.. how expensive manual labour really is in the US till I bought a pair of jeans for $14 (on sale of course) and spent $16 to get it altered! How I missed my alteration-tailor in Jayanagar who would do it for 50 cents!

I have been living in San Francisco for the past two and a half months. This is the first time I have ever been outside Bangalore for so long and the first time I have ever lived by myself. Though I am missing home I am really enjoying my solitude. Lots of time for myself that I can't crib for a long time about the lack of it.

I love San Francisco. The city's very charming. (Some people say that it's really a town that likes to call itself a city) And the people here are really polite. So far every driver I have seen on the road has waited for the pedestrians to cross. I mean, they actually wait, just the hint of a pedestrain twenty feet away from the curb is enough to make them stop and signal the person to cross. We in India will jerk our necks impatiently to signal someone to pass, but here one would politely lift their hand, curl their fingers and signal people to go. Usually with a smile and a nod. How polite is that? Why can't everybody do that? Don't believe me? Here's a small example of how one catches the bus to their workplace.

How you walk to the bus stand:
Blr: Don't notice anybody except to avoid colliding with them. Cut in in front of people if need be.
SF: Greet everybody you come across with a smile and a Hi. If you have just had your morning coffee, greet them with a 'Hello there!'. Never cut in on someone's path.
Always wait patiently for the other person to pass. (Note: this might sometimes result in both the people waiting politely for one another for an infinite amount of time)

How you stand at the bus stop:
Blr: Just mind your own business and avoid eye contact. Not that anyone will chit chat with you, you don't really want to talk to anyone either.
SF: Smile and nod at your neighbour and occassionally exclaim to your neighbour 'What a beautiful day it is today!'

How you board the bus:
Blr: (I don't need to say this)
SF: Wait for the person in front of you to board first. Stay atleast two feet away from the person in front of you. Let the women go first. (Always. Everywhere)

( Pics of the bus stop )

I am still around people, alive and kicking! It's been a long time and life has, as can be expected, changed a lot in the past two years that I have not written in my journal. Yeah, I got married, changed two houses, changed my job... and a lot of other events in between.

I have no excuses for not updating my journal. Let's just say don't take the word 'procrastination' lightly from me anymore.

So that's good enough for a first post for this year (and the last year :P)
See ya soon.

P.S: It feels really good to be back on LJ!

This is just brilliant

This post has been a week overdue.. never found the time to pen down my thoughts about the finale to the HP series. (If I had, this post would have been twice as long :D)

On the outset I can say that the book was very predictable. The first six books imparted this feeling of suspense and uncertainty but that was all laid to rest with the last book. There was a constant feeling of loose ends being tied which was in a way comforting but also carried this over-hanging feeling of the end of the story coming near :P And somehow Harry's seems to be riding on more luck than usual (that's what I felt everytime he missed the killing curse or missed being caught). But again hey, this is a children's book. Which is again proved in the climax of the story, the great war that takes place at Hogwarts. That was when I was starkly reminded that this is a children's book and could imagine the kids jumping up and down each time their fav characters entered into the Room of requirement one by one.

The blotches in Snape's and Dumbledore's lives were neatly filled. Frankly I appreciated how Dumbledore was not as perfect as we thought he was. It was more human - everybody-has-their-story types. And Snape deserved the tribute he got in the end for all the hatred that was directed at him all through.

The confrontations with the Dark Lord were truly disappointing because of how everything seemed to be going in Harry's favor. It was a little unrealistic even for the magical world. Am sure if Ron could find Harry during the latter's 'exile', then definitely even Voldemort could! (Yeah, yeah, I know its just a story..) Too many things fell into place for Harry just when he needed it.

Parts I think could have been better/more believable:
* How Hedwig dies - it was more like getting her out of the way
* How Harry comes out unscathed when stricken with the killing curse.
* How easily things fall into Harry's lap - the black stone(one of the hallows) and especially how lucky he got with the Elder wand

But there were lots of feel good factors that made it a truly enjoyable read like the PottersWatch, DA. Though it was slow paced in the middle, the story picked up in the second half. I hadn't realised how much I missed Hogwarts and its teachers until they went to Hogwarts to fight the war.

Parts I liked:
* Prince's tale
* Kreacher and R.A.B's story - totally rivetting
* Harry reproaching Lupin for abandoning his baby - strong social message sent out
* Harry's bravery when he goes to face Voldemort and is ready to die - when he realises how he has to leave everything and everyone behind and walks alone without looking back..
* Hermione's loyalty and intelligence
* Humour brought in by Ron and the twins

My questions:
* Why did Harry promise to return the sword to the goblin instead of requesting to hold on to it till he finished his work with it?
* How did Neville catch hold of the sword in the end?
* I thought more members of the Order of phoenix had the invisible cloak?
* Who was the repulsive baby-like creature at King's cross? was it Grindelwald?
* why didn't Harry think of using the Deathly Hallows(to defeat death) when he already possessed two of the three? In fact, it wasn't considered as an option at all

My favorite book of the series still remains as the sixth one because of the anticipation it built. And Deathly Hallows has everything in it to make it a perfect ending to the series.

1) It is hard for me to trick my brain
2) It is very hard to subdue my ego
3) It is next to impossible to fool my heart


PS: I have been hoping to get company to watch HP5 and when none presented itself I forced my brother only to find out that there are no tickets available for the whole weekend. I was hoping to see the movie before I read HP7 :(

A train leaves New York for Boston. Five minutes later another train leaves Boston for New York, at double the speed. Which train will be closer to New York when they encounter?




( Clue and link to answer )

I got this in a mail forward.. it was just too funny to pass it up:

For everyone who has ever had an (Employee Performance) Evaluation - just remember, it could have been worse. These are actual quotes taken from federal government employee performance evaluations.

1. "Since my last report, this employee has reached rock-bottom and has started to dig."

2. "I would not allow this employee to breed."

3. "This employee is really not so much of a has-been, but more of a definite won't be."

4. "Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap."

5. "When he opens his mouth, it seems that it is only to change feet."

6. "This young lady has delusions of adequacy."

7. "He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them."

8. "This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot."

9. "This employee should go far, and the sooner he starts the better."

10. "Got a full 6-pack, but lacks the plastic thingy to hold it all together."

11. "A gross ignoramus - 144 times worse than an ordinary ignoramus."

12. "He doesn't have ulcers, but he's a carrier."

14. "I would like to go hunting with him sometime."

15. "He's been working with glue too much."

16. "He would argue with a signpost."

17. "He brings a lot of joy whenever he leaves the room."

18. "When his IQ reaches 50, he should sell."

19. "If you see two people talking and one looks bored, he's the other one."

20. "A photographic memory but with the lens cover glued on."

21. "A prime candidate for natural de-selection."

22. "Donated his brain to science before he was done using it."

23. "Gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming."

24. "He's got two brains cells, one is lost and the other is out looking for it."

25. "If he were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week."

26. "If you give him a penny for his thoughts, you'd get change."

27. "If you stand close enough to him, you can hear the ocean."

28. "One neuron short of a synapse."

29. "Some drink from the fountain of knowledge; he only gargled."

30. "Takes him 2 hours to watch 60-minutes."

31. "The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead.

Mmmm.. I can almost smell the cake and chocolate.. yummy...

I can't wait for the book release on July 21st. Meanwhile I thought I could console myself with the Order Of the Phoenix Movie. It looks awesome, better made than the previous ones. But it's releasing on July 19th, just two days before the book release and 8 days after the US release. And what's worse they(in the US) get to watch a 3D version of the movie too(ok only the last 20 minutes is 3D, but still)!!

You scored as Ron Weasley, You often feel like second best and as a result don't have an awful lot of self confidence, but a truer more capable friend would be hard to find. </td> Ron Weasley 75% Hermione Granger 75% Remus Lupin 70% Sirius Black 65% Severus Snape 60% Harry Potter 55% Albus Dumbledore 55% Ginny Weasley 45% Draco Malfoy 45% Lord Voldemort 25% Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com

PS: On other news, I am gonna watch Sivaji tonight. Am not a Rajnikanth fan but since I have heard so much about the movie, I am looking forward to it.

Got this from ashaonnet:

The only thing worth stealing in this world is a kiss from a sleeping child

This is the video that is being aired on VH1 for the catchy song 'Voice' by Pentagram. VH1 and Nokia asked fans to submit their own videos for the song. They received 991 entries! Each one with its own understanding of the song. One of the favorites which I liked a lot is Varun Agarwal's anti-reservation video. And this one is the final official release, a composite of the 26 best videos:

Got this in a mail forward:

'Hippopotomonstroses quippedaliophobia' is the fear of long words. (ironic isn't it)

Phobatrivaphobia is a fear of trivia about phobias !!

It is impossible to lick your elbow. (I tried this, and failed)

Last night there was a slight drizzle. Just a hint of rain. But even that was enough to make the roads extremely slippery. Anybody who has riding a two-wheeler at that time will vouch for that.

It had just started to drizzle and I was heading home. I had to take a right turn, and when I turned my bike(Activa) the tyres just gave way under me. It felt like the tyres had loosened and I completely lost control. Before I realizded it, the bike was on the ground but fortunately I was able to get off it without any problem. That's not all, after that, when I got back on my bike and started riding again, I had traveled just 100 metres when another biker next to me tried to change lanes and HE fell! It was like a repeat of what happened to me. All of a sudden and with the same kind of clanging noise his bike was also down. Everybody around was again looking at him wondering what the hell happened. Soon, I reached a junction where pedestrians were actually stopping the traffic and asking people to ride slowly because the roads were slippery. Heard from a friend that even she was stopped by people like that and they said twenty to thirty vehicles had fallen like that.

The funny part is it hadn't even rained. Seemed like the light drizzle had somehow caused the grime and pollution to make the roads slick. I have never seen anything like this before.

Don't get freaked out that this is an xkcd strip (mostly understood by geeks/nerds) and YOU relate to it! Looking at the comments, there are loads of people who do this, so I consider it normal behaviour :P

Offlate, whenever I am looking for a local number I don't use the directory but call JustDial on 2333 3333 instead. Most of the time I found what I was looking for and sometimes suggestions on finding similar places, like if I asked for SweetChariot, Rajajinagar they would tell me other cake shops in the locality. Now they have a website.
I can surely save a lot on those phone calls now :P

I had been to the Iron Maiden concert yesterday! My second big concert (the first one being Bryan Adams). I wasn't planning on going but glad I changed my mind in the last minute thanks to shruthi_dipali.

It was a big crowd and initially we were standing at the rear end because we had tickets of the lower denomination. The sound was not good and our disappointment turned to regret that we should have bought better tickets. But after a couple of songs the barricade was broken and everybody rushed to the front! We got the best of both! ;) Of course I wasn't as close to the stage as I would have liked. But I always console myself that it is no use (unless I stand in the first row) because of my height!



I hadn't heard all the songs they played and it was only after a couple of songs when they started playing The Trooper that I really began to enjoy myself. The live experience of listening to heavy metal amidst a huge number of fans is something else. The crowd went berserk when they played hits like Fear of the dark, Number of the beast and Hallowed Be Thy Name. It was so much fun watching the band members on the big screen. I simply loved watching McBrain's expressions as he played the drums. I was still hoping they would play more of my favourites like The Clairvoyant and Aces High but it all got over soon. (It always ends leaving you wanting more)

I also listened to Parikrama for the first time. They entertained the crowd before Iron Maiden came on stage and they were just awesome. Their music is very original with an Indian touch that was impressive. But we also were forced to listen to some bad music from Lauren Harris (Iron Maiden's Steve Harris's daughter) which either put people to sleep or made people tear their hair apart:



All in all I had a great time except for the stiff neck that I am nursing :D

And this is my new sweetheart. My cousin got a German Shepherd puppy. All of 9 weeks old :)

I had been to a play called Love Letters by the much acclaimed theatre group Evam. I had heard that the play was nothing but a reading of a bunch of love letters. Now that didn't inspire me but I have seen plays by Evam before and I either enjoyed them or enjoyed them a LOT. But they were right about this one. It was really actually nothing but a reading of a bunch of letters. Two actors and very little acting except for facial expressions. But it definitely was not disappointing.

The play is about two people who are childhood friends and how they keep in touch with each other all their lives through letters. Their entire lives with all its drama of love and despair are brought about only through their readings of the letters they received from each other.Though they take on different paths in life where they don't meet each other for years together, they are always connected even if it is just through christmas card. And slowly they realize how it is not just a connection, its a life line.

It is amazing how much you can know of a person in the way the write and what they choose to write about. And how even the most succinct of letters convey the deepest of emotions. The play takes you through the whole gamut of emotional upheavals that rock our life. As adolescents, young adults, married, divorced.. Things always seem so promising when you are young and as you grow older it looks like something was lost, not just time and opportunities but also the spirit and enthusiasm. The charm.

(might be a SPOILER:)
This one had a poignantly sad ending. Wish it ended differently, but that's reality. Your whole life might pass by with everything you ever wanted right in front of you all the time but you never grabbed it. In the end you feel that you had only one life and you lost out on it..
I think you can guess how it ends now. :P

I have been promised that their next play is a very happy one. And one where we will be roaring with laughter. I can't wait for it. :)