And its April already..

• I can't believe the fourth month of the new year is gonna start! Well, the year isn't so new anymore. But why haven't the flowers bloomed yet? It's still very cold. I see buds trying to decide whether or not to bloom up and rid the trees of the bareness. But seems like this year is gonna be slow. The talk is of global warming but I seem to see a lot of global cooling... its been one of my worst winters.
  
• Lab wise - AHA season starts and all the madness with it. You start breeding all the different mice hoping to generate some crazy bigenics. And after a 21 day gestation period, hopefully you will end up with pups, which after another 21 days may be weaned. Every one is rushing about for echo dates! "Data" is the one thing every one in the department is after!
• The economy still seems to show no signs of improvement. Unemployment still on the high! I hope things change at the earliest.
  
• Meanwhile, my craze to do different things still continues. To get a dog at the earliest. To spend an evening painting/coloring. To learn to play the keys (read fumble around till I can get the tune). To spend every weekend doing something fun (that's probably one thing I am doing!!). To go traveling around. To write something totally "out of the box". To become an avid reader that feels like her life is going to end if she doesn't finish the book. Ofcourse all I can do right now is just Siggggggggggghhhhh! Plenty of desires. But no clue how to make them all a reality.

Observations

Here's my jotting in sheer vettiness..

1. I seem to have changed a LOT over the years. I'm doing things I never thought I would do. And I've let go of things I never dreamed possible.

2. Truth 1 - Ignorance is bliss. At times it's better to not know everything. I went sniffing around under a strong hunch and discovered some of the worst possible stuff! I felt shallow and small like never before in my life!

3. I have visited NYC more in the past 2 months (don't forget its peak winter!!) than I have in 4 years of stay in the NJ area. Visited the MET, went to my 3rd Broadway musical (Mary Poppins - was sheer brilliance), went on an amazinggg lunch cruise in the Hudson, and a circus in Madison square Garden! There's something or the other that comes up every weekend that fascinates me, and I have quite forgotten that I should actually be working at least 6 days a week.

4. Both the church and the temple serve holy water. In the temple(especially Vishnu temples), "theertham" is given in the Sannidhi/Sannidhanam (Sanctum sanctorum) after worship of the God, whereas in a Roman Catholic Church there is a small cup (Baptismal font) of holy water thats placed in the entrance of the church. In a temple, you drink the theertham and stroke your hair with it. In a church, you bless yourself by making a sign of the crucifix on your forehead.

5. Ashtavakra Gita (a discourse of 33 tapes as part of the Art of Living foundation) is a life changing experience definitely. But there is still a lot of resistance in me in accepting some things, especially the Guru!!

6. I realize I want to henceforth start writing properly, not omitting the capital letters or apostrophes!! This one's an attempt.

Ok, more to come later. For now Monsieur Hercule Poirot beckons.

Dear God..

Who am I trying to prove to.. wat am I trying to set right?

The true colors are out.. white and grey and black.

White you may be and black you mite think of me..

Check within you and you'll truly see

The rhyme, the reason, the truth.

You might cease to see it or tweak it..

But the truth is not for all to see..

So go on and on with your parade of words,

To all that come and go.

You think it is fake.. But I know I did the right.

You are joy abound yourself 

For the peace and tranquility.

Yet the "Aham" argues.. 

And so on goes the parade of words 

To all that come and go.

Who are You trying to prove to, wat are You trying to set right??

PS: Forget interpreting this post. 

The saga goes on and on and ON.. WHY??

What started off as an amazing talent show for brilliant singers is now going on as an never-ending saga! I'm talking about Airtel Super Singer. Season 1 was in 2006 and Season 2 was for kids under 12, in 2007. I started following the show on youtube in 2007, as I heard Krishnamoorthy and Vignesh croon away in the finals for the juniors. When I got to know that there was some good-hearted soul who was working over-time to upload the videos of Super singer 2008 on the net, I began following it every week right from the auditions of 4000 odd contestants in Chennai, Kovai, Tiruchi zones. I saw how Mahathi, Mathangi and Srilekha called Ravi's singing "flawless".. how Raginishri wept in one of the auditions with Deepen Chakaravarthi even after she was selected.. and even Chinmayi asking the camera man to get out while she was crying. All of that was earlier on in 2008. It finally came down from 4000 to 60 to 20 contestants by mid August 2008. And oh my God.. its been at that stage ever since as the contest for the final super singer is going on.. and well its March 2009, and there are still 6 singers left. I understand that the super singer really needs to be "super".. has to surpass several rounds of screening and testing. But this is like stretching the reality show to another remake of "Kyonki Saas bhi...."It never ends. The producer of the show, I guess, is thinking of this as the hen that lays golden eggs. He/She is trying to make as much money as possible.. wat with the high TRP ratings and the amazing viewership. But I think this needs to be in moderation. It gets annoying if the show does not move on. You've seen the top 10 singers show their versatality in different rounds. And just when you think its moving ahead and in 10 weeks hopefully you will know who the super singer is.. they have a recall round.. first to be judged by the contestants itself.. and the next week to be judged by a panel of judges. And eventually the people that got eliminated come in.. only to be eliminated sooner or later. I know its rather mean on my part to say this.. but that is really not my intention. Its just annoying to see that the show is stuck with no significant happenings. Its going as slow as an inebriated turtle that decides to rest after taking 2 steps!! Not to forget the masala that the producers are adding to it.. Oh did I forget.. its a REALITY show.. ofcourse it has the masala. But please have mercy on the viewers and the contestants and let this show move on a little faster!! A few sensible people who have realized that a lot is lost with the never-ending saga that this show is becoming, have quit. Chinmayi who was the hostess of the show quit early January saying she had to focus on other things.. primarily her singing. And last week, it was a contestant Rohit. He said he had to get back to his academics and his attendance was at stake. Yes, he could have said this earlier and could have given up his spot for another contestant.. but who can blame him. Its the first quarter of 2009 already, and we have no hopes of knowing who the super singer is going to be until summer probably! Or maybe even that is very early for the crew at Vijay TV. I actually pity the contestants and the judges.. I'm guessing atleast a few if not all will be dying for this show to end.. so that they can get on with their lives!
Please dear producers.. get the show moving on. Get to the finals. The juniors are waiting for the auditions for airtel super singer 2009. Have mercy on dumb viewers like me.. who'd rather crib about the show.. than quit watching Ravi, Vijay, Prasanna, Renu and the others croon away!