"I am an ardent fan of your handwriting"
"Thanks", I mumbled.I could feel myself going red.
"Especially the way you write an A", she continued.
"Indians as a rule having better handwriting than others" I muttered.
"Yeah, probably because as kids we are insisted on improving our writing"
"And also because of the amount of homework that we do", I wanted to sound intelligent too, almost at the risk of sounding stupid.
"I have seen specimens in my office who have deplorable handwriting", she insisted
By then thankfully I was done with the bill and she decided not to stick around.
Well, not that I was not used to complements, but it had come at the most odd of times.I was after all writing out a bill for some medicines.
The lost weekends...the late nights...the hesitations and uncertainties...the motivators and the motivations...the wishes....
the d-day...the countdowns...10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1..0...the applause...the euphoria...the achievement...
ESA has gone live!!!!!!!!!!!
--"LIVE BY FIVE"
The satisfaction and euphoria that accompany the successful completion of any data load is incomplete.....
aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10 - 10:30 - Hashbrowns, Lemonade, Toast, Apple, Orange, Salsa, etc,etc
10:30 - 12:30 - Drive to Sedona (without directions!)
12:30 - 1:00 - Boda lies to the Lady behind the Tourist Information desk at Sedona.
Boda: "We were just on our way to Phoenix, and had some time, so we decided to stop in Sedona.".
Then sheepishly assuming she had bought the whole story, "What can we see in 1 hour?", followed by the usual Boda grin!
Lady handed us a map and asked us to just keep driving along a trail, "You can see what to see when u come back for 4 or 5 days"...hehe
1:00 - 1:25 - Furious calculations, lost paths....
Lots ventured, nothing Gained!
1:25 - 1:50 - Driving back to a Taco Bell that we had passed on the way earlier.
1:50 - 2:20 - Educating Boda abt what to eat, what not to and of course HOW TO EAT!!!! Stuffing ourselves with tacos, tacos and more tacos....:D
2:20 - 4:10 - Driving to Boda's place...dropping him off, the car heaving a sigh of relief at the big load that was unloaded.
4:10 - 4:40 - Driving in 112 deg from Bodas place to mine...
4:40 - 4:45 - Manu decides to take a break...
4:45 - Manu leaves, I get down to work (missed the conf calls at 8:30 and 4:00 )
4:45 - 5:15 - internet plays Truant, and theres a truckload of work to complete...
5:15 - Decide to head to office to finish the f****** work...
6:00 - Into the deserted office, 3 of us trying to work diligently, but not before realizing our badges dont work and we have to walk a mile to the lobby!!!!
6:30 - Mr Manager pops popcorn for us.
8:45 - Am finally back home...settle down with 'Fountainhead'...
Have been going cycling for the last couple of days (3 days to be precise)...and its fun....will mostly continue for a couple of weeks more atleast...:DDD
"That's what I'd expect you to say and I don't like to hear what I expect."
Rain!

1. Water condensed from atmospheric vapor and falling in drops.
2. A fall of such water; a rainstorm.
3. The descent of such water.

Animal Kingdom

'The Ostrich Festival', one of the '10 unique festivals in US'...so said the Website...So, rather than wasting a saturday at home, we decided to drop in to see the long-legged (non)beauties.
Getting there was an adventure in itself...but once there, it was an experience in itself....it was a huge carnival, and awesome rides...like giant wheel, kamikaze, etc,etc...it was crowded too...the usual melee of ppl, old young, hot, cold...the ostrich race is a huge attraction, we managed to get good seats, coz we were there a full 45 minutes early...:D The races were funny, there were ostriches, emus, alpacas, ponies, camels and chick(en)s too...the MC was a funny guy, cracking pj's which would give our very own 'PJ' a complex...we howled with laughter...and there were different kinds of races, roman style races(with carts drawn by ostriches), kids herding the emu's to the finish line, chicken racing...the 50 minute show was a riot.... To top it all off, there was a pig-race too, with a couple of beauties being hand-picked from the spectators to cheer the pigs(complete with pom-poms and slogans...) my 'babe' won...:D

Kal Ho Na Ho?

Was watching the movie today...
Am wondering, is it really possible that someone can be dying (like SRK) and still manage to look so happy and spread so much joy? can it really happen?

Samosa and Pav bhaji neone? :)

Friday, the 4th Feb, 2005...

Had hot masala tea, Hot Samosa's and Hot Pav Bhaji at a colleagues place...it was AWESOME...to say the least...:D

5 reasons why I hate Green Peas....

1. They are peas.
2. They are sweet.
3. They are vegetables!!!!
4. They are nutritious.
5. They cant be covered with chocolate syrup.


Will be updated as and when I discover newer reasons...I am sure there must be atleast a 100!!!!

Yeh kahan aa gaye hum....

the question that crosses my mind often, when I leave the house in the mornings, with an apple in my hand...:)
Halfway down the block, I am not sure if I locked the house....but then I am already late to the bus stop...ok...what if it isnt, what can someone steal...I evaluate,
1. my room mates laptop..:D
2. the TV, DVD player...
3. clothes...I am wearing one pair, right...:DDDD, and y would neone want my unwashed clothes? ;)
4. Food???? (I am almost inspired to run back...)
5. My passport!!! (quick check in my laptop bag....phew!!! its there:)

Hmmm....no motivation to go back n check...so my minds back to the day that lie's ahead...and the important decisions that I will have to make...like * "When is the right time to have Hot Chocolate? is it after I wake up from sleep or is it when I am about to fall asleep?" (well, whenever the cute girl in the next cubicle feels its the right time, I ll maybe just follow her...)
* "Should I wait till a few others feel its lunch time (at 12:15!!!!), or shouldn't I? "
and so on...

Hey, did I take my lunch box???? (frantically searching again...)

Snow, Choppers, GC and ME!!!!!

"to go or not to go?"...a question that popped up late on friday a'noon...to those ignorant souls...the place in question is none other than the Grand Canyon...more importantly, it is the first place in US of A (other thn mundane Phoenix), where i would kick off my "Glimpses of USA" tour....
and...the DDay was to be Saturday, the Fifteenth day of January in 2005....

now...getting back to the question...an not-so-well-informed soul might well ask.."Why the hell do u have to think abt going to the GC????"...well let me point out, that the GC is the closest "tourist" place to my dear Phoenix...and most of the people have been there atleast a couple of times...
Anyway, after a lot of deliberation and anxious moments...etc..etc...we left at 7 am on Jan-15...picking up gloves at walmart...(it is going to be VERY cold, the stalwarts warned...).
We passed Flagstaff on the way...a little about Flagstaff...its the only ski-ing place in Arizona...thats it...
It had snowed on Tuesday, and the remnants of the snow-fall projected a christmas post-card like quality to the sleepy little town....it was the first time i was seeing snow in person (no one formally introduced us though :D)...with all the excitement of a new-born taking a first peek at the outside world, I watched it...its difficult to explain it, it should be felt...was an exhileration of sorts....a liberation from the sun n sand of phoenix...
and we moved on...
3 hrs and 240 miles later, we were there...well not exactly there...but at the I-Max, abt 10 miles from GC...after a couple of pizza's, we watched a 30-min documentary about the GC...brilliant even to my untrained eyes...

Next came the Helicopter ride...wow!!!!! the thrill of a helicopter ride, coupled with a beautiful lady pilot (do u call them "pilotess"?), was awesome...The first view of the Canyon...it was all sudden...one minute you are flying over some cheap landscape....and before u can blink your eyes, there is a sheer cliff...and the rock is in variuos hues...red, yellow, ochre...and the effect is dramatic...its like a huge fortress...as the chopped hurtles downward...its a feeling of nothingness...after a series of chamak maneouvres, its times to be back...and become an ordinary soul, and start using the asphalted road, instead of the sky...:D
Well, from there, we moved on to the GC National Park (GCNP)...its dotted with tiny trails...each of which leads you to different viewpoints...each more majestic than the other...they are named strangely too...the more famous one..(rather, the only one that I remember..) being Yawapai....
we kept taking the village bus to go from 1 viewpoint to another...and they seem to keep going in circles...the last one that we took, to get back to our cars, passed the same place twice...before getting to our cars...
The final viewpoint was a sunset point, and at this place, you can "Hit two birds with one stone"...i.e. on one side, you can see the colours of the cliff rocks changing as the sun moves...and on the other side you see the sun setting...:D
well, it was getting cold, the temperature was 42 (in Fahrenheit!!!!), and we decided to put our gloves to use...hmmm....there's no word that can describe the feeling of discovering, that the Gloves you had entrusted with the responsibility of keeping your hands warm turn traitors in sub-zero temperatures...written in fine-print, on them were the words "Sports Utility Gloves", which provided good ventilation for the hands, when u r cycling or playing b.ball.....:((((... so with frozen hands and a heavy heart, we trudged back to the warmth of our car...
Next stop was the I-Max again, for Coffee/Hot Chocolate...food, t was decided would be at a place which served something other than PIZZA's...:)) ...there is a National Geographic shop there....we decided to buy some souvenirs...but guess there idea of souvenirs, which is a framed tarantula, or a collection of dead wasps, grasshoppers, dint match ours...so we hastily retreated...
It was 7:30...and the dinner break was supposed to be at 8:30...with the confidence of taking the first Food Exit after 8:30, an arrogance that we paid dearly for, we set off...
the miles were flying, and Flagstaff looked even more beautiful in the night, with twinkling lights....and quaint houses....
and then it was 8:30!!!!!
we took a Food exit, which promised the sight of a Subway (a junk-food chain)...the Subway looked inviting...and the smell of food was intoxicating...we walked into the Subway with the same feeling that Christopher Columbus might have felt when he discovered some goddamn land (Arrogance and relief in that order)...and then cme the blow...like the same CC realizing that it was an illusion...no one was ready to give us food...it was closed....:(...
So hurt n hungry, we started off again...the converstion was subdued, there was food on everybody's mind...not often do you start talking about Idi Amin(Dictator of Uganda) and end up talking about Idiyappam...there were 5 sets of hungry eyes looking at every exit board that went by...and then there was one...Exit 296...our Saviour...it led to the Heavenly gates of Macdonalds...only when we took the exit...did we see the board asking us to take a right and go JUST 15 miles to reach MacD...%$^&*!$...now , we had an important decision to make...what if the MacD is closed...30 miles on a hungry stomach is no joke...so back to I40...and this time we were silent...till Exit 266, that is....a huge board...showing MacD, Subway, Burger King, etc,etc popped up...hungry, but a little cautious nevertheless, we took the exit...and then it was all a blur...the subway being open, the beautiful lady there preparing a "veggie delite", hogging it, all happened without any knowledge....
well...the situation had reversed now...we would start talking about Idiyappam and end up talking about Idi Amin...:DDD
Then on time just flew, me and the driver aiming to reach home by 11:45, while our opponents, warning us of tickets, cops, etc,etc....
Finally, we reached Phoenix at 12...and home at 12:30...

Well...thats it...an eventful day indeed, and my first visit to a "Wonder of the World"...my first Chopper ride...my first close encounter with Snow...
a Day of Firsts indeed...:D

Box Office...

Dil Chahta hai -
*ing Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Saif Ali Khan, etc,etc
Duration : 2 hrs 40 min

Scooby Doo - 2 -
*ing a few ppl and a dog....
Duration : 1 hrs 25 min

Meet the Fockers -
*ing Rober De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo
Duration : 1 hrs 54 min

Gangs of New York - CD 1 of 2
*ing Leonardo Di Caprio, Cameron Diaz
Duration : 1 hrs 37 min

Gangs of New York - CD 2 of 2
*ing Leonardo Di Caprio, Cameron Diaz again!!!!!
Duration : 2 hrs


Rumble in the Bronx -
*ing Jackie Chan, Anita Niu
Duration : 1 hrs 30 min

Well, this is the list of movies that I watched over the weekend....:D