Happy Diwali!!

Its 32 degrees outside and freezing – its already winter – I AM IN DENIAL!!

Its just Tuesday morning and its 3 more days to the weekend – I AM IN DENIAL!!

I have already finished my day's quota of chocolate and its not even 9:00am yet - I AM IN DENIAL!!

Ekdum Happy Diwali to everybody!!

Mood of the day: Phased out
Song of the day: Tu hi tu satrangi re

- Moi

Food for thought!

When a saint and a wordly man met,

each looked at the other,

silent and mocking.

Both laughed at each other.

Each said the same thing:

What have you done to yourself?

- Bharat Thakur

Thinking on these lines - assuming that this is an either/or situation for each of us - I don't know which side of the fence I would be standing on in a few decades.

- Moi

Mood of the day: Busy

Song of the day: Chandni raatein ....

I sky-dived – jumped off a plane from 13,000ft – but I don’t think I will bungee-jump. Nah nah – don’t think I can!

Too scary me thinks!

- Moi

What is the difference between a snowman and a snow-woman?

Ans: SNOWBALLS!!

Muhahahahahaha!!

P.S: In my defense I have eaten too much chocolate today and the sugar got to me!!

Rant!....

Warning: This is a rant post – waited a long time to put this one out!

I am a Maharashtrian gal – and proud of it, brought up in Hyderabad – again proud of it.

I consider myself to be a Hyderabadi as I lived there my whole life before I came to Chicago. I speak fluent Marathi – ok not as great as any Puneri would speak – but I do speak Marathi at home with everybody. I am tired of answering a favorite question from people – Oh you are from Hyd? Do you speak Telegu at home then? (this question is invariably from a marathi speaking person; also notice the tel-e-gu – a maharashtrian can never pronounce it as telugu) In my head I start screaming No! NO! NO! – I speak in Marathi not Telugu – but in reality I politely reply saying that we converse in Marathi at home.

I have been brought up in a land where there were very few marathi families around and I did not have any marathi friends. So in school, I invariably spoke in English. Also, apart from home, I never spoke in Marathi to anybody else as there was no chance to do so. So anybody who was new or a stranger or not family the immediate impulse was to speak in Hindi or English. And this frame of mind has stuck with me. Even as of today I cannot speak in Marathi to a person whom I am meeting for the first time even though I know that person to be a Maharashtrian. I cannot speak in Marathi to people who I am not comfortable with. There are very few people outside of my family with who I converse in Marathi – and I want to tell the world – its not because I have an attitude problem – its not because I am a SNOB – its circumstantial. It’s because of the place I grew up in – it's not because I don’t like speaking in Marathi – I love the language. I have to be comfortable with a person to hit it off in Marathi. I know it does'nt sound too logical, and I agree I am a bit weird, but it takes all kinds to make this world, no?

So next time if a Marathi speaking person finds me replying back in English its because I don’t consider you dear enough or close enough to start speaking in Marathi with. It's not that I am not comfortable speaking Marathi - I am not comfortable speaking it with you!! So stop judging me!

There, I said it and now I am at peace with the world!! :)

-Moi

Mood of the Day: Peaceful
Song of the Day: Padosan teri murgi ko rakhna sambhal – (don’t even ask me which movie!)

10 Fav Literary Characters!

These are a few of my favorite literary characters – not necessarily in any order.

Howard Roark – He is the quintessential hero of the literary world for me. I am a huge Ayn Rand fan and her books have influenced me a great deal. Howard Roark, who is Rand's image of the perfect man, is portrayed as "as man should be", who lives for himself and his own creativity, indifferent to the opinions of others.

Albus Dumbledore – The greatest wizard of all times from the series Harry Potter. This half-moon spectacled wizard is my favorite character from the Harry Potter series and I was devastated when he was killed in the sixth book.

Atticus Finch – This righteous, idealist man influenced me a great deal in my teens when I read To Kill a Mocking Bird

Dominique Francon – When anyone thinks of The Fountainhead they only think of Roark but I think Dominique was an intriguing character and a perfect match for Howard Roark – I adore her character.

Frederick Troterville – “Fatty” from Enid Blyton’s Mystery series – he is the head of the five find outers and is one of my all time favorite Enid Blyton characters

Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, Viscount Bosham or Lord Emsworth – This P.G Wodehouse character of Blandings Castle is as adorable as can be. Longing for nothing more than to potter peacefully in the idyllic gardens of Blandings Castle, he frequently faces the unpleasant reality of his domineering sisters and familial duties.

Calvin – Calvin of “Calvin and Hobbes” – one of my favorite comic characters – it is not just a comic strip but I think that Calvin and Hobbes often get pretty philosophical and deep.

Dennis the Menace – I just adore him

Scarlett O’ Hara- She is one of the most richly developed female characters of the time in literature - Selfish, shrewd and vain, Scarlett gets her strong will from her Irish father. Her character is so beautifully etched in the book; she remains one of my favorite literary characters

Sherlock Holmes – I am sure he will make everybody’s list of favorite literary characters. He is someone I grew up reading and remains one of my favorite detectives.

-Moi

Food Coma....!

Have you ever felt that you have eaten so much that your brain has stopped reacting?

Well, it happens all the time with me and I call it Food Coma!! I am in Food Coma right now – just gorged on Chinese food for lunch and am back at my desk pretending to work – and its not working – the pretension I mean!!

-Moi

Song of the day: Alvida - Life in Metro

Mood of the day: Brain freeze