Burn Brightly

I still don't have internet!!

I've been pretty busy with college and that makes me happy. Strange as it may seem and its so great to be with friends!! You won't believe how much we laugh everyday... If you ask me what about though, I'm not sure I'd be able to tell you! ;)

Life is good.

I really want my own internet connection!!

More later,

Peek-a-boo!

BOO!

That's all I have time for right now....

Please please please pray that I can get an internet connection of my own so that I can blog more than you'd like to read. It would be a selfless thing to do! ;-)

At Lydia's house in Colaba. Heading home to Andheri. The roads are wet and the clouds are threatening to break open again.

More later,

I miss blogging!

Two Years Ago

Seems more like a decade honestly.

On the 10th June two years ago. I graduated from school!

Its not the best picture but I think its a little symbolic cause we're all sort of looking in different directions and that's where we all are now - gone in different directions. It seems God had a different plan for every single person in this photo and I have to believe that everyone is exactly where they are MEANT to be. Learning. Living. Becoming. Things change.

I'm pointing at something. There, that's where I'm going, where I'm pointing. Where is that? Well, there's something that HASN'T changed. I still don't know! :) One step at a time. One step at a time.

I thought I was very smart when I was leaving school. I thought I had it all figured out. I knew how I had to live my life. I was pretty sure of who I was going to marry. I thought my friends would be my friends forever and nothing would change.

And then you get out into the big world - the one that we'd been pretty well sheltered from and its all upside down. Your convictions are not so strong anymore and there are threats to break them down and you have work at it. Strengthen your faith. Figure out what you want. Deal with unpleasant people. Commute. Adapt. Quit being so damn dreamy all the time. Face reality. Make new friends. Open your heart to others. Share your past. Move on.

Let me tell you... Its HARD! But that's life.

I look at that picture and I miss all those people. I miss that moment of confusion when we're all waiting there with a sea of people in front of us taking photos galore freezing that moment cause its the only way we can go back.

Happy Granniversary! :)

Fingerprints of God

Pink Roses from a Secret Admirer

(I wish)

In the absence of one, my dear cousin sister who lives across from us, indulges me once in a while... Aren't they gorgeous?!

I've gotten hold of a whole bunch of Steven Curtis Chapman songs who is a popular Christian singer with an amazing voice who also runs an organization calleg Shaohannah's Hope which financially helps willing couples to adopt orphans in the US. The Chapman family themselves adopted three adorable little girls from China.

Here are some lyrics from one of his songs called "Fingerprints of God"

I can see the fingerprints of God

When I look at you

I can see the fingerprints of God

And I know its true

You're a masterpiece

That all creation quietly applauds

And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Blessing in Disguise?

(picture from http://www.playahata.com/pages/eyecalone/gameover.htm)

The world seems to be going up in flames due to the increase in oil prices. I can see why this would cause discomfort but if there's one thing I learnt in my Geography classes in school Crude oil is NOT a renewable source of energy so isn't this sort of expected? I mean, it IS going to run out eventually! The population is not exactly decreasing, cities are growing, more people with cars = equals more demand + less supply = increase in price! (I swear, that makes total sense in my head)

Kolkata is on strike for two days cause the government has hiked petrol prices up by Rs. 5/=, diesel by Rs. 3/=, and Gas by a whopping Rs.50/= Although Kolkata doesn't really need any excuse to go on strike.

We are still paying soooooo much less than the rest of the world does for oil. Anyway, I didn't want to harp about increasing oil prices, I wanted to say that I think this may infact be a blessing in disguise. The word and reality of "Global Warming" doesn't seem to be getting through peoples' heads so maybe this - increase in oil prices - will in an indirect way finally have an effect.

Car pool

Use Public Transport (Government IMPROVE public transport!!!)

Walk or Cycle to work (Lose some weight while you're at it!)

These are things that WILL help to reduce the effects of Global Warming so you might as well do it now that going somewhere in a car by yourself is going to blow a hole in your wallet...

Why do I care you ask?? Because I live in Bombay, and I have no great desire to be roasted in the heat nor to get drowned by the monsoons!

Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist. - Kenneth Boulding (ca. 1980)

As promised!

Photos from my trip back to my school (Hebron) in Ooty where I also worked with an Orphanage (Mizpah Home) for two weeks teaching the kids some basic computer skills and dancing to hindi music (!!) before they went back to school after the summer break.
I had a wonderful time and learned more than I taught, I think.

A Page Is Turned

I bought new shoes! Wait, I'll show you.

Aren't they cute? They have little sequiny things on them and I got a 100 bucks discount too, so I'm quite happy with myself! I tried to upload my pictures from Ooty onto photobucket yesterday but it wouldn't work so sorry about that. But most of you are on Facebook so you can just go see them there! If you're not on Facebook, wow, hats off to you, I'll put up the photos soon :D

Argh, the days are rolling too fast for my liking. I'm really not into going back to Bombay. Holidays are so great - no pressure, no stress, no work, just watch movies, relax, do what you want. I am looking forward to meeting everyone but I wish they'd just come here, you know!? ;)

Oh well. I also haven't made this stupid recipe scrapbook thingy for my Cooking and Baking course and I won't get the certificate unless I do. Well, at the beginning when I signed up for the course, I didn't really care about the certificate as long as I learnt something useful but honestly I didn't learn much, infact we didn't have many classes and I paid quite a bit of money for it, so I might as well atleast get the certificate...

Here's a movie you SHOULD watch if you haven't already. I watched it with the a'levels while I was up in Ooty. I hadn't actually heard about it till then but then living in India, you tend not to hear about a lot of good english movies which is a pity but anythehow, I've seen it twice now and it is a movie you shouldn't miss. Based on the true story of William Wilberforce - the man who fought long and hard to abolish the slave trade and eventually slavery itself in the British Empire in the 18th Century. Amazing story and amazing song too!

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That sav’d a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears reliev’d;

How precious did that grace appear,

The hour I first believ’d!

A hymn written by John Newton whose counsel William Wilberforce sought during his career.

1 Chronicles 17: 16 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed,
“Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 17 And now, O God, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! You speak as though I were someone very great, O Lord God!