Just popping in

It's time for my symbolic "I'm still alive post" rambling about nothing in particular. So here goes.....

What has changed from the last time I visited this blog (which was over an year ago):

-I like Maths. More than Physics. Actually, i don't really care for Physics any more only because there are other things that interest me more.

-I've fallen out of love with the education system. I think it's safe to say that transferring to Rutgers is mostly to blame for this.

-I have discovered new passions in life. The one on which that I've spent the most time, is veganism. I have really been working on developing my vegan cooking/baking skills. I make vegan carrot halwa, the best choco-walnut muffins vegan or otherwise (according to S), the best pina-colada cupcakes and vegan pound-cake (according to the testers). I've veganized/bettered kadhi/mor kuzhambu, gajar halwa and of course, thayir sadam (for extra iyengar creds :D). So, depending on who you ask, I'm a really good cook or a really boring person. When, I'm not cooking up a storm in the kitchen, I'm always looking for ways to discover/remove hidden animal products from my lifestyle, trying to educate people on reducing cruelty or stuffing my face with blueberry tofu cheesecake at the local vegan chinese place.

-Thanks to netflix, I'm always looking out for good cinema. My latest discovery is Isreali-cinema. (I swear it's not as pretentious as it sounds.)

-My other passion is photography; I decided to put our beloved D80 to some use. These days I'm honing my B&W photography skills.

-A while ago, I realized that I was politically, a liberal. A little while later, I realized I had more important things to think about.

-I still have opinions; I'm just not as opinionated anymore.

-I don't miss Goa; I've gotten used to calling NJ my home. NYC being 25 miles away definitely helps. I still miss my family though.

What has remained the same is that I'm still happily in love (with the same man) while retaining my addiction to murder mysteries and Woody Allen and cynicism towards (almost) everything else. :)

Happy Holidays (from a non-believer to the deserving) ;)

FINALLY, I have some time off from college which is a relief because the last semester was draining. I have been trying to catch up with some things on my to-do list.
Out of that list I was able to accomplish the following:
a.)Watch "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (which turned out to be a great movie. Listening to "Moon River" has become somewhat of a daily ritual for me along with "plastic Jesus."
b.)Watch "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (which did not disappoint! )
c.)Watch the new Sherlock Holmes movie (you can never go wrong with Guy Ritchie)
d.)Watch Avatar (which I did due to peer pressure. It gave me a bad migraine.)
e.)Read "Of Human Bondage" by Somerset Maugham (which i should finish today/tomorrow. So far, it is one of the best books I've ever read.)
f.)Write as often as I can. (While the results have been extemely frustrating, I am still persevering. So far, my longest "essay" has been on my verbal constipation.)
g.)Watch "Manhattan". ( I find Woody Allen IRRESISTIBLE).
h.)Watch Lewis Black's stand-up daily to keep me sane.


The following are yet to be accomplished but should (hopefully) be done within the next twenty days:
a.) Learn some token Spanish.
b.) Read Anna Karenina and the complete works of O Henry.
c.) TRY to read about and understand some basic Keynesian theories.
d.) Watch Vertigo, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, Gone with the wind, and the countless other movies that I've always wanted to watch.
e.) Go to New York City and try out some of the vegan cafes.
f.) Work enough to save some money for the Jethro Tull concert in the summer.
g.) Try to read Pale Fire, Ada or anything other than Lolita by Nabakov because I want to impress someone whose favorite author is Nabakov.
h.) Figure out any one thing that i really want to do in my life.
i.) Learn basic 3 dimensional calculus.
j.) Try to use facebook more so that my friends stop complaining about me playing hide-and-seek.
k.) Volunteer at the tutoring center.
l.) Meet someone more often. But for that i would have to learn how to stop making an ass of myself every time I meet him.

Of peace, love and rocknroll!

So it turns out that giving great speeches qualifies you for the Nobel prize. Obama's win makes the Nobel Prize less credible than the Razzies and as credible as the vote for homecoming queen.

I finally moved into a new apartment!! Now I don't have to deal with crazy-nympho-who-loves-to-cyber-but-doesn't-know-what-"doing it"-actually-involves/psycho-emo-who-thinks-he-is-a-vampire-and-hears-"voices"/weird-lesbo-chick/boy-with-no-balls. Plus, my new place is actually nice.

I met the funniest, most cynical, bitter, and charming man who ever lived! It was like meeting a confident Woody Allen. He thinks PETA stands for People who eat Tasty Animals, he doesn't really think any actor is worth the money spent on buying tickets/dvds but his favorite actress is 'some porn actress', and he wishes everybody was as 'engaging to watch' as George Bush. He thinks my 'indian accent' is more interesting than his 'stupid brooklyn accent.' He says that I stereotype him because I call him a hermit for not having a TV in his house. ever. I miss him.

AND *drum roll*..... I am going this Sunday, to watch, the vocalist of the greatest rock band ever !!!! Thank you S, for the best gift I could ever get. :) Now you just need to pray that Ian Anderson doesn't ask me to meet him backstage. :P

New favorites

Songs:

Jethro Tull- Locomotive Breath (One of the best songs ever)

Cream-Sunshine of your love (Cream on ipod+an hour long wait at the bus stop on a rainy day=bliss)

White stripes-Seven Nation Army

Movies:

La Vie En rose (I've been wanting to see this one for so long and it did not disappoint)

Citizen Kane

Observe& Report

It's a wonderful Life

State of Play

Streetcar named Desire

Books:

I know this is not really age appropriate but 'Murder of Roger Ackroyd' is insane!!

Accesories:

Bob Marley Cap with dreadlocks@ Spencer's

Shops:

H&M

Hippie Shop

Whole Foods

Restaurent:

Cheesecake Factory

Drinks:

Cranberry Juice

Red wine

Guilty Pleasure:

Chex Mix

American Idol

Peanut Butter Chocolate

Bath& Body Works

Black Nail Polish

Perry Mason Novels

Vh1

Hank Azaria

Music as a weapon

 Music as a weapon is an annual battle of the bands kinda contest where the winning band opens for some popular heavy metal band. I went in with zero expectations and I was blown away. The venue - Starland Ballroom is amazing. It's obviously in good shape because many big names like Velevet Reveolver, Opeth, Alice in Chains, Sevendust, etc perform there. It has a bar where you can sit and listen to the bands. The atmosphere is just insane. I missed out on Korn and Live because they were sold out but I will definitely go there again.

P.S Out of some 300 odd pics that i took, the above pic is my favorite. S calls it the Ghost of Jimi Hendrix.

Things I learnt today

There are three component of love-passion, intimacy and commitment.
I can actually get a 110 out of 100.
Some people find trees sexy.
NEVER EVER watch Maury or Jerry Springer. It can make you taste your own vomit.

An update

It's been a while since i gave my blog some lovin and there have been a lot of changes in my life. So i thought i'd give it a quick update.

Some of the things that I love about my new life are:

a.) For the first time in my life, I've become a geek. I come first in my class and everybody thinks i'm boring. My teachers know me better than my classmates, which trust me, is a good thing.

b.) I made my first trip to NYC. And it was AMAZINGGG! Now I know what Becky Bloomwood was talking about!! Oh, and even though i bloody hate shopping, I wished I could live in the H&M in Manhattan.

c.) I've FINALLY found some organic food stores and vegan restaurents.

d.) My biggest achievement has been my tryst with the library. I spend about 3 hours everyday and try to read a book a day.

e.) I walk about 2 miles and that's good excercise I guess.

f.) I am still in love with Andy Garcia.

g.) And i went to this local metal concert that was insane.

h.) Saravana Bhavan. Need i say more?

Still:

a.) There are way too many numbnuts around me.

b.) I don't have too many people to talk to in college apart from a disturbing nympho, a loser gujju and a 20 year old with the worst fucking accent ever.

c.) I miss all my friends and family back home. Without Cally, David, Dirk, Diana, my Sundays will never be the same again.

d.) Most of all, I hate NJ and I miss Goa. I miss eating out, the cheap red wine, the beaches, the hottest hippies to have ever walked on the planet, and Ingo's saturday night market-the best place ever.

I know I came here knowing all too well that I was leaving my heart behind. All those amazing days that I had are just memories. But from all this I take strength because I know I will go back again. And I will be home again. Till then, I will at least have the person who made Goa what it is to me.