Words

It's not the first English song I ever heard, nor is it the best. But sometimes, it's just something I can't stop humming. So here you go... enjoy!

And for those who love the lyrics...

Smile an ever lasting smile
A smile can bring you near to me
Don't ever let me find you gone
'Cause that would bring a tear to me

This world has lost its glory
Let's start a brand new story now, my love

You think that I don't even mean
A single word I say

It's only words
And words are all I have
To take your heart away

Talk in ever lasting words
And dedicate them all to me
And I will give you all my life
I'm here if you should call to me

You think that I don't even mean
A single word I say

It's only words
And words are all I have
To take your heart away

It's only words
And words are all I have
To take your heart away

Ta da da da da da da...

This world has lost its glory
Let's start a brand new story now, my love

You think that I don't even mean
A single word I say

It's only words
And words are all I have
To take your heart away

It's only words
And words are all I have
To take your heart away

My Californian affair

Who else would let a 62-kilo, pockmarked, nearing-her-30s girl with a borderline personality disorder ride (er... drive) her?

((wink, wink))

Phir dekhiye...

Aankhon mein jiski, koi to khwaab hai
Khush hai wohi jo, thoda betaab hai
Zindagi mein koi, arzoo kijiye
Phir dekhiye

Hothon pe jiske, koi to geet hai
Woh haare bhi to, uski hi jeet hai
Dil mein jo geet hai, gunguna lijiye
Phir dekhiye

Yaadon mein jiski, kisi ka naam hai
Sapnon ke jaisi, uski har shaam hai
Koi to ho jise, apna dil dijiye
Phir dekhiye

Khwaab bun yeh zara
Geet sun yeh zara
Phool chun yeh zara
Phir dekhiye

PS: Thanks to sphinx, who reminded me of this. I'm sure she's basking in this song right now too. Others, please grab a CD of Rock On.

The Perception Personality Image Test

My result...

HFPC - The Photographer

Humanity, Foreground, Big Picture, and Color

You perceive the world with particular attention to humanity. You focus on what's in front of you (the foreground) and how that fits into the larger picture. You are also particularly drawn towards the colors around you. Because of the value you place on humanity, you tend to seek out other people and get energized by being around others. You like to deal directly with whatever comes your way without dealing with speculating possibilities or outcomes you can't control. You are in tune with all that is around you and understand your life as part of a larger whole. You are a down-to-earth person who enjoys going with the flow.

The Perception Personality Types:

Take The Perception Personality Image Test at HelloQuizzy

PS: Found this through Stinky Paw.

Random weekend plan - IV

Updated inline.

I'm putting it here so that it compels me to stick to it. The plan, of course.

First and foremost, we have 3 movies lined up, starting this evening. In a couple of hours to be precise. That's because 2 possibly good movies (Rock On and Wanted) and 1 definitely great movie (Wall E - what else do you expect from the makers of Monsters Inc., The Incredibles, Cars, and Ratatouille?) are releasing this weekend!! And also because while I am in California for 3 weeks, my darling husband won't venture out anywhere without me, except possibly for food.

Rock On was brilliant. Why the hell did Farhan Akhtar not oblige the camera all these years? He sings well too. I liked the way he played the part of a performer on stage when presenting Pichhle Saat Dinon Mein. Four words for Arjun Rampal: Aankhen, Don, Om Shanti Om (although the wig was ridiculous), and Rock On (please try to pick roles / scripts like these). Purab Kholi and Luke Kenny played their parts to perfection. Prachi Desai was a doll, not an actress--could have been better. Shabana Goswami as Debbie kicked ass. The music inspired me to finally get an audio system fitted into my car. A year since I bought it, and all the poor thing has heard is me cackling.

Wanted was passable, although, any James McAvoy fan should not miss it. He was very different from what he looked /played in The Last King of Scotland and Narnia. Well chiseled body. And the twinkle in his eye. Oh my!

Wall E was our treat. Perfect Pixar entertainment. The way Wall E and Eva called out to each other was absolutely adorable (me and hubby tried to mimic them all through the remaining weekend). So was their attempt to clean up and rehabilitate the earth. The movie was so cute and funny all throughout, that I could successfully keep myself from crying inspite of all the mush. I know I'll be watching it at least 5 more times within the next year.
I'm never sure whether to be glad about it, or push him into being a bit more social. Mostly I settle on letting him do what he likes most--play games incessantly on my laptop (which, I believe, has seen more action with him that I have :P), watch TV like there's no tomorrow, and SLEEP for as long as he likes with the bed all to himself.

Between Wanted and Wall E tomorrow, we have 6 hours during which we plan to get laptop's USB ports fixed, and also help my colleague at office settle into my parent's house, where we lived last year. She's renting it out for a while. As I said, these absolutely boring details are being laid out here so that I am pushed to follow through the plan.

The night after Rock On, I couldn't sleep. Socha Hai just didn't leave my brain until I put the plan (of buying the car audio system) on paper, besides listing a few other tasks, so I wouldn't forget. And guess what? The next morning, I forgot to take the To Do list along with me. Beat that.

Thankfully, we did most of the chores we planned to, and more. We upgraded the laptop's RAM and got the USB HDD's casing replaced to fix the loosened port. Then I left the hubs at my grandmom's place, conspired with my uncle and his kid, and asked them to drive me around while I left the car at the accessories store to get the audio system fitted. It's a smart Sony Xplod MEX-BT 3600U with Subwoofer / Speakers, which accepts USB and Blutooth input as well. This was my surprise for hubby, and for a change, I was sure he'd be pleased, not shocked with it. Besides it would save me the trouble of singing for 6 hours straight while we made the long trip tomorrow.

Sunday still seems a little daunting, because of my own idea to drive to Panchgani / Mahabaleshwar and back. That'll be the farthest I've planned to drive so far. Between 100-120 kms one way. The only thing that makes me look forward to it is that my sweetest, cutest hubs agreed to the idea without a second thought, in a split second. It's so rare to get such a quick response from him that I almost did a double-take. But I like it :) I might even let him drive :)

Although, the factor that might keep us from executing this plan is the condition of the roads. If they're not good, we might be tempted to turn back even if we're half-way through. I'll upload pictures if we make it, and share some virtual strawberrys and ice-creams with you ;-)

Yes, yes, we made the trip. We started at 7:30 instead of the planned 6:30, but it was only because Angels and Demons kept us awake well past midnight. I'm reading the illustrated, hard bound version to the hubs these days, thanks to a colleague who lent it to me. The beginning of the trip was slightly rocky, because we fought about how much cash we should withdraw from the ATM. Once that fight was out of our way and we hit the highway, things chilled out. We had a good breakfast, and that possibly calmed the hubs down even further.

I drove all the way up to the table top, halting intermittently for pictures. Once we reached Panchgani, and before we headed to the volcanic plateau, we made a pit stop for some deliciously perfect strawberry and fig ice-creams. It was mostly cloudy when we reached the top, so the shade helped us explore in peace. There were a lot of monkeys and I was thrilled to see them, but they didn't give me much bhaav, possibly because I wasn't carrying any food, and wanted their pictures for free. A while later, the sun began beating down on us, but we found respite in one of the cool ponds. Within an hour or less, we turned back to the parking lot, where we had a fresh nimboo sharbat before plonking our arses into the car. I wasn't really sure whether we should spend more time driving 20 kms ahead to Mahabaleshwar, and spend more time in the sun, visiting a couple of popular tourist spots. We turned back instead, and I let the hubs drive. A full 60 kms and 2 toll booths later, he did the mistake of asking me if I wanted to drive. I have a bit of motion sickness, and even sitting in the front passenger seat can be nauseating at times. So I galdly accepted.

Once we were home, we spent some time reading (obsessed that I am, to finish the book before I leave for the U.S.), then showered, and dozed off. Then my uncle who had been on the same route as us since morning, only traveling as far ahead as Kolhapur, called up to warn that heavy rains had disrupted traffic close the Katraj ghat, the southernmost tip of Pune city. We were happy we got home before even the first big hint of rain showed up (if I let go the exact 2 drops that pelted our windshield, out of the blue). Ha! Here are some pictures...

That's Pratapgad, a grand view from the table top.

The ridge of the volcanic plateau and the town below.

We did enjoy some walking-on-the-grass.

Yes, those are white tiger statues (or probably stuffed toys) on the roof of the entrance to the theme / water park. They also had blue water fountains. No idea why.

The father, son, and the holy white cotton balls. :P

My lovely Sahyadris.

Today's fortune

Not that I believe in a shred of all these predictions that appear in various publications or on the web, but here's the gem that was thrown at me today: "You are soon going to change your present line of work."

Right. And do what? Work as an entry-level call center associate ('cause I have no epxerience) or a bar dancer (no experience there either, but who at a bar cares about the dancing anyway)? Don't be shocked. How else am I going to pay my EMIs? What occupation other than one in the software industry pays beginners (assuming I have no knowledge whatsoever of anything else) enough to sustain my kind of lifestyle?

So, much as I would love to get into education or some kind of arty profession, I'm stuck in here. Unless the hubs starts earning more than double his current pay, takes care of the EMIs, and still allows me to splurge on things I want. Hmpf!

A midnight encounter

It was TV time like every night (after office)
He lay on the sofa, flipping channels, unblinking
She sprawled across the bean bags
Thinking, as always, in stand-by mode
About the day gone by, the resolution they made yesterday
And how it might go outta the window tomorrow

He kept hopping between frequencies
Pausing at whatever got lucky enough to hold his attention
She watched some with him
And disapprovingly clicked her tongue at others
Some shows made them laugh
Others left them gaping in astonishment

Gradually they settled onto Great Expectations
Just because it intrigued them
For him it was a story whose conclusion evaded his logic
She saw it as a dream she wanted to lose herself in, without purpose
To participate in the story, to accept the author's conclusion
And build a proof in her mind of how it was the only logical outcome

Along came a commercial break and broke the spell
He got up to have a sip of water
And moved around, relaxing his stiffened limbs
Her laid-back, comfortable position caught his attention
She was a tad surprised to see him eyeing her
But happily let it happen as he came closer and stood by

Then he lay over her in one swift movement
And kissed her forehead (or so she thought)
In her eagerness for what-lay-next, she usually lost the present
But today she was alert enough to not let the moment slip by
And so she savored the experience, as they kissed and embraced

What she did a little different today
Was not expect some more
That took away the disappointment she usually felt with him
And what she gained in those few moments made a lovely memory
So she prompty put it in her journal, to revisit on another dull day

PS: I simply couldn't pass this off as poetry, and hence it's here instead of there.