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

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

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.

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

The Taj (Dilli Diaries Day 2)

Here are some pictures from the second day of my trip back home. A visit to the Taj with my best friend from high school. Took a ride on a 2nd class seating taj express....quite adventurous to say the least. Took the whole architecture of the beautiful bldg in. One of the best trips of my life. I was surprised by how clean and well maintained the Taj really was. (But of course Smits and me decided that Shah Jahan was a pompous arse ;-) ..)









Adios!
-Amrita :)

Home

If this isnt utopia...I dont know what is.

Happy Birthday dearest dancer

Happy Birthday my dearest Noreen!
Love you, miss you...I'm sure you're dancing in heaven :)



~Amri

Wassup wassup? Movies!

You know the feeling when you keep piling up things to do and nothing gets done? That's the way I've been feeling about blogging over the last month or so. I have so many stories to recite from my trip to India and life in general....that I keep thinking that I'll sit down one day and just post them. But it just hasnt happened. So what the fuck...I'm just going to blog anyway cos I'm missing it. I'll slip in all my stories now and then. Cheers!

I saw Blood Diamond today. What a movie?! Action packed - Moving - Well shot - Beautiful people - Excellent acting. It covers the story of lives destroyed during the war over conflict diamonds in Africa. I wont reveal the story here of course...no worries. I did learn a new acronym though - TIA (This is Africa) - very negative feeling. (I'm trying to keep away from ranting about that issue)

Anyway, back to the movie...I've had a crush on Leo DiCaprio since...well...Titanic. Now, now, stop shaking your heads. I was in high school and completely entitled to fall in love with him then ;-) So the crush continued over the years and Leo has vindicated me. You can see his amazing acting in movies like Catch me if you can, The Aviator, The Departed and now Blood Diamon. I reckon he'll win an Oscar this year! :-D The other beautiful people in the movie were Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou. So quite an excellent movie to watch on a Tuesday night ;-) heh.

Other movies that I caught up on - all Indian of course as I'm still on a 'des' induced appetite.
- Guru - Abhishek Bacchan and Mani Ratnam - great piece of work!
- Salaam e Ishq - Too long but funny and Govinda was hot!
- Nayagan - as part of a Mani Ratnam movie bonanza
- Roja (for the 20th time) - ditto.

So yeah. Movies, friends and work - that's what I've been upto since I came back. The weeks are melting away and it's already time to say goodbye to January 2007. Jeeez!

I did break the jinx and finally visited a New York museum! :-) I went to the Museum of Natural History and also saw an IMAX movie there. This one was called 'Roving Mars'. My favorite though will always be 'Grand Canyon - The Hidden Secrets'. That one's just amazing.

Think I've rambled enough for now. I'll be back again...with stories and pictures this time.
Cheers...and happy hump day.
Love,
-Amrita

It snowed today

In Manhattan....and it actually collected on the streets! :-)

I woke up to a really dark day. I couldnt figure out why it was still so dark considering it was 6 a.m. I looked out the window to see tiny snowflakes falling and the street covered in a thin sheet of whiteness. That made my day.

A little later, I could see the snow coming down hard. So I opened up my window to catch a few flakes and the wind blew a few hundred flakes in. I giggled. It was beautiful. Have you ever stuck your tongue out to catch a flake? Try it...It's the most childlike experience you could have.

(And yes, I'm back. I'll post a few pictures and give you all my stories hopefully soon)

Music to rise to:
The Strokes - "You only live once"
The Strokes - "Razorblade"
Shamur - "Gonna make it"
Ustad Sultan Khan - "Leja Leja Re"
Atif Aslam - "Mahiya Ve Soniya"

Love,
-Amrita

Ammu is Des-bound

Dilli Diaries - Day Zero

It's time to go home...

It's time for a little romance with the wind over the Aravalis,
The same questions ("Do you cook there?"; "Do you have friends? Are they Indians?") ,
The same once-overs ("You've become so dark/fair"; "You've lost/gained so much weight") ,
Feeling the familiar rush of patriotism as I cruise down Rajpath and Shantipath,
Ducking behind my mother as she expertly plays the bargain game in Janpath,
Wrapping myself in a shawl on a foggy winter morning, sipping coffee and chatting with dad,
Eating peanuts on the terrace on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the winter,
All this; while my stomach transforms into a bottomless pit as I gorge on Idlis - Bathure Chole - Sambaar - Koottu - Kachoris - Gaajar ka halwa - Tharatipaal - Filter coffee - Nirula's Hot Chocolate Fuge - Adai - ... ,

And just like that; for a few beatific days; my soul is at peace.

*sigh*

As Ozzy would say - "Mama I'm coming home!"

:-)

Awwwwwww

Filling the gaps

To fill in the gaps between blog entries ....

• You. You are the Person of the Year! (And me too)
• The 10 Tech Concepts you need to know for 2007
• The best romantic movie ever. I've watched it twice this morning already. The link has a music video made around the movie. Josh Groban's voice is delightful in it. And of course....Mr.Darcy is divine!!! :-) Giving in to some girliness ;-)
• A really amusing article about Indian men (no offense!)

There will be an upcoming hiatus from blogging....will try to keep you all updated.

Cheers,

-Amrita

Gotta love Today's Horoscope

I love the amNewYork newspaper. Why?
- Perfect for the subway ride to work.
- Good summary of everything I need to know to start the day
- It's Free
- Good horoscopes!

The newspaper is my daily staple now. Now I generally dont believe in horoscopes...but it's hard to not want to believe in something which reads as: -

"Leo (July 23 - Aug 22): A wonderful feeling gets more wonderful when it's shared. Falling in love now is easy, and practically required."

Will do!! ;-)

Cheers cheers! And a happy Friday!

World Aids Day - You Me Us

I'm not going to say more about this...except...take action today!!

Paint me RED

Paint me RED ... because All things being equal, They are not
Paint me RED ... because I have the power to make history
Paint me RED ... so I can help a human being get anti-retrovial drugs
Paint me (RED) ... so I can embrace this world

My friends get RED christmas presents...whether they like it or not :P

-Amrita

The one who danced

N, The Painted One, Noreen, Painted Dancer, Ms.Bling...so many names. But all the names and adjectives combined cant encompass the amount of energy, positivity and generosity that Noreen had.

We'd met each other on Zootopia and became really good friends....she was a great source of encouragement and support. She loved dancing...and I was obsessed with dancing. The greatest uniting factor of course was...our love for U2. We eventually met for the first time in May 2005 after months of being online friends. That night we danced away for the joy of friendship. In the ensuing months, we shared tons of memorable experiences....not all U2 related. Though that was of course what we talked about all the time ;-) She was (is) so special to me. She bought me my first GA ticket...up close and personal with U2. Together, we celebrated birthdays, fixed computer issues :P, attended U2 and UF concerts, hosted gatherings....so many memories.

If it werent for U2, I wouldnt have met you Noreen. I thank them for you. They were the soundtrack to our friendship.





















Her usual dancing self


Sharing the joy of meeting The Edge


Me and Noreen

And now for her favorite song - "Gone" by U2.

You get to feel so guilty, got so much for so little
Then you find that feeling just won't go away
You're holding on to every little thing so tightly
'Til there's nothing left for you anyway

Goodbye...
You can keep this suit of lights
I'll be up with the sun
I'm not coming down
I'm not coming down
I'm not coming down

You wanted to get somewhere so badly
You had to lose yourself along the way
You change your name, well that's okay, it's necessary
And what you leave behind you don't miss anyway

Goodbye...
You can keep this suit of lights
I'll be up with the sun
I'm not coming down
I'm not coming down
I'm not coming down

'Cause I'm already gone
Felt that way all along
Closer to you every day
I didn't want it that much anyway

You're taking steps that make you feel dizzy / (Gone)
Then you learn to like the way it feels / (Gone)
You hurt yourself you hurt your lover / (Gone)
Then you discover
What you thought was freedom is just greed / (Gone)

Goodbye...
And it's emotional
Good night...
I'll be up with the sun
You're still holding on
I'm not coming down
I'm not coming down
I'm not coming down

Gone... sun... time... sun...
Gone... sun.... gone... sun...

I love you Noreen. I miss you. You will always be in my heart. I'm glad the pain has ended and you're in peace.

"I'm wide awake, I'm not sleeping "
-Amri

Doused

Little anecdote to share with you...

It had been raining in NYC for the most of last week...with Thursday night turning into a full fledged storm! The rain is beautiful and nice and all that....but the charm is lost in the wind tunnels of New York. All you care about at that time is to hang on to your already tattered umbrella. You're soaking wet, but still that umbrella is like your ray of hope.

I was really happy to wake up to a dry, bright and sunny morning on Friday. I got ready to go to work and made my way to the subway station as usual. I was walking happily down a street when I'm suddenly blinded by a shower of some liquid. My first reaction was fear...cos it wasnt raining, I wasnt close to a puddle that a car might have run through...this was some alien source. I couldnt even open my eyes for a good 10 seconds cos the 'liquid' was spraying into my eyes. I ran to the other side of the road in order to figure out what the hell was going on. Everyone else was walking along as normal...and I had a secondary universe feeling.

....Then around the corner comes a guy holding a freaking huge hose pipe...cleaning the sidewalk!!! The wind had caught the water jet and sprayed me with it!!! I was mad at the guy for 0.1 second...but it really wasnt his fault. And I was really just releived that it was only water! :)

All I could think of after that was Murphy.....
"If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway."
...seriously the bastard ruins my life everytime! Jeez.

Stay dry,
-Amrita

Inspi(red)

No, this is not another commercial for the RED campaign. Though I should probably have a post about that soon. This post is about a normal human being like you and me being inspired enough to run 26.2 miles on a chilly New York City day.

On Sunday, Nov 5th...37000+ people from all over the world ran the ING New York City marathon. Excluding the professional and elite runners, you still have at least 30000 regular people. This is just astounding to me. The sheer level of commitment and determination it takes for a non-runner to train and run 26.2 miles at a stretch is just mind boggling.

Coming back to the marathon story. I volunteered this year and was assigned to the Family Reunion unit. So I was part of the team that received the runners as they exited Central Park and helped them find transportation and their families. It was a great experience. The high fives and the exhausted smiles...I'll never forget it. I must have chanted "Congratulations, Great job done!" and "Felicitations" at least a 1000 times. In turn, a lot of the runners gave me hugs and said "no, no...thank you!". Such happiness!! My cheeks hurt from smiling all day. :-)

A lot of runners ran for causes like cancer research etc (like one of my good friends). So it made the hard work totally worth it for them.

Now i'm Inspired to pound some asphalt baby!

Think about this

I've been reading Feynman's works of late. Currently reading - "Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman". While researching about him, I found one of his snippets very interesting.

"But I don't have to know an answer. I don't feel frightened by not knowing things, by being lost in the mysterious universe without having any purpose, which is the way it really is, as far as I can tell, possibly. It doesn't frighten me."

It really makes so much sense....at least to me. Now before I elaborate more....I'm signing off to do some real work ;-) But, you know it's a good day when you see two posts here :-)

ciao ciao,
-mee

Dont feed the flamingoes!!

:-) More awesome photographs from the Chihuly Glass Art installation at the New York Botanical Garden here

Tagged by 5...

Courtesy some really Spooky Action in The Distance... :P (See Rajesh, I told you I'd get to it eventually)

Ten Years Ago

1. I was 15 years old
2. Joined Delhi public school - R.K.Puram...a whole new chapter in my life
3. Realized that geeks of higher magnitude and competence existed on the planet
4. Life was fun again...even though really challenging.
5. It was awesome to have dad back with us. He had been transferred to Lucknow for 3 yrs.

Five Years Ago

1. I was 20 years old
2. Had moved to Tucson, Arizona for college. Best time of my life. Made a zillion friends. Had learnt how to live on my own and how to not miss home too much.
3. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. But still loved every second of it.
4. Countless adventures. Awesome hikes, amazing road trips.
5. Suffered my first and most serious heartbreak ever. It changed me for the better. When I look back, I would have dealt with the situation differently....but given I was only 19-20 yrs old...I think I turned out good. Thanks to my buddies.

Last One Year

1. Professionally: Entered the whole work life deal....it's all that and a bag of chips (as Frito would say)
2. Intellectually: Got my second degree!! YAY :-)
3. Artfully: Started learning a new dance form and actually took part in an ensemble performance! (more on that later)
4. Personally: Made a truckload of friends....and some very special connections. Cried and laughed a lot. Heartbreaks+1
5. Musically: Met The Edge and got his autograph!!! Attended an up-close and personal U2 concert. Attended a Roger Waters concert!!

Yesterday

1. Pulled a late night at work...and got a lot done :-)
2. Saw some great kathak pictures.
3. Froze my butt off in the cold.
4. Yapped away with a friend to catch up on his Peruvian adventures.
5. Finalized plans for the great Zootopian gettogether this weekend :) Yay!

Five Things Planned for next 5 Years

1. World domination.
2. Visit Egypt.

Five Yummy Things

1. Coffee
2. Johnny Depp
3. Chocolate, Idlis
4. Clive Owen
5. Gael Barnal Garcia

Five Songs I know by heart

I suck at learning lyrics. But any U2, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd song is usually more lyrically easier for me. Other than that, I usually remember songs well after I've heard them a couple of times.

Five Things I'd do If I had Money

1. Buy a house for my parents, wherever they wished...with sweeping gardens for my mom to enjoy....and sunlight for my dad.
2. Buy a condo in the city in a high rise, loft style!
3. Leave aside some for the future. And donate the rest.
4. Quit and travel the world. Probably move back to India as well...

Places I Escape to

1. Into music.
2. Dancing
3. Into a book.
4. With Bugs and Tigs.
5. Taking a walk...wherever...whenever.
6. Pictures.

(ok, so that was 6)

TV Shows

1. Friends
2. Mash
3. Whose line is it anyway?
4. Sex & the City
5. X-Files

Five Things I Can't Live Without

1. With the people I share my life with.
2. Coffee
3. Music
4. Dancing
5. My computer

Five Things I Can Live Without

1. See above. Negate that.

Five Favourite Ethnic Cuisines

1. Indian
2. Thai
3. Greek
4. Italian
5. Mexican

Five best places to visit

1. Home...wherever my parents are.
2. Kerala
3. Arizona....not the touristy stuff...the real beauty lies in the roads less travelled.
4. California
5. Rajasthan

Tagged: Anyone who's reading this right now!! :P

LIC Art Tour//The Departed//The Killers

Hello Hello Hello!

Another weekend's ended and the cold winter is rolling in. This weekend was beautiful Fall weather though. I completely enjoyed it :-) I did some new things...like taking a studio art tour in Long Island City (LIC), going to bed early on Friday night (12 am...GASP!) etc. Here's the lowdown...

LIC Art Tour

The Queens Museum of Art has the Queens International 2006 exhibition going on right now. As part of the festival, they'd organized a free bus tour this Saturday to various artists' studios. All these artists have their work featured at the QMA. So we went to Long Island City and visited 10-15 studios and chatted with the artists. Most of the studios we visited were inside the 5Pointz building (pic below). This building was covered in graffiti...inside and out! Just mind blowing. The artists we met were all extremely nice and it was great to see their work up close. A very unique experience indeed :-)


The 5Pointz building. I never could guess that this sketchy looking building housed great artists!!

Here's an amazing painting by Debra Hampton.

More pictures here. Check it out.

The Departed

What a movie?! Completely badass! The language leaves nothing to the imagination of course. It's awesome! This movie justifies my crush on Leonardo Di Caprio since I was 16. His acting is perfect and he looks totally hot. Matt Damon was his usual sauve character...pretty good. And Jack Nicholson...Jack Jack Jack....mad....100% insane. What acting?!!!

Go see it! Fuckin A movie. ...oh.....and the music was great! ;-) A unique number was celtic mixed with rock.


The Killers

I finally purchased Sam's Town last week and i've been Hooked!! On first hear I wasnt impressed at all....but it's caught on...and I cant stop listening to it. Am sooo excited about the upcoming concert on 25th. So it's going to be only The Killers for the next 10 days!! Album review will be up on itsamusicaljourney soon.

Songs of the Day:

- "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden
- "When you were Young" by The Killers
- "Uncle Jonny" by The Killers
- "Bones" by The Killers
- "So sick" by Ne-Yo
- "Sexy Love" by Ne-Yo

Cheers to a good week. Dreaminess,
-Amrita

Before I forget

(edited for the crappiest grammar ever...and yeah Rajesh....I need to move this to itsamusicaljourney)

One of my all time favorite songs is - "Black hole sun" by SoundGarden. This song was my introduction to rock-ish music back when I was a teenager glued to MTV. The video, the energy and the passion all are still fresh in my mind.

I recently heard a great acoustic version of the song by Chris Cornell. It was great to hear his heartfelt and bold attempt. Check it out on Launch.Yahoo.Com!

In the original...the opening verse...when the guitar riff comes in...is just....spine chillingly good.

"Wont you come?"
-Amrita

Happiness thy name is...

...Harman/Kardon speakers and subwoofer ;-)

I've had them for a few years and finally hooked them up last night. I never got a chance to since I moved out of my dorm in May so I was craving the effect of the subwoofer. We had a 'girls night out' at my place last night, so I decided it was the perfect opportunity to set up my black boxes of joy. Ahhh...It was really really nice. Lots of good food, good conversation and great music. Good times. Definitely chased the blues away. Though I do pity my neighbors ;-) Haha!

Oh and here's a purty picture of/from my apartment from last night. You can see the house lights and all the lights outside. I found it very pretty. So here it is: -


Happy hump day!
-Amrita

And the tears fell...

...it was one of those mornings. I think this song sums it up. "Is it any wonder?" by Keane.

I always thought that I knew
I'd always have the right to
Be living in the kingdom of the good and true
And so on
But now I think I was wrong
And you were laughing along
And now I look a fool for thinking you were on, my side

Is it any wonder that I'm tired?
Is it any wonder that I feel uptight?
Is it any wonder I don't know what's right?

Sometimes
It's hard to know where I stand
It's hard to know where I am
Or maybe it's a puzzle I don't understand
Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm
Stranded in the wrong time
Where love is just a lyric in children's rhyme, a soundbite

Is it any wonder that I'm tired?
Is it any wonder that I feel uptight?
Is it any wonder I don't know what's right
Oh these days?
After all the misery you made
Is it any wonder that I feel afraid?
Is it any wonder that I feel betrayed?

Nothing left beside this old cathedral
Just the sad lonely spires
How do you make it right?

Oh but you try
Is it any wonder that I'm tired?
Is it any wonder that I feel uptight?
Is it any wonder I don't know what's right?
Oh these days
After all the misery you made
Is it any wonder that I feel afraid?
Is it any wonder that I feel betrayed?

Starbucks in India?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5411760.stm

I still want my Filter Kaapi I say!! :P

Blast from the Past

I digged deep down into my music folders to find an old dance music collection. It turned out to be the best way to time travel.....immediate flash back to school days!!

Wanna know what I was listening to? Here's a snippet....

1. 'Alane' by Wes - the hottest party number when I was graduating high school
2. 'We will rock you' - the quintessential rock song through teenage and beyond
3. 'Didi' by Khaled - ok, so this is like junior school time. It swept all possible charts and was being played if you turned the corner.
4. 'Sweet Dreams' by La Bouche - I hated this song...I still dont like it too much. But it was ALL over...annoyingly enough.
   
5. 'Ice Ice Baby' by Vanila Ice - hahahaha...this song's the ringtune on my cell.... ha! :P
6. 'Getting Jiggy with it' by Will Smith - Just a really good dance number...complete with the shuffling feet ;)
   
7. 'Tic tic tac' by Chilli Feat - If there was one song that ruled the last year of school...it was this.
8. 'Cruel Summer' by Ace of Base - Good dance number, I love the keyboard here. circa 1998
9. 'The boy is mine' by Monica - The best house party song ever!!! The tune is so smooth.
10. 'If you're getting down' by Five - Ok, this is when I hide my head in shame. But it was hilarious to hear it again.... :)

All this good old music...combined with a friend's surprise visit from SFO....happy evening. It's the perfect ride into Friday.... YAY!

Welcome back Binny boy!

Cheers and a Happy Friday to all,
-Ammu

Meet Tigs

Meet Tiglu Jr. (Tigs) - My roommate, The best hug giver besides mom and The closest thing I've ever had to a dog.....


Born on August 6th, 2003; Tigs was a gift from Aishu...the proud owner of Tiglu Sr. (Tigu). That's them 3 or so years ago.


Tigs has accompanied me on many journeys...often claiming his own box to be shipped in ;-) Tucson - NYC Dorm - NYC Bro's place - NYC Current Apt. He's travelled a lot :-)

I love love love him....and thought it was about time I introduced him to you all.

He's such a rockstar actually...everyone wants to sit with him (or on him) and of course take pictures. Even the men... :P He's just too adorable actually. Nothing feels better than to give him a huge hug when I get back home...i even dance with the guy...and now maybe that's too much information! haha.

So I'll let Tigs know you all said hi ;)

Wooooof!

Work vs School

The main difference between work life and school life....Is the ability to take a day off for U2 related activities.

It pisses me off that : -
a) I didnt see the book signing invitation on time cos I cant access hotmail from work. Jeez!
b) Even if I had been picked, I wouldn't have been able to go see the boys as I'm expected to be at work all times....i cant take leave as I have just started working.

The smell of the U2 induced euphoria is driving me mad right now....with excitement. Shivers run up my back as i think of the boys assembling at the Barnes & Noble at Union Square and meeting fans. I am soo happy for the people who will be able to have this amazing experience! Think about it...meeting all 4 of them at one shot. Getting to shake their hands and getting their autographs....WOW!

I wonder if the boys would be able to hear my heart beat ridiculously fast 20 mins away? Would they be able to sense my excitement and fervor? All the happy and intense memories come flooding back from last year....oh dear!

Good luck to all who are making the signing event tomorrow... :-) You are lucky!

Cheers,
-Amrita

Woe is me!

No internet connection at home....yet! Stealing other ppl's wireless is not that much fun...
So I have to update you guys on a lot of stuff. Roger Federer and Roger Waters being the highlights....

So here's a public apology if I havent replied to your emails/facebook walls/orkut scraps/360 comments/blogger comments....

I cant access most of these sites from work...so bear with me while I get connected.

Stay sane...stay happy...
-Amrita

The Treadmill Dance

Here's a video by Ok Go called "Here it goes again". It is by far the funnest (not funniest) video i've seen. Watch it baby! :)

A stranger's touch

Day to day life has a tendency to make you forget some of your goals or desires or even a part of yourself. How do you rediscover them? I've been realizing that sometimes complete strangers rekindle such lost or forgotten emotions; desires and ambitions. And what comes around goes around really.

Forgotten wishes...

As I threw myself into a cab this rainy New York morning, I gave out a big sigh when I realized how long the day was going to be. It was 6 am and I was already drained (else I would have taken the subway!!). To avoid sinking into melancholy, I started chatting with the cabbie who turned out to be from Egypt!!! Egypt is the one country I want to visit as soon as I am able to save up enough and get some vacay.......so I perked up :) He gave me advice on places to visit and things to do. We also went on to discuss politics and careers and I was definitely awake and alive by the time I reached work. He sent me off with a very sincere "It was really nice talking to you. Have a great day". I wished him a good day too and jumped off. So a complete stranger put some life in me...and made me remember by dream of visiting Egypt!! It was an awesome feeling....

Spread the love ....

On the subway. I felt as if I were in the twilight zone ...sheer exhaustion after a very frustrating day. I was slumped in a seat and directly across from me sat a middle aged guy with a few bags. He honestly looked as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. I felt really bad for him. He was writing something in his planner and dropped his pen my mistake. I dont think he even noticed it...he looked that dead. I waited for half a minute....walked over...picked up his pen and gave it to him. The man looked startled for a second...and then his face broke into the most blessed smile i've ever seen....filled with gratitude as if I'd saved his life. I was overwhelmed but smiled back at him with as much cheer as I could muster. I felt alive...he felt alive. Together, we had had managed to share one little ray of hope.

The Supercool Cabbie

This incident makes me laugh. I was stuck in heavy traffic in a cab. The cabbie was supercool. He had good music playing and we were chatting about random things. He mentioned that he had transported many celebrities in his 30 years or so career of cab driving. I was impressed...so I asked him who was the most important or biggest celebrity to sit in his cab? Pat came the reply ... "My mom". I was floooored....gave him a big tip too ;) Isnt that the sweetest thing you could've ever heard? Just made me re-remember how cool and important my mom is.

Never say die..

A couple of weeks back, I was riding the subway and sat next to this old man who reminded me of my grandad which is probably why I shook his hand when he introduced himself. He was telling me about his jewellery business and inquired about what I'd studied etc. So I told him that I studied Comp Sci at Columbia. He was suddenly really excited and wanted to know all about doing a Master's degree in Comp Sci. I discussed the options available at various unis in New York. But he said: "No! I'll study only at the best. I'll go to Columbia". I was filled with respect and admiration for him. Imagine, here was a 65-70 year old man shooting for the stars at the time of his life when most people dream about taking an extended vacation in the Caribbean. It put my life in perspective for sure...

Crazy!!
-Amrita


P.S: Songs for the Day:-
1. Give it up to me - Sean Paul & Keyshia Cole (LOOOOOOVE this song)
2. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley

Dear Pluto

Dear Pluto,

Please accept my deepest condolences on being demoted to a non-planeteray object status after 76 years of loyal service to the solar system. I, for one, will miss you dearly.

My mind cannot wrap around the fact that my solar system now has only 8 planets. All the paper mache models that I made and all the diagrams I drew in school, now stand invalid. But, I've always thought that you were the cutest to draw or model or paint. Something about you, dear Pluto was happy and childlike.

So what that you have a "funky" orbit or that you lie among larger sized universal debris? I still think your planethood should not be taken away to whimsical 'galactic grumblings'. Well, you have my support and I will always consider you the 9th planet.

Give my regards to Charon!

Galactically yours,
-Amrita Rajagopal

a room with a view

...err...kinda! :)
The bright blob you see is the sun shining through and you can actually see one inch of the Hudson river from the window.

so yeah...this is my new casa...

From the heart

Long time no see. How are you all doing? Good? Excellent! :-) Not good? ...here's a big HUG!

Out of joy of seeing a post from me again, i'm sure all of you are going to leave me comments right? right? you better... :P

It's very unnatural of me to be gone for such a long period of time without posting...considering I go extempore even while on vacation. Ha!

There's too much going on in my life....actually flooded with things to blog about. But, it's in this stress that somewhere I lost the will to articulate my thoughts into blog entries. I have about 10 different drafts lying around my Blogger dashboard waiting completion.

In the last few weeks major events happened....

20 something...

I had myself a happy birthday on 6th August :-) Ushered in a brand new year flanked by friends and family. Never before have I felt so special, fortunate and blessed. The wishes from those near and far meant a lot. Many friends actually took the trouble to fly/drive in to NYC to celebrate ... that was just amazing. And celebrate we did.....night out at Crobar where we celebrated both mine and Krishna's birthdays....lazy brunches....dinners at home....chilling at central park...Gooood times!

Unfortunately, it was also one of the most stressful weekends of the year....maybe cos I was imploding.....too many people around and I couldnt spend a lot of time with either of them. That's natural I guess.

Potha actually said..."You just completed the best 25 years of your life. It's all downhill from here" Maybe so, but I choose to think not! :-P

Talvin Singh

My 6 year love story peaked on 13th August when I saw Talvin Singh live for the first time...at Central Park Summerstage. He was (is) my first love in fusion music....I remember falling for his music in freshman year at college. It was quite surreal to see him performing a few feet away from me. I would have preferred a live percussion session of course...but the DJ set was quite awesome too. Sheets said she ran into him at Starbucks down the street the next day...I was like....whaaaaaaat?? Not that I would have said anything to him...cos I'm usually starstruck. Ah well. It was good.

Happy Independence Day

Just have to achnowledge 15th August 1947. It's the 60th year of India's freedom now. We had a small celebration at work during which time I cried silently....out of pride and love for my country. I'm so sappy sometimes....but I couldnt help it.

Loving the new casa!

So it's officially been a month since I moved in to my new apt in Manhattan. Never in a million years did I think that I would achieve the dream of setting up my own pad in the world's craziest city. As I lie here typing out this blog entry on my very ethnic seating mattress by the window....it feels too good to be true. Touch wood! :) I am stocking up on coffee table books.... ;)

Ciao for now...

Dont know when my next post will be...but stay safe...peace! It feels good to be back here :)

Albums for the day:

- Jhini by Indian Ocean
- You could have it so much better by Franz Ferdinand
- Vira by Talvin Singh and Rakesh Chaurasia

Lonestar, Amrita

Fly by

...just a quickie post to say...

I just completed 6 years in the USofA!!!! I cannot believe it at all.

Jeez....time flew...and then maybe not.

Beezy bee
-Amrita

Too-much-Caffeine-itis

1 week of orientation at work, a million presentations, countless coffees and too many sodas. Leading to..."Too-much-caffeine-itis"!! ;-)

I had given up soda for about 2 years cos of 2 main reasons...first, I'd gotten tired of it as I'd been living on Pepsi throughout college...and secondly...it's really not good for health. I'd realized that besides the obvious sugar content problems...I would always feel weird sick and bloated after drinking a soda. So anyway, I hadnt had soda in a really long time. But that changed...and how?!

Throughout orientation, we'd get 15 min breaks now and then and all the analysts would make a beeline for the coffee machines and soda choices. So in a 12 hour period over 7 days, I would have had about 30 coffees (black) and 10 sodas.

Yup. Too much caffeine. Coffee is the good kind. But soda...nuh-uh! So this week, i'm gonna cut back on the soda and load up on coffee... ;-) heh. Good plan!

Random thoughts..
. Imagine a hybrid VW Beetle...it has it's AV cord plugged in and is cruising down the street. The image I get in my mind is that of a mouse scampering down the street....hilarious. Weird? I know!
.. To Aerosmith or Not To Aerosmith?
... Loving the new casa.
.... Hating the credit card bills owing to the buying of new furniture syndrome.

mmmmmmmmm cofffeeeeee. You can sleep when you're dead!! It's alllll good baby...
-Amrita

We didnt start the fire

If you're wondering where I've disappeared...I'm around. Just found some things to do with my free time....something called a job! heh! :P I've a zillion things to blog about...will get around it over the weekend I guess.

Meanwhile...take a look at this video depicting our current state of affairs based on Billy Joel's anthem. (btw...happy birthday Mick Jagger!)



-Amrita

So much mourning (contd)

Just when you think the world cant take anymore...

1. The insaneMumbai blasts. Mindless, pointless killings...
2. Hezbollah seizes Israel soldiers
3. Israel imposes Lebanon blockade
4. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promises "open war" against Israel after his offices in Beirut are bombed. Acts of war raise risk to region
5. Israel expands its strikes in Lebanon, attacking a large number of targets including, for the first time, the northern port city of Tripoli. Bustling Beirut becomes ghost town
6. Israeli air-raids intensify, Hezbollah rockets reach Haifa
7. Crisis continues in Darfur
8. Iraq holy city bombings kills 45.
9. And now this: Lashkar-e-Qakar warns of blasts in Delhi, Mumbai.
   

"Open war"?!!! How desperate are humans getting to attain their selfish ends to declare war in the 21st century? Do they not realize the repurcussions of it? Not to mention the countless lives being lost. I dont say this often.... but those responsible should FOAD!

And of course the biggest tragedy of all...Dubya...goes ahead and passes a very profound statement that the Hezbollah should "stop doing this shit". UGH! I'm not even gonna begin to remark on him...

What insanity would lead people to make a statement like this: "all the remaining 15 mujahideens are totally safe, and celebrating the success of this mission and also preparing for the next mission," said the email from Lashkar-e-Qahar taking responsibility for the July 11 attacks in Mumbai, in which apparently 1 militant was killed. Fucking retards!

We are imploding. Wake up, smell the blood...and stop shedding it!!

Even Mother Nature's giving us enough signs ... It's time to start behaving children.

UGH!
-Amrita

T-t-t-t-t-tttechnoo-o-o

There is some music playing
You cannot recognize it
There are no words
Yet sometimes there's a faint and eerie touch of humanity
Suddenly now there are beats attacking your brain
Your body is moving
Your mind is filled with incoherent images
Face it...you're lovin it...

..it's tttttttechnoooooo

Karsh-a-licious!

Thursday night. More than 3 years since Tabla Beat Science, it was a surreal experience to be watching Karsh Kale spinning music. He was great...spinning his trademark indian fusion-techno mix. Sans his charactestic (and a touch scary) goatee though. ;-) He was part of Kollektiv's launch party at Kush.

Under the pretext of watching Karsh, I got to hear 3 new DJs for the first time... V:Shal, DimmSummer and Zakhm. They were pretty good too. But of course my heart stopped when I heard the now familiar rythms of Karsh's music. Seeing him 3-4 feet away spinning some kick ass fusion was ... well....kick ass! :P And of course in characteristic Ammu style...I was bloody starstruck and didnt have the guts to go up and say hello. Jeeez!

Btw, I've said this before a dozen times in my blog... Karsh Kale's latest album "Broken English" is superb. I give it an A.

Pachaaa.... FINALLY!

Pacha is an Ibiza nightclub and is ridiculously popular throughout the globe. Well..they finally opened doors to NYC....a few months ago. I'd been planning to go there since Jan this year and despite all the free tickets they sent me...I cudnt make it. But this Friday...I broke the jinx and went to attend a friend's bday partee.

The music was delicious at the Techno floor. We had 2 different DJs. Dont know the first one's name.....but the second guy was James Zabeila (thanks K for the early morning research). He was amazing....and had quite a big fan following there. We couldn't stop dancing!! Gooood times :)

More techno-ish stuff to come...

Cheb I Sabbah and Talvin Singh (another one for whom I will be utterly starstruck...my first fusion love) at Central Park Summerstage.

C-c-c-c-ciao!
-Amritalicious

So much mourning

So much mourning in the world today.

Syd Barrett passes away. The founder of Pink Floyd. One of the founders of my musical journey.....
Read here.

Bombay blasts. More than a 100 people die in blasts in Bombay. Such sick insane people in this world. Spent a whole day worrying about family and friends there...so far so good.
Read here.

What Next?

The World Cup is over.
The Wimbledon Champioships are over.

Now what the heck do I do with my free time?..... Yes. Do all those things I put off cos of the above two events. Blading, kathak revisions (cos i'm getting my butt kicked in class), move into apartment, read all the orientation crap for work, renew my driver's license, write the 5 or more articles that I was supposed to finish this summer......gosh.....it's going to be busy eh?

So let's talk about the World Cup Final. GOOOOOOOO ITALIAAAA!! :-) I'd been rooting for Italy since Mexico lost. Somehow...had a soft spot for them. And then of course, when they lost ( sniff )...I started rooting for Italy. Grosso, Del Piero, Cannavaro, Buffon, Pirlo...seriously...such amazing talent!! And their defence kicks ass! Needless to say, I'm THRILLED to bits that they won.

Very shocking to see Zizou exit the way he did....if only he could have held out for 10 more mins...he would have sailed home free. Irrespective of France losing. Well...such a silly stupid act! His greatness is tarnished now. But whatever...Zizou still rocks.

How the hell do we wait another 4 years??? Like Max suggested....have a World Cup every year dammit!!

GOL!!!!,
-Amrita

Sing/Dance for Children

CRY (Child Relief and You)
Southern California Action Center presents

An exciting competition and talent showcase...

THE CRY IDOL 2006

Here's your chance to participate and enjoy the shows
and support the cause of Child Rights all at the same
time!


July 22nd 2006: Audition for CRY IDOL 

A Song and Dance Competition you don't wanna miss!!

Audition finalists will contest at the Grand Finale in
August 2006.

Hurry...register today!
Log on to www.crysocal.org for details.

New York New York

The last two days in New York have been very interesting. :-) How's that you ask?

July 4th Extravaganza

Well, July 4th was fun. This year we decided not to hit the FDR drive as it's covered with what seems like a million people. So we got out of my brother's building in Tudor City and what do you know? From the bridge, we had a clear view of all 3 barges from where the fireworks are set off. I was pleasantly surprised. It seemed a lot of the residents and visitors had realized that and soon a crowd collected.

The show itself was great as usual...10 mins too long in my opinion...but still ;-) I really loved the smiley faced fireworks and the jellyfish ones too. Good stuff! And of course we couldn't avoid the crowd...the bridge at Tudor was COVERED by a hundred or so peeps. Hehe.

Once upon a time, there was MACBETH...

This morning was pure adventure. I had always been dying to see a performance of "Shakespeare in the Park". This is the event in which the New York Public Theater puts up FREE performances in Central Park at the Delacatore Theater. There are usually 2 plays per year. The first one this year was MACBETH and it ran (is running) about 4 weeks.

Anyway....the catch to seeing "Shakespeare in the Park" is getting the free tickets. Box office opens at 1 pm and the lines for that start way early. So me and my partner in crime Sheetal woke up early to a rainy NYC morning. UGH!! We reached the line in the POURING rain at around 9:45. thankfully not too many peeps in front of us. It continued to pour over us and our umbrellas started leaking.

The dedication and optimism in the group was admirable :-) Drenched to the core, we sat down on our mat and read every little article in the AM New York, listened to my iPod, ate mom's yummy cooking (thanks ma!) and chatted away. A very fun experience! Hehehe.

The play itself was later at night. And what a show it was?! All the actors and actresses were really talented and delivered shattering performances. Seeing a play under the wide open sky is kick-ass ! The "thou"s and "art"s are that much more enjoyable ;-)

C'est fini!
~Ams :)

World Cup = Drool Fest

Ok, this is going to be a girly post. There is nothing hotter than seeing tall athletic men ... getting all sweaty.... doing...what they do... Ahem! I'll leave more of the details to the girls reading this post.

My eye-candy from this world cup....this list is not complete of course...there are too many hot Italians ;) especially after today's KICK ASS match against Germany. Feeling sorry for Klose and Lehmann though.

Messi - Argentina. Ok. This is cradle snatching... I know... he's only 19. But very cute.
















Ronaldo .... not R9 from Brazil... but the one from Portugal.


























Jurgen Klinnsmann - The German coach (THUD!)

Nachooooooooooooooooo

...ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

...says Jack Black...a.k.a The Great Lucha Libre...NACHO.

After an extremely disppointing Superman Returns (how the fuck could they fuck this one up?), Hollywood vindicated itself to me through Nacho Libre. It was an endearing tale of an extremely huggable Nacho, the monastery cook turning into Nacho Libre, the wrestler. Jack Black was spectacular...the sincerity with which he carries out his antics adds tons of charm to the movie.

A good and much needed laugh.

Love and peace,
~Amrita

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