~~ Three movies ~~

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Hey all! My first post of this year!  I really can’t believe we are almost at the tad end of the first month of this new year already!

Have been meaning to post this from quite some time now, but haven’t been able to narrow down the movies to just 3.  Even if I proceed to tweak it to list the favorite genres that I have watched so far, its impossible to list only 3.  There are just too many movies in each genre to mention!

So I decided finally to stick and choose from movies I watched in the past year (2019) and list 3 movies that stayed with me for a while after watching it. So here you go –

• Vanilla Sky(English) – It is a psychological thriller with no scary, chilling scenes or ear splitting screams – yet leaves you in a daze and a confused state at the end that you want to watch it again to understand if you interpreted the whole of it right. I felt so only for a few movies and this one made me all curious. I read a lot about lucid dreaming and related scientific research for a few days after watching this movie. Do watch and let me know if you got as confused as I did 😛
• 99(Kannada) – I very rarely watch Kannada movies. Not stating it proudly, of course. There are quite a few good movies out there and this movie(though I know its a remake) restored the faith that I need to make it a point to watch more regional movies. I had heard about ’96’ Tamil movie quite a bit and it was on my to-watch list, however, when I found the Kannada remake of it Prime – I didn’t want to wait any further. Though I would have preferred to watch the original first, I still went for it. I absolutely loved the movie. It made me quite nostalgic. It also succeeded in tugging at the heartstrings.  There are cute yet poignant moments throughout the movie and the pure love on either side just made me wonder “If only” at times.. but then few relationships are only meant to end so and just remain beautiful in memories, the essence of love is lost otherwise.  I am waiting to watch it in the original Tamil version. I am sure its a treat to watch as well.  Of course, a must watch!!
• October (Hindi) –  Now, I don’t think most liked the movie. I recommended it to my brother and SIL, and they were not very happy with the recommendation (I think). Well, Its sad. Its melancholic. Its mostly silent too. But its innocent, soulful, ethereal and overwhelming too. The portrayal of selfless silent love is just beautiful. The movie stayed with me for a very long time. I didn’t expect it to, but it did. Do go watch it and don’t blame me if you cry your heart out (BTW, I cry for every other movie as you might already know from this post(to be synced) of mine, so am not to blame here)

How about you? Do you want to list your 3 favorites?

~~ Four Books ~~

For whatever reasons - looks like the alert for yesterday's post never went out.  So if you missed reading that one, do click on the hyperlink and let me know your thoughts.

I know I haven't been posting the each day post of "Ten day you challenge" in a continuous flow - I myself needed a break from posting that every day and so skipped a few days in between and posted something else for a change :P  

So the next one on the challenge was to post about four books - now, how can I ever pick just four from the huge favorite list I have - its absolutely impossible.. So I am gonna tweak it to list the genres that I enjoy the most and then list my favorite authors/books from those genres... Too much of tweaking, I know, but, its definitely not possible for me to list just one book even if I narrow it down to a genre :P

Favorite Genre 1 - Thrillers: I absolutely love reading thrillers. I need to read a thriller to get me back into reading mode when I have tried a book from any other genres. The anticipation of the ending, the process of deduction as I read, figuring out the climax, and then waiting to see if I was right, the legal intricacies and exciting twists and turns, the nail biting reads that doesn't let me sleep a wink sometimes - thrills me. My favorite authors of this genre are John Grisham(legal thrillers), Dan brown, Jeffrey Archer, Robin Cook(Medical thrillers), Mary Higgins Clark,  Agatha Christie, Lee Child and Stephen King. I cannot list just one book of any author as my favorite book - every single book I have read of these authors are my favorites for its own reason.

Favorite Genre 2 - Romance:  This was not my initial favorite of genres. I read one "Mills and Boons" novel and I was forever done with this genre. All of it changed when I read " The Bridges of Madison County" by Robert James Waller - Thanks to a friend who loaned it to me for a weekend. I didn't read it until Monday morning breakfast time and I then bunked office that day for completing it (I have not even bunked in college, forget bunking work, so that's something very huge in my life). For such a dry title, the book is not at all that. The myth was broken and I finally understood romance genre doesn't mean only Mills and Boons. I moved on to "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell and this is my all-time favorite.  The other worthy mention that made me not ditch this genre is "P.S. I Love You" by Cecelia Ahern. 

Favorite Genre 3 - Fantasy: This is a recent addition to my favorite genres. I must admit, I haven't tried a lot in this genre and the one that I can really boast of is the Harry Potter series. Oh, I hated these books and movies initially for all the hype it had created - and it didn't help that I watched one of the movies (probably the third one in the series) before I read or watched it in sequence, and I couldn't get head or tail of whatever was happening on big screen. It didn't pique any interest in me for these reasons - But being the curious one, I bought the box set just to see for myself the reason of hype around this. It was on my book shelf for a quite a few years, before I braved to read it. I couldn't stop once I began, and I now cannot stop feeling silly for ignoring it for so long. A definite potter head now.  "A Song of Ice and Fire" is something I haven't been able to generate any interest similar to Harry Potter series - but since having this experience with Harry potter series - I have now marked this series to read next in fantasy genre (If you want to gift me, "A Song of Ice and Fire" box set should be your  first choice :P) .

Favorite Genre 4 - Fiction that doesn't fit in any of the above three genres: I really don't know which genres I should fit these books in as they are quite diverse and am constrained here to list only 4 - so I titled this point broadly so :P Following are my absolute favorites apart from whatever I have mentioned in the previous three points:

The help by Kathryn Stockett,  To kill a mocking bird by Harper Lee, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger , The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy, A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Erich Segal 's Novels, Khaled  Hosseini's novels - Oh, I think I will go on to list everything I have read at this pace :P  So, I am going to stop here. 

If you want to know what I have read till now - my humble list is available here.

Do you have any favorite books? Can you try to list just four :roll:

Well, I don't mind if its more, you know? I will definitely make sure to add it to my never ending to-read list if its not already there :P :)

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~~ Five foods ~~

Ah! The post about food.

But, wait, no, its so unfair,  am supposed to list only five - now, that's going to be very very difficult!!

I thought for quite a few hours about my favorites - but I figured, I just can't list top 5 foods. So finally, here I am, with five favorite cuisines - now, that's better, isn't it :P :P :P 

1. South Indian - Of course! I love everything about South Indian food - the aromatic spicy spices, the ghee laden curries, the fried bajjis and pakoras, filter coffee, the crunchy vadams and pappadums, the typical home made comfort food of idlis, dosas, vadas, sambhar and rasams, bisibelebath, vangi baath, tomato baath, puliogarai, those occasion and location specific snacks and sweets and last but not the least, the pickles - Oh, I can go on and on. 

2. North Indian - The paneer curries, the samosas, the finger-licking-yummy chaats and the plethora of sweets, the aloo parathas with the pickle/curd combo - oh - what's not to like!  

3. Konkani cuisine - Now, this is my favorite comfort food. If you need to make me happy - just offer me a plate of ghee & coconut laden Konkani comfort food and I'd be super happy woman. Nothing beats this. A funny aspect of this is that I have noticed that you need to be a born Konkani to share this love for Konkani cuisine - no offense, no one loves Konkani cuisine as natives do :P  

4. Italian - Pizza's and Pasta's :P  Awwww....... my favorites are Indianized Pizza's (the ones with the Paneer masala etc) and White Sauce Pasta's ... I also love their mushroom dishes, especially the Funghi Trifolati -  easy to prepare and just yummy... am droooling already... The funniest thing is that the bestest Pizza's and Pasta's I have had so far was in India and US -  not Italy :P 

5. Mexican -  Its very difficult when you are a vegetarian and you step outside India. There are times when I have survived only on chips, French fries and Hashbrowns. The only thing that came very close to the feeling of having Indian food was having Mexican food - In US, Chipotle was like home away from home.  Their Mexican Burrittos and Quesadillas though quite different, atleast felt close to Chapathi and Rice from home :P 

There you go - my five favorites - how about yours? 

~~ Six Places ~~

So, here comes the fifth post of the ten day you challenge! It's to write about six places... 

Here goes my six favourites...

1. The first place that comes to my mind, is, of course, my hometown, Udupi. A place where we used to come for summer vacation every single time and never wanted to be anywhere else  :-p 

2. Initial years of my childhood had been in Mysore. I love the city for its calm and peaceful atmosphere. It still is how Bangalore used to be ages ago. I have beautiful memories of this city. One of which is going to Mysore Palace on Sunday evenings -  find some space to sit in the palace garden and munch on roasted peanuts savoring the sight of the well lit palace - that was like a family tradition of sorts. 

3. Most of my teenage years were spent in Tamilnadu. I absolutely have great memories of growing up here. I dont feel much nostalgic as such when I visit Mysore. But I sure feel a lot nostalgic when I visit the places I have lived or travelled in Tamilnadu. I also know that the person I am now, the core of my personality, is strongly and mainly influenced by the most empathetic and "giving" environment in which I grew up when here. My best friend is from this place and we still are in touch. Miss it. 

4. Even before I could properly explore India, (Thanks to the standard summer vacation destination during  childhood and later of course our own financial conditions) - I went to US of A. Absolutely a time I cherish. It helped me grow financially, of course, but it also helped me grow as a person. I know, I changed heaps during my stay here. I pushed myself out of my comfort zones and the stay brought in a lot many changes in my way of thinking. If I am open minded about a lot of things now, somewhere, this 2 year onsite stint would be the major contributor to it.  I travelled and covered all the coasts in that 2 year stint and even managed to win a jackpot in Las Vegas :-p.. but if I have to pick a place that I absolutely loved, it'd be New York, just for the fact that it reminded me so much of home. I must say, I am very glad that I travelled and stayed in USA before marriage. I know now that my husband is not much of an "exploring new places" kinda person :-p  ...The only regret I have is that I couldn't make my parents agree to visit USA during my stint there. They did not agree. I begged them to come and stay with me, but it never materialized :-(.. Like any middle class families of those years, the first priority for them, was to ensure that I saved that expense for my future and never be dependent on any one. It's to that and many more such sacrifices that I owe that house I managed to buy even before I got married.  

5. Europe: My brother is in Europe and we visited him recently. The trip to his place and rest of Europe is one of the most memorable family trips. Every single place that we covered in that month long trip is still fresh in my memory and it's difficult to pick just one place. I would strongly recommend exploring Europe on your own than opting  for package trips, especially if you can plan the whole thing and dont have fussy eaters with you.  Believe me, the experience of exploring on your own is worth it (Of course,  you just need to be wary of limited food options if you are vegetarian)

6. Australia: My most recent visit was to Australia. It was a short time assignment and as luck might have it, it was during my daughter's summer vacation. I have never lived without her and though company wouldn't sponsor her or family expenses due to short term assignment(which is fair), I still wanted to take her for the odd 3 months - I couldn't  imagine staying away from her for so long. I also forced my parents to join me this time. My parents again sang me the saving for future song, but I didnt budge, nor did I care. I had to travel first, but had applied for their visas through a travel agent before leaving. Booked their tickets online after their visitor visas were processed and finally they arrived.  The whole process till they arrived was quite nerve wracking as tracking progress of Australian visitor visas is nothing less than a nightmare. The void of not being able to get my parents to come visit and stay with me when I was in USA was finally filled this time. Of all the places we managed to visit when we were in Australia, our absolute favorite was the Great Ocean Road stretch. If you ever go to Australia, make sure you have this on your itinerary. You'll not regret it. 

So there you go, my six favourites. How about you?

~~ Seven wants ~~

This is my fourth post for this challenge – to post seven wants. Let me see where I go with this one 

So here goes –

1. I want to be happy – just plain happy. Not that I am not now. I am in a happy place, but still. Again, this doesn’t mean I want to be super rich or super smart or super whatever. No, I am ok with each day of the rest of my life to be as mundane or boring it can be – but yet be peaceful and happy 

2. I want all my near and dear ones also to have a peaceful and happy life.  I have seen a lot many people who cannot tolerate someone progressing well in life, a lot many people who feel very happy when someone falls down and struggles to climb up in life, a few who do not feel happy for other’s achievements or happiness, and a few more who will go to any extent to pull a person down with negative comments especially when that person is happy – and all I feel for such kind is pity.  The insecurity amuses me to no end. Anyone feeling happy for someone else’s misery is beyond my comprehension. I cannot do that. I don’t feel sad when others are happy. I don’t feel jealous of other’s achievements. I can only be happy for someone’s happiness or achievements(of course, if it's by fair means, otherwise I just roll my eyes for faking it and silently wish them better stuff). I want to stay the same – to be able to feel happy for others.

3. I want to be the best mom that I can be for my daughter – not perfect, I am still learning, but I still want to just as best as she needs me to be. As she grows up, I want her to know that I have always wanted her best. I want her to know that I have braved the world for her in ways I never had imagined I could before she came into my life and that I will always be there for her. I want her to know that I have tried my level best to create as many happy memories for her as possible.

4. I want to be a successful writer, someday. Miles to go, I know.

5. I love teaching. I used to give tuition to school kids during my school days and engineering days. The most satisfying part was to see my students getting interested in learning and then improving by leaps and bounds. Someday, I want to be able to resume teaching, if I can.

6. I want my house to have this cozy space –  just a couch, a foot rest, an easy chair, a swing – numerous books and a coffee table. Large windows would be an additional bonus.

7. I want to travel and be able to understand the historical significance of the places I visit – see the world as much as I can before I kick the bucket.

There you go, my seven wants – how about you?

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~~ Eight Fears ~~

Well, to be very very very honest, I am quite a scared being. More so, after I became a mom. I fear a lot of things so to narrow it down to eight might be a tad difficult. But I'll try.

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1) I fear losing people who are close to me - Family, Friends. I cannot imagine a world without them.

2) I fear disease, disabilities, the thought of being dependent on someone creeps me out.

3) I fear animals - Domestic/Wildlife - I am not partial here :P  I know dogs are faithful and cats are adorable - but I can love them or "ooh" or "aah" at their cuteness only from a distance. 

4) I am scared of what the world is turning into - so much hatred, so much violence, no humanity, so much drama, so many lies, so many cheaters - scares me to bits. I am scared for the future of my next generations to come -  so much pollution, no water, drastic weather conditions, plastic wastes, things going extinct, prices for everything skyrocketing - oh, I can go on. 

5) I am scared of driving - especially two wheeler. Driving two wheeler creeps me out. 

6) I always thought I'd die during child birth - thanks to melodramatic movies which always used to show this as the only possibility at times. This fear is no more now, but if someday, if only, I ever plan for another kid, I am sure this fear will re-surface.

7) I fear natural disasters. Tsunami, Earthquakes, Floods, Volcanoes - There are quite a few trips I didn't want to take to a few places because there have been Tsunamis, Earthquakes or Floods in the past there :(

8) Last but not the least, I fear my ever increasing weight.  I fear I will always stay like this and will never go back to my original weight :( 

There you go - my eight fears.  How about yours - Let me know :) 

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~~ Nine Loves ~~

It felt great when Rixi asked me about the next post of the ten day you challenge :P  I was so very glad that someone noticed :P :P  I did not abandon it, no, I just skipped it for a day because I wanted to post some spooky prompt for Friday, the 13th :evil: 

Here come's the next one in the ten day you challenge - Nine Loves.

1. I love my daughter & my family - Of course, don't think this comes as a surprise, does it now? Anything that brings a big wide grin on my daughter's face or makes my dear ones happy  - I love those moments :)
2. I love cuddles, snuggles and hugs especially from my little one :) 
3. Having a good laugh with family, friends - laughing till my tummy hurts and eyes brimming with tears - reminiscing - creating new memories - love these moments :)
4. I love dancing, reading, writing, drawing, painting and sometimes singing :P
5. I love watching movies - big screen + a bucket of popcorn = happy me :)
6. I love trying out new veg cuisines - I love milk products - I love milk based sweets - I love dark chocolates - I love home cooked food - I also love junk food - Guess all I want to say is I love delicious food and I am a big foodie :P
7. I love Kajal/Kohl - absolutely love them - especially if they are home made :)
8. I love travelling, exploring new places, collecting souvenirs - travelling helps us remember that we occupy such a teeny tiny space in this whole wide world and thus the importance of staying humble :)
9. I love striking off things from my multiple to-do lists - I have quite a few of those lists - to-watch, to-visit, to-travel, to-read etc etc . Striking something off any of these lists gives me immense pleasure :cool: 

There you go - these are my nine-loves. As I finished writing this one, I remembered, I had definitely written something similar about a decade back :P I looked up my old posts and guess what, I found it  :lol: Such a contrast to this post :lol: 

I love that young girl who is so different from who I am now :)  To be honest, I actually still do love whatever is mentioned in my old post - but interestingly, those were not the first few things that came to me when I started writing today.  This is exactly why I love keeping journals/blogging. It transports you back to a few moments in the past - re-live them - manages to bring a smile on your face - and finally it always makes you question yourself - Gosh, what the hell was I thinking when I wrote that??  :lol: 

Anyways, go on, let me know your nine loves!

~~ Ten Secrets ~~

I have a severe headache today - I went to bed as soon as I reached home.  My daughter then woke me up in a few minutes as she needed help with her Maths practice work. Having completed that and dinner, I was about to doze off when I realized I was yet to post for the day. I very much wanted to give out a prompt today, but the pounding headache is not helping a bit.  I need to rest.  I decided to still write, something, anything. 

I browsed through my old drafts for posts that were left unpublished/half done etc.  and found this half done from 2012. I had found this probably during some blog hopping and I wanted to do it then, but for some reason, never went about it.  

Its a pretty simple challenge and I believe the image is pretty clear :) I'd be glad if you took the ten day challenge with me if you want to - So here goes...

Ten secrets:

• I don't have regrets. But there are times, very rarely, when I do feel that life would have taken a completely different path if the decisions I made during certain turning points were different. Would it have been for the better? I don't know, but I like to believe that, wherever I currently am, this is for the best.

• I am very organised - when it comes to work. But quite the contrary at times (not all the time) at home.  

• Its difficult for me to say NO to people I value the most

• Trust is very important to me.  You will have no place in my life once you have broken the trust.

• I can be rude. Believe me, I can be plain rude once a limit is crossed with me. Only solace being the limit or the patience level I set is quite high. 

• Once I go to bed, I hate to get up to switch off lights, get a bottle of water or whatever it is that needs me to get from the bed. Nothing makes me more upset. 

• I have immense respect for anyone who drives. Needless to say, I am yet to master driving.

• I hate that I am into that age group where I am no more addressed "Didi" or "Akka" or just by name... Sigh.  I can now so relate to that lady who used to always say "Aunty mat kaho na" from Hum Paanch series. Please dont tell me you don't know this series and make me feel much older than I am now.  Well, I do know, I am still young at heart :P  

• There was a time when I loved train journeys - no more. I dislike bus, train stations and train journeys in particular. I hate public rest rooms too.  

• I dislike walking on roads when it rains, but, I do love rains when am indoors with a piping hot cup of coffee and a book for company :)

There you go - 10 secrets revealed :) Now, lets hear yours!!