Badmash!

http://www.badmash.org/videos/videos_flv.php?v=ggb512K_Stream.flv&t=Girls%20Gone%20Badmash

Holy Shit!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/4723693.stm

It's Raining...rain (back home)

In Bombay, there's always that one bad downpour during the monsoon. And we got so excited about it because we got the day off from school. To celebrate, we would go out to get wet in our parking lot. (An image of a boy in my building obsessed with action films 'fighting the rain' in a corner comes to mind).
Alternatively, we would walk along Marine Drive - the highway by the sea and get splashed by the waves. As we got older, nothing changed, except that we had cheap vodka with us.
After getting drenched, we would shower, dry off and sit and sip masala chai at our homes with the telly playing in the back, and stare at the city. At my house, Groucho would get curious, and then come and sit by me, and both of us would watch the rain.

Last night, because of the rain, my mom was stuck in her suburban clinic, while my dad was at home. Their staff spent the night at the offices. Other people have been stuck in cars, and forced to spend the night in traffic. But Bombay's spirit is undeniably compassionate. Random people are coming out of their houses with food to feed strangers who had to spend the night stuck in traffic. People are offering their homes to other people for the night. It's amazing how you don't realize how much of a family Bombay really is until you're outside the country.

*sigh* I miss home.

Ae dil, hai mushkil jeena yahan,
Zara hat ke, zara bach ke
Yeh, hai Bombay meri Jaan.

(Oh heart, it's hard to live here,
You need to move a little, save yourself a little,
This is Bombay, my life.)

You know this one's going to make it to 'best of'

http://newyork.craigslist.com/mnh/rnr/87078732.html

Postponed...again!!

So, my presentation has been postponed..again - to the end of August! And I somehow have a feeling now that it will be postponed indefinitely! Oh well, as long as I'm getting paid...

Pegasys and Bryce Pee

So, this presentation I've been working on for the last 2.5 months is due tomorrow. I will be all dressed up (suited and booted), head off to Roche with the VP of my company, and the Global New Business manager to strut my stuff in front of 2 Roche employees and show them what my company can do for them.
And I'm not really tense - as a matter of fact, I'm beyond caring at this point.

In other news, Bryce has begun to pee in the house. In the living room in this one spot. So, Marie got this trainer yesterday (Garry Gross) who lives in the Village. And he was surprised to see that she was not really crazy about anything - no cheese or treats seemed to motivate her. She just sat there and wagged her tail.

New Blogs Alert

First of all my friend Nonie's Blog. Nonie (aka Navneet) is the most wonderful, trustworthy friend in the whole wide world and I would chop my right hand off for her if she asked me to (which doesn't mean you do, nonie - if that happens my sex life will be halved!). In anycase, do give her blog a read.

The other, is Binny's. She's my newest Mac-masala-fataka (Macapau = goans, masala= spiced, fataka = firecracker). It's about her travails in pursuing an MBA (I can quite imagine her as the big corporate dominatrix!)

Enjoy!

Jawani Kidhar Bhaag Gayee? (Where did this youth run?)

Alright, so I know I tend to get a bit dramatic at times - but after two days of intense partying and coming back at 5am - I was tired. Long gone are the days when I could party till 3am five days a week, consume vast amounts of alchohol and dance till I couldn't feel my legs anymore.
Friday, I went to sholay with Bianca (aka Binny), and came back home exhausted at 5am (Of course, I also was at work that day, and went to the gym.)
Saturday, I planned on cleaning the house, and then relaxing whilst reading the latest Harry Potter. I got up at Noon, and by the time I was done with my morning ritual and brunch - it was already 3. After doing my laundry which, resulted in my blue shorts running color on my tighty whities - now tightie blueys - which also explains "Blue Underwear" as my MSN nick [aneeshsheth@hotmail.com - if you want to add me], I cleaned the house. By the time I was done with this, It was already time to go and meet up with Nik (aka Nikhiel) and Binny at Bali Nusa - Indonesian place midtown- for dinner. And once again, a cocktail party on Jordana's roof brought me home at 5am.
So I spent all day Sunday reading the new Harry Potter book - only to be depressed at the end - to find out that a major character dies. J K Rowling had better bring him back to life in the final book - and keep Harry alive, or I'm afraid I might have to AvaCadavra her!

In any case, it's Monday - and I rested well yesterday - but am still extremely tired.

*sigh* 2 more months before I'm 24!! Where did this youth go??!!

One Freebie Too Many..?

So, I think blinded by the freebies, I got burned. Yesterday, they were showing the Cohen brothers film 'The Big Lebowski" (*ing Jeff Daniels and Steve Buscemi) at pier 54 (13th/Hudson river) and I was all ready with wine and hummus. When we reached there, the pier had shallow potholes and was uneven. On top of that, it was humid, crowded and the movie started an hour late with horrible sound.
Being such a legendary film as it is, I decided I couldnt watch a film where the sound kept going off halfway - and after eating half my hummus and baba ghanouj, I left indignantly!
The audacity of the organizers!!! Just because its free doesn't mean that they can take advantage of gujjus like me!! Learn from Riverside park, Morningside park!

Bad Karma

You know, sometimes certain things are never meant to be. I had to study Shakespeare's As You Like It in high school, during which time I probably cussed it a thousand times over. But tonight, I wanted nothing more than to see it.
We got free tickets (through friends) to the final showing of Shakespeare in the Park - and we had a little picnic before outside the park - and that was absolutely lovely. Now, the moment the clock struck 8 (the time the performance was scheduled to begin) it began to rain. Since this is an outdoor performance, and there is no roof - they obviously can't perform with the rain. So with umbrella we waited patiently outside for an hour and half for the rain to subside. And of course, it did. For five minutes! By the time we were ushered in, it began drizzling again.
And so the performance was cancelled.

The one free event I really wanted to see - I couldnt get to. *sigh* I'd go back in time to fix all that I said to As You Like It for one more free showing.

You gotta love the city!

I've always had faith in this city. Anyone who knows me knows that not so long ago I lost my phone (thanks to H&M shorts). Today, Sugar (my gay aunt in Morristown, NJ) called me saying that someone called her telling her that they have my phone. After a brief conversation, Sugar called me and told me that this lady called Michelle found my phone - I was so thrilled - all my numbers back again - and safe!!

I went and picked it up from her house in upper harlem, and it turns out that Michelle's mother works as an attendant at the 168th St A-train station, and somebody had turned it in a couple of weeks ago, and it was just lying in the closet bec no one claimed it. Indignant, Michelle looked up my phone book and saw that Sugar's name was the only one that had mobile, work, and home numbers : which meant it had to be an important person. Talk about loving New York!

Like Marie, my legendary landlady said - "And they say harlem is filled with dishonest and unsafe people!"

Of Shakespeare Which Wasn't Meant To Be

So with only 4 hours of sleep, I got up today morning extremely hung over thanks to last night's investment banker(i-banker for those less enlightened) -HBS (Harvard Business School) do which I went to with my friend Nikhiel and his friend Bianca. The only reason we went was because of really cheap shots ($4) - and had plenty of those enough to get out on park ave and start screaming Bombay phrases like 'baap ka rasta kya?!' (Is it your pop's road?) and shaanpatti kai ko karta (why are you trying to be oversmart) - and then eventually peeing in a CVS restroom.

So anyway, at 9.30am today, Bianca and me decided to head to Central Park to catch the second last performance of 'As You Like It' - the FREE performance in the park. Of course, the line was a mile high, and neither Bhai and his friends (who I bumped into there) nor me got tickets because we were at the end of the already 1-mile long line (the ticket counter opened at 1pm)!
So, not to waste the wonderful summer day - we decided to watch movies - and ended up going for a South Indian brunch, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Miyazaki's Anime flick Howl's Moving Castle.
I actually liked both films - especially Charlie - even though he completely doctored the plot of the original and gave it new dimensions, it was still entertaining (How can you not love a director who pays tribute to bollywood in a Roald Dahl story?!)
Miyzaki's film was more surreal and fantastical about witches and sorcerers in a totally warped world.

All in all - the one thing missing from the day was some good ol' fashioned pot - I'm sure that would have added a different flavor to the whole equation!

I am never drinking again...EVER!!!

Free Film #2

"Flag Wars" : A cinema verite documentary about what happens when gay people come into predominantly African-American neighborhoods and begin to 'gentrify' it - how two socially oppressed communities deal with each other.

I thought the film was superb - and it was the first time that I'd ever been to Morningside Park - even though I actually live across the street from it! Parts of it are really pretty - and at dusk withe the fireflies floating about.

I love New York.

Free Film #1

So last night, in a spur of the moment decision, I decided to go to watch my first ever free summer film in new york city - Chicago. Now, I've seen the film before - and I love it - but the reason I went was not because I wanted to see the film again, but because it was free (can't help the gujju gene!).
When I went there, I was not expecting it to be so fabulous - it was on an artifically created pier on the river with a fabulous view of Jersey behind the screen and another fabulous view of Manhattan behind us. The weather was gorgeous, and the only thing missing was the wine and the picnic basket. The movie, of course, was spectacular, and claps followed all of the sizzling numbers (Mama Morton, the jailhouse tango and razzle dazzle).
There's no doubt that i'm going to get set for the next couple of free movies through the end of the summer!!

Ripley's?

Et tu bbc?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4681285.stm

New Link

The new icon for yahoo groups in my favorite link section is a group called FINY - Free In New York. Basically sends out updates abt what's going on in New York and is FREE!

New York Revelations

Jogging on Riverside dr (at the extreme west side) is one of the most breathtaking experiences ever. The view of the river and Jersey is so spectacular - especially at sunset.

And, the "best of" has finally been updated. Here's one for the road:
http://newyork.craigslist.com/about/best/sfo/82753196.html

Trivia Tit-Bit of the Day

September 22, my birthday, is the official "Hobbit Day" : the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, as celebrated by fans of JRR Tolkien. That, and Shaka Zulu, Zulu leader's death anniversary. (Information courtesy of Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com))

Canoeing and Canine Throw Up

For people who choose to go home in the Summer : I seriously pity you. I don't think even 3 months are enough to appreciate the things that you can do in this country in the Summer.

So, as I do every two weeks, I went to the brother's on Saturday to do some cooking (literally, my roti and maska for the next two weeks). I find out then, that we have to go canoeing in princeton the next day. I had no clothes except for a pair of shorts and a tee and so put up an argument that I couldn't. Amidst this argument, my brother's friend Ananya called saying that they had got some lamb from the halal meat store, and that they would be making some desi style meat and potatoes. I was convinced.

So, I borrowed a pair of boxers from my brother (he wears XL, and I wear M - it's amazing how versatile binder clips can be) and a spare toothbrush that I had and we prepared ourselves for the delicious meat and dal-saag that she cooked for us. Ananya is housesitting at a Professor's house up in Princeton, not too far from a canal where people often go to canoe . And so post dinner we stayed the night at her house, and then prepared to get up late the next morning.

And then finally, the canoeing was sooo much fun. We probably canoed somewhere between a quarter to half a mile, and got awfully tanned - but it was sooo fun and pretty. Who knew, Jersey, land of industrial dumps and desi overdoses, could be so pretty. In any case, we spent a good 2.5 hrs canoeing with great conversation.

Coming back, Ron &Al (my housemates) had left for the big 7-day gay cruise which they had been looking forward to since forever. The dog, on the other hand, threw up thrice in three days. So between Marie and me panicing on what to do, and trying to call Bryce's old vet - we managed to feed her chicken broth and rice - which is apparently good for the stomach. She seemed alright after, but she's generally a morning throw up person, so it's still early to tell.

J4W

After weeks of working on this Roche drug Pegasys, and putting together the whole presentation by Thursday, only to find out that the presentation had been postponed to the end of July, I think I needed a break. And fortunately for me, Jul 4 was just around the corner.
With no major plans for that weekend (outside of walking the dog), I was all ready to settle in and clean the house and get some errands done that I've been meaning to do for the longest time. Then, randomly, on Saturday morning, while I was helping Marie out in organizing her dresser, bhai calls and asks me to get ready.
So, in the next hour, I managed to get ready, packed and sort out Marie's dresser and head to Connecticut with bhai and Leta to visit Vidya and Mark's house in Groton, CT. In customary tradition, we did have a barbequeue with batata vadas (Indian fried potato things), mint lamb kababs and some good ol' chipotle style bbq chicken on a beach near his house. Initially the plan was to 'pich pich' (the sound made by splashing around in the water) in the sea and then eat - but we were so hungry that we reversed the order of events. For all those uncles who told me I should never go in the water after eating : I didn't throw up - In fact, I had a great time.
We reached home all sandy (my brother drove home in a towel - with nothing underneath bec he didn't want to wet his seat - which made him look very mallu), showered and then just chilled out over lousy Mango margarita-type drinks (which I tried to make combining pulp, tequila and cointreau).
Sunday was more exciting - all we did was relax, listen to hindi music and watch the Wimbeldon men's finals (which was very boring - Federer beat Roddick in 3 sets - no drama). Then bec I was committed to walking the dog, I took the train back while the rest enjoyed lamb chop kababs and bancal (strange, yet spicy goan sauce) burger patties. I, on the other hand, reached home and watched chashme baddur - a hindi movie which Navneet had told me about 1000 times, and it was strictly ok - no great shakes. But I do admit, the "Miss Chamko" part was a little funny.
On Monday, after lunch with my cousin who moved into the city from New Haven and his very preggie wife on the UES, I chilled out in the park to get some sun, and then headed to my RI friend Cyrus' cocktail party at the east side trump tower for a fabulous view of the Jul 4 fireworks. Of course, I was drunk in 10 minutes and was bonding with a 27 year old abcd virgin punjabi from east brunswick who reminded me intensely of Plumpika.
But in all, it was fantastic. God bless America...for giving us a 4 day weekend!