I am on my Christmas break these days. This year, I am cooking (last year I re-did a couple rooms in my house). It is something about time of from work, this time of the year, I always find myself new projects.
Anyhow, this year I decided I would cook. I love cooking; my audience has dwindled over the years. Uma and me aren't big eaters, or for that matter much interested in eating. But both of us agree that cooking is a lot of fun. My kid brother ( not such a kid anymore ) was my best audience ever. He would eat most anything I made and tell me it was wonderful :). Ah those days ...
Anyhow, back to cooking. I was shopping online ( at Amazon) for a couple friends of mine when I came upon this book, actually the website thought that I might like the book( how thoughtful). I hadn't bought a cook book in a while and this looked interesting ( From Curries to Kabab's, recipes from the Indian spice trail). So I got it. It is a lot of fun. It is full of tiny little history bits about spices and origins of recipes. Madhur Jaffery, the author, has traveled quite extensively to Africa, Caribbean, Europe, south-east-asia. And she traces the recipes from these places and retails stories about how the immigrant Indian population modified the recipes to work with the available spices or sometime add Indian spices to local recipes to give them Indian flavor.
The recipes are not for the amateur, she misses out important processing steps sometimes and unless you know how to cook, you'd be a little lost with what to do with the celery tops and scallions. It is fun reading the book, and cooking from the recipes in it, I guess I am a little old-fashioned, I like books and CDs even in the digital age.
The book is by no means complete. Madhur, being from the western part of India, seems to know more about that area and since these recipes are culled from friends and acquaintances, have extensive coverage from Kenya, South Africa, Trinidad. They cover Thai, Indonesian, Malay and Chinese food too. Eastern Indian isn't and Kashmir food is completely missing. There are some attempts to go south but most of them are tentative (limited to seafood and some hyderabadi recipes). It is a pretty ambitious undertaking, to trace the cuisine of the second most prolific people in the world. And the attempt is very good.
She writes with love for food like a patient aunty teaching me to cook. And then she throws in some wicked comments, which make me look at her in surprise before I burst out laughing. I have tried a bunch of stuff, but this is one thing I tried just because I loved the way she described it.
South-African Chicken Biryani While a moghlai biriyani is mild, pale, elegant and delicately savory. Designed to be eaten with equally delicate yoghurt preparations, the South-African one is vibrant, spicy and piquant; definitely the hot chick at the dance.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Friday, December 16, 2005
Rang De Basanti
I have to say, I take umbrage to the loose translation 'color me yellow'. I guess Hindi is a hard language to translate to English, but color me yellow is horrible ( esp. if you think about the connotations that ' yellow' carries in English!!). Anyhow, my humble translation, Basanti has more to do with Basant( ie spring) and so basanti carries with it a notion of spring. Color me the colors of spring? it does go better with tag line of the movie ' a generation awakens'.
The music.
It is by A R Rahman. I was quite in love with the mangal pandey music, but with this album the ARR I used to love is sooo back :). The album is strange, almost weird, but boy, do the songs grow on you! It conveys the unrest and indecision of a young generation And he is doing what I love, picking out the right voices to support his songs steering clear of the popular.
Ik Onkar : sung by Harshdeep Kaur, it the authentic rendition from Japji Sahib, reminds of the sunday morning guru-bani in the ye olde days of doordarshan when we did not have ten thousand channels on the Indian TV. ARR didn't mess with it, left it as is. Good.
Rang De Basanti: The title track, sung by, hold your breath, Daler Mehndi (and a cameo by Chitra). It is lovely. None of the brit-panjabi-pop, tunnu-tunnu's. When reined in, the guy can sing! The lyrics are part-patriotic and ARR uses the traditional bhangra instruments, the single strand ektara, plucked with the finger and the dunnalli( the double barrel flute) and the dhol ( the drum). Very dancable, and Daler Mehndi does an amazing job, esp the end, which is a couple, unadorned by music, lines. Chitra's shrill couple lines are note perfect ( with a teensy south-indian accent) and provide a nice dimension. This is my favorite in the album so far.
Paathshalla- This track features twice in the album. Very hip, pop-rock number. A little bizarre with its asymmetric three beat cycle. Sung by Naresh Iyer, Mohd Aslam, ( second version has Blaaze). I could almost see a hiked up car with the immense tires on a dirt track.
Love the lyrics: talli hokar girne se/samjhi hamne gravity,
ishq ka practical kiya/thaab aiye kilarity;
Even uses words like alpha, theta and H2SO4, college kid anthem:D. Hilarious. Uma loves it. My whole car was reverberating with the beats in the song. It was fun!
Tu Bin Bataye: the only romantic song in the album, much different from the 'kho gayi meri gathariaya' song from Swades, thank goodness! Uses some of the same ebb and flow of orchestra tricks. Sung by Madhushree and Naresh Iyer. Background is very subdued, the focus in on the vocals, the full orchestra of violins and some nice subtle touches like ghungaro, church bells and echo effects. The song is nice and mellow with a dreamlike quality to it. very nice.
Khalbali: This is middle-east inspired song, full with arabic lyrics ( Nacim) and the vocal gyrations ( which echo a belly dancers movements). ARR sings, but he is good in this song. The two other voices are Nacim and Aslam. This is one of the places the ARR stamp shows, interweaving themes (including a ‘khaalid’ strain ) give complexity to the song, which saves it from a horrible monotonous death. Not bad.
Khoon challa- Mohit Chauhan, a lead singer from one of the hip new pop bands, apparently. Nice voice, an untrained voice, can't manage complex tunes but does wonderfully well with this very simple tune with minimal music. The voice is reminiscent of Shailendra kumar, the same freshness. This guy loves singing, he puts his soul in the song; and it shows. It is a fragile song and ambient noise is going to distract from it. It shows has the unfinished touch. But it is not unfinished, the attention to the small details surface if you listen to it carefully. Low on layering and orchestration, mainstays are guitar which complements without distracting. Well done.
Luka chupi- It is a funny song, not literally. The words suggest a song sung by mom to call out to her kid, lullaby like… however, and here comes the twist, it plays out more like an amateur jam session. The music is minimalistic, there’s guitar, table and flute and jal-tarang simulation on a synthesizer(weird combo, I know). Lata’s voice is lovely ( and I usually don’t find her voice lovely anymore). ARR sings.
The guys’ been learning classical and practicing, but there are a few things he should leave to others, like singing.
It seems people want to be known for things that they are not very good at, while they take for granted the things they excel at. I have a hypothesis that folks let ARR sing so that he will direct music for their movies, just like folks let MM Kreem direct music just so he’ll sing for the score. ARR should really think twice before singing. Really.
Lalkaar: Aamir Khan recites in guttural tone ( it would sound so much nicer with a baritone like Amitab, but, Aamir does a decent job). Love the words…
Sarfaroshi ki tammana ab hamare dil mein hai …
Good job by the lyricist, Prasoon Joshi. The war backdrop is well done, chorus echoing the voice and the plaintive but subdued taan. Nice!
Roobaroo: Naresh Iyer and ARR. Reminds me of that ‘purani jeans aur guitar ' song, which was the archtypical college-dorm-dreaming-of-your-future-song. Naresh Iyer fits well, not a very well trained voice, but seems to possess raw talent and obviously loves singing. His voice fits in very well with the strumming-guitar-and-singing-along-popular-college-hero that rule the inter-college festivals persona, we all know and love. Minimalistic music, very in keeping with the mood of the song. Like the ‘aye saala’ bit. Nice touch!
It is small touches like this ( and the scatting) which belie the impression of the simple- almost rough edges in the album. It may seem unfinished, raw, but its lack of finish is like the frayed edge tweed coat by Channel. It is intentional and very much a statement.
All in all- love it.
Verdict? typical ARR fare, will not do well… Also, can’t wait to watch the movie… with this much attitude in the music, the movie looks promising.
Another Aamir Khan flick?
I am happy :)
Thursday, December 15, 2005
.. cold...
.. I was so cold yesterday, that I actually ate a piece of chocolate to feel warm....
and I never eat chocolate....
brrr...
and I never eat chocolate....
brrr...
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Tis the season to be ...
Everywhere I look there is world weary cynicism, loves lost, pangs of being misplaced, within and without.
I was introduced to the glitzy(!) new world of blogging thru my younger siblings. Most of the blogs I visit when I go blog hopping are similar. I start from a twenny blog, the incestuous cycle may turn into a spiral but it does not stray far... the back patting, the handholding and the inane commenting. Till it dawned on me that whatever the age, it is just a bunch of lonely people reaching out. Even though most of the blog-facades seem egoistical exaggerations or single faceted views into people.. they are revealing. And this new-fangled ( hardly) media called web does make world a smaller place.
Most of the blog-spheres consist of people who have never seen each other, but they mean more to each other thru their words than the folks they meet in their daily life. Sometimes it seems like escapism, but who am I to say anything, whatever makes one get thru a difficult period and friends with masks are much better than drugs and alcohol :)
It amazes me to see the world weariness I see in these younglings, the attitudes and the coping mechanisms.. it is an insight into a generation, or is it? I wish there were more of my generation ( yeah, I know I sound like I have a foot in the grave ).. I'd like to see if there was a difference or if it is more about personality types and not age groups.
I am reading the latest Vikram Seth book. I am not done reading it, it is a slow read. Vikram Seth is much older now than he was when he wrote 'heaven lake ..'. And the pace of the book and the subject, full of filial ties and the long drawn out relationship descriptions is tedious... As I read, I wonder if it is an age thing? do these things become more important as we get older, Suitable boy was completely fictional but the plots and subplots and descriptions were far more engrossing. I found the same thing in my recent visit to India. All of the people I used to find fascinating ... had become somewhat unrecognizable in their conversation... surely it was not so before?
Or as my favorite therapist, Bernie ( who also styles my hair to perfection) said, maybe it is you who have changed, sweetheart.
Change is a good thing I guess, but what do you do when you change so, and the world you knew becomes a foreign land? I guess, you start discovering things again, with your new self.
I was introduced to the glitzy(!) new world of blogging thru my younger siblings. Most of the blogs I visit when I go blog hopping are similar. I start from a twenny blog, the incestuous cycle may turn into a spiral but it does not stray far... the back patting, the handholding and the inane commenting. Till it dawned on me that whatever the age, it is just a bunch of lonely people reaching out. Even though most of the blog-facades seem egoistical exaggerations or single faceted views into people.. they are revealing. And this new-fangled ( hardly) media called web does make world a smaller place.
Most of the blog-spheres consist of people who have never seen each other, but they mean more to each other thru their words than the folks they meet in their daily life. Sometimes it seems like escapism, but who am I to say anything, whatever makes one get thru a difficult period and friends with masks are much better than drugs and alcohol :)
It amazes me to see the world weariness I see in these younglings, the attitudes and the coping mechanisms.. it is an insight into a generation, or is it? I wish there were more of my generation ( yeah, I know I sound like I have a foot in the grave ).. I'd like to see if there was a difference or if it is more about personality types and not age groups.
I am reading the latest Vikram Seth book. I am not done reading it, it is a slow read. Vikram Seth is much older now than he was when he wrote 'heaven lake ..'. And the pace of the book and the subject, full of filial ties and the long drawn out relationship descriptions is tedious... As I read, I wonder if it is an age thing? do these things become more important as we get older, Suitable boy was completely fictional but the plots and subplots and descriptions were far more engrossing. I found the same thing in my recent visit to India. All of the people I used to find fascinating ... had become somewhat unrecognizable in their conversation... surely it was not so before?
Or as my favorite therapist, Bernie ( who also styles my hair to perfection) said, maybe it is you who have changed, sweetheart.
Change is a good thing I guess, but what do you do when you change so, and the world you knew becomes a foreign land? I guess, you start discovering things again, with your new self.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Hanuman: the music
I am back once more, with a music review of an album where the music is not done by any of my favorites :)
I must say, I bought the CD purely on the cuteness of the little hanuman. And I have not been disappointed.
Let’s start then ...
Mahabali Maharudra: So many of my favorite voices, Kailash Kher, KK, Shaan, Palash Sen, Madhushree, Sneha Pant and alas Sonu Nigam. It starts with khadal and manjera and the chants from hanuman chalissa. The thunder and lightning as the music picks up and ebbs. The mix of voices is magical. The words, Mahabali maharudra shauravaan .. hanuman. The track does justice to each of the voices, it is grand and magnificent, my favorite track so far.
Jay Hanuman: Two voices I never thought I'd hear together, Kailash Kher and Shankar Mahadevan. So different and yet they go so well together. The hunger in Kailash Kher’s voice fits the supplicatatory note required for this song. It is a spin on the hanuman chalissa- Jay hanuman gyan goon sagar, Jay kapish theun lok ujaagar. The song has repetitive meter, the four lines cycle back over and over, it could have been monotonous, but the richness, interplay of vocal contrast from the two singers and the semi-classical taan's in the background, which add a dimension to the song, lift it from the ordinary to memorable.
Akdam Bakdam: The exploits of little hanuman, as he flies thru the sky and creates all kinds of mischief. Sung by shravan. Reminiscent of the jungle book song ' chaadi pahen ke phool khila hai'. The hyper active song with nonsensical lyrics ( akdam bakdam) is so far uma's favorite song and I can see why :).
Jay Bajrangbali: Baby hanuman's exploits continued. Sung by Palash Sen and Kinshuk Sen. The lyrics stray a little bit from the traditional in this... Sabse solid gada kiski../ yeh magic poonch bhi hai uski ... sing it kid! Lovely mix of classical/ pop. Very euphoria and very Palash Sen( even has 'dhoom pichuk dhoom' in it ). Very nice and utterly danceable.
Hanuman theme: it does a great job of mixing the tranquil bits with the crazy high energy bits. Chorus and taan's in the background with jaal tarang and trumpet, mostly synthesized music, but blends in the transitions and seemingly opposing elements well.
Hanuman Chalissa:( Vijay Prakash, Nandini, Rashmi) The only piece that could qualify as the old school devotional music. The verse of Hanuman Chalissa is very well adapted. The rendition is lovely, with clear enunciation and the background theme (mostly taans by the female half of the vocals and some chants) add a nice dimension to the number.
Destroying Ashok Vatika: very nice, I can almost see Hanumna jumping around destroying the places, uprooting the tree... bam bam bajrang bali :)
Bridge across the Ocean: slightly serious and somber tone with chants of jai shri ram. Nice.
The war begins: somber to signify a marching army perhaps.
Kumbkaran: interesting, with the resounding drum beat to mirror foot steps?
Ravan goes to war: Very tantric, with the invocations to the Mahadev Shambhu, Lord shiva. Suitably ominous and the lone conch shell at the end. Very nice.
The music is by Tapas Relia. Impressive. The music is not very complex or subtle, most of the number have a couple themes which are laid out with simplicity. The numbers are short enough to not become tedious and repetitive. The voices are well used. The music is energetic and well arranged. He definitely has used the best vocal talent around. I am not sure I am ready to add the guy to my favorites list yet, He has potential, I was impressed but not quite blown away. I am buying his next album. The jury is out still :)
The lyrics by Satish Mutatkar are mostly amalgamation of Hanuman chalissa and Hanuman astak, which take me back to my childhood (I could recite in entirety by the time I was 6-7 years old). He has held true to the words, and any additions and manipulations sound suitably supplicatory, joyous or ominous as the mood demands. Very nicely done.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Hello December
And it is snowing out :DIt is December today. My favorite month of the year. For many a reason. It is the end of a year for many, but for me it is the beginning of the next year. It is also the beginning of the cold season, and I love cold. The extent of this love came crashing down on me during my recent visit to the tropics. I hate the heat; I bore it somehow earlier, but now my body and mind revolt vociferously. My skin was stretched thin over my(now) bony frame and looked extremely splotchy. I got mysterious cuts and bruises all over my arms and legs ( bil and sis think it is a case of voodoo magic). My brain refused to function, surrounded by the yummiest food ever, my appetite deserted me and I felt anything but me. I was greeted by below freezing temperatures on my arrival. Today it is snowing, suddenly all is well :)
Back to December; most people are off for most of the month, which means I can get a lot more work done at work. It is an efficient month... somehow days seem to be unhurried and a lot longer. I like that. And I get to not talk a lot. I love that. It is my month of re-charging.
It holds some important days too. I get officially older in this month( even though I insist on rounding of to the next number after six months have passed). December also holds the day I came to live, in this city I call home, many many years ago. That to me, is perhaps, one of the most important days in my life (next to the day my child was born).
December is also the holiday month. I have a brightly decked Christmas tree (which I have been setting up on the thanksgiving weekend for quite a few years now). Holiday season also means gift giving season, means I get to shop. I love that, mostly because I am shopping for people I love. Packing the gifts and putting them under the tree as I imagine the look of surprise (and hopefully joy) when they see them.
I love the smells of this month, the fire in the fireplace, the warm spices and soups, ginger and nutmeg, the smell of cookies and pies and meat curries... hot chocolate doesn't taste this good any other time of the year.
Despite the cold, it is a warm month. My home is warm and welcomimg each time I come back.
Maybe it is the cold outside that puts warmth in perspective or I just love the frost and the dreamy white look of the lanscape... either way
Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Ode to Ma and Papa
November is the month of b’days in our family. Ma and Papa have their b’day’s in this month, this is the first time in the last ten years I’ll be home for a part of the month...
So, here’s it is.. my ode to Mom and Pop.
Nature and nurture, I owe them both to you. Thank you. I could not have asked for better parents.
Ma, as I call my mom, is the most talented person, I have ever met. When I was a kid, I thought that there was nothing that she could not do. She could cook anything, she could make anything better ( from people, to stray animals and birds to dying plants…), she could make anything-- dresses, projects, anything… and she never gave up. New dresses appeared magically on the morning of the birthday, whole house was decorated, food for parties of humungous number of people was ready in our magical kitchen…. Most of this magic seemed to happen when we kids were in the land of nod. Thank you Ma, for all those sleepless nights you spent in making our wishes (many of them unspoken) come true.
Ma gave me some gifts I can never thank her enough for. The gift of reading. When I was a kid, she banned ‘popular fiction’ for me (I did read her M&B’s hiding in bathrooms and closets) but thanks to her I had read the classics before I was 15. She got me tons of books from her school library, and everywhere else she could...
The gift of music… we all love listening to music, she sings very well (one of her three masters degrees is in Music) and is one of the few people who, when given any string or a keyboard instrument can figure out how to play it. None of us can live without music … we went to music and dance classes when other kids were watching TV and playing. It was hard to come by these classes in the suburban town and required immense amount of planning and resourcefulness on her part to get us to these classes, but she did. We went there complaining, but today when I can recognize a raga or Indian instrument and tell my daughter about it, I am thankful to my Mom.
Papa, on the other hand is the most disciplined, structured and hardworking person I have ever seen in my life. He can even now, put his finger on the exact file where the negatives from our 1982 Ooty trip are. Truly self made, my Dad came to this new town for a new job and rose thru the ranks to be where he is. He has a system for everything. I still add the way he taught me to some 26-27 years ago, using a mark for a carryover… and I can still add faster than most people around me :) . Growing up my favorite subjects were Maths and Physics and I remember picking up most his engineering books when I went to college ( his Reedhill still lives in my office bookshelf and I pick it up once in a while when I get sick of software :)). My dad loved his job and was very good at it. He is my yardstick for what hardworking and honest person who has not cheated anyone of his due should be. Someday, I hope to be like him.
Ma and Papa are very independent. If I might be so bold to add, perhaps the most independent people I have seen in their generation. They are both from widely divergent backgrounds, Ma from a very hardcore Bengali family and Papa’s parents were the Punjabi’s driven out of Pakistan at partition. Together, they built for us a home where there was tolerance, talent, hard-work and love. We celebrated all festivals from Christmas to Id. We read all kinds of books and listened to all kinds of music and ate all kinds of food. The only thing you were not allowed to do was ‘not be the best you could be’. We were told that we could be whatever we wanted to be, encouraged to make our own decisions and push the limits of the known world.
Thank you, Ma and Papa, for everything you are and everything you gave me. I know I have been vociferous about my complaints in the last 15 years :)
… this is just to tell you, I know and I appreciate everything you are and you have done.
So, here’s it is.. my ode to Mom and Pop.
Nature and nurture, I owe them both to you. Thank you. I could not have asked for better parents.
Ma, as I call my mom, is the most talented person, I have ever met. When I was a kid, I thought that there was nothing that she could not do. She could cook anything, she could make anything better ( from people, to stray animals and birds to dying plants…), she could make anything-- dresses, projects, anything… and she never gave up. New dresses appeared magically on the morning of the birthday, whole house was decorated, food for parties of humungous number of people was ready in our magical kitchen…. Most of this magic seemed to happen when we kids were in the land of nod. Thank you Ma, for all those sleepless nights you spent in making our wishes (many of them unspoken) come true.
Ma gave me some gifts I can never thank her enough for. The gift of reading. When I was a kid, she banned ‘popular fiction’ for me (I did read her M&B’s hiding in bathrooms and closets) but thanks to her I had read the classics before I was 15. She got me tons of books from her school library, and everywhere else she could...
The gift of music… we all love listening to music, she sings very well (one of her three masters degrees is in Music) and is one of the few people who, when given any string or a keyboard instrument can figure out how to play it. None of us can live without music … we went to music and dance classes when other kids were watching TV and playing. It was hard to come by these classes in the suburban town and required immense amount of planning and resourcefulness on her part to get us to these classes, but she did. We went there complaining, but today when I can recognize a raga or Indian instrument and tell my daughter about it, I am thankful to my Mom.
Papa, on the other hand is the most disciplined, structured and hardworking person I have ever seen in my life. He can even now, put his finger on the exact file where the negatives from our 1982 Ooty trip are. Truly self made, my Dad came to this new town for a new job and rose thru the ranks to be where he is. He has a system for everything. I still add the way he taught me to some 26-27 years ago, using a mark for a carryover… and I can still add faster than most people around me :) . Growing up my favorite subjects were Maths and Physics and I remember picking up most his engineering books when I went to college ( his Reedhill still lives in my office bookshelf and I pick it up once in a while when I get sick of software :)). My dad loved his job and was very good at it. He is my yardstick for what hardworking and honest person who has not cheated anyone of his due should be. Someday, I hope to be like him.
Ma and Papa are very independent. If I might be so bold to add, perhaps the most independent people I have seen in their generation. They are both from widely divergent backgrounds, Ma from a very hardcore Bengali family and Papa’s parents were the Punjabi’s driven out of Pakistan at partition. Together, they built for us a home where there was tolerance, talent, hard-work and love. We celebrated all festivals from Christmas to Id. We read all kinds of books and listened to all kinds of music and ate all kinds of food. The only thing you were not allowed to do was ‘not be the best you could be’. We were told that we could be whatever we wanted to be, encouraged to make our own decisions and push the limits of the known world.
Thank you, Ma and Papa, for everything you are and everything you gave me. I know I have been vociferous about my complaints in the last 15 years :)
… this is just to tell you, I know and I appreciate everything you are and you have done.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
another thought...
Live like there is no tomorrow.
Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching.
it is easy to say ... but oh so hard to do :)
Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching.
it is easy to say ... but oh so hard to do :)
Friday, October 21, 2005
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Monday, October 17, 2005
Monday, October 10, 2005
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Tagged
the fifth line of the 23 entry.
well my 23 entry happens to be a photo entry.. pic of Mt Rainier.. titled 'Seattle-- my Home'.
So, a blank then?
Done.
well my 23 entry happens to be a photo entry.. pic of Mt Rainier.. titled 'Seattle-- my Home'.
So, a blank then?
Done.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Short Tales...
It was a dark and gloomy sunday morning. When did it become fall again?
The face in the mirror, familiar and yet...
The hollowness had left her cheek and the emptiness her eyes, her jacket didn't smell of cigarettes anymore...
I guess, I am finally over him, she thought to herself as she took a long satisfying sip of the dark roasted Sumatra.
***************************
She ran up the incline, panting, she was just 26 dammit, she was going to finish this god-awful marathon- she chided herself, even as her body complained. In ten years, she might not be able to pull it off. Besides, she was not sure she'd find the motivation again.
She stopped for a breather at the volunteers table and picked up a paper cup of water.
Peter, do you need some water?
No dad, I am good.
Ok, lets go then... all set?
Yup, Dad.
The balding man put the little boy with paralyzed legs in a harness and attached the harness to his back and took off.
Maybe, she'd find reasons. Her hand went instinctively to her flat belly and her mind to the unopened six pack of EPT she had bought at costco last evening.
She tossed the papercup, missing the gray bin, smiled at the volunteer as she started running. Suddenly, it seemed easier.
*****************************
Words were blurry, the cursor blinked crazily. Her fingers could not find the keys on her laptop. Thoughts formed and as she went to type them, they vaporized... and she paused, with her fingers poised above the keyboard.
What is wrong with me? it is a fucking online ad-copy for godssake.. I used to be able to rattle them off in my sleep... I am getting old and senile and happy and fat, I can't keep a thought in my head long enough to see its colors...
Life had taken away the angst and without the angst her words weren't poignant enough. Her thoughts were like well fed puppies, they held people for less than five seconds before they left to read about someone else’s searing pain. Love was killing her career.
Hey you! up so early?
How can you see anything, you are wearing my glasses!
Here, coffee, just the way you like it, black without sugar,
he said, as he dropped a kiss on her tousled head.
She watched him close the door behind him as she nursed her favorite coffee cup.
This was worth everything.
She smiled as the blinking monitor shifted into focus.
******************************
Mom, why are the cars not moving?
umm, sweetie, I think there is an accident.
oh! what happened mommy?
I think someone was not being careful and they bonked their car.
Why is that person not moving?
I was not sure what to tell my child, I had not yet figured out whether I believe in God, if there existed such a thing as heaven, if there were souls, What was death? What happened to us when we died? I did not know how to answer her question.
Mommy, do you think he is dead?
Yes, sweetie. I think so.
I guess, for now, this is enough.
The face in the mirror, familiar and yet...
The hollowness had left her cheek and the emptiness her eyes, her jacket didn't smell of cigarettes anymore...
I guess, I am finally over him, she thought to herself as she took a long satisfying sip of the dark roasted Sumatra.
***************************
She ran up the incline, panting, she was just 26 dammit, she was going to finish this god-awful marathon- she chided herself, even as her body complained. In ten years, she might not be able to pull it off. Besides, she was not sure she'd find the motivation again.
She stopped for a breather at the volunteers table and picked up a paper cup of water.
Peter, do you need some water?
No dad, I am good.
Ok, lets go then... all set?
Yup, Dad.
The balding man put the little boy with paralyzed legs in a harness and attached the harness to his back and took off.
Maybe, she'd find reasons. Her hand went instinctively to her flat belly and her mind to the unopened six pack of EPT she had bought at costco last evening.
She tossed the papercup, missing the gray bin, smiled at the volunteer as she started running. Suddenly, it seemed easier.
*****************************
Words were blurry, the cursor blinked crazily. Her fingers could not find the keys on her laptop. Thoughts formed and as she went to type them, they vaporized... and she paused, with her fingers poised above the keyboard.
What is wrong with me? it is a fucking online ad-copy for godssake.. I used to be able to rattle them off in my sleep... I am getting old and senile and happy and fat, I can't keep a thought in my head long enough to see its colors...
Life had taken away the angst and without the angst her words weren't poignant enough. Her thoughts were like well fed puppies, they held people for less than five seconds before they left to read about someone else’s searing pain. Love was killing her career.
Hey you! up so early?
How can you see anything, you are wearing my glasses!
Here, coffee, just the way you like it, black without sugar,
he said, as he dropped a kiss on her tousled head.
She watched him close the door behind him as she nursed her favorite coffee cup.
This was worth everything.
She smiled as the blinking monitor shifted into focus.
******************************
Mom, why are the cars not moving?
umm, sweetie, I think there is an accident.
oh! what happened mommy?
I think someone was not being careful and they bonked their car.
Why is that person not moving?
I was not sure what to tell my child, I had not yet figured out whether I believe in God, if there existed such a thing as heaven, if there were souls, What was death? What happened to us when we died? I did not know how to answer her question.
Mommy, do you think he is dead?
Yes, sweetie. I think so.
I guess, for now, this is enough.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Time
A little over eight years ago, I started working for a software firm. It was the pre-dot-com era and I was glad to be finally doing what I loved doing anyway and getting paid for it. I loved my job. Thru the ups and downs of my life this one thing has been constant. Almost.
In the last couple years I have seen the stirrings of the seven year itch. This is not the job I loved, everywhere I look I see mediocrity and politics... coming into work is not a rush anymore and I do not long for my vacation to end so that I can go back to work.
What happened to it? Did I just get bored? Is it mid-life crisis? Or did the world at work really change?
I see so many people complain about the workplace.. most of them are just bitter 20-something 'grass is greener on the other side of the fence' complaints. Complaints of how people had it good 10-15 years ago and they could make easy millions by joining some software company and how they have been robbed of the opportunity ... basic complaints about having to work hard for the millions now.
But, I see things around me that I don't like, the firm is getting fat in the middle... Too much management and not enough people doing real work ... and most of the middle-management is pitiful anyway. Unhappy, scared, de-motivated, de-moralized people, not enough leadership in everyday life. Bad product strategy ... higher ups not in touch with reality and then the 'spin'-- for everything. Too much politics and not enough 'lets fix it.
This is not the place I started at... I was a green college grad student, who felt like she had finally come home. People were smart and worked hard. Nothing was impossible or too hard, there was integrity and fun. I loved it. I could walk down the hall to talk to the guy who wrote the API and have him tell me how and sometimes even acknowlege, my way of doing something was better than his original design.
I have given this place eight years and it has given me a lot back in return, a place to learn and grow, contribute to the world with what I do, a fat paycheck and a fatter benefits packet, friends and co-workers who are like my family now.
I have fought with people on why it is not the evil empire and why it is a great place to work.. why the review model and the curve are not arbitrary, how the interviews need to be that long. Folks tell me I have been drinking the company cool-aid too long:) but I just believe in a lot of these things that form the foundation of this place. I have seen really good managers who have used the tools of recruiting and reviewing in ways to promote happy and healthy teams. There is nothing really wrong with the system, every system can be used in ways that are counter to the principles that created it. Quoting Warren Buffet, Three things to look for in people you hire, they should be honest, hardworking and smart. The first two being essential, without which the third one actually becomes dangerous.
I read in JWZ's blog a long time ago, when he quit netscape he said, there are two kinds of people, people who make a company successful, and the kind of people who want to work for a successful company. I do believe the place I work for is now getting heavier in people of the second category. Sad as it sounds, this is not home anymore. Will I stay and try to fix my home or will I quit? Time will tell, I guess.
In the last couple years I have seen the stirrings of the seven year itch. This is not the job I loved, everywhere I look I see mediocrity and politics... coming into work is not a rush anymore and I do not long for my vacation to end so that I can go back to work.
What happened to it? Did I just get bored? Is it mid-life crisis? Or did the world at work really change?
I see so many people complain about the workplace.. most of them are just bitter 20-something 'grass is greener on the other side of the fence' complaints. Complaints of how people had it good 10-15 years ago and they could make easy millions by joining some software company and how they have been robbed of the opportunity ... basic complaints about having to work hard for the millions now.
But, I see things around me that I don't like, the firm is getting fat in the middle... Too much management and not enough people doing real work ... and most of the middle-management is pitiful anyway. Unhappy, scared, de-motivated, de-moralized people, not enough leadership in everyday life. Bad product strategy ... higher ups not in touch with reality and then the 'spin'-- for everything. Too much politics and not enough 'lets fix it.
This is not the place I started at... I was a green college grad student, who felt like she had finally come home. People were smart and worked hard. Nothing was impossible or too hard, there was integrity and fun. I loved it. I could walk down the hall to talk to the guy who wrote the API and have him tell me how and sometimes even acknowlege, my way of doing something was better than his original design.
I have given this place eight years and it has given me a lot back in return, a place to learn and grow, contribute to the world with what I do, a fat paycheck and a fatter benefits packet, friends and co-workers who are like my family now.
I have fought with people on why it is not the evil empire and why it is a great place to work.. why the review model and the curve are not arbitrary, how the interviews need to be that long. Folks tell me I have been drinking the company cool-aid too long:) but I just believe in a lot of these things that form the foundation of this place. I have seen really good managers who have used the tools of recruiting and reviewing in ways to promote happy and healthy teams. There is nothing really wrong with the system, every system can be used in ways that are counter to the principles that created it. Quoting Warren Buffet, Three things to look for in people you hire, they should be honest, hardworking and smart. The first two being essential, without which the third one actually becomes dangerous.
I read in JWZ's blog a long time ago, when he quit netscape he said, there are two kinds of people, people who make a company successful, and the kind of people who want to work for a successful company. I do believe the place I work for is now getting heavier in people of the second category. Sad as it sounds, this is not home anymore. Will I stay and try to fix my home or will I quit? Time will tell, I guess.
Friday, September 23, 2005
playlist
Devo - girl I want
Korn - freak on a leash
INXS- the stairs
Elvis Costello - indoor fireworks
INXS -Faith in Each other
Faith no more - I won't forget you
Cure - close to me
Hootie and the blowfish - only wanna be with you
Elvis Costello - lovable
Fleetwood Mac - Go your own way
Elvis Costello -I hope you are happy now
Cake -Friend is a four letter word
Chris Cornell - Can't change me
Billy Joel - And So it goes
INXS - not enough time
The Cardigans - Lovefool
....
If there were a way to psychoanalyze a playlist, what would my verdict would be ?
Korn - freak on a leash
INXS- the stairs
Elvis Costello - indoor fireworks
INXS -Faith in Each other
Faith no more - I won't forget you
Cure - close to me
Hootie and the blowfish - only wanna be with you
Elvis Costello - lovable
Fleetwood Mac - Go your own way
Elvis Costello -I hope you are happy now
Cake -Friend is a four letter word
Chris Cornell - Can't change me
Billy Joel - And So it goes
INXS - not enough time
The Cardigans - Lovefool
....
If there were a way to psychoanalyze a playlist, what would my verdict would be ?
Monday, September 19, 2005
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Technology
I am an engineer by education. No, not a namby-pamby software engineer, but a blacksmith-mechanical one. I spent four years learning how metals work, how things are built, how engines work and take them apart and put them back together. As it turns out I work as a namby-pamby software engineer now, moving bits in machines that are of interest to few geeks like me… to send out things like email and stop viruses from infesting your email system and arcane things like that.
Yet, there are times when technology takes my breath away.
I bought a sewing machine last week. A computerized sewing machine, Janome harmony. It has a microprocessor that controls thread tension and needle placement. I am in love.
I learnt to sew when I was very young; my mom had a mechanical Singer, a black thing made out of cast iron with black shiny paint and gold lettering. By the time I was 13 I knew how to take apart the bobbin housing and put it back together, change the needle, the belt, and pretty much fix anything that was wrong with it. I used to love that machine. My Barbie’s had the best wardrobe ever and I even remember making a huge patchwork quilt out of that mechanical contraption.
My mom replaced it with a modern expensive electronic machine while I was in college. I could never work that ... it was like trying to work with VB after programming in C. I couldn't use pointers and make my application have a smaller footprint... it had a lovely UI though. Needless to say, my love for designing and sewing waned.
And then I got the Janome. It adjusts to the fabric and changing the needle is just like old times, It responds well to pedal pressure and best of all, my love for sewing is back. It was like that when I bought a Steamer for my clothes or the Kitchen Aid kitchen machine which could knead the dough to the perfect elasticity for rolling out the yummiest chapattis or the mix the best chocolate chip cookie dough.
I have never stopped to marvel at the tin box that I can drive to over 150kms/hr to get where I need to, or the rolling belt on which I can run indoors or the perfect temperature of the hot water in my kitchen or bathroom, or the wonder of inoculation or traveling at the speed of sound or the incandesent glass bulb that makes candles an ornamental fragrence source. I do marvel at the sound of a CD, it seems like the orchestra is playing just for me or the amazing photosensitivity of my digital camera that gets wonderful pictures in almost any light or the clarity of the images from the DVD which brings places I have never seen so close...and then there is my steamer and the kitchen machine and sewing machine which makes me marvel at this thing called technology..
I guess I am girl after all :)
Yet, there are times when technology takes my breath away.
I bought a sewing machine last week. A computerized sewing machine, Janome harmony. It has a microprocessor that controls thread tension and needle placement. I am in love.
I learnt to sew when I was very young; my mom had a mechanical Singer, a black thing made out of cast iron with black shiny paint and gold lettering. By the time I was 13 I knew how to take apart the bobbin housing and put it back together, change the needle, the belt, and pretty much fix anything that was wrong with it. I used to love that machine. My Barbie’s had the best wardrobe ever and I even remember making a huge patchwork quilt out of that mechanical contraption.
My mom replaced it with a modern expensive electronic machine while I was in college. I could never work that ... it was like trying to work with VB after programming in C. I couldn't use pointers and make my application have a smaller footprint... it had a lovely UI though. Needless to say, my love for designing and sewing waned.
And then I got the Janome. It adjusts to the fabric and changing the needle is just like old times, It responds well to pedal pressure and best of all, my love for sewing is back. It was like that when I bought a Steamer for my clothes or the Kitchen Aid kitchen machine which could knead the dough to the perfect elasticity for rolling out the yummiest chapattis or the mix the best chocolate chip cookie dough.
I have never stopped to marvel at the tin box that I can drive to over 150kms/hr to get where I need to, or the rolling belt on which I can run indoors or the perfect temperature of the hot water in my kitchen or bathroom, or the wonder of inoculation or traveling at the speed of sound or the incandesent glass bulb that makes candles an ornamental fragrence source. I do marvel at the sound of a CD, it seems like the orchestra is playing just for me or the amazing photosensitivity of my digital camera that gets wonderful pictures in almost any light or the clarity of the images from the DVD which brings places I have never seen so close...and then there is my steamer and the kitchen machine and sewing machine which makes me marvel at this thing called technology..
I guess I am girl after all :)
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Ah Men...
According to Mary Beth Ellis the sexiest movie men are as follows:
Sean Astin
Antonio Banderas
Tom Selleck
Michael J. Nelson
John Cusask
Harrison Ford
Will Smith
Viggo Mortensen
Heath Ledger
Hugh Jackman
link: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9066263/
The lady likes her men dark and handsome(not all of them are tall :)).
That got me thinking to my list of top movie men... I realized I did not favor 'Dark' men as such, I had a fair sprinking of blonds and tawnys... Yeah, tall was important, but apart from couple all show some signs of an active brain( you gotta have one dumb blonde that you adore :))...
so my list:
Robert Redford -- what can I say, tall- blond, blue eyes , smart with a twinkly smile... my perfect dreamboat. "He was like the country he lived in, everything came too easy to him" thus he is described by Katie in 'the way we were' ... the perfect description, methinks.
Tom Hanks -- Dark and goofy with a penchant for witty repartee. Twinkly eyes and a lovely open smile. Big, Man with one red shoe, Turner and Hooch... ofcourse Sleepless in seattle, Philadelphia and not to forget 'that thing you do'. Sigh ...
Matt Damon -- Naughty blue eyes, a mischievous smile and loaded with smarts! He stole my heart in Good Will Hunting. Another man who quit harvard to pursue his dreams( I work for another one of those). His interviews read like stories, the guy should seriously consider writing more, he is a damn good story teller.
Hugh Jackman-- Ah, tall -dark and handsome, with an aussie accent, who sings like an angel... What else could a girl want :). Someone like You, typical chick-flick... fell in love with his one-liners ( " oh this? I bit myself shaving") and his smile :)
Others include Jude Law ( the dumb blond), George Clooney ( as Carrie said he is like a chanel suit.. he'll never go out of fashion ...), Will Smith ( everyone has to love him...), Josh Lucas( how could you not...), Ryan Phillippe ( the dumb brunnette?)...
this will have to do for now :)
Sean Astin
Antonio Banderas
Tom Selleck
Michael J. Nelson
John Cusask
Harrison Ford
Will Smith
Viggo Mortensen
Heath Ledger
Hugh Jackman
link: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9066263/
The lady likes her men dark and handsome(not all of them are tall :)).
That got me thinking to my list of top movie men... I realized I did not favor 'Dark' men as such, I had a fair sprinking of blonds and tawnys... Yeah, tall was important, but apart from couple all show some signs of an active brain( you gotta have one dumb blonde that you adore :))...
so my list:
Robert Redford -- what can I say, tall- blond, blue eyes , smart with a twinkly smile... my perfect dreamboat. "He was like the country he lived in, everything came too easy to him" thus he is described by Katie in 'the way we were' ... the perfect description, methinks.
Tom Hanks -- Dark and goofy with a penchant for witty repartee. Twinkly eyes and a lovely open smile. Big, Man with one red shoe, Turner and Hooch... ofcourse Sleepless in seattle, Philadelphia and not to forget 'that thing you do'. Sigh ...
Matt Damon -- Naughty blue eyes, a mischievous smile and loaded with smarts! He stole my heart in Good Will Hunting. Another man who quit harvard to pursue his dreams( I work for another one of those). His interviews read like stories, the guy should seriously consider writing more, he is a damn good story teller.
Hugh Jackman-- Ah, tall -dark and handsome, with an aussie accent, who sings like an angel... What else could a girl want :). Someone like You, typical chick-flick... fell in love with his one-liners ( " oh this? I bit myself shaving") and his smile :)
Others include Jude Law ( the dumb blond), George Clooney ( as Carrie said he is like a chanel suit.. he'll never go out of fashion ...), Will Smith ( everyone has to love him...), Josh Lucas( how could you not...), Ryan Phillippe ( the dumb brunnette?)...
this will have to do for now :)
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Harry Potter and the half blood prince
Harry and his friends sixth year at Horgwarts. Lord Voldemort is back, the world is in panic, death eaters and dementors are on the loose... The daily Prophet brings news of death and mayhem everyday. Harry is the quidditch team captain and Ron and Hermione are prefects. Bill is getting married to Fleur. Harry and Co are 16 now, the tone of the book has changed-- romance tends to throw a different light on things and friends :). Malfoy has a mission and Snape makes an Unbreakable Vow. All in all an eminiently readable 650 pages.JK Rowling, she is one the most masterful kids story writers in my humble opinion. Soccer’s stone was first published in 1998, by a single mom who had a story to tell. In less than a decade she has become one of the most celebrated authors of kid’s literature the world has ever seen.
The books do not talk down to kids and she does not present the world in clean clear light, she does not hide the ambiguity and grayness. Harry goes thru the most terrible conflicts and self doubts, trying to figure out good from evil and learning most times that both reside in the same place. There are no idols, Dumbledore is the closest to one, but he too says "I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being- forgive me - rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger".
It has the elements of fantasy and unbridled imagination... I love the way she takes ordinary things and translates them to the wizard land. The fireplace transport, the moving people in the paintings and photographs, the crazy candy, Hogwarts express from platform number 9 3/4. The house elves, the pumpkin Juice, the sorting hat, the subject-- Divination, Potions, Charms, Herbology... I love the way the normal things from school have been extrapolated to this wizard world. Fifteen inches of parchment on werewolves! The curses lumous, accio, Expelliarmus, Petrificus Totalus .. and the names Albus, Remus, Minevera, Severus, Sirius... She sounds like she is having a blast, poking fun at all those adult things like discipline and rules and latin that kids find tedious-- as she teaches the kids who read about the things in life that are truly important- loyalty, friendship, love, trust...
And not to forget, the game, quidditch.
I have a couple male friends of mine complain about that game... "it is stupid, how can you not have better rules and how can you just end the game if the snitch is caught?" And as I sat there listening to the two grown men crib about why quidditch was a stupid, I started laughing. This was brilliant. This was a game created by a woman, of course it was going to be a fast paced game that she could end as soon as the snitch was caught( while letting potter being the hero cause he could be the seeker:))
Did I say that I enjoy the books most of all because Joanne Kathleen Rowling seems to write like she is enjoying herself immensly?
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Another Thursday Morning
Hey!
Hey yourself, how have you been!
Good, which floor?
Four. It's been crazy busy.
Yeah, I checked in the watson stuff last friday. 30,000 crashes in one bucket...
Wow!
Yeah, all because a of missing curly brace in a format string.
OMG... really?
uh-huh.
It was not until I was in my office and was checking my email that I realized what a supremely geeky conversation I had in the elevator. And I didn't think anything of it. Yuck... I have become such a nerd.
Hey yourself, how have you been!
Good, which floor?
Four. It's been crazy busy.
Yeah, I checked in the watson stuff last friday. 30,000 crashes in one bucket...
Wow!
Yeah, all because a of missing curly brace in a format string.
OMG... really?
uh-huh.
It was not until I was in my office and was checking my email that I realized what a supremely geeky conversation I had in the elevator. And I didn't think anything of it. Yuck... I have become such a nerd.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
The 'in' thing
Tis summer now and most days I get to see more flesh than I can shake a dynaband at.
I am amazed, at what I see around me. Women all ages, shapes and sizes in low rise pants and clingy shortie tubes, halters and sphagetti straps.
There was a time when only the most stick figure of figures would dare to wear the bum-huggers-midriff-baring-stitched-with-you-inside outfits, while the rest of mere mortals would look upon them and sigh.
It can only be a rise in the feministic element, the cry "real women have curves"... which leads to the rise in the number of women I see baring their curves. The feminist in me rejoices at increase in the body image of the average girl that makes her get out of the house in such an outfit...
Or is it just the blind following of the "in" God? The cynic in me asks. Has the body image factor really gone up? Is the number of girls that are secretly bulimic and anorexic become any lower? Statistics do not support my theory. Obesity is at an all time high ... the teen models are unhealthily skinnier than ever... Why this masochistic fashion trend then?
On an average the low-slung hip huggers and the clingy tops are far more flattering than the tied at your rib-cage Katherine Hepburn pants which had no shape to speak off... or the careless-stressed sweatshirts which sat on you like a gunny sack and made you look like an out of shape football player.
The aesthetic in me cringes when I see girls in the too tight-translucent-skinny fit shirts exposing a pudgy midriff. Low sluggers are more flattering but how low should we go? A less than 7 inch rise leads to exposure that is only flattering to you if your BMI is less than 15 (or if you are Jessica Simpson).
So do you stay at home if the ‘in’ thing is something that you cannot possibly look good in? Or do you starve yourself to bits to look what the models on the runways and the girls on billboard look like... Oh wait half the population is already attempting this.
What do you fight then to create a sense of style that works for you without making you feel bad about yourself? Can we change what the fashion trendsetter decide is the 'in' thing? Probably not, but we can change how blindly we follow it…
I guess the pendulum has to swing all the way to the other end before it centers again.
Till then, I reserve the right to cringe every time a I see a peep thru g-string cutting fat into unflattering islands and every time a woman bends down to pick something she dropped on the floor.
I am amazed, at what I see around me. Women all ages, shapes and sizes in low rise pants and clingy shortie tubes, halters and sphagetti straps.
There was a time when only the most stick figure of figures would dare to wear the bum-huggers-midriff-baring-stitched-with-you-inside outfits, while the rest of mere mortals would look upon them and sigh.
It can only be a rise in the feministic element, the cry "real women have curves"... which leads to the rise in the number of women I see baring their curves. The feminist in me rejoices at increase in the body image of the average girl that makes her get out of the house in such an outfit...
Or is it just the blind following of the "in" God? The cynic in me asks. Has the body image factor really gone up? Is the number of girls that are secretly bulimic and anorexic become any lower? Statistics do not support my theory. Obesity is at an all time high ... the teen models are unhealthily skinnier than ever... Why this masochistic fashion trend then?
On an average the low-slung hip huggers and the clingy tops are far more flattering than the tied at your rib-cage Katherine Hepburn pants which had no shape to speak off... or the careless-stressed sweatshirts which sat on you like a gunny sack and made you look like an out of shape football player.
The aesthetic in me cringes when I see girls in the too tight-translucent-skinny fit shirts exposing a pudgy midriff. Low sluggers are more flattering but how low should we go? A less than 7 inch rise leads to exposure that is only flattering to you if your BMI is less than 15 (or if you are Jessica Simpson).
So do you stay at home if the ‘in’ thing is something that you cannot possibly look good in? Or do you starve yourself to bits to look what the models on the runways and the girls on billboard look like... Oh wait half the population is already attempting this.
What do you fight then to create a sense of style that works for you without making you feel bad about yourself? Can we change what the fashion trendsetter decide is the 'in' thing? Probably not, but we can change how blindly we follow it…
I guess the pendulum has to swing all the way to the other end before it centers again.
Till then, I reserve the right to cringe every time a I see a peep thru g-string cutting fat into unflattering islands and every time a woman bends down to pick something she dropped on the floor.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Up, Down and Out
In management jargon, you manage up, down and out --
Managing Down- meaning you manage your team their expectations, their goals and results. This is easy to me. You are in charge and you are ultimately responsible for the results, but you divide the tasks... everyone does their piece; you teach, coax, dictate and manage. Your first priority is the business needs and second priority your people and their well being. They switch sometimes; longer term, happy satisfied employees make for success. Done.
Managing Out- meaning manage your peers, communicate with them, lean on them, have them lean on you... You are equals, partners. You vent, you crib, ask for advice and generally work together leveraging the best in each other. This is easy. Done.
Managing Up- This is about outlining your expectations, aligning your priorities with your manage(ment). Giving them realistic and timely feedback, keeping them informed about the obstacles that come your way. Ask for advice and support.
This is where it starts getting fucked up. You are responsible for your team and you are at par with your peers but where do you stand with your manager? Your manager is your boss, he judges you. He is the one, who awards you promotions and bonuses.
There is a slight tension in the roles of mentor and manager. I expect to be able to go up to my mentor and blurt out all my shortcomings and failures and ask for help and advice. But I would never do that to my boss, would I? But how will I learn, if I do not admit what it is that I am having difficulty with? It is kinda like my (now) relationship with my parents. I am grownup who manages a fairly successful life on her own, but when it comes to my parents, I become a truculent 16 year old. Unreasonable, stubborn. I know how to cajole and reason, but I will not do that with them. I want them to be the grownups ( so that I can be the kid).
I have been lucky to have had really good managers earlier in my career, where I could lay down all my faults and have them help me triage and figure out plan of action, recognize my strengths and weaknesses and help me leverage one and overcome the other. As I climb up the corporate ladder I have to 'manage' my own career and laying out of faults is not allowed. I cannot ask questions without having a plan of action. I can ask for approval but not for a solution... or can I?
I have been puzzling the conundrum for a while now. Sometimes, I get a peek at a workable solution. Learning to balance; just like I have learnt to balance micro-managing and being hands-off with my reports. I need to recognize the issues where I need more coaching and areas where I can be on my own. Present a balanced picture, keep in touch, teach my manager how to help me and stop thinking of him as an omniscient - omnipotent being, leverage his strengths... almost a partner in a way.
Some days I get it and other days the kid in me throws a tantrum...I think I am getting there. One step at a time. There is a lot more to experience. That is why it takes time :)
Managing Down- meaning you manage your team their expectations, their goals and results. This is easy to me. You are in charge and you are ultimately responsible for the results, but you divide the tasks... everyone does their piece; you teach, coax, dictate and manage. Your first priority is the business needs and second priority your people and their well being. They switch sometimes; longer term, happy satisfied employees make for success. Done.
Managing Out- meaning manage your peers, communicate with them, lean on them, have them lean on you... You are equals, partners. You vent, you crib, ask for advice and generally work together leveraging the best in each other. This is easy. Done.
Managing Up- This is about outlining your expectations, aligning your priorities with your manage(ment). Giving them realistic and timely feedback, keeping them informed about the obstacles that come your way. Ask for advice and support.
This is where it starts getting fucked up. You are responsible for your team and you are at par with your peers but where do you stand with your manager? Your manager is your boss, he judges you. He is the one, who awards you promotions and bonuses.
There is a slight tension in the roles of mentor and manager. I expect to be able to go up to my mentor and blurt out all my shortcomings and failures and ask for help and advice. But I would never do that to my boss, would I? But how will I learn, if I do not admit what it is that I am having difficulty with? It is kinda like my (now) relationship with my parents. I am grownup who manages a fairly successful life on her own, but when it comes to my parents, I become a truculent 16 year old. Unreasonable, stubborn. I know how to cajole and reason, but I will not do that with them. I want them to be the grownups ( so that I can be the kid).
I have been lucky to have had really good managers earlier in my career, where I could lay down all my faults and have them help me triage and figure out plan of action, recognize my strengths and weaknesses and help me leverage one and overcome the other. As I climb up the corporate ladder I have to 'manage' my own career and laying out of faults is not allowed. I cannot ask questions without having a plan of action. I can ask for approval but not for a solution... or can I?
I have been puzzling the conundrum for a while now. Sometimes, I get a peek at a workable solution. Learning to balance; just like I have learnt to balance micro-managing and being hands-off with my reports. I need to recognize the issues where I need more coaching and areas where I can be on my own. Present a balanced picture, keep in touch, teach my manager how to help me and stop thinking of him as an omniscient - omnipotent being, leverage his strengths... almost a partner in a way.
Some days I get it and other days the kid in me throws a tantrum...I think I am getting there. One step at a time. There is a lot more to experience. That is why it takes time :)
Friday, August 19, 2005
Another friday morning
It is a glorious friday morning.
I live in one of the satellite cities of Seattle, one on the less hip 'east-side'. I work in a local software company and my daily commute is about 20-25 mins (yes, I paid big bucks to live this close to work!). On my daily commute I drive alongside a golf course, and even see the (in)famous Mt Rainer on the horizon if the day is clear.
Today while I was driving along the verdant golf course and wondering( read envying) about the people who have the time to 'golf', a golf ball hit our car. Me and Uma were woken out of our complacent rumination ( it was bagel and cream chesse today). As the little while ball bounced of the hood of the car, to the sound track of "I am nut" we were giggling, helplessly....
Good morning!
I live in one of the satellite cities of Seattle, one on the less hip 'east-side'. I work in a local software company and my daily commute is about 20-25 mins (yes, I paid big bucks to live this close to work!). On my daily commute I drive alongside a golf course, and even see the (in)famous Mt Rainer on the horizon if the day is clear.
Today while I was driving along the verdant golf course and wondering( read envying) about the people who have the time to 'golf', a golf ball hit our car. Me and Uma were woken out of our complacent rumination ( it was bagel and cream chesse today). As the little while ball bounced of the hood of the car, to the sound track of "I am nut" we were giggling, helplessly....
Good morning!
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Self-deception
You can't focus on the results because you are focused on yourself.
My self-justifying image about being learned is the very thing that keeps me from learning.
We are so afraid of censure and inadequacy that the only way to feel better is to blame others and make them less. We put ourselves in a box so that we can feel righteous, secure even. If the other person is wrong, we are right. We give in, we cope, we apologize... even though we are busy, on the inside, hating and blaming others.
I have done it often. And, everytime I feel inadequate, I do it again. Enter my box, deceive myself to cover up for some fault of my own. The problem is it doesn't make me feel better, it makes others feel worse and my temporary self-righteousness fades and my faults come back and smack me, right in the face.
Leadership and Self Deception - getting out of the box
The Arbinger Institute
http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadershop/5094-9.html
My self-justifying image about being learned is the very thing that keeps me from learning.
We are so afraid of censure and inadequacy that the only way to feel better is to blame others and make them less. We put ourselves in a box so that we can feel righteous, secure even. If the other person is wrong, we are right. We give in, we cope, we apologize... even though we are busy, on the inside, hating and blaming others.
I have done it often. And, everytime I feel inadequate, I do it again. Enter my box, deceive myself to cover up for some fault of my own. The problem is it doesn't make me feel better, it makes others feel worse and my temporary self-righteousness fades and my faults come back and smack me, right in the face.
Leadership and Self Deception - getting out of the box
The Arbinger Institute
http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadershop/5094-9.html
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Shortcut to the top
In this 'jet age' where taking two steps at a time to get to the next level is the measure of success, this article seems like my mom's stern voice telling me "there are no shortcuts to success". Jokes apart, I do believe that there is something to it.“Leaders are mostly made, not born.They are made by being put into challenging jobs that require them to earn followers in order to perform. Leadership is a performing art, just like diving or singing, and the instrument is you. It takes lots of practice and it takes considerable self-knowledge and self-management.”
The long and short of it is "experience". The much hated word. The word I despised when I was a young twenty something full of vim and vigor, ready to melt mountains. I think I had it in me to do it then. The operative word being 'me'. There is a world of difference between doing something yourself and teaching and motivating and inspiring a team of people to buy into your vision and do it. And that, as cliched as it sounds, needs one to slow down, reflect, learn, and grow, and become a leader.
The image that comes to mind when one thinks of a leader is a swashbuckling knight, up on a white horse --charismatic, larger than life, with impossible to emulate qualities. Real leaders who have inspired me to put in impossible hours and do crazy amounts of work have been much different. "these leaders were individuals who blend 'extreme personal humility with intense professional will.' Although fearless, they were also modest and shy, motivating others with inspired standards rather than inspiring charisma. "
It is sometimes a jolt to the system, when you really get it, because with the getting of it comes the realization that there is so much more that you need to get. With every mountain you cross the series of mountains ahead of you becomes clearer and slowly the brain understands and accepts that it is about how you cross the mountains and not how fast you cross them. Or maybe it is just what I have learnt and there are others who have found their pot of gold at the end of the mountain by jumping three levels ( or was it the end of the rainbow). And maybe, all of us have our own journey and getting it is about the currency that we value.
Read the entire article here: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/lead_responsibilities.shtml
Moms
As told by children from 2 grade ( thanks gail:))
Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.
How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He Just used bigger parts.
What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.
What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.
What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
Why did your Mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.
Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.
What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home, & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.
What does your Mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
What would it take to make your Mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.
If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.
Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.
How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He Just used bigger parts.
What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.
What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.
What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
Why did your Mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.
Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.
What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home, & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.
What does your Mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
What would it take to make your Mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.
If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Get Married ? Why?
- I went to school, got a degree, then I got a job, this is what I am supposed to do next, right?
- My parents expect me to get married.
- I can't do everything myself.
- I want to have my own home.
- I want to have childern.
- I want to take care of someone.
- I want someone to take care of me.
- I don't want to come home to an empty house.
- This way someone will be obliged to have sex with me when I am ugly,old and fat.
- I don't want people to think I am queer.
- I got (her) knocked up.
- I love them, this way they won't go away when we fight, atleast not that easily.
- I can't imagine living without him/her.
- I am afraid of dying alone.
- I am bored.
- I am sick of the merry-go-round.
- I met the 'One'.
- I get to have a great big wedding.
- I am getting older.
- i don't want to die a virgin.
- I want to settle down.
- I love him/her.
- I am lonely.
- Need to keep the family line going.
- I want to have someone to have and to hold.
The many reasons I have heard over the past 20 years from people on why get married.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Memories
Mem’ries,Like the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time re-written every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me, would we? could we?
The way we were...
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Two Girls
A little under six years ago, I went to my doc for the 20 week ultrasound. I was sure the kicker in my tum was a wanna be soccer player and was already bent upon kicking his mom's butt. But then the lady at the exam smiled "it is a girl!". I didn't think much of it at the time, the only feeling can remember is relief... I didn't get men, there was no way, I could raise one.
Over the years i have dared to dream, a little bit. About what mom and daughter could do ...the girlie stuff. I see a young lady whoes favourite colors are pink and purple. She is affectionate and kind, she hides her face when ever people raise their voices in the TV. She loves to talk. She has a ton of little kids who she feeds, dresses, talks and puts to bed ( and does not perform surgery upon) .
And today, we went to a nails shop and got a pedicure. We walked in, picked out our colors. Uma picked out a sugar pink and I picked out a pink too, in her honor. We sat as the girls trimmed the cuticles, massaged the feet and put on the nail color. I turned to look at her about a hundred times in the 20 min interval, while she sat there chatting with the girl who was doing her nails, talking about her school, her favourite color and what kind of flowers she wanted on the big toe.
Then the two girls dried their nails, exchanged notes, put their shades back on and walked out to the car... ready to tackle the summer with open toed sandals and pink toes!
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
The Rising
Mangal PandeyKyon kaptan sahib... Kaale aadmi paar jor ajmayenge?
Unlike the last time, when I was waiting for my new CD love, this time I chanced upon it. I was in the local Indian store, attempting to locate the latest PC DVD, when I saw the red orange cover. Aamir Khan! Haven’t seen anything by him for a while, and then AR Rahman, my second favorite, ofcourse, I had to buy it. It took me a little bit of time to give it my full attention, but after what seems like a long time I am love with ARR music, again.
He is a master arranger, always think of him as an arranger than music maker, he overlays so many themes, weaving, interlacing and suddenly, when you least expect it, one of the themes takes over. It takes me many listenings to identify the various parallel threads. It is complex and it grows on you. My favorites move around the CD, resting atleast once on each of the numbers. His last release (Bose) was a disappointment, maybe it was the shriek-y bangla rendition of my favorite lullaby or the 'aklaa chollo re...' sung by Sonu Nigam but, I felt saddened.
Joy of joys there is no Sonu Nigam or Alka Yagnik this time. There is Kailash Kher though. I was enchanted by his voice when I heard the qawali by him in Dev.
ARR has done something I used to associate with him in his earlier days. He uses the right voice in the right way in the right place. With recent constants like Mr Nigam and mango face I had started believing that he had lost his knack for locating and using the right vocals. This time around, he surpassed himself, tons of new voices! All in the right place!
So lets start...
Mangal Mangal
Kailash Kher, Nagada and Khadtal.
There is a hindi proverb about a liar singing from his throat, a hungry man singing from his gut and a believer singing from his soul. Kher sings from his gut, something very hungry about his voice. Reminds me of the street urchins singing in the Delhi buses (two pieces of flattened stone clanging against each other for the beat). The song features, thrice in the CD, twice sung by Kher and once a duo by him and Sukhvinder Singh.
The song is a little different each time, probably features in different parts of the movie and somehow ties it together. Lovely renditions, I wouldn't have minded having it on the cd a couple more times :).
Main Vari Vari
Haven’t heard Kavita Krishnamurthy in a while, she is still as shrill and note perfect as can be. Reena Bharadwaj adds a nice balance to the KK voice. Tabla, ghungroo and sarangi mark the ‘mujra’. But the pace changes unexpectedly, I can almost visualize the abrupt ending of the song. ARR claims this to be the most difficult song for him in the entire album, I can almost see why.
Holi Re
By the time I came to this number, I had to go check the lyricist. None other than Javed Akhtar( of the Salim-Javed fame). Reminiscent of Kabir and Rahim in places ( if I might be so bold ). A great mixture of khadi boli, awadhi and urdu. Very period appropriate. And very well written. It is far and away from the fancy words and the vivid imagery of Gulzar, economical and prudent use of simple words. Definitely Bharat Vyas-ish.
Aamir Khan could almost be Mahipal (from Navrang) in his rendition of the initial part. Only ARR can make Udit Narayan sing like this. There is Madhushree, Srinivas and Chinmay too. Very bhraj bhumi. Somehow, ARR always does this. He takes something like a holi number and manages to go against the ingrained sound for the ‘genre’, which in this case is Amitabh Bachan sound-like and does something that is beautiful and still sounds just right. Just like he did with ‘mera rang de basanti chola’ I never thought someone could make me forget the original tune; but he did.
Rasiya
Richa Sharma, a singer who tries to make up with attitude what she lacks in aptitude for singing and a relatively unknown voice, Bonnie Chakraborty. Amazing. Bonnie is the real winner. She sings in the lower octave, usually better suited to male voices and hardly ever dared by female singers. Richa and Bonnie provide a perfect contrast as far as vocals are concerned. The words are beautiful, Richa’s attitude comes in very handy uttering words like ‘Challia’, ‘Rasiya’. The quaint mix of hindu and muslim influences that go by the name of ‘hindustani classical’. The backdrop of the beat and the chorus adds extended character if you will. A single twinkling anklet in the last few lines. Wonderful.
Takey Takey.
Sukhvinder Singh, Kher and Kartick Das Baul. A market place song with a chorus of kids. Hyper paced, with a soul. I heard a rooster crow in the song. It changes beat when you least expect it.
Starts with the snake charmer’s Been. The verbal gymnastics are beautifully rendered. Very nice, most definitely my favorite song so far.
Al Maddaath Maula
Ofcourse, there has to be an ARR sung song, but it seems the guy is learning about the limitations of his singing abilities. His voice is relegated to adding a dimension to the song and not something in the forefront. A lesser known type of sufi devotional music. Not the ‘regular qawali’. This is something that reminds me of a dargah in Lucknow…very sufi and very nice.
The music brings nostalgia …paints a picture of the age all of us read about in our history books, the mutiny of 1857. The hindu-muslim confluence to the patriotic beat is unmistakable. Very different from the pure Punjabi bhagat singh, just as patriotic nevertheless. The walk of Mangal Pandey to the gallows is just as moving as one in Bharat Singh. I think the movie is going to be nice. I hope it is going to be nice, last time I went gaga over a music album ... the movie almost broke my heart. This time it is Ketan Mehta ( not Amol Palekar) and Aamir Khan( and not SRK). There is hope; yet.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
The Penguins
The march of penguins : A story of survival and of love. It is funny how we think of love something only us humans are capable of. 'The March of the Penguins' is a story of the march the penguins undertake to the procreate and what they undergo to have their younglings make it. It is an amazing piece of work.
The music, the photography, the narration. You are mesmerized by these clumsy creatures and a landscape that is closer to the 8 bit color than the 32 bit world that we live in.
The story of the movement of the male and female penguins to the Antarctic wasteland, where they mate, take turns taking care of the egg and then the young and fetching food. The treacherous weather, the life against all odds. Narrated by Morgan Freeman. I can't think of anyone else they could have picked to tell the story. You can hear hope, despair, acceptance, stoicism, wisdom, humor and a slight east coast accent.
The story leaves me breathless; these creatures undergo so much to bring life? Many of them die! Mother Nature puts in us an instinct so strong, that the life of the little one becomes more important than that of the progenitor. Human beings are no different. The journey from a zygote to a full grown human baby is more invasive to a mothers body than a growing cancer. The fetus pushes all internal organs, distends the skin and muscle, squishes the stomach to a fraction of its size, puts unbelievable load on the heart, lungs, kidneys... The heart pumps upto twice as much blood, all the ligaments in the body relax enough to bend and cave to the growing baby. The survival and growth of the baby wreaks havoc on the mothers body and the body co-operates! The birth is a miracle. How that baby pushes thru the tiny birth canal and all those bones and emerges into the new bright world with a scream ( and an APGAR of perfect 10) is astounding. In this day and age of modern science and technological marvels, it is amazing to witness something as illogical and low tech as the creation of another human being. Suddenly the human body becomes something sublime. It is not just another clothes hanger, it has a purpose. The most primeval of them all; of creating life and... of sustaining it. It becomes mystical and pragmatic all at once.
The penguins take care of the young, the mother, does lay the egg but 'but in one of natures most endearing role reversals' the father takes care of the egg. After two long months during which the males eat nothing, the eggs begin to hatch. Penguins are lucky the male gets to participate in bringing the young to the world as much as the mother. The human beings are not so lucky, males get to stand by and watch helplessly. I have, over the years heard a number of my male friends hypothesizing women's superiority over men. Most of them are complete baloney, except for one. My best friend from my undergrad once told me 'I have to depend upon a woman to make me feel like a complete human being, to feel what it is to be a father'. I had no wisecracks for him.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Friday, July 15, 2005
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Start a busy day with a ...
...Survey
you are:
an irredeemably eejitous, liberal, disgustingly generous, relatively well adjusted human being
http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/compatibility/
you are:
an irredeemably eejitous, liberal, disgustingly generous, relatively well adjusted human being
http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/compatibility/
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Cut to the chase
Speed dating: When you hear the whistle, your date is over( no matter how cute they are!) After you meet each of them, look at the name tag for their number find it and circle yes or no, make notes!
$35 bucks for twelve, four minute dates, with cheap cocktails! What a deal...
Welcome
A trendy pub in fremont. Everyone looks a little nervous, eyes are studiously averted. My purple shoes with four inch heels and rhinestone buckles provide me some solace, but not much.
Hello!
pink chocolate lips, red chandelier earrings, tanned and toned arms in a white tank greet me.
Did you girls sign up?
What's your name?
Oh I see it, here, you are number 8.
Lets get started
So, the girls sit at 2' by 2' cheap Formica tables and the other chair facing is open .. The music is loud, the light is dim and the cocktails are flowing. A mango comso later, everything seems a little funny.
The host explains. The girls pitch in a tent and stay while the guys move around. Counter clockwise. 11 girls, 12 guys, one guy gets a timeout every round.
The merry-go round
The first one...
Hi! I am number 28.
OMG! he is so young, I could burp him, giving him a bath and put him to bed. Gulp down my cosmo, when "what do you do?"
In a couple minutes, I am giving him career advice, telling him he should not be dishearted because some idiot told him that he doesn't have the right degree. We don't even notice the whistle. And suddenly, I have a new friend, we exchange smiles.
After that it takes off, the smile comes easily, the chatter too. The handshakes limp, clammy, nice grip, firm shake, over powering, too tight... They tell me how my next four minutes are going to be.
And the questions:
Give me a two min bio? ( hello, I did not know I signed up for an interview)
Tell me about yourself? (um, I have strong opinions?)
What do you do? (I run)
What do you do for fun? ( I paint)
Where do you work? ( a local software company)
What do you paint? ( lanscapes in oil)
What is so special about Indian guys? (umm, nothing?)
Would you go up to a guy and start a conversation if you like him? ( yes.)
Let me guess, you are from India, I went to India a couple months ago, why are you here and not back there? ( I don't know?)
How many languages do you speak? ( four)
What is the last book you read? (:) , nice question)
You have a HOUSE?( I am sorry!)
Do you like your job?( I love it)
What did you expect out of this? (maybe, I'll make a few friends ?)
What do you think of the Seattle dating scene? ( Gulp! is there one?)
Not a single compliment! not a single, 'you look pretty'. Guys are such dorks!
The guys:
Four Microsofties, one from amazon, one from cingular, one Phd ( maths and CS), one journalist from Seattle times, one highSchool teacher, one bankteller and one New yorker and one buff ex-Airforce pilot. Not bad.
Damn I am picky, even with a 4 min screen only 3 out of 12 for coffee( no drinks or dinner)... And they were a great lot, not a single jerk.
Although there was one, who was cute and smart and caught my eye... and I definitely know that he interests me cause I though, gosh! he left my table so fast. Just as I was leaving the bar, the dude comes running... "I can look you up, would you mind if I emailed you?"
:)
$35 bucks for twelve, four minute dates, with cheap cocktails! What a deal...
Welcome
A trendy pub in fremont. Everyone looks a little nervous, eyes are studiously averted. My purple shoes with four inch heels and rhinestone buckles provide me some solace, but not much.
Hello!
pink chocolate lips, red chandelier earrings, tanned and toned arms in a white tank greet me.
Did you girls sign up?
What's your name?
Oh I see it, here, you are number 8.
Lets get started
So, the girls sit at 2' by 2' cheap Formica tables and the other chair facing is open .. The music is loud, the light is dim and the cocktails are flowing. A mango comso later, everything seems a little funny.
The host explains. The girls pitch in a tent and stay while the guys move around. Counter clockwise. 11 girls, 12 guys, one guy gets a timeout every round.
The merry-go round
The first one...
Hi! I am number 28.
OMG! he is so young, I could burp him, giving him a bath and put him to bed. Gulp down my cosmo, when "what do you do?"
In a couple minutes, I am giving him career advice, telling him he should not be dishearted because some idiot told him that he doesn't have the right degree. We don't even notice the whistle. And suddenly, I have a new friend, we exchange smiles.
After that it takes off, the smile comes easily, the chatter too. The handshakes limp, clammy, nice grip, firm shake, over powering, too tight... They tell me how my next four minutes are going to be.
And the questions:
Give me a two min bio? ( hello, I did not know I signed up for an interview)
Tell me about yourself? (um, I have strong opinions?)
What do you do? (I run)
What do you do for fun? ( I paint)
Where do you work? ( a local software company)
What do you paint? ( lanscapes in oil)
What is so special about Indian guys? (umm, nothing?)
Would you go up to a guy and start a conversation if you like him? ( yes.)
Let me guess, you are from India, I went to India a couple months ago, why are you here and not back there? ( I don't know?)
How many languages do you speak? ( four)
What is the last book you read? (:) , nice question)
You have a HOUSE?( I am sorry!)
Do you like your job?( I love it)
What did you expect out of this? (maybe, I'll make a few friends ?)
What do you think of the Seattle dating scene? ( Gulp! is there one?)
Not a single compliment! not a single, 'you look pretty'. Guys are such dorks!
The guys:
Four Microsofties, one from amazon, one from cingular, one Phd ( maths and CS), one journalist from Seattle times, one highSchool teacher, one bankteller and one New yorker and one buff ex-Airforce pilot. Not bad.
Damn I am picky, even with a 4 min screen only 3 out of 12 for coffee( no drinks or dinner)... And they were a great lot, not a single jerk.
Although there was one, who was cute and smart and caught my eye... and I definitely know that he interests me cause I though, gosh! he left my table so fast. Just as I was leaving the bar, the dude comes running... "I can look you up, would you mind if I emailed you?"
:)
Selling Real Estate to Indians- 101
America is a highly organised society where courses are taught methodically and the basic course is always called '101'. It is the starting point for understanding everything. Here is what some of the basic lessons of 101 for realtors wanting to sell houses to Indians would look like:
- Do not assume that a family means two or even 2 + 2. A family can consist of three generations living together. Grandparents, who also double up as resident baby sitters, two 'providers' both with PhDs (work room must need space for two computers, at least), and children (who will continue to live in the house, even when adults).
- Do not emphasise the swimming pool. It will be regarded as a liability and not an asset.
- Do not assume that the living room is the most important area. It is not, though there should be space for about a 100 when parties are held. (Seating is not necessary. Many will take the floor, so stress on the brown carpet, which will hide the whiskey spill).
- The most important part is the kitchen. This is what they will see first.
- Identify a closet large enough for about fifty pairs of shoes. Indian clients, however wealthy, will never throw away their old shoes.
- If there is a small room, stress its virtue as a potential temple (if you can manage call it the pooja ghar -- it is an important sales pitch).
- Do not ask how they intend to finance it or about the credit arrangements. Assume that they will not see the house, before they have saved up.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Monday, July 11, 2005
The Peach Cosmoo
2 oz cranberry juice
1 oz Kern’s peach nectar
~1/4 oz Rose’s lime juice
Combine over ice, stir, strain, and enjoy (preferably while enjoying a beautiful sunset over the water with friends).
1 oz Kern’s peach nectar
~1/4 oz Rose’s lime juice
Combine over ice, stir, strain, and enjoy (preferably while enjoying a beautiful sunset over the water with friends).
Courtesy Gail.
And ofcourse, I can't let it go without a swipe at men :)
Friday, July 08, 2005
a word
Came upon an old favorite of mine today "Entelechy" ... it has an icky sound, but I like what it means.. and almost always like the context in which it is used.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Lest I forget...
I will need to remember this when I have a teenager standing in front of me, telling me that I am heartless autocrat and I don't remember what it is to be young.
Uma: mom?
Mom: yes, Shona?
Uma: do you like everything I like?
Mom: I love every thing you like sweetie.
Uma: <
Uma: Then you must love yourself very very much.
Gulp!
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