Oye Lucky Lucky Oye

To be very candid, this movie seemed hopeless when it came out. I had no intentions of watching it, until KP insisted that I do. And, I'm glad I took his recommendation seriously!

It's a very well-executed movie. No mirch-masala, no unnecessary drama, no over-the-top emotional saga. The story? Totally believeable, down-to-earth, and real. Lucky's first crush, his behaviour with his Dad, his early years, the circle of friends he has - all these bits seem very tangible.

This movie reminded me a lot of Khosla Ka Ghosla, which is also directed by Dibakar Banerjee. He's done a great job with keeping things at ground level in both flicks.

And Abhay Deol? He's not so bad afterall :-)

A must watch for all those in favour of independent/parallel cinema!

Sunny Mexico!

I had nothing in particular to write today, so I thought I'd post pictures from my recent trip to Mexico. The weather was lovely; the sea, picturesque.

I had a chance to travel quite a bit - took a day trip to see the Mayan Ruins at Chichen Itza, which is one of the 7 wonders of the world. Visited Playa del Carmen and Cozumel Island. Also had a wonderful time in and around Cancun itself.

Snaps from the trip follow -

Carribean Sea + Beach @ Resort

Whose line is it anyway?
(Ferry terminal @ Cozumel Island)

Colorful hand-woven hammocks

Pyramid of Kukulcan
(One of the 7 Wonders of the World)

Beauty in the ruins?
(A photo that I took came out very desktop wallpaper-ish)

I'm sure I'll rave more about the trip in future posts. For now, let's not push you into the dark hole of boredom!

Miscelleny

Today has been a fantabulous day.

My release at work went great this morning.
Then I made a phone call which changed someone's life and made another someone really happy.
I was told by a friend that they're really lucky to have me in their life.
And now? It's party time. NYC, here I come! :-)

Relentless Journey

The journey is borne
When you throw your cap in the air,
And party the night out.

At a glance,
The road ahead looks lit by success,
And paved with opportunity.

You start walking,
And along the road,
Are rocks of hardwork,
Boulders of long hours,
Pebbles of frustration,
And bricks of satisfaction.
There's twigs of silly moments
Where your questions get laughed at,
And trees of proud moments,
Where someone says 'I like your idea on that!'

You think it'll end,
But it never does!
Endless and relentless,
Day in, day out,
This walk continues forever.

Take 15

I like making lists. So what?

1. This blog has 5 faithful readers in the entire world. I'm one of them.
2. I've tried my very best at swallowing (I didn't say eating) oatmeal. Can't do it. In all its slimy glory, the food makes me cringe.
3. White Chocolate Mocha and Espresso Truffle are two of my favorite drinks at Starbucks.
4. My English accent (Indian or American) depends on who I talk to. And it's entirely subconscious.
5. I'm addicted to 'Tere Naina' from Chandni Chowk to China right now.
6. I call my Mum every day when I leave from work. And I ask her the same question every day - 'What's for dinner?'
7. The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache!
8. Every town's local 'Subzi Mandi' is a monopoly.
9. I love cooking!
10. #9 has a disclaimer attached to it. Don't expect me to wash dishes.
11. Life would be very incomplete without music.
12. Rabindranath Tagore is the only man who has written national anthems for two countries. Jana Gana Mana for India and Amar Sonar Bangla for Bangladesh.
13. I used to be able to pull a lot of 'one-nighters' for several books that had me hooked. Can't do that now. What used to take a night now takes a week. Sometimes even a month.
14. Walks in the rain are amazing. Being drenched to the bones? Even better!
15. I have a 'lucky chain' I hold onto every time I'm releasing something into production.

Text Messaging

So, as you can see, I'm posting pretty much every night. Don't get your hopes up too high though - this urge to post oh-so-frequently does die down.

Anyway, I've gotten into text messaging (or 'SMS-ing') lately. Not with too many people, just one or two good friends. I have a 'thing' (aren't I so specific?) about text messages though. If someone sends me a text, I promptly reply back. But, if I don't get a reply back to my reply - that's off limits. My mind discreetly screams out, 'It takes patience and my precious time to type out a text!' Not replying back to a reply is bad texting etiquette.

So, one of my friends messaged me today with a really good news. I texted him back, but no reply! It's okay though. In retrospect, this one is probably the most important one he's sent me till date. Being truly happy for a friend prevails. I guess bad texting etiquette is a pardonable offense after all.

Eight Hours of Sleep

I had to blog about this, because I keep saying it'll happen, and it never does.

Eight hours of sleep. I crave it every night, but never put myself to a routine to say 'Computer off, bedtime'. There's always one more email to write, one more facebook post to reply to, or one more phone call to make.

But, today, I see a ray of hope in myself. The eyelids are drooping and my dreams beckon me. Can't believe this, but eight hours of sleep, here I come!

Totally Random!

!!! I still remember the Chain Rule from my high school AP Calculus class. Don't ask why.

?? How am I going to surive this coming Friday, when the expected low temperature is dropping to 8 degrees Farenheit!

:-) I loved reading Suketu Mehta's Maximum City. I miss Mumbai!

!!! 'Not much' has become such a trite and 'blah' answer to 'What's up?' that if you reply saying something else other than 'Not much', people give you weird looks that read - 'Why are you telling me this?'

:-S This week at work is going to be very hectic. Is it Friday yet?

:-) I like being friends with folks at work. It adds a ray of personal touch between the cloudiness of deliverables and responsibility.

Simple Pleasures

Life becomes so rushed sometimes. There's a rush to wake up in the morning, rush to get to work, rush to meet the deadlines at work, rush to get out of work to catch the express train to the express bus, rush to get from the bus stop to the car in record time because it's so cold outside, rush to eat dinner and rush to go to bed because you know that evil alarm clock will wake you up at 6am the next morning!

Between the day-in/day-out schedule, though, we forget to enjoy the simple pleasures that life has to offer. A relaxing shower after a hectic day. A long afternoon nap. A walk by the riverfront. A song that reminds us of special moments. A warm cup of hot chocolate while reading a good book. It could be anything, really.

Things could get tricky though. You might not know what is it that really gives you a peace of mind. But then again, knowing yourself is a journey, not a destination.

Hello 2009!

First off - Happy New Year, everybody!

In retrospect, 2008 has been a wonderful year. Lot of changes - good changes - at work as well as in personal life. I met some interesting people, made new friends, and spent quality time with those near and dear to me.

I'm glad 2008 ended on a good note. I went to Mexico for a brief (and much needed) get-away during the holiday season, and the trip was very enjoyable. Saw some interesting places, ate delicious food, and relaxed my brain out. Pictures to follow soon!

As content as I am though, I have great hopes from 2009. Resolutions? Yes, of course - to fill the backlog of all past resolutions and to make new ones :-P