The way I are..

Sometime earlier in 2009, I had deleted all my Social network accounts, ditched my Blog, stayed away from my email id and Internet for a good measure...Was under serious depression then... November 2009 saw me undergoing similar phase.. but this time sense prevailed (more of a whack on the back head from a close friend) and I stopped myself from deleting any details Online... just stayed away from Twitter, which was turning into some form of addiction and blog... put on my invisible coat at Gtalk. Though I was online 24*7, I interacted with people rarely...

I transformed... From "D Rat" to "Ratzzz".. and the transformation didn't stop just there... Below Samples are from my very close friends.. S and V, sowwie

S: (After listening to me talking for half hour) I can't see the old rat.. You were never this selfish before..

Me: You don't love me enuf.. see my Mehendi didn't darken
V: That's because you don't love anyone

V: You are behaving like a turtle de.. you are out for a second and you disappear for ages...

ummm.. well I agree with them.. I was never like this before... I was afraid.. I didnt want anyone to know about me.. I became paranoid about revealing myself to even my closest of closest friends.. I shunned everyone out, well umm, Mom says i am like that since childhood... so no wonder there...

Why writing all this now... Coz I am saturated... I feel bored of being paranoid.. i feel irritated of the dread that fills me when I am jobless... I feel stupid at the loneliness that fills me now and then.. So a big STOP to all the stupidity... :D expect regular posts from now on... *fingers crossed* *uncrossed so that I can type*

Flickr survived through all this... no prizes for guessing my latest fixation :D

P.S : Ok I can notice the I's I used :D :D

Tag-aholic...

1.What is your current obsession?
Photography.. Product photography to be particular..

2. What are you wearing today?
Shorts, T shirt... ummm thats all..

3. What’s for dinner?
Chikin Rice and Beef Roast

4. What’s the last thing you bought?
hmmm a box of Chicken for lunch.. *runs before Maams throws a bucket on her*

5. What are you listening to right now?
unimaginable songs the neighbor is playing to irritate me...

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?
The only person who believes in me wat ever i do wat ever i say.. and surprise we haven't even met yet :) Thanks Mama

7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
India, Chennai... Just any wr in Chennai...

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?
My Shades... Lost in on my Last trek Trip :(

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Beach.. Elliots beach to be precise

10. Which language do you want to learn?
Ummm... Sign Language... seriously want to know something more than just showing the middle finger...

11. What’s your favourite quote?
I am used to all the stares i get... which roughly translates to "What are u looking at, Moron??"

12. Who do you want to meet right now?
One Friend of mine, who is too busy for me right now... Grrr

13. What is your favourite colour?
Blue

14. Give us 3 styling tips that work for you.
1. Out of bed, into the office
2. Out of the shower, into the office (obviously with clothes on)
3. ummm finally.. Don't listen to any of those Fashion writers, including me..

15. What is your dream job?
Given a Camera and left alone in wilderness.. That would be a Dream come true.. a back pack full of food will be a delight too

16. What’s your favorite magazine?
Ummm tough one.. i dont even read newspapers anymore

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
*get the calculator first, need the figure in INR* Will get a camera accessory irrespective of the INR calculation :P

18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
Fashion is YOU.. so don't worry abt a Faux pas, just do anything... yup 6 months in Fashion industry does tat to u

19. Who according to you is the most over-rated style icon?
Ummm, That Latika female of Slumdog fame

20. What kind of haircut do you prefer?
Layers... ahem Ratzzz sports that presently :P

21. What are you going to do after this?
Sleep... in seriously big mouthed yawn zone now

22. What are your favourite movies?
You shud be asking this to my Friend Re, she is already making fun of me for being Quoted in the RTFF article in Indian Express recently.. me no movie buff, more of a bluff

23. What inspires you?
Meesic, :P So Start meesic

24. What do your friends call you most commonly?
Ratzzz, well most of them dunno my real name.. some even go blank if i say my real name :D

25. Would you prefer coffee or tea?
Black Tea with a lemon rind

26. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Music!! if it depresses more, i call my best mate and irritate the hell out of him :P

27. What makes you go wild?
Errr... V says i am Wild 24*7, 365 days.. so u shud be asking wen i tone down?? :P

28. Which other blogs do you love visiting?
I have all urs in my Greader.. so fret not... though i am not active i am reading all of u, well mostly

29. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?
any form of Chocolate... ssshh, Don't tell my doc though.. :P

30. How many tabs are turned on in ur browser right now?
Ouch, Ten :P

31. Favorite Season?
Winter, especially if u let me sleep under my rug a little more :D

32. If I come to your house now, what would u cook for me?
Chikin Sandwich... only those ingredients are at home now :P

33. What is the right way to avoid people who purposefully hurt you?
Punch them hard in face, they wudnt bother to even look at ur direction after that.. not with a broken nose and whole front teeth missing

34. What are you afraid of the most?
Hmmm, that i wud go to office naked some day.. no seriously this is my dread for a long time now

35. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
Yay! Pimple gone! :D

36. What brings a smile on your face instantly??
ummm... a smile a lot seeing things around me.. so not able to point a finger at sumthing specific

37. A word that you say a lot?
Fuck :D

38. What would you do if you were made President of India for one day?
ummm... Click as many clicks of the area which in accessible to common ppl in Parliament :P

39. What is that one thing that keeps you going.
The tot that Sambar Sadam will be available tomm too..

40. Whats one thing that you used to love that you left
Tough one... Cycling, a year since i pedaled..

41. What would be your reaction, if you come to know that today is the last day of your life
Eat as much Sambar Sadam as i can.. :D :P

P.S 1 : Ok this is a msg that i am back to blogging.. not that i ever left.. i always read ur blogs, never commented though..

ummm wanted to add more but then again we have a whole life time ahead :) yay!!

P.S Ouch forgot how to post a blog... duh this is bad

Cancer, Christmas, me and you....

Being someone who had been a science student all through her school days, Cancer was not a new term to me when i first met a cancer patient. She was a relative with Blood cancer. I didn't give her much of a thought.

Then in 2004, a lump appeared in my left breast. A quick check up and the doctor feared it might be a cancerous growth. Many sleepless nights and endless trips to the hospital confirmed it otherwise and it was put down as an arbitrary muscle growth. It got solved by itself.

Last month, Papa called up.. "Can you call amma and talk to her?? she just came out of OT" he said in a worried voice. i was like WTF! what happened. Few calls later, i came to know, there had been a cancerous growth in her breast and she had to be operated given her age. But second opinions and second tests revealed it wasn't malign but just a random duct blockage in her mammary gland.

Anyone in Adyar or crossing Adyar would have seen this building once you cross Madhya kailash signal. If not the building, one would have noticed at-least the many number of people sitting scattered in that area. Well it is the Mohandevi Hirachand Nahar Rajasthani Dharmasala situated in the old Cancer Institute Premises at Canal Bank Road, Adyar, Chennai. Started in August 2000 following a request from the Chennai Cancer Institute, it is run by the Sri Matha Trust handled by five retired and experienced Trustees.

The building accommodates around 100 patients  and provides daily food to the patients and their attendants, free of cost. This includes a breakfast and 2 vegetarian meals along with milk twice a day. The trust folks say that a 1000 rupees feeds one patient for a month.

Now why all this??? Well connecting all the above paragraphs it is only sensible to say, Rat wants to help someone in a big way this time. Save for my random acts of kindness, i never tried to do anything big. May be fear may be laziness. But this time my dear friend Java sowed this seed of though in my mind and i have nothing else running in my mind now.

So this is the scene... # Java, Wired, Idlee and Yours truly have joined hands so that we collect a considerable amount by Dec 22, 2009.. the plan is to celebrate the Christmas by helping the patients there with what-ever money we collect... Even a 100 rupees from each of you will be of a great help. Not in Chennai, never a prob.. With pay-pal accounts, account transfers, checks, all can contribute what ever they wish too.

Thinking of doing something bigger?? always you can drop into the Trust anytime and treat the folks with a meal or a dinner. Any kind of help will be a great gesture... Kindly take some time to check the website...

P.S - Twitter handles given so that you can know, that we are real folks and this is a genuine request...
P.S - Look out for this space in upcoming time.. Meet-ups, Sales where the contributions goto this cause all coming up shortly...

Thanks in advance folks..

Missing in action, Ratzzz

And Definitely no one missed me this time.... :-\

on the other hand... this break wasn't planned or purposeful.. it just happened.. to all those who felt that, that my last post was a random tantrum.. u wr absolutely right, NOT!!!! my whole diwali weekend was a disaster.. spent the whole diwali on bed, with heavy migraine... cudnt even drink a draught of water without feeling nauseatic.. got up around 10 pm with a client calling to check my work progress.. yeah right!! puked violently at around midnight and went back to sleep blissfully... sad part, i was so sick to even inform The Boy or in that case my parents back home.. :( next day was okies with me dilly-dallying in bed and having a lunch date with the great girl, Me Myself... but i know so many ppl that i get recognized everywr i go...

At a coffee pub, met atleast dozen who wr like "u are Ratzzz? right??" Grinzzz.. ultimately a friend came to the rescue after that we went "coffee-hopping" :-) food hopping and ice-cream hopping has become a regular event thanks to The Boy and the mentioned friend.. Both are big time foodies... :-)

if i am not on a Holy Grail, then the time is spent writing or sleeping or reading, but never in any order... the grail being the Food here.. chennai never had been better than this...

yet have to decorate my "bachelorette" pad.. DV and Soph are playing there part perfectly, reminding me every day :( only i got no motivation.. all the wall paper and paint are staring at me blankly :(

went for the Save Tada - Clean up trek yday.. was shocked to see so much litter in such a remote place... happily plonked into the pool to clean it all up... separate post later.. never realised that it had so many glass bottles before i woke up today morning... both my legs have cuts and scratches at multiple locations :-| and not to mention a tired body...

230 dustbuster, 2 tons of garbage, enuf blood and cuts... later, we were still raring to go... 

not to forget the various new folks i met... from naughty guys to Down to earth photographers Hari and Makka(Karthik Ramalingam) every one made my day... d trek was as usual super fun with all of us jumping into the pool, without even knowing how to paddle o_O ok no comments abt my non swimmer self :P

Nemesis, my cam had a field day though.. as usual forgot to click the people and concentrated on wild flowers and algae... :P thats that.. tired body needs more sleep as of now..

and hey, yesh!!! on other news, i got PUBLISHED!!!! yay...  i toned down version of my last post.. go check out here ... It is an upcoming Mag and this is our first publication... and ahem! u can be nice and demand a print of the mag... this is a demand on print Magazine... now shoo, off u go to Thebanyantrees... :-)

 The Banyan Trees..

P.S # 1 : Gils.. hate u.. wont talk to u or comment on ur post till u make up for making me cancel my evening plans so as to meet u and not turning up at time :-| no chocolates wont help!!! nor will Vadai!!

P.S # 2 : Speeling and Grammr nazis... off u go.. i turned dyslexic for today... but then again, i am like that only :P