More on Z

What do I write about with Z? Stuff I like beginning with Z? Sounds like an idea. Here goes:

• Zesty Italian dressing- Spices up any salad. Even Hubby dear likes it.

• Ziploc dabbas- The equivalent of Tupperware or Rubbermaid [as we get here]. Food in a Ziploc dabba sealed in a Ziploc plastic cover- Tamper proof. I can now pack Dals and MolagaPodi and just about any liquid without a worry for expensive laptops that are carried with the precarious and precious lunchboxes.

• Zoom Jeans - possibly few about to be extinct brands that still manufacture High waist, Bell bottom Jeans.

• Ziplining- okay, so I do not like it. Whizzing past trees like Tarzan was not my idea of fun; but the experience was awesome. And after the getting past the first post, I realized that they are not fatal in any way. While I still do not care to repeat the experience, it did give greater confidence to tackle whatever life throws my way.

• Zara Zara- song from RHTDM. The movie was bakwaas but the song was definitely jhakaas. :) 

• Zor Ka Jhatka- song from Action Replayy- Daler Mehendi is splendid and bouyant as ever.

• Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara- A movie I want to watch since everyone told me it is great.

• Zuckerberg, Mark - Facebook is useful for keeping in touch with friends. Geographical distances have lessened and networking has become better thanks to it. While real conversations and interactions have no match, these tools are good substitutes.

• Z- the cute way in which Americans say Zee for the letter Z

• Zay- the typical way in which native Maharashtrians pronounce the latter J. Especially in Engineering lectures where this was a commonly used variable.

• Zh- that frightfully twisting letter in Tamil that I have yet not been able to master. It's sweet because it is still eluding me. :)

[For those not in the know, Bakwaas= nonsense; Jhakaas= awesome] 

Zzz... TV turns sleeping pill

It's a cold, shadowy morning today. It's about noon but the weather might well be screaming evening. If it were back home in Mumbai, I'd be waiting eagerly for the sweet fragrance of wet earth to fill my soul.

But no, grey and gloomy with scanty rain; no wet mud, no puddles in which to stomp or watch kids sail paper boats. And all this exercising is making me feel lethargic and drowsy and crabby.

In an attempt to dispel my sad feelings, I decided to turn to Baird's invention. But my options seem more despairing. I can watch reports on all the scandals or hear people emotionally screeching in a deluded pretense of debating over the same issues or subject myself to the family politics with diabolical twists that would make the Mafia look tame. Switch to movies and I am subject to silly chits swooning over sillier blokes and expecting me to find it cutesy. Please, I have a handsome hunk of my own. And he comes complete with a wicked sense of humour, an amazing smile, oodles of intelligence and awesome culinary skills. so, beat it.

The same goes for the countless shows where people sing, dance, cook, joke - mostly badly and expect me to laud them and vote for them. When I got the right to vote, I wanted it to be for shaping my country, not some random emotional blackmailer.

I surfed onto the VOD segment and thanked the Service Provider of allowing me some choice in decent programmes- namely comic scenes from movies. Oh dear, even this seems cool nowadays. Is this what television is coming to? I settled comfortably only to be bombarded by a volley of advertisements. Grow fairer, fitter, richer. Color your face, hair, house. I watched as some ads irritated, some confused, some just   agonised, a few good ones whizzed, and finally they all blurred away. I snored away.

And I thought textbooks put one to sleep... Zzzzz....

Zodiac and More

What do the zodiac signs mean to me? Here are five top thoughts on the zodiac.
First, I am not a true believer in zodiac and astrology. My take on all this can be explained by the adage I follow: If it is good or and flattering, sure it is true. If not, it's just superstition. Sour grapes? Nope. I like to take in anything that is hopeful, inspiring and positive. Negativity and things that will bog me down are a strict no-no.

Second, I accept the zodiac and the corresponding traits as a useful classification of people. Like I am a Leo- possessive, attention seeking but dynamic and generous. Daddy is Libran, typically organized and analytical. Cuz is Virgo- perceptive yet sometimes, secretive. Friend is Pisces- arty, ambitious and dabbles in scores of stuff. And so on and so forth.

Thirdly, it helps in networking. Birthdays are an important tool in expanding our circles. It is flattering to remembered on birthdays. And how better to ask chance acquaintances without sounding creepy. Sun signs help you do just that in the absence of Facebook and Skype where you receive notifications of random people you barely know.

Sun signs are also great ice breakers. Picture this- You casually enquire about a person's sun signs. Now this is not too personal or even useful info, so the person responds. And lo, you are off to a conversation. From superstitions to flattery to your own sun-sign and then an elevator pitch; the possibilities are endless.

Next, sunsigns to me also represent the irrevocable fact that just because I do not understand the logic behind something, does not mean that I dismiss it as superstition or orthodox beliefs. All this is so ancient that perhaps, we have forgotten the science or reason behind it. But so what, it does not hurt and it's fun.

Yet Another Good Day

Watched Beauty and the Briefcase yesterday with Hubbyji. He really did not like it that much- no wonder; since the movie is more of a Chick Flick. But he patiently sat through it when I told him I wanted to see the very end. How cute is that?

We played Chinese Checkers. He is quite a player. I moved 22 of my 30 coins in though. I feel great about that. Hubs also made lunch- an exotic recipe he learnt from his Mom.

Plus, am reading Murder at Hazelmoor- by Agatha Christie. And I earned 8000 grains for children of poorer nations on FreeRice reaching Level42 of 60 on my English vocab. My day could not have been better.

GoodDay

Feeling great and upbeat today.
All the good things that happened today are:
I exercised
Drank lots of water
Watched the movie The Next Karate kid
My cousin is possibly coming to visit
Consumed fresh salad
House is almost clean- the dishes are still waiting [ :( ]
Am looking fresh after a nice luxurious shampoo bath
Bose speaker is booming with lovely songs
Scenery outside is quite nice- all wintery grey with the trees lightly swaying their branches in tune to the wind.

As added at night:
Had wonderful Butter Paneer- Master Chef Hubbyji's creation. Yummy!
All the cleaning was eventually done.
Cuz could not make it- but we did chat on the phone a bit. Hubby and I instead played a leisurely game of Scrabble.
Bose blared all evening.

Let them sweat!

Let them sweat. I think as I look at my windows. Not the technological ones. I mean the shut and close types. I am in Chicago and winter is beginning to set in and my windows are open.

Brrr!! It is cold. This city is cold. And winter has not even begun properly yet. Coming from a hot and humid country, especially from the seaside city of Mumbai, I find the Windy City quite frosty. I don't mind the unpredictable rains here- as a matter of fact, I love it. It reminds me of the incessant rains during the monsoons back home.

But the cold. Oh dear. I am one of those millions of fellow Indians who bundle up at anything below 25 degrees Celsius and grumble at how chilly the weather has turned. So, coming to a place that has single digit temperatures is hugely difficult.

It's not just the climate that I am adjusting to. I am also getting used to the simple actions that are a given in cold climates. Like sealing air conditioners. I never knew people do that. Like buying multi-layered winter gear that needs to combat extreme winter, severe moisture and blasting winds. Like adjusting temperatures on the heaters. Temperature monitoring was something I have encountered only in my college laboratories.

I did not even know until this first winter that windows sweat. That was only for people- especially in overcrowded trains. It came to my attention during when I first looked out for tiny snowflakes. Ah, the first sight of snowing is indeed a delightful one. But then I got distracted by the row of dewdrops on my clear glass windows. Daily wiping was now leaving me vexed, so we called the apartment staff who oversee such stuff. An affable, burly engineer informed me: Madam. your windows are sweating. I've used a sealant but you will need to keep your windows open for a while daily -just a crack. Especially when you cook.

An inwardly horrified me kept a pleasant face. Even after the poor guy happily mentioned- it is just around seventy outside. [in degrees Fahrenheit]. I nodded by way for reply. But I don't think he believed it. And he is right. Seventy is cold for me. Keep the windows open indeed. No, I won't.

Let them sweat, I thought as I stared at the windows. But they stared right back at me with tear-rimmed corners. Hmmph! Oh well, wiping windows is a bigger ordeal. So, here I am, coffee mug in hand; bundled up in a cosy sweater, writing away madly while the cold swirls around me from the open windows. The freshly brewed coffee is healing, the melody of keys being typed is soothing and my clean, dry windows are offering me a beautiful verdant scene- almost like extending a magnificent olive branch. I think I've taken it.