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...