I am addicted to Vaseline.

I am totally amused by the way my brother looks at things. His glasses are so analytical; ‘everything has a logical explanation behind it’...Why is the right striker in football paid higher than the one on the left? Why are female models paid higher than the male? Why is cost a good indication of things? Why does the market act in a manner that it does? EVERYTHING has a logical explanation; I am beginning to understand it. It is one of the boons of having a psycho genius for a brother.

I saw the advertisement of TATA TISKON STEEL on my way back home the other day; the concept was simple- they used comparison. 90 percent of the ad area was covered by the image of a pretty girl; introducing her, and adding below that being a fitness freak, her ‘weak point’ is fried food. Then, in a small strip of space left over at the bottom right corner, there was an image of a steel rod, announcing that this did not have any ‘weak point’. See now, I understand the idea, but it is not that effective, somehow. It feels like it was a good try at an ad; something that missed the cross hair. Wonder how differently they could have presented the same idea.

The whole world seems to want to lose weight. I, for one, don’t understand how ‘not eating’ is an option for our bodies. Personally, I cannot seem to get around it. I am addicted to food; for me, ‘not eating’ is not an option that works. Because I can’t not eat. Just can’t.

I have been watching a lot of ‘friends’ these past few days. I’m scarily similar to Monica.

I have been officially appointed my sister-in-law’s stylist. I am to take charge of her appearance- I have to pick out clothes for her; design her outfits and buy her shoes. It’s like dressing a Barbie doll. Only I think she’s prettier...I’M LOVING IT! :)

Standing at the end of my five years of undergraduate education, I felt like it was time to ‘reflect’ upon the times gone by; thinking of the things we learnt in the studio to the things we almost learnt..Hehe...it has been fun. Although, I don’t think I would want to live them again. Like school. I loved it; but I don’t want to go back...It is amusing to stand at this point in life, where everything is going to change in a matter of a few months; and I have NO IDEA what it’s going to be like.

A big stationery store is opening near my home- I could not be happier. I have always LOVED stationery and anything to do with it; have immensely enjoyed the Need For Stationery as an architecture student. NFS...hehe..

This phenomenon of the computer ‘hanging’ is so absurdly described...‘hung’...hehe...I wonder who attached this word. It’s not very imagination-friendly; and so are so many other terms used in the ‘computer world’—-‘windows’. Haha...The first time I heard my brother use the term, I kept imagining a big window in the wall, and packets of information- like chits- being thrown in and out...I used to think, ‘How can they possibly think THIS is more efficient??’ hehe...

Why are we supposed to change our clothes before we go to bed? ‘Because they’re comfortable’-->Does that mean that what we wear all day is uncomfortable? Why is there a constant war between ‘fashion’ and ‘comfort’?

When god created this world, he made one mistake. He should have devised for us, a better way to travel. Physical movement is really, really irritating.

I designed a logo for my brother’s blog. I really like it- very simple, yet ground breaking. Feels good. :)

We keep saying, “The pen is mightier than the sword” and the like- simply put, it’s the ability to reach out to the masses, right? It’s the large numbers that we are overwhelmed by; no one would care about a newspaper if only ten people read it. If five people are interested in what you say, it’s not a big deal. If the entire country is interested in what you say, it is a big deal. ‘You’ve got the power.’ I wonder what the understanding of ‘power’ was back in the Stone Age.

It’s also amusing how everything thickens if it involves large masses. Say a birthday party. Let’s say I have invited ten friends over for lunch. It’s nice and warm; a couple of my friends who don’t like tomato sauce on their sandwiches can ask my mom to make a few without the sauce, and when anyone wants a bigger glass of juice, they can have it. Now imagine a party with 200 guests. Everyone gets the same sandwich and the same glass; the likes/dislikes of the individual basically go to hell. This is only with reference to food- this happens EVERYWHERE; ‘planning’ comes into the picture- we’re making new rules to make things simpler to plan, execute and handle- while losing out on primary choices. At this point on the earth, I don’t think we have much choice left.

Rithvik does not speak or understand Hindi. It’s shocking, actually. I think this is the first Indian I have met that does not know the language.

These final submissions are driving me crazy. I just feel like sleeping now and getting up in the last week of January...

I have been cooking. And very unexpectedly, I am having fun! I love the various aromas; I am amused by how differently we can chop vegetables and how correspondingly the method of their cooking differs- I am enjoying the process...Every vegetable, every spice and every leaf has a distinct aroma, a distinct flavour- its wonderful, really, to see how two different flavours come together- I have been experimenting- left, right and centre- cooking ROCKS! :)

We WON the tournament held in RV today!! I cannot believe it- I as captain, lifted the trophy- oh, it was brilliant! And we didn’t win because we gave ourselves a good fixture- we played league, and we won by beating ALL. Fair and square. The best possible way of ending my volleyball days in college- could not have asked for a better win- more importantly, a better team. We all sang it- ‘Hum huve kaamiyaab- AAJ KE DIN!’ hehe...Now, I have something to tell my grandchildren! :D

When you’re carrying a camera with you, trying to capture the moments of life, I believe that there is no such thing as ‘too much’. I don’t think anyone can take too many photographs- no matter how many photographs you take, you are still capturing only a part of the reality...Ten years later, every moment captured will be precious- more the better!

Diwali was great fun. Watching the *two great movies* was the highlight. I like Jab We Met more than both.

I visited a place recently that I had visited once as a kid; a park as a venue for a drawing competition- I think I was in 6th or 7th standard...I was with my school friends then- I remember Manjunath most distinctly. We used to call him ‘koli’; I have NO idea why. Hehe...I haven’t met him in 8 years now; he moved to Bihar as soon as we completed primary school. I wonder what he is doing these days- He was my dearest friend; I hope to bump into him on the street someday...The world isn’t really that big a place, you know..:)

I think the word ‘safety-pin’ is a bit out of context to its use. ‘Safety’? really? I wonder.

On the way back home today, I witnessed a minor accident ahead of me- a truck scraping the side of a stationery bus while getting around it. I was behind a car which was immediately behind the bus; the incident was to change the fate of that man in the car- he was about to be two hours late to wherever he was headed. Such rotten luck. And to think it was in NO WAY his fault. The same with all vehicles headed in the direction of the spot- terrible, terrible mess. If carefully seen, though, these kinds of incidents also provide a variety of entertainment; the two victims screaming at each other, neither listening- background music provided by the honking vehicles waiting for a clear road, and onlookers occasionally walking up to the scene with bitti gyaan. There are some things we should just laugh off, I guess. But then, it’s really not possible at that moment, being in the driver’s seat of that car.

I think the time of the KHANS is over. The time of the Kapoors is here. Shahid, Kunal, Ranbir, Sonam, Kareena.

I like the semi colon; it brings a wonderful sense of continuity to a sentence- I like playing with the semi colons and the hyphens; they make for very effective dramatization tools.

Riding with meeta on the bike to college for volleyball practice 6 30 in the morning makes for the best memories ever. Hehe...It is funny how women never run out of topics to talk about..even on a bike in killer wind.

I really like ‘kaka-angadis’; they are these really tiny miscellaneous shops most visible on the outskirts of the city...Hardly 2m x 3m in plan, they are capable of stuffing a lot more than you think. They ALL look more or less the same; a row of glass jars along the front facade, placed over a counter which is unusually high..a thousand small plastic packets of chips, gems, and the like- hanging from a corner- effectively all these result in you never being able to see the ‘kaka’...There is something nostalgic about them; I feel good every time I visit one. Maybe because they’re gonna be extinct soon.