I am listening to the music of Il Postino, after ages and remembered how much in love I am, with this one!
Morning
Naked, you are simple as one of your hands,
smooth, earthy, small, transparent, round:
you have moon-lines, apple-pathways:
naked, you are slender as a naked grain of wheat.
Naked, you are blue as a night in Cuba;
you have vines and stars in your hair;
naked, you are spacious and yellow
as summer in a golden church.
Naked, you are tiny as one of your nails-
curved, subtle, rosy, till the day is born
and you withdraw to the underground world,
as if down a long tunnel of clothing and of chores:
your clear light dims, gets dressed - drops its leaves-
and becomes a naked hand again.
- Pablo Neruda (poet)/ Sting (Vocals)/ Il Postino (the movie)
Monday, June 26, 2006
Sunday, June 25, 2006
What a PotLuck!!
So, three people who've barely known each other for three weeks, decided to get together to throw a potluck party, that took place last night. And What a Potluck it was!
The amount of good food, (some brought their self-cooked culinary delights, while others just bought ready-made food; eitherways it was a delicious spread), the variety of alcohol, the wild games we played, "Psychiatrist" and "Truth or Dare", the zonked people we met and the random dance steps, all ensured the party was a blast that we would remember for a very long time to come. A stay-over after ages, and fun conversation in the morning over breakfast and coffee, made this one of the longest parties I've attended/ co-organized in a while.
A fun night with a great set of friends; here's hoping for many more to come!
Special Mentions: (in alphabetical order)
1. Amit: For bringing the tastiest samosas I've had in this country and his willingness to bring us our much-needed morning cup of joe.
2. Apoorva: For co-organising the party and her special management skills that directed Saurabh in the kitchen to cook the Lemon Rice.
3. Ashish: For the amusing choreography with even more amusing nomenclature and tasty gulab-jamuns. Also, for providing the funniest moment of the night, when he fell, while performing the 'lawn-mower'.
4. Czaee: For introducing "psychiatrist" into the evening and her sporting performance on the 'dare'.
7. Daljeet: For being a good DJ for some part of the evening and then showing us his wild and terrifying (to some) side.
8. Raj: For unbelievably tasty Gobi Manchurians that commanded unanimous adulation.
9. Saurabh: For the only person who cooked/ partially cooked, non-vegetarian (Chicken Curry) and vegetarian (Lemon Rice) dishes for the party.
10. Shiv: For his gracious hospitality, never-ending supply of drinks and delightful breakfast of Kokila-Ben-made Idlis this morning.
11. Supriya: For providing mouth-watering kababs.
and last but not the least:)
12. Me: For acting like a Chief Guest at my own party as a co-host; as Apoorva correctly pointed out, arriving late and leaving earliest:) (I was the first one to hit the sack).
The amount of good food, (some brought their self-cooked culinary delights, while others just bought ready-made food; eitherways it was a delicious spread), the variety of alcohol, the wild games we played, "Psychiatrist" and "Truth or Dare", the zonked people we met and the random dance steps, all ensured the party was a blast that we would remember for a very long time to come. A stay-over after ages, and fun conversation in the morning over breakfast and coffee, made this one of the longest parties I've attended/ co-organized in a while.
A fun night with a great set of friends; here's hoping for many more to come!
Special Mentions: (in alphabetical order)
1. Amit: For bringing the tastiest samosas I've had in this country and his willingness to bring us our much-needed morning cup of joe.
2. Apoorva: For co-organising the party and her special management skills that directed Saurabh in the kitchen to cook the Lemon Rice.
3. Ashish: For the amusing choreography with even more amusing nomenclature and tasty gulab-jamuns. Also, for providing the funniest moment of the night, when he fell, while performing the 'lawn-mower'.
4. Czaee: For introducing "psychiatrist" into the evening and her sporting performance on the 'dare'.
7. Daljeet: For being a good DJ for some part of the evening and then showing us his wild and terrifying (to some) side.
8. Raj: For unbelievably tasty Gobi Manchurians that commanded unanimous adulation.
9. Saurabh: For the only person who cooked/ partially cooked, non-vegetarian (Chicken Curry) and vegetarian (Lemon Rice) dishes for the party.
10. Shiv: For his gracious hospitality, never-ending supply of drinks and delightful breakfast of Kokila-Ben-made Idlis this morning.
11. Supriya: For providing mouth-watering kababs.
and last but not the least:)
12. Me: For acting like a Chief Guest at my own party as a co-host; as Apoorva correctly pointed out, arriving late and leaving earliest:) (I was the first one to hit the sack).
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
"The best way to see New York is on the run!"*
The most awaited time of the day was when the clock would strike 12.
No, I wasnt turning into a pumpkin:), the NYC Half-Marathon registration was about to begin.
At 11:55 am, the registration tab appeared on the webpage and then started a series of "refresh" page commands, entering credit card details and mad chat messages, asking friends to try to log in from their networks. Had one leg in the ongoing seminar in the conference room and the other at my desk, trying to register, if only the site would let me.
Finally an hour and a half later, I just managed to find my way onto the last page, where I thankfully said "Submit" and was finally registered!
So, here I am, at this end of the training and running sessions, that sort of began around the weekend of June 10th with the Asha 5K Run at Riverside Park.
Participating in the half-marathon as a part of the Asha Marathon training group, also means fund-raising $100/ mile, i.e $1310 for the 13.1 miles that I will run on August 27th 2006. All the money will go towards the basic education of underprivileged children in India, a well-deserved cause for which any contributions will be appreciated. I havent yet officially signed up for this, but when I do, I will have a website to raise this money and would certainly hope that anyone who reads this on my blog or otherwise, will be nice enough to chip in a few bucks for this worthy cause!
Running has never been the same for me ever before and I think I can say with a certain amount of surety and spunk in my step, that it has begun to change my life!:)
On that end note, here's the beautiful course that 'we' 10,000 half-marathoners will run on D-Day!
* Quoted from the NY Road Runner's Club website.
No, I wasnt turning into a pumpkin:), the NYC Half-Marathon registration was about to begin.
At 11:55 am, the registration tab appeared on the webpage and then started a series of "refresh" page commands, entering credit card details and mad chat messages, asking friends to try to log in from their networks. Had one leg in the ongoing seminar in the conference room and the other at my desk, trying to register, if only the site would let me.
Finally an hour and a half later, I just managed to find my way onto the last page, where I thankfully said "Submit" and was finally registered!
So, here I am, at this end of the training and running sessions, that sort of began around the weekend of June 10th with the Asha 5K Run at Riverside Park.
Participating in the half-marathon as a part of the Asha Marathon training group, also means fund-raising $100/ mile, i.e $1310 for the 13.1 miles that I will run on August 27th 2006. All the money will go towards the basic education of underprivileged children in India, a well-deserved cause for which any contributions will be appreciated. I havent yet officially signed up for this, but when I do, I will have a website to raise this money and would certainly hope that anyone who reads this on my blog or otherwise, will be nice enough to chip in a few bucks for this worthy cause!
Running has never been the same for me ever before and I think I can say with a certain amount of surety and spunk in my step, that it has begun to change my life!:)
On that end note, here's the beautiful course that 'we' 10,000 half-marathoners will run on D-Day!
* Quoted from the NY Road Runner's Club website.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Whew-kend II!
It's been a slightly different weekend.
Friday: The evening was spent at Central Park, running outdoors after a very long time. Taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the park, while running on the circular track reminded me of how it is to run free and liberated, meandering my way through the other runners, dodging the occasional bikes that whizzed me by, with a partner in tow and the wind for momentum. I've been running indoors, regularly on the treadmill, with music for company, sort of on my own designated space, linear and in motion, pushing me forward, step by step. A new running buddy, not music, for company; a new track, stationery, not mobile, to run on; marked the beginning of the weekend. Post-running, a juice and a 26 block-long walk; one of those fun conversational walks in the city. Back home at 10 pm, to have my favourite soup for dinner, packed the bag for the next day's first 5K run and after setting two alarms for the next morning, called it a night.
Saturday: Woke up at 6 am and left home after breakfast to get to the Riverside Park for Asha's third annual 5K Run/ Walk. The track was a beautiful linear ribbon, that found it's way through trees and dog-shows and paralleled beautifully by the Hudson to bring us back to where we would start from. The energy was contagious, as the Asha volunteers and the 5K participants registered and warmed up for the run. At 9:10 the run started and the first runner trickled into the finish line, a quick 19 mins later. I made it in 30, which was a personal victory, but still needs to be worked upon. Turns out the 250 odd-participants had managed to fund-raise about $20,000, aside from the registration fees and other collections still underway, all to be invested in Asha's various basic education programs run all over India. A true example of how a small effort can go a long way.
Post-run a few of us went to Cafe Lalo for brunch (more new people) and then made our way downtown, walking and talking, taking in the summer sun. A pee-stop at the Lincoln Center Plaza where we sprawled by the water fountain over some sorbet and gelato. Back home in the afternoon, to relax and spruce up for the evening farwell party at a friends place at Times' Square. The evening and most of the night was spent chatting with and meeting new people at the party, over a few drinks and ended with kathi rolls in Midtown Manhattan. Cabbed back home by 4 am and hit the sack.
Sunday: Thankfully a lazy Sunday morning that started at 11:30 am. Could'nt make it to brunch with some friends and just hung out at home instead. Made movie plans with some other friends for the evening. Went to the temple in the afternoon and then rushed back into the city for X-Men 3. Another new acquaintance made, watched the film and then walked some more in the city. Back home in Astoria, ran some errands and then off to bed, to end another weekend spent meeting new people, doing new things and harbouring a new goal; that of achieving a farther milestone in my next run, which should hopefully develop some new habits:)
On a separate note, over the last few weekends, I've added more new names and phone numbers in my phone than ever before. Gregariousness, at it's best!
Maybe I should consider an alternative career in public relations or event-management as a close friend suggests!
Friday: The evening was spent at Central Park, running outdoors after a very long time. Taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the park, while running on the circular track reminded me of how it is to run free and liberated, meandering my way through the other runners, dodging the occasional bikes that whizzed me by, with a partner in tow and the wind for momentum. I've been running indoors, regularly on the treadmill, with music for company, sort of on my own designated space, linear and in motion, pushing me forward, step by step. A new running buddy, not music, for company; a new track, stationery, not mobile, to run on; marked the beginning of the weekend. Post-running, a juice and a 26 block-long walk; one of those fun conversational walks in the city. Back home at 10 pm, to have my favourite soup for dinner, packed the bag for the next day's first 5K run and after setting two alarms for the next morning, called it a night.
Saturday: Woke up at 6 am and left home after breakfast to get to the Riverside Park for Asha's third annual 5K Run/ Walk. The track was a beautiful linear ribbon, that found it's way through trees and dog-shows and paralleled beautifully by the Hudson to bring us back to where we would start from. The energy was contagious, as the Asha volunteers and the 5K participants registered and warmed up for the run. At 9:10 the run started and the first runner trickled into the finish line, a quick 19 mins later. I made it in 30, which was a personal victory, but still needs to be worked upon. Turns out the 250 odd-participants had managed to fund-raise about $20,000, aside from the registration fees and other collections still underway, all to be invested in Asha's various basic education programs run all over India. A true example of how a small effort can go a long way.
Post-run a few of us went to Cafe Lalo for brunch (more new people) and then made our way downtown, walking and talking, taking in the summer sun. A pee-stop at the Lincoln Center Plaza where we sprawled by the water fountain over some sorbet and gelato. Back home in the afternoon, to relax and spruce up for the evening farwell party at a friends place at Times' Square. The evening and most of the night was spent chatting with and meeting new people at the party, over a few drinks and ended with kathi rolls in Midtown Manhattan. Cabbed back home by 4 am and hit the sack.
Sunday: Thankfully a lazy Sunday morning that started at 11:30 am. Could'nt make it to brunch with some friends and just hung out at home instead. Made movie plans with some other friends for the evening. Went to the temple in the afternoon and then rushed back into the city for X-Men 3. Another new acquaintance made, watched the film and then walked some more in the city. Back home in Astoria, ran some errands and then off to bed, to end another weekend spent meeting new people, doing new things and harbouring a new goal; that of achieving a farther milestone in my next run, which should hopefully develop some new habits:)
On a separate note, over the last few weekends, I've added more new names and phone numbers in my phone than ever before. Gregariousness, at it's best!
Maybe I should consider an alternative career in public relations or event-management as a close friend suggests!
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