If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Sex and the City

Maybe it's maturity or the wisdom that comes with age, but the witch in Hansel and Gretel—she's very misunderstood. I mean, the woman builds her dream house and these brats come along and start eating it.

Charlotte : Everyone needs a man. That's why I rent. If you own and he still rents, then the power structure is all off. It's emasculating. Men don't want a woman who's too self-sufficient.
Samantha : I'm sorry, did someone just order a Victorian straight up?

Charlotte : I proposed to myself!
Carrie : What?
Charlotte : Yes. I suggested he have a tomato salad, then I suggested we get married.
Carrie : Wait. What exactly did he say?
Charlotte : Alrighty!
Carrie : Alrighty? He said alrighty? Now I'm thinking the upsetting thing isn't that you proposed, it's that you proposed to a guy that says "alrighty."
Charlotte : Oh, Carrie, stop!
Carrie : Alrighty.

Miranda : Maybe it's time that I stop being so angry.
Carrie : Yeah, but what would you do with all your free time?

Natasha :Yes, I'm sorry about it all. I' m sorry he moved to Paris and fell in love with me. I'm sorry that we ever got married. I'm sorry he cheated on me with you and I'm sorry that i pretended to ignore it for as long as I did. I'm sorry I found you in my apartment, fell down the stairs and broke my tooth. I'm very sorry that after much painful dental surgery this tooth is still a different colour than this tooth. Finally I'm sorry that you felt the need to come down here. Now, not only have you ruined my marriage, you 've ruined my lunch.

Carrie : The universe may not always play fair, but at least it's got a hell of a sense of humor.

Carrie: [Carrie is fallen on the runway and she gets up] When real people fall down in life, they get right back up and keep on walking.

Miranda: [mocking Samantha's announcement that she is now a lesbian] Oh, I forgot to tell you - I'm a fire hydrant!

Samantha : Fuck men. We have to run to Helga the Hot Waxer every other week, but them? How would they like it if we told them to shape their hedge, trim their trunk?
Carrie : Plant their bulbs? I'm sorry, we are talking about gardening, aren't we?

Charlotte: We are having Trey´s sperm tested
Miranda: Is it not doing well in school?

Carrie: You're pregnant? Really?
Miranda: No, I just thought it would be a fun thing to say. Fuck!

Miranda: I don't know why they call it morning sickness, because it lasts all fucking day long. Unless it's M-O-U-R-N, as in "mourning the loss of your single life."

Carrie : I used to think those people who sat alone at Starbucks writing on their laptops were pretentious posers. Now I know: They are people who have recently moved in with someone.

Miranda : It's amazing. In a courtroom, reasonable doubt can get you off for murder. In an engagement, it makes you feel like a bad person.

Samantha : "Best" is like signing "Not Love."

Miranda : Why do we get stuck with old maid and spinster and men get to be bachelors and playboys?


Miranda : No, he's not sick. He's not hungry, he's not teething, he just wants to scream. I'm doing everything I can but I can't please him. If he was 35 this is when we would break up.

Miranda : I don´t invest anymore, it´s too volatile
Carrie : Exactly! I like my money right where I can see it... hanging in my closet!

[Berger is shocked by the price of a Prada shirt]
Prada Sales Guy : But you will wear it forever!
Berger : Yeah, I'd have to! Does it also somehow open into a small studio apartment?

[Miranda can fit into her "skinny jeans."]
Charlotte : How'd you do it?
Miranda : Well, I got pregnant, became a single mother, and stopped having any time to eat.
Samantha : Oh, that's a diet I won't be trying.

Carrie : I tried the trapeze yesterday for that piece that I'm writing.
Charlotte : I could never! I have the most terrible fear of heights.
Carrie : Well, I do not. You've seen my shoes.

Carrie : Think about it. If you are single, after graduation there isn't one occasion where people celebrate you. ... Hallmark doesn't make a "congratulations, you didn't marry the wrong guy" card. And where's the flatware for going on vacation alone?

Charlotte : Big is in town?
Carrie : Yeah, he's here for a little heart thing.
Miranda : What, is he on the wait list to get one?

Big : [to Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha] You're the loves of her life and a guy's just lucky to come in fourth.

I don't question my obsessions. I just follow them.

2 layered chocolate-fruit cake:
Bake 2 normal chocolate cakes (with chocolate chips in them for fun).
Make chocolate mousse-ish cream based frosting and put it in between the 2 layers of cake. Add kiwi slices in the middle as well.
Make chocolate frosting using Swiss Dark Chocolate. Coat on top of the upper layer. Top off with strawberries.

Voila! Prettiest cake I've made so far. I don't want to cut it ever.

Bread-rolls for breakfast :)

The charms of Simplicity

p.s. This was originally posted on 9 Nov 2010. I reposted it because I really love this video.

Things we forget

I was just looking at photos of an old friend today. And I was reminded of their mannerisms - the way they walk, dress, gesture, carry themselves. It's funny how quickly these trivial details slip our minds. And what a shock their memory comes as thereafter.

An emotional void

Find purpose. The means will follow - Gandhi

Off The Map

So I was just watching Off The Map Series Premiere (it's pretty awesome, I highly recommend you go watch it). All the doctors who are there, working in a South American "Clinica" are running away from personal demons. As one of them puts it, "if there is ever a place to start over, it's here".

I wonder if I will ever reach that stage when I will want to travel to a far far away land just to run away from something I can't change, can't ignore, can't get over.

I hope not.

Asian Parenting

This is a brilliant article. Something I think some of us can relate to. And I think I turned out a lot better because nothing less than perfection was expected of me. Getting a 'B' for even 1 out of 15 subjects was something to be frowned upon. And God help me if I got more than 1 'B'. It would be followed by "agli baar toh ek bhi A nahi aayega". This was Dad's cursing of course. Indian fathers, at least many of those whom I know, seem to have this sarcastic style of speaking. And motivating. I must say it was a combination of fear of getting scolded and the desire to do well which kept my grades up in school.

It was my mom's hands-on teaching which helped me when I was younger. When she got a full-time job, I was in 6th standard. After that, it was pretty much on my own. And I managed. There was supervision, but there was also the independence to choose your own learning techniques.

I think one of the reasons responsible for my academics going south in Singapore is the lack of supervision. I can always hide my grades from my father. As long as I don't make any major screw-ups, like not get into university, bad grades go pretty much unnoticed. Or cursed-over-the-phone. Which hardly matters.

What I expect from myself was also tailored by what others expected of me. With no one to scold me for not studying here, I expect a lot lesser from myself. Which, in this last semester, will be crucial in deciding whether or not I have a job or not. Stupid conditional offers.

Does NUS lack tradition?

For a university with a history of more than a 100 years, NUS doesn't seem to have a very community feel. As a student, or alumni, have you ever felt like part of something bigger, wholesome, traditional? 'Cos that's just it, this place feels like it has no tradition. The overpriced bears with blue and orange clothes on are the only memorabilia that this place boasts of. With a desire so strong to stay up-to-date with the latest, the past is somehow lost along the way.

Open your eyes

Ok I mean no offense to anyone here. Seriously, I don't. But when I hear people in Singapore complain how hard their life is, about unhygienic something is, I want to, you know, slap them. Want to know why? In a country where tap water in washrooms is worthy of drinking, what would you know about drinking street water everyday. For people who want to go and calculate asbestos levels at bus stops, imagine walking for miles just to get some water.

Read this. See how many you actually get through: Postcards from Hell.

Art is about creativity

And expanding the very definition of what can be called art.

Face symphonies:




Beat boxing:

Dil ko hai gham kyun, aankh hai nam kyun,
Hona hi tha jo hua hai.

Us baat ko, jaane bhi do,
Jiska nishaan kal ho naa ho.

Bhajji da jalwa

Don't you just love cricinfo and their commentary?

India-SAfrica 3rd Test, India's 1st innings.

Harbhajan. Will he "show us how to bat"?

84.4
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run, 136.8 kph, another one lands back of a length and goes away like a monster. Harbhajan stays in the crease, thinks of dangling his bat at it and then pulls away

84.5
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run, 134.6 kph, this is a better leave, Steyn keps doing his thing, away seamers at immense pace, this time Harbhajan leaves easily

84.6
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run, 135.0 kph, how did Harbhajan survive that? Pushes almost in fear at another express delivery that moves away from the line of off stump. He played at it in hope, without moving the feet and it burst through that pretence of a shot without taking the edge

86.1
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, 1 run, Harbhajan gets a ball similar to the one that ate Pujara up, but this one did not deviate that much. As a result, though he got completely squared up, he managed to get bat on it and poke it into the covers. Crucially, he's away to the non-striker's end

Boy, if new balls could talk, this one is screaming its head off.

87.1
Morkel to Harbhajan Singh, FOUR, right, Harbhajan reckons he has a better chance of scoring at this end. He backs away, gets into position to deal with Morne's normal length and slams a short ball with ugly efficiency over wide mid on.

87.2
Morkel to Harbhajan Singh, no run, that shot suggests he's in the last over of a Twenty20 match. Needing 36 runs to win. Stays back in the crease and lets off a mighty swish just outside the line of off. The ball was approximately a foot further outside off

87.3
Morkel to Harbhajan Singh, 1 run, Harbhajan plays a shot no one else has ever played, or ever will. He backs away outside leg stump, Morne follows him with a yorker on the toes and Harbhajan lifts his left foot off the ground to save his ankles and plays it towards long on

87.6
Morkel to Harbhajan Singh, no run, Harbhajan gives it another almighty hoick, but was hopelessly late on his attempt to slam Morne's pacy, lifting length ball into stratosphere. He was hardly into his follow through when Boucher collected it

88.4
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run, back of a length, Harbhajan plays a shot from his tennis manual. Bottom edges an attempted slap towards the slips

88.5
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run

88.6
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run, What material is that stump made off? Use it to cut diamonds, I say! Steyn delivers another one of those pythons that lands on a length on middle and off, and seams away, leaving Harbhajan's attempted prod in another zip code altogether. It hits something on the way. South Africa go up in a huge appeal. The ball deviated off something. Turns out it hit the off stump on its way. The bails were not interested in falling down. Steyn is miffed beyond words!

Ladies and gentlemen. Steyn is bowling one of the best spells of fast bowling you will ever see. Please inform your friends. Bowling change, Morne gives way to Tsotso.

89.6
Tsotsobe to Harbhajan Singh, 2 runs, 132.5 kph, he backs away towards off stump again, setting himself up for a pull. Tsotso hurries him into the shot this time, but Harbhajan still gets enough meat on it to evade the infielders and land safely around deep midwicket for a couple

92.5
Morkel to Harbhajan Singh, no run, 137.9 kph, more fishing outside off stump from the Harbhajan book of angling. Morne gets this one to hold its line after landing on a length outside off, Harbhajan doesn't move his feet and has a waft, well away from the line of the delivery

That will be drinks after a riveting, crackling, absolutely terrific ripper of a session. Boy!

99.3
Harris to Harbhajan Singh, no run, 82.4 kph, Harbhajan won't mind that at all. It landed on a length outside off, missed his airy drive and turned away like a top. On steroids. It went straight into first slip's hands. Wry smiles all round.

100.5
Tsotsobe to Harbhajan Singh, 3 runs, 135.7 kph, That's mowed with as much violence as you can exhibit, without actually managing to time the ball. Short delivery, angles into position for Harbhajan's cow corner slap and he mis-times it. It rolls along towards the boundary and Prince tags it all the way to save the fourth run.

102.1
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run, 135.0 kph, the first one angles down the leg side, taking Harbhajan's pad on the way as he misses the glance

104.1
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run, 136.4 kph, thick inside edge onto the pads. Else, Harbhajan might have been dead plumb. Playing back to a fast, back of length delivery, destined for the top of off stump

104.2
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run, 133.9 kph, and he tries to slam him over the Table Mountain. And fails. Length ball, hint of away shape from outside off, Harrbhajan was on the back foot looking to smear that out of Cape Town, but missed it by a mile and a week.

104.3
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run, 141.1 kph, Steyn's building up the pace now, short length ball, angling into Harbhajan, who does well to hop back on the back foot and work it to the leg side

104.4
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, SIX, 137.5 kph, Harbhajan has just played the shot of the match. Of the series. Of the South African summer. Length ball on middle and off, Harbhajan doesn't bother with trifles like foot work. He stays back and drills the bat down in one, smooth, devastating swing. And makes fearsome contact. And then he holds his pose. The ball sails easily over long on. Harbhajan has a wry smile on his face. Business as usual. He hardly strained a muscle and sent the world's top fast bowler packing over long on. On a day when he has bowled the spell of the series. This Test match continues to throw up some utterly unbelievable moments. It brought up 2000 runs for Harbhajan in Tests. Can't think of a more stylish way to bring up a milestone.

Something seems to have gone into Harbhajan's eye. He's getting some treatment for it. And now he's ready.

104.5
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run, 145.8 kph, saw that coming didn't you. Steyn lets rip a steamy bouncer that was destined to hit Harbhajan on the head. He weaved away like Mohammad Ali in his prime and dropped his wrists. Good idea.

104.6
Steyn to Harbhajan Singh, no run, 140.4 kph, another short ball, but this time it slides harmlessly down the leg. Harbhajan wants to smash it, but misses. Steyn has a smile, Harbhajan has a smile. Friendly banter ensues!

How Harbhajan survived the new ball will remain one of the great unsolved mysteries of the game. Especially that ball from Steyn which crashed into off stump without dislodging a bail. "Act of God," as George Binoy puts it.

We have a long time to go in the year, but I doubt if we'll see a better spell of fast bowling all year. Sachin weathered the storm, with some luck, with lot of gumption and with some help from Harbhajan who has his own methods.

Abseiling to school?

Spend a day...

not worrying about what people think about you.

Do something that you really wanted to do, but were always scared of the censor of those around you.

Do it for yourself.

Live a little.