Holiday!!

Ahh! Tomorrow is a holiday and I am so looking forward to relax and unwind. I like holidays especially in between working days. What am I gonna do? Hmmm....Hang out with friends over a cup of coffee and talk....Gals do that right??

Then maybe later, watch a movie and basically chill and of course catch a few winks.....That's all!!!

Who's tagging you??

I officially invited myself into the world of tagging after reading a few tags in the blogs I visit......thought why not try it as I am done with my quota for the day.....Ahem! A dedicated worker that I'm :)....Here goes nothing......

4 jobs I’ve had:

1. Doctor (had a swell clinic!)
2. Teacher (trained students for IELTS-International English Language Testing System)
3. Web Content Developer ( amateurish really...hehehe)
4. Babysitting (love this!!!!)

4 films I could watch again and again:

1. Pride and Prejudice (BBC version please!)
2. Beauty and the Beast
3. Xmen
4. Dil Chahata Hai

4 places I’ve lived in:

1. Cannanore (spend the diaper days of my life...)
2. Palghat (few years....memory loss.oops!)
3. Pune ( home sweet home....20 years and more)
4. Nasik ( 5 years.....)


4 TV series I like to watch:

1. Law and Order
2. CSI Series
3. Bones
4. Criminal Minds

4 places that I’ve been on vacation to:

1. Bangalore, Mysore
2. Goa
3. Delhi, Agra, Jaipur....(college trip......fun days!!!)
4. Kerala (Few places....)

4 websites I visit everyday:

1. My friend's blog's
2. Many sites (content writer you know...research purposes)
3. Christian sites
4. Google Docs (work....hehe)

4+4+4 books I’d love to read again and again:

1. Bible ( There's no competition here!!)
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. Being God's woman-Elisabeth Elliot
4. Trusting God even when life hurts-Jerry Bridges

4 favorite dishes:

1. My mama's chicken curry (yummy!!)
2. Aloo Parantha..
3. Any chicken dish
4. Chinese fried rice....

4 places where I’d like to be right now:

1. Paris
2. London
3. Venice
4. Kashmir

4 people I’m gonna tag:
Carol, Smita....and others who have all the time in the world....hahahaha!!!!! Enjoy Gals....

Writer's block

Right now there are so many things in my head but I'm not able to jot them down. Lack of words...hmmmm...I don't know or maybe words will not suffice what I'm experiencing at this moment. I call it the "writer's block" and I trust it will soon fade away. I want to express my feelings but I can't.....so as they say "A picture speaks a thousand words"...I will go ahead and add an image.....No! Not again!!! Is that what you are saying?? But I can't help myself...Sorry readers.....

For you sis!!

This particular post is for my dear sis....yes sis this is for you!! Don't panic I'm not going to say anything silly about you but thanking God for your friendship and companionship. Yeah!! I really treasure the times we've had those late nite discussions of things very close to our hearts...the times we laughed like crazy...we still do..hahahaa....

Of course we are different in many many ways...but we share a very special bond of Sisterhood...sounds cool na... Here's a picture dedicated to us!! Hope you like it :-)

I like these pictures

I like the ocean but for now I have to be content looking at these pictures......Love dolphins too!!

Journey's end?

Its easy to set goals and dream big, but getting down to the nitty gritty of issues is so difficult. I say this so because I have begun to realize that it takes dedication, perseverance, hard work and my not so favorite "self-denial" to achieve my goals. Its like setting on a journey to reach a particular destination. But in all the hustle and bustle of reaching our desired destination, we begin to despise the journey.

I personally believe that our destination becomes far more attractive because of a tough but adventurous journey. There is a lot of learning on the way than at the end.....How do you see it??

Nothingness

Sometimes the joy of doing nothing can not be explained with words.....Like the other day, I decided to do nothing and just sit on my couch and relax and believe me I enjoyed every moment of it. After a hectic week of running around from place to place, this seemed like paradise...to be still.....Ah!!! I pray for more days such as this....

Music of my heart!!!

Almost forgot about my favorite series, sorry readers!! Had a little lapse. Ok..I am thinking? How about my favorite songs, yes, its songs for today.....Yipee!!!

I love music and the credit goes to my Daddy dearest who instilled in me a love for GOOD music. I admit I can't sing well nor can I play any instrument like my father, but hey does that matter? My kinda music is way different from the ones preferred by my contemporaries ...No rock music for me please! The very thought of it gives me a headache. My all time favorite will be Kenny G as there are no words to describe his talent.....I love the saxophone...very soothing...I can listen to it any time of the day.....In fact whenever I am having a heart to heart conversation with my sister, I make it a point to play Kenny G (Breathless).

Coming back to songs with WORDS, it is kinda difficult to pinpoint, nevertheless let me guess....I'll go for "Yesterday" by Beatles (my all time fav. too), then next in line will be (thinking hard...) "Woman in love" by Barbara Streisand. Its so difficult to think of favorites when they are many songs clouding my head at the moment. "Hey Jude" by Beatles again.....then few selected songs by Bryan Adams. But I also love listening to country music and favorite singer being Kenny Rogers (I love his voice man!!)....

That's all I can think of right now!!! Will come with more interesting stuff..till later....adios!!!!

Mercury rising!!

Right now as the temperature is rising steadily , I am craving for a glass of cold lemonade or even better a slab of my favorite vanilla icecream or any flavor as long as it is cold. This summer is gonna be a struggle with no signs of the temperature coming down..

Look at this picture dear readers, don't you think we all deserve this kinda treat in order to overcome this onslaught of the summer blaze.....Hmmmmm....So tempting!!!

For the moment, I can only look at this image and dream away.......

Poem by Lord Tennyson

As usual I'm not in the mood to write and as always I take the support of Lord Tennyson's poem-Tears, Idle Tears.....

TEARS, IDLE TEARS

by: Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)

'EARS, idle tears, I know not what they mean,

Tears from the depth of some divine despair

Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,

In looking on the happy autumn-fields,

And thinking of the days that are no more.







'Fresh as the first beam glittering on the sail,

That brings our friends up from the underworld,

Sad as the last which reddens over one

That sinks with all we love below the verge;

So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more.







'Ah, sad and strange as in dark summer dawns

The earliest pipe of half-awaken'd birds

To dying ears, when unto dying eyes

The casement slowly grows a glimmering square;

So sad, so strange, the days that are no more.







'Dear as remember'd kisses after death,

And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feign'd

On lips that are for others; deep as love,

Deep as first love, and wild with all regret;

O Death in Life, the days that are no more.'

'Tears, Idle Tears' is reprinted from English Poems. Ed. Edward Chauncey Baldwin. New York: American Book Company, 1908.

A weekend to remember!

I had a relaxed weekend, nothing special as such but I got to spend the night at my friend's place...Simple joys....the joy of baking together and sampling dishes like rice crispie treats and salsa (well this is one we eat with potato wafers..) and of course cookies...Mmmmm...that was soooo good!!! And late night conversations......Would love to have more of these again...

Death's persona

In our day to day functionalities of our fast paced life, something that acts as a brake is death. Not a favorite topic of anyone, but its a sobering thought, lets you think on the real issues of life. The day you were born there is a day marked for your death....Even as a child, I came across this as very scary after my grandparents died. But as I grew older it dawned upon me that every single individual is heading towards death.

I distinctly remember the incident when I was posted in the emergency ward (well, I'm a doctor by profession-I don't practice now) and saw a patient die in front of me, I was shocked. When I touched his body it was cold, and it gave me an eerie feeling. Another time, there was this young mother howling over her dead child, I couldn't handle the depressing atmosphere. A visit to the ICU ward will realign our priorities as we see solemn faces

I was afraid of death since a child, but now I'm not. I think of 1Corinathians 15: 55, “ O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” and another verse from Romans 5: 6-8 “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man one would die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

What's the reality about death? the just consequences of our sin, our blatant rebellion against a Holy God. Romans 6: 23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Choose LIFE or DEATH......

Beauty and the Beast

On request to my love-struck friend. As the story goes......The Beast is confined to the castle along with his servants who are also turned into household items who can talk and walk....Years pass by and the Beast is totally convinced, that nobody could love such a hideous and monstrous beast.

After a period of ten years, a beautiful young girl named Belle (French for beautiful) comes to live in the village along with her eccentric father, Maurice. She is kinda disliked for her preference for reading books and constantly wooed by a local hero, Gaston. Cutting the story short, Belle's father takes refuge in the Beast's castle after he gets lost while traveling back from a fair. As expected, the Beast locks him up in a dungeon and Maurice's horse returns back to Belle. Sensing danger, Belle sets off to seek her father and ends up as the Beast's prisoner in exchange for her father's release.

Well, sparks don't fly and the Beast finds it extremely difficult to be GENTLE and COURTEOUS to Belle. On the other hand, Belle is very STUBBORN and does not like to take orders from the Beast. On an occasion, where the Beast saves Belle from a pack of ravenous wolves that she sees him in a different light. This is my favorite part, because only after she notices some amount of tenderness in him that she mellows. And the fact, that the beast had a huge collection of books sets the ball rolling! They become friends and their relationship starts to grow. Both realize they have feelings for each other which is beautifully depicted in the song, 'Beauty and the Beast'.

Belle begins to get homesick and desires to meet her sick father( she sees her father through the magic mirror), the Beast already in love, lets her go completely aware that this would ruin his chances of being human again. At last!! He learns to love SELFLESSLY. Love is not about getting and having the person for oneself, its basically about SACRIFICE and it's painful. Ouch! The Beast knew this so well by now....

So dear friend, have I written enough to whet your appetite? Do watch the movie to know what happened next......

Does appearance matter??

Beauty and the Beast...ahhha.....how I love this movie!!! For the simple fact, that it has sweet memories attached to it. I first heard this story from my grandma, whom I dearly loved (she's no more) during our daily story time sessions. What struck me about this fairy tale was the Beast being the protagonist, the hero you would say, as I was used to the hero being the typical handsome, charming prince blah blah blah....This caught my attention as you all know the plot, where a curse was put on the handsome but heartless prince that turned him into a beast(a reflection of his own hatred and cruelty). And the only way the curse could be broken if the Beast learned to LOVE and receive (I would say EARN) the other person's LOVE in return. And that too before the last petal of the enchanted rose fell and withered (it was given by the enchantress-(btw she was the one who put the curse) Wow!! That's the plot I like...

What happens next, whether the Beast learns to love and earn true love in return is something you should find out for yourself (if you haven't watched this movie). There is so much to infer, we are so prone to judge by appearances, a lesson the heartless prince had to learn the hard way out.......Hmmmmm food for thought.......

Spelling blues!!

I couldn't resist this one....I came across this poem on a website that talks about grammar softwares or spell check softwares that are unable to catch homonyms( eg: incorrect use of "two" & "too" or "to") ...Unfortunately the source is unknown.....It's a good one...Enjoy!!

Spell Checker Blues

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect in it's weigh
My chequer tolled me sew

Believe it or not?

Does this ever happen to you or is it only moi? Like for example, I have been dying to watch certain movies, but no matter how hard I try, something comes my way that prevents me from watching that movie! You think I'm joking, eh? Well, for me its not funny at all...

I stumbled upon this movie"Mannequin on the Move" when I was in my teens. When I was just half way through the movie, for reasons I can't recollect, I could not watch the entire film. And its been more than 12 years and the status quo still remains. No matter what, I either get to see the end or none at all. C'mon guys that's not fair for a movie buff like me. Sometimes I laugh at this....But now its beginning to annoy me.....Grrrrr....

So my goal in the coming days is to watch the entire movie and fight tooth and nail if I have to...What say???

Face the music

Right now I am sitting in my cubicle (new place, remember) and enjoying good music even though Hindi music is not my favorite. Beggars are not choosers, right? I guess, one of the toughest lessons I am learning these days is to be satisfied with what is readily available. I love listening to music and my kind of music ranges from instrumental (the likes of Kenny G, Richard Clayderman's) to Beatles, Bryan Adams, Bread......The list is endless...But for certain reasons I have access only to Hindi music which does not happen to be the best choice though....But no options here and so I listen to Hindi songs and strive to appreciate what is given to me.....Very difficult at this moment.....

Eating humble pie!

All my growing years, I had a peculiar dislike for computers and things related to it, so much so that I avoided individuals who were computer freaks. I somehow disliked it as I found it quite impersonal to my taste....While friends around me were drowning into the world of emails, I stuck to writing letters as a way to protest against this quick invasion of technology..I was constantly coaxed by friends and relatives to get over this silly animosity that I held against computers...

I never cared even though people called me a computer-illiterate...I guess I wasn't prepared for the worst that was to befall me soon......After a turn of few events (unfortunate in my record) I landed up in a software company as a ( hold your breath!!) Web Content Developer....It was one of the most humbling experience I ever had...Something that I avoided all my life is now my source of living...hahahaha

As I eat humble pie, I honestly admit, computers aren't that bad after all, eh?

Sunshine

Today as I left for work, I hoped not to have my Monday blues again, since I had a relaxed weekend. But something else was in store for me, since the bus that I usually take was crowded. So I waited to catch another empty bus and I was fortunate to get one. While paying the ticket, I mentioned the stop to the bus conductor(he collects the bus fare) who upon hearing it nonchalantly asked me to get down one stop further or before. Why? because the bus didn't take that route. So I thought for second, just to decide which stop was the closest...Phew! Some start....

Trust me, the walk was never-ending and the sun decided to be at its brightest...hahaha....I was tired and sweaty, but grateful that I could reach in one piece.....Do I still have the Monday Blues?? No, not at all since the sun drove it away!!

Good Morning!!

Had a real 'good morning' today after a long time! As I was rushing to work ( like I always do) the lyrics of the song, “In the light” gripped me, especially the words where the singer is wanting (rather passionately desiring) to be where God is.....In the light...

I was in darkness and now by the grace of God, I'm in the light...Praise God for that....What more can I ask when I have Christ in my life?

Cubicle woes

You human? Then I guess you are resistant to change and since I qualify to be a human so am I. We begin to get so cozy and comfortable in our jobs, homes, friends and suddenly the foe entereth, “CHANGE”. You want to know how I feel about it, annoyed and irritated. Not again!! C'mon it just yesterday that I began to really to like this place( my sweet cubicle) and I am asked (read, forced) to change...Grrr....

As they have said in the days of yore, 'Every cloud has a silver lining'..and what if there is no cloud? Hahaha...just kidding guys....But looking at the brighter side, I see growth and depth in one's character....So I guess, my next post will commence from the new cubicle....

Life..full of care....

I just felt I needed to pen down something, but unfortunately I'm not in a state to write a poem of my own. So decided to emote myself through one of my yet another favorite poem "Leisure" by W.H.Davies. Loved reciting it in school..... Here goes.....

WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Joie de vivre

Hurray! Just completed a month in blogging and it feels so great. The experience have been new and exciting altogether, not to mention apprehensive...Not much of a computer person, but I love to experiment and here I am blogging my heart out!!!

Let's see how far this goes and what I learn on my way...So I'm gonna have fun and celebrate life....
As they say in French, "Joie de vivre".....