Sunday, November 7, 2010
Dad's Garden!
My dad absolutely loves his garden... small as it is... and a few days back, the flowers were in bloom, and he took these...
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
My little project!
I got pretty bored so I took up a new project. Ok! Not so much as a project, but more of, well... mmm... something to do!
My french professor would probably freak if she knew what I was doing last Saturday instead of being in class.
I've always wanted to have indoor plants, and on the last trip to the ECR, I bought this little plant that won't grow any more than this.
Now I needed a pot, and I did not have any glass ones that I could re-use, so I found this terracota pot that my Mom had bought ages ago to cook gravies in. Gravies cooked in earthenware are supposed to taste really good!
But I've never seen my mom use it, and although it didn't look like much, after casting my special magic, voila!
Cooking pot turned into a flower pot! Yeah me!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
One almost down, lots more to go....
Remember about how I said I'd make a list of 'things I wanted to do before I die'...
Well, I made it, and I'm almost close to putting a 'check' next to one item.
Well, I made it, and I'm almost close to putting a 'check' next to one item.
1. To learn French In Progress... 50% completed
I finished A1 with 96%, something I still can't being myself to believe...
A2 is in progress... actually, the classes for A2 are done, and I can take the qualifying exam this November, except I'm scared...Not to make it all about the marks, but a little more numbers never hurt anybody, did it?
So I'll take the exam DELF A2 in February.
B1 is already being started this semester. And I'm loving it.... After A1 I never thought I'd ever get the grammar right... I gotta admit it, I felt like I was wasting time... But a few more months after gruesome grilling in French grammar(who really likes grammar, except boring people in lecture rooms!!??), I think I'm going to be just fine....
I have not perfected the language, of course not!
But I now have the confidence that someday, I will be able to add French to the list of languages I'm bi-lingual in.
I'm loving it! People ask me why I do this. It's really not easy. To some people I explain the list. But to others, I just smile and say that it gives me something to do during the weekends.
I'm not someone who settles for working all week, and rotting on the couch on weekends, only to get up on monday feeling more like a corpse than anything else...
So this is what keeps me alive. And apparently, gives me some purpose in life. Coz living life only to get married and have kids, and see them live another mundane life, isn't enough for me!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Pondicherry! Part 3
So after dinner, we went to the Promenade, the hotel on the beach road, that Ranjith and Sabita were staying. It was almost midnight, and we were the only ghosts on the road. The silent city, slumbering in the dark was truly a sight to see. There's something magical about a little town when it's sleeping.
So we took the elevator to the roof, without anyone's knowledge, Ranjith got the champagne that was chilling in their room.
The roof was pitch dark, illuminated only by the street lights below, and the stars in the sky. This was exactly the kind of night, that I'd like to spend with my husband, lying on the roof, neither of us speaking. This was the night to 'be'.
We climbed up on the parapet wall, something that was definetely a 'no' in any hotel.
I dont know if it was the alcohol coursing through us, counting in the uncertain afternoon, undecided trip, the long journey, and the late hour, but we were all so awake, so alive, and we made so much noise, that I'm sure that anyone awake would have heard us.
We broke open the bottle of champagne, shared two glasses among 8 people, and stood there watching the stars.
Then we went down to their room, ordered ice cream at 1 am, chocolate.
Smitha, the star of the night, was so high, she started seeing the floor swimming under her. She started saying stuff like, 'I wanna swim on the floor'. It was so hilarious
So finally, after finishing the bottle of champagne, we finally left for the night.
Happy Birthday Sabita. You made our day! Thanks for being the amazing cool teacher that you are. And Ranjith, Cheers! :)
So we took the elevator to the roof, without anyone's knowledge, Ranjith got the champagne that was chilling in their room.
The roof was pitch dark, illuminated only by the street lights below, and the stars in the sky. This was exactly the kind of night, that I'd like to spend with my husband, lying on the roof, neither of us speaking. This was the night to 'be'.
We climbed up on the parapet wall, something that was definetely a 'no' in any hotel.
I dont know if it was the alcohol coursing through us, counting in the uncertain afternoon, undecided trip, the long journey, and the late hour, but we were all so awake, so alive, and we made so much noise, that I'm sure that anyone awake would have heard us.
We broke open the bottle of champagne, shared two glasses among 8 people, and stood there watching the stars.
Then we went down to their room, ordered ice cream at 1 am, chocolate.
Smitha, the star of the night, was so high, she started seeing the floor swimming under her. She started saying stuff like, 'I wanna swim on the floor'. It was so hilarious
So finally, after finishing the bottle of champagne, we finally left for the night.
Happy Birthday Sabita. You made our day! Thanks for being the amazing cool teacher that you are. And Ranjith, Cheers! :)
Pondicherry! Part 2
The main reason that we or 'I' went to Pondicherry, was to sample all the great French cuisine and wine. Well, turns out, I'm a coward. I'm a sissy little girl when it comes to trying out new food. I was all excited about trying oysters, and lobsters and snails(yup! apparently 'escargots' are a delicacy en France!)
So we enter the restaurant. It's almost 10. We were hoping to see empty tables, but no! Sabita and her husband were in the waiting area, glass of white in their hands, talking to this French woman.
Gentleman he is, Ranjith got up to give us his seat. I was offered a glass, most of the others took it, but I'm more of a red wine person, so I politely refused.
Smitha was holding the glass by the stem, and the French lady began to teach us how to hold the glass.
With champagne, you hold it by the stem, to not raise the temperature with your body heat. With wine, you cup the glass in your palm, the heat brings out the flavour, your swirl the glass and take a whiff of the amazing smell, before you savor it.
Amazing. I already knew that, but what was amazing was that, she said all this in French, and I UNDERSTOOD!!!!
Guess I wont be in that big a mess if my flight crash landed in Paris. :)
We finally got our tables, it was a little too warm, and the wine wasn't helping cool us down. The waiter arrived, and you know what? He spoke French, and he learnt it just by waiting tables! huh!
We all ordered stuff that sounded harmless enough...
I tried shrimp cocktail for the first time. I tasted everything but the shrimps. So technically, I had Shrimp cocktail sans the shrimp.
Then Aparna got her Ratatouille. For those who have seen that movie, you know what a big deal it is. So i try it, with all those expectations, and poof! It's worse than bad. It's watery, and for all I know, it tasted like Indian gravy.
But hey, maybe my 'senses' weren't developed enough to appreciate fine cooking! w-a-t-e-v-a-h!
Since I was a red wine person, a bottle of red was opened just for me. Bordeaux 2009. It wasn't too strong. Fine. Just fine.
After more weird dishes, we left the restaurant. Ranjith was gracious enough to pay, after 'promising' us we could split tomorrow's lunch bill.
The whole dinner thing was made special, particularly by the happy couple adorning our table. It was a delight, they had so many wonderful stories to tell about their trips to France. It was simply amazing!
-To Be continued...
So we enter the restaurant. It's almost 10. We were hoping to see empty tables, but no! Sabita and her husband were in the waiting area, glass of white in their hands, talking to this French woman.
Gentleman he is, Ranjith got up to give us his seat. I was offered a glass, most of the others took it, but I'm more of a red wine person, so I politely refused.
Smitha was holding the glass by the stem, and the French lady began to teach us how to hold the glass.
With champagne, you hold it by the stem, to not raise the temperature with your body heat. With wine, you cup the glass in your palm, the heat brings out the flavour, your swirl the glass and take a whiff of the amazing smell, before you savor it.
Amazing. I already knew that, but what was amazing was that, she said all this in French, and I UNDERSTOOD!!!!
Guess I wont be in that big a mess if my flight crash landed in Paris. :)
We finally got our tables, it was a little too warm, and the wine wasn't helping cool us down. The waiter arrived, and you know what? He spoke French, and he learnt it just by waiting tables! huh!
We all ordered stuff that sounded harmless enough...
I tried shrimp cocktail for the first time. I tasted everything but the shrimps. So technically, I had Shrimp cocktail sans the shrimp.
Then Aparna got her Ratatouille. For those who have seen that movie, you know what a big deal it is. So i try it, with all those expectations, and poof! It's worse than bad. It's watery, and for all I know, it tasted like Indian gravy.
But hey, maybe my 'senses' weren't developed enough to appreciate fine cooking! w-a-t-e-v-a-h!
Since I was a red wine person, a bottle of red was opened just for me. Bordeaux 2009. It wasn't too strong. Fine. Just fine.
After more weird dishes, we left the restaurant. Ranjith was gracious enough to pay, after 'promising' us we could split tomorrow's lunch bill.
The whole dinner thing was made special, particularly by the happy couple adorning our table. It was a delight, they had so many wonderful stories to tell about their trips to France. It was simply amazing!
-To Be continued...
Pondicherry! Part 1
You know, this time last week, I was in a car, on my way to the little town of Pondicherry.
For those of you who dont know Pondicherry was a French colony, and there is still part of the town thats all French.
So it seemed only fair that we, at our French class, make this pilgrimage once to honour all that's good and French.
My teacher Sabita's birthday was last Saturday, and a few weeks earlier, she invited us to spend the weekend with her in Pondicherry. She was going with her husband, and she invited us to spend sometime with her there.
I must say, we got a better share of that bargain. Sorry Sabs.
Originally, the plan was to drive to Pondy, in Sharath's car. But then, last minute he dint have a driver, and we were all at a loss of transportation. It was the worst plan for a trip ever. That's because there was no plan.
So we all went to class as usual, Saturday, and gave Sabita her birthday surprise. So we said, Hi Saita, here's your birthday surprise, we're all going to be coming with you to Pondy in your car! Yeaah! :P
As sweet as she was, she agreed. SHe had planned on leaving to Pondy immediately after class, and one of us couldn't make it that early... there was a lot of drama, that might have been interesting to recount if you were there. So since you weren't there... let me just say, it was a complete mess... But finally, at 5:30 p.m. we were all packed in Sabita's car, on our way to Pondicherry.
I hope they won't mind me giving out names, I'm not rich enough to be sued!
It was Sabita, her amazing husband Ranjith, Smitha, Aparna, Vidhya, Sharath, Hiral et moi!
8+ driver = 9 of us packed in a car. WOW!
It was really sweet of Sabita and her husband. They were truly amazing. All the way, I kept thinking, if me and my husband will be so much fun when we hit their age.
Anyway, we reached sometime after 8:30. We got dropped off at the inn, 'Le maison blanche', checked in, changed, washed, and ran out for the dinner that we were already freakin' late to.
-To Be Continued....
For those of you who dont know Pondicherry was a French colony, and there is still part of the town thats all French.
So it seemed only fair that we, at our French class, make this pilgrimage once to honour all that's good and French.
My teacher Sabita's birthday was last Saturday, and a few weeks earlier, she invited us to spend the weekend with her in Pondicherry. She was going with her husband, and she invited us to spend sometime with her there.
I must say, we got a better share of that bargain. Sorry Sabs.
Originally, the plan was to drive to Pondy, in Sharath's car. But then, last minute he dint have a driver, and we were all at a loss of transportation. It was the worst plan for a trip ever. That's because there was no plan.
So we all went to class as usual, Saturday, and gave Sabita her birthday surprise. So we said, Hi Saita, here's your birthday surprise, we're all going to be coming with you to Pondy in your car! Yeaah! :P
As sweet as she was, she agreed. SHe had planned on leaving to Pondy immediately after class, and one of us couldn't make it that early... there was a lot of drama, that might have been interesting to recount if you were there. So since you weren't there... let me just say, it was a complete mess... But finally, at 5:30 p.m. we were all packed in Sabita's car, on our way to Pondicherry.
I hope they won't mind me giving out names, I'm not rich enough to be sued!
It was Sabita, her amazing husband Ranjith, Smitha, Aparna, Vidhya, Sharath, Hiral et moi!
8+ driver = 9 of us packed in a car. WOW!
It was really sweet of Sabita and her husband. They were truly amazing. All the way, I kept thinking, if me and my husband will be so much fun when we hit their age.
Anyway, we reached sometime after 8:30. We got dropped off at the inn, 'Le maison blanche', checked in, changed, washed, and ran out for the dinner that we were already freakin' late to.
-To Be Continued....
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Paris-Camille!
Camille- Paris (Click on Link to see the video on youtube)
My french teacher, Sabita, played this french song in class.. It's called Paris by singer Camille
It's real upbeat, and yet somehow sad at the same time...
The song is about this girl, leaving Paris, and sings about the things she'll miss about the city, and even though she's leaving it to go to a place she's been dreaming of going to, she bets that she'll always miss home, the grey skies, the boats on the seine, and she'll definitely return to Paris someday.
Listen to it.
It's not Hi-fi... it's plain, but guess that's what makes it special.
And it's an emotion we can all relate to, even those of us who've never been to Paris.
Coz, no matter where, there's no place like home...
My french teacher, Sabita, played this french song in class.. It's called Paris by singer Camille
It's real upbeat, and yet somehow sad at the same time...
The song is about this girl, leaving Paris, and sings about the things she'll miss about the city, and even though she's leaving it to go to a place she's been dreaming of going to, she bets that she'll always miss home, the grey skies, the boats on the seine, and she'll definitely return to Paris someday.
Listen to it.
It's not Hi-fi... it's plain, but guess that's what makes it special.
And it's an emotion we can all relate to, even those of us who've never been to Paris.
Coz, no matter where, there's no place like home...
Thursday, January 28, 2010
My Vogue subscription
So from next month, I'll be getting monthly issues of VOGUE right at my doorstep!!!!
How cool is that, and how bitchy am I going to look in my neighbours' eyes???????????!!!!!
But I dont care! There's so much inspiration to be derived out of all that work of fashion... pure geniuses, working on clothes, making everyday a little brighter, and us look smarter with 'clothes'!
PLUS, it comes with a free Neutrogena hamper, worth 1250, where as I paid 1200 for the subscription...
Although most (including me) might find that just a marketing gimmick, this time, I disagree!
A year full of fashion updates, and great skin... what am I complaining about????
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
My new blog!
I've started a new blog, where I share my culinary experiences
it's on at http://loveisinmytummy.blogspot.com/
People fear cooking even before they've tried their hands at it.. I'm trying to change that... coz once you get your feet wet, it's a piece of cake! :)
If I can do it, and have so much fun, so can you...
And I want everyone to see how easy it is....
So take a peek into my new blog, every time you're faced with a ghost in your kitchen! (did NOT mean that literally)
I'll be writing about how I started cooking, share recipes that I learnt from my family, from TV shows, from books (with my own twist in it!).... I will also teach you how to cook from a different perspective... 'generalization'.
yummy yummy yummy... love is in my tummy!!!!
it's on at http://loveisinmytummy.blogspot.com/
People fear cooking even before they've tried their hands at it.. I'm trying to change that... coz once you get your feet wet, it's a piece of cake! :)
If I can do it, and have so much fun, so can you...
And I want everyone to see how easy it is....
So take a peek into my new blog, every time you're faced with a ghost in your kitchen! (did NOT mean that literally)
I'll be writing about how I started cooking, share recipes that I learnt from my family, from TV shows, from books (with my own twist in it!).... I will also teach you how to cook from a different perspective... 'generalization'.
yummy yummy yummy... love is in my tummy!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)