised eyebrows for moving away from blogger without any notice or reason. I dont want you guys to understand my reasons, cos I know you understand ;) 
I think we lie to ourselves. On a daily basis. And I needed to do some serious introspection to find some answers. Well, the deep side of me had taken over. I was worried cos she never takes over unless its something to do with SRK. But anyways, now that I am back in blogville, I am sure you will re-welcome me with warm hugs and comments (convenient assumptions and more lies to myself ;)). And as to those who really missed me, thanks guys!  I appreciate it. I mean it! And for those who thought I had deleted the blog, how could you ???? BOOOOOOO ya!!! Its an integral part of me, and you just dont throw away your cell phone cos its old and out of fashion, but you upgrade it. A really bad example, but I know you have understood what I meant. Smart people you all are ;)

Lets play the music tag!

Reporting from ER@ Mercy hospital.

Dont worry guys, a friend has been admitted here for what seems like a case of Kikuchi disease after complaints of trouble swallowing and a real bad sore throat. The doctors are still unsure of her mysterious medical condition btw. So in between taking care of her (read boring her and the visiting docs, making fun of the docs, nurses and the staff in general) I decided to blog. (I know real real mean of me!). Yes, hospitals here have a pretty good bandwidth of wi-fi. Lets us stream shows, download homework assignments, and play farmville.

First, some funny facts about hospitals here. My friend with a bad throat problem has been given all kinds of tangy foods like orange juice, curds, pine apples, and anything else you can think of. Now back home, things like these are forbidden with a sore throat. Specially the mother clan will make sure that one gets only soups, hot teas, and dal-bhaat (rice and lentils) in an unwell condition. So what was to be avoided in India, is something not to be worried about in the US. Strange!

So coming back to the cause of my return to the fun world of blogging. Recently nishant tagged me for what sounds to be a fun tag.

this is how it goes .. List down 5 songs running through your mind / Playlist right now.

I normally dont have a 'songs' pattern. I am slightly dyslexic when it comes to listening to songs. One can find me listening to anything, from classical to rock. It is strictly mood based. And I normally pick up songs randomly. As far as my history goes, I have got introduced to really awesome songs long after they have been released/become legends. My friends and family to an extent, with varied taste of music are a major reason for whatever my music appetite is.

Mom had a thing for Marathi music (still has..one should listen to her going ga ga over sa-re-ga-ma-pa champs) and we practically grew up listening to the same tapes over and over again. A music system was a tape-recorder then. And her collection was on TDK tapes, I remember! Then at home my bro introduced me the videsi (english) music. Boyzone, backstreet boys (Nick Carter :P), MLTR, westlife, savage garden have been my teenage music crushes! Then I moved on to Bryan Adams. Lately beatles (thanks to last.fm radio) have been a great addition to my music food (And telling people that I listen to beatles also sounds supercool btw ;)). Then I remember my engineering roomie being a total lovey-dovey songs freak. Another friend at hostel (whom I think has a real good sense of music) introduced me to lots of jazz, gazals and random hindi pop stuff. Nowadays as far as Hindi music goes, I rely on new music releases and YouTube.

So after all this blabber (I hope at least one of you found it interesting :P), my random 5 songs are

1. rehna tu - delhi 6 - this song is awesome!

2. masakalli - delhi 6 - its tune just cheers me up. Have been listening to it for quite a few days now. I also make my patient (the one in the hospital and not the quality, duh!) friend listen to it at least once during my visit.

3. single ladies - beyonce - Me and my roomie have a new found dance instructor in the form of Beyonce. I know quite a tough dance form to practise with my agility! sigh..

And funnily I hum this song as 'I am a single lady'. That 'deciphering the english accent' disorder is rooted methinks! :-/

4. pachai nirame - alai payuthey (saathiya) - I was humming this tune (I say the tamil song cos I know the words were definitely 'not hindi'!) throughout the day. Btw pachai nirame means green leaves. I thought they LITERALLY translated tamil songs to hindi! (dont mind me, but I used to listen to tamil songs as a kid-courtesy neighbours, and they always used to tell me that the tamil lyrics are literally translated to hindi!)

5. kabhi kabhi aditi - jane tu ya jane na - again a song which cheers me up, these days! (Mind you, I am quite a cheerful person meself :P)

Thus, I am done listing my 5 random songs. It was a fun (not much thinking required) tag indeed. Thanks Nishant!

I am tagging all my readers :)

~nightflier

it happens only in America!!

1. When you start using tissues from house cleaning to wiping 'you know what'.

2. When you stick 'stick notes' all over your desk wall, your refrigerator for TO DO (grocery list to schedule of the day) things.

3. When you don't venture out without checking the weather forecasts on weather.com for the entire day.

4. When while/after cooking you light scented candles to make sure the Indian spices aroma is neutralized.

5. When you start arranging pot lucks to avoid cooking. (I simply do it to avoid myself my amazing company)

6. When facebook games and twitter updates are integral part of your life.

7. When long weekends and weekends are the days, you HAVE to plan something fun and exciting (A trip to walmart or downtown counts!)

8. When extremely long showers are in no worry of getting snapped by power cuts (load shedding).

9. When surfthechannel.com and last.fm is your way for salvation!

10. When stale (made 1 day before, refrigerated and stored) food tastes better (May be the refrigerators here have some sensors so the taste settles down!).

~nightflier

Springing into action

It is officially spring in the windy city.

After 6 months of chilly and windy weather, its a respite to see the sun and wind gods smiling on us mortals. 

I was so glad to see people without their n layers of winter gear. Roaming casually in shorts and floaters. Families with kids streaming towards the beach (yea yea.. the lake), teenagers on roller skates and cycles, parks filled with activities, football games at all playgrounds. Its such a welcome sight for the eyes. 

I just hope this is the official harbinger of increasing temperatures for at least 2 months to come. After all spring has finally sprung :) :)

And I also found this. Sharing it with you all :)

After all what do you want at the end of a day ..

To see a face
And wish for a smile...
To hear a voice
And let it linger awhile...
To ask some questions
And answer a few...
To revisit memories
And to create some anew...
To care and pamper
And spoil to the core...
To do routine small things
And yet not make them look like a chore...
To smile at all times
And have it be the energy...
To be the pillar of strength
A lighthouse in rough sea. 

~nightflier!!