Great Dinner Party

Yesterday, we had a great dinner party @ colleague's place. Occasion??? Well, her hubby had just returned from Japan and so hubby-chubby wanted to celebrate their reunion by inviting all of us for dinner. The food was just great, tasty & yummy! Especially the 'Methi Malai Mutter' (MMM), I'm still licking my fingers. With such a good preparation, she has spoilt me, now on, I wouldn't like MMM at any hotel! BTW, I have another colleague who too is great at kitchen, and her specialty is exotic finger-licking 'Raitas' She adds all vegetables that I've never heard of being added to Raita, and behold, it always tastes great. I hardly dare to taste one at hotels now, for I know it can't beat her preparation. (in layman's terms, Raita is mixture of curd & vegetables, in a variety of ways). After lots of desserts, we had Ice-cream with honey with Almond toppings! And to top it off, we all sat leisurely chatting about all topics under the sun for long enough, until it dawned upon us that it's just Monday and we all have to go to office tomorrow! We were so carried away, that none of us realized that we should catpure some of these moments in the camera. By end, I had eaten so much, that I can bet my center of gravity shifted big time!

Wish I too were proficient at cooking, then I too could show off my cooking skills!!!

Cool Weekend

This weekend was much pleasant than earlier! Yes, I managed to finish off all my work through Friday and assure myself uninterrupted weekend. I burnt about 12+ DVDs backing up all my important data, and cleaned up a lot of mess in my room. Dusted my PC off all the filth it accumulated since last time I cleaned it, which was about good 3-4 months ago ;-) My mom was pretty impressed and satisfied with this feat of mine, since she was after me to dust my comp for too long. My mom would have dusted it herself, but the countless wires dangling around is a strong enough deterrent for her. Watched a good movie after the chores: Pride & Prejudice. More on it later...

Sunday football was fun, as usual. It was fun to have an old timer, Sam, back to the game. This time we even managed to have an extra player as substitution!!! I didn't have to run too hard like last weekend because my buddy (Ajit) played excellent last defence, and hardly any pass went past him. I could afford to be a little lazy with him around! He was man of the match this Sunday, a star defender! Rest of the day just melted away pleasantly while hosting guests at my place.

Felt more at peace this weekend after a break from gruelling routine. Could connect to my inner self for few moments :-) OOps, this is getting too philosophical!

Now about Pride & Prejudice...

As most of you might already know, it's based on Jane Austen's novel about five beautiful Bennet sisters - Elizabeth, or Lizzie (Keira Knightley), Jane (Rosamund Pike), Lydia (Jena Malone), Mary (Talulah Riley), and Kitty (Carey Mulligan), by the same title. Filmed entirely on locations in the U.K., portraying 18th century country, the scenic beauty is just breathtaking. Cinematography is too good, almost flawless, I would say.

Entirely based on class-conscious England, it's an interesting story of love-hatred-pride and prejudice. When wealthy bachelor Mr. Bingley takes up residence in a nearby mansion, the Bennets are abuzz. Jane (my favourite, Rosamund), eldest of daugheters, serene and beautiful, finds herself loosing her heart to Mr. Bingley.

Lizzie too meets handsome and charming (but apparently conceited) Mr. Darcy. When the good-natured Mr. Bingley abruptly departs for London, devastating Jane, Lizzie holds Mr. Darcy culpable for contributing to the heartbreak. But a crisis involving youngest sister Lydia soon opens Lizzie’s eyes to the true nature of a fine gentleman!

I haven't read the novel so can't say how it fares when compared to it, but it is an entertaining movie!

BTW, I've heard that this novel is to females what Mario Puzo's Godfather is to guys!

---- re-edit ---

Don't confuse this with Bollywood's Bride and Prejudice (Hinglish) with this one. And with the reputation of bolly films (that I have) I bet this one would be not even close to what holly version has to offer!

Weekend Update

Hah! This was a pleasant weekend, for most it's part.
Saturday I managed to check in all my code and go home happily. I got a call from office some time late in the evening that things were not working and my check-in was a suspect (OOppss come to office to fix it immediately???). I asked them to try out a thing and didn't get a call again. The strong feeling that I might have to come to office on Sunday to fix this soon faded! Thank GOD, I didn't have to!

Sunday football session was fun. We played U2 (i.e. univ united) versus ROG (rest of the gang, which mainly comprised of Infy ppl). ROG had good forwards and with our forwards out of stamina pretty soon they thrashed us, I guess 5-2. I was the marked man on ground this Sunday. Started with the ball coming full force and attacking my future. Good that my hand came in between miraculously and slowed down the ball. But it still hurt bad and was out of play in gruelling pain for 5 minutes. Back on ground, my ankle was attacked, good that the stud missed my ankle and hit the heels instead. And last, I was reaching for the ball, sprinting and the opponent pushed me *hard* BANG! I went down, couple of scratches on my right leg. Not very nasty though, but enough pain to not let me sleep on my right side, for a week I guess. I don't care much about external wounds, for it's easy to gauge it's seriousness and treat accordingly. I might have to give away jeans for a week as well. But it is internal injuries that I'm more worried about. Lot of good players have been off-field for such internal injuries. And since my knee is paining a little, the thought of being out of play due to injury send chills through my spine.

As I felt for long time now, old U2 buddies conceded that the play has changed significantly. In the good old days, game was played with definite strategy. These days everyone plays for glory, individual game, tackling too much. This results into too many man-to-man collisions, too much chaos, too much confusion and not to mention increased chances of injuries. I hardly remember seeing old-timers dribble the ball so much. And for that matter, they passed the ball first time they see their player. Not admonishing anyone in particular, just a matter of style, and I prefer the older one!

I have come to the frightening conclusion

I have come to the frightening conclusion that...

I am the decisive element...

It is my personal approach that creates the climate...

It is my daily mood that makes the weather...

I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous...

I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal...

In all situations
It is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a person humanized or de-humanized.

Sounds good, but it takes the rigour of a kungfu expert, discipline of a Samurai, perseverance of a hungry lion, and patience of angel mother to realize this, most of which is extinct in today's era, me no exception! Wish I could live by above lines, all the worries would sublime in thin air! This is panacea for all the pian in this bloody world!

Weekend Update

Couple of last weekends have been too hectic now. No time to blog, and nothing other than work to update on. With compelled to work through Saturdays (for multitude of reasons), work being intellectually so unchallenging, thanks to Sunday football sessions that it has helped me maintain my sanity; both physical and mental! Absolutely no time to read books... It has been really long that I have watched a movie in theatre... and freaking out with friends is just a far away dream.

Will soon update you on Blink, Schindler's List, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. And maybe more. For time being, enough to say that they all are worth reading/watching. You won't regret investing your time in them.

Why Apple Really Ditched PowerPC

Ever wondered why on earth did Apple ditch IBM cartel and move on to Intel???
I came upon this *very* interesting article, and thought of sharing with you all.
Why Apple Really Ditched PowerPC?