Dream Come True!

Yeah! So I finally finished my Diploma in Freelance Journalism. It is official. I am a certified and published Journo now! Pop the cork! Yippeeee!

Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock

So if you are a crazy Friends fan like me, then you will probably know that I am referring to the episode when Phoebe realizes that she can change her name. Most of my friends have a different surname now. Actually some even have a different first name-but that is a different story for a different day. For almost 2 years now I have been confused. Agreed that I am highly prone to confusions, but here is yet another dilemma that I still haven’t solved.

It is a common practice to either substitute or append the husband’s family name to one’s own post marriage. At the place where I come from, usually there is no concept of “family name.” Women just substitute their husband’s name instead of their own dad’s name. So if AB marries XY, A being the woman’s name, B the woman’s father’s name, X the man’s name and Y the man’s father’s name, she simply changes it to AX, or sometimes AB-X.

Now lets talk about my situation. Firstly the name that my parents chose to bestow on me is by no means short. Although it isn’t the longest in the world, it is long enough to make me run out of the tiny boxes available on application forms, thereby leading me to cramp up all the remaining letters. Anyone who has ever asked me my full name, always asks for a repeat with either raised or scrunched up eyebrows.

Anne Mary Prinita J. So I have a first name, 2 middle names and an initial, which expands to John, my dad’s name. Anne is what I am usually called outside of home, with Prinita being favoured at home. And yes I know that Anne is phonetically Ann and not Annie-but well if people can call me Anni (meaning sis-in-law in Tamil), Anna (meaning brother in Tamil), Aani (meaning nail in Tamil) I figure that I can pronounce myself Annie. And by the way, does anyone realize what a big pain having a name starting with A is??! You get called first for every damn thing starting from interviews to exams. You have hardly any time to prepare and absolutely no idea of what lies ahead. Unlike people whose names start conveniently with anything other than A. They can always get information about what to expect from you. Poor scapegoat!

Anyway back to the topic. Recently someone messaged me on Facebook saying, “Hey how are you? And how is John? You both make a great couple!”
Well thank you very much my friend. Myself and John are fine indeed but FYI (Yes now that is an actual word. They added it to the Oxford Dictionary. OMG!) John is my dad!

Anne Mary Prinita John-Ajay? Anne Mary Prinita Ajay? Anne Ajay? Prinita Ajay? Anne Prinita Ajay? Anne Prinita John-Ajay?? Permutations and combinations galore! I still haven’t chosen a favourite. Further changing my name now, also means changing my signature, changing my names on my bank accounts, cheque books, credit/debit cards, passport, other such certificates and what not! Just too much work, I say! Oh well! To cover up my indecision and laziness, I could always taking a feministic stand and argue that when the male has no need to change his name after marriage, why should a female alone change hers ;-)

Image Courtesy:www.dreamstime.com

Love to Travel + Love to Write = Travel Writing!

When I tell people that I am a freelance writer, many ask me “So are getting paid for that or is it just for fun?” I guess it really reflects the state of how most people view their jobs. You get paid for working not for having fun, right? Wrong!

If you know me then you also know that I enjoy writing as well as travelling. And now I found a wonderful way to club both together! Yep! I work as a freelance travel consultant/writer with a Bangalore based travel website called Mygola. It is a relatively new and pretty small company but I love it that I can work from home. And to answer the above question – I get paid AND I have fun! Isn’t that just great?! (Also I think that I can be a very knowledgeable geography teacher soon ;-))

Have you tried to google something and ended up with an avalanche of data which probably confused you and made you feel like you were searching for a needle in the haystack? Some people may not know the tricks for an effective online search, some might just not find it interesting to dig in and sift and sort thru all that information and yet some others might simply not have the time to do so. That is exactly where Mygola steps in.

Mygola is basically a travel website, where registered users can ask questions regarding their travel. And as a guide my job is to understand the traveler’s requirements, research online using the tools, tips and pointers that they provide, gather information and provide my suggestions and recommendations in a complete and thorough answer. What’s more I simply love the flexibility that Mygola offers me. I can choose any question that I would like to answer at anytime I wish to. Although once you have claimed a question you do need to answer it within 24 hours. There was a small test initially after which there were a couple of practice sessions and tutorials. After which I am all set :-)

So would any of you like to join the bandwagon? I must state here, that only if you like travelling and writing would you find this interesting and worth your efforts. If you do not like either, then chances are you may find it a little boring. But if anyone of you would like to give it a shot, you can do so by clicking here.
If you get selected then I get a bonus too! Yay ;-)

Okay so ciao! Am off to share my words of wisdom with a few travelers!

Image Courtesy: www.dreamstime.com

Dilemmas Of A Domestic Diva

I know a lot of people who are career-oriented and ambitious. But unfortunately, due to some weird wiring of my system I don’t fall under that category. So here I am – The Domestic Diva.

I do appreciate the fact that you all out there are busy saving the world from the aliens or educating today’s brats to be responsible citizens of tomorrow or playing dice with stocks and shares or simply writing software for the next model of the mobile phone that I am using now or even pretending to work and reading my blog (Ha! Caught you!). But on behalf of all the domestic Goddesses out there, I would like to state here that we have our own share of dilemmas too! Cynical? Well wipe that superior smirk off your face and read on mon ami(e):

Dilemma No. 4: Which idiot designs the cobblestone pavement encircling the supermarket to be sloping?!?!?! For those of you who know me, I am a poor little petite lady. I find it almost impossible to manipulate a shopping cart loaded with about 2 weeks’ worth of groceries against the slant of the land. It is an uphill task (pun intended) all the way! I step out of the mall and hang on for dear life to my cart, lest it rolls away and bangs into a car or worse on some unsuspecting soul. Recently I was pushing and prodding my way to the taxi stand without much success. A kindly Good Samaritan offered to help and helped me till the taxi. But while I was loading the stuff into the trunk of the taxi, the taxi driver blew his horn and turning, to my horror, I saw my cart rolling down the pavement. Dropped the bags in my hand and grabbed my cart. Thank goodness I was not holding onto the eggs basket! Sheesh!

Dilemma No.3: My nephew plays a game in Kindergarten called Wood, Paper, Scissors. Well I ask you- Wood, Plastic, Glass?? I am talking about chopping boards. Sometime back I was advised to use wooden chopping boards instead of plastic. But on a recent visit to a friend’s place, I saw him using a plastic one. He is in the catering industry and so what with him being the man in the business and all that, I posed this question to him. Isn’t a wooden chopping board better to use than a plastic one? Because if you notice on your plastic chopping boards (if you use one), there would be many grooves and cuts formed while chopping whatever it is that you chop. Which probably means that you add a few particles of the plastic too alongwith your chopped stuff, right?
Well turns out that all major hotels use plastic chopping boards-and what’s more they even have them colour coded-Green knives and green plastic boards for veggies, red ones for meat, blue ones for seafood, yellow ones for ready-to-eat things like cut-up fruits and so on. It seems that since wood has pores in its surface, juices/water from whatever we are chopping may seep in and the dampness would serve as an ideal ground for bacteria and germs to breed.
I am guessing that glass might be a good option-but then if you are endowed with butter-fingers like me, chances are you would break the glass AND prick yourself with the glass pieces too! Not safe! So finally I just decided to settle on wood anyway. I figured that with the high temperatures involved in the Indian style of cooking that I mostly do, all bacteria should be effectively destroyed. Better than eating plastic I presume.

Dilemma No.2: Can somebody please, please, please teach me how to use the can opener?!?!?! I have been trying to figure this out for the past couple of years all to no avail! (Shut up! I am NOT dumb!) Wahhhh!! Back in my childhood, we never had any can openers at home. I remember my mom holding a sharp knife vertically on the rim of the can, hitting it with a hammer and going around the whole circumference of the top of the can. If you lose your patience mid-way and try to pry the half-open lid-stop right there and don’t waste your energy. That approach hardly ever succeeds-you will probably end up with a bent lid, half the contents stuck within the can, not to mention scraping your finger on the serrated edges of the can. Trust me I have given blood all for a few yummy drops of Milkmaid. You got to go the whole damn way! Or they could just stop producing cans which need can openers and instead just manufacture the ones which can be opened by pulling at the hook on the top-like Coke or Beer cans…Sigh!

P.S: Hey BG, if you are reading this I remember that you had written something about this on your blog a long time back... But I couldn't find it now....

Dilemma No.1: This exalted position goes to the ubiquitous question “What to cook for the next meal?” There are innumerable cuisines around the world and a zillion dishes to make. I agree. I could cook that dish that I was thinking of trying out for some time now. Only I checked my pantry (or the fridge) and the one important ingredient for this particular dish is out of stock. Well okay…then let me cook this other dish-oh wait! Somebody (or the other) doesn’t eat this vegetable/meat. Fine then what about this one? Oh no! Not that! I just made that a few days back! Apart from all that, it should also be nutritious and healthy and tasty all at the same time, not too oily or cheesy, not too much of sodium, not too sweet, not too bland, should not require too much effort or money, should not be boring and repetitive, should be different but not too adventurous, should not contribute to the ever-increasing waistlines and love handles, should appeal to the eyes and nose as well etc etc etc!

Okay I hear you say, "Well these are common to both the working and the stay-at-home women!" But then the working woman can always say "Well I am too busy to worry about such trivialities! I have to think about stopping the sky from falling down and the earth from caving in!"
On the other hand, what lame excuses could we domestic divas give?!?

So there you go! Now don’t you agree that the life of a domestic diva is as bad as braving rush hour traffic, handling pesky customers, uncaring co-workers, irritating bosses, ever-shortening deadlines, impossible targets and uninspiring projects!?! All I can say is ….. You’d better ;-)

Image Courtesy: http://www.dreamstime.com/

Classified Info ;-)

Haaa Sundays! Sundays were always lazy days for me back home. Everyone used to get out of bed a little later than usual and are relaxed without the hustle and bustle of the weekdays. Since both my parents were working, the weekdays usually go in a blur and even Saturdays are busy days with some chores to do and errands to run.

So come Sunday, the house seemed lively with people, noises of Sunday programs like Aratai Arangam, Top 10 Movies, Swaptha Swarangal drifted in from the neighbours’ TVs , the vegetable vendors and fish vendors would come calling at the gate with their loud, hoarse voices and by noon the pressure cooker whistles, signaling that amma has made some tasty dishes for lunch and the whole house was filled with a mouth-watering aroma. I used to hover around the kitchen, waiting for amma to offer me a bite of this or that on the pretext of checking the salt ;-) Afternoons were filled by a siesta and evenings were spent at Church. Once night fell, there would be groans of “Oh tomorrow schooooll!” or “Office tomorrow!”

But after moving here, the whole spirit and tradition of Sundays has been sadly lost-because Sunday is a working day here :-( Boohoo! Also since I have to do the cooking, it is not as satisfying as eating amma’s food… My parents are planning to visit us next month and I am eagerly waiting for them! Am sure we will have a great time! Yeah!

Anyway coming to the point, I didn’t mean to write this post as an ode to Sundays. Actually with the Sunday edition of The Hindu newspaper, come a load of supplements, one of which is the classifieds paper.(Yeah and you thought I was going to share some secret with you ;-)) And of particular interest to me was the Matrimonial section. I always used to read it on the sly lest my parents thought that I was searching for a groom for myself. Nay that was definitely not my intention. Rather I always found the matrimonial ads interesting. Some were weird, some were snobbish, some were silly and some were outright funny! One common thread that was present in almost every ‘Bride Wanted’ ad was “Wanted slim, fair girl”! So what about chubby, dark-skinned girls??! India and its fair-skin-favouritism! I suspect that I became biased myself after reading countless such ads-no, not towards fairness but away from it! In fact, after my grandma met my husband for the first time, her first comment to me was “Payan konjam colour kammi…”, meaning “The boy is a little on the darker side…” Okay….So?!?!? Didn’t you notice anything else worthwhile for God’s sake!?!? If only you had opened your eyes, you could have seen that he is also tall and slim and healthy and that he has a great set of teeth and a charming smile!

So yesterday, I was flipping through some magazine when I landed on… you guessed it! classifieds again. Reading the ads there I honestly did not know whether to laugh or cry. Here are a few gems. I am typing them exactly as printed, with my comments in italics:

Wanted Bride:

Hello Girls! Are you searching for honest, sincere and trustworthy smart guy? (Well who isn’t? BTW one of your strengths is definitely not written english!) I am loving, caring and highly romantic guy 32 years searching for good-looking, slim and sincere girl for long-lasting relationship. My hobbies are music, watching movies, dancing, long drives, going to sea beaches (Um..Really would like to know if these”sea” beaches are different from “ocean” beaches?!) and hill stations. Girls willing for committed relationship reply with their details and photograph at: urluversa***@********

Okay firstly the email id sucks big time! And do you also like to do the laundry, wash the dishes, take the girl for shopping, cook, lend a listening ear to all that the girl talks even if they might at times be frivolous?! Because all the activities that you have listed seems to be for a “fun” relationship not a “sincere and committed “one!

Handsome teetotaller businessman desires an extremely beautiful, fair, slim, honest, affectionate, passionate, committed, elite, sophisticated and fashionable female, not interested in issues. (Whew! This person is living in la-la land!)

Handsome, tall young boy travelling worldwide like Kerala and western culture (!), romantic, sincere, caring seeks pretty girls for lifelong relationship or acting on movie/modeling (What is this? Orae kallula rendu maanga?!? Make up your mind dude! )

And this one from Situations Vacant:

Lonely businessman seeks unencumbered, clever lady assistant. Who can also assist in business. (“ A clever, unencumbered lady assistant for a lonely man who can also assist in business?!” So exactly what job is this ad for?!?)

Having said this I know that there are also many sincere advertisements placed in the classifieds. It is upto us to sift and sieve and separate the riff raff from the genuine ones. I really wonder, did any of these jerks above get what they advertised for?!?

Image Courtesy:www.dreamstime.com

Break Ke Baad...

No this is not a movie review. I just got back from a month long vacation!
Had a great time getting spoilt in India. But it feels good to be back here.
I was never actually a fan of long vacations and always used to start missing home after a few days. Whenever we returned home, the best thing was the cozy feeling of going to sleep in my own bed, on my own pillow with my own blanket wrapped snugly around me! Sigh! But of course, I never viewed vacations to India like that because I was always going home to India. But this time to my surprise I actually started missing my home back here! The travails of a married NRI woman! Now I am confused as to which to think of as home-parents' house, in-laws'home or this one where I currently am!?

Anyway let’s deal with that dilemma later. What I really intended to blog about was Oil Painting.

Back in school I was hardly ever interested in the Art & Craft classes (although I think it was mainly coz I didn’t like the teacher!) and always used to submit all assignments only on the last day.
But recently I got bitten by the Oil Painting bug! I was gifted an oil painting set by my team when I left my previous org. After a few months I decided to give it a shot. And once I started, I fell in love!
I didn’t really go for any classes but I did look up resources on the internet. There are a number of oil painting tutorials available online if anyone is interested. A word of warning though: oil painting can be very messy and smelly. Also they take a llooonnnggg (atleast 6 months) time to dry completely; though I find this aspect pretty helpful because it allows me to blend, change things or cover up any small mistakes on the canvas ;-) Additionally I can paint at my own leisurely pace without having to worry about it drying up anytime soon. Listening to some good music, humming along and painting all my cares away-my idea of a good time!

Since I am only an amateur artist who paints for nothing but her own pleasure, initially I was really hesitant to show my paintings to anyone (except my husband as I had no choice since we are living in the same house ;-)). But finally after much pushing and prodding, I mustered up the courage to gift a few and after some more encouragement, here I am-putting them up on my blog! Afterall if you have actually been reading all my crap all these days, surely you can stand seeing some more, right?! So here goes!

My very first painting: Sunset By The Cross

From Paintings

Go for a nature walk: Birches In The Meadow



Calm the Greek God of the Seas: Pacify Poseidon

From Paintings

Autumn Attractions: Fall Fantasy

From Paintings

The pride of Holland: Tulips



What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet - from Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare

From Paintings

A Hawaiian Waterfall: Tropical Paradise

From Paintings

Birds of a feather, flock together: Squawk!

From Paintings

Thru rain & shine,
Lend me strong shoulders thine, O Companion

From Paintings

In Black & White: Colourblind

From Paintings

As the Phoenix rises from its ashes, so shall The Lord rise from the dead:
The Resurrection



Inspired after watching Shutter Island! The Lighthouse



And that is all I have done so far. Hope to paint some more!
Colourblind is my husband's favourite, The Resurrection was chosen by my uncle, The Lighthouse is for my mother-in-law and the Parrots is with one of my sis-in-laws! As for me, I love each and every one of my paintings equally. I know that some are good while others aren't, but still I like them warts and all!
So tell me, which is your favourite?

A healthy treat for the child in you!

I remember, once when my nephew was around 1 year old, there was a fancy dress show happening in our residential colony. My sis-in-law thought that it would be a good idea to take him there and so got him a tiny doctor's coat and a stethoscope. Since he hadn't started talking yet, I went along too as his mouth-piece! So when his name was announced, my sis-in-law led him onto the stage; he happily walked on and seeing so many people down there, got excited and started waving his stethoscope wildly, while I gave him a voice-over.
I said "An apple a day keeps the doctor away; but if the doctor is as smart as me-you better keep the apple away!"
But coming to the point of this long-winded story, no matter how ugly the doctor is, I actually prefer them to apples.
I just do not understand how sooooo many people seem to enjoy them. I have tried many, many times to eat one but I never could complete even a single apple. They look pretty enough, staring at me from the grocery stands-startling reds, golden yellows and fresh greens. But I am not tempted.
In fact, I think that if I had been in Eve's place, Original Sin would never have occurred-no one, evil or angelic could have possibly made me eat that apple!

Having said alllll this, sometimes I try to make my husband eat healthy and so bought some apples a few weeks back. But my husband,strangely,never likes to eat, let alone eat healthy. So there they were-unhappily awaiting their path to their destiny, namely the dust bin.
But in one of my rare moments of rationality, I decided today to turn them into something much more attractive to my palate. I searched online for all kinds of recipes and finally chose one, did some modifications and customizations and ta da-delicious Apple Oatmeal Muffins!

So lets trace the journey from here...

From Apple Muffins

to here!

From Apple Muffins

You will need:

3/4 cup all purpose flour (I used the self-raising variety so that I needn't
add any baking soda)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter
Handful of chopped mixed nuts
1 apple

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Core and grate the apple. I left the skin on, figuring it would give more fiber.
(And also because I am lazy ;-))If you want, you could peel them.

Mix all the dry ingredients together. So sift and add together both the flours, oats, cinnamon and salt.

Beat the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and whisk well.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture along with the vanilla essence.

Stir till everything is incorporated well-maybe 3 minutes.

Either grease your muffin pan or line them with paper cups. I used paper liners.

Drop the dough into the muffin mould using a tablespoon and teaspoon. Level the surface of the muffins as otherwise you as the muffins rise up, cracks may form on the uneven surface and though the taste is not affected, the aesthetic appeal is!

Place the muffin tray in the oven and bake for 30-35 mins depending on your oven.
Start eyeballing from around 25 mins. The muffins may look a little under-done but they should be springy to the touch.

Remove from tray and cool.

Dig in!!!

From Apple Muffins

These muffins are easy, quick and tasty as well as nutritious since they contain whole wheat flour, oats, apples and nuts (I used walnuts and almonds.)
So here is a treat for all of you grown-up kids on Children's Day!
Happy Children's Day! Enjoy and Keep Smiling :-)

From Apple Muffins