Monday, October 31, 2005

Over the hill ...

25 and single ... that's my profile from today onwards. Yes folks, I am over the hill of silver ... I already feel old enough to die (just kidding). Been a blast the past 25 years, oh yes they have been quite eventful (Just like everybody else's ... maybe not) with patches of uneventful, boring, mundaness.

Somebody said you don't count your life with the money or success you have attained but by the number of friends that you have. And if that is true then I am the most blessed of all men (or women) on earth. God has been most abundantly gracious and merciful to me through my short(or long) life . Not to forget unlike most people "the people I couldn't choose" (family and relatives) are out of this world.

What can I say ... I have the perfect life. Sure got ups and downs, but its definitely better than the next person's(atleast that's what I think). Wouldn't want to exchange it with anybody. Now that I have rambled on how blessed I feel, I think I should end the post ... (Or maybe because I have just run out of idea's), but you can't complain, its not everyday you turn 25 (its not everyday you turn anything).

At 21 you know you are old but still young enough to do stupid stuff and blame it on your age, at 25 you really can't blame it on anything or anybody. Which brings us to how do you know that you are old and over the hill? First sign is that you don't receive a single card on your birthday, a good sign most people have either forgotten or maybe they are just too broke from all the cards they have got you the previous years... also just an hint that maybe you should just get on with your life, 'cause whatever you might think its just another day in everybody's life ;). Oh ya no more birthday cake/party for you till you go really down the hill and have kids and they want to get something out of you!

Also 25 is that first time you can really look back at your life and see where you are going or atleast plan to go ... the first mile as some people would say. I wanted to retire at the age of 30 (Seriously) but as things are going retiring is not for me :). Atleast I got my master's degree, that is a very big step ... The best part is that even if I wanted to reminiscent on things I really don't have the time. I can't figure out how staring at a computer screen makes people tired but it does, specially if you are staring at it in the night. Last weekend was the beginning of a series of weekends that I have got to work. Can't complain though as long as I am getting paid for it.

Just a random thought ... I have always wondered how a wonderful baby as the one on top would turn into the scary man(I am 25!) that I have become.

Being scary apart ... 25 has lots of benefits ... lesser insurance premiums and the ability to rent a car without the underage fee ... gawd I hated that discrimination even though I scarcely used a rented car.

The one thing that I did learn is something I read in Ecclesiastes 1:2 " Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”", the more you want things the more you miss out on life. And this is what I consider the most important thing in life "PEOPLE". There is nothing else in life that is more important. It is so easy to get blinded (As I have a lot of times) by other things but there is nothing that can take the place of people ... they are important enough for Jesus to die on the cross for them.

Believe it or not, it too me quite a few years to understand the importance of being people centric (18 to be exact). The reason being that I had the worst case of shyness I have ever seen. I know its hard to believe for lots or at least most people who know me. I was what you call a chronically shy person, couldn't lift my head up when somebody from the opposite sex was around .. wouldn't speak to an unknown person ... even made my parents wonder if I should have been born as a girl!! And then it finally dawned on me (after a lot of deliberation of course) the people really don't have the time to be spending all their time on me, specially thinking about my walk or talk ... once I got through that epiphanic moment I was free of shyness or as I would like to call it 'I'ness. 'Cause what most people don't realise is that being shy makes you think more about yourself than others ... oxymoronic as it might sound, that in itself should tell you that people are not thinking about you and judging you!

But to be truthful, it was worth the wait (the wait to get over the shyness) or I wouldn't appreciate what God has given me!!

"At twenty we worry about what others think of us; at forty we don't care about what others think of us; at sixty we discover they haven't been thinking about us at all."

Monday, October 24, 2005

The kids ....

Well here is another photo blog from India. Some pictures of the kids that we are working with through the foundation (Falcon Foundation). My Church (Lake Crest Church) helped us get them some T-Shirts when I went to India this time. The first few pictures are me distributing the T shirts, the rest are at the after school that we have. Currently we have 50 kids coming to the after school from the 1st grade up till the 5th grade.













"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day,
Teach him to fish and you feed him for life."

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

"pseudo-feminism"


Ok that's a word I came up with (At least I haven't heard it from anywhere else). So I was talking to this friend when I got to know about the fact that America has a higher population of girls to guys, that got me thinking ... how come India which has more males than females was lead by a woman(Indira Gandhi the one in the pic) for 15 of its 58 years of independence while "...land of the free and the home of the brave" hasn't had a woman leader in .... never. Doesn't it sound bogus when we talk about women's empowerment in the middle east when we are afraid to "really" empower them in the west! I am not even going to go into the glass ceiling ...

I guess this is where pseudo-feminism comes in ... in the name of gender equality all they got was only to sleep around and do drugs but no real equality. I still can't fathom how you couldn't have a woman leader when women are in majority ??? we complain about the minority Sunnis ruled over the majority Shias ... wonder if anybody is looking inside. And India being a male dominated society (We look down on women who smoke and drink ... and divorcees ...) still lets women be in seats of power ... the power behind our current central(federal) government is a lady. For that matter the president of two other easter countries (Sri Lanka and Phillipines) are women.

This is just food for thought ... for those who think that women are equal in the US. The Man just gives you some to take away everything ...

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Married again ....

Well I thought this would be a better title than saying marriage 2 or marriage continued ... continuing on the topic of marriages ... either I am getting old or the world is getting older cause' it seems like everybody I know is getting married. Starting off with Katie's marriage next month ... I can only smile at the sheep being let to the slaughter. Jokes apart here is another dose of the pictures from back home. You must understand that this took place over a period of three days and four different functions, hence the various dresses! And do leave your comments, cause I know you are looking!
This is the family picture at the Groom's reception

The whole marriage bundle (brides' maids,maid of honour,groom's men,best man, flower girls ....) Usually you don't have the bride's maids and groom's men in our weddings... (just the best mand and the maid of honour)

The bride and groom at the church ...

The couple at the Groom's reception

Me and Kartik at the Groom's reception

Dad letting go ...

"The cousins" at the bride's reception

The wedding Cake

The wedding feast .... Sara what you doing man?

The feast at the groom's reception

Trying to show off my sisters!!!

Watch this place for more Pics from the "land of the tiger"...

"How do you look at the same face for the rest of your life ???? Beats me!"

Monday, October 10, 2005

Marriage...

No not mine ... as I have told my friends before, it would have to snow in Chennai before I hang myself ... oops sorry ... get married. I am still trying to get out of my jet lag(Its taking awefully long this time) so I thought I would go easy and make this a picture post of my sister's marriage.
Speaking at my sister's valthudal ceremony (Ceremony to bless and praise her)

The grooms family bringing the ceremonial gifts before the marriage

The bride's brother(Me ;)) welcoming the groom ...

The father of the bride and the mother ;)

The beauty queen

The Groom with the best man ...

Picture perfect ...

The groom entering the church with his coterie ...

The pretty bride's maids


Sara and Hussain's family at the reception

Dhinakaran Uncle felicitating the couple

Good old bharathanatayam...

Gayathri, Vanitha and Kirthi ....

Kirthi, Vishnu, Swapna and Shobi
Wondering about the different attires? Its all for the different functions that these Indian Marriages entail. I am having some diffuculties with the rest of the pictures so I guess I will have to continue on it tomorrow ... Enjoy these for now ...