Is it possible to love and dread a country for the same reason? I do.
I love the United States of America for it gives me the freedom to do what i want to do, without the necessity to bother the people around.
I dread it because it thinks that a 70 year old lady driving her car without anyone in the passenger seat, living alone and managing everything on her own, is an epitome of "independence".
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Sunday, August 27, 2006
A short story-7
A Dramatical Trauma
---------------------------------
"Wassup Priya?", Raj was surprised to see Priya calling his number. She hadn't called in over a month and hadn't even bothered to answer his text messages. The frequency of calls was getting lesser and lesser ever since she got married.
"Raj. Can we meet at 6pm, my place?", she uttered as fastly as she could.
"Sure. I'll be there", said Raj.
She was relieved to hear the answer she was so sure of hearing. "Raj is so predictable and yet so complex", she thought. That's what attracts all the girls towards him and makes him an intimate and a trustworthy guy to rely on, for just about anything. She was thankful that her husband was not at home. "He will not understand. He's insensitive to my feelings".
The time in between was so boring, like watching the all-too-familiar advertisements on TV over and over, but the curiosity to know if things will go the way she wanted them to, definitely made it interesting and made her sweat a bit...whatever happens after the clock strikes six will make or break the way she looks at Raj in the future. It was a very important moment and she was glued to the couch, waiting for the doorbell to ring.
After what seemed to be an eternity, it was 6pm finally...
"Come in Raj", Priya greeted him. Raj could tell immediately that she had been crying for hours now.
"What's the matter Priya?"
She burst into tears immediately after hearing him say those words...it was all too dramatic and unbelievable.
"Rahul's a jerk, Raj. My marriage is in danger. He wants to get divorced from me", she hugged Raj.
He tried to console her. He so badly wanted to say, "I warned you", but refrained. He smiled emphatically, feeling proud of his judgement, completely indifferent to the pain Priya was going through. He did not say it, but "I told you so" was written all over his face. Priya could not see his face obviously. She felt she was being genuinely comforted and cried even more, enough water coming out of her eyes to fill a bucket.
Swetha could not take this any more. She did not realise that she had been crying too, watching Priya's anguish. She shouted at the top of her voice, "Get off of him, you idiot. Raj's a bigger jerk than Rahul. Don't you see it? Are you a moron? Get off of him or I'll..."
"Break the remote control one more time?", Swetha's husband, who's entry into the house a minute ago went unnoticed, completed the sentence, as a matter of fact.
"There it is, his insensitivity towards my feelings in full flow...", Swetha thought.
---------------------------------
"Wassup Priya?", Raj was surprised to see Priya calling his number. She hadn't called in over a month and hadn't even bothered to answer his text messages. The frequency of calls was getting lesser and lesser ever since she got married.
"Raj. Can we meet at 6pm, my place?", she uttered as fastly as she could.
"Sure. I'll be there", said Raj.
She was relieved to hear the answer she was so sure of hearing. "Raj is so predictable and yet so complex", she thought. That's what attracts all the girls towards him and makes him an intimate and a trustworthy guy to rely on, for just about anything. She was thankful that her husband was not at home. "He will not understand. He's insensitive to my feelings".
The time in between was so boring, like watching the all-too-familiar advertisements on TV over and over, but the curiosity to know if things will go the way she wanted them to, definitely made it interesting and made her sweat a bit...whatever happens after the clock strikes six will make or break the way she looks at Raj in the future. It was a very important moment and she was glued to the couch, waiting for the doorbell to ring.
After what seemed to be an eternity, it was 6pm finally...
"Come in Raj", Priya greeted him. Raj could tell immediately that she had been crying for hours now.
"What's the matter Priya?"
She burst into tears immediately after hearing him say those words...it was all too dramatic and unbelievable.
"Rahul's a jerk, Raj. My marriage is in danger. He wants to get divorced from me", she hugged Raj.
He tried to console her. He so badly wanted to say, "I warned you", but refrained. He smiled emphatically, feeling proud of his judgement, completely indifferent to the pain Priya was going through. He did not say it, but "I told you so" was written all over his face. Priya could not see his face obviously. She felt she was being genuinely comforted and cried even more, enough water coming out of her eyes to fill a bucket.
Swetha could not take this any more. She did not realise that she had been crying too, watching Priya's anguish. She shouted at the top of her voice, "Get off of him, you idiot. Raj's a bigger jerk than Rahul. Don't you see it? Are you a moron? Get off of him or I'll..."
"Break the remote control one more time?", Swetha's husband, who's entry into the house a minute ago went unnoticed, completed the sentence, as a matter of fact.
"There it is, his insensitivity towards my feelings in full flow...", Swetha thought.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
Miscellaneous...
Finished reading The Fountainhead at last. I had finished reading half the book about 8 months back, and finished the remainder during the last month. The book was good in parts, but it was not to my liking overall. The way Rand has presented the complexities and simplicities in the different relationships is enjoyable for its poetic beauty...it's certainly a fantasy world that she' writing about. She gets carried away a lot of times. She wants a man who earns $40 a week to get more benefits than a man earning $15 a week, completely ignoring the circumstances which lead to him earning whatever he earns. She tries to justify it with her potrayal of Wynand, which is but a one-in-a-million exception. When you dont have bread, you wont have the motivation to do anything, is my belief. There's nothing wrong about Roark. He's adorable. But Rand is not. To make Roark a hero, she makes everyone a villain. Toohey is useless anyways. But the whole world is not full of Tooheys. There are people who live for the world sacrificing everything. They dont bother being Rand's first handers even if they can be one, and they dont need say that. Overall, a confused book by a confused lady. it's byebye Rand anyways.
Watched Kabhi Alvida Na Kehnaa. What a movie. Loved every bit of it. Very very real story. Comedy was good although A-rated occasionally. Amitabh was superb. SRK was amazing as usual. Bollywood seems to be improving. But then, Karan Johar has always been good.
Nothing much happening otherwise. Went to Huntington beach once. went to la jolla shores a couple of times. watched a lot of new-release English movies. Watched 23-aam Pulikesi. was refreshing. Vadivelu was very good. a must-watch. work's good. san diego's getting a bit colder, hovering in the low 80s mostly. playing a lot of tennis. yet to resume playing cricket. might start playing in the near future. Looking forward to Sachin's return in Srilanka(whether or not SA pulls out). Reading Darwin's Origin Of Species. Pretty boring so far. I hope it gets interesting soon enough. One of my friends is visiting San Diego in September. Will be seeing him after three and a half years.
Life's good. Looking forward to the future...
Watched Kabhi Alvida Na Kehnaa. What a movie. Loved every bit of it. Very very real story. Comedy was good although A-rated occasionally. Amitabh was superb. SRK was amazing as usual. Bollywood seems to be improving. But then, Karan Johar has always been good.
Nothing much happening otherwise. Went to Huntington beach once. went to la jolla shores a couple of times. watched a lot of new-release English movies. Watched 23-aam Pulikesi. was refreshing. Vadivelu was very good. a must-watch. work's good. san diego's getting a bit colder, hovering in the low 80s mostly. playing a lot of tennis. yet to resume playing cricket. might start playing in the near future. Looking forward to Sachin's return in Srilanka(whether or not SA pulls out). Reading Darwin's Origin Of Species. Pretty boring so far. I hope it gets interesting soon enough. One of my friends is visiting San Diego in September. Will be seeing him after three and a half years.
Life's good. Looking forward to the future...
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
Tears...
For no particular reason and for all the reasons in this world, he felt like crying.
Being at the right place at the right time was impractical, to him atleast.
He wished he would learn to live with it...and without loving.
At last he was helped...by the small drop that wouldn't retreat.
Being at the right place at the right time was impractical, to him atleast.
He wished he would learn to live with it...and without loving.
At last he was helped...by the small drop that wouldn't retreat.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
A Human Hug
கட்டிப்பிடி வைத்தியம்
அன்பின் பாதை சேர்ந்தவனுக்கு முடிவே இல்லையடா
மனதின் நீளம் எதுவோ அதுவே வாழ்வின் நீளமடா
அன்பின் பாதை சேர்ந்தவனுக்கு முடிவே இல்லையடா
மனதின் நீளம் எதுவோ அதுவே வாழ்வின் நீளமடா
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Thursday, June 15, 2006
The AXE Effect
"Voodoo" has always been my second choice, until yesterday. Even this time, i was only forced to buy it cos "Phoenix" was not available in the store and cos I knew I won't get as good a deal on the price in any other store(ok, I was too lazy to goto another store). I felt proud that my first choice deodorant was used by so many that the store ran out of stock! I decided to compromise, not realising the blessing in disguise,...if i may.
At about 1 pm yesterday, I was in the lunchroom in my office, watching Germany take on Poland in the World Cup Soccer. There was a really pretty blonde girl in the room, which was a surprise in itself, sitting a few feet away from me, also watching the game(i was watching the game too, mind you). We must've stayed together there for less than 10 minutes. The room was crowded and there was no scope of talking to her. "Damn my luck", i thought, as always(good thing to put the blame on for my incapacities).
I went back at 3pm for tea and surprise, she was there too!
PBG: "hey. how you doin'?"
me: "hello"
PBG: "what perfume do u use? u smell great"
me(not blushing surprisingly enough): "oh, thanks. it's just a deo. Axe...Voodoo"
PBG: "oh! cool. see ya around..."
me: "sure!" ;)
Was relaxing browsing the net after a tiring day. It was about 11 pm and it was hot inside the house, thanks to the heater set at 78 degrees. Went outside to get some fresh air. There, sitting all alone, with a can of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other was this beautiful brunette girl, who has been saying hi's and hello's to me from outside my window for the past 3 days. I decided to put some "kadalai" and asked her whereabouts. She was in San Diego visiting my neighbor and was from Arizona. We "kadalied" for about half an hour.
BBG: "am waiting for my friend. She's in the jacuzzi. hope am not ruining your sleep"
me(thinking, "not yet"): "no no. not at all. I don't sleep before midnight generally"
....
BBG: "what soap do you use?"
me: "eh?"
BBG: "what soap do you use? you smell very good"
me: "Dove"
BBG: "I've been smelling you for a very long time now. It's very good"
me(successfully avoiding blushing again): "well, it's probably my deodorant. Voodoo"
BBG: "oh. very good"
her friend, a cute brunette girl, who was half lost cos of the 6 beers inside her belly and half cos she lost her contact lenses in the jaccuzi arrived. BBG intro-ed me to CBG as A's neighbor(they both were visiting A, who's married unfortunately). CBG offered her hand.
CBG(pointing to the window in my room): "you are the guy who sits in this room, right?"
me: "yes, i am"
CBG: "What's your name?"
me: "Ram"
CBG: "What does it mean?"
me: "It's a God's name"
CBG: "that's cool"
CBG(sniffing the air): "it smells great, doesn't it?"
BBG: "it's his deo"
CBG: "cool. it's very good. must be an expensive one"
BBG: "it's Voodoo"
CBG: "good choice"
It was too much for one day and i did blush a little. They did not seem to notice ;)
BBG(offering her hand): "Thanks for keeping me company, R-A-M. Good night"
CBG: "Good night, R-A-M"
me: "good night girls. Enjoy the remaining days in San Diego"
12:15 am, today.
me(asking myself): "What must be the title for the blog, when i do blog later today from work about the remarkable day that yesterday was?"
Voodoo's here to stay...goodbye Phoenix! ;)
After all, who cares what my first choice is?!
At about 1 pm yesterday, I was in the lunchroom in my office, watching Germany take on Poland in the World Cup Soccer. There was a really pretty blonde girl in the room, which was a surprise in itself, sitting a few feet away from me, also watching the game(i was watching the game too, mind you). We must've stayed together there for less than 10 minutes. The room was crowded and there was no scope of talking to her. "Damn my luck", i thought, as always(good thing to put the blame on for my incapacities).
I went back at 3pm for tea and surprise, she was there too!
PBG: "hey. how you doin'?"
me: "hello"
PBG: "what perfume do u use? u smell great"
me(not blushing surprisingly enough): "oh, thanks. it's just a deo. Axe...Voodoo"
PBG: "oh! cool. see ya around..."
me: "sure!" ;)
Was relaxing browsing the net after a tiring day. It was about 11 pm and it was hot inside the house, thanks to the heater set at 78 degrees. Went outside to get some fresh air. There, sitting all alone, with a can of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other was this beautiful brunette girl, who has been saying hi's and hello's to me from outside my window for the past 3 days. I decided to put some "kadalai" and asked her whereabouts. She was in San Diego visiting my neighbor and was from Arizona. We "kadalied" for about half an hour.
BBG: "am waiting for my friend. She's in the jacuzzi. hope am not ruining your sleep"
me(thinking, "not yet"): "no no. not at all. I don't sleep before midnight generally"
....
BBG: "what soap do you use?"
me: "eh?"
BBG: "what soap do you use? you smell very good"
me: "Dove"
BBG: "I've been smelling you for a very long time now. It's very good"
me(successfully avoiding blushing again): "well, it's probably my deodorant. Voodoo"
BBG: "oh. very good"
her friend, a cute brunette girl, who was half lost cos of the 6 beers inside her belly and half cos she lost her contact lenses in the jaccuzi arrived. BBG intro-ed me to CBG as A's neighbor(they both were visiting A, who's married unfortunately). CBG offered her hand.
CBG(pointing to the window in my room): "you are the guy who sits in this room, right?"
me: "yes, i am"
CBG: "What's your name?"
me: "Ram"
CBG: "What does it mean?"
me: "It's a God's name"
CBG: "that's cool"
CBG(sniffing the air): "it smells great, doesn't it?"
BBG: "it's his deo"
CBG: "cool. it's very good. must be an expensive one"
BBG: "it's Voodoo"
CBG: "good choice"
It was too much for one day and i did blush a little. They did not seem to notice ;)
BBG(offering her hand): "Thanks for keeping me company, R-A-M. Good night"
CBG: "Good night, R-A-M"
me: "good night girls. Enjoy the remaining days in San Diego"
12:15 am, today.
me(asking myself): "What must be the title for the blog, when i do blog later today from work about the remarkable day that yesterday was?"
Voodoo's here to stay...goodbye Phoenix! ;)
After all, who cares what my first choice is?!
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Around Southern California
The last 15 days were full of action for me. Practically know the roads connecting my house to the different hot spots in San Diego byheart now. Also have a good idea about the Pacific highway running near Los Angeles, which is full of beaches and to an extent the streets in the LA downtown. Drove 60 miles a day on average during this period...phew!
A friend, another friend and his parents, and another friend of his visited San Diego on the 27th of May. It was a long weekend. Went to the Pacific beach, went to the San Diego harbor and did go-karting that night...twice. a very expensive sport...wont go near it for another 3 months atleast, or so i hope. The following day we went to the SeaWorld in San Diego. what a place! the animals are simply amazing. although, at times, i felt like an ASPCA agent, i couldnt help but wonder the way these animals are trained. Shamu, the whale was amazing. So were the dolphins, the walruses, the penguins, the sealions, the sea otters, the sharks, the polar bears and the infinite varieties of the fishes. the entire day was not enough to cover every nook and corner of the place. bought a pass for a trivial $11 on top of the actual entry fee, which i can use any number of times through the remainder of 2006. hoping to go there atleast one more time this year. that night we met some common friends over dinner and remembered some good old times in Cincinnati. on the 29th, we started late, exhausted by the previous two days. We planned to go to the Malibu Venkateswara temple, near LA and return by 5pm in the evening, while my friends will drive to the bay area from there. Blame it on the amazing LA traffic, it was 9:30pm when me and B reached home that night. The only solace was the good darshan we had in the temple...
The next four days were really busy. Four day weeks are surely more taxing than the normal five day weeks. had to drive to the airport to drop B off, who was leaving to India for 10 days for his sister's marriage. Have to pick him up from the airport tomorrow, and that should put an end to driving more than 10 miles continuously, atleast for a while.
On the morning of the 3rd of June, i drove to LAX international airport, to pick up my cousin, whom i was meeting after about five years, his wife and kid, whom i had never met before. We checked into the Marriott in the LA downtown and set to Santa Monica beach after having lunch at an Indian restaurant. It was really hot and we couldnt stay there for long, cos of the infant. We then went to the Malibu temple(twice for me, in 6 days). kept driving on the Pacific highway for a long time, enjoying the scenic beauty and then set about to Beverly hills. We were all exhausted by then and missed our way somewhere and decided to skip it and went back to the hotel after having dinner at Denny's. The next day was spent in Universal studios, a miniature version of the one i had been to in Orlando in July 2004. Relived some of the old rides and enjoyed some of the new ones(ones that werent in Orlando). Mummy Returns and Jurassic Park were good in particular, and Back To the Future chose to remain my favorite. We spent a good time outside the Universal Studios, at the Universal City Walk and had good mexican food. I then dropped them at the hotel and returned to San Diego at 1 am. They chose to stay back for a couple more days in LA.
Work resumed on monday and only monday was relatively peaceful. Had to pick them up from the Amtrak railway station in San Diego downtown on Tuesday. They went to the World Famous(as they claim) San Diego Zoo on wednesday. took a break and dropped them off at the zoo and picked them up after work in the evening. We went to the San Diego harbour(twice in 10 days) that evening and spent some time taking pictures. On thursday, i dropped them off at the SeaWorld and then picked them up in the evening. They supposedly had a very good time at both the zoo and the SeaWorld. On Friday, i went really early to work(woke up at 5:30 am!) and returned early too. They just walked to a nearby mall and did some shopping and had lunch. We then set out to Old Town San Diego, where the oldest settlements were supposed to have been. There were a lot of shops and restaurants, all in mexican style. We had a good time there. Then we went to the Coronado beach in Coronado island, south of San Diego. The beach there was lovely. We spent over an hour there, taking videos and pictures and then set back to the Old Town San Diego for dinner. It was midnight by the time we reached home. Yesterday, all of us and my roommates went to an Indian restaurant and had some good food. My cousin's flight was at 2:40 pm and i dropped them off at the airport at 1:40pm sharply :D.
It was about 4pm when i thought of taking a short nap, cos i was feeling really exhausted. By the time i woke up, it was well past 11 pm! I went back to bed at 3 am and woke up again at 8 am and i feel rejuvenated as i write this. The last 15 days were sapping the juice out of me. But, i will have the memories and the photographs to bring to life the various places i visited taking away my tiredness with them...
A friend, another friend and his parents, and another friend of his visited San Diego on the 27th of May. It was a long weekend. Went to the Pacific beach, went to the San Diego harbor and did go-karting that night...twice. a very expensive sport...wont go near it for another 3 months atleast, or so i hope. The following day we went to the SeaWorld in San Diego. what a place! the animals are simply amazing. although, at times, i felt like an ASPCA agent, i couldnt help but wonder the way these animals are trained. Shamu, the whale was amazing. So were the dolphins, the walruses, the penguins, the sealions, the sea otters, the sharks, the polar bears and the infinite varieties of the fishes. the entire day was not enough to cover every nook and corner of the place. bought a pass for a trivial $11 on top of the actual entry fee, which i can use any number of times through the remainder of 2006. hoping to go there atleast one more time this year. that night we met some common friends over dinner and remembered some good old times in Cincinnati. on the 29th, we started late, exhausted by the previous two days. We planned to go to the Malibu Venkateswara temple, near LA and return by 5pm in the evening, while my friends will drive to the bay area from there. Blame it on the amazing LA traffic, it was 9:30pm when me and B reached home that night. The only solace was the good darshan we had in the temple...
The next four days were really busy. Four day weeks are surely more taxing than the normal five day weeks. had to drive to the airport to drop B off, who was leaving to India for 10 days for his sister's marriage. Have to pick him up from the airport tomorrow, and that should put an end to driving more than 10 miles continuously, atleast for a while.
On the morning of the 3rd of June, i drove to LAX international airport, to pick up my cousin, whom i was meeting after about five years, his wife and kid, whom i had never met before. We checked into the Marriott in the LA downtown and set to Santa Monica beach after having lunch at an Indian restaurant. It was really hot and we couldnt stay there for long, cos of the infant. We then went to the Malibu temple(twice for me, in 6 days). kept driving on the Pacific highway for a long time, enjoying the scenic beauty and then set about to Beverly hills. We were all exhausted by then and missed our way somewhere and decided to skip it and went back to the hotel after having dinner at Denny's. The next day was spent in Universal studios, a miniature version of the one i had been to in Orlando in July 2004. Relived some of the old rides and enjoyed some of the new ones(ones that werent in Orlando). Mummy Returns and Jurassic Park were good in particular, and Back To the Future chose to remain my favorite. We spent a good time outside the Universal Studios, at the Universal City Walk and had good mexican food. I then dropped them at the hotel and returned to San Diego at 1 am. They chose to stay back for a couple more days in LA.
Work resumed on monday and only monday was relatively peaceful. Had to pick them up from the Amtrak railway station in San Diego downtown on Tuesday. They went to the World Famous(as they claim) San Diego Zoo on wednesday. took a break and dropped them off at the zoo and picked them up after work in the evening. We went to the San Diego harbour(twice in 10 days) that evening and spent some time taking pictures. On thursday, i dropped them off at the SeaWorld and then picked them up in the evening. They supposedly had a very good time at both the zoo and the SeaWorld. On Friday, i went really early to work(woke up at 5:30 am!) and returned early too. They just walked to a nearby mall and did some shopping and had lunch. We then set out to Old Town San Diego, where the oldest settlements were supposed to have been. There were a lot of shops and restaurants, all in mexican style. We had a good time there. Then we went to the Coronado beach in Coronado island, south of San Diego. The beach there was lovely. We spent over an hour there, taking videos and pictures and then set back to the Old Town San Diego for dinner. It was midnight by the time we reached home. Yesterday, all of us and my roommates went to an Indian restaurant and had some good food. My cousin's flight was at 2:40 pm and i dropped them off at the airport at 1:40pm sharply :D.
It was about 4pm when i thought of taking a short nap, cos i was feeling really exhausted. By the time i woke up, it was well past 11 pm! I went back to bed at 3 am and woke up again at 8 am and i feel rejuvenated as i write this. The last 15 days were sapping the juice out of me. But, i will have the memories and the photographs to bring to life the various places i visited taking away my tiredness with them...
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