Book Baker's baked books

Delusions of a new housewife

2011-07-13T00:56:00.000-07:00

I aspire a lot. Whether my aspirations realise or not is another matter altogether.

When my husband & I moved into a place of our own a few months ago, I had all sorts of grand plans. And mind you, everything D.I.Y too. Fix up the garden, bake regularly, wake up before the sun & cook, mop the floor every morning etc etc etc.

This long and industrious list also includes menu planning for every week & preparing a grocery list. While some of the others above I might not have achieved yet, ( Mopping the floor every day! It's not a healthy goal, mind wise) every week I do plan ahead what to cook for the coming week & make a grocery list. That way we don't end buying things we don't need & minimises impulsive buying.

So here's where I went wrong. When we moved in we stocked up the pantry by me spending one whole day at Cargills. Then, the first few weeks, we bought all our groceries from Keells in the neighbouhood. Prices aren't too bad. Can buy pretty much everything from the same place. You know the merits.

Then a funny thing happened. Delusions of austerity. I thought it was too much of grandeur to be shopping at super markets.

"Look at all those people shopping at the Sunday pola. Darling can you take me to the Manning market? Thousands of people shop at the Manning Market!, No?, How about the economic centre in Narahenpita then? Nugegoda pola is good, let's go there"

My indulging husband took me to both the economic centre and the Nugegoda daily pola. But of course we always had to go to Cargills to buy other house hold stuff after buying vegetables & such from the pola.

He outright refused to take me to the Manning market. I have never set foot in there. But really really want to.

At first prices seemed fair, the merchandise good, the vegetables fresh and I thought one could find anything one wanted in the pola.

Particularly, the Nugegoda pola has a meat stand which sells sausages and such for half the price of that of Cargills or Keells. Also, the fruit vendor wasn't very strict about the weight of the fruit when he charged us.

Last Sunday night, we went to the pola again. Here's where my delusions shattered. I bought garlic at the pola for 300 Rupees for a kilo. And a kilo of tomatoes at the pola was 80 Rupees.

We crossed the road & went into Cargills.
a kilo of garlic was 199 Ruppes & a kilo of tomatoes was 40 rupees.

There. That was it. All because I thought I was being too grand to shop at the Supermarket while others were shopping at the pola. Learned my lesson. Grandeur apparently is good. It's definitely good for me. Not to sound snotty or anything.

Etsy shop

2011-05-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,

Just popped into tell you that I just opened an etsy shop.Check it out will ya?

For those in Sri Lanka, if you like anything in the shop, just drop me a mail. :)

See you later.

BB Out.

Lead me not into temptation

2011-04-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

Before you get the wrong idea, this is about food.

I've decided to go vegan. Twice in the past I have tried being vegetarian, each spell lasting about an year before I relapsed into my carnivore habits.

This time, I'm more serious than ever, and want to make a life long commitment to not consuming anything of animal produce.

I'm alright with cooking meat. I manage it every day. I cook for my husband & manage not to eat it at all. Every day it gets easier & each day is one small victory. I have already switched to soy milk from dairy milk. I anyway never wore fur or used real leather. alright! so faux leather is cheap! who cares. A cow didn't die to give me a new hand bag!

Anyway, so here is the afore mentioned temptation. I come my parent's place and there on the kitchen counter is my dad's chicken stew. (groan groan groan). I haven't quite got the grasp of how he makes it, I have tried & yet again I can't seem to make it just the way he does. The point is that, it's sitting there, on the counter. and I have already opened it & looked at it and kind of sniffed it.

I will not eat it. Dhal curry is enough for me.

And, if anyone's interested why I decided to go all vegan.

1. Every time I eat meat, an animal who has done nothing to hurt me, dies.

2. I'm hoping it will help me lose weight.

3. I was fine with dairy products before, but I've realised that the milk we consume does not come from free cows grazing in green pastures giving us their milk because they have it of abundance. They do it by being forced to, with tubes attached to their udders for extracting milk. I'd like to see women do it!

4. Even if my skin is lightly bruised, I hurt. I don't want handbags,dresses, shoes or anything else made from the skin of someone else.

Watch this video please.

There. Resolution renewed. Will not eat meat. Period.

See you later.

BookBaker Out.

Holmes on the matter of dogs

2011-03-18T01:02:00.000-07:00

"My line of thoughts about dogs is analogous. A dog reflects the family life. Whoever saw a frisky dog in a gloomy family, or a sad dog in a happy one? Snarling people have snarling dogs, dangerous people have dangerous ones. And their passing moods may reflect the passing moods of others."
- Quoted as being said by Sherlock Holmes, in the Adventure of the Creeping Man.
- The case-book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Of me

2010-11-16T05:48:00.000-08:00

A very good evening!!

I'm very judgmental. I've been told so various times. & I know it. So it turns out that I need to go a bit judgy on me.

I honestly don't think that I have that many nice qualities. For instance only today, MC replied to something I said with "akka!! you can be so cruel"

Self analysis is never easy. One tends to think of all the nice qualities that one thinks he or she possesses. We are obviously very biased to our own selves. Rather egoistic.

I've realised that in a fight, I usually tend to think that I'm always in the right. There is of course no doubt that I am always in the correct. But to show the world that I'm indeed a nice person, maybe I need to give a little more leeway to the other person.

So in a nutshell, (as if!) here's me.

I believe, there are two kinds of people. Those who make lists & those who don't. I'm the third kind.
I'm selectively OCD. Sometimes I don't like people for no apparent reason. Those who I love, I love like mad.

I have only a very few friends other than on FB. Two very close ones actually. Why? Because I can never be bothered to keep up friendships. It takes so much energy and effort. The two that remain have stood the test of time. Even them sometimes I go on without talking for weeks or a month. But we can always pick up the threads at anytime.

I like fantasy novels. I read saucy historical romances. If I could have one super hero ability it would be to fly and have huge wings. You know like angel from X-men.

I'm crabby. I'm bubbly. I'm fat. I also have a nasty temper that flares out if I'm not in control. I don't like talking about politics & I hate sports.I'm nerdy. I like exams & pretend not to like them.

I realise that most people won't like me after reading this. Most people woudn't want to read rants about another. I'll get over it.

Live Long & Prosper.

My other blog & homemade pasta

2010-09-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

So you know my other blog right.? http://craftinesswhatnot.blogspot.com

Just wanted to let you know. There's a new post on home made pasta. You should try out definitely.

Have a great day!!

Among the pages : American Gods

2010-09-03T08:14:00.000-07:00

hat I'm not is a book critique. Err.. Maybe I am. I mean I have spent countless hours discussing this & that book with various people, (i.e, Hubs, sis, my almost twin friend etc..). Does that make me a critique? Does my ability to make a good cheese cake make me Gordon Ramsay? ( I wish!) You get the point.

All these being said, I do love, adore books. Books therefore invariably feature in my "things that make me happy list" (hubs and family being in the people that make me happy list). The things that make me happy list contains the following & not in the same order every time.

1. The smell of books.
2. Butter. (Obviously! Have you seen me lately?)
3. Old furniture
4. Dettol soap
5. Garlic.
6. Butter. (did I say that already?)
7. Ginger tea.

See, I'm a very simple person.

In addition, to my delight, I have found out that (contrary to the popular belief) there are a multitude of people in our generation who could not simply survive without a book in their hands.

To come to the point of this blog post I thought I'd share with the world my two pence on what I'm reading.

AMERICAN GODS by Neil Gaiman

I finished this one a month or so ago I think. I have read a few of Neil Gaiman's books in the past & am a huge fan of the Sandman. (thanks to my brother). While I think that Gaiman is a literary genius, this particular book was extraordinary. It is no wonder it has received so many awards.

American Gods centres around an ex-convict named Shadow and his adventures with the stuff of mythology. Its main theme that (As far as I can see it) Gods as we know them will cease to exist as our belief in them wanes & new ones are born when we start believing in new things is indeed fascinating. That is to say, some Gods of olden days have already gone extinct as we no longer believe in them and forgotten them while certain new Gods have sprung up. The Media, Technology etc.

The story follows Shadow as he makes his way through America facing challenges, battling enemies & solving mysteries to his ultimate revelation. He does all these while being in the employment of a certain mysterious Mr Wednesday.

I could not but notice the similarity between the aforementioned theme and of some of the characters found in Sandman.

I'm only vaguely familiar with the persistent Norse mythology in the book. (Having read Sophie's world). Because of this I found this subject very interesting.

Only the connection between Shadow & Mr Wednesday was kind of cliche for me.

Alright, alright. Enough ruining it for you by giving away the story.

If you ever read it, let me know. I of course do recommend it heartily.

Here's what you should do. Get the book. Fill a bowl with something to munch. Find a nook. Hide. Get comfortable. Read.

BookBaker Out.

On Public Radio

2010-08-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

On my way to Colombo from out today I had two strange encounters. One I will recount later. The other heard on a Sinhalese radio station played in the bus was indeed shocking.

This radio station calling them the Number 01 in the country (According to some bizarre poll apparently) was playing their afternoon show.

The presenter, a girl with a strange accent (Haven't you noticed how they all speak as Sinhalese was their 2nd, no 10th language and not the mother tongue?), announced the next part of a radio drama (I'm not sure of the correct terminology here). You get the idea right, people act out a story on air. And this radio drama, I don't mean Muwan Pelassa. This was one of those cheap, petty, trashy ones, girls with smoky voices & guys trying to lure these girls in and ensuing love stories.

This particular programme was announced to be a radio movie. (Obe aadaraneeya guvanviduli chithrapatiya) BAH! What on earth is a guvanviduli chithrapatiya?

From the bits & pieces I caught, first there was a girl who tricked a guy on a motor bike to give her a ride home. (Pick her up & drop her home). Here's the shocking part. Between every two words she used one of the following words. “Ulama, Gona, Ibba, Booruwa, Gon balla “& so on & so forth. And the guy also responded in a similar manner. “Ibbiye, modiye" et cetera.

This was followed by a few songs (Who makes these songs?) after which the next part of the "guvanviduli chithrapatiya" resumed.

Apparently in this part (I'm not sure if it's the same girl or a different one), a girl had just gotten home but had not noticed that there was a guy in her living room. (Yes very film noir). Only after she folded her umbrella, took her own time, finished a phone call (all this while the guy observing her) she turned & was startled to see this guy in her living room.

The guy having enquired as to why she lets/brings this other guy to her house when he's not around was met with yet another tirade (I'm not sure if it was his first, I strongly doubt it however) in the aforesaid manner with her denial of sorts of his accusations. "ibba" & "ulama" seemed to be the favourite words of the heroin.

At this point, of course he had no recourse but to interrogate her more & prove that she indeed was not very honest with her replies. Meanwhile, not offended at all by his accusations or tone of voice or the choice of words (as it should be in a Mills & Boon novel) she, causing distress to many listeners wondered in her head why she wasn't at all offended and proceeded to. (WAIT FOR IT) hide her face in her hands and burst into a fit of giggles.

Thankfully, the programme ended then. Or it didn't & I was just brain dead.

Firstly, when on earth did people start speaking like that? Is it some novel idea that calling names is flirtatious?

Secondly, ON PUBLIC RADIO?

Thirdly, on a programme obviously targeted at the young crowd?

Goodness! Can someone please put them out of their misery? They sounded so needing it.

Do they think that it's OK to portray on radio that for any guy it's alright to come uninvited & be in a girl's (Or anyone else's) house unannounced? Like a serial killer or a rapist. Really? Seriously?

And since when is it OK for public radio to encourage girls to trick random guys to pick them off the road?

And, since when, (let me re-iterate) since when is it OK to talk to people like that?

And the accents? What's up with that? Even people I know who have lived their whole lives abroad speak better Sinhala. You can't speak a language? Learn it. Till you do, speak in a language you can in a relevant radio station. Better yet, don't join a media station.

Public radio is not the personal play ground of presenters (or producers) for flirty bantam. People are listening & throwing up all over the place.

This particular radio station is not the only guilty one of course. Many many others are. Thankfully, most of the English channels aren't so bad. At least they play a whole lot of music & don't have "guvanviduli chithrapatiya" But then those who listen to the English stations are a tiny tiny portion.

Me having to listen to these stations are a sad by-product of bus travel like for many others. I've seen many who twist their faces listening to these. No wonder that these stations have to give away cash prizes to their listeners for doing so.

Oh yeah. This particular station's English channel was closed down a few years ago for misreporting.

There is no doubt that media should be responsible. Socially responsible. If this is a far cry, they should at least be decent, sociable and not spread vulgarity. Because the masses are easily gullible & deceivable on norms and such.

So the responsibility lies in not misleading the masses. Can't lead them in the right direction? Fine. Don't. Just don't lead them in the other way either. If you can't do good, stay in the middle.

Click. My Man.

2010-07-31T22:30:00.001-07:00

Drops of Jupiter, originally uploaded by Thanushka Jayasundera.

So My man. Clicks away. Every spare second he gets.
Aaannndd.. he's pretty good at it too.. :D

Check out his pics.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thanushka/

salt

2010-07-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

ilent tears, unheard,
invisible in the periphery,
unnoticed
noticed but not cared,
are the salty drops
from a severed heart.

Happy birthday amma!

2010-07-01T02:53:00.000-07:00

The wonderful lady who gave birth to me celebrates her birthday today. Here's to her!

There is no doubt that she is the best mother in the world. Me, nangi & malli can all attest to that.

She's a celebrated lawyer in our home town. Even though the life of a lawyer can be very hectic, when were little, we only wore the clothes she sewed for us. She was always making things. She still does, when she finds the time.

She's one of those people being the eldest of the family who can proudly say that she dragged the rest of the family ashore from deep murky waters.

She has been married to the love of her life for more than 26 years now and is living proof that love can endure anything.

She loves the three of us unconditionally even though sometimes our unintentional harsh words hurt her. When we go home, she still lays the table for us in the finest of china. She always did. She makes the most delicious aggala. :)

These few lines do not, never will, justify all that she is, all that she does & all that she means to us.

From the three of us, Happy birthday amma!

Fallen Crow

2010-06-30T01:52:00.000-07:00

I was walking home a little while ago. As I turned to our lane I started hearing the caw of a thousand birds quaking the whole neighbourhood.

In front of the apartment-block before ours, was lying a fallen crow gasping for breath, in the searing sun.

For a moment I think, I stood there staring at it. Then I rushed home to see if my brother was home.He wasn't. I ran back. I knew the bird needed help. But I wasn't sure if I should touch it. So in our back yard I found a piece of a wooden board that was lying around.

Having laid this on the floor before the crow, I was standing there wondering how to get the crow on the pallet when thankfully a man from next door came to help. Unlike me, he took the bird in his hands, laid it on the board & carried it to a log that we use as a pedestal for a birdbath basin.

I hurried & got a bowl of water some of which the man tried to pour into the crow's beak. It was still gasping for breath.(That what I was hoping at least, that it was merely gasping for breath). Then deciding that there was nothing else he could do the man walked away. I thanked him & just stood there with the bowl of water in my hands.

I stroked its feathers a bit to see if it would shuffle. It wouldn't. After a while I gave it more water. When I tried a second time to give it water it moved a bit & tried to lift its wings. And it also seemed to be breathing with less difficulty.

Because I thought it was recovering I came inside & changed my clothes.And went back.

The crow had fallen back on the ground, dead.

I couldn't save it.

The supernatural

2010-06-27T00:58:00.001-07:00

Hey folks!!

Long time no see eh? I've been busy.. But that's no excuse. Things I've been busy with? More on that later.

So here's the thing? Do you believe in the supernatural? the spooky? And no, I don't mean Sam & Dean Winchester or Bella swan & Edward Cullen or the rest. I mean real life supernatural stuff.

Like do you think that people will linger on after death because they're stuck in the great in-between. Because they no longer belong to our world, but for some reason cannot go on to the next one either.

Most people will cite religion to exemplify their point of view I'm sure. I'm not talking about what Buddhism teaches us. (I personally believe in rebirth but am to a great extent illiterate about the concepts, I'm ashamed to say.)Or what all other religions teach.

All I'm wondering is, is it out there? a separate dimension that is beyond our perception. Do people like in the movie 6th sense, die, but linger on not knowing that they have died. And do they knowingly or unknowingly cause the living trouble? Even if they don't behave like poltergeists, attach themselves to certain objects that they cared for when they were alive and don't want to move on.

Finally, when you hear stories about such happenings, do you say "hmmm, really?" and go on to narrate a story you heard earlier or say "nah, BS".

BookBaker out.

The funniest thing

2010-02-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

Desolation is the funniest thing.

It saps one's will to move forward or in any other direction.

Until, all one can do is sit in one place and stare at a dot on the floor.

Desolation is the funniest thing.

The Frog

2010-02-25T07:08:00.000-08:00

Guy : "Hey Would you like to dance?"
Girl : " Err.... sorry... what?"
Guy : " Would you like to dance?"
Girl : " I'd like to......"

Time passes. One of them gets offensive.

Guy : " Err... So can you? I mean, get up & come to the dance floor?"
Girl : " ah ha.. Erm.. So can you????"
Guy : "what?"
Girl : "dance?"
Guy :"YEAH!!!!!!" (#$#^*&^*(**#@)
Girl : "can you dance the Chacha?"
Guy : " YEAH!"
Girl : "The jive?"
Guy : "YEAH!"
Girl : "The boogie?"
Guy : "What?"
Girl : "Erm.. Can you sing"
Guy : "Eh?"
Girl : "Can you draw?"
"Can you paint me on a canvas?"
Guy : "Okkkkkkayy... "
Girl : "Can you lead me to the dance floor?"
Guy : "Forget I asked."
Girl : "Can you, or can you not, turn into a handsome prince if I kissed you?"
Guy : "I.said.Forget.it."

So, as we all know, a guy who can't stand for two minutes to answer her innocent questions isn't worth it. So she did. What he said. Forget.

Happiest times

2010-02-17T07:34:00.000-08:00

Four years. We celebrated four years today.

A very happy anniversary to you my darling..

To celebrate, we went & had hoppers with katta sambola and then watalappan & plain tea.

The best anniversary celebration ever. :)

What I really wanted to say to him, but couldn't find the words was..

"Thank you for loving me, For accepting me for my neurotic self. For being there with me through thick & thin.

I love you, more than life itself & I hope you know it."

That's all.

Lesson at staying cool - Akkosa Sutta

2010-02-08T05:31:00.000-08:00

Akkosa Sutta. By proclaiming the Akkosa Sutta, Lord Buddha teaches us of not taking offense. I find this very inspiring.

Once the Blessed One was staying at Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove near the Squirrels' Feeding Place. Now the brahman Akkosa Bharadvaja heard this: "The brahman Bharadvaja, it seems, has become a monk under the Great Monk Gotama." Angry and unhappy, he went to where the Blessed One was. Having approached the Blessed One, he abused and criticized the Blessed One in foul and harsh words.

Thus reviled, the Blessed One spoke to the brahman Akkosa Bharadvaja: 'Well, brahman, do friends, confidants, relatives, kinsmen and guests visit you?"

"Yes, Gotama, sometimes friends, confidants, relatives, kinsmen and guests do visit me."

"Well, brahman, do you not offer them snacks or food or tidbits?"

"Yes, Gotama, sometimes I do offer them snacks or food or tidbits."

"But if, brahman, they do not accept it, who gets it?"

"If Gotama, they do not accept it, I get it back."

"Even so, brahman, you are abusing us who do not abuse, you are angry with us who do not get angry, you are quarreling with us who do not quarrel. All this of yours we don't accept. You alone, brahman, get it back; all this, brahman, belongs to you."

"When, brahman, one abuses back when abused, repays anger in kind, and quarrels back when quarreled with, this is called, brahman, associating with each other and exchanging mutually. This association and mutual exchange we do not engage in. Therefore you alone, brahman, get it back; all this, brahman, belongs to you."

"People, including the king, know the Venerable Gotama thus: 'The Monk Gotama is the Worthy One.' When does the Venerable Gotama become angry?"

Said the Buddha:

"Where is anger for one freed from anger, Who is subdued and lives perfectly equanimous, Who truly knowing is wholly freed, Supremely tranquil and equipoised? He who repays an angry man in kind Is worse than the angry man; Who does not repay anger in kind, He alone wins the battle hard to win. He promotes the weal of both, His own, as well as of the other. Knowing that the other man is angry, He mindfully maintains his peace And endures the anger of both, His own, as well as of the other, Even if the people ignorant of true wisdom Consider him a fool thereby."

When the Lord proclaimed this, the brahman Akkosa Bharadvaja said this to the Blessed One: "Wonderful, indeed, O Venerable Gotama! Herewith I go to the Venerable Gotama for refuge, to his Teaching and to his Holy Order of Monks. Most venerable sir, may I have the privilege to receive at the hands of the revered Lord Gotama the initial monastic ordination and also the higher ordination of a bhikkhu."

And the brahman Akkosa Bharadvaja received at the hands of the Blessed One the initial monastic ordination and he also received the higher ordination of a bhikkhu. And within a short time of his ordination, the Venerable Akkosa Bharadvaja, living alone, secluded, diligent, zealous and unrelenting, reached that incomparable consummation of holiness for which sons of noble families, having totally abandoned the household life, take to the life of homelessness. With direct knowledge he realized the ultimate, then and there, and lived having access to it. He saw with his supernormal vision: "Ceased is rebirth, lived is the holy life, completed is the spiritual task and henceforth there is nothing higher to be achieved."

The Venerable Akkosa Bharadvaja, indeed, became one of the Arahats.

The point here is I think, that no matter what anyone says to you, you shouldn't give two hoots about it. When people are mean to you, be nice to them. Be Cool. I'm going to try that.

Found at Access to Insight. Traslated into English from Pali by Ven Buddharakkitha. Copied entirely from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn07/sn07.002.budd.html.

What's your dose of tv?

2010-02-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

Have you ever found a tv series that you had to watch every week? Or one that was done being aired years ago & you suddenly found it & watched the whole series at one go? I have done both.

I'm not much of a tv junkie. I'm a book junkie. I love, I adore, I could live on books. I also like movies. I guess it's because it's the same reason as for liking books. I like a good story. What I don't like are sad endings. I believe there are enough problems in real life that we don't need more from fiction. There have been so many instances where I've had to try my hand at various antics to get my man to watch happy bubbly movies with me. For him it's all fighting & action. As a result I kind of like action movies too now.

Anyway, back to tv now.

There have been a few tv series that I watched from beginning to end at one go. Of course not in one night. But every night (or day) until I the series was over. These remain my favourite tv shows to date.

1. Friends.

I could watch friends over & over again & every single time bowl over laughing. It never gets old.

2.Avatar the last air bender

Yes I like cartoon. I like fantasy cartoon. I like super human abilities. I'd love to be the Avatar & be super at water bending, air bending, earth bending & fire bending.
What are you guys laughing at? No one ever said I wasn't geeky.

3. SUPERNATURAL
See how it's in capital. I watched the first 4 reasons at one go. Fortunately I was unemployed at the moment & I watched it I don't know for how many hours a day. But there was a time when I went to sleep I would dream of angel wings & stuff.

What prompted me to write this? I just watched the latest episode. That was one good episode.

Supernatural. Recommended.

Geek update for the day. Yessir. Done

What's your dose of tv? I'm tagging MC, BI, Exon, Suri & CupCake.

Book Baker out.

Pettah

2010-02-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

Pettah! The enigma. I think it's strange that the busiest part of the capitol is evasive to most of us. The crowded streets, shouting people, road-side dirt, the innumerable vendors, people, people & more people.

In all my life (shamefully) I must have been to Pettah a maximum of 5 times. When I was a child, no one ever took me there & after I grew up I was so scared of going there that I never tried. But secretly I envied all those who braved it & survived. People who said "You know I bought this at Pettah, that at Pettah, & oh so cheap!" while I paid tenner for the same thing somewhere else.

Once to my utmost horror at my previous work place, my boss dragged me off to Pettah to buy Christmas decor. She knew all the places to go to & how to get there & the only thing I could do was tag along whining all the way. That was my first ever Pettah encounter.

My second was with my mother & an aunt. All I sadly remember is buying a saree at Ranjanas & then being brutally dragged all over the place. I had a very surreal, in a maze feeling, I must tell you.

And then a few months ago, I decided that beads & stones I use in my craft stuff were getting too expensive to be bought at that "palace" in Borella. I knew what I had to do. Ford the murky waters known as Pettah. After getting the know how & where to & how to from a "Pettah Elder" I found my way to the 1st cross street. Ah! Paradise! so many little "kades" decorating the road sides. Yards & yards of trimming & ribbons of colours of the rainbow. Beads! sequins! stones! buttons! elastic! faux pearls! I couldn't believe it. It indeed was a crafter's paradise. And happily, I got a good bargain. Yippee!!

Then again, twice in the last month I went to Pettah. To Malwaththa street. The shoe shopper's paradise. I should rephrase that. A Guys shoe shopper's paradise. What a shame. No shoes for us ladies there. Anyway, there you can get lovely, all very fashionable (Very Barney Stinson looking ones) men's shoes for cheap, if you know how to bargain.

Today, I went there with my sister. Her first time at Pettah of course. Here are the things she did. Not in order.
1. She squirmed
2. She whined
3. She Spoke in English (Loudly)
4. Held my hand all through out.
5. Complained that she was sure I didn't know our way out.
6. Tried to buy goodies with her credit card.

All forgiven.

And, we were rather un-Pettahly dressed by the way. Skinny jeans & ruffly tops-tsk tsk- not the thing for Pettah.

If you haven't been there yet, it's definitely time to check the place out.

Book Baker Out.

New year resolutions?

2010-01-01T08:50:00.000-08:00

A very happy new year everyone!!!! Have a fabulous one!!
I feel like I need to make resolutions. New year resolutions. I feel like I HAVE to make them. Usually every year I make them. As the Thirty First night wanes & a new day & a new year begins. I also usually put them on paper.

But this year I didn't. Maybe it was because I was busy sewing up a saree jacket to wear with my new saree to work today. (Did I mention that I'm back in the dreary workforce again?).

So, here I am still deciding on my new year resolutions.

On a side note, remember my "going to learn a craft a month" resolution? I learnt to crochet a granny square. (I kind of learnt it in November but I finally made granny square coasters in earth colours and I love them)

I also finally sewed a saree jacket by myself. As mentioned earlier as I started this in the fianl hours of December 2009 & finished in the first hours of January 2010 I wonder if it qualifies to be my craft of the month for January 2010.

Forget craft. What did I do in 2009?

I left the workplace I had worked for five years.I was unemployed for 8 months. With no unemployment benefits by the way.(We don't have them here). Started blogging. Found out how much I like handy crafts.Started writing a book. Started working again.

Found out that love indeed is your saving grace. Yes it is.

I need to tell my parents that without them I don't know where I'd be.

To my brother, I'm glad I have you to pet & spoil.

To my sweet little sister, you have always been there for me, and I hope I have been for you too.

To my love, my one true love, you're the butter to my bread & the breath to my life.

For all of these people, I'm resolved to be a better person. In every way.

Happy new year everyone, Here's to new beginnings & first steps.

Book Baker Out.

Run

2009-12-16T22:00:00.000-08:00

I want to run
As fast as I can
As far as I can
to a place
Where love is in its'
                  eternal blossom
where tears are only
                 a trace of a memory
where after-life is
                 eternal salvation
and, where I may escape & disappear
                 into the void of nothingness.

When it's difficult to breathe..

2009-12-02T23:47:00.000-08:00

Everyone's been in some situation where they found it difficult to breathe. The sight of something excessively beautiful. Hearing unexpected news. The sight of the love of your life, to name a few.

Have you however, ever found yourself finding it difficult to breathe for entirely different reasons? Let me tell you a little story.

About two years ago I was spending a weekend with my mother way way out of Colombo. We were just passing a "handiya" when I got this irresistible craving for a kottu. After many "I do't know what they put in it putha, & it's not good for you putha" my ever so indulgent mother bought me a kottu. When we got home, I remember that it was tasty but that's all I registered because I finished it up in the blink of eye (Ok, maybe a little longer than a blink of en eye)

Half an hour later my mother asked me "putha, are you wheezing?". Only then I realised that I really was making an unconscious effort to breathe. A few minutes later I found my chest tight, taking shallow breaths that led to coughing. Shortness of breath in turn led to panic. I knew what was in store for me. Asthma attack. This time puffs from my trusty inhaler didn't work. Lying in bed propped up on pillows didn't calm me. My loving mother stroking my head & back didn't work. I had to be rushed to the hospital, was nebulized & injected bronchodilators.

What I just described might have happened to you as well, if you're suffering from Asthma. The things & substances that can trigger an asthma attack are many & varied. In my case above, guess what it was. The doctor guessed it to be a flavour enhancer in the kottu I ate, such as Ajinomoto, containing MSG (Monosodium Glutamate).

All my life I have been suffering from breathing difficulties,respiratory problems & asthma. So I know how it feels like. Because there is no proper cure & only a control exists it is vital that we find out what causes asthma attacks & take measures to prevent it from happening.The Following video I found explains asthma attacks concisely.

The following video covers COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Desease) as well & details the kinds of medicine given for both Asthma & COPD. It's done by some pharmaceutical company that I swear I'm no part of. :)

Apart from these I've lately found out that practising breathing exercises helps. If you feel like you're about to get an asthma attack, try breathing from your tummy. Using your stomach muscles. When you breathe in put (expand) your stomach out (check mechanics of breathing) & when you breathe out pull in (constrict) your stomach. Try to lengthen the duration of each breathing cycle & concentrate on your stomach movements.

To all like me, hope this helps.. :) Take care of yourselves..

The Eldest

2009-11-22T00:04:00.000-08:00

Those who are not the eldest have no idea how hard it is to be one. The constant weight of being the first born on your shoulder or head (depending on where you choose to carry it). The heartaches, the burns, the tears that you never shed. It is not a walk in the park.

I guess one could say that, as anything being the eldest has its pros & cons (Oh, how I hate that phrase, so cliche). But then again it does.

Being the eldest gives you the chance of loving, petting, ~~bullying into your bidding~~, your younger siblings. You can buy them gifts. Take care of them. Make them a cup of tea when they come home tired. Make them a plateful of chicken fried rice when they're hungry. Hold them when they're cold. Hold their hands when they're sad. Smile with them. Laugh with them. Tell stupid jokes at which they stare at you with their mouths open, silently saying "shut up & end our agony"

But along the ride, you also cry when they cry. Smile when they smile. Feel every pain they feel, only a hundred fold. Feel jubilant at their joy. Their success is your success. Their mistakes, yours.

When my little brother was born, I was six. I remember telling one of my grade one friends while waiting for the school van to pick us up after school that I have a new brother. Tiny as a teeny squiggly worm. But beautiful. My mother made me wash his baby poo napkins and I was only too happy to do so.

When he started preschool, I was ten years. Those were the days that he'd never let go of my hand. I used to go to his Montessori school with him, with him on my lap in the school van & watch him inside the classroom till school was over & bring him back home.

Where ever we went, he used to sit in my lap in the car. He used to fall asleep in my arms.

Until he grew up all gangly & tall I used to tidy up his school uniform shirt after he tucked into his uniform trousers in the morning.

I miss that.

I'm writing this because I remember how tiny he used to be. How he liked to be petted by me. I will have to do another post on my sister later.

Right now, I'm in agony. This is the pain of being the eldest. Did I make the right choices in my life so that my siblings can follow in my footsteps? Do I want them to follow in my footsteps or make their own path way? Have I done enough for them? Have I shown them the way?

My dad always used to tell me that you can only lead a horse to the water but you can't make it drink it. I wonder if I've led them properly. And what do I do with the compulsion I get to metaphorically speaking, to open the horse's mouth & pour the water in. (Drink you! This water is good for you.)

When I do something that think is right, or don't do something that I think is wrong, is it wrong for me to hope that they'll take me as an example and do as I do? And when they don't do as I do, how do I get them to see that my hopefulness is not a judgment. It's just hopefulness. If all they see is a big softie when they see me, maybe I haven't done my duty by them. Maybe I lack the kind of timbre that a good eldest need to inherently have.

I wonder if they know that every mark they miss, I bleed. That every stone they slip from (in the white waters that they need to gingerly find their way through) I fall down a million times. And wonder if I have failed. Wonder if my grip on their hands is strong enough.

Maybe the point of this post is that I miss those days. The days that my brother walked holding my hand. The days that my sister I rode bicycles around the village & climbed the trees in our garden.

Or maybe, I just want them to know that whatever they do, where ever they go, I'm still here. In my eyes they can never do or go wrong. (Maybe a little :) ) In my heart, they're still and always be my little brother & sister.

p.s
I can just see my brother rolling his eyes after reading this & my sister telling me not to make a big deal out of nothing. :)

Cross Roads

2009-11-10T23:32:00.000-08:00

Cross roads. That's where I am right now. Different avenues leading in different directions & not knowing which one to choose.

After lazing at home for months (and being a pain to everyone in my life) I still haven't figured what exactly I want to do. When I quit my previous job, I made a list of this that I want to do. (One or two of them).

1. Start my own business
2. Study further
3. Join another company & join the workforce again.
4. Learn new things

Starting my own thing obviously didn't work. Purely because I wanted to do so many things. I wanted to start catering, a cloth shop, a craft shop, an accessory shop, a book shop (I honestly have no idea how to go about the last one) etc etc.. So as you can see I wanted to so many things and ended up doing nothing.

While I'm writing this self lamenting piece I'm talking to my sister's friend who's across the oceans & I'm sure has never tasted a cake I made & she thinks I should start up a cake shop. A cakery she calls it. See what I mean. One more to my list..

Studying further has been a bit fruitful I think. At least I'm starting that next month or so. I'm enrolled and everything.

On a side note, I just opened a fortune cookie on FB & my fortune was " Your judgement is a little off at this time". Heh!! you bet!

Anyway, talking about studying & my judgement being off I went for an interview at a leading university in Col & didn't get through because I might have said "All that jazz" in the interview. Whoops! It's funny now. But then how I sighed...

Joining the workforce again has been a flop from the start. I don't even want to talk about it.

I do want to learn a lot of new things. To cook like a pro chef. To bake like a Micheline starred pastry chef. To learn to make shoes (sigh... sigh..) To learn fashion design.. To learn new hand crafts. Most importantly (And this I WANT to do) to learn wood work (Anyone knows a person who can teach me?)

There, writing that was definitely good for me.

I'm going to get a job, juggle two kinds of studies & start one of the things in the list above.

And hopefully, will finish the book that I've been trying to write the first chapter of, for months.

Him

2009-11-08T22:23:00.000-08:00

so, this is going to be a rather mushy blog post. This is something that I should have done eons ago. At least I'm attempting now.. :)

Where do I start?

About 4 years ago, I was working at this particular "company". That fateful day both a staff member & the superior in the section next to ours were absent (Now when I think about it "YEA!") and I was having the most stressful day ever, having to cover for missing staff. Then somewhere in the middle of the day I got a mail from an unseen colleague down the stairs requesting a transaction. (To tell the truth at that time every time my mails went "blink" I was sure I was aging fast one mail at a time & was inwardly whining at a rate!)

The sender of this "mail" I had just received had such a lovely uncommon name I had to peep over the partition separating me & my superior and ask her if she knew who this was. Of course she, giving one of her mysterious smiles said "ah, he said he's coming up, wait & see" Of course I put this incident completely out my mind as my PC went "blink" again with another troublesome mail.

I'm not quite sure how long a time passed before I heard an "excuse me" from behind me. I turned, to find the most dazzling smile I have ever seen, (And the whitest of teeth) & there he was & I was hooked for life.

A simple question

2009-08-24T03:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a question. Why did God create both males & females? Both men & women? What was the need I ask you. I wonder when HE said " Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." if he knew that he was just paving the way for war, for heartache, for hurt & pain along with all other things beautiful.

I mean, I 'm not at all complaining. I'm glad HUMANs were created. Otherwise I wouldn't be here & all humans might have ended up as liverworts or something. I'm just saying that HE didn't have to create 2 of each. A couple. That's what I'm saying.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

There are many creatures on earth who can very easily be fruitful & multiply without needing a partner. There are single cell organisms, Planaria & even certain plants. Why were we created in TWOs?

I don't believe in God being a Buddhist. But as we have no way of knowing if there's a higher power or not I guess I will to retreat to Science. Right now, at this particular moment, I'm not very happy with evolution either. Why does progress always mean complication. Simple example. Friendships lead to romance- a few notches higher in the complication scale. Romance leads to marriage-much higher in the scale.

Always the same.

A single cell organism, has no needs like we do. It just lives, divides itself into a million other single cells or so & disappears. We on the other hand, are driven by the constant need of falling in love & maintaining that love. Because of course, any kind of love needs proper & timely maintenance. There is also the constant battle to keep the Significant Other happy at which I think I'm failing badly.

So all I'm saying is that if God created us all as algae & if there was no evolution where all creatures would be equally simple, I wouldn't be feeling as miserable as I'm feeling right now.

Booger being

2009-07-31T04:02:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you have nothing to do. When in the middle of an economic recession you had decided to quit your well paying job, whose fault is it that you're depressed?
Is it yours, or is it the everyone else's who seem think that you're a good for nothing booger being?
I like to think it's everyone else's. I'm completely sane. (So said the mad man)