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Hi, all. After a brief forced siesta, courtesy ‘stressed-out’ stage, I’m back to blogging.

I thought I’d start a kind of tag here, using this nice word.(The first 'ring' is up in the cartoon) What I’ve done, and, what the next person has to do is, carry the tag further, till we reach Z.. And, all the words have to be ‘nice’ ones, full of, err, youth n energy.

The A to Z of (words beginning with or ending with) rings.

A as in Alluring:

eg: She’s an alluring beauty.

B as in Baring

eg: What guys love most girls to dress as, except their GFs/wives. (And, err, vice versa?)

C as in Caring

eg : What people wish their partners would be. (And, they are, sometimes..hehe).

D as in Daring(In Hindi, that’s Bindaas)

eg : Did you see that plunging, daring neckline of hers when she came to work today?

On to the next BUFer…should I nominate the next BUFer for taking the tag forward?No,I won't..let's see who takes the cue and moves forward...I'm already writing the 'light' post,as Uttsy suggested in her post.(Great topical idea,Uttsy..has some great connotations).

a)It reminds me of the following songs:

Ring my bell- Anita Ward

Brown girl in the ring- Boney M

b) It reminds me of a phrase: Ring in the New Year: As we shall soon be doing.

c) It reminds me of that cute nursery rhyme, singing which we used to dance, holding hands, as kids:

Ring-a-ring-o’- roses, a pocket full of …..

It would end with ‘we all fall down’, and everyone would sit down with a sudden bump. (Of course, now if you do that, i.e. fall like that, you’re likely to b-ring about a fracture. LOL)

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Labels: AmitL, fresh

Hi, all. I was going to begin this post, feeling fresh as a daisy, in the early morning, but thought better of it, firstly, because it’s a holiday today, and my mood is as fresh as can be. So, here I am, in the late evening, penning my, err, fresh thoughts:(Pic clarification: I did not bake that fresh-baked smile(y)).

The word ‘fresh’ conjured up the following memories: (I tried to link up each one. Was I successful?You tell me, please!)

- We go , pick up a load of bread at a bakery, and ask ‘Is it fresh?’

Now, why do we ask this? Do we expect him to say ‘No, it’s not- it’s stale, but take it all the same.’
Now, why don’t we think of some fresh questions to ask instead of the above one?
Questions brings to mind:

-Those smart alec questions from a guy who thinks they’re farm fresh, but, which bring a fresh slap to his face.

- Face reminds me of nose, and nose reminds me of smell, nee, aroma- I remember another form of ‘fresh’- the aroma of freshly baked biscuits, near the bridge in Vile Parle(I forget- is it the Parle factory?), which makes me want to ask the rickshaw guy to take me straight inside the factory to imbibe the aroma.(I wonder why no perfume makers think of marketing this as a fresh scent?). Rickshaw reminds me of travel, and, travel reminds me of showers.

- So, there’s the re-fresh-ing shower I take, after returning from work, which helps to wipe out the day’s work related stress and relax the mind…the cool water droplets trickling down the face, the back,(Nee, no further descriptions.LOL) are enough to make me emerge from the shower, feeling in tiptop shape to go out for my evening walk, now extended to 45 mins minimum, since the weather’s improved.(touchwood). Travelling (From work) reminds me of holidays, and holidays reminds me:

-Fresh is how I feel when I return to work from a short/long holiday to India and especially to Baroda. I occasionally used to use the ‘fresh ones’ tissues, on sultry days. (Are they still available?). Baroda reminds me of MS University, University reminds me of :
-Ragging of ‘fresh’ men in colleges- deplorable, but, also reminiscent of the most humorous of scenes was from ‘Munnabhai’, where Sanjay Dutt ends up giving the ‘fresh’ers a delightful time by making the seniors do the ‘chaddi dance’ after demonstrating his muscle-power. Munnabhai reminds me of the movie when it was shown on our TV channels, and TV channels remind me of:

-Fresh news, in the form of ‘breaking news’(I never understand- why is it ‘breaking’, instead of ‘red hot news’ or something? ) – news which ranges from a lady committing suicide in some obscure town of India to electricity getting switched off in some area of another town, to some old man murdering his uncle’s son’s daughter’s brother-in-law or something, to donkeys falling into a well. I guess they have to give some sensations in that ‘news bar’, so, they do, huh? News reminds me of crime, and crime reminds me of identification of criminals by :

-Their fresh footprints in the snow which help identify a murderer in crime serials, and, there’s fresh blood on the body of the murdered in Perry Mason novels.(My favourites).
Perry Mason novels remind me of how much I enjoy reading, particularly with :

-A glass of fresh fruit juice or fresh lime juice to refresh me while I’m reading, rather than having a cola which is acidic enough to clean the bathroom tiles. That reminds me, when I don’t have a glass of juice handy, I use:
-‘freshman’s chewing gum’ sometimes to help me concentrate. Gum reminds me of googlegum(Now, I just made that one up), so, I went to google, and found:
-Some examples of ‘fresh’ on the net: ( Google threw up 231,000 results, btw)

1.Fresh.com is a modern beauty care company

2.Fresh 102.7 FM, a radio station in NY.
3.Fresh FM: 92.7: Dedicated dance station based at Adelaide, Australia
4.FRESH: Foundation for Real Estate Students from Holland.
5.Fresh baked fractions: A game on : http://www.funbrain.com/fract/index.html

Brains reminds me of BUF, and, BUF reminds me of:
The best example of ‘fresh’- the fresh posts from BUFers, which make my day so regularly by their innovativeness, and the fact that each person has a unique, err, ‘fresh’ style of writing? (Thank you, all!). Of course, let me add, many posts on the individual blogs that I read are equally ‘fresh’ and often leave me feeling great to be alive(fresh? Hehe).That reminds me to wish you all:
Cheers. Have a nice, fresh weekend and a nice, fresh new week on Monday, when you read this post.

Labels: AmitL, fresh

This was some news I just had to share with fellow/fellowine(feline?grin!) BUFers. It’s from an article I read in a local magazine, about the first ‘blook’ ever. Some of you might be knowing about it already, I'm sure.( I love the title- can relate it so nicely to BUF. )

They titled the article ‘mind blogging’ and very rightly so. Perhaps we bloggers should also, collectively put together an epic kind of work like this someday. (For eg. A book on essays on some of our topics- memorable train journey, etc), or, ‘human nature and bonding’, etc.*looks towards Ishi for ideas*

About the blook: 103 bloggers from 24 US states, and 10 from across the globe, created publishing history with a ‘blook’.Yes, there is an Indian whiz kid involved, too, from Oman- Arun Rajagopal.

The book is titled ‘The Age of Conversation’, and has been compiled based on inputs from all these people, and is co-authored by Drew Mclellan from US and Gavin Heaton from Sydney, Australia(Yaaay goes Keshi.grin), both of whom had never met. The post calling for authors was on March 22, 2007 and the book was launched on July 16, 2007. (Fantastic, isn’t it?)

Each author contributed a one-page chapter worth their marketing-communications expertise to help create better conversation among brands, marketers and consumers. The mix of writers- from marketing gurus to social media experts and from ad professionsal to T-shirt freaks.

The blook is about how various marketing disciplines such as advertising, digital, PR and journalism have to change the way they talk to their consumers to be heard. IT emphasizes that the most important part in a conversation is listening.(Ahem!)

Some conclusions in the article:

Blogging takes on a new avatar as a tool for dissemination of information.

Any company that ignores the blogosphere is telling it’s consumers that they don’t really care to listen.

Anyone with internet access can now reach an audience.

Over the next few years, we’ll see the blogosphere become more mainstream.

Whether the Age of Conversation has opened up a veritable can of worns or a cornucopia is yet to be seen.

The blogs of these two authors: (I can’t get to either of them .The connection times out):

http://drewsmarketingminute.com

http://servantofchaos.typepad.com

The website of the book:

http://ageofconversation.com

A point to note: The book is being sold, and the proceeds will go to Variety the Children's Charity , which is dedicated to promoting and protecting the health and well-being of children around the world.Variety reaches into communities across the globe to offer financial assistance and services to children and organizations that serve children with special needs. Variety strives to make a lasting difference in the lives of children, their families, our communities, and the world...one need at a time.

What do you say, BUFers? Interested in planning a blook, one of these days?

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Allah Bachaye(PKSE), chand sifarish(Fanaa), dus bahane(TS), Ek Dilruba hai(Bewafaa), crazy kiya re(dhoom 2), bad boy(PKSE), beedi(Omkara), kitne bhi tu karle sitam(Sanam teri kasam), soni de nakhre(Partner), aaj ki raat(Don), Jaane Jaan dhoondhta(Jawani Diwani), Ek sanam chahiye(Aashiqui), Pehle pehle pyaar ki(Great Gambler), Gum hai kisike pyaar(Rampur Ka Laxman), Dancing in the dark(Bruce Springsteen), Musu Musu(Shaan), Dholi Taro(Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam), Sajnaji vaari vaari(Honeymoon Travels PL), Patel Rap mix(Bali Brahmbhatt), The Reflex(Duran Duran), Ladki kyon( Hum Tum), Nazar ke saamne(Aashiqui), Tera Chehra(Adnan S), Tu meri zindagi(Aashiqui), You are my Sonia( K3G), Nimbooda(HDDCS), Koi nahi hai kamre mein( Dhoom), Paathshaala(RDB), O maajhi re( Khushboo), Shakalaka baby(Bombay Dreams), Let the music play(Shamur), yeh ladka hai allah( Hum kisise kam nahin), dum maro dum(hare Rama hare Krishna), Jeene ke hain chaar din(Mujhse Shaadi karogi), Chak de phatte( Khosla ka ghosla),....and, additions still in progress. (Keshi, if you want to listen, let me know..I'll send you links)

(Clarification: The pic below is not me or any of my friends.LOL)

You’d say’this is crazy’, like the guy to the left seems to be saying….yep,and that’s what I think my choice of music can be, sometimes…but, believe me, it’s still a nice selection to hear when going for a long walk, morning or evening. Each one has a tune of it’s own, a nice beat of it’s own.

And, how about jingles you cannot get out of your mind sometimes, like:(Please click on them and let me know whether they stuck on your mind too)

The Hindi jungle book jingle.
The Malgudi Days jingle.

English oldies: Right from the Beatles (Favourites: Paperback writer(but naturally), from me to you, love me do, hard day’s night..to John Lennon’s ‘Starting Over’ and George Harrison’s ‘Got my mind set on you’. ), to ABBA(Voulez Vous), BoneyM(Rasputin, Hooray hooray it’s a holiday, to name a few), KC and the sunshine band(That’s the way..).

Amongst the Hindi oldies: Kishore Kumar, Asha, Hemant Kumar(Occasionally)…
English ‘new’ies: Some of the Crazy Frog songs, for one.
Hindi ‘new’ies: As mentioned above, and, a few more, including A.R. Rehman(not all).

Basically, I think anything with a nice drum beat to it, is likely to be a song I like. But, ask me to sing along, and I’d go,err, mute…perhaps it’s coz I’m too conscious? Or, whatever..perhaps I’m afraid the cockroaches and ants(Nee, no goats or cows in the house to chase away, you see) if any(We had pest control done in advance, you see) would run away to the neighbours and harass them. LOL..

Till next time, happy listening.

Labels: AmitL, My Kind of Music, posts I missed

Do you remember the song(Inane lyrics, but, still…grin..translated to the best of my abilities for Keshi)

Ek Garam Chai ki Pyaali Ho(Let there be one warm cuppa tea)
Koi Usko Pilaane Waali Ho ( A lady around to help me drink it(ea))
Chaahe Gori Ho Ya Kaali Ho(Let her be white or black)
Seene Se Lagaane Waali Ho( She should be capable of hugging me)

(Crazy, says Keshi-wait till you hear some other songs of this sort from Bollywood, Keshi)

So, anyway, I thought it’s high time that I shared my experiences with my favourite drink- tea. So, here goes an educational, yet funny look at cha cha cha.

Does anyone really dislike tea? That warm,tasty,ubiquitous ‘cuppa cha’. In Dubai,be it 0530 AM, or 1130 PM, I/ you can see people proudly clutching that thermocole glass filled with chai in one hand, the second hand on their waist- I guess it probably gives them a sense of having conquered the world, and they feel that they are holding it’s most prized possession in their hands.

Remember the song’ Main aur meri cha(a)i aksar yeh baatein karte hain(Me and my tea-we often talk..)…ok,ok, that’s not the song…that song is ‘mein aur meri tanhaai aksar..…’

Some drink with a slurp(I tried,to see what pleasure a slurp of tea gives, but, couldn’t-how can you slurp when you are using a thermocole glass and not using a saucer?),some drink it in one gulp,some take their time,perhaps more than lunchtime,and enjoy every sip. The standard variety of tea available here is bifurcated into dip-dip/Lipton, Suleimani (Tea without milk), saada(Plain) which is the regular tea. (I’m not mentioning the with/without sugar variety).

Then, of course, you can go into a restaurant and try out green tea, herbal tea, etc. And, there’s the supermarkets, where you get a further variety of teas to suit all tastes, including rose tea, lemon tea, chocolate tea(UGH), et al.
In our office, I see Green, Mint, Camomile, Four Red Fruits(Yes, that’s the name), Earl Grey. (There’s also around 10 varieties of coffee, which seems to be quite popular Down Under, but that’s a post for another day(I work in an Aussie Co’s Dubai branch))

And, don’t forget the various brands, from Lipton to Brooke Bond to Twinings to ?? In fact, here’s a link for tea varieties. LOL…it says there’s something called Chai Tea as well. It says ‘Chai, pronounced with a long "i" as in the word tie, is the actual word for tea in many countries. Chai tea is quickly becoming extremely popular in the West as people are becoming exposed to it as lattes in coffee and tea houses. ‘And, there’s a recipe for making chai latte, too.

Tea gardens: I’ve seen only the ones in Kerala, and they were awesome, to say the least. See pic on left- Munnar tea estates.

That’s as far as Dubai is concerned. Gujarat(India) is, of course, is another unique case.

Tea here is:
- Normal, with milk and sugar OR plain with milk n sugar OR Golden(named so due to the colour) OR Masala Chai usually served at most of the tea larris.(See typical pic)
- Served in cups and saucers, so that people can come closer together, by sharing a cuppa(Doesn’t matter if they’re rich)..one drinks from the cup, the other slurps(And, I really mean SLUUUURRRRRPPPs) from the saucer.
- Drunk in different positions, besides the traditional sitting at table. It could be drunk sitting on the ‘jhoola’ (Swing) which is traditional in Gujarati families. Or, sitting on the ground, in a squatting position(Most workmen sit that way). Or, sitting with a stick in one hand(Like our building watchmen in Baroda do). Or, sitting in lotus position with the feet tucked in. Or, standing(When at the roadside dhaaba, on way to work from one city to another, with an abject lack of time).
- Used as a common medium to ‘relate’ while striking many office deals, during day or night.Like, "Let's settle it over a cup of tea".

I also love to drink tea from the railway station, which comes in an earthen mug, lovingly called a ‘kullarh’. Thanks to our Honble Railway Minister, this mug is back in vogue.

As for me, tea always used to be a favorite for me, right from school days, but, I'm now down to just a max of two cups a day.(Couldn’t relate much to coffee, somehow). Mornings always begin with a cuppa (!/2 a cuppa without sugar, in these days of dieting ). There was a time when I would begin the day with a small kettle(around 4-5 cups) full of tea. (ARGHHH- Can’t imagine how I did it, now). Of course, I haven’t really experimented with chai,nee,tea much…except for the regular variety. Probably because the taste of the other teas is usually bitter-er than the regular Lipton-types.
Still on teas, there’s a leisure website called’ http://chaitime.com/’.

There’s also the famous gesture from shopkeepers in Baroda,when they ask you if you’d like some tea. They shout ‘Do Chai laana(Bring two teas), and wave their fingers in a ‘V’ sign, to and fro. What it really means is ‘Do chai mat laana’(Don’t bring two cups of tea)- this customer is just passing time. So, you're kept waiting for the tea which never comes.One of my cousin's couldn't believe it,and I had to prove it to him in one of Baroda's best garment shops.

There’s some suggested funny phrases I found on a website, related to tea, which go thusly:
- Tea Bag(n): To dip your nutsack into someone else’s mouth... in a tea making process
Did you tea bag your girlfriend while she was asleep.
- Tea Bag(n): The bag you use to make your tea... not something perverted at all
I made tea with a tea bag this morning... (Nee,this wasn’t an ‘A’joke...LOL).

What else? Am trying to think of more 't(e)a-ntalizing topics'.All I can say is If you liked this post idea, don’t ‘tea’se me, just say so in the comments. 'Tea'll next time, byee and cheers!

Labels: AmitL, BUFer of the week

Remember I was rubbing my hands I glee yesterday? I just picked the second topic that caught my,err, attentive eye. So, at the risk of sounding pompously boring or boringly pompous, here goes:

10 things about me: ( Some things might be slightly repeated from the intro post)

1. I’m a typical Piscean, in the real world at one moment and floating off into a dream one the next.(When the going gets tough, the Pisceans get dreaming, as they say.)
   

2. I usually suit the 3 Cs to a, err, T: Calm, Cool, Collected. Not much really ruffles my feathers, err, hair…but, then, perhaps it’s because my hair is somewhat curly and I never let it grow beyond a month’s growth. (I admire ladies n gents who keep long hair for this reason).
   

3. As they say, when I’m calm, I’m calm. But, when I’m angry, it’s disaster…I better not reveal much about ‘those’ angry moments. Luckily, the anger doesn’t come out on people, but, more on myself and my,err, things….(Tsk, now, don’t go getting ‘A’ thoughts, I simply refer to belongings).
   

4. I was earlier a total introvert. Since I came to Dubai, I’m more of an extrovert. From a quiet Engineering guy to a Purchase guy who talks to around fifty people a day on an average, it’s been quite a transition.
   

5. I still take a bit of time to get used to people, unless, of course, they’re blog pals(Like the DBM pals I’ve met)…in such cases, it’s like I’m meeting LLF. (Long Lost Friends)…though, compared to the rest, I’m still ‘The Observer’.
   

6. I love to walk…though the weather here till now was preventing me from long walks.(Sultry, hot). Now, with the weather changing for the better, it should get to be more fun....observing passing pulchritude, also out walking, is just a bonus.grin.
   

7. I’ve done two massive diet programs. The first one helped me lose 16 kgs. (That was through Personal Point, in Baroda and I was their role model for ‘before’ and ‘after’ ads in TOI and Indian Exp. Grin. I had all kinds of people calling me to ask whether the ads were genuine. And, you thought it only happened in ads?). The second diet was last year, when I went on a total veggies n fruits diet, clubbed with hour long walks n exercise…that one lost me 13 kgs. And, some of it’s come back, coz I was feeling weak, this time.
   

8. I love music- be it ole Hindi or new Hindi, movie or pop. And, ole English and (some) new English..depends on my mood. I’m constantly changing the songs on my mp3 player, to avoid ennui setting in.
   

9. I love English..my favourite subject, right from school days. Sometimes, I wonder if I wouldn’t be happier if I’d mastered in English instead of Engineering?
   

10. I’m a total perfectionist..as some of the other BUFers are…if I see someone else doing a bad job, I prefer to do it myself, and then tell them that’s how it should be done. Make that, perfectionist and neatnik- can’t work/eat/sleep if the surroundings are not conducive to neatness.grin.
11. Oops…that’s it…Just one day more to ponder over posts I missed…*goes off to (a)museland*.

Cheers,people!

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Topic: Your addiction in life.

I firmly believe that addiction(of the good type only..grin) is what keeps one going in life. So, let me recount the previous addictions and the current one.

First, back in school days, I had the addictive hobby of making penpals- I made the first two penpals through the IYS(International Youth Service), one from Austria and one from Australia(Believe me, they’re still in touch- will do a post dedicated to them one of these days, since they read my blog occasionally…after asking their permission, of course..grin). ..even met the Austrian one and her husband, three years ago. Then, there were three penpals from Brazil(One is still in constant touch)- Rio De Janeiro, to be precise, then, Trinidad & Tobago, Germany(My whole circle of friends in school fell for this lady when they say her snap..hehe), a whole lot from all over India….no prizes for guessing that my best friends in those days was the postman who would bring letters, photos, small gifts, etc from these lovely people.

Second, there was DXing- that was the hobby of shortwave listening(in the days of only Bore, nee, Doordarshan for TV entertainment and no FM, either). Me and this college friend had a sort of competition between us, on who heard the maximum radio stations from around the world – there was Radio Australia, VOA(Voice Of America), Austria, Deutschewelle, Belgium, even Radio Pakistan…every spare moment, day n night, besides studies, would go in craning the neck and straining the ear, next to the ancient shortwave radio- sending reception reports to these stations, would get us what were called’ QSL cards’- greeting cards of the country, with a confirmation of your report being accurate. The report used to be in the form of a SINPO (Signal, Interference, Noise, P(I forgot what this was) and Overall score, with a brief report on the program to justify to them that we weren’t just kidding. They’d also send pennants, badges, tourist brochures of their countries and we’d dream of the , err, dreamy places.

Then, third began the addiction of reading writing to magazines and papers- LTTE(Letters To The Editor) became my craze, alongwith entering caption contests…collected quite a few useful n useless prizes on the way- like dozens of audio cassettes, pens, a tape recorder, pocket calculators(A novelty back then, when India had not gone global) to name a few. Citadel, Pune(I love that mag) invited me over to Pune to do a stint with them, in a ‘report on the reporters’ kind of article- investigated a murder, had free eats at a restaurant which they reviewed, attended a photo shoot with Rachel Reuben present, etc. (I have that on pdf, if anyone’s interested.:)) I got the nicest compliment from them in their intro to my article- it termed me ‘India’s most prolific letter writer’(Ahem!)…..even got a nice fan following and some are still friends, scattered around the world …but, then, all good things must come to an end(Though, I’ve never allowed this addiction to end), so, I had to mellow down my writing, after I came to Dubai. I still write to ‘Open Space’ (Sunday TOI), Filmfare, and a few others, but, it’s not the way the ‘addiction’ was in those days.

Fourth, after reaching Dubai, the addiction was work, for the first company I was in- first, learning the ropes about the workstyle here, then, dealing with oodles of suppliers for our project requirements…it reached a stage where I stopped taking days off- would go to work even on Fridays, from 11 AM to 4 PM, would eat, sleep, dream work…if I got up late, I’d catch the first bus at 6 AM and be in the office(I had a key)…LOL… on top of that, the Boss once told me, just after I had joined ‘Why do you smile so much? I don’t like people who smile so much- they are not serious about their work’….as they say, ek woh din tha, ek aaj ka din hai(The day I quit that job after 4.5 years)- I never smiled in front of him, in spite of him doing his best to crack jokes to make me laugh…grin grin.(I’d smile internally, but, externally, it would be the same serious face as in my intro post photo..hahaha.)

Fifth, now, of course, the addiction is blogging…the eyes and ears are always open, whether at home, in the restaurant, at work, everywhere, for topics, for humour, for incidents…and, incidentally, this is the first hobby which is still at an all-time high, even after four years. (All the others peaked at four years…perhaps because four is my lucky number?)…I already wrote the next part of this, in my post on how blogging has changed my life..:)

Then, there have been the 'continuing' addictions of good music, being in luv( I see eyes going wide here), tea, losing (n gaining..LOL) weight(Separate topic, deserves a post- have lost 14 kgs, twice), et al.

On the flip side, I have never been tempted by the real addictions- smoking, drinking, drugs.Touchwood.

Cheers, everyone, and have a great weekend.

Labels: AmitL, Your ADDICTION in life

Labels: AmitL, first post, How has blogging changed your life