Of Couture and more

Last weeked I dragged my friend to the Fashion show exhibit at the MFA. It showcased ten designers' looks for the season, the likes of Valentino,Chanel and Dior. I was mesmerized by what I saw. Most of my life, I have viewed poetry, painting and writing as art. The exhibit showcased a new dimension to high art. Most of the outfits took between 800 to 900 hours of work. It was beauty and more. Fashion is something that holds some appeal to all of us. It is a way of expression, like all art is. But It was really nice to see what goes into creating the perfect outfit. I was watching project runway, the reality show on DVD and quite frankly, I was taken in by what I saw.

These weeks I have become quite a movie buff, averaging 2-3 movies a week! There were the ones I loved (Deja-Vu, Babel), Liked (You, me and Dupree, Casino Royale) and hated (Rendu (Tamil)). It was fun to watch Casino.. as we have been playing a lot of poker recently and the game made total sense.

Two weeks ago, we had gone camping in RV's (or Caravans, as I knew them before) in the Rangeley lake region in western Maine. The barbeque and the bonfire were really fun and the campsite with the frozen lake did appeal to our inner serenity, but boy, was it cold! A part of the lake was frozen, but the ice was not thick enough to skate. But the Ice did not crack as we threw pebbles on it, and we had a lot of fun.

As the night dawned, we checked in to our two RVs'. I woke up at midnight, shivering. Then we realized the power was out in our RV. we lay there shivering, and at daybreak we went to get the ranger. It seemed that we had tripped the power, so he fixed it and got us coffee and doughnuts as a surprise! That did improve the scene a bit. So we had the coffee, and then I went back to blissful sleep, till we had to check out :-)

Day to day

The days just gallop by, with speeding weekends and work filled weekdays. Diwali came & went. But this time it was more satisfying as I got to speak to a lot of family members. We had a really good potluck, and played poker. Then we went over to the Virgin megastore & bought some stuff to make us all happy.

I am watching a lot of F.R.I.E.N.D.S these days and Joey has me laughing out loud. It sometimes saddens me to think that my so far academic life is coming to a bend in the road. Maybe I will return (which I seriously hope to). Maybe I will not. A new career beckons, along with the delightful thought of making money & acting responsibly, yet I do not know If i want to accept them right away. Given a choice, backpacking around the world would be a fine option, but I guess I will have to put that on hold.

Boston is turning colder. Winter beckons. I took myself on a stroll alongside the Pru yesterday. The wind chilled my cheeks, and the hazel leaves danced around my feet. I felt happy and at home. It would be nice to feel that way always. Here's hoping.

Iceland day 2

We arrived at the lagoon. As the bus came to a halt, we could see bluish side waters, and steam in a distance. The sign looked very much like a spa sign.

The side waters were blue.. a chalky blue. Kind of like the water in a swimming pool, except that there were no tiles underneath.

We went into the dressing rooms, and ran shivering into the pool area. The water felt gorgeous. It was warm, hot in places. None of us wanted to get out. We reached under water to look at the sand. It was grainy and white. You could use it as an exfoliant. It is against the law to take it with you outside the pool, however.

Finally, reluctantly, we got out of the water and went to take a shower. My hair was ruined by the minerals, and I had to shower three times to defrizz it.

We were a bunch of sleepyheads, as we went back, but no, we did not go to sleep at once. We walked to the church instead.

Hallgrimskirkja church stands at the heart of Reykjavik. It is a classical example of Viking arhitecture. There is an imposing statue of Ericur the Red, who discovered Greenland at the front. Down there you feel nothing, but yourself, the spire and the skies.


Then we were all sleepy, and we went back to the room to catch a nap. We woke up and went to get an early dinner at a Icelandic restaurant in the city center.

The portions were small, yet extremely satisfying. I feasted on bean cake with a vegetable sauce. We engaged in quality conversation. It was intercultural and peaceful.

Then we took the walk back to the hotel, marking the end of a wonderful day at Iceland.

We would head to Keflavik airport the next day to go over to wonderful Kobenhavn.

The Scandinavian adventure continues..

Iceland day1

Reykjavik.is

As the plane glided into the barren airport, in the not so wee hours of morning, we gazed in ave at the scenery.. or rather the lack of it. Minutes later we were on the highway, speeding towards Reykjavik.

Miles and miles of land.. not a tree in sight.. the sky glimmering in a bluish grey.

We looked up to see if we could catch a glimpse of the promised famous aurora, but it disappointed us.







The speeding bus approached the city. We caught a glimpse of a few trees. Slowly, the bus made its way up the main city road, to hotels.
At every hotel, a couple of passengers would get off. The roads were paved with stones, making them fairy taleish.

The bus soon came to a halt outside our hotel, the hotel Scaljbreid. We checked in. Our breakfast package was for tomorrow. We decided to take a walk and get breakfast. Later we would head to the lagoon, as was advised by our hosts.















First view of Reykjavik city. So compact, yet so peaceful and pretty. European. You could feel the vikings. This was Nordurland, quite the heart of it. We went down the road, to the "downtown area". Downtown had like three people walking around.



We found a cafe. The coffee and pesto sandwich were delicious but pricey. We would soon figure out that everything in Reykjavik was.




We then found a tourism center. We gazed at the magazines, gathered some postcards and then decided to head to the harbour.

If you could picture an icy cold morning, with a dim light, motionless water and blue snow capped peaks in the horizon, that was the harbour. We stood on the volcanic rock, and looked at the water, had some interesting conversation, clicked some pictures. We were the "tourists".








Then back to the hotel, but not to rest. We took the bus to the lagoon. We had to transfer inbetween to another coach. The view was other-worldly.
Indeed the route to the lagoon is one of the most photographed.

Lagoon tales to follow..

Writing about travel

My travel diary...

It has been quite a long while since Ive blogged.. you could say that I was waiting for that spurt of creativity.. the origin of ideas .. but the truth is (As is usually) laziness, school work and the like.. But this is something that I have been wanting to put in place.. atlease for me to recollect on a later date, those amazing journeys and the scenic vistas once availed. It would be great, trust me to get a second opportunity to visit these pieces of paradise, and I hope for that. But atleast My experiences can live here, for me to revisit whenever I like.

So here goes..

New York

It's been a fabulous two weeks here.. in the city that never sleeps. I continue to be fascinated by its speed and style even now. The skyscrapers are awe inspiring (I love gazing upwards to the tops); The shops on 5th avenue even more so; Like for every other tourist, the neon glow of the Times square appears like a seventh heaven of sorts; Broadway seems like mecca.. A place to make weekly pilgrimages to..

I have seen Chicago & Tarzan already and I loved both the shows. Chicago, like the movie was scandalous, sexy and sultry. Tarzan on the other hand was sweet and soft. Disney excelled in the light effects, and the artists certianly did a wonderful job, managing to dangle upside down on their ropes while singing the songs of Phil Collins in the best tones. The lead actor & the actess were decidely cute; I bet every kid in the room loved the show. The lightning & storm scenes were realistic enough to make them scream.

Lower Manhattan has its own charm, with a business inspiring everything in the area including fashion; Takeout stalls for bagels & coffee & newsstands abound, streets get crowded during lunchtime.. every one looks perky and polished in the sharp clothing. The water taxi ride to Jersey can be choppy and enjoyable, offering scenic vistas over to Liberty & Ellis.

I can rant on & on.. but let me keep the rest for future sessions of blogging!

In short, I heart New York, as do countless others. Boston will always be home, but New York rocks !

Broadway

Saw my first Broadway show ( At Broadway I mean, don't count the Lion king at Boston).. Chicago... Enjoyed it more than the movie. The performers were enticing, seductive and wonderful singers. I loved the person who played Amos Hart. Billy was too good, and so was Welma & Rosie.. I was razzle dazzled; to say the least!

There are the other shows that I definitely want to see, Tarzan, Mamma mia , Beauty & the Beast , Three days of rain starring Julia Robers to name a few.. Lets see how many I make..

Two Quotes that I love, from the show I love

"After all, things change, so do cities, people come into your life and they go. But it's comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart... and if you're very lucky, a plane ride away”

“But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous.”

Change

The one factor that governs our lives, be it a new lifestyle, new job or just the new clothes you got yesterday. While some changes are preferable, nice & good, some can be quite unintended, fast or unexpected. They can leave you wondering if life's moving too fast for you to catch up with it.

Now that it's vacation time, I have been kinda relaxed, before I start work again next month. Watching 2 movies per day with my newly purchased Blockbuster rental ticket( Stepmom, Mona Lisa smile(loved it!), Brokeback mountain, Anne Frank, Mission Impossible, F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Guess who, the wedding crashers, to name a few) has become a daily routine, along with my part time jobs. But in the middle of the night, there are those days when you get a sudden jerk as like speeds past you & you wonder if you missed something.

Insomnia has become a good companion now, coupled with sleeping sessions till 11 AM as a result, and cynicism is what comes naturally to you at the end of the day. But optimism blooms again, early in the morning & it's what keeps you going till the night.

Graduation day & fork bombs!

Yesterday was commencement day. I was at the stands, as three of my friends were graduating. The music was wonderful, and after the ceremony we had a fun lunch at the Pizzeria Uno. Then we went to watch MI3. Pretty good, pretty unbelieveable. But if you are
the kind that likes the 007 kind of flicks, and if you like Cruise, don't miss this one.

Just a couple of days ago I had watched United 93 and left the theatre with that heavy feeling. That was a well made movie. It read like a documentary but did bring out every one's feelings. Though we will never know what Really happened during those last moments, this movie did bring us scary close to the stark reality. That they did not show the crash was something I liked.

Speaking of fork bombs, I did mange to set one off on my department's very important server during our Netsec competition. I ran the code at the wrong SSH shell. Here's the link to what I did. They were kinda pissed, of course :-(.

Semester end

As the end of the semester approaches, I find myself caught admist zillions of lines of code; those 200 things to do, and the annoying
tax forms which i hate filling (as they seem to take almost all my money anyways). But there are those blissful moments in the middle
of a not so quiet night (as my roomies find this time bliss too!) when you just prop up cushions on your bed in your apartment watching
a nice movie or reading a book.
I have been watching a couple of movies, taking as much as a week to watch one.
I saw the fourty year old virgin, which was just a lower grade crass comedy flick with ten thousand four letter words thrown in for effect.
People find sex and the city vulgar, but I feel it is one of the best expressions of a woman's feelings in any kind of relationship. All four
of the girls are so different but yet so similar. You feel that you have a bit of each one of them in you, Carrries independance, Miranda's
practicality, Charlottes' romanticisms and Sams' brazen outside with the soft inside. Yes, it does have some of the scenes that give the show its name, but mostly it is simply as Samantha puts it, "a valentine to being single".
The second one is an arabic movie, "Weddinng in Gaillee, which is so far, so good.
For books, i have been "Goodwill hunting". The Goodwill stores sell used books for 75 cents per book. I usually pick up ten of these
paperbacks & then circulate it with my friends collection of books.
I read Bridget Jones diary, which was hilarious, and I have got one of Rohald Dahls books to follow. I love his illustrations.
These days, there is more of the "me time" and It is one of the things I love this country for: Your total freedom when it comes to anything you:-)

Belgium

Of French fries and the French!

I did not know that these thingies, the best vegetarian choice in any Burger King/ Mac D came from Belgium, and not France! The fries with 40 types of sauce on top made my day in Belgium, as well aas those lovely waffles with whipped cream & strawberries over the syrup. MMM.. It was a wonder that I didn't pack on the pounds, probably the walking took care of it.

We wandered on the streets of Brusells tasting Belgian chocolate, looking at the imposing parliament buildings, visiting the European Union Headquarters and searching the streets for the comic walls. Belgium is where Tintin was born, so its no wonder there are so many comic book shops & streets all around. I am an ardent fan, hence put my money down on a few of the glossy books.

It was rainy, but the European paved streets were always welcoming. The people were akin to those in any big city though, fast paced, sometimes rude, belonging to different social classes. The European fashion sense was kinda missing though. Not many people spoke English, and thanks to my Spanish speaking friends, we found our way around.

We saw the stained glass windows, and moroccan beggars on the streets. We saw small cars & Byzantine looking buildings. We saw a small shard of the stained glass collage of Europe, and most of us liked it; even if we liked the peaceful canals of Amsterdam better!

Au Revoir!

Amsterdam and Brussels

Some pictures from Spring Break..Now that I'm back to civilization

One night near ground zero

The day before yesterday, I had gone to New York City for a second round interview. The
company graciously put me up at the millenium Hilton. The hotel is on church street, right
opposite ground zero.
I felt quite like a celebrity walking in to the hotel and having a valet carry up my weightless
bag (It just had a blazer inside), but quite lost that feeling after I had to give him a very
hefty tip for something I could have very easily done myself.
The room was gorgeous. The bath even more so; I did fill up the tub with several ingredients
and had a nice luxury bath.

The windows revealed a view of ground zero. It has been 4 years, but the spot is still vacant
and gaping, a free area in Downtown Manhattan. The view does not tell much; It looks like any
other plot with some basic foundation work going on; But the place has several stories to tell;
none of them happy. The fence surrounding the plot has a few pictures, there are flags inside, the
whole area looks dismal and lonely. Even the buildings around which were built up from the remains
show the carnage;

It made me wonder why people love power so much over peace. It simply does not make sense, all
that reckless killing, no matter who tries to justify it. I was quite restless all night, maybe
because the souls over there were restless too. The Hilton must have had one of Lower Manhattan's
best views once upon a time, but then time alters all... even views.

Northeastern

Some nice pictures of my school, courtesy of my friend Sandy