Life...!

Life takes weird courses!!!

I had never expected somethings that happened in the year 2011.

The most outstanding event of all has been, My Wedding.

Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would tie the knot before the year comes to an end. I had planned to take some time after college, to invest in my career & work, to gain some experience, before getting married. However, Life has its own course & it made me flow along with it. I guess I did not resist it much because the man I was getting married to, is the man I love.

I had also planned to work in an organisation for at least 1-2 yrs, before calling it quits & moving to another company. But the suffocation I underwent at this Org, made me move out in 5 mths, that too after spending the last 3 mths in torture & tears.

Also, this year has strengthened my faith in God!

I had wanted to get married to my boyfriend & despite our courtship of 5 yrs, I knew there would be resistance from both our families. Somehow, despite dreading for the worst to happen, around the D-Day, all went smooth sailing. Apart from a few hiccups, all was good. All the families & friends enjoyed the celebrations & our parents were appreciated as good hosts.

The year has been of ups & downs.

However, I shall remember 2011, as an important milestone in the story of my life.

Hope 2012 brings Success & Prosperity our way.

"Dear Loving and Compassionate God, 

Giver of all gifts, 

we pray especially today for the mercy and love You give us. 

Open our hearts and minds to You. 

Give us the grace to accept your mercy. 

As we live each day, 

we pray for those less fortunate, 

especially those who are hurting, 

and whose wounds need to be healed. 

Help us become involved in ways that show them how deeply 

we care. 

Give us the personal courage to listen to their concerns 

and help them find the solutions to which they are 

entitled.

as Your children and our brothers and sisters. 

Amen. "

Coffee comes to aid again!!!

LONDON: Women, please note - drinking four cups of coffee a day could help you keep womb cancer at bay, a new study has claimed.

Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health have found a link between regular consumption of coffee and lower risk of developing endometrial cancer, the most common form of the disease.

Women who drank four or more cups a day over many years were 25% less likely to develop the disease than those who limited themselves to less than a cup daily, the 26-year study of 70,000 women found.

Both caffeinated and decaffeinated varieties seemed to help ward off the disease, although tea had no effect-They said, "Increasing exercise and maintaining normal body weight are the most important ways to prevent endometrial cancer. Additional strategies are needed and dietary habits such as coffee drinking could provide one option."

However, they cautioned that adding cream and sugar may cancel out the effects , as may smoking, the Daily Mail reported.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/4-cups-coffee-a-day-may-keep-womb-cancer-at-bay/articleshow/10851031.cms

The Half Empty Glass..

Y does happiness come in incomplete packages???

The biggest event of your life about  to occur, and u have support of people you respect, but only half - heartedly. This leaves your spirits in a gloomy state, with all the efforts being put in, but no equivalent results.

I mean, if a person has agreed to somebody's choice, then respect it completely and try to be happy about it. Why create an issue, why weep over it & give that person grief? You reduce your own efforts by not accepting the choice completely, making a fool of yourself & also being the reason of that person's sorrows.

You fill his glass with your acceptance, but leave it half empty, because you dont agree to his choice fully. This gives immense pain to you & that person, whose choice you are now disrespecting. This happens in life quite often. Our family & friends, relatives & loved ones are the reasons of sorrow & vice - versa.

I wish to ask Him, why does he give us incomplete happiness?

Why create a situation where one is caught in a dilemma to whether smile or cry, due to the turn of events?

I try to see the half filled glass, but the empty half mocks me, taking away all the happiness received from the half filled glass. The heart aches & eyes start watering. All I can do is reiterate to myself time & again, that the glass is at least half full, in comparison to those with empty glasses. The brain understands but heart weeps, hiding tears from all, trying to show all the happiness they gave you by filling your glass HALF...

Fish Pedicure not really safe!!!

Beauty buffs, beware! Give a second thought the next time you go for a trendy fish pedicure at the spa, for experts have warned that the foot-nibbling treatment could give you an infection. 

According to the UK's health protection agency, though risks from fish pedicure are "low but could not be completely excluded", the Daily Telegraph reported. And, the agency said that those with diabetes, psoriasis or with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable and should never undergo the pampering craze. In fact, blood-borne viruses could be transmitted if infected clients bleed in spa water that is used again. Dr Hilary Kirkbride of the agency said, "Provided that good standards of hygiene are followed by salons, members of the public are unlikely to get an infection from a fish spa pedicure, however the risk will be higher for certain people. 

"This is why we feel it's important for salons to ensure the client has no underlying health conditions that could put them at risk and that a thorough foot examination is performed to make sure there are no cuts, grazes or existing skin conditions that could spread infection." The warning came after a panel found fish tank water contained a number of micro-organisms and that infections could be transmitted -either from fish to person, water to person, or person -- to person. Dr Paul Cosford, Director of health protection services at the agency, said the risk posed by the fish tanks could be kept to a minimum if spas followed "strict standards of cleanliness".




http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Water-woes-Fish-pedicures-could-make-you-sick/articleshow/10409420.cms

Unpredictable Life!!!

Today was gonna be a special day for me.

I had no plans, but the idea was to enjoy, the weekend.

But guess Life had better plans!!!

The day began with a hustle. Was continued with nagging, random suggestions on improvisations from all. Then hurriedly got ready for a task which began late. Somehow wrapped up everything on time, to go to the marketplace & have a cup of much awaited coffee, which was gonna lift up my moods & make my day. Alas! The accompanying person got ill midway & all had to be cancelled, only to return to my laptop & a cup of regular powder coffee & a few episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S

This was my 25th Bday!!!

Well today's experiences only strengthened my belief in the fact that life is so unpredictable. It takes its own turns, flopping ur plans, mocking ur brains & often leaving you with no options but to follow the path carved out by it.

People say that in life one always has choices, & one can choose as he wishes. But I beg to differ. Although life may give you choice, but not all those choices are really acceptable & would be suitable to all the lives that would be effected by it. Also the unpredictable events leave you in a numb state of mind that you cannot think your way out of it & tend to follow the path that seems the most natural, instead of trying to carve out a new path, that may actually be more suitable & closer to your initial choices.

Life leaves us dumbstruck so frequently, that often I feel like a silly puppet, who thinks she can act the way she wants in the play, only to realise, that her movements are controlled by sum1 above & beyond.

The negativity that seeps in to the mind, body & senses is so severe that it takes away all the hope of anything good ever happening. Just giving up & waking up each day to live it the way someone else sketched it out for you, seems the only option available. No real choice that would give you a way out of ur misery! Just a life with all hidden pre-laid paths, to make you feel that you make ur own choices!!!

What a fool of man is made by sum1 somewhere!

To Judge a Book by its cover!

Being humans, we have a natural tendency to identify things & analyse them, as soon we look at them. We judge people by their looks, buildings by their facade, a book by its cover...
But is it right to form an opinion based on the mere outer appearance of things?

Having done so many a times myself, I have realized that seldom is the opinion right! Often you may dislike a person by their face or expressions, but after you get to know more about them, you may be forced to change your view about them. If you think a dish well garnished will be delicious, you may often be mistaken. Similarly, buying a book having an attractive cover, may often disappoint the reader, due to the weak contents & the inability to meet the expectations.

Is it something that we can change & avoid comprehending the matter, on the basis of the outlook? During my education in Hotel Management, we were always taught that the garnish of a dish & its presentation is as important as its taste. Its because, a guest will eat the dish first by his eyes & only then by his mouth. In a patisserie, we would always order a pastry that appears tasty, even though our decision may prove wrong, after the first bite. Similarly, when choosing a book amongst the large collection in a bookstore, we pick a book, after its cover has attracted our sight & then buy it, if the summary & review impress us.

Same is the case when we judge people. We approach the people, we are attracted to. Then we further judge them by our subsequent conversations & completely understand them over a period of time. During an interview, most the interviewers, form an opinion about the interviewee in the first 2 minutes & carry the remaining of the interview based on it.


Thus, it is very difficult to avoid judging a person or an object on the basis of its appearance. Since Sight is one of our basic senses, we tend to use the fastest. Although this may not hold true for a visually challenged person. While judging, the best we can attempt is to avoid forming quick opinions & as a presenter, we can put in the extra effort to ensure that the Visual available to an onlooker presents a better picture of the real product. Rest is the luck & the circumstances, which is not really in our hands!

Events in life...

Our life faces many events. Some leave us with a smile, while many leave with us with a frown, a tension, a sad heart.

Why are our lives dominated by gloomy incidents?

Why do a majority of happenings, lead to a sad outcome?

I often wonder, what would life be like, if it comprised of a large no. of happy moments. Incidents which brought a smile on your face & a joy in your heart.

Alas, this is just a dream, which many of us see every night - to be happier the next day, hoping that the future will be better than present. & life goes in this hope, with never a real achievement. Because, no matter what one does, most of the seconds of his life are spend in a gloomy or neutral state of mind & only a few being actually spend in happiness.

Is this all really meant to make us recall God more, or as saints say,"To make us realize the value of those few special happy moments, which seldom occur". But isn't this a pessimistic approach to life? "To suffer pain is the only way to realize the importance of moments filled with joy", really?

I believe the approach to life should be such that we thank God in the moments of Joy. If we promise to be thankful to God more often, can we then at least have a life with more happy events & less negative incidents???

Our Lives

Can we really evr forget the past?

Can we evr vacate our minds of those people, moments, places, which happened to us a long time ago, & which we do not wish to remember?

As for me, I tend to put those memories into a trance box...

Thus for me... all the things I do not wish to cherish, are placed in a frame, such that when I view them, they seem to be in a state of trance... Like it was not really me when they all happened. So I view them as a 3rd person.

When I view the whole scenario as an external person, who is not really in the frame, it eases out the pains caused by an old memory. A place you dint wanna be in, people you wished you had nvr really met, or circumstances you never wanted to face.

However, Trance box comes with its own cons. It makes you feel, as if parts of your life are blank. As if, you had written something on those pages of the book, in an invisible ink & thus you are incapable of reading your own life's  book. Well, there's no reason to weep over the loss, as the sentences written on those chapters, would only make 1 gloomy & bring tears to ones eyes.

Our lives go through various phases & although each memory is worth saving into the hard drives of our brains, some of them are better saved into a temporary drive & get auto-deleted after a short period of time. Also, this helps us in building new & better memories for the future, without the black spots of the past.

And also it serves as an important learning lesson for the future & helps you in avoiding those same mistakes again.

Missin my Cup of Joe...

My worst nightmare come true! My favorite coffee shop, just got away from me.

I live at a place, which is lovely, but with the biggest drawback - my haven cafe' is 15 kms away from me.

Thus it takes me a minimum of 1hr to reach to the nearest. What a shame!

Specially, since my place is surrounded by fellow singles, living as students or those starting their career. Why would the abode of so many youth, be deprived of a decent coffee shop?

And the repercussions of this are that my drive for reading & art have all disappeared, specially when I need them the most. Sitting idle at home, my only escapades are the long naps I am forced to take unwillingly. Although I am not a sleep person, and can easily manage with 6-8hrs each nite, I nowadays am in slumber for nearly 11-13hrs a day. The waking hours are dedicated to Sex & The City and Cougar Town reruns on my laptop. The only good thing I happen to have picked up, is some flair for baking, with some cookies & chocolate cake, that distract me from my boredom. Although this meager good thing does not cancel out the negatives in my life, it is the only ray of light.

So, as I travel an hour for my lovely cuppa joy, I miss readin books while sippin a latte', or coming back after a refreshing cup of joy, that takes all my troubles away & leaves behind a taste of the fresh brew in my mouth & of happiness in my heart!

NEWSFLASH: Coffee 'the best way to wake up a woman'

Women are most likely to be woken up by the whiff of coffee, while their men prefer the smell of fried food as the best aroma to help get them out of bed to face the day, a survey in Britain has revealed.

However, overall the scent of coffee will kick-start 26 per cent of Britons into life, although 27 per cent of men say the smell of eggs, bacon, sausages and fried bread wafting from the kitchen is the enticement they need to get going in the morning, according to the survey.

Twenty-three per cent of women also say the scent of a zingy shower gel is the best thing to blow the cobwebs away.

Other scents that awaken the senses first thing in the morning include the smell of cut grass drifting indoors favoured by 11 per cent of people. Ten per cent say the odour of freshly baked bread is the one they like to wake up to.

And a romantic five per cent say the scent of their partner rouses them from sleep, the 'Daily Express' reported.

1 nite @ The Terminal

It was 23:45hrs when the flight landed. Sharp on time, is something we had not expected, since the Airline we had flown with, was an infamous one, but lighter on pocket. But we were not elated with its punctuality. Because, we knew we would have to spent the remaining hours of nite at the airport, till safe to go to the city.

We were the last ones to vacate our comfy seats in the flight, till the passenger on the window insisted on moving out. Pitifully, we let the man move out. He had seemed overly excited during the entire flight, always peeping out the window, looking over shoulders to see & absorb the newness of his experience.


Once on land, we boarded the bus, whilst enjoyin the fresh air on the taxiway. The shuttle brought us to the terminal, our abode for tonite. We were reluctant to collect our baggage from the luggage belt, and luckily, our bag was the last one to arrive(Guess it knew, we were the laid back ones today)
Roaming on the terminal, we checked out the space. Pushing the trolley & taking our turns to the washrooms, we finally found the place, that was gonna be ours for the night.
After making a few adjustments, we made it comfy for us, and began the long nite stay, with wide open eyes.

My never ending yearning for a good cuppa coffee, was making me impatient, to move out. But I knew better than that, coz, ones we went out, we would not be allowed back in the terminal. The 1 cup of Aztec coffee I had had before take off, from the Cafe Coffee Day outlet, would have to suffice - big & tough task!!!


Surfing the internet, watchin movie trailers on Youtube, FBing, were the best options, with nothing better left to do.We spend the nite at the terminal, moving out finally as did the sun, in the wee hours of the morning.

Vacationing at home

After a long time, I was home for more than a month.
I had a notion, that it would be a horrible experience, what with all my previous vacations having a similar fate. However, this time it was for a different cause that I was home - to take care of my mom. She had been ill & could not take time off work due to her commitments, thus I was called upon, to look after her.

I dreaded my stay & was reluctant to go, but seeing no options, went ahead with the plans to be home. I always dread the nasty discussions at dinner table, or the unanswerable questions which are shot at me, and having no escapes, I always have to bear the brunt of the anger and the ego clashes. Although the loss suffered is borne by both the parties, since there are times when I retaliate and its my parents who have to hear me. Mostly its my mom, since she misses me, and stores up all the feelings and anger, which are vent out on me, when I land in my house.

This vacation, proved different. My parents treated me like an adult. Thus, there were lesser quarrels, more of discussions, which I had the liberty of walking out of, if I felt uncomfortable. I would rather not hear an odd question & remain silent, than attempt to answer it & make the whole tale twisted.


 I thus prefer that the truth be untold, than a lie be told. B'coz that would not hurt much later, when the curtain is raised from the secrets of life. It helps to uncomplicate life, than pave the path of lies, which are difficult to live by. This made my vacationing @ home, easy & memorable.

My parents came closer to me. They rediscovered their loving & doting daughter, who not only sends them gifts, but also a heart filled with respect & gratitude. This vacation has helped me sort out an important relation in my life, all thanx to some patience & the path shown by my love, which I followed trustingly.

"Thank U God, for giving me my parents & my love!!!"

Haha!!!

U KNO U DRINK 2 MUCH COFFEE when...

• Juan Valdez names his donkey after you.
• you ski uphill.
• you speed walk in your sleep.
• you answer the door before people knock.
• you sleep with your eyes open.
• you just completed another sweater and you don't know how to knit.
• you grind your coffee beans in your mouth.
• you have to watch videos in fast-forward.
• the only time you're standing still is in an earthquake.
• you lick your coffeepot clean.
• your eyes stay open when you sneeze.
• the nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse.
• your T-shirt says, "Decaf is the devil's coffee."
• you can type sixty words a minute with your feet.
• all your kids are named "Joe."
• you don't need a hammer to pound nails.
• your only source of nutrition comes from "Sweet and Low."
• you don't sweat, you percolate.
• you've worn out the handles on your favorite mug.
• you've built a miniature city out of plastic stirrers.
• people get dizzy just watching you.
• people can test their batteries in your ears.
• when someone asks you," How are you?", you say," Good to the last drop."
• your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil .
• you'd be willing to spend time in a Turkish prison.
• you go to sleep just so you can wake up and smell the coffee.
• you speak perfect Arabic without even taking a lesson.
• your Thermos is on wheels.
• you can outlast the Energizer Bunny.
• you don't even wait for the water to boil anymore.
• you think being called a drip is a compliment.
• you don't tan, you roast.
• you don't get mad, you get steamed.
• you soak your dentures in coffee overnight.
• your coffee mug is insured by Lloyds of London.
• you think CPR stands for "Coffee Provides Resuscitation."

Coffee News Today

Ladies, please note — drinking a couple of cups of coffee everyday is good for you , as a new study has claimed the drink reduces one's risk of a stroke .

And, women who don't drink coffee at all may actually be increasing their risk for stroke, the study has warned. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who carried out the study , have also found evidence that drinking more than a cup of coffee a day can help ward off diabetes and liver cancer in women.

The experts found women who drank more than a cup a day saw their stroke risk fall by between 20 and 25 per cent compared with those who drank little or none. This held true regardless of their weight, smoking and drinking habits, or whether they had a family history of diabetes. The study also revealed drinking coffee lowered the risk of other diseases like diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity and having other beneficial effects.


Guess I have more reasons to go to a Cafe now!!!




More on:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Coffee-can-shield-women-from-strokes/articleshow/7684361.cms

OMG!!!

The year 1689 saw the first café opening in Paris.

There was a time in our history when you could be executed for harming a coffee plant. At the same time in another part of the world, you could be executed for having one!

Coffee was denounced by many religious leaders as the drink of Satan. Coffee houses were known as “hotbeds of sedition”. In the 1700’s many coffee houses were ordered to close. For failing to comply, the punishment for first time offenders was public beating and humiliation. Second (and last) time offenders were sewn into a leather bag and thrown into the river. Think about that the next time you order a Latte!

In the year 1773, tea was replaced by coffee as the national drink in the Americas when angry colonists were enraged by King George’s enormous tax on tea. This of course led to The Boston Tea Party where the new nation gained its strong allegiance to coffee.

Chapters of life...

We go through various phases in life. These different phases form various chapters in our lives.

Every chapter in a person's lifetime holds many moments, people, places, events. But the start of every new chapter & the culmination of an old one, involves some aches, some memories & some doubts & questions.

1 such chapter in my life is coming to an end. It is the chapter of my post-graduation years.

This chapter began 2 years ago. With a new college, a new city, new faces & new work- to study management.

And as I come to an end of these 2 years, my mind wanders to the various chapters & phases in my life. Each of these phases comprised of various moments, some high, some low. Some moments made me question my own decisions, while others made me proud. Some gave aches, for which i cried my heart out, but others also gave me cheerful happy memories.

As You Said It...

Caffeine isn't a drug, it's a vitamin!

-Unknown

Do you know how helpless you feel if you have a full cup of coffee in your hand and you start to sneeze?

- Jean Kerr

I put instant coffee in a microwave and almost went back in time.

- Steven Wright

If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.

- Abraham Lincoln

I don't have a problem with caffeine. I have a problem without caffeine!

-Unknown

I like my coffee strong, not lethal!

- M*A*S*H

I bought a decaffeinated coffee table, you can't even see a difference.

-Unknown

Forever: Time it takes to brew the first pot of coffee in the morning.

-Unknown

You know you've been playing too much Nethack when you refer to coffee as a potion of sleep resistance.

-Sweeney Todd Lundgren

In Seattle you haven't had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it's running.

-Jeff Bezos

Retirement is one great big giant coffee break.

-Unknown

A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems.

-Paul Erdos

I believe humans get a lot done, not because we're smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee.

- Flash Rosenberg

Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation.

- Unknown

A girl in a bikini is like having a loaded pistol on your coffee table - There's nothing wrong with them, but it's hard to stop thinking about it.

- Garrison Keillor

Science may never come up with a better office communication system than the coffee break.

- Earl Wilson