Independence Day VBM 2005

Thanks so much all of you who have sent their "Aye" for the Independence Day VBM!!! It will be great!!!

Below are the timings for the meet. I have taken the same time that we had on the first VBM that Kaush and Princess had organised as I thought that the time had suited many. So lets just leave it that way!



Just incase anyone is unable to view the image, the time for the meet is -

• Sunday, 14th Aug -- 2pm AUST
• Sunday, 14th Aug -- 9.30am IST
• Saturday, 13th Aug -- 11pm CST

Things to do --

• All VBM attendees, please email me your yahoo ids on nupur dot forblogs at gmail dot com. I will add all these ids to my buddy list so I am able to invite those who come online to the VBM conference that day.
• All VBM attendees, please send your blog URL in the email as well so I can post it up on the blog. This way all others attending the VBM will take sometime to go thru your blog and will have an idea of who you are.
• All VBM attendees must make a genuine effort to get a PC mic and headset. If you have a webcam then sure why not! but a mic is a MUST! *Remember we have to sing~! :D*
• *hmmm... thats all I can think of abhi!*

Agenda -- shall be up next!

Watch out!!

Update: My apologies people, for the slight confusion! It will NOT be the sunday night, because many who are not in India have to go to work/uni on Monday, 15th August.

It will be -
Sunday afternoon - AUST
Sunday morning - IST
Saturday late night - GMT
Saturday night - CST

So it will cover from 13th August to 14th August around the globe. And then those lucky ones in India can have the long weekend till Monday! :P

Also for those new to VBM - yes it is a Virtual Bloggers Meet - courtesy Yahoo Messenger!

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The Blogsville has been a hive of activity this month!!

Blockbuster stories - Touching poems - Emotional experiences - Hilarious anecdotes - Memorable Travelogues - The Grand Awards "Bloggeratti" -- and soo much more!

It is amazing...and utterly infectious.

So I thought now that our National holiday is just around the corner, let it be a time to catch up with all the mates. To share a few stories and jokes and just about anything at all. We can even sing, "Jana gana mana", "Vande Maataram" and many such patriotic songs into the night!! :D

So here I organising my first VBM ever! To let everyone know - it will be on the 15th August weekend *obviously*!

In the next post are coming the details of the meet and the 'Agenda'! :D

So all of you who are available that weekend please register your "Aye" in the comment box below!

Jai Hind!!

My drafts...you choose.

Again.... it happened to me again today!

I started writing with a seemingly good idea and half way thru the post I felt lost. As if I had started running behind a gold deer and I ran and I ran until I could run no more. And before I knew it I was deep in an unknown forest, in unknown surroundings - totally lost. Looking for the shining animal everywhere but it was gone. Dissappeared into the unknown.
And frustrated - I clicked - 'Save as Draft'.

And I check and find that the no. of drafts are steadily increasing.
Why is that?
Am I losing it? Or I'm simply too good.
With so many ideas bubbling out of my mind that I can hardly contain. My mind races while my fingers struggle to keep up! *yeah! right!! Oh! how she fools herself.* :)

Well what ever the reason may be. I do know one thing..... I come here for a reason. And even though I cant pin point what it is exactly, I know that there surely must be a reason behind it. Like everything else in this universe.

No, I don't mean that we are all meant to do what we are meant to do. That would mean that there is no excitement... because everything is set on a fixed plan. That, I think, is hardly the case. We are faced with choices and every choice has a consequence. And what we choose effects the future. Our future....which is inter-linked. We all are inter-linked somehow. And what we do here - right now - we effect each other. Even though we may not realise it just yet. But in a very strange and subtle way we do. So the choice I make actually effects your future.

*You think I'm going nuts...don't you?!* But honestly tell me - when I choose to write something funny - you laugh. When I choose to write something sad - you console. When I choose to write something dreamy - you smile n nod. When I choose to write something ambitious - you congratulate.

Its all about choices. I choose to be here and so do you. My choice to post is your future to read and your choice to comment is my future to respond!

:O Confused you totally didn't I? See I choose to do that!
Now do you choose to comment? :P

Around the corner.....

Around the corner.......... is the idea waiting to be scribbled.
Around the corner.......... is the recipe waiting to be sizzled.
Around the corner.......... is that scarf waiting to be knit.
Around the corner.......... is that book waiting to be read.
Around the corner.......... is that dress waiting to be tried.
Around the corner.......... is that picture waiting to be sent.
Around the corner.......... is that ribbon waiting to turn into a rakhi.
Around the corner.......... is that moment waiting to be shared.
Around the corner.......... is that peace waiting to be felt.
Around the corner.......... is that wisedom hoping to be found.
Around the corner.......... is Life.......

I am coming.........

I am right here everybody. Just one little me and so much to do!
But I shall be coming around to all your blogs...very very soon.

Hang ON!!!

To be... or not to be....

.....nice to the fellow Indian on the train/tram/on the side walk... and all public places one can think of.

I mean.... with the number of Indians here in Melbourne increasing exponentially since more than five years ago when I first arrived here... I am sure to bump into someone every 10 metres that I walk! And although it makes me proud to see that more and more people from India, taking the chance to make it big in foreign land, I cant help but wonder whether should I acknowledge their presence with a nod or simply ignore their existence.

If I was in India - ofcourse India is full of Indians - so it is but obvious that you hardly look at the person next to you *you never know what ideas they might start conjuring in their minds! oops!!*. And Australia is full of Ozzies and I never look at them twice *Except ofcourse if its Ricky Ponting passing by! :) *

But Indians in Oz is different. One look and there is a sense of recognition. The other person recognises you as well and then its a race -- who will look away and pretend to ignore first!!
If its a gal - no one knows who won because we both look away instantly and if its a guy then the confident ones keep staring till you look away and the shy ones look down towards the ground hoping not to be caught staring!

But then thats probably why we Indians are not as strong as the other communities overseas. The Greeks or the Chinese or the Italians for that matter... they all are so close knit. They are a force to be reckoned with. While we Indians just scatter ourselves - closing ourselves from the rest of our community. And then, we probably even complain that there isn't a community feeling in Indian groups. Why..no wonder!

So the question is... should we keep doing what we are doing? What if we smiled if not by lips then may be just a smile in our eyes when we looked at an Indian on the street next time? Should we?
OR Do we even have to bother about it? May be this whole discussion is absurd! We are all fine the way we are. Ignoring and acknowledging who ever we like - Indian or not Indian! *who cares!*

What do you think? Tell me - I'm very curious to know!

Short ....stuff. :)

Updated:

I got a name for this!

Trivia - Thirteen :)

1. I am a scorpio.
2. I am the second kid out of three.
3. Hazelnut is my favourite dryfuit and I love it in chocolate.
   
4. Mom calls me 'Chatori' because I love spicy chatpata stuff.
   
5. I have 2 date of births!
6. I have been to singing and dancing competitions all thru my school years.
   
7. People used to call me the 'junk-food queen!'
8. I have long hair almost till my waist but I have been dying to get them cut short till my ears for 3 years.
   
9. I was addicted to Coca Cola for the first 2 years I was in Oz.
10. I want to go to Europe for my honey-moon! :P
11. I despise double-faced people.
12. I love to go on long drives - as long as someone else is driving!
13. I want to go skiing by the end of this year.

Short n sweet!
13 things about me!!

Bitten by the blog bug.

My ninth month in blogsville and I still feel like a new comer - a little kid in the big bright city. Looking around, tilting the neck back looking at the high rising blogs around. And when I tour around blogsville, hopping from one link to another. ..... I amazed at every point. What I see around me, is really mesmerising.

So many people scribbling their loves away... every happy incident, every sad moment, every silly joke, every thoughtful peom. Surely it must be worthwhile otherwise why would there be so many of us doing it day in and day out. With the crazy lives that we lead, the books/novels to be read, exams to be written, work to be done, money to be made, children to be taken care of, houses to be cleaned, food to be prepared, friends to have coffee with, girlfriends/wives to be pleased, boyfriends/husbands to be bugged *evil grin!* , parents to be made proud of - after all this - we still come here and say whats on our mind.

Surely we must be so idle! Spending hours posting on our blogs, modifying templates, blog hopping and commenting in every nook and corner in blogsville.

But the trouble is that - my online time isn't all that I have invested to my blog. (And I know - for sure - that that is the same with almost all of us).
Everything I see, everything I do, makes me think - ah! I could post about this today - add a bit of mirch masala, a sprinkle of humor, a dressing of drama and viola! present it to my fellow bloggers and get them to go "oohh!", "aah!!" :)

So, not just my online time but a significant amount of my 'alone' offline time goes in planning my next post on the blog as well. I know..I know! You must be thinking that looking at the sort of stuff I write about... it dosen't really seem that, much thought has been put into quite a few of my posts!! LOL!! But thats the whole fun of it... no matter how much I plan and think in advance of what the next post will be about - it hardly ever goes that way. Once the thoughts start flowing, even I don't know where they'll go!!

To be quite honest - I wont say that these are my personal rambling/musings/etc.. because I admit that I have them here for an audience - if they were personal as personal can be I hardly think there would be any posts here at all..... Although this blog is partly an image of who I am, I assure you that it is not 'all' that I am. And then again, even I myself do not know yet what I am or what I am truly capable of - therefore its more like a journey where I discover myself every step of the way...and then look around for encouragement and support!

*sigh*
In the end I admit that I have really and truly been bitten by the blog blog and unfortunately *or fortunately* there isn't any vaccinations against it! :)

And given a choice - I would probably choose to do this all over again!

Update: And while the blog blood still flows through my blood stream - I am updating my blogroll and I know I have missed many... Can you please drop ur link here so I can do the needful! :D *Thanks so much!*

Desi kudi on train!

(translated: Indian girl on train!)

Armadale Stn: Such a cold morning. I'd rather be sleeping in bed right now.
Toorak Stn: Hmmm.. Oh! Thats a pretty face. And she looks Indian.
Hawsburn Stn: She's looking this way. And now looking away.....
South Yarra Stn: Such arrogance!
Richmond Stn: Hey man, can you move out of the way, I'm trying to look at someone.
Parliament Stn: Bye.

Next morning -
Armadale Stn: I wonder if she'll take this train.
Toorak Stn: Guess not!! :(

Next morning -
Armadale Stn: Zzzzz....
Toorak Stn: I think its her!
Hawsburn Stn: Different coat today. I liked the other one better.
South Yarra Stn: Why is she always standing so close to the last door again? There are empty seats in the middle, sit down woman!
Richmond Stn: Shit! She saw me looking at her!
Parliament Stn: Parliament again.

Next morning -
Armadale Stn: Am I smart or what?! :)
Toorak Stn: Here we go. Come sit here. Hmm... okay the seat opposite me is not bad either. Good that I chose to take last door seat this morning!
Hawksburn Stn: She likes my shoes! ..I think..
South Yarra Stn: She wears the whole thing - boots and gloves n all. I like your style girl.
Richmond Stn: Oh! she's looking this way.. no she's looking past me at the window.
Parliament Stn: Bye bye.

Next morning -
Armadale Stn: Friday..!
Toorak Stn: Hello again.
Hawksburn Stn: :) It sure is a beautiful day today!
South Yarra Stn: She's taking her gloves off...
Richmond Stn: Is it what I think it is? The right finger...?! Oh! Yes!! Oh No!!!
Parliament Stn: Good bye forever! :(


Outside Parliament Stn: :) Silly boy!

Every angle!

Its been a busy first week back at work full-time. Now that uni is over, I am actually enjoying working more *thinking about the $$ that I'll get at the end of the month :D*.

It has not even been a month since I finished uni and I'm having nostalgic thoughts. But no I wont write about how I love my uni and the mind bogling assignments and crazy projects or the frienships that I made and some that broke during uni itself....

I am thinking about motivation! What motivated me then and what is motivating me now?!

Beginning of school -- obviously getting into school was not really my choice and therefore there was hardly a question of motivation in the earliest years that I can remember.
Mid School -- I loved my needle work, English singing and Hindi singing classes. *I used to think at that time that I was the brightest and most melodious chick in the flock! :)*
Year 9/10 -- I had settled on the fact that may be I was not the most beautiful girl in class, but surely I was an all-rounder. *And it was perfect time for revenge from all the ultra fair n beautiful chicks when I was class-captian! :P Used to give them all the "dirty" jobs in class like dusting the black-board, cleaning the teacher's cupboard etc!*
My singing and dancing glory was in full bloom and I actually had fans from junior classes. Had a very good chance at become one of the house captians/school head girl in future!! *imagine that!!*
Year 11/12 -- I missed my opportunity to become vice captian in year 11 by thinking of changing school and hence missing the election week! The rest two years I was miserable... my dreams of leading my house shattered... *regretting why I missed school during that week!* Then I got selected in year 12 to act the lead in the play in my school's 'Centinary Year' celebrations. And that was my time to shine!! *again!* for the last time in school!!
Pre Engineering Screening -- I hated Physics and so was lost in the coaching classes. Didn't know what I was doing in those classes...
End of School -- Year 12 results were out and though I shined in computers with the highest marks, my physics results were predictably not so impressive. I knew I was not getting into any engineering uni ever - looking at how I could not 'get' Physics at all! *Why did I have to give entrance exam in physics when all I want to do is Program in C++ ?!* I needed a uni where they could let me study computers without studying Physics.....
Diploma in Oz -- They didn't let me into the uni because I applied late, so I initially came for a diploma instead. I was the only chick in my batch! :O One of the Indian boys who cam eon the saem plane as me left after 5 days because he missed home soo much!!
I found casual work and got top marks in tests - life was breezy!
Uni years in Oz -- Its been a rollercoaster ride, but I'm glad that I chose the degree that I really wanted to do...(unlike some people I know who didn't even know why they chose it and changed after one or two semesters!). Probably the Diploma helped me realise that Multimedia was not for me - * I was not "that" creative as I thought OR rather I cant be creative 24/7*. And I cant program code the rest of my life - I prefer "people-roles" and management stuff!
Right here - right Now -- I just want to do great at work - earn top $$s and make my parents proud. Settle down and decorate a beautiful house near the beach/on the hills with hand made stuff by 'me' and 'IKEA'! :D

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Where are you headed? What do you want to do??

BTW - I can hear 'Italian' from the kitchen.

Story teller.....

(My very first attempt at story-telling!!)

If he were a story teller, he would tell you the story of his life with all the trimmings and details. But that is where the whole problem was... that he could not express himself.

She had appeared in his life a few years ago. And that had also been her doing. It was as if she knew something, a girl's intuition may be! And so they became friends. Met a few times a week, chatting away about school, career, family, and just about anything at all. And that was fine. They were happy.

At the end of their school, he moved to another city to pursue higher studies in a well known university. But they were still in touch. On and off they mailed and chatted....and even spoke on phone. They would catch up when he would return to visit his family during vacations.

It was strangely simple...and completely uncomplicated.

There were rumors about her. That she had found someone. But he did not believe. Ofcourse she would tell him if that were the case. And really.... why would she go and find someone else, they had something just perfect going on here. Or so - he thought to himself.

And one day out of the blue - she called. And confirmed it all. Yes, she had found someone else! Someone she was madly in love with. He congratulated her. "About time!", he said.

He sounded happy for her, she thought. There had not been any dissapointment in his tone. He was happy for her, like a good genuine friend would be.

She smiled to herself. :)
*hmmm..* "So they were all just rumours", she thought. How did her intuition prove wrong, she did not know. But she was happy with her new found love and today - that she had told him all about it and got his reaction, she knew that 'today' she could really move on.

He put down the phone, "DAMN!"