Every (slum)dog has its day.

Kuppamnaai Latshaadhipathi

'Slumdog Millionaire' -- that's what I said above in Tamil. Worth a post so here I am.

WARNING! LONG POST AHEAD!

Went for a night show with my usual 'kick' of anticipation, being a movie buff and all that. Did n't even want my usual popcorn right in the beginning. The experience began with angry tears -- mine. It's just that I stood in line to get a bottle of water and when my turn came, the twit behind the counter coolly attended another oaf instead of me, who extended his hand with cash (same as I did)...and the twit did the same with the NEXT guy too. I was outraged and asked the twit whether he knew what a queue was...and should he as the guy behind the counter not be the one to acknowledge a queue...??No answer is what I got. 'GRR' was followed by angry tears which I did NOT shed. Blinked them away.

Enough already with the rant, get on with the movie experience, Teesu. Got it.

The movie is about a boy from the slums of Mumbai -- rather, it is about 2 little boys and a little girl from the slums. The boys are brothers and the older one's name is Salim while the younger one is Jamal and the girl is Lathika (in the film). By a twist of fate (Mumbai riots), the three kids are orphaned and end up together because Jamal takes 'specially' to Lathika. They are conned into ending up in a sort of begging ring by a rogue, and face a dubious future there with a strong likelihood of some terrible atrocities and eventually flee from there just in the nick of time. However, Lathika does not make it with the boys and while Jamal is broken hearted about it, Salim's main interest is always shown as his little bro and not Lathika. Well, the rest of the story is about how Jamal can never forget or give up on Lathika and I suppose she loved him too although in a defeatist kind of way! Jamal gets himself onto a Q&A game show based on the popular 'Who wants to be a millionaire / Kaun banega Crorepati' show, again, all for love. (I used to watch the show here years before, just to soak in Amitabh Bachchan's charm:).

In this film, the show's smug, taunting host is Anil Kapoor while Irfan Khan plays the inspector who questions Jamal on his astonishing knowledge that made him answer all the questions, putting him in a position to become a millionaire overnight.

The film is good, no doubt. The characters seem pretty real as do the situations they find themselves in. I suppose British directors have got a penchant for starkness. Still, this film is not overly stark. The actors are brilliant right from the little children to the young men and women they become. And by actors, I mean to include Anil Kapoor (MAN, that guy is trim and does not seem to know the meaning of the verb 'age'!), Irfan Khan (plays an Indian cop to the hilt), the 3 protagonists, etc. But the thing is, we Indians have seen so much more from Anil Kapoor that this role is like 'jujubee' (trivial) for him/us. Naturally, he played the part well. Irfan Khan on the other hand is damn good usually, and in this, he seems to have underplayed it a bit which is brilliant I suppose, considering that the Indian cop generally speaking, is used to seeing the worst of life, and then some! Therefore, he goes from agitated to angry, to rude, to calm, to shrewd and observing, to being understanding, borders on compassionate and finally, to believing. Very nicely done.

AR Rahman. I may get booed for saying this, but we Indians already knew he is a fabulous composer / music director. The rest of the world is just catching on. To me, that's what this noise about Golden Globes and Oscars means. C'mon... how many marvellous creations of ARR's have we enjoyed? In this film sure, the songs are good, but nothing that steps out to be outstanding in the LONG list of great songs he has composed. Still, if it is the first for an Indian at the Oscars / Golden Globes, it IS great, but it is also true that India has not been appreciated enough for all that she has. Now's her time, eh? I would say that India has merely got a platform at the 'elite-global' level with Slumdog Millionaire, to show off the 'tip of the iceberg'. This of course, I mean in a positive way.

Some have criticised the film for portraying India 'slummily'. I beg to differ. Easy for us commonfolk leading cushy lives to be miffed that the poor side of our country has been 'shown up' on an international scale. But, the film shows how even people from the slums have a code they live life by, which I believe is sometimes far superior to us with the well cushioned butts -- literally and figuratively!;) ... Salim's love for his younger brother, Jamal's love for Lathika, the TV host's contempt and condescending tone (slightly overdone I thought), the police inspector lending Jamal a fairly fair ear, the really good acting by the villains, all these deserve a mention.

I like dogs but not slums, for obvious reasons. I strongly object to demeaning a person by calling him a slumdog. But I suppose, it can happen. The chilling scene where the beggar ring rogues prepare to blind a little boy and proceed with the ghastly act left me feeling deeply disturbed, horrified and terribly depressed, even if it is just a movie. I suppose we all know this happens in real life but we are so far removed from it that we are lulled into a happy and comfortable zone.

This film pokes you in the ribs and makes you feel the pain of a 'slum dog'. And then, it also tends towards fairly happy endings. So, watch it. We are going to win some never-before awards, so you have to watch it!

Cheers! Jai Ho and Jai Hind;).

Late action, late reaction...to Vaaranam Aayiram

I wanted to watch this film from MUCH before it was released over two months ago. Anyway, I saw it yesterday. I am still unclear about what Vaaranam Aayiram means (strength of a 1000 elephants?) or its real relevance to the film and its characters. I only know that an extremely corny dialogue right at the end by Simran (plays an older heroine/woman's role) had some silly reference to this phrase 'Vaaranam Aayiram'.

Suriya the actor, is one reason I wanted to watch this film. The director Gautham Menon is another. The latter has made some very good films although they did have disturbing scenes / concepts in them. Still, he can really make an actor look good and believable -- even better than good, really utilise him or her!

So, the film begins with a sickly, older Suriya. Now, his make up was much much better than Kamal's in Dasavathaaram in any of the avathaarams. (Feel bad saying ths considering I am quite a Kamal fan). Well, anyway, a fact is a fact. Simran in an older role was good until the last few scenes. Konjam sad her acting and dialogue delivery then. Why has she STILL not learned to move her lips the Thamizh way?!!

Then it moves to romance -- Gautham Menon always excels in portraying these 'moments'. Same in this film too.

The main theme however, is about father and son with emphasis on the way the son (also Suriya) looks up to the father. While this is a very nice and unique theme in Tamil cinema, the number of "Daddy-Daddy"s in the film ought to have been reduced by half at the very least. I mean, I am all for the Daddy syndrome but even I found this irritating -- then imagine other less-Daddy-obsessed folks!!

Apparently, this film has been inspired by the director and his father (now late). Hmmmm. Not sure how meaningful that is in Kollywood.

Some scenes were ridiculously long...

Suriya has given a mind blowing performance and is terribly endearing and convincing as a school boy, as a man in love and as an army officer (dashing is the only way to describe him). The father Suriya is fine but nowhere close to the son Suriya.

Sameera Reddy the second (young) heroine is not bad in the acting department for her first film. Acts Ok enough, but I feel there is something wrong with her fitting into a South Indian heroine-image. Maybe her jawline?! She is a girl whom, if you knew in person you would say "woo-hoo, HOT" but on screen...something's not right.

The second heroine Divya Spandana or something, is just about OK and sometimes irrittating although her acting was not very bad. (Am sure it is because people cannot act badly in gautham Menon's films!!) Second best. Frankly, nobody seemed to be able to match up to Suriya in this movie! Not even his older version.

Some call it soppy, others say it's like a documentary. Me, I think if you like Suriya, you are going to have to watch this and enjoy it!

Oh and the music by Harris Jeyraj is wonderful.

As a child...

As a child, I have...
1. eaten paper, so I still recognise the taste. I was just polishing off a toffee a few minutes ago when I encountered that bit of non-food stuck in one of my teeth. It was paper. Due to a burst of nostalgia, I did not spit it out.
2. eaten rubber. In fact, in UKG, my 3-4 friends and I had a competition. We tore up our erasers / rubbers into bits -- at times we had to cut them by biting them, and then we placed all bits and pieces of everybody's rubbers on the table and said 1, 2, THREE, and then grabbed as many pieces of rubber as possible and the prize for the one to have grabbed the most was...to get to eat them all by herself!
3. eaten sand. I remember on one particular day the sand eating went so overboard that my mother heard about it and banned it forever...or at least till date. Now, however, my appetite for sand is NIL;)
4. eaten gooseberries with the natural dirt on them. :) That memory calls for another post though.
5. BRACE yourself...eaten 'nose-matters'. Absolutely yuck I KNOW but c'mon WHO has not tasted some nose matter in his or her childhood? The taste is unfortunately remembered as tangy at best and ...eeegads, even I can't do this...
6. chewed on cloth. Any cloth, mostly cotton. The taste of it is rather...tasteless!!

Childhood was so eventful, was n't it?
Sigghhh.

Toilet Cleaning

I have discovered that I like to clean my toilet. Not by hand (yuck, no) of course, but with a nice long brush, some pleasant smelling liquid cleaner and water. Well, how else does one wash a loo?!

To me this is new since I have never washed a loo before. The feeling of satisfaction is great and it beats dealing with too many people any day! Just me and my loo. A one-to-one experience!

The steps I take for this...
1. I spray the liquid cleaner over all surfaces of the WC and then spray with a vengeance on certain...'areas' which look...ugly-bugly-boo. Or should I say poo?
2. I let it soak for say 5-10 minutes.
3. I take the long handled toilet brush and clean with gusto.
4. I spray water here and there for extra lubrication.
5. I flush the loo.
6. I make sure the surfaces are clean, spotless and dry.

The timing for washing a loo must be perfect. It must be done just after it has been used and well before it will be used again, in order to prolong the 'cleanness time'.

Hmmm...So this post is perhaps the most vetti of all.

Anger Management

Courses need to be offered and I need to sign up!

Hmmmm

People are crazy and times are strange,
I'm locked in tight, I'm outta range,
I used to care, but things have changed.

Yup, Bob Dylan says it all for me today, with these words.

Alarm!

I just received a forward on alarm clocks from a friend S.
Alarm clocks and I go back a long way. Since when I can remember, I have never been early to bed and early to rise. Maybe it's just because I don't want to catch that worm or what, I don't know! Still, I do love sleeping and can go on and on about how I need my eight + hours of ugly sleep...
Anyway!
So obviously, I have always needed alarm clocks to wake me up. Sometimes they have the desired effect on me and sometimes not. But I tell you, one of the best things to have happened in the alarm world is the snooze button. I simply love the option to snooze (I feel all snoozy and ooozy and woozy just thinking of this great option). I can hit that snooze button with aplomb. There's a certain thrill in supressing the alarm for just a few more minutes and getting that many more (few) minutes of shut eye -- a thrill unparalleled that early in the morning. Ok, maybe not early. After all, what's sauce for the goose may NOT be sauce for the gander. (Is this saying correct?).

Ring-ring-ring-ring-ring-ring-ring-ring-TAP!-snoooooooooooooooooooooze.

I must now yak about a few of my favourite alarm clocks...this was much before the snooze button's arrival on the sleepyheads' planet: -

1. My father got quite desperate by the time I reached the ninth standard and bought me one hip looking triangular, black and white alarm clock which made the sound of a cock crowing. Apparently, he thought a farm-like environment was required to make me wake up with the sun. Unfortunately, it was rather too easy to lightly smack the top of this smooth-headed clock and go right back to sleep. The crowing did help the first few times though.

2. The next was a military / army green coloured alarm clock in the guise of a major-general-like doll. This fellow would start up a band and a drill routine to wake me up. There was even an alarmingly realistic trumpet sound in between to kick up more of a fuss. The only way to stop the alarm was to hit the top of the gun the fellow had pointed upwards. This worked slightly longer than the crowing alarm clock. Nevertheless, the novelty soon wore off.

After 1 and 2 above, my father had become increasingly resigned to having to wake me up himself, following any alarm clock's failed attempt. Only, he would put me on a guilt trip: "See, Appa (Daddy) has so much work to do during the day and am interrupting my sleep to wake you up. The least you can do is to wake up(and study)." Indeed. This was really the only ploy that worked on me and probably the only kind of guilt trip ever laid on me by my pretty-cool parents!


Reading various Enid Blyton books (red/green story books and so on) which had some mild morals-of-the-stories for sleepyheads, like a walking and talking bed that took the little girl away to some strange land for not waking up when told to ...and so on, did not really help in the long run.

Oh and then there was one alarm clock that I must talk about. It was my sister's. Again bought lovingly for her by my 'ever-positive-about-his-daughters' late father. This clock is rectangular and unapologetically yellow. Or is it orange? (So yellow, that it's hard to tell!) Anyway, this clock was a simpleton compared to the other two mentioned above. Clearly, my dad did not consider my sis a lost cause like me! Its alarm had a wonderful tune. Why I enjoyed this clock so much is because, I was then going to afternoon college whereas my sis had a full time job before which, she would try and wake up early in the morning to go for a bicycle ride. I had my own room but like all pesky younger sisters, I would pile on to her room from time to time on a lusciously padded mattress on the floor. Then when this alarm began its tune, it was sooo melodious (cos i was not the one to have to wake up) and soothing and...somehow satisfying that I snoozed after that with pleasure. Aaaah. What memories!:)

Now, I use my mobile phone alarm. So bland but delightfully fitted with the snooze option that lasts ten minutes. Ten cozy, glorious minutes.

As they say in German ...Bis Morgen! (Till the morning)
Cheers!
Note: Only the No. 3 alarm clock pic is the real thing since I still have it safe:) The No. 2 is close to what mine was. The pic for my No. 1 alarm clock is more for effect!

What's with the lack of warmth?

Just by looking at a person or even hearing his or her voice over the phone, you can tell if he or she is amiable. True, some over-the-phone grumpies may seem pleasant enough in person...but most often warm people are warm across any medium.

I of late have been observing some mighty lukewarm people and it bugs me no end. Even with a 'Hello' you can make out the warmth or lack of it in the tone ...and therefore its meaning. Actually, I think lukewarm is downright rude.

But it's not the case with lukewarm water in the bath though!

Aaaah. Lukewarm water is just perrrrfect:)

Jana Gana Mana...

Whenever I sing the national anthem, I get the goosebumps at the very least, become all choked up, or downright teary eyed (if it is pms/emotional time;)).

All right, all right, (you raised eyebrow, you...) I KNOW I am no model Indian citizen, or a commando, or an army officer, or anyone 'important' in the country who actually can boast of 'serving' his or her country. In fact, am pretty sure I'm in the 'the-country-serves-me' bracket.
Ok, OHKAY.

But still, when I stand up erect (all solemn) and belt out 'Jana Gana Mana...', I FEEL it. I really do. Patriotism I think it is.

I admit at this point (oh damn, this post is falling apart!) that I don't even know the full meaning of the anthem -- except it is some sort of awe with which we skim India's many natural assets and cheer her on in spirit. But so what? It's the thought that counts, right?

Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he...
Jaya jaya jaya jaya he.......!

Usually, by the time I come to 'jaya he', I am all 'hic-hic' or have to swallow really hard to hit the high notes. Feel the same way about 'saare jahaan se acha' and actually learned this song just last year from my Carnatic music teacher's daughter, because I was not taught it in school. GRR to my school.

Jai Hind!

Hariharan ...Live

For the first time, I got to see singer Hariharan perform live last Saturday. I have always loved his voice -- soulful, deep, soothing, pleasing, strong yet not abrasive. Simply marvellous voice. Wonderful singing skills too. Versatile -- ghazals or hip hop, no probs. Sings with so much feeling and perfection in emotions, it is ...super!

At this show, he was as usual wonderful in his singing and is an excellent stage performer (which I expected after Blogeswari's account long ago) , although he did suffer a few bouts of irritation here and there it seemed to me, mostly because of one or more of the following reasons: -
1. The audience was rather on the reticent side -- maybe quite 'kezhamfied' (with many older people) and not as enthusiastic as they could have been (but not BAD, really)
2.The orchestra needed his constant prodding and guiding for pace, sound, effect, etc.
3. A guest singer was not as quick to the beat as she should have been and needed his prompting. 4. His own chorus singers -- 2 mamas (uncles) and 2 akkas (older sisters) were not up to his 'josh'/pace sometimes.
5. The 'technical-sound people' seated amidst the audience goofed up one song big time. Hariharan actually shouted 'stop it' at the end. But it was not even heard properly because that was how loudly they goofed up.
6. A few requests were shouted out from the audience and although he complied, I felt he was somewhat ...bugged. He was gracious all right, but sommething was missing.

Why I was bugged here and there:
1. Hariharan got his sons to sing 2 songs -- one solo each I think, and they were both only 'average' singers. The older one especially, bordered on lousy singing. The younger one can pass off in the rock scene. If I had been feeling bitchy enough (!!which I was not since Hariharan's singing is flawless and mind/heart blowing!), I would have felt very grumpy about having his sons forced on us when we had come to hear only Hariharan. (free passes notwithstanding!) Oh well, perhaps he was using them to take his voice breaks...am a wee bit Grr nevertheless.
2. The two male chorus singers at one point early in the performance were seemingly having an argument right on stage until one (main) female singer Lavanya (I think that was her name)shushed them. Silly behaviour on stage that too. Mamafyd behaviour.
3.' Lavanya' was pleasant and openly enjoying Hariharan's singing skills all right, but did she HAVE to be soooooo adoring of him and smiling 99.99% of the time? In fact make that 100%! NO aching cheek muscles, eh? Plus, this overly overt admiration of one's er, BOSS (for lack of a better word) does not look very nice on stage. I mean, even I was getting carried away with his voice, but i was not gazing 'smiley-ly' at him alllll the bloody time! Please, woman, some restraint. Thankfully, Hariharan did not turn all goofy himself. He was damn near perfect in fact. Anyway, Lavanya did sing very well as did the other female singer whose name I did n't catch.
4. The guest singer -- great that she got the chance to sing with Hariharan and great that she had the guts to, but then... I am jealous!!;)
5. The crowd. Silly folks. Either come out and enjoy a performance or don't show up. If you knew anything about Hariharan, you would know that you cannot be unenthu at his show.
6. The playback track was ON and it seemed almost like karaoke singing here and there -- this PISSED me off. I do not want to watch a talented singer like Hariharan LIVE, doing karaoke.
7. I never considered myself a 'radical Tamil' but when he sang the Hindi version of 'Thamizha Thamizha' from the film Roja, I was miffed.
8. In the above song, I made out a mistake he made because of point 6 above. My friends and I have performed this song in college and I knew straight off that he had made a mistake in the beats -- in that he missed two beats! Come ON, with 4 chorus singers and a whole orchestra, why not make your own music however modest? A singer like Hariharan can carry it through, OK?
GRRR.

Anyway, all I can say is that I have new respect for Hariharan -- because he is so good on stage as well and even does some impressive dancing!! Just a few steps, but cute. I am waiting for his next live performance cos I ain't missing it -- sons or no sons, adoring Lavanya or no adoring Lavanya and Hariharan's well-concealed irritations or no. Hariharan beckons!

What a voice, what a voice!

New Year Resolution

My new year resolution is to...
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.
.
.
.
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not wait until the end of the year to make resolutions. No attempt at improvement should have to wait even for a second! How profound is that, eh?

My point is, if I am going to wait to make a resolution, chances are that it won't stick, simply because I put it off for a grander moment in the hope that at least then, I may have whatever it takes to stick to the resolution. Correct?

End of years

The last day of 2008 deserves a post, me thinks. I sat down to think about what I have achieved this past year...no, actually, I am only now sitting down and thinking about it...hmmm. Ok, no major achievements! It's not like I am Vishwanath Anand or something, that I can talk about the latest feathers in my cap. ('PJ'* on feathers later below.)

Still, I must say I seem to have enjoyed myself for the most part of 2008. Lack of Vishy Anand-like achievements leads me resign myself to listing out some personal, interesting experiences of 2008: -
1. I have started writing for a newspaper supplement -- still freelance, but nevertheless...
2. I began writing restaurant reviews for a Chennai based magazine -- this happened quite by chance but since it's right up my alley, I now revel in it!
3. I have enjoyed the company of my friends (3 different groups) even more this year! One group of school pals, one of college and the third group I got to know through my gym and they are what I call my 'womanly' friends -- I became thick with them only a couple of years ago, but they are FUN.
4. I went to Singapore, where neither the zoo nor the shopping disappointed me! The cable car ride too was awesome.
5. I went to Perth, where a visit to an animal farm was cool, as was a 'seaworld' experience.
6. I 'irregularly' worked out but enjoyed it anyways! ;)
7. I made some new pals in June but no clique formed as yet!!
8. I made plans to do something 'on my own' and nearly implemented it, but did not. Only because when it came down to it, I did not believe it was going to work out. Am still pretty sure I was right. (oray the opinionated!)
9. I did No.8 TWICE!
10. I came to the realisation that I cannot diet. (Ha, haaaa.Better late than never). I am not into depriving myself!
11. I also came to the realisation that I had better work out and at least consider my food / plate before I eat it. (Vaat ya dollop of wisdom, eh?)
12. I simply 'mindblowingly' enjoyed 2 reunions with friends -- one for an evening out with two school friends to celebrate 30 years of knowing each other (went pub hopping) and the other with five college friends for a 3 day getaway to Pondicherry to celebrate 16 years of being friends.
13. I have begun to recognise certain signs of maturity and immaturity in me...and others too. I don't think I had the power to recognise such things before!! (My 'wold yage' is the reason!)
14. I cried and laughed almost as well as Sivaji Ganesan when I was watching the film 'Abhiyum Naanum' last weekend. I cried at the father-daughter senti stuff and laughed at the STUPIDITY of the film in many other places. Came out of the movie hall very much like I had downed a few pegs, helped by a certain college pal who has an impeccable timing in and an incredible sense of...humour. (B is her name)
15. I found out that with close friends, bickering is normal and healthy!! Annoying too!
16. A favourite cousin got married.
17. I found out that some things just don't change. (Nice things:)
18. Restaurant reviews did not make me gain weight -- in fact they reduced cravings and binges, he he, since I get my fill at the restaurants ...and variety too, what with all the la di da sampling!
19. Somebody somewhat famous who was seeing me after 18 years recognised me!! Either his memory is very good or I still look 'eng'. I choose the second likelihood, thank you!
20. I have been photographed a LOT this year and taken quite a few too!
21. Many people have been highly encouraging about my writing.
22. I regained a couple of ex-friends.
23. My sister has almost become a friend-like person!! (ha ha yakkao...akka, akka, yelakka)
24. I have watched more movies in the theatre and at home on dvd in 2008 than in 2007. (yenna oru achievement!)
25. I met Priyanka Chopra (this one is for the guys)
26. I met and interviewed Khushboo, Anu Hasan and Radhika (certainly not achievements, I know, but...)
27. I spoke with Chiyaan Vikram on the phone a few times (ok, obviously I am a fan, but c'mon, it's an achievement cos this guy is cool. Anyway, which celebrity bothers calling back interviewers?)
28. I have learned to put my foot down with some people without even consulting some best buddies on how to!! Especially with pseudo celebrities.
29. I have started bragging about how 'I am a trained pilot but without a valid, current license' ! (cheap thrills;)) 12 years old this news is, but...feather in my cap indeed!
30. I have started wearing bigger earrings than ever before and dressing up like never before!

Ok, enough already! (stupid American phrase).
Oho. It looks like friends have played a huge role this past year. I am not complaining...

Regarding the PJ which means Poor Joke, there was a pompous boy who went away from home to make some money after ruffling his dad's feathers. Every week, he would write home to his father bragging about some thing he had achieved that week and finishing off with "...this is another feather in my cap". This went on for a few months.

Then one day, he wrote home to say he had lost this, that...and everything and 'Daddy, could you please send me some money so I can return home?'.
His Dad replied : "Use all those feathers and fly back!".

Ha ha. Really not so funny in today's world of 'aaapus' and 'aruvaals', but still...

The above points are a general fairly vetti personal reminiscing to salute 2008.

Happy New Year to my handful of readers and may your dreams come true at least this year! Here's wishing you a happy and healthy and PROSPEROUS 2009 minus the paunch that goes with 'prosperous'!

Cheers!

Happy New Year!

'Jobless' thoughts must intrude during the end of the year's supposed usual introspection... (uhhhuh! Ahem!)

We shout "Happy New Year!" to each other every year, when the clock strikes 00:00 on 31st December. That thought got me thinking (read: vettiying). So, this seems to mean that a new year is born at that time. This then means that it is the year's birthday, right? Then why don't we say 'Happy Birthday, New Year'?

Oh dear! what a vetti post this is. I shall stop now. Even I cannot bear this!:)

Lizard Poo

I made a very idle observation today, just now, on Christmas eve, as I lifted a jug of water up to my mouth. My head naturally tilted back and my eyes fell on the ceiling as I began a glug-glug.

Then I noticed it -- lizard poo (lizard shit) or palli-pee (Tamil) in all its black glory with an 'ivory tip' (sick!!)...on the ceiling!

Certainly, an 'ugh' topic. But managed to spare it a thought(!). It was on the ceiling, which means it was sticking to it -- OR beating gravity. Naaah. It was sticking to the ceiling apparently perhaps because there is some sticky quality about it. I mean, people talk about shit hitting the fan but clearly, shit cannot stay on the ceiling.

Therefore, the lizard can do something we cannot -- shit on the ceiling and make it stick there!

I actually wanted to incorporate an image of a lizard and perhaps its poo here on this post, but just looking at a lizard's picture gives me the heebeejeebies. Ugjdkfsdfjjfh!

Procrastination

This is a vice. Procrastination is.

I am guilty without having the need to be charged, of procrastination.

Clean the room -- another day
Meet a deadline -- tomorrow (After all, tomorrow's another day)
Clean the cupboard -- tomorrow
Phone to catch up with (some) relative -- tomorrow (not in the mood right now)
Start on a diet -- tomorrow (IF tomorrow comes)
Stop losing temper -- soon (!Yeah right)
...and so on

Why do I do it? Hmmm... lousy habit I guess, garnished with laziness and served with a blob of LACK OF DISCIPLINE on top. That would be my dish of procrastination. No need for recipe cos nobody ought to try it.

I believe it runs in the family, on top of everything. But...does it run in many or most families? I hope so because misery does love company.

Am debating on how to handle it...oh well, I won't think about it right now. Will introspect ...TOMORROW!

Accessorize!

Forget fashion, trends, style, blah blah. I think the best thing to have happened in recent times is the accessories boom. 'Fashion jewellery', as it is fashionably called and 'fancy jewellery', as it is locally called. By the way, I love this word: fancy. To be honest, I have taken a fancy to fancy.;)

har har.

Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la la la la.


So, coming back to it, I love shopping for fashion jewellery. I think it is completely worth the money since it is quite reasonable and suits most occasions. I am not at all hung up on gold, silver, platinum, diamonds and so on. (Mostly because there is a limit to affording these heavy metals!) With fashion jewellery, you don't have to worry about fluctuating gold prices, the weight, the size, losing it, breaking it or be organised about stashing it in a locker after use.

And then there is the variety in the colours to consider...

Oh yeah, fancy jewellery is definitely this girl's best friend;)

P.S.

It is sometimes referred to as chappu chavaru (little bits of rubbish -- fondly speaking) and the action of shopping for these is sometimes called pee porukkal (no kind translation available with me!).

December

December in Chennai is generally very busy. It sometimes feel like the whole year inches along (although time flies as usual) and then suddenly, come December and the year seems to be hurtling along at full speed towards the next year. Can't hang on to anything. It's like quick, quick, quick and another year is all over!

Or it just me?

Also, December is perhaps the coolest month (or least warm!) in Chennai and so it seems short and sweet perhaps. Whatever the reason, December is fifth gear -- fast lane! Music season, NRI visits (ahem) - friends, relatives and so on. Socialising, eating out, Christmas hols for the kids...wow.

I love December be it at home or anywhere else in the world! A very happening month!

Cheers!

P.R.O.s

Public Relations...
What must it be like to have to smile all the time? To be polite always and observe all ps and qs allll the time?

I am all for smiles -- folks who smile 'with their eyes' and whole face (!) really appeal to me. But I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like for people in the PR line...oh not so much the HOT SHOT areas of PR. I am not referring to the creme-de-la-creme PROs. Those don't have it quite so tough. They don't have to be polite when they feel like throwing things. I am talking about the PROs of 'ordinary' companies. I have met a few and just watching them putting on a bright and cheery front sometimes gets to me.

How do I know that it is a front? Well, I sometimes like to watch people as they talk to me and make mental notes about some things;)

I think this post was prompted by a recent PRO I met whose smile did not reach her eyes and her cheery tone seemed an effort for her. Felt a bit bad. For her.

Still, I'm sure most PROs suit their roles -- outgoing, thoughtful, hard working with a sharp memory. Speaking of hard working, as far as i can tell, being in PR is really HARD work! Keeping odd hours, meeting weird people, remembering seemingly unimportant stuff, talkign when you don't feel like and of cos, smiling when you feel like baring your teeth and growling!

Imagine having to be NICE all the time. Me, I like my grumpy, cantankerous, moody or irritable (do they all mean the same?!) moments too much. They are must haves -- only now and then of course! I need 'me' time. Being in PR means you have to be on your guard a LOT and on your best behaviour. With all that smiling, I am sure amajor pain for PROs is aching cheek muscles!

So, I guess PR is not an option for me.;)

On the phone

The telephone is super. Chatting with people over it is the best. I especially, was not one for particularly short phone chats. I have talked hours on the phone ...to the same person(who obviously, was as into the phone as I was) . The longest would be a chat with a friend that lasted overnight -- maybe 6-7 hours, and then there were those other times when I have chatted with some other friends regularly, for three hours -- give or take an hour...and so on.

45 minutes was nothing.

But today, I had a 25 minute phone chat with a friend and I was tired at the end of it. I chose to end the chat and hang up. I cannot today believe my earlier phone conversations lasted hours. Of course, I did not have so many things on my hands those days as I do now... Those days were basically footloose and fancy free. Such a condition is given to change! He he. Just 11 years ago!

Phone chats were and still are (despite tiredness and all!) so FULFILLING and de-lonely-fying (!). Not to mention convenient...

Simple Pleasures

Life is full of simple pleasures -- as it should be! Over the last few days, I have been observing the simple, seemingly real pleasures in life that have come my way...

1. Anticipating a fun evening out with my gal pals as I don't like to call them! Just friends. Just talking. Just having a good time. And then of course, actually experiencing the evening.
2. Waking up late on a Sunday morning. It never fails to please me, this.
3. Waking up to a wonderful cup of coffee, perfectly made (irrespective of who makes it)
4. Enjoying a slow breakfast of dosas and sambar -- now why does that particular combo appeal so? Comfort food, I guess.
5. Watching some really funny clips and/or melodious songs from films on TV.

There are many many more simple pleasures, but these here have been recently enjoyed and so this post.

Cheers to the next week ahead.