Turning 23

Sometime during the day yesterday, i turned 23. at first, when i woke up, it didn't feel like my birthday. actually i didn't think much about the day until i came outside and i saw how happy my mom was about the whole day. she cooked everything i liked (my dad told her all the foods he thought i liked---which turned out to be all the foods i like) and she baked a cake. while i was saying my prayers she came up to me and gave me my present. i guess she thought i was taking a really long time to finish. but anyway, it turned out to be a necklace with an om pendant on it. she made me promise to wear it everyday. she said that she was tired of seeing my tulsi beads. i still wear them, but i also wear the necklace. ami came over around 2:30pm and he brought me a vase with two dozens of red roses and a balloon sticking out of the vase. i guess it cost him a lot. when he gave them to me, he said, "mamita, this is all i could buy for you." i was happy though. sometimes, i feel like a celebrity with ami; he buys me flowers every month. the roses are beautiful and the scent is heavenly!
i have no idea where my mom found all the energy that she had yesterday but she surely did a lot. she cooked food like if she was having a party for about 40 people! then she sent me out in the evening with my dad. she claimed that she was going out with my aunt and uncle and she even got dressed and everything to go out too. when i got home, i saw a whole bunch of cars at my house. i just thought that everyone came over like they usually did on birthdays. it would have been good because i thought that they could help us eat all the food my mom cooked. well it turned out that my mom and ami had planned a surprise. she decorated the house in the time i was gone and she had my other aunt and uncle and ami's family come over. it felt like my birthday because of my mom's enthusiasm. she told everyone that she wasn't sure if next year i would celebrate my birthday in her house so she wanted me to remember this birthday. she really outdid herself....and yeah, i had a real cake too! she had ordered one and she went telling everyone that i thought that she was going to ice the one that she had baked earlier in the day too. the cake was awesome!!!! i am enjoying a small piece of it everyday....and so is furgie. seems as if furgie cannot resist. she is cutting little cubes of cake and before she knows it, she has made a significant dent in the cake. well i gotta hand it to the lady who bakes the cakes. they are all eggless cakes and they are iced with my favorite chocolate icing.. and my friend has told me that one cannot tell the difference between this cake and an eggless cake. she thought that the eggless cakes were better actually because they weren't as airy as the cakes we get in the grocery.
btw, furgie spoiled the surprise about my cake...as usual! i didn't know i was having a cake until furgie came in the room...bubbly and excited and told me in a very excited tone when i said that i didn't know my mom had invited people, "wait 'til u see the cake!" then i said, "i got a cake?!" and furgie exclaimed, "oh sh-t! act surprised when you got out there, okay! please!"
so yeah, i had to act surprised. really i didn't know that i was going to be surprised. ami's mom, sister and younger brother came. my two oldest friends called and emailed me and i spoke to my cousin and my aunt earlier in the day.
after the cake, ami insisted that i open my presents. then i said, "i have presents too?!" didn't expect presents. his mom brought a bouquet of flowers and his sister gave me earrings. i got perfume from my little cousins, shivy and daniella, and finally ami told me to open his present last. he got me an opal and diamond necklace from macy's. it is really really beautiful. i was surprised once more. my little trouble is what i am going to wear all the necklaces for now...i live in my tulsi beads!

on a more serious tone...turning 23 on april 23rd was a big birthday for me. yes, i have learnt more things and i will continue to do so. for now, i am happy with life. there is still much to do and much to see, but right now, i am happy with where i am.

finally, my friend's wedding was an event to remember. it was a very well organized and traditional wedding. the family did not get caught up in the partying part but they focused on the religious part. there was no alcohol either. and in the reception, the guests had a ball of a time! everyone danced including me and furgie. by the end of the evening, everyone who stayed back was on the dance floor having a good time. of course, you can't let good music go to waste!

Maticoor Night and three of the four funerals

Today, the last samskaras of three of the four people killed were done today. I am somewhat happy i didn't go. after darsh's funeral and my cousin's funeral, i do not think i could bear to watch the funeral of any young person. Funerals are sad events and even sadder is when you have to watch someone who belongs to your own age group cremated or buried. so far, i have never been to a burial ground, and i hope i do not have to attend one. it's normal for us to witness cremations. i hope their souls find peace. I did note the hour of the cremations though, and i said a prayer in my mind to Vasudev for their souls. tomorrow, they will cremate the last guy.

On saturday, my friend from High School will get married. so the celebrations started tonight. in trinidad, we call it the maticoor night. Really, it is when the respective women folk of the girl and boy's family go to dig dirt at a river or at a "stand-pipe." In trindad, we used to walk to the nearby stream that flowed down from the mountains whenever someone from our village was getting married (my home was at the foothills of the northern range). the women alone would go and they would dance amongst each other, without the men....something that me, as a little girl, did not understand. i never really understood the eggplant and the cucumber and everything else until much later on...hehehe!!!! yeah, they really do crazy things!
so tonight, we went to the maticoor. only my mom and i went from my family. it was a lot of fun, actually. everyone was happy and my friend looked pretty. the maticoor night is the night that they rub tumeric on the bride and the groom at their respective homes. it is nice to be on the groom's side if the groom is family but it is cooler to be on the bride's side if the bride is a friend. if the groom is family, you get to follow the wedding. if the bride is family, then it's sad for her family. after the pundit left, there was a group that started singing chutney and wedding songs. that was when the people started dancing. they really enjoyed themselves. i danced for a total of ten seconds for my friend. her maticoor night would be one to remember. everyone was happy there.

we came back home at 11:20pm and my mom went back to the wake to see the families of the young people who died. i guess my mom is bothered a lot by it....well so is a lot of people. it is a grave loss.

i am aware that there are two total parallels that i am writing about here but in one part, i want to smile for my friend and on the other part, i am bothered a lot about these four young people and their families. my blog represents my frame of mind here....a little bit scattered....like when you shake a snow globe and you wait for the snow to settle at the bottom of the globe...right now, my thoughts are shaking about in my head, waiting to settle down. (11:48pm)


Its almost two hours later and i think sleep has eluded me. after i finished the above part of this blog, i was going to sleep about 12:30 when my mom came back from the wake. she told me that she spoke to the mother of one of the boys who died and she said that she was able to hold her son's face and talk to him before the cremation. apparently, they were not charred beyond recognition. she said that the faces were just darker from the burns but they could be recognized. the only survivor (the husband of the girl who was driving) is talking about what happened now. his wife's funeral was also today. he said that she was try to get away from the two boys in the other car because they were trying to whistle and talk to the girls when they stopped at the traffic lights. i was tossing and turning on the bed so i decided to wake up and blog...usually, when i write, i am able to calm my thoughts. yes, i am very much bothered by this accident. terrified about driving. i wonder about going to the movies like we do on weekends and coming back in the early morning hours...i am thinking of my dad driving alone and amit driving alone. i pray for their safety.... and my thoughts keep going back to darsh. he was tired. he fell asleep at the wheel. i miss him a lot.

Easter Weekend and The Car Wreck/"Smash Up"

It seems that accidents are something that are inevitable when one lives in S. Florida. Big roads, nice cars and in the quiet of the early morning, anything can happen in the blink of an eye. On Sunday morning five friends were returning from a party on South Beach when their car ran off the road and hit a tree then burst into flames. Four out of the five of them burned to death in the car and the one who survived was supposedly thrown through the windscreen of the car from where he sat in the middle in the back. His wife was the driver. She died along with another girl, and two other guys. They were all Trinis and they went to high school together. Four of them lived on the same street and the last one lived less than a 1/2 mile away. I guess it shook up the entire Trini community here. My parents barely knew the people but they went two nights in the wake. My mom talks about the crash nonstop. She knew that speed may have been a definite factor in the crash but for her (and other parents as well) they only see it as the loss of four children. according to the newspaper report, the eldest person in the car was 26 and the youngest was 22. their bodies were burnt beyond recognition and dental records were required to identify them.
Right away, i was reminded of my friend Darsh, who died almost three years ago in another horrible accident on the florida turnpike. Sometimes, it is hard to believe that he died.
For the wake, people simply parked their car and walked from one house to the other. My mom told me that it was one thing to see it on the news and another thing to be there and see the parents of these kids. I guess for them, it is the reverse order of things. Parents do not expect to see the death of their kids and when they do, they never recover from it. My mom was telling me today that no one could reason with any of the mothers there. I guess there is nothing that one could say when things like this happens. Then she said that it is better that they cry as much as they need to because for now, their tears will be their only comfort.
The news was carried in the local section of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel today and it was also in today's Trinidad Express. The Sun-Sentinel called it a wreck and in Trini terms, it was called by the local word, a "smash up." Hence, the title.
Whatever it is called, it is disturbing. These people were in my age group. i feel for their families. I am very proud of the Trini community here because they showed up in their numbers to support the families...even when they did not know the people personally. They have kept the brotherhood that they formed when they first came to Trinidad so many years ago. They may fight amongst each other and they may not show up to the temple functions, to weddings or parties but they show up when there is a funeral...and that is most important. For the families, this is all that they have now...the support of others who are like them and who understand and sympathize with them.
i guess i can post the link from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and some of the pictures of the crash.

on a stranger note....i must mention furgie's experience that morning...around the same time the crash occurred. (by the way, the families live only a mile away from us). it was about 5am sunday morning and furgie was awakened by a voice that said, "i'm coming to get you!" she was sleeping on the couch in the back tv room of the house and the voice was coming from outside. then the voice was followed by a bunch of sounds that sounded like gurgling and choking sounds. it was about the same time when furgie ran into the room, making a lot of noise, and jumped on the bed and covered from head to toe....i had a good laugh. my mother thinks that it had something to do with the crash....and she is mentioning the roses once again! they are blooming once more. she claims that they are bad luck. i told her that they were my birthday present and then i told her that i was not superstitious like that but if she really believed that they were the reason for people dying, then she should move them....it is her home after all!

As for these four souls, i pray that they find peace and that the one person who survived recovers mentally as well as physically. and for their parents, i hope they find solace.

Why God Never Received Tenure at Any University (a funny)

1. He only had one major publication.
2. It was in Hebrew.
3. It had no references.
4. It wasn't published in a referred journal.
5. Some even doubt He wrote it Himself.
6. It may be true that He created the world, but what has He done since then?
7. His cooperative efforts have been quite limited.
8. The scientific community has had a hard time replicating His results.
9. He never applied to the Ethics Board for permission to use human subjects.
10. When one experiment went awry, He tried to cover it up by drowning the subjects.
11. When subjects didn't behave as predicted, He deleted them from the sample.
12. He rarely came to class, just told students to read the book.
13. Some say He had His son teach the class.
14. He expelled His first two students for learning.
15. Although there were only ten requirements, most students failed His tests.
16. His office hours were infrequent and usually held on a mountaintop.

-Taken from my daily jokes at Beliefnet.com

Easter...and the passion of Christ

Well it's amazing how a solemn weekend like this becomes a weekend of egg hunts and a bunny that hides eggs. For many, it is about telling their kids that easter is a celebration of spring and the bunny and pastel colors.....really now! everywhere you go, you will see a bunch of cakes made in the shape of eggs and painted in dainty pastel colors and you will see all of the major supermarkets and of course, walmart capitalizing on the day.
for me, i guess the color i will most associate with easter is red. red for the passion and for the blood of Christ. i've suggested that furgie should read the four gospels. there are some really ispirational parables...especially in Luke. my favorite is the parable of the prodigal son. it reminds me of what the soul really is and it ties in fully with our hindu scriptures. that is another thing...the words of Christ in the gospels are very closely tied in with hindu scriptures. there is not one show about Jesus on tv except for the spanish stations and i am too lazy to put on the closed caption to follow the dialogue. so far, i have not heard anyone say anything about the passion nor has anyone mentioned any of the four gospels. maybe people do not like to talk about it because of the fear that they may offend someone so we settle on something common...like the bunny. after all, we are a country that holds back what is really in our hearts for the fear of not being politically correct.
and as for the "Passion of Christ," i really believe that the best film capturing this was an old one, "King of Kings." actually, it went through the story of Christ then ended in the trial and resurrection. i remember watching that one when i was really young, before i knew the true story of Christ and i remember crying buckets. for a long time, it bothered me, especially the part where Jesus stumbled while carrying the cross. for me, it was even worse than the part where he was nailed to the cross or where the crown of thorns were placed on his head. mel gibson's film was a little violent.....maybe it was what really happened....but i preferred "King of Kings."
and on another note...another one i will always watch is "The Ten Commandments" in eastman color.

The Wonders of God

A boy was sitting on a park bench with one hand resting on an open Bible. He was loudly exclaiming his praise to God. "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God is great!" he yelled without worrying whether anyone heard him or not. Along came a man who had recently completed some studies at a local university. Feeling himself very enlightened in the ways of truth and very eager to show this enlightenment, he asked the boy about the source of his joy. The boy replied with a bright laugh, "Don't you have any idea what God is able to do? I just read that God opened up the waves of the Red Sea and led the whole nation of Israel right through the middle."The enlightened man laughed lightly, sat down next to the boy, and began to try to open his eyes to the "realities" behind the miracles of the Bible. "That can all be very easily explained. Modern scholarship has shown that the Red Sea in that area was only 10-inches deep at that time. It was no problem for the Israelites to wade across." The boy was stumped. His eyes wandered from the man back to the Bible lying open in his lap. The man, content that he had enlightened a poor, naive young person to the finer points of scientific insight, turned to go. Scarcely had he taken two steps when the boy began to rejoice and praise louder than before. The man turned to ask the reason for this resumed jubilation. "Wow!" Exclaimed the boy happily, "God is greater than I thought! Not only did He lead the whole nation of Israel through the Red Sea, He topped it off by drowning the whole Egyptian army in 10 inches of water!"

Taken from my online religious jokes at Beliefnet.com.....
just thought that it would be suitable for Easter.....well, kinda!

Jai Bajrang Bali Hanuman!

Over the weekend, furgie and i were discussing Hanuman puja and its popularity in Trinidad. He is one diety that is always worshipped by almost all trinidadians. Nan said maybe that will explain why Trinidad is so protected......I must agree.
In Trinidad, we pray to Lord Hanuman for strength, courage, protection and the ability to discriminate right from wrong. We honor Him for his loyalty to Shri Raam. Finally, we look up to Him as the ideal devotee. In many Hindu homes in Trinidad, there is a picture of L. Hanuman above the front entrance of the house. There are many Hindus who observe fasting on Saturday mornings because of the belief that prayer to Hanuman on Saturday will remove the ill effects of Saturn/Shani. And me...in my own way...i try to wake up early on saturday mornings (note the emphasis on the word 'try') and say a prayer to Hanumanji before the morning is done.
Today we celebrated Hanuman Jayanti-the birth of Lord Hanuman. He is really Lord Shiva but for many of us, He has a special place in our worship. The entire atmosphere of the mandir was charged. We (furgie and I) arrived there at 6:30 am and joined in the puja and havan (offerings, etc.) and at 8:00, we began chanting the Hanuman Chalisa for 108 times. The chanting began slowly and went very quickly in the middle then we ended slowly. Furgie and i led most of the fast chanting because many of the people could not go as quickly without eating up the words. Well now, furgie can barely talk! my voice is alright though. by the time we reached the last chalisa and the arti, we were dancing/swaying...whatever you call it. everyone was totally engrossed in the worship.
Later on, we reflected about the day. It was a working day for most people and yet, there was a steady stream of people. some people took their lunch break and whoever had school came before or after and did their worship. it was a truly beautiful thing to see my fellow trinis show up and even more, take time from their jobs/busy schedules to pay homage to Lord Hanuman. An indian lady who comes to our mandir told us that it was nice to see that people came with their little children and stayed for the entire day. i never thought of it but yes, there were many kids there...and none of them were crying! not even the babies.
so the question was why would i take a complete day off from work for this?...nan told me that i must have really been into this because i gave up working with Laila to go to the mandir. Well, initially, i did wonder about how Laila would manage alone but the mandir was fun too. I enjoyed it...and i remember how i felt after last year's chanting. the feeling lasts for the entire year...and that is something i am willing to skip one day of work for. the magic of it stays with you.


The picture below is based on a scene from the Ramayana (Kishkinda Kand) where Lord Raam and Hanumaan officially meet and they embrace each other. Really, it is the meeting of L. Vishnu with L. Shiva. One of my favorites....kudos to the artist for the emotion in this picture!

"Veronika Decides to Die" by Paulo Coelho

Seems as if i am stuck on this author. For the moment, I am. There is promise in Coelho's writing and really, he is very good. and when i read a book that i like, i usually read another one by the same author.
Veronika Decides to Die is the third book i have read by Coelho and really, it is a good read. makes one think really. As usual, Furgie has not read this one as yet but she has finished reading Eleven Minutes. I will just ask her not to read this blog. By the way, she did like the same places of Eleven Minutes that i liked.
Okay, so the synopsis....Veronika is a 24 year old woman in Slovenia who takes a bunch of sleeping pills one morning because she has decided to die. The only thing is that she wakes up in a mental instutition called Villette. She finds out that she did not die right away (duh!) but she is told that one of her ventricles suffered necrosis and she will soon die...within a week. so with her days numbered (what a cliche) she begins to finally really live her life. she is not worried about being proper and following the rules of society because after all, she is instutionalized.
There are other side stories in the book. apart from Veronika, there are three other characters who help Veronika discover the meaning of life. there is zedka (suffering from depression), mari (who has anxiety attacks), and eduard (the schizophrenic). I like eduard most...although all of them are really strong characters.
I guess one of the main questions from the book is what will you do if your days are numbered? Well really they are.....it is the only certainty that we have once we accept the fact that we are born...but often times, we live as if we have an entire lifetime to do things when in reality, each day we live, we come closer to death. we become so illusioned and tangled in a web of "living" in society...and following norms that we make it our only reality. so how much of a difference does it make if someone told us that we were only going to live for one week for the most? what will we do differently?
well really, Veronika is not keen on living in the beginning but in the end, she grows to love life but she accepts that she will die at any minute and she resolves to being happy when she dies. she falls in love with eduard who is totally coherent.....we find that out. then there is dr. Igor. He has been experimenting on his patients all along and we find out in the end that the heart attack symptoms that Veronika has been having are brought about by injections that he has been giving her under the claim that they are her medicine. Really, Veronika's heart is strong. nothing has been damaged and we find that out in the end, right before the entire research of Dr.Igor is put in the light.
I've found out that this was another true story. my question was: I wonder if Veronika found out soon after that she was healthy and not going to die?
I liked this book more than Eleven Minutes. Maybe it is because of the psychiatry involved but it is worth the time i took to read it. really, it was not a long time (not big like Brother's Karamazov) and it is always a good thing to know that we can take time away from work/school/everyday life to travel into the other worlds that literature takes us to.


Several months later: June 24th, 2006...

Nan finally finished reading this book. she made an interesting point. Dr. Igor cured Veronika. he is a psychiatrist. in giving her a placebo, he made her want to live by letting her believe that she had but a few days. Maybe she never found out that her heart was strong but she would always live each day as if it were her last. In this way, Igor cured Veronika. maybe it was not intended but I am guessing that if a sequel is ever written, no one from Villette will go in search of Eduard and Veronika. that much i am sure of.

Durga Asthmi and Worshipping the Nine Devis

Today my family and I were supposed to lead the puja in the mandir. For the past five years or so, we have always been the ones who sit and do the offerings on the eighth night of the Navraatri. as fate would have it, i was the only one from my family who could make it there in time for the beginning so i represented them. I don't know what special deed i did but of all the people there, i was told to do the puja. I was a privelege and i am happy that i was able to do it.
so we did the offerings...all the various rituals, the havan, the lingam puja, the offering of the dhar for the goddess and then we worshipped nine little girls who represent the nine forms that the goddess took during the nine days and a little boy who represents Lord Shiva. these little girls were so cute! i washed their feet with milk and then water, then dried them...i did aarti for them, i fed them, then gave them money and presents and i took their blessings. i remember when i was little and i used to sit for this puja how much fun it was for me. back then, the presents were the coolest part of the whole thing! today, i understand the symbolism behind the ritual and... it is a beautiful ritual. maybe because i love this time so much and i believe that the blessings that one obtains from Lord Shiva only come into effect fully when Durga puja is done. there's a few verses from the Durga chalisa that say:

SHANKARA ACHARAJ TAP ATI KEENHO
KAM KRODH JEET SAB LEENHO
Shankaracharya had performed once a special penance called Aacharaj and by virtue of which he had subdued his anger and desire
NISHIDIN DHYAN DHARO SHANKAR KO
KAHOU KAL NAHIN SOUMIRO TOUMKO
He ever worshipped Lord Shankar and never for a moment concentrated his mind on You
SHAKTI ROOP KO MARAM NA PAYO
SHAKTI GAYI TAB MAN PACHITAYO
Since He did not realize your immense glory, all His powers waned and then He repented hitherto
SHARNAGAT HOUYI KIRTI BAKHANI
JAI JAI JAI JAGADAMBA BHAVANI
Then He sought refuge in You, chanted Your glory and 'victory, victory, victory to Thee, O Jagadamba Bhavani'

It's like having a lightbulb and needing the electricity to produce light. one cannot exist without the other...so the blessings i have from my fast from Shivraatri will come into play when this Navraatri fast is over. I love hinduism! it allows me to choose my path and adhere to it.

some words from the dialect of trinidad and tobago

Found this site (same as the one above with some trini words) really cool stuff.
http://users.rcn.com/alana.interport/dialect.html
also, i added a poem using trini dialect in my link

Bacchanal- rowdy, scandalous behaviour; good party
Badjohn- a bully
Bobolee - a person who is habitually taken advantage of
Commesse- confusion, controversy
Cunumunu- a stupid, foolish person
Dingolay- to dance with joyful abandon
Fresh-water Yankee- -a person who spends a short time in the U.S. and returns with a heavy American accent; originally, one who acquired the "yankee" accent by simply visiting the U.S. military base or the U.S. Embassy
Horn- to cheat on a significant other
Jamet a prostitute
Lagniappe -a little extra, a bonus
Lime -hanging out, having fun, e.g., "Let's go down to the corner and lime."
Maco - someone who minds other people's business
Mamaguy - trying to fool someone, or being fooled by someone, e.g., Your friend is wearing an ugly dress, but you tell her that it's beautiful.
Mamapoule - hen-pecked husband; a derogatory term for a husband who seems to be controlled by his wife
Mas - masquerade, Carnival
Obzokee - awkward, out of place, misshapen
Ol' talk - empty chatter, nonsense, e.g., "What you're saying is a bunch of ol' talk."
Parang - originates from the spanish influence when the Venezuelans settled as estate workers on the plantations; they introduced the Christmas celebration of serenading from one household to another; parang is derived from "parandero" or "serenader"
Peong - someone who seems to be addicted to or obsessed with something, e.g., "You're a TV peong," meaning someone who watches too much television
Saga Boy - a male who is boastful of his physical attributes
Sampat- an unfair attack, ambush
Screw Pan- an angry or determined look on a person's face; usually makes them look humorously ugly
Soucouyant - usually an old woman who turns herself into a ball of fire and passes through a keyhole to suck one's blood; a vampire
Tabanca- the feeling of hurt when a romantic relationship ends
Toutoulbay- a gullible person
Yampee - mucus found in the corner of the eyes after a long night's sleep


Words Associated with Food

Buljol- shredded saltfish with onions and tomatoes, avocado, pepper and olive oil
Buss-up-shut--- flaky bread served with curries; derives from "burst-up-shirt," a reference to the torn-cloth appearance of the bread
Callaloo- soup or stew of African origin made from dasheen leaves with ochroes, boiled with pumpkin, coconut, salt meat or crab
Channa- chick-peas
Coo-coo- a cornmeal pudding with ochro; a slave dish which was cooked in a simple pot over coals
Doubles- curried channa served between two pieces of fried bread (bara)
Hops- crisp bread roll, often filled with ham
Makaforshet- left-overs; from the French phrase "ma ca fourchette," meaning "food stuck between the fork" or, by implication, food that lives on
Mauby- bark of the carob tree Colubrina reclinata used to make a drink of the same name
Melongene- eggplant (this one is too funny!)
Ochro- okra
Pastelles- seasoned mincemeat mixed with olives, capers and raisins in a cornmeal casing and wrapped in banana leaves; a culinary legacy of the Spanish settlement, traditionally served at Christmas
Pelau- peas and rice, cooked with meat and flavoured with coconut and pepper
Pholouri- fritters made with split peas
Pommerac- a bright red fruit with velvety white interior; could have come from the patois for "Maracas apple" (makes a good "chow")
Roti- a thinly cooked dough which is filled with a curry mixture which can contain beef, chicken, goat, shrimp, or any other meat
Shadow Beni (ban dhania)- a herb known an cilantro which is used as a distinctive seasoning in cooking
Souse- pork boiled and served cold in a salty sauce with lime, cucumber, pepper, and onion slices
Toolum- one of the earliest T&T candies from the slave days, made with molasses and grated coconut
Zaboca- avocado

Rules for copying and pasting.....Attention university students;0)

Nan complained that i must be the worst copier and paster that ever lived! well in my defense, it was late and i was sleepy. really now, i didnt notice the blue background when i copied the article. but i did try to change a few words. yes, i do understand what i read and i do understand what i pasted too. No, it is not my idea but i tried to make my own words out of what i pasted after and created an article similar to the one i pasted but not entirely the same. not one of my originals but i did site the article.
so for my university friends:
1. Try to get rid of background colors when you are copying and pasting. they have a way of hiding until you get to class and then it's too late to go and reprint the freaking stuff!
2. When copying and pasting, try to change the words, use the synonym feature of microsoft word extensively, and change every four words.
3. Proofread
4. Pray real hard that some other student didn't get the same article you got
5. Also pray that the T/A has a life and does not actually read the nonsense you made up
6. never reveal your sources...heh heh heh

"Black" starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherji

Few movies are worth actually sitting for three hours and watching from beginning 'til end. This is one of them. "Black" deserves two thumbs and toes way up!!! Both actors did their roles well. they were amazing and they proved what it is like to assume the character of the person fully. Reminded me of the Helen Keller story in the beginning but it changed after the intermission. Really was a nice movie to watch. Didn't even know that the time went by that quickly. I've seen english movies...like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (johnny depp wasn't even enough for me to watch it---ended up walking out of the cinema) that made me feel like if i was being punished to watch it. The time crawled in that movie! Jeez! the oomphaloompas scared the living daylights out of me. the looked like child molesters in jumpsuits singing and dancing with some ridiculious, cone-shaped hairstyles....anyway, "Black" was twice as long as that movie and i never looked at the clock throughout the whole movie. even applauded at the end! that's what i do when i see a good movie or i hear a good song. i applaud...no matter who's there. have gotten some really strange stares from people in the store about that. even got the bosses to do it now. both of them.
So i've concluded....this IS a movie that i will buy.....along with the soundtrack. there were no songs but there was some very nice pieces of classical music. mostly strings...violin and maybe a viola. i don't know... It was the best acting i've seen in a while.....and although i really really really loved "devdas", i have to say, "Black" was the best one. maybe because it was so much more than just a regular love story. But still, "Devdas" started it all. At least they were directed by the same person! yeah, and i applauded at that too! kudos to sanjay leela bansali...i would shake your hand if i met you and thank you for two very, very, very well made movies.
and to my boy in the US....yeah, M. Night Shayamalan (sorry about the spelling)...i look forward to "Lady in the Water."

In the beginning...a funny with a twist

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.
Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream and Pizza Boys Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles."
And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.
And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size14.
So God said, "Try my fresh, green salad." And Satan presented Thousand-Island dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.
God then said, "I have sent you heart-healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep-fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.
God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel Food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food."
God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels . And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.
God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes! And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." AndMan went into cardiac arrest.
God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

Then Satan created the Port of Spain General Hospital. =0)


The link will take you to a site with pictures of downtown port of spain. actually, it's very pretty.

"Eleven Minutes" by Paulo Coelho

This is yet another book about awakening. The book begins in a very unusual way: "Once upon a time, there was a prostitute called Maria." Very interesting and even from those first lines to the last lines of the book, Coelho keeps the reader interested in Maria's story. It is based on a true story but i only knew that until i read the very last line of the book. I guess it is a common story but with a higher meaning, yet it is unique.
What i liked most about the book was the diary that Maria kept. there were some very meaningful things said in there. Very true when you stop to think and i stopped to think.
It takes the reader through Maria's childhood and how she became a prostitute to when she falls in love and is released from the life she lived. i liked the title...after i realized what it meant. eleven minutes was the actual time maria calculated for the act of intercourse to last. At the point where Maria and Ralf consummate their love, one thinks of the scene in "the shawshank redemption" where Tim Robbins has just escaped from the prison and he stands in the rain and raises his hands up to the sky-a redemption. in short, "eleven minutes" does not carry as much clout as "the alchemist" but in it, one sees that maria's attitude is one of a fighter. she does not believe she is a victim. it is worth the read.

a little bit nervous again....and Navraatri....

I called the parent of the kid i tutor earlier today to tell him that i was not going to tutor anymore. the parent wanted to know what was wrong and i told him. in the end, he got me to come back and he said he will have a chat with his son. turned out that the kid lied to his dad and said that i only needed to tutor him for an hour. so hopefully, this will all be straightened out. i am not sure if the kid is going to be resentful tomorrow though. really not sure what tomorrow has in store when i go to tutor. so i am a little nervous but i will do my best nevertheless.
so far, i've completed three days of the nine day fast for Navraatri. i guess it has become part of my life now. i love this time of the year. really do look forward to it and i guess it is becasue my parents have always emphasized the importance of prayer to the feminine energy aspect of God. i actually feel energized now. people say that you feel no energy when you fast...but i feel the exact opposite. i think of it as a time of spiritual cleansing that culminates in a very auspicious day...like Ram Navmi or Vijay Dasami. It's like the picture suggests...you battle the demons within and emerge victorious on the tenth day. the only thing with the fast is that i am creating some muscles in my jaw from chewing the peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, raisins(don't like them but i eat them) and whatever other stuff you can find in trail mix. never noticed that before. i allowed myself coffee though and i have the prasad from the temple. otherwise, it's me and my trail mix.