Movies and Samosas

Well, so I did see Kisna and whats my verdict? HUGE disappointment. Well, I know...I had read the bad reviews, but still I was hoping against hope that the movie would turn out to be good. We arrived at the theatre 1/2hr late to realize we missed just 5 mins of the movie. As always, the movie had started late. We were greeted with a half empty theatre.
Soon we were greeted with unrealistic graphics, awesome acrobatics, lengthy songs and unnecessary skin show. The new girl, Isha makes difficult dance positions like nothing I had ever seen before. But then if they keep showing her in some weird position every time they show her, it tends to become tiresome and boring. Then there was this repeatedly shown scene of the river bank with very unrealistic looking clear blue water. Everything in the movie sounded extremely made up. By intermission, my head had started aching. Had yummy samosas and tea which lifted up our spirits. Sushmita Sen and Om Puri were a welcome change in the movie. Just in front of us, there were a bunch of guys we knew. Along with them, we had a good time passing comments, clapping and laughing. I had an Anacin before going off to sleep that night.

The next day I woke up with a heavy head. My apartment lease is ending on Feb and I want to shift to a bigger apartment. So, Sat morning was spent on apartment hunting. After spending so much of time I decided on an apartment in the same complex I am currently at. Coz of this, I had to give my ice-skating classes a miss. Me and V then went to Columbus and on the way stopped at the Indian store in Greenwood to get some Hindi movies. All this time my head was still aching.

On reaching Columbus, we met a few friends at a mall and I did some shopping. I realized that its been a month since I bought anything for myself and I'm 'running short of' clothes again :D
We had also got some samosas from the restaurant at Greenwood and we enjoyed it while watching 'God Only Knows' in the eve. Had got the movie on a friend's recommendation that its a hilarious movie. The movie was quite interesting in the beginning, but then it started becoming so stretchy and irritating. This time I took 'Nise' and by late night my headache was gone.

Got up late on Sunday and after lunch we all sat down to see 'Choker Bali'. Finally I got to see some decent movie. Liked the movie a lot though didn't understand why she did all that she did!

So another weekend came to an end too soon. I was up this early morning ready for an hour long drive back to Indy, back to work and back to week long loneliness!

I took off after work with my mind set on cleaning up my apartment. But as soon as I saw the TV and the remote, laziness overcame all my good intentions. And since nothing good was going on the TV, I ended up opening my laptop.
Sigh! I have lots of chores to complete today. Put away the load of clothes I had carelessly thrown over the week, do the laundry and vacuum the carpet. But the worst of all..to wash the huge pile of dirty dishes in the sink. :(
I am normally not like this, I don't let things pile up like this. At least not to this extent. I so want to postpone it for another day, but I have to do it today. Coz tomorrow all my friends would be coming over to my apartment. We'll get 'take-away' food from the Pakistani store and after dinner go to IMAX theatre to watch 'Kisna'. As always I'm looking forward to the whole 'watch Hindi movie in a theatre just like in India' experience. I hope the movie is not too bad inspite of the reviews.

Well, I better get to work...no use being lazy. In the end it'll be me who has to do this.

Insomnia

Somebody help me. I feel groggy, dull, and irritable. For the past many weeks, I have been sleeping very little. I agree, previously the situation was bad, but now it has gotten worse.

I have always been a late sleeper. I used to sleep at 1am and get up at 730am - just in time to get ready for work. This much of sleep was enough for me to get through the day without much problem. However, as the weeks went by, my bedtime got later and later. I would not fall off to sleep before 2am. Then from 2am, it was 3am and yesterday was the heights. I fell asleep only after 5am. 2hrs later I did hear the alarm go off, I did open my eyes...but I did not realize when I fell back to sleep again and that I had switched off the alarm instead of snoozing it. I finally woke up past 8am. Thankfully, my office follows flexi-timing to some extent, so it was kinda okay.

I am now getting really worried about my inability sleep on time. If this continues I know it’s gonna take a toll on my health and my work. Infact, it already has. I cannot get by the morning work without a strong cup of coffee and sometimes even that does not help. The kinda work that I am doing currently makes it worse.

I have tried to sleep early...once I even got to bed at 10pm, switched off the lights. But after 2 hrs of tossing and turning, I was back up watching TV. I tried drinking warm milk too. If I read a book, I get so caught up in the story that I end up sleeping even more late :( Listening to music doesn’t help either.

I catch up on all the sleep during weekends when I can afford to sleep until late morning or afternoon. I know this is not a healthy solution, but I cannot help it. So please, help me! How do I make my beauty sleep come to me?

BTW, Happy Republic Day!

Two of a kind

There seems to be 'twin' season going on for me. It all started yesterday when I went shopping at Kohl's with a colleague. She had to buy birthday gifts for 3 yr old boy and girl - twins.

Then yesterday evening I switched on the TV and the movie Stuck On You had just started. Its a comedy movie about Siamese twins, one half played by Matt Damon. Since Matt Damon was in the movie and also I had nothing better to do, I decided to watch the entire movie. It wasnt as bad as I had expected it to be. It had quite a few funny moments and overall I enjoyed the movie.

And to add to the coincidence, today, as I was browsing through the On-Demand listing on my cable, I noticed Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen on the list. I was quite curious about this movie and had wanted to see it specially after seeing Lindsay Lohan on Freaky Friday and SNL. I watched the movie and even though its a bit too teeny, I liked it.

Now, you must be thinking what has COATDQ (as a Hindi movie would be abbreviated) has anything to do with twins. Well the thing is this movie reminded me of another Lindsay flick The Parent Trap where she played the character of separated twins, each one living with one parent oblivious of the other's existence. They meet each other at a camp and discover that they are sisters and decides to swap places. Sounds familier? Yes, its the same plot we've seen in the oldie Do Kaliyan where Neetu Singh plays the twins and has the famous song 'Bachche Mann ke Sachche'. Same story was repeated again later in another movie (dont remember the name) where Rishi Kapoor and Padmini Kolahpuri play the separated parents. Then there was Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi where Kajol plays the twins. One thing about these movies that has always confused me is was the Hollywood movie inspired from the Bollywood one? The Parent Trap released in 1997 is very new compared to the Bollywood flicks. So is it that the roles has been reversed and Hollywood copied Bollywood?? Can anyone shed some light?

Slip and slide away

Slip and slide away you go....this lovely no. was amongst my earliest music collection. And this was exactly how it was on my first ice skating class. I knew it was gonna be tough...and it was! For almost the entire hour I was trying to walk on the ice literally hanging on to the railing on the wall. V did quite well, infact, I was quite impressed. Just a couple of rounds with the support of the railing...and then he was all set to go! He was able to not only walk, but also skate quite a bit. My other friend N, was whizzing away like a pro. He was so good that the instructor said that he has a 'gift'! Few of my other friends had joined the classes 5 weeks ago and they were in the same batch. They also were doing good. So among all of us, I was the last in the class. The instructor encouraged me saying that it was 3 weeks before they let go of the railing. So considering that I feel I am not too bad coz by the end of the class I was able to walk without holding on! That boosted up my rapidly sinking spirits. Also not once did I fall down. However, according to people, that might just be wats holding me back. They say once I fall down, I will lose the fear and then it'll be easier for me let go of the railing. Sigh! Am I crazy or what to let myself fall down? And oh the pain! By the end of the class, all 3 of us were dead exhausted. Our legs hurt so bad. And I didnt even fall down once! Dunno if there's a connection, but the same night both my hands were aching too. Was that coz I was holding on to the railing? But overall it was a great experience. I wanna learn fast and be able to zoom by just like thos cute lil girls.

A bunch of us had planned to go to the temple the next day on Sunday in Louiseville, Kentucky. Its about 2hrs drive. We had also thought of going to an Indian restaurant for lunch. I was looking forward to it coz since the time I have been here in US, I havent been to a single temple. :( I woke up the next to a bright day. Looking outside I realized the brighness was not due to the Sun, but due to snow. It had snowed in the night. And so our plan got cancelled. The highlight of the day was N made yummmy wada pav for breakfast. That guy's a blessing in disguise for all of us though of course I'm not gonna tell him that! :)

Snow Pic 4

Parking lot in Columbus during the heavy snow

Snow Pic 3

Road near my apartment

Snow Pic 2

Thats how deep the snow was

Snow Pic 3

View from my balcony

Weekend roundup

Nothing much happening lately. Days are passing by and life is going on. A roundup on the weekend activities....
Last week Indiana saw a lot of water. Flood everywhere...so much that roads were blocked and few towns had blackouts. Luckily nothing happened around where I stay except for some deep potholes on the road. Columbus saw the heaviest rainfall since 1913! This winters been weird for Columbus with record breaking weather. V came over to Indy instead of me going there.
It snowed again in Indy on Fri night. Woke up on Sat morning or rather Sat noon to a beautiful surrounding. Since the snow wasn't as heavy as the last time, the greens peeping out of the white blanket looked superb. Me and V clicked a lot of pics.

Went to Columbus and registered ourselves along with a friend to Ice Skating classes. We missed one of the 8 classes and we'll start from next Sat. We tried our hands on roller skates and me and V were pathetic! Our friend N on the other hand skated away like a pro! I am sure he will leave us far behind on ice skating too.
Saw 'The Hero' movie. Found it worse than Crouching Tiger... Wanted to watch Veer Zara, but haven't got the chance yet.

Rest of the weekend went by in a pretty normally. When I came back to Indy I had a pleasant surprise in store for me. My cable-wala was showing an Indian channel! I haven't subscribed to any Indian channel so when I discovered TV Asia while flipping through the channels, I was a happy. The first thing I saw was Shh.. Koi Hai. I remembered it vaguely from India...Vikraal. Though it was a nice change, I still couldn't bear to see it for more than 5 mins. Hindi news is also a god change. Yesterday saw some golden oldie songs.

Now am getting bored. So now uploading all my pics and also listening to Hindi net radio. Got to get back to my pics.

Only You

This is another of my all time favourite

Only You

The Platters

Only you can make this world seem right

Only you can make the darkness bright

Only you and you alone

Can thrill me like you do

And fill my heart with love for only you

Only you can make this change in me

For it's true, you are my destiny

When you hold my handI understand

the magic that you do
You're my dream come true

My one and only you

Only you can make this change in me

For it's true, you are my destiny

When you hold my handI understand

the magic that you do
You're my dream come true

My one and only you...(one and only you)

In Retrospect

Almost a week gone of the new year and didn't even realize. 2004 too came and went...it seems like in a jiffy. Overall it was a great year for me. It was one of the most important year of my life. It had lotsa change, fun, adventure, whole lot of love and some very difficult times.

The most significant 'event' would be breaking off with my ex. After being with V, I realized what my heart wants and what true love is. Time spent with him has been the bestest ever. I thank God for bringing him to my life. I feel I have matured in terms of understanding relationships.

2004 also marked the change in jobs. I left my job of 3 yrs, my first ever job and moved out. Though things were bitter those days, I have come to realize how much it has helped me in terms of growing up professionally. This eventually triggered me moving out to a new city, meet new people, make new friends. I started staying alone...became more independent and confident. As I always believe, whatever happens, happens for good.
Another positive outcome of this was that I learnt how to drive. Though learning to drive had always been in my to-do list, being a true procrastinator, I never got to actually doing it. However circumstances and necessity led me to it sooner than I had ever hoped.

On a more adventurous scale, in 2004 I managed to do the 2 most daring stuff that I had never even dreamt of doing. First was River Rafting. I agreed for this just for my friends. Didn't know how I would manage to stay in the raft. Water terrifies me. On top of that I wasn't feeling well. The morning before we started - dunno whether it was me not feeling well or just plain fright - I puked! But once that was done, I felt good and enjoyed the whole experience thoroughly. Didn't fall off the boat the entire 7hrs trip.

Next was Sky Diving. Gosh! That was one awesome adventure. The time when I was really really scared was while standing by the plane door..looking down..ready to jump. Thats the time when I screamed...No! I don't wanna do this! But my guide pushed me...and then it was the best thrilling experience of my life.

On a lighter note...2004 also saw my first rishta. When my mom told me about it, I had mixed feelings. I felt funny that now even I have become the hunted one. I was also worried that this will trigger a series of rishtas - with aunts desperate to find a perfect match for me. Thankfully my parents too weren't too keen and thats the 1st and last I have heard of this...yet.

So.....2004 was a rainbow of colors. Lets see what 2005 has in store for me!

Colors of summer time

My first post for the new year and that too after a week's gap. Had a wonderful wonderfull time. Till my last post I had no fixed plans as to what I will do with my week long week. Plans were being made and unmade with friends backing off due to one reason or the other. Finally we had had enough. V and me decided to take off on our own. Made a rough plan, booked the car and hotels and on 27th night we were off to Florida!

Our first stop was Panama City. It was 12 hrs drive in all as per mapquest. Its a lovely small town with nice and peaceful beaches. The sunny weather after so much of snow and cold felt like a blessing. There weren't much crowd around so walking along the beach in the evening with the cool breeze on your face felt heavenly. It seems that this was one of the places hit by the Ivan tornado and we could see construction work going on here and there. We had awesome seafood. Apart from fish, shrimps and crab, tried oysters and scallops. I was skeptical about scallops, but it turned out to be quite tasty and not too nasty to look at.

The next day late morning we left for Tampa which is about 8hrs drive from Panama City. On the way lies the city of Gainesville which is the home of University of Florida. We saw an adv for Chutnee, the famous Indian restaurant chain. Stopped for lunch but unfortunately it was closed. Gainesville sounded very familiar when I suddenly realized one of my friend had recently taken admission to the Univ. Called her up and went to meet her. It felt so nice to meet an old friend. My first time since I came to US. We finally reached Tampa at 8pm checked into the hotel and had delicious Thai food for dinner.

The next day we went to Busch Gardens. Its an amusement park which looks like a cross between Disney's California Adventure Park and Animal Kingdom. Spent the whole day there. Highlight of the day was that V won a HUGE gorilla for me! Its even bigger than me! Poor V had to tug it along wherever we went. Anyone who saw us were smiling and saying this and that and the kids....the kids were so thrilled. The gorilla took up the whole back seat of the car. We were thankful we decided to rent a car and did not get V's Spyder instead :)

The next day on the 31st we went to the Clearwater Beach. Its supposed to be the most beautiful beach in that area and it is. The place is so lovely..even though it was a bit crowded the beach was awesome with its soft white sand. The bright sunny summery weather made it all the more better. Lazed around the beach the whole day and thanks to the sunscreen escaped getting tanned. This time too we had another round of yummy Thai cuisine.

In the evening we got ready and went to a place called Ybor City (pronounced Yeebor). This is supposed to be the 'happening' place in Tampa where the major New Yr celebration takes place. The place is lined with pubs and clubs and even has the famous Coyote Ugly pub. It seems every weekend the roads are blocked and people have big time party right there on the streets. Same happened that night too. It seemed like all the young people in the city were there. Music blaring from different clubs...the air was filled with festivity. We 'accidentally' went to this Greek restaurant for food. And we had hardly started browsing the menu when suddenly vigorous music with heavy beats started playing and out came the belly dancer. I have never seen anyone dance with so much energy before. The lady was awesome...danced continuously for about 2 hrs non-stop full of energy. It was fun and to top it the food was delicious. We were there in Ybor City till late night and returned the next year tired and sleepy.

We left for Columbus late that morning. The total driving was of 16hrs but with breaks and all we reached Columbus in 24hrs. During the week Columbus had pleasant weather so all the snow including our snowman had melted away. In the evening saw 'Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events'. Monday was a holiday for me so had a nice rest.

So thats the end of my holidays. How I wish we could take such vacations every once in a while. Life would have been much more lively :)