Hurry Burry

Decluttering

2012-01-25T14:27:00.000-05:00

Some people hate moving around but I don't know what it is about moving that I have come to like. There is some weird joy in having the flexibility of being able to pack your bags and move to a new place. The excitement of living in a new place with endless possibilities of decorating it the way you would like it is a thrill that can't be explained. Maybe its got something to do with my moving 3 times within last 6 months!

However, during my most recent move (which I am predicting would last atleast an year) I had to rely on packers and movers. When I initially moved to the New York area, I started with was just two suitcases and a couple of boxes. Over the last year and half I have no clue how I have accumulated so much stuff (No I have bare minimum furniture, I am talking about real clutter of assorted and mostly unused things here!). Now add to this all the things that B brought along, together is one giant pile!

With space being the biggest asset in any apartment in this region, I decided to zen up the space and go on a large scale decluttering mode before any decoration or design ideas can even pop up in my mind. So filling up those trash bags ruthlessly with bills, letters, unused clothes, boxes, basically anything and everything that I thought has not been used in the last six months, has been my first prepping step in this "Home Decor" interior design project that I am about to undertake.

Pursuing Dreams

2012-01-24T00:10:00.001-05:00

I have come across many quotes in my life that have stuck a cord with me in a soul inspiring way. Recently, one quote caused quite a stir, "Happiness is a choice". Does that mean we should curtail our choices and be content with what we have? No, I believe it goes on to imply that we have a choice to be happy, choice to do what our heart aspires to be, choice to simply rejoice life and pursue our dreams.

Every one of us has some childhood dream, it may have been to fly a plane, win the oscar or climb atop Mt.Everest. Whatever dream it might be, it is the time to make them come true. If you haven't dreamt anything that dear to your heart, then its time to dream!

One might argue it is easy to dream and easier to tell people to pursue them. How does one go about actually realizing them? Here are four simple stages that can help in attaining any dream.

Stage 1: Research - Figuring out the feasibility and "how to" would be the first step. I am sure you can agree this is something completely doable right?
Stage 2: Take that first step - Most of us put off things that are tiresome to do as that just is plain convenient. Take that first leap of faith.
Stage 3: Plan and keep trying - Perseverance and planning are the qualities that most of the successful people have in common. Never give up.
Stage 4: Repeat the above stages - Life is a cycle. Your dreams mature and new dreams are born. Pursue your dreams and let the dreams pursue you.

Tango Bottoms Up

2012-01-23T09:58:00.008-05:00

We all try to eat healthy and stay fit but sometimes we do give in to sinful pleasures. It may be that smooth chocolate brownie or that soul quenching drink. If you think about the reason of why we give in then its simply due to the fact that they are extremely tasty to resist or we are bored of the not so tasty healthy options.

I have always been on the lookout for healthy yet tasty alternatives. So this category of "healthilicious" tagged posts is just for that.

We know how good carrot juice is and the great anti-oxidant properties of pomegranate juice. However, on their own they tend to get too bitter or tangy if you keep at it for some time like I have been. Resulting in me creeping back to those chocolate drinks or sugar loads milkshakes.

Here is a quick and easy tango cocktail that's healthy as well as super delish.

Step 1: You need Bolthouse farms carrot juice and Pom Pom juice

Step 2: Mix equal amounts of each like so.

Step 3: Enjoy the tango drink where carrot's bitter taste is taken away by pom and pom's extra tanginess subdued by the carrot's flavor.

A perfect cocktail for feeling refreshed after a workout or morning yoga. Cheers to more healthiliciousness!

Our Wedding Invite

2012-01-21T11:41:00.004-05:00

We wanted to create an invite that was both personal, green and at the same time not clichéd. So we ended up creating a wedding website from scratch. After we filled in all the required sections of when, where etc, we wanted to fill up the mandatory “our story” section as well. B came up with this idea doing it comic style and I couldn’t agree more as I so wanted to stay away from writing some cloyingly sweet words of how our love happened to be. So this is what we came up with.

Inspired from Tambrahm Rage Comics

Setting Goals

2012-01-20T09:42:00.001-05:00

It's that time of the year which everyone of us in a corporate job have a love/hate relationship with. Setting goals! If only we all knew precisely what we wanted to do, wouldn't we be doing something great? To go through this yearly cycle of figuring out what we need to accomplish for the year, align our objectives with that of the team/firm and specify methods for evaluating success at the mid/year end reviews is quite tedious. I strongly believe this process would be very effective in keeping the employees motivated throughout the year only if the goals initially set were relevant throughout the year. Now how does one do that, seriously?

If we were to employ the same structure to our personal life, would it get any better? I am not sure what I would have accomplished at the end of this year but there are certainly some aspirations that I can list out. But wait before I do that I need to provide you some context.

Who am I and what is it that I do? This is something I am trying to figure out myself. On the outset, a typical Indian girl with an educational path thats probably looks like a super smooth highway by now due to millions of students having taken the very same road, yes hello there fellow CS grad reading my blog. In reality, working as a developer for an investment firm based out of New York. In dreams, decorating houses-selling stellar paintings-creative makeup inventions-doing all the celebrity trash talks based out of Bangalore. So now coming back to my aspirations for this year:

1) Complete CFA Level 1
2) Trip to some exotic places
3) Take a plunge off the sky
4) Create videos, designs, art
5) Be inspired and be inspiring

Now let me stop myself there before I create a list that matches my work objectives. Now to the difficult part of how do we measure success? I'll be my own manager and answer that question on Dec 31, 2012. Till then all that I can suggest is to have as realistic goal as possible and try your best to keep at it.

To New Beginnings

2012-01-19T14:43:00.006-05:00

I am back again and hopefully I last longer this time than before at the blogging scene! So what happened in between? Now where do I start, went to grad school, graduated, got a job and moved to New York, fell in love and now got married! yaay :) So that sums up the last few years of my life.

So how's married life going on? I have been trying to answer this question in best possible way that I can. Do I say a funny incident/story or give an exciting speech or just say the generic its great! Well, what do I say, it been mmm great indeed :)

For me the transformation from living with parents to roomates and then being all by myself has been easy. Change is not difficult for me at all, infact I love change. So living with hubby (eww its difficult for me to say that word so lets just stick to calling him B henceforth) post marriage has been one of the most easy change. Its exactly like living with your best buddy for a roommate.

We recently moved to an awesome new apartment by the hudson river and did I say its awesome ;) I am looking forward to decorating it all by myself. Afterall, this is my rare chance to show my interior decoration skills, if I have one that is. I face some challenges in terms of the apartment shape (its not the typical square/rectangle) and the time I need to spend after my long hours at work, but hey doesn't challenge make things more interesting?! More on how I end up decorating the home as things unfold.

PS: We did our own small milk boiling ceremony and had aromatic filter coffee (Cos these are the only ingredients/utensils that we could find easily from those piled up boxes!) *Must Unpack Now*

Revival

2010-02-05T12:32:00.006-05:00

Felt like blogging after a really long time. It may be a result of trying to find something interesting to do apart from the work/school/assignment/test routine which had been engulfing most of my time for the past 1.5 years! I need something to break free from the monotonous grind. The only source of entertainment during my grad school life seems to either of the following:

- Phone calls
- TV shows (Lost,The big bang theory, How I met your mother, Desperate housewives, Amazing Race..the list is basically endless you, get that right. There has been times when I spent my free time deciding which show to pursue next!)
- Internet (Streaming, Surfing, Networking, Chatting and every possible kind of it)
- Books (Predominantly study related ones which I read in free time to catch up on the real course work related books! or fiction novel of every possible kind..though lately their count has dwindled manifolds)

As you can see from the list most of my activities are restricted to indoor activities. I have to figure out to balance this out but how?? I tried these..

- Jogging on the streets but with this cold climate who feels like stepping out? I have granted myself an excuse by waiting for the spring to descend.
- Swimming (Look above for the excuse)
- Painting. I don't possess the tools nor the patience these days. But wait it doesnt even count as an outdoor activity..duh!
- Gymming. Lack the disciple to pursue after a point.

So, after this self reflecting blog, I realized that all that I need right now is to not look for an excuse but to try something with a real intent and interest.

Watch out for the next post when I figure out something interesting to do afterall!

Hope

2008-12-20T12:27:00.003-05:00

There are times in your life,
When you feel low and want to put everything aside,
Just walk away to the shores nearby,
And feel the rhythm of the waves on your side,
Maybe then you would realize,
the true meaning of this life.

What is it that keeps us going,
Thro' darkest phase and lowest ebb,
Is it the strength of our mangled heart,
Is it the courage of our confused soul,
Maybe its just the positive vibes,
That keeps flowing from our dearest ones.

Its the realisation that no matter how hard it gets,
Nothing can tamper our very existence,
Even this phase will phase out,
Brighter time would surely come,
Its this hope that keeps everyone going,
Cos nothing in this world is unconquerable!

Jeffrey Archer's Prisoner of Birth

2008-07-21T14:38:00.007-04:00

Jeffrey Archer at his best, yet again! "Prisoner of Birth" is a classic example of how a novel that is based on a story of court trial should be. Complete with its twists in the plot, author does not fail to keep the reader completely glued to the book because there is a surprise waiting at every corner. How the main character etches out a revenge and the redemption is the work of a genius.

I was impacted by the lines as stated by Mr. Munro in the book which implies that, In our life we are either born rich and enjoy the luxury that it offers or we are born poor and struggle to make the ends meet. We are indeed the prisoners of birth. Only if we break free of the shell that we knowingly or unknowingly build around us and achieve far beyond what our circumstances of birth has to offer us, be in the form of charity or courage or any good character trait that would help a fellow human being, that we would truely be able to call ourself a "free person".

Procrastinate

2008-04-03T12:40:00.004-04:00

Are you one of those ppl who'll be on time everytime? If yes, then you can never associate yourself with this post and maybe even say what crap! but I think there are a few ppl like me who land up last everytime when meeting friends or at get togethers. Rushing at the very last moment to some place or rather any place!! oh yeah, I have been like this forever, though every time I land up late and see that look on my friends face (u know tat I-can-kill-U look) I promise myself that I'll be really early the next time and wouldn't leave any reason for complaint. And there is happens again!!

If I gotta reach a place by say 9 am, I would do all the planning stuff properly. So 15 mins max travel time, maybe another 45 mins to get ready but these creepy thoughts drag in at 8 am..hey 5 mins of extra sleep won't do so much damage nah.. zzzz (8.10) damn alarm's not on snooze! Alright, I drag myself from bed and get up finally but hey I gotta check my mail just in case some univ/some soul took an effort to mail me. (8.15) hmmm no mails, too bad no single soul bothers!! I tell myself, "hey no resist orkut/facebook" but eventually land up there to see its the some ol crap scraps tat I saw late night anyways. A few clicks here and a few clicks there and I get lost in the maze of the wide web. (8.30) one look at the clock and I am like oh crap *damage control* a hurried shower later I see its (8.45) oh good still on time can catch up, only to meet the damn traffic and my estimated max time for travel is all off! Yes ofcourse, there I get the I-can-kill-U look yet again !!!

Dunno why I can never avert that. Maybe its my resolution this ugadi to fight back this delaying laziness of mine, eventhough I know resolutions never work ;-)

New Year 2008

2008-01-05T08:24:00.004-05:00

Welcome 2008 !!

What better way to start a fresh new year than partying hard and gathering up all the energy for a bright new year! This is exactly what I had in my mind when me and two of my friends (Ranjani and Sreejha) headed to Bangalore..to wherelse but my sis's place.

Our journey goes like this, we hopped onto sreejha's car for a free ride till Bangalore on the 30th of December. All tired and cranky by the time we reached, we had a delicious dinner made by my sis(yep that was a shocker!!) and just dozed off to call it a day. Then came the 31st, we didnt have much to do by the day. We just got up, played some badminton or rather got involved in some aerobics everytime someone hit it hard and it got struck in the tree! The day just flew by without anything big but hello the night is still young!! So there was loads of planning going on as to where do we head to? My jeejhaji, his bro, my sis, jeejhz's 2 friends and of course my friends and I, finally headed out by 8. "Mind it" destination - yet not confirmed !!

We saw possible partying options on the way but we all couldn't agree upon one. We ended up driving for a really long time and the driver (guess he is from one of those Dubai safari rides!) did make the journey quite eventful!

Finally, we reached "The golden palm resort" at 10.30pm and oh man what a sight it was. It was the most amazing place I have ever seen and guess wat? Hrithik Roshan got married here. Say Whaaattt?? Ii finally get to see atleast a place where my hero walked down de aisle..lol !! its a place owned by Sanjay Khan, so we even got to see Zayed Khan at the party..mmmm ;-)

After burning out 5k per couple we finally got an entry. The crowd was really nice, true assorted mix from young party mongers to families complete with oldies n kiddos. Initially I thought, okayyy this is gonna be a silent kind of party with dinner tables and some classical music in background but then I was in for a complete surprise. As we entered the lobby n then the backyard, viola! The most beautiful locales, there was giant pool surrounded by tables n buffet on either side. On the other end of the pool, there was a huge stage with the cutest DJ n big dance floor. There was amazing lighting all over and belie dancers too ;) Food was good and what we did there was masti redefined. The countdown to new year, dancing away to glory, the screams (my voice is still down), I can never forget it.

I have decided to have fun every moment of my life. Oh ya in case you haven't figured it out that's my resolution which is more in lines of Ross's one! Life is only once so live it fully ! Well then the party went on and on till 3 and dunno when exactly we reached home. The next day we shopped (ofcourse going to Bangalore and not shopping..nah hows that possible ;-)) and traveled back in train to a hot n humid Chennai.

Now, I got full on josh to face another year and hoping it'll be eventful (happy ones of course) and to kick start it on a happy note, when I opened my inbox I even had an admit from an univ for grad school..yaayy...where's the party tonight ;-)

Wishing you all a brand new year that's filled with joy and everything you wish :-) Do share your new year eve experiences.

Harry Potter - The Superhero !

2007-12-25T02:57:00.003-05:00

I have been planning to write a post on Harry for quite some time now. It all started when a bunch of people from my class started this anti harry community on orkut. In their own local way of besmirching Harry named the community "Harry putaarruuu"..needless of me to say it was tacky!
The people around the world are going gaga over Haryy, but why? Everyone has their reason to love/hate him. I'll tell you my version of why I like Harry Potter so passionately (Note I didn't say Daniel Radcliff)

First of all he is a simple guy. He does not have the brains like Hermoine nor is he a well build hunk. Just a regular kid in the wizarding world (now u may ask what is so regular about the wizarding world? Now here you have to set aside all your critical specs and read on). Because of his past and certain situations he is forced into a being called a hero. Lets face it everyone of us have a fiercer side deep within us which most of the times is restrained inside but only when crisis arises its unleashed. So I liked that spirit of Harry, he fights the evil with the best of his abilities. Its inspiring to see how he emerges out successful from toughest of times. This is what kids of this generation need to know and J.K.R has done a great job at that. Not only the reading habit is inculcated at any early age but everything about her book is so damn good, the running your imagination run wild part, the never giving up spirit and so on. *warning to anti-harry community people* you might think this is the time to launch ur "its a kids book..puhlease" attack, well the thing is there is a kid within each of us. That's the part the author taps out and she takes us right into the magical world to make us believe it. If you are thinking its a silly baseless magical world then think again! The author puts out facts in least of the places you expect them and every little detail is explained out.

So you say the book gives you inspiration, that all? Every superhero does that! Nahh this package has all emotions bundled up, you laugh, you cry along with the characters of th box. By the end of the series you would really feel you have traveled a long journey into and miss it too! Do let me know why you like or dislike Harry in the comments.

Vegetarianism V2.0

2007-12-24T01:53:00.004-05:00

What is Vegetarianism !! Wiki defines it as the practice of a diet that excludes all animal flesh. So, I hear you say, "thats it?". Well that makes the speculative debate whether "Egg is veg Vs non-neg" halt at a null. Variations to this term are coming up every instant from "eggitarianism" to "Vegan" but being as close to the veggie food chain as possible is better definition of vegetarianism in my opinion. Lemme clarify this, I am a vegetarian (or eggitarian?!) and its not by force that I am a one but completely by choice. Yes ofcourse it all started religiously cos being a brahman am supposed to be vegetarian right? but does this trend follow even now? I highly doubt that. Am 21 and given a choice I can skip n jump to other side of the table over night but its MY CHOICE not to do so. I can give you a hundren reason yelling out the goodness of Vegetarianism but then you would scream out several counter attackers too but in the end it doesnt matter at all. Its an individual's choice and everyone has a right to select. All that I say is choose Wisely !

Let me put forth some of my views to help you make that crucial decision. Apart from the health factor (for ur benefit not for the dead animal's) also consider the ethical factor. Now c'mon don't say plants are alive too! *bull* the thing is atleast I don't "hear" plant screaming. I dont "see" blood spluttering around when they are cut. Technically plants have a smaller life span compared to animals and are bound to die in a few months but animals nah. Now don't give me the crap that you help balance the eco system !! Animal that you consume have never even seen the world let alone "the so-called-ecosystem" cos they a bred in small suffocating cages just for you to feed upon.

I am guessing some non-vegs temper may be on the high now after reading this and you probably wanna curse me but this is just my point of view. Even if a single soul stirs and changes to be a vegetarian because of me, I would feel happy. People say in your lifetime you should plant a tree but I would like to add that also helping one non-veg person change to be veg.

PS: A veg person continuing to be veg his/her whole lifetime is not that great cos he/she has never experienced the other taste but if a non-veg person changes to be a veg by choice then its the greatest decision ever made!

Jeffrey Archer's False Impression

2007-12-07T00:18:00.003-05:00

I read this book recently..thanks to countless jobless hours at my disposal.. well i just picked this book up from the bookstore as i am a die hard Jeffrey Archer fan and have the confidence on his creation and sure why not, he did keep up to my expectation never failin once. some people feel his story drags on in the middle but if u just hang on u'll be in for a pleasant surprise at the end which is where i admire the master at work. His book "Not a penny less, Not a penny more" was a true work of a genius with a climax thats sure to keep u breathin hard!!

Well comin to this book it starts off with a murder..well u might may say..ahem..isnt it a typical start to any fiction but lemme tell is this is wat keeps us all glued on to continue reading..so is the case here..its very fast paced..eventful and we just cant put the book down..believe me i literally read it day n night..maybe because i am jobless and in my holidays now but its worth a readin..so may ask is it jus a timepass one..well all fictions are!! but wats sets this book apart is that it has a solid amt dedicated to impressionist paintings..monets..manets.. n van gogh.. it was very interestin..i actually started to look up for more info abt the painting over the net!! so out of 5 stars i would give this book 5 stars..n its surely worth the money n time.. happy reading..

watch out for more book reviews !!

Holidays ;-)

2007-12-06T23:54:00.004-05:00

What do you do when you have two months of solid holidays awaiting you. I my mind these are the different stages:

The pre holidays stage: oh man..can't wait for the holidays to begin.
Holidays arrival stage: yipeee hols r finally here..wow this is amazing!
Into the holidays stage: oh man..i miss college..a lil bored at home..hmmm

there's no perfect solution..the possible options not exhaustive one though are:
1)going out to movies with frends (but many is too many!!!)
2)joinin a class(guitar..dance..yoga..aerobics..)
3)read a book(a suggestion blog comin up soon)
4)make some craft (check out artattack.co.uk)
5)write a blog!!! (Am I not doing it already)
6)hey n not to forget plain old playing with friends(its fun playing 7 stones at any age. Try it!)

so do comment what is your plan with keeping the holiday spirit alive. Remember its in your hands to never let it go of the "yipee hols r here" stage to "hmm its pretty loong" stage!

Where's The World Heading To

2006-09-14T05:10:00.005-04:00

I guess you must be wondering aloud 'why should I even bother to read yet another blog about this world'. Well, I got just one answer 'Dont Care' cos thats the attitude that many of us possess. People of this world can be classified into different categories according to me.

There are some who want to be fashionably classy, who chase accolades and admiration, and in the process fail to notice the basic cause for human existence (which is quite difficult to decipher). In this desire to be at the center of limelight they cease to look into to light of their soul!

Then, there is another kind of human race which makes up the majority of us. Lets call them the routine workforce. We get up, do the daily job as though its demanded of us without enthusiasm and without hatred either. We do it cos everybody does it. There is no final destination as such and we battle in our till end without serving any major purpose. However we do have the satisfaction of having lead a family life. Helping our immediate dependents to grow which in a way is appreciated but where is the room for creativity and what is the pleasures from this monotonous routine?

Look around you! and you might notice people of many kinds. There are the head banging in discs and then there are spirital journey packages to heavenly himalayas. There is the joy of family gathering..marriage..ceremonies..festivals..colour..song..dance..everything that keeps us alive and believe in bounty existence..ok lemme not get skeptical about whether it exists today or not!

People watching and observing random people's behavior has been something I always enjoyed. Learning from what people do and how they do it can be quite an enriching process. All I started out to say was..there is room for all the happiness in our life, we have to find it in whichever way suits us.

Well if you got bored reading my stuff, then as a normal citizen of this world 'I give a damn' but if by any chance it ignited you to live life to the fullest, my job here is done!