Hyper enthu...

I used to be this super enthusiatic teanager and mostly restless about many things. Actually, many people may wonder how this can even be a problem. It is. Your expectations from life, people, situations and yourself will be way more than others. That can easily stress you and lead to the feeling of being let down! This hyper enthu sometimes even leads you to take yourself too seriously! One good thing though is one cant be feeling low too long, that will bore the hyper enthusiastic!
I thought age would "cure" me of this hyper enthusiasm about life. But age by itself will not change anything, unless one does a concious effort to identify certain aspects of life and try to change them. Probably this is what most people actually imply when they say, things change with age!

Leh - Ladhak...

I met this collegue in the office bus who had just returned from Leh-Ladhak trip. He was full of experiences. He was animated the whole time he was describing his experiences, how elated he was seeing the beautiful landscapes and how scared he with some near death experiences - there was a landslide and someone ahead of him had got hurt. In that fortnight he had experienced a whole gamut of emotions - he had been very excited, very disturbed, demotivated, super tired, physically exhausted, highly enriched and very pleased for having completed the trip! He said he was all recharged. Despite my aversion to very cold weather, I, for once wished would do this trip someday! :) 

The dark knight rises...

Saw "The dark knight rises". I have not watched the previous Batman movies, but I did not find that a major hindrance to follow the story of this one. Indeed only the first few minutes have strong references to the previous movies. The storyline is good, I really like the stories around the prison where Bane would have put Batman. Liked the action sequences. It was a little longer than regular Hollywood movies. I love happy endings! A good movie to watch.

Cocktail...

Watched the movie - Cocktail. The songs were good. Deepika as Veronica has put up a decent show, to an extent the saving grace in the acting department. Saif tries to be rather too funny and looks pathetic at times. His character happens to be a software engineer and none of the office scenes make any sense. Diana as Meera is ok, her character is too meek and weakly built. Dimple Kapadia plays a loud character as Saif's mother convincingly and Boman Irani provides comic relief. But even their characters are not thoroughly conceived. The story doesn not move smoothly, its a bumpy ride and at times appears directionless. It is predictable. The aspect about trying to be selfish in love, i.e. the protogonist realises whom he/she truly loves- going in all for it irrespective of who all gets hurt in the process - seems to be the common thread of all Imtiaz Ali movies. Cocktail, whose story has been written by him is no differnt. There is a bit of Ali's older characters and plots from his older movies. Wonder if that is why it is called Cocktail! It could have been an interesting plot had it been more engaging. You do not get fully drawn into the movie at any point of time. I only felt engrossed when Deepika mouths some brilliantly fresh dialogues here and there. But then that would be a few seconds and the story would go back to being itself. Well if you want to watch it for the songs, and to figure what you saw in the promos, sure go ahead. 

Not being a control freak...

Trying to control the way things are and things can be, is quite human. But this should be done sparingly, else will sap our energies and leave us good for almost nothing! Let go.  Go with flow. See how it goes. There is some fun in letting go and discovering some beautiful things that you never realised, existed! Letting go is also being unselfish, giving a chance to life, accepting that there are somethings beyond control and being at peace with the world.

Have been thinking what I can do to practice :
1. Say some soothing prayer. If you acknowlege there is a higher power and belive things will be taken care of may be helpful.
2. Deep breathing. Drink some water.
3. Imagine what is the worst thing that can happen if you cannot control/alter the situation you badly want to.  Is there still a way to do without it? Will it impact your life after five or ten years from now? Remember some past event that bothered you so much, but later things turned out to be alright.
4. Remember that this too shall pass. Change is inevitable.

P.S: easy to say, hard to follow, I know! :)

hmmm...

The more I watch the "Sherlock" TV series, I realise it is fun having someone to share things with. Like Sherlock has Dr. Watson.  It need not necessarily be a romantic relationship. Any healthy sharing and caring relationship is nurturing and it is a nice feeling to know you have someone watching out for you.

 I somehow do not enjoy when some characters ask them if they are a couple! It is not funny. Come on people, I find Sherlock so charming!

P.S: I did it! I wanted to post 30 posts in June on my blog and yaaaay I have done it! 

Growing up...

In my juvinile days, I used to think that life would be a series of exciting events once I finish school. I would travel, write and do amazing things. My small town life would end, and various oppurtunities would open up. I did move out of my small town after graduation. But I soon realised life is not a series of exciting events as an adult. I did travel, I did have fun. But excitement was more in bursts, here and there. It was humbling to understand the fact that I had to work hard for "fancy" stuff to happen. With a day job and the mundaneness it brings to life, you need to strive for ways to find joys. Sometimes it looks like some people just get lucky and get things easily, but only with time do you realise, luck is just a form of reward for hard work and immaculate planning. Not always can you see the cause, its only results that are evident. It is definitely not heart breaking, but it takes a while to grasp this. That is what is growing up - getting a reality check.

For a healthy mane…

Add equal measures of coconut oil, castor oil and sesame oil. Heat it and apply on the scalp and hair. Steam the hair. Leave the oil for about 30 minutes and take a shower. It makes your mane healthy and nice. It is tried and tested! J

Spidey is back...

Watched "The amazing Spider-man" today. First day, first show in 3D. I had expected more action, in that way was slightly let down. There are more details on Peter Parker's past and how he ends up with power to spin webs and masters his art of "flying". I would have been satisfied with lesser details and more action. Given that it is in 3D increases one's expectation on the action front.

Andrew Garfield replaces Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, he looks quite juvinile. This may have been intentional as Peter is still in school in the movie. Emma Stone as Gwen - Peter's love interest has done a neat job. This version of Peter Parker comes with a greater sense of humor.Somethings he does and says makes you chuckle. One change from the original/previous version is that the villian happens to be a super reptile.

The second half has some good action and the 3D makes it more effective. Basically old wine in new bottle kind of a plot. The skeleton remains the same as original, details and cast bring in some freshness.  The screenplay could have been better and the length - shorter. Overall a good movie for the weekend. Would I want to watch it again? Probably not.

Monsoon finally sets in....

Its raining cats and dogs. The weather is lovely. Watching the rain lash out against the bus window is fun. Can see two-wheeler riders who have parked their vehicles under trees and shelters for cover. People waiting for the bus at the bus stop have kind of huddled to prevent from drenching. But its windy as well, so lots of people are bound to get drenched in the rain! So the long awaited monsoon is finally here. Yaaaaay! 

Freeing up...

I remember from one of Oprah’s life classes that forgiving is accepting that the past could not have been any different. It is as simple as that. But we hold up things and try to make sense and even after that we do, won’t let go. Our precious resources, like all resources are limited. If we hold back and fill these with unwanted stuff, that hardly matter as time goes by, it would be a sheer waste. So being nice to yourself would be, to let go of the unwanted, free up those resources, channelize them to do things you would love and enjoy. 

Spill check...

What to do when you spill nail polish on the floor.

1.       Exclaim something aloud like “holy ****” – this will ease you and take a deep breath. No crying over spilt stuff – be in milk or nail polish!

2.       Don’t panic, its only nail polish. If it can’t stick on your nails for long, the same holds for the floor.

3.       Don’t try mopping it, just let it dry. If its thicker it is easier to wedge it after it dries up. In case it has spread and you want it off the floor sooner use nail polish remover. The cleaning liquid will take a while before all the stains are gone – if you just rely on mopping.

4.       Lastly remember, prevention is better than cure, the next time around you want to shake the bottle, hold the lid and bottle together- what if you haven’t closed the lid tightly the last time you used! 

Sherlock...

Am watching the TV series - “Sherlock”. I like how the original Sir Arthur Canon Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes” has been adapted to the current times. Like Dr. Watson having a blog which is widely read. There is an episode where the number of hits/views to the blog doesn’t get updated for a while and is thought of as a clue, which later turns out not to be! Dr.Watson happens to be a war veteran who fought in Afghanistan! And Sherlock in the series is not too fond of wearing the signature hat(or that is the idea he gives).  I just watched the episode of “ The Hounds of the Baskerville”, it was as much a pleasure watching it as it was reading it. Am almost done with watching both the seasons. Eagerly awaiting for the third.

Unlike other TV series, each episode is about 90 minutes and that actually adds to the fun of watching it! You are not bored even for a minute - guaranteed. 

You see words on the screen when Sherlock is thinking, which helps you follow his train of thoughts. That is done brilliantly. Even the first time I saw, I knew what they were meant for. They are subtle. I mean, they would not bother you like the subtitles do sometimes!

I initially felt Sherlock, played by Benedict Cumberbatch was kind of cold, but now I find him suiting the character to the core. In fact find him very charming!

Highly recommend it. Fun to watch, brilliant cast, well made and even if you have read the books, you won’t be let down.

Almost...

Its drizzling and the weather is just plain awesome! The very fact that am writing about weather is an indicator that I have currently run of ideas for a post! Last few days have been very plain and devoid of any ideas for the blog. Or rather I am not making any conscious effort to think of ideas for the post. My initial plan of making June a month where I blog every day is not going to happen – since the last five days I haven’t posted anything. So I am going to modify it to a month where am going to post 30 posts. Hmm.

Wishful...

Yesterday when I woke up I just wanted to get back to sleep. The weather was good to stay in bed. But we had a family outing planned and I did not want to play a spoil sport. There are times I wish I don’t have anything to do for an entire day and last few weeks have been not so favorable in this regard. How I wish I can laze, day dream and just have no plans for a day!

Mobile revolution…

The mobile communication has come a long way in India. Many years ago, the person who was receiving calls also had to pay! That seems almost prehistoric. The mobile rates have dropped drastically. Infact the charges are per second rather than per minute. People of every economic stratum are able to afford a mobile phone. These days the maid would also call you to take the day off.

 I just saw a daily wage earner sitting in the back of a truck carrying construction material happily talking on the mobile phone. It made me smile, yes each of us need to share and it is so good that it is affordable for most of my countrymen. 

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

I have been watching the FRIENDS show for almost a decade now. By the time I starting watching it was almost at its fag end, so what I watched were mostly reruns. It has always been fun to watch. Even now I watch episodes randomly whenever I feel like. I thought I had seen every episode, until yesterday! I had missed the last episode for so long! Only last evening did I realize that Rachel and Ross reunite. I had wondered how Rachel could go off to Paris like that! How on earth had I missed it! I thought it was some behind-the-scenes-stuff episode and hadn’t watched it until now!

It was a very pleasant thought that two of my favorite sitcom characters reunited and it was a happy ending! 

R n M...

One of my favorite shows Highway on my plate- with Rocky and Mayur is going to campus canteens all over the country. I watched an episode over the weekend and enjoyed. It seems to be fun and I just love watching these guys. 

Father's day!

Happy father's day!
There are somethings in life only a dad can teach, by example. My dad enjoys work. I remember one incident from childhood vividly. It was a bundh and my dad could not go to work that day. He is not used to sit idle. He cleaned up the whole garage from morning till noon. Then refreshed, had lunch and spent the rest of the day with us. He doesn't believe in a free lunch! :)

Accepting...

I was just analysing something (you could say a life situation) and wondered if things can be ignored or if one pretends things dint happen or don’t exist will it do you good. Well, for a hurt, healing starts when we accept something went wrong. So acknowledging, accepting, fixing what went wrong (to whatever extent you can) and building immunity should be on the to-do list. Came up with an analogy. If you have a fractured limb, you just cannot pretend there is nothing wrong with that limb for obvious reasons. For the fear of attracting attention, you cannot just remove the plaster/bandage - that will not help you recover. So the plaster is there to protect the fractured limb and not to make you embarrassed. Even with all the care you take, you may have a scar to remind you that you had hurt yourself. But if you don’t let the fracture heal completely you may make that limb vulnerable to more injuries. So the moral of the story is you would be better off having a scar than end up with vulnerability for life.