CLICK is a monthly theme-based food photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. Each month, entries will be invited based on a culinary ingredient or concept.
This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri. Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer. Bri is Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri. Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back.
The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has also organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.
The Click entries can be viewed here. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.
You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
For old times sake
---Quote---
Why do i keep going back?
I do feel reluctant to let go of the six-odd years of efforts and identity. Maybe I have been hasty. But I do not regret the decision. At the same time, there are a few out there who still seem to be passing through these pages on their way to Mount Everest. For those, maybe a small clue will help. If they are persistent that is. And it goes without saying they need to have a few working neurons and glials.
Do leave me a comment when you chance upon the new me next time. So that I can realize am not so kewl.
---unquote---
And I am talking about this. Making it extra apparent for best friends who become stupid overnight.
Melange-Wisdom of uncertainty
Why do i keep going back?
I do feel reluctant to let go of the six-odd years of efforts and identity. Maybe I have been hasty. But I do not regret the decision. At the same time, there are a few out there who still seem to be passing through these pages on their way to Mount Everest. For those, maybe a small clue will help. If they are persistent that is. And it goes without saying they need to have a few working neurons and glials.
Do leave me a comment when you chance upon the new me next time. So that I can realize am not so kewl.
---unquote---
And I am talking about this. Making it extra apparent for best friends who become stupid overnight.
Melange-Wisdom of uncertainty
Of old age…
Hmm, where do I start? Should I begin with the mild ache and stiffness of my knees that I experience almost every day these days? Or maybe I should talk about those svelte lean girls with their high ponies getting the better of the attention all the time? Or perhaps the longing thought for a strenuous trek in the Himalayas that is always followed by a reluctant realization that maybe that won’t be possible at all in a few year’s time? Old age is approaching and it seems to be in the fifth gear. Scary. Very scary.
What happened to those days of riding like a mad woman on a motorcycle by the Marina beach? I remember the various friends who were gifted to sit behind me plead with me at various instances “Will you please slow down… We don’t want to get killed now, do we?” and a confident me replying “Come on di, we have a long way to go and trust me, nobody knows riding or this scooter more than me”. The carefree times of youth when we thought nothing can get us down. The high of risking it, which can come only with utter confidence that nothing is going to happen to you. Ya, maybe a mosquito might bite you but nothing worse than that. Come on.
But now, a slow realization is dawning on me. Having witnessed painful incidents, both as a stranger in the road as well as a best friend, I know how fickle the life as we know it is. It can change in a moment’s notice and how. From a secure cherished kid, life can sometimes cruelly make you an orphan overnight. I’ve seen one of my friends go through this and I must admit that it left its mark on me as well. I can still recall uncle lying in the easy chair with a cup of coffee in his hand, inviting me inside his house, “va, va, ava ippo vanduduva, she will come any minute now”.
And as days fly back, this only seems to be getting more and more reiterated. Take, for example, the other day….. when hubby and I was going to the office as usual. Oh, what that’s crowd, enquired the ever-curious me. We even parked our vehicle at a distance and got down to investigate further. What a gory sight. A young fella, mind you he was not a single bit drunk. And neither was he a speed-crazy college-goer. But it was over, his life. In a moment of a wrong decision.
At home, I can see the MIL becoming more tired every day. The lady who used to wake up at 5 in the morning and keep going till 11 in the night with not a single break, seems to now prefer lying down all the time. Even my mom. And my pop. They are growing older and older before my eyes and I can see they are losing it.
My own body….. the invincible one that I thought it to be. Aches and stiffness. Definitely signs of old age. Scary. Very scary.
What happened to those days of riding like a mad woman on a motorcycle by the Marina beach? I remember the various friends who were gifted to sit behind me plead with me at various instances “Will you please slow down… We don’t want to get killed now, do we?” and a confident me replying “Come on di, we have a long way to go and trust me, nobody knows riding or this scooter more than me”. The carefree times of youth when we thought nothing can get us down. The high of risking it, which can come only with utter confidence that nothing is going to happen to you. Ya, maybe a mosquito might bite you but nothing worse than that. Come on.
But now, a slow realization is dawning on me. Having witnessed painful incidents, both as a stranger in the road as well as a best friend, I know how fickle the life as we know it is. It can change in a moment’s notice and how. From a secure cherished kid, life can sometimes cruelly make you an orphan overnight. I’ve seen one of my friends go through this and I must admit that it left its mark on me as well. I can still recall uncle lying in the easy chair with a cup of coffee in his hand, inviting me inside his house, “va, va, ava ippo vanduduva, she will come any minute now”.
And as days fly back, this only seems to be getting more and more reiterated. Take, for example, the other day….. when hubby and I was going to the office as usual. Oh, what that’s crowd, enquired the ever-curious me. We even parked our vehicle at a distance and got down to investigate further. What a gory sight. A young fella, mind you he was not a single bit drunk. And neither was he a speed-crazy college-goer. But it was over, his life. In a moment of a wrong decision.
At home, I can see the MIL becoming more tired every day. The lady who used to wake up at 5 in the morning and keep going till 11 in the night with not a single break, seems to now prefer lying down all the time. Even my mom. And my pop. They are growing older and older before my eyes and I can see they are losing it.
My own body….. the invincible one that I thought it to be. Aches and stiffness. Definitely signs of old age. Scary. Very scary.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Indian Mommies
Yet again, I discover a whole new world of amazing blogs out there. This time, they are mommy blogs. And I have fallen hopelessly in love. With them and my new role as a mommy. Here I come...
The first thing to do ofcourse is to re-design my blog to suit my new status. So bear with my little experiments, widgets, and all the Web2.0 compliance attempts (if you can call it that!!).
New beginnings
Sometime back, this blog had a different name, different look and a lot many different stuff. But after a particularly sensitive post and its consequences, I decided to move to a slightly more anonymous identity. I do not want people to call me up after reading my posts and enquire "oh poor thing, are you really lonely? what happened? did he... blah blah blah". However well-intended they are.
I am a very private person emotionally and I see this blog as a place where I can express myself freely without the usual need for appearances, etiquette, and all that crap. And when a friend called up after reading this post, I really freaked out! I decided then and there that my blog needs to go underground and disappear from the vision of friends, family and acquaintances. Unless ofcourse I end up asking my hubby or best friend to visit my blog after composing a post I am proud of!
So, here's to new beginnings! A drop of wisdom is born and I hope it gives me more freedom..... to rant, rave and reel :)
I am a very private person emotionally and I see this blog as a place where I can express myself freely without the usual need for appearances, etiquette, and all that crap. And when a friend called up after reading this post, I really freaked out! I decided then and there that my blog needs to go underground and disappear from the vision of friends, family and acquaintances. Unless ofcourse I end up asking my hubby or best friend to visit my blog after composing a post I am proud of!
So, here's to new beginnings! A drop of wisdom is born and I hope it gives me more freedom..... to rant, rave and reel :)
Monday, June 2, 2008
Statue!
Remember the game of Statue that we used to play while we were kids? When you are supposed to stand still without even batting your eyes...When desperately try not to move and fervently pray you don’t get a sneeze or a scratch? This is Statue that I am playing with myself – am holding still without batting my eyes – and while at that, am taking a look at my life...
- It feels exhilarating to start all over again. And its seems to be happening at the right time in my life
- I am almost jobless at work and yet content for the time being
- And life at the personal front has just settled down - my baby is going to turn one any day now and I have resigned myself to the way of life i have chosen
- Leaving the baby at home and going to work almost kills me, especially when I see her trying to wave me tata every morning with tears in the corner of her eyes
- I have become a mom and it feels like I have won the world. I want to spend more time with my baby but the pressures of life makes me keep moving without stopping for a even a thinking minute lest I realize something and take decisions that are not conducive to the situation am in
- After all, what would I do if I quit work and sit at home?
- Yes, there is baby, but what about me? What about the nice big house I want with the beautiful garden of my dreams? What about the car? What about the amazing life I plan to give my daughter?
- Nah, quitting work is not an option. Not anymore. Never was.
- But will baby grow up learning the right things? What about my role as a mom?
- Friends….. a word that I don’t utter these days. All my friends are back in Chennai and with my decision to move in the name of studies, career and marriage, perhaps I have forever foregone those wonderful souls that were around whenever I wanted them to be.
- Husband – ya, I am getting there. Nagging wife, loving wife, 2 year wife, numerous google searches, vetti time spent on ivillage reading all those self-help, how-to articles! Long way to go!
- Family – And by family hear I mean my amma, appa and my akka. And of course my niece and nephew. They are the real family to me. And how I miss them. Time is flying by so fast and before I realized it, my sister’s baby has grown up to a big girl. The baby that I held in my arms straight out of her mother’s womb (alright little exaggerated there!). Will I ever get those days back?
- I wish…. I wish so many things that I do not have the courage to utter out loud. I wish so many things…
- So many things……
- And I'm writing my blog in a bulleted list!!!!!!!!!!!
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