nainadg

Remorse

February 25, 2008March 6, 2008 nainadg

This weekend it hit me that sometimes I really do just need to shut up! I feel like I might have betrayed so many intimate moments throughout my life just because of my need to vent. I don’t think I’ve divulged specific secrets or things that were explicitly private but maybe small moments that are in that gray area. I don’t if thats a betrayal to vent about things bothering you but I feel like I can no longer call myself a loyal person, at least for a little while. I havent’ done anything terrible, but I think I just need to shut up sometimes.

When J and I were younger we would have discussions about how every human being has one virtue. J’s was patience, mine was loyalty. Am I still loyal? As I get older and the relationships with my friends which once seemed like a lifeline erode into weekly phone calls and facebook pages, and husbands and familial ties become more prominent, I don’t know where my loyalties must lie

Does love mean a barrier of secrets? How many people’s secrets am I supposed to keep and what if they are also your secrets? I am just sorry that I have never asked these questions earlier? Not that I know the answers, but perhaps I will be more mindful.

Seems rather shallow to feel remorseful over something so trivial, when I probably should be remorseful for so many of my unconcious actions but that is too overwhelming to even ponder.

Blah…I don’t understand the point of this post. Needless to say, I’m feeling rather blue today.

Stuff

A Forever 21 Morning

February 22, 2008February 25, 2008 nainadg

This morning I had a very pleasant surprise, my second class of the day was cancelled and faced with good 2.5 hour block of time, I decided to pay a visit to Crabtree Valley Mall. Now my main purpose to go to Crabtree was to check out the new Forever 21 store that had just opened.

I was familiar with Forever 21 from when my parents used to live in L. A and since then they had gone from being just a west coast retailer into a national phenomenon. There were articles in New York Times and fashion blogs and Forever 21 was being compared to Zara and H&M as the American cheap, chic fashion destination. Forever 21 however unlike H&M does sell clothes online and all my friends have been shopping from the Forever 21.com site for a while. Although I missed the store, I couldn’t make myself shop their online store. It defeated the whole purpose of bargain shopping. I would find a great cocktail ring for $2.99 or a great top for $7 but I would have to pay another $7 for shipping and wait another few days for delivery. No fun!

Anyway, all that longing finally paid off this afternoon! I had a great time browsing through their store and checking out some of their new lines like twelvebytwelve and heritage 1981.

Stuff

The 4 Quiz

February 20, 2008February 25, 2008 nainadg

I was tagged by my friend Hot Hot JJ to take this quiz, you can read her answers at her blog. Forgive the formatting, my blog is not being cooperative today.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Tanning Salon Manager
2. Retail Employee at the Mall

3. Ad Sales Rep for a business magazine

4. Marketing intern for a software company (current)

Four favorite movies:

1. Waking the Dead

2. Love Actually
3. Monsoon Wedding
4. Brokeback Mountain

Four places I have lived:

My first two and last two
1. Kolkata, India
2. Bangalore, India

3. Salt Lake City, UT

4. Durham NC

Four TV Shows that I watch:
1. Law and Order SVU (best show ever!)
2. Lipstick Jungle

3. House
4. America’s Next Top Model (another guilty pleasure)

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Zimbabwe and South Africa, Africa
2. India

3. Bahamas

4. Yellowstone National Park

People who email me regularly:
1. My business class group
2. my boss
3. My friend Jen

4. User group event organizers

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Thai Green Curry

2. NC BBQ

3. Al Pastor Tacos
4. Palak Paneer
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Home, zoning out
2. The Beach

3. In Readers Corner used book store
4. New MArket in Kolkata

Four things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Graduating!
2. Getting a real job
3. Going to the Smoky Mountains

4. Going on a tropical honeymoon for our 1 year anniversary

Life, Stuff

Flu Flu Flu

February 13, 2008 nainadg

How I hate you!

I have been rather sick lately and its been absolutely no fun. I’ve missed two days of school, so I’m super behind in my classes and I just feel so out of it general. Even the blog isn’t motivating to think or surf about anything remotely interesting. All I want to do is curl up on the couch and complain.

It’s also not helping that V-Day is around the corner and J and I still haven’t made concrete plans about what to do. I’m really not feeling it this year, which is too bad because this is our first married Valentine’s day. I think we’ll just go to dinner and call it good. We haven’t been to an Italian restaurant in years, so maybe that will be fun.

While I was sick, I did check out the new show on NBC called Lipstick Jungle. My friend JE reccomened it to me because we both loved Sex and the City. This series is also based on a book by Candance Bushnell and the pilot episode was really good. These women seem more fleshed out, mature, and slightly less girly versions of the women on Sex and the City.

Here is a clip:

Funny, Life

My Idea of a Low Cal Lunch

February 8, 2008February 8, 2008 nainadg

Like most people, February is still too early for New Year’s resolutions to fade away,so I’ve been slogging away at eating healthy and consuming less calories. I try to read other people’s inspirational weight loss stories in Fitness Magazine or Self, or Shape, you know, the ones who do Cardio for 45mins-60mins a day 5 days a week, plus hike 3 times a week, and do yoga or pilates 3 times a week and get motivated and it does zero, zilch to get me off my butt! You know why? I’m just lazy, I’d rather sit at my desk at work and update my blog than do those handy exercieses that Fitness Magazine suggests you do at your desk!

Eat this + = 345 cals

Eat all this + + 1/2 + = 340 cals

However, I have been trying to watch what I eat and keep a food journal in my head and tally up what I eat! I especially read Glamour magazine’s little column called “Eat this or all of this ” where Glamour shows you a humungous plate of something unhealthy like a plate of fettuci0ne alfredo and then suggests that you can eat three healthy, delicious thing or the same or fewer calories, like steak, baked potato and a veggie. Anyway, this was my rather…um…false interpretation of this at lunch. The plan was to

Eat This:

One can of Slim Fast Chocolate shake – 175 Cals and One serving of Planters Trail Mix-170 Cals for a total of 345 Calories

or Eat all this….which I did happily

1 small bag lays potato chips – 150 calories

1/2 can slim fast- 85 calories

1 milky way mini- 40 calories

1 teaspoon mixed nuts (extra salty…mmm) 65 calories

for a grand total of …ding ding ding…340 Calories

So really, I did a lot better than the healthy option!!!

I’m sure this is the way to Weight loss…not! Oh well, its friday and I deserve chips!!!

Stuff

Lipstick Karma

February 6, 2008 nainadg

Photo: google images

I watched a part of Today Show this morning that talked about how every cent from the sale of M.A.C’s Viva Glam fund goes towards AIDs awareness. I’m sure there are other programs and products out there that donate 100% of the proceeds to Charity but I mostly see items that only donate 5% or 10% to their chosen cause.

Also, what a painless way to earn some good karma, especially for someone like me, who is a lip stuff junkie. One can choose from 6 different shades and its only $14.00. Now I’ll admit, I’m mostly a drug store shopper when it comes to fun, non essential make up ,but $14.00 is definitely affordable on my measly starving student budget.

I bought Viva Glam VI and you can purchase your very own Viva Glam here and make a difference!

Life

Cleaning out my Closet

February 4, 2008February 6, 2008 nainadg

photo: google images and www.designmom.com

My blog closet! Hey what do you know a non India themed blog post!!! Don’t get too used to this though.

Anyway, I was looking at my bookmarks for blogs and the blogs I have on my Google reader and it was well over 35. I have decided, that I simply cannot keep track of that many so I ‘m cleaning out my blogroll, deleting some old links and adding some new ones. Also here are a few blogs I’m actively following! So here’s to sharing the blog love!

Rita’s Kitchen: She hasn’t updated in a long time so after this week, when I’m done gobbling down Dinner party ideas, I will be deleting this once fave blog.

Chachi’s Kitchen: A new find! Awesome recipes , mostly Indian, Thai , with muslim and east African’ influences. I love the fact that the recipes are photographed throughout the entire cooking process.

Hostess with the Mostess: If you like bright pretty pictures of cool STUFF!!! Some interesting tips and ideas too.

Mill Musings: I stumbled upon this blog quite randomly, as this doesn’t fall in my normal range of interests but I was really curious once I read her post about buying groceries for a family of 2 on $20 a week. I am not very religious at all but I am fascinated with the frugal living that they do. They have awesome money saving ideas! Hard for me to follow at the moment, but very easy to aspire.

She’s A Betty: Lovely Vintage and Indie fashion goodness

The Sugar Sites: I am absolutely addicted to FabSugar, YumSugar, PopSugar and the rest.

Happy Browsing. I hope I get some good links in return!

India, Travel

Bricks and Mortar

February 3, 2008February 3, 2008 nainadg

Slow and Steady, that me when in comes to photos. It took me forever to get my India photos uploaded and organized and now I keep finding photos that I absolutely must post. So if you are seeing of seeing photos, I guess don’t be reading this blog for a while. Hee

An abandoned old house in Ballygunge (my grandparent’s neighborhood). My dad told me a story about how a British Managing Director used to live there in this mansion’s hey day and how he had peacocks and exotic birds as pets in the yard. Sad to see it come to this.

J , KD and I spent a fantastic day with my Uncle visiting some old British Raj architectural gems in Kolkata. This is a photo of a gazebo in the garden of St. John’s church, the oldest Church in Kolkata, from the late 1700’s. I took this photo because it reminded me so much of a setting in a Gothic novel, with brave, governess heroine, old decrepit buildings, exotic gardens.

Inside St. John’s church. The fans are such a Indan touch. This church also had the most awesome shutters on its huge windows, and it had some cool stained glass as well.

The famous Victoria Memorial. It definitely was as cool as I expected.

The Kolkata High Court. It used to be the Supreme court of India when the British used Kolkata as the Capital City.

St.Pauls Cathedral. Another old church but from the 1800s.

Life

What I did in 2007

February 1, 2008February 1, 2008 nainadg

photo: google images

I stole this idea from a blog that I ocassionally read. Its a list of things I did in 2007 that are important for me to remember, so here goes-

In 2007 I….

got married

once at the court house

once in a cabin in the mountains, in a snow storm

once in a traditional ceremony in Kolkata

planned a wedding

managed to actually pull it off..mostly glitch free

travelled to India

started scrapbooking

gave a speech in front of 250 people

hiked the “grand canyon of the east”

walked on Stilts

got a promotion

gained 10lbs

lost 3

lied for a friend

cooked meals for people other than J or my parents aka entertained

hosted a “depressing music” party

went to a bridal shower for the first time-my own

went to the Outer Banks

had a bloody mary on the beach

saw a water snake

tasted Ceviche

tasted failure

learned to love Football

adopted the cowboys

splashed down a giant funnel in a water park

rode on 10 or more roller coasters in a day

got my first real updo

kissed my new husband in a snow storm

saw the blue man group

took a girls only, crazy, wild road trip to vegas

bought a new TV

ate a funnel cake

spent a whole day snowed in with my favorite people

became a proud owner of a mp3 player

fell in love with Kolkata

reconnected with my cousins and my family

Celebrated new years eve with my family after nearly 5 years

felt the first pangs of a ticking biological clock

geared up for 08

Life

A New Year

January 30, 2008 nainadg

I heaved a sigh of relief today as I realized I posted a few of my wedding photos finally. I’m still not done, I want to make a slideshow with the pro pics and I want to post more pics from Kolkata and our trip to the beach but atleast its partly done.

In other news, I’ve slipped into the new year and the new semester and it seems ridiculous that Jan is already over. Right now life is stressfull and busy but also seems to be zooming by super fast. J and I did some fun things this January, I went to CA for the long weekend and visited with my parents, we went to a concert to see Badfish( A tribute band for Sublime) and followed it up with a fun night out on town.

J and i also had a divinely lazy weekend where all we did was make up new cocktails, drank some Absinthe that I bought in CA , watched movies, read for ridiculous amounts of time, and ate out a lot. In other words- A perfect weekend. I’ll post more on it later. For now, I’m off to class.