Hello Chicago!

Random clicks from Chicago. Picture heavy post!

Chicago from the airplane.

O' Hare Airport.

Willis Tower

View from the Willis tower.

Deceptively beautiful snow - seriously. Big goop of black ice a day later.

What trip is complete without food? Great crepes at Yolk.

A vintage lighpost inside the Union Station.

View from Navy Pier.

Chicago Skyline

The Mystic Blue ride boat at Navy Pier.

Hulloo.

Pirates of the Navy Pier. Kidding.

Go USA x 5.

The Bean at Millennium Park.

Artwork Stones at Millennium Park.

Indian bride and groom spotted at Millennium Park.

Neat Idea!

Burger King in all it's glory.

Goodnight.

I'm Human

I'm human first and then a 21st century, 20 something, metro city gal later. Sure, I love my iPods and Benefit blushes, but I have some basic necessities in life first. I need food, shelter, clothes first. As they say, roti, kapda aur makaan in Hindi.

I feel if the basic necessities of a man's life are still in doldrums, it's stupid and almost heartless trying to focus on something else. That's like giving a homeless guy an XBox. As enthralling as it is, he will never enjoy it! It's hard for him to survive winters and find two decent meals, why and how will he enjoy something so frivolous?

Why am I talking bullshit?

Well, a conversation two days ago sparked this. I was having this really random-turned-hostile conversation about the recent elections in India. How a certain contender, with his great PR skills and an unapologetic blame-everyone-attitude was becoming the country's favourite hero. Yes the country desperately needs a hero, but I feel it's more a case of "andho main kaana raja" (The one eyed amongst the blind is crowned the King) than anything else. A hero is someone who just sweeps the muck without playing blame games. Or maybe my image of a hero is tarnished because of fairy tales and Enrique Iglesias. I like how tall claims are made every single day, just because the leech who are literally pushing our nation into nothingness have no standards, and did nothing. It's the classic case of swooping in to cash out on everyone's dirty linen. It's pretty sad how cheap, uneducated it all is. Pointing fingers, hurling abuses, childish dramas - even my two year old cousin acts more mature!

Anyway. I am amazed by the bullshit people buy and get swayed by. A candidate says they'll sell onions for Rs 10, other says "hey Pakistan concentrate on your poverty", "we need to get rid of the slavish metality". Well reality check Mr Oldilocks. All this dirt digging is pretty much cheap, slavish mentality. Trying to raise higher by bullshitting your way through. Ugh. It almost pains me. Why doesn't anyone talk about the basic things in life? Why does everyone talk about development, freedom fighters, onions and Nehru? Why does the PM keep crying about how our economy is doing awesome where even the rickshawala charges Rs 70 now? Why does everyone in our nation believe in doing tall, beyond comprehension talks when the basic needs of the citizen is nowhere close to being fulfilled? Sure you talk about "Gareebi Hatao!" which is like the desperate slogan for all times. Nothing spells out doom more than that. Hello Mr. Assholes, whatever happened to trying to fix your own sanitation system before trying to clean others' muck?

Why do you not talk about the riots in Gujarat? Should we understand that big swanky flyovers and vegetarian India will only come after we lose thousands of people to an unnamed terrorist attack? Why doesn't anyone talk about establishing a social security system for the citizens? Why don't you actually try getting water and electricity to some place rather than just faking promises? Indian politicians should strut their stuff for concealer products. Such glib and smoothness, never seen before. You all want to become the next USA, hey dude, even seen how Obama talks? What he says and all that he does? Atleast try sounding educated. Nobody is entitled to an opinion. You are entitled to an informed opinion because this is the fucking 21st century you assholes. Why don't you stop the crazy scams? Ours might be the only country who can have a scam on goddamn fodder!!

Yes I know nothing's gonna change. The poor will get poorer, the babus will eat paisa, the inflation won’t stop and the scams will only grow by leaps and bounds. Bomb blasts wont stop, thousands will still die every day and all these fucks will care about is "Gareebi Hatao" slogans printed on 50,000 INR a day posters.
 You know what, Modi and Gandhi? I wont even walk into a voting booth. Why? Because I don't want my ass pinched and be stared at and have lewd comments passed at. I'd rather sip iced tea that will cost me double the next time I buy it, than jump into the muck. Yes, I'm human first and then a crazy living in a developed world person later. I agree wholly with the 1943 theory of needs - they are hierarchial and not just a mass of wants and desires.

For those interested in the theory - hover over the words and it'll show you a wikipedia page. Also, here is a basic diagram.

PS: I don't support Modi or Gandhi or any other asshead. I'd support someone who can make me feel safe, provide my basic needs of pooping in peace and hygiene. Because, I believe in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. My creativity and development will only flow if I have clean air to breathe and two square meals everyday.  So if you're someone looking to comment about how wonderful one is from other, a word of caution: I'll block you if you do so. Ofcourse I wont even go through your comment. 

I Heart Blogging! - 200th Post.

I'm back again, this time with my 200th post. (Oh well, I know, it's been forever since I've blogged like a regular, conventional blogger, but I've always been fickle minded! I should can be forgiven!) I love this blog and it's still special to me to reach the bicentennial mark. Since we're on that topic, I'd tell you how and why I fell in love with blogging.

I started blogging four years ago, and I got pretty hooked onto it. The reason was extremely simple. I was the shyest creature I'd ever come across. I struggled to speak up, let my imagination flow, write about things that excited me around people I knew. It was torturous for me, because in my heart, I knew I was a writer. I need to loosen this noose around the words which were waiting to tumble from the nib of my pen somewhere! I found the concept of blogging, and I jumped right in because it gave me all that I yearned for. I could be anonymous, (till date nobody in real life knows about my blog) I could write whatever-the-heck I wanted to, say fuck off as many times as I wanted without having to star it out. I could be myself, try out different things - (55 word fictions, poems, rhyming poems, stories, life events, current topics, bitchy posts.. you name it, I got it covered.) I still had an audience, people who read my posts because they wanted to, not because I was their BFF. It became my daily unwinding activity and boy, I fared well! I wrote my heart out. Everything just came out so naturally. I wrote during my classes, riding the metro, at sleepovers, even at parties! I still believe it was the best period of my life.

As with all things nice, there is always something to cut out the oxygen supply, mine came in the form of readers turning violent. I was a teenager, couldn't take the hatred and just shut myself out again. Slowly I just dwindled down till I couldn't write anymore.. till GRE happened. I scored a whooping 5.5 on essays and my brain told my heart to take up blogging again. The universe was giving me signals to do what I love the most - write. I love my tiny space on the internet, it's like my firstborn. It's been with me through my loss of friends, family and innumerable struggles. My childish poems, my pain, my funny stories, my frustrations, my break up.. you've been my silent guide, taking everything I unloaded with a bouncy vigour! I'm gonna revive you again, Crazy Beginnings. After all, we're all about doing something crazy and new, aren't we? We'll keep that up!



This post is linked to Miss Malini's Mega Haul.

New Found Love..

So, I'm getting hooked onto make up products! Insane! I KNOW. Something that used to make me cringe a few years ago is making me curious right now. i like to try all sorts of stuff, buy them..but never use them for the sheer lack of self confidence. I use all my make up in the bathroom and clean sweep it with my make up remover. Haha. I guess I need to work on that part! Feeling confident enough to wear it outside. It's so complicated to get it all right. No cakey foundation, right shade and amount of blush, no sticky lipstick, mascara not clumping all over and the worst of all - raccoon eyes. My skin tone is pretty patchy and I'm quite dark, so wearing any colour makes me feel like the whole world would be just staring at me laughing away! LOL.

Something which is even more strange is my love for lipsticks. Umm, what? My lips are pretty plump, so I was always very conscious of applying anything. Even lip balm, something which girls use in copious amounts, I used just at night. Yup. That's me. I used to feel extremely shy and self aware to not highlight or draw attention to my lips. In due time, my lips became pretty discoloured and not very pretty to look at. That kept me away from products even more. Now, somehow, I really like lipsticks. I like lipglosses, lipsticks, lip balms, lip butters, all that fun stuff! Yep, I still wear them in my room or the bathroom only, but that's how I roll. I always want to sport a red lip without feeling cautious, but more than me, everyone around me dissuades me so much that I go back into just wearing it in my room. Haha. Oh well. I own a few, from NYX, Maybelline and Revlon, nude shades and a hot red with orange base.. but that's just about it. I always try to buy stuff which looks pretty neutral on me to not feel conscious all the time. That's why I just venture into the drugstore brands, because who knows when I might outgrow them and then just waste all of this money! Sigh. Perils of being a girl?

Also: During my crazy researching about lipstick sessions, I came across this wonderful blog - Indian Vanity Case - run by an Indian lady, named Cynthia. Her skin tone is nothing like mine, so I hardly use her recommendations, but she's an absolute delight to read! She's a stunner and not a frumpy thing like me here. Haha. She's hosting an awesome giveaway, with the giveaway being..you guessed it right, A LIPSTICK! You know what? I actually participated. Just for fun! It's the YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick for those keeping notes.