Some Sizzling Scintillating Speculations

Thought for the day: The way we see the problem is the problem...-- Stephen Covey 'Kutte Billi Baras Rahe Hain' is all I can say. i.e. it's raining cats and dogs. Here I was, thinking that the January monsoon season has passed, and, since last week when the hailstones made their presence felt, we've been having rains out here. Today was tremendous, with one of the thunderclaps lasting a full 30 seconds. I'm sure disaster, i.e. lightning struck somewhere. The paper will tell. ---- Do you watch Pogo or Cartoon Network? I don't mean violent serials like Tom and Jerry, of course...(Though, I am a fan!LOL).. Don't say 'how kiddish'- just try it- it's good to feel like a kid at heart, sometimes!:) Programs like Pogo's ' Just For Laughs'- they're enough to pull anyone out of a dull mood, like I was in, yesterday.(Which is why I sat down to post and didn't, finally-no point in posting if my mood's not right, I feel). It's a p...

Thought for the day: The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else. --  E. E. Cummings Two of them-strategic placement. On either side of the road, cleverly concealed behind either a tree or a pillar. People walk out of the bus stop, take the short cut to cross the small one-bus-and-one-car wide road. From the other side, people walk out of Carrefour, again in a hurry, and cross the road from there to the bus stop. Out come both the guys. Out come the notebooks. Hand over your labour card. Wham!You're fined AED 200. Go to Al Barsha and take it back. That place is another 50 dirhams away by taxi. So, AED 250*13= Rs. 3250/- gone. And, when a poor guy narrates this, I can't help but feel sorry for him. And, of course, my resolve to avoid crossing the road at non-zebra crossings deepens. Yep, life and money are too hard earned to let them go this way. I'm told by the guy that they fined @ 150 people that way, in the hal...

Quote for the day:  Life is as easy as 3.141592653589 Ah, another week began yesterday. Let's see what the Piscean predictions are: Paper 1: - If ever there was a time to speak up, with passion and conviction and what you believe in, it's now. Waste no time worrying about gathering facts, crafting the right words or even whether you've thought things through. The depth of your feelings will get your message across, loud and clear. Paper 2: - You may be in contact with people who are gripped by an obsession. Rather than resisting the temptation to join in and fight fire with fire, let this not act as a stimumus to triger your own passions this week. Haha- now, aren't those two contradictory? Well, I read between the lines, so, will review on Thursday evening to see whether my reading is correct. (Have to update the previous week's predictions,i.e. the results,too!!:) Someone had asked in a paper what the right gift for a Piscean is, and the reply was more complex tha...

For some reason, I'm filled with nostalgia today..maybe because I'm missing travelling by Baroda Express or Rajdhani Express or any of the other trains for more than a decade, nearly every other month, when I was in my first company- it would usually be to Mumbai or Delhi or one of the cities in Gujarat...and, a sandwich would always be the most hygienic food on the trains/at the stations!!:) Ah, this miracle of an invention- will check out wikipedia to learn it's origins!:) But, this memory goes earlier than that. I'm reminded of the sandwich served at the Railway Station- it was always a favourite for me- and, I'd always be trying to convince Dad to take me there when we were near the station. What was special about it? Well, it was something like the pic above- they'd cut it in the centre, and then, the two halves would be cut further in their centres, and then reversed, to form a star. And, those four pieces would taste much better than two whole slices of...

Find The Man: THE TRICK IS TO FIND THE MAN AMONG THE COFFEE BEANS: This is bizarre - after you find the guy - it's so obvious.  Once you find him - it's embarrassing, and you think, why didn't I see him immediately? Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in the coffee beans  in 3 seconds , the right half of your brain is  better  developed than most people.  If you find the man between 3 seconds and 1 minute , the right half of the brain is developed  normally .  If you find the man  between 1 minute and 3 minutes , then the right half of your brain is functioning  slowly  and you need to eat more protein.  If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the advice is to look for more of this type of exercise to make that part of the brain stronger!!! And, yes, the man is really there!!! (It took me around 15 seconds..now,you be honest and tell me-how much time did it take you?)

Happiness is: The delighted look on a NRI's face, when the rupee falls against the dollar, and,naturally, against the dirham which is pegged to the dollar. That is, of course, if it's at the right time-around payday and he wants to transfer money. On such days, I always take my walk via the UAE exchange area, to see the smiling faces of customers there(And, sometimes I'm lucky enough to be one of the smileys). How mean NRIs can be, na- to be happy when our currency drops..well,in these times of recession and pink slips, every little,err, slip counts, na? Of course, it has also led to the 'into 12' factor becoming the 'into 14'factor! (You know what this means, right? ---- Got this one as a forward and couldn't help smiling at most of the accuracy outlined therein..(I can see some claws coming out, now...*runs for cover*): 9 famous 'last words/phrases ' women use-what they say and what they mean: (1)   Fine :   This is the word women use to end an...

(Note: The above cartoon is a dig at the rush with which towers were being announced here. So, whoever made this tower, was making an awesome metaphor) Have you ever been nostalgic? I bet you have-about anything-from childhood to school days to college days to first loves to....:) You see that someone or something and memories come flooding back. Ah, but I bet you've never been nostalgic the way people are these days, out here- they're nostalgic about traffic. Good Lord, was my first reaction. First they used to groan about how the traffic here never allows them to be on time for anything- a meeting, a date, a dental appointment. People who had office at 8 AM, would reach at 9 AM-purportedly because of traffic. Now, with the current recession-like situation, the roads are relatively less crowded. So, they groan about that..I've been victim to dialogues like( From people whose jobs are secure so far): - I used to reach from Bur Dubai to Rashidiya in nothing less than an hou...

1. You just have to play by the rules;you don't get a chance to make them. If you are obedient today you will have ample opportuinties in the week ahead to flaunt your uniqueness and stray from the beaten path. 2.One of your biggest challenges is saying a firm and uncompromising no. You intend to, but then soften it, saying 'perhaps' or 'maybe'. One particular individual is counting on this. When they've been pushy in the past, you've always given in. But this is the beginning of a new era, and it starts with them. 3.If you think about making major changes now, remember there is a cosmic red light in the heavens. If you stick to the rules, and don't take resentment and criticism personally, you will emerge unscathed. --- Whew!Those three 'your stars today' predictions, pretty much summed up what's been running in my mind the last 7 days. Now, to wait for next Sunday to come and see how things progressed!!Will update here! Off to work, now!Fir...

Yesterday, I was locking the door to the flat, when leaving for the day at work(And, believe me, it was hectic). I glanced at our neighbour's door and saw a yellow stick-it note on it. I've always seen such notes in our building in Baroda, where people scribble on all sorts of papers, even on newspapers with a sketchpen(The right thing to do-conserves paper), and leave notes for the milkman or the building watchman who doubles as a milkman to earn a bit of money- to leave 2 bags of milk or no milk or something to that effect.  We don't have any milkmen in Dubai, at least, not that I know of, so, curiosity got the better of my and I peered at the note. What it said gave me the first smile of the day. 'Hey, Baby, Don't call  MeMom is at home today,  :) Girl' Images of a gangster sitting next to the phone(Oh, I've seen enough Bollywood movies too), ready to shout the 'kutte, kamine-meri beti se door rehna' dialogues, floated into my mind...and, I was st...

That's the name of the game-an old flowchart, but, the home truth hits every few months! Time to read' Who Moved My Cheese', I believe!