Dog Days

Summer's officially over here today, with the Fall quarter starting tomorrow. Its back to the grind! I'm half excited, half apprehensive. Its my sophomore year, with more things to do, more experiences to experience and many more people to meet. Apprehensive because I turn 19 soon (yay?) and feel sooooooooo grown-up all of a sudden... it isn't fair. I could throw a blog-fit like I did when I was turning 18 last year, haha. Last few days have gone by fast, and I don't even have to guess why. But they've been good... no regrets really. Went to the Oktoberfest, dined at Don Pablo's, window-shopped, got my zed's and chillaxed with family and friends. Maybe I'll do a quick recap of my freshman year someday, but not today.

Today I sit back and think. Of all the good times gone. Of all the good times to come. And listen to some Tom Petty (Saving Grace is one helluva song, I highly recomment it).

And from tomorrow on, you can see me back on Eeperz. I'll be back here next summer. With more adventures, more stories and more of Vitamin ME.

Until then, stay well and live, love life like there's no tomorrow. It makes memories like no other and brings us closer to other like no other.

Posted by Mia at 6:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

Yep, I'm alive and sleeping off my holidays. Really.

I've been:

• sleeping
• watching late night TiVo (for the first time! never thought I'd get addicted this way)
• watching Fashion House (I know, I know... this is the first soap I like)
• photoblogging
• road-tripping (Michigan)
• sleeping some more
• talking a lot on the cell and spending $$ on someone I likey
• hanging out at the club alone and watching ppl (weird... but I find it fascinating)
• scheduling for Fall quarter and straightening my bills
• drinking, drinking and drinking more and more of soy milk, haha
• hanging out with family (cuz they tend to get ignored once school starts)
• MSN messengering with a few good pplz

More later.

Posted by Mia at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

Here's something very similar to what I think, but could never fit into words to well.

Why is the media here so negative?

Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements?
We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?

We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.

Look at Dr Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit.
There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.

I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper.

It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place.The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary.

It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to.
The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE? trust me, open TOI and you'll find the first 3 pages filled with news of murders, homicides, etc.

Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things?
We want foreign T. Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.

Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance?
I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph.

I asked her what her goal in life is.
She replied: I want to live in a developed India.

For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim.
India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.

Do you have 10 minutes?
Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.

YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?

Take a person on his way to Singapore .. Give him a name - YOURS.
Give him a face - YOURS.

YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best.
In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores.
YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are.
You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM.
YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity...

In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU?

YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai .
YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah.
YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs 650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.
'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?) I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.'

YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand ...

Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ?
Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston???

This rings true to me because when I used to put wrappers of chocolates or whatever into my jean pockets, instead of trashing it whereever convinient, friends thought I was too cleanliness conscious.

We are still talking of the same YOU.
YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own.
You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground.
If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?

Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay , Mr.Tinaikar, had a point to make.
'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said.
'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements.

What do they expect the officers to do?
Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?
In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job.
Same in Japan .. Will the Indian citizen do that here?'

He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.
We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative.

We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a
stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin.
We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.

We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.
This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public.
When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others,
we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home.

Our excuse?

'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.'
So who's going to change the system?

What does a system consist of ?
Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbors, other households, other cities, other communities and the government.
But definitely not me and YOU.

When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.

Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system.
When New York becomes insecure we run to England ..

When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf.
When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government.
Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country.

Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing.

John F Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA
AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA
WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'

Lets do what India needs from us.

Forward this mail to each Indian for a change instead of sending some Jokes or non-sense junk mails.

Thank you,
Dr. Abdul Kalaam
(PRESIDENT OF INDIA)

Posted by Mia at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Comments

First things first... I'm loving every bit of not having classes, not worrying about quizzes and exams, watching movies at night, hanging out with friends, who I've been avoiding for my family (and myself) all summer, getting my regular morn jogs, less than an hour of computer once in 2-3 days (OMG! YES! IT IS POSSIBLLLLEEE!), getting an overdoze of Bollywood music and some other random stuff.

Its a great time. Sweetly exhauting really.

I'm gonna sign off here and be back when I have more bloggin' energy in me. Got a life to catch up with :-)

Have a great week!

Posted by Mia at 1:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

With my calc exam on Thursday, I can't help but think of the month long vacation to follow. Will it be Boston, or will it be the overrated downtown streets of our city? Will it be good Indian food and long jogs on the campus of BU, Cambridge, Harvard or tennis with friends and fries and a drink at night? Either way, I'm looking forward to it all. For once, I think I deserve it.

Posted by Mia at 5:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

"You can't politicize a war--because wars are political to begin with. Political leaders decide to fight them; elections determine what course they take or if they are fought at all."

"...Why, after more than three years, are images of coffins returning from a war controversial at all?"

"Families, pundits and pols can disagree on what the flag that shrouds those coffins stands for. But that flag is not, and should never be, a blindfold."

Interesting statements. Read what James Poniewozik has to say in last month's Times magazine. I didn't know that pictures of flag-draped American coffins of soldiers were not allowed by the government to be published/shown. I remember when I was a kid and in India, coffins were shown on TV, in papers and the military funeral services were aired on some channel or the other. And as far as I know, they do so in a couple more countries too, but the rule being enforced strictly since the Iraq war is appaling. A friend directed me a link to the CNN website, which has a list of all the soldiers killed in Iraq. It goes back to Poniewozik's statement of the flag not blindfolding you. Maybe it's just me, but it relieves me to think that there are people out there who are risking fame, fortune and who knows... even lives, to make the general public more aware of what's happening outside the country. It's sad to find your friends or even strangers you meet or someone on a web discussion page, say, "Oh, that. Like I care" or tossing news that supposedly doesn't affect their lives with a "Anyway..."... or even people acting ignoring and preferring to stay that way, or even worse, not accepting the truth and using that ignorance to justify arguments (which can never be won).

Is it that tough to sit and listen and be open-minded to other people's perspectives or even the truth? Maybe... but unfortunately the world does not go 'round that way. When there is information out there for you to read, READ it. Don't form opinions on just ONE thing you read or because the author thought of one thing in one particular manner. Read, read, READ! It may not affect you as of now... but when it does, who knows. It might just be too late to get that information and use it appropriately. What's the harm in knowing a little more about something? I'm not sure if this phrase even exists, but I've heard someone say little bit of knowledge is dangerous (so best not to have any knowledge?). I say sure it is -- if you ACT based on that knowledge. As it turns out, most actions/decisions people regrettably make are on little knowledge of something. And I'm not making it up, it's a fact. I've done it before, you have, ... everyone has at one point in their life hastily made a decision. A guy I knew online believes that if there is no proof, it doesn't exist. You can't argue that... but how much do various forces in your environment want you to know something? Yes, it comes back to the government. How much does the government want us to see? To learn? Having a father who's a govt. official, administrator, economist and a bureaucrat, I think I've learnt quite a bit about how much is kept from the people.

Ah, I'm rambling again... so before I spend the next 15 minutes typing about something like this, I'll take leave and wish you all a good day and an even better week. Stay safe and be good.

Posted by Mia at 8:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

I DID post two posts on romantic crap. Thanks Ravin, for pointing it out.

These past two weeks, days, hours have been crazy hectic, with me wrapping up my summer courses, preparing for a final exam, visiting family friends after 2 years of mundane excuses such as "too busy with senior year of high school" or "first year of college courses take up all my time". Well, they weren't really excuses. It was a fact! So after two years of self-grounding myself in my work and my friends, I decided to go out and re-mingle with the crowds this summer.

And it's been more than great. As for the blogosphere, I'll pop in from time to time to comment and let you know I'm alive and doing well.

As I might have already mentioned, I've been photoblogging a lot lately. I've met some GREAT amateur as well as professional photographers online, by looking and commenting on their work and having them comment on mine. And the best part is that there are college kids my age out there into photography, who do it not for a living, but simply to document their lives or to sharpen their visual and creative perspectives. Here, I've learnt a lot of things. For one, there are a bazillion techniques and art forms within photography itself, which I would have never known by simply clicking family vacation photos and printing them out to keep them as memories. Also, after re-kindling my passion for photography, I've started looking at things around me in a different light. Every tiny thing that goes unnoticed seems like the most beautiful and extraordinary thing created by nature or by man. I look down a street and I picture it as a photograph, as a moment frozen in time, something everlasting. Now, something breath-taking is not just a sunset, a sunrise or Grand Canyon expanses or a bunch of dandilions. It can be simple droplets on a leaf, a smile caught on film or digitally, or as simple as a feather lying on the ground. I think now I know what people when they say you have to slow down and notice the tiny things in life to wholly know what life itself is all about. Okay, I made that up, but you know what I mean. Right? Photography, or any other form of art is not God-gifted. People are not born with SLR cameras or paintbrushes in their hands. Anyone can develop the creative or the attentive eye. Trust me, you'll enjoy your vacations and vacation shots more than ever before. I might just start documenting my life for myself to look back on one day and recall the day I felt like crap, or the wedding of a friend. And my upcoming birthday seems like the opportune moment too. It's great I tell you. Maybe a passing phase, an addiction that won't last for over a month, but I tell you... even if it's fleeting, it's worth it.

Have a lovely Thursday evening!

Posted by Mia at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

Let's admit it. There are instances in our lives when we feel Suddenly Single. That sudden rush of loneliness that makes your heart drop to the floor. For a lot of us, these instances come and go and we shrug it off. But then there are amongst us quite a lot of people who take this status to heart and sit to ponder and sook away for hours.

A good friend of mine recently broke up with her boyfriend. While I sat there with her, jokingly scolding her not to open her e-mail to check for a reply to a letter she had sent recently, I realized how few people need constant closure and a sense of protectiveness at all times. It was real soon to be telling her to be single and happy... but she did not wish to be single. She wanted another person in her life. Someone to just be there for her at the end of the day to talk and have a good time, to watch a movie, to hold, to care about. And it wasn't just her who wanted to be with someone, rather stay single. A lot of my friends go about this guy/girl hopping trend, looking for the one.

Is it just me... or is this kind of thinking just not worth one's time? I mean, I've been through those initial weeks of coping with break-ups when rebound relationships seem the right thing to do. They ARE rebound relationships, no matter what you say (I'm not saying they don't work out... look at our very own Britney Spears). But after a couple of break-ups I think one needs to realize a couple of things. One, they've been in a relationship not for the relationship, but for something else. Two, they're not ready for another person to come walking into their lives. Three, they're better off staying single and having a time of their lives. Four, they should stop looking so damn hard for a person to sweep them off their feet & wait for it to happen whenever it is meant to be.

And I ask all those people who think the life of a Singleton sucks (for whatever reason): would you rather spend your evening worrying why he/she never called or going out, laughing, dancing, drinking, chilling, doing whatever with friends? Would you rather sit and change your plans just to suit someone else's or go out on your own and do as you please? Would you date someone for the heck of it or whenever you feel ready to take on a relationship?

If you chose the words in blue... well, what can I say. You need to call the dating hotline ASAP?

If you didn't agree with the words in blue, cheers. The tip's on me. ^5

Posted by Mia at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments