I've moved!!! [I came back!!!]

... to this little place I call
A Li'l Drop of Me.

[Don't judge me, that one was fine but I like this blog better]

aMUSEings is still around, but its not going to be active anymore and I found myself drawn back to it.

I pictured a teary eyed note of farewell as I put to a close this blog that I started 3 years ago.

Heh. I'm looking forward to putting drops of me across over there.

Please update your feeds :) We'll meet more often.

With regard to food..

..my other almost-love. Unfortunately, this one manifests itself in some of the most unseemly ways. And then of course, there's all this thing about testing one's self-will.

So, dear handful of readers, I'll tell you all about my vow off all meat for a month.

Why? How? I was sitting in a not-so-fancy fast food joint one day with my two very vegetarian friends, and discussing what stops them from trying out meat. While we spoke about their conscious choice and the environment they grew up in, it struck me that when I go out to eat, I never consciously pick out anything vegetarian. The realization that I was so hooked on to chicken descended in all its glory. And didn't sit too well.

And so I imposed on my self, a month without chicken and other such meat. I figured one month would be just enough to see how I do. And how much further I would be able to. It started last monday, that 22nd day of June, which means its been about 10 days, and I've not missed it much. Considering I still allow myself egg, I haven't been too tough on myself.

Which should make me feel all elated and all, but as if to show a downside to everything, I've discovered the pleasures of unhealthy vegetarian food, especially if its fried, or served with butter or cheese :)

Also I fell sick on the 8th day, as though my body was trying to prove a point. But it shall not be allowed to rebel so. I still have another 20 days to go. And I have plans for the 30 days after. Further foody updates to come :)

Revisit 2008

Its been a year of firsts; an eventful year to say the very least!

Its December, Christmassy, cool, and since I'm holidaying, the atmosphere is perfect for me to sit back on a couch (the one at home - my couch - do not be mistaken) and reflect on the last twelve months.

- Had some good greaat times with some great people.
- Let down by some, and
- Had faith reaffirmed by some others. :) :) :)
- Went to GOA ! Had an abso-fantasto-amazing time. Fought a lot with the people of my blood for this, and I'm glad I did.
- Wrote an important exam :) and did well at it.
- My first job out of college suddenly ends as my company suddenly shuts shop. First layoff, if you can say that. Sniff.
- Frantic job search launch.
- A quiet and well, disappointing-for-the-most-part birthday in the midst of that chaos.
- Negotiation with potential employers.
- Adieu to the old place.
- Ooh - another secret first that i'd like to signal to people that already know it - how best can I arrange to do that - Umm.
- New job. New things to learn, new and amazing people to learn and get inspired from.
- New and different friends. A peek into bonds already formed, and an effort to make a place for myself in there.
- Old friends going through a lot of tough changes - and standing up for themselves. Yay!
- Coming to terms with the fact that some friends will be friends no more.
- An attempt to define a purpose: introspection on a deeper level than normal.

Its been a fine year. I do have a few complaints, I admit. But its a net positive. I learned so much about myself, and to an extent even applied those learnings in an effort to improve the self. :) That doesn't happen so often, successfully, at least. I'm still trying.

Although of course, there are a few things that the heart wishes it had. I wonder if 2009 is the year for any of those. I hope it is.

Vacation Chronicles #1 - Are we there yet?

Would you believe the Bengaluru International Airport is home to birds? That little tiny birds move about at a height of about a foot from the floor with carefree abandon? Is it planned? To make it look like you were in natural surroundings?

That was the only thing surprising about my first international flight out of BIAL. The rest has been spoken, written and ranted about enough to keep me informed - but no one told me about the birds :)

I travelled by SriLankan Airlines - which dictated a transit at Colombo. I spent two-three hours there, not before a short flight with a little energetic boy on one side (who was anxious to ensure that his food was vegetarian) and a man on the other side of the aisle who caught fancy with the fact that I read I guess - till I gave him a cold stare.

And would you believe it, the Bandaranaike International Airport had a blackout :( How tragic is the state of affairs. The electricity was restored soon enough, but only the main lights and basic requirements. The shops, internet connectivity, and anything beyond the basics were gone. And then the second flight that i had to get on, got delayed by another forty minutes. :)

The flight to London - looooong :(
Oh btw, to all those who wished me well before I left, no I did not get the drop dead gorgeous man by my side, who I would hit it off with really well ;)
I did have a sweet old man though as a travel partner, who watched all the movies peacefully.
I read the whole of a book called Girls of Riyadh. Quite interesting, and not surprising, if it is true.

And finally I reached hooome, my dear brother was there to pick me up with all the winter wear that he could possible wrap me up with, before we stepped into 5 degrees C of weather. I didn't feel the cold much, possibly due to the fact that I was one big Desi Wrap. Hah, I said 'desi'. I'm glad about that though, because the cold was one thing I was terrified about before leaving. I hope it snows before I leave !! :)

More to come later, I better live some vacation off the net too :)

Wednesday Weirdnesses #5

I missed it last week didn't I.. Matter not, since no one noticed/pointed out. Anyway, my excuse is cliched : forgot. I did remember, in the middle of the day, when I had absolutely no time.

So then I asked a friend to point me to some weird stuff on the net. And he said, I don't go weird hunting!!

Me: No one does... (except me off late.)

And then he suggested I post something non-weird... for a change.

Me: That sort of defeats the purpose.

End of conversation.

In parallel, a conversation with another friend.

He: Yeah actually I found something on reddit, list of sex offences, really funny, and weird.

Me: NO no, my blog is PG!

He: Heh heh, ok... so am I.
ME: How are you PG?
He: I'm very PG

Me: ????????? [Exactly that number]
He: whhaa... you son't think so?
End of conversation.

Forget not, that I really had no time.

Aaanyhoo. That would be quite enough of making public my chat conversations with friends. Lest my friends (aka the readers of this blog) not endeavour chatting with me anymore.

For today, I give you a word I haven't heard before. I say this because I have this funny feeling from the core of my womanly intuition that I am probably the only one who hasn't heard this before. But I'll tell you anyway.

The word, dear mathematicus, is Zenzizenzizenzic. :)

What fun!! - say I.

It means the eighth power of a number, derived from zenzic, "square of a number".

Also, since I skipped last week, here's a bonus one!

Honorificabilitudinitatibus !! which means the quality of deserving honour or respect.

Enjoy. No, really.