My tribute to my favourite artist - Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson passed away a couple of days ago.
The reaction from me was shock, disbelief and surprisingly grief.
Yes, I was sad that he died... by now, most of the messy stories about his plastic surgeries, his ex-nanny's quotes, the will etc have been out.
But, my post is more personal, its about MJ, The King of Pop and Me.
I first heard MJ in 1987, the first song was BAD. Thriller and the other older ones were heard later.BAD is also my all time favorite and it holds a special place in my heart. Here, I was all of 7 yrs old, uprooted from my school, grandpa, friends and placed in an alien land where no one understood me and I definitely didn't understand them!
My dad got me my first radio at this very juncture where I was lonely and missing home.
The first I recall vividly hearing on it is BAD.I could relate to him, I could dance in my room to his music!! :)'

He drove the loneliness away with his awesome songs...

I remember being glued to the radio when one of his concerts was aired live over the radio then.

I fit in because I loved Michael Jackson and his music.

After returning back to India, to again unfamiliar surroundings and weird prudish atmosphere in India the one thing I missed was listening to MJ frequently on the Radio.

English music, if I remember correctly was termed as "bad" and people who listened to it were "bad" as well!

Somehow the information leaked in class that I enjoyed listening to his music and also considered MJ to be "Sexy".

Now, "sexy" was a bad bad term to be used in 5th std apparently and suddenly because of jealous classmates, I was the class tramp! I was the class tramp for 2 yrs.
I struggled with loneliness, rumours, bad friends and bad grades. I had rumours spread about me by a teacher!!
I was miserable, truly unhappy and extremely insecure till I reached 7th.
With no MJ to keep me company, I was truly miserable!
In 7th, things changed, my best friend then, P gave me the confidence and the love I craved for from a friend.
We were inseparable till 10th. He boosted my morale, let me listen to MJ over and over again - he had cassettes, and then he had the VCR at home... :)
MJ was in my life again and the new album - Dangerous (I think) was out with the song "Leave Me Alone" (I think I'm right on the song title, not sure - need to cross check on this)
After 10th std, his songs also brought me joy, let me experiment on my dance moves.
He helped me learn the moon walk.Michael Jackson, with his music turned a miserable pre-teen into a happy teenager. Actually, I was "Cool" in college because I had all his songs! :)

My friend in Post-Graduate had his CDs. All of them! And I was so thrilled! Literally!!!
I remember bringing them all home and recording them. I remember dancing to his tunes with my mom.
The volume was so loud that the Speaker fell on the phone and the phone was damaged beyond repair!
LOL!

His music has been my companion thru out my growing up years. His music helped me pass thru the most difficult phases of my life. He made me happy when I was sad.
The tears were forgotten and the misery melted away when I danced to his tunes...

In the recent past, less has been spoken about his transcending music and more about his weird life.
Now again, in his death, his music has united people all over the world.
He is truly the King of Pop.

Rest In Peace MJ! You will be missed, for your music and your complete entertainment.

1.5 hrs in bus!

That's how long I spent in Bangalore traffic today in the evening!
Bus left office at 7:15 and I reached home at 9!!!!

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!


I listened to bad Kannada songs to pass time!
There was an accident or something like that on one road and some sort of Rath yathra in another road!
I'm quite sure God hasn't told us to make sure everyone is inconvenienced while we try to do poojas for Him! He would be flipping out too if He was made to travel like how I did today!!!

OK, good night.

This is such a non-post, if you ask me!
Just a rant about Bangalore's traffic situation... *sigh*

This is the primary reason why I hate staying back. I prefer managing my time and skipping tea also, if required to make sure work gets completed on time. But, some meetings are like bad relatives, you can't avoid them. you just have to put up with them.

The 30-tag!

Everyone is doing it and it's too much fun to pass up, so me too answered the 30-question tag!
Here goes:

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
Oh No! what to do with my hair?! Why is it so unmanageable?!!

2. How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?
Rs. 150 + Sodexho coupons worth Rs. 100

3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
Crore!! :D :D

4. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
My frn who had visited from Pune!

5. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?
Its title song of Mungaru Male and Usher and Jim Morrison

6. What are you wearing right now?
greenish Blue salwar Kameez

7. Do you label yourself?
Heh! Nope! But, Kima called me Foxy and Alluring and Mischievous! :D :D

8. Name the brand of the shoes you currently own?
the one I'm wearing right now is Catwalk! :)

9. Bright or Dark Room?
Dark room while taking that luxurious nap in the afternoons on a weekend!

10. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
Crafty: She is a sweetheart. We bonded instantly and she is one of the sweetest and most generous souls I know.
Hitchy: He is a sweetheart. Witty, Sarcastic and JKG to the core! Writes very well and takes everything very sportively! He even doesn't mind being called Bhai over the Blog Samaj!!!!!!!!! :D :D
Monika: Awesome lady! :) I enjoy her blog and her travel blog as well :) Recently started reading her space I think she is a sweetheart! :)

11. What does your watch look like?
The one I'm wearing now is a Pulsar dad got for my 18th Birthday.

12. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Sleeping! :)

13. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
Have a good lunch honey - from my husband :)

14. What’s a word that you say a lot?
Eh?! LOL! Hugs! and of course WTF and F**&! ;)

15. Who told you he/she loved you last? (please exclude spouse , family, children)
Crafty! on her comments space for the same tag!! (Love u too!)

16. Last furry thing you touched?
Teddy on the TV!

17. Favourite age you have been so far?
All ages have been good after 15!

18. What was the last thing you said to someone?
Lets have lunch! (To a friend here at work)

19. The last song you listened to?
Right Now by Akon on Radio

20. Where did you live in 1987?
We were in Denver, Colorado.

21. Are you jealous of anyone?
Nopes. Actually, Anyone who can draw a straight line!!!!!!!

22. Is anyone jealous of you?
I think there are quite a few people! But, for the life of me, can't figure out why!
(I'm so modest, you see. :P)

23. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
This has ben written by keeping in mind that clothes are implictly worn at all times! ;) :P
Specs!
My radio/IPOD
A Book to read

24. What’s your favourite town/city?
Mysore, Denver and now, Bangalore.

25. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
:( Can't remember that long back.
Me and my cousin we used to write to each other when we were in school!

26. Can you change the oil on a car?
Hee!! Nopes!

27. Your first love/big crush: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
First Big Crush: He got recently engaged. And another one is in the Gulf now.

28. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
Nopes (Touch wood!)

29.What is your current desktop picture?
*sniff* Nothing. Client Logo. Can't display that here because of confidentiality

30. Have you been burnt by love?
Nopes! Donno what this means!

That was so much fun!! :)
Anyone who wants to take it up, can!

My 2 mins of fame! :)

First of all, thank you everyone. The emails, the comments, the sweet things you guys said and meant - they are priceless and I am so glad that I am not THAT sad anymore!!

Now, that the gloom and doom is all gone (Whew! I really don't like me like that - all sad and mopey and feeling sorry for myself! Am glad that didn't last too long!), let's talk about my 2 minutes of fame shall we? :)

Friday, as we all know by now, I was completely gloomy and sad and feeling sorry for myself. I left work early and took the bus home and as usual was listening to the radio - Radio Indigo to be more precise and from 5 to 8 - its Cruise Control with Mr. Rohit Barker and we all know how much fun an RJ he is with his deep, sexy voice and he plays really good music. Anyway, the contest was on and since the answer to his question was damn easy - I sent it.

What happens next? You guessed it, I get a phone call from Mr. Barker himself!! And I was put on Air to answer the question!!! :D :D
Then, I get a phone call from the studio and they ask me to come down and pick up couple tickets to the stand-up comedy show - Aggy Uncle happening at Kyra!!!
Oh, the night was awesome... I laughed so hard that I was tired from laughing and it was like - OK, please stop. I need to stop laughing!!

The jokes, the one-liners, the whole attitude was amazing! It had been a long time since I had laughed that hard for so long!! It was 2 hrs of jokes on everything under the sun - relationships, sex, God, Religion, people from different cultures and from different parts of the world...
It was awesome! :)

Has anyone else been to Kyra? It's an awesome place really. We had first been there for Swarathma's concert and that was so much fun and they are such a talented group!
The prices are a bit expensive - they just serve Finger food and appetizers at the theatre and their Bar is pretty decent too...

We saw some really scary people there though. I just don't understand one thing, if you are rich and you have loads of money, why should you be so scarily dressed?
We saw some really scary looking women out there last night!
just because one hits forty, there's no need to panic and start dressing like a 20 yr old!!!
And this one lady was so prettily dressed up, her dress looked so so pretty, but she accessorised it with fake pearls! That was such a let-down, you know?!

And even when we had gone for Swarathma's concert, we saw some really shitty people. Just because you have money, that doesn't mean that's the qualification to be rude and obnoxious.

They are a talented group, they are our local boys who have dared to dream big and make it.
Their music has meaning and its base is from our very own rich culture of Classical and Folk. The lyrics are touching and they have an amazing connect with the audience.
What more would one want from a musician right? But, no, some people are such snobs they can't recognise talent that's right under their noses and keep comparing the group to an already established rock group like U2??!! or Metalica?? (These 2 are rock bands right?!!)
Get real and get a life!
You know, that's one lesson I learnt at a very young age - not to take oneself so seriously! it's like walking around wearing ill-fitting underwear! :D
You are irritable and grouchy and keep blaming the whole world for it when all you need to do is change what you are wearing!!!


You know, the stand-up comedy last night was awesome too!
My tummy still hurts from all that laughing and I have such a sore throat and now cough!! But, it was totally totally worth it!!

I loved a couple of things they said.
Like happiness - you can't always be happy, but when you are unhappy, you should know that once you have reached that depth of unhappiness, you can only raise to happiness and that feeling in itself is amazing.

They spoke about women being the more intelligent lot! they said how if a woman is cheating on her man, he would never come to know which is so true!!!
We are a cunning lot.
Women take revenge to higher levels and we are never straight forward about it.
Like, for example, if a man were to be mad at someone, he would walk up and punch him.
We on the other hand, will make sure he gets bumped over by an over speeding car and get away with it!!! :D :D
The stuff you see on TV is just an exaggeration of real life, if you ask me. Yes, of course there are women who scheme and plot and mess up things and get pleasure out of it.

Ok, I will stop now, this is such a mixed up post! It's got way too many things going on... and it's a long post!
Indy - is this post long enough?!!

*Runs away before Indy catches up!*

Just before hitting the publish button - Thanks again, you guys. really. Even being so sad was kind of worth it - it made me realise what a fantastic bunch of friends I have found because of this blog.

Love you guys! Muah!

Why would you bother?

As I sit here, typing away and working away, for God knows what reasons, my heart is filled with gloom.
If I were to go away for a day or two, no one would know.
Who would come back and ask, what happened and are you alright? And even if you did, who would see the comment or message or email and feel glad? For, I would not be around to check or feel glad.
Even if something was wrong, how could that be told without logging in?
If I'm gone, from here for good, would I be missed? Would you come looking for me?
But, why would you look for me? Why would you spend so much time, to think and care for a faceless entity in this over crowded blog samaj?

If you do come looking, what brought you here, to the virtual doorstep of a stranger?
What drew you to me, to show some concern, which made you leave your work to bother enough to comment, a comment which might never be seen, for I might not be here to read it and feel glad.

We are not discussing cricket!

Ok, we are not discussing cricket here.

And we will be supporting SA, WI from now on.

And we are not blaming Dhoni either for India's dismal performance...
Though as Hitchy has mentioned, Dhoni's honeymoon with the media is now over.

We need a good rest before we start playing again.

Also, trip to Mysore was awesome as usual! :)
Did a bit of shopping and bought a pair of really awesome sandals and a small table made of jute.
(Among other things!!)
It's still at home in Mysore since we couldn't bring it back with us by bus, but once we do get it here, will post the pic - it's too pretty for words! :)

Ok, nothing much to write now, except that I know I have the tags pending... Will post them soon, I promise!
Also, my frn from Pune is coming over on wednesday and staying with us till Sunday. How cool is that?! :)
Looking forward to her visit!

Also, finally got my system hard disk replaced today, but blogger is blocked and I am not able to post comments, though it's allowing me to read...

Say it with Calvin and Hobbes!

So, its a Friday afternoon, my eyelids are almost closed, it's like there are iron chains attached to them and someone is dragging them down.

I also have a meeting from 6:30 to 7:30 which I will take from home! :)

But, after that I have to attend my gym session, because I'm scared of my instructor! No, really.

You should see him and see how he pushes you to do the impossible, which is my legs, arms are all singing different tunes right now! :) :)

So, without further delay, here's something which will make you laugh for sure and keep you awake!! :P

Some of my favorite CnH comic strips!!

Image Courtesy: All Google of course and the respective websites from which they were copied from! :)

Quick Update!

Very quick update!

Been overloaded with work, so haven't been able to comment or read posts properly on all my favorite blogs :(
Like Mandy's post - it's hilarious and I have so many things to say there, but falling short of time!

Gym updates:
Joined the gym today to lose the extra 3+2 kilos (3 as per the doc and 2 more for me!)
So, there are 2 places close to my place. Let's call them Gym A and Gym B.
Gym A is cheaper. So, naturally I go there to pay the fees and to join up!

I walk in and ask for the instructor - this guy comes up, gives me a once over and points to the fee structure and says - "Ladies batch is from 10 to 11 in the morning"
I reply back saying I need to come in the evenings.
He again looks at me and says - "Are you sure, at this time only we guys are there here!"
I tell him politely to 'eff off' and ask again for the instructor.

Another equally oily looking guy walks up and stands really close and says -
"I'm the instructor! Just by looking at you, I can tell how many kilos you need to lose!"

By now, as you would have guessed, I was mighty pissed.
So, I raise my voice a bit and say
"Get out of my face before I hit you where it hurts the most!"

He is a bit shocked and asks "What did you say?"

I repeat the same, louder.

This time, I'm audible enough to bring down the aerobics instructor and she asks me -
"Is he annoying you?"
I say yes.
She says - "Punch him the face! He thinks he has his brains between his legs!"
By this time, I'm laughing real hard inside, the guy moves back, I call him a really bad word and walk out.

These guys are all educated, but, such huge assholes, I tell you!
UGH!
I went ahead and joined the more expensive place!

But, this behavior is so wrong on so many levels, isn't it?!
Not mine, theirs! :P

Why can't they respect us and behave decently like how an educated person behaves.

But, let me tell you one thing - I was almost ready to punch the guy today!

And Cricket -

Are you watching the match?!
Netherlands need exactly 151 runs to make it to the next level and to oust Pakistan!

Netherlands - 3 wickets down!

Will they be able to make it? or will they buckle down under pressure?!!

Also, I have 2 posts in draft - one for the awards - this post is kind of emotional and "Aww-worthy"!
So, taking time before I post it.. :)

Everyone's doing this tag, so I'm doing it too!

OK, Everyone's done this tag - make your wish list of drool-worthy women if you were a man!

Some of them went wrong like Vimmu's or Dhiren's first attempt!! (see, no Bhai here! :P)

Since no one tagged me... :(
I'm doing this all by myself! Hmmmmph!!


1. Sushmita Sen: She's gorgeous, sexy and intelligent and slightly weird! :)
I was totally inspired by her when she went ahead and adopted her daughter... :)



2. Katrina Kaif: She's beautiful lady, graceful and dignified.



3. Penelope Cruz: No explanations here! She is smoking hot!!! :)


4. Sudha Chandran: I admire her. She went ahead with her dream and achieved it! A thing like no leg didn't deter her from dancing. She is one of the very few dancers who dances with a wooden leg and you wouldn't know that at all!



5. Suhasini: Brilliant Actress. Simple. Beautiful and Intelligent


6. Aishwarya Rai: She is a true beauty with brains. I admire the way she conducts herself, very dignified. Her business acumen is pretty fantastic as well.



7. Madhuri Dixit: She is a lovely lovely lady; a great dancer! :)


As you can see I cheated and listed 7 beauties with brains!!! :) :)


Image Courtesy: All Google. It's been put up here only for this tag, it's not an ad and all rights belong to the original owners! :)

Dhiren, These above lines have been inspired and slightly lifted off from your post. Hope you don't mind! Will change 'em, if you do mind though. Do tell me if you want me to change them. Found 'em quite appropriate, so used it....

WooHoo!!!

Couldn't resist!!!

But, did you watch the Aus Vs WI T20 match?!!!

WooHoo!!! WI kicked Aus's butt!!!!!!!!!! :D

What a match!!!

I don't think I would be this thrilled with a Indian Victory as well!!!! :D :D



*dances off gleefully to watch the next match!*

150th!

CONGRATULATIONS Pixie!!!
This is your 150th post, finally! :D

I wanted to make this post special you know, post pics, awards that I got from 2 extremely sweet people - IHM and Pallu...
But, swamped down with work and on top of all that, giving training to itty-bitty over zealous freshers! :D
I just can remember myself being equally over-anxious! Then, over years of experience, I have become the wise-one and know for sure that my "WTF and DKDC" attitude, doesn't help in making friends, but it sure keeps me smiling and helps me get thru a bad day!
DKDC - Don't know; Don't care! :D
I still have a long way to go today... 2 more meetings, 1 assessment to take care of and 1 bit of testing to complete!
Like I mentioned to a friend thru email, I lead a charming and exciting life like my recent book-hero, Dirk Pitt! (Clive Cussler is the author)
So, the picture post and the awards will have to wait...
But, go on, de-lurk and congratulate me! :D
150 is not too much, but, its a target I never thought I would achieve when I first started blogging...
It's all because of you guys, my dear readers, some who have become dear friends that it's been possible..
*love u guys! hugs*

EDITED TO ADD: Since most of you requested Champagne, here's a toast to all of you with the most expensive bottle! :)

Image Courtesy: Google of course! :)