An important part of being a friend is to introduce your friends to experiences that will add instant delight to their life. It's not a stated rule but that's how friendship works (if it hasn't struck you so far well try noticing now). Hearing about a nice movie, restaurant, sale, new phone and so much more is best from a friend's mouth. Not to mention most believable. I've often been introduced to new concepts and things by friends, not necessarily only close buddies, and that has left me richer for the experience.
So as your suburban pal here's my little pouch of delight for you. An idea that hooks you instantly and for good - if you just go ahead and try it once.
A treat for your computer screen and you.
I'm talking about the pleasure of an awesome photograph as your desktop background.
My personal choice is
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/photo-contest/wallpaper
where pictures from some of the world's best photographs and interesting places come together. And there's a new batch to choose from every week.
I usually visit the site every couple of weeks when I'm beginning to get a little tired of the current masterpiece on my desktop. I know the new one will add a little bit of joy to my life every time I look at it.
And that's saying a lot in these troubled times isn't it?
Try it!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Change
I just had a name change operation.
For my blog.
From Single in the Suburbs to Suburban Pal.
Alright it's not a rebranding exercise on the scale of the Dhirubhai Ambani Group but this blog still has a religious following of one and to that fellowship I must explain this move.
Turns out there is BIG columnist called Sara Susannah Katz who has a column of the same name. And "Sara Susannah Katz is a divorced mother of two living in the Midwest. Read each installment of her dating diary below as she searches for love, online and off. " Yikes!!! Seems I was the last to know.
I only found out today as I was clicking Google trying to look if my blog showed up in any search (what's the technical term for it...Ego surf I think or to me more accurate it should be called Blogegoing - ok that's a 'maybe' though I'm tempted to add you heard it first from your Suburban Pal)
Anyway, on discovering Ma'am Katz's existence I decided I Kan't have a column of the same name (Sushmita Bose's Single in the City made me uncomfortable to start with and it wasn't even online) and instantly went in for a re-namkaran ceremony.
It took me less than 3 minutes - I lOVE BLOGSPOT! but the strange thing is --- post facto -- It does feel like CHANGE.
It's like some part of my online personality and the subject matter on this blog has been affected and will subsequently be molded by this new friendly name. A bit like naming your baby Happy Singh could destine him to spend a good part of his life chasing hens in a Punjab village....but then that's real life.. and this is virtual.
Even Superman didn't intrude into Clark Kent's life.
Is there a deeper reason why IBM (someone out there invented the working WWW no so they could put up scores from Olympic games!!) sounds like I be M?
Or is it just me whining about nothing?
For my blog.
From Single in the Suburbs to Suburban Pal.
Alright it's not a rebranding exercise on the scale of the Dhirubhai Ambani Group but this blog still has a religious following of one and to that fellowship I must explain this move.
Turns out there is BIG columnist called Sara Susannah Katz who has a column of the same name. And "Sara Susannah Katz is a divorced mother of two living in the Midwest. Read each installment of her dating diary below as she searches for love, online and off. " Yikes!!! Seems I was the last to know.
I only found out today as I was clicking Google trying to look if my blog showed up in any search (what's the technical term for it...Ego surf I think or to me more accurate it should be called Blogegoing - ok that's a 'maybe' though I'm tempted to add you heard it first from your Suburban Pal)
Anyway, on discovering Ma'am Katz's existence I decided I Kan't have a column of the same name (Sushmita Bose's Single in the City made me uncomfortable to start with and it wasn't even online) and instantly went in for a re-namkaran ceremony.
It took me less than 3 minutes - I lOVE BLOGSPOT! but the strange thing is --- post facto -- It does feel like CHANGE.
It's like some part of my online personality and the subject matter on this blog has been affected and will subsequently be molded by this new friendly name. A bit like naming your baby Happy Singh could destine him to spend a good part of his life chasing hens in a Punjab village....but then that's real life.. and this is virtual.
Even Superman didn't intrude into Clark Kent's life.
Is there a deeper reason why IBM (someone out there invented the working WWW no so they could put up scores from Olympic games!!) sounds like I be M?
Or is it just me whining about nothing?
Shopping highs and lows!
It's the silly sale season again and I'm having a blast shopping. Well at least on the days that I don't feel like blasting the sales staff.
But before the grouse, the glee factor - Van Huesen (oohhhh!!) has a fabulous 50% off on their women's range. Think wonderfully sexy office shirts, dresses, tops and even comfy spaghettis which are positively a steal at about INR 200 something. I would compete in a high heel race for it. Now why don't they have these prices on for most of the year is a mystery to me but never mind. For Van Huesen this 50% seems to be a first and I've already made three trips to their shop with much success. As they say for McDonald's "I'm lovin it!"
Wills Lifestyle has a sale too (does anyone shop with them when they don't have a sale?) but I didn't pick up something this time. There was nothing new to pick...strange!! Plus when I wen they had a stupid deal where you had to buy worth INR 3,500 to get the same amount of shopping free. And I only liked about 1 top. They have this typical knitted see through number (and keep adding more of it every season) but I'm kinda done with wearing that stuff to work.
Anyway at least the guy in the store gave me a nice smile and wished me good afternoon. Plus they have excellent customer service (one of the best in Indian retail) so I know I'll be back next time.
Talking of customer service WLS is definitely an exception the norm is more like Koutons in Mega Mall which is organised like some 60's saree shop. Anyway, they have a nice 50 +40 discount running on the women's range and I thought a couple of tops were kinda cool. But barely had I touched one of the t-shirts in the shelf then a man screamed from behind "Sabina!". The counter girl turned back and said "Ma'am all our products are on display"! It was a synonym for "Lay Off" and that's precisely what I did by walking out of the shop!!!
Why do Indian stores get it so wrong. You step into a shop and people run up to you (like you're Aishwarya Rai signing autographs). Always it is the same pesky question to the effect "What I'm looking for?" Do most people go into a store with a clear agenda to the effect "I want a yellow T-shirt with blue stripes, size 12 please". The behaviour of the sales staff often suggests so. In that case I can understand I am an exception. Still, I so feel like telling them "I'm looking for clothes!!! Are you selling music albums or what?!!!"
I wish they would just let the customer browse and pick at their own leisure. And some of us do take more time to decide if we like a certain pink. Your sales flunky piercing from the back does not add any momentum to this process.
I always ask for help when I need the smaller size and to me it's enough that someone is handy (best at an arm and leg's distance so I can call out). Believe me I do appreciate the support. And I am thanful you invested in helpful, cooperative staff (not the bored, flunkeys of the para above). So please can you get the little annoyances that you no doubt feel are courtesies out of the way!!
Gotta go now - for some more weekend retail therapy. The irritating attendant at Koutons put me off for yesterday but as they say you can't keep a true shopper down (not for long anyway!)...
Cheers to SALE, it's the one four letter word I LOVE.
But before the grouse, the glee factor - Van Huesen (oohhhh!!) has a fabulous 50% off on their women's range. Think wonderfully sexy office shirts, dresses, tops and even comfy spaghettis which are positively a steal at about INR 200 something. I would compete in a high heel race for it. Now why don't they have these prices on for most of the year is a mystery to me but never mind. For Van Huesen this 50% seems to be a first and I've already made three trips to their shop with much success. As they say for McDonald's "I'm lovin it!"
Wills Lifestyle has a sale too (does anyone shop with them when they don't have a sale?) but I didn't pick up something this time. There was nothing new to pick...strange!! Plus when I wen they had a stupid deal where you had to buy worth INR 3,500 to get the same amount of shopping free. And I only liked about 1 top. They have this typical knitted see through number (and keep adding more of it every season) but I'm kinda done with wearing that stuff to work.
Anyway at least the guy in the store gave me a nice smile and wished me good afternoon. Plus they have excellent customer service (one of the best in Indian retail) so I know I'll be back next time.
Talking of customer service WLS is definitely an exception the norm is more like Koutons in Mega Mall which is organised like some 60's saree shop. Anyway, they have a nice 50 +40 discount running on the women's range and I thought a couple of tops were kinda cool. But barely had I touched one of the t-shirts in the shelf then a man screamed from behind "Sabina!". The counter girl turned back and said "Ma'am all our products are on display"! It was a synonym for "Lay Off" and that's precisely what I did by walking out of the shop!!!
Why do Indian stores get it so wrong. You step into a shop and people run up to you (like you're Aishwarya Rai signing autographs). Always it is the same pesky question to the effect "What I'm looking for?" Do most people go into a store with a clear agenda to the effect "I want a yellow T-shirt with blue stripes, size 12 please". The behaviour of the sales staff often suggests so. In that case I can understand I am an exception. Still, I so feel like telling them "I'm looking for clothes!!! Are you selling music albums or what?!!!"
I wish they would just let the customer browse and pick at their own leisure. And some of us do take more time to decide if we like a certain pink. Your sales flunky piercing from the back does not add any momentum to this process.
I always ask for help when I need the smaller size and to me it's enough that someone is handy (best at an arm and leg's distance so I can call out). Believe me I do appreciate the support. And I am thanful you invested in helpful, cooperative staff (not the bored, flunkeys of the para above). So please can you get the little annoyances that you no doubt feel are courtesies out of the way!!
Gotta go now - for some more weekend retail therapy. The irritating attendant at Koutons put me off for yesterday but as they say you can't keep a true shopper down (not for long anyway!)...
Cheers to SALE, it's the one four letter word I LOVE.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Fuelling hypochondria and hyper awareness the Google way!
Recently I had the misfortune of contracting a rare urr emm...condition. I woke up one fine (pun intended) morning with my eyes all swollen and blisters over my face. I had no clue what the hell had happened to me. I tried squishing the blisters and went to off to work looking like somebody had boxed me the previous night!
Since I work for an IT company where there are no doctors in the workforce for friendly advise I turned to Google for a free diagnosis. I searched for swollen eyes which led to all kinds of posts describing how people suffered theirs for weeks and months till they found out it was a food allergy or till they found out how it could get better (using Nizoral shampoo on lashes for e.g.) without any idea of what caused it in the first place.
I read that strange rashes on skin can be caused by all kinds of things from hard to diagnose food allergies to hard to treat conditions like herpes.
Worse they could take months to heal!!!
I was ready to drown in self pity and remorse when a little bright idea struck me...why not go to the doctor even if I had a fat chance of being diagnosed correctly given all the testimonials that Google threw up.
I tried calling up the most famous dermatologist in town but her secretary told me I couldn't get an appointment till next week. Not only that she slammed the phone on me. So much for customer service!! I couldn' t even get in my angry "And what if I were to die off by then.." remark.
Next stop was trying to find an offshoot of a respectable chain of hospitals or a standalone clinic where they had speciality doctors like dermatologists. Thankfully I found one soon enough and booked my appointment for the very same evening.
Turns out I'd been bitten or rather touched by a distant relative of the Spanish fly. A blister beetle! The doctor told me rather non-chalantly that it was common enough in this season. Oooh how much I loved her for saving me from food allergies, herpes and not to mention AIDS (why at the slightest threat of a disease I start thinking AIDS is beyond me but it's almost become like a 10 on the scale of the things you can contract that I just can't seem to stop triggering this this stupid response even when I'm only sitting on 3. Of course the thought that you can get AIDS in all kinds of ways - dentist etc etc adds to my paranoia)!!
Anyway post diagnosis I came back home and did a whole lot of Googling on my condition "Blister Beetle Dermatitis". I think I know more about it now than even my doctor who suggested the beetle bit me when post my research I know the beetle doesn't bite but releasing a kind of poison when you crush it. Anyway I looked up images of the beetle, killed off any insect in sight that looked like it (and there were many at home) started bolting my doors in the evening (the beetles get attracted to fluorescent light) and heaved a slight of relief as the medicine worked and the non blisters started healing in a short time. I went from looking like I had been smacked by a helmet to scratched while played basketball in a matter of days...just as those medical papers revealed in Google searches said I would.
Moral of the story: Once you know what's bugging you Googling can help...but the best way to deal with a condition is still to go to the doctor not the Internet!!
Since I work for an IT company where there are no doctors in the workforce for friendly advise I turned to Google for a free diagnosis. I searched for swollen eyes which led to all kinds of posts describing how people suffered theirs for weeks and months till they found out it was a food allergy or till they found out how it could get better (using Nizoral shampoo on lashes for e.g.) without any idea of what caused it in the first place.
I read that strange rashes on skin can be caused by all kinds of things from hard to diagnose food allergies to hard to treat conditions like herpes.
Worse they could take months to heal!!!
I was ready to drown in self pity and remorse when a little bright idea struck me...why not go to the doctor even if I had a fat chance of being diagnosed correctly given all the testimonials that Google threw up.
I tried calling up the most famous dermatologist in town but her secretary told me I couldn't get an appointment till next week. Not only that she slammed the phone on me. So much for customer service!! I couldn' t even get in my angry "And what if I were to die off by then.." remark.
Next stop was trying to find an offshoot of a respectable chain of hospitals or a standalone clinic where they had speciality doctors like dermatologists. Thankfully I found one soon enough and booked my appointment for the very same evening.
Turns out I'd been bitten or rather touched by a distant relative of the Spanish fly. A blister beetle! The doctor told me rather non-chalantly that it was common enough in this season. Oooh how much I loved her for saving me from food allergies, herpes and not to mention AIDS (why at the slightest threat of a disease I start thinking AIDS is beyond me but it's almost become like a 10 on the scale of the things you can contract that I just can't seem to stop triggering this this stupid response even when I'm only sitting on 3. Of course the thought that you can get AIDS in all kinds of ways - dentist etc etc adds to my paranoia)!!
Anyway post diagnosis I came back home and did a whole lot of Googling on my condition "Blister Beetle Dermatitis". I think I know more about it now than even my doctor who suggested the beetle bit me when post my research I know the beetle doesn't bite but releasing a kind of poison when you crush it. Anyway I looked up images of the beetle, killed off any insect in sight that looked like it (and there were many at home) started bolting my doors in the evening (the beetles get attracted to fluorescent light) and heaved a slight of relief as the medicine worked and the non blisters started healing in a short time. I went from looking like I had been smacked by a helmet to scratched while played basketball in a matter of days...just as those medical papers revealed in Google searches said I would.
Moral of the story: Once you know what's bugging you Googling can help...but the best way to deal with a condition is still to go to the doctor not the Internet!!
Tragedy of modern love
I wish we could only love the worthy but the tragedy is we are more inclined to go for the mysterious and the scarce. This poem is a comment or rather lament on that state of existance.
I love you every day
Even if you are never there
And when doing so I must conclude
that my life's comfortable enough
that I can think of you and your love
and carry on missing you when you are never there
without giving up or giving in to dispair
or being cynical for that matter
I love you every day
Even if you are never there
And when doing so I must conclude
that my life's comfortable enough
that I can think of you and your love
and carry on missing you when you are never there
without giving up or giving in to dispair
or being cynical for that matter
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