Monday, May 17, 2010

Broken links

You're bound to find a few broken links in places where my beautiful pictures on the blog originally were. That's simply because I'm in the process of cleaning up and organizing all the pictures that Blogger uploads to picasa and elsewhere in the universe when I added a pic to a blog post. 

Until then we relish in the Google Not Found error!

Thursday, May 06, 2010

My turquoise dream

What is it about the sea, I've asked myself a million times,
In my head and in a pensive mood,
What pray be my connection to this vast expanse,
Who hath not desired the Sea?

She fades into nothingness, clicked somewhere along the Northwest Pacific Coast.

I've grown up by the Arabian sea, she with all her might, us building sand castles on the Panambur beach, the serene strolls on Tannirbhavi beach, the boisterous parties on Suratkal beach, thrown into the water at Kapu beach, girls day out at Summer Sands, office parties at Kotekar beach and what became our very own getaway spot from a few Computer Architecture and Object Oriented classes, Malpe beach. In the midst of all those, somewhere is Fujairah beach and Khorfakkan beach and how can I can not include Goa and a little bit of northern Kerala too.

In my opinion there is really no option between flying out of Bombay or Bangalore, not that we had the Bangalore option while we were young. But flying in from Bombay will give you the best feeling ever, when the airplane moves in from out of the clouds and the Arabian sea coastline is visible, she dips, she rises and then she descends. That is a moment worth relishing and capturing and I've managed to do so on a couple of occasions, hiding from the prying eyes of the flight attendants!

Living inland this past year, I can feel the void, I can't hear her talk to me anymore. My feet have not been sucked into the sand, I don't have the sinking feeling, I have not felt the salt water on my face and I have not collected sea shells. Despite her wild roar on the pacific she beckoned me aboard the Seattle ferries, from Ocean shores and San Juan into the Pacific, to the most pristine blue oceans ever and although she seemed a little dull and down at Galveston in the Gulf of Mexico, she was always still only an hour's drive away. 

I've heard from my parents that I was a water loving baby and with a bunch of baby pictures always with a hose in hand splashing water around the house, on everyone on myself, I can pretend to remember those moments. I don't quite know why I didn't learn to swim, her vastness scares me a bit but not enough as I can feel the bonding that is just hard to put to words.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),
It's always our self we find in the sea.
- E.E. Cummings


I think it's time for some sea therapy, maybe that's when I will have my epiphany. 

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Venice queen

I had a dream, it was on a gondola under the twilight sky, there you were, there I was and then there was the merchant of Venice.

In sooth, I know not why I am so sad;
It wearies me; you say it wearies you;
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn;
And such a want-wit sadness makes of me
That I have much ado to know myself.

I hold the world but as a world, '*';
A stage where every man must play a part
And mine I did on so many occasions,
the two 'tis heart will not forget,
That much I owe you.

To You.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Beer Shampoo

I've heard of the joys of rinsing one's hair with beer shampoo and also of bathing in it. I certainly had no intention of trying any of these, what is the use of wasting perfectly good beer on hair, when you can drink it, no?

My viewpoint took a 360° turn when I realized I'd left a bottle of beer open all through the night and day allowing it to be contaminated and spoilt? I couldn't possibly drink that now, could I? That's when the beer shampoo plan was conceived.

Step 1: Heat the beer in a saucepan and bring it to boil (The recipe asked for reducing the content to 1/4, but I figure no harm in letting it be runny!)


Step 2: Pour in a few spoons of shampoo ( I used garnier fructis, this is probably only so that it will lather a bit)

Step 3: That's it, done. Use the beer shampoo.



I must admit, my hair felt good after using this beer shampoo although the smell from heating the beer did make my apartment seem like it was recovering from a bad beer hangover!

P.S Just a reminder, please read the disclaimer before attempting anything I write on this blog and the disclaimer's not updated either, so you're pretty much on your own here.

My Yellow Submarine

Yet another puzzle bites the dust, this one is called Emerald Valley. My fascination with puzzles is now a well known fact, but I must admit to having an inclination only towards the landscapes by Thomas Kinkade. The portraits just don't impress me as much.

I'm also currently reading The Bridges of Madison County and I found Robert Kincaid to be hauntingly similar to Thomas Kinkade (not that I know the man!) with his camera and passion for landscapes. It was disappointing to note that Kincaid was only the figment of the author's imagination.

When something seems easier than baking bread, is it no longer worth the time invested? I think I've pretty much figured out the process for putting together these puzzles and working for a process oriented employer, the process has become so ingrained in me ... tsk, tsk. Here's a simple trick, start with the corners and work your way in. Make small piles ( I start out with 6 piles and then further into 12 based on the shape and colors) and that and a little bit of sunshine is what separates you from a pretty landscape of a 1000 pieces.

A sky of blue and sea of green is all that I want today, anyone?