New Realizations

Back to back tagging happening in my blog. Now this is for Sree. So I was to do a lot of introspection for this one, but that got my rustic mind running….

1. I've come to realize that my boobs...
...are where they should be

2. I've come to realize that my job...
...is something that I don’t hold currently.

3. I've come to realize that when I'm driving...
...people would clear the streets, but let me drive first.

4. I've come to realize that I need....
...more time to spend with my loved ones.

5. I've come to realize that I have lost...
...something precious in life but I can’t ever get it back.

6. I've come to realize that I hate it when...
...people are pre-judgmental about me.

8. I've come to realize that money...
...matters!

9. I've come to realize that certain people...
...are just too stuck up on their ideas that they will never listen to you.

10. I've come to realize that I’ll always....
...have the love and support of my family, no matter what.

11. I've come to realize that my siblings...
...is (just the one for me) is the best thing that has happened to me in this lifetime.

12. I've come to realize that my mom...
...is the most amazing lady I will ever know.

13. I've come to realize that my cell phone...
...is something without which I feel totally handicapped.

14. I've come to realize that when I woke up this morning...
...i wanted to crawl back into the bed again

15. I've come to realize that last night before I went to sleep…
...i went over the to-do list for today

16. I've come to realize that right now I am thinking....
...that I will miss my tennis because of the rains, but I don’t mind the rains.

17. I've come to realize that my dad....
... is my Hero.

18. I've come to realize that when I get on Facebook...
...a lot many people in my friends list always have something interesting posted.

19. I've come to realize that today...
...i am on seventh heaven as always

20. I've come to realize that tonight...
...is like many other nights when I sleep very very late

21. I've come to realize that tomorrow...
...is another day where I have a lot many things to do

22. I've come to realize that I really want to...
...fulfill my dreams and goals in life.

23. I've come to realize that the person who is most likely to repost this is...
...don’t want to force anyone, individual choice

24. I've come to realize that life...
...life without my loved one is nothing

25. I've come to realize that this weekend...
...will be the Ganpati festival weekend, my best friend Ganesha

26. I've come to realize that the best music to listen to when I am upset...
...is Punjabi music, instantly lifts my mood up

27. I've come to realize that my friends...
...have never been my true friends, except for just a choicest few

28. I've come to realize that this year...
...is a beginning of a new phase of my life

29. I've come to realize that my ex...
...is past and past should be forgotten.

30. I've come to realize maybe I should...
...trust less of people.

31. I've come to realize I love....
...my freedom.

32. I've come to realize that my past...
...can never be changed but I can learn from it and move on towards a better future.

33. I've come to realize that parties...
...are the places where you go to socialize with people with whom you would not really like to hang out with otherwise.

34. I've come to realize that I'm totally terrified...
...(good terrified) of starting anything new in life

35. I've come to realize that my family...
...are my constant source of inspiration and undying support in my life.

36. I've come to realize that my life...
...is moving fast and if I don’t keep up then I will be left behind

I would like to tag all my friends here.... so here I go, the list could get long, warn you :P

Manushee, Chetan, Sree, Kinjal, Nabeel,Vivek(@viveksingh), Nadhiya(@nadhiyamali), Meeta(@kyrasinging2), Danish (@danishctc), Ashwini(@ashkd), Shweta(@smilinggal), Aanchal(@AanchalM), Kanishka(@kp1200), Mohini (@spicychutney), Srushti(@srushtirao)

Tag...Tag... Baatate Chalo Tag

Shamrez... Tag is done... This was a long one... next time a little shorter one

so now sound...roll camera...action... "Main Ye kehna chahti hu jee... Mere dil se hai ye sab jawab..."

1. What time did you get up this morning?
Got up 8 a.m. – thanks to Mom. Then again at 8.55 a.m. – because I had to answer a call, who calls so early on a Sunday morning! And then finally got out of bed at 11 a.m. – that’s the time to get up on Sundays

2. How do you like your steak?
Unless you are talking about Chicken, spare me the menu details

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
In the Cinemas, it was Love Aaj Kal… Thanks to my stars it was not a totally pathetic movie, I actually liked it. But the last movie I saw was just yesterday, 27 Dresses, a total chick-flick (a genre I totally love!!!)

4. What is your favorite TV show?
FRIENDS (I can watch it any number of times. It always brings a smile back on my face and reminds me of all my awesome friends.)
I know I am suppose to have just one here, but can’t leave this one out:
Grey’s Anatomy (I fell in love with this series from the word go. There are shades of real life in the life of these TV characters, lives I feel connected with)

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
Anywhere in this world, in the company of my loved ones.

6. What did you have for breakfast?
Today, wrong day to ask for breakfasts. Considering the time I get up, Sundays are normally breakfast + lunch together, which was out normal roti, sabji & daal.

7. What is your favourite cuisine?
I am total desi person, Indian cuisine is the best!!!

8. What foods do you dislike?
I can eat any kind of food but what I really really dislike are Mushrooms, Peas, Mutton….

9. Favourite Place to Eat?
The place doesn’t matter, as long as it has good food.

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive?
Can I get my on jet-plane or bike? Car is not my thing.

12. What are your favourite clothes?
Casuals clothing works perfectly for me!

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Greece

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
It’s always ½ full – optimism is the name of the game!

15. Where would you want to retire?
I don’t see myself retiring, the hyper-active person that I am.

16. Favorite time of day?
Early Morning! It’s totally calm, serene and my mind is totally fresh.

17. Where were you born?
A beautiful place somewhere on the world map!

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Cricket, F1, Football, Tennis, ……….. (The list can go on, so don’t make the mistake of asking me again!)

19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
We will soon get to know the answer, so let’s wait a little while

20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
Refer the answer to Q.19

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
The friends who actually respond back…

22. Bird watcher?
First, define bird-watching!!!

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Insomniac!!!

24. Do you have any pets?
None. But would love to have a pet dog. Mom are you listening!!!

25. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share?
Yeah, Next month I am moving to London for my studies.

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Army Officer. I felt they are the strongest people in the world!!!

27. What is your best childhood memory?
Family vacations!

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
Dog Person.

29. Are you married?
Don’t be jealous of my freedom

30. Always wear your seat belt?
Yes. I like to be a law abiding citizen.

31. Been in a car accident?
Let’s not remember the bad memories. I prefer to forget those accidents.

32. Any pet peeves?
Let’s not open the pandora’s box here!

33. Favourite Pizza Toppings?
Cheese!!! Cheese!!! And Lots of Cheese!!!!

34. Favourite Flower?
Genda Phool!!!

35. Favourite ice cream?
Chocolate!!!

36. Favourite fast food restaurant?
Anything that serves me the food fast…

37. How many times did you fail your driver’s test?
Never!

38. From whom did you get your last email?
Reply to my email to a good friend.

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Never ask Shopaholics to pick just one store, you will regret it. But now that you have asked, Macy’s, Blomingdale’s (NYC) for everything from clothes, to accessories to whatever you can think of and Barnes & Noble (NYC) for Books.

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Shopping!!!

41. Happy with your job?
I am one of the lucky ones who is not working currently

42. Broccoli?
Just another veggie that I Love!

43. What was your favorite vacation?
Other than just one vacation, I have loved all the ones I have taken.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
My family.

45. What are you listening to right now?
TV – News!.... Ipod – Kaminey (Dhan Tan Naa)

46. What is your favorite color?
Black.

47. How many tattoos do you have?
None at all.

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz?
As many as I can!

49. In What time did you finish this quiz?
I finished it… That’s important.

50. Coffee Drinker?
How do you think then I finished this quiz??? Where is my Kaafi for the day!!!!!

Am tagging this to my buddies... Adee, Manushee, Chetan, Sree, Kinjal, Nabeel, Sherin, Diggi, Shradha, Narain and everyone else who would like to give it a shot :)

Forgetful me forgot some amazing friends. So without much adieu here is the people I would love to hear back from :) Vivek(@viveksingh), Nadhiya(@nadhiyamali), Meeta(@kyrasinging2), Danish (@danishctc), Aanchal(@AanchalM), Kanishka(@kp1200), Arnab(@arnab_das), Mohini (@spicychutney)

Enjoy!!!!

Darkness to Light - a journey..Pledge your eyes ad lead the way - Let's all join in this noble cause

Thanks to my friend, Meeta Maheshwari for letting me make this post. Link to the original post (http://meeta-stillnessspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/08/darkness-to-light-journeypledge-your.html)

Have you ever wondered what makes our life so beautiful, so meaningful, so enriching...what is it that makes every day with all it's toils so bearable and gives us the strength to keep going.......for some it is to see their children grow, for some it's the beauties of nature, for some it is to see their loved one's smile....the list is endless....these moments make life such a beautiful and seemingly unending journey..but to enjoy all these precious moments we need our 5 senses- seeing, hearing,smelling, speaking and touch....

but out of these it is the gist o' sight that defines our lives, our actions, our feelings....just imagine a life imprisoned in a dark room without a single window and listening to sounds of children laughing, people talking, life passing by....but without seeing them... frustrating isn't it.. would want to tear down those walls...won't you?????

But their some people who are imprisoned in this darkness not by walls but by the absence of the gift of sight....by BLINDNESS.Their are many causes for blindness, some being congenital, some acquired like injuries, infections, accidents, cataracts, glaucoma's......in all these cases some or the other part of eye stop functioning throwing people into the world of darkness.

Some of these causes like cataracts, corneal blindness, glaucoma's can be treated and these lucky people can enjoy the beautiful journey...out of these next to cataracts, corneal blindness has the highest chances of treatment success all that is needed is a donor corneas.

In India we have about 10 million blind people out of which 2 million suffer from corneal blindness easily treatable by corneal transplant...among these 2 million a massive 60% are children...and the number increases every year, as against an annual
corneal donation of a mere 40000

let me explain what is a cornea?..how does it function??..and how does corneal transplant work?

when you see your eyes in the mirror you see the white sclera in the middle of which u see a round coloured iris and a small dark pupil, but covering these two is a transparent layer of cells called "CORNEA"....light has to pass through all these structures to reach inside the eyeball and our retina and then the brain for us to see.If the cornea gets hazy, opaque or scarred light entering the eye is either distorted or blocked depending upon the damage...just imagine a smear on the lens of your camera while clicking a photo..what happens to the photo happens to what we see when the cornea gets damaged.

How does the cornea get damaged??...sometimes by accidents, injuries , chemical injuries, some infections like herpes can lead to severe corneal scaring etc.

How can we treat them and bring the sight back?? simple you remove the scarred cornea (like you would wipe your stained camera lens)..and replace it with a new one i.e. " CORNEAL TRANSPLANT"..easy as it sounds...it takes a exquisite amount of expertise to perform the operation but the toughest part is to get a "DONOR CORNEA"..i.e a cornea from somebody who has donated it to the blind for transplant.

The process of corneal transplantation begins with :

a "DONOR" who fills a pledge my eye for donation form either, at a "EYE BANK" or a "Hospital"..where he gives his consent that after his death his eyes can be removed and used for transplantation purposes...he's then given a donor card which after the death of the person is given to the hospital, doctor or the eye bank....but even a pledged cornea cannot be taken without the consent of the relatives of the deceased ( a major hurdle..'cuz in their grief the relatives at times refuse).
another way of cornea donation is that some Hospitals have a "Hospital Corneal Retrieval Programme..wherein a terminally ill person and his relatives are counselled by counselors to donate their eyes after death.

Cornea needs to be procured within 6-8 hrs of death of the donor to be useful for transplantation after that they undergo degradation..so timely information to the concerned doctors is very essential.

The procedure of corneal extraction need not take place in a hospital..eye banking teams come to the homes for extraction and the process takes just 2o minutes to complete so there are no hindrances or delayed in the last rites of the dead person and is an absolutely non mutilating surgery, the extracted cornea is replaced by an artificial cornea transplant..so that their are no harms to the physical appearance of the deceased .

After extraction the corneas are examined for any infections like HIV, HepB , herpes etc and are graded according to their conditions over a spectrum of excellent to poor.The high grade corneas are used for transplant purposes and low grade for therapeutic purposes.They are stored in a preservative medium till they are transplanted.

WHO can donate?? any person above the age of 18 (those below 18 need the consent of parents or guardian's) not suffering from HIV,HepB,HSV or metastatic CANCERS, or any infectious eye disease can donate. To donate you can contact your nearest eye bank (plz check the Internet for eye bank near you) or any Hospital or Doctor and can get information about the process. Once you become a donor kindly inform and explain your discion to your relatives and requesting them to carry out your wishes.

By this small act you can make a persons life beautiful and this a way continuing the unending journey of life by seeing the world through another person's eyes.It doesn' cost you anything apart from few hours of your time to donate your cornea...we all love getting gifts we want don' we???...

How about gifting a blind person the gift he covets most out of life and God- The Gift of SIGHT.

Please Pledge your Eyes for donation.

(P.S. 25 Aug- 5 Sep is the eye donation fortnight, where in multiple camps are held for eye donation all over India.)

To My Dear Bro... With Love

I was just a kid, when God gifted me with this beautiful bundle of joy. Everyone said he was my younger brother and he will be my constant companion for the rest of my life. They were so true! For the past 23 years, we have shared beautiful memories, been there for each other and always emerged triumphed through crisis. It’s all because we have had each other and we always knew that no matter what we are there for each other forever.
I remember fights we had as kids, mom had to actually shout on us and give us lecture on how we should not fight & take care of each other. We have take care of each other oh so well. From childhood fights to masti as adults, I have shared the best memories of my life with you.
You might be younger to me but you are more mature for your age. You have stood by me as solid as a mountain, always encouraging me, loving me unconditionally but also stopping me whenver I make a mistake. You are a total rockstar and I just love how you can to many things perfectly well at the same time. I love listening to you play the guitar, or you always troubling me, doing all types of crack-pot masti and making me smile.
You have so many hidden talents, you yourself don’t know. Some you know well and I so love all the ones you display. With you around, I know I will never be short of smiles. Love you loads for being such a wonderful brother and friend. Happy Rakshabandhan to you.

My Best Pals

This blog is dedicated to my friends. Friends who are close to my heart and who have been the true friends in my life. I treasure their friendship and love them for being there for me. Today, for some reason I was inspired to write about them here. You can call all of them my best friends.

S.S.: My all time favorite person and best bud since school times. I forgot to add she is the most amazing person I know. S.S. is very strong-minded and she knows what she wants. She can be a very traditional bahu and still maintain her identity of a today’s women. Despite the distance that has always separated us, she has stood by me, been there for me whenever I need a friend. Now, she has given me the most beautiful person in my life, my angel.

M.Z.: She is part of the original girl gang. Me, M.Z., S.G. & P.C. have been together since junior college days. M.Z. I have known since school times but were never good friends then. Darn! I regret it so much! I wish she had walked in my life earlier. Anyways now that she is here I am not letting her go anywhere. If you ever want to go looking for inspiration then M.Z. is the person where your search stops. She is a loving, determined person always approaching everything with a zest of energy that might just leave you wondering.

S.G.: The original chatter box and the guru of M.Z., me & P.C. She is smart, funny and intelligent. I always love our heart to heart conversations. She patiently listens to whatever I have to say, and give me the honest advice. She can be a very strong-willed person and achieves her targets. She always knows the right things to say to me; she knows well what’s going on in my mind. It’s like she can read it. She can match my craziness along with M.Z. & P.C. We have had endless chats about any random talk, without making sense and still enjoyed every bit of it. She is one heck of an awesome friend.

P.C.: She is the nice girl amongst the 4 of us. She has been at the receiving end of all our leg-pulling and she has taken each one of it with the best sense of humour. Mind you she is very good at even giving it all back, every little penny! She is the girl with the golden heart, never seems to want to hurt anyone and that’s why she is such a sweetheart. I still can’t forget my first meeting with her, she sitting like a sweet girl, when she visited my place with her cousin. I thought she was the quietest & simplest girl. She is right on the simple part, but quiet…Oh no!!!! I was so wrong and I am happy that I was wrong. She one heck entertainer and I love you P.C. for being you.

P.V.: I call her my Di. She is the angel in the disguise of my best friend. She is the most wonderful friend and sister I could ever ask for. She has stuck by me like a fevicol for the last 11 years. The distance has never made a difference; I always know that whenever I want a friend, she is around. She is an artist in a disguise of a techie. She has a smile that can cure you of your darkest pains. She is a level-headed person who has always given me the most sound advice whenever I have needed her. She is passionate about things that she does and excels in whatever she does. She is the angel of my life and I am blessed to have her as my friend.

N.V.: So I finally a guy has made entry into this list. I met N.V. during the first year of my engineering days. I distinctly remember talking to him on his birthday. That was the start of our beautiful friendship. We always have a cat and mouse relationship, just like Tom & Jerry. We always fight, we argue but I know he is still my most dependable friend. I still remember our famous fights in college; we would fights like small kids and then patch up also like kids. There is innocence of children in our friendship at times and the maturity of adults at times. He is caring, loving and a true friend. We have gone from being just friends to best friends and I have truly cherished this journey.

A.J.: A.J. has been my pillar of support during my life in USA. I met his as a total stranger who had joined with me in my University; the journey that began in 2004 with a casual meet has now become a friendship I truly value. In an unknown land, he was the person I could always rely on. He has made me smile when I needed to, supported me through all my problems and always had the rock-solid patience to listen to my problems. He has been my support system, always there to tell me when I am wrong or right. We both have shared some amazing moments in USA that I will cherish forever.

U.S.: I call U.S. my perfect girlfriend. She is super cool, sexy, loving, caring, intelligent & totally independent. We have shared our good and bad times together and with each passing day our friendship grows stronger. As friends we have talked for hours, bitched about others, shopped like crazy, had awesome tiramisu all over NYC, supported each other through our tough times, enjoyed our good times and become the bestest of friends. She is the girl, I have gone from thinking as a total spoil brat to someone I have come to love and adore as a person.

N.C.: I can actually see N.C. falling down from his chair, just at the sight of his name here. I bet he is thinking I have written this post half-sleep but no it’s true. This creature I met just more than few years back as an acquaintance and whom I came to know well about more than a year back has become one of my closest friends. I have come to depend him on as a friend, we fight like we are enemies but we both know we are always there for each other. He is a person with whom I have countless arguments, discussions with no end in sight. We would sit for hours discussing something and the only way the discussion or argument would end was that we both we tired & had to call it a day. N.C. is a crazy guy, that’s how I would describe him. He can do endless bakwas without making any sense and at times talk like a total mature person. I can just say that, love him or hate him you cannot ignore him. Just happy that our paths crossed in this lifetime and I look forward to a lifetime of friendship with him.

S.R.: S.R. is my Rockstar!!! She is my alter ego, my better half and my partner in crime. Let me think what all we have in common; love for shopping, talking, books, movies, food, coffee, cheesecake, adventure, and the list goes on. But the love that is above all this is the love we have for each other as friends. She is a totally amazing person who is never judgmental of any of things I do or share. She will first be my friend, hear me out and then tell me the right thing to do. I miss the days when we both would go around NYC exploring new places for coffees and cheesecakes or how we would try and control each other from shopping but end up letting each other just a small thing. She has a child-like innocence in her words and actions; which makes me love her even more. Our endless conversations, on anything & everything under the sun; conversations to which there was no end to. She is a friend, a sister and best pal for me.

D.A.: D.A. is my oldest and the closest pal in this whole world. He has been my best pal from the times when I did not even know what a friend is. He came into my life when I was just a tiny kid and has been my closest companion in this world. Technically speaking, he is my younger brother but he has always been a brother and a best pal, all in one. My best and most fond memories are all shared with him, he knows my thoughts better than I do, he knows me like a best pal should know his friend. He is the best thing that has happened to me in this lifetime and I will always thank the Almighty for giving me the blessing that I call D.A.

These guys are my bestest pals. Without them, I would not have been where I am. I thank my stars that these special people are part of my life. I am truly blessed to have them as my best pals.