chai chai...garma garam chai!

I can sum up this post in one line - i love my tea and i love my tea time. Done!

Tea time is the most precious time of my day. I do NOT like to be disturbed during my tea time, not even to open the door. I like to enjoy every sip of my tea, relax and savor the tea, the time, and the quietness of those moments. After all, tea time symbolises the break between all the rush of the day. (I'm guessing that is what a cigarette is to smokers, atleast in part).



After all these years, I've finally settled to a routine of 4 teas a day. For whatever reasons, I used to try to limit myself to 2 teas or try to have green tea (YUCK!!!) and all that jazz. What with all that hoopla about tea not being good for us and messing with our brain activity and stuff.

But, I guess , my brain activity is finally messed up enough to allow me 4 cups of tea without thinking about any negative effects. And, I hate people who call green tea 'tea'. I mean, seriously?? Did they ever take a sip of a 'cutting' or 'tapri' chai?



I like my tea well brewed and with ample sugar. Yeah, sugar is the part that hurts me the most. I'm a true desi and I like my tea sweet. All the maths makes it 8 spoons of sugar in one day which translates to a lot of unwanted and useless calories which translates to more cardio in the gym. And god knows I hate cardio. (I just meant that as a phrase. I'm sure that god, if such a thing existed, couldn't be less bothered about one girl's gym preferences).

So, I'm trying to ration my sugar in the tea that I have at work. Though, tell you what, I cannot compromise on certain things and so the tea that I make at home still gets 2 spoons of sugar. I'm quite non-flexible that way. Bring on the cardio! Or cut down on dinner!



One more thing that needs mention when talking about my tea is the ridiculously and annoyingly low temperatures at which i enjoy my tea. I begin to test the temperature of my cup only after others (if any) have finished their cups. It's a good benchmark. Then also, if I feel that my tea needs more cooling time, I wait some more. It annoys my tea time friends (again, if any). But, I just can't help it. If the tea is too hot, it just burns and numbs your taste buds and you just cannot taste it. Also, it has the added advantage of prolonging my oh-so-good tea time. :)

I need to end the post here. It's time for my chai :P.

biceps schmiceps

This month marks one-year anniversary of me joining my gym. That deserves a post, no?

Me sticking long enough with anything to celebrate a one-year anniversary deserves a post. (I don't blame me, it's the zodiac that says I'm a fickle Geminian)

Coming back to the topic, I have been hitting the gym regularly, 4-5 times a week, for one year now. whoa! Leave out the two months I was yellow with jaundice and the small vacations I took here and there.

Still, I never thought I could manage to follow the schedule for more than a couple of weeks. Infact, my realization of my short attention span to almost everything made me take only a 3-month membership. And, mind you, even now my renewal is for 3-months only. Because I trust myself to get bored and give it up. I spend almost twice the money but what the heck, I'm known to take up hobbies (with all my heart and effort) and give up on them in weeks or even days.

Too bad, I don't have any before and after pics :P. In fact, I do not have any pics of the gym. Going to the gym with my camera and clicking pics would attract a lot of attention and I do not want that. I like to think that I have a serious work-outer image in the gym and I'd like to keep that image (even if only I think that way!).

Then there is my trainer, Chethan, who wants me to become a body builder and develop some serious abs and lift some serious weights. He has the sweetest smile and keeps me in on any offers going on at the gym. Both these qualities help.

Going to the gym is one hour well spent. Take my word. I have, at times, so very reluctantly dragged myself to the gym, only to feel so damn great at the end of that one hour. Getting myself to the gym is sometimes not my favorite part, but after getting there, it is definitely the highlight of my day.

Do you notice the incredible number of monkeys on the middle tree? It looks like a monkey tree.

All the pics are from my trip last year to kabini. One of the most beautiful places I've seen. It's one anniversary of the trip as well. Other than that, there is no link between the pics and the post :P.

I'll end with the caveat that I'm quite confident that there won't be any 2-year gym anniversary. But, what the hell, atleast I completed one year.

hacker alert!

I came back from my mumbai trip without a phone. Yup, that's right and I survived without one for 2 days. That is commendable by my standards what with me spending the better part of my 'free' time on the phone.

To rewind, I actually thought of doing something good. I gave my phone to my dad and took his phone - that's an iphone for the cheapest nokia (just to give a perspective). Turns out, the universe conspires against my good deed. Damn it, nobody can see me upping my heaven score. I try to do some data delete because otherwise my dad would get confused with my contacts and his contacts. And, lo and behold, the iphone refuses to turn back on.

So, that was the end of my good deed.

I gave dad's phone back to him and brought the non-functional iphone back.

Well the most fun part was when I had to coordinate with nish who was supposed to pick me up from the airport and I made a call from a public booth. Well, I would guess that I would be the only soul but turns out there was a queue. I am ready to bet that none of them landed at the domestic terminal.

Now the good part started. I didn't trust my own self with the phone and I gave it to this guy from my workplace. And I waited and waited and waited. Then I could not wait any longer. I had to take charge of the situation.

I spent one day at work searching for and watching youtube videos on how to upgrade, restore, jailbreak and unlock an iphone. And I spent good part of one night downloading all the required softwares including a new version of itunes. And guess what? It didn't take me more than an hour to get my phone working.


I did this!

I didn't stop there. I learnt how to create your own ringtones for the iphone (yeah that is a task in itself though not very intimidating) AND I also got my wallpaper in the background. (Something I wanted since I first saw it, but was too scared to mess with the phone).

Long story short, I am thinking no end of myself and I am proud. Though I should have learnt to do all this some 2 years back. But, whatever!