J

Wats with the jealousy!!!
Its not like people steal anything away from U!
I mean, if somebody is a good dancer or singer or writer or... So why does anybody else have to get jealous of it, when they cant really even do it! So wats d point of wanting to bring them down, when you are no good urself!

Oh, I kno!
JUST FOR BLOODY HECK OF IT!!! Right???

I mean why would you deny to lend a writer a pen, wen u are not even using it??
Just so that they cant write wid it, their thoughts, although u yourself hardly ever use dat pen to write anything great!!!

Y do some stupid emotions rule a person so much, that he becomes an object of hatred for others!
Just for a stupid pen or a scissors or a shoe or a dress.

So dat if u cant put that product to any better use, then nobody else also can tooooooo!
That pen/scissors would rather rust in your closet, than be used by someone worthy to do something appreciable with it.

AND then those people have the audacity to come &  teach you about behaviors, emotions, ethics... an endless list - so much beneficial from such hypocrites!!!

What an ironical world to live in!

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Sitting infront of my latest fav equipment, my laptop, I was again wondering what could I watch more. I had been watching a lot of hollywood flicks since the last few months, since the time I had joined the B-School in NCR. Since location did not provide the facility of being outdoors till late & also the hostel hrs were a hassle, the only option I was left with, was to stick to the machine every evening, to rejuvenate & bring some excitement in the dull life.

So on this evening also, I was scrolling through all the files to locate something new, which I had not yet viewed. & I found 1 folder,. that had been unopened, for some days. A friend had given it to me along with a few movies, in her flash drive. It was the SEASON 4 of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, the famous rom-com of US television.

As I started the 1st episode, the room echoed with my laughter. I realised, that I was watching a series, which I had resented for years, because I never understood the obsession my uncle's daughters had with it & they would be watching this series, whenever I would go to their place & neglect me. But gradually my understanding took the better of me, as I finally was able to connect to the 6 characters of the show.

And today, after nearly 1 year of watching each episode, infinite no. of times, I proudly say that I'm crazy about FRIENDS, & just love it, love it, love it, love it, love it!

Remembering the days of begging my friends to get me the seasons, troubling them at odd hours to remind them of the same, downloading the missing episodes during summer vacations @ home, to have each episode, I am now a proud possessor of all the episodes for each of the 10 Seasons, from 1994 - 2004.

HORNY - Rachel's constant tantrums & crying over the drop of a hat. Her busty moves to attract guys & the seductive looks to Ross, & her famous hair-style in the first 2 seasons, are a reminder of a hot office-goer, in the village.

FUNNY - Chandler's odd jokes for just any possible person, thing, occasion are interpretable sometimes, but his funny looks & odd hand movements. His love for Monica is adorable.

GEEKY - Ross' freaky looks when he is shocked is unforgettable but his constant love for Rachel & his jealous outbursts cannot be missed. He is also a caring father.

WEIRDO - Phoebe's quick wittiness, her odd voices, & strange clothing. Also her vegetarian outlook, specially at every festival is cute. Her odd past & innumerable boyfriends are an interesting watch.

DUMB - Joey's lost looks are killer, how he almost never interprets anything on time & needs parental guidance of Chandler. But his girls are hot & he is d 1 guy who almost never lacked sex in entire series.

HYGIENIC - Monica is a cleanliness freak. She would rather have vacuum the living room, than have sex. Also, her constant need to keep the people around her happy. So is her forever need to be the best in whatever she does. I totally relate to her.

I discovered these 6 great characters in FRIENDS. I so fell in love with them, that I transferred my obsession to my friends & boyfriend also. Its good to be able to discuss the incidents we watch, the characters & their lives. I have watched them for hours, on my days of low & high. I have watched them as a companion when I travel alone, or if I'm just bored.

Its a series that although I have fallen in love with, a bit late, i.e., 5 yrs after it stopped airing, but its a love that will stay with me for long as best F.R.I.E.N.D.S for life!

00:00 hrs @ CCD

The sun set as it does everyday, on that evening too. It was the perfect weather, a soft breeze caressed the face, the temperature was comfortable & the sky clear.Starting from a brisk walk @ Bandstands, to digest the heavy meal just eaten at Lucky's, Hill rd, we took a rick to Carter Rd. It was 23:00 hrs, but the area seemed to be flooded with people, as if the day had just begun, the "city that never sleeps" personified.

The sea with its vast expanse & unending blackness, seemed welcoming & cozy. I was a part of that crowd today, which lightens the dark nights on mumbai's roads, specially on weekends.

So to give a perfect ending to the Saturday Night, we headed to the Cafe Coffee Day, on the Carter Rd. I had missed the hotspot for many days... a place of old memories, of a perfect location & coffee- my all time fav.

So with a new green bag in hand, which had all coffee names written over it, we stepped into the place I had missed for long.

Finding a place to sit was a cumbersome task, but the fresh sea breeze on the outside seating was better than the warmth within the glass walls. So after switching tables twice, we were sitting on the best possible place, sipping a Grande cup of Latte & Cappuccino each.

It felt like I was back home after a long vacation, like I had left a part of me there, to which

I was finally reunited.

It was a perfect combination: With The MAN I love, In the CITY I'm crazy about, Sipping the COFFEE that's become a part of my lifestyle, @ The CAFE that's like home to me!!!!!

So with a few words spoken, I cherished each moment I spent there. I wanted to capture every moment I spent there, thus clicking many pics. We recalled old days of coffees with friends. Then we made some plans & promises.

It was fun to listen people talking to their friends, spouses & families. The light chatter sound in the background made the moments pretty. Also, the people were completely absorbed within their conversations, making me thank God for giving back an element of the happy life, which I was missing for months.

We got lost in our talks, which were carried on with a smile. I felt rejuvenated & so fresh, as if I had just woken up after a long sleep. The coffee was like a perfect accompaniment to the happiness i was experiencing in those moments.

We raised a toast to some occasions that had missed a grand celebration, as the clock struck 00:00. And as the night progressed further, we saw more people pouring in. So we thought it would be better to let others also enjoy the hot cuppa coffee.

And with a goodbye kiss, we moved out, promising ourselves & the outlet, to be back soon & create more & many more, special & precious memories!!!

Festivals

Its d festive time of d year agn...

With lights put up on every house...

& d frequent fireworks...

with holy Aromas on every nook of the city!

It is dese festivals which remind people of their roots, their culture, what India is really made up of. In d fast paced lives of d metros, it is dese occasions, which bring families together to a table, to discuss abt their lives & d happy moments which create irreplacable memories in d minds of all!

I also got a chance this year, after a really really long time, to appreciate d mythologies of Indian Culture, with d celebrations of Navratri, grandness of d Durga Pooja, and d victory of Good over Evil by Dussehra. D drama of the Ramayana enacted by a group of performers, reminded of d struggles in life, and dat hope should never be given up, as dere is always a ray of light, at d end of every dark tunnel we pass through.

Love d fact dat Im an Indian, and our customs are unique in their own special way & hold a sacred position in the hearts & lives of us all. D hordes of people gathered together for celebrations, depicted d Unity despite d diversities amongst us.

GOD BLESS US ALL!!!

HAPPY FESTIVALS EVERYONE!

D service in NCR!

Havin done my graduation in Hospitality Management, i understand quite a bit abt d service, which is offered in various outlets of food & beverage. After d last 6 years, in which i dine out, at least 2-3 times a week, I hv a good experience in kind of service which is generally offered, in casual restaurants. I have lived in Mumbai for a quite sometime, in Trivandrum for a small fraction of a year, but hv been residing in d capital of d country for d last 1 year.

But d experiences of dining in Delhi NCR, are inexpressible (Im still makin an effort here!). D service I received in 1 such outlet today, provoked d writer in me, to write abt dis issue, dat has been haunting me for quite sometime now. I was sitting in an outlet, in 1 of d biggest malls in India. D outlet has pre-plated food, wid hardly 10 choices on d menu. D place is named "Chopaal". Despite d small menu, wid all fixed thalis to choose from, d service is unnervingly slow. Firstly, d order taker is generally absconding & d service personnel serve 1 person after another, wid a gap of 5-8 minutes. So obviously, 1 would wait for d food to be served to all on d table, before 1 digs in. But d stewards have audacity to tell u to eat, forgettin all d basics of table manners & scold u for not havin told dem whose dish is which, as de place ur food on table. Den u hv fellow diners on other tables, screaming at d stewards for cutlery, which is missing, despite d food being on d table. Of course, u hv to wait for any extras, for d finger bowls & TISSUES.

Even d service standards in d outlets which have chains across d nation hv poor standards of service, in comparison to their counterparts in other cities. Cafe Coffee Day(I luv it anyways!) is also 1 such outlet. De hardly give u d menu, even after 20 minutes for arrival. They generally forget to take your order & u have to literally request dem to do so, sometimes. But since Im an ardent fan of CCD & can hardly imagine to live here, widout frequenting it, I do go there, neverthless.

Generally, d service personnel are not concerned about d customers. Even in Big Bazaar, d famous retail chain, d sales personnel will not answer ur queries, but wil instead continue chatting among themselves or doing their own work widout any interruptions. D security guards in some retail stores, wish u on entering d outlet, around quarter of an year, and forget to do so for d rest 9-10 months.

It seems to me, that the service personnel across NCR, think in their minds that they are not here to serve & help the customers, instead d customers are for making their lives easy. D "SERVICE" factor is majorly missing in most, despite this being the era of service, where customer is "GOD" & is "ALWAYS RIGHT".

May be some dont agree with me, but its my opinion & I would need some really convincing good facts & see them with my own eyes, to alter these thoughts!

Along d Marine Drive...

I heard d waves thrashing against the giant wall, that separates d sea from d city. It’s a prominent feature, of d city I luv, Mumbai.

Guess I could say, Im crazy abt dis famous city of India. And d Marine Drive is 1 such place, which in spite of having frequented on various evenings, I can never get enough of. I remember seeing it for d first time, wen I was 13, on a trip to Mumbai, wid my parents. But fell in love with it, wen I started livin in Mumbai.

If u r feelin lonely, and just want company of some strangers, without any hassles of having to talk to anybody, its d place u can be. Hundreds of Mumbaikars visit this place every evening, either for a stroll with their loved ones, or for a quick jog to keep a check on d calories. With the recently renovated marble bank cum seating, it welcomes all. If u r lucky, u could also see d festive celebrations taking place, on some evenings of d year.

But d thing that I luv abt it d most, is d on-going music of the waves… It helps me to gather my thoughts, streamline my thinking & enables me to see new perspectives in life. Sometimes d calm waves, help me to settle my agitated self, with the fast paced life, where we often forget to live for ourselves. It helps me give importance to d valuable things in my life, realize that what we run aftr, might not really be our goal. That we focus our eyes on materialistic objects & leave behind, the human threads that once held us together, from within.

Also, I can calm myself wid d vision of d wide expanse of sea infront of me, no end to it, helps me to see the larger picture & overcome my sorrows. Understand that whatever is happening rite now, is only a very small part of d larger frame of Life. And also that, there is much more to see, a lot more to happen, so much more that exists, which we cant see with our naked human eyes, like there is something beyond our vision of the sea.

But wish u could visualize d heavenly sunset, that takes place on nearly every evening (except on cloudy ones). The changing colors of d sky, from light blue to darker shades of purple, till it actually goes dark grey over the skies in Mumbai. Even d sun changes shades from bright yellow, to light orange, as its brightness reduces & u can really see d entire circle at ur eye level, Den it slowly slides down d “other end of the sea”, till u can see it no more!

It’s a scenic beauty, which I wish to capture on canvas someday, as many others may already hv done.

I can sit there & gaze at d sea all evening, d vastness dat is spread infront of me, without having to really worry about d petty things that take place & picture d life, the way it shapes, wid every setting evening, that goes with a promise - to send a new sun next day!

More on Coffee

I LUV COFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

How 2 make Cappuccino

Cappuccino Recipes

BASIC CAPPUCCINO Although ratios may vary to taste, a common recipe for a traditional 6 oz. cappuccino is: 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk, and 1/3 frothed milk. Purists consider this recipe complete as is. Powdered cocoa or cinnamon may be sprinkled on top as a garnish.

To layer the milk and espresso, it is necessary to allow the freshly frothed milk a moment to rest and thus separate (foam on top and milk on the bottom). Brew the espresso into a 3 oz. stainless pitcher (ceramic or glass will absorb too much heat of the espresso). Pour steamed milk into the bottom third of the cup. Pour the espresso slowly into the steamed milk. Spoon frothed milk on top to fill cup. Done in this order, the espresso should settle between the milk and the foam. Properly frothed milk should be approximately 150ºF to 170ºF. It is a matter of personal preference and may be slightly hotter or cooler.\

Enjoy d brew!!!

www.love.com

Websites give all sorts of aids, from ordering food, to downloading movies... but a very important facet of it is in findin love & maintaining it also...

A friend of mine, found her love on orkut... though people dont usually rely on such sources, i think she got lucky & cupid favored dem, arranging life to build & strengthen their love. They havebeen together ever since & still their initial SCRAPS.

Even Skype is a good source... it was a great boon... helped me stay in touch wid my guy, while he went overseas. Wat more could i wish for, than to c him, every evening online, sittin in some far off nation. We would chat for hours, discuss d day we had, play games online... also save money(d ISD calls are damn heavy for d wallet)...

God bless Internet.

my love with CCD

Its d 1 place where i feel @ home,

A place which i look for, whenever i am in a new city,

D place which alwayz welcomes wid Arms wide open,

D place dat has been a companion, a friend, a shoulder to cry upon, a person to laugh wid & share my happiness, sum1 i can trust & rely & who accepts me as i am - Cafe Coffee Day!

D affair began in 2004 and grown ever since. In d suburbs of Mumbai, have been witnesses of my romance wid CCD. I still remember d first time i went to CCD, on a rainy evening, after college, with a bunch of friends- d 1 located @ Shivaji Park. It wasn't really love @ 1st sight, but d liking was there, which grew into love after 2 yrs, when i began frequenting it a lot.

I was dere on d night of my 21st Bday & around den was d time dat i started loving it.

It has ever since den, been a part of many celebrations & various occassions.

I am a proud ambassador of it & hv introduced many to it.

Its 1 place, where i can b myself, no need to pretend, no worries of on-lookers, no tension of anybody overhearing me.

A place dat maintains its charm, regardless of d metro, city or town it is located in, be it Trivandrum, Lonavala or Delhi. D outside world doesnt bother, ones u r in dere, seated in d comfort of ur chair, sipping a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee.

It has been my savior time & again. The different places I have lived, wid CCD being d only ray of hope, a place to be me, when i had nowhere else to go, nobody to talk to, no1 to be with.

A place where i dont mind being alone, as I know its dere wid me.

Its just enough for me, dat my love for CCD is understood by d 1 person, who matters to me d most, d rest doesnt really matter...

As sum1 said - "Is there life before coffee? There is NO life before coffee. There is life AFTER coffee !!"