Betel Leaf Astrology

Soothsayer: Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn't make you who you are. It is the rest of your story, who you choose to be.
Kung Fu Panda 2
Sometimes I feel I don’t pay attention to what is happening really around me. That’s why I had ended up at a Soothsayer instead of an astrologer on a Monday Morning at 7 am. My friend had mentioned about this great women she met who had sorted out all her problems, I assumed it was an astrologer. I mean aren’t astrologers a direct link to God like priests to find solutions.
On the way down winding lanes in Rajagiriya with some betel leaves in my hand, I asked my friend, does she need to know my charts and It was explained no she is a soothsayer she only needs to look at the betel leaves. Old habits die hard, it was always astrology, tarot or numerology. I looked at the betel leaves and wondered if I could see anything even a glimmer of my questions. The leaves just looked back at me accusingly saying no I don’t have answers for your questions.
The house was a small dodgy looking place already with eager beavers waiting for their turn. So I am not the only one who wants solutions at this time of the morning. An Old lady walked out, her hair disarray, tooth crooked, all the buttons in her old nightdress had been lost and had an array of pins to hold it together. She looked the Sri Lankan Version of Nanny Mac phee if not for the pins and night dress.
“She is the one!” Whispered my friend excitedly.
I had met a lot of people who have read my future, my past and my present. This old lady staring at me was a vision I had never thought I would encounter. Is she a quack I thought in my mind looking at her?
She stared back at me as if she heard me and said “You all have to wait for 2 hours because the time is not good right now, we start at 9,"

Thursdays

After all these years I have come to the conclusion that Thursdays are the second best day of the week. 

Getting back to blogging can be very painful after a long absent, so one sentence at a time.

Colombo Comedy Show!

This was my Monday Night. I love stand up comedy and was so looking forward to the show. 

It was hilarious and had me laughing most of the evening. Some of the jokes were so true and amazed by the guys talents. My favourite would be Umar  The Pakistani guy for his timely and quick wit.

Thala 2012

A mesmerizing dance performance by Channa upuli at Nelum Pokuna last Saturday was my weekend treat. The programme had the best of dance, music, costumes, performance and venue.

It was a proud moment to discover that this dance troupe had won first place at the Berlin Dance Culture festival 2012 competing with 92 countries. They truly deserve the win.

A few drummers performance was in between the dances were also highly catchy and fun.

The only issue I might have had was it started late as most programmes here do, when it ended at 10 pm, I was sad to leave.

The duo channa and upulis daughter who performed has got the talent. The father daughter dance was just beautiful.

A lot of thought had been taken in the choreography, costumes and jewellery,  you are at one moment trying to take it all in.

The troupe has gone some of the best talent in Sri Lanka and the hardwork and practice put in shows.

view some photos here :

http://www.facebook.com/thaala2012

"Wonder" By R.J. Palacio

 

Wonder by R.J. Palacio, a children’s book but was suggested by the Bookstore Chapters and Verses for Adults. I did wonder for a moment what could be in it, do I have the patience to read a children’s book. ( I was tired of reading to the nine year old who had an attention span of five seconds), curiosity got the better and I picked a copy.

What a fantastic book, which makes so many emotions, and thoughts to run across your mind. You are left with the feeling that you should share this with your child. So I suggested the thirteen year old to read it. The thirteen year old took one look at the back page and said “are you serious it sounds depressive so I can’t read it”.

She watched me take the book out and read it and make notes. It was important for me that some of the little lessons in the book should be incorporated into my life. One week later, I found my 13 year old with her nose deep into the pages. So we finished the book and got into a discussion and an agreement that as far as we could we should choose kind over right.

A quote from Book:

MR. BROWNE'S SEPTEMBER PRECEPT:

WHEN GIVEN THE CHOICE BETWEEN BEING

RIGHT AND BEING KIND, CHOOSE KIND.”

― R.J. Palacio, Wonder

Tags: kindness, precept, righteousness

A Silent retreat at Haputale!

Dh had been praising wonders of this beautiful place he discovered entertaining clients, and we both got the opportunity to travel and stay a night at Haputale. The first thing that strikes you is the beauty of the resort which overlooks mountains and forests. The second thing is the silence, pin drop!

Melheim in the morning!

Melheim resort, Beragala Haputale.
http://www.melheimresort.com/

The service of the place managed by Mr. Dias and his crew is exceptional. The food (me being vegetarian) was divine.

The night we stayed they set out a candlelight dinner in the garden, and it was just one of the best ambience.

When I had thought that their culinary talents were spent for the dinner, they surprised us with a proper Sri Lankan Breakfast.

Melheim At Night!
 

The Bandarawela and Haputale area food are truly yummy, maybe for the climate or that they have some exceptionally good cooks in that area.

Lady In Red/ orange~! Part 1

  Nine year old shouts “ Mummy you have white hair as many as Aachis”

Look at self in the mirror and almost knock the car.

Does hair turn white over night? Must be after all the stress of dealing with the kids, the nanny, the job, and mom and mom in law. Well I will fix it today first thing.

No wonder DH hardly recognizes me, must be reminding of his long lost aunt.

  9.20 am : Now how hard is it to get an appointment on a saturday. They are all taken, I wonder how the other women have plenty of time to go and get themselves fixed.

  10.20 am : Got an appointment and now sitting in salon with the girl checking my hair in wonder. “How long have you not tinted it now? “ She asks with amazement.

“I don’t know three or four months?” I reply. “This is going to take up the whole morning” she huffs and puffs. I try to look apologetic.

What is it with salons and the girls there who make you feel like you are some hopeless case.

  10.30 am : “Brown tint please!” I request. She rolls her eyes and goes about her work.

11.15 am : I am reading the Hi magazine and drinking a glass of water. Well they did offer me tea or coffee , and when I requested some tea they said they had none.

  11.45 am : The hair is washed and being blow dried, I am still starting at the glitterati in the magazine.

  12.00 pm : The girl does a tremendous show and proceeds to show my hair and I scream in horror. I am officially the mascot for clown world. My hair is red with a highlight of Orange.

I am full force crying now, with the salon around me gushing that I look terrific and red is the new black/brown which is actually ORANGE RED.

. “You look amazing!” Says one.

“You look like you lost five Kgs!” Says another.

“You look like you just had a face lift” Says the customer next to me.

I am recovering myself after some ice coffee was put into my hand with loads of compliments thrown in for free.
  I tip the girl 200 bucks for the scene created. Now let me go face the music, maybe I will just live with a hat on my head forever.

Watch your Language!

I went for a parenting seminar on "How to Deal with your preteen without shouting or smacking!"

Desperate times call for some quick measure, the twelve year old is moody and flounces around the house with a long face all day. I know i am suppose to ignore and let her be, but its annoying when she does one of those every morning.

The eight year old is happy and carefree, I daresay he will do the same real soon in the coming years.

I kept getting many flyers and details about the seminar and decided to rush off into it.

The seminar was conducted by a Dr, who was funny and entertaining. She said loads of things we know, but it was amusing to hear them again in a different form.

So i got back and decided to put things into effect, Behavioural charts are a key to disciplining kids. I make an announcement at breakfast that i am putting up a chart with our names and whoever hits, bites, says bad words will get black marks and will not get to watch tv.

"Why are we being an organised family? I don't like it!" announced the twelve year old.

"But, you swear a lot won't you be the one with the most black marks in the chart" asks the Husband.

( i kicked him under the table, and he shouts "two black marks")

"I like it mummy, I like it" screams the eight year old.

Well its been a week now, and I am with the most amount of black marks due to screaming in road rage every morning in a row. Then shouting- idiot idiot during the match, and also randomly saying words.

No Miles to Five Kms!

New Year resolutions, losing weight and the likes I joined a new workout class with a gym buddy. In a moment of madness,my gym buddy suggested we join morning runs with a group. I was not sure about the whole thing but agreed to try it out; worse scenario I could always get an auto home...

I was the kid who never ran in school for some reason. I managed my life being the reserve in races or just skipping the sports meet entirely. So we set off in our morning run, and I took one look at the group and knew it was a mistake. These people looked willing to run for the world. We started off with a light jog and I tried to run back, and there was no friendly auto guy to take me back, there was no one on the road. My gym buddy held my hand and pulled me towards the group, I had no choice but to follow.

I walked, I ran and I had so much of cheering, and motivation by the group. The end of that one hour, the trainer looked at me and said " I honestly did not expect you to manage; but you managed all your timings less than what I predicted every single time. "

I did the hardest thing in my whole life is to put on those shoes and run, the end feeling was of the best high....

Missed Tharoor and Lunchtime Illuminations!

My Main itinerary of attending Galle Lit Festival was to Listen to Sashi Tharoor, and make it I did as it was finishing. So, after running around the fort one hour late and in confusion, I made it only the last ten minutes of his conversation.

Lunchtime Illumination
Watched four short films.
Kerosene - Very beautifully shot, Full credit to the lights and the director. It was a serious but at the same time the taxi driver and some of the characters on it were humorous. (The sub titles did not do justice, if you understood tamil it was funny)

Koothu - Leprosy in a village in the seventies, eighties. Seriously I had no idea that leprosy was there in a village not so long ago. Never heard anyone mention such a case. It was heartbreaking listening to the people affected speak about how they were not allowed to take water from the well, kids not being included to play. The movie ends with the families playing street theater(koothu) to raise awareness.

Third movie- Doctor from England now moved to the North and making artificial limbs. The whole project is being funded privately. The best part of the movie was when the Doctor Says" I am a Buddhist and I feel its my karma to help these people out". It was a small realisation that there are people doing more than their share for the society and we don't even realise or know.
It continues with a Young girl from London who has come for the Nallur Temple festival with her family and spends time in Jaffna.

These short films were done By Kannan Arunasalam. He is brilliant in his work but with that I think comes a bit of an attitude. Later during the day saw that he was rude and impatient with fans who spoke to him out of Halle de Galle. A bit of a stuck up individual. He was interested to answer questions when he was on the stage but very different scenario outside?

Cause the fourth movie by Kathiresu was done on a five thousand rupee budget. He mentioned it many times in his talk. The movie was simple and funny but a tad too long. The slipper thief makes another one become a thief too without knowing that he was the cause. (that was what I understood)

Could have been shorter since how long can you look at the slipper walking around?

The hat out of the bag!

Southern Highway To Galle!

After waiting for so many years to make it for the Literary festival, last friday was offered some day tickets for the day and spontaneously took off to Galle.

Where do I begin.

HighWay
Impressive and a quick, lovely drive. I just love the fact that we can be in Galle in one hour or less. It was scenic but very worried about the environmental disturbance by it. You change a whole plateau to get this new highway going and there is definite disturbance to the terrain, and it will take some time for the environment to adjust.

Not impressed : three dead snakes on the way with their guts out. I am dead scared of the snakes, but seeing them in that state is enough to get you upset for the rest of the trip.

I did not drive, watching the other crazy drivers on the highway.
a. Slow uncle in an old car at a speed of 60 or less
b. The mercs and bmws on a 140 doing swerves
c. Sudden changing of tracks by van drivers cause they think we are on the Dupication road.

Galle :
Happy : I just felt happy entering into galle fort and I think was jumping in joy so much so that people mistook I was looking for a carnival.
Not Happy: The auto drivers making fun of my hat
Jobless auto driver : hahhahha Machan wearing a curtain on the head.
Jobless auto driver 2 : aapo this is what they call fashion
Me : It is fashion, and not a curtain (not to them but to myself! poor me)

Cooking Mama!

Cooking is the latest craze at all ages. The kids and I watch Master Chef without fail, and absolutely love it. S is always on the cooking mama game cooking non stop. My little courtship with baking had to be temporarily stopped due to weight loss mission no 10( end of the year approaching) .

The past week I have been getting calls from my mum, in excited tones about how she has tried out a new recipe. If this was a one off thing, i would have just shrugged it off. This has become an every day ritual so much that I had to politely decline. Mum is not a person who can be discouraged, she sends it in a little box and insists that I try it.

Day one : a birds nest Kind of thing filled with veges and cottage cheese, I saw S (the eight year old) have a look of pure shock in his face and kept looking at me. With mum supervising that we eat it up, we were trapped.

Day two : She had filled up an ice cream cone with some wierd concotion and sent it, S screams in delight "Aachi has made a vampire torch for halloween".

Day three : Dad calls " yr mums serving up some crap all the time, I cant eat the food at home"

I thought I would gently tell mum that she should stop this new recipe trying.

Mum : I know it is natural that you feel jealous that your mum is a cooking start. I might even star in the Indian cooking competition.

I had no idea what to say to that statement and thought silence is the best remedy. A woman scorned about her cooking is not an easy one to deal with.
She had found bits of masterpieces that she had cooked thrown behind the plants in the garden, and screamed that she will not send me food anymore. I think we are on safe zone temporarily.

This October!

Deepavali was festive as always with new clothes, too many sweets and cracker bursting by kids.

Only hitch was when I slipped and fell on some water and hurt my knee, so that was bye bye zumba and yoga for about ten days now. DH was kind enough to be worried that the tiles did not break after me falling on them.

Another couple of months and the year will end. It rushes so fast there is no time to breath. The list of resolution just another list which has gathered and will bite the dust!

Book Fair 2011

I went yet again to the book fair with D. We thought we ll beat the crowd and be clever about it and go at an odd time at three thirty on a Tuesday afternoon.
Guess what half of Colombo and the outskirts was in there. First, we were shoved in at a rate. You don't have to walk, the crowds just like push u like a wave or something.
It was worth the pain of it all, there was loads of fiction books and D and I had a good time picking up many. The bookshops have really gone to town and picked up loads of Indian editions of books cheaply and did not even have time to take off the prices.
We came out around five pm and there was even more people trying to get in. I saw a mass of thousands trying to walk in... (at the same time, I exaggerate not). I think the crowds increase every year.
It was worth all that since there is quite a bit of discount and more than that to see D's Happy face and bags full of books to read and art stuff to paint.
Warning to anybody trying to go in the weekend, it will be painful.

The New Coffee Shop!

Pascucci - Wijerama Mw
After reading about it and seeing it so often from outside, went there last weekend. I think going there twice in a row was a bit too much.
The first day I loved the ice coffee Amereti with little cookies in and the works.
Second day, I said just get me some ice coffee, something simple and it came with a whole bunch of ice cream dumped inside it. Maybe I should have told no ice cream.
The interior is done up nice and it was crowded. The price is fancy, there was a tiny cupcake priced at 350/- bucks.

Pedicure Alert!

After reading Dee and Angels posts on waxing a couple of weeks back, I looked at my feet and was horrified to see the state of them. My feet were in a state of neglect, the colour had chipped off and there was one ugly pair of feet staring right back at me.
Recently I have been scared to venture for pedicures to salons afer hearing not once but many times about women picking up toe wounds and yucky stuff (lets not go into the details).

Being too lazy to do the pedicure myself, I thought why not treat myself at a good salon where fingers crossed nothing untoward to would happen to me.

There I was seated in a nice cushy seat and reading the hello magazine. I heard the customer next to me instruct her girl not to scrub her toe cause she has a wound.

ARGHh with a horrified look i turned and saw the womans feet it had a big wound right near below her toe nail.

Salon Girl : What happened madam ? (scrubbing around the wound at a rate)
customer : I got this wound from getting a pedicure here last time. Two months back. its not going off. (this was said very non-chalantly)

I almost had an asthma attack, grabbed my feet right out of the pedicure bench and gave an excuse of a meeting. Paid some money and scurried off to wash my legs with hot water.
Yes yes My feet are fine. I am just so very upset and horrified that the woman was not bothered by this toe wound thing which probably is there to stay for a bit, also the salon girl acting as if it was a normal thing.
Get a pedicure and a wound free!

Salons, probably do not have a proper way of cleaning or sterilizing their equipments.
Its back to home pedicure again. anyone know any place really clean for pedicures???

Three months Later!

Its been three months since I last blogged. I have no excuse to say except that I have been very lazy with blogging.
Two months of school vacation, Two family weddings in Chennai, Two trips to the beach, one month of yogaing, Reading six book, Loads of parties later - I had nothing to blog about.
Ok I think I will stop now.

Random!

I have been so good at keeping my new year resolutions. That the blog has been completely neglected.
I dont know if its the fact that life is so very uninteresting and I am running out of things to say.
I should dust out the blog and write something about may

• bought a dress from Avirate have no idea where I am going to wear it now.


• Had a meeting - Usually people know me as Mr&Mrs. Daughter or Mr Dhs wife or Someone elses cousin, friend. For the first time in my life someone I met at the meeting said you are D's mum, I know her very well. I like that identity.



• The credit card bills which have been stashed away or torn up are in fact not paid by unknown guardian angel - cause the angel has no cash. You do end up getting scary looking letters from the bank and then realise you have created a huge debt which has to be paid( not including avirate dress which was paid by cash)
  


• Have been regular at Zumba class and workout next to this lady who is very fascinating. She wears so much make up and I know her sweat pores are dying to get out of all that foundation that she has laid on so thick. My class is spent staring at her face and the lipstick which is bright red and bleeds. Fascinating....

Sportive and all!

So you know how they say you should be sportive to take the loss and all. Whoever said that did not have Indian family and friends ( Not you lost soul)

Seeing FB messages which were ever so rude like Swim back losers, Broken nose boozers and private messages like you are part of an island that was pooped by india and argh.

So yes the solution for this is to hold your head up high and ignore. How much can u ignore what is in front of your face, not much I say. I should just deactivate facebook for a week of something.

I still feel something not right about Kula N Dhoni since they are both in CSK team. I know i am being childish but i cant help it.