Yeah…keeping up with one blog itself is so difficult… but still I’ve started another blog 
It’s mine and Hubby’s joint venture. This new blog will be more about reviews of our trips, food joints we explore, movies, books… anything and everything new that we come across 
Check it out and let me know your opinion.
http://weexploreit.wordpress.com/
Feeling too lazy to type more (yeah…for a change ) …so bye bye for now… Have a nice week 
Have you ever felt that you didn’t know your real self till now…. or sudden confusion about ‘I am Ms X or Y ?? ‘ … or a surprise that ‘How come I’ve never realised this about me before ? ‘
Please …please …please ….say ‘Yes’ …. at least that will make me feel little better (that I’m not a weirdo )
Recently I’ve realized a few things about myself…which never crossed my mind before.
# I’ve ego issues.
Yup… I have ego issues… big time. Though as Hubby said, it doesn’t appear much in day to day life. I wasn’t really shocked when I realized this…so may be subconsciously I knew…but never really accepted it. My ego issues are pretty funny. For example… when someone would suggest that I can try meditation to find peace of mind…. immediately I’ll come up with an excuse not to do it…because I feel defeated if I have to be dependent on ‘meditation’ to find my peace of mind. :/ Most of the time I’ll convience myself that the presented excuse is not really an excuse but a genuine reason [ :O ]
Do You read that ? …yes…this was even more shocking… # I lie to myself …without even realizing it.
I keep saying that I hate liars and cheaters…and look at this… I lie to myself sometimes. :O Sigh!!!! 
# I start judging people very quickly but then won’t stick to it.
Yeah…and till now I thought that I don’t judge people at all…because my opinion about anyone keeps changing till I really get to know him/ her.
# I really need to learn to let go...
…specially negative thoughts. Once I start thinking something negative… I just can’t stop it and drop it… until I make a total mess out of it :/. If I’ve imagined something certain way and it doesn’t happen to be that way… I get really frustrated…. even if I say ‘its Oky’ …I don’t really mean it. I would already know that its not such a big deal…and still I can’t just ‘let it go’ …I’ll cry and crib over it for loooooooonnnnnnnngggg enough and will get over it only when I get some new and interesting enough topic
# I should keep myself busy.
I’d started believing that I’m totally lazy and I don’t like to work at all…. when the fact is totally opposite of it. I like to work… but I enjoy one type of work only for some time and then I need something new. I love to learn something new. When I find myself not doing anything wroth while and not learning anything new …. I start getting upset slowly and gradually but would believe that I’m upset these days for XYZ reason… and at times will simply blame it on hormones 
# I’m not a loner.
Absolutely not. I can’t survive if I’m to live on an island without any contact with any human being… may be I’ll start talking to fishes and other creatures I crave for friends…and I’m really happy when I make new friends….though I’m no good when it comes to keeping in touch…but I love making new friends.
# I like to boss around (in harmless manner only… mind it )
Till now… I’d never thought of myself as a Bossy person… but as a matter of fact I like to boss around, scold people for their mistakes, getting things done my way only etc. (tell me ..who wouldn’t )… I’m not sure if I would really like to be a boss. I run away from responsibility (I knew this already so its not a new finding ).
If you’re wondering that - ‘oky…so what happened suddenly ?’ …. answer is “I don’t know” … I can assume about a dozen reasons…but all just assumptions…. I’m not really sure what is the reason that suddenly my perspective about myself changed… but what I know is…. I want to fix it. Naah… all of them are not really problems…but some are… and I don’t want them to grow under the cover of ‘ignorance’ any more.
Any tips? ( I’ll try and not let my ego issue come in my way of trying it out )
Yeah…some more discoveries about this city
Btw…We’ve found a house… close to Hubby’s office and far from our budget ;D
Didn’t have net access for almost two weeks so I had no choice but to take a break from Blogging, Blog hopping, Flickring, Facebooking, Orkuting, Googling and all other my fav. time-pass(?) stuff :( Anyway, now I’m back with a fresh report on Chennai
# Straight and Front means almost same thing here :O
# T-point is called ‘Dead-end’ . Yeah people will tell you- “Take left’a from here… front dead-end…and then take a right from dead-end” :/
# Every word gets an extension. For example- ‘Signal’ becomes ‘Signal-a’
# I think the Autowalas have a secret association and they are planning to get their Autos replaced with Helicopters and every Autowala is working hard towards proving that they are ‘made to be flying and not driving’.
# My maid doesn’t understand a word of Hindi or English… but sign language works everywhere
# Airtel customer care people are biggest buggers and loosers (ugh! sorry for cribbing about them again…but can’t help it … ‘m really fed up with them… every time I call up their customer care number…the call always ends with a frustration boiling inside me :/ )
# My expi. with other customer care people apart from Airtel has been good so far. (*touch wood*)
# Cake shops are everywhere…. I love it
# Available varieties of breads are also amazing.
# Quality of Vegetables ( @ Spencer’s) is really good. Never found such nice and fresh veges in Gurgaon. Though couldn’t find Green peas anywhere .
# Every street corner has a tiny temple…mostly of Gnesha… painted or tiled in red-n-white stripes.
# People seem to be highly fond of flowers and food.
# I tried cooking Banana flower…but it was a total fiasco :/ I’m not gonna try any more Southie veges
# Got to see shops specially dedicated to Coffee. Was really a surprise. In Gujarat and Mumbai I’d seen such shops for Tea but no for Coffee.
# Roads are not complicated but one-ways do make it look complicated.
# People are nice and helpful…but when you don’t understand their language, they can’t help you even if they want to.
# Buses rule the roads. When a bus passes by me from a distance of hardly 5 inches… on a crowded road…it really freaks me out :O.
# Lifts are very talkative :P . “Please close the door- (same thing in tamil)” – common mantra of all lifts in Chennai.
# People dare to wear thine-white-cotton-lungi even during these rainy days :O
# You have to buy drinking water… people don’t seem to have much faith in water filters.
# Lot of mosquitoes everywhere… can’t live in this city without Hit and All-out. God bless who ever invented Hit spray.
This is it for now…. I’m not sure but there is high possibility of me coming up with ’part-3′ soon
People say expectations are root-cause of every pain…so don’t expect.
Why not? I’m trying to live upto expectation of everyone around me… why I can’t expect something from them ? Why I have to justify my reasons for being angry or disappointed or frustrated or whatever… until other people are convinced that the reasons are *good enough* ??
if something is very little and ‘not so important’ to others…is bothering me a lot… why i’m expected to take it easy and ‘not bother’ about it…becoz rest of the world doesn’t find it important enough !
Becoz its just the situation and no one’s personal fault… can’t i be angry…just with the situation itself ?
If i expect something…it doesn’t happen…or something toally oppostite of it happens… i’m just suppose to take it light and blame my expectations for that …huh?!?!?! Why I can’t be angry for the simple reson that I expected something and I was disappointed … oh yeah I forgot… ‘Expectations’ are wrong in first place :/
Why I have to fear to co-sequences before reacting to anything or anyone… can’t I take my loved ones for granted ?
I already know the answers…. people ask me not to expect because that is the right thing and they don’t want to see me getting hurt…. they ask you to justify the reasons just to make me see that ‘its no big deal’ so that I’ll be able to take it lightly, let it go and be happy again…. I should not take my loved ones for granted because they are also human beings and can get hurt with a wrong reaction. Sigh !! … I know all these already… but still …… it’s all easier said than done.
I expect and I get hurt…but it’s easier to get over than pain than ‘trying’ not to expect
It’s been a week now since we came to Chennai and still looking for house :/
Yeah I’m doing full on house-hunt these days and getting tanned (uglier and darker :/ ) everyday…. initially I hated the city but now slowly and gradually I’m getting along with the city, with the people and with the language problems . Food was never a problem since I love south Indian food ( but of course after Italin, Punjabi and Gujarat ) and Chennai is the best place to explore it (as told by friends).
Anyways…so during all these days that I’ve remained absent on my blog… I’ve come across a lot of interesting things / people / observations etc. … and every time I thought that ‘Yeah!… I’ll blog about it ‘ … and if I forgot .. Hubby will surely remind me ‘Yeah! you can blog about it ‘…. but kept post ponding it…. and then I realized that if I keep waiting for ‘enough time to write and compose’ … may be I’ll never blog about it :/ … Sigh!!
…….. so instead of waiting for the ‘right time’ I’m just putting everything (that I can recall ) as small notes rather than individual posts.
# Went to Cream-Center and they gave us a paper + pencil to solve puzzles while we wait for the food. I loved the idea…better than watching TV or looking at other people with hungry eyes
# While replying to everyone on Hitchy’s mail … I mentioned about my house-hunting troubles in Chennai and was totally over whelmed by people’s response (yeah… not even 50% knew me before that mail )…. made me believe that the world isn’t that bad after all…no need to loose hope [p.s.- the house-hunt is still on and no luck so far ...sigh! ...but that is another story ]
# In Chennai… for the first time saw people crossing road in group with a hand held up in the air ….heheh… the scene looked really funny.
# Here everyone seem to be able to make thine + crisp yummy Dosa …. :O ….i wanna learn that too.
# There are two colors of autos…one is yellow and another blue… I don’t know yet what is the difference.
# I learnt that you don’t have to be dependent on language for communication…at times your expressions can simply tell that you are frustrated
# You will see more Cats than Dogs in Chennai streets.
# People say there are only two seasons in Chennai… Summer and Hot Summer … :O …. WT*
# Monsoon is pretty short and generally it rains during Diwali days ( ‘M I still in India :O )
# Yeah at times I feel like I’m in different country.
# Call center (Talking about Airtel customer service center ) guys will keep balbaring in Tamil until you scream at the top of your voice and tell them ‘Dude please talk in English’
# Airtel customer service center here totally sucks… most of the time they don’t understand your problem and even after you make them understand the problem …they won’t help :/ …. just a bunch of buggers who will give Estimated Time of 2 hours for every damn thing and won’t do it even for 20 hours….grrrr :/
# Coming back to good points…. nice silk and cotton kurtis available everywhere… can’t wait for Hubby’s next salary
# Actually… ‘almost’ everything is available in every area of the city.
# A Bata showroom, Sarvana Bhawan, A sweet shop, Metro shoes, Kodak studio, Adidas, Raymond showroom, Pizz Hut, CCD and few other things like that will be seen in every area…not many Mac D’s here though.
# People seem to have lot of money…. each and every road/ street is full of big or small shops and showrooms.
# I can’t really notice people’s clothes these days since their expressions, flowers in their hair, strong oil fragrance (?) and mustaches are more prominent
# Because of language problem I may not be able to make many friends here…but I’ve heard that Tamil people are very friendly and helpful by nature.
Pheww… long enough Chennai tour for this time…more to come in next or next to next post hopefully ;D
One thing I found real easy to deal with was always Maths…. and the second thing was Computer.
Both of them have fix rules and no complications…. though in very different ways.
Maths allows no confusions… most of the time there is only one answer for every sum… no if / but / may be etc. … just simple and straight. You may need to screw your brain at times trying to find the rite answer… but still its just about remembering the formulas and being good with numbers… there are tons of books available to guide you and you know they are reliable… unlike real life..which is so complicated and rules are different for every person / every situation / every goddamn thing… and at times there are no rules at all… find out your own ways :/ … HUH !!
At times I wish life was like a computer software…. You can see the entire picture together and understand it…you can protect it with a password….you may make a mistake and the moment you realize it…you can just hit ctrl+z and you’ve another chance to do the right thing…. you can delete the files you don’t like and make many copies of the files you love …. you have anti-virus softwares to make sure that your dear ones are free from any bug threats… you can change it’s looks and the way it works according to your liking…. connecting you to everyone and still giving you enough space… and the best part… if you get stuck anywhere – you just click *help* and you get it…. giving you enough tips about how to get out of the mess and telling you between the lines – “lol…you fool… we know that you know sh**t about this system and you’ve screwed up again like you always do… but don’t worry…take a chill-pill… this is why we are here…. we knew that you won’t be able to understand it totally on your own… so here is the information that you might be looking for” …. and if those helpful tips turns out to be of no use … you can still dial their number and bug them until they solve the problem for you.
Ah… me and my silly wishes… life is not like that…. its complicated… full of questions and no answers… of course that’s the beauty of LIFE… it’s not Maths, it’s not a Software, it’s nothing else but life…. live it and enjoy it . Actually I think life is more like driving …Oh yeah… my struggle with driving is still going on and as if to add some more fun…the gear box has started acting like a jerk these days :/ …but that is another story… let’s reserve it for some other day…err… i mean ‘other post’
Have a nice weekend everyone
Yeah I’ve been absent for a while…not only on WordPress but also on my flickr account. Sorry…but Hubby had taken leave from office and we were on a small vacation … But back to Monday ‘blues’ now
While we were still on vacation… just the thought about ‘whats the origin of Auto Rickshaw’ struck me… and then other related questions followed… like ‘apart from India..which other country’s roads are ruled by this three wheeler’…’what is the history’ … ‘who invented it and why’ …etc. So I did what most of the couriousity struck people whould do these days … Googling. … and I’m sharing here what I found out.
# From a blog I found out a bit of history of Auto.
History
The motor- (sometimes auto-) rickshaw was invented by the Reverend Jonathan Scobie, an American Baptist minister living in Yokohama, Japan. The first model was built in 1869 in order to transport his handicapped wife. Today it remains as one of the most important modes of transportation in Pakistan where it was first seen on August 14, 1947. Before that it was not possible to see it in Pakistan.
Three Wheel Desgin
The three-wheel-design of a rickshaw provides it a better road grip than a bicycle. It also provides gasoline savings when compared with a 4-wheeler taxi and green salad saving when compared with a 4-legged horse. When in need of repairs, the three-wheel structure also helps in lifting it from any side. When a side is lifted, it conveniently sits down on the other two while a mechanic goes looking for underbelly mechanical faults.
# Another answer I found about Inventor of Auto Rickshaw was again on wiki.
Rickshaws first appeared in Japan around 1868, at the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. They soon became a popular mode of transportation, since they were faster than the previously used palanquins (and human labor was considerably cheaper than using horses).
Japanese sources often credit Izumi Yosuke, Suzuki Tokujiro, and Takayama Kosuke, who are said to have invented rickshaws in 1868, inspired by the horse carriages that had been introduced to the steets of Tokyo shortly beforehand.
The identity of the inventor remains uncertain. Some sources give the American blacksmith Albert Tolman, who is said to have invented the rickshaw around 1848 in Worcester, Massachusetts for a missionary.
Others claim that Jonathan Scobie (or Goble), an American missionary to Japan, invented rickshaws around 1869 to transport his invalid wife through the streets of Yokohama. These sources claim the Rickshaw was invented in North Urbana, NY. Near Keuka Lake.
Still others say the rickshaw was designed by an American Baptist minister in 1888. This is probably incorrect, for an 1877 article by a The New York Times correspondent in Tokyo stated that the “jin-riki-sha, or man-power carriage” was in current popular use, and was probably invented by an American in 1869 or 1870.
An auto rickshaw or three-wheeler (tuk-tuk, trishaw, auto, rick, autorick, or rickshaw in popular parlance) is a motor vehicle and one of the chief modes of transport in many parts of South and East Asia, especially as a vehicle for hire. It is a motorized version of the traditional rickshaw or velotaxi, a small three-wheeled cart operated by a single individual, and is related to the cabin cycle.
Auto rickshaws are particularly popular where there is traffic congestion. They are common in many Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos,Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. As well as some African countries such as Ethiopia.
# Then I found this vedio on Youtube… I won’t say its good…but if you’ve ever traveled in an Auto in Delhi…you’ll be able to relate to it for sure ;D
It reminded me of an old animation advertisement with an auto driver character…giving side signals with his feet and breaking all the traffic rules… I really used to like that Ad… but couldn’t find it on youtube
Let me know if you have some more interesting infomation about our beloved ‘Auto-rickshaws’
I hate it when some people try to act as if they are ‘just perfect’
I think they are trying to be more like a machine than a human being.
They pretend as if they have a smooth & totally problem free life, making other people feel guilty / unlucky for having little problems. Let me tell you… no one has problem free life… NO ONE…. And people who pretend the other way are not brave enough to accept the truth. It would be much better if everyone would accept their every day life problems as something ‘normal and natural’ rather than something ‘bad and unusual’.
For these so called perfect people making a mistake is a ‘crime’ and letting other people know that they made a mistake is even a ‘bigger crime’ :/ WHY ? Everyone who tries, takes a chance to fail or make mistake…. Or I would say that everyone who tried has a RIGHT to make mistake…. because at least he/she tried.
I would prefer being a ‘normal human being’ than one of those hypocrite ‘perfectos’. I would like to accept that I have weaknesses… I make mistakes… I try to correct them and doing that, at times I make bigger mistakes … but so what ? It is ‘oky’. I would like to accept my big or small problem as a normal part of my life…as a part of being alive….and I don’t want to run away from them… neither would try to hide them. Ummmm…ok that is not entirely true… I also do try to hide my problems at times, worrying about what others will think…. They might think I’m a cry-baby… they might get irritated…they might even get angry (if the problem is related with them) ….they might think that I’m stupid and not strong enough to deal with them…they might start considering me as a phsyco :/ …or worse they will just stop listening to me.
Sigh ! so inspite of knowing that everyone faces problems just like all of us… you won’t share (most of ) yours with me and I can’t share mine with you. :/
Anyways… wish you all a very happy (problem free and perfect ) weekend.
Cheers !!
Hubby:
how are you doing?
me: m good
how are you mr Hubby ?
Hubby: still thrilled with driving experience this AM?
(Yeah… due to rain and unavailability of parking plots…Hubby had to take car and I had to get it back home )
me: we have some special schemes for special people like you
Hubby: been thinking abt lunch… thats it
me: we will send our ‘most driving scared’ person to pick you up from the office…so that you get an excuse to drive them back home
(Yeah ..I’m suppose to go to his office again to pick him up…. Call it ‘Scary part of the day- 2’ )
Hubby: Oh yeah… for sure… I would be more than eager to know ‘em all
he he he
me: another interesting part of the scheme is that our ’scared driver’ is damn good at side-seat driving (that is bugging you and giving unnecessary ‘watch out’ instructions every now and then )
Hubby: Hummmm….
do you know what?
me: what ?
Hubby: I feel bad about having screwed up that lady’s day…. in the morning
still feeling bad!
(Well… we were getting late for the office in the morning …traffic was real bad…. and this lady was trying to change her lane without realising that she would bump into us…so Hubby started honking in hope that it will wake her up…but poor luck…she was too busy thinking about something else may be… so irritated Hubby did something, which we thought was bit of a rude gesture…and later he was feeling really bad about it )
me: yeah me too
Hubby: I should have had let her go…
Someone can do that to you too…
me: Exactly what I was thinking
she might be just a bad driver like me
anyways…keep that in mind next time
Hubby: yeah!
Will do
me: actually ladies are not suppose to be drivers…but still situations and ambitions force them do it at times
they are suppose to be just side-seat / back-seat buggers ;D
Hubby: Don’t give me that c**p.. please!!!
me: no seriously… most of the men are better at things like driving than most of the women
… and vise-versa in stuff like cooking or having patience
(Now here is the point for which I need your opinion. Don’t get me wrong…but I’m talking about the ‘general’ gender difference …and I also think that it doesn’t mean being weak or anything… I’m talking about just different skill sets. Read it carefully…. I’m saying ‘most’ …not ‘all’ … I personally know few women who are excellent at driving.)
Hubby: I am not sure if that holds true… you should do a Google abt it and may be publish the results
me: the difference is not just physical…but physiological as well
..i know enough girls to know this… don’t need help of Google, who has no intuition thingy :/
Hubby: okay..
nyways…
I am back to work…
You take care and have a good day!
me: …but still i will put it across on my blog (if i manage to get out of my lazy mood today )
you too
Hubby: okey… good luck
bye
Imagine heaven on earth…
Imagine a little white house on a beach…. From the balcony I can see the beautiful blue waters and feel the cool breeze… nothing to worry or hurry about.
Sleep for as long as you want… spend an entire hour taking shower with aroma of mint…ummm.
A lavish breakfast waiting for you… and nothing else to do.
Take a walk on the beach and capture the lovely place around you in your Nikon D90 (a very essential part of my imaginary heaven )
Now jump in the alluring blue waters and explore the world beneath it, where exotic colourful fishes are dancing at the rhythm the waves.
Now come back to the sandy-land and look up at the sky which has started changing colors and the Sun is waving goodbye.
Oh its dinner time…and again you don’t have to worry about ‘what to make today’ coz everything is take care of and delicious dishes are waiting for you.
After dinner again take a stroll on the beach and go back to your little white house which is all neat, clean, smelling good and playing soft music to welcome you…. Hummm… just the perfect place to fall asleep in Hubby’s arms.
Huh…. Not really a dream… these are the memories of our trip to Maldives couple of months back … which seems like a total dream now. Wish we could go there or somewhere every month.
