Fear of Flying Objects

On 31st July, I was on my way back from work and I was on Interstate-30, going home to my sister's place...now I-30 has always been the most hated interstate for me, I dont like that highway for it doesnt have a shoulder on either side and this really scares me, as I have come to know a lot of other people as well!

So well it was around 3:30 in the afternoon and I was happy that I was going to get some time to spend @ home with my Dad...this truck on my right lane was going at the average speed and I was fairly behind it...and i noticed that it had some wood sheets in it, which weren't secured very tight...and i was beginning to think "what if one flew..."...and just then it happened...one of the sheets started to shake really hard and then it off flying and started drifting towards my car...there were cars behind me and besides me, there was no way I could change lanes...and couldn't slow down either...and before i knew it, the damn sheet hit my car on the right side vew mirror and scrapped the body as well...the thud was very loud and I was very glad for the tough body a corolla has, for the car kept going on smoothly...but the truck drive noticed this happening and very conveniently and covertly took the next exit out of the highway....i was too shocked and angry to respond to this, so neither did i get his license plate number nor did i follow him...the damage to the car is estimated @ 1600...and since i say estimated u very well know that I haven't yet gotten it fixed (queen of procrastination ;) )

so what ensues now is this infinite fear of miscreant flying objects on the road for me. Any little flying object I see, like a busted tire casing, a plastic bad, a rock, a pebble anything, I pray to God it doesn't come hit me...this fear is so bad that once I saw a plastic bag floating in the air on the highway, and it was right in my path, i quickly moved to another lane, to avoid it, for the image that came to me was, it getting stuck on the wind screen and blinding my vision of the road.

Maybe this fear is irrational, maybe I hallucinate the worst, but it's here to stay for a little bit for sure...I am scared beyond imagination of the things I see floating on the road...one day I hope to get over this and drive fearlessly...

This weekend was superb for two reasons:
1. MASUM's performance was their best yet.
2. We bought our living room furniture!!!!

I have been asked to write abt my furniture buying experience in detail, but that I'll do in another post, here I want to talk about the lovely concert we got to attend this Sunday, 27th Aug. 2006.

Sameer and Mudassar are these very talented, superbly gifted friends I have from school, they have a band which goes by the name MASUM Mudi writes the songs that these guys play...the songs are so well written that when you read the lines, you are very curious to know how the song will shape up and I think thus far they have some 7-8 self composed songs, and each is a unique piece which talks about a different experience of life or a different emotion.

So when they opened this past Sunday, for Indian Ocean , I was very excited to see how they would play, because this was at a much larger scale and the expectations were so high, and Sameer had told me that they would play a song I hadn't heard before!!!! So they came up on stage and I could see Sameer was nervous, and Mudi was excited! It was soooo good to see them on stage again, they performed with panache, there were a few sound problems, which Sam told me only later...but to me it sounded impeccable and I could hear so many people in the crowd singing along with them...so people actually remembered there songs, when they donot have a single CD out yet!...
"Jab se.." their new song is really nice..very nice words and the music is really something else!!!...

Pavel, their lead guitarist is a magician with the guitar and his trademark act of coming down to the audience and playing it, is truly a splendid gesture...The show was perfect...I loved it...

I got to see Mudi only for about 2 mins...and that is really sad...Mudi come down to Dallas...lk what Sam said in his blog we really miss you here....

All the best MASUM for the future...you guys are sure going to be one of the bestest bands around!!!....

Two people who bug me!

I really enjoy my workplace, it's a fun environment, it's got windows!!, the people in my immediate contact are all super fun to talk to and we have very nice discussions about things that interest us...

But there are these two people in my office, whose manners irritate me sometimes. One is this guy, who normally walks up to my boss, and his way of motivating him to achieve more or to tell him that he expects a lot from him is his saying things like:
1. "What glorious things have u achieved today?"
2. "Are you ready to conquer the world yet?"
3. "So what's the latest and the greatest?"
4. "How is the brainy side of the building doing today?"

Now he is a wonderful guy and he always praises any of us who do a good job, but this nature of his, walking into the office and saying something like this, makes me grit my teeth and get irritated with this show of confidence and intense enthusiasm...it must be well meant and my boss doesnt even seem to mind it...but it gets to me. Though I can never muster the courage to say anything to him about this and though it is never said it me, it still bothers me no end!

The other person is this guy who joined the company some months back...he's a real weirdo...if you bump into him in the corridor and u great him with anything, a smile, a "hi", a "how are you today"...he'll look your way (so u know you weren't talking to yourself)...but he'll not give any indication of having heard you, not a nod, a smile or his step also doesn't falter! It is sooo bugging...how can he just do this day in and day out...and i used to think it's just me he despises..but to my pleasure(?) i came to know he does this to all and sundry! He's an ok guy otherwise, he'll talk and make fun and interact when we all meet for company lunches, runs etc but meet him in the office, he'll ignore you like you didn't exist!

I have done crazee things too, like ignore people I am not too fond of; coz of my shyness, ill wait for people to say hi and then respond...so yeah i am weird in that way...but...i dont make a habit out of it! what, do i?

Shopping - How i detest it!

I have always been of those people who will go shopping only if I know where what i want is available, and go to that particular shop, and pay for it and come back. And there was no exception to the rule, be it clothes, cosmetics, electronics or even gorcery. No looking around in other shops or do the "window" shopping. And more so I will go to a mall only when I know I have to buy something, else...why should anyone in their right minds go to a mall...WHY...

Now this is how I had known myself to be...untill I discovered the joy of decorating one's home...here's one form of expressing oneself that is so different and is not bound by rules, punctuation marks, syntax rules and what have you. You have the run of the house, you can pick the hue you want, the design you think will soothe you, the texture you think will feel good and just run amok with ideas and vissions.

Now I see myself looking at catalogues of furniture stores, kitchen supplies, furnishings and all that jazz...and I am really lookign forward to window shop!!! Is this really me...or am I being overtaken by a force I dont reckon, but it is over-powering me...

Naeh, relax now...nothing like that is happening to me, I realise that the only kind of shopping I like is the "art" kind, where in I can mix and match my ideas, pick up different colors, where i can let my heart rule over my brain ...

I am super excited that I will be going this weekend to look for furniture, kitchen ware...god bless my wallet!

My Wedding!!!

My family and my Husband's family planned a wedding in 5 days!!!!!
Yes and it was complete with Priest, Wedding clothes, guest lists, reception, flowers, food, music and everything one can think of and one cant.

On 31st July, 2006, our parents decided that Gourav and I should be joined in holy wedlock...on Sunday, 6th August!!!!! yes, 5 days we had to plan and do everything! And Gourav had ot fly to Kansas City on 1st for he had some prior commitments, which he couldn't get out of!

So for the next 4 days, my Dad and me, looked for a temple, a priest, my jewelry, his jewelry, caterer, reception hall (this was solely Gourav's fort), guest list, accommodation for guests flying from outside...every thing was planned, my mom , cousins and gourav's family chipped in with all their help and support!

On sat, 5th of August, my sister and BiL came back from London, where they had been vacationing, my Mom flew down from Nigeria and then mayhem broke loose!!! Literally...we have this ceremony where turmeric powder is smeared on my hands, legs and face so i look beautiful and radiant...:)...so that was done...then my mom's side of the family is supposed to congratulate us for the wedding, and this is done by giving us all gifts, so this was done. then it was time to get ready for an engagement ceremony....where in gourav's parents and him would come to our house and he and i would exchange rings...Meanwhile...2 of my cousins from California and 1 of my Dad's friends flew down from Atlanta...Now it looked super festive!

Later that evening, mehndi (henna) was put on my hands and feet by my cousin and friends, it looks really pretty even now! I really dislike henna...i dont lk the smell or the look of it on my hands...and this is the first time i actually got it done....but it is actually quiet pretty (i hate to admit this)!!!

we danced a wee bit on sat...then came sunday...we woke up at 6 so that we could all get ready there were some 15 people who had to use 3 bathrooms!!!! the wedding ceremony was for 10 am and we did manage to reach there on time...so first we had the ceremony, where in my co-workers, Chad (my boss), Jeff (VP of IT) and Jeremy and Naren my colleagues came to attend the wedding, along with my bestest friends Anu, Sameer, Shahid, Rama, Giri, Preetha, Kapila...it was a delight to see them all...and Gourav's friends too! I had to wear this super heavy Garland, and then another saree was drapped around me apart from the already HEAVY outfit i was wearing! I think I would have fainted, had the garland not been removed!!!!

Then after getting blessings from the Gods in the temple, we went for the reception, this was at the "Marriott Solana"...it's a very beautiful hotel built far from the city. This was something else completely, my friends Sameer and Anu along with my dad and mom in-law had made sure that the cake was beautiful and delicious, the banquet hall was decked up in flowers and beautiful napkins and candles...it was breath taking...now here we went around meeting friends and family and then some of my friends and Sister toasted us...it was wonderful to know that so many people thought so fondly of me! Then Gourav and I cut the cake and the lunch was served...the bestest part was Sameer's band Masum, sings this song I love, "tumhari yadein (your memories)"...I luckily had a CD for the music in my car, which Sam got and then he sang the song for me....i was ecstasic! and then Gourav and I danced to some other music...and the magical evening drew to a close...it was heart rendering to watch my parents and family leave...but this was the beginning of a new life for us...a new chapter was to begin and it had been heralded with all my loved ones with me.

People I missed:
1. Anurag and Saujanya (my support system for the last 2.5 years)
2. Rajat Maru (he was my brick in under grad years)
3. Ritu and Sumit (my childhood bum-chums)
4. All my family in India...this brings tears to me...

And ofcouse Gourav's Brother and Sis in Law...

Hollywood has just crossed the line...

"Cute-as-a-button child star Dakota Fanning, who turned 12 in February, is venturing into sexually disturbing territory in a movie being filmed in North Carolina.

The screenplay for "Hounddog" - a dark story of abuse, violence and Elvis Presley adulation in the rural South, written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier - calls for Fanning's character to be raped in one explicit scene and to appear naked or clad only in "underpants" in several other horrifying moments.

Fanning's mother, Joy, and her Hollywood agent, Cindy Osbrink, see the movie as a possible Oscar vehicle for the pint-size star."

I cannot for the life of me imagine to what grotesque levels is Hollywood going to go to...this by far is the most inhuman, insensitive, greedy, ridiculous thing I have heard in recent times.

I don't have anything against Nudity, it's upto the actors and the movie makers, to deal with it, but there has to be a starting point and for me 21 would seem appropriate, definitely not 12....

I don't care about Oscars, about art, about the form of expression, this is plain despicable. A 12 year old prancing around nude is not any form of art, how can a Mother allow that, how can she take pride in this and will she sit in this kind of a movie, what about the Dad, what about me...I cant sit through this uncouth drama of child abuse...nothing justices this, Oscar or no Oscar, every person in their right minds, I think, should condemn this and make the makers, actors, parents and everyone and anyone associated with this movie not show the rape scenes.

Silver Lining...

On 11th July 2006, 7 blasts rocked Bombay ( I prefer to refer to Mumbai by it's old name)...they went off within a span of 5 minutes and they were strategically placed in local trains, these which form the lifeline of the commom man in Bombay.
I was completely shattered out of my wits! I have a bunch of friends who come from Bombay...and I got panic striken for the safety of their families and their loved ones...this is the second most heinous incident on the city, after the 1993 Bomb blasts...

From everything that I have read in the news, I am very very impressed with the way the Bomaby-walas (Bombay people) responded to the situation, people went out of their way to take care of the wounded or the dead. Police came in later, the citizens did their bit first, water, first aid, food, shelter everything and anything possible by these people was done...it gives me shivers to think that India is united! no matter what the news reports say...no matter how the situation seems from the outside, my country rocks and this city has set an example for the rest of the country!

But what is even better or as i see the best part...Hindus have not retaliated...they hv not come up in arms like they did after Godhra. It is a new feeling of being united, of being calm and responsible that I see...I cannot say this feeling will last but I am very happy that this once the Hindus (I am probably politically incorrect in saying it like this...) have not gone about killing innocent people from the other community, who they think are responsible for this crime. I am amazed as to where has this feeling of tolerance come about in Indians...
I am proud that they hv shown restraint and I am praying that this new wave of respect for all continues...