Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Easter puppies

This one was written when our first set of grandpuppies was born in April this year. I just couldn't gather the enthusiasm to put this up so far. Anyhoo...

Easter Sunday brought the best gifts I have ever received. I had called Phoebe into our bed in the early hours of the morning. She was panting heavily and I thought being with us would soothe her. I knew she would deliver soon, and was lazing in bed thinking of taking her for a round of pee so that she would be free to give birth. We woke to a wet spot on the bed, realizing that the first pup was on its way. By the time we could gather our wits, the boy was out and Phoebe had freed him of the cord. I barked instructions at the hubs to gather the supplies I should have kept ready in the first place. The mat and a bedsheet were placed on our bed just in time for the second one's arrival. It was a girl followed by another one. I called my animal-loving-soul-sister Apu to let her know that the most awaited event of this month was happening in my bed :P

Before the next one came, we moved Phoebe and the first-borns to her whelping area.
The fourth pup was a boy after which there was a gap in which Phoebe could rest a bit. Then came two girls in quick succession. Sadly, the sixth one was a stillborn. Phoebe licked it a lot trying to revive it, but it was clear that the pup probably never matured enough to be born alive. It was ghostly pale, as opposed to the others who were a very healthy shade of pink. We left the girl on a piece of paper on a table nearby. It took a while for the seventh one, a girl, to arrive, and Phoebe gladly had some water in the meantime. I had a hunch that the litter wasn't complete yet, so we stayed put in the whelping area. Soon enough, the last one arrived, another girl.

While the litter was making its way into this world, I kept helping Phoebe every chance I could... tearing off a couple of pups' protective sacs and helping them breathe. It just felt so... right. My girl did her job beautifully--tore off the sacs, cut the cord at just the right length, licked the pups clean and kept an eye out for intruders. Her instincts continue to amaze us. Mojo was pretty confused and kept popping in to quench his curiosity, but always remained at a cautious distance. The darling never troubled Phoebe in any manner. Maybe he dared not ;-)

When sufficient time had elapsed, I took Phoebe out for a walk, which was more like a mad dash to the road and back. She kept barking loudly at me, as if to tell me that we have to hurry. Maybe that's how they protect their young ones... by creating enough ruckus to ward off predators. She peed and pooped right in the middle of the street--quite unlike her--and ran back up the stairs at lightening speed.

I could have sat there all the time, but Apu called to say she was coming right over from Mumbai before she could even get home. Thanks to her, I gathered my wits, cleaned up a bit (thanks a bunch to the hubs for being so quick when it mattered, muuuuahh!) and even managed to have a bath in time. Apu and her husband could adore the pups only after Phoebe stopped barking in their face and settled down realizing that they meant no harm. Mojo had his fill of jumping around and running batshit crazy when they entered the door. This was the only time he got any attention that day. Except for the occasional appreciative nod and touch when hubs and I cooed over how non-nuisancy he was today.

I took Phoebe for a couple more poop-n-pee sprints, and then she had a few morsels of food at night, right beside the pups. Not being in that room was unbearable for her. Because the work week would begin the next day, I did not let hubs sleep in Phoebe's room. And rightly so. The little critters kept me up all night with their squealing. Although I did enjoy that too.

Setting off the sabbatical

I wrote this post in April when I quit my job, but I haven't had the inclination to upload it yet. So here goes...

The perfect beginning that didn't last

I doubt that many will understand this, but I was thrilled to wake up at 6:30 on a Saturday morning! It was just way I wanted my sabbatical to begin. I was so excited to be up at the time that the temptation to snuggle in did not even form completely in my mind. I thought of getting dressed and going for a walk, but my feet were hurting like they do on most mornings since several months now. So, I sauntered into the other bedroom and did some stretches in my night dress with the ceiling fan on full blast. I don't like getting sweaty right after I'm out of bed, but that's the big downside of exercise. Just one of my excuses for not getting into a healthy morning routine.

I was tempted to doze off again after the stretching and so I lay down on the floor, relaxing. Instantaneously, my dogs woke up and came barging from the bedroom sniffing and jumping over me. I took the cue, changed, and took them for a walk. We left the neighborhood and walk alongside the main rood today, and they were unexpectedly well-behaved. They didn't pull constantly, and I could control them with my voice and a few tugs at their leashes. We even saw a pack of puppies on the way, and one of them walked up to us ready to play but then chickened out suddenly. It was nice to see 'em all and their mum looking over her shoulder protectively. After we got home, though, we went to wake up dada, but snuggled in instead, like we always do, falling prey to his powers of sedation.

At this point, I succumbed to weariness and stopped writing. Didn't catch on for more than a week after. Through the first week at home, several things kept me busy, including lazing around and watching TV.

Come Sunday, the enthusiasm of waking up early and attempting to start and continue an exercise regime went right outta the window. I spent the morning gathering our apartment-related documents so that I could hand them over to the next office bearer. We had an annual general meeting planned for the evening. It went surprisingly well, and lasted only a little over two hours. I was the Secretary of the apartment association, but happily gave up the position in the hope that other members would take up the responsibility. The guy who was President gave up his position too, which surprised people. At least they said so.

Throughout the working week, hubs ran off to work as early as he could and came back as late as he could. Bugger's been taking advantage of me being at home to work longer hours. Not that I mind. I think he can use this opportunity to do some good work and get noticed. He's had to put in a fixed number of hours over the past two years so that I could work flexi-time and longer hours, and make multiple trips to the office if required. It worked for us, because my commute was almost half of his and I had to maneuver through only half the traffic. Also, the car was always at my disposal and I have been taking undue advantage of it. Sigh!

On Tuesday, I took Phoebe to the vet for an ultrasound, and we came to know that she had at least 6 pups in there. I've been waiting for their arrival all through the week. The same evening, hubs and I went to see a new pooch in the neighborhood. A girl who used to have a Dalmatian but gave him away because she couldn't manage to take care of him, has now brought home a month-old Rottweiler. Apparently her husband got cured of his dog aversion and wanted one that belonged to a big strong breed. It was a fun half an hour, where we let Bullet (yep, that's his name, but just "Bull" would suffice if you ask me... he's strong!) scamper around between our feet and over our heads, lick our faces, and chew our fingers and ears.

During the rest of the week, I did some cleaning up around the house, organized some documents, went grocery shopping, cleared the spare bedroom and created a whelping area for Phoebe. Took the dogs out on several short sprints, off the leash. I was too lazy to walk them around the usual track, and besides, they enjoy the freedom.

Good Friday morning was spent at me mum-n-dad's, where I clubbed a few things in one trip: I had to carry some warm clothes and tiffins for mom to carry during her upcoming old-ladies-gang trip to Kashmir. She had prepared my favorite food item. My dear friend Meg was in town for the weekend and we wanted to catch up. I had to drop mom off to granny's on our way back. Pawan was ok to be dragged around town and dumped at mama's place while I met Meg ;-)

Saturday was spent at home, zombie-watching TV. Except when I went to the bank and tried to check email. My internet connection played hooky through the week. Phoebe had began panting in the afternoon and continued through the night.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The obvious consequence of the uh-oh moment

... was confirmed today.

It's been 35 days and it seemed like the perfect time to take Phoebe for an ultrasound. We were hoping that there'd be fewer cuddly balls of spotted fun to grandparent this time, but that isn't to be. We saw 6 of 'em floating around in my girl's tummy. Hoping there are no more.

The hubs all but panicked, while I was secretly thrilled that I would be able to hold a few more of those delightful young'uns so soon. This time, though, I'll manage things better. Cherish my moments with 'em instead of turning into a shrieking banshee like I did a few months ago.

When I broke the news to the good lady who runs the pet products shop that we frequent, she couldn't wrap her head around the idea! It tickled her funny and we were both giggling at the prospect like tweens :)

In related news, a family solicited Mojo's puppy-making skills for their 2.5-year-old Dal named Lucky. She was a pampered brat, but I didn't mind Mojo passing on some of his baby-paste (Thank you, writers of 18 to Life!) to her because she was so fine-looking. She had perfectly spotted ears! Their progeny would be quite sought after. And, we get to keep one of our choice!

So all 1.7 of you people who happen to pass by this space every few days, pull up your sleeves, get the megaphones out and get prepared to yell at every passerby and demand that they take away my puppies by the end of January 2012. Go on, be good now.

Friday, November 11, 2011

11.11.2011

Yeah, I hate shortening it to make it look cool. Just wanted to note that mom enters her 60s today. She's locked herself up in her house in a pseudo-maun-vrat because she doesn't believe in birthday celebrations. Is it a surprise then, that I like mine to be small, private events, and I consider it to be a time of introspection and making resolutions instead of doing them on every new year's eve? This year I hadn't planned on any celebration, but had a surprisingly fun day.

Anyhoo... mom's obsessing over how she can take better care of her mom who's now in her mid-80s. That, when she doesn't even love her and does it out of a deep-seated sense of duty. Thankfully, I love mine. That doesn't stop me from having serious doubts about how I would be able to manage her old age. Three decades on this planet and I still refuse to grow up. Tch, tch!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Blessings and curses

One of the greatest blessings I have in life is the absolute freedom to make my own decisions about who and when I meet, and the absolute independence to go where and how I feel. This is in total contrast of the horror stories that we are made aware of via platforms like VAW and VU.

I couldn't help but feel grateful as I was returning tonight from an impromptu meeting with my ex-colleagues and now dear gal pals. It was midnight by the time I got home after dropping two of the other girls to their dwellings. I feel safe thanks to the 4 wheels under my bum and the metallic enclosure around me. I feel infinitely thankful to have a loving family (in-laws included) without having to ask for them. Not many people are as lucky.

I take a moment to think about the less fortunate ones and pray that they might all one day feel secure in their own homes and loved by those close to them. I am fortunate enough to not know many people in my surroundings who are in abusive relationships. For those that I know of, I pray for the ability to help them open up to me, and the courage to help them rise above their circumstances, in whatever way I can.

It's not okay to know that such things happen and let them be.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

The uh-oh moment

... happened today.

People who are squeamish about animals or sex or a combination of both should stop reading at this point. You have been warned.

Phoebe (and thereby) Mojo have been in heat since the past two weeks. Prior to this, we used to put one of them in the crate on a rotating schedule so as to avoid accidents. Actually, that's quite unnecessary, because Phoebe is quite invincible... if I ever have a daughter, I want her to be strong and capable of defending herself like my bitch here ;-) In fact, we had to (you know, er...) help them conceive just a few months back.

These past couple of weeks, however, we have managed to keep them apart by just yelling at Mojo and threatening him. Also, it helped that Phoebe bared her teeth at him and also bit him at times. Yeah, we're twisted like that... we find that better compared to having to put them in the crate and get them out every hour or so.

Anyhoo. We're grateful that they sleep through the night without us having to sleep with them in separate rooms like we did before. This morning, as has been the routine for the past 3-4 days, we woke up to the cacophony that ensues when Mojo tries to screw Phoebe. (Squeamish folks, I told you so!) By the time I could go grab Mojo and push him out of the room or onto his bean bag, he'd mounted (I can't believe I'm using that word... the last time I used it, it was as a Linux / UNIX command) Phoebe. We thought of pulling him off but couldn't risk separating him from his (er...) little Mojo. Talk about making split-second decisions!

So it happened that for the next 20 minutes or so, we sat in bed contemplating the consequences of the recent events, while they gradually moved all over the room stuck at the base. Literally. Thankfully, after the first few seconds, there aren't any pelvic thrusts involved in this graphic sequence. (Any prudes reading so far? You've shown exceptional courage. Now go away.) At some point, Phoebe got tired of standing and decided that she wanted to sit in the bean bag. So she did. Mojo realized that he had no option but to accommodate her if he wanted to continue having his way with her. He was done a few minutes later, and I hurried to wash the bean bag clean. Talk about parenting.

The rest of the morning passed by peacefully, with Mojo banished to the crate, and without us bringing up the topic that we ruminated over individually. After the hubs went to work, I called up the vet, gave him the details of the events that transpired, and asked whether there was a chance that Phoebe would conceive. He said that it's rare that it happens this late in the heat cycle, but it's possible. The only way to know would be to check the Progesterone levels in her blood. That would give us a 90% accurate reading. He asked whether we wanted them to have puppies or not. I said no. (I actually meant "Oh God, no!") He said that there were contraceptive pills available but they didn't really work. He'd seen a few cases where the dogs still conceived. He suggested that we either operate her now to remove her ovaries or go in for an abortion a month later. The former is not an option now (the hubs wasn't keen on it when I asked soon after the puppies were born) and the latter is never an option. It saddens me to even write about it.

So now, we begin the anxious 4-to-6-week long wait to know whether we're gonna be grandparents again before the year is out. We're not keen on it, but if it does happen, we'll make arrangements for the pups to be cared for and taken away sooner. Wish us luck, folks, and pray that we don't need it!

PS: I've written things in this post that I never thought would escape my (er...) fingers.

PPS: Whatever happens, we still love our Mojo and Phoebe to death. They're the best. And they make the cutest couple. Folks at the pet resort attest to that in writing :P

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

For 'em pearlies

Warning: Explicit oral content. Read at your own risk.

A few weeks ago, I decided to try this mouthwash thing. I have very bad brushing habits, and thought of this as an easier way to keep 'em pearlies intact for a few more decades. I completely forgot about them while all our stuff was collected in a room and wrapped in sheets until the house painting job was over. Found them while arranging stuff back into the cupboards, and tried one of the three flavors (which was actually non-flavored, the others being CoolMint and FreshBurst).

A few days later, after habitually taunting the husband about his bad brushing habits, I suggested that he try the mouthwash I bought. Here's how it went...

Me: Didn't you just say you were going to brush your teeth?
Him: Done!
Me: Already?! But you were barely gone 30 seconds!
Him: How long does it take anyway?!
Me: Hmpf, no wonder you have all that plaque lining your teeth on the inner sides of your gums.
Him: Dude, that's the color of my teeth.
Me: What, brown?
Him: Huh?!
Me: You brush your teeth like you'd brush a baby's bottom. With soft bristles to boot! I think you should try out Listerine. I got it a few weeks back.
Him: What's that?
Me: 30 seconds of Hell in your mouth.
Him: :-| (a la Sheldon Cooper)

I decided not to elaborate. The ensuing scene that played out in my mind...
Me: You've got to rinse your mouth with it for 30 seconds. You can't swallow it. It stings. You can't drink water for a while after it's stung you.
Him: :-| (meaning "Now why would I ever do that my mouth?")
Me: At the rate we're going, largely thanks to our brushing routine or the lack thereof, we're gonna run out of teeth by the time we hit the 4-Ohs.
Him: I could live with that.
Me: Dude, missing teeth and hair! How are we ever going to rock our 40s?
Him (to himself): Drama queen!
Me: But dude, does it sting!
Him: :-| (translates to "And you're even bothering to recommend it to me. Are you out of your mind?!")
Me (to self): Why did I even bother?

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Drenched!


There wasn't a better way to say goodbye to the season of nourishment and get ready for a fresh start. Since childhood, I've always loved getting drenched in the rains. One of my oldest memories is of jumping about in my undies at my father's hometown, splashing water, and playing with my other kiddie cousins. As a teenager, I fell in love with the first rains of the season and would always be there on the rooftop terrace to welcome the monsoons.

After my mid-20s, however, I began distancing myself from the rains. I'd always find reasons to not go enjoy those first showers myself, and I'd be glad that the season was over. The months in between were just something to be put up with, and I made all kinds of excuses to avoid outdoor work. Since I started driving a car, I've hardly ever used my bike in the monsoons. Earlier, I would love to go for a ride when it was drizzling.

I've been longing to get back to that self who loved the rains, but I'd always find an excuse to not get soaked--something I completely enjoyed earlier. Finally, after 7 years, something snapped in me. It's the end of September and my neighborhood hadn't seen any rains in more than a week. Today, however, dark clouds gathered quite suddenly and it started pouring. A strong was flowing at the same time, and it cooled down the slightly warm air in the house. Before my brain could intervene with its usual nonsense, I scampered to the rooftop terrace and walked into the last showers of the season.

It was raining so heavily, I could barely see anything a few feet away. I walked around for half an hour or so, without shying away from the prickling cold, which paradoxically made me feel quite warm inside. I used to love this... being washed from head to toe by a shower from the sky, watching my palms and feet grow pale in reaction to the cold water, watching the goosebumps form on my skin and then subside, feeling a sense of calm descending on me as the water quietens the thoughts buzzing through my head... it's a happiness inducing experience! I had to control my grinning to avoid getting my insides washed with rain water :D

As the rain subsided, the thick clouds parted and the sky got ready to shimmer in its beautiful evening colors. The neighboring buildings were soaked and so were the neighboring hills. Water gushed into the rivulet that flows close by and large birds perched atop trees until they could fly again. It seemed like nature's way of reassuring us that everything's alright.

Friday, September 09, 2011

Suits me fine

The first time I solved a puzzle within the average time :)
Click to Mix and Solve
Fastest 1:26
Your Time 8:00
Average 10:00

...another time :D
Click to Mix and Solve
Fastest 1:17
Your Time 7:54
Average 8:49

...and yet another time!
Click to Mix and Solve
Fastest 1:43
Your Time 6:49
Average 7:28

Hooray!
Click to Mix and Solve
Fastest 1:54
Your Time 8:25
Average 11:15

So close!
Click to Mix and Solve
Fastest 1:18
Average 7:39
Your Time 7:45

Monday, August 29, 2011

Puzzles with crazy cuts

Click to Mix and Solve
Tried with 108 piece swirls...
Fastest 3:38
Average 16:23
Your Time 31:29

Click to Mix and Solve
Cut 44-piece Tri-dove
Fastest 1:11
Average 6:09
My Time 7:18

Click to Mix and Solve
Fastest 0:41
Average 5:09
My Time 5:10
Cut 48-piece Classic, but yay!! :D

Galdly Puzzled

Click to Mix and Solve
Time

Click to Mix and Solve
Time

Click to Mix and Solve
Time

Click to Mix and Solve
Time

Click to Mix and Solve
Time

Click to Mix and Solve
Time

Click to Mix and Solve
Time

Click to Mix and Solve
Time

Click to Mix and Solve
Fastest 1:59
Average 7:52
My Time

Click to Mix and Solve
Fastest 1:07
Average 6:23
My Time 8:08 :)

Click to Mix and Solve
Fastest 1:16
Average 5:09
My Time 6:19 :)

Click to Mix and Solve
Fastest 0:53
Average 8:15
My Time 11:55

Click to Mix and Solve
Fastest 2:15
Average 16:53
My Time 29:53

Friday, July 01, 2011

Destructive entertainment: a good training technique

Our grandpups have been dirtying the living room every night, so that I have to mop it thrice every morning--once to scoop the pee and poop off, again with water to get the sticky paw marks off, and yet again with Savlon to kill the odor and germs off. They've been doing their business in the balcony/terrace area during the day, except when they are engrossed in playing and don't have the patience to go all the way outside.

Until recently, I didn't keep the door to the balcony open during the night for fear that the mosquito militia might take over. The last couple of months, however, have taken a toll on my patience. Two days back, I took the risk, and the results have been dramatic. The first night, they dirtied the place 50% lesser. The second night, that figure went down to 90%!!

So this morning, I gladly began sweeping the floor, because it wasn't quite possible due to the sticky floor until now. I found a lot of thin sticks, and wondered what they were, because we didn't really have any stick-ey object lying around. (Before we retire every night, we diligently hide everything that the critters can destroy. They've targeted and succeeded with the TV remote's rubber hand grip, the remote itself, a few wires, cloth, bottles... pretty much anything that is unable to protect itself.)


I found this lying on the rug that I put down for the puppies to snuggle in if they need it.


And then it all came back to me. I remember looking at this small table mat lying on the center table last night, and thinking, oh what the hell... they might not even look at it. What I didn't think was... this is the only useful object in the room... do you think they're gonna stick to their toys? Which kid ever did that?



But then I figured, this was a small price to pay for a clean room. (Only one pee! And that too, not splashed or spread around with their paws!)

So here we go. Another lesson learned. Leave one object in the room for them to focus their energy on.

Some thoroughly enjoyable destruction inside
Keeps the pee and poop outside

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Grandpups

Just so I get something up in May.... here's what kept me busy since April... inspite of being jobless.

The Easter bunnies who looked like rats but were actually dogs.


In 5 weeks, they grew up to be spotted and spunky little critters of destruction. Or, as the hubs calls them, The Cuteness Guns... they've got killer looks!


The slightly-confused-but-happy-to-find-new-playmates-pop and the pissed-with-the-progeny-that-howls-at-night-pop-pop... my cousin unknowingly managed to capture the best picture yet of these two together.


The brilliantly instinctive mamma who got all 8 of them out and cleaned in 4 hours flat and the rather proud and goofily happy nanna holding up the firstborn to tie a colored thread around his neck for identification... they were both glued to the pups the first couple of days.


It's been a thrilling, tiring, breath-taking, back-breaking, exhilarating, and exhausting ride. Sadly, we can't afford to keep any of them... neither have the money nor the time. I hope the li'l ones find takers who really care for them and love them like we do ours. Or better. Till then I'm just a wobbly pot of mush.

When I'm not yelling at them to STOP-TEARING-THE-PAPER-THAT-YOU'RE-SUPPOSED-TO-PEE-ON! Or wiping pee and scooping poop. Or preparing their feeds. Or feeding them. Or washing pee-drenched cloth. Or feeding / walking their parents. Sigh!

Friday, April 08, 2011

Pune supports India against corruption

http://indiaagainstcorruption.org/index.php
Apparently, the website is down at the moment... I guess it is the number of hits it must be receiving.

Folks worldwide can sign the online petition:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_anna_hazare/?cl=1007806945&v=8808

Punekars can participate in a couple of related events:
  • Support for the nationwide event on Friday, April 8, 2011 (TODAY) – A march from Baalgandharva Theatre (J. M. Road) to Shaniwaar Waada; gather at 6:00 pm, bring your own candles.
  • Pune-specific event on Saturday, April 9, 2011 (TOMORROW) – A march from PMC Office to Shaniwaar Waada; gather at 6:00 pm, bring your own candles.

Contact: Dr. Gitesh Devhane (gitesh.devhane@gmail.com) (+91 9028 485 261)

More info: http://indiaagainstcorruption.org/aboutus.php
Further contacts: http://indiaagainstcorruption.org/citycontacts.php

For a change, let's do our bit without making excuses.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The first few pictures

... are here!



There's this coconut tree on the rear side of my apartment, and this colorful branch caught my eye when I was ambling in the balcony making sure that my pets drank water.



So I zoomed in and immediately made a desktop wallpaper out of it :D



A spring blossom I picked up on the way while walking my dogs. I placed it on my red leather wallet for a contrast-ish effect.



My Phoebe! How could I not capture the apple of my eye? The queen of our home? My only love at first sight, ever? (Take that, hubby! The only thing I felt when I laid my eyes on you for the first time was... wow... that's so much light entering the room! You were practically reflecting light with every square inch of your visible skin!)



That's Mojo in his playful pose, who mistook the camera for a toy and was ready to jump at me and wrestle it away.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The second memory capturer

... is here!

From Nikon's Life series of digital cameras, it's L120! It has 21x optical zoom. Megapixels be damned!


Isn't that red irresistible?

I can't stop giggling. Or at least grinning. It's either that or my evil laugh.

And I must add. Flipkart rocks! An impressive interview by Unmana made be give them a try. Am totally sold.

Also a vote of thanks to TG (bows! and bow-wows!) for the advice. And MG (you should begin write again!) for appreciating the pics I took earlier.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Got off my ass and did something

... the second time around. This Saturday, folks from Ramnagar Colony, where I reside, had organized a walk to raise awareness and protest against the encroachment upon Ramnadi (mostly by construction companies). The plan was to walk alongside the river bed around 7:00 in the morning. The Ramnagar Colony Mandal had contacted the press and some municipal authorities. Considering their availability, the timing was changed to 11:00 am. Most of the participants were aged 50 or above. Considering the summer heat, we decided to use cars instead.

We drove to the adjoining highway and then went down the fork to the left where Anshul developers are constructing a residential complex right on top of the river itself. Their project description reads "Conveniently located at the junction of RamNadi and Mumbai-Bangalore Bypass." Located at the junction... my ass.

The next stop was the bridge beside DSK Ranwaara straddled by Rainbow Housing and the Goel Ganga group on each side. Their projects are not only endangering the ecosystem, but their future customers lives as well. Isn't it a simple fact that soil under or adjoining a river is unstable? How can the foundations of these constructions be strong enough for the buildings to survive even the next 5 / 10/ 20 years, especially with flash floods like we experienced last year? What are they thinking? Is this a forest where tribals can shit in the river and hope that their waste will be carried far away and wouldn't bother them? Rainbow Housing does not even mention the water body in their project description. Guess they assume that there won't be able left when they're done with the place.

The last stop was the rear side of Sai Kamal complex, which is separated from Praj Industries by Ramnadi. This a company that offers "water and wastewater treatment systems for customers, worldwide." By shitting in their own backyard. A few weeks ago, they were caught dumping debris in Ramnadi, which runs through their own backyard. As of now, it seems like they are cooperating and have expressed willingness to clean their act.

We did not do much other than walk around and chant slogans... something I'm not really a fan of, but we can't do much else until we gather the support of enough folks to move the responsible people in civic administration to do their jobs. Some experts explained the situation to folks who were new and mentioned other similar ongoing struggles in other parts of India. The press was invited to cover the event. The corporator, who was invited and reminded about the event over the phone, did not turn up. He missed the last even too, when these folks protested against praj Industries. The next action item is to get more people to involve and speak up. We're hoping to build the numbers and the momentum of this struggle so that the authorities take requisite action before this monsoon. This is a tad overtly ambitious, but we can hope, can't we?

Some folks have written about this elsewhere and the news articles should come out soon. Will update this post when I have the links and pictures.

Monday, March 07, 2011

Which Star Wars Character Are You?

You are Darth Vader. Secrets are kept within your soul for ages, and you only reveal them when the perfect opportunity presents itself. You are not purely evil, but let's just say you need to chill out a little bit! You are a leader- and because of that have a great responsibility to make sure you lead people down the right path. You will seize control of situations by any means necessary- and you do so with no regrets (and you probably throw in an evil laugh too!)

Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Whoever's looking for

... armpit hair picture of nude girl, did you find what were looking for on my blog? If you did, could you point me to that location? Must be some corner or my mind where I keep thinking about the Redneck Mommy. She's the one who teases people about posting such pictures. Not me. Although I could post such pictures if you ask me nicely. I've got a girl at home who runs around naked all day and has hair all over. Not just in her armpits. And she'll lick you all over even if you don't ask her nicely. I promise.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Taggin' the bracelet along

I don't normally do this, but I'm not in a mood for work today, so taking up what N passed on here.

A few questions about bracelets, triggered by The Bracelet. I haven't been a regular reader of Ritu's blog, but I like what I read, and I guess I might like what her son wrote too.

1. What does the name suggest? Could be anything you know, even “Oops its my wife/girl friend’s birthday, what do I get her” Just put it down.

- The word always brings to my mind a silvery object with trinkets or little bells hanging off it.

2. If your loved one presented you a bracelet, what would you want it to be made of? Alternatively if you had to present a bracelet to your sweetheart, what would you pick?

a.) Gold

b) Gold and rubies

c) Diamonds babe, just diamonds

d) Whateva, its gotta be expensive and look it!

e) Simple iron kada, or a silver one. Not showy

- Option e, I think. As evident in my answer to the previous question. Of course, I wouldn't wear it everyday for the fear that it would disturb others at work.

3. Suppose your bracelet (or kada) had magical qualities (Like Aladin’s lamp) what magical qualities would you want it to have? Let your imagination run riot … anything, money, power, world domination, elixir of youth …. Just pen it down – or punch them keys

- Summon my loved ones or somehow establish contact with them wherever I am.

4. Do snakes scare you or do you get strangely fascinated by them?

- I am strangely fascinated by snakes. Except maybe a hungry anaconda. Then I'd want to get the hell out of that place.

5. Harry Potter could speak Parseltogue. Do you wish you could?

- Yeah, that would be neat. Although I'd prefer speaking canine so I'd know exactly what my dogs are trying to say.

6. What do you dream about? No this is not about day dreaming, it’s not about wishful thinking, its about being in dreamland.

- I generally dream of adventure, or sometimes about being in a crisis situation and trying to get myself out of a spot or trying to protect someone.

7. Do you remember your dreams?

- Rarely.

8. Ever had your dreams interpreted?

- Nope. Don't know whether and how much I'd trust another's interpretation.

9. Do you keep a dream diary?

- Nope. Seems like a nice idea, though.

10. Your favorite wrist jewellery?

a) Bangles

b) Bracelet

c) Expensive Watch

d) Friendship band

e) Taveez or sacred thread (mouli)

- Bracelet it is!