The art of Extreme Sleeping

The art of extreme sleeping is not something that can develop overnight. Its hard. It takes months, no… possibly even years to perfect. The state of blissful unconsciousness is something that usually fills me with a sense of well being and content. If you follow the path of perfecting this art rigorously, you will have discovered one of the finest pleasures in life.

After all, what are dreams made of if not from sleep?




Give me a chair, and I will sleep soundly. I do not find a pillow necessary, but I would always appreciate one. That’s on my top 3 list of gifts I would like—pillows. (All my darling friends reading this, please note ).

I am happiest on the weekend snuggled in bed lost amidst my multitude of pillows. Edrea does NOT share her pillows. Given that I live away from home, my sleeping habits are not as actively discouraged when I go home , and of course in Pune I am the big boss.My friends know my priorities very clearly. Its sleep first, the rest comes after I open my eyes.

Being a firm believer in the power of afternoon siesta’s, I cannot help being disappointed that our current U.S.-driven culture has not stopped to think sufficiently and consider the wonders that a power nap can do. Each to his own after all. I prefer the wonders of an action packed 6-7 hours, rather than a rather than an in-between 8 hours any day.

Tips to sleep:

* Pretend that you have to wake up. It always works for me.
* Study something. Text books have always worked wonders.
* Watch a boring movie or sitcom. I have fallen asleep this way too.
* Eat a lot. Obvious.
* Look at the picture of the yawning baby at the start of this post.

These should work. If they don’t, I would think its because you have not stopped thinking. Remember what I said in the beginning “Its hard.”

Groan! Now I am feeling all wooozy. Gd’ nite … Gd’ morning … Gd’

To read -- Open by Andre Agassi

We usually write reviews for books that we have read. I haven’t read this one, but somehow I feel too excited by the undercurrents that surround it to ignore it. Open—By, Andre Agassi.



Andre Agassi is a man that I would love to meet. Not because of himself, but because he married my all-time favorite tennis star, Steffi Graf. I was in school those days and remember quite clearly the excitement I use to feel when I used to watch her matches on T.V. with my father. Those memories are part of my favorites. Why did I like her? Well... wasn’t she daddy’s girl, just as I was

Getting back to Agassi (that’s what he will be referred to from now). The wild child. Enfant Terrible. Quasi-cripple. And after reading an excerpt from his book, reproduced by NPR that I recommend you all read, I call him “human”. He gets as temperamental as all of us at times, may be more.

The news going around these days is about how he absolutely “hates” tennis. Can you take that from a former world number #1 tennis player? Love and Hate sure are strange bed fellows.

The book is his autobiography. I believe he spared no one. Not himself, not his game. And I definitely believe he loves them both. In his book though he has admitted to drug use that he had previously denied, I believe that his legacy will not be tarnished by it. His reputation has not only lasted through many years, but has also been put through the paces of his own personal trials and tribulations.
He had some rather interesting beliefs. One of them was that “image is everything”.

Now it has become know that his previously famous longish hair was actually a wig he wore to cover a bald spot. In fact, he even blames his loss in the 1990 French Open Final was because his mind was more on his wig than his match. He said something to the effect of “I prayed before the match … so that my wig would stay on!” He eventually went bald after his maturity started setting in.

His return to tennis in 1998 after most of his earlier contemporaries had retired, was based no longer based solely on his previously deadly combination of his skill and youth, but was now dependent on his new-found fitness that somehow compounded his skill. He was back with a bang.

I would not consider him as the poster boy for tennis. But I am definitely going to buy that book.

Movie Review: Julie and Julia

Well.. this is a habit I missed .. my blogging!! :)

Anyway getting back to the main topic under discussion–Julie and Julia.



Released a while back, it tells the story of two serventless lasses in their own separate times, and how the love of cooking unites them (in a way).

Julia Child is the wife of an American foreign service officer who has just come to Paree (Paris , but I just love saying it the way the French do ;) ) sometime after the 1st or 2nd world war. She is looking for ways to do something, as being a decorative ornament in her husbands life just does not suit her gregarious personality. After multiple try’s (and failures) she finally realizes, thanks to her adorably sweet husband that what she really likes to do is eat!! (Yeah right. And I thought I was one of the last eating lover around).

So she resolves to get a diploma from the advanced course of some culinary college, where with her never-say-die attitude and happy-go-lucky nature she wins over the master chef (you have to see it to believe it, cause when she started that course she didn’t know how to even chop an onion :P ). Then comes the major plot of how she writes her world-winning French cooking book (the book is real people)…

Getting to Julie now. She is our 21st century girl next door, who loves her cooking, and is stuck in a job that she can’t stand. She is drowning in the misery of being the least accomplished of all her friends who are busy chasing mullti-million dollar deals. Having a knack of leaving things unfinished, she is trying to turn things around with the help of her amazingly wonderful hubby (girls eat your eyes out with this guy), who with his wholesome charm and optimistic attitude, convinces Julie to finish Julia’s cookery book of some 500+ recipes in 365 days (that’s one year), and blog about her experiences.

She faces some questions all of us bloggers asked ourselves at one point of time like, does anyone eVeR read my blog :( ???!!! It makes her more real for me.

The challenges Julie faces as she embarks on this seemingly impossible journey is what makes this story endearing in its I’m-the-girl-nest-door-who-is-not-perfect plot. Oh yes… and how can I forget the amazing shots of the various yummy french food.

This movie reminds me of the amazing feeling of a warm baguette with butter (Oh yes.. did I mention, this movie supports what I have been saying all along… you can NEVER have enough of butter!! )….

Bon Appetite Mes Amies!!

Summary: Watch it!

Funny Advt

The Joke of the Day (look carefully)...

Home

I think that I have associated the word "home" with a pack of bricks and stones for a log time.

They say its the people that make your home. I agree.

There are also places that spark in you feelings of protection and content. That's the place with memories that you have with those special people. I would say even a coffee house can be marked as a part of your minds home, if that's where you feel most at peace.

Mostly I find that home is the peace that you find in yourself.
When our soul is quietened, and our fears are layed to rest. I would say I am home. I am one with the universe. And all is well with the world.

Esscence of change

We are the change we think we are. The power of the mind cannot be understated. Usually we accept only that change which we initiate. We are resistant to modifications in schedules that we have become accustomed to.
Is change bad or good?
I would say neither. Change is like a fact of life. Its there, whether you want it or not. Best accepted.
It would be best of we could channelize our energy and move in the direction of the current. And remember that we can change course along the way, for we are blest with a pair of eyes that allow us to see whats coming up ahead. Missed chances and opportunities are part and parcel of that great plan that we are not aware of. They are threads that should not have been picked anyway, else we will not get that glorious pattern of life that has a way of showing you that what is best for you, is truly better than your imagination can ever think of.
And there are always signs, hints, or whatever else you can call it.
These are markers that show us lifes lessons that are yet to come, or be learnt if we do not pick up the markers.
C'est la vie.

Lentan Sacrifice

Sunday Sermon

There is a story in the Old Testament (in the Bible) about the sacrifice that Abraham was supposed to make to make to God. It was the sacrifice of his only dear son. An important point to note is that Abraham and his wife did not have children for many years. He became a father only in his 90’s. In the intervening time, he was also prone to self doubt and loss of faith to the lord. His most precious offering thus, could not have been more painful for him.

Yet, there was Abraham that fateful day, with his son at the altar and a knife in another hand. We cannot begin to comprehend such a sight. It seems to speak of unfathomable crudeness. Yet, we cannot deny this. This is what is written. This is what God asked.

Just as Abraham is about to strike his son and complete the offering, Goa sends an angel to stop him. Then Abraham is of course, relieved and happy; for God has spared his only Son. But God only asked him to do that as a test of his faithfulness. We often say, we will follow God in whatever we do; we will do as he asks. But yet, when God asks us for the ultimate sacrifice, where do we stand? Do we truly believe that we would be able to leave behind the ties of this world and go forth and truly do as God asks us?

God did not let Abraham sacrifice his Son. But yet he sacrificed his own, so that our sins may be forgiven. So that we may have a shot at eternal life and salvation.

This lent, we need to understand, that there is nothing wrong with blindly trusting God. I am sure that was the only reason Abraham went on to the very end, with what God wanted him to do. It was not because he had such fear in the lord , or because he had so little love for his son. On the contrary, it was because of his great love and faith for God that he went on to do God’s will.

What did he lose by it?

Nothing.

On the contrary, God promised him that his further generations will number as many as the stars in the sky or as many as the grains on sand on the shore.

What do we stand to lose by trusting God so much?

Nothing. Instead, we stand to gain more than we even imagined.

We are half way in the season of lent. The 40 days before the death and resurrection of Christ (Easter). This is the time for us to undergo radical abandonment of our daily ties and sins. Its time to leave all that we have behind, and move out of our old hollow shell. Sometimes, what we may perceive as pain and suffering may truly be the only way that God can purge us of our sins and move us to that plane above the everyday joys and sorrows, where we truly become one with the universe, and with its creator.

It is after all only when we reach the depths of despair in our soul that we are able to touch that raw energy in our soul that enables us to become uncommon heroes.