Morning

Have you ever had the best sleep that you wish could be prolonged exactly 10 minutes before you actually HAVE to wake up. It happened this morning, I was sleeping soundly yet my mind was awake saying – you have to get up otherwise you will be late for work and you can’t beat the traffic….you can’t drive over pavements because you don’t have a four wheeler! And plus…you would never do that to your tyres and if you did….you would get a sound lecture from daddy! (It’s a common phenomenon in Qatar)

And right then my dad came in, saying, ‘Appu!! When do you have to go?’ Well, he knew rightly I was getting late but he is adorable and doesn’t want to yell first thing in the morning. I strongly believe that a bad start really cramps one’s style. If you get annoyed during the first pearly moments of your day the rest of the morning is evidently ruined….you end up being cranky, moody and irritable till something so wonderful and unexpected happens to make up for it….which is a rare outcome! The good thing about your family is that they are aware of these eccentricities and your pet peeves…so they realize that if they mess with that routine they would get it back! Many a time …I have overreacted when woken up early during the day for unnecessary reasons.

I remember one of Frasier’s episodes Space Quest – I absolutely love Kelsey Grammar’s character…his humour is pristine and anyone who appreciates sarcasm in the refined sense would certainly be an ardent fan of his show. For people who haven’t seen his show, he is a radio psychiatrist, a graduate from Harvard Medical School and I am presuming he is in his 40’s in the show but in real life he is a tad older. His father, a police officer is forced to retire because a thief shoots him in the hip and thus moves in with Frasier.

I related to Frasier completely because he is comfortable with the familiarity of his surroundings, décor, his morning routine….however, he forgets that he has hired a physical therapist named Daphne for his father. She is a simple girl from Manchester, England and who is full of life and turns out to be quite the opposite – a morning enthusiast! Early in the day, she keeps jabbering about her life and morning ablustions…she gives Frasier's Kenyan Starbucks Coffee powder some zest by adding odd spices which ticks him off royally.

Frasier's dad offers him a fried egg swimming in oil and some white bread for breakfast which he refuses immediately saying he prefers a bran muffic and a touch of yoghurt for breakfast, which is immediately mocked by Martin, ‘Girly breakfast!!!!’

Frasier - (Looking at the food) - 'I can hear my left ventricle slamming shut as I speak'

Dad - 'Do you want cheese with that???'

Frasier - No! Thankyou I would like some blood flow for the clot to go swiftly to my brain!

The newspaper isn’t out the door nor is it crisp because the rubber band is taken out and it's been read! so he gets utterly furious. 'I can't have my coffee, my breakfast and my paper'

He loses his temper and begins lecturing his dad and Daphne. His dialogues are classic - 'I am not a morning person. I need to ease into my day slowly. First I have my coffee, then a low fat high fibre breakfast and then I read a crisp new newspaper. If I am robbed from the richness of my morning routine I cannot function! And like ripples in a pond, so do the many listeners that rely on my advice to help them through their troubled lives. I've grown comfortable with this part of myself. It is the magic which is me'

Martin (Father) - He looks at Daphne and says 'Get used to it!'

As the day progresses he isn’t able to ease into the book he has been yearning to read and wants to get away from 'his father, Mary Poppins and the hound from hell!' (ie Martin, Daphne and Eddie the dog)

I remember, when I was studying in England, I would wake up in the morning take a shower...quite a long one, have some toast with tea, watch a couple of episodes of Frasier/Friends and then slowly get on with the day. I hate being rushed as I wake up.....I need to begin my day slowly...if you live with people who do not understand this about yourself...i suggest you make it clear...otherwise your going to be a pain in the ass to someone else who clearly doesn't deserve it.

Unfortunately, these rules can't be applied when your on holiday living with older relatives....who will turn off the fan, pull out your bedsheets, keep the water going in the bathroom nearby, talk on the phone in the room while your sleeping, turn on the tube lights, chat with other relatives using the laptop in the room, charge all 30 phones in your room so that you hear a jugalbandi of ringtones in the morning and possibly decide how to clean/rearrage the room cupboard........and leave the door open saying 'my God, she's still sleeping'!!!.......have you heard of jetlag?

Fabulous lives

How much does it cost to be vain? It totally depends on the scale of it. It’s funny to read how things have gotten so overboard. Media has indeed proven to be the most useful tool in spreading the word of the extent of these extremities. I am very thankful for this increasing state of awareness and I would like to share some of it to you. If you happen to stumble upon the show ‘Fabulous Lives’ on MTV you should watch it as it is the one of the most fascinating shows I have ever seen. For example, there is a lot of propaganda about the fashion industry but some interesting facts are leaking out that have totally blown me away –

N.V. Perricone an anti aging cream is described to give an instant face lift without going through surgery. Actresses that use this cream include Julia Roberts, Kim Cattrall and Heidi Klum. Heidi Klum apparently uses this for her entire body every single day – it costs $ 100 an ounce. I wonder how much goes for income tax?

It usually takes 2 months for new skin to grow giving you a fresh glow. Apparently, Naomi Campbell uses a cream that costs $ 600 an ounce on her face and new glowing skin is generated in 2 weeks. These are just some basic facts the rest of the details were all shoved in the next 30 seconds that clearly went above my head– too quick and too large a number to remember!

Another cream that is created by Dr. Howard Sobel – its secret is that there are 17 amino acids which direct cells to produce collagen and it is used by Jennifer Aniston, Madonna and Catherine-Zeta Jones. No wonder Jennifer Aniston is on the cover of Vogue – ‘reinventing what it means to be 40 and female in hollywood’. The signature ingredient in his cream is pomegranate so for all u common people out there...u might as well squish some on your face! I might do that if I am utterly bored.

The biggest supermodel as of now is Gisele Bundchen and she gets $50,000 just to do an ordinary walk on the ramp and that was the highlight of the show. She is truly glamorous but the effort they need to maintain themselves looks impossible from what I hear!

I am reminded of a scene I saw in the recent Meg Ryan film, ‘The Women’. It’s when Jada Smith’s character is dating a supermodel (she’s gay) and she introduces her new girlfriend as a supermodel.
Jada – meet Sara (I’ve forgotten the name so let it be Sara) she’s a supermodel
Sara: DON’T CALL ME THAT!!! I don’t want to objectify myself
Debra Messing: What’s wrong with her?
Jada: she just went for anger management classes
Debra: what does she have to be angry about??
Jada: She’s HUNGRY!!!

These reasons make them truly famous – otherwise why would their lives be so hyped?

Musings

I was just thinking how it would be to know someone who had OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) with regard to cleaning. Wouldn't they be fantastic maids? or...the male form...maidens?? lol...no clue...ok cleaners. They would be hired instantly as well.....but on further thought they probably would choke the owner for stepping on the freshly waxed floor....hehe that would be funny...

Its ironic people with this problem have the cleanest homes but the most cluttered minds! the one thing that makes them function is in disarray.....ok, I am beginning to think I am looking a bit deeply into this...

We all know the current market situation with the US and how the country is heading towards recession. I was chatting with someone and suddenly that person suggested that my sister goes to the US - to study and get a job!....and snap came the reply from my sister...

ARE YOU CRAZY?? Why should I give 50% of my income as tax and then let the government bail out some stupid bank for their problems?? It was hilarious and totally SPOT ON! Reading a lot about the finance industry I probably look too much into the various details and she got it all in one line. Its very interesting to see an engineer's perspective....at the end of the day it boils down the practicality of the situation .............Rather than going into the reasons of - sub prime mortgages, CDO's (collaterized debt obligations) and futher guarantees given that fizzled out!....A spade is a spade....simple!

New beginnings

I recently realized that I don't hold on to the past for more than a day or two. I obsess over events at that point in time and I just let it go after. Life is far too short to re-live sad moments. What is the point? It brings back feelings of hurt and frustration all over again for no new reason. One of the advantages of living alone or even having a considerable chunk of alone time makes you examine yourself and experiences.

You begin to have clear insight for yourself and others. I have gotten quite good at this that, a lot of my friends suggest that I should become a therapist. It was a fascinating idea but I don’t think anyone can help someone unless they truly want to help themselves. So it’s actually a tricky question - how much job satisfaction do therapists actually get after a day's work. I guess we would never know given the complicated procedures involving 'confidentiality of information'

There’s a dialogue that Hugh grant says in the movie, 'music and lyrics' - 'I have very strong insight I would use it on myself but I don't have any problems so I can't' - I apologize if it’s not word for word but that was the essence of the dialogue. That line just blew me away - I realized that it wasn't his insight that led him to no problems. He had a wonderful attitude towards life.

He was a failing musician who couldn't come up with decent lyrics and made a living by performing his 'once upon a time hit songs' at birthday parties and shopping malls wearing 90's costume. Obviously the movie made a huge turnaround as the film progresses. But even before the success poured in he was content, happy and witty during his slump.

The only thing that keeps me going - making me all charged and enthusiastic is that there are better days to come. The universe has so much abundance that we are all going to benefit from the pearls of this abundance. When I see old pictures I suddenly find that my family and I have progressed so much from what we were - mentally and emotionally that it almost seems like another life. Were we that naive? I wonder what changed all that...I guess only time.

We often associate some songs with pockets of our life. It’s a natural process, our mind associates few things together and it’s a roll on process – you think of one thing and the other thoughts come naturally after. I associated Rihanna’s ‘umbrella’ with a difficult period I went through (because I heard that song a lot then) and whenever I heard it I ended up feeling depressed. I figured that this was a mere association of the circumstances. Instead of moping about it, I started hearing it while speeding in my gorgeous red Golf car for the past week and I seem to enjoy it so much more because I am in a much better place now. It’s all in the mind if you really want to change some aspects of your life you certainly can. You just need to make new memories!

Dancing

Dancing is a wonderful form of expression. Your swaying your hips to the rhythm and so is everyone on the dance floor. Its a great way to start conversing with people right after and the whole experience puts you in a good mood.

I prefer not to take part in dances that require too much training...that is why I never took up bharatnatyam or mohiniattam...it was a fine trend. Pretty much everyone I knew was doing that and I think I loved my knees too much to go through that torture. As time went by I enrolled for salsa classes - they were very enjoyable...but there are always too many women than men so u never actually get to practice enough. I tried getting people in my house to become the 'guy' and instead they made me do the 'guy' part. So I got the wrong kind of practice. In school there were 4 boys and around 20 odd girls. I remember one round this tall big made guy stepped all over my shoes...am so glad I was wearing booty shoes otherwise my toes would have been sore!

At university I went for salsa classes again when I had the time...I would get too lazy because I had to walk for ages in the cold wearing all those layers....I realised there wasn't much point because I wasn't going to get any practice at home......unless I started dancing by myself (like in the movies) and make a fool of myself......I would just end up waking the person living downstairs due to the delicate floor construction.

I thought of trying something new...Latin and ballroom dancing...I went for 2 classes and quit because the room was filled with 60 girls no kidding and around 10 guys...to be honest I wasn't too bummed with the ratio..but they made us twirl on the same spot...and I thought..Am I paying for this? I can do this myself....if i turn crazy....am sure it will happen at some point...we are all gonna become senile some day the way the world is going...

Its Navaratri this time a year...for people who don't know..its a festival celebrated by Hindus for 9 days. My sister coaxed me to go for this garba/dandiya event conducted by the Gujaratis in Qatar. I totally dreaded going in the first place because we had to leave around 9ish pm....that is damn late! given the fact that after a long time I woke up early in the morning...so I really didn't feel like going but its just one other obligation. Getting ready was just painful....I could actually feel my ears (thanks to the heavy earrings!) and the clothes are so chunky!!! No wonder we wear this stuff only for occasions...the material is just not made for comfort.........I have to dance in this?...

All the makeup was done..my outfit looked beautiful..everything was set. We reached there...and being tamil doesn't give u brownie points in a gujarati event...you stick out and also you don't know anyone!!! We caught up with a couple of families that we recognized.... Before coming I thought..I have done dandiya before and it should be fun..the music should put me in a better mood..

The light was unflattering, there were kids barging and running on every side. Did they purposely push me while squeezing through? I will never know. I personally thought the garba was lame because it was the same single step for 1 hour and the music was so boring, there are so many fast songs out now...why put songs from the 70's?...I really couldn't dance to it..so in 1 minute I stopped and stood somewhere...began texting and wiling some time...Then I feel a strong poke, I quickly turned around and this woman from behind told me to MOVEEEEEEEEEEEE because she couldn't see....of course she couldn't see she was happily sitting down. So I moved and just wondered when this thing would end...the music got faster but not in a good way...because people began sweating more, it brought out a wonderful smell in the hall.

I thought I enjoyed most forms of dancing..but I just didn't fit in. I felt very tall.....I now understand why some people never dance...i believe them when they say they don't enjoy it...maybe they enjoy other types of music. I was utterly bored and I can't really hide my expressions that welll...so it was clear...my sister got a glimpse of me and thought 'oh crap! she's utterly bored and probably pissed off...its a good thing she will go to sleep once she gets home...'
hehehe..trust me I expressed explicitly my disappointment once we left...the dandiya started finally....it was ok..not as boring as the garba..i was in it for a change. On our way out one of my uncles asked, 'so will u be coming tomorrow' NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......but I said, 'I probably won't be able to come but my sister might' Finally we left!!! I don't think I have ever been this relieved!

what i learnt?......Think before you go anywhere! and make sure you have a quick exit strategy if you want to leave...reebok shoes to run away, or your father's car keys!.....or maybe hit the fire alarm..

Size 0

Size 0 and your immediately thinking 'kareena kapoor' i think she is probably the most looked up person on the internet by indians! apparently Britney spears was given the guiness book title for the most looked up person on the internet this year. everyone is so fixated with kareena's figure. she was on the cover of a business issue and i was shocked! i'm sure it will make news on every possible channel if she becomes a size 1 or a size half!

can you imagine? that news would bring in more ratings than 'starvation in africa'. i can put my money where my mouth is on that one for sure! we really wanna watch people starve and exist on an orange juice diet. the effect is so profound that every actress in bollywood is getting aneroxic, bulimic..or probably just got married to the treadmill. 'hum saath saath hain'

I read that smoking does two good things for you - It curbs your hunger because your stomach is essentially filled with smoke and it relieves stress. So I thought to myself - yes, that is probably the answer to their problems. they must be smoking a lot...that is where their money goes and to the dentist ....and not to mention botox! apparently it does wonders....i'll let you know if i ever happen to try it! (kidding!)

anyway...a few weeks ago I read that smokers are warned or prevented from doing cosmetic surgery for various medical reasons (if you want to know you better look it up smokey!) damn! what would they do? I sometimes wish i was a talk show host I would ask the non-generic questions I bet it would amuse them. I love that about ellen degeneres, she does the exact same thing! the stars on her show feel so welcome because the interview is funny, they aren't sure what to expect....and they know they aren't going to be grilled with serious questions.

Ok back to size 0. i also heard priyanka chopra lost 8 kgs for fashion....huh??? i wonder how much she weighs now...she's probably on a negative scale. another interview with minissha lamba...i loved her song hey ya! in kidnap..apparently she sunburned so much that she took a milk bath for 5 days and smelled like dairy. as soon as someone pointed that out she stopped doing it. i loved her interview because she was open and honest about everything going on with her and i related to her in that respect. totally spilled the beans! apparently she had a high fever doing the freezing water scenes, had to go 5 feet underwater because that was where the shot was taken (her immunity levels were rock bottom) and she couldn't eat because she had to maintain that figure (stated in the contract) lived on energy bars...i really don't know how she didn't get hospitalized in that one week! yet she said if she had to do it again she would...its worth the pain.

i really do think more of these stories should come out...i think a decent public response would be 'you don't have to do that! you will kill yourself!' ...stay alive and show some good performances.

Hook ups and break ups!

This is probably the 'hottest' topic in the world! Everyone's ears sharpen when they find out that your dating or interested in someone...even if you don't know them!!!

oh do u know your uncle's daughter's friend's step sister??? i believe she RAN away with someone....what has the world come to...we are interested in knowing someone else's family story and we haven't met them....

i guess we are all human...there is a natural curiosity to know why things like this happen, infact we get to the extreme of telling everyone we know and try and coordinate this information from all sources. oh she said that to you??? and she said this to me??? what does that mean??? OH I GET IT NOW...cheeky bitch she didn't tell me that!...

but these are difficult subjects and u can't just pounce at them with questions......but sometimes its best one doesn't know all the complications. circumstances make you do so many things and you just don't have control over it.....

so how do u know if a topic is hot or not??? i'll tell you its different regionally! you have got to take my word for it. if your in a place like england or the states....you could hug a guy, tell him you love spending time with him...and still have a serious relationship with someone who is allright with the situation because he has plenty of friends who are girls..

it depends on the person, the place and how you interpret things. i remember going to visit one of my aunt's in madras and she whispers to me...'you know, that girl (our neighbour) has fallen in LLLooovvvveee with that boy!!! ...her eyebrows widened..... i always see them exchanging.............................BOOKS'.

At first like all normal people i leaned in thinking it was good juice and then my expression changed....to...umm HUHHHH? your point??

i agree that was lame. but i do think things are done a lot differently...a girl i knew packed lunch for her so called 'crush' every day....they took the same electives to spend more time with each other, had LOTS OF eye contact, took walks on the beach, ran up each other's phone bills and finally got married....i thought to myself...SO SOON? i didn't see the chemistry! i thought they were friends....

Anyway, I was in college and one of my hostel/hall mates was hanging out with this girl. they have been friends for a while and they got along very well. One night they were on his bed watching a film.....(yea i know what your thinking....)lol...it was just a film! the movie ended...there was nothing to talk about and she kissed him. she left after and never brought it up. the poor guy thought there was possibly a future in it. On bringing it up later, she said, 'oh i was really bored that day...that's why, i had nothing else to do'...oh fyi i am seeing this guy from brussels now....ok later!

so...do u see the difference? (it totally depends on the individual too.....i think places do make a difference though...don't get me wrong!)

One liners

Me: What's with all the leering on the bus?? jeepers..
Sukz: Appu travel with a skunk...no one will board the bus!
Me: ya good one, i'll spray some chanel on it...oh crap...i probably have to drive the bus then!

I bought a lot of bread and bun...accidently put the latter in the freezer
Me: oh crap, i froze my buns
Rach: i can't believe u just said that...hahaa...can that happen?
Me: not sure...you could try..i dont think the freezer is big enough

Rachel: work sucks!
Me: i know! ...only thing good going on in my life..is this ice lolli!!

Me: my friend came over for my birthday and she stayed over..i didn't really get much sleep because she was sleep talking
Sara: oh thats not good...pssh...kinda funny
Me: yea for some reason she kept telling me...come closer come closer...i freaked out and i nudged and told her.....'shilpa wake up!'
Sara: shilpa shetty??? was on your bed... (thanks to big brother)
Me: NO!!! How is that possible??

I was all groggy sunday morning...just trying to get a cup of tea ...i prefer not to talk to anyone for the first hour. my roomie was bugging me
Hey!!! good morning!! how are you?
Me: Fine....
(I was wearing my white pyjamas and top...its got a silky bright look)
I just went to church..its such a beautiful day...
Me: ok...good for you
Wow, you look all WHITE.....just like JESUS!
that made me laugh!...well thanks...you look like....yourself...

I was doing some work...beside the window and then suddenly i heard a funny noise...i opened the curtains
me: Omg! who is that?
rach: oh thats the window cleaner...lol i guess you forgot
me: that scared me......jesus, is that the landlord?
rach: no no, i bet you thats the landlord's brother....bastard is charging us for it!...he even looks like him....

preeth: so how is the prison break going...watched it yet?
me: yea...was good...turns out i finished season 3, there were 13 episodes instead of 22! because of the striker's write
preeth: what?
me: oh that didn't come out right...writer's strike!

me: you never reply to my messages!!! its annoying
preeth: i didn't think it was necessary...
me: WHY NOT?
preeth:....because i live with you...

R: Aparna you have such a lovely tan!!!
A: woman, I was born like this!

Films

Have you ever been forced to go for a film that you know would be an absolute disaster...i think we have all been in that predicament at some point in time...my friend convinced me to go for 'humko deewana kar gaye' i clearly wasn't interested because i wasn't too fond of 'the katrina and akshay kumar pair'..i have seen them together a lot and frankly its getting a bit old. anyway i find it difficult to say no to a friend so i went along. the movie dragged on and i didn't really enjoy the songs because they were boring! and also i found the actress too expressionless...finally the intermission came along and we went out for an icecream. my friend was loving the film so far ...and i think my expression said it all. the icecream was the best part of the film according to me...we went back and i slumped in that chair..

have u seen the movie crash? i think it won an oscar...anyway, they copied a scene from there... basically a woman is trapped in a car. she has just had an accident and the car has overturned.....the petrol from the engine is leaking and the car is going to explode at any time. In the movie crash, an african american woman is hesitant to be rescued by a white police officer because he abused her earlier on in the film. its such a moving scene...if u haven't seen the film..its really worth watching..

i was so shocked that..they copied that scene...instead katrina has married anil kapoor. she has the accident and she wants to die because she can't imagine her life without akshay kumar....what a stupid reason to 'want to die'.....she isn't coming out even after much persuasion. Finally, akshay kumar comes and talks to her for like half an hour and then madame is rescued out....immediately the car blows up...in reality, i think Lord Yama would have arrived and done his job! i truly felt they robbed the sanctity from the original shot...i was totally disappointed with that scene...

we came out...and i was so irritated...anyway the driver came and we headed home. on the way back my friend said, 'yea the movie was ok...you were the one who wanted to watch it!'

omg! what!?!? are you kidding me? it was your idea.....i was speechless...and then she said..oh ok hehe i thought you were interested too...then she goes on to say she loved the film and wanted to watch it again.....
i thought to myself..i really need to make myself clearer next time..i might even add subtitles for clarity....(we are still good friends, don't worry!)

I have been in different schools in qatar so when i meet friends from each school i don't like to mix them up ...so i spend time with them separately. My dear friend suku and I decided to go to City Centre to watch a film, have some dinner and catch up. We made plans the previous day and we decided to leave around 10 in the morning. i slept a bit late but i managed to wake up...she picked me up at 10 and i was incredibly groggy. we were in the car having a lovely conversation. for some reason i started singing 'sway with me' in a man's voice...she thought it was hilarious and stopped concentrating on the road. she was laughing with her head down on the steering wheel...i freaked out and so i woke up fully at that point. i tell you those moments work better than an alarm clock. she goes on to tell me that she didn't sleep the entire night because she usually sleeps around 5 and was worried she wouldn't be up on time if she snoozed then...fair enough...it was very thoughtful of her to be this considerate.

so we go to the listings on the board...we didn't plan 'which' movie we were going to see before hand. so we tried to pick one...i usually go for a comedy/romantic film...because its light and entertaining...she wanted to watch 'silent hill' ...it looked mysterious according to her.....i couldn't really tell looking at the poster...

we started watching the film...mom and daughter are in the car and suddenly the girl decides to run away from the car....the road behind the car just falls apart....so they are no longer able to go backwards...they enter this weird land where strange deformed goey creatures are striking with lava liquids trying to kill them. i was wondering...why on earth are we watching this film...who would watch this??? its stupid!.......then we saw that there was a couple on the other side making out!...great this is just what we need.

anyway the film gets progressively worse...people in this strange land are out to kill the two and she still can't seem to find her daugher...if i was her i would have given her one tight slap for running away. anyway, a police officer comes to help..she's burned alive...the movie is just awful..just when you think things dont get worse...a 'mummy' woman (wrapped in that ageing cloth) is lifted up ..u can see her eyes through all that cloth...and she starts releasing metal barbed wire from her body and piercing through all these people in that room which is shut...theres blood spurting everywhere i am thoroughly freaked out!!! i feel a bit sick too and just when i turn to get some sympathy from my friend....i found her SNOOZING TO GLORY...she was enjoying some pretty dream and i was being visually tortured with this obnoxious film. omg you have to be in such a situation to know what i was feeling...i gave her a big nudge in the arm...and she went HUH???...

appu: SUKU!!!! YOUR SLEEPING?????
suku: sorry appu....just for like 20 mins...I THINK....
appu: How could you???
suku: its ok its ok...you can tell me....what happened?
appu: what happened...omg how long were you out? i'll tell u when we get out

finally ..she finds her daugher and comes back...but the mother finds out that her husband can no longer see her...so she might be a ghost...so we don't know when she actually died in the film? did she die? was that supposed to be hell? maybe i just didn't understand the film

we came out of the theatre after a while...and she saw my face and hair...oh boy looks like the film really affected you.........YEA!!! i never watch such films.....suku ..i hate horror films they give me the creeps! ok ok ...calm down..you want a cinnabon? ...no i DONT want a cinnabon...ok yikes

just to get over all that ...we had to watch another film...i suggested 'the break up' i thought it would be lighter...notice the irony in the name of the film.....i laugh about that experience every time i meet her...i think it taught me a lot...i never go for a film without watching the trailer.

appearances!

Appearances play such an important role in one's life. i think you are judged as soon as your born...oh she looks just like her mom, or dad....or who the hell does she look like? i donno...shes too tiny to tell..wait a few years then i'll tell you

i have a wonderful relationship with my sister. i don't think life would make sense without her....but we look nothing like each other....so she frankly does not look like my sister. well mystery solved...each of us look like one parent..its as simple as that!

i don't think i minded the fact that we look different (totally different skin tones)....but it bothered me a lot when they thought i was older than her because i'm taller! coz you can see emotions of shock...then amazement....then it follows with questions...good god! let it go....dont u know i have no control over my genes!

this one time...i was at the spencer's mall in madras...and we were shopping for some kashmiri shawls. i was totally ripped off...thats not the point...this man is trying to make a sale and i'm talking to him in hindi. he couldn't believe i could speak so well because..theres a general consensus that tamil people can't speak hindi that welll...but i'll tell you they will convey their message perfectly!

because my sister is the lighter one...he thought she was from the north...he turns to me and goes...arre your from andhra??? and i'm like no! tamil nadu...NOOOO WAYYYY..i said yes...he still didn't buy it..then i had to tell him we live in the gulf...so thats why we could speak fluently..so the price of the shawl went up....

then we were discussing whether to get it or not which we eventually did. then...he asks, are you both friends?? and i told him we are sisters....WHAT!?!?!?!??!!??!.......after a long pause....same parents?? ....now that was just the height of it...shouldn't that be just our business?

i really had the mind to tell him.......no we are sautele behne...(step sisters) you see my mom married and my sister was born...then tragically, we lost her dad in the gulf war and then my mom remarried...so i'm her step sister....during the iraq war we found him again and we lost our new dad...so we are one happy family hehe...i would have loved to see his expression...

your probably wondering why i am reacting so much...it can be frustrating when your asked the same question every single time you meet someone....you will understand lol....but now adays you see all sorts of races mixing...i bet their issues are far far worse...i think they are calling that globalisation!

landlords in the west!

i would like to express my sympathies to all students living in crappy houses during university! but the experiences are hilarious. people who are unfamiliar with this, i will explain. basically landlords take a month's deposit from each student living in the house, they do an inspection when you move out and then take money from the deposit if there are damages...when you move in u realise that the items in the house are not great but its not bad either. once ur living you realise how everything falls apart!!

so we are moving out and there are a lot of chores to do. so basically we are busting our butts cleaning this place...vacuuming the incredibly thin carpets....guess what the carpet comes off with the vacuum! great now i need to go and buy some glue to stick it back on! your last day and the bulb bursts...i need to go the store to get new ones...i bought the screw ones oh man i needed the pin ones...your thinking if someone will swap it..but that won't happen!

u realise that furniture wipes...whoever invented them is a genius...my cupboards fall apart because they are student ones...so i am hammering the damn nails into it...at 3 in the morning! then you are told your doing it all wrong given that you have never done this before....so your re doing the whole thing...yea fun night!...the curtains fall apart...so u staple some part of it to make it look like they are up allright...he didn't notice them!! hahah...gotcha!

this wasn't smart but i allowed one of my drunk housemates to apply nailpolish in my room...and it lands on the carpet...crap! i should have told her to put it the next day ....and possibly in her room! why mine???...so i push the table over it to cover the spot...one thing is there for sure..u become really smart to cover up all flaws in the house so that you get the deposit back...students are broke and we live on a budget! i will have a nice 5 course meal in a fancy restaurant...but am not giving the landlord even one pound extra....thats not my opinion readers...its a general consensus...its because rents r so high anyway ...it means u shop less...

oh boy then the toilet comes....our landlord had a problem that there was a dark shade of grey in the bathroom...i thought to myself...is he x-raying the place?? its so high up how did he notice?? so being the tallest in the house...i had to get up on the bath tub and scrub the mould out with mould remover ....(i had gloves on if your wondering)....i'll tell you something...when you live with your parents you won't even know how to go about any of these things....one of the good things about living abroad is that u learn how to clean, cook and become aware....also makes you aware of what you took for granted at home....so for all of you in school complaining...be glad your not scrubbing mould! but i still laugh about it....stretching away to reach that silly blob...i dont think i have stretched my spine muscles that long......i felt taller hehe...oh maybe i will be stretching that much in yoga soon...surprise!

you put 2 bottles of bleach down the toilet so he thinks that its so clean..that he could live there!! you might think this is all a bit extreme but landlords charge for no reason...hmmm thats damp i will have to change the whole thing u wrecked it! my sofas look a little pale! yea u ruined it! charge charge charge....i really thought the british people i lived with were so paranoid...r they freaking crazy? who scrubs the place down so much?...trust me i did the same a year later...

i knew people who lived in the same street for a year and got charged 1000 pounds for damages..i e they got no deposit back...cigarette butts...smoking weed the whole day...made the walls grey...ok they probably deserved to be charged.......yea never mind...

and just when you think everything is ok...he will find something to pick on! hmmm your house smells a bit funny.....what's that?......and we go...oh that!!! yea thats the sewage from outside...i am sorry we can't control that...woopsie...i think we all clean our landlord's houses better than our own! that is for sure!

health

There is a recent emphasis on healthy living, exercising well and eating right. i understand all that and its great that i have realised it because being a student you dont eat well. also all your father's friends are going to rub it in....so what do you cook? oh my god pasta and pizza all the time?? tch tch tch...not good!!! one of my uncles went to the extreme....if you continue like this you will get a heartattack by the time you are 30 for sure......thanks! it was nice to meet you too.

they are going to tell you off no matter what you eat...i eat wraps - oh no its made of maida its so unhealthy u should be having home made chapatis or rice make some sambar - learn from mom....hmm how about i am lazy and its too much effort for one person. so next time i keep it short...so what do you eat? FOOD! thats the response you will get. my mom has learnt not to ask me and she whispers to others....ahem she doesnt like the question...so shushhhh...oh my girl is doing the best she can, she studies so hard so when she gets the time she cooks...

its great...my mom covers up for me fabulously. my dad and i have the same problem ..we can't lie so he gives an unconvincing answer...oh she manages and they know right there that is code for junk junk and more junk.

so i decide brisk walking and thats going great, 5 kms a day has really changed my lifestyle a lot and i am liking it. i feel better and more energetic. however, i made the mistake of joining yoga. my sister dragged me into this...well i was under the impression that yoga was a good way to calm your mind, body and soul. so my sister and i join this place ...this man i think he is a nazi yogist i tell you i have never felt more stressed in a span of one hour. he is very serious and gets annoyed if you laugh because you cant stretch a certain muscle..no sarcasm, no humour and no smiling...how dare you?... hello...i am doing the best i can. i cant stay in that weird position for more than 8 seconds so i stop after it and the response goes like this 'you are young? if you can't do it then whattttttt.....' so i decide not to react to that because he is older and the respect factor kicks in. i do appreciate the effort ..he tries to make us learn as much as possible. however, i do have a problem with the breathing...i swear people in these classes breathe as though they are having a cold and are slushing all the 'goo' from their nose ...does it have to be so loud??? does it become that loud over time? good god i freaked out the first time...so he gets annoyed because i am not making those funny noises while doing this progressive, forceful and rapid exhalation. anyway i disappointed him on that one...oh well atleast the carpet is clean.

so this one day i had a bit of a wrist ache and i didn't go ...i'll tell you it was the best day of the week! i have never felt more energetic and preppy...i should rethink this yoga thing...i have 2 whole weeks left...great! more fun and stress to come!

awkward silences!

I think meeting new people is an amazing experience or its just torture...am I right? you go to a random party or an office party...it’s a hoot or you want to shoot yourself at that very second...I think beginning conversations are allright. how are you? what do u do? do you like it? then you don’t know what to say because you have no idea what her interests are like. sometimes it’s even more difficult if there is nothing to compliment about...

What do you say to someone who has nothing worth complimenting...trust me I have been in that puddle a few times...I feel the silences itch so I say something like ...oh I like your top! I made that mistake once...I said it and she bought me the exact same top...it was this really really bright red one with some kind of shoe lace looking web on the top half of the shirt....red on a dusky girl? r u serious? what was she thinking?? maybe if I was Bipasha Basu and could afford the expensive makeup woman I would consider it....I mean I didn’t realize my compliment would go this far...so I decided ok I better make sure my compliments actually reflect what I think ...at least 50%....

Yea so after the random chit chat...u go..hmmm so it’s a lot hotter today... and they go on to say no it was a lot more hotter yesterday ...hmm is that so? very intriguing...I am thinking to myself I probably didn’t notice coz I snoozed all of yesterday...anyway there is really nothing to say so before I ran this through my head my mouth says..hmm yes Doha has a lot of cats ...oh the one outside my house is sort of blind...it doesn’t seem to move...I have honked and put my lights on too...I actually had to get out of the car and run behind it! what a day! I really hope she didn’t think I was demented ....'amusing' would have worked for me. I think phone conversations if it’s getting boring...u can always say...oh ok I gotta go? what do u do when you’re stuck in the person's car and u know it’s going to be an hour long........damn it why didn’t I bring my mp3 player (yes I know what ur thinking, my god she doesn’t have an iPod! yes I don’t! it’s still on my wish list) so I am sitting in this person's car with my parents and there’s nothing to talk about...except the weather.....don’t u find conversations about the weather so excruciating...I think it’s a very western concept. I will tell u people in the east do not care. it’s raining yea so big deal I still gotta go to work....people in the west have to analyze it point by poin....how they felt the whole day! I mean come on I don’t have all day! so we talk about the weather...2 hours go by...we finally get to a restaurant and we are eating ...and we still talk about the weather...oh its a lot cooler now it didn’t feel so in the car.......I smileddddddd ..I think you know what was going on in my head!

moving to england!

When you move to a new country for the first time and your young..when i say that i mean 18...ok i am not old now that was just 3 years back. u become more and more aware of your surroundings and its differences. i found one really contrasting one. people in the basic service industries - cafeteria, bus drivers.........immigration are so rude to you! good god! i really didnt know why i went there anyway u gotta go u gotta go when its education...allrighty...so u have got to be extra nice to the bus drivers otherwise they dont open the door or dont stop for you..i know!!! its absolutely awful...where i came from the customer knows it all...ofcourse we didnt have busdrivers in qatar then...thats not the point..i really dont understand when this role reversal happened. am i not doing them a favour by paying them and using their sub standard service. anyway i just smiled and smiled and got on with college life.

so this one time i was getting really annoyed because the bus driver allowed everyone on the bus except one person i mean how much difference is that going to make. and there have been times when i couldnt make the bus because i took an extra few milliseconds i am nearly there he can see me through his window...i am still running the inhaler falls off never mind i can replace that ..oh but he has this evil grin..hmm i'm going to leave this one behind muahhaha and brushes off and ur stuck there out of breath..and now i am thinking where did my inhaler go ..it doesnt help with the weather ur running speed has significantly reduced given that ur dressed like a stuffed turkey..does it have to be this cold?? i mean do i need those 5 layers..oh yea u do..if you dont want to be frostbitten!...anyway i was venting away to a friend of mine - god these bus drivers are awful i absolutely hate their attitude and i think they have issues....after a few seconds she says - my dad used to be a bus driver! omggggggg where did that come from.......he was a succesful business man from what i heard and i was stuck....i have a problem i cant lie that easily there isnt a natural flow....and then i said..well i am sure he was wonderful..your dad must have been awesome (i have never met her dad but i just said sometihng) ...and then she goes..u dont know my dad! oh great.....so in the mood for icecream? my treat!

talking

Today is my first post so it’s quite exciting...anyway I thought I would begin writing as I was inspired by some work that I recently read. Most people think that women talk a lot and for no reason! I don’t think I entirely agree...I mean sometimes talking just helps cut the tension...

I recently got back to Qatar and I thought...hey why not get a manicure and a pedicure..Anyway so I went to the nearby parlour and they have an entire Pilipino staff which is fantastic because they are so warm and cheerful. I don’t think I could ever find out if they were pissed off because it seriously doesn't show on their face! If you meet an Indian, I don’t mean this offensively because I am Indian too u can tell immediately the person is ticked off or not impressed

ok getting to my point...parlours are a weird place you start talking to an absolute stranger who has no flipping clue how u have led your life and nor do I know..Anyway so she starts asking me questions and I start talking and talking...and u know what I realized I can pretty much talk to anyone...my sister who is older to me tells me off all the time - 'stop talking to everyone don’t let out all the details' I think its good to have a conversation going because if I am rude and stuffy and she is using a nailcutter and other clippers I better be nice to her. Anyway I am talking away and it goes to what I have studied and what I want to become and I blurt out that I want to make a lot of money! Well who doesn't let’s face it! anyway she asked me what I was going to do about it and I said I want to become a chartered financial analyst and she just froze and then told me to repeat it like 10 times so that she could do that as well ...and then I thought to myself why I am saying all these things? I think I should have my sister around she gives me a nudge when it’s time to keep quiet...my nails look gorgeous at the end - great! everyone is happy

I go to my driving lesson as I needed my license and the Pilipino instructor saw that my nails were done well....and he was like 'oh you did manicure??' and I go on to tell him that YEA!! And they are all Pilipino and he takes me on the road and asks me to point out where this parlour is so I had to take a U-turn to actually show it to him...I know it was a bit unncessary...like why would he want to go there any way..It says 'ladies only' in bold and red! But then I showed him another place where you get a pizza for 6 bucks and I thought that was useful...he was thrilled to hear that! Anyway maybe women do blabber a lot! lol