10

It was nice to see all the good responses I have gotten so far on my new year countdown blogs. Thanks guys for keeping me motivated :). Today I have numerous ideas on the 2 list. Some are mine, some are from my friends and some from the universe ;). So right now, the "dharm sankat" is, what the hell do I write about? Zimble. Everything!?! :P . So on popular demand, this list of 2 is actually a collection of 2 lists. Don’t worry about the math, just read on! :)

2 best films I saw in 2011: Out of the very few movies I saw this year, it is a difficult job to pick the best 2. Especially when you are a big Bollywood Fan and when Bollywood is hell bent on producing mind-blowingly awful movies. So, after a lot of scrutiny and deep thought, here are the 2 best movies I saw in 2011 - Kungfu Panda 2 - "Po" the Dragon warrior is simply the cutest, funniest, naughtiest, wittiest kung-Fu master I have ever seen in the movies :) he is totally adorable and all thanks to Po, the movie is on my top2 list ;). Second in line is Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara - Kabir, Arjun and Imran set out for a trip of a lifetime and discover themselves in the process. The movie has great locations, dialogues and songs. My favorite character in the movie- Imran Habib aka majnu  aka Farhan Akhtar:)

2 worst films I saw in 2011: Now that the best ones are out of the way, I think its far easier for me to pick the worst ones.  The movie which wins this gold medal is Dum Maaro Dum - I mean, why cant somebody please give Aby baby some shaving foam? And what exactly is Bipasha trying? Oh and why is Deepika even dancing on that song? Sorry, the most relevant question comes now - What is the movie about? This movie was such a Maar and no Dum!! The one with the Silver medal is Pirates of the Caribbean 4 actually I was going to say Transformers 3, but I think Penelope did a better job showing her pouted lips than  Rosie :) (pun intended). Can somebody please tell me why the pirates who are good at battling in the sea and conquering other ships go behind a goddam fountain of youth?? Seriously this movie was such a failure!

2 best reunions I had in 2011: I have had some very good reunions this year with some old friends, some of my cousins and some of my old colleagues. So the 2 get together' s I totally cherish are "The cousins day out" in Feb2011 - I think this was the best outing I have had with my cousins  Rashida and Mariya :). The second one is actually a small meet up with Rohini and Nivy :) We spent like 2 hours in Baskin Robins but had a great time playing around. Ro - please send me pictures :P

2 top achievements in 2011: This is slightly tough. You know how difficult it is for me to boast about myself right? That too publicly on the internet :P hehe. So getting rid of all my sharm and haya, these are the top 2 things I achieved this year. First, this is a joint achievement between my sister and me. Yep, you guessed it right - Mom and Dad's HAJ! We (Maryam and I) had a sense of satisfaction once they returned from Haj, a feeling of comfort that we could finally make this happen :).  The second one is on the lighter side. I did my first ever snorkeling in sea  during my trip to Andaman's. It was seriously an achievement as I was a little worried that I might drown and kill some fishes in the sea ;)

This is my 2's list for this year, and since I am running short of time, I will end my blabbering right here and welcome the last day of the year with this blog post :)

P.S. There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't

Thireeeee

So far, you have read the "Six" places I want to visit, the "Five" things I wish to do and the "Four" movies I like the most. Today the countdown is sitting at number 3 (oh man, I am so brilliant to figure that out, right? :P ).  When hubby and I decided on the "Three" list, it sounded crazy. We decided to make a list of "alternate profession" we would have been in if not IT.  This list does not qualify as a wish list or most wanted list but It is plainly a list contemplating how our life would have been, if not the way it is!

Now, the question is, If not an IT professional, then what would have been my profession? or what I would have done for a living? As a matter of fact, a part of this list has already been covered in one of my earlier blog posts. And just incase you feel that you have heard this story before, you have probably been following my blog for the past 3 years and still haven't given up on me :-)  Ok, so back to what I set out to write, here is my list of 3 professions I would have landed up in if not IT/Software/Testing/Whatever!

The profession which wins hands down is "Fashion Designing". I had very well explained on my blog "if <> QAE then" that the one and only passion I ever had during my school days was fashion designing. Looking at all the glamorous models walking on the ramp wearing a designer's creation completely excites me. This is one profession which needs loads of creativity and attitude to design something out of the world daily!  I still design my own clothes and mom thinks I am good at it :-)

Ok, after the gaga about the love I have for fashion designing, I would like to introduce you to my second passion.  This one is close to my heart. Hubby and me met because of this. May be that's why I can probably see myself being in this profession. Yes, I am talking about Dancing! I have been dancing from I don’t know when. In school, in college, at work (not my current work place), I have danced solo and group and won some competitions too :). Dancing is more like a hobby to me, but who knows, if I had been a little serious I would have been a pro!

2 down and 1 more to go, this profession is a little of the serious types. Imagine a lady walking in Saree with big soda glasses and a pile of textbooks in her hands. Now imagine her walking into a huge room and everybody stands up to greet her "Good Morning Miss' :-) Get it? - I would have probably become a teacher and spent my time teaching kindergarten students :-)

There you go! The 3 alternate professions I would have gone for :-) I actually had a fourth one but its not something which can be tagged as a profession. If I had the guts or the inclination I would have probably joined the Indian Army. But I clearly don't qualify for it, so I am going to leave that thought aside and end this list with a small note. This list is not a "WANT" list and I am no way indicating that I don’t like what I do right now :). And btw, "Thireee" is actually my grand mom version of three :P 

Ciao! :)

Four

Confused, distracted, perplexed, bewildered, dumbfounded – This is exactly how I felt when I started writing this blog post. This list of four "whatever", has taken more time to think than write.  Yeah, strange but true, I was actually out of ideas to write on my blog! What else can you expect from a poor soul with so many synonymous feelings ;)right? However, the good news is, I finally got my hands, mind and heart to write something and entertain you :)

Before I reveal the theme of my list, there is something I would like to ask you guys. If you are in a similar mood as mine, what would you do to get out of it? Go for a walk? Call a friend? Watch TV? Eat something? Listen to music? Or……..Watch a movie? I do many of these, especially the listening music, to be more specific, listen to one single song in a loop :-). But there is something which is very typical of me: I repeatedly watch the same movies :) I have a set of favorite movies, which I watch not once, not twice, not thrice but "N" number of times. I guess you got it, I am going to list my 4 favorite movies :)

My boyfriend back then and husband now gave me this movie DVD as a birthday gift. So crazy I was that  I watched this movie every night for 4 months from start to end without skipping a single scene or song. I literally know the dialogues of the movie by heart and actually play the role of the heroine while watching the movie :P. "mein apni favorite hu" tagline present under my blog heading was taken from this movie.  "Bhaisaab aap convince ho gaye ki mein aur bolu?" No brownie points for guessing my most favorite movie :) it is the one and only "Jab We Met" - I still have the DVD and anytime I feel completely lost and low, I choose to watch this movie :)

I saw this movie during my flight to New Jersey 4 years back. The usually boring and butt aching flight from Chennai to France to NJ made me browse through the movie collection provided in flight. A bunch of Hindi movies, some Tamil and some English. I tried to pick one which sounded light hearted and went for "27 Dresses". Jane, crazy about weddings, serves as a brides maid 27 times and finally has to arrange a wedding for her sister who is getting married to the guy she secretly loves! Cliché you might think, but the movie is damn cute, and you know who is cuter? James Marsden! Totally adorable movie with totally adorable James :)

Hiccup, A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed. - This is what imdb has to say about "How to train your Dragon". Vishnu and I have seen this movie many times and whenever we see it, we enjoy every bit of it. Hiccup and toothless (the dragon) have reserved a special place in our hearts.  Hiccup who is considered as an odd man out in the Viking crowd becomes friends with the Night fury Dragon and finally turns out to be the bravest Viking of the lot! Awesome movie to watch if you are a fan of animated movies :)

Last but not the least, reserving the 4th spot on my most favorite movie list is…..wait for it :). She is educated, sophisticated, ambitious and passionate. He is clueless, jobless, senseless and totally bhukkad! He meets her at a wedding , follows her in the bus and gifts her a DVD of her own dance. She completely hates him as he laughs at her "binness" plans and refuses to partner with him. She created "Shaadi Mubarak" and he tried "Happy Wedding".  I am talking about Bittoo and Shruthi in "Band Baaja baarat" :). Awesome songs, superb chemistry and dhinchak dialogues.  Perfect masala movie to end my list :)

Phibe! :)

5 days to go for 2012 and 5 more posts on the blog to hit a century :) though I would love to welcome the new year partying I have a feeling that I would  probably be writing a blog post when the countdown begins :-). Actually! Not a bad idea at all :P. Whether I party or not, one thing is for sure, I will complete my 100th post on this blog on New Year’s Eve :-) With that hope and spirit, here is my list of 5 things I wish to do :)

Streak my hair purple: I am crazy about purple and all its shades. I have collected loads of purple stuff in my wardrobe and have never gotten tired of adding something new. I have driven shopkeepers mad asking for a specific purple shade dress or purse. In fact, my parents simply jump at the sight of anything purple saying "Sakina's favorite color". Recently when I walked into the beauty parlor, I spotted a huge Schwarzkopf hair color poster with a lady having purple highlights! And boy, did I get tempted? Yes! I sure did! I decided to streak my hair purple or rather highlight them on my 30th birthday. But...I couldn’t and that’s why this one goes as a top item on my wish list :)

Buy a Purple Honda Civic: I love Honda Civic! The sexiest car I have ever seen and dreamt off! And the sexiness just gets sexier when it’s in purple! Most of you who know me have seen me getting completely distracted when I spot a civic on the road, especially when it’s purple! Oh and I also have a Civic poster on my desk which acts as a Motivation factor! ;) I just hope I get my hands on this car before the Honda guys decide to make it ugly :(

Get a Tattoo on my neck: Ha! This one is recent too. I remember hating the idea of torturing yourself and permanently encrypting something on your body. But hey! We permanently have ear piercings even though they tend to hurt, so what’s the big deal with a tattoo then, right? :) I want a nice cute small tattoo done on the back of my neck :) preferably in purple :D Any designers?

Write a book: From the time I started blogging, I have been wishing that one day I will write a book. I have written a lot about myself on this blog, may be one day I will publish an autobiography ;) or may be my love story or may be about purple ;)! Who knows one day I will be the next popular writer in town. Hehe :)

Open my own boutique: Fashion designing has been my dream for a very long time. I still hope that one day I will officially open a store and sell clothes which are “branded” by “Sakina” :) A day when people would come to my store and are ready to pay a fortune for my designer Saree” :). A day when people passing by my shop look at the mannequin and say “Awesome Ghaghra”! Well I can go on and on, but you get the point right?  

Here is wishing that at least one wish out of this wish list comes true before I die :)

Six!

I have always loved travelling, I have never hesitated to pack my bags and just go out there and discover the world. Be it a leisure trip, or a trip for a friend's wedding, or a small weekend getaway; I am the first to volunteer and probably the one organizing too :) After I got married, Vishnu and I have tried to make a list of places we want to visit and then pick up a place whenever we are ready for a Holiday :) That's exactly how we landed up in Andaman’s earlier this year :). I do have a very very long list of places I want to go to, but today, 6 days to 2012, I wish to list the 6 places I absolutely want to go/visit :) (Actually my hubby is making the same list and trust me, the places are different ;) hehe)

1. Tajmahal in Agra, India – As one of the  travel guides mentioned "There is nothing as beautiful as viewing the Taj by moonlight" - that's exactly what I want to do. Go to Agra during a full moon night, get special entrance tickets, sit at the Taj and enjoy the silver shine around the building! Absolute beauty!

2. The Pink City - Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan! Place filled with Mahals and palaces. One of the finest planned cities and a city of royal ancestors. I want to go for a weeklong tour to just Jaipur and walk into every palace built there, eat the bajre ki roti at a local restaurant and get myself dressed up in a Rajasthan costume :)

3. Kerala Backwater tour in a huge houseboat :) - This place has a movie connection, remember the Jiya Jale Song from Dil Se? I want to do a 3 day long trip from Cochin to Kumbarakom and simply enjoy the lush green view around me.

4. Venice, Italy - The first time I came to know of this place is when I saw one of the most romantic songs from The Great Gambler,  Do lafzon ki hain Dil ki kahani . I surely want to do a romantic boat ride in the city  of Water :)

5. The Alps, Switzerland - I have seen this place only in Karan Johar movies. I want to play with the snow, do lots of skiing, and go on the cable car and roller coaster rides on the snow!

6. The Grand Canyon, Arizona US - What can I say, when my dad told me about his experience here, I quickly made a note that I have to make a visit there. When I saw the move 127 hours, I was convinced that I wanted to visit this place before I die :) I believe that the sunrise/sunset view is simply spectacular.

These are not the only places I ever want to go to. I do have another list of short trips I want to make, but for now, these are the 6 most wanted places I ever want to go to :)

Why I like to be in Chennai

Recently lots of my colleagues crib about how much they hate/dislike Chennai. Thanks to my non-Tamilian look, people often assume that I would second their feelings and have a similar story of how this place ruined my social life or rather LIFE! Nothing personal against the people who don’t like this city, everybody has their right to liking or disliking something, however, this outburst from my colleagues really got me thinking, is this place that bad? Well my immediate answer was - No! "Why do you like this place Sakina?" you may ask. My answer - this blog post :)
- Chennai is what I call "home". I have had the most memorable memories, the best school life, the most fun filled college life, an interesting career and a very filmy love life. I have lived most of my life here, and do not mind living the rest here. In simple words, I am born and brought up here.
- I believe that this city is one of the safest places in India, especially for the girls. Try going on your scooty at 1 am in the night all alone in some other city and be sure to reach home safely. I have done this many times right here with no fear!
- The weather - yes! I mean it! The weather! (I can totally imagine your eyes pop out reading this). They say Chennai has 3 seasons Hot, Hotter, Hottest - Agreed. I rather enjoy being under the hot sun getting a tan, than wrapping myself in half a dozen layers of clothes. I rather have bath with normal tap water than from a boiling geyser. I rather sweat it out and get my body to cool down than freeze to death in snow. I rather enjoy those few rainy days with joy, than to carry an umbrella/rain coat daily and suck at it! I rather fall sick just once a year during change of weather than be sick all through the year due to erratic change of weather daily!
- The beaches - the world's second longest beach is in Chennai :) - well keeping that fact aside, having a beach at a driving distance is luxury. Beaches are a good way for me to unwind and a good adda to catch up with my friends. I don’t need a food court at the mall to meet someone; I would rather go to the beach with them and eat roasted peanuts instead :)
- The simplicity - the people here are simple and grounded. No show off, no bull shit. People here don't expect too much out of themselves or each other and are happy with what they have. None of us ever missed KFC, or a McD, or EA mall 10 years back.

This place is not perfect and has its flaws. But the point is, which place doesn't? I guess every city, every town, every village has its own good/bad and people who live there (or decide to live there) just see the brighter side of things. This city is special to me and will always be no matter what other people may think about it :)