Observation.

On the first day of work, I wore a full-sleeved ruby-red formal shirt with black trousers hoping to escape the monotonous black-n-white combination. But my boss, who happens to be the daughter of her boss, brushed me down. Apparently the vision-safe hue of red with ironed black trousers, to quote her, pissed her off. Fine. I have been dressing in whites, blacks, grays and sober blues since then. Today, being the fifth day (and not a Saturday when we can dress in, to quote her again, smart casuals), I see her dressed in cotton-candy-pink patiala suit with embroidered work in purple and yellow all over. Boss, are you amnesic? Or do you belong to a school of thought that prescribes non-uniformity in application of rules? Or may be, this is what they call humour in uniform, literally!

(giggles and gets back to the Securities Contract (Regulation) Act like nothing pink or red happened!)

Pshaw!

I don’t know what’s going on but I clearly don’t deserve this. Damn. I need a break from this. I need a goddamn break from the system and the constant biAs one could associate with it. A certain bulky doggie bag of wasted flesh decided to get back. Why? Is it because I wasn't worth it? NO. Or is it because I did something wrong? NO. It is because that silly schmuck doesn’t have the ability to see the difference between two independent events- one being this and the other being the proceedings of an enquiry on the basis of a complaint from me. For heaven sake, just because I argued with you about something your senses couldn’t reach. Just because I pointed out the fact that you fiddled with my right and thereby deprived me of something I was, as a matter of merit and morality, entitled to. And just because you can’t understand the concept of rationality. I just have two words for you- get lost! All the while, I only thought you didn’t know how to pronounce the words genuine and empathy. But boy! You have no clue about what they mean.

Such a loser. Who owns nothing but a Board which is a bag full of lies, filth and incompetence. Watch it, its overflowing. We don’t want to drown in it. Just a dip is icky enough.

Hope.

Family reunion, new year, birthday (21st, if that would make it any significant), the new Vaio and my new phone. I don't know if I gave the year any welcome but 2009's start certainly had a lot in store for me. New opportunities and new openings. You know what I exactly mean by this? HOPE. And I totally believe in it. It felt good to be so pampered with company, gadgets and 365 MORE days, all to restore my spirit. Don’t know if it all makes sense but it does help to know you have a lot of life left to live. Live, here, is read as live and not merely exist or barely survive. In terms of consistency, I might not be hopeful about everything all the time especially when angry or sad or lost. But that's just an interim and I become hopeful about things as soon as I am out of that swing. I might sound extremely philosophical but hope is the only keeps me going. When I was a kid, I used to make up these random abbreviations. And I think I made this up in when in class VII (not so much of a kid but never mind!) but it still is true- HOPE means nothing but Hit Open the Positive Energy(!). So you hope and you do hope. With hope, you create resolutions. And when they don’t happen, you hope they could continue. When they do continue, you hope you do it. Hope motivates you and gives you another chance. But hope is not an excuse. It is, instead, an expression of positive thoughts. Don’t hope just to back-up. Hope to do and try to do that. And I am going to hope I do all these, this year:

1. Eat well and eat healthy.

2. Go for a walk every day.

3. Have only one cup of coffee a day.

4. Remember to keep in touch with people.

5. Sleep well. But also attend classes (!).

6. Do something about the hair fall before I go bald (!).

7. Stop whining on the blog all the time.

8. Learn to forgive without strings attached.

9. Respect opinions.

10. Control my temper.

11. Make sure I look to both sides of the road before I cross (!).

12. Dance whenever I get a chance.

13. Say “sorry” and “thanks” when I have to and mean it.

14. Travel to new places.

15. Find out new cuisines and try them out with friends. Get out of the addiction to cheese and cheesy lasagnas.

16. Try and learn a new language. German, particularly.

Eleven months to do all this is not bad enough, right? :D

Manam Virumbudhe Unnai Unnai...

A very popular and typical Deva song of the 1990's. 

With the drive to listen to something different, I loaded my Ipod with songs I usually don't - one of them being manam virumbudhe unnai. Not really sure if I liked it when it released but I quite liked it today. Fresh and energetic with a lovely BGM. With a little Carnatic touch, Harini's pitch is really good. And the lyrics- SO cute!!! Easy to sing along. On watching its video from Youtube: Simran's enthusiasm to dance is a treat to watch despite the immature expressions, excessive hip-shakes and dowdy dressing.

Brought a smile to my face. Taste in music can never be defined. It doesn't have to be. I guess it is something you keep exploring always and it feels good to know you liked something different today. Something fresh. Something you could relate to in some way or the other, like the rush of energy in this song. 

And I hope to discover many such cute songs that make your day. Especially on those gloomy days- like the exam time! :D

Defining Dosa(i) as a Concept.

One of the few things I am really particular about is how my dosa should be made, served and eaten. As in I believe there is a point in making dosas the way they are to be made and respect compliance. The point is it is an independent concept and its conceptually incorrect to withdraw from its original form. At least refrain from calling it dosa. Call it something else- say gosa or posa! I often find this happening in restaurants- usually the bhavans and sagars around. And I take offence to such a departure. Primarily, dosas are not meant to be "sweet"- which means adding jaggery or sugar to the batter is a strict "no". Also, dosa is a thin and crispy digestible form of tiffin rather than a thick leather-like pancake making it difficult to chew or digest. Making it that thick would also contribute to leaving some parts of the dosa uncooked. May be learning how to make uthappam helps in cooking thick pancakes but uthappam certainly isnt this bad when made thick!

Another thing that adds to the taste of dosa is oil- but overdoing it or using smelly-reheated oil would only render the dosa sort of stale. Too much of oil is not good in any case, right? Dosas are conventionally served with sambhar and chutney (ranging from coconut to onion to mint to tomato). So it is important that the accompaniments are good too. Good here would ideally mean undiluted, spicy and proportionate with all necessary ingredients. The picture I have put up above could be quite misleading, you know? Coriander seasoning definitely doesn't help. And also, that triangular shape doesnt beautify it that much that people would crave to eat dosas which are of that shape (or rolled up neatly). Sadly, I feel for the cause. The cause of all mamis who make wonderful dosas in a minute. The cause of those dosas which might have a right to be presented the way they want to be. Certainly. Sigh...It (the thought) gives me an appetance for the thin-n-light crispy dosas which I can endlessly hog on at home with other complements such as curd, molaga podi (chilly powder), mango pickle, thogayal (which is my recent addiction), etc... while I feel full up in my throat with just a few bites of those thick-n-oily dosas outside.