A change of pace

I would like to convert this blog into a running log of my non-medical reading. I am beginning to feel a little awesome about getting back to reading, thanks to Scribd and Kindle unlimited. The possibilities seem endless. My target is going to be one book/week.

In the last few months, I read the following:

The art of power by Thich Nhat Hahn-read it a second time
Marrying Anita by Anita Jain
The smartest kids in the world by Amanda Ripley
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
A life less ordinary by Victoria Bernadine
Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson
Playing it my way by Sachin Tendulkar
The 7 habits of highly effective people by Steven Covey
Carry on Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carneige
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
What the most successful people do before breakfast by Laura Vanderkam

Then a bunch of unfinished books too...
This is going to be a lot of fun, almost feel like it's literally going to open up my mind :)

Tricking your taste buds

I just saw the chefs and creators of the restaurant Moto, Chicago, United States; create food to resemble food that we are familiar with but which tastes nothing like the familiar food our palates would've anticipated after taking in the tantalizing visual appearance of say a plate of nachos which instead of being savory is in fact served as dessert with sweetened chips, cheese created out of a liquid nitrogen-treated mango sorbet and beef created out of chocolate! On the other hand, they transformed familiar foods like a carrot cake to look like the planet Jupiter with a shell of liquid nitrogen-treated ground carrot cake! This made me wonder what effect would this kind of taste-bud tricking and visual deception have on one's gastronomic experience?

We eat as much with our minds as with our hearts and last of all our stomachs! Food is all about enthralling the senses and going on a journey without moving too much from the dining table; being transported to places which are thousands of miles away; to times which we have no other ways of traveling back to besides through the magic of our senses. Craving for certain food and the pleasure which comes with being able to enjoy that with someone close and dear to you is perhaps one of the best forms of happiness! Craving is a state of mind which makes us restless till we find what we are looking for; I wonder if we were really craving a plate full of cheesy nachos and found instead the dessert created by the chefs at Moto; would the element of surprise and awe make us forget the regret of not finding what we were craving for; that this deception may actually be exciting enough to strike a cord somewhere between our minds and stomachs? When you are expecting something and you find something even better; do you stop wanting what you so wanted when you started out or does it make the desire to fulfill that want; that craving keener? Well, I don't know the answer to that but it sure makes for some good food for thought.

The Apple of my world!

It's been two months since I bought my iPhone. It's been a year since I started using my Macbook. And I can't stop smiling as I use my freshly bought iPad. My life has changed. I just got rid of cable :) Feeling very liberated. I had been contemplating about getting rid of cable for the longest time but didn't have the courage to do so. Thanks to Apple I have been able to kick an old habit; trade my place in front of the T.V. for a place in front of the Apple of my eyes! There's just so much to learn, explore and do; I really feel like a kid in a candy store and I am loving this feeling.
And now as I'm syncing everything; the feeling of having unparalleled knowledge and entertainment at my finger tips is only just sinking in :)
Cheers!

Losing track of time

I just saw the date on my last blog post. It was nearly a year ago. I couldn't help but wonder had I really been that busy that I hadn't had the time to even write a simple blog post once in a while. Busy; the operative word here is something which I have failed to clearly define in my head. If you don't have the time for doing the things you love, then seriously what are you busy doing? Sigh!

Time-pass!

I'm back after a short hiatus. A little vacationing, a little time-pass!
Time-pass; is a quintessential Indian word. While I was growing up in Mumbai, picking up the local lingo and enriching my Hinglish; somewhere unknown to me time-pass became the all encompassing term without which no day would come to an end. It wasn't just meant to be the perfect description of a procrastinator's list of things-to-do.
What would we all do without time-pass? It can be used to describe anything from khana to people to movies to nothing at all! Terrific word I say! Why am writing this blog post? If I could then I would've written a bhai-type number in praise of time-pass. It's the kind of word which reminds me of vada pav and cutting chai. It's a little about killing time; a lot about watching the world go by without having to think too much; a little like suspended animation; a lot like the feeling you get when you kick open your shoes, slump on your couch and don't know what to do next but then again you're in no hurry to find something to do either! That is time-pass! When something/someone is just about average; they're time pass ;) That's the irony of the word; on one hand it describes a feeling of unhurried enjoyment of your time and on the other hand it could very well be the epitome of mediocrity!
Unlike pass-time, time-pass isn't meant to be filled with useful things; it's meant to be full of stuff which you will not be able to substantiate; it's meant to make you feel a little useless and at the end of the day is meant to bring a smile to your face until you kick yourself and say,"Aaj bahut time-pass ho gaya!" and then it motivates you to work; perhaps the next day or so; until you indulge in a little more time-pass! ;)

Friends

The simple joy of hanging out with your buddies; sharing thoughtless moments and laughter which will resonate through the years to come; comforting silence and jokes which only you can understand is incredible!
They make your day and know when you're down; know what makes you happy and what kills you inside; your inner circle; your favourite people; people who are just a phone call away; people who are just a mind moment away; people across the continents and people who mean the world to you! If you wanted to count your life's most precious earnings; your friendships will make it to the top of your list! It's difficult to imagine a life without these special people who make you who you are as much as your family; sometimes they just become an extended family! Take the time to say thank you to all those people you've been taking for granted in your life because you know no matter what they'll always be there!

The Missives

Some on the wings of wind;
Others at the speed of light;
Some moving as fast as a thought;
Some traveling like they fought;
Some just don't make it;
And some just wait to be lost;
Some make you laugh
And some make you cry.
Some foil your plans
And others are a perfect foil
To your day and plans.
Some have been around for years
Some were just created to live on.
Some add nothing and some everything
And some take everything away.
Missives; missives coming your way
From my generation to yours;
Did you get entangled yet?