Amour propre

I did something after a long time today.
I looked into the mirror, pronounced :"Hey Gorgeous, you look beautiful", smiled at myself , blew a kiss and said "I love you".

I don't know how many of you will find it weird and how many actually practice it, but I'm feeling great right now. It is an integral element of my happiness that I was overlooking for a while.( Past continuous and not present perfect continuous - deliberately )
Will take better care from now on.
As they say, "To love oneself is the beginning of a life long romance".
Cheers to the reviving of an honest relationship.
Care to join in?
Start kissing your mirrors right away.
And if you don't feel good- sue me!

*****
Random thought:

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived..

-Henry David Thoreau ,"Walden", 1854

Jab We Met

Have you ever met someone you have disliked in the beginning, began to like later, and eventually fallen in love with? If I were asked to name such a movie- I'd say Jab We Met. Last weekend, I got totally psyched out by Kareena's psychobabble and decided not to waste time, energy and my remnant grey cells on that flick.

But the friend who had recommended me to watch it was adamant and asked me to finish viewing it. He is the one who introduced me to Scrubs, so I ventured to try it out. And I really liked the later part.

*** Spoiler Warning***
The story is very simple. Shahid Kapoor (Aditya) is an industrialist's son bereaved of his father, ditched by his girlfriend and completely lost. He hops onto a train, totally clueless and meets Kareena (Geet) who speaks 300 words per min. She has a knack of inviting perils and while she tries to help Aditya whom she takes pity upon, irritates him to the point of making him disembark from the train midway. She tries to catch up with him and misses her train. And now this "Sikhni hoon.. Bhatinda ki" claims that he has to ensure she reaches home safely. After a roller coaster ride and on reaching the destination, the members of the family misunderstand their relation and she takes the chance to elope with him to meet her boyfriend Anshuman in Manali. By this time, Aditya has fallen for Geet and her joie de vivre. But he keeps his feelings to himself coz he imagines her to have happily reconciled to her bf. He gets back to Mumbai, decides to confront his problems face on, does well professionally and builds on the empire his father had left him and does way beyond anyone's expectations. Privately, he attributes his new self to Geet who believes in living her life her way and taking chances.

In the meanwhile, detested by her bf, Geet has taken to teaching in a missionary school ( what a relief from the usual procurers on the prowl) and is still hoping that the good-for-nothing Anshuman will accept her. Aditya sees her - a ghost of her formal self, passive, unaware of her surroundings, lost in deep thoughts, wearing a plastic smile. He brings some of the life back to her by asking her to call up her ex and swear loudly to make her feel better ( On a previous occasion, she had asked him to burn the photo of his ex and flush it down the toilet. ) He is about to take her home to Bhatinda, where she hasn't been to in the past nine months when the ex drops in after hearing the choicest explicits. ( Weird !)

And now? The fun begins. All the three reach her home in Bhatinda where Anshuman is not acquainted with anyone. The family believes Aditya ( who had accompanied her before and had eloped with ) to be her husband and formally receives them. The ex is left gaping like a fool. And yeah the ultimate height is when a kid brother asks: Ae Jiju k friend, photo khichogey?. Also, when Aditya is about to leave to end the confusion and Geet runs after him, Anshuman thinks she is going to tell her family about him and runs after her saying : "Geet..ruko.. abhi bataogi? Main bhi bataunga.. mil k batayenge" Only thing he misses out is the braying :D

*** Spoiler Warning ends here***
Though it's pretty predictable and has all the elements of a typical Bollywood movie, I like the treatment. There are a few comic scenes and double entendre you might enjoy. It needn't have ended the way it has and I would have still liked it. Honestly, I didn't really bother whether or not they'll get to be together at the end. It's the journey that mattered that changed their lives forever.

**You might like the song by Ustad Rashid Khan Aaoge Jab Tum .

Virtually There

I had a life..
..now I have the Internet :D

Photo courtesy: xkcd.com
It's not recently that I have been wondering how my social life is like. Except my team members, the peers I meet during classes, and my housemates, I hardly have time to interact with any other human being. The occasional smile at the grocery store counter lady and the UPS guy doesn't count because I don't really know them.

I have at least 3 friends since the past 3 years that I have not met in real life. They exist as email and chat ids and phone numbers.

Maybe this is why I love blogging. It gives me a platform to reach out to new people, their ideas. Or a new perspective from the old pals I know.

Someone once said that I like to present different situations and like to observe how he reacts in each one of them. I don't really believe that I have such a megalomaniac attitude. I am genuinely interested in people.

I like to notice how they behave while in anger, in love, in happiness or in grief. The kaleidoscope of human emotions fascinates me. Biochemically, they are nothing more than a bunch of ephemeral chemicals triggered. Or a physiological process. A little this or a little that. In varying proportions. Of the same constituent elements. The redness of the face when in wrath and the blushing of a bride- what's the difference? An excitatory message hitting the frontal cortex of the brain, sending signal to the autonomic nervous system, following a constriction of the blood vessels (which is why you turn pale first) and then dilation (which causes a larger quantity of blood than the normal level to flow through them)- called flushing or blushing.

But honestly- tell me- what's so magical? Why do we still want to love/hate/care/hurt all those around us whom we feel important? Why do we want the blush on that beautiful face just for us? When we know, that we can control some the outward manifestation consciously?

I don't know. But somewhere amidst this forest of wires and softwares and virus attacks , we might have begun to appreciate human emotions and locution even more. Maybe that is why beauty to me is a face capable of expressions. And ugliness is in plasticity.
THIS is gross

What is your "type"?

I saw a blog where the author asks men to choose between "an outspoken-intelligent-independent girl and a beautiful-dumb-dependent one"
The Feminist(or rather the Equalist) in me doesn't think it's fair. The poll should be open to both gentlemen and gentle (or not so gentle) ladies.

So here's your plate to choose from: Imagine you can assemble and customize your life partner ( If I make it sound like I am selling a product, no apologies :P) What are the top 3-5 qualities you would like to have in him/her? (Have to limit your choice. Can't let you get greedy. Get real pal. You might not even have the three!........Kidding :D)
You can use any adjective/noun adjunct/phrase that comes to your mind. This list is just a reference:

Intelligence
Power
Wealth
Singing/dancing/other fine arts skills
Culinary expertise
Technical expertise
Social Behavior How he/she behaves with elders/ kids/ the less fortunate (**very important criterion as far as my choice is concerned)

Beauty - list 2/3 sub elements like long hair/ smooth skin/ broad shoulders/slim waist/long legs/expressive eyes etc
Thrills ( by that I mean the kind of guy/gal who would take you out on bungee jumping on a date or a long drive from Boston to New York or go camping by the woods. The outdoors types)
Well read and knowledgeable about most subjects (Caution: Constant blabbing might put you to sleep)
Well traveled
Courteous and polite (opens the door for you, takes care of the small things, doesn't raise his/her voice even while in a rage, seldom utters swear words etc)
Martial Arts - Japanese Judo or Karate, Korean Tae Kwan Do, Burmese Lethwei, Muay Thai, Jeet Kune Do etc


I already have some standard prototypes (the elements might vary or change in individual samples):
The King Kong/Amazon type: Dominative, Professionally successful, Unshaven armpits
The Goody two shoes/Take home to your parents type: Submissive, Well read, Fine Arts
The Geeky type: One who chooses latest gadgets over you, Has a wild assortment of software you don't know half the names of, Thinks coding is the best thing to do on a honeymoon
The Business Tycoon/ Rich Bitch type: Filthy rich, Overtly assertive(almost to the edge of being bossy), over indulgent in self-love/self-praise

I'm sure your choice will be better :D Happy assembling!

The elements of happiness

I want you to do this little exercise:
1. Sit in a secluded/peaceful ambiance
2. Close your eyes
3. Fast forward your life by 10 years
4. And list three elements of happiness you can think of.
I have been asking my friends to do this lately and the answers are same in essence as much as they are varied. (You can skip the first two steps if u want :P And remember to comment first and see the other comments later)

Laga Chunari Mein Daag

Actually, this was a comment on one of Great Bong's posts, but one of my friends said that I can as well post it in my blog:

I watched LCMD last weekend coz I had nothing better to do. And I knew the story as soon as I read the title, before it was released. Like you said: it was like rotten bananas served with ice cream on top. Or as Shakespeare would say: What spice can hide the taste of tainted flesh? Abhishek Bachchan had a blink-and-you miss appearance and an unrealistic inclination for call girls who chant Hanuman Chalisa when the plane is in turbulence. They did it in Pretty Woman, a rich lonely millionaire falling for an escort but it was so much more believable!

Thankfully, it was not as gross as Julie with Neha Dhupia with only convincing looks and zero acting skills. (A face with as much expression as a blank blackboard). A small town girls fall into trap of a beckoning metropolitan, gets exploited, turns wayward to feed her perpetually sewing mother; heart attack prone, lottery ticket addict father and a plainer but wiser younger sister- so what's new?

Why can’t they make movies about an uneducated girl meeting the world and realizing that she needs to gather more skills than what she can exhibit in the bedroom? Is there no formula in Bollywood where the female protagonist can run a family without trading her flesh? It looks like an exaggerated version of a Fair N’ Lovely ad where the only worth of a woman is coz of her skin.

Look at Oprah Winfrey. She was born poor, was colored (my apologies for using that term), sexually abused in her childhood – but she reached somewhere; made a niche in a world of talk shows which was dominated by only white males. And now she’s bigger than just a TV celebrity. I don’t care if she had to sleep her way through it or if she has turned peevish lately. Money and post menstrual syndrome does that to everyone. Why can’t Indian cinema make movies like that? We have enough women achievers to mourn the death of in a spaceship crash but not one to pay tribute to while alive! The thing is- the movie would be esoteric and would not cater to the tastes of multitude even if the Indian movie goers have come of age lately and the Nishiganda Dasguptas of Corporate are getting National Awards for the character portrayal instead of playing a role in a skin flick.

There were better moments though: Konkona’s performance when she got to know about her sister’s real profession was worth all the minutes I wasted watching the movie. Vibhabari didn’t have to be ashamed. That was a moment of enlightenment from a stronger woman than Vibha was.

I liked the romance between Kunal Kapoor and Konkona which was much more realistic. The presentation on Lux Woman of the year and the tagline: Jiisey rishtey mein bandhne ka mann kare, muthhi mein nahi gathered a round of applause. ONLY if it didn't sound like the success of a woman depends on the approval of men.

Happiness is only grin deep

CAUTION:Roller Coaster ride ahead. Make sure your seatbelts are fastened.
Phew! The Financial Accounting mid sem is finally over. I had a satisfactory test except that I could have done with some more time.

Prof Novak is out on a tour, so no Mgt650 class today and that gives me an extended weekend with no real course load. Except brushing up on the case study due next Thursday, making a team presentation for Wednesday and reading M-1 for Accounting on Monday. Also, I have a report due in another 2 weeks.And I'm seriously trying to give my patented Indian style of working at the 11th hour.

Wow! Infinite possibilities. I can shop for utilities at Target at South Bay Center, go treasure-hunting in Victoria's Secrets at Cambridge side Galleria Mall near Lechmere station or sleuthing for a reasonably priced beauty salon in Quincy Center. The one I went to in Downtown had charges for waxing like:
Legs: One Leg
Arms: One Arm
Full Body: A new bornSupercuts at Massachusetts Avenue, Central Square gave me a decent hair cut but they suck at waxing and my eyebrows look like a wild assortment of herbs, shrubs and trees now :D (Not anymore. Yahoo)

I always feel hyperactive after a major test. Maybe that's why I woke up at 5:20 am . Called up an old friend in India. Cooked two dishes. Talked to Mom ( which I usually reserve the 10 pm slot for) And decided to go bloghopping for a while. It was great to see some really awesome blogs on my way.

Yesterday, I made a pact with myself. I am going to be happy no matter what. Why? Don't really know, other than the obvious reason that it will save me energy. (Claim:It takes greater number of muscles to frown than to smile)

I was climbing the stairs leading to the entrance of McCormack Hall when a couple of students passing by, smiled at me. Then a professor whom I had never met before nodded and smiled too. Before I could realize why they were doing so, a couple of undergrad boys who were clicking photographs, called out to me and said: Hey! Pretty smile girl ! ". And while I walked away confused, I realized that I was smiling without even my realizing it.

When I was a kid, I read in one of my Moral Science lessons that the world is like an echo. It says back to you what you say to it. I'd say it's also like a mirror, it reflects back what you show to it.

Some days back, I was not so happy. There was a lot of confusion in my mind and I wanted answers to questions that troubled me. But I knew I had to wait. Impatience gave rise to anger and to a certain amount of indifference. But I realized that wrath, like any other emotion is ephemeral. I should not give it permanency by showing it to someone else. And that cooled me down.

I am thinking of channelizing the energy I have into doing something more constructive.
To do list:
1. James Franco
2. Robert Pattinson
Oops.. sorry.. Oxford Dictionary for Difficult Words :D

Recently, I have a crush on the word "ensorcell", which means "to enchant". Though it's more of a romantic word, one practical usage can be:"I have been a manager for too long now to be ensorcelled by company policies."

Or to brush up my German. I haven't taken any online test since last week.

Or catch a flick online recommended by a friend. That's really not constructive, specially if it's a Kareena- Shahid starrer. I like Shahid Kapoor's smile. But Kareena mostly overdoes things. I'm glad about their alleged break up. So, all those rumors about Rosa's claims of Saif and Kareena seeing each other were true! (Saif admits dating Kareena) Hmmm . Hope Shahid gets along with Amrita Rao. They look really cute together.

OMG I know more about Bollywood celebrities than I know about my own cousins! But that's probably coz I don't to get to read about their personal lives in newspapers and magazines.

And yeah, I will listen to the CD Ben gave me last week. Couldn't manage time till now. He's the guitarist for a rock group called Full Tilt. And looks quite different from his pictures on the site coz he has cropped his hair and beard now.

Prof Marc Fournier gave us dark chocolates in class yesterday as Halloween treat. By the time, I was over with my 90 min -long and harrowing Accounting test, 2 hrs of guest lecture and 1 hour of discussion about the upcoming team presentations, I didn't have the strength to go to the ballroom and check out the Halloween party in the university. Though I caught glimpses of guys dressed in skeleton outfits.

Maybe next year, I will go out somewhere dressed as a vampire. It's one of my wishes. I have been always fascinated by those creatures and the Gothic romance of Bram Stroker's Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola. It's a refreshing change to see a classy romance laced with horror than the usual B grade movies with hardly any horror but guaranteed meaningless sex and gory scenes ( Yeah, and I still think Hostel was gross. And after hearing about a scene of Hostel 2, I'm not going to try and watch it even if you give me a million dollars)

All in all, I am feeling very content today. But I shouldn't let it get me too far coz it's 2:35 pm by my watch now and I have to grab my lunch.

Btw, here's a version of "Somewhere over the rainbow", a favorite song of mine originally from the the 1939 classic Wizard of Oz.

Also view the one by Connie Talbot from BGT Finals. The innocence of the child's voice can drive anyone to tears.