A lot of my friends have gotten married and have brought their wives to USA. A lot of these women don't work in US and hence have to find other ways to keep themselves busy.
It's no surprise that they'll lose interest for cooking three times a day within very few days after they land here. If they have previously worked then obviously they'll get bored with just doing the house chores and watching TV. To be honest, I'd rather be at work than stay at home and not know what to do!!!
In fact, I'm very happy that most of my friends were very open to the idea of their wives continuing their education here. In fact, some guys even went to the extent of searching for good schools and learning about the courses they offer that would interest their wives, I found it very fascinating. One person, prepared lunch for his wife and took it to her college :) (Could it get any better than that?).
Yea, now the point is that these women are lucky because they get to do what they want and they have enough support. But, not everyone has that kind of support and not all guys are open to the idea of educating their wives. It might totally depend on the guy's mindset and financial situation.
For the most part, you don't necessarily have to do an MS or MBA as a part of your continuing education, you could still find affordable courses online and some universities offer distance education program (UCSC offers courses right in bay area) or attend some of these pottery classes and other art related classes. Some of them even go to dance classes and give stage performances every now and then. But, if you really have some goodwill towards society (not like donating stuff for tax-benefit), you can even take to doing some social work.
These are just some things to think about.
Maybe you can ask yourself, will it be okay for me to say that my activities are "Surfing the internet" or to say "professional dancing, painting, etc...". I always wonder what kind of a person says "chatting" as their activity, but after seeing so many people, I am no longer surprised.
It'll always be good to keep in mind, that you cannot always expect your husbands to keep you entertained. If only one person goes to work, obviously that person tends to think that they are more stressed (they obviously will be) and will not be able to attend to the needs of others.
In the end, if you really want to fight boredom its you who should find out what is it that'll keep you busy and help you get by rather than just surfing the internet and watching Sun TV or putting together some stuff from Michaels!!!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Dasavathaaram: A big let down
Last weekend was kind of disappointing for me for a variety of reasons and one of them was having to sit through Dasavathaaram.
First of all, I am not a big fan of Kamal Hassan but I still decided to watch this movie because of all the hype. Even though my gut told me that this movie would be bad, I still gave in to the curiosity. Finally, there I was on Friday watching this movie.
I won't be going over the plot, I am only going to discuss the most atrocious aspects of the movie. After watching the movie, I can confidently say that Kamal played the ten different characters only for the sake of setting a record that no one else cares about. I understand that most of the money was spent on makeup, that looked terrible. I honestly cannot understand how Kamal or K.S.Ravi Kumar watched this movie and decided to release it.
Like the makeup wasn't enough to screw the movie, every single stunt was copied over from some other Hollywood movie. I could give them the benefit of doubt if it was just one stunt or two that resembled a hollywood movie but instead every single one was copied.
Considering the fact that Terminator is one of my favorite movies, I can never forgive Kamal Hassan trying to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger!!! (I should admit that it's not too bad when compared to Vijayakanth trying to look like Keanu Reeves in Arasangam)!!
Out of the 10 characters, about 8 of them ranged from below average to annoying and unnecessary. The Avtar singh character was a total waste of time and fact that he gets cured in the end reminded me of an old Muthuraman movie in which the doctor dies after saving Muthuraman (Which is total BS).
The 95 year old granny was the most disturbing and I am fairly certain that watching this character might just be a reason enough to have nightmares. This was by far the worst makeup I've ever seen in my life.
By now, you could see that I've already endured quite a bit of stuff here and on top that they have this Asin's character and every time she spoke my only visceral reaction was that I wanted to slap her so she would never speak.
I still don't understand why they made a big deal with referring to the common salt as NaCl and how no one calls it common salt. If they really thought that it would be a suspense until Kamal reveals it at the end it really wasn't. There was no suspense, everything was so predictable except for K.S.Ravi Kumars' dancing at the end! I was lost for words when I saw him dance at the end. Did he really have to put us through that??
Amidst all this annoyance, it was the Balram Naidu's character that shined. It was probably the only character that was worth watching in the entire movie. The interrogation scene was the only piece of the movie that's worth watching.
So finally was it satisfactory? No way.
was it gruesome? Completely so.
What did I get out of watching the movie: Migraine headache.
First of all, I am not a big fan of Kamal Hassan but I still decided to watch this movie because of all the hype. Even though my gut told me that this movie would be bad, I still gave in to the curiosity. Finally, there I was on Friday watching this movie.
I won't be going over the plot, I am only going to discuss the most atrocious aspects of the movie. After watching the movie, I can confidently say that Kamal played the ten different characters only for the sake of setting a record that no one else cares about. I understand that most of the money was spent on makeup, that looked terrible. I honestly cannot understand how Kamal or K.S.Ravi Kumar watched this movie and decided to release it.
Like the makeup wasn't enough to screw the movie, every single stunt was copied over from some other Hollywood movie. I could give them the benefit of doubt if it was just one stunt or two that resembled a hollywood movie but instead every single one was copied.
Considering the fact that Terminator is one of my favorite movies, I can never forgive Kamal Hassan trying to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger!!! (I should admit that it's not too bad when compared to Vijayakanth trying to look like Keanu Reeves in Arasangam)!!
Out of the 10 characters, about 8 of them ranged from below average to annoying and unnecessary. The Avtar singh character was a total waste of time and fact that he gets cured in the end reminded me of an old Muthuraman movie in which the doctor dies after saving Muthuraman (Which is total BS).
The 95 year old granny was the most disturbing and I am fairly certain that watching this character might just be a reason enough to have nightmares. This was by far the worst makeup I've ever seen in my life.
By now, you could see that I've already endured quite a bit of stuff here and on top that they have this Asin's character and every time she spoke my only visceral reaction was that I wanted to slap her so she would never speak.
I still don't understand why they made a big deal with referring to the common salt as NaCl and how no one calls it common salt. If they really thought that it would be a suspense until Kamal reveals it at the end it really wasn't. There was no suspense, everything was so predictable except for K.S.Ravi Kumars' dancing at the end! I was lost for words when I saw him dance at the end. Did he really have to put us through that??
Amidst all this annoyance, it was the Balram Naidu's character that shined. It was probably the only character that was worth watching in the entire movie. The interrogation scene was the only piece of the movie that's worth watching.
So finally was it satisfactory? No way.
was it gruesome? Completely so.
What did I get out of watching the movie: Migraine headache.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Here's your Macy's 20% off coupon...but you just can't use it!!!
I have been shopping regularly at Macy's ever since I have moved to California (for about 2.5 years), I personally find it easier to shop at Macy's as its a lot easier to find the smaller sizes there.
Last weekend, I was at Macy's shopping for some apparel and watches and I wanted to use the 20% off coupon that I had received by mail. I was fairly certain that coupon wasn't valid on Watches but I was fairly certain that I could use it on the apparel. So, when I offered the coupon, the cashier told me that I would not be able to use it. I found that quite ironic because, I tend to buy the same brand and I remember using a similar coupon only a few months back. Not only that, I specifically went over the "Excludes:" list to make sure that the brand I was buying wasn't listed in it. I found it interesting and odd that the cashier didn't even have to look at the clothes or the brand name to tell me that I just cannot use the coupon, especially when the coupon says use it for apparel and accessories.
I was unhappy not because I had to spend more but because I really felt cheated. If I literally cannot use a coupon on any merchandise I buy, I really don't see the point in them sending this coupon, it almost seems like Macy's has just stuck to this strategy to ripoff customers. Well, most people like me that have taken the pain to go to the Macy's store would not just return home once we find the coupon to be invalid instead we would still go ahead and buy the merchandise to avoid the hassle of going shopping a second time or finding a better deal somewhere else.
From what I remember, it never used to be this way until a few months back. In fact, in most stores people are nice enough to give you the discount as long as you have your Macy's card. But this time it was awful and I've almost decided to search for another more straight forward and no-frill store to do my shopping rather than deal with such crookedness.
Last weekend, I was at Macy's shopping for some apparel and watches and I wanted to use the 20% off coupon that I had received by mail. I was fairly certain that coupon wasn't valid on Watches but I was fairly certain that I could use it on the apparel. So, when I offered the coupon, the cashier told me that I would not be able to use it. I found that quite ironic because, I tend to buy the same brand and I remember using a similar coupon only a few months back. Not only that, I specifically went over the "Excludes:" list to make sure that the brand I was buying wasn't listed in it. I found it interesting and odd that the cashier didn't even have to look at the clothes or the brand name to tell me that I just cannot use the coupon, especially when the coupon says use it for apparel and accessories.
I was unhappy not because I had to spend more but because I really felt cheated. If I literally cannot use a coupon on any merchandise I buy, I really don't see the point in them sending this coupon, it almost seems like Macy's has just stuck to this strategy to ripoff customers. Well, most people like me that have taken the pain to go to the Macy's store would not just return home once we find the coupon to be invalid instead we would still go ahead and buy the merchandise to avoid the hassle of going shopping a second time or finding a better deal somewhere else.
From what I remember, it never used to be this way until a few months back. In fact, in most stores people are nice enough to give you the discount as long as you have your Macy's card. But this time it was awful and I've almost decided to search for another more straight forward and no-frill store to do my shopping rather than deal with such crookedness.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Something's cooking!
I'm a South-Indian vegetarian that only knows how to cook south indian food. I don't know much about north indian cuisine. But, anyways I wanted to make some curry that I can have with roti and I was searching for recipes online and I found this Potato in Yogurt gravy recipe video. I was just wondering who in the world had all the time to make a video and post it.
Anyways, I decided to try the recipe.
When I was in the process of trying the recipe (actually watching the video), I realized how very nice it was for someone to upload the video. Watching the video eliminates any doubt regarding the actual quantity of the ingredients used. When they mention table spoon or cup you really get to see what kind of spoon or other utensil that they use for measuring. I know that a cup signifies 240ml or 8oz but I've noticed that in most Indian recipes people somehow have it wrong. I once read a recipe in which the cook had specified 1 cup of chillies for making rasam (south indian dish), I couldn't even bring myself to imagine eating a dish that has 1 cup of chillies!!! It's plainly brutal!
So, anyway the video was pretty good because unlike some other recipe blogs the person clearly tells at what heat you're supposed to cook and how long, most others miss this info and they let us use our judgment to decide. The video was about 8 mins long and the making the dish took me about 10 minutes in all. I was very happy the way it turned out (the most important reason, why I even thought of writing one such post).
So, I guess it is a lot more helpful when the person posts the recipe or the procedure to make a certain dish in the video format as opposed to just writing a few lines and just posting a pic of the end product. I'm in no way suggesting that everyone that posts their recipe online should do this, instead I'm just suggesting that it might be better to do it this way.
Here's the video for Potato Curry with Yogurt Gravy
Anyways, I decided to try the recipe.
When I was in the process of trying the recipe (actually watching the video), I realized how very nice it was for someone to upload the video. Watching the video eliminates any doubt regarding the actual quantity of the ingredients used. When they mention table spoon or cup you really get to see what kind of spoon or other utensil that they use for measuring. I know that a cup signifies 240ml or 8oz but I've noticed that in most Indian recipes people somehow have it wrong. I once read a recipe in which the cook had specified 1 cup of chillies for making rasam (south indian dish), I couldn't even bring myself to imagine eating a dish that has 1 cup of chillies!!! It's plainly brutal!
So, anyway the video was pretty good because unlike some other recipe blogs the person clearly tells at what heat you're supposed to cook and how long, most others miss this info and they let us use our judgment to decide. The video was about 8 mins long and the making the dish took me about 10 minutes in all. I was very happy the way it turned out (the most important reason, why I even thought of writing one such post).
So, I guess it is a lot more helpful when the person posts the recipe or the procedure to make a certain dish in the video format as opposed to just writing a few lines and just posting a pic of the end product. I'm in no way suggesting that everyone that posts their recipe online should do this, instead I'm just suggesting that it might be better to do it this way.
Here's the video for Potato Curry with Yogurt Gravy
Monday, June 2, 2008
Yellowstone National Park
Hooray!! after nearly a year of busy schedule at work, I am finally free (well partly atleast). I was wondering how to best spend the lean time and decided to kick-off by going on a group trip to Yellowstone National Park. This was one of those trips that was a lot of fun from the day we left home till I got back home.
I'm usually scared of animals and when I agreed to go on this trip, I really wasn't sure as to what I had gotten myself into as YNP is filled with wildlife. We didn't see much of Wildlife on the first day. It was more of Old faithful Geyser and other smaller geysers near it. Despite stinking so badly they all looked very colorful and no two geysers looked alike. Rain did play some spoil-sport in the morning...but I guess our prayers were answered with nice sunshine later in the afternoon. We walked up and down the trail to see all the smaller geysers near Old faithful.
Trail near Old Faithful
Since the temperature was close to freezing temp there was a lot of steam near the geysers, which I thought was pretty cool. We also saw some waterfalls, I personally liked the Gibbon falls more than the other waterfalls I had seen that day.
Moose grazing
Then we drove for a while until we saw lots of people waiting with their telescopes and binoculars. We were curious too and so we stopped by to see what was going on near Tower falls. On our way to Tower falls, we got to see Black bear at a distance. We always had to maintain atleast a 100 meters distance from the bears...so, we could never get to see it like we would in a zoo. I somehow think Tower falls was more picture perfect than the other falls that we saw.
Tower Falls
After watching the bear, we drove around and finally ended up at the Grand Canyon of the yellowstone.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
It was quite amazing although I was a little scared on the insides. It really, truly gives you a sound sense of proportions even if you aren't good at math. I felt so small staring at the breathtaking canyon, the waterfalls in the canyon was beautiful too. The canyon was the highlight for the first two days.
On the third day we had no real agenda in place, in order to cover the areas left out we decided to leave more than an hour earlier than our usual time. In fact all of us got ready and we were so happy that we have more time than usual and wanted to make the most of it, only to get stuck in bison traffic for more than hour. I was quite frustrated during the wait, but on seeing the bisons, I forgot it all. We went to see the yellowstone lake, it was completely frozen. I've never seen such a huge water body completely frozen before.
Frozen Yellowstone Lake
It was really beautiful. On our way, we even saw a wolf. I have to mention that despite being smaller than all the other animals that I got to see, the wolf looked the most cunning and ferocious. I guess I'll remember it for my entire lifetime as to what its really like to stare at a wolf and have it stare back at you. It was a really dull day and we went on see Mammoth springs and also visited more geysers before returning to the Cabin.
In order to keep the size of the post from being too large and lengthy, I haven't added quite a bit of beautiful photos that we took at YNP. I'll have another post exclusively for the interesting photos taken at Yellowstone.
For some reason, I felt that we weren't lucky with much of wildlife viewing, but after talking to people at work, I realized that I was a lot luckier than most people as most of them weren't even lucky enough to see the bison close by. That made me feel lot more happier ;).
Over all, this was one of the most joyful and satisfying trip I've gone on and the memories of it I'm sure will definitely linger for a long long time.
Old Faithful Geyser
Trail near Old Faithful
Gibbon Waterfalls
On our way back to the cabin, we got to see Bison herds walking all over the roads not caring about traffic. Bisons looked more like the cousins of Buffaloes (I guess everybody knows this already).
Bison Grazing
More Bison
Next day began with Norris Geyser basin on our way we saw some Elks just hanging around, well this was more of geysers and bacteria growing near them and stuff. These bacteria are called Thermophiles (every time I hear this, the word pedophile comes to my mind, which is pretty weird!!) and they thrive well near these hot springs and geysers.
More Bison
Bacteria
We kept going and we came across more waterfalls and snow. As we proceeded north, the elevation increased and the whole place was filled with snow. It completely reminded me of Tahoe. In the afternoon, we got to see some Moose grazing, it felt so good to see something other than Bison and Elks :P.
Moose grazing
Tower Falls
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
On the third day we had no real agenda in place, in order to cover the areas left out we decided to leave more than an hour earlier than our usual time. In fact all of us got ready and we were so happy that we have more time than usual and wanted to make the most of it, only to get stuck in bison traffic for more than hour. I was quite frustrated during the wait, but on seeing the bisons, I forgot it all. We went to see the yellowstone lake, it was completely frozen. I've never seen such a huge water body completely frozen before.
Frozen Yellowstone Lake
In order to keep the size of the post from being too large and lengthy, I haven't added quite a bit of beautiful photos that we took at YNP. I'll have another post exclusively for the interesting photos taken at Yellowstone.
For some reason, I felt that we weren't lucky with much of wildlife viewing, but after talking to people at work, I realized that I was a lot luckier than most people as most of them weren't even lucky enough to see the bison close by. That made me feel lot more happier ;).
Over all, this was one of the most joyful and satisfying trip I've gone on and the memories of it I'm sure will definitely linger for a long long time.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
My new camera :)
I'm really really bored today...I'm still working tonight while watching Jay Leno's show (no, I don't think that affects the quality of my work!!)...I am going to spend the weekend working...so, I decided to write this blog just to distract myself!!
Sometime back I got a new digital camera (I finally got one for myself) and I'm experimenting with it these days.
I was really skeptical about buying a compact point and shoot camera all along mostly because I was under the impression that the quality of the picture taken was questionable in a number of ways. A lot of the pictures that people (people I know...) have taken ends up with poor lighting, and the object being out of focus and often times does no justice to the person that's being photographed. It really gets me upset to see a picture of myself in which I'm darker and fatter (part of the reason why I wasn't going to invest in the camera)...
My fiance (who loves photography..) convinced me to buy this Sony Cybershot W80, I kinda reluctantly bought it and we went to Santa Cruz light house beach to just test out the camera. We took some nice pictures but I still wasn't sure if it was worth it. So, the second trip was to boardwalk and I was convinced that the camera was decent if not great. But, the third time was really the charm...the pictures were really good, that it kindled an interest in me to actually go on trips just to be able to take pictures. Here are some of the pictures that I like that were taken using my camera.
So, basically I've used this camera both indoors and outdoors and I'm pretty impressed with the camera (and myself :P). Considering the fact that a novice like me can take some decent photos I guess the bad looking photos might not be the camera's fault after all.
Sometime back I got a new digital camera (I finally got one for myself) and I'm experimenting with it these days.
I was really skeptical about buying a compact point and shoot camera all along mostly because I was under the impression that the quality of the picture taken was questionable in a number of ways. A lot of the pictures that people (people I know...) have taken ends up with poor lighting, and the object being out of focus and often times does no justice to the person that's being photographed. It really gets me upset to see a picture of myself in which I'm darker and fatter (part of the reason why I wasn't going to invest in the camera)...
My fiance (who loves photography..) convinced me to buy this Sony Cybershot W80, I kinda reluctantly bought it and we went to Santa Cruz light house beach to just test out the camera. We took some nice pictures but I still wasn't sure if it was worth it. So, the second trip was to boardwalk and I was convinced that the camera was decent if not great. But, the third time was really the charm...the pictures were really good, that it kindled an interest in me to actually go on trips just to be able to take pictures. Here are some of the pictures that I like that were taken using my camera.
So, basically I've used this camera both indoors and outdoors and I'm pretty impressed with the camera (and myself :P). Considering the fact that a novice like me can take some decent photos I guess the bad looking photos might not be the camera's fault after all.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Piano Lessons..my new obsession!!
I agree that I've become a Porcupine Tree Evangelical!! until a year back I had no idea that this band even existed...but now I listen to PT every single day!! Usually I tend to listen to a particular band for a certain amount of time and tend to move on...but I find it almost impossible to stop listening to Porcupine Tree eve for a day.
I started listening to Porcupine Tree sometime before Fear of a Blank Planet was released because my fiance wanted to go to their concert. I remember listening to Synesthesia first and I wasn't sure how the whole concert experience would be (which turned out to be nothing short of a great and memorable day)!! But, I totally fell in love with PT once I started listening to Lightbulb Sun, In Absentia and Deadwing...
So, with PT I heard their newer albums first and then tried listening to some of their older albums...I by chance ended up listening to Piano Lessons from Stupid Dream and I totally fell in love with this song...I know that this song ain't metal sounding by any stretch of the imagination and it's kinda quite simple...still I just totally adore this song...
I pretty much start my day listening to Piano Lessons and sometimes I listen to this song multiple times before I move on to the next one!!! Maybe, I love this song...because I could connect..Connect with its meaning in a variety of ways...
This song is about a kid that kinda sucks at learning piano but in the end manages to learn it just fine...Life as a kid is extremely painful when you don't happen to be one of the teacher's favorite students. The little mistakes that you make gets magnified out of proportion. Even if you can do the damn thing right a second time you try...you are made to believe that you'd never be good at this task for the rest of your life.
Well, sometimes it doesn't stop with the teacher either...Even though it was 3 or 4 years since I wrote my Engineering entrance exams...I had one of my aunts wanting to compare my score with someone else's (it's noteworthy to mention that the syllabus was totally changed since I wrote the exams)!! Well, I had nothing to lose cos my score was still better :P..Nevertheless, I certainly thought the whole exercise was unnecessary!!
Every time I hear this song it kinda reminds me of my own desperation to get some credit whatsoever for being better than someone at something!!
Even though none of their remarks had any impact on my progress and I made it through just fine...I still sometimes wish that things were different!!! Yea, maybe a little credit wouldn't hurt :P
I started listening to Porcupine Tree sometime before Fear of a Blank Planet was released because my fiance wanted to go to their concert. I remember listening to Synesthesia first and I wasn't sure how the whole concert experience would be (which turned out to be nothing short of a great and memorable day)!! But, I totally fell in love with PT once I started listening to Lightbulb Sun, In Absentia and Deadwing...
So, with PT I heard their newer albums first and then tried listening to some of their older albums...I by chance ended up listening to Piano Lessons from Stupid Dream and I totally fell in love with this song...I know that this song ain't metal sounding by any stretch of the imagination and it's kinda quite simple...still I just totally adore this song...
I pretty much start my day listening to Piano Lessons and sometimes I listen to this song multiple times before I move on to the next one!!! Maybe, I love this song...because I could connect..Connect with its meaning in a variety of ways...
This song is about a kid that kinda sucks at learning piano but in the end manages to learn it just fine...Life as a kid is extremely painful when you don't happen to be one of the teacher's favorite students. The little mistakes that you make gets magnified out of proportion. Even if you can do the damn thing right a second time you try...you are made to believe that you'd never be good at this task for the rest of your life.
Well, sometimes it doesn't stop with the teacher either...Even though it was 3 or 4 years since I wrote my Engineering entrance exams...I had one of my aunts wanting to compare my score with someone else's (it's noteworthy to mention that the syllabus was totally changed since I wrote the exams)!! Well, I had nothing to lose cos my score was still better :P..Nevertheless, I certainly thought the whole exercise was unnecessary!!
Every time I hear this song it kinda reminds me of my own desperation to get some credit whatsoever for being better than someone at something!!
Even though none of their remarks had any impact on my progress and I made it through just fine...I still sometimes wish that things were different!!! Yea, maybe a little credit wouldn't hurt :P
Friday, February 22, 2008
Being Wrong!!
Most of us make mistakes or have made mistakes and ended up learning from them. I know that some people feel so bad about being wrong and try to make amends or sometimes it's just the other way, wherein they try to justify what they did.
Personally, in my case when I do something that I shouldn't have done, I acknowledge I was wrong and kinda try not to do it a second time. I've tried to justify my deeds before, but as I grew older and mature I just realized that I wasn't getting anywhere with that attitude of mine. Besides I don't lose anything by accepting I was wrong, than walk around proudly with my foolish dogmas and expecting people to like me!!
But I do come across people that don't want to be wrong, being cautious is one thing but trying to cover up is a totally different thing. I came across someone that had the urge to prove me wrong and ended up leaving a comment on my page so I take the time to explain why I did what I did and I notice this person just deletes his/her comment leaving my comment appear out of context. I was quite surprised to actually see someone take things so seriously to a point where they delete the comment on someone else's page. I realize the comment didn't make much sense but taking it out once I provide an explanation is just silly or atleast I feel that way. This act just makes me wonder to what lengths this person would go to cover up something? What's the worst that could've happened if the comment had just stayed? Really, nothing would've happened. I don't think anybody will jump to a conclusion or judge you because you said something that didn't make sense or was just totally wrong in such trivial scenarios. If people ever did that I think they are really shallow!!!
As for me, I just left my comment to stay because I don't really care about the few that are going to pass judgments about me by just looking at this one comment.
Personally, in my case when I do something that I shouldn't have done, I acknowledge I was wrong and kinda try not to do it a second time. I've tried to justify my deeds before, but as I grew older and mature I just realized that I wasn't getting anywhere with that attitude of mine. Besides I don't lose anything by accepting I was wrong, than walk around proudly with my foolish dogmas and expecting people to like me!!
But I do come across people that don't want to be wrong, being cautious is one thing but trying to cover up is a totally different thing. I came across someone that had the urge to prove me wrong and ended up leaving a comment on my page so I take the time to explain why I did what I did and I notice this person just deletes his/her comment leaving my comment appear out of context. I was quite surprised to actually see someone take things so seriously to a point where they delete the comment on someone else's page. I realize the comment didn't make much sense but taking it out once I provide an explanation is just silly or atleast I feel that way. This act just makes me wonder to what lengths this person would go to cover up something? What's the worst that could've happened if the comment had just stayed? Really, nothing would've happened. I don't think anybody will jump to a conclusion or judge you because you said something that didn't make sense or was just totally wrong in such trivial scenarios. If people ever did that I think they are really shallow!!!
As for me, I just left my comment to stay because I don't really care about the few that are going to pass judgments about me by just looking at this one comment.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Did you say MCP???
I was holding off from writing this blog but I saw this question on TV 'Are we ready for a woman president yet?' or some news about 'Women's Rights' and I was thinking about it and in the end I thought I'd just go ahead and write this blog.
I don't know how many of you have frequently dealt with Male chauvinists in your lives, I feel lucky because I didn't have to deal with male chauvinists for the majority of my life. Ever since I was a child I have always enjoyed a level playing ground. In fact, in high school I studied in a class where the first 5 to 10 rank holders were all girl kids and even engineering college was quite good there were no signs of chauvinism anywhere...and same was the story with grad school.
So, pretty much until the completion of grad school I had never witnessed male chauvinism or even seen men who thought they were superior or had an edge over women. I did witness something weird upon graduating from grad school and when I was searching for my first job. It took me a little over two months to find a job so, during that time I was generally getting advice from others (both solicited and unsolicited).
I happened to talk to this man and some of the stuff that he mentioned really did strike me as odd. Here's some stuff that I still happen to remember: 'mostly employers don't prefer women because they need to provide them maternity leave', 'Why do you need a really good job? if you happen to get a really good one then you wouldn't want to quit it even if you get married to someone in a different city', 'If you get married to someone in a different city, what will you tell your employer that you'll telecommute?', When I mentioned that interviews went well he was like 'yea, probably the manager just flirted with you'.
I do understand some (actually just one) of the stuff mentioned above like having to take maternity leave but I fail to comprehend the need to settle for a mediocre job so that I wouldn't feel bad when I have to quit!! I still don't get it!! Wouldn't you rather have a good job to work on irrespective of what happens in the future. I do understand that some decisions need to be future proof like buying electronics, appliances, retirement investments, etc...but doing a mediocre job so that you won't feel bad when quitting is just beyond me!! The closest analogy I can think of is "Fall sick totally don't treat your illness that way others won't feel bad when you die because there's the comforting thought that you were a sick person and you would have died anyway" On any day I would opt for a good job that way if I need to quit, I would at least have had job satisfaction and would have pocketed more money.
I understand maybe I can get lucky with one job interview because some flirted with me, but can you really get lucky with 3 out of 4 job interviews especially when you are interviewed by people of either gender???
Well, I did hear the advice and I did what I do best with such obnoxious advices just ignored it and took a job which I thought was something that I liked...I like it still...so, I guess I made the right call after all.
So, after all this ranting of mine here's the inside scoop I'm really thankful for the kind of men that I have in my life be it my father or my soon to be husband or friends they have all been great. I know what I dealt with isn't the most vulgar exhibition of chauvinism but I do feel bad for the women who happen to be a part of the lives of such men. I really don't envy them. I guess it's my time to feel content for all the goodwill that has been shown towards me by the people of the opposite gender in my life :)
I don't know how many of you have frequently dealt with Male chauvinists in your lives, I feel lucky because I didn't have to deal with male chauvinists for the majority of my life. Ever since I was a child I have always enjoyed a level playing ground. In fact, in high school I studied in a class where the first 5 to 10 rank holders were all girl kids and even engineering college was quite good there were no signs of chauvinism anywhere...and same was the story with grad school.
So, pretty much until the completion of grad school I had never witnessed male chauvinism or even seen men who thought they were superior or had an edge over women. I did witness something weird upon graduating from grad school and when I was searching for my first job. It took me a little over two months to find a job so, during that time I was generally getting advice from others (both solicited and unsolicited).
I happened to talk to this man and some of the stuff that he mentioned really did strike me as odd. Here's some stuff that I still happen to remember: 'mostly employers don't prefer women because they need to provide them maternity leave', 'Why do you need a really good job? if you happen to get a really good one then you wouldn't want to quit it even if you get married to someone in a different city', 'If you get married to someone in a different city, what will you tell your employer that you'll telecommute?', When I mentioned that interviews went well he was like 'yea, probably the manager just flirted with you'.
I do understand some (actually just one) of the stuff mentioned above like having to take maternity leave but I fail to comprehend the need to settle for a mediocre job so that I wouldn't feel bad when I have to quit!! I still don't get it!! Wouldn't you rather have a good job to work on irrespective of what happens in the future. I do understand that some decisions need to be future proof like buying electronics, appliances, retirement investments, etc...but doing a mediocre job so that you won't feel bad when quitting is just beyond me!! The closest analogy I can think of is "Fall sick totally don't treat your illness that way others won't feel bad when you die because there's the comforting thought that you were a sick person and you would have died anyway" On any day I would opt for a good job that way if I need to quit, I would at least have had job satisfaction and would have pocketed more money.
I understand maybe I can get lucky with one job interview because some flirted with me, but can you really get lucky with 3 out of 4 job interviews especially when you are interviewed by people of either gender???
Well, I did hear the advice and I did what I do best with such obnoxious advices just ignored it and took a job which I thought was something that I liked...I like it still...so, I guess I made the right call after all.
So, after all this ranting of mine here's the inside scoop I'm really thankful for the kind of men that I have in my life be it my father or my soon to be husband or friends they have all been great. I know what I dealt with isn't the most vulgar exhibition of chauvinism but I do feel bad for the women who happen to be a part of the lives of such men. I really don't envy them. I guess it's my time to feel content for all the goodwill that has been shown towards me by the people of the opposite gender in my life :)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
All alone and by myself ...
Over the weekend my roomie had asked me to join her for going to this movie Cloverfield, I was having a horrible migraine and had taken a pain killer only then so, I told her that I'm not sure and asked her when she was planning to leave and she replied saying she wud be going to the 10pm show. I thought maybe I can go if my migraine gets any better but in the end I just chose not to go and went back to my room around 8:00 pm and started listening to some music just to distract myself.
At about 9:30pm I heard a loud door bang and I concluded that it was my roomie who was just leaving to go watch the movie. I was quite sedated because of the medicine but I still continued listening to music.
Then a little past 10:15 pm or so I heard a laugh from my roomie's room. I was quite terrified, to be sure that the laughter infact came from her room I immediately turned off the music and I was just still. And at this point I was just thinking of the spirits and what would I do if there was one in the other room?? I've seen people acting like they were possessed by God or ghosts and every time I witnessed one such lunatic act in the past I was never alone and I usually run away to some other room or I'll just distance myself as much as I could, so that I can just run away when the spirit comes chasing me!!
But this time I was all by myself not knowing what to do. So, I tried to stay as quiet as possible and listen if there was any noise coming from the other room. I heard the laugh again, I realised it sounded more like my roomie, so I was terrified even more. I was wondering who could possibly be there and laugh just like her?? In the minutes that followed I heard the laugh multiple times and felt that it would be impossible for anyone to just laugh like her that many times.
After a while I heard some noises from the other room and I finally mustered some courage and went out of my room and checked near the apartment door and looking at our shoes, I realized that after all my roomie might not have gone to watch the movie. That thought did comfort me a little bit but then I was still a little afraid to go to her room and check...so, I had a glass of water and went back to my room, since I was quite sedated I ended up sleeping through the night.
The next day I got to know that my roomie indeed had stayed at home the previous night. So, finally my fear was put to rest and we all went and watched Cloverfield that evening. Watching Cloverfield was quite an unforgettable experience...maybe I can write another blog about the aftermath of watching Cloverfield :P
At about 9:30pm I heard a loud door bang and I concluded that it was my roomie who was just leaving to go watch the movie. I was quite sedated because of the medicine but I still continued listening to music.
Then a little past 10:15 pm or so I heard a laugh from my roomie's room. I was quite terrified, to be sure that the laughter infact came from her room I immediately turned off the music and I was just still. And at this point I was just thinking of the spirits and what would I do if there was one in the other room?? I've seen people acting like they were possessed by God or ghosts and every time I witnessed one such lunatic act in the past I was never alone and I usually run away to some other room or I'll just distance myself as much as I could, so that I can just run away when the spirit comes chasing me!!
But this time I was all by myself not knowing what to do. So, I tried to stay as quiet as possible and listen if there was any noise coming from the other room. I heard the laugh again, I realised it sounded more like my roomie, so I was terrified even more. I was wondering who could possibly be there and laugh just like her?? In the minutes that followed I heard the laugh multiple times and felt that it would be impossible for anyone to just laugh like her that many times.
After a while I heard some noises from the other room and I finally mustered some courage and went out of my room and checked near the apartment door and looking at our shoes, I realized that after all my roomie might not have gone to watch the movie. That thought did comfort me a little bit but then I was still a little afraid to go to her room and check...so, I had a glass of water and went back to my room, since I was quite sedated I ended up sleeping through the night.
The next day I got to know that my roomie indeed had stayed at home the previous night. So, finally my fear was put to rest and we all went and watched Cloverfield that evening. Watching Cloverfield was quite an unforgettable experience...maybe I can write another blog about the aftermath of watching Cloverfield :P
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