Jab We Met...

D and I had not met in awhile and this is something of a cause of worry as both of us a share a common passion - "Food" and usually haunt food joints in and around the Andheri-Vile Parle area. Am I developing into a regular 9-9 type (9-5 breed are now extinct in today’s dog-eat-dog-for-a-promotion world) the kind who just work and have no time for friends and family? What with D enrolling for an E-MBA and me moving teams and going off on secondment to Singapore we really have not met for months. The only time we seem to "catch up" with each other is on Facebook. These days I look forward to reading my friends updates on Facebook rather than meeting them in person and I am really beginning to worry about my Facebook addiction. One of these days I am going to delete my account on this social networking site for good!!!

So I finally dropped an email last Tuesday with an invitation to catch up with an added carrot of "free lunch". However not a peep from her, come Friday a really worried me tried to call her and when there was no response, I sent her a text asking if all is well. What with her having the exact same sentiments towards food like your truly... an invite for "free lunch" is not something that either of us will take lightly. There I was sat all day thinking of all possible reasons why D was not responding to my mail and text (I can get really paranoid at times, the what if scenarios I can come up with can put the best script writers and story tellers to shame), all of the scenarios ended with me thinking:
a) Something was seriously wrong
b) Unknowingly I had goofed up big time

Come evening D called and put me out of my misery, she never received my email!!! I had messed up on the email ID (now you will ask why I did not get a delivery failure notification, I will have you know that for some reason I did not receive the delivery failure notification until Monday this week). After chatting nineteen to a dozen we agreed to meet up the next day at Yoko's, Khar for sizzlers. I like the sizzlers at Yoko's, call me a sentimental fool, but I ate my first sizzler here and till today I rate it as the best place for sizzlers, though there are people who would bat for Kobe's, but I will remain a Yoko's girl to the day I die...

Accordingly we met up at Yoko's the next day, though we are out and out foodies, both of us do not have the capacity to eat an entire sizzler... so between us we ordered a Fried Pepper Chicken sizzler, Fresh Lime soda and Iced Peach Tea.
The Fried Pepper Chicken sizzler is a Chicken Pattie loaded with pepper, served with a great sauce (I think it is barbeque sauce, but I may be wrong) fries, spinach, peas, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce and florets of cauliflowers on a hot plate. I love the way the sizzler arrives, all show and pomp like a Bollywood Masala flick, what with the sizzling sound of the food getting cooked on the plate and the smoke rising from it, an absolute sight for sore eyes is what I call it. When it arrived for a first couple of minute I could not see D across the table thanks to the smoke as the veggies and sauce got burnt on the plate (both D and I like to scrape the burnt bits off the plate, according to us the burnt bits are the best) and sizzled. The aroma that wafted from the dish is absolutely divine and guaranteed to send you to gourmet heaven. After polishing off the sizzler we decided that a Sizzling Brownie was a must eat to complete the meal, accordingly we asked the waiter to get us one, only to be told that the Brownies had not yet arrived!!! Looking at the glum expression on my face D told me "It’s Ok, I need to go to Shoppers Stop, Andheri to pick some stuff and Bombay Blues has a branch there and they have Brownies to die for". This put me in a better frame of mind and we traipsed from Khar to Bombay Blues, Andheri for Brownies. We went to Shopper Stop and D shopped while I window shopped for a change, I went mental at the D'Damas counter, they have some lovely solitaire rings and being a diamond lover I just cannot resist trying them on...the salesman manning the counter let me try on the rings to my heart’s content with a "We are here to serve you", if I buy a ring anytime soon, no prizes for guessing where the purchase will be made. As a memento of our shopping trip D got us matching bangles and like giddy school girls we both wore it on the spot and clicked pictures to be updated on Facebook (I really need to put and end to my Facebook Fixation). Shopping done we headed over to Bombay Blues.

We were deliberating whether to order just the Brownie or do we order something else as well. I happened to glance at the next table and spied Nachos. That settled it for us, we ordered a Nachos Mexicana and Sizzling Brownie with Ice-cream, the smiling waiter noted our order and commented "from Starter straight to Dessert" and we grinned. The Nachos Mexicana is Nachos served with melted cheese and unless you are a fast eater, it tends to get soggy as you make your way through the dish. The Sizzling Brownie with Ice-cream though nice, the portion is absolutely small and you feel like you are not getting your money’s worth. In no time we had finished both the dishes and it was time to leave. We decided to meet every month going forward and have already decided on the venue for next month’s Khaddadi venture... Linking Road, Bandra!!!

My initiation into the world of hi-tech gizmos : How to buy a Blackberry

This post is on popular demand, rather my one and only fan, Paccashaana asked me to put it up so doing it lest I lose her as well...

It all began when my trusty Nokia which also happens to be the first phone I bought myself (with my khoon pasine ki kamai, if you must know) way back in 2005 started developing an attitude. Incidently I blew up the entire full and final settlement I received at my last company (now you know what peanuts I was paid at the job and why I left it) to buy myself this phone and was mighty pleased with it. At that time the dealmaker was the fact that it was "phone with a flap" you know the cool phones which you flick open to receive and make calls, a muted brown in colour (I hate bling), compact and quite sturdy. Throw in the added advantage of FM radio and a something mega pixel camera and the salesman never had an easier sale.

I took care of this prized jewel like people take care of their kids, the only thing I didn't do was give it a bath, the rest I did. Also when in office I would keep it open in a 90 degree angle so that I could see who is calling and decide whether I wanted to take the call, so over the years my phone has been given many nicknames "Cobra", "Antenna", "Sattelite" to name a few and together we have been the butt of many jokes, but we just took in our stride. And I can say with some conviction that even five years later it still looks new, with not so much of a scratch on it (I am something of a bawa when it comes to taking care of my belongings). But as all good things must come to an end, my relationship with my phone also soured. One fine day it just completely switched off and no amount of coaxing and cajoling on my part helped. To say that I was devastated is an understatment. Thats when I decided that I need to get me a new phone and I decided that I am going to buy me phone that had the bare essential options, text message, incoming calls, outgoing calls, thats it. I decided that high end phones are not for me. Accordingly my sister and I set off to the store.

We arrived at the store and true to form I told the salesgirl what I was looking for - a mobile phone and made my self quite clear "I want a low end version, which just has calls and text". She went off to hunt for such phones and we were left to look at high end phone on display. Different varieties of Nokia, Sony, Samsung, etc. along with their vital stats were on display. We looked around for a while and in a section of the store all by itself I found the Blackberry sitting quitely giving me the eye. As if by magic I was drawn to it and found myself falling in love all over again. It was quite sleek to look at and it boasted of emails and internet. I stood looking at it and just then the salesgirl arrived with the low end phones I had asked for. When I say they were basic... they really were!!! If I had seen them first, there was a very good chance I would most definitely have bought one of them but given my sudden love-in-first-sight with the Blackberry I hesitated and the shrewd salesgirl saw it and put two and two together and launched into an superstar salesgirl mode promoting the Blackberry. It does this and it does that (everything she said bounced mile high over my head, I tend to switch off when people get over technical with me, this reminds me of the time a good friend was trying to get me interested in going to the casino, explaining how in the long run you may lose your money in the casino but in the short run given the probability and standard deviation of things you can end up making a decent sum. I only hope I was not looking as dumb I was feeling when he saying "probability and standard deviation". It there is one thing I hate more that technical jargon it is Mathematics and related fields. How I managed to get through school, college and Chartered Accountancy with this dreaded subject on the syllabus is something I will reserve for my memoirs). Fifteen minutes into the jargon blasting speech I was feeling so numb skulled that she many have said that it is toilet trained  and cleans up after itself at home and I would have believed it.

The only thing I really wanted to know was how to make calls on a Blackberry, rather whether you really could make calls or does it only receive and send emails and support business applications which make graphs, presentations, excel spreadsheets, but was too ashamed to do so. Still I asked a few questions like how many contact can I store (a training I attended saved me here, one of the faculty members asked us to invest in a Blackberry as he said you need to develop contact and store all of them, with a Blackberry you would do just fine, he said), What other colours was it available in, how many mega pixel was the camera, other buyers in the store were smirking, but I ignored them and went ahead and bought it.

We have been together for the past nine months and the only hiccup we have has so far was the text message icon disappearing when I pulled out the SIM card, other than that we are getting along just fine.

I Do

If you’re asking, how long I’ll need you,

The answer is Forever,

If you’re asking, if I’ll leave you,

The answer is Never,

If you’re asking what I value,

The answer is You,

If you’re asking me, whether I love you,
The answer is ‘I Do’.

My colleague is getting married and this poem was on his wedding invite, I find it very beautiful hence sharing it with you my dear readers.

My initiation into the world of fine dining : Part 1 - How to buy wine!!!

It is Christmas time and all of Singapore is lit up and ready for the season of cheer and merry making. So, to get into the "spirit" (pun unintended), I tagged along with my new best friend to the mall to buy some wine. So there we were in front of shelves filled with madira (for the enlightenment of my international audience - this is what the gods in India call alcohol) of every type known to man.

There were rows of different brands of Red Wine, White Wine (it beats me why it is called white wine when it is actually kind of yellow in colour, it reminds me of something else, but I shall refrain from mentioning it here as this is a genteel blog and I will not have anything crude appearing in it), Ice Wine (I told SM in all innocence that I am sure it is a printing mistake, they meant "Rice Wine" and all I got for my pains was a dirty look), Pink Wine, Champagne (Note: Did you know that only wine made in the region of Champagne in France can be called Champagne, see I am not just a pretty face you know, smirk, smirk), beer, whisky (Note : Only Whisky made in Scotland can be called Scotch Whisky) and there also happens to be Dry Wine ( I asked SM why is called Dry wine, she says because it leaves you dry, I pictured myself left out to dry on a clothesline, it is quite possible that such a thing will happen if I drink, cause my mom will wash me... (this is actually a literal transalation of a hindi phrase 'Dho Dala' which means to clean throughly but is used as slang to convey 'that the person was throughly thrashed ').

Before you start questioning whether I am an alcoholic let me clarify that my General Knowledge happens to be good, just because I know so much about Alcohol does not make me an Alcoholic, yours truly is a teetotaller, though enjoys an occasional glass of Port Wine. Just because I know about the ocean does not make me a fish, you know, same logic... but I digress, where as I, Ah, buying wine...

So there we were like two giddy school girls giggling away to glory as we looked at the spirits on display. SM wanted to buy some wine for the upcoming Christmas dinner and was looking for something special.

She finally settled on the Pink Wine and what do you think was the dealmaker ?

- the fact that it was bottled in 2005, thus making it a five year old wine...nope (another bit of gyaan, apparently the older the wine the better, I told SM this and she shot it down saying "I don't think it really matters, I have had really old wine and it tasted like piss". I didn't say this SM did, you are welcome to ask her your smart alec question like "Oh, so you tasted piss ah ?" and I will let her unleash her kung fu skills on you.

-the fact that the printing was smudged, showing that it was indeed stored in a deep, dark cellar, somewhere...nope

-the fact that it was reasonably priced... nope...to be honest it was quite expensive for a small bottle...

-the fact that it came from some fancy vineyard, in the heart of France... nope

Give up already ???

Ok, I will let out the secret, she bought that bottle of wine because it was PINK WINE and thought it was CUTE :-)

Book Review : Xcess Baggage

I have been a fan of Varsha Dixit's writing ever since I read Right Fit, Wrong Shoe, I love the way her protagonists think and intereact, it really makes for some interesting conversations and monologues (when they are talking to themselves). So, I've been looking forward to for her second book to release... and post that I literally hounded the staff at Crossword, Powai, till they agreed to order the book for me (I am sure they have been dubbed me the "Crazy Book Lady").

Anyways I digress; so I finally managed to get my hands on a copy this week and immediately launched into a full-attention-no-distraction reading mode. The initial write-up for the book promised something interesting and Xcess Baggage delivers just that.

The story is riveting and Meghna's dry wit in the face of certain death keeps you hooked. The name Byron actually suits the male lead as he exudes an aura that is dark, scintillating and something medieval. The questions asked by Meghna, are something that you and me (read Hollywood educated junta) would ask if we had the misfortune of being in her place. The story grows on you to such an extent that you will find it difficult to put the book down. I really cannot and will not say anything more as it will kill the plot.

If you are into sci-fi, vampires, werewolves, crackling wit and have a zany sense of humor, go ahead and buy your copy!!!

Six types of friends a girl just must have...

I have listed below the kind of friends that a girl just must have:

1) 3 a.m. friends - Atleast two, one of these will most likely be sat next her saying, "we are so dead" and the other will be busy running from pillar to post trying to bail her from whatever quagmire she has got herself into.

2) A couple of friends on speed dial who she can call when the rickshaw driver gets overfriendly and wants to engage her in some interesting anecdote.

3) A couple of friends with whom she can just be herself, no pretence or false facade needed when they are around, normally the 3 a.m. friends will fall into this category. These friends would have seen her at her most vulnerable and would have stood next to her through thick and thin. They will be able to tell her on her face when she is making an ass of herself and also be able to egg her on when she needs the boost to do something radical (like say dye her hair purple, get a tattoo, make a bold career move or ask that cute guy who has been eyeing her for the last one month out for coffee).

4) A couple of gal pals to go shopping, gossiping or gymming (weight is best lost when you have company, else it is a lost cause, ask me the best weight loss I have had was when I had company from other weight gain afflictees).

5) A male friend who will give her the guy's perspective to every ticklish problem.

6) A tee-totaller girlfriend to go to parties with, so that just incase she drinks herself silly, she can rest assured that she will arrive home safe.

Alone in the crowd...

Tears fall freely
It is all over except for the pain
there is nothing to expect
it was all in vain

Cheer, happiness and gaiety
People all around
then why do I feel
Alone in the crowd...