I <3 Public Transportation

So this past weekend, my sister and I visited NYC. We took a train from Summit, NJ (beautiful little town, btw.. I want to live there in the future) and, in the merciless rain, attempted to navigate through the beast of a city that New York is. One thing that really struck me was how easy it was to get around so quickly. People may hate on the delays and traffic and mere amount of people crammed into that city, but man, public transportation rocks. Especially coming from a place where it is non-existent (Southern California), it’s amazing to see how it works so perfectly. iPhone’s google maps feature also helps tremendously on that (it tells you down to the minute when a train is departing, where the closest station is, where you need to transfer, and when the next few trains are). Of course, you can’t use it when you’re in the Subway, but if you’re that dependent on an iPhone, grab an MTA map. And if you can’t read that you shouldn’t be wandering NYC alone. Anyways, its amazing.

What else is amazing is Wicked, the musical. Holy crap. I haven’t read the book, but from what I heard the book was very different from the musical, and since I saw the musical first I don’t think I’d like the different focus that the book apparently has. The Gershwin Theater is beautiful, and it was just a different experience altogether to watch a show on Broadway. You feel like you are part of the story, and you get sucked in to the realm of the characters. And when you realize this is all live and happening in front of you, it’s just a ‘wow’ moment. I’m definitely going back to see more musicals. The talent is just beyond super, as well. And to do that close to 6 times a week in some cases? Unbelievable.

On a completely different note, I miss seeing palm trees. They have a very calming effect on me. Maybe I can get a baby palm tree in a pot and convince my landlord to plant it in the apartment complex lot. Hm.

List of things you KNOW are true..

So as I wait for my sister to arrive (her flight got delayed twice and she’s more than 14 hours delayed at this point), here’s a piece of entertainment. I got this from a friend today. It’s basically a list of statements that we all probably have thought at one point. This stuff is so scarily true. Especially the Nintendo one. Enjoy!

I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong… fuck!!!

I don’t understand the purpose of the line, “I don’t need to drink to have fun.” Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they’ve invented the lighter?

That’s enough, Nickelback.

I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font… it would make my life much less complicated

Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say”.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

My brother’s soccer league team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, “Cuz we beat you, and you hate us.” Classy, bro.

Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.

How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’ examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my last name to an attorney and said “Yes that’s G as in…(10 second lapse)..ummm….Goonies”

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died..

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I would like to officially coin the phrase ‘catching the swine flu’ to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with a larger individual. Example: “Mike caught the swine flu last night.”

Bad decisions make good stories.

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.

There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

“Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There’s so much pressure. ‘I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It’s only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?’

While watching the Olympics, I found myself cheering equally for China and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles…

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is..

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call… you know you do it too…

I hate when I lose my phone and then have to reverify those very same numbers

I think that if, years down the road when I’m trying to have a kid, I find out that I’m sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition during most of my twenties

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn’t know what do to with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time…

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware… thanks for making me feel like a pig right before i eat my one meal today. That’s awesome. Oh.. and thanks for not including a single napkin… for all 4 “people”

Grillin’ Summer

Team Masala update on Project Remix! Check it out..

Recipes

More TV = Less sex = Less babies = Population Control?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/08/13/sex.or.tv/index.html

It’s not a bad idea… I guess. But really? I don’t think people in India are having sex because they’re bored, but because they actually want more kids. More hands to help on the farm. A son to carry on their legacy. I even personally know some families that have more kids so they can have more of a share of their family wealth when the elderly die. Plus, have you seen what’s on TV today? The media is blamed for an increased rate of teenage pregnancies and higher sexual activity among the young in developed nations, so are we really going to introduce that factor into rural Indian villages as well? Ridiculous. I feel it would be much cheaper to just supply condoms and birth control and educate people about them, rather than using the media and TV to control people. If people want to have kids, let them have kids. Introduce policies that restrict aid to families with more than a two kids. Make them pay more taxes. I don’t know. But using something to distract people from having sex? I hope that was a joke, India.

Thoughts?

Long time, No time

It’s been one hell of a last couple months. Work started end of June, I effectively uprooted and made my permanent move to the East Coast (Okay fine I didn’t have much to uproot and alright, Scranton PA is hardly the “East Coast” but you get the idea). People have started losing their cool with the ObamAdmin. Journalists have been captured and released, and a past Preaident has negotiated with terrorists ( I thought we didn’t do that?). We have a Latina supreme court justice, and Afghanistan is holding American Idolesque competitions (sign of peace?). Lots of things have ocurred and it seems like I missed a whole decade being engrossed with work-related activities and stresses.

Independent life is stressful. To sum it up another way, I hate dealing with bills, and insurance, and rent, and car payments. It sucks but you know what, for me I am learning to appreciate how my parents raised me the way and with the luxuries they did. For all you brats out there who have never recieved a paycheck in their lives, and never had to pay a credit card bill, and had everything handed to them (and yes I was you at some point too), don’t pretend you know what the value of money is, because you don’t. Its impossible to know the true concept of “earning a living” if you haven’t done it. And no thats not the “oh I worked at A&F for a summer to save up for a Louis Vuitton clutch” BS I’ve heard from people. I probably don’t realize the concept completely now either, because unfortunately the Indian culture breeds leeches — probably a remnant from our roots in the extended family concept. My parents will always be there as back up, because they’re Indian parents. But man. Best piece of advice I’m gonna tell my kids when they get old enough is to get a job and work for their college tuition.

Anyways that was a mini rant. Apologies. I shall update more often now I think.

Updates

Updates:

Started work yesterday. Boy, is it tiring. But I am loving it so far (although we haven’t done much except go over what consitutes FMLA and what doesn’t, and get our blood drawn). Looking forward to an amazing time, with some great people I’m starting with.

Team Masala recipe will be coming out shortly. Currently experimenting (and perfecting) a semi-homemade/made up recipe. Project Remix has this really cool new restaurant search interface, and although it’s mostly DC area restaurants now, it has potential to be pretty comprehensive and useful. So keep checking the site: www.projectremix.org

Scranton is just something else. Roads are awkwardly placed and named and directed here. I think the most annoying part though is that there are no sensors at any of the traffic lights so you end up waiting at a red light for a minute at 5 in the morning, when not a single soul can be found for a mile around. I guess that’s what I get for coming to a small town. Should be a great adventure though. Looking forward to exploring what Scranton and the surrounding lakes and such have to offer. (Not gonna lie, I’m totally freaked and paranoid that I’m going to hit a deer one of these days.. I’ve heard one too many horror stories during my first couple days at work..)

That’s it for now. More to come when I’m not so exhausted.

Summer Recipes, Pt 1

Here’s a recipe that I posted on Project Remix. Click on the picture to check it out!

Wonderings

I haven’t updated in a decade, it seems. Mostly due to finals and a motherload of work at the end of the semester. But here’s a repost from one of my earlier entries from another blog. I was writing about this anyway, but this post seemed fitting, and I stand by what I said then.

Fate. This is one of those tricky topics that I can’t seem to find a definite stance on. My…confusion, for the lack of a better word, has caused much grief to those who have debated with me in the past on the validity and existence of this phenomenon of “fate.” And I don’t blame them, because I have no clue what to believe.

I was raised in a household that was very Hindu, and by a mother whose main philosophy consists of fate driving her life. She believes in divine intervention, superstitions, the evil eye – those sort of things that alter your life because “fate decided it so.” Everything that happened was God’s grace, or God’s punishment, or it was “meant to be.” At times, I feel she confused the idea of “fate” with the idea of God, a higher being, or a higher conscience that guides you through life, not determines your life. This is very different from the predestination, predetermined life, sort of phenomenon that Calvinists, and my mother, seem to preach.

Frankly, it’s unsettling, the notion that we have very little control over what we do and that someone out there is delicately designing our lives. It’s quite scary, actually. (I just got a chill down my spine, similar to how I felt after watching The Matrix). I like to think that most, if not all, of the events that occur in our lives are a direct or indirect result of our own actions. If you get run over a car (apologies for the gory example), maybe you didn’t look both ways. And even if you did, why were you crossing the street in the first place, knowing it might have been a rowdy, unsafe crossing. Or if it isn’t, maybe you were taking a longer lunch break than usual, so it caused you to be on that street at the same time the car was speeding (this is more a karma-related example, I guess – a debate I’ll save for a later post). Although that was a pretty horribly thought up example (very How I Met Your Mother-esque), you understand my point. You, in a sense, build and mold your own fate.

Though, you have to wonder. Those medical miracles, tornadoes ripping apart brick homes, yet leaving the family intact inside, even true love and the idea of “soulmates”, aren’t they all too good to be true? There has to be some divine business going on – it’s too perfect, right?

Or maybe, consider the following (totally stole that from Bill Nye): We just don’t give ourselves enough credit. Everything miraculous that happens, that’s “too perfect” to be true, may as well be our higher evolutionary smarts getting to work. We can clone sheep and perform delicate surgeries using a programmed computer, so why can’t we take a little bit of credit for things that happen in our lives?

But at the same time, giving ourself credit for the good means we have to take responsibility for the bad, as well. Most people simply don’t like to do this, and therefore, voila, the idea of fate and the fact that it is responsible for everything comes into play and makes everyone happy (or at least content). I suspect my mother falls into this category somewhat. But hey, I’m no one to judge… I do it to occasionally. I am my mother’s daughter. Everyone does to an extent, I think. It boils down to the human instinct of taking responsibility for the good, and blaming anything and anyone for the bad. Fate just fits the bill for those who don’t like pointing fingers at other people (God doesn’t seem to mind, I guess).

It’s just very interesting, and twice as more befuddling, this concept of fate. Alas, perhaps I’m not fated to figure it out after all.

Sick Choreo

I’ve been quite busy as of late, which is why the last few posts haven’t been “real” posts. But this video is just sickkk. God, this choreographer is my hero.

I like..

See, this is my type of comedy.