I have to be up in a few hours and I'm still awake Shervay.

1. What time did you get up this morning?
Afternoon actually... 12:30 pm

2. Diamonds or Pearls?
Well I've never really had real diamonds before but lots of pearls so pearls it is.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom... what a waste of 2 hours 50 mins.

4. What are your favourite TV shows?
Rachel Ray, The Naked Chef, F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Idol - Indian and American, Little Britain (Eh eh ehhhhh!), My Wife n' Kids... lots of comedies actually.

5. What is your middle name?
Sam

6. What is your favourite food?
Indian, Chinese, Thai, Italian and Tex Mex

7. What food(s) do you dislike?
Eggplants ick!

8. Favourite Potato chip? Lays Delights - Natural Salt and Black Pepper (yummo)

9. What is your favourite CD at the Moment?
Justin Timberlake's Future Love/Sex Sounds (Don't lynch me ok!)

10.What kind of car do you drive?
I don't have a driver's license but when I do get one I'd love to drive a 4x4.

11. What is your favourite sandwich?
Smoked Turkey with Mayo and English Mustard

12. What characteristics do you despise?
Lying, cheating, being ungrateful, racism, hypocrasy to name a few...

13. What are your favourite clothes?
All my stuff from Revolution

14. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
France to see the Lourve Museum and the Palace of Versailles

15. What color is your bathroom?
White

16. Favourite brand of clothing?
Revolution

17. Where would you want to retire?
India... a cute cottage in a nice hilly place.

18 Favourite time of day?
I like early mornings that come after late nights :)

19. Where were you born?
Mumbai, India

20. Favourite sport to watch?
Cricket, Footie and Ice Hockey

21. Who do you least expect to send this back?
Beats me

22. WHO DO YOU EXPECT TO SEND IT BACK FIRST?
No idea... I'm blogging this not sending it.

23. Coke or Pepsi?
Pepsi

24. Are you a morning person or night owl?
Oh such a Night Owl!

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone?
I'm having a blast this weekend Harry Potter style!

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
A scientist... no kidding.

27. What is your best childhood memory?
Chillin' with my grandparents... God I miss them!

28. How many jobs have you had in your life?
3

30. Piercing's?
Just my ears but I want to pierce my ear tops and my nose.

31. Eye colour?
Dark brown

32. Ever been to Africa?
Nope but would love to go on a Safari provided I won't have to pee in the bushes.

33. Ever been toilet papering?
Nooooooo

34. Favourite day of the week?
Wednesday

35. Favourite restaurant?
Chinese Palace, TGI Fridays, Chilli's

36. Favourite flower?
Daisies and Carnations

37. Favourite ice cream?
Chocolate chip cookie dough.. drooooooooooooooool!

38. Favourite fast food restaurant? Hardees, McDonalds

39. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
None... haven't even taken it yet.

40. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail?
Chelle

41. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
If I had a credit card it would be at Revolution and Lifestyle

42. Bedtime: No fixed timming.

43. Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire?
Oh blah!

44 Last person you went to dinner with?
My folks

45. What are you listening to right now? The morning sounds... I can hear my neighbor brush his teeth and farting.

46 What is your favourite color?
Blue, black, dark purple, silver and green.

47. How many tattoos do you have?
None yet... I want a couple.

48. How many people are you sending this Email to?
None... I'm posting it here.

49. Next big trip or vacation you are going on?
Well I'll be going to Bombay in December again but the biggest trip will be to Canada next August for my cousin's wedding baby! Wooo hoo! Canada! And then definately hitting US of A! Vegas, New York, LA and Nashville here I come!

OH MY GOD!

I was reading our weekly friday magazine today aptly named 'Friday' and I came across this article about a woman named Prudence Emma Staite. In her picture, she was standing next to what looked like a clay sculpture of the Burj Al Arab. Now I appreciate all forms of art and respect all artists so I started reading the article. By the time I finished my mouth had started to water. The reason... she's an artist that creates amazing works of art using the best thing nature and man created together... CHOCOLATE! And that Burj Al Arab was no clay... it was all chocolate! Unfortunately I wasn't aware that there was some event called ChocoLatte happening in Bur Juman or I would've gone there and kissed this woman's hands and offered to be her assistant for a low (negotiable) salary.

She is an amazing food artist who not only does sculptures but actually makes, wait for it... EDIBLE ROOMS! She's made one which had a working chocolate chandelier, a solid chocolate fire place with chocolate logs in it, chocolate vases, chocolate walls, lickable sugar wallpaper... she really brought the story of Hansel and Gretel to life. Imagine walking into a room like that and taking a bite of the mantelpiece or licking the nose on one of the portraits. Prudence can give Willy Wonka a run for his money.

To quote Prudence, "Chocolate should be respected like diamonds are: a pure luxury that is beautiful, amazing and gives you a truly pleasurble experience. Not something you can just eat then discard the wrapper." True... so true. Whenever I eat chocolate I don't chew down on it. I take a bite, swirl it around with my tongue, let it melt and then make it slide down my throat till I can actually feel it settling in my tummy. The after taste that lingers in my my mouth is sooo heavenly. I always find myself closing my eyes savoring it and then looking at the empty wrapper in my hand thinking "Oh yeah that was gooooood!".

Prudence Emma Staite has entered my 'People I want to meet before I die" list and I hope I can see her create those delicious creations someday. Check her out on http://www.foodisart.co.uk/foodisart.html In the meantime I'll be introducing myself like so, "Hello I'm Farah and I'm a Chocoholic."

The title of this post is 'Wah Taj' but for some reason it's not letting me add a title so here it is.

Wah Taj

I am so glad the Taj Mahal is still one of the 7 Wonders of the World. It is the only monument dedicated to love and passion from all the wonders that were nominated. This beautiful monument of the 17th century was the vision of the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan, dedicated to his wife Mumtaz after her death to show his everlasting love for her. Of course the biggest tragedy was that he had the hands of the workers who built it cut off so they could never build anything as beautiful as the Taj Mahal. That I would say was a bit selfish not to mention inhuman.

Ok back to the good things about the Taj. I can't imagine how they must have made it so perfect encrusting it with jewels (thanks to some dumbass looters and pillagers (sp?) they're not there anymore), intricate designs, perfect pillars when the resources back then were so little. It's said that when Shahjahan's asshole son Aurangzeb imprisoned him he would look at the Taj from a small window in his cell to give him comfort and hope that one day he would be seeing the love of his life again. Ahhhh love and the romantics of those days. Why can't men be like that these days? Seriously the only kind of errection they show us is the one in their pants! Sheesh!

I hope one day I get to see the Taj Mahal and when I do I know tears will well up in my eyes because I'll be happy and sad at the same time.

Some references to the Taj Mahal

"There are two kinds of people in this world 50% who have seen the Taj Mahal and the other 50% who haven't." - Former US President Bill Clinton

"The Taj, wouldn't be the Taj without the Mahal." - Buddy, Charles in Charge

"Jo waada kiya woh nibhana padega." from the movie Taj Mahal (you know the one with Pradeep Kumar... that song she sings as a spirit)

Another one bites the dust!

The UAE government blocked another website. This time the innocent victim was "Orkut". Another networking website that had some of my very good friends. I guess because of a couple of weirdos out there who can't seem to keep their clothes on, the websites like Hi5, Orkut etc etc get blocked.

I feel that it's because of the poor administration of these websites that the UAE government blocks them from the users. Websites like myspace are usually monitored by the site admins (Hiii Tom) and delete user profiles with pornographic images. Of course even on Orkut we do have options of reporting such people but I don't think much action is taken. I just don't see why most of the people should suffer because of these dirty chonts!

I'm all pissed off now!

You know you're Desi when...

You know you're a desi when...

- You unwrap Christmas gifts very carefully, so you can save and reuse the wrapping next year. (dude this applies to all wrapped presents... if the wrapping is pretty)

- When there is a sale on toilet paper, you buy 100 rolls and store them in your closet or in the bedroom of an adult child who has moved out. (OMG... THERE'S A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH DESIS LIVING ABROAD AND TOILET PAPER)

- You have a vinyl table cloth on your kitchen table. (guilty as charged)

- Your stove is covered with aluminum foil (again guilty as charged... actually it's quite hygenic)

- Your kitchen has a sticky film of grease over it. (hell no... my mom is borderline OCD so she makes sure everything is clean)

- You save grocery bags, tin foil, and tin containers. (grocery bags yes... the rest is just nasty)

- You use grocery bags to hold garbage. (oh yeah absolutely)

- You always leave your shoes at the door. (well not really but our shoe rack is at the door)

- You hate to waste food. (of course... there are kids in my country who don't get food to eat)

- Even if you're totally full, if someone says they're going to throw away the leftovers on the table, you'll finish them. (erm yeah ok if it's good sure)

- You have Tupperware in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing. (hah! that's also true)

- You don't own any real Tupperware -- only a cupboard full of used, but carefully rinsed, margarine tubs, takeout containers, and jam jars. (ohhh yes...)

- The condiments in your fridge are either come in plastic packets, which you save/steal every time you get take-out or go to McDonalds. (well sometimes they give us too many packs so we stash them in the fridge)

- You never order room service. (then what's the fun of staying in a hotel? room service rocks)

- You carry a stash of your own food whenever you travel (and travel means any car ride longer than 15 minutes). (and a bottle of water)

- You own a rice cooker or a pressure cooker. (damn straight I do... Hawkins ki seeti bajji too tooo too!)

- You wash your rice at least 2-3 times before cooking it. (yeah... duh)

- You fight over who pays the dinner bill. (while you secretly wish that it's the other person who does so)

- You majored in engineering, medicine or law. (neither baby... i'm an artiste and i'm lovin' it!)

- When you go to a dance party, there are a wall of guys surrounding the dance floor trying to look cool. (bwahahahahahahahaha... true)

- You live with your parents and you are 30 years old. (And if you are Parsi it won't matter if you're 40 and unmarried too)

- You don't use measuring cups. (it's all in the wrist)

- You feel like you've gotten a good deal if you didn't pay tax. (hehehehehe)

- You have a drawer full of old pens, most of which don't write anymore. (ahhh yes)

- You like your meat well done. (medium well actually)

- If you don't live at home, when your parents call, they ask if you've eaten, even if it's midnight. (hahahahahaha yeah)

- You never discuss your love life or sex with your parents. (GOD NO!)

- Your parents are never happy with your grades. (aahh I never was an 'A' student anyway)

- You call an older person you never met before "uncle." (yeah... I even call some of my friends Uncle)

- You've been asked if you are a Hindi, or if you speak Hindu. (ohhh yeah that's annoying)

- No one you're related to is a music major. (Hellooooo Freddie Mercury?? Ok he's not related but he was Parsi)

- Your parents don't realize phone connections to foreign countries have improved in the last two decades, and still scream at the top of their lungs. (HAH! My dad hollers on the phone even if the person is in the same building)

- You have a box of tissue or a towel in your car. (Well just incase we spill the food)

- You know someone who owns a motel or a convenience store. (Shockingly yes I do!)

- It's embarrassing if your wedding has less than 600 people. (Not for me... I'd rather just have my family and close friends... or heck I'll just elope and get married in a holy place ala Bollywood style)

-You think an Indian businessman will give you a better deal because he's Indian. (NO!)

- You spew forth the virtues of India, but don't want to live there. (I want to live there... with the luxuries from here lol)

- You use Vicks Vapor Rub. (oh it so get's rid of zits)

- You've seen the ground while inside the lavatory of a train. (Hahahaha yeah!)

- You've been in a bus where half the people riding are outside the bus. (Bus, train, truck, car, moped)

- You call fluorescent lights "tube lights" or a flashlight a "torch." (Well what else can we call it?)

- You pack a suitcase full of toilet paper when visiting India. (ok not a suitcase full)

- You've tied up your luggage with rope to keep it from falling apart. (Oh god yes)

- You whole family comes to drop you to the airport when you are travelling somewhere. (and to pick you up... even the kaam waali (maid) Sakku bai tags along)

- You think cricket is a religion (oye ve! it's just a sport)

Patients, self reliance and the heart to sail into uncharted waters!

Okies I found it... How do y'all like my summer colors with the fonts? :) When I figured out how to change all that I was like a kid in a candy store... hehehehe So that title was a bit dramatic... anyhoos.... more stuff coming real soon. Watch this space..

Botox botox botox...

What is this phenomenon called Botox? Why has it become a part of pop culture these days? Women as young as 29 are getting it done. It's a procedure which can be done in your lunch hour (I'd say what a waste of your lunch hour)... the good doctor (who is probably old and has done this treatment on him/herself) takes a huge ass syringe, pokes your forehead and then injects "Botulinum toxin" (yes children that's the real name... google it if u want) into your muscles to relax them and get rid of the lines that were caused by oh aging.

There are women in their 20's who are getting them done even though they don't have those lines. I'll make my peace with breast implants (hey makes the men happy), nose jobs and liposuction (won't ever EVER have any of them done though) but what is wrong with aging gracefully? Imagine if the prodecure gets botched? Or when you are pissed off and you can't frown because of the Botox in your forehead. Imagine scolding your kids, "CHILDREN I AM VERY ANGRY! I AM FROWING! YOU CAN'T SEE IT BUT I AM!"

Ok so there are times when you need a few procedures for your face like when you get into an accident or if you are born with a birth defect but why poke and prod your face when there's nothing wrong with it??

So my message to the world is... be yourself... don't f**k up your face by going under the knife and getting things you don't need.

Until then my darlings... mmmmmwah!