writer's block

...or something like it. There's a lot of things that I want to write about....but just cant bring myself to. It's one of those phases in life when I want to do a lot but am just feeling too "blaaaah" to do any of it. hehe.

So I might as well talk about some things that dont really matter to the rest of the world to an earth shattering extent.

Movies that I am DYING to see:

- Nachoooo Libre
- Krrish
- The Devil Wears Prada
- Wordplay
- Superman Returns
- The Pirates of the Caribbean -2
- Lady in the Water

Awesome experience of this week:

Broadway Under The Stars. When Broadway literally moved to Central Park's Great Lawn. What a show!! Thousands of people gathered together under the cloudy and threatening New York skies. In front of us was the stage. Backdrop: A few thousand new yorkers, a big clump of trees and the impressive NYC skyline. As the sunset and the performances started...we sat back....let the cool wind wash over us and watched the city lights come on. It was a surreal feeling. Niceness! :-)

And in other news...

Looking forward to moving into my own apartment desperately. Hmm...not much else to say right now....it's 4 am in the morning and I have overdosed on sleep...hence cant sleep tonight. Maybe i'll stay awake till Bono's interview on ABC this morning. Or was it NbC? eh...

Keep reading my people... I promise to get the creative juices flowing again soon.

Ciao ciao ciao
-Amrita

what am I doing

....this weekend?

Saturday:
Wake Up
Watch Germany vs Sweden (The Swedish goalie was awesome)
Watch Argentina vs Mexico (Oh Mexico!)
Sleep

Sunday:
Wake Up
Watch England vs Ecuador
Watch Portugal vs Ned
Sing
Eat
Sleep

Good plan.

World Refugee Day

Take a look: Today's Pictures at Slate.

(Pic copyright Magnum Photos)

World Cup Ads

My 2 favorite World Cup ads at this point of time are embedded below. And let me just add here that I love the fact that for a LOT of video spots, ESPN has been using U2 tunes. So far I've heard COBL, Elevation, Vertigo, It's a beautiful Day. It's AWESOME. Catches the spirit completely.

Here's the Jose + 10 ad by Adidas. Love it.



And here's an amazing ad from FIFA women's world cup in 2003.

My blog is back!

Yippee! My blog is back. Something had gotten messed up with Blogger and my blog had become unaccessible. But thank goodness its back *fingers crossed*

A very interesting article I came across today: India's influence soars.

-Amrita

Stuck

Excerpt from Coldplay's "Square One"

"oh, you just want
somebody listening to what you say
it doesn't matter who you are
it doesn't matter who you are

is there anybody out there who
is lost and hurt and lonely too
they're bleeding all your colours into one
and have you come undone
as if you've been run through
some catapult had fired you
you wonder if your chance will ever come
or if you're stuck in square one "

It's deja vu all over again with respect to matters of the heart. So am I stuck in square one? Or will things get better? I'm a good person....I really am. So I believe they will.

~Amrita

Please to be rafting

So this weekend was adventure packed! Went to Lake George in upstate New York with 16 others with the intentions of white water rafting in the mighty Hudson River Gorge. On Saturday (10th), we drove into Bolton Landing where we had reserved very cute cabins at the Twin Bay Village. I had seen the weather report before leaving New York City and knew that it was going to rain big time and the clouds were rolling in steadily when we reached.

The Lake itself was absolutely beautiful. It reminded me of Lake Tahoe a lot. The Village of Lake George was thumping with activity as it was a huge biker rally weekend. So we saw bikes of every brand, make and size imaginable. Anyway, so we checked into our cabins. One of them had a neat boardwalk closeby and the view of the Lake was breathtaking from there.

The Tongue Mountain Hike

While planning the trip, I had made one thing clear....we had to go on a hike!!! We just had to. Even it was only 1 mile. So despite the rain, we set off on a hike at the nearby Tongue Mountain. We were ready to get completely wet.....but the canopy of trees kept us dry. It was a bautiful experience to hear rain falling steadily around us, but not getting wet at all. The hike itself was very enjoyable but scary at times. Courtesy spooky stories delivered by K, Sam and Seems.... pbbftt... :P

Ooops....Blackout!

We came back from our hike to Bolton Landing where another surprise was in store. Complete blackout. No Power anywhere. So we whiled away time and waited for it to come back. Hanging out in utter darkness with some 10 other people, drinking vodka and waving flashlights around turned out to be a lot of fun in the meantime :-) hehehehe. The power did return eventually and we played a hilarious and a tad competitive game of dumb charades. It was too much fun. The night ended on a happy note....but due to the rain, extreme cold and the aftermath of the blackout, there was skepticism about actually going rafting the next day.

Please to be rafting NOW!

Sunday morning dawned nice and dry thankfully and brought with it a fresh jolt of enthusiasm to raft. We will face the cold! Yes we will!

So the company we went to was Wild Waters. Highly recommended. They make the whole rafting adventure very comfortable and friendly. We got to wear really cool wetsuits! They shuttled us up to the load in station....all the while giving us clear instructions on how to save our asses if we fell in the water etc.

I was nervous when I caught sight of the river and the surging rapids. I was nervous when we sat in our rafts and got basic instructions from our super duper cool guide Gabe. I was nervous when we carried our raft down to the river. I was perfectly home the moment I jumped into the raft and started paddling.

17 miles, 20 or so rapids, 5 hours. Amazing experience. Most of the rapids were class 3...a couple were a low class 4. The best part of our time on the water was that our guide was always spicing things up for us. He made us do spins, go under rapids and also surf rapids. During a surf, we actually paddle upstream and pile in the front of the raft to create a wave. Hahaha. That was awesome...we had to try real hard to do it though. Gabe also let us go on a mini hike atop the Virgin waterfalls. He was cooool.

Oh did I mention, the rafting company also gave us food? We got to eat lunch by the river which was a blissful experience. I hate peanut butter and I still ate it....food just tasted better outdoors. :P We also got steaming hot food after the rafting adventure. All in all, an amazing experience.

Pictures

But of course there were pictures.

Here are the ones taken by the rafting company: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrita/sets/72157594163057488/

And here are the ones I took: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrita/sets/72157594163768880/

This is just wrong

Ferrari and Maserati right next to each other....few feet away from me physically....but oh so far away *sigh* This is soo wrong....but soo beautiful that I couldn't stop staring....*drool*

Here's a picture taken from my brother's apartment on this random Sunday afternoon...

Life...or something like it...

So after 6 crazy years of college and grad school life...I'm now faced with that big question..."Pepsi or Coke"?


:P


And also sometimes..."OK! Now what?"

The apt search is done. The moving out of dorm thing is done. I start work next month (this is right now the most frequently asked question in my life). Till then I'm planning to do a list of things....rafting, camping, hiking, kathak lessons, roller blading etc. And of course I will be checking out what the "summer" in the city has to offer.

hmm...June 5th....HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!! :) Love you...

What else? Go watch "An Inconvenient Truth"...it's brilliant (and scary). "Da Vinci Code" was OK. Movie took longer to see than the book took to read....ha! ;)

Oh Music! .... Still hooked to Franz's new album. And Kasabian, DMB, Extreme...etc.

I must get back to regular blogging....
-Amrita

P.S: Pepsi is always the right answer

My Early Morning Nemesis

During my stint at the Columbia dorms, I had an early morning nemesis....actually I had two....but i'll describe the first one here.

So i'm in peaceful dreamland....zoned out completely....counting the zzz's....
It's Saturday after all.

And suddenly..."BLAAAAWWWWWRRRNNNNNNN"

Jolted awake.

What might that be you ask? That, is the horn of the "Norwegian Dawn"....a ginormous cruise liner which unassumingly sails down the Hudson River before docking at Pier 88 in Midtown Manhattan. My dorm is located on said river and at this area, it's not very wide.

After the rude awakening, I find a river facing window and look out groggily to see the cruise liner fit in very uncomfortably amongst barges and patrol boats.

Anyway...so this was at leasst a monthly ritual....and yesterday...at the Fleet Week, I saw the Norwegian Dawn docked at Pier 88. And lo and behold, the moment I set my eyes on it, it let out another long "BLAAAWWWRRNNNN"....hahahaha!

Here's a picture for you...

Graduation Round-up

Yes, I got my degree!! The pictures are here. The stories are below.

SEAS Class Day - 16th May 2006

The day dawned rainy and gloomy. It was like a cosmic joke. I had butterflies in my stomach and a frown on my face. The ceremony was supposed to be in the afternoon so we held out hope that the skies would clear up eventually. (Did I mention that the parental units made it to the city finally!!! :-) yeah...). Friends stepped in to bring some much needed cheer....and by the time I reached my dorm room to get dressed, I was back to my enthu self. Got ready, took pictures with my buddies Han and Pranay and headed over to the South Field Lawns at Columbia.

Thankfully, during the whole assemnly and procession, the skies were clear!! My dear friends were tuned in to the live broadcast of the ceremony and kept sending me messages over the phone about it. They were sooo adorable!!! :-) Then, just before I got up to go on stage, the skies opened and it started raining....yeah ....i know.....cosmic joke part 2. I apparently ran across stage cos my audience barely registered my presence there. Heh!! Anyway, what do you know....it stopped raining the moment I reached my seat again. If it wasnt for my audience's congratulatory messages and hugs, I would have killed someone. :-) But all in all...It was a very fun ceremony. Caught up with all my CS buddies (...except Han 1....ass went to China).

There was a celebration later at night with a handful of my buddies which led into a late night animal imitation session....dont ask! But....all in all....good times!!! :-)

Columbia University's 252nd Commencement Ceremony

It was a beautiful day! Sunny and warm....hoards of families and students. The SEAS students were handed Rappers to clap with...which was hilarious and so cute!! Zvi Galil, our dean...was worshipped by chants of "Zvi, Zvi, Zvi"....he was ultra coool. Beautiful ceremony and they actually played "Beautiful Day" by U2 immediately after it. :-) I was engulfed by a sense of pride and thankfulness while being conferred the Ivy-League degree. Amazing journey.

The LOOOT!!

The things that make working yourself insane worth it...
- a shiny new iPod Nano gifted by the CS dept at CU.
- some bling from the parental units
- $$$$ from the parental units
- $$$ from my sweet zootopes
- a mystery gift from my best friends....which will be unvealed later today.
- a future gift from my brother....he just doesnt know it yet....ha!

So...

So now the question is....2 months of free time...what all can I fit in? :-) ;-) There will be road trips...oh yes there will....

Love,
Master Amri

Forbidden Love

After months of waiting to see it, I finally watched Brokeback Mountain. I literally just finished watching it and I have tears down my face. It is such a beautiful movie.

As I fumble on my keyboard in the dark, I am surrounded by the intense sadness of a love lost...torn apart by society and personal inhibitions. I dont want to banalize the intensity of the relationship shared by the two men in the movie by describing it more.

But I will say that Ang Lee has directed the movie spectacularly! And of course Jake Gyllenhal and Heath Ledger are a treat to watch. This is the first time that I've enjoyed a movie more than the book it's based on.

Song of the night: "The Wings" by Gustavo Santaolalla on repeat mode.

Oh.My.God

I'M GRADUATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have still not found time to write a proper blog entry ...shocking....I know!!

But...the next time I tune in....I will have a Master of Science in Computer Science from Columbia University.

What can I say now? HELL YESSSSSSSSSSS!

Excuse the excitement....

Love,
Amrita Rajagopal

Hi Again!

So finals are done. I'm stuck in grading and emotional hells right now. So even though there's lots to talk about....I cant bring myself to. But I will leave you with a hilarious but very good video which my friend CK found.

The Evolution of Dance!

Concentration Camp

(Phrase borrowed from Ragure...)

This 6-day Concentration Camp is powered by:

1. Nescafe Instant Coffee
2. Amrita's Best of Led Zeppelin mix
3. Led Zeppelin - 1
4. Led Zeppelin - 2
5. Led Zeppelin - Houses of The Holy
6. Graham Crackers
7. Led Zeppelin - Coda
8. Led Zeppelin - Presence
9. Led Zeppelin - Early Days
10. Led Zeppelin - Latter Days
11. Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door
12. Advil
13. Giant hugs from Tiglu
14. Led Zeppelin - 3
15. Led Zeppelin - 4
16. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
17. Wonderful phonecalls from my friends and family (hint to those who dont call me)
18. Extreme

Over & Out....hope y'all survive without my coolness for the next 6 days....

-Ammu :-)

May Movie Madness

Tribeca state of mind

The extravaganza began with Tropfest on Friday night. As part of the Tribeca Film Festival, this year USA had a mini version of the Australian short film festival. So they screened (for free!!, with free popcorn as well) 16 short films. 8 Tropfest classics and 8 finalists from this year. They were all pretty entertaining. The best part of the whole evening was that the films were screened outdoors on a giant screen, by the Hudson River, overlooking Statue of Liberty and Jersey City on one side and the World Financial Center Towers on the other. Fantastic experience. We froze in the cold...but it was sooo worth it.

At the same venue, The Hip-Hop Project was screened the next night. I was expecting more from that movie frankly. But it was still interesting.

Cutest.Creatures.EVER!

Saturday night...after watching the hip-hop project, we desperately needed a lughter fix. Saw Ice Age 2. It was adorably hilarious. That's the best way to sum it up. We laughed our heads off. Seeing a woolly mammoth dangling upside down from a tree, a sloth leading a cheer ....these two scenes brought me to tears of mirth. Love. Love. Love that movie.

"Black Friday"

(Bollywood movie, Directed by Anurag Kashyap, Special preview screening on Monday at Columbia)

If you were addicted or haunted by the melody of "Bandeh" (by Indian Ocean) before....wait till you see it in the movie itself. Oh. My. God...I was spellbound. No one could move long after the lights came on.

"Black Friday" is a brilliant movie. And thankfully for Anurag Kashyap, it's finally being released in June. It's intense, very intense....gripping...and this was just the release version of <3 hours

Anurag Kashyap is the coolest dude ever....he's so unassuming and down to earth. He was modest enough to be nervous while answering questions. He even casually admitted that most of the scenes in themovie were shot gorilla style and without permissions. Super cool.It's hard to believe that such a chilled out character gave us scripts like Satya and Paanch!

Carry On Please

Thank God for British humor! I love the Carry On series...really silly humor...but sooo good. So thanks to Netflix, I saw Carry On Matron this morning. Funny. Funny. Funny stuff.

Tee Hee Hee...

I am VERY excited about the release of Mission Impossible III and The Da Vinci Code. I also want to watch Akeelah and the Bee, Thank you for smoking and Water.

Yes, in case you're wondering...I am also trying to study for my finals! :P

-Amrita

Songs of the day:
-Album "Brothers in Arms" by Sire Straits
-"Sounds of Silence" by S & G...did you know that the G is a Columbia graduate? awesome!
-Gangster OST
-Album "Nervermind" by Nirvana

To The Max

Wishing you maximum happiness as you celebrate your birthday.

And I present to thee ...the one and only...

...

The Original of The Species

....

The First Pink Helmet!!























Love ya,
~Amri :-)

Steven Pinker//The Blank Slate

I attended a talk by Steven Pinker last evening on his book 'The Blank Slate'. I've been curious about his research for a long time....so it was a lot of fun hearing his theories. Needless to say, the book has been added to my reading list.

Pinker argued against the 'tabula rasa' models of psychology and how the human mind is indeed not the proverbial blank slate. He's from the evolutionary psychology side of thought. For example, he explained how twins separated at birth and brought up by very different set of parents, end up having the same qualities and mannerisms. So if the brain was indeed a blank slate, their mannerims should depend on their experiences, and the twins should be very different from each other as their upbringings were different. Pinker argued how the 'tabula rasa' thought process conveniently forgets about 'genes'. According to evolutionary psychology, a human brain/soul is shaped by genes, culture etc. So this would explain why, the twins even though brought up differently, end up being similar. Cos they share genes!!

One of the many funny anecdotes was when Pinker discussed his theories on the attraction of sexes and agreed that it's a very strange occurence. He talked about how his friend always said that one should not get married to someone cos of his/her cute lip or nose. Instead, one should marry their best friend. You like them...they're fun...it's the best solution.

What made me laugh about this? According to this theory, if I were to get married today....I would have to marry aBee...my best friend from the male of the species.
...
*2 seconds to process thought*
...
B...you know I love you dearly....but you're laughing your ass off as well as you read this.

:x
-Amrita

Songs of the day:
~'Mujhpe tufan uthaye' from Tehzeeb OST
~'Black Friday' OST

9 parts of desire

Now dont get me wrong...I LOVE this song by Trickbaby. Since the first time I heard it 2-3 years ago...

But only 9? I beg to differ... (MALE readers of this blog may want to look away right about now)

1. Music
2. Chocolate
3. Coffee
4. Johnny Depp
5. Clive Owen
6. Pierce Brosnan
7. Johnny Depp + Chocolate (Ali, Smiti...stop obsessing over him...he's mine)
   
8. Pierce Brosnan + Coffee
   
9. Clive Owen + Music ('Starshine' by Gorillaz if you please)
10. The Edge and his instruments...(mind out of the gutter now! I'm talking about guitars of course! Now where's my halo?)
    
11. grand finale: Nikhil Chinappa (for those who dont know him....he's a VJ for MTV India. i've had a crush on him since I was in high school...it's a long story...)

*ahem* That put things in perspective...now if you will excuse me....
^Amrita

Albums of the week:
1. Fanaa OST
2. Bombay Bud Orchestra
3. Incredible India
4. Gangster OST
5. Global Village by Karunesh
6. Broken English by Karsh Kale
7. Global Spirit by Karunesh
8. Bluffmaster OST
9. Division Bell by Pink Floyd

heh....9 parts to that huh?

Addiction thy name is...(Part one)

COFFEE!

Top 10 me-reasons to drink cofee:-

1. "I just woke up. I need coffee"
2. I want coffee.
3. I love coffee
4. "Blah. Let's get coffee."
5. "Hmmm....? Let's get coffee"
6. "I need to relax. Let's get coffee"
7. "I need to wake up. Let's get coffee"
8. "I need to sleep. Let's get coffee"
9. "Coffee!! You can sleep when you're dead"
10. Just cos.

Java!
-Mocha King

The joy of nightouts

Over 6 years of college + grad school life as a Computer Engineer/Scientist....you get used to being nocturnal. The sights and sounds of computers, oscilloscopes, bread boards, chip testers, wires, resistors, caps, LEDs, soldering irons etc....bring you comfort on a seemingly endless road punctuated by deadlines, projects, presentations and demos.

The most memorable of these experiences are the late night lab sessions. Bunches of geeks/dorks/nerds/me-types hunched over PCs and other random equipment....trying to get our logics to work. Hitting keyboards, jabbing at the screens, shaking our heads in frustration, nervous laughter and desperate deliberation. It's all there. How is this fun again? It just is. It's part of the geekhood experience. These are the times you get to bond with your teammates and learn truckloads. Welcome respites come in the form of trips to the vending machines and water coolers., animated sleep-deprived conversations with other fellow tortured souls, and the (passive-smoking) smoke breaks.

Then in the end it's all worth it when we get our programs to work or our boards to behave properly. That's when you look back at the infinite sleepless nights and say..."hey...that was fun".

Byte that chip,
$amrita$

Bhai...

Happy Birthday!!!! :-)

Let the records state that as of today...till 6th august...you are officially THREE years older than me :P :) hehehe.

But...love ya... ;-)

-K

A little slice of heaven

Love it, or hate it, you've gotta admit that New York City is the one place where you get hit by the feeling that you are part of something much much bigger than just yourself. It's a well oiled corporation...running smoothly from dawn till dusk ...which really merge together cos the city apparently never sleeps.

Where is all this going? Nowhere in particular. I'm too swamped at school to write a well thought out blog entry. heh. Right now, I'm just reminiscing from last night.

After a long frustrating day, all I really wanted to do was meet some friends, and sit outside in the amazing weather ...listening to music. Wish, and ye shall receive!! :-) After doing dinner round 1 at the Mamoun's falafel place (An amazing sandwhich for just 2$!!!!) ...we sauntered into Washington Square Park where I can always trust to find live music. Sure enough, hunched into a corner was a group of eclectic jazz musicians playing anything from blues to rock to good old jazz. What a voice the singer had...he tore up the night literally....

Staring up at the beautifully lit up Arch, sipping iced tea, tapping my feet to jazz, flanked by my friends....that's when it hit me again for the hundredth time...."I'm a part of something sooo much bigger than myself"

A little slice of heaven right there at the end of a frustrating day/week.

Ate mais tarde
!Amrita

Another month

As another month of 2006 winds down, I'm precariously close to graduation. Which means that I have about 2-3 weeks of school life left...and then I dunno when I'll be back. Jeez. 6 years have flown by. And I still remember August 2nd 2000 as clear as it was yesterday. Everything else is a big hazy blob punctuated by memories :-)

Hmm....moving on....I finally watched "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset". amazing, incredible....i LOVED both of them. So simple...but so captivating. Such movies give you hope....so me likey!

Some random thoughts from yesterday:
~"You need to find peace within yourself to be able to love others" - from Before Sunrise
~"Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?" - Henry Ward Beecher
~"I'm still giddy from Saturday night" - Me :P

Songs from yesterday:
~"Dilruba" by Niyaz
~"Indus Valley" by Karsh Kale
~"Letting Go" by Karsh Kale
~"Milan" by Karsh Kale
~Album "You could have it so much better" by Franz Ferdinand (thanks Ito-Frito)
~Albums "October", "Pop" by U2

Part time mom, Full time friend

Her name is Lalitha. Its her birthday today. She is the one that our universe revolves around. By 'our', I mean Andy, dad and me. She's the first friend I had. She's the source of my love for life, my enthusiasm and my craziness :-)

"Happy Birthday Mommyyyyy"

For everything you are to us and all that you've given us, we love you.

~Your three monkeys

Land of Nod

The Land of Nod eludes me...
...but all's justified by the "dedication to having fun"....

And then again....
COFFEEEEE!!! You can sleep when you're dead!

Right?
-Amuuuuuu

My first baseball game

Didnt that sound like the title of a baby's photo album..."My first birthday party" or something like that...LOL!

Anyway...moving on to the topic at hand. The KC Royals were drowned by the NY Yankees this afternoon while 54000 Yankee fans cheered on. And yes, there were about 300 non-yankee supporters who were picked on, torn apart etc. Yes, there were fights. Verbal and physical. You can imagine the rest.

So being that this was my first baseball game ever and that I'd never really visited Yankee stadium before...I was excited. The day was PERFECT...the sun was shining...there was a cool breeze...and my buddy Han gave us free tickets!! Ha! So five of us from school...gave into the guilty pleasure of escaping school on a Thursday afternoon to go bask in the sun and drink beer (in my case it was Gatorade...cos i'm off alcohol for a few weeks...dont ask why). Game was great. And at one point of time, the ground crew actually danced to YMCA....which was hilaarious! (Ito...you would have cracked up chica)

An afternoon well spent....more pics here...

Sophia, Han and Me at the stadium...


















The view from our seats...(no, it wasnt slanted :P)

I'm pissed!!

1. My favorite and oldest pair of jeans tore....well...ok...it's time to let go....but...hmpphhhhffff
2. I couldn't see Karsh Kale or Indian Ocean perform cos of classes....
3. Paul Oakenfold is not performing this weekend....going to Philly instead...WTF??!!!
4. I was woken up in the morning (after sleeping for 2-3 hours only) by the maintenance guy....about fixing my window blinds. I hadnt filed a complaint about it....so the only way he could have found out is by peeping in through the fire exit. Blooody perv.
5. My project partner is a jerk!

C'est fini!
-amrita

Networking made easy

XHTML Friends Network (XFN) is an interesting new protocol out there. It basically aids us in linking our (web-site-available) friends on the web via HTML itself. So it's a nice way to create your own network and keep track of how the web is coming together.

How is this done? Nothing fancy to be done really...just add a "rel" tag in the "a href" and choose from a set of attributes to assign to the link. The link here is the link to your friend/contact's webpage or blog. (by the way, did you know that blogs and blogrolls are the fastest growing are of the web?...neither did I...but Wiki says so)

For example, consider my blog roll...let's look at a link......
a href="/http://www.xanga.com/nivea12" rel="friend met"

The "rel" attributes are not imaginary. They are listed here: XFN Getting Started

View my network here: http://rubhub.com/main/site/?105648

I think this is cool. Eventually we'll be able to see how well connected the web really is.

That's it for now. Back to the regularly scheduled broadcast...
-Amrita

Mother Nature is on crack!

How else do you explain 70 degrees over the weekend and snowfall today?

Serves me right to be audacious enough to pack away my snow jacket! Ha!

It's all good though. I totally enjoyed the ginormous snow flakes today....

Randomness rocks! :-) Right Ito?

Baila!
~Amrita

Dance like this

Wyclef belts out...
"Baila en la calle de noche
Baila en la calle de dia"

Literally translates to ... (thanks Alicia)
"Dance in the streets at night
Dance in the streets by day"

And that's exactly what I did.

Created this amazing setlist last night with a lot of the songs from the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (My all time favorite movie for those who dont know). There is something about Cuban and other Latin American music. There is a raw passion in the beats and rythms....for Dance, Love and Life. Not to mention the sensuality factor. Oh so much ...

So it's a cool afternoon and i'm going about my business on the streets of nyc...with my new playlist smoothly flowing out of the iPod...and I cant help but break out into subtle moves...the beats just swept me away. And of course there is a stupid smile plastered on my face... ;)

Then Yerba Beuna took over with "Guajira"...
"Guajira
I love you too much"

Standing at a traffic light...head bobbing, shoulders and hips swaying slightly...it's all I could do to not start moving my arms as well and make a complete fool out of myself. But I was having soooo much fun!!!!! :-) Most of the dancing was going on inside my head thankfully... :)

So...yeah...nice dancy day :D

Tchau, Ate mai tarde,
~Amrita

A conversation with a psychic

Do you believe in extra sensory perception? Or that the lines on your hand decide your destiny? Or whether there is such a thing as destiny?

I admit, I am a skeptic.

I met a psychic on Saturday night. Consciously, I would never ever have approached one or would have very strongly turned away if one approached me. But intense exhaustion and melancholy combined made me give in to her coaxing. Or as my mother cares to explain it: hypnotism. But that's a story for another day. I do acknowledge that psychics have a way to tell when a person is vulnerable and they can definitely read faces really well. So this woman started telling me things about my past and started moving on to the future. Here's a snippet from our conversation...

Psychic: "You have been in a bad relationship before."
Me: Not really.
Psychic: "There is a lot of loneliness in you. You smile, but lot of the time you're sad inside."
Me: Un-hnn...
Psychic: "The loneliness is gonna be there for a long time"
Me: Gee...thanks!
Psychic: "For a nominal fee...of 100$...I can do a searching to find out where the block is"

AHH! SNAP!!!

There it was. The clincher.

This conversation definitely shook me up for a bit. Of course, the woman was after money so she sugar coated the beginning and gradually got me down in the dumps so I would shell the hundred to "remedy" the block in my love life. Good sense prevailed and I got the hell out of there. Then I started questioning the credibility of palm reading or chiromancy. How is it possible that the lines in my hand or the vibrations in my energy dictate my life? Or is it that my stubborn optimism makes me deny whatever I dont like hearing?

Chiromancy or Palmistry has been practiced since the 15th century. It's the concept of telling your future by observing the lines and patterns on your palm. The authority hand for men is right and for women is left. Many years of research later, palmistry cannot still be called a science. Though the patterns in your hand can definitely tell your character, there is no proof that they can predict your future. For example, whether you will be making a million dollars or if you will find the love of your life? So even though there is no credibility associated with this pseudoscience, why do so many people spend their hard earned money on it? What gives palm-readers the authority and encouragement to actually make professions out of it?

Here's my take. At the root of palmistry is a human being's burning need to know the future. What spawns this off? Insecurities, emotions, sadness, the need for hope and faith. Humans always need reassurance, that's just how we are designed. Some of us find it within ourselves (as in, we have our own garages) and others find it elsewhere...friends, spouses, lovers, psychics....etc. In my case, I was being plagued by various questions of life and anyone who could even remotely shed light on the answers was God sent. (Again, a story for another day would be how come I believe in God, but not in destiny and palm reading?) So I could have chosen to believe the psychic or I could have chosen to live my life and learn my own lessons.

I chose life! I dont want to lose my present in anticipation of the future. I'll deal with my future when I face it. But I am not blind to it either. I am aware that every single action of my present will affect my life ahead. So I attempt to infuse it with positivity.

And as Alan Kay said -- "The best way to predict the future is to invent it"

Love & Peace :)
~Amrita Rajagopal

Samba New York // Crobar

Holy shit...what a night?!!!! The occasion was the annual LASA party put together by Columbia Uni's Latin American Student Assoc and School of Intl & Public Affairs.

Awesome live music. Awesome venue (Crobar). Fuckin A+++ DJ!!

I had NEVER seen a Samba performance ever before...I was blown away by the rythms and beats. The troupe was Samba New York. Really really good!! There were two performances through the night and the troupe also jumped in between to spice up the DJ's music. They were a lot of fun. The dancers were really elegant and...man...can they shake their stuff or what?

And Crobar!! Oh Crobar!! Expansive dancing space...very chilled out too. The DJ ROCKED the boat. The music was mostly latin american ...but there was a good bit of house and hip-hop...and....surprisingly...Bhangra too!! I've never been to a club where I danced to EVERY song they played. So A++++ to the DJ and Crobar!! Definitely coming back here....

And so...

Considering that Thursdays and Fridays are the busiest days of the week for me....it was great to take some time out last night. Rads has landed...she'll be here this weekend. Dini is on her way too....meeting her after 1.5 yrs! I have a stack of papers to grade and 2 classes to attend...then weekend begins! Oh...the Coldplay review is almost done...havent had the time to put the finishing touches as i've been busy. I'll probably post it later this weekend.

Ciao
~Amrita

Times are a-changing...

'Cos....
....you hear the sing-song bells of an icecream truck in the evening...
....the steps of Low Library are hard to climb not because of snow or ice...but the hundreds of students lying around basking in the sun...
....you can wear open toed shoes again!...
....you dont wince when the wind hits your face...
....you actually have use for the expensive sunglasses that you convinced yourself you needed to buy....
....the trees are finally sprouting buds...laden with anticipation before they burst into leaves....

Yes...times are a-changing :-)

~~Amrita~~

Tipsheet

To get rid of melancholy:
Hit the gym. 1/2 hour on the treadmill with your iPod screaming release....
Oh..and dont forget Quad sets 1 and 2 to keep those knees happy.

~Amrita

Baudot Code

During my music research today, I found this very interesting coding scheme: Baudot Code.

A place where you might have encountered this code before is Coldplay's album cover for X&Y. The cover depicts the phrase "X&Y" in Baudot. The clever kids also managed to sneak in a publicity message for the "Make Trade Fair" campaign in the back of album pamphlet. Yup...the back of the pamphlet depicts "Make Trade Fair" in Baudot :-) Smart.....very smart!! So this also gives us clues to what Chris Martin's hand tattoos really mean.

So here's my Baudot code....


Coming up...concert review for Coldplay's show at Nassau Coliseum on 27th March 2006.

~Amrita

Saturday morning wake up call...

An unexpected 6 am non-crisis phone call...on a Saturday!! When is something like that justified? When it's two of my best friends from Tucson...sitting in my house in Delhi (India!).....with my mom....looking at my baby pictures and threatening to put them online!! I've never laughed so much while being sleepy. Even in that state, all I wanted to do was to fly home and give them all a hug.

Makes me wonder...what would I do without my friends...scary.

Bon week-end!
~Amrita~

Coolshades' survey

Finally getting around to all the surveys and Tags that I needed to address...
This one's by Coolshades from the Zoo.

1. What do you value most in a relationship?
Adventure, Chemistry, Respect...and a sense of humor

2. What is your current status?
If I tell you..i'll have to kill you.

3. If you had to use one word to describe your perfect partner, what would it be?
If I could descibe him in one word....then he's probably not my partner really...du-ude's gotta be much more than just one word...

4. Describe your idyllic partner in detail:
Will let you know when I figure it out.

5. How would you define love with one word?
insanity....but insanity is the new sanity...so it's all good.

6. Insert an extract from your favourite love poem (if you have one):
N/A....not into poetry...now haikus on the other hand...

7. What do you value more, friendship or a perfect relationship?
"Friendship…I hope to marry my best friend one day…" ..quoting Ito O'Krazy...you said it girl.

8. Are you presently in love with someone, and would you care to share whom that person is?
Nah...

9. Do you like anybody (tell us who):
Yeah kinda (my my...arent we nosy)

10. What do they look like?
Refer to 9.

11. What do you like about them?
Refer to 9.

12. Do you know of anybody who likes you?
You do...cos you're reading this blog... :P ...yeah...loads.... :) I'm a Leo...what's not to like?

13. What's the most romantic thing anybody has ever done for you?
Hmmm....wait till i recuperate....the memory itself makes me swoon.

14. Describe your personality when it comes to love:
Too loving? Is there such a word....?

15. How important is sex to you, and in your relationships?
Depends on the relationship.

16. What is the most romantic song you have ever heard?
"She's always a woman" by Billy Joel

17. Do you have a song that reminds you of someone in that way?
”Razorblade” by The Strokes

18. Do you prefer romance or a physical relationship?
Can’t typecast relationships personally. It should be a mixture.

19. Are you into your typical dates or do you prefer to be spontaneous with someone?
Definitely spontaneous!!

20. How romantic are you on a scale of one to ten?
7...i guess

21. How romantic are you feeling currently?
not very…

22. How flirtatious are you?
I don’t know how to…err…yeah… ;)

23. Are you attracted to people of the same sex?
”I’m sorry ladies, women rock and all but No.”….stealing from Ito again…:)

24. Do you believe in the opposites attract concept?
Yeah.

25. Who was the last person you lusted after?
*snickers*

26. What turns you on?
”Ability to laugh ...( the so called "sense of humor")”…like Max said.
Eyes…smiles….dancing…a slight touch…enthusiasm

27. What turns you off?
Disrespect, taking ppl for granted.

28. Share with us your fantasies:
Seriously? …

Music
29. Put a song that best describes your various emotions.
(a). Anger:
(b). Romance/love:
(c): Laughter:
(d). Hatred:
(e). Jealousy:
(f). Day dreaming:
Pass on this one…too many songs…cant possibly filter it out right now.

30. Are you in a band - or have you ever been in one?
Yes. U1/2 with Max.

31. What artists inspire you in your everyday life?
Cant think of any “artists” ….I take music as an inspiration…

32. List all your favourite artists and bands:
Dude…I cudnt possibly.

33. Can you play any instruments? If so, what can you play?
Nope

34. If you were to be in a band, what would it be called and what position would you take:
The Name: 42
Positions: Singer, Guitarist, Drummer

35. Who would be your main influences?
Led Zeppelin, U2, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Talvin Singh, Jagjit Singh….err…I don’t wanna explode the genres.

36. If you could have anybody's singing voice, whose would you have?
Norah Jones.

37. What music magazines do you buy?
The Rolling Stone

Favourites
38. Magazine:
The Rolling Stone

39. Books:
Harry Potter series, Da Vinci Code, John Grisham etc.

40: Item of clothing:
PJs

41. Make up product:
Eyeliner

42. Message board:
ha…u2.com

43. Website/s:
everything linked on amritar.com

44. Fruit:
orange, cantaloupe

45. Sweet stuff:
tharatipaal (it’s an Indian sweet)

46. Name/s:
I wanna say it…but I cant say it…I know you understand.

47. Emotion:
Giddiness (ito…I think you and me have too many common answers)

48. Place to be:
Home….figuratively.

49: Town:
New York City

50. Online buddy:
Max, Ito, Sheep, Alicia, Nivi, Noreen…should I continue?

51. Album:
Impossible question.

52. Song:
Impossible question.

53. Jewellery:
One of my many dangly earrings…white stones…3 tiered…very pretty :-)

54: Shampoo:

55. Word:
Perfection

56. Phrase:
”Fuck yeah!”

57. Person to hug:
Mommy, Aishu

58. Sleeping position:
On the side…or on top of Tigs and Bugs…get your dirty minds out of the gutter…Tigs is my dog (stuffed)….and Bugs is my Bugs (again, stuffed)

59. Time of day:
all of it.

60. Alcoholic drink:
I’ll take 2….one for Ito…and another for Max and Ali…can I have 20? Answer: “Screwdriver”

61. Pubs to drink in:
Flute…at Union Square, W at Times Square, Café Wha at The Village, Nacho’s Kitchen at Columbia

62. Colour/s:
Red, Blue, Black, White, Orange…

63. Language:
Hindi and Tamil

64. Swearword:
Fuck! …in all it’s variations and forms

65: Comediens:
Conan O’Brien…and the guys from “whose line is it anyway?”, Russel Peters

66. Superhero:

67. Sexual position:

Refer to 9

68. Shop:
New York & Company.

69. Clothing style:
Bohemian, gypsy,….it’s very Amri

70. Movie genre:
Love them all.

Creativity etc
71. Do you have an online journal/diary?
err….noo…don’t believe in those…

72. If so, link us to it:
I don’t think so.

73. In what ways are you creative?
I find good excuses to not do homework

74. What were your best subjects in school?
Mathematics, Computer Science

75. Do you draw?
Not really.

76. Do you write, (if so, what?):
Yes.

77. Do you sing?
Hell Yeah...do you?

78. How big is your imagination:
You don’t wanna know.

79. What were your favourite games to play as a child?
Jigsaw puzzles

Random
80. How religious are you on a scale of one to ten?
7

81. Are you easily embarrassed?
depends…..but….yeah.

82. When was the last time you cried, and why?
Last month…why? Refer to 9.

83. When was the last time you got upset and why?
Wednesday. Frustration .

84. Insert some of your favourite song lyrics:

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

85. How many big secrets do you have?
Lost count at the 100th one.

86. Do you have friends from other countries?
Yeah.

87. Time finished:
4:25pm

I couldn't resist...

..bought "Confessions on a Dance Floor" by Madonna.

I realized I should cos I'd been playing the songs on repeat mode from various websites. Especially "Isaac". After a point of time, it's really not worth it to face the ads and pop-ups. So my first "album" purchase at iTunes. :-) I'm still new to the software....just a couple of months...so this is a big deal for me.

It's weird how I cant imagine how I survived without my iPod before. I used to carry my CD player around while I was in college. But since I came to New York, that also didnt happen much cos I was already covered in jackets and stuff so it was simply too painful to carry more stuff. So now that I have my sexy little Nano....music to go always! And I'm loving it. The checklist for when I leave the house has one more item now: keys, wallet, phone, iPod. ;-)

I think my next acquisition is going to be something by Robbie Williams.....yup...Euro Dance/Pop is being revived in the house.

Shake it till the moon becomes the sun....
~Amrita~

Arrrghhh!!!!!

<-- This is me...
...ARGH!!!!

After grading 56 programming projects in 24 hours with 2 hours of sleep...

...i was going maaaaaaaaaad.

...So glad it's over.

...Seriously...cant kids follow instructions?...

...Need some sleeeeep now!!

-Ams

It's a musical journey

In an effort to organize my thoughts...
Have created a new blog...
It'll catalog my musical journey...

It's a musical journey

Point your feed reeders here:
http://itsamusicaljourney.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Obrigada,
~Amrita

Linguistically yours...

So here is my plan for world domination....generated as a result of two very interesting conversations with Cristiane and Alicia.

The Plan: Learn as many languages as possible...or at least one from each continental region.

So lets look at the plan continentally. These are the levels of language proficiency: FP: Full Proficiency, C: Conversational ability, U: Understanding ability

Africa:-

There are an astonishing 1800 languages spoken in Africa. They are grouped into 8 families. But of course I cant possibly learn even 1% of this. So I'm going to focus on the 8 official languages.

French (Between U and C...working towards FP)
English (FP)
Portuguese (Current Project )
Spanish (Future Project)

4 out of 8...good!

Antartica:-

As there are no permanent residents here yet, I dont see a native language evolving anytime in the near future. Unless of course, we figure out a way to build sturdy houses on floating ice.
And find people who are lovers of the intense cold and wind...

Asia:-

Hindi (FP)
Tamil (FP)
Malayalam (C)
Marathi (U)
Urdu (C)
Punjabi (U)
Chinese (Future Project)
Persian/Turkish (Future Future project)

These languages cover most of Asia....including the South eastern and Western/Central regions. Of course, the heavy emphasis is on India here. In South Eastern Asia....English, Tamil, Chinese dialects and Portuguese are prevelant. In Central Asia...chinese dialects are used as well...did not know that! So the problem area is northern asia...Russia. I dont see myself learning Russian in the next 5 years...so I'm gonna assume that English is sufficient.

Australia:-

English (FP minus the funky accent..but I can work with Jasin on that)

Europe:-

There are 20 official languages (23 from Jan1 2007). Each from different roots...germanic..latin..etc. How my plan fares...

French (Between U and C...working towards FP)
English (FP)
Portuguese (Current Project)
Spanish (Future Project)

4 out of 20 is not great...but not bad either. We'll see..maybe there's scope for more...possibly German or Italian.

North America:-

English (FP)
French (Between U and C...working towards FP)
Spanish (Future Project)

South America:-

Portuguese (Current Project)
Spanish (Future Project)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So as a summary....I'm learning French now. I have also started learning Portuguese. I will start learning Spanish and Chinese within the next couple of years. And then wherever the road takes me. Looks good no?

Meanwhile my own evolved lingo has percolated through the masses. For example:
"Coolness", "Weirdness", "artsy-fartsy", "perfection", "all that jazz", "thingy", "sheesh", "aur bolo"...etc. (I dont claim ownership of all terms...but they are very me.)

Coolness!
~Amrita

MyAhhhhMeee

Was awesome...didn't want to come back. This is what the trip itinerary looked like: -

Saturday
Hit South Beach
Party at Opium
Sleep

Sunday
Go to Key Biscayne
Swim in ocean
Lie on beach
Swim in ocean
Party at South Beach @Nikki Beach
Sleep

Monday
Bask in the sun on South Beach
Go to Villa Vizcaya
Go to Coco Walk @ Coconut Grove
Sleep

Tuesday
Go to Everglades National Park
Hold an alligator!!!
Shopping at Bay Side
Back to New York

Pictures: CLICKY!!!

Enjoy!
-Amrita

Happy Holi!

Be a color today!

Happy Holi :-)

100

...this is the 100th post! Jeeyaaazus...already? I sure blabber a lot on here. But let's commemmorate this "special" post :-)

I've been on blogger.com for the last few months...but i've been blogging since March 2003 when I released the first version of my website. I remember it being flowery...and very photo-filled...ha!! I used to maintain my own blogging system back then. I guess I decided to try blogger.com when I got tired of maintaining my own site. So now that lies dormant...but this has picked up. I still have the archives from back then...and this is what I had to say THREE years ago.... hehehe.

Saturday, March 8th, 2003
TABLA BEAT SCIENCE was a very emotional experience...Talvin singh wasnt there though! Yesterday 7 ppl performed: Zakhir hussain(tabla), Ganesh Iyer(violin), Kersh Kale(Drums), DJ Disk, GiGi (Ethiopian vocals), Sultan(synthesizer) and Bill Laswell(bass). The concert started with a jugalbandi between Ganesh Iyer and Zakhir... made me cry....they were THAT good. miss Indian classical music...I think its by far the only music which connects to my soul. Probably cos i grew up with it....i was very proud of my heritage last night...i was elated that I had received the opportunity of being born and raised in India. Anyway, thats enough I guess...I'm gonna go back to work...have a tech paper due day after....c ya!

Friday, March 14th, 2003
India beat New Zealand! Yeaahhh :) :) GO INDIA GO INDIA GO! :) 7 hours away from Spring Break(9 a.m)...hang in there Ammu!

Hehehe....How times have changed!! OKAY THEN....moving on....

Le Mer, Le Soleil, Le Sable!!

Spring Break is still about 7 hours away co-incidentally... :-) I'll blog again after i'm back from Meeee-Ami. Le Mer, Le Soleil, Le Sable!! (the sea, the sun, the sand!)

Behave yourselves ;-)
Ciao,
-Amrita

Un Amor

...by Gypsy Kings. Beautiful song. I was reminded of this song after I finally read Erich Segal's "Love Story". I was pretty much threatened into in by Jay. It's a different story...nothing like the romantic-gushing filled stuff that love stories are usually made of.

Un amor
Un amor vivio
Llorando y me decia
Las palabras de dio
Llorando por tio
Es con amor

Un amor
Un amor vivio
Llorando ja tormentado
Las palabras de dio
Llorando por tio
Es con amor

Ey para ja vivir
A cunta ti
Me en amore yo de ti
Y sin tus besos yo no puedo
Vivir y recordar

Yo qui siera
Para tenderlo un amor y saber
Que me queria y a tormentado
Las palabras de dio
Llorando por tio
Es con amor

Ciao...
~~~Amrita~~~

I'll miss you uncle...

I'll never forget your smile or your embrace...
You take a piece of my heart with you...R.I.P

"Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet.
Let it not be a death but completeness.
Let love melt into memory and pain into songs.
Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest.
Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night.
Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence.
I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light you on your way."
~Rabindranath Tagore

Varanasi rocked by blasts!

BBC report

:'(

..please...

Blogthings are fun things

They provide a nice little ego-boost sometimes...

You Are a Strawberry Daiquiri

You're a fun, playful drinker who loves to party. You may get totally wasted, but you're always a happy drunk!

What Mixed Drink Are You?

Me says: True that.

You Should Get a MFA (Masters of Fine Arts)

You're a blooming artistic talent, even if you aren't quite convinced. You'd make an incredible artist, photographer, or film maker.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Me thinks: That's very true man....uncanny...

You Are 30% Boyish and 70% Girlish

Even if you're not a girl, you're very feminine. You're in touch with your feelings, and your heart rules you. A bit of a emotional roller coaster, one moment you're up and the next you're down. But no matter what, you try to be as cute and perky as possible.

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

Me says: Hehehehehehehe.....

You Are Lightning

Beautiful yet dangerous People will stop and watch you when you appear Even though you're capable of random violence You are best known for: your power Your dominant state: performing

What Type of Weather Are You?

Me says: *ahem*...if this isnt an ego-boost...I dont know what is?

~Amrita

Examen français aujourd’hui!!

...à une heure et demie de l’après-midi.

Je suis très excité!!

:-)

It's been hilarious preparing for it....especially cos The B keeps trying to teach me how to curse "le professeur". Yeah right!

Razorblade

Oh, the razorblade, that's
what I call love,
I bet you pick it up and mess around with it
If I put
it down
It gets extremely complicated.
Anything to forget everything.

You got to take me out,
At least once a week
Whether I'm in your arms,
Or I'm at your feet.
I know exactly what you're thinking
You won't say it now
But in your
heart it's loud

Oh no, my feelings are more important than yours.
Oh, drop dead, I don't care, I won't worry.
Let it go.

Oh, the
razor blade,
Wish it would snap this rope
The world is in your hands
Or it's at your throat
At times it's not that complicated
Anything
to forget everything.

He would never talk,
But he was not shy
She was a
street-smart girl,
But she could not lie
They were perfect for each
other
Say it now
'Cause in your heart it's loud

Oh no, my
feelings are more important than yours
Oh, drop dead, I don't care, I won't
worry

Hey!

Sweetheart, your feelings are more important of
course
Of course
Everyone that wanted
Everything that we would take
from them
I don't wanna know, I don't wanna know
Tell me, tell me, tell
me, tell me

No, don't.
Okay

awwwww

How cute is it when my little niece Anushka says to my mom: "Where is Ammu? I want to spend 100 days with her." Then after 5 seconds..."I want to spend 1000 days with her. I love Ammu!"?

*sniff*

:-)

I swear... I'm not maternal ...at all!! But this kid is just too adorable for words. She's 5 years old and has got the wit and charm to match any of us. LOVES dancing...even more than I do. Our song: "Chaiya Chaiya" from Dil Se OST. Honestly, she makes me sing that song continuously every time I meet her.

Must.Stop.Gushing.Now

Love you too kiddo...
-Ammu

P.S: For those who dont know..."Ammu" = Amrita
P.P.S: Got midterms...must study now.

Cuteness to the rescue...

Can we get a giggle and a jaw drop here please?

Saturday brunch is a heavenly tradition: therapeutic and fun. It's when girls gather around to discuss the happenings and men from the night before. It's also when you can talk about crucial issues like "How many black shoes should you have? Where do you buy them? Nine West or Aldo? " etc. And of course the food is very useful to get over a hangover. That's exactly what happened today ...minus the hangover (apparently screwdrivers don't cause a hangover...excellent!).

Venue: L'Orange Bleue, SoHo.

Enter waiter. Dude was either really high on life or had smoked a little somthing. From Senegal...though he could pass for a Jamaican. He was a total trip. Questionable service....but really entertaining and of coure really cute....so he still got a fat tip from us girls. ;-) Some classic comments....

Un...

Me: "So what exactly is a mimosa?"
Him: Wink, Smile, "Champagne with orange juice", wink
Me: "Umm no..I'll settle for coffee"
Him: "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"

I apparently commited the biggest sacrilege on the planet.
Deux...

Me: "No coffee's fine"
Him: "Plain coffee? Get the mimosa!"
Me: "No....ok..get me a cafe latte....but no mimosa. Am still in the process of waking up."
Him: "Comon...I was out till 5 this morning"
Me: "Well, I was out till 4....so...just the coffee please."
Him: "I'll make it myself". Did a happy jig....showed me his 5 fingers to emphasize that he was up till 5 and danced away.

How high was he exactly?
Troi..

Damina: "Should I get Omelette A or Omelette B?"
Him: "Get the burger!"
Dev: "Do we get toast with the omelette?"
Him: Head shake, "French fries!!"
Our reaction: "Uhhhh! Ok!!"

So basically, his cuteness and entertaining presence saved his ass. Made up for the not up to par service. Food was excellent...and the much publicized french fries were awesome. Good music...and very cute restaurant. It was all orange and blue. Even the water jugs!! :-)

Good times...
-Amrita

P.S: 51-55 to Arizona (vs Washington). 2nd half. Fingers crossed!

You only live once...

That was the main theme of the movie "Elizabethtown" imho. Other take aways...."Sadness is surrender", "you are no substitute for anyone". Reminded me of another movie: "Garden State". Very similar. Protagonist faces tough challenges at work. At the same time, a parent passes away in a remote part of the country. During the journey of meeting estranged family and dealing with the parent's death, he meets a mysterious girl who makes life good again. ..and of course they live happily after. Well me being me....I loved the movie. I even shed a tear...

Even in the book I'm reading right now ..."Everyone worth knowing" by Lauren Weisberger, suddenly the protagonist is the midst of a fairy tale romance about 3/4ths through the book.

Are such romances plausible? I think they are... but that's just me. My friends laugh...but shucks...you gotta believe in something....and that's mine. Well one of the hundreds of "happy beliefs" that I have ...oh well....

Songs of the day...courtesy Ito "rawwkkss" Okashi:-
- "You only live once" by The Strokes
- "Heart in a cage" by The Strokes
- "Razorblade" by The Strokes
- "The Truth" by India Arie
- "Get it together" by India Arie
- "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield

I actually had this detailed post written out about my Big Apple morning. But I judged against posting it for fear of banality. But I will say this...that my feet are connected to my iPod somehow. They were crying this morning....but the moment i switched it on...I could almost feel them breathing a sigh of relief. Weirdness! I sometimes think that I live in a separate world... ;)

Toodles,
- M.e.

P.S: Orlando Bloom...as gorgeous as ever. ;-) Smiti (my best friend from high school) would beg to differ....but it's ok. Great Leos should not agree on everything. Except for the fact of each other's greatness. :P ;-) Cheers bitch...

P.P.S: GO WILDCATS!! Bear down AZ!!