So I seem to have some time on hand and I have been racking my brains to come up with something to do.Something different.Something useful.
Last summer I took swimming lessons and did a brief stint of hosting a radio program at a local radio station.This summer I am stumped for ideas.So I am turning to all you people out there for suggestions about what I can do this summer.
I am looking at learning Spanish.I would also like to something that would supplement my professional IT experience and look good on my resume.Any ideas?
Also has anyone heard of the CAPM(Certified Associate in Project Management) certification?Is it any good?
I am so looking forward to all that you wonderful people have to say!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Favorite Literary Characters
I wanted to do this tag for a long time now but for some reason I forgot all about it until today.
So here goes my list which of course is nowhere close to being comprehensive:
*Howard Roark - in Fountainhead.
I loved the book and I loved this character as I could somehow identify so much with him.
*Holden Caulfield - in Catcher in the Rye.
An absolute lunatic but with a razor-sharp wit.Also loved the way he melts into a puddle of love when he interacts with his little sister and the relationship that he shared with his deceased younger brother.
*Atticus Finch - in To Kill A Mockingbird.
A strong man with such strong principles and a wonderful, wonderful father.I would marry him in a hearbeat!
*Florentyna Kane - in The Prodigal Daughter.
An amazing woman who is intelligent,clever,witty,strong,principled and determined.I like the way she lives her life and dreams despite having an over achiever for a father.
*William Kane and Abel Rosnovski - in Kane and Abel.
What wonderful characters.Loved the way they try to out-do each other at every step.
*Hassan - in The Kite Runner.
Everyone wishes for a friend like him.Loyal,forgiving and loving to a fault.
*Frederick Algernon Trotville(Fatty)- in Enid Blyton's Five find-outers and a dog .
Oh what a fun series that was!This lesser known "Famous Five" series is everything that one can expect out of an Enid Blyton detective series.And Fatty was just ridiculously clever and outrageous.I have the fondest memories of reading these books as a child and I think I owned almost all the books in this series though I enjoyed the other Famous Five and Secret Seven books just as much.
*Oliver Barrett & Jennifer Cavelleri - in Love Story.
I am a sucker for love stories that have protagonists gunning for each other's throats in the beginning and don't realize when the hate turns into love but eventually do end up together! The husband and I fell in love on similar premises.So!(Abhipraya,this one was for you!)
*Hercule Poirot - I loved reading about detectives and how they solved crimes.Poirot especially as I would imagine his egg-head and pencil mustache all the time and was thrilled when my imagination was very close to the character on the TV series.
*Sherlock Holmes - At one point in time,I used to try and incorporate "Elementary,Mr.Watson" in almost every conversation!My all time favorite detective.
Do you have any absolute favorite literary character that brings back fond memories?
So here goes my list which of course is nowhere close to being comprehensive:
*Howard Roark - in Fountainhead.
I loved the book and I loved this character as I could somehow identify so much with him.
*Holden Caulfield - in Catcher in the Rye.
An absolute lunatic but with a razor-sharp wit.Also loved the way he melts into a puddle of love when he interacts with his little sister and the relationship that he shared with his deceased younger brother.
*Atticus Finch - in To Kill A Mockingbird.
A strong man with such strong principles and a wonderful, wonderful father.I would marry him in a hearbeat!
*Florentyna Kane - in The Prodigal Daughter.
An amazing woman who is intelligent,clever,witty,strong,principled and determined.I like the way she lives her life and dreams despite having an over achiever for a father.
*William Kane and Abel Rosnovski - in Kane and Abel.
What wonderful characters.Loved the way they try to out-do each other at every step.
*Hassan - in The Kite Runner.
Everyone wishes for a friend like him.Loyal,forgiving and loving to a fault.
*Frederick Algernon Trotville(Fatty)- in Enid Blyton's Five find-outers and a dog .
Oh what a fun series that was!This lesser known "Famous Five" series is everything that one can expect out of an Enid Blyton detective series.And Fatty was just ridiculously clever and outrageous.I have the fondest memories of reading these books as a child and I think I owned almost all the books in this series though I enjoyed the other Famous Five and Secret Seven books just as much.
*Oliver Barrett & Jennifer Cavelleri - in Love Story.
I am a sucker for love stories that have protagonists gunning for each other's throats in the beginning and don't realize when the hate turns into love but eventually do end up together! The husband and I fell in love on similar premises.So!(Abhipraya,this one was for you!)
*Hercule Poirot - I loved reading about detectives and how they solved crimes.Poirot especially as I would imagine his egg-head and pencil mustache all the time and was thrilled when my imagination was very close to the character on the TV series.
*Sherlock Holmes - At one point in time,I used to try and incorporate "Elementary,Mr.Watson" in almost every conversation!My all time favorite detective.
Do you have any absolute favorite literary character that brings back fond memories?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Of being different
I get that a lot.People telling me that I am "different" from the other girls they have ever known.
Maybe.May not be.Depends on who is asking the question.Of course it has nothing to do with my sexual orientation.Just in case your devious minds are conjuring up any such idea.It is just all about the preconceived notions that one has when meeting someone for the first time.
In school and then while in college during my PU(pre-university) days,I was very lucky to have met like minded people and formed bonds that have withstood the test of time.Trouble started when I got into Engineering College.I met so many people from so many different schools and backgrounds and while I always thought I blended well into the crowd,everyone else begged to differ. They felt I was different.That I stood out from the rest of the crowd.And why was that?Because I spoke good English.I loved to read.I loved sports and was good at it too.I was comfortable in the company of guys.I was good at academics but was ever ready to bunk classes and go watch a movie.I loved to participate in debates and quizzes as well as song and dance programs.I wore glasses.I enjoyed a good discussion.I appreciated honesty and openness.All of which seemed pretty normal to me since that was the kind of person I was all along.
All my close friends enjoyed doing pretty much the same things and nobody had a problem until then.As time passed and I realized that I had trouble making good friends,I began to feel the difference too.I had just then read Ann Rynd's Fountainhead and was able to identify so much with Howard Roark.Not that I was as anti-social as he was but I did prefer to hang out with like minded people and that was proving to be increasingly difficult.So I did the next best thing.I settled.Well actually I had just become more open minded and realized that I have to expand my horizon and be more accepting of people just as I expect of them.But at that point,it seemed to me like I was just making a comprise.So I did get to hang out with friends and we did have a good time but there was something amiss.
I have met a lot of people ever since and made many friends too.But I have been subjected to the "you are so different" tag ever so often.In fact, just last week, I was chatting with a friend of mine and he said and I quote,
"but you know,you don;t look the filmy types..more like the studious non responsive,books only matter types but i guess looks can very deceptive"
This was just after I told him all about how the husband and I met and fell in love!
I guess ultimately it is all about choice and preference and tastes.And also knowing that one needs to be open minded and less rigid when it comes to making friends and meeting people.And steering clear of preconceived notions does help to a large extent.But then just like how you fall in love with THE one,just like that, with the knowledge that he/she is so right for you,making good friends is also a similar process.It doesn't take much to realize that you can get along really well with someone.Blogging is a one such example.I met a couple of bloggers for the first time without having interacted much except for the occasional emails and chat conversations on gTalk and we hit it off instantly.What say,Dottie?
Its like how I like Aamir Khan for his intelligence whereas I don't quite care for SRK.Not to say that AK does not have any flaws and that he is perfect.Or that SRK is a duech bag.Its just that I like AK despite his flaws because his intelligence and brilliance and the way he thinks all of which outweigh his flaws.
Maybe.May not be.Depends on who is asking the question.Of course it has nothing to do with my sexual orientation.Just in case your devious minds are conjuring up any such idea.It is just all about the preconceived notions that one has when meeting someone for the first time.
In school and then while in college during my PU(pre-university) days,I was very lucky to have met like minded people and formed bonds that have withstood the test of time.Trouble started when I got into Engineering College.I met so many people from so many different schools and backgrounds and while I always thought I blended well into the crowd,everyone else begged to differ. They felt I was different.That I stood out from the rest of the crowd.And why was that?Because I spoke good English.I loved to read.I loved sports and was good at it too.I was comfortable in the company of guys.I was good at academics but was ever ready to bunk classes and go watch a movie.I loved to participate in debates and quizzes as well as song and dance programs.I wore glasses.I enjoyed a good discussion.I appreciated honesty and openness.All of which seemed pretty normal to me since that was the kind of person I was all along.
All my close friends enjoyed doing pretty much the same things and nobody had a problem until then.As time passed and I realized that I had trouble making good friends,I began to feel the difference too.I had just then read Ann Rynd's Fountainhead and was able to identify so much with Howard Roark.Not that I was as anti-social as he was but I did prefer to hang out with like minded people and that was proving to be increasingly difficult.So I did the next best thing.I settled.Well actually I had just become more open minded and realized that I have to expand my horizon and be more accepting of people just as I expect of them.But at that point,it seemed to me like I was just making a comprise.So I did get to hang out with friends and we did have a good time but there was something amiss.
I have met a lot of people ever since and made many friends too.But I have been subjected to the "you are so different" tag ever so often.In fact, just last week, I was chatting with a friend of mine and he said and I quote,
"but you know,you don;t look the filmy types..more like the studious non responsive,books only matter types but i guess looks can very deceptive"
This was just after I told him all about how the husband and I met and fell in love!
I guess ultimately it is all about choice and preference and tastes.And also knowing that one needs to be open minded and less rigid when it comes to making friends and meeting people.And steering clear of preconceived notions does help to a large extent.But then just like how you fall in love with THE one,just like that, with the knowledge that he/she is so right for you,making good friends is also a similar process.It doesn't take much to realize that you can get along really well with someone.Blogging is a one such example.I met a couple of bloggers for the first time without having interacted much except for the occasional emails and chat conversations on gTalk and we hit it off instantly.What say,Dottie?
Its like how I like Aamir Khan for his intelligence whereas I don't quite care for SRK.Not to say that AK does not have any flaws and that he is perfect.Or that SRK is a duech bag.Its just that I like AK despite his flaws because his intelligence and brilliance and the way he thinks all of which outweigh his flaws.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Wooo hooo!
So I was watching my favorite show,So You Think You Can Dance, last night and I jumped off the couch in sheer delight on two occasions.Both times the couple that was dancing was one my favorites on the show,Katie and Joshua.The first time around was when they danced to OUR song.The husband was finishing up some work on his laptop while I was checking email on mine and all of a sudden the song started playing.Both us looked up at that very instant and turned towards each other and exchanged that smile and kissed once we realized that they were actually dancing to our song.Neat!
The second instance was towards the end of the show when the very same couple danced to "Dhoom thaana" from Om Shanthi Om which was choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan.This was the very first time that they had a Bollywood dance number on the show and it was just so nice to see these two do the perfect thumkas and jhatkas in typical Bollywood style!Everybody in the audience as well as the judges enjoyed the performance immensely as did I.
You so have to check it out here!
The second instance was towards the end of the show when the very same couple danced to "Dhoom thaana" from Om Shanthi Om which was choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan.This was the very first time that they had a Bollywood dance number on the show and it was just so nice to see these two do the perfect thumkas and jhatkas in typical Bollywood style!Everybody in the audience as well as the judges enjoyed the performance immensely as did I.
You so have to check it out here!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Rocky Mountain High
Colorado was not our first choice of holiday destination for the long weekend.Seattle was.It was the $550 airfare per person to Seattle that changed our course and am I thrilled or what!After being accustomed to flat,dull,brown land everywhere and then to see lovely snow-capped mountains amidst so much greenery was such a treat.We hiked in the mountains at an altitude of 10,000 feet which was an adventure in itself for me as I could barely breathe and walk 10 steps at a stretch at that altitude.The drive up the Rockies was beautiful,the drive back wasn't all the great for me since the motion sickness and altitude sickness got to me and we had to make frequent stops in order for me to retch my guts out.We also took the cog rail upto to Pikes Peak which is at an altitude of a whopping 17,000 ft.It was so damn cold up there that I had to jog around in circles just to stay warm.But what an amazing view of the valley from up there!One has to see it to believe it.And it started to snow just as we were about to leave which made for a beautiful and romantic sight.
How can any trip be complete without a round of shopping?Oh yes,shop we did in this amazing outlet mall in Denver where for the first time in my life,I found something nice in every damn store that we walked into!But the highlight of the whole trip has to be the white water rafting.It was fantastic!!Given the fact that both the husband and I can't swim and I was quite scared for my life especially after listening to that safety lecture by our trip leader and that we got sit right upfront and steer the raft with our paddles,we did a really good job.The water level was almost twice as normal and the rapids were really difficult to paddle through.But thats what made the whole experience so much more interesting and fun and also the fact that we had a really cool and capable guide.We shared the raft with this other couple and their kids aged 10,6 and 4.They made for excellent company and the kids were really cool to hang out with.And of course,I looked really hot in that wet suit.Well, so said the husband anyway.
Our final pit stop was at Erie where we met up with another very close and heavily pregnant friend of mine.All of us then drove to downtown Boulder and took a nice long walk on Pearl St which was really cool.We had dinner at this awesome Mediterranean restaurant simply called Med and the food was so good.We of course, had a heavily pregnant woman at our table who was ravenously hungry so that resulted in a huge quantity being brought to our table.But once we started digging in,no one was complaining and my pregnant friend had the last laugh.
I leave you with this.
How can any trip be complete without a round of shopping?Oh yes,shop we did in this amazing outlet mall in Denver where for the first time in my life,I found something nice in every damn store that we walked into!But the highlight of the whole trip has to be the white water rafting.It was fantastic!!Given the fact that both the husband and I can't swim and I was quite scared for my life especially after listening to that safety lecture by our trip leader and that we got sit right upfront and steer the raft with our paddles,we did a really good job.The water level was almost twice as normal and the rapids were really difficult to paddle through.But thats what made the whole experience so much more interesting and fun and also the fact that we had a really cool and capable guide.We shared the raft with this other couple and their kids aged 10,6 and 4.They made for excellent company and the kids were really cool to hang out with.And of course,I looked really hot in that wet suit.Well, so said the husband anyway.
Our final pit stop was at Erie where we met up with another very close and heavily pregnant friend of mine.All of us then drove to downtown Boulder and took a nice long walk on Pearl St which was really cool.We had dinner at this awesome Mediterranean restaurant simply called Med and the food was so good.We of course, had a heavily pregnant woman at our table who was ravenously hungry so that resulted in a huge quantity being brought to our table.But once we started digging in,no one was complaining and my pregnant friend had the last laugh.
I leave you with this.
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