tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323206112024-03-13T17:11:56.505+05:30Thingamajigsaw LifeThe Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-85940118100807765192011-09-23T15:24:00.003+05:302011-09-23T15:36:37.604+05:30Saying Yes for a monthI am inspired today. Sasha Dichter said "Yes" for a month; from NGO newsletters which asks for donation to a guy on a train who has no money to buy medicines. Maybe the money won't be used for the right medicine but he took a leap of faith.<br /><br />It made him realize that if "you want the world to be generous and action-oriented, YOU need to be generous and action-oriented first."<br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/29140232?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ececec&autoplay=1" width="320" height="180" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /><br />Sasha Dichter is director of business development at <a href="http://www.acumenfund.org/">Acumen Fund</a>, a nonprofit VC for enterprises serving the poor. Acumen Fund promotes "patient capital"; they use philanthropic capital to make disciplined investments – loans or equity, not grants – that yield both financial and social returns. Any financial returns received are recycled into new investments. <div><br /></div><div>I think the world needs this today. Just giving aid is not enough; using the aid that yields both financial and social returns will heal the world.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am really inspired today! I am going to say yes for a month!</div>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-1940681052720966572011-07-31T21:31:00.003+05:302011-07-31T21:52:04.931+05:30Two simple ways to make a long distance relationship work<span class="Apple-style-span">Step one - Download Skype on your laptop (FREE)</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Step two - Download Viber on your IPhone or Android enabled handset (FREE)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.viber.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">http://www.viber.com/</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">The rest, can be magic :) </span></div><div><br /></div>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-81185671568302338542011-05-27T13:00:00.001+05:302011-05-27T12:54:20.029+05:30Music#1 Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DdK96hq4Bq4/Td9CEl-eMOI/AAAAAAAADUI/1vvbhpI3w-U/s1600/edward.htm"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611276307407974626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DdK96hq4Bq4/Td9CEl-eMOI/AAAAAAAADUI/1vvbhpI3w-U/s400/edward.htm" border="0" /></a> I heard them on a rerun of Conan's show last month. They played <em>40 Day Dream</em> and I was sold. The entire album was in my itunes the next day. I'd recommend that they be seen and heard first via <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0RQnGhxZzg&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1">youtube</a> (Live at the Regent) to feel their energy or you can sample songs <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Below-Edward-Sharpe-Magnetic-Zeros/dp/B002AOWXQ8">here</a> (Amazon) as well. They seem MAD but I love that MAD.<br /><em></em><br /><em>40 Day Dream</em> is the first track of their album and my favourite. It is happy, careless and joyous. See them sing it - you'd feel happier.<br />I am pretty set and happy with my life but if I ever had a chance of becoming whoever I wanted to be? A musician. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros is one reason why.<br /><br />My next favourite track is <em>Home. </em>I actually heard it on a website like a year back. Fell in love but left it to trail. <em>Home</em> is going to be my wedding day song, someday maybe :)<br />Album: Up from Below<br />Genre: Indie, rock pop, alternativeThe Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-6436717748964995482011-05-27T12:34:00.002+05:302011-05-27T12:39:17.758+05:30Music and other thingsI discover amazing music at times and I think to not let my blog die, I should blog about it. I also stumble on amazing videos and stuff on the internet and I reckon this should be a good place for me to store away.<br /><br />I hope my few blogger friends have been doing well over the past year....dying to catch up on your posts!The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-59387319569431318232010-05-01T18:03:00.004+05:302010-05-01T18:14:40.846+05:30Magical Ko TaoI was in Thailand around March end for my birthday and a nice vacation. Clear blue water, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">snorkeling</span>, amazing food and amazing <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ambiance. Could not have asked for more :) </span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Ko Tao's beauty cannot be expalined. You have to live it.</span><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/S9wguM9AEuI/AAAAAAAADQ4/MX4hdhLdI-M/s1600/IMG_1822.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466280025844093666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/S9wguM9AEuI/AAAAAAAADQ4/MX4hdhLdI-M/s400/IMG_1822.JPG" border="0" /></a>Sairee Beach</div>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-91783126054670929412009-10-10T17:11:00.008+05:302009-10-11T23:27:37.413+05:30My best friend's wedding<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/StBz3bk2jZI/AAAAAAAAC4Y/u-kGLTygaOA/s1600-h/IMG_0623.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390936150094810514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 224px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/StBz3bk2jZI/AAAAAAAAC4Y/u-kGLTygaOA/s400/IMG_0623.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">It finally happened. She always wanted the big-fat-wedding and it was exactly that. We were nine bridesmaids, three flower girls and the cutest ring boy. Weddings at home with thousands of strangers around is really not my scene but you cannot help but be overwhelmed and blessed when you witness the people you care about getting married. At the end of the day, we dropped her off at the lucky guy's place and I could not help but shed a few bittersweet tears as I hugged her goodbye.</span>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-5837770558810825862009-06-28T17:46:00.004+05:302009-06-29T12:52:34.236+05:30Post's Sake #1Most of my blog friends are posting thier AWOL reasons and I want a new post on my blog too! :)<br />Books - Read <em>Epicenter</em> by Joel Rosenberg - about the middle-east politics in a biblical perspective - I know he is writing sense. Currently reading Obama's <em>Audacity of Hope.</em><br /><em></em><br />Work - Exciting project in hand, struggling for it which means I will learn a lot.<br /><br />Boys - Last I heard my russian spy was howling my name, looking for me on the beaches of Goa Lol. Kidding. He was actually in India but I did not want to ruin my perfect night.<br /><br />Ouch points - ICICI Bank - will post a long post why not to get ICICI Credit Cards. They are trying to screw me but fighting back. Good thing is that I have not used my credit cards for more than a month!<br /><br />Others: My best friend's 13 year old sister is here. I feel so, so old but wise also :)The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-75535139287609559772009-04-28T23:28:00.007+05:302009-04-28T23:54:05.066+05:30Twilight - not just for "young adults"<span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Got them as a birthday gift and read them on the birthday week itself. </span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Pure, unadulterated indulgence :)</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Who would have thought that "young adult" teenage-vampire-romance novels could be so exciting! I live for these kind of surprises.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SfdFufvdb2I/AAAAAAAAC1k/4a2vubNbk2w/s1600-h/twilight_book_cover.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329805349113130850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 132px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SfdFufvdb2I/AAAAAAAAC1k/4a2vubNbk2w/s400/twilight_book_cover.jpg" border="0" /></a>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-27513895311598912022009-04-04T12:03:00.035+05:302009-04-05T04:07:53.414+05:30Happy beach days!<span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><em>These are but mere words of what I saw and felt - of course, it does not do justice to the real thing or even the picture posted which my friend just about managed to click from her camera phone!</em><br /></strong></span>The sun was the deepest red-orange color, strong enough to create a bright sun ray like haze on a part of the ocean; a white <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">yatch</span></span> zips through the </span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SdcCsXVF6JI/AAAAAAAAC0s/uQW5sL8Ugd0/s1600-h/Image029.jpg"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320724445961513106" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 274px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SdcCsXVF6JI/AAAAAAAAC0s/uQW5sL8Ugd0/s400/Image029.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">haze and a fisherman's small boat slowly struts through the same haze. The small crowd turns toward the sun and enjoys the sheer beauty which is only for the senses. Everyone's scattered - atop the small hill, boulders, '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">insea</span></span>' and inland but we are all held together by the amazing glorious dying sun. </span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Two cute young guys - one particular in red shorts and barefoot, runs toward one of the many boulders which surrounds this tiny island-like place and starts moving to the beat of the best trance/house music I'd ever heard. I am in a daze. If I have ever felt perfection, this was it. Everything came together harmoniously - the beat, the dancing, the lull in the sea, the rich white <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">yatch</span></span> and the fisherman's modest boat within the warm rays of the sun - this lasted for about 20 minutes and I'd like to think that I stopped breathing for those 20 and was in another reality .</span><br /><div><div><div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><strong><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><u>How to get to this spot</u>? take right from the main entrance of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Palolem</span></span> Beach - it is right at the end of the beach; ask for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Sundowner</span></span>. You can swim across the river or take a boat for 50 Rs. It is hilarious how we find the best for last. This was our last and the best night.</span></em></strong></span><br /><br /></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320740469026488706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SdcRRB5egYI/AAAAAAAAC1U/Tg_wFm5vi3E/s400/Image001.jpg" border="0" /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><strong>Yes, another <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Palolem</span></span> Birthday!</strong></span></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">and it just keeps getting better. Did some things differently; stayed for a week, became "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">canoers</span>", saw an open air screening of a movie next to the beach and danced away to glory on our last <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">nite</span></span> - barefoot and happy and yeah, I almost drowned one and a half times but no big deal :) </span><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">The picture above is with two of my best friends who made my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">bday</span></span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Palolem</span></span> possible. I got such good friends, it is indeed a blessing! The next picture is at little quaint Cafe Inn (of course, how can I miss not adding me without shades? <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">hee</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">hee</span></span>) - Cafe Inn serves the most amazing coffee and breakfast. It has <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">wi</span></span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">fi</span></span> and AC - if you want to beat the mid-day heat, head out there with a book/laptop and once the AC kicks in, start ordering coffee!</span><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320756057564578562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 360px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SdcfcZulAwI/AAAAAAAAC1c/WvsNtBOwyIw/s400/Image019.jpg" border="0" /> <strong><span style="color:#999999;">Who wants to be old???</span><br /></strong><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">There were so many cute young guys! sigh! :) To get older and to see what <em>is/will be</em> behind you is really not a very happy realization. We met George who is this tall, strong and loud happy guy about to retire in 5 years time. He told us about how he is beginning to question his whole life; the bourgeoisie dream of owning a house, raising kids, saving money, retirement etc. only to realize that you've never lived at all. Youth is really fleeting, the moment you realize the beauty and importance of it, it is gone (<strong>for him</strong> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">hee</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">hee</span></span>) and nearly gone (<strong>for me</strong> boo <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">hoo</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">hoo</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">waaaaaaaa</span></span>). He said that when you are 25, life is slow, at 30 you just feel like you turned 10 pages and then bang! you are 40. It truly sounds like a chop chop affair. Scary huh? It is for me...<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">ayayaaaaaaaaaaaa</span>!</span></span><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error"><br /><br /></div></span></span><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><span style="color:#999999;"></span></strong></div><div><strong><span style="color:#999999;">The Wonder of X & Y Chromosomes!</span></strong></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">On our last night, I ALSO met this very funny & cute (older than me!) "Russian Spy" who refused to tell me why he came to Goa for one day and couldn't believe that I was an Indian. He had this cutest accent and kept saying I was "Number One". Ah, I just love cute guys with unfathomable foreign accent. Yes, I don't understand half of what they say but me thinks they say the most sensible, smart and funny things. Otherwise, most of the guys I meet just speaks crap in eloquent <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">english</span>.</span></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">I remember that happy feeling when you meet someone nice and adorable who makes you laugh for the silliest of reason. I'd thought I was finished with that! The forces between the opposite sex is truly magical, IF you can handle it. Now, my moronic friend does not know how to handle it; he was busy trying to get high instead of getting to know this beautiful girl who am sure was "kinda" interested in him. I mean he could have been the "Russian Spy" for her, except with truck loads of crap :D He could also have extended his holidays for another day (which was 100% possible) and hung out with her, but he calls me up from home and tells me he did "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">facebooking</span></span>" instead. Sigh :) What a lost cause! </span></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div></div><div></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><br />Icing on my birthday cake? The "Russian Spy" <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">definitely</span>. I didn't know that I could still have those <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">girly</span></span> giggles and be smitten silly by a guy. Forget about the fact that I will never see him again or about any stupid romantic inclinations but to feel free, bubbly and just enjoying those couple of hours without any expectations? It was truly refreshing. </span></div><div><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">He writes "were" for "Where?", call me silly but I just couldn't get <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">over</span> that cuteness! </span><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">:)</span> </div></div></div></div>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-61383238858103037792009-02-21T00:22:00.010+05:302009-02-23T11:48:40.056+05:30La de da 'tis always better late than never...<span style="color:#c0c0c0;">My Woody Allen experience has always been kinda wishy-washy. I was fascinated by him but never dug deep; saw him cracking hilarious jokes on TV, loved his movies without being alarmed that he Created them or just go mad with joy when he opened his mouth. All because I could not fathom a 53 year old man with a 17 year old daughter of his lover of 12 years. That was in the late 90s.</span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><br />Today, I saw Woody Allen's <em>Annie Hall</em> and wanted to tear myself apart piece by piece for depriving myself of one of the best movies by perhaps one of the world's greatest director and actor living, dead or soon to be dead. He made this movie more than 30 years ago and it is as ground-breaking for me today as I am sure it was those times. I have never felt the most used and boring phrase 'tis</span> <span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><em>better late than never</em> as I felt today. Touche, touche, touche :)</span><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rrxlfvI17oY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rrxlfvI17oY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">The first 2 minutes of the movie - how can anyone not be fascinated?</span>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-90420401748970403632009-01-26T04:15:00.007+05:302009-01-26T05:16:39.574+05:30Boy oh boy! This Is Planet B-Boy<div align="justify"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">(B-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">boying</span>/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">breakdancing</span> is a form of hip-hop dancing. It is also a term used for a B-boy or a B-girl who is devoted to hip-hop culture.)</span> </em></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">What an amazing documentary about how people from different parts of the world can come together in one platform and communicate with what they know best - B-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">boying</span>. Since it is a little over an hour long, the doc. focuses on five teams who ultimately are the finalists at the Battle of the Year 2005 in Germany.</span> </div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295370433966274978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 273px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SXzvWoaqeaI/AAAAAAAACw8/RoKvVJqFT2k/s320/planet-bboy-blog.jpg" border="0" /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>(Source: </em></span></span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0770796/"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#c0c0c0;"><em><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">IMDB</span></em></span></a><span style="font-size:85%;color:#c0c0c0;"><em>)</em></span></p><p><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Most of the teams do not even interact with each other till the final day. There is always high tension as the competition is stiff but as you see each other dance in the end they cannot help but respect each other's craft and style.</span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Along with the scenes of awe inspiring body movements, the doc. also weaves in personal stories of some of the dancers from all the five teams. So, as you get to know the personal lives of some of the dancers, you actually feel the emotions of the dancers as they give in all their passion and dreams to their movements. While most of them are poor, shunned by "society" or a failure by most "standards", I think all of them have lived their dreams - of doing what means most to them. They may not be b-boying forever but I cannot help but be sure of the fact that this art they imbibed have made them a better human being. To dance like they do, you need dedication, commitment and love and in the <em>process</em> they learn just that; to be dedicated, to be committed, and to love.</span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">A joke: How would a b-boy react if I wished him "Break a leg!"? I know it's lame! :D</span></p>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-90482672455881012932009-01-24T03:38:00.017+05:302009-01-26T04:15:12.256+05:30Surfwise - Not Your Average Surf Movie<span style="COLOR: rgb(192,192,192)">I made a Big cup of hot piping tea to relieve my sore throat and jumped on the bed to watch </span><a href="http://www.surfwisefilm.com/"><span style="COLOR: rgb(192,192,192)"><em>Surfwise</em></span></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(192,192,192)">. Listed as one of the best movies of 2008, I thought wow, another surf movie/documentary, let's watch the waves! I was very gladly wrong. </span><span style="COLOR: rgb(192,192,192)">What I discovered is this beautiful flawed family that Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, an MD from Stanford University engineered. He left the normal "comfortable" life and hit the road with his wife and had 8 sons and 1 daughter on the way to the beach. None of them attended school but grew up surfing and moving about in their 25 feet camper/home with a strict diet - no fat or sugar.</span><br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(192,192,192)">It is not a rosy picture that filmmaker Doug Pray paints. It is real emotions. The children are angry at their father for not giving them the "tools" and "skills" to thrive in the modern society. Their father agrees. The mid-80 year old father regrets that he did not give his children the choice that he had; a) leading a "decent" and "normal" life or b) leave the material world behind and go be one with the world/ocean - he chose b, his kids had no choice. </span><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(192,192,192)">Irony is that they still wish that they had a choice but none of them would change a thing. </span><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294633836771752642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SXpRbCCLOsI/AAAAAAAACw0/JqoK8gEk78s/s320/5.jpg" border="0" /><span style="COLOR: rgb(153,153,153)"><span style="COLOR: rgb(192,192,192)"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> </span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic;font-size:85%;" >(Picture Source: <a href="http://www.magpictures.com/presskit.aspx?id=d2fc80a7-5c8f-4eb2-8a72-810208462713">Magpictures)</a></span><br />"Even a flawed family that sticks together is better than no family at all." - Joshua Paskowitz</span><br /></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(192,192,192)"></span><br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(192,192,192)">This movie is thought-provoking and it moved me. Please watch - it is not just my obsessive love for the beach or surfing :)</span>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-76412950785661246402009-01-22T21:35:00.005+05:302009-01-22T21:52:43.681+05:30And we be body surfin...<span style="color:#c0c0c0;">During the elections, this picture was posted on the lading page of Jack Johnson's website with the caption "I support Barack Obama, A leader with the Aloha Spirit.”</span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Alohaaaa baby! :)</span><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SXice3m58pI/AAAAAAAACws/qOHusM50-q4/s1600-h/endorsement-thumb.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294153416111157906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 337px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SXice3m58pI/AAAAAAAACws/qOHusM50-q4/s400/endorsement-thumb.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-3153554196892390782009-01-20T23:05:00.000+05:302009-01-21T16:02:26.025+05:30Barack H. Obama - the 44th President of the United States of America<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SXYL7UR_jgI/AAAAAAAACvw/Is2ijhmFBd4/s1600-h/barackobama_time_mag.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293431525704961538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 265px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 360px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SXYL7UR_jgI/AAAAAAAACvw/Is2ijhmFBd4/s400/barackobama_time_mag.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#c0c0c0;">The world is affected by the United States of America because it is most powerful country in the world. Yes, with great power, comes great responsibility but does that mean that they should be perfect? Can they be perfect? I have listened to numerous U.S. bashing and beating and though almost all are true I cannot help but reason that along with great power, comes great criticism too. The U.S. is both loved and attacked just because it is in power. </span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><br />But today, as I watched Barack Obama being sworn in as the most important man in the world, I am filled with pride with the human spirit that a son of an African immigrant stands tall as the 44th President of the United States of America.<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Indeed, it has been a been a long walk for Barack Obama who has risen through the ashes of his ancestor's history. More than forty years ago, an African-American could not vote but this nation has shown that they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character by electing the son of an African immigrant as the most powerful man on earth. Dr. King's dream has come true today.</span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">May God bless America and Barack Obama. He has a long, long way to go.</span><br /></span>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-62509700010941617012009-01-19T09:00:00.002+05:302009-04-05T14:52:55.602+05:30Holidays 2008<span style="font-family:times new roman;"><em><span style="color:#cccccc;">(This</span><span style="color:#cccccc;"> post was written late December in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Nagaland</span> and posted today in Hyderabad. I haven't been active as usual but Wow blogger has improved and how...love all the features!)</span></em></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">I am home for a month. Like always, each year is unique. Last year it was all about my nephew <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Aarak</span>, since his brother was just a month old. This year I have the pleasure of being with my second nephew. He is 13 months old and already I can see his personality so different from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Aarak</span>, who turned 4 last month. These two boys are such joys to me and I cannot believe I am their second mom! I remember telling my sister to have only one kid because of the fact that she will have her hands full and all the blah about not being able to enjoy her ‘me’ time. I take it back! I cannot imagine life without either of my two nephews. But yeah, she is not having any more babies :) </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">Things are changing at home - there are more traffic, more shops and more activities around. However, one thing constant in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Nagaland</span> is that Christmas is always warm - free open concerts in almost every corner, carols in buses and a star in every house. I even got to see a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Whitelion</span> concert (with my older cousins, sister, their husbands and nephew(4) and niece(6) - yeah, imagine). Not that I am a fan but I remember their song "You're all I need" sung by almost every guy in school. So it was pretty awesome to actually listen through the horse's mouth! </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">I also met some old friends and acquaintances who I was not in touch with and realized how differently I felt; you'd never think at that point of time that you'll grow apart. This actually reminded me of an old literary class lecture about how art or a text does not change, but we do. I have changed, the way I look at life has changed and I guess that is why I don’t feel the same about people who I am not growing up with literally or virtually for that matter. </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"><br />Travel wise I, "Loren" and her brother/my friend also drove up to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Kohima</span> which is almost three hours away. The drive was amazing – I actually felt like a tourist as we crossed through the mountains and streams and the little waterfalls amongst the greenery. See pictures below...we stopped to buy pineapples on the way up and down as well...they were so sweet and juicy! </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293055174391764002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 160px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SXS1oyYqFCI/AAAAAAAACvo/GJ0G5WmKnvk/s400/blog1.jpg" border="0" /><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">Now, I am from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Dimapur</span> and this town is as plain as any city. So, technically though people gush about the mountains and the weather when I say that I am from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Nagaland</span>, I actually do not see the mountains and greenery except when I go toward <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Kohima</span> and further. Otherwise, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Kohima</span> and every other area of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Nagaland</span> is all lush and green and all the splendor that comes with it – almost all my friends houses in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Kohima</span> are on hill-tops amidst the glory of the mountains and the greenery and to wake up to such a sight in the morning must be like a piece of heaven.<br /></span><p><span style="color:#cccccc;">The only overkill factor - BBQ. I am not going to have another BBQ or attend any for the next six months! We had <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">BBQ</span> nights almost every other night - if it was not at <a href="http://www.dabsndoses.blogspot.com/">Loren</a>'s place (pic below), it was at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Kohima</span> or at my place and <strong>I </strong>was always tending to it cause' I was the best tee <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">hee</span> :)</span> </p><p><span style="color:#cccccc;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292857826361612706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 220px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SXQCJnruGaI/AAAAAAAACvU/uuYmoGUql24/s320/home1.jpg" border="0" /></span></p><p><span style="color:#cccccc;">Happy new year everyone - may we always, always make the best of every situation - Cheers!</span></p>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-34978618362587040122008-10-28T17:24:00.000+05:302008-10-29T12:26:49.668+05:30Tag@Mac<em>I got tagged from </em><a href="http://www.macabreday.blogspot.com/"><em>Mac</em></a><em>. Honeslty, I blog almost all the time because he pricks me with all</em> <em>stupid comments like "You have a blog???" Hmmffffpppp Yes, I do have one! :) </em><br /><em>Here you go...</em><br /><br />1. If your lover betrayed you, what would your reaction be?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Oops, wrong door!</span><br /><br />2. If you can have a dream come true, what would it be?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">I don't know. I have so many that I probably will not end up making one.</span><br /><br />3. Whose butt would you like to kick?<br /><br />4. What would you do with a billion dollars?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Go bonkers - buy a beach house and share the loot :)</span><br /><br />5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">If it happens, I think that will be the almost perfect relationship. But that hardly happens, considering the fact that he or she is your best friend you might not be attracted to each other or just might not want to ruin your friendship.<br /></span><br />6. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Being loved is what we all want but loving someone is magic in itself. Our ability to love another person is what makes the world go round.</span><br /><br />7. How long would you wait for someone you loved?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">I hate waiting :)</span><br /><br />8. If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Dream about him for a week and then let go.</span><br /><br />9. If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Poverty.</span><br /><br />10. What takes you down the fastest?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">The third first gulp of LIT.</span><br />11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">A week ago I would have said probably still in the corporate world with a job I love. Now, nothing is for sure...I am in between dreams!</span><br /><br />12. What’s your fear?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Growing old.</span><br /><br />13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Mac is a nice, kind and a valuable human being. It is a blessing to know him :)<br /></span><br />14. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">If poor means not being able to go to the beach then NO thank you very much. I'd rather be rich and single!</span><br /><br />15. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Grab the paper and heat the water for tea!</span><br /><br />16. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">If the love quotient is equal for both; I w<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ill</span> pick the one who loves me more. Ta da! Now, IF that is also equal then the last resort will be to ask them to choose between the beach or the mountains. The Beach wins hands down! :)</span><br /><span style="color:#33cc00;"></span><br />17. Would you give all in a relationship?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Yes. But sometimes your "all" can be pretty small compared to what you are expected of :)</span><br /><br />18. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">I can say yes because I have pretty much forgotten about all the "horrible" things that people might have done to me so far in my life. I get angry at that second and then weeks after I forget about it. Life is too short to just be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">brooding</span> about things which are in the past.</span><br /><br />19. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Single :) I know, I know being in a relationship is what we all are supposed to be driving at they say but is it really? I am doing great being single. Why mess it up!</span><br /><br />20. List of people to tag:<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;"><a href="http://www.dabsndoses.blogspot.com/">Loren</a> and <a href="http://by-words.blogspot.com/">Benz</a>.</span>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-27021236915667828232008-10-23T22:31:00.000+05:302008-10-27T00:10:04.329+05:30Surfing<span style="color:#cccccc;">Surfing is ridiculous. Ridiculously wonderful! It is being one with the ocean - literally.</span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">I saw </span><a href="http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com/films/detail/the_september_sessions"><span style="color:#cccccc;">The September Sessions</span></a><span style="color:#cccccc;"> - a 2002 surf movie/documentary-like featuring the world famous Kelly Slater and other surfers with Kelly and Rob Machado doing the voice overs. This was my second surf movie so I could pretty much follow what they were saying and in what context. </span><a href="http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com/films/detail/thicker_than_water"><span style="color:#cccccc;">Thicker Than Water</span></a><span style="color:#cccccc;">, another film by Jack Johnson was my first surf movie. I'd really wished <em>Thicker Than Water</em> had subtitles with the names and background every time they showed the surfers riding the waves or at least periodically. However, I think what worked me was that both the movies were raw, confusing, original and awe-inspiring! It was non-commercial. </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">Look at Kelly go for the big one! (print screen picture from the movie :)</span><br /><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SQCuKB5UjEI/AAAAAAAACRM/VW3VuXlWJBo/s1600-h/bf2.jpg"><span style="color:#cccccc;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260395852099521602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SQCuKB5UjEI/AAAAAAAACRM/VW3VuXlWJBo/s320/bf2.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#cccccc;">In the movie, the surfers talk about how sometimes we get a chance of being alone but don't really enjoy the solitude. We don't even realise that we are addicted to living with people around us. I could really relate to what they said next about being able to enjoy moments of solitude especially when you are in the water, enjoying the surrounding, the temperature of the water, the birds flying by, and just looking around and all these things coming together which refreshes you. These moments are priceless - calms everything.</span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#cccccc;">Surfing takes my breath away. It is beyond my comprehension as to what the surfers must be feeling at that moment when they are just <em>On</em> the tide or when they go <em>Through</em> them. The closest I could get to surfing was body boarding at Palolem - and I still cannot forget the feeling of "riding" the waves. I cannot imagine what you'd really feel when you actually surf. It makes my heart skip.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">I am a total ocean babe and cannot wait to experience the waves again :)</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"><strong>Not a fan of surfing? Click <a href="http://www.spike.com/video/billabong-odyssey/2651541">here</a>. This which will change your mind.</strong></span></p>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-10201450443778860862008-04-30T16:02:00.001+05:302009-01-24T01:45:55.206+05:30Jack Johnson Covers Rolling Stone!<span style="color:#999999;">zDear Jack on the Cover of Rolling Stone and how!</span><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SBhMT7x7cDI/AAAAAAAAB3o/vbGzs14APxM/s1600-h/19209977-19209979-large.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194986075520200754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SBhMT7x7cDI/AAAAAAAAB3o/vbGzs14APxM/s320/19209977-19209979-large.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#999999;">Please click </span><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/18684236/cover_story_jack_johnson__the_dude_abides"><span style="color:#999999;">here</span></a><span style="color:#999999;"> for the cover story.<br /></span><div><span style="color:#999999;">And below is just another pic of me and "Loren" watching the sunset.</span></div><div><span style="color:#999999;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194985422685171746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SBhLt7x7cCI/AAAAAAAAB3g/kPnvCW_05TA/s320/CSC_0965.JPG" border="0" />I tell you - it is so soothing to see it this way; does something to the soul....<br />No wonder Jack is so mellow!<br />Mahalo Jack! for your music and dreams :)</span></div>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-7583503145811183602008-04-18T12:34:00.000+05:302008-12-11T01:35:23.025+05:30Palolem<em><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">I post this as I listen to Baz Luhrman's Sunscreen Song - I dunno if I like it or not....but please, please trust him on the sunscreen.<br /></span></em><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Palolem was everything I imagined and more.<br />Among the other things that we did; it was simply nice to just sit back after breakfast, for a game of scrabble at our shack and make moves with the sound of the waves. </span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Ain't life just sweet; I just found out that a dear friend of mine has written on our trip. Please </span><a href="http://dabsndoses.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-precious-goa-trip.html"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">click here</span></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"> for an elaborate and beautifully written write up on it :)<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SAhLg7X5QoI/AAAAAAAAB1A/PFOZhnhkyfQ/s1600-h/P1010095.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190481599610307202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SAhLg7X5QoI/AAAAAAAAB1A/PFOZhnhkyfQ/s320/P1010095.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"> It is better than this!</span><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SAhLFLX5QnI/AAAAAAAAB04/Rzj8wKnyc4M/s1600-h/DSC_0795.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190481122868937330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SAhLFLX5QnI/AAAAAAAAB04/Rzj8wKnyc4M/s320/DSC_0795.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">I saw Dolphins for the first time in my life. Wow.</span><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SAhJn7X5QlI/AAAAAAAAB0o/WsDxbO2yJNQ/s1600-h/DSC_0890.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190479520846135890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/SAhJn7X5QlI/AAAAAAAAB0o/WsDxbO2yJNQ/s320/DSC_0890.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"> Me and "</span><a href="http://dabsndoses.blogspot.com/"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Loren</span></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">" ; we are still nursing our black and blues after the excessive use of the surf boards. </span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Go visit if you just want to relax and catch up with friends or even celebrate your birthday like we did and yeah, if you are with some you are in luvvvvvvvv with, it is the best place to be! I envied my two very dear friends of mine :)</span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">A very decent (nice!) crowd who mind their own business and just sleep, eat, relax and see life go by. </span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">I was rejuvenated and Tanned</span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">A very very happy birthday indeed :)</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">FYI:</span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Palolem is 1hour away from Madgoan/Margao</span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Do not book in advance; just go and Pick from the stretch of options across the beach</span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Do drop in at Butterfly Island and say Aloha! to the Dolphins on your way :)</span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-23542514211893414492008-01-14T09:52:00.000+05:302008-12-11T01:35:23.160+05:30The Beautiful Temperamental Six YardI started this year draped myself with lots and lots of chiffon!<br /><br />I wore <em>Saree</em> for the first time in my life. The occasion was New Year's Party organized by our office for our 250+ group.<br /><br />Kudos to all the +billion women in India/around the globe who wears <em>Saree</em> with such sheer ease and elegance.<br /><br />I for one, along with <em>her</em>, was all over the place wherever I went. <em>She</em> was a separate entity; temperamental, snooty and proud and someone who absolutely did not like me at all.<br />In the first hour, I could hardly walk, so I lifted <em>her</em> many folds a bit higher than my ankle; my friends started chastising me.<br />Then I draped <em>her</em> loose end over and tied it across my waist; my friends came down on me again.<br />So, finally they pinned <em>her</em> against me; I still did manage to get smothered!<br /><br />I gave up and after a glass of wine, I let <em>her</em> Be. <em>She</em> was free to do whatever <em>she</em> wanted to do.<br />Viola! <em>She</em> immediately liked the independence! We became the best of friends and swayed away to glory.<br /><br />:)<br /><br /><br /><em>Another attempt to revive thee blog! but I did have an amazing experience (though much later) wearing a Saree. Giving the Saree a personal touch because it is one of the most beautiful attire on earth and just did not feel like refering it to a mundane 'Saree'.</em><br /><em>Here is me with her and my new found good friend N.<br /></em><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155189545547264098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/R4rplAwm8GI/AAAAAAAABaU/63RncHdXXog/s320/DSCN1726.jpg" border="0" />The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-89588813889223679392008-01-07T12:54:00.000+05:302008-01-10T14:38:48.221+05:30Happy New Year! /Book/Movie Review<p><span style="color:#00cccc;">Happy new year everybody!!! Sorry for the delay but I was busy with work :)</span></p><p><span style="color:#33cc00;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><em>(This post is last year's which I never published. Just something to salvage by but a profound book and movie nevertheless.)</em><br /></span></p><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><em>The Freedom Writers</em> is a movie based on the 1999 non fiction book <em>The Freedom Diary Writers</em> by teacher Erin Gruwell. The movie is about how a teacher can make a difference and in many ways personalized for me of what a real teacher should constitute; someone who teaches from the heart. It's a movie about how a set of different students with much of a bitter past and difficult upbringing are placed in one classroom with a very misplaced teacher.<br /><br /><br />Viktor Frankl's <em>Man's Search for Meaning</em> chronicles his journey through various Nazi concentration camps. The journey reading the 100 pages were memorable; each page for me was a celebration of being alive; even when you have lost everything; even when every ounce of what humanity is, was taken from you.<br /><br /><br />After more than 65 years of the testament of the brutality of mankind, Erin Gruwell asked her class, if anyone of them has heard about the holocaust. Many of these students had grown up in rough neighborhoods of Long Beach; a mix of African-American, Latino, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Caucasian students. Only <em>one white hand</em> is up in the air. She asked again if anyone of them had been shot; All, except the<em> one white hand</em> is up in the air.<br /><br /><br />There in that one instant I came to understand why Frankl says that pain is relative to every man. I could have been callous and unashamedly thank God that I was not the one tortured in the many concentrations camps had I not seen All the hands raised who were shot at. They might not have heard or realized the tragedy of holocaust but their life has been their own holocaust. They have seen, felt and tasted pain.<br /><br /><br />To say, we just need real love to heal the world sounds feeble and unrealistic. But, if I am sure of anything is the fact that we do need real love to heal the world. Nothing else will work.</span>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-90500213953477009992007-09-01T02:03:00.000+05:302008-12-11T01:35:23.339+05:30A Little Waltz<span style="COLOR: rgb(204,204,204)"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic;font-family:arial;color:#c0c0c0;" >This is a sequel to </span><a style="FONT-STYLE: italic" href="http://vikkiwrites.blogspot.com/2007/08/before-sunrise.html"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#c0c0c0;">Claytonia Vices'</span></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"> Before Sunrise. Thank you for empowering me :D</span><br /><br /><br /></span></span></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(204,204,204)"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span></span><p style="COLOR: rgb(204,204,204);font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-family:arial;color:#c0c0c0;">Maybe he has 1000 Questions he wants to ask. She just had to know one Question: Did he show up in Vienna that December?<br /></span></p><p style="COLOR: rgb(204,204,204);font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-family:arial;color:#c0c0c0;">He in a way immortalized her in his book and the book IS about her. She still falters to accept openly that the book is about her.<br /></span></p><p style="COLOR: rgb(204,204,204);font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-family:arial;color:#c0c0c0;">It’s been 9 years since they last met. Their lives way battered. Well, not like they were living in the streets or caught in a battlefield. But yeah, their lives have been through reality; a far cry from the magical space they created in the beautiful streets of Vienna.<br /><br /></span></p><p style="COLOR: rgb(204,204,204);font-family:arial;" ><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Before Sunset</span> is the most romantically realistic, witty, and personal movie I have seen. Life does not often roll out as we plan or we simply hurt at times. Celine and Jesse has gone through these moments and I 'd like to believe in my own world that both of them always came back to this moment in time that they had in Vienna. It's the past that is secured with all their wishful thinking, youth and imaginations.<br />It is funny but sometimes memories are so strong that you actually feel you have cheated time.<br />You want to seize that.<br /></span></span></p><p style="COLOR: rgb(204,204,204);font-family:arial;" ><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></p><p style="COLOR: rgb(204,204,204);font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-family:arial;color:#c0c0c0;">Celine: So, I want to try something.<br />Jesse: What?<br />Celine: [Hugs him] I want to see if you stay together or if you dissolve into molecules.<br />Jesse: How am I doing?<br />Celine: Still here<br /></span><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Jesse: Good. I like being here.</span><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RtiRPcXUcGI/AAAAAAAABV4/uhmFoSGrNko/s1600-h/before-sunset.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104989872122523746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RtiRPcXUcGI/AAAAAAAABV4/uhmFoSGrNko/s200/before-sunset.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#c0c0c0;"><br /></span><p><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">The movie</span> could have gone really, really bad if they'd kissed in the boat or simply showed how their differences suddenly melts away since they are "together". They have enormous baggage of their own; both of them are fighting their own demons. They talk and talk, pronounces philospohical stands but really never solve or repair any damage. They can at most think that as they have matured, they are better "equipped", not to repair the damage, but to accept it.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;color:#c0c0c0;">Jesse loves his wife but feels that he is actually running a nursery. Celine is involved with a war photographer who she meets occasionally. I'd like to think again that Celine is happy with him, but she's never been able to connect with anyone as much as she did with Jessie at that moment in time. Each time a relationship failed or felt something was amiss, both of them always used their moment in time as the yardstick.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;color:#c0c0c0;">Maybe it is a mirage. It was a day of wonder in Vienna and they didn't have to deal with the fights and misunderstanding that comes along with every relationship. It was the perfect day.<br />Lucky for them; they just had one day.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;color:#c0c0c0;">I hope Jesse catches his flight and not stay back for the little party at Celine's courtyard....not eat the delicious Garbanzo Bean Pasta that the woman is going to prepare...not dance with Celine among the lantern lit courtyard...not laugh at the French people making fun of him in French...I hope he does catch his flight!<br /></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">But you know what, the heart wants him to stay. </span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">:)</span><br /><br /><br /></span><p></p>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-59881812925007794482007-08-13T17:53:00.000+05:302008-12-11T01:35:23.418+05:30Tag3: I Like<span style="color:#c0c0c0;">I have been stale in the blog world yet again. Thank you </span><a href="http://www.macabreday.blogspot.com/"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Divyan</span></span></a><span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"></span><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"> (again!) for saving my day. I love tags; you at least have some kind of direction that you <strong>have to</strong> follow :)<br /><br />There are more then 10 things I like in this world for sure. Here are some of my immediate likeness or say some of the things or days which makes my life a day simpler and nicer to look forward to another day.<br /></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMTS_Hyderabad"><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">MMTS</span>:</span></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"> I love <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">MMTS</span>. It saves my sanity <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">EVERDAY</span>. When I first joined my present company at </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HITEC_City"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">HITEC</span> City</span></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">, we had shuttles and cab plying for our transport from different pick up points. It is torturous going through the traffic of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begumpet"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Begumpet</span></span></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"> and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panjagutta"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Panjagutta</span></span></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"> circle around the 9-10:30 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">AMs</span> lot where everyone in Hyderabad seems to be heading towards <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">HITEC</span> only. I used to reach office feeling as if I'd just returned from a short trip out of town. Then after a month someone introduced to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">MMTS</span> which takes me tops 25 minutes to reach office! Now, I take the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">MMTS</span> train from the necklace road station everyday. I go in 5-10 minutes early just to sit and stare at the lake. It just makes my day :)<br /><br />Friends coming over: I still have some couple of friends who are research students at my old institute and I love having them over at my place. Just cooking, spending time, laughing at silly things, yapping away to glory, and going oh hum about our age at the end of the night are priceless moments that I am going to forever treasure. It won't be long before all of us embark on different directions in life.<br /><br />Fresher's Day: Every year our church organizes a fresher's day for the students/new families /professionals who come to Hyderabad. It is that single year of the day <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">wh</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/Rsncr8XUcBI/AAAAAAAABU4/JeWXCpIzA_k/s1600-h/15082007196.jpg"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100850700470218770" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 204px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 154px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/Rsncr8XUcBI/AAAAAAAABU4/JeWXCpIzA_k/s200/15082007196.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">ere we all come together on a nice sunny day in a park and make the freshers welcome amidst fun, food and frolic. I am all 25 but man<br />man it didn't deter me and my other friends from scurrying around like mad playing games. What with all the little things going on in my life, I unexpectedly had so much fun that day! Here is me and Ase, supposedly under an umbrella but I still got tanned!<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Songs:<br />Bap Kennedy - Moonlight Kiss: I have seen the movie </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240890/"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Serendipity</span></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"> for like 10 times over the course of 5 years. Thanks to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Zee</span> Studio and Hallmark for always repeating the show! There was this haunting song in the movie that I could never forget and I rekindled it by chance browsing through a friend's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">songlist</span>. Now, Bap Kennedy - Moonlight Kiss is always on repeat. Amazing song!<br /><br />Sting -Fields of Gold: Sting has been around since the time I knew music. Just realising his amazing journey from the Police days of "Every breath you take" to "Desert Rose" shows what a consistent artist he has been. I am not a Big fan but you cannot deny the greatness of an artist like Sting. I can't help but wonder how someone can write a song like "Fields of Gold" and then sing it to perfection like he does. Mankind is a marvel indeed :)<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">I Likes:</span><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><br />I like being in control of my life. Well, most of the time my life is anything but in control but I love the feeling of coming to my senses, taking a deep breath, realising that it's still <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">ok</span> and then smiling about it.<br /><br />I like my new place. Life's pretty much changed for me the past 5-6 weeks. I used to live in this beautiful and spacious apartment with 5 of my girlfriends. We’d signed the lease for a year and it suddenly seems that the end of the lease poignantly signified our fate. We all had different plans; studies, change base, stick to present jobs etc. Now, me and another friend who decided to stick with our jobs got another apartment since we were so stuck up to share with anyone besides the people we knew and “trust” and well being stuck up means you do pay a price!<br />Anyways, the new place is not as swanky as the previous one but I somehow like it better. It's more homely and less complicated :)<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">mmmm</span> I also like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Facebook</span>! It' s not open as Orkut or redundant as HI5. And the little things that you can do like playing quiz, buying virtual drinks and gifts for f<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">riends</span>, asking random one liner questions etc are really cute.<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">The <a href="http://www.thevine.co.nz/member/signin">Vine</a> gives me my daily bread these days and somehow, someway it always brings me to the ground :)<br /></span><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Now, I can't think of anymore random stuff to write :P </span>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-88987140847760018632007-07-27T16:54:00.000+05:302008-12-11T01:35:26.880+05:30God's own country indeed.<span style="color:#c0c0c0;">The land of coconut and men in umbrellas has enchanted me beyond my expectations. </span><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">The first brush with Kerala, I’d like to believe, began with Anton, our enchanting driver for the entire trip from Cochin to Munnar and beyond. He was this crisp white shirt kind of guy with his striking mustache and a smile that made me smile!<br />Cochin’s bus drivers are mad; otherwise it was quite a nice and small bustling city. Anton made the sweep through the mad traffic as smooth as he could.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/Rqni9rjbq9I/AAAAAAAABRY/BWo06zsRIIY/s1600-h/DSCN0017.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091850403010292690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/Rqni9rjbq9I/AAAAAAAABRY/BWo06zsRIIY/s320/DSCN0017.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">The second taste of Kerala still lingers in my mouth; Toddy, beef and more fried beef! Anton stops for Toddy at his friend’s shop on our way to Munnar. He also gets us fried beef and <em>marachini</em> ( mashed Tapioca) served in banan leaves. I almost cried! Best fried beef ever and awesome marachini which I almost made it my staple food!<br />About Toddy, I was a bit reluctant as I’d heard that it tasted like rice beer that we get back home and I am not a very big fan of that. However, I take a small sip and another sip again and again and again…. Yeah get the picture? :D<br /><br />We stayed at Whispering Meadows which was an ok place and actually 10 km away from the main town; just like the way we’d wanted. It was hard to believe that I actually slept with the lull of crickets and other 101 sounds we hear from the woods....It still feels surreal to me after coming back to the city and comparing it to the jarring shrieks of vehicles.<br /><br /><br />In Munnar, the scenic pleasures just kept gettin better and better...</span><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnYG7jbqxI/AAAAAAAABP4/IK5YpfoE1bw/s1600-h/DSCN0080.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091838467296176914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnYG7jbqxI/AAAAAAAABP4/IK5YpfoE1bw/s320/DSCN0080.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnYG7jbqyI/AAAAAAAABQA/T2cVatUT5M8/s1600-h/DSCN0057.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091838467296176930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnYG7jbqyI/AAAAAAAABQA/T2cVatUT5M8/s320/DSCN0057.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Then we went to Kolukkumalai: Highest tea estate in the world! </span></p><p><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnYHbjbqzI/AAAAAAAABQI/oXIj2hHJ_j0/s1600-h/DSCN0108.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091838475886111538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnYHbjbqzI/AAAAAAAABQI/oXIj2hHJ_j0/s320/DSCN0108.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Anton had already made arrangements for us to go and visit the highest tea estate in the world. I was a bit reluctant as I thought it would be like any other tea estate...but boy was I wrong! It was one of the most amazing place I'd been to.</span></p><br /><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnYHrjbq0I/AAAAAAAABQQ/n6Tp-6BJREM/s1600-h/DSCN0121.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091838480181078850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnYHrjbq0I/AAAAAAAABQQ/n6Tp-6BJREM/s320/DSCN0121.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZ7rjbq7I/AAAAAAAABRI/RHhjP9PrNzk/s1600-h/DSCN0157.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091840473045904306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZ7rjbq7I/AAAAAAAABRI/RHhjP9PrNzk/s320/DSCN0157.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Our mode of transport was this very sturdy jeep with a very proud owner. Varghese was a Civil Engineer who had decided to start his own thing. It was pretty amazing to see him beam and speak about the jeep so proudly and the way he'd built up his small tour operations. Sad is the fact that I couldn’t register in the kind of engine, etc etc that he went on and on about. The romantic in me just rem’bers that he had to go all the way to Trivandrum to get this baby.</span><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnYH7jbq1I/AAAAAAAABQY/pUytcnimz9U/s1600-h/DSCN0150.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091838484476046162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnYH7jbq1I/AAAAAAAABQY/pUytcnimz9U/s320/DSCN0150.JPG" border="0" /></a> </p><br /><p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZ77jbq8I/AAAAAAAABRQ/kiCDJ4jdrAk/s1600-h/DSCN0081.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091840477340871618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZ77jbq8I/AAAAAAAABRQ/kiCDJ4jdrAk/s320/DSCN0081.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"> (We saw many huts which was built during the time of the British rule.)</span></p><br /><p><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">The ride was BUMPY but the views kept me in awe. Reaching the top, we could see one part of Tamil Nadu on one side and Kerala on the other side. The amazing fact was that the weather was different in both the states and we could actually see that in one single frame. </span></p><p><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Now, I ll let the pictures speak for itself...</span><br /></p><br /><p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZVbjbq2I/AAAAAAAABQg/50MlSWTRf_4/s1600-h/DSCN0072.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091839815915907938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZVbjbq2I/AAAAAAAABQg/50MlSWTRf_4/s320/DSCN0072.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZV7jbq3I/AAAAAAAABQo/9pwxJDNXnnw/s1600-h/DSCN0090.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091839824505842546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZV7jbq3I/AAAAAAAABQo/9pwxJDNXnnw/s320/DSCN0090.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZWLjbq4I/AAAAAAAABQw/44BIH9KPSt4/s1600-h/DSCN0093.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091839828800809858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZWLjbq4I/AAAAAAAABQw/44BIH9KPSt4/s320/DSCN0093.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZWbjbq5I/AAAAAAAABQ4/_CqW5-Qufm8/s1600-h/DSCN0104.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091839833095777170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZWbjbq5I/AAAAAAAABQ4/_CqW5-Qufm8/s320/DSCN0104.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZWrjbq6I/AAAAAAAABRA/k9wcfQREHQw/s1600-h/DSCN0114.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091839837390744482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZWrjbq6I/AAAAAAAABRA/k9wcfQREHQw/s320/DSCN0114.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZ7rjbq7I/AAAAAAAABRI/RHhjP9PrNzk/s1600-h/DSCN0157.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091840473045904306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/RqnZ7rjbq7I/AAAAAAAABRI/RHhjP9PrNzk/s320/DSCN0157.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#c0c0c0;">Sigh ain't it beautiful? :)</span></p><p><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">You know, I have learnt one thing from this trip. The generalization that the people from the hills are naturally warm and nice people? is so very true! :)</span></p><p></p>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32320611.post-351445523555984842007-06-11T14:04:00.000+05:302008-12-11T01:35:27.065+05:30Aerosmith and more...<span style="color:#cccccc;">Steven Tyler is a showman! His zest and zeal for life shows in his performance! I am not an ardent fan of Aerosmith but I grew up listening to their music. It was awesome seeing them perform live and I was just about standing 10 feet away from the showman himself! He had LICK ME tattooed (must be mehendi!) on his lower abs and yeah he wore a Pink hat :P </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">They opened with Taste of India…went on to Crying…Falling in Love…Dream on…Jaded... I was eagerly waiting for Crazy and Janie’s Got a Gun but the concert ended with I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing. </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">So, that’s somehow the good part of the show on the whole. </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">On the other side of this is the story of Penny Lane trying to get a glimpse of the rock star amidst thousands of fans who would kill and even fly to get closer to him as much as possible! I swear I was not standing on the ground. I was on somebody’s shoes! So after the fifth song some of us decided to call it quits and found our way at the back to breath again. It was excruciating trying to get past the grunting fans who had decided to fix themselves on to the ground for the entire part of the show.<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">Penny Lane: <em>Excuse me…oops</em> (smiles)…<em>sorry…sorry</em>… (smiles)...<em>sorry…</em> </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">Fragile Man: <em>OUCH! Your Heels!</em> (Penny Lane STARES at the Fragile man) </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">Penny Lane: <em>I Am Wearing Sneakers.</em> </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">(Fragile man is lost for words, Penny Lane Smirks and moves on in life.) </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">(Background: <em>Snicker, snicker, hee hee, snicker</em>…) </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">We go right at the end. It was still crowded but I could at least stand on my own <em>Sneakers</em> :) </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">Bangalore is an awesome place. The right amount of laziness, heat and maximum cool people. EXCEPT for the traffic. It can be quite an ordeal. </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">Places to shop!: Tibetan Plaza, Commercial Street and MG Road. </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">Places to chill: Pecos and Opus (AMAZING!). </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">Confession: Concert became secondary. I had more FUN otherwise :)</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/Rm0P4rBAQDI/AAAAAAAAAZI/T8NGsZ_kchA/s1600-h/IMGP2768.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074729821410443314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0EB41UV2wI/Rm0P4rBAQDI/AAAAAAAAAZI/T8NGsZ_kchA/s320/IMGP2768.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#cccccc;"> (Pic: Parking lot of Opus :P )<br /></span>The Penny Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346888809794919223noreply@blogger.com17