How women love endless shopping hours always amazes me. I have never liked to do it more than an hour at the max and that too I decide to go shopping only when I have something in mind as to what I wanna buy, be it an accessory that I might have to pick up by browsing numerous platform shops in Pondy Bazaar or a good dress in those big stores or malls. But I have gone only when I or a friend (Jannu) wanted to buy something. And it was always fun going with her, the comments we used to pass on other female shoppers, the frantic search for an atm in case our COMBINED cash reserve is all spent ;) , the constant bargaining for reducing the price even if it’s just for 5rs less, me walking away if I don’t get it reduced and Jannu saying I still want it and me convincing her that we will definitely find in nearby shops which we ultimately do. God I miss those days :’(

I have sincerely hated window shopping. My policy is, go into a shop only if you have to buy anything and never to just look at the stuff or compare prices. I used to detest going shopping with my folks when buying electronic goods/utensils/clothes. We used to go to all the big shops, enquire prices, look at all the models and come out empty handed. I couldn’t stand the look the sales person and his colleagues would give something my parents cleverly chose to ignore. “We have to make sure we buy the best” my dad would say :-/ and slowly I stopped accompanying them to shopping of any kind. It’s not them but I can’t stand the constant pestering of the people in the shops asking us what we want, what we are looking at etc. I know they are helping us out and their bosses will be mad if they don’t pounce on a customer the moment he/she enters the shop but please guys I prefer to be left alone!!! If I need anything I would definitely not hesitate to ask you! It only happens in India I guess (not sure of the other countries)

But Melbourne seems to be different. Imagine my surprise when I started loving shopping, the best part WINDOW SHOPPING!!! :) Yes, I just can’t stop myself from going into the shops just to have a look at them in spite of having nothing to buy… And believe me when I tell you, nobody is behind me asking me what I want, maybe an occasional and rare “Can I help you with anything” but that’s it. I have never gone shopping alone as I feel I will be terribly bored with nobody to talk to, but yesterday I took my first ever window shopping trip all by myself and I loved it. Going in and out of shops, taking my time to look at stuff, smiling at people for being courteous, enjoying the summer sun (which gave me the opportunity to wear my new coolers :P ) It was fun, I walked for a long time until the sun dehydrated me, and I decided it was time to get back home but not before I did some tiny shopping for myself ;) Yes I walked into Sportsgirl(http://www.sportsgirl.com.au/), a famous and costly shop here and to my surprise a sale was on. I got myself a cosmetic bag, a new wallet and a transparent nail polish. The best part of it all is – I got all the 3 for just $10 in total. Yippee!!! Attached pics of my mini loot :)

So all you girls who love shopping should definitely be here in Melbourne where there is a sale throughout the year

It’s exactly 1 month since I quit my job and am now officially a HOME MAKER J Am now in Australia. New house, new country and a very different climate. Its good to be in a country where everything is organized and neat. I’m enjoying my stay here but am super duper bored and will soon have to find a job for myself. I wake up late, make my dear hubby some hot tea, then a simple breakfast. After he leaves to office, I take some time for myself, just relaxing on the couch, seeing some videos online, watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S, playing Farmville on FB and having a late breakfast. After that I get busy tidying up the rooms. Then begins my quest to make a sumptuous meal for my dearest husband. He comes home for lunch by 1-1.30. After he leaves I have lunch watching some movie online, then wash vessels and clean up kitchen. Till yesterday I had Twilight - Breaking Dawn to read but I have finished it so now I have to start some serious job searching to start and also my next book which is a Jeffrey Archer ;)

So this is how my life has been since August 9^th 2010. I do like it but it kinda gets boring when Balaji isn’t around. Gonna look for a career change as I don’t wanna get back to S/W. I hope I have some good options…

This weekend was real fun but it left me tired and exhausted by Sunday night :( Sudha, Jannu and I had decided to watch good movies and we booked tickets for I Hate Love Storys and Ananthapurathu Veedu.





I Hate Love Storys

The movie was good, colorful and enjoyable. The story revolves around Jay(Imran) and Simran(Sonam Kapoor). Jay is a guy who doesnt believe in love and neither in love stories whereas Simran is a born romantic. She loves the idea of being in love and her aim was to work with one of the best romantic movie directors, Veer. She is already engaged to her childhood sweetheart Raj(Samir Dattani) who she believes is the perfect guy for her. Jay is the assistant of Veer and he detests being a part of his movie but is with him just for the experience. Enter Simran who gets an opportunity to work as an art director with Veer and there is a clash between Jay and Simran like in any romantic flick :) After a few fights, these to patch up and become good friends and slowly Simran starts to fall in love with Jay and moves away from Raj. She assumes Jay too loves her and decides to tell him when she realizes that Jay has treated her just as a friend. She is heartbroken and tries to avoid Jay but still maintains a hi-bye relation as they work under the same director. Now how Jay realizes he too loves Simran and how he woos her back forms the rest of the story. The songs have been shot well and i loved the picturization of Sadka kiya. Sonam looks really beautiful and Imran is cool... Overall a time pass fun flick.

Ananthapurathu Veedu

This movie was one i had gone to lot of expectations as it was by Naga, director of serials like Maruma Desam, Vidathu Karuppu, Chithambara Ragasiyam - all my favourites which were super good thrillers. Jannu and i reached the theater early and were waiting for Sudha. We thought we might miss the beginning but then emerged madam Sudha bang on time :P So we sat down to watch the movie. It started with a magic effect of a big bungalow getting cleaned by itself when servants try to clean it and then happens the hero(Nandha), heroine(Chaya Singh) entry. There is also a little boy Master Aryan who plays Nandha's son. He was really adorable and chubby. The couple visits' the hero's ancestral house for a vacation and from day one super natural forces do household chores which is first visible only to the little boy. Later Chaya Singh sees it but Nandha refuses to believe her. When Nandha sees it for himself the movie breaks for intermission. Later Nandha and Chaya decide to leave the house but are not able to due to few reasons. What are those reasons, how their problems are solved and do the supernatural powers leave the house finally is what happens in the second half. Within first 15mins of the movie, the audience comes to know what the supernatural powers are and why they do things, so there isnt any suspense as such. But this movie doesnt scare you with any loud screams or bangs... The story and background score go hand in hand. I didnt hear the audience booing over any scenes neither did i see anybody moving out of the theater so looks like everybody liked the movie. To me it wasnt a Naga movie that i expected but it still didnt fail to entertain me. You can possibly watch it once...

I miss you when the day dawns and i dont find you nearby,

I miss you when i walk alone and dont have your arms to hold on to,

I miss you when i eat all alone without you nearby talking to me,

I miss fighting with you for the remote to change channels, i miss making stuff for you...

I miss the little jokes we used to share, the arguments we had...

I miss how you used to work at nights, when i used to lie down next to you happily watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S,

I miss forcing you to shut down the laptop to come crash,

I miss snuggling next to you while watching movies...

I miss you when the nights are all lonely and you arent nearby to cuddle,

I just miss you more than anything and ya i miss you truly, deeply and madly...

With all my energy burnt up for the wedding i was left with zilch interest for my bday this time. I usually maintain a countdown for my Bday and though this being my first bday after marriage i wasn't expecting anything great neither was i looking forward to it. More than it being my bday i was happy that it was a Saturday and that i could sleep longer and laze around.

My mom-in-law got me a dark green silk sari which i wore next day early morning. Balaji and i left home around 8.30 in the morning and visited two temples - Anjaneyyar and Ayyappan Temple. After finishing the temples we visited the registrar office to check for the formalities for completing the marriage registration but our ill luck it was closed. We got back home by around 11 and had breakfast. We were then to leave to my mom's place as we were invited for lunch. I love my mom's cooking, was looking forward to a sumptuous meal.

We reach home by around 1 and we started watching our wedding video when my mom and sis said something was wrong with my face, hair and it needed a wash. I was surprised cos i did take sometime getting dressed and got worried with what could possibly go wrong!! I open the door and there stand Jannu and Arvind shouting surprise :O Nice one.. Had a cake cutting followed by lunch and dessert. I opened my gifts after lunch. All from Jannu - a beautiful sparrow couple tray, ice cream bowls set of 2, a cute little heart shaped photo frame and finally (I'm gonna kill her one of these days!!!) a guide book for PREGNANCY... Crazy woman. After opening the gifts and chit chatting we all hit the bed to doze off for a while.

Got up around 6.30 and hit Fish Co for dinner along with hubby and sis. Had a nice time and got back home realllllllllllly late... People were mad with us for being late but hell we rarely get such a chance :)

Overall it was a good birthday in spite of not expecting it to be :) :)


P.S. For those wondering what my sweets gave me.. SURPRISEEEEE it was an iPOD Touch !!!! It came a week later but who cares i loved it and am still surprised over it... Love you loadds sweety... Thanks for such a Fab gift !!!!

Time flies so fast and the last month was the perfect example to it. I'm Mrs. Ramya Balaji now :) Staying with in-laws in Porur. It feels like just yesterday i got married and its already a month :( I just dont understand how... The wedding went well without any hassles and i'm enjoying my stay at my new house. Honeymoon at Andamans was a refreshing break from all the hectic pre-wedding hullaboo.



Joined for work on April 5th and life has being going steady since then. Its a new experience to get up early, help aunty with chopping vegetables for lunch and breakfast, packing my own lunch, getting ready and driving to office.

Will get back to blogging soon with new topics and experiences.

http://my-dog-ate-my-blog.blogspot.com/2010/03/to-friendship-that-lasts-forever.html

I started to comment to this post of yours Jannu but then by the time I was done it became a post by itself. My reply was that lengthy :D So I thought I rather put it up as new post than a reply.

Dear Jannu,

That was the best post somebody could ever dedicate to me... Thanks... I am in tears as I pen down these thoughts and trying hard not to cry at my desk :-/

You were the BESHHTTTTTUUUU friend a gal can ever ask for. Yup we have had our share of arguments... If I remember right all our conversations started and ended with some or the other argument. We rarely agreed on anything :)

Though we were together during college days after we moved to our respective departments we settled into our own dept groups and hardly saw each other but the placement in HP changed it all for us. And somehow we both ended up being in the same Java batch unlike Vaid and Subi. Strange coincidence. And the rest as we know is history. I wouldn’t wanna reiterate about our fights and pouncing on each other J but lady you are one person who made my stay in Blore memorable. The fun you, me and Sandy had will always be etched in my heart as a pleasant memory. The closeness that we shared as Arians (though we are poles apart in character :P) is something that always surprised me along with others :D

I felt really bad when we had our last shopping stints at Pondy Bazaar and Landmark. I know things are never gonna be the same but I promise to be of help whenever I can Jannu. You know me well enough and I don’t think I have to explain any further. Things are gonna change big time after March 19^th but whenever I get nervous or scared about it you were there to make the whole situation seem as if it was nothing and you add your humor to it and somehow the nervousness seemed to ease out. You are gonna be under the spotlight as you will be bridesmaid :) Attaching a fav pic of yours here which I fell in love with the moment I saw it. Looking forward to more of such pics at the wedding :D

Thanks for all those prayers darling and also for being with me through thick and thin. We are still gonna rock office in all the events that are gonna come and let’s participate this time… No more organizing. We will team up and have fun. It’s a pity I would miss All Hands this time :(

In this world, where everything seems uncertain, only one thing is definite. You'll always be my friend, beyond words, beyond time and beyond distance.

Some friends are separated by time. Some are separated by differences. Some by distances, some by pride. But no matter how far you are or different we may be, you'll always be a friend to me!

Love you loads… Muaaaaaaaaaaaah…

The title suggests a fairy tale love story and so do the posters/songs/trailers. It does not have a fairy tale happy ending but this movie is gonna remain one of my most favorites. I was accompanied to the movie by sister and fiancé. I was eagerly awaiting its release and was even ready to bunk Friday to watch the FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW :D But as I had forgotten to book tickets we had to settle for the 2^nd day first show.

The story wasn’t something new, same old love story, hero falling for the heroine, love at first sight, going crazy over her and making her like him. But the way the movie was picturized, the songs, the costumes and above all Simbu and Trisha were the pluses of the movie. The movie was really colorful and bright. I have always complained that Tamil movies lack that fresh and colorful look unlike Telugu/Hindi movies either because the heroes are too old or the movie is a village subject. But this movie beats them all. Everybody looks young and fit their role to a T be it Trisha’s dad or Kutty who plays Simbu’s dad. The story revolves around Simbu, Trisha and their families. The songs were too good to watch and hear. AR simply ROCKS!!! The choreography for the songs were new too. Looks like Gautam got a choreo from the US as the steps were a mix of hip-hop, jazz and freestyle moves nothing seen in any of the recent tamil movies. I wouldn’t delve much into the story as I would want people to go watch the movie. Many didn’t like the climax is what I hear but I was happy with it too. He has shown what happens in real life and not all love stories have a happy ending. Special appearance by Naga Chaitanya (he’s so damn cuteeeee) and a new girl Samantha. My sis and fiancé didn’t like the movie but I loved it. My dear fiancé who rarely talks during movies was all talks during this one. He kept commenting for most of the love scenes, squirming in his seat, impatient and asking me when the movie will get over… We were constantly chatting and missed few dialogues and I had to keep asking my sis for what I missed and when I was constantly disturbing her after a point she refused to tell me what I missed :(

Trisha looked ravishing in those beautiful cotton saris. I bet after seeing her in this new avatar, gals will go ga-ga over cotton saris now. I wouldn’t be surprised if sari shops come up with a new brand called Jessie saris for the gals :P It happens!!! Just like how we have Anarkali chudidhars, Jyothika saris, Jessie salwars and saris will be in market soon so watch out girls!!!!

Simbu was a delight to watch. I have never seen Simbu in such a matured role before. This should be a milestone in his career. I have never been an ardent fan of Simbu but somehow I never missed any of his movies be it Manmathan/Vallavan or Silambattam. But with this movie he just paved way to the top spot in my fav hero list. His dressing sense, his new dance moves, stubble look, and romantic overtures were all cute to watch. The first reaction he gives on seeing Jessie is way too good which is followed by Hosanna song.

Overall I had a nice time. And this movie is gonna make it to my DVD collection. It’s a must watch for everybody who has been in love/still in love.

I always wondered why there was so much hype for Valentine’s Day… I have always felt you really don’t need a day to express your love for your loved one and you don’t need the day as a reason to shower the person with gifts. Still guess the whole world is all rosy and pink on February 14^th. Everybody was busy making plans and I had many inquiring me what plans I had for V day along with my fiancé. After a while it kinda got annoying when wherever you go, all people want to know is what you are doing on February 14^th.

Personally Balaji and I hadn’t made any grand plans. We decided it would just be another weekend where on Saturday temple was our priority, then we had a treat at BBQ and some wedding shopping to be done. All this we decided we would do if we got perm from our folks. On Friday we started early from office, did some window shopping for designer saris and suits for the ‘Man’ :)

I had been wanting to buy Balaji Mario Puzo’s latest (Six Graves to Munich). Since I had enough time before going for the treat I decided to give Connexions next to my place a visit to buy the book. I found it and also “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom. Decided it would be a good gift for Balaji. Imagine my surprise when there were people constantly walking in and out of the gift and card sections. Connexions has never been this busy at 11 in the morning!!! I went over that side and had a look. There were many new lovey dovey gifts for your loved ones. I was patiently looking at it all and ended up buying two showpieces :P and the cards were just tooo good to be ignored. I bought two of them too ;) So ultimately I ended up buying him stuff for V day. Got the gifts packed and smuggled them inside my house and safely locked them inside my locker.Later as planned we attended the treat at BBQ, had good food, fun talking with friends and got back to our window shopping.

Sunday morning I woke up after a good sleep. After waking up I realized that my parents were missing and that’s when i knew they had already left to Balaji’s house to give them the first wedding invite. When my folks came back my mom came to my room, handed me a big cover and said “Here, Balaji sent you this.” I was surprised and looked into the cover, there were two beautiful chudidhars :) I loved the colors but still I didn’t know why he sent me those. I immediately called him to ask about it and all he said was “Happy Valentine’s Day”. That was all I could ever ask for. My face lit up with a 1000watt smile. I couldn’t stop smiling at all. Imagine his guts to send me a gift through my mom. Crazy guy but isn’t that why I love him. He then left to Kanchipuram for some pooja. I wasn’t crestfallen or feeling bad as we hadn’t made any plans. I thought if I don’t meet him today will surprise him Monday morning at his place. So after a good lunch(cooked by ME!) I had a relaxing nap. I woke to his message announcing his arrival back to Chennai. I had to go buy my wedding reception sari in the evening and since my folks were busy with the invitation distribution it was a good reason for me to hang out. I went with him and bought the sari which we had earlier chosen. We later went for a drive, did some shopping where I finally bought a plain white shirt which I had wanted to buy for a long time now and had a good snack. When he stopped at the gates and I had to get down I opened my gifts and started handing him the gifts and cards 6 in all :) He was surprised and really overwhelmed. My deal for the day done!!!

At the end of the day when he was talking about how he wasn’t expecting stuff I felt really happy. I still feel all this hullabo for V day isn't required. We can always hang out with people whom we love, give them gifts as and when we want. Then why a day specifically for it ? But I should say that all the gift shops and bouquet shops have good sales on V day :)