Why Saif Ali Khan is my new fav personality

No,  I'm not smitten! But I watched the movie Happy Ending last evening and I'm thinking 'Saif is really cool'. I mean, sure he didn't have much worth talking about until recently, yet now he seems to be doing everything right!
From Go Goa Gone to getting married to Kareena to looking great for his age and being a really creative actor - producer; he surely knows where he's headed. And he does all this being suave without flaunting his nawaab status. Neither does the Khan display the quirks of a perfectionist Amir,  the intellectually arrogant Shah Rukh or the 'all giving' bhai Salman. He's the cool guy who you can hang around with. (Appy Fizz, good choice).

So when do I get smitten? When Saif does 3 great movies in a row (and bar movies like Bullet Raja and Humshakals) and leans to philanthropy (à la Leo DiCaprio).

Till then, let's watch out for more fun.

PS - I know this is not the best blog post comeback, but something is better than nothing, right?

First Draft

What if I read the first draft?

The first draft of your book. Or your presentation slides. The first draft of your ideas? Okay, how about that random email you've written?

Unpolished, uncleaned, unrefined. Real. Unclear, maybe.

Yet, more real. More intuitive. Less elaborate, less fake. More YOU.

I want to read your first draft.

Changing Tides

He stood on the beach, tired and distressed. Looking far into the sea, he loosened up his tie. It looked like the world ended at the horizon. He knew that it was just a perception.

The moon’s gentle silver reflected in the waves. One could say it resembled his silver hair. With every tide, he breathed hard. All he wanted was the next wave to travel towards him and softly touch his bare feet. He waited, expecting.
All he really wanted was some inspiration.

The waves moved gently. The sea was doing what she does everyday. Through the cool and the heat, she carried sediments with her, back and forth; as the tide matured.

Looking towards the man at the beach, the sea felt her heart swell. All she wanted was to go closer to the man. To reach his feet, dance around them and then gently caress them. All she wanted was to look at his success closely.

All she wanted was to feel inspired.

-          Drafted at a moonlit beach on 14^th December 2013.

That Kid Within ~~~Happy Children's Day

Here's a poem I had written long ago. Publishing it, to celebrate Children's Day.

That kid within

Don’t lose him now

He’ll run away quickly

You’ll never know how.

That kid within

Don’t let him grow

When he comes out to play

Just go with the flow.

That kid within

He loves hide-and-seek

He’ll be the one to keep you alive

When you feel old and weak.

That kid within

Don’t pass him on

You’ll miss him for sure

Once he’s long gone.

That kid within

Sure, he’ll make mistakes

But don’t push him away

When he unknowingly awakes.

That kid within

No harm he will cause

In fact maybe with him

You will get some applause.

That kid within

Though don’t put him on display

It’s good to know that in advertising

He won’t cause any dismay!

10 Apps that you can lock me up with

I don’t feel like stepping out of home today. And I’m not getting up from my bed unless really necessary. There’s lots to do- read, watch videos, play games, tweet.. the list can go on! All I need is my smartphone loaded with 3G and a charger once in a while. I have it allll planned out! Here’s how you too can spend an entire day lazing around yet feeling connected /intellectual / creative; no silly games involved.

1. Hootsuite: For all your twitter and facebook needs

2. Youtube: For watching all those preloaded videos that you had absolutely no time to watch

3. Whatsapp : Gossip with your friends and forward jokes

4. Camera 360: Take pictures of your ceiling fan and windows and try all effects on them

5. Aldiko: For the 'traditional' reading a book while curled up in bed

6. Pocket:  Stay updated with all those articles you earmarked for later

7. Pinterest:  Plan your next DIY or just smile back at cute kittens

8. Beyond Pod: Give your eyes some rest and hear them out

9. Perfect Piano: For mindlessly pressing keys out of tune when you know nobody is listening

10. Zinio: Ogle at celebs or food or thought leaders’ brains

That’s 10 productive things to do in the 12 waking hours of your day. I’m sure I’ll find time to squeeze in Candy Crush too! And don’t miss out on those mailing lists. 

So this is my list of things to do! Some haven't made it to the list, but are important apps for sure...just that you can't spend hours together on them. Do you have a list like mine? Do share!

My Platinum Day of Love

We've been married for almost a year now. I guess people would say, we look like a cute couple who get along well. He makes me laugh, and I shower him with all my love.

We moved to another city because he found another, more lucrative job. He’s delighted to work there, which pleases me too. We settled into our new place quite quickly, but his new job demanded some extra responsibilities. As a result of which, he kept travelling; perhaps a little more than he wanted to. To keep myself busy, I took up a job. I can’t say I enjoy it, but at least it keeps me busy.  

Last evening too, I was by myself while he was travelling. I walked back from home a tad dejected. A colleague of mine went out of her way to be rude to me and I couldn't help but feel bad about it. Moreover, I now had to go to an empty home and didn't have anything to look forward to over the weekend. Yet, I wouldn't say I was feeling bad for myself.

I reached home and whatsapp’ed him about my whereabouts. ‘Call me when you free’ and I stared at the screen for a few seconds expecting a response. Then the screen went off and I got on to doing some chores.

A few minutes later I found myself tinkering with my phone again and to my relief found a reply ‘I’m driving back to hotel..call you whn I reach’. I shrugged and put on the TV, just to have some background distraction.

I continued with my work half-heartedly and ate my dinner with the TV on. It was a couple of hours since his text, so I picked up my phone again only to see 2 missed calls!

I called him back immediately. He picked up sounding groggy. I guessed his insane travel plans were tiring him out. He asked me how my day was, the one thing that I really wanted to hear. So I began. I told him all about my day, from what I ate, to the pressures at work, to how I see my career panning out... even how I need a new pair of shoes. He said he would go to get a coffee while we speak. And then I prodded him about his day. He said he was tired but was working overtime. “Why? Don’t stress yourself out so much!” is what I remember telling him. That’s how we are, both tried to show we were extremely practical, but are complete softies.

We had spoken for more than an hour. It was time we hung up. He said “See you soon.” And then, I noticed a string of messages that were waiting on my phone, all before our conversation took place.

Tried calling you. Busy?.... 9:02pm

Ate only a sandwich. Too tired. Worked all night yest, so that I can come home sat morn instead of mon. .... 9:37pm

Sleeping now...but call me when you see this... .... 10:17pm

Uff! He was asleep and I went on and on about the most lame things! The next morning I apologized. He said he understood when we spoke that I hadn't seen the messages. “So why didn't you tell me?” I argued. He gushed and said, “Because I wanted to hear you, as much as you wanted to speak to me!” It was that moment when, miles apart, we knew that we were made for each other. The world seemed closer, only for us. That, was our Platinum Day of Love.

We already know what we are going to gift ourselves on this anniversary. Something that defines everlasting love. For our first wedding anniversary, we are getting ourselves Platinum Love Bands. Because what else signifies pure, rare and eternal, like the two of us?

This post is has been written for a contest on Indiblogger.in for Platinum Day of Love. 

Make The Right Mistake

You deserve to make a mistake

You deserve to take a chance

You need to find your freedom

Go ahead and take that stance.

Don't go by what others think

Or even what they say or do

'Coz those who make the right mistakes

Are actually very few.

Don't forget to stand

Away from the crowd.

Know that your decision

Will one day make you proud.

You deserve to make a mistake

You deserve to play a game,

If what you want is happiness

Or even something like fame.

This post first appeared on my blog: LifeAsWeKnowIt

Get Busy

Shake that thing Miss Kana Kana

Shake that thing Miss Annabella

Shake that thing errr... sorry!

But that’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you those two words don’t you?
The song isn't what I’m writing about, though the thought of being constantly busy keeps playing in our head as much as Sean Paul’s song did in 2003.

Now, lets get down to business. What's this post really about? Like all my posts, we'll find out when we get there. For now lets look at different ways and reasons for being busy:

1. Busyness v/s business

How would people around us know we're busy if we look like we are sitting idle? (The sole purpose of Google Chrome's incognito mode). You have done this too. The last time when you pretended you were studying an excel sheet when your CEO is right behind ya! Why doesn't he mind his own business? (shit! it is his business, isn't it?)

2. Relative busyness

No, I don't mean being busy when a relative wants to come over with her chubby kids (resulting in nasty fingerprints on your iPad all in the name of Angry Birds). What I mean is that while everyone says they are busy, it is in varying degrees. As an example, when I said I was busy 2 years ago, I spent 12 hours at work and travel. Nowadays, being busy means not having time to do anything at leisure after I watch my favourite soap. 

3. Busy as a bee

Well, bees are genuinely & naturally busy (there's a queen to please there). So unless you have a female boss, or are married to your queen, there's a slim chance that you can pretend to be buzzing around like you do. Everyone around really knows that its not what you do, rather you want to be the buzz. So the next time someone uses the term "Busy bee", I'll respond with "I'm sure shes a b**ch".

4. 'The number you have called is currently busy...'

I'm sure the operator is lying. Because sometimes I'm actually just chatting away with a friend because I have nothing better to do than discuss what I ate at lunch. But let's not blame the phone company, after all they are too busy playing with our 3G connections (explanation in another post ). So that's another way of proclaiming you're busy, when you're actually not. 

Now that we've got that out of the way, lets wrap up the post. Coz, you know, I've got other things to do too (read: candy crushing on facebook) Which brings me to another thought. How PRODUCTIVE are you? I mean would you accomplish a given game level in a stipulated time or would you go with the flow, just to keep busy? Do you have your productivity levels set? Think about it! 'Til then...

Lets get it on

Lets get it on,

Its all good, lets get it on! ...

Automated message: Away from Desk

I've realised that I haven't updated my blog in the longest time. The lazy-me says, 'well you have been busy' but is quickly shut-up by OCD-me who says 'Stop being lazy!' (whilst rolling eyes et al).

Well, I'm going to listen to the OCD-me this time around. I will be back soon with a few reads for you!

Just a quick update- lots of things have happened since my last post. I've moved to another city, turned a year older (and wiser, yes). And now I am back to my desk. Lots to share, so little time. Till then, in the words of Robert Frost 'But promises I have to keep, And miles to go before I sleep.'

Animated formula

After watching Wreck-it Ralph the other day, a question struck me that kinda disappointed me, even though I can happily say the movie didn't. Could it be possible that Disney Pixar is now doing formulas? No, I'm not talking about the regular 'happy land-something goes wrong-complications-chase-villian perishes-happily ever after' type formula. I found something more similar than that. Similar to a movie I had watched more than a decade back- Monster's Inc.

Yeah the plot is different, but a little more than the nuances are similar.Don't get me wrong, the movie is totally worth it and I enjoyed every bit of the twistr and turns. This is just an after thought that just proves that the movie experience stays with you.

Here's my lowdown. PS- If you haven't watched Wreck it Ralph and intend do, then lemme tell you that this has spoilers.

1. 'Character-Character'

The characters and their relationship with each other was too similar. Sully in Monsters Inc. (henceforth mentioned as MI) was the big guy, just like Ralph in Wreck it Ralph (WiR). Furthermore, both were supposed to be mean and bad while they were actually big softies. Both had to fight for a small girl, who were fiesty and had bouncy pigtails and would just not leave the big guy. Both movies also had side-kicks: Mike in MI and Felix in WiR. Both were shorties. In the end of both movies they find their loved ones. Both freakish characters and taller to them.

2. 'Their real world'

Both movies showcased the real world of the characters, a world that us humans are  unaware of (and in reality does not exist). In MI it was the city of Monstropolis. In WiR it was the arcade after-hours. (Wait, isn't Toy Story also Pixar?)

3. 'Step into my world'

In MI, Boo, the small girl, sneaks into the monster's land. In WiR, Ralph goes out of his game to go into other games like Hero's Duty and Sugar Rush.

4. 'Stuck in'

Randall deactivates Boo's door in MI, so she is stuck in the monster's world for good. In WiR too, King Candy makes Vanellope a glitch so she can never get out of her game.

5. 'Bad guys rule'

In both movies, the villians are the rulers of the place. King Candy is obviously the king of Sugar Rush while Waternoose is the CEO of Monster's Inc. In fact, in both movies they are the not-so obvious villians too. You think its Randall and King Candy in the respective movies but in reality it's Waternoose and Turbo.

Bonus similarity no. 6: Both movies have extremely memorable short movies as a prelude.

So there, 5 good similarities. And you thought our Bollywood films worked on a formula?

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