On how Facebook is a Pain- Thursday Thirteen #4

13 ways how Facebook has made life tougher - Thursday Thirteen #4

1.It keeps changing. This is a big rant, especially for someone who is technically challenged. There is a new way the photos show. The next day, there is timeline. It is way too clumsy.

2.You are forced to see ‘report cards’, ‘friendship tree’ and such random places tagging you. I was hanging in the highest branch of a tree near a banana.

3.The pictures we see on a mother protecting her baby in Japan Earthquake, a dying child buried alive in Uganda – all in 920P. I fail to understand how I can help by clicking a ‘Like’ or Sharing it!

4.The coverage of micro details in status messages truly pisses me off. I do not have to know which NH you took to reach the lake you are holidaying now in your new icy-blue capris with your munchkin husband. Argh is an understatement.

5.There is ZERO originality in status messages, if it does not fall in the above category. It is ripped off from just about anywhere, and that is only fine if one person on your feed has it. I cannot bring it to see twenty stories on one quote talking about how happiness resides in some unknown place, etc. Or, like this one - “Woman reaches love through friendship; man reaches friendship through love"

6.The applications – did I already speak about it? Ah, worth it again , the ones with ‘Get your finger print’, ‘write your names in letters’ (!) , or the X-Men characters, whatever!

7.All aunts, uncles are there. I do not have too many issues with my elders and love some of their wit on Facebook, but most of the time, they use it for matrimony and its allied purposes. OMG! (runs away)

8.There are some people who were friends, and are not now. And then there are some who are friends but not really close. You really do not know who should be in which group. The task of putting 526 people in groups is tougher than going off Facebook ( if I could)

9.There are weightloss ads on the sidebar. I get depressed when I see them.

10.I watched Disney Series when I was 9. When I saw a page for Minnie Mouse, I liked it. Now, I see posts daily on the new construction material Mickey has bought to upgrade its (or his) house.

11.We can have 31 mutual friends. Still, I wont accept you on my list if I do not know you. It is a stalker’s haven. Yuck!

12.The torture of the DSLR maniacs flooding my pages with pictures of trees, cars and shoes. Painful.

13.It is making people turn narcissist. I am particularly scared of this one.I am not kidding at all. Do watch this video to know more about it.

I know of at least 5 reasons on my mind on why one cannot quit facebook. One is certainly on how photo sharing has been made so much easier! Google+ is better, though :). I am too bitchy, love the idea of people ( even if i dont talk to any of them) to quit it. That's it! Pardon me for the lack of better ideas for T13. Promise to make it more lively in the next. Mean while, if by random chance any of you decide to quit Facebook, lemme know. Will send you some ballons!

P.S : Post updated to add video link.

Problems of This Day - Thursday Thirteen #3

13 problems of this day, this age( in no order)

I am on an amazing day off and been watching season after season of FRIENDS. The kind of problems we have today is an idea that stayed on my head. I intend to make it partly funny - lemme try. Humour has never been me.

1. I will show love for my community by purchasing an over-priced shampoo that apparently has community trade olives from Siberia.

2.I have three hearing devices. One headphones for my laptop. One handsfree. One more while I travel to work. And some songs are nice only in one of them. What a headache!

3.Putting pictures on Facebook means I cant wear the same kurta twice for a trip.

4. I am in search of a hairdresser who understands when I say 'do something with it, you must know, right?'.

5. I have over 50 different outfits but have no clue what to wear because its too cold for a kurta and too warm to carry a jacket.

6.I wanted a McDonalds Oreo Milkshake. The machine is broken. I just tweeted about it.

7. There is way too much low-cal feta cheese in my salad.

8. My pillows are too soft, that I wake up with a neck ache.

9. I have too much ketchup packets left after the million takeaways.

10. My neighbour's eight year old son called me and asked how 3G works.

11. I am too worried if the picture of my to-be groom is true or photoshopped.

12. I want to buy a DSLR. But hate to be one more of those who torture us, or be a feed for sarcastic bloggers.

13. I have been planning to go running. The gear, headphones, meter, shorts are all too expensive. Every month.

Whattay fun post to write! Loads of inspiration on this topic in web - looks like everyone seems to have problems with this world, anyways. Might as well get back to watching FRIENDS.

'I' does not necessarily mean yours truly :)Yea, I do love the community trade olive shampoo of mine.

Namma Chennai Rocks - Thursday Thirteen # 2

13 reasons why Madras aka Chennai rocks!

Having lived all my life ( barring the pre-KG years ) in Chennai, it is no surprise I am in love with it. I have travelled and lived for short durations in other main metros, but somehow the quintessential charm of the city fails to be replicated.

I rarely hate cities. I loved the bustling Hyderabad, the antique vintage charms of Calcutta and the smart chic Delhi I met. Trichy, Coimbotre are simply the most heart warming places for me to visit. The former because of my childhood love, and the later because of Isha, friends and simplicity. Ah, and the food in both places :)

Now on Chennai - the autos, the maniac driving and sticky sweat included(absolutely in my own perspective, I will try not to repeat food often)

1. The People and Jobs. We are a very cultural,educated lot. I say that, with a certain sense of pride. From the auto annae, the keerai kaari and the cobbler - everyone has an opinion on politics. People may not be the best to you, but we love our place. I have hardly heard of people from chennai migrating for jobs, except for a promotion or if they work with Google :) There are so many jobs available. Especially, on an entry level.

2. Beaches. I am a sucker at beaches. I love the winds, the sand and the messiness. Irrespective of whatever happens ( rains, sun or tsunami ), I love the beach. Had I been raised in Trichy or even Singapore, I would have missed this. No, Singapore does not have chennai or even remotely close beaches. Marina is now photogenic after the makeover. Elliots has long been my favourite kadalai beach for knowing the hep and cool chennai. We have one more beach, the Thiruvanmiyur one for amateur '8' design car rounds. Beat that, 3 beaches!

3. Food. Name it, we have it. I am not elaborating more on this. Tried the woodfired pizzas at Blur, or the Paneer Kheema dosais ? Yumville! Like every other Indian city, the street food in Chennai is brilliant. Thanks to migratory folks, we have bajjis, sundal and chaat sitting on the same counter. The under-rated son-papris and the over-rated milagai bajjis, we have it all.

4. Tanglish The most elite convent educated girls speak it here. We love our tamil. We love english. So we kalakify it and serve it with a smile. It works like a charm if you want to do shopping in chennai.

5. Pondy Bazar. A reason for anyone to visit my city atleast once. It should be a part of the tourism programmes there. The sheer colours and variety will bowl you over. To me, reminds of college time kurta walks and earring bargains.

6. Sowcarpet. If you have been raised in chennai and never gone shopping ( alone!) to Sowcarpet, you have missed it. The murukku sandwiches, the golas, designer sarees and awesome jewellery. Its our own mini version of Paris for fashion and Italy for food. And its an inspiring place for any juvenile entrepreneur (like me!)

7. Hop-On - Hop-Off buses. I am not sure if any other Indian city has this service. But chennai's AC Hop-On Hop-Off bus services are by far the best ways to go on ECR, if you do not have a car. Great views, and an excellent suspension on these buses.

8.Music Season . I am internally weeping at missing this. The smells, sights, colours and the sheer love for art my city has. The silk cotton crowds, beaded jewellery and south indain chic. The steaming coffees, kasi halwas and vazhaipoo vadais - A feast to all six senses. A place for celebrity spotting - do not be surprised if you find an yesteryear heroine (or a still-young Shobana) sitting next to you :)

9. Satyam Cinemas. Name me a place that offers an equivalent movie experience, steaming dosas on a bar stool and an unparalleled, creamy cold coffee. Simply the best place to watch movies. Even better than IMAX, trust me.

10. The Scene Colleges Stella, Ethi and MOP. Yeah, we are that awesome that we ought to be on this list. The tip of tongue tamil, the kurta-jean costume and the scooty whizzing around Nungambakkam. A treat. MOP is the best, though :P

11. Mount Road. We have one major road that connects you from one end to another - quite literally. Like the PIE here. And if you miss a right,you dont have to go all the way to another corner to get back, like in Banglore.

12. Traditional'a Moderna ? Have a vazhai elai sapadu and shop for ESPRIT clothes. Smoke on a hookah and head off to AF for a play. Nibble on a frankie and shop at Sundari Silks. Chennai is somewhere in between. It does not have the ultra cool post 11PM places to hang out and has a sense of laid back attitude in almost everything, but it suits fine for us. It is safe, spread out well, relatively organised (area wise) and has a blend of tanjavur to mexican food :)

13. We do know Hindi Chennai has got mostly a settled down crowd. The natives do not know hindi. We never had a need to know, because our marwari seths speak tamil. When someone says, abbey yaar, autowalahs do not speak hindi, I am fumed. Why would they expect a native nagapatinam born, educated chennai living autoguy to speak hindi? Walk into Tidel or Ascendas. I bet, 1/5 are from the aloo land.

This post has re-kindled so many happy memories. There is one more point, a very personal one that did not make it to the list. Chennai is the closest city to reach from Singapore. Takes me only 3.5 hours :) and we have budget flights that take for less than 100 dollars. Beat that!

Okay, I am in glee. This post was published on the most amazing fan page "I love Chennai "on Facebook. It is right here and no wonder, I am jumping up and down because of it :)

That's the way it is

Things have a way of working out. Friends turning into non-friends and tasty morsels turning into porridge.

People are not like preserves. They almost always come with an expiry date. Or at least a 'best before' date. The sick thing is that you get so used to them, that the taste still lingers. One familiar place, a taste, a song almost instantly turns time back and leaves it static for me to jolt out of it. To top it all, you now also know that the so called people never considered you important. It pains because you also know how you treat the people you do not consider important. Oh, the pains of knowing, realizing hard stuff.

If all this was too complicated to wonder, I turn to simpler(!) stuff. Like having a good hair style - and hell, it does not work out. My hair is the most untameable element I have ever seen. Too short may not really suit me, or so I think. Long is terrible, especially with crazy fungi and sweat residing. BodyShop, FaceShop and Garnier - I would like to divorce all of you. Even the shihakai podi that worked back home makes hair feel like hay here. Its the climate, the lack of proper rest, food and all that jazz. All I need is a smart, manageable hair. And yea, I suck at maintenance and upkeep. I do not like combing, taming and spend hours bothering about it. Neither do I think it looks nice always.

As I told, I need balance. In everything - from my head to my heels. Oh, the story of my chapped heals. That's the way it is.

What to eat when in Central India!

Central India ? I don't even know if it is a term to be used. Nevertheless, resuming my new found zest for being regular here, I am once again revisiting this part. Please dont disown me, if I discontinue now. I meant, I wont. Or I decided to build some defence in my case. Whatever..

The series started here, and is not here. I hope it does end soon :)



P.S - As always, click on the image to view larger.

Orissa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh - are you okay with being called Central India? I think it is pretty okay. The only catch is Orissa - but I would have a lot of places in East.

Of these, I have not been to Maharashtra. Yup, 24 years in India and not been to Mumbai once. Not even on transit.

Orissa - Fish Orly, Khirmohan, Rasabali, Chhenapodapitha. So tough to spell these stuff. Khirmohan is similar to Rasgulla. I may have had it in a 'bengali sweetbox'. Not sure at all. Fish Orly - :P, Rasabali, yup. I have done this one with khoa. Rasabali is the Rasmalai version of a Gulabjamun - well, sort off. I made this as a part of a sweets class, sometime when I was in college. Chhenapodapitha is the 'cheesecake' from Orissa. Wow, never knew about this. Must check out, and try sometime.

Trivia : Visited Puri when I was 10 years old. I remember eating Poori at Puri :) and talking about it in school.

Maharashtra - Shrikand, Thalipeeth, Vada Pao, Modak. All tasted. Have tried to make only vada pao from this, but I dont know if mine was authentic. I should go to Bombay and try it sometime. Thalipeeth is the NI version of Adai made with different flours. The version I had contained even ragi. Not a fan, but was nice.

Madhya Pradhesh - Lapsi, Bafla, Bhutte ki Khees, Bhopali Kebabs. Lapsi is a sweet dish made with godumai ravai. Amma makes it often. She even calls the upma from it s Lapsi Upma :)Bafla Bati and Bhopali Kebabs - Nope. Bhutte Ka Kees seems very interesting, a mix of upma and dhokla. Sometime.

Gujarat - Thepla, Dhokla and Khandvi - Love. Handvo - May be second love. Panki - A elai adai version of NI, probably. Never heard before.

Rajasthan - Dal Baati Churma, Ker Sangri, Lal Maas Gatte, Pyaaz ki Kachori. Dal Baati, I have had, but did not like it too much. May be I have not had the best versions. Lal Mass and Ker Sangri is saved :) Kachoris, only from local chaat shops.

Chattisgarh - Bafauri, Kusli and Red ant chutney. Geez, whats this ant chutney supossed to be? Ahem!

East and Rest Later :)

16 year old Talks - Thursday Thirteen #1

I am sick of my lethargy in posting here. If I hate anything about myself at the moment, this is it - the inability to write regularly. So, I spent half of a monday :P morning browsing through ideas to keep my blog going. One of my favourite is tags. In case you still do not know what tags are, just go away to this post by Nags.

So yeah,be all ready to find me tagging myself. I am that shameless to keep this blog going :)

Another major idea ( yea, thts how I call anything I think of ) was to do regular lists like some kind of a series. I know it is not exactly saving the world, but it gives some kind of a pattern to posts (whatever!). One of it is Thursday Thirteen.

So what I will do is to post a list of 13 things every Thursday. And on what I will post will depend on my silly head. This week, I planned to post the top 13 foods I have cooked. But I wanted to add photos. And I wanted to link it to the recipe, if online. And I wanted to do this, that. So it is not happening for this week. It would be a nice separate post, than this list.

So here it is, all grand music and wild entry - My Thursday Thirteen #1

13 things I should tell to the 16 year old me : (or to any 16 year old)

1. Be proud of your choice to take commerce. You did the right thing.

2. Do not stop that meditation you do now. You will learn about Isha and get involved in it, later.

3. Get used to wearing sleeveless.

4. Learn about what 'taking backup' is. Do not lose any photos.

5. Start liking 2 minute maggi noodles. Its now or never. The 24 year old me still does not.

6. Join a dance class. You will regret you did not do it, later.

7. Continue with the diary. Do it in pencil, so that you can erase stuff.

8. Her hate for you is plain jealousy. It will come back as FB request years later.

9. Start washing your tiffin boxes. It is seriously sick to start doing it at 24.

10. The annual holidays you get now, is practically unheard of for the rest of your life. Sleep well. Please.

11. Learn to manage a dupatta, properly. The girl way.

12. Stop answering back amma for everything. Years later, you will sit miles away missing her.

13. DO NOT bother about your 10th marks. The world does not care anyway.