For now, here's one of my most fave songs ever...

It's been a tiring but fun day - cleaned the backyard for the new house (oh, we moved to a new house somewhere three weeks ago...) And I don't have any impending deadlines (oh, I finally started grad school this Sept...) -- I guess those two things would be enough material for enough blogs but meh, I've been l.a.z.y. Maybe someday I'll talk about all the exciting things (lots of them) that have been happening in the recent past. But for now, I was setting up my room and out of the blue I felt like taking up one of the tags that have come across my way from Reflections :D (I think there's one from Misty too)

So, here we go...

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4?
"But you love me and I love you, isn't that right?"... sounds sort of mushy eh? hehe trust me, I don't do mushy novels. That line is actually from The Zahir by Paulo Coelho. Alright alright, I cheated. That was the book on my right. The first book that I grabbed from my left was All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot. And as aesthetic as the title sounds, the line in question reads something like "This and the piercing Yorkshire wind and the hard, bright sunshine flooding the bare hillsides."

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can & touch air?
Not air but scent. Well, it's a candle and I forgot the name of its scent. Really strong and positive though, filling my entire room. I haven't had time to unpack properly, so things are in a bit of disarray around the room. On my right is the box of a bird-feeder that Viju got me for my birthday. Oh, that would be another post.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
We haven't got the cable set up at this new place yet, so was watching an old dvd of FRIENDS. To be specific, it's the one with the girl from Poughkeepsie. Hmm yep, I think I just needed an excuse to use the word 'poughkeepsie' :D

4. Without looking, guess what time it is?
Now that you've told me not to look at the taskbar, I wanna look exactly there! Aaah hmmm let's say 7.20ish pm...

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
oopsie, 7.39 pm. So why the question?

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Cars passing by. This window looks over to a street. And Keane's Love is the End.



7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Was out since morning... out in the backyard I mean. Mowing the lawn, pulling out weeds and all that work just to hang up my new birdfeeder lol ;-)

8. Before you started this Q&As, what did you look at?
What did I look at? Hmm hmm hmm. Oh got it, it was a squirrel! Yep, and I think it looked at me too B-)

9. What are you wearing?
Red tee with white lowers. You know, I never see the relevance of this question which figures in almost all the tags that I do. Is it supposed to suggest my fashion IQ?

10. When did you last laugh?
A while ago, bhai was trying to shoo a squirrel away and instead of scurrying away, that daring thing just kept coming closer to him. Definitely, that squirrel had no sense of danger lol

11. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
For now it's pretty barren 'cuz I haven't unpacked the rest of the stuff except for a poster of Winnie and Tigger I drew (and coloured!) long time ago. You know, one can do an entire post about this -- stuff on my walls. Oh, and I'm thinking of painting one of the walls red :)

12. Seen anything weird lately?
Hmm I can only think of a weird chat I had last night with a friend.

13. What do you think of this quiz?
It's so damn long. I thought I'd wrap this up in like five minutes and get back to setting up my room!

14. What is the last film you saw?
My Big Fat Greek Wedding...

15. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
A trip around the world!

16. Tell me something about you that I dunno!
How do I know what you know and what you dunno? Oh okie, let's try this -- did you know that my fave cake is cookie n cream?

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
I'd paint the world in shades of red! lol okie, also that people should either sing or dance more often :)

18. Do you like to Dance?
*does a swift hand movement* :D

19. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Haven't thought about it really, but hmm something short and sweet... and probably ends with an 'a'.

20. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Definitely haven't thought about this one at all lol

21. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Yeps, always wanted to live in different countries. So far, it's India, Kenya, Tanzania and Canada. Many more to come!!!

22. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
God or rather Mum wants me down for dinner. So I better run before God comes upstairs!



Et voila! Fun tag, anyone who needs a break from cleaning their room should take this up :)

Or more formally, I tag
Misty
Serendipity
Rambler
and my best martian Ria

So I recently heard about this annual Perseids meteor shower thing and it sounded kind of exciting you know, since I've never caught a shooting star before. Or may be I have, but I didn't know if that was what I was looking at... And anyway, a few days back, I had this really strong urge to pack up, drive out to some faraway place untouched by street lights, unfold a blankie, plug in my ipod, lie down and count the stars... but obviously, I can't do that... So since today, the night of 11th and 12th aug is supposed to be perfect for catching some (lots) of meteors as Earth is passing through some dense debris stream, I was all set to camp out in my very own backyard!

We had some bad thunderstorms in the afternoon and the weather forecast for the night didn't look much positive either. But I had to give it a try, and decided to stay up a little late. Around midnight-ish, I got my shoes, sweatshirt, phone and house keys (in case I get locked out lol) ready and waited a few more minutes before venturing out in to the backyard.

I sat on the stairs and started looking in the East, thanks to B who gave me all the details I needed :) So I'm sitting there, looking up and at first I can hardly see a star, let alone a shooting star. All I can see is this big, bright, shiny moon, which I would so admire on any other day, but today, washing away all the tinier twinkling stars with its shiny shiny moonshine... Ah, anyway, so I remove the sweat shirt, since the weather is surprisingly pretty warm, and use it to build a makeshift teepee sort of thing around my head, thus blocking out the moonshine. Phew, now I can see the sky, and hey, the stars too!

Soft breeze, couple tons of crickets and me. Waiting.

Waiting for another fifteen minutes.

Am I even looking in the right direction? Some 20° N of E, was it? I scan the entire sky. There is this huge bunch of stars right above my head, but not many hanging low on the horizon...

And so I wait some more.

With my eyes accustomed to the darkness by now, I can see the stars more clearly. Some bright, some barely visible. Some happy twinkling and some not-so-happy non-twinkling stars. And out of the blue, literally, I start thinking about our annual summer vacations to my granny and great grandfather's place in India. They used to live in this huge haveli sort of a two-floored mansion, a huge circular open lawn and around fifteen or so rooms on each level laid around the circumference of this lawn. My great grandfather, Babasaheb, who I remember as this tall, soft-spoken, warm man with the kindest eyes and the whitest moustache, would lift me up in his laps and teach me how to play piano or pluck me fresh oranges from his favourite orange tree. I didn't know his age at that time, but I learnt that he lived to be 92. He didn't fancy sleeping indoors in the summer, so we'd all drag our cots and mattresses and camp outside in the lawn. This was the time when everyone from my Mum's family would get together, my cousins would come from different cities. We were quite young then, about seven or eight, and these summer vacations were probably the best thing we all used to look forward to so excitedly every year.

And from here on, I can't describe in words the feeling I felt while I was sitting out on the stairs tonight, alone... while I was transported to those childhood days...

Anyway, all this time I am still looking at the sky, specifically in the East, unsure what a meteor looks like or where it's gonna come from. I am afraid I might see one and not even recognize it... I don't mind sitting out here, it's actually quite pleasant and no mosquitoes either lol but seriously, would I know a meteor if I spot one?

Thirty minutes and I'm starting to get comfy out here, could easily stay another hour. Hmm. Hmm.

Let me hold you
For the last time
It's the last chance to feel again
But you broke me
Now I can't feel anything

When I love you,
It's so untrue
I can't even convince myself
When I'm speaking,
It's the voice of someone else

And then, yes! Out of nowhere a quick streak of light goes woosh across the sky. That's a meteor! That's a meteor! That's a meteor, right? :-) Omg, a shooting star, yay! AWESOME!!!

So now I start concentrating in this particular direction, waiting for another one, just for confirmation you know. And before any doubts start to develop, another streak of light goes woosh! Yay, it is a meteor. Meteors. Two of them :-) Weehee!

It's amazing how such a ridiculously brief moment like this is one of the most awesome things I've ever seen, even though it lasted less than a few seconds. So close, it felt like I could reach out and grab it hehe I wish I had someone to share this moment with. Everything felt so calm... so perfect... and there was this happy happy feeling in my heart.

I felt I had to come inside and type this out cuz I was bursting with excitement. And now that I'm done typing, I feel I must go out and try to spot a few more shooting stars. Tata! :-)

Edit: the sky's turned gloomy, cloudy.. I guess will have to call it a night then.

But damn, that was beautiful.

Had come across this video way back, but somehow forgot about it. Putting it up here, it's a.w.e.s.o.m.e :D :D :D And I can't stop smiling lol *wipes tears*

I wanna lie on my back and count some stars tonight.

Beyond words...

"Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8-color boxes, but what you're really looking for are the 64-color boxes with the sharpeners on the back. I fancy myself to be a 64-color box, though I've got a few missing. It's ok though, because I've got some more vibrant colors like periwinkle at my disposal. I have a bit of a problem though in that I can only meet the 8-color boxes. Does anyone else have that problem? I mean there are so many different colors of life, of feeling, of articulation.. so when I meet someone who's an 8-color type.. I'm like, hey girl, magenta! and she's like, oh, you mean purple! and she goes off on her purple thing, and I'm like, no - I want magenta!"

-- John Mayer

B shared this snippet and I thought I'd like to put it up here. Some things just cannot be explained, some feelings cannot be translated into words, some people cannot be understood or let gone off and sometimes I should be just me, without all the extra thinking.

The water beetle here shall teach
A sermon far beyond your reach:
He flabbergasts the Human Race
By gliding on the water's face
With ease, celerity and grace;
But if he ever stopped to think
Of how he did it, he would sink.

Okie, it's official now. I am a (((tag-addict))). Nothing gets me out of my hibernation faster than a tag that lets me talk about myself lol So here's a nosey tag from Misty.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? “Dammmn, I look good! :D Oh, and need to click some pics this morning”
2. How much cash do you have in your wallet right now? CAD 52.75 (yes, I'm that bored, I actually counted it) and a plastic :D thank you, Dad :)
3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR? oi, Chor
4. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone? Oopsie, it’s Mum
5. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone? Any techno tune
6. What are you wearing right now? Chilling at home in a white tee and purple lowers
7. What do you label yourself as? As a chatterbox :D
8. Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently own? Just one? Or ALL of them? Or the Sketchers that got chori-ed in India...
9. Bright or dark room? Bright always, with lots of sunshine during the day and tons of moonshine at night. I can even sleep with all the lights on.
10. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you? Misty, who has just been rescued by a Suuuuuuperman hehe ;-)
11. What does your watch look like? Mum got it for me last year, an awesome blue-ish one, but I hardly wear it cuz of all the other cooler junk bracelets B-)
12. What were you doing at midnight last night? Watching FRIENDS
13. What did your last text message you received on your cell say? “Be there in 20” from VJ
14. What’s a word that you say a lot? Chorrrrrrr, dude, damn
15. Who told you he/she loved you last? (please exclude spouse, family, children) Adi, my faraway bro who is about to kill his neighbour's dog, parrot and possibly the kids too :O
16. Last furry thing you touched? My fave stuffed lion, Tigger, who is all of 11 years old now
17. Favourite age you have been so far? Still having fun, feeling young :)
18. What was the last thing you said to someone? "Chor, where are you!?", to Rinki in Tz, miss you beste...
19. The last song you listened to? 'Here with Me' by Dido, she's on my playlist for the past 3 days
20. Where did you live in 1987? India
21. Are you jealous of anyone? No reason to be
22. Is anyone jealous of you? Meh, who cares
23. Name three things that you have on you at all times? Some book, my cell and lip gloss hehe
24. What’s your favourite town/city? N.a.i.r.o.b.i, Kenya
25. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? About two years ago, to my best chor Deyo.
26. Can you change the oil on a car? Haven't ever tried it
27. Your first love/big crush: what is the last thing you heard about him/her? That he was moving to Amsterdam or something
28. Does anything hurt on your body right now? Nope, but thanks for asking :P
29. What is your current desktop picture? Orange bonfire sparks, got it from B
30. Have you been burnt by love? Eh?

So, what's next? Oh, and you're tagged :)