Blog it.

How many of you come across a situation and the first thought to cross your mind is, "Oh my! I should blog this!"?

Its fascinating how thousands of people post thousands of blogs each day. Be it about their day to day lives, or something interesting they came across, or their opinions on world happenings. They find the time to blog it for all to see. Which makes me question, how many people actually go through all these blogs? When you log in to your account, do you take time to read random blogs posted by complete strangers? Do you take time to comment on them?

I've read quite a few myself ranging from movie reviews to sex tips! Oh yes, people do blog about the weirdest of things. There are blogs with over a 100 articles! And then there are blogs like mine with just a handful. Could it be that writing about something is a way to deal or cope with a problem? Or is it a safer way to express your opinions? Or then again maybe half the bloggers are just merely bored in life and blogging has become their all time favorite hobby!

Whatever the reason may be, I am not the one to judge cause I too am a fellow blogger. What I write about may not be as serious as political views or as arousing as sex tips, but then again they're not half bad for a light read now and then.

So if you're a blogger, blog away! Even if you're not the best story teller ;) .

Photoshop Frenzy!

*CLICK*

And you've got yourself a very nice picture. But this need not be the case all the time. Ever had a picture taken of yourself on those bad hair days? Or one where that nasty zit decided to show up? Or those long hours of work or studying that's left its mark under your eyes, so well projected in the picture your annoying friend decided to take?

These days it is so easy to change ones look by simply photoshopping the image! And I'm not talking about minor changes. With Photoshop, you can really make the person look like someone totally different. One such incident happened to me.

I was talking to a good friend of mine on Y! messenger. He happened to notice my display picture, and had words of praise for the photographer! This was a picture that many others happened to like as well. To get a closer look, I sent him the file that contained the picture. Now I know that all you readers are curious to see the picture, so here it is:

Note: This is the original picture.

Now he excused himself for a few minutes and got to work on the picture. He then sent it back to me asking if I noticed something different in it. One look was all I needed to see how perfect the skin looked. Completely flawless! Something you would see on the cover of a magazine, or during the photo shoot of 'Next Top Model', where you know the pictures have been air brushed to perfection. Though I'm not saying this picture was perfect, but it was the first time I'd seen myself like that! And I was impressed!

Note: If you compare the skin with the one above, you'll see what I'm talking about.

But just when I thought that he was done altering the picture, he suggested I get the bags under my eyes taken care of. Now we've all had days when our eyes just seemed a little too puffy and no amounts of concealer would cover up those raccoon rings! So if he could get rid of them, I was all game! So he got to work again. While fixing the eyes, he mentioned he'd be making changes to my lips as well. I never had a problem with my lips. But sure, anyone would love to have fuller, more sensual lips. So why protest? After a good 30 minutes or so, he passed the file back to me. And I was speechless!

Note: The bags have been air brushed and the lips look fuller.

Thought that was the last of changes? Nope. Since I looked so serious and a little too sad (emotionally), he suggested a smile to the lips, a twinkle to the eye and a whole lot of other changes I was beginning to lose track of! But hey, how bad could it be? Or so I thought...

Note: My first reaction was 'WTF :|'.

There was something off about the picture. Something that I could not pin point. I knew I didn't look like that when I smiled, so that could be one reason. Then again, the person staring back at me, wasn't really me. Sure, it could have been my evil twin (who doesn't really exist) or someone related to me. But it wasn't me. My friend was a little disappointed that I wasn't quite as excited about this one as I was for the others. But then it hit me! The left cheek of the picture! The little crease was a little too defined. So I asked him if he could soften it up a little.

Note: The laugh line on left cheek is more soft.

Still not me, but when compared to the previous picture, this one was a lot better. He lifted the right eye brow, curved the lips, brought laugh lines along the cheeks and in short created an image so very different from the original one!

It was a fun experience. I got to see myself with so many changes! And I'm glad he didn't make me bald! But he did make one last change =) ......

Note: Yes, this is the last of the lot.

Special thanks to Arka, for spending hours of his precious time on this picture. XoXo.

All in the mind.

According to wikipedia, Aquaphobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of water that can affect about one in fifty people.

I've been aquaphobic for as long as I can remember.

As a kid I had more trouble dealing with it. I blame it on all the shark documentaries I used to watch. This may sound funny, but at the age of four, I used to have trouble drinking coke (be it in a can, bottle or a glass). Something about the dark color used to disturb me so much that I would get my sister to take the first sip (to make sure there was no shark in it!) and only then would I be confident enough to drink it.

To make bath time a little more exciting, my mom used to fill the tub with water and add bubble bath liquid so that my sister and I could enjoy ourselves. But I would never go near the tub. The bubbles used to make it impossible to see the bottom and hence I was never sure of what was in the water. I always feared that the moment I stepped in, a shark would just pop out and eat me up. Sounds silly, doesn't it?

I'm 20 years old now and though I do not have any trouble with bubble baths (I find them quite relaxing), I still wont dare to go near a pool. I experience the same uneasy feeling. Though I can see right through the water, I don't trust it enough to jump in. I love going to the beach with friends. Playing volleyball, getting tans, meeting cute guys! Everything except the water! I like looking but I wouldn't ever want to be in the middle of it! So when my friends go swimming, I stay on shore taking pictures or just watching and wondering how they can enjoy being in the water!

I don't know if I'll ever get over this fear. There was a time when I was embarrassed to let my friends know about it. But now that has changed. We all fear something or the other. And everyone I've talked to have the same thing to say about it.

That it's all in the mind.

Teen to Adult?!?

On September 20th, 1987, at approximately 4am, a beautiful baby girl was born! (Yes, I am referring to myself!). Well, atleast that's the way I look at it. Which is why birthdays are very important to me. True that your turning older each passing year but its not like we have a choice, is it? So we should all make the most of that day! And turning 20 is a big deal because its the end of your teenage years and your finally an adult! But that does not necessarily mean you have to act like one! As you age more responsibility does come your way but that doesn't mean you wake up on your 20th birthday and automatically tune your senses to deal with life in a more serious manner. Like they say, Rome wasn't built in a day! So I say, take your time! Growing up can wait. Once you grow up life becomes really boring. So enjoy the little time you have now as crazy adults visualizing yourself living in a place similar to that of Neverland!

Pancake Obsession!

Who wouldn't want to wake up to the smell of pancakes in the morning?

Breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of the day. It gives us the energy to get started! So if your going to have breakfast, why not go for pancakes?

You can go crazy with pancakes!! And you don't even have to start from scratch if you don't have all the time in the world. All you need is the mix and a little extra something that you really like in your pancake.

For example, one could mix in different fruit in the batter. You could use strawberries, blueberries (yum!), bananas, raspberries or even tiny pieces of apple! Then again if your not a fruit person, you could always go for my favorite option - CHOCOLATE!

Get chocolate chips (white, milk, dark) and add it to your batter! And you can always be generous about the amount you add in! Or if you have a favorite kind of chocolate, just chop it up and toss it in the batter! When you cook the pancake, the chocolate remains melted inside! So you don't end up with a mess.

And to top the pancakes you could use butter (optional) and pour syrup on top! You even have choices for syrup! You could go for either sugar syrup or maple syrup (they are both extremely sweet), then again you could go for honey (a healthier choice) or my personal favorite - CHOCOLATE SYRUP!!

And whatever you choose, don't forget the side order of whip cream!

Photography

Most of us enjoy being photographed or taking photographs or even both!
One needn't have to go through classes to be able to take fairly decent pictures. If you own a camera and you come across something that catches your attention, chances are you will end up taking a picture of it.
Now I'd like you to meet Queenie (the cat you see on the right). She belongs to a dear friend of mine. Cats are adorable animals (though I'm sure there are many cat haters out there). I couldn't resist the temptation and ended up clicking a bunch of random pictures of the cat. But this particular one came out fairly well. Reminds me of something you'll find in a 'desktop background' website. I would be lying if I said that I was concentrating real hard on getting this shot. It was a random click!
So what I'm trying to say is, you don't really need one of those fancy expensive cameras (with all the details) or a degree in photography to be able to take good pictures. All you need is motivation (in this case the cat really motivated me, being the sweetheart that she is!).

The Art of BAKING!!

If your at home, with absolutely nothing to do and at the point of going insane due to boredom, I suggest you BAKE!!!
I've always loved to cook, but that does not mean I'm any good at it. Something about cooking meals, I always tend to mess up and the dish ends up with either too much or too less of some ingredient or the other.
But I've always loved cheesecakes! I go to a restaurant and for dessert I always pick from their selection of cheesecakes! But its not possible to go to a restaurant everyday and spend 7 bucks on a small slice of cheesecake! So I decided to try making it myself! And with the right recipe and the right amount of patience I succeeded in making the perfect cherry cheesecake (which I obviously got my friends to try first :P ) on my first try. Ever since, I try making different kinds- cherry, strawberry, chocolate, peanutbutter even! And they've all come out pretty good! Baking is easy and so much fun!! Not to mention the end result is always something delicious (well, i.e. if you make it right)!

SUMMER VACCATION!!!

SUMMER VACCATION - two words that will make anyone want to jump in joy (literally in my case!)

After months of torturing myself with books and exams, the thought of 4 glorious months of vaccation has pretty much the same effect on me as weed would!
But what I find funny is how people decide to go away to different places during the summer. Going away during winter makes more sense! Especially if your living in Canada where you see more white than green. These are the months you get to throw away those heavy jackets and winter boots and switch to more appealing attire, mainly tanks and flip-flops!
Well these are a few things summer reminds me of:

Sunscreen Lotion (lots of it!)
Sunglasses
Icecream (the perfect way to cool down!)
Pool Parties
Flip-flops (if your a girl you need to own atleast 3 pairs!)
Pedicures (essential!!)
WATER! (last thing you want is to be dehydrated)
Beaches
Skirts (one thing boys miss seeing during winter)
BBQs
Bikinis (soemthing else boys miss seeing during winter)
Air conditioners
Deodrant (noone likes to smell sweat)

Well that's all I can think of at the moment. But those are definitely some of the first things that will hit anyones mind as soon as they think of summer!
And I dont think its right for me to spend anymore time of my vaccation on this entry! =)

EXAM fever

So I woke up this morning and decided to find out when my finals began. Well to my dismay they start on the 11th. In other words I have to memorize gazillion chapters in less than 9 days. Possible? I doubt it.
Maybe if I stayed up every single night, stayed away from msn and orkut, cut down on meals, and avoided going out... wait a second... who am I kidding? None of that is actually gonna help! *sigh* I'm even wasting time writing this blog. But its good to start with a nice break. It helps clear the mind. And then I can alwayz take a few breaks in between. 10 min breaks every hour. Or even 5 min breaks every half hour if I really need it. And I could keep all the snacks that I need near me to avoid going all the way upstairs to the kitchen everytime. And I'll stock up on red bull or any other energy drink so that I can just pop in a couple if I feel tired or sleepy. Oh and I'll need tonnes of coffee!!
OK! I sorta feel good now. My plan just might work. If it does I'll be happy and if it doesnt, meh, I'll cry about it after the results are out!

ORKUTaholic!

Say NO to drugs! --- is what they teach in school. But I think its about time they added a little extra something to it. And by that I mean -- Say NO to orkut!
Why? Well its just as addictive as any drug would be. Or atleast thats the way I see it. Because I admit I'm an orkutaholic. And if there existed a rehab centre to cure this 'disease', I'd definitely check myself into it!
I actually sat down and calculated the number of hours I spend on Orkut. As soon as i wake up in the morning I practically run downstairs (my computer is in the basement) and refresh my orkut page (which i dint even bother closing the night before to reduce the hassle of signing in every minute) and check by how many my scraps have gone up! Then I quickly go through them before I get myself back upstairs to brush my teeth and take a shower ( Yes I dont even have the patience to brush my teeth before checkin my scraps.) !
I even have my breakfast in front of my computer so that I can keep track of my scraps every minute. I cant study without refreshing the page after evey paragraph I read (Thank God it aint after every line).
In the end I realised I spend around 16 hrs everyday orkutting my ass off. The rest of the time I use to sleep (usually 4 hrs or less), eat (dinner with my mom) ,shower (twice everyday) & study (sometimes). Am I proud of this? No. Because I could have used most of that time to do something a little more useful.
Well I've finally decided to alter my schedule! I'm gonna make more use of my time by reading a book or working out or going out with my friends or watchin the news even! Anything that will help me stay off of orkut!
I'm not saying I'm going to quit orkut completely. I'm just going to reduce the time I spend on it and I'm very determined to succeed in my plan!

Winter

Winter reminds me of:


Frozen fingers
Frozen toes
Red nose
Red cheeks
Hybernation
Hungry 24/7
Lazy 24/7 =)
Cold nights
Hot water bags
Hot chocolate--lots of it!
Shoveling driveways *ughh*
Ice skating
Snowboarding
Snowmen ( u know u make em!)
Snow Angels
Mositurizing cream
Hot Showers *mmmmm*
Soups --- helps warm the system!
Heaters on high
Extra blankets
Snow boots -- you dont wanna go out without them!


I'm sure there is a LOT more . But at the moment this is all I can think of!

Bored

Reading Week >> I'm guessing they expect you to be reading something during this week. I ended up readin "The Undomestic Goddess" by Sophie Kinsella. She is an amazing author! Her books are fun to read. I often catch myself laughing out loud while reading her books. Its funny when I'm reading on the bus. People actually stare!
But as much as I like reading, it can get boring after a while. So I ended up going ice skating. Something else I enjoy doing.The only thing I dint get about to doing was studying. And I do feel bad about that.
So I've decided to start seriosuly studying from today onwards. And reduce the time I spend online. I tried doing that once before and failed miserably. But I am going to give it another shot!
But i'll keep blogging. Only because its fun to write random about random stuff. Plus i doubt anyone is going to read this. So i'm going to blog away!