Friday, January 30, 2009

Pet Peeve

I grew up having no pets in our house at any point in time ... and hubby always had pets while growing up. I don't like having pets (cats and dogs) ... hubby thinks that because I have never experienced their unconditional love, I am unable to appreciate them. Perhaps true ... but somehow I cannot thinking of having a pet of my own.... atleast not now. With very little help from outside, hubby and I barely manage to get some rest ... kids, work, housekeeping, cooking etc take up most time.
But my older daughter loves pets ... her love for pets started even when we went out to parks with her in stroller. (she was perhaps about 5-6 months then) She'd get excited seeing pet dogs / cats and clap her hands in joy. No surprises there ... she gets her dad's genes in this department.
So, when her dad asked her what present she wanted for her 4th year birthday, madam promptly requested for a pet. Of course this conversation didn't happen in my presence. Her dad promised her a pet for her 9th birthday provided she convinced mom (thats me) Ever since this conversation, she finds ways and means to convince me to get her a puppy. Everyday as we step out of the house to drop her to school, she asks me, if I still thought pets weren't welcome in house. She also explains how she will take care of it and that, I would have to do nothing special for the pet. She also assures me that pets don't bite their masters and are always faithful.
She has atleast 4.5 years for her 9th year birthday ... but she sure is trying to lure me towards pets.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Padmashri

So Padmashri awards for this year list is here:

Carefully go through the list ... some names stand out more than others ... to me Helen (spelt Helan Khan) stood out the most ... I am still to believe it. So whats the criteria for this award?

And what is it with the list showing the state each awardee belongs to? Why is that so important?
Isn't is sufficient enough to be an Indian ... are these awards quota based as well?

Friday, January 23, 2009

Onake Obavva

Last evening I was trying to explain my daughter who "Obavva" was. (For the uninitiated: Obavva was a brave lady of Chitradurga, wife of a guard, who sacrifices her life to save her kingdom from enemies.)
Try as much I did to explain her the story, I was not able to put the best words to explain Obavva's martyrdom to my daughter. I was reminded to this wonderful song from the Movie "NagaraHavu". (besides being a great movie, it has some unforgettable songs). "Kannada Nadina Veera Ramani" song is one of my all time favorite songs. The rendition by P.B.Srinivas is just great ... but the song is par excellence because of Obavva's act depicted by actress Jayanthi. (in cameo).
This song being my dad's favorite as well ... he had trained me in it when I was barely 8-9 yrs old. I have sung this song in several competitions and have won many prizes. There was this one time when my teacher who was so impressed with my rendition of the song in our school competition suggested I sing the same song for District level singing competition. She even brought a cassette recorder to the competition and recorded my song. The speciality of this song was everytime I sang it, I got teary... so did my teacher. Just went on to show how much my teacher cared for me and our bonding.
Anyways, I digress ... so yesterday, in order to better explain Obavva's story, I played the song to my daughter on youtube. She watched it attentively. Obavva's death in the end started to haunt her... she could never understand why someone as brave as her could be killed ... but she appreciated her bravery and loved the video. She also understood the story much better than what I had tried to explain.

I hadn't heard this song in a very long time ... but yesterday when I heard it, I surprised myself by not only singing along without forgetting the lyrics .... but also crying at the end of the song.
Some songs are so touching, they never fail to stir you.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Circuit City woes

Read Here

Where is this economy going ... only recently Mervyn;s closed down nation wide ...
How many more people are to lose their jobs ???

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire

Watched Slumdog Millionaire over the weekend. This movie by Boyle is an adaptation of Vikas Swarup’s Q & A.
There is so much buzz around this movie that I had very high expectations from it. My curiosity grew all the more when Raja Sen (who normally rates movies very low) of Rediff, gave this movie 5 stars.

The movie is good ... not bad at all. But does it deserve all the buzz ... well I am not too sure. It won the Golden Globes. Makes me wonder if all this hype would still be there had the movie been made by an Indian director? Is it lobbying of the movie which has generated this buzz or has it really touched a chord with many?

To me, the movie was good ... the idea great... but the presentation, could have been better. This I say, especially since, some scenes do not portray India or for that matter Mumbai at its glorious best.

Would I recommend the movie ... sure ... will also ask them to go with No expectations.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Shocking ... Satyam

Read this ...

http://deccanherald.com/DeccanHerald.com/Content/Jan72009/national20090107111193.asp?section=updatenews

Shocking to say the least

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

2009 begins....

I am back to work after a short break ... I had got adjusted quite well to staying home and spending time with family. Hubby could not resist the idea of spending time with family and he decided to take a break as well. It was simply great and relaxing ... but it could have been spectacular if:
* My mom's visa extension did not get rejected on the first day of my break and she had to make immediate plans to leaving the country.
* My sister had told me she would go with mom to India and get some rest. (she had a baby recently and was hoping mom would help her)
* Company did not force me to study for the certifications (I cleared it :))

Did I make that sound as if I had terrible holidays ... well No. We spent as much time as possible with Mom, sister before they left. We went out for lunch / dinner just to get away from cooking. My cousin and his wife visited us and we went to Downtown sight seeing. (any day / anytime ... that will cheer me) We attended a modest New Year Party and I cleared one of the 3 pending certifications.

So, now I am back to work and it doesn't feel too good ... especially since some of the team members have worked during the break and expect others to be doing so as well. So, the first day after break, I am asked to give my inputs on a 90+ functional spec within 2 hrs of handing over the same to me. I almost wanted to yell back at the person who expected that ... but thankfully restrained myself.

2009 has started on a quiet note for me ... anything eventful for you?