Saturday, April 30, 2011

Three Movies!







I am a movie buff... I love watching movies, any genre would do... action, comedy, romance, sci-fi, animation anything... i am putting down three movies from the top of my head... the first three that came to my mind when i saw today's topic -

3. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge... i saw this movie when i was barely a teenager and like thousands of girls across the country i fell in love with raj. ::sigh:: this movie made me fall in love with love... that kind of love which will make my 'raj' travel to a different country... make plans to impress my family... do anything and everything to make sure that we end up together... aahhh... (if you haven't figured it out yet, i am a die hard romantic :P )

2. 3 idiots... loved the message... do what you love doing, something that you are passionate about,  rather than doing something that someone else thinks you should do. Pursue excellence and success would have to follow you :)

1. Rang De Basanti... i love those kind of movies that reiterate the belief in the power of the people... that if we come to it we can do wonders... just wish that there were just a bit more of these movies though.

Three movies that I can and I generally watch whenever they are on :)

Friday, April 29, 2011

Kids say the darnest things!

Please consider the exchange below -

Boy: hw er ew?
Girl: f9 n ew?
Boy: mah doin grate s wl.
Girl: wat plns fr t9t?
Boy: nthng mch ya... d sme boriin stuuf. mah fedup wid dis lyf... wanna do smthin ntrestin. ny sggestins?
Girl: nah man... lyf suks.

No, don't freak out. this is not some alien language... this is our very own English, the Queen's language. Still trying to figure out what does it mean? it is just a normal everyday exchange between two school going kids (who are not even teenagers) on facebook. let me elaborate it -

Boy: How are you?
Girl: fine and you?
Boy: i am doing great as well.
Girl: what plans do you have for tonight?
Boy: nothing much... the same boring stuff. I am fed up with this life... want to do something interesting. any suggestions?
Girl: no man... life sucks.

now this exchange is very disturbing on so many counts. let me elaborate once again -
  • first and foremost, why are school going kids even on facebook at all? i mean what are they doing glued to a computer screen? why are they not outside playing? why do they need to be on a social networking site? what kind of networking are they doing? apparently all their friends are from their school and tuition classes whom they see every single day. so what is the point of being online? do you have any answers, I don't.
  • next - some of them also update their statuses through a mobile phone which is all the more disturbing. I mean I went to school (not very long back) and I didn't need a mobile. i had one land line and that was also not available to me 24/7. nowadays, kids as young as 11 year old flaunt a nokia or even a bb! i don't have a bb... i don't need a bb, why does a school going kid need a blabkberry? what important mail would he / she miss? you might think that i am digressing, but i am not. i have a point...seriously. remember, when mobiles were launched and messaging was really expensive? then some smart Alec's, your truly included, devised a plan to shorten the length of the messages so that the whole message can be sent in one go, thereby saving money. we used to type the message omitting the vowels. let me give you an example - how are you was written as hw r u? i am fine was written as m fne. you know, it was still understandable. but now, the sms rates have slashed big time along with it the number of letters used to convey that message. for example - how are you is written as hru; and i am fine is f9. Now, since school going kids have been given mobiles... they have become so used to using the sms lingo that they use it in their normal everyday exchange as well. i don't know if this subconsciously or unconsciously but this is how they talk and this is how they write... all the time. i guess it is considered cool, but i think it just makes them look like a fool (oh it rhymes!) i would surely like to take a dictation of all these cool kids (if they know what dictation means that is :P )
  • third reason why this is disturbing is because of the content. today's youth is bored! there are a million things to do but they are bored! now don't think i have made it up, this is an actual content that i came across between two youngsters on facebook (they have open profiles... god knows what they think is so interesting in their profile, anyway.) i fail to understand how can they be bored? they have school (where nobody studies), tuition which are as long as school hours sometime (where everybody studies!) and then sleeping time, phone time, eating time, family time, friends time... where is the time to get bored?! they have time to be on facebook... they have time to murder the English language... but they don't have the time to read, or to write, or to play (outdoors... playing games on psp doesn't qualify as playing!) i just don't understand it. 
OK, now you will say that the world has moved ahead. these things are required now. they are not luxury but necessities. i have two words for you B*** S***! college going kids having mobiles... understandable. school kids even having access to a mobile... not understandable. someone might say that they are good for knowing where the kid is all the time. well, i have one question for you? are you aware of the concept of lying?! it's a 'mobile' so it is mobile... you can move around when you talk... make the connection. and if you trust your kid to handle the responsibility of a mobile, then doesn't giving him one to keep a tab on him makes the whole trusting thing obsolete? just curious...

And there is absolutely no excuse for butchering the English language. are they saving money by shortening the word? no, they are not. And it's not to save time as well... i mean you are on facebook, so you are obviously killing time. take two seconds more and type out the whole damn word!

I know there are kids in the world... who are not as addicted to facebook as most of the lot are... who take out time to type in the whole world... some of them even use spell check ( :) )... but sadly they are in minority. if you want your kid to have a better understanding of the English language or any language for that matter... take away that blasted mobile devise, delete his facebook account or at the least monitor it (you will be amazed to know that most of your bachhas even have found the love of their lives at the tender ages of 12... lucky you!) encourage him to use the proper spellings, grammar and tenses & you might stop him from turning into someone who talks like a rapper!

Four Books... That Inspire!






Hmm... Today it is about FOUR BOOKS. I love books... I do, with all my heart. I have been reading since I learnt the alphabet. So, i knew it was going to be a challenge to just pick four... but I did. In this list are those four books that helped me in some way or other...

4. LITTLE WOMEN... This is the first novel I read. Before that I was interested in champak, nandan, archies, chacha choudhary etc etc but I saw this in the school library once and thought what the hell, let me give it a try... and I was hooked, still am. I can safely say this book started my love affair with the written word and books, in general.

3. HARRY POTTER SERIES... I have read all of them many times. In fact, the books in these series are the only ones that I have read in one sitting.  I love Harry, Ron, Hermoine and the whole gang! I love JK Rowling's imagination... I love her rags-to-riches story. It made me believe that if it can happen for her, it very well can happen for me... And if you haven't read these books, you are missing something... the movies are just the tip of the iceberg.

2. THE DA VINCI CODE... just the thought that there is someone brave enough to dethrone Christ from his divinity and place him amongst us mortals just gives me goosebumps... i don't know if it was fact or fiction... but he had the courage to write about it. similarly, I loved The Immortals Of Meluha... author Amish Tripathi, did the same thing... he also maintained, that Ram and Shiva were extraordinary men indeed, but in the end they were men. I like this concept. there is just one God. rest are all just preachers. it reaffirmed my belief and made me realize that I am not the only one with this school of thought :)

1. PRIDE & PREJUDICE... who doesn't love Mr. Darcy? I mean come one, he is handsome, rich, brooding, considerate, caring and loves Liz so much! what else do you want in a man? When I read it for the first time, in college (it was part of my syllabus), I fell heads-over-heels in love with Darcy... still am. I loved their (Liz & Darcy) banter, their chemistry, their love story... it was hopeful. It made me believe that one day, out of the blue, I will find my darcy as well (and I sure did ;) ) and no matter how many obstacles in it's path, love does conquer all... even pride and prejudice! ;)

These are four of the many books that I love... there are many many more, but these are special. one introduced me to books (Little women), one instilled romance in me (Pride & Prejudice), one inspired me to tell my story (HP Series) and one just reconfirmed my deep-rooted beliefs (Da Vinci Code)....

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Five Foods!








FIVE FOODS... Things I love to eat... things I can’t keep my hands away from... things I absolutely have to put in my mouth!

5. Steamed Chicken Momos... am crazy about them. I can have ten of those in a single sitting.

4. Blueberry Cheesecake, but only from Big Chill... I was introduced to this slice of heaven by a friend and have formed a lifelong relationship with it now. I have tried cheesecakes at many places but nothing comes close to the way Big Chill makes it!

3. Chocolate... in any shape, size and form. It could be a bar, a toffee, a cake, cookies, drink even cereal... i love it! recently I discovered a new eating joint in Amritsar called The Chocolate Room! Can you imagine my sadness when I couldn’t eat there! ;)

2. McDonalds' Burgers... there are two reasons why I love their burgers - 
  • a.) they are not available in Goa nor were they available in Kovalam so I have not had them for almost an year and as they say distance makes the heart grow fonder! 
  • b.) when I was in college, that was the only junk food we could afford apart from the delicious (not!) canteen food... I remember loads of birthday treats being held at McDs during my college time ;)
  • c.) (OK there are three reasons :P) They are Yummy!
1. Maggi! Do i even need to explain this? :P

These are my favourite food(s) but this is just the tip of the iceberg!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Six Places!



SIX PLACES... that are close to my heart ;)

6. Delhi... I was born there, lived for the first 25 years of my life there... had unforgettable (and some forgettable) experiences and made some amazing lifelong friends there! (many people may criticise it, but I Love Dilli!)

5. Kovalam... MY first home... the place from where I started my journey as a married woman... the place where i learnt to take care of myself, my husband and the home that we created for ourselves.

4. Mauritius... My first out-of-India holiday! The first visa stamp on my passport! My honeymoon destination... i love the DoDo land!

3.  Greece (Europe!)... the place I would want to visit someday.

2. Udaipur, Devigarh Palace to be exact... where I met the love of my life.

1. Goa... where I presently reside... love it for its laid back nature and the cosmopolitan experience it provides... the best of both worlds.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Seven Wants... From the Bottom of My Heart & Brain!







I want the sun, the moon and all the stars... but let's be a little realistic here ;)

My SEVEN WANTS -

7. to live in a palace and be waited on by tens of servants (OK... so maybe this is not very realistic but the heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing! :P )

6. to travel the world... from ladakh to Bhutan to Maldives to Europe to the Americas... I want to see and experience every place!

5. to own a house in meghalaya (my almost namesake state ;) )

4. to have a bookstore... something like a mix of 'The shop around the corner' from You've Got Mail and 'Central Perk' of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. (COPYRIGHT! Don't you steal my idea! I mean it!)

3. to have a column in a high profile glossy!

2. to be a bestselling novelist... i want my signature turn into an autograph! ;)

1. To be happy and in love... always & forever!

Phew... it was a lot difficult than i thought!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Eight Fears... Things I am scared of!






Honestly, I think of myself as a scaredy cat but right now I am jotting down my EIGHT FEARS (in no particular order)...

8. Heights... during childhood I couldn't even look down from my first floor apartment and now look at the irony of life, I live on the third floor!

7. Animals... any kinds! i am even afraid of puppies and kittens! i can't pat them, I can't touch them... I can only appreciate their cuteness from a distance (and they have to be on a leash) or in pictures!

6. Pests... creepy crawlies, spiders, roaches... ugh!! hate 'em and am scared of 'em to death! i would not venture into a room if i have seen a roach there! again, in a bizarre twist of fate, I had to live six months in a place where i witnessed all kinds of pests imaginable! (did nothing to get me over my fear though!)

5. Losing someone close to me... I don't know if I will be able to handle that.

4.  Speed... it thrills but it kills!

3. Ghosts... Don't know if they exist but what if they do?! yikes!

2. Loneliness... I love being alone, that I can handle, but I am afraid of being lonely. there is a difference.

1. Losing my ability to write... don't know what I will do without it.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Nine Loves Of My Life!






OK... so today it is about NINE LOVES...

9. Clouds, RAINS... getting wet in it or sipping coffee while watching the clouds slowly drift away... the smell of wet earth... love it all!

8. FOOD... love trying new cuisines. I admit it I am a foodaholic!

7. I have a ginormous sweet tooth! Love everything CHOCOLATE... latest crush - chocolate chip cookies dipped in frothy cappuccino... hmm!

(technically deserts are a part of the broader heading of food but my love for sweets is so great that it had to be a separate point!)

6. watching MOVIES. I love the whole experience of watching it in a theatre with popcorn, nachos, drinks, momos etc etc. & cuddling in a blanket and watching some old movie on a DVD.

5. LONG DRIVES with nice music... just me and my husband... no phones, no interruptions.

4. TINY BOTTLES... be it of perfume or alcohol. I love collecting 'em!

3. BOOKS... smell of a new book... addictive!

2. WRITING... that has, over time, become a very solid part of me... the one thing that I have been doing from as long as i can remember.

1. MY FAMILY & FRIENDS... people who have made me the person I am.
 

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Ten Things You Didn't Know About Me... Ten Secrets!






I saw this on Translucid Graffiti's blog and decided to give it a try. A good way to understand yourself better... So, here goes nothing...

This one is about TEN SECRETS...

10. I am the center of my universe. If it is not about me, i am not interested... i may pretend to be listening but I am not, in reality I am thinking about something else (generally about myself!) but in spite of that i am surprisingly good at giving advice :p (have no modesty either, that's no secret though!)

9. I have this habit of picturing myself as the protagonist when I am watching a particularly nice romantic movie or reading an interesting book... (okay, I agree this is a little embarrassing :P )

8. I hate yelling. I can't yell at people and absolutely loathe being yelled at... can't tolerate it really. If you want to talk to me, be nice and expect politeness. if you raise your voice, then you can talk to the hand.

7. I love watching television. i can watch anything and everything.

6. I am one of those who will cry at sad situations in movie theaters but when caught wiping tears would pretend that something was in my eye and would also insist that the situation on screen is pretty lame.

5. I day dream... about being famous... almost every other hour.

4. I would always pick a Bridget Jones' Diary or a Confession of a Shopaholic over a Shakespeare.

3. I hate making small talk. I can't do it. period.

2. I am addicted to social networking sites. I am trying to cut down and get help. I am also seeking a support group for the same, any suggestions? :P

1. Writing is therapeutic for me. I think I am much better at expressing my feelings through written words than verbally.

Well, those were ten secrets about me... why don't you share yours? but, don't forget to link back to Meher (who started it all) and me (just for the heck of it ;) )

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