The best thing about the 8th month of pregnancy:
The ultra-sound scan.
By this month, our baby weighs a whole 2 kgs! We look nostalgically at the scans from the first few months when he looked nothing more than a speck of grey on a black back-ground; and can't help going, "aww, our little boy is all grown up!". (I even catch myself thinking sometimes that "he's going to get married & have his own kids soon!") Yes, I do realise that he's not even born yet.
The worst thing about the 8th month of pregnancy:
Time crawls.
The feeling that the countdown has begun, but its not moving as fast in reality as it is in my mind.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire
I quite liked the movie.
- I thought the two young kids who played Jamal & Salim, are awesome actors; mature beyond their age, and with beautiful sparkling eyes. The "Jamal-meets-Amitabh" moment is for me one of the most memorable cinema moments of all time... :)
- Liked the whole concept of bollywood-isation of the movie; love triumphs over all & ends with a mass dance-do. Cute :)
- I was born & raised in Bombay; I've seen what a slum looks like - from the outside & from the inside; and like most people from the city have acquired the ability to stay unmoved when I come across slum-life, poverty, or child beggars. But inspite of that, some of the scenes from this movie did move me.
- Liked the little twist of irony in the end...the one piece of "knowledge" that Jamal had the opportunity to pick up from a book (The Three Musketeers); was the one piece he didn't know.
- I thought the two young kids who played Jamal & Salim, are awesome actors; mature beyond their age, and with beautiful sparkling eyes. The "Jamal-meets-Amitabh" moment is for me one of the most memorable cinema moments of all time... :)
- Liked the whole concept of bollywood-isation of the movie; love triumphs over all & ends with a mass dance-do. Cute :)
- I was born & raised in Bombay; I've seen what a slum looks like - from the outside & from the inside; and like most people from the city have acquired the ability to stay unmoved when I come across slum-life, poverty, or child beggars. But inspite of that, some of the scenes from this movie did move me.
- Liked the little twist of irony in the end...the one piece of "knowledge" that Jamal had the opportunity to pick up from a book (The Three Musketeers); was the one piece he didn't know.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
25 Things About Me
A facebook tag from my friend Aquin; so here are 25 things about me:
1) I was born in Mumbai & it still is my favourite city. Growing up, I never realised that it was such a difficult place to live in for people who aren't born there. I see that now, but love the city anyway.
2) I love Bollywood. Not because I don't see its absurdity; but I love it inspite of the absurdity. Maybe even for it. After all, this is a world where Rakhee can be confident that her dead sons will return to kill Durjan Singh; and then they do return; without seeming even remotely far-fetched.
3) I enjoy reading. My favourite classical authors are probably Tagore & Tolstoy. While in Dubai, I found myself reading a lot of Arab authors & really enjoyed most of them. It changed my perceptions about Arab literature. These days, I'm digging some good Chinese authors.
4) I have a long wish-list of art I would love to own. But its always the expensive one's that I like (and therefore can't buy). I aspire to have a MF Hussain in my home someday.
5) The current #1 on my list of must-visit travel destinations is China & Japan. China, because I want to see Beijing; I've heard so much about it! And Japan because I want to eat Jap food. And also because I wonder if Tokyo is anything like what they show in the movies.
6) I believe in God; but I'm not God-fearing. I don't believe in rituals; I find that they lose meaning over a generation or two. I do believe in prayers though. I go to temples or churches occassionally (very rarely actually); but I prefer connecting with God in the solitude of my own home.
7) I love my work. There's nothing else that I would rather do professionally. But that doesn't mean I don't find my weekends awfully short.
8) I find 25 is an incredibly large number; I don't have that much to talk about myself!
9) I try to eat healthy; but rarely succeed.
10) My cooking skills have improved since I moved to Singapore. But H is still the better cook among the both of us.
11) My earliest childhood memories involve me fighting with my brother. He was bigger & stronger than me; but I had a shorter temper. So I inevitably picked up fights that I had no chance of winning.
12) I was a nerd in school. I used to wear big plastic glasses & had braces on my teeth. I was quite like Ugly Betty. Except I never got a job in a fashion magazine. And never had a cute boss.
13) Everyone who knows H & I as a couple, acknowledge that we're poles apart. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But its been 9 years and we're still going strong; so I guess we work.
14) I have a habit of asking hypothetical questions to H to gauge his love for me. Like, "will you re-marry if I die?" or "if you knew the world was coming to an end in the next 2 minutes, what would you do?". He never gives me the answers that I expect (i.e. "of course not; I'll never get over you" and "I will hold your face one last time"). His answers are always unromantic (i.e. "I'll die before you do because women have better life expectancy" or "If the world is coming to an end anyway, I will smoke as many cigerettes as I can without worrying about its health effects"). Inspite of those answers, I feel compelled to ask him more questions.
15) The pregnancy has changed me a great deal. Its one of the rare occassions when I find myself thinking more about another person, rather than myself. Before this, I was pretty much self-absorbed.
16) My dad has been my hero for the longest time. Until he got older & I realised there was a negative side to being a stubborn over-achiever. I still do consider him the most intelligent man I've come across. Sadly, that part of the gene pool went to my brother rather than me. I only got his looks, which lets be honest, aren't very impressive. I would've rather inherited my mother's looks.
17) I find its never a good idea to ask, "so what's new?" when I run out of conversation. In my experience, 99% of the time, the other person will respond with "nothing".
18) I like to dunk biscuits in my tea or coffee.
19) I love my nephew. Cuddling him (whenever he allows me to do that) is the most satisfying thing ever. The fact that he hates it does not bother me.
20) I hate awkward conversations. I can never tell someone, "I think your fly is open"; I would rather pretend I didn't notice.
21) I love the British accent.
22) I can't believe I've said 21 things about myself already!
23) I hate smoking ever since I lost my grand-dad to cancer. Yet, I'm married to a smoker :(
24) I like the idea of spending old age in a small cottage in the mountains surrounded by green valleys & blue brooks. Maybe Nainital. But I know I'll never get there. I'm too used to city comforts.
25) I'm the worst driver I know.
1) I was born in Mumbai & it still is my favourite city. Growing up, I never realised that it was such a difficult place to live in for people who aren't born there. I see that now, but love the city anyway.
2) I love Bollywood. Not because I don't see its absurdity; but I love it inspite of the absurdity. Maybe even for it. After all, this is a world where Rakhee can be confident that her dead sons will return to kill Durjan Singh; and then they do return; without seeming even remotely far-fetched.
3) I enjoy reading. My favourite classical authors are probably Tagore & Tolstoy. While in Dubai, I found myself reading a lot of Arab authors & really enjoyed most of them. It changed my perceptions about Arab literature. These days, I'm digging some good Chinese authors.
4) I have a long wish-list of art I would love to own. But its always the expensive one's that I like (and therefore can't buy). I aspire to have a MF Hussain in my home someday.
5) The current #1 on my list of must-visit travel destinations is China & Japan. China, because I want to see Beijing; I've heard so much about it! And Japan because I want to eat Jap food. And also because I wonder if Tokyo is anything like what they show in the movies.
6) I believe in God; but I'm not God-fearing. I don't believe in rituals; I find that they lose meaning over a generation or two. I do believe in prayers though. I go to temples or churches occassionally (very rarely actually); but I prefer connecting with God in the solitude of my own home.
7) I love my work. There's nothing else that I would rather do professionally. But that doesn't mean I don't find my weekends awfully short.
8) I find 25 is an incredibly large number; I don't have that much to talk about myself!
9) I try to eat healthy; but rarely succeed.
10) My cooking skills have improved since I moved to Singapore. But H is still the better cook among the both of us.
11) My earliest childhood memories involve me fighting with my brother. He was bigger & stronger than me; but I had a shorter temper. So I inevitably picked up fights that I had no chance of winning.
12) I was a nerd in school. I used to wear big plastic glasses & had braces on my teeth. I was quite like Ugly Betty. Except I never got a job in a fashion magazine. And never had a cute boss.
13) Everyone who knows H & I as a couple, acknowledge that we're poles apart. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But its been 9 years and we're still going strong; so I guess we work.
14) I have a habit of asking hypothetical questions to H to gauge his love for me. Like, "will you re-marry if I die?" or "if you knew the world was coming to an end in the next 2 minutes, what would you do?". He never gives me the answers that I expect (i.e. "of course not; I'll never get over you" and "I will hold your face one last time"). His answers are always unromantic (i.e. "I'll die before you do because women have better life expectancy" or "If the world is coming to an end anyway, I will smoke as many cigerettes as I can without worrying about its health effects"). Inspite of those answers, I feel compelled to ask him more questions.
15) The pregnancy has changed me a great deal. Its one of the rare occassions when I find myself thinking more about another person, rather than myself. Before this, I was pretty much self-absorbed.
16) My dad has been my hero for the longest time. Until he got older & I realised there was a negative side to being a stubborn over-achiever. I still do consider him the most intelligent man I've come across. Sadly, that part of the gene pool went to my brother rather than me. I only got his looks, which lets be honest, aren't very impressive. I would've rather inherited my mother's looks.
17) I find its never a good idea to ask, "so what's new?" when I run out of conversation. In my experience, 99% of the time, the other person will respond with "nothing".
18) I like to dunk biscuits in my tea or coffee.
19) I love my nephew. Cuddling him (whenever he allows me to do that) is the most satisfying thing ever. The fact that he hates it does not bother me.
20) I hate awkward conversations. I can never tell someone, "I think your fly is open"; I would rather pretend I didn't notice.
21) I love the British accent.
22) I can't believe I've said 21 things about myself already!
23) I hate smoking ever since I lost my grand-dad to cancer. Yet, I'm married to a smoker :(
24) I like the idea of spending old age in a small cottage in the mountains surrounded by green valleys & blue brooks. Maybe Nainital. But I know I'll never get there. I'm too used to city comforts.
25) I'm the worst driver I know.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
The World This Week
There's a whole lot of events that happened in this past week, that I want to blog about; but didn't get around to it; hence this bhel-puri of a blogpost:
* I wept when I watched Roger Federer weep in the Australian Open. I can't imagine the anguish of being the second-best in the world (at anything) and not being able to be the best. That too after a fight that long & emotionally tiring. Having seen the top before must make it even harder.
* A lot of debates happened this week (mainly in the banking circles), when Obama announced a limit on executive pay on Wall Street & most people cheered it. I don't feel bad for the execs; but I do feel the announcement was very un-American; kind of a u-turn on the American dream.
* My waist measures 42 inches now! How huge is that! People say nice things to me (like "wow, you're glowing") to make me feel better.
* I wonder who finances the Hindu-radicals in India? And how do they recruit their goondas? When did so many of them crop up? That too in places like Mangalore?
* The Freakonomics blog had a "Bernie Madoff Limerick Contest"; it was quite fun to read some of the entries; like this one:
We once believed in a man named Madoff,
who big wigs loved so much as to payoff,
but a Ponzi he ran,
30 years ’twas a scam,
and now I’ll blame him for my lay off :)
* My dad turned 65 this week. The thought of him being that old depresses me.
* I wept when I watched Roger Federer weep in the Australian Open. I can't imagine the anguish of being the second-best in the world (at anything) and not being able to be the best. That too after a fight that long & emotionally tiring. Having seen the top before must make it even harder.
* A lot of debates happened this week (mainly in the banking circles), when Obama announced a limit on executive pay on Wall Street & most people cheered it. I don't feel bad for the execs; but I do feel the announcement was very un-American; kind of a u-turn on the American dream.
* My waist measures 42 inches now! How huge is that! People say nice things to me (like "wow, you're glowing") to make me feel better.
* I wonder who finances the Hindu-radicals in India? And how do they recruit their goondas? When did so many of them crop up? That too in places like Mangalore?
* The Freakonomics blog had a "Bernie Madoff Limerick Contest"; it was quite fun to read some of the entries; like this one:
We once believed in a man named Madoff,
who big wigs loved so much as to payoff,
but a Ponzi he ran,
30 years ’twas a scam,
and now I’ll blame him for my lay off :)
* My dad turned 65 this week. The thought of him being that old depresses me.
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