Following examples ...

As a teetotaller, I think beer is best served only for one purpose - as an excellent hair conditioner.
As an occasional(!) drinker, my husband believes that beer brings relief after a hard day's work.
After reading about this episode ( http://www.newsobserver.com/nation_world/story/1625291.html), now he suddenly wants to patch up with all his long-forgotten enemies-right-from-childhood-days over beer. Should I be happy about his newfound friendliness?!

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Crosswords and Carnatic Music

Identifying raagas in cine songs was never my forte. Even an uninitiated soul in my family would have an aha moment with the raaga of like "Mullai Malar Mele" or "Janani Janani", but not me.

I have worked (am still working) my way through this enchanting world of carnatic music with help of raagas of known songs. For example, once I know that "Malare Mounama" is a darbari kaanada number, as soon as I identify the similarity between "Malare Mounama" and "Ponnenben siru poovenben", I can expand my territory a little bit. This is followed by finding more similar numbers such as "nee kaatru naan maram", "oorellam un paatu dhaan","kalyaana thennila" etc - one clue leading to another, just like a crossword puzzle.

I must note that websites like tfmpage.com and Karnatik.com are of great help in this regard.

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A musical journey for the uninitiated !

If you are not so much into Carnatic Music but can identify a raaga here or there, Isai Payanam is a treat to watch. This little weekly series by Charulata Mani, on Jaya TV, handles a raaga every week. She beautifully narrates the aarohanam, avarohanam, introduces you to a few carnatic and cinematic compositions in that raaga.

Except for the fact that in recent weeks half the airtime is being occupied by movie footages, this program is nearly flawless. You can also check it out in youtube.

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God is not dead; who else gave me GreenCard :)

From day one, I was very skeptical. So were the naysayers right from my attorney. L1B and EB1 -appeared as oxymoron to everyone. Finally after 3 months of wait, here I am, smiling at the GreenCard that fell on my lap !
One thing is for sure - USCIS, like God, works in mysterious ways! Nobody can understand why you did or did not get your papers through!

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NJ transit @ Metropark

Hate the look on people's faces when yo say "Excuse me!", to have a seat. Instead of moving in, they would reluctantly (read taking all the time and blocking inward traffic) move out and let you take the middle seat..

Being an expert in the daily commute, nowadays I can easily spot the right seat. The technique is very simple - see if the persons occupying the window and aisle are talking to each other..If so, they know each other and are just spacing themselves out. If you ask them to move in, they will have to budge- no choice, and you get the aisle !! Works all the time :)

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Negotiation Genius and some random thoughts!

A very interesting book by Deepak Chopra and Max Bazerman. It taught me very fundamental things like how to persuade, how to identify if the other party is lying, and more importantly when not to negotiate.

A must read for anyone, MBA or no MBA !

BTW, MBA is going steady with 30 credits down so far and 30 more to go !! But sometimes the road seems all uphill, though !

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A new start

Friends - It has been quite sometime and I couldn't get to blog, lethargy and having lost in my own world being reasons for that. 

Nevertheless, I am back after a successful first year stint at Stern. Last year has been one of the most important years in  my life and I learnt quite a few things in life and tamed a few beasts in my mind. The most important lesson that I learnt was that I am afterall not so bad as I thought.

With one month down already in 2009, lets see what life has in store for everyone of us. My kitty currently has marketing and corporate finance :)

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