Happy Birthday Vimala

Mythili and I wish Vimala a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY
chandru & mythili

Happy birthday!

Best wishes to Pavitra on her birthday, 29 November. Many happy returns.

Vimala and Jayaraman

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Vimala.

Many happy returns.

28 November 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Best wishes to Bhuvana manni ( belated ) on her birthday and wishing her many happy returns of the day.
Best wishes to Vimala manni on her birthday (on 28th). Wishing her good health and happiness always. Many happy returns , Manni.
Ramu Sarada

Happy birthday, Bhuvana!

Best wishes to Bhuvana on  her birthday today, 24 November.  Many happy returns.

Vimala and Jayaraman

Wishes

A very happy birthday to Prashanth and Bhuvana perimma.

Akila, Mohan, Vaishnavi

THE BLOG

I last opened the blog three days back and today there are new posts.
Ramakrishnan has correctly expressed the views about the progress of this blog and I have nothing to add. And Jayaramanna`s reply also is correct. I was also wondering but guessed why November dates were not posted. It will be really nice if the participation is good from all family members. From my side also, I am not able to see mails daily as Koushik is busy most of the time with the computer . But I will definitely try to participate in a regular basis.
Ramu

Happy Birthdays!

Wish you a Very Happy Birthday, Prasanth - you look great in that pic!

I am leaving for Bombay on 25th morning, so let me wish Bhuvana and Vimala chittis, Pavitra and Vichu a Happy Birthday - in advance.

Gayathri

Happy birthday, Prashanth!

Best wishes to Prashanth on his birthday, 21 November. Many happy returns.

Vimala and Jayaraman

The blog

The points Ramakrishnan makes are valid and important. Let us hope the blog will grow in content and viewership. When it was started, invitations had been sent to several family members to join, and some did. But most of them rarely post anything and perhaps do not even open it.

When posting anything, it will be nice to add a label, for which there is a window at the bottom of the page. This will help us link connected posts and to call them up later.

For posting pictures, I generally use Picasa. Choose and hold the picture, click on 'blog' and then wait for the window to give you instructions. You can add any message you want after the picture is 'done'. Another way is to start a post, click on 'add image', browse and choose the image and follow the prompts on the window. In the latter case, you should know in advance the location of the pic you want to post and its address line.

Do others have any suggestions?

The anatomy of a "Cool Dude"

This is simply hilarious
Cool Dude - The most used word in a day.One who can do things which we cannot do - is termed a "cool dude". Be it growing hair, or not growing hair, tattooing, speaking four letter words, smoking ultra milds or menthol, going all the way to Bangalore for a rock band maiden concert, or laughing amidst a group of dozen girls. The word has become the most used word in the group of people (folks - to sound cool) I move with, to such an extent that every other conversation ultimately comes to the same thing "Dude, you are becoming cool". Be it when my office moved to a cool, vibrant IT park (And I became a Parkite), when I applied a temporary tattoo on my forearms, when I got a wireless internet connection, when I browse internet on my mobile, when I insist on wearing socks before putting on the Sandals - All I could hear is "Dude, you are becoming cool!" So I assume, by now the reader has got an idea of what a Cool Dude is, rather what an Item he is!Some random notes:Q. What do Dudes do in Office?A: The do stuff. Not work. Remember "I need to get this stuff done" ?Q: What do dudes have for lunch? A: They grab a Sub. And remember A dude would always "customize his sub". The sub topic reminds me of a very crude (the most closest antonym of cool) incident at the Sub. During one of those initial visits to Sub, I had taken a friend along with me, thinking he would be a moral support to me at the cool shop (cool joint to sound cool). The friend whom I had taken along, had once tasted garlic bread that someone in office had ordered from Pizza Hut. After finishing the bread, seeing the label Pizza Hut written on the sauce packets, he commented - "The Pizza was good". This after being in the IT industry for 7 years! So it was just uncool of me to take him with me for moral support. Since we were two, we had the courage to face the questions shot at us. Yes, too many questions for having a sandwich. Oh not sandwich - It's a Sub. With great difficulty, we were able to get something made though we still do not know what we had answered for questions like 6 inch or foot long? , Type of bread, should i toast it?, with cheese /without cheese? , All vegetables? etc. All we could see is something had been made for both of us. And soon we are going to eat the cool sub. And then a question. "Do you want to make it a meal?" I asked my friend "Acha yahan meals bhi milta hai kya"? I did not see the "Meals Ready" board outside. All eyes on me. My friend did not have an answer.Then came the final question. With the gesture and tone, we could make out that this is the final question and soon we can start eating. But what he asked was too fast and unheard of. He repeated it. Still no change in his reaction. Again the question with a demeaning look at us. Finally we answer - "Yes". And he gives a much demeaning look, in fact something like - These people can never grow up. Then he gave us the bill and the Sub - both the subs in the same plate (Tray to be cool).And then My friend says aloud "Donon sandwich parcel kar do yaar". All faces in the restaurants were on us. All the Sub makers at the counter saw him. My friend was stunned. He was trying to think what he spoke. He was saying to himself "Did I use any abusive language?". Soon the person on the other side of the counter, said in a slightly louder tone, "That's what i asked you. You could have said you wanted Take-Away". So that is what he was asking towards the end of the Sub making process. All this when the person who made the sub also knows the local language or atleast common english - The kind of English that we have been listening to, since our childhood. But if he does that then whats cool about Sub? Or rather what so cool if even in the mid of his sleep a dude can say whats the Sub of the day.

Akila

My own blog now

Hi All,
After great dilemma, I finally decided to have my own blog. This would mostly be dedicated to cross-stitch and maybe some baking, reading. I am yet to make my first post there. The main aim of this blog is to give me some motivation to proceed with my cross-stitch. I started working on a picture of a peacock more than 2 years back and am still working on it :( !!! So, after seeing soooo many other cross stitch blogs where people post their Works-In-Progress, I also decided to do the same. Will give the link once I make my first post.
Akila

The Blog Should Continue

Referring to Jayaram's posting, I will be very sad if this blog is closed or allowed to suffer a slow death. We must each of us try to make it more interesting and participative. As a first step, those of us (we are too few) who have been participating should think of new ways of making it interesting. I want to know how to post a picture in the blog (Jayaram to note).

Secondly, a mojority of the PSC family are not seen or heard from. Whether they are even seeing the blog silently is doubtful and we keep wishing them happy birthday etc. How can we persuade them to come in ? Should Jayaram, as the coordinator, send individual mails to their email addresses ?

I spoke to Venkittu on Kappu's date of birth and learnt that his son Harish is now studying Law and Ram is working in Germany. If Venkittu had been active in the blog we all would have known it much earlier. Otherwise we do not know what our next-generation relatives are doing etc. I think one problem is that we are rather shy people and do not like to beat our own drums. We should shed this feeling and write about the happenings more for the sake of a feeling of belonging and togetherness. I am reminded of Appa's saying "if we do not beat out own drums, who will ? ", though he did not himself follow this dictum.

-Ramakrishnan.

The month ahead

Thanks, Akila for the post on the sociopath next door. Shall comment on it more soon.

Gayathri has a busy month ahead.  Let us all wish her the best.  She will be missing Koushik's wedding, of course but that cannot be helped.

Has anyone heard of a raga called Chakravaka Kanada? NGS says he heard a song in what he thinks was in this raga (to the extent he remembers the announcement).

Hi all!
I must admit that I have not been contributing to the blog, as much as I have been checking the posts regularly. I hadn't even noticed that the November b'days had not been listed! Why, how? I don't know. Lethargy? Indifference? Or the ubiquitous "no time"?
Actually exciting events are in the offing in our family - Koushik's wedding, Rajiv's engagement.... It'd really be nice if we keep getting updates about the happenings!
I met Rukmini manni at Hindu's NovFest yesterday and she was lamenting the fact that no one from Kunjappa's family will be present at Krishnan's son's wedding.
For some updates from my end, Ramya is in Bombay, busy with her mamiyar in the wedding preparations of her br-in-law Jay. Also she took the reins in her hands and has gone about making lists etc for Rajiv's engagement too.
I am scheduled to reach Bombay on Nov 26. The Nischayatartham is on Sunday, Nov 30 in MIG Club, Bandra. Sandadi saakula, let me also ask for your blessings and wishes. :):)
Rajiv's house is still not ready. We are trying to push the builder from many angles & I am still nursing a fond hope that it will be ready for occupation by the time I reach there. Water and electricity connection are yet to come.
I will be staying on in Bombay till Jay's wedding on Dec 14 & plan to be back here on Dec 16. Then it will be a rush of preparing for the concerts - full tension.
Guess I will be out of net circulation in BOmbay. will post my concert details after I return. And hope to see you all there to cheer me too, hehehehe.
Gayathri

THE COVETOUS SOCIOPATH

I read this today. This is from a book called The Sociopath Next Door

THE COVETOUS SOCIOPATH

Sociopaths do not always have a covetous nature, but when they do, a fascinating and frightening picture emerges. Since it is simply not possible to steal and have for oneself the most valuable possessions of another person ie: beauty, intelligence, success,or perhaps a strong character the covetous psychopath settles for besmirching or damaging enviable qualities in others so that they will not have them, either, or at least not be able to enjoy them so much. Here the pleasure lies in taking rather than in having.The covetous sociopath thinks that life has cheated her somehow, has not given her nearly the same bounty as other people, and so she must even the existential score by robbing people, by secretly causing destruction in other lives. She believes she has been slighted by nature, circumstances, and destiny, and that diminishing other people is her only means of being powerful. Retribution, usually against people who have no idea that they have been targeted,is the most important activity in the covetous sociopath's life, her highest priority.Since this clandestine power game is priority number one, all of the covetous sociopath's deceitfulness and tolerance for risk are devoted to it. For the sake of the game, she may devise schemes and perform acts that most of us would consider outrageous and potentially self-destructive, in addition to cruel.And yet when such a person is around us in our lives, even on a daily basis, we are often oblivious to her activities. We do not expect to see a person direct a dangerous, vicious vendetta against someone who in most cases has done nothing to hurt or offend her. We do not expect it, and so we do not see it, even when it happens to someone we know or to us personally. The actions taken by the covetous sociopath are often so outlandish, and so gratuitously mean, that we refuse to believe they were intentional, or even that they happened at all. In this way, her true nature is usually invisible to the group. She can easily hide in plain sight among genuinely intelligent, professional people.When people do not provoke in the sociopath a desire for something they have, or for something they are, then she does not target them. To the contrary, she may be especially charming and courteous when she believes that certain underlings, as she thinks of them, are useful in maintaining her sheep's-clothing disguise, a disguise that includes a presentation of herself as an extraordinarily nice, caring, responsible, and pitiably overworked person. Sound like anyone you know? Beware...

Participation

Yes Perippa,
I have been thinking too how to make our blog more interesting. As I have been closely watching a few cross stitch blogs of late, I was able to see what all people write. They post pictures of their family, any disaster, any happiness, basically anything that interests them. Even a new recipe that somebody tried out, and the picture of the outcome.
Akila

We have moved to November!

     Yes, we remained in October till now.  There was no problem with the site.  Of late, very few people have been posting anything,  perhaps only two or three.  This is certainly not conducive to maintaining any enthusiasm for the blog.  Hence the inaction on my part.  

I have now updated the birthday list for the second half of November, to the extent I have info.  Let us make the blog more active and interesting, instead of confining ourselves to birthday/anniversary greetings.  The life and quality of the blog depend on all the members and their willingness to participate.

Jayaraman

We are still in October

Jayaram,

I have opened the blog several times and I find there are no new posts and "dates to remember" still features October dates ? Is there any problem with the site ?

-Ramakrishnan.

Congrats Kaushik

Congratulations Koushik on your engagement.

Ramesh and myself wish you a Very Happy Life with Aishwarya.

Akila pass on our good wishes to koushik.

Vidya

KAUSHIK AND AISHWARYA

The photoes have come out well. Aishwarya looks a sweet girl and I wish Kaushik and Aishwarya a very happy period of engagement followed by a happy married life.

The photoes are rather small and even when I clicked on them I did not get an enlargement.

-Ramakrishnan.

Thanks for sending the photos, Akila. I feel really bad that I will not be able to attend the wedding.
About tidbits, right when we need it, the mind goes blank!!
Gayathri

Koushik's engagement

Here are some of the pictures that Akila had sent us all, of Koushik's engagement.  Congratulations, Koushik.

(Re. Akila's query, the usual thing would be to say "Koushik is engaged to Aishwarya" but I do not know if Akila's phrase is wrong.  It sounds fine to me.)

Koushik engaged to wed Aishwarya

Dear All,
Koushik's engagement went off very well with the grace of God. The wedding would be on the 4th dec. I have sent few pictures of the engagement from my yahoo id.
By the way, is the title I gave this topic correct grammatically?
Akila