Christmas tag...

I am grateful to Anju for tagging me for two reasons. One - it has forced me to write SOMETHING on this otherwise dead blog of mine. Two - I haven't been feeling very Christmasey this year. I tried my best to feel all the right feelings but it just didn't work! It just felt like more work in the midst of all the chaos. So this blog is my final effort to capture the evasive Christmas spirit.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
I am not a big Egg Nog fan simply because I dislike milk. So I will have to go with Hot Chocolate. Rich and chocolatey (so I can't taste the milk) with mini-marshmallows on top! Yummy!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
If he doesn't wrap your gifts, fire him! I like mine shiny, wrapped and with tons of curly ribbons and bows.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White - always! IMHO, colored lights look a little tacky - festive, yes... but lacking style and elegance.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Thankfully that is not a tradition in our country. Can you imagine all the creeps in our country running loose under the mistletoe??! ARRGGGH!

5. When do you put your decorations up?
This year I put the decorations up around the 10th of December. I squeezed out every ounce of energy on the one free evening I had that week and decorated the whole house myself in an attempt to surprise my husband. I am glad he appreciated it - but after all that hard work, I didn't feel very festive. Last year I didn't decorate at all. No time. In retrospect, I think I felt better last year even without the decorations.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
As children, we would have a special family breakfast thing. Nothing fancy but it was tradition. We had eggs, toast, baked beans, sausages, ham, bacon & orange juice. I looked forward to it every year! We haven't been able to have Christmas breakfast together as a family since I got married. But when I have children of my own, I hope to bring back the tradition. Speaking of food, one of my favorite things about Christmas is the wonderful aromas. Baking cookies, rum soaked fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg.... mmmmmm.... :)

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child.
I don't have any specific memory to speak of. Christmas eve was the best time ever for me. I used to go to bed at 7 because I knew that the sooner I fell asleep, the sooner Christmas morning would come. Actually, now that I think about it, there is one memory that is pretty funny! My parents usually woke up really early on Christmas morning and put the gifts under the tree and in the stockings for us. One Christmas, they overslept. You can imagine my face and my brother's face as we discovered that Santa had forgotten us that year! My parents were very apologetic and made up some story about Santa. I don't remember what the story was but I think that was the year I sorta started having my suspicions about the fat, jolly man.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I guess I grew out of it. I don't remember any specific moment. But see question 7.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas eve?
No. The thrill of waiting for Christmas morning was too fun. I didn't get any gifts to open this year (how tragic is that?)! I got some cash. Oh well! :-)

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
I am quite proud of our tree. 8 feet tall with real pine cones. Very pretty. The last five years, I have been very strict about red and gold decoration only. This is the last year for that. I decided that we will have a five-year plan for decorating the house. The next five years will see a different theme. I am looking forward to the change!

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
I have never seen snow. But considering the die-hard romantic that I am, I probably won't complain about the cold as long as I have a Christmas-card perfect White Christmas.

12. Can you ice skate?
All things considered - probably not! I have never tried it though.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I guess I have had a few good gifts. I remember this life-sized stuffed dog I got one year. It was my parent's way of getting me to shut up about getting a dog I guess. I like the bag my husband got me a couple of years ago. The funniest gift-related story ever was the year that our chief minister (MGR) died on Christmas eve morning. My parents (as usual) had kept all their shopping for the last day. Unfortunately for them, all the shops shut down because of his death and they had two very greedy children and no gifts! Oh the horror! So they rummaged through the cupboards and drawers and came up with some stocking stuffers and gifts. I got a bar of chocolate, a few erasers and pencils, a fancy bar of soap and a very sad looking candle. My brother got the same things but he got a toy-boat shaped candle. At least his candle looked like something interesting! We grumbled and groaned through the day. When the shops re-opened the next day, they took us out and bought us some real gifts! :)

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Being in church and remembering what Christmas really means - something I never had as a child. Also - family, christmas music and good food!

15. What is your favorite Holiday dessert?
I like home-made pumpkin pie, sugar cookies and rose cookies (which I have not had for a few Christmases). I am not a big fruitcake fan but I make some every year for family and friends.

16. What is your favorite Holiday tradition?
My favorites would have to be waking up to Christmas music (which has not happened in a few years!), reading Little Women and eating roast chicken (does food count?).

17. What tops your tree?
This year, I could not find the star that goes on the top of the tree :( . So we got a new star. Back in my parent's place, we have a pretty glass angel. I hope to steal it some day. :)

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Both I guess. But I am glad that I give more than I receive. And I usually put a lot of effort into the gifts I give. I enjoy giving people things.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
I like most of the traditional Christmas Carols. I guess if I had to pick one, it would have to be 'O come, O come Emmanuel' because it speaks of the hope that Christ has brought to our lives.

20. Candy canes: Yuck or Yum?
Yumm..... especially if they are cinnamon flavored! :)

21. What do you want for Christmas?
I really wish I could get a new laptop (coz mine is broken) :-)

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas Party?
Not really. Went for a Christmas barbeque party this year and a pizza party at a friend's.

23. Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs?
I dress up for church. Go directly to the family lunch thing. Once we get back to our place, I get into my PJs and settle down in front of the TV for some quality Christmas programming.

24. Do you own a Santa hat?
No. I don't like any of the sad looking ones we get here. The next time I go abroad, I intend to get myself a nice healthy looking Santa hat.

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with?
We spend the morning with friends and my husband's family at church over Christmas breakfast (Idlis and Chicken curry - another Christmas tradition). Lunch with my parents, brother and grandmother. We used to do dinner with friends but we don't do that anymore. These days we just spend the evening at home.

Because this post brought life back into my blog, I tag another dying blog - Amanda. And I tag Gitu who is blogging again! Yay!

Merry Christmas all!

The Release of "Poo"

This morning's Times of India had an interview with a local actor about the release of his latest movie, Poo. It was an interesting read. 

Here are some of the highlights from the interview-

"I've gained confidence... says actor Srikanth, whose Poo is all set to hit the screens tomorrow."

How crucial is Poo to you? Are you looking forward to its release?

       "Why only Poo? Every project is important to me and I anticipate every release with the same enthusiasm. Poo is my first release after two years and I am excited about it... I am happy 

to have been part of Poo."

      "...I was supposed to do another movie with Sasi, but we had a fall out because of some personal reasons and the project never took off. Now, I have done Poo with him and it's all set to release. Trust me, I have gained confidence after working in Poo."

All said and done, what do you expect from Poo?

       "...Poo is definitely an emotional and feel good entertainer..."

Here is a still from the movie "Poo". I wonder what is in the cup... Prune juice, perhaps?

P.S. - In case you were wondering, "Poo" means "Flower" in our local language - Tamil.

An Ideal Wife

The following is from an actual 1950's home economics book intended for secondary school girls, teaching them how to prepare for married life.

1.Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal - on time. This is way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm 

welcome needed. 

2. Prepare yourself. Take fifteen minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lof of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

3. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too.

4. Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

5. Minimise the noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.

6. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lies down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillows and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.

7. Listen to him. You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

8. Make the evening his. Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his need to be home and relax.

9. The goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can relax.

10. Some DONT'S. Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he's late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day. Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement or integrity. remember he is the master of the house and as such will always excercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him. A good wife always knows her place.

Funny...

I rarely get good forwards. This one made me laugh really hard. So I thought I would share it.

"Have you heard about the new psychiatric hot-line? When you phone in, you get this message - 

• If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly.
• If you are co-dependant, please ask someone else to press 2.
• If you have multiple personalities, please press 3,4,5 and 6.
• If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line so that we can trace your call.
• If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press.
• If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press. No one will answer."

My Way, My Truth & My Life

"He knows my name; He knows my every thought; He sees each tear that falls and hears me when I call."

I really love this song! It has been one of my all-time favorites since the very first time I heard it.

My friend recently put this up on her status message on Facebook and someone left a comment that said "I wish it were true!" Wow! How it must be to go through life not knowing that those words ARE true! Of course, I've been there too. But right now, I can't even remember a life minus God. He has wiped the slate clean in more ways than one! (People who know me well will understand this statement well - my memory for past events sucks!) I guess what I am saying is that I've gotten so used to leaning on Him that I cannot even imagine life any other way!

Anyways, back to that comment - no wonder so many people take drastic decisions - like suicide, murder, abortion etc. They have no hope that there is someone up there loves them and is waiting to help them. They see their option as the only way out of their problem.They don't realize that THE Way is just waiting for them to call out to Him.

Yes, I have gone through many tough times - no more than any other normal person I am sure - but I cannot claim to have the worst-ever life. But when I sit back and think about the tough times that have gone past and the problems I still face from time to time, I don't know how I would get by if I didn't believe the words of that song; if I didn't have the assurance that He sees me, He knows me, He hears me and He loves me enough to respond when I call out to Him. What an assurance!

Writing this post has strengthened my resolve to do what I need to do. People need the Lord. And I need to tell them about Him.

Hello again!

Well, I know I have been MIA for a long time now. I have been trying so hard to write here but was just not able to come up with ANYTHING! So I thought I would write something - anything - just to get the ball rolling again! So I am sorry if I just ramble on...

On the 3rd of September, we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. Wow! I can't believe it's been 4 whole years already! Anyways, I spent the whole day cooking a special meal for us to share that night. I made Hainanense chicken rice (complete with sauces & soup), ice lemon tea and chocolate biscuit pudding. When we lived in Singapore, chicken rice and ice lemon tea was something we ate a lot of. So this was sort of our trip down memory lane, remembering our wonderful time in Singapore. The biscuit pudding - don't ask me why I made it. I just did. But it was really good - even if I do say so myself! :o)

The folks at church had a little surprise for us that Sunday. It was really very, very sweet of them. I honestly had no clue what was going on. At the end of our service, one of them took the microphone and asked everyone to remain in their seats. Then out came a gorgeous chocolate truffle cake! After the cake-cutting time, came the gift-giving time! Yay! We received a most unusual gift - a bowl with two goldfish swimming about. Really nice! Then everyone stayed back to fellowship over cake & hot Boost. Finally, we were given a beautiful home-made card which everyone had signed! It was really sweet. For the rest of the week, we continued to receive gifts and cards from people in church. It was very thoughtful & we were really touched!

I am sad to report that both goldfish died within the week! :o( Quite tragic. They died within 24 hours of each other. We had named them (Mojo and Jojo, it seems!) and were starting to get a little attached to them. Well. That's the way it goes, I guess.

Apart from the anniversary, the rest of the month has been pretty normal. Just the usual - home, church & work. Occasionally hung out with friends and family. Oh yeah. And the WOW trip to Hyderabad for the shoot at CBN for the 1cubed episodes. It was fun. It was exhausting. Its a long story. Will save it for another time. Here is a picture though.

Well, I hope this is the start of more regular blogging for me.

The Decline...

I guess this might be old news to some, but like most news, I always find out late. This thing really gets me upset. What am I talking about? www.ashleymadison.com. That's what!

Ashley Madison is an actress who started The Ashley Madison Agency. What does The Ashley Madison Agency do? Well, their slogan says it all - "Life is short. Have an affair." If you are married and live in the USA, Canada or the UK, you are a part of their target audience. "When monogamy becomes monotony", you register with them and they set you up with another married person who is also looking to stray. And the affair begins.

They have been around for five years now. As of May 2008, they had 2 million subscribers to their services! They have billboards all over the place, TV and radio and print ads and these people are making millions of dollars.

They even have a special wing for celebs. They make sure your affairs stay under the carpet where they belong and away from the prying paparazzi. They are even offering free lifetime memberships to a select few A-list celebs. How convenient! Just what Hollywood needs right now!

For people who feel guilty about considering an affair, they even have online articles on their website to help you get over it and get on with it. Oh joy! Articles include "The Myth of Monogamy" and "Responsible non-Monogamy: A Brief Introduction to Polymory". Cheating responsibly? Are you kidding me?!

They even have a glossary available for the cheaters - "Vocabulary: A Glossary of Polymory terms". After all, we all know the importance of having a large and politically correct vocabulary when having an affair! You don't want to offend a fellow cheater by using the wrong technical terminology.

To defend themselves, they use the whole "they are consenting adults" spiel. Really? So if these two adults consent, then they can go ahead and wreck the lives of their non-consenting families? That's ok then.

It's bad enough that people cheat in their marriages. Now they have an agency? I was reading some reviews and one lady commented "If someone is going to cheat, they will cheat - with or without ashleymadison.com." That may be true to an extent, but do we want to make things so easy for them?

I couldn't go through their articles. About halfway through browsing through their site, I think their system suddenly realized that my IP address is not American. So they blocked me out. All I got from them after that was "We are unable to process your request due to your present location." Drat! Now I can't even leave a comment.

From what I read, the general public (with some exceptions, of course) doesn't seem very pleased with the site and many have even broken up with their spouses because they realized that they had accounts with the agency.

How many broken families can be credited to the wonderful work of The Ashley Madison Agency, I wonder?

Moment of Truth

We were watching this show "The Moment of Truth" last night. It is this Truth or Dare sort of game (without the dare) where a person is strapped to a lie detector and asked personal questions. All you have to do is answer every question truthfully in order to win $500,000. To make things worse, you have your family members and friends sitting in front of you listening to you answer questions that sometimes are very hurtful to them. Tough show!

There were all sorts of embarrassing questions about husbands and wives, finances and hairpieces. But the question that struck me the most was "Do you really care about starving children in Africa?" That got me thinking...

Do I care about starving children in Africa? Or do I like myself better when I care about starving children in Africa?

I thought long and hard and I guess that it is not the action that makes a person nice or not nice, it is the motive.

But then again I have to ask - if we all had to have the perfect "nice" motive for doing nice things, then would people who really needed acts of kindness get them or not? Or would the starving children just have to starve to death? Is there a genuinely nice person left in this world who will feed them?

I guess that means fake niceness is better than no niceness at all? But that doesn't sound right to me. I'm confused.

PS - Who defines who is a nice person and who isn't? Is there a World Council for Niceness? Are they the World Council because they are all nice people? What makes them nice? What did they do? Or not do? (I just had to put this part in for the benefit of those who understand.)

Disclaimer - This post has more questions than answers. I may or may not have made a lot of sense. I apologize. This is my frame of mind right now. I may actually disagree with myself later. All permissions to eat own words reserved.

Jerry - A Biography

I can't believe I have been posting about this and that and everything and I still haven't mentioned my favorite dog in the whole wide world!




Meet Jerry.



He is going through a hard time at the moment. In the last 5 months, he has had about 5 surgeries on his eye. He is now blind in his left eye. Lost his right hind leg because this quack doctor gave him a shot in the wrong place and hit a nerve. Now his hind leg is completely paralyzed.

On some days, he is quite down in the dumps and mopes around the house (can you blame him?). But most of the time he is a happy, hungry dog.

He is never full. He will eat as long as you can keep the food coming. "What does he eat?" you ask? Not dog food - that's for sure! He only eats what we eat. He enjoys dosai, bread, chapathis, puris etc. Not a big rice lover - but then again, neither am I. He loves any sort of meat, eggs and is an absolute fiend for anything sweet. He is kinda fat, as you can see!

He loves his bone. He even protects when he is asleep sometimes. He has never bitten anyone in his life but the closest he has come to snapping at someone is when I tried to pry the bone out of his paws. Even then, he would never bite anyone.

He hates it when people come to our house and don't pay any attention to him. The minute you pat him on the head and say hi, he becomes your best friend.

He hates being home alone and gets very upset the minute he hears the jingling of the house keys in my hand. He whines as we leave. The minute we walk back in the door, he is the happiest, waggiest dog! He doesn't walk, but prances and leaps for the next 5 or 10 minutes.

He understands most things we say, but chooses to pretend like he doesn't so he doesn't have to obey. I especially love the way he looks at me with his head cocked to one side when I say something he really doesn't understand. It is very, very cute. Take my word for it. I talk to him a lot - usually when there's no one else around.

He doesn't normally live with us. He lives with my in-laws. We are just taking care of him while he is being treated for his eye problems. He is almost completely fine and he will go soon.

I really don't know what I am going to do without him!




PS - Its been one month since I started blogging and I am glad I haven't already quit. Yay!!!

Happy Hamburger Day!

Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparent's Day - there's a day for everything! And I thought I knew them all. Until this morning when I opened my email and found a card that said "Happy Hamburger Day". I now feel way behind the rest of the world! After a little bit of research, I discovered that not only is today Hamburger Day, it is also Cheese Lover's Day, Milk Chocolate Day and Accountant's Day.

So here is a list of the important "celebrations" in the coming month. Mark these days on your calendar and make sure you send your cards out on time!

Calendar for August 2008
(Some days have too many celebrations to list, so I've just chosen my favorite(s).)

1st - Work like a Dog Day
2nd - Ice Cream Sandwich Day/ Mustard Day (not together I hope!)
3rd - Grab some nuts Day (ahem!!! peanuts, walnuts and likes, you pervert!)
4th - Gymnastics Day/ Picnic Day
5th - Blackmail Day (muahahahaha)
6th - Fresh Breath Day/ Wiggle your toes Day/ Pamper yourself Day (this comes just once a year?!)
7th - Say "cheese" Day
8th - Cheesecake Day/Prank Night
9th - Dance a Polka Day
10th - Lazy Day
11th - Play in the sand Day
12th - Thank You Day
13th - Left hander's Day
14th - Social Security Day
15th - Sit back and relax Day (a good way to celebrate our Independence Day)
16th - Tell a joke Day
17th - #2 Pencil Day (????)
18th - Stay home with your kids Day
19th - Spicy Food Day/ Soft Ice Cream Day (Great Combo! Great Day!)
20th - Lemonade Day
21st - Scrape the bugs Day (yuck!)
22nd - Be an Angel Day/ Eat a peach Day/ Tooth Fairy Day
23rd - Hug your sweetheart Day/ Ride the wind Day
24th - Can opener Day (because you can never thank your kitchen gadgets enough!)
25th - Kiss and make up Day/ Banana Split Day/ Health Lifestyle Day (a sensible day!)
26th - Toilet Paper Day (It's high time we said "thank you")
27th - Just because day (seems like a good enough reason, don't you think?)
28th - Commercial Day
29th - Lemon Juice Day/ Chopsuey Day
30th - Toasted Marshmallow/ Red Telephone Day
31st - Eat outside Day

While we are on the subject, here are some important days you missed this month. Build a scarecrow Day. I forgot Day. Don't put all your eggs in one omelette Day. Stick out your tongue Day. Act like a caveman Day. Cow appreciation Day (!!!!!). Groovy Chicken Day. The 30th of July is "Kiss your car Day". So try to do at least one thing right this month while there's still time!

So today, don't forget to pick up your phone and call your accountant and tell him how much you appreciate him!

Then shut down your computer and go get some good cheese, a juicy hamburger and a huge bar of milk chocolate. This day comes only once a year!

The Next Episode

I am mobile again! Yay! After a lot of pondering and picking at people's brains, I finally decided on and bought the Nokia N81. It's only been 4 days, but I must say that I am totally loving it!

The one week that I was without a phone of my own had its highs and lows. I had borrowed a phone that decided to die every two and a half minutes (i am NOT exaggerating!). But most of the time I was happy to let it die and be unreachable. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I found it quite liberating.

Now, I have my own phone and I am enjoying every minute of it! The N81 is pretty cool as phones go...

What are some things I love about this phone you ask? Well, let me tell you...

1. Wi-fi - It is great to be able to browse and download stuff directly onto my phone at broadband speed. Since my home and my office are wi-fi enabled, this feature is a real bonus!

2. Music - It is a music phone and lives up to expectations. While the speakers on the phone are nothing to write home about, they are above average. However, the quality while listening on headphone is comparable to any high-end mp3 player. I also like that he headphone jack is the standard 3.5mm jack, allowing me to use any headphone I want to.

3. Navi-wheel - I love the navi-wheel. Especially while browsing through pictures and music. It is very convenient, very smooth and very cool looking.

4. n-gage - The N81 is also an excellent gaming device with dedicated gaming keys. Very convenient and fun! I've downloaded a few trial versions and am having a blast!

5. Expandable memory - Though initially I wanted the N81 8GB phone, I couldn't find it and so had to settle for the N81 with a 2GB SD card. But unlike the N81 8GB, this one allows for memory expansion. I can buy a SD card of any capacity and use it with this phone. So that worked out pretty good, huh? For now, I am happy with the 2GB memory. It allows me to store more than a 1000 songs (or maybe more?) and I really don't need more than that.

Apart from all these things, another small but cool feature is the lock switch, which allows me to lock/unlock the phone without having to slide it open. Handy!

Now, what do I not like about it? Well, so far -

a) Camera - Not very great quality. Decent. Not bad. But not great. But then again, it is a phone and I do have a digital camera. So I will survive.

Can't really think of anything else I don't like. Honest.

I've been reading a lot of reviews for the last week and one complaint I have noticed is about the way it looks! I must say I disagree. I personally think it is stylish looking and quite well designed but I guess it is a question of personal taste. While I must admit that I was disappointed that the only color options available were black-blue and black-grey, the rest of the design is pretty cool. I really wish they had a black-red combo. That would have been the ultimate thing for me.

I have the black-blue combo but I have downloaded some awesome themes for the phone and have made myself feel better by installing a bright red wallpaper and theme! It really looks awesome! :)

I am going to be paying for this phone for a while, but I am not disappointed at all. And I am so glad that I decided to stay faithful to Nokia!

Big Brother?

Got a new SIM card the other day. The card came with a cute little welcome booklet. This is what it says on the first page of the book -

"Open up to the world. Feel everything. Do nothing. Climb a mountain. Jump the routine. Enjoy a first time. Experience another. Make peace. Fight for love. Travel the seven seas. Tell your stories. We're listening. We're Vodafone."

Should I be concerned?

More stew anyone?

Most people who know me well know how much I love to cook. In my attempts to come up with interesting ideas and concepts for my cooking, I rely on the Internet to a great extent.

This is a recipe I found on a serious cooking website. So funny! If you don't find it that funny, just try to picture how my face must have looked when I came across this recipe! I'm sure that'll make you smile... :o)

Elephant Stew

Amount Measure Ingredient
-------- ------------ ----------

1 large elephant
plenty brown gravy
salt & pepper to taste
2 whole rabbits -- optional

Preparation Method

• Cut elephant into bite-size pieces (allow about 2 months to do this). Hold aside trunk, you can use it to store the pieces.
• Put elephant in large (very large) pot; add enough gravy to cover. Cook over kerosene fire at 450 degrees for about 4 weeks, or until golden brown.
• Serves 3,800. If more guest are expected, 2 rabbits may be added. However, this should be done only if absolutely necessary. Most people do not like to find hare in their stew.

Goodbye 6600

I lost my phone on Friday. Don't ask me how cause I don't know how. Don't ask me where cause I don't know where. One person even asked me "Why?"! - Just don't!

This is the second phone I've lost in five years. I have owned 7 mobile phones my whole life. I've only lost two and both of them were the exact same model - Nokia 6600. I think its time for a change. :o) So many questions now! What model? Camera or no camera? Flip or slide or neither? I know I will try my hardest to stay faithful to Nokia. I still don't think any other brand is as user-friendly but I have many people trying to convince me to try something new. Do I dare?

I've been "phone-less" since Friday night. Its now Monday. This is officially the longest I've been without my mobile phone. At first, I felt quite handicapped. Like I had lost an arm or a leg. I even imagined I heard the SMS tone once or twice. (In this analogy, I guess that must be the equivalent thing to the phantom limb itch.)

Anyways, I kept thinking about who must be desperately trying to message me and who must be trying ever so hard to call me! But let's face it - I'm not THAT popular. I'm sure most of my friends haven't even realized I'm not reachable. I quickly calmed down after that reality check.

Then something strange happened quite suddenly Saturday night. I strangely felt quite free. I can't explain it, but I felt lighter. Almost like I had one less burden to bear. Who would have thought! People kept asking me when I was going to get a replacement SIM. Honestly, I don't even have the urge to do that in a rush. I feel liberated!

Amazingly enough, another good thing came out of this whole tragedy. Obviously when I lost my phone I also lost all my phone numbers. So I just logged in to my email and sent a general email out to everyone asking for their phone numbers. Since Saturday morning, I've been getting emails from friends I haven't communicated with in years! I guess I have their email IDs because of Facebook and/or Orkut but I'm not even sure I had their numbers to begin with! And now we're emailing back and forth like we never lost touch in the first place! It's all quite exciting!

Does all this mean I have to start believing in the silver lining? Hmmm...

Don't get me wrong though - I still feel very sad about losing my phone. I was officially in mourning for about 48 hours but I guess its about time I moved on. I can now tie myself to my next phone, whichever one its going to be, and not feel guilty.

While I am looking forward to being "burdened" again very soon, for now I am just enjoying the moment.


P.S - Thank you Bungi for "announcing" my blog on yours!

P.P.S - To all the two people who read my blog - thank you for your emails!

Vent #1

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHH
HHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!

!!!!!!!
!!!!!
!!!
!!
!


thanks for listening...

Save the Bunnies!

Rainbows and moonbeams, lollipops and candy floss, puppy dogs, kittens and fluffy white bunnies. Sound right? Clichéd - yes! But it sounds right. That's the image bunnies are supposed to conjure up - especially in the minds of little girls.

Honestly - I am not really a big bunny fan myself. I don't hate them but I wouldn't be inclined to get one as a pet. I especially dislike the ones with red eyes. Really scary... especially at night!

But what is this world coming to when these little fluffy bunnies become the latest unfortunate victims in a crime wave thats sweeping Germany?

A serial killer who has been dubbed the "Rabbit Ripper" has been terrorizing the towns of Witten and Dortmund in Germany. Since last summer, over 30 pet rabbits have been found, mostly in their own hutches, decapitated. As if this crime needed to be any more bizarre, there is no trace of blood at any of the crime scenes. The torsos that have been found appear to have been drained of the blood.

What is going on? Hasn't this guy ever heard the phrase "pick on someone your own size"? Did he have nightmares where he was chased by a giant bunny who later proceeded to rip HIS head off? Was he scared at night by scary red rabbit eyes like I was? What would prompt a person to do something so cruel to such a harmless creature?

While we discussed this over dinner, one person was convinced that this is the work of another animal. No way! Firstly, that would have to be one super-clean animal to leave no trace of blood. Then the obvious question - why take only the head when you can eat the whole body?

Speaking of bunnies, a friend introduced me, not too long ago, to the famous "Bunny Suicide" comic strips by Andy Riley. While I thought the strips were funny in the creative sense, I did find them quite disturbing. Some of them were quite graphic and I cannot understand why the cute bunny would want to kill itself. Here is a sample - one of the strips that I actually found funny.

Why are the bunnies being picked on? Why would anyone want to ruin the pretty picture of fluffy bunnies that hop around in the meadow and never die? Is this a part of some conspiracy to rid the world of the bunnies? Will rainbows and candy floss be next? Who is the author of this sick plan?

We need to get to the bottom of this. Save the bunnies! Save the world!

Mosaic Thingie

This is my first tag-like post! Yay! I say "tag-like" because I wasn't really tagged. I thought it would be fun to try after I saw it on Anju's blog. I had to use my answers to the following list of questions to search for images on flickr. Then I had to choose a picture from the first page of results that came up for each search. Then used the links to create a mosaic at this mosaic maker site. It was fun! So here goes.

1. What is your first name?

Marsha

2. What is your favorite food? Right now?

Guacamole (Strangely I've been wanting to eat this morning, noon and night these last few days!)

3. What high school did you go to?

Jessie Moses ("CSI Jessie Moses Matriculation and Higher Secondary School" yielded no results! I wonder why?!)

4. What is your favorite color?

Red (most of the time)

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

Chandler Bing (the character not the actor)

6. Favorite drink?

Water – my all time favorite!

7. Dream vacation?

A month on the QE2

8. Favorite dessert?

Any Fruit Pie

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Happier

10. What do you love most in life?

Life

11. One Word to describe you.

Quirky

12. Your flickr name.

Marsha T

1. Marsha 01 sepia, 2. guacamole, 3. shoyru 2, 4. the Army of the Brave Milk Bottles, 5. Before Coffee, 6. Prenent un Bany. Taking a Bath., 7. Fly Past - Red Arrows & QE2, 8. aspiring to pie, 9. Noche de luna llena - Full moon night, 10. A New Life in My Hand, 11. Fruit Looped, 12. Marsha

Try it!

The Jamun did it!

Should I delete the 1/2 star I gave the fruit market last week if the reason for my throat infection was the Jamuns bought at the aforementioned fruit market?

Woke up Saturday morning with painful throat. By the afternoon I had difficulty swallowing and by the evening, I was feeling awfully feverish. I managed to crawl through Saturday and all its tasks. And then Sunday arrived.

The weekend is the worst time ever to get sick if you work for the church. Especially if it happens to be on a special Children's weekend! Well to cut a long story short, 350 hyperactive children (in ugly plastic lion masks), 15 teachers and 1 chatty puppet later - I had a headache the size of the Grand Canyon! But the kids had a blast and honestly - the teachers did most of the work. But being in charge gives you the biggest headache of them all!

Thompson was scheduled to preach in another church that evening. They printed posters and all. It was kinda cool to see his face plastered all over the neighborhood! After church we headed to my in-law's place for lunch (at 3:30PM!) and a power nap. Waking up after that nap was the hardest thing I've done in a long time!

Thompson's message was really good that night. They asked me to sing and for the first time ever, I sang a whole song in Tamil! And nobody laughed! I was pretty pleased with myself and I've been singing to myself in Tamil ever since which, if you know me well, is not normal. Maybe it's the fever?

Later, we had a yummy dinner at the pastor's house, headed to my parent's to pick up our dog and got home midnight-ish.

I am better. Still feeling a little sick. I hope I feel better soon.

2 and 1/2 stars

Today is Friday. The week is almost over. I consider Saturday the last day of the week. Don't argue with me about it... we could go on!

I rate this week 2 and 1/2 stars.

The 2 is for the 2 nice people who took us out to dinner Tuesday. It was a welcome break. The decor was nice, the food was good and except for the slight burning sensation in the eyes (because it was smoky) and the loud music, the whole experience was very enjoyable.
The 1/2 is for the truly awesome bounty of fresh fruit I found while shopping at the wholesale market. It was almost worth the maddening crowds, the seemingly-brainless drivers and the filthy streets. At least I have great fruit to last me a while.

Despite a barbeque party here and a couple of wild goose chases there, the rest of the week has been quite a yawn!

PS - I must say that while LOTR - The Return of the King+Tomato Cream Pasta+Vanilla Icecream+Fudge+Friend+Friday night = at least one more star, I will not be altering the star status of the week because of the sore throat that decided to come calling at the worst time ever - on the morning of one of the most hectic weekends of the year! More on that later...

Getting on the bandwagon - at last!

Well, it's about time, isn't it?! I've waited long enough & made enough excuses. Blogiverse - meet me...

You could call me a newbie. I used to blog a long, long time ago before blogging became a way of life - way, way back in 2003. But right now, I guess my only claim to fame in this part of the world is my many "celebrity" blogger friends - you know who you are! :o)

Thanks to those of you who've been nagging me to get on board. Here I am and I hope to stay (fingers crossed!).

I don't know what this blog is going to be about, how often I am going to blog or where I am going to find the inspiration, but here goes nothing...