I was generally browsing through some random website that I do not remember and saw this video on the sidebar. The video showed a woman stripping down to white shorts. Usually, I would not care much about any ad on any website or for that matter, any sort of video. Youtube totally rocks, but I haven't been bitten by the bug as yet. I watched this particular video. Guess why. I watched it because this video was promoted by Burger King, the so-called American burger giant, and I wondered what a woman who was stripping her pants down to her shorts would have to do with the 'healthy option' of eating Burger King burgers. Really, I'm stupid. I did forget for a minute that most (read: all) advertisements nowadays portray women to be either those super-accomplished homemakers who know everything from birth control to X box controllers or those corporate women who go out, live the life, earn the money and can afford to buy those numerous creams. No, not those that make wrinkles vanish. Those ads have homemakers in them. Sorry, I digress. As I was saying, we have a tendency to watch women go skimpy or nude for some ads. No, these are not shown as women who do anything at home or work. These women are generally beautiful, tall, slim, sexy legs (read: long and never-ending and waxed/shaved ALL the time), with perfect teeth, a lustrous smile, ravishing hair.....I hope I have not left anything out. You see, I do not see this everyday in the mirror, so I have to watch TV for this. And watching TV is an ardous task. I digress again. Coming back to the point, ads nowadays can be classified into three categories. Loosely, that is. One, women's products - sanitary napkins, cosmetics, clothes, chocolate (sometimes) and some other stuff without which a woman can't land a date. ( Now, I feel that either AB was dumb or that I had all this stuff..hmm...) Two, home products - that perfect tissue paper, or those steaks that you get at Walmart or nutritious cereals that you feed the man of the house and the kids. Oh, even those health drinks that you can drink so that you do not eat that chocolate chip muffin and look good for your husband/date etc etc. Third and most importantly, all products. Including random ones like tyres, or air purifiers for cars or hmm...photoframes show women. Not because women are better actors and even better salesperson, or that they are anyway paid lesser than their male counterparts ( I know I could be exaggerating, but I'm angry and allow me to vent it out. Women are paid LESSER than men. Period), but in fact, because they are immensely marketable without being salesy! You ask what they have that men don't, that is marketable? You are stupid. Watch this.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
How to ruin your life?
Yes, that is what this post is all about. If any Tom, Dick and Harry could talk of how to do things, or lead life, then so can I! Here's the latest on my recent amusing obsession: How to... on the Wiki. I've written in the past about the stuff that they show. You can read it here. But this time around, its therapy! Read here to see what I mean. And, my How to ruin your life instructions is simple. Just read all the How to wiki pages. Aren't my instructions simpler than their's?
On another note, if these things really help(ed) someone, do let me know. I will certainly not mock at them, and maybe stop being obsessed with them and wondering how they could've helped someone ;)
On another note, if these things really help(ed) someone, do let me know. I will certainly not mock at them, and maybe stop being obsessed with them and wondering how they could've helped someone ;)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Spelling bee buzzes!
Today, AB sent me a link to the popular sports website, ESPN's website wanting me to look at this story. I was thrilled. I love the Spelling Bee contest when I watched it once or twice back home in India. Personally, at the risk of sounding immodest, I've always been good at spellings. In fact, in Class 2, we had this whole set of hours devoted to dictation class. The teacher'd dictate, and we had to write down those words. I never made a mistake with my English spellings. I loved them too much. To date, I love spellings, and I'm good at them (No, I do not use the Spellchecker!) I was quite excited to read this story, however, suddenly, I felt bad for this kid. I felt the pressure on this kid. I researched and read more on the Internet and found out about how much these kids prepare for this contest. I swear if I had to do all that these kids did, I probably would not like English spellings so much!
Talking about pressure, kids nowadays (believe me, I'm very young, not as old as you may think! I'm just very mature :P) have unbelievable pressure. I see it in my house. My parents, thank God, have never asked me about my marks. Or my sisters for that matter. However, my sisters put a certain amount of pressure on themselves that I find stressful! Or all these kids who go for a million classes. Music, dance, some academic-related stuff. Phew! I'd have just given up on life if I had to do all this. I do agree that there are times I feel untalented, considering I dropped out of music and dance classes or basketball sessions, but atleast I did not have to get up during my summer holidays and stress over my wavering voice or unsteady steps or my poor free throws! Now, when I see kids here running for baseball practice or basketball or the Desi kids learning the Gita (as I roll my eyes - their parents think in some weird way that they are teaching their kids not to do drugs later through the Gita!) or learning Bharatanatyam, I wish I'd followed one of these hobbies though, even now, really. However, without the pressure like Samir's parents!
Talking about pressure, kids nowadays (believe me, I'm very young, not as old as you may think! I'm just very mature :P) have unbelievable pressure. I see it in my house. My parents, thank God, have never asked me about my marks. Or my sisters for that matter. However, my sisters put a certain amount of pressure on themselves that I find stressful! Or all these kids who go for a million classes. Music, dance, some academic-related stuff. Phew! I'd have just given up on life if I had to do all this. I do agree that there are times I feel untalented, considering I dropped out of music and dance classes or basketball sessions, but atleast I did not have to get up during my summer holidays and stress over my wavering voice or unsteady steps or my poor free throws! Now, when I see kids here running for baseball practice or basketball or the Desi kids learning the Gita (as I roll my eyes - their parents think in some weird way that they are teaching their kids not to do drugs later through the Gita!) or learning Bharatanatyam, I wish I'd followed one of these hobbies though, even now, really. However, without the pressure like Samir's parents!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
What is cooking?
So, nowadays, I've started following cooking blogs and trying them out before AB comes back home. No, I'm not working towards a surprise. See, if I start something at 10 AM, it takes me until 4 PM or after to actually finish cooking the dish, clean the place, and throw the stuff if it does not work out, and act as if nothing happened, or if it has come out well (not happened, so far) act like it was just whipped up ;) in the last 10 minutes. You ask, what got me interested? I'd say, love for food. I love watching cookery shows, Rachel Ray is my fave, not just because she makes it sound easy, but actually, really because, I like the amount of noise she makes on the show. AB feels its cacophonous (do not be a spell checker) Rachel Ray cannot stop talking when she cooks, and she does things fast. Just like me. No, I do not do things fast and well. I do things in a haste. And I talk more than her, and louder than her. So, I feel good when her show is on. Let me get back. I love cookery shows because I love food. I love salivating over food. So, I imagine I cook them in my dreams, and watch these shows. Food Network, currently is my saviour.
Oh, coming back to blogs, I looooove food blogs. I really started reading food blogs thanks to her. She was my colleague back when I worked and she is my ready made cookbook, always available :) Thanks you! People out there are SO talented. They can take marvellous pictures, cook well, and serve their husband/family and everyone else they wish to so effortlessly. I love it when they discuss recipes through comments in each other's blogs, while I read them without quite understanding what they mean! Some of the blogs and the things they do are indeed heartwarming. Someone started this whole 'let's send what we cook to some other blogger we know' event. I somehow cannot remember the name. They do have a name. I loved the idea. Imagine receiving a batch of chocolate cookies from someone you do not know! ( I know, the trouble is in returning the favour!) I loved this idea. Also, these food bloggers are extremely well-knit, send each other recipes, know about each other's lives without really knowing each other, cook something in their homes and then remember some food blogger and dedicate the post to them. Apart from all this fun and heart-warming comments on each other's posts, there are those much-participated events. Someone hosts an event where everyone has to send in recipes using a particular ingredient. Wow! So, all you have to do as someone who cannot cook, but can afford to buy ingredients is look for the ingredient and you have an array of recipes. With pictures, and tips to make it better in the comments section, so much to change your life :)
However, I did not realize until recently how serious food blogging is. There were two reasons. One, I found that a lot of the food bloggers are women who live in the US and either hold a job, or do not have one as yet. So, all that they can possibly do is spend time by cooking for their families. For those holding a job, its probably relieving to come home and cook. So, it ends up with all these women learning to use the Internet, learn of its advantages, take pictures, using Photoshop and what not! See, how much one learns from something one already knows. Two, this is a movement. Really. I read recently in one of my food blog-hopping sessions about how Yahoo! India plagiarised content from these food blogs for their different language portals. The blog I read spoke of a revolution. A seemingly silent one. All these food bloggers and their friends wrote about Yahoo!'s disgraceful act and condemned it. It seemed like a movement in the online world. Ordinary women who probably knew nothing of fighting big corporations, some of them being the so-called 'docile' home-makers that all of us so love to ignore, actually wrote to Yahoo! asking for an apology which they did not receive initially. They fought a little more, wrote more, spread the word, did all they could, all so silently, and Yahoo India actually apologized. I was amazed. In fact, as I read the stories surrounding this protest, I was so pumped up. I was so proud of all these women across the world, who know each other only by their blog names, their recipes, and a shared bonding over food. I was talking about this to AB, and telling him how we could probably change the world we live in , this way. Its certainly not easy, but well, it certainly gets people thinking, and that is all we need, sometimes! So, go, bloggers! Also, go women! If anyone can change the world, we can :)
However, I do not understand one thing. How, how in the world can you wait to take that picture before you dig into what you cooked so well? How, tell me how?
Oh, coming back to blogs, I looooove food blogs. I really started reading food blogs thanks to her. She was my colleague back when I worked and she is my ready made cookbook, always available :) Thanks you! People out there are SO talented. They can take marvellous pictures, cook well, and serve their husband/family and everyone else they wish to so effortlessly. I love it when they discuss recipes through comments in each other's blogs, while I read them without quite understanding what they mean! Some of the blogs and the things they do are indeed heartwarming. Someone started this whole 'let's send what we cook to some other blogger we know' event. I somehow cannot remember the name. They do have a name. I loved the idea. Imagine receiving a batch of chocolate cookies from someone you do not know! ( I know, the trouble is in returning the favour!) I loved this idea. Also, these food bloggers are extremely well-knit, send each other recipes, know about each other's lives without really knowing each other, cook something in their homes and then remember some food blogger and dedicate the post to them. Apart from all this fun and heart-warming comments on each other's posts, there are those much-participated events. Someone hosts an event where everyone has to send in recipes using a particular ingredient. Wow! So, all you have to do as someone who cannot cook, but can afford to buy ingredients is look for the ingredient and you have an array of recipes. With pictures, and tips to make it better in the comments section, so much to change your life :)
However, I did not realize until recently how serious food blogging is. There were two reasons. One, I found that a lot of the food bloggers are women who live in the US and either hold a job, or do not have one as yet. So, all that they can possibly do is spend time by cooking for their families. For those holding a job, its probably relieving to come home and cook. So, it ends up with all these women learning to use the Internet, learn of its advantages, take pictures, using Photoshop and what not! See, how much one learns from something one already knows. Two, this is a movement. Really. I read recently in one of my food blog-hopping sessions about how Yahoo! India plagiarised content from these food blogs for their different language portals. The blog I read spoke of a revolution. A seemingly silent one. All these food bloggers and their friends wrote about Yahoo!'s disgraceful act and condemned it. It seemed like a movement in the online world. Ordinary women who probably knew nothing of fighting big corporations, some of them being the so-called 'docile' home-makers that all of us so love to ignore, actually wrote to Yahoo! asking for an apology which they did not receive initially. They fought a little more, wrote more, spread the word, did all they could, all so silently, and Yahoo India actually apologized. I was amazed. In fact, as I read the stories surrounding this protest, I was so pumped up. I was so proud of all these women across the world, who know each other only by their blog names, their recipes, and a shared bonding over food. I was talking about this to AB, and telling him how we could probably change the world we live in , this way. Its certainly not easy, but well, it certainly gets people thinking, and that is all we need, sometimes! So, go, bloggers! Also, go women! If anyone can change the world, we can :)
However, I do not understand one thing. How, how in the world can you wait to take that picture before you dig into what you cooked so well? How, tell me how?
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
A bit of you, a bit of me...
Okay, no, I'm not really that obsessed with my blog that I'm blogging in a span of 30 minutes all over again. I luuuuuuuuuurve blogs, and keep on finding new ones everyday. I found this bohemian.
I was just browsing through her blog, and found this. Yes, its a poem/song. No, I do not get easily moved by poetry or songs. I'm not a music person or a poetry person, but this one is a little different.
She says these lines are what she is all about. In the comments section, someone else said it was all about her. I say it is about me. But, as I'm typing this out, I realize its about all of us. All of us live these lines. In different ways. Sometimes purposely, sometimes out of circumstance. So, for you and me, D and the rest of the gang :) ( in memory of those rains in CIEFL and a lot more) D, this one's especially for you for a lot of reasons you know!
We lost ourselves the day we were born
Since then the search began
To find those of our family
We were confused
For we were given a family of birth
We had friends from our situation
In this funny place called “society”
We travelled
And felt the semblance of the primeval sensation of life
We wondered why we felt at home on the road
We were made to believe we were a little strange
For how many stay away from “home” for so long?
How many become the rebels we did?
We wandered on empty streets in the night
Feeling the wind of the sea, the river, the mountains of wherever we lived…
We had so many questions and no answers we found
We searches, always searched
We searched even for ourselves…
We delved in unfathomable depths of the being
We rowed for months in strange alien seas
We searched for friends of the soul
Somehow no friends we had, ever
Seemed like friends enough…
How could we explain what “friends” meant to us?
Friends were beings so akin to us
They could read our minds
Walk in step with us on those roads of life
Friends were those who travelled with us
Climbed mountains, forged rivers, conquered seas…
Friends were one life breath, strangely
Such few “friends” we ever found in this world
We stayed aloof…from so much
The norms, the religions, thought processes of the world
We risked our lives, our positions, our family relations for our beliefs
We did the things we believed in
Worked for none but ourselves
We were called selfish for we cared
About our own well being…
We fought, we battled,
We ran like mad from so many, so much
We hid, we absconded, we hibernated
Some of us found our soulmates
Some of us didn’t
Some of us had homes, children, love
Some of us lived lonely in far away homes
Some of us were fulfilled having found the love
The understanding we seeked, the minds akin to ours
Some of us…after a long time stopped searching having understood that in some lifetimes we were meant to be alone
Our soulmates parted from us, living another life…
May be in another world, probably another time zone…
We, the seekers, the thinkers, the rebels
We ache to get together for nowhere seems like home
We long for company of similar minds, sensibilities
We hurt, we bleed, we pain, we die…
But we live completely, every moment of our lives
Live the good and bad as same
Give all of ourselves to the world…
To nature… to art…
For there is no other way to live we know
We seek answers all the time
We question all the time
We are probably the only ones who know how deep pain carves its being into us
And how full happiness makes us feel…
We are comfortable with extremes
We are comfortable with tears, with abandonment, with aloneness…
We, the unknown ones
We, the misfits
We, the seekers, the thinkers, the rebels…
I was just browsing through her blog, and found this. Yes, its a poem/song. No, I do not get easily moved by poetry or songs. I'm not a music person or a poetry person, but this one is a little different.
She says these lines are what she is all about. In the comments section, someone else said it was all about her. I say it is about me. But, as I'm typing this out, I realize its about all of us. All of us live these lines. In different ways. Sometimes purposely, sometimes out of circumstance. So, for you and me, D and the rest of the gang :) ( in memory of those rains in CIEFL and a lot more) D, this one's especially for you for a lot of reasons you know!
We lost ourselves the day we were born
Since then the search began
To find those of our family
We were confused
For we were given a family of birth
We had friends from our situation
In this funny place called “society”
We travelled
And felt the semblance of the primeval sensation of life
We wondered why we felt at home on the road
We were made to believe we were a little strange
For how many stay away from “home” for so long?
How many become the rebels we did?
We wandered on empty streets in the night
Feeling the wind of the sea, the river, the mountains of wherever we lived…
We had so many questions and no answers we found
We searches, always searched
We searched even for ourselves…
We delved in unfathomable depths of the being
We rowed for months in strange alien seas
We searched for friends of the soul
Somehow no friends we had, ever
Seemed like friends enough…
How could we explain what “friends” meant to us?
Friends were beings so akin to us
They could read our minds
Walk in step with us on those roads of life
Friends were those who travelled with us
Climbed mountains, forged rivers, conquered seas…
Friends were one life breath, strangely
Such few “friends” we ever found in this world
We stayed aloof…from so much
The norms, the religions, thought processes of the world
We risked our lives, our positions, our family relations for our beliefs
We did the things we believed in
Worked for none but ourselves
We were called selfish for we cared
About our own well being…
We fought, we battled,
We ran like mad from so many, so much
We hid, we absconded, we hibernated
Some of us found our soulmates
Some of us didn’t
Some of us had homes, children, love
Some of us lived lonely in far away homes
Some of us were fulfilled having found the love
The understanding we seeked, the minds akin to ours
Some of us…after a long time stopped searching having understood that in some lifetimes we were meant to be alone
Our soulmates parted from us, living another life…
May be in another world, probably another time zone…
We, the seekers, the thinkers, the rebels
We ache to get together for nowhere seems like home
We long for company of similar minds, sensibilities
We hurt, we bleed, we pain, we die…
But we live completely, every moment of our lives
Live the good and bad as same
Give all of ourselves to the world…
To nature… to art…
For there is no other way to live we know
We seek answers all the time
We question all the time
We are probably the only ones who know how deep pain carves its being into us
And how full happiness makes us feel…
We are comfortable with extremes
We are comfortable with tears, with abandonment, with aloneness…
We, the unknown ones
We, the misfits
We, the seekers, the thinkers, the rebels…
Hydrotherapy!
No, I'm not suffering from any sort of illness. But I thrive on hydrotherapy. I love water. I've always loved water. Beaches have always been my favourite destination, and lakes and rivers and falls, and rain...I love 'em all. I've gotten wet and totally drenched almost every time it rains. Especially in CIEFL :) Rain meant dancing, hot chai, the green lawns. Sigh.
This post will dwell on two things One, showers as in bath shower. Two, rain . Both involve water. I realize now when I'm spending time with myself (aah, how profound, I say!) how much a bath really means to me. From the time I was a kid, taking bath was an enforced ritual. One of my cousins used to hate going for a bath. More than hatred, I think it just did not fancy him :) I remember the days when he'd give reasons not to bathe. Or, my friend from CIEFL :P who still looks for reasons not to take a bath. I've always had a bath. Like my mom likes to put it, I'm 'sursurpu' when it comes to taking a bath. All these days, it was one chore off the list. Even a couple of months ago. However, now when I think about it, I've always enjoyed a bath. I love the feeling of water on me. I love the shower, especially. I'm not the 'relax in the bath tub' person. I'd like to be, maybe. But I'm more of a shower person. A quick or a long hot shower (anywhere else but in Hyderabad and Chennai during the summer months. Actually, in Chennai, anytime :P) always changes things for me. I become more positive, I feel all my sins washing away, all the dirt, all the negative emotions, anger just vanishing, determination courses through my body, I become a new person. It is almost like shedding the old me or something. I come out totally fresh and ready to take on any challenges. I know it sounds funny, but I did not think of it like this. Never. But, now when I think back, I've taken a bath (even if it is the second time for the day) everytime I've been upset or tired or frustrated. If I had the time, I'd oil my hair and spend a long time (which is 20 mins at the most) shampooing my hair, conditioning (I do not do it everytime, no patience!) and pour water on myself. I close my eyes, just stand and let go of everything. And its true. I can do anything after a bath. Make up with my husband after a bath (usually taken one because of the fight), cook amazing dinner (considering I can't cook very well) and suddenly go on a cleaning spree (am super messy, and love it)...just anything! :)
Rain does that to me too. Today, I read two blog posts on rain in Delhi/GGN. I thought of one person (Kraz) who will be happy about it. I smiled to myself thinking of Kraz's reaction. Apparently, it rained in Hyderabad too. People are shocked but happy. Status messages have changed, am being scrapped on orkut, being emailed about the rains. I'm happy. Believe me, I can almost feel it :) These were my home cities in one sense. And I'm now excited for the rains in Atlanta. We are watching TV as I type this. Yes, baseball, of course. Oh, the channel changed. It is basketball :) I'm not cranky anymore, I'm enjoying the commentary because its being interrupted every 10 minutes with an Emergency Alert from the National Weather Bureau. It carries a warning of a possible tornado alert. No, I'm not any sadistic than you are. But this promises rain. And I think I need some rain. I need some rain in my life. The wonderful-smelling earth, the shining leaves, the wet roads, the wind in Hotlanta ;) the water...yes, I need some water on me. Let it just drizzle on me or pour all around me, getting me drenched. Because, that is when I'm truly happy.
P.S. to someone to who matters: I'm going to change to being more positive. I just need some more time. Promise!
This post will dwell on two things One, showers as in bath shower. Two, rain . Both involve water. I realize now when I'm spending time with myself (aah, how profound, I say!) how much a bath really means to me. From the time I was a kid, taking bath was an enforced ritual. One of my cousins used to hate going for a bath. More than hatred, I think it just did not fancy him :) I remember the days when he'd give reasons not to bathe. Or, my friend from CIEFL :P who still looks for reasons not to take a bath. I've always had a bath. Like my mom likes to put it, I'm 'sursurpu' when it comes to taking a bath. All these days, it was one chore off the list. Even a couple of months ago. However, now when I think about it, I've always enjoyed a bath. I love the feeling of water on me. I love the shower, especially. I'm not the 'relax in the bath tub' person. I'd like to be, maybe. But I'm more of a shower person. A quick or a long hot shower (anywhere else but in Hyderabad and Chennai during the summer months. Actually, in Chennai, anytime :P) always changes things for me. I become more positive, I feel all my sins washing away, all the dirt, all the negative emotions, anger just vanishing, determination courses through my body, I become a new person. It is almost like shedding the old me or something. I come out totally fresh and ready to take on any challenges. I know it sounds funny, but I did not think of it like this. Never. But, now when I think back, I've taken a bath (even if it is the second time for the day) everytime I've been upset or tired or frustrated. If I had the time, I'd oil my hair and spend a long time (which is 20 mins at the most) shampooing my hair, conditioning (I do not do it everytime, no patience!) and pour water on myself. I close my eyes, just stand and let go of everything. And its true. I can do anything after a bath. Make up with my husband after a bath (usually taken one because of the fight), cook amazing dinner (considering I can't cook very well) and suddenly go on a cleaning spree (am super messy, and love it)...just anything! :)
Rain does that to me too. Today, I read two blog posts on rain in Delhi/GGN. I thought of one person (Kraz) who will be happy about it. I smiled to myself thinking of Kraz's reaction. Apparently, it rained in Hyderabad too. People are shocked but happy. Status messages have changed, am being scrapped on orkut, being emailed about the rains. I'm happy. Believe me, I can almost feel it :) These were my home cities in one sense. And I'm now excited for the rains in Atlanta. We are watching TV as I type this. Yes, baseball, of course. Oh, the channel changed. It is basketball :) I'm not cranky anymore, I'm enjoying the commentary because its being interrupted every 10 minutes with an Emergency Alert from the National Weather Bureau. It carries a warning of a possible tornado alert. No, I'm not any sadistic than you are. But this promises rain. And I think I need some rain. I need some rain in my life. The wonderful-smelling earth, the shining leaves, the wet roads, the wind in Hotlanta ;) the water...yes, I need some water on me. Let it just drizzle on me or pour all around me, getting me drenched. Because, that is when I'm truly happy.
P.S. to someone to who matters: I'm going to change to being more positive. I just need some more time. Promise!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Some friends, finally!
Let me repeat: I'm a housewife as of now in Atlanta, and we have no friends in this city. Make that 'had.' We generally visit the temple once in a while - say once or twice a month. Apart from going to the temple for religious reasons, I go to seek friends. Yes, other Desis. However, dangerous that may sound. I realize that for a social, extrovert, talkative person like me, there needs to be another person to socialize and talk with, apart from AB. Of course, AB does not think so, and hates any sort of socializing. In fact, the last time we went to the temple, and we bought food from the kitchen there to eat (of course, I asked for it), he refused to sit in the dining area there and we ate in the car in the parking lot! All by ourselves!
So, from the last visit to this visit, I educated him on the need to get friendly with other Desis and this time, he made me proud. Read on to see how. After visiting the really crowded temple this time (there was a Kumbabhishekam happening, and it was heartening to see Indian faces, and hear Tamil and Kannada and a myriad of other Indian languages) and there were loads of people. It was going to take some time, so we decided not to wait until the proceedings get over and headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Per a decision taken previously, we sat at the dining area. We did not sit on anyone else's table not wanting to look desperate for some friends. We sat alone, he just looking at his plate, me looking around and commenting on others around us. People came in, went out. Kids ran around. Young mothers called curd, yogurt, and puliyodarai as tamarind rice and continued to look harried as mothers of all generations. (I guess that is the one thing that does not change no?) Some people looking around for tables came to ours, and then shifted their eyes to somewhere else. Yes, they either found a friend they knew and it seemed like everyone but us knew someone or the other :( , and would rather sit with them than us. Or, they just did not want to sit with us. There. On a more positive, self-encouraging note, I thought, maybe, they were new like us and did not want to seem desperate and, therefore, sought empty tables like we did. This went on until I finished the tamarind rice (Hey, I can say this. I live in the US of A ;)) Then, voila!
An elderly couple, obviously visiting their kids in the US came and were looking around. AB did the first thing that made me proud. He moved seats, made some space for them. Yay! Someone was going to sit next to us. Then, we ate in silence for another minute until my ears cocked in surprise to hear the very introvert, 'I won't socialise' AB talking to that Uncle asking him which part of India they were from. Woooo hoo! As I stared at him, Uncle did not talk, but Aunty answered for him (in which family does it happen the other way round?) and soon she came to know that I was from Bangalore and AB was from Chennai and was elated about that bit of news. From then on, she rambled on in Kannada telling me how good it was to be speaking in Kannada to someone outside her home in this country. Yes baby! I know, I know how it feels. Then she asked me for my phone number. I was more than willing to give it (Ok, I'm a sucker, but what the hell, I'm human, after all!) But neither of us had a pen, and she did not know her son's number. Oh, did I tell you that she'd come to the US because her daughter had twins and was visiting her son since she was here. ( I just want to sigh). We spoke while trying to think how to get each other's numbers. Then, she made the mistake. Yes, the same one everyone does, and I'm actually tired of it now. The conversation went like this.
Aunty: Neenu doctor aa? (You are a doctorrr?)
Me: (gives out a knowing smile) : Illa (No).
Aunty: (not surprised and a VERY confident look) Matte enginner aa? (Then, you are enginerrr)
Me: (gives out an irritated smile): ILLA (NO)
Aunty: (shocked, adjusts spectacles and concentrates on food for a minute) Innenu matte? (What else, then?)
Me: I'm an MA in English
Aunty: (gives me the all-knowing 'oh you were not a good student like my kids' look): ohh, sari (Oh, okay!)
By now, I obviously did not want to share numbers but the daughter-in-law (who kept on glancing at us from the other table to make sure everything was okay!) came around, smiled at us, asked about us, and took my number with an apologetic smile. There, we exchanged numbers. We are friends now, aren't we? :)
Sigh, if aunty is going to talk about why I did my MA in English, I may be friendless again, but well, she's friends for now. Yes, she's over 50, and probably will not talk about anything but cooking (about which I know squat) and the American culture and how not 'anookoola' (convenient) this country is. But then, it is conversation no?
But hey, I might just become friends with the daughter-in-law who is a doctor btw, and who works in a different city from her husband. See, the possibility of conversation is right there :P Here's to more friends, more temple visits, more aunties and uncles :P and hopefully more younger people, more 'like me' people.
P.S. - I'm celebrating by eating raw mangoes with salt and chilli powder. This is d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s.
So, from the last visit to this visit, I educated him on the need to get friendly with other Desis and this time, he made me proud. Read on to see how. After visiting the really crowded temple this time (there was a Kumbabhishekam happening, and it was heartening to see Indian faces, and hear Tamil and Kannada and a myriad of other Indian languages) and there were loads of people. It was going to take some time, so we decided not to wait until the proceedings get over and headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Per a decision taken previously, we sat at the dining area. We did not sit on anyone else's table not wanting to look desperate for some friends. We sat alone, he just looking at his plate, me looking around and commenting on others around us. People came in, went out. Kids ran around. Young mothers called curd, yogurt, and puliyodarai as tamarind rice and continued to look harried as mothers of all generations. (I guess that is the one thing that does not change no?) Some people looking around for tables came to ours, and then shifted their eyes to somewhere else. Yes, they either found a friend they knew and it seemed like everyone but us knew someone or the other :( , and would rather sit with them than us. Or, they just did not want to sit with us. There. On a more positive, self-encouraging note, I thought, maybe, they were new like us and did not want to seem desperate and, therefore, sought empty tables like we did. This went on until I finished the tamarind rice (Hey, I can say this. I live in the US of A ;)) Then, voila!
An elderly couple, obviously visiting their kids in the US came and were looking around. AB did the first thing that made me proud. He moved seats, made some space for them. Yay! Someone was going to sit next to us. Then, we ate in silence for another minute until my ears cocked in surprise to hear the very introvert, 'I won't socialise' AB talking to that Uncle asking him which part of India they were from. Woooo hoo! As I stared at him, Uncle did not talk, but Aunty answered for him (in which family does it happen the other way round?) and soon she came to know that I was from Bangalore and AB was from Chennai and was elated about that bit of news. From then on, she rambled on in Kannada telling me how good it was to be speaking in Kannada to someone outside her home in this country. Yes baby! I know, I know how it feels. Then she asked me for my phone number. I was more than willing to give it (Ok, I'm a sucker, but what the hell, I'm human, after all!) But neither of us had a pen, and she did not know her son's number. Oh, did I tell you that she'd come to the US because her daughter had twins and was visiting her son since she was here. ( I just want to sigh). We spoke while trying to think how to get each other's numbers. Then, she made the mistake. Yes, the same one everyone does, and I'm actually tired of it now. The conversation went like this.
Aunty: Neenu doctor aa? (You are a doctorrr?)
Me: (gives out a knowing smile) : Illa (No).
Aunty: (not surprised and a VERY confident look) Matte enginner aa? (Then, you are enginerrr)
Me: (gives out an irritated smile): ILLA (NO)
Aunty: (shocked, adjusts spectacles and concentrates on food for a minute) Innenu matte? (What else, then?)
Me: I'm an MA in English
Aunty: (gives me the all-knowing 'oh you were not a good student like my kids' look): ohh, sari (Oh, okay!)
By now, I obviously did not want to share numbers but the daughter-in-law (who kept on glancing at us from the other table to make sure everything was okay!) came around, smiled at us, asked about us, and took my number with an apologetic smile. There, we exchanged numbers. We are friends now, aren't we? :)
Sigh, if aunty is going to talk about why I did my MA in English, I may be friendless again, but well, she's friends for now. Yes, she's over 50, and probably will not talk about anything but cooking (about which I know squat) and the American culture and how not 'anookoola' (convenient) this country is. But then, it is conversation no?
But hey, I might just become friends with the daughter-in-law who is a doctor btw, and who works in a different city from her husband. See, the possibility of conversation is right there :P Here's to more friends, more temple visits, more aunties and uncles :P and hopefully more younger people, more 'like me' people.
P.S. - I'm celebrating by eating raw mangoes with salt and chilli powder. This is d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Chocolate therapy
*Opening a tub of Chocolate Ice Cream, I ruminate on some practical facts...*
...
Americans should not spend money on therapy after Christmas, after the birth of their baby, after their wedding, before their wedding, what the heck, after/before any day and event, and just concentrate on spending $3 at the most on good Chocolate Ice cream. It solves all problems. '
Go binge on those Chocolate Christmas Gift hampers, or those tiny truffles at your wedding, or demand chocolates from your husband whenever you think you need therapy. Believe me, they will buy you as many and a treadmill to keep that fab figure, than spend money on therapy for you, and worse, attend it with you.
*licks the tub clean*
...
Americans should not spend money on therapy after Christmas, after the birth of their baby, after their wedding, before their wedding, what the heck, after/before any day and event, and just concentrate on spending $3 at the most on good Chocolate Ice cream. It solves all problems. '
Go binge on those Chocolate Christmas Gift hampers, or those tiny truffles at your wedding, or demand chocolates from your husband whenever you think you need therapy. Believe me, they will buy you as many and a treadmill to keep that fab figure, than spend money on therapy for you, and worse, attend it with you.
*licks the tub clean*
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Reality strikes!
As a bored housewife waiting to get a job permit in the USA, life is full of communication media - TV, Internet, magazines (free ones at that!), the mailbox full of junk mail you'd have hated otherwise, but love to see the so called discounts now and just some waiting. You also try to understand the society you are living in. Yes, though they have taken the world over in numerous ways, I'm still trying to understand their society. It defies logic and any sort of sense. Am I a US basher? Oh yes, I am and I love doing this. This is therapy for me, really.
Coming back to the point, I've started watching TV all day long now. And all I can watch apart from baseball ( I hate this game coz AB watches it all the time, and mostly because the Championship series for this game is called The World Series) and basketball ( I quite like basketball. There is action and am willing to watch it, though not ALL the time) are these reality shows. Yes, they suck. But I suck too, and so watch them. I wait eagerly for all the bitching, the behind the scenes talk and what not. Hate me, but I do not care. I'm a desperate housewife.
So, the one reality show I love is Top Chef. No, I do not watch it for PadmaLakshmi or for the dishes which seem complicated to even watch, leave alone make them. But I love the challenge, the thrill, the team work. Actually, its the whole team work and the human dynamics on the show which keep me hooked. I love it when they magically come up with a dish, all the time so confident and bitchy! I like it that they are judged objectively. AB does not think so. He HATES the show, but obviously. Duh! They are not throwing ball around there, though there is some show of testosterone. I've always wanted to be a part of something like this. Err..not a cooking contest or something. But something that involves action, team work. I realize now how much I miss working in a team and being with people around me. So there. It could be something like the Amazing Race for me. I find the idea super cool. Working/Living with someone, doing things with them, having fights, making up for the sake of the team...the exhilaration of your team winning is something different altogether. I've been there before, and I've loved every moment of it. And I want to do it. So, this affinity towards a show like the Top Chef.
However, today, as I waited in vain for my fave show to start ( I cannot make out American TV and they run these marathon shows. I'm confused. So, I look out for Top Chef everyday), I ended up watching 'The Beauty and the Geek.' I watched it, lazy to do anything else. This show puts some beautiful women (mostly blondes, unfortunately, and unjustly so) and some geeky looking geeks who do not seem to know anything including that a women's shoe shop will have only loads of women's shoes! It was stereotypical. The women were blonde as I mentioned, and the men had these spectacles on. They wore these clothes which were preppy, while women dressed in hot shorts or cleavage baring tops. Its all about living together, and 'learning' from each other. Most of the women were waitresses or parlour women and the men ranged from guys who were MIT graduates ( a desi was. What else do you expect, you say?) to someone who catches monkeys through lasers to someone was a speed chess champion. Why? Could they not get men like my husband who is geeky but knows what I want rather well? Or, could they not get women like me, who are very stereotypically girly (read why below) and know computers well too? Its just about the people, dammit. Each one to his/her own. Why not pair those geeky women with life guards from a Florida beach? Beats the stereotype and lacks entertainment value haan?
Well, I think it is a horrible show. Sorry. I'm in many ways a very 'typical' girl. I love chick flicks, the colour pink, but I'm not dumb. No woman is. This show portrays women to be dumb, and very 'typically' blonde. I have immense respect for blondes and do not think every blonde woman is dumb or something. I hated the show for all those geeky men too! Oh, from when have geeky men stopped being good looking or sexy? Or aren't there geeky women who understand them? What is the whole confusion about how geeks and these 'beauties' are mis-matched? I do not think so. I'm beautiful and a geek at some level, and my husband is a geek and well, yes, good-looking (:P) We are doing good, I'd say! I think its just about individuals. Some people are outgoing, can do things like ask men/women out, while some others are introverts and shy. They are not shy because they are geeky! Or, they are not these bold women, coz they are beautiful and have dated before! Really, I hated some things the show portrayed. The women are given activities like burning a CD and what not. I've burned CDs and do not think any man can do it better. Okay, the man who taught me probably can! But here you go - my husband can cook way better than me or look for bargains way better than me. Does that make him any less man? Those men got a makeover, and got their chests shaved, and their eyebrows shaped and did some interior decoration (they sucked). Ewww. Those women had to navigate through a map, and any activity they even understood and did partly right, they were complimented with : 'Oh, she is so smart, and she really picks up fast.' Whatever.
This show was nauseous ( so much that I was depressed when AB got home and needed some pep talk to cheer me up) and absolutely illogical. The activities were childish and juvenile to say the least, the men and the women who were on the show including the desi called Ankur need to be flogged. Yes, flogged. And it does not surprise me that Ashton Kutcher produced this show. What is wrong with these people? Lack of creativity, you say? So, why accuse Ekta Kapoor? Atleast, her serials are all fiction!
Coming back to the point, I've started watching TV all day long now. And all I can watch apart from baseball ( I hate this game coz AB watches it all the time, and mostly because the Championship series for this game is called The World Series) and basketball ( I quite like basketball. There is action and am willing to watch it, though not ALL the time) are these reality shows. Yes, they suck. But I suck too, and so watch them. I wait eagerly for all the bitching, the behind the scenes talk and what not. Hate me, but I do not care. I'm a desperate housewife.
So, the one reality show I love is Top Chef. No, I do not watch it for PadmaLakshmi or for the dishes which seem complicated to even watch, leave alone make them. But I love the challenge, the thrill, the team work. Actually, its the whole team work and the human dynamics on the show which keep me hooked. I love it when they magically come up with a dish, all the time so confident and bitchy! I like it that they are judged objectively. AB does not think so. He HATES the show, but obviously. Duh! They are not throwing ball around there, though there is some show of testosterone. I've always wanted to be a part of something like this. Err..not a cooking contest or something. But something that involves action, team work. I realize now how much I miss working in a team and being with people around me. So there. It could be something like the Amazing Race for me. I find the idea super cool. Working/Living with someone, doing things with them, having fights, making up for the sake of the team...the exhilaration of your team winning is something different altogether. I've been there before, and I've loved every moment of it. And I want to do it. So, this affinity towards a show like the Top Chef.
However, today, as I waited in vain for my fave show to start ( I cannot make out American TV and they run these marathon shows. I'm confused. So, I look out for Top Chef everyday), I ended up watching 'The Beauty and the Geek.' I watched it, lazy to do anything else. This show puts some beautiful women (mostly blondes, unfortunately, and unjustly so) and some geeky looking geeks who do not seem to know anything including that a women's shoe shop will have only loads of women's shoes! It was stereotypical. The women were blonde as I mentioned, and the men had these spectacles on. They wore these clothes which were preppy, while women dressed in hot shorts or cleavage baring tops. Its all about living together, and 'learning' from each other. Most of the women were waitresses or parlour women and the men ranged from guys who were MIT graduates ( a desi was. What else do you expect, you say?) to someone who catches monkeys through lasers to someone was a speed chess champion. Why? Could they not get men like my husband who is geeky but knows what I want rather well? Or, could they not get women like me, who are very stereotypically girly (read why below) and know computers well too? Its just about the people, dammit. Each one to his/her own. Why not pair those geeky women with life guards from a Florida beach? Beats the stereotype and lacks entertainment value haan?
Well, I think it is a horrible show. Sorry. I'm in many ways a very 'typical' girl. I love chick flicks, the colour pink, but I'm not dumb. No woman is. This show portrays women to be dumb, and very 'typically' blonde. I have immense respect for blondes and do not think every blonde woman is dumb or something. I hated the show for all those geeky men too! Oh, from when have geeky men stopped being good looking or sexy? Or aren't there geeky women who understand them? What is the whole confusion about how geeks and these 'beauties' are mis-matched? I do not think so. I'm beautiful and a geek at some level, and my husband is a geek and well, yes, good-looking (:P) We are doing good, I'd say! I think its just about individuals. Some people are outgoing, can do things like ask men/women out, while some others are introverts and shy. They are not shy because they are geeky! Or, they are not these bold women, coz they are beautiful and have dated before! Really, I hated some things the show portrayed. The women are given activities like burning a CD and what not. I've burned CDs and do not think any man can do it better. Okay, the man who taught me probably can! But here you go - my husband can cook way better than me or look for bargains way better than me. Does that make him any less man? Those men got a makeover, and got their chests shaved, and their eyebrows shaped and did some interior decoration (they sucked). Ewww. Those women had to navigate through a map, and any activity they even understood and did partly right, they were complimented with : 'Oh, she is so smart, and she really picks up fast.' Whatever.
This show was nauseous ( so much that I was depressed when AB got home and needed some pep talk to cheer me up) and absolutely illogical. The activities were childish and juvenile to say the least, the men and the women who were on the show including the desi called Ankur need to be flogged. Yes, flogged. And it does not surprise me that Ashton Kutcher produced this show. What is wrong with these people? Lack of creativity, you say? So, why accuse Ekta Kapoor? Atleast, her serials are all fiction!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)