Tuesday Tag: The Brand Tag

Today’s tag is borrowed from Shilpa. So the tag rules are:

Numerous brands move us in our day to day life. I think brands are like relationships. Do you maintain a good friendship brand? Are you loyal and caring in your brand relationship?

Take any day in your life and chart out the brands you have used.

Okay let’s start with morning. I mean early morning:

Then I reach the office and my day looks like:

And then I come back from office:

The credits for logos:

• Colgate logo: http://anzspd.org.au/images/Colgate_logo.gif
• Dove logo: http://www.lascomadres.org/home_e/events/spon_events/images/dove_logo_silver.jpg
• Extended Stay America: http://www.fabuloussavings.com/us/ca/esalax/images/logo_lg.gif
• Sony Ericsson: http://www.crazyleafdesign.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/sony-ericsson-logo.jpg
• Lincoln Logo: http://www.chromespinners.com/images/lincoln-logo.jpg
• Revlon logo: http://dropshiponline.co.uk/images/logo-revlon.jpg
• Outlook Express logo: http://en.onsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/outlook-logo.jpg
• Microsoft Office logo: http://javierleal.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/microsoft_office_logo.jpg
• MATLAB logo: http://www.activemedia.com.sg/IMAGES/MATLAB-logo.JPG
• Dell logo:http://www.broadleafservices.com/logos/dell_logo.jpg
• Google Reader logo: http://www.blogsdna.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/google-reader-logo.png
• HP logo: http://www.pcdiskclone.com/img/computerBrand/hp_logo.png
• Magnavox: http://www.gulfcoastvideo.net/nss-folder/pictures/MagnavoxLogo2.gif
• Prestige logo: http://www.pots-and-pans.co.uk/acatalog/prestige-logo.gif
• Oxygen Channel logo: http://media.photobucket.com/image/oxygen%20logo/NinaHagen1986/OxygenLogo.jpg
• USA network logo: http://www.midstatetv.com/images/channel_logos/BASIC%20CABLE/25_Basic_usa_network.gif
• CBS logo: http://devotedfansnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/cbs-logo.png
• Blogger logo: http://www.themorris.org/images/blogger-logo.jpg
• Twilight logo: http://twilightsagamovie.co.cc/twilight_logo.jpg
• Juniper logo: http://www.hardwarezone.com/img/data/nnews/2007/8994/Image/JuniperLogoLarge.gif
• Stanford logo: http://radonc.ucsf.edu/research_group/jpouliot/EPI2k8/partners/images/stanford-logo.jpg

A free tag for all. It’s a fun tag, try it…

Tuesday Tag: Innocent or Guilty

Okay! I am back with some more tags that I “borrowed” from all over the net. Today’s tag is stolen from here. The rules are:

RULE 1- You can only say Guilty or Innocent.
RULE 2- You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you and asks!
RULE 3- Copy and paste this into your notes, delete my answers, type in your answers and tag to your friends to answer this.

Asked someone to marry you? Innocent

Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Guilty

Danced on a table in a bar? Innocent\

Ever told a lie? Guilty

Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have back? Guilty

Kissed a picture? Guilty

Slept in until 5 PM? Guilty

Fallen asleep at work/school? Guilty

Held a snake? Guilty

Been suspended from school? Innocent

Worked at a fast food restaurant? Innocent

Stolen from a store? Guilty

Been fired from a job? Innocent

Done something you regret? Guilty

Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Guilty

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Guilty

Kissed in the rain? Innocent

Sat on a roof top? Guilty

Kissed someone you shouldn’t? Innocent

Sang in the shower? Always Guilty

Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Innocent

Shaved your head? Innocent

Had a boxing membership? Innocent

Made a girlfriend cry? Guilty

Been in a band? Innocent

Shot a gun? Guilty

Donated Blood? Guilty

Eaten alligator meat? Innocent

Eaten cheesecake? Guilty

Still love someone you shouldn’t? Innocent

Have/had a tattoo? Innocent

Liked someone, but will never tell who? Guilty

Been too honest? Guilty

Ruined a surprise? Guilty

Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you couldn’t walk afterwards? Guilty

Erased someone in your friends list? Guilty

Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? Guilty

Joined a pageant? Innocent

Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Guilty

Had communication with your ex? Innocent

Got totally drunk on the night before exam? Innocent

Got totally angry that you cried so hard? Guilty

The final scores are: 25/42. Not bad! I am over 50% mark. Yay! It proves that I am not a total nerd. I have done stuffs in my life!

Again as always, the tag is free for all. It is a fun tag, trust me. And as for questions about some controversial questions in the tag, remember curiosity killed the cat. So don’t ask anything that I can’t answer. If I answer, I would have to kill you…

Tuesday Tag

So I am starting my month with a tag. Well as so happens Dec 1st falls on Tuesday. So I am once again borrowing the tag from PB. So here are the questions of the tag:

1. What was your favorite subject at school?
Believe it or not, my absolute favorite subject as a kid was GK. Yes, General Knowledge. Pity we only got grades for that subject and it was discontinued after 5th grade. I loved the subject as it made it easier for me to understand the news. Oh yes, I used to watch the news every night. So after the subject was discontinued from the school, I got addicted to magazines like Competition Success Review and General Knowledge Today.
Well technically GK is not considered a “subject” so for sake this question I would also like to mention that my second favorite subject was Maths. Most of the people who know me would have expected that to be my answer. Sorry to disappoint you guys…

2. Did you have a favorite teacher? What was it about them that you liked?
Oh yes! I have had my favorite teachers during different period of time. So let me go in  chronological order:

Sujata Ma’am: The first teacher whom I absolutely loved was my 8th grade Maths (what a surprise!) teacher, Sujata Ma’am. She was a terrific teacher. Her teaching technique was unique. She divided the class in 4 groups (according to the columns of seats in the class) and have the groups compete each other. She will usually teach a topic and solve 2-3 problems on board. Then she gives us time (about 5 min) to solve few of the problems on our own. Then she will pick any girl from the group according to the turns. That girl would have to solve the problem on board and explain it to the rest of the class. She will help the girls who will have problems solving it. She wouldn’t give the answer, but prompt them to think about the problem in a logical way. So you see why I absolutely loved her!

Kapoor Ma’am: She was a senior teacher in our school. She was our Social Studies teacher in X grade. It was the first time in my life that I looked forward to history periods. She wouldn’t read from the book like all our previous teacher, instead she told us a story. I still remember almost everything from my X grade history. She became our English teacher in class XI and our class teacher in class XII. She was the only English teacher that I had who knew her grammar. I kid you not. Any of the English teacher I had before her never told me that you never use past tense with ‘did’. I didn’t know about the redundancy of using the phrases as ‘intermediate between’ or ‘revert back’. My English is still not good and  I blame my childhood teachers for that!

Chander Sir: My next favorite teacher is from M.Tech. days. He taught us Oceanography in our second year. Again like all my favorite teachers, he liked to tell us stories. And moreover, unlike all the other teachers I have had before him, he insisted that we understand the subject instead of memorizing it. Even his exams never asked us to recall things from memory but quizzed us on how much we have understood the subject. It was fun to attend his classes and his exams were even better!

3. What do you like most about yourself?
Everything. What? I am perfect. You don’t believe me? Oh well..

Okay. Seriously, I like my self-sufficient, self-reliant attitude. I don’t have to relay on others for my well-being. Not that I don’t treasure my friends but I am not dependent on them and that’s very important to me.

4. Why did you start blogging?
I am not sure. I guess I was bored of talking to myself and hence started putting my thoughts here. This is my third attempt at blogging. I deleted my previous blogs for one reason or the other. This is the longest I have been blogging and hope I will continue to do so.

5. Can you show us your 5 favorite blog posts?
1. Stanfy News Channel..
2. Life Lesson #1: One mistake or three mistakes
3. Please Don’t
4. In name of culture
5. Gandhi and Bose

6. What do you love most about your partner?
Don’t have one yet..

7. Next to your husband/partner/significant other/children, who do you speak to most often?
Myself. Well that’s not actually talking but thinking..


8. What are your 5 favorite books?
It depends on my mood. As per today:

1. My Sister’s Keeper: Jodi Picoult 
2. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
5. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

9. Do you have a favorite work of art?
Ansel Adams, The Snake River

                 (Img from: http://kconway01.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/ansel-adams/)

10.If you could live for a year anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
San Francisco Bay Area. That’s where I currently live and absolutely love it.

Again a free for all tag!

Tuesday Tag: In a word

I stole, er I mean, I borrowed today’s tag from PB.

There is only rule for this tag. You have to answer the question in one word. So here it goes:

1.Where is your mobile phone? Bed
2.Your hair? Shoulder-length
3.Your mother? Psych-Major
4.Your father? Lecturer
5.Your favorite food? Home-made
6.Your dream last night? None
7.Your favorite drink? Coke
8.Your dream/goal? Happiness
9.What room are you in? Bedroom
10.Your hobby? Varied
11.Your fear? Breaking-neck
12.Where do you want to be in 6 years? With someone I love
13.Where were you last night? Home
14.Something that you aren’t? Inhuman
15.Muffins? No thanks
16.Wish list item? Hasselblad
17.Where did you grow up? Roorkee
18.Last thing you did? Checked mail
19.What are you wearing? Clothes
20.Your TV? Normal (?)
21.Your pets? Pleo
22.Friends? Life-line
23.Your life? Complicated
24.Your mood? Varies-by-the-minute
25.Missing someone? Always :)
26.Vehicle? Toyota
27.Something you’re not wearing? Newspaper
28.Your favourite store? JC Penney
29.Your favorite color? Blue
29.When was the last time you laughed? Today
30.Last time you cried? Last week
31.Your best friend? Puja
32.One place that you go to over and over? Stanford
33.One person who emails me regularly? Administration
34.Favorite place to eat? Home

Again, it’s free for all tag. :)

Tuesday Tag: Pictures

Okay. Am back with yet another tag. This time I borrowed it from Usha.

The rules are:
Answer the questions below and do a Google image search on your answer, Pick a picture from the results on the first page, with minimal explanation.

It looked interesting enough. Let’s see if it is fun. So here I go:

1. The age you will be in your next birthday.

(Img from: http://www.zazzle.com.au/im_not_50_im_18_with_32_years_of_experience_tshirt-235025692480850895)

 

2. A place you’d like to travel to.

Okay. I cheated on this one. Instead of China, I put ‘Beautiful China’ in the search. But I have to put the reason why I want to be there in perspective. It’s breathtaking, isn’t it?

(Img from: http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/pictures/picture_china.htm)

 

3. Your Favorite place.

Yep. My university. My home (well sort of) for past 5 years.

(img from: http://counterecon.com/2009/04/17/the-hoover-institute-is-a-front-for-stanfords-political-views/)

 

4. Your favorite food/drink

It should be food and drink, no? Anyway, I have put both there.

(Img1 from: http://deepas-chitnchat.blogspot.com/2009/05/bhindi-bhaji-recipe.html)

(Img2 from: http://the8thwonder.org/2007/10/09/mango-lassi/)

 

5. Your Favorite pet.

 Pleo. Geeky, I know. But he is no mess, no health issue pet.

(img from: http://gizmodo.com/333336/playing-with-pleo-the-pet-camarasaurus-verdict-neat-but-pricey)

 

6. Your favorite color combination.

(img from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmts/2901560512/)

 

7. Your favorite piece of clothing.

Skirts to be precise.

(Img from: http://fashiontribes.typepad.com/main/2006/05/white_plays_wel.html)

 

8. Your all time favorite song.

Song is: Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar.

Img from: http://passionforcinema.com/tere-mere-hamare-ghar-ke-samne-happy-diwali/)

 

9. Your favorite TV show.

( Img from: http://img136.imageshack.us/i/64440227.jpg/#q=boston%20legal)

 

10. Full name of your significant other.

(Img from: http://banglavcd.com/displaycat.asp?catid=16&offset=117)

 

11. The town in which you live.

Mountain View, CA: The HQ of Google.

(Img from: http://www.losgatos-saratogahomes.com/community.php)

 

12. Your screen name/nickname.

(Img from: http://www.marieclaire.com/career-money/jobs/articles/thats-rich-wealthy-neighborhoods-ryan-dagastino)

 

13. Your First job.

Okay, I broke the rule again. I love both these images so I am putting both.

(Img1 from: jgbouska.tripod.com/audio/

Img2 from: http://www.zazzle.com/daddys_little_geophysicist_tshirt-235089309632418461)

 

14. Your Dream job.

(Img from: http://knol.google.com/k/ehowknol/how-to-become-a-travel-photographer/3a9e8hggiw4cz/227#)

 

15. Bad Habit you have.

(Img from: http://thesmarterwallet.com/2009/stop-procrastination-overcoming-procrastination-cost-of-delay/)

 

16. Your worst fear.

Breaking my neck.

(Img from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gapey/833507552/)

 

17. The one thing you’ll like to do before you die.

(Img from: http://omgili.com/Photography-Studio)

 

18. The first thing you’ll buy if you get $1,000,000.

Hasselblad. What else?

(Img from: http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/10534/hasselblad_h3d/)

 

Well that was fun! Feel free to borrow the tag if you like…

***

BTW. About last week’s tag, a friend asked what will do if I have twins? The answer: if I had girls, the name will be: Drishti (sight or vision) and Srishti (creation). Though I also like Dhvani and Drishti combo too. And if I had boys: Utsaah (enthusiasm) and Ullaas (joy). Again I also like Utsaah and Saahas (courage). Please don’t steal my baby’s names..

Tuesday Tag

I have a lot to write but somehow words are not fitting together again. I write, I delete, I write again and delete again. So I decided to do a tag instead. I borrowed it from Nu’s blog. So here it goes:

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.
A five-thousand-rupee marriage was a big affair for Malgudi. 


2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can & catch air?
What for?

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
House. Season 6 . Episode 1-2 (Today was the season premiere). BTW, if you are a House fan, then do watch them. they were crazy. I am looking forward to season 6 now.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is?
My Guess: 22 Hrs 03 mins 34 secs 67 milisecs. What? I am just guessing. It never said till how many decimal places..

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
22Hrs 09 mins.

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
My clock : tic-toc. tic-toc. tic- toc.
And my brain:  This is stupid. This is stupid. This is stupid.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
2-3 hours ago to throw the garbage.

8. Before you started this Q&As, what did you look at?
My laptop screen. What? It’s shiny. I am easily distracted.

9. What are you wearing?
Capri and T-shirt. Why is this important?

10. When did you last laugh?
Today afternoon while teasing a friend who was already having a bad day. Yes I am that mean..

11. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Clock. White board. A painting. And a PhD comics Calendar of 2008 showing the page of December 2008 which contains an illustration of Mike Slackenerny in Santa’s lap telling him his Christmas wish: “I want to graduate.”. The calendar will remain there till I  graduate. (picture taken from my mobile camera)


12. Seen anything weird lately?
Freshmen (and women) are here (Today was the first day of school). They walk with this serious looks on their face as if smiling is an offence in Stanford. My guess: They are still in shock that they got in Stanford and think they will be thrown out of Stanford if they smile. Honestly, I pity those poor kids.

13. What do you think of this quiz?
Do I have to answer this? Oh ok. It is great. Much better than writing a post as I don’t need to think. Happy now?

14. What is the last film you saw?
P.S. I love you. Yesterday.
I mean I saw the movie yesterday not that I loved you yesterday.

15. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?

Hasselblad H3DII-50 plus all the accessories necessary to open a photo studio. I mean just look at this baby. And then imagine a camera with 50MP resolution, a 36 X 48 mm sensor (twice the size of full frame sensor) among other things. Someday baby, someday…


16.Tell me something about you that I dunno!
You are a moron. What? You asked to tell something about ‘you’. So I did.

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Nothing. What? You want to spoil this wonderful wonderful world of ours? Really? And they call me a cynic, a pessimist and all that.

Okay, Okay.I was just trying to fit in with the optimistic crowd. Since you are not as optimistic as you look, let’s get started with the list…

Okay fine. Don’t panic. We will do it some other day.

18. Do you like to Dance?
Nope. I will flee from the scene.

19. Imagine your first child is a girl , what do you call her?
Dhvani. (It means sound).

20. Imagine your first child is a boy , what do you call him?
Pratham (meaning First). Actually, if my second child is boy again, his name will be Dvitiya (meaning second) and so on, till Dhvani is born.  

21. Would you ever consider living abroad?
I already live abroad. You should ask whether I want to go back.

22. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
I am going to hell. So no pearly gates for me or at least no meeting the GOD (that is if he do exists). I can tell you what all I will call the Devil when I meet him. But then let’s leave it to your imagination..
So here endth the tagth. It’s free for all tag. So feel free to use it.
***
On another note. I have been dying to tell that I received my first ever Blog award from PB. Thanks, dear. :)



This means I get the honor of presenting to some of my favorite blogs. So here it goes (in no particular order):
Rachna (update please)
Sudipta
Terri’s Mom
Sunshine
Ramani
Viji (update please)

Tuesday Tag: Get to Know Me

… as if I don’t blabber enough. Anyway, i again stole the tag from Shilpa (Man, you have done so many tags Shilpa!).

1. How tall are you barefoot?

5'3''

2. Have you ever smoked before?

Yes. When I was 10: I was curious why people form this nasty habit. I did find my answer ( I smoked the whole packet as I knew first cigarette won’t answer the question but simply give me a bad taste!) and now stay clear from any habit forming stuff.

3. Do you own a gun?

Nope. Though I will be moving to Texas soon enough, guess I should buy one :D. Jokes aside, I do like shooting (in the shooting range) and by some miracle I am natural at it. My mom says, it’s in my genes (my aunt won state medal in shooting during her NCC or something similar).

4. If you had a mental disorder, what would it be?

Cleaning mania. Again it’s in genes. My mom has one of those..

5. How many letters are in your crush's name?

Eight. I know it’s a long name. The last name is even longer: 12 letters.

6. What's your favorite silly song?

Kya Ada kya Jalwe tere paro (Shastra) and Humko Tumse Pyar hain (Ishq)

(Caution: Really loud. Sorry for bad quality.)

 

7. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?

Water.

8. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?

What’s the time? Oh Crap! I am late.

9. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?

You are asking the wrong girl. If only I could lure the opposite sex or any one for that matter!

10. Do you own a knife?

Of course, I cook.

11. Name the last thing you have bought today.

Lunch: Caesar chicken salad spinach wrap with no cheese.

12. Name five drinks you regularly drink.

Water, milk, freshly squeezed orange juice, coke zero and Mango lassi (in that order).

13. What time did you wake up today?

7:42 AM (according to my cell phone and as I said I was late)

14. What song do you want played at your funeral?

O jaane wale ho sake to laut ke aana (Bandini) {Oh yes, I am coming back as a ghost to haunt few people! :)}

15. What song did you last hear?

Zulf ki chhaon mein (Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon) {I am a big sucker for old bollywood songs and this happens to be one of my favorite so I had it on repetition on my iPod approximately the entire day}

Sorry for the bad quality but this was the only video I could find with the whole song:

16. Favorite place to be?

Anywhere as long as I am with friends.

17. Least favorite place to be?

Any place where I need to make small talks.

18. Do you own slippers?

Of course. Why do they have to have a silly question like this in every meme?

19. Where do you think you'll be in 10 yrs?

Working, hopefully, in London.

20. Do you burn or tan?

Rarely. I am too dark to do either.

21. Yellow and blue?

I have no clue. (at least it rhymes!)

22. What songs do you sing in the shower?

Changes. Today I was singing this one (although not the full song):

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?

Being poor. Okay this is not connected with night but that was my worst fear as a child. I know that’s completely irrational but for some reason, I always imagined what it will be like to be one of the kids in servant quarters (yes we had those in the university). Some of them worked full time with different families. I always imagined if for some reason, God forbid, something happens and I couldn’t finish my education and find a job, I would have to live like them. And I wasn’t even good at house work then! That would mean I  would actually starve to death or may be I would be one of those kids who beg at the traffic signals. Can you imagine my nightmares?

24. What's in your pockets right now?

Sorry, no pockets!

25. Last thing that made you laugh?

When someone told me that I am overanalyzing the Twilight books and it’s meant for teenagers and not 30 somethings (Ouch!).

26. Best bed sheets you had as a child?

The one with design of newspaper on it.

27. Worst injury you've ever had?

Agree with Shilpa here: A broken heart.

28. Do you wish on stars?

No. They are too fast. By the time I remember the myth, they are already gone. Usually I say: “Look, a shooting star!” By the time I finish that, it’s gone!

29. What were you doing 1 AM last night??

Um, Sleeping.

30. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment.

- Should sleep now. It’s getting late.

- 4 more days and my internship will be over. Yippe!!

- I need to pack.

As usual: a free for all tag! :)

Tuesday Tag: The Countdown

Post-defense-lazing-around means I don’t procrastinate anymore, which, in turn, means that I have a blogger’s block. Add a badly sprained ankle in the mix, I have absolutely nothing to blog about. Unless you want to listen to me complain about my sprained ankle, how hard it is to use crutches and how the the timing for having a sprained ankle couldn’t be worse. Yeah, I thought not.

Anyway, just to keep this blog alive, I borrowed this tag from PB. Just letting you know, I am still here. Will start blogging regularly again as soon as I start working again.

Ten hows:

1. How did you get one of your scars? Trying to get my bottle (I was two) from under the bed. Apparently, not as simple a task as it sounds.
2. How did you celebrate your last birthday? By eating Rasmalai.
3. How are you feeling at this moment? Bored.
4. How did your night go last night? Uneventful. Unfortunately.
5. How did you do in high school? Not too bad in spite being a dork and a nerd. Yes both at the same time.
6. How did you get the shirt you’re wearing? Free gift from a company while interviewing with them on-campus. There are advantages of being a student.
7. How often do you see your best friend(s)? At least once a week.
8. How much money did you spend last month? A lot. But then I went to Lake Tahoe and Disney land with friends. So not complaining.
9. How old do you want to be when you get married? I find this question to be offensive. Or, may be, I am just turning into an old spinster.
10. How old will you be at your next birthday? 32.

Nine whats:

1. Your mother’s name? Really? Creativity is dead. (No, that’s not my mother’s name)
2. What did you do last weekend? Attended a friend’s graduation ceremony, took some pictures and slept a lot.
3. What is the most important part of your life? Love.
4. What would you rather be doing? Sleeping.
5. What did you last cry over? Watching the song “Kar chale hum fida jano-tan sathiyon”. That song always brings tears in my eyes.
6. What always makes you feel better when you’re upset? Some pampering.
7. What’s the most important thing you look for in a significant other? Compassion.
8. What are you worried about? Packing and moving.
9. What did you have for breakfast? Some fresh air.

Eight yous:

1. Have you ever liked someone who had a girlfriend/boyfriend? Yes.
2. Have you ever had your heartbroken? Yes.
3. Have you ever been out of the country? I have been out of a lot of countries and inside few of them. Which country are you talking about?
4. Have you ever done something outrageously dumb? Does falling in love count?
5. Have you ever been back stabbed by a friend? Yes.
6. Have you ever had sex on the beach? And have sand in my hair. NO WAY.
7. Have you ever dated someone younger than you? No.
8. Have you ever read an entire book in one day? All the Harry Potter books from book 4 onward.

Seven whos:

1. Who was the last person you saw? My room-mate. Ten minutes ago.
2. Who was the last person you texted? My friend J.
3. Who was the last person you hung out with? My room-mate. In our living room. We watched the movie Dragonfly.
4. Who was the last person to call you? My mom.
5. Who did you last hug? My friend on Saturday while congratulating her on her graduation.
6. Who is the last person who texted you? My friend J.
7. Who was the last person you said “I love you” to? None of your business.

Six wheres:

1. Where does your best friend(s) live? Stanford and Puerto Rico.
2. Where did you last go? Post Office.
3. Where did you last hang out? Living Room. Oh ok, Dishdash (Mediterranean restaurant) for lunch on Saturday with my friends.
4. Where do you go to school? Stanford.
5. Where is your favorite place to be? Stanford.
6. Where did you sleep last night? On my bed in my room. Though, now you mentioned it, I will try to sleep on the kitchen counter tonight.

Five dos:

1. Do you think anyone likes you? Of course, I am a very likeable person. Wait till they really get to know me.
2. Do you ever wish you were someone else? Always. From Cinderella to a student at Hogwarts to the heroine (heroine and not actress) of one of those chick-flicks to Doctor Who’s companion. What can I say, I have an over-active imagination.
3. Do you know the muffin man? You mean the one who lives in Drury Lane? Barely.
4. Does the future scare you? Oh yes. However, it also excites me more than it frightens me.
5. Do your parents know about your blog? Nope.

Four whys:

1. Why are you best friends with your best friend?  So that I could have a best friend.
2. Why did you get into Blogging? Procrastination.
3. Why did your parents give you the name you have? Because they had to name me some thing. I guess they didn’t want to keep calling me “bachchi” or “baby” or “ladki” or something similar.
4. Why are you doing this survey? Trying to break my blogging dry spell.

Three ifs:

1. If you could have one super power what would it be? Mind-reading. Telepathy would be cool too.
2. If you could go back in time and change one thing, would you? Nah. Despite its up and downs life isn’t too bad.
3. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could bring one thing, what would you bring? A fishing boat.

Two would-you-evers:

1. Would you ever get back together with any of your ex’s if they asked you? Never. There is a reason they are my ex.
2. Would you ever shave your head to save someone you love? Sure. What’s the big deal?

One last question:

1. Are you happy with your life right now? Depends on the day you ask me. Sometimes yes, sometimes no (Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa). 

A free for all tag. Have fun.

Tuesday Tag: Mail to Santa

So today’s tag is borrowed from PB.  This meme is about what we want from Santa this year.

Before I get into the meme itself, I want to wish everyone Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and yada yada yada. This year I decided to get a Christmas tree of my own for the very first time! So I woke up this morning , went to Target and got the smallest Christmas tree I could find. The decorations you see on the tree (displayed on the right hand side.) are supplied by my room-mate and as I am inexperienced in tree decorating, the result is this ridiculously decorated tree. Please don’t over-analyze it, as I said it was my first time..

Anyway, I have two personal decorations on the tree (Click to enlarge). The first decoration is something I bought a while ago (in 2007 to be precise) and it’s a girl doing karate and on the jacket it says “Richa, 2007”. The second decoration is something I bought today, and as you have guessed, it’s a 2010 graduation decoration. Hopefully, I will be able to make it this year, at least that’s the plan so far. I might have to give up this decoration in case it doesn’t work out.


Anyway, here goes my Santa list:


1. Graduate in 2010: Well this one is obvious and the biggest one on the list. Having a job in hand now, I want to graduate by August 2010 at the latest. This item also includes a smooth sailing for all the other papers required for me to start working including my working visa.


2. Kenpo Karate: Okay as it is a wish list, I am allowed to make wishes, no matter how wild they are, so here it goes: I would like to rejoin Kenpo Karate next year. This would require an elimination or minimization of my back pain which for some reason has come back ever since I landed in San Francisco. But if I could have my wish, I would love to earn my green belt next year. Well at least I can wish!


3. Lenses: As I broke my dearest lens this year, I would like to replace that one (Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Autofocus lens). It was a pretty great lens. I also want to buy a fisheye lens though I haven’t zeroed on one yet.


4. Mom’s visit: I would love to have my Mom to visit me here in Stanford and I am planning to get her here by next summer so that’s not what I am wishing. I instead wish that while her stay here, she enjoys her stay and don’t bring up the whole marriage issue again and again. It will make her visit painful both for her and me. I really wish that she drops the subject and understand that I am old enough to be in control of my own life.


5. More Travel: Well this one will remain a wish for me this year, at least, for the travel outside US, given my visa status and pending thesis. But I will still put it in my wish list! Hopefully, I will manage some travel and some more photographic opportunity.


6. Mac Laptop: I really wish to own a Mac Laptop. For the past one year I have owned this laptop (it’s Vista) I have formatted it three times already. I am fed up with Windows and want to switch to Mac now.

That’s it from me! Once again: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all!

Tuesday Tag: How Dumb Am I?

Okay, I am not sure if this dumb quiz is worth anything. To me most of the things in this list can happen to anyone. I am not sure how is it measure of dumbness. But then most probably I will get the highest point in this one. I just wanted to give it a try. So here it goes. The rule says:

The more [x]’ s the “dumber” you are.
[x] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were talking
[ ] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were NOT talking
[x] You have run into a glass/screen door
[x] You have jumped out of a moving vehicle
[x] You have thought of something funny while walking by yourself
[x] Laughed, then watched people give you weird looks
So far: 5
[x] You have run into a tree/bush.
[x] You know that it IS possible to lick your elbow
[x] You have tried to lick your elbow… a few times
[x] You never knew that the Alphabet and Twinkle Twinkle Little star have the same rhythm.
[x] You just tried to sing them.
So far: 10
[x] You have tripped on your shoelace and fallen.
[ ] You have choked on your own spit .
[x] You have seen the Matrix and still don’t get it.
[ ] You’ve never seen the Matrix.
[x] You type only with two fingers.
So far: 13
[ ] You have accidentally caught something on fire
[x] You tried to drink out of a straw, but it went into your nose/eyes.
[x] You have caught yourself drooling.
[ ] You have fallen asleep in class and fell outta your chair
So far: 15
[x] Sometimes you just stop thinking
[x] You are telling a story and forget what you were talking about
[ ] People often shake their heads and walk away from you
[ ] You are often told to use your “inside voice”.
[ ] You use your fingers to do simple math
So far: 17
[ ] You have eaten a bug
[ ] You are taking this test when you should be doing something more important
[x] You have put your clothes on backwards or inside out, and didn’t realize it
[x] You’ve looked all over for something and realized it was in your hand
[x] You have ran around naked in your house. (What's so dumb about that?)
So far: 20
[ ] You repost bulletins because you are scared that what they say will happen to you if you don’t.
[x] You break a lot of things.
[ ] Your friends know not to use big words around you.
[x] You tilt your head when you’re confused
[x] You have fallen out of your chair before
So far: 23
[ ] When you’re lying in bed, you try to find pictures in the texture of the ceiling or wall
[x] The word “ummmmm” is used many times a day.
So far: 24

Total: 24/37

So I am 65% dumb. Who knew?

Again a free for all tag…

Narcissist Me!

Ramble warning (Don’t say I didn’t warn you..)

Recently I started two photography projects, 365 grateful and a-self-portrait-a day. Well, the main aim was to keep myself busy. The secondary aim was to improve my photography.

The first project, 365 grateful, lasted for about 15 days. To be honest, I was pessimistic about it since beginning. Why, you ask? Well, firstly, being the sarcastic, pessimistic person I am, I don’t think I can find something to be grateful for, for an entire year! And soon I was taking picture of chairs and shoes. No honestly…

Secondly, it’s a 365 day long project. If you have been a regular reader of this blog, you would know I have a history of not keeping such long commitments (just search Project Snapshot or Tuesday Tag on my blog). I have commitment issues, I guess. So project that has “365” in its title is certainly not going to continue for long…

The second project “a-self-portrait-a day” has been going fine for past 39 days now. Actually, it’s a slightly deviated version of more popular project “365 self portraits” but I didn’t want two projects with “365” in its title so I changed it to “a-self-portrait-a day”.

Anyway, I started the two projects some time in May. I have been posting the photographs on my FB profile since then. However, initially I didn’t make the albums visible to my friends on FB. However, after about 15 days into the project, I changed the settings. After all, what is an artist without an audience? (Isn’t that’s why we blog instead of writing diaries like good old days?)

Recently, I changed the settings of the album (album self portraits, of course) back to be visible only to me. Well, the change happened after I read this post.

Okay, to be completely honest, my first hesitation about sharing the albums publicly was due to the same reasons voiced in the post. “A 100+ photos of only me in different poses, photoshoped, tinted, altered and what-not”. But again, as I said, an artist do seek an audience, so did I. I wasn’t comfortable putting those pictures on the world wide web for every Tom, Dick, Harry to see. So I chose Facebook as my platform. At least I know people in my friend’s list and I can block the ones that I feel uncomfortable sharing those pictures with. I think that way Facebook do provide a great platform.

Anyway, at the moment I am not sure whether I should or shouldn’t share my photography project, namely, “come and see a 100+ photos of me and only me” with anyone.

On one hand, the project has been an inspiration, a motivation in my otherwise not-so-good-days. It makes me think about things other than my problems and be creative. I am not sure how long will the project last without an audience. I have learned quite a bit about photography while doing the project.

On the other hand, I am inclined to agree with Priyanka here. Why put 100+ photos of myself in different poses for people to see?

Either way, its me caring about other people’s opinion which is unusual for me. Well it happens. The bigger question here  is: Am I really a narcissist? 

Tuesday Tag: Mera Bachpan…

I know I disappeared again but this time due to a good reason: PB tagged me to do a post on the childhood memories (for once I was actually tagged and not borrowed it!) and I was working on it. As the topic suggests, it will be a long long post. And very personal too. I am not very comfortable with that hence I am writing the post in a general tone and avoid any specifics. It’s just to make me comfortable writing about them.

First some background: The year I was born, my dad got the lectureship in a reputed university. We moved from my birth-town to my home-town. That also meant we moved away from our extended family in the area. So I grew up in a nuclear family with very few memories that involved uncles and aunts, cousins and grandparents. Another fact that you would need to know is that my brother is 9 years older to me which made for a very interesting experiences as a kid..

Ear Piercing: I was 2 years old when my Mom took me to Jewelry shop to get my ears pierced. I distinctly remember the day. There were two other ladies in the shop and as the shopkeeper readied the hot needle (back then that’s how we did it in small towns) to pierce my ears, they readied themselves for a kid to howl and cry. However they were surprised when I didn’t. I remember the pain and the fact that I tried my best to keep my tears from flowing out. For some reason those ladies challenged my control by expecting me to cry. It became an ego issue for me (yes at 2 years!) I remember my mom asking me if it hurts and me nodding (I didn’t trust myself to speak). She said that she will apply Boroline when we get home and it will be okay. I also remember the long time it took for us to reach home after that!

Primary School: I started school when I was 2.5 years old. I remember crying out loud on the day (I was a nuclear family kid with almost no other kids around me) and the Principal of our school offering me candies if I stopped crying. I immediately stopped and got my favorite orange candies. However, after the first day episode, I never cried when I went to school. I was a model student who never never disobeyed the teacher. Always did my homework and was the best in the class. I loved learning new things. This continued till I was in grade II.

I got briefly transferred to another school towards the end of my second grade. That school (it was in Bihar) was a very good school, however they used to hit kids with stick as punishment. So in the morning when we filed in for the assembly, teachers will hit kids in line if their boots are not polished properly or if their socks are dirty. I was never hit but I never liked that school. I went to that school for a month. Most of the time I was there I complained of frequent headaches and fevers. I remember I used to sleep in the class and wasn’t able to concentrate in class even if I wanted to, until one morning when my “fever” completely took over. I was unconscious (or sleeping, I don’t know and I don’t remember much except that I had high fever and I was vomiting every half hour or so) for most of that day. I am not sure how and what happened but I do know that doctors suggested that I should be taken off that school. So I changed school again.

First Friend: I was an extremely quiet, introvert and shy girl. I had classmates and playmates (oh yes I had two different set of friends as I was the only one in our colony who didn’t go to those big schools in our town) and while a number of them told me at different occasions that they consider me as their best friend, I never returned back the compliment. I usually smiled and felt happy about it but I never said the same to any of them (I was a weird kid). In sixth grade, a new girl was transferred to our class. For some reason, I hit it off right away with her. She was a brilliant and hard working student. After my second grade, my grades took a nose dive and I had lost my interest in studies. It changed when I met her. She would insist on learning the lessons the day they were taught and would ask me to quiz her next morning. I wasn’t too willing but I complied. Two months later, we had our quarterly exams and I scored better than she did in one of the subjects. I had the highest marks in the class! I couldn’t believe it! And the best part: she was not a least bit jealous or offended! She was jumping up and down with me. I had never met anyone like her before that. She was my first friend ever. However I never told her that. Unfortunately, her dad got transferred to other city a month after the exams. I have no idea where she is. But I know she must be a doctor. That’s what she wanted to be and I know she is one girl who will and can achieve whatever she wanted. She was a great inspiration and a great friend.

Other thing that I got from my first friend was love for movies. It was the time when QSQT released and she was a big fan of Aamir Khan. For some unknown reason, I was not in touch with the current Bollywood till that time but her non-stop chatter about Aamir affected me and since then I had kept in loop with the current movies until I came to US. Now I keep in track with upcoming Hollywood movies, so in a way I still keep track of current movies even though not as much with Bollywood movies.

Bhaiya: I can’t end this post without mentioning my brother. As I mentioned my brother is 9 years older than me. It means that he was biking when I was learning to walk. He was reading the comics when I was struggling with alphabets. He was memorizing Kabir’s and Rahim’s Dohas when I was trying to learn the nursery rhymes. Do you see where I am going with this? As a kid I looked up to my brother for everything. He was the coolest person possible. That doesn’t mean that I never fought with him: far from it. We fought although I was the one who used to get whipped. No matter how hard I hit him, I couldn’t hurt him till one day when I was 10: I hit him and it hurt him. I was so shocked that I forgot what was coming once he gets over his shock and pain.

And then he has a great sense of humor. I remember how he could make me laugh no matter how down I was feeling. And that was another great thing about hi m. He was very perceptive about my moods and would know if I was upset about something. He never bothered me with the questions like why I am upset or whether I want to “talk” about it. He would simply camp in my room and won’t leave it unless I am laughing again. It doesn’t matter how much I scream at him to get out of my room or even if I throw things at him to get him out of my room. He won’t leave unless his mission was accomplished. Oh yes, he was the sweetest brother possible! Shhh…Don’t tell him that.

I also remember the day when for the first time I could snap back a smart reply at him. I remember the whole conversation word by word. He was teasing me as usual. On this fateful day, he was telling me how our mom bought me as a baby off the street for 10 paisa (Yes, 10 paisa!). And the reason she bought me was to serve him. And I replied back, “At least she paid 10 paisa for me. You came free! So you are the one who should serve me”. He never teased me again about that. I know it’s juvenile humor but it was a great moment for me.

I can go on and on about my brother and my bachpan but guess all these incidents describe my childhood pretty well. So I am leaving at that. As for tagging others: It’s a free tag. Feel free to borrow it and write your own story. :)

Credits: The last two images are made using Microsoft Clipboard 2007. The first two images shows their respective origin and if you click on the respective images you will reach the webpages they were taken from.