Sleepless Cruizing

Full 5 minutes, I stare at the blank white screen, it stares back at me. I wait for something to blink in my peanut butter brain and it gives me some distant snores. Uh, this is what a sleepless night does to me. My owl’s soul was hooting last night and today I woke up with blood-shot red eyes.

I did not get a decent amount of sleep last night. I was up on the freeway with AK47 looting the grey-hound buses. Ok, I came back home at 1.30 am after watching the Superman Returns in the Pacific Theatres. That’s the advantage of having a multiplex close to your apt, you can visit it as often as you “visit” your managers’ chamber.

Later, I made a call to this friend and spoke for almost an hour. Now, if you think I call people at the most unearthly hours for human standards, lemme tell you that I cannot help making random calls when I get a super sonic urge to talk(reads-speak absolute crap). And this friend *ahem* beats me head down on being crazy. Once we spoke 5 hours non-stop discussing very important topics like cow names, car name plates, sabji waala’s, hair growing strategies and kannada lyrics. Hence, these discussions give me total new updates on being wacky insane. Did I mention that these calls go between Blore-San Diego?
(Bunnu, if you ever read this-don’t even dare think of ‘pass-me-around’ and ‘my-line-clear’ stuff which has been running in your 70mm off late)

I need to read a few blogs before I sleep and the next hour went in reading the newly updated blogs. Orkut came next and I am a champion in scrap-scrap game. I was wondering the other day; if we had orkut during our school days, I would have been the team captain.

Me says me likes the decent peoples who make scrap in me book who make wanting me with frandsheep.

And then I hit upon a the movie Padosan because I wanted to watch it for the umpteent time and giggled to glory till the crows outside deceided to sing goody morning. Just on a note, the crows here are huge and bulky, maybe 2 times the size of the Indian crows. Maybe the cheesy stuff here makes them gain those additional pounds and they don’t go to the gym. And they cry in a deep slumberous pitch as if I was throttling their nose making them gasp for air. Also heard today- that there is a mating park for the crows in San Diego. I need to visit this place to do some research on the mating habits of the crows.

Er, the bhatkufying soul of mine looses track again. This post is not about my noctural instincts or call-centre skills or crows mating. Its about the cruising I did yesterday.

Yes, I went cruising!!! Like the ones we see in Hindi movies, with the heroine dressed in skimpy white wraps and hero jumping around in a pair of colorful fruit-tree printed shirts. This cruise was also big, white and in water, the only difference was that we were in business casuals.



Abhi works as a hifi engineer for this hifi company with a hifi cruise and hifi clients who like to go for such hifi trips. He was kind enough to invite Rashmi and Me to this tour as guests. Talk water and the frog in me goes “croak-croak”.

We had an open snack bar with a huge spread of delicacies and home baked cookies and unlimited drink refills. We were the only 2 ladies other than the 2 other remotely female looking guests with other 25 clients. So it was a treat to be in the open sea with half the cruise for ourselves.

The vessel cruised along the brilliant waves of the Pacific Ocean in the perfect summer evening. The sun was setting in the distant and it was just the right day for an ocean outing. We saw the naval base, military war ships, and other mini ships harbored along the SD coast. The downtown looked very glamorous from the other coast as we sailed through the Coronado Bridge.



I hate to admit but I had this “mein hun Don” feeling as I stood there, on the top, with my head held high, and nose in the air. I just lacked a Mona darling, a cat and a ‘pistool’ in my hand. And, that dirty laugh. I guess I am hit with sea-delusion of grandeur.

On a side note: I am leaving to Phoenix for the long weekend to bash up the guyz there (the same lot from the Sea World advenz) and camp at Grand Canyon. I hope this wonder does not feel ‘sharam’ seeing the “other wonder” of nature.

This would mean that Mr.Blog would be hibernating for a week till my return with new hot stories. So, while the Don is away, keep Mr.Blog on his toes, ask for drinks and take some shots.

Muahahahaha

Some baby talk

A typical day today, Mr.Brain and Mr.Tanhayi went like this:

10.00 a.m.
I love babies

11.00 a.m.
I love babies

12.00 p.m.
I love babies

1.00 p.m.
What the heck let me write a post, er… I love babies.

After my recent visit to New York and spending some quality time with my li’l nephew and tiny niece (whose parents have ceased me with sis-promise against posting their dear kids photos) my peanut butter brain has been projecting 70mm hi-tech pics of li’l kids.

I see li’l kids all around me, in bus, in malls, in parks, in restaraunts, and yeah, specially in shopping carts. My eyes spot kids like an ant would smell sugar cube. ok, I have no clue if ants do smell or not but looks like I am in for a serious hallucination.

My mamta ka saagar is over flowing with love for the little ones these days and I end up looking longingly as anything which with huge innocent eyes. I just cant help staring at anything whose IQ equates mine. (maybe exceeds a little more than mine) I hope none of the mommies here report me to officers. Those huge pools of melting eyes, gets me on my knees. And that smile from those dripping goggling lips get me ogle at them with love.

I have been volunteering for a local baseball camp recently. I help at the snack bar where the little champs come for a quick drink or snack. I love the way they ask me for something with those huge eyes, eager face, sweaty hands, innocent voice and the childish talk. Some look amazed when I talk with a different accent from theirs and they ask me too. And when I give them their “order”, they give me a melting smile. Aw,,, what more can I ask ? I think I could change muy industry from Insurance to Baby sitting.

I was at Wal-Mart yesterday and this adorable little kiddo looks at me beaming a brilliant goo-goo smile. I forget the shopping I was doing and er,,, make funny faces at him to be rewarded by such cute giggly smiles. I had to call truce when his mommy gave me a real weird look.

Today, early morning I come to office and I have 3 fwds on babies, you know, those cute ones with curls and colorful clothes engrossed in god-knows-what activities ? Hm, I forget my tasks at hand and stare at the darling devil. Now, how do I not love these chubby cheeks?

I had to pull the last straw off when I read my couz Ganesh's post on his li’l daughter. I last saw her when she was still in her nappies, now almost 2, I heard she is a terror. And my couz, who once used to boss us around, now happens to get all coochy with her and talks like a donald duck too (Heard from sources). That’s what a little angel does to you.

I had seen my little brother grow and it still is afresh in my memories. The darling little nappy baby then, is not so darling these days. Specially when he towers tall above me, all the “little” feelings are projected on me. It was a pleasure to see him grow and follow the steps of a big sis. But I miss the li’l talks he had then which kept me entertained for hours. These days all he speaks of is wires and numbers.(eh,gals too)

Everything about babies is cute, those little hands, little fingers, tiny nail, small feet, smaller toe, soft skin, silky hair, chubby looks, those funny faces they make, those lovely talks, that amazing smile, that perfect smell of powder. That innocent and honest heart without jealousy, greed and the angelic soul make them what they are. I could go on but nothing can describe the tender darlings.

I have no idea what I am writing because writing about babies brings out the worst in me. The otherwise tapori dada me, melts down to think about a little princess in pinks, laces, ribbons with real chubby cheeks, a perty nose and those lovely pink lips. Running around in fours, in those little booties, stumbling to me with those wild curls, talking in “gaa-gaa-goo-goo” language, giving a toothless smile when I make some stupid face, and those huge dark eyes looking into mine, those li’l fingers holding mine and a little kissy for me.

There I go again, jeez, I love babies.

Walking the streets of New York

New York = America

Uh? Nope, I am not that stupid but as a little girl my peanut butter brain was. It equated NY with America when the big amount of relatives, cousins and friends of my parents came for vacation from US and most of them stayed in NY. It dint bother me much as long as they brought a box of crayola colors and chocolates for me. Uh, the frilly frocks and pinky bows could be gifted to the other girls in the family but the “hero” demanded no-share business with the chocolates.

This fascination for NY being the “BIG” city grew with me even as I landed in US. I wanted to see this melting pot of the world, the place where all the cultures gave birth to a city which welcomed everyone with a warm hug. I had this weird feeling of “see NY = see US” and it dint shake off even when I toured the time zones. My stay here was not complete till I hit the streets of NY.

I had booked my tickets 6 months back, collected all the details of the city, had maps printed and on a secret note, counted the days.

Finally on landing the Newark airport on June 15, I had this big urge to break into a Uppi dance(for the uninitiated, he is the crazy super star of south). Yeppe….. I was in NY.

‘jinga chakka jinga chakka’

I loved the airport, I loved the buildings, I loved the people, I loved the trains, I loves the air bus, I loved the roads, I love the greenery, I loved the taxis, I loved…..cut…. I fell in love with NY !!!

To cut all my excitement short and all the stories remain untold, I’ll present a small list of places which had the pleasure of my visit. I had decided to visit the less frequent attractions during the rush hour and the most visited places for the early visit. Hence I had the deemed pleasure of seeing all the places at my pace, to my complete delight.

Uh,,,did I mention that I did my NY sight-seeing ALONE???

Not alone, I had Mr.Tanhayi, but yes, I toured alone and it gave me the advantage of seeing my hearts content, at my wish and fancy and at my freaking pace. I walked the streets with complete springing tunes, let down my hair and enjoyed the holiday mood. Not to miss, I did enjoy the tan and blisters on my feet at the end of the trip.

1. Penn Station-NY
I have not seen a train station with so many line, tracks and platforms as this one all my life. I was fascinated with the organized pace of the station. I had a small tour of the station to have a small glimpse of the various places and transit centers.
An officer who saw me romping around infact stopped me to ask if I was lost. Uh, me and lost ???
390, 32nd St, 7th Ave.

2. Madame Tussauds
Famous for its life-like wax models, this place is worth the $30 you spend on the entry fee. Very beautiful and amazing collection of famous personalities and yes, you find Mahatma Gandhi too. I spent nearly 5 hours at this place.
234 west, 42nd St, btw 7th & 8th Ave.

3.Times Square
Big banner Hindi movies are not complete without a shot of Times Square. Best seen at night, this place has the charm of never sleeping city. The corner with the clocks showing time of all major cities of the world gives this city the name.
Broadway & 7th Ave, from 42nd to 47th St.

4. Manhattan Mall
It’s the supposed to be the biggest mall in NY with over 50 designer brands sporting their titles. One will easily get lost within the multiple floors, sub-floors, elevators, sub-levels and yes, I was kinda lost here.
33rd St, Broadway.

5. St.Patricks Cathedral
This ancient church in the 5th avenue lured me with its beautiful colonial architecture. I waited for an hour for the church to open and all the peaceful and serene ambience was worth the waiting. Best to visit after 11.00 a.m.
btw 50th & 51st St, 5th Ave.

6. Rockfeller Center
The observation deck gives a super view of the city and also houses a science lab. It’s best seen at nights but less crowded during the day. It also has a boat racing competion for the kids where they sported their home built battery boats. Remember the racing in Stuart Little?
630, 5th Ave.

7. NY Public Library
This place reminded me of a palace, very elegant and very beautiful. The paintings on the ceilings and walls were magnificent. The books lined up gave a classy look with the grand staircases portraying a royal elegance. I loved this place and toured it detail not wanting to skip a single detail.
42nd St, 5th Ave.

8. Flat Iron Building
Uh, as the name says, it was flat, I was made with bits of iron, and it was a building. But it was beautiful.
175, 23rd St, 5th Ave.

9. Pokemon Center
Uh, my intention to be here was to see the pokemon cartoons but this building turned out to be some high tech building. However they had some real good stuff on video games and alike.
10 Rockeller Plaza, 48th St, btw 5th & 6th Ave.

10. Carnegie Hall
I searched all afternoon for this hall where all the famous American orchestras are held.
And when I found it, I was not allowed inside without a pass, uh.
154 west, 57th St.

11. City Hall
The main hall of Manhattan where the sarkaari work is done. Nope, you are not allowed inside but it’s beautiful anyway.
Btw Broadway and Park Row.

12. Chrysler Building
Famous for its modern architecture, this building speaks volume for abstract and modern designs. It has no public access on weekends.
405 Lexington Ave, 43rd St.

13. Sony Wonder Tech Lab
Uh, do I need to say more ? I was indeed wonderful and I was particularly impressed with the huge Spiderman hanging to the full length of the building.
550 Madison Ave.

14. United Nations
The UN building was one of its kind standing tall and proud. A quick tour around the building is a must.
1st Ave, 46th St.

15. Empire State Building
The view from the 108th floor gave me jitters but the view was over whelming. The entry fee is $16 and less crowded before dark. Takes around 3 hours for a normal visit.
350 5th Ave.

16. NY Stock Exchange
You are here because everyone speaks money. I was not very impressed but it’s listed on “must visit” attractions of NY.
20 Broad Street.

17. Grand Central
A grand terminal for many transits from NY, this building has a royal look. It also houses some big branded labels. The clock tower in the center was fascinating.
42nd St, Park Ave.

18. Battery Park
It’s a small park which houses a small museum and uh, that’s it.
South of Broadway.

19. Indo American Museum
A very colloquial museum overlooking the financial district. It closes early so I had to be happy with quick tour outside the main building.
South of Broadway.

20. Ground Zero
Once the WTC stood proudly there, now it is a sad reminder of all the inhuman destruction. The new construction is at full progress but the crater created by the 7/11 still churns a sadd feeling.
Near Wall Street.

21. Central Park
I took a quick horse ride tour of this park (the horse was not very happy though) and it’s worth the $34 for a 30 min ride. The park is extremely well maintained and I saw the places where Home Alone was shot.
End of 5th Ave, center of Manhattan.

21. Bryant Park
A small and beautiful park with real chick surroundings, it is best for a small relaxed coffee.
6th Ave, 42nd St.

22. Big Bull
The same bull started in KHNH; he’s a real big animal standing mighty in the center of the financial district.

23. Statue of Liberty
A trip to NY is not complete without a ferry ride to the Liberty Island. We need prior appointment to tour the crown but I had a tour till the pedestal. The island is very picturesque and we can see NY and NJ with their high standing buildings.

24. Ellis Island
The museum with the ancient American records can be found in the Ellis Island. A ferry takes you from Statue of Liberty to this island. The whole trip around the island takes a day.

25. Liberty Park
The statue of Liberty Park houses a tech museum if visited from NJ. In the olden days the train terminal was located at this point. The old railroad still stands grand and the ferry ride is accessible from this island for statue of liberty and Ellis Island for a roundtrip of $11.

26. Brooklyn Bridge
Nothing looked more glamorous than the Brooklyn at night. I always had a fascination for this bridge but seeing it all light-up at night, I am in love with it. I have not seen a bridge as beautiful as this one.

I also saw many other beautiful building rising tall along the streets of Manhattan with less significant history. The shopping is best done in the 6th or 5th Ave and never on the Broadway. The taxi rides are similar to that in Mumbai and the subways and path trains rocked city. Daily tour packages for $44 are good but self-touring is the best.

My week’s stay in NY with all the touring, sight seeing, gallivanting, and living the Manhattan’s spirit finally says the last word.

New York = America

(The photos will be linked on uploading)

Buddy, I "no" u

June 25th, 2006 – a scrap in my orkut scrapbook.

Mr J: hi buddy !!! howz u?

Me : uh, do you know this fella? He calls me ‘buddy’, BUDDY ?
Mr.Brain :hm, nope you don’t know him , neither do I know him. He’s just freaking his luck here. Look at his grinning photo.
Me: lemme see his profile, maybe some old classmate?
Mr.Brain : nope, you don’t know him. He thinks some smart line from him with lure some brainless bait into his friends list. Look at that computer screen behind him, its blank. Why did he have to click a photo like that in the first place?
Me: Maybe he is an engineer?
Mr.Brain: nope, maybe you are dumb.

Me: uh, hi, I don’t think we know each other?

Mr.J :yeah sure I got to no bout u by seein ur profile...then hwz life goin on..? Hey wat u studyin buddy..???
(lines copied ditto from the scrap)

Me : “I no u” ??? jeez, hes a jerk. How can he know me from my profile?
Mr.Brain: I told you sweety,
Me: and I don’t have anything in my profile other than my name, url and my photo.
Mr.Brain: well, maybe you have “I-am-dumb” written all over your face.
Me: and how can he expect us to be friends?
Mr.Brain :uh, birds of the same feather flock together???
Me:*hmpf

Hm, so a fella with grinning photo slapped into his profile calls me “buddy” and thinks he can “no” me from my name and photo and assures himself that we could be “friends”. Impressive!!!

My dear peanut butter brain had decided not to post this incident in Mr.Blog, but coincidently tapori Sayesha Bahi had a similar post today. And when Mr.Brains freaks out, I dare stop him, can I ?

And if you think I made this up, feel free to read my scrap book for the given date, you will find a grinning face grinning to glory back at you and if you are interested, please make “frends” with him, after all he might “no” you !

added after a day
I find an extremely impressive scrap yet again! and by orkut research I find that this "Mr.V" and "Mr.J" happen to be 'frends'. Mr.Brain was right, birds of the same feather, flock together.

Mr.V has been scraping many girls in my list and 'wanting' to make thier frendship. And the last straw drew when she refused to add him. Result, I am prized with this scrap by Mr.V :)

"hey, is she ur frend? if she, ask her to make me frend. she no reply to me scrap. ask her to scrap, make me frend. we three make frend. r u NRI"

Dude, she yes my frend, she no make you frend, she no reply, she no scrap, we three no no frend, and me no NRI

Who says I am weird?

I walked into the office with loads of things running in my Mr. Peanut Butter brain. Uh, I had literally come running to office as I had missed the bus (I plan to throw stones tomorrow). My vacation has seen my work pile up on my desk to the height of Empire State and I am at loss not knowing where to start when I get this call.

+9122*** (some call from India, that too from Mumbai??? No one calls me from there)

Me: hello? (wondering who in the hell of the devil is calling me)
He: I am calling from the Indian Visa Consulate. We have a few problems with your visa.
Me: (my heart missed a beat, knots in my stomach, palpitations) uh?
He: Am I speaking with Ms. Dhar-maa-shree Rao ?
Me: Yes, (silence, more silence, I start shivering)
He: (silence)
Me: uh, hello? What happened?
He: (gives me the most stupid laugh) hey, it’s me!!!
Me: Uh? *sigh* $#@(&^%*

(The next few sentences from me are highly censored as I gave “him” a mighty piece of my mind)

What a way to start my day! Now if you think HE has a whacky sense of humor, lemme tell you, that he’s one weird nutcase like me. He’s a fellow blogger. His Mr.Blog and my Mr.Blog are real good friends. I have never met him, never seen him but we are good friends. His blog portrays a real reserved and serious person but behind that mask is one witty jumping jack person. We are friends, real good friends, we have shared many stories together and that’s weird uh?

Well, I am weird. Very weird. If you take a Webster’s thesaurus and see the list of words there, I assure you I am more bizarre than that. All my friends think so, owner Saab thinks so. Hmmm, I guess that’s the reason he tagged me with this “weird stuff about myself” link.

Now, how do I explain the inborn talent that I have to be eerie and unusual? My ma says that I was dropped head down as a kid, maybe a result of that? Or the 12th chromosome of my great-grand pa had a defect which led to my genetic absurd nature? Or my maternal great-grand ma’s sister did not offer coconut to the family deity and he sent me as their generations later boon?
Whatever, but here is an intro to the uncanny me.

(After reading this, if you think I need help, don’t worry, even I think in the samegrounds!!!)

I sleep with gunnu at night. Gunnu is my li’l doggy and I cannot sleep without him. When I say I cannot, it means I take gunnu everywhere I travel, including one night trips to any corner of the world. He’s really small and it helps to shove him into my handbag. I had him next to me when I traveled blore-mlore and even when I flew to US getting me real strange stares from co-passengers. But I still cannot sleep without gunnu.

I love old sad songs. No, I am not a pessimistic, suicide oriented depressed soul. Its just that the old songs of the golden old days fill me with some untold happiness. Specially the touching ones from Mukesh, Manna Dey, Rafi and Kishore. Once my neighbor is supposed to have asked my ma if I had any sad-bf ditched-love life. My ipod screams of old songs and ghazals and I have no plans to change them. Well, the extreme happiness comes when I listen to these songs after 11.30 at night. So untold pleasure I say.

I have a whacky imagination and my inner screen runs 70mm fulltime. Even when I have the most boring conversations with some old fat aunt regarding her neighbors marriage plans, my inner screen would be playing super hit scenes of aunt bungee jumping and rope breaking, aunty in bikini and aunty being chased by cats. I simply can’t shut my inner screen, it runs wild.

For the entire highly stupid insane person that I am, I have a real soft heart. I get attached to people very quickly and end up getting hurt. I usually get senti when guests go back or I leave back. I have a big bag of tears under those huge eyes which can create a mini swimming pool in the deserts of Texas.

I talk to my babies. Uh, my babies are the huge collection of toys that I have. Each one has a name and mommy remembers everyone’s name, age, and loves to talk to them. And mommy is very possessive about her babies and will bite anyone who dares to touch them. Uh, the mommy here is me.

I get high on a glass of coke or any gas chambered drink. It gives me the same effect as that the beer would give me. And when I am high, I get “real” insane. I never take more than 5-6 sips of any such drinks and never try making me drink more, you will honestly regret.

I love cooking. With all my portrayal of I-burn-the-house gal nature, I stir some real mouth watering dishes. But the drive comes only when my li’l brother wants to eat. I could learn and cook anything if he wants. (*ahem, you cant take the hint)

I believe that the non-living living things that you love have the ability to absorb the negative vibes which might affect you. Hence, I love my saffire(my two-wheeler), my laptop, my cell, and my comp. I used to talk a lot to my Safire during his weekly bath session.

I love to color on the walls. The first thing I bought in US was a big box of crayola colors and I enjoy the bliss of stroking haphazard lines with different colors on the plain wall. Uh, now I have a few papers lined on the wall to avoid my landlady from getting an attack.

For the volatile jumping jumbo jack that I am, I enjoy a calm, peaceful and silent sunset alone. Specially by the beach or on my terrace on the 10th floor. I love to be alone and talk to Mr.Tanhayi. I can sit alone and watch the sun drowning along the golden waters for hours and get lost in time.

Well, other than a few more weird things that I nurse within my soul, I am a perfectly normal person. Uh, what you say?

I have been asked by the Owner Saab to tag a few people, I hate to trouble the Mr.Brains of other people, but the inner devil in me wants to have some fun. So I tag- big name atticus , smiley lady preeti , love bitten anju dear , collegean bharat , iit weirdo dosi , bluemoon aj , we-comment-on-same-blogs-abhishek , (I wanted to tag munnu on this but knowing he has already written some 5 posts on how weird he is, I spare him)

guyz, please dont curse me, I am already demented.

The Hero Returns

After a week of gallivanting vacation in the east coast, I landed last night with drooping eyes, unkempt hair, tired feet, unwashed bundle of clothes, unexplainable upset stomach and a terrible bout of “makka-amma-jaayi” (I want my mummy) feeling.

The pacific-eastern time difference has screwed my inner owls’ soul, prompting me to walk around the office in a completed haunted dizz. I need to snooze myself before I get about snoring into my conference calls.

My hair looks all electrocuted with extreme sun exposure and my deemed laziness to apply conditioner. It with great reluctance that I even had a bath yesterday. Vacation always does this to me.

I have tanned to a roasted shade of chicken brown with all days under the scorching sun.
If you ever wanted to see the native red Indians, I will pass the screening as their queen complete with brown ears.

I have a whole bundle of clothes and socks to be washed and ironed which will have to wait till this weekend. Until then people will see me with color-blind-(mis)matched clothes.
I believe in being abstract. And uh, my shoes looks horrible.

My legs hurt like hell. Thanks to my extreme leggy abuse in NY. My left ankle looks a bit swollen, specially the part where I had the fracture (for those unaware, I had a part-time job with the Mlore circus troop and had a small accident last year). My whole touring around NY was a “footy” experience.

I have eaten enough to last for a few months. Both my couz sis’s, I believe had a feeling that San Diego did not have enough feeding resources to nourish me. Hence, the best part of my trip saw me cleaning plates and boxes of sweets directly into my stomach. Talk about “mass eating”!

Both my darling sis’s had cuddled me, pampered me and showered so much love upon me that I am terribly home sick now. Well, my bro-in-laws were equally tolerable towards me. *ahem* Seeing my Manthu and Mavoo (dad’s elder brother and his wife) after all these months made me want to return back to India soon. After all, their home in Blore was my base for almost 2 years.

Massi speaks:
The best part of the vacation was undoubtedly the time I spent with my two li’l kiddos. Two mushy-cuddly-gaagaa-googoo babies whose cutey faces had me all melted. Both my couz have warned me not to post the kiddo photos in my blog, (shucks, they read it or I could have smuggled a few pics) hence no pictures will be passed around. I must say, both my couz have done a good job and ok, so credit to bro-in-laws too. I am a bit selfish you see.

But I am a proud maasi after meeting the two li’l brats. I had some wonderful time talking and playing with them and other around the house had some “thinkable” time in wondering when the hell will I grow??? (I don’t blame them, kids bring the best out of me).

And uh, my li’l angels agree that their ‘maasi is the best” !!!

And some untold source has screwed my internet access at home. This means Mr.Blog will have to wait for the NY escapade post and some 500+ pics while Mr.Tanhayi gives me company at home.

*sigh* mister owner saab-BEV has taken the deemed privilege to tag me with “weird” stuff about myself. Duh, I am at loss, but can someone please tell me how can one ask such sensitive personal questions to an insane weirdo?

In her abscence

Finally the Time Zone Advenz is blogged and done. I slept peacefully the whole 2 nights.

Many things have been shaping and galavanting in my Mr.Peanut Butter Brain but I dint wanna break the chain. So I will be drafting the posta soon, promise, Mr.Blog.

I am leaving to New Jersey now, say in other 15 mins for a small vacation with my couz sis. I plan to train my one year old nephew on extra-curricular activites and I belive its time he realised that his Maasi was one of her kind.

So while the hero is away, you are free to leave you footprints with Mr.Blog. Hes a good host unlike me. All be good and behave yourself, ok?

Back to Pacific Zone

In my sleep I remember passing lot of hilly regions and small mountains. We had just crossed the Montrose Town (5806 ft) when it happened.

Advenz Eleven

The police car stopped us at midnight and we crossed our fingers over a massive ticket.

Police: hi, from where are you coming?
Abhi: from Colorado springs, I am so sorry officer, I was a little too fast.
(Thinks Mr.Map: Dude, we never went to Colorado Springs, we were lost before that, tell him that)
Police: Li’l ? Uh, you were double the speed limit. Where are you going?
Abhi: to Los Angles
Police : are you sure? You have taken the wrong route.
(Thinks Mr. Map: Abe dhakkan, I have been telling that from the time we started, you try telling them, no use me say)
Police: can I have your license plz ?
Abhi: yes, it’s in my bag.

(Now which sensible driver will keep his license inside his wallet, in the back pack, tucked snugly below all the language in the back?
Poor Police officer had to help Abhi carry the bags, tools, tiffin boxes to finally get the license)

(Thinks Mr.Map: this calls for extra ticket, yippee !)
Police (with a grin): can I have the insurance papers?
Abhi: uh…(thinks, thinks again, searches his pockets, dashboard, glove board, in-around while the patient office waits with a grin. Finally he finds it under the seat)
(Thinks Mr. Map: this call for one more ticket, double yippee !!)
Police (seeing a bunch of beer cans at the back): Have you been drinking?
Abhi (turning to a shade of crimson): they were drinking (pointing to the back seat)
(Thinks Mr. Map: abe kabootar, he is interested in your drinking habits, not theirs. Remember, YOU broke the speed limit, not them)

The tension rises as we pray to every known God in the vicinity as the Office checks the details. He comes back with a smiling face, I guess he was laughing at how stupid grown-up Indian kids can get. Also he was fooled by the chashma clad Abhi looking more like a absent-minded PhD aspirant who rather read his books than gulp the beer. Looks can be deceptive, me say!)

Police: I leave you with a warning, don’t drive fast.
Abhi (sigh): Thanks Officer!
(Thinks Mr. Map: abe, Officer, idiot, sale, dhakkan,&@#*&^%$ , are…kuch tho do…)
Chandu(known for his all time high rate of ticket collection): *reflects Mr. Map’s feelings in words)

Phew, that was a narrow escape from the huge ticket which would go “bate paanch” (divided by 5, a mantra we planned for the journey expenses).

We passed the Red Mtn pass at 11075 ft and saw a lot of wild deer’s and stags jumping around at unearthly hour. We also crossed the San Juan forest area and saw more deer’s and stags. Looks like they work in the call centers of the forest.

We passed the Durango borders and reached New Mexico. At Flagstaff is a pedestal which connects the four states (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado). It was dark and we could not see much of the surroundings.

We crossed Arizona along the Bill William Mtn ranges which is at 9256ft. If Colorado has abundance of greenery, Arizona is bountiful with cactus. The land was dry and barren and heat greeted us hotly making us crib for some cool breeze. It was getting hotter and we were literally getting roasted. As we passed the Juniper Mtn ranges we had a gas advenz again.



Advenz Twelve

We have this untold craving for getting lost at unearthly hours and hunting gas in the middle of nowhere. The only difference this time was that it was broad daylight and Mr. Map pointed out a city somewhere soon. But we did have some nerve whacking moments in the process.

By now, Mr. Map had stains of coffee, pastry, melted chocolates and lemonade planted on it. We believe in sharing so we shared our goodies with him too. How generous!

We had a mega sized traffic jam on our way back to Los Angeles till we hit Barstow. We were freaking tired after all the drive. The only song which kept repeating itself on a loop was “aakhir tume aana hai, zara der lagegi” (some Sanjay Dutt hit I believe). Aseem and Abhi were obsessed with this track and insisted singing along with complete actions. Phew!

We had a quick tour of Beverly Hills and saw where the rich and famous people poured their money. Shopping malls, streets, bungalows worth millions, stars (uh, I dint recognize any as my knowledge of Hollywood is worse than Soniaji’s Hindi speaking skills), everything spoke for the silver screen. I specially liked the car showrooms of big banners. I am planning to de-roof my Maruti on return, if it allows me.



Finally, we reached our home sweet home late night after the mighty road runner trip. It was bliss to hit the steaming hot showers after four days and I felt like a room freshener. I immediately stomped on my bed to soothe myself before I woke up to the alarm the next morning. Going to office after a tiring trip is a curse, right?

As I slept I thought about the four wonderful days, every moment enjoyed and lived. Never once did I think about the pressures of my work, career, future or anything for that matter. It was me, living myself for that moment, living myself with my friends who felt the same, living myself without any defenses, living myself just for me.

It was a very memorable Bday, one to remember for all my life.

Sliding the Snow peaks

Have you ever woken up to the cool breeze hugging your face and icy mountains saying good morning?
That’s what happened as I put my sleepy head out of the tent after a goody goody nights sleep. The fire was still blazing anew, spreading warmth in the chilly morning, the sun was lazily shining far away amidst the tall trees, the icy mountains shone silver and I hummed lazily.

The water in the restroom was freezing cold and ended-up cursing the tap, mirror, soap and everything around as I splashed it on myself. I felt numb and frost bitten and ran to get some blood circulating in my veins. Now that I had taught the guyz ‘fire gyan’ they were doing a good job.
*a pat on my back*

After a mini breakfast of bread and fruits, we cleared the campsite and started our journey through the snow peaks on 28th –Sunday.

In winters, the whole area is covered in snow, comes summer and the snow melts flowing into freshwater creaks. We stopped at Turquoise creek and after a balancing antics act of climbing huge stones we reached the water front. The water was cold and insane me had a nice time freezing my leg.

Note 1: Now, I have this soul of a frog inside me, which on seeing water of any form gives jumping jhatkas. I cannot control this ‘croak-croak’ urge even when the water is freezing cold, even at the middle of the night. (Remember that post where Atul had threatened to abandon me at mid-night if I stepped even into the inch of the ocean?)

Note 2: We also had a stone hitting competition here, which went like- u hit a flat stone to the surface of the water and make the stone jump 2 times min. I had mastered that act as a kid, practicing to perfection with the guyz near my granny’s house in Tirthahalli.

Advenz Eight

Mr. Map was fresh after his sleep the previous night and we had no qualms of jolting him mercilessly. Result-he decided to trick us and get us on the wrong road. Uh? Who cares?

They say that an inconvenience rightly interpreted is an adventure and we strongly believe in that. So, we took the unpaved Eagle Road and drove on that dusty, muddy, stony road. I shed a silent tear for our dear car who, if given us a chance would have tossed us like ‘rumaali roti’off the cliff.

We climbed the mountain ranges on that unpaved road with expert Aseem behind the wheels. I literally had my heart in my mouth as we took some risky curves and a silly turn would mean me actually playing A.R. Rehman songs with the harp on a floating cloud and the rest dancing on fellow clouds.

Me: agar hum itne uuchayise gir gaye to kya hoga?
Abhi: Tumare parents insurance claim karenge, aur kya?
Me: meeri shaadi bhi nahi hui (sad me)
Abhi: are, at least kisi ka tho bhala hojayega, nahi to bechara tumse shaadi karke martha.
Me: *hmpf $&^@#(

The Aspen Mountain ranges houses Mt. Elbert, which is the highest peak in Colorado with 14463 ft above sea level. And I felt on the top of the world, uh…atleast Colorado. It was breath-taking, heart stopping, dil mange more kind of feeling. I had a bubbling heart to do a Govinda flip dance but the guyz gave me a warning look to remind me that a small push would mean my would-be kids will remain “would-be”.

On the way we saw many ATV’s (all terrain vehicles) speeding around the unpaved roads. Remember that fancy buffalo sized bike-like 4 wheelers in Awaara Paagal Deewana in the deserts? Uh…some brotherly breed of that I guess. I dint like the look of them, I love my Saffire.

Advenz Nine

We took a de-tour of the path and planned on doing some “off-loading” or whatever you call the crazy act of giving full accelerator with brakes and then suddenly jerking the vehicle. They did it couple of times and made the poor vehicle jerk its gut out.

I had a complete heart to trash these guys on torturing the poor soul of our car. I have a soft corner for all these things which have to bear my weight and anything beyond that gets me all defensive for them, you see.

Our drive from here was a complete bliss. Snow, snow and snow. I had pinned to see snow all my life and here I was gliding like a Mermaid (ok, I know mermaids don’t glide in snow but hey, this is my Mr.Blog and he lets me fancy feeling like one) and the snow looked so pure and white.

We descended the Independence Pass and stopped after Rashmi and my crying request to feel the snow. My first step and feel of the snow, man! I was thrilled. I was shivering without any warm clothes or shoes but nevertheless I wanted to roll over there.

Now, the nitwit that I am jumped into the snow and immediately was drowned till my knees. I lost my sandals and frantically hunted for them with my bare hands. Nothing could freeze my spirits as I jumped around like a mosquito bitten monkey, infact all of us did. (The next hour saw me rubbing my hands and legs at 120 mph).

It was very enthralling, only white snow greeted us as far as our sight took us. It looked pure and untouched, and I wondered if heaven would look like this. (Guessing the fact that I will never see one, uh, devil has already made me his heir). As a kid I used to read a lot of fairly tales and seeing all the snow around I wondered if a snow fairy would spread some shiny magic potion over me and wave her magic wand, grant me a few wishes, make me sprout wings and fly around . (I can get quite creative uh? Mom said I was dropped head down as a kid, not my fault)

We reached the Aspen Town for our lunch at 3.00 and the hungry five dived into the decorated platters. I had some fancy Mexican food served which I ate with abandoned grace but I must agree that the food was outrageously yummy. (I still have the sauces planted on my white tee which refuses to buldge showing my *ahem eating skills)

On our way back we passed the Twin Lakes -whose source is the melting snow from the cliffs, Mt Yale -standing tall at 14196ft, Buena Vista- a little village that looked like a page come true from the fairy tales, and headed for the sand dunes.

And lo! behold! there it was, like the bridge to the beyond, a Rainbow!!! I had seen many in Mlore but nothing so perfect ever. Beautifully arched and all the seven hues gracing the horizon, this was a treat indeed. I had a weird imagination of being able to fly across the rainbow and land in a mysterious place, like Alice in Wonderland. (Jeez, the haywire Mr.Brain needs to grow up)

Advenz Ten

We were lost. Yes, we were lost. Simple ???

I guess we had this untold craving to get lost in middle of nowhere. We woke the sleeping Mr. Map and took turns to get ourselves back on some sensible tracks.The hunt for the freeway was a fun filled process as we guessed the unmanned roads and directions. Talk about adventures and our hunger for it, specially when it is dark !

Finally, we routed back to the Cripple Creek and passed the Historical Area (they dint let me get a small tour of the museum which made me girth my teeth) and Goldfield village. Now this village has nothing more that 25 houses and 2-3 shops, I simply loved that feeling of being there.

We passed Canon city to see the Royal Gorge Toll Bridge which hangs at 1053 ft above the river. It was dark and the bridge was closed for the day but we got a magnificient night view. They say that this area is attacked by the bears at night and we were in no mood to scare the bear with our presence.

We took to the night driving along Salida Pass which is famous for its Monarch Ski and snow Board Area during winter.

This meant Abhi drive, Aseem hug Mr. Map and rest three snore to glory.

Drive through the Mountain Zone

The early morning drive from Cedar city on 27th saw me snoring in the back seat. It was Aseem’s and my turn to put our nose up. So the jokes, pun and alike remain unrecorded.

Advenz Four

My deep slumber was disturbed as I heard everyone in the car give shrieking cries and our poor car made some jerking sliding along the road. Jeez, what a way to be woken up!

It seems, we were taking an exit and the curve was too steep and Chandu took the wheel at dangerous speeds. We hit the gravel on the road and lost the control over the curve and slid dangerously giving terrors to everyone inside and the car too, I guess.


If I could say this was an advenz, its bcoz we were lucky to be alive. If not, we would either be hanging our limbs with plasters for a few weeks or singing with harps on some milky cloud. Well, when a group of demented souls decide on freaking, nothing cools our excitement. So, we did laugh over this incident too, and moved across the time zones.

The best part of passing the Time Zones is adjusting to the local time there. We could see the watch on the dashboard crazily change numbers when we passed a new zone. I guess he was wondering what the devil was wrong with us. The local time differed with a few minutes but for us anything and nothing was worth joking over.



Utah State was a total new experience and it follows Mountain Time zone. The Rocky Mountains have been craved to make roads and they dangerously hover above us. There are only two lanes here and if a stone thinks its fun to roll down, I wonder what would happen to the vehicles below.

The vegetation is very scarce but the whole rugged theme is nevertheless very beautiful.
The land is basically dry and hot. I was told by Aseem that these mountains were the resultant banks when the river changed its course of flow. Knowing him, I don’t trust that theory much, I suggest neither you do.

We stopped at the Bryce Canyon, which was enthralling. If you have seen the movie “The jewel of the Nile”, you will know what we saw. The wind was blowing terribly strong and a mini sand storm gave us a surprise performance.




Advenz Five

As kids we did treasure hunts and we thought we had forgotten all about it till we got on a “loo hunt” for Abhi.

Abhi: are, koi bhi restroom area pe gaadi rokh, mujhe urgent hai
Chandoo: haan, par yahan kuch nahi hai, aage dekhte hai.
Rashmi: bhai, jhadi ke peeche karo na (now, its worth mentioning that any talk from Rashmi is a welcome as the lady slept the best part of the journey. Now you hear her talk-now you hear her snore.)
Me:bhai, bottle hai chalega?
Aseem: you wanna play rough? Wokay..(this happens to be one more dialogue from some movie which was on the hitlist for the tour)
Abhi: are… mujhe restroom jaana hai (nearly in tears)

Chandu conveniently skipped a few restroom areas, and other few were out of order. So poor Abhi had a wonderful time controlling his basic instincts, uh- for release and for cursing.
(PS- we did let him enjoy the relieving feeling after nearly 1 hour of drive, we are not that cruel you see J)

The Utah state stretched barren and dry and after 5 hours of drive along this uneventful land, we were totally freaked to see some life. Colorado came as a blissful welcome. A sudden growth of greenery and the gushing river came to sight at a sudden bend. This place was called Grand Junction and we followed the path of the Colorado river.

This state was something worth our drive, beautiful, very beautiful! We could see snow peaked mountains, hills, greenery, horses, cows, ranches, fields. We went to a small village called Basalt to camp for the night. We had a generous shopping at the local Wal-Mart there to equip ourselves with all the tools and food for the night

Advenz Six

Hunting for the camping ground was one eventful journey. We drove around the Frying Pan village, took several detours on the freeway, stopped several people on the way for directions, Mr. Map refused to give us any directions and we went on a tiring orbit again.

Finally, we tried our luck at the Chapman Grounds and yes! We were saved for the night.



This camping ground was near a river which was freaking cold. We had a glamorous view of the snow-peak mountains. Our stop was continently close to the restroom area. And we had a great barbecue pit.



We set our two tents first, freshened up in that freaking cold water, tried to assemble some order into our food and start with the cooking.

Advenz Seven

Setting the campfire was getting Herculaneum as Chandu, Aseem and Abhi tried to coax the fire to flame up. However, it refused. It was getting dark, cold, and chilly winds blew steadily and we were hungry.

Guess who came to our rescue??? Nah. Not superman or any of those guyz who fancy wearing their undies over their pants.

Me !!! nope, not joking, being a member of YHAI has its added advantage when you can light a fire under any given conditions successfully. So, I did, Cheers!
With a blazing fire we grilled barbecue, veggies, sizzlers, tandoor and garlic bread. This was one of the most delicious dinners we ever had. And we enjoyed every moment of our time and cheering to wonderful day.

I gave some free gyan on fire consultation too. We discussed every possible topic under the sun, uh, moon and laughed over the most silliest of them. Talk about growing up.
Here were a bunch of professionals holding responsible positions to say; throwing all defenses in air and laughing at small things and enjoying every moment. This was fun, this was something money does not buy, this was life.

The tired five, retired for the night *sigh*

Orbit to Vegas

It was all peaceful inside the car. Aseem was driving, I was happy with Mr. Map on my lap, the 3 were snoring to glory I in the back seat. It was peaceful even outside. All the cars were moving at a much faster rate, from snail pace to cat walk.

It happened then.

*Ting Ting rang the beeper on the dashboard, an alarm for gas, and we were miles from nowhere.

Advenz One
Now, we had a crisis on hand- the gas beeper had chimed itself, we were amidst nowhere and it was dead of night. The Mountain Pass stretched itself beyond untold miles in front of us.
Abhi woke up to give us company on gas-sign-hunt on the road. So three of us shot the blood pressure within our inner self wondering what would happen next.

Me: ab kya hoga ?
Aseem: Kuch nahi yaar, gaadi pandh padegi, petrol khatham hua hai na.
Abhi: nahi yaar, next 25 miles tak chalegi.
Me: baad me?
Aseem:baad me agar gas nahi mila, to hum freeway me tow truck ka intezaar
karenge. hume kaunsi jaldi hai ?
Me: Yeh tune kya ki ?
Aseem & Abhi : Meine kya kiya? Meine to bas shaadi ki, bacche apne aap hogaye.
Me: Uh ? *&^%$%$

(ok, this happens to be some mystery fun statement the trio guys kept singing in unison after every 10 mins. Uh, now even I am all game to it)

Anyway, here was a situation of all my blood’s worth and we were laughing to glory at some cracked lines. I guess that’s the fun when you go with friends. Everything has a funny element to it. But the situation was growing tense.

We drove the last 15 miles in complete silence as no gas station came in view. It would take other 2 miles and we would be stranded in the middle of nowhere till a tow truck took mercy on us.

And then came a flash of “GAS” sign and we did a little summersault within the limits of the car. A sigh of relief to all three and even the Mr.Car. I guess the poor thing was dreading the fact of being left out alone with the 5 cracked nuts. Poor him.

After filling the gas, and thanking our stars, we moved towards Las Vegas. The state of Nevada is a desert compared to the green lands of California. I waited eagerly for my first glimpse of the Sin City. I had heard a lot about it from everyone who had been there, and uh, even from people who had not been there.

My mom had told me the previous day not to go there, some funny explanation given by her friend made her mind that her *innocent daughter should not be exposed to the big bad world of Sins.

Uh, I had every intention of starting my new year of life with some gambling. Yes, it was my Bday, and what a way to start ! Some innocent –obedient-darling daughter I am.

My first impression of Vegas was full of “aww” and “super awwws”. My camera flashed at a comet speed as I clicked everything I could see with awe filled eyes. It was 3 at night and the city was buzzing with people as jobless as me.






This city indeed spoke for unlimited fun and unlimited sin. Money, glamour, lady luck, everything made Vegas the city it is. A city full of lights; a city that never sleeps; a city of luck; the city that could make you or break you. I was enthralled looking at the night glimmering lights and sheen dressed people and the craziness that got into your blood veins as you passed the money laden streets.

We made our way to the Monte Carlo Casino with Paris theme. In Vegas every casino has a theme based on which the interiors are designed. This casino has all the olden days of Paris depicted in the walkways, chandeliers, lamps, roads, balconies, everything was “le Monte”.

Yes! we gambled, and yes , we lost !
If you call getting a credit for 1 cent as “winning” – I won big time.
Uh… my lady luck was sleeping I guess.

Advenz Two
We were on the Freeway 215, trying to route to freeway 15 and in the process took an orbit around the city for one hour.
The mapping system of this US is as funny as their English and I wont bother explaining our quest towards reaching the right road. But yes, it is an advenz as we spent a good amount of out time, gas and curses as we went on “revolving around the Vegas in one hour” zoom.

If you thought that was the end of the quest for the road, we had one more surprising ‘lost the track’ spring on us. Aseem had his eyes as red as my ooty cap with constant driving. Me talking about how stupid I was, how many kids Laloo had and how we could improve the economy of my personal bank account didn’t help either. Man, he was sleepy.

It happened, again!

Advenz Three

Aseem: I think we are lost
Me: Uh? Again ? I mean how can we get lost in the canyons?
Aseem: see, that sun is supposed to be in the north
Me:ok, sun rises in the east, sets in the west, teacher told. So where is north? And if he is supposed to be in the north, where is he now ?
Aseem: true, but I think we are lost. No...I guess we are not.
Me:Dude, make up your mind. I don’t wanna wake Mr.Map without any reason.
Aseem: Hm, its fine, lets see.

After a stressful drive, (everyone peacefully snoring in the back seat) we did manage to get to the right road. And yes! The sun was to our north. I could not take getting lost at 6 in the morning, around the canyons.

We reached Cedar city right in time for our breakfast.

Across the Time Zones

In 1873 Jules Verne wrote one of his famous book “Around the world in eighty days”,
Remember Phileas Fogg who had a bet with his friends on being able to travel around the world in 80 days ? Remember his loyal servant Passerpartout who follows his master in his voyage? Remember the adventures they have when they encounter odd paths across the world?

Hundreds of decades later, Dharmu authors “Across the time zones in 4 days”, a collection of her adventure as she tours 6 states, across the time zones, zooming 2600 miles with her friends.

When I say adventure, it does not mean that we did the Shaktimaan flying or the Batman driving, not even the Mission Impossible gun firing. Nah, don’t get disappointed. It simply refers to those small instances which were not a part of the initial planned(*ahem)trip but suprisingly smacked on us and caught us off guard. And yes! We did enjoy every bit of those nerve biting moments.

I prefer to keep this article short and crisp(not to exceed 4 posts in total), to avoid boring episodes and lengthy posts. Also, I firmly believe that no post could ever do justice to the fun we had. Hence, this acts as a small souvenir of my time zone advenz.

It was a long weekend for us in US, a Memorial Day holiday on Monday. This meant we had 4 days rolled in our sleeves as long weekends see no one working on Fridays either.
This trip was planned on an impulse and we called it a game as we decided anything was better than seeing the same old sun of San Diego.

Abhi, Rash and me started from San Diego on a Liberty rented from a local agent on May 26th. Little did he know that we planned to batter it beyond his unearthly imagination. Never in his dreams did he think that he would get back a car which had time zones flown with its steering with five equally insane people(Abhi, Assem, Chandu, Rash & me), ah- Mr. Tanhayi too.

Well, the journey started late because we came late from the office, we had to pack our stuff, we had to burn some cds, and we were stuck in a traffic jam(*ahem). Now, any trip scheduled on time is no fun, we need some nerve breaking calls form people who are waiting, and some unreasonable excuses for being late. Right?


4:00p.m.

Abhi :(on cell to Aseembahi who was waiting in LA) :haan bahi,
nikle ek ghanta hua, bohut traffic hai, will be there in 2 hours.
Rash nd me :are, we left just 5 mins back, where is the traffic ?
Abhi: chup baito yaar, traffice abhi nahi hai to baad me milega, Aseem wait kar raha hai, bolne do.

We picked up Chandu from orange county, took a tour of his house, went to Target, and on the way to Los Angeles.

6:00 p.m.

Abhi(on cell to Aseembhai) : haan bahi, chandoo ko pick kiya, bohut traffic hai,
we should be there in 2 hours.
Rash and me: Uh…dint we say the same thing 2 hours back???
Abhi and Chandu : chup baito yaar, traffic abhi nahi hai to baad me milega, Aseem wait kar raha hai, bolne do.
Rash nd me: *&%$#@*^%

Finally we meet Aseembhai, the poor soul waited for us for over 4 hours, counting the stars, planets, hair in his ears and the cars which passed by.

He introduced us to the guide of our advenz, an Atlas for US roads. SO, it was Mr. Map who would take us around uh??? I instantly made friendship with him.

Me- head, eyes, fingers, all in unison with the freeways shown in the map.
Others: please us map ka haran math karo, use neeche rakho. Who koi magazine
hai jo use itna pad rahi ho?
Me to Mr. Map: suno, baad me baat karungi, abhi chup chaap soojao.

We hit the traffic as we took the freeway towards Las Vegas. Thousands of cars lined up back-to-back as all progressed at a snails pace. We were not the only crazy lot driving at night, you see.

9.00p.m.

Sleepy me: uh.. humne California border cross kiya?
Abhi: hm… nahi, abtak LA mein hi hain.
Sleepy me: Colarado kab phochenge ? (my highest hit dialogue till we reached there)
Abhi : Abe soojao
Sleepy me : Traffic hai ?
Abhi : %$&*$#@ nahi meri shaadi ka baarath hai, chalo nachte hain

So finally we decide we need a break from the walk-the-car speed and we took an exit to Fontana. We had a makeshift dinner with some burgers and Burritos. The guys were taking turns at the wheels, and the owl in me freaked to give company for the night travel. I was glad to have Mr. Map back with me, sitting comfy on my lap.

*Ragad denge*

I donno why, Mr. Blog is not letting me upload the fotos, any idea ???

When I am upset

(Me says : This part was added almost a day later, courtesy to all the mails, some calls, and few comments i had from my friends. Guyz, thank you so much for all love and concern, and i am feeling much better.

The person in question is back to normal, and i am back to my own insane self. i had to write this post to get myself out of the feeling. Mr. Blog is indeed my window to vent my feelings. So, thanks again, and people who are gonna read this post, please note that allz fine. )

I wanted to post my TimeZone advenz next, but looks like it will have to wait. Something else hit me today, and I just cannot suppress the feeling and let it wait for days before I write it, for 3 reasons:

1. I may forget the feeling at that time and move on.
2. It may not have the same impact as now when I write it latter.
3. If it’s on Mr. Brain, it needs to be on Mr.Blog.

Small things upset me. I am very sensitive to people I love and I can smell any small change in them. I love anyone who is my friend. The love differs, but yes, I love them and I love them with all my heart, unconditionally. My friends know it.

Maybe that’s why I get all upset when they change their attitude towards me. Most of the times, I have no clue why they act strange. Most of the time I keep wondering if it was really me. But I need to put it out of my senses for now, and my blog is one place where I talk my heart out.


"So my dear friend,

Is it something I said? Is it something I did? Is it something I did not say? Is it something I did not do? I have not an inch of clue. But I know you are upset with something.

So, instead of sulking and making me and yourself more miserable, won’t it be just fine to tell me? I, with all the deformity of the brain, still happen to be an understanding person. So it will save you and me some energy by talking about it.

And if you decide sulk to glory, remember that with due respect for the love I have for you, I will move on with my life. And don’t bother to think I will run after you forever. I know my attitude sucks, but I will not bother to pamper you every time you put up a cold war with me. I am just a human like you, not your mom or dad, for that matter not even your husband/wife.

If you know me well, you know that I follow my heart. If I am upset because you are upset, it means I genuinely care for you. But I don’t owe my peace of mind to you. So don’t expect it either. I won’t for all that you know.

I can’t read you mind, in the same way like you can’t read mine. So there is no point in sealing your lips and trying to make me feel guilty. Because I won’t, I have my blog to vent my feelings; I will put it there and forget all about it. I may sound disrespectful but I am upset because I do care for you.

And if you think you can change me, you better think twice. 24 years of my life, my parents could not move a stone without my wish, and I wont let you do it either. My life is mine, and I live it my way. You are welcome to be a part of it, but I give you no rights to pull the reins. And I don’t owe you any explanations for my behaviors or actions if they don’t concern you.

If you come to your senses, and think you could think and act like an adult, bother to talk to me. If not, you can keep your sulking mood to yourself, and curse me behind my back for all the insensitive devil I am. I won’t give a damn once I get used to it."


Well, now that it is out of my system, I feel better.

But wonder why we attach so much importance to people in our life that we get hurt from their behavior. Many a times, it may not be our mistake, but the person in question takes the liberty to blame us. I might sound like a friend-hating psychopath but I believe in talking about things rather than thinking about them, without reasons.

Today I am hurt; I am hurt because a person whom I consider to be a friend hurt me. But I shall be fine. Like I said, nobody pulls the rein in my life, no one but me. So, I will move on.

Love follows the Gorilla

What happens when you have an owl’s soul residing in you ?

Volcano crater sized dark circles, hay broom kind uncombed hair, color blind matched clothes, drooping eyes, and a murjaaya face badly in need of immediate cosmetic attention.

That’s how I look from past 3 days. After the tiresome vacation across the time zones and the terrible lack of sleep, I look like a walking zombie. I had auditory delusion where ‘they’ plotted against me. So I am gonna sleep today, everything else has to wait.

Mr.Tanhayi (with real sympathetic looks) :Do you know, you look like a freaking bewdi with those neend bhari aankh looks, why dont you get some sleep ?
Jeez, this lady makes you work overtime, I need to gooli maro her. She freaks the whole night on that garbage box typing at hyper speed.

Mr.Brain(all sleepy): *yawn*I have so much tasks at hand, I cannot afford to. *yawn* everything can wait, but I need to update about my time zone advenz *yawn*
This lady keeps harassing me, I do need resssst*yawn* me gonna crash*yawn*

Mr.Blog(in an understanding tone): its fine sweety, you take rest, we are with you. Lets see what this lady can do(with piercing eyes), ill give supari, she cant do hell.
I’ll post your old story from the canara2k group ok?

Mr.Brain : *yawn* you are my true friends*yawn* I will work on Time zone advenz this weekend *yawn* Good Night, and YOU(pointing at me)- sleep.


This article was initially posted by me in my Canara2k group on March 16, 2005 inspired by a highly volatile e-mail on possible discussions for the group members by Vinnu. (Post # 226 in the Canara2K forum)
Read at your own risk as the aftermaths vary from wall damage to computer screen loss.

LOVE FOLLOWS THE GORILLA

CAST:
LOVLEY(pet name LOVE)
RAJA GORILLA
SONY GORILLA

GUEST APPEARANCE:
MR. OHMYGOSH=LOVELY’S DADDY
MRS. OHMYGOSH=LOVELYS MUMMY

SCENE ONE.

A beautiful evening. Kadri park ambience. Lights of every colour. Food of every type(courtesy of mlore university canteen). Beautiful people in equally expensive clothes of same color from lalith kala arts (as in typical hindi movies) dancing for some funda tune.
Our heroine LOVE’s birthday party she looks stunning in her designer white gown (something like bipasha basu’s in jism last scene)

Daddy: "doston,aaj mein bohut khush hun,aaj meri beethi 18 saal ki hogayi hai. Usse bhi kushi ki baat yeh hai ke aaj meri aur mere chaddi dost mr.ohlala samdhi banne wale hain.
Mein apni beeti ki shadhi apne chaddi dost ke bete se karne wala hun"

CLAPS…CLAPS…HUG…TEAR…HUG…SMILE

Love: "papa..what is this? Aapne bhina mujse puche,bina kuch bataye meri shadi ter ki? Mein yeh shadi nahi kar sakthi…kabhi nahi..."

Daddy: (fully furious) tum kya? Tumari maa bhi yeh shadi karegi...#$%^%&^&(dad gets a slap from mom but this scene is not shown ot the viewers)

Lovely runs out with full force... "nahi""""""""""""""""

Daddy follows,people follow….run run run……daddy follows,people follow….run run run….
Ullala sankha……people r close-daddy is close….lovely (dinga) jumps into the river….
Slpash….spalash……dub dub dub…(the water sound as lovely sinks) a sad tune in the back ground and more tears……CUT>>>>>>>>>>.

All go back home hand in hand as their shot is over and their work is done.

SCENE TWO.
In the haunting beauty of konaje campus ( it was mistook for a wild life sanctuary)

"yariwanu…..ee manmathanu……." (same song from the kannada movie premloka)
our hero RAJA is seen jumping from kombe to kombe in typical hindi movie style.(plz refer to SAFARI of sanjay dutt)
he is having a competition with his chaddi dost SONY as usual…(something like KKHH)a lot of kombu jumping, a lot of kombe haaring……..sony wins…both fight…(sorry..if u r bored-but that’s how it goes in the movies).time for a song…

"hai hai re hai yeh gorilla..hai hai re hai...
udtha kyun itna bura pucho to hai…"

(something like the KKHH song)
admist the song,both reach the river side nd loh!!!!!!!wat do they see? Lovley ……raja

"tuje dekha to yeh jaana sanam…….paani is river ka bohut thanda hai sanam………" and carries her into his tree branch. Stomach pressing….gwalap…(water coming out)…stomach pressing…gwalap…..love slowly opens her eyes…

love: 'mein kahan hun?'
one look at raja and "oh mere sapno ke saudagar……"(one more song with the backdrop of maryhill)

aur…..yahan se shur hoti hai…..raja aur love ki prem kahani……..in between we had 2 songs.
"tu apple badi hai mast mast" by raja(plz understand tat he is the gorilla and loves fruits)
"apne diwaneka karde bura haal, akiyonse goli mare" with the beautiful landscapes of manipal end point. In this song….first love nd raja dance…then sony nd raja dance….then all three dance

INTERMISSION

Now the confusion starts……… Sony loves raja from the time she learnt to crack the nuts, even raja loves her. But not love-love type of love. Only love type of love …..(I guess u dint understand? Even I dint, so lets continue)

Now,raja loves love, and love loves raja,,,both love-love type of love. But confusion is lovel thinks raja loves sony and raja thinks lovely loves sony (bhai…’girlfriend’ ka zamana hai) so utter confusion at this state….

In this depressed state one more song ,"hum bewafa hargis na the……."

After the song…lovel runs to the cliff of innoli nd jumps into the pavoor stream. Raja jumps after her…saves her…..

Time for a song……."kuch na kaho…kuch na kaho"

Both end up in a embrace nd hug…tears..water…mud….nd it starts to rain!!!!!!!!(same as in most of the movies)

Sony watches both……turns back with a heavy heart…looks at the camera..smile….tears from only one eye…..

Is duniya me har ek keliye bhagwan ne jodi banayi hai,
Har radhe ko ek sham banaya hai;
So friends,nanage eenu tension illa…
This was the story of ‘love follows the gorilla’
(ee story baredavarige definetly sari illa)

WELL….AFTER READING THE MOVIE SCRIPT IF U R SEARCHING FOR A HAMMER/SLEDGE/OR BANGING UR HEAD……CONTINUE. BUT MY SINCERE THANX TO THE ‘ENTREPRENURIAL DEVELOPMENT’ LECTURE TODAY MORNING..WITHOUT WHICH THIS CRAP BRAINWAVE WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE.
COMMENTS WELCOME!!!!!(AWAITING THE OSCAR NOMINATION TOO)