Is Phelps a Perfect Example?

Olympics are over and the wait is on for next one! With all the medals and records, it was a pleasure to watch (though not live, thanks to NBC!!). It was great to watch Michael Phelps break so many records and see the nail biting wins! How could anybody compete with Fish!! All his hard work, dedication paid off. Even China proved itself by not only hosting the never before seen arrangements and not to forget the highest number of golds!

This morning, when I was on the treadmill listening to the songs on my iPod, this thought came to my mind- Is Phelps the perfect example for 'Khudee ko kar buland itna ke har taqdeer sepehle khudaa bande se khud poochhe, bata teri razaa kya hai " (Make yourself so strong that before God writes your fate, let him ask you, tell me what do you want me to write)? I happen to love this Sufi song, which is so inspiring.

Debbie Phelps told in an interview about Michael's childhood - He had ADHD, was teased and alughed at by other kids for looking different and he used to come home crying everyday (and who is laughing now!!). So she put him in swimming so that he could spend his energy in the pool. His coach realized his potential when he was 11 and said 'This kid could achieve something no one has achieved before'! What a foresight, and yes, HE DID IT!!

The teenagers could use Phelps, Shawn Johnson, Usain Bolt, Abhinav Bindra, Dara Torres and many others who have achieved purely on their hard work as their ideals rather than some movie stars spending thousands on drinks and going to rehab! There is so much positive to do in life. Cheers to all the winners in Olympics :).

I was going Nuts!!

"I was going Nuts" said Michael Phelps a.k.a. 'Baltimore Bullet' yesterday after winning the Gold in Men's 400M relay in Olympics (Swimming). It was tough! World record broken and the nail biting competition was a great sight to experience.

All the pain of training, countless hours in the pool, learning new techniques and not to forget the 'believe in yourself' part, are forgotten when in an instant. It was such a proud moment to see everyone reaching their goal to get the Gold! Phelps is trying to break the record of 7 golds in this Olympics and would love to watch him win!! Here is the link for the relay and Phelps cheering his teammates.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/share.html?videoid=0811_HD_SWB_HL_L0194

Man's Greatest Creation - GOD!

OK, I read this thing on CNN - Bombers want to be beheaded, not shot to death!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/29/bali.appeal.ap/index.html

Whats going on!!! Didn't they think about the people whom they injured/paralyzed for life when they bombed Bali? Or have they forgotten the suffering of the people whom the victims left behind! A person who died was a son, brother, husband, dad and a good friend to many! Can you make THEIR life painless? You appeal for a painless death or asking for mercy to give you a painless death - does it make any sense??!! I have never believed in life after death and you will have to face God - but think for yourself, you have something called Conscience, which needs you to answer right and wrong! Be true to yourself, you don't have to answer GOD!!

World's Most Expensive Cities

Wow, read this article about World's Top 15 Most Expensive Cities. Lucky I do not live in any one of them, but definitely would love to visit all the places listed in there. Take a look:

http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/23/cities-expensive-world-forbeslife-cx_zg_

0724expensivecities_slide.html?partner=yahoo

Why Should I Hire You?

Changing jobs is such a strenuous work! These are the two most common questions:

1. What are your plans for next 5 years?

2. Why should I hire you?

I don’t know about what one plans for five years, but I read this interesting article about 'Why should I hire you' thing on CareerBuilder. Take a look if you are interested!

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/custom/msn/careeradvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=

1569&SiteId=cbmsnhp41569&sc_extcmp=IV_1569_home1&GT1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=

1&cbsid=1fb55af7a7dc4bfeb91206294d179d6a-270664561-wo-6

Refuse to Lose...

Last weekend, I watched ‘Provoked’ by Jagmohan Mundhra, starring Aishwarya Rai, Naveen Andrews and Nandita Das. An excellent movie, truly inspiring. Aishwarya Rai has acted better than any other movie of hers so far.

It’s a movie based on a true story. Kiranjit is convicted of murder of her husband. Kiranjit is from Punjab, and is married to a guy named Deepak Ahluwalia who lives in UK, who abuses her physically, mentally and sexually for nearly ten years. One night, after a fight, she pours gasoline and lights her husband while he is sleeping. Thought she did not intend to kill him, he died of his injuries ten days later. It’s awful to see the way she was abused. She fights, gets help and is convicted of involuntary man slaughter. Her two kids were generally the witnesses to the violence, which no kids go through!

I searched some more on her story and here is something I found out – In an interview she claimed: "I decided to show him how much it hurt. At times I had tried to run away, but he would catch me and beat me even harder. I decided to burn his feet so he couldn't run after me.” She also claimed: "I wanted to give him a scar like those he had given me, to have him suffer pain as I had.”

I cannot imagine what she might have gone through for those ten years! Being abused on a daily basis by the one you love and trust! Well, in a place like India, family honor is the most important thing, doesn’t matter even if a woman has to sacrifice her life! Till we teach our daughters to stand up for themselves, this will continue! It is a relief that she got justice, but I cannot imagine the hardships she had to go through to get out of the memories of those ten years, and gather herself together to start a new life. Cheers to her new life and refusing to lose.

World is becoming smaller

When the quote turned from 'It's a small world' to 'World is becoming smaller', we were definitely talking about the technology, e-mails, phones, etc. E-mails were very exciting about ten years ago, especially for the older generations who did not know what was a computer, leave part what it did!! E-mails are definitely super fast, easy and inexpensive compared to the regular letters a.k.a. 'Snail Mail'.

I love writing letters. It’s a pleasure to hold a pen and write your mind on the paper. The scratches, spelling/grammar mistakes, the up-down arrows give that letter a personal touch. Even to the reader, doesn’t matter if you write the mundane stuff, it’s a pleasure holding that piece of paper in his/her hand and read it over and over again.

I still have the letters written by my friends when I was in high school. Even now when I open my 'Treasure chest', I can go through the letters, greeting cards (for all occasions), and trinkets and not to forget the beautiful letter pads.

All this came to my mind when I saw this article on MSN today. Here is the list of celebrities who are not tech savvy.

http://www.forbes.com/2008/06/10/celebrities-technoloy-technophobe-personal-cx_
ew_0611sanstech_slide_2.html?partner=msntech

Shame on Humanity

During my break time a couple of days ago, I was reading this article on CNN about the sex slaves from war torn Bosnia. Trust me, I didn’t realize the tears rolling down my cheeks! After reading that, it felt like ‘Death is painless’. Death comes to you only once, but whatever those women went through, is like dying every day! But the only thing I did not understand was – What were those soldiers made of? Weren’t they HUMANS? Or to put it in proper words – do/could HUMANS behave this way? I reading somewhere – When the humanity ends, the world will end! I am clueless as to what else could happen! Here is the link for the article if you are interested!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/22/sarajevo.rape/index.html

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, there will be peace!

Ah Men!!

Today one of my friends sent this funny thing about men:

Please note.. these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want.Let us be clear on this one:Subtle hints do not work!Strong hints do not work!Obvious hints do not work!Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a Problem. See a doctor.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you won't dress like the Victoria 's Secret girls, don't Expect us to act like soap opera guys.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one

1. You can either ask us to do something Or tell us how you want it done. Not both.If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong.We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine. Really .

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or golf.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

And here is my reply to him:

Yeah! Thanks for reminding!!! So many are true with me on a daily basis!!! esp the thing you want us to or the way you want us to do, and the directions part is huge topic for fight!! Thanks to GPS (has reduced the fights nearly 80%). Well, do you really need a reason to fight!! LOL

Well Columbus didnt need directions (agree to the part). Here are my points:

1. He had compass.
2. He was on water, so matter where he went, he was bound to find land somewhere!!
3. He didnt have his wife on board! We dont know what the scenario would be if he had taken his wife (or anyone's wife on board for that matter)!!

Keep smiling :-)

Missed blogging for a long time...

It has been such a long time since I wrote anything on the blog (its one of my non guilty pleasures!). Hard to believe – no entries for nearly two months on the blog. So, today I thought I would update the blog while having my evening coffee. Traveling, stress, family and work have taken the leisure time away from me. Yeah, I know blaming something else is easier! On the other hand, this business travel has made me more confident. Now I don’t have the fear of driving the unknown car, finding my way around the unknown city/area. Well, everything comes at a cost! I have lost so much of the family time I used to get when I was home. That’s the most important thing which is bothering me! The major disadvantage of traveling is the diet and exercise part of life! I cant cook the food I want, and pretty much tired to exercise every day. So, I have gained about 6 lbs in a month!

Jr. was really happy the first week of my travel. He didn’t have to go through the restrictions which mommy puts.TV/computer/DS time. Well, after a day, he says – ‘No particular reason, but I kinda miss you’. After I get back home, he says he missed me because ‘Pappa doesn’t know how to prepare curd rice’! AAHH… here goes the valid reason – no favorite food, so miss mommy! When mommy says not to eat maggi, that’s unfair, but when dad feeds maggi for all the three dinners when mommy was away, it’s boring! Trust me, after that week, he never really has asked me for maggi!! Whenever I am home, Jr. gives me a list of things he wants to eat! I prepared ‘Saboodani khichadi’ this weekend, and he said ‘Yeah… ball khichadi’. It was good to see that smile back on his face.

It was worth all the labor :-) .

The Smarter Generation

Being just 10 miles away, I met Nishi after three months! When I rang the door bell, her husband opened the door and I could hear the phone conversation between Nishi and a Rep. from her cell phone company –

“Is your 6 year old son home madam?” asked the lady over the phone, after struggling with Nishi for nearly 20 minutes to change the time on the cell phone which her 6 year old changed. She asks her 6 year old son to get on the phone, and follow the Rep’s instructions, and Viola – within 30 seconds, it’s solved!!! Her son changed some settings on the cell, and being in the same time zone, cell was showing the different time!! And she couldn’t fix it, and called the customer service, after 20 minutes of trial and error, sounded like the Rep. thought a kid could follow the directions easily, and to our amazement, kids really do understand electronics better!

Why don’t these companies make stuff which adults could understand and play with them easily – I have thought this one many times, but to no avail. I have seen Jr. handle any electronic gadget and explore it inside out. And here I am, struggling to change the time zone or the ringer option. Jr. once reset the password to the cable box for Parental Control, and he wouldn’t know how and what he changed it to! It’s amazing to see our kids grow smarter, and we grow dumber! Well, that’s life!

Cheers to the smarter generation ahead..

The Green Living

It’s so selfish of a human being to pollute the mother earth with the chemicals in air, water and land. I remember reading in some book – ‘We do not own this planet, we have borrowed this from our future generations’. It’s high time for us to follow the earth friendly measures as much as possible. I have always dreamt of having an Organic Kitchen Garden. So far I have been successful. I would want to do more with the household waste we like kitchen waste and grass clippings. I am glad that the Utilities Department provides the compost bin free of cost to encourage composting, which I have installed and waiting for the ready compost.

It’s an interesting to know the nature has its own way to make fertilizer with bugs, critters and worms. I remember collecting the earthworms during rainy season (when I was a kid), and leaving all of them near the couple of plants I planted. And not to mention they were healthier than the other ones. I have done so much research on how to start worm composting, and I am all set for it. The hardest part is convincing D, who is little hesitant to get the worms inside thinking we will get bugs, flies and fruit flies. Moreover, Jr. has been asking for pets for quite a long time. I think it would be a great idea to get the worms for me and as worms for Jr. I have decided to get the red worms this Saturday and the start my own composting bin. Having a lovely garden and planning to expand it much more, I have a gut feeling worm composting would help me in a great way. With dry heat and not so good quality mud for the plant, I would want to get the organic fertilizer for no or minimal cost. And give something back to mother earth without contaminating it.

10 Movies I would watch any time...

1. 1. Airplane
2. 2. Sholay
3. 3. Toy Story (I)
4. 4. Life is Beautiful
5. 5. Rush Hour
6. 6. Children of heaven (Iranian Movie)
7. 7. National Lampoon's European Vacation
8. 8. Black Hawk Down
9. 9. Ice Age - II
10. 10.Naram Garam

Though 'Schindler's List' tops the list, I don't think I have enough courage to watch that movie again!

Its vacation time

I can't wait to start our trip to Denver next week. Its my first long vacation in about three years (the last one was visiting India)! During Thanksgiving weekend of 2006, we had been to San Diego, and that was for just three days. I am all excited and hyped up for this vacation.

We have the plan in place – places to visit, things to do and visiting one of my school friends. I will be seeing her after nearly 15 years! That’s a long time! Thanks to the brighter side of the technology, which has helped millions to get in touch with long lost friends. No doubt, the world is getting smaller.

Jr. has been asking to visit the US Mint since a long time. Saw the reservation for the Mint tour, everything is full! Lets see if we can get the tour at the last minute!

Hoping to have lot of fun, relax and recharge.

1001 reasons not to take bath...

Jr can write a book for '1001 ( or more) reasons not to take bath'! I have no clue why he hates showers so much! Sometimes its just out of control. Till he turned 3, everything was fine, and he used to be excited to take bath. Here are some of the reasons I got from him not taking bath -

• I already took bath yesterday.
• Why do you HAVE TO take bath?
• There are no bugs on me right now.
• I am not itchy right now.
• Animals don't bathe.
• Just because you take bath everyday, I don't have to.
• I think I have fever, and if I take bath, I will be sicker!

This morning, Jr. got up and cuddled with D! After 10 minutes, Jr. got up, and told dad - "Pappa, I am getting up, but I will not take bath", so dad asks the reason and Jr. goes - "I am just bored of taking bath everyday"!!

Happy Parenting :) .......

Vo kaagaz ki kashti....

Had quite a lazy but productive weekend. On Saturday, to keep the Jr. busy, D had an idea of making something from the construction paper. Jr. said he wanted to make a sail boat with chop sticks. D being pretty diligent, made this boat. It never sailed though!

As I was writing the blog, and was thinking about title, it just came to mind - one of the best ghazals I have ever heard, which also reminds me of my childhood. That is a golden period in one's life. You do not have to worry about 'Tomorrow'. Just live for today, and live for now. We never realized that when we were kids, and now, our kids dont realize the same and we struggle to tell them, how lucky they are and they dont have to worry!! The the same continues in every generation......

With Or Without You....

Its heartbreaking to see the tragedy in China and Burma in recent days. Its so disturbing to watch the parents mourning the death of their child. That should not happen to anyone. Another story in Burma! I burst into tears to see a three old boy surviving the flood because his parents tied the floats around him and the parents drowned. The worst thing - There are no orphanages in Burma (Myanmar). There is still hope that many survivors would be found in china, and people will get the needed help. These kind of situations are so stressful for everyone - the ones going through the tragedy, the one who are watching and not to mention the reporters. Its not easy to see so much suffering and be in a very helpless situation. I remember a reporter who was on assignment in Somalia said "You don't feel human after seeing so much suffering". Very true! No matter what happens, the people who have lost the loved ones, would miss them and have an unpatched hole in their hearts forever. And as the song goes - I can live- I guess teh better words would be - I will have to live with or without you......

Hoping for a happy and peaceful world....

10 Romantic songs I love to listen -

1. 1. Everything I do, I do it for you by Brian Adams (Tops the chart :))
2. 2. Mitwaa from Kabhie Alvida naa kehna
3. 3. Ajab si from Om shaanti om
4. 4. Sili hawa choo gayi - Libaas
5. 5. Koi Chaudhavi raat ka chaand by Jagjit Singh (Mirage)
6. 6. Fanaa from the movie Fanaa
7. 7. Tera chehra kitna suhana lagata hai by Jagjit Singh
8. 8. More Piya ke lambe lambe kes from Ustaad and Divas
9. 9. Paan khaaye saaiyyan hamaro
10. 10. E ajanabi from Dil Se

Cheeni Kum yaa Zyaada!

"A painting satisfies your eyes, but the food satisfies your eyes, taste, smell and soul". So true. A pinch of salt or sugar can ruin the taste of the dish! "Hunger is not only a good cook, but the best physician"! All these came to my mind, when I was making lassi for myself in the afternoon, since the curd I had was sour. I tried adding a little salt, then a bit of sugar, which was more by just 5 grains I think, and it almost ruined the taste!

In the olden days, it was a custom to start cooking after bath, and eating freshly cooked meals twice a day. Preparing home made (not to mention low fat, low cal) food everyday, and having heavy meals on festivals was a good change, and not mention the fasting on Ekadashi, to cleanse the system. We are just forgetting all the things which elders did for the benefit of their (and family's) health. We are so much into stuff 'n go! Food is what makes you, and we don't have time for ourselves!!

10 things I love to do -

1. 1. Cooking
2. 2. Cuddling up in the comforter to watch a kiddie movie with my son
3. 3. Having a hot cup of tea and some fried munchies on a cold evening with my Husband
4. 4. Traveling
5. 5. Water my plants
6. 6. Swimming
7. 7. Sit on the beach and watch waves touching my feet
8. 8. Listen to soft songs
9. 9. Watching the rain drops make a splash when they hit the ground
10. 10. Sleep

It's Monday again....

Yep, Monday again!! But I am not that grumpy this time! Had a pretty productive weekend. Finished all the grocery shopping, finished putting the clothesline poles, cleaned the house, ironed the clothes, cooked so much, had a surprise guest for dinner, watched two good and two crappy movies! Phew, and the list goes on. Its such great feeling of accomplishment. The only important thing unchecked from the list is the 'pavers for the backyard'. We went there on Saturday afternoon, but the shop was closed. Anyways, Deepak has promised that he would go there on Monday afternoon. Lets see what he comes up with.

I prepared three kinds of chutneys yesterday, and Deepak was kind of surprised! He said "You have never prepared so many chutneys anytime I remember". Yes, that's true. I love chutneys and would love to prepare them, but just hadn't had time to prepare. I also updated some of the recipes in my food blog too. Things are going pretty smooth in office too. Hopefully, next week, it will be a pretty productive week too both at home and in office.

Have fun till then...

Sorry, forgot to publish on Monday!!

Re-discovering myself

Its been a while since I posted anything on my blog. I don’t know what happened to me all of sudden! I think I have become lazy/lost interest/don’t have time (which is pretty lame)! All or any of them might be true. Having a full time job and managing the stuff at home is not easy, but not impossible either! I need to re-discover myself. I used to love cooking, and I don’t know why, I just lost interest in cooking since last August. Bina (my colleague) kind of refreshed my memory of all the stuff I know to cook. She gets food from home everyday and we get to taste (I mostly end up snatching her food!), which makes me feel I should start cooking everyday again.

On Sunday, I had prepared ‘Bread Dahi Puri’, which Deepak loved! I love to try new foods, both to eat and prepare. I am giving myself another month to start on my Oath of cooking everyday and not eating out. Since the summer is approaching and the days are longer, I guess I will get much more time (wish there were more than 24 hours a day!).

Cheers…