message in a bottle (02.2003 - 09.2008)

Saving is a great habit. Hunting for cheaper alternatives and bargains is the birth right of every Indian but when it comes to footwear – never compromise. Money spent on a good pair of shoes is investment. In the name of healthy feet that bear the burden of your person, please never buy cheap shoes. Thank you.

Imagine you are walking down home and you decide to drown the traffic sounds with some music. Does your walk (pace or style) change when you plug in your earphones?

~The first time I heard/read the word “date,” I thought they were talking about the fruit. They, by the way, were “Betty and Veronica”. Besides them, the six friends of “Friends” have also educated me on various subjects. I have learnt more about Europe from the mushy books set in the breathtaking backdrop and from cheesy movies like “Euro Trip” than from my Geography books. Well, no wonder my knowledge is twisted but the fact of the matter is that I have grown up on pop culture.

~I was in college when I first wanted to read “Message in a Bottle.” Being an amorous girl, I was struck by the mysterious romance and undying love. I never got around to reading the book until this April. I think it was too late. While the book is definitely better than the movie and it can be given three stars as far as books go, I wish I had read it earlier. The protagonist is a guy that every girl dreams of; he is handsome, charming, caring, understanding, and loves forever. But I found him clingy. While he said things that are supposed to be romantic and should have the female readers gasping for breath, I was thinking, “Give the poor woman some space, man!”

~So I am a girl in her twenties (yeah, I am still in 20s.) living in Delhi, which means that I get to go to many marriages and related functions of fellow Delhi-ites. I am beginning to enjoy these functions lately. See, I get to dress up pretty in attire that I won’t be caught dead in otherwise and then eat lots of spicy snacks. I also get to watch young teenagers dance on the latest Hindi movie songs and let me tell you, they put up a performance that would shame Saroj Khan’s latest assistant! Then there are also middle-aged uncles who put all of us to shame by stepping on the dance floor. Fun! In return, all I have to do is stand next to the couple and get a picture taken.

~Nothing can put you off reading like a bad book! Despite it being my favorite show, “Sex and the City,” – the book – has been a tedious experience for me. First, it is boring. Second, it is called “Sex and the City” and I read while traveling. This is fine as long as I am in office conveyance. But the other day, the office bus conked two kilometers before my house. I hopped on to a DTC bus to save time and conveniently sat myself next to a snoozing aunty. The look I got from her when she woke up and from the letch standing next to my seat were both unique in their own right. Bad anupma!

And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for a meme.

( Empty your bag )

So a shiny brand new year is here and some good things have already happened. For one warren_ellis has returned to LJ. His daily dose of cynical wit was greatly missed by many. And they published my article on CLOMedia.com. Another fun thing that happened early this year was that I got to watch The Prestige. It is a movie that did not get its due worth in India but awed me endlessly. The movie tells the story of two stage-magicians and their obsessive competition with each other. The life-altering events, secrets, and the twists are progressively revealed through the diaries of the two protagonists. Christopher Nolen left me impressed again and now, I want to read the book on which the movie is based.

Talking about movies, I finally watched Lord of the Rings. Laugh at me not and do not take away the Movie Buff title from me! See, I always wanted to read the book and then watch the movies…so I got delayed by a few years. Anyhoo, the movies are super fantastic but of course, you know that. I watched two and a half of them in a row and then my mum asked me when my date with Gollum would end and I had to switch the tele off. Had always liked Strider in the book and adored him in the movies as well. The battle scenes took my breath away…really it was all so magnificent. And the greens, oh the greens! Someone please sponsor my trip to New Zealand. Um…I am still trying to pick my favorite between The Two Towers and Return of the King.

So Lord of the Rings is not the only fat book on my bookshelf; another one is A Suitable Boy - a book I have been reading since mid October. An extremely engaging tale, this book tells. But it is so fat. Yes, the presentation matters a lot. I enjoy reading the book and get glued to it whenever I pick it up. However, I do most of my reading while commuting to work. Now, I cannot lug this book along all the time, can I? So what happens is that I end up either reading graphic novels or arranging multicolored squares on my PSP. Therefore, I maintain that content alone is not enough! You must also get the presentation right.

On the other hand, if the presentation is splendid but the content is missing or loopy, well then you have Dhoom II. Dear lord! How hard they must have worked to create loopholes in the non-existent storyline? And I am not even talking about the Bipasha angle. What about the crazy formula to calculate the next date of robbery? They spent good 7-8 minutes explaining the pattern in the thief’s behavior and then tossed the whole thing out of the window and hopped to the beaches with skimpily clad women.

Oh beaches sound great at the moment! Delhi is freezing and I feel like an icicle when I leave home in the morning. I am wearing two jackets today. No really.

It is time for lunch now. So, New Year Happiness to you all and keep eljaying.

Some nice but anonymous person has been querying my absence from the journal, repeatedly. Forced to rake my brain about its inability to let the creative juices flow freely, I am going to try and list down the reasons of my cyber silence.

1. My laptop’s hard disk has been formatted. No data, no drivers, no Internet connection.

2. Number of meetings at work has shot up magically. I am found running in and out of meeting rooms that have impressive names like Zeus, Pegasus, Delphi, and Mensa.

3. I spend all my travel time either trying to improve my score in Brain Academy or helping Mario survive the horrible Koopas. Don’t observe the world outside; therefore have nothing to rant about.

4. My new neighbor considers it his birthright (or jobright, if there is some such thing) to look into my screen and comment on its contents.

5. I have not read much in the past one month. I don’t read, I don’t get ideas; I don’t get ideas, I don’t post. Oh, but I have read a super fantastic graphic novel, incase someone is interested. Get a Life.

6. I have been fooled into giving up caffeine for six months. The fool who cannot ignore challenges walks around like a zombie most of the day. She cannot think; hence, no posts.

7. The only two movies I have watched in the past few weeks are the highly talked about ones. As the whole world is already discussing them, I do not need to talk about them. But you must catch Munnabhai, if for nothing else then for this one chaotic scene in the college cafeteria.

8. The only posts I get to see on my Friends page are those of communities. Why are you all so quiet?

9. I am lazy, beyond explanation.

Dear Reader,

Something tells me that my charming posts and witty comments weren’t really missed but here, in Sunshine Land, we like to be optimistic. We believe that you frantically checked your friends page every morning, began scrolling even before the page could fully load, in the hope to catch a few enamoring words by yours truly.

Well, your wait has finally come to an end. I shall first begin with the obligatory update of what I have been up to all this while. I know, I know, you have been spending sleepless nights wondering about my disappearance.

So, between my last worthy post and today, I have broken my promise to self – twice. I went ahead and got my greedy self this and then, this. Today, my greedy self is extremely happy and materialistically content. The ban on happiness is officially over!

Besides indulging myself in sleek gizmos, I have also been reading. Amy Tan has a new fan. Her books are found unputdownable by the sunshine girl. Patricia Cornwell is the other lady author whose methodical crime descriptions have me hooked.

And, I have finished watching Carnivale, the weirdest show ever. But by the end of second season, I was totally struck by the weirdo called Management. And Lost is back but I hardly ever reach home by 9pm on Thursday nights to catch the show. I need DVDs of season two. My birthday ain’t till November, but you can be nice and give me an early gift. I won’t complain, promise.

Oh, and since I am talking about every thing possible, I might as well tell you that I loved Omkara to bits. Besides the great points you all have already discussed, I loved the film for its filthy language. Never in my life had I heard so many curses in one day. But, I have not watched KANK, and the entire universe is successfully conspiring to ensure that it stays that way.

About time I shut up. I’ll save up for the next post. Ta.

* Subject line inspired by this.

When I am blue, I forget about the little things that make me smile, so I lifted the idea from Compulsive Confessor and made a list of warm fuzzies...

Books that grow on me midway; smell of old paper; spilling over bookshelves; spicy noodles; mustard; cheese; oregano; pizza with extra cheese; rain; pitter-patter on the tin roof; sound of water fountains.

The cold sensation when the air conditioner dries up the sweat; warming my toes in front of the room heater; a cold shower on a hot day; a hot shower on a cold day.

Standing in the balcony on the 12th floor and letting the breeze blow through my hair; jazz music at night; listening to 90’s film songs that bring back school-time memories; watching movies on big (really big) screens; sleepovers where you talk until wee hours of the morning; long chatty walks; long quiet walks.

Oversized fluffy bath towels; pink motorazr; hair that look like Maggie noodles; Maggie noodles; surprise gifts; unexpected sweet gestures; welcome hugs; bye-bye hugs; lengthy personal mails with plenty of visual description; the word plenty; a letter amongst bills in the post; taking pictures.

Listening to stories; having do-you-remember conversations; little babies who smile at me; eager little puppies; people who call to tell me that I am missed; bubbly cola; frothy beer.

Gossip that doesn’t hurt; Western movies; superhero comics; fanfare music; Big Chill; Flavors when it is empty-ish; Red Hot Café; sharing a hot chocolate fudge; Ultimate Spiderman; Web comics; pedicures; talking about my favorite television show or movie with a fellow fan; sound of the laughter of a loved one.

New comments on my LJ; romantic comedies; slick action flicks; discussing zodiac signs; long drives; sound of flute; a well made cold coffee; successful romances; happy endings.

Phew. Hard to believe I can ever feel low.

The only way to conquer verbal constipation is to write an inanely long post about nothing, I declare.

It's anniversary time! Let's bore the world.

Why-oh-why does the 100th episode of a fab sitcom have to be a collection of very funny snippets from the last 99 episodes? Hullo, but I already laughed on those jokes and that is why you are still on air! Even a show as clever as Seinfeld does that to me. No fair.

Talking of anniversaries, I must announce that my LJ turns three this month. And now, gentleladies and gentlemen, we shall read snippets of my best posts from last year! Or not.

They stereotype me and I am a hypocrite.

It all happened within a space of 60 minutes. As I got into the cab and unfolded the newspaper, the rustle woke up my dozing neighbor. "You are reading the paper" he commented as if awed. My arced eyebrow forced him to elucidate. "Women don't usually read the newspaper" he offered. "In which culture?" I queried. "No no, I meant, women don't read the newspaper in buses or cabs." I smiled and decided that he was one of those stereotyping kinds.

Another person I often see in my cab and exchange pleasantries with is this extremely sweet and polite young girl. She is one of those quiet ones who keep to themselves and therefore, gain a lot of cookie points in my little black mental diary. This morning, after the newspaper incident, as I walked into my workplace, I saw her standing by the car parking, a cigarette dangling in her slim fingers. My first thought, "God! She smokes." My second thought, "Oh Lord, I am a hypocrite!" For all the openmindedness that I swear by, in my head there is this certain classification for women who smoke. Shame on me. Or can I blame it on social conditioning? Okay, I had to try. :p

I like those who turn books into movies.

Yes, even those who do not do a good job of it! See, I have finally come to terms with the fact that I had a deprived childhood as far as books are concerned. I had access to a library that was full of Enid Blyton's tales and likes of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drews. Therefore, as a kid I never felt deprived. It is only now that I realize with a shock how much I have missed. However, Neil Gaimans and Stephen Kings all around the world are busy writing great books and I find it extremely difficult to keep up. As a result there is a little chance for me to go back and explore goodies I missed out on as a kid. However, every time a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or a Chronicles of Narnia comes along, I am forced to pick up a book or two. And every once in a while, a Constantine makes me pick up a Hellblazer. Goodness, these moviemakers are.

And here, I run out of things to say.

One has to put some limit to inane chatter as well. So I will stop now, but not before I give you some food for thought:

Oompa, Loompa, doom-pa-dee-do
I have a perfect puzzle for you
Oompa, Loompa, doom-pa-dee-dee
If you are wise, you'll listen to me

What do you get when you guzzle down sweets?
Eating as much as an elephant eats
What are you at getting terribly fat?
What do you think will come of that?

---XX---

PS: I did warn you about the mindlessness of the post in the very beginning. No blame for wasting your precious time will be taken by yours truly. Thank you very much.