Deepavali (Diwali) Story

Some days I can write two or three blogs in a span of two hours and be happy with my performance and then there are days when I know what I want to write about, have the blogger open and not write a word for six hours straight...stare at the tab, switch over to gossip mongering news on celebs and then switch back and think, "nah! not today I don't want to write today!"

Today is one such day...I kept flipping back and forth between tabs and never once writing...last night I knew tonns of things to blog about...of course among things I liked, there were things I liked to complain about and bitch and moan...but today I am blank...like a white board...ya...

But here is something that will keep you laughing...for those who stop by and politely comment and those rude intruders who spend time reading but not writing feedback...

Anyways...here is the story...a story I wrote when I was in my third grade. I only remember this because I was so proud of it then...Let me give you a brief background...this was way back when mosquitoes used to hound me (now it hounds G and I almost always bite free) and I used to hate them with a passion. My school had a story writing competition and I enrolled in it. I was so sure that I could come up with something original in two days...I discussed various stories with my dad and almost everyone of them had something to do with some story I had heard before, and the competition screamed ORIGINAL in bold letters. So dad told me to write something out of my personal experience...and this is what I wrote...a gist ok...from what I remember of it...

Once upon a time there lived a family of mosquitoes that lived on drinking sweet blood from people. The mosquito kept attacking a little girl called Anu everynight because she had the sweetest blood in town. Now, Anu ate a lot of sweets and so her blood was sweet and so the mosquitoes could smell it from far away. Anu was very angry and one night she decided to deceive the mosquitoes by eating no sweets and only spicy potato fry and mango pickles. That night when Anu went to sleep the mosquitoes came to bite her but then were revolted to find that the blood was no longer sweet but spicy and left her alone. Anu followed the same diet for two days and after trying hard for two days the mosquitoes decided to leave Anu alone. Anu was now bite free and she continued to eat sweets and her blood continued to be sweet thereafter...

Yay! Happy ending. I am the heroine, the smart one with brains! yay!

So embarrassing now when I look back at it. But it was ORIGINAL alright. I was in third grade so give me some benefit of doubt and I could really write stories then. And no, I was not on crack!!! There is only one thing I hope that really my story telling ways have changed since then, and hopefully more creativity has seeped into me.

Hope my story was entertaining...

Love
ART

PS: Happy Deepavali and Diwali to everyone!

One comes and goes...

As I told you...I jinxed Babs health again...what is it about her and blogs? I don't get it...but then I am afraid...very afraid to write anything about her...ya she is a year old...and I want to write something just so if this blog is alive when she is 5 or 6 she can read these and feel what her mom felt like when she was small...

I originally wanted to spend the whole day with her and G did not care about it either way...but what actually happened??? I got to work till 2 that day then by the time I picked my parents and got home it was almost 4. Then I was busy cooking and cleaning that I hardly got time to spend with S. We later went to the mall and did some photos before heading to an Indian Restaurant called Maharaja (on Coit and Springcreek, which I will absolutely avoid henceforth). Then I dropped my parents at the hotel they were spending the night at and came home on time to put Babs to bed...ya...about two or three hours is what I got to spend with her...on the other hand G got to work from home and got to spend the entire day with her...IRONY!!!

But the next day was fun...MIL and I cooked...and cleaned till the very minute the guests came...and then also we did a bunch of stuff...here I have to mention that without my MIL there would have been no party...taking care of a one year old who can walk, make cute faces and ask you to lift her up all the time can really hurt your cooking and cleaning schedule...but MIL and I swapped responsibilities of taking care of Babs with her doing most of the taking care of...while I worked...and then when G's bro and SIL came in...it was even better...now we operated as a family...it was awesome...a well oiled family we were knowing what we were good at and doing precisely that...

I never had a big family...it was just the five of us growing up because we were always away from home base which was in Chennai...so in my house we did our own things our way...but G always had a big family and his family worked completely opposite to ours...I should say that I enjoy being with his as they are fun in their own way and I can blend in easily...the way we did the cooking cleaning and cleaning thereafter just proved that we could be efficient if we worked together and my MIL rocks...

I also have to mention that some people get an MIL when they get married...but I got another mother...I am not writing here to maska marofy anyone...my MIL or G don't read my blog...but this is how I genuinely feel about her...I am not going to lie to you that she never gets on my nerves...but all that is ok and negligible when I look at the amount of support both moral as well as physical she has been to me in the last couple of years...even on days when I am PMSing she is understanding...when I am all acting pissy and stuff she still talks to me as if I am being nice which makes me feel worse about myself after the PMS moment has passed...

Ya I owe and Babs also owes her first birthday party to my MIL (her grandma)...

And I have to thank the 13 selected friends whom we had invited and all but one came and made the occassion very special for us...Babs slept through most of it...poor her she was tired from lack of sleep the previous two days. With us cooking and all that Babs could not get herself to sleep and so she was awake till at least 12 for two continuous nights and did not compensate it with day time naps either...but then we had to wake her up so we could cut G's small cake that I had ordered for his Bday that fell on Sunday...It was a fun party...nothing major...but very simple...two other beautiful kids...very family like party...but I enjoyed it...

Thanks everyone :)

PS: See how smart I am...I digressed from Babs in the post here and there in an attempt to avoid the jinx...lets see if this works!!

Once again the syringe attacked me!

If you have been reading my posts for a while you would have known how much I hate needles from my Penicillin episode...but in case you haven't read that here is what happened this week...

We took Babs for her one year check up at her pediatrician and the doc advised that all three of us get the flu shot. Given how much we suffered this last winter G was prompt and had the shot taken a couple of weeks ago. I firmly stood ground saying that I would rather fight with the flu than with the pain of the shot. G was shocked at my attitude and said that I was putting Babs health at risk by my stupid fear of pain...

So when the pediatrician advised me...I reluctantly said I will take it...the doc then said, "your daughter is going to get five shots (vaccines) and you are afraid to get one?" So now I was challenged and had to do it...

Two nurses walked in to get Babs ready for her shot...one of them said ok lets get ready to give me the shot first...I was like what? No way...I saw the syringe and freaked out...I screamed...ran around the room...until one of the nurses pinned me down to the chair and the other grabbed my arm and I screamed and wailed (my voice was heard over that of other kids around) and when it was over I was like "What the??? Is it already done? I thought it was going to pain..." And G was standing with Babs at the corner of the room looking at me in utter disgust and embarrassment. He wanted to escape and vanish into thin air.

Ya...that is how ridiculously childish I am!!! I hate myself for that...but I hate syringes...I have a needle phobia (trypanophobia)...such a thing actually exists and my dad is needle-phobic...so there...it is not something I do just because I feel like it...

Even when I was in the delivery room getting prepped for a C-section that never happened...a nurse walked up and poked me with something on my left arm...that was the only time I came close to cussing...but if she had given me a warning I probably would have created another scene wasting their time...

But it is not as if I enjoying doing it...I have a phobia and people with phobia's should be treated with love and not anger (G you are going to get it from me solid tonight!)

Anyways with loads of trypanophobia...I bid thee adieu...

It's a YEAR!!!!!

Baboo is ONE YEAR Today!!!

I can still clearly remember almost every bit of detail (as much as my sedated mind can recollect) even today...Giri and I started tracking back time since last evening. I had blogged about it long back but had decided not to publish it...but now WTH!!!! She is one...

I wanted to blog about Sanjana's arrival before I forget most of the important details...not that any of it is easy to forget but time has a way with memory...

As most of you know Sanjana was due on October 8, 2007 and was scheduled for an induction on October 10, 2007 should she miss the due date...but then the smart Alec me decided to postpone the induction date to October 17, 2007 buying both myself and Sanjana a week to try and make it out the natural way...and Sanjana decided that she would indeed stay inside me till she was forcibly induced...guess she loved being inside me so much that she did not make any attempts at coming outside whatsoever.

Actually my water broke on October 5, 2007 night (early Oct 6th) when I was alone. I did talk to my doctor about it on my October 10th appointment and she told me to confirm the same through a sonogram on October 11th. The sonogram said that there was nothing to worry about and I got back home feeling better and happy that I had postponed my induction date to the 17th.

I also went to work on the 15th of October after initial doubts and then decided that I would take off the 16th and spend some ME time before heading out that night for the induction. I cleaned the house, I cooked and slept a little before the evening came. I was still hoping that I would at least be dialted one centimeter by the evening if I did all the work...Girish came home from work and the two of us along with Girish's parents headed out for a walk at Addisson Park and got back home for dinner. Giri took a quick shower and the two of us headed towards the hospital at 9.30pm from our house...we stopped by at the Quick Trip gas station on Plano Parkway and Girish picked up a Blazing Hot Cheetos packet for snacking through the night and we headed to the hospital. I was a bundle of nerves and was crying on and off through the short trip.

We walked into the labor and delivery unit in Medical Center of Plano at precisely 10.00pm and got myself admitted. I was shown into LDR Room No.23, changed into hospital garb and was ready for nurse Sara to come and walk me through the procedure of getting induced. First there was a bunch questions...and then there was the preparation for IV...it was not that bad and it was one of the things I was freaking out about. Then she told me to relax while she prepped to soften the cervix...She got me ready at 11.20pm and at 12.20am I started getting my first real contractions and boy did they hurt...at first not so bad but as the night progressed it just got worse...Around 3.00am I was hurting and around 4.30 I was screaming every few minutes...but the good news was that I was dilating and heading in the right direction...

Around 6.30am Tracy took over Sara and she gave me the option of taking IV Nubain a mood altering drug to keep me cool in between the contractions and I gladly agreed to try it out...and it really did not help me much other than putting me to sleep in between my contractions. The pain was still there...

At 8.00am the doctor came for a visit and decided that after using the internal monitor my baby's heart rate was not looking very stable during contractions and that I have to be cut to deliver as the baby might not take the pressure of making it out naturally...in a few minutes I was getting a fresh batch of shots and this guy walked in with a trolley and got to work on my back while I was writhing in pain through contractions...he was getting me prepped for epidural and in two minutes he was done and gone and I was in cloud nine not feeling any pain any more...I did not feel anything in my lower body as well...

Tracy then decided to do something different and took me off the internal monitor and hooked me back up on the external monitor only to show that the baby was not doing badly during contractions. So she called the doctor and passed on the information and the doctor came by to check it out and agreed that I did not need a C-Section and that she will try natural delivery instead.

Around 1.15pm on October 17, 2007 things started moving real fast. Tracy had the room loaded with trolleys carrying different things and then she and Girish together helped me learn to push the baby out...the pushing was so difficult considering I have no idea where to put the pressure considering my lower half of the body was completely asleep...and it took me about 6 to 7 turns before I got to push the baby's head out only slightly before which the doctor was called in and the NICU people were also summoned for...a few more pushes and then the baby's head was vacuumed out ...and in a couple of seconds the doctor threw the baby on my tummy...I could not believe it...

I had to know...yes...the gender of the baby...that was my first question to the doctor and when she said it was a girl, I could not believe my ears...very quickly the NICU people came and took the child away for inspection while I was lying there getting all stitched up and cleaned...Girish was on the phone and I heard Girish tell one of the NICU physicians that the name of the baby was going to be Sanjana...at that time I knew that there was no changing and that is what she was going to be called for ever...

Once she was cleaned up and all Girish held her in his arms for the longest time and then I was allowed to hold her for sometime. I tried to feed her but she was not in a mood and was cranky...then the nurse from the nursery took Sanjana away for further inspection and bathing.

I was given some fluids to drink and some rest while Tracy cleaned me up more and packed all my things. She brought in a wheel chair and a trolley. Girish loaded our bags onto the trolley and me onto the wheelchair and off we went to our post-delivery room.

I was tired as hell but could not sleep because people were coming in and out of the room but there was no sign of Sanjana. Then Girish told me that there was some oxygen problem and they were going to keep her in the nursery for longer. I took a mini-nap and then Girish took me in the wheel chair to see her in the nursery for about five minutes. Then we were back in the room...

First Rajeev and Vardhini came, then Sammy came and then Charlie came...Girish took all of them to the nursery. Ali, Fatema and Mustu came. They saw Sanjana getting her bath and all of them left without seeing her up close.

Megha and G came, and just as I was getting ready to go to the nursery the baby came in! I was so happy!!!! Then Girish got mummy and pappa, and RJ, Sameer, Sonika, and RJ's mom came. The place was full and everyone was happy to see the baby...The last to come was Shahid and it was already late and I was getting groggy. The nursery people took the baby away and I slept for two hours before being woken up for feeding...

Thus started Sanjana's journey into this life...

So there it is all out...I did not want to gross anyone out and neither did I want to forget it...but now she is one...all big and grown up...I am scared to write more here...everytime I write something about Baboo I have jinxed it and she has always fallen sick following it...it is one of the reason why I have stopped even mentioning about her here...Let me see how this goes and then maybe I will start writing about her...

Anyways y'all take care...I have tons to prepare for the big day! Already baked and decorated her cake...but major food cooking, picking up my parents and all that are happening...till I write back...

Toodles.
ART

Enough with it already!

Everyone knows about what happened to Lehman Brothers, AIG, Wachovia. Even if you are not an economy buff you would have heard it or read about it somewhere. Since things started going downhill I started subscribing to some nice financial blogs to learn and understand how the system works. In the last few weeks I have even bugged my friends with some interesting post on this and on that which I keep forwarding every time I read something I think might be useful for them as well.

What I find funny is that most of these website try to instill on one thing. Do not panic.

Well if they don't want us to panic then why the hell is the entire blog world telling us exactly that but only a hundered times over??? Well if you don't want me to panic then you should'nt probably be giving me news to panic with right???

I am now afraid even to buy an organic water bottle (saving earth and global warming and those those fun stuff) because I am now thinking (panicking) what if I dont NEED it and only WANT it??? Well this is what happens when you get into the financial crunch mode...I now think (panic) that most of the things I do including Babs birthday cake is excessive. Gosh! It is driving me nuts. I was not programmed to think like this.

It is not me to feel like it even. I have been raised to spend. At least that is what my dad always told me. That I was born to spend his money which I am still doing consistently. Then there is the sudden fear of the financial crisis in the market (a market with which I did not even associate myself with 9 months ago) so I have to be frugal.

When people like me, who never knew how to balance books, do accounts, take care of their money and such are in this position, here is what we do - PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH! ya! Because I do not know head or tail about managing my money. I think I am being wise when in reality I am just going from one blog to another and doing things that each of them are making me to. Well, that is not helping because the bank balance still stands at a BIG ZERO! If my being frugal had really helped then I must at least have a dollar in my savings right?!!!

So my point is. Everyone must do what everyone can. Reading all these blogs (that tell you not to panic) is pretty pointless. You should use your own sixth sense to decide what is good for you and your family and do it. Just because someone switched from using diapers to cloth diapers does not mean it will work for your lifestyle. Choose the areas where you want to be frugal and be wise. Market will be down and market will be up and it is going to affect all of us in someway or the other. Till it affects us let us hope to not let the slump dampen our spirits...because if we loose our spirit then what else have we got to keep us up?? It is the festival season so let us enjoy by not only being frugal but also having a little fun.

As always
Love
ART

PS-1: some of these blogs also tell us not to get financial advice from the TV pundits on CNN or something...well then whom do we trust? YOU the blogger??? What proof that you are not getting paid by some third party to write what you write?? Gosh this world has loads of holes!

PS-2: Blogs I read are:
Get Rich Slowly
Smart Spending Blog
The Simple dollar
Wise Bread
Art of the Coupon

PS-3: As much as I crib, I enjoy reading these blogs...they are good and probably when read by the right person it can be put to good use...like I mentioned above I am not good with money and therefore these things are as good as a hammer in the hands of a monkey (I am really not a monkey)...

Dandiya...

Last weekend...on Oct 11...there was the last night of Dandiya celebrations in Dallas...few of my girlfriends and I had decided that we would go for it...we put in some major enthu into the discussions that ranged from clothes to how much fun we were going to have...

Come Saturday...I got a call from SV asking what time we were going to meet up to which I said I need to talk to MG...the dandiya started at 8.30pm and we were discussing about meeting times at 5.30pm.

I called MG...we again discussed what we were going to wear and who was going to pick whom up and what time we were going to meet. We were excited...I called on another friend and she was the first to drop out of the plan claiming to have caught the LAZY!!! I also call SC...who said that he will either go Dandiya with us or come to our house and play cards instead...so there it was just MG and me...because SV also claimed she got SICK and backed out...

Then MG calls me back in an hour and tells me, "Anu, somehow I don't get the vibe you are totally interested to go..." I told her...ya...because now from a gang we have been reduced to just you and I...what fun is Dandiya when you have to go and join other's gang while typically others begged to join our totally happening group!

So MG came to the conclusion that somehow we are not young any more...she is married, I have a kid...and we are not fully into doing things that was the most important thing to us a few years ago...guess we have matured...moved on to doing higher things...being it spending time with the husband, his family, and the kid...that is what we are all about now...

We are still fun to spend time together...but when it comes to clubbing or going out past dinner time is now a "let me see if I can make it" thingy...hopefully this does not lead anyone to the other conclusion that "we are boring" now that we are committed to different things in life...you should really see how much fun we had at Preeti-Sheetal Engagement party or at SC's dinner party...we are still fun ok...

I think once Babbi is about 3-4 years...I will get back on track! Till then y'all wait...

Love
ART

Water Gardens at Fort Worth

We went their for the first time in the five plus years we have lived here...and it was the one of the most fun thing we had done in sometime now...probably our life isn't that interesting any more...but if you live in Dallas and get stuck in the loop of "Where do we take our guests to?" Then you have an answer to that...Water Gardens at Fort Worth!!!...it is fun, activity filled and close to Sundance Square and other interesting places in Ft. Wt...

Sorry cannot post any pics as I forgot to take our camera with us and hence we landed up taking in the fun visually and carrying it in our brains!!!

Other places of importance in Dallas where we have taken our guests to in the past...

• Kennedy Museum
• Downtown Dallas
• Museums in Ft. Wt.
• Sundance Square
• Our Condo
• Maggiano's Little Italy
• Some random Desi restaurant (mostly Taj Chaat House)
• Desi Grocery store
• Drive up and down on George Bush Turnpike...
• Sit in our Condo and think of where to go and decide staying home and watching a movie on the TV is more fun
• Our Pool
• Lake Lewisville
• Lake Texoma
• Lake Ray Roberts
• Ft. Wt. Zoo
• Galleria
• Stonebriar Mall
• Grapevine Mills Mall
  
• Austin
• San Antonio
• Clay Pit's dance night for some Desi Dic-chak mujic...
• Gaylord (MG Suggestion)**
• Stockyards at Ft Wt (MG Suggestion)**
• Thomas Crowe Museum of Art ( got a huge Asian collection) (Kavita Suggestion)**
  

We are still planning on going to the Fossil Rim and Big Bend...

If you know any places of fun around Dallas...jot it down for me so that we can try it out when we have the next batch of guests!

Thanks
ART

** MG Suggested this in her comments!

Who sets these guidelines?

1. When you are pregnant, you must not drink coffee.
2. When you are breastfeeding, you should not drink any caffeine or alcoholic drinks.

1) The reason I ask is because people around you take it upon themselves to enforce these rules without getting your permission first...this was something that bothered me a lot when I was pregnant because every time I ordered for coffee or asked for one people would give me the looks...do these people know that even when I was not pregnant I only had one or two cups of coffee or tea a day?? Did they also know that a few of my friend's parents had more than three cups of coffee and their kids are all normal...

I am sorry...but please whoever you are and if you chance to read my blog...and you are guilty of doing the above...please stop it...it is None Of Your business!!! A mother knows what is best for her child...it is not like she is smoking pot while taking drops of LSD and drinking Scotch on the side...she is just having coffee...When most people have kids...they are mature enough to read and understand what is good for them and their baby...if they still don't get it...believe me you are not going to change them overnight...and it is just coffee...one or two cups a day ain't harming anyone! (This is strictly IMHO...)


2) There was once this party where I was invited to...there was booze in the house...but the person who was the host...put me up for SPRITE!!! instead of wine/whiskey/rum/gin/or even the cute old COKE!!! ya SPRITE!!!!!!!! WTH...did this person ask me??? Ever??? Once? uh huh...No...I was informed that since I was breastfeeding I should only drink SPRITE!!! Really??? I don't like Sprite...I drink Sprite when I am out of all choices...I always go for coke (note: not even diet coke)...

Once again for the ignorant people...breastfeeding mom's can drink a glass of wine...it is ok...all they have to do is pump the next couple of feedings (or if you want to be extra careful pump the next few feedings) and dispose the milk...ya...that simple...not rocket science for sure! The baby can be substituted with formula...

And if the momma wants something to drink...give her what she wants...don't stand there and judge or make judgements...NOBODY ASKED YOU! Really...Mom's always know what they are doing...they never try to harm or hurt the child...there are some like those and I am not speaking for them...so please give the lady benefit of doubt...

As much as a non-alcoholic person I am it is unfortunate that I still remember it...the point was not that I was denied of a drink...the point is that I was denied of making a decision...because someone else decided that it was NORM for breastfeeding moms to drink non-cafienated drinks only...these people did not obviously do their research...Now, I am polite...so I kept quiet and smiled it away...and probably that is another reason that I am still irked about it...

Anyhoo...I have written a couple of instances...but there are many other things in which people think that is important to give their two cents on topics that they should not be involved in at all...Mature or rather grown up people can decide for themselves...unsolicited advices are often unwelcome...just like an unwelcome guest or bad taste in the mouth...Many a times we want to throw in our ideas and suggestions...but not everyone appreciates it...be sensitive...yes Be Sensitive...you might be absolutely right in what you are doing...but it might hurt someone...so be sensitive...

Amway strikes....yet again!

Location: Wal-Mart in Dallas
Victims: G and I


G and I had to go to WM to pick up corner guards for our night stand as we were very scared that she might hurt herself but running into it. When we got to WM, we did the walk around the foodie aisles even though we did not need anything just for the sake of habit...On our way around the place I noticed this cute baby being carted around by a desi daddy...and I could not stop myself from showing G the baby who also agreed that he was cute...and then we proceeded towards the milk section...ya...bought nothing there and finally landed at the baby section...

We were looking at the different options we had when we saw the daddy with the baby still in the cart stare at G's tee...he was wearing a First Trade tee...G turned around and asked him if he needed anything to which daddy said...no just trying to read what is on your tee...G politely replied..."a whole lot of crap." We turned around and started checking out what we were looking for...

Instantly the wife jumped towards me and asked me if I could help her also find baby proofing stuff for her house. I saw the baby and then asked her how old her son was...she said 4 months...I told her...well you don't need to baby proof for another two months at least...to which she said "he is crawling all over." (I am not inexperienced...I have a baby too...) I smiled and picked up what I wanted when she grabbed what I had in my hand in the name of checking it out...I told her that it was the last corner guard and I wanted it. And all along the daddy dear was chatting with G about where he was working, what he was working on, where G was from, etc etc....

G looked at me...and said...I think we need more than one box of the corner guard...since WM does not have it, we have to go to Babies r us...they are going to shut down...so lets run...I said, oh ya...you are right...

We quickly bid adieu...but the man (daddy) would not stop...he asked G if he could give him his number so that they can get baby advice from us...to which G turned and looked at him and said...

"I don't have a phone with me...I don't own one..."

We left...
I could not stop laughing...we have been there before...not like I have not blogged about it...Sorry Amway/Quickstar/whatever you have to try harder...the economy might be down but that does not mean that we have kept our brains in a safe...we still carry it around...

And what is worse...it is always the DESI's who come and approach you...as it is we desi's don't smile at fellow desi's...if anything we give a snarl or sometimes a "I know where you are from" look...now these guys are just spoiling it for the rest...The minute G and I see any friendly smiling Desi...our Amway/Quickstar alarm goes off and we are on high alert...we ignore them and try doing rude stuff so they don't approach us...rude as in our expressions become unfriendly...

Gosh! They are so annoying...and this couple used their baby to sell Amway/Quickstar to us...how low can they stoop...AAAAAAAArrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Har Hair Ki Kahani

I have been crazy about hairdo's all my life...I can start posting pics right from my childhood where I looked real crazy with short hair...then let it grow, then cut it short, the cycle went on...

When I lived in Trichy, there were no beauty parlor's in our township in the early 80's...all they had were two Saloons (ya not salon's...and yes I know Saloon's are places of drinking...thanks...and in good old India that is where you got your hair cut)...and both specialized in cutting men's hair, shaving, and maalish (massage)...but that is the only place a little girl would go too...when I was in 5th standard my dad took me to this guy who promised a new hairstyle for me...I did not know any better...happily I climbed on the chair and when he was done I was shocked...I had bangs...ya like the cute Chinese girls...and ya I looked Chinese...my mom saw me and she was so mad at the barber...she took me back to him, yelled at him, then came home and yelled at dad (who has ever since refused to take any of us for a haircut) and I got a bit of crossfire too...

I remember I was in 9th grade...and I decided to cut my hair really really short...and when I went to a parlor near my apartment the lady touched my hair and said, "I feel so bad cutting your hair." But I told her to go ahead with a big smile on my face...the minute she put the scissor to my hair I regretted it...too late now!

My classmates (a few of the most hideous bunch...who were annoying PIA's...) called me Conie...meaning my hair resembled a coniferous forest...I was so mad...but these were lowlife creatures and it would definitely lower my status wasting my breath on them...one of the sicko's met me in orkut and asked me if I was the same girl he used to call Conie...I deleted his message and have blocked him too...oops...this was not a rant post...damn I digressed again...

I grew it out again...but never longer than just below my shoulder...until I was in my 3rd year college when I decided to cut it to fall just around my ear...one of my best friends in college (Sul) came up to me and asked me never ever to do that to my hair again...but I did it again and again...till I got bored of it...Sorry Sul...

Then I came here...to US of A...my hair was always hovering around shoulder length...then one day in 2002 I decided I needed a make over and got my hair cut in layers...being a newbie to styling hair I was at a loss for what to do...and I also noticed much to my chagrin that after layering that my hair felt thinner...I panicked and decided never to cut my hair in that fashion...

My mom told me that she would like for me to do the traditional South Indian hair style with hair ornaments for my wedding and requested me to grow my hair...which I did like the good girl I am...and my hair was long...the longest I ever had it at least...and for almost 4 years I just trimmed the edges never bothered to style it or cut it...

Ya...that is how long it was before I got it cut!

When I had Babs, I decided that I was up for a makeover and this time I have to do once again what I have to do...I went to this guy Peter...who cut my hair a bit short...the next time I went he cut it a bit more shorter


The first installment and second installment were not very short...but were coming close to the destination...

And yesterday I went I gave him a go ahead to cut it up to my shoulders...he cuts my hair...takes away the cape and then tells me..."you look so much younger now."

Mission accomplished...


This is me with my latest installment! God knows how short I am going to go...


But when G saw me last night...he looked a bit quizzical and then told me...you know you do look a bit Chinese...well that is a full circle...what I realized is...that it is not the hairstyle...it is me!!! I look Chinese no matter what...

Till then Xie Xie (shi shi - Thank you in Chinese) peoples...

Face is the index of the mind...

You know how true that is??? Have you ever wondered why every baby...no matter what color, gender, race, etc always look cute? I don't think I would every say anything so little can ever be anything but cute!

Ya, that is because...behind their beautiful face is a mind and heart that is filled with nothing but innocence...they are not corrupted yet...they still have the formatted disk that God sent them with.

I also think that as we grow older we tend to get prejudiced too...but still if the mind is clear then the face is clear :)

Love
ART

I am a little Prissy

You Are a Bit Prissy

From time to time you can be a princess, but these days, who isn't a little high maintenance? You know what you want, and you're definitely not afraid to ask for it. (Just refrain from having a temper tantrum if you don't get your way!) There's nothing wrong with having high standards... as long as they're occasionally low enough to allow spontaneity and fun!

How Prissy Are You?

Life can also imitate art...you know

http://mid-day.com/news/2008/oct/021008bankroberryarrest.htm

So this was on Mid-day...like I mentioned before...my usual source of entertainment and off-beat news that you wont find on the front page in many news papers...

Three guys really took all the Shankar, ManiRatnam, other Hindi director's movies (RDB included) to heart and tried to pull a fast one...It is just bizarre to see even military people take part in such things...

**********************************************************************************
Incase the article is taken out of Mid-day...here is the copy of it...

Two army soldiers and a computer engineer, who robbed a bank in this Delhi suburb to buy weapons so that they could "eliminate the corrupt politicians" in India, have been arrested, a police official said Wednesday.

R K Chaturvedi, senior superintendent of police, Noida, told mediapersons that the trio had robbed the sector-12 branch of the State Bank of India. They had carried away Rs 1.08 million.

He said the three men robbed the bank to "buy weapons to eliminate corrupt politicians". He said two of them are serving soldiers and one is a computer engineer.

While checking vehicles at sector 24 on Tuesday night, a police team asked the motorcycle-borne young men to stop. They, however, opened fire. The police fired back and then overpowered them.

During interrogation, they revealed their motive for the bank heist was to eliminate corrupt politicians from Indian politics and to remove social evils.

The arrested men are: Vijay Singh Chauhan, an army soldier posted at Amritsar in Punjab, Vivekanand Verma, an army soldier posted at Nasik in Maharashtra, and Raj Narayan, a computer engineer.

Raj Narayan had approached his cousin Vijay Singh Chauhan, who in turn contacted Vivekanand Verma. Singh and Verma were on leave.

The police recovered Rs.900,000, 2 pistols, a motorcycle, 20 live cartridges and a mobile phone from them.

Since I said that I also want to say this...

That I am not a fan of Mani Ratnam either...and you wonder why? Especially since he is from my very own Chennai? Plus, I have actually seen all his movies but for the first two which were released in Kanada and Malyalam? Well, well, well...I still don't like him...

Once again let me list it out:

• He is highly over rated.
• All his movies are broodingly dark.
• They all have annoying kids screaming their heads out and they are smart beyond their years...
• The dialogues are always a max of three words long...which does not make them dialogues anyway...because dialogues should have continuity and content and not be broken like his are...
• As an example for the above...his dialogues (in Tamil) are always like...enga?(where?), eppo? (when?), edhuku? (why?), yaaru? (who?), eppadi? (how?)....and all those are all one word dialogues in his movies...very annoying if in the entire movie they speak only those words over and over again!
• Roja and Bombay got to his head...after that he has not made one successful movie...I think he thinks that he is so good that people will watch any crap he dishes out on his lens...let me see...Thiruda Thiruda, Iruvar, Dil Se, Kannathil Muthamittal, Ayutha Ezhuthu, Guru, etc all flops except for Alaipayuthe...(Guru might be a hit...commercially...but it was nail pulling experience for me...)
  
• He uses Indian epics to churn out stories...for example...Dalapathi (starring Rajni and Mamooty) is a classic ad verbatim copy of the story of Karna and Arjuna from Mahabaratha...
• None of his cross-over movies so far are hits...Guru especially sucked with him obviously sucking up to the annoying Bachchan family...
• He is married to Suhasini who has the most annoying smile/laugh and thinks that she is gods gift to female directors (just like her husband, Mani, thinks he is gods gift to male directors) and makes one crappy movie after another.
• He is highly over-rated...I know I said it above...but I want to reiterate my point...

Nanda...ippo enna pannuve? (what will you do now?) You the biggest Mani fan and all that...here...I have told it openly in my blog I don't like him...I know what your reaction will be..."everybody has their opinion." But Machan...that guy sucks da...sorry...avan thollai thanga mudiyadhu (can't bear his torture)...

For others...Peaceout!

Love
ART

There I said it...

I am not a fan of the BIG B and I absolutely hate his blog...boo to all the people who would booo me for this...

The above statement has nothing to do with the fact that:
a) I am from South...I have seen enough of AB's movie
b) I am a Rajnikanth fan...

I have my reasons:
a) He is in ever friggin movie....I need a break...plus you are boring and repetitive...ok, so you have a good diction...but sometimes it sounds so fake!
b) He is in every friggin ad too...this is too much ok...
c) He does not fit my bill for handsome...sorry I set my standards high...
d) I don't like the way he promotes his son...the Fat Ass who cannot act...
e) That blog...he writes...I want to throw up everytime I read it...perched on his throne he looks down upon people trying to act humble...all he is doing is promoting his family...full of non-actors...stone faces...

There I said it...what can you do about it?