Winding up

I still remember when it was October this year. I was putting out my holiday crockeries during that time. Friends who know me close enough will vouch for it. I like to start the holiday season in the month of October, so I get plenty of holiday time. My ritual of putting out the holiday cups and plates started a couple of years ago, just to get in the spirits of holidays. I then put it out in November for
ThanksGiving but it all seemed to end too soon with Christmas tailgating ThanksGiving. So I decided to start the ritual in October to give me more holiday time.

Holiday time seems to wrap up too soon. Yesterday seemed like ThanksGiving but now Christmas is over with less than a week left for New Years'. This is the time when I start feeling bad that its all coming to an end. But it all has to end and the normal course of life will soon resume. I am pretty sure, I will be waiting for all this to happen again next year. My level of anticipation will go up once July arrives. I hate it when good and fun time ends. But my friend would say "It has to end, for it to start again."

I just hope that the new year would bring laughter and happiness to me as I am a person who is always smiling, no matter what. This year had its own ups and downs and I just hope that the new year will show me more ups than downs. I hope to achieve what I want in the coming year and that the new year will help me discover who I am. There is no turning back, so bring it on!!

Heaven or Hell

Everyone gets one life in this lifetime. What we make of it is left to us. But after we are done here, where do we go? Heaven or Hell? Is there anything like it? I saw a TV show by Barbara Walters who talked about the beliefs of Heaven in different religion.

Christians believe that after death, they go to heaven where life is much happier. There is no need for sex in heaven as you have the joy of the Lord with you in heaven. But you do not go to heaven, if you do not have faith in the religion. But on the other hand, muslims believe that life in heaven is wonderful as you get to do what you cannot do or have on earth. That includes drinks, sex and such. They believe that virgins will be waiting for you in heaven irrespective of what gender you are.

Hindus believe in karma (and so does other religions) and in the end all the actions are accounted for and based on that balance sheet, God will decide whether you go to Heaven or Hell. Many religions have similar believes and faith that helps them to live their lives as better people on earth. But when I ask the same question to myself - "is there heaven or hell?", I come up with "No, there isn't." Why do I say that - Well for one, you believe in something that you have not seen or not sure of. We hope that life will be better in heaven and we will get to do what we really want to do while in heaven. This is a way of pacifying our minds that we will have a better life after death. Then what is the purpose of this life that we are having on earth. We should be able to do what we really want to do in this life, instead of hoping that we will do something better in heaven or afterlife, which you are not even sure about.

Bottomline is, do what you want to really do in this life. Be the real person you want to be. Live a better life that you wish for, in this life and stop dreaming or thinking about afterlife or heaven or hell. Nobody will see what you are doing in heaven but people see what you are upto in this life. This is your life and the only life - live it the way you want. Be with the ones you really want to be with and enjoy everyday of your life as if you are going to die tomorrow. Have fun!!!

Crossroads

Have you ever stopped at a crossroad and wondered what road to take? Whether it is during hiking or biking, driving or walking, there are times when we come to a halt to make a choice as to which direction to proceed further.

In life, many a times we come at crossroads where decision making becomes critical. We have to make our choices based on information on hand, based on what our past was or what we hope for our future. But whatever decision we make, the road to that path opens up after we have made the choice and there is no turning back at that point in time.

After making that choice, we can always turn around and see how the path unfolded itself. We can always feel and say, "I could have chosen the other path and it is so much better than where I am now" - Well, hindsight is always 20/20. Before making a choice, weigh all possibilities, analyze every solution you can, leave no stones unturned and then make your decision. But after making that choice, stick with it! Fight for the choice you made and make it happen.

No matter what decisions you all make for the coming New Year, work on making it happen for you. All the best!!!

Men Vs Women

Based on the way genes are formulated in humans, things are perceived differently in men and women. May it be pain, emotions, senses or anything for that matter, there is always a subtle difference in gender.

How is pain perceived in men and women? Is pain experienced the same between genders? Well, research has shown that pain is experienced differently between men and women. Nervous systems processes pain information differently and acts on it differently between genders. Women get pain, they take painkillers and move on with what they are doing. Men on the other hand, have to protest saying that they are machos and can deal with pain. They wait, experiencing pain, stressed and then they go for the pills anyways.

It is like when men get lost while driving but don't want to stop by and ask for directions. They know it all and can figure it all by themselves. It is their in-built gene of 'knowing it all'. Women on the other hand, will ask and make sure what they know is correct and confirm it, even if they have done the same things or been that route many times. It is their gene of 'doing it right'.

Friendship

It's been a while since I blogged, not because I didn't find a topic. I was caught up with my chores (no excuses) but I made the time now.

Many can talk about what friendship is and how this affects ones lives. Friendship can make or break what we have. Having friends in our lives is the wealth we can possess. I went to lunch with my friends and one of my friend saw someone eating there in another table and said - "He looks like Joe Theismann". I was like "Who?". Well, Joe Theismann was a quarterback for Redskins in 80's. This information, I got after I googled him. But when my friend mentioned about him, I had not a clue who he was. Obviously, I don't watch football and am not a fan. What do you expect?

I gave this incident a thought and I don't even know the celebrities. But I do know, when asked, who was there at the time, I needed someone to lean on, when I was down. Who was there, when I wanted to share my happy moments. Who was there, when I wanted to vent out my frustrations. Well, for me, that is what matters. To have a true friend when I need the most and for me to be when that someone needs me.

Turkey Day

Let me start off by wishing you all a Happy ThanksGiving. What is ThanksGiving anyways? When the pilgrims came to America, the Indians helped them with food and shelter so they can live through the cold winter. The pilgrims survived the winter and the next year as a means of saying thanks to the Indians, the pilgrims hosted a feast with food and fun. Those days turkeys were available in plenty and was used to feed the people. That is how turkey became a part of ThanksGiving. Well, that is just a preview of ThanksGiving by me. You can get more information on this on the google.

Now that the big day is here, I went to the shop with a determination to make turkey this year. I usually make chicken instead, as it tastes good and is not dry unlike turkey and is also small, catering to my needs. But this year, I wanted to follow the tradition and make a turkey dinner. I went on the net, got the receipies for turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes, made a list of ingridients that I needed and off I went turkey hunting on the night before the actual ThanksGiving. I was in the grocery store, hoping to find the smallest bird possible (at this point, let us just hope that I find a turkey to start with).

I was in the store looking at the ads saying 'You will never go home without a turkey today'. I went to the right aisle, looking for the bird. I saw dozens of shoppers there for the same reason. All of them were getting a bird for themselves. I found a 10 pounder and got all the things that I needed. I will make my ThanksGiving dinner today and will post tomorrow how it turned out. :-)

But the point that I am trying to make here is, most everyone is trying to make turkey for ThanksGiving and are shopping for it in the last minute. If turkeys are not available, will we stop saying our thanks? We should say thanks to what we got, no matter whether we put a turkey on the table or not.

Steel plant

A couple of days ago, I read an article in the Post about a steel plant owner who is the third richest in this planet. His name is Lakshmi Mittal, 56 years old Indian guy who has established a chain of steel plants all over the world; from Indonesia to India, from UK to US, from Russia to Romania.

What is amazing is, he started off collecting steel scraps that his rivals heaped away and made use of it. He started small by buying unwanted assets from other steel groups and grew from there. His entrepreneur skills had paid off.

He owns his house in Kensington, thats worth 27 bi pounds and he performed his daughters' wedding in France at a cost of 34 mi pounds. Wow! His work and achivements are really commendable. I would be amazed at such an extravagant wedding, if I had one :-) Well, first show me the money.

Animal Adventures

About 2 months ago, the famous 'Crocodile Hunter', Steve Irwin, who enthralled viewers with his wildlife adventures died. He was stung by a stingray while he was filming a footage for his new children's TV show. Steve was stung by the stingray because he happened to corner the animal and in turn the stingray used its defensive mechanism to save itself.

Well, this news is 2 months old; everyone knows about this and why am I bringing this up now? Well, whenever I go to Florida or Baltimore for vacation, I happen to pet stingrays in the Sea World Adventure Park and Baltimore Aquariums. When I go next, will I put my hand to pet one? No....

Animal loving is one thing but when you cross the limit and be in their neck of the woods, one should be prepared for the deadliest. What would you do when you see a snake in your bedroom? If you react, is it not time to rethink?

My First Blog

Here I am, after debating for months, I finally made up my mind to start this whole blogging thing. Why? Well, I am not quite a writer and I don't know what to blog about. Why did I start then? I wanted to try it out and see how it feels to blog. I will take this as an opportunity to improve my writing skills and broaden my horizons. All my friends blog and I can say that I Blog as well. Better late than ever.

This past weekend, I went to a restaurant for dinner and ordered a Philly Steak Sandwich. I was chewing and enjoying my bite of the sandwich when I realized that I was chewing that bite for a long time and that something isn't right. I took the meat out of my mouth and analyzed. I found a piece of black rubber - maybe from a glove that the person wore who cut the meat. I called the Manager and showed her what I found. She was surprised and was asking where I found that piece - Was it from the meat, which she said was supplied from her vendor and was it from the veggies which was canned anyways and that she would file a complaint with her vendors regarding this. I ended up ordering a salad after this. Can't go wrong with the fresh veggies or can I? After the e-colli incident.

I also happened to read an article about some medicine - Generic acetaminophen, that was recalled because it had pieces of metal in the pills. Well, we have a good digestive system but I dont think it is that good, that it can digest rubber and metal pieces. Manufacturers need to pay a little close attention in this regard as they are dealing with our health here. Hello, anybody listening?