Happy New Year India

This weekend was blah.

It all began with Friday the 13th which turned out to be quite uneventful in the bad luck department. Which  is probably good.

It was followed by Saturday the 14th which was spent in discovering Bandra's newest chocolate dessert place. Chocolate Affair is part of an Australian chain. Great service, kind people. But, the hot chocolate was not-so hot. I went there with high hopes and a beaming face and an imaginary golden ticket in my hand.

But, this was no Chocolate Factory for me. It didn't unbutton my blouse the way I had hoped for it to. By which I mean 'with extra calories'. I was all set to be killed with chocolate and ready to feel sick while walking out of the door but, this was not a satisfying experience. Desserts are not meant to be low-cal so if you're going to do it, do it right. 

Their hot chocolate was not even close to as good as the one I make. It somewhat reminded me of an over-sweetened Bournvita (which is one level better than Horlicks but still sucks) with its pale brown colour and no punch. Mine on the other hand is made by adding a few drops of milk to a cup of chocolate - as described by Aku. It may not be the healthiest drink but it will make you feel like there are firecrackers going off in your head for sure.

I went home disappointed. They were showing Gandhi on TV. This is when I realised its nearly Independence Day, Republic Day, Gandhi Jayanti or Martyr's Days. I find Gandhi to be a very depressing movie and have probably watched it entirely just once in my life. I've watched The Song of Bernedette more times. I guess I choose unexplained miracles over reality.

Then came Sunday the 15th of August. I woke up early for my tennis class as usual. Did my regular Mumbai Darshan from Bandra to Colaba. In the past few months I have seen everything from a marathon, cycling race, skating race to even a vintage car rally. And on this Sunday the streets were dead. There were no flags hung everywhere or loudspeakers playing patriotic songs. I ended up seeing more mosquito killing rackets than tricolour pinwheels being sold on the road. What happened to that Independence Day excitement? Was everyone angry that the national holiday fell on a Sunday this year? Were they busy planning out next years Independence Day long weekend trip? The only Happy Independence Day text messages I got were from friends replying to my text.

Trivia from Wikipedia

To be honest, I hated waking up on a holiday and going to school for flag hoisting as a kid just as much as I hate standing up for the National Anthem that is played in the theatre before a movie. I'm sure others feel this way too but are too scared to express themselves for the fear of being judged. Whatever it is, I just think its an inappropriate time to play the anthem. This way noone really cares or takes it seriously. Besides my grandmom.

There is a clear difference between what my grandmom and I feel for our country for the simple reason that she grew up in pre-independent India and I was born after independence. Yesterday I watched her get emotional with tears in her eyes talk about how innocent people lost their lives and how the whole Karma thing is bullshit and life is unfair. Everything she said was true. She spoke through experience and I just had to agree with her. She told me about how people went absolutely crazy celebrating for about 3 days till they were told to stop and get back to reality on the radio which to me sounds insane.

I feel like I have a fair amount of knowledge about India besides the fact that I just realised that we have 28 states and 7 union territories thanks to my dear friend - Google. I know. It's a shame. But, I have traveled around the country and learnt a lot, mostly on school camps. Been everywhere from Lakshadweep to Sikkim and still feel like I've seen nothing. I was watching Gordon's Great Escape (my new favourite show) last night and realised that. Living in Bombay, we feel like we know India but we've hardly seen anything. It maybe unfortunate that Gordon Ramsay, a Britisher, needed to show us this. I hated him in Hell's Kitchen and thought that he was the scum of the earth but after watching this show I have this newfound respect for the man. He really experienced India and filmed it so that we could also share the experience with him. And what better way to experience India than with food. I guess the British have done more for us than just giving us the railways and a couple of cool stone buildings. Though I have to admit, as a child I remember being very angry about them stealing the Kohinoor Diamond from us.

I'm over it now. Luckily. Or England would be in trouble.

People from other countries see India as the land of mystery. And elephants for some reason. We have come a long way from the backward country others imagine us to be.

Being Indian is a part of all of us. I don't know how to explain it. But, recently my friend Mallika paid me a compliment in the most Indian way possible. She was upset about something and said she felt like Khichdi and thanked me for being her Dahi. You'll only understand that if you're Indian.

I love my country. Its incredible, diverse, a place of hope and beautiful people.

Happy New Year India.

Wonderwoman turns 82

The Prime Minister of India lives in my house.
She rushes off every morning to her office for urgent work.
Half an hour later I get bombarded with emails. Some are about the environment, some about health and most are jokes.
I sometimes wonder how India would survive as a country if she didn't forward these emails to me. Or that's what she makes it seem like.
This VVIP is actually my grandmother. And today is her 82nd birthday. 

There's definitely more than 82 great things she's done in her life. That's more than one per yr. I'm so so so far from it.

She's one of those people who can actually write a book filled with stories of her travels and all the interesting people she met, things she did and people she charmed.

She was born in 1928. That seems like ages ago. Maybe cause it is.

When she was 2 months old she traveled with her mother from Mangalore to Karachi by boat. Yes, boat. When she was older she even traveled to South America more than once (luckily this time by plane), met Pele and even came on their local TV channel and one of the Indians visiting their country. I know. This nearly seems made up. She was a travel agent most of her life that led to all these cool happenings.

She studied in Bombay. Was very enthusiatic about anything and everything. She was a badminton star and a theatre star too. And I can imagine that the boys were crazy about her. She played Portia in Shakespeare's 'the Merchant of Venice' in her college days. I know this sounds like I'm showing off my grandmom but think about doing this in India in the 1940s.

She was in the Home Guards which is an organisation that helped the Police but doesn't exist today. She obviously was the leader in the Repulic Day parade and even got the President's Gold Medal. And so everytime there were riots you may have seen my grandmom going through the streets in an open air jeep. Just to maintain peace and harmony in the land. That's all. No biggie.

Now do you get my blog title?

Being born before Independence makes her one of those really patriotic people. I consider myself patriotic at times I guess but this is something very different. While I wonder where to keep my popcorn when I'm made to stand up for the National Anthem before a movie, she's the one standing up straight and singing loudly.  She also insists on saying Namaste everytime the ladies at Aroma Thai Foot Spa greet us with a Sawadika. But that's probably cause she actually can't hear them whisper in their broken English. I have tried training her to know what sentence to expect when instead of trying to understand them. There are 5 basic sentences you need to watch out for.

- Sawadika

- What oil would you like?

- Is the pressure ok?

- Would you like a hot towel for your face?

- Would you like some lemongrass tea?

If only she had paid attention to my pre-massage training.

She doesn't look 82 at all and loves showing off about it. The secret to her youthful looks is yoga and that she moisturises everyday which has made her skin as soft as mulmul. I'm not even sure about what mulmul is but it sounds like something soft enough to compare her skin to.

Being the oldest of 7 children made her very responsible. Ok that's her version of it. She was like Hitler when we were kids. She made us have spinach soup every evening so much so that I coloured the inside of one of my utensils from my steel kitchen set with a green crayon. Cause obviously everyone has a separate bowl just for spinach soup. This magic green soup gave me and Aku energy for dance, art, music, gymnastics, swimming (8 times a wk) and loads of other stuff all planned out by her. We were obviously given other incentives like jalebi after art class and donuts after dance class too. Smart lady! Luring children with sweets.

She is one of those people you can't miss in a crowd. A true charmer, entertainer and storyteller.

She cut her hair short when society actually frowned upon it in India. She got a scholarship and studied in Germany for a year, which is why we say Gute Nacht to each other every night. She traveled all over the world and would get cool gadgets for the kitchen and cool 2 piece swimsuits for us to wear as kids. I was like a baby Sarah Jessica Parker. Ok, not quite.

Couple of things you may not know about her
Her food can be called The Food of the Gods
She calls H1N1 heenee &
She is Shah Rukh Khan's biggest fan

She is known to end most of her sentences with 

That's life!

Maro Goli or

Vagera Vagera

She is the lady in the next car giving you gaalis while you drive. Clearly learning driving with her sitting next to you is not a good idea.

But, you've got to love this woman.

All we have in common is our love for all the good/wrong things 

- wine

- icecream

- chocolate

- cheese

(though our order of preference is completely the opposite)

But she is undoubtedly the coolest grandmom I know.

Happy Birthday Aai.

I am so excited about eating cake :)

Movie Marathon weekend

Hello.

Did you know that we pretty much start every phone conversation with that word because of Edison? 

All Alexander Graham Bell came up with was ahoy. Imagine picking up the phone and saying ahoy. 

Actually that sounds more fun.

This weekend was my movie marathon weekend. If you know how many movies I watched you may think a sergeant from the military was making me watch so many movies cause otherwise it may seem humanly impossible.

It all started with 

500 days of Summer

Fun movie. Sweet. A bit too real maybe. Seemed like the story of my life. But then again I guess everyone probably feels that way. But it ends on a positive note so great!

What I liked/ learnt

"Just because she likes the same bizzaro crap you do doesn't mean she's your soul mate".

Coraline

Cute. Animated. Weird. Interesting. 

What i loved

Coraline's blue hair.

Wicker Park

Interesting. Makes you think a bit but not too much either which is good.

What I liked

Josh Hartnett and the soundtrack.

Harold & Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay

Funny but sick.

What I love

Their obsession with Neil Patrick Harris aka Doogie Howser.

When in Rome

Timepass

What I liked

Rome.

Art by MursBlanc

Aisha

Full timepass. Nice music. Pretty people. disturbingly tall. doing what the richie riches of delhi do.

What I didn't get

- The obsession with Dior & Chanel

- Why Sonam Kapoor spends all her time gardening

 

The basic message everyones giving in the movie  --->

Besides this I also found time to watch How I met your Mother Season 4 episodes with Aku (her incentive to finish her assignments fast) and I improved my excel skills by helping Aku make graphs.

And there was this amazing show I watched called Gordon's Great Escape. It's about Gordon Ramsay traveling through India.

Cool stuff on the show

- Ant chutney served in a leaf.

- Goat biryani made by putting the saffron covered eggs inside the quails inside the chicken inside the goat made to look seductive in a bed of rice.

- And goat covered in marinade, then chapatis and then in banana leaves and a muslin cloth left to cook in coal kept in a 3ft hole dug in the middle of the dessert.

Pretty amazing!

And no I would eat none of it.

Clearly I need to make a trip to Aroma Thai Foot Spa and get beaten back into shape. 

From couch potato to chair lady finger maybe?

Or atleast I'll go drink their lemongrass tea and pretend to feel rejuvenated.

I have Pu'er at home everyday (cause I'm a serious Chinese tea addict) but it's just not the same.

Saving the Planet for DUMMIES

Woke up this Monday morning with a yucky feeling like I'd get a sudden headache if I opened my eyes all at once. I looked like a sleepwalking Tim Burton but that's just what I look like for 20 minutes after I wake up. I began my day by running around the house looking for a notebook and a gel pen (Aku can't survive without them). Yesterday Aku went back to her books after 7 years of procrastination. It's unfortunately going to take her 2 whole years to complete her MBA during which time I probably won't have a life either. You see, we do a lot of things together. Currently, we are watching 'How I Met your Mother' on the computer. I have finished watching Season 3 and just can't wait to watch more episodes alone but can't get ahead of Aku with the episode watching. It's just funner when you have someone to laugh at stupid things with. Someone who will start every new episode for you, get the door when the doorbell rings and maybe even some snacks on the way while you laze in bed. Miss you Aku.


So, while Aku's busy with her new life, I have decided to use my time wisely and deal with some unresolved issues in the Chop Suey that is my mind.


Two things traumatized me as a child:
1. Aruna Irani in Doodh ka Karz which I happened to watch while flipping through channels and ended up scarring me for life. Its so yuck that I’m not even linking the video to my blogpost. I don't know if I will ever get over the Aruna Irani - snake scene. I am still not sure if that was supposed to be Indian porn. 

All I could have handled at this point was Ramayan, Mahabharat or He-man.

2. The idea that the world would end on 21 December, 2012 which also I saw while flipping through channels. Would this be our last Winter solstice?

All I could have handled at this point was Ramayan, Mahabharat or He-man.

Clearly, I watched too much television as a child. 

I don’t think focusing my energy on problem no.1 will make it any better so let’s focus on problem no.2 and hope to resolve some planetary issues.

Doing more research on the internet about 2012 will probably not help since I feel Google doesn't always give answers and will just show me the opinion of 15 million people telling me both sides of the story which will bring me back to square one.

Since I can't do much about what the Mayans said or what Nostradamus had predicted, I thought maybe I could figure out my own way to tackle the ginormous problem of Global warming that seems magically hidden behind the cloak of denial.

Watching Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth only made me feel worse about this though at the very same time my grandmother was busy laughing about the fact that she won’t be around when we run out of petrol and the water levels rise etc. I watched the documentary quite carefully and paid special attention to the changing maps to see where exactly I could hide out when it all happens.

<--  This is how close my house is to the sea

So this is where 

I’ll probably run to -->

Incase that doesn’t happen, and I don’t manage to become great friends with powerful people who will take me on their private jet to the moon when it all happens, here are some things we could try to help save ourselves.

STEP ONE -->

Do your bit by saving electricity. No, not the way Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra and the rest of the Bollywood stars claim to be saving the planet by switching off the lights and fans when they leave the room. You should be doing that anyway.

Maybe you could try saving electricity by not using so many electrical appliances to begin with.

Why use a refrigerator and an air conditioner when you can make your own refri-tioner?

This tried and tested invention will keep your beer cool and probably help save our planet.

<-- STEP TWO

If the world is already too screwed up (which it is) and animals seem to be going extinct (which has already begun happening) then get some paints and preserve what's left by making your own 'soon to be extinct animals'.

STEP THREE -->

Marry Leonardo Dicaprio and live in a house powered by solar panels, 

travel around in his hybrid car and holiday in Belize 

on his own eco-friendly island.

<-- STEP FOUR

You’d need Step Four only if Step 3 hasn’t worked. So Step 4 is TRY AGAIN. Try and try till you succeed. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that? Let’s face it, Leonardo Dicaprio is a handsome miracle.

STEP FIVE --> 

Hope that Leeloo Minai Lekarariba-Laminai-Tchai Ekbat De Sebat 

aka Leloo 

aka the Fifth Element 

will come a rescue us just in time.

And if all fails, don't lose hope.

Remember what Captain Planet said everyday - The Power is Yours. 

GO PLANET!

As cool as a 25 yr old cucumber

The last three days for me have all ended in a similar fashion. Been getting home late and been having to wake up the watchman in my building every night so he can unlock the gate for me. I have had such mixed feelings of guilt (for waking up the guy) & anger (cause it's his job to be awake).

Here's a quick summary of what I did this weekend. Not that its super exciting or anything. I've become old.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Last night I met up with friends. It's always fun catching up. And I didn't even need alcohol to kill boredom like I usually do these days.

There were a couple of us. Each with a different story.

One of them was busy plotting about how to get back at a friend for cutting the twirly ends of his Spanish-Rajasthani looking moustache while he was sleeping at his place. After a long rickshaw ride to Versova, he came up with the idea of sticking chewing gum on his friends silky hair. 

Reasons: its cheap, will successfully cause the same amount of pain and can be consumed and enjoyed before project revenge takes off.

Another was plotting against a client who was surely out to cheat her. Her plan is too gross to disclose. I don't know how such ideas even come to her mind. Just last week I taught her all about Yoga breathing but I guess that doesn't exactly put you in a peaceful place. She also tells dead baby jokes and learns Ninjitsu.

Then there was the friend who's house we met at. She is currently researching about snakes in India. She has the snake stick thing and everything. She also carries a pepper spray but I'm guessing that's not for the snakes.

Then there was her boyfriend who was busy studying and her dog who looked petrified after being chased by some of us with balloons.

Then there was my ex-boyfriend. And it was non-awkward. Super!

And then there was me. The one who occasionally looks 2 months pregnant cause she's not afraid of cheese and other such delightful things.

The perfect cocktail for a fun night.

SATURDAY NIGHT

This was a weird one. Wanted to just hang out so ended up at Novotel Hotel in Juhu which is usually really nice and relaxed. But, last Saturday there happened to be some sort of event there. It looked like all the trash of the world united for a yearly convention. I could only best describe it as a Madhur Bhandarkar movie.

Then we moved to Vie Lounge, also in Juhu, which for some reason was described to us as happening more than once by the bouncer.

Since I'm not so happening anymore we then moved on to Aurus.

One Pinacolada later I was buzzing and happy to go to bed.

FRIDAY NIGHT

This was really something. Something I had looked forward to and planned towards for weeks. It was the day Eclipse finally released in Bombay. I went with 2 immature 20 something yr olds. We booked our tickets in advance and even reached 20 minutes early - something that pretty much never happens. We hung around outside hoping that the children who were going for the movie wouldn't look us and judge us. We expected this cause the Twilight books are kept in the children's section in bookstores.

Now something you must know is that Twilight cannot be judged like how other movies are judged. It's pretty unreal in a way, like kid's ballroom competitions on BBC.

So, Bella looks really weird with a wig. Not quite sure about why she's wearing one unless she pulled a Britney though doubt it. Something about not being able to see her scalp seemed very disturbing.

The vampire guy - Edward is made to look pretty, in a Queen Victoria sort of way - same makeup. But I find him hot even with his white face and maroon lips.

The other guy - Jacob, the werewolf is according to me atleast not so pretty but he's not wearing his shirt for pretty much the entire movie which is great cause it acts as a distraction and makes you not focus on his chic-chic-Chiclets teeth. Those pearly whites are just too much to handle.

But this topless act for some reason made all the girls in the theatre scream and clap loudly like cheap Indian men screaming in Gaiety-Galaxy when Mallika Sherawat makes out with Emraan Hashmi or just basically flaunts her boobs.

Now surprisingly there were also quite a few men in the theatre, one of whom actually shouted loudly at a girl who was talking and giggiling too loudly that made him tell her to keep it down or just go home. Okay man RELAX! Now that was definitely weird. According to me the Twilight Saga is a set of chick flicks. I would only let my boyfriend watch it if I had to drag him to the theatre.

Anyway, it was quite the entertainer. I have already wikied and been informed in detail about Breaking Dawn from a friend and am loving the weirdness. So much to look forward to.

Am I only as cool as a cucumber? Have I become as boring as salad?

Just kidding. I'm still fabulous :D

Lights Camera Love

I watched Inception again. Made me think even more. Came up with so many different possible endings. Was Cobb still dreaming or had he come back to reality? 

Or was he just screwed up like most other men because of his wife?

In every movie these days relationships seem so unstable or warped. Maybe thats cause everyones trying to make their movies look more real. 90% of people I know have been in at least one screwed up relationship so I guess film-makers are on the right track.

When Harry met Sally print by Vari

Today couples split over anything. 

People feel 'the itch' after one night and not seven years anymore. Are we that allergic to the opposite sex?

One says pot-ate-o and the other says pot-aa-to. The end.

I was watching Serendipity last week. I've watched it many times before and thought to myself 'What a lovely movie!' but NO!! it isn't. John Cusack just ditches his fiance on their wedding day for a girl he met just once before. Which nut-job even does that? And its all justified because of 'the signs' ooooo.

As much as I hated Cameron Diaz in My Best Friends Wedding while growing up, today I see how that had the right ending. It actually taught me values as a child and made me even more awesome.

Sick of all the mushy crap and crappy mush, I watched Salt last evening. 

Definitely not a romantic comedy. And I wasn't even armed with cheesy popcorn which could've possibly absorbed my boredom.

So Anjelina is like a spy but a good spy. She does stuff that Bond, James Bond could never dream of doing. Being a lady spy has its advantages. 

- Anjelina (Evelyn Salt) removes her panty hose and throws it over a security camera to block its view. 

- She also uses a sanitary pad to cover her wound. Hmmm. I don't know whether to call that weird or brilliant. I bet Bond wouldn't have thought of it. Just imagining Daniel Craig doing that cracks me up.

- And in between all the stunts and fighting she finds time to dye her hair black. A totally new look but hardly a disguise. Maybe she could attend fashion week after killing the Raashians.

Anyway I'm all excited about Eclipse finally releasing in Bombay this Friday. I guess Bella could use a tip or two from Evelyn Salt.

Have we given up on love that Vampire love stories, as unreal as they are seem so appealing?

I miss the pure romance of old movies. Even Hindi movies are getting pretty ridiculous. The connection between the hero and heroine is seen mostly in songs unfortunately.

I was watching a song on TV which had Lara Dutta roll on a beach while in Sanjay Dutt's arms. Gross! I mean he's old and definitely no Tom Cruise (who I just discovered I'd ditch if Jamie Oliver would have me, that's if Tom would have me to begin with). Anyway getting back to the point, my mom and I were watching Lara-Sanjay singing to each other while rolling in the sand. My mom's reaction was 'Yuckkkk! How can she do that? That too with him'. I said mother, she gets paid big bucks. If I got 100 crores (which clearly no actress gets, implying that I would NEVER do it) I would do it too. That's if someone would cast me in a movie to begin with.

I am a woman of the 21st century - single and happy. But maybe its time to be realistic. I think its time to execute Plan Japan, go teach some English & find my other half (lol).

It time to spice up my somewhat bland life - begin my days with sushi and end with sake.

Photo by Kitty Rogers

And for all those who've given up on love thanks to Hollywood and Bollywood and maybe even Tollywood, start listening to music. Chris Martin hasn't given up yet.

Now the sky 

could be blue
I don't mind
Without you its a waste of time.

Figure Happy

Wake up in the morning not quite like P Diddy
Would be great if I had a pep-me-up CD
Wish my teeth would brush themselves 5 minutes before I'm awake
So the second I'm up I'm ready to eat some cake

I don't know what it is but I just hate brushing my teeth like it actually requires a whole lot of muscle power. I'd rather wake up and do a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle instead. But, I'm definitely not one of those people who can eat anything without brushing my teeth (besides chewing gum instead once on a school camp cause I was on a train).

I am currently trying to lead a healthier life. I thought I'd only hate veggies as a child but some things never change. If I did eat them would that have made me a completely different person? Would I have worn my watch on my right wrist instead of my left? Anyway finally added a few greens to my diet and even exercised a bit only to get sick yet again. I think my body looks at healthy living as 'something wrong' and releases the antibodies immediately. Someone told me that this is probably the best I'll look in my entire life and though I think that probably happened at 20 I'm ready to finally try exercising though I'm slightly afraid of ending up with the weird 'older-lady-aerobics-instructor' body.

My weekend was pretty good. Washed my hair and tried drying it with what I think was a beach towel. Finally realised why beach towels are meant for the beach and not my head. Flipping my hair with a beach towel on it gave me a sudden Rush of blood to the head. And I don't mean the Coldplay song but the sick feeling you get when you do a headstand. After I recovered from that I went for my iLife class. Learnt a whole lot. Came home and started composing my own music which annoyed the hell out of Aku while I thought I was creating history in our home. 

That evening I watched a very disturbing commercial. Is that the ice-cream of the future?

Ended my day at Palladium. Watched Inception. Chris Nolan is a genius. Loved the crazy thoughts that have gone into making this movie. Wish I had such amazing visualisation skills. Was beyond mindblowing. I love movies like it that really tease my mind, somewhat like Memento did a couple of years ago, also a Nolan movie. It was pretty long for an English movie but well made and well edited. After leaving the theatre I guess I was still so into the movie that I nearly felt like I was a part of it. Finding the restroom felt like I was  in a multi-layered dream going through one door after another. I was alone and scared and just dying to pee - an extremely weird experience. Hate using public restrooms as most girls do but these days I go armed with tissue and hand sanitiser and even disposable toilet seat covers. I carry my whole OCD world in my bag. It's pretty amazing actually.

Umm... thinking about what else to write now. Too many unsorted thoughts. Just listening to my feel good song of the day. I think its something I can wake up to. Love the lyrics especially

Hey, did you ever meet my friend Ian?
He's a coumputer hacker.
He helped me erase your Myspace page,
And your band's Myspace page,
And your Facebook page.
Happy networking asshole.

There's no anger in me. Its just a chick song.

And for some weird reason I just paid £1 online for a song by a pretty unknown artist. But I really like it and I guess as of today I paid something like Rs. 72 which is pretty silly so still wondering why so much thought went into it. Oh god, am I that kanjus??  

Love the new Rupee symbol. Finally India seems to be doing something right. I must say I am impressed. And excited. Can't wait to have it on my keyboard.

Anyway now I'll get back to my work. 

And I have decided to exercise Come what December (since May is already done with and August is too soon). To summarise I'm pretty Figure happy.

The Good, The Bad & the rest of the Week

Had an interesting couple of days. Interesting - good and interesting - bad.

Let's start with the good stuff cause I don't believe in saving the best for last. No patience!

• I attended a first birthday party. Was the sweetest birthday party for a baby who looks like she's popped out of an Anne Geddes card - hanging cheeks and everything. It was just so lovely even though the little baby had no clue it was her birthday but seemed to be having a great time surrounded by balloons and yummy cake. Or wait, was that me?

• Watched Nadal and Serena win Wimbledon. If I had to play against Serena I would've probably just run away from the court on seeing Gorilla-woman serve like she's about to destroy the planet. Nadal on the other hand is such a cutie even with the pulling of his underwear out of his butt before every shot. I have a feeling that's what he does for good luck. I wonder what Xisca with her creamy Spanish skin thinks about it. 

• Been watching a bit of football too. Love when they show the audience with all their cameras flashing. It's the closest we can get to seeing a starry sky. I must say I also really like the tradition of exchanging shirts at the end of the game. Just cause I love tradition. Don't you?

Homemade fringe

• I gave myself a haircut. It was a day of experimentation or probably just plain boredom. I thought this can't be a bad thing cause its not permanent like a tattoo and if it looks pathetic, I'll just wear clips for a while. So good at covering up those bad hair days which seem to be everyday these days.

• Met my little cousins who thought I was 16. I wonder if it's the new hairstyle. Anyway I think my love for them just doubled. We seemed to share a lot of common interests like High School Musical 3 and Twilight even though I was 2 and 3 times their age. One of them opened the paper and read that 'Tom Cruise celebrates his 48th birthday today' and actually said Eww. I just found her reaction hilarious. Tom Cruise is hot at any age, not like George Clooney who is only 49  but old-man hot. Big difference.

• The other day Mallika called me a child dresser as a joke. So am I not a child anymore? I do have clothes with cycles and girls swimming on them. I look at it as my inspiration to do things I want to do. Like a constant reminder. Cycles to learn cycling and swimmer girls for scuba. And as for my dress with cats on it - is cause someday I plan on being catwoman maybe. Not come up with a good enough excuse for that one yet.

Now for the bad part of the week.

• Ended up in hospital on Monday for a weird allergy and don't even know what I'm allergic to yet. Unfortunately for me I can't just cure myself by jumping around in a desert singing Your Love is my Drug like Kesha. Opened a bottle of Lacto Calamine after ages. The smell brings back happy memories of my chicken pox days. Yes, happy memories. When all I had to do was lie in bed for 10 days without bathing. Yes, I am gross. I had food served to me which I was allowed to eat on my bed. Sheets were changed for me everyday. I stayed in touch with civilisation over the phone. Aku would get me Dvds and Mallika even made me chocolates. Everyone was polite 24/7. It was unreal. Have never seen such kindness in my life and yes, I love being pampered.

• Been watching a lot of old movies. Realised how most of them are oh so weird. The Graduate is not a historically significant movie like its believed to be. Rosemary's Baby is beyond weird. And even Pretty Woman is a bit strange when you think about it.

• Have been doing a lot of reading online to kill time. Learning about creating my own website, origami etc. Was reading about decoupage yesterday. Seemed interesting, though I wonder when I'll have time for it. Since I am an Indian woman, maybe I'll just wait for my wedding day so a makeup artist can do some decoupage on my face.

• Been spending a lot of time around my grandmother. She too loves Waka Waka and asked me if I had downloaded it. She seemed to look pretty happy after using the word 'downloaded' since I'm pretty sure she doesn't know exactly what that is. She also thought that Cougar Town is a place. But, for a lady in her 80's I must say she is really something. Anyone can notice how much she loves life and lives it to the fullest. I on the other hand, at age 25 already have started doing things like shaving only half my leg out of pure laziness.

• Right now everything around me seems to annoy me. Especially little things like toothpaste falling in the sink. Is it the medicine or am I going coo-coo in the brain?

Was hoping this would be big holiday month but doesn't look likely at all.
Was hoping to go for the Confluence festival in Leh.
Or maybe visiting a cheese factory in Europe.
Or see a volcano (it looked really exciting on the Discovery channel).
Or maybe see Coldplay in concert.

Don't know what destiny has in store for me.

Thought for Food

Been a while. Did you miss me? I've been busy exercising. Shocked? 

No I haven't gotten back to Yoga yet. My exercise routine is pretty unique. A-bhutta-a-day-keeps-the-double-chin-away. So much effort! I will always have slightly chubby arms so don't really care about that. Don't see myself doing stomach crunches and a couple of years ago I heard that the Hula hoop isn't good for you or I would've twirled back into shape by now. And my legs get toned at Palladium. Seriously! Been a while since that happened but I truly believe that its helped me get in shape. Plus I walk up 6 floors pretty often as my elevator has to be out of order atleast once a week. Today I made it upstairs in one go, no breaks, no 'I think I can feel pain in my left arm' moments of panic. That too right after a blood test where I was quasi-tortured by the technician. Lilavati hospital = zero love. The next time I'm going back to my regular guy opposite McDonalds. Could the location of his clinic be the reason why I like him so much or is it his kind doctor looks? But anyway Lila gave me a cool credit card lookalike card. So Yay!

So now that I'm back in shape I guess I can get back to pigging out. Not that I ever stopped actually. And when I'm not eating I'm watching cooking shows on TV. Maybe cause they don't really have a season finale episode. I just hate those. 

Jamie Oliver - the Naked Chef is my current favourite. I love him even though he's so messy with his cooking. He hops right back to his garden and plucks fruits and veggies right out of the mud and tastes them and seems to look pretty happy. I don't know if I enjoy it cause it seems like a mild version of Fear Factor for me. Anyway, his food looks amazingly colourful and I love it even though it looks pretty healthy.

The other day he actually made Tagliatelle from scratch. It was amazing. He was like Da Vinci but with food. I was so inspired. He just mixed the eggs and flour, made it into a dough and then ran it through the pasta machine (something I'm just dying to buy even though all I cook is papad) and then he just cut it up into noodles. It was so beautiful, I could've cried. I am hoping to try it out soon. The only recipe I have tried out is his strawberry champagne.
So you basically mix strawberry juice in champagne. Can I even classify that as cooking?

Anyway I am in love with Jamie even with the funny accent. His meringue kicked Nigella's Pavlova's ass. He topped it with vanilla (freshly scraped off the pod) filled cream, chocolate sauce, peaches, hazelnuts and orange zest. And all I could think was 'Oh, Life is beautiful again' besides trying not to drool while watching tv. 

I love how precise he is with everything even in the mess. Other cooking shows never give exact measures of ingredients in their recipes. I also love the book illustrations they show during his cooking show. Jamie also gives special tips like old egg whites = better meringue. How thoughtful to add that in right? As Oprah once said 'the love is in the details'. So Jamie I am totally feeling the love.