You know there's a recession when..

.. the sales people at Bloomingdales are actually nice to their customers! Stopped by today to treat myself to a lipstick. Got a Slimshine lipstick in Think Tan from their MAC counter - a pretty decent shade for brown women who don't like loud makeup.

my grandmother

Of late, I've been missing my family a lot. While, every once in a while I go through the 'what-am-i-doing-here-miles-away-from-my-family' blues, it tends to get exacerbated by the strangest of things. The other day I dreamt about my parents. I cant remember the dream as such but the feeling has lingered on. This obviously resulted in calls being made at random hours and some crankiness on my part. While I was feeling annoyed, yet surprised, about reacting in such a strange manner about a dream, I remembered an even more inexplicable reaction when I read the story A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote (Yes, welcome to Random Musings!).

My paternal grandmother had lived with us for most of my life. We were the best of friends, esp. when I was a young kid. I would spend most of my time just talking and playing with her. I would fall asleep at night listening to her stories, at her side. The most touching memory that I have of her is this one time when I decided to sleep in my parents room instead of in hers (I was only 6 then). I couldn't sleep and was restless. I'd like to think that it was because I was worried about her, but it could've been because I missed her gently patting me to sleep. So really late into the night, I tiptoed out of my parents' room and when i got back to her room, I found her quietly sitting on the edge of her bed, facing the door with the light on, waiting for me to come back. This was more than 21 years ago, and yet I can clearly see it.

As time went by, obviously, her affection for me didn't change, but I had other distractions. Studies, exams, friends, adolescence, television and later college. Over time, I sort of lost touch with her. Khushwant Singh describes this change in relationship between him and his grandmother in a most touching, yet matter-of-factly manner in his story, The portrait of a lady. I remember reading it in 8th grade and thinking that it would never be like that between us.

My moving to the US diminished our contact even further. Then around 4 years ago, she passed away. When I heard the news, I cried for a couple of days but I never really had the closure I needed. Being hundreds of miles away dulled the pain and I think I conned myself into thinking that she was still there at home, so I moved on and I blocked the thought from my mind. Then about 1.5 years or so ago I read the short story A christmas memory by Truman Capote. It is a beautiful story about a little boy and an "old friend" (the author never tells us how they're related but one can infer that the woman is either his grandmother or a grandaunt). Reading that story brought back a rush of memories. I remember crying uncontrollably, inexplicably after reading that story. I think I was finally able to let my emotions flow and mourn the death of my grandmother. What old pictures and a visit back home did not do, a beautiful little story did. Strange how the most unexpected things can evoke such strong memories and feelings?

I thought of her again today and decided to dedicate a post to the woman who was always, truly and unconditionally my best friend.

Monday Blues

If having a great weekend, getting up late and still taking the time to put on your favorite facemask , and sporting a brand new outfit to work doesnt help, what does?

Skincare tips

Of late my life has become like a pressure cooker. There's a big deadline looming and a lot depends on it ... well maybe a lot less than I imagine, but then I have a hard time differentiating between the concept of a deadline and a national emergency.  Anyway, consequently I've been reading articles about how to cope with stress at work, and one thing led to another and I ended up reading about how stress was my skin's biggest enemy!

So I wasted no time in doing something about it. I set out googling furiously about what I could do about it and tried to glean a few more skincare tips from Youtube as well. Here are some of my latest finds. Keeping in tune with all the fuss about the global economic meltdown and consumer confidence/retrenchment, I have some inexpensive tips as well:

1. Bliss triple oxygen instant energizing mask (Sephora, around $60) - Ladies and gentlemen, this is the ultimate 5 minute fix for your skin with the most visible results ever! In just 5 minutes, your skin will be smooth, fresh and glowing. I read tons of reviews online about this product to the same effect, but having used several facemasks in the past that never give me the same glow as a salon facial, I had my doubts. However, the effects of this mask are highly visible and last at least two days. Whether the mask really does anything for your skin in the long run, I don't know and it's too early to tell as I only just started using it around 2 weeks ago, but it does wipe off the tiredness off your skin in an instant. Great for use before a party or after a long night of partying, or just on regular weekdays. Also, the mask is based on the concept of supplying a high volume of oxygen to your skin or some such, so its like any other face-mask and is not a chemical peel or anything I'd stay away from. Only downside is that it's a bit expensive, costing around $60, however you do get a fairly big bottle for the money. It is available at Sephora and I'd guess other stores that have the Bliss line of products, such as Macy's and Bloomingdales.

2. Sugar and lemon scrub - This was something I found on Youtube. Just take a few spoons of (granulated, not superfine) sugar and mix it with lime juice, until it is moist but not liquid. It makes the ultimate face scrub. Your skin will be super smooth and ready for some smooth makeup application. You'll wonder why you've been spending so much money on face scrubs all these years when the perfect scrub was sitting in your pantry all along. Seriously, try this. Only downside is that if you have super sensitive skin, the lime juice may sting a bit.

3. Warm honey - This is the ultimate moisturising, rejuvenating face mask for the lazies. Just pop some honey into your microwave, for not more than 5 seconds (honey heats up real fast). And then apply on your face, keep it on for 10 minutes and rinse. Great for winters.

4. Vitamin E oil - is great for applying around your eyes. I usually leave some on at night, around once or twice a week. It is supposed to have strong anti-oxidant abilities (all the rage these days) and does reduce lines/dark circles around your eyes, making them look less tired. This should be available at any pharmacy store for about $7 a bottle.

Hope you find this useful. Leave a comment if you have any suggestions yourselves!

My Bollywood Fix

Every now and then I need my Bollywood fix. I like 3 things about Bollywood movies: a) The escapism. What is the point of a movie if it doesn't make you believe that somewhere, there is a perfect world?, b) The music. Nothing can beat a good Bollywood number, and c) The clothes. I am amazed to see how Indian designers are putting such creative spins on salwars, sarees and kurti tops! 

So anyway, today we went to this movie called Love Aaj Kal, after having read some decent reviews and because I haven't seen a Bollywood movie in ages. As the name suggests, the movie is based on a contemporary love story. While the movie isn't necessarily a great entertainer, nor did it have much escapism as it focused on a very real problem, and what is increasingly becoming a very common problem among young couples - balancing ambition with relationships. 

The movie shows how couples these days place higher importance on dreams and ambitions than their relationships. People often work pretty hard to get what they want, and it is very hard to give it all up in the name of Love. The movie also hints at the new generation's "independent spirit" that makes them feel tied down in a marriage. Add "long-distance" to this and you've just multiplied the problem. The movie also does a fairly decent job of contrasting the new-age, complicated relationships with the simple ones of the past, where matters of the heart came before ambitions or jobs, and where people felt less "threatened" by marriage.

The crux of the movie (unfortunately beaten to death) was to show how sometimes your ambitions may seem so important that you may not consider sacrificing them for your relationship. However, you may begin to question how much they truly mean to you later in life, once you've actually achieved them. What I really liked about the movie though is that it doesn't necessarily show shades of black and white, in the sense that it doesn't preach you to treat love as the ultimate goal in your life or otherwise. It underlines the fact that if you were to just drop all your dreams for your relationship, you are almost sure to question that decision later in life. It's necessary to find what is truly important to you, even if it means that you have to make some difficult choices and wait for that self-realization.

While the movie wasn't a great entertainer, it did strike a chord with me, having been in a similar situation not very long ago. I was in a rather long distance relationship for two years and many times I had questioned the choice I made in terms of pursuing my career at the expense of potentially damaging my relationship. It wasn't easy. However, I do know that if I hadn't made that choice, I would've had some serious regrets, perhaps even a sense of loss. At the same time, it made me realize how much I valued C, and I was able to sort out things that seemed important to me, but really weren't. I think sooner or later in life, we all question the choices we make, however, what is important is that once you realize what you truly value, make that a real priority. 

Now there's a sentimental post, fit for a  Bollywood movie ;)

Belgium - Ah Brugge!

Sorry to have taken so long to Blog about the next stop on our Europe trip. Well, everyone knows what happens after a vacation right? You're buried under an endless pile of work and the R&R you just got during your vacation pretty much takes no time to wear off ... harsh but true. Anywho, I'm finally doing my promised post on the next stop of my Europe trip - Belgium.

Brussels

We arrived in Brussels on the afternoon of the 29th (June). We started our trip with a visit to the Grand Place which I've heard so much about. The place was really spectacular, one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, or so they say. Seeing this place also made me realize that we really, really need an SLR. Our Sony Cybershot couldn't do much justice to the grandness of this place, but here are some of our best shots.

Grand Place

Grand Place

After that we went to see the Manneken Pis. Now, I already knew from online reviews that not much is to be expected, but nothing could've prepared me for what I saw. It was a tiny, most ordinary statue of a pissing boy, and for the life of me, I cannot figure out what the big deal is!

Manneken Pis

After this, our evening in Brussels was pretty much spent walking around and trying out some chocolate here and there. We visited the Atomium and some other historical places in the city. I'll have to say that the Grand Place, and the St. Hubert Arcade with chocolate & lace shops right next to it is perhaps the only reason to visit this city. I wouldn't advise planning on spending too much time in Brussels if you're planning on visiting Belgium.

Belgian Lace (another Belgian specialty) and dolls on display

The Grand Place was beautiful by night. We ate our dinner of some excellent falafel sitting in the square that was full of people just sitting around and having beer. The square was alive even at 12 in the night.

Grand Place by Night

Chocolates, Waffles and Fries!

Belgian chocolate is just wicked, wicked, wicked! You cant walk 10 ft without seeing a chocolate shop. And I'm not talking about cheap candy or snickers bars. Ladies and Gentlemen! - this is the most exquisite, hand-crafted chocolate you would've ever seen or tasted in your life! Just going by the number of chocolate stores/chocolatiers we saw in Brussels and Brugges, I'm given to think that this is their national occupation. We had so much chocolate there, it's almost a sin!

Chocolate cant get any better than this!

Their waffles and fries are equally sinful! No better way to start a day than with an authentic Belgian waffle. Just melts in your mouth guys, this ain't not ihop waffle, let me tell you!

Mmmm....

Brugge

I would've loved to dedicate a separate post to this most beautiful city (my favorite of all in my trip) but decided to stick with one post per country. We took the train from Brussels to Brugge which was most convenient. Brugge is a most tourist friendly place. You'll get a map and a list of must-sees as soon as you exit the station and the place is small enough to walk around and big enough to spend at least an entire day in it.
*Note: I've noticed that this place was spelt/pronouced in at least 4-5 different ways. I'm going with the spelling on the tourist map :)

The Belfry Tower

We started off our trip with the Belfry tower. After huffing and puffing our way up the 300 odd, steep steps, we got the most breath-taking views of this charming city!

The Belfy Tower

The charming city of Brugge

Oh the beautiful canals!

Following the Belfry, we went on a canal cruise of the city. Brugge is also known as the 'Venice of the North'. If I thought that the Amsterdam canals were beautiful, Brugge' canals just took my breath away. You wouldn't even feel like blinking your eyes, lest you miss something during this beautiful cruise.

Canal cruise views

More canal cruise views..

More canal cruise views..


A befitting end to the cruise, the swan lake! Oh so romantic!

Other attractions

After the cruise, we pretty much followed the directions on our tourist guide to the Basilica of the Holy Blood, where they claim to have the blood of Jesus Christ in a vial. It was built in the 12th century. This is some serious history we're talking about!

Basilica of the Holy Blood. That light seems almost .. divine doesnt it? ;)

Inside the Basilica. Very awe-inspiring..

We actually never saw the vial (shown to small groups at a time). How and why it missed our minds, I don't know, but needles to say, I regret it very much :(.

Following this, we went to the Church of our Lady which has a stutue of Madonna and the Baby Jesus carved by Michaelangelo himself. One of this very few statues outside of Italy. The Gothic church walls and ceiling were spectacular.

Madonna and baby Jesus by Michaelangelo

Brugge has numerous museums and churches, and beautiful squares such as the Market Square and Burg Square to offer. I would recommend spending 12-14 hours in Brugge at least to cover everything at an enjoyable place. A lot of places close before 5pm, so get there a little early if you can.

Brugge and your 401K

A visit to Brugge can have interesting consequences for your 401K (retirement) savings. You'll suddenly want to live there, if not now then at least when you hit 60, and it wont take long to do the math to understand exactly how much you'll need in order to do so. I for one am going to start saving more in my 401K to live in a place like this one:

My dream home in Brugge

I highly recommend that everyone put Brugge on their must-see list. A day in Brugge will feel like a dream, and you'll want to hold on to it tightly, lest you get woken up too soon!

On 3D movies and the Environment

Just got back from a movie. We watched our second 3D movie in a month - Ice Age 3, following Up (both really good movies). 

Over the years, I've made my peace with having to pay 3$ extra for a pair of 3D glasses when I'm not allowed to bring along the pair I got for my last 3D movie. However, I lose it when they put a big box right outside the theatre with a message saying 'Help recycle your 3D glasses' under the pretext of saving the Earth. So I'm just supposed to drop off my 3D glasses which I paid 3$ for (and which I have no use for either, I must admit) so that these people can repackage them and make more money off of them? And all this while, they wont allow me to just pay the regular ticket price and bring the glasses I saved from my last movie? If they're so concerned about the environment,  why not allow people this option? Imagine how much plastic could be saved if people were just encouraged to save their glasses and re-use them by saving them money!

This almost makes me as angry as I get when I see a sandwich at the place I frequent for lunch, being wrapped in an aluminium foil first, then placed in a plastic box and finally put in a paper bag. And to this people add several paper towels, and sachets of ketchup, salt and pepper picked up indiscriminately at the help-yourself corner, because, well, it's all free isn't it?. Grrr! I wont pretend to be the most environmentally conscious person, but this is just pure evil!