Things which change.

when you start working or when you are kinda officially termed as an adult.

1) Most of your relatives stop bringing chocolates. This is the time chocolates are really needed. You are working, you are having an identity crisis and you are stressed out and frustrated most of the time, and you start feeling that there really might be dementors around you. This is the time you really need chocolate. But no. You don't get any free chocolate.

2) But that's okay because you can buy your own chocolates and cakes in any quantity and eat them anytime you want. :)

3) You learn to retain your college and school friends because how much ever you want to you cannot make good friends in office. You learn that everyone wants to stab you in the back or trip you on their way to success. Not something you would want in friends right ?

4) You start finding comfort in retail therapy. I had never bought even a sock for myself before finishing engineering. Everything was bought by my mom or sis. Now, I have money and as I mentioned before about being stressed out an frustrated most of the time, retail therapy really helps.

5) Everybody you know starts hunting for a groom/bride for you. If you tell them that you just had breakfast it turns into a cooking/interview show where they ask questions and questions from what you ate for breakfast to how much salt you added to it.

6) You are officially an aunty. Everybody teaches their kids to call you aunty. (I don't like being called aunty. Wish they thought kids to call me Ms. Holla (don't make fun now, that's my surname) or something)

7) But still, people who have seen you from when you were a little kid treat you like a kid. This other day one of my relative gave me a 5 minutes lecture on how to cross the road (I already knew everything he told). They still include you in the kids category and sometimes it bothers you because they have stopped bringing you chocolates. If you tell them that you are no longer a kid, they are like, "You are still a like a kid to us, come let me show you how to fold your blankie."

8) You have these moments of utter loss. You go to a room to get something and you forget and you seem to forget everything and for a moment you just stand there and stare at everything in your room like they are something alien. (Do I need to see a doctor for this ?)

9) Do you remember how, when you were in college, you would get really nervous and blabber the most inappropriate things ? I wish I could tell you it stops. I does not. It grows stronger and sometimes when you are really tired, you don't even process what you are going to tell and it is out of your mouth before you know it.

10) Everyone around is getting married or having babies. And you are still recuperating from your heart break and battling an identity crisis. The pain after a heart break is the first reminder that you are an adult now :) 
                                                     from Life of Leo. (Thanks girl :))

11) You get to listen to a lot of "You are this-much-years-old years old now. You need to be responsible. How can you take things so lightly? When I was your age yada yada yada.."
                                                     from Reem Writes (I edited it a little hope you don't mind and thanks :))

12) People advise you to learn to wear a saree properly
                                                      from Indrani (Thank you :))

I have left the 13th point blank. Leave a comment as to what you think changes when you start working or you are being officially called an adult and I will put it up on the post :) I can make a very big list if you help me :) Please do leave a comment :)

Don't you just love winters ?

Winter is coming ( :) if you get the GoT reference) (Has already come, I know, I know. I just wanted to tell everyone that I love Game of Thrones and also that I have read all the parts that are out, I am a big show-off that way. (I am cho chorry for rubbing it in!!))

Reasons I lurve winters.

1) Sitting under the AC vent in your office and waiting for the time when you will be frozen and be sent packing to heaven (well I would like to think I will go to heaven). Heavenly. :)

2) Forgot to get your notebook and pen with you ? Have a great take-over-world-by-storm-idea ? Psshhtt!! Why do you have your arms for ? Use your nail on your dry skin to draw or write things which come up on your mind. Wear sleeveless and shorts for maximum space to write. Somebody staring at you ? Ask what the ef!! their problem is. My skin, my nails and I write. Hmphh..

3) Ready made cold coffee. I mean you need not even use ice. Just bring a cup of piping hot coffee and forget it for a minute. Who the hell wants to drink hot coffee during winters anyway ? 

4) Cough and cold. Did you know that you are deemed healthy if you get a viral fever once every year. Get that flu and feel the healthy you. If your nose is leaking and your throat is soar, don't worry my friend you will live more.

5) So what if you look like there is dandruff on your arms even if you apply moisturizer. Oh and also you can apply point 2 stated above.

6) Icy cold water, early in the morning. Need I say more ? Blessings in disguise aren't they ?

7) Don't you just lurve frizzy hair ? Who wants the same kind of hair through out the year even if you love it very very very much ? 

8) Think of all the exercise you get by getting up every hour to go and pee. The further away from the rest room you sit, the more exercise you get.

On a more serious note. Sleeping comfortably and not getting irritated if the fan does not blow air your way. Drinking piping hot coffees and eating hot pakoras and actually enjoying this :) :) heavenly.
You have any similar reasons why you love winters ? Leave a comment. I would love to know. :)

Inspiration for this post:
Superwoman - Go watch her videos, she is awesome sauce. :) :)
PeeVee's this post.

P.S: Have you checked out this page here ?

Be the one to bring in the change.

Mrs.B always forced Mr.B to attend her charity parties. He was fed up of socializing with people who did not give two hoots about the charity and only cared about "Wearing the costliest dress" or "Donating the highest amount". Mr.B had even overheard someone in the party say "The party is for little kids or something" while the party was actually organized to collect funds for animal nonprofits. Everyone had even bought animal treats and chew toys.
Frustrated Mr.B was adamant on changing the attitudes of these rich snobby friends of Mrs.B. All these well dressed women and clean shaven men and not even one thought how they were changing lives of so many people. Mr.B being Mr.B always made a thorough study on the organization for which funds were being raised and expected everyone to ask him questions on why the particular organization was chosen. No one did.
So, Mr.B came up with a plan. He started small by bringing the people who will be helped by the party to the party. Little kids, patients suffering from cancer. When the charity for homeless people was organized Mr.B brought homeless people to the party. They were all people with torn clothes and smelly beards. And other people were heard saying "I hate that smelly beard". Mr.B started asking for volunteers to help him clean them up. Mrs.B was first to volunteer. Soon, people started joining them and all the homeless people were given a makeover. Some were even provided with jobs. With good clothes and clean shaves they looked as rich as the other folks except for the humble look on their faces. After this, in every party organized by Mr and Mrs.B, people always took active and genuine interest in helping people rather than parading their richness.

This post is a part of the Protest Against Smelly Stubble Activity in association with BlogAdda.

298 words. Uff..!!

P.S: My first attempt at writing a story. Please bare with me. 

Don't forget the good people out there.

I feel like crying when I read the news everyday. Was I just unaware of all these things before or has it just started recently. The news on assault on women, corruption, farmers killing themselves and not to mention countries in which people are being killed by the government for silly reasons. I wonder what has happened to the civilized people of the world. 
I have personally experienced a lot of unkindness. Like the auto driver who asks for 60 rs for a 20 rs ride. The women who pushed me aside from a queue to get to the ATM machine before me and smiles at her achievement. The guy who almost made me drop my phone by hitting on my hand while I was speaking on the phone. The guy who gets in front of me in a queue in supermarket because hey, he is the one and only person in this world who is in a hurry. And you can't even argue with these people. They have this disregard for all the other people and that is what their kids will inherit from them. Not to mention the people who throw plastic water bottles on the road from their Mercedes or BMW s. Is this how civilized people are supposed to act ?
You see the neighbors who get up early in the morning to dump their house waste on the road and go to work in big MNC s later in the day. In this category I even include the people who give money to beggars. Those able bodied beggars who can easily earn a living but prefer to beg, because hey, the roads are filled with people who want to feel good about themselves by giving the beggar 5 rs. To be kind in this world filled with so much of unkindness and people who always jeopardize you on their way to make their lives easier is really an achievement. 
But, don't forget the good people out there. Yes, there are a few. There are people who are on TV and the news papers and there are the few whom you encounter everyday. Let me make you a list of some of them from personal experience.

1) I had some work in office and I left late. I was stranded in an unknown bus stop with very few people. I took the next bus out of there and came to an even deserted bus stop where there was not even a single soul. I switched on GPS and decided that I was supposed to wait on the other side of the road. I crossed and came to a stop where I was the only girl and the time was 8.45 pm. I decided to take an auto but none of the auto drivers were ready to take me to my destination. That is when a middle aged man came to my rescue. He started asking me to which stop I wanted to go. He stopped a few autos and asked them on my behalf and even gave a few directions. But still no one was willing to go. He also, asked another person in the bus stop about how to get to my stop and which bus to take and told me to wait for the bus on the other side of the road. I crossed the road again and got the bus in 10 minutes. 

2) I wanted to take a auto to the bus station and I had these 2 hefty bags. One auto driver stopped and asked where I wanted to go. I told him the place and he told me that his home was in the other direction and he could not go. I was finding it difficult, with two hefty bags, to hail autos and run to them, only to get answered in no and a firm negative shake of the head. This guy, who was still waiting for a passenger saw my problem and he stopped a lot of autos and finally got me an auto by convincing the fellow auto driver. I thanked him and got on the auto.

3) When I went to pick up my friend from the bus stop near my house. I saw this beggar with no legs. A guy bought idlis from a nearby hotel and gave those to the beggar instead of money. The hotel being one of those costly ones. I was filled with admiration for this person.

4) A lady vegetable vendor told me that she will return my 3 rs when I buy something there the next time. I realized this was a tactic to make me pay more and on asking for the amount next time would be a waste of time because she wont remember it. So, as soon as I reached home I forgot about it. After a few days I went there again and the lady took 3 rs less. When I pointed it out to her, she told that she had to give 3 rs the other day.

5) When my sister came to meet me in my rented house, it had slipped my mind to tell them that parking a car is difficult near the house. After they arrived, I went to my house owner and asked her to suggest a place nearby to park their car. She offered her own garage which already had a car. As it was very big. But the road was small and maneuvering the car to the garage was getting a tad bit difficult with all the bikes parked on the street. My house owner went and asked everyone to kindly place their bike a little away and some three people came out, removed their bikes and helped my brother-in-law park the car inside the garage by telling when to stop and when to move.

It need not be a big thing. You need not start being kind and civilized by joining a charity or giving away loads of money. By helping a single person or helping make the world a better place to live by keeping your own neighborhood clean also helps. You show a person that you have some good in you and that person will try to show it to someone else. Be a good and civilized person and try to be on someone else's list like this. I know I am trying. :) :)

Liebster :) :)

Read here to know the rules.
So, where was I for nearly a month ? I was completing this tag by a fellow blogger Abhijnan. He had set a few very difficult questions.
I reward myself only half an award. Read till the end to know why

1) Imagine you are stuck on an unknown island with only a bar of chocolate. What would you trade it for:Clothes, A Boat or The Bible (The Gita or The Koran as you like)? Why?
How big exactly is the chocolate ? As big as the unknown island ? This is a toughie (not to mention all his questions are). I am going to make a few assumptions here. There is only a mud hut on the island (nothing else) and the boat being offered does not have a paddle (cannot row). So me being a bibliophile and a chocolate gobbler(would finish it in under a minute), would choose The Gita. Something to read while you wait for death and I might get a chance to be rescued by God. :) :)
Ehhh..!!

2) What’s worse? A screaming boss on Fridays or an emotionally manipulative mom? Explain.

Screaming boss on Fridays  I have lived all my life with an slightly manipulative mom and I can never get used to a screaming boss on any day.

3) Take your pick: ‘Malibu with Brad Pitt/Penelope Cruz’ or ‘Candle Light Dinner with Deepika Padukone/Ranbir Kapoor? Why ?
I am not a big fan of Brad Pitt after he broke up with Jennifer Aniston. Never liked Ranbir Kappor, I just loathe the guy. Lets get real for a minute. I don't have a passport to go to malibu so it all comes down to Deepika. Hmmm. Weird.

4) What’s your Eureka! moment ?
I have so many every single day that it is hard to write down one. I just realized this (with a aha!! expression on my face) and here you have my "Eureka Moment" :) :)

5) Blog or Diary:What do you prefer writing in ?
Blog. :)

6) What’s your definition of an ideal partner ?
A great sense of humor and a love for books. That is all I ask in any kind of partner.

7) What’s your romantic roadtrip : A Horse Cart ride near the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta or a long ride in your car on the Mumbai-Pune highway?
Had to google both the places to decide on this. Car ride. Mumbai-Pune highway. Alone :)

8) The world’s ending in 30 minutes. I can grant you three wishes. Ask ‘em fast!
Stop the world from ending !!??
If you get someone like "Elizabeth Hurley" from Bedazzled to grant you wishes you are doomed (pessimist me) so just that one for me. 

9) India’s biggest problem:Corruption or Disrespect to Women? (Alright you can say both)
Both. ( I did not delete a part of this question for my convinience *evades eye contact* )

10) If you could apologize for some past mistake what would that be?
If you know me I am a person who keeps asking sorry. Sometimes, I ask sorry even if it is not my mistake. So, I don't have any past mistake for which I want to apologize to anyone. I can't really help it. Sorry.

Well done. Now the 10 bloggers.
Here it goes, in no particular order. I would like to pass it on to
Reema
Anisha
Zainab
Wanderer
Alka
RED-HANDED (I know you won't do it girl but you deserve it)
PeaBee
The full one. 

I awarded myself half of the award because I deleted a part of the question for my convenience and I awarded only seven bloggers. :(
I will accept the full only if Abhijnan tells me that I can. 

So to accept the award you just have to state 10 things about yourself. :)
Happy blogging :)

Just Me-ing

Living upto the title of my blog.

1) I have 2 additional clocks on my PC in office showing the times of USA and Germany. I have no idea why.

2) Once I bought a dress material from a lady shopkeeper because she reminded me of my mother. I never wore the dress after I got it back from tailor.

3) I unfriended a school mate on facebook because she was too happy always.

4) I am an impulsive blogger. I do not put much thought into what I write (except poems). So sometimes even I don't understand what I have written.

5) I don't like getting wet in the rain. I feel that I am being poked with very wet sticks.

6) I make a lot of grammatical mistakes in my posts. Somenights i dream of getting hate mails from grammar nazis :( . I am sorry guys. I don't do it on purpose.

7) I think that everyone is bat crap crazy, some with the people they are comfortable with and hence are introverts and some people with everyone around them and hence they are extroverts.

8) In college if I dint like doing something I used to tell "My dad/mom dint give me permission to do it" so still many of my friends think that I have got very strict parents. But I know what cool parents I have. :)

9) If any of my friends ask my opinion with a big happy smile, on anything-store-bought and I don't like it, I tell them "Its different" with a big smile. :)

10) I get confused very easily and I believe and trust people very easily. Like Jess from New Girl. Usually when I write I get confused with then and than, brought and bought, its and it's, your and you're etc. . Once I forgot the spelling of the past tense of take, toke ? took ? o_O

Thats all for now. :)

Doodle Recipe - Puffed Rice Upma

This is a recipe which my mother prepares and you can prepare it in 5 mins. My Doodle recipe is a part of Easy Doodle Recipe (tastykhana.blogadda.com) contest at BlogAdda.com (www.blogadda.com) inn association with TastyKhana.com (http://tastykhana.in/) . Enjoy :) (turns out the format in which i had written the previous post was not right. So here is the final recipe. :) )

8 things which will irk you if you are fat.

A girl's gotta write what a girl's gotta write, right ?. Inspired by this post by REDHANDED, I bring you this post. Don't ask me how these two posts are related because I have no idea. Just reading the mentioned post made me want to share this post. This post has been written some 5 months back and has been primped every now and then. The reason for not posting it is, I keep feeling that I will be judged, that I am lazy to exercise or diet and have found excuses and I am bashing the people who are trying to help me. Well read on and let me know. :)

I admit, I am fat, I am overweight. I am always on a diet and an exercise routine. The point is, I am fitter then some of my skinny peers. I don’t get tired easily (thanks to the morning walks which I used to do). I can lift heavy weights without moaning about it(thanks to the dumbbells I lift every morning). Being overweight does not bother me much. Especially when you see a person who is 20 kilos lesser than you huffing and puffing beside you because we ran across the road before the signal turned green and you are not even breathing hard. The point where it becomes irritating is when everybody around you starts considering you overweight. Here are some instances where people around me make me feel fat.

1. The big fat skinny person – I hate it when these skinny people claim that they are fat when an XS(Extra Small) shirt won’t fit them anymore. They go on and on about how they are going to lose weight (which will be mostly dieting). This done when I am holding the XL (Extra large) shirt and wondering if it will fit me.
   
   Hello miss, Wear an effing S(small) sized shirt.
2. The weight-loss-goddesses – These are the people who have not dieted in their entire life. The nearest they come to exercise is when they run when they see a spider or a cockroach. These people have a truck load of information on how to do be slim and won’t hesitate to badger you with it.
   
   Hello miss, Shut your gob!!
3. The I-lost-2-kgs-in-a-week-by-looking-at-an-XS-shirt – There is this category of people who think they know how to lose weight. They claim that they lost so and so many kilos because they drank mineral water instead of tap water. I do not have a problem with these people (because I understand that each person has his/her own way of losing weight) until they open their mouth. They go on and on about how they lost weight and keep telling you to do it whenever they meet you.
   
   Hello, please. You need not rub it in my face. I know you have lost weight and I am happy for you. Please don’t keep repeating what you have said. I got it the first hundred times you said it.
4. Your ever present cousins and relatives. None of my close friends comment on my weight because they have witnessed how fit I am. But cousins, relatives always know how to make you feel fat and sometimes make you feel fatter than you are.
   
   Hello, I am a human being with feelings.
5. The-people-who-treat-you-like-dustbins – You read that right. These are the people who order more than they can eat in a restaurant and expect us to eat what is left over in their plates (which is usually more than half the initial dish) because they think, you know, that we have the capacity to eat a lot, and to top this they order the most oiliest dishes.
   
   Hello, I am not a dustbin. Throw it if you don’t want to eat it. Please don’t force me to eat it.
6. I-look-like-an-elephant – Some (slim) people have this notion that they are really fat when all they have gained in 2 kilos. They start calling themselves an elephant.
   
   Hello miss, if you are an elephant I am the effing earth.!! Beat that !!
7. Give-me-tips-to-gain-weight – Some of my classmates in school had this habit of asking me for tips to become fat. Just imagine the impact of such questions on a 13 year old girl who never thought of herself as a fat person.
   
   I so hate you.
8. I-am-so-thin-I-can-eat-anything – These are the people who prance around eating anything and everything to show that they don’t gain weight as easily as me. They keep eating chocolates and add a big dollop of ghee on every dish and insist that we eat it too. And they keep telling, rubbing it in that they won’t gain weight because of this.
   
   Get a room.!! No, seriously, get a room and go eat there.!!

So please, if you are doing any of this to your friends please stop making them feel fat. I am speaking for the people who are really trying to lose weight and also are a foodie. It’s a struggle fighting weight and when I have to fight these people too I get so tired that I eat some more. It’s an vicious cycle. 

I have written this post because I have realized that I was able to lose weight faster when I stopped feeling bad about such people.

You can also add to the list if you had a similar experiences :)

Love and Hate.

Traffic. Work. Too much of salt, add chili powder, too spicy, add sugar, now sweetish, burnt and eating this at 11.00 pm after spending 2 hours on it. Travelling two and a half hours per day in bus. Eating alone in office. Listening to mind numbingly stupid talk on the bus. Falling asleep in bus. Deadlines. Remember. Resolutions. Remember. Clothes too good and too costly at the same time. Save money. Remember. Expectations. Remember. Freezing cold on the way to the bus stand and in the bus. Remember to buy a jacket. Forgetting to take umbrella and it rains the heaviest that day. Remember to take umbrella every day. Just-this-once eating indulgences. Remember. Lose weight. Remember. Stomach upsetting foods. Remember. Too much to do. Prioritize. True friends. Identify and remember. Bored of all songs on the phone. Remember to change it. No rice at home. No flour. No vegetables. Remember. Remember. Remember.

Mom. Chocolates. Books. Harry Potter. Enjoying work. Gifts. Chocolates as birthday gifts. Friends who do care. Lost 2 Kgs. Coldplay. Medhu mari. Maroon 5. F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Shopping for the perfect gift. Arya Stark. Game of thrones. Roland Deschain. Temperance Brennan. Loving sister. Cold evenings. Agatha Christie. Dad. What-did-I-do-to-deserve-such-a-good-friend feel. Goli ka VadaPav. Medhu mari. Goli ka kulfi. Friendly team lead. Window seat in bus. Kind smile from an aged stranger on the bus when you give them your seat. Satisfaction. Writing. Reading. Chocolates. Sai Ram chaats ka dahi puri. Agatha Christie. Shopping. Cooking. Medhu mari. Cheeky. Nishu. Friendly person on the bus. Team outings. Reading blogs. Watermelon juice. Hot cup of coffee and a crime novel on a rainy day . Mangoes. Phone calls which go on for hours. Little bookmarks and surprise gifts you get along with your order from online stores. Washing clothes. Writing poems. Getting appreciation on written posts. Madikeri.

Smells like home..

I know it is a really long poem. It is about a pup on the street. Dogs identify the world through smells. They remember people through distinctive smells. As I love to write about bugs and animals, here is a poem on a pup.

I feel so lost in this world of smells.
On unfamiliar terrains I do dwell.
I wonder how I ended up here in this dump.
Was I born here near this dry pump?

The world I feel through my nose.
Hoping somebody will find me by my howls.
In every smell I try to find my home.
But all becomes unbearable as I roam.

Fighting for food with my look alikes.
I try not to whimper when the hunger strikes.
On the cold night I shiver with pains.
I try to forget it by gazing at my fur stains.

Next day I wake up and smell hope.
A little being stands on hind legs near the slope.
I walk towards him with a glad heart.
I can smell a good being it is like an art.

I forget the days spent on this ground.
I know in my heart to where I am bound.
This little being that smells of hope.
I pledge to protect him and I lope.

With his fore paws he clutches me to him.
And I smell in his whole being.
Now I know why I am here.
The purpose of life becomes clear.

On unfamiliar terrains I am again.
But now I smell home everywhere.
With all stains on my fur removed.
I smell the delicious smell of food.

I know in my heart what my duty is.
To protect this smell of hope and home.
To see a smile on this little being.
To hear the laughter that smells real good.
To follow this being where ever he goes.

I promise to make his life as smiley as mine.

The Preps.

As my birthday is approaching, I thought of writing a post on what my friends can give me on my birthday. I know, I know, it is not very nice of me to give my friends a list. But still here is a list of things which I want.

1) I recently bought the most uncomfortable slipper in the whole world. In my defense, it looked great on my feet. I mean super great. But the slipper had other ideas. I got shoe bite first and now it just slips off my feet. On top of all that I paid 1500 for that. So, my birthday gift would be not a new pair of slippers, but take these from me. Please, I beg ya. I am ready to give it away for free to a really nice friend. Its been worn for just 4 days. So please could ya.

2) SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 311. It has a built in reading mode. It would be the perfect gift. So I would like some of my friends to think really really think hard about this one. It can make me really very happy :). And you need not give me gifts for another 5 or 6 years. :) How awesome is that deal ? Eh ?? :) :)

3) This is a easy one. Download the hunger game series and mail it to me. I want the .epub files. I searched a lot for a whole minute. But dint find it online. So if somebody could search it for me. Even a link from where I can download it for free is fine. And if that link does not give me the e-books then thats not really a nice gift now is it.

4) Suggest me an fantasy/fiction series. I have already read Harry potter, Game of thrones, The dark tower and I am going to read hunger games, lord of the rings and sandman. So apart from these. If anyone could suggest me a series which has been completed or will soon be completed (I am tired waiting for the next in series books of game of thrones, the author writes one book every three years), that would be an awesome gift.

5) Read one of my blog posts and comment on it. I mean it. Most of my friends don't read my blog.

See, I am not such a bad person. All reasonable gifts. Now you have the list, go crazy and surprise me :). I will act surprised I have been practicing it all week. ;) :) :)

First Impressions #1

Not exactly the first conversation but happened on the 3rd or 4th day.

Me: Do you know the guy who sits beside me?
Colleague: Hmm. No.
Me: The guy who speaks loudly on phones.
Colleague: Ahh. That guy.
Me : I feel that he is screaming in my ear. Sometimes, I feel like taking a chair and throwing it at him. (Gives a big smile).
Colleague: (A quizzical look).

Inner self.

I don't need anybody, see?
I just need myself to be with me.

My inner self which drives me.
Which does not take a break from trying me.

Which has a great sense of humor.
Which makes my stomach hurt with laughter.

Which gives me advice to make things right.
Which leads me to places bright.

That inner self with its stupid little voice.
That inner self which is always right.

Which likes to write lame poems.
Which loves to read that crazy stuff.

That inner self which i seem to have lost.
Which i am trying hard to find wit all the strength i have got.

That inner self which is still eluding me.
Without which i cant complete this.