sticky note humour

I didn't want the blog to melt into oblivion so I thought the least I could do is to keep you entertained with someone else's words, if not mine.
So, here you go. Laugh now and thank me later.


This is life, one block at a time.

I have this interesting new liaison with an HR company. So, this is for them, with many thanks!

Haha!! I promise to do better than this copy - paste job soon, ok?


-gatsby

And I'm back after a long, unexplained hiatus.
If you're lucky, posts will soon follow.

For now, I'm back home in good old Madras for about 3 weeks and I couldnt be happier.

Until next time,
-gatsby

IHOP yay!

Before I came here, I was not looking forward to the trip at all. The very thought of going away from Madras was just killing me. Also, as my avid readers would know, I had the big problem of what to do with Oz. But that worked out well, thankfully. Ozzy is nice and happy in his new home. Da went to visit him and looks like he has settled down nice and comfortably. The people who are taking care of him give me delightful stories about his charming, quirky behaviour and i couldn't be more happier about my choice of homes.

So, anyway, to make myself look forward to this trip more, I made up a checklist in my mind, of all the things that I should do here. One of them was having a classic American (vegetarian) breakfast.
My brother and I were driving around the area a few days back and he pointed out a blue and white board that said IHOP. International House Of Pancakes. If i were a Disney cartoon, my face would light up and my eyeballs would turn into golden-brown pancakes. Ah, the very thought of it.....
So, the next morning, i slyly talked my brother into taking me to IHOP. We placed two orders of
Cranberry juice
Garden Omelet which comes with a plate of short stack pancakes
Hash brown (a slab of grated and grilled potato)

It was the best meal ever!!!! The cranberry juice was so flavorful. It was refrigerated so the glass was not half stuffed with ice cubes. The omelet was huge! One serving of it must have been made with at least 2 eggs! And the pancakes........ short stack means 3 pancakes. They were beautiful to look at with the aromatic steam raising and the generous topping of butter (which i scooped out and put into my side plate after a woeful look at my tummy... sigh). I thought the hash browns would taste boring since they were just potatoes but the grilled side was so nice and crunchy!

A forkful of pancakes, eggs and some hash brown = 1 big mouthful of joy!

You know, they serve huge portions here. This is a picture of my meal after I am done with it.





In conclusion, everything is bigger not only in Texas, but in the whole of the USA. *BURP*

-gatsby

updates

I have successfully reach the US of A after what could possibly be the longest flight ever.

We (mum and I) boarded a domestic flight at Madras to Bombay. We had to change flights there. We boarded our connecting flight at the very last minute thanks to the mess that is the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Turns out, the flight was making a stop at Delhi as well..(?)... Anyway.. after Delhi it was thankfully London and then to New York.
So that is
Madras - Bombay- Delhi - London - New York
all with about 2 hours halt. God!! i DIED. The food was yummy and the inflight entertainment sucked. Fortunately i didn't feel the brunt of that because i made a friend!! :-) That's right! I am social! I never knew!

So now here i am in Stamford, Connecticut.. one of the most picturesque places i have ever seen. There is this area called New England in northeast USA, comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. This little town where I'm staying is so English with the huge old cathedrals, one synagogue and plenty of eatouts. There is this one place pretty close by which just captured me when i was walking by it. It was a restaurant and bar that spilled out into the pavement. The decor was mostly dark wood with dark red flowing drapes all around it. The lighting was dim, the place was spacious and the music was beautiful jazz. The choice of music could not have been more fitting. Ah i felt totally carried away by the silky sounds of the saxophone, the mild chatter and the intoxicating smell of glorious red wine that engulfed the place. I don't know if i will be able to eat there but if you do come to Stamford, do try it. If the food is as good and the place looks, then i guarantee you, you will not be disappointed.

This is a picture of a cathedral near my place.. is gorgeous!




Oh I went to New York and its just like how you see it on TV. The Grand Central station is gorgeous though. I will try to upload a picture of that too.

More updates and pictures will follow.


Bye, now.

-gatsby

Madras, my love

Hello, all.
I'm typing this post amidst the flurry of last minute packing and also last minute panicking. Yes, I am leaving on my holiday tonight. Its going to be month long trip and i am back in Madras on the 2nd of July, which (of course) is the day my college reopens. So my battle with attendance starts right then. also, 3rd is chub's birthday so... my battle will probably continue on to the 3rd too. aiyo.
I want everyone to know that i love Madras. there is no other place in this world where i will find myself as comfortable or as heart-warmed. I'm touch by the beauty of this city. I was on my way to Spencer Plaza from Parry's the other day and i was at the signal where Spencer's is diagonally opposite on your right. On the left side of the road there were these beautiful ancient brick-red buildings with these ancient shops. It seemed so fitting. it would have definitely been paradoxical had there been some swanky designer store there. Instead there were these lovely antique artifact shops and all. There was also a Globe Detective Agency. Somehow that too made sense there. This rows of old lovely buildings, some renovated, some not, with domes, mirrors, carvings on the window panes and balconies with arches. What a sight it was. This old Madras architecture kept me absorbed in that long long wait at the signal and for that i was grateful. I even told my companion that we live in a beautiful city and we don't even know it. We really don't. There is so much more to explore and i hope i get the chance to do it.

But for now, i have to go and "explore" what is possibly the most advertised country in the world. Woo hoo.

By the way, i found a great caretaker for ozzy. She is a sweet delightful girl who was gracious enough to help me out. I owe her. And orkut is actually useful. Shocking.

that's it for now. Next post from CT, USA. Ta!

-gatsby

As all you faithful readers(Du) may have guessed, my damn exams are finally over. Don't ask me how i did them. All i know is that they are over and frankly that's all i care about, at least for the next two months.

It has a been a busy last few days. Kit is leaving to japan tomorrow. Loads and loads of shopping and eating out! Its been pure heaven i tell you. Man i don't know what i would have done without Kit for one whole month in Madras. But since i am leaving town too, its not so bad.
Which brings me to my next thing, I am leaving the big US of A. Thankfully its only for a holiday and I should be back in good ol'Madras within a month. I am going to Stamford, Connecticut so if any of you have been there, please tell me about the off-beat interesting things the place has to offer.

Most of you know, that i have a little cat called Ozzy.





That's him being cute as hell in his Santa hat.

Now here is the problem. Since I'm going away, there is no place for me to leave him. Apparently shelters like SPCA or Blue cross don't take cats. They are all dog people. I need a place to keep him safe or otherwise I will never be able to enjoy my vacation. So if any of you have a big heart and want to look after my baby cat for a month, please let me know. He is thoroughly litter-box trained and very well mannered. Or if you can even suggest some solution, please do feel free to drop a line and tell me what I can do. I am truly desperate.

It has actually been a good month for me. Lots of friends, lots of good times, lots of fun and laughter. So despite these exams, I will look back on this month of May with fond memories.
Also, I have been going to Amethyst wayyyy too much. Good fun that place is. All you fellow vegetarians, try the Vegan sandwich there. Its yummy. If you order any of their hot coffees, they give you these little cone shaped candies with a tiny little bit of crunchy coffee bean embedded in it. Also yummy.

Well, that's that for now. Do let me know about any ideas you might have about Ozzy. It will not go unrewarded. Thanks.

-gatsby

4 down. 2 to go. And I'm feeling much happier.

I study in a precious college that puts their students' comfort above all else. That's why during the semester exams, they take only 2 or 3 busses out to drop us back as opposed to the 10-odd ones that pick us up in the mornings. Obviously these 3 busses are not going to be able to cover all the routes. So they boot us off at Adyar and most graciously ask us to find our ways back home.
I stay in Mylapore. So everyday, after exams, i take the college bus to Adyar and catch an auto rickshaw from there. Personally I'm not a big fan of auto's. But these last few days have made me develop such an aversion to travelling by them.
As you know, i have finished 4 exams. On all these 4 days, i have managed to pick embarrassingly large fights with 4 separate auto rickshaw drivers. One on each day. All half way through my journey. All in the hot (and how) summer afternoon. 2 in which i had to get out of the auto half way because i just could not tolerate the insanity that are Madras auto drivers.

Just why cant my college send their busses to drop us back just as they picked us up. Why do we accept this without even feeling of being deprived. They take Rs.13,000 (i kid you not) from us every goddamn year. Why cant they do the right thing and give us our money's worth?

Anyway, so that's 4 auto stands i have to avoid in the next two days. I will let you know if two more add to that list. Sigh.

This is me, signing off, feeling utterly robbed, tired and disappointed at my inability to protest. And panicky too since i should be studying and not blogging.

-gatsby