Not just sauce and cheese

I could talk food all day. I love good food

These are the famous words of Tom Brady.

And that pretty much in a nutshell defines my love for food. So this is going to be the blog on food & restaurant that i had promised long back i would blog about. Well, i'm not very good at giving the recipe or some such, but i can tell you the emotions raging through me when i eat a certain food that i love. So, in this series of food blog, i'll blog about the "Macaroni with Cheese and Red Sauce" at "Sweet Chariot" on residency road.

Well, I went there after almost a gap of over a year and half, and boy i was not disappointed. I walked in with a friend and as is the norm, we're given the menu card, not that i really wanted one, but still. So, i was going through the menu searching for my favorite. And then, i'd a mild shock, the macaroni with cheese and red sauce(we'll call it meese for easier use) was missing! So, I immediately summoned the steward and asked him if they don't prepare "meese" anymore, eagerly waiting for a reply much like the kid waiting for his turn to get his toy on his birthday. And he spoke, my two eyes reading and deciphering what his thoughts are shaping into, and after a few tense seconds he spoke, "Yes sir, we do. But its a new menu card, so i think they've not mentioned it" and with that,his words was drowned by my happy thoughts. I ordered for it. And a few eagerly awaited minutes later, there it was kept, nice and red and cheese neatly plated on my table.

I've my first bite, and ummmm (a flurry of emotions, endorphins kicking in!) that taste was to die for, the macaroni nice and chunky, with cheese on top of it, making it all the more enjoyable, and i dipped my spoon into considerable amount of red sauce and all the memories were flooding back and of course making space for new ones too. A feast that was.

For the people who have never tasted this, definitely put this up on your palatable list. And what to accompany this, order a vegetable au gratin, made in white sauce, very creamy, it completely complements the taste of the red sauce.
And so, my day pretty much ended with what i would call a hearty sumptuous meal.

Sweet chariot is located here
The belly rules the mind- Spanish Proverb.
Such experiences show that it truly does.

Notes:
1. Red sauce is GOOD.
2. Don't confuse the red sauce with maggie ketchup!
3. The first bite defines the food.
4. Next stop, Freskas!

Another thing i'm incorporating in this blog is the song i was listening to when i blogged this. This may or may not feature in the future blogs.

Blogged listening to - "How to save a life" - The Fray,

Come On cold

The winter is here, the most fashionable time of the year. U see people walking around with cardigans and sweatshirts(my personal favorite) and stoles, well a pretty sight definitely. But what marks the arrival of winter is the Common Cold a.k.a nasopharyngitis[cool no? no puns intended ;)] or acute coryza, well nothing cute about it.
I think most of the tissue sales(okay napkins)is at their peak during this time. Some Bas*****(oops! PG rated blog) gets it, and well unlike his wealth or food, he passes this on. and here the agony starts. I'm very prone to colds, it visits me once a month atleast, blame the dust in bangalore i say! And sweet moses, its bad. really bad. It deprives you of all the happiness you wish to have :
Symptoms to watch out for :
1. Runny nose of course (like duh!)
2. Lots of handkerchiefs, tissues (okay fine napkins) around.
3. Lots of wet handkerchiefs, tissues around ( if u've already touched it, congrats u are infected!! bwahahaha)
4. Not able to smell the awesome spicy mushroom tikka?Or the equally awesome pizza? Or your cup of hot tea/coffee? (yeah you are RIGHT :) u're infected \m/ )
5. Muscle strain, and you are not even working out( i wanted to say fat blob, but i didn't wanna hurt anyone)
6. You talk less, the reason being, you breathe through your mouth of course!!
7. You count the number of times you sneeze. (and exclaim each time you create a new personal record)

Remedies :
Did i tell you i'm a doctor? No i'm not. So yes ask your mother ( not your boss) cuz, mothers know best :D

You know what's worse than catching a cold? You are not allotted a sick leave, no place in the bus/train wherever and for all you love birds.. okay i'm stopping there..

oh btw, my mom jus told me, gooseberries a.k.a amla is good for cold! And so is inhaling steam! So,it looks like now i'm qualified to give remedies for cold :)
If you know of any more remedies, please let us know as you can help many a poor souls.

Steve Jobs : iMortal

Firstly : RIP Steve P Jobs (1955-2001)
Well this man, needs NO introduction. None at all. Well, but still, it needs to be mentioned that not since the sony walkman/discman, has anyone revolutionized the music industry like he did. Started with a humble(?) ipod to going on to make a phone, that's more than just a phone.
It was a fairy tale for this man, who started Apple, was ousted from his OWN company(i didn't know that was possible till i read the biography)and then went on to create 2 mega companies, called an arrogant, and overtly compulsive leader by many and adorned and idolized by many others who called him a visionary. And probably also, the father of modern technology.
Disputing, none of that, coming to the reason why i am blogging this and even though tonnes of articles written about him by more qualified people! Simple, ever since i heard about him, read his biography, i aspired to be someone like him. something like him. And so i blog. As a tribute.
Now, i read reports of people saying how he affected all their lives. And these are people not even remotely related to him in any possible way. but most of them are owners of the gadgets introduced by him. Now, read the previous line clearly, the keyword is introduced. What exactly did he introduce?
He introduced the much cliched thought, that impossible is nothing. he introduced life is a fairy tale if u wanted it to be. For a man, who walked miles to get a meal at a temple, was gifted a state of the art Gulfstream plane for globetrotting purposes.
What he actually showed was, you don't need to complicate things. He simplified lives. And, yes another thing, you needn't be dressed in an armani to launch a product(i don't know if i'm EVER gonna, wear a turtleneck to an interview or a meeting.) but yes, he showed you just have to love what you do. And not do it because it pays you well. This, probably is THE MOST important aspect of his life. Its NOT about the ipads or the iphones, its about doing what he Loved doing, and doing it every single day of his life.
He had a compulsion for the products to be EXACTLY like how he wanted it. An iron grip of sorts. His uncanny penchant for intricacies showed how involved he was with his work. Reports, stating he was involved with the end user directly, sending them personal notes et al. It just shows the dedication of this man.
I wrote this blog to undermine, the will and determination of the human soul, to overcome colossal failures and persevere in what it believes in. To celebrate the joy of doing what you love, to celebrate life as it is, and believe that the story you are weaving is something special.
Finally, quoting the man himself "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."

Kids-A foreward to fantasy and fiction

Well, this blog has been a long time coming. I really didn't know what to blog about. One of the hottest topics would've been the lok pal bill. but everyone's giving their point of view about that issue, that i would prefer to shut up. So after rummaging through topics for almost 2 yrs now, yeah that's a long long time i know, but considering i didn't have access to a PC for over a year, i think that's understandable. So yes, i finally got a topic to write about. Or to be more precise quote. And i absolutely loved the idea which struck me. So here's what i want to write about.

It all began, after i got a calvin and hobbes book as a present. What a lovely present you may exclaim!I absolutely love those characters! Both of them actually. And to a very large extent i must say i connect with calvin. Simply because what he construes and constructs is simply the truth for him. Reality in other words is just a perception. So here is this blog, inspired by Bill Waterson and Foreword by Garry Trudeau.

Trudeau says "There are few wellsprings of humor more consistently reliable than the mind of a child." What exactly does he mean by this? That a kid can do a stand up? Well no. Because as Garry puts it, it mainly has do with the constant shifting frames of references. Now, would that require mastery over the linguistic and mental Cartesian planes or co-ordinates? Maybe not. The main reason for this is the simple fact which we go through ourselves. If we're to put a fully grown adult human in a completely new place, say a new country, he would display childlike inquisitiveness. He would want to know everything about the place, how a thing works and how it doesn't. This is pretty much like showing the brand new ipad to an octogenarian! "Reality is highly situational" This sentence holds in good stead when it comes to kids. One would hear stories narrated by a child as to how, he probably fought a dino with a water gun! As adults we're unfortunately conditioned to think that's scientifically not possible. After all, dino's were extinct long back. But, has one wondered how that kid, came up with a situation like that? Maybe he's blessed to not have studied theories printed in humongous books weighing as much as him? The utterance which an adult knows to be a "lie" may well reflect a child's deepest conviction. At least at the moment it is. Gerry says "Fantasy is so accessible , and it is joined with such force and frequency, many parents feel they are being manipulated, when the truth is far more frightening: they don't even exist."
It truly shows, that "a child is both king and keeper of this realm." This brings me to wonder, the Adults are forever on the hunt for the elixir of the youth, the serendipity of youth, for themselves. Always in the quest to retrieve the irretrievable.
The question is what is reality? Is it a perception? And why is that when we grow up, reality morphs into a completely new meaning? Why are things classified accessible? As the author says, "A desperate few do things, that later lands them in Betty Ford Centre" or our very own alcoholics anoymous. "The rest of us, more sensibly read Calvin & Hobbes."

This is so true, considering the fact that, most of the fantasies including the Mega Saga of Star Wars and its innumerable part, all are derived through

HOPE :) its a good thing

This blog is dedicated to all, i mean ALL day-dreamers like myself.

To start with day dreaming is not a bad thing.Now, if u are one of those people who would ask "Who said, its a bad thing??" Let me just share an incident that happened when i was in the 5Th std[5Th grade for all the Americans]. Well, it was a free hour, my teacher said "students, do something constructive. And KEEP QUIET" [and all the like sounding instructions teachers give so that students don't prove to be a handful, and the teacher can have some peace]. Well, considering I'm as creative as the violin is to a blue-whale!!
So, i just sat there with a book in front of me[in the pretence of reading]. After a while my teacher saw me, she took my entire name, instantly i knew "boy! Now what have i done??" She shouted at me and said "Stop your day-dreams now!!" "Do something productive child". Alas! i thought day dreaming is a sin!
Cut to 3 years from then, my sister gifted me a black tee-shirt and it had this image of a kid in the front with "DAY-DREAMER" written below it. Boy! it was love at first site for me with that shirt :) my tryst with day-dreaming began there :)

Now,as i grew older and matured and was entering my "a-dull-t hood", there was only one thing that kept me going time and again, pushing me to do things, which i couldn't conjure that i will one day.
What was that?? IT was "HOPE". Now, many of us use this word time and again. "I hope i pass the exam" topping the list [if u know what i am talking about :p ]
Even a kid says "i hope daddy buys me that toy superman or maybe that football"!!

But what is this hope? The dictionary defines it as "to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or "to believe, desire, or trust". But i am not here to quote the dictionary and neither are u all here to read something straight out of a thick book adorning the shelves of many a "read-a-holics??"
Well, hope to me was something that got me through my 10th std board exams, when my uncle was in the ICU, battling with life, and I not knowing if i will be giving my exams. Hope was what kept me going when a very very dear aunt of mine passed away the same year, leaving me clueless as to"why, this happened?" as she was equivalent to my mother in the terms of love that she had for me. Hope was what kept me going when my cousin passed away in a car crash when i was studying class in 12Th.
But, hope was also what his parents had when he was growing up, that one day he'll take over his dad's business?
Hope is what i'd when i joined my college. Hoping that i will get a very good gang of friends. Hope is what i'd each time when i give my exams. Hope is what I've when i give a seminar or a presentation that i'm gonna rock the show. Hope is what I'd that i will score in a football match to help my team win.
So why do we hope so much? and what good does hope do?
The answer which i always knew was uncovered when i watched the movie"SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION". This came at a time when my spirits were dead and buried. It taught me "HOPE IS A GOOD THING"

Even now, i hope. I hope every single day of my life that i get my dream silver Porsche. Hope is what i have when i know that something good will happen and happiness will rain[pun intended] :) Hope is what it is, when i "hope" i'll be with my friends for a very very long time. Hope is all that each of us have. The one word that'll help us sail through the thick and thin.

Like Andy Dufresne said in Shawshank Redemption "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and remember NO good thing ever dies"
Well, i hope....

This would probably be the last blog of the series.

Victor as already known didn't create quite the impression he wanted to in the assignment. But then, he was willing to try harder. Why? Aura was backing him. Slowly Aura started becoming the focal point of his life. She was the centre. Victor couldn't think of anything else except "Aura" and this helped him as well. She kept backing him, and this put a smile on Victor's face. He was the happiest around her.One may wonder how? But that was the beauty according to Victor. He barely has met aura for a few times. Countable on one hand, that's how many times he met her. But then she had a humongous impact on Victor. Then, Victor kept himself busy with whatever little projects that came his way. The adrenaline junky was on a high. Aura also joined a professional Course, quite unrelated to the previous work she did in "Adrenaline Inc" She had moved to the country "Nupa". "Further away" thought Victor. But then he had learnt it by now that Victor was nothing without Aura. He knew to keep going he needed Aura with him. And she was always there, this made Victor happy. He was completing projects after projects. Then, one day Aura was visiting "laregban". Victor met Aura after a gap of more than a year. Someone so close to him, and he was meeting after a year.Quite ironical.

They spent three truly surreal and magical days together, one that Victor thought he will cherish for the rest of his life. He just lived the three BEST days of his life. Then, the day came, Aura had to return to "Nupa". Victor couldn't bear the thought of her leaving him and going. But, she had to. And, she did.

Victor was ravaged at this. He was not the same anymore. He knew it. Victor had to be around with Aura to be able to live. He knew he was as good as dead without Aura. He then grew much closer and attached to his favorite "Aura". He knew Aura was his Everything. He knew Aura had to be there with him to take on his dreams, to conquer all that he had wanted.

"Aura" was,is and will be Victor's only hope. He truly admires the invincible Aura. He wanted to pay a tribute to her,around whom he was the happiest best. He wrote a memoir for her, saying how much she meant to him. And how much he cared for Aura, and how much he adored and loved and missed Aura. Thus, he ended his tribute her by letting her know, he loved her a lot, like as though his life depended on it. He knows it does. He just loves her in every breath he takes. He just truly madly deeply cared.

And he hopes Aura will see his present to her. And he hoped(s) she "Glows with happiness" when she receives it.

And so lives the boy Victor, but what happens next? Is left to your imagination.

But,Victor grew wise and he knows he loves her like crazy. And will love her forever....

THE END

Disclaimer:

The characters and the companies and places mentioned are purely fictitious and any resemblance to any living or dead is purely co-incidental.

A new chapter began in Victor's life.
He was now out of "Adrenaline Inc." he back tracked to his initial self. "The dreamer" but with a purpose. He now had the backing of the "amazing Aura".
Will she prove to be a decisive "change" in his life? Nobody knew yet. Times went by. Aura and Victor were set out in there different directions. But then, Victor followed the loci of Aura.
Something was happening. Victor was enlightened. He knew the miracle IS Aura.
She was the guiding force that helped him through every step in his life in the past few months. But the dim-wit that he is, paid No heed to this, and carried on with his life.
But then, Victor was increasingly getting attached to Aura. He didn't know it yet. But he was. Aura knew it as she was intellectually superior compared to Victor. And By now, he was raking up as much trouble as he possibly could. As the months went by Aura was his only solace. He spoke to her as much as possible.
Then a few months later, he was set to undertake one of the biggest assignments of his life. He was under prepared for it and it was nothing out of the natural as one would expect this from him. He didn't clear the assignment.
He was dejected and he almost gave up! Yes, but then Aura stood by him. Refusing to bundle under his constant reckless acts and behaviour. By now, even Aura had left "Adrenaline Inc." She was doing well.
Victor finally knew it. It was ALL AURA :)
Now what?