I Heart Hrithik!

I saw Jodhaa Akbar on Saturday ... and ever since ... can't stop thinking of Hrithik! OMG! He is so insanely gorgeous! I was told the movie was long ... but he was on screen 95% of the time ... so I really didn't notice! The movie was amazing. I thought that age was depicted well and their costumes, the sets ... sigh!! Ok I can't really think beyond Hrithik ... so for now ... I love Hrithik!

"Why vegan" strikes again!

Recently I had another one of those arguments with a friend about why I am vegan. And it bugs me that I am not able to get the point across. I do know that veganism isn't the ultimate solution and it might not be a very sustainable scenario having the whole world turn vegan. I really don't know what's right or wrong for the entire world. I also agree in the circle of life and the stronger eating the weaker scene. What I don't support is factory farming! The industry where animals live their entire life without ever seeing the sun. Where new borns aren't allowed to be fed by their own mothers. Where live chickens are stuffed into a crate till one can stuff no more ... and their beaks are cut off so that they don't bite each other to death in there! I am against tying the limbs of a new born calf for weeks ... so that the veal is tender and juicy! I am not saying I am perfect ... I am not saying I am right ... I am just acting upon what I have read and seen. I have taken veganism as the stance to not support this industry. Is this the ultimate thing one can do? Of course not! There is always more you can do. But like I have said many times before. Every little counts. Every person does what he or she can. Maybe choosing makeup "not tested on animals" is a stance. Maybe buying free range eggs over the other kind is a stance. Just like choosing cloth over plastic is a stance. This is my choice. I don't want to force you to take it .... but I do wish you would let me be. I do wish you would understand that it IS a sacrifice and I am doing it for a cause close to my heart and I do wish you wouldn't ridicule it. I don't think you are evil for relishing those fish fingers or chicken nuggets. I do understand giving up something which satisfies your senses is tough. And I am not asking you to give it up! So don't get defensive & remind me of all that I am missing out on when I choose tofu. Cause the only thing you end up reminding me of is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4

Valentine's Day - Holiday from hell (Cnn.com)

Thank you very much: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/02/14/valentine.from.hell/index.html

Luv Shmuv!!! BAHH!

Valentines Day - a day when many are proposed, many become committed, many get courage to confess their most personal feelings, oooh how romantic eh??? Well not really my thoughts. I hate this day. Acc. to me, this is the most cleverly commercialized idiotic day which we (including me) fall prey for. Who the hell was St. Valentine and why should me, a Konkani girl born in Udupi, care??? Roses, which would normally be $20 for the dozen, become $20 a stem. If you are in a long distance relationship, delivering anything which has to reach on the 14th of Feb is 10 times more expensive than delivering just the next day. If you forget to make dinner reservations well in advance, you are forced to have dinner at 10:30p at a restaurant you may not even want to go to ... just cause everyone at work is going to ask you where you went! And of course, you get asked that question - "Soo what did you get??" UGh! How I want to reply saying "Leave me alone. Mind your own business." So what if I am a couple and don't get anything? I don't need that "Aww Shucks ... it's ok" look from you. You seriously think it means my guy loves me any lesser than yours? Have you ever thought that the one thing it might mean is that your guy is ONLY doing this out of the fear of hearing you nag him with your high pitched voice for the next month?? "Aww Poor Him" I say!! And this is all for those people who supposedly have it good on this day - the couples!

The poor unfortunate singles ... oh they are just doomed. Oh how I hate those "Aww I'm Sorry ... you'll find love soon" looks, when the 5 cubes surrounding you in all directions have got surprise red rose bouquets and all you have is your sheepish smile!! Hell Yeah I'll find love ... and it definitely will be better than the loser you have wrapped around you! Grrr ... I hate this day for being so discriminating. It makes you feel bad for being single, being free, being yourself and being 'picky' about the one you date!! It makes you feel 'loserish' but we all know the real losers are the ones with those empty wallets!!

And the worst part is, even though I have felt this way for many MANY of those "Single status" valentines, the few that I have been a couple, I too have wanted those gifts and those bouquets!! I hate myself for wanting those. I hate myself for feeling a 'little' bad when I don't get those. Why should I force some guy to buy me overly priced crap just cause Hallmark thinks so??? I guess the only consolation is, no matter if you are single or a couple, noone (other than the rose vendors) has it good on this day ... so be yourself, buy those gifts if you feel it, buy it tomorrow if you are not in the mood today, don't give in to the pressure, buy them for yourselves cause you are worth it and most importantly breathe .... tomorrow really is going to be better (or at least cheaper)!

P.S. The one thing I really LOVE about this day is Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries ... mmmm!! They should have those all year round! :D

The Morning Battle!

I usually go to the gym after work, but there are days or sometimes weeks when other activities just overload your evenings and your gym session always seems to be the first to be off the list. So, at the beginning of this year, I thought, making a morning habit of it would really help free up my evenings, and also make it less hard to miss. But OH My God!!! Everyday for the past ONE MONTH, I have been setting my alarm for 6am. Every-single-morning, my stupid annoying phone buzzes at 6am and every-single-morning, I change it to 7am. You think after a week of doing this, I would learn and do something different, like maybe sleep early or even give up the hope of getting up. Well, I have done the sleeping early. There were 2 or 3 days I slept at 10p!!! And no matter how much sleep I got ... my eyes refused to open before 7! In fact, the days when I slept early, I got up even later and was terribly drowsy all morning! I guess the only good thing is I still have hope. And I have decided to give this a new approach ... and thus I post! Maybe if I announce it to the world, my body and mind will be more eager to change, to show myself to be different, to be motivated. I mean I have tried everything else. Never know ... this might help - psychologically or something. So, tomorrow, I am hoping you guys hear about my Salutation to the Dawn!

Grains!

One of my most therapeutic activities is cooking. I love cooking. It definitely works as a stress reliever for me and also makes me feel good when I know exactly what goes into my mouth. Of course, for a diet as restrictive as mine, eating at home turns out to be a much more nutritious and appetizing option. And even though all this is really true ... there are many weeks I go without cooking out of pure laziness and we all know that once you lose track, we need that extra push to get back on. Thus, along with the "gymming regularly" resolution, I also have a "eat more at home" one which I have been doing pretty good with.

Growing up in a desi atmosphere, I mostly ate two kinds of grains - wheat (mainly in the form of chappatis, pizza breads, bread, pasta - mostly processed and not the whole grain kinds) and rice (as itself, idlis, dosas etc. - white rice mostly). But in the past 2 years and probably even more recently, I have been wanting to expand my horizon to more healthier versions of these grains and also, other grains and oh Lord ... there is SO much to try!! In the past month, I have given the following a try and each one has been amazing: Buckwheat Soba noodles, Whole wheat Couscous, Brown Rice, Whole wheat Pasta, Polenta (made from Corn meal), Oat flour chappatis, Corn Tortillas, Black rice!

So if you enjoy cooking, definitely think about expanding your grocery list! It's so much fun and delicious! And do share with me any fun stuff you have tried out ... I love to explore those aisles! :D