tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223707932024-03-07T00:07:51.313-08:00Musings of a Mangalorean GirlRoweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.comBlogger207125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-69022710552690908282019-11-24T19:38:00.001-08:002019-11-25T17:17:05.048-08:00PeridotI’m giving myself a present today, a 16th anniversary gift.<br />
<br />
16 years since I started my career or the almost equivalent of the years I spent in school and university.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>504,921,600 seconds </li>
<li>8,415,360 minutes </li>
<li>140,256 hours </li>
<li>5844 days </li>
<li>~835 weeks </li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
It is incredible to think of the time that has passed, to be nostalgic for a period in the past 16 years that had potential, prospects. Yet (and despite the not so typical path my life is on) I’m grateful for the opportunities, the knowledge.<br />
<br />
The comfort of commuting from home for the first 2 years while I worked for my first employer, the cities I’ve lived in, the people I met, the acquaintances and friends, and for the 13 years. To my second employer and the fact that I always knew it was a stepping stone to something else, more importantly to my client and the strangest 18 month adventure and finally to my third employer and for all that the future holds.Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-19668845603509005872018-01-02T01:25:00.001-08:002018-01-02T01:25:12.058-08:00Happy Year 2018Some days I'm lost in a concrete jungle both literally and figuratively and I would not have it another way!<br />
<br />
To you and yours, a very happy 2018.Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-16739219647553142262015-01-04T16:31:00.001-08:002015-01-04T16:31:16.426-08:002015And it's been a whole two years without a single update on my blog, not surprising but not wholly true either. The copyright has changed every year! and my easter/christmas co-ordinates are up to date.<br />
<br />
I'm always excited about the new year, I don't expect magic but it's just the perfect time to put everything in perspective, to journal and start the journey of the next 365 (-4) days.<br />
<br />
Here's to a wonderful, peaceful new year with a little less cynicism, a little less judgement, a lot of compassion and a whole lot of faith.<br />
<br />Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-89253585158833782312012-11-17T18:49:00.001-08:002012-11-17T18:51:09.951-08:00A little reiterationI'm sure the snippet below needs no introduction or source.<br />
<br />
<i>
'No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.<br />
<br />
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.'</i><br /><br>
In other news, I'm a certified Godparent now!</br>Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-35758524945168451882012-05-07T19:23:00.001-07:002012-05-07T19:27:00.759-07:00SajjigeThe title of this post used to evoke such disdain from us growing up. If ever the answer to the question 'What's for breakfast' turned out to be Sajjige then you knew that day already had the worse possible start. The version that we were used to eating was the one that was slightly sweet, with the dry fruits (cashew nuts, raisins). All things considered, it is one of the simplest breakfast items to make in a jiffy. I don't know what it was about, maybe the lumpy, dry look, the not-wanting a sugar-high in the morning (okay, I completely just made that up, I had no clue what sugar-high was when I hated, yes hated sajjige)
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSjT8Wdmm2wSmirHyNvJBY4jXMAIP-usHCa1ED0ksn0TQto4CdtelSXwRmSEc5tIKPWZem0ubL93BTJSpvWRi2VFmh7rDogJlKOQwJuh2Ehz5egzk5fX5fpCcSYe-whHG2BLPLA/s1600/2012-05-07+17.51.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="239" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSjT8Wdmm2wSmirHyNvJBY4jXMAIP-usHCa1ED0ksn0TQto4CdtelSXwRmSEc5tIKPWZem0ubL93BTJSpvWRi2VFmh7rDogJlKOQwJuh2Ehz5egzk5fX5fpCcSYe-whHG2BLPLA/s320/2012-05-07+17.51.11.jpg" /></a></div>
<br><br>So then, I kinda had a history with Sooji, it represented something that was forced on me (us). Everytime someone ordered Upma (fancier version of the sajjige), it baffled my mind how someone could possibly enjoy a lumpy dish like that. It is only quite recently when I decided to try it out from one of the south Indian restuarants here, that I remembered the pack of sooji (Santa Clara had given it me) and I suddenly decided I wanted to make upma today.
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkJrcxe4AqDTskSympB8jdQiQl6b8gkyXMvBwpKd9T59WbZVdh_eRvoDaq_PimD8unY5qlTz5UTDI-mNslMAPHa_vLnJXVmONNzr1BDiys8ii2HDIlo-57gUJhiGhZoFaCdwEDg/s1600/2012-05-07+17.59.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="239" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkJrcxe4AqDTskSympB8jdQiQl6b8gkyXMvBwpKd9T59WbZVdh_eRvoDaq_PimD8unY5qlTz5UTDI-mNslMAPHa_vLnJXVmONNzr1BDiys8ii2HDIlo-57gUJhiGhZoFaCdwEDg/s320/2012-05-07+17.59.08.jpg" /></a></div>
<p> So here goes in picture format.<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiyhBnEjtjmVnYAsnCs17uwpJa56YjwdO6KC-J2RfkQurvja3X6S7bh2eCV3As0pdATkB0NvXsjqUfBOjBgfwD0m2koicfml2pvnMpKdGZ0_m_QStVhbhUF0_wVwurM-NS-3TsA/s1600/2012-05-07+18.30.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="239" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiyhBnEjtjmVnYAsnCs17uwpJa56YjwdO6KC-J2RfkQurvja3X6S7bh2eCV3As0pdATkB0NvXsjqUfBOjBgfwD0m2koicfml2pvnMpKdGZ0_m_QStVhbhUF0_wVwurM-NS-3TsA/s320/2012-05-07+18.30.06.jpg" /></a></div>
<p> Yes, tossed in a bit of that beautiful orange bell pepper too.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5LKqtBD-_STgDjNvqJhj4TizWo7SOStgPY5_-XTWBWBuPuJqBIEoyknZOBLIapyIYp6s_JaAnxnlAi42pl-MoCL_KToHq9gveS6XyyQTw80K8j8pkxcCTxqZ2AJgnfoKr2NZnQ/s1600/2012-05-07+18.35.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="239" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5LKqtBD-_STgDjNvqJhj4TizWo7SOStgPY5_-XTWBWBuPuJqBIEoyknZOBLIapyIYp6s_JaAnxnlAi42pl-MoCL_KToHq9gveS6XyyQTw80K8j8pkxcCTxqZ2AJgnfoKr2NZnQ/s320/2012-05-07+18.35.36.jpg" /></a></div>
<br><br>
Ever since I've started cooking for myself, I really, truly appreciate all the cooking my mom has done for us. Without complaining, day-in and day-out, no day offs, no I'm tired of my own cooking so will order takeout days and no eat cereal for dinner days either.Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-12469712366010730122012-04-21T22:28:00.003-07:002012-04-21T22:30:21.544-07:00Out of this worldFound the first episode online, so nostalgic.<br><br>
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VafQtxQgtOo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-16444160964670154032012-01-29T22:57:00.000-08:002012-01-29T23:05:29.097-08:00Sloth<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Sloth
<sub>n</sub></span><sub><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.</span></sub><sub><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></sub>Laziness, Indolence<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Slow-moving,
arboreal, edentate mammals<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A
company of bears<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The dictionary provides the above three definitions for
sloth and my contemplation for this post is certainly not on mammals or bears
so we can focus on the first definition . According to the Catholic Church it
is one of the seven cardinal sins although I think sloth has got to be one of
the most overlooked sins, if at all it is considered a sin by any of us. And
yes I say overlooked because it’s just inconsistent to consider laziness wrong
(let’s use ‘wrong’ instead of sin for context). Surely there’s no right about
sloth, but is there a wrong and does the word only refer to a glorified version
of laziness or is there some spiritual meaning too? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m not someone to make New Year’s resolutions, but decided
to do the bible a day plan this year and I must say it’s not as easy as I
thought it would be, every day I hit catch-up and within the first 29 days, I’m
already down by 13 days. At this rate my one year bible plan would take 1.5 years,
which is acceptable too I guess! So what’s the correlation between the bible
reading plan and sloth you may ask? If I had to justify mindlessly watching
every single movie/tv show on Netflix, I would and I’d have a simple
explanation every time for why I haven’t been able to take the time out to get
the gate chain fixed, you get the picture … don’t you, it’s JUST procrastination.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bug of procrastination is hidden under layers and layers
of tangled lifestyles that to wean it out would mean a complete rewriting of
the code, a catharsis and yet I believe remnants of the bug will continue to
exist. It may pop up ever so often, but you’ve just got to find the workaround
every-time and then I don’t know if the church meant to put procrastination in
the list of deadly sins, it doesn’t seem right?<br />
<br />
And if this thought seems incomplete, you're absolutely right, it is.</div>Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-80522650725340417182011-12-30T12:49:00.000-08:002011-12-30T12:49:37.243-08:00Sit it out or danceThe pattern is the same, when I when look back at a year gone by, it seems to be in varying degrees of overwhelming although at the start of the year I just *knew* that this was going to be THE year! Resolutions aside, I don't have such emotions about 2012 being THE year, so I think that's the first good sign.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
2011 was my year for intensifying friendships and a little about making new ones, although the latter seems like a constant struggle as the years go by and also the only year in the past few years that I've stayed put in one place and that is a huge relief. I know that is what I ultimately want, the not-knowing if I can be the maid of honor for a friend's wedding here in April doesn't appeal to me, it never did.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Do you know why heaven has such huge air-conditioning bills? that's because God keeps opening a window when he closes a door, I wouldn't mind a dent in my electric bill if I can open a few windows for myself and when given the choice of sitting it out or dancing, I hope there isn't a moment's hesitation despite my lack of dancing abilities. </div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Focus, slow down and think more linear.</div>
</div>
</div>Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-86857019195931022472011-12-25T23:24:00.003-08:002022-04-17T13:52:50.421-07:00Don't look back<div>
Realized something interesting when I was thinking back to the past 6 years I've spent here in the US, of course there's a lot of first and second's and n'ths but this is only related to the parish I've attended on important occasions and who I attended Mass with.<br />
<br />
Easter:-<br />
2006 - <a href="http://www.popplano.org/">Prince of Peace, Plano</a><br />
2007 - <a href="http://bejaichurch.com/">St. Francis Xavier Church, Bejai</a><br />
2008 - <a href="http://www.stanford.edu/group/religiouslife/cgi-bin/wordpress/memorial-church/history/">Stanford Memorial Church, Stanford</a><br />
2009 - <a href="http://bejaichurch.com/">St. Francis Xavier Church, Bejai</a><br />
2010 - <a href="http://www.svdprogers.com/">St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Rogers</a><br />
2011 - <a href="http://www.scu.edu/mission/">Mission Church, Santa Clara</a><br />
2012 - <a href="http://www.stpatricksf.org/">St. Patrick's Church, San Francisco</a><br />
2013 - <a href="http://www.resparish.org/home.html/">Church of the Resurrection, Sunnyvale</a><br />
2014 - <a href="http://bejaichurch.com/">St. Francis Xavier Church, Bejai</a><br />
2015 - <a href="https://stdominics.org/">St. Dominic's, San Francisco</a><br />
2016 - <a href="https://stdominics.org/">St. Dominic's, San Francisco</a><br />
2017 - <a href="http://cathedralphila.org/">http://cathedralphila.org/</a><br />
2018 - <a href="http://cathedralphila.org/">http://cathedralphila.org/</a><br />
2019 - <a href="https://stdominics.org/">St. Dominic's, San Francisco</a><br />
2020 - youtube!</div><div>2021 - Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, San Francisco</div><div>2022 - <a href="https://stdominics.org/">St. Dominic's, San Francisco</a><br />
<br />
Christmas:-<br />
2006 - <a href="http://www.stjohnvianney.org/">St. John Vianney Catholic Church, Houston</a><br />
2007 - <a href="http://bejaichurch.com/">St. Francis Xavier Church, Bejai</a><br />
2008 - <a href="http://www.st-anthony.cc/">St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Seattle</a><br />
2009 - <a href="http://ststephenbentonville.com/">St. Stephen Catholic Church, Bentonville</a><br />
2010 - <a href="http://www.stclareparish.org/">St. Clare Parish, Santa Clara</a><br />
2011 - <a href="http://www.scu.edu/mission/">Mission Church, Santa Clara</a><br />
2012 - <a href="http://bejaichurch.com/">St. Francis Xavier Church, Bejai</a><br />
2013 - <a href="http://www.scu.edu/mission/">Mission Church, Santa Clara</a><br />
2014 - <a href="http://www.stpatricksf.org/">St. Patrick's Church, San Francisco</a><br />
2015 - <a href="https://stdominics.org/">St. Dominic's, San Francisco</a><br />
2016 - St. James Catholic Church, Redondo Beach<br />
2017 - <a href="http://bejaichurch.com/">St. Francis Xavier Church, Bejai</a><br />
2018 - <a href="https://stdominics.org/">St. Dominic's, San Francisco</a><br />
2019 - <a href="http://bejaichurch.com/">St. Francis Xavier Church, Bejai</a></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">2020 - </span>Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, San Francisco</div><div>2021 - <a href="https://stdominics.org/">St. Dominic's, San Francisco</a><br /><br /></div>
Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-43749705025658654352011-12-11T17:45:00.001-08:002011-12-11T17:46:25.679-08:00Chasing CarsChasing Cars - May 16, 2006 - Old Shepard Place, Plano, TXRoweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-65894491275322630482011-11-25T22:58:00.000-08:002015-05-14T23:17:09.312-07:00Thankful for ... Family<br />
... Friends<br />
... Faith<br />
... Employment<br />
... Literary Works<br />
... Music<br />
... Movies<br />
... TV Shows<br />
... Games like scrabble, Jigsaw puzzles!<br />
... Idyllic moments on the train<br />
... The ability to sprint and not miss the train by a second<br />
... Amazon (no, not the rain-forest but the one that ends with .com)<br />
... USPS, UPS, Fedex, Ontrac for making it possible to list the one above)<br />
... Ginger wineRoweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-23796867636156581272011-10-28T16:40:00.001-07:002011-10-30T11:20:01.206-07:00If I could ever<div id="wSNNYndO" title="U2FsdGVkX18YvmWDz12fvdBOI2ZbEUkQfnl9OgKnLGuUfw0kaaj/tkvzuo9+bqTVKa7UsCHmvqq5xGgXLqNV7YmZsXZad5wEIEnwtz4KxsblHIdHTBkREHAcP/aK5nKD3V5yXna7Djy0cntld5YGzzL16XmlZ4Tv0/gC//OPkVc9WIDXcPYxK/AVsaU6wS5r">
<a href="javascript:decryptText('wSNNYndO')">Click here and enter your password</a>
</div>Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-47911086411191066192011-10-14T22:43:00.000-07:002011-10-15T08:17:41.378-07:00Hemophobic madnessShe walked in bearing about five test tubes, who in their right mind would be happy to see test tubes? Okay, maybe my 15 year old self would raise her hand, the one who could balance chemical equations like it was nobody's business and who was always excited during chem lab and could titrate the heck out of sodium bromide! Well, my not-so 15 year old self was apprehensive, although in reality all things considered, I was pretty calm, how could that be?<br />
<br />
Warned the lab tech about my not so colorful history with drawing blood, no not the kind of method used by blood sucking vampires, this was actual blood-work! It is strange, I mean being a past blood donor and all, that I could be averse to the idea of letting them take a tiny sample of my blood. It may have started a few years ago, after a few faintish incidents incidents involving above scenario and this was in India where they are pretty conservative with the amount of blood they draw almost like Dexter and his slides, it probably has something to do with all the malnourished patients they get!<br />
<br />
In any case, here they almost take enough to call it a minor donation, I mean really? Biology wasn't my major, but from what I have learnt owing to my great commitment to all the three CSI's for a very long time, is that a tiny sample can reveal everything about you, including where you are born and which year, God forbid that they do such a kind of analysis on me, so I reckon a routine lab test should not need so much. The lab tech was pretty cool, trying possibly to distract me, asking what I was doing for the weekend, in a tone that suggested she wished she could join me! while I went on about the pumpkin festival at half moon bay, one that I wasn't even going to.<br />
<br />
While we discussed on the intricacies on growing pumpkins and if they would be carved or not, it was all done in a matter of minutes, in all this I may just have conquered one of my fears (fingers crossed) and not to diminish the fact that this came with a 12 hour fast.Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-21187074339937933832011-10-08T15:35:00.001-07:002011-10-08T15:35:10.355-07:00A journey of 1500 pieces<div><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5l_KWKjd-GEeXvFHSp1cpocNEpM5pslc4Q5RLrFCQdkyXrLipMci9aoG8VEAYw7MWWute4TLTsWIuLenEC80ErrsOI5SGwOMZC6ZB4l05Y4YkGYyBFYrQS4Ev0KirEcKtWTZ6Qg/' /></div>Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-60385051411313615422011-09-28T23:03:00.000-07:002011-09-29T00:53:55.595-07:00Labor of lovePower, Appreciation, Reward, Pressure, Nada<br />
<br />
The question is almost cliched, every interviewer has this question listed somewhere in their black book, the clever ones will ask you this multiple times camouflaged with thorns once and roses the next time. It is not them I am concerned about, I remember this rather curt one-on-one discussion (just makes me laugh writing 'one-on-one' but the subtle hilarity of that term somehow seems lost while used in conversation!) I had with one senior manager, that was in the relatively early days of my career, he asked me where I saw myself career wise in the next five years, I was tongue-tied for a second and then blabbered on about new technology, learning and promotion while he seemed to be taking copious notes (for all I know he was composing an email to the class mate he bullied in high school). My point is I had no ready answer, I'm not sure I still do and that concerns me at times (clearly not enough to get off the cozy chair I'm sitting on), it is my amazement at the answers I come up with each time this question pops up in my head and it has ever so frequently in the past few weeks.<br />
<br />
I am not going to attempt to answer this here but continue to come up with answers, maybe the question will matter no more, maybe the answers will be just enough.Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-73922690560134882582011-07-24T20:24:00.000-07:002011-07-24T20:28:25.583-07:00Serenity with a smile<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Why do <b>most, some</b> people who go to church seem so sad or make long faces or seem disinterested? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Why isn't the choir more lively? Why does the priest sound as if he's being forced to deliver the sermon?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Of course I am not implying that they seem disinterested in other walks of life, I would have no clue about that, just commenting on what I see and this is very specific to just two parishes I've noticed around here, I don't know if it is an Asian thing, not wanting to sound racist, I think it just might be. Of course, another line of thought would be to be grateful that there are other people who make the effort to come at all to share the fellowship. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Why was the only person who seemed joyous at yesterday's saturday's service a boy who was slightly challenged and was being cajoled by his mom (or someone who seemed to be his mom) not to shriek and jump up and down every time the music started playing?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Where has joy disappeared to? I know I can't generalize, but this is the state of catholic masses here of course, there are some parishes in the surrounding areas which are more lively, which is why I keep going to different churches whenever possible, my church-going habits notwithstanding. You may ask why do you want the service to be lively? While I enjoy the peace and serenity in the presence of the blessed sacrament or on certain sections of the mass, since the mass is a community offering, it would be nice to acknowledge the same. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">I have attended service at the non-denominational Lakewood church a few times and within seconds you'd know what drives the crowds. Serenity with a smile, is that a tall order? </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">On a completely different note, was considering moving my blog to google+, I hope they come up with an integrated solution for this.</span></span>Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-86331839868684970762011-07-08T13:16:00.000-07:002011-07-08T17:56:23.776-07:00Pocketful of sunshineGrowing up, you must have had some kind of collection, maybe a collection of creepy crawlies or feathers or visiting cards, if nothing else you surely collected stamps? I started off early with the stamps, it was an inheritance of sorts from my Dad (or a forced inheritance if you ask my siblings!) and I do have it to this day. I don't think I indulged in feathers for more than a few days, but remember some girls in school who had an amazing collection, colorful bird feathers on different pages of a book.<br />
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Somewhere along the way I started collecting newspaper and magazine clippings on a myriad range of topics from lateral thinking puzzles to song lyrics to bridal gown cutouts to anything that could be used for the somedayinthefuture collage competition and to religious pictures for our catechism albums! Going snip snip on the 'Weekend' was common, whole sections of Richard Coram's page along with the pop quiz and everything else that caught my eye. I've got rid of most of them but there's a few birthday cards and scrap books and some other odd memorabilia that's stored away for that day in the future.<br />
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Today it's all bookmarked, favorited, starred, ever-noted, hearted, pinned on the web or stashed on some usb drive somewhere. It isn't the same, there is some peace in holding on, in possessing and more so in what's not tangible.Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-41371385461203775692011-06-30T20:33:00.001-07:002011-06-30T21:12:14.145-07:00Last Supper<div><p>Have not used this brand of puzzles before and this one seemed a wee bit harder, the lack of distinction between the various hues of color used could be the reason, nevertheless I enjoyed the journey and the end too.</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgub2KFXwMXQPO9o-318YQlfs9Ydp09OBox5aO6a9HvZ-wqb9gQUAnfolSL1xw7CmQVNiI7L7i_w4CP-g6ETYm-KywT3VQRzDpQKWo_eHe1b0Gs1relGsPoRuX_oc4RLFI6YP9Utg/' /></div>Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-31537100709610937622011-06-04T13:16:00.001-07:002011-06-04T13:18:49.069-07:00Central park in the fall<div><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6qAzZsAhn6yybl6Zq9MkUox1uK26HQ-llfilpZgpviBdtQPRtnc7PwX-5MEERdwfxKMhSMB-FKheF79WcwzzmnLATTFspuKf9kB932z8X8RQnJ0LzrcXfJ8G2Qt6T6W3AkzELw/' /></div>Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-23809449181407192702011-06-01T19:35:00.001-07:002011-06-01T19:35:27.829-07:00So long May<div><p>Or more like half of the year, this is not a coincidence and you'd be only just a little smart if you knew why. </p>
<p>The ETA for the 1000 piece puzzle was today, it's called 'Central park in the fall', you may ask fall in summer? but then it's almost inline with the crazy weather we've had, winds capable of blowing me away and a gloomy, rainy first day of june, but every time I find myself complaining about the weather, I stop and want to be grateful considering what other regions have been through weather wise, back to why I've slipped on the eta for the puzzle and I'll blame the runny nose and this slippage has no penalty associated with it unlike my current project.</p>
<p>Are there days when it just seems like the burden of the whole project is on you and everyone around wants a slice of you? The flagged items in my inbox is just an indicator!</p>
<p>Blogged using the blogger app on android.</p>
</div>Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-41145419218560170682010-12-31T23:51:00.000-08:002011-01-01T00:00:24.628-08:00Auld Lang Syne 2010It's finally time to sing Auld Lang Syne to 2010, a year of new beginnings, new opportunities and new experiences and truly, all's well that ends well.
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I wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year but most importantly I wish you enough for the New Year 2011.
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<i>I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.<br>
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. <br>
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.<br>
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. <br>
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. <br>
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.<br>
I wish enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye."</i><br><br>
<font size = '0'>Quoted from the internet</font><br>
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<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eG3afAIi6IQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eG3afAIi6IQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-37960486151373612022010-12-31T21:50:00.001-08:002010-12-31T21:51:40.721-08:00This post is for the future<br>I'm blogging using an app called blogaway. I was surprised to note that despite owning blogger, google does not have an app for this. I think this app works well though and my new android phone is pretty awesome overall, not just for angry birds, or that would make it one expensive game. Reviews in the near future.<br />Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-44428933372548877262010-12-30T22:27:00.000-08:002010-12-30T22:27:54.119-08:00Kodak smileAnd just like that it is the end of an era. <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/12/30/say-goodbye-to-kodachrome/">RIP Kodachrome</a>, you have captured some of our best smiles, some goofy and some fake, some tears and then some dramatics that we did only for the camera!
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Gone are those days when we carefully loaded the film into the camera and not everyone in the house was allowed to do it or wanted to do it, it's not rocket science, but there is a correct way to do it and stressing over a damaged film roll was not particularly appealing and certainly the rolls themselves were not inexpensive either. The days when we thought twice before clicking a picture, when we made sad long faces as we got to the last of the 36 captures, when we looked forward to the opportunity to head to <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/place?um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=foto+flash+mangalore&fb=1&gl=us&hq=foto+flash&hnear=Mangalore,+Karnataka,+India&cid=16921760909964611506">Foto Flash</a> and have the film developed. The picking up process was even better as we'd cheat and check some of the photographs in the store itself or along the way and chronologically placing them in the album.
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I got my first digital camera, a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-A95-Digital-Optical/dp/B0002OD3JY">Canon A95</a> in 2004, it no longer works but served me well. And the cycle continues, point and shoot, a cent a picture or a dollar a picture whichever works and makes you happy :)Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-89745924422660522442010-12-29T20:29:00.001-08:002010-12-29T20:44:15.162-08:00The car under the bridgePart of my everyday commute includes a short walk under a freeway, four contiguous blocks of concrete with tonnes of load on it, what if it came crashing down? But that's not what I've been pondering on! I almost always notice a lone car parked in the dark shadows on the two+ lane road with someone in the passenger seat ... I ponder as to where the driver is, what conspiracy he is hatching that makes him want to park his ford explorer* day after day under the bridge. What about his partner who sits idle, waiting for him? Puffing along the way or waiting for his guardian angel?
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*Vivid imagination could have led to distortion of factsRoweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22370793.post-20317067732873050602010-12-09T22:55:00.000-08:002010-12-09T22:56:40.556-08:00Bart and CaltrainI already know all the stations on the Bart and Caltrain between here and to where I need to go. Although I was surprised to note that the Bart is slower than the Caltrain or at least the one I take.
The oh-so-infrequent times when the B train emerges from the tunnels, it's speed is slower than the cars on the parallel road whereas the C seems to zoom by the cars and it is out in the open most of the time. Have to experiment with the cable cars and the regular buses, add public transport to what I love about the move!Roweena D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832123465791425798noreply@blogger.com0