FINDING NEMO

Having never taken a fancy to cartoons, I've never got around to really watching animation movies. The few that I've come across, I've never really liked (like Shark Tales)-- except one, Shrek. There was something about that movie that charmed-- the ugly-but-good ogre in love with the once-beautiful princess? Donkey? Puss-in-boots? Wicked Fairy? All of these put together? I don't know, but I loved Shrek, right from his stubby green ears to clumsy big feet.

Finding Nemo, which I've only just managed to watch, is one of the cutest movies I've ever come across. It actually had me excited when Nemo came close to escaping from the tank and had me grimace each time the screen went dark to depict that all was lost-- normally, in the insides of a creepy big whale/shark. I doubt I've ever displayed so much animation when watching a regular movie. Nemo's struggle to be treated as more than a kid, the once-bitten father unable to let go, the continuous battle to get out of the tank-- each had a charm of its own. The cutest were the turtle babies, which were "Like, so cool, dude!!!!!!!":D One of the funniest lines in the movie is when Dory and Marlin are lost, and she goes, "What is it with men and asking for directions?!"

I adored Nemo. With his huge eyes and I-want-to-explore attitude (which turned into an adorable I-want-Daddy one), it was the innocence that made me go "Awwww". Somebody once told me that it is easier to make a personality endearing if there are small flaws. Nemo had his little lucky fin, which whirred around at top speed to keep him steady. Dory had her short-term memory and an obsession for fish-languages. Marlin, an over-protective father, had his fear of the ocean. Deb, who thinks her reflecton is her sister and the vegetarian sharks, who lose focus of their objective when they smell blood. From start to finish, the characters have quirks and idiosyncrasies and I've loved the movie more because of the nutty flaws than despite them.

Arbitly wondering: Is it really the flaws in a person that make him endearing? If so, then why do we always look for perfection?

LEAKY NOSE, LEAKY NOSE..

The worst possible time to catch a cold is when there's work to be done. Can hardly read because my eyes won't stop filling up. Can't concentrate because I'm trying to find a tissue in time to catch the sneeze. To top it off, the book to be reviewed is extreeemely boring.

Have ultimately decided to stuff wads of tissue up my nostrils- theory seems fine on paper, now waiting for a sneeze to prove/disprove it. Also prepared to jump up and hunt for more tissue in case current ones go flying out.

Have also realised, over the years, that the horizontal position [;)] is good when it comes to colds. One sneezes much lesser when flat on back. Stuffing face with food is also a good idea. But then, stuffing face with food is always a good idea:)

Now down by 3 wads of tissues, 1 handkerchief, n sneezes and 1 blogpost, the book reading still stands at Chapter 1.

LEISURE

W.H. Davies


What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

From having all the time in the world right now, I can't believe I won't even have time to breathe in two months. On the upside, may the days away from Bombay fly by.. Sighhhhh

GUTTERBUG

Bowling has always been fascinating. It was something that Archie and gang often did, where Reggie always managed a strike while Dilton calculated the angle of strike. The one who lost treated the gang to sundaes at Pop Tate's.

Unexpectedly, Ahmedabad has a Bowling Alley, plonk in the middle of FR, where most of the Gujjus who hang out make sure they're really dressed up for a day out. This particular alley has weird rules- they let only two people play each game. Highly illogical, considering that there's no way to continue playing limitlessly.

After weighing the bowling balls (pardon the language), deciding which were the lightest (uh-oh..), we began the game to the tune of "Dil Le Gayi Kudi Gujarat ki..." to realise that that particular alley had a strong slope towards the left. This would obviously mean that we ought to throw more to the right.. but throw left or right, it would end up as a gutter ball. With each gutterball, the screen would pop a funny cartoon of bowling pins which effectively dodge the ball. They would jump off tables, run around corners or just skip and the ball would miss em. Argh, you could almost hear them go "Bwahahahaha!!!!!!!"

With two of us aiming for the left gutter and two for the right, we had a total of 23 gutters within 3 games. Even though I suck at the game, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Apparently, I aim to miss the pins. Wish that had been the objective, I could have played pro. Would also have then bought me a nice pair of bowling shoes. Hmm..

Maybe I should play a fixed cricket match.. isn't that where one aims to miss?

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT

The names I've been called over the years.. One would wonder what I'd done to deserve each one, but I maintain that I just happen to have a creative lot of friends who are a tad bit crazy:)

1. Munni: Nicknamed so by my brother before I could gurgle even, after a woman who I think was his very first crush.
2. Molly: Pop's choice. Time to wangle whatever I want when he uses this.
3. Dotty: Shortened form of daughter. Was discovered when I was in pigtails and just a lil over 4 feet. Unfortunately led to "Potty Dotty".
4. Andoo: Courtesy my egg-shaped face and Minal.
5. "Pandhri Paal": Literally translated, means "White Lizard". Urgh. Couldn't then fathom why my nutty pals drew that equation, but after all that has happened lately, I credit them their excellent foresight.
6. Cdee: A hangover of bygone days, and a friendship that ended unfortunately.
7. Anjy: Never been called this before, but it was decided that the regular nicks were too boring. Oh, the ones that were yet to come!!!!
8. Gooey: All cause I have what appears to be an unnatural interest in the most basic functions of the human body:D
9. Snoobie: Short for Snooty B****. Ah, my friends louuu me soooo muchhh!!! All cause I fancy luxury and am (supposedly) a bit of a snob. Pooh!
10. Half-Ticket: Was initially used by a single person, but appears to be catching on. Why do I get the feeling that people don't take me seriously?!
11. Cribby: One tiresome assignment and all my grumpy mornings.. plus Jonty.
12. A'Loo: Credited due to my rather gruesome bathroom escapades. A messy toilette, if there ever was one.

Being fairly normal and I have an entire list to pen down. Wonder what would have happened if I was weird..

KACHCHA NEEMBU

She hovered along the sidelines, in the manner of a typical raw lemon. She didn't really want to play, but had decided that to continue digging her heels in would get embarassing. She had checked out, during the course of other games, that rawer (or so she thought) lemons only hovered on the outskirts, and hence continued to do so in the true spirit of raw lemonry.

A game played by fourteen people frisking around a single tennis ball and seven rocks, Pitthoo aka Lagori was entirely based on firstly deconstructing and then reconstructing a pile of the aforesaid 7 rocks.

She knew she'd fling the ball once at the damn pile ("Why did it have to be placed at such a distance anyway?!") but could generally retire to being a non-entity on the field whilst occasionally indulging in a bit of dodgery. Thus content, she took up her position in the field with a decent degree of composure. The guys seemed to fling the ball about for a few minutes, while she looked on, wondering whether she was in the way. The ball suddenly flew past her, and she realised she had to chase the thing that bounced happily away. It would assuredly have a winked a wicked wink if this had been a comic strip.

Around the corner she followed it, and managing to grab it, whirled around. Awright, moment of truth. She had to chuck it-- "underarm"-- around the building. This, she supposed, called for some true-blue bending like Beckham. If she estimated correctly, everything was supposed to move in slow motion from right about this point. She flung it as hard as she could and watched it as it flew (hmm.. quite high) right at the building and ricocheted off into what could only be termed as the outside of the field. Definitely not moment of glory.

Bah! If this had been a movie, the ball would have made it not only past the blind corner, but would also have landed bang on target. She would then have been hoisted on shoulders whilst wearing a horrendously shiny uniform, probably yellow.

They did manage to win ultimately, and she trudged to the stands with a smile on her face. Heheheh, she'd done one great bit of dodging. She'd also turned back to the attacker to quirk an eyebrow to convey her "AHA!!".

She would play again tomorrow. Even she hadn't got it all rawng:)

Note: Third person fits will probably happen from time to time. Would love to occasionally throw in the odd "Thy" terminology too:D

BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY

Bridget Jones's Diary, author Helen Fielding. Extremely funny book. Makes passers-by wonder whether apparently alone-in-her-room woman of substance is queer in head, as giggles away to glory.

• "Why can't married people understand that this is no longer a polite question to ask? (i.e. 'How's your love-life going') "We wouldn't rush up t them and roar, 'How's your marriage going? Still having sex?' "
• "Skirt is demonstrably neither sick nor abscent. Appalled by management's blatently sizist attitude to skirt. Obsessive interest in skirt suggests management sick rather than skirt."
• “It is proved by surveys that happiness does not come from love, wealth and power but the pursuit of attainable goals: and what is a diet if not that?”
• "Humph. Have woken up v. fed up. On top of everything, only two weeks to go until birthday, when will have to face up to the fact that another entire year has gone by, during which everyone else except me has mutated into Smug Married, having children plop, plop, plop, left right and centre and making hundreds of thousands of pounds and inroads into very hub of establishment, while I career rudderless and, boyfriendless through dysfunctional relationships and professional stagnation."
• "Exes should never, never go out with or marry other people but should remain celibate to the end of their days in order to provide you with a mental fallback position."
• “We had a long discussion about the comparative merits of Mr. Darcy and Mark Darcy, both agreeing that Mr. Darcy was more attractive because he was ruder but that being imaginary was a disadvantage that could not be overlooked.”

Some Favourites: Emotional F***wittage, Smug Married, "Oh, my godfathers, darling!!!"