I hum.

Fashion's 'Mar Jawa': There is something about the reprise that just drags you with it. The lyrics change per the point in the storyline, but the basic tune just has so much soul, it took my breath away!

Varanam Aayiram's 'Nenjukkul Peidhidum': The song has everyone raving, yes, I agree it is good. In fact, better than good. But I'm severely disappointed in the fact that Harris Jeyaraj just gave some random beat in the background once the stanzas start. Are you kidding me? Those beats seem like he did a random search on his keyboard and came up with the first techno beat he could find. Tch tch, the song would've been so much more better with a good beat. Which is why I like the happier 'Mundhinam Parthene' more.

Bachna Ae Haseeno's 'Ahista Ahista': What a song! Such a delight to drive with. Nothing more need be said. And Lucky Ali synthesized, hats off!

Project Management.

I'm in a rut right now. The Obamania has worn off… and I don't feel like getting any work done. I'm waiting for someone to slap me, drag me by the hair, tie me up to the chair, super-glue my eyelids open, and threaten me to watch all 8 years of 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' (herewith to be referred to as: KSBKBT) if I don't work on the MMDatabase I'm supposed to turn in soon. Yes, the mention of KSBKBT is threatening enough I guess.

What do I have against saas-bahu serials? Nothing other than the fact that I am bored to death by them, and all the BGM and melodrama like I blogged about earlier. I read an article this morning (if you could call Rediff.com timepass as 'articles', that is) about how Star has decided to drop aforementioned serial due to a sag in TRP ratings. And how everyone is crushed about the end of an 'era'. People, wake up! Eight years of Monday-through-Thursday episodes, a couple of generation jumps, and you expect people to STILL continue watching the saga? Wherein Hollywood makes fun of in-laws in an-hour-and-a-half movies, the Indian tele-serial can take the same few scenarios, and spin them out over a period of one whole season! But I do also know that Americans have their daytime soap craze too - albeit more of love triangles, business double-crosses by beautiful women, ex-es, and the timely deaths of characters if the producers are annoyed with their actors! To each his own :)

Anyway, coming back to the whole rut thing... my MMDatabase is driving me insane. The front end was completed about three months ago! But here I am, still fumbling around with the back end. (The above line sounds so bad in retrospect, as a double entendre!) Linking all these bleedy tables to the forms, selectively locking out fields against editing, drawing up queries that'll make sense to the user etc., doesn't sound that bad. First off, I didn't ASK for this project. Second, I hate MSAccess. It is an annoying piece of soft'wear(ing me thin)'. B says; the minute I complete the project and hand it off, all will be fine with the world. It does make sense to look at it that way, but like I said, I need that 'jolt' of inspiration to sit down, learn the tricks of the trade in MSAccess and actually work things out. Considering my countdown to the India trip is ticking down slowly but steadily, I don't think I have time to waste!

Add to all this, the fact that winter is almost here, and we have but a few weekends to actually enjoy. The weekend brigade is out in full force, leaving me no time to take work home. Of course, I can technically 'take work home', but it comes back the same way with me every Monday morning :) Maybe I should just dump it all on B, and use my 'Project Management' skills. (Now you finally know, why the blog entry was named thus) It'll start out quite innocently enough..

Facility Assessment:
D: "Honeeeey, can you pleeaase help me with this database a bit?..."
B: "Of course sweet, come, explain it to me then."

Information Transfer:
B: "Oh, I understand, you should try this piece of code here"
D: "I don't know how to do it, can you show me how?.. Can you do it in this section also for me?

Preliminary Assessment:
D: "Hey, how about that database, is it coming along OK?"
B: "Peeps, its YOUR project, do you even realize that?"

Safety Analysis:
D: "Boohoo, don't you feel sorry for me and my job? Did you even consider my deadline!? Won't you help me?"
B: "Now calm down, we'll complete it soon enough. Why don't you take a break from this.. I'll plod along a little"

Remedial Investigation:
D: "This is not the form I asked for here.. Can you change it please?"
B: "I can't believe I'm getting suckered into doing this"
D: (batting eyelashes) "You're the Best!"

Mitigation Planning:
D: "Guess what I made for dinner today?! Your favorite vathakuzhambu.."
B: "Awesome! :)"

Risk Assessment:
D: "You (shaking fist in rage), how long will it take you to complete?"
B: "I'm working on it na!" (plaintive note)
D: "Thanks, I'm just a little hassled, sorry!"

Compliance:
B: "You know what, just leave it to me, don't worry. You'll have your database by your deadline" D: "Ok, I won't bother you.. You carry on with the database then."

Project support:
D: "Shall I make gulab jamun today? I know how you LOVE it!"
B: "Slurp!"

Operational Readiness Review:
B: "Take a look at this peeps, I think its almost done"
D: "Awesome! Its great. Let me make a few changes here and there with regards to the color and the font!"

Startup Coordination:
D: "See how the blue stands out better against the grey 2% compared to the grey 4% background? I have an eye for such things.. You must agree"
B: "Of course!" (2%? 4%? !%(&^%)#_*)

Debriefing:
D: "Yesterday's meeting went so well! Everyone was thrilled with my database!!"
B: "Great, good for you!"
D: "You're the bestestestest!" (hug)

Final Report:
And they lived happily ever after ;)

Election Day '08.

11:00 am

It's finally here. Election Day 2008 - the one they say is an election for the ages, bound to go down in history books. The one that we will all look back to when we're talking to our grandchildren about our heyday. And I'm as swept up in the Obamania, as are a lot of young people. The same 'young people' who have more often than not, been branded 'apathetic'.

Yes, I was in that category too. Of course, I talk in a totally different context - one in India where I left home before I was eligible to vote. But had I been there, I doubt I would've been anything but apathetic?! Americans talk about hanging chads, misinformation being spread on the day of polling, last minute negative attacks, etc. I've heard of such different things in my state.. I talk about local goons and thugs with guns taking over the polling booth, chasing all of you out and them casting illegitimate votes for the leader of their choice. I talk about false voter registration cards, voters bribed with material stuff and a promise of food to feed their hungry stomachs, unbelievably arrogant politicians who get away with anything, huge political machinery that churns out nothing but negativity, two dueling parties that just switch control every other election.. Yes, a far cry from what plagues elections in America.

All this has long dumbed down my whole 'I can vote, and make a change' attitude whilst in India. And I carried that along with me here in 2004. Politics was something I honestly didn't care about. I was just one person, how was I going to make a difference? Of course, I always knew that every single person counts. But hey, what was I going to do about it!

And this year, along came Obama. Finally, someone who was young, not jaded by the political machine, a good orator, a clean image. And here I am today, having sat down and followed pretty much everything I could along the campaign trail, totally biased toward him of course! The whole message of 'Hope' could have been nothing more than rhetoric, but it did spark the younger generation's imagination. And the idea of crossing the racial divide and actually seeing a black president was immensely appealing. I read this article this morning and many others, the authors with whom this message has resonated, and I'm happy that my generation is optimistic for the future.

I love the fact that Obama is in Chicago today.. my dear Chi-city! And I'm sure that I, along with so many people, will be watching and waiting for that final declaration of Obama's victory. Tonight, is indeed the night..

8:55 pm

Chi-city is obsessed, with our 'homeboy'. Grant Park is filled with throngs of hopefuls. Illinois is of course, a blue state. But several thousand people are gathered here today, to countdown with Obama.

South Loop looks like its Tirupati, only twice over :)

11:29 pm

Yay. Euphoria.
Now, yawn.

Mmm, so meaty!

Meat - a subject that has no reason really, to be popping up in my blog, but hey, in the spirit of MeatFest! So we're the funky department that celebrates meat. Go Meat! I should be saying 'Gross Meat' - wonder how people actually like to chomp on layers of fat and muscle from animals. Some deep-rooted instincts will never leave mankind I guess. Carnivores that we are.

The origins of this awesome festival date way back (~12 years?) to when everyone unanimously hated one of our co-workers, and she being vegetarian, they celebrated her leaving with a big bang! All this meat! I know its uncanny how it all started because of one girl who was vegetarian. But hey, I've been assured by everyone that I am the total opposite of her, and that they all love me. Yay me :)

So we have the banner up, the table all labeled and arranged in a very fine display of meat, and everyone who is in on the secret drops in from all over the company. Haha. Of course, we pulled everyone's leg this year when we brought in this veggie (soy) meatball that tastes and looks exactly like actual meat, and then I ate it. Everyone considered it an 'event' and much ado was made about it. And we're waiting for the right moment to actually break the news to them that we were planning this all along ;) Fun.

Dee and Me.

The author of this here blog hates melodrama, saas-bahu serials, and how people get sucked into them so easily. Damn the slow pace, the 10 minute story drawn over 30 minutes, the music crescendos, the different-angle-same-scene repeats, etc. Damn everything.

Dee believes that life is not as complicated as it seems, and that we're all going to die anyway. She knows that what seems like the worst thing that could happen to you is nothing compared to whats coming next. No, don't mistake her for a pessimist - she's just an optimistic realist. She knows her probability, and her chances. Dee, at a very young age was very wise. She is, of course, not imperturbable. She can get into her 'mood swing' every now and then, but she is resilient. She bounces back enthusiastically after giving herself a little pep talk - something akin to slapping herself as hard as she can and telling her that she is a moron. That achieved, life is back to normal.

A few years ago, 3.803818 to be precise, she decided that life was mundane. She was too sensible for her own good, and hence had to shake things up. She wanted to have the feeling of heated blood coursing through her veins... And whatever else the novels told her about normal folk who could be swept away in a moment of passion and drama. That is when I was born.

Yes, this may read straight out of 'Tell me your dreams'. But that is so lame compared to my story of how I was created for fun. Not to 'repress a shady old past'. Pbbft. Rubbish. Much drama about nothing. So now, I love to add a healthy dose of melodrama to everything. So I said to B - 'Hey you, don't you think we're very sensible people? We should actually start fighting every now and then, and throwing tantrums like normal people do. It will make life more spicy!' B said 'OK'.

Since then, I have been living the good life - (the term 'good life' herein is used in accordance with the widely accepted definition as employed by the Association of Melodrama Queens a.k.a. Lunatics who do Everything but Kill themselves and Those around them) - and enjoying myself. It is such a heady feeling to be throwing tantrums every now and then, blaming everyone but yourself, making B feel bad for something that is actually my fault, and so on and so forth.

But now, Dee, it seems, is getting bored with me. Too bad, I'm here to stay. Maybe I'll tone things down a bit, and let her have the upper hand in whatever she does, and lull her into this false sense of security so she becomes complacent, and THEN I make my move. Aha, the world is soon going to be in my hands! What glee.

Customs, etc.

And there was the whole Karva Chauth debacle :) Being the naive new bride, who finds all sorts of mushy stuff interesting, I decided I was going to do it this year! Never mind the tall tales of saving your husband from Yama to cursing the crocodile, to everything else in between.. somehow, it just strikes a chord with you. Disbelief notwithstanding, there is something so "deep" about fasting from sunrise through sunset just so you can be sure that your husband lives a long and prosperous life, wouldn't you agree? My voracious Googling gave me details of the 'rituals' to be performed - none of which I was able to carry out to the T, being a South Indian with no access to some of the stuff, and better yet, no idea of what some words meant - aipun, chonp, roli, WHAT!?

I'm not a North Indian, and so, the whole deal of Karva Chauth cropped up only after all the Yash Chopra and Karan Johar exposure I got in college. I know, I know.. it isn't THAT romantic when you wait (in vain, might I add) for the moon to actually be seen.. Especially when you live on the first floor of a mid-rise with all high(er)-rises around you, and also on a very cloudy day to boot! But I stayed the trooper I was. Did the sindoor-mangalsutra-bangles routine in the morning, and came home and did a little puja of sorts. But in the end, all was well - was pretty proud of having given up my 'one-most-important-thing-to-get-me-through-any-day'. FOOD!

Poor B, running around, trying to make sure I wasn't going to keel over :) I'm stronger than I'm given credit for, at times! In retrospect, why is it that even to this day, people BELIEVE in the tradition of Karva Chauth?

Is fasting for a day going to really truly ensure that your husband doesn't die early? Or is it just a conviction that ups your faith-ante? Younger generations these days, people say, are more 'ritualistic' than 'spiritual'. I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree. But I doubt we're ritualistic because we don't want to take the chance of scoffing at long established tradition, as they claim..

Speaking for myself, having been displaced from the comfortable Indian-milieu, I'd rather perform some of these rituals to keep myself grounded to my roots, I think. In the process, I learn something more about other cultures even from other parts of my own country; and whether I tend to agree with the reasoning behind certain customs or not, I've learnt something new at the end of the day! I also do my share of baking a mean green-bean-casserole for Thanksgiving, going to Durga Puja functions with my Bong friends, setting up a Christmas tree every December, going to the temple for Tamil New Years, celebrating St.Patrick's day with gusto ;), etc.

2nd Innings

And voila. A fresh chapter.

I decided that it was time for me to update the 'look and feel' of my blog. I'm done with the grey-and-green. Time for a fresh outlook. And hence the minimalistic approach. Never did realize that white could look this neat! Threw in a dash of my current colors - pink and orange. Spruced up the header too..

Come to think of it, it is my 'second innings' in life afterall :)

Another year, another final..

Sigh. It always happens, doesn't it? Such an anti-climax.

We were doing good, then not so bad, then good again, and finally, we lost. I was pissed, as always. One would think that 4 years of the same scenario repeating itself in different stages should prep you for this. But it always comes as a huge let-down. You feel so 'cheated'.. But hey, there's always next year. Look at the Cubs, plodding along even after a 100 years!

Sometimes it is true.. Happiness is the pleasant feeling arising from contemplating the misery of another individual :)

Isn't the worst always yet to come ;)

Semi-finals..

I'm increasingly beginning to believe that I am a little too wired into the whole 'flow of the universe' thingie. I'm not saying I'm clairvoyant or can see dead people, or that I can predict when exactly you are going to get that call from (xyz) that you have (achieved your xyz dream). No, that I cannot do, nor do I want to. Its just that, sometimes, I get this feeling about something, and it turns out to be perfectly true.

I said that I would get my driver's license only in B's car, and thereby set in motion a chain of events that lead me to finally get it only in his car! Then there have been times when I've predicted so many things in the cricket matches over the weekends. There was alsot hat day as I sat getting my pedicure that for some obscure reason I would get a ticket that day… and the minute I walked out, I saw the orange envelope on my windshield. Little things like these. Call it karu naaku, or freaky shit, or whatever.

So, on Saturday.. Here I am, miserable from all the cleaning from Friday (oh, on a side note, I finished cleaning up the entire house as of 3am Friday, Oct 3rd!) and sorry to drag my ass out of bed on Saturday morning to go and watch the semi-finals in the cold. But being the trooper that I am (more kicked out of superstition, rather) I stood in the shower hoping the steam would clear my brain. And while I was doing that, I suddenly knew. Okay, it wasn't the whole Holy Choir Of Angels Singing Halleluyah moment.But, I just KNEW - that we were going to finally win the Finals this year. It was as simple as that.

I was grinning when I called out to B and told him that. I told him 'You guys are going to win the semis AND the finals this year, however surprising the end result may come about, it will be unbelievable, but you guys will lift the trophy'. They have been trying for a while this season to get me to say it, but I couldn't say it just for the sake of saying it! It had to be true, right? I wouldn't blame them either - given the fact that every game I didn’t go to this season, they lost!

And with that good optimistic belief in my 'prediction', if you will, we set out. And we played tremedously well. Then came the fun part - they played tremedously well too. But in the end, we did it!!! And here we are, second year in a row, in the Finals.. I'm eyeing the championship this time. Woohoo.

Antsy.

I am feeling squirmy. My house looks like a war-zone. Any minute now, the FBI is going to knock on my door and ask if they can use my space for target pratice and as a make-shift obstacle course since they're booked for weeks at Quantico's!

B is moving in, ghar jamaai (ha!) style, which explains why I wasn't the one shedding tears after my wedding :) Not that he was either, in his defense. And he has quite a bit of stuff too. AND this turns out to be the week where both of us are knee-deep in shit at work. Him more like neck-deep, since his is the THE project the company is talking about right now! So, we're heaping loads of crap and neglect at the same time on the poor little house.

Clothes in the dryer, clothes on the bed in the guest room, clothes in the trash, clothes in the suitcases. CLOTHES everywhere. Why God, why. Whatever happened to the good old Fig leaf? And all the kitchen items to be consolidated, the electronics to be plugged in, the wires to be tucked out of sight, the pictures that are waiting to be put up on the wall, the dreary guest bedroom that cannot take any more, the wedding gifts that have to be stowed in safe places, the dressers that have to get organized, the miscellaneous lotions and potions that have to find their way to the bathroom.. Endless to-do list.

I was always proud of my moving skills. And now, life is taking a dump.. on my chest (Thanks Austin Powers, for that lovely melodramatic phrase!). But hey, it isn't as bad as it looks. I've reached the point where my pressure bubble is going to burst, and I'll get into this frenzy where I'll finish everything in a couple of hours. I'm always like that, I seem to work best under pressure :) So much so, I went home for lunch today, and actually finished the kitchen. Yep, now my kitchen is all shiny and clean, and not a thing out of place! Hurrah. I don't know when we'll get to regular cooking in this kitchen, I've atleast made a start.

So, hopefully, by mid next week, I'm going to have finished the entire house (and next week, B is going to get dragged into this full force!). And then we start living large. Who said I'm antsy?