Thursday, April 29, 2010

overdosing on movies

been a nondescript week of sorts so far....we ended the weekend with S, R, A and baby G coming over and the high point for them was the biryani from four seasons and for me the CSK win... i may be called a traitor or whatever...but who can resist MSD? not me.... 

monday was a quiet day with me working from home and only in the evening we had a meeting followed by dinner with the team I work with. It was sort of a run up to an AGM and some stuff was discussed. Dinner was at a pretty popular chinese restaurant,, which has good food and very sucky service...they didnt disappoint, either with the food or the service which sucked big time. tuesday was an early day, we continued the AGM with numbers and revenues...and I'm pretty numb after it all. I am very focused right now on what i will do and that's all that matters at the end of the day i guess... still i cant help feeling a bit like i have much more in me to be explored workwise...and its a chicken and egg situation...should i put more effort and wait for the encouragement and praise or vice versa.... because i know to launch into the next phase, i need some wind under my wings.

Mid week was non descript too. I am watching a lot of tamil and telugu movies, videos, movie clips, interviews etc...I realise that if i stay away because of the language issues, i will miss so much genious...So far we've seen Madurey (vijay) which was very sub standard, Polladhavan (dhanush) yesterday which has excellent screenplay, acting and cinematography despite being a masala mass movie... new respect there for dhanush....a few days ago we saw Kantri (NTR Jr.) who despite the weight loss packs a punch and has excellent screen presence... cant stand that hansika motwani tho....Watched bits of Magadheera, which i loved...paruthiveeran...stark, excellent, but too gory for me... karthi and priyamani in top class acts...cant believe its karthi's first movie... we have another pile of tamil / telugu movies waiting...need to plough thru them as well...

Listening to Raavan now... ARR's music always needs to grow on me...i need to go cook lunch now.... K's taken the day off today....sanathnagar factory later today for a dinner set etc for B's mom....

Thursday, April 22, 2010

100 truths

I saw this on a random blog i landed up on and thought its been a while since i did something like this!! here goes....100 truths about me...


LAST

1. Last beverage: Coffee
2. Last phone call: To the gas agency to book the gas 
3. Last text message: from vodafone to tell me my bill is due in a few days 
4. Last song you listened to: Can’t remember…but I think it was something from VTV
5. Last time you cried: Saturday evening…don’t ask me why!
HAVE YOU EVER
6. Dated someone twice? No
7. Been cheated on? yes
8. Kissed someone & regretted it? Nope!
9. Lost someone special?yes
10. Been depressed? Of course…much more than was ever required I think.
11. Been drunk and thrown up? yes...more than once!!
12. Kissed a stranger? No
13. Lost glasses/contacts? No
14. Had sex on first date? No
15. Broken someone’s heart? Yes…I suppose…
16. Had your own heart broken? Yes…what goes around, comes around!
17. Been arrested? Not yet!
18. Turned someone down? Yes.
19. Cried when someone died? Of course....even if they die in a movie
20. Liked a friend that is a girl?Liked as in romantically? no.
IN THE PAST YEAR HAVE YOU
21. Made new friends? No
22. Fallen out of love? No
23. Laughed until you cried? yes....mostly when k is imitating people or reading status messages from fb in his special voice
24. Met someone who changed you? Yes
25. Found out who your true friends were? Yes 
26. Found out someone was talking about you? Yes. But i dont really give a damn
WHAT’S YOUR
27. Name: Arundati
28. Nicknames: Anu, Aru, papa, ammulu and k man  
29. Relationship status: Married
30. Zodiac sign: Cancer
31. Male or female or transgendered: Female
32. Elementary: St. George's Grammar  
33. School: Sri Vidya 
34. Colleges: The Mother's Girls jr. college, St. Ann's, PSG Cbe
35. Hair color: Black with some bits slowly greying now....
36. Long or short: half way...midway down my back  
37. Height: 5'2
FIRSTS
38. First surgery: tonsilitis at age 7
39. First piercing: ears, when i was 11 months old....i dont remember anything
40. First best friend: Syeda
41. First sport you loved: Tennis, because i was in love with Boris Becker
42. First pet: Mickey, our beautiful black spaniel
43. First vacation: can't remember that
44. First concert: Euphoria at Channel V's roadshow
RIGHT NOW
45. Eating: Nothing
46. Drinking: Nothing
47. I’m about to: Go make some chai
48. Listening to: the whirring of the ceiling fan and the banging of the carpenters from the apartment above
49. Waiting for: Mangoes
YOUR FUTURE
50. Want kids? dont know
51. Want to get married? again? no
52. Careers in mind? coffee grower, restauranter, beach bum
WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
53. Lips or eyes: both 54. Hugs or kisses: Both
55. Shorter or taller: it doesnt really matter
56. Older or younger: doesnt matter....its the mental age over chronology 

57. Romantic or spontaneous: Spontaneously romantic 
58. Nice stomach or nice arms: Arms....am always a sucker for good arms on a man
59. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive.
60. Hook-up or relationship: Relationship
61. Trouble maker or hesitant: neither
DO YOU BELIEVE IN
62. Yourself: yes, most of the time :)
63. Miracles: Yes
64. Love at first sight: No. Attraction maybe........
65. Heaven: Dont know....
66. Santa Claus: No...........but whoever created him did a bloody good job!!
67. Kiss on the first date: Yes, why not?
68. Angels: Yes…mostly in human form
LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS
69. blue
70. yellow
71. White
72. red
73. Have you kissed anyone on your friends list? yes
74. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life? about 80%
75. How many kids do you want to have? Dont know....either none...or three
76. Do you have any pets? Not for now
77. Do you want to change your name? No
78. What did you do for your last birthday? spent a quiet day at home with dinner i think
79. What time did you wake up today? 9.30 a.m 
80. What were you doing at midnight last night? Watching Mani Ratnam's Geetanjali
81. Name something you CANNOT wait for? the summer to end
82. Last time you saw your father? in real life? sept 23 2002
83. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life? Nothing really...i believe what i am today is because of my yesterdays...and i dont want to change that, no matter how personally shattering....
84. Most visited webpage: Google
85. Do you have a crush on someone? no
86. Ever been in love? yes
87. Piercings? two sets of ear piercings and one nose stud 
88. Tattoos? Not yet, but hopefully before my birthday this year
89. Righty or lefty: Righty
90. On Internet since: more than a decade
91. Video game: i dont play video games  
92. When left alone: browse, blog, cook, bake or sleep
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY
93. Is there one person you want to be with right now? Yes.
94. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? no 
95. Wanted to kill some one ever? No
96. Among you blog mates, who would you like to kiss? No one
97. Committed a blunder and regretted later? Yes
98. Wanted to steal you friend’s boyfriend / girlfriend? Not yet! :-P
99. Wanted to run away from your loved ones in anger, because they didn’t listen? No
100. Posting this as 100 Truths? Yes

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Wednesday

got an early headstart..cant remember the last time i woke up before 7 a.m... oh yes on those insane winter days we made a roadtrip to udaipur....i digress....

started the training at 8.15 and i was there more as an observer cos i am handholding and grooming a bunch of senior guys who're rolling out a functional training program.... nice to see people so enthu that early...ofcourse breakfast on the house helps....and nice to see guys who will be part of my final train the trainer, putting in so much effort and actually wearing different shoes... they were all "oh ma'am we didnt think it would be so difficult...it takes a lot to stand there and do that ... etc" well...am glad you noticed!!

We wrapped up by 3 p.m... it was too hot and i was too tired to stay for lunch... went back to office, enroute picked up some pupps... curry pupps, egg pupps and a veg roll... had a roll for my late lunch and took the pupps back home for the K man....had a canceled meeting at 4.30, so headed home after that...

K man was back home later than scheduled... but atleast before midnight... we had nondescript dinner in the bedroom cos it was unbearable to eat at the dining table... cherry on the cake was watching geetanjali ....

this is i think the only movie mani rathnam made in telugu.... i loved the music... i loved the presentation of the woman in this movie... no glam sham... no masking the pimples or the less than perfect body and so fresh.... the girl is shown as someone who takes life or whatever is left for her one day at a time...and gives the guy the answers he is seeking from life....and for the first time i saw nagarjuna do something nice....he used his eyes well...and all those who say naga chaitanya is the image of his dad...he has a long way to go!! pc sreeram's camerawork was top class and i remember the haunting memories of the kissing song...so beautifully picturised...although their lips barely graze... it was scandalous for the late 80's.... every woman wanted to be geetanjali and every guy wanted to be prakash!! i just didnt like the way it ended... too much dramabaazi for a story so well crafted.....it sorts of cheats you in the end...

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

boring blessed day

Had a rather boring day today. I woke up rested thank god and was less cranky than yesterday!! the veggie situation is dismal so last night had soaked some rajma to escape that inevitable morning question! I had a morning meeting and so left home earlier than K, I find cute when he stands at the door till i disappear into the life....most mornings, the lift is where he disappears and i stand at the door!!

had a pretty fruitful meeting...am to do some ground work before i revert with my recommendations... headed to office, did some updations and had lunch. since there was nothing significant to do, i wrapped up around 2.30 and headed home...shade from trees were so deceptive...so a few hours after parking in what i thought was shade, the car was out in the open and hot as a furnace...napped for a while...A dropped in for chai...made some dhokla and dosa for her... we chatted... its always good to spend time with a friend...she had to leave early to get to her mom's house for dinner, so an auto was called...quiet dinner and couple of phonecalls later...i lie on the bed while i type this... tmrw is a busy day... i leave home at 7.30 for an 8.00 a.m training. It going to be a full day... better hit the sack...its early evening by my standards..i can still try, maybe a book will do the trick!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Monday

Its been a good fruitful day well spent...as shilpa commented on yesterday's post, this could be the after effects of a sunday well spent. I slept finally around 3 and slept well past 7, I know i cant bear one more day of "kya banaoo ma'am" early in the morning... two davaras of filter kaapi later, i was ready to wake up and take on the world. Wished Appa...he was so excited and happy... homam in the temple and special birthday feast... happy birthday pa...am glad to have you in my life...

at 12 for a client meeting to finalise training schedules and modules for a 4 month effort...the work done by the team was very very good and i was very happy to see this level of enthusiasm and commitment...we need to take this forward and multiply the excitement...the only thing i hate about this client...parking is a pain in the @$$...i drove around 10 minutes in a 1 km radius and had to park almost a km away...anyways... that done (it took longer than i estimated, and we wound up after 2.30 p.m). i went back to pantaloons to pick up some stuff i saw yesterday on our way out when K was tired of the sunday shoppers and so pleaded that i should go back another time and look at it... i had to follow his word!! i am nothing if not an obedient wife!! 

back home around 4 and there was no power... managed to rest for a while before i started to send out some mails etc...after the sunday indulging...i am in no mood to do anything in the kitchen...so had some slices of homemade bread with the leftover's of yesterday's ginger mushrooms!! funny... but enough to fill the stomach...

tomorrow i have a meeting lined up with a healthcare company...they're interested in our work in training and i hope to be able to make some headway there... the week looks full after that... monday started well...new clothes to wear too!! :) i hope to close this week on the same happy note....spirits...stay with me...

sleepless again

its monday...it's appa's star b'day...i hope i remember to call and wish him....happiness, health and peace above all....

its 1:30 a.m and i am unable to sleep....courtesy the longish nap i took hidden under the razai with the a/c on....had a restful day today...woke late... opened the door for renuka and devi and went back to sleep...i think i babbled something about mango dal and rice....she made steamed and sauteed raw plantains too...which i had after i woke and brushed...around 11.30 a.m in true (pseudo in my case) brahminical style...cos the idlies and multi dal dosa looked so meh!! K woke up a little later and with a few morsels out of my plate declared he was ditching the idlies too....

the people on the top floor were hitting and banging and hammering...and making such a din... i think some carpentry or something, but the noise of the electric saw is so agonisingly annoying that i didnt know what to do....imagine sleeping thru that noise!! K went upstairs to tell them the friction caused cracks on our ceiling, they came down to inspect and finally took the hammering downstairs... go piss someone else off and screw their sunday afternoon....

i had a bath and tried to sleep... K is like a child with an exciting new book...cant blame him, its my diary from '98!! The part of my life he asks me again and again of...the year i went to PSG...so intermittently he would ask me why i wrote something or who someone was...i cant remember a lot of them...some of the names enterred there are still a part of my life in some way.... i think i should start writing everyday again...if not anything it makes for a nice reflection of what your life was in the past....

i felt hungry again at 1 and no way was going to eat those damned idlies..so indian chinese from punjabi rasoi...they were rather (surprisingly) disappointing today... but noodles are noodles and so i fed myself and K...napped till 6 and felt so much better (that time of the month....bloody pain in the wrong place), chai on the balcony with K after ages...

we headed out...just the both of us after many months...to pantaloons..i wanted a block printed pj...they didnt have it in my size...so picked a plain ochre kurta and patiala salwar and dupatta set, one kurti from lee cooper and 3 t shirts...then to levis for K's jeans... they have a real groovy store in JH....we wanted to check out hall of fame...the new sports lounge... it was full...and full of snob rreal estate funded boys ..  its now the new place to hang out... typical hyderabadi mentality...this will be the next best thing for the next 2 months...for some reason they were discouraging couples!! refreshing for the boys i guess!! we wondered where else to go... idlies in the casserole be damned!! just thinking that we never used to take so much time to decide where to go...we landed up at senor pepe's opp KBR park...they do decent tex mex...we had an assorted platter of  nachos...some fried spring roll type of thing and quesadilla ...large portions with sour cream and salsa...so we ordered one fettucine pasta dish for the both of us to share...which was very very disappointing....back home...i wanted to sleep before 11.30....K wanted to talk...he read me my old love letters...the emails i wrote to him.....i cant believe i wrote that well.....:) with all that....he chased my sleep away...w hich brings me to the present...we're both awake... him watching something on tv (the first its been switched on this week) and i am typing away...do you think i can force myself to sleep? i must try it...

loads to do tmrw...i need to finish two meetings and swing some business my way.... i think i will like doing it...may spend some time in office as well...

its been a good weekend....i am thankful for it...now to force myself to sleep...goodnight!

Monday, April 12, 2010

really long rant

I thought i would let it go, but its so much in my head that i should get it out of there for my own sanity.... in the last post i mentioned that i have now realised completely with no room for doubt in my head that i am not a happy person when i am not in control of a situation....its like this, where i or something i bring to the table are at stake, i would rather be in control...where i dont have to be a central, important to the plot character i am perfectly happy sitting on the sidelines....

what happens when the two are mixed is a recipe for total disaster in my book....have you found yourself trying to cook in a kitchen that isnt your own surrounded with alien gadgets and people bustling about, more like being in your hair and feet? the end product is always crappy and like shit luck has to follow you around...that one dish which everyone lapped up and begged for more, when you try to make it in someone else's kitchen turns out to be the worst kitchen disaster ever.... this is just an example... i mean when expectations are sky high, and circumstances not to your liking, the end result is always frustratingly disappointing....

i tried too hard to please a few people.... to cater to needs they didnt really have...and i was so bitterly disappointed. especially because i gave them the gift of my time, and it wasnt reciprocrated. I came home thinking of the 6 hrs wasted and how i would have rather had some me time....read a book, blogged or just slept.....a time when i could have rejuvenated instead of boiling my blood.

i could have taken control...ordered the pesky kids (i really need to develop a threshold for 8-9 yr old oversmart children) off and asked for everyone to pay attention to what we were trying to do....i didnt want to...appear rude...i wanted to make the most of the situation...and i failed miserably...

I've been teaching people to bake and make chocolates for 3 years now......many times, these sessions are not done in my house...i've done it at friend's houses, offices, office cafeterias and even at schools.... never once have the results been so disastrous... i had no idea who was doing what...disinterested minds, constant reference to "someone else making it this way", children demanding attention and wanting to be part of the melee....we forgot the sugar in one, added too much melted butter in another and abandoned the fourth recipe .....
no offense to anyone involved... but i really dont think i can repeat this performance...i dont need to please anyone....i dont need to prove my credentials....and i dont need to wage a battle...and all for what?? to bake a cake!

of this group, there was one for who's sole sake i agreed to do this... i think it would have been a lot better had i just stopped at this one person and we'd hung out and experimented together...just the both of us....

And the most frustrating part of this whole thing is, i am feeling angry at having disappointed everyone...i wonder if they even gave a thought to all that time of mine wasted...

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Updates from here and there

the hot summer days and nights are making me quickly lose track of time....work to be done, house to be run (hey that rhymes) and other random stuff which isnt so blog worthy....and in the melee... i dont write as much as i should.....

I've done a fair bit of work these past two weeks and i feel a great deal of pleasure in the accomplishment....I do enjoy the training room immensely....I've slipped into a phase of self deprecation where work is concerned and clearly that needs to stop because that isnt helping me one bit...why can't i see the goodness and talent that the world around me can see so clearly? i need to work on this one....

one big notion i had about myself is constantly being reinforced....i hate a situation where i am not in control...because that directly affects the way in which i react, perform and the results...i was recently in one such situation that i wasnt in full control of (non work related) ...and as a result...the end product was way below my personal standard of expectation...and i had a couple of sleepless nights over it... why i know...i need to work backwards with this....

Weddings...summer and weddings are like a lethal combination.... 2 weddings of friends with girls of their choice, met with stiff parental opposition and finally the girls had to do it without their families in tow....i felt thankful that despite my jest that i'd have eloped with K had our parents not agreed to our wedding, i am sure i would have been too sad and teary if i actually had to do it....there's just something so sad about not having your family around you when you take your vows and begin life with the partner you want to be with (hopefully) for the rest of your life. thank you amma, amma and appa for agreeing and being large hearted....despite everything that you didnt approve of, you still blessed us with your presence....it was like saying, i dont like or approve of what you are doing, but since its important to you, i will be by your side....

i think i ODed on sarees this past month....3 times in as many weeks and i think my quota for the year is exhausted...the thing about wearing a saree....is that it has to turn out absolutely right, the discomfort with the drape of the garment can make your life hell otherwise....i realise its just practice...and all those years of draping sarees for classmates in LH (ladies hostel) definitely served as practice...

Today baby boy G got an official name.... he's now baby boy A...we celebrated with the happy family at a post baptism lunch (we never made it to the church because we couldnt wake up!!) Kids can really entertain themselves anywhere .... i cant remember ever being so outgoing as a child...i wanted to cling to my mom...chee.....


Anyways... chalo... K's watching an inane comedy on TV and i want to join him..to ciao!!