Petrichor

This sure sounded funny familiar!!! oh, God!

I've been trying forever to watch this movie & I finally got to watch it last weekend! I heard mixed reviews from friends about this movie. I do not like Aamir as much as I like Kajol. But the movie was so good. I mean, the songs are still on my mind. Love all the songs: lyrics & video choreography. "Mere haath me" is a personal fav. Rehan the boy, was just so cute. Tabu did not get a more prominent role as she deserved! The end was a little abrupt, but takeable. Sonu Nigam has magic in his voice. Loved a Hindi movie so much in a long time, maybe after 'Lage Raho'.

M - O - T - H - E - R "M" is for the million things she gave me, "O" means only that she's growing old, "T" is for the tears she shed to save me, "H" is for her heart of purest gold; "E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining, "R" means right, and right she'll always be, Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER," A word that means the world to me. Howard Johnson (c . 1915) No! Its not Mother's day yet! Tomorrow is a milestone in my life & all I can think of is my mom living thousands of miles away yet, so close to my heart. Remembering you specially, just like any other day, ma.

...I would freeze life when I was 3 years old; I was young, my parents young & healthy, friends to play around without any seriousness, no botheration who ruled which country, never worry about giving Exams, everyone would pet me, life would have been so perfect! On a heavier note, when I was a child, I was yearning to become an adult(anything I could not do then, I would be able to do, when I become an adult); Now that I am one, why is it that I want to go back to my childhood?(maybe the same reasons!) Life was so complete, peaceful & secure as a child; Wouldn't have to go to school, grow up, give Exams, learn my lessons, face life, fight, figure, acquire.... Life now is not bad; Happy the way things are. Yes. I am sure! But then, I cannot stop wondering if only I could rewind & freeze life.... hmm Strange! Miss not having to grow up!

Tell a man th e re are 300 billion stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it a nd he'll have to touch it to be sure. ~Murphy's Law It's always been and always will be the same in the world: The horse does the work and the coachman is tipped. ~Author Unknown When the plane you are on is late, the plane you want to transfer to is on time. ~Author Unknown It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions. ~Author Unknown If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire. ~Author Unknown People who snore always fall asleep first. ~Author Unknown The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement. ~Author Unknown People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them. ~Dave Barry How is it that our memory is good enough to retain...

Some very basic tips I came across. I am one of those people who believes in the photographer, rather than the camera itself. The camera does matter, but not as much as the photographer's perspective. Photography in my eyes, is an ocean, not just a hobby or passion. There is so much I learn everyday. I've always seen my dad with his AGFA SLR that he never allowed me to touch for as long as he saw me as a kid, which was like for a long time :-) Before even meeting my husband, I knew he had a passion for photography. Passionless people surprise me. There is so much in this world to feel happy about. Photography lets me capture those memories so that they live with me forever. There has never been a day, where I have not thanked the person who found the lens. Happy clicking!

Shocking! but true.

Pongal is India's version of Thanksgiving. It is celebrated in a grand manner for 3 days. Pongal falls on 15th Jan this year. A day to thank all our farmers who have worked so hard over the whole year and will reap a rich harvest(hopefully) on this day. I met two of my long lost friends from school :-) Me is very happy happy. Thanks to Orkut, I met Jayashree after almost 10 years & Sowmya after 15 years. I tried to bake a cake for the first time; knowing that there were lots of people to eat it. Our better halves gladly took in everything. How sweet! Way back then, all we talked about was school, studies, exam, teachers, juniors, seniors, who was talking to whom, who was not, etc. Now we talk about life, family life, husbands, world, global warming, travel etc. What a change? Our childhood talks seem so stupid & silly now. But then, if we were not what we were then, we would not talk & laugh about all of them now. Life makes us play the game. Meeting Jayashree & Sow...

Trust me! I have nothing against guys, other than the fact that I am married to one :-) Got this as a fwd from one of my friends; Hilarious!!! The Guys' Rules At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down Finally , the guys' side of the story. (I must admit, it's pretty good.) We always hear " the rules " From the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. These are our rules! Please note.. these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE! 1. Men are NOT mind readers. 1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way. 1. Crying is blackmail. 1. Ask for what you want.Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it! 1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question. 1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for. 1. A headache that lasts for 17...

This was what I started 2007 with, in the presence of a few other friends. A mini backpacking trip to Angel Island with the sole intention of catching 2007 by the minute: Fireworks in San Francisco. We got to see all the action without actually being there. How cool is that? It was a quiet New Year! Added to it, I saw a shooting star for the first time in my life! Got an intro to some of the constellations in the sky. Walked for 25 minutes in the moonlight. Well! I got up to 37F foggy morning too! Probably nature's way of telling me what's 2007 in store for us :-) All accepted with happiness! Life deserves all this!

I always believe that something started well will end well too! I wanted 2006 to start off in a serene, quiet atmosphere. We made it possible..2006 dawned for us at Anza Borrego desert State Park camground. It was special! Lots of camping trips followed: Morro Bay, Oregon coast, couple of SF trips, Lassen National Park, Catalina Island & of course, the highlight- a week trip to Hawaii! I started writing since May 2006- still on with my travelblog & blog. Pursuing my interests in photography; Accomplished my first backpacking trip to Grand Canyon(thanks to my hubby) & worked my way out in a kayak in the Pacific Ocean! Life was very patient with me in teaching its lessons. Met Swamiji in person for the 1st time & got the privilege in joining him for a hike; Successfully completed my Tai Chi course & got my yellow belt in Karate(my childhood dream), in the process learnt a lot of things. Trying to leave my anger behind & see the positive side of life. Becoming a l...

Me & my hubby were out camping at Catalina island last weekend. We went to watch a late night movie and it was a long cold walk back to our campground. But there were this two people, whom we did not know, probably were on a fri date, I do not know, who stopped on seeing us walk all the way. They offered to give us a ride back to our campground informing us that it was a long way. We were hesitant, but finally took the ride on their golf cart. If not, we would have reached there 30-40 min later. It matters if it was 10.00 pm at night. This is the second time; Earlier, we got lost while hiking in Henry Cowell State park. It was almost dark and we had at least 5 miles to go, all uphill. From nowhere, this couple met us & offered us a ride to our car. Only we know what it meant to us that day! All of this reminds me of the movie " Pay it forward". One of the sweetest movie I'd seen. The logic is, if I do a good to you, you do good to 3 other people, not to the person...

The past couple weeks have been all very happy. We threw a surprise baby shower for a friend, a family friend delivered a baby boy, got in touch with a lot of my school friends, mom's busy with her music concerts, falling in love all over again with my hubby, an amazing weather, beautiful fall colours(even now), not too much rain, did not come across too many accidents, learnt my share of new things & not to mention that we are packing off for a small weekend getaway... Let's see! Apart from the fear of global warming, there is a lot to be thankful for. Isn't that what Christmas is all about? Merry Christmas!

One of the very few poems that was not a part of my English syllabus at school, but made me go out of my way to read it while still at school!(my eleventh grade to be exact) If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two imposters just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, ...

My husband took me to this authentic restaurant on our 3rd anniversary. My first try at Greek cuisine. I am not a big fan of trying new cuisines, but this place is good . We tried the Veg stuff: I had a moussaka & my hubby had a garden salata. Moussaka comes in with greek fries(no french, people!) & the Garden Salata comes with warm pita wedges, French bread & Dip of the Day. Out of the world! It is not very expensive and leaves you with a satisfied heart & stomach.

I am currently reading Robin Sharma's "The Monk who sold his Ferrari". Interesting book! I was just reading the part where Julian talks about fear and how to overcome it. He says, for a person who has the fear of public speaking, to sign up for 20 classes of public speaking. ie., he says, face fear in the eye and do often what you fear the most. This way works for me, for sometimes, that is my only way out. But is this feasible at all times? At some point, are not all of us scared of being intimidated? But fear drains our energy. I've heard it before too! We have to let fear pack its bags. We hardly have time to lead a happy life, why let fear take a part of it? There was this other thing I really loved from the book: There are no mistakes; only lessons, in life! All these lessons should be oppurtunities to create milestones. There are so many things(like this book) to make our lives so easy. Wish I could set my hands on everything and make my life more worthwhile!

Saturday, 2nd Dec 2006! One of my most tensed days! My Yellow belt test day! I am not a white belt anymore. I really learnt a lot in this fall semester! Got to know so many new people. Learnt a lot about life! I am indebted to my Sensei(Japanese for teacher)for having faith and trust in me. I can never thank my mom and husband enough for backing me up all the while through this semester, listening to all that happened at class & of course medicining my wounds anytime I got hurt in the day's work. Karate had been my childhood dream and Swamiji(Swami Sukhabodhananda) inspired me to go ahead, despite my age. Never too late to learn anything! Swamiji is a brown belt now and started music classes at the age of 44. Maybe I will learn music some day! A day well ended! As my Sensei says, there are always people below us, but also above us too; I would always remember that and want to be thankful & grateful for where I am today. One of those days, when I feel really blessed and happ...

Hmm... Now, I have the time to sit back and relax. But what comes on to my mind? Wars, corruption, anger, hatred, bomb blasts, lay offs, accidents, deaths, killings, pathetic politics everywhere: Isn't it really a fight for survival? Too many negative thoughts! I relax my mind a little more. The first thing that comes to my mind is 'clear blue sky beyond a beautiful beach, palm trees swaying in the wind'; Now, I am completely relaxed. I look around me now. People smiling at each other, greeting one another for thanksgiving, people having a vacation, people working their backs off to make sure their kids are well fed, a Safeway employee smiling when she says she still has to work on thanksgiving, a child smiles at me, I look out the window and see the tall trees that have survived a thousand storms,...a lot more that I cannot find space to write down. It is the same me, feeling completely opposite things. How? I wonder! That's where I get to know, there is nothing more c...

Some hate it, some love it, some are indifferent about it; Some go out of their way to despise it; Still a lot of us Orkut! Well, it has become like "google it", hasn't it? With all that said, I was evading it for a long time too! A lot of friends kept sending request; One fine day, I just accepted the request; and I am glad I did. I got in touch with all my old friends from School. There was no other way, I could've got in touch with them. It feels so good to relive old memories, especially when you love your childhood(indirectly my school too). Who knows? Maybe we might have a reunion sometime! How great would that be, huh? I don't know how long Orkut is going to be around, but I am getting what I wanted(all my friend's contacts)..Well! that was what Google wanted too :-) It may all go overboard in while soon (Orkut already has a community "people who hate Orkut") My policy: Enjoy it while it lasts! Happy Orkutting! (God! Why would I even say that?...

Blogging helps me to read more. Its been 3 yrs since I came here, to the US. But I have never really bothered to know what is the story behind it. This year did some reading. Pretty old tradition! Since 1620!!! Happy Thanksgiving!