Mind of an orchid

What else can I expect..it is almost the middle of the year and there is that strange calm, none of the excitement associated with the beginning or the end of a year. No, I am not talking about just the partying and the fun. There is none of the "letting-go of the old, "making plans for the new" happening at this stage of the year. I am mostly accepting things the way they are, not complaining too much about things that I want to change (which I usually do around the end of a year) and mostly settling for a life the way it is handed down. Makes me wonder if I am really doing the best I can (again, this is also something that I wonder about at the end of a year). Am I letting "NOW" go??....should I be doing more? Why am I even asking these questions?
Oh well......since I don't like to hover too long over thoughts like these, I will have to let this one go...
Whew!! As you can tell, it's been a quiet week in Orchid-land or for that matter everywhere else. All the celebrities are behaving, well most of them anyway.....and before you bring up Richard Gere..let me just say "This thing has gone too far"...o.k he kissed Shilpa Shetty, yes, he appeared to be all over her...so what!?!? The guy is there to help, people, remember!?! Cut him some slack! Whatever happened to our tolerance...oh wait, we don't smooch, we don't kiss, we don't do anything sexual in India...we just procreate, a billion people, that's all!!
The weekend promises to be a quiet one also. Ofcourse, Uj has plans with his guys- what else would you expect with the cricket final tomorrow and the Byron Nelson golf tournament in town this weekend. Should I just tag along to see Tiger Woods, I wonder? Nah...maybe 'll just take Li'L A out on a lunch date. That ought to be fun and did I mention that he is turning out to be mighty fine gentleman too..never fails to compliment me on my dress and always, always notices when I change the nail color on my toes.
And of course the RascalFlats will keep me company since country music is the latest addiction....just another phase that will pass
Cheers everyone!

Sanjaya Malakar is finally OUT of American Idol.
Abhishek Bachan is finally OUT of his status as a bachelor.
Brian Lara is OUT of international cricket for good.
Nintendo WII is still OUT of stock everywhere.
My laptop is still OUT of order and it is day 16!!

But does any of this matter?? Probably not, what really matters is our Planet, yes our own beautiful planet- Earth. Today is earth day, a day associated with echo-activism and environmental awareness. And I have always wanted to live Green in some way even if it is in a small way and maybe today is a good day to start. I have to admit rather ashamedly that neither Uj nor I have so far made a conscious attempt in living a green life. Yet another thing that I have been putting off but now I plan to educate myself on living in a enviornment friendly manner....and apparently there is plenty that one can do. No, buying a hybrid car is not the only option. I may start with something as simple as using one less tissue/paper napkin per day.

and I will leave you with this doesn't-really-matter picture from the much hyped Indian wedding

DON'T FORGET TO GO WILD WITH YOUR COMMENTS. For starters, how about- Aishwarya's hairdo which says "I-wanna-look-older-than-him because-I-am" or the contrasting costumes (she-south Indian, he north Indian!?!?!?!)or his animal-print sherwani??? or the unshaven groom (yikes!!)or their "walking gold mines" theme ?? Have a field day folks, LOL!


pic courtesy www.aishwarya-forever.com

It was hard not to be affected by the news this week. The massacre at Virginia Tech has left me feeling sad, confused, paranoid and a little more vulnerable. I simply cannot imagine what the families of the 32 victims are going through right now. How will they even begin to heal, I wonder? Eventually they will, they have to- but today is day 3 and they are missing a daughter, a son, a father, a mother, a friend and for them life has changed so much in these past three days and for no reason at all. Makes you wonder if life is really this unpredictable.
The media has covered almost every angle to this story and I guess just about everything has been said about the gunman too and maybe I have nothing new to add. However, I was most moved by a piece of reporting that I read on the CNN website last night. I cannot find it today and hence won't be able to post a link. It was an eye witness account of the actual shooting itself and the person (whose name I forget)fortunately survived the shooting and gave a very candid account of how it felt waiting in a classroom, even as the gunman fired a countless bullets at scared students all around him. Huddled under a desk, he did not know if the gunman's next bullet would find him and if his life would end right there. He even wondered how a gun shot would feel like and if it would be a painful death and how his parents would cope with his loss. There was something about that article that stirred me like nothing else. I mean I could almost visuallize the scene and it was chilling! Minal Panchal, a building science student from Mumbai lost her life on Monday. It could have been me. I was a student myself on an American campus not so long ago, wasn't I? Yes, we are all vulnerable.
Somehow, knowing everything that we now know about the deranged gunman I cannot but help feel that we as a society let those 32 people down. The warning signs were all there, something was even done about it (he was hospitalized in a mental health facility for a day) yet it was not enough and I don't know if things will change even after this. Obviously we cannot live on the edge of paranoia and think of committing everyone around us to an institution. I mean should we all just live in a state of heightened alertness, blatant suspicion or outright paranoia?? Yes, the world just got a little bit more complicated and as a parent I am concerned and saddened.
God bless the Virginia Tech victims.

And yes, it was aboslutely unnecessary, to air those videos and photographs of the gunman. C,mon who are they kidding when they say they did it after careful consideration. All that the media cares about is sensational journalism to boost ratings. If there is anything to be learnt from the vidoes or tapes then let them assemble a panel of criminal psychologists and have them look at it. If there is any sense to be made of all the gunman's rants then it is for them to do it. For everyone else- it was absoultely unnecessary!

.....and I apologize for not being able to visit all of my favorite blogs this week, my laptop is still gone but hope to have it by the end of the week.

The start of another long week without the laptop!! I might as well be marooned on a remote island off the arctic coast totally isolated from the rest of the world!!

Weekend was alright..... for the most part Uj was on a rather maniacal hunt to get his hands on
the Nintendo WII. After several unsuccesful attempts, he finally settled down to playing Dirt-Bike online.....bah! what is it with men and toys!!
I also watched Blood Diamond.
Leonardo Di Caprio was brilliant. I love him! I loved him in the Aviator, loved him in the Departed, loved him in the Titanic...well, back then I had even secretly hoped that I would marry him, but life chose otherwise, oh well...... and Djimon Hounsou....what can I say! he is simply gorgeous!!.....what?? it is a sin for a married woman to drool over gorgeous men now??
Coming back to the movie.....it is an extremely well-told story. Made me shed a few tears but then again such stories always move me. I might have googled Darfur a thousand times in the recent past but at the end of the day there is nothing I can do. Sometime back, a friend of mine who lives in Austin decided she had to do her bit when the Tsunami happened and while most of us wrote a check and shed some tears, she packed her bags, took her 4 yr old son and went to India. Left her son with her parents in Mumbai and volunteered with an NGO in a village in Tamil Nadu for a few days. I could never do that. I care but at a different level and that saddens me. I don't think I have it in me to do what she did. This movie made me reflect a little more on the issues that are so real to the African continent. So, yeah I would definitely recommend the movie.
And a final note.....
...... so what if I didn't marry Leonardo Dicaprio, the guy I am married to labored for two hours in the kitchen this afternoon just so he could make the perfect Gobi Manchurian and all because I expressed a desire. I say I did alright, what say??

I managed to convince Uj into letting me borrow his laptop for a few minutes tonight....ah!! typing on the keyboard sure feels like Nirvana!
Oh, c'mon...this can't be happening!! I have been talking to myself these past couple of days about things that I should write on the blog and now that I actually have access to a computer my mind's going blank.....talk about performance anxiety!!
Anyway, have you seen the women in black bra and panty on T.V?? Yes, on regular T.V....in the Dove ad? Dove started a marketing campaign - "campaign for real beauty" sometime back and featured real women, yes women like you and me-not toned and sculpted models, in their ads. We even got to see these women , curves and all, on huge billboards all over the city and now their latest ad features more everyday women modeling for Dove products. The idea being that real women need to be celebrated. Makes you feel good that the definition of beauty might finally be changing? Well,not really because the more I stare at these women, the reality of how gorgeous these women actually are, hit me hard. I mean if I volunteered to feature in a Dove ad (yes, I would consider!!), would they even consider me?? Probably not, c'mon who are they kidding, it may very well be about real women but they are still going to pick the best, the most camera-friendly and that right there is one sad thought...I wouldn't even be considered good enough to play a real woman despite being a real woman!!! So, would you dare to sign up to feature in a Dove beauty ad?? And before you answer, remember, it has more to do with the mind than with the body.

And also, I am always saddened by the fact that other than Aishwarya Rai (and with her complexion and blue eyes she is not a true representative either) in the L'oreal ad I have never seen an Indian women feature in any international beauty label even though we contribute heavily to the multibillion dollar cosmetic industry. Wonder why! Maybe this should be a post in itself ??

O.k...the laptop's not gone yet and I couldn't resist posting :)......but really nothing much has happened in the last 24 hours except that-
1) I bonded with my Obgyn's PA over my leopard print peep toes- NO R! you can't lure me into giving you more business with a second pregnancy just yet, at least not with the "I like your shoes" line, SO THERE!
2) Got pulled over by a friendly neighborhood cop this afternoon, no moving violation, just an expired sticker which, I tried but failed to explain, fell under Uj's jurisdiction and no the the pearly white's didn't help either :(
3) Watched American Idol tonight and people Sanjaya was awesome !!(again not on vocal merit, but on Kewl factor-the guy danced with and schmoozed Paula and I think I saw his dad on T.V, finally and he was one excited parent and the hair, you ask?...well after last week's po'hawk, I'll take anything! so....yeah, Sanjaya was awesome :), and Simon Cowell is so Kindergarten!! Seriously, with all his no-nonsense criticism I used to feel he was real but tonight he smirked at Paula's every comment and made faces, is he 4!?!! And he managed to call Randy and Paula, Squiddley Diddley on national T.V...for chrissake!! I wonder why they are even paid to be on the show. I mean if it it just to play Simon's sidekicks, I might as well be on the show!
5) The Li'l A-isms continue and this is one is just priceless. Today as he was getting ready for his swimming lessons, Li'l A looked down at himself and said "Mommy, I am 'almost' like a cow because I have this"!!!!! He is growing up people, save me, please!!
6) and oh! my voice is all cracked up...my throat doesn't hurt but my voice..... Li'l A thinks I sound like a goat and Uj says he could use some quiet around here, maybe he'll get it ?? ....NAH, it'll take more than a cracked voice!

...... the laptop woes continue, I am forced to take a break from blogging - the length of which shall entirely depend on Toshiba's Customer Service. Yes, tomorrow the laptop is being shipped off and hopefully when I get it back, the blog will be back to regular programming. In the interim, if Uj is kind enough to let me use his I will definitely try and catch up with all you wonderful people. Gosh! do I even remember life before the PC and internet!?! I guess this is a good time to get some phone numbers....I mean how else will I keep up with what's cooking in Asha's kitchen or what all the wonderful kids of the bloggie day care (Anushka, Ashu, Ananya, Abhay, Ina, Tejas, Ojas, Winkie and Satya, Kodi, Brat and Bean, A and Gudiya, S2S'S A and many more) are upto? I will sorely miss reading about everyone else and the dialogue we all share almost everyday. Of course, on the sunny side, the shopping trips will more than make up for all the spare time.
On a slightly different note, I felt like I had let down the "The circle of the shoe-loving sisterhood" (Fuzzy, did I get that right??) and so after repeated inquiries on whether I had added more to my shoe collection, I did, add a couple...errr, make that three more pairs , so all is well and you can relax, shoe-sisters!!
And as I sign off, I will leave you with a couple of Li'l A-isms.
* Y'day when I was playing soccer with A I corrected him that a goal keeper was actually called a goalie and not a goaler. The next instant , Li'l A who is so into gender identity these days christens me as "GoalieLocks" (story-time meets soccer time!)
* The other day Li'l A saw Lara Dutta being set on fire in BaghamBhag (don't worry, the movie was pretty harmless for a kid otherwise, anyway.. ...he immediately goes "Mommy, she is fired!!) Don't I wish, English was that simple!!
* Yet another day, I caught Li'l A standing with both the doors of the fridge open. I knew I would find him there because he had told me he was going to get some ice cream (remember he is at the "fiercely independent stage") I asked him why he stood staring at the freezer and he goes" Mommy see all the smoke coming out, the freezer is cooking my icecream!!" ( Scientific or simply stereotypical association??

And I tried my hand at the 6-word memoir as suggested by Tharini and here is all I could come up with - "Started out right, got lost somewhere"