MEINE CORNER IN THE BLOG WORLD!

Past few months were very tight -  trips to India and pressure to finish up with examinations by 2011 along with work! Result was a big sacrifice of social life, long days, bigger dark circles, swollen feet, mosquito bites; but ended up having a great time with family, my sister in law's wedding was the biggest ocassion & got to finally meet my niece and celebrate her 1st birthday! can't believe she's completed a year - i think it was just the other day that my sister had delievered her! As we step into a new decade, I am trying to form my goals and objectives for the year....I have to say I'm pretty impressed with accomplishing 2010 goals! - Attempted and passed all CPA exams! - Back to yoga classes ! - Visited sister and parents - stayed a few days with them! - Did my annual med check-ups - drinking more water each day as well The only thing I did not get to was taking some Spanish language classes. let's hope I get to that some day. In 2011, I defi...

At some or most points, we may be looking for inspirations or ideas to better our lives and thoughts. While I need motivation to pick up my book and study, I managed to watch these movies on DVD in the recent past. I listed the exceptionally good ones and I’m not bothered by how they did in the box office, because the content or the message was truly worth. You probably have seen all or most of them, let me know your thoughts.   Invictus : Nelson Mandela bringing South Africa together, he gives people a reason to overlook color/race through rugby. This true story is all about one man’s idea as to how to stitch a torn nation that segregate strongly by color/race. He wants to create the sense of humanity and love for his country. He strongly believes in the nation’s rugby team to win the world championship and they do so. While they portray Mandela’s intelligence, they also show his humility and respect for every single individual he works with. Extraordinary Measures: I did n...

After what felt like ages, we took a break from Bay area and made a trip  to Arizona this past long weekend. The most attractive feature was the heat! The winter never seemed to end in North CA and it just kept raining even in the last week of May. So Arizona's hot and sunny days were just perfect. My first thought of the highways in AZ was that it looked like Dubai (UAE) in the 1990s. The desert, how the buildings are spread out, the simple yet some decoration of the highways, quite a few roundabouts and the overall excellent roads/bridges. Most of the  highways, you would find cacti, specially the giant seguaro. This landscape changed as we headed to Sedona on day1. Sedona is this land of  tri-colored rocky mountains with a cute uptown that offers the rich an exotic place to own a home and for tourists the delight of experiencing Mother Nature's wonders. The rocks here have layers of red, yellow and ash. the red is a result of iron oxide effect, the yellow is lim...

Earlier today I had a chance to read one of the articles by Chetan Bhagat on TOI. It was Mayawati's appearance in public wearing a  garland made of money that was the main focus on his article besides the outrageous spending by some of the rich.I cannot agree more with Mr.Bhagat about how disgusting such an appearance is and how it could be a wrong message for the coming generation. Then it just struck me that people flashing their wealth in public is similar to somebody making a presentation using a hot pink font (or any fluorescent color for that matter). that flashy color is bound to hurt our eyes, shock us in the beginning but can't really do much about it! And while this goes on, the presenter enjoys teasing us just becau se they occupy the podium, even if its only for a temporary period. This is my idea of pleasure that probably the flashy rich get in public - loving the attention, irrespective if they are loved or hated. Note: I say "flashy rich" and ...

This topic is in connection with my home and its about my fav celebrity, I am talking about my dh. He totally fits the definition of a celebrity. To begin with, I am a big fan of his. And then everything that follows, just adds on.. He's the ever-busy guy when it comes to work and so I look forward to spending the precious 2-3 hours after work with him, watching TV/talking and ofcourse dinner. For me, its a regular desk job and work doesn't really hold me back often. Lately, he's been travelling a lot, so here's meagerly awaiting his return and ofcourse each time heartbroken as he leaves to the airport. When he gets back from each trip, I can't wait to load him with all the stories of the time when he was on travel, while he just wants to sleep from jet lag. At that moment, I am not too different from the fan who is in that super long line to get the autograph from an admired celebrity. On the weekend, we talk to family and every single time, I can hear the ...

From the dull, dark evening to bright, fun evening - this is my biggest reason to love Daylight savings. Even if its 6pm, it feels like there's a lot more that could be achieved before dinner time. Dogs playing catch with their owners, kids running around , some getting their bicycle lessons and mothers strolling with their babies in the pram. Ofcourse some couples making use of the pretty day. I must admit, after walking down the park that was deserted for months together, today was such a treat for the eyes!! Not sure if the cold, wet days are over, but I am eager to welcome the sunny days ahead with longer day time, more energy and pack the jackets/sweaters back in the cases! Welcome Spring!!

So while this blog is also partially my journal, I am going to add this list and probably keep updating this one. For quite some time, I have been learning Bollywood dances and after about a year's break, I am back to it again. So here's the list of songs that I have danced to so far :- a) Deewangi (Om Shanti Om) - In Class b) Ke Ab na Pooch (Cash )  Summer performance c) Sajnaji Vari Vari (Honeymoon Travels) - also Summer Performance d)Move your body now (Kismat Konnection) Winter Performance e) Lucky Boy (Race) -also Winter Performance f) Hadippa remix (Dil Bole Hadippa) - In Class g) Chor bazaari remix (Love Aaj Kal) - In class Hopefully more to add on to this list!

The following article was sent to me via email, its a great read - well done business analysis; This is written by Dr. Y. L. R. Moorthi is a professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. He is an M.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and a post graduate in management from IIM, Bangalore. Who sells the largest number of cameras in India? Your guess is likely to be Sony, Canon or Nikon. Answer is none of the above. The winner is Nokia whose main line of business in India is not cameras but cell phones. Reason being cameras bundled with cellphones are outselling stand alone cameras. Now, what prevents the cellphone from replacing the camera outright? Nothing at all. One can only hope the Sonys and Canons are taking note. Try this. Who is the biggest in music business in India? You think it is HMV Sa-Re-Ga-Ma? Sorry. The answer is Airtel. By selling caller tunes (that play for 30 seconds) Airtel makes more than what music companies make by sellin...

As the $1 DVD Rental deal continues to be irresistable after the regular grocery shopping, here's the list of movies we watched in the last few months :- 1) Love n Dancing : - As expected, tons of dancing, but the drama makes it quite balanced. The movie is about egos, ambitions, discovery of self. 2) Angels and Demons :- I definitely think the book was much better. I have not watched The Da Vinci Code, but this one was so dragging towards the end, terrible. 3) Perfect Stranger :- Some part of it is quite predictable, but the attempt here was a plot with a lot of twists and turns with a journalist going undercover to solve the mystery of her missing childhood friend. 4)Up :- A sweet story with some hilarious moments, that could lift up your spirits like the balloons lifting up this "Senior's" house! 5)Taking of Pelham 123:- A thrilling movie, made pretty well. As a Denzel Washington fan, this was definitely worth it and Travolta does well too. I wasn...

I used the picture because its really how I feel at this moment. The minute it struck 12 and we are to welcome the new year, my mind quickly had a snapshot of what 2009 was all about. We will miss wishing some this year and wish some new ones. Once I was over that emotional ride, I did make up my mind for a few good things to do in Year 2010. -To complete my Exams successfully -To meet family, especially my little niece -Make 1 relaxing holiday atleast -Drink more water each day -Exercise/Dance/Yoga through the year -Probably even learn a new language Here's wishing you all a joyous and healthy new year!

To be frank, what attracted me most to watch this movie, is this poster itself - big smiles, bright colors and the word "Hadippa". I was guessing it meant "Yay" and I believe I am quite close to what it really means. The movie is definitely worth watching once, well maybe not in the expensive movie ride, but atleast on DVD. The movie begins with quite a predictable pattern, but it does pick up pace. The story is of a bubbly village girl wanting to make it big in her village's cricket team and beat Pakistan in the Wagah border match. Acknowledging her skills as both left and/or right hand bats(wo)man, she eagerly attends the match selection round only to be told that "this isn't a Miss India selection". As expected this leads to Veera becoming the cute and reliable Veer Pratap on the cricket team. Rani Mukherjee is completely adorable, especially in the role of Veer Prathap. Her facial expressions and struggle through the warm up sessions could ...

Dec 11th, 2009 is marked for life. The date will be special from here on with the arrival of a sweet little one in our family, my niece. I am thrilled to bits and been excited ever since I heard the news. I am yet to see the new bundle of joy and can't wait for an opportunity to see her! I have now been promoted to an Aunt in the family! Its amazing how these moments fill us up with high spirits, joy and hope!  I am wishing the new angel the very best and a wonderful parenthood to my sis & bro. May God Bless!

Unlike most of the population, I cannot really can't consider Thanksgiving holiday to be a long weekend, cos we work the day after Thanksgiving for obvious reasons. So hope you had fun shopping on Black Friday while I was at work, where it was busier and a longer day! Anyways, I did enjoy my day off. Sometimes, you don't need plans, especially when you are not in a travel/explore mood, you can ofcourse do a 100+ things at home to entertain yourself. To begin with, waking up late and looking forward to doing "nothing" was great. The day just passed by with goofing around with dh at home. We cooked together, watched The Illusionist . Both of us enjoyed the mystery filled, tricky movie. After a nap, we had masala chai and snacks to pamper ourselves. Also chatted with folks back home and shopped online as we found some good deals! Mainly got clothes, sweater and ,per dh,yet another handbag (LOL). Now I can't for those shipments to arrive! To sum it up, we had ...

I have always been a fan of Mr. Buffet and there's no doubt that himself and Gates are legends!Nothing like getting their insight of America's future. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates : Keeping America Great If you have not yet caught up to this video, get to it now!

You might have noticed how some companies are doing exceptionally well inspite of the Recession, even though the claim to Recovery has already begun - 1 of them is Apple for sure. Apple first convinced the crowd with their ipods and once they got fancy with that, iphones were born. Now that Apple loves the population for loving their product, they are going for the Mac! Talk about market penetration through brand value. Windows seems like this big giant right now, overshadowing what any other OS can actually offer the users and looks like the best time Mac is coming in. If I am given a choice I'll probably jump at the Mac offer!  Seen this ad ? On the other hand this worries me. Cos if the craze of Mac over PC catches on, that would mean lack of knowledge of Mac programs and also transition time. Could be fun, but not for many. The other company to watch out for is Google with their Droid phone! we'll just have to wait and see if the population decides to change ...

With a mix of ups and downs, no year passes by perfect. However, 2009 , has particularly weighed heavier on the negative side. We just lost Appa, not even a month back, and somtimes its still hard to believe. Inspite of Appa's spirit to fight the cancer and his ability to bear with the immense pain, he could not be saved. And even now something tells me, neither did he expect the struggle to end this soon. No longer do I have much belief with doctors and their commitment, its just disappointing that there's no medical treatment for cancer yet. Very frustrating, terribly scary and forever puzzling, this disease is the worst of the lot. Appa will live in our hearts forever and as God will now guide us through life. His values are treasured and to be adopted. Seeking your blessings, Appa.

I had a day at work where I came across odd figures, you know like the ones that end in decimals of .56/.32 and so on. Maybe they dont seem odd to you , but whatever. So I am done with a day like that, back in my car with the radio playing some great numbers like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2tMV96xULk and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkFgam5jJGo&feature=related ; so I am singing along with them and then BAM! I notice those odd numbers on the signs...."Carpool violation Minimum $481"; "Red Light violation Minimum $363"; I mean how does DMV come up with such numbers as minimum! They must be doing a whole lot of pro rating or something...! I mean I come from Dubai, where we got round figures like 100/200/500/1,000 AED fines! Is it just California ??

These days I have been awfully tired....and even when my legs are aching like hell right now, i am wondering where does tiredness begin from....is it the limbs cos I move around / don't move around as much or the brain /thoughts that bring in the tiredness ?? like is exhaustion the decision of the mind or the body or a combination of the two or a strong link between the two that if the mind decides its tired, the signals are sent to the limbs or limbs just give up for the day, the brain tells me that i am tired and i need a break....! My analysis --I didn't walk more than usual, run/skip/do other physical activity. I had a busy day at work where in I didn't realise the time fly ! So why are my legs aching ?? I am not sure if this is just my "tired state" talking, but this is what is on my mind right now! Any points to make ?

So this time RF takes the 3rd Cincinnati Masters title, apparently, his career's 61st title ! Funnily, I think Djokovic can defeat Nadal much easily compared to Federer's strength against Nadal! Read on.... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=aMz6OncUXeUI

I completely missed out mentioning that I had taken up Bikram yoga classes in the past 2-3 months and that was another reason why I have been so busy...to be specific I spent close to 90 hrs in these yoga classes in 2+ months! The first few sessions were crazy tiring but eventually I did love it ! especially that feeling after having stretched every part of me! Bikram yoga is really a test of endurance in terms of patience, the concentration, determination, confidence it takes and what not ! Its a must try and if you can stick to it, its something for life. This form of yoga claims to have changed lives - both physically and psychologically. Here's the link http://www.bikramyogasanjose.com/ to the center I went to. There's also controversy regarding this form of yoga as the founder has copyrighted "Bikram Yoga" method; http://daily-yoga.org/bikram-yoga-controversy/ All I want to say is any exercise is good for me and Bikram yoga is definitely not bad at all!