Valentine's Special - Fighting like nobody's business

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Yes. It is a fight club -  two's a duel. A verbal duel that begins with me, peaks with me and ends with him. Didn't I tell you about a little yin and yang the last time? Yes, so I fight and he listens. Yin and yang, there  you have it.

I have been guilty of pulling him to a combat, most of the times because I am too bored of stuff (sorry, it is just that way with me. My thought process sometimes includes - "I am bored this evening, so let me provoke the boyfriend and polish some of my profanity hurling skills").

I have known to be a little on the tom-boyish side of life. I don't groom myself. I don't like to giggle that much. I don't think unkempt hair and nails is the end of the world. I don't want to watch those sappy sentimental movies. I swear more than the average girl does. I have an intense urge to jump off a trapeze or a moving plane. I like to lounge around in my pajamas, outside. I think Brad Pitt, Ashton Kutcher, Bradley Cooper and all those blue eyed men don't deserve any attention. I don't like chocolates, cakes, flowers, stuffed toys..almost anything sweet and cute to look at. I like my gifts to have a lifetime utility value. I could go on forever....

But what has that to do with fights I have with boyfriend? Nothing. I was just in a mood to distract you all. However, I turn into this egoistical bitch, stubborn and dreadfully moody at times - something that the boyfriend has carefully studied for years and has trained himself on how to detonate that type of behavior.

It is weird how a relationship survives amidst silly fights. If that soap opera told you that fights only show how much you love each other, I will say yes to it and also add that it shows your destructive side too. There is an old adage - "Think before you leap" and I am not glad to say I don't go by it.

There is a natural destructive tendency in girls and no matter how much effort I put in to revitalize my tom-boyish side of personality, this is one trait I will never be able to give up - that natural destructive tendency to "fight" - exists in all girls. No exceptions made. This is in our DNA. We like to "work" things up in our mind, lock them up and give the boys a chance to unlock them.

Needless to say boys are so straightforward they can't tell through the manipulation. They can be goddamn CEO's, astronauts, physicists and Formula one racers but they can never, never, never get to what's on a girls mind. Which is the point of the whole fight. "So you can't figure me out? Is this how much you love me?" - This sentence is enough to start a slew of fights. We need no other topic to pimp this fight.

Now ask me what true love is?

True love is the boyfriend blinking blind at the face of manipulative provocations like a puppy dog. Which annoys a girl to no limit since she suddenly feels like her "superpowers" to provoke a fight have vanished. But when the day drains out on her and she knows that she has no one to provoke, she will knock the doors of the boyfriend and ask - "Care for a fight?" (Didn't I say this was a fight club?)

Valentine's Special - Painting the town red (but in stealth mode)

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I am bloody impressed at how that was possible - courting each other secretly. Or was it? For some weird reason, no one asked if we were dating each other. Either it was more than apparent that we were dating or people just didn't give a shit. I believe it is the latter. Let's give some cred to people's intellect here, ok?

I am also bloody impressed at how a shockingly routine life suddenly turns into a dreamy doe eyed fantasy. (Ok I stretched that too far, but you get the point). After all all that notion of thunderstorms, violins, misty clouds etc. must have flourished sometime in an alternate universe, to be depicted so incessantly in movies. Three cheers to Bollywood!

Darting around the town in stealth mode was a piece of cake. We had a strict code of conduct. No sheepish looks. No affectionate glances. No flirtatious glint in the eye. Hell, we could totally come across as two strangers, if we wanted. We just raised our cloaks up and walked around all day like Sherlock Holmes and Watson. And if anyone asked we could always tell - "We are pals, chilling out. As pals do."

We shamelessly dodged every invitation from friends who wanted to hangout with us. (Of course, I can tell you this was so easy-peasy because we didn't really have that many friends to boot in the first place)
Parents can wait. Bosses can wait. Work can wait. Bills can wait. Eating can wait. Sleep can wait.

Only meeting could not wait.

I picked up life lessons along the way...

Lesson 1: I can text at the speed of light. Also I will draft texts when I get a gap of about 1 min (when either of us is on a bathroom visit)

Lesson 2: I am capable of being a multitasker. I can watch TV, text live commentary to boyfriend and fake-hear my dad talking all at one go.

Lesson 3: I can drive my bike fast - Out of a work meeting and in a movie theatre in mere minutes.

Lesson 4: I can tell NO. No to meetings, no to wedding invites, no to boss, no to parents. Life is a lot more productive now.

Lesson 5: I can take pleasure in little things. Boyfriend got me a chocobar today, a pan pizza from a hole-in-the-wall food joint and corn from the guy who was tired of seeing our faces everyday. Life is rocking right now.

Lesson 6: I can watch nonsensical movies and still be in a happy mood.

Lesson 7: I can make incredibly silly faces and still look sexy.

Lesson 8: I can bitch to my heart's content and not wait for someone's approval since I am always right.

Lesson 9: I can be an arrogant, manipulative, cynical bitch and still be "cute" and "influential"

Lesson 10: I can throw caution to the wind and become fully independent. I have gangster backing now. Boyfriend = gangster. He will help me procure books, pirated software, street food, movie tickets, mp3's - all the essential things that I cannot afford to compromise.

However like all good things must come to an end, the facade of reality crumbles as soon as you are through this phase. And that is why they say - Enjoy till it lasts.

Disclaimer: I do not take any responsibility of your well-being if you choose to follow some of the "life lessons" above. Strictly, at your discretion. Because, who knows, your boyfriend might not turn out to be quite the gentleman you thought he would be.

Valentine's Special - A little Yin and a Little Yang

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So the earlier post did not go down. That is a good sign. I got the seal of boyfriend approval today morning. Yay. Happy Valentine's Day everyone :-) I can't exactly say may you have more and more boyfriends/girlfriends. But I said it already...

Also, props to Googlers who made this. Love it!

Anyhoo*

Do you know what the best part of early days of dating is? You do not have to be at your best behavior. That's right. You can follow that advice all your friends and teachers wrote in your "autograph book" when you left school -

"Be Yourself"

(I never, till date, understood what that is supposed to mean. Did they mean to say, stop being fake and grow up? That was the most controversial statement of my school life.)

Be Yourself.

So for instance, I could giggle a lot (I think I cackled more than giggle) and get away with it. If you didn't know how annoying it is for the opposite person while you are giggling unnecessarily, next time please take that table by a group of teenage girls sporting Beiber shirts and polka dotted nail paint)

I could eat a hell lot and it would still be "cute".  I could just come in an old jeans and t-shirt and still appear so "chilled out". Obviously, I unashamedly milked this vantage point.

However, one thing led to another and from our behaviors, I could only conclude that we happened to be dangerously opposite in nature. But I was completely confused. What if either or both of us were not acting "genuine"? Allow me to explain.

Take 1:

I hated shopping. I still do. My idea of shopping is to scan the entire floor of apparel and after careful thought, price comparison and optimization, pick exactly one (ok maybe two on a bright day) piece and go home. Also, this one piece will be a regular looking garment (read jeans, boy t-shirt or a cardigan).

Whereas my boyfriend was totally taken by the idea of shopping. As if his life depended on it. He would scan the entire floor nevertheless, but pick pieces that will blow your mind and you will stand there like an idiot, watching him mix and match like a magician.

Needless to say, it made me uncomfortable and insecure. This thing - shopping- is supposed to be a girl's home turf.

Take 2:

I wasn't any pious. Heck, if you had me get up and take bath on a religious day, you should feel lucky. I imagined guys were like that. Not generally pious and all such good things. So imagine my surprise when I see my guy do elaborate rituals as if his full time job was that of a priest. Not only that, but he often felt generous and explained (very patiently) about these rituals.

What could that mean to me? Embarrassing yes. Cute no. Admiration maybe. But the top of it all was this - is he manipulating me into following these things? Is he or is he not?

Take 3:

A vegetarian and a foodie don't belong. Him - vegetarian, Me - foodie (that means non-vegetarian).

If you want to tell me that a vegetarian can also be a foodie...well then...Y.A.W.N

So when the noble priest and rockstar shopper orders a vegetarian dish, what do you do? You order the exact opposite of course. No compromise. And also go overboard about how much you love animal parts. Bheja Fry. Liver Fry. Paya. You know talk about "hardcore" stuff.

The good thing was I didn't have to share my food. The bad thing was I was eating from his plate.

Did he think I was a glutton? Did he think I could strangle him one day for food? Very confusing again.

And inspite of all the forces against us, evil eyes and wagging tongues of people whom we didn't care or seem to notice, we sticked together. Why? Because it was epic! Little yin and a little yang.

And also because his "About me" on Orkut profile read "I keep the drama at the door". He got me there.

*No, that wasn't a typo. Anyhoo is the "cooler" way of saying Anyhow.  Refer Tobias Funke from Arrested Development.

Valentine's Special - The day we met and sparks didn't fly

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Happy Valentine's Week friends :-)

If you are surprised at why I am so jolly good about Valentine's week (yes I am celebrating the whole damn week, because I wish so..its a free country ok?), don't ask. I am surprised as well.

Let's just say I am in mood and move on now. Lately, I have been at war with my boyfriend and I think it is the perfect time to make up to all the shit I throw at him. So being the generous girlfriend I am, I will gift him something from my heart. (Also, because he wants nothing short of a BMW and I cannot afford one right now I will be the eternal frugal girl that I am and hence all the pre-hype about "something from my heart").

So I thought I would just write one post a day, the entire week, about our burgeoning romance from the yesteryears (yes it has been THAT long) and dedicate them to him. Also I cannot guarantee you if this will happen - I might take down the posts if my boyfriend happens to object to this sudden feeling of blog-charity. So consider yourself lucky if you read it in time. Ahem.

I cannot tell you how our love just keeps growing and multiplying over the years. (I am not getting the right cliche to throw in here. Sigh.)

But I can tell you this - It wasn't the proverbial love at first sight. Which thoroughly disappointed me later, when I confessed love, because all my fantasy about love at first sight hadn't come true. It shattered my whole belief system in "love-at-first-sight" fantasies I had as a young girl. Also, I don't believe in fairy tales anymore as a result.

The day we met was rather a dull day. No thunderstorms. No rains. No voilins. Not even bloody good food. DULL. DULL. DULL.

I was working as usual (What did you think? This is what people do in real life. Work. Not dance around trees and think about love fantasies). A common friend of ours had mentioned that he was in the same premises as my work. Which did not the least bit interest me in any way. I mean he was merely an existence till then. I knew him, he knew me. Vaguely. Yawn.

So I just had to be nice and all, like I always am. Also I was bored but obviously I was not going to tell him that. I shot an email into the cloud (I had to throw in the word "cloud". It is the most hip word to use in Silicon Valley right now). And then I sat nibbling and day dreaming (those are clear indication of work boredom). I checked Orkut and re-checked Orkut and kept doing so in intrevals of 5 minutes. (Ya Facebook didn't exist then. Orkut was all the hope we got back then).

And then the email reply happened. Of course, who could resist a charming email from me. Right?

Wrong.

Little did I expect an email reply that read something like this - "I am not sure if I have time to meet...blah blah blah..". Yes I did not care to read the rest of it because I was Jesus freaking mad at him.

What the what? No time? No time for me? A BITS Pilani graduate? (I will forgive your ignorance now, think of BITS as the Ivy League of India).

I am BITS fucking Pilani graduate! And this guy, of all the nerve, rejects me over email?

On second thoughts, I always think that was a classic move on his part. Playing "hard to get" is a classic classic move my boyfriend. Very classic.

But back to the moment. He rejected me!

Oh ya, sparks of a different kind were definitely flying. So I risked signs of desperation and sent him another email. Very subtle about how it can be "a quick chat over the rooftop - nothing of importance - would be nice to catchup"

On second thoughts, #FAIL. Very non-classy of me. I regret till this day.

So what followed was not a quick chat. Instead we had more than an hour long chat. Didn't I tell you I was charming? No make it lethal. I used to be lethal.

What did I tell you? No sparks. No love at first sight. But the longest, soul-stirring (ok not really but insert some profound word here), chat-sy chat of epic proportions ensued...till the cloud (the real cloud, like, up in the sky cloud) disappeared and gave in to the moon and stars and it was time to drive back home.

I mean, how romantic, longest chat ever on the first day ever of a brewing romance. It was nonsense, gossip, silly and profound, intellectual and highly enlightening at the same time. And yet I vaguely remember what the chat was about.

In other news, boyfriend thinks he might want an Ipad. I will ask him to wait till "Ipad 3 comes out". Which obviously wont happen by Feb 14. Classic move Manju.

Awesome Indian things # 3 : Prabhu Deva songs

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Prabhu Deva. The 90's. Crazy dance moves. Respect.

I mean who didn't like Prabhu Deva right? The man just rocked it in loose baggy style pants. Chikku Bukku Chikku Bukku Rayile....did you think you could make trains sound any more cooler?

Yep. He had arrived.

It was crazy in the 90's. Cable TV was just getting traction. Plus Doordarshan was actually making efforts (I know!) to air those nice countdown shows. It seemed like I could never escape all of Prabhu Deva's cult songs.

Chikku Bukku Rayile

Mukkala Mukkabala

Urvasi Urvasi

But nothing struck my inner soul like this song - Petta Rap.

I really really really really loved it. Like more than the Saturday night special pulao my mom used to make for me. I mean if you knew me, you would gasp "No way!". That's because as a kid I was a food monster (eating incredible amounts of food was a way of life). And here, I am telling you Petta Rap took that coveted place, for a brief period.

I remember going to this function at my relative's place (after much coaxing from my mother. I hated and still hate any kind of social settings that includes my relatives). However, this one time I agree I enjoyed. Why?

Because they had me at Petta Rap.

Apparently a bunch of my cousins (all boys. I am one of the only 2 girl cousins in my family among some 15 odd cousins), made it their mission to make this function sort of mildly entertaining. So a scheming cousin, wears his baggy pants inside out and starts "Petta Rap". Plus they had a sidekick (who looked just as dangerously skinny like Vadivelu) dressed superficially in a saree, lip syncing with the old woman's voice in the song. Each time my cousin lifted his baggy pants up and did a pelvic thrust we invited the cold stares and talking mouths from the senior citizens camp (If you ever in a Tamil family ceremony you would understand how much drama this would have created)

So my dear cousin, all though I don't remember which one of the half a dozen cousins you were, I bow to you. I was too egoistic as a kid to join you in this blasphemy of dance (I feared kids wouldn't take me serious), but you taught me their is always hope in dreadfully boring family ceremonies.

All thanks to Prabhu Deva.

And its pink!

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Look at what I got in mail today. (Unless you are Sherlock Holmes, you are not to mention my dirty laundry and crummy gym bag in the background)

A giant pink costume?


No silly, its a bean bag  (apparently they sold me on it because you can contort and make shapes off it. They got me at creativity.)


The immediate reaction I had when I impatiently ripped apart the huge cardboard box it came in, was this:


I MADE A HUGE MISTAKE*


No, it wasn't the stingy amount of beans they have inside it (Seriously, what were they thinking? Its a fucking bean bag, put some beans in it you stingy morons!)


No it wasn't even the failure to hold shapes (so much for creativity, baah!)


No, it wasn't even the strange stench that comes with it (I gather it is a "factory setting")


But it was this very apparent, blatant, in-your-face pink color.


Pink. Whaaaaaat?! I was raven mad. But but but...I ordered it in Fuchsia. I mean that word "fuchsia" sounded so EXOTIC! And in the pictures it looked more red than pink. I should have fucking looked up Fuchsia.


Here is what wikipedia has to say about Fuchsia (as I read it now, a tad too late eh?)


"Fuchsia (pronunciation: /ˈfjuːʃə/, few-shə) is a vivid reddish or pinkish purple color named after the flower of the fuchsia plant, itself named after the German scientist Leonhart Fuchs. Fuchsia is a synonym formagenta."

THEY GOT ME AT FUCHSIA!

* I am a serious Arrested Development convert. I tend to use their quotes in all my conversations as if I was born to talk that way.


PS: Also Blogger wants to be a bitch and upload images from Picasa only. They go all Vista-type-circling-cursor over me if I try to upload images from my computer. *Miffed*


PPS: No it is not a Valentine's Day gift. I mean, I assumed that you sort of assumed...you know.

Awesome Indian things # 2 : Golli

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Now don't be all smart ass and type "Golli" in Google search and expect a neat wikipedia page on it ok? On second thoughts, I must speak to the engineers on the search team, explain them that what we are talking here is of national importance :-)

Remember Golli (aka Gotti) my Indian mates? The awesome, epic street game of marbles, colorful ones at that. Marbles I used to steal from my brother and other street kids to make my own collection. Yes, all is fair in love, war and game of marbles.

This was epic. More so because my parents loathed it. You know how you get a kick of it, by doing something that your parents intensely oppose? So not only did I steal (or win marbles, yes I was the envy of the local guys) but I also had to constantly change their hideout. I always kept it adventurous. It was all so thrilling as a kid. Specially since we had no Internet or Ipods or Iphones then. If they had Internet then, I would have published a blog on how Golli increased the niche skills of concentration and competitiveness among kids and showed it to my parents.

I mean which Indian kid in the 80's didn't enjoy a game of marbles, braving the tropical heat of India? And the best part is how serious we took the game for. I mean really all those blames on each other of cheating and then an eventual fight breaking out. For example, I constantly blamed guys of lifting their thumb of the ground while aiming with their forefinger at another marble. As an aside, I had pretty good nails, ready to claw up guys if a fight broke out. Yes, I had claws. A girl has gotta take advantage of her DNA (for defense purposes only)

My mom could tell, when I came back home with unkempt hair, grime in my finger nails and darting eyes (as I had to quickly arrange for a hideout for my marble loot from today's game). She mostly overlooked it. And since my dad was mostly somewhere in the Middle East at the time, working his ass off for kids he thought were doing their homework diligently, I was in a marble friendly world. Until he came on vacations and I had to put on a skirt and act all goody-goody with this godforsaken doll of a thing. Yes I hated dolls. There I said it. Too. Much. Pressure.

Now who wants to play golli with me?

Because you don't want to invite the wrath of Crime Master Gogo - Aankhen nikaal kar gottiya khel tha hoon gottiya. 

Book review: Last Man in Tower

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For a really long time I wanted to read an Indian book by an Indian author. You know what I mean. Not the pseudo Indian stuff, but something I can relate to. And definitely NOT Chetan Bhagat. Sigh.

Having grown up in a middle class family and lived (for a few years - but the best ones!) in a chawl I took to Last Man in Tower like a fish takes to water (Yes, I had to throw in a cliche there;))

Pic courtesy: Amazon.com book cover

I read Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger long ago. For some odd reason, I wasn't impressed by it. And now I know why. Methinks it is the way he symbolizes circumstances and people in his story and depending on how well you follow these through the thread of the story gives you the maximum pleasure. It is like reaching a crescendo but without much ado about it. You know, like a good detective novel. If I described Last Man in Tower to be a suspenseful story, there will no laughing about it. It is a suspense filled drama! Like the Indian soap operas, but taut and better :-) (Ok I shouldnt have compared to Indian soap operas. Let me rephrase. It is like those characters in a story that become endearing to you. Ya, that's what I meant. Good.)

The way Aravind Adiga sketches the characters in the book is so believable. It makes you sit up and say "Hey I know this guy!" or "Hey, that is like my neighbor X"

Last Man in Tower is all about greed driving middle class people crazy evil. And that is in a nutshell what the book is about. If you were ever in a middle class family or in poverty or...you know anything except the elite, you will relate to this story :-) If you grew up in an apartment building or in a chawl you will totally suck it up. Oh, and for people from Bombay, you will enjoy it immensely! (Hopefully someone writes about Hyderabad soon)

In fact, I might pick up The White Tiger for a re-read. I am caught in the Adiga wave now.

PS: Oh as always, the book isn't thick, so it is an easy read. Just go slow and don't skip some of his subtle symbolisms of Indian life, it will really give you an appreciation of both the beauty and ugliness of Indian life.

Awesome Indian things # 1 : Sugarcane Juice

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Move over Diet Coke, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, Tropicana, Red Bulls of the world. You thought you could juice it up? Well nothing tastes sweeter than Sugarcane, you jack asses.

Pic courtesy: Wikipedia (A Hyderabadi sugarcane juice vendor)

Wow, that was bold. And no, I am not psyched in the middle of the night over a drink.

I just love some Indian things you know. Things that were near and dear when I grew up in apna Hyderabad. Well, oh well. #JustSaying

This was my go-to drink you know. Days while lounging outside in the heat with my hall ticket to be seated in for some god-knows-which-entrance exam. Being a student in India was tough man. And here I hear people talk about absurd number of homeworks and paper deadlines. Come to India mate, I will show you what it is to write a bazillion entrance exams, each one for a different school, major and god only knows what else they throw in these days.

Anyhow, so anyone worth their Hyderabadi life will know how the local cinema halls used to shut us out till the nth second and would let you in only a moment before they screen the cinema. Remember? SO annoying. And to stand in that blistering heat (think Texas heat here) without a glass of sugarcane would be blasphemy, no? I remember filling a Milton flask full of sugarcane juice once for the entire family of 4 before we headed for Jurassic Park. (How much I miss the 90's. boo-hoo!)

And how many times has someone warned you about the wrong kind of water they use to make that sugarcane and how many times have you heeded to that warning? Not once. Haha. You could take fever but not say no to sugarcane juice.

Funny, how the warnings now are less about "bad" water and more about "calories". Things change, trends change, people change.

Sugarcane juice, anyone?

Things not to worry about

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This is a list of things NOT to worry about as written by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I must read his Great Gatsby someday!) to his 11-year old daughter.  Being a chronic worrier myself, this came as a pleasant reminder - of things that do not matter :-)

Read the other two lists he wrote about to his 11-year old daughter

Don’t worry about popular opinion
Don’t worry about dolls
Don’t worry about the past
Don’t worry about the future
Don’t worry about growing up
Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you
Don’t worry about triumph
Don’t worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault
Don’t worry about mosquitoes
Don’t worry about flies
Don’t worry about insects in general
Don’t worry about parents
Don’t worry about boys
Don’t worry about disappointments
Don’t worry about pleasures
Don’t worry about satisfactions

The debate on Khan Academy or not

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The first time it ever occurred that Khan Academy may not be the perfect solution to education was on a road trip to Monterey. My friend A candidly asked me - "So what do you think of Khan Academy?"

I was taken aback a bit by that question. I mean, there was only one answer to it, wasn't it? Everyone knows Khan Academy is great, so why was she asking me such an obvious question with an obvious answer.

And then she put forth the argument on the other side - a side, very few of us are willing to accept or even respect.

A said - "But what about teaching? What about that personal connection, that bond with a teacher, who shows you the real use of whatever you are learning?"

I possibly couldn't argue that. We just settled to a mid-conclusion. Yes, Khan Academy is good but it is not a replacement to the age-old ways of traditional teaching. Although I secretly felt more supportive of Khan Academy. I didn't tell her that.

I never thought of it again until I bumped into this article today about how Khan Academy isn't the perfect answer to our teaching methods

And now I can relate to the point A tried to make that day.

Khan Academy is a convenience. It delivers education to people who might not be able to afford education the way some of us can. It helps you work through basic skills. It never declared that it could replace education systems. But people *assumed* this is the replacement. It is not.

Because, if I learn Math, just because I want to get a badge on their site and jump levels (as if I am playing a game), I will never learn the essence behind Math. So who brings that essence to you? A teacher - someone, who is rarely found in today's technology driven world. Someone who is a rare commodity.

If I love reading literature, it is not because some technology platform taught me how to read. Sure it *assisted* me to find the meaning of a word in a dictionary, sure it *provided* me a convenient way to bookmark and read and re-read stuff on devices...

But did it teach me to love and imagine the characters in the book? No. Did it teach me to cherish each story I read? No. I think my old librarian did.

It is after all a human endeavor, not some computer graded test.

Why you will fail to have a great career

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I happened to bump into this candid TED talk (I can spend my whole day watching TED!)
Instead of talking about why you should follow your passion, which we have heard bazillion times by the way, the speaker takes a practical approach - he talks about what excuses we make to avoid following or searching for our passion. Some of them being -

- Great careers are just a matter of luck, so I will just stand around and try to "be lucky"
- There are special people who are geniuses and I am not special
- I am not weird, obsessive or paranoid (ha! Steve Jobs has spoilt it even more for us)

and so on...Inventing excuses to not persevere.

Strange, how the human mind is - Resists something that could completely turn your life upside down.

Only because you are afraid of failing

The Art of Storyboarding

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Quickly, what comes to your mind first when I yell the word "Storyboarding"?

Animation movies? Motion picture? Illustrators?

Did it ever occur that it could be used in a presentation, perhaps?

That's right. Traditionally all we have heard of storyboarding is in the world of interactive graphics and motion pictures like animation movies. Last week when I went to a "presentation skills" course I was really taken aback when I was told that "storyboarding" is in fact one of the neatest tricks to use while building your presentation. WITHOUT A COMPUTER!

How cool can it get?

I often find it distracting to use the computer (I mean Internet more, when I say computer) to build my presentations. In fact, that should be the second last step in your presentation preparing process (the last step being practice delivering!).

Why you ask?

Because..Powerpoint or Google Docs or whatever the heck you use is not designed for you to quickly organize your thoughts.

Because..It is more human to take a wad of stick notes, scribble one thought on each sticky note and move them around in your workspace.

Because..you can pull down a sticky note and then tack another which feels more appropriate. Imagine the amount of time it takes to move around slides, think about fonts, draw and arrange shapes...These are distractions. You should be focussing on content and building a story at this time not worry about beautifying things.

It is time to take that sticky pad gathering dust on it and put it to use :-)

Build your narrative and tell your story to the world.

Recommended watch: The Pixar Story. I watched this documentary on Netflix and it was fascinating to see how animators build their stories.

Org charts in Tech

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Manu Cornet, a Software Engineer at Google working on Gmail themes, came up with this drawing (below) of what an org chart looks like at 6 major tech companies. You can follow him on Google+

His other drawings are hilarious as well. Gives me the much needed laughs at work :-)

The red dot in Apple and the guns at Microsoft. Very tongue in cheek, indeed. *Wink*

http://www.bonkersworld.net/images/2011.06.27_organizational_charts.png

It is hard to forget you, New York

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So today I read a brief article, an artistic comparison of Paris and New York.

Although I have never been to Paris (but really want to, specially after watching Midnight in Paris;)) this comparison brought back memories of New York.

*Highline Park, running from Meatpacking district to Midtown

There is a strange mystic to New York. And by that I am not talking about the flood lights at Times Square, or the much talked about nightlife, or haute couture stores or innumerable skyscrapers.. They all fade into the background to me. Save them for the movies.

I am talking about the "real" stuff that got me everyday - hot bagel trucks and their delicious aroma, parks that never seize to fascinate me, museums that take you into a different era, artists engrossed in their work, festivals of every kind and plenty of subway encounters of a different kind. Those moments that take you by surprise or the irony of catching a really sad person come to life because a baby sitting beside him happened to smile at him. People celebrated sunshine (after a long winter), rainbows (if any!), events unique to New York like Manhattenhenge or just strolling by Central Park. While others only see the rush, the mad chase to make money and the act of survival in one of the most expensive cities of the world.

Because even in recession, New York gave me what I cherished most - Solitude and not loneliness. Surprises and not the mundane routine.

New York, I miss thee

Why the next Steve Jobs will be a chick

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I was so taken aback, when I read the title "The next Steve Jobs will be a chick" in the January edition of Fast Company.

Louis C.K couldn't put it more charmingly:

"The next Steve Jobs will totally be a chick, because girls are No. 2--and No. 2 always wins in America. Apple was a No. 2 company for years, and Apple embodies a lot of what have been defined as feminine traits: an emphasis on intuitive design, intellect, a strong sense of creativity, and that striving to always make the greatest version of something. Traditionally, men are more like Microsoft, where they'll just make a fake version of what that chick made, then beat the shit out of her and try to intimidate everybody into using their product."

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/161/louis-ck-on-female-culture

You go girl! :-)

Nails & More

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Yes I am talking about fingernails.

The first time I came to US, this struck me odd. What is the deal with so many "Nails" stores?

Ok, this is the second thing that struck me odd. First one was shelling out 3$ odd for a tiny bottle of water. But nails? This is taking it too far, don't you think?

And slowly I discovered this is a nails obsessed country. Manicure, they call it.

This nails thing cant evade you for long. I log into Instagram, atleast a third of the pictures are of nail paint. Amusing. (Another third is of course cute Asian chicks)

Seriously, what's the big deal about nails?

I think this blog lacks theme

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Yes, that's what someone told me. Recently.

What, I thought having no theme was the cool factor about this blog. No? And that was the end of the conversation. Seriously, some people take things too seriously. By some people, I mean myself. Maybe I must watch more of Arrested Development. That is if I get time off from Twitter, Instagram (my latest crush on Web), iTunes U. God knows what else is lying out there on the Web. Maybe Tumblr? I am too chicken to even go down that route. Too scary, this Internet addiction. Notice how I didn't mention Facebook?! Well you have a keen eye, my dear Watson. It happens that I can live without Facebook. There, I said it. So slowly, I must eliminate my favorite website pit stops one by one.

So back to the blog-lacking-theme thing. I must do something about it no?

At first I thought all my rants would make for a cute collection. That was way back in 2006. You know when I was young, naive (ahem!) and so full of life that I thought my blog was the next big thing to happen to mankind. And then slowly, it was all consumed by laziness when I moved to grad school. Then I relocated a LOT and that consumed all my time. Then I thought I was too busy doing the home to office to home routine. Go ahead, call it bullshit. Because it is precisely that bullshit.

Picture tho abhi baaki hain mere dost! (Translate that, oh Google Translate;))

Then I said "Heck I am the next Julia Child". I started posting a lot of recipes. People will eat this up (pun intended), I thought. A strange thing happened, blogger started puking all over when I put up some nice big ass photos because it was running out of space. Sigh! Whatever happened to the promise of unlimited storage? x-(

So I moved all my cooking posts elsewhere. Naturally, I was more excited about that blog now. So "being-manju" was never the same. The randomness increased even more. Days, weeks and then months without blog posts. Not even those cute rants anymore (wait, you thought they were cute, right?)

Each day I started inventing new ideas. Once it was a writing challenge. Then it was about self-help posts. Then I thought curating some web links would be great (turns out it lasted only one week). Then I attempted short stories. Then I thought I will go "Shit my dad says" way...by journaling everything my dad talked (moments of desperation, my friends) Then I cooked up a "one happy post a day" about something that made me happy each day. Again, turns out being happy is a tough thing yo!

There I said it. Dangerously honest post, this.

So here I am, sitting and writing this apparently random post. Life has become so "sigh" right now.

What to do?

PS: I don't even know what to label this post as. Rant? Yes, rant it is.

366 days of happiness Day 15 - Happiness in Pongal

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Ever since that trip to Guruvayoor this year (my first time) I came back home relatively disturbed. And am not even that pious to boot. So I was surprised at the chaos within me when I saw people going to crazy lengths to visit this temple and get one glimpse of Lord Krishna's idol (Little Krishna, the devotees call him). I witnessed the entire routine, baby Krishna idol carried on top of Kesavan (elephant), the elephant procession and the darshan

Let me tell you how I felt moments prior to this procession. I was wiped, exhausted and famished by the week long road trip and also filled with anxiety about the even longer trip ahead, after this visit. Plus I had to force myself into a traditional dress before visiting this temple (there is a strict dress code in this temple) and was obviously irked by how hypocritical people can be (Why do I need to dress this exact way to get a glimpse of God?).

And moments later when I saw the throngs of people (many elderly) with crazy devotion in their eyes, many of them who traveled barefoot for hundreds of miles to reach here, not partaking food or water, clinging on to the temple pillars to get that extra few seconds of God's glimpse, I was struck by the divinity of everything around me.

Maybe there is such a thing called Faith and we should all have it.

Happy Pongal to you all :-)

366 days of happiness Day 13 - Happiness in breakfast

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I didn't think I would find happiness in...err...breakfast.

It has been a month plus since I have had a hearty and filling breakfast as the one I had this morning.
All because I had a meeting early morning (9 am, ahem) and so I was forced to get ready and catch the 8 am bus to reach work. That gave me a tiny window of 10 mins before the meeting and I grabbed some eggs, blackberry agave shake and a small cup of oatmeal doused in cinnamon.

I forgot to take a picture. After all, I had only 10 mins to boot.

Food certainly makes me happy:)

366 days of happiness Day 12 - Happiness in a book

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Today is the Mobile Library day. Yay!

Let me explain. Every Wednesday the town's library drives up to my work in a truck full of books. How rustically romantic no?:) This time my co-worker came along too. Usually I pick my books alone. So this time it was nice to go by someone else's choice, for a change.

I had a book pickup waiting, so I thought I would go right in and out. But my co-worker's eyes fell on this book and she spoke joyously of the three books her dad gave her to read when she started at college...

One day in the life of Evan Denisovich
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
(Third book I don't remember :( )

I picked up the first one with my co-worker commenting heartily that this is one Russian story that won't be too tough to read :)

366 Days of happiness Day 11 - Happiness in guitar

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There is something eerily magical about musical instruments. Can't quite put a finger on it.

I had bought this stand for my guitar and never gotten to use it. Secretly happy about seeing the guitar sit pretty on it. And now if only I could just magically strum it like a pro! (That should happen soon:-))

Dum di dum di dum..

366 days of happiness Day 1 - Happiness in beauty

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It is post New Year's Eve. What do you expect? A hungover day? So passe.

With me, I am always expecting the unexpected. Of course, I went with an intention to party on the 31st. Only to be miffed by the very ordinary party (boring DJ, lame ass crowd, cliched shows..) I stormed out. 

OUCH!

So imagine my day on 1st Jan. I woke up, not extraordinarily, early in the morning with my latest SLR camera in tow. I got some great shots of Munnar in all its beauty. Little villages nestled on the hills, plenty of tea estates and spice plantations and the smell of fresh homegrown Cardamom. Now this is what I call happiness. Happiness in Beauty.

Happy New Years to all :-)

PS: Of course, I didn't tell you the windy paths made me sick and throw up twice in a 6 hour ride to Munnar from Kochi. But that was so 31st of 2011;-)

Hyderabad Diaries - The one with Kolaveri Di

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Needn't talk much about Kolaveri Di (~30 million hits the last time I saw)

Anyway, it was the usual morning for me today.

First I brush my teeth, then dad yells over me on how irresponsible I am (duh!), drink coffee, procrastinate about packing (yet again), grumble that no one buys a newspaper at home anymore, then switch on the TV, watch Big Boss rerun (as if the drama at home isn't enough), then close my ears as the kid downstairs screams....

Yes, so there are tenants downstairs and not surprisingly they have a kid who screams at his own will.

I was wondering why he screamed "Mummy" right in the morning.

"His mom cleans after he finishes potty", my mom told me the other day. There you go. Mystery solved.

When the kid isn't screaming he either plays games (that are mostly invented by him) or dances to lame ass songs. His latest favorite is Chikni Chameli. I ain't a Katrina fan, but surely this kid will turn me into a hater if he plays the song one more time.

So imagine my surprise today morning, when the kid doesn't dance to Chikni. For no reason, he screams "Daddy" at the top of his lungs this morning.

"So is it daddy's duty this morning", I quipped to my mom.

"No its usually his mother", my mom replied, matter-of-factly.

Then the chase. The kid tracked his dad down (poor guy was catching a smoke outside) and dragged him in.....

"Daddy Kolaveri Daddy Kolaveri..", he squealed in delight.

Really? Really? x-(

So now you don't play Chikni Chameli and play this one instead? Something that I have already heard tons of times and in tons of versions?

Please kid, switch back to Chikni Chameli. I beg you.

Hyderabad Diaries - The one with the chatty doctor

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Let me tell you I have been incessantly suffering from bouts of coughing in the night. Not a funny story to talk about. So one night, not withstanding all the noise (I sleep in the same room as my parents) my dad resolved to take me to a doctor. Only we have no one "family" doctor to go to. I mean, it's just been like that. You want a doctor? Go shop for one.

Anyway, my mom kept telling him there was this doctor at the end of the street who "seems" popular since she saw couple of our neighbors go in there. Sometimes I think my mom hallucinates because I observed she likes to make up stories out of air. Like this one about the supposedly famous doctor. Oh well, she was atleast helping with some advice.

So my dad takes his scooty out and rides to this small clinic and he finds the cleaning lady there peeking out of the clinic. He sees a female doctor (Gayatri) name written on the clinic's banner outside. The cleaning lady nods that the doctor is in. So he comes fetches me. I walk out in my pajamas much to the chagrin of my dad who keeps grumbling, more to himself than me - "This isn't USA, you cant come out in your night clothes out like this". I am already sleep deprived thanks to all the night coughing. So I pay no heed and sit on his scooter.

Now let me tell you the man rides like he's riding a bullock cart. It felt like forever by the time we reached the end of this long street (about a 1/4 mile I would think). Anyway, he parks and encounters this guy in yellow teeth staring right down at my dad. Asks that the scooter be parked right beside the car that was parked a feet away. I couldn't really see a "No Parking" sign so I impatiently ask this guy what's the premise behind moving a vehicle that was parked near a wall that people just wanted to piss on? It clearly seemed like no one cared and were pissing on it anyway. He ignored my protest and my dad chided me to just park it.

FINE!

Only to go in and discover that this very yellow teethed man was the doctor. That's when my dad goes:

"Gayatri????", with his eyeballs almost falling off his eye sockets.

Doc: "Gayatri in the evening"

At that moment I saw my dad sizing him up. Later that evening as my dad narrated to my mom...the man with his ugly yellow teeth and untucked shirt and mehendi dyed hair and old rusty glasses was a nightmare to look at. He had thought he was another of the cleaning guys or assistants.

Dad: Where is Gayatri the doctor?

Doc: Gayatri is wife

Dad: Whose wife?

By this time I had already coughed a good measure to speak up and clear the air. 

Me: Gayatri is his wife and she only comes in the evening. Now can we get examined? I have these coughs at night...

At this point my dad shot one of his trademark disgusting looks and conceded.

Doc: Coughing eh? Kids these days. So sensitive eh? Hahaha

Neither me nor my dad found it funny but we nodded along. I couldn't tell what annoyed my dad most. His unkempt look or his broken English.

Doc: Show tongue.

I stick my tongue out.

Doc: More tongue.

From the corner of my eye I saw my dad stifle a chuckle.
He then holds my wrist and asks me to breathe to check my pulse.

Doc: Now breathe. More breathe. More...

I felt like I was delivering a baby then.

Doc: Whokay. All good only. No temperature. No fever. What tablets you take amma?

Me: (amma? Yes I feel like Jayalalitha now..) Crocin

By this time my dad told him I was jet lagged and had cough even before I came here.
Suddenly the doctor screamed "Viral infection" on my face. I almost felt his dirty breath on me and jumped up from my seat.

Doc: Viral infection I think

Me: What are the symptoms of viral infection? Night coughing?

Doc: I think it is viral infection.

By this time both my dad and I were infuriated. And both gave in and nodded in agreement to his passionate discovery and analysis. He started scribbling the prescriptions and gave it to me.

Doc: Whokay. Two times. After meals only. This and this (as he points it out to me)

As he hands it over to me, he looks at me meaningfully. For a moment I turned to my dad and signaled him as if to say "maybe this is when you pay his fees and get the fcuk out of here?"

My dad takes the cue and takes a 100 rupee note and hands it to me.

Doc: Thank you. Hahaha.

Sigh..


Still looks purposefully at me. What now? He then breaks the silence.

Doc: You go and get medicines amma...me and your dad will talk.

What the fcuk? What?

Doc: (Continues to talk to dad) You know these days doctors do expensive scanning because your daughter will demand that. Young blood, what to do?

Dad: (In despair) It's not that. It's because every big hospital pressures their doctors to meet certain targets to fulfill. So the unnecessary scanning...

Doc: No sir. No. No. No. It is the young blood that demands. They are not satisfied with tablets.
(He then looks at me and says) Why you here? Go amma...

That's when I lost it. I announced to dad that I was going home. 

Doc: You get here the tablets. These medical shops give duplicate tablets. Come and verify ok?

Dad (gets up as if to leave): Ok..I think we should..

Doc: You sit sir...

The cleaning lady walks in and the doctor turns towards her

Doc: (Handing her a 10 rupee note) Take this amma. This wont be cut from your salary ok?

My dad later remarked about it...that he was so happy with getting a patient that he gave away 10 rupee and made the cleaning lady's day


Doc: (Getting back into conversation mode) So this Anna Hazare movement too much no sir?

He chooses to talk at a time when both dad and I are atleast 2 feet away and almost near the door, ready to leave.


Dad: Bye

Once home, my mom opened the door to ask me how it went.


Dad: Highly recommended.

Hyderabad Diaries - The one with the candlelight bath

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Ever since I have flown back to Hyderabad, I have made shocking discoveries about myself.

That I can get annoyed by the dust, I cannot tolerate all the power outages and I almost want to punch the roadside guys who make snide remarks at me. I don't ponder over them too much. I just dust them off as minor irritants. And yet I have found myself totally alienated from Indian life. The very thing that made up my formative years in Hyderabad as a teenager and as a working adult now seems to annoy me to no end.

So imagine my shock when my mom asks me to take bath in the dark.

I had a very mixed expression on my face. As if to say "You are kidding me?" and "This is bonkers" sort of a look. She feigned any interest in my expression or protesting gestures. She plomped the big bucket of hot water on the cement floor of the old bathroom and went about her usual ways in the kitchen.

It was 6 AM in the morning and I was told there is a power outage until 7.30 AM every morning and followed by another between 11 and 12 PM every day.

My dad had his usual smug look "Welcome to India"

And now as a way to increase my predicament I cannot delay my bath to 7.30 AM since the hot water will cease to be hot and according to daddy precious he has spent invaluable (electricity) units to give me this invaluable bucket of water - which is sort of a privilege I am told since everyone else (which is just my parents) just bathe in half a bucket of hot water.

So there I went. Borrowed a candle, lit it up so I could atleast spot the old bar of soap lying in a corner and bathing and getting out of the bathroom as quickly as possible.

I had this long face on for next hour or so. Of all the things that irritates my dad the most is a long face.

And as if he knew what I was about to complain next he said:

"Btw there's only one lizard and it lives in the wall creaks in the bathroom. Nothing to become overly paranoid about". And then he picked up his newspaper and his sugarless tea and went about his way.

Hyderabad Diaries - The one with the Family Class

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So basically I spent a bomb to fly to Hyderabad and decided to keep a journal of interesting events that come my way. As I flipped back to my earlier entries on this blog, I realized how much happened around me while living in Hyderabad and how little transpired in the USA. Tch Tch. My 5 years in US had no stories, no events that could even match up to say 3 months of Hyderabadi existence. It really is a monotonous life there. #Sigh

Every time I travel, I have this anxiety. I mildly put it as "travel anxiety" although I would want to give it a more pompous description - moments of palpitations, panic, schizophrenia, negativity etc. But then you wouldn't believe me. So yes, I have travel anxiety. Which simply means I cannot sleep, I have negative thoughts about everything (example, I would forget my passport or I will get stranded in a lonely airport with no food) and also I will have the worst seat and worst co-passengers (mostly a weeping baby or a clumsy heavy guy)

This time I tried to tone it down a notch. I mean, think of wonderful valleys, snow capped mountains and  pretty butterflies and such. Anyway, that didn't change much in the circumstances around me. It was the same long international flight with same desi families doing cliched things like pushing you to get  in/out of a flight (something I never understood why they did. Perhaps to get more storage space for their luggage?).

This time I had to hop in and out of 3 different flights to add to my misery. And I had a middle seat because I totally neglected checking-in early. And also I had the usual weeping babies to accompany me. And oh, there was also heavy set men, this time two of them since I was plopped in the middle this time.

When I got down at Dubai, I did the usual shopping for alcohol. I felt terribly sick suddenly. I was having my bouts of coughing already. I never in my life had a viral infection so I refused to believe it was one. My stomach tied into knots and my earphone blaring Bollywood music I tried to settle my unsettling self. I saw random kids running around the lounge as if it were playground. I saw an elder girl bossing around other kids and preaching her own rules on a game she invented. It was about circling a cylindrical pillar without falling off it as you circle.

The bossy girl seemed feminist. She would often taunt the boys and say they were useless and didn't measure up to the standards. If they did nice and looked up to her approval she would just shrug and ask them to do a repeat performance. She seemed so demonic. Meanwhile, a little guy propped up beside me seemed to look intently at her. I didn't notice him too much until he got up on his feet suddenly and went racing at this girl and pulled her down on one of her games. His mom shocked tried to pry him away from her and he kept kicking his heels in the air. The girl had driven him mad apparently.

Meanwhile the angry kid's elder brother was a complete opposite. He seemed like this predictable kid looking upto his mom for approval and praises. He kept picking up other people's garbage and trashing them in the can nearby and go upto his mom each time to show off his noble act. His kid brother meanwhile had nothing to do with it. He would keep seated with an angry face.

At one moment he looked straight into my eye as I was sitting listlessly. I can tell you this guy is going to  grow up to a gangster. Dammit.

Looking at this Telugu family reminded me of the usual Brahmanandam kind comic families on TV. One such comic time came in when the elder guy went straight to his dad and announced

"Naana Naana, flight announce chesaaru. Family class allow chesthunaaru..." (Dad they are letting in the Family class)

For a moment I was puzzled.  Pat came the reply from his dad:

"Family class laantidi emi undadu ra...Adi family nee allow chesthunaaru as a courtesy"
(There is no such thing as family class. They are just letting in women and kids first as a courtesy)

And then his little bro smirked at him.

Touche.

Women in Tech - NOT

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I must have read a zillion articles about Women in Tech so far.

I don't get it. If women are not interested in Tech, so be it.
I mean, we aren't exactly talking about not having enough men practicing ballet dancing for example, are we? So what's the deal with no enough women in technology positions?

If a woman would rather want to be a great architect, writer, dancer, singer, fashionista...so be it.

I am not against the exposure to technology (as it is, women are exposed a lot more than before to technology). In fact, educating about technology is good, for both men and women. It is a good place to be in to make some quick money, support yourself and supplement your passion with the tech knowledge. Seriously. That's the best thing to do even if a woman isn't that into programming as a career.

In fact it is nature like. Not ruling out exceptions, boys love games and girls don't. Girls love fashion, boys don't. Girls are more expressive and boys are not. Boys love cars, girls not that much. So let boys be boys and girls be girls and they all will have fun. That's how it is supposed to be like. So STFU everyone and go back to work. Too much pressure.