☛ Improvised Doodles - Monkey Business ☚

In order to do something new , also to fill the noticeable emptiness in February- achievement of the month I wracked my brain to do something more creative.

Initially the idea was to make an animated movie.Thats still in progress ,a lot of work needs to be done.Also yet another big project coming up which will take about another month to be posted here.So look out for that one.

 But for now after finishing all my wifely chores I found time to create Doodles- a little improvised.  Sometimes my brain just refuses to function. Today was one of those days. So I set off for a walk hoping to get inspiration from nature. And I came back home with a bag of chips and a Red Bull . Usually a long hot shower will do the trick. Today a bag of chips and Red Bull saved the day!!


SO here it is. No biggie.

✿ A hair curling Saga..

Once in a while everyone needs to be pampered. It was my day to be the Princess of the day. For every good deed done, I reward myself with small or big treats. A self motivation technique. After all hard work will be rewarded, as the saying goes.

Occasion? I faired well in my French exam , all the more reason to treat myself. So off I went to the the ladies haven -the Beauty Salon. Its been 3 odd months of stepping into a parlour , shame to the womenkind! Its time for fun and frolicking so I decided to spice up things a little bit( backfired ). Having decided to get some bouncy wild curls and finally change my hairdo I sat on the high chair, more like an electric chair which was to be proved true later.

Once bitten twice shy. But I dont seem to understand the meaning of it at all. Way back I had burnt my hair trying to colour it burgundy ( for the 5-6th time the very same month).. And this time I had made up my mind to let all the chemical reactions take place in my tiny little head. Whats the worse that could happen?


Ken , my hair dresser started working on my tresses cutting them layer by layer . I had never permed before so was blissfully unaware as what to expect. After a lot of smelly creams being smeared on my head, finally it was time for rollers to be fixed. After an hour of curling and fixing ,Ken came with an octopus like machine which had wires all over it, just like the tentacles.  The tentacles were attached to each of my rollers till I ended up looking like an alien from outerspace! The machine was then plugged into the electric socket...!

 A first timer, so I shut my trap letting Ken, the expert do what he does the best. The day before was a sleepless night , for I studied almost all night long. My eyes started feeling heavy at this point on. Also the rollers started getting hot! Sleep and horror trying to take over each other simultaneously. I could see smoke rising up from my hair! My brain sends the signal to stay awake yet eyes are closing on their own accord. ..

I had a few thoughts running through my hot, manhandled , fuming (literally) head.

1 > My hair might catch fire . So what next? Ha! Be positive maybe I can try on few wigs!

2> Be prepared for the worst . So when theres fire whats the first thing we do?Extinguish by pouring water !

3> Water is a good conductor of electricity!! So I could electrocute myself!!!

An hour of trauma, sitting under the octopus without any mishaps.. And for what? To look good for the man who calls himself my soulmate. Ah! Love can make you do stupid things!  After 3 hours it was finally time to remove the rollers . Oh boy! Was I excited!! I was praying with all my heart that I turn out to be a face from one of those magazines! But alas! Its just not meant to be..

 Optimistically speaking  - maybe I wont have to use comb anymore..

Confessions of a filmoholic...

It all started with the conversation about the movies. I have a stack of dvds of the latest releases collecting dust at home and yet I haven't gotten down to watching them. Waiting for my better-half to spare sometime so that we can watch them together( ever heard of spending quality time together?).

 Talking about movies would make me nostalgic .James Bond, Indiana Jones, Chuck Norris they are my earliest memories. A clear picture of a scrawny looking 6-7 year old me , watching Evil Dead along with bro and Putta . Hiding behind/under the sofa when the demons attack our hero in the movie..Having sleepless nights, and the bed wetting!!

 Am I living in the past?  No matter how much you try to shoo away the ghosts of the past, they keep coming back to haunt you. Sometimes I feel am stuck in a time warp.
So here I am , making a list of my favourite movies watched in my early childhood.

1> Evil Dead:

I am so proud of myself that I never wet my pants while watching this one! The demons in the movie are horrendous and bloodcurdling! I am proud that I sat through the movie not once or twice...but for all the 3 parts!! I love the part when he cuts off his possessed hand and the hand keeps coming back to attack him..If I have to watch it today( never at night) , I would still get the chills running down my spine..(I must confess I still wonder how come I am not scarred for life after watchin this when I was 7-.8, hmmm or am I? :)  )

2> Gods must be Crazy:

Another 4 part movie, which initially was just a movie to me coz I didnot understand anything. Later when I watched it when I was a little older I just adored it. Hilarious movie.A movie about the tribal men wanting  to go to the edge of the earth get rid of a coke(yes you read it right- COKE) bottle which  falls off an aeroplane( and the tribal men think out of the sky from the Gods) because just like the Pandoras box the coke bottle has released evil into their community.



3> The Mask, Dumb and Dumber:
 Another movie of the comedy genre.Jim Carrey! Love the way he says , "SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSMOKIN!!" The transformation of a shy young man to a wacky cartoon character is just breath-taking . I also adored him  in Dumb and dumber, Ace Ventura- Pet Detective..


4>Home Alone :
Ah Kevin, the little boy( not so little anymore) . The pranks , the booby traps! I pity the miserable goons who just got battered by a child! A hilarious and once again a 3 part movie . No more sequels am sure Kevin is a grown man now!



5> American Pie :
My all time favourite. A very humorous movie with not-so-clean jokes . The movie revolves around the four boys who make a pact to lose their virginity before they graduate and what comes next..Some of the scenes are so so funny you will laugh your guts out! And thats no exaggeration.Even though the movie received mixed reviews as not suitable for teens, I would still say : I L.O.V.E  IT. Whats life without a bit of guilty pleasures?? The last I knew there were 6 parts , if you ask me now I'd say am an outdated old twit , I dont know!


6> When Harry Met Sally, You've got Mail :
I love Meg Ryan. She's got an ethereal quality about her. Its her voice I guess and the way she carries herself. Very much unlady-like. Thats what makes her look so vulnerable and gives the feel of the girl next door. The boyish walk and the high pitched voice adds to the charm. She looked lovely in When harry met Sally . Hum -Tum in Hindi was inspired by this movie. I simply cant forget the part when Harry argues with Mary about how men and women cannot be friends.Tom Hanks is just so  so so so..oh you get it?
7> Pretty Woman  :
 Richard Gere isjust  phenomenal in this flick.. The gentleman yet the romatic side of him swept me off my feet. Silver-haired Richard Gere with the  expressionless face yet the soft sultry voice that says  it all. Julia Roberts  an escort in the movie who is picked up by Gere to spend a night with him. And so the story continues... A romantic love story.. I have always been a sucker for a romantic love story, a hopeless romatic that I am. I love the way Gere treated Julia Roberts in the movie regardless of her profession- a true gentleman.I also liked Julia Roberts in Notting Hill, the climax of the movie - "I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

8> The Mask of Zorro :
 Just love Anthony hopkins,such charishma. Any person who hasnt watched "The Silence of the Lambs" better hang himself.There was a 'remake'of this movie in Hindi too.  And just no words to spare for Antonio Banderas. The smoldering good looks and that accent..! I remembr singing the Theme song as a little girl- I want to spend my lifetime loving you....






You name it we watched it! Comedy, thriller, romantic or horror, even PG 13 movies!  You see?? The  movie bug bit me hard while I was still a baby!

Singapore- As I see it

Who doesn't love Singapore? Whats not to like about Singapore? A developed country- is not even half of Bangalore! Clean , well organised and a safe friendly country. Now this would be an awesome motif for debate.

If you ask me , this is heaven on earth. I am going a little overboard ain't I? Call me naive, call me a  frog in the well, I would still stand by my words. If I have to make a list of like/dislike about this beautiful island then the like list would be way too long! So I will keep it short for now.

Singapore weather is just unpredictable( at least used to be, lets blame global warming for the change now).In 2009 when I first set foot in this country , the weather was hot and sunny one moment and the next pouring cats and dogs! And the most fascinating part is: on the streets when raindrops start drenching mother earth the pedestrians out of nowhere produce their umbrellas out of thin air! Just like that! They are no less than Chris Angel or the great Houdini! It has always amused me how the Singaporeans are always prepared. Like the saying goes about saving for the 'rainy day', they even are very careful about where, how and when they spend their money.

Another thing I like about Singapore- Taxi drivers. Here they prefer to be called 'tour ambassadors'. Dont ask me why. I heard it from someone else too.. Just like the bus drivers are called 'Captains'. Give and take respect ideology? Maybe.The taxi uncles are so very talkative, and can be a pain when you have had a long tiring day:) . They can be very nosy too. Several have asked me what my salary is, how much rent I pay for my house etc etc.But So far I have had very interesting conversations (the fine system, the government, Ah Bengs etc etc. I must confess not a very easy task for me as I still have difficulty understanding the SINGLISH!

A weird thing I have noticed is there arent any crow or a sparrow in this country! Or maybe because I stay close to the airport. But seriously where are the birds?? And why name Singapore ( The Lion City) when there are none???

So what dont I like about Singapore?? The fact that they think we Indians are still old fashioned idiots . I dont blame them. In little India the culture and tradition followed by the resident Indians as I hear sounds gruesome and is not followed by us Indians(except the villages maybe) . It seems like the Indians in Singapore have formed their own cult. I will write about it with pictures soon when I see it for real . Inflicting pain on oneself in the name of God, whipping oneself, piercing tongue, cheeks and what not. (Now donot question me about the tattoos - thats different :)) . They call it 'Thaipusam' , and I was amazed when I first heard about it through my colleagues.

 If you have ever watched the movie Indiana Jones and the temple of the doom you will know what I am talking about. The movie depicts the Indian culture in a very bizarre crude way. Eating monkey brains, snakes , living a tribal life reflecting a false image of India. Just the way the Oscar winning movie - Slumdog Millionaire portrays the Indian way of living , completely giving the wrong picture. We indians have come a long way. True ,you will still find cows wandering around the streets of India, but we definitely are not cannibals or uncivilized brutes as misinterpreted by some of the movies.

I love this Concrete jungle we call Singapore. I love it because I feel safe, when I feel dizzy looking at the tall  buildings, love it when I canshop till I drop all night long in Mustafa..

More to come in Singapore as I see it- Part 2.

Au Grande Jamais- By Bense

Lyrics to Au Grand Jamais :
Suis-je parfois fragile
Ais-je vraiment le choix
M'arriverais-t-il d'être à cran, tout bas
Pensais-je à la mort
Pour enfin arrêter d'être si fort, sais-je au moins pleurer


Non jamais, au grand jamais
Regardez est-ce que je tremble
Non jamais, plutôt crever  laisser la vie me descendre
Non jamais, jamais, au grand jamais...


Céderais-je dans mes bras
La place de ma guitare
A une bague au doigt ou à ces filles d'un soir
Suis-je des froids glacés
Quand je monte sur scène
S'est on déjà brûlés à la chaleur humaine


Non jamais, au grand jamais
Regardez  ! est-ce que je tremble
Non jamais, plutôt crever  laisser la vie me descendre
Non jamais au grand jamais
Et achevez moi si je tremble
Car jamais, au grand jamais je ne laisserais cette vie me descendre

Non jamais ... jamais ... jamais
Au grand jamais
Augrand jamais

Translation:
Am I sometimes weak ?
Do I really have the choice ?
will I be flicked , so low ?
will I think about the death
In order to stop being so strong , Do I know at least how to cry ?
No Never , a big never
Look at me! Do I tremble
No never , I prefer to die and not to let the life make me down
No never , never and never
Would I yield in my arms ?
My Guitare's place
To a finger's ring or to This girls of an evening
Am I the kind of The cold iced
When I go on the stage
They are just burnt of the human's fire

Angel? Devil?- I'd say Fallen Angel...

I have been contemplating to move from blogger to wordpress for several reasons. Mainly because blogger keeps having uploading problems! And always when I am in a hurry to finish blogging to attend to my domestic chores (the wife thingy) . I had a tough time uploading videos for Zee awards finally uploading only one of the many. Either my picasa albums had to be deleted or I needed to move to wordpress. But loyalty to blogger made me stay. Also I needed to put some GIF images on my Twitter profile to which I havent found a solution yet as Twitter doesnot support gif images anymore :(. For now I have moved from Picasa to Photobucket, and I must say AWESOME! I am no tech-savvy,but I would definitely rate Photobucket a 9/10.

This animated gif I created myself but had problems uploading as only one picture frame is published. This picture definitely speaks a thousand words. Every one will agree !! THIS IS ME! So how did I finally post the above gif image?? Google Doc!! Can you beat that??? Just Perfect! 

P.S- A fallen angel is an angel banished from heaven for disobeying the Gods... and sent to earth as punishment... ahem!

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy Lunar New Year!!

In the month of December we celebrated the commencement of the new year 2011 , in January we celebrated the new year itself. Its February now, and we are celebrating the new year all over again!! Its the Chinese New Year!!!! A quarter of the year gone by- celebrating!!

The Lunar new year is the most important festival for the Chinese. It is celebrated for 15 days , every day signifying something traditional. The houses are cleaned thoroughly, sweets and gifts are exchanged. The color Red and Gold is everywhere! Red is believed to be auspicious by the Chinese. The houses are decorated with red lanterns, Mandarin orange trees..

This year I went for a shopping spree to the China Town. I walked the full length of the street hoping to find the traditional Chinese dress- "Cheong Sam" and finally bought 2! Everywhere food , antiques, chinese art and trinkets were being sold. The local and the foreigners shopping and bargaining with the street vendors. The whole street was lit up.

China Town, Singapore

2010 was the Year of the Tiger. It proved to be a fierce year too. 2011 is the year of the Rabbit. I hope to hop my way to happiness and prosperity. Theres a legend about the Chinese New Year animals. As heard from my colleagues and also my French professor the story goes like this:


According to Chinese legend, the animals quarreled one day as to who was to head the cycle of years. The gods were asked to decide and they held a contest, whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the river would be first, and the rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish.All the twelve animals gathered at the river bank and jumped in. Unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped upon his back. As the ox was about to finish the race, the rat jumped off the ox's back, and won the race. The pig, who was very lazy, ended up last. That is why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, the ox second, and the pig last. The cat who was also a part of the race never got a month named after it as it was cheated by the rat and that is why they are mortal enemies to this day :)

Cheong Sam                                                                 Chinese Zodiac Signs

Apparently you exhibit the qualities of the animal under which sign you are born. :) Lot of couples get married during the year of the rabbit. Also it is good to have children during the year of the Dragon (2012..) Hmmm now you know why they get married in the year of the rabbit  :) The Chinese try to have Dragon babies( as heard from my collegues) because dragon babies have the qualities the leaders . hmmm My hubby was born in the year of the dragon.. no wonder he is so dominating!

The Chinese and the Indian cultures have a lot of similarities. For eg: the belief in reincarnation, too many gods. Theres so much more to discover here. So much more to learn and absorb. One thing at a time..

 But for now a very HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!!!