Mother Dearest

So.. it’s Mother’s day today, and my mom dropped me off at work in the morning and is working till 1130 at night tonight.  Not much of a Mother’s Day really.  I wanted to write a post on mom’s and my “me” (short for mummy”) but it’s too heavy of a topic because I really can’t do full justice to it right now.  I don’t think I did full justice to my topic on books either.  Things that mean SO much to a person.. it’s hard to explain that feeling in words.  So basically, Happy Mother’s Day to everyone and I’ll leave you with a few lines in Punjabi that sum up how I feel about my mom…

Is duniya vich.. jinney rishtey.. sab jhootey teh peh-roop

Maa da rishta sab toh sacha..

Maa hai Rab da roop.

Books (I couldn’t think of a better title.)

Real%20Gabinete%20Portugues%20De%20Leitura%20Rio%20De%20Janeiro%203 I luoghi della memoria scritta. Le Biblioteche italiane tra tutela e fruizione.
I can’t believe I haven’t written about this subject before!  Books are my life.  I started reading in kindergarten and I can honestly say books were the only true friends that I had through elementary school.  During “free time” in class, I would choose to sit at my desk and read a book rather than play with other kids (partially because I was shy, but mainly because I found books more interesting than Pogs.  Ok, it was also partially because I was bullied a little as a kid lol.).  Teachers would praise my vocabulary but lament over how I didn’t interact with other students, and my parents were one of the few parents in the world that wished their child read less.
When I was really little (gr.1-2) I would read the amazing collection of books we had at home.  I loved books by Enid Blyton that were set in England with charming little English school children as their protagonists.  They would have tea with scones, go to boarding schools, and have amazing adventures at the sea during their school holidays.  It was all so “quaint” and “charming” and so unlike life as I knew it!  The kids had so much freedom to go about as they please, and their lives at home were almost always idyllic.  I would read amazingly illustrated books such as “The Folk of the Faraway Tree”, and "Grimm’s Fairy Tales” and it’s uncanny because the pictures in those books of a fairy or a dwarf or gnome are forever stuck in my head so if someone were to say “gnome” to me, I will to this day picture the gnomes from the illustrated books I used to read.  I still read those books occasionally and my favourite (The Folk of the Faraway Tree) is just as enchanting now as it was then.  I miss books like those, I haven’t seen any other children’s book that has that amount of creativity and storyline along with beautiful illustrations to this day.  If you know of any, do recommend it to me. 
Around grades 2-5 I graduated to slightly bigger books such as The Nancy Drew series, The Boxcar Children, The Hardy Boys, The Baby Sitters club, books by Judy Blume, Roald Dahl, and R.L Stine…tons of books that were in the library of my elementary school where I would spend every lunch hour.  Once I read those books, (I honestly read most of them), I graduated to telling my sister to bring books back from her junior high school’s library (they were the more grown up versions of R.L Stine’s books.. the Fear Street series etc whereas my elementary school only had Goosebumps).Yup, I was one of those kids… I went to the library during lunch hours.  Needless to say, I wasn’t a very sportive or popular child.  It’s funny because when I pick up a certain book that I read, I remember who I was at that time, more than a photograph of me when I was younger could tell me.  They’re like little keys to the mystery of who I am.
I would always borrow the maximum amount of books from the elementary library (a measly 4), and then borrow a huge amount of books from the local library.  The librarians (if they didn’t know me) would always comment and say “are you sure you’re going to get to read these all?” and I would laugh in my head like “Psh lady you have no idea.”  I read everyday, and I still do.  I can’t eat without reading (it’s a bad eating habit, much like watching tv when you eat because you consume a lot more food), I read before I sleep, I often read when I wake up, I read every spare moment I get.  Summer holidays to me were days that I would get to stay up late without being yelled at to go to sleep and read.  Days I could go outside and sit on the shed in my backyard by the apple trees and read.  Days I could walk down to “7/11 to get a slurpee” with friends but really I just wanted to go to the library.  A library to me is one of the most sacred and beautiful places in the world.  The libraries that I have posted pictures of above are libraries that I would love to visit one day!  Books just have a little voice, and so do libraries.  Maybe I sound crazy but I get a major thrill every time I go into a library.  I just wish I could stay there as much as I wanted, and uncover all the secrets each library (by way of their books) has to offer.  I honestly can’t explain the connection I have with libraries, it’s like another home to me.  Some people may feel at home on a basketball court, no matter where that court is in the world.  I feel the same way about libraries, and Gurudwaras. 
Today, I couldn’t even tell you what kind of books I love, because I really love them all.  I love the classics, I love light hearted “chick lits” (the book equivalent of a chick flick), and I love books by ethnic authors (mainly Indian authors).  Here are some of the books that I’ve liked over the past few years:
What the Body Remembers - Shauna Singh Baldwin
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
Reconciliation - Benazir Bhutto
Londonstani - Gautam Malkani
Beneath A Marble Sky - John Shors
Family Matters - Rohinton Mistry
Brick Lane - Monica Ali
Bel Canto - Ann Patchett
Salt & Saffron - Kamila Shamsie
The Folk of the Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton
Harry Potter books - J.K Rowling
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Susann
Daaku - Ranj Dhaliwal
P.S I Love You - Cecilia Ahern
Angels And Demons - Dan Brown
The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga
Q&A - Vikas Swarup
Bungalow 2 - Danielle Steel
Bitter Sweet - Roopa Farooki

Stick ‘em up!

zzz

Now this is definitely not a sight you see everyday!  The illustrious Bachchan family were snapped happily fingering the paparazzi in Mumbai recently.  The reason behind the finger is that they had gone to cast their vote in the recent elections in India, and when you vote, the voters get ink on their middle finger… so really they’re just extremely proud voters!  Love them or hate them, this family always makes a mark everywhere they go.  I adore them! 

Luck

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A penny, a rabbit’s foot, a playoff beard all have one word in common.  Luck.  Why do people grow playoff beards?  They grow them so that their favoured team does well during playoffs as they think it will bring their team luck.  I don’t know the origin of why a rabbit’s foot would be lucky, nor do I know who coined the phrase “lucky penny” but I do know that I possess great quantities of luckiness.  Did I just “jinx” myself?  I suppose that if I believe in luck, I should believe in jinxes, but I don’t feel that I’m jinxing myself at all.  I think part of the reason I am lucky is because I view things in a positive light.

I have my share of bad luck, where bad things happen to me I suppose, but I never really view anything as bad (unless I’m in a really depressed mood).  I’m a big believer in “everything happens for a reason.”  Also, I’m of the viewpoint that if things aren’t going according to plan, then you should be extremely happy.  Why?  If thing’s aren’t going according to your plan, then you should realize that they’re going according to God’s ultimate plan, and since God is a lot smarter than us, you should feel safe and secure in the fact that whatever is happening is going to eventually end up for the best!  Life is so much simpler when you look at things that way.  Some people may say that I have too much of a carefree attitude, or that I’m too blasé about things.  I completely disagree.  I chalk up a lot of things to luck and I do consider myself to be a very lucky girl, yes, but half of my luck is preparation.  If something good happens to you and you’re not ready for it, then it’s a waste.  You have to be prepared and do your share of the work, and then, when you do get lucky, you’re ready for it!

I’m lucky by just being born to the family I was born in.  I’m lucky that I have the opportunities and freedom that I do have.  I’m lucky that there’s nothing physically or mentally wrong with me (I mean in terms of illnesses, etc, not whether or not I look like a supermodel).  I’m lucky because I have people who care deeply about me.  I’m lucky because even though I’m such a forgetful person that I leave things everywhere…somehow or the other, I get it back in the end.  A friend or a passerby might come after me with my wallet, or cell phone that I left behind, or I might come back to a car parked in a mall’s parking lot 2 hours later during peak Christmas season and find that the cell phone I had carelessly placed on the trunk was STILL THERE.  I’m lucky that someone picked up my USB drive and handed it in to security.  I’m lucky that I got exactly the grades I wanted to get this semester.  I’m lucky, I just am.

Insomniac

I wish I could fall asleep on the phone everyday.  Talking on the phone is one of the few things that help me fall asleep, because I’m so relaxed and comfortable and I can just doze off listening to someone’s voice (ok truthfully, not just ANYONE’s voice, I would feel so odd falling asleep to like, some random person’s voice, they would have to be a really good friend).  I’ve fallen asleep on the phone with two people…and just like what I said above, they were really good friends.  Unfortunately for me, it’s not possible to fall asleep on the phone everyday because either:

  • they’re cool with it but their battery dies and they don’t want that to happen
  • they think it’s odd/weird/psychotic..why would you want to listen to someone breathing?
  • they find it offensive if you feel sleepy.. If you feel feel sleepy, just tell the person and have the courtesy to say “I’m going to go to sleep now, goodnight!”  (If people feel this way.. to my defence, if I’m falling asleep I’m usually not conscious enough to say that I’m falling asleep ((because HELLO, I’M FALLING ASLEEP so that whole argument above is kind of void)), and even if someone asks me if I’m sleepy and if we should get off the phone - my subconscious is programmed to say “no, no I’m awake”.  It’s just the way I am, love me or hate me!)

I don’t think wanting to fall asleep listening to someone’s voice or breathing is weird at all (but then again, it might just be some weird psychological thing with me.. I used to fall asleep at people’s houses when our family went to go visit other families).  What I mean is, biologically or naturally or whatever, living creatures are just wired like that (for humans it’s usually women and children).  When a new puppy comes into a household, a hot water bottle and a clock is often wrapped up so that the puppy can fall asleep thinking it’s their mother.  When children are small, they often fall asleep listening to their mother or father telling them a bed-time story.  Maybe I’m just too much of a people person.  I just feel safe, comfortable, and connected to the person I suppose and that’s why I start dozing off.  Based on what I’ve heard, some people would think it’s cute and wouldn’t mind, and some people hate people who fall asleep on phones.  What do you think about falling asleep on the phone?  Do you hate people who do that to you or do you find yourself falling asleep on the phone?  When I went on vacation, the only way I could fall asleep was by having my headphones in my ears and listening to music.  I’ve also bought cd’s that had 80 minutes of ocean wave sounds, or 80 minutes of a rainstorm.  The ocean waves’ cd gave me terrible dreams (I can’t swim and am super afraid of drowning), and the rainstorm one was ok but I lost it.

I bet the more you read my blog, the weirder you think I am.  This isn’t the half of it honey!

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Exposed

100_vulnerable

Writing on a blog makes you feel so exposed and vulnerable.  It kind of sucks because, anything you have posted or write about is there forever.  Your opinions could be taken the wrong way, or people can think that you think a certain way about something, when actually you don’t feel that way at all. 

That sounds kind of funny right, seeing as how it’s a personal blog, how can someone think I feel a certain way about something without me actually feeling that way?  It’s the inferences that people make about a post.  I might not express or state how I feel about something but just by writing about that subject, people might think certain things.  For example, just because I’ve written a few posts on contact lenses and eyelashes, people might think that it’s the only thing I care about and that I’m superficial.  Also, I could feel a myriad of different emotions about a certain topic, and choose to write about only one feeling that I have regarding that topic.  For example: anyone can look at my previous post and think a lot of different things.  They can think that I’m healthy, unhealthy, stupid, smart, insecure, secure…lots of different things!  Which adjectives are closer to the truth about how I really am?  Maybe both.  I believe that my weight is a healthy weight although my diet is not healthy.  I believe that I want to be healthy and that it would be a good thing if I thought a little bit more about diet and exercise.  Due to the fact that I was writing about weight, I decided to be overly critical about my own body, with descriptions and photos that might help the reader who doesn’t know me personally.  I could have just posted a picture of myself, but I didn’t feel comfortable doing that at this point.  This doesn’t mean that I hate the way I currently am, or that I compare myself to celebrities or that my post was the only way that I feel about my body.  So, that’s an example of how I may only post about one aspect of how I feel.

What goes behind a blog post?  The answer: lots of Google searches.  I write about anything that captures my fancy, and I often Google images of what I’m writing about to give a better visual to readers.  For example, I never actually coveted Michelle Obama’s arms before.  I did notice that in comparison to other First Ladies, she looked a lot more toned and fit, but I didn’t have her picture on my bedroom wall with the words “dream arms” scribbled over them or anything.  I Googled (yes, Googled is a verb) “toned arms” and that is what popped up and I thought, “hey, she does have some pretty strong looking arms”, so bam, she became part of my post.  Have I ever noticed Mischa Barton’s arms before?  Nope, not at all.  I just wanted to describe how I feel my arms don’t look that way, and so I Googled “skinny arms” and her picture popped up.  So, there you go…secrets behind how I post.   

Why did I write this post/what’s the point?  I guess because I realized that, people judge you.  Which is both a good thing and a bad thing.  Of course, I write about what’s on my mind and it is a reflection or insight into my mind and how I think about things but sometimes things can be viewed in a different way than I intended.  I also wanted you to know why I write certain things, or how I go about it. 

Best Body I Can Have

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That, dear readers, was one of the goals that I had written in my “50 Goals in Life” when I was in junior high.  So far, with all the other goals, I’ve actually been doing pretty good!  Except for the body goal. 

I’m not fat or skinny, I’d say I’m thin.  If you look at me straight on from left to right, I’m pretty small…hold on, why don’t I just go measure myself?…Ok, here goes.  My bust = 32, waist = 24 and hips = 34 and I’m 5 feet 3 and 3/4” (I think the average model with my stats would be about 5’7” or 5’8” which is scary).  My average weight is 107 lbs.  I fit size 23 jeans in Guess, and otherwise size zero jeans at other stores, and I’m a small in tops from any store.  Once I start eating throughout the day (remember that McDonalds post I had a while ago?).. my stomach expands..picture an African malnourished child..you know how they have those protruding bellies?  That’s me (well not THAT extreme but you get the idea), except I’m not malnourished.. I just have a small frame and my belly comes out because it’s not toned.  The other thing about me is in comparison to the size of my waist and the rest of my body, my arms are like giant bowling pins.  I don’t have naturally skinny arms that other girls my size tend to have (think of Mischa Barton’s arms).  My arms are more along the size of Michelle Obama’s arms (except nowhere near as toned).  The First Lady has my DREAM arms right now:
nm_michelle_arms_2_090315_ssh
I would love to have curves like Beyonce:
 Beyonce-CSH-034085  but unfortunately, that’s just not my body type.
So…what to do, what to do?  I do a lot of cardio which is currently allowing me to stay at this weight because God knows, with my eating habits and junk food consumption I should look like a baby elephant.  I’m starting to do ab excercises and resistance band training at home (it’s been 2 days ahha so we’ll see how long that lasts but that goal sheet I made when I was in junior high is very important to me so I’m def going to try hard).  My legs aren’t too shabby because I do bhangra which involves a lot of squatting but I’ll incorporate some leg excercises too I suppose…possibly, wall sits and lunges.  Other than that, I’m going to cut out junk foods except on weekends and reduce portion sizes, and I’m eating a green tea pill twice a day.  I should probably buy some multivitamins but I’m broke right now so I’ll save that for when I have some money.  Going to the gym is out of the question because I have no desire to get there using public transport, nor do I want to pay for gym membership.  On top of bhangra (youtube it, if you don’t know what I’m talking about), I have this mini trampoline in my room which I dance, jump, sing, bounce on occasionally but I’m planning on doing it for about 20-30 minutes everyday (while contracting my abs of course!).

Hopefully, I stick to it!  I think posting my progress on this blog might help me so I’ll be keeping you posted.  I’m not at all concerned with having six pack abs or anything like that.  I actually don’t mind my body right now, it’s pretty decent but it’s just not “the best” I can be.  I just want a stronger core, one that doesn’t expand like a dry sponge absorbing water as soon as I eat my first meal of the day.  I also, really, really want toned arms.  That’s about it.  I’m not looking to lose weight, just tone up, but there is def a layer of fat that needs to go so I hope I don’t end up too skinny.  Some junk in the trunk is always a good thing, right fellas?

Circle Lenses!





eyeee
After my last post I've been quite curious about this whole double eyelid, Asian eye surgery phenomenon. 


The girl in the white top is hot, the girl with the blue contacts is just scaring me and the girl with the painting/drawing of herself is cute as a button, with big brown eyes and all..but the thing is she looks remarkably like those anime cartoons.. you know.. kind of like the girl in her drawing!  I mean, I can't tell if that's a self portrait or a cartoonized version of her, but I guess it’s both since she looks like a cartoon.  It's the Sailor Moon look! Apparently looking like this is a great thing though and is really attractive in South East Asia!  Young girls and guys are using plastic surgery and contact lenses called "circle lenses", which is what all the girls above are wearing to achieve this look.

Circle contact lenses are basically regular contact lenses, but they give the effect of an enlarged pupil and a bigger iris, as they have an extra ring of colour to make your eyes look bigger.  I don't have a problem per se with contact lenses or coloured contact lenses but I do have a problem with getting plastic surgery to make yourself look like a cartoon because it happens to be the "in" thing at the moment.  Unfortunately, I can’t comment on the girls above as I have no idea if they have had plastic surgery done, but they did have their pictures posted and talked about how they were wearing circle lenses, so that part is confirmed.  With contacts, sure, it's fun to wear them sometimes and change up your look - who wouldn't want to be able to have limpid brown eyes one night and sparkling baby blue's the next?  I've tried coloured contact lenses before and I totally would get some again if I wasn't so paranoid about ruining my eyes.  I wouldn't however wear them all the time or get contacts that are so obviously fake.  I think coloured contact lenses should be treated somewhat like makeup.  Someone (usually in the case of men because girls do tend to notice things like makeup) should look at you and say "wow you have really nice eyes", not think "omg that girl wears a lot of eye shadow".  Likewise with contact lenses, I feel that they should look somewhat natural.  For the unfortunate girl above with the blue contacts, they do not look natural.  In fact, when you look at that girl, I bet the first thing that pops out at you are her contact lenses.  I just don't understand why anyone would want that to be the case!  

Side story: The other day I was coming home from school and I saw this really pretty girl while waiting for the Skytrain with what looked like a fur coat instead of eyelashes.  Literally, she didn’t have eyelashes she had a fur coat for her eyes.  Semi-fake-nice person that I was, I asked her, “wow I love your eyelashes, are they real?” and she responded with, “oh no, they’re from Shoppers Drug Mart, this Quo brand, I stack them though”, giggles, “I put three on each eye.”  My eyes went 8-| I said “WHAT you wear three on each eye?!”  She said, “yeah, everyday”.  I honestly, don’t understand why anyone would wake up every day in the morning and put three pairs of fake eyelashes on each eye.  Seriously, most of these girls need an intervention.  Their eyes are beautiful the way they are, the shape of it, the monolid, everything!  Of course, girls all around the world have complexes and each culture or race has their own issues.  I guess I just wish we could all be happy the way we are.

If You Haven’t Already Seen This…

…You’ve been living under a rock.  Susan Boyle is creating a storm around the world!  Twitter, YouTube, and TV stations all around the world are broadcasting Susan’s story.
I had seen the name Susan Boyle in someone’s status on Facebook...  Curious, I Googled her and watched the video above in amazement with tears rolling down my face.  Honestly, this was one of the best thing’s I’ve seen in a long, long time. 
Firstly, I thought she was such a cutie and such a sweetheart when they interviewed her in the beginning and she talked about how she’s “never been kissed!..but it’s not an advert!”.  It was so.. charming!  Then when she went on stage I felt so bad for her because I couldn’t believe that people were laughing and giggling at her.  I felt like saying…can’t you see that she’s normal?!  She’s not some psycho little cat lady (ok maybe she is a little cat lady but she’s not psycho).  I figured anyone could tell by the way she conducted herself that she was just a sweet person with a sense of humour!  Honestly, when she said “I’ve never been given a chance before, but here’s hoping it will change!” I already had tears in my eyes.  Yea, I am a very emotional person and I cry easily but it just breaks my heart to see people get made fun of.  I fully know how she feels.  I was bullied when I was a kid (my confession of the day hehe) and when I see people who just have this innocence about them get “dogged” on I feel so sad. 

I’m super duper glad that she rocked the house.  She’s a strong cookie for getting up on that stage, because so many people give up on their dreams.  The determination in her eyes right before she started singing was inspiring.  I can’t stop watching this video.  It just sucks that people judge others so fast…not everyone in life has to be overdone and glossed up.  I think Susan is beautiful, I’m so in love with her right now.  I hope she makes it big and becomes successful, but overall I hope that people will take a little more time out of their lives to appreciate all humans.. and not judge someone that fast!  How often would you just walk by a lady like Susan Boyle on the street without even noticing her?  When did we all become so superficial?  I’m going to do a bit of soul searching and watch the video mmm fifty more times!  You guys.. do some soul searching too..don’t let the power of Susan fade away.  We should learn from this…1.) NEVER. GIVE. UP. ON. YOUR. DREAMS!!!  2.) Don’t judge a book by its cover.
ONE MORE THING – Simon is so freaking cute when he smiles.

Seriously, people?!

I cannot believe this product exists!
So I was in the bathroom at school one day putting on some makeup when a pretty girl who looked like a shorter version of Zhang Ziyi walked in. She whipped out her makeup bag and we smiled at each other through the mirror. Then she pulled out this weird looking eyelash curler. I stared at it for so long trying to figure out what it was but couldn’t figure it out. She took out what looked like white nail polish and raised the brush towards her face, and caught my eye in the mirror. Embarrassed, I looked away, packed up my stuff and left the bathroom. I was super curious and it always kind of bugged me that I never asked her what it was that she was going to do.
My curiosity ended when I came across this YouTube video that I have posted. I can’t believe people are so obsessed with having a double eyelid that they’re willing to put glue on their eyelids, and poke and prod at it. I have a huge lid and it’s super deep and sunken in, and I absolutely hate how I can’t do a “smokey eye” effect with eye shadow because it would just look like I got punched in the eye because my eyes are so deep set. I remember always admiring Asian girls because they always had amazing eye makeup and it always looked so sexy, seductive and gave them this mysterious quality, whereas I always looked like a baby doll.
I just think this is really weird, and it makes me sad that so many people feel this way about their eyes. It’s not like regular plastic surgery where one girl or guy feels bad about their appearance and wants to get plastic surgery done. That is small because it is on such a personal level. This is major, because it’s a huge percentage of my generation that feel that they need to change a feature that is racially identifiable. It’s a HUGE problem! I don’t know why so many people feel this way, but it freaks me out. I really don’t know what to say about this whole thing but it saddens me. Let me know what you think…More on this to come!

Britney's Vancouver Concert



Yup, this is the same Britney that's featured in the Candies ad that I have posted below. I knew there was an over zealous Photoshop maniac working on those ads! Seriously, if they wanted someone to show off the cute little swimsuits they have for the Fall collection, they could have picked Nicole Scherzinger from the PCD or something rather than picking Britney and taking 30 lbs off her. Britney's not fat by any means, but she doesn't have the body that most celebrities strive for. I'm so sick of all the fakeness. Oh and small mention about the Britney Spear's Circus 09 concert I just went to...she stopped the show after 3 songs. Why? Apparently there was too much smoke, and everyone in the stadium was requested to butt out their cigarettes. I'm honestly pretty sure that no one was smoking so I don't know why she felt the stadium was too smoky to perform. I mean, it couldn't possibly have been her own fifty smoke machines that were spewing smoke into the air, could it? What a douchebag. Way to go Britney!

Yikes!


Do they even look like the same girl? Ok, clearly, Sonam Kapoor is still pretty because her cheekbones are sky high and she has a nice nose, but WOW she really needs the makeup to shine! Without the makeup, she looks like a normal, albeit pretty, girl off the street. *Lightbulb* so thisss is why stars are always wearing sunglasses! Here I was thinking it was just because their eyes hurt from the flashbulbs...silly me.

Noir Lash Lounge




Note: Click on the picture to enlarge.


I love eyes. If someone has really pretty, big, nicely shaped, symmetrical eyes, that person is just super beautiful to me. Even if they have a nose the size of Pinocchio, the eyes are what get me every single time! (And dimples.. ooh I love dimples :P ) Celebrities whose eyes I luurveee: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Catherine Zeta Jones, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Richie, Rihanna, Persian model Claudia Lynx, Nicole Richie, and Bollywood babes Rani Mukherjee and Vidya Balan.. just off the top of my head.

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