Happy 2008 !!!

Holiday Breakfast

Source:
Idly & Chutney - Amma
Vadai - SpiceIndiaOnline
:-)

Adha epdi sollalaam?

A's colleague oruthar oru party arrange pani, 1 month munaadi invite panaar. adhaan first invite apdinu, naangha polaamnu nenachom. The party was exactly the day when we were supposed to reach US (after our trip to India). we were supposed to reach in the morning, so we thought we could go for this one, scheduled in the evening. engha ketta neram, varappa flight neriya problem aayidichu and we reached 17 hrs late. party light a eduthukitom.

apram casuala oru mail anupinom. That guy replied asking why we didnt turn up. romba akkaraya kaekaarnu nenachu, flight delay nu oru sad icon elaam potu A replied. paatha, avar, "pl let us know if you are not coming to our event. You said you were going to be there so we included you in the food/drink count and seating."

enaku orae kashtama pochu. eppadi avar ippadi sollalam'nu orae polambal. konja naal pattathu, to realize that he was probably just practical and not rude. namma oorla ippadi solla maataangha, so it was difficult for me to handle.

on a lighter note, I imagined how would be the reaction if same thing happened in our country. adhuvum oru nalla panchayathu nadakara gramathula (coimbatore style) ippadi oruthar solli irunthaa badhil epdi vanthu irukum...

#1: "inimae engha vootu visaeshathuku vara mudiyalana, koopdra appavae solidunga. erpaadu geerpaadu panrathuku sowgariyama pogum."
#2: (kovathoda): "eley, nee adutha vaati koopdara varaikum ethuku lae..ippavae solipudren lae...un vootu visaeshathuku naanum varamaaten, en vootu visaeshathuku neeyum varatha lae"

eley varta lae :))

Nappaasai

Joined a gym near (?) my new home finally. The instructor is nice and has been advising me what to do - diet, classes, other tips etc. elaathayum kaetutu, ithellam eppa senju eppa nadanthu nu yosichutae treadmill'a jog panitu irunthen. apdiyae keezha iruntha moving belt paathen. cinema'la kaatra maathri - first shot'a chinnavana hero kaamichutu, odara cycle wheel focus panitu, apdiyae next shot'la periya hero kaamipaangha. antha maathri, antha belt move aayitae irukum pothae..hhmmmm sari ethuku veena solitu.

:D:D

Current source of excitement

Listening to these 80's songs ...

* Madai thiranthu thaavum nadhi alai naan (Nizhalgal)
* Adiyae manam nilluna nikaathadi (Neengal kaetavai)
* Aatha aathorama vaariya (Payanangal Mudivathillai)
* Engeyum eppothum (Ninaithalae Enikkum)
* Singaari saraku nalla saraku (Kaaki sattai)

All the above songs are just fabulous. There is a quick sense of relief and excitement and happiness in my heart as soon as listen to them :-) I have been watching the recorded dance and singing competition shows (Vijay TV and Kalaignar TV). athula use panna songs..wow too good :-)

my thedal continues ...

En ippadi?

yaarumae illadha kadaila yaaruku da tea aathitu iruka nu Vivek solra maathri, update'ae illadha blog'ku dhaan ethanai comments ethanai comments. naan post poatappa kooda ithanai comments varala pola ;-)

Anyway, I feel sooo good to see ppl visiting this page and commenting. Means a lot to me. thanks a lot.

Irregular/No post

is bcos of some physical and mental stress am going through:

* sad news (one of my friends has passed away couple of weeks back)
* good and bad news (we are shifting home this saturday). started missing this place already.
* Disappointed -- we lost our camera day b4 yesterday. we missed it in the bus.
* Depressed to see no activities in the regular blog(s) that I visit.
* good news (am going to India next month)

ada poangappa, elaam orae time'laya nadakanum...hhmm

J

Listening to

Uppu kallu from Karupasamy Kuthaigaidhaarar. Nice one!

satisfaction

eppavumae lunch box kaekaatha A, inaiku kaetathae surprise. seekirama ezhunthu, rice and thakkaali thoku pani, box ready panen. Ahaa enna oru 'kudumba isthri' :D :-)

tomorrow is a holiday yeyyy :-) mid of the week leave'nalae adhu oru thani kushi dhaan. week'ae seekiram poyidra maathri irukum la. etho fireworks elaam irukumaamae. gym'la ppl pesikitaangha. planning to go NY tomo evening. engha oor thiruvizha'la vaanavedikai elaam paatha gavanam. semaya irukum :-)

okay. tata :-)

sad news

Cinematographer & Director Jeeva (Unnalae Unnalae dir) passed away yesterday. I was shocked when I read the news. ivlo chinnappa epdi heart attack vanthathunu..avlo stress feelings irukumaa avanghaluku elaam..
same thing happened to one of my relatives too a couple of years back..we all had fun in our cousin's wedding and next month the same day, we heard that he had sudden heart attack. nambavae mudiyalai.

Its high time that people should be aware of their health. intha maathri talented ppl, hhmm avanghaloda talent apdiyae maranji poyidthu...mind relaxing class, antha maathri elam poganum. I dont know what to say...paavam.

condolences to his family!

Places in India

where I had been to

* Hyderabad
* Delhi
* Simla
* Goa
* Bangalore
* Lonavala
* Vizag
* Thirupathi

Tamilnadu: (Other than my native place)

* Vellore
* Chennai
* Mahabalipuram
* Coimbatore
* Erode
* Hogenakkal
* Yelagiri
* Kuttraalam
* Madurai
* Tuticorin
* Thirunelveli
* Thirukazhukundram
* Thiruchendur
* Thiruthani
* Kancheepuram
* Cheyyar
* Vanthavaasi
* Thiruvannaamalai
* Oothangarai
* Kaveripaakam

I would love to visit in future:

* Kerala
* Pondichery
* Ooty
* Kodaikanal
* Munaar
* Kunoor
* Kulu manali
* Coorg

Any other good place to include?

Sivaji

Chumma Adhiruthu la :-)

I loved the second half very much. Songs are picturized nicely in a rich way.

Coollll :-)

Nalla makkalum inum irukaanghapa

Kudos to my sis, the house shifting process went really smooth. All happened as per plan and they are on their way to Chennai. Except for the bossy commands from the house owner's wife. House owner, manushan paavam nallavar thaan. avangha wife thaan ba kongham extralu baaga (telugu la solrapala). Adhu ennamo, veetuku tenant varappa, nalla thaanya irukaangha. gaali panumpothu mattum enamo rent kodukatha tenant'a treat panra mathri words elaam. I was upset the other day. hhmm being a good tenant who deposits the rent every first or even the last day of the previous month itself didnt matter to them.

Anyway, ethuku alpa makkal pathi pesi blog'a asingamaakanum. let me write abt the good ppl. I was kinda scared cos my family would be alone doing the stuff. It wasnt the case. There were very nice neighbours too. All packing was over yesterday itself and the packers and movers vehicle has left yesterday. My family has left only today. intha 2 days'a gas ethuvum ilai. So, ppl have volunteered to provide the food and coffee for my guys. Amma kooda expect;ae pannalaayam. We are used to eat outside often. So, they were about to make arrangments from hotel. paatha, mel veetla iruka Tamil ppl, inaiku morning'ae avangha kutty payan kita milk, sugar, coffee, boost, apdi elaam vachu anupi irukaangha. And opp flat lady made dosa and chutney. Our servant maid has got coffee and bajji in the evening. another family has given chairs and foldable cot for sleeping.

I am soooo happyyy to hear all these :-) I really owe to those ppl who kept my family happy and they felt safe there. After seeing all these, my mom has overcome the last day sentiments, and she was smiling and talking to me over phone. "5 star hotel treatment maathri iruku. time ku room'ae saapadu vara maathri" nu amma soli sirichaangha. And my sis "veetla irukum pothae, breakfast and lunch orae time la naan paathathu la" nu comment. LOL.

Serious'a evlo money koduthaalum intha santhosham varavae varathu. Those ppl, they dont even know how much their actions for those 2 days mean to our family.

PS: Getting ready for thalaivar's movie..yeyyyy :-):-) Me, ungha site pakkam inaiku varalai :p

Sivaji

Entha nerathula Raju Sivaji release pathi sonaaro theriyalai, I managed to get the ticket for the first day first show 4.30pm on 15th Yeyyyy :-)

When I was checking the tickets, I was disappointed to see all tickets were booked for the first 3 days. thideernu saturday marubadi paatha, 15th first show 4.30pm ku tickets available. yeyy. I asked A if he can come early from work. Though it was possible, he said he wanted to see in Telugu. Sat Telugu shows elaam available. Rajini padatha Telugula paakarathuku, paakamayae irukalaam. Thalaivar voice'ae first dub paniduvaangha. same thing happened for Chandramukhi. Hyd la Tamil version varavae ilai. I still dont know why, US and other countries la kooda distributors irukaangha. But in Hyd, Tamil population neriya iruku, still no Tamil movies there. hhmm..

anyway, India la irukappavae I never got a chance to see the first day first show of RAjini movie. ippa chance kedachu vida manasu varalai. So, naan mattum pottumaanu kaeten :p A said fine. So, oru ticket book paniten :D:D

And Sat again, me going to Telugu version with A and his friend. ennatha solla, Vaazhvu dhaan :-)

ennai kadupaethavae, A keeps telling me that I cannot hear any dialogue in the first day. so, ponaa onum use illaenu. mmm thats ok :-) chumma antha galatta paakarathae supera irukum. namma oorla iruka maathri.

Looking forward to watch the movie :-)

Missing Home :(

I am missing my family so much these days. I want to go home and stay there for a long time without any interruptions/duties etc. I wish I could rewind my life and live the peaceful, happy time that I spent with them. That life was more balanced with work and comfortable ppl around, ppl who loved me for what I am. I had my mom and sis nearby to vent out my fear, angry, insecured feelings etc. Had ppl who listened to me whatever I blabber. I need not worry if they would mistake me if I shout at them. I even scold my mom and get along easily in a couple of days. Even if I dont talk to her, she begins with "kutty raaja, I love you" while getting me coffee/snacks.

We bought a fan this weekend, and it was good to sleep with the silent breeze blowing to the face constantly. I am a kind of person who wakes up as soon as the fan is switched off in the room. my mom uses this technique during the weekend when I sleep for a long time. I remembered all these when I got the air from the fan and slept. When I got up the next day morning, before I opened my eyes, for a sec, I thought I was at my home and I had a smile and was thinking that my sis would be sleeping in the bed and I could see my mom in the other room when I sit up. When I woke up, I didnt know where I was and couldnt control my tears for not seeing my ppl around.

Reason for all these: my mom and sis are moving from Hyd to Chennai next week finally to live with my brother. My brother has got a better job and he is in a position to support my family. All for good, I know. I could not take the fact that my family will not be there in Hyd when I go back and I started feeling lonely since then :'( The shifting was in our plan but it kept postponing for some reasons. So I wasnt serious when I came here. But things got changed and here is the shifting.

My sis is taking care of all the shifting work. Avangha thaniya elaam panrathae enaku kashtama iruku. I know she has to learn all these and she is really capable of doing this. but still, I was always there with them in all the majority tasks that happened at home. "Odambu thaan ingha iruku, manasu motham angha thaan iruku" -- I am literally going through this. I dont feel like talking to anyone :'(

weird statements

Couple of days back, I saw a notice in front of an house saying "For Sale by Owner". Owner thaan pa sale panna mudiyum, vera yaaravathu panna arrest pannida maataangha :-)
I am not sure, there should be a reason la. propably, sale by agency or whatever. so clarify panna apdi poadaraanghalo ennamo.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Today, I was saving the messages from the customer support in the online banking page. "Save" nu click panathum "Your message will be saved" nu oru msg box. naan udanae "pinna, delete aa aagum" :-) etho doubta solrathuku badhil, "Your message is saved" nu solalaamnu thonuchu.

Idhuku poi alatikalaamaa

Okay, for me, clothes shopping is a tedious process. I had always my sis/mom doing that job for me. Verum cash pay panrathuku thaan naan poven :p And now in US, buying the non-familiar (for me) stuff like jeans, tops or pants or whatever modern dress is still more tedious. I dont have any friends at my place, so I have to find out all the details myself. Well, it was a nice experience. First time, I did my shopping in K-Mart, NY. The US dress parameters are different, so I spent some time to find out the size that fits me. I didnt feel comfortable to ask someone about how to find ones own measurements. US la elaam veetlayae elaam therinju varuvaanghala..namma poi kaeta, kevalama paapalaanghalu elaam orae thayakam. But I had no choice. I pushed myself to ask a girl out there near the fitting room. She was kind enough to explain things. ppl are really helpful here, nowadays I just go and ask things if they are not clear.

okay, I gladly noted down all the details, so I dont do the process all over again. Thought I was done and I am gonna refer this everytime. To my surprise, the size varies according to the cloth material type. like, the tracks size is different from the regular pants. Another point is, the S, M, L, XL corresponding to the numbers, like 12, 14, 16 etc varies from shop to shop. If KMart clothes show XL for the size 14-16, Sears has that for L. idhu theriyama, once I got something and veetuku vanthu paatha, dhola dhola nu iruku :-)

Intha maathri experience vanthathunaala, I made a point that I should 'try' every cloth that I buy. Last week Sat, we both went to Sears and after 2 hrs of selecting and trying stuff, we were at the billing counter at 9pm. the shop closes by 9.30pm. sema kaal vali 2 perukum. The girl out there has billed everything and put in the cover. She then told us abt Sears card. First I was ok with getting the card, so the girl entered the same in the comp. Later I changed my mind after hearing that there will be monthly charges, so the girl immediately cancelled the already entered information. marubadi enter panalaamnu paatha, enghaloda cover'a kanom :(

There was another counter very close to ours where another person just paid and left the place. Looks like he took this cover too unknowingly (?!). ingha yaaru thappumae ilai, so couldnt blame anyone. antha sales girl paavama paakra. Since she cancelled the billing, she was not of help to get the things again. Ughhhhhh..adhu oru extreme feelinga irunthathu. not only clothes, we spent considerable amount of time selecting sunglasses for me. And, for the clothes, though I remembered where I picked the stuff, mostly they had one piece in each size. so totally kadupala irunthen. Yaarayumae thappu sola mudiyathu, so you cant even yell your disappointment and overcome it. enaku kanla thani vanthuduchu :)

Aaana, A mattum "Laugh at the absurdities of life". nammalala onum panna mudiyatha vishayathuku varutha padakoodathunu solitu, onumae alatikaama marubadi went to get the things.

Pink eye

namma elaarum "Madras eye" dhaan kelvi patu irukom. Adhu US vanthaa, "Pink eye" aa maareechiba :D

After having a fun day on Sunday, I slept happily. Suddenly, I felt something fell into my right eye, it started itching and woke me up. I got scared and immediately rushed to the mirror and was shocked to see my eye. It turned completely red, swollen and started tearing (naan azhalai, kannu azhathathu--idhu epdi iruku:D). konjam neram atha paathutae iruken, the other eye too got affected and turned red. Thookam elaam complete'a poyidthu. I washed my eyes with cold water but no use. it was burning and itching. Odambuku elaam ethavathu vanthaa thaan, namma veeta vita (parents and family) ivlo thooram irukomnu bayamae varuthu.
bayathula moolai elaam velayae seyalai. konja neram amaidhiya yosichu paatha thaan, adhu "Madras eye" symptoms nu strike aachu. Thookathula irunthathaa or bayama nu theriyalai, "namma thaan US la irukom, Madras eye epdi vara mudiyum"nu yosika aarambichen. how dumb I am :D oru few secs la there was white discharge in the eyes and that confirmed the infection.

My mind started thinking and did the following; evlo fast aa yosikuthu mind :-)

* Doctor kita nalaiku appointment vaanghanum. Whether its covered in the insurance and if not, how much there are gonna charge?

* I checked my medical kit whether I got the eye capsule from India; paatha hhmm no I didnt.

* nalaiku doctor kita ponum. namma oor'na poi comfortable a "Madras eye vanthiduchunu" sollalaam. ingha enna solrathu" :-) I know all these sound silly, but I thought abt all these in a few secs the other day :(

* I went to comp and googled for "Madras eye" and read the symptoms. Yes, thats exactly what I have now. There I got the word "conjunctivitis"--medical term for "Madras eye" and now googled for "conjunctivitis USA" ..LOL :D appa thaan "pink eye" pathi therinjuthu.

* Seriously, appo varaikum "Madras eye" ennamo namma colloquial 'a use panitu irukomnu nenachen. It has a MEANING.

So I was all set then. oru thunda kann mela poatutu thoongiten :-)

Morning, I was comfortable explaining to the person whom I talked to for getting the appoinment. Went to the clinic and got some eye drops. Actually enaku vanthu irukarthu, bacterial infection thaan which is milder than the madras eye (i.e viral infection). Doctor told me that it could be the spring season allergy as this is the first time I am here in US.

anyway, I am ok now.

Nagaichuvai

Whenever I am down or angry, munaadi elaam azhugai thaan irunthathu :-) ippa konjam budhi velai seiya aarambichu iruku :-) so azharatha last'aa vachukanumnu nenachutu iruken. these days, I pray God or play music or work out/walking or read books (last method :p) and, and I recently added watching comedy clippings to this list. This is making wonders really. I searched for Vadivel comedy on Friday, and watched his comedy in Vaathiyar and Thalainagaram movies :-):-) Few stuff made me ROTFL and I will post abt that later.

Laughter - seriously, it reduces the stress, anger immediately and creating a light heart. kovapadra or kashtapadra matter elaam jujubee ya poyiduthu :-) I know its proven scientifically, but experiencing it with the awareness in the mind, is making the subconscious mind responding to it fastly.

romba kozhapitanoo :D anyway, here is the couple of jokes that I watched today (net la thaan) in "Naagalum Vivekungo" show telecasted in Vijay TV.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Nurse: oru 1/2 hr munnaadi vanthu irunthaa kaapaathi irukalaam.
Man: 1/2 hr munaadi vanthu irukalaangha. aana accident nadanthae 10 nimisham thaan aaguthu.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Nurse: oru 10 nimisham late aa vanthu irunthaa kaapaathi irukalaam.
Man: enangha solreengha?
Nurse: aama sir, Doctor 10 nimishathula kelambrathaa irunthaar.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

:-)

J

GYM

woo hoo :-) am all set finally :-)

Joined Excel today. Burnt 125 calories :p nice to see the calorie reading in the tread mill. Gives an immense pleasure u know ;-)
kaal vali inum theriyalai :p

Anyways I am all excited to get back my workout plans. Nice to hear back the aerobics terms and to see the studio again! Everything looks familiar to me as I did aerobics for 4 yrs in India. first time US la idhu onu thaan enaku therinju comfortable a feel panren :-)

gym is 10 min walk from home. Its very pleasant climate outside with sunlight and chill breeze combo. And full of leaves and flowers. Walking amidst this beautiful environment and listening to Mozhi's "sevaanam selaya katti" and my other fav Tamizh songs "Roja poonthotam", "Poo vaasam purapadum pennae" is a bliss for me :-):-) Its sure an heaven on earth!!

Naan Avan Illai

Our weekend movie :-)

Liked this song "Then kudicha nilavu" http://www.oosai.com/tamilsongs/naan_avan_illai_songs.cfm

nice music, good voice (female esp) :-)

malayalam language is so beautiful. Loved the mallu dialogues in the movie.

Have a good week ahead !!

J

Husband

Every weekend is the time to get the groceries for the week. If not all the time, but mostly, naan vegetables + micha saaman elaam vaanghara time la, A will be busy on phone having good time with his friends back home. eppavum avlo feel pannathu ilai...inaiku nonthu poyiten. ulla nozhanjomo illayo, udane gadagadanu phone dial pani "dei inum thoonghala la"nu pongal poda aarambichutaangha.....Ugh..namma nelama thaan ipadinu oru paarvai paathutu, en velaya paaka aarambichuten....paatha, angha vantha 2 more Indian families, husband elaam romba busya phone la irukaangha. wife enamo elaam vaanghitu irukaangha...idhaan elaar veetlayum nelamaya?? hhmm.

spring season :-)

The climate is soo good these days. Went for a walk yesterday and A has shown his photography skills :-) the clicks below. Every season has its own advantages. Snow kaalam oru maathri azhagu'na, spring is a bliss!! Tree full of leaves and flowers. wowww, a good treat to eyes :-)

Deepam - Devotional song - Dheiveegam

I am basically a pious person. Daily kaalaila officeku porathuku munaadi, viLaku aethitu, saami kumitu thaan poven. vazhiyila koyil cross pannaa, oru kummidu pottutu thaan porathu :-) I even brought a set of pooja materials while coming to US. But, ingha vanthathum, probably the atmosphere, I dont know what, I stopped doing pooja daily. Pannanumae thaan konja naal panen, and I didnt like it. manasu poorthiya pannalaenu niruthiten. Last week, I remembered that I got agarbathi, so, viLaku aethi, agarbathi aethitu, kandha shasti kavasam play pannen. OMG, what a serene feeling. There was some vibration within myself and I felt totally sacred at heart. with no hatred, no worries, no disappointments, no expectations, no longings etc.
Mind was totally calm. There was contentment in my breath. I dont know if this is what ppl who meditate achieve.

since then, I make a point doing it at some time of a day. Currently listening to "Om Namah Shiva" sung by Anuradha Paudwal. I am experiencing the feelings that I described above and writing down ...

Theatre experience

Yesterday, we went to the movie, Maayakannadi. padatha pathi thaan ezhuthalaamnu nenachen. but angha nadantha vishayam inum nalla irunthathu :-)
There were very few ppl in the theatre and there was a couple with their 3-5 yrs old kid. The movie started ...

That kid was quiet for sometime or probably I didnt pay much interest on him...Half of the movie was over. suddenly I realized that the kid was telling something to his parents, thought he wanted to eat something or go out.

Apram paatha, orae koothu :))

Screen: A scene where someone tries to misbehave with the heroine. That bad guy asks the heroine to come to his place to visit his sis.

Payyan (mazhalai kuralil): "enna"
Appa: "antha uncle intha aunty'a veetuku koopdraa"
Payyan: "edhuku"

OMG, enaku orae shock. I dont know what I would say if a kid asks me the same question :)

Appa: "Andha uncle, intha aunty kita thappa nadanthuka try panraa.."

antha payyan aduthu enna kaetuda poraanu enaku orae tension. paatha, amaidhiya irunthaan :-)

Screen: Heroine escapes from that house and cries aloud in the street.
Payyan: "enna"
Appa explains again.

Thought, payanuku angha thaan doubt vanthathu, apram pesaama irupaanu. paatha, end of the movie varaikum, he kept asking "enna", "ethuku" ...I was ROTFL :)))

Screen: Hero (character name Kumar) is released from jail. He walks with a sad face.
Payyan: "enna"
Appa: "Kumar uncle'a jail irunthu release panitaangha."
Payyan: "ethuku"

LOL:))

Appa "avar chinna thappu thaanae panaaru. adhaan vittutaangha"

Screen: Hero's friend works very hard and starts a fast food shop. Hero feels proud of him
Payyan: "enna"
Appa: "Andha uncle hard work paninaa la, adhaan ippa nalla irukaar. Aana, Kumar uncle thappu paninaar, adhaan jail ku poyitaar. nee kooda hard work panina thaan nalla iruka mudiyum"

Both Mom and Dad kept explaining to him for his every "enna, ethuku" questions. oru stage la, avangha amma porumai izhanthu, "nee mummy'a padam paaka vita thaane, unaku answer panna mudiyum" :))

Padam mudinjathum, antha appa romba paaasama, santhoshathoda: "nalla irunthathaa padam. nalla enjoy pani paathiya".

That was a nice experience for me yesterday :-) hammmaa, oru oru parents'kum evloo porumai venumo...felt proud abt them. enaku suthama porumayae kedayaathu :-):-) intha maathri enai padam paaka vidaaama, edaku madaka question kaeta, nalla pottu saathuvenu nenaikaren :)) just kidding!

Have a good week ahead :-)

Recent fav song

Never knew that the movie 'Veyil' has good songs. The very first time I listened to this song, I liked it :-)

'Uruguthey' at http://www.tamilsongs.net/page/build/album/Veyil/index.html - Lovely!

Best clicks

I am always interested in photography and want to learn more abt it...tharcheyala edutha photos'la, I think the below ones came out very well.


A's click

A's click

Mine


J

Its sweet time :-)

Just prepared this and though of posting here :p



Ahaa, elaa food trials'um ipdi nallaa nallaa vantha enna dhaan pa panrathu ;-)

Moru Moru Murukku :-)

Wanted to try some snacks since sometime. And, muruku, being one of my fav noruku theenis, caught my attention. Fortunately, I asked my mom to sent me the muruku achu too along with the not-so-important-but-feel-like-having stuff when one of our family friends came onsite with a little baggage ;-). doubt'aa vaanghi koduthaangha...engha naan panna porenu..Yipeee, I tried today (source--thanks, Mullai) and it came out awesome :-):-) its a very nice feeling that I cant express in words whenever I try some recipe and if it comes out as expected (nalla vidhamaa dhaan ;-))

anyway here is the sample of my Murukku :-)



epdi iruku? :->

J

Mozhi - Azhagu, Urchaagam, Sandhosham, Niraivu !

Last thursday, I happened to see the flick box of this movie. The photo gallery and the crew interview was interesting and I was eager to watch this movie. To my surprise, I noticed the showtimes in NJ..I was on cloud nine :-) booked tickets for Saturday evening show and we were all set.

Hammaa, such a wonderful movie...excellent performance, dialogues, songs, music, screenplay, direction -- EVERYTHING !!! You will just sit and enjoy! avlo thaan...cant express more...

Prakashraj - Very nice person. His smile, casual dialogues--I liked him :-) Wanted to thank him for producing such a nice movie. Kudos to him!!

Prithviraj - He rocks. Natural facial expressions--either its love, disappointment, laughter, he is just amazing!!

Jyothika - She is cute as always. did a good job. costumes are nice. I didnt find any different acting as it was casual for her to act with her eyes. Anyway, good effort..I appreciate that.

Swarnamalya - She has done a decent job. A liked her more than Jo ;-) "Jyothika character vera yaar paninaalum ok..but Swarnamalya character mattum ava panninaa dhaan nalla iruku" was his comment after the movie.

Baskar, Brahmaanandham - They have done their roles perfectly. Brahmaanandham is new to Tamil but he is a very famous comedian in Telugu..I have already seen and enjoyed his Telugu movies..It was good to see him in this movie as well.

Vidhyasagar, Vairamuthu - They did their best. All songs came out very well and music goes along with the lyrics. Vaarthai elaam kaeka mudiyuthu.

Viji - Dialogue writer. dont know if this is the first movie for him. Impressive!! very casual, humorous dialogues..like namma generally pesarathu..so we dont feel like watching a movie. Good work!

KV Guhan - cinematography. OMG, he painted the story in a beautiful way..its so fresh to eyes. you can see some closeup beautiful shots. Everyone looks beautiful in this movie :-)

Last but not the least, Radhamohan - Hats off to him. he looks very simple...ivalu talent irukaanae theriyaathu...Kudos!!! Hope he does more projects like this!

We thoroughly enjoyed this movie :-)

J

Calling India ...

My international calling facility on my landline got deactivated couple of days back and the customer service guy said it would take another 3 - 5 days to re-activate it. I wanted to talk to my mom, so was chumma googling for "free calling India" ;-)

Found this and a bit excited to see the trial offer of 10 free min (to India)..wanted to give a try and see if it works....Yipeee :-) After asking your name, mail id, phone number details, he sent a confirmation mail with a pin...thats all..call their toll free number, and dial the destination...I talked to my mom for 10min :-):-) orae kushi :-)

Also, I found the calling rates in this site pretty cheaper than the other sites I went through....anyone using their calling cards already??? lemme know.

I was curious to know if there were other sites with the same free trial offer. Yes, I found this. Used and talked for another 10 min with my sis :p

I was greedy by then, searched for other sites, but they seemed to have a tie up with the earlier ones, so they displayed "Our database records say that you have already registered with us blah blah".. naan "okay right thanks"nu veliya vanthuten :D

Appa thaan therinjuthu, ethuku phone number detail kaetaanu :D though I have 2/3 email ids, I could call only from my landline phone by then :D

anyway, waiting for A's mobile to use another 20 min from both the free trial offers :p

J

Nee'nu solraalaa?

A was on phone the other day with his mother talking abt some veedu-vaanghara stuff...

Aunty: ippa veedu vaangharathu pathi J enna solraa?

A (sirichutae): Avaluku enna theriyum....elaathukum ok nu solraa...nee vaangharenu solriyaa, ok...vaangha vendaamnu solriyaa...adhukum ok.

Aunty: (forgets that I am ok for anything and worries for..) unnai nee nu solraalaa??

Me:#-o

Horror Night II

continuing the horror night experience

Note: Ayoo, ippa andha bayam feeling'ae illayae :p will try to write...illana elaarum vanthu adichuduveengha pola iruku :-)

A and I looked at each other after hearing the door knocks again. When I was about to switch on the light, A said "no, dont switch on the light". We both walked in the dark towards the hall. We stood near the dining table and A whispered "will it be the thaatha that you said who came to repair the room heater today morning". [The background for this question: I usually tell A abt the happenings at home. And, generally I will be happy if someone talks to me nicely. A always warns me (enakaevaa ;-)) not to give so much details and trust ppl.]. Ok, coming back to the story...I was confused for a moment "epdi elaam doubt varuthu Ugghh". He then asked "you have (Apartment) Super number". Yes, I did store the number and the telephone table is kept a few distance from the main door. I was not courage enough to go there and pick the receiver. Idhula enna kodumai'na, I was scared to see A's face with a detective kinda look and asking questions in the dark..ufff.

A slowly went near the door and asked "whos this". There was a reply this time "This is Thomas. Please open the door". OMG, this is the peak of my fear and I asked A not to talk to him anymore and lets call Super. But A replied "I dont know who you are. I cant open the door". I was like adapaavi..inum en pesitu..lets call Super. A was showing his hand, "nothing is happening..you stay there". enaku ennamo avan kaila gun ethavathu vachutu, andha door vazhiya suda poraannu thonitu irunthathu. So, I was asking A to come out of that place.

"Bang"--we heard the sound of the lift door opening at our floor. There was a silence after that. We were not sure whether that person was still standing there and somebody accompanied him or he left the place.

After waiting for 5 min with no door knocks or bell sound, we both went to the room. I tried to lift the window curtain and saw if somebody was going out of our building. I didnt do that finally. We went to bed. A was about to sleep. naan kotta kotta muzhichutu irunthen.

"Be careful. I dont know what I do if I wake up in the middle of my sleep. I might go, open the door too" -- A calmly said this and slept.

??!!!!??? (my face was like the yahoo emoticon :-O)

P.S: sound** [in the first part] -- Next day morning, when I opened my wardrobe, I saw my belt in the floor. :D
And our guess (still) abt Thomas is that he might have mistakenly come to the wrong floor and tried to knock the door located in the same place/direction of his apt.

J

Horror Night

After having a long walk yesterday evening, I was very tired and went to bed by 11pm. Mr.A too woke up early yesterday, so both fell deep asleep as soon as we went to bed. After some time--I didnt know how long I slept--my subconscious mind woke up after hearing a sound**..like something dropped down from the wall. my sleep was disturbed a bit. Though I didnt wake up physically, my mind was guessing that the recently hung wall clock or the dry erasor board might have fallen down. My mind was scared that the product was damaged and at the same time thought abt the already-complaining-ppl at the apartment right below ours. And I was still sleeping!!

While all these things running on my mind as a dream, my conscious mind heard a few knocks at the door followed by the door bell buzzing once. With a sudden jerk out of fear, I woke up in a confused state thinking that the below apt ppl came to complain that we disturbed them and asked myself "Did the door bell ring really?.". I was 50% sure that it did and I woke up A saying "someone is knocking our door".

Without hesitation, he rose from the bed and directly went to the bathroom. Then I was very conscious and saw the time, it was 2AM. I couldnt stay on the bed, so followed A. He was refreshing himself but in a very calm way. I was surprised as how one could be soo cool after hearing a door bell in the midnight. I told him "enna ivlo nidhaanama panra..I said somebody is knocking our door. enaku bayama iruku". I was shocked by his answer "Oh, did somebody knock now..u kidding?". Hhm I then realized and remembered that A generally doesnt know/remember-in-the-morning what he does when he sleeps or somebody wakes him up suddenly.

When we were discussing this, the door bell rang AGAIN. OMG! Both were looking each other. Then he woke up completely and he was aware of his activities. He started walking straight away to the hall and went near the door. A asked "Who is this?". There was a complete silence!! I was like, sollavae vendaam. My hands and legs started shivering and I could no longer stay in the dark. I switched on the lights. My body went chill. I quickly glanced the whole place and checked whether things were alright. I remembered the sound and wondered if any of the hanging things is on the floor. To my surprise, everything was at its place. I wondered "What was the sound that I heard then? was that a dream? or related to the real knocks that I was hearing?"

After waiting for couple of minutes, A told that we could go back to sleep. I switched off the lights and we both went to bed. I started praying all the Gods in the world and held the Goddess in my thaali that we should not hear the knocks again. Man, door knocks at the night is soo scary, I tell you!

paduthu 1 sec kooda aagalai...Somebody started knocking AGAIN..This time, more knocks, and 2 door bells... My fear level, heartbeat went up. Thriller padam elaam paatha effect vera..All the recent movies were running on my mind. I started guessing somebody with the gun or something, trying to rob or kill us.

======================================================
Okay, this post is getting longer than I expected. Let me continue the rest of the real story later.

Stay Tuned ...
[idha solrathu enakae over'aa dhaan theriyuthu but couldnt control it]

J

Yesterday's koothu

I had been to NJ MVC yesterday to take up the driving license written test (and yeyyyy, I got the license too :-))..I just wanted to write the funny thing happened there.

After three rounds of documents checking and photo session, I paid the fees and was directed towards the driving testing area. A person out there asked me to show the documents again. Unfortunately, I couldnt understand his English accent. I had to ask him repeat the sentence again. Ok, I entered the room imagining that they are just gonna allot a computer to take the test and didnt expect anything else.

Here is the incident:

- He showed a small instrument next to me and asked me to stand there..I thought he was going to take a pic.

- I stood there, stared at the piece and looked at him again.

- He asked me to keep my forehead on top of it. I was confused for a moment and wondered whether he was going to take a forehead print like the finger print or something..how dumb I am!

- After a few seconds, he asked me to read the 2nd line...OMG, appo thaan I understood it was the "vision test" that I was undergoing....sigh!

- Only then, my subconsious mind was alerted and sent a signal to my eyes.

- I could see the 4 lines in my left eye only and immediately read the alphabets in line 2 and was waiting for his next order.

- He sarcastically said "there is something on your right too"...Ughh, I was like ahhhhhh...I zoomed (dho da :-)) my right eye if I can see something....but seriously, until I concentrated and blinked my eyes couple of times, I could see only a blurd yellow light.

- Then, I saw the letters clearly and I read those.

- Thought, I screwed up the test...indha ponnu vandi elaam otta mudiyaathunu ezhutha poraarnu nenachen :D but he sent me to the written test :-)

Totally, had a thrilled time yesterday...taking the test, waiting for the result, expecting them to accept my Indian license, getting the NJ license card the same day etc :-)

J

First Snoowwwwww :-)

Epdi irundha naan ...


















Ippadi aayiten!


















Today morning, I woke up and opened the window, OMG the green land, plants, road all covered with a white carpet!! Went downstairs, walked around the place, touched the snow, it was soooo soft..took in my hand, made some balls and played with it :-)

Yeyyy, me all smiles today :-)

J

pongal celebration at NJ

Booked tickets for Pokiri a week back and was excited this Sunday. Spent a lot of time for finding the bus which stops near the theatre but came to know at the end that our regular bus to NY goes via our theatre destination :D Angha poyitum vidhi summa vidalai...We were at the top of the complex and searched for the movie place. suthi suthi thedi paathom...we were at the correct address but couldnt find the theatre...kadisila kaetappa thaan theinjuthu, adhu basement la irukunu....

Felt good to see Tamil ppl in the theatre and just enjoyed the time being there :-) happa, theatre sound remba dhaaasthi. kaadhae kizhinji pochu...oru kaadhula kai vachutu thaan padam paathom LOL :D A already commenting something abt Vijay, Asin pair and he was laughing (venumnae) after everyone stops laughing for a joke. I enjoyed a couple of songs (Nee mutham ondru, Vasantha mullai). vaai fulla pallu thaan enaku :D apdiyae oorla iruntha feeling...athellam anubavichaa thaan pa theriyum :-)

4.30pm movie was over. ippavae veetuku poi enna panrathunu yosichom :p it was A's turn for a Telugu movie. tickets paatha available. Got Desamuduru 7pm show...Roamed around the complex, did some shopping at Staples etc..

movie was ok types..heroine was cute ponnu...padam 9.30ku mudinjuthu....bus pidichu 11pm veetuku vanthom...

Over all had a good time :-)

J