.::Explore my mind::.

Alive...

2007-03-22T09:35:00.000+03:00

I just remembered I had a blog at Blogger.

Thanks to Devilish Angel, I plan on reviving my almost dead blog some time later.
Perhaps, a new layout and a brand new post will help my blog get into action.

Will be back later..

Books.. books.. and more books

2007-01-07T09:11:00.000+03:00

It is nine in the morning.

I am feeling tired.. my eyes are going to close any moment now.. I am helpless...

The least I can do is keep myself awake with a cup of strong milk tea. I don't remember the last time I had a really good sleep. There's no way I can sleep well as long as Sanya and I share the same house.

Jokes apart.. Well, I have been studying like a pig *oink**oink* for the the past few weeks. Weeks ago, mom ordered a bulk of study material from India, weighing almost 12 kgs. The books have been carefully written and designed for the Medical Entrance Exams in India.

I have been studying day and night... one can't help notice how tired I look these days. Did I hear the mirror just crack?!

Three months left until April and I will be flying back to India. I will be applying for various Indian colleges. My first exam is scheduled for the end of April and the last exam for June. May will be very crucial because most of the colleges carry out their examinations during that month.

I hope and pray that my hard work pays off. This year is very important for many of my classmates too. Most of them will be applying for Medical colleges in the coming months. I wish them all best of luck and also to those appearing for various other competitive examinations as well.

Random...

Few days ago, I was watching one of the Indian news channels. I was shocked to see this news about a hospital in the East of India. The hospital was badly maintained. On inspection, dead bodies were found in the incinerator... The gloves used by surgeons were never disposed after surgery. Needles and injection tubes were never thrown away, instead the same was used for every patient indicating there could have been chances of HIV being spread.

It's a shame for doctors, nurses and all those involved in this act, for playing with the lives of so many patients. I strongly feel that the hospital should be sued and the doctors/ nurses involved should be stripped off their licenses to provide any further medical care.

Finally....

Happy New Year to all of you. I will be away for some time and I won't be blogging frequently.
But that doesn't mean you will strike off my link in your blogroll.

Aloo sans Paratha

2006-12-24T11:40:00.000+03:00

Aloo Paratha is one of my favorites. I love spicy food, especially something that contains less of gravy.

Sometimes when my dad serves me, he pours a bucket full of gravy into my plate.. and I hate it alot. In the end, my plate looks more or less like a swimming pool!

Ok! Now back to the topic..

I never knew that Aloo Paratha even existed until dad ordered it one weekend, for breakfast, from a nearby Pakistani restaurant. I loved it alot. Ever since then, I make sure that my dad orders Aloo Paratha for breakfast every weekend.

Strangely, I was hit by a brainwave yesterday morning. I wanted to try out the recipe at home..

I went to kitchen... My first task was to find a bakra(goat)..err.. I mean a suitable potato (aloo) for my experimental recipe.

Then I found this....

A highly disfigured 'aloo'. I, Dr. IMM, had to perform a minor surgery on my poor patient. Simply scrapping and carving was not enough. I had to dig out those 'yucky' growths from my aloo's 'gol badan' with a scapel...hehehe..I mean knife.

The operation was successful. The next step was to place the aloo in a vessel contain hot boiling water.

The came the dough.. I added brown flour in a plate. I added water.. more water.. more water.. more water... till it didn't look like a dough any more.

I knew there was something seriously wrong with my dough. So I added salt, more water, more flour, more flour, more water, more salt, more flour...till finally I felt it was eligible to be called a dough.
I kneeded and kneeded.. made balls..

The boiling 'aloo' was now soft enough to be mashed mercilessly... buahahhahahahahha!

To the mashed 'aloo', of course, I added red chilly powder, chopped green chillies, coriander powder, salt, cumin powder, garam masala and all other powders I could lay my hands on. (Talcum powder not included)

The mixture was then filled into the dough balls and flattened using a rolling pin.

Next and final step was frying my aloo paratha. To my horror of all horrors, I was shocked to see that my aloo paratha ended up looking like aloo poori. I guess I used the flour which is usually utilised in making pooris. My first try was a complete flop.

When my parents came back from work, I served them the end product of my 'experimental recipe'. Mom liked it... but Dad had a weird look on his face.

NOTE TO SELF :

1. Don't cook. Concentrate on studies.
2. Never make Aloo Paratha unless you know the difference between the flours used for Parathas and Pooris.

NOTE TO FUTURE HUSBAND:

1. I am a deadly cook.
2. Do not ever ask me to make Aloo Paratha.
3. I agree.. your mom cooks better than me ..
4. No quarreling with me on cooking issues.
5. Last but not the least.. accept my style of cooking if you really love me.

Groom Wanted

2006-12-19T09:32:00.000+03:00

GROOMS WANTED

Alliance invited from well to do and settled tom cats for a homely, beautiful, moderately slim cat. Milk white complexion with black patches here and there. Born and brought up with lots of love and care. Youngest daughter in the family. Single and no issues. Purely non-veg and loves fishes (...mackerels and canned tuna, to be more precise) Age and Caste no bar. Girl is prepared for the mating season. Early and decent marriage, please. Old grandpas, neutered, divorcees and stray cats need not apply. Contact insidemamind@you-know-where.com

---------------------------------------

For the past few days, Sanya has been desperately searching for her MR. RIGHT...unfortunately she thinks that the cardboard box in the kitchen is the one.

IMM in Wonderland

2006-12-09T11:04:00.000+03:00

I had already began thinking that this weekend would be a disaster. No new bollywood movies at the cinema as Dhoom 2 is still running. No better places to visit.. and no good serials on TV.

But dad had something else in mind all the way. On thursday, around 10pm, dad took me and mom by surprise when he decided we would go out to E.C, a famous theme park. I was sceptical when I heard about it. In the past weeks, a lot of bad things have been taking place. Due to the building tension at home, I was in no mood for such an outing.

But it was fun! Poor Sanya couldn't come along with us.. she was locked up at home.

E.C is a 40 mins drive away from home. Strangely, the route to the theme park was deserted. I was under the impression that we were the only one going to E.C yesterday

We reached there at 11:30am and began enjoying ourselves to the core.

We went on to the African Safari (boat ride) first.. which was probably the best. The sound effects and recreated jungle looked fabulous.

[L : A Giraffe , R: African women cooking ]

Elephants

We soon hopped on to the World Tour ride where we were given to ride toy cars. I saw Taj Mahal, Leaning tower of Pisa, Big Ben and so many other miniatures during the ride. The funny part was that mom kept telling me... "J drive slowly.. drive slowly..You are driving too fast. We might skid off the track"

LOL!

Then came.. the toy train ride. We had a nice trip all over the theme park.

I was dying to try out the carousel For a minute, I really thought I was a kid... and I wanted to feel like that forever. Then came the best part.. Mom bought me a pink Cotton Candy like as if she heard my hidden voices. I love it all! This time when I was in India, I'd gone to this carnival in Goa. I saw this guy making cotton candies and before I could even ask my mom to buy that for me.. she told me not to think about it because maybe it's unhygenically made.

I ate cotton candy till I couldn't ask for more.

We then went on the Space Needle, which takes you up to a height from where you get a clear bird's view of the entire E.C landscape.

In the evening, there was an open air stage show... and the first song played was dedicated to Indians. Then there were a few local numbers..and then a small musical chair session.

The only things I missed out was the Roller Coaster, Tornado, Lightning, Wild Raft, Grand Prix and something else (can't remember the name). Condor was under construction. I wasn't ready to go on to these rides alone. I needed someone with me. Mom thought she would die mid-air, so she declined to accompany me. Dad was ready to come along.. but I wasn't sure whether those rides were good for him since he suffers from chest pains and all that stuff.

This was the time, I really wished Devilish Angel was there with me. I am sure we would have had a blast on those scary rides especially Lightning and Tornado, where you are no more than a mass-less particle in air.

About the roller coaster.. I have been on it twice. The first time was with "Sumo". I still can't erase his screams from my memory. He was screaming on top of his voice and I didn't even utter a squeak. The second time was with Mily or DA.. I can't remember who I sat with..

I still regret not inviting DA. But everything was planned at the last minute by dad...that I didn't get a chance to ask her out.

Anyway, here are some more photos to please your eyes.

[L: Tornado, R: Roller coaster]

Beautifully lit traditional boat

D:2 Fever

2006-12-01T13:04:00.000+03:00

Three months ago when I'd seen the Dhoom 2 previews during the screening of Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna, I knew this was a movie worth watching.

Dhoom 2 was released this wednesday. My dad had purchased tickets online for the Friday evening show (yesterday) in a cineplex. Luckily, we were the first ones to book the seats... We won a free ticket for the next movie.

It was surprising to find the theatre packed with a huge number of local citizens. It was difficult to find Asian expatriates in there. I guess the stars of Dhoom 2 are quite popular with the local people. The language was not a problem as the movie was accompanied with Arabic subtitles.

Mixed reviews of Dhoom 2 can be found every where on the Internet. But the one I would recommend reading is the movie review found at Indiafm.com

Dhoom 2 is definitely far better than its predecessor. It has raised the standards of Indian movies with a well executed story, jaw-dropping stunts, good music and excellent choreography by Shamiak Davar and Vaibhavi Merchant. It's a package with loads of entertainment guaranteed. The bike stunts and chasing scenes are done well. There are a few scenes that defy the law of gravity but then that's OK... after all it's a Bollywood movie yaar!

Dhoom 2 is Hritik's movie throughout. Hritik Roshan steals the limelight even with screen titans like Abhishek Bachhan and Ashwariya Rai around. He is the star of course! Next in the line is Ashwariya Rai with a wonderful performance as the beautiful Sunheri. Abhishek Bachhan fails to create an impact as inspector Jai. Uday Chopra is good again and makes you smile with his funny dreams. Bipasha is wooden.

I was afraid that most of the songs would be cut from the movie as it featured skimpy clothed women. But I was proved wrong. All the songs were left untouched. The Hritik-Ash kissing scenes was censored though...Damn! I wanted to see what it was all about...

Dhoom Machale (Male version) is my favorite. Hritik's dance steps in Dhoom Machale is simply breath-taking. It would take me centuries to even get those steps right.

Aaaah..that's all about the movie. I am eagerly waiting to watch Kabul Express, Bhagam Bhag and I See You next. Guru and Babul are no where on my list.

The Ultimate Solution

2006-11-23T10:59:00.000+03:00

Sanya has been getting on my nerves these days. Believe it or not, this cute little innocent kitten has been disturbing me while I am asleep every night. She has done everything in her capacity... running over my face, biting my toes, sniffing my fingers, licking my hair and even attempting to dig my eyeballs out.

She sleeps like a baby every afternoon and destroys my sleep in the night.

The question is...

HOW DO I GET RID OF THAT FURRY MONSTER?

.....without letting my parents know, of course

Hip Hip Hoooraaay!

2006-11-16T08:13:00.000+03:00

I'd been waiting for them.. and I just can't believe that these two lovely dudes are in my house already

A perfect figure of 19-11-13.. Perhaps, they do not qualify to be models but they are absolutely fine to me. I can't think of moving my eyes away from them for a single minute. Can you imagine that?

I know you must be eagerly waiting to know who the two sexy guys are.. I will not test your patience any further.

Meet Tipu and Tupu

.... my two gold plated cups that I recieved from the Indian Ambassador last night at the school's annual function. Something tells me that the cups are not even more than 16 carats. I will not get a single cent selling them. * Sob*

Anyway, I was awarded for being a subject topper in Biology and Informatics Practices in this year Class XII board exams. The function was held on the school's playground which was very large enough to accomodate the crowd. There was tight security for the protection of important dignitaries who attended. Besides, our Chairman has recently turned M.L.A in one of the districts of God's own country - Kerala

When I went up on stage, the first thing the Ambassador told me as soon as I greeted him was that I would be needing another hand to help me with the second cup. I was so excited that I forgot that there was a camera waiting for me The Ambassador was really kind to tell me to pose for the camera.

[Note : Once the photo is out..I'll put it up on my blog]

And before I forget something else.. I got two certificates along with the cups to add to my already existing collection of 32 certificates.

That's all from me for now. Will be back as soon as I recover from my infatuation I have on Tipu and Tupu.

[EDIT] Here's a big CONGRATS to my cute little Devilish Angel. Like me, she too won a cup. Read her blog to know more... [/EDIT]

New Laptop

2006-11-09T10:14:00.000+03:00

*KNOCK! KNOCK!*

I opened the door to find dad outside.

Dad : I have got gifts for you..Help me out with the bags!

Next thing, I knew he'd brought home a Compaq Presario v5220EA notebook for me. It took him nearly 45 minutes to unpack everything and get the laptop connected.

I spent the whole night yesterday trying to figure out how to operate it and what features it has. I am still not sure which version it is.. I still didn't get to know it better.

The best thing about I liked about the laptop is that it is bluetooth enabled. I don't need to connect my mobile to transfer images or anything else for that matter.

To view the specifications, visit the following link:

LINK : Compac Presario v5220EA Specifications

Farhan Akthar

2006-11-06T10:05:00.000+03:00

Farhan is just three films old. His latest "re-creation" has turned out to be a smash hit.

Definitely, not a bachelor. He is married and a proud father. Sheesh! But that doesn't stop me from including him in my list of "The Most Cutest Bachelors On Earth"

Curly locks, infectious smile, husky voice and a good personality to match with.

In Jaan-E-Mann (The Salman-Akshay-Preity starrer simply rocks!! ), Agatsya Rao a.k.a Chimpu (Akshay Kumar) says - In this world, there are seven people with the same face...

If that's true, help me find someone who is just like Farhan Akthar

Sorry Aftab! This is just a phase..(Courtesy : DA )

Listening to : Humko Maloom Hain - Jaan-E-Mann

Mommy... Look what I've found!

2006-11-04T12:13:00.000+03:00

Lee Mingwei is the world's first pregnant man. I checked all over the Net.. but couldn't find out whether he has given birth to the child or not.

You can learn more about Lee Mingwei by clicking HERE!

Things have just started getting better for women.

--------------------------------------

[EDIT] The winner of the creepy contest is undoubtedly Devilish Angel..She was the only one with a story [/EDIT]

Boo! :D

2006-10-31T13:18:00.000+03:00

Spooky incidents happen to alot of people. It must have happened to you too!

I've always wanted to write about these three spooky incidents that took place in my life - but never got the chance to do so.. Since today is Holloween, I am in a mood to share these inexplainable events with you all!!

LIFT KARA DEY!
==================

This incident took place years when I was in school.. My friend and his family had taken me and bro for a picnic.

On returning back home, my friend wanted to drop us till our flat. My friend and bro decided to take the elevator while I took the stairs. The minute I turned towards the stairs, something just told me that they would get stuck in the elevator...It happened out of the blue!I turned back towards them and warned them not to use the elevator.

But they laughed at me.. and stepped into the lift.

I took the stairs to the third floor. When I reached my flat, I realised they didn't show up... I was worried. I waited for another few minutes and still they didn't show up! I knew there was something wrong..I quickly ran to the elevator on my floor and heard them screaming in the lift.

They were stuck!

I knew what I had to do next. I informed the neighbours about it and they called the watchman to open the door. My friend and my brother was stuck in the elevator for 20 minutes.They apologised for not having listened to me...

A WEIRD NIGHT
=================

This year, when my parents and I went to India, a creepy incident took place in Goa..
We were all fast asleep in the same room. All of a sudden, I began sweating profusely despite the fact that there was an air-conditioner in the room!

I got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to wash my face.When I returned back, a terrible pain hit me in the stomach.. It was so bad that I couldn't sleep. I walked around in the room till the pain went away.. and then returned back to bed.Again, I was hit by that same stomach pain.. this time it was worse!

Just as I was about to get up from bed, sparks of fire started coming out from the air-conditioner. I woke my dad and he turned it off. My pain vanished away.. and I slept well!

Could this be a co-incidence or what?! Or did I get this pain just to stay awake until something went wrong with air-conditioner? All I can say is that whatever woke me up and kept me awake that night, helped me save my family from a terrible disaster.

DREAMS DO COME TRUE
======================

Every year, my school organises a Carnival where people of all ages come to have fun and spend good time. The carnival is also a place where we can make new friends and meet the old ones too.

Years ago, I'd dreamt about the Carnival just few weeks before it could take place... In my dream, I met a friend at the carnival who had not been talking to me for so many months. Strangely, this meeting took place at night...

On the Carnival day, I met this friend exactly in the same way and same place that I'd seen in my dream. The only difference was that this meeting took place during the day.I was so shocked to see my friend that day... The same person who had been avoiding to talk to me or even reply to my emails, came to see me with a sweet smile on his face... I couldn't believe my eyes..!! I just ran away from that place and didn't even say a "HI" to him..!

I lost the golden chance of being his friend again.. SOB!

------------------

There have been quite a few more spooky events that took place in my life.. Some of them have no scientific explaination. You may call them a miracle, co-incidence or even fiction!! It's your wish...

Now it's your turn! If you have a true spooky incident that took place in your life, go ahead and let me know!

You can use the comment box or write the event in your blog. The most spookiest tale will be included in the next post with a link back to the author's blog. No word limit, your entry can even be one paragraph long!

Mall Frenzy

2006-10-29T12:53:00.000+03:00

Eid holidays were around.. It was the best time, we, friends could think of planning a day out together.. Far away from home...

We thought about various places.. like the beaches (Nah! Too boring.. Not much to do there!), theme parks (Entry fee was too expensive during Eid), towers and even this remote Island that has a lot of ancient archeological stuff...

But, we finally settled down for Al-Kout Mall, which I feel, is one of the best malls in the country. Not many know of this beautiful place. Few residents of the area and foreigners do flock to this mall just to beat the summer heat.

The mall has a variety of departmental stores, cinema, famous chains of restaurants and a beach nearby.

Planning a trip to the mall was not quite easy.. All my friends - Suzan, Nilo, DA and Mona came over to my place first. And from there we took a rented van to the mall.

[In the van. L to R : Suzan, Nilo and DA]

It took us nearly 45 minutes ( sans traffic jams ) to reach Al-Kout. When we were finally there, we are like small kids..curious to explore new places and stuff! LOL!

Without wasting any time, we decided to watch a movie first. But which one?? We had a nice look at the movie listings and were confused.

Open Season or Snakes on a Plane?

Since all of us have reached 18, with only DA being the odd one out (She is still 17!!) - we decided to watch S.O.A.P!!!! Why choose a kiddo movie like Open Season?

[Inside the theatre. The movie has not started yet.]

The movie was really nice.

[Suzan having 'snakes'.. aah.. I mean SNACKS!]

After the snacks, we went about roaming around the whole mall.

[L to R : Suzana, Me, Nilo, Mona, DA]

Then came the best part.. LUNCH TIME!!! I'd to literally tell my friends not to pounce on those poor little pizzas as I wanted to take pictures before we could eat them.

By the time we finished eating, we were KHALAAASS!! I ate too much that my stomach began aching. So we went for a walk to the beach.

[Finding sea shells. L to R :Suzan, Nilo, Mona, DA, Me]

We had fun the whole day and returned back at 6:45pm.

Here are some more photos that you can have a look at ..

[Left : Al Kout Mall during the day Notice the fountain in the middle. RIGHT : Al-Kout Mall during the night]

[Left : A palace.. No dumbo! It's a fish market within the mall - no smell, no dirty wastes and fully air-conditioned. RIGHT: Inside the mall.]

Celebrations at home

2006-10-21T11:22:00.000+03:00

October has been an auspicious month. Firstly, my cousin brother got a baby boy ... and now my cousin sister got married.

For the past few weeks I have been busy preparing myself for the wedding. And now it's over.

The "Ross" Ceremony
-------------------

Two days before the wedding, the "Ross" took place. It's similar to the "Haldi" ceremony. But instead of turmeric, we used milk and eggs.

Everything was perfect... until the bride's friends came along!!! Perhaps they couldn't bear seeing her look so beautiful with the milk and egg yolk all over face. So they poured something more on her... LIKE?!!

More milk.. More eggs.. Coconut powder, BBQ sauce, Chocolate syrup, Ketchup, non alcoholic Beer and blah blah blah!! A perfect recipe for a tangy chocolate cake Like as if this was not enough...The guys went one step forward and broke the eggs in their own ishtyle.. All the 'taklu's came forward, placed an egg on the girl's head and broke it with their coconut-like head. LOL!

At the end, when everything was over..one of the chweetie kids present there, began to cry on seeing the bride. She looked more like a marinated lamb ready to be roasted

The Wedding Day
---------------

In the morning, everybody was at the parlour..including kids! One particular little boy had a very cute hairstyle done, with the initials of the wedding couple carved on it. Now it is very important that you look good on the wedding day, after all a video shooting always takes place

This was the day I was waiting for, sooo eagerly... Why??

Well, I'd brought this beautiful grey gown with a pair of beautiful silver slippers to match with. Weeks before the wedding, I began working out intensively at the gym and dieted religiously..just to look fabulous in the gown!

And on the D-day, I looked like a princess in it... People kept looking at me throughout the reception! I guess, my hard work paid off

Now coming back to the wedding..

First there was the blessings session, followed by the nuptial at the church.

The reception party was delayed by two hours.. but once it started, the party was a blast!

I was sitting with my parents and cousin sister.. when suddenly the Host announced that the Wedding March would start. My cousin brother took my cousin sister for the march.
Poor me! I was sitting all alone.. My dad was too tired to take me for the march

Just then, Mrs. X's son came to our table, extended his right hand towards me and took me to the dance floor. I did the wedding march for the first time in my life. And you know what.. this is also the first wedding I've been to!! Mrs. X's son was my dance partner for the evening. Ha!

This was my first time.. I never tried Waltz before. I confessed to Mrs. X's son that I didn't know how to dance. But all he said was,

"Even I don't know to dance well. Just keep moving your feet. The last time I'd danced with a girl, I'd dropped her down.. Don't worry! This will not happen again"

I kept praying till the end of the dance, to be not the next victim!!

Then came my fav. part - THE FOOD!!

Everything from Biryani, Manchurian, Gravies, Mixed Grill and more were there for the main course. The salads were an absolute delight.
Deserts were fabulous too.

We left early and couldn't make it to the end of the reception party as it got over by 3:30am.

THE SECOND DAY
-------------

It is a custom that on the second day of the marriage, the groom's family is invited to the bride's house ['sasural'] for a session of prayers and dinner. The dinner took place at a restaurant.
The bride and the groom looked so cute!! She was wearing a gorgeous red saari and he was wearing a sherwani.

The party couldn't get over without some little music. So we danced on famous Goan numbers. Mrs. X's son was there again...

We had formed a circle ...Each guy had to pick a girl from the group and dance with her in the middle of the circle. Mrs. X's son was looking at me all the time.. and when his turn came, he chose me Everyone was cheering us when we began to dance

It was fun altogether. This dinner got over at 2:00am.

LIFE IS BACK TO NORMAL AGAIN. I'D ENOUGH PARTIES.. NEED TO GET BACK TO SERIOUS BUSINESS - STUDIES!!

I'LL BE PUTTING UP THE PHOTOS OF THE WEDDING HERE VERY SOON. BE SURE TO WATCH OUT FOR THE NEXT POST.

AND YEP - HERE'S WISHING YOU A HAPPY AND JOYOUS DIWALI!!

ALSO, EID MUBARAK TO YOU ALL IN ADVANCE!! THIS WEEK, THERE IS A GET-TOGETHER WITH FRIENDS FOR EID.. [Read Devilish Angel's blog to know more]

Desi Ghee Ka Kamal

2006-10-04T09:23:00.000+03:00

BEFORE

Pictures of Sanya when she first came into my house. At that time, she was so frail and weak...I thought she wouldn't survive for too long.

AFTER

1st Picture : Sanya playing with her favorite red bouncy ball.
2nd Picture : Sanya watching Cartoon Network. She is so much like me!!

Sanya has changed alot... from the scrawny little kitten, she has grown stronger and fatter now!
Long live Amul!!

Superstitious Me!

2006-09-27T08:42:00.000+03:00

My right palm was itching endlessly last night. As a kid, I used to always hear people saying that it's a good sign if you scratch your palm.

Out of plain curiousity .. I visited Google.com and typed

is it a good sign to scratch on the right palm

I was immediately taken to a site called Superstitions.ca. The 1362th point mentioned,

'If the palm of the hand itches, it is a good sign that you will kill something.'

The 1363th point goes on to say,

' Itching in the palm is a sign of a fight, or of seeing a stranger.'

So far I have managed to slap my little kitten for biting me.

I wonder who that unfortunate but lucky soul is going to be... Muahahhahaaha!

Listening to : Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hain (Woh Lamhe)

Just an Admirer

2006-09-24T09:26:00.000+03:00

Three days ago, my mom and myself went to visit my aunt who arrived from India. We did not know that she would have visitors the same day. There we met this family and they have a son who just completed engineering. Actually, the first and last time I met him was at the same place - back then I was just a kid (almost 10-11 years old) and he was just a teen.

Believe me, the minute I shook hands with this guy, his eyes began sparkling like anything. We exchanged "HI"s and that's it. He sat, I sat.. but with my mom sandwiched in between.

Then he turned to my mom and asked,

"Is she your daughter?".

My mom nodded with a smile. He looked at me and smiled. The conversation between the families began.

There was a brief moment when he turned to me, cracked a joke and smiled again.

... And then the time came to bid farewell. He looked at me before he could wish my mom goodbye. I sensed it that he was waiting to say "BYE" to me. When the turn came, we shook hands and again I noticed this mysterious sparkle in his eyes.

Mom and I returned back home. My mom spoke to my dad about the whole visit and suddenly she said to him,

"Your daughter is grown up now. I have been noticing how X's son had been looking at her all the time...."

My dad reacted to it by making a grumpy face!!! He hates it when guys are mentioned. He doesn't mind if I have a boyfriend, as long as he is 1 mile away from me.

As for me... I still wonder what those sparkling eyes could actually mean..?!

HIBERNATING

2006-09-03T12:33:00.000+03:00

It's been days since I have updated my blog. The worst thing is that I have not been on blog-hopping for months. :p Blog hopping used to be my favourite activity!!

I will be giving an entirely new look to my blog very soon. I just need a brilliant idea which I am running short of lately. Right now, I am focussing on my personal website. Everything is ready... All I need to do is spread the news that my site is on the Web!!

I still remember... I created my first website at Geocities.com when I was in Class 10. It was kiddish and not very professional. I used lots of remotely hosted tools and javascripts. This time it's different! I have used PHP to make my website more interesting.

Besides that, I am busy preparing for the entrance exams (esp. the ones for Karnataka colleges) to be held next year. My mom ordered Karnataka I & II Year PUC text books. So I am busy learning all the new topics... I must say CBSE text books are not as good as Karnataka state board books. The topics taught in CBSE books are very limited.

That's all about me for now.. Will be back soon!

Happy Birthday to Me

2006-08-20T10:29:00.000+03:00

I celebrated my 19th birthday on 17 August. I am feeling so "OLD" already

This year, I planned on enjoying my birthday with my family. And it was great fun! My dad even took the day off from his work, just to be at home with me :)

The worst part is, my dad took an injection at the clinic for no reason at all, inorder to obtain a medical report for his leave absence. I could see his conditions getting worse after he got back from the clinic. His eyes turned red. But nothing stopped him from making my birthday the best!

My dad decorated the whole house with colored papers, banners and colorful balloons. He made me felt as if it was my 9th Birthday!!! :p

He bought various items from the confectionary shop nearby.

My brother bought this beautiful small flower vase for me...

Later that evening, my family and I went out together to watch Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. (My next post is going to be based on this movie. So watch out for it!) . Lucky for me, the movie was released here on my birthday itself!

This was the most beautiful birthday I ever had and will always hold it close to my heart.

And guess what... Two beautiful things happened just before my birthday and I would like to share them with you all!

1. My pet kitten - Sanya Mew, is finally toilet trained.

Believe me, it was not an easy task to train her! When she was new at my house, she laid her stinking poops almost any where - flower pot, kitchen, bathroom, my finger and my T-Shirt. YUCK!

Then, I slowly began teaching her how to make NO.2 (LOL!) in the loo and that too on the paper!

2. My heart-throb replied....

I had written a small message to my favourite - Anuj Sawhney (the cute hunk from Tom, Dick and Harry). Believe it or not, he replied back..

I never expected that he would write back to me.. It seems like a dream!

I am still searching for a good photo frame to place his message into it.

Masterpiece

2006-08-12T09:27:00.000+03:00

Can you guess what this is?

This thing can be found everywhere, but people say that only few have this!

Can you still guess what it is....?!?

Come on! I know you are getting closer to the answer... You are just not trying hard to think!

So, you quit?!?

Well I will tell you! This is a BRAIN! You have read it right... The "thing" you see in the picture is a BRAIN!

Believe it or not, this masterpiece was created by my brother (THE GENI-ASS currently studying in Class 10) in his Biology test paper. He did labelled his so-called BRAIN as such :

It makes me wonder whether he really has a brain like this... A brain that contains nothing in it, but misplaced brain components!

But if you go to see, the model of his brain is not that bad! He has a hidden talent of an artist.....

If you add little details to it and shades of green & yellow, you will get a :

A SNAKE

What say, smarties?!?

I, Me and Taggy

2006-07-30T17:18:00.000+03:00

I love Quizzes. It's the best way to fill your blog with absolute nonsense!! ... And the best thing is you don't have to spend hours together thinking about the theme for your post!!!

Quizzes are meant for "lazy" people like us...So here goes,

I am thinking... About how to set up categories for my blog. Two days have passed and I have still not come up with an interesting solution to my dumb problem! Why can't Blogger do something about it?

I said ....

"No! I am not going to eat!"

Yes, I said the same words to my mom just now. I checked my weight at the gym last night and found out that I have gained 2.7 kgs.

P.S If you are planning to go on a hunger strike, I don't mind joining you! I really need to lose those kilograms!

I want... a solution to my boredom!

I wish... Nah! If wishes were horses, beggars would ride! (Mom's favourite line)

I miss...India. I don't mind the crowded places, dirty roads and polluted air. But I miss the freedom I had in India.

I hear... the kids screaming like wild animals, down my building. *Sigh* Now this is what I call signs of THE EVOLUTION CYCLE! Man has evolved from Apes and Apes will soon evolve from Man!

I wonder...who created this quiz. It doesn't seem to end!

I regret...taking this quiz. How can I be so sick?!?

I am...Insidemamind, who goes ego-surfing on Google.com every month.

I dance...to my dad's tunes! When he says no boyfriend, that means it has to be 'NO BOYFRIEND' for me

I sing...like a nightingale. Atleast, I have got something to be proud of :p

I cry...to get the things I want! Muahahhahahha! I am no SAINT... Tears are a woman's treasure!

I am not...INNOCENT! I hope that's clear enough!

I write...NONSENSE! But it works and people like to read it... If you don't like to read what I write then you really need to get your brain checked... I am serious.

I confuse...others to confuse myself. And when I am confused, others get confused so that everyone is confused...blah!blah! Are you CONFUSED?!?

I need...a less problematic, acne free and oil free face! Can you donate, please?

I should...learn to write more meaningful posts

I finish...-ed the quiz! Get the champagne!! We really need to celebrate...

If you feel you are eligible for the "MOST LAZIEST BLOGGER" title, go ahead and take this quiz.

YOU HAVE BEEN TAGGED!

Hacked

2006-07-29T13:22:00.000+03:00

I have finally managed to hack my template without messing up with the codes. Few days back, I had put up a new green & white template. But that didn't last for long, as the javascript codes that I included in my template were giving many too many errors!!

I tried integrating de.li.ci.ous and quicktags, live-preview and emoticons for the blogger comment form. I was not successful at it so I decided to go for something SIMPLE...

1. ~~New Template : This is supposed to be originally a Wordpress template and it has been customized for Blogger. The theme is called Ambiru~~

2. Custom Header Image : I have customised the original header image of Ambiru to suit my blog.

~~3. Categories : I have installed manual javascript categories. Refer to YLCF for the actual version.~~ ~~UNDER DEVELOPMENT!~~Phydeaux Categories using Delicious and Javascript

4. Reverse Archive List : Blogger does not support reversed archive list. It shows the old archives on the top and the new ones at the bottom. I was not satisfied with this, so I took the help of the hack written by Roverberg

5. ~~Browservulsel's Custom Blogger Form~~

6. Pages : that leads to my profile, photo gallery, linkroll

In the near future, I will be adding some more features to the Blogger comment system here. That's all for me! Do drop in your comments and suggestions about the new look!

Freedom

2006-07-20T07:35:00.000+03:00

Time for celebration! I have finally managed to break free from the four walls of my room. I was waiting for Devilish Angel (the chick from Blogdrive with a 3 months old dead blog) to come back from India and rescue me... But there was no sight of her at all!

I thought I would die any day - out of BOREDOM, ofcourse!

I cannot possibly go roaming outside!

Horribly clean and barren roads, 'SICK' bachelors and extremely hot weather that can turn you into a roasted chicken. Seriously! Anybody in his/ her right frame of mind, would never dream of venturing out in the afternoon.

So, you must be wondering what I did in order to break free from BOREDOM...

Started working? -- Nah!

Got a new hobby? -- No re!

Found a brand new 'MAALI'? - Ahem! No dumbo!

No guesses? Well, I joined the GYM along with my mom! Yes - the gym.... It's not that I hate the 'framework' of my body and I care to break my bones. But I wish to have a perfectly sculpted body ..just like our macho Salman Khan ... Or perhaps something more feminine like, Jimmy Shergill ** oink! oink! **

Ok! Seriously, I would be like to be as slender as the sultry Shilpa Shetty. Oh Boy! What a figure she has....!

The gym that I have joined, have female members of all ages and nationalities. A majority of them are Asians. And as usual, a large section of these Asians are Keralites! No offense meant, but I see them everywhere! They are on the streets, in shops, schools, on TELEVISION (the CABLE GUY has put channels like AsiaNet, Jeevan Tv, etc.) and in my building!!!!!!

They are always babbling something in Malayalam.

The place where I live has become a mini-Kerala or you can say Keralafornia (as in California! ) YUCK!

Out of every 5 good looking guys, 3 of them are Keralities. I can tell you that I had a crush on 5 guys so far, 2 of them happened to be a Keralite and the rest of them are from Bangladesh, Karnataka and Jharkand. So you see, the actual and the assumed statistics is almost the same!

The worst part is that the people here think I am a Keralite since I look like one. It's not the first time that people have mistaken me to be a Keralite - it has happened several times in the past. Allow me to narrate this incident at the gym to you...

A girl in the gym was actually teaching us steps in aerobics. During the whole session, she was only looking at me and explaining me the steps in Malayalam. She completely ignored my mother and some other females.

After we finished doing aerobics, I noticed that she was looking at me while I was working out on a machine.

She stopped doing her exercise and came walking towards me. She asked me,

She : Where are you from?

Me : Goa..

She : (surprised) Goa?!? I thought you were from Kerala. (Turning towards another female) Doesn't she look like a Malayalee?

Other female : Yes, she does..

She never spoke to me much there after!

Aaaah! So you see things like this happen... I am only scared that if I carry on staying here, I will forget that I am a Goan.

My dad always tells me no matter what, he doesn't want to see his newly born grand-children wearing 'loongi' (the traditional 'dhoti' for the Keralite men). Only baby napkins allowed! LOL!

Bye Bye India

2006-07-07T10:58:00.000+03:00

Ladies and Gentlemen - I have got news for you :)

The population of India has become less by 0.0000......0001%!!! All thanks to me :p

Yes, I have left India...

After spending 3 months in India, I couldn't think of staying there much longer.

I will be dropping a year and studying for the Entrance Exams to be held next year. Medicine is meant for me. I don't think I will be happy doing any other course.

Luckily for me, my parents have supported my decision. They are not in a hurry to put me in a college and finish their task of educating me. They just want me to be happy.

I need this support especially when most of my relatives are not on my side. They keep saying,

"Only those who have enough money can do medicine."

"Why don't you do some computer course and start working?"

"It's not good to lose a year. Study MBBS in China!"

I am totally tired with all their advices and sacarstic remarks. The events that are taking place in my life right now, reminds me of the years in the past.

Almost 10-9 years ago, my family was in a financial crisis, due to which I had to discontinue my
studies and go back to India. I did not go to school for nearly two years. Later, my mom took me out of India and managed to put me in a school.

I thank the Principal of my school for giving me a chance to study, despite the fact that I did not answer the interview properly. She put me in Class 5 when I was supposed to be in Class 7.

After that, there was no looking back ... I took my books to be my companion and studied hard.

I was given a double promotion from Class 5 to Class 7 after the last exams. I have not done Class 6 at all.

Today, I have finished Class 12 with a decent 89% in aggregate.

This may seem like a perfect fairy tale. But I had my shares of trouble too. Before my mom could put me in school again, I met one of my distant relatives. When he heard that I wasn't in school for two years, he asked my mom to allow me to work as a maid. Here, a maid earns more than whay they earn in India. He even made a bet with my mom that I will not get admission anywhere!

His words are still etched in my mind.

I wish I could meet him and tell him that he has lost his bet in a big way! But I have no idea where he lives now... I haven't heard from him for years.

Today, it's just the same as what it was few years back.. The only difference is that : now I want to concentrate on framing my career and the distant relative has now been replaced by some of my close relatives.

It's definitely a great feeling when you have your parents on your side. If I don't get into Medicine next year, I will end up taking Nursing as my career.

Sob

2006-06-10T10:23:00.000+03:00

If you have been wondering where I have been all these days... Then let me tell you that I am here still in Goa.

Where in Goa ?

Well some where in a small village - you can call it a jungle, if you wish. Wild plants & trees, creepy crawlers, frequent power cuts, spooky houses and superstitious people - you can find them all here!

How did I reach here?

My dad left India two months ago.. Since my mom and myself were here all alone, we decided to stay at my maternal grandpa's house.

Believe me, this place is completely different from the places that I have lived so far...

And what else.. It's been weeks since I have eaten proper food. I don't feel like touching the home cooked food as the kitchen is sooooooo dirty. The animals in my grandpa's house hang around in the kitchen most of the time... They are not even vaccinated!

There is no air-conditioner in the house - but old broken fans!

So this is the horrible life that I lead right now... I wish I could catch the next flight and leave India.

***** The Latest News *****

1. My Class 12 results are out :

Well - I passed my exams with 89%. I stood third in Science stream in my school. Everyone is talking about it! My photo came in the local newspapers in ****** (The name of country cannot be specified!)

2. I have passed two more entrance exams - for colleges in Punjab and Goa. Unfortunately, my dad does not want me to study in Punjab since it's too far. And the college in Goa, is making too much fuss because I am a NRI. They expect me to pay 22 lakhs for the whole MBBS course despite me being a Goan Native.

My parents can't afford to pay so much. Therefore, there is no way I can dream of studying in a college, in Goa.

I am waiting for two other results to come out...

3. I am planning to apply for B.Sc Biotechnology at Manipal. If I get through then well and good. Otherwise I will wait for a year and then apply for MBBS next year.

Can anyone tell me what scope does BioTechnology has outside India?

That's all from me.

Don't forget to drop your comments and suggestions regarding Biotech.