Snow!

Its only October, it has snowed some four times already here!!

Anyways, here is a tribute to snow and Calvin Hobbes......







Thanks M for da strips..!

Oh those dosas...!

One of the troubles from visiting India is the food afterwards here in the US Indian restaurants start tasting like crap. And it takes almost 3 - 6 months before my taste buds start craving for anything remotely Indian.

Now that I started cooking more regularly myself, I guess I will wait until an official cook arrives especially for me from India... haha!

But, here is one that I should probably try the next time I am in NY area.... The Vegan Dosa..... Thinking of dosaa... I just got some dosa batter... will prob. make a couple tomorrow and down with gun powder!!

400

What is a statistic?

Well... I guess this can be interpreted in many ways...

But I love blogging... And I am glad I reached thus far!

Love

I got a gift... many a gift... And so much love from my trip to India!

One of my cousins gifted me "Kahlil Gibran" - an Omnibus. And this is an extract from 'The Prophet'... for you.




When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

Baby dancing to Beyonce!

New baby video doing the rounds... Enjoy!




...like somebody said.. may be it thought it was "all the little babies...."!!

PanaOoty!

From my recent trip to Ooty... my first panaromas...!

Back to the Future...?

or should I say "Back from the Future"? I dont know...

Just back from my hectic yet wonderful three weeks to India... And I could see some strong signs that things have changed for the better there... and that there is so much opportunity for the future... to be "the Future".... how well do we leverage those opportunities.. thats the question...

But, as they say, change is the only constant... and there were so many that I could see.. For example, Chennai has expanded much beyond the boundaries of three years ago... When I was there the last time, the southmost part was Thiruvanmiyur/Velachery... with some smattering of IT companies on ECR.. and there was Mayajaal...But, now the city has expanded all the way to Mayajaal... thats almost Mahabalipuram! Imagine.. I can live in Mahabalipuram, on the splendid seashore and amidst the rock temples and commute to work some 30-40 kms away in as many minutes!!

For another, taxis are more prevalent (saw that across quite a few cities) and many a time, economical than autorickshaws now. But, stuff in general have become more expensive... the cost of cold coffee has almost doubled in the period... things like face wash has become common across many sections... price of flight tickets have reduced, in general..

I also had the good fortune of meeting the leader of one of the emerging political parties... Dr. JayaPrakash Narayan or Dr. JP, as he is known... of the Lok Satta in Hyderabad... he won the recent elections from Kukatpally in Andhra Pradesh and I hear his party garnered 11% of the votes overall in the constituencies they contested from. And the best part is that he won without distributing money or liquor!

Obviously, one of the things we spoke about was on the same topic.. change. And he mentioned, "The only way to bring about long-lasting change for the good is by transforming the political arena. And that needs people like you".

I know some of my friends are doing some great work at the grass-roots level... like my friend at Lok Satta... or the other friend at Swaraj (Delhi)... but "The Future" needs more.

While you and me are contemplating how we can champion such movements, we can support by becoming an Executive Member. Interestingly, Lok Satta is one of the few political parties that is accounting all the donations received. (The other one is probably Swaraj, but I am not sure. I need to check with my friend) And everything is 'white'.

Salaam India..

It feels a bit odd that I am taking a vacation to India.. but then this is my first trip back after I moved here. And it is complicated ;-) Anyways, I am all excited to be visiting India after about two years... though I wish I am taking a vacation for 3 months and not just 3 weeks...!

All the same.. no, not the same.. but still I am gonna have a lot of fun... touchwood, barring any swine flu interruptions... Its gonna be three weddings in as many weeks.. and those are my cousins'.. so.... :-)

Here is how my three weeks look like... leaving MSP 22nd morning.. via Chicago and Frankfurt... landing in Chennai on the 24th early morning.. A day of catching up... And then leaving for Kanchipuram on the 25th for the first... Back after the wedding to Chennai on 27th.. official work on the 28th... wedding reception on the 28th evening.. leaving for Coimbatore on 29th morning for the second.. finishing the wedding and leaving for Ooty on the 31st.. Back in Coimbatore on the 3rd for the third.. finishing the wedding and leaving for Bangalore on the 4th.. Bangi!!.. official visit to Hyderabad on the 8th.. back in Bangi... Catching the return flight on 13th at Bangi.. via Frankfurt and Chicago.. landing in MSP on 13th evening...
Whheeeeeeeew!!

Awarded!

Thanks Deez, the sleeping beauty, for this honor! True to your name, you seem to have gone back into hibernation now ... ;-)

Thank you my parents.. without you I would not have been here in the world..
Thank you Lord the devil.. If you are the matter, you are the anti-matter too!
Thank you Dell for making this laptop.. that has been through my thick and thin the past year...
And of course, the Comcast cable modem and internet services.. without whom I may not be online today..

(Well.. what is an award without an acceptance speech?!! :p)



The Kreative Blogger Award comes with these rules :-

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated


Well.. here comes my magic seven...

1. The first fairy tale I remember is of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs... I was fascinated by the story and I probably carry it to this day..

Here is one that I read recently that reminded me of my Snow White...

Goodly Glee and Lovely Blandishment

Most goodly glee and lovely blandishment
She to me made, and bad me love her deare,
For dearly, sure, her love was to me bent,
As, when just time expired, should appeare:
But whether dreames delude or true it were,
Was never heart so ravish'd with delight,
No living man like words did ever hear,
As she to me delivered all that night,
And at her parting said, she Queen of Faires hight.

Edmund Spenser from The Faerie Queene

2. Cate Blanchett as Galadriel in the LOTR is probably the only highlight of the movie for me.. I fell asleep halfway through the movie.. And the Harry Potters too...!

3. I need to remind myself of the Snow White a lot 'cos the snow here is not going to be fun without her!! Minneapolis is supposed to have one of the coldest winters in these parts.. with temp at or about -30 degrees Celsius for a long time!!

4. I'm gonna meet my neice for the first time when I go to India on vacation next weekend.. She is the cutest!!

5. My inspiration - 'The earth that is not yet under my feet!' (Copyright 2009 ;-)

6. Right now, I am really happy. And happiness is a state of mind!! but, snow white, of course, is snow white ;-)

7. I gotta acknowledge.. I took this up today, 'cos I wanted something to write about.. and nothing else was coming to mind!

Now, I nominate Jam n Missus, Jammy, Venkat, Sangi, Maggi, Sukku, Govar

Keep rocking!!

A few of my favorite things…

Four places I have lived

four is too few....!
1) The Netherlands
I just love the place and all the fond memories associated... Also it was my first trip abroad and was my base for 3 fun-filled months.. roaming another 5 countries in the continent... my first love!

2) Chennai
I am going to visit this place soon after more than 2 years.. I have had some pretty good growing-up years here.. And it is one place I can readily call home (at least I could earlier).. Gotta see...

3) Bangalore
I love this city. (Again I should say I used to.. but then with my cousins being there, I have no doubts I will continue loving it and all the things it has to offer).. And I guess I call this home too...

4) Minneapolis - St. Paul
I am having fun so far here.. Itz still summer u c... Anyways this city is quite complex... It is conservative yet modern... fun yet reserved... A lot of the folks are Norwegian-origin... I kinda am reminded of my time in the Netherlands... But -30 degrees in winter? hmmmmmmmmmm....!

Four TV Shows

1) Friends
all time favs..

2) 24
Gripping..

3) Weeds
Wacky.. and funny!

4) Sex and the City
appeals to my sixth sense?!
watevr!! itz damn funny..


Four places I’ve been on vacation

Just curious.. does honeymoon count under vacation?! may be not... itz serious work ;-)

1) Goa n Karwar

2) New York

3) Paris

4) Norway

Soon, I can add 'India' (haha!)


Four favorite food items

1) Curd rice and moor mulagai

2) Seppankizhangu paste roast (Colocasia)

3) Dulce de Leche Caramel ice-cream

4) Soanpappadi


Four websites i visit daily

1) Google news

2) Google finance CTSH

3) Yahoo mail

4) Facebook


Four places I’d rather be

No where else....
well... may be...

Miami, Bora Bora, Chennai/Bangalore (on vacation), Paris (with my girlfriend)

But I choose to be here ;-)


Four things that i hope to do before I die

1) Accelerated Free Fall (not tandem!)

2) Fly my own plane across the most beautiful places

3) Live and work across the world

4) Go into the outer space


Four novels you wish you were reading for the first time

1) Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

2) Timeline - Michael Crichton

3) The Godfather – Mario Puzo

4) The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand


Four movies that I can watch over and over again

1) Casablanca

2) Before Sunset

3) Michael Madana Kama Rajan (Tamil)

4) There is something about Mary


Four people I want to tag

Deez

Sujatha

Kalps

Sri (vera yaarum maatla ;-)

MKKK... 1

Yet again, a word of caution.. this is based on a collection of peeps, incidents and imagination... Draw conclusions, inferences, et al. (sic!) at your own peril!! ;-)

And to understand the lay of the land, read MKKK.. The Prologue
--------------------------------

Now, Minimma was a popular figure (pun intended, of course ;-) She landed at LA and took the high ground 1. She met this guy at a party and found him pretty funny. He was chubby and over-weight. Some of these guys have a flair for humor and that is a turn-on for some women. In the heat of the moment, Minimma gave him her number.

And sure, he set himself up for a date. They met at a plush restaurant and he started talking about his life. He went on and on about how he dated only the sexy and oomphy... always the playmate material 2. Initially, our Minimma was happy.. she thought she was being compared to a playmate. But, soon all the high rolls started getting on her nerves.

Minimma excused herself to the restroom.. And immediately set up an escape call with me - "Oh! you need to come here now - your dog is whining controllably!!!" types.. Well, the knight-errant that I am, I rescued the damsel in distress and all is well.. :P

And curious, I asked her.. "what really was the issue with this guy?" And Minimma promptly answered.. "I can never be serious with a guy that has bigger boobs than me!!"

Thats a pretty solid reason, whatsay?!
-----------------------------------------

1 Take the high ground! was a movie nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay, but lost to the Titanic (1953).

But I am referring to the Jessica Simpson's 7 inch high ground here.

2 You know they are on twitter too! Playboy Playboy Blog

MKKK... The Prologue

Well... call it adulation.. appreciation... anything....
but this series is about a few of my girl friends (not gfs ;-).. with a twist!! :P

I just like to capture some of the quirky, funny, imaginary incidents uncommonly called L.I.F.E. :-)
-----------------------

Minimma Kaiyila Karuppu Kaai..!!

For the tam-illiterate, Minimma is a rustic yet quirky and modernish name of a Madrasi belle.. One of my friends was super excited about her black berry.. and that planted the seed for this series.. As you might have guessed it, that forms a part of the name too. Karuppu Kaai is the (my) given name for blackberry! (sic!) (somewhat a literal translation)
So, the title stands for a blackberry in the hands of Minimma!!

The Prologue:
Minimma lived right next to the San Francisco zoo.. Though, for good measure, the closest exhibit was shielded from her view even when she stood on the terrace of her fourth floor apartment's balcony.1

But, she could see a couple of ducks within her complex.. in the pond overlooking the north end of the apartment. These ducks were probably lovers. Well, I say 'probably' because, in these times, instant gratification and day/night stands are becoming common even within the duck community. [They still are better off than President Bush.. still..]2

These ducks would go around once in a while and swim in the pond together and lovingly kiss each other on the beaks. And they will form the shape of a heart. (how romantic!)3

Everytime Minimma sees this, she would run home to get her DSLR camera with extra sensitive pentaprisms to capture the moment. But, by the time Minimma can come back, the ducks would have gone their own ways. It was almost like they knew Minimma was looking for incriminating evidence of their affair, to present to their spouses. But then, the ducks dont give two hoots 'cos they are in an open relationship. Of course, our Minimma does not know this... so, she keeps on trying to capture their PDAs 4 and failing miserably.

So, one of the reasons Minimma is super-excited about her blackberry is because it has a very good camera. She is now armed to a T and stealthily. And her hopes are revived!!

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

1 The SF zoo ran into serious problems initially when the closest exhibit, a Siberian tiger named Tatiana got wild(est) and attacked the zookeeper. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Zoo_tiger_attacks
To this day, it is a well-kept secret on why the tiger attacked the zookeeper. But, just to give you a hint, the SF zoo walls were raised from 12.5 ft to 16.33 ft to shield from an adjacent apartment complex. And I am not going to name that apartment. Or tell you that it had four floors. Anyways..

2 President-bush-lacks-sense-god-gave-duck

3 Kissing swans

4 PDA Public Displays of Affection

17323

SF Half Marathon

It is that time of the year.. when people in the bay area run across the golden gate bridge! yes, it is the SF Marathon time... And I will be there this time!!

Will be loadsa fun... I am so looking forward to that!!!

You can catch the live results at
http://www.runsfm.com/raceweek/bazu.html
http://www.liveraceresults.com/liverc1/Default.aspx

And my bib # is 17323.

Wish me luck, guys!

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

The Plan

Reaching SFO 11.30am on Sat.. picking up rental car.. going to team Asha pasta lunch @ Palo alto.. carbo load... going to the expo in SF.. picking up the race stuff... going to my friend's place at Sunnyvale in the evening... resssst... rezzzzzzt.... Sun early morning, 3am abouts, getting ready and driving to Sunnyvale caltrain station... joining Asha gang on the shuttle... RACE!... coming somehow to Sunnyvale caltrain station... driving back to my friend's place.... [to be filled, probably rezzzzzzt]... a quick visit to my cousin's place at Fremont... driving to SFO, reaching by 11pm... catching the red eye back... Voila!!!

All for a cause - Sexy campaigns for Burma!!!

you gotta see these videos supporting democracy and Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma....!!





Well... I appreciate the babes.. they did it their own way...
Supporting the cause... check out...
http://www.uscampaignforburma.org/

Loadsa other good stuff too on you tube.... how did I miss these from 2008... ?

ENT and Gyno

This is a short story written by Dr Kishore Shah....he is a gynaecologist in Pune and a gifted writer....as you can see here...
Thanks to Ankush for this fwd!
---------------------------------------------------

My wife is an ENT Surgeon while I am a Gynaecologist. This can lead to some complications, as I recently learned to my anguish. A General Practitioner called me up and told me that she is sending a patient of hers for an abortion. Unknown to me, she had also referred a female with earwax for removal of the wax to my wife.

I duly informed the receptionist to send the patient right in as she was expected (and expecting!) As Murphy lays down the laws of our hospital, it was but natural that the patient who wanted the wax removed from her ear, landed up with me. This is the conversation that I had with the patient.

"Please come in. Be seated." I said with a big smile. I always have a big smile, when I am going to earn some money. The patient gave a feeble smile and sat hesitantly on the edge of the chair.
"Relax."
"Doctor, will this hurt a lot?"
"Not at all." The patient relaxed visibly.
"You know something, Doctor, we tried removing it at home, but failed." I was shocked.
"Thank God. Trying this at home can cause serious complications."
"I first tried to remove it by jumping up and down, but it just wouldn't budge."
I smiled and said, "If it were that easy, who would need doctors?"
She gave a cute smile and said, "Yeah! My neighbour tried to remove it with his finger, but the hole is so small that he used a hair pin."
"Oh my God!"
"Yes! My mother even tried a matchstick."
My blood pressure was shooting skywards. I just sputtered without uttering a word.
"Tell me, doctor, how do I avoid getting this dirt inside me?"
I knew that it was an unwanted pregnancy, but calling it dirt was too much. I replied a bit angrily,
"There are tablets which can prevent this happening. Or you could use protection at night."

Now it was the patient's turn to be confused, "You mean to say that it happens only at night?"
I saw her point. "No! No! I meant anytime of the day, whenever you are in the mood, you should use protection."
She was even more confused, "It depends on my moods?"
Again I saw her point. "My mistake. You need not be in any sort of mood. It just happens."

"My neighbour advised me to go to one of those chaps who sit by the roadside."
"You mean that pin man?"
"Yeah!"
This neighbour of hers seemed to be a very dangerous man. Besides using pins, he was sending her to such quacks. The only safety he knew was among the pins.
"You were wise not to heed his advice."
"But I tried his other advice. He told me to put warm oil inside and wait. However, that also did not work."

This was getting more and more bizarre. Her neighbour deserved to be locked up either in a padded cell or a barred one.

"But have you taken your husband's permission?" Now the patient looked confused.
"Do I have to take my husband's permission? Because if you need his sign, he is working in Dubai . We were not able to meet for the last one year."

It was my turn to be shocked. I gave a sly smirk. It was one of 'those' cases. The pin-wielding neighbour seemed to me the usual suspect. I reassured her.
"No! No! The husband's sign is not at all needed."
"However, I did inform him on phone."

Her husband seemed to me a very broad-minded fellow. I didn't know whether to congratulate her or to commiserate with her. So I hastily turned to other aspects.
"Its good that you came a bit early."
"Actually I wanted to come early in the morning, but I had some other work."
"Oh! I did not mean early today. I meant that if you had delayed this removal, it would have started moving. Then it would have developed a heartbeat."

The patient was staring at me wide eyed as if watching a horror movie. Looking at her face, I decided that she was not fit to listen to the grotesque details..
I decided to relieve her a bit.
I said, "You will bleed a bit, but only for a few days."
By now, the poor patient was trembling,
"how-H-How much bleeding?"
"Oh, only slightly more than your menstrual period, and it will continue only for a week or so."
By now the patient was clutching her hair in her fingers and staring at me wide-eyed.
I asked her soothingly, "Why don't you lie down on the examination table? Remove your clothes and relax."

This was the final straw. She didn't even wish me goodbye. I saw just a blur of motion leaving my consulting room at top speed.

5001 words...!

Minneapolis..!

Just Beat It..

Am so beat right now... that I can only tweet ;-)

RIP MJ.. the Molester Jackson ? We will have to wait until one of the kids grow up and write a book... by then, you may be long forgotten...

Check..

Hangover - the movie.. check
Pani puri.. check
Sunnyvale Saravanaa Bhavan.. check
4th July fireworks.. check
Red eye to Minneapolis-St.Paul.. check
Subaru Impreza.. check
Extended Stay America, Bloomington.. check
Meow meow.. check!
zzzzzzzz.. checking-in now!!

Bloom!!

Yaay! I will be moving to Minneapolis-St.Paul-Bloomington area. I am pretty excited about this team and opportunity....!!!!

In that spirit, here is a song for Bloomington...
I gotta feeling... this year is gonna be a good year...!