Love my life!

Day 1 - Lunch Box - Egg Fried Rice, Chocolate Cake & Crackers

2010-02-24T04:42:00.000-08:00

My DS has not been the best of eaters. To call him fussy would be an understatement. But again, I am taking it up as a challenge and planning to rate my cooking against as tough a judge as him. I will attempt to balance between his wishes and kinda healthy food :-)

Today was Egg fried rice and ketchup for lunch and chocolate cake and crackers for snacks.

The recipe is very basic as below

2 eggs
2 shallots or spring onions chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste (About 1 tsp each)
2 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
2 cups cooked rice (last night's is fine)
1 tablespoons light soy sauce
1/2 cup cabbage (I used purple cabbage, I love that color :-))

What I DID:

Wash and finely chop the shallots and cabbage. Lightly beat the eggs with half of the salt and pepper.

Heat a kadai or frying pan and add 1 tablespoon of oil and when hot add the eggs. Scramble the eggs lightly, they should be soft. Remove and keep aside. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the frying pan and saute the cabbage and the shallots. Once they are partially cooked and onions are translucent, add the rice. Fry on for a few minutes, and slowly stir in the soy sauce. Once the rice is heated through, add the scrambled egg back into the pan. Mix thoroughly. Serve hot with ketchup.

VERDICT: The cake and crackers were gone. The fried rice was almost gone and I was happy! So the score = 4/5.

Impromptu Vacation

2010-02-10T04:24:00.000-08:00

Call at 9:30 pm frm kootu kalavani (K.K. for short) 1..."got to go for to hometown tomorrow, you better come, we ll drive down, get KK-2 also"..No choice, but yes...so bundled up and set off from party location a little early (KK2 was partying till dawn and slept through the 6-hour ride).

Started off at early morning 6...and reached by 12 to the location A*n*a*kot...The purpose was the post-wedding feast on the bride's side...of a recently hitched relative. Since the groom & bride were also traveling with us...any delays would warrant glares and the like..So we were right there 1 hour later than expected...but alls well that ends well....

After feast on day 1, it turned out to be a primer for post-wedding feast (which was the prime reason for the travel and visit), we chilled and tried to catch up on the lost sleep (i was up at 3:30 cos of DH's insistence). The ride was great in the Toyota innova-tion, but the roads up closer to the village kept us jumping in our seats.. but of course had to do a small round of visiting relatives and drinking homegrown lemonade (you gotta taste it to know the difference)...and walking around in the varappus of paddy fields and sugarcane fields....idyllic setting...cool breeze...warm friendly folks...recipe for stress busting...

After that, we landed up watching a movie on the late night show (Goa), better left unsaid (cos that's going to be separate entry, gotta vent out u see 1ce i reconcile myself to the fact that I spent 2 hours watching it).

The next day was the day of the bride's feast, with unbelievably tender spicy mutton curry, chicken, and the full south-indian feast....It was like manna after the idlis in the morning.. Stuffed ourselves n the kiddos, since the fathers were not accompanying the kiddos, and scooted for a nap...but that was not to be...and i definitely didnt regret it....cos we went to this beautiful old lighthouse called manora...by a rippling bay...no waves in the ocean... We followed the visit with a boatride into the sea....magical...just as the sun was setting...

Had to leave the next day...managed to do a fast visit to the Thanjavur Periya Kovil and admired it all over again gushing about Raja Raja Cholan and his amazing vision..had yummy food in Sangamam and chilled for the rest of the time on the ride back home....stopped at one thattu kadai which raised lots of eyebrows ...cos we were all women..excpt for kiddo and the driver..did that bother us..nope..liked the mutta dosa..not really...so scooted out soon...

Reached back home to Chennai by 1 and in bed by 2...next day, u can imagine.........zzzzz....

Fisherman's Fare - Delicious Fare

2010-02-10T04:14:00.000-08:00

Being the occasion of my darling hubby dear, we decided on a dinner at Fisherman's Fare in Egmore as it is one of his favourite places to eat out (of course, mine too, otherwise why would I agree to it :-))) We both are huge fans of their combo meals which, like any combo meal, consists of set dishes. They have Chinese, Western/American and Indian combos with the choice of Chicken, Seafood or vegetarian. Being a die-hard sea-foodie, I love their Chinese and Indian seafood combos (Rs 180). They have some yummy rolls too (rs 40-50) and steaks, salads, chinese and the like! The quantity is good and is great value for money. However, as luck would have it, they have stopped the combos in the Egmore branch, and so we had to go a-la-carte..but since we were in the Chinese food...we decided on the noodles/rice and ginger chicken and prawn manchurian. The food as always was good, though the quantity seems to have gone down. The place is usually packed and if you go after 8.30, be prepared to wait 10-15 mins minimum. Parking also might be a problem...So rush as soon as possible or saunter in post 9:30..which is what we prefer to do...working up an appetite in the meantime. The service is usually good and the waiters are friendly. The rates are pretty pocket friendly and food is fast, delicious and hot!!

Got my Freebie from Supraactiv From Piramal Healthcare

2010-02-07T09:30:00.000-08:00

Wow..finally got one of my freebies after a quite a long time. I got to know of this freebie from freegyaan (thanks abhishek ;-)). It was very simple. Filled out a small form with my address details and voila ..a confirmation for the freebie. Pretty fast deliver too...less than 10 days...Got my Supraactiv Complete nutritional supplement (10 capsules) freebie.

Of course, already started off on it...and the freebie seems to make me energetic. :-))..check out abhishek's blog mentioned below or freegyaan.com for the details. The freebie offer is still on I think!! All the best!

Have included a snap of the freebie too...Best of Luck to others!!

Saffola Functional Food Sample - another one from abhishek at fun2ssh

2010-01-22T04:57:00.001-08:00

Saffola is up with challenge for Stronger Heart and Healthier Life, and to propagate this message it has developed a website and a product which has to be mixed with regular atta to make rotis and which has high fiber which reduces cholesterol – In short a perfect Health food ingredient.

Few Important Terms and Condition :

Only first 6000 request will get half KG free sample – I guess 3000 odd have already registered, so we still have chance.

Valid till 31st Jan 2010. Available in city of Mumbai, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Kolkatta, Hyderabad, Pune and Chandigarh only.

Interesting? Go ahead request for a free sample here..

Bebeautiful Gift Hamper

2010-01-22T04:47:00.000-08:00

This is one more freebie/freestuff that I have enrolled for. Many of you may have seen the ad for bebeautiful.in and so did I.

I just enrolled myself into it and got a call the same day to confirm my details. Also, the very sweet customer care executive told me I would be getting my free gift hamper.. Yippeee.... That was a pleasant surprise. It has been 4 days since that. Hunting around, it looks like the hamper consists of lots of coupons and a Lakme lipstick and some other sample from their line of products.

Will post pics of the freebies as soon as the free stuff lands at home!! This is the link
www.bebeautiful.in

Enjoy!!

Ponds Age Miracle Sample

2010-01-22T04:44:00.000-08:00

I have been seriously hunting for freebies in India and I have come across this great blog
http://fun2sshcocc.blogspot.com. Lots more offers are on it..Do check it out!

iDiva, an Indiatimes site with Ponds is giving Age Miracle Cream on just giving the details. All you have to do is fill form.

I have tried this and not yet got any confirmation. It is worth a try as they don't seem to have an end date.

Go to : http://www.pondsagemiracle.idiva.com/

Retro retro night

2009-08-10T01:29:00.000-07:00

It was the birthday of one my sweetest friends. A lovely lady...a good human...Ranji...and of course I was invited to celebrate THE EVENT...along with our other 2 friends...It was loads of fun...what with the girls going for fired up Tequila shots...of course, yours truly stuck to a Blue Lagoon and just had a nip of Balailaika...(hic hic)....and where was all this.?? At 10-Downing or shortly 10D. The food as always was yummyyyyyy...Forgot to get a shot of the Tandoori platter....blame it on the Blue Lagoon :-) As always, good company makes a great party and it was one where we let our hair down and partied until our heads and feet ached...:-)) Cheers to my sweetie friend and a wonderful year ahead for her...!!

Cholayil Sanjeevanam

2009-07-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

It had been a while since I had indulged myself in a massage. After my experience in the Arya Vaidya Sala in coimbatore, I have become a big FAN of ayurvedic massages. But hey I am open to any that feels good and leaves me without creaking joints and aching muscles. Hence after deciding to start off on the search for good massages in namma Chennai, I decided to go for a already tested place - Cholayil Sanjeevanam. You have to make an appointment prior and the help desk was very helpful and courteous in fixing up a convenient time for it.

Once I reached the venue for the massage, Abhayangam, at 8 AM on a weekend morning (I stress again, by prior appointment), I was waiting for a good 10-15 minutes before I was acknowledged and had to wait another 10 minutes for my record (I had visited earlier and undergone consultation a year back), I met up with their inhouse practitioner. She was very nice and even wrote me out an MRI script to check my neck.

But the real ordeal started off after that once I was taken to my massage. A few points to note:
A. We know that we will be almost naked for the massage.
B. We are by nature shy.
C. It helps to have dim lighting for a massage.
D. It is a massage not a chappati making procedure.

Why did I put the above? Well, I was asked to change into a "langoti" in the room where one of the masseuses was looking on and the door was slightly open. Hello, we do need some privacy. Anyways, that irked me a little, but the massage itself was very so-so. Abhayangam is a massage where 2 masseuses massage the two sides of your body in synchronized movements with lots and lots of oil. Here, however, though there were two, both were doing their own thing on each side and one was applying so much pressure that I literally yelped with pain and asked her to go slow. Not that it had any affect! She continued to pummel me on one side, while on the other side, the second lady continued to do a decent massage. The Result - Sore muscles becoming even more sore! Also, a tubelight which was flashing right on my face was on the whole time and did not give me any mood to relax - what with the force of the pummeling. You are doused with oil, oil, and more oil from head to toe and it takes several washes to get some of it off. I have to admit that the head massage was slighty better (done by the second masseuse).

After that, they provide you with the generic hot water and their brand soap and shampoo, but you cannot linger around the bath. Get the job done and move (lest they come knocking on your door - I am not kidding)! the massage the last time I had lasted a good 60 minutes and truly relaxed me, but this time around it was about 40 minutes and do I have to even mention that it did not do anything to my aches!

The rates are I would say a tad high for the kind of service they give - The room is very very very basic and so are the facilities. It set me back Rs. 750/-, which I did not feel truly was worth it. I had a better time for less than that in the Arya Vaidya Sala.

Like in most places, the service and quality has definitely come down. The return factor of this customer has definitely been affected! I used to recommend this place after my first visit...but not anymore...My search for that perfect massage continues.....

Mamma Mia!

2009-07-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

Mamma Mia was always one of those movies which left an impression in my life and growing up listening to ABBA such a long time ago..it definitely qualifies for a nostalgic trip. So, there we were, my best buddy and me with her kiddo for the Mamma Mia musical at the Music Academy.

Boy, the show sure was packed. Just like luck would have it, one friend canceled due to a family emergency and we felt that the the poor dudette sure missed out a fun time. The musical (of course it was ABBA after all) was quite good and the live singing was truly awesome. The best part was that the audience were allowed on stage to dance to one song "Dancing Queen" and were invited (yippeee) to dance in the aisle if we really like any song.....isn't that gr8...mamma mia..

I simply loved the sets, the colours, and most of all the music.....and we sure rocked the show too....with the singing and the clapping and of course the Mamma Mia Dancing....

However, just one hitch was the advertising reel (like the news reel) before the show which dampened the beginnning somewhat...The casting was good, especially Donna and Sophie, but my favourite were Donna's friends, the adorable Rosie and the happening Tanya...both sure were cute and lovely ladies.... Of course, all my favourite Abba Songs were right up there too...Super Trouper, Money Money Money, Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Voulez vous, Does your mother know and the 'Take a chance on me" :-)

Me n my buddy really tripped on the music and the fun....the comedy was well timed and the dancers did a great job....Jeffrey Varden and Varu Sarathkumar sure have some Hot Shoes!

Lovely Show...Keep the music playing!

A Marriage n MiniVacay

2009-07-05T22:05:00.000-07:00

It was a good friend's marriage in an idyllic setting in ma favourite place, Theni. The journey started off with me left alone to travel because of a last minute health hitch of my journey companion. Anyways, what is life without a little spice. So I embarked on the journey alone to Dindigul and from there took a "BUS" (the emphasis is because it was so crowded and dirty). Of course, by Murphy's law I had some really wierd companions who just took my bottled water and drank it all up and gave me back with a scowl! Well Well..It takes more than that to miff me off given the beautiful countryside.

Once I reached Theni, I was picked up and dropped at the mandap. A lovely place facing a small hillock. The weather played an angel and was cool with a slight drizzle...magical!

The engagement went off well and I got to get an A/C room and was out before 10. We gave the groom his gift - a polo in a huge package and created a ruckus by making him peel the layers and layers of packing...

Early morning, the guy tied the knot and after the wishes, I was at loose ends because every other friend had a plan...but then my hangdog look must have softened them and they changed plans to go to Thekkady.

WOW..the ride was great and fast ...watching Thoranai on the way (that was the only lousy part). Thekkady was awesome and it was raining..yippeee...thats what I like best!

Had a wait a while for the boatride and did have lunch in a little nook out there where monkeys abounded. I did donate my parotta as I was full to one too...I love monkeys...One naughty one snatched up just before I took a pack of homemade chocolates...bad monkey :-)

Anyways, the boat ride was amazing and we managed to see elephants, bisons, wild boar, deer, and lots of different birds...I only wish I had dressed warmer because I was freezing by the end of the ride of a good 2 hours.

After that, we hopped out and did some spice shopping and back to Theni it was with me dozing off. Was a little apprehensive about the journey back to Dindigul in the "BUS" and thankfully by divine intervention we got a ride back with the groom's party in a van...Yay!

Once there, it was the usual lousy food at the station, and then I had to endure a good 1 hour alone again because the rest of the gang were booked in an earlier train. Did catch up on my reading which I did not manage to do on the onward journey because of my marathon snooze and talk sessions on the train.

The best part of it was that although the train was late being an AC compartment, it was a real comfortable journey back and the crick I developed from the hours of sitting in the jeep to Thekkady was all gone by the next morning I landed in my Chennai.

Thankful that I did not fall sick and for all the small mercies that God showed me to make it an awesome break..Here are the photos...Enjoy!

My Sista's Birthday

2009-02-06T00:23:00.000-08:00

My sister turned 25 albeit with not much of a flurry. However, being the great sista that I am, I could not let it go without at least a surprise for her. So, I donned on my grumbly persona the day before and kept cribbing about this and that. So of course, she escaped a little early to her bedroom haven. However, little did she know that we had sneaked in a cake (her favourite one at that) . She was quite unaware of this development and since I had already given her my gift of brand new jeans, she was expecting me to come and wish her at the HOUR. But my hubby dear, LittlO and me let the time pass on and made the LittlO to call her some time past the HOUR. Expecting some hunt for a car or forgotten toy (that's the way of LittlO), she warily came into the darkened room and Bang was pleasantly surprised with the lighted cake in the dark! Of course, me smeared cake on her and the vice versa and on the others too.

Dinner was low-key affair at an Arabic restaurant, Sea Shell where we stuffed our faces with shwarma, stuffed rotis, kubus and kebabs....hmmm...yummy...If heaven was a food, then it has to be a kebab!

Sea Shell specializes in Arabic Food..and the shwarmas and kebabs are to die for!! Really yummy food...The place is a well-lit family dining restaurant..of course singles, couples, groups, extended khandaan all can be comfortably seated in their restaurant in III Avenue in Anna Nagar.

The rates are very reasonable. The serving sizes are pretty good and the quality of food is worth the prices. Parking might be a problem on holidays and weekends, but still worth it. The service is fast and efficient and they have a small open area, with somewhat like a trellis roof, where I love to sit with a shwarma and a big glass of juice and watch the world go by. Also, the first floor restaurant area has an entire wall of glass which is great for road-watching!!!

A nice place for a weekend dinner to Sunday lunch or even a working lunch for the busy chicas!!

Sangeet!

2009-02-06T00:16:00.000-08:00

The last 2 weeks have been very hectic with loads of marriages and other such wonderful events happening. Because of which, I could not post as I had resolved to. Anyways, after quite a long time, I went for a Sangeet - Mehendi ceremony of a good friend. The magic of those swirling mysterious patterns together with good friends, great music, happening dances and delicious food, could I ask for more? Me and my sis had attended the function which has become a given trend in any South Indian marriage also even though it is a North Indian custom. Can women and all things beautiful be apart for a long time? So it is no wonder that this custom has meshed into the weaves of the South Indian culture. Of course, always we did have the traditional Maruthani, but somehow Mehendi is more lyrical in look and feel. My hands for your view!

My Baby Turned 5

2008-12-27T07:33:00.001-08:00

My little man has turned 5 and I am still pinching myself. It seemed just a short while ago he was crawling and learning to walk. How time flies! So of course, to celebrate that and the fact that people (including us) have become too busy to meet, we decided to host a party for our friends and their kids! It was lots of fun for us and others who came in too (I hope). Some friends were meeting each other after a decade and more! Yes, and we are all living in the same city!

My little boy had fun too bursting balloons, running around, playing tag and the like with his little friends!

All in all time well spent ;-))

Bad Back Good Back

2008-09-18T00:15:00.000-07:00

Well..it has been a long time since I poured myself in here.. as the title suggests, I had a bad back - a disk prolapse. It really sucks cos all these years I had fun without exercising and finally it came into my collective conscious that I need to exercise after hitting the 3-0 mark. For 2 months, I was the model gym*er, doing the cardio, weights and what not! Always warming up and cooling down and never forgetting stretches...what did that leave me with? My weight not budging after a 2-kg loss and a disk prolapse which gave me a bed rest of 3 weeks. however, on a positive note, it has taught me about good nutrition and I have lost about 5 kgs through the complete bed rest for 3 weeks and then the past 2 weeks of 15-minute back strengthening exercises and 1/2 hour walking with balanced nutrition. I have started taking fruit juices at least once a day which is much less than in my 50-kg days but definitely better than the past 8 years where I seem (without actually realizing it) to have avoided them like the plague...anyways am happy with the weight loss and the better feeling body that God has blessed me with...oh yes..i have completely given up sugar in milk, coffee, tea or juices..come to think of it..i have almost given up on caffeine too...though i still do have tea when the urge kicks in, of course sans sugar...

Exercise Regime

2008-07-17T05:51:00.000-07:00

Such a tough title because I had joined the gym -Pink about a month back. I did go through the mandatary diet consultation and the fitness consultation. However, the scales have just not been helping me!!! They hate me!!! I seem to have only put on weight or hovering around the same...in spite of religiously going to the gym 6 days a week and exercising for an hour plus walking for 30 mins and doing stretches (that is mandatory at my workplace) everyday ..... Before you ask, yes...I have cut down on the "Heavy" calorie stuff ie, all my deep fried goodies and chocolates. Still, the scales don't seem to budge. In fact, I bought my own weighing scales (since the gym scales were not friendly ;-)). Anyone out there had this same experience?

I am posting out here a very good site which I am using for beating the bulge. It analyzes both your food intake and exercise (yeah...it has a profile for us sedentary folks, which gives a rough estimate of how much calories we would burn). Here it is http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/Index.html

Sign up is free and mandatory. If anyone is or was in the same state as me, please do let me know if there is a way out?

காரைக்குடி restaurant - big-dampener

2008-06-01T23:57:00.000-07:00

My nephew had come to visit namma Chennai. Being a family of food-lovers and not having tasted good Chettinad food (by his admission), we decided to have dinner at Karaikudi restaurant at Anna Nagar on Saturday. What a bad bad decision that was! We reached the place a bit early (by Saturday night standards) by 7:45 PM and the place was not packed. Eating out with a child and wanting some private space, we requested thrice for a table for 4 on the top level (which was completely empty). The ground floor was occupied except for 2 tables (of 4&6) which was very close to the loo and to the kitchen. But hey sorry, that place per the waiter was “Booked” by someone! However, sitting opposite to that place, we did see quite a few families and singles walking in (who never talked to each other) going there after we placed our order. Any ways, we did not press it further(after the 3 requests that is) and were having delicious visions of mutton and chicken biriyanis, brain masalas, chicken varuvals and kal dosais...woe is me! The biriyani was abysmal and did not remotely resemble a biriyani. It had a bland taste with overpowering smell of uncooked garam masala. The portion sizes have greatly gone down and did not suffice even for one and the pieces were far and few between. Same goes for the brain masala. The kal dosai and varuval were passable at best! The rates are quite steep and the bill came to about rs 750 and we definitely were definitely neither full nor satiated. We did complain about the food quality to the waiter and were met with "is it? ok". Nothing else! What a rip off!! Also, the ambiance and service which might have been good long time ago were now with peeling paint and waiters who were huddling together and chatting rather than serving the customers. My personal advice would be to lay off this place. I would never go back there! We did end up "finishing" our dinner at Anjappar (good place) which is a stone's throw from this Karaikudi restaurant! Bon Appetit. Will post the recipe for brain masala soon (the way it should be done)!

சுறா puttu

2008-05-27T04:02:00.000-07:00

Having lived by the sea for the most of my life in Chennai & Mangalore (you get great great seafood), I just looovve seafood. This is one of my favorite. Many versions of this classic dish abound. This is our family recipe! Enzoy!

Sura puttu

Ingredients

Sura fish {shark}-500 gm
Tumeric-1 teaspoon
Coriander powder-2 teaspoon
Onion- 3
Chilli powder- 2 teaspoon
Garlic- 4 cloves
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Salt - according to taste
Fresh coriander - for garnishing

Method

Boil water adding a pinch of tumeric powder to it. Once water is hot, put the shark in. Close the lid and let it cook for 7-8 minutes. Then, drain water and remove the skin and bones from the shark. Shred shark and mix it with the turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, and salt and keep aside. Now in the kadai, add oil and add the garam masala powder. Then, add the onions and fry until they turn golden in color. Now add the chopped garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Then add the marinated shark and sauté for 5-7 minutes until it turns a golden brown color. Sprinkle the coriander leaves for garnishing. Tastes awesome with sambhar and rasam! Tastes good when mixed with steamed rice too!

Sunday - Catchin' up day

2008-05-25T23:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the usual lazing-around Sunday. Caught up on the sleep deficits of the week and did the Sudoku of the entire week. Had some yummy yummy fish kozhombu and fish fry. Did all the missions and zone work of Flylady. I am a huge fan of her zones and her guidance. However, I do not like the oh-so-many mails. Hence, I follow her wise advice of just deleting everything that I do want and just doing what I can do. Being a working "lady of the house", there is so much to do at home and at work! These routines do help me save some sanity. The best thing I like about Flylady is she gives you the freedom to do as much or as little as you can, all in 15-minute chunks. I was not a huge fan of it at the beginning, but believe me now, most of the things "I do not like" to do get done by this 15-minute principle. I love keeping my home clean and tidy and that is NOT an easy job with 2 dogs and a kid, but I do as much as I can and have stopped feeling guilty and being perfectionistic about the whole thing. Life is for living, not for existing!

I am posting the fish curry recipe out here! Hope it comes out as good!
Ingredients:
Tomato - 2(medium sized)
Onions - 2-3 chopped
Garlic- 6
Fish- 6-8 pieces
Tamarind - 1 amla size
Mustard - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 5-6
Oil - 2 tbsp
Dhania powder-1 tbsp
Chilli powder-1 tbsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Coriander - chopped for garnishing

Method: Clean and wash the fish. Pour oil into kadai and put in the mustard and jeera. Add the onions and ggarlic and saute until the onions become transparent. Next add the cut tomatoes, dhania powder, chilli powder and required salt and saute until the raw smell goes away. Add enough water and allow the mixture to boil. Next add the thick tamarind extract and allow to boil. Once it is boiling, add curry leaves and add the fish pieces. Allow the gravy to boil and thicken for about 10- 15 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with steaned rice.

This is one of my favourite dishes for a yummy lunch! This keeps for a day or two and tastes better the next day!

Find Your Perfect Jeans - wikiHow

2008-05-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

Find Your Perfect Jeans - wikiHow

2008-05-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

After a really long time, me and my balya snehithi decided we need a break. So, we landed ourselves in a couple of the happening places last night. It was a load of fun (it's the company you see). We first landed in Bikes & Barrels (Residency Towers). There was great music and since it was a Wednesday, we got a drink on the house. Being ravenous after work, we ordered chicken tikka and spicy chicken wings. Both were great. However, I actually started developing teary eyes from all the smoke in there (shows just how far from civilization i have been :-)). It was a lesson for me too. Me, a party animal of yonder years, had actually toned down so much. Well, I did not want to put some more smoke than necessary in the environment! But the music..yes it was absolutely awesome. We did do some pubhopping (have not done that in recent times), listened to great great music, met up some friends and back at home just past midnight! Btw, all this was sans by hubby dear - that was a new thing which I did!

Eat Healthy on a Budget - wikiHow

2008-05-21T03:48:00.000-07:00

Eat Healthy on a Budget - wikiHow

Goldquest - my personal experience

2008-05-20T23:48:00.000-07:00

Gold-quest aka questnet has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. Interestingly, they have been involved with the law since 2003 in Chennai. Some of my ex-colleagues have been involved with this company in that they are "IRs". As they wanted to "better" my life, they had very graciously invited me to a lunch to explain abt this concept, which is (I quote them)"not like Amway or other MLMs". Well, post the lunch, obviously i wanted to think over things(which is not good in their parlance). So they told me that I should hear it from the "experts." So, they took me to a meeting in an auditorium(i am not joking) where there were quite a few people and they started explaining. They did not talk for even 10 mins abt the supposed "products" which they are selling. They showed me the pope, ronaldo (yes..the footballer), and the like and told us that they are all associated with goldquest, in what capacity is of course not explained. Then they told me, a philatelist, that these coins will appreciate in price in as less as 10 years to humongous amounts. That one point brought home the point to me that this is not right. Why? Because of the fact these coins are being constantly produced and they are not centuries old to command prices. Anyways, then for the rest of the 1-1/2 hours, there was the explanation of how all my debts are going to be gone and the like. They even had testimonials of people who explained that they went against their family(ie, wife, parents, siblings) and friends and joined against their advice and now they are earning rs20000 every week. Welcome to utopia! You just have to get all your relatives and friends to "invest" and lo behold you will be above all of them. Well, another one point which went down the wrong side for me was this. Losing my parents early on in life has taught me the importance of relationships both with family as well as my friends. Also, you are not allowed to ask any questions to this guy who gave this presentation! That was a first in my several years of convention, seminar, meeting attending experience. Well, I actually had the nerve to ask them why their products are so overpriced and boy I wish I hadn't. They again started talking about the numinastic value and other such highly unbelievable stuff! Then, my ex-colleague asked me to come and pay the money on the next day, Friday, through my credit card and then keep doing balance transfers until I started making these huge pots of money! That itself bears testimony to their style operations of such people. Well anyway, as naive and gullible as I look, these expert salesguys did really underestimate me. I told them that I am not convinced and need to talk to hubby dear. Well, no way, i'm not supposed to discuss with him because he does not know anything nor does my CA cousin, or my CEO uncle or the finance expert friend. He said they all will only say no because I will not explain properly and they may not want me to make money. Well, I don't know about their friends and relatives (they will hardly have any left, i suppose), but my support group has been through my darkest times and I will trust them with my life. So, finally i said a big emphatic "NO." Then, they went on to make life miserable for me in the office (as one of the group was also a manager) alleging several things and creating rifts between my team, etc. Well, that was the best thing they could have done! I switched jobs, got a good hike and a great team to boot!

One of the goldquest IRs told me, "In life, you have to take risk.". I agree, but make sure it is a calculated risk. Do not join if you want to lose your rapport and love with friends and relatives and all the others in the fabric of your life who are important to you. Do not join even if you have 30k to lose..there are a lot of other ways to make a fortune..this is by far one of the sickest ways! Beware of them!

Buses in chennai --- Going Strong

2008-04-25T02:44:00.000-07:00

I have started on my new reduce-the-carbon-imprint habit, ie, using public transport where i can instead of the gas guzzling car. It went pretty well today, given that I am travelling to Anna Nagar. Supposedly lots of buses(7F, 7G, 7H,34,134) can take me from my abode to there. I had to wait in the baking heat (tsk tsk global warming) for hardly 5 mins before 7F showed up. The trip was pretty easy as there were less passengers and all of us had seats(wonders never cease) which is a huge thing given the crowds one would normally expect in Chennai buses. Well, all's well that ends well! I had a good trip back too, albeit a little more crowded as I was heading on the route to the city central.

New Things to Try

2008-04-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

I love my earth..cos it is the only one available for me to live. Year 2008 will the year i reduce my carbon imprint on this earth..my way of making up for the hurt i had knowingly or unknowingly caused to mother Earth. My two cents to this is to start and make a going-green habit every month from this year on. The first one is to use public transport most of the time (all the time is just not possible). I am giving my bike and car well-needed rest. I am trying to use buses and trains to take me wherever I need to go. That's my April -08 habit to adopt!