Sunday, March 18, 2007

When dreams come true

I'm in London....better believe it!
After dreaming about it for more than a decade.....the end result of a totally whimsical plan....I'm in London.

Can I get a Yipppeeeee?? ;)

Cheers!


(adding a pic as proof for Mosi...)


Friday, March 16, 2007

Tagged by the witch doctor

I've been tagged by Mosi.... :)

3 things that scare me -

-Insects & Reptiles
-Dentists
-Horror movies

3 people who make me laugh -
-Maddy
-Poths
-Shwe

3 things I love
-Music
-Family & Friends
-Dancing

3 things I hate
-Hypocrisy
-Dental problems
-

3 things I don't understand
-Hypocrisy - just dont get it!!
-Dental problems - dont get me started
-How Dubya got re-elected in 2004??

3 things on my desk

-Cellphone
-iPod
-Camera

3 things i'm doing right now

-Listening to music
-Drinking water
-Yawning

3 things I want to do before I die
-Go to Egypt!!
-Hike the Inca trail
-Color my hair red

3 things I can do
-Dance
-Sing
-Love

3 things you should listen to
-'Steady as she goes' by The Raconteurs
-'Club Foot' by Kasabian
-'Break it off' by Rihanna & Sean 'the' Paul

3 things you should never listen to
Hmmm....I agree with what Mos said. Listen to everything but only retain what you need.

3 things i'd like to learn
-French (Already started....but it's going slow. Lova - I need help)
-Guitar
-Rollerblading

3 favourite foods
-Idlis with Chatni!! - yum yum yum.
-Anything paneer
-Hummus

3 beverages I drink regularly
-Coffee
-Water
-Vodka ;-) Just Messin....Orange Juice

3 childhood TV shows / books
-Tom & Jerry
-Tintin (book)
-Enid Blyton collection (book)

Cheers and love,
-Amrita

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Food fears

There are some fears/notions about food that stay with us over the years and we just cant seem to shake them off. I encountered two such funny food-related incidents today.

Take me for instance:- I cant eat any vegetable that's cut into large pieces. It mortally scares me. The veggies have to be small enough for me to be able to eat them. This is a problem mostly with Broccoli and Cauliflower. I absolutely love broccoli - but since it usually comes in huge sizes, I skip eating it till I find a piece small enough. I'm strange - I know :P

So this issue surfaced today at the cafe at work. A few coworkers and I were standing in the panini line and the only veggie option had huuuge slices of eggplant in it. One look at it, and I shrunk back! I ended up eating soup and salad instead...ahem!!

The lady at Cafe Forant:- I had dinner with a buddy of mine today and we then strolled into this really cute basement cafe for dessert and java. It was run by a very adorable lady who baked and cooked everything in that store (and her dog Chula was amazing!). My eyes fell on some delicious oatmeal-cranberry cookies. They were heavenly....yum yum! :) I asked her why not the regular oatmeal-raisin? She said that when she was a kid, she had assumed that the raisins were actually chocolate chips. When she found out the truth, she could never bring herself to eat oatmeal-raisin cookies ever again!! She was heartbroken...so she resorted to making oatmeal cookies cranberries instead....good for me eh? haha.

So what are your food fears? :-)
-Amrita

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Images changing India today

Women-only cab service in Mumbai


"It addresses real concerns of female commuters. More women are traveling alone as they break with traditional roles and enter the workplace or even just to go out for the evening. Although Mumbai is considered safer than most cities on the subcontinent, where sexual harassment is rife, Indian women and visiting tourists often complain about being leered at by male cab drivers."


This is an excellent idea. We definitely need this in all metropolitans in India. I remember feeling really helpless in Delhi this year when I couldn't travel anywhere after sunset. Kudos to Roy. I hope Forsche works and takes off well.

As for the cliche about women drivers, Roy says: "It's mainly men who are involved in road arguments and accidents. Women are safe drivers and my women will rock."

Hear! Hear! Below image courtesy BBC.



__________________________________________________

Indian Air Force celebrates Platinum jubilee

Really impressive display. Read the article to get the full story.

Below image courtesy BBC.



Monday, March 05, 2007

A relax(zz)ing Sunday

What is the probability that on 2 separate weekends, my continental airlines flight to Chicago gets cancelled because of storms? The first was in November and then now this weekend in March. It's a cruel joke really.

So considering that I found myself totally free this weekend (except for a few social commitments on Saturday), I decided to do something that I hadnt done in a loooong long time - Spend Sunday lazing about the house. It is seriously the best form of bliss there is.

I woke up and had chai with my neighbor who is also a really good friend. We pontificated about life in general while listening to some amazing music. The soundtrack was Motorcycle Diaries and we drifted off to a world of adventures, greenery, trains and history. Then I proceeded to listen to more music while catching up with friends online and doing nothing of any significance. This was immediately followed by a beatific siesta. And then a dinner date with 2 of my good friends. So that in my opinion was the best Sunday in a long time :-)

Books I've read/am reading of late:-

Kite Runner by Khaled husseini:- Emotional rollercoaster. Loved it. Even cried while reading it.

Namesake by Jhumpa Laheri :- I really wanted to find out what the big deal about this book was. It is a really deep story and I was really distraught while reading it. I cant say I loved the book but that's probably due to the high expectations built about it. I am really excited about the movie though - especially cos it has Kal Penn playing the part of Gogol Ganguli. Really cool
article about him in the amNewYork today. I've loved him since the days of American Desi....so i cant wait! :)

The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen :- Still on the first chapter.

The India Model by Gurcharan Das: - Fantastic piece of work. This paper was pointed out to me by a friend. I was impressed by it so much that I have to list it here. Give it a read. A few facts that jumped out at me: I was not aware that the outsourcing industry in India accounts for 20$ B! Or that half of our population is under the age of 25!!

Albums of Sunday:

- The Motorcycle Diaires OST
- Samandar by Rahul Sharma
- Garden State OST
- Corrine Bailey Rae's self titled album