SPOTLIGHT

Year gone by

2005-12-30T19:23:00.000-08:00

As 2006 is knocking on the door and 2005 is running towards the exit, I find myself overwhelmed with a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand it is the usual feeling that time literally flew and the year is coming to an end so soon. I bet you will agree with me that this year got over before we even realized it. And on the other hand is a feeling of guilt, the long list of new year resolutions from the beginning of the year is still uncompleted. Many of the promises made to thyself have been broken. It evokes a certain sadness that one year of life went by and I find myself standing at the same threshold. Makes me think if other than physical aging if I gained any mental maturity. I am left wondering in whose team am I playing in, the one that is destined to win or if I am fighting a war already lost. The consoling part of such thoughts also sink in somewhere to look at the positive aspect of all this. It is a new beginning, a new dawn to awake to. More hopes and more aspirations.
All these thoughts lead me to setting up benchmarks, making my new year resolution and as always promises that this year I will stand by them all.
Life is simply moving in a circle.

Best wishes and greetings as we all Ring out the old and ring in the new.....

Pulled over

2005-12-07T22:27:00.000-08:00

Seems my expenses are going to outrun this month. My problems dont seem to end. Havent yet paid the high cell phone and now an additional expense is making my wallet more lighter.
I talk on the phone while driving only when the drive is long otherwise music plays a perfect companion and if the phone rings then I follow selective answering.
This ill fated evening, I was peacefully listening to kyun ki songs while driving back from work. The phone rang. It was Xiangxou Xang, my co-worker from my previous job. I had not spoken to her in a long time and the thought that I will get to hear the latest office gossip, made me answer the phone.
Now without earphones, you have only one hand to steer the car. Driving with one hand is not too hard and only when you have to take a turn, you can balance the phone with your ear and shoulder support and maneuver the car with both your hands.
Her phone had gotten me excited, I missed a turn that I usually take and landed up driving on unfamilar path. At the next light I had to take a right turn to get on track. I took a right turn and got on the lane to take my next left turn when the cop from behind flashed his light.
Hung up the phone on Xiangxou, got back to the exteme right lane and pulled over.
The cop got out of his car and got down to check for me. I rolled down my windows. From far he asked me to raise both my hands, to make sure I wasnt carrying any weapons. He then asked , if I knew why he pulled me over. Before I could say a word, he said that when I took the turn, I didnt turn on my indicator and when I took the turn, I got into the left lane again without giving any indication and this could have confused the cars behind and cause them to hit me from behind. I was too tongue tied to say anything. He tore a ticket. The 3 mile drive that was left to get home, took 15 minutes, drove at 10 mph.
Trust me as I say this, agreed I was on the phone and thus my hand was tied and I could not give an indication but I had made sure when I took all turns and I was very cautious.

I dont know if I should contest this ticket, even if I do win it I still would have to pay court charges.

First the Cell phone bill and now the ticket, it seems it is going to be a cold december.

Ripped off

2005-12-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

The problems in my life never seem to end. This morning I decided to pay my credit card, phone and light bills as well as change my address in their record. I logged on to cingular site and lo behold! It showed my current bill as $221.68. It were the charges for this month only, not any previous outstanding charges from last months. My heart came into my mouth. When I interrogated further I realized *the sin* I had commited. I had exceeded my alloted day time minutes(550) and was completely oblivious of the fact. So it is needless to say that I kept on talking thinking that I had enough. The billing cycle ends on 26th of the month and I had outrun my minutes on the 17th itself. Those 9 days accounted for 430 extra minutes and I was charged at 40 cents per minute.
Now the relocation itself had costed me enough from my own pocket and this additional charge by all means is a little too much to bear. I didnt want to pay it quietly, so I decided to seek help from the customer service at Cingular. The queue time was 10 minutes but I didnt crib this time. Luckily I was attended by a patient lady who heard my story that I had relocated in the last 2 weeks and didnt have internet connection to check my day time minutes. She agreed to waive 30% of the extra minutes but that still left me with a large amount to pay. I wasnt too satisfied, so I continued to request her to give me more credit as I have been a customer since 2 years. It did pay off, she extended 10% more and said thats the maximum she can help.
Oh well...I am surely thankful to her for providing some relief. Something is better than nothing.
But nevertheless I have huge expenses to pay off this month...
Please..please....please don't remind me that christmas, my sister's and my best friends birthdays are round the corner!!!

Am back....after a Hiatus....

2005-12-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

Oh Man...What a long week it has been for me. Packing, cleaning, moving, cleaning again and then unpacking and then different work hours everyday...Phew!!
Finally got a chance to breathe and do what I love the most....surf the web. I am still in the adjustment mode. The city is new, people around are way so different and believe me as I say this, even though the relocation was only 115 miles but it is a whole new world. I feel just like I felt when I came to US three years ago. Alone!! But the *big* difference now is that I am no more a naive young fellow that I was! Young yes, still and always but I believe I am more equipped and experienced now to quickly adapt to the the new surroundings.
The management at the old apartment gave me a tough time when I went to turn in the keys. It was more like that they wanted to keep the deposit to themselves. They wanted to charge me for the broken drawers that have always been broken before I moved in. They wanted to deduct for cleaning and sanitizing the carpet which was very well vacuumed by me and it was spotless. I understand the sanitizing part, but why rip that money off my deposit. The apartment I moved in, is big and spacious. I am sharing it with another Indian. The guy who moved out didnt have the courtesy to clean the room when he left. Spent most of my thanksgiving weekend in cleaning and unpacking. Have still to open and arrange 2 more box full of stuff. Thats the fun in store for this weekend :(

Well, I am sorry to you all (ROS and Thanu in particular) for the disappearing act...I didnt get time to blog, but I did sporadically check your blogs a couple of times. Thanks for checking...
And yes...now I am going to be more regular :)

Is it worth the space?

2005-11-20T12:31:00.000-08:00

Someone has rightly said "we don't remember the days but we remember the moments". We remember those times we enjoyed with friends, the times when we had a good family get together dinner, holding your partners hand and walking on the beach.
These memories are buried in some corner of our hearts. They come onto the surface when one sits and broods of the times gone by. You miss those good times when your present is going through a rough patch. To think of your struggles, the battle you fought when you reach a certain milestone in your life.
Some people take it to the next step. They collect artifacts that remind them of those times.

As I was packing my stuff to relocate, I found my pandoras box. I collect tickets of movies, stage shows, concerts, football tennis games that I had been to and enjoyed. Bills from restaurants I have dined at. Behind it I would write the names of people I went with. Each ticket has its own story, has its own incident and memory attached to it. When I look at the Davenport v/s Sharapova match ticket, it narrates how we were sun burnt watching the game. The ticket for the hindi movie "Taal" from 1999 reminds me how we landed for the wrong show (Read here).

And now as I see this bag, I realize I have only touched it over the years to simply add to the collection. I haven't had a chance to enjoy its worth. Haven't got the time, to sit back and remember those times. It makes me question myself, if it is worth the effort and the space. I am not doing it so that I can get my thrills when I am sixty nor do I want to store them for my grandchildren to learn about the fun times in my life.

But in today's world, do we have time for ourselves? Do we get the time to look back at the days gone by without worrying of the days yet to come.
To quote William Henry Davies from the poem Leisure (learnt this poem in high school)
"What is life if, full of care,We have no time to stand and stare."

I don't...Do you?

Remembering you

2005-11-16T18:23:00.000-08:00

There are some people who walk into your life, touch you, care for you and you want them to stay. *Be friends for ever*. But what if, they are looking for something more?

"S" was just a collegue in my undergraduate college. We both were in different majors and so the interaction in those days was no more than "hi" and "hello". She was one of my friend's girl friend's best friend. After graduation, she got a job in Bombay and I came to do my masters in US. There was a tragedy in her life and I emailed her my condolences. Little did I know that the email would bring us closer.
We began exchanging emails daily. We would talk about our schedules, work and little things going on in our lives. It was more of getting to know each other. I had made a new friend in her. We had common interests and I would look forward to her replies to my email.
She got an opportunity to come to US on a company project. She was excited about it and grabbed it. The written conversations were now replaced by talking on the phone. She hardly knew any one in this country so I would try to make myself available for her whenever she felt lonely.

Like in all friendships, we would have our share of arguements too. She was someone who would get upset easily over trivial issues. Bang the phone down and then I would have to coax her and pacify here. It started to irritate me when this started happening way too often, but then I would let it go, considering the loneliness and being all by herself was taking its toll on her.

I got a job on the west coast. The three hour time difference now made it more difficult to communicate with her on a daily basis. I would have just gotten back home from work/gym and it would almost be her bed time. I couldn't simply put other things on a hold, and devote time to talk to her. I would try to make her understand that she was calling me up when she was free, done with her chores and had time on hand, but I wasn't free then. I would often encourage her to mix with collegues in office, make new friends out there and so she wouldnt feel alone.

During one such regular conversation, where I was trying to cheer her up and ask her to invite some collegues home, so she would get to know them better. She curtly shot back that why I was always trying to push her away from me. Thats when it struck me that she was expecting something more than friendship from me. But from myside, I had could only see her a friend, someone who I cared for. I never saw myself taking it to the next level with her.

But my carings for her, my words, the comfort level she felt talking to me made her wish for something more. I couldnt not give her that at this time and neither did I want her to live in hopes that it could happen in the future. What if it didn't.

It was her decision that we better stop talking to each other then as it would only make her wish for more. I was clear in my stand that if she ever needed a friend, I would be a phone call away.
Its been 5 months since we spoke. I remember her when I see the red tshirt she gave me in the wadrobe, I think of her when I see her name in the phone book. At times, I want to know if she is doing fine. But it was her decision that we don't stay in touch.
Its her birthday today I can only wish her happy returns in my mind.

Is it so simple to simply remove someone from your thoughts....from your life?

Selective Answering

2005-11-14T15:13:00.000-08:00

Before the advent of caller ID, everytime the phone rang, the excitement and the suspense to know who is calling would live, till you actually answered the phone. But now, things have changed.

Five step process in answering calls on your cell phone
1. Phone rings
2. Look at the caller ID to see who is calling
(ugghhh it is the irritating friend again, someone you are not in mood to talk to, number not in your phone book, private/unidentified number calling)
3. Don't answer, let it go to your voicemail
4. Call up your voice mail, listen to the message to know the reason
5. Call back only if the reason was appealing enough.

Do you selectively answer calls as well?

Feeling light as a feather

2005-11-13T22:03:00.000-08:00

Finally the moment to muster all the courage and pounce upon my boss came late friday afternoon. 4:45 p.m to be precise. I caught him by surprise but then the way he reacted I must admit made me respect him all the more. He was sorry that this position did not live up to my expectations satisfaction and he took it in stride. He said that one must pursue what gives happiness after all we the shapers of our own career. We spoke for almost 2 hours, and he shared his experiences down the road. It was heart warming.At the end of it, I was feeling so relieved.One thing I realized it is all in our mind, we create a completely different world with our notions and how people would apparently react to the situations. The real world however is completely different and unpredictable and its not as bad as we think it is.
Phew!! one task off my list of to do things, does make it a lot easier to concentrate on the other steps. I had placed an ad for an apartment on Sulekha, got a couple of responses. Will have to go check them out soon. Packing is currently underway. It is getting there..albeit, one step at a time.

This morning, wore the last pair of fresh clothes I had, which meant I *had to* do laundry today. I hate doing it cause it takes almost 2 hours of your precious time and then ironing clothes something which takes me forever to do and I still get the creases messed up.I really miss the dhobi in bombay, who would come home, take clothes and bring them ironed the next day.The only plus point of doing laundry is, the visual treat for your eyes in store. Have you ever run into a blonde while she is doing her laundry, she literally would have put all the clothes she has in the washer and would be running up and down the laundry room in the bare essentials.

Playing hide and seek with boss

2005-11-11T12:39:00.000-08:00

Firstly heart felt thanks to everyone for their wishes and guidance. Per your advise I have decided to convey the news to him personally.

So wednesday night I wrote a formal resignation letter and pepped myself to approach him the first thing on Thursday morning.
But the game of hide and seek was apparently in store. I reached office to find out that he has still not returned from his trip. No one in office knew if he would be in later though. So I wrote him an email asking some work related stuff and also in the last line politely enquired if he would be in. He didnt reply to the email until late Thursday saying that he had flight delays and would be in on Friday. Thus the task got postponed by one more day. In the meantime, I purchased some boxes and have started the difficult task of packing. Hopefully, I can get done most of it this weekend.

Whenever my manager is back from travel, the next day he comes to office early so that he can catch up with everything (email etc). I thought it would be the perfect, to reach office early, before most of them got in. Couldnt sleep much last night, as I had too much stuff going on at the back of my mind and then getting up early is an added worry too. Reached office at 7:30, only to find my manager on some conference call on the east coast. Waited anxiously till he got done. Next thing I notice he is chatting with some collegue something non work related. After which he walks into my cubicle and catches me unawares. I was reading some news, he hands me a list of work to be done for the next couple of weeks and says we will go over it shortly. I was left speechless.
Thought maybe, when he sits with me to discuss the tasks to be done, I would tell him. He got into a meeting with another collegue and that went on forever. This meant I would be able to meet him only after lunch.
I ran after him, as he was walking out to go for lunch to confirm our meeting and he said "Have a lunch appointment now, talk to you later in the afternoon!"

And here I sit with a heavy heart waiting to blurt out "I quit!"

Weird Am I?

2005-11-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

You know how it feels when you crave for a particular thing, day and night you think about it, you want it so bad. When it finally falls in your lap, you are grateful, your joys know no bounds. Right then a realization strikes, a truth dawns on you of the additional baggage, the thing you wanted has brought along with it.

You all know, I was sending out my resume, looking for other opportunities. There were days where I so very much wanted to leave my current job. Yesterday I got a offer from one of the companies I interviewed with and I accepted it. Yippie!! I am definitely grateful and happy. The position offers more learning opportunity than my current job and I am no doubt excited.
But then hours after the truth sank in.

• I will now have to inform my manager and other collegues at my current job
I don't know how they are going to take it? Will they feel stabbed in the back? Will they feel cheated? They had surely invested in me to start with, relocation expenses, visa fees etc, but then I gave it my all, worked and fulfilled my responsibilities. Now I am clueless how to initiate a conversation with my manager and how to tell him that I am quitting? He is on travel today and will be in office tomorrow morning. Should it be via email or in person? Someone please guide me on this.

• Pack up everything at home
When I first relocated here, I had to bring all my stuff in 2 big bags and 5 boxes but then I didn't have any furniture with me. The very thought of packing everything seems like a herculean task and when you know that you will be unpacking it again soon, you so very much don't feel like doing it.

• Find a new apartment
It is never to easy to find an apartment that meets your needs, is close to your workplace and the rent fits your budget. And then settling in your new place. Changing addresses with banks, credit cards, insurance

• Wind up my current projects, clear my desk, my work machine
Now the projects that I have been slogging day in and out, they are literally like my babies, the code, the applications. I don't feel like leaving them without knowing how they are going to perform, if they were successful. I will have to clear all the files, the books and every little thing on my desk.

• Fear of the new
Then there is the apprehension of the new. How the new work enviornment is going to be. How are the people around going to treat me.

• India Trip
Would no longer be able to do my one month planned trip in December. It will be one year since I last visited. Would have to postpone it for 2006.

• Time Factor
To top it all, all this has to be tackled within a week and I don't know where to start at.

There is so much to deal with, so much to rush and do, its too much stress.
But then probably I have faced all of it before when I moved in here and so this time too I am gearing myself up for the challenge.

Of First Paycheck and Smart Cards

2005-11-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

Jaggu wanted me to write how I spent my first pay check

One thing that I really like about America is how parents teach their kids to be independent. The kids at a young age, are encouraged to work part time and take care of their little expenses. It is a little different and easier in India, where children are taken care off till they graduate and stand on their own feet. So I never worked in India. The only reason I came to Sam's land was to be independent, carve a niche for myself and to do my family proud.

Being the bollywood buff that I am, I had seen in the movies, how the main lead decides to take on the world, struggles to find a job and then gets his first salary and buys presents for his near and dear ones.
The whole family then rejoices and celebrates. I would then say to myself, that one day I so very much want to do the same.
My first jobs were at the food court and tutoring and they paid enough to take care of living expenses (rent and food). Its in the second semester of my Masters degree that I got scholarship from the university and worked as a programmer for an organization on campus. I claim that as my first job on my resume. When I got my first paycheck, I sincerely wired all of it to my folks back home. Pampered myself with a digicam and bought lunch for my friends with the next one.

You know how girls love mushy cards with poems and phrases written inside, found these funny ideas for cards that will take you aback

I always wanted to have someone to hold, someone to love. After meeting you....
(on the inside)
I changed my mind!!!

I must admit, you brought religion into my life...
(on the inside)
I never believed in hell until I met you !!

As the days go by, I think how lucky I am....
(on the inside)
That you are not around to ruin it for me

Someday I hope to marry....
(on the inside)
Someone other than you.

We have been friends for a long time..
(on the inside)
What do you say we stop?

When we were together you said you would die for me...
(on the inside)
Now we've broken up, I think it is time to keep your promise

I am so miserable without you
(on the inside)
It's almost like you are still here

Looking back o'er the years, We've been together, I can't help wonder..
(on the inside)
What was I thinking?

You are such a good friend. If we were on a sinking ship and there was only one life jacket...
(on the inside)
I'd miss you terribly and think of you often

Cheers!!!

Lies, Lies and More Lies

2005-11-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

What is this life,
if it is only full of lies?

It makes me ponder and wonder that lying is becoming so much a part and parcel of one's life that the truth seems to have gone several layers deep into oblivion. Its either the truth is too bitter to handle or you fear being misunderstood.

1. You *have to* lie to your parents who are seven seas away that you are eating properly and are fit and fine
(When infact you have a terrible headache, surviving on noodles and salads...)
You don't want them to get worried unneccesary.

2. You have a project report due, an assignment to submit in a few days, when your boss/professor questions on its progress
You confidently say it is coming along well.
Why can't we simply say I havent yet started work on it...
You fear it might affect your progress report, he will think you are too lazy and insincere.

3. You are selling your car and boldly advertise it as running in top condition, well maintained.
Why do we have to hide that the brake pads are a little loose, oil changes havent been taken care of periodically.
But we need to get back the high price we had paid to buy it.

4. You are sitting in a social circle where everyone is boasting about how well they are doing. Everyone else seems to be claiming that there life is all rosy and cosy. Do you then talk about the thorns in your life. Heck no! Its a matter of social esteem.

5. You enter chat rooms or browse the matrimonial ads- Everyone says they are fair and beautiful/handsome.
If that were the case why are the fair and lovely cream makers doing so well in their business?
Or probably I get it now...people are always refering to their inner beauty.

6. Talk about the monday morning syndrome, where on being asked "how was your weekend", you *have to* reply back as "Great" very well knowing the fact the person actually doesnt care to know that you didnt have a good one and then *forcibly ask* "How was yours", even when you yourself are not interested in the answer. Also in other cases as described by ROS here, you *have to* answer you are doing fine, when you actually are feeling miserable.
Cause simply people don't care.

What ever the reasons may be to justify your doing, but the truth is you lie. You lie to keep others happy, you lie to keep yourself in good books of others.

If so is the case, is there any room left anywhere for truth?

Ticket checks

2005-11-06T16:06:00.000-08:00

Of the three movies that released this weekend, checked out Garam Masala (Hot Spice).
If you thought that Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Priyadarshan would recreate the same magic like Hera Pheri, then this is no way close to that. The movie was strictly moderate. No story but it has a fair share of comic moments and jokes that keep your funny bone tickled. The three bimbettes only add to the face value of the package, but when it comes to acting, they better keep their mouth shut. Rimi Sen doesnt have much to do. On the whole, it was a simply time pass and you come out of the hall humming "Ada" and "Dil Samundar".

While on movies, one incident is worth mentioning. It happened way back in 1999 but it was a lesson to remember. Whenever there is a big movie lined up for release, there is a huge craze and everyone wants to be the first ones to watch it. There are serpentine queues at the ticket window when plans open. Here in US, I have seen the rush for tickets when Star Wars III released but in India it happens for every other movie.

When Taal was to hit the screens, me and my bunch of friends from college wanted to watch it first day first show on Friday. Lectures and lab practicals did come in the way, so we decided to get hold of tickets for Saturday. I sent my house servant in the wee hours of the morning to be amongst the first ones to wait in the queue and get the tickets. Throughout the week we boasted to everyone else that we were going to watch the movie before they did. On the "D" day on saturday, we reached the movie hall. One of my friends was running late, so we waited for him to show up. We reached our seats to find they were already filled. We claimed that they were our seats and those other guys disagreed and were not ready to budge. We called the usher to resolve this matter. With a torch in one hand, he checked both the tickets and said that we had tickets for yesterday (Friday). It was so embarrasing and to top it all I had to face the brunt from my friends. Oh well, my servant did hear it from me is another story but I learnt my lesson for ever. Such a simple thing of checking the date on tickets cost me dearly, not only did the tickets go waste, I had to buy lunch for my friends to pacify them.
Cut to today, any tickets (movie, plane etc) that I purchase, the first thing my eyes look for is to see if the date is correct.

Lunch time favors

2005-11-04T13:56:00.000-08:00

Often on Fridays, a couple of us from office go out to lunch together. Today, the junta was in mood of going to the steak house and so I politely declined.
Now I had the goliath task of deciding where to go out for lunch. Burgers, fries, subway and tacobell were all ruled out as I have had an overdose of them this week. Other places that I could think of couldn't be enjoyed in solitude. So I figured it would be good opportunity to hit one of the buffet joints and stuff myself. And pizza hut lunch buffet it was, even if it meant sweating an extra hour at the gym in the evening.

One of the things that really scares me out at these pizza buffet joint is the obese people that you see around. No offense to them, but some of my friends would joke that these buffet joints are the sole reason for their obesity.
I filled my plate with a few slices of pizza and some salad at the side and took my seat. Now when you are all by yourself, you tend to look around to see what mischeif the people in the adjoining table were upto, you become more nosy, try to strain your ears to overhear some conversation. I had found my victim. They were sitting in the next booth. An old black "Momma" woman complaining (read bitching) about her "honey" "sweet" little daughter to her husband. The accent, the double negation in her sentences and the bitchy deed her daughter was upto formed an amusing conversation to keep myself entertained.
In the mean time, the table, diagonally across which was vacant finally got its occupant. A beautiful looking white caucasian lady with her 10 year old son. Now thats when my fun was interrupted.
Whenever I looked at her table, I found her staring at me. I thought she would have noticed I am becoming too inquistive about the black couples conversation, so I started to mind my own business. Now if you notice that someone is looking at you, you tend to check back after a few minutes to see if that is still continuing. Checked her from the corner of my eye and she was still staring. My hair was combed fine, pants zipped up and I had not spilled pizza sauce on my shirt. And this made me feel uneasy and uncomfortable. I decided to look straight at her and give her a smile, probably to initiate a conversation to see what was wrong. I got no response from her but now I was cent percent sure, that she didn't have a squint in her eyes and she was indeed looking at me. I scratched my head to think if I knew this woman even remotely or if I had ever seen her somewhere. This was the first time I had ever seen her.
Now had it been a blonde girl in her twenties staring at me, I would have felt happy and probably shamelessly gone and spoken to her. But this woman was making me loose my appetite. I wanted it to stop. I decided one last attempt to look straight back at her and make it stop, else I would approach her directly.
I looked up at her. She turned her face, checked to see if her son had eaten fine and walked off to pay the bill.
As she walked out I was sure she would look back and she did. (Now don't think of the DDLJ "Palat" scene...she wasn't the kajol of my dreams)
Good riddance I sighed! I couldn't stop wondering what was up her mind. She had walked in much later than me, had barely eaten and left. There was something amiss somewhere.
I had lost my apetite as well and decided to leave. I went up to the cashier to pay the bill and he said
"You have already been paid for! The lady with the kid that sat across, paid for you!"

I don't think I am ever going to solve this mystery....

To care or to share is the question...

2005-11-03T12:25:00.000-08:00

"To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer"

To quote William Shakespeare from Hamlet where he questions whether to passively accept and suffer through all the pains of life, fate throws at him, or to end in death these numerous troubles and ultimately end his pain.
The issue that is really bothering me these days is whether to care or to share.
I am all ears to friends who freely discuss their issues. I can patiently hear them out and give them advise when needed. Probably it is my inquistive nature, but I like listening to what is going on in their life. All my friends know that in case of any problems they can always fall back on me. But when it comes to me, I wonder why, but there is always a restrain. I somehow don't like talking about myself. I am not comfortable discussing about my issues only for the reason that I don't want to burden anyone with it and add to their worries. So I remain mum about them.
Now this has started to irk a couple of my friends who have started to complain that I don't share with them, don't talk to them as freely as they do. I don't know whats the solution to this. I guess people are inviting trouble. If they want to listen about me, I will only have complains and frustrations to share because thats the way life is treating moi.

So ain't it better that they give me their worries and in return I talk to them about everything under the sun..from cricket to bollywood..except my life.

Isn't it better to only care about them and have them share??

Guests at breakfast

2005-11-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

The closest I have gone in having a pet.....

Remember the cute scene in which Amrish Puri feeds the pigeons with the now so famous "Aao Aao" in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.
Yes! It has been happening since a couple of weeks now. A similar scene takes place on my patio every morning. It started with one and now I have four Pigeons who join me at breakfast.
If you look out from my patio, bunch of pigeons can easily be spotted sitting on the cable wires, on top of the apartment buildings or on my neighbors window sill. They sleep there at night as well and no one disturbs them. If I ever found them sitting on my patio, I would shoo them away simply because of the mess they made with their droppings.
On one usual morning, where I as usual was getting late to work and quickly munching a bowl of cereal, this little creature started chirping in the patio. When you are eating and someone else is eyeing you and hungry, it is but human to offer food. Little did I realize that it would then become a morning ritual.
Sharp at 8, they land on the patio and wait patiently till I get done with my morning chores and prepare my breakfast. I drop them some food and then eat and watch them contently. It gives an immense feeling of satisfaction and peace.

I didn't see them last three days and presumed they would have found someone else to feed them. But I thought wrong, the reason was something else. Can you take a guess??

(Loved your reasoning...Sheela , Thanu and Rays of Sun. Rays of Sun you were partly correct)

As you know, we entered day light saving time zone on Sunday. Thus, in order to get an extra hour of light in the morning, we fall back (roll back) our watches by 1 hour. So the poor pigeons would come at 7, wait for food and then be disappointed and fly away. This morning I beat my alarm for a change, and woke up pretty early to find my breakfast companions waiting for me.
So now from tomorrow either I will have to get up early to feed them or the pigeons have to adapt their body cycle to the new time change..... I think it is going to be the former :)

Diwali Wishes

2005-11-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

On this Diwali....

One sits back and thinks of the time gone by
Only to realize that surely it did fly

You recall all the events from previous years
when you celebrated it with your near and dears

And today a tiny tear rolls down your eye
As you look up at the stars in the sky

Here you are standing all miserable and alone
You don't want to celebrate but sit and mourn

The diyas and the candles that you did light
Give you the ray of hope and courage to fight

So today fold your hands and sit and pray
That success and happiness comes everyones way

Heres wishing you all a happy diwali and an enjoyable new year!!

What I don't like about Mondays

2005-10-31T13:55:00.000-08:00

Waking up on time everyday is a big challenge for me but the task appears much tougher on mondays. Even though you have slept like a log over the weekend but come monday morning you don't feel like getting out of the comfort of your cosy bed.
Well..can't help it, you are bound to experience it and nothing can be done about it. I am not complaining about it.
So your day starts in a grumpy mood, you curse the alarm for missing its ring. After a quick shower and shorter (skipped) breakfast you reach office. Now this is what I dread Mondays for.
You enter office and anyone you run into, in the hallway, at the coffee pot, or whoever walks in your cubicle, the first thing they ask is "How was your weekend?"
Nothing wrong in asking so, infact thanks for your courteousness but it would be appreciated more if you were prepared to listen to the answer. But trust me! Most of them don't have the time to hear your weekend epic tales or are simply not interested. And that irritates me! why ask if you don't want to know.
So you simply give the expected answer "It was good" and return the courtesy with "How was yours?".
You get back "Great!" and oh well! the conversation thankfully ends!

Only your close friends or co-workers would be concerned what you are upto and so instead of it being a monday morning ritual, they would ask you everyday how your previous evening was...

Well....can't help it..When in Rome...Do the Romans!! (Exxxxxxxxaaaccccctly)

Movie Marathon

2005-10-30T17:26:00.000-08:00

Its been a fun and relaxed weekend. I have seen so much of TV and movies that now my eyes hurt as I type this :)
But I am not complaining, movies are like my first love and I enjoy watching them. If the company is perfect, it is like icing to top the cake.
I saw

Fightplan - which was decent, the previews had raised the expectation too high probably

Choclate - finally completed watching it on saturday; I have been seeing this movie in bits and pieces throughout the week. Strangely enough I disagree with the horrible reviews I had read, I liked it.

Kaun Banega Crorepati II (Diwali Special with Parvati and Tulsi) - Disappointed-they answered a question wrong to collect only 6.25 lakhs. I can see some of you with surprised look.. Yes Yes I admit I am a bollywood and tellywood fanatic. I have the episodes with Saif and Preity and Ajay and Kajol too.

Russel Peters performance in a club in NYC - This wasn't surely one of his best performances. But some of his jokes CRACKED me up

Runaway Bride - Julia Roberts has a million dollar smile.
Kal Ho Na Ho (selected watchable scenes) - I know but couldn't help it. No bollywood movie released this weekend, so re-watched some of the memorable scenes from KHNH.

I am waiting for next weekend when two laugh riots hits the screen

Akshay and John create their magic in Garam Masala.

Shaadi No. 1 with Fardeen, Zayed and Sharman Joshi

Which of these are you going to watch first?

Story Tree

2005-10-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

Tagged by Thanu

A Journey Begins...

He thought it would be an ordinary journey. Standing behind the pillar he watched the train snort arrogantly into the station. With each snort he was reminded of his grandfather's words "You will fail in the city and return penniless"; with every heavenward whistle, he heard his cousin, "Don't worry. Come here and I will get you a job at the construction site." Now he had a 34-hour journey to prove one of them wrong, and he expected the excitement at the end of the journey. He looked at his ticket once again: compartment S9 berth 23.

He would preserve this ticket. When he would succeed, he would frame and hang it for all to see, as a reminder of the fact that greatness had humble origins, of the day when he set out to seize his destiny. His lips quivered with emotion as he carefully counted the money in his wallet, yet again. Four crisp hundreds and two crumpled fifties. At seventeen, it seemed like a fortune to him. He would carefully plan his expenses. He felt as energetic as the strong breeze that hit his face. He stumbled backward, as the wallet slipped from his hands.

Turag watched it fall, with the fingers of both his hands curled—one gripping the steel bar and the other gripping nothing but air. The wallet settled, the second time it touched the greased stones. It was diminishing in size and moving away from him like an open-mouthed balloon propelled by the gushing air. He knew, well enough, the events that would follow if he pulls the stop-chain. In fact it was a stop-chain that brought a wind of change in his life. Getting off from the thought-train that the stop-chain had evoked, he rushed towards it, with uncurled fingers."

Don't do that." said a voice from behind him. The command in the voice, more than his curiosity, made him stop and turn around. The first thing he noticed was her eyes which also held the finality her voice seemed to convey. He was still staring deep into the depths of her beautiful eyes when he realized that he had been stopped. He closed his eyes for a second, shook his head to clear out the image -as if wiping the slate clean- and reopened them."I drop my wallet.", he said.

Despite shaking his head, he couldn’t free himself from her gaze. She looked straight at him as if worried. He saw strength in her dark eyes, but he also saw sadness in their depths. Furthermore, the dark shadows under her eyes betrayed fatigue. Her face was classically beautiful, betraying little of her age. Guessing the lady’s sari alone cost several times the amount his wallet had contained, his childlike naiveté made him wonder why she seemed so troubled. He thought, ‘Here I am without a penny to my name, and more concerned about the woes of a stranger!’

It was always in his nature to help the needy so he couldn’t walk out from the sadness he saw in her eyes. He stretched forth his hand and said “I’m Hari”. She smiled and replied, Sheila. Hari was not ready to let go of Sheila, he wanted to help her, he wanted to wipe away the sadness and bring a smile back to her face. He stood there helpless, with out a penny to spare but a heart full of feelings. Feelings that even he had never felt before or even knew existed.

Sheila said "There should be no delay! The train must reach Banglore on time". Saying this she walked away to her seat. By then it was already too late for him to do anything. He stood there helpless and dejected. He cursed himself for not having paid heed to his grandfather’s warnings. As much as he was angry at her, his heart yearned to know why was she sad and in a rush to reach on time. She was sitting by the window and looking outside, lost in deep thought. He approached her to get his answers.

==============================================
(Everything below the dashed line above should be copied and pasted with every accepted tag)
This is a Story Tree and is best nurtured as follows:
1. A blogger can add only 90-100 words (not more or less) at a time.
2. All previous snippets of 90-100 words need to be copied before the new set of 90-100 words are appended.
3. Each entire snippet should be linked to the respective author (and not just the first sentence or so)
4. Characters, scenes, etc. can be introduced by an author
5. Bizarre twists, sci-fi, fantasy sequences are best avoided.
6. A tag must be accepted within 7 days else the branch is a dead branch
7. After appending 90-100, the Story Tree can be passed on to at most 3 bloggers.
8. If more than 1 branch leads to a blogger, s/he is free to choose any one of them but cannot mix the snippets of the individual branches.
9. The Story Tree is best left to grow than concluded
10. Please attach the image of the Story Tree below with each accepted tag (the link address can be copied and used).

OK...now the not so fun part....Vikram and Arun , I pass it onto you...please let the tree grow...
And who ever else is reading it..help the tree grow...let me know if you are doing it so I can read what shape the story takes...

Lies at work....

2005-10-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

I decided to take half day yesterday as I had the phone interview scheduled for late afternoon. But inorder to get it approved I had to inform my manager and give him a satisfactory excuse. Guess in such cases, the hidden part of my devilious personality comes into foreground. I have been postponing the imminent task of going to the department of motor vehicle (DMV) to get a califonian drivers license. I have a license of the state from where I did my graduation. So I happily cited to everyone in office that I need to go to the DMV and get the license issue sorted out. To be able to look up in the eye and answer the question that I would be asked the next day, I decided to pay the DMV a visit before I got to work in the morning.
It felt nice reaching home before the sun has set for a change but the ordeal, the phone interview was still pending and it made me nervous.

Trust me when I say this, when the interviewer called and I realised she was an *indian*. I knew she was going to give me a tough time and she didnt let me down. I totally fail to understand the mentality of Indians, they simply want to prove that they are more intellectual and more supperior than others. I am not denying any of it, infact I am proud that she is in a commanding position today, but to simply demonstrate that she grilled me with questions and then challenged my answers. So every word I uttered, I had to back it up with an example to justify it. The one hour verbal duel left me exhausted and thirsty. Am I wishing too high, that they asked no questions and hired the person rightaway as he was indian too...Well...had it been an american interviewer, the whole process would have been shorter and smoother. Its either you know an answer or you don't. They never try to lead you to dig your own grave and fall in your own trap.
Anyways, on the whole the screening went decent. I thank all those who wished and please pray that I get to move to the next step in the process.

As ill-luck would have it, I ran into my co-worker at the gas station in the evening. To coverup for the lie about DMV, I had to lie again saying that I didnt have all the documents with me and they asked me to come the next day.

Had to rush to the DMV in the morning, wait in the queue, give the vision test and then the written test..and after all this they say they will mail you the license in 2-3 weeks and my pocket is 25 bucks lighter today..Ughhhh...

I am looking for you...

2005-10-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Every where I went my eyes searched for her. Every hispanic lady I saw today I stared endlessly at her trying to figure out if she was the one.

No I wasn't looking for my wife to be..But I blame that wicked lady from yesterday for causing this distress in my life. At the signal light, I peeped in the adjoining car to see if I could spot her. At lunch, I scanned the entire joint to see if she was there happily enjoying her meal. I had to buy groceries after work, so I went to the same store as yesterday, to see if I could catch her conning some other soul. Frankly I don't remember how she looks, to me all looked like her...hahaha...I ending up looking at all of them suspiciously and I am pretty sure that they would have thought of me as someone crazy. And it wasnt about the money, it was all about feeling decieved and cheated. Anyways, Life moves on...

On another note, Its been a couple of weeks, I have started looking for another job. I try to devote some of my spare time after work sending out my resume. A recruiter from one of the dream companies that I had applied to, contacted me today and set up a phone screening for tomorrow afternoon. They only had afternoon slots available, so I couldnt refuse. The issue now is I will have to leave work early tomorrow and have to come up with some excuse.

Life...Why so tough art thou

P.S. If you are reading this...please wish it goes well for me and pray for me

Quote for the day:
Two steps to success in life:
(a) Never disclose everything that you know.
(b)

Duped?

2005-10-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

After having my staple veggie burger and fries at Burger King, I was contently walking back to my car. This red SUV stops right in front of me and a lady cries out to me. She was a latin american in her late thirties. Well, Southern California abounds in the mexican population and half of them can only converse in Spanish. You see them every where you go and they think that every one on this planet knows spanish and they start conversing with you in it.
It didnt take me long to pick up "Sorry No Espanol" (Sorry No Spanish) and politely decline if someone threw those alien words at me.
So I was taken by surprise when that lady asked if I knew English (Well I wonder of what origin she thought I was...). She was in tears (almost), looked helpless. My first thoughts were that she probably was lost and needed some directions to a place. But it turned out to be more grave. She said she had gone to the hospital to visit her sister and had forgotten her purse in the car. When she got back, it was Gone. And she was stranded, her credit cards, her cell phone etc all was in her purse. Then she opens the back door of her car and there was a 2-3 year old baby sitting in its carriage and crying and another girl in her teens looking helplessly at me. The lady continued that her house is a couple of hours drive away and the baby needs to be fed and changed. She asked for money to buy diapers and milk for the baby.
Coming from Bombay, where you run into street urchins asking for money; I have developed a thick skin and don't relent easily. But in this case, the baby who was all soiled in her diapers, hungry for milk and hot in the sun, melted by heart.
I didnt want to simply give money and walk out (I didnt have enough cash on me, is another story). I wanted to make sure. There was a store, Albertsons in the same block, I offered that she could come in with me and buy what she needed for her baby. She instructed her little girl to go with me while she waited outside in her majestic car. We picked the diapers and some bottled milk and I paid with my credit card. I walked the girl back to her car, the lady thanked me and asked if I could also help put gas in her car as her house was couple of hundred miles away and had less than a quarter tank. She promised to repay back, by sending out a cheque or money order.
I gave in, and drove with her to the nearby gas station, helped her fill half a tank. She asked for my address and telephone number. I am somehow not too comfortable giving my cell number to strangers, so address was a little far fetched but it wasnt a paltry sum to let go as charity. I asked for her name, address and contact number and only after that I disclosed my office address and telephone number :)
She dropped me back to my car and promised to call me back once she reached home. I felt a satisfaction within of having helped a needy person. Reached office to a fuming boss who was fretting that I took forever for lunch.
Well hours went by, when I reached home and was changing my work clothes, I found the piece of paper in my pocket that had her number and address. She had not yet called and I started to worry if all was fine.
I decided to call her up to check. Changed my phone settings not to display caller id and dialed. No one answered. Now I didnt know what to think of it. I opened yahoo maps and typed in her address and it returned "street not found". Google maps gave the same answer. Retried her number. I started growing restless. I wanted to confirm my doubts. After several tries one old man answered. I asked for this lady and he replied Wrong number and kept the phone.

Here I am yours truly, naive and innocent, decided to do a noble cause but there aint any goodness left in this world.

75 Questions

2005-10-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

Received this in email from my co-worker. I decided to answer it on my blog. It surely is a good exercise for self reflection and also helped me pass time when I am in such a contemplative mood this sunday evening.

75 Questions

1. Gum: Fusen gum in India and now it is Wrigleys
2. Restaurant: The Cheesecake Factory
3. Drink: Regular Coke
4. Season: Summer
5. Type of weather: Warm
6. Emotion: Frustrated and anxious
7. Thing to do on a half day: nap, watch some tv
8. Late-night activity: internet browsing
9. Sport: Running, Swimming and watching Tennis
10. State: California
11. Store: Walmart for groceries, Abercrombie, GAP, Old Navy

When was the last time you.....
12. cried: Yesterday evening
13. played a sport: Ran on the threadmill on Thursday
14. laughed: Last night, at the pub, this visiting tv presenter from Ireland, spots me standing by myself, walks up to me cracks a joke and lightens up my depressed self
15. hugged someone: Jhaddo ki Jhappi to the tv presenter when we parted
16. kissed someone: Followed by a kiss...on the cheeks...lol...
17. felt depressed: Last couple of weeks
18. felt overworked: April, May
19. faked sick: 12th September
20. lied: AHAHA....last night...

What was the last....
21. word you said: Apne..I was humming "Aashiq banaya apne..."
22. thing you ate: An apple
23. song you listened to: Aashiq banaya aapne
24. thing you drank: Tea
25. place you went to: Grocery store
26. movie you saw: American Fish In Indian Water (Pretty Decent ABCD flick)
27. movie you rented: Million Dollar Baby

Who was the last person you...
28. had a sleepover with: My friend B, stayed back at his place after we got back late from Dandia, 2 weekends back
29. called: H, he was busy working
30. went to a movie with: C, star wars...pretty much watch movies on dvd or download them
31. saw: i live alone..lol...
32. were angry with: my boss

Have you ever...
33. danced in the rain: Yes
34. kissed someone: Yes
35. done drugs: No
36. drank alcohol: Yes
37. partied 'til the sun came up: Yes
38. had a movie marathon: Yes
39. gone too far on a dare: No
40. spun until you were immensely dizzy: Yes when I was a kid
41. taken a survey quite like this before: No...very long dammit

My life...
42. name: Parth Anand
43. gender: Male
44. birthday: April 9, 1980
45. relationship status: Single
46. nationality: Indian
47. occupation: Computer Engineer

Love...
48. love is: understanding each others views
49. love or lust: time and place for each or both
50. best love song: Can't think of an all time favorite, but Tu Jahan from Salaam Namaste hits a chord
51. is it possible to be in love w/ more than one person at the same time: cant say for sure, never been experienced....guess thats the excuse two timers give
52. when love hurts, i...: I try to move on
53. is there such thing as love @ first sight?: No..its lust at first sight

Opposite sex (or same sex)...
54. turn ons: Smile, Personality
55. turn offs: Bad Breath
56. do your parent's opinion on your gf/bf matter to you?: Yes
57. what kinda hairstyle are you into?: Whatever suits the face, but the hair should smell good
58. what is the sweetest thing a girl/guy can do for you?: Know what I like.
59. Are you the type of person to HOLLA and ask for numbers?: No

Picky picky...
60. dog or cat: dog...but really neither
61. short or long hair: short to medium
62. sunshine or rain: sun
63. hugs or kisses: both
64. summer or winter: summer
65. written letters or e-mails: e-mails
66. car or motorcycle: car
67. house party or club: Club Party.
68. sing or dance: In the bathroom..sing...cant dance there..though I have tried and fallen and sprained myself elsewhere both
69. freak or slow dance: I prefer the slow dance.

Lately...
70. How are you today: Oh God! Weekend is almost over
71. what pants are you wearing right now?: Blue PJs
72. what shirt are you wearing right now? Blue T shirt
73. what does your hair look like at the moment: uncombed.
74. how is the weather right now? Tolerable
75. What did you have for Lunch/Dinner: Mutter Panner and Roti

I would appreciate if you could take this survey too, why should I face the tortue alone? Well its not that, it throws more light about you and your personality. Copy paste that portion of the blog and replace my answers with yours. Trust me it wont take too much of your time.

If others don't but I would like if you guys do it :)
1.Vikster
2.Sayesha
3.Virdee
4.Arun
5.Vikram

Coldstone

2005-10-21T21:35:00.000-07:00

When it comes to ice-cream, the calorie conscious, diet watching mind of mine catches a quick wink. The strict instructions of the gym trainer simply go for a toss. I simply love eating icecreams and at any time of the day.
Recall those days in Bombay when often after dinner, my sweet tooth would lead me to stalk the suburban icecream parlors; Naturals and Gokul. The man selling kulfi opposite Hongkong Bank in Bandra would be heaving a sigh of relief.As, now I am seven seas away to terrorize and chide at him if he is short of the mango and plain kulfi and didnt save them for me.
Could relate to the craving Preity Zinta had; in the not so great flick; for Ben and Jerry belgian choclate icecream (hell no..i am not pregnant) and with he paune barah baje ghar se chale song only that extent..the fact she was 7 months pregnant and dancing with that gut was indigestable..well
I am not being paid for promoting it..but even if they don't, I simply can't stop praising Coldstone Creamery.
It is one of the best ice-creams I have had in US. Being a connoisseur of icecreams, you should take my word for it and if you have a store near you, just run for it now.
Today was simply a boring day, nothing seemed to fall in its place.
Stopped the morning alarm, thought of catching 5 more minutes of sleep and finally when I opened my eyes it was already the time when I am usually sipping my morning coffee in office.
Had to skip bath, thanked the inventor of deodrant as I sprayed half a bottle on myself; changed and hit the road. Needless to say there was a traffic jam awaiting me 3 blocks down the road.
Reached office to an email of the tasks to be done for the day, which would take any ordinary person almost a week. Yippie my manager thinks I am superhuman!!
Needed coffee but we were out of creamers in office and the person incharge of office supplies was on leave and it would be replenished only on Monday now. Noticed some generous soul had volunteered and got Starbucks for most of the staff but I was late to miss the offering. Felt crappy through the rest of the day trying to complete the herculean task set forth. Could manage to complete it partially; which means I will have to ruin my weekend.
Frustrated and irritated I was driving back home; had to take a longer route due to construction work on the usual road; thats when I noticed something and all my worries and irritation vanished into thin air.
Yes you guessed it correct, a coldstone icecream parlour. Pampered myself with a strawberry shortcake serenade.
That was the only saving grace of a crappy Friday. Thank god for small mercies and coldstone!

Wedding Season

2005-10-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

"So your son has a job now, you should start finding a match for him, you know my brother's wife's aunt's sisters daughter is pretty and looking..if you want I can take this further"

It doesn't take time for your "vampish" aunts to plant the seed in your mom's mind and make her realize that now the time is ripe for her dreams of an ideal daughter-in-law to turn into reality. Thus begins the tensions in your parents life to get their son settled. To add more to their worries your friends are getting married soon.
So now it is more like a rat race that you find yourself thrown into."Lalitaji...aapke bete ki shaadi mere bete se pehle kaise."

Hiding in Bush's land keeps you away from meeting the brigade of girls shortlisted by your folks till you set your foot in Swades.
Well I take it back, not if you are a Gujju. With a battalion of them settled overseas, you are bound to receive contacts from your parents of millions of girls in Si-cago (Chicago) and all over to initiate the dating process. There is no escapism.

On another front..news of every Sita, Gita, Mita or every Ram, Shaam and whoever you knew in college is getting married keeps pouring in...and then you hear it is a love marriage. Those geeky nerdy studious beings...always sitting on the front bench who spoke of nothing but exams and assignments apparently have found their match...

The Johars and Chopras of cinema instill in you a faith that someone somewhere is made for you and you will surely find him/her at the appropriate time...

Also recall two quotes on marriages...
"Men marry women with the hope they will never change. Women marry men with the hope they will change. Invariably they are both disappointed."- Albert Einstein
"Marriage is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important."

Can only leave it to time to reveal..whats in store for thou.

Worth a chuckle...

Timing

2005-10-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

Call it timing or your ill-luck or the world turning against you but
Why Does it happen that....

1. Your boss walks into your cubicle just when you are doing something else...Chatting on IM, reading news, replying to non-work related email.
(You are sure to hear him fume about it sometime soon..probably the next performance review)
2. The buses are running late only on those days when you are on time and need to get to a place quickly.
(Worse still...it runs into traffic jams enroute....uggggggghhhhh...you are helpless...)

3. It rains on those days when you are not carrying your umbrella.
(Told you..even the rain gods are against you)

4. The day you forget your cell-phone at home is when most people try to contact you. You reach home to several missed calls. ( and swearing on your voice mail that you have now started avoiding them...)

5. The days you are late to work are the ones when someone or the other in office would be needing you and would have noticed that you were not on time. (Damn...think of an excuse quick...)

6. Your favorite movie is going to be shown on TV only when you already have some other plans for that day.

7. Your phone rings/mom calls just when the movie reaches an interesting stage.

8. You run into people at the grocery store, on the road only when you are dressed up shabbily.

9. Your bf/gf is always running late when you are waiting for them at the movie theatres. (and you end up missing your favorite ads and the beginning)

10. Your friend calls in to tell you that the pricey laptop/camera/IPOD you purchased last week is available for much cheaper this week.

11. You notice typos/grammatical errors in emails only after you have sent them out.

12. The phone call/email that you have been waiting for so very anxiously comes only when you give up it. (thank goodness it came nevertheless...)

13. You feel the urge to know what time it is, more; look at your wrist atleast a 100 times on days when you forget wearing a wrist watch.

2005-10-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

Before you Ask.....
1. Who am I?
A 25 year old from Bombay, India now working in Southern California, US.

2. Little more about me?
Simple and sincere. Love watching movies, listening to music, surfing the web, eating out when ever I get time

3. Why Blog?
I have been blog-reading for months now. It is interesting to learn about the diverse happenings and experiences in people's life. I believe with my blog, I will be able to connect to other bloggers. Make more friends across the globe.

4. Why not use Orkut, Friendster, Hi5 for networking then?
Apart from networking this also gives me a platform to share my thoughts and views, vent out when need be.

5. ArienTraits? Spotlight? huh?
My zodiac sign is Aries, so it is but obvious that there would be some arien traits in my posts and hence the blog URL. This blog would be used to put yours, mine, our life into spotlight....dont shy away now ;)

With this..I extend my hand of friendship...Mujhse Dosti Karoge?

(I thought this introductory post was essential for you to know a little about me. You will definitely learn more from my posts...)

Today's Fortune Cookie from lunch at PF chang's said "Be Patient. Good thing comes to those who wait"

Got to mention this...My boss told me about the californian style of reading fortune cookies when we first went out to eat in a chinese restaurant. You simply append a "in bed" to what your cookies says..

Try this with your cookie the next time...On this note.. See you around!