My Laundry fiascos

I was a typical kid brought up in C(India). I have never washed clothes, folded or ironed clothes. When I came to the states, I had enough clothes for the first two weeks so I didnt have to go to the laundry room. And then.. the nightmare started.. I have a bunch of clothes all piled in a corner of the room. I had to take them to the laundry room to do my laundry.. huh.. what.. I thought you had it at home.. Ya right welcome to the world of apartments and coin laundry.



I ask my roommate who is the "most " helpful person to guide me.. she says.. " The machine is on the top floor of this building. go and do your laundry there. Take your clothese in your stroller if you want." I gather my clothes and go up to the laundry room. Now I load my clothes into a machine that is empty. Now what do I do next?



It then dawns on me that I need the detergent.. So I rush down stairs and borrow laundry detergent from my friend. Now the machine is all loaded and everything. I click the start button but the laundry machine does not start.. I wonder why.. I turn the knob, adjust the clothes inside the washer. i try everything. Nothing seems to help. I see a $ sign.. Now that means money.. But I never used to see Amma pay money for laundry .. So whats with this machine. luckily a lady walks in with a pile of clothes to launder. I ask her, innocently, what do I need to do? She says I need to put in coins so the machine would start. I again go back to my room and grab the cash and complete my laundry.



When the clothes come out of the dryer.. they are all dyed in a shade of blue.. I wonder why...........

Going to USA for a Vacation!!!

When I was a kid, we used to go from C(India) to J(India)( to my Aunt's place) for vacation. Then came a time when my Aunt used to come down to India for vacation from the US of A. Now, people from India are coming to US of A for a vacation!!!

Times have changed and very quickly at that ..

Why?

You make a lot of choices in life. But it is only a few that makes you ask yourself, "Why?"

Click! If you are Sick....

What has the IT done to us? We can now go online to find a doctor in the locality, which is good. But what these guys are proposing is just attrocious.. The patients can now enter their symptoms and register the call and doctors would repond via email.. Next step ? Streaming video, so that the doctor may see your symptoms live/ recorded and prescribe medicines..

Innum konjam naal la doctors e irukka poradhu illai.. ellam robots than... hmm.. I just hope I dont see that day..

Akku pore - Meaning.. Miscellaneous


The other day when I was travelling with my friend on a bus. My friend sat next to a hugh black lady who was wearing a fur jacket with a fur hood and had covered herself up from head to toe with it.. I was just thinking how warm she must be feeling when suddenly my friend says, "Etho Karadi pakathila ukandha madiri irukku' and I burst out laughing...

---------

I always wondered why people here wore very little clothes in summer.. I now kind of know.. wanna know why? Well I think that they are tired of wearing so much clothing that they want to wear as little of it as possible :) :)

---------

America here I come...

I walk out of the Airport, with a light fleace jacket, my hands tucked into my pocket and head held high up in the air.. V says it is gonna be a cold outside. But I look through the glass windows to see a clear star studded night sky.. back home.. this meant that the weather would be pleasant..... but not here... I step out and the cold wind hits me like a knife through soft butter, I open my mouth to say something to my husband, and I see white snakes spewing out of my mouth.. I am wondering.. whats wrong with me? whats happening? Is my stomach on fire or something? My hands go numb and my ears start to get blocked. I hurry towards the car. But a brave facade..when my husband asks are u feeling cold? I say "No.. not at all"

We then hit the road and my husband manuvers the car out of the parking lot. Until he hits a stop sign I dont realize whats happening coz I am frozen and all I can think of is how cold it is outside...I start calling ppl back home saying that I have arrived and when they ask me where I am I say " I am on my way home but V seems to be driving on the wrong side of the road!!"well road la than apadi na.. they walk like that on the pavement too.. I almost created a pile up by walking on the wrong side on the pavement..Oh. how many times have I stood on the wrong side of the road for the bus and wondered why cars were going on the wrong side of the road...

And then Snow arrives.. it was a Monday morning.. and I had to go to work..It has started as rain the previous evening.. here they call it freezing rain..I woke up around 6 in the morning I see the roof tops being covered with some white powdery stuff.. It looks so nice.. and the snow is falling from the heaven above like small cotton balls floating in air..it was so pretty to watch it.. i spent close to an hour in front of the window watching the snow fall down.. and then I had to go out... :( Outside is a whole different story. The snow is like crystalline rain. It is white, slippery and slushy..and it is cold.. a combination that will make anyone hate snow..

I had a tough time getting used to the weather.. It still is tough.. but when u dont have a choice you get used it, now dont you..If you ask me if I like America.. I would give u a very polished reply..." it is nice" .....

Well it is a different experience.............

Back .. with a Bang?

Lots of things happening and lots of things not happening.. So it took a while for me to settle down.. I am now in a new country, a new place, with new ppl, a new house , a new job and a brand new husband :) So u can see why there I went missing for sometime now.. :) ..

But I am back now.. and will start posting soon.......

Return(ed) Gift..

I went to this family function sometime back and I came back with a stainless steel plate that had a label that said that it cost Rs. 8.. Like this there are numerous plastic and brass figurines of Gods, candle stand, cups or a blouse bit.

Now I dont believe in giving gifts unless it is to a loved one .. but a return gift just does not make sense to me at all.. Okay I can understand if u gift something to a person who has invited you to an ocassion thinking that the gift would be useful to them. But what is the reason behind a Return gift.

Okay lets keep aside the reason for returning gifts. Lets focus on the gifts first.

1. A Stainless Steel plate - Useful in the kitchen.V's opinion - I like things as sets and this one off thing is reallly odd...
2. Brass and Plastic Figurines of God - Show pieces in our showcase or can be placed in the Pooja room.. V's opinion - one is good.. but over a period of time they accumulate
3.Blouse Bits - Can be stitched as a blouse for a sari/ used as cloth for other such clothingV's Opinion - I hardly find people using these in a fashion conscious matching blouse society.. It is almost always recycled.....

Next question .. what do you do with these gifts..

1. Use them - well that was the purpose of the gift but this hardly happens

2. Return them - this is hardly done.. often considered rude.. keep it in the house whether u like it or not..

3. Recycle them - this is the most common method used .. People wait for occasions to recycle gifts.. But then u must be very careful to remember who gave u what and when coz sometimes in a conversation they might probe on the whereabouts of their gift and also be careful not to unknowingly return the gift back to the gifter..

4. Throw them - this cannot be done.. what ever it is they have also spent money buying these gifts....

I dont know why we must give a return gift and why people expect it.. not only expect it but compare their gifts..but then how else do u display your wealth and buying power and ur generosity...

Scratching my head!!!

Sometimes you feel the whole world is against you, that nothing seems to go the way you want it to go. that the sun rises only in te east and sets only in the west and not the other way around..

Hmm I was just thinking.. is it us who made the wrong choice and decision or is it that we are looking in the wrong direction and complaing that things are not going the way they must go?

It can be either or both the above... Sometimes we make the wrong choices and sometimes we are just off the target and wonder why things are not happening.. But how do we find out if what we are doing is right?

My Response

Can we recreate Tirupathi?

There can be no two exactly alike things on earth. So a replica will be a replica and I think you would agree with me. But the question is "Will there be the same positive energy seen at the replicas???"

I believe that the energy that we feel is prevalent all around us. It is just that we want to associate it to one place and one idol. If u look at it - a Dharshan at Tirupathi and Dharshan at T.Nagar( the Venkatachalapathi temple here) is the same.. (albiet more peaceful here as there is lesser crowd)

If you ask me, to recreate something like the Tirupathi experience is impossible for the experience is not just about the deity like Gils pointed out but the entire trip across seven hills, the Ram Bhagicha, the never ending queue, the sea of tonsured humanity, the telugu characters( as Vivek says "jelebi ya pitchu pota maadiri)and the jaragandis.

But to associate the energy that u feel at tirupathi is possible coz that is the energy thatyou feel when you are around the idol. To me I can feel the same energy when I visit the local Goddess' temple here.. So, does that mean that it is the deity that exudes the energy? No, it is my mind that associated such energy..

So now it is upto you to think and decide if there will be that "positive energy" at replicas.

Replica of Tirupathi

Read this article....

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=4&articleid=85200622124046885200622122315

It is about building replicas of Tirupathi in various cities..
My Question : "Will there be the same positive energy seen at the replicas???"

PS: I will write about what I think after I hear what u have to say to this.

Food for Thought

Life is about choices where somebody else chooses for u and u just accept it. The best part is that u r fooled into believing that you made the choices....
---
Happiness is not something u get when u have achieved one level but what u get when u learn to accept what life has to offer to u...
---

I know really morbid thoughts .. I am back.. Will get back with a nice and lively post... Until then...

Attachment...

Since I have joined work, I have changed about 8 workstations/locations. But, it was only the last two shifts that I was a little sad about. Why is it that u get attached to a machine. Isnt a machine , well, just a machine? Everyone of them is identical , at least in office.. It has a dabba monitor, a CPU tower and a Internet Keyboard(Only in name .. there isnt any special button on it tho) and the configuration is the same...I dont know if it is the machine or the place and the people around u that makes the shift painful? . Even if the same people move with u to a different location, u still complain that ur old machine was better.

Machines, although a big bundle of wires, plastic and metal, are different . Some are slow, some are fast, some are dark(Black) while some others are fair(White). U r used to them, their little idiosyncracies. Like my keyboard had a problem with the control key.. and u know how it is if the control key does not work and that too for a s/w engineer..:D

I have often heard friends say, " hey my old machine was not like this. It was so sweet." Why a friend, my own old machine was damn slow. when I say damn slow I really mean slow. To open a word document it would take 2 minutes.. ( Well I got bored one day and timed it) But I still like that machine... why because it was slow.. I would just start an application and go for tea or go to my neighbour's desk for a chat and come back :)... But the new one was faster so that luxury is no longer there.. But yes this has its own advantages.. Its atleast faster...

Okay, I Know, You are wondering what I am trying to get at. Well, what I am trying to say is that we get attached to even inaminate things .. which seems very natural. This attachment to material things happens almost automatically. It isnt good but thats how the mind is .. it loves to get attached to "material things".

The Gita will tell u "Do not get attached to material things.. they will give u momentary happiness but u will never be able to get the complete eternal bliss that every person is looking for". But do u think that is possible?

A friend, Philosopher and Guide....Alan Sir

It is not often that you get a teacher who not just teaches but also guides you. Mr.A was one such man and whom the class is always indebted to. Alan, as he was fondly called, took classes for us from the fourth semester and right through to the eigth. We had so much fun in his classes. From being a timid teacher, talking to the blackboard, he became our guide and a dependable friend.

Alan Sir, you have been our inspiration, our teacher, our friend , our philosopher and guide. I thank you sir for all that you have contributed to my life.

Happy Birthday Alan Sir...

Who/What is God?

Slushy Float

A friend of mine ordered "Slush", Black current "Slush" at that. It is made of crushed ice and syrup. My friend had just one sip and said it "sorry boss, I cannot have this.. its awful"..

We felt sorry for the guy and asked him to order something else. This time around he ordered "Float" , Orange "Float" at that. Now u can guess what that is... he he .. It was Orange "Slush" with Ice cream on it..

Poor guy.... u shud have seen the look on his face. Like a sad little puppy :) .. The entire gang started laughing and only stopped when we all went back home :)

Gold or Golden....

Did u see the rate of gold in the market? My God... Its Rs.967 per gram of gold. It has doubled in just 6 months. And thats not it.. it seems to be rising as fast as the heat in Chennai and predicitons are that it will reach as high as Rs.1500..:O

Okay now let me come to the most important questions. What is it about ornament gold that makes it so valuable. Why is it that people attach so much importance to gold. Agreed that it is the most malleable and ductile metal. Agreed that it is inert to most chemicals. But that does not make it so precious or does it..

Now what can we do about the price rise.... Well because of the price rise and the forecast people are buying more gold saying it is an investment. I think we shud boycott gold for sometime.. There are other metals too, that look good on jewellery..

Now dont get me wrong... I am just thinking aloud... wondering if we shud buy gold at all......

A Star Wish..

Star light Star Bright
The first star I see tonite
I wish I may, I wish I might
Get my wish true tonite

Today after a long long time I saw the first star in the sky and immediately I closed my eyes and made a wish and when u open ur eyes u must look at a lucky person.. I was on the road so it was the person in front of me.

I dont believe in it now but its something that has stuck on from when I was a child. Its a superstition, yes. Just like children believe that there is a tooth fairy who gives us money in exchange for our teeth. I knew little boys who tried to pull out their teeth to get more money. But all this is fun. U do eventually understand that none of this is true and yet u believe. Why is that? I dont know for sure

Perhaps something real good happened when I wished for the first time or maybe I just hope that it may happen soon. What ever the reason, at that point, for one instant, when I wish, I truly believe that what I wish for will come true....

Giving brings Happiness

Until now, I have never felt happy about giving anything coz when I give, it will ususally be something I cherish and I part with it... My dad always says, "Giving brings more happiness" but I always refuse to even give it a thought. Does it even make sense.. giving.. and bring happiness? definitely not. How can you be happy if u part with something that u cherish or buy something that u think.. I repeat think will make another person happy.Even if it is not something that is mine, nothing really gave me pleasure coz when I bought a gift, I'd buy something that none of us had and that would make me more unhappy..

But, recently, I gave a gift to a very close friend of mine. The happiness on his face when he got it, well .. I have no words to explain that. I felt happy too.. I felt like I had touched somebody's heart for the first time. Then i understood what Appa meant by, "Giving brings more happiness"

But there is just one thing I noted. It is not what you give that matters, it is the feeling with which you give it that matters. This time I wanted to give this present to him and boy, I have never been happier in my life about giving gifts to people. I guess I have grown up..... ;)

Humor....

It is not often that I post something that I have read. But here is something that made me laugh real hard.. good one :)

Read it patiently….amazingly comical By Dave Barry... humour writer... Pulitzer Prize winner too I think...

So I was at this party, and I wound up at a table where three attractivesingle women were complaining about - Surprise! - men. Specifically,they were complaining about the pickup lines that had been used on themin a bar a few nights earlier.

One woman said: ''This guy comes up to me and says, 'Are you a teacher?'I mean, is that supposed to be romantic?''All three women rolled all six of their eyes.

Another one of them said: ''This guy says to me, 'I've been looking atyou all night!' So I go, 'Hel-LO, we just GOT here.'''

At this point all three women - and I want to stress that these areintelligent, nice women - were laughing. Not me. I was feeling bad for the guys.

I realize that there are certain hardships that only females mustendure, such as childbirth, waiting in lines for public-restroom stalls,and a crippling, psychotic obsession with shoe color. Also, females tend to reach emotional maturity very quickly, so that by age 7 they are no longer capable of seeing the humor in loud inadvertent public blasts of flatulence, whereas males can continue to derive vast enjoyment from this well into their 80s.

So I grant that it is not easy being a female. But I contend that naturehas given males the heaviest burden of all: the burden of always having to Make the First Move, and thereby risk getting Shot Down. I don't knowWHY males get stuck with this burden, but it's true throughout the animal kingdom. If you watch the nature shows on the Discovery Channel, you'll note that whatever species they are talking about - birds, crabs,spiders, clams - it is ALWAYS the male who has to take the initiative. It's always the male bird who does the courting dance, making a totalmoron of himself, while the female bird just stands there, lookingaloof, thinking about what she's going to tell her girlfriends. (''And then he hopped around on one foot! Like I'm supposed to be impressed by THAT!'').

Male insects have it the worst. The Discovery Channel announcer is always saying things like: "After the mating, the female mantis bitesoff the male mantis' head, and then she and her girlfriend mantises use it to play a game that looks a lot like Skee Ball.''

Because I live in Florida, my patio is basically a giant singles bar for lizards. On any given day during mating season, I'll see dozens of male lizards out there making their most suave lizard move, which consists of inflating and deflating a red pouch under their chins. They seem to think that female lizards really go for a guy with a big chin pouch, but I have never once, in 14 years of close observation, seen a female respond. They just squat there looking bored, while all around them males are blinking on and off like defective warning lights.

Every now and then you'll see an offbeat TV news story about some animal, usually a moose, that has for some reason fallen in love with, and decided to relentlessly court, something totally inappropriate, suchas a lawn tractor. This animal is ALWAYS a male. On the TV, they show ithanging around the lawn tractor with a big, sad, moony look, totallysmitten, while the lawn tractor cruelly ignores it.

My point here is that, in matters of the heart, males have the brains of a walnut. No, wait! That is not my point. My point is that perhaps you women could cut us males a little bit of slack in the move-making process, because we are under a lot of stress. I vividly remember when Iwas in 10th grade, and I wanted to call a girl named Patty and ask herto a dance, and before I picked up the phone, I spent maybe 28 hoursrehearsing exactly what I was going to say. So when I actually made thecall, I was pretty smooth.

''Hello, Dance?'' I said. ''This is Patty. Do you want to go to the Davewith me?''

Fortunately Patty grasped the basic thrust of my gist and agreed to goto the dance. This was a good thing, because if she had shot me down, Iwould have been so humiliated that I would have never have been able togo back to school. I would have dropped out of 10th grade and lied aboutmy age and joined the U.S. armed forces, and as a direct result theRussians would have won the Cold War.

That is the awesome power that you women have over us men. I hope you understand this, and the next time a guy walks up and uses some incredibly lame, boneheaded line on you, I hope that, instead of laughing at him, you will remember that he is under the intense pressure of wanting to impress you enough so that you might want to get to know him better and maybe eventually, perhaps within the next 15 minutes, marry him, thereby enabling the survival of the human race, which believe me is the only thing that we males are truly concerned about.

In conclusion, let me just say to all females everywhere, on behalf of all males everywhere, that you are very beautiful and your eyes are like two shining stars, unless you're a female fly, in which case your eyes are more like 2,038 shining stars. So please give us a chance. And if you're not interested, could you introduce us to your lawn tractor?