The ‘pain in neck’ Driving classes :/

Yay… I’m ready to rule the world but…

OUCHh!!

My neck hurts

Thanks to all ‘reverse gear’ practice.

Yeah…now since I’m little comfortable with driving straight ahead …my instructor thought he will teach me reverse gear. (me getting chills just at the thought of driving backward )

So escaping our everyday ‘almost empty’ road route, we enter an even more ‘almost empty’ society nearby …

Instructor : take left…now righ …and now stop.

I: err… stop ? now ? (duh! ..as if he is talking some alien language which I don’t understand )

Instructor : yes… STOP

I: ummm… oky

Instructor: now put the car in reverse gear and turn around to look back.

I: turn around ? Ain’t I suppose to look at the rareview mirror ?

Instructor: No. It won’t give proper idea of where you’re going

I: ummm… oky. But my seat-belt doesn’t allow me to turn that much.

Instructor: then why are you still wearing it?

I: :O (unbuckled the seat belt)

I: now?

Instructor: now go backward slowly. Do not try to catch speed.

I: I’m still not getting proper idea of ‘where we are going’

Instructor: yes…it’s matter or practice.

I: and my neck hurts

Instructor: yes

I: :O YES? What’d you mean? Isn’t car suppose to be a fun and luxury thing ? :/

Instructor: umm…yes. But not for the driver.

I: :O :O

Instructor: You can hold the side seat with one hand… that will allow you to turn towards back more…and you’re neck might hurt a little less.

I: leave one hand from the wheel??? :O :O :O

(Now this even worse than the ‘pain in neck’. My hands seem to be on some kind of compition like ‘car on my side’. As soon as I take away one hand from the wheel… the other one will start pulling it in the opposite direction. Yeah… that happens for a ‘micro second’ while changing gears also. )

Instructor: now turn left. Not right. Left. I said LEFT.

I: eh… I thought my left (remember…I turned around to look ‘back’… and anyway it takes me few seconds to recall which one is left or right… yeah i would try and check ‘which hand has the wrist watch’ ; )

Instructor: We always talk about car’s left and right. Not ours. :/

I: eh… got it.

Insturctor: oky stop and go back to the original spot.

(Me sooooooooo happy that we are going straight…once again Car’s left is my left and right is right )

Instructor: stop.

Me: :O Don’t tell me we gonna do that again

Instructor: eh…why? We will do that only, today. Hehehe….until your neck hurts real bad

Me:

Yeah..we actually did it so many times…and now my neck hurts real bad. Grrrrrr… I hate driving even more now.

:/

3D Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

After delying it almost for a week, finally this weekend I got to watch it. I can’t decide if it was the story or the 3D effect that I enjoyed so much…or may be both

They have done great job with 3D effect. In some of the scenes I actually felt as if I’m there….though it was literal pain neck to watch a 3D movie from 2^nd raw in the front … but I was so keen on it and didn’t want to take any chance of missing it.

Apart from the 3D effect, the movie itself is such an enjoyable thing. They way they have build up the character of the characters is totally amazing. And this time they’ve made it so much easier to relate their lives with ours . Totally loved the puns on modern life and apt choice of songs ;D.

While Sid was funny and cute as always, there wasn’t much attention given to Diago this time, instead got to see the Possum brothers more. Ellie has become so much mature in this part and also seem to have got sense of humour with sweet sarcasm (yeah…sounds weird but can’t find better words to discribe it…if you do… let me know .

Though there are some weak points too… like every other movie. Too much of “Dinosaurs” according to Habby and they also lack the character building part. Scart wasn’t as funny as last two parts…in fact little boring with an ‘almost typical’ love story. But I enjoyed the over all movie and all that I can say is… GO WATCH IT IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE THAT YET .

DRIVING CRAZY

I’m a flightless bird if the car is to wings and ability to drive is to fly

It’s been like 1 n half week that i’m just ‘trying’ to learn driving…but still totally pathetic at it. So far as the roads are empty and without any turns or speed-breaker…i can drive fine … but as soon as it comes to dealing with traffic signals or watching out for some jerks trying to overtake my ’snail-speed’ vehicle from wrong side… I get totally panicked and would screw up totally. Probably what I’ve proved myself good at is driving my instructor crazy.

Just the thought of that bloody red light makes me all nervous and my heart would start beating fast like attempting a record. Yesterday late evening I went out with Hubby for a driving trial in our own ‘new’ second-hand car…. and … oops! I did it again. My usual red-light screw up. As soon as I tried to make the car move, that creature totally ditched me and stood there dead, denying to get re-started long enough to turn the green arrows in red bulb once again. Damn!! I could imagine… if I was so bugged with my own self … poor chaps blocked behind me would have been so angry. Can not blame them for honking at me so loud

While managing to drive smoothly alone seems like a rocket science challenge… I’ve also got to deal with aggressive Delhi / Gurgaon traffic. Everyone on the road seems to be in some kind of “life or death” emergency situation. My desperate honking or deeper lights seem to be totally useless :O… they gonna come in my way anyways.

So while I’m learning to deal with all these… I just wanted to scream out loud…

I hate driving, I hate traffic and I hateeeeeeeeeeeeeee traffic signals

P.S. have a look at this video… I can so much relate to it rite now

Danger of Soya for women

Yesterday I received this artical as a forwarded mail from a friend... and thought of sharing it here. I am not sure about the authenticity of the article, but prevention is better than cure..!!

THE KIND COURTESY OF MS SUREKHA RAMCHANDANI ONE WOMAN'S STORY ON SOYA...

"This is my true story, nothing altered. These are facts, as they relate to my experience, my opinions based on what I have read and felt. I am relating them to warn other young health-conscious women who are unwittingly harming themselves.

In 1989, I graduated from high school in Texas and couldn't wait to hit the big college city. One of the changes I wanted to make was to eat healthier. Once I moved to health-conscious Austin , Texas , I began to fortify my body with the best and healthiest foods I could find. Tofu was the main ingredient in every healthy dish and I bought soya milk almost every day and used it for everything from cereal to smoothies or just to drink for a quick snack. I bought soya muffins, miso soup with tofu, soybeans, soybean sprouts, etc. All the literature in all the health and fitness magazines said that soya protected you against everything from heart disease to breast cancer. It was the magical isoflavones, the estrogen-like hormones that all worked to help you stay young and healthy. I looked great, I was working out all the time, but my menstrual cycle was off. At 20, I started taking birth control pills to regulate my menstrual cycle.

In addition to this I began to suffer from painful periods. I began to get puffy, it was as though I was losing my muscle tone. I began to suffer from depression and getting hot flushes. I mistook all this for PMS since my periods were irregular. By the time I was 25,my periods were so bad, I couldn't walk. The birth control pills never made them regular or less painful so I decided to stop taking them. I went on like this for another two years until I realized my pain wasn't normal. At 27, my gynecologist found two cysts in my uterus. Both were the size of tennis balls.. I went through surgery to have them removed and thank God they were benign. The gynecologist told me to go back on birth control pills. I didn't. In 1998, he discovered a lump in my breast. Again, I went through surgery and again it was benign.

In November 2000 my glands swelled up and my gums became inflamed. Thinking I had a tooth infection I went to the dentist who told me that teeth were not the problem. After a dose of antibiotics the swelling still did not go down. At this point I could feel a tiny nodule on the right side of my neck. I told my mother I had t hyroid trouble. She thought I was being silly. No one in the family suffered from thyroid trouble. Going on a hunch I saw a specialist who diagnosed me with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

After a series of tests he told me it was cancer. My fiance and I sat stunned.. We were not prepared and I was so scared. We scheduled surgery right away. The specialist told us that it would only be after the operation that a pathologist would be able to tell us for sure if it was cancer. They found a tumor in my right lobe composed of irregular cells and another smaller tumor growing on the left, so the entire thyroid was removed. They told me that after undergoing radioactive iodine I would be safe and assured me that I could live a long life. After treatment I began to search for the cause of all these problems. I never once thought it could be all the soya I had consumed for nearly ten years. After all, soya is healthy. I came upon a web page that linked thyroid problems to soya intake and the conspiracy of soya marketed as a health food when in fact it is only a toxic by-product of the vegetable oil industry. This was insane, after all, the health and fitness magazines had said nothing about soya being harmful.

I visited a herbalist who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 1985. She informed me that soya was the culprit. She had a hysterectomy due to cysts and other uterine problems. A few months later another acquaintance who had consumed soya came down with thyroid cancer. A girl in England I met through the Internet in a thyroid cancer forum had just undergone surgery and she was only 19. What was going on???? Breast cancer is linked to estrogen. What mimics estrogen in the female body, SOYA! But I never suspected soya because until now I never once found a single article that stated soya could be dangerous.. Women who took soya prior to thyroid problems will continue to take it after if they are not aware of what soya actually does, what it contains and how it reacts in the female body. I think this is the reason that women with thyroid cancer often develop breast cancer later. My co worker is big into soya and I see her losing hair and gaining weight despite a walking workout during her break and after work, and apples and oranges for lunch. She just had cysts removed from her uterus too. I warned her to stay off soya. I referred her to websites but until it is on the evening news on all four networks, women will suffer. Since the thyroidectomy, I do not touch soya, haven't for two years. Dear readers, please use my story in any way you can. There are so many young girls who are consuming soya because they think they are taking care of themselves, and women taking soya because they want to be healthy. It is so unfair that the information about the dangers of soya isn't more widely circulated. It is sad. There are many out there who feel this way and it is a terrible blow when you realize you are not as healthy as you thought and that the information that you depended on was wrong."

The Car Hunting :/

Car Hunting
Originally uploaded by MINT ICETEA

“But nothing ever happens…
..and I wonder.
I wonder how …I wonder why
Yesterday you told me about the blue blue sky
And all that I can see…just another lemon tree.”

Well yeah.. this is how I feel when I am stuck or just feeling stuck.
It’s been almost a month that we are hunting for a “good” second-hand car.

GOOD = good condition + good price + not so old+ good company+ good resale value+ good mileage+ good aesthetic appeal

Phewww… long list…isn’t it?
Probably that’s why our mission hasn’t met ‘the end’ yet… And the frustration keeps building up with every ‘failed’ effort. At time we feel like let’s just chuck this and buy a brand new car…but then doesn’t seem like a good idea. I’m yet to learn driving and specially dealing with Delhi/ NCR traffic. The idea is to buy a second-hand car so that I can learn driving without the fear of damaging the car.

Well… I can go on talking about ‘the mission’ forever…but that is not the point.
The point is how you start seeing things differently after passing through certain experiences.

Our (specially my ;) definition and expectation of “good condition car” has changed so much from what it was in the beginning. Also the knowledge and beliefs about cars, their resale value, reputation of certain companies etc. are quite different now. Before this I never really cared for anything about cars, which is totally opposite of my Hubby’s nature who is so much interested in ‘everything’ about cars ;). But this has been quite a learning experience for me. Having just realised the difference between a Maruti zen and a Honda city… I wonder about the lucky people who get to explore beauties like Mercedes or Ferrari…. Or even luckier people who get to design them. It seems like being introduced to a different world … and for the time being I’m loving it ;).

"A picture speaks a thousand words"

-An early Emperor of the Xia Dynasty in China about 4,000 years ago (Ref. – wikipedia)

With easily available “point & shoot” digital cameras, everyone would be claiming him/herself a photographer these days. But photography is much more than just pressing the click button and flashing lights when people say cheese. It’s a way of expressing yourself, sharing your thoughts or conveying a message in much stronger way than words can. Photography can be called a scientific art. Right from the subject to composition, focus, lighting, framing, exposure, editing … everything matters to turn a photograph into a visual treat.   

 

“Taking exciting photographs has very little to do with buying an expensive camera or a massive array of photographic equipment. What is crucial is how the photographer sees and relates to a chosen subject and uses the various skills and compositional elements that will combine to make a good photograph.

 

While it may seem that some photographers have an innate ability to take superb pictures most of that ability often comes from the photographer’s passionate interest in their subject and the cumulative knowledge they have acquired through practical experience in and dedication to the medium”

-John Hedgecoe (born 1937)

(an award-winning photographer and best-selling author of over 30 books on photography) 

 

One good photograph out of more than a dozen random clicks, doesn’t really make you a photographer, does it? I was little shocked to learn that many digital camera users don’t even know about basic things like shutter speed, aperture, ISO setting etc. Having an eye to capture the right thing is definitely necessary, but you also need to know your camera little bit. Also, reading the manual that accompanies the camera carries a wealth of information. Do not ignore the manual. This will help you to making most out of your camera and understand the basics of photography. It will unleash the real potential of your camera. The more you are familiar with the controls on your camera, the more you can concentrate on composition and lighting. Of course, photo editing software can be used to enhance the image or add some more elements.

 

Lighting is the most important technical aspect of any photograph but also the most ignored one. Cameras, lenses, and everything else are completely irrelevant unless you understand the value of lighting and how to make good use of it. Using flash and ignoring the natural light is the best way to click worst photographs. No amount of Photoshop or plug-in software filters can replicate good natural light. Another important but often misused element is Angle. Changing the angle is not limited to just tilting your camera. Choosing the right perspective and a different angle can really make your photograph stand apart, but unnecessary rotation is pretty meaningless. As canvas for a painter, view finder is for a photographer. It is all about selecting the element in your photograph to be able to create a unified effect. What to include or exclude, how to show one subject element in relation to others in the offered space, etc. are also equally crucial decisions.

.

If you’re really passionate about photography, you should put some more efforts and learn at least the basic technical things. I’m not asking you to join a photography institute but there are countless articles available on internet about photography, without any cost. All you need to do is invest a little bit of time and make better use of Google. It’s also a good idea to join a photo sharing site like www.flickr.com, where there are many good amateur and professional photographers sharing not only their amazing work but also tricks and techniques behind it. A small course in photography can also help you to learn how to use the camera (a more complicated one than just a ‘point & shoot’ ;), but how and what you capture in it is your choice.

 

Wish you happy clicking :) 

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/minticetea/

The last leaf

A dear friend gifted me this poem for this image

( posted by me ...on my flickr account :)

The leaf was so lonely
All by it self…no one to share.. Her feelings with
She had known this for long..
No butterflies, no bees, no birds would swarm

Now she thinks the wind is her foe
One who was.. A friend so great
They played.. as so many springs went by
Now when Autumn came, she's afraid to fly..

She remembers her time a life gone by
When the rain made her tears.. of joy
Now the hails hits so hard
And the early dew forms, just the pain of heart

She fears waking early mornings
That this might be the last sun ray fallen on her body
She crinkles crackles in agony
But alas shes alone, no one to share

Share her dreams, her flights of fantasies
No prince charming, no dragons, no fairies
The rude reality for her to face alone
She awaits her destiny, now that is to be alone….

And she awaits again, the last of fall..
And Alas ..The last leaf might just fall..

Upmanyu

Thank you :)

Rescue Tag

Sigh… Don’t even feel like looking at the date of my last blog. :(
After screwing up my brain for almost a week now… I still haven’t found any new subject for the post…. I guess my friends are right… ’m just too addicted to Flickr these days. But I love my blog as well… so I decided to take this open tag from Sayesha’s blog for the new post. It sounded pretty interesting to me.

Here are the rules :
1. Put your music player on Shuffle mode.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. Write the song name no matter what it is.
4. After you’ve answered all the questions, tag 5 other people and let them know they’ve been tagged.

Before doing this …I added all the hindi songs I had to the playlist… English songs wouldn’t be so much fun for this… I guess ;)
So here I go……

If someone says “Is this oky?” …you say :
Chaka raka chi chai cho chaka lo rum…
…Bagad dum chagd dum chiki chaka cho
Dekho dekho kya who ped hai
Chadar ode ya khada koi…
..Hum jaise dekhi yeah jahaan hai waisa hi
Jaisi nazar apni
Bum bum bole, masti mein dole
Bum bum bole, masti mein tu dol re
(Quite philosophical answer ;)

What would best describe your personality?
Haan hai koi to wajah
To jeene ka maza yun aane laga
Yeah hawaon mein hai kya
Thoda sa jo naasha yun chhane laga
(not bad :D )

What do you like in a guy/girl ?
Udde jab jab zulfain teri…
Udde jab jab zulfain teri..

How do you feel today ?
Everybody put your hands together
Pur your hands together…. De tali

What is your life’s purpose?
Sajde mein yun hi jhukta hoon
Tum pe hi aake rukta hoon
Khuda janeeeeeeeeeee….
(so true… actually ‘khuda jane..’ :P )

What do your friends think of you?
Tum se hi din hota hai.. surmayi shaam ati hai…
(lolz …I wish this is true ;)

What do you think of your parents?
Cause my baby’s got
Ooooooooooooooooo… angel eyes…angel eyes
(Didn’t even remember that I have this song :O )
Well I would rather dedicate this one...
‘Tuje sab hai pata meri maa…. ‘ :)

What do you think about very often?
Kyon aaj kal neend kum…khawab zayada hai
Lagata khuda ka koi nek irada hai
(quite apt. :D )

What is 2 + 2?
Aaoge jab tum ooo sajana
Angana phool khilenge….
(:/ )

What do you think of your best friend?
Ahista ahistaaaaaa… muje yahkeen ho gaya….
(… that I can count on you :)

What do you think of the person you like?
Kabhi ana tu meri gali… tuje palko pe rakhunga (rakhungi ;) re
Baat dil ki kahoon… Hindustani jo hoon… jab jee chahe to aajana re….
(Well …not a true answer…but still quite apt. )

What is your life story?
Man mohana… Kanha sunonaaaa….
Tum bin paun kaise chai…tarsu tumhiko din rain…
(True for the time being.. ;)

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Khoo na jaye yeeeeeee… Tare zameen par
(Lol… who doesn’t want to be a celebrity)

What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Kabhi kabhi Aditi zindgi me yunhi koi apna lagata hai..
Kabhi kabhi Aditi who bichhad jaye to ek sapana lagata hai
(I was expecting some interesting song this time :(

What do your parents think of you?
Dhaani… re dhaani.. chunariya
Kule baadal ke saiye me lehraye gee
Cahli jaye gee.. jaise bijuriya.. mastani

What will you dance to at your wedding?
Bakhuda tumhi ho…har jagah tum hi ho…
(Not a bad idea ;)

What will they play at your funeral?
Talli hua…talli hua…
Yaara dekho yaara mera talli hua…
(lolz…guys we’re talking about me being ‘dead’ not ‘drunk’ :P)

What is your hobby/interest?
Chhaliya chhaliya chhaliya… ruh churaloon me hoon aisi chhaliya…
(Soul stealing… lolz… “me Mr Yumraj ki assistant banana chahti hoon” types )

What is your biggest secret?
Yeh tumahri meri batain … hamesha yunhi chalti rahe..
Yeh hamri mulaktain……..hamesha yunhi chalti rahe..
(Yeah..I do talk a lot… but that’s no secret :D )

What do you think of your friends?
Kehana hi kya…ye nain ek anjan se jo mile…
(Hummm… true… can’t believe they we were strangers some day)

What should you post this as?
De tali …tali de…life is just a holiday… tu nahi to kon hai mera…
…Bin tere kho jata …bore me ho jata…life hoti ekdum khali reee….
(This is actually more apt. for the previous question)

What do you think about this tag?
Suno ek thi kaanch ki gudiya..
..jogi mahi heer ranjana… sab nu jake mai ye bolna…
(Sighh… again quite vague :/)

Done
This was quite fun…. :D
… oh… and I would like to tag Ms Cinderella ;)

WRONG NUMBER...

I don’t blame people for dialing a wrong number. When an itchy to call finger is dancing on tiny-winy buttons of a cell phone… at least 1 one out of 10 digits is likely to go ‘wrong’ :P … But when the timing also goes wrong… it can be horrible or hilarious …depending on your luck ;)

Well… I used to get quite many wrong numbers on my previous number… so I got pretty much used to saying ‘wrong number’ and cut the line… beep beep beep . But this time Mom was the lucky one :D

Trinng trinng…. Trinng trinng…. Trinng trinng

Mom: Hello
Mr dumb: Hi… who is this?
Mom: who are you?
Mr dumb: It’s me
Mom: me who?
Mr dumb: but who are you?
Mom: whom do you wish you speak with?
Mr dumb: Hehehehhehe…. Mr XYZ
Mom: He’s not here
Mr dumb: then where is he?
Mom: I don’t know… this isn’t his number
Mr dumb: then who’s number is this?
Mom: Ours … :/
Mr dumb: But it should be XYZ’s number… anyways… can you give me XYZ’s number?
Mom: I don’t have his number
Mr dumb: why?
Mom: I don’t know him
Mr dumb: why?
Mom: :O
Mr dumb: its oky if you don’t know him… but please give me his number … I have to speak to him about something very important
Mom: I told you… I don’t have his number
Mr dumb: oky…ask someone else they might have his number
Mom: ask who?
Mr dumb: anyone who knows Mr XYZ
Mom: wht? :O … listen you’ve dialed wrong number.. there is no Mr XYZ here.
Mr dumb: hehehhehe…how can a number be wrong?
Mom: grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr….

Beep…beep…beep…beep….beep

‘The number you have dialed, has been switched off. Please try again later :O ………’

…. Getting used to??…. :/

27/Sept. 2008
Saturday

BREAKING NEWS : AGAIN BLASTS IN DELHI
………… IN ANKHONE DEKHI TABAHI……… MASUM BACHHE KI MAUT… BLAH BLAH BLAH
:/
Sad …but true….
“ NAHI HAREGI DELHI ”… wht????????
Do these ppl have any other option?
“ How was the look of the smoke… tell us about the smell of it..”
Yeah… really… let’s discuss the type of bomb and all… after all it’s a happening subject these days.

Why ‘m getting irritated with the news channels? … its their job… it’s their way of earning… and a mean to increase their TRP.
Don’t even blame the government now…. no point expecting anything from them.

Grrrrrrrr… please change the channel…. Same story …different people… I don’t want to know the details …Whats the point?
Talk about it for few dayz… say “oh my god” several times and forget it…. That’s what we do… but is that all we ‘can’ do?

Was just discussing this with a friend….
I : may be we are just getting used to it now… :(
U: I m not yet getting used to it… and nobody should …its really serious issue… someone somehow should fix this once and for all

Lolz… my dear friend was still under the effect of ‘a Wednesday’
Nice movie… but who would do that? … Nobody wants to take the pain and give up his/her “peaceful” life for this.
“ I am fine… my family is fine… we are safe… so why should I bother? … of course I feel sad for those people who died in the blasts… but its government’s job to protect us”
Oh…rite…. Its government’s job… but if government is not doing it…. Aren’t we suppose to do something to save our home… our people? … or as it was said in the movie…. “wait till it happens to you” ???
We will celebrate 26th January / 15th August / 2nd October and other 100 n 10 “Jayanti” … sing patriotic songs “Bharat hum ko jaan se pyaara hai” etc… but do nothing. :/