Amusing Musings

Aren't the social networking sites all about answering that question :) like twitter, linkedIn, facebook, orkut etc... so here I am writin a post about what I am doing in general instead of updating in everyone of those sites. hmm... where shall I start. after an eventful move back to India in the last week of september till the last week of December 2008, I have done a lot of stuff. my life has suddenly become so happening without my permission! lol it seems like i have a lived occasions, parties, wedding ceremonies, festivals, travels, emotional roller coaster ride all worth of an entire year in just 3 months ;) i enjoyed a 10 day hungama of a cousin's wedding, traveled mum-hyd-mum-rjy-vzg-nrp-annv-hyd-mum hehe... lost count of movies i saw, restaurants i dined at, foods i relished, caught up with childhood buddies, relatives, spent quality time with family and was shocked to find they still see me as a Deepu they know 7 years ago and are just not ready to accept the fact tha...

i have come a long way... in-fact half way around the world. when compared to daisy ridge which seemed like an average middle class - purpose solved type living place, Hiranandani is like a luscious luxury living... for us. clean, green and pleasant. totally away from the hussle bussle of Mumbai, yet within the city. though i was a bit skeptic about making mumbai my home, i am beginning to fall in love with the place. the amenities, the self-sufficientness of the neighbourhood, the cleaniless (rarely found in typical residential areas in India), extravagent facilities like tennis courts, gym, pool, jogger's park, kidd's playplace, clubhouse etc (also new to me, in India). one less thing i miss about the US.:) good for me.

We, the people of India, declare war on terror! http://specials.indiatoday.com/specials/petition_new/pledge.html

Literally! Blew my mind away… feels like there were two different worlds… a world that felt normal to me and then a bizzaro world! US of A and then India. i have penned down about a lot of ups and down in USA.. heres one, about a realization that occured after my Return to India. i wouldn't have probably felt it if not for my so long stay in the states away from India, relatives, hometown, country side, so called values, culture, traditions etcetera. Temples, poojalu, abhishekalu, temple visit poojalu, abhishekalu and repeat… fastinglu, cold showerlu (challaneella snanala punyalu), daiva bhakthi, mogudi ki sevalu… if not the above then the below illu, vanta, vantillu, pinnigaru, akkayagaru and santha… cheeralu nagalu poolu animanigi undatalu ive adadaani abharanaalu Ive adadaani prapancham… inkaaa… even this age …ee kalamo lo, ee 21st century lo … Lol so wat if it is 21st century Some people some places never want to change, never want to widen their horizons, and never want to thi...

Diaries of diaries nenu vasthanani vachaka chusi chepthanani evi padeyakunda ala unchindi Amma… she saved all my childhood souvenirs carefully all these years, stuff so antique that some of it dates back to the early nineteen nineties. Wow! From my pre-teen years. It is even more amazing that mom managed to save all those treasures all these years impeccably. So sweet of her. Of course she has always been a sweetheart and continues to amaze me :)with her sweetness. naa chinnapati books, eppativo dresses, naaku vachina gifts, my first teddy, all my report cards from class LKG to 10th and Inter 1st and 2nd year’s too, text books, notes, record books, greeting cards from my friends & admirers:) and the diaries. There are, oh so many sweet memories attached to each one of those… especially the diaries… those were the records galore, manuscripts version of hard-drives filled with memoirs of my childhood experiences. A treasure chest or a Pandora’s Box? I was rearing to find out. I final...

one of my good friends whoz name rhymes with Nivea ;) told me that one should have that passion to go bk n live in india, now i know what it means... and i told her than it is not about passion for me.. i am going bk coz i have no choice at this point.. when chance comes i will fly bk to the place i miss so much... i am trying not to see everythin from under a microscope (again if u think that's what am doin.. i am not!)and lettin go of anythin without thinkin too much about it... but gosh! what is up with all the hypocrisy, chauvanism and never thinkin twice before sayin out loud negative remarks or complaining even before appreciating what we have. coz it is what a lot of people are still strugglin for. the basic necessities, amenities to be satisfied with what u hv is the secret of happiness... but there won't be any progress either if one is satisfied with something as is... i think one should also work towards continuous improvement.but, does that mean always comparing and...

innallaki gurthochana Vaana... nuvvosthanante, nenoddantaana beautiful day... was sunny in the morning, cloudy all afternoon and started raining in the evening all throughthe night... its been ages since i felt the monsoon rains. years ago i and my cousins used get on the terrace, makin up some excuses... to just feel the rain and get drenched. it was fun we loved to do at the beginning of every rainy season. things like forget ur raincoat wantedly or say it started raining after u decided to go out or were tryin to get all the clothes (out for drying)inside.. or clearin out the blokage from the rain water drain etc etc.. okata renda.. enno bahanalu... just ala varsham lo thadavadam kosam today all those fond memories flashed back. i sat there smelling the scent of wet mud, rain and rose plants in balcony, as the rain water sprinkled on me from off of the balcony wall and railings. mom was making hot pakoras and warm double ka meetha.. yumm my fav food to go with the monsoon rains. acc...

GoodMorning… Mumbai se.. Aapki pyari, nirali… deepu lekar aayi Yahan ke taza khabar Reached Mumbai safely n soundly.. yep no blasts on the way or no mochas lochas either… Headlines: All over the news channels.. blasts in Mumbai, mangalore, delhi a blast a day keeping people away… US financial crises… India signs nuke deal with the French Saif Ali khan arrested for mishandling the press… Sonam kapoor, Ranbir kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Minisha Lamba, Priyanka chopra.. hot properties in bollywood… Ppl goin crazy ove Krazzy 4, Karzz, Fashion, Drona… last but not least Rock on! Baby It’s all abt mall culture.. bunch of branded stores all around… a movie multiplex, a hip bar, a dance floor, ruby Tuesday (yes I saw one in the mall I went to), Mc D’s (Rs 20 menu), a thai place, an Italian place and a few more restaurants, games, batting cage (Cricket), live hosting of some competitions… all these bedecked with gorgeous people or atleats people in gorgeous clothes, dazzling colors/cuts/prints, ...

Though the list may seem to have infinite things that i'd like to see, hear, feel, do, experience one last time, before departing from this "land of make your dreams come true", I will try and keep it realistic and limit to a finite number :) - 17 mile drive - Hike while Sunset at Halfmoon Bay - santa cruz - boardwalk - party hard, dance till you feet hurt at an ultra lounge - get from beginner to an intermediate level Salsa dancer - Dine at Zeni/ Denny's/ Dish Dash/ Sino/ Thai - go camping far far away from the concrete jungle into wilderness, nature at its unspoiled best - Visit Pittstate - Visit a Planetarium/ Observatory - Mt. Hamilton - Run at a 10k Marathon - an evening in SantanaRow - night out in 'The City' downtown - go cosmic bowling - Take a Merc for a ride ;) - Drive till i snooze - Shop till i drop at ValleyFair - Swim till i float - - .. more counting

It's been 6 yrs since i came to US of A. Though I didn't have like a fiesta with friends dance music drinks and party favors to celebrate the anniversary...which I’d rather prefer given a choice ;), I certainly managed to spend some quality time brooding over past 6 years worth memories. Reminiscing how I walked, hiked, trekked, traveled through plainest plains, steepest mountains, thickest forests, arid deserts, shallow beaches to deepest oceans taking something from everything. I am certainly not the same Deepu that I was on Aug 11th 2002. I wish I had the innocence, cuteness, naivety, that flawless beauty, hassle-free life, bubbly attitude. You loose some you gain some. I gained a lot of weight! Along with toughness, amplified endurance, smartness, worldly wisdom, exposure to some awesome things in life, sweet acquaintances, nice friends and a lot of other goodies ;) A charming, relaxing, Gondola Ride to an exciting, thrilling, White water rafting! That is how my life progr...

Things you never imagine could happen or would happen with you. Some blanks that you never expected will be filled or you even don’t know if the right words exist that could fill in the blanks. Do you ever think of what the right words are… are you just happy and content with what you know and what you have at the moment and you are just moving on with life; because it feels like the most righteous thing to do. Coz, these right words may be the perfect fits or the ideal matches but you are committed to a substitute or stand-in that may not be perfect but knows the secret to keep you smiling whatever lows of life you may be in and you admire that quality and adore the loyalty and unconditional giving nature of the substitute. Ever felt that way? She was fond of traveling to different places, meeting new people, getting to know diverse cultures and during one of her journeys she met this young woman, charming, amiable but lost in thoughts most of the time. From their initial conversation...

the long weekend... with a fun caltrain/BART ride to SF downtown, Pier 39 for the July 4th fireworks and Sivamani's the (percussion maestro)concert the following nite... with Bhagi, Sweth's families... i was high on music by the end of the concert! amazing...

it's the Long weekend...4Th of July long weekends were like holidays after exams for me. Woohoo! an extra day off from work and a way out of routine. some fun, some adventure, some indulgement or simply some time to crawl, creep, lay or just lazy around ;) my typical loongweekends are contained with either of the combinations of spa, movies, home overhaulin, bowling, long drives, music, friends get-togethers - dinners, drinks, gossips, visitin new places, tryin somethin new or sth different than the routine.. aah so much fun! but this one is something different, something dreaded ;), one more challenge... up for it? so here's the situation... You are home alone. All your married friends have plans and are gone. All your single friends are not around. Your DL expired. and you cannot go out with a total stranger or an aquaintance/colleague who is fun but is attracted to u n u r consciuos! lol :P what would u do to make this long weekend a fun one? hmmm... On your mark, get set, G...

summer is here... warm, bright, sunny weather...i felt the scorchin sun after a loong time today at my big boss' after office pool party at her house in Los Altos. and Wow! it is a gorgeous house with a scenic view of the Los Altos hills from the backyard with the Pool. first time ever, i got to just lazy around, get some healthy tan, and do nothin but eat drink and chat with my colleagues... fun! got to know my neighbours in the office better. it was a smooth cool party. i worked with so many different teams in my past workplaces but this one is something different. i feel they all value each other so much and they value life, fun, play and work as much. this team consists of few of the better poeple i ever met at work. very lively and happening group. i will miss the team very much as i move on to other things with higher priority in my life. anyway... so we were sittin around this sparkling pool in my boss' backyard and i wished i jumped into it for a quick swim. i love wate...

ante idenemo.. with vj leavin to mumbai for his job and leavin me behind all by myself in California, I feel so lonely and devoid of normal life. it was so saddening, depressing the first few weeks thinking i won't be able to see vj or even talk to him when i want to. thinking that he will not return and i have wrap up stuff here asap to go to him. there is so much to do and i can't wait to get done with it... i don't eat/sleep or work/live the way i used to when vj was here... it was more organised and happening all the time then. it is now a chaos or more like whenever i feel like to do sth, I do... i am hungry at 2AM or i feel sleepy at 4PM. i go out to movies by myself or i hang out with my married friends only to miss VJ even more... :) it is difficult having to live alone after being married. taking care so many things all by myself.. double the stuff to worry abt now.. Stress with a Big S and the next phase a few weeks past, i am glad to have such caring sweet people...

Mauna Loa mountains - Chain of craters road Vijju and his favourite past time - long drives, performance car and nice music and me next to him ;) Polynesian Cultural Center - a hula show

I have reached my endurance limit yet another time. By this time it should not be a surprise to me. I should be prepared mentally, physically, emotionally after enduring so many hurdles, crisis, and drought. After all, my life seems like an unfair share of struggles and effortlessness. I lived through, learnt through, built a tougher shell each time through to withstand and survive. This is yet again one of those lows. Where i wish i was dead (yuck, NO way!), i wish just became transparent, or i quit my job and went on a life time vacation. I was workin on paper work for my apt registration/loan for the past 4+ mo and nothing has been finalized yet, the loan paperwork has not progressed an inch.. Only if it wasn’t for the bad timing of my 3 yr work visa expiring and applyin for a loan at the smae time. I would have probably been in India with vj busy adoring him, crazy decorating my home and easy breezy just enjoyin life. But, here I am stuck 10,000 miles away from family, livin alone,...

Hawaii trip was heavenly… up close and intimate acquaintance with nature and the Earth was the essence of this trip. We were lucky to have gotten the perfect arrangements from the choicest hotel accommodations to nicest rental cars, coolest views to warmest Pacific waters to spend most relaxing evenings to most happening days. It is so rare that we are lucky to have everything fall in place for us and hence this will be one special trip. Just perfect… a vacation! Hawaii is a group of islands, part of the USA, located close to the equator in the central Pacific Ocean. It is the most isolated yet most accessible chain of islands. Tropical climate, warm-humid temperatures, cool turquoise bays, serene sparkling beaches, happening day-night life entice every visitor. But what is unique to Hawaii is the Hawaiian – Aloha spirit; you would not find anywhere else in the world. It is all about the Aloha spirit and you have to be here to see and experience for yourself. I saw that the islands wer...

song, a gift i gift myself... i tell my heart, keep singing. feet, keep dancing. i will work on to have my friends, keep adoring. love, keep loving. gifts, keep coming. career, satisfying and i hope my dreams, invigorating. my wishes, fulfilling. life, exciting. experiences, learning. adventures, counting. as i resolve to keep smiling on this birthday and more, celebrating.

I have been waiting to get it out! here it comes... with the dollar sinking, gasoline prices rising, essential commodities expensive, job market at lowest lows... and VJ landing in a dream job in Mumbai ! we are moving back home to India. yay ! nay! yup it's an avalanche of mixed feelings rolling across my mind right now. i knew i would go back home to India for good sometime. I wanted to go back home to be close to my family, friends, places and people who moulded me to what I am today! after all it is my motherland and after all i am an Alien here in US of A! that's right all non citizens, non GC holders are called, Non-Resident Alien I did not expect it would come so fast. there is so much to do and see and experience in USA. i wish i had a couple of more years. well i can always come back. but i will miss friends, get-togethers, potlucks, games, outdoor activities, campings and all the get-up n go, long drive trips. i will miss California, Sunnyvale, which has been my home...

Trip to Peoria was like opening a pandora's box of memories... My friendship with Shailu dates back to Dec 1999. I saw her through my class window, few days after the First year engineering classes commenced. Since it was the first year, we did not have separate classes for each branch yet. We had same course work for all branches hence were randomly allotted sections. Vani, my first friend of Engg days, and I looked through the window and saw this new enrollee waiting outside to get in to the First year Mechanical Engg. class. She is Fair, tall, thin, silky straight hair looking so naïve, cute and all. We wished she joined our section, just coz... and she did. And then we introduced ourselves and to our surprise found she isn’t that naïve, soft as she looked after all... infact, was a pataka ... hehe! A bold and beautiful girl who was very demanding yet giving and caring all the same time. We had already met on the first day @ college, Hima – a pretty, posh, pleasant, very girly g...

I went to Peoria, IL this weekend to Amogh’s 2nd Birthday party. I missed his First birthday last year and didn’t want miss it this year for anything on the earth! He is as cute as a button and a very smart and sharp little boy, one of my dearest friends, Shailu’s son. I haven’t met her in like 5 years except for a few min meet up in the Minneapolis airport during one of my flight transits some 2 years ago. It was a total hit. The 3 days trip just flew by. The night I landed, Friday, I had a blast cooking guthi vankaya, veg biryani and other mouthwatering dishes on menu for the party for 40 people. I was amazed by my ability to cook Guthi Vankaya Koora, so much quantity, so delicious. We cooked and decorated and talked and talked and mused over good old college days The next morning on Saturday, Shailu, I and her other friends did some more cooking (chana masala, jeera rice, egg masala) and decorating of all the living room with (blue, white and yellow) balloons. Shailu saw the movie “...

Ever felt this way… that you have been waiting for things to happen. Something, anything... Something big to happen, something you have waited for so long all this while to kick off and then unexpectedly everything starts to happen, all the same time, so much so little time so sudden that u actually choke. It is good that things are finally falling in place but all at the same time!!! I panic when I cannot handle so many things at the same time, when it is way overwhelming for MY multi-tasking ability! Yuppie I consider myself a khatarnak multi-tasker ;) It takes lot of work... hard work… physical, mental and of course paper work! You can share the physical work, which automatically alleviates the mental work but you canNOT avoid the paper work involved in present day system. I have been working my a$$ off since the day 1 I landed in the US. It is not easy to have lived all your life a mom’s, teachers’, aunt’s, uncle’s, cousins’ darling in a Golden cage like abode and then all of a sud...

I was going to visit my friend Ammu who is soon to be Mommy. Excitement, anticipation and joy is everywhere when someone is expecting a baby, for the parents and all the near and dear! I hardly get time to visit or have visitors over for formal lunch/dinner invitations with my hectic workweekday routine. I try to squeeze in as many social activities as possible during the weekends. This weekend our sunnyvalites-buddies called for a potluck dinner @ Ammu's. I wanted to get some fresh flowers, beautiful and pleasant, so she would enjoy looking at them. keep the mommy as happy and she(and the baby) is as healthy. :) Giving flowers, for whatever the occasion, I think signifies your feelings and your feelings towards the person you are giving the flowers to. I researched on the internet about flowers, their significance, appeal etc. I came across this very interesting and Exotic flower "Iris". The first time I read about the Iris is when I read the book "The Da Vinci Code...

Sarvadhari Nama Noothana Samvatsara Subhakankshalu... The festival Ugadi marks the new year day for people who follow the southern Indian lunar calendar . And to kick off the new year in a new style, got up at 6.15 am, which is the earliest ever i got up to work! made aloo-onion curry and roties for vj for breakfast, usually brunch is all we have in the morning most days attended a meeting at 7 AM, which is the most horrendous time to have a meeting and drove to work. It was such a crazy day at work.. i hope not, my rest of the year goes by this way. As the saying goes, the experiences and feel of the first day of a new year symbolizes the overall year's balance... though morning was boring, lunch was delicious, scrumptious, lip smacking!... garelu, boorelu, mirchi bajji, guthi vankaya, pongal, bhendakaya fry, dum biryani... Ugadi Pachadi, vankaya pachadi, beerakaya pachadi, paneer masala, gobi manchuriya... ras malai, ...slurp, gulp! are just few of the may items off of the Ugadi...

now how about a mobile phone with a built in credit card, (swipe-able, readable) Photo ID (swipe-able, readable) and a key chain all i need is one object the multifunctional device which lets me communicate, shop, identify myself and lets me into my house. All i need to carry with myself while going out jogging, walking or just out is this multifunctional device. I wonder if this concept/idea was discovered by anyone else before me.. if not hey! ALL RIGHTS RESERVED! ;) :)

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. It was about 4.30PM but the sun shone warm and bright almost overhead. We were taking our usual walk around the block when we decided to break the routine and walk towards the downtown. We cut through Murphy, the Caltrain station, Taeffe street and then into Murphy again, the downtown street. To our surprise, we found the place rather deserted. Most of the Shops closed; no people out, hardly any traffic. The construction of the new mall is going at full pace. It is supposed to be as good as the Santana Row. Wow! I am waiting eagerly to see it open. The Caltrain station brought back some fond memories of my engineering final year days when I commuted daily from Home to college and back home in trains about 280 km. The parking of my kinetic Honda in the long term parking, season tickets, boarding the train that is always late - East Coast or the train that takes forever to reach the destination – Push pull or Krishna express, Aurora Engg College...

I couldn't wait to watch, when the blockbuster mailed the movie "Herbie goes bananas". I have so many fun childhood memories attached to this one. i loved this movie as a kid, would laugh till i cried. i even played it each time someone (cousins or friends) visited my home. i remember it was one of my favourite comedy movies as a kid and i couldn't wait to refresh some fun childhood memories and get all nostalgic about it :) Actually, i used to call my then bicycle 'Ocho'. though i couldn't understand the English as much, nor any other languages spoken in the movie, i waited for the car to appear on screen and i laughed at its comic histrionics. This Disney movie, released in 1980, is about an adorable Volkswagon Beetle with a mind of it's own. The car becomes a friend of a little kid who names the car 'Ocho'. I just couldn't help but wonder how good, old, beautiful, innocent, wonderful childhood days were! :)

And you are what you are. we shouldn't keep changing because of something or someone; if we do, then we would loose our unique identity and Everyone is unique as is their DNA! I regret a few times, people don't get to see the real me, may be because they run out of time or patience or I am a little boring sometimes because I have become so used to being preoccupied in a world of my own, without the need for another person to make me feel better or bigger. Can you blame me? I spent so much time in loneliness and depression during a certain struggling phase of my life. Now I am out of it or at least I think, for better. Actually, if one can strike a conversation, they will be amazed to find how exciting and fascinating my company could be… music, dance, astronomy, science, technology, home décor, culinary, fashion, news, trends or plain gossip (giggles) … are some of the many things I can talk about and enjoy. If I am naughty, blame the chance and if I am nice it is out of choice...

Friendship cannot be easily described always. I read somewhere... that the Eskimos have a hundred different words for snow, they say. Unfortunately, the English language isn't quite as innovative, though it has many ways to differentiate meaning. Certainly, Love is one of such examples which may have different descriptions. And so, is Friendship too. Instead of different words, however, we're stuck with simple adjectives like Close friend, Best friend, Childhood friend, Intimate friend, Trusted friend, Beloved friend etc. But whether you use adjectives or different words, few can deny the nearly infinite meaning in such a simple word. Friends are special people. We can't pick our family, and we're sorely limited in the number of them at any rate. Society and mores (and often our own conscience) dictate we select a single mate. But our friends can be as diverse and infinite as the adjectives we choose. Our friends, in a very real sense, reflect the choices we make in lif...

Once upon a time in a land of lush greenery, warm climate, serene river bank, there lived a young boy. He was very charming, energetic and obedient but also was very playful, extravagant and incorrigible. He grew up to be a handsome dynamic young man friends could always rely on, the company people could never let go of, the intellectual who had a solution for any problem and the sense of humor nobody could help but smile away to forget any worry. He was rough and tough yet sensitive, rigid and malleable, wise, crazy and silly all at the same time. He was always into friends, parties, sports and any other form of entertainment. he always did whatever he felt like doing; unless his friends wanted to do anything else and then he would do anything for his friends. He was good at any game he played and knowledgeable about a variety of things like cars, sports, politics, music philosophy etc. he hardly bothered about meeting girls or talking to them or making friends with let alone flirting...