Am Back !!!

Sorry for being MIA !!!

Will surely try to keep coming back more often )

Cheers !!!!

Its my birthday in less than a week, and am sure super excited !!!

As far as I can remember, amongst all my friends and people I have known I have always been the one whose made plans weeks ( okie ..Months ) in advance and been harping and reminding everyone about it and jumping around the place !! Of course the entire credit goes to my parents for inculcating the habit in me

I have special memories of all my birthdays celebrated in unique ways each year and not to forget the special haircuts ! I have an obsession for haircuts and yeah its customary for me to have a birthday haircut ! i dnt knw why and how this trend started ! and plent of new clothes for the special day and a day before and the next day as well !!! I swear this is the fact and the tradition is still on !!

This year is no different, got the clothes in order and plan A & plan B too will decide about it in a day or two.

I think the only thing that has changed in the years is now am a doting mother, an adorable wife, a great friend and always the wonderful daughter !! Modesty doesn’t exist here either and i honestly don’t feel a day above 19 at alllll !

I was surely flattered today when two of my friends, who I haven’t met or talked in quite a while remembered my birth date and mentioned it, we had talked after ages and it made my day !! Am all charged up and thrilled to the core Thanx P & D !!!!

I m still as excited and really cant just wait for the weekend to arrive !!!

More news to come…….

Really Really Sorry for not being able to put up some posts !!!

will surely put them up soon !!!

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the ‘Peanuts’ comic strip. Try

answer the questions, read the e-mail straight through, and you’ll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer  Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best  actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners …

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult   time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and  special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with .

Easier?

The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.

Made me think about it What say ?

This article reminds me of my dad, we didn’t have he regular dinners like this duo but we did go out on and off and I really miss our conversations and sharing my life with him.

My father had his own way of imparting wisdom. He handed down stylish phrases when I least expected it. They burst forth suddenly and always came as a surprise.

One hot July Saturday morning, when I was a little girl, my dad asked me to join him for lunch. This particular day, it was just the two of us. My mother, also invited, declined the offer for nobler pursuits: a manicure and wash and set at the beauty parlor, where her standing appointment would never be sacrificed for anything as mundane as lunch.

“It looks like it’s just you and me, Missy,” Dad said with a twinkle in his eye, followed by one of his pat remarks. “So, let’s go and raise some hell.”

The restaurant was bustling with people, providing enough background noise to add an air of merriment to our meal. My dad and I parked ourselves in a booth and were handed menus so large they reached over the top of my head and offered a dizzying array of choices.

Over grilled cheese sandwiches and French fries for me and a fat hamburger, charcoal-burned and blood-red for him, my father revealed a most alluring confession: “You see that woman over there?” he pointed to a table a few feet away. I surreptitiously snuck a look. “That’s Marion, the gal who had a crush on me all through high school and into my law school years.”

With that came a wink of an eye to Marion, whom I could hear giggling all the way across the room. I, the budding adolescent, sat on the edge of my seat as he regaled me with this top-secret piece of news.

“But,” my father said, moving his head so close it was practically touching mine, “she couldn’t hold a candle to your mother.”

And so began our luncheon rituals, where we broke rules, recounted anecdotes and shared secrets. Months later, I perused the menu at a different restaurant, this time in Manhattan, twenty minutes from our home. On this particular Saturday, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to eat. My father, realizing my dilemma, summoned the waitress. “Bring us the dessert menu,” he said.

Obligingly, she returned with a small, leather-bound book, edged in gold leaf with a list of desserts that had my mouth watering. Profiteroles, chocolate mousse, chocolate cake and chocolate soufflé were mine for the asking. I felt as though I had entered chocolate heaven.

“But, Daddy, we haven’t even had lunch.”

“Even better,” he winked, that same Marion wink. “When in doubt, eat dessert first!”

“What will Mommy say?”

“It will be our little secret,” he said.

And there we sat on that chilly autumn afternoon in a cozy French restaurant. He, dipping a long silver spoon into a parfait, and I, gorging on layers of chocolate cake oozing raspberry and covered in a white chocolate sauce. I remember wondering if life could get any better than that.

There were to be many more lunches and dinners in our future. I accumulated a wealth of knowledge from our talks, and I was privy to personal insights and private thoughts he loved sharing with only me, mainly because my reactions were always so spontaneous and sincere. I was genuinely interested in everything he had to say, which made me, his audience of one, a perfect dinner companion. Sometimes Mother asked half-teasingly, “Whatever do you two have to talk about?”

My dad also had a reflective side that felt protective and nurturing. He took me seriously, too, by paying credence to my individuality and giving me room for self-expression. As a lawyer, he was accustomed to problem solving. Our meals provided a venue into which I could retreat and unload my worst trepidations or, conversely, share my happiest moments. Without judging, he gently guided me through childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, and served as my one-man support system and guardian of my soul.

Even after I was married and living in Manhattan, Dad and I had a standing weekly dinner date that I came to rely on and treasure. He never once canceled out, despite his busy schedule, teaching me to honor commitment and value the importance of keeping appointments. The only Tuesday we didn’t meet at a restaurant was when I delivered my daughter. That night, Mom, Dad, my husband and I dined together in my hospital room. My father brought the champagne that he had been saving for this occasion.

“Even my new granddaughter can’t get in the way of our Tuesdays.” And there was that wink as we clicked glasses and toasted the birth of Elizabeth.

My father was in his sixties when it abruptly ended. His death brought with it a sense of longing I have never yet been able to relinquish–longing for something that would never be the same again.

Dad died too young and had a lot more tasting left to do, but I revel in the fact that we savored much of life together. We went on for years enjoying each other’s company. After his parting, despite my sadness, I was energized, knowing how lucky I was to have shared the Tuesdays of my life with him and the great life lessons he passed on to me.

I now take my two grandchildren, Andrew and Caroline, out to dinner weekly. They can choose any restaurant they want, as I was privileged to do so many years before them. Recently Andrew sighed, perusing a menu too big for a seven-year-olds eyes. “I don’t know what I want to eat.”

Caroline chimed in, “I can’t make up my mind, either, Grandma.”

My father’s voice came echoing back. “Then, I guess we’ll have to eat dessert first!” I told them.

And they, sitting back in wide-eyed disbelief, broke out in smiles, and “eating dessert first” was exactly what we did.

1. I m the only child of my parents and spoilt to the core, till date I just have to keep my finger on something and my parents and relatives spoil me rotten

2. I m a total water baby and love being in the water, I learnt swimming at the age of 2 and until I was in Mumbai / Pune I used to swim regularly, and that’s something I miss terribly in Delhi.

3. I love amusement parks

4. 11 months back I fulfilled one of my dreams of learning driving. I wonder why I didn’t learn it earlier, better late than never I guess ?

5. I really really wish I was a thinner !! Trying hard to achieve it but my taste buds generally give in to my will power…Urrrggghhh !!

6. I love my work, it’s a different high for me.

7. I m addicted to Facebook and think it’s an amazing place to connect to people.

8. I m a peoples person, love having friends / relatives / loved ones around me. I hate being alone !!!

9. I love throwing parties for friends to just unwind and chill and spend some time.

10. Off late I have started enjoying cooking and like to try out new recipes which I keep experimenting on and off, most of them are flops.. I admit.

11. Thanx to my parents who loved travelling I travelled a lot too and got addicted to the travel bug….

12. I am a bbbbbbiiigggggg Foodie…..

13. Sid n Me together love exploring new restaurants together and we even go to the extent of shuffling between restaurants for each course of the meal. Soups in one restaurant, snacks in the other, main course in the third and desert in the fourth…loads of fun.

14. With Sid I have discovered exploring while travelling. It’s a different high travelling with him.

15. Our Goa trip was the most memorable and romantic….something that I would cherish for many many years to come.

16. My college years in Pune were the best time of my life, the parties, the fun times, the afternoons spent at residency club……. unforgettable.

17. My first job at Pune which lasted for almost 4 years is someplace I will treasure for all my life, the work experience I got there was tremendous and the partylife we had were the best ever.

18. I m a massive party animal and can party for many nights together at a stretch. Pune has the best party scene and my teenage years were spent partying till the wee hours of the morning for years together.

19. I m a very happy go lucky person, like to give space and get my own.

20. I like to read……not novels but articles here and there all over the net and magazines…… I can read them like a bookworm and I like to learn from others experiences for the betterment of my life.

21. I like observing people, talking to them, like to know about their lives. I find it very enriching.

22. I always wanted to be a pilot… even managed to take my ground training but when it came to flying, I had to quit for certain reasons. My only regret in life.

23. I miss my dad terribly……..wish he was around!!

24. The best part, Sid identically resembles my dad…his ideologies, the way he talks, he thinks, even the walk…… it amazes me no end. Incidentally, they are both Taurians. I always wanted a Taurian husband thou, I think they make excellent life partners and fathers too.

25. I have always wanted to go to Orlando and Vegas….. maybe some day I will !!!
26. This list wouldn’t be complete without my one and only (till now) My sweetheart, my princess, our Angelic Daughter. Mothers love surely is unconditional…. leaves me speechless.

Ngong Ping 360 is a culturally themed village set in the highlands of Lantau Island. You can comfortably get there by taking a 5.7km breathtakingly long cable car ride from Tung Chung. The airport is just a 5 mins drive from there, so if you have an evening flight to catch its advisable to take a day tour of Big Buddha on the same day. During the ride you get a birds eye view of the Hong Kong International Airport, South China Sea and the Giant Buddha. The other way to reach there is also to take a mix of a ferry and bus tour, but again we suggest you skip that unless you wanna have an adventurous and scenic ride and stick to the comforts of the cable car.
The Cable Car is the high point of the entire tour. They have a normal cable cars and also cable cars that have special equipped glass bottomed cabins ( which are obviously more expensive than the normal cars), which allows a splendid and thrilling views of the sea and mountains. It’s a long ride of 5.7kms, swinging up to 112 feet high up in the air, wherein you cross almost 7 towers!!!!

The statue itself is the world’s largest outdoor sitting statue of Buddha made out of bronze. It stands at 110 ft high and sits on a platform which is reached by climbing 268 steps..Phew! You really think I did climb those… Naah!! It’s free to get this far, but if you want to go inside (where there’s an exhibition on Buddhism, the construction of the statue and access to the upper platform) you have to buy a food ticket (seriously!) The ticket costs about $4 and can be redeemed at the nearby vegetarian restaurant or one of the snack kiosks around the Buddha.
The views from both the lower and upper platforms over Lantau are awesome and the statue is undoubtedly impressive, but apparently there’s no real history to the statue.
After getting off the cable car you’re greeted by a “Chinese Style” village. It’s a pleasant stroll with a lineup of shops selling souvenirs, stuff here isn’t all that great unless you want a t-shirt with a monkey on it or a few gemstones… The only thing great here is a shop that sells Chinese Balms and aroma therapy oils. The Chinese Balms are amazing and definitely a must buy !! The bus station is behind the village. Walk straight through and out the other side to get to the Buddha.
There are also the Walking With The Buddha multimedia show, which takes you thru the life of Siddharth Gautam . the other show is Monkey Tale Theatre comical show inspired by the Jakata Tales. Set in a magical courtyard under the Bodhi Tree, this show will engage guests of all ages. Once your thru with this, keep walking and a small wooded trail near the grounds of the Buddha will take you through a paved nature walk known as the Wisdom Path. This is also part of the Lantau Trail, which covers one of Hong Kong’s highest peaks.
All in all budget at least $500 for two people for the transport and drinks/lunch etc, and expect to spend the whole day out and about in an experience of a kind. And yeah don’t forget your sneakers..There’s loads of walking around !!

i came across this article on my email and thought it was worth sharing with you all !!

Suvendu Roy of Titan Industries shares his inspirational encounter with a rickshaw driver in Mumbai:

Last Sunday, my wife, kid, and I had to travel to Andheri from Bandra. When I waved at a passing auto rickshaw, little did I expect that this ride would be any different. As we set off, my eyes fell on a few
magazines(kept in an aircraft style pouch) behind the driver’s back rest. I looked in front and there was a small TV. The driver had put on the Doordarshan channel.

My wife and I looked at each other with disbelief and amusement. In front of me was a small first-aid box with cotton, dettol and some medicines. This was enough for me to realize that I was in a special vehicle. Then I
looked round again, and discovered more – there was a radio, fire extinguisher, wall clock, calendar, and pictures and symbols of all faiths – from Islam and Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. There were also pictures of the heroes of 26/11- Kamte, Salaskar, Karkare and
Unnikrishnan. I realised that not only my vehicle, but also my driver was special.
I started chatting with him and the initial sense of ridicule and disbelief gradually diminished. I gathered that he had been driving an auto rickshaw for the past 8-9 years; he had lost his job when his employer’s plastic company was shut down. He had two school-going
children, and he drove from 8 in the morning till 10 at night. No break unless he was unwell. “Sahab, ghar mein baith ke TV dekh kar kya faida? Do paisa income karega toh future mein kaam aayega.”
We realised that we had come across a man who represents Mumbai – the spirit of work, the spirit of travel and the spirit of excelling in life. I asked him whether he does anything else as I figured that he did not have too much spare time. He said that he goes to an old age home for women in Andheri once a week or whenever he has some extra income, where he donates tooth brushes, toothpastes, soap, hair oil, and other items of daily use. He pointed out to a painted message below the meter that read: “25 per cent discount on metered fare for the
handicapped. Free rides for blind passengers up to Rs. 50.”
My wife and I were struck with awe. The man was a HERO! A hero who deserves all our respect. Our journey came to an end; 45 minutes of a lesson in humility, selflessness, and of a hero-worshiping Mumbai, my temporary home. We disembarked, and all I could do was to pay him a tip that would hardly cover a free ride for a blind man.

I hope, one day, you too have a chance to meet Mr Sandeep Bachhe in his auto rickshaw: MH-02-Z-8508.

Yipppeeeeee !!!

My first blog ever….. Okie I am not a professional writer, but my best half Siddharth insists that I could be a good one ( he thinks I can write well… Me think’s he just loves me too much ),  And my Dear friend Priti seconds that !!! So here I m with their encouragement and my snoopiness starting off on a roll !!

oh yeah….. and I simply cannot forget my darling Ankit whose head i ate and ate to get this whole thing organised for me and he rapidly (which was again a massive surprise!!)…formulated for me, what a Sweetheart !!

Wish me luck and hope to see you all in here time and again with your expert comments !!!!

Till the next post…… take good care of yourself !!!