Enna Punniyam Seidheno ..

Adelaide winter is not disappointing. It is in every way as expected. Freezing cold and tough.

A mug of hot choco, a rug to wrap around, the perpetual whirr of the heater, the gloves, scarf and sweater: this great grand ensemble has been my fashion statement for some time now. I am still getting used to the winter spell and I am taking my own sweet time. Winter starts officially in June. Sigh. What do you call this then?

I settle on the sofa comfortably in this costume (looking like Takur Singh). I run a sanity check wondering if everything is within reach.
Laptop, TV Remote, Sea of Poppies? Yes. No, check again.
CoffeeMug, chips, water? Yes. No, Sumthing is amiss.

Ah, shuddup and just watch the TV. 10 Minutes of Heroes. Then comes Tada Tada Tannn.. Chikku Bukku chikku bukku raile from the other room. The good old mobe. Haa Haa, told ya.

:Hello, ees thees Sweeathe Venka..
:Ya, tell me.
:We have a new personal loan scheme for our……

Duh.

Risk Appetite

AUD opened 80 cents above USD today. Yay!!

Surge in risk appetite is the alleged reason. Risk Appetite, a wonderful concept, is deceptively simple to comprehend. If you are running an organization, you should know how much risk you can devour if you want to retrieve a decent return.

A bit of Gyaan: (Last benchers can doze off happily. Sweet dreams!)

Say, you are running a bank. You should have defined risk categories and set target levels around these categories, one for the loans department, one for new business ventures, etc. To put in layman terms, an organization needs to have a minimal risk appetite. Remember the no-pain, no-gain concept.

On a usual Sunday afternoon, You are at Marathalli. You enter into Innovative Multiplex and the only matinee show screened is errr, wait…. Mariyadhai. Disappointed, you come out only to meet your college prof who calls you for lunch at Bhagini. It is one of those critical situations in life where you are desperate to make a decision. You end up taking the obvious choice. By evening, you are surprised to find that your risk appetite has paid off. After all, Mariyadhai is better than Sarvam.

Yaar Nee?

Well, the intended recipient of this letter has chosen to be very discreet when it comes to revealing his /her identity in orkut but not so when it comes to sending incessant friend requests.So,here goes...

To whomsoever it may concern:

I am not complaining. But I am not accepting your friend request either. I have a hearty laugh every week at the expense of your messages in my inbox. Much as I appreciate your friendship expedition, I will, as well have you know that occasionally, Monsieur checks my inbox too. Besides holding her handbag and mobile phones when the wife is out shopping, the holy matrimony demands the better half lends a hand time and again to keep her alive on facebook and orkut.

However, if you are still persistent, change the title of your msgs to ‘Latest Designs from Pothys Samuthrika Collection’ or ‘Application form from Jaya TV Jackpot’. That way, you steer clear of a condescending laughter from one of us, while persuading the other to read the message till the last dot.

Gracias!

Capsicum, Cooking, Calculations

The arrangement in the veggie section in Woolworths reminds me of the traffic lights. A green followed by a yellow, then a red one. Stacked one below the other. Colourful and exotic vegetable, Capsicum. Piquant bittersweet taste when cooked fresh.

Capsicum has never interested me before. Cooking itself, for that matter. Kitchen was my untrodden territory. Cooking is an art, says Amma. For me, it was just modern art. I could stare at the final picture with awe and recognise any genuine masterpiece by the look of it. Talent and expertise that went in the making were promptly acknowledged and appreciated. That’s all I could do. I wouldn’t touch the canvas. Atleast not until, ….

Well…The above dots got filled and to my surprise I was there in the kitchen and before I knew it, I was painting vazhakai morkootu and mulagootal with ease. Finely cut vegetables, the right pinch of salt, patience and some imagination is all it takes to paint a decent picture. I hate to admit it, but yes… I’m luving it. So, why all the ado before? mmHm.

Enough retrospect. What next… aahh, Tax calculations. Similar reluctance. Dragging my feet, here I come! I am gonna luv it, be it Stuffed capsicum or Superannuation.

Life is...

The Week: 5 days of mayhem, crisis, confusion, frenzy, deadlines, demos, last minute sodhapals, 12 hour shifts, tracking, status reports,meetings...

The weekend: dinner with friends, XMan, Raghu Romeo, Poi Solla Porom, Australia, ATA’s felicitation barbeque, Paths of Glory.

Life is not all that bad. Trust me.

Dr. House

A one of its kind serial I got glued to right from the first episode. The protagonist is an eccentric medical genius who can perform an operation when he is cracking a crossword puzzle. Not everyone can smash it the way Hugh Laurie has. Portrayal of an outrageous intellectual who diagnoses his patients based on epiphany more than anything else is not an easy task. Not surprisingly, he has been rated the second sexiest television doctor. Only next to our very own George Clooney.

The point here is, unconventional as it is, the serial ended in the most unacceptable way with Doctor House landing in a psychiatric institute. All said and done, Mr.Cool is framed lunatic in the much hyped grand finale. The last episode reveals that he has been deluding himself and that his vulnerability, however short-lived, is a figment of his imagination. Kudos to whoever scripted this. But just one question.

What can possibly go wrong with a lived-happily-ever-after ending? With House’s boss-the single, dainty, eligible Cuddy standing next to him all the while.

Movies Movies ..

Managed some good movies on the way.

1. The Reader: Awesome Movie. Not sure what to make of the story. But watch it for Kate. Fabulous performance. Her evolution from the Titanic Rose to a matured, unassuming, underplaying Hanna Schmitz is evident throughout.

2. Scent of a Woman: Al Pacino. Al Pacino. Al Pacino. Watch out for the background score when he drives the Ferrari.

3. Ayan: A well chosen comeback movie for Surya after the blockbuster Varanam Ayiram. But Why Tamanna? With her do-i-luk-pretty-when-i-cry attitude and robotic dance style, sigh.
Surya has been consistent throughout (as always). And Prabhu too. But its Jagan who walks away with the cake eventually. Talk about spontaneous humor.

4. A Good Woman: Tea time movie. Set in Victorian era, Ellen Hunt and Scarlett Johansson steal the show.

5. Castaway : Ok, stop it. I know everyone has seen it already.

Howdy!!

How do you like a week cramped with Cest la Vie moments. Half baked blog posts, mails drafted to be sent later,TTD list getting bigger. Procrastination at its best. The weekend finally is here. I am not complaining. Its good to be busy. But (thers is always a but, isnt it.. )

Its good to be working throughout the day, breathing in instalments, trying to give your best, on time. I understand the associated chaos and frenzy. but should you interrupt me when I am having my lunch? For work? Especially for work? I simply dont comprehend the supposedly-assumed-FBI-tracking-Jason Bourne attitude at work. Some roles are best left to Matt.