BOOK REVIEW

Indu Sundaresan- In the Convent of Little Flowers
A compilation of short stories, this book caught me like no other compilation had previously. As I sat reading in bed, late at night, the 'Shelter of Rain', and 'Three and a half Seconds' seemed as if I had been a witness to these. It took a great effort to get to sleep, because Meha and Chander's lives were real, and the author has made them come alive for the reader. We share their pain, their worries, and hopes of a better future.

Traditional, orthodox India is beautifully reflected in 'Fire' and 'The Faithful Wife'. These incidents occurred in times when Indian society, though still conservative, placed a higher value on society's dictates and family honor than human lives. The winds of change have, slowly but surely, entered India too. In the busy cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, unmarried boys and girls live together, either as room mates, or (what is loosely termed) as "boyfriend-girlfriend" in Indian society. Seems like economic convenience, has taken precedence over age old morals and customs. Parents are shut off in old age homes, while children loll in the lap of luxury.

The 'Key Club' is a revelation of what the elite in India have started doing ,a new form of social entertaining, albeit going against everything that marriage in India has stood for. However, it is naive to believe that Indian women are so liberal, for 'Hunger' reveals a woman, battling her new found emotions with a sense of fear, going against society, and the structure that she has been a part of for so long.
A recommended read for anyone who wants to know how India has transformedfor the transition is clearly revealed in these stories. Indu Sundaresan's penmanship has the enigma to keep the reader riveted to the book, until curiosity is satisfied .

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tid bit info

Food and Cuisine in America is very broad based..There is no specific type of cuisine that Americans eat. Since America itself is an amalgamation of people from different cultures, different countries, they bring their culture, and subsequently , food, here. I must say that people here must be quite open minded.

Many believe Americans like non spicy, almost bland food. Not true. I have met many people who eat Mexican, Spanish, Indian food heartily. Many are vegetarians too. Some subtle differences I have seen is that their so called "white sauce" combines milk, eggs, flour, and butter. While we Indians use curd. That is our white sauce.

People have also started using basmati rice a lot in their cooking. Top chefs in the country, like Ming Tsai, Todd English, Bobby Flay, and others, have used basmati rice as one of the ingredients in their dishes. If you watch Iron Chef America, people do kababs, use garam masala, use a lot of cinnamon, clove, cardamom, curry powder, in their dishes. Bobby Flay is especially famous for his 16-spice chicken.

I haven't seen this variety of restaurants In India. Even if they were there, they were out of budget. Here, there are affordable restaurants,and high-class restaurants for every kind of food. Sweet Tomatoes, Olive Garden , are what I would call the affordable Italian restaurants, while Maggiano's is a fine dining Italian restaurant.

And it is precisely due to this kind of blended, broad based food culture, that there is a separate TV channel on food,and everything related to food.
We had dinner at Olive Garden recently, and found that the place was brimming with customers. People were either being seated or going out, every time I looked across the restaurant. And there , some of the Indian restaurants were running empty, on week ends, due to lack of customers.
Seated in Olive Garden that day, I was thinking, " Is the economy really down? How come these people have time and money to eat out? Or is there something really nice about this restaurant, that makes people want to come back for more?"

Well, for all my ramblings on this topic, our eating habits have to be changed . Thanks o India's ban on exports of rice, 10 kg/ 20lbs of Ponni rice is being sold at USD 40.00. One customer is allowed only one bag at a time. And Idli rice, is being sold for USD 35.00 To top it all, Basmati rice is till cheaper, going at USD 20/25 for the same 20 lbs. Seems like pulav and biryani are more affordable than normal rice and sambar. Rice eaters are turning to chapatthis. At least we are. I am making dosa batter at home after 2 months, just because every time we went to the Asian market, idli rice just wasn't available. As of December 2007, Ponni rice was 16.99, a 2 dollar increase in 2 months made is all whine. Now its 40.00, and we are speechless.

Thoughts and comments welcome!!!

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Thanksgiving and after

Friday, Nov 28th was the Thanksgiving Sale day. Madhu and i went to IKEa showroom to get some book shelves. turns out, at 7:30 a.m., when we arrived, we were the third couple in line. pretty early too, because the store opened only at 10:00 a.m. even on Thanksgiving Sale day. 

So we spent some time mulling around etc. Th parking lots were unnaturally empty. So we began wondering oif people weren't that interested in buying furniture on the sale day,and went for electronics and/ or clothes . However, today, Sunday, Nov 30th, we had to make another trip, because we had to returns some extra boxes. We were there on the dot of 10:00 a.m., when the store was supposed to open. Turns out, the parking lots had a whole lot more cars today, than Friday. Weird, how people could avoid buying on Friday, yet fill up two aisles of parking space on Sunday, before the store actually opens. . 

Economy in recession? Think again...

Other snippets from Arizona:-

A man was reportedly waiting outside a Best Buy outlet for 2 days before the sale day. He literally camped out there, with sleeping bag et al. He also reportedly had his family bring his Thanksgiving dinner there. Because he did not want to lose his spot as the first guy to enter the shop on Friday.  Due diligence!!!

Fry's electronics, one outlet, had people queuing up even before the store opened at 5:00. The couple in front of us at IKEA, had gone there at first.  They saw the queue, which snaked its way from the entrace of the shop, all through one wall, and beyond, decided to drop electronics, and came to IKEA instead. This , at 5:00 a.m. on a cold winter morning. 

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Convent of Little Flowers

Yippee!! I have received my copy of the book, Convent of Little Flowers, By Indu Sundaresan, in the mail today. I was waiting eagerly for this for a long time, 

as I will be one of the first 100 readers of the book, 

before its official release on December 16th.

I am sure I will enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed reading her other books. 

Can't wait!!

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Mumbai Blasts Nov 26th, 2008

I have been following the CNN news channel since thwe story began, about 6 hrs ago, on wednesday, nov 26th, 2008.

I have just one comment for now. Why this sudden attention on Mumbai blasts, why only today? Till now, for the past 3-4 months, India has been racked with bomb blasts, in every imaginable and unimaginable place possible.
But only today, CNN has woken up to the fact, and covered it in depth.

Is it because there is a potential hint of injury/ harm to Westerners , tourists, businessmen, etc in India. Especially since the attacks focused on the two top 5-star hotels, where obviously, ninety percent of foreigners stay.

I remember last year, when presidential elections in India were barely covered by US media. We had a woman elected President, of the largest democracy in the world. No coverage. When it hits closer to home, the media wakes up: the state dept sets up a hotline for information about US citizens whereabouts, and major coverage is given.

However, on the positive side, the very nature of setting up a hotline in so little time itself should be applauded. The concern they have for citizens overseas is indeed worth appreciating. Also is the fact that the news anchors here, covering the story, tried to give as much factual information about the city of Mumbai ,as such, to their viewers here.

In India, the ATS chief was clearly shown having 2 others to help him wear his hard hat,and bullet proof vest. Unfortunately, he was himself killed in line of fire.

I hope the government is able to pinpoint the responsibility for this horrific incident on the right people/ group. We do not want more accusations flying back and forth between India and Pakistan, with no resolution in sight.
Please, enforce more security in all cities of India, make the people feel safe again. Use technology more usefully, in detecting such national threats in advance.

One last thing I want to say is: please stop airing ITDC ads for promoting tourism in India, on US news networks. It does sound and feel quite awkward, to be asking people to come visit "Incredible India", right after being told that there were 9 bomb blasts in one city, in one night,and there are Westerners being taken hostages. Without assurance to security of life, who would want to visit India for leisure? When Indians themselves are gettiing scared of stepping out of their homes, is it reasonable to expect tourists?

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Arizona's Natural Beauty

My husband and I were on a 3 day vacation this week, We had gone to see the Petrified forest and Painted Desert, located in the NE part of the state of Arizona.The trip told us that the Grand Canyon isn't the only beautiful, natural attraction in the state. Here, I am giving a detailed description of our trip. Photos will definitely follow, but as they number 400 cumulatively, it will take me some time,and loads of patience, to choose the best pics,and put captions.So bear with me.

The drive was approximately 3 hrs, but since we stopped at two-three places on the way, we reached our hotel only by 3:00 p.m. The town where we stayed is called Holbrook. we experienced the true life of small town America. Interesting facts about the town: began to develop in late 1800's- early 1900's. was just a transit point for miners, and other explorers who wanted to see the petrified forest.it was dubbed" too rough for women and churches." has a population of less than 6000 Newspapers come out only twice a week. Imagine my surprise, when on Thursday, 11/20.08, I found myself reading a paper dt 11/14/08, and being told that this was the day's newspaper!!!

Petrified Forest: Fans of Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets would already know the word petrified. It means- turned to stone. The Petrified 'Forest', isn't a forest like we understand it. there are no tall trees standing that have turned to stone.,Its a vast area of land, taht used to be a lush forest, millions of years ago. A place where floods used to come. Over the years, trees got washed down with the water, the sediments and the volcanic eruptions together formed layer upon layer on the trees.Such taht with time, the cellulose in the trees was displaced and they turned to stone. Today we find only pieces here and there, but whatever is left, after the mindless plundering was stopped in 1906,has been preserved beautifully. In fact, we were constantly warned not to pick up even a piece, because its considered a state and federal offence,and may land you in jail, with heavy fines. The beauty of this is, even though its a forest of many thousands of miles, they have smooth, paved roads leading to every place where visitors are allowed. there are clean restrooms, drinking water facilities, sheltered areas with seats/ benches to sit and eat, information center and museums. These are all wheelchair accessible areas. There are even emergency phone lines installed in place. There are no tour guides. Its a self guided tour, once you get maps from the information center. I am frankly amazed that Americans trust their citizens so much, that they let them explore such national parks on their own. The road that takes you into the park, also leads you out to join the Interstate highway , the way back to the nearest town, Holbrook..This is again a distance of 25 miles. . approx 50kms.

Painted desert: This was at the edge of the Petrified Foprest,and is another vast area of rocks, taht change colour as the sun moves across the skies. Early mornings and sunset times, the rocks glow red,and other times, green, blue, brown,and in the mid dday, usually brown and white.Unfortunately, mid day was the time when we went. However, we have pictures of other historic landmarks in the place, like the In taht was builtentirely of ahnd, handcrafter light fixxtures, woodden floors, roof, etc.

So i have told you about the two main paces we saw. On the way there and back, we saw Meteor Crater,caused by a meteorite falling to this part of Arizona. It took them till 1969 to prove the crater was actually caused by a meteor,and not ot some volcanic eruption. The guy who discovered it in the first place, actually died a penniless man, trying to prove it was indeed a meteor that caused it.
We stopped to see the HOMOLOVI ruins of the ancient Native Indians, called Hopis, The History buff in me didnt let me go through this without seeing it. So dragged Madhu along. The excavations of one part of the ruins are open for tourists. the others aren't. They in fact, stopped excavating any more, leaving it for future generations. In summer, you can also camp out there in the area.

Our journey took us on the Historic Route 66, one of the first freeways to be built in modern America. It goes across the country, from Chicago to Los Angeles. For people with enough money, leisure and spirit of adventure, a road trip on route 66, isthe "thing to do" atleat once in their lifetime. So, I hope I have given you enough information, and a lesson in geology, geography, history, tourism that you can enjoy the pictures , armed with this knowledge.

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USA historic election win

November 4Th, 2008.This date is going to be etched in history for generations to come,because an African American has gained the presidency of the United States.Barack Obama, a first time Senator, had enough confidence to run for the post of President of the most powerful country in the world. I say this about the country, because my father has a favourite saying.. "If America sneezes, the whole world will catch a cold ". This proved none the truer, when the US Dow Jones index crashed 7000 points,and the effects were felt worldwide the very next day. I don't know whether to call it a ripple effect, or a multiplier effect..since its effects were so widespread and devastating for all major economies of the world. However, Senator Barack Obama, promised change,and this time the voter turnout proved that he has been successful in convincing millions of Americans, that he could deliver on his election promises.
Barack Obama's win has people rejoicing in all cities of USA, had many African Americans in tears, because of the huge symbolism of the moment for them, and in Japan, too. japan has a town named Obama, which in Japanese means, Little beach. So according to CNN, the town officials plan to cash in on the president-elect, by promoting tourism in their little town. Of course, what are the odds of having a town in some part of the world named, Bush, or McCain??Personally, I am quite happy. As a student of history and human rights, I have read enough USA bashing articles,and commentaries, have read about the Civil Rights movement, argued about racism in class debates,and now, sitting here in USA, I am glad the country has shown the spirit ,and voted for a 'person of colour', as next President. They have dared to change, make things right, and this is proved b the 95% voter turnout, from the African American community this time. (again CNN figures).Martin Luther king Jr.'s efforts have been successful, about 40 odd years after his 'I have a dream' speech. Another factor is, India has managed to elect a female president in 2007, in 60 yrs of Independence. So it was only apt that US also give a chance to an African American to lead the country. I also really admire Sen McCain, for his beautiful speech, giving in graciously to Sen Obama, congratulating him, and exhorting all his supporters, to do all they can to help the new President. Let us hope this is a sign of good times to come. Only the next 4 years will tell.

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Pets-why should they suffer?

Since getting my own dog last year, I have become increasingly sensitive to the plight of animals. I always was, but now I feel even more aggravated.

One of my neighbours here, has a 3 yr old poodle. Pure bred.
every time I have seen him ,and its been atleast 4 times till now, he has mentioned atleast twice to me, that he paid a 1000 bucks for him. Bought him from a breeder, for his daughter, additional pet insurance etc...ANd then his daughter decided she really didnt want a dog. So now he has to take care of it. He and his wife divorced,and the daughter livs with his ex-wife.

Its getting colder at nights, there is a breeze that accentuates the chillness in the air. And on top of that, this guy, leaves his poodle out in the balcony, in the cold evening air. That dog whines everytime it sees some one go past his house. I walked my dog at 5:30 p.m.this evening, he was out in the balcony, and again at 8:30 p.m., the dog is out still.

I mean , what did the poor dog do to deserve this? This guy bought it for his daughter, like a mechanical toy,and the daughter decides she doesnt want the toy, so he has to keep it now. He pays a 1000 bucks for this poor dog, and leaves it out in the cold to shiver, till His Royal Highness decides its time for him to come in. This man decides to pamper his 10yr old's wishes, and now 3 yrs later, laments that she doesnt even enquire about the dog.
Aur bhugto. listen to a immature 10 yr old, then pay for it.

I am sure the dog would not have wanted this , if he had a voice.
He is such a friendly little guy.

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website on Indian Doctors

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I had been looking for a credible website on Indian doctors, where they would give the names of specialists in various fields in various cities of India. On Google,there was this website, www.Indian-Doctors.com I was browsing through.
At the very outset, what put me off was the spelling mistake of the word "Diseases" on their website home page. I mean, for a medical directory, please do not make the spelling mistake in the very word Doctors treat.So I immediately wrote out a note on their "Contact Us" online form.

I continued browsing through the website, saw that they have a number of articles on health issues from all over the world. Good for them. But again, I was disappointed. I searched for doctors in ob-gyn, in Chennai. just like that, to see who were listed on their website. Turns out, there are only two entries, both ladies. On clicking the link of one doctor, I am told she has 4 yrs experience. Good. Then, nothing in achievements, articles written, etc. In her personal details link, I , the casual visitor, am told she is unmarried. Isn't that absolutely great info for me???? And here, I am being sarcastic. Make no mistake about it. Instead of giving details about the lady's clinic address, clinic hours, which hospital she is associated with, if any, or whom she practiced with or trained under in her initial years, I am told she is UNMARRIED. Do you think the average patient is interested in knowing the marital status of the doctor he/ she wants to see?I am sure it will be more informative to give any news feature or article where the doctor was mentioned.

I do not know where they got their info from. However, they could have the doctors sign consent forms, agreeing to release the info about their clinic etc.This way, they are making their whole website a joke. Being the nit-picky person I am, I wrote off another note to them, citing the above. I hope the website moderator takes due notice.

Our first baseball game in USA

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Saturday the 19th of July, 2008, was memorable, for 2 things. we did a overall cleaning of our home, including taking out the washer-drye to clean there,a dn turns out my dryer timer has stopped functioning. It keeps running, unil we go amnd push it to stop mode.

The second thing was, Madhu and I went to our very first baseball game in US. The games in AZ are held in a large baseball filed, called as ball park here, in Phoenix. The one we went to is called Chase field, after the Chase bank.

the game was between Arizona Diamondbacks, Az home team,and the Los Angeles Dodgers, from California. The fiels is huge, the biggest flaty screen HDTV available for such games is here, I believe, adn tehre are lots of display screens that keep coming out with sponsors details,a dn getting the crowd to participate. These display screens would suddenly come out and show things like, Make some Noise, or Beat L.A., or Clap your hands, Lets Go Dbacks, eyc,a dn the crowd would obligingly do just that. Any time the ball came near the audience, everyone would stand up and look where it was going. Like Cricket, if a ball kept on rolling, adn hit the ground boundary line, its called a home run. And that got enthusiastic cheering from the audience

Madhu and I were caught up in the frenzy,and we also cheered and booed, with the audience. We were also accompanied by our friend, Mary, and her son. Her son was one who told us the basic ground rules of the game, and was thinking of new slogans to shout back at the supporters of the other team.

How did we get to enjoy all this? Courtesy of the American Red Cross. The Phoenix chapter of the Red Cross had its volunteer recognition event, recently,and all volunteers got passes for the home game of Diamondbacks( a home game is when the team plays in its own state). So we went,and took our friends too. Volunteering with the Red Cross does have its perks. Oh, and did I tell you, the Dbacks won!!!

Dog Writes Book on How to Live With Humans

source: Annanova

Dog writes book on understanding and living with humans

A pet dog has been promoting her debut book offering fellow canines advice on living with humans.

Dennis Fried says his dog Genevieve "bark-tated" Memoirs of a Papillon to him.

Both owner and dog signed autographs at Miami Book Fair International which hosted more than 200 local and international authors.

Mr Fried from Sarasota says the book is a must read for dogs wanting to learn about the minds of their owners.

"She barktated it to me, and I translated it from dog into English. It's all true. Genevieve may have exaggerated once or twice, but she didn't make any of it up," he told the Miami Herald.

The 158-page book offers driving tips for dogs, discusses the tragedy of doorbells in TV commercials, and how to convert a house into an agility course.

AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY

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*THE CRACKED POT *

A water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck.. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, thecracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house." The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house"

*/Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them./*

life and work

Long back,
a person who sacrificed his sleep,
forgot his family,
forgot his food,
forgot laughter were called
"Saints"

But now they are called..

"IT professionals"
_______________________________________

A Banner cum Sign Board In front of an IT company..

Drive Slowly, Don't kill our Employees...

Leave that to us !!!!

__________________________________________

Road Safety

An interesting line written at the back of a Biker's T Shirt:

" If you are able to see this, Please tell me that my girlfriend has fallen off"

_____________________________________________

American Life

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Everyone knows that Americans have a different system. here, it is each man for himself, or woman for that matter. Indians might find it very strange.

Here are a few examples i came across, among our neighbours.

A lady living here alone. She has a grandchild. Call her Lady A.
Until recently, she was at home because she fell down, broke her wrists,and couldn't work.
A couple of months back, she was talking to me, and she told me she had to take care of her grandson for a few days, because her daughter n son -in-law had to go out of station. Since this lady has no other source of income(she wasn't on disability pension, because she gt laid off from her job just 4 days before she got injured), she told her daughter to pay her, as she would pay any other baby sitter.
Her logic was " I needed the money, and she could afford it. So she did."

Now she is slowly healing, and on the lookout for jobs like babysitters/ nanny, I find her flyer's everywhere i take frisky for a walk. Loving grandma, flexible hours. etc etc.
Loving grandma, yes, but no qualms in taking money from her daughter to look after her own grandson.

Lady B. She was the one we had left frisky with, when we had gone to Vegas. She touted herself as the lovable pet sitter,and the few times Frisky had been around her, he seemed to like her. So we left him with her for 4 days.

We came back, and she had a litany of complaints. He has chewed her computer wire, broken her window blinds while jumping to look at another dog outside, had not eaten properly. Later, we found out, no one had sen her walk frisky around the condos. Probably she had just taken him outside her apartment and let him pee etc.Frisky doesn't like that. He likes to be walked, and needs a min of 30 minutes to do his business. God knows what she did in the 4 days.
We had a bad experience with her, as far as Frisky was concerned. We ended up paying for her computer wire. Now he is scared to even go near her apartment.

This lady went around proclaiming herself to be the "Social Director" of the condominiums. She refused to let another lady walk dogs, or do pet sitting, and actually tore off flyer's of Lady A, where she had advertised for pet sitting, and baby sitting. Now, Lady B has he job of baby sitting a school going kid, twice a week. pick her up from school, give her lunch, monitor her till her parents come back.

We also recently met another couple at one of the get together arranged by the management. Their son is in New york, and has apparently lost a bit of money recently. All they know is that he is struggling to get back in financial stability.
However, they haven;t given him any money to support himself.

So ultimately, one can say that Americans become independent at an early age, by working in places like McDonald's, etc and once they achieve a certain age, they do not want to stay with their parents, and vice versa.

Watching cases on Judge Mathis, Law and Order etc, also gives an idea, that children pay rent to their parents, if they are financially stable and stay with them.
Would Indians also go this way soon, I wonder??

Frisky's own Blog page

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Hey all,

Now Frisky has his own blog page on this new doggie website in India, called www.dogspot.in

His blog is titled, Ta(i)ls From America.

So go to the website, click on the link Dog Blog, and view his blog.
He just started today, so will be writing regularly in the future.
No picture of his is up yet, cos the size of pictures we have is too big.
And the website isnt accepting.

Cheers, n Woofs

Gold Story continues

Video on MSN Money
Gold at a record

The US dollar's decline is a big reason gold hit the $1,000 mark March 13.

"I have mortgage brokers, real-estate agents, retail-shop owners. They're nervous; you can see the stress on their faces," Vela said. "Many haven't been to a pawnshop before; they want to know how it works. Some don't want to let go of their gold. (But) gold is cash to them."

Silver also is stirring customers to sell more, with prices having more than tripled from $6 per troy ounce two years ago to more than $20.

The stories are similar elsewhere.

At Gold Star Pawn Shop in Eastlake, Ohio, where the Cleveland-area economy is suffering, manager Marc Berman said people come in regularly with broken gold chains, rings with marks on them and scrap gold to get more money in their pockets.

"I think it's more about gas prices than anything else," he said. "People are bringing in anything to try to get money to put a few gallons in the tank."

Some seniors come in monthly to pawn gold items in order to make it through until their next Social Security checks arrive, Berman said.

Shoe boxes full of baubles
The clientele at Palace Pawnbrokers in downtown San Diego has gone more upscale as gold prices have soared. Owner Jeff Bernard said it's a mixture of those who seem to need the money more than ever and those who want it.

"It's a combination of many factors: the state of the economy, the price of a gallon of unleaded gas going for $3.60 here," he said. "People are saying, 'We've just got to do something.' With gold knocking on the $1,000 door, they can actually pay off a bill, do something significant with it."

One woman recently lugged a safety deposit box full of old wedding rings, chains and gaudy 14-karat jewelry from the 1970s to Scott Goldstein's Super Pawn shop in Round Lake Beach, Ill. Others have arrived carrying shoe boxes full of jewelry, and a 92-year-old man brought in 80 gold coins. Customers have brought in as much as 40 ounces of gold to sell, Goldstein said.

"It's people going through hard times and the crazy prices," Goldstein said of the crush that began there after Christmas. "With all the foreclosures nowadays, you hear people more and more saying, 'I've got a mortgage to pay.'"

Video on MSN Money
Gold at a record

The US dollar's decline is a big reason gold hit the $1,000 mark March 13.

Midge Elias watched prices rise for months until she gave in to the temptation and walked into a Manhattan coin shop with two mounted Liberty Walking gold pieces she'd once worn on long chains. She left with a check for $1,150.

"It felt like a little gift," Elias said. "Of course, there's always the possibility of gold going way higher. But hey, those are the risks."

This article was reported and written by Dave Carpenter of The Associated Press.


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US GOLD RUSH II THIS TIME TO SELL OUT!!!

hELLO ALL,

NEWS FROM INDIA REVELAS THAT GOLD PRICES HAVE REACHED,A DN CROSSED THE Rs. 1000/ gram MARK. A recent news article from msn.com, reproduced below, tells the story of how US consumers, are selling gold, to get some cash, in times of a economic slowdown,and gas prices touching $4/ gallon .(thats approx. Rs. 160 for 1.3 litres. )

Pawnshops see rush of gold sellers
With gold about $1,000 an ounce, everyone including Aunt Maude is digging out jewelry and coins from musty drawers and attics -- and cashing in.

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A new kind of gold rush is unfolding at jewelry store and pawnshop counters -- featuring not prospectors, but consumers.

White-collar workers, retirees and many others have been digging through jewelry boxes and safety deposit boxes to cash in as the price of gold hovers around $1,000 an ounce. Coins, old wedding rings, necklaces given by ex-boyfriends, hand-me-down gold pieces -- everything is fair game when it brings this kind of profit.

Shop owners across the country are marveling about the phenomenon they say began in the latter part of 2007 and accelerated through the winter, reflecting torrid gold demand like none had ever seen. There are even gold parties, where people gather to sell their jewelry.

"Everybody's trying to sell," said Richard Rozhko, the owner of a jewelry store on the northern edge of Chicago. "People are trying to cash out because they don't believe that gold's going to go higher than $1,000 or $1,200 (an ounce)."

Rachel Weingarten, a New Yorker with a self-described obsession with "shiny trinkets," didn't need to sell but couldn't resist the chance when she saw prices soar like an overinflated tech stock.

Cash for 'ugly' jewelry
"When I saw the prices going through the roof, I saw it as an amazing opportunity to rid myself of jewelry that no longer suits my taste or status," said Weingarten, a marketing consultant. "It's also been a lot of fun to get cash for stuff that is broken or just really ugly or just takes up room in my drawers."

Royal Pawn Shop, a 75-year-old business within earshot of the rattle of passing El trains in Chicago's South Loop, has display cases sporting fancy gold rings, bracelets and watches along with racks holding hundreds of pawned fur coats. It also has more office workers as customers these days -- mostly sellers, not buyers, bringing in gold chains and rings.

"It's stuff that's lying around the house, so they figure: Why not make money from it?" said Royal co-owner Wayne Cohen. "The price of gold is so ridiculously high that they'd be stupid not to get rid of it."

Others are selling to help cope with tough times in an economic slowdown.

Three miles across town, Division Gold store owner John Vela recounted homemakers coming in to pawn treasured items from their jewelry boxes and numerous clients saying they need money to pay their property tax bills and take care of other rising financial obligations

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That reminds me!!!

Ok, As i wrote my last post, I remembered that our neighbouring building had been affected by bees. The enterprising bees had found a cranny in the building,
built a nice big hive, then being very generous, started visiting the two flats that were in the same side as their hive was.

And our neighbour in the ground floor flat got real mad at them for daring to impose on her home. So she called thee pest control,a dn all this week, they have been hard at work. They removed the hive, broke down the cranny, let it soak in the cement mix, put the stucco,and a nice design as the rest of the buildings have,
So now the bees have been displaced, and now have to go find some other innocent, non suspecting building/ cranny to make honey again.

Our neighbour was very emphatic, when she told me this, "I had bees on the walls of my home. I do not like bees, and I do not like their honey. So I am having them removed. "

Weekend Busy Bees!!!

Well, a lot happened this week.

Mads was off to florida for a business trip,and I stayed back home, with Frisky to keep me compnay. He ame back safe and sound on Friday afternoon, and that evening, we launched our clean up office room project. We had accumulated too many things there,a dn badly needed another bookshelf.

So Saturday morning, after bnreakfast, we were off to the IKEA showrom here. Wonderful place, wonderful stuff, and a lovely husband who can fixz it all in a jiffy.

Came back at 3:00p.m. had another guy come over for an estimate on our windows, Then took Frisky for a walk. By the time I came back, Maadhu had assembled the whole bookshelf by himself....a ttal of 24 shelves. I was supposed to help him out, but in the one hour I had ben walking Frisky, he had managed to fix, adn assemble everything. All he needed me was for lifting up the top 8 shelves,and putting them in place. My, that was FAST!!!!

So this was our big weekend project part 1 complete. Tomorrow we arew gonna put all the stuff, books,fils, stationery, cd's etc in the book case. So cheers to the hardworking madhu, and his encouraging wife.!!!

Lego's memories!!!

BOOhoooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

I MISS LEGO!!!

TODAY I got a couple of replies from friends who had seen the album I had sent out. This made me want to see the pictures again.

And I did!!!! And I miss her now!!!!!!!!!

The amazing fact is how she grew on me in just 10 days that she was with us.
Whenever I came out after a bath, I used to find Frisky on one side, Lego on the other. ...One would wag his little tail, the other would meow. One would run in front of me, the other would come and rub her body against my legs, telling me she wants to be cuddled.

Of course, this was after we decided to let her inside the house. The first 2 days she was on the patio chair outside, because we didn;t know if she was a stray,and what diseases she had on her. So we let her be.

Even then, the minute she saw me going out/ or coming in, she would look up, meow,and then immediately jump out of the patio chair, to stand next to me, while I opened the door. She wanted to be let in. Her meowing also had a strange insistence to it, as if she was saying, " why don't you understand me?"

If that wasn't sweet enough, (exasperating at that time to me), the minute she came inside, she would go straight for the showcase, to sit on the lowermost shelf, or make a bee line for the bathroom, to drink water from the tap. At these moments, it was very difficult to keep Frisky away from her. He would whine, growl,and generally let the cat know she was an intruder in his space. One day, it was windy and chiily outside, so I decided to let Lego in,and did the mistake of trying to vacuum the house.

That was a Herculean effort, to say the least. I had the job of making sure both of them didn't go for each other's throats while I vacuumed, because I wouldn't hear anything. I had to continuously switch off the vacuum, and go and see if Frisky was away from Lego. To separate them, we had put a divider in the small passage way we have b/w the two bedrooms. One was Lego's area, the other Frisky's.

I was hoping Frisky wouldn't think of jumping the barrier. In fact, it was Lego, who continuously came out, jumping over the barrier, coming to sit on the lowermost shelf. I had to put her back to her side thrice.

Frisky is terrified of the sound of any motor,and running away from the source is his first instinct. With the divider separating the rooms, Frisky didnt have much place to run and hide from the sound of the vacuum cleaner.

And so, when I had finally switched off the "monster",and taken it away, Frisky ventured out, shaking, and Lego was MIA. Lego had been so terrified herself, that she chose to hide under the bed, in the deepest corner possible.


Some other cute things she did, once she began trusting us.

The minute I touched her forehead, she would purr, come out of her bed,and lie down beside me, to be cuddled. She would stretch all her 3 legs out in contentment,as I scratched her back, her ears, and talked to her. (Oh yes, however funny you may think it is, I have had conversations with her in the kitchen.)
My husband as my witness, she understood me!!!!

However, she was a mature cat, and she would watch from her bed, as Frisky ate her food.( yes, the stupid pup we have, would prefer to eat her food, from her bowl, rather than his own food. And she compensated, by nibbling on his food, when she came out. ) So we tried putting Frisky's food in Lego's bowl, in her place,and behold, Frisky gobbled it down. Look what a little bit of competition can do, huh?????

I can go on some more about the little little things I found so endearing about Lego. However, I shall stop here, and hope that some day, I get a chance to cuddle another sweet cat like Lego.

Until then, my sense and sensibility tells me one pet(and one husband to pet!!!) is(are??) enough, even if the gender equation at home is imbalanced again, after lego left. !!!!

Valentine's Day 2008!!

This year's Valentine's day was special.

I baked a cake for Madhu myself, on my own!!!!

Having never attempted any baking on my own before, I sought help from a neighbour of ours, who is a professional cake maker,and she agreed.

So Monday morning I went to her home, after Madhu left for work, (as this had to be done hush-hush). She told me what to do, and I did it. So after the cake was baked, a heart shaped one, she said we need to freeze it for 2 days, then we will do the decorating. So Wedneday morning, I made another trip to her place, Frisky in tow both times,and we decorated the cake, with white icing, pink and white hearts,and sprinkles.

Since she had software to make greeting cards, I made one at her place. A cat( for Madhu), that says on the front...
Happy Valentine's day
with hugs and kisses,

and on the inside,

"This card is addressed to someone I love

Do you think I will put up with all your nonsense if I didn't?"

Since this was a surprise, I didn't want Madhu to see it until the day. So Wednesday evening, I brought the cake home, and put it in the fridge. Thursday, when Madhu woke up, I first gave him the card, and while he was reading it, I brought the cake from the fridge,and we cut it together.

(photos have been taken, in our not-still-fully-conscious -state, but we will still send them out. )
Frisky expressed his love for both of us, by licking the cream off the very first piece of cake. So he is in the pictures too.

Then business as usal. Madhu to work. nithya to Red Cross.
In the evening, Madhu came to pick me up at the Red cross office, and had a couple of surprises himself.

First, was this huuuuge gift bag, with a fluffy white puppy, a heart shaped box of Ruissel Stover chocolates, and a sweet, senti, card with (yup, a doggie as motif). And turns out, he had made reservations for dinner at a restaurant called Flo's.

Needless to mention, this dinner was lovely. I have had very limited choices at restaurants, being a vegetarian, but I really liked the fare here. Whether my hunger accentuated the taste of food, I do not know, but I really enjoyed the meal,and we went home, tummy happy,and ready to sleep.

And yes, Madhu's fortune cookie read, "You and your spouse will be happy in the years to come.".

Isn't that the nicest way to end such a happy day??????

Doggie restaurant in Gurgaon, India.

This is an article I saw while browsing another link. Reproduced here from the website link straight. I am sure many doggie lovers/owners will love to hear of this kind of venture in India.

It’s a dog’s life!
Want to give your dog a special treat? Take him to 32nd Milestone and you can literally doggie bag the food too!


Mumbai: Visions of elated canines and their beaming owners are common sights at the Bow Wow Club, which is located within the 32nd Milestone resort in Gurgaon. A venture by an ardent pet-lover Mamta Sharma, this one of a kind club boasts of a restaurant just for dogs, a canine carry out, lodging, grooming and training facilities.

Business begins at home

“The concept has generated quite a bit of curiosity. I had seen dog restaurants in Manhattan which are doing superbly well, but I hadn’t heard of a thing like this in India,” says Mamta.

This was not started as a commercial venture but as a friendly service for dog owners. “It started on a personal level. We are a dog loving family and treat our pets as family members. We had to leave the dogs alone whenever we went out to eat and that used to make me very sad. So I thought of starting a place where the dogs could come and dine as well,” says this proud owner of four dogs.

So while you are having a blast at any of the restaurants at 32nd Milestone, rest assured your pet will also be having an equally memorable dining experience at the Bow Wow Club. Family dining seems to have acquired a whole new meaning!

Safety first

If you are worried whether your canine will be served dishes which may not suit his system, then you needn’t worry as the menu has been designed in consultation with the best canine experts in the country.

“All of this has been developed in consultation with vets from Pedigree and Dr Rana who is an ace veterinary surgeon. They have looked at the menu and have advised us on what to include,” explains Mamta. So ingredients like chocolate and onion don’t find a place in the menu as they are a strict no-no for dogs.

Menu please!

Your pet can enjoy an array of vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes while basking in the sunshine. All the dishes seem to have been come straight from doggiedom. So your pet can start off with a Crunch-n-Munch which is a mixture of fruit and vegetable bits and can further warm itself with a Subz Slurpz Shorba, a yummy vegetarian soup with lots of bread, veg dog food croutons and a dollop of white butter.

The main course offers a mind boggling number of dishes. You can opt for the Bow Wow Chow, a delectable blend of wheat flour chowmein with chopped veggies and a sprinkling of vegetarian dog food and soya pellets or a simple Paw-Widge, which as the name suggests is a healthy porridge cooked in nutritious brown stock. Light and easy to digest!

And if your canine wishes to dig into some meat … The Pupparoni Pizza will surely appeal with its mixed meats and crunchy puppy dog food topping. “We have a special Slim Is In Section which comprises of low fat dishes. It is ideal for smaller dogs, especially the overweight dogs,” says Mamta.

Slow n Steady

Agreed, that the concept is unique and novel, but has it generated a satisfying enough response? “I have seen that as far as paying up is concerned people are more happy with things that offer them added value. So people have been coming more for grooming, training, lodging, shopping at the pet store and for the canine carry out. The response to the restaurant has been a bit slow,” shares Mamta. However, she has not embarked on any marketing or publicity blitzkrieg for the restaurant. “There has been a slow yet steady word of mouth publicity. When a satisfied customer shares his experience with others, more dog lovers turn up. I am not rushing the process and I believe we will get there in time,” she says.

Love your dogs first

People who have seen Mamta expertly handle her dogs may be surprised to know that she is not officially trained in pet care. In fact she is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, where she topped the post graduate diploma in advertising and public relations. After having interned with HTA (now JWT) and post a stint with Saatchi & Saatchi, Mamta started 32nd Milestone with her husband.

She feels that her knowledge of pet care is purely instinctive as it stems from her love for her dogs. “Also, whatever I have learnt has been on the job. I kept scouting for the right sources and the right experts who could guide and advise me on my endeavours. Their inputs helped me get things right. I got well trained and sensitive dog handlers and I think that has made all the difference,” she smiles.

A Wholesome meal- Starters: Rs 40- Soups: Rs 75 (veg) and Rs 175 (non veg)- Main course: From Rs 60 to 120- Dessert: Rs 60- Beverages: Rs 40
- By Vandana Saxena

Home improvement tip

I was watching BBC America's programme, 'How Clean is your Home?'
They gave a tip about maintaining our dishwashers.

Pour one cup white vinegar in your dishwasher, and run it on normal wash. Do this once a month to keep your dishwasher clean, and grease free.
NOTE: Do not put in any dirty dishes. It should run empty.

As I write this, my dishwasher is already slish-sloshing. So will tell you guys next time, if I feel this tip worked for my dishwasher.

notes, and poems.

I regularly write little notss for Madhu, and keep them in his lunch box..This is a take from one school time poem that i had written. for Madhu.

"Oranges and Lemons
Sold for a penny
All the school girls
Love our Frisky.

The grass is green
the rose is red
Frisky loves to
Sleep on his bed."

Those who know the poem will know that I have changed just the last line , modifying it to include Frisky...

This was written because the previous eveniong on Frisky's walk, I had seen several little girls, come and pet Frisky.

Psst!
Madhu's colleagues call them his "love notes", and tease him regularly.

GRADUATE

weight and ..part 2...

Just checked my weight...this time the weighing scale was my friend...i have lost 3kgs..or 6 pounds approximately...

Yippppeeeeeeeeee!!! Won't go into the numbers, cos i am still fat, but I guess walking Frisky 4 times a day, for 30 minutes each time did help....

My chubby hubby also lost 3 kgs, without walking...by just going off a heavy breakfast, and eating a light lunch....he claims that his weight loss is more significant than mine!!!!!!!!!!

weight and watch...is our current motto!!!!

On the other hand, Frisky is fat and happy...he has increased almost 4 lbs since we got him, now measuring 14.86 on the scale at Petsmart. This we think, is because he is getting regular walks, and his appetite is increasing.

Frisky's GRADUATION

Next weeek, it is Frisky's last training class...The trainer is vcery impressed with Frisky, and how he immediately grasps what he is expected to do.The past two weeks, Frisky's training class used to get over quickly, and Madhu was home before the hour was up. I was amazed.

When I asked Madhu, he said, Frisky does ecverything properly, and has also completed all his revision exercises to the satisfaction of the trainer.

Madhu tells me that he did what ever the trainer wanted him to do, within seconds.And then sat up looking at her, as if asking" what next do u want me to do?"

So the trainer told Madhu, "Frisky is a very happy, and intelligent pup. Its obvious that you have been giving him a lot of love and affection. Usually dogs do not do roll over, or jump and sit that quickly, and it takes the whole hour.
We wish every pet gets loving parents like you."

So, next week, Frisky is GRADUATING from beginner class. The trainer , Marge ,recommended that Frisky can be enrolled for tricks class immediately, since he has a sharp mind, and grasps things quickly. We have been asked to bring cameras, n so pictures will follow soon.

Till then, Frisky -dabba- dooooooo!!!!!!!

New FISHY project

We have set up an aquarium at home, in the guest bedroom. Uncle had wanted us to keep an aquarium at home for a long time, supposed to bring a sense of serenity and peace to the home. For the past two weeks, Madhu has been reading up on fishes, aquariums etc, on the net. So, on 31st, we went to Wal mart and bought an aquarium. And on Jan 1st, we set it up.

It contains 55 gallons of water, and we bought a number of plants, gravel, and all other things that go with the aquarium. In USA, we thought that only dogs, cats etc had so many regulations, and stuff. Turns out, they don't consider fish to be any less..

Lots of advice online on maintaining Ph levels, chlorine, heating, filtering, the tank, They say set up an aquarium, fill it with water, make sure the Ph balance is alright, then let it run for at least 3 days, before u put the fish in. And when u do, put in 3 at a time, let them be for a week or so. So that you know how they react to the water, or if they die etc. They have aquarium accessories like, bridges, long plants for the fish to weave in and out, little cute looking fish banners,...I mean, in India, I would have never thought that we had so much to take care of while setting up an aquarium.

Madhu who has had some experience as a kid, with his grandfather's aquarium., told me that all they used to do was clean the tank, and put fresh water in, and then let the fish in. ..no checking chlorine levels, ph balance, nothing with taking care for fish playthings etc...

When you go to pet stores, they have fish for sale, ranging From 12 cents to 20 dollars. Whew!!!

" All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all."

Dogs and their personalities

Most dog lovers know that like people, dogs have their own personalities. There are some dogs that hate the sight of each other, some don't like the smell, some prefer playing with dogs bigger than them( like Frisky), and some are just downright scared.

Our frequent strolls in the park opposite our apartments has given us the opportunity to see, and observe other dogs, and also hear accounts of some we haven't seen.

Her I want to mention this one dog called Jake, a small little one, who thinks he is talking to people. He wont go play with the dogs in the group, but will come to each and every person (human) standing there, and bark excitedly...continuously. His owner told us that he thinks he is having a conversation with us. He is expressing his opinions on everything. If one really listens to him bark for two minutes, you will be almost convinced of it. Its so funny. Jake will quiet down once u bend down and pet him. The other dog she has, a white fluffy poodle terrier, called T-bone, plays with Frisky when he is inclined. But when they do, its a riot.

Similarly, Frisky is so friendly and playful, he doesn't realise when the other dog isn't interested in playing. He will go bark his" play, play with me" barks, and then sit down with his front paws on the ground, and butt in the air, wagging his tail. This is his play posture.

Sometimes dogs wag their tails, but their owners don't let them off the leash. Some people do. With bigger dogs, like German shepherds, bull mastiffs, golden retrievers, they get frustrated,and anxious, to see Frisky doing a sudden turn, side stepping them, and running in the opposite direction., They can't keep up with him:) :) ..He tries to tackle me too,like basket ball players do, while playing with me.,He wouldn't let me go near the ball/ whatever toy he is playing with.

In the past week, I have noticed Frisky do a new thing. When I am sitting on the sofa, eating, if the smell arouses his curiosity, he will climb up from the carpet till the table level, using my leg as a support..As in, he will put his front paws on my leg, and gradually come up to my knee, put his nose in the air and sniff. So he is practically standing on his toes, if one can say that for dogs. And then yesterday, he smelt something in the bushes on his walk, and he did the same thing. He put his front paws up on the bush, gradually climbed up till the top of the bush, holding onto the branches for support, and then sniffed the air. This is entirely new, because so far, he usually would go under the bush, near the roots, and sniff.

It is at these times I wish I had a camcorder/ camera handy. Its so much fun to see him do these things.. We take pride and joy in all this , like we would if we had our own human baby. Till then , Frisky is our baby.