Haye Mirchi!!

This audio clip should hopefully show up soon on a website I am working on...as background music. It would be part of a roughly 30 second stop motion video I am making to promote a website my friends have been working on.

I hope you like it :-).

Deja Vu..

My friends often complain to me about how their parents are always digging their noses in to everything, and that they are so interfering and annoying that my friends just want to move to a different city so that they could stay away from their parents and live in peace and enjoy the freedom, do whatever they feel like, and most important of all, not be annoyed by illogical and irrelevant arguments.

That kind of always bugged me, and to be honest, I felt really bad - not for my friends, but for their parents because (until a week ago) I had not seen my parents in three years, and in the last three to four months or so, was getting a little homesick. In the last three years, I missed them a lot, and always yearned for their love and comfort they have given me. That is the only reason why I could not comprehend the fact that my friends were trying to run away from their parents.

My parents came here a week ago.

Like I said earlier, I saw them after three years, and obviously, was totally thrilled. I totally loved their presence around me. I love my mom and was very very glad to see her.

However, it's been just one week, and I am beginning to remember my days of freedom that I have enjoyed in the last few years. I have started to understand why my friends are trying to run away from their folks. I have realized that kids change, but parents don't.

Don't get me wrong though. I love my parents - to the bone. But there are so many things that are somewhat annoying me, and when I look back, I realize that this is how it's been right form the beginning...

My dad loves politics, which essentially means that he loves to discuss politics with whoever is around him. Unfortunately, I am the one who ends up around him these days, and he asks me random questions. Now seriously, I have no problems answering his questions, but he has a certain answer in his mind which defies all kinds of logic, and he expects my answer to be as close to his answer as possible.

I think my dad has a problem accepting technology and the amazing things it can let you do. My sister goes to work and usually I am either on the computer, or on my phone - Facebooking. My dad is always intrigued - he keeps wondering why I keep punching buttons on my phone all the time. I don't tell him that I Facebook - explaining the entire phenomenon to him would be another daunting task that I am not sure I can handle very well. Plus, I would have to tell him the pros and cons of social networking, and listen to his theories about how technology is killing the beautiful art of letter writing.

He also thinks that there is a reason for everything - and that he is supposed to know all those reasons. He wonders why the person living downstairs smokes so many cigarettes, why there is a doormat at the entrance (duh, right?), why my sister and I grocery shop like the world's going to end tomorrow, etc. My sister and I more often than not fail to answer his questions. Even if we provide an answer, I am sure it does not meet his expectations.

My mom always wants me to eat. If I am sitting idle (read Faceooking on phone) she thinks I am hungry and instantly asks me to eat something - like repeatedly. She also cannot comprehend why we buy so many items when we grocery shop. 

Just yesterday all of us went to my sister's boss's house for dinner. Now, to be honest, I have changed a lot in the last so many years. I mean, my sense of humor, the way I talk, the way I smile and all that jazz has definitely changed, and I myself can feel it. There was a time when I would totally get a panic attack when someone talked to me about cigarettes or booze in front of my parents, but not anymore. Last night I cracked a few booze jokes at my sister's boss's house and we all were laughing like cute donkeys. Well, not sure if we all were laughing - I forgot to see my dad's reaction. He is totally against alcohol and cigarettes and meat and all that jazz, and I am pretty sure that after last night my dad thinks that I am an asshole.

My mom was surprised by how outspoken and "stylish" I was. She probably thought that I am an asshole when it comes to socializing and all that, but I surprised her. She thought I have an american accent though. My sister and I think I don't, and that is absolutely correct.

So anyway, a few shockers here and there have been experienced, and memories from childhood have been brought back - in just one week. It is amazing how parents don't change one bit. They are as stubborn as mules, and so are the kids. However, it is kind of fun when we all argue about immaterial things, trying to prove that the rest of the gang is absolutely wrong. All of us in my family have different personalities - my dad and sister are the kind of annoying ones with their unlimited questions and Hitlerism whereas my mom and I are the patient ones, who keep their cool all (most?) of the time. 

Being with family is both fun and unfun.

Your Samosa Makes Me..

It's amazing how people come up with something so interesting that it immediately catches your attention and before you even know it, becomes a part of your life. 

One such amazing concept, or let's jusy say a website, is www.yourlogomakesmebarf.com. It is a site where people from all over the world post amazingly ridiculuously hideously uncreative logos that represent local or perhaps national businesses. The idea of a logo I guess is to tell people what the business it is associated with does. The prettier the logo, the more impressed customers would be, maybe resulting in an increased clientele in the future. But what if the logo is crappy? Such a logo perhaps tells the customers that the business is as bland and unimaginative as the logo itself, and that going to that business may only result in murder.

I like this site not only because I get to see the best worst logos, but also because the people who post them write hilarious descriptions, which obviously adds to the super unawesomness of the logo.  I used to check this website a few times a week, but I just realized recently that I check this website atleast once a day now - just  like Facebook. I appreciate humor in my life, and yourlogomakesmebarf.com does an awesome job in supplying humor to me on a daily basis.

Another awesome site that I really like is called www.yosamosa.com, which is as interesting as the name itself. It targets desis around the world and encourages them to post news articles about India, original blogs, stories, and tweets on the various forums on that site. Extremely simple yet easy to use, YoSamosa lets you do unlimited things in YoSamosa land in various groups and forums. Still in its early stages, YoSamosa is yet another site that I see myself totally hooked on to in the coming days.

What I like about this site is that it has some really smart people on it who post smart articles, unlike other sites like Humsurfer and Indianpad, where all you see is junky articles and videos that are posted by their users just for heck of it. 

I see YoSamosa as a meeting point for students who want to discuss and exchange project materials, people belonging to certain communities who want to organize an event in their local areas, and for normal users like me (and you?) who are interested in reading interesting stuff and exchanging ideas. 

There are very few things that catch my attention, and yourlogomakesmebarf and yosamosa are two of them. I expect to see a lot of action from these sites in the future. Stick around!

Are You THE Marcus Fenix? The One That Fought At Asho Fields?

Finished it today. I know I am a wee bit late, but I am glad I got a chance to play it. I think GOW is the best game I have played till date. The story line lacked flow (not a big deal), but then we are all just grunts, right? We do as we are told, and that is all that matters. It is actually not a very lengthy game. I think I finished it within a month, playing around one hour every day. I really want to play GOW2 now, but I don't think I am willing to spend 60 bucks on a game. Or maybe I will buy a used disc for half the price. 

Finishing this game was on my mind for a few days now, and I finally did it. I think I will now relax for some time, before starting a new game. I do have an unfinished NFS Pro Street to take care of, but I just feel that racing games are not fun anymore. Would see what NFS Shift has in store for us. I did see the preview on Xbox Live, and I wasn't really impressed. The last NFS game that I liked was Most Wanted - Carbon and Pro Street are kind of sucky to some extent.

Wounds & Cables..

I did not go running today. Instead, I saved myself 50 bucks by doing something that I had been wanting to do for a long time.

I spent hours today and finally, after a couple of knife and screw driver stabs in my left hand, I successfully managed to connect my XBox to my home theater.

In case you are wondering why/how I got hurt trying to make some cable connections, you should read this article. I basically did it to save $50. So I guess a little bleeding and a couple of wounds are okay when it comes to saving a lot of money.

My sunday afternoon in pictures:

The Root Of All Evil..

This is absolutely hilarious. Larry King is evil!!!!

NASA Simulator Prepares Astronauts For Rigors Of An Interview With Larry King

Ajit Ninan..

Just by chance I found out that Ajit Ninan's cartoons are published in the Times of India under the cartoon section. It's just amazing to see how these cartoonists maintain their style over the years. Nothing about their cartoons change. In case of Ajit Ninan, every politician has a huge moustache, wears a kurta, dhoti, and often a Nehru topi. Cops are usually stupid, and usually have a beer belly. His jokes are very very simple - not too much intellect required. If you know a little bit about what's going on around you, you would have no problems understanding his cartoons.

I really liked his cartoons when I was a teenager. His cartoons were printed in my favorite magazine that time - Target, in a section called "Funny World". Another comic strip called "Detective Moochwala" by Ajit Ninan was printed in Target. Too bad Target was discontinued, but I am just thrilled to find Ajit Ninan cartoons again!

See his cartoons here.

Everybody Here Comes From Somewhere..

My R.E.M. experience has not yet ended. For some reason (thank you God) R.E.M. decided to add Dallas to their world tour. They finish touring Europe and come back to North America to perform in Dallas and New Orleans in October, before proceeding to South America. When I heard about Dallas I immediately bought the ticket. It wasn't cheap for sure - well, seats in the first few rows are never cheap, right?

The only dilemma I have now is whether to fly or drive to Dallas. It's pretty far - 800 miles. If I drive, I will be exhausted. If I fly, I might get stuck - again.

I just might drive.

TAPFS is coming to Des Moines in November. Have heard a lot about their shows, and I think the ticket is only 30 bucks. Should be fun.

O-O-O-O-Oshikuru..

You know how when you hear someone sing a song and you like it, you start singing it all day long and just don't stop? Well, I remembered a few songs that I keep singing these days non-stop. These are from TV shows..

1. Charlie Harper(Sheen) in Two and a Half Men. He changes the words of the popular christmas carol "Joy to the World.." to "Joy to the world, I am getting laid..I am getting laid tonight..."

2. Charlie Harper in Two and a Half Men again. He is supposed to write the theme song for a TV show based on an Anime character "Oshikuru". This is what he comes up with:

"O O O O Oshikuru
O O O O Oshikuru
My oh my he's a demon samurai..
Who's the guy who had to die...
O-Shi-Ku-Ru."

Here's the video:

3. Karen (Rashida Jones) in The Office - Phyllis's Wedding. They show her sing just one line of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" By The Police.

4. Dennis and Charlie in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Oh my God! Crazy song from the craziest TV show I have ever seen. Take a look.

Flashed..

Oh my God!

Can't stop watching "Women's Appreciation" from season 3 of The Office. Watch the first few minutes of that episode when Pam tells Michael that Phyllis was flashed and he starts laughing and then does stuff with his finger. Oh my God! Absolutely hilarious! It's really really gross and cheap, but that's why it is so funny, right?

I still can't stop laughing.

Steve Carell is the master of comedy.

8:08 PM On 8.8.08

And those of you who missed the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing - I declare you a disgrace to mankind.

I have never seen such a spectacular show before. The experience cannot be described in words.

It was just Spuh-len-did.

The most creative thing to have ever been shown to the people of this planet. Now we are really not talking about what the 15,000 participants had to go through (maybe nothing, who knows), but the end result, which was not supposed to be missed by any creature alive.

Into The Wild..

While shopping at Target the other day I saw Into The Wild's soundtrack CD. I picked it up instantly simply because I had heard so much about Eddie Vedder's work on this CD.

Went home and played it, only to find out that it's a very very soft and mellow album - not that I expect grunge from Pearl Jam/Vedder any more. Vedder has experimented a lot with different instruments on this CD- "No Ceiling" actually has nice banjo strums.

Again, I could not grasp the music. I listened to it time and again. I played the CD around 8-10 times a day (it's a little more that 30 minutes, so..) but still could not figure out what the music is all about. After a few days I decided to watch the movie because I was pretty sure that the songs had connections with certains scenes/ overall theme of the movie.

Watch the movie I did.

And was lost for words.

Not because I had found the connection between the soundtrack and the story, but because the film shows Alaska, and oh my God, Alaska is beautiful! Very beautiful! I was totally spellbound by the snow covered mountains, the mooses, the rivers of Alaska, especially when they showed bird's eye or panoramic view of the state. The craziness of the story added to the excitement.

I would want to just go and live in the wild too, but I cannot live in the wild forever. I am pretty sure I'll chicken out.

Also, watching the movie first would help you enjoy the soundtrack all the more.

Last night, I tried to use the CD as a lullaby, and I think it was very effective.

I Love Her..I Love Her Not

Yesterday was perhaps the first saturday when I sat at home the entire day (well, I did go out to get myself a Subway sandwich). Since I had to kill time somehow, I decided to watch movies, and ended up watching four.

The movies I watched were Kamikaze Girls, Enemy At The Gates, National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, and Amelie.

And then I fell in love.

Some of you may not know but I have a thing for girls with short hair - I find them cute. I go absolutely crazy when I see a girl like that. My brain goes for a holiday, and my heart starts to smile. The damage is doubled if the girl has a very very cute smile...just like Amelie.

Watching Amelie was deja vu all over again. I was in a similar situation 10 years ago - when I had fallen in love with Meg Ryan. Internet in those days was a new and expensive concept, and every month I ran up my telephone bill high, downloading pictures of Meg Ryan. My dad always got mad, but then I was pretty sure that I would have gotten slapped if I had told my dad how much I loved Meg.

So well, the same thing happened last night. I totally fell in love with Amelie, and throughout the movie I could not help wondering how cute she was, and that what would I have to do to get a girl like her. I kind of swallowed my pride for a moment and decided to hunt for a girl like her. Life can be a blessing if spent with a girl like Amelie, I thought. Her presence would bring a smile to my face, I thought. Spending the rest of my life with such a pretty yet sensible girl would make my existence worthwhile, I thought.

The movie ended,...

..and I finished my third beer and slept.

I got up this morning at 11:30, and smiled. The effect of last night's beer had totally vanished from my body, and here I was wondering if I could have gotten up at 11:30 if I were married. The answer was clearly no. I thanked God for my singlehood, made myself a cup of tea, and spent of the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing.

Niagara Falls

I must admit that when I reached Niagara Falls, I was disappointed. I was expecting the falls to be HUGE - like falling from the Sears Tower or something. But the falls were not higher than perhaps a 10-12 storey building. To make things worse, the American Falls are not very pretty at all. To be honest they are just like any other waterfall, all you see is water falling from a height. From a distance we could see the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side - beautiful, magnificient, falling so gracefully and creating a mystifying mist. Standing there, I suddenly wanted to go to the other side. Visa restrictions (for a brief period of time, that is)do not permit me to travel outside the country. That is why we had to come to NY.

The next day we came back to the falls again - to take the "Mist of the Maid"...

..and that made my day.

The boat actually takes you to the Horseshoe Falls, and when you reach there, you get to see how gigantic those falls are. When the boat approaches the base of the falls, you just want the boat to stop there so that you could just keep looking at the falls and admire its beauty. That is the time when the falls leave you totally spellbound.Strong winds, water and noise from the falls, and the mist all add to the magic that make you smile, scream, and enjoy the moment that you would perhaps remember your entire lifetime.

Those who plan to go the falls, please take the boat ride. It's only $12.50 per person, and honestly, your trip would be incomplete without it.

Learning To Fly

BEFORE YOU READ: This is perhaps the longest post i have ever written. Please be patient :).

I always think about blogging about my "flying" experiences - what I go through/observe/experience when I take a flight and go somewhere. But thanks to procrastrination and ennui, I never write anything about them because usually there is so much to write. Just the thought of writing a lot tires me, and eventually the idea of sharing my amazing experiences, if you will, is abandoned - shamelessly.

But this time is different. I am determined to write about my trip last week to Niagara Falls. I have already started this post, and hope to finish it. This post may look like a chapter from a fiction novel simply because it's going to be so long. So my dear readers, please read this with a soda and popcorn in your hands. I am not promising entertainment, but I have observed that munching something while reading usually makes the process a lot less painful and a lot more entertaining.

My mom's friend had come to Baltimore to visit my sister, and since she was on the east coast, she thought she could fulfill her lifelong dream of going to see the Niagara Falls. My sister volunteered to take here there. She asked me to join them too, which I did. I flew from Des Moines to Baltimore last thursday. From there, we were to drive all the way to the falls and back.

Andrew, like always, was nice and kind enough to give me a ride to the Des Moines airport.

I checked in my bag, and moved towards security to find out that within the next few minutes, I would experience the most fun security check in my life, ever. The TSA guards were joking with me and each other, and they all smiled, which of course, is very unusual. I must say that it was perhaps the most laidback security check I have ever witnessed in this country. I remember the security check at the Bloomington airport being stricter than this.

Anyway, there was still like an hour left to board, and I was hungry too, so I grabbed a southwest chicken sandwich. Now, whenever I travel, I tend to overstuff myself with food. This time was no exception either. The sandwich actually was pretty big. But something inside me made me think that just that would not be enough. So I bought fries. And soda. I sat down, eating my stuff and reading "Grab On To Me Tightly As If I Knew The Way" which I had borrowed from the library just the previous day. Within a few minutes, I knew that the fries was a big mistake. But I usually don't waste food, so I kept munching away to glory.

The aircraft that was to take us from Des Moines to Chicago was one of the smaller ones - narrow and pointed, which is good enough to be a private jet but bad enough to carry like 50-60 passengers. The flight took off on time. I was still reading my book, and by the 20th page I knew what to expect in the coming 200 or so pages - utter American teenage nonsense. I dozed off, without even bothering to get my free soda and pretzels.

I woke up just in time. The plane was to land in the next 20 minutes or so. I was glad I slept because usually I cannot. The plane landed and I made my way to the gate from where I was to catch my flight to Baltimore. When I got inside the aircraft, I opened my nonsensical book and started reading it again, just for the heck of it. Within a few minutes a desi guy came and sat next to me. I could tell that he was really nice - more so because he tried to start a conversation with me which went something like this:

Guy: Hi!

Me: Hello there!

Guy: How are you?

Me: Good, how are you?

Guy: Very good, thanks.

Then, like an ass, I continued to read my book. I knew the guy wanted to chit-chat, but I simply ignored him.

I had suddenly turned anti-social.

To be honest, I am usually nice to other people. Really nice. But this time around I don't know what happened. I totally snubbed him. I didn't like it, but I think I was tired, and I was reading that Godforsaken book. I guess I didn't want to be disturbed.

About 40 minutes before landing, the pilot announced that a tornado was following us from North Carolina, and that hopefully we would be able to beat it to avoid the excessive rain that a stupid tornado brings. That is when the guy started looking out of the window and said something about the weather. I replied back, but since I was in my anti-social mode, I said something that was perhaps not interesting enough to maintain the longevity of our conversation. The guy then started talking to the lady on his right, and I overheard him saying that he was coming from Oregon. That is when I did a 360 and turned totally friendly and nice. I told him how I always wanted to go see Oregon, and how the air tickets are always so expensive (the last time I checked, it was $600 for the memorial day weekend :(( ). The lady, who was coming from Wisconsin, told me that I should definitely go to Oregon, and that it is very very beautiful. She also told me that I should drive on highway 101 to enjoy my Oregon experience to the fullest. I said I will.

The three of us started talking non stop, and after a while I got to know that the guy was originally from Pakistan, now a Canadian citizen (based in Toronto), and currently living in Baltimore with his family.

I told them I was from India.

The flight landed on time, but we were a little late in beating the tornado. Well, the tornado did not come to the Baltimore area, but it was raining like crazy out there because of which our luggage were not taken out of the aircraft for like 45 minutes. When I finally got my bag I got out of the airport and got in my sister's car. Our aunt had also come. I said namaste to her. Our chit-chat started and we drove away.

I was to come back to Des Moines last sunday, and my flight was at 7:30 in the evening. Our aunt was also going to Kentucky that very day. Her flight was in the morning, though. We took her to the airport, and I went in with her to help her check in.

That is when I got to know about a crazy Southwest concept.

Apparently, the last 15 boarding passes are not given at the check in counter - they are given at the gate. So basically, if you are late, you have to run to the gate. If somebody else gets there before you do, then you can kiss your flight good bye - doesn't matter if you have a confirmed ticket or not.

We were in a similar situation. My aunt did not get her boaarding pass. The lady at the check in counter asked me to go with her, in case my aunt had communication problems. She gave me a pass that would let me go through security without a boarding pass. We both went through security and reached the gate. Apparently, there was no else to claim one of the last 15 passes, so we were safe. The guy gave my aunt her boarding pass that she deserved. We waited for a little while. When boarding started, I touched her feet, bid her goodbye, and came out of the airport.

Then my sister and I went shopping.

When we came back at around 5:00 PM, I decided to check the status of my flight. Usually, I don't do it. In fact, I have never checked my flight status the day I am suppposed to catch it. I just show up at the airport assuming that the flight would be on time.

But for some odd reason, I checked the status online. This time. And this is what I saw:

Flight 327: Baltimore to Chicago

Status: Cancelled

Reason: -

I have experienced many delayed flights in my life. But cancelled? What in the world is that?

I could not believe it. Who would have thought that it would ever happen to me? Bad things happen to other people, don't they?

But here I was - facing the bitter truth. I was victimized. I felt so molested. Suddenly the world seemed very unfair, and I was still in shock.

I called customer care. I spoke to Richard about my situation. Now obviously Richard was sitting in India, but I did not have the time and energy to chit-chat about that. He told me that there is a flight from Dulles airport in Virginia at 7:41, and that I should try to catch it.

Current time : 5:15.

Time it takes to reach there: 1:30 hours.

We immediately left. My sister decided to speed (she loves it) , but as luck would have it, it started to rain. And then there was a traffic jam. And then I called customer care again, and spoke to Archie. I told her that I am stuck and that I might not be able to make it. She was very nice and patient. She said no problem, and put me on the next flight from Dulles -at 6:00 AM next day, on standby that is. Since we were stuck already, I decided to chat with her informally. I asked her if she was in Delhi. She said she was. I told her that I was from Delhi too. I then asked her her real name. She said Aarti. I then asked her where she lived. She said South Ex. She then said that it is always a pleasure to talk to Indian customers. I said thank you. I also told her that she was very kind and helpful.

We reached Dulles at 7:20. I went to United's check in counter where I met another very very nice lady. I explained my situation to her, and she did whatever she could to help me out. Apparently, it was too late to board the aircraft, but she gave me a pass that would let me pass through security. I thanked her and told her that she was the best. Another lady standing next to her said, "Yes, she is". We all laughed.

Then I ran.

The guy at security looked at the time on my boarding pass, then looked at me, smiled, and said sarcastically, "You are a little too early for your flight". I said I know. I made it through security, ran towards the gate only to find out that boarding was over and that they had shut the gate. The aircraft was still there - it had not taken off. But I could not board it.

That was the perfect time to use my favorite quote coined by yours truly - "I know how good my bad luck is".

I was to take the 6AM flight now. I told my sister to go back home, and that I would spend the night at the airport.

I was hungry. I went to a store where they had chawal chole! It was frozen, but the Japanese lady behind the counter offered to heat it up for me. I then went to another store to buy chips where the desi owner was busy flirting with a desi customer girl. He looked at me and asked his sidekick/flunky to see what I wanted.

I bought the chips and found a spot where I could charge my phone. Thank God I had my phone charger in my back pack. I sat on the floor and ate my food.

After a "heavy" meal, i decided to sleep. I lay down on the floor, with my back pack doubling up as my pillow. I tried to sleep, but the floor was so dang cold, that I was almost shivering. I decided to get the security check done so that I could sleep on one of those longer seats at the gate. I went to security only to be told that I should come back after midnight. It was 10:20.

I then went to Arrivals. Walked around and looked around. There were many flights coming in - both domestic and international. I loitered around for some time, then went to Departures to try to sleep again.

I did.

Try, that is.

Around 1:00 I got my security check done. I was actually the only one, so there was no rush. I asked one of the TSA guys about a good place to take a nap. The guy was very nice (Peurto Rican). He told me that I should go to Terminal D instead of C because D is much more warmer :). I thanked him and started walking towards D. Luckily my flight was from D too, so that kind of made me smile.

I reached my gate, found a long seat, and slept. For around 3 hours. I am pretty sure I snored.

When I got up at around 4:30, I was surprised to see so many people for a 6 o' clock flight. There was another Indian guy. He told me that he was in a similar situation - missed his flight the previous night and all that jazz. We spoke for a while and then boarded the same flight.

Awesome flight. Slept throughout.

In the flight to Des Moines, read around 80 pages of that idiotic book again.

And of course, Andrew was at the airport to receive me. We took my luggage, went to eat breakfast at Perkins (hadn't had American breakfast in a while :)) which was awesome, and then reported to work.

Yummy Yummy Yummy I Got Food In My Tummy

Living in a university town is fun.

I got up at 11:20 this morning and peeped out of the window to find snow everywhere. It was indeed a shock. Now come on, who expects snow in the middle of April.

So I was simply sulking and drinking my tea (too early to drink beer) when Andrew called. He told me about the International Food Festival in the university, and was calling to know if I would join him at all. I said yes, considering the fact that I would end up drinking endless number of cups of tea if I stayed at home.

The place was crowded, and I don't think I have seen so many International people in a big room before, not even at Illinois State. We started with Nepali food - Momos (two tickets), and what a good start it was. Then I tried some Puerto Rican rice and beans which was very delicious. We went to the Indian stall to see what they were selling. It was Tandoori Chicken. From my experience at Illinois State I knew that TC would be expensive. Andrew thought that the TC he makes looks better than what they were selling.

A slight digression - It was kind of weird to see Nepalis selling Mango lassi.

Anyway, we moved on to Sri Lanka, and they had daal vada. Since I had not finished my bean rice I told the lady at the counter that I would come back. Next stop - Pakistani. Looked extremely delicious - a chicken dish with naan. Six tickets. Backed out.

Then I tried a Sudanese potato dish which was very similar to the potato sabzi we make with gravy. But it had its own unique taste. The guy filled the entire bowl with that dish, and boy, was it heavy! I took a lot of time to finish it. I went to the Sri Lankan stall to get those vadas. One ticket, so I bought two. Very nice, they were. I also stopped at the Latin American stall where they were selling something that really caught my attention. I asked the lady what it was and she said it was made of corn flakes, condensed milk, and caramel. "Just like a cookie" she said. I decided to try it. It was actually for two tickets but the kind lady gave me a deal. She charged me just one ticket. I decided to buy two.

It was delicious. Not very sweet, just perfect. I really really liked it.

Soon I was out of tickets, so I bought four more. In the second round I bought Indonesian noodles with chicken and also their dessert, which was kind of different, and good. The grand finale was a stop at the Latin American stall to buy the corn flakes cookie again. Delicious!

R.E.M. Update

Good news, good news everywhere..

This week R.E.M. made it to the #2 spot on the Billboard Top 200 Album charts :). Of course, they debuted at #1 in many countries in Europe :).

I am totally excited. For the first time in 14 years I am tracking the progress of an R.E.M. album, and believe me, the great reviews that this album is getting from everywhere/everyone is making me really proud. I am proud to be an R.E.M. fan :).

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/04/09/on-the-charts-rem-accelerates-to-best-open-in-a-decade/

They also have an article in this month's Spin about their "resurrection" (I own that copy..so proud, so proud!! :)). Read R.E.M.: R.E.BORN here:

My R.E.M. experience has been very very good so far. I will R.E.M.ember. Every. Moment.

Living Well Is The Best Revenge!

Awesome.

I am so glad that the R.E.M. I have known is back, and they for sure have accelerated! I had preordered their new album Accelerate (which I received yesterday) - and I am happy. The album is really really good - so good that I want to listen to it again and again. Thank God for that!

I must admit that I did not really enjoy their last 3 albums. It all started with Up, and boy, was that a disappointment. After New Adventures in Hi-Fi, I was expecting something that would be one level "up", a more exciting, more rawking album (thanks Dani). But it made me cry. But I was not ready to accept that the album was zilch. I was so strongly attached to R.E.M. that I believed whatever they said about experimenting with their music and all that jazz.

When I heard Reveal, I totally lost focus. The album was a mish mash of nonsense, stupidity, and perhaps a little overconfidence on R.E.M.'s part for thinking that this record would do wonders. It does have a few good songs, but overall it's so not R.E.M.

Around the Sun was good. Not excellent, but good. It's slow overall, but atleast I could play the CD from start to finish without losing my mind. However, deep down inside I was a little sad, simply because I missed the R.E.M. that rocked. I missed the energy that Michael Stipe showed when he had longer hair. I missed the guitar riffs that Peter Buck played when he was leaner. I missed the bass lines Mike Mills played when he used to wear cowboy suits. I missed (and would still miss) the drum beats by Bill Berry without any emotions on his face.

After these albums, I was pretty sure that R.E.M. had mellowed down with age, and that I would have to get used to listening to their "piano riffs" and Stipe's voice filled with pain and sadness.

Well, thank God they accelerated!

Accelerate is old wine in a new bottle. The old R.E.M. is back - the mid 80s R.E.M. , and they rrrroocckk!!!! Since yesterday I have been listening only to Accelerate, and loving every bit of it! Songs worth mentioning are Hollow Man, Supernatural Superserious, Living Well Is The Best Revenge, Until The Day Is Done and Man Sized Wreath, and I'm Gonna DJ. Listening to this record is all the more fun when you are driving - Your head just goes up, down, up, down, up, down...

I must also mention that I bought their concert ticket! I am so looking forward to this concert in Chicago. My R.E.M. experience has started.

:)

Enlightenment For The Brown Kid

I broke my own promise. I had decided to publish not more than 12 posts in a month (and not less than 12 posts in a month) because I just thought that the number "12" next to every month in the blog archive would look cool. Well, this post's going to turn March's number to 13, but then, what the hell - It's a stupid, baseless, illogical promise anyway.

So Andrew has been "teaching" me a lot of stuff about what he (and other kids) did when he was little. I must say that whatever he tells me is very very enlightening. Now, did we (Indians) ever know that a cartoon character called Rude Dog existed? No, I don't think so. Did we ever know anything about Cabbage Patch Kids or Garbage Pail Kids for that matter? No no no.

I told him today that in Illinois I hung out with the wrong crowd. Lol!

And seriously, I find these things really interesting because the information is pretty much useless. Now that's how I always like my information. Useless. But - it should be entertaining. If somebody tells me something about any random scientific/philosophical theory..I usually yawn. So whatever Andrew tells me is fudgin' A.

A slight digression - I have decided not to use the F word on my blog anymore.

So like I said, these sessions, if you will, are very informative. He also tells me a lot about the 90s music *drool*. So basically, I am that Indian kid who thought he knew "a lot" about America but was absolutely totally ridiculously nimrodically wrong. Well, not for long, because I have a tutor now.

So Andrew, if you are reading this post - Thank you! ;)

Dang it, Bobby!

Another One

Nailed another one..this one pretty much broke my back though.

500 pieces.