P.S.I Love You.. :-)

…Aha.. look how far we’ve come..

Still feels like its just a few days since i met you.. The prank you played by making me look for you, when you were actually standing right in front of me, the lunch at Casa Picola, the ice cream and the long walk in moonlight.. These are still so fresh in memory..

Has it been a year already?? Wasnt it just yesterday that was our wedding day? when all around us were tensed on how the wedding would happen, we were filled with the joy of getting married and were having fun laughing all thru the wedding events..

a full year... wow!!

Everyone told us the first year of marriage is the toughest. Really? Was it? For me, nothing really changed much.. and the ones that did were all for the good.. we now come home to each other everyday instead of just quickly meeting over the weekends or at some random occasions.. :-)

Actually, i still find the word 'Husband' very alien.. It still startles me when someone refers to you and asks, "what does your husband do?" It takes me a few seconds to realise that they mean YOU! To me, you are just you.. my SMILEY,.. the man i've known for so many years.. the guy whos been a great friend and continues to be so.. the soulmate with whom i have the fondest of memories and the partner for life
with whom i continue building a lot of dreams and fulfilling them..
So, what should we celebrate? a year of being "Married" or 5 years of knowing each other? Either ways, today i just wanted to let you know that You make my life beautiful and you are the reason for my happiness.. :-)

Happy Anniversary.. I Love You.

A gift!

Hum: Hey
Tum: Hello! Hows u?
Hum: Am ok.. you know what, today is my friend's birthday. Am thinking of getting him some nice gift.. Suggest something na..
Tum: hmm.. How about a watch?
Hum: He already has one
Tum: A tie or cufflings?
Hum: He doesnt wear or use them
Tum: hmm.. then Some books or CD?
Hum: So boring.. cant you think of anything innovative? I want to give him something that lasts for a lifetime..
Tum: Ok, Then get him a life insurance policy!! ;-)
Hum: !!!!!!!

Nostalgia..

Heavy Rains.. Eat hot bajji and pakkoda.. Schools closed.. Postpone homework.. Play in the rain..
Feel guilty about homework in the evening.. Visit the nearby temple.. Come back home.. Eat bajjis and pakkoda..

Power cut.. Finish homework in the candle light.. Amma would be cursing in the background.. Have dinner with family sitting on the floor..

Sleep listening to the thavalai satham.. It is nostalgic, but I dont miss my school days now..

No homework.. Sigh! Life is good now.. Now it is only work from home! :-)

Perspective!

We had a session at my workplace today on 'Perspective' and how you can develop yourself with a positive attitude.. The trainer spoke about how there could be a situation and two of them could see the same situation in completely different ways.. Its up to us to make the most out of any situation..
He then told a story which went like this..

There was a man who owned a dog and a cat.. He took care of both of them very well.. Gave them rich food, took them to the veterinarian doctor whenever required and made sure that they are both healthy and happy.

The Dog looked at the person and thought to itself : This man is so good. He takes care of me so well.. gives me the best of foods, keeps me happy always.. HE MUST BE GOD!

The Cat on the other hand thought : This man is so good. He takes care of me so well.. gives me the best of foods, keeps me happy always.. I MUST BE GOD..!! :-)

So, Its all a matter of perspective isnt it? Just be positive.. Look for an opportunity in every little event and Success will be yours! ;-)

The homecoming..

Read this awesome article and just had to share it.. Its quite long, but written exceptionally well.. am sure a lot of us will relate to it.. :-)

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/papers/Return_to_India.pdf

Cheeni kum?! :-)

Image taken from : http://www.farrisliterary.com/Cookbook_CoverII.jpg

Recipe books! Whenever I see one, I groan.

Believe me, I hate cooking, be it boiling water or preparing a full course meal.

Many of them say that recipe books are the best thing that couldn't happened to people like me.. but then, i find them so wrong.. The problem is not that I cant cook, but just that I'm too lazy
to be stuck in the kitchen cooking up delicacies to reach people's hearts through their stomachs! ;-)

And talk about recipe books..

Exact measures never ever seem to work! oh come on... moms never go by them and yet how great their preparations turn out to be..
Just incomparable! And what's amazing is how they always know how much of sugar to add to the jamun, "a little more than 2 cups.."

"Don't worry! once the dish gets boiled, the quantity will reduce by itself.."

Or how just another pinch of salt would make the most delicious of pulaos..

or even how half a second extra boiling can make the rice semi solid..

I've never seen mom follow the instructions in any cookbook... the '2 teaspoons of butter' always becomes 'half of this little cup.. 2 spoons will be too less', all this while I just look on in wonder!!!

Hmmm..!! guess the only way I can reach that state of 'Perfection' is by spending hours and hours in the kitchen, burning my fingers and a few err.. dishes too! ;-)

Well.. That's my outlook on cooking and recipe books.. Anyways, On another note.. here's wishing all of you a great year 2009.. May this be a fulfilling year for you and may all your dreams come true.. :-)

Giftooo giftu...!

Gone are those days when people were anxious to know what gifts they got. Nowadays its all about hoping that the unwanted gifts don't exceed the storage space at your home.
There are 3 broad categories when it comes to gift 'items':
* Innovative types : Only 5% belong to this category. They know your tastes, they know how usable it is to you, they know that the chances of someone else gifting the same item are slim.
* Ganesha types : If I were Lord Shiva or Vishnu, I would have cursed the entire humanity for how I am ignored when it comes to gift items. A typical conversation of a couple goes about like this:
Husband: We have to go to that wedding in the evening.
Wife: What gift shall we buy?
Husband: Some Ganesha gift item of course.
Wife: (smiling) Of course! (What else?)
65% of the people fall under this category. Ganesha has got great range, he comes in all forms - from the most artistic to highly innovative to funny to absolutely ridiculous. My friend has a collection of over 150 Ganeshas - dancing, playing music, sitting, standing, sleeping, programming - you name it, we have it. So every time someone gives a Ganesha, its mostly the one you already have. Or even worse, you get two pieces of the same variety on the same day.
I love you Ganesha, but bring on the Hanumans, Ayyappas, and Gajalakshmis please!
* Clock types : No occasion is complete without a few unusable clocks being gifted. 40% of the people fall under this category as well.
I am seriously planning to have one of living room walls as a "clock wall" and hang all the clocks that we got, each one set to the time zone of a different country.
Those of you who must be wondering why the percentages are not adding up properly, Its just that I'm weak in maths and also 10% of the people actually gift clocks with Ganesha on them! ;-)
And by the way, If you are not the innovative types when it comes to gifts, better stick to giving cash. You will be really appreciated.
There are many varieties in the cash givers as well and each one may belong to one of more of these categories:
* Anonymous : There will always be a few who do not write their names on the gift covers. May be because they are the "i-don't-want-to-be-discovered-of-giving-so-less" type. The rest belong to the very old thinking that even writing their names on the covers amounts to showing off.
* Cover less Anonymous : Among the gift covers, you will at least find a note given by someone who just slipped it into your hands while offering a handshake. May be these are the ones who paid an unexpected visit, had no gift cover, at the same time did not
wish to go gift less.
* The Plus One Rupee types : They will never ever give you money without a one rupee coin along with the gift amount. One logic I have heard from them is that "plus one" means continual growth. The gift value only has to be 51, 101 and so on.
The funny thing about this is, may be 50 years ago one rupee was still a decent gift amount, now to think of it.. whats the value of a rupee anyways..

So, what have your observations been when it comes to giving and receiving gifts? :-)